Crowd-for-hire CEO criticizes upcoming ‘No Kings’ protests as ineffective and divisive
The head of a national crowd-for-hire firm is warning that America’s protest culture has become a target for exploitation — by paid agitators, profit-driven interest groups and even foreign actors seeking to fuel division.
Adam Swart, CEO of Crowds on Demand, told Fox News Digital that his company has witnessed firsthand how demonstrations can be co-opted by people “making money off chaos” rather than advancing genuine civic causes.
“My concern is that there are forces — some domestic, some maybe foreign — that actually want to pull America apart,” Swart said. “These aren’t left or right actors. They’re people making money off chaos.”
His remarks come as organizers prepare for the “No Kings” protest, a nationwide demonstration planned for Oct. 18 that is expected to denounce political elitism and government overreach.
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Swart said his company was approached about the event but declined to participate, calling it “a dud in the making” — another example, he said, of political theater that risks being exploited rather than achieving real persuasion.
“It’s the same people saying the same things they’ve said every time — and getting the same results,” he said.
Organizers behind the “No Kings” movement pushed back on Swart’s characterization, saying the event is expected to draw turnout “comparable to or larger than” the first nationwide demonstration, which they claim attracted about 5 million participants.
A spokesperson told Fox News Digital the protest “has nothing to do with raising money or energizing voters,” describing it instead as an effort to “demonstrate and build the resistance to the authoritarian.”
The spokesperson said the movement is built around a commitment to nonviolence and employs extensive security and de-escalation training for volunteers.
“We’re monitoring what’s going on online in advance and being proactive against any identified threats,” the spokesperson said, calling No Kings “mindful, thoughtful, organized and centered on nonviolence.”
The spokesperson added that the first protest recorded “very few incidents” and described the movement as part of “a proud American tradition” of peaceful civic demonstrations.
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While the movement has drawn support from some progressive groups, Swart said his concerns apply broadly — to any large-scale protest vulnerable to manipulation or infiltration.
Swart described what he calls a “protest industry” — an ecosystem of consultants, operatives and influencers who build brands and bankrolls from political outrage.
He said many movements, regardless of ideology, now operate less as grassroots expressions and more as “performative activism” built to attract funding, followers or online engagement.
“I’ve taken a pay cut to turn this into a company that advances common-sense causes,” he said. “I could make 10 times more if I said yes to everything. But I don’t want to be part of the noise.”
Swart said Crowds on Demand now declines contracts that he views as divisive or volatile, choosing instead to support peaceful, purposeful demonstrations.
“I want to elevate productive expression — not mob theatrics,” he said.
Swart cautioned that not all demonstrations are what they appear to be. In some cases, he said, interest groups or foreign entities can mirror legitimate advocacy networks — legally or otherwise — to obscure who is actually behind an event or campaign.
“I know how you’d structure a web of advocacy groups legally — and how someone could mirror that illegally,” he said. “I want to help the government figure out who’s funding the division and shut it down.”
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Swart said growing political polarization has created fertile ground for opportunists — both domestic and foreign — who thrive on outrage and confusion.
“Every time there’s an incident, both sides start finger-pointing,” he said. “The real winners are the ones trying to divide us. They want Democrats and Republicans blaming each other instead of asking who’s profiting from it.”
Swart said he’s seen examples where the goal of protest activity was less about persuasion and more about generating viral conflict — an approach that, in his view, benefits those monetizing clicks, chaos and outrage.
His remarks echo recent U.S. intelligence warnings that foreign actors—particularly Russia, China and Iran—use disinformation to amplify divisive narratives in the U.S., and could try to spur unrest around major political events.
Swart also blamed major social-media platforms for monetizing outrage and accelerating polarization.
“They only make money when you’re doom-scrolling,” he said. “If people liked each other, Facebook and X would be a tenth of their size.”
He said the problem cuts across ideological lines and is driven by the economics of engagement rather than politics.
“People try to label Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg politically, but both make money off division,” Swart said. “It’s not about right or left — it’s about engagement.”
Swart said the exploitation of division has become a national security concern, warning that agitators and influence networks may be working to destabilize the country for profit or geopolitical gain.
