Trump admin scores win as it looks to ramp up deportation efforts
A federal judge has ruled against the Denver public schools system’s attempts to block immigration officials from carrying out raids on school grounds, marking a win for the Trump administration as it looks to ramp up its deportation efforts.
U.S. District Judge Daniel Domenico said Denver Public Schools failed to prove that a recent drop in student attendance at schools was due to the Trump administration reversing a 2021 Biden-era policy of protecting schools — and other sensitive areas like churches — from ICE raids. There are currently more than 1.4 million individuals on ICE’s final order of removal docket.
Denver Public Schools filed a federal lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem for reversing the policy, claiming the district was “hindered in fulfilling its mission” to students who didn’t turn up to school for fear of immigration enforcement.
Denver Public Schools had sought a preliminary injunction barring the federal government from making arrests at sensitive locations, which was denied. Domenico also denied a request that he grant a nationwide preliminary injunction forcing immigration officials to revert to the 2021 guidance.
COLORADO SCHOOL DISTRICT FIRST IN COUNTRY TO SUE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION OVER FEARS OF ICE RAIDS ON CAMPUSES
Besides a drop in attendance, Denver Public Schools said it had to divert resources to respond to fear among students and families over the lifting of longtime rules.
The school system also argued that rescinding the policy had caused schools to devote time and resources to teaching students and staff how to remain safe from immigration enforcement. Denver Public Schools has trained staff on how to handle ICE officers if they show up at school, telling them to deny agents entry if they don’t have a warrant signed by a judge.
Domenico, a Trump appointee and Colorado’s former solicitor general, said that it wasn’t clear how much of the fear surrounding possible enforcement actions in schools was really due to the new rules as opposed to broader concerns of increased immigration actions.
He also pointed out that Denver Public Schools had not yet experienced any raids and noted that the head of ICE also issued a directive to its officers that immigration arrests at sensitive places still had to be approved by supervisors.
The fear over the new rules, as well as the belief that the old rules provided protection to schools, both seem to be “overstated,” Domenico said.
It wasn’t clear how much of the fear surrounding possible enforcement actions in schools was really due to the new rules as opposed to broader concerns of increased immigration actions, he said.
Denver Public Schools issued a statement expressing disappointment with the ruling, while asserting that its lawsuit was successful in making public details of the Trump administration rules.
The lawsuit was brought by the school district, not the city of Denver, which is a sanctuary city. The lawsuit stated that there were more than 90,000 students in the Denver Public Schools system during the 2023-2024 school year, and approximately 4,000 were immigrants.
COLORADO COUNCILWOMAN ENCOURAGES PEOPLE TO ‘REPORT’ ICE ACTIVITY TO HELP ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS AVOID CAPTURE
The ruling came just days after Denver Mayor Mike Johnston and the Democratic leaders of other cities were grilled by Republican members of Congress about their so-called sanctuary city policies that they see as undermining Trump’s immigration and mass deportation efforts, as well as making such cities more dangerous.
Since Jan. 20, ICE has arrested and deported thousands of people in the U.S. illegally – most of them being criminals with convictions in the U.S. or their home countries.
Denver has seen a massive population jump in recent years as the city predicts nearly 43,000 people have arrived in the area from the southern border, the lawsuit said.
The ruling also comes as the Trump administration has restarted the detention of illegal alien families that have deportation orders.
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Parents are now being detained, including with their children, at two ICE facilities in Texas. These are families who have already had their cases heard and have been ordered removed.
Fox News is told ICE is now actively going into the interior of the U.S. and arresting migrant families that crossed the border illegally in years prior and have been ordered deported from the U.S. by a Justice Department immigration judge. This is known as a final order of removal, of which there are currently more than 1.4 million individuals on ICE’s docket.
Border Patrol data shows more than 2 million migrant family units were apprehended while crossing the southern border illegally during the Biden administration.
Dems confronted on Capitol Hill: ‘What could Trump do to make you clap?’
Democratic lawmakers faced criticism this week for their behavior during President Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress. Their protests, refusal to clap at key moments, and subsequent comments drew criticism from Republicans and from some in their own party.
