The Tennessee Highway Patrol released body camera footage of its 2022 encounter with Kilmar Abrego-Garcia, where state troopers suspected he was involved in human trafficking.
Garcia, 29, is a Salvadorian who illegally entered the United States in 2011 and in 2019 was issued a deportation order. Two previous judges concluded that Abrego-Garcia was likely affiliated with MS-13. He was deported in March and sent to the Terrorist Confinement Center (CECOT) in El Salvador. The Tennessee Highway Patrol pulled over Abrego-Garcia on November 30, 2022.
Body camera video, obtained by Fox News Digital through a public records request, shows Tennessee Highway Patrol troopers pulling over Abrego-Garcia, who had eight other individuals in his car, for what was initially a speeding violation. All people in the car are male.
“How many rows have you got in here? Four seats? Four rows of seats?” a state trooper can be heard saying. “Did y’all put an extra one in? Huh? Did yall put another one in no? They come like this I’ve never seen one with that many seats in it.”
“He’s hauling these people for money,” one state trooper said.
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A source familiar with the situation told Fox News Digital that there was a conversation in the redacted portion of the video where state troopers discussed calling U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The troopers called ICE, which didn’t come to pick up Abrego-Garcia.
The source added that when state troopers entered Abrego-Garcia’s name into the National Crime Information Center, a warning appeared that showed he was suspected of being a gang member or terrorist.
In the video, a trooper said Abrego-Garcia was in possession of $1,400 in cash, saying it was probably his payment. A trooper also noted that Abrego-Garcia had an invalid Maryland driver’s license.
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State troopers who pulled over Abrego-Garcia said they suspected he was involved in human trafficking, according to body camera video. A state trooper can be heard saying “This is a good stop.”
During the traffic stop, Abrego-Garcia was heard changing his story several times. Abrego-Garcia first said he was headed back to his residence in Maryland, then said he was going to a different town for work. He said the group of individuals were initially driving from St. Louis, Missouri.
Court records filed in Prince George’s County, Maryland, reveal that Abrego-Garcia has a history of being a “violent” wife beater.
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In a 2021 court filing, Jennifer Vasquez, Abrego-Garcia’s wife, wrote: “At this point, I am afraid to be close to him. I have multiple photos/videos of how violent he can be and all the bruises he [has] left me.”
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis previously ordered the U.S. government to “facilitate” Abrego-Garcia’s return to the United States.
VP Vance reveals why Trump removed Waltz from position — and gave him ‘a promotion’
Vice President JD Vance said Mike Waltz has the trust of both himself and President Donald Trump after the now-removed national security advisor was nominated Thursday to become the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
“I think you could make a good argument that it’s a promotion,” Vance said in an exclusive interview on “Special Report” from the Nucor Steel Berkeley plant in South Carolina. “We brought Mike on to do some serious reforms at the National Security Council. He has done that.”
The former Ohio senator said the White House believes Waltz will better serve the administration as UN ambassador, a Senate-confirmed position.
Waltz’s exit comes nearly four months after he resigned from his Florida congressional seat to take the NSA role at the White House. The Army veteran faced growing scrutiny after he created a group chat on the encrypted messaging app Signal in late March, where top national security officials discussed pending attacks against the Houthis in Yemen.
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Waltz inadvertently added The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg to the “Houthi PC small group” on Signal, where Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared sensitive information about the timing of U.S. military strikes in Yemen.
Hegseth, a former “Fox & Friends Weekend” co-host, maintains the information he shared was not classified.
Democrats have expressed disbelief that information relating to targets and strikes would not have been classified given its sensitive nature. The Pentagon’s acting inspector general is investigating Hegseth’s use of Signal.
Vance told Fox News chief political anchor Bret Baier that Waltz’s ousting was not a result of “Signalgate,” which he called a “nothingburger.” He argued the former Florida congressman is simply being moved to another administration position because Trump believes Waltz would do a “better job in a different role.”
The vice president was also added to the Signal group chat along with DNI Tulsi Gabbard, CIA director John Ratcliffe and other senior members of the Trump administration.
In the chat, Vance expressed his disagreement with the strikes, arguing that such action could be seen as “inconsistent” with Trump’s foreign policy messaging when it comes to European allies stepping up to the plate for their own defense. He viewed the strikes as “bailing” Europe out.
