Top cop in state Trump flipped draws ‘red line’ pushing against president-elect’s goals
Arizona’s top law enforcement officer said in a recent interview she is unafraid to stand up to President-elect Trump on immigration enforcement.
Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes told the U.K.’s Guardian any plans to construct deportation centers, which she previously called “concentration camps,” in the Grand Canyon State would be a nonstarter.
Mayes defended Dreamers, beneficiaries of the Obama-era DACA program, saying any federal attempts to send them to their home countries would be “a bright red line for me.”
“I will not stand for an attempt to deport them or undermine them,” Mayes said. “I will do everything I can legally to fight [family separation or construction of deportation camps].
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“Not on our soil.”
The Dreamer moniker originates from the DREAM Act — Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors. It was first proposed by Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., and the late Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, in 2001 and has been reintroduced in several succeeding sessions of Congress by Durbin but has never become law.
Most recently, it was proposed in 2023 by Durbin and his Republican counterpart in Senate Judiciary Committee leadership, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.
Former President Obama borrowed pieces of the legislation when he instituted DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
Trump previously tried to get rid of DACA but was stopped by the Supreme Court in DHS v. University of California.
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“I think the Supreme Court will ultimately see the merits of protecting them,” Mayes said of Dreamers.
“We want to give the courts the opportunity to make the right decision here, and we’ll be making very strong arguments on that proposition.”
In previous comments reported by the Arizona Mirror, Mayes said the issue with mass deportation proposals from people like Trump and “border czar”-designate Tom Homan is that they can lead to abuses of the system.
Mayes has said she wants to see violent criminal offenders and drug cartel members removed from the U.S.
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In the Guardian interview, Mayes credited near-complete border-state cooperation on the matter of immigration.
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez, California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Mayes are “united,” she said, adding Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is the one border state lawman who is not.
“[W]e are going to fight for due process and for individual rights,” she said of herself, Torrez and Bonta.
Mayes also acknowledged the fentanyl crisis and a porous border, saying Arizonans rightly want it rectified.
She reportedly said more federal resources should be spent on additional Border Patrol and prosecutions of cartel-connected people, as opposed to Trump’s idea of using the National Guard to help deport illegal immigrants.
“[W]hen Arizonans voted for Donald Trump, they did not vote to shred the Arizona and U.S. Constitution [and] I strongly believe that,” she told the Guardian.
Fox News Digital reached out to Team Trump and some members of Arizona’s Republican congressional delegation for comment on Mayes’ Guardian interview but did not receive a response by press time.
Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy ignite feud inside MAGA movement with latest proposals
Trump world warriors Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have ignited an intra-MAGA battle with their proposals to increase immigration visas for high-skill workers.
Musk and Ramaswamy, who have been tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to lead his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), argued that American culture has not prioritized education enough, and therefore foreign workers are needed for tech companies like Musk’s SpaceX and Tesla.
The pair saw their conservative sway skyrocket throughout the 2024 election as they grew closer to Trump, but the wealthy businessmen now find themselves butting heads with Trump’s most ardent base that wants to see Trump make good on promises of immigration restrictions and promoting the U.S. labor force.
Trump restricted access to foreign worker visas during his first administration and has critiqued the H-1B visas program, which allows U.S. companies to hire foreign workers in specialty occupations.
“There is a permanent shortage of excellent engineering talent. It is the fundamental limiting factor in Silicon Valley,” Musk wrote on X, arguing that the tech industry needs to “double” the number of engineers working in the U.S. today.
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“The number of people who are super-talented engineers AND super motivated in the USA is far too low,” he added.
Musk likened recruiting foreign workers to assembling a sports team. “You need to recruit top talent wherever they may be. That enables the whole TEAM to win.”
Ramaswamy, whose parents immigrated to the U.S. from India, backed up Musk and took shots at American society.
“American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence,” he wrote on X.
“A culture that celebrates the prom queen over the math olympiad [sic] champ, or the jock over the valedictorian, will not produce the best engineers.”
