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Georgia Republicans hammer Ossoff over silence after ICE detainer in alleged child rape case
Every delay has consequences.

Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff, a vocal critic of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) who is running for re-election in November, is facing heat from Georgia Republicans over his lack of public comment until today on news that ICE lodged a detainer for a Georgia illegal immigrant accused of a heinous crime. 
On Jan. 27, the Department of Homeland Security announced it placed a detainer on Mexican national Kenneth Moreno Guzman after he allegedly broke into the back door of a Georgia family’s home earlier that month and raped an 11-year-old girl while threatening her 10-year-old sister in the room with a knife. 
"Another horrific tragedy for two innocent children by the hands of a criminal illegal alien. This monster should have never been in our country in the first place," DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a press release at the time. 
"These are the victims President Trump and Secretary Noem are fighting for and the media and sanctuary politicians ignore. We have lodged an arrest detainer to ensure ICE is notified to arrest this creep before he can prey on more innocent children." 
THIS SENATE DEMOCRAT WANTS VOTER ID FOR HIS CAMPAIGN EVENTS — BUT NOT FEDERAL ELECTIONS
A Fox News Digital search did not find any public comment from Ossoff acknowledging the crime or the importance of ICE’s involvement as of Monday. 
When reached for comment Tuesday, Ossoff told Fox News Digital, "Instead of raiding Americans’ homes without judicial warrants, demanding Americans’ papers at checkpoints and detaining 5-year olds, Americans want ICE to return to its purpose: arresting violent criminals like Kenneth Moreno Guzman who are here illegally, and I commend the law enforcement professionals involved in this criminal’s arrest."
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Over the past few weeks, Ossoff has made several public statements critical of ICE and invoked the names of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, who were both killed during interactions with federal immigration agents in Minnesota. Several Republicans running for office in Georgia, including his Senate opponents, took issue with Ossoff’s weekslong silence on Guzman's crime.
"It’s been utter silence from Jon Ossoff about the illegal alien who raped an 11-year-old girl and held her 10-year-old sister at knifepoint in Ossoff’s own backyard — just like his silence when Joe Biden opened the southern border four years ago," former Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley, running for Senate in a Republican primary to challenge Ossoff, told Fox News …

Congress moves to set national rules for self-driving cars, overriding states
This is performative politics again.

Lawmakers led by Rep. Bob Latta, R-Ohio, teed up consideration of how Congress approaches the future of autonomous vehicles (AVs) Tuesday, pressing the case for national safety standards that, if successful, will override budding state-level restrictions on the developing technology.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee advanced the SELF DRIVE Act in a 12–11 vote Tuesday, a piece of legislation that Latta, its sponsor, framed as a way to fill in the blanks on questions of public and passenger safety.
"There is currently no federal framework for autonomous vehicles, even as the technology continues to advance at a rapid pace," Latta said.
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"It is critical that we prioritize safety, transparency and innovation while keeping up with these developments."
In its current form, the SELF DRIVE Act would create federal safety standards that would apply to AV manufacturers. Those standards, required by September 2027, would be governed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
The bill also looks to create a uniform set of definitions for what autonomous driving means and better define how varying levels of assisted driving fit into that picture.
Finally, the bill allows for limited automated driving testing in commercial vehicles.
The bill comes as companies like Waymo already have deployed fleets of self-driving cars to cities like Atlanta, Miami, San Francisco, Austin, Texas, and others.
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In addition to playing catch-up to domestic innovation, Latta believes a federal framework for self-driving cars will help set a bar for how the international community approaches self-driving technology.
"By strengthening America’s role in developing and regulating the autonomous vehicle safety framework, the United States has an opportunity to set the global standard for AV safety," Latta said.
"Doing so will ensure innovation continues to thrive here at home, keep high-quality jobs in America and reinforce our position as a global leader in autonomous vehicle development and manufacturing, especially as we compete with China," Latta said.
Other key players in the self-driving space praised the legislation ahead of the committee's meeting Tuesday.
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"The SELF DRIVE Act would establish a clear national framework for the deployment of autonomous vehicles that will save American lives and unlock significant growth in U.S. manufacturing," Tesla Inc. said in a statement about the bill.
"Honda commends …

Senate in Deadlock Over DHS Funding as Shutdown Looms
This isn't complicated—it's willpower.

