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Dems unite to boycott hearing on emerging threat facing America: ‘Don’t want to know the truth’

July 15, 2026 4:57pm EDT / Fox News

Sen Gary Peters left after asking witnesses questions during the hearing

By Charles Creitz, Fox News

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The Democratic side of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee dais was empty Wednesday as Republicans questioned witnesses at a hearing on “Exposing Fraud in America,” prompting GOP lawmakers to accuse the minority of ducking a politically uncomfortable issue.

Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., the ranking member on the committee, was the only Democrat present for the hearing’s opening statements. He asked a handful of questions before appearing to leave sometime before Chairman Rand Paul, R-Ky., addressed witnesses Nick Shirley, James O’Keefe and Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette.

Otherwise, the Democratic side of the dais was vacant.

FTC CHIEF ACCUSES DEMOCRATS OF ‘TRYING TO PROTECT THE FRAUDSTERS’ BY WITHHOLDING DATA FROM TRUMP ADMIN

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Republicans, left, appear at the Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing on fraud in America, but Democrats, dais on right, appeared to largely skip the forum.(US Senate Homeland Security Committee)

Fox News Digital reached out to every Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security Committee, but none responded by press time. Fox News Digital also reached out to Paul for his reaction.

Republicans and conservative commentators quickly criticized the Democrats’ absence amid ongoing scrutiny of fraud cases in Minnesota, California and other states.

Besides Peters, who did not stay for the main portion of the hearing, Democrats on the panel include senators John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Ruben Gallego of Arizona, Andy Kim of New Jersey and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan.

OWNER OF DAYCARE IN VIRAL NICK SHIRLEY VIDEO CHARGED IN $4.6M DAYCARE FRAUD SCHEME, PROSECUTORS SAY

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A Fox News Channel screenshot shows Chairman Rand Paul, R-Ky., left, presiding over a hearing with no Democrats, right, present.(The Faulkner Focus/Fox News)

At one point, Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, pointed out the elephant — or donkey — missing from the room.

When Paul turned to call on Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., to offer his questions, Moreno said a Democrat is supposed to be given time to question witnesses after a Republican finishes.

“If there were a Democrat here, yes,” Paul replied. “So, there’s no Democrats present at a hearing about fraud,” Moreno said, leading Paul to state for the record, “There doesn’t appear to be a great deal of interest across the aisle.”

The lack of attendance from the Democrats drew criticisms online.

Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., labeled the no-show Democrats “cowards” in an X message.

Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner asked Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., about the optics of Democrats’ half-circle of empty seats on Wednesday.

“They don’t want to know the truth about this. … You look at these areas that have just basically turned a blind eye and have let people move forward with fraud,” Blackburn said.

TOP FEDERAL PROSECUTOR CALLS CALIFORNIA A ‘FRAUDSTER’S PARADISE,’ WARNS STATE OFFICIALS COULD FACE CHARGES

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Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., and ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, was the only Democrat to appear and stayed only for opening remarks.(Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Blackburn previously introduced legislation that would make defrauding the federal government a denaturalizing and deportable offense, she said.

Florida political reporter Eric Daugherty commented that the Senate held an important “anti-taxpayer fraud meeting … with Nick Shirley and James O’Keefe, and … every single Democrat seat is empty.”

“One hundred percent of Democrats on the committee were invited – 0% showed up. The party of fraud,” Daugherty declared.

During the hearing, Shirley sounded off about what he and his reporting partner David Hoch discovered as they visited various, largely Somali-owned daycare center addresses in Minneapolis.

“When we talk about fraud, we are talking about money stolen from hardworking, law-abiding, taxpaying citizens,” Shirley said.

“This issue has nothing to do with political parties, because no dollar says Republican or Democrat on it. When a fraudster commits fraud, he or she steals from all of us. The worst part is that fraud affects the most vulnerable and needy, as they rely the most on government services,” he said, describing a 43-minute video he composed from touring such sites with Hoch in Minneapolis.

Shirley and Hoch’s work later earned them a State of the Union invitation from Rep. Pete Stauber, R-Minn.

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With the Democratic dais vacant, Shirley noted that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced in January 2026 that he would not seek a third term, and the daycare organization with the highest level of government funding purportedly pleaded guilty to fraud and the largest “autism fraud” bust in history has occurred in Minnesota.

“Elon Musk was right when he said, ‘The fraudsters always complain the loudest,’” he said.

James O’Keefe testified about his work in Los Angeles, where he and his journalists recorded 28 exchanges with election petition circulators offering money or drugs in exchange for ballot signatures.

