From Acadias rocky Atlantic coastline to Glaciers snowcapped valleys, our national parks are Americas crown jewels, admired at home and abroad. Our parks represent more than natural beauty, however. They embody our history, our freedoms and our future. It's our responsibility to ensure they remain a critical part of these shared values.All of these places, large and small, tell the story of America: where families gather to camp and fish, where veterans reflect at historic battlefields and where local economies thrive on outdoor recreation and tourism. In recent years, weve made progress toward maintaining the national parks to make them safer, more modern and better equipped to handle hundreds of millions of visitors each year all thanks to the Legacy Restoration Fund (LRF), a federal program dedicated to repairing and restoring our parks. But the LRF is set to expire Sept. 30, 2025, and there is much more work to be done to honor the heritage and history the parks represent, especially ahead of Americas 250th anniversary. That is why we introduced the America the Beautiful Act to reauthorize the LRF. It continues the vision Congress advanced with the Great American Outdoors Act and builds on the strong bipartisan consensus that preserving our parks and public lands is a duty we all share and a natural investment.For decades, park needs went underfunded. That began to change in 2020, when Congress passed with a broad bipartisan majority and President Trump signed into law the Great American Outdoors Act, the largest investment in our parks in more than 50 years. The results speak for themselves.CONGRESS CONSIDERS PERMANENT NATIONAL PARK FEE INCREASE FOR INTERNATIONAL VISITORSIn just five years, more than $6.5 billion has been invested into nearly 400 projects nationwide making for a better visitor experience across the parks. And the LRF isnt just about preservation and repairs; its about economic strength. It has generated over $8 billion in GDP, supported over 72,000 jobs and pumped billions of dollars into local economies.However, if Congress fails to reauthorize this critical and successful program, projects will stall, repair costs will rise and communities that depend on park tourism will suffer.Last year alone, 331 million national park visitors contributed over $55 billion in spending to nearby communities, towns and businesses. These are not abstract numbers; they represent paychecks for guides, waiters, hotel staff, mechanics and small business owners the livelihoods of our neighbors, the lifeblood of American communities.Across Montana and Maine, weve seen firsthand how critical these investments are. In Montana, Glacier National Park supports thousands of jobs and sustains small towns across the Flathead Valley. In Maine, Acadias breathtaking coastline brings visitors who fill local shops and restaurants, while investments in safe trails and restored facilities keep them coming back. These experiences depend on infrastructure we cannot allow to crumble.CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINIONThe support for this commonsense effort is broad and growing. We hear about it from constituents, local elected officials, business leaders and industry associations. More than 50 national organizations, from economic groups to conservation and heritage advocates, have already endorsed it. They recognize what we see: The LRF is not just good policy, its good stewardship of the resources and freedoms that define Americas past, present, and future.Reauthorizing the LRF is about more than roads and buildings. Its about safeguarding the places where Americans come together, strengthening the communities that depend on them and ensuring that future generations inherit the same opportunities to experience the best of America.As we approach Americas 250th birthday, Congress has the chance to reaffirm a bipartisan promise by passing the America the Beautiful Act: to protect the lands, history and freedoms that unite us as a nation. Lets not let this opportunity pass.Independent Angus King represents Maine in the United States Senate. He is a former governor of Maine.

