The Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of an Ohio woman who claimed she was discriminated against for job promotions in favor of gay candidates on Thursday.The ruling, Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services, finds that members of majority groups in protected classes do not need to meet a higher standard of evidence in order to establish discrimination. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote the opinion of the court in the 9-0 decision."The Sixth Circuit has implemented a rule that requires certain Title VII plaintiffsthose who are members of majority groupsto satisfy a heightened evidentiary standard," Jackson wrote. "We conclude that Title VII does not impose such a heightened standard on majority group plaintiffs. Therefore, the judgment below is vacated."The woman in the case, Marlean Ames, is a heterosexual woman who had worked for the Ohio Department of Youth Services since 2004. She argued she was discriminated against on the basis of her sexual orientation after she was passed over for a promotion in 2019 in favor of a lesbian woman, and was then later replaced in her own role by a gay man.SCOTUS TO HEAR STRAIGHT WOMAN'S DISCRIMINATION CASE THAT COULD RESHAPE EMPLOYMENT LAW"Ames was qualified, had been denied a promotion in favor of a gay candidate, and was later demoted in favor of another gay candidateevidence that would ordinarily satisfy her prima facie burdenbefore it specifically faulted Ames for failing to make the requisite showing of "background circumstances."'"Title VII prohibits employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Thursday's ruling strikes down the Sixth Circuit Court's "background circumstances" rule, which had required majority groups in protected classes to show special evidence of discrimination.Thursday's order does not fully resolve the case in Ames' favor, however. The court notes that Ohio had "alternative arguments" for why the Ohio government's treatment of Ames was justified. The justices said they are not weighing in on those alternative arguments, merely striking down the "background circumstances" rule."We granted review to consider the validity of the "background circumstances" rule, and we reject that rule for the reasons set forth above. We leave it to the courts below to address any of Ohios remaining arguments on remand," Jackson wrote.Ames' case was supported by the Justice Department, the American First Legal Foundation and the libertarian Pacific Legal Foundation. The NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund was among the major groups backing Ohio in the case.

A Guatemalan man who was deported to Mexico by the Trump administration was returned to the U.S. this week, his lawyers confirmed to Fox News on Thursday, marking the first known instance of the Trump administration complying with a judges orders to return an individual removed from the U.S. based on erroneous information.The individual, identified only as O.C.G, was returned to the U.S. via commercial flight, lawyers confirmed, after being deported to Mexico in March.The news comes one week after lawyers for the Justice Department told U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy that they were working to charter a plane to secure the return of the individual, identified only as O.C.G., to U.S. soil.Murphy had ruled that O.C.G., a Guatemalan migrant, had been deported to Mexico earlier this year without due process and despite his stated fears of persecution, and ordered the Trump administration to facilitate his return.TRUMP FOE JUDGE BOASBERG RULES DEPORTED MIGRANTS CAN CHALLENGE REMOVALS, IN BLOW TO ADMINAdditionally, Murphy told laywers for the administration that O.C.G. had not been given the chance to contest his removal to a country where he could face threats of torture, a right afforded under U.S. and international law.O.C.G. was previously held for ransom and raped in Mexico but was not afforded the chance to assert those fears prior to his removal, Murphy noted in his order, citing submissions from O.C.G.'s attorneys."In general, this case presents no special facts or legal circumstances, only the banal horror of a man being wrongfully loaded onto a bus and sent back to a country where he was allegedly just raped and kidnapped," Murphy said earlier this month, noting that the removal process "lacked any semblance of due process."US JUDGE ACCUSES TRUMP ADMIN OF MANUFACTURING CHAOS IN SOUTH SUDAN DEPORTATIONS, ESCALATING FEUD"The return of O.C.G. poses a vanishingly small cost to make sure we can still claim to live up to that ideal," Murphy said in his order.Lawyers for the Trump administration told the court last week that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations Phoenix Field Office made contact over the weekend with O.C.G.s attorneys and are "currently working with ICE Air to bring O.C.G. back to the United States on an Air Charter Operations (ACO) flight return leg."That appears to have happened, and O.C.G. was flown via commercial airline to the U.S. on Wednesday.The news comes amid a broader court fight centered on Trump's use of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act an 