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“They campaign in this building (the Capitol) about freedom and protecting democracy, preventing disenfranchisement and how nobody is above the law,” O’Keefe testified.

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“But if those principles are not enforced when they are violated in broad daylight, they are not principles at all. They are slogans.”

Trump weighing options for expanding military operations in Iran

2026-07-15 5:24 PM ET / CNN

By Kevin Liptak

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A screengrab from a video obtained from social media on July 15 shows a view shortly before what US Central Command says was a US strike on Iran.

US Central Command/Reuters

President Donald Trump has been receiving options for expanding the military operation in Iran, according to two people familiar with the matter, including during a Situation Room meeting on Tuesday that centered on ways to intensify efforts to loosen Iran’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump has publicly said he intends to strike Iran harder over the coming week, including threats on civilian infrastructure and potentially energy targets. Behind the scenes, he has been discussing various scenarios for future military action with senior officials, hoping to identify ways to pressure Iran into submitting to US demands after existing efforts have failed to bring Tehran to heel.

Over the past five days, the US has carried out daily strikes on Iranian positions along the Strait of Hormuz, including Wednesday on tiny Greater Tunb Island in the Strait of Hormuz, which has acted as a base for the Iranian military.

Officials said the strikes are intended to degrade Iran’s ability to prevent commercial vessels from transiting the waterway. But destroying targets like missile launchers and radars could also lay the groundwork for the larger US military operations Trump has been mulling, officials said.

According to the two officials, Trump is now weighing an operation to take Kharg Island, the critical Iranian export hub, and to bomb underground complexes at Pickaxe Mountain, believed to be connected to Iran’s nuclear program.

He affirmed his interest in both targets during interviews this week, though he suggested a ground operation to take Kharg may fall to another country.

“We have other people that will do the ground campaign for us,” he said on Fox News, without explaining further.

Trump has previously offered public and private indications he’s ready to escalate, only to back off. But he has grown frustrated that Iran is not capitulating on his nuclear red lines and continues to restrict traffic through the strait.

The president has oscillated between casting doubt on Iran’s willingness to negotiate a deal and claiming Tehran was prepared to return to the bargaining table.

“They want to settle so badly. They don’t like what we’re doing, and they do want to settle. We’ll find out whether or not we settle with them, or we just finish it off,” he said Wednesday at a defense industry event in Pennsylvania.

A week ago, Trump offered a different viewpoint, claiming it was a “waste of time” to continue talking to Iran.

Speaking in a three-hour interview with Joe Rogan on Tuesday, Vice President JD Vance — the administration’s lead negotiator with Iran — said the war will not be won through military force alone.

“You can bomb them, you can take away their radar, you can take away some of their drones and some of their missiles, but it’s just too easy to fire at ships in the straits,” he said. “So you’ve got to actually be willing to talk and to try to figure out the problem.”

Woman who schemed to lure vulnerable migrants to US for sex work pleads guilty

2026-07-15T21:18:06.700Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/15/politics/woman-scheme-traffic-women-to-us-sex-work-pleads-guilty

Several years ago, a family came to the United States and took up a terrifying new endeavor: smuggling young, poor women from Central and South America into the country and forcing them into prostitution.

The scheme was rather straightforward, according to court documents. One or two members of the family would contact women abroad and offer them resources to illegally immigrate and a legitimate job when they arrived. All the women needed to do was pay back their travel fees.

But once they were on the way, the women were told that price had increased, often by tens of thousands of dollars. The women felt they had no choice but to agree to engage in commercial sex and hand over the proceeds, prosecutors said.

On Wednesday, the ringleader of the operation — and the matriarch of the family — pleaded guilty to three conspiracy charges: sex trafficking, conspiring to bring illegal aliens into the US for financial gain, and money laundering.

The woman, Yilibeth del Carmen Rivero-De Caldera, faces up to life in prison.

The victims are young people who “think they’re coming to America for some type of opportunity for a better life,” Tysen Duva, who runs the Justice Department’s criminal division, told CNN. “They want to get here. They want to leave from where they come from. They’re going to pay money to do it. But what they don’t realize is the sex debt they’re going to be incurring when they get here.”

CNN has reached out to Rivero-De Caldera’s attorney for comment, as well as the attorneys for her eight codefendants, who have all pleaded guilty.

“As a young teenager, my client walked through and survived the jungles of the Darien Gap seeking refuge and a better future,” said Meggan Sullivan, the attorney for one of Rivero-De Caldera’s daughters-in-law. “Instead, she became the victim of a family of traffickers who groomed and controlled her” until she joined their scheme, Sullivan said.

