By all accounts, Stefon Diggs continues to take positive steps in his recovery from an ACL injury he sustained roughly 10 months ago.As the regular season draws closer, Diggs' availability for Week 1 continues to be a concern for the New England Patriots. The star wide receiver was noncommittal when asked if he would suit up Sept. 7."Well see. Everybodys excited, man. Im just taking it day by day. I feel great," Diggs said during a recent sitdown on the "Scoop City" podcast.CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COMOn Monday, Patriots coach Mike Vrabel did not provide more information about why Diggs did not play in the team's preseason opener against the Washington Commanders.Last month, Vrabel said Diggs passed a physical and received medical clearance in time for the first day of the team's training camp. The Pro Bowl receiver practiced on a limited basis during the spring.TOM BRADY BURNS JETS FANS ONCE MORE DURING STATUE CEREMONYDiggs spent last season with the Houston Texans and tore his right ACL in Week 8.Diggs suggested the Patriots coaching staff was not optimistic about the prospect of him taking the field when the team opens its season against the Las Vegas Raiders."I mean, Im pushing the needle always," Diggs said. "Im always doing more than less, and well see about Week 1. I dont know how I feel about it. Well see. The coaches arent too excited. Im not too excited. Im just trying to take it day by day, so well see. We just dont know where its gonna go."After racking up just under 500 receiving yards in his lone season with the Texans, Diggs agreed to a three-year deal with the Patriots in March.Diggs recorded at least 1,000 receiving yards in six consecutive seasons leading up to his injury-shortened run with the Texans.Follow Fox News Digitals sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

President Donald Trump's pick to head the nation's Social Security apparatus, Commissioner Frank Bisignano, told Fox News Digital that criticisms of the Trump administration's approach to Social Security are politically motivated and misleading.Democrats have expressed a wide range of concerns about Social Security under the current administration, including claims the Trump administration is making it more difficult for seniors and people with disabilities to access their benefits. The Trump administration's critics have also expressed concern that the president is seeking to privatize the program and is exaggerating fraud concerns to justify sweeping reforms. Democrats in Congress have gone as far as launching a "Social Security War Room" to coordinate their efforts to fight back."I don't know what they're having a war about," Bisignano said. "I personally think they're really scared that it's going to be great, and that ruins their silly little narrative."EXCLUSIVE: TRUMP TOUTS 'ZERO TAX' BENEFITS FOR MAJORITY OF SENIORS ON SOCIAL SECURITYS 90TH ANNIVERSARYBisignano took head-on the accusation that forced staffing cuts at the Social Security Administration will significantly impact beneficiaries and program efficiency. He argued not only that the reports of staff cuts were misleading, but also that the idea of program efficiency being correlated to the ratio of beneficiaries to staff members is a false narrative being pushed by the media and Trump's critics. "Somebody would say, 'In 1960 we had one employee for every 480 beneficiaries, and today it's one for every 1,500. They can't have enough staff.' Well, we weren't doing 1.5 million transactions on the web then. We didn't have phone technology then, and, by the way, we delivered everybody a check, and now less than 1% of people are getting checks. So it's a completely different world."Thursday marks the 90th anniversary of Social Security, and over the decades the program has shifted from being one that primarily processed and delivered checks to beneficiaries, but now, as Bisignano points out, the nation's social security program does a lot more than just that. As a result, social security efficiency is about more than just manpower, Bisignano points out.TOP DEM DEMANDS ANSWERS FROM SOCIAL SECURITY, CLAIMING WAIT TIMES SPIKED DURING DOGE CUTS"What people don't ever say is we are the largest input to retirement planning for America," Bisignano said. "We are making it better every hour by enabling people to operate on the web, on the phones, through technology."The commissioner pointed to a variety of operating statistics, which he said challenge the narrative from the left that Trump is crippling social security and hurting beneficiaries.Single-digit wait times for beneficiaries seeking assistance from the administration was one major statistic Bisignano touted, saying that it was as high as nearly 30-minutes just a year ago. Meanwhile, the program is serving roughly twice as many customers per day in the current fiscal year than it did in the previous one. Part of the success has been due to the administration's embrace of artificial intelligence tools and a move towards better tech."Less people come into our field offices because we're delivering better phone service and better service on the web than we ever had before," the commissioner said, pointing out the Social Security Administration has begun conducting about 300,000 more online transactions a day than previously. Bisignano also touted the program's move in eliminating 29 hours a week of scheduled