Civil war threatens GOP over millionaire tax hikes in Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’
Discussions over a potential tax hike for ultra-wealthy Americans are threatening to foment a civil war among Republicans on Capitol Hill.
Some GOP lawmakers, as well as conservative groups that are frequently in touch with congressional Republicans, have been loudly voicing opposition to any tax increases.
Meanwhile President Donald Trump and his allies are signaling that the idea could be a way to pay for significant tax breaks targeting middle and working-class Americans.
“Raising taxes on one bracket is a slippery slope. What will stop future tax increases on middle-income earners as the federal government accumulates more and more debt?” a senior House GOP aide told Fox News Digital. “Republicans certainly shouldn’t be the party leading this effort.”
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But the idea found support among more populist Trump allies like House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md.
“Personally, I’ve always believed that if we can’t find spending reductions elsewhere, we should look at restoring the [pre-2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA)] tax bracket on million dollar income to help pay for the President’s agenda,” Harris wrote on X.
It comes after Trump signaled to GOP leaders that he was open to raising taxes on the ultra-wealthy to offset the cost of new policies eliminating taxes on tips, overtime pay and retirees’ social security.
A source familiar with the president’s thinking told Fox News Digital that to accomplish those goals, as well as preserving Medicaid for millions, Trump is considering a new top income tax bracket of 39.6% for single taxpayers making $2.5 million or more per year.
The TCJA lowered the tax rate for the top income bracket — currently $609,350 for single filers — to 37%, a cut that’s expiring at the end of this year.
Trump himself toyed with the idea publicly on Truth Social Friday morning, though made clear he saw the potential drawbacks.
“The problem with even a ‘TINY’ tax increase for the RICH, which I and all others would graciously accept in order to help the lower and middle income workers, is that the Radical Left Democrat Lunatics would go around screaming, ‘Read my lips,’ the fabled Quote by George Bush the Elder that is said to have cost him the Election,” Trump posted, referencing ill-fated comments by late former President George H.W. Bush.
“NO, Ross Perot cost him the Election! In any event, Republicans should probably not do it, but I’m OK if they do!!!”
Discussions about raising taxes have traditionally been anathema to mainstream Republican beliefs.
But it’s now a direction the GOP will have to contend with as Trump continues to bring more middle- and working-class people into the party base – but disagreements on the wisdom of such a move remain.
“‘Tax the rich’ is a tired slogan with no evidence of spurring economic growth, as higher taxes on any group hinder innovation and investment,” Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., told Fox News Digital on Friday.
“We don’t have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem. Ultimately, I don’t think this will even happen. We must focus on cutting spending and downsizing government, not raising taxes.”
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Several Republicans told Fox News Digital late last month that they were wary of raising taxes – including Reps. David Kustoff, R-Tenn., and Tim Moore, R-N.C. Spokespeople for both said their opinions are unchanged as of Friday morning.
“When we passed what was called the Tax Cuts Jobs Act of 2017, we did lower taxes for everybody. We reduced the tax rates. We condensed the brackets,” Kustoff said. “And what we saw is, that lifted everybody. And the U.S. Treasury still saw revenues continue to grow. So I don’t want to see taxes raised on anybody.”
Moore told Fox News Digital, “I do not support any tax increases. I think that we do not have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem.”
Moreover, nearly 200 past and present House Republicans signed onto a pledge to oppose all tax increases, run by think tank Americans For Tax Reform.
But another Republican, Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind., told Fox News Digital that day, “I would want to see some numbers behind it and how it would have an effect on the economy.”
“What I’ve heard from people in the upper tax brackets is, you know, they’re willing to pay more as long as they know that it’s paying the debt down. They don’t want to see it go towards more spending,” Stutzman said.
It’s one of several ongoing debates over how to advance Trump’s agenda via the budget reconciliation process, which allows the party in power to advance a massive piece of fiscal policy legislation while sidelining the minority by lowering the Senate’s threshold for passage from 60 votes to 51.
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Republicans are working to use the maneuver to advance Trump’s priorities on border security, immigration, energy, national defense and taxes, as well as raising the debt ceiling.
On taxes, expected to be the costliest portion, Republicans want to extend Trump’s 2017 TCJA cuts expiring in 2026 as well as implement his aforementioned newer policies.
Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., a longtime Trump ally, told Fox Business’ Stuart Varney on Friday, “We are not going to do tax increases.”
But it’s not clear how many of those Republicans will change their minds if Trump begins exerting pressure on such tax hikes.
Meanwhile, conservative groups like The Heritage Foundation and Americans For Prosperity (AFP) are already exerting pressure on Capitol Hill to resist any tax hikes.
“Republicans have a chance to lock in pro-growth tax policy and reignite prosperity for a generation of Americans – something every conservative can agree on. There is no appetite anywhere for raising taxes on anyone,” AFP Chief Government Affairs Officer Brent Gardner told Fox News Digital.
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“The sooner Republicans can get back to this broad consensus – keeping taxes low, while cutting wasteful spending – the sooner they’ll all start to see the benefits, both economically and politically.”
The House Ways & Means Committee is expected to meet on Tuesday to advance the tax portion of the package, so its details – including the potential tax hike – will be released in the coming days.
Republican leaders hope to have a bill passed in the House of Representatives by around Memorial Day, with a final bill on Trump’s desk by the Fourth of July.
With razor-thin margins in the House and Senate, the GOP can afford precious little dissent if they are going to meet their goals.
Gov Newsom’s attempt at taking Trump to task over tariffs blows up in his face
California’s progressive Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom posted an ad bragging about California’s economy and knocking President Donald Trump’s tariffs, but then quickly deleted it after an X user pointed out that the video used footage from Ukraine and Estonia rather than California.
The footage has since been replaced with video shot in America.
The governor, a vocal Trump critic who has been rumored to have presidential aspirations, released the ad this week. In the 30-second clip, Newsom claimed that Trump’s tariffs “punish families and risk ending America’s run as the world’s greatest economy.”
He also touted California’s economic prowess, bragging that the state is now the fourth-largest economy in the world.
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While Newsom brags about California innovation and manufacturing, the ad plays footage of what looks like a high-tech office and a large warehouse. One X user was quick to point out, however, that the footage used in the ad was actually shot in Ukraine and Estonia, not California.
Another X user, Brandon Phillips, a Georgia GOP operative, quipped, “Minor detail!” in response to parts of the California ad actually being shot in Eastern Europe.
A simple internet search shows that the warehouse imagery was created in Ukraine by a Ukrainian photographer and videographer named “Artie Medvedev.”
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Meanwhile, the office footage used in the ad was made by a company called “Gorodenkoff Productions,” which is based in Tallinn, Estonia.
Newsom’s office did not respond to Fos News Digital’s request for comment. However, his team ended up removing the video with Ukrainian and Estonian footage, replacing it with one that lacked the foreign footage noticed by X users.
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Newsom has been heavily criticized for allegedly prioritizing his political ambitions above his role as governor. A new survey conducted by UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies and co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Times found that 54% of California registered voters believe Newsom is more focused on his personal presidential ambitions than solving the ongoing problems at home in the Golden State.
Trump has said he would “love” Newsom to launch a White House bid for the Democrats, but said the governor’s response to wildfires and other issues would “pretty much put him out of the race.”
Cardinal Dolan throws cold water on assumption about American pope and Trump
Several prominent U.S. Catholic bishops and cardinals recalled the spiritual process of electing Pope Leo XIV this week, with Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York hailing the new pontiff as a “citizen of the world” who will seek to build bridges with President Donald Trump and other global leaders.
The six clergymen gave some insights into how they see the Pope Leo XIV papacy and said the quick conclave showed unity among the cardinals. They were speaking at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops at the Pontifical North American College in Rome on Friday.
“It should not startle us that we would look to Pope Leo as a bridge builder. That’s what the Latin word ‘pontiff’ means, he’s a bridge builder,” Dolan said after being asked by a reporter if the pontiff would be a “counterweight” to Trump.
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“Will he want to build bridges to Donald Trump? I suppose, but he would want to build bridges with the leader of every nation. So I don’t think at all my brother Cardinals would have thought of him as a counterweight to any one person.”
