Dem candidate’s violent texts about ‘shooting’ GOP leader spark campaign firestorm
Virginia Democratic attorney general candidate Jay Jones once remarked on shooting the Virginia House speaker in texts with another lawmaker, the latest example of charged political rhetoric some have called the politics of “rage.”
Texts obtained by Fox News Digital Friday showed an August 2022 conversation between Jones — then a recently departed delegate from Norfolk — and another lawmaker after the death of Del. Joe Johnson, D-Bristol, at age 90.
“Hence the glowing tributes from the Rs. Damn, that (message) was for Mark,” Jones texted Del. Carrie Coyner, R-Chester.
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At the time, several House Republicans — including leadership — offered eulogizing words for Johnson, who had been known as an aisle-crossing, friendly moderate. One of those who had kind words for Johnson was then-House Speaker Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah.
Jones told Coyner that Johnson “leaked everything to your [Republican] caucus. It’s why Gilbert gave him such a glowing tribute.”
“If those guys die before me, I will go to their funerals to piss on their graves,” he continued. “Send them out awash in something.”
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At that point, Coyner appeared to attempt to rein in the conversation, texting, “Jay Jones.”
But Jones continued, adding, “Three people, two bullets. Gilbert, Hitler and Pol Pot. Gilbert gets two bullets to the head.”
The future attorney general candidate was not yet finished condemning the House leader.
“Spoiler: put Gilbert in the crew with the two worst people you know and he receives both bullets every time,” he wrote.
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Coyner tried again to end the conversation: “Jay. Please stop.”
“Lol. OK, OK,” he replied.
A source familiar with the situation told Fox News Digital that, around that point, Jones and Coyner had a telephone conversation, which was followed by Jones trying to lighten the mood.
“I genuinely was [asking questions]. I wasn’t attacking you. I was trying to understand your logic.”
Coyner disagreed, to which Jones replied, “Yes, I’ve told you this before. Only when people feel pain personally do they move on policy.”
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In another message to Coyner, Jones considered whether Gilbert and his wife Jennifer were “breeding little fascists.”
A spokesperson for Coyner’s campaign confirmed the veracity of the texts first reported by National Review, saying they were “disturbing and disqualifying for anyone who wants to seek public office.”
“Jay Jones wished violence on the children of a colleague and joked about shooting Todd Gilbert. It’s disgusting and unbecoming of any public official,” the spokesperson said.
Gilbert recently resigned from Richmond to accept President Donald Trump’s nomination as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia. He has since left that post, according to reports.
Jones’ comments created a firestorm Friday evening, with another state lawmaker recently subjected to a death threat condemning Jones.
Del. Geary Higgins, R-Lovettsville, said Democrats continue to amp up violent rhetoric that has gotten people hurt.
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“They shot the president. They killed Charlie Kirk. They threatened to kill Kim Taylor. They said they’d kill me at my next rally, then my kids. Now we learn Jay Jones repeatedly said he wanted to kill Speaker Todd Gilbert. Is this what “letting your rage fuel you” looks like?” he said, referring to a widely-condemned remark by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger unrelated to Jones, specifically.
Spanberger condemned her fellow Democrat, saying in a statement that she spoke “frankly” with Jones after the texts surfaced about her “disgust” for what he had said.
“I will always condemn violent language in our politics,” Spanberger said.
A source familiar with the situation told Fox News Digital Jones initially had accidentally texted Coyner, who later made Gilbert aware of the Democrat’s invective.
When reached by Fox News Digital, Jones also did not deny the messages were his and blamed his opponent for allegedly planting stories and then criticized Republicans.
“Like all people, I’ve sent text messages that I regret, and I believe that violent rhetoric has no place in our politics,” Jones said.
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“Let’s be clear about what is happening in the attorney general race right now: Jason Miyares is dropping smears through Trump-controlled media organizations to assault my character and rescue his desperate campaign.
“This is a strategy that ensures Jason Miyares will continue to be accountable to Donald Trump, not the people of Virginia. This race is about whether Trump can control Virginia or Virginians control Virginia.”
A source familiar with Gilbert told Fox News Digital he has no comment on the matter.
Long list of charges against Des Moines schools chief revealed after ICE arrest
The Department of Homeland Security on Friday detailed a list of all the shocking charges and convictions against illegal alien Ian Andre Roberts, who was working as the head of Des Moines, Iowa, public schools until his recent arrest by ICE.
