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Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson's socialist agenda stalls amid homelessness and public safety concerns

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 16:03:37 -0400

Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson, a democratic socialist, has run into major roadblocks while trying to enact her agenda in the city as she grapples with public safety concerns and homelessness.

Wilson campaigned on adding 1,000 homeless shelter units in each year of her term, despite concerns from some advisors about the feasibility of the goal, according to The Wall Street Journal. However, her administration's current plan calls for adding nearly 1,000 shelter beds by the end of 2027, the Journal reported.

The mayor told The Seattle Times in September that her original goal was a way to get people talking about the crisis.

The city's business community donated $3 million towards the homelessness effort. Joe Nguyen, president and CEO of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, said the money wasn't used as City Hall ran into bureaucratic roadblocks. "Welcome to government," he told the Journal in response to the challenges.

SEATTLE MAYOR SAYS SOBRIETY WON'T BE REQUIRED AT NEW HOMELESS SHELTER

Wilson surprised her supporters with the proposed budget released in September that included no new taxes and more funding for police, the Journal reported.

"I have made the difficult decision to transmit a budget without major new revenue," Wilson said in a speech in September, according to KOMO News. "Right now, we don't have good options to raise more progressive revenue that don't also come with great risks. Our economy and especially our downtown are fragile. In that context, raising additional revenue through JumpStart is not the right move."

Wilson and the Seattle Police Department faced scrutiny after a shooting at the Bite of Seattle food festival in July left three people dead, including one suspect, and led to the resignation of the police chief, who was out of town at the time of the shooting.

The Journal reported, "A communication breakdown between the mayor’s office and Seattle police kept the public in the dark about the shooting for five hours, and the official emergency alert system went unused."

The mayor's office did not immediately return Fox News Digital's request for comment.

WILL SOCIALISM SAVE SEATTLE? CITY ADVOCATES STRUGGLE TO FIND SOLUTIONS AS HOMELESS, DRUG ADDICTS FLOOD STREETS

Psychotherapist Jonathan Alpert, author of "Therapy Nation," told Fox News Digital, "This is a good example of socialism's appeal colliding with the realities of governing."

"Socialism is seductive because the promises sound good: more housing, more services, greater fairness, less inequality," he said. "It’s easy to campaign on those ideas. It gets much harder when you’re actually responsible for a budget, public safety and whether the city is functioning."

"The result: Wilson is now doing some things that don’t fit so comfortably with the politics she campaigned on: more police, more cameras, spending cuts and fewer big promises," Alpert continued. "Crime has a way of forcing politicians to become practical pretty quickly."

"I don’t think this proves that every socialist idea is doomed," he added. "But it does show the gap between promising people what government should do and figuring out what government can actually do. That’s the harsh reality check that more socialists should realize: Ideology is much easier when you don’t have to govern."

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Wilson faced backlash on social media in May after a 77-year-old man was seen on video being beaten by two individuals in a crime that was captured by closed-circuit television cameras, a tool that Wilson has denounced in the past as something that makes the community feel unsafe.

She also opposed the expansion of Seattle's network of surveillance cameras while on the campaign trail and said it would make the city "more vulnerable" to President Donald Trump's "attacks on immigrants, trans people and big cities in general."

Wilson sought to halt a $3 million effort to add more cameras in January, according to the Journal. After two teenagers who attended Rainier Beach High School were shot and killed at a bus stop in Rainer Beach, the mayor moved towards expanding the project, the outlet reported.

"When you’re faced with the realities of sitting in the seat and doing the job, you have to deal with those realities," Bob Kettle, a city council member and chair of the public safety committee, told the Journal on why Wilson wasn't governing like a socialist.

SEATTLE MAYOR'S INTERVIEW CUT SHORT AS STAFF BLOCKS QUESTIONS ON GUN VIOLENCE, SURVEILLANCE

The Journal also reported that Jon Scholes, president and CEO of the Downtown Seattle Association and an advisor to the mayor, joined a group of business leaders on a trip to San Francisco to meet with members of San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie's administration.

"They clearly have serious people doing serious work," Scholes said of the trip. "I mean, it’s not just symbolism and performance. It’s real governance and management."

Fox News' Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.

Sophie Cunningham sends a message to the woman-hating WNBA players with her hat, cranky Prime & Maggie Sajak!

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 15:30:39 -0400

'Nightcaps' is a daily column that catches you up on the biggest sports, news and culture stories you may have missed while pretending to do work at your desk. It runs Monday-Friday on OutKick.com.

First Monday of October. We've got football tonight. We've got playoff baseball tonight. I went out and piped a couple golf balls at the range over the weekend. Might even play a round this week for the first time since July.

It'll be nice not to have to bring a towel to the tee box for every hole.

Who has it better than us? Nobody. And that's coming from me! All my teams got battered last week, and I'm still pumped to get a new week going.

Red Sox? Embarrassed.

Gators? Really embarrassed.

Dolphins? Actually, not bad! Only lost by five to the Vikes. It would be nice to actually have a lead at some point this season, but I reckon that'll be this week's goal.

For now? We move forward. Let's roll.

Welcome to a Monday Nightcaps — the one where Sophie Cunningham turns her attention to Missouri football and wears a hat that sends a simple, yet blunt message to the woman-hating WNBA girls.

You'll see.

What else? I've got more ref drama from yesterday's NFL slate, I'm still on the fence about Virginia Tech's "missed" field goal Friday night, and things are going WELL for Deion Sanders out in Colorado.

DEION SANDERS DISMISSES MULTIPLE PLAYERS AFTER LOCKER ROOM INCIDENT FOLLOWING COLORADO'S LOSS TO NORTHWESTERN

And by that, I mean he might not make it to Halloween. What a fall from grace. Who could've seen it coming?!

OK, grab you something tall and strong — please do NOT make it a hurricane (heads up, Tuscaloosa!) — and settle in for a Monday 'Cap!

Have y'all seen that a tropical storm may be eying the great state of Alabama for Saturday's showdown with Georgia? True story. That's the big SEC game this weekend, and Trump's supposed to be in town.

Not sure that's gonna happen if these projections pan out ...

I'd love to see a good, old-fashioned SEC game in the pouring down rain on Saturday. I love offense. I love scoring. Trust me, I hammered the OVER in last weekend's 'Bama-Miss. State game and it was the most sweat-free bet of all time.

But still, I do miss the days where we'd get a nice 20-17 slugfest. We rarely get those anymore. Keep on eye on this one ahead of Saturday.

And that ends our meteorological portion of today's class! You are welcome.

Now, let's get the week started with Sophie Cunningham wearing a simple "WOMAN" hat to Saturday's homecoming drubbing in Colombia:

SOPHIE CUNNINGHAM SENDS MESSAGE AFTER PATHETIC FINGER-POINTING TANTRUM & SOX-YANKS ANNOUNCERS WON'T SHUT UP!

What a hat. I can't even imagine the insufferable coach of the Minnesota Lynx stumbling upon those pictures today. She'd probably faint.

"No Cis, just ..." on the side, and "WOMAN" in the front ... just the perfect hat for Sophie Cunningham. Even in the offseason, she's three steps ahead of the other side. I have a feeling Sophie's about to take it up a notch over these next few months.

Stay tuned.

PS: Sophie's Tigers absolutely rolled my Gators on Saturday. Typical letdown game for a Florida team the national media just spent a week drooling over. Reminded me of the Dan Mullen years. Disgusting.

OK, let's go from one ugly Saturday performance to another, and check in with the state of Colorado athletics.

Hey, Deion Sanders ... what's wrong with the fellas?

"You know what it is. If I say it, you’re gonna run with it, you know darn well what it is," Sanders exclaimed after he was asked what was wrong with the offense. "Write it yourselves… It’s blatant... I’d respect ya'll a lot more if you said it yourself."

Yeah, the wheels are just about all the way off in Boulder. Remember a few years ago when Colorado briefly had the football world in the palm of its hand for about half a season? What a time to be alive.

The Buffs stunk last year, and they're 2-3 so far this season. Sanders kicked three players off the team last week. His five-star QB mysteriously didn't play last weekend. The offensive line can't protect anyone, which has been a running theme under Sanders in Boulder.

It's a mess ...

But not as big a mess as what's going on in LA right now!

Let's rapid-fire this Monday class and get ready for a big night of playoff baseball and NFL football. First up? The 0-4 Los Angeles Chargers!

Not the loudest endorsement for Mike McDaniel I've ever seen ...

Look, I watched McDaniel's offenses for four years in Miami. At times, it was a fairytale. The 2023 Miami Dolphins gave me the most enjoyable season I've ever had as a Dolphins fan, which isn't saying much given the organization has stunk my entire life.

When it works, it really works. But when it doesn't? It's unfathomably miserable. That's where the Chargers are today.

There's no way the Chargers can Jim Harbaugh, right?

... Right?

Next? A couple musings from over the weekend, and they all involve the refs. First? These two moments from yesterday were insane to watch, and probably deserve a deeper look:

I watched the Vikings one happen live, and couldn't figure out what was going on. The guy was clearly pushed into him. That's gonna happen in football games when you're literally in the trenches with 10 other 300-pound dudes trying to kill each other.

What's he so upset about?

The ref snapping at Trey McBride in the Cardinals game was wild. Never seen that before. If a player did that to a ref, he'd probably be suspended. He'd certainly be fined out the wazoo. Let's see if Goodell has the stones to do the right thing here.

Finally, I know this happened last Friday, but I need everyone's opinion on the controversial field goal from Friday night in Blacksburg.

Was this good, or not?

I wrote about that Saturday morning, and received dozens of responses. Everyone is on the fence. I still think he made it.

What do y'all see there? Let me know!

OK, that's it for today. Good start to the week. Strong start to October. Let's keep this train rolling into a big Monday night.

Here's Maggie Sajak gearing up for a new season of the 'Wheel' on the way out.

Dem senator who demanded Saudi accountability over Khashoggi meets with crown prince, pushes Palestinian state

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 15:30:27 -0400

A Senate Democrat pushing for an end to the war in Iran and the creation of a Palestinian state met with Saudi Arabia’s crown prince during a trip to the Middle East.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., in a post on X revealed that he had met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, also known as MBS, on Monday.

Murphy, who arrived in the region on Saturday for meetings in Qatar, acknowledged that he’s taken issue with the Saudi leader’s policies, but that it was "important for us to be here to recognize that there are things that we need to work on together — the end of the war with Iran, a pathway to a Palestinian state."

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION UNVEILS SWEEPING TERMS OF PROPOSED IRAN AGREEMENT

He noted that he’s been in disagreement with the Saudis, particularly over the Gulf country’s several investments in President Donald Trump’s family businesses, but that "there's got to be space for political dialogue and speech here in Saudi Arabia."

"We talked about those things. I'm not saying we came to conclusions, but I think it's important for the crown prince to not just hear from the Trump administration, but to hear from people who want a different path for Saudi Arabia in the region and in the world," Murphy said.

