Republican presidential candidate Tim Scott, in a visit to the southern border on Friday, said that his administration would finish construction of the Trump-era border wall, calling it an ‘absolute necessity.’ 

Sen. Scott, R-S.C., visited the border in Yuma, Arizona, and held a roundtable with law enforcement and community leaders and outlined a number of policies to tackle both the ongoing migrant surge and the flood of fentanyl into the U.S.

‘I think finishing the wall is an absolute necessity,’ the South Carolina senator said at the roundtable.

The Trump administration built hundreds of miles of wall at the southern border, but the project was abruptly stopped after President Biden — who campaigned against wall construction — came into office.

It was one of a number of moves by the Biden administration to reverse Trump-era border policies, and which were followed by a historic spike in migration. There were approximately 1.7 million encounters in FY 2021 and approximately 2.4 million in FY 2022.

The Biden administration has said it is dealing with a hemisphere-wide crisis and is expanding legal asylum pathways it says were gutted by the Trump administration. It has also called on Congress to approve more funding and pass immigration reform to fix what it says is a ‘broken’ system. It has also pointed a drop in numbers recently to show that its recent policies are working.

But Republicans have pinned the blame on the Biden administration’s policies. They have also warned that the border surge has brought an influx of fentanyl, which is produced in Mexico and then moved across the border by cartels.

‘The importance of building a wall, finishing the wall, using the available technology to surveil our border, to stop the flow of fentanyl across our border, is really important,’ Scott said.

It’s one of a number of national security risks Scott highlighted. He also pointed to the countries from which many of the migrants are coming.

‘The number of folks that are coming from countries that have an adversarial relationship with us is spiking. And it’s because there’s a sign somewhere out there that says the American southern border is open, and it’s one of the more frustrating things that so many Americans are having to deal with, grapple with on a daily basis,’ he said.

Scott is also calling for additional Border Patrol agents, which he said would be provided for by eliminating the extra 87,000 IRS staff funded by the Inflation Reduction Act. 

He also called on legislation that he has introduced in the Senate to freeze the assets of Mexican cartels, and also for funding additional immigration judges for quicker removal of those in the country illegally.

The visit by Scott to the border is the latest move by Republican presidential candidates in regard to the migrant crisis. Both former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have visited the border in recent months, and have also rolled out immigration policy proposals.

Meanwhile, there are indications that migrant numbers are increasing at the border, after they dropped during May and June in the wake of the expiration of the Title 42 public health order.

The Biden administration won a reprieve on Thursday when a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals panel granted a stay on an order which would have blocked its cornerstone asylum rule.

Fargo is suing the state of North Dakota over a new law that bans zoning ordinances related to guns and ammunition, continuing a clash over local gun control.

The state’s biggest city has an ordinance that bans people from selling guns and ammunition out of their homes. The Republican-controlled Legislature passed a law this year that limits cities and counties from regulating guns and ammunition. The law, which took effect Tuesday, also voids existing, related ordinances.

The city’s lawsuit says the ‘stakes are much higher’ and gets at whether the Legislature can ‘strip away’ Fargo’s home rule powers. Fargo voters approved a home rule charter in 1970 that gave the city commission certain powers, including the power to zone public and private property.

‘As it relates to this present action, the North Dakota legislative assembly is upset that the City of Fargo has exercised its home rule powers to prohibit the residents of the City of Fargo – and no one else – from the home occupation of selling firearms and ammunition and the production of ammunition for sale,’ the lawsuit states. ‘Effectively, the City of Fargo does not want its residents to utilize their homes in residential areas as gun stores.’

The city successfully challenged a similar law two years ago.

North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley told The Associated Press his office will evaluate the complaint. Fargo city spokesperson Gregg Schildberger said the City Commission will discuss the lawsuit on Monday during a regular meeting.

Bill sponsor and Republican state Rep. Ben Koppelman told a state Senate panel in April that the issue came to greater attention in 2016 when, because of the ordinance, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives refused to renew the federal firearms licenses of Fargo dealers who sold out of their homes.

‘What is at issue is whether we want local governments creating gun control or whether we want gun regulations to remain a state-controlled issue,’ Koppelman said in April. ‘Without this bill and in light of the (2021) court opinion, I think local political subdivisions could propose all sorts of local gun control, and based on the anti-gun track record of the City of Fargo Commission, I think we could expect it.’

Koppelman did not immediately respond to a phone message for comment.

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They ran for their lives.

They were told to do so.

And after dashing down three flights of spiraling staircases, reporters trying to flee the Russell Senate Office Building ran directly into a wall of U.S. Capitol Police officers pointing their guns directly at the press corps.

‘Show me your hands!’ one officer demanded. ‘Hands! Now!’

UFO REVELATIONS HAVE LAWMAKERS IN A SHAKESPEAREAN CONUNDRUM
 

Even the U.S. Capitol complex is not immune to ‘swatting.’

This may have been what happened Wednesday afternoon when Capitol Police thought an active shooter roamed the Senate hallways.

Police instructed aides and journalists to get out of the building as fast as they could.

‘Swatting’ is when someone phones in a prank to police. They might report a hostage situation. Call in a bomb threat. The hoax is an effort to prompt dispatchers to send a contingent of law enforcement — perhaps the SWAT team, short for special weapons and tactics — to a given address. 

