Secretary of State Marco Rubio clashed with Rep. Brad Sherman during a House hearing on Wednesday, telling the California Democrat that “this is not a game show” when Sherman demanded that he only answer questions with a “yes” or a “no.”

Rubio testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee in Washington, D.C., fielding questions on foreign aid, nuclear proliferation in Saudi Arabia and Iran, the war in Ukraine and more. Sparks began to fly early on when Sherman questioned Rubio on a potential nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia.

“First, I will tell you that there has been no conversation about entering into one. For example, during the recent trip,” Rubio began before Sherman cut him off.

“I’ve got limited time,” the congressman interjected. “Either give me a yes or a no.”

RUBIO FIRES BACK AFTER DEM SENATOR SAYS HE REGRETS VOTING FOR HIM, SPARKING TENSE EXCHANGE

“Well, I’m going to give you my answer if you want my answer,” Rubio replied.

But Sherman cut Rubio off, stating that he was reclaiming his time.

“Well, reclaim your time. But it’s not a game show,” Rubio said. “I get to answer. These are complex questions.”

“Mr. Secretary, I’m reclaiming my time,” Sherman said. “The filibustering takes place in the Senate. Not here.”

“I’m not filibustering. I’m trying to answer your question,” Rubio replied.

Sherman then moved on to his next question, asking whether Rubio could assure Congress that the Trump administration would continue sanctions on Iran until they verifiably agree to abandon all nuclear enrichment.

“That’s a yes or no question,” Sherman told Rubio.

Rubio replied: “No, it’s not.”

RUBIO, KAINE CLASH ON SOUTH AFRICAN REFUGEES: ‘YOU DON’T LIKE THAT THEY’RE WHITE’

“Well, can you give me a yes or no? Should I go on to go on to the next?” Sherman asked.

“We believe that Iran should not be allowed to enrich uranium, correct,” Rubio answered. 

“You believe that?” Sherman asked.

“We believe that an acceptable deal with Iran is one in which they cannot enrich, because if they can enrich, they can weaponize,” Rubio said.

“I know why we don’t want – I asked you will we agree, will we continue the sanctions until they verifiably agree to get rid of enrichments.”

“Oh, you have nothing to worry about,” Rubio said. “The worry was the previous administration. This administration–” 

“Your refusal to give me an answer is loud and clear,” Sherman interjected before shouting over Rubio that he was reclaiming his time.

The House hearing brought Rubio to testify on the State Department’s posture on protecting American interests. Throughout the hearing, Rubio asserted that any actions taken by the government must have measurable outcomes for the American people, specifically making the country safer, stronger or more prosperous.

The Trump administration sanctioned two high-ranking members of the Cartel del Noreste Wednesday — one of the most violent drug-trafficking organizations in Mexico and a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization, Fox News Digital has learned. 

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned the two leaders of the organizations, formerly known as Los Zetas. Officials said the gang exerts “significant influence over the border region,” especially near the Laredo, Texas point of entry. 

DOJ INDICTS ALLEGED HIGH-RANKING TREN DE ARAGUA MEMBER ON TERRORISM CHARGES FOR THE FIRST TIME

The first individual sanctioned was Miguel Angel de Anda Ledzema, a high-ranking member of Cartel del Noreste who oversees the procurement of guns and ammunition for the group. According to the Treasury Department, he has overseen payments to facilitators and straw purchasers in the United States and organized the delivery of firearms to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico — straw purchasers who made false representations to secure firearms from American businesses, who officials say “fell victim to the cartel’s lies.” 

The Treasury Department said that one of the weapons purchased in this arms trafficking conspiracy was recovered after Cartel del Noreste attacked Mexico’s army during a patrol in March 2024. 

The second individual sanctioned was Ricardo Gonzalez Sauceda, who was known as the second-in-command of Cartel del Noreste before his February arrest by Mexican authorities. 

The Treasury Department said he led an armed enforcement wing of the organization. He had been arrested in connection with attacks on the Mexican military and Mexican police. 

At the time of his arrest, he was in possession of a rifle, a handgun, 300 grams of methamphetamine and a package of 1,500 fentanyl pills. 