“Jesse Watters Primetime” producer Johnny Belisario traveled to Capitol Hill to track down Democratic lawmakers and ask why they refused to stand and clap for the nonpartisan moments in the address.
“You didn’t stand up for anything,” Belisario noted to New Jersey Senator Cory Booker.
“The president got before the American people and didn’t talk about how he could drive down grocery prices,” Booker responded.
Other Democratic lawmakers expressed frustration that Trump failed to address issues they felt were important.
When asked why she didn’t applaud for certain guests at the speech, including the mother of slain Georgia nursing student Laken Riley, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren refused to answer.
“I did clap, when he said that the United States has supported Ukraine,” Warren said.
However, when pressed on why she did not clap for Riley’s mother, she declined to respond.
MORE THAN 10.7 MILLION VIEWERS CHOSE FOX NEWS TO WATCH TRUMP ADDRESS TO CONGRESS, TROUNCING ALL NETWORKS
Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman acknowledged that some Democratic protests during the speech may not have been well-received.
“I don’t think that was the best look for our party last night,” he admitted.
In addition to Riley’s family, Trump also honored a 13-year-old brain cancer survivor with a Secret Service badge, applauded first lady Melania Trump’s work against deepfake and revenge porn and announced a high school student’s acceptance into West Point. The moments did not trigger standing ovations from Democrats.
MODERATES REVEAL WHY THEY DIDN’T JOIN FELLOW DEMS TO CENSURE AL GREEN
One of the most notable moments of the evening came when Texas Congressman Al Green was removed from the chamber following an outburst on the House floor. His actions led to a censure by House lawmakers, with 10 Democrats joining Republicans to vote for the punishment.
Belisario went to Green’s office, but said he was “shooed away” by staff. He also could not locate Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., but added a note to her office door.
Beyond vocal protests, some Democrats engaged in more subtle forms of dissent during the speech. Lawmakers held up paddles with messages criticizing Trump’s policies, including signs reading “Save Medicaid” and “Musk Steals.”
Even late-night host Stephen Colbert, whose show often aligns with liberal viewpoints, mocked the paddle protest, holding up his own sign that read, “Try doing something.”
DEMOCRATS PRIVATELY REBUKE PARTY MEMBERS WHO JEERED TRUMP DURING SPEECH TO CONGRESS: REPORT
California Rep. Adam Schiff dismissed the president’s speech entirely, declining to comment on the lack of applause for Riley’s mother.
“There was nothing the president had to say that was either factual or truthful,” Schiff said.
Meanwhile, a CBS News survey found that 76% of viewers, who were primarily Republican, approved of Trump’s speech, citing his focus on reducing government waste, imposing tariffs, and securing the border.
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When asked about the survey results, Schiff remained skeptical.
“I don’t know what speech they were watching…it really wasn’t worth watching,” he said.
Belisario tracked down Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., as she walked to an elevator.
“You need to get away from me,” the congresswoman told him, as the door shut.
Supreme Court’s USAID move has a surprise benefit for Trump
Opponents of President Donald Trump’s USAID spending freeze will take cheer from the Supreme Court’s refusal to intervene this week. But there is less cause for celebration than they claim. The Justices’ decision to allow a trial judge’s order resuming spending to proceed is merely the first procedural skirmish in a larger constitutional battle that will return to the Court. In the meantime, Trump’s campaign to restore executive energy will still play out with the home field advantage created by the Constitution itself.
In Department of State v. Aids Vaccine Advocacy Coalition, a D.C. federal trial judge issued an order forcing the administration to release about $2 billion to American-based humanitarian aid groups. Upon taking office, Trump ordered a 90-day freeze of foreign aid to determine that the grants remained effective and legitimate, properly disbursed, and in U.S. foreign policy and national security interests. Judge Amir Ali, just confirmed by the Senate to the D.C. federal district court in President Joe Biden’s lame duck period, took an extraordinary measure: he issued a temporary restraining order requiring payment at least for work allegedly already completed by the aid groups.
