Finding love in Washington state could come with a price. 

A bill proposed by two state Democratic lawmakers would impose a tax on dating apps.

Under the terms of House Bill 2071, dating app companies would be required to pay $1 per Washington-based user each month, regardless of whether the user pays for the service. Users with inactive accounts for at least 24 months would be excluded. 

The money would be used to fund domestic violence programs. 

HOW TO NOT FALL IN LOVE WITH AI-POWERED ROMANCE SCAMMERS

The money would be put into the newly created state Domestic Violence Services Account, which funds programs and support services for victims.

Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of state representatives Lauren Davis and Shaun Scott, both Democrats, who are behind the legislation. Fox News Digital also reached out to several dating app companies for reaction. 

“Online dating companies can determine how to absorb the cost,” Davis told Fox News Digital. “They could simply cut it out of their profits, or increase the fees for paid users by $1/month or possibly begin charging for free users (though the latter is probably less likely).”

The bill targets dating apps like Hinge, Match.com, Bumble and Tinder. The legislation had its first reading Tuesday and has been referred to the state House Finance Committee. 

STOP THESE V-DAY SCAMS BEFORE THEY BREAK YOUR HEART AND YOUR BANK ACCOUNT

Funding for domestic violence programs is necessary after lawmakers in 2023 passed HB 1169, which removed the Crime Victim Penalty, which was paid for by those convicted of crimes. The CVP provided the primary funding for victim advocates who work in prosecutors’ offices, Davis said.  

“When HB 1169 was passed, the state made a commitment to backfill the funding loss from the CVP with general fund state (GFS) dollars,” she said. “Unfortunately, the state has not kept this commitment. Prosecutors’ offices across the state have been forced to lay off victim advocates, and scores of victims are no longer receiving victim advocacy services.”

Davis explained that her bill is intended to replace the missing funds.

She further criticized Washington’s legal system, calling it “a nightmare for victims.”

“The system is designed for the protection of defendants, not victims,” she said. “I cannot fathom how I would’ve ever navigated the system successfully without a victim advocate, and I am rightly horrified that similarly situated victims will no longer receive help.

“The purpose of this tax proposal is to keep the state’s promise to crime victims and not defund victims services,” she added. “Though a nexus is not required for a tax as it is for a fee, there is a reasonable nexus between online dating apps and domestic violence.”

President Donald Trump said Wednesday he was open to providing exemptions for certain U.S. companies hit especially hard by tariffs through no fault of their own. 

The president and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent spoke to reporters Wednesday afternoon and were asked repeatedly about the effect their tariff moves have had on financial markets and whether they will let their recent declines affect future trade decisions. 

Trump was asked specifically if he would consider “exempting” some larger U.S. companies that have been hit especially hard by the new tariffs, and the president said he would consider it. 

“I’ll take a look at it as time goes by. We’re going to take a look at it,” Trump responded. “There are some that have been hard — there are some that, by the nature of the company, get hit a little bit harder, and we’ll take a look at that.”

DONALD TRUMP’S ALLIES, SUPPORTERS AND DONORS, LED BY ELON MUSK, PUSH TO END TARIFF WAR

When asked how he would determine which companies might receive such an exemption, Trump responded, “Instinctively.”

“You almost can’t take a pencil to paper. It’s really more of an instinct than anything else,” Trump added. “Some companies, through no fault of their own, they happen to be in an industry that is more affected by these things than others. You have to be able to show a little flexibility, and I’m able to do that.

CHARLIE GASPARINO BREAKS DOWN TRUMP’S TARIFF PAUSE: ‘THIS IS WHAT FORCED THE HAND’

“You have to have flexibility,” Trump said Wednesday. “I could say, ‘Here’s a wall, and I’m going to go through that wall. I’m going to go through it, no matter what. Keep going, and you can’t go through the wall. Sometimes you have to be able to go under the wall, around the wall or over the wall.”  

After the president’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcements, which included a 10% universal tariff on all imported goods and higher “reciprocal” tariffs targeting other countries like China and the European Union, the Trump administration did release a list of carve-outs related to roughly $644 billion in imports, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.

The exemptions include $185 billion in goods from Canada and Mexico, but the countries remain subject to other tariffs, according to the report.

WHITE HOUSE WARNS AGAINST TARIFF RETALIATION, SAYS TRUMP ‘HAS SPINE OF STEEL AND HE WILL NOT BREAK’

Additionally, the Trump administration has exempted certain industries, such as the pharmaceutical and semiconductor industries, from new tariffs, but the president has signaled that could change. These sectors and others are facing an ongoing probe, called a Section 232 investigation, according to Market Watch, to assess the need for imposing tariffs.

No matter the outcome of the investigation, it appears Trump has his sights set on placing higher tariffs on the pharmaceutical industry. He told an audience at a dinner hosted by the National Republican Congressional Committee Tuesday night that “a major tariff on pharmaceuticals” would be announced very soon. 

The White House declined to comment for this article.

The House of Representatives passed a bill Wednesday to limit federal district judges’ ability to affect Trump administration policies on a national scale.

The No Rogue Rulings Act, led by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., passed the House and limits district courts’ power to issue U.S.-wide injunctions, instead forcing them to focus their scope on the parties directly affected in most cases.