“This is one of the greatest national security threats that we face — America coming apart,” he said. “The sources of it are not right or left. The sources are far more sinister than that.”
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Swart emphasized that his warnings aren’t about any single protest or political movement but about a larger pattern — one where manipulation and misinformation can turn public expression into a tool for profit or chaos.
“The protest space has to be about purpose again,” he said. “If we don’t figure that out, we’re going to keep getting played by the people who thrive on conflict.”
Swart said he remains hopeful that awareness and transparency can help reduce the risks.
“Punch up, not down,” he said. “Let’s stop finger-pointing and start coalition-building.”
Mom learns of husband’s bathroom camera that exposed ‘monster’ living in her home
Stacey Rutherford believed she had found “a gold mine” when she married Justin Rutherford.
But in 2021, the Pennsylvania mother of four made a discovery that would shatter her life. Hidden inside the bathroom of her family home was a secret camera — planted by her second husband, a respected local physician. For years, it silently recorded, police said.
What began as a shocking violation soon unraveled into something far darker.
Justin, 36, pleaded guilty to sexually abusing his stepson and another minor and was later convicted in a murder-for-hire plot. The disgraced doctor’s twisted double life — and his family’s fight to reclaim their story — are now the focus of the ABC News Studios’ true-crime docuseries streaming on Hulu, “Betrayal: Under His Eye.”
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“There’s a lot of shame and guilt,” Rutherford told Fox News Digital. “You always think, as a mom, if you know your kids so well, and you’re so close to them, how did you not see that something was broken? How did you not hone in on the fact that something wasn’t right at home? The feeling gets less and less over time, but it’s also a feeling that never goes away.”
After struggling to find love, Rutherford, then a single mother of two, came across the charming medical student on a dating app in 2015. By the time they married in 2019, he was a practicing physician. They went on to welcome two more children.
“Initially, I really liked him,” Rutherford’s son, Tyler VanScyoc, told Fox News Digital. “My mom didn’t bring too many men in, but I remember when she did introduce us to someone she was seeing, they really didn’t speak a word to us. But this was different. He was actually interested in getting to know us. He asked about what we liked, what we wanted to do with our lives. He would throw a football around with us. I thought he was a good guy, a good match for my mom.”
Rutherford believed she had the perfect home life. But that all changed in the summer of 2021 when a teenage friend of VanScyoc’s discovered a hidden camera disguised as a phone charger in the family bathroom. The friend immediately informed his mother, who called the police, according to investigators.
According to the docuseries, Justin captured thousands of photos of people showering, using the bathroom and changing their clothes.
During the investigation, a friend of VanScyoc’s told police Justin sexually assaulted him during a sleepover while the friend was under the influence of alcohol, GMA reported. VanScyoc later confessed that his stepfather had been sexually molesting him since he was 11.
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“Initially, I didn’t think there was any courage there in my speaking out,” VanScyoc explained. “I felt like I had to. And I think the more that I shared what happened to me, the more I was no longer letting it eat me alive.”
In the docuseries, VanScyoc described the deep shame he felt after coming forward. He recalled that whenever he tried to resist, his stepfather’s demeanor would change. His anger surfaced quickly if VanScyoc didn’t do exactly what he wanted. But once his friend spoke out, VanScyoc realized he couldn’t stay silent any longer.
“When everything first came out, I didn’t really hate him yet or anything,” VanScyoc explained. “I didn’t really feel many of those feelings. It took a while for it to turn into that. But there was a lot of guilt there.
“I just thought, ‘Man, I took this whole guy’s life away.’ But he did take a lot away from me as well. And I was still connected to him in the aspect that he was my father for all those years. He was still my father. And when he wasn’t doing what he did to me, or wasn’t in his, I guess you would say, monster mode or whatever, he would act like a good dad. He treated me like any good dad would treat their kid.
“He built a connection with me,” the 20-year-old continued. “I think that’s a lot of what he used against me. He built that connection with me, made me trust him and made me love him as well. And I did. I loved him, cared about him, trusted him — all those things. It was hard to learn that all of that was years and years of manipulation.”
Rutherford said she never noticed any red flags — nothing that made her suspect the man she loved was hiding a dark secret.