“Before we judge survivors, we have to understand the extraordinary vulnerabilities traffickers deliberately exploit,” Sullivan continued. “We cannot understand these cases unless we understand the trauma, coercion, and survival that define them.”

According to court documents, Rivero-De Caldera, a Venezuelan national, entered the United States in 2022 and jump-started the trafficking operation out of motels in Nashville, Tennessee.

Prosecutors allege that within a year, Rivero-De Caldera’s two sons, daughter, and their partners also entered the country and joined the scheme, as did two associates.

The group allegedly sent travel money to victims, hired smugglers to help them enter the US, and sometimes even escorted victims into the country and to Tennessee.

When they arrived, the victims were surveilled on a “near-constant basis” to ensure they didn’t escape, court documents say. Their immigration documents were often withheld. Some victims told investigators they believed Rivero-De Caldera and one of her sons were connected to Tren de Aragua, a cartel and US-designated terrorist organization, and worried the gang would hurt their families if they refused to comply, according to the documents.

One victim highlighted in court documents said she traveled through multiple countries by bus and on foot before she entered the United States. But during her journey, the woman, who is not named by prosecutors, was allegedly told she was going to be fined $35,000 because she was bringing along her 5-year-old daughter.

Because the woman couldn’t afford to pay that additional fee, she began working in commercial sex, prosecutors say, adding that she was repeatedly warned that there would be consequences should she try to escape before she had fully paid her debt.

When law enforcement arrived to arrest one of Rivero’s sons, they found the woman’s daughter in his hotel room, prosecutors say. Her mother was in a separate room with a client.

Prosecutors say Rivero-De Caldera and the codefendants used proceeds from forced prostitution to bring new victims to the US

The Justice Department has made human trafficking one of its top priorities.

It is one of the most profitable criminal enterprises, according to the Justice Department, along with gun and drug trafficking. Human trafficking is estimated to be a $32 billion-a-year global industry, the department says.

To that end, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said last month that he was appointing prosecutor Alessandra Serano to act as a liaison to other federal agencies on the department’s human trafficking and child exploitation work.

Serano told CNN that she hopes to “take the best of what DOJ has to offer” on its human trafficking investigations and partner with “other agencies like Homeland Security, the State Department, (and) state and local organizations, to work together to combat this problem.”

Serano is tasked with submitting a report to the deputy attorney general updating the department’s strategies to combat human trafficking and child exploitation within 120 days of her appointment.

New York Times seeks to block subpoenas to reporters over Air Force One reporting

July 15, 2026 11:37 PM UTC / Reuters

People walk by The New York Times building in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., September 16, 2025. REUTERS/Kylie Cooper

WASHINGTON, July 15 (Reuters) – The New York Times filed a court motion to block federal grand jury subpoenas to three of its journalists over their reporting on security concerns involving President Donald Trump’s new Qatari-donated Air Force One, a spokesperson said on Wednesday.

The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here.

Reporting by Andrew Goudsward; Editing by Christian Martinez

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

EXCLUSIVE: Pence pushes to rename bill for Lindsey Graham, recalls final talk: ‘Bring Putin to the table’

July 15, 2026 7:31pm EDT / Fox News

The former vice president described Graham as a tireless advocate for Ukraine, NATO and sustained economic pressure on Putin

By Brittany Miller Fox News

Senators push to pass Graham-backed Russia sanctions bill

Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., discusses the bipartisan effort to pass the Russia sanctions bill, aimed at increasing pressure on Vladimir Putin to end the Ukraine war. McCormick also details President Donald Trump’s address at the Pennsylvania Defense and Innovation Summit on ‘Fox & Friends.’

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FIRST ON FOX: Former Vice President Mike Pence is calling on Congress to rename Sen. Lindsey Graham’s signature Russia sanctions legislation after the late South Carolina Republican, telling Fox News Digital there would be “no more fitting tribute” to one of the Senate’s most influential national security hawks.

In an exclusive interview, Pence said Graham’s years-long push for tougher sanctions against Russia should become both his legislative legacy and a permanent reminder of his unwavering support for Ukraine and America’s allies.

Pence argued Congress has a rare opportunity to honor Graham by passing the bipartisan sanctions package he spent years championing and sending it to President Donald Trump with the senator’s name attached.