All but one Republican lawmaker voted for the bill, which passed 219 to 213. No Democrats voted in favor.

The Trump administration has faced more than 15 nationwide injunctions since the Republican commander-in-chief took office, targeting a wide range of President Donald Trump’s policies, from birthright citizenship reform to anti-diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts.

Issa himself was confident the bill would pass, telling Fox News Digital on Tuesday morning, “We’ve got the votes.”

SENATE GOP PUSHES TRUMP BUDGET FRAMEWORK THROUGH AFTER MARATHON VOTE SERIES

He was less certain of the bill getting Democratic support, though he noted former Biden administration solicitor general Elizabeth Prelogar made her own complaints about district judges’ powers during the previous White House term.

“We’re hoping some people look at it on its merits rather than its politics,” Issa said.

Rep. Derek Schmidt, R-Kan., who has an amendment on the bill aimed at limiting plaintiffs’ ability to “judge shop” cases to favorable districts, told Fox News Digital before the vote, “A lot of things get called commonsense around here, but this one genuinely is.”

“The basic policy of trying to rein in the overuse of nationwide injunctions was supported by Democrats before. It’s supported by Republicans now, and I’m hoping [this vote will] be supported by both,” he said.

Rep. Lance Gooden, R-Texas, who, like Schmidt and Issa, is a House Judiciary Committee member, told Fox News Digital after the bill’s passage, “Many Democrat-appointed lower court judges have conducted themselves like activist liberal lawyers in robes while attempting to stop President Trump’s nationwide reforms. The No Rogue Rulings Act limits this unchecked power.”

Another GOP lawmaker, Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, told Fox News Digital, “More than 77 million Americans voted for [Trump’s] pro-American policies and want to see them implemented quickly. There is no reason that activist judges whose authority does not extend nationally should be allowed to completely stop [his] agenda.”

Republicans’ unity on the issue comes despite some early divisions over how to hit back at what they have called “rogue” and “activist” judges.

MEET THE TRUMP-PICKED LAWMAKERS GIVING SPEAKER JOHNSON A FULL HOUSE GOP CONFERENCE

Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind., who supported impeachment and Issa’s bill, told Fox News Digital, “The judicial vendetta against President Trump’s agenda needs to be checked. Nationwide injunctions by activists judges have stood in the way of the American people’s will and in come cases their safety, since the President was sworn into office.”

Stutzman said Issa’s bill “will stop individual judge’s political beliefs from preventing the wants and needs of our citizens from being implemented.”

A group of conservatives had pushed to impeach specific judges who have blocked Trump’s agenda, but House GOP leaders quickly quashed the effort in favor of what they see as a more effective route to take on the issue.

Despite its success in the House, however, the legislation does face uncertain odds in the Senate, where it needs at least several Democrats to hit the chamber’s 60-vote threshold.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is delaying a key vote on legislation aimed at advancing President Donald Trump’s agenda in the face of a likely rebellion on Wednesday evening.

It comes as fiscal hawks in the lower chamber have raised alarms at the Senate’s version of the plan, which guarantees far fewer spending cuts than the House’s initial offering.

Johnson told reporters he would aim to hold the vote Thursday, the last scheduled day in session for House lawmakers before a two-week recess. He added, however, that lawmakers could be kept in session next week if needed to pass the legislation.

“I don’t think we’ll have a vote on this tonight, but probably in the morning,” the speaker said. “We want everybody to have a high degree of comfort about what is happening here, and we have a small subset of members who weren’t totally satisfied with the product as it stands. So we’re going to we’re going to talk about maybe going to conference with the Senate or add an amendment, but we’re going to make that decision.”

HOUSE FREEDOM CAUCUS CHAIR URGES JOHNSON TO CHANGE COURSE ON SENATE VERSION OF TRUMP BUDGET BILL

He also said there were multiple ways the House could move forward and Republicans would look at each one. Johnson said, “Everything is moving along just fine. We have a little bit of room here to work, and we’re going to use that.”

The House floor was paralyzed for over an hour during an earlier unrelated vote as Johnson met with Republican holdouts behind closed doors.

Two sources in the room said the holdouts did not speak with Trump, though it’s not clear if he called people individually.

Outside that room, in the cavernous House chamber, lawmakers began filtering out or impatiently pacing as time went by with little information.

Democrats, meanwhile, began calling for Republican leaders to close the lingering vote.

Tensions were high for those GOP lawmakers who remained on the House floor, Fox News Digital was told – and much of that frustration is aimed at Johnson.

“I think he’s quickly losing faith from the rest of us. I mean, he kept the entire conference out on the floor for 80 minutes while you play grab-a– with these people,” one House Republican fumed. “And all day it was like, ‘Oh, we’re going to get this done.'”

That House Republican said, “All the chatter we were hearing was [holdouts were] down to single digits. But 17, 20 people were in that room. So clearly there was a much bigger problem than they were letting on all day.”

The gap between the House and Senate versions is significant; the House version that passed in late February calls for at least $1.5 trillion in spending cuts, while the Senate’s plan mandates at least $4 billion.

Some conservatives are also wary of congressional leaders looking to use the current policy baseline to factor the total amount of dollars the bill will add to the federal deficit. The current policy baseline allows lawmakers to essentially zero out the cost of extending Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) because they are already in effect.