website maintenance for the program's online portal that would force the site to shut down, and highlighted the backlog of disability claims that have been cleared under the new administration.PRESIDENT TRUMP MARKS 90TH ANNIVERSARY OF SOCIAL SECURITYAccording to the commissioner, outstanding disability claims have been reduced from around 1.2 million to around 930,00."That doesn't happen by doing a sh---y job," the commissioner insisted, adding that "it would be the biggest rout in the history of mankind" if he were to compare operating statistics from his first 100 days, which he called "the best ever produced in the agency," to the statistics from former President Joe Biden's first 100 days."You got a president that's made a commitment to protect and preserve, and a commissioner fixing the foundation of [social security] that was destroyed over the past four years by sending people home, by taking out workforce management tools, and now you have a commissioner getting it back on track," Bisignano said. "And by the way, the Social Security Administration, for the three years before May has hit the lowest morale rating of any agency in government. That will change right now."CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPBisignano suggested that the reason for all the criticism aimed at the administration's approach to Social Security, was strategically being pushed because it is a program that every American cares about."When people don't really have anything to offer, they like to offer that Social Security is going to not work, because they know every American cares about Social Security," the commissioner surmised.

Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser is out of town Thursday after traveling to Martha's Vineyard for a family matter, Fox News has learned.The Democrat was not in the District Thursday, and a source confirmed she traveled north to the Massachusetts island vacation hot spot.The mayor was traveling for a "family commitment," according to her office. She's expected back in the city Friday."The mayor has a family commitment and had to pick up her daughter," the mayor's office said when asked about her trip to Martha's Vineyard. "She will return to the District tomorrow."DC MAYOR REVERSES COURSE ON TRUMP INTERVENTION, DOWNPLAYS CITY CRIMEBowser made the trip to the Massachusetts island after President Donald Trump federalized the city's police department Monday after a spate of high-profile crimes.Trump announced Monday morning during a packed press conference that he was federalizing the Metropolitan Police Department under the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, which allows the president to assume emergency control of the capital's police force for 30 days.RADICAL DC OFFICIALS TREATED OFFICERS LIKE CRAP, POLICE LEADER SAYS 7 ATTACKS THAT LED TO TRUMP TAKEOVER"Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged-out maniacs and homeless people," Trump said. "And we're not going to let it happen anymore. We're not going to take it."Hundreds of National Guard troops have since converged on the nation's capital, and the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Capitol Police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are assisting with Trump's law and order crackdown and sweeps of the city.Since the 2020 crime wave, the nation's capital has been rocked by shootings that have left innocent children dead, a trend of juveniles committing carjackings that have turned deadly in some cases; and shoplifting crimes and attacks on government employees, summer interns and others, including the fatal shooting of 21-year-old congressional intern Eric Tarpinian-Jachym in June.Democratic lawmakers and local leaders have slammed Trump over the move, arguing crime has fallen in recent years after the wildly violent crime trends of 2020 that rocked cities nationwide.Though crimes have trended downward in recent years after the heavy crime of 2020, the lethality of crimes in D.C. has spiked dramatically, meaning the chances of being victimized in the city have dropped, but the chances of dying as a victim of violent crime have increased.The Council on Criminal Justice published a study in July examining violent crime data from 17 large U.S. cities between 2018 and 2024, specifically diving into the lethality of violent crimes in those cities. It found Washington, D.C., had the highest lethality level of the group, which included cities such as Baltimore and Chicago, at a 38% increase in lethality in 2024 compared with 2018.Lethality in D.C. jumped 341% when compared to 2012 data, the study found, reporting there were 13 homicides per 1,000 serious violent crimes in 2012 and 57 homicides per 1,000 serious violent crimes in 2024.Bowser slammed the federalization of the city during a townhall meeting Tuesday."This is a time where community needs to jump in," Bowser said during the meeting community leaders, which was livestreamed on X. "We all need to, to do what we can in our space, in our lane, to protect our city and to protect our autonomy, to protect our home rule and get to the other side of this guy and make sure we elect a Democratic House so that we have a backstop to this authoritarian push."She called Trump's effort "an intrusion on our autonomy."When Trump first federalized the city, Bowser called the move "unprecedented" but added that she wasn't "totally surprised."

