Former VP Cheney’s family bars Trump, Vance from funeral after Harris endorsement
President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance were not invited to the funeral for former Vice President Dick Cheney, Fox News has confirmed.
Cheney’s funeral is scheduled for mid-morning on Thursday at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. It is traditional for sitting U.S. presidents to attend funerals for past presidents and vice presidents, but Trump has had a uniquely poor relationship with Cheney’s family in recent years. News of the president’s exclusion was first reported by Axios.
Cheney’s daughter, former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., helped lead the House investigation into Trump’s role in the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Both Liz and her father endorsed former Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2024 presidential campaign.
CHIP CARTER MARVELS AT BIPARTISANSHIP HE WITNESSED AT HABITAT FOR HUMANITY, FATHER’S FUNERAL
The elder Cheney, who went from the plains of Casper, Wyoming, to a decades-long public career as a Republican congressman, Defense secretary, White House chief of staff and one of the most powerful American vice presidents ever, died at age 84 earlier this month.
“Richard B. Cheney, the 46th Vice President of the United States, died last night, November 3, 2025. He was 84 years old. His beloved wife of 61 years, Lynne, his daughters, Liz and Mary, and other family members were with him as he passed,” his family said in a statement obtained by Fox News. “The former Vice President died due to complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease.”
“For decades, Dick Cheney served our nation, including as White House Chief of Staff, Wyoming’s Congressman, Secretary of Defense, and Vice President of the United States,” the statement continued.
VANCE SAYS HE OWES ‘SO MUCH’ TO CHARLIE KIRK WHILE GUEST-HOSTING SHOW, PRAISES ‘VISIONARY’ CONSERVATIVE LEADER
“Dick Cheney was a great and good man who taught his children and grandchildren to love our country, and to live lives of courage, honor, love, kindness, and fly fishing,” his family said. “We are grateful beyond measure for all Dick Cheney did for our country. And we are blessed beyond measure to have loved and been loved by this noble giant of a man.”
Cheney had a long history of cardiac problems, including five heart attacks. He received a heart transplant on March 24, 2012, at a Virginia hospital after nearly 21 months on a waiting list.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Cheney, who served as vice president for two terms under President George W. Bush, was one of the most powerful and controversial men ever to hold that position. He was a driving force behind America’s “war on terror,” including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Former VP shouts over Epstein files hours before Trump signs bill
Former Vice President Kamala Harris called on President Donald Trump to unilaterally release the Epstein files on Wednesday.
Harris shouted at Trump to take action during a podcast appearance with The Bulwark. She argued that Trump’s claim that he cannot release the files without congressional approval is an example of him trying to “gaslight the American people.”
“All of a sudden he’s saying he’ll wait to see what Congress does. Since when?” Harris asked. “All of a sudden now he’s waiting for Congress to green light what he will do or wants to do? Come on.”
“So, release the files!” Harris shouted. “Release the files. He is the president of the United States, the head of the executive branch. He has taken unilateral action without concern about the three co-equal branches of government on almost everything he has done, so release the files.”
KHANNA, MASSIE, GREENE URGE SENATE TO PASS EPSTEIN BILL UNCHANGED, WARN OF ‘RECKONING’
Harris’ statement came just hours before Trump signed legislation green lighting the Justice Department to release the files.
“I HAVE JUST SIGNED THE BILL TO RELEASE THE EPSTEIN FILES!” Trump wrote in a lengthy message on the Truth Social platform. “As everyone knows, I asked Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, to pass this Bill in the House and Senate, respectively. Because of this request, the votes were almost unanimous in favor of passage.
“At my direction, the Department of Justice has already turned over close to fifty thousand pages of documents to Congress. Do not forget — The Biden Administration did not turn over a SINGLE file or page related to Democrat Epstein, nor did they ever even speak about him.”