Officials said the new sanctions underscore the Trump administration’s commitment to targeting Cartel del Noreste and other violent cartels involved in drug trafficking, human trafficking, arms trafficking and other heinous crimes endangering the American people. 

VENEZUELAN GOVERNMENT USES TREN DE ARAGUA AS PROXIES TO UNDERMINE US PUBLIC SAFETY, FBI ASSESSMENT FINDS

“In working toward the total elimination of cartels to Make America Safe Again, the Trump Administration will hold these terrorists accountable for their criminal activities and abhorrent acts of violence,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday. Cartel del Noreste “and its leaders have carried out a violent campaign of intimidation, kidnapping, and terrorism, threatening communities on both sides of our southern border.” 

Bessent added, “We will continue to cut off the cartels’ ability to obtain the drugs, money, and guns that enable their violent activities.” 

The new sanctions were imposed in coordination with Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Drug Enforcement Administration. 

Officials said the action was also closely coordinated with Mexico’s Financial Intelligence Unit. 

President of the National Border Patrol Council Paul Perez told Fox News Digital that President Donald Trump’s actions against cartels “fulfills the promise that he made when he stated time and time again that he would not allow the cartels to operate with impunity on our borders or within the interior of the United States.” 

“These actions deal a significant blow and serves to send the message to all cartels, as well as to those who wish to do harm to Americans, that President Trump will not just talk about it, he will follow through,” Perez said. “The amount of drugs, weapons and other contraband, to include the smuggling and trafficking of persons into and throughout the United States, created chaos and terror that the actions of the Trump administration is bringing to an end.” 

“We fully and without hesitation support the actions taken by President Trump and his administration to take on the cartels,” Perez added. 

The actions come after Trump directed cartels to be designated as foreign terrorist organizations. 

In April, the Justice Department hit a high-ranking member of Tren de Aragua on terrorism and international drug distribution charges — the first time the U.S. government has used terrorism charges to prosecute a member of the violent gang. 

It’s time to branch out from protein bars. 

​It’s time to branch out from protein bars. 

On this episode of Dinner SOS, Chris and Kendra help listeners plan the dinner party menu of their dreams! 

​On this episode of Dinner SOS, Chris and Kendra help listeners plan the dinner party menu of their dreams! 

U.S. health officials knew about the risks of myocarditis from COVID-19 vaccines but downplayed the concern and delayed informing the public about the risks of taking the jab — that is according to a new Senate report released by Sen. Ron Johnson Wednesday.  

Johnson, R-Wis., chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, has been investigating the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines. Earlier this year, he subpoenaed the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for records relating to COVID-19 vaccine safety data and communications about the pandemic. 

SEN. RON JOHNSON: THE COVID COVER-UPS HAVE TO END

The interim report, spanning 55 pages, obtained and reviewed by Fox News Digital, revealed that Biden administration officials “withheld crucial health information from the Subcommittee and the public.” 

Since 2021, Johnson has sent more than 70 oversight letters, which he says were “either completely ignored or inadequately addressed.” 

The report highlights the records Johnson has obtained pursuant to the subpoena from the new, Trump administration-led health agency. Specifically, the report focuses on HHS’ awareness of and response to cases of myocarditis—a type of heart inflammation—following COVID-19 vaccination.

SCIENTISTS FIND CLUES ON WHY COVID VACCINE CAUSES CHRONIC HEALTH PROBLEMS IN SOME

Johnson’s report says the 2,473 pages of records he obtained “contain evidence of the Biden administration’s efforts to downplay and delay warning the public about the risks of myocarditis associated with the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines.” 

The report points to records from May 2021, in which health officials at HHS discussed whether to issue a formal warning about myocarditis.

According to the report, the formal warning about myocarditis was initially going to be distributed nationwide as a Health Alert Network message, which, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is CDC’s “primary method of sharing cleared information about urgent public health incidents with public information officers; federal, state, territorial, tribal, and local public health practitioners; clinicians; and public health laboratories.” 

However, Johnson’s report said that health officials at CDC and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) “ultimately decided against issuing a formal HAN and, instead, posted ‘clinical considerations’ on CDC’s website about myocarditis.” 