"But those points of alignment are important as well," he continued. "We are not going to get a permanent end to this war without the Saudis' help. We're not going to get a Palestinian state without the Saudis’ help."

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Murphy notably did not mention Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post journalist who was murdered and dismembered by Saudi operatives at a Saudi Arabian consulate in Turkey in 2018.

Years ago, Murphy was demanding accountability from the Saudi government over Khashoggi’s slaying.

"And I think what we have to remember is that it took two weeks for the Saudi government to cop to what had happened," Murphy said around the one-year anniversary of Khashoggi’s death. "The people that we do business with — the president and the secretary of state that talked to you on a regular basis — were lying to the entire world and to the American public for two weeks when it was patently clear as to what had happened."

Fox News Digital reached out to Murphy’s office for comment on Khashoggi and his meeting with MBS.

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Meanwhile, Murphy’s confab with MBS was part of a broader trip to the region. The lawmaker announced on Saturday that he had just arrived in Qatar for a slate of meetings and noted that he was likely the first Democrat to set foot in the Middle East since the Iran war began earlier this year.

Murphy, one of the more vocal critics of the war, said his trip was meant to view war damage, speak with allies about the conflict’s regional impact and meet with actors working to end the fighting.

He’s so far met with Ali Al Thawadi, a key diplomat who coordinates U.S.-Iran shuttle diplomacy, and another key leader in the region, Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

Murphy noted that "there are so many things Qatar does to protect U.S. interests," like hosting the largest U.S. military base in the region, housing Afghan refugees, and acting as key middlemen to getting hostages out of Gaza.

"And they are mediators right now in the effort to end the war with Iran," Murphy said. "I thanked him for all of this. Qatar is and will remain an essential ally of the United States."

"Of course, I was also candid with him, in particular regarding my deep concerns about the transfer of the luxury plane," he continued.

Liberal haven festival-goers weigh government seizure of their homes: 'I'd be so game'

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 15:26:56 -0400

During a Sunday street festival in a notoriously liberal Maryland hotspot just across the Washington, D.C. border, some attendees told Fox News Digital they wouldn't mind if the government seized their property, including their homes.

"Yeah, I mean broadly," said Maryland resident Matt Volk when asked if he would support the government taking his home. "It's highly situational, but I definitely think that there's a lot of privately owned land and property that would be better put to use for public use, for resources and housing and things like that for people who are in need of things like that."

Fox News Digital took to the streets during a rainy Sunday at the Takoma Park Street Festival to interview area residents about just how much power they would be willing to cede to the government as socialism becomes increasingly popular, especially among younger Americans.

Takoma Park is a liberal bastion just outside the nation's capital, where homes and businesses are adorned with LGBT pride paraphernalia, along with decorations marking their support for other leftist causes like the Black Lives Matter movement.

YOUNG SWING-STATE VOTERS COZY UP TO DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS, SAY PARTY ESTABLISHMENT MUST ‘LEARN’ FROM DSA WINS

One attendee, Karen Irwin, sported a t-shirt that said "Auntifa: Making White men uncomfortable since 1975." She agreed with Volk's sentiment.

"I mean, if we were all doing it, I'd be so game," she said. "Do you know what I mean? And who's coming to me? Is this a decision I'm making through democratic means? Then yes, yes, I would be so game. If I voted for it, sure."

"You want to be able to keep your property. From what time are we talking? From what in the history of this country? Is it just right now, from right now moving forward, whatever it is you have?" Irwin asked. "Or, you know, 100 years ago, when someone else had it. But the government might have taken it away for whatever reason."

A Fox News poll from March found that 38% of those asked said it was a good idea to move away from capitalism and towards socialism.

SHOCKING PERCENTAGE OF DEMOCRATS IDENTIFY AS 'DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS' ACCORDING TO NEW POLL: 'TOXIC POLICIES'

Very liberal voters (66%) and Democrats under age 45 (66%) are those most likely to think moving to socialism would be good. More than half of all Democrats (55%), Black voters (55%) and those under age 30 (53%) also favor moving away from capitalism.

While the majority of Americans, especially Republicans and conservatives, still reject socialism, only 51% say capitalism is working well. The other 49% say it isn't.

A third person at the Takoma Park street fair on Sunday said the government seizure of his home was a possibility.

"I don't know that I would necessarily love it, but I mean, if it was something that was beneficial I'd at least consider it," said Jaw Blake, a Maryland resident.

"Nobody wants what they have to be taken away from them, but there is something we said about like you can set up things so that they're available for everybody."

THE NUMBERS DON’T LIE. YOUNG AMERICANS ARE FALLING IN LOVE … WITH SOCIALISM

Not everyone interviewed by Fox News Digital was entirely convinced of the idea of government seizure and redistribution of private property.

Jenny Sniderman said she doesn't want to give up her property to the government, but that it wasn't out of the question if she was paid to do so.

"Of course I don't want to give up my private property," she said. "Are they going to reimburse me fairly? That would be helpful in making my choice."

Steve Ney isn't in favor of his home being seized by the government, but he advocated for another socialist policy that recently was implemented in New York City by Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

NEW YORK CITY LANDLORDS WARN AMERICAN DREAM IS SLIPPING AWAY UNDER SOCIALIST RENT POLICIES

"I think the idea of rent stabilization, for example, is an excellent idea where you limit the rate of increase in rent in order to help people stay in their homes," he said.

New York City’s Rent Guidelines Board voted 7-1 in July to halt increases in rent for one and two year leases on rent-stabilized apartments, enacting a core promise from socialist Mamdani's agenda. The policy has faced legal challenges and backlash from property owners in the Big Apple.

Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) President James Whelan blasted Mamdani's effort.

"The mayor's report focuses on symptoms, not causes," he told Fox News Digital in August. "New Yorkers are paying record-high rents because there is not enough housing, and many of the reported conditions are concentrated in heavily rent-stabilized buildings that are facing significant operational and financial challenges."

MAMDANI RIPPED OVER RECORD-HIGH NYC RENTS WITH CRITICS POINTING TO POLICY THEY SAY IS FUELING CRISIS

One Takoma Park Street Festival attendee, Nina Gilden Seavy, a self-identified historian, outrightly rejected the idea that the government should be involved of distributing resources.

"I think that's a ridiculous idea. I mean, that's, it's a fool's errand," she said.

"The idea that somehow we're gonna be better off if the government is in charge of allocating all resources that sounds not in any way desirable."

Fox News' Victoria Balara and Alexander Hall contributed to this report.

Trump rallies in city where alleged MS-13 ‘assassination squad’ leader was busted

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 15:25:13 -0400

President Donald Trump is heading to Nebraska on Monday to campaign for Republicans in the same city where federal authorities last year captured an alleged MS-13 hit squad leader wanted for four murders in Honduras.

Trump will headline a rally in Grand Island alongside U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts and Gov. Jim Pillen as part of a multi-state swing ahead of the upcoming midterm elections.

Located 150 miles west of Omaha, Grand Island drew national attention last year following the arrest of 33-year-old Gerson Emir Cuadra Soto, known by the alias "Fantasma." Authorities allege Cuadra Soto headed "El Combo," an MS-13 assassination squad, and faces four homicide charges in Honduras.

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"The arrest of this MS-13 gang member wanted for murder in Honduras is just one example of the criminals President Trump has removed from Nebraska’s communities," White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis told Fox News Digital. "Radical Democrats allowed criminals to pour into our country, released them unvetted into American communities and now they want to abolish ICE."

Officials say Cuadra Soto entered the U.S. illegally in 2022 via the southern border and later obtained a California driver’s license.

Honduran authorities suspect him in the July 2022 ambush near a Tegucigalpa nightclub that killed four men, including Said Lobo Bonilla, son of former Honduran President Porfirio Lobo Sosa.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SAYS FEDERAL AUTHORITIES HAVE ARRESTED MORE THAN 10,000 SUSPECTED GANG MEMBERS

According to an unsealed federal affidavit, Cuadra Soto fled Honduras after the killings. He and two co-defendants were initially released from local custody after paying $125,000 in bribes to government officials.

Bis argued that Democratic policies have hamstrung federal law enforcement, contrasting that with the administration's approach. "In sharp contrast, President Trump supercharged law enforcement to arrest the worst of the worst," Bis said, attributing the policies to significant drops in violent crime.

Ricketts, a former Nebraska governor, is seeking to hold his Senate seat against independent challenger Dan Osborn, who has drawn backing from state Democrats.

Loudoun school board urges students to ‘celebrate’ LGBTQ+ history in new proclamation

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 14:55:48 -0400

Loudoun County Public Schools is defending its decision to recognize October as LGBTQ+ History Month, telling Fox News Digital that the school board proclamation imposes "no requirements" on students, even as the document encourages the school community to "honor and celebrate" LGBTQ+ history and contributions throughout the school year.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Loudoun County Public Schools said that the proclamation is a school board proclamation and that there are no requirements for students.

The proclamation promises an "affirming" environment and rejects discrimination based on gender identity, sexual orientation and gender expression, raising questions about how the district’s language aligns with parents who object to schools promoting contested views about sex and gender.

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The proclamation reads in part, "Now, be it resolved that the Loudoun County School Board recognizes October 2026 as LGBTQ+ History Month in Loudoun County Public Schools, and encourages staff, students and the community to honor and celebrate the rich history and contributions of the LGBTQ+ community to the Commonwealth of Virginia, our beautifully diverse county, and our schools during LGBTQ+ History Month and throughout the school year."

The proclamation also says that LCPS is "committed to fostering equity and belonging, ensuring students and staff members are welcomed into a safe, supportive, inclusive and affirming environment," and that it rejects "discrimination based on gender identity, sexual orientation or gender expression, and instead affirms kindness, acceptance and respect as the foundation of our learning community."

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It also says that during the month of October as well as National Coming Out Day on Oct. 1, LCPS will "celebrate key figures and milestones, knowing that education is the most powerful tool to promote understanding and disrupt discrimination."

LCPS has come under fire from parents due to various incidents reported of children at the school socially transitioning, as well as allegations of boys being in the girls' locker room and boys in the girls' bathrooms.

DAD SUES AFTER SCHOOL ALLEGEDLY WON'T SAY IF BIOLOGICAL MALES CAN USE DAUGHTER'S BATHROOM

One mother alleged that a biological girl who said she was transitioning to male came into the boys' bathroom and violated her son's privacy while he was at a urinal.

At a hearing in June on Capitol Hill, Loudoun County Public Schools Superintendent Aaron Spence defended school policies allowing transgender students to use facilities matching their gender identity.

Former Prince Andrew's historic police showdown could put seized evidence in jeopardy: expert

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 14:52:27 -0400

Former Prince Andrew isn't waiting quietly for the police investigation into him to play out.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor launched a legal challenge over searches of his homes following his February arrest.

