FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is reviewing federal security grants for Muslim groups with "alleged terrorist ties" after a new report linked past funding to "extremist" organizations.According to a DHS document obtained by Fox News Digital, 49 projects "with alleged affiliations to terrorist activities" have already been canceled, a move the department estimates will save $8 million.The review primarily targets funding distributed through FEMAs Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP), which provides aid to churches, mosques, synagogues, and other faith-based institutions facing threats of hate-driven violence.The probe follows a report by the Middle East Forum, a pro-Israel conservative think tank, which claimed that more than $25 million in DHS and FEMA grants went to "terror-linked groups" between 2013 and 2023.COTTON CALLS ON IRS TO PULL MUSLIM ADVOCACY GROUP'S NONPROFIT STATUSA DHS official said the department is conducting its own independent review of funding but added, "We take the results of the MEF report very seriously and are thankful for the work of conservative watchdog groups."The report flagged a $100,000 grant in 2019 to the Dar al-Hijrah mosque in Virginia, which Customs and Border Protection once described as a "mosque operating as a front for Hamas operatives in the U.S.," according to records obtained by the Investigative Project through the Freedom of Information Act.In response to the MEFs findings, DHS is reviewing all current and future contracts to ensure funds are not awarded to such organizations. Officials said the department is also examining ways to recover unspent funds.Funding for fiscal year 2024 has already been allocated. That includes $94 million for 500 Jewish organizations and another $110 million shared among 600 Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh and Jewish institutions.For fiscal year 2025, DHS said applicants will face tougher requirements to ensure a "robust" vetting process."We dont want to be empowering groups that could be causing a threat to our community here in the United States," a DHS official said.The Middle East Forums report also highlighted specific cases of funding that it claims went to groups with extremist ties. It said $10.3 million had gone to the Islamic Circle of North America, which the forum alleges is tied to the South Asian Islamist movement Jamaat-e-Islami.The report further cited $250,000 awarded to the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), which DHS has accused of having "Hamas ties." Another $750,000, according to the report, went to mosques in Michigan and Texas that DHS described as "outposts for Irans revolutionary brand of Shia Islamism," including the Islamic Center of America and the Islamic House of Wisdom near Detroit, as well as the Islamic Ahlul Bayt Association in Austin.HOUSE COMMITTEE ALLEGES BIDEN ADMIN USED FUNDS TO BACK ANTI-GOVERNMENT PROTESTS IN ISRAELCAIR told Fox News Digital it has no active federal contracts with DHS."While our civil rights organization has no active federal grants that the Department could eliminate or cut, and while the government cannot ban American organizations from receiving federal grants based on their religious affiliation or their criticism of Israel's genocide in Gaza," a CAIR spokesperson said, "its important to note that Kristi Noems Department of Homeland Security is embarrassing President Trump by making decisions based on the ravings of the Middle East Forum, an Israel First hate website."FEMA has previously worked with CAIR, holding seminars to encourage participation in the NSGP program.But last week, CAIR urged organizations to withdraw from applying for DHS and FEMA grants including the NSGP unless DHS drops two new vetting rules. Those provisions require recipients to cooperate with immigration officials and prohibit them from running programs tied to diversity, equity, inclusion, or aid to undocumented immigrants, as well as from engaging in certain "discriminatory prohibited boycotts."

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Federal officials are now being instructed to vet immigrants looking to legally live and work in the U.S. for "anti-American," terrorist, or antisemitic views under new guidance.The updated policy, part of President Donald Trumps broader immigration clampdown, gives U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officers broad discretion to treat such views as "overwhelmingly negative factors" when deciding whether to approve green cards, visas or citizenship. The guidance took effect immediately and applies to both new and pending applications."Americas benefits should not be given to those who despise the country and promote anti-American ideologies," Tragesser said.TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TO WEIGH US CITIZENSHIP APPLICANTS' 'POSITIVE CONTRIBUTIONS,' GOOD MORAL CHARACTERHe added that USCIS is committed to implementing policies that root out anti-Americanism and strengthen vetting."Immigration benefits including to live and work in the United States remain a privilege, not a right."While the release offered no clear definition of "anti-Americanism," USCIS referenced the Immigration and Nationality Act, which prohibits people linked to terrorism, antisemitism or "world communism" from gaining citizenship.It noted that officers, when conducting a discretionary analysis, will weigh whether an applicants requests were made in line with existing laws and policies.The change comes alongside a wave of new immigration measures in Trumps second term, including expanded social media vetting and a tougher "good moral character" standard for naturalization.USCIS said reviews of anti-American activity will now be folded into social media screenings.TRUMP IS TARGETING NONVIOLENT AND LEGAL IMMIGRANTS.AMERICANS ARE STARTING TO NOTICE"The message is that the U.S. and immigration agencies are going to be less tolerant of anti-Americanism or antisemitism when making immigration decisions," Elizabeth Jacobs, director of regulatory affairs and policy at the Center for Immigration Studies, a group that advocates for immigration restrictions, said on Tuesday.Jacobs said the government is being more explicit in the kind of behaviors and practices officers should consider, but emphasized that discretion is still in place. "The agency cannot tell officers that they have to deny just to consider it as a negative discretion," she said.But Ruby Robinson of the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center argued constitutional rights apply to all people in the U.S. regardless of status and predicted legal challenges."A lot of this administrations activities infringe on constitutional rights and do need to be resolved, ultimately, in courts," Robinson added.Critics like David J. Bier, the director of immigration policy at the libertarian Cato Institute, warned the policy could be wielded to silence dissent and punish political opponents."This is a new powerful weapon in President Trumps arsenal against politically disfavored groups," Bier told the Washington Post.Jonathan Grode, managing partner of Green and Spiegel immigration law firm, said the policy fits Trumps longstanding approach and that the administration is within its authority."This is what was elected. Theyre allowed to interpret the rules the way they want," Grode told the Washington Post. "The policy always to them is to shrink the strike zone. The law is still the same."The Associated Press contributed to this report.