“We’ve got to have something more substantive out of the Senate. If you were going to sell your house, and I offered you a third of the price, you would laugh,” Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., one of the earliest holdouts, told reporters on Wednesday.

MEET THE TRUMP-PICKED LAWMAKERS GIVING SPEAKER JOHNSON A FULL HOUSE GOP CONFERENCE

Trump has directed Republicans to work on “one big, beautiful bill” to advance his agenda on border security, defense, energy and taxes.

Such a measure is largely only possible via the budget reconciliation process. Traditionally used when one party controls all three branches of government, reconciliation lowers the Senate’s threshold for passage of certain fiscal measures from 60 votes to 51. As a result, it has been used to pass broad policy changes in one or two massive pieces of legislation.

The first step traditionally involves both chambers of Congress passing an identical “framework” with instructions for relevant committees to hash out policy priorities in line with the spending levels in the initial legislation.

The House passed its own version of the reconciliation framework earlier this year, while the Senate passed an amended version last week. House GOP leaders now believe that voting on the Senate’s plan will allow Republicans to enter the next step of crafting policy.

“Why does President Trump call it one big, beautiful bill? Because it does a lot of critically important things, all in one bill, that help get this country back on a strong footing. And what else it does is it produces incredibly needed savings,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said during debate on the bill.

The legislation as laid out would add more money for border security, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), as well as some new funding for defense. 

Republicans are also looking to repeal significant portions of former President Joe Biden’s green energy policies, and institute new Trump policies like eliminating taxes on tipped and overtime wages.

But House conservatives had demanded added assurances from the Senate to show they are serious about cutting spending.

The House and Senate must pass identical versions of the final bill before it can get to Trump’s desk to be signed into law.

They must do so before the end of this year, when Trump’s TCJA tax cuts expire – potentially raising taxes on millions of Americans.

Trump himself worked to persuade holdouts both in a smaller-scale White House meeting on Tuesday and in public remarks at the National Republican Congressional Committee.

He also fired off multiple Truth Social posts pushing House Republicans to support the measure, even as conservatives argued it would not go far enough in fulfilling his own agenda.

“Republicans, it is more important now, than ever, that we pass THE ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL. The USA will Soar like never before!!!” one of the posts read.

It was a split screen Tuesday morning on Capitol Hill.

One eye on the markets. The other eye on the Senate testimony of U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

“Do you think your remarks will alter the markets in any way?” yours truly asked Greer as he walked to the hearing room in the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

“I’m just going to respond to the senators. Be candid as I can be,” replied Greer.

TRUMP TRADE REP TAKES BIPARTISAN FIRE OVER TARIFFS AS DEM LAUNCHES BID TO HALT THEM

The public has heard a lot about tariffs from Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

They’ve heard a lot about tariffs from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

They’ve heard even more about tariffs from White House advisor Peter Navarro.

But until Tuesday morning, there was little said about tariffs from the man in charge of the administration’s trade policy: Jamieson Greer.

“The president’s strategy is already bearing fruit,” Greer testified. “Nearly 50 countries have approached me personally to discuss the president’s new policy and explore how to achieve reciprocity.”

Democrats were dubious about Greer’s suggestion. Yes, nations may be willing to negotiate. But carving out sophisticated trade agreements with nations just sanctioned by the U.S. takes time.

“You’re telling us you have nearly 50 countries coming to you, approaching you to enter into negotiation, and you think that you can do that overnight?” asked Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev. “You’re pretty superhuman here, if that’s the case.”

TRUMP TRADE CHIEF FACES HOUSE GRILLING ON TARIFFS

Greer tangled with Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H.

“Even if inflation hits Americans’ pocketbooks at 10% because of these tariffs, then the Trump administration is still going to go charging ahead?” asked Hassan.

“Senator, your hypotheticals are not consistent with the history we have seen with tariffs,” Greer replied.

“My hypotheticals are based on the fact that a lot of Americans are looking at their 401(k)’s today and wondering how much of a lifestyle change they are going to have to have or whether they’re going to be able to retire when they plan to,” Hassan shot back. “This has been a haphazard, incompetent effort. And it’s showing.”

After rough showings, the markets actually shot up at the opening bell Tuesday before Greer spoke. It didn’t appear that anything Greer told senators resonated positively or negatively on Wall Street. But lawmakers were well attuned to the market fluctuations. 

Especially as they started to hear from constituents.

TRUMP SAYS HE’LL ‘TAKE A LOOK’ AT EXEMPTING SOME LARGER US COMPANIES HIT ESPECIALLY HARD BY TARIFFS

Outside the hearing room, Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., offered one of his signature Bayou homilies to characterize the unfolding trade war.

“God created the world. But everything else is made in China,” said Kennedy.

“But senator, isn’t the bigger issue here the question of the uncertainty in the markets and rattling around?” I asked Kennedy.

“Well, there’s always uncertainty,” answered Kennedy.

“But this is a different type of uncertainty, though, Senator,” I countered.

“Is it going to have to have an impact on your capital markets? Well, yes. Duh. And it’s not fun. It’s very, very painful. Whether this will have a happy ending or a sad ending depends in large part what President Trump does next,” said Kennedy.