Pope Leo XIV, Cardinal Robert Prevost, is the first American pope, and much emphasis has been made of his Chicago roots, with speakers blasting songs including “Born in the U.S.A.” and “American Pie” as the cardinal electors gathered on stage. The stage was also decorated with Old Glory and a Vatican flag.
Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, Archbishop emeritus of Galveston-Houston, conveyed his pride that they elected an American pope, the first in history.
“[Pope XIV] is really a citizen of the entire world, since he has spent so much of his ministry missionary work and zeal for Christ in South America in life in missionary work and zeal for work,” DiNardo said. “Yes, he’s American and yes, he represents the big picture of the church.”
Dolan agreed, noting the new pontiff is also a citizen of Peru, having spent three decades there as a missionary.
“He’s a citizen of the world. He reminds us that we all have our true citizenship in heaven. As St. Paul taught us, and that is his role as universal pastor, where he comes from is sort of now a thing of the past,he said.
Several bishops likened Pope Leo XIV to a fusion of Popes Francis and Benedict, noting his blend of intellectual rigor and pastoral warmth while highlighting his Augustinian background and canon law expertise.
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His choice of the name “Leo” was seen as significant, referencing both Pope Leo the Great and Leo XIII, signaling an intent to emphasize both strong leadership and social teaching.
DiNardo said that Leo the Great was pope in the fifth century when the church was “truly a mess” but he managed to save the city of Rome.
“He preached Christ crucified, and he preached him as truly Son of God,” DiNardo said. “I think Pope Leo [XIV] is a wise, wise man, and he picks up one whose name has multiple figures from Leo the Great to Leo the 13th, all of whom can speak to us both on terms of social doctrine and in terms of doctrine of who Jesus is.”
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The bishops emphasized the spiritual, emotional and symbolic significance of the conclave. They described it as a deeply prayerful and unifying experience. The U.S. had 10 voting cardinals in the conclave, the second-highest number of any country.
Other speakers included: Cardinal Joseph Tobin, Archbishop of Newark; Cardinal Blase Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago; Cardinal Wilton Gregory, Archbishop Emeritus of Washington; Cardinal Robert McElroy, Archbishop of Washington; and Cardinal Christophe Pierre, Apostolic Nuncio to the U.S.A.
Asked about the reported simplicity of the meals the cardinals were served during the conclave, Dolan joked: “Let’s just say it was a good, good, good impetus to get this over with.”
Democrat in must-watch House race caught trying to pull a fast one on American voters
FIRST ON FOX: A Democrat running for Congress in New Jersey who has been positioning herself as a moderate to unseat the sitting Republican in a pro-Trump district, has deleted several social media posts promoting progressive candidates and causes.
Democrat Rebecca Bennett, who is running in the Democratic primary to unseat GOP Rep. Thomas Kean Jr. in New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District, is a Navy veteran and current member of the Air National Guard who has been labeled by local media as a “moderate” in a race the Cook Political Report ranks as “Lean Republican.”
A Fox News Digital review of Bennett’s X account, which was created in July 2011 and recently converted from @BigRedBecks to @RebeccaForNJ07, shows several deleted posts that seemingly drift away from the “moderate” label, including praise of progressive Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
“Love her,” Bennett said in a now-deleted post about Warren in 2019.
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“I love everything about this,” Bennett said in a now-deleted post praising a video mashup of Warren to the tune of a Taylor Swift song. “(Except the misogyny that makes it real…) #TeamWarren.”
Bennett has also removed posts praising former Vice President Kamala Harris, who was defeated by President Donald Trump, not only nationally, but also narrowly with voters in Kean’s district by just over one percentage point.
“Let’s Goooooo,” Bennett wrote in a now-deleted post after Harris was announced as then-former Vice President Joe Biden’s running mate in 2020.
If elected, Bennett would serve alongside Democratic New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, who she praised in 2020, calling him the “best senator.” That post has since been deleted.
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During the civil unrest and rioting that erupted after the death of George Floyd in 2020, Bennett posted on X that she agreed in a now-deleted post with a comment from former Obama campaign strategist David Plouffe, where he said House Democrats should “hold hearings” and investigate law enforcement officials responding to the riots.
Bennett also deleted a post that appears to support the first impeachment of President Trump.