What sometimes happens is an innocent person targeted in the swatting is taken into custody or sometimes even injured by police.

No one was injured during this week’s incident on Capitol Hill.

But here’s what went down.

Washington, D.C., police received a 911 call Wednesday afternoon. They were warned on an ‘active shooter’ inside the Hart Senate Office Building. The D.C. police then relayed this to the U.S. Capitol Police.

U.S. Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger said they were looking for ‘a heavyset Hispanic male wearing body armor.’

Manger said about 20 officers immediately started combing through the Senate office buildings, ‘going floor to floor’ looking for a possible gunman.

Fox was told they first believed the threat may be in the Russell Senate Office Building.

No one ever heard any gunshots. And no one in the Senate office buildings ever spotted anyone with a gun.

USCP advised those working in the Senate office buildings of ‘an internal security threat.’ They advised people inside the buildings to ‘move inside your office or the nearest office.’ 

Those in public spaces should ‘find a place to hide or seek cover.’ But officers shouted for some people to evacuate. That included reporters, producers and photographers on the third floor of the Russell building.

News crews occupy an array of spaces on the third floor of Russell near its ornate rotunda full of arcades and columns. The complete compliment of Senate aides might not be toiling away in senators’ offices during the August congressional recess. But you can bet the swarm of members from the Capitol Hill press corps is present — recess or not.

USER’S MANUAL TO DEVON ARCHER’S CLOSED-DOOR INTERVIEW TOMORROW

And so they sprinted down the stairs.

Descending from the third floor.

To the second floor.

To the first.

That’s when the reporters encountered a phalanx of several Capitol Police officers, weapons drawn.

In fairness to the officers, they were likely worried about this scampering horde racing down the staircase, only hearing shouting and galloping from above. No wonder the officers took a defensive posture in these circumstances.

But more than one source present that day confided to Fox they worried someone may have actually gotten injured considering the chaos. Others complained of ‘mixed messages’ from the Capitol Police.

‘It wasn’t clear at all what we were supposed to do,’ one reporter said.

Another source who works in the basement of the Russell Senate Office Building said officers demanded they exit — quickly.

Someone else said officers directed them to hide in their offices.

So, everyone’s on edge — yet again — here on Capitol Hill.

Those who work in the Capitol complex were already rattled Wednesday. That was just ahead of former President Trump’s appearance in federal court Thursday. Special Counsel Jack Smith indicted the former president in connection with the 2021 riot at the Capitol and efforts to overturn the certification of the Electoral College during the joint session of Congress.

The E. Barrett Prettyman federal courthouse rests at the foot of Capitol Hill, just off Constitution Ave., NW.

That’s where Mr. Trump appeared Thursday. Capitol Police had not yet visibly increased security around the Capitol complex when the security incident unfolded Wednesday. However, Fox was told additional forces were ready to go. 

By nightfall Wednesday, a ‘bicycle rack’ type fence began encircling the Capitol square. This was not the type of towering fence officials erected around the Capitol after the riot. In fact, the smaller fence is similar to what authorities put up for big events at the Capitol or when certain dignitaries come for meetings.

‘We’ve all been working together in preparation for when and if the indictment did happen,’ Manger said at a press briefing after the scare Wednesday. ‘We’ve been talking about this for a couple of weeks now. We’ve had a couple of phone calls today. So, yeah, we’re prepared for whatever might happen.’

The fence and other preparations were a reminder of Jan. 6.

And the false report of the active shooter propelled those who work on Capitol Hill back to the terror of the riot.

To say nothing of the many other security incidents over the years.

A panicked evacuation of the Capitol in 2022 after authorities thought a plane was inbound.

The killing of Capitol Police Officer Billy Evans in 2021 when Noah Green rammed his car into a Senate barricade.

The wild car chase and shooting during the middle of the 2011 government shutdown.

The killing of two Capitol Police officers by Russell Weston Jr., in July 1998.

Those are only a few of the episodes.
 

The Capitol even elevated its defensive posture this spring when a ‘zombie’ plane with an unresponsive pilot briefly pierced Washington’s hyper-restricted airspace. That prompted F-16 jet fighters to give chase before the errant plane crashed in rural Virginia.

Dozens of security incidents unfold around the Capitol each year. Some just entail closing off a hallway for 45 minutes or so while police investigate. But many are more serious. Havoc ensues.

This is the cycle. Over and over.

We haven’t even talked about the baseball practice shooting or the shooting of former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz.

An outside observer may say that Wednesday’s episode was ‘nothing.’

That’s true. There was never any bona fide security threat.

But that’s not ‘nothing’ to those who work on Capitol Hill. It’s not nothing to those who scurried down flights of stairs, some screaming in fear, only to face officers, guns drawn, thinking they may be the culprit.

The Capitol complex will always face security threats and evacuations.

But multiple people who have worked on Capitol Hill for years told Fox the regular bedlam and actual risk of life and limb has become too much.

‘No workplace in America is like this,’ said one longtime Senate hand.

On Wednesday afternoon, there was pandemonium. But in the end, officers found nothing.

‘This may have been a bogus call,’ said Manger.

It may have been bogus.