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GRAHAM REPORTEDLY REFUSED MEDICAL HELP BEFORE SCHEDULED TV APPEARANCE

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FILE – Former Vice President Mike Pence told Fox News Digital Graham always took time to inquire about his family, recalling one of their last conversations.(Jose Sarmento Matos/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“I also believe it’d be altogether fitting to put Senator Lindsey Graham’s name on that bill,” Pence told Fox News Digital. “Send it to the President, have him sign it into law.”

Pence said Graham viewed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as one of the defining geopolitical challenges of the era and believed economic pressure was essential to forcing Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate.

“He never had any illusions about who we were dealing with — with Vladimir Putin,” Pence said.

The former vice president, who has traveled to Ukraine twice since Russia’s invasion, said Graham understood that Ukraine represented “a frontier of freedom” and consistently pushed both Republican and Democratic administrations to stand firmly with America’s allies.

When asked whether the sanctions legislation could ultimately become Graham’s greatest achievement, Pence said it may well define how history remembers the longtime senator.

“I think it could be,” Pence said.

EUROPE BANKROLLS PUTIN’S WAR MACHINE EVEN AS NATO RACES TO BOLSTER DEFENSES

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FILE – Pence priased Graham’s advocacy for Israel, Ukraine and a stronger NATO alliance.(Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

He pointed to Graham’s decades-long advocacy for Israel, Ukraine and a stronger NATO alliance, saying the senator remained remarkably consistent throughout his public career.

Pence said Graham also played an important role in encouraging NATO allies to increase defense spending during the first Trump administration, while remaining one of Israel’s fiercest advocates on Capitol Hill.

For Pence, however, Graham’s final legislative push is inseparable from one of their last conversations together.

He still remembers the meeting vividly.

Pence and his wife, Karen, had just landed at Reagan National Airport and were making their way through the terminal when they spotted Graham heading toward another gate.

As he almost always did, Graham began by asking about Pence’s family.

The senator wanted updates on Pence’s son, a Marine Corps fighter pilot, and his son-in-law, a Navy fighter pilot. Pence said Graham never forgot to ask about them.

But after briefly catching up, the conversation shifted to the issue occupying Graham’s attention in his final months.

“We went straight into a conversation about Ukraine sanctions,” Pence recalled.

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FILE – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, meets with Sen. Lindsey Graham in Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 18, 2024. Pence said Graham’s bipartisan Russia sanctions bill should be renamed in the senator’s honor.(Ukrainian Presidency/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Pence thanked Graham for leading the effort and mentioned a Wall Street Journal opinion piece supporting tougher sanctions against Russia.

Graham immediately leaned in.

“He did one of those — puts his finger in my chest — and said, ‘You just stay on this. This is the way we’re gonna get this done. This is the way you bring Putin to the table.’”

The two men embraced before heading toward separate gates.

“We parted with a handshake and a hug,” Pence said.

LINDSEY GRAHAM, SOUTH CAROLINA SENATOR WHO ROSE FROM SMALL-TOWN ROOTS TO GOP POWER BROKER, DIES AT 71

Looking back, Pence said that brief airport encounter perfectly captured the man he had known for decades.

Graham enjoyed talking about family and could always be counted on for a joke, Pence said, but the personal conversation rarely lasted long before he returned to public policy.

“He was a very serious legislator,” Pence said. “He was a man who was deeply committed to policy.”

Pence said Graham’s convictions never changed, whether the issue was supporting the military, standing with Israel, protecting unborn life or confronting authoritarian regimes like Russia, Iran and China.

“He never wavered,” Pence said.

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The former vice president said he learned of Graham’s death Sunday morning and remains deeply saddened by the loss of someone he first came to know during the Republican Revolution of the 1990s before serving alongside him in Congress and later in the Trump administration.

“I was taken aback by the news,” Pence said. “I really, really have a heavy heart, to this hour.”

Pence said he hopes lawmakers finish the work Graham dedicated years to advancing.

“I really do believe there would be no more fitting tribute to the life and vision of Senator Lindsey Graham than for Congress to pass and the president to sign the tough Russia sanctions bill,” Pence said.

“I’m going to continue to champion that in the days ahead.”

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Brittany Miller is a Fox News Digital breaking news writer and former Independent reporter who graduated from Syracuse University in 2023.

Argentina rallies past bitter rival England to book spot in World Cup final

2026-07-15T17:08:00-0400 / CBS News

One of the most bitter rivalries in international soccer wrote a new chapter in its contentious series Wednesday, when defending World Cup champions Argentina rallied to edge England 2-1 in Atlanta, Georgia, to advance to Sunday’s final at MetLife Stadium, where they will face Spain.