“Officially a @JasonCrowCO6 fan,” Bennett posted on January 21, 2020 as the impeachment trial was unfolding where Crow ultimately voted to impeach. “I’m a vet who also didn’t have the equipment I needed to do my job, so this is personal for me too. #ImpeachmentTrial.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Bennett’s team to inquire about the motivation behind deleting the X posts.
Bennett’s announcement video, which is almost two minutes long, does not mention that she is a Democrat.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) spokeswoman Maureen O’Toole said, “It’s clear Rebecca Bennett is desperately trying to run away from her past and cover up her radical, out of touch agenda.”
“But New Jersey voters see right through her act and know exactly who she is: a radical scam artist who can’t be trusted.”
Bennett’s team, in a statement to Fox News Digital, did not address why the posts were removed but dismissed the criticism from the NRCC.
“It’s no surprise to see the NRCC and conservative news outlets start attacking Rebecca, because they know she is a serious threat to beat Congressman Tom Kean next November and flip NJ7,” Dan Bryan, senior advisor to the Bennett campaign, said.
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“Rebecca and her campaign will continue to ignore recycled bad faith attacks from right-wing outlets and focus on her record serving this country and Congressman Kean’s failure to deliver for working families in our district.”
Bennett is not the first New Jersey Democrat running for Congress to face scrutiny over deleted social media posts.
Sue Altman, who was defeated by Kean in 2024, faced heated criticism for deleting social media posts that were critical of law enforcement.
The race in NJ-07 will be closely watched in next year’s midterm elections given the thin majority Republicans currently hold in the House of Representatives, where the GOP currently holds 220 seats compared to 215 for the Democrats.
Rock legend ditched LA, moved family and kids to ‘open road’ country and never looked back
Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider left Los Angeles for the “open roads” of North Carolina years ago and never looked back.
Snider, now 70, and his wife chose to uproot their family for a life they never had after moving to Los Angeles in 2015.
“We moved out to LA 10 years ago, the whole family. A couple of years ago, everybody was sitting around saying, you know, it’s time to get back to a calmer life, not ‘back to’ – to a life we never had,” Snider explained to WFMY News.
“We literally looked from the West Coast to the East Coast and slowly started dialing in,” he added. “And North Carolina took the number one spot … You’ve got to come for the state. So the entire family came out, this is true, and we started on the west end of the state, and we just visited towns. We traveled all the way to the shoreline. And people were amazing, and that’s ultimately what it came down to.”
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The rock legend found the North Carolinians to be “welcoming and lovely,” quickly deciding that’s where they wanted to live.
“We’re all here, by the way – my four grown kids, six grandkids, we all live in North Carolina, this is our home.”
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Snider married his wife, Suzette Snider, in 1981. The two met at a bar after Suzette used a fake ID to gain entry.
“She turned up to our show on her cousin’s ID and thought she was seeing a girl band,” the singer previously told The Sydney Morning Herald. “I saw her and flipped. She was this hot Italian beauty. I told her I’d be famous one day. We’ve been together ever since.”
Suzette became the band’s costume designer and even designed their logo. The two share four kids together; Jesse, 42, Shane, 37, and Cody, 35, and Cheyenne, 28.
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Snider has found the best part of North Carolina’s rural lifestyle is the “open roads.”
“I like cars. The roads here are great. I’m also a motorcycle rider,” he told the local North Carolina station. “So, I mean, in LA or New York, where I’m from originally, it’s just defensive riding ‘don’t hit me!’ But here, you can get up, and you can just get out on the open roads and just really enjoy the beauty of the state and enjoy riding and driving.”
“You notice I’m limping – it’s because I was bike trail riding and the trail won the other day. I took a spill. Sometimes the trail wins.”
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Judge hands down major rulings in Menendez resentencing battle
In a key development Friday, Los Angeles Judge Michael cleared the way for Erik and Lyle Menendez’s resentencing to proceed.
On Friday, Hochman’s office attempted to withdraw the previous administration’s motion for resentencing, but the judge denied the request, meaning the process can move forward.
Judge Jesic also denied the motion to withdraw the defense’s earlier request to disqualify Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman.