EPSTEIN FILES TO GO PUBLIC AS TRUMP SAYS HE SIGNED LAW AUTHORIZING RELEASE OF RECORDS
The House voted Tuesday to release the files by a 421–1 margin, following pressure for months from the measure’s ringleaders, Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and other Democrats.
The Epstein Files Transparency Act specifically directs the Justice Department to release all unclassified records and investigative materials related to Epstein and Ghislane Maxwell, as well as files related to individuals who were referenced in Epstein’s previous legal cases, details surrounding trafficking allegations, internal DOJ communications as they relate to Epstein and any details surrounding the investigation into his death.
Files that include victims’ names, child sex abuse materials, classified materials or other materials that could threaten an active investigation may be withheld or redacted by the DOJ.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Attorney General Pam Bondi told reporters Wednesday that she would comply with the law after it was signed, which directs the Justice Department to release the files online in a searchable format within 30 days.
Trump’s tense Epstein spat with ABC reporter prompts network scandal to resurface
ABC News is back in the spotlight over its handling of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal over the years.
The pending release of the Epstein files has been an ongoing controversy for President Donald Trump, who expressed support, after initially opposing it, this week for the DOJ to release documents pertaining to its probe on the deceased convicted sex offender ahead of the House vote demanding their release.
ABC News correspondent Mary Bruce repeatedly confronted Trump on why he had not taken action himself.
“Why wait for Congress to release the Epstein files? Why not just do it now?” Bruce asked.
“It’s not the question that I mind. It’s your attitude,” Trump responded to Bruce. “I think you are a terrible reporter. It’s the way you ask these questions.”
TRUMP ERUPTS ON ABC REPORTER OVER EPSTEIN QUESTIONS, SUGGESTS YANKING NETWORK LICENSE
Trump suggested Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr should consider removing ABC’s broadcast license.
“I think the license should be taken away from ABC because your news is so fake. And it’s so wrong. And we have a great commissioner, a chairman who should look at that,” Trump told the reporter, accusing her network of being biased against him.
The next day, the White House sent out a press release declaring ABC News “fake news,” listing the network’s various controversies and allegations of slanted coverage against Trump.
TRUMP DEFENDS SAUDI CROWN PRINCE, RIPS ‘FAKE NEWS’ ABC REPORTER FOR QUESTION ON JAMAL KHASHOGGI’S MURDER
However, other critics are turning to the explosive 2019 allegation made by then-ABC anchor Amy Robach, who accused the Disney-owned network of burying her reporting on the Epstein scandal in a leaked video obtained by Project Veritas.
“I’ve had the story for three years… we would not put it on the air,” Robach said on a hot mic, referring to reporting that would have taken place in 2016.
“It was unbelievable what we had, Clinton, we had everything,” she added, an apparent reference to former President Bill Clinton. “I tried for three years to get it on to no avail. And now it’s all coming out, and it’s like these new revelations and I freaking had all of it. I’m so pissed right now.”
In the clip, Robach is heard telling ABC colleagues that she had landed an interview with Virginia Roberts Giuffre, the late Epstein victim who directly implicated the now-disgraced Prince Andrew.
“I’ve had this interview with Virginia Roberts. We would not put it on the air,” Robach said. “First of all, I was told ‘Who’s Jeffrey Epstein? No one knows who that is. This is a stupid story.’ Then, the Palace found out that we had her whole allegations about Prince Andrew and threatened us a million different ways. We were so afraid we wouldn’t be able to interview Kate and Will that we — that also quashed the story.”
“Like every day, I get more and more pissed ’cause I’m just like, ‘Oh my God… what we had was unreal.’ Other women backing it up… Brad Edwards, the attorney [for Epstein’s victims], three years ago said something like there will come a day, but we will realize Jeffrey Epstein was the most prolific pedophile this country has ever known. I had it all three years ago,” she added.
ABC NEWS’ AMY ROBACH CAUGHT ON HOT MIC SAYING NETWORK SPIKED JEFFREY EPSTEIN STORY BOMBSHELL
Robach quickly admitted its authenticity but dismissed the notion of unethical journalism.