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“When I was dating, my big fear was that somebody was going to hurt my children, and I would’ve been the one to bring that into their lives,” she said. “I didn’t introduce them to somebody right away. Knowing that I brought him into their world, knowing that the only reason he was in their world was because of me? Yes, I carried a lot of guilt. As parents, we’re supposed to be able to protect our kids from anything. And when you can’t, it feels like it’s your fault.
“I had no idea what any of this stuff was,” the 47-year-old reflected. “I wasn’t abused as a child. I didn’t know any friends who were abused. That just wasn’t something I knew about. I was 30 when I met him. I should have known about those kinds of things, but I didn’t. … Guilt has been the silent killer.”
Justin managed to flee to Europe. But when he returned to Dulles International Airport in Virginia, he was arrested. While awaiting trial, he attempted to orchestrate VanScyoc’s murder through letters to a close family friend, police told GMA.
“I was completely devastated,” said Rutherford, fighting back tears. “I knew he wasn’t who I thought he was, but this was something I could never have imagined. It changed all of our lives. It made me realize just how ugly this world is. I don’t like to go to a lot of places in public. Sometimes when my kids walk in, I jump. I don’t think I’ve slept the same since all of this happened. How do I know he’s not in there, still trying to take revenge on my son? All it takes is for one person there to believe him, to think he’s a doctor with a lot of money.
“I’m always looking over my shoulder.”
In 2023, Justin was sentenced to 26 years and 10 months to 70 years in prison, the Berks County District Attorney’s office announced. He later received an additional concurrent sentence of five to 10 years for attempting to arrange VanScyoc’s murder from prison, GMA reported.
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“When I had to go through photos for the documentary, it was very difficult,” said Rutherford. “Tyler was always a big snuggler, and he would snuggle on the couch with me. He’d snuggle on the couch with Justin. … Looking at the photos now, it makes me sick. When I initially took them, I thought they were very sweet photos of my children being loved by a stepparent.
“Tyler always had friends over for games or to get in the pool with us. And Justin wasn’t throwing himself at the kids. It was like the big brother wanting to play video games, and they didn’t want him there. I saw those things as innocent. But I’m trying not to take every single memory and twist it. I’m trying to let it be what it was for us at the time.”
Following Justin’s conviction, the family kept tight-lipped about what happened to them. But now, they’re coming forward in hopes it will help other survivors speak out and for parents to be vigilant.
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“Have conversations with your kids,” said Rutherford. “It’s not only creepy weirdos who molest kids. This stuff goes on inside good homes. It can happen anywhere. It can happen inside your home. I never thought something like this would happen to me.”
Courtney Stodden slams child marriage laws after marrying Doug Hutchison at 16
Courtney Stodden slammed child marriage as “America’s dirty little secret” as she revealed she was the “breadwinner” in her marriage at just 16 years old.
Stodden, who told the story of her marriage to actor Doug Hutchison in Lifetime’s “Ripped from the Headlines,” revealed her role in the marriage “seemed to shift” very quickly as she realized she was making money for a man older than her father.
“Realizing everything that has happened to me in present time has been a lot to process. When I first hit the spotlight as a young girl, my brain wasn’t developed yet. And I had a certain image of what my life was. I thought I knew everything. I mean, what kid doesn’t at 16,” Stodden explained to Fox News Digital. “Then as things started to escalate quite quickly – and my role seemed to shift in the marriage quite quickly – I became the breadwinner.”
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“People have a misconception that I married for money as a child, which they like to victim blame, which is insane,” she added. “I mean, looking back on it, I was a child who was making money for a man older than my dad. And a lot of stuff I couldn’t talk about. So when I would realize it then, I couldn’t talk about it and I stuffed it down. And that just led to a lot of self-destructive habits that I kept to myself. Now in current day, present day, I’m 31. My brain is developed. And I’m starting to realize what really did happen to me. And it’s been a pretty hard pill to swallow.”
“Obviously, there is a problem in America. We think of child marriage as something that’s like overseas or foreign, but really America’s dirty little secret is the loophole in the judicial system for, in my opinion, pedophiles to marry children.”
Stodden famously married Hutchison at the age of 16. He was 51 at the time.