“I am not sure the president is aware how inconsistent this is with his message on Europe right now. There’s a further risk that we see a moderate to severe spike in oil prices. I am willing to support the consensus of the team and keep these concerns to myself. But there is a strong argument for delaying this a month, doing the messaging work on why this matters, seeing where the economy is, etc,” the vice president wrote in Signal.
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Vance told Baier that he believes the Signal chat reflected well on him because it shows his willingness to engage in conversation with other administration officials about how best to implement the president’s agenda.
“I think that’s what a good national security team should do,” he explained.
The U.S. has been striking Houthi targets in Yemen for more than 40 days straight. US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement earlier this week that since the start of Operation Rough Rider, it has struck over 800 targets.
The strikes have killed hundreds of Houthi fighters and numerous leaders, including senior missile and UAV officials, according to CENTCOM.
Vance said the Houthis see the consequences of firing on American ships in international waters and disrupting global trade.
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“I think that the president has made it very clear that one of his core national security priorities is that if you load stuff onto a ship and you send it to the United States, we wanna make sure that it shows up without the sailors getting killed, without the ship being destroyed,” he added. “And that is an objective that we’re going to pursue forcefully, if we have to.”
Trump mocks trans athletes in women’s sports to roaring applause at commencement
President Donald Trump stirred the hearts of the University of Alabama graduates when he reaffirmed his promise to “keep men out of women’s sports.”
During a commencement speech at the university’s graduation ceremony on Thursday night, Trump gave a shutout to the school’s SEC champion women’s track and field team before igniting a raucous applause by “vowing to defend women’s sports.”
“As long as I’m president, we will always protect women’s sports. Men will not play in women’s sports,” Trump said before the crowd erupted in cheers for its loudest and longest applause of the night.
“No way. They say it’s an 80-20 issue. No, it’s a 97-3 issue, I think,” Trump said. “No, men will not be playing in women’s sports. I said that, and I classified it with a very powerful executive order, as you know. It’s done.”
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Later in the speech, Trump circled back to the subject, mocking Democrats for allowing trans athletes in women’s sports and trans athletes themselves in a lengthy rant.
During this section of the speech, Trump also discussed the Paris Olympics women’s boxing competitions, which included two gold medalists who were previously disqualified from international competitions for failing gender eligibility tests. However, neither boxer, Algeria’s Imane Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, identifies as transgender.
“They had a great champion, a female boxer, and after one punch she walked back to the corner and said, ‘I can’t get hit like that, I’ve never been hit like that before,” Trump said.
At one point, Trump did a physical impersonation of a female weight lifter and a trans weight lifter, and reenacted a scenario where the female loses a competition to a trans opponent.
Then Trump took aim at transgender swimmers, telling the story of a swimmer who he joked was “windburned” by a trans opponent.
“One young lady, she was going to set the record, she fought all her life to set the record,” Trump said. “Then she looks to the right, and she sees the same thing, but there’s a person next to her who’s a giant … that was a person that transitioned, and he had the wingspan of Wilt ‘the Stilt’ Chamberlain.”
Trump made similar references to the weightlifting and swimmer scenarios in June 2023 while speaking at the North Carolina Republican Party Convention in Greensboro.
On Thursday, Trump also referenced female volleyball players who have been affected by trans inclusion.
“You look at all the volleyball players who have been hurt so badly, that are hit at levels that they’ve never seen before,” Trump said.
One former University of Alabama women’s volleyball player, Brooke Slusser, was thrust into a situation where she had to share a locker room and bedroom with a trans athlete when she transferred from the university to San Jose State University in 2023. In a lawsuit, Slusser alleges she was made to share those spaces with trans teammate Blaire Fleming without being told Fleming was a biological male.
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Slusser has since left San Jose State University and returned home to Texas after facing alleged backlash and harassment in the aftermath of filing her lawsuit.
Trump signed the Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports executive order on Feb. 5. One day later, the NCAA revised its gender eligibility policy to restrict participation in the women’s category to only biological females. However, the new policy has also come under criticism by some women’s sports activists for not going far enough.
Alabama has had a state law in place since 2021 to prevent trans athletes in girls’ sports. In 2023, it was extended to include college students. Unlike other laws addressing the issue, Alabama’s law also bars athletes assigned as female at birth from participating in the boys’ category unless there is no comparable girls’ opportunity (such as football).