As the wailing and gnashing of teeth over the Trump administrations takeover of the Washington DC police force begins to fade, the results are coming in, and they are nothing short of extraordinary.As of Wednesday afternoon, the nations capital has had no murders for seven days, something that had not been achieved since March and something I can find no recent record of in summer months when the murder rate is typically at its highest.HUNDREDS ARRESTED AS TRUMPS WASHINGTON, DC, CRIME CRACKDOWN HITS FULL STRIDELast Monday, when a man was tragically gunned down in Logan Circle just hours after the Trump takeover, Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., took to social media to say that "Trump owns this. No word if the congressman agrees Trump also owns the lives saved this past week.And it's not just murder, according to the local police union. Robbery dropped 46% in the week after the takeover, carjackings were down a whopping 83%, and violent crime down 22%. Who could possibly argue against that?What DC needed was not a slow and steady approach to crime that fluctuates the rates here and there. It needed a shock to the system, and it got one. The patient is responding very well.The lesson here, as Shakespeare put it, is "If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well it were done quickly," which is to say that history shows us that cleaning up urban crime is not a slow, laborious process, but one to be attacked fast and aggressively.In his first term as mayor of New York City, Rudy Giuliani oversaw a 60% drop in Gothams murder rate, and a violent crime drop of 56%, much of it in his first two years.One of Rudys first acts as hizzoner was shut down the adult movie theaters in Times Square, which had turned a tourist mecca into a glass and steel valley of squalor, crime, and depravity.As the peep shows and live nude dancers were banished, so too was the high crime in drugs, prostitution and violence that went along with them.It looks a lot like what the National Guard has succeeded in doing outside of Union Station in Washington, which has long been a hive of homelessness, drug use, and even tent cities.Similarly, flooding the District with law enforcement is having the same impact it did back in early 1990s New York. Criminals understand their chances of being caught committing a crime have just skyrocketed.A few more years of this and you might be able to buy toothpaste and deodorant that isnt under lock and key at a CVS.The only real question left to ask about Trumps efforts to fight crime in DC is, why didnt we do this sooner?The answer is the liberal backlash to the successful crime initiatives of the 1990s, not just in New York, but in other cities that also adopted tactics like broken window policing.That backlash, in the form of cashless bail, reduced police forces and George Soros-backed district attorneys, gave back many of the gains in fighting crime that had been won.In many instances, the Giuliani-era policies were defeated by wealthy elites in safe neighborhoods who thought they were doing something good, not condemning their poorer fellow citizens to a crime-ridden existence.By and large, this is the same demographic that protests Trumps anti-crime approach.CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINIONIf the results and numbers from President Trumps first week in charge of the DC police can be maintained, and there is no reason to think it cant, then there is no political or rhetorical force on Earth that can stop it.Swalwell is absolutely right: Trump owns this remarkable drop in crime in Washington that we are witnessing, just as his Democrats own the killing fields they allowed it and so many of our cities to become in the first place.For the first time in a long time in our capital, there is hope that children being murdered in gang shootouts can be a rare tragedy again, not a predictable occurrence.Many years from now, as the cherry blossoms bloom in Washington, there are going to be people alive who wouldnt be if not for Trumps actions to punish crime. What could be a more important job for our political leadership?CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM DAVID MARCUS

Longtime Trump political foe Democrat Sen. Adam Schiff for years has been accused of leaking classified documents long before the release of a "bombshell" whistleblower testimony claiming the California lawmaker approved leaking classified information in order to discredit the president during the Russiagate probe, Fox News Digital found.Schiff, who served in the U.S. House for more than two decades before securing his spot in the U.S. Senate in 2024, is facing heightened scrutiny following FBI Director Kash Patel declassifying claims from a Democrat whistleblower that Schiff approved the release of classified information on Trump that allegedly "would be used to indict President TRUMP," according to the report.The whistleblower, who reportedly had worked for Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee for more than 10 years, made the claims to the FBI in 2017. Schiff had access to classified information while serving on the House Intelligence Committee during his tenure in the lower chamber, including serving as its chair from 2019 to 2023."In this meeting, SCHIFF stated the group would leak classified information which was derogatory to President of the United States DONALD J. TRUMP. SCHIFF stated the information would be used to indict President TRUMP," according to the whistleblower documents.WHITE HOUSE REACTS TO DEM WHISTLEBLOWERS BOMBSHELL CLAIM SCHIFF LEAKED TO HIT TRUMPThe whistleblower "stated this would be illegal and, upon hearing his concerns, unnamed members of the meeting reassured that they would not be caught leaking classified information," the report added.Schiff has denied the allegations, with his office telling Fox News