Roberts is currently in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service in Polk County jail, according to a Homeland Security statement. In the statement, DHS said that Roberts’ “rap sheet and immigration history reveal a long record of criminal conduct in the United States,” which the agency said proves “he should never have been serving in a role overseeing children in Iowa’s largest school district.”
He is currently facing illegal weapons possession charges. The DOJ said a search warrant of Roberts’ home uncovered three guns, a loaded and chambered 9mm pistol was found underneath a seat cushion in the living room, a loaded rifle was wound in the master bedroom closet and a shotgun was found behind the master bedroom headboard.
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According to DHS, Roberts was previously convicted of reckless driving, unsafe operation and speeding in Maryland in 2012. The statement also said he was convicted in Pennsylvania of unlawful possession of a loaded firearm in 2022.
Besides these, he also has charges of criminal possession of narcotics with intent to sell, criminal possession of narcotics, criminal possession of a forgery instrument and possession of a forged instrument in New York dating back to 1996 and charges of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, third-degree criminal possession of a weapon and fourth-degree weapon charges in 2020.
Additionally, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, its civil division served Roberts a sealed restraining order from Jackson County, Missouri, in August 2023. It is unclear what prompted the restraining order since the order was sealed.
He was also discovered to be illegally registered to vote as a Democrat in Maryland, raising serious questions about the state’s voter registration system.
Despite these charges and his illegal status, Roberts has held several high roles in public education in Baltimore, Washington, D.C., St. Louis, California, Pennsylvania and Iowa.
After his arrest, he resigned his most recent position as superintendent of schools in Des Moines, a position he had held since 2023. Des Moines Public Schools initially placed Roberts on paid leave before changing it to unpaid leave and then finally voting to accept his resignation.
There has also been confusion over the degrees that Roberts claimed to have attained on his LinkedIn page. Among several schools listed on his profile, Roberts claims to have attended Morgan State University from 2003 to 2007 and to have been an “incoming MBA candidate” at MIT Sloane School of Management. Morgan State University confirmed that he attended. However, it said he “did not receive a degree.”
The MIT Registrar’s Office said that it “has no record of enrollment for a person with the name Ian Andre Roberts, and similarly, there is no record of enrollment in the MIT Executive MBA program at the MIT Sloan School of Management.”
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Before taking charge of the Des Moines public schools, he was superintendent of schools at Millcreek Township School District in Pennsylvania. During his time in leadership, the district was sued for sex discrimination by a male faculty member who claimed Roberts gave principal positions to less qualified women because of a “bias against males in favor of females.” According to local outlet GoErie, this was not the only sex discrimination lawsuit the district faced while Roberts was in charge. The outlet reported the district had to pay over $400,000 in settlements to resolve three sex discrimination suits.
An immigrant from Guyana, DHS said Roberts first entered the country “classified as a visitor for pleasure” in 1994. The agency said he departed at an unknown date but returned again before his 1996 drug charges. He then re-entered the U.S. on a student visa in 1999.
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In total, he filed applications for employment authorizations three times, in 2000, 2018 and 2019, each of which was granted and lasted a year, meaning that his last work authorization expired in 2020.
U.S. Customs and Immigration Services issued Roberts a notice to appear before an immigration judge in 2020 and on May 22, 2024, an immigration judge in Dallas, Texas, ordered Roberts removed in absentia.
He was arrested by ICE with the help of the Iowa State Patrol on Sept. 26. ICE said Roberts attempted to flee arrest and was found hiding in the brush. The vehicle he was driving was found with $3,000 in cash, a fixed blade knife and a loaded Glock 9mm pistol, which led to additional criminal charges of being an illegal alien in possession of firearms.
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Commenting on the revelations since his arrest, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said, “Ian Andre Roberts, a criminal illegal alien with multiple weapons charges and a drug trafficking charge, should have never been able to work around children.”
“Under Secretary Noem, ICE will continue to arrest the worst of the worst and put the safety of America’s children FIRST,” said McLaughlin.
Israel’s army will ‘advance readiness’ for first phase of Trump plan to release hostages
Israel’s military announced Saturday it will “advance readiness for the implementation of the first phase of the Trump plan” for the release of hostages from the Gaza Strip.
The development comes after Hamas on Friday said it agreed to release all Israeli hostages, dead or alive, as part of President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace proposal. Trump later posted a video from the White House Oval Office saying he is still awaiting final word but that he believes he is “very close” to achieving a peace deal.