When the federal appeals court could not figure out whether to stop Judge Ali, Chief Justice John Roberts temporarily put the order on hold last week. But this temporary halt proved exactly that – a 5-4 majority of the Court on Wednesday decided to allow Ali’s order to stand. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett unexpectedly joined Justice Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ketanji Brown Jackson, but wrote no opinion, which is often the case in these procedural skirmishes.
SCOTUS RULES ON NEARLY $2B IN FROZEN USAID PAYMENTS
Justice Samuel Alito, joined by Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh, issued a blistering dissent that argued that Judge Amir has no power to order the restraining order and, indeed, no authority to force the executive branch to spend the funds.
As he wrote: “Does a single district-court judge who likely lacks jurisdiction have the unchecked power to compel the Government of the United States to pay out (and probably lose forever) 2 billion taxpayer dollars? The answer to that question should be an emphatic ‘No,’ but a majority of this Court apparently thinks otherwise. I am stunned.”
Justice Alito’s dissent expertly skewers Judge Amir’s effort to shield his shenanigans from higher review and his clear abuse of power in ordering the executive branch to resume payments. The best defense for the votes of Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Barrett is that they want to see how the case plays out in the lower courts before choosing the right moment for Supreme Court intervention.
Eventually, however, the larger constitutional issue raised by the case will have to return to the Supreme Court. Trump is attempting to revive the president’s constitutional authority to refuse to spend funds in discrete categories. The first and most obvious is that Congress cannot order the president to use money unconstitutionally. Congress could not require the President to build bridges employing only white workers.
The second category at issue – on point with USAID – is that Congress cannot force presidents to spend funds that interfere with U.S. national security and foreign policy. The Constitution vests the nation’s leadership on those issues, as the courts have recognized, in the executive branch.
Congress cannot use its funding power to subvert the Constitution’s separation of powers; presidents have long refused to spend funds that do so. Thomas Jefferson, for example, refused to construct gunboats on the Mississippi River, as ordered by Congress, because they could have unnecessarily provoked Napoleon, with whom he was at that moment negotiating to purchase Louisiana. Presidents Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower regularly refused to spend funds on unneeded weapons systems and military units.
US JUDGE ORDERS TRUMP ADMIN TO PAY PORTION OF $2B IN FOREIGN AID BY MONDAY
A third category is that presidents have some discretion to reduce spending for efficiency and effectiveness. The Constitution places on presidents alone the responsibility to “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.” Executing this duty may give the president the ability to achieve Congress’s spending directives while also saving money and adapting to new circumstances. Suppose Congress appropriated $100 million to build a difficult set of dams, but because of engineering advances and favorable labor market conditions, the executive branch can complete the project for $50 million and return the savings to the Treasury.
To force presidents to waste money and maintain inferior government operations deprives the American people of the very virtues of having a president in the first place. The founders created the presidency so that a single man could act with “decision, activity, secrecy and dispatch,” as Hamilton wrote in Federalist No. 70. Hamilton argued that the single president would bring “energy in the executive,” the very “definition of good government.” The new nation’s leaders had seen the failures wrought by committee government during the Revolutionary War and were eager to restore effective executive government.
In the wake of Watergate, Congress sought to end presidential ability to stop wasteful spending. In the Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, Congress forbade presidents from fully spending all appropriations unless Congress approves. Congress rejected the decades of presidential practice from Jefferson through Nixon, nor did it recognize any exceptions for unconstitutional spending or interference with foreign policy and national security. While observers claim that a Supreme Court case, Train v. New York (1975), upheld the Act, it expressly did not. Train addressed a different law where Congress had ordered the EPA to spend specific amounts on water projects; the Court did not even mention the Impoundment Control Act. Although presidents from Ford through Biden have generally obeyed the Act, Congress’s ability to reduce the president’s impoundment authority remains an open constitutional question.