In a Republican presidential nomination race that’s dominated by former President Donald Trump, the former president’s indictment and arraignment this week on charges he attempted to overturn his loss in the 2020 election will likely only increasingly eclipse efforts by his rivals to stand out and further cement his position as the commanding front-runner.

‘In the short term, it helps Trump because it’s going to galvanize his base, and it’s going to take all of the oxygen out of the race for every other candidate and rather than talk about themselves,’ longtime New Hampshire based Republican consultant Jim Merrill told Fox News. ‘It will be inescapable.’

Merrill, a veteran of numerous GOP presidential campaigns, emphasized that the blockbuster developments are ‘going to force them to talk about Donald Trump. And the longer that goes on, the harder it is for the other candidates to make a compelling case for their own campaigns.’

Trump’s wasting no time in getting back on the campaign trail.

The former president on Friday evening headlines the Alabama GOP’s summer meeting. And on Saturday he’s in South Carolina – which holds the third contest in the Republican presidential nominating calendar – as he speaks at the state party’s annual Silver Elephant fundraising gala. Both appearances were scheduled ahead of the former president’s indictment on Tuesday. Next week, Trump heads to New Hampshire, which holds the first primary and votes second in the GOP nominating schedule.

Trump, who’s making his third straight White House run, earlier this year became the first sitting or former president in U.S. history to be charged with a crime.

The former president pleaded not guilty in early April in New York City to charges brought by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. He was indicted for allegedly giving hush-money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in 2016 to keep her quiet ahead of that year’s presidential election over her claims she had sexual encounters years earlier with Trump. He denies sleeping with Daniels and denies falsifying business records to keep the payment concealed.

Trump was indicted and arraigned in early June for his alleged improper retention of classified records. He pleaded not guilty in federal court in Miami to criminal charges that he illegally retained national security records at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, following the end of his term as president and that he obstructed federal efforts to recover the documents.

On Thursday the former president pleaded not guilty to four counts: conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights. 

Trump was informed two weeks ago that he was a target in the probe into his actions and state of mind on Jan. 6, 2021, and in the lead-up to that infamous day – when hundreds stormed the U.S. Capitol. The attack temporarily disrupted congressional certification of Biden’s Electoral College victory over Trump.

The indictment alleges that Trump pursued unlawful means of discounting legitimate votes and subverting the 2020 presidential election results and that he corruptly obstructed and impeded the certification of the electoral vote.

Trump world is confident that the latest indictment will further energize his supporters. 

‘It is absolutely true that, politically speaking, these indictments have been rocket fuel for his campaign,’ an adviser in Trump’s political orbit told Fox News.

The adviser, who asked for anonymity to speak more freely, argued that ‘too many Washington insiders don’t appreciate the extent to which Republican voters do not believe in the system. Republican voters believe our system of government is completely corrupt and corrupted against Republican. So, when Trump gets indicted and indicted multiple times, all it does is send a signal to Republican voters that Trump is the greatest the threat to the very corrupt establishment that they hate and don’t believe.’

Another source in Trump world suggested that the latest indictment fuels a potential general election rematch with Biden.

 ‘They’ve fast-tracked the general election, which has already started. While there are plenty of Republican candidates marching around the country, the adults in the room and the nominees of the respective parties have already started their general election campaigns,’ the source predicted.

Ryan Williams, a Republican strategist, communicator and veteran of multiple presidential campaigns, told Fox News that the latest indictment ‘politically doesn’t affect Donald Trump’s support with Republican primary voters at all. If anything, it rallies support around him.’

And pointing to Trump’s rivals, Williams said that ‘there’s no oxygen left in the room. The entire race is about Donald Trump, and as we’ve seen thus far, the more people talk about Donald Trump, the stronger his poll numbers get in the Republican primary. The focus on Trump and his circus has diminished other candidates.’

But there are still five and a half months to go until Iowa and New Hampshire kick off the voting in the race for the GOP nomination. Merrill noted that while the Trump indictments ‘create challenges for the opposing campaigns, there’s time … I think one thing we’ve learned over the last eight years is that anything can happen in these things.’

And he emphasized that for Trump’s rivals, the mission ahead is ‘to make that case that these indictments make it difficult if not impossible for Trump to beat Joe Biden.’

Ryan pointed to another factor – money.

This week’s indictment came amid headlines that Trump’s political committees were spending more money so far this year than they were raising, with millions in expenditures going to his legal bills.

‘Increasing legal costs that will drain his campaign bank account,’ Williams noted. ‘Preparing for trial and going to trial will result in larger legal bills that will essentially render his campaign as a legal defense fund.’

And he suggested that ‘at a time when Joe Biden and Democrats will be stockpiling resources to run hundreds of millions of dollars of ads against Trump, he’ll be forced to take his resources to pay lawyers.’

Left-wing groups and Democrats in Congress are backing a plan by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to build a government-run tax filing program that critics argue would give the agency too much power.

The new tax filing plan, known as ‘direct file,’ has become a major issue on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers are actively fighting or supporting an initiative that, if implemented, could directly impact millions of Americans each year.

The Inflation Reduction Act, a mammoth Democrat-backed spending bill signed into law last year, included $15 million for the IRS to look into creating a free direct tax-return system. Specifically, the legislation required a study by an independent third party to examine the idea’s feasibility as well as a report by the IRS for Congress to assess the study, the cost of such a system and taxpayer opinions based on surveys.

IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel told lawmakers several times over the past few months that no decision had been made about direct file, adding that the agency would ‘reflect’ on the issue, consult Congress and wait for the report to determine how to move forward.

However, the IRS had been quietly building an actual prototype of direct file before submitting the report to Congress, as the Washington Post first reported in May. The IRS announced its final report one day after the Post’s revelation. The IRS system will be available through a pilot program for a small group of taxpayers by January, when the 2024 filing season begins.

Critics, especially Republicans in Congress, blasted the IRS for having a prototype before its report and the third-party study were released, arguing that it suggested a pre-determined outcome to proceed with the system no matter what and that the agency was moving ahead without explicit authorization by Congress.

The IRS told Fox News Digital in June that the prototype was built only to ‘augment’ survey data to gauge the opinions of taxpayers on a direct file system.

‘It is not a fully functional direct file tool and no real tax information was used in usability testing sessions or for any other purpose,’ said an agency spokesperson.

The IRS hasn’t publicized that the agency seems intent on making direct file not just a federal program but one that will also include state tax filings in some manner.

Last Wednesday, Werfel sent a letter to the Federation of Tax Administrators — which serves the tax administrators of all 50 states, New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. — that said in part that the IRS’s report to Congress on direct file ‘found that a material number of taxpayers would be interested in a free IRS-provided direct e-filing tool, but substantially more so if that product included a state tax filing component.’

Werfel’s letter noted that the IRS is finalizing plans for ‘state tax integration,’ adding that the team working on direct file is ‘excited to partner with states to ensure a best-in-class experience for taxpayers that includes both federal and state taxes.’

When asked to clarify how state taxes would be incorporated into what would seem to be a federal program, an IRS spokesperson said direct file is still in an early conceptual stage of development.

One day after Werfel’s letter, Code for America requested a ‘vendor ID’ to access tax information through the National Association of Computerized Tax Processors, which assigns identification numbers for firms accessing private tax information. In the document obtained by Fox News Digital, Code for America stated the reason for requesting the ID was that it’s ‘building state return software that will be a companion to the IRS direct file tool.’

The IRS spokesperson told Fox News Digital that Code for America, which uses technology to improve government, has not been involved in developing the direct file pilot program. However, signs of collaboration and general support from the nonprofit may raise eyebrows on Capitol Hill given the organization’s left-wing ties.

Code for America, which during the 2016 presidential campaign signed onto a letter condemning Donald Trump for running on ‘anger’ and ‘bigotry,’ is funded by various left-wing groups and has a stated goal of making ‘automatic record clearance — where the state initiates and completes the clearance of all eligible criminal records — the standard across the country.’

In 2018, Code for America teamed up with progressive Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon to find every marijuana criminal case eligible for expungement or resentencing. The following year, Gascon moved to wipe out more than 9,000 marijuana-related convictions dating to 1975.

Code for America also promotes its commitment to so-called diversity, equity and inclusion, stating on its website, ‘Equity is not just a core value, but also at the center of our work.’

When reached for comment, Code for America told Fox News Digital that it ‘strongly supports’ direct file, noting like-minded groups are trying to figure out how to ensure taxpayers can file their tax returns with the federal government and states at the same time.

‘In light of this, Code for America is currently exploring what it would take to develop state tax software that would create a seamless filing experience for filers,’ said Gabriel Zucker, associate policy director of tax benefits at Code for America. ‘Requesting a vendor ID with the National Association of Computerized Tax Processors is a preliminary step in this exploratory effort. We, like many others in the space, have had numerous discussions regarding state tax filing both inside and outside of government, though we have no partnership with the IRS on Direct File.’

Some lawmakers are speaking out against direct file and the IRS’s shared goal with mainly left-leaning groups to advance it.

‘Establishing an IRS-run tax filing system has been a longtime priority of far-left liberals, such as [Sen.] Elizabeth Warren and [Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez], for years,’ Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, told Fox News Digital. ‘No matter how you look at it, this is a bad idea. This endeavor would be extremely costly, overly burdensome and grant the IRS all kinds of new power, effectively making it the judge, jury and executioner of our nation’s tax laws.’

Tenney also noted Code for America isn’t the first left-wing group to make concrete steps to back the IRS’s direct file plan.

‘Even more concerning, President Biden’s IRS is partnering with New America, a liberal organization, to conduct a so-called ‘feasibility study’ on the establishment of an IRS-run tax filing system,’ said Tenney. ‘This is clearly all for show and set up to arrange a predetermined outcome since New America has already stated in the past that the government ‘can and should build this tool in the coming years.’ At the end of the day, all this spells trouble for low- and middle-income taxpayers and small businesses who will ultimately be the target of Democrats’ supercharged IRS that appears to be getting even bigger and more powerful.’

In February, the IRS announced that it would contract New America Foundation – a left-wing think tank funded by nonprofits founded by liberal billionaires Bill Gates, George Soros, Mike Bloomberg and Eric Schmidt – to study direct file.

House Republicans were quick to note that New America employees – several of whom are alumni of the Obama administration and Hillary Clinton’s staff – in 2021 wrote favorably about Warren’s Tax Simplification Act, which would set up a government-run filing system at the IRS.