Trans inclusion in women’s and girls’ sports emerged as a hot-button issue in Trump’s 2024 election victory as most Americans came to take the Republican’s side on the topic.
A national exit poll conducted by the Concerned Women for America legislative action committee found that 70% of moderate voters saw the issue of “Donald Trump’s opposition to transgender boys and men playing girls’ and women’s sports and of transgender boys and men using girls’ and women’s bathrooms” as important to them.
Six percent said it was the most important issue of all, while 44% said it was “very important.”
The issue inspired a national counterculture movement against Democrat policies that keep trans athletes in women’s sports, heavily influenced by young college-educated women. Biden’s 35-point lead over Trump among young women in the 2020 presidential election cycle shrank to a 24-point margin for Trump’s 2024 opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, per an NBC News exit poll.
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A New York Times/Ipsos survey found the vast majority of Americans, including a majority of Democrats, don’t think transgender athletes should be permitted to compete in women’s sports.
Of the 2,128 people who participated, 79% said biological males who identify as women should not be allowed to participate in women’s sports. Of the 1,025 people who identified as Democrats or leaning Democrat, 67% said transgender athletes should not be allowed to compete with women.
Nearly 70% of Americans say biological men should not be permitted to compete in women’s sports, according to a Gallup poll last year.
In June 2024, a survey conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago asked respondents whether transgender athletes of both sexes should be permitted to participate in sports leagues that correspond to their preferred gender identity instead of their biological sex. In that survey, 65% answered that it should never or rarely be allowed. When those polled were asked specifically about adult transgender female athletes competing in women’s sports, 69% opposed it.
Trump signs executive order to slash taxpayer funds to PBS and NPR
President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order to slash taxpayer funds to PBS and NPR, two media outlets the White House accused of spreading “radical woke propaganda.”
The order instructs the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and other federal agencies “to cease Federal funding for NPR and PBS.” It further requires that they work to root out indirect sources of public financing for the news organizations.
“[President Trump] just signed an executive order ENDING the taxpayer subsidization of NPR and PBS – which receive millions from taxpayers to spread radical, woke propaganda disguised as ‘news,’” the White House posted in a statement on X.
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The broadcasters get roughly half a billion dollars in public money through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and have been preparing for the possibility of stiff cuts since Trump’s re-election.
PBS’ CEO and president Paula Kerger said last month that the Trump administration’s effort to rescind funding for public media would “disrupt the essential service PBS and local member stations provide to the American people.”
“There’s nothing more American than PBS, and our work is only possible because of the bipartisan support we have always received from Congress,” she said. “This public-private partnership allows us to help prepare millions of children for success in school and in life and also supports enriching and inspiring programs of the highest quality.”
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting sued Trump earlier this week over his move to fire three members of its five-person board, contending that the president was exceeding his authority and that the move would deprive the board of a quorum needed to conduct business.
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Thursday’s move against PBS and NPR comes as his administration has been working to dismantle the U.S. Agency for Global Media, including Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, which were designed to model independent news gathering globally in societies that restrict the press.
Those efforts have faced pushback from federal courts, which have ruled in some cases that the Trump administration may have overstepped its authority in holding back funds appropriated to the outlets by Congress.
A spokesperson NPR told Fox News Digital that the organization has, for more than half a century, been collaborating with “local nonprofit public media organizations to fill critical needs for news and information in America’s communities.”
“NPR’s editorial practices and decision-making are independent and free from outside influence, inclusive of any individual or commercial interest or political party,” the spokesperson said. “Millions of Americans depend on NPR Member stations for rigorous, fact-based, public service journalism that helps them stay informed about their communities and the world. Federal funding is essential to the work of public media and all public media stations.”
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Fox News Digital has reached out to NPR for a response to Trump’s executive order.
Tesla arson suspect released after lawyer argues jail would disrupt sex-change treatments
A college springbreaker accused of torching two Tesla Cybertrucks in Missouri has been released from federal custody after his lawyer argued that remaining in jail would disrupt ongoing sex-change treatment.
Owen McIntire, 19, was released and ordered into home detention at his parents’ Missouri home by a federal court in Massachusetts this week and ordered by a judge to answer to the charges against him on Thursday.