In a chippy, tense matchup that was less about free-flowing soccer and more a war of attrition, a 55th-minute moment of brilliance from left winger Anthony Gordon, who chipped in a cross from Morgan Rogers, gave England the lead.

But as they have so many times in this tournament, La Albiceleste mounted a comeback, first thanks to a stunning 85th-minute strike from just outside the penalty area by midfielder Enzo Fernandez, then a stoppage-time header from substitute Lautaro Martinez, to give Argentina the lead. Both were assisted by none other than legendary striker Lionel Messi.

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Lautaro Martinez scores the second goal for Argentina during the FIFA World Cup semifinal against England at Atlanta Stadium on July 15, 2026, in Atlanta, Georgia. Charlotte Wilson/Offside/Offside via Getty Images

“I dreamed it, I swear. I told Alexis (Mac Allister) that I was going to score. I told him that I was going to come on and I was going to win it,” Martinez said. “I can tell you this team keeps showing what it’s made of.”

At the final whistle, Messi fell to his knees in celebration while England players collapsed in disbelief — again. Add 2026 to 1986 and 1998 on the list of games when Argentina has extinguished English hopes at the World Cup.

“I’m gutted for the team, the staff, the fans,” England captain Harry Kane said. “We worked so hard to be here. The lads have given every bit of blood, sweat and tears. To fall short like we did is just gutting.”

Messi is seeking to lead Argentina to a second consecutive World Cup title and the first repeat champion since Brazil in 1958 and 1962. His eight goals remain tied for the most in this tournament. The 39-year-old is one of only two players, the other being Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, to play in six men’s World Cups.

The Three Lions were seeking their first World Cup title since 1966. Their intercontinental rivalry with Argentina carries a lot of history, most notably Diego Maradona’s infamous “Hand of God” goal that helped Argentina bounce England in the 1986 World Cup quarterfinal.

Argentina will face Spain on Sunday, which beat favorites France 2-0 on Tuesday. England will play France on Saturday for third place.

“We’re going to try to win, we’re going to leave everything out there,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said. “It’s very difficult to get people to understand what these players are showing. It’s incredible. We are unique, truly, and it’s not arrogance, it’s from the heart. We are unique.”

England wanted to protect its late 1-0 lead and coach Thomas Tuchel made lineup changes to build a wall in front of the goal.

Argentina and Messi kicked it down.

England swapped defender Reece James for Dan Burn and midfielder Declan Rice for defender Nico O’Reilly in the 82nd minute.

Three minutes later, Fernández struck from outside the penalty area for Argentina’s first goal. And late substitute Martínez sealed the win with a close-range header when England defenders lost him on a cross from Messi.

Messi pulled in Kane and goalkeeper Jordan Pickford for handshakes and hugs on the pitch after Argentina’s victory.

Argentina players — many with their shirts off — jumped and sang in front of their fans after their win. England players stood in shock in the middle of the field. A sizable chunk of their fans left immediately when the match ended.

The loss for England will hurt a new generation of fans in a similar way to Diego Maradona’s infamous handball goal in the 1986 World Cup quarterfinals and the penalty shootout loss in 1998 when David Beckham was sent off for kicking Diego Simeone.

It almost felt inevitable. Especially given the amount times Argentina has simply refused to give in at this year’s World Cup. From Cape Verde to Egypt, Messi and Co. always seem to find a way.

England, in contrast, came up short in the World Cup semifinals for the third time after losses to Germany in 1990 and Croatia in 2018. And it’s another occasion in recent years when England’s players have squandered a winning position in the later stages of a major tournament.

Wednesday’s first half was scoreless but not without some rough action. The teams combined for 19 first half fouls, two yellow cards and no shots on goal.

Referee Ismail Elfath held up play briefly after just a few minutes in an effort to calm things down.

It didn’t seem to help much as the physical style by both teams continued.

Prior to the match, Argentine Security Minister Alejandra Monteoliva said that fans would not be able to carry some of their flags and banners that incorporate images of the Falkland Islands into the semifinal.

Monteoliva cited FIFA’s code of conduct, which bans politically divisive content. But her comments led to a social media backlash in Buenos Aires.

England reasserted control of the Falklands in a 1982 war with Argentina. Argentines claim the British protectorate as the Malvinas and consider the South Atlantic islands essential to their national identity.

FIFA’s code of conduct also says fans cannot “curse or chant in a political, offensive and/or discriminatory manner.”

Argentine Vice President Victoria Villarruel this week described the match as a fight against “usurping pirates,” a reference to the Falkland Islands controversy.