Ashley Biden, former President Joe Biden's daughter, has filed for divorce after 13 years of marriage to plastic surgeon Dr. Howard Krein.The filing came just hours after an Instagram story from her verified account appeared to be aimed at her husband, the New York Post reported.The Instagram Story appeared on Sunday and was deleted shortly afterward. According to the New York Post, it featured a photo of a man and woman walking hand-in-hand, taken from behind, with the man wearing a short-sleeved, shirt and the woman in a strapless black dress.Bidens caption over the image reportedly read: "My husband and his girlfriend holding hands."ASHLEY BIDEN FILES FOR DIVORCE FROM HUSBAND, HOWARD KREIN, AFTER 13 YEARS OF MARRIAGE: REPORTSThe New York Post reported that the story had been accompanied by the Notorious B.I.G. song "Another," featuring Lil Kim. In the clip, Lil Kim raps: "What do you do when your man is untrue? Do you cut the sucker off and find someone new?"Fox News Digital has reached out to Dr. Howard Krein for comment on the post and the divorce filing. Krein did not respond to Fox News Digitals request for comment.According to the New York Post, other posts from Sunday included a video of Biden walking through a park, giving a thumbs-up to Beyoncs "Freedom," and a reposted quote over Lauryn Hills "Freedom Time" reading: "New life, new beginnings means new boundaries. New ways of being that wont look or sound like they did before."Biden filed for divorce in Philadelphia Family Court earlier this week. The filing states the marriage is "irretrievably broken" and requests spousal support while the divorce is pending, according to filings reviewed by Radar Online.ASHLEY BIDEN SLAMS REPORTING ABOUT HER DAD'S MENTAL ACUITY AS 'DISRESPECTFUL AND UNTRUE'Biden and Krein married in 2012 in Greenville, Delaware, at St. Joseph on the Brandywine Roman Catholic Church. The ceremony blended her Catholic faith with his Jewish heritage, followed by a reception at the Biden familys lake house in Wilmington.At the time, thenVice President Joe Biden praised his future son-in-law, telling People magazine: "This is the right guy. And hes getting a helluva woman."At the 2024 Democratic National Convention, Ashley Biden recalled her fathers role in the wedding, saying, "At the time, my dad was vice president, but he was also that dad who literally set up the entire reception. He was riding around in his John Deere 4-wheeler, fixing the place settings, arranging the plants, and by the way, he was very emotional.""Before he walked me down the aisle, he turned to me and said he would always be my best friend. All these years later, Dad, you are still my best friend."Krein is a New Jersey-born otolaryngologist and plastic surgeon. He serves on the faculty at Thomas Jefferson University and is Chief Medical Officer at StartUp Health. He previously served on the Biden Cancer Initiative board (20172019) and informally advised Joe Bidens 2020 presidential campaign on COVID-19 policy.The Instagram post went live Sunday, and the divorce filing came just hours later. All of the posts have since been deleted.CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPFox News Digital has reached out to former President Biden and Ashley Biden for comment and had not heard back as of publication time. The Philadelphia Clerk of Family Court could not be reached for comment.Fox News Brie Stimson contributed to this report.