“Obviously there is a problem in America,” she emphasized. “We think of child marriage as something that’s like overseas or foreign, but really America’s dirty little secret is the loophole in the judicial system for, in my opinion, pedophiles to marry children.”
“And the scariest part of this whole thing is that I’m not alone,” Stodden added. “There are so many people that reach out to me and tell me their horror stories of being a child bride.”
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A rep for Hutchison did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment.
Hutchison and Stodden separated and reconciled multiple times throughout the relationship. Eventually, Stodden filed for divorce in 2018 and the couple finalized the split in 2020.
Stodden was intensely criticized over the marriage to Hutchison – due to their 35-year age gap. She dealt with scrutiny and public shaming for years. Stodden explained she “created a caricature” of herself at a young age in an attempt to protect her mental health.
“I created something, at the time, I feel like I used my fashion as rebellion. And that’s kind of how I would rebel and act out,” she explained. “And so, when people would criticize me – which they criticized me, the child more than they did, the abuser – I just kind of brushed it off and would rebel in my fashion.”
“And to me, they were not talking about me,” Stodden added. “They were talking about the character I created. And I think, in a sense, that actually saved me in a lot of ways back then as a kid.”
Stodden admitted she did eventually “become that caricature” of herself.
“Because, you know, I was pushed to embrace it as I was entering adulthood,” she explained. “And I just kind of became that Courtney Stodden character. So I did lose myself in that process quite a bit.”
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Stodden revisited her experience of being married at age 16 in the Lifetime “Ripped from the Headlines” episode, “I Was a Child Bride: The Courtney Stodden Story.” The episode premiered on Sept. 27 and featured Stodden as a producer and narrator.
As Stodden helped shape the episode by sharing her story, she found it reopened wounds in her relationship with her father.
“I think a lot of it stems back to the relationship with my father,” she explained. “Because if you look at it, I got married at 16 and both of my parents believed that he was a good guy. And not having my dad, really emotionally, was a big catapult to this whole thing. So I think reopening that wound has been the most difficult thing for me to try to grasp.”
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Stodden has since moved on from her past relationship. The model married TV producer Jared Safier in December 2024. The two tied the knot in an impromptu ceremony in front of 20 people, according to US Weekly. Stodden explained she has “a lot of hope” for her marriage to Safier.
“He has shown me a new way of loving, like a fresh start almost,” she told Fox News Digital. “He’s really been a pivotal person in my life that has somehow gained, not complete trust, but a lot of my trust. I don’t know if I will ever completely trust again. But he’s gained a lot of my trust and I just feel safe with him.”
“That does not come easy for me to feel safe around anyone, let alone a male. So it’s an everyday thing. I mean, he’s a strong guy. Definitely can’t be with someone who isn’t strong. But he’s just teaching me a new way of loving. Introducing me to what a healthy love looks like.”
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Auburn’s controversial goal line call sparks fury as coach blasts officials
The Auburn Tigers were the subject of a controversial call at the goal line in the second quarter of their game against the No. 10 Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday night.
Tigers quarterback Jackson Arnold attempted to sneak into the end zone over a pile of offensive and defensive lineman in the second quarter when the ball was forced from his hands by linebacker Raylen Wilson. Arnold was very close to the goal line before the fumble was called.
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A Georgia defender picked up the ball and was hellbent on returning it for a touchdown but the play was blown dead. Officials determined that Arnold fumbled the ball before he crossed the goal line. Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze was irate. Auburn athletics director John Cohen was seen berating officials as the team went into the locker room for halftime.
It ignited a debate on social media.
Freeze spoke about the fumble after the game.
“All you have to do is have the nose of the ball break the plane,” Freeze said. “It didn’t go our way.”
Arnold would have put the Tigers up 16-0 with the score, but the turnover helped spark a Georgia comeback. The Bulldogs would keep the Tigers’ offense at bay for the rest of the game. The team scored 20 unanswered points and won 20-10.
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“A tale of two halves,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said. “Our kids never quit. I’m as proud of this team as I am of probably any team.”
Arnold was 19-of-31 with 137 passing yards. He had 55 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown. Auburn had 278 yards of total offense and were penalized 11 times for 103 yards.