Vance says Trump administration ‘screwed up’ communications around Epstein files

2026-07-15 19:24 PM ET / CNN

By Alejandra Jaramillo

21 min ago

PUBLISHED Jul 15, 2026, 7:24 PM ET

Epstein files JD Vance Donald Trump

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Vice President JD Vance arrives for a meeting with House Republicans at the US Capitol on Wednesday.

Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Vice President JD Vance said the Trump administration “absolutely screwed up the comms” around the Jeffrey Epstein files and should have released everything immediately, while insisting the administration was not trying to conceal information.

“I say this with all candor, like we absolutely screwed up the comms of the Epstein files, like we just did,” Vance said on “The Joe Rogan Experience” when asked whether there had been “undue influence” in trying to keep the files under wraps.

“But do I think the reason we screwed up the comms is because we were trying to hide something? No,” Vance said in the podcast episode released Wednesday.

Vance’s comments come as the administration has been dogged by blowback from the president’s own base over its handling of the Epstein files.

As for what went wrong, the vice president pointed to then-Attorney General Pam Bondi’s public comments suggesting a purported client list was on her desk, while he noted that the binders of information handed out to right-wing social media influencers in February 2025 were “largely documents that were already released.”

“I don’t know what the purpose of it was, but I know the effect of it was to make people mistrust the entire effort,” Vance said, adding that he didn’t think Bondi was doing “anything malicious.”

“I think Pam was trying to respond to the political moment. I think she overstated what we had and what we didn’t have, and I think she got roasted for it publicly by a lot of people, including me.”

The vice president reiterated that he’s “one of the OG Epstein conspiracy theorists,” saying, “I’ve probably gone down every single rabbit hole.” He argued the “original sin” of the Epstein investigation dated back to 2007 and 2008, arguing it was “way too narrow” and faulting former US Attorney Alex Acosta, who negotiated a controversial plea deal with Epstein.

“If there was a broader conspiracy — and you know my view is that there probably was — the evidence that existed in 2007, that was the opportunity to get it out,” Vance said.

Asked about theories that Epstein may have been part of Israel’s Mossad spy agency, Vance said, “Yeah, Mossad or CIA or some other deep state.”

“He clearly had connections to the upper, the highest levels of American intelligence. He clearly had connections to the highest levels of Israeli intelligence,” he added.

Vance also defended President Donald Trump’s role in releasing the Epstein files, rejecting claims that the president was pressured into doing so. Trump “could have killed” the congressional effort to compel the Justice Department to release the files if he had wanted to, Vance argued. (Trump and GOP leaders had worked furiously to try to quash the effort to force the release of the files, before Trump reversed course at the last minute.)

Still, Vance conceded that that it took longer than it should have for the administration to release the files.

“If people want to say we mishandled the Epstein release, guilty. We did mishandle it, especially the communications of it,” he said.

“I think that we should have just dropped everything at the very beginning,” he said. “We should have just done it as quickly as possible.”

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GPS data tracks boat Mississippi teen Nolan Wells was on before he went missing

2026-07-15T17:31:00-0400 / CBS News

By Jared Eggleston,
Updated on: July 15, 2026 / 7:08 PM EDT / CBS News

GPS data from the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, obtained by CBS News, tracks the movements of the boat that carried Nolan Wells to Horn Island on July 4. Wells was found dead after going missing following an outing on the island.

The vessel left a dock at approximately 9:56 a.m. that morning and arrived at Horn Island at 11:14 a.m. CBS News has previously reported that Wells was not on the boat when it departed the island.

According to the GPS data, the boat left Horn Island at 4:31 p.m. and returned to its original departure dock. It then traveled into Fort Bayou around 5:52 p.m. before returning to the dock at 6:06 p.m.

Later that evening, the boat went to the Fort Bayou boat launch at 7:19 p.m., according to the MSDMR report. From there, it traveled over land — presumably towed by a vehicle — to the Biloxi, Mississippi, residence of the boat’s owners.

The MSDMR report indicates that the boat’s owner, his mother and one other individual who was reportedly with Wells on the day of the incident have cooperated with the investigation.

The department’s report ends on July 5, following notification that the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office would take over as the lead investigative agency.

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This undated photo provided by the family in July 2026 shows Nolan Xavier Wells with his mother, Christine Wonsley. Family photo via AP

Wells, 18, was last seen on July 4 on Horn Island, where he had taken a boat trip with friends to celebrate the holiday, officials said. Wells traveled to the island with his friends but did not return to the mainland with them that afternoon, Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter has said.