“As a journalist, as the Epstein story continued to unfold last summer, I was caught in a private moment of frustration. I was upset that an important interview I had conducted with [Epstein accuser] Virginia Roberts didn’t air because we could not obtain sufficient corroborating evidence to meet ABC’s editorial standards about her allegations,” Robach said in a 2019 statement provided to Fox News Digital.
At the time, ABC News also downplayed the significance of the video despite widespread criticism, telling that Robach’s Epstein story wasn’t fit to air.
“Not all of our reporting met our standards to air, but we have never stopped investigating the story. Ever since, we’ve had a team on this investigation and substantial resources dedicated to it,” an ABC News spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
Notably, ABC News was the first to report in December 2023 that Clinton and Prince Andrew were expected to be named in unsealed court documents in the Epstein case. The report noted that “there is no indication the sealed records contain evidence of illegal conduct” by the former president.
EPSTEIN DOCUMENTS RAISE NEW QUESTIONS ABOUT TRUMP CONDUCT AS HE DENOUNCES DEMOCRATS
Still, Trump’s fiery Oval Office exchange with Bruce revived the infamous Robach clip.
“In 2019, ABC News admitted to deliberately burying a key interview with Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts for three years that would have completely exposed and reshaped the Epstein conversation,” conservative YouTube personality Benny Johnson posted Wednesday while sharing the video on X.
“If ABC had aired it, the victims would have justice and the American people would have answers. Media accountability isn’t optional. ABC should have lost their broadcasting license years ago,” Johnson added.
ABC News did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Trump said on Wednesday evening that he signed legislation green lighting the Justice Department to release files.
Robach left ABC News in 2023 as a result of an exposed extramarital affair she had with her co-host TJ Holmes, who was also dismissed by the network.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
COVID vaccine under new scrutiny after studies reveal possible health risks
Two large studies have put a spotlight on potential health risks of the COVID vaccine — but some experts urge caution when interpreting the findings.
Recent research has linked the vaccine to a higher risk of kidney injury, as well as certain respiratory infections.
A Korean study published in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases looked at how infectious diseases changed during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the impact of vaccines.
SURGE IN WHOOPING COUGH CASES IN SOUTHERN STATE PROMPTS HEALTH ALERTS
“While influenza-like illness dropped sharply during the early pandemic, upper respiratory infections and the common cold surged in 2023 and 2024, far above expected levels,” lead study author Jihun Song, Ph.D., from the Department of Biomedical Informatics at the Korea University College of Medicine, told Fox News Digital.
“Most strikingly, pertussis increased more than 40-fold compared to historical trends.”
“The key message is that respiratory infections in Korea dramatically shifted after the COVID-19 pandemic, and the patterns differ by disease.”
When the researchers looked at the impact of the COVID vaccine, they found that people who received four or more doses were less likely to get flu-like illnesses and whooping cough, but more likely to get common colds and other mild respiratory infections.
CANCER SURVIVAL APPEARS TO DOUBLE WITH COMMON VACCINE, RESEARCHERS SAY
“We did not expect to see such divergent associations with infectious disease type, where some infections (influenza-like illness) decreased among vaccinated individuals, while others (the common cold) increased,” Song said. “These mixed associations likely reflect complex changes in immunity, behavior and healthcare use in the post-pandemic era.”
Dr. Jacob Glanville, CEO of Centivax, a San Francisco biotechnology company, pointed out that the group that received more vaccines were older, averaging 67 years of age, while the groups with fewer vaccines averaged 37 to 47 years old.
“They need to do age matching (called controlling for confounding variables) and then run the analysis again,” Glanville, who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital. “Obviously, old people go to the hospital more for colds and upper respiratory infections.”