Digital Aug. 12 that the allegations were "absolutely and categorically false."But this isn't the first time Schiff has been accused of leaking classified information to the public, with accusations following him since at least the first Trump administration. Fox News Digital took a look back at Schiff's political history in recent years and gathered the times he previously had been accused of leaking classified materials.The August declassified whistleblower accusations are "just the latest in a series of defamatory attacks from the President and his allies meant to distract from their plummeting poll numbers and the Epstein files scandal," a Schiff spokesperson told Fox Digital when approached for comment on the allegations, after White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called the whistleblower's account a "bombshell."TRUMP-FOE ADAM SCHIFF DISMISSES TULSI GABBARD'S DECLASSIFIED RUSSIA COLLUSION INTELLIGENCE AS 'DISHONEST'"These baseless smears are based on allegations that were found to be not reliable, not credible, and unsubstantiated from a disgruntled former staffer who was fired by the House Intelligence Committee for cause in early 2017, including for harassment and potentially compromising activity on official travel for the Committee," the spokesperson continued. "Even Trumps own Justice Department and an independent inspector general found this individual to not be credible, have little support for their contentionsand was of unknown reliability, and concluded that his accusations against Members of Congress and congressional staff were not ultimately substantiated."Just days after former President Joe Biden was sworn-in as president in January 2021, Trump's former acting director of national intelligence and U.S. ambassador from his first administration Ric Grenell took to X to list out "facts" regarding Schiff."Facts," a Jan. 22, 2021, post on X that is no longer available on the social media site read. The X post received media attention and was preserved in reports at the time, such as the Washington Examiner.He listed off: "Schiff wouldnt return my call to coordinate on DNI reforms. - the reforms were asked for by career officials for years. -Schiff complained when I appointed the 1st female head of counterterrorism (a career person). -Schiff & team regularly leaked classified information."Grenell's message was in response to Schiff claiming in an interview with The Hill that Grennell and former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe under the first Trump administration "bent intelligence work products to the presidents will."TRUMP INVOKES RUSSIA COLLUSION HOAX WHILE CALLING FOR LONGTIME FOE SCHIFF TO FACE JAIL TIME"The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, probably the most devastated of all of the agencies by terrible leadership of people like Rick Grenell and John Ratcliffe," Schiff said during a video interview at the time.Fast-forward to 2023, former Secretary of State and CIA Director Mike Pompeo, who served under the first Trump administration, also accused Schiff of leaking classified docs."Adam Schiff lied to the American people, and during my time as CIA director and secretary of State, I know that he leaked classified information that had been provided to him," Pompeo said in January 2023 during a Fox News interview.Pompeo continued that he "held back" sharing information with the House Intelligence Committee due to not feeling "comfortable" when Schiff led the panel.A representative for Pompeo told Fox Digital in August that the former Trump official stands by his 2023 comments on Schiff.Schiff's office slammed Pompeo's remarks at the time as "another patently false and defamatory statement."Trump had also accused Schiff of leaking classified documents under his first administration, claiming in 2018, he was the "one of the biggest liars and leakers in Washington.""Adam leaves closed committee hearings to illegally leak confidential information. Must be stopped!" Trump continued wrote in one X thread at the time.Schiff shot back at the time that Trump's X post was a "false smear.""Mr. President, I see youve had a busy morning of Executive Time. Instead of tweeting false smears, the American people would appreciate it if you turned off the TV and helped solve the funding crisis, protected Dreamers or...really anything else," Schiff responded to Trump in February 2018.As Trump railed against the alleged leaks during his first term, reports spread that the Department of Justice subpoenaed Apple for account data of House Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee, including Schiff, between 2017 and 2018. The DOJ, which was led by Jeff Sessions at the time, was searching for individuals who leaked to the media about Trump's alleged ties to Russia.The investigation dragged, including after Bill Barr was tapped as Trump's attorney general in 2019 through the end of Trump's first term, the New York Times reported in 2021, citing sources familiar with the investigation.The Justice Department's internal watchdog, under the Biden administration, opened an investigation into the subpoenas and published a report in 2024 that found the Trump DOJ did not comply with established procedures when it sought the records."We are glad that the Department of Justice Inspector General conducted a thorough investigation, and that the Inspector General has recommended safeguards to further protect the media, and to safeguard the separation of powers," a spokesperson for Schiff said following the release of the report, according to Reuters in 2024.As the 2020 campaign heated up, Trump continued accusing Schiff and other House Democrats of leaking, with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence at the time scaling back its security briefings with Congress that year as high-profile Democrats promoted concerns that