The pivot came after the family’s attorney, Mark Geragos, hinted he might no longer seek Hochman’s removal. Prior to the hearing, when asked whether he believed his motion to disqualify the DA would succeed, Geragos told Fox News’ Jonathan Hunt: “I’m not so sure if I want that anymore.”
Following the hearing, Geragos explained that he chose to withdraw the motion because he “did not want to waste any more time” and wanted to move forward with the resentencing process.
Lyle and Erik will return to the Van Nuys West Courthouse on May 13 and 14 for continued proceedings in their resentencing case.
With unresolved issues surrounding the risk assessment report, the upcoming dates will remain pivotal as the brothers seek resentencing following the 1989 of their parents.
Fox News Digital’s Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.
The Menendez brother’s attorney says he is confident that Los Angeles Judge Michael Jesic will do the “right thing,” downplaying the brother’s use of contraband during their sentence.
“The presumption is that unless Eric or Lyle are likely to commit a super strike, which nobody has suggested, that they should be re-sentenced,” Mark Geragos, the Menendez family attorney, told reporters following the Friday hearing. “We have the utmost faith in Judge Jesic to do the right thing, that next Wednesday or Tuesday, that they will be re-sentenced.”
Pointing to Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman’s statement on the brother’s use of cell phones in prison, Geragos said that former LA DA George Gascón was aware of the violations.
“Last time I looked, cell phones in prison are not a super strike,” he said. “The cell phone violations were known. I was the one who called the previous DA and said there’s a cell phone violation.”
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said the Lyle and Erik Menendez’s “narcissistic tendencies” led him to oppose their immediate resentencing.
Hochman, referring to the Comprehensive Risk Assessment (CRA), said that Lyle was caught with contraband, his cell phone, on Nov. 24, 2024. The DA said that he should have been on his best behavior since his resentencing was on the table.
Instead, Hochman said, he proved that “he is more likely to do whatever it takes to meet his own needs and has narcissistic tendencies.”
In Jan. 2025, Erik was found to be conspiring with someone out of prison with an illicit cell phone. Erik, the CRA report found, according to Hochman, had also traded and purchased drugs in prison and admitted to giving tax fraud advice to other inmates.
Despite their prison reform program involvement, Hochman said that the brothers are unable to self-monitor and he has lingering doubts about their intentions and genuineness. Hochman said based on all those findings, he did not feel the brothers were ready for resentencing right now.
Fox News Digital’s Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said that there are “significant lies” that Lyle and Erik Menendez have “never come clean with.”
“You add in the findings now by these board-certified psychologists that also talk about deceit. Deceit means that they no longer constitute at a low level of risk, but have risen to a moderate level of risks,” Hochman told reporters following the brother’s Los Angeles hearing on Friday.
The Comprehensive Risk Assessment (CRA) report was ordered by the state parole board earlier this year by Gov. Gavin Newsom as part of his clemency consideration for the brother’s bid for resentencing.
Hochman said the report cited rules violations by the brothers, including their use of cellphones, assisting a fellow inmate in tax fraud and use of contraband while behind bars.
“They determined that each of the Menendez brothers constituted as a moderate risk of violence, which was higher than the prior determinations of low risk of violence,” he said. “They said they referred to certain instances that led them to those conclusions.”
On Friday, the Menendez family arrived at the Van Nuys West Courthouse in Los Angeles, Calif.
The courtroom was filled with anticipation as family members and media gathered to witness the proceedings of the brothers potential resentencing in the 1989 killings of their parents, José and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez.
The family members have emphasized the brothers’ remorse and rehabilitation after more than three decades in prison and their belief that the original 1993 trial didn’t fully take in the alleged abuse Lyle and Erik suffered at the hands of their father, José.
The family-led coalition has said that their belief that the pair of killers should be released is not a denial of the pain caused by the murders, but rather a recognition of whom the brothers have become.
“The DA’s office may think that we blindly decided to forgive Erik and Lyle, but our journey to forgiveness was not linear,” the family said in a statement on Thursday, a day before the rescheduled hearing. “It’s a direct result of the men they have become… Both of those feelings and experiences can exist in the same space.”
While the majority of the family supports the resentencing, Milton Andersen, the brother of Kitty Menendez, has expressed his opposition. Andersen died at 91-years-old from cancer in early March 2025.
