Former President Trump will headline the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) Defend the 2nd event in Savannah, Georgia, Oct. 22, the organization announced Friday morning.

“This election is a pivotal one for America’s gun owners. Kamala Harris and her far-left allies have big plans to erode Second Amendment protections,” NRA Vice President and CEO Doug Hamlin said in a statement. 

“Donald J. Trump has proven himself a fighter for Americans’ right to keep and bear arms. We are excited to have him speak at our Defend the 2nd event and to support his return to the White House in January.”

NRA TARGETS SEN SHERROD BROWN IN 7-FIGURE AD BUY IN OHIO

Earlier this year, the NRA endorsed Trump in his presidential campaign. Trump also spoke at the NRA’s convention in May. 

The NRA has been ramping up its attacks on certain Democratic candidates who are softer on gun owners’ rights. Ohio is the second state the NRA Political Victory Fund has targeted this election cycle. Last month, the gun group launched a major radio campaign against vulnerable Democratic Sen. Jon Tester of Montana.

NRA BETS BIG ON MONTANA IN GUN RIGHTS PUSH AS TESTER TEETERS IN SENATE RACE

“When it comes to preserving and strengthening our constitutional rights in America, the stakes could not be higher in this presidential election,” the NRA’s news release said. “No matter your reason for owning a firearm — whether for hunting, self-defense or just as an exercise of your constitutional right — law-abiding gun owners have a clear choice this fall if they hope to preserve their Second Amendment rights.”

Connecticut’s seven Electoral College votes are up for grabs as voters make their choices in national, state and local races.

There is one competitive district in Connecticut:

This is a guide to registration and early voting. For comprehensive and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes and deadlines, please go to Vote.gov and the election website for Connecticut.

Connecticut began absentee voting on Friday. Applicants will need to provide an excuse to receive a ballot. The resident must receive a ballot application by Nov. 4, and that ballot must be delivered to county officials by Nov. 5.

Connecticut will begin early in-person voting Oct. 21, and it will continue through Nov. 3.

Connecticut residents can register to vote online or by mail through Oct. 18. They can register in person at any time during early voting as well as on Election Day.

Former President Donald Trump holds a firm lead in a key state over Vice President Kamala Harris on the question of how to handle immigration — as the border crisis remains a top issue for voters.

A new poll released this week from Marquette Law School finds Harris leading Trump overall in Wisconsin by 52-48%. 

But when it comes to immigration and border security, Trump dominates. Of voters, 49% favor Trump while just 37% favor Harris, with 8% saying they’d be about the same, and 6% saying neither are good on the issue.

VANCE, WALZ SPAR ON IMMIGRATION DURING VP DEBATE: BEEN TO THE BORDER ‘MORE THAN OUR BORDER CZAR’ 

Trump holds a similar 12 point lead on handling the war between Israel-Hamas, while Harris has an 11 point gap on handling Medicare & Social Security and a 17 point lead on abortion.

Of the issues polled, immigration was near the top of the issues, with 15% of voters saying it was their most important issue, the same number who said abortion, and only behind the economy — which was top issue for 37% of voters.

The poll is the latest indicator that Harris still has a fair way to go in convincing some voters that she is the better candidate on a topic that has dominated the headlines and remains a top issue for voters. Wisconsin, along with states like Pennsylvania, Michigan and Arizona could be election deciders in the election on Nov 5.

Harris was put in charge of handling root causes of migration to the southern border in early 2021 as border numbers began to skyrocket. She was eventually dubbed the “border czar” by media outlets and critics — although the White House rejected that title.

HARRIS SHIFTS KEY POSITIONS ON BORDER, ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION AS CAMPAIGN PROMISES ‘PRAGMATIC’ APPROACH

Republicans have hammered Harris on the border, saying it was the rolling back of Trump-era policies that led to the record numbers at the border. They have also pointed to her embrace of left-wing positions in her 2019 presidential bid. Since then, her campaign says her views have been shaped by the current administration, including on decriminalizing illegal crossings and closing immigration detention centers.

“Harris can never be forgiven for her erasing our border, and she must never be allowed to become president of the United States,” Trump said in Wisconsin on Sunday.

Harris has sought to present herself as better situated to handle the border. Her campaign has noted a recent drop in border encounters since President Biden signed a presidential proclamation in June limiting asylum entries. She has also thrown her support behind a bipartisan border security bill that would place similar limits on asylum and provide additional funding and detention beds. 