The new Paramount chief backed the previous regime's decision to cancel Stephen Colbert's "The Late Show," saying that the current late-night landscape has a "huge problem."Jeff Shell, who recently assumed the role as president of the entertainment giant following the Paramount-Skydance merger, was asked about CBS' decision to pull the plug on its late-night franchise in May 2026. While he had no involvement in the cancellation, Shell stood by the move."Late-night has a huge problem right now," Shell said Wednesday during a Los Angeles press conference with top Paramount executives, according to Deadline.FOX NEWS' GREG GUTFELD DELIVERS MASSIVE RATINGS BOOST TO FALLON'S TONIGHT SHOW WITH CROSS-NETWORK APPEARANCEShell acknowledged that Colbert's viewership roughly averaged his predecessor David Letterman in his final years as host of "The Late Show," but that the finances of late night have dramatically shifted."The problem is that 80% of the viewership and growing is on YouTube," Shell said, adding that with YouTube paying "45 cents on the dollar," "you cant make it work economically anymore."Industry experts have noted that Colbert's late-night rivals Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel have earned far more views on YouTube and social media despite having lower TV ratings than the liberal CBS host.STEPHEN COLBERT HAD LEFT-WING JOURNALISTS, HOSTS ON THE LATE SHOW MORE THAN 200 TIMESCBS shocked the political and media landscape last month when it announced it was canceling "The Late Show." The network insisted it was "purely a financial decision."Liberal critics accused CBS and parent company Paramount of having political motivations behind the decision, insisting they were bending the knee to President Donald Trump just days after Paramount settled Trump's "60 Minutes" lawsuit against the company as it sought FCC approval for the Skydance merger. Democratic lawmakers have even suggested that Paramount had violated anti-bribery laws in the process.CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST MEDIA AND CULTURE NEWSHowever, Puck News' Matt Belloni reported that the late-night show had been losing "more than $40 million a year" for CBS and that it had a budget of "more than $100 million per season," contrasting it with the network's daytime and primetime programming, which he noted were "still profitable.""'Late Show,' with its topical humor and celebrity interviews pegged to specific projects, has struggled on Paramount+. And of the three network late-night shows, Late Show has by far the smallest digital footprint on YouTube and other platforms," Belloni wrote. "So from a business perspective, the cancellation makes sense."

A Staten Island man and his mother are facing a slew of charges, including aggravated manslaughter and hindering apprehension, after authorities say he caused a deadly crash in Plainsboro, New Jersey during a dangerous BMW street race.Alvi Limani, 20, is charged with aggravated manslaughter, vehicular homicide, multiple counts of reckless assault by auto, endangering others, obstruction, tampering with records, leaving the scene of a fatal crash, and causing death or serious injury while driving with a revoked license.His mother, Vilma Vneshta, 42, is charged with hindering in the third degree. Both are being held at the Middlesex County Adult Correctional Center without bail.DRIVER AVOIDS PRISON IN 100-MPH CRASH THAT KILLED COLLEGE STUDENTNew Jersey State Police (NJSP) responded to Garden State Parkway south just after 7 p.m. on June 29 and found Albion Hysenaj, 20, of Staten Island, and another 20-year-old Staten Island resident, who were ejected from their car.Hysenaj and the 20-year-old were taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, but Hysenaj was later pronounced dead, according to NJSP. The 20-year-old suffered serious injuries.The Middlesex County Prosecutors Office determined two BMW cars were racing on the Garden State Parkway when the crash happened.Limani was allegedly driving one of the BMWs recklessly and racing on the Garden State Parkway when his car hit two other cars and rolled over multiple times, according to arrest warrants. Limani is accused of weaving through traffic and driving 112 miles per hour in a 55 miles per hour