Michelle Obama reveals what Trump policy keeps her up at night with ‘fear’
Former first lady Michelle Obama expressed fear over President Donald Trump‘s immigration policies, saying they have kept her up at night.
“Now that we have leadership that is sort of indiscriminately determining who belongs and who doesn’t,” the former first lady said Monday during an appearance on the podcast “On Purpose with Jay Shetty,” adding that such deportation decisions “aren’t being made with courts and with due process.”
“I worry for people of color all over this country, and I don’t know that we will have the advocates to protect everybody,” she continued. “And that makes me … that frightens me. It keeps me up at night.”
“And I and I see that when I’m driving around LA. I’m just looking in the faces of folks who could be a victim and I’m wondering, how are you feeling, how do you feel standing on the bus stop,” she said.
Obama joined the podcast alongside her brother, Craig Robinson, and the pair discussed race and bias, as well as a host of other issues such as parenting and the siblings’ bond from childhood to adulthood. Obama did not cite Trump by name during her remarks on fear of his immigration policies but drew parallels between deportation efforts and the racism her brother faced as a child when a police officer reportedly accused him of stealing a bike at age 12.
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“In this current climate, for me it’s what’s happening to immigrants,” Obama said when asked about “recent tests of fear” related to individuals facing discrimination over the color of their skin.
Obama noted that the “fear” does not personally impact her as a former first lady who has police protection.
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“It’s not the fear for myself anymore,” she continued. “I drive around in a four-car motorcade with a police escort. I’m Michelle Obama. I do still worry about my daughters in the world, even though they are somewhat recognizable.”
“My fears are for what I know is happening out there in streets all over the city,” she added, referring to her hometown of Chicago.
Obama’s comments come as the Trump administration is in the midst of a massive deportation effort of illegal immigrants who flooded the nation under the Biden administration.
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The administration has deported more than 100,000 illegal immigrants since Trump took office, Fox News previously reported. An estimated 20 million illegal immigrants are still in the U.S., border czar Tom Homan said at a press briefing Monday.
Former President Barack Obama’s administration notably celebrated its own deportation efforts, particularly during his first term, including former Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano touting the “record-breaking immigration enforcement statistics achieved under the Obama administration—including unprecedented numbers of convicted criminal alien removals and overall alien removals in fiscal year 2010″ in a press release from that year.
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Under the Obama administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported more than 385,000 people each year during fiscal years 2009–2011. The rate increased in 2012 when 409,849 deportations were carried out, Fox Digital previously reported.
Melania Trump’s bill that only two members voted against heads to president’s desk
The House on Monday overwhelmingly passed a bill backed by first lady Melania Trump that cracks down on the posting of explicit images, including “deep fake” nudes generated of people by artificial intelligence, without consent.
The Tools to Address Known Exploitation by Immobilizing Technological Deepfakes on Websites and Networks – known as the TAKE IT DOWN Act – was approved by a 409-2 vote and now heads to President Donald Trump’s desk.
The measure “generally prohibits the nonconsensual online publication of intimate visual depictions of individuals, both authentic and computer-generated, and requires certain online platforms to promptly remove such depictions upon receiving notice of their existence,” according to the bill summary.
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It specifically prohibits online publication of “intimate visual depictions” of an adult subject “where publication is intended to cause or does cause harm to the subject, and where the depiction was published without the subject’s consent or, in the case of an authentic depiction, was created or obtained under circumstances where the adult had a reasonable expectation of privacy,” as well as “a minor subject where publication is intended to abuse or harass the minor or to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person.”
“Violators are subject to mandatory restitution and criminal penalties, including prison, a fine, or both,” according to the bill summary. “Threats to publish intimate visual depictions of a subject are similarly prohibited under the bill and subject to criminal penalties.”
The legislation also requires platforms to establish a process where victims of revenge porn can notify them of the existence of images and request removal. The bill says platforms then have 48 hours to remove those images.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, introduced the TAKE IT DOWN Act in January, and it was approved by the upper chamber in February. It was brought to the House by Rep. Maria Salazar, R-Fla.
Two Republicans – Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Eric Burlison of Missouri – were the only House members to vote against the legislation on Monday.
Massie acknowledged that the TAKE IT DOWN Act “would impose federal criminal and civil penalties for publishing unauthorized intimate pictures generated with AI.”
“I’m voting NO because I feel this is a slippery slope, ripe for abuse, with unintended consequences,” Massie wrote on X.