Just hours before a highly anticipated court hearing in the Menendez brothers’ resentencing case, the brother’s defense attorney, Mark Geragos, threw a curveball when suggesting he may no longer want Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman removed from the case after all.
When asked whether he believed his motion to disqualify the DA would
succeed by Fox News’ Jonathan Hunt, Geragos replied: “I’m not so sure I want that anymore.”
Pressed further on why he might back off a motion he’s spent weeks building, Geragos simply said: “You’ll have to wait and see.”
The motion to recuse Hochman had been expected to take center stage at Friday’s hearing.
Fox News’ Jonathan Hunt contributed to this report.
As the Menendez brothers returned to court in their long-running fight for a reduced sentence, Lyle Menendez took to social media to lambaste the “reindeer games” played by the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office.
“So today is the day that issues will be worked out,” he wrote in a Facebook group. “The motion to disqualify the DA will be heard and very very likely will be denied. Then, in chambers, issues regarding the CRA [Comprehensive Risk Assessment] will be decided.”
The court is expected to rule on two key issues: a motion to recuse District Attorney Nathan Hochman and whether a confidential Comprehensive Risk Assessment (CRA) can be considered in court. The CRA has been a source of controversy after the prosecution publicly referenced its contents before the defense had access.
The older brother wrote that he is “hopeful” that the resentencing hearing date will be set for next week.
“Barring any reindeer games, and in this case that is certainly not a given, a new resentencing hearing date will be assigned, and we are hopeful that it will be next week,” he wrote. “We will wait for the judge to make it official.”
The brothers, who have now served over three decades in prison, are seeking a chance at parole under updated California laws recognizing the impact of youth and trauma in sentencing.
Fox News Digital’s Stepheny Price contributed to this report.
On the eve of a critical hearing that could reshape the future of killer brothers Erik and Lyle Menendez’s legal journey, the family behind the Justice for Erik and Lyle Coalition called for the recusal of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office.
The family coalition has been vocal about what they describe as a pattern of overreach by the DA Nathan Hochman’s office.
“The issue is not about what the [risk assessment] contains or how District Attorney Hochman chooses to characterize Erik and Lyle,” the family wrote in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital. “We know who they are, how much they’ve grown, how remorseful they are… The issue is that the DA once again tried to box us in and put the cart before the horse.”
Their frustrations came to a head last month, when Hochman held a press conference speaking publicly about a draft risk assessment (CRA) tied to the Menendez brothers.
They likened the situation to “walking into a job interview and finding out your therapy notes had already been shared with the employer.”
The Menendez family coalition argued that the DA’s office has exhibited a pattern of behavior to “tilt the scales of justice.”
One family member, however, objected to the resentencing and filed an amicus brief in opposition through his attorney, Kathleen Cady.
The resentencing hearing for Lyle and Erik Menendez was originally set to continue in April 2025 but was unexpectedly delayed due to unresolved legal disputes.
The brothers’ defense team sought to disqualify the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office from the case, citing alleged bias and a conflict of interest. The DA’s office, led by Nathan Hochman, called the move a “desperate argument.”
“In the opposition, the District Attorney’s Office has argued that in a ‘drastic and desperate step,’ the defense has decided to ‘sidestep the central issue of resentencing’ and present an argument ‘devoid of merit’ to recuse the entire District Attorney’s Office,” Hochman said. “The entire defense argument over recusal boils down to the defense not being happy with the current District Attorney’s position on resentencing. While this desperate argument may work in a press interview, it fails in a court of law based on an adversarial system of justice.”
Erik and Lyle Menendez’s state parole board risk assessment also remains central to the delayed hearing. California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered the test to determine an inmate’s potential risk to public safety if released.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic said that the discussions over the admissibility of the state parole board’s comprehensive risk assessments will be considered on Friday.
Both issues caused the hearing to come to a screeching halt and begin proceedings for Friday, May 9.
More than three decades after Lyle and Erik Menendez were convicted of murdering their parents in a case that captivated the nation, the brothers are once again at the center.
In 1989, the Menendez brothers shot and killed their parents, José and Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills mansion. The prosecution painted the brothers as spoiled heirs. The defense, led by attorney Leslie Abramson, argued they acted out of desperation after enduring years of abuse at the hands of their father.