McIntire was arrested in Massachusetts last month and faces federal charges in Missouri for allegedly using a homemade incendiary device to ignite the two electric vehicles on March 17. He faces charges of unlawful possession of an unregistered destructive device and malicious damage to property by fire.
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McIntire’s federal public defender argued that his client is a college student with no prior criminal record with “well-documented medical and mental health needs – including autism spectrum disorder (ASD), ADHD, depression, and gender dysphoria,” court records state.
“He also receives gender-affirming medical care, which began in March of this year and is likely to be interrupted or terminated entirely if he remains in pretrial detention,” an April 23 court filing said. “This care, along with mental health support, is integral to his well-being.”
At the time of the attack, McIntire was enrolled at the University of Massachusetts to pursue a physics degree.
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The attorney said the Justice Department suggested the alleged attack had “political overtones” but was speculative.
McIntire trained in ballet from ages 8 to 15 but quit during a “difficult period” after being diagnosed with depression, which he manages with medication and therapy, the filing states. Fox News Digital has reached out to McIntire’s attorney.
Agents and forensic experts from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) recovered and analyzed key evidence from the Tesla attack, including Molotov cocktails allegedly used in the arson.
Authorities later found video footage of a person who they believe to be McIntire wearing a large hat, lighting the devices and throwing them at the Cybertrucks before walking away.
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Two Tesla charging stations were also damaged by the fire, each with an approximate value of $550.
Hundreds of flights canceled, delayed as major airport deals with staffing issues and repairs
Over 400 flights in and out of Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) in Newark, New Jersey, were delayed on Thursday, and more than 200 flights were canceled due to air traffic control staffing shortages and construction on one of three runways.
The airport provided travelers with an update on social media Thursday afternoon, advising them about the delays and cancellations.
“You may experience delays and cancellations at @EWRairport due to a combination of @FAA staffing shortages, @FAA equipment issues, and wind conditions,” EWR posted on X. “Please check your flight status with your airline before heading to the airport.”
In another post earlier in the day, the airport pointed to construction as one of the reasons for delays.
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One X user asked when the construction was expected to be complete, and the airport responded, saying, “One of our runways is closed for necessary repairs from now until mid-June 2025.”
“We are working with our airline partners to minimize the impacts, but please check with your airline for updates as flight schedules may be affected,” EWR wrote.
Another X user asked why Newark has staffing issues, “every single day.”
“Good afternoon,” the airport responded. “Due to ongoing FAA staffing challenges, EWR is experiencing operational disruptions. Please check your flight status with your airline.”
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According to FlightAware.com, there were 422 delays at Newark Liberty International and 202 cancellations.
The FAA did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comments on staffing shortages and travel disruptions.
Still, the disruptions appear to be a growing trend at Newark International.
On Monday, the FAA said a series of issues prompted it to dramatically slow traffic at the airport, prompting United Airlines to divert at least 35 flights to other airports.
United – which is the largest carrier at the airport located just outside New York City in New Jersey – told Reuters that an FAA equipment malfunction caused a significant disruption, and it expects cancellations and delays for the rest of the day due to FAA staffing issues.
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The equipment failure, the FAA told the wire service, was prompted by telecommunications and radar equipment issues at Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control, which guides aircraft in and out of Newark. Both issues were resolved, though staffing issues at Philadelphia continued to impact flights, the FAA said.
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The FAA last year relocated control of the Newark, New Jersey, airspace area to Philadelphia to address staffing and congested New York City area traffic.
It also extended cuts to minimum flight requirements at congested New York City-area airports through October 2025, citing air traffic controller staffing shortages.
Under minimum flight requirements, airlines can lose their takeoff and landing slots at congested airports if they do not use them at least 80% of the time. The FAA’s waiver allows airlines to fly fewer flights and still retain slots.
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The FAA is about 3,500 controllers short of targeted staffing. A persistent shortage of controllers has delayed flights and, at many facilities, controllers are working mandatory overtime and six-day weeks.
Pirates fan who flipped over wall identified as former college football player
The fan who fell over the right field wall and onto the field at the Pittsburgh Pirates’ PNC Park Wednesday night has been identified.
Kavan Markwood, a 20-year-old former college football player, was identified as the man who fell more than 20 feet onto the right field warning track, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
It was a scary scene Wednesday night when Markwood flipped over the wall’s railing and fell onto the field in a game between the Pirates and Chicago Cubs.