Mountbatten-Windsor asked the court to rule on whether Thames Valley Police lawfully searched his homes near Windsor Castle and on King Charles III's Sandringham estate, according to The Daily Telegraph. A hearing will be held Thursday.

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"Whilst our investigation into misconduct in public office continues, we are engaged in legal proceedings in relation to warrants previously obtained from the Central Criminal Court," a spokesperson for the Thames Valley Police told Fox News Digital. "As these legal proceedings are currently ongoing, it would be inappropriate for us to comment further."

Fox News Digital reached out to Andrew's attorney for comment.

The legal challenge could have significant consequences for the investigation, particularly if the court finds fault with how police obtained evidence.

"He is fighting the police process rather than waiting for the investigation to conclude," Richard Fitzwilliams, royal commentator, told Fox News Digital. "If he wins, it might affect evidence obtained through the searches which he is claiming were not lawfully conducted."

"The background to this is that the police have reportedly not obtained access to the unredacted Epstein files, which has reportedly affected their ability to investigate links between Andrew and Epstein," Fitzwilliams added. "The investigation has been widened from misconduct in public office to include potential sexual misconduct. It is the first time a member of the royal family has challenged the legal process since Charles 1 in 1649."

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The manner in which police carried out the searches has also raised questions among royal observers.

"He was obviously feeling very aggrieved by the police entering his home at eight in the morning and the world’s press finding out at 8:05," Ian Pelham Turner, royal broadcaster, told Fox News Digital.

"All sorts of questions arise. Did his brother King Charles know about this beforehand? Did the police deliberately humiliate him? It has often been said he treated the police with contempt. Was this a way of getting back to his alleged rudeness? Only time will tell," he added.

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Authorities arrested Andrew in February on suspicion of misconduct in public office. He was accused of sharing confidential trade info with Jeffrey Epstein.

Emails released by the Department of Justice (DOJ) in January as part of the Epstein files appeared to show former Prince Andrew sharing reports of official trade visits with the disgraced financier. At the time, he was serving as Britain’s special envoy for international trade.

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Specifically, emails released as part of the Epstein files appeared to show Andrew sharing reports of official visits to Hong Kong, Vietnam and Singapore.

One email, dated November 2010, appeared to be forwarded by Andrew five minutes after he had received it.

In another, on Christmas Eve 2010, he appeared to send Epstein a confidential brief on investment opportunities in the reconstruction of Helmand Province, Afghanistan.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Alex Ovechkin announces this will be his final NHL season as all-time great career comes to a close

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 14:46:03 -0400

Alex Ovechkin announced on Monday ahead of the Washington Capitals home opener against the Pittsburgh Penguins that this season will be his last in the National Hockey League.

The 41-year-old signed a one-year contract during the offseason to return to Washington for what is his 22nd season in the NHL, all of which he has spent in the nation's capital.

In a statement shared by the organization, Ovechkin explained that he had come to the decision to retire during the summer.

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"My family and I decided this summer that this will be my final year in the NHL. I love this game so much, but I know in my heart it’s the right decision," the statement from Ovechkin read.

"It was important for me to make this announcement before our first home game, so I have the chance to thank all the people around the game, everyone who has been so important to me and my family and helped me through good times and tough losses. I wouldn’t have been able to achieve everything I have in my life without them. I am excited about this season with my teammates, and we will do everything we can to make this year special."

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Ovechkin, the all-time goal-scoring leader in NHL history with 929 goals, played in all 82 regular season games for Washington a year ago. At 40 years old, it marked the first time he played 82 games in a season since the 2017-18 campaign.

Ovechkin's retirement announcement comes exactly 21 years after he made his NHL debut against the Columbus Blue Jackets on October 5, 2005. The Russian superstar scored two goals in what was a 3-2 win over Columbus.

Ovechkin saw his average ice time drop to a career-low 17:26 per game last season, but he still managed to score 32 goals and tack on 32 assists as well.

The final home game on the Capitals' regular season schedule this season is a matchup against the Penguins, which could set up an unbelievable scene with Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby battling things out at least one more time.

IDF pushes back on claim it targets journalists in Gaza, says 170 were part of terror groups, including Hamas

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 14:45:43 -0400

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is pushing back against claims that it purposely targets journalists in Gaza, stating that individuals "presented as innocent journalists" were actually in Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and other terrorist organizations.

"They presented themselves as legitimate media professionals while serving terrorist organizations that regularly use propaganda and psychological warfare," the IDF stated on its website.

"Journalists are expected to report the unbiased truth," the IDF continued. "Yet these individuals concealed a fundamental truth about themselves: their own roles within military wings of terrorist organizations."

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The IDF noted that targeting journalists is a violation of international law, but said that many articles, opinion pieces and reports have misled the public.

As a result, the IDF launched an "in-depth investigation based on a wide range of intelligence sources, including open-source information, documents gathered in the field, interrogations of military operatives by Israeli intelligence bodies," to determine that claims the group violated international law do not tell the full story.

The IDF listed 170 alleged military operatives who were reportedly working as journalists. For each person, the IDF lists the news outlet where the individual claimed to work, including some Western media organizations, while also listing the terror organization they have been linked to.

For example, a person called Yaqoub Anan Mohammed Al-Barsh reportedly worked as a journalist for Gaza’s Namaa Radio but allegedly also held a position as a squad commander in the Military Propaganda Department of Hamas.

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Another person, Maysara Ahmed Salah Salah, reportedly worked as a journalist for Quds News Network but was allegedly also a military operative for Hamas. Many of the 170 alleged military operatives identified by the IDF are seen in pictures wearing both press badges and holding weapons.

Of the 170 individuals identified, 118 were operatives in Hamas, 49 in the Islamic Jihad’s military wing, one in the Lords of the Desert Terrorist Organization and two in the Popular Resistance Committees. All 170 have been killed.

Hamas launched a war with an unprecedented Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack on Israel that resulted in the deaths of approximately 1,200 people, with Israeli civilians among those targeted. Hundreds of civilians were massacred at an outdoor music festival, others were slaughtered inside their homes, and Hamas took over 250 hostages in the worst attack on Jews since the Holocaust.

ISRAEL'S NEW EXHIBIT EXPOSES YEARS OF HAMAS TERRORIST PLANNING BEFORE OCT 7 MASSACRE

At least 17 of the individuals named by the IDF as terrorists masquerading as journalists were part of the group that infiltrated Israel during the Oct. 7 attacks, according to an IDF official.

Other alleged terrorists posing as journalists have been honored by Reporters Without Borders, been named in complaints to the International Criminal Court and even used by the United Nations to condemn Israel, according to the IDF.

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"Over the past several months, a recurring pattern has been identified in which the Hamas and the Islamic Jihad terrorist organizations published information indicating, after the fact, that some of those killed who had been presented to the world as journalists and media personnel were in fact military operatives in the military wings of terrorist organizations. This information emerged after the false narrative that the IDF deliberately targets journalists had already taken hold internationally," the IDF official told Fox News Digital.

"Throughout the war, this narrative became one of the most frequently cited arguments against Israel," the continued. "It appeared in reports by international media outlets, human rights organizations, international institutions, and politicians, without distinguishing between journalists carrying out their professional duties and those who simultaneously operated as military operatives in terrorist organizations."

AEW star Pac had medication in backpack, saliva on shirt at death scene, police report says

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 14:39:47 -0400

Benjamin Satterley, the professional wrestling star known as Pac and Neville, was found unconscious and unresponsive in his rental vehicle in Illinois before he was pronounced dead on Sept. 27, according to a police report obtained by OutKick Dropkick on Monday.

A Des Plaines police officer wrote in their report that no suspicious markings or injuries were visually observed on Satterley when they began to investigate the scene – only dried saliva on his shirt.

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The report noted that Satterley’s phone still had Google Maps up, which was pointing him to O’Hare International Airport in Chicago – about 20 miles from where All Elite Wrestling’s (AEW) All Out event was held. An officer wrote that medication was found in Satterley’s backpack and hotel room keys were recovered.

The names of the medication were redacted.

One officer, according to the report, found Satterley’s phone buzzing. The officer picked up the phone and a woman on the other line said that Satterley was heading to Cava for lunch. The report said Satterley was set to return to the United Kingdom on that day.

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Satterley died at the age of 40.

Police previously told OutKick Dropkick there were no signs of foul play and his death wasn’t considered to be suspicious. However, the cause of Satterley’s death remains unclear.

The news of his death sent shockwaves around the pro wrestling world with everyone from The Rock to Will Ospreay sending condolences to his friends and family.

AEW held an emotional tribute show in honor of Satterley on Wednesday. Several wrestlers wore armbands with the word "Pac" emblazoned on them.

Satterley wrestled in WWE for a few years and was known as Adrian Neville and simply Neville. He was one of the first wrestlers who joined AEW in 2019 and was known as Pac. He won multiple championships in AEW and WWE over the course of his career.

Hooters restaurants keep disappearing as iconic chain loses longtime locations in founding state

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 14:37:16 -0400

Hooters has lost its last restaurant in Jacksonville, Florida, marking the latest longtime location to disappear as closures continue following the chain's bankruptcy restructuring.

The Hooters on San Jose Boulevard was permanently closed after operating in Jacksonville for four decades, according to local reports.

The restaurant, which opened in 1986, was the last remaining Hooters in the Jacksonville area, WJXT-TV reported.

HISTORY OF HOOTERS: 5 FACTS YOU LIKELY NEVER KNEW ABOUT THE RESTAURANT CHAIN

Its closure leaves Hooters without a location in northeast Florida and creates another sizable gap in the restaurant chain's footprint in its home state.

The northernmost Hooters on Florida's Atlantic coast now appears to be in Daytona Beach, according to the company's online restaurant locator.

Hooters confirmed to Fox News Digital that the restaurant had closed but didn't elaborate.

Jacksonville isn't the only longtime Hooters location in Florida to recently close for good.

HOOTERS SAYS KIDS, FAMILIES ARE PART OF ITS COMEBACK AS WAITRESSES INSIST THEY'VE ALWAYS BEEN WELCOME

The Hooters in Panama City Beach closed its doors in September after more than 30 years in business, according to a post on its Facebook page.

The closure leaves Pensacola Beach as the chain's remaining outpost in the Florida Panhandle.

Another Hooters in Hickory, North Carolina, also closed in late September after years in business, according to a report by the U.S. Sun.

The recent shutdowns come months after the closure of the Hooters in Boca Raton, Florida, which had developed a large social media following.

That restaurant closed in February after 16 years when its landlord declined to renew the lease, the restaurant's operator previously told Fox News Digital.

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Its departure created another significant gap along Florida's Atlantic coast, with no Hooters locations between Fort Lauderdale and West Melbourne, about 150 miles apart.

The scattered closures come after Hooters underwent a major restructuring that dramatically reduced the iconic restaurant chain's footprint.