USAID HEAD PETER MAROCCO TELLS LAWMAKERS HE’S EYEING POTENTIAL CRIMINAL CHARGES FOR FOREIGN AID FRAUD: REPORT
Department of State v. Aids Vaccine Advocacy Coalition could become the Supreme Court case that provides the answer to the impoundment debate. It will become part of the broader challenges to President Trump’s efforts to remake the executive branch by reducing the federal workforce, shuttering offices, and narrowing federal interference in the economy and society.
It will be of a piece with the Trump administration’s campaign to exercise unitary control over all agencies within the executive branch. Even as challenges to the spending freeze move forward in the lower courts, Trump’s Justice Department is also defending the president’s authority to fire the heads of the so-called “independent agencies.” These agencies exercise sweeping authority over the economy and society: the SEC regulates the stock and bond markets; the NLRB controls public and private sector unions; the FCC the telephone, television, cable, radio, and internet networks; the FTC reviews every merger in the nation. President Trump has removed an NLRB commissioner and some insignificant officers who oversee federal employees – but without recognizing Congress’s demand that they be fired only for cause, such as abuse of power or breaking the law.
Constitutional theories concerning impoundment and agency control trace to the same source. Unlike its careful enumeration of the limited powers of Congress, the Constitution does not list the authorities of the executive branch. Narrowly read, Article II of the Constitution does not event grant the president the right to fire cabinet officers, only to appoint them with the advice and consent of the Senate. It does not explicitly require that those cabinet officers, or any inferior officers or employees even obey presidential commands. It does not explicitly give the president the power to set foreign policy or protect the national security.
But from the very beginning of the Constitution, the founders read the document to vest the power in the president to control the executive branch and to exercise the great authorities to enforce the law and to protect the nation.
Alexander Hamilton first explained the “unitary executive” theory during the fight over George Washington’s Neutrality Proclamation, which kept the U.S. out of the beginnings of what would become the Napoleonic Wars. Hamilton observed that Article II of the Constitution, which begins by vesting in the president “the executive power,” grants in him all executive powers of the federal government – except those the Constitution explicitly shares, such as over appointments or treaties.
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As Justice Antonin Scalia would put it in his famous dissent in Morrison v. Olson(1988), the Article II vesting clause “does not mean some of the executive power, but all of the executive power.”
From this basic insight, presidential power – especially the sort claimed by Trump in his fights over spending and removal – flows. The President cannot control the execution of federal law, as the Take Care Clause requires, if any inferior officer or even employee can choose to adopt his personal interpretation of the law or pursue her personal enforcement agenda.
The president’s constitutional responsibility to see that the law is faithfully executed gives command over all executive branch personnel, from cabinet officials and heads of federal agencies on down. The Supreme Court agreed as long ago as Myers v. United States in 1926 (authored by former President Chief Justice William Howard Taft) and as recently as Seila Law v. CFPB in 2020 (authored by Chief Justice John Roberts) that this authority gives the president the authority to fire Senate-confirmed officers, including those who, by statute, are given protection from removal. One precedent, Humphrey’s Executorfrom 1935, still allows Congress to shield from presidential control the multi-member commissions, but the logic of the Roberts Court’s decisions sounds the death-knell for that lonely constitutional anomaly.
Trump’s effort to rein in USAID spending draws from this same wellspring of executive authority. Even though the Constitution does not locate a power over foreign policy and national security, the fight over Washington’s Neutrality Proclamation forever established in our political order that the function is rooted in the grant of the executive power in the president. Nothing could more demand the qualities of speed, decision, and energy, in Hamilton’s words, than foreign policy and national security. The last thing the Framers would have expected would be for disputes over our nation’s most foreign policy struggles to end up in the courts.
Trump’s opponents display their political weakness by rushing to the courts to resolve fights over spending and removal. The Constitution instead establishes Congress as the branch best suited to respond to a president who has over-used his powers. Congress can cut off funds, refuse to confirm officers, decline to pass legislation, and ultimately impeach a Chief Executive who refuses to enforce the law or carry out legitimate spending programs. Because Democrats have lost the national elections, they cannot face that there is actually no constitutional conflict between Congress and the president.