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Play stopped immediately as medical staff sprinted to the outfield to find a shirtless Markwood motionless on the warning track dirt with blood visible on his face. Both teams’ trainers joined EMS to get him onto a cart and off the field.
Players from both teams got down on one knee with some looking down at the ground.
Pittsburgh Public Safety posted on X that the incident is “being treated as accidental in nature,” and Markwood was in critical condition as of Thursday morning at Allegheny General Hospital.
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Fans who were around Markwood said he had gotten excited about a Pirates’ rally during the game and proceeded to take his shirt off and pour beer on himself before his fall, according to the Tribune-Review.
The South Allegheny School District confirmed Markwood was the man who fell. He is a 2022 graduate of South Allegheny High School.
“Everyone at South Allegheny would say he is a hard-working, highly resilient young man. He’s a fighter,” the school district said in a statement to the Tribune-Review. “He’s going to need that resiliency now. But he has it. He’s touched a lot of lives at South Allegheny. We’re a small community. He’s a household name here. Everyone knows him.
“He has the prayers and the support of the South Allegheny community.”
Markwood played for two Division II football programs, Walsh University and Wheeling University. He played at Wheeling in 2023, appearing in four games, according to the team’s site.
Frank Cortazzo, South Allegheny High School’s head football coach, released a statement about Markwood to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
“Kavan is not only an outstanding athlete, but an even more exceptional young man. His resilience, heart and strength are truly unmatched. Please keep him, his family and his friends in your thoughts and prayers as they navigate this challenging time.”
The Pirates also released a statement shortly after Markwood fell over the wall in the seventh inning.
Andrew McCutchen, who hit a double just before Markwood fell, sent a prayer out on X.
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“Truly hate what happened tonight,” he wrote. “Cant help but think about that guy, his family and friends. I pray tonight for him. Let us think about his loved ones and hug our families a little tighter tonight. I hope he pulls thru. May God Bless you all. Good night.”
Once Markwood was carted off the field, the Pirates and Cubs resumed their game, and Pittsburgh won, 4-3.
Steve Doocy announces new coast-to-coast hosting role on ‘FOX & Friends’
After nearly 30 years of waking up to his alarm clock at 3:30 a.m., “Fox & Friends” co-host Steve Doocy will finally be able to hit the snooze.
The longtime host announced on “Fox & Friends” that “it’s time for a change” that will allow him to spend more time with his growing family, while still continuing his hosting duties.
“After decades of getting up at 3:30 and driving into New York City in the dark, today is the last day I will host this show from the couch. I’m not retiring, I’m not leaving the show. I’m still a host, but it’s time for a change,” he said Thursday.
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“Suzanne Scott, the CEO of Fox News Media and a friend of mine for over 30 years, and I have been trying to figure out what a guy who’s been getting up at 3:30 for two generations should do next. And Suzanne gave me a great option. To keep working on this show, just not every day.”
Doocy said he’ll now host three days a week and will be based in Florida. He said he will be reporting “coast to coast,” including from areas of the U.S. that don’t get as much coverage.
“When my kids were growing up, I never had breakfast with them,” he said. “I was always here, Kathy did everything. But starting tomorrow, I’m going to have breakfast with my grandkids and my children whenever I can.”
President Donald Trump also shared a special message to Doocy, thanking him for his fair coverage through the years and congratulating him on the transition.
STEVE DOOCY OF ‘FOX & FRIENDS’ REVEALS A HAPPY CHRISTMAS TRADITION IN HIS FAMILY’S HOUSEHOLD
“I just want to congratulate you on your new and probably enhanced role,” the president said. “I just think you’re a fantastic guy. You’ve always treated me fairly, sometimes a little more fairly than other times, but that’s okay. You’ve been really stellar at what you do and at your craft, and you’re going to continue, and it’s really been an honor to have spent so much time with you and watching you and the whole group in the morning.”
“It’s the number one show in the business, and it’s going to stay that way for a long time to come, and you were a big part of it,” he continued. “So thank you for all of your service, because truly, it was service.”
Doocy, who joined Fox News Channel at its inception in 1996 and began as ‘Fox & Friends’ co-host two years later, said he will be taking some time off to spend with his children and grandchildren before kicking off his new role.
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