The nations federal deficit slightly improved in June when the federal government actually ran a surplus. But, in July, the federal governments deficit grew by nearly 20%, despite the increased collection of taxes on imports (which are known as tariffs). Nevertheless, the protectionists are loudly crowing about tariffs as the answer to our deficit woes.Time will tell whether tariffs make a dent in annual deficits, but there was a time when conservatives united against the idea of raising taxes to balance the budget. I remember my fathers misgivings toward a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution because he feared encouraging the concept of balancing the enormous federal government expenditures with new taxes.Think of it this way: currently the U.S. government spends $7 trillion annually and brings in approximately $5 trillion dollars. Historically and viscerally, conservatives once opposed closing the gap by raising taxes.FETTERMAN JOINS FISCAL HAWKS TO SOUND ALARM AS NATIONAL DEBT NEARS STAGGERING $37TIn 1982, while speaking to the AFL-CIO, President Ronald Reagan stated, "We dont have a trillion-dollar debt because you arent taxed enough. We have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much." A generation later, after the Tea Party wave swept Republicans into a majority in the House of Representatives, Speaker John Boehner acknowledged "Washington does not have a revenue problem. Washington has a spending problem."Republican concern regarding the debt connects generations of elected officials. Todays highest-ranking congressional leaders have expressed the view that the source of our debt is spending even the United States cannot afford. A few years before he became Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson (R-LA) said, "A continued pattern of reckless federal spending is not only irresponsible, its dangerous. We have a moral obligation to restore fiscal sanity to the Congress so that our children and grandchildren have the opportunity to enjoy the same blessings of liberty that we have."In 2023, the current Senate Majority Leader, John Thune, wrote in an op-ed, "Taxing the rich may be a convenient political slogan, but it will not bring in enough money to dig us out of the hole we are in. We have to find a responsible way to rein in federal spending."Even the current secretary of the Treasury acknowledges that profligate spending is weakening America. At his confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee, Scott Bessent said "one of the things that got me out from behind my desk and my quiet life... was the thought that this spending is out of control... And I am concerned because, several times, the Treasury of the United States was called upon... to save the world and we would be hard-pressed to do the same."For decades, Republicans of every conceivable stripe have united in the belief that the nations debt problem, which threatens to doom America to economic decline, cannot be solved with higher taxes.However, today, most Republicans have lost their moorings and readily cheer reducing the debt with tariffs.CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINIONThe unfinished narrative on tariffs will play out over the next six months to a year. Republicans once argued that if you tax something youll get less of it. As the year unfolds, the question remains: If you tax trade, will you get less trade? If you tax imported goods, will the cost of the tax ultimately be borne by the consumer?Some proponents of tariffs loudly proclaim that tariffs will fund the entire federal government as they did in the 19th century. That would be true if we would choose a government today that only spends about 3 percent of GDP (as the federal government did for much of the 19th century). Government spending over the last five years averaged over 26% of GDP and could never be funded by tariffs alone.In the meantime, Republicans should take with a grain of salt increased revenue and ask themselves whether the goal is to balance a bloated budget with increased taxes or instead limit the size and scope of government. This important question once differentiated conservatives from liberals I hope the current fad for import taxes doesnt entice all conservatives to forget the goal of a small, constitutional federal government.

A handful of California Democrats, who are also longtime political foes of President Donald Trump, slammed a Supreme Court ruling that lifts restrictions on the Trump administrations immigration raids in Los Angeles as "un-American" and opening the door to a "parade of racial terror.""