“The Chief of the General Staff convened a special situation assessment in light of recent developments. In accordance with the directives from the political echelon, the Chief of the General Staff [was] instructed to advance readiness for the implementation of the first phase of the Trump plan for the release of the hostages,” Israel Defense Forces posted on X.
“At the same time, it was emphasized that the safety of IDF troops is a top priority and that all IDF capabilities will be allocated to the Southern Command to ensure the protection of the troops,” it added. “The Chief of Staff noted that, given the operational sensitivity, all troops must maintain high alertness and vigilance, in addition to reinforcing the need for a rapid response to neutralize any threat.”
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An official told The Associated Press that Israeli troops have now moved into a defensive-only position inside the Gaza Strip and will not actively strike. The official also said no IDF assets have been taken out of the region.
Last week, Trump unveiled a 20-point peace plan calling for an end to Israel’s military operations, the disarmament of Hamas and the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip under a Palestinian governing body overseen by an international coalition led by the U.S.
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“THIS DEAL ALSO SPARES THE LIVES OF ALL REMAINING HAMAS FIGHTERS! The details of the document are known to the WORLD, and it is a great one for ALL! We will have PEACE in the Middle East one way or the other. The violence and bloodshed will stop,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Friday.
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“RELEASES THE HOSTAGES, ALL OF THEM, INCLUDING THE BODIES OF THOSE THAT ARE DEAD, NOW! An Agreement must be reached with Hamas by Sunday Evening at SIX (6) P.M., Washington, D.C. time. Every Country has signed on!” Trump added. “If this LAST CHANCE agreement is not reached, all HELL, like no one has ever seen before, will break out against Hamas. THERE WILL BE PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST ONE WAY OR THE OTHER.”
Academy Award winner’s prayer request leaves pastor speechless in faith interview
“Hey, why don’t we start with a prayer?” Those are usually the words of a pastor when sitting down to discuss faith with someone. But they weren’t my words — they were Denzel Washington’s when we began an interview about his spiritual life. The conversation was part of a collection of 12 interviews I conducted for my forthcoming book, “Witness to Belief: Conversations on Faith and Meaning” (Church Publishing, October 2025). It may have seemed a small gesture, but it set the tone: the divine, not the human, is where to begin.
I started the book around the time I retired after more than 30 years of ministry as an Episcopal priest. We had spoken on the phone a few times before our first meeting, which began with a hearty, “Call me Denzel, and come on, man, give me a hug!”
I knew from listening to his public speeches and interviews that he was open about his faith journey. I was eager to learn more and grow more — and Denzel helped this ordained pilgrim go a bit further in my own faith.
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At 20, while working in his mother’s beauty parlor, a customer named Ruth Green wrote a prophecy for him on a piece of paper: “Boy, you are going to travel the world and preach to millions of people.” Ms. Green didn’t know how to spell “prophecy,” so Denzel’s mother helped her and added the word “Reverend.”
In our discussion, he recalled this moment 50 years ago and said, “I was thinking, ‘Who is this crazy woman?’ But now I understand. The Lord has given me the opportunity to get to the ears of a lot of people. And now I am talking more about my faith — as we are doing right here.”
To my benefit, and hopefully to readers of the book, that’s exactly what we did — as I sat in the classroom of an Academy Award — and Golden Globe-winning actor and director who told me: “The older I get, the simpler life gets. I don’t want to make more money… don’t care about winning Oscars… don’t want more things… I don’t even need those things. I want God to be in charge of everything and to take me where He wants me to go.”
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Let me lean in on that word “need.” It’s no exaggeration to say we live in a chaotic, divided and troubling world. One of the most tempting escape hatches is believing that “more” will bring deeper meaning — more money, power, influence, fame, success.
But Denzel hit the nail on the head. As Amy Grant, who was also interviewed for my new book, told me in our conversation, more of those things is “not the answer to any deeper connection or purpose. It’s no different than the dopamine hits people get from a thumbs-up on social media — and it lasts about that long.”
So, what does last? My brief time in the school of Denzel reminded me that a life grounded in the divine outweighs anything this world can offer.
At first, he resisted when I asked how he’d like to be remembered, but then said: “A man of God. Just as important as saying a man of God is the process, the development that comes from God—that does not come from wealth, fame, through the church, the pastor. It comes from personal conversation with God; it comes from your encounters with God.”