Russia was interfering in that election."Director Ratcliffe brought information into the committee, and the information leaked," Trump said in August 2020. "Whether it was Shifty Schiff or somebody else, they leaked the information. And whats even worse, they leaked the wrong information. And he got tired of it. So he wants to do it in a different forum, because you have leakers on the committee."Schiff denied leaking any classified intelligence in 2020, but said he could not confirm the same for other House Democrats. "I havent. My staff hasnt. I cant speak for what all the members of the committee have done or not done, including a lot of the Republican members," Schiff told CNNs Dana Bash in 2020, following Trump claiming "Shifty Schiff" may have been behind another leak of intelligence given to the House Intelligence Committee at the time.The Trump administration continued its laser-focused hunt to identify and suss out internal federal government leakers during the second administration, with a White House official telling Axios in June, "We are declaring a war on leakers."The comment came in response to a leak of an internal assessment of the Trump administration's bombing a trio of Iranian nuclear facilities that claimed the strikes were not ads effective as the president said.Federal agencies such as the FBI, Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security have leveraged using polygraph tests on staffers suspected of leaking information under the second Trump administration.Trump and Schiff have long been political foes.This was underscored during Trump's first administration when Schiff served as the lead House manager during the first impeachment trial against Trump in 2020. It also was highlighted when Schiff repeatedly promoted claims that Trump's 2016 campaign colluded with Russia.FEDERAL HOUSING OFFICIAL SUBMITTED SCHIFF CRIMINAL REFERRAL TO DOJ OVER MORTGAGE DOCUMENTSSchiff landed in hot water earlier this spring, when the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) sent a letter to the Department of Justice in May sounding the alarm that in "multiple instances," Schiff allegedly "falsified bank documents and property records to acquire more favorable loan terms, impacting payments from 2003-2019 for a Potomac, Maryland-based property."He is currently under criminal investigation for mortgage fraud, Fox Digital previously reported. The California Democrat has denied any wrongdoing, claiming the matter is a "baseless attempt at political retribution."Days after Trump first posted about Schiff's mortgages in Maryland and California in July, the president's director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, declassified documents that reportedly show "overwhelming evidence" that then-President Barack Obama and his national security team allegedly laid the groundwork for what would be the yearslong TrumpRussia collusion probe after Trump's election win against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2016."It lays out, these over 100 documents that you're referencing, that I declassified and released, spells out in great detail exactly what happens when you have some of the most powerful people in our country directly leading at the helm, President Obama and his senior-most national security cabinet, James Comey, John Brennan, James Clapper and Susan Rice and others, essentially making a very intentional decision to create this manufactured, politicized piece of intelligence with the objective of subverting the will of the American people," Gabbard told Fox News' Sean Hannity in July following the release.Schiff was an incredibly vocal lawmaker amid the Russian collusion claims, most notably when the House censured him in 2023 over his promotion that Trump's 2016 campaign colluded with Russia. Schiff served in the House representing California from 2001 to 2024, when he was sworn-in as a senator after his successful 2024 campaign to serve in the nation's upper chamber.Schiff also served on the Jan. 6 select committee, which investigated the breach of the Capitol building in 2021 by Trump supporters following then-President Biden's election win.At the 11th hour of Biden's tenure on Jan. 20, Schiff was among lawmakers who served on the committee who were granted preemptive pardons. The subcommittee concluded Trump's actions played a key role in promoting the breach of the Capitol and recommended Trump be criminally prosecuted.TRUMP ACCUSES 'SCAM ARTIST' SCHIFF OF LYING ABOUT MARYLAND HOME TO COMMIT MORTGAGE FRAUDBiden specifically granted preemptive pardons to "Members of Congress and staff who served onthe Select Committee, and theU.S. Capitol and D.C.Metropolitanpolice officerswho testified before the Select Committee."Schiff, however, had publicly railed against the prospect of Biden doling out preemptive pardons, saying it would set a poor precedent."First, those of us on the committee are very proud of the work we did. We were doing vital quintessential oversight of a violent attack on the Capitol," Schiff said during an interview on ABC News in December 2024. "So I think its unnecessary.""But second, the precedent of giving blanket pardons, preemptive blanket pardons on the way out of an administration, I think is a precedent we dont want to set," he added.Charges stemming from the Jan. 6 case were dismissed following Trump's decisive win in the 2024 presidential election against then-Vice President Kamala Harris.The White House responded to the whistleblower's declassified testimony claiming Schiff approved the release of classified information to damage Trump, and doubled down on Trump's stance that Schiff be "held accountable for the countless lies he told the American people in relation to the Russiagate scandal.""This is obviously a bombshell whistleblower report," Leavitt said at a Tuesday White House press briefing. "Hopefully