@realDonaldTrump's hand-picked SCOTUS majority just became the Grand Marshal for a parade of racial terror in LA. His administration is targeting Latinos and anyone who doesnt look or sound like @StephenM's idea of an American to deliberately harm our families and economy," California Gov. Gavin Newsom posted to X on Monday evening.Newsom, who has sparred with Trump stretching back to the president's first administration, was reacting to a 6-3 Supreme Court ruling on Monday that the Trump administration can continue deploying immigration raids in California, which blocked a lower court's ruling that halted such raids in the state.The case was punted to the Supreme Court after a federal judge in July blocked ICE from conducting raids in Los Angeles County, citing that they were likely unconstitutional as federal agents were detaining individuals for "apparent race or ethnicity," or speaking Spanish. Immigration activists had accused the federal government of targeting Latinos based on criteria such as speaking Spanish. The Ninth Circuit upheld the July order before the Supreme Court weighed in.TRUMP ADMIN SEEKS TO OVERTURN FEDERAL RESTRAINING ORDER LIMITING ICE OPERATIONS IN LOS ANGELESNewsom, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and California Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff each issued a rebuke of the Supreme Court's ruling on Monday, calling the Trump administration's immigration raids "blatantly illegal.""This Administration rounded up and arrested California residents, including U.S. citizens and legal residents, based on the color of their skin or the language they speak. This is blatantly illegal, yet the Supreme Court is allowing it to happen while the case proceeds. When the history of this countrys rapid descent into dictatorship is written, Republicans in Congress and the Roberts Court will have been its primary enabler," Schiff posted to X on Monday.Schiff has a long documented contentious relationship with Trump, including over the Jan. 6, 2021 investigation, Trump's first impeachment trial and the Russia investigation. The California Democrat is currently under a Department of Justice investigation for alleged mortgage fraud uncovered under the second Trump administration."I want the entire nation to hear me when I say this isnt just an attack on the people of LA, this is an attack on every person in every city in this country. Todays ruling is not only dangerous its un-American and threatens the fabric of personal freedom in the U.S." Bass added in her own message on X.Bass and Trump have also sparred in the past, most recently over the summer when federal immigration officials first converged on the city, and back in January when wildfires ripped across Southern California and devastated the Los Angeles area."Let me be clear: we will not allow the White House, nor the Supreme Court, to divide us. And to all Angelenos, I will never stop fighting for your rights, your dignity, and your safety, despite this administrations efforts to threaten them. We will stand united," Bass continued in a press release.LOS ANGELES JUDGE WEIGHS SEVERE LIMITS ON TRUMP'S IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT IN CALIFORNIAThe Supreme Court's majority did not include an explanation for the ruling. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, however, authored a concurring opinion arguing that a combination of factors such as race could provide authorities with reasonable suspicion to stop a person and inquire about their immigration status."To be clear, apparent ethnicity alone cannot furnish reasonable suspicion; under this Courts case law regarding immigration stops, however, it can be a relevant factor when considered along with other salient factors," Kavanaugh wrote.SUPREME COURT RULES ON TRUMP'S THIRD-COUNTRY DEPORTATIONS, IN MAJOR TEST FOR PRESIDENTJustice Sonia Sotomayor issued the dissent and argued the emergency order approving such raids was "troubling" and pointed to the majority's lack of explanation for the move. "We should not have to live in a country where the Government can seize anyone who looks Latino, speaks Spanish, and appears to work a low wage job," Sotomayor wrote.TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SUES LOS ANGELES OVER SANCTUARY POLICIES THAT 'IMPEDE' ICE OPERATIONSThe Trump administration celebrated the Supreme Court's decision on Monday."This is a win for the safety of Californians and the rule of law," Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said, according to Politico. "DHS law enforcement will not be slowed down and will continue to arrest and remove the murderers, rapists, gang members, and other criminal illegal aliens ."The Supreme Court order follows the Trump administration ordering immigration officials to carry out raids back in June to remove individuals illegally residing in Los Angeles, which dubbed itself a "sanctuary" for illegal immigrants in November before Trump was sworn back into the Oval Office.CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPRiots and protests subsequently broke out in the city as local leaders, such as Newsom and Bass, slammed the Trump administration's illegal immigrant crackdown and offered words of support to illegal immigrants.Fox News Digital reached out to Newsom's, Bass' and Schiff's respective offices on Monday afternoon.Fox News Digital's Ashley Oliver contributed to this report.