Hooters of America filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March 2025 as the company struggled with debt and changing consumer habits.

After the Clearwater, Florida-based Hooters Inc., which founded the original Hooters concept in 1983, and another franchise ownership group assumed control of the brand, dozens of restaurants across multiple states were subsequently closed as part of its restructuring efforts.

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In June 2025, Hooters announced the closure of a "select number" of restaurants, telling Fox News Digital at the time that such decisions are "never easy."

The company emerged from bankruptcy with a strategy centered on a predominantly franchise-operated business model that returns Hooters to its original roots.

Hooters Inc. CEO Neil Kiefer previously told Fox News Digital that the brand had become oversexualized, and he hoped to reemphasize the food and hospitality while broadening the appeal to families and younger customers after years in which some corporate locations had become, in his words, "little boys' club stores."

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Despite the restructuring, individual Hooters restaurants are continuing to close in 2026.

The Hooters in Fayetteville, North Carolina, which opened in 1994, closed in May, according to local reports, and the Mall of America Hooters in Minnesota closed in March after 33 years, FOX 9 in the Twin Cities reported.

Hooters has also opened a new location in Florida and has plans to open at least one more. The Villages location, a retirement community about 45 miles northwest of Orlando, opened with much fanfare in July 2025, becoming the first new restaurant since the bankruptcy restructuring.

A planned location in Lutz near Tampa is coming soon, according to the Hooters website.

Emerging tech has new Army leaders warning troops can't ‘AI’ their way to victory on the battlefield

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 14:36:20 -0400

Amid a rapid rise in technological developments, the U.S. Army’s new leadership is looking to pull back on using artificial intelligence and other tools it feels forced the branch to transform too much all at once.

Gen. Christopher LaNeve, the Army vice chief serving as acting chief of staff, outlined on Monday how he hopes to narrow the service’s sweeping modernization push after years of experimentation with drones, artificial intelligence and other emerging technology.

"There was a lot, a lot of motion," LaNeve told a small group of reporters. "It was almost like everything was being transformed at once."

"You can't AI yourself to be the best maneuver brigade commander out there," LaNeve said.

The Army Transformation Initiative pushed new technology rapidly into formations and encouraged experimentation across the board. Army leaders credited that effort with accelerating change but acknowledged Monday that its breadth created enormous activity across the force.

INSIDE AMERICA'S LASER REVOLUTION AS THE MILITARY NEARS BIG BATTLEFIELD BREAKTHROUGH

The branch is now preparing to unveil "How the Army Fights," a new framework intended to turn years of experimentation into a more focused set of decisions about what technology the service will prioritize, where it belongs in Army formations and how the force will organize and spend for future wars.

"The Army cannot and should not modernize everything at once," the new blueprint states. "The answer is focused modernization."

Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Weimer said experimentation through the technology push produced necessary learning, but insisted that the service had reached a point where it needed to "drop the chalk line and actually start making some decisions."

Those decisions include which technologies warrant investment, where they belong in Army formations and which theaters take priority — with the service acknowledging it cannot afford to transform everything simultaneously.

Army leaders aren't yet saying what will fall by the wayside.

Asked what was being left "on the cutting room floor" as the service narrows its focus, LaNeve said, "I'm not sure we're prepared to say what we're cutting out now."

But one investment is moving unmistakably to the front of the line.

"If you ask me what my number one modernization priority would be, I would say command and control," LaNeve said.

The shift is unfolding amid a broader leadership shake-up at the Army.

Acting Army Secretary Adam Telle took over after his predecessor, Dan Driscoll, resigned last month following months of reported friction with War Secretary Pete Hegseth, who had earlier ousted Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George, a close Driscoll ally who helped lead the service’s transformation push.

Telle, a former Trump White House aide, was tapped days later to lead the Army in an acting capacity and was publicly praised by Hegseth as "strong and whip smart."

In his first press interview since taking the job, Telle described "How the Army Fights" as a way to impose greater coherence on the service’s modernization efforts as technology rapidly changes the battlefield.

TRUMP NAMES ADAM TELLE ACTING SECRETARY OF THE ARMY FOLLOWING DAN DRISCOLL'S RESIGNATION

That battlefield is envisioned as one in which troops operate alongside autonomous systems and under persistent drone surveillance, while AI helps commanders sift through massive amounts of sensor data and identify targets in "seconds and minutes rather than hours."

The Army also wants autonomous systems taking on some of the most dangerous jobs that are currently performed by soldiers — this includes reconnaissance, resupply and breaching enemy obstacles.

But Army leaders are resisting the idea that advances in drones and AI have diminished the importance of traditional ground forces.

"Autonomous systems enable Soldiers to destroy and disrupt, but they can never replace the human judgment, leadership, and physical presence of Soldiers required to control the land and consolidate gains," the blueprint states.

The Army is drawing heavily from recent conflicts, including Ukraine, Gaza and the India-Pakistan conflict, while building the new framework around its most demanding potential adversary: China.

HTAF identifies China's People's Liberation Army as the "pacing threat" and says the Army must organize, train and equip against it with the same institutional focus Cold War-era leaders brought to the Soviet Union.

The blueprint also assumes a future major war could reach much closer to home. It warns the U.S. homeland can no longer be treated as a sanctuary, with adversaries potentially using cyberattacks, sabotage and drones to disrupt the ports, airfields and other infrastructure needed to deploy American forces.

For Telle, the challenge is fitting rapidly evolving technology into a coherent Army rather than chasing every new system that emerges.

He compared individual weapons and technologies to ornaments on a Christmas tree.

"How the Army Fights is really the tree to hang those ornaments on," Telle said.

Windows malware uses Grok AI to help stay hidden, researchers say

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 14:30:45 -0400

A new piece of Windows malware is giving cybercriminals a lot of ways to cause trouble from one infected PC. It can steal passwords, grab browser cookies, route internet traffic through your computer and even burn through paid AI credits. Then there is the part that caught my attention. The malware, called x47.c, can reportedly use xAI's Grok to help decide how to keep itself running on an infected Windows computer.

Security researchers at Qrator Research Labs uncovered x47.c while tracking cybercrime activity. A threat actor using the name WraithTools has been advertising access to the malware, which comes with tools for stealing credentials and launching attacks. Qrator based its findings on the seller's advertisement, technical documentation, screenshots and follow-up messages, so the research shows what x47.c is advertised and designed to do rather than how widely it is currently infecting Windows PCs. Here's how it works, what the AI connection really means and the steps you can take to protect your Windows PC and accounts.

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Once x47.c infects a Windows computer, the attacker can remotely control it through a management panel. Think of that infected PC as one computer in a larger network of machines controlled by the same criminal. Security researchers call that a botnet, but the important part for you is much simpler: someone else can potentially use your computer without your permission.

The operator can tell infected machines to launch online attacks. They can also steal information from those computers or use the victim's internet connection to route other traffic. Qrator found 18 advertised attack methods built into x47.c. Some can overwhelm websites and online services with traffic. Another targets something far newer: paid AI accounts.

Many developers and businesses pay OpenAI, xAI and other AI companies based on how much they use their services. Access to those services often relies on a secret API key. You can think of that key as a password that lets an app communicate with an AI service and charge usage to an account.

If an attacker gets a valid API key, x47.c includes a feature that can repeatedly send requests to the AI provider. Those requests can use up prepaid credits or increase the victim's bill. Qrator describes this as a "Denial of Wallet" attack. The victim's website could keep working normally while the AI account behind part of it quietly chews through its available balance.

There is an important limit here. The attacker already needs a valid API key. x47.c does not magically break into an OpenAI or xAI account and create one. Still, that can become expensive quickly if an account allows automatic top-ups or high spending limits.

The Grok connection sounds complicated, but the basic idea is pretty straightforward. Malware often tries to make sure it starts again after you reboot your computer. Security researchers call that persistence. x47.c includes what its seller calls an "AI Stealth" feature. According to Qrator, it can use Grok to look at the state of the infected computer and select from a predefined list of ways to maintain that access.

Those options include adding programs that run when Windows starts and creating scheduled tasks that can launch automatically. Grok does not appear to freely invent new attacks or control everything the malware does. Instead, it helps choose among options that the malware already has. The malware can also fall back on its own built-in methods if the AI request fails. So, cutting off its access to Grok would not necessarily remove the infection. We reached out to xAI for comment on the reported use of Grok and the safeguards it has in place to detect this kind of activity but did not hear back before our deadline.

For most Windows users, this may be the most important part. x47.c advertises the ability to steal passwords saved in your browser. It can also collect browser cookies, Discord tokens, cryptocurrency wallet information and tokens tied to AI websites.

Browser cookies deserve special attention because some of them keep you signed in to websites. If malware steals an active login session, an attacker may be able to access an account without typing your password again. In some cases, changing the password alone may not immediately end a stolen session. That is why anyone dealing with an infected PC should also review active sessions and sign out of devices they do not recognize.

AI MALWARE CAN REWRITE ITSELF TO EVADE DETECTION

x47.c includes another feature called a SOCKS5 proxy. In plain English, that means a criminal can potentially route internet traffic through the infected computer. Online activity generated by the attacker could then appear to come from the victim's internet connection.

The malware's control panel lets operators see which infected computers are available to relay that traffic and whether those connections are still working. Meanwhile, the attacker can continue using the same infected machine to steal information or take part in online attacks.

You do not need to understand every technical feature inside x47.c to protect yourself. These steps can reduce your chances of getting infected and limit the damage if malware does reach your computer.

Install Windows security updates promptly. Updates fix security weaknesses that attackers can use against PCs, even though Qrator has not identified a specific Windows vulnerability or infection method tied to x47.c. Go to Settings > Windows Update > Check for updates and install anything available.

Also remember that legitimate Windows updates come through Windows itself. A website that suddenly tells you to download a Windows update should make you suspicious. CyberGuy has previously covered fake Windows update pages that actually install malware.

Keep strong antivirus or security software running and updated. Security tools can help catch malicious downloads and suspicious behavior before malware becomes deeply established on your computer. Get my picks for the best 2026 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android and iOS devices at CyberGuy.com.

Avoid software from unfamiliar download sites, unexpected email links or pop-ups telling you that something needs an urgent update. Also be especially cautious if a webpage tells you to open Windows Run, PowerShell or Command Prompt and paste something into it. Cybercriminals increasingly use that trick to persuade people to install malware themselves. We recently covered thousands of hacked websites using fake verification prompts to push malicious Windows commands.

If malware steals one password, password reuse can turn one compromised account into several. Use a strong, unique password for every important account. A password manager can help create and store them.

Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) wherever possible. It gives attackers another obstacle if they obtain your password. However, remember that malware capable of stealing active browser sessions creates another risk, so 2FA should be one layer of your protection rather than your only one.