18th-century wartime law it invoked earlier this year to deport certain migrants more quickly. Many were sent to CECOT, El Salvador's maximum-security prison.To date, the Trump administration has not complied with federal court orders to facilitate the return of those individuals to the U.S., even individuals who were deported in what the administration has acknowledged was an administrative error.Unlike the migrants at CECOT, however, O.C.G. had not been detained in Mexico.The Trump administration did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment. They did not immediately respond to questions about whether the administration plans to follow suit in other cases in which a federal judge ordered the administration to return an individual deemed to have been wrongfully deported.The news comes just hours after U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ordered the Trump administration to provide all migrants removed to CECOT under the Alien Enemies Act an opportunity to seek habeas relief to contest their removal, as well as the opportunity to challenge their alleged gang status, which was the basis for their removal under the law.WHO IS JAMES BOASBERG, THE US JUDGE AT THE CENTER OF TRUMP'S DEPORTATION EFFORTS?Judge Boasberg also gave the Trump administration one week to submit to the court information explaining how it plans to facilitate the habeas relief to migrants currently being held at CECOT.That ruling is almost certain to provoke a high-stakes legal standoff with the administration, and comes as Trump officials have railed against Judge Boasberg and others who have ruled in ways seen as unfavorable to the administration as so-called "activist judges."Trump called for Boasberg's impeachment earlier this year, prompting Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts to issue a rare public statement of rebuke."Americas asylum system was never intended to be used as a de facto amnesty program or a catch-all, get-out-of-deportation-free card," DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement over the weekend.

The Supreme Court on Thursday sided with a Wisconsin-based Catholic charity group in a case centered on unemployment tax credits for religious institutions delivering a victory for faith-based institutions, who had argued the state's decision had violated the religious clauses under the First Amendment.In a unanimous opinion, justices on the high court agreed that the state had engaged in an "unnecessary entanglement" in attempting to define whether religious groups should be entitled to an otherwise-available tax exemption based on the states criteria for religious behavior."When the government distinguishes among religions based on theological differences in their provision of services, it imposes a denominational preference that must satisfy the highest level of judicial scrutiny," Justice Sonia Sotomayor said, writing for the majority."Because Wisconsin has transgressed that principle without the tailoring necessary to survive such scrutiny, the judgment of the Wisconsin Supreme Court is reversed, and the case is remanded for further proceedings not inconsistent with this opinion."The Wisconsin Supreme Court had previously ruled that the Catholic Charities group in question was not "operated primarily for religious purposes," since it serve and employs non-Catholics, and does not "attempt to imbue program participants with the Catholic faith."This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.

A Washington state survivalist has been on the run from authorities for nearly a week after allegedly killing his three young daughters, who were found with plastic bags over their heads and bound wrists at a campground in Chelan County Monday.Travis Caleb Decker, 32, did not have custody of the girls all of whom are believed to have died from asphyxiation. Decker spent time in the military and is an avid outdoorsman, according to authorities."We're getting more confirmation, that he might have possibly gone through Mountain Survival School," Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison told reporters Wednesday. "But we also know, too, that he's been an outdoorsman since he was a kid."He said the U.S. Marshals and the FBI are assisting with the manhunt.AUTHORITIES RELEASE NEW DOORBELL CAMERA VIDEO OF SUSPECT WHO ALLEGEDLY KIDNAPPED, MURDERED THREE DAUGHTERSThe children were ages 5, 8 and 9, and his ex-wife Whitney Decker, 35, told police Monday that he had failed to bring the girls back to her after a Friday visit under the terms of their court-ordered parenting plan, according to court documents.Morrison said authorities have not identified a motive."Clearly, it's not the decision of a sound mind," he said.Travis Decker was limited to visiting the girls every other weekend and not overnight according to a court-ordered parenting plan that he did not sign.When he did not bring the girls back by an 8 p.m. curfew Friday, his ex tried calling him but her attempts went straight to voicemail, according to a Chelan County police affidavit.WASHINGTON STATE FATHER WANTED FOR MURDER AFTER 3 DAUGHTERS FOUND DEADShe told investigators that he had never missed the deadline to