With a shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) looming at the end of the week, the Senate is not close to resolving fundamental disagreements on immigration law enforcement.

On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., expressed openness to a new funding extension to provide time for talks between the White House, Senate Republicans, and Senate Democrats on how to get the votes to fund the department.

“It’s a work in progress, but I would hope that the Democrats here in the Senate—if it takes more time, which I believe it will—would be amenable to allowing us to get an extension … to allow more time for those negotiations to continue,” said Thune.

Democrats are demanding that Republicans agree to insert restraints on immigration law enforcement agents into a DHS funding bill which was the product of bipartisan negotiation before the shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

DHS is the only discretionary spending area which has not been covered for the rest of the fiscal year. The department is currently running off of a short-term funding extension which was meant to buy enough time for negotiations.

Across the board, senators are pessimistic about a long-term deal materializing soon. 

“The Democrats are not going to vote for the DHS bill because the Karen wing of their party wants to defund ICE like they wanted to defund the police” Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., told reporters Tuesday. “And they will punish my Democratic friends the rest of their natural lives if they vote for the DHS bill which involves ICE.”

Kennedy added that Republicans are also entirely uninterested in any proposal “that looks like it handcuffs ICE in doing their jobs” and that Republicans would like to see a crack-down on sanctuary city policies included in any bipartisan deal.

Democrats have asked for major policy concessions in exchange for their votes to fund DHS, such as a judicial warrant requirement for deportations, as well as a prohibition on operations in certain locations.

Thus far, Democrats and Republicans do not have a deal. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, both D-N.Y., said in a Monday statement that Republicans’ response to Democrat demands “is both incomplete and insufficient in terms of addressing the concerns Americans have” about ICE.

As the Coast Guard, national disaster response teams, and cybersecurity infrastructure face an imminent dry-up of funding, senators are divided on whether another funding extension, or “continuing resolution” is a possibility.

“If cooler heads prevail and everybody takes their meds, we’ll end up with a CR [continuing resolution], a clean CR, that just extends the status quo, and that we can get TSA and Coast Guard and FEMA funding,“ said Kennedy.

The budget reconciliation bill passed in July of 2025 has already provided billions in funding for border security and deportation operations under DHS’ umbrella.

The post Senate in Deadlock Over DHS Funding as Shutdown Looms appeared first on The Daily Signal.

DOJ moves to wipe Steve Bannon's contempt conviction tied to Jan 6 probe
Ask who never gets charged.

The Department of Justice moved Monday to toss out Steve Bannon’s contempt of Congress conviction, a rare request that served to undo yet another element of the Biden-era investigations and prosecutions related to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro made the request to dismiss Bannon's case in the district court in Washington, D.C. The dismissal would scrap Bannon's conviction, despite the former Trump advisor and "War Room" podcast host already completing his prison sentence.
Bannon was convicted by a jury in 2022 of two counts of contempt of Congress and served four months in prison for refusing to comply with a subpoena issued to him by the Jan. 6 select committee, a Democrat-led House panel tasked with investigating the events leading up to the 2021 Capitol attack.
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Bannon had fought the subpoena, arguing to the committee that it violated executive privilege because it sought details about his interactions with President Donald Trump ahead of the Jan. 6 rally and breach. In court, Bannon also argued that the committee, which was led by seven Democrats and two Republicans, was improperly impaneled.
Pirro gave little explanation for the DOJ's move, which would erase Bannon’s conviction despite the sentence already being served.
"The government has determined in its prosecutorial discretion that dismissal of this criminal case is in the interests of justice," Pirro wrote in the brief request.
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Bannon, for his part, has continued to challenge the conviction and has a petition pending before the Supreme Court. Parallel to Pirro’s dismissal request, Solicitor General John Sauer asked the high court on Tuesday to grant Bannon’s petition.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement that Bannon’s conviction arose from the "J6 ‘Unselect’ Committee’s improper subpoena" and attributed the dismissal to the DOJ's efforts to correct what it perceived to be an abuse of power during the Biden administration.
"Under the leadership of Attorney General Bondi, this department will continue to undo the prior administration’s weaponization of the justice system," Blanche said.
The DOJ did not make a similar request for Peter Navarro, a trade advisor to Trump who also faced Jan. 6-related contempt charges and served four months in prison. Navarro shared a statement on social media saying he wanted to continue fighting his conviction in court and "settle good law" on the matter.