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And that is what one of the most well-known men in the world seeks daily. He prays and reads his Bible. He attends worship faithfully. But not as a path to greater knowledge — rather, to a deeper relationship with God. As he said of his faith journey: “It is not what you know, it is Who you know.”
Though retired from daily ministry, I still long to learn. Denzel reminded me why I was called to the priesthood in the first place, and why I must hold fast to that calling until the end.
Coming to know God in such a personal way has brought him peace amid our confusing and distressing world. As he said at his baptism five months after our conversation: “God has done a lot for me, but He will do a lot for anyone who trusts in Him.”
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Do you need a reminder of what matters most in 2025 and beyond? I invite you to join me in 12 conversations that reveal that truth. Let us listen and learn together from Denzel, Dr. Jane Goodall, who just passed away this week, Dr. Condoleezza Rice, Dr. Francis Collins, Gary Sinise, Sam Waterston, Ambassador Nikki Haley, Amy Grant, sports commentator Jim Nantz, former Secretary of State James A. Baker III, Adm. William McRaven and Fox News’ Brit Hume.
My hunch is that by the end, you will agree with Denzel: “I don’t want more… I want God.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM REV. DR. RUSSELL LEVENSON, JR.
Major Texas university fires back after being accused of anti-Christian bias
Chloe Cole, a detransitioner who talks about transgender issues, accused Texas Christian University of viewpoint discrimination, claiming the institution made the process difficult for Turning Point USA to host an event she was scheduled to attend.
However, TCU flatly denies the notion that it engages in anti-Christian discrimination.
“They gave us a lot of hoops to jump through,” Cole said. “TCU has, according to students and staff who I’ve spoken to, had a history of discriminating against their Christian and conservative students.”
The event was planned for Oct. 7 with Cole being a featured speaker.
Cole claimed TCU tried to ignore Turning Point USA since the group has been working to establish a chapter on campus.
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“We gave them several weeks’ notice on doing this event. And they led us on for a while until they were expecting about, I think, 600 or more students or people in attendance at this event, and they provided us with only a room that would give us about 200 people, which isn’t even half the attendance that we’re expecting,” she said.
The TCU spokesperson told Fox News Digital that “faith-based student organizations face no additional obstacles to hosting an event at TCU.”
“We regularly welcome Christian and faith-based events, for example, the recent memorial for students and the community honoring the life of Charlie Kirk, hosted by TCU’s TPUSA chapter on Sept. 18,” the TCU spokesperson said.
“For the date of Oct. 7, no venue was available for an event open to the public for up to a thousand people, which has since been publicized 2,000. Alternatives and other options were explored and offered to accommodate the request for this date, and we remain open to finding a suitable venue on an available date,” the spokesperson added.
The event will not happen due to logistical issues, the university told Fox News Digital. Once reports and rumors broke out about the event being moved to a different venue, the university faced backlash from conservatives and Texas officials. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Republican Rep. Chip Roy have said they will investigate the matter.
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TCU disputed these claims, stating the event was never canceled because it was not booked in the first place.
“On September 18, TCU successfully hosted a TPUSA event to honor the life of Charlie Kirk, who had previously spoken on TCU’s campus to students and the community. Separate from this event, an outside party, not affiliated with TCU, invited an external speaker to appear on our campus on Oct. 7,” a TCU spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
“The student chapter of TPUSA then requested that TCU host the Oct. 7 event for 700 to 1,000 people. The requested space was already booked with another student event. We explored options and notified the group on Sept. 25 that a secure space was not available given the short notice, but we offered to find another date or space for the event.”
Cole explained further that when she asked TCU to address it, the university told her “there would be no more discussion about the matter.”
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BATYA UNGAR-SARGON: Two deals Trump pushed while Senate shut down government
It was an action-packed week in America that ended with a government shutdown as Democrats and Republicans failed to arrive at a compromise on health care benefits.
But despite what you heard from the mainstream media, that wasn’t the big health care story of the week. It was this: On Tuesday, the Trump administration reached a deal with Pfizer to lower the cost of drugs for Americans, reversing decades of unfair pricing in which American patients paid up to four times more than Europeans for drugs that were developed .
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Pfizer agreed not to launch new drugs at a higher price in the U.S. than in other wealthy countries. It also agreed to sell drugs to Medicaid at lower prices and to sell drugs at a discount to Americans without insurance.