The Biden administration also appointed Ariel Jurow Kleiman, a tax attorney and professor, to work with New America. Jurow Kleiman earlier this year co-authored a paper that stated, ‘Speaking directly to the question of a government-run e-file program: The IRS should adopt the most expansive version of the program, one that includes the maximum amount of taxpayer information and requires the least amount of taxpayer input for each individual taxpayer.’

Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, has suggested the decision to tap New America and Jurow Kleiman was meant to ‘cook the books’ by ensuring the IRS’s final report would present direct file in a favorable light.

‘The administration handpicked a think tank with ties to the liberal wing of the Democrat Party that has already advocated for this bureaucratic expansion,’ Smith previously told Fox News Digital. ‘Can we really trust the IRS to file Americans’ taxes for them in a fair and impartial way when it already stacks the deck toward a predetermined conclusion to gain more power?’

Smith has also argued that, under direct file, Americans would be ‘powerless when the IRS completely controls the tax filing process from start to finish.’

Critics like Smith argue that direct file would centralize too much power in the hands of the IRS as not only the auditor but also the preparer and filer of taxes, noting the infamous technical problems that plagued the government-run Healthcare.gov for people wanting to sign up for Obamacare.

Supporters counter that a direct file system would be free, easy to use and efficient by allowing taxpayers to file directly to the government. In June, dozens of Democrats in Congress wrote an open letter to Werfel and the Treasury Department, praising the direct file program and urging them to make the pilot ‘available to as many taxpayers as is feasible.’

The Inflation Reduction Act granted $80 billion to the IRS to hire tens of thousands of new employees over the next decade. Republicans have expressed concern that the IRS will ramp up its number of audits, including those targeting lower- and middle-income Americans, due to the additional resources granted by the Inflation Reduction Act. Both Werfel and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen have said the government won’t raise audit rates above historic levels for small businesses and households making less than $400,000.

Yellen has reportedly ordered the IRS to move forward with a pilot direct file system to test the program after reviewing the agency’s report.

Direct file would present a unique challenge to private companies in the tax-prep industry.

‘Filing taxes is expensive and time-consuming for American taxpayers,’ Laurel Blatchford, a Treasury Department official tasked with overseeing IRA implementation, told reporters on the same call. ‘On average, individual taxpayers spend approximately eight hours and $140 preparing their taxes each year. Taxpayers with income from a business or those who work in the gig economy pay even more.’

‘Dozens of other countries have provided free tax filing options to their citizens and American taxpayers who want to file their taxes for free online should have an accessible option,’ she continued. ‘IRS’ report released today found the majority of taxpayers support having the option to file their taxes for free directly with the IRS.’

However, the public opinion findings of the IRS’s final report were based, in part, on a study conducted late last year by the nonpartisan Mitre Corp. showing direct file was relatively unpopular among Americans compared to private software or a system where the IRS automatically files returns for taxpayers.

The Mitre study found just 15% of Americans would use an IRS direct e-file system even if it was able to prepare state returns and provided the same functionality as a free commercial software. In that scenario, 48% preferred the current software they use and 37% would use a system in which the IRS automatically filed individuals’ taxes for them.

In another scenario where state returns aren’t included, just 12% of taxpayers would use direct file while 60% would opt for a commercial software.

The Biden administration quietly revised its data analysis of gas stove regulations it proposed earlier this year, showing they would produce fewer consumer savings than previously projected. 

The Department of Energy (DOE) filed a notification of data availability as part of its ongoing gas stove rulemaking this week, showing that Americans will save 30% less than it said they would under the regulations when they were first proposed in February. The agency’s new analysis showed consumers are now expected to save just 9 cents per month under the gas stove regulations.

‘The newly released DOE analysis revises downward the potential energy savings from its original cooking product rulemaking proposal, showing that the savings are even less than DOE originally projected and are almost negligible,’ the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM), a leading industry group, said in a statement shared with Fox News Digital on Wednesday.

‘The changes in energy savings projected by DOE primarily result from DOE recognizing that the currently available cooking products are more efficient than its earlier analysis assumed,’ the statement added.

AHAM added that, while the DOE revised the projected savings to come from its rulemaking, the agency is standing by its proposed standards which may be finalized in the coming months. The group also called on the DOE to ‘reconsider the extremely stringent levels’ it proposed so manufacturers may be able to continue providing quality products to consumers.

‘Consumers still stand to lose features and access to many currently available gas cooking appliance models — in exchange for saving only pennies each month — if the proposed standard takes effect,’ AHAM continued.

On Feb. 1, the DOE proposed the regulations, saying they would go into effect in 2027 and save Americans up to $1.7 billion while curbing greenhouse gas emissions. However, the agency was immediately hit with criticism from industry groups like AHAM, free market organizations, and both Republicans and Democrats.

In June, the House overwhelmingly passed the Save Our Gas Stoves Act, which was introduced by Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz., which would block the Department of Energy from implementing tougher conservation standards on stoves. Companion legislation co-led by Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., is making its way through the Senate.

‘The federal government has no business telling Americans how to cook their dinner. Unfortunately, the Department of Energy has chosen to enter into America’s kitchens with a proposed rule that would push out gas stoves,’ Manchin said on June 14.