more people in this room will cover it as such.""I understand Kash Patel, last night, declassified a 302 FBI document showing that a whistleblower, who is a Democrat, a career intelligence officer who worked for Democrats on the House Intel Committee for more than a decade, repeatedly warned the FBI in 2017 that then-Rep. Adam Schiff had approved leaking classified information to smear then-President Donald Trump over the Russiagate scandal," Leavitt said.In August, a representative for Schiff confirmed a legal defense fund was established for the senator in response to Trump and his allies."Its clear that Donald Trump and his MAGA allies will continue weaponizing the justice process to attack Senator Schiff for holding this corrupt administration accountable," Marisol Samayoa, a spokesperson for Schiff, told Fox News Digital Tuesday evening of the legal fund. "This fund will ensure he can fight back against these baseless smears while continuing to do his job."Titled "Senator Schiff Legal Defense Fund," the fund was filed with the Internal Revenue Service Thursday, The New York Times first reported.White House spokesman Harrison Fields called Schiff a "fraud" and "corrupt politician" when approached for comment Tuesday regarding the legal fund. "Adam Schiff is a sleazy and corrupt politician who betrayed his oath to the Constitution by prioritizing his selfish and personal animosity toward the President over the interests of the American people," Fields told Fox News Digital. "No amount of money can shield Adam from the truth that he is a fraud."Fox News Digital reached out to Schiff for additional comment on the matter but did not immediately receive a reply.Fox News Digital's Andrea Margolis contributed to this report.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has firmly rejected proposals to concede land to Russian President Vladimir Putin, particularly the hotly-contested Donbas region.The Donbas, which includes Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, is Ukraine's industrial heartland where coal mining and steel production are the main drivers of economic growth. Ultimately, control of the region's mines and factories would hand Moscow powerful leverage over Kyivs post-war economic survival.'OUR POSITION IS CLEAR:' ZELENSKYY AND EU DISMISS CEDING UKRAINIAN LAND TO RUSSIA"Donbas offers both a military advantage and significant economic resources, making it a high-value target for the Kremlin," explained Elina Beketova, a fellow with the Democratic Resilience Program at the Center for European Policy Analysis."The Donbas alone holds vast reserves of coal especially anthracite, crucial for energy and metallurgy," Beketova said. "Of 114 mines in Donetsk region, only 15 remain functional," she pointed out, as many have been flooded, destroyed, or left inoperable by the war.Coal tells only half the story.Perhaps the crown jewel is salt: the Soledar salt mines, with an estimated 4.5 billion tons of rock salt making it the largest reserve in Europe. These mines and the Artyomsol plant, Europe's largest salt producer, fell to Russian forces in 2022.Beketova underscored that, in the long term, natural gas could be the most strategically important resource in the region."The region includes the Yuzivka gas field in Donetsk and Kharkiv oblasts, with potential reserves of up to 4 trillion cubic meters a direct challenge to Russian energy dominance, and likely another reason why Moscow wants full control of the area."RUSSIA MAY GAIN UKRAINES FERTILE, RESOURCE-RICH TERRITORY AS TRUMP PROPOSES LAND SWAP"Beyond coal, salt, and gas, the occupied territories of Donbas as well as neighboring Zaporizhzhia and Kherson are also rich in gypsum, chalk, marble, granite, sand and clay," Beketova said.Russian forces currently occupy approximately one-fifth of Ukraines territory, primarily in the eastern and southeastern regions, including large swaths of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. These areas have been under partial or full Russian control at various points over the course of the Kremlins war.For Kyiv, the Donbas is more than contested ground it is an economic lifeline, whose coal, salt and gas reserves could help bankroll recovery in a country already burdened with enormous post-war debts.The most recent joint assessment by the United Nations, World Bank, European Commission, and Ukrainian government estimates that Kyiv faces $524billion in postwar reconstruction over the next decade.Of the total long-term reconstruction and recovery needs, housing accounts for the largest share at nearly $84 billion, followed by $78 billion needed for the transportation industry and $68 billion for the energy sector.Zelenskyy told reporters at the European Commission on Sunday that Putin has repeatedly tried and failed to seize the entirety of the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine for a period of 12 years.Grace Mappes, an analyst at the Institute for the Study of War, noted that conceding the region would also mean relinquishing Ukraines "fortress belt," the fortified defensive line in Donetsk Oblast since 2014."After trying and failing to occupy this strategically vital terrain for over a decade, Putin is now demanding that Ukraine concede this critical defensive position, which Russian forces currently have no means of rapidly enveloping or penetrating, apparently in exchange for nothing and with no guarantee that fighting will not resume."Mappes added that Ukraine's substantial investment in reinforcing its "fortress belt" with defensive structures, logistics hubs, and defense industrial facilities, underscores its central role in the countrys military resilience."Putin's proposal is not a compromise, rather a ploy to avoid the years-long, bloody campaign that would be necessary to seize the fortress belt and the rest of Donetsk militarily," she added.