return their children before, but warned that he has mental health issues, including borderline personality disorder.He is homeless and splits his time between motels and campgrounds, according to the affidavit.GET REAL-TIME UPDATES DIRECTLY ON THE TRUE CRIME HUBDecker drives a 2017 white GMC Sierra with the Washington license plate D20165C, according to authorities. License plate scanners picked up the vehicle heading north over the Wenatchee Bridge on Friday around 5:41 p.m. He did not show up for work Monday, according to the affidavit.A Chelan County sheriff's deputy found the truck around 4 p.m. Monday at the Rock Island Campground in Leavenworth, Washington. They found all three girls' bodies between 75 and 100 yards away, down an embankment, according to court documents.FOLLOW THE FOX TRUE CRIME TEAM ON XEach one had a plastic bag over her head and "their wrists were also zip-tied or showed signs of being zip-tied," according to the affidavit. Deputies found two bloody handprints on the pickup's tailgate.Decker's whereabouts remain unknown and he is charged with three counts each of aggravated first-degree murder and kidnapping.He is described as standing about 5 feet, 8 inches tall and weighing 190 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. He has tattoos on both arms and was recently photographed with a goatee and mustache.SIGN UP TO GET THE TRUE CRIME NEWSLETTERIt is unknown if he is armed, but authorities say he should be considered dangerous.The Chelan County Sheriff's Office is advising anyone who sees Decker to avoid approaching him and call 911 immediately. He faces a maximum of life in prison without the possibility of parole.Authorities are offering a reward of up to $20,000 for information leading to his arrest."We want a peaceful resolution to this, but we're not going to relinquish our efforts and give up any effort that we could proceed to track you down," Morrison told reporters at a news briefing Wednesday. "So please turn yourself in. Let's wrap this up and do what's right for your kids."Anyone with information is asked to call the Chelan sheriff's tip line at 509-667-6845 or submit information online at https://www.co.chelan.wa.us/sheriff/forms/submit-a-tip.Fox News' Christina Shaw contributed to this report.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a U.S. and Israeli-backed group, has been the subject of backlash since before it began distributing aid last month. Since the beginning of its operations there have been reports of violent incidents near distribution sites. Recently, the IDF admitted that troops shot "suspects" who failed to heed orders to back away from the soldiers.One of the most vocal critics of GHF has been the United Nations, with U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher urging the world to let his agency handle the situation. However, Israeli officials have pushed back on the U.N. narrative, saying that GHF is distributing aid without letting Hamas benefit.US-BACKED GAZA AID GROUP PAUSES FOOD DISTRIBUTION AFTER DAYS OF VIOLENCE"Hamas is doing everything that it can to sabotage this effort to distribute aid directly to the people," Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Oren Marmorstein told Fox News Digital. He also said that the terror group is "extremely afraid" that if the GHF is successful, it will "lose its grip" on the population of Gaza.Marmorstein blamed Hamas for spreading "fake news" and "fake information" to take down the GHF.On Wednesday, the U.S. vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution that called for an immediate ceasefire, the return of all hostages and the lifting of all restrictions on humanitarian aid entering the Strip. Israel has repeatedly asserted that without limitations on aid entering Gaza, Hamas would be able to enrich itself and keep control over the area.In remarks ahead of the veto, U.S. Charg dAffaires Dorothy Shea criticized the resolution, saying it failed to "acknowledge the disastrous shortcomings of the prior method of aid delivery, which allowed Hamas to enrich itself at the expense of Palestinians, and failed to get food and water to those who needed it most."TRUMP ADMIN STANDS BY ISRAEL, REJECTS UN RESOLUTION BACKED BY UK AND FRANCEShe also urged U.N. member states to support GHF "to help it safely deliver aid without it being diverted by Hamas."Shea is not alone in her criticism of the U.N.s approach to GHF. Israeli U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon recently accused the international body of employing "mafia-like" tactics against NGOs that worked with GHF."Without any discussion, without due process, the U.N. removed those NGOs from the shared aid database. That database is the central system for tracking aid deliveries into Gaza," Danon told the Security Council on May 28. "This is the gravest violation of the U.N.'s own principles. It is extortion of well-meaning NGOs that refuse to kiss the ring."The GHF closed its distribution sites on Wednesday, saying it was working to bolster security and would reopen on Thursday. However, the reopening was delayed because of maintenance work. The sites eventually resumed aid distribution later on Thursday.