Conservatives said that the bill would enshrine high border numbers, but Harris accused Trump of blocking the bill for political purposes. She did so again on a trip to the southern border in Arizona last week.

“He picked up the phone and calls some friends in Congress and said, stop the bill. Because, you see, he prefers to run on a problem instead of fixing a problem,” she said. “And the American people deserve a president who cares more about border security than playing political games.”

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

While much of the world has eyes on Israel’s battles with Hezbollah and Hamas, the U.S. Navy has its sights set on another of Iran’s proxies, the Yemeni Houthi rebels.  

With a mission to keep international waterways at peace, the Navy now finds itself fending off attacks from the shadowy gang of pirates who have gone from arming themselves with assault rifles, pickup trucks and motorboats – to a seemingly unending supply of drones, missiles and other weaponry. 

The Houthis often attack unarmed Western ships carrying goods through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden – while the U.S. has responded in kind with drone attacks on Yemen. 

ISRAELI AIR FORCE STRIKES HOUTHI TARGETS IN YEMEN WITH ‘EXTENSIVE’ OPERATION

That’s led to perilous waters along a trade route that typically sees some $1 trillion in goods pass through it, as well as shipments of aid to war-torn Sudan and the Yemeni people. 

And as the attacks continue, some experts argue the U.S. response has not been strong enough to deter the Houthis from inflicting billions of dollars worth of damage to the global economy. 

“The U.S. response has been ineffective,” Can Kasapoglu, a Turkey-based Hudson Institute fellow who specializes in Middle East political-military affairs, told Fox News Digital. 

“We have very limited intelligence about [the Houthis] and they are in a different part of the world, in a distant corner of the Middle East. But that corner also happens to be right next to a choke point on global trade… The Houthis are the most daring of the Iranian proxy network. And the U.S. has never gone into a preemptive phase where they target the Houthi leadership.”

IRAN WARNS OF ‘DECISIVE RESPONSE’ IF ISRAEL CROSSES ‘RED LINES’ 

The U.S. has responded to attacks with air and missile defense efforts, drone and missile interceptions – only engaging the Houthis once an attack is imminent, said Kasapoglu. 

“We never saw a high-yield targeted killing campaign by the United States, for instance, Israel killed [Hezbollah leader] Hassan Nasrallah. Or just like Israel went after, for instance, the higher, high-level Iranian Revolutionary Guards generals, so this is what is missing – the U.S. acting against critical leadership.” 

In addition to destroying goods destined for the West, the regular Houthi attacks drive up insurance costs: premiums for some shot up tenfold. They force some ships to travel the long way – down around the Horn of Africa, which can add $1 million in fuel costs for a round trip. 

“They are launching relatively low-cost weapon systems, and inflicting major economic damage on the West on behalf of Iran. This is a very lucrative business,” said Kasapoglu. 

One argument for restraint could be the cost of action: Houthi drones are estimated to cost a few thousand dollars each. The Naval missiles the U.S. fires back at them can run around $2 million a shot. 

Houthi attacks ramped up after Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel, targeting 80 merchant vessels with missiles and drones over the past year. 

They’ve seized one vessel and sunk two and killed a total of four sailors. A U.S.-led series of airstrikes in May killed at least 16 people, the rebels said. 

BIDEN ADMIN NEEDS ‘MORE AGGRESSIVE’ PLAN TO TAKE ON HOUTHIS 

On Tuesday, the rebel group claimed it shot down a multimillion-dollar, U.S.-made MQ-9 Reaper drone flying near Yemen. The U.S. acknowledged losing one of the drones, which costs around $30 million apiece. 

In January, the Iran-backed militias killed three U.S. service members and injured 40 others in an attack on a U.S. base in Jordan. The U.S. responded forcefully to that attack with a barrage of airstrikes on 85 targets across Iraq and Syria. 

“That response proved to be effective, and I think that we could do more of that certainly – take that approach,” said retired Lt. Gen. Mark Schwartz, former security coordinator of the Israel-Palestinian Authority. 

Since the Houthis seized the country’s north and its capital of Sanaa in 2014, the U.S. military has seen Reapers shot down in Yemen in 2017, 2019, 2023 and 2024. The U.S. military acknowledged the Houthis shot down two MQ-9s in September.