“Based on the subpoenaed records the Subcommittee has received to date, as well as public FOIA documents, this interim report will highlight records and present a timeline showing U.S. health officials knew about the risk of myocarditis; those officials downplayed the health concern; and U.S. health agencies delayed informing the public about the risk of the adverse event.” 

FLASHBACK: GOP SENATORS INVOKE STATUTE TO FORCE HHS ANSWERS ON COVID ORIGINS: ‘FULL-FLEDGED COVER-UP’

The report also highlights the Israeli Ministry of Health notifying officials at the CDC in February 2021 of “large reports of myocarditis, particularly in young people, following the administration of the Pfizer vaccine.” 

The report also highlights documents showing CDC officials discussing “safety signals” for myocarditis with mRNA vaccines in April 2021 based on Defense Department and Israeli data, but “still not taking immediate steps to warn the public.” 

Documents obtained by Johnson also show CDC officials communicating with Moderna and Pfizer representatives about the risks. 

Johnson also obtained “draft meeting notes from late May 2021 exchanged between U.S. public health officials which included the question: ‘Is VAERS signaling for myopericarditis now?,’ and the answer: ‘For the age groups 16-17 years and 18-24 years, yes.’” 

“VAERS” is an acronym for the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System. 

FLASHBACK: SEN. RON JOHNSON CONFRONTS HHS SECRETARY ABOUT REDACTED FAUCI EMAILS ON COVID-19 ORIGINS

“Rather than provide the public and health care providers with immediate and transparent information regarding the risk of myocarditis following mRNA COVID-19 vaccination, the Biden administration waited until late June 2021 to announce changes to the labels for the Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines based on the ‘suggested increased risks’ of myocarditis and pericarditis,” the report states. “Even though CDC and FDA officials were well aware of the risk of myocarditis following COVID-19 vaccination, the Biden administration opted to withhold issuing a formal warning to the public for months about the safety concerns, jeopardizing the health of young Americans.” 

The report added that the Biden administration’s decision “to downplay the COVID-19 vaccine health risks and delay warning the public about cardiac-related adverse events associated with the mRNA vaccines jeopardized the public’s health.” 

According to the report, as of April 25, 2025, VAERS reported 38,607 deaths and more than 1.6 million “adverse events worldwide associated with the administration of COVID-19 injections.” 

Of the more than 38,000 deaths, the report said 25% occurred on Day 0, 1, or 2 following injection, compared to “2,663 deaths reported to VAERS associated with the flu vaccine over a period of 35 years.” 

“No other reports of adverse events associated with any other drug or vaccine even come close to these statistics,” the report states. “And yet, those who oversaw the development and distribution of the COVID-19 vaccines continue to insist it is safe and effective, without providing the data to prove their claims.” 

Johnson’s report demands that the “full extent” of the Biden administration’s “failure to immediately warn the public about all COVID-19 vaccine adverse events must be completely exposed.” 

“The American people fund the federal health departments and agencies with their hardearned tax dollars,” the report states. “The information developed by these departments and agencies belong to the American people, and should be made fully and transparently available.” 

The report states that as “the roadblocks are removed and more documents that have been hidden and withheld for years become available, the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations will provide transparency and let the American public see what is their right to see.” 

Former President Joe Biden and his late son actively chose to conceal details and misled the public regarding Beau Biden’s cancer diagnosis while he served as attorney general of Delaware, a new book claims. 

The book, “Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again,” said that the Biden family wanted to keep Beau Biden’s cancer diagnosis a secret and misled the media about his condition. The nonfiction book, authored by journalists Jake Tapper of CNN and Alex Thompson of Axios, was released Tuesday. 

The revelation comes just after former President Biden announced Sunday he had been diagnosed with an “aggressive form” of prostate cancer. The former president’s office later said Tuesday he had never received a prostate cancer diagnosis. 

GLEASON SCORE FOR PROSTATE CANCER: WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT BIDEN’S DIAGNOSIS

“Beau’s cancer treatment also demonstrated the Biden’s capacity for denial and the lengths they would go to to avoid transparency about health issues, even when the person in question is an elected official, in this case the sitting attorney general of Delaware,” the book alleges. 