SHINGLES VACCINE CONNECTED TO ‘EXCITING’ HEALTH BENEFITS IN LARGE STUDY
The researchers noted that because the study was observational, it does not prove that the vaccine caused the rise in infections, but only shows an association.
Also, older adults and people with chronic conditions are more likely to receive booster doses, which may influence the results, Song noted.
Changes in “care-seeking behavior” and patterns of medical use pose another limitation, he said. “After years of reduced healthcare use, people may visit clinics differently than before, affecting diagnosis rates.”
The researchers also didn’t collect immunological data — such as antibody levels or immune cell activity — which means they couldn’t tell whether the effects were due to biological immune responses or outside factors.
“The findings may be influenced by differences in age, underlying illnesses and healthcare utilization among vaccinated and unvaccinated groups,” Song said.
COMMON VIRUSES LINKED TO ‘DRAMATIC’ SPIKE IN HEART ATTACK AND STROKE RISK
He emphasized that the study doesn’t mean people should avoid the COVID vaccine.
“Instead, it highlights the need for awareness of rising respiratory infections to encourage timely diagnosis and appropriate preventive measures, [as well as] strengthened surveillance for respiratory pathogens, as the post-COVID landscape is fundamentally different from before,” Song said.
“Our findings should not be interpreted as evidence that the vaccine increases or decreases specific infections, but rather as indicators of population-level trends that require further investigation.”
In another recent study published in the International Journal of Medical Sciences, COVID-19 vaccination was associated with a higher risk of acute kidney injury and dialysis within one year, although vaccinated people had lower rates of death from all causes.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Within 12 months, 15,809 vaccinated people developed acute kidney injury, compared to 11,081 unvaccinated people.
A total of 1,513 people received dialysis within a year of vaccination, compared to 697 unvaccinated people.
“Both risks were low in absolute terms, but the study is statistically well-controlled and there might be a real signal here,” Glanville told Fox News Digital.
“Other studies showed that the risk of renal disease from infection is way higher than from vaccination, which is counterintuitive,” he went on. “This deserves to be looked at further.”
The study also had limitations, the researchers acknowledged.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER
Those included gaps in the electronic health record data — it lacked information on vaccine doses and antibody levels, as well as details of kidney problems, other health conditions and over-the-counter medications that may affect the kidneys.
Because it was a retrospective study and not a controlled trial, differences between groups may have influenced the results.
“Benefits and risks are reported in both studies.”
Hua Wang, associate professor of materials science and engineering at the University of Illinois’ Grainger College of Engineering, encourages people to be cautious when interpreting data in this type of research.
“Both benefits and risks are reported in both studies, so we should not simply highlight the potential negative effects of COVID-19 vaccination as some news articles stated,” said Wang, who was not involved in the studies.
TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ
“One potential limitation of the two studies is the lack of information on the fraction of participants being diagnosed with SARS-COVID-2 virus in the vaccinated and non-vaccinated groups,” the professor added. “The effect of viruses themselves, as we know, could be significant.”
Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News senior medical analyst and the author of the new book “The Miracles Among Us” (Fox News Books), also commented on the research.
“These are massive studies that by no means prove that COVID vaccines cause kidney problems or increase the susceptibility to other respiratory infections, including flu,” he told Fox News Digital.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH STORIES
“However, the association found is certainly worth investigating further, and does shed a spotlight on the fact that priming the immune pump has to be carefully followed to consider potential effects.”
Added Siegel, “It is also quite possible that the studies were biased if those who took the vaccine were already more prone to other infections or to kidney problems.”
‘Stop the Insanity’ queen went from fitness empire to delivering Uber Eats
Susan Powter was once a staple of the early 1990s with her “Stop the Insanity” fitness infomercial empire, but she eventually lost everything.
After her company filed for bankruptcy in 1995, Powter told Fox News Digital that she walked away from everything following lawsuits and mismanagement of her money by people she trusted.