‘While I appreciate that these rules would only apply to new stoves, my view is that it’s part of a broader, administration-wide regulatory effort to eliminate fossil fuels,’ he continued.

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm has pushed back on criticism, saying she owned a gas stove and that the regulations would impact 50% of current gas stove models. The DOE has also argued it is required to put forth such regulations under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act which mandates energy efficiency rules while not harming consumer choice.

In comments filed with the DOE in April, a coalition of 18 energy and consumer advocacy organizations stated the gas stove regulations do harm consumer choice and strip away product features consumers enjoy.

‘EPCA does not mandate a new energy conservation standard for cooking products, but permits one only if it benefits consumers. This is not the case here,’ the groups wrote. ‘The proposed rule would almost certainly compromise some of the features that gas stove users want, and all for the sake of saving an insignificant amount of energy.’

Two Democrat lawmakers from Tennessee who were expelled after protesting on the state House floor in favor of stricter gun control have won back their seats.

Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, both Democrats, who were part of the so-called ‘Tennessee Three,’ defeated Republicans in their special elections on Thursday.

Their participation in a protest on the state House floor following The Covenant School shooting on March 27 resulted in rebuke from GOP state lawmakers, who voted to expel Jones and Pearson.

The White House previously called the expulsion an ‘undemocratic’ effort to ‘punish, silence, and expel duly elected representatives.’ 

The district that Jones and Pearson will represent is heavily Democratic.

Jones, Pearson, and Rep. Gloria Johnson, participated in a protest in the Capitol building to demand that Republicans pass more stringent restrictions on guns.

House Republicans said that their actions were in violation of House rules, and voted to expel Jones and Pearson. Johnson was not expelled.

Police in Nashville say that Audrey Hale, the suspect and former student at the private Christian school, entered the building by shooting through a locked glass door around 10:13 a.m. on March 27. Hale was armed with two rifles and a handgun. 

Three school employees were killed: Head of School Katherine Koonce, 60; substitute teacher Cynthia Peak, 61; and custodian Mike Hill, 61. Three students were also killed, all 9-years-old: Hallie Scruggs, Evelyn Dieckhaus and William Kinney.

Fox News’ Danielle Wallace and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

The head of U.S. Border Patrol says that agents stopped four sex offenders – including those with convictions of crimes against children – attempting to cross into the U.S. illegally in the space of a single day.

Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens, who took over the position in July, announced that his agents arrested four convicted sex offenders on Wednesday.

Those arrested had charges of ‘Sexual abuse of a child,’ ‘rape by force/fear,’ ‘indecency with a child and aggravated sexual assault’ and ‘indecency with a child, exposes.’

That comes after Owens announced last week that agents encountered three sex offenders in a single day – along with 10 firearms and two armed subjects.

It comes a day after Florida officials announced that seven out of 19 arrested in an anti-child trafficking operation in Florida were in the U.S. illegally. Five have no record that shows lawful entry into the U.S. One man was admitted on a B-2 visitors visa that expired in 2021, and another was admitted on a J-1 student visa that also expired in 2021.

On Thursday, Texas Department of Public Safety announced that its troopers had arrested an illegal immigrant from Mexico for the possession or promotion of child pornography.

The arrests are occurring amid an ongoing crisis at the southern border that has seen record numbers since 2021, including nearly 2.4 million encounters in fiscal year 2022. In that year, there were more 12,000 encounters of criminal illegal immigrants by Border Patrol.

Republican critics of the administration have pointed to the record number of getaways, including nearly 600,000 last fiscal year, and raised concerns about the number of criminals who may be seeking to evade Border Patrol and get into the U.S.

The administration has shot back, calling on Congress to pass reforms to fix the ‘broken’ system in which the Department of Homeland Security says it is working. It has called for additional funding for processing.

It has also pointed to a drop in overall encounters at the border between May and June after a combined strategy that saw a stiffening of penalties for illegal entry and an asylum ban on those crossing illegally who failed to claim asylum in a prior country through which they traveled.

However, that asylum bar was dealt a blow last week when it was blocked by a federal judge, raising new concerns about a looming increase in numbers.

Hunter Biden’s ex-business partner confirmed during his recent closed-door interview with the House Oversight Committee that then-Vice President Joe Biden was at the infamous spring 2015 dinner with son Hunter’s foreign business associates, despite the Biden campaign repeatedly saying Biden was never there.

Devon Archer told investigators that the elder Biden ‘had dinner’ with him and several others, including ‘Vadym P. from Burisma.’ When Biden arrived, Archer said Biden ‘shook everybody’s hand’ and joined their conversation.

In 2020, the New York Post reported an explosive story about Hunter Biden introducing his then-vice president father to a top executive at Ukrainian energy firm Burisma, where Hunter had served on its board and reportedly collected more than $50,000 per month.

The story set off a firestorm and rejections from Biden’s close aides. Andrew Bates, who is now a White House spokesperson but at the time worked on the communication team of Biden’s 2020 campaign, roundly denied the meeting ever happened.

Bates told Politico the campaign ‘reviewed Joe Biden’s official schedules from the time, and no meeting, as alleged by the New York Post, ever took place.’