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House Republicans on Monday praised the first lady, Cruz and Salazar for leading the “crucial legislation” to “create a safer digital future and protect our kids from deepfake exploitation.”
“The passage of the TAKE IT DOWN Act is a historic win in the fight to protect victims of revenge porn and deepfake abuse,” Cruz wrote on X. “This victory belongs first and foremost to the heroic survivors who shared their stories and the advocates who never gave up. By requiring social media companies to take down this abusive content quickly, we are sparing victims from repeated trauma and holding predators accountable.”
“This day would not have been possible without the courage and perseverance of Elliston Berry, Francesca Mani, Breeze Liu, and Brandon Guffey, whose powerful voices drove this legislation forward,” the senator wrote, adding that he was especially grateful to colleagues, including Melania Trump and Salazar, as well as Democrats Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, and Rep. Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania, “for locking arms in this critical mission to protect Americans from online exploitation.”
“Advancing this legislation has been a key focus since I returned to my role as First Lady this past January,” Melania Trump wrote on X. “I am honored to have contributed to guiding it through Congress. By safeguarding children from hurtful online behavior today, we take a vital step in nurturing our leaders of tomorrow. #BeBest”
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During President Trump’s first term, the first lady established the BE BEST awareness campaign, which “focused on the well-being of children and highlighted the people and programs dedicated to ensuring a better future for the next generation,” according to the White House. Melania Trump also established Fostering the Future, a BE BEST initiative, “which provides college-level scholarships to those aging out of the foster care system.”
Super Bowl champ praises Eagles star for skipping White House visit
Malcolm Jenkins, a Super Bowl champion retired NFL player who was among the Philadelphia Eagles who refused to celebrate their win at the White House with President Donald Trump in 2018, praised Jalen Hurts for his decision to skip the ceremony.
Hurts decided to forgo the championship celebration in Washington over what was determined to be “scheduling conflicts.” The silence on the question about attending the ceremony while at the Time100 Gala last week spoke more words than if he said anything outright.
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Jenkins wrote in a Substack article that if Hurts can navigate the scrutiny that may come with the decision, he will elevate himself into something more than just an NFL player.
“He solidifies himself as a selfless leader, willing to risk comfort to honor his values,” Jenkins wrote. “He strengthens his integrity and cultural capital in a way few athletes ever achieve. He shows the next generation what it looks like to stand on principle—not just play for the applause. He joins a tradition of athletes who used their peak to push conversations forward, not shy away from them.”
Jenkins made clear that “leadership is never optional” and skipping the White House will present its own set of problems, from public and media scrutiny to potential locker room division.
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“Leadership today isn’t just about leading a team,” Jenkins added. “It’s about leading a conversation. And Jalen Hurts—whether he realizes it or not—just entered that conversation at the highest level.”
The former defensive back also touched on Saquon Barkley’s decision to spend the day with Trump before the White House celebration.
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“It was disappointing, to say the very least but I understand that respect works both ways,” Jenkins wrote. “Each man has to walk his own path. But neutrality is not neutrality in times like these. And even silence becomes a statement.”
Deion Sanders fires off cryptic message after son’s NFL Draft fiasco
Deion Sanders has yet to fully share his opinions on his son Shedeur’s slide in the draft from being a projected first-round pick to the eventual fifth-round pick he was.
On Monday, the drama around the Cleveland Browns draft pick began to subside slightly, and the Pro Football Hall of Famer fired off a cryptic social media post on X.
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“A lie don’t care who tells it or repeats it. Its goal is to be heard. The truth could be standing right in front of u consistently for years but u don’t see it because a lie is in your mind,” he wrote. “The Truth may not be as popular as a lie but the Truth wins in the end.”
Sanders did not elaborate further, and it was not exactly clear what he meant by “a lie.”
The theories over why Sanders fell to the first round ranged from teams not liking him because he is a “strong Black man” to “Kaepernick-like collusion” from teams. At least two NFL players chimed in with what they believed was a message from teams to Sanders.
ESPN NFL analyst Damien Woody gave a simple reason as to why Sanders slid on “Get Up.”
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“I think the NFL sent a message, saying you’re not that dude. Honestly. The overwhelming message I saw when Shedeur slid to the fifth round, the NFL was basically saying you’re not that guy. You’re good but you’re not that guy,” the two-time Super Bowl champion said.