The Houthis also continue to launch missiles targeting Israel. In response, Israel Defense Forces launched aggressive retaliatory strikes in Yemen’s key port city of Hodeida. 

The rebels have maintained that they target ships linked to Israel, the U.S. or the U.K. to force an end to Israel’s campaign in Gaza against Hamas. But many of the ships they attack have little connection to the conflict – some were even bound for Iran. 

BIDEN SAYS HE WOULD NOT BACK ISRAELI STRIKE ON IRAN’S NUCLEAR SITES 

Last month, they attacked the Greek-flagged oil tanker Sounion, which was carrying 1 million barrels of oil in the Red Sea. 

And last week, Houthi rebels fired half a dozen ballistic missiles, anti-ship cruise missiles and two drones at three U.S. ships traveling through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. All were intercepted by Navy destroyers, a U.S. official said Friday. 

“This gets resolved when we finish our dealings with Iran, whatever that looks like in the long term,” said Seth Krummrich, a retired Army colonel and former chief of staff at Special Operations Command Central (SOCCENT).

Sources say the U.S. lacks a will to put boots on the ground to fight the Houthis. Central to the Biden administration’s global strategy is a concern over escalating tensions that could lead to a full-scale confrontation with Iran – a nation that, by many estimates, is only weeks away from having the capability to build a nuclear bomb.

“The Israelis have the will to fight the Houthis, but they have limited capability, and they’re also engaged with two wars going on right now, so it necessitates American intervention if the West really wants to stop them,” said Kasapoglu. 

US FORCES DESTROY HOUTHI WEAPONS 

“Avoiding escalation is an obsession right now. It is a psychological case, not a political case. And it is imprisoning American military capabilities.” 

Krummrich argued that the Pentagon “has been staring at the Houthi problem long enough to understand that there is a limit to what you’re going to be able to do without putting boots on the ground.”

“That would be like a giant sponge. It can absorb an endless amount of our resources,” he said. “But the Houthis are also smart. They launch and then retreat quickly… if they stay outside of our rules of engagement, they will be less likely to be struck.”

But others say there is more to be done that does not amount to ground forces. 

“Yemen has proven time and time again that they’re willing to absorb a lot of lethal activity from the U.S. and the coalition and still attack vessels, still attack Israel,” said Schwartz. 

“There’s this fear of escalation, doing something that’s so provocative that we’re going to have a broader war. Yemen is at war with the United States from their perspective, right? Just like Lebanese Hezbollah is at war and has been with Israel, and the same with Hamas prior to Oct. 7.”

“We overestimate our concern in terms of a broadening conflict, because at the end of the day, the Houthis in particular, they’re not a viable military force,” Schwartz went on.

“We could be much more aggressive in terms of our military response to the Houthis and find an overwhelming response that falls well short of getting the U.S. mired in some type of major conflict.”

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey immediately implemented new gun legislation on Wednesday that not only cracks down on unserialized “ghost guns,” and attachments like bump stocks and trigger cranks, but also requires applicants to demonstrate basic safety principles and complete live-fire training before being granted a gun license.

State lawmakers approved the gun reform law in July, which was expected to go into effect later this month, and comes as the deep-blue state already has some of the toughest gun laws in the nation. 

The Associated Press reported that gun rights advocates were working to gather enough signatures to suspend the law before it took effect.

But rather than wait for the law to go into effect on Oct. 23, or 90 days after the governor signed it into law, Healey decided to put the law into effect immediately, blocking any temporary suspension of the law being sought by gun rights advocates.

SCOTUS TO TAKE UP CHALLENGE TO BIDEN ADMIN’S GHOST GUN RULE THAT GROUP DEEMS ‘ABUSIVE’

“This gun safety law bans ghost guns, strengthens the Extreme Risk Protection Order statute to keep guns out of the hands of people who are a danger to themselves or others, and invests in violence prevention programs,” Healey said in a statement. “It is important that these measures go into effect without delay.”

The new law expands the state’s “red flag” law that allows police, health care and school officials to alert the courts if they believe someone with access to guns poses a threat and should have their firearms confiscated temporarily.

Gun rights advocates have called the law a “historic attack on our civil rights,” adding it imposes unnecessary barriers on those who are law-abiding citizens and want to own a gun.