speed zone.Police said the rollover caused two of Limani's occupants, Hysenaj and the 20-year-old, to be ejected.Following the crash, officials accused Limani and his girlfriend, Emily Harrington, 19, of Staten Island, of leaving the scene.FORMER COP MOM SLAMS POLICIES THAT LET ILLEGAL ALIEN ALLEGEDLY STRIKE SON IN HIT-AND-RUN: A LOT OF PROBLEMSHarrington, who was in the passenger seat, is charged with hindering, obstruction and conspiracy to endanger another person.The other alleged BMW street-racer, Jeter Ogando, 23, of Perth Amboy, is charged with second-degree vehicular homicide, endangering another person and assault by auto.Days after the crash, detectives realized Limani fled to Miami in an attempt to leave the country with his mother, Vneshta.ICE CAPTURES ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT WANTED FOR ALLEGEDLY KILLING MOTHER IN DUI CRASHThe pair were arrested on July 17 near Miami, Florida, and detectives noted they purchased both a Florida ID, same-day passport, and plane tickets to Tirana, Albania.Video footage showed Limani and Vneshta being cuffed on the tarmac.According to jail records, both Limani and Vneshta are listed as non-citizens."Vneshta is Albanian and [is] believed to still have roots there," detectives wrote in an affidavit.The mother-son duo are currently being held at the Middlesex County Department of Corrections, according to jail records.The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office did not immediately respond to inquiries from Fox News Digital.

The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to block Mississippi from enforcing a law that would block minors from using nine popular social media sites without their parents' consentdelivering a near-term blow to the tech industry group that had sought emergency intervention from the high court.Justices on the high court did not elaborate on their reasons for rejecting the emergency appeal, filed by industry group NetChoicea common practice when the Supreme Court decides on an emergency appealand did not provide a vote count.NeChoice had asked the high court to put the law on hold while the case continued to play out in the lower courts on its merits.Only Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh gave any indication of his thinking in a three-paragraph concurring opinion, writing that, while he believes the law in question is "likely unconstitutional," and that NetChoice "demonstrated it would likely succeed on the merits" of the case, he agreed with his colleagues in ruling that the group failed to meet the high bar required for emergency relief.SCOTUS RULES ON NEARLY $2 BILLION IN FROZEN USAID PAYMENTSThe case will continue to play out in the lower courts, and is expected to make its way back to the Supreme Court for full consideration at a later date.At issue is Mississippi's sweeping social media law, known as H.B. 1126. The law, passed by the state in 2024, blocks young people from accessing popular social media sites, including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, Pinterest, and Reddit without express parental consent.It also requires social media sites to take additional steps to verify the ages of users before allowing them to create accounts, and to "develop and implement a strategy" to shield young people from exposure to harmful material.Sites who fail to comply can be fined up to $10,000 per violation, and, in certain cases, could face criminal penalties.NetChoice quickly sued to block the law, arguing that it violated free speech protections under the First Amendment.U.S. District Judge Halil Suleyman Ozerden in June issued a preliminary injunction siding with NetChoice and temporarily blocking Mississippi from implementing its law.While Judge Ozerden acknowledged the state may have a "compelling interest" in safeguarding minors online, he said Mississippi's law involved "substantially more speech than is necessary for the state to accomplish its goals," and ran afoul of the First Amendment.In July, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals voted unanimously and without explanation to freeze the lower court injunction, allowing the law to take forceand prompting the emergency request for Supreme Court intervention.LAWSUIT TRACKER: NEW RESISTANCE BATTLING TRUMP'S SECOND TERM THROUGH ONSLAUGHT OF LAWSUITS TAKING AIM AT EOSIn its emergency appeal to the high court, lawyers for NetChoice took aim at the lack of explanation from the lower court."Neither NetChoice nor this Court can know why the Fifth Circuit believed this law satisfies the First Amendments stringent demands or deviated from the seven other decisions enjoining similar laws," lawyers said in their appeal to the high court, arguing they would face "immediate, irreparable" injury should the law be allowed to go into effect.The Supreme Court's emergency decision comes as a handful of other states have moved to implement similar age-verification legislation including Arkansas,Florida, Georgia, Ohio, and Utah.NetChoice, for its part, has led similar lawsuits challenging social media legislation in other states such as Florida and Texas earlier this year.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has been authorized to seek the death penalty in a case against Teresa Youngblut, the woman accused in the Jan. 20 shooting that killed U.S. Border Patrol Agent David Maland.A federal grand jury returned the four-count indictment Thursday against 21-year-old Youngblut, charging her with the murder of Maland, the assault of two other agents with a deadly weapon and related gun offenses.Attorney General Pamela Bondi formally authorized the pursuit of capital punishment, and the acting U.S. attorney for the District of Vermont has filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty in the case, the agency said Thursday.Youngblut has been linked by investigators to "Ziz," a fringe, self-described vegan, anti-government, transgender-rights collective that federal authorities say may be connected to multiple homicides throughout the U.S.TRUMP ADMIN FAST-TRACKS DEATH PENALTY CASE FOR TRANSGENDER CULT SUSPECT IN BORDER PATROL KILLING: ATTORNEYSAccording to court documents, the new indictment outlines additional details about the hours leading up to the Jan. 20 shooting in Coventry, Vermont.Days before the deadly traffic stop, law enforcement took note of Youngblut and Felix Bauckholt, a German citizen whose immigration status "was in question," the DOJ said. The agency said a hotel employee reported they were wearing tactical gear and appeared armed.On the day of the shooting, officers allegedly saw the pair in a Newport, Vermont, parking lot, where the man was observed wrapping unknown objects in aluminum foil.During the stop along Interstate 91, both suspects were reportedly armed, and prosecutors allege Youngblut exited the pair's Toyota Prius and opened fire without warning, killing Maland and endangering two other agents.GERMAN NATIONAL SUSPECT IDENTIFIED IN KILLING OF US BORDER PATROL AGENT IN VERMONTActing Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Departments Criminal Division called the killing "an attack on the men and women who protect our communities and our borders," vowing that federal prosecutors "will not stand for such attacks."Acting U.S. Attorney Michael P. Drescher for the District of Vermont said his office would continue to "honor the men and women of law enforcement and the memory of Border Patrol Agent Maland by performing its prosecutorial duties so that justice may be done."FBI Assistant Director Jose A. Perez described the murder of a federal agent as "more than a tragic loss," calling it "an attack on the security of our nation and the safety of our communities" and pledging the bureau "will not rest until those responsible are held accountable."BORDER PATROL AGENT KILLED IN VERMONT IDENTIFIEDThe Trump admin's decision to fast-track Youngblut's death penalty case came after her attorneys accused the DOJ's timeline of being "unprecedentedly tight" and warned it could render the pretrial process "a near-pointless formality.""This Court should step in to ensure Ms. Youngblut receives a meaningful opportunity to persuade the government not to pursue the death penalty," a July 30 pretrial motion said.The defense asked the court to extend the deadline to Jan. 30, 2026, arguing the current pace denies Youngblut due process.Fox News Digital has reached out to the DOJ and Youngbluts defense attorneys, Steven Barth and Julie Stelzig, for comment.