The book details how Beau collapsed in the summer of 2013 during a family vacation and that he subsequently faced surgery to remove a brain tumor. By the fall, Beau started to reduce his public appearances and media interviews. 

“In September, Biden and Beau’s team internally debated how much to disclose about Beau — the vice president’s son and a state’s top law enforcement officer — but ultimately said nothing,” the book said. “In November, Beau told a local reporter he had been given a ‘clean bill of health.’”

Months later, in February 2014, a neurologist revealed that a “small lesion” was removed from Beau’s brain — even though the former president later shared the tumor was larger than a golf ball. 

JOE BIDEN DIAGNOSED WITH ‘AGGRESSIVE FORM’ OF PROSTATE CANCER WITH METASTASIS TO THE BONE

Beau continued to serve as attorney general of Delaware as he received treatments all over the country. He would enter hospitals using the name George Lincoln, according to the book. 

The book details that Beau’s wife, Hallie, told others she remained confused regarding why Beau’s declining health was kept under wraps, since the public would have likely provided support. However, Joe and Beau remained against sharing details with the public, the book said. 

Hallie did not immediately respond to Fox News Digita’s request for comment. 

Additionally, the book said that the then-vice president ordered his staffers to “mislead” the media regarding his whereabouts as vice president. While his team would say he was departing Washington and going to Delaware on weekends, the vice president would also travel to Houston to be with Beau, who was receiving treatment there. 

“Publicly acknowledging Beau’s illness would make it a reality,” the book said. “It was them against the world.” 

A spokesperson for the former president did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

Beau died of a glioblastoma brain tumor in May 2015 at the age of 46. 

“Original Sin” details the 2024 election cycle and how former President Biden’s team allegedly orchestrated a cover-up to hide just how severely his mental faculties had suffered. 

The book is one of several that detail Biden’s decision to run in 2024 and assert the dramatic decline of his cognitive function.

FIRST ON FOX: Arizona GOP Congressman Abe Hamadeh took a victory lap on Wednesday as the Trump Justice Department announced it would dismiss the Biden administration’s “last minute” lawsuits against several police departments, including Phoenix. 

“Promise made. Promise kept,” Hamadeh told Fox News Digital in a statement after his efforts to end DOJ weaponization against police departments, largely stemming from the George Floyd riots in 2020, came to fruition on Wednesday via an announcement from DOJ.

The DOJ announced on Wednesday it is scaling back “pattern and practice” probes that became prevalent under former AG Merrick Garland and were slammed by critics who argued the effort was politically motivated and impeded police officers from doing their jobs. 

“Today, we are ending the Biden Civil Rights Division’s failed experiment of handcuffing local leaders and police departments with factually unjustified consent decrees,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said as the Department of Justice made the announcement.

‘DEFUND THE POLICE’ MECCA OF MINNEAPOLIS OVERRUN WITH VIOLENCE, ‘FAILED LEADERSHIP’: FORMER AG CANDIDATE

“I promised our law enforcement officers before taking office that I would end the weaponization of our judicial system and work with President Trump’s Department of Justice to undo the damage wrought by the Biden Administration.”

The Phoenix Police Department was the target of one of those oversight investigations in 2024 when Biden’s DOJ released a report alleging Civil Rights violations and claimed the department was discriminating against minorities and using excessive force. 

That probe has now been rejected by the Justice Department along with probes in several other jurisdictions, including Trenton, New Jersey, Memphis, Tennessee, Mount Vernon, New York, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Minneapolis and the Louisiana State Police. 

The Phoenix Police Sergeants and Lieutenants Association (PPSLA) and the Arizona Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) both issued statements praising Hamadeh’s work on the issue.

“The Phoenix Police Sergeants and Lieutenants Association (PPSLA) is grateful to Congressman Abe Hamadeh for keeping his promise to us,”  PPSLA President Ben Leuschner said. “While we very much appreciate the support of everyone who advocated on our behalf, we know that Congressman Hamadeh took the fight to an important level. Today, justice was won for the residents we are sworn to protect and serve as well as our members.”

TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ WINS SUPPORT FROM POLICE FOR OVERTIME TAX ELIMINATION

“We are grateful that both President Trump and Congressman Hamadeh stood with us against the Biden Administration’s DOJ’s flawed investigation of the Phoenix Police Department, which has already cost Phoenix taxpayers millions of dollars and left a demoralized, shrinking police force.”

Hamadeh has been leading efforts to push back against the Biden DOJ’s established practices on oversight for police departments and recently met with FBI Director Kash Patel to “discuss the Biden Administration’s targeted attacks on our men and women in blue”, his office said in a press release. 

“I am grateful to President Trump and his team of patriotic professionals dedicated to the men and women of our local law enforcement agencies who run to the sound of danger to keep our communities safe and secure,” Hamadeh said. 

Hamadeh added, “As I noted in my communications with Trump Administration officials, our officers did everything right, voluntarily cooperating in good faith, opening their records, and participating in lengthy interviews. They were met with stonewalling, mischaracterized testimony, and a final report riddled with glaring inaccuracies.”

An adviser to FBI director Patel told Fox News Digital that “Director Kash Patel has made it clear that under his leadership, the FBI stands firmly with the brave men and women who protect our communities.”

“Overbroad police consent decrees divest local control of policing from communities where it belongs, turning that power over to unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats, often with an anti-police agenda,” Dhillon said in a statement Wednesday. 

Fox News Digital reached out to Biden’s office for comment. 

“As president of the Arizona Fraternal Order of Police, and on behalf of the entire membership, I want to thank Congressman Hamadeh for his unwavering support,” Arizona Fraternal Order of Police President Paul Sheldon said in response to the news. “We look forward to partnering with the Congressman in the future on our shared goal of keeping our communities safe.”

The conservative House Freedom Caucus is demanding House GOP leaders delay plans to vote on President Donald Trump‘s “one big, beautiful bill” this week.

The group of GOP rebels is joining House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., for a meeting at the White House later on Wednesday in an apparent bid to hash out differences on the massive piece of legislation, Fox News was told.

“I don’t think it can be done today. I mean, the runway is short today,” House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., told reporters in a press conference on Wednesday.

Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., said the group accepted an “offer” from the White House on Tuesday night. He suggested the offer was not yet included in the broad-based bill that Republicans are hoping to pass via the budget reconciliation process this year.

TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ PASSES KEY HOUSE HURDLE AFTER GOP REBEL MUTINY

“We need to continue to work at that. We as members are at the table. We don’t want the deal to be ended,” Perry said.

A House Freedom Caucus source told Fox News Digital that the speaker was still “digesting” the agreement, though lawmakers at the press conference declined to say what the deal was, but a White House official pushed back in a statement to Fox News Radio.

“There was no deal. The White House presented HFC with policy options that the Administration can live with, provided they can get the votes, but they cannot get the votes,” the official said. “There was no deal. The HFC will meet with the president at 3pm to hopefully strike one.”

A House GOP leadership aide also told Fox News Digital that the White House only provided the Freedom Caucus with policy options rather than a deal.

Johnson had told reporters this week that the bill could see a chamber-wide vote as early as Wednesday. However, Harris said, “I’m not sure this can be done this week. I’m pretty confident it could be done in 10 days. But that’s up to leadership to decide.”

House conservatives have been pushing for the bill to include more aggressive cuts to Medicaid – specifically the expanded population who became eligible under the Affordable Care Act – and a full repeal of former President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and its green energy subsidies.

Allies of Johnson and other House GOP leaders have accused the GOP rebels of “moving the goal posts” from their initial demands of needing at least $1.5 trillion in spending cuts to offset the cost of new spending in the bill. 

However, Harris challenged that notion during the press conference.

“We’re saying work within the goalposts, rearrange it within the goalposts in accordance with what the president wants – end waste, fraud and abuse in Medicaid, which is wasting dollars that should be spent on the truly vulnerable, and then end as much of the green new scam as possible,” Harris said.

Earlier this morning, two key critics of the bill told Fox News Digital that negotiations between the House Freedom Caucus and House GOP leaders had regressed.

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said talks went “massively south” but declined to go into detail. Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., similarly said in a text message to Fox News Digital, “THINGS ARE NOT GOING WELL!!”