HALLUSQUATTING AI ATTACK COULD HIJACK YOUR COMPUTER

If you believe your PC has been infected, changing passwords should not be your only account step. From a separate trusted device, review active login sessions for your email, financial accounts, social accounts and other important services. Sign out of unfamiliar sessions or use the service's option to sign out everywhere. Also revoke authentication tokens or connected apps you no longer recognize. Qrator specifically warns that removing the malware does not undo credentials or tokens that attackers may have already stolen.

This one mainly applies to developers, businesses and anyone paying for AI through an API. Treat an API key like a password. Never publish it in a public code repository or leave it sitting in a document that other people can access. Review AI account usage and billing for requests you do not recognize. If you think a key has leaked, revoke it and create a new one. Also use spending limits, billing alerts and controls on automatic top-ups when your AI provider offers them. Those safeguards can limit how much an attacker could spend with a stolen key.

If your computer suddenly behaves strangely or you discover malware, disconnect it from the internet. Then open your trusted security software directly and run a full scan. Do not call phone numbers in pop-ups or follow instructions from unexpected warnings on your screen. Our CyberGuy guide on what to do if your computer has been hacked walks through the next steps.

If malware may have stolen information from your browser, use another clean device to change the passwords for your most important accounts. Start with your primary email account because password-reset messages for other services often go there. Then move to financial accounts and other sensitive services. After changing each password, review account activity and recovery information for anything you do not recognize.

What gets my attention here isn't simply that the malware has the word AI attached to it. We've seen plenty of cyberthreats use AI as part of the sales pitch. What feels different with x47.c is how many jobs the attacker can handle from the same infected Windows PC. The malware can steal passwords and browser sessions, turn the computer into a traffic relay and help launch attacks. Then Grok can assist with choosing how the malware tries to keep its foothold on that machine. Still, the most useful lesson for you comes back to the security basics. Keep Windows updated, protect your accounts and be careful about what gets installed on your PC. And if you ever discover an infection, remember that cleaning the computer is only part of the job. You also have to assume passwords, browser sessions or other account access may already be in someone else's hands.

Should AI companies be responsible for detecting when their tools are being used in malware and alerting authorities about that kind of activity? Let us know by writing to us at CyberGuy.com.

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Rahm Emanuel accuses anti-Israel Dems of having no Middle East plan besides cutting funding to Jewish state

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 14:25:56 -0400

AUSTIN — Former U.S. Ambassador Rahm Emanuel is challenging the anti-Israel wing of his party, accusing Democrats of not having a broader policy on the Middle East besides cutting weapons funding.

"I'm interested in being as vigorous and strong about what a security peace agreement would bring to both the United States and to Israel and to the alliance and how you can build on that," Emanuel told Fox News Digital in an interview during the Texas Tribune Festival.

"Now, people will criticize it. Fine. You got to tell me your plan. And your plan can't just be we're going to cut off funding for weapons. What's your peace idea? What's your security idea? What's the economic package? I've laid out mine," the Democrat continued. "I'm looking forward to anybody else wanting to run. Because guess what? The White House comes with more than just the Oval Office. It comes with a place called the Situation Room. And you better know your way around it."

RAHM EMANUEL EXPRESSES SUPPORT FOR ABDUL EL-SAYED IN MICHIGAN SENATE RACE

Emanuel, who is openly mulling a 2028 presidential run, gave a lengthy policy speech at Israel's Tel Aviv University in July, saying the country's alliance with the U.S. is "at a crossroads" due to the Jewish state's increasing unpopularity with Americans and declaring Israel "has never been more strategically isolated."

Democrats, in particular, have soured on Israel far more than Republicans. A Gallup study from February showed 65% of Democrats are sympathetic to Palestinians in the ongoing Middle East conflict, while just 17% are sympathetic to Israel, down from peak support in 2014 at 58%. Meanwhile, 70% of Republicans still side with Israel versus the 13% that are sympathetic to Palestinians, though support for the Jewish state among Republicans is still down from its peak of 87% in 2018.

RAHM EMANUEL TOUTS WHAT SEPARATES HIMSELF FROM OTHER DEMS AS HE MULLS 2028 PRESIDENTIAL BID

When asked whether Jewish Zionists were still welcomed in his party and whether he still calls himself one, Emanuel laughed.

"Look, as I said then, I believe in the alliance," Emanuel responded. "I believe in the United States' interest in the alliance. But the path we're on is unsustainable. And I believe I'm being honest and bringing candor to it. And I think I bring a level of authenticity having worked on both the peace process and also the security of an ally, the state of Israel. But you can't sustain something that doesn't have the support of the American people."

The former Chicago mayor also stressed he's "not interested in fighting a third war" in the Middle East.

Emanuel also served three terms in Congress representing Illinois, chaired the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee when Democrats retook Congress in 2006, and was President Barack Obama's first White House chief of staff. After two terms as mayor of Chicago from 2011 to 2019, he served in the Biden administration as U.S. Ambassador to Japan.

RAHM EMANUEL LAYS OUT FIVE-POINT ETHICS PLAN, SAYS DEMOCRATS SHOULD LEARN FROM GOP-LED STATES ON EDUCATION

Fox News' Brian Flood contributed to this report.

'American Idol' contestant Caleb Flynn faces in-laws after conviction for wife’s murder

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 14:20:14 -0400

Former "American Idol" contestant Caleb Flynn is scheduled to be sentenced Monday, with prosecutors asking an Ohio judge to send him to prison for life without the possibility of parole for murdering his wife.

Flynn is expected back in a Miami County courtroom at 3 p.m. for sentencing before Judge Jeannine N. Pratt, less than a week after a jury convicted him on all nine charges in the killing of Ashley Flynn.

Prosecutors asked Pratt in a sentencing memorandum filed Monday to impose life without parole for aggravated murder, along with the maximum allowable sentences on additional charges that do not merge.

'AMERICAN IDOL' ALUM CALEB FLYNN CONVICTED OF MURDERING HIS WIFE

Flynn's attorneys are pushing in the opposite direction, asking Pratt to impose a sentence that would give him the possibility of parole after serving time behind bars.

Flynn continues to maintain his innocence and intends to appeal his conviction, his attorneys wrote.

Prosecutors argued the circumstances demand the harshest sentence available, accusing Flynn of planning Ashley's murder for months and showing no remorse.

Jurors found Flynn guilty of aggravated murder, three counts of murder, two counts of felonious assault and three counts of tampering with evidence after roughly 2½ hours of deliberations.

His defense argued that Flynn has no prior criminal history and is capable of rehabilitation, pointing to his years working in ministry and letters of support from his family.

DAD OF 'AMERICAN IDOL' CONTESTANT'S SLAIN WIFE MADE EERIE GOOGLE SEARCH AFTER HEARING OF HER MURDER

Flynn's parents were among several relatives who wrote to Pratt asking for mercy ahead of sentencing.

His father, Mike Flynn, told the judge his son's "brokenness, shame, and remorse" were genuine, while his mother, Kim Flynn, wrote that her son had "repented to his Lord" and was remorseful for his decisions. Both asked Pratt for mercy.

Prosecutors sharply disputed that portrayal, arguing Flynn has never accepted responsibility or shown genuine remorse. They are asking Pratt to sentence him to life without the possibility of parole.

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The verdict capped a trial that exposed Flynn's secret affair, thousands of messages with his mistress and exchanges about wanting his wife dead before she was shot twice in the back of the head inside the couple's Tipp City home Feb. 16.

Prosecutors argued Flynn killed Ashley before staging the scene to make it appear an intruder had broken into the home.

Flynn's affair with Alleigha Botner became a key part of the case. Investigators recovered roughly 107,000 messages between the two, with prosecutors highlighting some of those exchanges for jurors.

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Jurors saw messages in which Flynn discussed wanting his wife dead and contemplated ways she could be killed without him going to prison.

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Botner also read messages exchanged in the hours before Ashley's death, including Flynn telling her, "It's happening" and "Tomorrow it all starts." In another exchange, Botner told Flynn, "You're about to be free."

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Flynn's defense argued the messages were being taken out of context and that references to being "free" meant divorce rather than murder.

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Investigators never recovered the murder weapon, and Flynn was never tested for gunshot residue.

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Jurors heard testimony about searches of storm drains, culverts, the Flynn home and other locations as investigators tried unsuccessfully to find the gun.

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Flynn had pleaded not guilty.

He visibly broke down as the guilty verdicts were read Sept. 29, shaking and wiping tears from his face as jurors convicted him count by count.

Biden's 'anti-MAGA task force' sparked internal alarm across DOJ, new report shows

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 14:09:45 -0400

The Biden administration’s effort to combat alleged threats against school boards amid a wave of heated parent protests triggered sustained internal resistance within the Justice Department and FBI, documents released by the DOJ show.

"Five years ago, Attorney General Merrick Garland issued an infamous memorandum at the urging of the National School Boards Association and White House officials, directing the FBI and United States Attorneys to consider looking for a federal hook to prosecute parents exercising their right to free speech," Blanche posted to X on Monday, when the DOJ released the "Report to Expose the Weaponization of Government Against Parents in Schools."

"Along with the report, we’ve released hundreds of exhibits and emails that make official and verify what many Americans had guessed: the Garland DOJ worked hand in hand with WH officials and the National School Boards Association to chill free speech and parental rights while they threatened to prosecute parents and label them domestic terrorists," Blanche added.

In October 2021, Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a memo directing the FBI and U.S. Attorneys to coordinate with federal, state and local law enforcement over what it described as an "increase in harassment, intimidation and threats of violence against school board members, teachers and workers in our nation’s public schools," amid escalating clashes involving parents at school board meetings.

TRUMP DOJ REPORT LAYS BARE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION'S ALLEGED ANTI-CHRISTIAN BIAS

Garland’s memo drew significant internal pushback across the Justice Department and FBI, with officials raising concerns about politicization, First Amendment protections and whether there was a sufficient federal basis for intervention, according to the Justice Department report released Monday.

The memo followed throngs of parents protesting at school board meetings over dissatisfaction with how gender and race were being taught in classrooms and COVID-19-era learning restrictions, prompting the National School Boards Association (NSBA) to appeal to then-President Joe Biden for federal assistance and warn that some actions surrounding the protests "could be equivalent to a form of domestic terrorism and hate crimes."

Some of the internal messages detailed in the Justice Department’s report released Monday had been disclosed previously and reported on by Fox News Digital. In one message sent before Garland’s memo went public on Oct. 4, 2021, a deputy assistant attorney general said the operation — and proposals to link it to the DOJ’s election crimes work — looked so politically motivated that Garland "might as well rename the damn thing the Anti-MAGA Task Force." The DOJ’s Public Integrity Section chief, meanwhile, called the proposal "stupid."

An FBI counterterrorism official later raised concerns about the label "domestic terrorist" potentially being applied to everyone who "oppose school board actions," while a DOJ Civil Rights Division attorney noted that much of the activity in question could be protected under the parents’ First Amendment rights.