The deal will mean huge relief for Americans living paycheck to paycheck, who can expect to pay hundreds of dollars less a month for lifesaving drugs.
As head of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. put it, “No family should ever be forced to choose between filling a prescription and putting food on the table.”
Lowering the cost of drugs is something every Democrat has promised to do for years—and none did. It was President Trump, a Republican, who did it. That’s the real story of last week, not whether the Democrats or Republicans are to blame for the shutdown, but the fact that Trump stole yet another signature issue out from under the Democrats’ noses in order to deliver for working-class Americans.
So how’d he pull it off?
Trump ignored the experts who insisted that health care is the Democrats’ bag.
He used tariffs to create an incentive for Pfizer to begin reshoring the manufacture of drugs and to demand other nations carry more of the burden. And in so doing, Trump changed the rules of the market to align the interests of a private company with those of its consumers.
And he called both RFK Jr. and Dr. Mehmet Oz, the federal administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, relentlessly, at all hours of the night and day, demanding they make headway.
These are the three signature moves that define Trump’s deal-making approach:
- Ignore the conventional wisdom
- Identify—and identify —the interests of the two warring sides
- Be tenacious but nimble, unafraid to pivot if a better offer presents itself
Ignore. Align. Play the long game.
Trump doesn’t only use this signature deal-making playbook for domestic policy. It’s how he’s been navigating conflicts across the globe too, as he did this week.
On Monday, Trump welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House with a single goal in mind: getting Netanyahu and the Gulf Arab states that underwrite Hamas to sign off on a 21-point peace plan to end the war in Gaza. This was no mean feat. Netanyahu has consistently resisted calls to end the war before Hamas is fully eliminated, and the Arab states were united in their fury after Israel bombed Qatar last month.
And yet, Trump managed to get both to sign off on the plan, which, if Hamas agrees to it, would see the immediate release of all the remaining hostages, an end to the hostilities, and a plan for the de-radicalization of the Gaza Strip.
Again, he used the three-pronged approach: Ignore the experts, identify with the interests of both sides, and play the long game, pivoting when necessary.
Trump ignored the conventional wisdom of the Middle East that the battle is about conflicting values. Rather than pick a side, Trump has been proudly, avowedly pro-Israel while also making a tour of the Gulf Arab states early in his second term, securing trillions of dollars in investments in the U.S. from the U.A.E., Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. In so doing, he laid the groundwork necessary to prove to those countries that he had their best interests at heart—because they were now intertwined with our interests.
This was step two: He convinced the Israelis the Arabs that he understood their interests, identified with them, and would not betray them because it would mean betraying the U.S. And having secured the trust of the Israelis over a decade of having their backs, Trump forced Netanyahu to call Qatar and apologize for the bombing. Trump also signed an executive order upgrading the U.S. commitment to Qatar with security guarantees, signaling he was serious about reigning the Israelis in.
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What’s amazing is that none of this would have been possible without Israel’s bombing of Qatar. Viewed widely by the conventional wisdom as a “costly failure” on Israel’s part, the Trump negotiating team saw it as the opposite—an opportunity. Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner saw the crisis as leverage to end the war, sources told .
They noticed “the Arabs were speaking with one voice” to shout at Israel, a Trump adviser familiar with the discussions told . “It became clear, particularly to [Witkoff], that this rallying cry that seemed negative at first could be turned into something positive.”
Ignore the experts. Align the interests. Play the long game and pivot when necessary.
If Hamas accepts the deal, history will have been made thanks to a President who understands the art of the deal like no one else, on the domestic front and the international front.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM DAVID MARCUS
‘Lower courts are doing too much’: Trump secures 21 victories at high court
President Donald Trump has an almost flawless record on the Supreme Court’s emergency docket this year, a streak that has delivered crucial moments of relief to the government as it fights hundreds of lawsuits challenging the president’s agenda.
The Supreme Court has ruled in Trump’s favor on government cuts, nationwide injunctions, immigration policies and more, leading the White House to tout what it recently counted as 21 victories before the high court.
Those victories are, however, temporary. The upcoming term, which begins Monday, will allow the justices to begin weighing the full merits of some of these court disputes and ultimately cement or undo key parts of the Trump agenda.
Jonathan Adler, a William & Mary Law School professor, attributed the interim wins to the Supreme Court’s desire to narrow the judicial branch’s role in policymaking.