Likewise, in that same Politico article, which centered around Biden’s campaign ‘punching back’ against the Post’s story, other top Biden advisers flatly rejected that Biden met the Burisma executive. Michael Carpenter, who worked for Biden during the alleged encounter and was being paid more $200,000 at the Penn Biden Center, chalked it up as a Russian disinformation campaign.

‘This is a Russian disinformation operation,’ said Carpenter, who now acts as the U.S. permanent representative to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. ‘I’m very comfortable saying that.’

The Washington Post also published a fact-check piece in 2021 that referenced pushback from an unnamed ‘campaign spokesman for Joe Biden’ and ‘officials who worked for [Biden].’ It is unclear whether this spokesperson was also Bates.

‘A campaign spokesman for Joe Biden had said a review of Biden’s schedule for that day found no record of any such meeting. Officials who worked for him in 2015 also told The Fact Checker that no such meeting took place,’ the Washington Post piece reported.

The piece went on to say that a ‘White House individual with knowledge of Joe Biden’s schedules said the decision to see Father Alex [Alex Karloutsos]’ at the dinner was made late that day after the schedule was completed and that the decision to attend ‘was made that evening.’

However, an email that was widely reported a couple of years ago shows that Hunter Biden told Karloutsos’ son three weeks before the dinner on March 26, 2015, that Hunter’s ‘dad will be there, but keep that [between] us for now.’

Another guest at the dinner told The Washington Post that Biden ‘didn’t even sit down’ and that he ‘was not part of the dinner or part of the dinner discussion.’

But Archer, a longtime Hunter Biden business partner and friend, contradicted those claims and said that then-Vice President Biden was in attendance and was part of the dinner. Fox News Digital obtained the more than 140-page transcript of Archer’s interview before the House Oversight Committee on Monday, which transpired behind closed doors.

The transcript shows that investigators had asked Archer about the dinner mentioned in the New York Post report, which happened at Washington, D.C.’s, upscale restaurant Cafe Milano in 2015. The story revolved around an April 2015 email from Burisma board adviser Vadym Pozharskyi, who had written to Hunter Biden the day after the dinner to thank him for inviting him to the nation’s capital and allowing him to meet his father and spend ‘some time together.’

‘It’s realty [sic] an honor and pleasure,’ Pozharskyi added.

‘As we spoke yesterday evening, would be great to meet today for a quick coffee,’ he continued. ‘What do you think? I could come to you [sic] office somewhere around noon or so, before or on my way to airport.’

According to the transcript from Monday, congressional investigators asked Archer who attended that spring 2015 dinner.

‘That dinner was — I think we went over it before, but it was Vadym, Hunter, Joe, myself, Karim Massimov, a Greek Orthodox priest, maybe someone from World Food Programme,’ Archer said.

‘And what did Joe do at that dinner? Did he have dinner? How long was he there?’ the congressional investigator asked Archer.

‘He had dinner. He had dinner,’ Archer responded. ‘And there was — on that one, I believe the first one was, like, a birthday dinner, and then the second was — I think we were supposed to talk about the World Food Programme. So, there was some talk about that.’

Pozharskyi made headlines last month after Fox News Digital reported about his correspondence with Hunter Biden, Archer and longtime business partner Eric Schwerin months after the dinner about the ‘ultimate purpose’ of his involvement with the Ukrainian energy company.

‘My only concern is for us to be on the same page re our final goals,’ Pozharskyi wrote. ‘With this in mind, I would like us to formulate a list of deliverables, including, but not limited to: a concrete course of actions, incl. meetings/communications resulting in high-ranking US officials in Ukraine (US Ambassador) and in US publicly or in private communication/comment expressing their ‘positive opinion’ and support of Nikolay/Burisma to the highest level of decision makers here in Ukraine :President of Ukraine, president Chief of staff, Prosecutor General, etc.’

‘The scope of work should also include organization of a visit of a number of widely recognized and influential current and/or former US policy-makers to Ukraine in November aiming to conduct meetings with and bring positive signal/message and support on Nikolay’s issue to the Ukrainian top officials above with the ultimate purpose to close down for any cases/pursuits against Nikolay in Ukraine,’ he continued.

‘Looking forward to getting started on this,’ Hunter Biden replied.

A month before the dinner, Hunter and Archer discussed who they were going to invite to the dinner on April 16, 2015. The list included multiple guests, including ‘Pozharskyi,’ who was listed as ‘Vadim’ and ‘Vadym.’ Both spellings were frequently used in their correspondence.

In the email chain, Archer followed up to Hunter’s guest list and said, ‘Obviously save a seat for your guy,’ which appears to be a reference to Biden. During the interview with Archer, he acknowledged that Hunter would refer to his dad as ‘my guy.’ However, it is unclear whether this specific reference from Archer is about the elder Biden.

Bates’ quote to Politico isn’t the first time that he has pushed a false narrative. Fox News Digital previously reported that he was implicated in the effort to discredit Hunter Biden’s laptop as Russian disinformation during the 2020 presidential election.

According to a report earlier this year by the House Weaponization Subcommittee, led by Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, former CIA senior adviser Nick Shapiro drafted a media pitch for the now-discredited letter signed by 51 former intelligence officials that tried to paint the laptop at the center of the New York Post’s bombshell story as a Russian operation in October 2020.