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said he wants all schools in Texas to make time for Bible reading and prayer."As I've always said and believed, we want the word of God opened, the Ten Commandments displayed, and prayers lifted up in Texas classrooms," Paxton told Fox News Digital in a statement Monday."Those who oppose this law want to erode the moral fabric of our society and dismantle the very foundation that Americas greatness was built upon," Paxton said. "I will not stand by while the values that have always guided us are stripped away and religious freedoms are trampled, which is exactly why Im encouraging prayer to be brought back into our classrooms."DAVID MARCUS: FORGIVE ME, BUT I WAS WRONG ABOUT SCHOOL PRAYERIn a public statement on Sept. 2, Paxton said the Bible is part of the nation's foundation."In Texas classrooms, we want the Word of God opened, the Ten Commandments displayed, and prayers lifted up," Paxton said."Twisted, radical liberals want to erase truth, dismantle the solid foundation that Americas success and strength were built upon, and erode the moral fabric of our society," he added. "Our nation was founded on the rock of biblical truth, and I will not stand by while the far-left attempts to push our country into the sinking sand."The Texas Legislature recently passed Senate Bill 11, which lets school boards in Texas make policies to dedicate time to read the Bible and religious texts, as well as provide time for personal prayer."The law requires that the board of trustees for each ISD in Texas take a record vote on whether to adopt a policy to implement these periods no later than six months after September 1, 2025," a Sept. 2 press release from Paxtons office stated. "Student participation in these periods requires parental consent."FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS FROM DISPLAYING TEN COMMANDMENTS IN CLASSROOMSKim Hermann, president of the Southeastern Legal Foundation, toldFox News Digital that Paxtons invitation for prayer in public schools will be welcomed by parents and students."Kids today are terrified to pray in school, or even say the word Bible," Hermann said."We hear that all the time from students and parents," she added. "The Biden Administration targeted religious institutions and practices for years, and that made the free expression of religion in America not free at all. This move by AG Paxton in Texas underscores how Americans should be free to pray and allowing school boards to set aside a voluntary time of prayer is a constitutional way to structure it. The Biden Administrations targeting of the Catholic Church by the FBI just because its religious was a true violation of church and state."In remarks Monday at the Museum of the Bible for the launch ofAmerica Prays, an initiativeaskingAmericans to set aside time every week topray for their country, President Donald Trump said that the Department of Education would also be working to protect the right to pray in schools."I am pleased to announce this morning that the Department of Education will soon issue new guidance protecting the right to prayer in our public schools," Trump said.MAJORITY OF ADULTS SUPPORT RELIGIOUS CHAPLAINS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS, NEW REPORT SHOWSFox News Digital reached out to the ACLU of Texas for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

A Florida radio station has found success after rebranding as "Trump Country" 93.7 FM and embracing MAGA with President Donald Trump as the face and voice of the operation.WHEL radio, a country station located in Fort Myers, Florida, uses the slogan "Make Country Great Again," features signage that mirrors a Trump campaign ad, airs comedic promotions read by a Trump impersonator and even uses an AI-generated cowboy hat-clad Trump in its logo."We made the rebrand decision shortly after President Donald Trumps election landslide and witnessed all of the support in our area for Trump in boat parades and rallies. So, we made the decision that we would also celebrate Trumps win by rebranding on inauguration day," WHEL president and general manager Jim Schwartzel told Fox News Digital.HOWARD STERN SAYS HE 'HATES' ANYONE THAT VOTES FOR TRUMP: 'THEY ARE STUPID, I HAVE NO RESPECT FOR THEM'Schwartzel said "feedback has been tremendous" and the stations audience has grown significantly since the rebrand."The people who have found the station celebrate and listen for long periods of time," Schwartzel said, noting that WHEL has the most TSL Time Spent Listening of any country radio station in the area at an average of five hours and 45 minutes per week.WHEL has tripled its ratings among the advertiser-coveted demographic of adults 25-54 since March, according to Nielsen Radio Data provided by Schwartzel that was first reported by CBS News. CBS also noted that Trump won 64% of the 2024 presidential vote in Lee County, where "Trump Country" 93.7 FM is located."We love keeping it local and serving Southwest Floridas unique audience, reflecting their values, music and culture," Schwartzel told Fox News Digital.One recent satirical on-air promo featured a Trump impersonator offering a trip to Mexico on a "big, beautiful cruise ship" that was billed as a special deportation allowing contest winners to return home to Florida."You want to be deported? Youve got to listen. Thats how it works, legal listening only," the Trump impersonator says.Schwartzel said his staff writes and records all the content themselves.HOWARD STERN'S MOST MEMORABLE MOMENTS SINCE PIVOT FROM SHOCK JOCK TO LIBERAL MOUTHPIECE"Sometimes we have over 50 liners for a single promotion. We take lots of callers and play them back on the radio," Schwartzel said. "This is about entrepreneurship, innovation and having fun on local radio."WHEL also has a promotion called "The Cancel Bowl," where listeners leave voicemails describing "the most pathetic woke thing youve seen" to be played on-air."Every week, one caller wins the Trump Country Tailgate Command Kit (flamethrower grill starter, a rack of ribs, camo cutting board, and flag toothpicks), and one true patriot takes home the Freedom Five Thousand