HOUSE GOP TARGETS ANOTHER DEM OFFICIAL ACCUSED OF BLOCKING ICE AMID DELANEY HALL FALLOUT

There are several outstanding issues with the bill that have not yet been resolved – blue state Republicans pushing for a raise in state and local tax (SALT) deduction caps, and conservatives demanding stricter work requirement rules for Medicaid as well as a full repeal of green energy subsidies in the IRA.

Conservatives have been wary of the New York and California GOP lawmakers’ push, however.

The House Rules Committee, the final gatekeeper before most legislation sees a House-wide vote, has been debating the bill since 1 a.m. Wednesday. The debate is expected to go through the better part of the day.

Critically, Norman and Roy are members of the rules panel – but even if they both voted against it in committee, the numbers are still on Republicans’ side to advance it.

The House of Representatives, where Republicans can lose just three votes to pass anything along party lines, is another story.

Republicans are working to pass Trump’s policies on tax, immigration, energy, defense and the national debt all in one massive bill via the budget reconciliation process.

Budget reconciliation lowers the Senate’s threshold for passage from 60 votes to 51, thereby allowing the party in power to skirt the minority — in this case, Democrats — to pass sweeping pieces of legislation, provided they deal with the federal budget, taxation or the national debt.

House Republicans are hoping to advance Trump’s bill through the House and Senate by the Fourth of July.

President Donald Trump confronted South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the White House on Wednesday with a video allegedly showing grave treatment of White farmers. 

Trump has claimed that White Afrikaner South African farmers are being slaughtered and forced off their land.  

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.  

Fox News’ Paul Tilsley contributed to this report.

EXCLUSIVE: A Biden-appointed federal judge could decide Wednesday morning that a plane carrying illegal immigrants convicted of serious crimes to South Sudan has to return. 

The plane is carrying eight men – all of whom are convicted of crimes ranging from homicide to robbery, according to details exclusively provided by the Department of Homeland Security. The DHS unveiled details of the crimes after U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy threatened to order the return of the migrants at a Wednesday hearing.

“No country on earth wanted to accept [the migrants] because their crimes are so uniquely monstrous and barbaric,” Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said at a press conference Wednesday. “These heinous individuals have terrorized American streets for too long.”

“While we are fully compliant with the law and court orders, it is absurd for a district judge to try to dictate the foreign policy and national security of the United States of America,” McLaughlin said.

INCOMING TRUMP ADMIN, CONGRESS SHOWDOWN LOOMS WITH SOUTH AFRICA OVER SUPPORT FOR RUSSIA, US FOES

Thongxay Nilakout, a Laos citizen who was convicted of first-degree murder and robbery and was sentenced to life behind bars, is also on the flight. He was arrested in January by ICE. Mexican citizen Jesus Munoz-Gutierrez is convicted of second-degree murder, and was taken into ICE custody earlier this month.

Dian Peter Domach of South Sudan is convicted of a DUI, “possession of burglar’s tools and possession of defaced firearm; sentenced to 18 months confinement” and “robbery and possession of a firearm; sentenced to 8 years confinement.” He was arrested by ICE earlier this month.

TRUMP ADMIN MAKES NEW MOVE TO BRING SOUTH AFRICAN REFUGEES TO US AS PRESIDENT BLASTS NATION’S RULERS AGAIN

Two Burmese citizens, Kyaw Mya and Nyo Myint, are also headed to the African nation on the flight. Mya is convicted of “Lascivious Acts with a Child-Victim less than 12 years of age.” He was sentenced to 10 years behind bars, but he was paroled after four years. Myint is convicted of “first-degree sexual assault involving a victim mentally and physically incapable of resisting” and faced 12 years behind bars. He was also charged with “aggravated assault-nonfamily strongarm.” Both were arrested by ICE in February.

Vietnamese citizen Tuan Thanh Phan, a citizen of Vietnam is convicted of “first-degree murder and second-degree assault.”

DHS officials noted at Wednesday’s briefing that the home countries of each of the illegal immigrants refused to take them back to their home soil. The migrants remain in DHS custody, the officials added.