And that’s the key to the entire enterprise. It doesn’t matter what Lutnick does. Or Bessent. Or Navarro. And not Greer. For better or worse, this is President Trump’s baby. Only he can move markets. And potentially trade deals. And that’s certainly what unfolded in recent days.

Democrats — and some Republicans — excoriated the president for unilaterally imposing the tariffs. Lawmakers asked the reasoning for imposing the tariffs. And they argued that the tariffs should have been an issue which came to Capitol Hill.

“Where was the consultation with Congress about this? Where is the homework? You know, Greek and Roman letters thrown on a plaque doesn’t mean a strategy that you’ve informed Congress on,” Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., the top Democrat on the Senate Commerce Committee, asked. “And part of the question is, where’s the homework done by the administration to not misconstrue the authority that was given?”

SCHUMER SAYS TRUMP ‘FEELING THE HEAT’ AFTER RECIPROCAL TARIFF PAUSE

Cantwell may not have received a sufficient answer from the Trump administration on the rationale. But Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., answered the other part of the question about why the President cut Congress out of the loop.

“Let’s not pretend that this is anything other than the president exercising the statutory authority Congress has given him for decades,” said Hawley. “Because Congress didn’t want to do tariffs, they didn’t want to do trade, it was too hot. They wanted the president to hold the hot potato. So now you’ve got a President who’s happy to do that.”

Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution declares that Congress has the “Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States.”

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative says the U.S. is a signatory to more than 14 total trade pacts. Congress has ratified several of those in recent years. That includes the USMCA. That’s a trade pact President Trump pushed – alongside former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., in 2020 for the U.S., Mexico and Canada. That deal replaced NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement, approved by Congress in 1993. Congress also greenlighted “CAFTA, the Central American Free Trade Agreement, in 2005.

So, Congress has engaged in trade somewhat in recent decades. But maybe not as much as it should have.

Greer appeared for a second time on Capitol Hill Wednesday, testifying before the House Ways and Means Committee.

TRUMP PUSHES BACK ON ‘REBEL’ REPUBLICANS OVER TARIFFS: ‘YOU DON’T NEGOTIATE LIKE I NEGOTIATE’

“Any deal that you do, are you going to bring that to Congress for a vote?” asked Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash.,

“We’ll do what the law requires. Some of it’s consultation. Some requires a vote. So we’ll follow the law,” replied Greer.

But DelBene pressed Greer on the president using emergency powers on the tariffs. She quoted from the statute.

“It states, ‘The President, in every possible instance, shall consult with Congress before exercising any powers,’” said DelBene. “That didn’t happen.”

Greer said he called Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., and the top Democrat on the panel, Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass.

“I argue that we did not have that consultation,” said DelBene, who sits on the trade subcommittee.

WHITE HOUSE WARNS AGAINST TARIFF RETALIATION, SAYS TRUMP ‘HAS SPINE OF STEEL AND HE WILL NOT BREAK’

But less than two hours later — with Greer still testifying — President Trump announced he was now pausing most tariffs for three months. But still imposing steep tariffs on China.

Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., was apoplectic.

“He announced it on a tweet?” an incredulous Horsford asked of Greer. “WTF? Who’s in charge?”

“The president of United States is in charge,” Greer said.

“And what do you know about those details?” countered Horsford. “It looks like your boss just pulled the rug out from under you.”

Horsford later asked if what the President executed was “market manipulation.” Greer said it wasn’t.

HOUSE DEMOCRAT SAYS HE’D VOTE TO PROTECT TRUMP’S TARIFF PLAN, WORRIES WHITE HOUSE WILL STAND DOWN

So, when the hearing adjourned, yours truly and Nikole Killion of CBS pursued Greer to get more clarity on the president’s new strategy.

“Can you explain why you were caught flat-footed about the change in the trade policy? Were you aware of any of this?” I asked Greer before he stepped into an anteroom.

We resumed the quest in the hall.

“Were you not told about this?” I asked.

“Did you know before your testimony?” added Killion.

“I’ll just refer you to my testimony,” said Greer.

“Your testimony did not reflect what it was implemented during the hearing,” I followed up.

“I’ll just refer you to my testimony,” Greer repeated.

“But that’s inconsistent with the decision of the president,” I said.

An aide to Greer then intervened.

“I think the ambassador was extremely clear in his testimony about what was going on, and the president could make the choice,” the aide interjected.

“Explain why you don’t think that this was market manipulation. You said it wasn’t,” I followed up.

HOUSE CONSERVATIVES READY TO OPPOSE SENATE GOP FRAMEWORK FOR TRUMP TAX CUT PACKAGE

“Were you aware that there would be a pause before you came here to Capitol Hill? Yes or no? Yes or No, sir?” Killion continued.

Greer then disappeared down a winding staircase in the Longworth House Office Building.

Let’s shift back to the Senate hearing on Tuesday with Greer.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., could face a competitive re-election bid next year. He asked a pointed question to Greer.

“Whose throat do I get to choke if this proves to be wrong?” Tillis asked.

“Well, Senator, you can certainly always talk to me,” replied Greer.

“So, if you own this decision, I’ll look to you to figure out if we’re going to be successful,” said Tillis. “If you don’t own the decision, I’m just trying to figure out who’s throat I get to choke if it’s wrong.”