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A Republican Congress agrees with President Trump’s effort to downsize the federal government, reduce spending, and shrink the workforce.
The Supreme Court would be wise to remember that the courts have little authority to interfere with the president’s control of the executive branch and his setting of foreign and national security policy.
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US city sees major boost in housing market as Americans flock to area
A city in southeastern Tennessee is drawing in homebuyers.
That city is Chattanooga and, according to The Agency Chattanooga Managing Partner Becky Cope English, its real estate market is gradually getting hotter.
Chattanooga sits not far from the Tennessee-Georgia border and is home to some 187,000 residents, per the U.S. Census Bureau.
There were over 10,300 home sales closed in the area in 2024, according to Greater Chattanooga Realtors.
English noted Chattanooga saw a “little bit of a dip” last year but added that the market was “right in line with what I would call a more normal market” after previous years during COVID being “so much greater than the others.”
PALM BEACH, THE WALL STREET OF THE SOUTH, HAS A HOT LUXURY REAL ESTATE MARKET
She attributed that to the impact of interest rates on buyers. The rate for 30-year fixed mortgages averaged 6.9% in 2024, according to Bankrate.
“I feel like the election is behind us. I believe that consumer confidence is increasing,” English told FOX Business. “This is not meant to be a political statement at all, but when we have businesses and with less regulation, we tend to have an uptick in confidence. Businesses tend to start becoming more profitable, they’re doing more business so to speak and they’re hiring, and with hiring, you have more people moving from one job to the next. So I do think that we expect 2025 and 2026 to be strong years, especially in our market, but that’s probably going to affect the rest of the country as well.”
The Agency Chattanooga expects the area to see “some of our best years” in 2025 and especially 2026, according to English.
There is a lot of interest in Chattanooga and Tennessee overall thanks to multiple factors, she said.
“From the standpoint of where we are climate-wise, we have the seasons. We’ve got the scenery where we can get to the Gulf in six, six-and-a-half hours … and that makes us a very popular destination as well, not to mention close to Atlanta, Nashville, Knoxville and Asheville, North Carolina,” English told FOX Business.
Chattanooga and the state of Tennessee have “worked very hard to be the state where industry and businesses and entrepreneurs want to live and work and play,” according to The Agency Chattanooga managing partner.
WASHINGTON DC GETS ‘TRUMP BUMP’ IN LUXURY HOME MARKET
The state has “done very well to make this very tax-friendly,” she said, noting Tennessee “only has sales tax.” It does not levy a state income tax on residents.
The lower cost-of-living in comparison to other parts of the country has played a role – and so has the lifestyle the city provides, according to English.
“It is southern hospitality, and we are the Scenic City, and it is beautiful,” she said. “We have rivers, lakes, creeks and streams. We have the mountain, we’re on the southern part of the Cumberland Plateau, so we are just a naturally beautiful and blessed area because of our topography, so that means outdoor recreation.”
Chattanooga offers rock climbing, biking, hiking, white-water rafting and a slew of other outdoor activities, according to Visit Chattanooga.
The city also holds free musical festivals called “Block Parties” weekly between Memorial Day and Labor Day, English said, adding that Chattanooga is “just brimming with things to do.”
Chattanooga currently has about 2,800 residential properties on the market. Inventory in the area has “slowly, steadily increasing every single month” and is “getting back to what I would call normal inventory,” English said.
Homes sold in the Chattanooga area sold for $330,000 on average in January, according to the Greater Chattanooga Realtors. English projected that would go up 2-3% throughout the year.
In January, Chattanooga had nearly 560 closed sales and almost 790 pending sales.
Chattanooga’s real estate market has “always been strong and steady,” averaging an increase of 3% per year, according to English.
Looking ahead, she forecasted that the area was “looking at about a 3% increase” in 2025, with expectations that it will be stronger than that in the following year.
“Perhaps that’s because interest rates will have come down a bit more,” she said. “I think inflation will be, hopefully, a little more under control, and the consumer confidence will increase.”