SUPREME COURT ALLOWS CONTINUED REGULATION OF SO-CALLED ‘GHOST GUNS’

Gun rights advocates have also sought to suspend the law and place a referendum on a ballot in 2026, to give voters the chance to repeal the measure.

In order to suspend the law from going into effect, gun rights advocates needed to collect at least 49,716 signatures from registered voters.

The law was enacted, in part, as a response to the Supreme Court’s 2022 Bruen decision, which declared citizens have a right to carry firearms in public for self-defense.

Gun rights advocates also filed a federal lawsuit arguing the Massachusetts law is unconstitutional, characterizing it as “onerous firearms legislation that imposes sweeping arms bans, magazine restrictions, registration requirements, and licensing preconditions that are as burdensome as they are ahistorical.”

GUN GROUPS SLAM BIDEN ADMIN OVER NEW ATF RULE: ‘WEAPONIZING EVERY TOOL’

The lawsuit asks the courts to issue a preliminary injunction to prevent the state from enforcing the “burdensome licensing regimes on the possession and carry of firearms for self-defense.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Gun Owners’ Action League in Massachusetts regarding Healey’s implementation of the gun reform law.

Healey’s action on Wednesday makes it unlawful for those who are not part of law enforcement to carry guns at schools, polling locations and government buildings.

The law also requires anyone applying for a license to carry firearms to demonstrate a basic understanding of safety principles and provides local licensing authorities with relevant mental health information.

District attorneys are also able to prosecute people who shoot at or near homes and ensure people subject to restraining orders no longer have access to guns.

Additionally, the new law expands on the definition of “assault weapons” to include known assault weapons and other weapons that function like them. It also bans the possession, transfer or sale of assault-style firearms or large-capacity feeding devices.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

RIPON, Wis. — As she turns up the volume on her efforts to court disgruntled Republicans in her battle with former President Trump for the White House, Vice President Harris on Thursday teamed up with the most visible anti-Trump Republican in the town that claims to be the birthplace of the GOP.

Harris campaigned in battleground Wisconsin with former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, a one-time rising conservative star in the GOP who, in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot on the U.S. Capitol, has vowed to do everything she can to prevent Trump from returning to power.

“I have never voted for a Democrat, but this year I am proudly casting my vote for Vice President Kamala Harris,” Cheney told the audience as she formally endorsed the Democrat presidential nominee. “As a conservative, as a patriot, as a mother, as someone who reveres our Constitution, I am honored to join her in this urgent cause.”

Harris praised Cheney as a leader who “puts country above party and above self, a true patriot.”

WHITE HOUSE LAWYERS WHO ADVISED REAGAN AND BUSH BACK HARRIS OVER TRUMP

The campaign event took place in Ripon, Wisconsin, where a one-room schoolhouse was designated a national historic landmark due to its role in holding a series of meetings in 1854 that led to the formation of the Republican Party.

Cheney, the daughter of former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney, once rose within the ranks of House Republican leadership.

But she was the most high-profile of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach then-President Trump in early 2021 on a charge of inciting the deadly January 6th riot at the Capitol, which was waged by right-wing extremists and other Trump supporters who aimed to disrupt congressional certification of President Biden’s Electoral College victory in the 2020 election.

TRUMP UPS HIS ANTE IN THE 2024 FUNDRAISING FIGHT WITH HARRIS

The conservative lawmaker and defense hawk immediately came under verbal attack from Trump and his allies and was eventually ousted from her No. 3 House GOP leadership position.

Cheney, who has been vocal in emphasizing the importance of defending the nation’s democratic process and of putting country before party, was one of only two Republicans who served on a special select committee organized by House Democrats that investigated the riot at the Capitol.

In 2022, she lost the GOP congressional primary in Wyoming to Harriet Hageman, a candidate backed by Trump.

At a speaking event in early September at Duke University in swing state North Carolina, Cheney announced that she would vote for Harris in the presidential election. Cheney’s father also endorsed Harris.

Cheney on Thursday warned that “our republic faces a threat unlike any we have faced before: a former president who attempted to stay in power by unraveling the foundations of our republic.”

She argued that Trump “can never be trusted with power again” and emphasized that “in this election, putting patriotism ahead of partisanship is not an aspiration, it is our duty.”