It was April, 2007. The House of Representatives was debating a bill to increase the size of the House from 435 to 437 Members. Utah would score an extra seat. And the District of Columbia would secure a seat on the House floor.Washington, DC isnt a state. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., has served as the citys non-voting delegate to Congress since 1991. And even though she couldnt cast a ballot on that bill for DC, Norton was in the middle of the debate which teed up the bill.Then-Rep. David Dreier, R-Calif., asked Norton if "the gentlelady would yield" during her floor remarks, trying to get in a word edgewise.Dreier stood a better chance at getting a harried driver to yield to him on an entrance ramp to the 405 than Norton granting him a moment to interrupt her.FEDERAL OVERSIGHT IN WASHINGTON A SPECIAL CASE AS OLD AS AMERICA ITSELF"I will not yield, sir!" yelled Norton, staring at Dreier across the House chamber. "The District of Columbia has spent 206 years yielding (to) the people who would deny them the vote! I yield you no ground! Not during my time! You have had your say! And your say has been that you think that the people who live in your capital are not entitled to a vote in their House! Shame on you!"The excoriation of Dreier was signature Norton. Forceful. Fearless. Passionate.Whether you endorse her politics or not, Norton has been the loudest voice for the people of Washington, DC for a staggering 18 terms.But the 88-year-old Norton is now silent. Perhaps during the most perilous period for self-governance in the District of Columbia in five decades.President Trump deployed hundreds of National Guard troops and federal agents into the streets of Washington this week effectively bigfooting local control of the police.Washington, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) has been outspoken against the intervention."The numbers just don't justify the action. We have seen a precipitous lessening of crime in the city," said Bowser. "Violent crime especially."DC MAYOR TRAVELS TO MARTHA'S VINEYARD AMID TRUMP'S FEDERALIZED CRIME CRACKDOWN OF CITYDC lacks senators since it isnt a state. So other local lawmakers piped up."I'm very concerned. The President is showing all of his authoritarian tendencies," said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. "We have this decision by the President to essentially federalize the DC police at a time when actually crime in the District of Columbia is at a 30 year low last year."Even Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott (D) took up DCs plight."The President isn't really interested in stopping and solving this public health issue known as gun violence. He's pointing a finger at Baltimore and DC and other cities," said Scott. "If the President were concerned and really wanted to work with cities to do that, he would bolster the strategies that are already working on the ground instead of trying to militarize police and law enforcement where they do not need to be."But Nortons largely invisible.Her office posted a boilerplate statement on X Wednesday. It declared that "President Trump made a grave error on several levels by taking over MPD and deploying the DC National Guard without DC's agreement." Norton argued that the president "unintentionally made the strongest possible case for #DCStatehood."An accompanying photo of Norton wasnt even current. It depicted Norton in a winter shawl hardly seasonal for the steamy conditions baking Washington in mid-August.TRUMP AUTHORIZED TO CONTROL DC POLICE INDEFINITELY UNDER HOUSE GOP PROPOSALNortons office turned down multiple requests for an interview this week. Nortons staff also declined a request for an interview after a gunman murdered Capitol Hill intern Eric Tarpinian-Jachym a student at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst after his death earlier this summer. However, an aide did provide a statement.Norton last spoke on the House floor in mid-June."Residents have no voting representation in Congress and Congress has the ultimate say on local DC matters," said Norton at the time.Questions started to swirl earlier this year about whether Norton was up to the job.A reporter asked DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) in June if the Delegate should run for a 19th term next year."Congresswoman Norton has been a good representative of the District. She has been a warrior on the Hill," said Mendelson.Bowser also ducked directly answering a question about Norton back in the spring."I am really focused on making sure our city is strong politically and stable economically and I think there is time for talking about elections and I don't choose to do that right now," said Bowser.ANTI-TRUMP CNN COMMENTATOR RIPS 'PROFOUNDLY STUPID' DEMOCRATS OVER DC CRIME RESPONSEIn July, a reporter didnt mention Norton by name when they asked House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., if "every member of the Democratic caucus was fit mentally and physically to serve?"The inquiry came after the deaths of late Reps. Sylvester Turner, D-Tex., Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., and Gerry Connolly, D-Va. And this conversation matures as House Republicans probe the cognitive state of former President Biden."That's not a discussion that we have had at the moment with individual Members who are going to make decisions about their future," answered Jeffries. "And it's my expectation that those decisions will be based on what Members conclude is in the best interests of the communities that they have been privileged to represent - as well as themselves, their families, and the values that they hold dear that we are in the middle of defending on behalf of the American people."The issue of elderly politicians continues to vex the Democratic Party.Kinny Zalesne is a former Justice Department official running for Nortons seat in 2026."If I were the Delegate, I would be on TV 24/7, making the case for DC and telling the truth about what's happening in our city and the truth about the administration's overreach," Zalesne told Fox.In June, Norton told a clutch of Capitol Hill reporters that she intended to run again next year. But within a couple of hours, her office dialed that back, saying Norton hadnt finalized her decision.The voters of DC will finalize their decision in the midterm elections. The reasons for Nortons relative quiet only spur conjecture and speculation fueled by what happened with former President Biden other Democratic lawmakers.DC doesnt have a vote on the House floor. But it does have a voice in Congress. And right now, the silence is deafening.