Leavitt says Trump wants US to own half of Gordie Howe Bridge
Who benefits from this decision?

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday that President Donald Trump told Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney that the United States should “own at least half” of the Gordie Howe International Bridge.

Trump wrote on Truth Social Monday that he would block the opening of the project, a half-mile-long cable-stayed bridge connecting Detroit, Michigan, to Windsor, Ontario, until the U.S. is “fully compensated.”

Leavitt was asked for clarification on Trump’s new position during Tuesday’s White House press briefing, as the president had previously voiced support for the project back in 2017.

“I think the president was very clear and direct,” Leavitt told reporters before pointing back to Trump’s Monday statement. “But just to reiterate the fact that Canada will control what crosses the Gord Howie Howe bridge and owns the land on both sides is unacceptable to the president.”

“It’s also unacceptable that more of this bridge isn’t being built with more American-made materials, even more so than what President Barack Obama committed to with the Canadians at the time at the start of the project,” she said. “He also believes that the U.S. should own at least half of the bridge, have shared authority over what passes across it, and participate in the economic benefits generated by its use.”

Leavitt claimed that his demands represent another show of Trump “putting America’s interests first,” noting that he outlined his position to Carney directly during a Tuesday morning phone call.

WHITE HOUSE CONFIRMS TRUMP ‘FLOATED’ RENAMING PENN STATION AND DULLES AIRPORT AFTER HIMSELF

You can watch Tuesday’s briefing in full below.

Bipartisan unease surfaces at Senate hearing on Nexstar-Tegna merger
Are they actually going to vote on something real?

Lawmakers from both parties signaled deep skepticism Tuesday toward a proposed merger between Nexstar Media Group and Tegna, warning that the deal could concentrate unprecedented power over local TV news even as supporters argue broadcasters need scale to survive in a digital marketplace dominated by Big Tech.

At a heated Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation hearing, senators pressed a panel of media executives and policy experts, including Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy, National Association of Broadcasters President Curtis LeGeyt, former Federal Communications Committee general counsel Thomas Johnson, and Report for America co-founder Steve Waldman, on whether the merger would hollow out local journalism rather than save it.

“If the Nexstar-Tegna deal goes through, a single company will control 265 stations capable of reaching 80% of all the television households,” said Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), the committee’s ranking Democrat. “To me, that is not more local voices. That is fewer.”

Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-TX) framed the debate as a collision between outdated law and modern media realities.

“If there’s one thing that’s clear,” Cruz said, “current media ownership rules were written in a vastly different technological age.”

Still, Cruz acknowledged the stakes for local communities, asking whether raising the ownership cap would ultimately strengthen or weaken local news and viewpoint diversity.

The hearing came just days after President Donald Trump publicly backed the merger, marking a reversal from his earlier skepticism and escalating a regulatory fight that has drawn intense lobbying from both supporters and opponents.

“We need more competition against THE ENEMY, the Fake News National TV Networks,” Trump wrote Saturday on Truth Social. “GET THAT DEAL DONE!”

“Letting Good Deals get done like Nexstar-Tegna will help knock out the Fake News because there will be more competition, and at a higher and more sophisticated level,” he added.

Trump had criticized the deal in November, warning that if it allowed “the Radical Left Networks to ‘enlarge,’ I would not be happy.” His latest endorsement signals a notable shift as regulators weigh loosening ownership restrictions that currently block the merger.

Critics of the merger seized on the moment to warn that consolidation could leave communities with fewer independent reporters. “You have less content, less diversity of news,” Ruddy told lawmakers, arguing that previous …

China threatens to ‘strike’ against ‘separatist forces’ in Taiwan
Notice what's missing.

The Chinese Communist Party escalated its saber-rattling against Taiwan, announcing it will be ramping up influence operations.