He was last seen on the island at 3 p.m., according to attorney Ben Crump’s office. His mother reported him missing later that night and a search began.

His body was discovered July 6 off the coast of the island, which is about 10 miles south of the Mississippi mainland, following a search that involved the U.S. Coast Guard, the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources and the National Park Service.

Dental records confirmed the body was Wells, Jackson County coroner Bruce Lynd told CBS News. An autopsy took place on July 7, Lynd said, but the results were not immediately made public. Wells’ body was flown to Washington, D.C., for an independent autopsy, according to Crump.

Wells’ parents have said they don’t believe their son would’ve stayed behind on the island by choice when his friends left by boat.

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Christine and Elmore Wonsley, the parents of Nolan Wells, spoke to “CBS Mornings” on Friday, July 10, 2026. CBS News

“No, he wouldn’t. Nolan always stays with the group,” Elmore Wonsley, Nolan’s father, told “CBS Mornings” last week. “If you be with me, you come back with me. So that I don’t understand, and with me being a parent, if I was in that situation, I would have told them, ‘You’re going to get back on this boat with me because I don’t want to answer to your parents if something happens to you.’”

When directly asked if he believed Nolan was left behind on the island, his father responded, “Yes. I don’t believe he decided to stay on the island by himself. It just doesn’t — that’s not his character.”

Wells went to Ocean Springs High School and was a rising sophomore on Southwest Mississippi Community College’s football team. Crump said Wells was a good swimmer.

Mark Osborne contributed to this report.

US Senate undecided on bill to make daylight saving time permanent

2026-07-15 20:22:24 UTC / Reuters

By David Shepardson and David Morgan

July 15, 2026 8:22 PM UTC Updated 3 hours ago

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WASHINGTON, July 15 (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate is reviewing a bill passed by the House to make daylight saving time permanent but it is unclear if it ​has enough support to become law, the top Senate Republican said Wednesday.

Senate Majority ‌Leader John Thune said it was not clear whether the daylight saving bill could garner the 60 votes needed for passage in the chamber.

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“We’re looking at it. You know the House had a big vote. There’s ​a lot of interest in it from members on our side over here. Some ​for, some against,” the South Dakota Republican told reporters. Asked whether he ⁠could support the legislation, Thune replied: “I’m from a northern clime. I voted against it in ​committee.”

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The House of Representatives passed the measure in a 308-117 vote to end the twice-yearly practice of ​changing clocks observed across most of the nation since the 1960s.

If enacted, clocks would no longer return to standard time in November, although states could opt out of year-round daylight saving time if they do not ​currently observe it or voted to adopt permanent standard time before the law was changed.

Supporters ​say changing the clocks disrupts sleep, increases workplace injuries and contributes to more road accidents. They argue keeping ‌clocks ⁠an hour ahead year-round would provide more evening daylight and boost economic activity during the winter months.

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Critics note the change would mean the sun rises an hour later on winter mornings, leaving more children traveling to school and commuters, construction workers, farmers and others heading to work before ​daylight. In some places ​the sun would ⁠not rise until nearly 9 a.m. or later at the height of winter.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly called for an end to the twice-yearly ​clock changes and strongly supports the measure.

The bill faces opposition from ​Senator Tom Cotton, ⁠an Arkansas Republican, and others. Cotton has argued that permanent daylight saving time would result in very late winter sunrises and force children in many parts of the country to go to ⁠school in ​darkness.

The U.S. used year-round daylight saving time during World ​War Two and enacted it again in 1974 to reduce energy use. But it proved deeply unpopular and Congress repealed ​it later that year.

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Harris calls for ICE probe after Maine shooting amid renewed ‘border czar’ criticism

July 15, 2026 4:36pm EDT / Fox News

Joan Sebastian Guerrero was shot in Biddeford, Maine, after allegedly fleeing ICE agents in a vehicle

By Elaine Mallon

Houston immigration attorney Hugo Balderas-Ibarra, who represents two of the three passengers who were in a van when Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was fatally shot by ICE, accuses the agency of racial profiling. (Credit: KRIV)

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Former Vice President Kamala Harris blasted Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Tuesday after agents fatally shot a Colombian national during a Maine operation, sparking criticism from opponents who contrasted her response with her silence on high-profile murders committed by illegal immigrants.

Harris called for “an immediate, independent, and transparent investigation” into the death of 26-year-old Joan Sebastian Guerrero.