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Speaking during a Federalist Society panel this week, Adler said the high court’s thinking might be that “lower courts are doing too much. We’re going to scale that back because it’s not our place, and it’s for the executive branch and the legislative branch to figure that out.”
The Trump administration has only challenged about one-fifth of the adverse rulings it has received from the lower courts. Adler said Solicitor General John Sauer, who represents the government, is strategically selecting which cases to bring to the high court.
“If you go through them, setting Humphrey’s Executor stuff slightly to the side, what they all have in common is that there’s a kind of clear argument that … district courts were a little too aggressive here,” Adler said.
He acknowledged that some might have a different view, that the Trump administration has been “too muscular” and that court intervention is a necessary check.
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The emergency docket, sometimes known as the shadow or interim docket, allows the Trump administration or plaintiffs to ask the Supreme Court to quickly intervene in lawsuits and temporarily pause lower court rulings. The process can take a couple of days, weeks or months, and is viewed as a much speedier, albeit temporary, way to secure court relief than when the high court fully considers the merits of a case, which can include a long briefing schedule and oral arguments.
The Supreme Court’s emergency docket this year has been extraordinarily active. Attorney Kannon Shanmugam, who has argued dozens of cases before the high court, said Trump’s high volume of executive actions is partly the reason for that.
“[An increase in emergency motions] coincides with the rise of executive orders and other forms of unilateral executive action really as the primary form of lawmaking in our country with the disappearance of Congress, and that has posed enormous challenges for the court,” Shanmugam said during the panel.
Through the emergency docket, the Supreme Court has greenlit Trump’s mass firings of career employees and high-profile terminations of Democratic appointees. It has curtailed nationwide injunctions and cleared the way for controversial deportations and immigration stops. The high court has said the government can, for now, withhold billions of dollars in foreign aid and discharge transgender service members from the military.
In other instances, parties on both sides have construed Supreme Court outcomes as wins.
In one such order, the Supreme Court said the Trump administration must attempt to return Salvadoran migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whom the government admitted in court to improperly deporting to a Salvadoran prison. But at the same time, the high court noted that district court judges must also be deferential to the executive branch’s authority over foreign policy.
Similarly, the high court said the administration must allow deportees under the Alien Enemies Act a reasonable chance to fight their removal through habeas corpus petitions. The justices have not yet weighed in on the merits of Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act, one of his most aggressive deportation tactics, which the president employed to swiftly remove alleged Tren de Aragua members.
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Conservative lawyer Carrie Severino, president of the legal watchdog JCN, told Fox News Digital one criterion the Supreme Court considers when making fast decisions is whether parties are at risk of irreparable harm.
As an example, Severino pointed to the Supreme Court recently allowing Trump to fire Biden-appointed FTC Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter, a case that the high court is now using as a vehicle to revisit in the coming months the 90-year precedent set by Humphrey’s Executor v. United States.
Severino said, “If one assumes, ‘Okay, if Trump’s right,’ then this is a serious burden on the government to have a good chunk of their four years being taken up with not being able to actually staff the government as they want to. If Trump’s wrong, then Commissioner Slaughter should have been in that position, and they can remedy that by providing her back pay.”
“When you’re balancing those types of harms, this is the kind of case where the government’s going to have a leg up,” Severino said.
In a small defeat for Trump on Wednesday, the Supreme Court declined to allow the president to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook and instead said it would hear her case in January. The move was a deviation from the court’s typical posture and underscored its unique view on the Federal Reserve compared with other agencies.
The Supreme Court’s majority has often split along ideological lines and offered little reason for its emergency decisions. This differs from final orders from the court, which can be lengthy and include numerous concurring opinions and dissents.
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Attorney Benjamin Mizer, who served as a top DOJ official during the Biden administration, cautioned during the panel that the Supreme Court could reverse its shadow docket positions down the road.
“As cases reach the court on the merits, we shouldn’t presume that the administration will win them all,” Mizer said.
Comedian reveals how quitting alcohol changed his career: ‘I’d be a total wreck’
Stand-up comedian Dusty Slay sat down for an interview with Fox News Digital following the release of his newest Netflix special, “Wet Heat,” and opened up about the impact his faith and sobriety have had on his career.
Best known for his laid-back, blue-collar style of comedy, the Nashville-based comedian has risen from a local stand-up act into one of the industry’s fastest-rising stars.
Having maintained his sobriety for over a decade, Slay reflected on the choice he made early in his career to give up drinking.