“I’m here to tell everyone out there, everyone who watches the NFL Draft, who loves the NFL, trust me when I tell you this, if you’re that guy, they’re gonna pick you in the first round because the NFL and all these teams are in the winning business. If you can help a team win, they are going to pick you.
“The NFL clearly felt that Shedeur Sanders was a good prospect, but he wasn’t what the young people call, he wasn’t him. And then, on top of that, you factor in all the celebrity and everything that comes with Shedeur Sanders. … And I’m not the one that’s downplaying. It’s the NFL who ultimately said, you know what, when you combine that fact that we don’t think you are him, and you have all this celebrity and everything that comes with you, that is the ultimate recipe for why you found yourself in the fifth round.”
Former No. 2 overall pick Robert Griffin III also weighed in.
“Shedeur Sanders should not have dropped out of the first three rounds of the NFL draft. He dropped out of the first three rounds of the NFL Draft because it’s 100% personal,” Griffin said, via Awful Announcing. “NFL GMs, scouts, and the NFL at large are trying to teach Deion Sanders and Shedeur Sanders a lesson.
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“A lesson that they didn’t teach the Mannings when Eli said he wasn’t going to play in San Diego, a lesson that they did not teach Andrew Luck and his family when he was the perennial No. 1 draft pick from the time he was a freshman in college, a lesson that they did not teach Baker Mayfield when he came out of Oklahoma, and a message that they did not teach Joe Burrow when he came out of LSU. So what do I mean by all of that? What I mean is that all of these guys had the confidence, many of them had the bravado that is similar to what Shedeur Sanders has. But none of them were punished in the way he’s been punished.”
Teen rejected by 16 colleges, hired by Google, sues for racial discrimination
A Palo Alto teen who was hired by Google for an alleged PhD-level position after being rejected by 16 colleges is taking civil action against the University of California (UC) and other colleges for their admissions policies.
Stanley Zhong and his father, Nan Zhong, filed civil rights complaints in February and March, accusing the UC system, the University of Washington, the University of Michigan and Cornell University of engaging in “racially discriminatory admissions practices that disadvantage highly qualified Asian-American applicants.”
Stanley, 19, is a self-taught programmer who was first recruited for a job at Google at just 13 years old. While still in high school, he launched a free e-signing startup that was featured by Amazon Web Services and qualified as a finalist in several coding competitions.
Beyond these professional accomplishments, he also ranked in the top 9% of his graduating class, with a 4.42 weighted GPA and 1590 SAT score (99th percentile).
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“Despite Stanley’s exceptional academic achievements and remarkable professional accomplishments at a young age, his applications to the undergraduate programs at five University of California campuses were either rejected or waitlisted. These results stand in stark contrast to his receipt of a full-time job offer from Google for a position requiring a Ph.D. degree or equivalent practical experience,” the complaint continues.
“Stanley’s experience is emblematic of a broader pattern of racial discrimination against highly qualified Asian-American applicants at UC. These admissions practices violate the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the California Constitution’s prohibition on racial discrimination in public education,” it states.
Stanley’s father, Nan, told Fox News Digital that he was initially surprised to learn that Stanley had been rejected by 16 of the 18 colleges he had applied to. After sharing his story with the media, Zhong said that Asian American families from all over the country reached out to say they had similar experiences.
His complaint states that multiple college admissions counselors who reviewed Stanley’s record told him that they could see no “legitimate reason why Stanley was rejected.”
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Zhong said their family spent over a year looking for answers before coming to the conclusion that there was a “widespread” problem of anti-Asian discrimination at elite universities.
The Zhongs reached out to California state lawmakers, Gov. Gavin Newsom, and the U.S. Department of Education about these concerns without any success.
“So there is just this weird experience of nobody seems to be wanting to touch it. I suspect maybe they don’t know what to say because if they come out supporting us, then they would somewhat contradict their prior political narrative. But if they come out and support UC, that would make them look stupid. I guess that the only thing they can do is just not touch it. So with all those rejections, stonewalling and being ignored, we finally came to the conclusion that the lawsuit is the only way [forward]” Zhong told Fox News Digital.
In a landmark ruling in June 2023, the Supreme Court declared that race-based admissions practices were unconstitutional. The case, brought by a coalition of Asian-American students against Harvard University and the University of North Carolina, was handed down after Stanley Zhong had applied to colleges for the Fall 2023 semester.
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Zhong’s complaints, which he says were largely written by AI, allege racial admissions practices still exist at the universities he is targeting with lawsuits, despite the high court’s ruling.