Murphy, appointed by former President Joe Biden, ruled on Tuesday night that the Trump administration must maintain custody of the migrants in case he rules their removal unlawful, and they must be transferred back to the U.S.

TRUMP ADMIN ENDS DEPORTATION PROTECTIONS FOR MASSIVE NUMBER OF VENEZUELANS AMID ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN

Lawyers for illegal immigrants from Myanmar, also called Burma, and Vietnam accused the Trump administration of illegally deporting their clients to third-party countries. They argue the deportations violated Murphy’s previous court order mandating that migrants be granted “meaningful opportunity” to establish that sending them to a third country would make them unsafe.

Murphy previously found that any plans to deport people to Libya without notice would “clearly” violate his ruling regarding third-party deportations, which also applies to people who have otherwise exhausted their legal appeals.

The Justice Department on Wednesday said it is dismissing Biden-era lawsuits against the Louisville and Minneapolis police departments and is in the process of unwinding investigations into several other police departments, describing the actions as sweeping and overly broad.

Speaking to reporters on a press call Wednesday, Justice Department Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said DOJ is taking all necessary steps to dismiss “with prejudice” the Louisville and Minneapolis lawsuits, and to close the investigations into the departments – describing them as expensive and overly broad.

The Civil Rights Division will also be closing its investigations into, and retracting, the Biden administration’s findings of constitutional violations on the part of police departments in Phoenix, Trenton, Memphis, Mount Vernon, Oklahoma City, and Louisiana state police.

“In short, these sweeping consent decrees would have imposed years of micromanagement of local police departments by federal courts and expensive independent monitors, and potentially hundreds of millions of dollars of compliance costs, without a legally or factually adequate basis for doing so,” Dhilon said.

“Overbroad police consent decrees divest local control of policing from communities where it belongs, turning that power over to unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats, often with an anti- police agenda,” she added. 

 “Today, we are ending the Biden Civil Rights Division’s failed experiment of handcuffing local leaders and police departments with factually unjustified consent decrees.”

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

Amid claims that President Joe Biden declined mentally while in office, Golden State gubernatorial candidate Antonio Villaraigosa has suggested that former Vice President Kamala Harris and former Health And Human Services Secretary Xavier Beccerra were involved in a cover-up.

Becerra is also running for governor, while the prospect of a potential Harris bid looms large over the field. 

Current California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, is not eligible to run again because he’s currently serving his second term, and the state constitution stipulates that, “No Governor may serve more than 2 terms.”

“What I’ve seen in news coverage and excerpts from the new book ‘Original Sin’ is deeply troubling. At the highest levels of our government, those in power were intentionally complicit or told outright lies in a systematic cover up to keep Joe Biden’s mental decline from the public,” Villaraigosa said in a statement.

DEM SENATOR SAYS ‘NO DOUBT’ BIDEN DECLINED COGNITIVELY DURING PRESIDENCY

“Now, we have come to learn this cover up includes two prominent California politicians who served as California Attorney General – one who is running for Governor and another who is thinking about running for Governor,” he declared. 

Becerra and Harris have both previously served as California state attorney general.

“Those who were complicit in the cover up should take responsibility for the part they played in this debacle, hold themselves accountable, and apologize to the American people. I call on Kamala Harris and Xavier Becerra to do just that – and make themselves available to voters and the free press because there’s a lot of questions that need to be answered,” Villaraigosa declared in another portion of his statement.

BIDEN’S ‘LAST KNOWN’ PROSTATE CANCER SCREENING WAS OVER A DECADE AGO, AS QUESTIONS MOUNT OVER DIAGNOSIS

Fox News Digital reached out to the office of Kamala Harris and the Office of Joe and Jill Biden but did not receive responses from either office by the time of publication.

“It’s clear the President was getting older, but he made the mission clear: run the largest health agency in the world, expand care to millions more Americans than ever before, negotiate down the cost of prescription drugs, and pull us out of a world-wide pandemic. And we delivered,” Becerra noted in a statement, according to reports.

During an appearance on “The View” earlier this month, Biden rejected the notion that he suffered significant decline in his cognitive abilities during his last year in office.