FIRST ON FOX: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Boston said it arrested 65 illegal aliens during a four-day operation in Connecticut dubbed "Operation Broken Trust," part of the agencys ongoing crackdown on states with sanctuary policies.The operation was launched as Connecticut in May expanded its sanctuary state law known as the "Trust Act," which bans local law enforcement from sharing information with ICE unless required by law or in cases involving serious crimes.The agency said that the sting targeted transnational organized crime, gangs and egregious offenders. Among the 65 arrested, 29 had been convicted or charged in the U.S. with serious crimes, including kidnapping, assault, drug offenses, weapons violations and sex crimes. Others were identified as members of transnational gangs or had criminal histories in their home countries."Sanctuary legislation like Connecticuts Trust Act only endangers the communities it claims to protect. Such laws only force law enforcement professionals to release criminal alien offenders back into the very communities they have already victimized," said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston acting Field Office Director Patricia H. Hyde. "The state of Connecticut is a safer place thanks to the hard work and determination of the men and women of ICE and our federal partners. Working together, we were able to arrest 65 illegal aliens in just four days throughout Connecticut, many of whom had significant criminality in the United States."MIGRANT CRIMES AGAINST CHILDREN PILE UP IN BOSTON AREA AS MAYOR SLAMS BONDI OVER SANCTUARY WARNINGThroughout the duration of Operation Broken Trust, ICE and its federal law enforcement partners targeted egregious criminal alien offenders, operating in the state of Connecticut. ICE said that under the state's Trust Act, state and local law enforcement will refuse to "honor ICE detainers with a few rare exceptions.""Make no mistake: Every person that we arrested are criminals and breaking federal law, but many of these individuals also victimized innocent people and traumatized communities rapists, drug traffickers, child sex predators and members of violent transnational criminal gangs," Hyde said. "They all made the mistake of attempting to subvert justice by hiding out in Connecticut."ICE ARRESTS 'WORST OF THE WORST' ILLEGAL ALIENS IN LOS ANGELES WHILE PROTESTERS ADVOCATE FOR CRIMINALS: DHSICE noted that the sanctuary state's refusal to honor immigration detainer requests to turn over criminal migrants forced officers and agents to make "at-large arrests in Connecticut communities." Operation Broken Trust saw officers from ICE Bostons Hartford field office collaborate with the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to apprehend illegal alien offenders.ICE AGENTS IN BOSTON ARREST MIGRANT MURDERER, CHILD RAPISTS AS FOX NEWS RIDES ALONGEfren Mauricio Guallpa-Shurshanay, an illegal 43-year-old alien from Ecuador, in Danbury, Connecticut.Guallpa-Shurshanays criminal history includes a conviction for sex assault in 2008.Ruben Antonio Fuentes, an illegal 35-year-old alien from El Salvador, in Danbury, Connecticut. Fuentes criminal history includes convictions for drugs and cocaine, harassment, carrying a prohibited weapon, cruelty toward a child and obscene communication.Alexander Alberto Guerra-Avila, an illegal 24-year-old alien from Venezuela, in Danbury, Connecticut. Guerra-Avilas criminal history includes arrests for stalking, assault, disorderly conduct, and injury to a child.LARGEST EVER ICE OPERATION RESULTS IN NEARLY 1,500 ILLEGALS ARRESTED IN BLUE STATEJaime Timoteo Gonzalez-Moran, an illegal 37-year-old alien from Guatemala in Norwalk, Connecticut. Gonzalez criminal history includes convictions for sexual assault, threatening and three counts of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.Jeremiah Garrido-Morales, an illegal 35-year-old alien from El Salvador in Stamford, Connecticut. Garrido-Morales criminal history includes arrests for robbery, assault and breach of peace.Edwin Andres Calva-Guaman, an illegal 27-year-old alien from Ecuador, in Danbury, Connecticut. Calva-Guamans criminal history includes a conviction for larceny and arrest for domestic violence, assault 3rd degree and breach of peace.Nileshkumar Pravinbhai Patel, an illegal 38-year-old alien from India in Norwalk, Connecticut. Patels criminal history includes charges of the sale of 1KG or more of cannabis and possession with intent to distribute 1KG or more of cannabis.Henry Morales-Cante, an illegal 21-year-old alien from Guatemala in Stamford, Connecticut. Morales-Cantes criminal history includes charges of assault, illegal possession of a weapon in a motor vehicle, carrying a dangerous weapon, reckless endangerment and illegal use of a facsimile firearm.Marlon Morales-Cante, an illegal 19-year-old alien from Guatemala in Stamford, Connecticut. Morales-Cantes criminal history includes charges of assault, carrying a dangerous weapon, reckless endangerment and conspiracy to commit assault.Jonathan