BOZEMAN, MONTANA HOME TO A BOOMING REAL ESTATE MARKET
Mortgage rates will hit 6.5% by the end of 2025, the Fannie Mae Economic and Strategic Research Group predicted late January. By the end of 2026, they could be 6.3%.
Confidence is what has been holding the market back but “if everybody starts to take the steps in the right direction of ‘we feel confident and we’re going to get back into the market,’ we will all see a lot of things happen that are going to be positive,” according to English. That, she said, will cause “a lot of things to happen that are going to be very positive and that also will help what we all wrestle with, which is affordability.”
Space Force’s mysterious X-37B plane returns to Earth after 434 days in orbit
The United States Space Force’s secretive X-37B space plane touched down to earth on Friday after spending 434 days in orbit conducting mysterious tests.
The unmanned Boeing-made aircraft landed at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 2:22 a.m. EST having “broke new ground” by completing a range of test and experimentation objectives, the USSF said in a statement.
The space plane was launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida by SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy Rocket in 2023 in what was its seventh mission. The aircraft is solar-powered, reusable and operated remotely. Space.com noted that most of its payloads remain classified.
AIR FORCE’S MYSTERIOUS X-37B SPACE PLANE RETURNS TO EARTH AFTER RECORD-BREAKING 780 DAYS IN ORBIT
Space Force said the tests while in a highly elliptical orbit demonstrated the aircraft’s “robust maneuver capability.”
The technique involves using the drag caused by the Earth’s atmosphere to change its orbit more efficiently while expending minimal fuel, Sopace Force said.
While in orbit, Mission 7 tested “space domain awareness technology experiments” that aim to improve the United States Space Force’s knowledge of the space environment, the agency said.
After aerobraking to a low earth orbit and completing its test and experimentation objectives, Mission 7 successfully performed its deorbit and landing procedures.
SECRETIVE US SPACE FORCE PLANE SHARES RARE PHOTO OF EARTH FROM ORBIT
“Mission 7 broke new ground by showcasing the X-37B’s ability to flexibly accomplish its test and experimentation objectives across orbital regimes.” Gen. Chance Saltzman, chief of space operations at Space Force, said in a statement.
“The successful execution of the aerobraking maneuver underscores Space Force’s commitment to pushing the bounds of novel space operations in a safe and responsible manner.”
Space Force shared several images of the aircraft after it touched down. In one image, a group of people in hazmat-like suits approach the secretive plane.
Lt. Col. Blaine Stewart, the X-37B program director, said that the mission marked a significant milestone in the ongoing development of the agency’s dynamic mission capability.
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“Mission 7’s operation in a new orbital regime, its novel aerobraking maneuver, and its testing of space domain awareness experiments have written an exciting new chapter in the X-37B program,” Steward said.
Last month, Space Force shared a rare image of Earth while conducting experiments.
Dem lawmaker arrested for DUI fails sobriety test with wife asleep in backseat
A Democratic lawmaker was caught on a police body camera after allegedly driving impaired, and authorities noted the Connecticut state representative’s eyes were “red and glossy.”
Rep. Aundré Bumgardner, a Democrat serving in the Connecticut House of Representatives, was arrested Sunday morning and charged with operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol and reckless driving, according to a police report obtained by Fox News Digital.
Fox News Digital reached out to Bumgardner’s office for comment.
“Last night, I was cited for operating a motor vehicle while under the influence,” Bumgardner said in a statement Monday. “I take full responsibility for my actions and deeply regret this mistake. I am grateful that no one was harmed and that no accident occurred.”
WATCH: DEMOCRAT STATE SENATOR HANDCUFFED AFTER REFUSING TO SHOW DRIVER’S LICENSE AT TRAFFIC STOP
Bumgardner, 30, initially told officers he had “struck something” in the road and was returning home from an “event” with constituents, according to the report.
Authorities noted one of his vehicle’s front tires was flat and “barely staying on the rim,” and Bumgardner’s eyes were “red and glossy” with a “strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from his breath as he spoke.”
The report noted Bumgardner “appeared to be very nervous,” “had a slight slur in his speech” and initially denied having anything to drink when questioned.