The 67-year-old now has a documentary called “Stop the Insanity: Finding Susan Powter,” produced by Jamie Lee Curtis. It premiered on Wednesday and explores her rise to fame and her fall.
In the documentary, Powter revealed she used a cardboard box as her nightstand at her apartment – something she said she still uses: “It’s still my nightstand today.”
PAULA DEEN ADMITS SHE’S STILL ‘NOT OK’ OVER A DECADE AFTER RACIST SCANDAL DESTROYED HER COOKING EMPIRE
“I live in the same place, I’m driving the same car, and I drove Uber Eats before my trip to New York” on a “plane that was paid for,” she said. “That’s not pathetic, that’s fabulous.”
Despite it all, Powter said she’s focused on the present and is “having the time” of her life promoting the documentary and meeting people.
The film will be released in select theaters on November 19, 2025, with plans for streaming in December 2025. Apple TV pre-order is available now in addition to theaters this weekend.
“One of the things I’m the most proud of about the movie is that it tells the truth … the simplicity of the truth and for me, I’m just really grateful that I have a chance to tell people,” Powter told Fox News Digital recently. “People have no idea like, ‘What the hell? Where were you? What happened?’ People have no idea.”
Driving for Uber Eats, which she still does, has also been difficult for her. Powter said that although she looks different, the people she delivers to often recognize her voice. She remembered one specific time that she delivered to actor Louie Anderson’s home.
“And I rang the doorbell to a house with a very, I had a very large order from fast-food. And Louie Anderson opened the door,” she said. “His career was rising. We knew each other back in that day.”
She said she had brown hair and a hat on, but “when he opened the door, I knew that he recognized me. I knew it. And he was polite enough and gentle enough [to] acknowledge it without acknowledging it.”
“It was just a very odd moment,” she continued, noting that fast-food and weight had been Anderson’s struggle. He died in 2022 after a battle with cancer.
She said it was a “horrible feeling” meeting Anderson while delivering his food, “but I was so grateful to him that he didn’t say, ‘Susan Powter!’ But the look in his eye — because he knew suffering, and he knew pain, and he knew there was suffering and pain.”
She said the film has been healing for her.
Powter said if she could go back and give herself advice, it would be more of “an umbrella of awareness and safety, saying things can work … Just keep going. Things can change. Things can shift. Things can work out. I kind of lost hope in that for a while. Like, I literally did not believe it would ever be any different. I would just comfort [her past self] and say, ‘Things change, stuff changes, just hang on.’”
And with her trademark energy and optimism, Powter remains enthusiastic about the future.
“What is happening now makes ‘Stop the Insanity’ look like dress rehearsal,” she beamed. “And that’s literal, I mean that literally.”
WATCH: SUSAN POWTER SAYS SHE’S ‘PROUD THAT HER NEW DOC TELLS THE ’TRUTH’ ABOUT THE COLLAPSE OF HER FITNESS EMPIRE
Despite what happened, Powter said she hasn’t lost her ability to trust.
“I haven’t changed a thing when it comes to trust because I completely trusted Zeberiah Newman, the filmmaker, to tell the story properly,” she explained. “So, I have not changed in that.”
But she said now, with the advancement of the digital era, she plans to check her bank account “every 10 minutes.”
‘BIGGEST LOSER’ STARS JILLIAN MICHAELS AND BOB HARPER’S FRIENDSHIP WAS FRACTURED LONG BEFORE EXPLOSIVE DOC
She explained in the 1990s, “I couldn’t say to Time Warner, give me the analytics. I can go online now and see what’s selling and what’s happening. So, it’s a different age and that’s why I’m grateful to be able to work again in different age.”
Powter added, “The ‘90s … a woman fitness expert, infomercial queen. You’re going to ask Simon and Schuster about your — ? No, you’re not. They’re not going to listen. Nobody listened. It was a different game. Everything has changed. And I made it. I’m still here.”
Powter explained that it was her corporation, not her, that filed for bankruptcy in 1995 – without her knowledge.