Those comments didn’t sit well with conservative crusaders like pundit Ann Coulter, commentator Laura Loomer, former Rep. Matt Gaetz and even former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley.
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“There is nothing wrong with American workers or American culture,” Haley wrote in a post on the social platform X. “All you have to do is look at the border and see how many want what we have. We should be investing and prioritizing in Americans, not foreign workers.”
Haley and Ramaswamy have a long history of butting heads, starting with their competition in the 2024 Republican primary.
“We welcomed the tech bros when they came running our way to avoid the 3rd grade teacher picking their kid’s gender – and the obvious Biden/Harris economic decline,” Gaetz, R-Fla., wrote in a social media post on Thursday. “We did not ask them to engineer an immigration policy.”
Right-wing rabble-rouser Loomer said, “Our country was built by white Europeans, actually. Not third-world invaders from India. It’s not racist against Indians to want the original MAGA policies I voted for. I voted for a reduction in H-1B visas. Not an extension.”
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The skirmish kicked up after Trump nominated venture capitalist Sriram Krishnan to serve as his AI policy adviser. That nomination triggered anti-Indian backlash, and critics highlighted his past support for lifting the cap on green cards.
“The Woodstock generation managed to build out aerospace, the one before went to the moon, America was doing great. Underlying your post is that we were all living in squalor until being rescued by H-1B’s. Then why did everyone want to come here?” right-wing personality Mike Cernovich responded to Ramaswamy on X.
New poll finds how Americans really feel about celebrities’ political takes, endorsements
Most Republicans prefer not to hear celebrities’ political takes as Americans seem to be experiencing “information overload” post-election, a poll released Thursday showed.
AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research published a poll titled, “Most adults feel the need to limit political news consumption due to fatigue and information overload.”
Sixty-one percent of Republicans strongly/somewhat disapproved of celebrities speaking out about political issues, while 27% neither approved nor disapproved and 11% strongly/somewhat approved. For Democrats, however, 20% strongly/somewhat disapproved, while 40% neither approved nor disapproved and 39% strongly/somewhat approved.
Much of America is still reeling from a contentious election, to the point where many are apparently burned out on political news altogether.
“Sixty-five percent of adults have felt the need to limit their media consumption about the government and politics due to information overload, fatigue, or similar reasons and half feel the same for overseas conflicts,” according to the poll’s summary of findings. “Around four in ten adults feel the same way about news on the economy and climate change.”
Democrats are more likely than Republicans to claim they feel the need to limit their media consumption of stories about government and politics overall, at 72% vs. 59%.
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“People are not eager for politics to mix with their entertainment or commerce experiences,” according to the summary. “Forty-three percent of adults approve of small businesses speaking out on political issues and 20% disapprove. But, only a quarter approve of celebrities, professional athletes, or large companies speaking out, while 4 in 10 disapprove.”
The study noted that “Democrats are more likely than Republicans to approve of celebrities, professional athletes, and large companies speaking out about politics. Small businesses speaking out on political issues is viewed similarly by Democrats and Republicans.”
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One of the major takeaways of the 2024 election was that podcasts that focus on political and cultural commentary, like the “Joe Rogan Experience,” seemingly influenced voters more than endorsements from celebrity entertainers like Taylor Swift.
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When she endorsed the Harris-Walz campaign in 2024, it was deemed a blow to the Trump campaign, but President-elect Donald Trump’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris indicates that Swift’s endorsement might not have had the actual impact Democrats were hoping for.
According to AP VoteCast, 44% of women between ages 18 and 44 voted for Trump, while 48% of women 45 and older supported him.
The AP/NORC poll was conducted between Dec. 5 and 9 using a probability-based panel of NORC at the University of Chicago. Online and telephone interviews were conducted among 1,251 adults.
The overall margin of sampling error for the poll was +/- 3.7 percentage points.