DOJ LAWSUIT TARGETS ALLEGED SCHOOL ‘SECRET GENDER TRANSITIONS’ POLICIES THAT KEEP PARENTS IN THE DARK

Multiple DOJ officials noted that the problem at hand appeared to fall primarily within the jurisdiction of state and local authorities and questioned whether there was a sufficient federal basis to intervene, according to the report.

Internal dissent over the effort continued as the memo was implemented following its Oct. 4, 2021, release and during the resulting fallout.

On Oct. 5, 2021, an FBI lawyer claimed that the DOJ issued the press release accompanying the memo without coordinating with the bureau. The Deputy Assistant Director of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, the agency’s largest operational division, stated that "we were all caught off guard by this announcement," which was "unilaterally pushed by DOJ."

As the DOJ began assembling its task force, objections persisted.

BLISTERING REPORT EXPOSES HOW NATIONAL K-12 GROUP'S DEI AGENDA IS TRICKLING DOWN TO LOCAL SCHOOLS

The Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the DOJ's National Security Division stated that he didn’t "see the need for a task force like this" and that the Justice Department doesn’t "start a narrowly focused task force every time some group believes they are the subject of threat."

Later that month, the Department of Homeland Security circulated a brief linking the threat level facing educational workers as tied to heightened opposition to masks, vaccines and critical race theory. An FBI counterterrorism official slammed the threat assessment guidelines as a "politically charged paper," expressing his desire that the FBI not collaborate.

NSBA ultimately apologized for the language used in its letter to then-President Joe Biden seeking federal assistance, including action by the Justice Department and FBI.

"The obligation of the Justice Department is to protect the American people against violence and threats of violence and that particularly includes public officials," he said of the memo.

Some school board officials did receive online and written threats in 2021, a fact supporters of Garland’s approach cited in defending the Justice Department’s response.

Arnold & Porter, the law firm where Garland now serves as a partner, did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Monday.

Karl-Anthony Towns, Knicks nowhere close to coming to terms on an extension according to the big man

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 14:08:30 -0400

Well, the post-NBA title honeymoon phase for Karl-Anthony Towns and the New York Knicks is officially over.

After averaging a double-double during the Knicks' title run just four short months ago, Towns assumed that contract extension negotiations this offseason would be stress-free. Not only was KAT a key figure throughout the Knicks' dominant run through the postseason, but he's also expressed that he's willing to take a discount.

Despite all of that, the Knicks and Karl-Anthony Towns do not appear to be on anything resembling the same page, at least for the time being.

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"I want to do something to keep the team together and can work with the Knicks and also values me," Towns told reporters ahead of the Knicks' preseason game in Philadelphia on Monday, according to The Athletic. "And none of those things are close to happening."

When asked if he believed he'd sign a contract extension before the start of the regular season, Towns bluntly stated, "It don't look good."

The former Kentucky star is under contract through the 2027-28 season, but became eligible for a four-year, $277 million extension in August.

According to the New York Post, the Knicks have offered the six-time All-Star a four-year deal worth approximately $200 million, and based on KAT's comments, he doesn't seem interested in signing a deal valued at $77 million less than he's eligible to receive.

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With its high payroll, the Knicks are up against the second apron, and with point guard Jalen Brunson becoming eligible for a max extension in 2028, one he'll presumably be offered, it puts pressure on New York management to find a way to keep the likes of Towns, Josh Hart, and others not only on the payroll, but happily on the books.

Right now, Towns would not fall into the happily employed category.

When asked if he believes he should be rewarded for helping lead the Knicks to a title last season, he did not mince words.

"No s–t Sherlock. I just won a championship," Towns said. "You’d think it was pretty easy. Unless you guys (reporters) think I have something else to prove."

Towns is eligible to sign an extension until June, and with the Knicks season not tipping off until October 20, time is still on their side to strike a deal, but it's clear the big man will need to see a larger dollar figure tossed his way in order to get things across the line.

House GOP bill moves to close whistleblower gaps exposed by Minnesota Medicaid fraud scandal

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 14:08:28 -0400

FIRST ON FOX: Whistleblowers who pulled back the curtain on Medicaid fraud that allegedly cost taxpayers millions of dollars in states like Minnesota could gain new protections under a House GOP bill after alleging they faced retaliation from state leaders.

Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, unveiled the Medicaid Whistleblower Protection Act, which would establish federal protections nationwide for state and local Medicaid workers who report early warning signs of fraud, including contracting irregularities and unusual financial transactions.

"No public servant should have to choose between their conscience and their livelihood," Miller-Meeks said in a press release exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital. "Whistleblowers who report fraud, waste and abuse in Medicaid are protecting taxpayer dollars and the vulnerable people this program is meant to serve, and they deserve real protection, not retaliation."

The bill would prevent employers from firing, demoting, threatening, harassing or discriminating against Medicaid workers who report fraud, violations of law, gross mismanagement, abuse of authority or dangers to public health or safety.

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Workers who face retaliation could also receive reinstatement, twice their back pay plus interest, attorneys' fees and punitive damages.

The legislation follows a January letter from more than 30 current and former Minnesota Department of Human Services employees highlighting a "pattern of retaliation" for flagging fraud as early as 2019, with some alleging they faced surveillance, investigations, reassignment and termination.

"I will fight to make sure the people willing to tell the truth are protected, not silenced." Miller-Meeks said.

Several Republican lawmakers grilled Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison in March over the letter and rampant fraud in the state, questioning when they first learned about the schemes and allegations of retaliation.

When pressed on the retaliation claims, Walz said he was "not specifically" aware of them and repeatedly declined to address the allegations. The fraud involved more than $90 million in alleged fraudulent claims tied to multiple state-funded assistance programs.

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Minnesota state Rep. Kristin Robbins, chair of the House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Committee, backed the bill, saying politicians and agency leaders target whistleblowers to protect "their political base."

"The federal, state and county workers who run these programs are often the first to see red flags, but, as we have seen time and again in Minnesota, if they dare to point it out, they are called racist, accused of creating a hostile work environment, demoted, reassigned or otherwise harmed personally and professionally," Robbins said.

The bill is one of 14 measures in House Energy and Commerce Republicans' "Continuing the Fight Against Fraud" package, led by Chairman Brett Guthrie, R-Ky. The package aims to detect fraud more easily, recover improper payments and increase accountability.

Another measure in the package led by Miller-Meeks, the WALZ Act, would require the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General to open investigations into any program that sees a 10% or greater increase in total payments over any six-month period within a fiscal year.

WHITE HOUSE PUSHES 'WATERSHED' FRAUD-FIGHTING REFORM IN CONGRESS AS VANCE CONVENES TASK FORCE

Guthrie blamed oversight failures under the Biden administration for allowing fraud to "go unchecked in government health programs."

"Every dollar stolen by fraudsters or wasted on improper payments is a dollar taken away from supporting families in need who rely on these programs," he said.

The legislation would take effect Jan. 1, 2028, amid the Trump administration’s continued crackdown on fraud through an anti-fraud task force led by Vice President JD Vance.

Fox News Digital reached out to Walz's and Ellison's offices for comment.

These 6 NFL teams are firmly in the Super Bowl bubble through Week 4

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 14:06:58 -0400

Four weeks into the NFL season, which is still considered the quarter point, most sportsbooks have established six true Super Bowl contenders.

The following teams are priced shorter than +1000 at most books: the Rams, Bills, 49ers, Ravens, Seahawks, and Chiefs. They are also generally in that order.

The Jaguars, Bears, and Bengals headline the next tier, with odds typically ranging from +1500 to +2000.

The board has shifted considerably since Week 1. Buffalo has nearly caught Los Angeles as the Super Bowl favorite. San Francisco and Kansas City have surged past several teams. Meanwhile, the Patriots, Chargers, Eagles, and Lions have fallen outside the top 10. The 0-4 Chargers have cratered to +10000.

There is plenty to debate with the individual prices. The broader hierarchy, however, looks about right.

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The Rams haven't been the juggernaut some expected. However, Myles Garrett, Puka Nacua, and Aaron Donald have yet to share the field. Even at 2-2, Los Angeles has the NFL's most talented roster.

Buffalo isn't far behind. Sunday's disappointing loss to New England aside, this could be the deepest team of the Josh Allen era. Tight end Dalton Kincaid, edge Greg Rousseau, and second-year defensive tackle Deon Wallers have each ascended to status among the best at their positions.

First-year head coach Joe Brady is an upgrade in Buffalo.

At +58, the 49ers own the NFL's best point differential. Their championship outlook is less complicated than most: if they can stay reasonably healthy, they are good enough to win the Super Bowl.

Unfortunately, reasonable health has eluded San Francisco for most of the past two seasons. Nick Bosa's injury is now the most consequential concern.

The 4-0 Chiefs have returned to a familiar formula: winning games in the final seconds without looking particularly impressive in doing so,

There is plenty to like. Kenneth Walker has been the NFL's best running back, leading the league in rushing by more than 110 yards. Rookies Mansoor Delane, R Mason Thomas, and Emmett Johnson have already made an impact and should only improve. Kansas City is also undefeated without starting left tackle Josh Simmons playing a snap.

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There are equally legitimate concerns. No one knows whether Simmons will play at all this season. Tyquan Thornton, who had developed into Mahomes' most explosive receiver, could miss the rest of the year with a fractured ankle. Most troubling, the defense has gone three consecutive games without recording a sack.

No contender has a wider range of plausible outcomes than Kansas City. The Chiefs could enter January as the Super Bowl favorite. They could just as easily discover that their young roster is still a year or two away.

Baltimore is perhaps the most flawed team in the top six.

Without a last-minute collapse by Dallas, the Ravens would be 2-2 and facing familiar questions about their ability to finish close games. Lamar Jackson remains too erratic as a passer for a quarterback of his stature, and Baltimore's offensive line is one of the weaker units among AFC contenders.

Granted, it helps that Zay Flowers has developed into one of football's most dynamic offensive weapons.

The Seahawks receive surprisingly little attention for a defending Super Bowl champion. The defense is still excellent. Sam Darnold is getting healthier. The coaching staff is among the league's best. And Jaxon Smith-Njigba has a mismatch against every opposing defense.

Seattle's path could ultimately hinge on the outcome of the NFC West. The Seahawks are considerably more dangerous at home than on the road, a distinction that becomes magnified in January.

That makes Sunday's game against San Francisco one of the most consequential matchups of the young season.

In any event, losing Kenneth Walker in free agency will likely prevent Seattle from reaching the dominance it achieved last season. Fortunately, the Seahawks don't need to be as good as last year to still rank among the best teams in the league.

Finally, do not dismiss Chicago.

The Bears have won three games with three different quarterbacks this year, an achievement that speaks as much to Ben Johnson as it does to the roster. Johnson is one of the few coaches capable of materially raising a team's ceiling.