thats $5,000 in cash to spend on guns, grills, steaks, ammo, flags, or anything guaranteed to trigger your liberal cousin. Well play the calls that trigger tofu-eaters everywhere. Because this isnt just football season, its a season to cancel," WHEL states on its website.STERN TRICKS OUTLETS INTO REPORTING HE QUIT SIRIUSXM WITH ANDY COHEN PRANKThe station also has a 1985 Ford F-150 that is "logoed up" with "Trump Country" 93.7 FM branding.Schwartzel is running for Congress in Florida as a Republican candidate, seeking to fill the seat held by Rep. Byron Donalds. Its pretty clear Trump would have another ally if Schwartzel is ultimately successful."Jim is running for Congress to give President Donald J. Trumpthe support he needs and to fight for the conservative values that make Southwest Florida strong. Hes not a career politician with ambitions for higher officelike President Trump, hes a straight-talking outsider whos fed up with the D.C. swamp ignoring real Americans," it states on the Schwartzel for Congress website.The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Business tycoon Elon Musk agreed with Vice President JD Vance's assertion that the bulk of violent crime is perpetrated by a small pool of people who should be locked up."The big lie the Democrats told about violent crime is that it's systemic and therefore no one's really responsible. If the system is to blame then you fund a bunch of nonprofits that don't do anything besides give jobs to underqualified radicals," Vance noted in a post on X. "The reality is that the gross majority of violent crime is committed by a very small group of people and we should be throwing them in prison."Musk agreed, saying that people who have greater sympathy for those likely to perpetrate murder than for those at risk of becoming murder victims are "disgusting."RAND PAUL RIPS JD VANCE'S ASSERTION THAT EXECUTING CARTEL MEMBERS IS THE 'BEST USE OF OUR MILITARY"Yes," he commented when sharing Vance's post. "What it comes down to is this: Do you have more sympathy for those highly likely to commit murder or more for those at risk of being murdered? If the former, you are a disgusting human being and yet so many on the radical left choose this!"Republican Rep. Beth Van Duyne of Texas also shared Vance's post.VANCE ISSUES MIDTERM WARNING, SAYS DEMOCRATS' ANGER COULD DRIVE 2026 TURNOUT"The crime and homeless industrial complexes Democrats have set up with NGOs and nonprofits' arent designed to solve problems," the congresswoman asserted. "Rather, they are fraudulent entities which exist to launder taxpayer dollars to enrich themselves, their friends, and further radical, pro-criminal policies that only endanger hard working Americans."Musk has also advocated for locking up repeat violent criminals for life.ELON MUSK OPINES ON MAJOR DRIVER OF WHITE MALES BECOMING TRANSCLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP"A second conviction for aggravated violent crime should get life imprisonment," he wrote on X.

Archaeologists recently unearthed the remains of a massive Roman council hall in Turkey and the site holds carvings linked to early Christian worship.The discovery, found in the ancient city of Laodicea, was reported by Anadolu Agency, Turkey's news agency, in August.Located in the modern Turkish province of Denizli, Laodicea is mentioned multiple times throughout the Bible, including the Book of Revelation.ANCIENT CHRISTIAN CHURCH REVEALS MYSTERIOUS 1,600-YEAR-OLD WARNING TO NONBELIEVERS: 'ONLY THE RIGHTEOUS'In Revelation 1:11 (KJV), Jesus Christ tells John, "What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea."Laodicea also appears in the Book of Colossians. The Apostle Paul acknowledges it as an early Christian community.Pictures of the site show a cross carved into stone, as well as what appears to be the early Christian Chi-Rho monogram, which represents the first two letters of "Christ" in Koine Greek. The etchings are also accompanied by Greek text.ARCHAEOLOGIST UNEARTHS MYSTERIOUS CHRISTIAN SETTLEMENT HIDDEN AWAY FOR CENTURIESThe images also show the remnants of the ancient Roman council building, including a headless statue of the Roman emperor Trajan and the remains of a theater.Archaeologists believe the building dates back about 2,050 years, though the age of the Christian etchings is unknown.CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTERIn the past, excavators also found a statue of a priest's head at the site, per the Turkish news agency, along with a sculpture depicting Scylla, a monster from Homer's "The Odyssey."Archaeologists told the news agency the ancient building functioned as Laodicea's main political and judicial center and its shape, with pentagonal outer walls and a hexagonal plan, may be the first of its kind in Anatolia.For more Lifestyle articles, visit foxnews.com/lifestyleThe structure held as many as 800 members in the late first century B.C., with the names of various citizens, elders and youths inscribed on the seats, according to the same source.The discovery follows a series of recent biblical archaeology finds that have made headlines this year.This spring, an Israeli child found an ancient amulet at Tel Azeka, a hill in the Judaean Foothills referenced in the Book of Samuel.Earlier this year, a group of archaeologists found evidence of an ancient garden at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.