“The Susan Powter Corporation filed bankruptcy to move a lawsuit from Texas to California and I didn’t even know,” she clarified. “You think they were telling me all that? I was running around writing books and doing stuff and making the money for the corporation.”
JILLIAN MICHAELS BLASTS ‘BIGGEST LOSER’ DOC AS ‘AN EGREGIOUS LIE,’ DEBATING LEGAL ACTION
She said: “Things were done strategically in business and … nobody ever told me this is going to affect you for 25 years. Do you know what I’m saying? … And I am not an idiot, but I had the 14 lawyers, there’s five agents, there’s 17 managers, there’s Time Warner, there’s Simon & Schuster, there’s multimedia, they were all real.”
If everything had gone down in the era of social media, Powter said she would have just “gotten online and told the whole story” after she walked away from her success.
SUSAN POWTER REMEMBERS PAINFUL MOMENT SHE DELIVERED UBER EATS TO FRIEND LOUIE ANDERSON AFTER EMPIRE COLLAPSE
Before she left her empire, Powter said she “found out how things were being worked — as in all the expenses were coming out of mine, as in, you know, padding bills.”
She said she “asked one question to somebody. And when — I didn’t even wait for the answer. I was just like, ‘Oh, oh OK.’”
Powter went home to Beverly Hills where she lived at the time and fired almost everyone who worked for her in one email.
“One paragraph. I fired everyone,” she said. “I said, ‘No longer represent Susan Powter or something like that.’ I packed up my kids immediately, and I moved to Seattle with a brand-new baby [and] my two kids.”
Powter went back to her roots, teaching exercise classes. She said at that time she still had some money and one lawyer working for her.
“Then 10 years goes by, and it’s like, ‘Whoa, whoa,’ you know what I’m saying?” she said.
FORMER DISNEY CHILD STAR EXPOSES KIDNAPPING ATTEMPT AND STALKERS IN HOLLYWOOD TELL-ALL
The fitness guru explained that she didn’t go from “Hollywood to Harbor Island [Seattle] to a welfare motel. It was over the course of” a long period of time.
WATCH: ’90S FITNESS GURU SUSAN POWTER GRATEFUL SHE CAN HAVE MORE CONTROL OVER HER MONEY IN CURRENT ERA
“I’m a workhorse,” she said. “Like, I will do any job under the sun. I work, I pay my bills. What the hell, I never asked anybody to pay my bill. I never would. But then you get 65, it’s a little different as a woman.”
She said even her past fame worked against her sometimes.
“I’m a workhorse. Like, I will do any job under the sun. I work, I pay my bills. What the hell, I never asked anybody to pay my bill. I never would. But then you get 65, it’s a little different as a woman.”
“I had a job that I needed desperately,” she said. “I was working in a café. I was the manager of the café. [The boss] Googled my name and she thought I was there doing an investigative report on like the food, because ‘Susan Powter.’ So sometimes being Susan Powter was the worst thing I could ever be.”
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER
LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
She added, “It wasn’t easy. So sometimes people are like, ‘What the hell are you doing here? What are you riding the bus for? What are doing this for?’ It wasn’t immediate. It was as you get older … And everyone knows that. People know that. And millions of people are living just like that. And I understand, believe me. I understand.”
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Trump labels 6 Democrats who told troops to refuse unlawful orders ‘traitors’
President Donald Trump slammed the six Democrats who appeared in a video telling troops to defy “illegal” orders.
“It’s called SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL. Each one of these traitors to our country should be ARRESTED AND PUT ON TRIAL,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Their words cannot be allowed to stand — We won’t have a Country anymore!!! An example MUST BE SET.”
In a second post, Trump wrote, “This is really bad, and dangerous to our country. Their words cannot be allowed to stand. SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!! LOCK THEM UP???”