“What January 6 shows us is there is not an ounce, not an ounce, of compassion in Donald Trump. He is petty. He is vindictive. He is cruel. And Donald Trump is not fit to lead this good and great nation,” Cheney said.

WHAT THE LATEST POLL IN BATTLEGROUND WISCONSIN SHOWS

Harris, speaking after Cheney, highlighted that “anyone who recklessly tramples on our democratic values as Donald Trump has, anyone who has actively and violently obstructed the will of the people and the peaceful transfer of power as Donald Trump has … must never again stand behind the seal of the president of the United States.”

And Harris also said that “I take seriously my pledge to be a president for all Americans.

Cheney was not always a fan of Harris.

The Trump campaign on Thursday repeatedly pointed to a social media post by Cheney during the 2000 election in which she said, “@KamalaHarris has a more liberal voting record than Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. Her radical leftist views-raising taxes, banning gun sales, taxpayer $ for abortion & illegal immigrant health care, eliminating private health insurance-would be devastating for America.”

Trump, speaking with Fox News’ Bill Melugin during a rally in Michigan on Thursday, said Cheney was “terrible” and “a stupid war hawk. All she wants to do is shoot missiles at people.”

On Cheney’s backing of Harris, Trump said, “I think they hurt each other. I think they’re so bad, both of them.”

The Cheneys are part of a growing list of prominent Republicans who are supporting Harris.

Two other high-profile anti-Trump Republicans, former Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois and former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, had speaking roles at the Democratic National Convention, which was held six weeks ago in Chicago.

And Harris is backed by more than 200 alumni who served in both Bush administrations or worked for the late Sen. John McCain and Sen. Mitt Romney, the 2008 and 2012 GOP presidential nominees, respectively. She’s also supported by more than 100 Republican former national security officials and other prominent Republicans.

Ripon is not the only town that claims to be the birthplace of the GOP. Exeter, New Hampshire, also has some bragging rites as it was the site of meetings in 1853 – a year ahead of the Ripon gatherings – by disenchanted political leaders who discussed the formation of a new party of Republicans.

But officials in Ripon said the group in Exeter never actually formed a political organization, or chose officials, as they did in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin is one of seven crucial battleground states with razor-thin margins that decided Biden’s 2020 White House victory and are likely to determine if Harris or Trump wins the 2024 presidential election.

With less than five weeks until Election Day in November, Harris and Trump are locked in a margin-of-error race in the key swing states.

While Trump retains vast sway over the GOP, even a small sliver of Republicans supporting Harris could make an important impact in what will likely be a race within the margins in the battleground states.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) on Thursday said it would remain neutral in this year’s presidential race, electing not to endorse a candidate, becoming the second major union to do so in recent weeks.

The union’s executive board backed President Biden’s 2020 White House bid. In a statement, IAFF President Edward Kelly said the union membership voted by a margin of 1.2 percentage points not to endorse either Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Trump.

“Over the past year, the IAFF took unprecedented steps to hear our members’ views on the candidates and the policy issues that matter most to them,” Kelly said of the decision.

“As we have over our 106-year history, the IAFF will continue its work to improve the lives of firefighters and their families,” he added. “The IAFF Executive Board determined that we are better able to advocate for our members and make progress on the issues that matter to them if we, as a union, are standing shoulder-to-shoulder. This decision, which we took very seriously, is the best way to preserve and strengthen our unity.”

2024 SHOCKER: WHY THE TEAMSTERS STAYED NEUTRAL IN THE HARRIS-TRUMP SHOWDOWN

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Harris and Trump campaigns. 

The decision by the IAFF came weeks after the International Brotherhood of Teamsters announced it would not endorse a candidate either. 

WHY HARRIS CHARGED TRUMP’S ‘ONE OF THE BIGGEST LOSERS’

The Teamsters posted the results of internal polling on the 2024 candidates, showing that the union’s members favored Trump by 59.6% over Harris, who received 34% in an online survey. In a phone survey, Teamsters favored Trump over Harris, 58% to 31%. 

“The union’s extensive member polling showed no majority support for Vice President Harris and no universal support among the membership for President Trump,” the union said at the time. 

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) clarified a message that warned civilian drone pilots not to fly near Hurricane Helene recovery and rescue efforts — or risk penalty, fines or “criminal prosecution” — after facing intense backlash online. 