An Illinois father grieving the loss of his daughter is blaming Gov. JB Pritzker's migrant policies, saying they led to devastating consequences."My daughter was taken. We are separated, I will never see her again," Joe Abraham said Tuesday on "Fox & Friends," describing the loss of his 20-year-old daughter, Katie."She got death; I got a life-sentence."Katie Abraham and a friend were waiting at a stoplight in January 2025 when police say their car was struck at high speed by a Guatemalan man in the U.S. illegally. Authorities said he was suspected of drunk driving. Katie died at the scene, while her friend later died at a nearby hospital.MULTIPLE FATAL CRASHES LINKED TO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS SPARK ARRESTS ACROSS US IN RECENT DAYSNow, Abraham and his family are demanding tougher action from state leaders. He criticized Pritzkers silence on the case, calling it "deafening."In response, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said it is ramping up arrests of criminal migrants in Illinois. Federal officials said the raids are being carried out in Katies memory."Every day, the men and women of ICE and the other federal partners that are with us in Chicago, we honor Katie by going out there and getting these criminal aliens off the street," Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said on "Fox & Friends."In a statement on X, the Department of Homeland Security linked its Illinois operations to the states sanctuary policies, arguing they allowed criminal migrants to roam the streets.NOEM, IN ILLINOIS, CALLS OUT GOV. PRITZKER, CHICAGO'S MAYOR OVER THEIR HANDLING OF CRIMINAL ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTSPritzker denied those claims, accusing federal authorities of using the operation to instill fear in the community rather than reduce crime. Pritzker wrote on X:"Instead of taking steps to work with us on public safety, the Trump Administration's focused on scaring Illinoisians."Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson made similar arguments, saying the city received "no notice of any enhanced immigration action by the Trump administration" and that he remains opposed to ICEs actions over due process concerns.ILLINOIS CORONER RELEASES NEW DETAILS ABOUT WOMAN FOUND DEAD ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT'S PROPERTYHe also raised concerns about ICEs history, saying the agency in the past wrongfully detained American citizens and violated their rights.Abraham rejected those arguments, saying that with a proper immigration system, the migrant who killed his daughter could have been filtered out, and his child might still be alive.While state and federal leaders continue to fight over immigration policy, Lyons said ICE remains committed to operations in Chicago and across the country."We are out there arresting criminal aliens, known suspected terrorists and gang members that are ruining our community," Lyons said.CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP"The men and women of ICE are [going to] stay in Chicago, and we're [going to] stay at all the major cities across the United States to ensure that we remove this public safety threat from our neighborhoods."