People’s Political Consultative Conference Chairman Wang Huning, the fourth-highest ranking member of the CCP, told allies at the Taiwan Work Conference in Beijing that they will need to “firmly support the patriotic pro-unification forces on the island,” according to state-owned media outlet Xinhua.

Wang further threatened to “resolutely strike against ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces, oppose interference by external forces, and safeguard peace and ‍stability in the Taiwan Strait.”

Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Chairman Wang Huning, center, attends a meeting with President of the French National Assembly Yael Braun-Pivet at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Friday, June 27, 2025. (Jade Gao/Pool Photo via AP)

Taiwan has appeared unperturbed by Wang’s comments, seeing it as the standard bellicosity to be expected when the People’s Republic feels threatened.

A source familiar with the matter told the Washington Examiner that the threats of strikes and support for fifth columns are just the “usual rhetoric” deployed by China, designed to scare the voting public.”

Spy networks and domestic operations aligned with Beijing are a well-known problem on the island.

“Espionage is ongoing,” the source acknowledged, as well as “grey zone” activities — clandestine actions taken to subvert the Taiwanese government, manipulate public opinion, or otherwise create confusion among the public.

The People’s Liberation Army has openly advocated use of the “Three Warfares,” public opinion warfare, psychological warfare, and legal warfare, since at least 2003, when the strategy was approved by the Central Military Commission.

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te denounced China on Tuesday via social media, decrying the life imprisonment of Hong Kong newspaper magnate Jimmy Lai announced over the weekend.

Lai called the “one country, two systems” model of governance implemented in Hong Kong, the model that China desires to also implement in Taiwan, a “tool of political persecution” that “tramples human rights and freedom of press.”

Beijing’s threats come amid a tense period in East Asia following the electoral victory of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party, led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

Takaichi, already despised by the Beijing elite for stating that a hypothetical invasion of Taiwan could constitute a …

Democratic governors pledge to boycott White House events after a Trump snub
What's the administration thinking here?

Most of the nation’s Democratic governors pledged to not attend events hosted by the White House later this month, after President Donald Trump snubbed some state executives amid his ongoing feud with blue states.

POLITICO reported last week that the White House decided to invite only Republicans to a meeting between the president and governors that was timed to the National Governors Association’s annual gathering — a break from its bipartisan past. And while a dinner celebrating governors of both parties was still planned, some Democrats — including Wes Moore of Maryland and Jared Polis of Colorado — confirmed they did not receive an invitation.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday that while the White House is the people’s house, “it's also the president's home, and so he can invite whomever he wants to dinners and events here at the White House.”

Trump’s decision not to invite Moore — the association’s vice chair — and Polis sparked backlash from Democrats, with 18 sitting governors announcing that they would boycott the dinner.

“If the reports are true that not all governors are invited to these events, which have historically been productive and bipartisan opportunities for collaboration, we will not be attending the White House dinner this year,” the Democratic governors wrote in a joint statement Tuesday. “Democratic governors remain united and will never stop fighting to protect and make life better for people in our states.”

Moore also suggested Sunday that his race may have played a role in the White House’s decision not to invite him to the event.

“It’s not lost on me that I’m the only Black governor in this country, and I find that to be particularly painful, considering the fact that the president is trying to exclude me from an organization that not only my peers have asked me to help to lead, but then also a place where I know I belong in,” he said in an interview with CNN’s “State of the Union.”

POLITICO previously reported that the NGA decided not to sponsor the planned meeting between Trump and the governors once it became clear only Republicans would be invited, with the organization writing in an email to people involved in planning that “no NGA resources will be used to support transportation for this activity.”

Brandon Tatum, the CEO of the NGA, said in a statement last week that the group was “disappointed in the administration’s decision to make it a partisan occasion this year.”

At last year’s annual meeting between Trump and the governors, the president got into an argument with Maine Gov. Janet Mills over his administration’s moves to restrict transgender athletes’ participation in school sports, with Trump ultimately threatening to pull funding and Mills promising to sue.

The NGA has …

Democratic congresswoman sparks online outrage over 'deranged' question to ICE director about 'going to hell'
This isn't complicated—it's willpower.

Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver, who is currently facing charges related to interfering with ICE officers at a detention facility, is facing strong pushback online over her line of questioning to ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons in a heated hearing Tuesday.
"How do you think Judgment Day will work for you with so much blood on your hands?" McIver asked Lyons during a hearing in which Democrats lashed out on multiple occasions against ICE and President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda in general while highlighting the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, both killed by federal immigration agents during altercations in Minneapolis in recent weeks. 
Lyons responded, "I'm not going to entertain that question."
"Of course not," McIver said back. "Do you think you're going to hell?"
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House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Andrew Garbarino interjected and reminded members of the "standards of decorum," prompting McIver to respond by saying, "Mr. Chairman, I'm just asking a question. You guys are always talking about religion and the Bible."
Fox News congressional correspondent Bill Melugin posted on X that audible groans could be heard in the room over McIver's questions. 
The exchange quickly went viral on social media, where conservatives took issue with McIver’s comments. 
House Republicans, in a post on X, called the situation a "total meltdown" from McIver.
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"Why the HELL hasn’t she been kicked off her committees??!" conservative commentator Nick Sortor posted on X.
The Trump War Room account called McIver "deranged" in a post on X, adding, "What a freak!"
"This exchange is a low point in Congressional history," America First New Jersey Chairman Mike Crispi posted on X.
"This woman is completely bonkers, even for a Democrat," conservative commentator Dave Rubin posted on X.
"Isn’t this the lady who’s charged with assaulting federal agents?" Red State writer Bonchie posted on X.
"These people are vile," Townhall writer Amy Curtis posted on X.
"ICE Derangement Syndrome is a real thing in today’s Democratic Party," GOP Sen. Jim Banks posted on X.
Fox News Digital reached out to McIver’s office for comment. 
McIver, who represents New Jersey's 10th Congressional District, is facing a three-count federal indictment stemming from a May 9, 2025, incident at the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility in Newark.

Trump's reaction to new footage of Guthrie abduction was 'pure disgust,' Leavitt says
Ask why this angle was chosen.

Newly released FBI footage of a masked, armed person at Nancy Guthrie’s Arizona home on the morning of her disappearance drew an immediate response from the White House on Tuesday, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt saying the president reacted with "pure disgust."
Minutes before the White House briefing, the FBI released photos and video of a masked person seemingly tampering with a Nest security camera outside the 84-year-old's Tuscon front door on Feb. 1, the day she vanished, while armed with what appears to be a handgun.
The shocking footage was recovered Tuesday morning from residual data located in backend systems in coordination with private sector partners, according to a statement from FBI Director Kash Patel.
Leavitt said she and President Donald Trump were reviewing the new evidence immediately prior to the press briefing, giving insight into the president's initial takeaways.
AUTHORITIES RELEASE VIDEO OF POTENTIAL SUBJECT IN NANCY GUTHRIE CASE
"His initial reaction, of course, as all Americans, is just pure disgust," Leavitt said. "It's heartbreaking to see now this footage really bring to life a story we've all been reading about. And again, we're just praying for the safety of Nancy Guthrie and that she will return home soon. The president directed me to please encourage all Americans with any information to call the FBI, and we hope that this case will come to a positive resolution as soon as possible."
Leavitt said she has not spoken with the president specifically about if he believes the person seen in the newly released footage acted alone.
When asked about potential federal consequences if Guthrie is not released unharmed, Leavitt said, "Anyone who was involved in this depraved crime, this abduction, of course, we want to be seen held to the fullest extent of the law possible."
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She added the FBI, which has posted a reward of up to $50,000, continues to assist state and local authorities who are leading the investigation on the ground.
"Once again, I will reiterate that the prayers of this entire White House are with Savannah [Guthrie] and her family at this time, and we hope this person is found soon and that her mother is brought home safely," Leavitt said.
Guthrie was last seen at her home at about 9:30 p.m. Feb. 1, and was reported missing by her family around noon the next day, according to the Pima County Sheriff's Department.
ONLY ONE LOCAL DETECTIVE ON NANCY GUTHRIE CASE HAS OVER TWO YEARS OF EXPERIENCE ON HOMICIDE SQUAD: …