Body camera footage of the incident, obtained by Fox News Digital, shows Bumgardner repeatedly failing multiple roadside sobriety tests as a woman, later identified by authorities as his wife, was asleep in the backseat of the car.
Bumgardner can be seen in the footage stumbling as he is unable to follow the officer’s instructions throughout the tests. The report states Bumgardner made four attempts to complete a standard “walk and turn” test and did not pass.
STATE SENATOR PUSHED TO THE GROUND, ARRESTED WHILE TRYING TO ENTER GEORGIA HOUSE CHAMBER
After multiple failed attempts at completing an exercise that required Bumgardner to stand on one foot, he can be heard telling the officer, “I’m sorry sir. I’m not much of a balancer.”
SEE IT: Body camera footage shows Bumgardner at a Connecticut police station after his arrest
Bumgardner was placed under arrest, handcuffed and transported to the Groton Police Department, where he contacted his attorney. Officers took Bumgardner’s wife, who had slept through the encounter, home.
During the booking process, Bumgardner pointed at the officer’s body camera, saying “it felt very invasive to him” and appeared to be evasive when asked to sign paperwork informing him of his rights, according to the report.
Bumgardner’s license was revoked for 24 hours, and he was released after being ordered to appear in court next week.
STATE LAWMAKER HAS HOUSE CHAMBER BAN REVOKED AFTER VIRAL SCUFFLE LEFT HIM HOSPITALIZED
Bumgardner has been removed from his leadership positions and committee assignments “until further notice,” State Rep. Matt Ritter, the speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives, confirmed to Fox News Digital.
“I am disappointed and disheartened after hearing of Rep. Bumgardner’s arrest for driving under the influence,” Ritter said in a statement. “I have spoken with Aundré, and he understands that he must take full responsibility and work every day to win back the trust of his constituents and colleagues. Aundré is a dedicated and compassionate young man, and it is clear from talking to him that he is owning this very serious mistake.”
Bumgardner was re-elected to the House in 2022 and serves as the assistant majority leader of the House Democratic caucus. He’s also a member of the Finance, Environment, Energy and Transportation committees.
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“I recognize the seriousness of this situation and am committed to taking the necessary steps to ensure it never happens again,” Bumgardner said. “To my family, friends, colleagues, and the residents of the 41st District, whom I am honored to serve, I sincerely apologize for my actions and the disappointment I have caused.”
Gene Hackman’s final days with wife revealed as authorities lay out timeline of couple’s deaths
Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa Hackman’s last few days were retraced by New Mexico authorities as they worked backward to solve the mystery of their deaths.
On Friday, officials revealed Gene’s cause of death was hypertensive atherosclerosis cardiovascular disease, with Alzheimer’s disease as a significant contributing factor. Betsy died of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a disease transmitted from animals to humans that is commonly found in rodents, the New Mexico Department of Health confirmed.
Betsy’s autopsy determined the manner of death as natural, and authorities believe Betsy died on about Feb. 11. Gene was likely alone in their Santa Fe home for about a week until he died around Feb. 18, the last day activity was recorded on his pacemaker.
During a news conference Friday, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza walked through what investigators had pieced together of Gene and Betsy’s final days before their deaths.
GENE HACKMAN DIED OF HEART DISEASE, ABOUT ONE WEEK AFTER WIFE DIED OF HANTAVIRUS: INVESTIGATORS
Feb. 9 — Veterinary visit
During the investigation, officers discovered Betsy had picked up their family dog, Zinna, from Gruda Veterinary Hospital in Santa Fe Feb. 9.
“There was a procedure that was done with the dog which may explain why the dog was in a crate,” Mendoza explained.
Feb. 11 — “The last time that she was known to be alive”
Detectives discovered email communications between Betsy and her massage therapist from 11:21 a.m. Feb. 11.
GENE HACKMAN DEATH: COMPLETE COVERAGE
“Moving on into the afternoon, Ms. Arakawa was at the Sprouts farmers market between 3:30 and 4:15 p.m.,” Mendoza said. From there, surveillance video captured Betsy at the local CVS Pharmacy at around 4:20 p.m.