A pastor is pushing back on claims that his city is America's "murder capital," arguing that national crime statistics and media rhetoric distort reality."Memphis is not the murder capital of the United States," Pastor Keith Norman of First Baptist Church Broad in Memphis told Fox News Digital. "I don't find Memphis to be a threatening place at all. I find it to be a place that I love to call home."When FBI Director Kash Patel described Memphis as the "homicide capital of America" in May, Norman bristled."When you take a high-profile person to come out and say it in a national forum on a national news program, it really does have a negative impact," Norman said. It affects the economy, tourism and the "mental narrative of the people who want to visit this space or people who actually live in this space."US CRIME DROPPED WIDELY IN 2024, FBI SAYS WITH SOME NOTABLE CAVEATSTennessee's second-most populous city has long struggled with high crime, and in May Patel said it had the most homicides per capita in the country. In response, the FBI sent more than a dozen special agents and intelligence personnel to Memphis this summer to assist local law enforcement."The FBI has worked aggressively with our partners in Tennessee to establish a dedicated task force and deploy resources to tackle crime in Memphis. While this operation remains ongoing, we are committed to delivering results and look forward to sharing them with the American people," Patel previously told Fox News Digital.Tennessee Highway Patrol has also enhanced operations in the city, targeting reckless driving, illegal weapons and narcotics.Norman said he and other residents appreciate state troopers' increased presence."The visibility and the consistency are the two most positive things," he said. "When there is communication between all of these branches of law enforcement, there are better opportunities to saturate and to get the bad elements off the street."But he pushed back on the perception of Memphis as America's most dangerous city, arguing that federal data doesn't measure crime consistently across metropolitan areas, and can be framed to fit different narratives.Alaska recorded the nations highest violent crime rate last year, according to an Axios analysis of FBI data. Memphis ranked first for violent crime overall, but among large cities specifically, it had the fourth-highest murder rate per 100,000 residents behind Jackson, Mississippi; Birmingham, Alabama; and St. Louis, Missouri.Eight of the top 10 big cities with the highest murder rates were in Republican-led states, Axios reported, but all but one of those cities are run by Democratic mayors.The red-blue divide has become amplified as President Donald Trump threatens to send National Guard troops to liberal cities like Chicago, Baltimore and Oakland in Democrat-led states.DEMOCRATS SLAM TRUMP FOR 'WAR' THREATS TARGETING US CITIES: 'NOT YOUR WAR ZONE'Asked in late August whether he would consider sending the Guard to cities in Republican-led states with high crime, Trump said, "Sure, but there aren't that many of them."Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., told Fox News Digital that she would welcome troops in her state."Blue cities like Memphis need all the help they can get to combat violent crime," Blackburn said in a statement.Amid the political back-and-forth, Memphis police say the city is getting safer.Murder, shooting incidents, robbery, assault and overall crime reports are down in Memphis this year compared to 2024, according to police data.Last year, homicides were already trending down, although Memphis still accounted for nearly half (250) of Tennessees 583 murders, according to the state Bureau of Investigations annual "Crime in Tennessee" report.Each of those deaths is a tragedy, Norman said, and the result of deeper problems beyond policing including poverty, lack of education, unemployment and easy access to guns."There are so many things that we can do in a positive way," Norman said. "But if we just say, Memphis has a crime problem and Memphis has a murder problem, and we don't look at the possible resources that we can bring federally and from a state level, then we'll be repeating this narrative for many years."Even as crime statistics improve, people won't feel safer until the police and the media describe Memphis differently, he argued."One of the positives that I'm hearing is when we report when there were no crimes over the weekend or when we message it differently," he said."Memphis is a great place to live, to work, to relax, play and worship," he added. "I see those potentials and great possibilities still rising day by day."

President Donald Trumps controversial deployment of the National Guard to Los Angeles and possibly other cities may survive judicial scrutiny, legal experts say, despite a federal judge ruling that it violated the Posse Comitatus Act.Experts say presidents are afforded near-total deference by the courts when it comes to military use, even under the Posse Comitatus Act. The 150-year-old law says the military cannot typically engage in standard police work.Attorney Andrew Stoltman, an adjunct law professor at Northwestern University, told Fox News Digital he thinks the Supreme Court will eventually sanction the president's unconventional use of the National Guard. The court has routinely sided with Trump in temporary rulings this year. "I think ultimately he will be given the legal green light to do so. But he is doing this obviously in heavy blue states, so he's going to have to take this eventually to the Supreme Court," Stoltman said, adding, "But I think with the expansion of the president's powers, it's going to be eventually stamped in terms of a legal seal of approval."FEDERAL JUDGE RULES TRUMP VIOLATED MILITARY LAW BY ACTIVATING NATIONAL GUARD IN CALIFORNIAIn California, Judge Charles Breyer found in a lawsuit brought by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom that Trump improperly federalized the National Guard in response to anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement protests and riots.Breyer, a Clinton appointee and brother of retired liberal Justice Stephen Breyer, later also found that Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth violated the Posse Comitatus Act by directing troops, including thousands of National Guard soldiers and hundreds of Marines, to perform basic law enforcement tasks, such as making traffic stops and conducting riot control.Breyer said the Trump administration's explanation that the military forces were protecting federal personnel and buildings was an insufficient explanation for the National Guard's activities, which included accompanying ICE and the Drug Enforcement Administration on immigration raids at three marijuana farms outside Los Angeles and participating in "Operation Excalibur," a Homeland Security mission in MacArthur Park.The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit temporarily paused both of Breyer's orders, but the lawsuit is still proceeding through the courts, and may soon not be the only litigation on the matter.Gerard Filitti, an attorney at the Lawfare Project, identified perceived pitfalls in Breyers order.The judge "treated ordinary crowd control as if it were unlawful law enforcement,'" Filitti said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "Thats simply not the law. The Guard wasnt arresting people or running police investigations they were stabilizing the situation so ICE could do its job."TRUMP SAYS HE COULD SEND THE NATIONAL GUARD TO MARYLAND TO ADDRESS CRIME"That distinction matters, and the judge ignored it," Filitti added.At issue in the California lawsuit are two laws under which presidents are permitted to federalize the National Guard, a hybrid military force that otherwise falls under the purview of governors. Trump cited a rebellion statute, but he could have used another law, known as the Insurrection Act, to deploy the troops. This was a key consideration for Breyer."If the President wants to avoid the [Posse Comitatus Acts] restrictions, he must invoke a valid exception like the Insurrection Act, along with its requisite showing that state and local law enforcement are unable or unwilling to act," Breyer wrote in an order last week.The president over the past week has threatened to send troops to Chicago, as well as New York City, Baltimore and other cities, where he says violent crime is rampant and presents an emergency that requires a military response.Filitti said Breyer's decision would "set a dangerous precedent" if it were upheld in higher courts."If left standing, it means any state can block federal law enforcement simply by refusing help and daring the courts to tie the Presidents hands," Filitti said. "Thats not how the Constitution works, and its not how you keep Americans safe. The decision should, and will, be overturned and quickly."Trump's use of the National Guard in California came as part of an effort to crackdown on immigration in a major border state, but the president has also signaled over the past week that he wants to use it to address street crime, as he has in Washington, D.C.CHICAGO MAYOR CALLS TRUMP'S NATIONAL GUARD DEPLOYMENT PLAN 'UNCOORDINATED, UNCALLED-FOR AND UNSOUND'Trump deployed the National Guard and sent other federal authorities into Washington, D.C., to address crime there, with a focus on immigration enforcement and homelessness.The nation's capital has since seen a significant reduction in crime, including in carjackings, which are down more than 40% compared to this time last year, and in violent crime, which is down 27% from last year. Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, credited the Trump administration with helping to reduce crime and signed an order last week formalizing local law enforcement's cooperation with certain federal agencies.But Bowser's attorney general was less receptive and sued, saying the National Guard response, including out-of-state National Guard members, was unwarranted.D.C. is unique in that the president can use the D.C. National Guard to take over law enforcement operations there for 30 days as part of the Home Rule Act, meaning the D.C. attorney general's lawsuit differs from lawsuits or potential lawsuits brought in other jurisdictions. The 30-day expiration is Wednesday.Stoltman, who is based in Chicago, said leaders in Democratic states and cities, such as outspoken Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois, would be wise to follow Bowser's lead rather than resist federal assistance."Our governor and our mayor are diametrically opposed to Trump sending in the troops, and I think politically, they're making a big mistake," Stoltman said, noting that despite a small decline in crime over the last several years, Chicago has a high murder rate.The president has only targeted blue states at this stage, despite some of the highest crime rates occurring in red states' cities. Critics have pointed to this, as well as said Trump is avoiding addressing underlying factors driving crime, such as understaffing and local prosecutorial policies, such as cashless bail.Zack Smith, a senior legal fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation, told Fox News Digital he viewed the National Guard as an immediate response that would not necessarily address root causes of crime."What we're talking about in many of these cities are structural problems. We're talking about decades in some instances of neglect and decay to get to this point, so all of this won't be fixed overnight," Smith said.He said he felt that in D.C., the strategy has been successful in terms of sheer numbers, "because we know one of the most effective ways to combat violent crime is to have police officers on the street who are empowered to appropriately do their jobs, and they have prosecutors who are willing to prosecute people when they break the law," Smith said.But there "will absolutely need to be a larger conversation about the cities will to make adjustments in the long term," Smith added.