Alessandro Cordero-Morales, an illegal 21-year-old alien from Ecuador in Danbury, Connecticut. Cordero-Morales criminal history includes charges of assault, breach of peace, violation of protection order, resisting arrest, and disorderly conduct.Carlos Ernesto Silvestre-Sanchez, an illegal 50-year-old alien from Guatemala in Danbury, Connecticut. Silvestre-Sanchez criminal history includes charges of sexual assault and breach of peace.Jonatan Cruz-Najera, an illegal 27-year-old alien from Guatemala in Stamford, Connecticut. Cruz-Najeras criminal history includes arrests for assault and disorderly conduct.CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPMiguel Coello-Farfan, an illegal 51-year-old alien from Peru in Stamford, Connecticut. Coello-Farfans criminal history includes a charge of sex assault of a minor that was overturned on appeal and he pleaded to lesser charges of a similar nature. Charges were then pardoned by the State of Connecticut.All the migrants detained during Operation Broken Trust are expected to remain in ICE custody pending the outcome of their removal proceedings or their deportation from the United States.

Joanna Gaines is no stranger to home renovations but letting go of her own kids is a different kind of overhaul.The "Fixer Upper" star gave an emotional update on her family as she and husband Chip Gaines navigate life with their kids growing up and leaving the nest."Chip is doing good, he dropped the kids off this morning, sent me a little picture," Joanna said on the "Today" show. "The kids are good. I have my oldest son who is now a junior in college. I feel like, Hey, Im getting the hang of it every time he leaves, so its not as hard."JOANNA GAINES SAYS COLLEGE SENDOFF IS 'ONE BIG, BREATHLESS SURRENDER' IN EMOTIONAL POSTThe designer and Magnolia co-founder admitted that sending off their daughter Ella took a different emotional toll."But my second daughter, Ella, she left last week, so its like still raw," she shared. "Im like, Oh, God help me."Joanna, 46, said Ellas departure has been more difficult since shes farther away than her other son, Drake."It feels different because she went further, and shes my girl," she said. "So I thought I had this down with Drake, I already know. Its totally different."In a previous emotional post, Joanna described sending Ella off to college as "one big, breathless surrender."When asked if Ellas dorm room was decked out with Joanna's signature design touches, the proud mom explained she let her daughter take the lead.JOANNA GAINES KEEPS LIFE SIMPLE IN TEXAS AWAY FROM HOLLYWOOD SPOTLIGHT"Shes very into design, she has her own unique style so I stepped back," Joanna said. "I said, You show me and I let her do her own thing. Its really what she wanted."As for their youngest, Crew, hes growing up fast and still very hands-on in the kitchen, she pointed out on "Today.""Crew has always loved [cooking], anything mixing, messy," she said. "Its not as efficient, but its so fun hes so intrigued by it, but hes getting so big."The HGTV stars comments come after she previously opened up about the emotional whirlwind of sending her kids off to college.APP USERS CLICK HERE TO VIEW POSTOn Aug. 10, Joanna took to Instagram and shared a room full of boxes with an emotional caption."They told me it would go by quicker than I think. That the days are slow but the years are fast. And darn it if they were right. This beautiful gift of time has roared past us all just like I was told."LIKE WHAT YOURE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS"Help me to embrace change with a heart filled with hope for the part I know to be truer than the rest my kids and I may have been made for each other, but I also believe they were made for more. More experiences, more knowledge, more growing than could ever happen within our walls," Joanna wrote.She continued, "My oldest son left for his third year of college while my oldest daughter packs for her first year across the country. This season already feels like one big, breathless surrender. Lord, how do I hold them close while also letting go?"APP USERS CLICK HERE TO VIEW POSTShe signed off by addressing parents who are sending their kids off to college and those who still have their children at home."And lets all lean on each other when the time comes to hold it together," she concluded.Joanna additionally shared an Instagram reel enjoying one last family dinner before two of her kids head off to college.CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER"Gulp. Last dinner together before our oldest heads back to college and our second is about to leave home for her freshman year."Joanna and Chip are parents to five children: Ella, Drake, Crew, Emmie and Duke.The Gaineses have not shared where Ella or Drake are attending college.CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPFox News Digital's Janelle Ash contributed to this report.