Reached by Fox News Digital, a DOT spokesperson said civilian drone pilots are permitted and are assisting in rescue and recovery efforts, and previous “temporary flight restrictions” have since been lifted. 

Some X users — collectively with millions of followers — reacted adversely to a message addressed to drone pilots and with accompanying video from Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg shared by the department earlier this week. The message and video argued the restrictions would prohibit civilian volunteers from legally searching for victims or survivors when response time matters most or capturing their own footage of the disaster.

“The USDOT tweet from yesterday was referring to temporary flight restrictions that were in place but were lifted late last night,” a DOT spokesperson told Fox News Digital Thursday, citing the FAA. 

TRUMP TARGETS BIDEN, HARRIS OVER FEDERAL RESPONSE TO HURRICANE: ‘INCOMPETENTLY MANAGED’

The spokesperson explained the FAA “is not banning drones from providing Hurricane Helene disaster relief and recovery assistance.” 

“At times, local authorities and law enforcement request the Federal Aviation Administration issue a Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) in order to ensure safety for aircraft or drones operating in certain areas,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “These restrictions occur at the request of local authorities or law enforcement. FAA does not put these into place without requests.” 

The spokesperson said such restrictions apply to both manned and unmanned aircraft, or drones. 

“With proper authorization, drones (and other aircraft) are permitted to operate within a Temporary Flight Restriction,” the statement continued. “These are only for limited areas identified by law enforcement and local authorities. 

“Relief operations, including civilian operations and volunteers, that are coordinated with emergency responders can still access the airspace during these restrictions. Anyone looking to use a drone or other aircraft to assist in Hurricane Helene disaster relief and recovery efforts should coordinate with first responders and law enforcement on scene to ensure they do not disrupt life-saving operations.” 

The clarification comes after the DOT posted to X Wednesday, writing: “Drone pilots: Do not fly your drone near or around rescue and recovery efforts for Hurricane Helene. Interfering with emergency response operations impacts search and rescue operations on the ground.”

In an attached video message, Buttigieg said, “Our goal is to make sure that funding is no obstacle to very quickly getting people the relief that they need and deserve. 

“There’s also some safety issues that come up. For example, temporary flight restrictions to make sure that the airspace is clear for any flights or drone activity that might be involved in helping to allow those emergency responders to do their jobs.” 

The post pointed to the account for FAADroneZone, the Federal Aviation Administration’s site for drone activity. 

“Interfering with emergency response efforts may result in fines or criminal prosecution,” FAADroneZone wrote, reposting Buttigieg’s remarks. “Always check Temporary Flight Restrictions before you fly.” 

The posts quickly received heavy criticism on social media. 

“The statement from Buttigieg comes as the federal government continues to shuffle its feet to help people in need,” Trending Politics co-owner Collin Rugg wrote to his 1.5 million followers on X. 

NORTH CAROLINA COMMUNITY ‘HUNTING’ FOR MISSING TEACHERS IN ‘DEVASTATING’ AFTERMATH OF HURRICANE HELENE

“Kamala Harris announced that survivors could potentially get $750 in federal assistance,” Rugg added. “Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas says FEMA doesn’t have enough money to make it through hurricane season after spending hundreds of millions of dollars on illegals.” 

“U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg tells Americans to stop using drones to help victims of Hurricane Helene. They’re using drones to FIND SURVIVORS,” podcaster Chad Prather wrote to his 496,800 followers.

“Pete Buttigieg has declared that private drones are BANNED from flying over areas affected by Hurricane Helene. They’re deliberately impeding the ability of volunteers to assist in search and rescue and documenting the extent of the disaster,” conservative journalist Ian Miles Cheong, who has 1.1 million followers on X, added. 

The death toll from Hurricane Helene surpassed 200 people across affected states as of Thursday. Hundreds remain unaccounted for in the aftermath. 

Buttigieg visited FEMA headquarters and joined Cabinet members Tuesday to brief President Biden at the White House on the destruction of Hurricane Helene. 

The FAA, meanwhile, deployed teams “to restore communications to impacted towers and airports, including delivering satellite communications kits to the Asheville Regional Airport in North Carolina and ongoing work at Valdosta Regional Airport in Georgia,” the DOT said Tuesday. 