Trump-loyalist Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., dropped a bombshell this week, revealing that she had not read the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in its entirety and no longer supports it.Greene joins the growing list of President Donald Trump's staunchest House GOP allies who have come out in opposition of the bill they voted for two weeks ago.Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., another loyal MAGA member, said Elon Musk was "right to call out House Leadership" this week."I wish I had a nickel for every time the @freedomcaucus sounded the alarm and nobody listened, only to find out the hard way we were right all along. We expect MASSIVE improvements from the Senate before it gets back to the House," Perry said, referring to the bill he voted for.MUSK AGREES WITH MASSIE THAT BILL IS 'DEBT BOMB TICKING' AND 'MISSED OPPORTUNITY' FOR CONSERVATIVESThe One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed by one vote in the House after weeks of overnight committee debates and last-minute huddles in House Speaker Mike Johnson's office. Coined by Trump himself, he has championed the legislation to fulfill his key campaign promises, including border security, American energy production and tax cuts.ELON MUSK WARPATH AGAINST TRUMP'S 'BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL' RATTLES HOUSE GOPThe One Big Beautiful Bill Act is under consideration by both a Republican-led White House and Congress. But it's faced hiccups in the Senate this week as Republicans have indicated they do not support the bill in its current form.Leading the charge against Trump's champion legislation is Musk, who has been a fixture of the second Trump administration through his leadership of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk was a "special government employee" until his leadership timeline expired last week.And Musk's newfound freedom from the executive branch seems to have inspired him to speak out about Trump's bill."Im sorry, but I just cant stand it anymore. This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it," Musk revealed on Tuesday.White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed a question from Fox News' Peter Doocy this week about how angry Trump would be at Musk for undermining his legislation.MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE SOUNDS ALARM OVER AI PROVISION IN ONE BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL ACT: 'I WOULD HAVE VOTED NO IF I HAD KNOWN'"Look, the president already knows where Elon Musk stood on this bill. It doesnt change the presidents opinion. This is one big, beautiful bill, and hes sticking to it," Leavitt said.Much of the discontent over the bill is rooted in Republicans' reluctance to increase the United States' national debt. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) on Wednesday reported that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will cut taxes by $3.7 trillion while raising deficits by $2.4 trillion over a decade.Meanwhile, the national debt rose to $36,215,207,426,690.65 as of June 4, according to the latest numbers published by the Treasury Department. That is up about $806 million from the figure reported the previous day.However, Greene's newfound issue with the bill has to do with its 10-year restriction on states regulating artificial intelligence (AI).The provision reads, in part: "Except as provided in paragraph (2), no State or political subdivision thereof may enforce, during the 10-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, any law or regulation of that State or a political subdivision thereof limiting, restricting, or otherwise regulating artificial intelligence models, artificial intelligence systems, or automated decision systems entered into interstate commerce."Greene, who voted in favor of the bill two weeks ago, said on X: "Full transparency, I did not know about this section on pages 278-279 of the OBBB that strips states of the right to make laws or regulate AI for 10 years. I am adamantly OPPOSED to this, and it is a violation of state rights and I would have voted NO if I had known this was in there."Not only does she regret her vote, but Greene is urging the Senate to remove the provision, or she won't vote for the bill when it returns to the House."We have no idea what AI will be capable of in the next 10 years, and giving it free rein and tying states' hands is potentially dangerous. This needs to be stripped out in the Senate. When the OBBB comes back to the House for approval after Senate changes, I will not vote for it with this in it," Greene said.Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and Greene for comment.Fox News Digital's Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a U.S. and Israeli-backed group, has been the subject of backlash since before it began distributing aid last month. Since the beginning of its operations there have been reports of violent incidents near distribution sites. Recently, the IDF admitted that troops shot "suspects" who failed to heed orders to back away from the soldiers.One of the most vocal critics of GHF has been the United Nations, with U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher urging the world to let his agency handle the situation. However, Israeli officials have pushed back on the U.N. narrative, saying that GHF is distributing aid without letting Hamas benefit.US-BACKED GAZA AID GROUP PAUSES FOOD DISTRIBUTION AFTER DAYS OF VIOLENCE"Hamas is doing everything that it can to sabotage this effort to distribute aid directly to the people," Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Oren Marmorstein told Fox News Digital. He also said that the terror group is "extremely afraid" that if the GHF is successful, it will "lose its grip" on the population of Gaza.Marmorstein blamed Hamas for spreading "fake news" and "fake information" to take down the GHF.On Wednesday, the U.S. vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution that called for an immediate ceasefire, the return of all hostages and the lifting of all restrictions on humanitarian aid entering the Strip. Israel has repeatedly asserted that without limitations on aid entering Gaza, Hamas would be able to enrich itself and keep control over the area.In remarks ahead of the veto, U.S. Charg dAffaires Dorothy Shea criticized the resolution, saying it failed to "acknowledge the disastrous shortcomings of the prior method of aid delivery, which allowed Hamas to enrich itself at the expense of Palestinians, and failed to get food and water to those who needed it most."TRUMP ADMIN STANDS BY ISRAEL, REJECTS UN RESOLUTION BACKED BY UK AND FRANCEShe also urged U.N. member states to support GHF "to help it safely deliver aid without it being diverted by Hamas."Shea is not alone in her criticism of the U.N.s approach to GHF. Israeli U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon recently accused the international body of employing "mafia-like" tactics against NGOs that worked with GHF."Without any discussion, without due process, the U.N. removed those NGOs from the shared aid database. That database is the central system for tracking aid deliveries into Gaza," Danon told the Security Council on May 28. "This is the gravest violation of the U.N.'s own principles. It is extortion of well-meaning NGOs that refuse to kiss the ring."The GHF closed its distribution sites on Wednesday, saying it was working to bolster security and would reopen on Thursday. However, the reopening was delayed because of maintenance work. The sites eventually resumed aid distribution later on Thursday.

A chaotic protest in Minneapolis during which federal agents were seen getting physical with demonstrators unfolded as elected officials posted "highly irresponsible" information online suggesting a criminal search warrant was an ICE operation, police say.Tense moments were captured on video Tuesday as federal agents and the public clashed in the streets of the major city, with State Sen. Omar Fateh claiming on Facebook that "On scene are DHS, ICE, FBI, Sheriffs, and MPD" in what he described as "blatant fascism on display."In a follow-up post, Fateh said "While the Mayor has told us ICE is not welcome in our city, what residents saw was their deployment assisted by his MPD."However, the federal operation focusing on a Mexican restaurant actually "was related to a criminal search warrant for drugs and money laundering and was not related to immigration enforcement" and "No arrests were made," according to Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey."The information that came out on social media from elected officials was highly irresponsible," Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt then said Wednesday. "There were ways for them to have accurate information and instead of getting accurate information, being impulsive and putting out things that could potentially incite riots is senseless."TRUMP DHS ISSUES WARNING AFTER ANTI-ICE PROTESTERS ATTEMPT TO DISRUPT ARREST"Yesterday's incident was a criminal investigation," she added. "So putting out the rhetoric that that was a raid, it was not a raid. Putting out the rhetoric that it was an immigration enforcement, the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office does not participate in immigration enforcement. Elected officials have a responsibility to the constituents to put out accurate information. They don't have to agree with it, but do not mislead the public, causing more harm to our communities."Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara added that "Ultimately, you can say what you want and point fingers and blame people for different things, how it happened, whether they should or shouldnt have or whatever, but the bottom line is if a tragedy happened at Lake and Bloom yesterday, it doesnt matter who is at fault. The community loses. The feds lose. We all lose, and we are left behind. "The feds can leave, we are left behind to deal with the consequences," O'Hara continued. "And what I saw yesterday as they were trying to leave, aside from just the verbal things that were being said, but with things being thrown at them in some cases heavily-armed federal agents getting into hand-to-hand situations with people who are protesting is not good."LARGEST EVER ICE OPERATION RESULTS IN NEARLY 1,500 ARRESTSVideo clips showed protesters screaming at the federal agents. In one scene, a masked man wearing an ATF Police uniform tossed a demonstrator to the ground after he tried to get in front of a van that was leaving the area."Trump has created an environment of understandable fear, created an atmosphere where distrust isn't just a norm. In fact, sometimes it's appropriate," Frey told reporters Thursday while speaking alongside Witt and OHara.Homeland Security did not immediately respond Thursday to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.In a statement provided to the Minnesota Star Tribune, Jamie Holt, the ICE Homeland Security Investigations special agent in charge for St. Paul, said "Federal investigators conducted a groundbreaking criminal operation today -- Minnesotas first under the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) umbrella -- marking a new chapter in how we confront complex, multidimensional threats. "From drug smuggling to criminal labor trafficking, this operation showcases the breadth of our collective missions and the strength of a united front," the statement added, noting that "This HSI led investigation wouldnt have been possible without the extraordinary collaboration of our state partners and federal HSTF partners."Witt told reporters Wednesday that "It is not okay for people to obstruct law enforcement when we are trying to obtain evidence." "It's not okay to try to prevent them from leaving. It is not okay," she added. "It did not look good -- I get that -- and we will deal with some of the things that happened that even I don't agree with, which is why I have an appointment already set up with some of our federal leaders. That could have been done better."

Actor George Clooney said "it's a scary time to be a news person" under President Donald Trump's administration during an interview on Wednesday.Clooney told CNN's Anderson Cooper that "most news organizations are under fire" by the Trump administration and that Cooper and CBS' "60 Minutes" have been specifically "picked out."While the actor expressed concerns about the current state of the country, he did push back on Cooper's assertion that America is currently at its worst.SETH MEYERS SKIPS ASKING GEORGE CLOONEY ABOUT BIDEN'S MENTAL DECLINE, NOT RECOGNIZING HIM AT FUNDRAISER"I can make an argument that were not. I can make an argument that weve had much worse times in our history. You know, 1968, every city in the United States was burning and there was National Guard was surrounding the White House and the Capitol, and wed lost Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy and Tet Offensive," he said.Clooney continued, vocalizing his concerns about the Trump administration's alleged "attack" on news organizations."But it's a frustrating time, and I think a scary time for many people. It's a scary time to be a news person, to be in your profession. You've been picked out, you know, 60 Minutes has been picked out. Most news organizations are under fire," he said. "That usually happens with demagogues in a way. It usually is a way of the first places you attack are the news, because thats how we inform ourselves."Cooper followed up by asking the actor if he believes that "Trumpism" will last following the current president's term."I dont think so," Clooney replied. "I think itd be very hard to do it. Remember this: Donald Trump is a celebrity. Thats what he is. I mean, he has a star on Hollywood Boulevard. I dont have a star on Hollywood Boulevard. Im not lobbying for one. Im just saying."CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST MEDIA AND CULTURE NEWSHe continued by noting that while Trump is "charming" and many of the people who support him find him "funny," another large portion of Americans do not."And so when he is finished, and he will be finished, theyre going to have to go looking for someone who can deliver the message that he delivered with the same kind of charisma. And they don't have that," he said of the Republican Party.Later in the interview, Cooper asked Clooney whether he's worried about Trump personally targeting him."Sure. Everybody worries about it," he responded. "But, you know, if you spend your life worrying about things, then you won't do things. You know, we have, like everybody, a family, and we have a life, and we try to, you know, live and do things as the best example for our kids. And I want to be able to look at my kids in the eye and say where we stood and what we did at certain times in history. And I have no problem with that."