Like last season, we'd give the Bears a puncher's chance in a playoff matchup against any of the top three NFC West squads.

Through Week 4, we'd break down the Super Bowl picture this way:

Center of the bubble: Rams, Bills, 49ers

Inside the bubble: Chiefs, Seahawks, Ravens

Just outside the bubble: Bears

Within distance of the bubble: Jaguars, Broncos, Bengals

Spanberger voting-rights letters sent to dead felons amid ballot access push

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 14:06:16 -0400

Deceased Virginians with felony convictions are reportedly among those receiving voting-rights restoration letters under Gov. Abigail Spanberger, who announced in July that she had restored voting rights to 66,000 people with felony convictions.

The notices come as Virginia separately implements a federal court ruling that sharply narrowed which felony convictions can trigger disenfranchisement, while voters this fall will decide whether to amend the state constitution to automatically restore voting rights upon release from incarceration.

"I've been a lawyer for 27 years and in every minute of my career, when you were convicted of a felony, you lose your voting rights. The way you get those back is you have to petition the governor and then the governor can review your case and determine whether the civil rights of a convicted felon should be restored," Virginia Beach attorney Tim Anderson told Fox News Digital on Monday.

Anderson, who shared posts showing letters from Spanberger and her administration sent to families of deceased recipients, said the situation is "one or the other" — either Richmond is not vetting who receives the restoration notifications or its vetting is not thorough enough to catch deceased recipients.

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"The order specifically says that they've reviewed [each] case individually, right?"

He noted that Virginia has online voter registration and questioned whether an unscrupulous relative who received one of the notifications might try to register their dead relative to vote.

"These dead people clearly aren't petitioning the governor to get their civil liberties back... they're restoring every single felon's civil disabilities without anybody even asking. And that's concerning, especially when they're dead."

Virginia resident Howard "Skip" Lambert posted a July 1 restoration notice signed by Spanberger and an Aug. 31 notification from her administration addressed to a redacted relative, informing the recipient that their voting rights had been restored.

The July letter said that after the relative had been convicted and sentenced, Spanberger’s office "completed review of the particulars of the individual’s case."

Anderson pointed to that line as evidence of vetting.

Lambert’s letter went on to say the relative would have their civil rights — except for the ability to transport or possess firearms — restored effective July 1.

VIRGINIA GOVERNOR ABIGAIL SPANBERGER QUIETLY ROLLS BACK YOUNGKIN'S PLANS TO PROTECT GIRLS' SPORTS

In the ensuing letter from Secretary of the Commonwealth Candi Mundon-King, the relative was notified that Spanberger had restored their right to vote and serve on a jury and was encouraged to re-register to vote at the online "Citizen’s Portal" via a QR code.

Lambert wrote that he was upset by the mailings, saying the recipient was his daughter, who died in 2024. He also confirmed that she had a felony conviction.

"Interesting this letter arrives as early-voting begins... yet the provided official order is dated July 1," he said on Sept. 24. "Just because cash doesn't change hands doesn't mean the governor isn't trying to buy votes.

Reached by phone Monday, the Fredericksburg-area resident confirmed to Fox News Digital that the documents were authentic and that the recipient was his daughter.

"I do have a question of timing in the letter I believe my daughter voted in the previous election where it was Hillary and Donald Trump — because she had had her rights restored then," he said.

Around the time of that election, former Democratic Gov. Terence McAuliffe attempted a mass restoration but was rebuked by the Virginia Supreme Court, which ruled that he did not have the authority to take such an action affecting an estimated 206,000 Virginians, according to NPR.

Another woman, Peggie Young, posted a similar set of documents addressed to her "dear BFF, Peter Breton."

"I have his ashes. Is this perhaps how voter fraud begins. I'm so confused," she said, adding that she also received the letter only on Sept. 29.

Young could not immediately be reached.

The federal case began in 2023 as King v. Youngkin, when disenfranchised Virginians sued then-Gov. Glenn Youngkin and other state officials, arguing that Virginia’s blanket felony ban conflicted with the federal Virginia Readmission Act of 1870.

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U.S. District Judge John Gibney Jr. ruled in January that Virginia could disenfranchise people only for 11 common-law felonies recognized in 1870. After rejecting the state’s effort to map those offenses onto a broader list of modern crimes, Virginia ultimately narrowed automatic disenfranchisement to murder, voluntary manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter.

The Department of Elections is separately notifying roughly 235,000 Virginians whose convictions no longer disqualify them from voting. Those court-driven notices are distinct from the Spanberger restoration orders received by Lambert and Young, which state that the governor’s office reviewed each recipient’s case before restoring multiple civil rights.

Fox News Digital reached out to Spanberger's office and ELECT for comment.

Teen's hand blown off by police grenade during French student protests: report

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 13:56:28 -0400

A teenager had his hand blown off as high school protesters clashed with French police during chaotic riots, as students across the country continue to protest poor conditions and teacher shortages.

The 15-year-old had picked up a police dispersal grenade that detonated in the town of Lens, losing his hand and part of his lower arm, officials said Monday, Reuters reported, as the wave of school protests entered its third week,

François-Xavier Lauch, prefect of Pas-de-Calais, said roughly 200 to 250 protesters had been hurling objects at police.

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Education Minister Edouard Geffray said the wave of protests had been declining in recent days and the government would launch a platform for students to express their dissatisfaction.

The incident involving the teen happened on the eve of a national demonstration by the pupils' union against underfunding, overcrowding and dilapidation.

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The protests come months ahead of an election to replace outgoing President Emmanuel Macron. The demonstrations began in Paris, mostly focusing on poor suburbs, before spreading nationwide.

Government officials said the protests have evolved into violence, including some schools being ransacked.

TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FAR-LEFT PROTESTERS CLASH WITH POLICE IN ANTI-CONSERVATIVE PARTY RIOTS

"We’re going to keep blocking until the government hears us," Sami Karen, 18, told Reuters while demonstrating outside Charles de Foucauld high school in Paris. "As long as they don’t listen to us, we won’t stop this fight."

In total, more than 5,000 people have been arrested since the protests began, with 87% of them being minors. More than 1,800 people are facing prosecution, including 1,483 minors, France's Justice Ministry said.

The specific charges were not disclosed.

JENNIFER GRIFFIN: I covered wars, terror and tragedy for Fox News. What I found was a family

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 13:45:06 -0400

I started reporting for Fox News in 1997, shortly after its launch in October 1996, while based in Moscow. Russian President Boris Yeltsin had just undergone heart surgery in November when I arrived, and the Mir Space Station, a Soviet-Russian station, with American astronauts on board, caught fire — the first fire on an international space station.

Every Monday, Yeltsin seemed to fire his cabinet, sending shock waves through the Western world. Vladimir Putin had moved to Moscow in 1996. In March 1997, Yeltsin appointed him deputy chief of the Presidential Staff and chief of the Main Control Directorate to work as an auditor in the Kremlin and to get close to Yeltsin.

He later took over as head of the FSB, the successor to the KGB, and staged what independent critics, intelligence officials, and dissidents long alleged were a series of false flag operations that involved blowing up four apartment buildings filled with women and children sleeping in their beds to justify an invasion of Chechnya.

During that time, in Moscow and St. Petersburg, bankers were gunned down, their bodies found in the streets as the ruble crashed and the rising Russian mafia and oligarchs began dividing up Russian state enterprises and assets.

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After starting with Fox in 1997, I remember standing on an icy-cold bridge on New Year’s Eve with the snow at times blowing upwards over the Moskva River and St. Basil’s onion dome cathedral lit up in the background as drunken Russians careened toward our camera position and fireworks lit the midnight sky over the Kremlin.

I was learning on the job how to do stand-up and live shots for this new American cable television network, which hoped to compete with CNN.

I was working for Simon Marks, a former ITN correspondent, who hired me as the Fox News correspondent in Moscow to work for Feature Story Productions, which had a contract to provide coverage for the new channel. I was trained in print and radio, not television. I had to learn on the job.

Soon I was assigned by Fox to cover the Kosovo War from NATO headquarters in Brussels during its bombing campaign in March 1999. Gen. Wesley Clark was NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander, and I will never forget the mood at NATO headquarters when a U.S. B-2 Spirit dropped five satellite-guided bombs (JDAMs) on the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, killing three Chinese journalists and injuring dozens.

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The mistake was the result of a CIA miscalculation of coordinates associated with the intended target: a Yugoslav weapons storage facility. Months later, after the Serbs were forced to withdraw, I flew to Kosovo, joining Fox’s Greg Palkot on the ground. We took over from David Lee Miller and the Jerusalem team, including Yaniv Turgeman and Eli Fastman, who had remained in Belgrade during the NATO bombing campaign. We divided up shifts, and I talked my way into a Russian base by offering cigarettes to a Russian soldier after the Russians surprised the U.S. military by landing in the Kosovo capital.

I talked my way onto an American Black Hawk helicopter that was delivering 82nd Airborne troops to observe the Serbian soldiers withdrawing. We got the footage of the withdrawal and dashed back to make it on air for "Fox Report." I remember our cameraman, Mal James, lifting his camera to shoot the arrival of the Apache helicopters above Pristina with their nose-mounted sensors and night vision. I spoke into the microphone with the new Fox mic flag: "Here come the Apaches!" They were a fierce symbol of American technology and air supremacy.

Fast-forward to the end of 1999. Fox hired me full time as its Jerusalem correspondent. My husband and I moved from Moscow. It was the tail end of the Oslo Peace Accords, which were on life support. President Clinton was trying to rescue them before leaving office by meeting frequently with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian Chairman Yasser Arafat.

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We thought this would be our most boring assignment after having lived in South Africa at the end of apartheid, Islamabad as the Taliban were being formed, and Kabul amid the civil war among the Mujahideen.

We decided to start our family. Months later, on September 28, 2000, Ariel Sharon, who had served as Israel’s defense minister and was challenging Bibi Netanyahu as the leader of the Likud Party, decided to take a walk up to the Temple Mount.

I had just found out I was pregnant and had morning sickness as I covered the first rocks being thrown down onto Jews praying at the Western Wall. Friday prayers erupted at the Haram al-Sharif. There was tear gas and injured Palestinians were taken away on stretchers. The Second Intifada began and lasted for the next seven-and-a-half years while I was posted in Jerusalem.

I had two daughters born in Jerusalem during that time, when my Fox team and I responded to every suicide bombing, every incursion into the West Bank and Gaza.

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I wore a flak jacket and remember where I was at an Israeli checkpoint in Ramallah in the West Bank, doing a stand-up, when the first plane slammed into a World Trade Center tower on 9/11.

That night, I reported outside our Jerusalem bureau for Fox’s "America’s Most Wanted" to talk about the likely suspects, including Osama bin Laden. I profiled the shadowy Hezbollah military commander Imad Mughniyah, who had until that point had the blood of more Americans on his hands than any other terrorist following his role in the Marine barracks bombing in Beirut.