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said Elon Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO and leader of the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) should be demonized, in an apparent escalation of their feud. 

Walz was speaking at a town hall in Youngstown, Ohio, when he laid into Musk, whom he has sharply criticized before. He was talking about social media and the Democratic Party’s view on success when he brought up the billionaire tech mogul. 

“We’re creating a false narrative for them that everybody is super rich and has Lamborghinis and life is easy,” Walz told the crowd. “But that’s what we’re going to have to figure out in our society about social media and all those things.”

SUSPECTED TESLA ARSONISTS HIT WITH FEDERAL CHARGES IN ACTS OF ‘DOMESTIC TERRORISM’: AG

“But I don’t think we should be the party that demonizes someone because they’re able to afford something,” he added. “What we should demonize is someone like Elon Musk and those people that do that. That’s different.”

Earlier, Walz said Democrats should be conveying a message that it’s “OK to be successful” and that success should be celebrated. 

“What my beef is, once you get successful, don’t be a greedy bastard and not pay your taxes,” he said. 

Walz, the former 2024 Democratic vice presidential candidate, and Musk have traded bards in recent weeks. 

The feud began last month when Walz joked that he regularly checks Tesla stock, which was down amid a string of vandalism incidents targeting the electric vehicle company. 

ELON MUSK IN ‘SHOCK’ OVER DEMS’ ALLEGED ‘HATRED AND VIOLENCE,’ LAMENTS ‘DERANGED’ ATTACKS ON TESLA PLANTS

“On the iPhone, they’ve got that little stock app. I added Tesla to it to give me a little boost during the day,” Walz said, referencing Tesla’s stock slump as he held up his iPhone during a Wisconsin town hall titled, “The People vs Musk.”

Musk responded by turning the tables on the Democratic governor with a diss about his 2024 election loss.

“Sometimes when I need a little boost, I look at the @JDVance portrait in the White House and thank the Lord,” Musk wrote in response to Walz’s remark.

The White House joined in on hitting back at Walz’s comment regarding the billionaire’s company.

“When we need a little boost during the day at the White House, we walk around the corner from our office and admire these beautiful portraits,” Trump’s Rapid Response team wrote in a social media post.

Fox News Digital’s Aubrie Spady contributed to this report. 

A major public library system in California has teamed up with Planned Parenthood to promote “sexual health resource cabinets” in its libraries. These cabinets, which are accessible to library visitors — including children without restrictions — contain condoms, pregnancy tests, contraceptives, dental dams, lubricants and graphic sex education materials, all available for free.

The Sacramento Public Library system, in partnership with Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, began placing the cabinets in 12 of its 28 libraries six weeks ago, CBS News first reported. The library system is under city-county jurisdiction. 

The cabinets, which include Planned Parenthood pamphlets titled, “How to Talk to Your Child About Sex,” are also stocked with QR codes directing people to the clinic’s sexual health materials.

SCOOP: NEWSOM ASKS WORLD LEADERS TO EXEMPT CALIFORNIA EXPORTS FROM RETALIATORY TARIFFS

Fox News Digital did not hear back from Sacramento Public Library before publication.

The move has alarmed parents’ rights activist groups who say the cabinets provide a way for the local government to reach minors with explicit content without parental consent or knowledge. 

NEWSOM FOE PICKED BY TRUMP FOR KEY PROSECUTOR JOB VOWS TO ‘DISMANTLE’ SANCTUARY STATE SHIELDS

“I don’t understand why they think kids should be having sex. Nobody on either side of the aisle believes that, and yet they want to provide sex stuff for people … in the library, which is beyond the pale,” Greg Burt, vice president of the nonprofit advocacy group California Family Council, told Fox News Digital in an interview.

“I think when parents realize this is happening in their libraries, they’re not gonna take their kids to the library anymore. They aren’t safe spaces.”

The cabinets are placed sporadically around the libraries, according to CBS, with some placed out in the open in the library’s main space, while others are placed closer to adult sections.

“We want to remove the stigma around these resources,” Todd Deck, community engagement services manager for the Sacramento Public Library, told the outlet.

The cabinets can be found in libraries located in Central, Belle Cooledge, Robbie Waters Pocket-Greenhaven, Southgate, Carmichael, Rancho Cordova, Valley Hi-North Laguna, Walnut Grove, South Natomas, Rio Linda, Fair Oaks and Sylvan Oaks.

CALIFORNIA DEM COMPARES ‘SAVE GIRLS SPORTS’ LAW TO NAZI GERMANY, AS TWO TRANS ATHLETE BAN BILLS FAIL TO PASS

“One thing to keep in mind is we are approaching this like we do a book on our shelves,” Deck said. “Although this resource may not be applicable for everyone, we do want to make it available for the people who do need it.”

The library plans to expand the cabinets to other locations.

Russian-American ballerina Ksenia Karelina, who has been wrongfully detained in Russia for more than a year, is on her way back to the United States, Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed early Thursday.

Moscow released Karelina in exchange for German-Russian citizen Arthur Petrov, who was arrested in 2023 in Cyprus at the request of the U.S. on charges of exporting sensitive microelectronics, the Wall Street Journal reported.