Chinese hackers strike again as 9th US telecoms company breached, White House says
The White House said Friday that a ninth U.S. telecommunications company has been hacked as part of a Chinese espionage campaign that gave the country’s officials access to private texts and phone conversations of Americans.
The Biden administration said earlier this month that at least eight telecommunications companies and dozens of nations had been impacted by the Chinese hacking operation known as Salt Typhoon.
On Friday, deputy national security adviser Anne Neuberger told reporters that a ninth victim had been identified after the administration released guidance to companies about how to locate Chinese hackers in their networks.
The hackers compromised the networks of telecommunications companies to gather customer call records and access the private communications of a limited number of people, officials said.
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The FBI has not publicly identified any of the victims, but officials believe senior U.S. government officials and prominent political figures are among the victims whose communications were accessed.
Neuberger said officials did not yet have a precise sense of how many Americans overall were targeted by Salt Typhoon, in part because the hackers were careful about their methods, but she said that a “large number” of the victims were in Washington, D.C., and Virginia.
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Officials said they believe the hackers wanted to identify who owned the devices and spy on their texts and phone calls if they were “government targets of interest,” Neuberger said.
Most of the victims are “primarily involved in government or political activity,” the FBI said.
Neuberger said the hacking showed the need for required cybersecurity practices in the telecommunications industry, which the Federal Communications Commission is set to look at during a meeting next month.
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She also said, without offering details, that the government was planning further action in the coming weeks in response to the hacking campaign, though she did not say what they were.
“We know that voluntary cybersecurity practices are inadequate to protect against China, Russia and Iran hacking of our critical infrastructure,” she said.
The Chinese government has denied responsibility for the hacking campaign.
Winning ticket for $1.22B Mega Millions drawing sold — the fifth largest prize in history
The Mega Millions’ estimated $1.22 billion jackpot was won in Friday night’s drawing, with the winning ticket purchased in California.
The winning numbers drawn on Tuesday were 3, 7, 37, 49, 55 with a gold Mega Ball of 6. The Megaplier was 3X.
The grand prize in Friday’s drawing was the fifth-largest prize in the game’s history.
In addition to the jackpot, four players — two in California and one each in Arizona, Missouri and Texas — matched all five white balls to win $1 million.
LOTTERY JACKPOT CROSSES $1 BILLION
The estimated $1.22 billion grand prize carries a one-time cash payout option of $549.7 million.
Winners typically select the cash prize rather than the annuity paid out as one immediate payment followed by 29 annual payments.
The odds of winning the grand prize are 1 in 302,575,350.
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Before Friday’s drawing, the Mega Millions jackpot was last won on September 10, when a player in Texas matched all six numbers to take home the $810 million prize, which is the eighth-largest jackpot in the game’s history.
The record Mega Millions jackpot of $1.602 billion was won in Florida on Aug. 8, 2023. That prize is the world’s third-largest lottery ever won on a single ticket, just behind two Powerball winning tickets of $2.04 billion and $1.765 billion, both of which were won in California in 2022 and 2023, respectively.
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The next drawing will be held on Tuesday, when players will attempt to win the estimated $20 million grand prize, which carries a cash option of $9 million.
Mega Millions is played in 45 states as well as Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The deadline for purchasing a ticket is 9:45 p.m. on the night of the Tuesday and Friday draws.
‘Scathing ruling’ favoring Jay-Z’s accuser sends powerful message to lawyers: expert
Jay-Z’s latest moves in his legal case against an anonymous woman drew a “scathing ruling” after he demanded a judge order the victim be publicly identified.
Jay-Z’s lawyers filed multiple court documents after the rapper was added to a lawsuit accusing him and Sean “Diddy” Combs of raping a 13-year-old girl at a 2000 VMAs after-party. However, the “bare-knuckle litigation” strategy used was met with a “bench slap” by New York Judge Analisa Torres, according to experts.
“Jay-Z’s lawyer, Alex Spiro of Quinn Emanuel, went too far in filing motion after motion and attacking the alleged victim and [her attorney] Tony Buzbee, though,” former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani explained to Fox News Digital. “We call a scathing ruling like that a ‘bench slap.’