SIX DEMOCRATS URGE MILITARY MEMBERS TO ‘REFUSE ILLEGAL ORDERS’ IN VIRAL VIDEO; HEGSETH RESPONDS
The video, which was posted on Tuesday by Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., has drawn the ire of Republicans and the Trump administration. The Democrats in the video include Slotkin, Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., Reps. Chris Deluzio, D-Pa., Maggie Goodlander, D-N.H., Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., and Jason Crow, D-Colo. All the lawmakers in the video highlighted their former service in the military and intelligence community.
Slotkin and her colleagues have spent recent weeks introducing legislation to limit Trump’s ability to deploy National Guard members domestically or launch military action against suspected narcoterrorists without congressional approval.
None of that context appears in the video, titled “Don’t Give Up the Ship,” which instead frames the appeal as a warning to military members to “stand up for our laws” and “refuse unlawful orders.”
SEN BLACKBURN FIRES BACK AT DEMOCRATS OVER ‘DISTURBING’ VIDEO URGING TROOPS TO DEFY ‘ILLEGAL’ ORDERS
War Secretary Pete Hegseth responded to the video on X, writing, “Stage 4 TDS.”
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., echoed the sentiment during an appearance on “The Faulkner Focus.”
“They have stage four Trump Derangement Syndrome,” Blackburn told Fox News’ Harris Faulkner.
“It is inconceivable that you would have elected officials that are saying to uniform members of the military who have taken an oath to protect and defend, that they would defy the orders that they have been given to execute their mission,” she added.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Slotkin’s “No Troops in Our Streets Act,” detailed in a Nov. 13 release, would give Congress the power to block National Guard deployments inside American cities. Trump has expanded National Guard operations to Los Angeles, Portland and Chicago amid violent crime. There are also reports that troops will be deployed to Louisiana.
NYC Mayor-elect Mamdani signals openness to working with Trump on city priorities
New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani said he has “many disagreements” with President Donald Trump but is willing to set those differences aside for the sake of his city.
“I intend to make it clear to President Trump that I will work with him on any agenda that benefits New Yorkers. If an agenda hurts New Yorkers, I will also be the first to say something,” Mamdani said Thursday at a press conference.
“I know that for tens of thousands of New Yorkers, this meeting is between two very different candidates who they voted for, for the same reason,” he added. “They wanted a leader who would take on the cost of living crisis that makes it impossible for working people to afford living in this city.”
The mayor-elect is scheduled to meet with Trump at the White House on Friday.
MAMDANI VOWS TO DEFY TRUMP IN FIERY FINAL MARCH FROM BROOKLYN BRIDGE TO CITY HALL AHEAD OF ELECTION DAY
Trump has repeatedly called out Mamdani for his political views, including labeling him a “Communist Lunatic” after his victory on Election Day.
In the weeks leading up to the mayoral election, the president threatened to pull federal funding to New York City if Mamdani won. Afterward, Trump said of the city that he would “help them a little bit.”
FLASHBACK: WILDEST MOMENTS MAMDANI OVERCAME ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL TO BECOME NYC’S NEXT MAYOR
Mamdani, a self-proclaimed democratic socialist, said at Thursday’s press conference at City Hall Park in Lower Manhattan that a key part of the meeting was to talk about the issue of affordability.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
“When we speak about an affordability crisis, we’re speaking about 1 in 4 New Yorkers living in poverty, 1 in 5 struggling to afford $2.90 to ride the bus. New Yorkers, for whom the daily acts of life are becoming increasingly harder to afford,” Mamdani told reporters.
GOP senator exposes $250M in taxpayer-funded fast-food meals through SNAP
FIRST ON FOX: U.S. taxpayers are footing nearly $250 million a year in SNAP benefits spent on fast-food meals across just nine states, most of which are blue states, according to Republican Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst.
Nine states, including Arizona, California, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Rhode Island and Virginia — all of which are Democrat-run states except for Virginia — are opted into a SNAP program called the Restaurant Meals Program (RMP), which has spent nearly $250 million a year on hot meals, including fast-food, Ernst’s office found.