“American Ksenia Karelina is on a plane back home to the United States. She was wrongfully detained by Russia for over a year and President Trump secured her release. @POTUS will continue to work for the release of ALL Americans,” Rubio wrote on X.

AMERICAN BALLERINA ACCUSED OF SPYING STANDS TRIAL IN MOSCOW FOR $51 UKRAINE DONATION

Karelina was sentenced to 12 years in a Russian penal colony after pleading guilty to treason for donating $51.80 to a Ukrainian charity in early 2024.

She was initially detained for “petty hooliganism” while visiting family in Russia in February 2024, but the charge was later upgraded to treason after accusations that she was acting as an American spy.

AMERICAN BALLERINA LEFT OUT OF RUSSIA PRISONER SWAP PLEADS GUILTY TO TREASON 

Russian authorities claimed that Karelina, who lived in Los Angeles, raised money for the Ukrainian army and took part in “public actions” that supported Ukraine while in the U.S. 

Her boyfriend, boxer Chis Van Deerden, told Fox News Digital last year that she was “proud to be Russian, and she doesn’t watch the news. She doesn’t intervene with anything about the war.”

She was left out of a massive August 2024 prisoner swap that resulted in the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan and Alsu Kurmasheva.

Details surrounding Karelina’s arrival on U.S. soil were not immediately released.

She is the latest American prisoner detained in another country to be freed under President Donald Trump’s administration. In February, Trump brought American history teacher Marc Fogel, who had been detained in Russia since 2021, back to the U.S.

This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) account on X shared eyebrow-raising findings from a survey of unemployment insurance claims.

The “initial survey of Unemployment Insurance claims since 2020” found that thousands of people with future birthdates claimed benefits.

The survey also indicated that thousands of supposedly very young and very old people had claimed benefits.

ELON MUSK SCRAPS WITH CHUCK SCHUMER, SUGGESTING THE SENATOR PROFITS FROM GOVERNMENT FRAUD

The DOGE post states that the survey found, “24.5k people over 115 years old claimed $59M in benefits,” “28k people between 1 and 5 years old claimed $254M in benefits,” and “9.7k people with birth dates over 15 years in the future claimed $69M in benefits.”

“In one case, someone with a birthday in 2154 claimed $41k,” the post also notes.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Department of Labor for comment: “This is another incredible discovery by the DOGE team, finding nearly $400 million in fraudulent unemployment payments,” Department of Labor Sec. Lori Chavez-DeRemer said in a statement. “The Labor Department is committed to recovering Americans’ stolen tax dollars. We will catch these thieves and keep working to root out egregious fraud – accountability is here.”

DOGE ENDS 108 ‘WASTEFUL’ CONTRACTS, INCLUDING FOR AN ‘EXECUTIVE TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP TRAINING PROGRAM’

“Your tax dollars were going to pay fraudulent unemployment claims for fake people born in the future! This is so crazy that I had to read it several times before it sank in,” Elon Musk tweeted.

Musk is spearheading the DOGE effort to uncover waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government.

“The oldest living American is 114 years old, so it is safe to say that anyone 115 or older is collecting ‘unemployment’ due to being dead. There was no sanity check for impossibly young or impossibly old people for unemployment insurance,” he noted in another post.

AMERICANS GRADE DOGE AND ELON MUSK’S EFFORTS WITHIN THE FIRST 100 DAYS OF THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah replied to Musk, writing, “Reckless incompetence.”

The 2024 presidential election is just five months in the rearview, but the country is already trudging toward the 2026 midterms — at least at the annual Pennsylvania Leadership Conference.

In a straw poll of 267 conference participants from eight states, including Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania state Treasurer Stacy Garrity was the clear favorite to win the Republican primary for its 2026 gubernatorial election. She received 41% of the vote, as Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Penn., came in a distant second at 9%. 

While 2026 is still long down the road, and neither Pennsylvania politician has formally announced a run, both Republicans embraced the opportunity to tease their potential bids. 

“Appreciate the support from conservatives across Pennsylvania. No decisions made yet—but I’m listening and focused on doing whatever it takes to help Republicans win in 2025 and beyond,” Garrity said following her straw poll win at the leadership conference. 

DEM TAKES AIM AT TRUMP, TILLIS IN 2026 SENATE LAUNCH VIDEO FOR ‘TANKING OUR ECONOMY’

Garrity made history in 2024 by receiving the most votes in a Pennsylvania state election – crushing Democrat Gov. Josh Shapiro’s 2022 record by half a million votes. Garrity campaigned for re-election alongside Sen. Dave McCormick, who unseated longtime Democrat Sen. Bob Casey.

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Shapiro wasn’t up for re-election in 2024, though his name was floated as a potential running mate for Vice President Kamala Harris. But 2026 presents an opportunity for Republicans to gain control of the state’s highest office. Speeches at the leadership conference prove that big Republican wins in 2024 have invigorated the party’s base in the traditionally competitive battleground state. 

“We as a party are here as winners. The Keystone State sent President Trump back to the White House, sent Bob Casey back to Scranton, elected a Republican Attorney General for the first time in over a decade. And next November, the Keystone State will send a Republican to the Governor’s Mansion,” Garrity said during her remarks. 