Our bureau chief was Uri Dan, who wrote for years for the New York Post and had started as a defense reporter in the Yom Kippur War. Eli Fastman ran the bureau and deployed our cameras, producers and correspondents.

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Soon, as the Intifada wore on, more Fox correspondents and anchors came to help with our coverage. In those days and since, we were part of a family. There was not the usual competition among reporters that you might find at other television networks. We were young, scrappy, often outgunned, but we liked to compete from the get-go, even with limited resources and fewer teams.

We beat the competition often through ingenuity, contacts and gutsy camera crews. There was plenty of work to go around, and everyone got plenty of airtime.

I covered the siege of Bethlehem with Geraldo when armed Palestinian gunmen holed up in the Church of the Nativity and conducted the first interviews in Tulkarm with the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a new armed wing linked to the Palestinian Authority that competed with Hamas.

Palestinian politician Marwan Barghouti was believed to be helping distribute weapons. I interviewed him before he was arrested and sent to an Israeli prison, where he remains today, 24 years later.

I had one of the last interviews with the wheelchair-bound Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the founder and spiritual leader of Hamas, before he was killed by an Israeli missile as he left a mosque.

I covered Yasser Arafat’s funeral from a rooftop in Ramallah as his coffin was tossed in the air above the heads of a sea of Palestinians.

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The day after Christmas in 2004, with two young children still surrounded by wrapping paper and toys, I was sent by Fox to cover the tsunami, the worst natural disaster to ever hit Thailand and Indonesia. More than 200,000 people were dead after waves up to 100 feet high hit the coasts of 14 countries.

My Israeli team and I arrived quickly because there was a direct flight to Phuket from Tel Aviv. We took motorcycles up the coast to get to the epicenter of the damage in Khao Lak, north of Phuket.

There were still bodies in the trees, thrown there by the wave, and bloated corpses rotting in the sun. It was an emotional rollercoaster as we reported and searched the temples where bodies were stacked like cordwood.

That New Year’s Eve, I broke down on air as I stood in front of the endless photos of the missing, an image that until that point had been a symbol of those lost during 9/11.

Later, I reported live from the living rooms of settlers being pulled from their homes by young Israeli soldiers with tears running down their faces during the withdrawal from 21 Jewish settlements in Gaza ordered by Prime Minister Sharon in 2005. It was an early use of LiveU technology, which eventually transformed where we could report live — giving us the ability to take our viewers into the middle of some of the most explosive news stories of the last 20 years.

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Fast-forward to the summer of 2006 and the 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon after Hezbollah ambushed and kidnapped several Israeli soldiers along the northern border.

I stood on a rooftop with Shepard Smith and his team, including our now-president of Fox News, Jay Wallace, as Katyusha rockets flew over the border into northern Israel. There is a photo of us reporting live and ducking from the incoming rockets during one particularly heavy volley.

At dawn, after the ceasefire was declared, we got a call from Gaza that our Fox colleagues Steve Centanni and Olaf Wiig had been kidnapped by an armed Palestinian faction.

Rather than going home from Kiryat Shmona, Eli Fastman and I drove straight to Gaza. Olaf’s then-wife, Anita McKnight, joined us a day later, along with an executive from Fox.

We pounded the pavement and met with every wanted Palestinian militia commander and Hamas leader to seek their release. The clan who kidnapped them was affiliated with a shadowy criminal, Mumtaz Daghmoush. They made videos of our colleagues that looked like the videos ISIS made before beheading other journalists.

Fox used every resource at its disposal to get our colleagues released safely — and they were — after two terrifying weeks.

After that, I decided it was time for my family and me to return to the United States. The dangers and the exhaustion from covering the Middle East were mounting.

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Fox assigned me to the Pentagon, where I have served as national security correspondent since 2007.

I arrived with Defense Secretary Robert Gates as Gen. David Petraeus took over in Iraq and began "the surge." I had hoped to stay out of the Middle East for a while, but within a month I was flying to Baghdad.

I have covered eight defense secretaries during my time at the Pentagon. I flew all over the world on the E-4B Doomsday plane, the Cold War-era plane capable of conducting a war during a nuclear strike, with nearly all of these Pentagon chiefs.

I have spent the past 19 years covering the Pentagon and the U.S. military for Fox, and it has been the honor of a lifetime.

Fox is family, and as we look back over these past 30 years, I am proud to work at a place where many of those who started when the network was launched are still putting the news on the air each day. I have had the same voices in my ear since those early days.

I have had wonderful producers — Liz Friden, Lucas Tomlinson, Serafin Gomez, Justin Fishel, Yonat Friling and Yael Kuriel, to name a few — who became close friends.

When I had breast cancer 17 years ago, shortly after my son was born, colleagues and those who run the company in New York contributed to a meal train delivered to my home while I went through chemo.

I will never forget their kindness, and I will always be grateful for being given a front-row seat to witness history.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE FROM JENNIFER GRIFFIN

The Bills and Patriots are talking trash about each other and the verbal joust is very entertaining

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 13:29:48 -0400

The New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills are fighting for dominance in the AFC East and that will be settled on the field, but following Sunday's victory by coach Mike Vrabel's team the fight became a little war of words.

Not mean words.

But definitely cutting words.

Consider that Patriots receiver Efton Chism made an incredible one-handed touchdown catch inside of two minutes to play that provided the winning points against Buffalo.

Awesome, right? Not if you ask Bills safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson who dismissed the play, the receiver, and then dismissed the Patriots victory.

No disrespect, of course, he said.

"Listen, we're not gonna get into no bulletin board material," Gardner-Johnson told reporters gathered around his locker. "An elevated guy made a hell of a catch. Probably won't hear from him again. Respectfully. And I say that with a lot of confidence, because it's like, [Patriots quarterback Drake Maye] need to put his confidence in his best player. If that's what he threw, he would have thrown it to [Romeo] Doubs or somebody.

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"A practice squad player made a hell of a play," Gardner-Johnson repeated.

Then he laughed.

CJGJ, as he's affectionately referred to in some circles, wasn't done. Having dismissed Chism's highlight reel touchdown and, indeed, having dismissed Chism as a practice squad player, he then trained his commentary on the Patriots' winning accomplishment.

"...They won the game. Whatever," CJGJ said. "They ain't do [expletive] better than us. We gotta play better. And they can mark that. We'll be back, see them again end of the year.

"So they can have that same energy and put up what? Twenty-some points. They barely scored. They struggled all game."

Lots to unpack here. Because the Bills safety apparently played in a game the rest of us didn't see.

If the Patriots struggled to score 29 points and win, what should we say about the Bills, who had fewer first downs, fewer yards, a worse red-zone and goal-to-go efficiency, and had, the biggie, fewer points?

The Patriots also seemed to have a better grasp of the facts.

The wide receiver that Gardner-Johnson kept referring to as an elevated practice squad player joined the Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2025 and won a spot on New England's 53-man roster at the start of last season.

He has never been on any team's practice squad.

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You know who has been on a practice squad? Gardner-Johnson. He was on Baltimore's practice squad last season.

And this is where the back-and-forth picks up steam because the Patriots became aware of CJGJ's comments about Chism on Monday morning. Coach Mike Vrabel was asked about it on his weekly day-after appearance on WEEI radio in Boston.

"For a guy that has been on eight teams in four years, I mean, I guess he knows the drill," Vrabel said.

Vrabel was mocking but wasn't necessarily totally accurate, either. Since 2021, Gardner-Johnson has been on seven teams, including two different stints with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Close enough.

Advantage Patriots.

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BetMGM Bonus Code FOXNEWS: Claim up to $1500 in Bonuses for Monday Night Football

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 13:29:16 -0400

With just one game of NFL action tonight, it can feel a bit underwhelming if you’re not a fan of the teams. However, it should be a great game between the Falcons and Saints. Thanks to BetMGM it doesn’t matter who is playing tonight because they are offering you a chance to earn up to $1,500 using promo code FOXNEWS if your wager loses.

If the first few weeks of this year’s MLB season have taught us anything, it is that the running game can make a major difference for a team. Sure, you’ll always need your quarterback to be great, but running the ball opens up the passing game and helps you control the time of possession.

The Atlanta Falcons have one of the best and brightest young backs in the game. Four years ago, Bijan Robinson was selected eighth overall. He has been a bit frustrating at times, especially for fantasy owners, as he wasn’t always involved in the game plans. This season is different. The Falcons seem to be focusing specifically on him, getting him the ball both in handoffs and via the passing game. Before tonight’s game, he is ranked at sixth in the league in rushing yards.

The New Orleans Saints are hurting a bit at the position. They signed Travis Etienne Jr. in the offseason, but he is now on injured reserve. Now the team turns to a very familiar face in Alvin Kamara. Unfortunately for the Saints, he is on the older side for a running back. Once one of the most dynamic running backs in the league, Kamara has just 51 yards on 18 rushing attempts this season. If he can find space, he can still make tacklers miss and perhaps be a difference-maker.

Tonight, the running game could be the key factor for either team to win the game. Will Robinson be given any running room? Does Kamara still have any gas in the tank? Take a side on BetMGM with bonus code FOXNEWS. If you are a new user and your bet loses, you can get the loss back in bonus funds up to $1,500.

Odds subject to change

Running Back Comparison

Fanatics Sportsbook Promo Code FOXNEWS350: Bet $20, Get $350 on Rays-Yankees or Guardians-White Sox

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 13:23:54 -0400

Baseball has the longest season of the major four sports, but when you finally get through the regular season, the playoffs make it all worthwhile. Tonight, the Yankees take on the Rays while the White Sox face the Guardians in Game 2.

The Chicago White Sox come into the game looking to win their fourth straight playoff game. They took down the Astros in two games in the Wild Card round. In Game 1, the team was able to hold the Guardians scoreless. The offense hit a two-run homer in the top of the fourth and added an insurance run in the top of the seventh.

The Cleveland Guardians could only muster three hits against five White Sox pitchers in Game 1. Now they face another bullpen-style game, but they get to throw a starter as Gavin Williams takes the hill for them. He went 14-8 with a 3.76 ERA and 1.11 WHIP for the season.

The New York Yankees are also down a game in the series, and they had even fewer hits than the Guardians did. New York had just one hit in Game 1, and that runner was thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a triple. Now they have Cam Schlittler, the likely Cy Young Award winner taking the mound.

The Tampa Bay Rays went out at the trade deadline to acquire Freddy Peralta and he is starting Game 2 for them. Peralta has pitched well since September and he looks to give the Rays a commanding 2-0 lead over their divisional foes.

With so much at stake for every team, you should lock into these games. For a small stake of $20, Fanatics Sportsbook is giving you an extra $350 in FanCash if you use promo code FOXNEWS350 when you sign up.

Odds subject to change