“FAA supported FEMA with two aircraft to conduct flyover assessments and transport emergency personnel and gear, such as satellite communications kits. FAA is also monitoring fuel supplies at several airports in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina that are experiencing reduced fuel delivery due to storm impacts on fuel suppliers.”  

Trump attorneys filed a memo Thursday in support of their motion to dismiss all charges brought against the former president by Special Counsel Jack Smith, discussing the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Fischer v. United States, which they believe further supports their argument to dismiss the obstruction charges. 

The filing Thursday comes as Trump attorneys are using two blockbuster Supreme Court decisions—United States v. Trump, which dealt with presidential immunity, and United States v. Fischer, which dealt with obstruction—to attack the legal theories pressed by Special Counsel Jack Smith.

JUDGE UNSEALS KEY FILING IN SPECIAL COUNSEL’S ELECTION CASE AGAINST TRUMP

Trump attorneys filed a motion to dismiss all charges brought against the former president by Smith last year, but the case was stayed. The filing Thursday is a reply brief to their motion seeking dismissal of all charges. 

Trump attorneys in their brief on Thursday said Smith’s superseding indictment against the former president, which was filed after the Supreme Court ruled that presidents and former presidents had immunity from official acts, “seeks to assign blame for events President Trump did not control and took action to protect against.” 

“The Special Counsel blatantly ignores the fact that federal prosecutors have taken the opposite position in this District,” the filing states. “It is apparently of no consequence, to the Office and those who support their efforts, that former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was caught on a previously undisclosed video accepting ‘responsibility’  for the events at the Capitol.” 

Trump attorneys also argue that General Mark Milley acknowledged, “long before charges were brought in this case” that Trump “had instructed the Defense Department on January 3, 2021 to ‘make sure that you have sufficient National Guard or Soldiers to make sure it is a safe event.” 

TRUMP BLASTS DOJ FOR ‘ELECTION INTERFERENCE,’ CALLS JACK SMITH CASE A ‘SCAM’ AFTER JUDGE UNSEALS KEY FILING

Trump was charged with count 1: conspiracy to defraud the United States; count 2: conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; count 3: obstruction of an attempt to obstruct an official proceeding; and count 4: conspiracy against rights. 

Trump attorneys, though, stressed that Smith and federal prosecutors “cannot ignore or hide from” new precedent from the Supreme Court’s decision in Fischer v. United States, saying it is “another key application of the rule of law to reject lawfare overreach targeting President Trump.” 

“Fischer requires the dismissal of Counts Two and Three of the Superseding Indictment, and its logic fatally undermines Counts One and Four as well,” the filing states. 

U.S. v. Fischer stems from a lawsuit filed by Joseph Fischer — one of more than 300 people charged by the Justice Department with “obstruction of an official proceeding” in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol. His lawyers argued that the federal statute should not apply, and that it had only ever been applied to evidence-tampering cases. 

The Supreme Court on Friday ruled in favor of a participant in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot who challenged his conviction for a federal “obstruction” crime.

In a 6-3 decision, the high court held to a narrower interpretation of a federal statute that imposes criminal liability on anyone who corruptly “alters, destroys, mutilates, or conceals a record, document, or other object, or attempts to do so, with the intent to impair the object’s integrity or availability for use in an official proceeding.” 

The ruling reverses a lower court decision, which the high court said swept too broadly into areas like peaceful but disruptive conduct, and returns the case to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, who will have the opportunity to reassess the case with Friday’s ruling in mind.

SUPREME COURT RULES IN FAVOR OF JAN. 6 CAPITOL RIOT PARTICIPANT WHO CHALLENGED OBSTRUCTION CONVICTION

“Under Fischer, the Office [of Special Counsel] may not use the statute as a catchall provision to criminalize otherwise-lawful activities selectively mischaracterized as obstructive by those with opposing political views,” the filing states, noting that the Fischer decision “requires proof of evidence impairment coupled with corrupt intent.” 

“Once stripped of President Trump’s official acts subject to immunity and protected First Amendment political advocacy, the Superseding Indictment lacks sufficient factual allegations to support either element as required by Counts Two and Three,” Trump attorneys argue. “President Trump expressed sincere and valid concerns about the integrity of the 2020 election pursuant to his authority as the Chief Executive.” 