‘Giving this to you exclusively first if you guys want to run with it,’ Shapiro wrote in his pitch to the media outlets, according to the email on Oct. 19, 2020. ‘You can also use this on the record from me Nick Shapiro, describing what this is: ‘A large group of former career intelligence officers, many specializing in Russia, joined by a group of former intelligence community leaders, are all saying that they believe the Russians were somehow involved here.’’

He would then forward the letter to Bates, who was on the Biden campaign at the time, adding, ‘This is what I gave them.’

After Politico published the media pitch, Bates and other top Biden campaign officials, including former press secretary Jen Psaki, tweeted out the narrative that has since been debunked.

Former CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell testified to the House Judiciary and Intelligence Committees earlier this year that Secretary of State Antony Blinken, as President Biden’s then-campaign senior adviser, ‘played a role in the inception’ of the letter signed by intelligence officials seeking to discredit the story.

Morell also said that he received a call from Biden’s White House counselor Steve Ricchetti, who was serving as the chairman of the 2020 campaign at the time, following the Oct. 22 debate, where Biden echoed this talking point despite providing zero evidence. Morell said the call was to thank him for spearheading the letter.

The White House declined to respond on the record, and Carpenter did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Fox News’ Jessica Chasmar contributed to this report.

A Texas law dubbed the ‘Drag Ban,’ which was signed by Gov. Greg Abbott in June and is set to go into effect Sept. 1, is being challenged by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which filed a lawsuit this week to have the law blocked.

Senate Bill 12 restricts ‘sexually oriented performances’ in the presence of a child or on public property, in Texas.

According to one of the definitions in the bill, a ‘sexually oriented performance’ means a visual performance that features ‘a male performer exhibiting as a female, or a female performer exhibiting as a male, who uses clothing, makeup, or other similar physical markers and who sings, lip syncs, dances, or otherwise performs before an audience’ and ‘appeals to the prurient interest in sex.’

Critics refer to the bill as a ‘drag ban,’ though the bill’s author and supporters claim it was proposed and signed into law to protect children.

The ACLU filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Texas in Houston on behalf of The Woodlands Pride, Inc.; Abilene Pride Alliance; Extragrams, LLC; 360 Queen Entertainment, LLC; and Brigitte Bandit, against Texas Interim Attorney General Angela Colmenero; the Woodlands Township; Montgomery County; Montgomery County District Attorney Brett Ligon; the City of Abilene; Taylor County; Taylor County District Attorney James Hicks; Travis County Attorney Delia Garza; and Bexar County Joe D. Gonzalez.

The lawsuit claims SB 12 ‘unconstitutionally singles out drag performances as a disfavored form of expression.’

‘In its zeal to target drag, the Legislature also passed a bill so yawning in scope that it criminalizes and restricts an enormous swath of constitutionally protected activity, including theater, ballet, comedy, and even cheerleading,’ the lawsuit reads. ‘By enacting this law, the State has threatened the livelihood and free expression of many Texans, including drag performers across our state. The First and Fourteenth Amendments prohibit such strident attempts to regulate and ban free expression, and SB 12 should be declared unconstitutional and enjoined.’

The named defendants are being sued because they are tasked with enforcing what the ACLU called an ‘unconstitutional law.’

The ACLU said the ban gives authorities ‘unbridled discretion to censor expressive activity by canceling events and imposing criminal penalties of up to a year in jail or fines up to $10,000.’

Along with giving authorities the ability to censor the events, the plaintiffs claim the law is ‘overbroad and vague.’

The lawsuit asserts that several terms are not defined or are written in a way that targets protected expression.

For example, ‘visual performance,’ the lawsuit claims, is not defined in SB 12 or anywhere in Texas Law, and could apply to art forms like theater, dance, musicals, synchronized swimming and sports competitions.

Another term, ‘nude,’ borrows a definition from the Texas Penal Code and Business and Commerce Code, the lawsuit reads, and includes anyone who is ‘entirely unclothed,’ or clothed in a manner that leaves any portion of the breasts below the top of the areola uncovered or visible through less than fully opaque clothing, if the person is a woman, or any portion of the genitals or buttocks.

The ACLU says in the lawsuit that this could be interpreted to mean any performer who shows a small part of skin accidentally or momentarily could be subject to penalties.

The term, ‘sexual conduct,’ the lawsuit says, is also vague. In one definition, sexual conduct is the ‘exhibition or representation, actual or simulated, of male or female genitals in a lewd state, including a state of sexual arousal.

Based on the law, the ACLU asserts, Michelangelo’s David could be considered ‘lewd’ and be impacted by the law.

The ACLU also said hugging could be illegal under the law because sexual conduct includes the actual contact or simulated contact between one person and the buttocks, breast or any part of the genitals of another person.

Gov. Abbott’s office did not immediately respond to a request from Fox News Digital for comment on the lawsuit.

Drag is described in the lawsuit as an ‘art form’ that is ‘inherently expressive,’ and has no set standard.

‘As with any art form, there is nothing inherently sexual or obscene about drag,’ the lawsuit reads. ‘Drag can be performed for any age level and in any venue, since drag artists tailor their performances to their audience.’