Despite a highly publicized trial, which included two hung juries, they were ultimately sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The pair surged back into the spotlight when, in October 2024, Netflix released a true-crime documentary titled The Menendez Brothers, and in September 2024, the series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story reignited interest in the case.
The series sparked renewed debates of alleged child abuse and the fairness of their initial trial. The timing came as former DA George Gascón opened the door for clemency.
However, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office, now led by Nathan Hochman, has opposed this effort, claiming the brothers still haven’t accepted full responsibility for their actions.
Federal judge issues ruling on college student’s request for bail after ICE arrest
A federal judge in Vermont has granted a request for bail from a Tufts University student who was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Federal Judge William K. Sessions III, appointed by former President Barack Obama, granted Rumeysa Ozturk’s request for bail on Friday, saying that her arrest raises significant due process and First Amendment concerns. Ozturk isn’t a U.S. citizen and is in the country on a student visa.
Sessions ordered her to be released immediately and determined that she is not a danger to the community or a flight risk. He said he wants to be updated when she is released and will impose modest restrictions on Ozturk if ICE requests them.
The American Civil Liberties Union, which represented Ozturk in court, told Fox News Digital in a statement they are pleased with the ruling.
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“Rumeysa can now return to her beloved Tufts community, resume her studies, and begin teaching again. We could not be more delighted,” said Noor Zafar, senior staff attorney with ACLU. “Today’s ruling underscores a vital First Amendment principle: No one should be imprisoned by the government for expressing their beliefs.”
During the hearing, Judge Sessions noted that Ozturk has asthma and added that her detention might have been having an impact on her health. Ozturk had an asthma attack during the hearing, which she attended remotely.
Sessions III also said that the government’s action by detaining Ozturk “chills the speech” of millions of non-citizens who are in the country.
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The federal judge said Ozturk is free to return to her Massachusetts home and didn’t place any restrictions on her travel.
On the same day Ozturk’s bail request was granted, a federal appeals court ruled that Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi can remain out of federal custody while a legal challenge against his detention is working through the court system, according to CBS.
The decision comes after the Trump administration sought to put Mahdawi back in federal custody.
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Ozturk was detained by ICE agents on March 26. Federal officials previously accused Ozturk of supporting Hamas.
Ozturk co-authored an article in the Tufts student newspaper calling on the institution to divest from Israel and criticized its response to the Israel-Hamas war.
MSNBC host loses more than half of key audience one day after new show airs
MSNBC’s Jen Psaki bombed on Wednesday night.
Psaki took over MSNBC’s coveted 9 p.m. ET timeslot on Tuesday through Fridays this week as “The Rachel Maddow Show” returned to only airing on Mondays, after Maddow temporarily returned to airing five nights a week during President Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office.
Psaki, a former Biden administration press secretary, hosted “Inside” on Sundays and Mondays, and now hosts “The Briefing” at the critical hour.
On Tuesday, Psaki’s “The Briefing” debuted with 1.2 million viewers and 139,000 in the advertiser-coveted demographic of adults aged 25-54, but her second episode on Wednesday plummeted to just over one million total viewers and only 65,000 in the demo.
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MSNBC’s newest program shed a staggering 53% of its demo viewers compared to the first episode only one day prior. Psaki’s program also lost a whopping 67% of viewers between the ages of 18-49 after only one episode, as “The Briefing” averaged 113,000 on Tuesday and only 37,000 on Wednesday.
MSNBC had much better results at 9 p.m. ET last week with Maddow at the helm, as she averaged 1.9 million total viewers and 141,000 among viewers aged 25-54. Psaki’s second episode managed to shed 46% of those totals among total viewers and 54% in the critical demo.
Psaki’s Wednesday episode was outdrawn by 38 different cable news offerings among the advertiser-coveted demo despite the cushy timeslot. MSNBC’s 9 p.m. ET program was outdrawn by everything Fox News Channel had to offer, along with 13 different CNN shows and seven MSNBC programs.