“When a judge publicly chastises a lawyer like that, it is embarrassing professionally and sends a message that bare-knuckle litigation tactics won’t be tolerated simply because you’re at a white-shoe firm and representing a rich and powerful celebrity. Spiro is going to have to recalibrate his approach and take a more nuanced, professional tone in his court filings.”
JAY-Z’S SEXUAL ASSAULT ACCUSER CAN REMAIN ANONYMOUS FOR NOW: JUDGE
Torres ruled Jane Doe could remain anonymous for now but reserved the right to revisit the decision at a future date in court documents filed Thursday. The judge took the time to call out Spiro’s previous motions.
“(Jay-Z’s) lawyer’s relentless filing of combative motions containing inflammatory language and ad hominem attacks is inappropriate, a waste of judicial resources, and a tactic unlikely to benefit his client,” she wrote. “The Court will not fast-track the judicial process merely because counsel demands it.”
Courts typically “disfavor” repeated filings and “outright demands,” according to Orange County criminal defense lawyer Lauren Johnson-Norris.
“Court pleadings are no place for inflammatory language, and courts disfavor repeated filings and outright demands,” Johnson-Norris told Fox News Digital. “Spiro is likely responding this way at the behest of his client, but that is why lawyers need to operate the way they are trained and with professionalism.
“It can be difficult to manage a celebrity client and their demands, but, as the judge noted, this is not in the client’s interest. It may do more harm than good. Whether Spiro changes his approach may depend on what boundaries he is willing to set with his client, but I expect he will tone it down.”
READ THE RULING:
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At this “exceedingly early stage” of Jay-Z and Diddy’s case, Judge Torres noted the victim’s privacy interests outweigh the public’s interest. The judge did note in the Dec. 26 order that “the balance of these factors will certainly shift.”
“The federal rules don’t automatically allow victims of sexual assault or abuse to remain anonymous, like many states,” Rahmani explained. “The judge has to balance the plaintiff victim’s privacy interests with the defendant and public’s interest in disclosure. Practically, some victims may not want to identify themselves in a very public lawsuit, so Combs and Jay-Z’s lawyers have tried to ‘out’ the victims to discourage them and others who haven’t filed from moving forward.
“This is part and parcel of the defense’s very aggressive strategy in attacking these allegations and the adage that the best defense is a good offense.”
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Torres’ ruling is “not uncommon” when it comes to sexual assault cases involving a minor.
“As mentioned in the ruling, sexual assault cases are highly personal and put the plaintiffs in a position of vulnerability, especially given the power dynamics and media attention of those involving celebrities,” top Los Angeles litigator John J. Perlstein explained to Fox News Digital.
“Given the plaintiff’s depression and PTSD, the judge’s ruling is in the interest of protecting the plaintiff from suffering further damages.”
However, disclosure of the victim’s identity will be “inevitable,” he noted.
“The plaintiff’s anonymity will make it harder for the defense team to collect evidence needed during discovery phases,” Perlstein explained. “As [the] judge noted, at some point the need for information will trump the anonymity, and disclosure of identity will be inevitable.”
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Jay-Z was added to Jane Doe’s lawsuit against Combs Dec. 8. The amended complaint named the rap mogul as “Celebrity A,” who was mentioned in the original complaint filed in October.
The new version of the lawsuit says the 13-year-old became disoriented and found a bedroom to rest after allegedly consuming one drink at a VMAs after-party. Jay-Z, Diddy and female “Celebrity B” seemingly followed the girl into the room. She “immediately recognized all three celebrities,” according to court documents obtained by Fox News Digital. Jay-Z allegedly raped the girl, followed by Diddy’s alleged rape of the plaintiff, all while “Celebrity B” watched, the lawsuit stated.
The “Empire State of Mind” rapper vehemently denied the allegations in a statement shared on Roc Nation’s social media.