New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani said it will be possible for a "partnership" between the city and grocery store and bodega owners, despite his plan to open five city-run grocery stores if elected mayor this November."What do you say to the grocery-store owners who are concerned that this could create a ricochet effect, if there are more and more city-owned grocery stores in the city?" Fox News Digital asked Mamdani at an anti-Trump event in the Bronx on Thursday afternoon."I am interested in working with each and every New Yorker, and I've actually spoken with a number of grocery store owners and made clear to them that I both recognize and I appreciate the work that they have done. The fact is that they are a critical part of our communities," Mamdani replied.Mamdani told Fox News Digital that a majority of grocery stores in New York City are family-owned, as he expressed gratitude to those families for investing in New York City, particularly in the 1970s, when he said large retailers left, but these small-business owners stayed because "they believed in this city."SOCIALIST MAMDANI'S SUPERMARKET PLAN WOULD BE 'BULLET TO THE HEART' OF BLUE-COLLAR AMERICA, LAWMAKER WARNS"There's so much partnership that we can still offer those same stores in assisting them on the skyrocketing rents that they are facing, the questions of insurance, so much of that which creates instability in their business model, while also ensuring we're using every tool at our disposal to create a more affordable city for New Yorkers," Mamdani said.NYC OFFICIAL WARNS BUSINESSES WILL FLEE 'IN DROVES' IF DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST CANDIDATE WINS MAYORAL RACELike many of his progressive policies, Mamdani's plan to open city-run grocery stores if elected mayor of New York City has raised some eyebrows about its feasibility.But Mamdani explained on Thursday, "It's not in opposition to grocery store owners or bodega owners. This is something that can together be actually used to increase competitiveness, as we've seen public options do so in the past."Like President Donald Trump during the 2024 presidential election, Mamdani has made affordability the central theme of his campaign. One way Mamdani is seeking to lower prices for New Yorkers is by opening one city-owned grocery store in each of the five boroughs."As Mayor, Zohran will create a network of city-owned grocery stores focused on keeping prices low, not making a profit. Without having to pay rent or property taxes, they will reduce overhead and pass on savings to shoppers," according to Mamdani's campaign website.The Mamdani campaign said the city-run grocery stores will "buy and sell at wholesale prices, centralize warehousing and distribution, and partner with local neighborhoods on products and sourcing."The 33-year-old mayoral hopeful said it's time to redirect public money to create a real "public option."Mamdani told Fox News Digital on Thursday that his plan "is part of a vision of a public option for produce, an understanding that for far too many New Yorkers, groceries are out of reach, and the importance in city government of reasonable policy experimentation."He said New Yorkers deserve the same access to produce as they do "fast food restaurants just around the corner."Economists and Wall Street executives sounded the alarm on Mamdani's plan in interviews with Fox News Digital soon after his Democratic primary victory.John Catsimatidis, owner of the Gristedes supermarket chain, has largely criticized Mamdani's city-run grocery store idea, arguing it would "hurt New York.""If the city of New York is going socialist, I will definitely close, or sell, or move or franchise the Gristedes locations," Catsimatidis told Fox Business in an interview in June.And Rep. Michael Rulli, R-Ohio whose family owns and operates Rulli Brothers, a small chain of two grocery stores in the Youngstown, Ohio, area echoed Catsimatidis' concern in an interview with Fox News Digital last month."This will be a bullet into the heart of the U.S. grocery industry, if this caught on," Rulli said.Fox News Digital's Amanda Macias and Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.