“It’s very clear that we find ways to not win football games, and that’s what has to change,” Freeze said. “That locker room is a good enough football team to play the games and win the games.”
Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton was 24-of-37 with 217 passing yards and a rushing touchdown. Chauncey Bowens also had a rushing touchdown.
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Georgia moved to 5-1 with the win. Auburn fell to 3-3.
Original Hooters founders battle to reclaim control as chain’s wild history emerges
“Hooters makes you happy” was a lyric to a jingle from a series of 1990s television commercials about the Florida-founded restaurant chain.
It’s one of the memorable catchphrases shared by once-loyal Hooters patrons during an era when the brand was appealing to single men and families alike.
Now, amid bankruptcy proceedings, the founding group — along with another franchisee — announced a plan earlier this year to reclaim control of the brand, which Hooters Inc. CEO Neil Kiefer told Fox News Digital strayed too far from the original vision under Hooters of America management.
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While the buyer group awaits approval from a bankruptcy court, here’s a trip down memory lane — featuring five facts about Hooters’ history that may come as a surprise to some.
1. The name is a play on words
During a game of Parcheesi, six “semi-intellectual Clearwater businessmen” developed a sudden urge for Buffalo-style chicken wings, according to the website for Hooters Inc., which still operates the original Hooters location and nearly two dozen others throughout the Tampa Bay and Chicagoland areas.
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Knowing they couldn’t agree on anything as a group, the “Hooters Six,” as they came to be known, “decided to embark upon a major undertaking” and “open a place in Clearwater where other people of their caliber could gather and quench their thirst for the finer things in life.”
But what would they call it?
“Simple — what else brings a gleam to men’s eyes everywhere besides beer and chicken wings and an occasional winning football season? Hence, the name Hooters.”
Hooters opened its flagship location in Oct. 1983.
The name is a double entendre, referring to both a slang term for women’s breasts, giving birth to the “breastaurant” concept — and the logo, an owl known for its hooting calls.
Oh, and the owl mascot’s name is Hootie.
2. Hooters comes home
Before young Hooters waitresses were widely welcomed into homes as bikini centerfolds in the annual Hooters calendar, they found fame on late-night television.
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Hooters girls first hit the small screen in 1987, introducing and hosting a late-night movie of the week called “Hooters Nite Owl Theater.”
Lynne Austin, the original Hooters calendar girl who also appeared as the July 1986 Playboy Playmate, was the debut host.
The syndicated show was later renamed “Hooters Movie of the Weak.” And that’s not a typo.
Syndicated in 13 major markets, the show became a hit with viewers for its comedy sketches and political skewers that bookended the movie and aired between commercial breaks, soon ranking No. 1 in its time slot, according to Hooters.
The show eventually moved to the afternoon before being yanked in 1995, “victim of a legal skirmish between Hooters of America and Hooters Inc.”
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Hooters tried giving TV another shot in 2001 with “Who Wants to Date a Hooters Girl?”
The half-hour dating show was to pit six guys against each other who all wanted a night out with a Hooters waitress.
Broadcasting + Cable magazine reported that comedian George Gray was set to host “Who Wants to Date a Hooters Girl?” — while Doug Schwartz, creator of the popular 1990s series “Baywatch,” was attached as executive producer. The show never aired.
3. Hooters takes the field
Hooters was more than just a restaurant chain. It was also a football team in the 1990s.
The Miami Hooters was the name of an old Arena Football League team in Florida.
Under a marketing agreement with the restaurant chain, the team played as the Hooters from 1993-95.
After a paltry 11-26 record over three seasons, the sponsorship was terminated and the team relocated to West Palm Beach, taking on a new identity as the Florida Bobcats.
4. Hooters reaches for the sky
Hooters girls soared at 30,000 feet in the early 2000s.
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The restaurant chain was flying high as a Hooters-branded airline launched in 2003.
Hooters Air, through a partnership with Pace Airlines, operated a Boeing fleet that flew to 15 U.S. destinations under a flat-fare model of $129 each way, according to Forbes.
The airline was founded by Robert Brooks, who was chairman of Hooters of America and had acquired Pace Airlines in 2002.