House Republicans in Democrat-controlled states are firing a warning shot at the Senate as it considers President Donald Trump's "one big, beautiful bill."GOP lawmakers in New York and California have been demanding that senators leave the House's increased state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap in the bill, even as members of the upper chamber eye it as low-hanging fruit for saving taxpayer dollars.But those blue state Republicans have made raising the current $10,000 SALT deduction cap an existential issue, arguing it provides much-needed tax relief to people in high-cost-of-living areas. The SALT deduction allows people living in areas with high state and local taxes to deduct those penalties in their federal tax filings, up to a point."When did taxing income thats already been taxed become a Republican ideal? Our party has always stood for lower taxes and a fair, commonsense tax code. We worked in good faith with House leadership to secure a fair deal that provides our constituents with much-needed SALT relief," SALT Caucus co-chairs Reps. Young Kim, R-Calif., and Andrew Garbarino, R-N.Y., said in a statement.MIKE JOHNSON, DONALD TRUMP GET BIG, 'BEAUTIFUL WIN AS BUDGET PASSES HOUSE"Hardworking families we represent are penalized by the SALT cap, and this deal keeps the Presidents commitment to fix this issue and has the support of firefighters, police, small businesses and working Americans who keep our country moving."House Republicans can afford little dissent with their razor-thin majority to still pass the bill again, if the Senate returned a modified version something the SALT caucus pointed out."The Senate would be remiss to forget that the path to 218 and delivering for the American people runs through the SALT Caucus," the statement read.The House-passed budget reconciliation bill aimed at advancing Trump's priorities on tax, energy, defense, immigration, and the national debt raises the SALT deduction cap to $40,000.Republicans are working on the bill as the national debt climbs past $36 trillion.Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., a SALT Caucus member and one of the House's GOP tax-writers, sent in a statement to Fox News Digital, "The State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction negotiated in the House should NOT be altered by the Senate. Its a Republican principle to allow taxpayers to keep more of their hard-earned money and taxpayers in New York and other SALT states deserve not to be double taxed by their government, especially when we also supported significant savings by rooting out waste, fraud & abuse in our states."Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., who also fought for the increased cap, signaled he would not support the bill if the Senate reinstated the lower number.SCOOP: HOUSE GOP MEMO HIGHLIGHTS REPUBLICAN WINS IN TRUMP'S 'BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL'"NY, NJ, and CA have and continue to subsidize many of the states represented in the Senate Republican conference. Furthermore, SALT has been used as a payfor for other provisions in the bill, including the doubling of the standard deduction, which is to the benefit of all Americans," Lawler wrote on X."Since the last tax bill, 29 states have blown past the 10k cap. This isnt a red vs blue issue, its an issue of double taxation. Since when do Republicans advocate for taxing you on top of taxes already paid? No SALT. No Deal."Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., met with Trump to shore up support for the tax portion of the budget reconciliation bill, and said he recognized SALT was a key issue for blue-state Republicans in the House but it was one that didn't really move the needle for Republican senators."We also start from a position that there really isn't a single Republican senator who cares much about the SALT issue," Thune said. "It's just not an issue that plays. Most of our states, we're states that are low-tax states, and we don't think that low-tax states ought to be subsidizing high-tax states."Indeed, no Senate Republican hails from a blue state, making the issue for many lawmakers in the upper chamber a moot point. And Thune's position echoes that of many in the House GOP who were wary of increasing the SALT cap.Still, Thune and Senate Republican leadership acknowledge that whatever tweaks and changes to the budget bill that they make have to pass muster with their colleagues in the House.Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters Thursday morning that he is still keeping SALT lawmakers "calm."The speaker added that he had been urging the Senate to keep the House's bill intact."Look, the Senate Republicans are from red states, right? They feel the same way that I do about SALT, but I'm being very deliberate in reminding them that we have, again, this very delicate balance to maintain over here, and you've got to address the issue so that our members can take something home," Johnson said.