Garrity emerged as the frontrunner in a hypothetical matchup against Meuser, 2022 GOP nominee Doug Mastriano, and state Sens. Kristin Phillips-Hill and Scott Martin. If Garrity, a President Donald Trump ally, and Meuser decide to throw their names into the gubernatorial race, it could tee up a competitive primary. Both Pennsylvanian politicians have indicated announcements could come as early as this summer. 

Garrity told the Pennsylvania Capital-Star on Saturday a decision on her gubernatorial bid is coming “probably in the summer.” Meuser, who also spoke at the conference, confirmed to Fox News Digital that his own decision will come by mid-summer or sooner. 

“I’ve been encouraged by the strong support I’ve received from people all across Pennsylvania urging me to consider a run for governor. Right now, I’m doing my due diligence, meeting with stakeholders, and seriously evaluating how I can best serve the Commonwealth.

“I expect to make a decision by mid-summer, or sooner if appropriate. In the meantime, I’m staying focused on advancing President Trump’s America-First Agenda in Congress — growing our economy, securing the border, and unleashing American energy dominance,” Meuser told Fox News Digital. 

As Garrity and Meuser continue representing Pennsylvania as they mull 2026 gubernatorial campaigns, the Republican Party of Pennsylvania told Fox News Digital they are “excited to have strong potential candidates” for governor. 

“There is no question that Pennsylvanians are NOT better off with Josh Shapiro as our Governor, and they will be ready to make a change in November 2026. Shapiro’s scandal-ridden administration, combined with his recent use of $5 million of taxpayer money to promote antisemitism, have set the stage for a GOP victory. Republicans are excited to have strong potential candidates to be our next Governor,” the Republican Party of Pennsylvania said in a statement. 

JOSH SHAPIRO TELLS MAHER HE’S ‘DAMN PROUD’ OF BEING JEWISH, DODGES WHETHER IT FACTORED INTO VP SNUB IN 2024

The Republican Party of Pennsylvania’s accusations relate to Shapiro’s $5 million donation to a Philadelphia Muslim community center. Front Page Magazine reported that an imam at the Al-Aqsa Islamic Society once said, “Jews are the vilest people.” Shapiro himself is Jewish. 

Speaking on a Philadelphia stage after Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., was announced as Harris’ running mate in 2024, Shapiro assured the crowd, “I am proud of my faith,” following accusations Shapiro was snubbed for the job because of his support for Israel amid Democrat discontent over the war in Gaza. 

The Republican Governor’s Association, Garrity and Shapiro did not immediately provide comment to Fox News Digital.

The House tries again this morning to align with the Senate on a framework for President Donald Trump’s tax cut bill. 

A vote could come as early as the 10 a.m. ET hour. 

No alignment? No bill.

THE SPEAKER’S LOBBY: ‘WHOSE THROAT DO I GET TO CHOKE?’

More than a dozen House conservatives balked last night, blocking Republicans from even voting on the blueprint. 

They spoke with House GOP leaders for more than an hour. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., also spoke with President Trump. Some conservatives met with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and Senate committee chairs. 

The holdouts want more assurances that the Senate will cut more spending than they greenlighted in their revamped budget early last Saturday morning. 

What would unlock the votes today? Either an informal promise from the Senate to cut more. Or, the House could alter the Senate package and force the Senate to sync with the House.

MIKE JOHNSON PUNTS HOUSE VOTE ON TRUMP TAX AGENDA AFTER GOP REBELLION THREATENED DEFEAT

An alternative is for the House to vote to add two steps to process – sending the House and Senate plans to a conference committee to finally blend the resolutions into one. 

Changing the bill and going to a conference committee are cumbersome, time-consuming steps. Rather than eight steps to finish the bill, that would create 10. The House is stuck on step 4. 

Thune has said the Senate can’t tackle another update and overnight vote series. It’s already done two versions. 

This underscores the wide divide between what the House wants to tackle – and what the Senate is capable of tackling. 

The House and Senate must approve the same measure at this stage in order to get to the bill itself. And these steps were supposed to be easier. 

This also jeopardizes Johnson’s goal of finishing the bill by Memorial Day. 

It’s about the math: Johnson can only lose three votes. And he has north of a dozen nays now. 

Moreover, the House and Senate are out of alignment. Whatever can advance in the Senate can’t pass the House and vice versa. That could imperil the ultimate passage of the bill itself.

FIRST ON FOX – Republican Rep. Lance Gooden of Texas is taking sides in the Lone Star State’s burgeoning GOP Senate primary battle between longtime Sen. John Cornyn and state Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Gooden, a four-term lawmaker who represents a congressional district which includes parts of eastern Dallas as well as large swaths of suburban, exurban, and rural areas east of the city, endorsed Paxton on Thursday. He is known as a MAGA firebrand and ally of President Donald Trump.

“Attorney General Paxton is the conservative champion we need in the U.S. Senate,” Gooden wrote in a statement shared first with Fox News.

He predicted that Paxton “will take a sledgehammer to the establishment, secure the border, and fight hard for President Trump’s agenda. Ken Paxton has my complete and total endorsement.”

GET READY FOR A NASTY AND EXPENSIVE GOP SENATE PRIMARY IN TEXAS

Gooden, who is a member of the House Armed Services and Judiciary committees, is the second member of the Texas congressional delegation to back Paxton, following Republican Rep. Troy Nehls, who endorsed the attorney general on Wednesday.