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Two Hooters girls rode along on each trip, according to Forbes, mostly as in-flight entertainment since they weren’t certified flight attendants.
A perk for passengers was complimentary meals for any flight with a duration of more than an hour, according to Airways magazine.
Hooters Air didn’t last long, however; it shut down in 2006.
5. Hooters rolls the dice
Hooters also had its own hotel and casino in Las Vegas.
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The Hooters Casino Hotel opened in 2006 across from the MGM Grand off the Las Vegas Strip.
It had 696 rooms, a casino and nine restaurants and bars, according to the Las Vegas Sun.
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Hooters girls worked as front-of-house staff and on the casino floor as waitresses, bartenders, cocktail servers and dealers, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
The property was rebranded as the Oyo Hotel & Casino in 2019.
Dan Scavino named head of White House office as Trump administration shifts roles
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino is poised to play an even larger role in President Donald Trump’s administration, the president announced Sunday.
Trump says Scavino, in addition to his current role, will now lead the White House Presidential Personnel Office. The office was previously held by Sergio Gor, who is now transitioning to become the U.S. Ambassador to India.
“I am pleased to announce that the great Dan Scavino, in addition to remaining Deputy Chief of Staff of the Trump Administration, will head the White House Presidential Personnel Office, replacing Sergio Gor, who did a wonderful job in that position, and will now become the Ambassador to India,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“Dan will be responsible for the selection and appointment of almost all positions in government, a very big and important position. Congratulations Dan, you will do a fantastic job!” he added.
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Scavino’s new appointment comes as the Trump administration is in a pitched fight with Democrats to define the cause of the ongoing government shutdown.
Trump allies have pointed to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s refusal to work with Republicans.
The president also sought to mitigate damage on Saturday by ordering War Secretary Pete Hegseth to make sure military service members get paid next week, regardless of the shutdown.
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“Chuck Schumer recently said, ‘Every day gets better’ during their Radical Left Shutdown,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I DISAGREE! If nothing is done, because of ‘Leader’ Chuck Schumer and the Democrats, our Brave Troops will miss the paychecks they are rightfully due on October 15th.”
He said he directed Hegseth “to use all available funds to get our Troops PAID on October 15th. We have identified funds to do this, and Secretary Hegseth will use them to PAY OUR TROOPS.”
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The government shut down on Oct. 1, after Democrats and Republicans failed to pass a spending bill to fund the government, with Democrats concerned expiring Affordable Care Act tax cuts could raise premiums and that Medicaid cuts could leave people without coverage.
Body part washes ashore at popular beach in tourist hot spot, police investigate: reports
A beachgoer in Ibiza made a grisly discovery Friday morning when a human foot washed ashore on one of the island’s busiest beaches, Playa d’en Bossa.
Local outlet Diario de Ibiza reported that the remains appeared among storm debris and were spotted by an unidentified man walking along the shore. The witness immediately alerted authorities, and by around 8 a.m. local time, several Spanish National Police patrol units had arrived at the scene.
Images published by The Sun show police officers and investigators in high-visibility vests inspecting the area as onlookers gathered nearby. Authorities closed off part of the beach to collect evidence and prevent contamination of the site.
The man who made the discovery reportedly secured the foot with a stick to keep it from being swept back into the water, according to Diario de Ibiza.
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Some witnesses were staying at the nearby Hotel Vibra Algarb, a beachfront four-star property, while others were passing by on their way to a local gym, outlets including Metro UK and The Sun reported.
“The incident has caused great commotion among residents and tourists who were walking along the beach at the time,” one local source told Diario de Ibiza.
Police have not yet determined where the limb came from.
Officials told Metro UK they are “not ruling out any hypotheses and are continuing to work to clarify the facts.” No additional details have been released.
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The discovery came just three days after a separate incident in which a decomposed body was found floating roughly two miles off the coast near Talamanca Bay on Tuesday, Oct. 7, according to Periódico de Ibiza y Formentera.
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Maritime authorities recovered the remains and brought them to the port of Ibiza.
Investigators have not confirmed any connection between the two findings.
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Fox News Digital reached out to the Spanish National Police for comment.