BIDEN AIDE INTIMIDATED REPORTER INVESTIGATING FORMER PRESIDENT’S MENTAL DECLINE WITH ‘TACIT THREAT:’ BOOK

Biden has been “diagnosed with prostate cancer, characterized by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone,” a statement from his personal office recently noted.

Fox News’ Peter Doocy contributed to this report

EXCLUSIVE – As House GOP leaders advance President Donald Trump’s so-called “big, beautiful bill” toward a floor vote this week, Democrats, who are in the minority, are sounding a warning.

“We’re going to hold Republicans accountable and there will be a price to pay,” Rep. Suzan DelBene of Washington State, the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, emphasized as she pointed to next year’s midterm elections during a Fox News Digital interview.

Republicans are holding onto an extremely razor-thin majority in the chamber right now, and Democrats only need a three-seat pickup to win back the House majority in the 2026 elections.

Additionally, they view the sweeping and controversial GOP-crafted measure stocked full of Trump’s second-term priorities on tax cuts, immigration, defense, energy and the debt limit – which is currently making its way through numerous votes and hurdles in the House – as political ammunition.

INCHING CLOSER: HOUSE SPEAKER JOHNSON REACHES TENTATIVE AGREEMENT WITH SOME HOLDOUT GOP LAWMAKERS

“This is a terrible piece of legislation,” DelBene argued.

Democrats from across the party are shining a spotlight on the Republicans’ restructuring of Medicaid, the nearly 60-year-old federal government program that provides health insurance for roughly 71 million adults and children with limited incomes.

“Let’s be clear, all Republicans are talking about right now is how many people and how fast they’re going to take away healthcare. They have these huge cuts to Medicaid, 14 million people lose healthcare across the country, and they’re talking about how fast they can do that,” DelBene charged on Tuesday.

She claimed that House Republicans are “all blindly following the president and going to blindly follow him off the cliff.”

Rep. Ted Lieu of California, another member of the House Democrat leadership, argued as he took questions from reporters that the bill “has the largest cut to healthcare in U.S. history.”

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The cuts to Medicaid, being drafted in part as an offset to pay for extending Trump’s 2017 tax cut law, which is set to expire later this year, include a slew of new rules and regulatory requirements for those seeking coverage. Among them are a new set of work requirements for many of those seeking coverage.

“When you go across the country and talk to folks, folks are outraged, and they’re scared. They’re scared about the cuts to healthcare, not only cutting 14 million people off of healthcare but then raising costs beyond that for everyone and things like rural hospitals closing,” DelBene argued. “This would have devastating impacts across the country. This is policy that Republicans are fighting for, cutting nutrition health programs so that families don’t even have healthy food.”

House Republicans push back against the Democrats’ attacks and say what they are doing is putting an end to waste, fraud and abuse currently in the Medicaid system, so the program can work for the public in the way that it was intended.

They call any talk that they are cutting aid to mothers, children, people with disabilities and the elderly a “flat out lie.”

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DelBene countered, saying, “we’re not buying the argument because what we’ve seen in committee, what they’ve written down on paper is massive cuts in healthcare and all to pay for tax breaks for the wealthiest in our country. This isn’t a bill about helping working families. This bill is devastating for working families.”

However, her counterparty, Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina, the chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, told Fox News Digital in a statement that “Republicans are ending waste, fraud, and abuse in Medicaid so the most vulnerable get the care they need.”

Additionally, Hudson argued that “Democrats are lying to protect a broken status quo that lets illegal immigrants siphon off billions meant for American families. We’re strengthening Medicaid for future generations by protecting taxpayers and restoring integrity.”

Dating back to last year’s presidential campaign, Trump has vowed not to touch Medicaid. On Tuesday, as he made a rare stop on Capitol Hill to meet behind closed doors with House Republicans in order to shore up support for the bill, Trump’s message to fiscally conservative lawmakers looking to make further cuts to Medicaid was “don’t f— around with Medicaid.”

While there are divisions between Republicans over Medicaid, and a chasm between the two major parties over the longstanding entitlement program, there is one point of agreement – this issue will continue to simmer on the campaign trail in one form or another long after the legislative battles on Capitol Hill are over.