As he gears up for what will most certainly be his roughest re-election of his decades-long career, Cornyn has the backing of the top Republican in the Senate, Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota, as well as the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC).

And Republican sources confirmed to Fox News that Thune, as well as Sen. Tim Scott, R–S.C., the NRSC chair, have personally asked Trump to back Cornyn.

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The president’s grip on the GOP is stronger than ever and any endorsement Trump may make in the emerging Republican Senate primary in Texas would be extremely influential.

Paxton announced his candidacy Tuesday night in an appearance on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle.”

“It’s time for a change in Texas,” Paxton, who first won election as state attorney general in 2014, said as he launched his campaign.

And pointing to conservative Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, Paxton argued that “it’s time that we have another great senator that will actually stand up and fight for Republican values, fight for the values of the people of Texas and also support Donald Trump in the areas that he’s focused on in a very significant way.”

Paxton has flirted for a couple of years with launching a 2026 primary challenge against Cornyn, a former state senator, former Texas Supreme Court justice, and former state attorney general, who first won election to the U.S. Senate in 2002.

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Paxton has long claimed Cornyn does not represent the conservative values of Texans, and has accused the senator of not being an ally of Trump. He has also regularly labeled Cornyn a “RINO,” a “Republican in name only” – an insult MAGA and “America First” Republicans have regularly used to criticize more mainstream or establishment members of the GOP.

Cornyn, during the early stages of the 2024 Republican presidential nomination race, had said he would prefer that the GOP take a new direction, which angered Trump. But the senator endorsed Trump in late January of last year, after the then-former president won both the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary, the first two contests in the Republican presidential nomination calendar.

Since Trump returned to the White House three months ago, Cornyn has been supportive of the president’s Cabinet nominees and agenda.

ONLY ON FOX NEWS: SENATE REPUBLICAN CAMPAIGN CHAIR REVEALS HOW MANY SEATS HE’S AIMING FOR IN 2026

In the senator’s campaign launch video last month, the announcer highlighted that during Trump’s first term in office, “Texas Sen. John Cornyn had his back.”

And Cornyn told reporters on Capitol Hill on Wednesday that he had “a 92% voting record with President Trump.”

“It’s unclear to me exactly what is motivating Mr. Paxton, other than vanity and personal ambition, certainly it’s not going to make a lot of difference in terms of the voting record, because I’ve been a supporter of President Trump and his agenda,” the senator argued.

Paxton grabbed national attention in 2020 for filing the unsuccessful Texas vs. Pennsylvania case in the Supreme Court that tried to overturn former President Joe Biden’s razor-thin win over Trump in the Keystone State, and for speaking at the Trump rally near the White House that immediately preceded the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by right-wing extremists aiming to disrupt congressional certification of Biden’s Electoral College victory.

During Biden’s four years in the White House, Paxton took the administration to court numerous times.

While Paxton, who’s in his third four-year term as Texas attorney general, has long been a legal warrior in the MAGA movement, he also has plenty of personal political baggage.

Paxton was indicted on securities fraud charges soon after taking office in 2015, and also came under investigation by the FBI over bribery and corruption allegations from former top staffers. In 2022, he survived a bruising primary amid his many legal difficulties.

In 2023, Paxton was impeached by the Texas House of Representatives, but he was later acquitted of all charges by the state Senate. 

The charges in the long-running federal corruption probe were dropped during the final weeks of the Biden administration. 

While Paxton for years has denied any wrongdoing and has survived his legal fights, he would likely continue to face tough optics and plenty of incoming fire over his past predicaments during a Senate showdown.

“Paxton has a checkered background. He is a con man and a fraud and I think the people of Texas know that,” Cornyn charged on Wednesday.

And the senator added: “This is what will be litigated during the course of this campaign.”

Matt Mackowiak, a veteran Republican strategist and communications consultant based in Texas and Washington, D.C., pointed to the bruising intra-party battle ahead as he told Fox News that “this is going to be the most expensive, nastiest, most aggressive, most personal U.S. Senate primary in Texas history.”

“You have two candidates who are going to raise significant funds, who are in significant positions, who do not like each other and have not liked each other, whose teams do not like each other and the stakes could not be higher,” Mackowiak said.

Potentially complicating the primary battle is a possible Senate bid by conservative Rep. Wesley Hunt, who represents a Houston-area district.

The third-term 43-year-old Texas Republican and rising MAGA star has made his case to the president’s political team, sources confirm to Fox News. Hunt’s argument is that he’s the only person who can win both a GOP primary and a general election, a source familiar with the discussions confirmed to Fox News.

An outside group supportive of Hunt is currently spending seven figures to run ads across the Lone Star State to increase the lawmaker’s name recognition.

The eventual winner of next year’s GOP primary will be considered the favorite in the general election against whomever the Democrats nominate.

Former Democratic Rep. Colin Allred has said he’ll decide by this summer if he’ll mount a 2026 Senate campaign.

Allred, a former Baylor University football player and NFL linebacker who later represented Texas’ 32nd Congressional District (which includes parts of Dallas and surrounding suburbs), was last year’s Democratic challenger in the race against Cruz.