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., weighed in on the conversation around the Minnesota Vikings male cheerleaders.The Vikings squad was the topic of conversation since the start of the preseason. Blaize Shiek and Louie Conn drew the ire of NFL fans on social media.CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COMTuberville appeared on OutKicks "Hot Mic" on Tuesday and put the NFL on notice."I would like to ask the ownership of the NFL and the commissioner, what the hell are you doing?" he said. "Youve got the No. 1 sport on planet Earth in terms of people watching it. Your business is growing, its getting better and better. Theres some ways youve tried to attack it over the last 10-15 years but youve been able to withstand that."But if youre going to be woke and youre gonna try to take the men out of mens sports, which is what youre doing. Theyre trying to take gender and say, OK, were going to make it more about gender than we are about masculinity. Then, youre going to have a huge problem. Its coming."Tuberville warned that fans may stop buying tickets to games if male cheerleaders become more prevalent.ANTHONY RICHARDSON'S AGENT NEEDLES COLTS OVER QB1 DECISION, QUESTIONS 'TRUST'"You can see Minnesota doing it. Theyre one of the blue states. Weve lost them. Theyre more about socialism and all the things that go on with that and its about 150 genders. At the end of the day, I hope to God it doesnt come south to Atlanta or to Texas or to Dallas or to some of our NFL teams because youll lose it," he said."People will actually quit buying tickets because this is the narrative theyre trying to push. This is not just about a couple of people being men cheerleaders. It is about pushing a narrative that you want to put gender into sports and let everyone know were trying to show, Hey, were going to take the masculinity out of it a little bit. And thats not going to happen in the south."The Vikings put out a statement in defense of Shiek and Conn last week."Male cheerleaders have been part of previous Vikings teams and have long been associated with collegiate and professional cheerleading," the team toldNBC News. "We support all our cheerleaders and are proud of the role they play as ambassadors of the organization."Shiek and Conn are both in their first season as Vikings cheerleaders.Follow Fox News Digitalssports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

Two German warplanes were scrambled overnight from Romania after Russia launched a large-scale missile and drone attack in Ukraine less than a mile from the NATO borderline.Romanias Ministry of Defense said on Wednesday that two German Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft, stationed at Romania's Mihail Koglniceanu Air Base as part of NATO's Enhanced Air Policing mission, were deployed "to monitor the air situation," but noted that this time no Russian aircraft or projectiles crossed the NATO border.Despite last weeks talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump, Moscow has continued its aerial bombardment of Ukraine, including in an overnight attack that targeted oil and port facilities in the Odesa region on and near the Danube River,which separates the Ukrainian border with the allied NATO nation of Romania.RUSSIA LAUNCHES LARGEST ATTACK ON UKRAINE THIS MONTH FOLLOWING TRUMP'S MEETINGS WITH PUTIN, ZELENSKYYThe deployment of NATO jets comes after numerous incidents in recent weeks have increasingly threatened, and even crossed, NATO borders as the U.S. and Europe continue to push for Russia to end its war.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported early on Wednesday that more than 60 drones and ballistic missiles were fired across Ukraine overnight, including the northeastern region of Sumy, where a drone strike injured 14 people though Ukraines Air Force later increased the number of overnight drone strikes to 93, and noted that 62 of the Shahed-style drones were intercepted, as well as one ballistic missile."A family with wounded children 5 months, 4 years, and 6 years old sought assistance after the attack," Zelenskyy said.A glide bomb in Donetsk damaged five apartment buildings, and three people were still trapped under the rubble as of Wednesday morning.JOINT CHIEFS, NATO COUNTERPARTS TO DISCUSS UKRAINE SECURITY GUARANTEES AFTER TRUMP SUGGESTS US AIR SUPPORT"The rescue operation continues," Zelenskyy added, though he did not confirm how many others were injured in the strikes."All of these are demonstrative strikes that only confirm the need to put pressure on Moscow, the need to impose new sanctions and tariffs until diplomacy is fully effective," Zelenskyy said on X. "I thank all partners who are helping to stop this Russian war. Together with the United States, Europe, and all those who seek peace.CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP"We need strong security guarantees to ensure a truly reliable and lasting peace," he added.The strikes come as NATO nations prepare to meet virtually on Wednesday to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine following high-level talks first between Trump and Putin on Friday, and then Trump, Zelenskyy and top NATO leaders at the White House on Monday.