The modern day Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program was established in 1964 under the Food Stamps Act to provide basic food needs such as meats and fruits and vegetables to financially vulnerable Americans. Hot foods or foods ready for immediate consumption were not eligible for purchase under the program as its main mission was to provide staple foods to be prepared at home.
A 1977 loophole, however, allowed states to opt into a program called the Restaurant Meals Program, which was established to allow homeless individuals who do not have a kitchen to purchase prepared meals using SNAP benefits, according to Ernst’s office. The eligibility for the program expanded in the following years to include disabled individuals, the elderly and their spouses, according to the office.
FOOD-STAMP FRAUD NUMBERS EXPOSE WHICH STATES ARE DRAINING THE MOST TAXPAYER DOLLARS
Nine states are opted into the program, which requires participating restaurants to sign an agreement with the state that is then authorized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the SNAP program writ large. Restaurants that participate in the program were historically a small group but have since expanded, most notably in California in the Biden era, Ernst’s office said.
California expanded its program statewide, for example, in 2021 that allowed restaurants to accept CalFresh benefits via SNAP at a swath of top fast-food chains stretching from McDonald’s to Domino’s Pizza to Jack in the Box.
Ernst’s office found that from June 2023 to May 2025, more than $475 million in taxpayer dollars funded Restaurant Meals Program meals at fast-food establishments. During that same time period, $524 million in taxpayer funds were spent through the Restaurant Meals Program overall, meaning California accounted for more than 90% of the nation’s total Restaurant Meals Program funds from June 2023 to May 2025, according to the office.
“The ‘N’ in SNAP stands for nutrition not nuggets with a side of fries,” Ernst told Fox News Digital. “I wish I was McRibbing you but $250 million per year at the drive-through is no joke and a serious waste of tax dollars. I hate to be the one to say McSCUSE ME but something needs to be done because taxpayers are not lovin’ it.”
TRUMP SAYS SNAP BENEFITS WILL ONLY RESUME WHEN ‘RADICAL LEFT DEMOCRATS’ OPEN GOVERNMENT
The data found that between June 2023 and May 2025 $41.4 million funds went through Restaurant Meals Program in Arizona, $3.6 million in New York, $1.3 million in Michigan, $995,900 in Rhode Island, $649,000 in Massachusetts, $479,000 in Illinois, $308,500 in Virginia and $8,600 in Maryland.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION CITES WIDESPREAD MISUSE OF SNAP AS FUNDING LAPSES DURING SHUTDOWN
Ernst’s introduced legislation Thursday, dubbed the McSCUSE ME Act, to rein in the scope of the Restaurant Meals Program. Specifically, the bill would continue allowing homeless, elderly and disabled individuals to continue using the program, but ending spousal eligibility.
CHARTS ILLUSTRATE THE SCALE OF SNAP AS MILLIONS FACE POTENTIAL BENEFIT LAPSE
The legislation also would reel in which vendors are able to participate in the program, specifically restricting fast-food vendors in favor of grocery stores that have hot bars to better ensure availability of healthy prepared food options. The legislation would also require states to produce public annual reports showing how many vendors participate in the Restaurant Meals Program, the number of participating beneficiaries and total costs for the program, Fox News Digital learned.
The report and legislation comes after the U.S. government just emerged from the longest government shutdown in history, at 43 days, that included putting the food assistance program under heightened scrutiny over fraud and concern as recipients saw disruptions to their access.
Upon the reopening of the government, the Trump administration is requiring all SNAP beneficiaries to reapply for the program in an effort to prevent fraud.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Federal spending on SNAP overall climbed to record highs under the Biden administration, Fox News Digital previously reported, at $128 billion in 2021 and $127 billion in 2022 during the pandemic. By the Biden administration’s final year, SNAP cost $99.8 billion.