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“These allegations are so heinous in nature that I implore you to file a criminal complaint, not a civil one!! Whomever would commit such a crime against a minor should be locked away, would you not agree? These alleged victims would deserve real justice if that were the case,” Jay-Z wrote.
Diddy has also denied the allegations against him.
‘Miracle therapy’ offers life-changing hope for parents fighting to save their children
Renowned visionary English physician William Harvey wrote in 1651 about how our blood contains all the secrets of life.
“And so I conclude that blood lives and is nourished of itself and in no way depends on any other part of the body as being prior to it or more excellent,” he wrote. “So that from this we may perceive the causes not only of life in general … but also of longer or shorter life, of sleeping and waking, of skill, of strength and so forth.”
Dr. Kevin Watt, team leader of the Heart Regeneration and Disease Laboratory at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) in Melbourne, Australia, understands this concept deeply.
STEM CELL RESEARCH SHOWING NEW POSSIBILITIES FOR TREATING INFANT HEART DISEASE
He lives it every day, as he and his fellow researchers study and reprogram the potential of the blood to treat disease, specifically heart failure in children.
Building on the work of Dr. Shinya Yamanaka of Japan, who discovered that specialized cells could be reprogrammed back to immature stem cells, Watt and his collaborators have taken this work several steps further.
They have used small molecules to turn these new stem cells from the blood into heart cells.
Small heart organoids are developed in the lab — which can then be injected into the failing hearts of children.
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Relying on the philanthropic support of the Murdoch Institute, the work is progressing rapidly and has been shown to be effective already in mice, pigs and sheep.
“The vision of our research is to develop new therapies that can transform the lives of children with heart failure.”
Clinical trials in humans will be starting soon, and as Dr. Watt told me in an interview from Australia, “Large sheets of heart tissue will be stitched into the failing heart.”
Congenital heart failure as well as side effects of chemotherapy in children will be targets for this miracle therapy. Millions of children around the world suffer daily from these conditions.
Watt said that certain chemotherapy (anthracyclines) have a higher risk of heart failure – up to 15% of the time – and this treatment may be useful to protect the heart.
Watt said, “Heart failure remains an urgent, unmet clinical challenge across the world. While we have made significant advances over several decades in managing the disease, we lack targeted therapies to treat these devastating conditions.”
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He added, “More than 500,000 children around the world live with advanced heart failure that requires transplantation. The vision of our research is to develop new therapies that can transform the lives of children with heart failure.”
To achieve this, he said, “we use a technology called induced pluripotent stem cells, where we can convert blood or skin cells of patients with heart failure into stem cells that we then turn into heart cells … or even make engineered heart tissues that can be stitched onto the patient’s heart to help it pump.”
The cells that are targeted in the blood are known as peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs).
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They are “pushed back in time to an earlier time before they became differentiated into heart or kidney cells,” he said.
Then they can be pushed forward to become healthy heart cells or mutations — or other abnormalities can be corrected.
While the team at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute is making heart cells from stem cells in the blood for clinical use, it’s also using these stem cells to figure out new drugs to treat heart failure directly.
Said Watt, “Using stem cells from patients with heart failure caused by chemo, we are actively developing new drugs and cell-based treatments that we believe will transform the lives of patients with these conditions … Our research group has pioneered methods to turn these stem cells into miniature heart tissues that can be used to model disease-in-a-dish, to identify new drug targets for the development of new therapies.”
These treatments are personalized and highly expensive, but they’re also highly effective.
Correcting heart failure in young children is only a few years away from becoming a reality.
It’s a Christmas miracle that relies on the kind of philanthropic support that MCRI is famous for arranging.
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“Philanthropic support plays a critical role in accelerating the development of these new, transformative treatments,” said Watt, “and this support will be essential as we work toward bringing stem cell-based precision therapies for heart failure to every child who needs it.”
Visit go.fox/MCRI to donate or to learn more about MCRI’s important research.