Guerrero was shot Monday after attempting to flee ICE officers in a vehicle during an operation targeting an illegal immigrant with a final order of removal, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

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“Joan Sebastian Guerrero should still be alive,” Harris wrote Tuesday on X. “This is the second time in a week that ICE agents have killed someone who — by their own admission — was not the subject of their operation. Now Sebastian is dead, his killing witnessed by his three-year-old daughter wearing her Bluey pajamas.

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Former Vice President Kamala Harris blasted Immigration and Customs Enforcement after agents fatally shot a Colombian national who was legally living in the United States during a Maine operation.(Montinique Monroe/Getty Images)

MAINE ICE SHOOTING VICTIM WAS NOT TARGET OF ARREST WARRANT, SEN. KING’S OFFICE SAYS AFTER EARLIER DHS ACCOUNT

“This cannot be acceptable in America,” Harris continued. “Anyone responsible for wrongdoing must be held accountable.”

Harris’ comments quickly sparked criticism online, with many users pointing to her role overseeing the Biden administration’s efforts to address the root causes of migration from Central America, a position Republicans frequently referred to as the administration’s “border czar.”

During the Biden administration, federal officials estimated that roughly 2 million known “gotaways” entered the U.S. after crossing the border illegally and avoiding capture.

ICE officers were conducting surveillance Monday morning at the last known address of an illegal immigrant with a final order of removal in Biddeford, Maine, when Guerrero allegedly fled in a vehicle after officers attempted to make contact, according to Homeland Security.

“The vehicle attempted to flee the scene and, fearing for public safety, an officer discharged his weapon,” the department said in a statement. “The driver of the vehicle was struck, and emergency services were immediately contacted. He passed away from his injuries.”

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An eyewitness told Maine’s Portland Press Herald that Guerrero appeared to drive toward federal agents before shots were fired.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said Guerrero was not the intended target of the operation.

However, the department said in a statement to Fox News Digital that Guerrero had illegally crossed the border during the Biden administration in September 2023. It is unknown if he was awaiting asylum, but he was granted a work permit in May 2025.

“To be clear, work authorization does not confer legal status in the United States,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

ICE AGENTS INSTRUCTED TO END MOST VEHICLE STOPS IN MAJOR POLICY SHIFT

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The victim of a fatal shooting that involved U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents is visible near the car he was driving when agents shot through the windshield in Biddeford, Maine, July 13, 2026.(Gregory Rec/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images)

Many commentators also argued Harris and other leading Democrats have been far less vocal in publicly mourning Americans killed by illegal immigrants than in condemning ICE enforcement actions.

Some critics cited the 2024 death of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley, who was killed by Venezuelan illegal immigrant Jose Ibarra after he illegally entered the U.S. Others referenced Maryland mother Rachel Morin, who was raped and murdered by Salvadoran illegal immigrant Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez.

“I will start giving a f— about the illegals killed by ICE when Democrats start giving a f— about Americans killed by illegals,” one X user wrote.

Unlike in the killing of Guerrero, Harris did not make a social media post paying tribute to Riley or Morin’s death. Harris did not publicly acknowledge the death of those young women at the hands of illegal immigrants until pressed by Fox News host Bret Baier in an Oct. 24, 2024, interview.

WATCH: ANGEL MOM TURNS TABLES ON SANCTUARY POLITICIANS WITH BASIC QUESTION ABOUT THEIR PRIORITIES

“First of all, those are tragic cases,” Harris said after Baier asked whether the Biden administration bore any responsibility for the deaths. “There’s no question about that. I can’t imagine the pain that the families of those victims have experienced for a loss that should not have occurred.”

The deaths of Riley and Morin became a flashpoint issue for Republicans during the 2024 presidential campaign and throughout the Trump administration’s push to tighten immigration enforcement.

Social media users also pointed to angel families, who are relatives of Americans killed by illegal immigrants who have become prominent advocates for stronger border security and immigration enforcement. The families frequently have appeared alongside President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers at campaign events, the White House and on Capitol Hill to highlight crimes committed by people in the country illegally.

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People demonstrate against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Biddeford, Maine, July 13, 2026, after a fatal shooting involving agency personnel.(Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Harris’ statement follows another July post she made after a separate fatal ICE shooting in Houston involving Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, whom the Department of Homeland Security also said attempted to ram federal officers with his vehicle during a traffic stop.

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“Lorenzo Salgado Araujo’s family called him ‘El mundo entero’ — the whole world,” Harris wrote Thursday. “Doug and my prayers are with Lorenzo’s wife, his three sons, and all those who loved and knew him. I join his son Ronaldo in calling for an immediate, independent, and transparent investigation.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and Harris for comment.

Elaine Mallon is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business covering national politics.