Trump attorneys said Trump was “part of open, public discussion regarding use of contingent slates of electors in a manner consistent with historical practice and contemplated by the then-existing version of the Electoral Count Act.” 

“The congressional record from January 6 reflects lawful debates on certificate objections contemplated by the ECA, as well as acknowledgment of the historical precedent for the contingent slates,” they argued. “There is no precedent for a criminal prosecution based on such a record.” 

Trump attorneys said Smith’s office “cannot establish the required nexus between alleged obstruction and any ‘evidence’ used in the certification proceeding, or that anyone acted with corrupt intent.” 

TRUMP TRIAL STEMMING FROM JACK SMITH’S PROBE DELAYED PAST ELECTION DAY

Trump attorneys also said the Fischer decision “forecloses the Office’s efforts to rely on events at the Capitol on January 6 to support charges.” They said the “superseding indictment does not sufficiently allege that President Trump impaired, or intended to impair, the integrity or availability of any document or other object used in any official proceeding.” 

Meanwhile, when the Supreme Court earlier this year ruled that a president is immune from prosecution for official acts, Smith was then required to file another indictment against Trump, revising the charges in an effort to navigate the Supreme Court ruling. The new indictment kept the prior criminal charges but narrowed and reframed allegations against Trump after the high court’s ruling that gave broad immunity to former presidents. 

Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges in the new indictment as well. 

Last month, Chutkan said she would not hold the trial for Trump on charges stemming from Smith’s Jan. 6 investigation until after the 2024 presidential election. She set deadlines for replies and paperwork from federal prosecutors and Trump’s legal team for Nov. 7 — after Election Day. 

More than 400 national security and foreign policy officials, ex-Cabinet members, retired military officers and Gold Star families endorsed former President Trump on Thursday.

In an open letter organized by former National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien and former NSC Chief of Staff Alex Gray, the signatories condemn the “repeated failures” of the Biden-Harris administration’s foreign policy and urged Americans to re-elect Trump.

“From a world at peace under President Trump, we are closer to a third world war than ever before under the Biden-Harris Administration,” the letter states. “With multiple escalating wars around the world, an open border that allows terrorists to flood into the American homeland, and malign actors like China operating unabated, U.S. national security has been profoundly damaged by the failed policies of Kamala Harris and Joe Biden.”

The endorsement was signed by several prominent officials from the Trump administration, including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former Attorney General Bill Barr, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and former 2024 Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, and many more.

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Eleven family members of the 13 American troops killed at Abbey Gate at Kabul’s airport during the 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan also signed the letter, which praised Trump’s foreign policy record in contrast to Biden’s controversial actions. 

“When President Trump took office, the war in Afghanistan had dragged on for almost 16 years. By February 2020, a peace agreement was reached, ensuring no American soldier was killed in combat until the end of the Trump Administration. This agreement held strong because the Taliban understood President Trump’s resolve and U.S. forces were prepared to ensure their compliance,” the letter reads.

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“The botched withdrawal from Afghanistan under the Biden-Harris Administration in 2021, led to the unnecessary deaths of thirteen brave American troops at Abbey Gate and left untold billions of dollars of high grade military equipment to the Taliban, making it the most well-armed terror organization in the world.”

Additionally, 40 retired U.S. ambassadors, 75 retired senior military officers and several hundred officials from previous Republican administrations signed the letter, praising Trump’s diplomatic efforts on cease-fire agreements between Turkey and Kurdish fighters in Syria and the Abraham Accords. The letter refers to Trump as a “peacemaker.” 

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“Securing peace is in the greatest tradition of American foreign policy and the Judeo-Christian principles upon which our nation was founded,” the letter continues before quoting from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew. “Jesus said, ‘blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be sons of God.’ (Matthew 5:9) Such is the legacy of the Trump Administration.”

Writing on X, O’Brien said he was “honored” to join his colleagues from the Trump administration in “supporting a return to a ‘peace through strength’ foreign policy under President Trump.”

Another signatory, Dr. Jerry Hendrix, former director of the Secretary of the Navy’s Advisory Panel, said it “wasn’t a hard decision” to attach his name to the letter.

“Trump had 1 of the more successful foreign policy presidencies since the Cold War,” Hendrix wrote on X. “He ended sequestration. He invested in the Navy. The Biden-Harris admin has been one foreign policy debacle after another.” 

The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment. 

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