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“I like to party. I like to get into it. And so, every night, comedy became a party, and it’s just not sustainable,” he said. “I just wasn’t feeling good. I wouldn’t remember my jokes… getting sober changed my whole life. More than just comedy, but changed my life.”
The comedian credited his Christian faith with helping him to quit drinking, noting that he would not be where he is today without it.
With the majority of stand-up performances taking place at venues that serve alcohol, drinking has long been ingrained in comedy culture.
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One of the questions that comedians commonly ask themselves before they decide to quit drinking is, “Will I still be funny without the booze?”
Slay admitted he once had that same fear, but noted how his reality after giving up alcohol was far different from what he imagined.
“When I quit drinking, I thought I might quit comedy because all my jokes were about drinking,” he told Fox News Digital. “I’m much better at comedy now. Now I have all these ideas. My brain’s not constantly clogged and flooded with poison, you know?”
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While acknowledging that there are many people who are capable of drinking alcohol and leading completely normal lives, Slay conceded that he is not one of those people.
“I don’t care if people drink, but for me, it changed my life. It made everything better for me. I’d be a total wreck,” he reflected. “I wouldn’t be sitting here, and if I was, I’d be sweating — even though it’s heavily air-conditioned. I’d sweat, and you’d think, ‘Have you been drinking?’”
“And I probably would have been. I’d have had a beer before. I’d go, ‘You guys got any beers around here?’ You’re like, ‘This is a news station, buddy.’”
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Looking back on how much had changed in his own life, Slay was asked whether he’s noticed more comedians choosing the same path — and what might be driving that shift.
“I think there’s definitely an emptiness out here now in the world and I feel like people are looking for something,” he said. “That’s why I like to talk about my faith and being sober, because I get emails from people all the time saying, ‘I don’t hear people talk much about Christianity anymore, and it feels good, it helps me to hear people talk about it.’ And I just think it’s important to share that message.”
With “Wet Heat” now streaming on Netflix, Slay continues to bring his down-to-earth humor to an expanding audience. And while faith and sobriety may not be the typical fodder for punchlines, they have provided him with a foundation to build one of the most authentic stand-up acts around.
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Cracker Barrel’s costly makeover sparks feud between founder and CEO
Cracker Barrel co-founder Tommy Lowe is speaking out against the company’s current leadership, accusing its CEO of being out of touch with the Southern-country themed chain’s loyal customer base.
In an interview with FOX Business, Lowe, 93, criticized Julie Felss Masino — who previously served as president of Taco Bell and Mattel before taking over as CEO in 2023 — for pushing changes he believes run counter to the restaurant’s roots.
“Taco Bell is not Cracker Barrel,” Lowe told FOX Business. “… She knows very little about Cracker Barrel’s operation — the history, the food. The idea she’s come up with … doesn’t fit the customer. If she’d go out and sit on the front porch and talk to all the customers that come in there, she’d have a little bit of a different outlook.”
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Lowe, who helped launch the first Cracker Barrel with Dan Evins in 1969, argued that the company’s board of directors is equally responsible for what he sees as a misstep in direction.
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“I doubt that they’ve ever been in a Cracker Barrel kitchen or have an idea of what their clientele is,” Lowe said. “And the board is evidently still supporting her … And if they were any kind of board of directors, they’d have cleaned house a long time ago.”
Lowe praised Cracker Barrel’s recent decision to return to its original logo, which features the iconic “Old Timer” leaning on a barrel.
“That’s just the biggest waste of money in the world,” he said. “… They were talking about $700 million for their redo, and it was worth nothing.”
The logo change, unveiled in August, dropped the iconic man-and-barrel illustration that symbolized the brand’s Southern hospitality for more than five decades. The rebranding was part of a $700 million overhaul across the company’s 660-plus restaurants, which also included a revamped menu and decluttered dining rooms.
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However, the move sparked fierce backlash among customers and investors alike, wiping more than $140 million off Cracker Barrel’s market value at the height of the controversy. President Donald Trump even weighed in, urging the chain to return to its roots.
If he were in charge today, Lowe said he would focus on fundamentals.
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“I’d bring somebody in there that knew how to run a Cracker Barrel,” he said. “… I’d bring on somebody that was familiar with the business and the food. … Do you ever try to eat grits cold or any kind of country vegetables? It’s got to be piping hot, and they’re just not training the people.”
Cracker Barrel did not immediately respond to FOX Business’ request for comment.