One example in the complaint cites federal grants given to UC schools for meeting enrollment goals for Hispanic students.
“Despite claiming it does not maintain racial targets, UC actively pursues Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) status at all its campuses. HSI designation requires at least 25% Hispanic student enrollment,” the California complaint states.
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Nan Zhong said they are prepared to take their case all the way to the Supreme Court in order to fight for fairness and transparency in college admissions practices, particularly for future Asian applicants.
“I think these people are really ruining Asian-American kids, and somehow they’re feeling good about it. That’s the part I really cannot tolerate,” he said.
The U.S. Department of Education is listed as a co-defendant in the Zhongs’ California lawsuit, in which they challenge “the use of racial targets in its federal grant programs” and allege the department had “failed to investigate UC’s racially discriminatory practices” after it closed their complaint with their Office of Civil Rights.
The University of California responded to the lawsuit in a statement to Fox News Digital: “The University of California intends to vigorously defend our admission practices. We believe this to be a meritless suit that seeks to distract us from our mission to provide California students with a world-class education.”
“Since the consideration of race in admissions was banned in California in 1996, the University of California has adjusted its undergraduate admissions practices to comply with the law. We stand by our admission policies and our record of expanding access for all qualified students. The UC undergraduate admissions application collects students’ race and ethnicity for statistical purposes only. This information is not shared with application reviewers and is not used for admission.”
A spokesperson for the University of Washington told Fox News Digital, “The UW stands behind its admissions process, and we have long recognized that our capacity is limited and we are not able to admit some very talented and capable applicants. We are reviewing the lawsuit and will likely have no additional comment while the legal process is ongoing.”
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Cornell University and Gov. Newsom’s office declined to comment.
The University of Michigan and the U.S. Department of Education did not respond to a request for comment.
Stanley Zhong was accepted at the University of Maryland and the University of Texas-Austin but decided to take a job offer as a software development engineer at Google in the fall of 2023 instead.
Mount Everest considers restricting access as dead bodies lie frozen along trail
Daredevils may run into a hiccup if they’re looking to climb the world’s highest mountain.
Mount Everest, located in the Himalayas, is exploring restricting access to the summit.
Nepal has drafted a law that would require climbers to have prior experience with hiking one of the Himalayan mountains, Reuters reported.
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The proposed law aims at improving safety while also reducing overcrowding on the summit.
Those wanting to climb Mount Everest would have to provide evidence of having climbed at least one 7,000-meter (22,965 ft.) mountain in Nepal.
In 2023, 12 climbers were reported dead while five went missing following 478 hiking permits issued by Nepal, according to Reuters.
An area above 26,247 ft. on the mountain is referred to as the “death zone.”
Over 330 climbers have died while hiking Mount Everest since modern records began in 1921.
That’s where the air is too thin to support human life without supplemental oxygen.
Over 330 climbers have died while hiking Mount Everest since modern recordkeeping began in 1921, while 200 bodies remain frozen on the slopes, according to travel company Mount Everest Official.
Expedition operators believe Nepal should not limit the permit to just those in the Himalayan Mountain range but should allow any 7,000-meter peak as many mountains are not popular.
Austria-based expedition organizer, Lukas Furtenbach of Furtenbach Adventures, told Reuters the Himalayan experience requirement “doesn’t make sense.”
“I would also add mountains that are close to 7,000 meters to that list and that are widely used as preparation, like Ama Dablam, Aconcagua, Denali and others,” said Furtenbach.
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Garrett Madison of Madison Mountaineering shared a similar sentiment, telling Reuters a 6,500-meter peak anywhere in the world would be a better idea.
“It’s too difficult to find a reasonable 7,000-meter-plus peak in Nepal,” the U.S.-based expedition organizer echoed.
Tashi Lhakpa Sherpa of the 14 Peaks Expedition in Nepal told Reuters that “only a few of the 7,000-meter mountains attract climbers.”
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About 700 and 1,000 climbers attempt the summit each year, with success rates ranging between 60% and 70%, according to Climbing Kilimanjaro.
Trump threatens to veto bill, even though it has bipartisan support
President Donald Trump will veto a Senate resolution aimed at ending his global tariffs, even though the measure has bipartisan support. The White House warned several lawmakers in a letter sent to congressional offices. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Rand Paul, R-Ky., are supporting the resolution.
Paul, who has been a fierce critic of Trump’s tariffs, recently told the Wall Street Journal that he is “not alone” in his skepticism of the administration’s tariff policies. He also noted that “millions of investors who are self-interested have misgivings about tariffs.”