She made one final stop at a pet food store at about 4:54 p.m. before returning home. Mendoza noted that a control clicker assigned to her vehicle was used to enter her gated community at 5:15 p.m.
Numerous emails received Feb. 11 remained unopened on her computer.
“There was no additional outgoing communication from her, or known activity, after Feb. 11, 2025,” Mendoza said. “The cellphone information and the cell phone data is pending.”
Feb. 17 — Pacemaker activity
Mendoza previously confirmed that the last recorded activity on Hackman’s pacemaker occurred Feb. 17. Authorities assumed this was Gene’s last day alive, and the Oscar winner’s body was not discovered for nine more days.
WATCH: BETSY ARAKAWA HACKMAN VISITED SANTA FE SPROUTS LOCATION BEFORE HER DEATH
“According to the pathologist, I think that is a very good assumption that that was his last day of life,” Mendoza said at the time.
Feb. 18 — ‘Abnormal rhythm of atrial fibrillation’
Updated information recovered from Gene’s pacemaker indicated “abnormal rhythm of atrial fibrillation” Feb. 18.
GENE HACKMAN DEATH INVESTIGATION TIMELINE: DETECTIVES WORKING ‘BACKWARDS’ TO DETERMINE HOW COUPLE DIED
Chief Medical Investigator Dr. Heather Jarrell said it was “reasonable to conclude” Betsy died the week before Gene, with the actor’s death likely on Feb. 18.
“Based on the circumstances, it is reasonable to conclude that Miss Hackman passed away first, with Feb. 11 being the last time that she was known to be alive,” Jarrell said during the news conference.
WATCH: NEW MEXICO OFFICIALS CONFIRMED THE CAUSE OF GENE HACKMAN AND WIFE BETSY’S DEATHS
When asked if authorities believed the Oscar-winning actor was able to live on his own and survive after his wife died, Jarrell noted that the actor was in “a very poor state of health.”
“Mr. Hackman showed evidence of advanced Alzheimer’s disease,” Jarrell said. “I’m not aware of what his normal daily functioning capability was. He was in a very poor state of health, and he had significant heart disease. And I think ultimately that is what resulted in his, in his death.”
Feb. 26 — Bodies discovered
Gene and Betsy were found Feb. 26 by maintenance workers Jesse Kesler and Roland Lowe Begay. Kesler, who had worked as a personal contractor for the couple for 16 years, made a frantic 911 call.
Betsy was found on the floor in a bathroom of the couple’s home near a space heater, showing “obvious signs of death,” according to the search warrant affidavit. Gene’s body was discovered in the mudroom nearby. His cane and sunglasses were near his body.
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Officials revealed Betsy’s body was found decomposed with bloating in her face and mummification in her hands and feet. Gene was also found to have the same signs of decomposition as his wife.
LISTEN: GENE HACKMAN 911 CALL
Paul Mauro, a retired NYPD inspector and Fox News contributor, told Fox News Digital it appeared Santa Fe detectives were putting all their resources into solving Gene and Betsy’s case.
“I’m seeing a lot of work and resources going into this,” Mauro said. “Managing to pull data from a garage door opener is pretty deep. They’re going all out.”
He noted that pending cellphone data “could show if she was making doctor’s appointments” or provide further information about communication with friends about how she could have been feeling now knowing she had hantavirus.
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Hantavirus is characterized by “flu-like symptoms consisting of fever, muscle aches, cough, sometimes vomiting and diarrhea that can progress to shortness of breath and cardiac or heart failure and lung failure,” Jarrell explained during the news conference.
“A deep dive would likely track Gene’s descent,” he said. “When were his last coherent communications? Did he have full-on dementia? Did he try to call for help?”
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Mauro also mentioned that investigators are likely looking at motions that coincide with carrying a cellphone around the house.
“For instance, if Gene had his phone on him, you could track his moves after her death,” he said. “Phones will show when they last left the house, too.”