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On Wednesday, Psaki’s “The Briefing” also had fewer viewers among adults aged 25-54 than various repeats of “Friends,” “Seinfeld,” “Everybody Loves Raymond,” “Bob’s Burgers,” “The King of Queens” and “That 70s Show,” along with Nickelodeon’s “Paw Patrol,” Hallmark’s “Reba” and TLC’s “My Strange Addiction,” and many other basic cable offerings.
Psaki also failed to boost her primetime colleagues, as it was MSNBC’s lowest-rated Wednesday from 8-11 p.m. among both total viewers and the demo since Jan. 8, before Trump was sworn in for his second term.
It was also MSNBC’s lowest-rated 9 p.m. program among the demo on a Wednesday since Alex Wagner managed only 40,000 advertiser-coveted viewers on Dec. 11, 2024.
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Psaki served as Biden’s first press secretary from 2021 until May 2022.
The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed Friday that there was another air traffic control outage this morning affecting Newark Liberty International Airport.
The development comes after the FAA issued a ground stop at the airport, due to construction, that was in effect until 11:15 a.m. ET.
In audio captured by LiveATC.net, an air traffic controller told a FedEx plane that “our scopes just went black again.”
“If you care about this, contact your airline and try to get some pressure for them to fix this stuff,” the unidentified controller said.
Another controller was heard telling a private aircraft, “We just had another brief radar outage. Just in case that happens again, for your purposes if you can’t reach me, just stay at or above 3,000 until you’re passing Morristown and then you can just clear from the approach from there.”
“There was a telecommunications outage that impacted communications and radar display at Philadelphia TRACON Area C, which guides aircraft in and out of Newark Liberty International Airport airspace,” the FAA said. “The outage occurred around 3:55 a.m. on Friday, May 9, and lasted approximately 90 seconds.”
Last week, air traffic controllers at the FAA facility in Philadelphia lost radar and radio signals while directing planes to Newark for nearly 90 seconds as well, causing significant delays and flight cancellations that remain ongoing.
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White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Friday that “There was a glitch in the system this morning, especially at Newark airport.
“As you all know, I spoke to the Department of Transportation. That glitch was caused by the same telecoms and software issues that were raised last week. Everything went back online after the brief outage, and there was no operational impact,” according to Leavitt.
“DOT and the FAA are working to address this technical issue tonight to prevent further outages, as well as install new fiber from Newark Airport to Philadelphia. And the goal is to have the totality of this work done by the end of the summer,” she added.
Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., called the latest reported outage “big news.”
“My understanding is there was yet another outage in the last hours, another 90 second outage of radar and radio in the region. That’s the second time in a matter of days,” he told reporters at Newark airport on Friday.
“Travelers have had it with the delays. I’ve heard from a lot of them. They’re calling me, they’re talking to me. You see them posting about the delays, about the cancellations,” Gottheimer added. “This airport is a key hub for our economy in the region. Twenty percent of America’s GDP runs through this region.”
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“But what they are frustrated about and angry about and concerned about is because right now, the airport simply lacks the FAA tower staffing levels, modern technology and infrastructure that we need to make sure that this airspace, the busiest airspace in the world, runs efficiently, smoothly and safely, 24/7,” he continued. “You add that to the ongoing runway construction here at Newark, which was planned, and you can see why things overall are a mess at this airport and why things are jammed up and why those delays are occurring every day right now, and cancellations occurring every day.”
Gottheimer said “”We must immediately move more air traffic controllers from other parts of the country to this short-staffed region” and “We should pay these air traffic controllers whatever it takes to get them there — the bonuses, the overtime.”
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby told customers that last week’s technology failure resulted in “dozens of diverted flights, hundreds of delayed and canceled flights and, worst of all, thousands of customers with disrupted travel plans.”
To try and minimize the impact that this will have on customers, Kirby said the carrier is unilaterally canceling 35 round-trip flights per day from its Newark schedule, which has already been reduced.
“It’s disappointing to make further cuts to an already reduced schedule at Newark, but since there is no way to resolve the near-term structural FAA staffing issues, we feel like there is no other choice in order to protect our customers,” Kirby added.
American Airlines said that its customers have also been impacted.
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“The challenges in Newark have led to delays and disruptions for airlines and their customers – including American – and demonstrate the urgent need to staff up and modernize our air traffic control system,” the carrier said in a statement to FOX Business.