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The administration reportedly wrote in its warning to lawmakers that it “strongly opposes S.J. Res. 49,” which would end the national emergency declared by Trump on April 2, 2025, to impose global tariffs. Trump announced a host of sweeping tariffs on “Liberation Day,” targeting countries around the world.
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In a Statement of Administration Policy (SAP) from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the administration reportedly wrote that S.J. Res. 49 would block Trump from addressing “unusual and extraordinary threats to national security and economic stability.”
“There can be no doubt that S.J. Res. 49 — if passed — would undermine U.S. national and economic security,” the administration reportedly wrote. “If S.J. Res. 49 were presented to the president, he would veto it.”
Earlier this month, the Trump White House threatened to veto another piece of bipartisan legislation aimed at increasing Congress’ role in tariff policy. The Trade Review Act of 2025, which was backed by Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, would have mandated congressional approval for unilateral tariffs.
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The Trump White House has fiercely defended its tariff policies, saying they would bring manufacturing back home and improve the lives of everyday Americans. In a proclamation released on April 26 in honor of World Intellectual Property Day, the White House declared that tariffs would help protect American IP.
Defense grills phone data expert at Karen Read’s retrial for murder
During digital intelligence expert Ian Whiffin’s cross-examination, defense attorney Robert Alessi grilled Whiffin on test data showing the temperature of cell phone batteries placed in a freezer and outside in December showed steeper drops than John O’Keefe’s phone on the morning of his death.
“Do you know what the temperature was in Canton on January 29th, 2022?” Alessi asked.
“I do not know,” Whiffin said.
“Don’t you think that it would be an important piece of information in analyzing where the phone of John O’Keefe was on the morning of January 29th?” Alessi said.
“I didn’t think it was,” Whiffin replied.
Whiffin testified he was looking to see how a cell phone’s battery temperature falls with ambient temperature.
Court has resumed following a brief morning recess, with digital intelligence expert Ian Whiffin continuing to provide testimony.
Karen Read’s defense attorney Robert Alessi came out of the gate on Tuesday looking to discredit digital intelligence expert Ian Whiffin’s testimony regarding John O’Keefe’s cell phone location data during his final movements.
Alessi pointed to a map showing the radius of possible locations O’Keefe’s phone could have been on the night of his death, suggesting the phone could have been inside the house.
“Therefore, over the next few hours, according to your report, the phone of John O’Keefe could be in the house, correct?” Alessi asked.
“Based on the low accuracy information, yes,” Whiffin replied.
Alessi noted that the map showing the radius’ overlap within the house was not shown by the prosecution during Whiffin’s direct examination on Monday and was not included in Whiffin’s own report.
Court has resumed for the sixth day of testimony in Karen Read’s second murder trial with defense attorney Robert Alessi calling Ian Whiffin, a digital intelligence expert, to the stand for cross-examination.
Karen Read arrived at Norfolk Superior Court alongside defense attorney Alan Jackson one-minute-shy of the court’s 9 a.m. start time.
A crash reconstructionist whose testimony is expected to be key to Karen Read’s defense admitted on the stand Monday, without jurors present, that he sent notes to her team during the first trial and received information about prior testimony despite a sequestration order.
Dr. Daniel Wolfe testified during the first trial that damage to Read’s SUV – the alleged murder weapon – was inconsistent in regard to a collision with John O’Keefe, the Boston police officer found dead on a colleague’s front lawn during a blizzard on Jan. 29, 2022.
He took the stand again as part of a contentious evidence hearing as special prosecutor Hank Brennan raised issues with delays in discovery a week into Read’s second murder trial; the first ended with a deadlocked jury.
He admitted to sharing talking points with the defense during the first trial, apparently violating a sequestration order by receiving information on prior witness testimony, and later discussing the case with her defense on the encrypted messaging app, Signal.
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Testimony in Karen Read’s second murder trial is set to enter its sixth day as the defense team is expected to cross-examine digital intelligence expert Ian Whiffin.
On Monday, prosecutors painted a picture of Boston police officer John O’Keefe’s final movements before he was found frozen to death in a fellow officer’s backyard.
Using O’Keefe’s cell phone, special prosecutor Hank Brennan pointed to the device’s temperature and health data, looking to prove the officer was killed outside the home and left to die in frigid temperatures.
If convicted, Read faces the possibility of life in prison.