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CEO under fire for mass layoffs amid foreign worker hiring spree now appointed to Fed’s task force on jobs

July 10, 2026 12:22pm EDT / Fox News

Microsoft is cutting 4,800 jobs after getting approved to hire 2,273 foreign H-1B visa workers this year

By Peter D’Abrosca, Fox News

There’s an ‘abundance of evidence’ on relationship between immigration and home prices, Fed Governor says

Federal Reserve Board of Governors member Stephen Miran discusses the correlation between housing prices and immigration, possible future rate cuts and more on ‘The Story.’

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The CEO of a popular U.S. gaming brand on Thursday was appointed to a high-level Federal Reserve task force despite ongoing fury over her company’s recent firing of 1,600 workers while being approved to hire thousands of foreign visa workers.

Asha Sharma, who heads Microsoft’s Xbox division, announced the layoffs earlier this week. Microsoft said that it will lay off 4,800 people in total, while it had been approved earlier this year to hire 2,273 foreign H-1B visa employees, according to data from U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS).

At the height of the wrath over the layoffs this week, the Federal Reserve moved forward with appointing Sharma to a newly-created advisory role within the central bank.

FURY ERUPTS AS US BRAND FIRES 1,600 EMPLOYEES AFTER SECURING THOUSANDS OF FOREIGN WORKER VISAS

Asha Sharma, chief executive officer of Xbox, during the Bloomberg Tech conference in San Francisco, California, on Thursday, June 4, 2026. The event brings together the leading CEOs, investors and innovators who are harnessing technology to change the world around us.(David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Sharma will serve on a task force on “Productivity and Jobs” alongside Andreessen Horowitz co-founder Marc Andreessen and Stanford University economics professor Charles I. Jones.

“The Federal Reserve’s commitment to price stability and maximum employment is unwavering. As is our resolve to pursue our mandate with rigor,” said new Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh in a statement on the appointments.

“Each task force will carefully consider whether policymakers’ means and methods, analytical tools and policy approaches can be improved upon,” he continued. “I am honored that the best minds from a range of disciplines have agreed to work with us to sharpen our performance as an institution.”

Many of the same critics who raged at Sharma, Xbox and Microsoft over the perceived replacement of American employees with foreign visa workers continued their tirades after the announcement.

Microsoft said that 740 of this year’s visas were to hire employees already in the U.S. from other companies, while the other 1,533 were renewals of existing visas.

TRUMP TAPS ACTING LABOR SECRETARY KEITH SONDERLING FOR PERMANENT ROLE PENDING SENATE CONFIRMATION

U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh speaks during his first news conference since taking the helm at the central bank on June 17, 2026, in Washington, D.C. Warsh was appointed by President Donald Trump after former chair Jerome Powell’s tenure ended in May.(Chen Mengtong/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images)

“It’s like asking El Chapo to lead the DEA,” one person said online.

Another critic said the Federal Reserve is trying to “incentivize” mass layoff of American workers in favor of foreign ones with their hiring of the XBOX executive.

“The Federal Reserve needs help firing Americans,” another person quipped.

A fourth person called the move “totally unexplainable”

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

Some have claimed a racial component to the importation of H-1B visa workers, the vast majority of whom come from India. Sharma has Indian heritage but was born in Wisconsin.

“Reminder that she had zero gaming experience when she was promoted to run Xbox, and she has zero finance or economic experience now that she’s promoted to advise the Federal Reserve, said one X user. “Her one function is to purge white Americans and replace them with Indian cheap foreign labor.”

The Federal Reserve did not return Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.

Pontiac, Michigan, A rally outside the Oakland County government complex supports a proposal to require government contractors to use the federal E-Verify database to check the immigration status of job applicants.(Jim West/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance announced on Tuesday a large-scale investigation into H-1B visa fraud.

“Today, I’m proud to announce that the federal Department of Labor has started dozens of subpoenas and investigations into foreign fraudsters who are trying to take advantage of the H-1B visa program,” he said during a press conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

“American jobs ought to go to American workers and not foreign fraudsters and the Department of Labor is fighting back against it.”

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In response to a request for comment, Microsoft directed Fox News Digital to a post on X by a company spokesperson.

“The H-1B figures being referenced are Microsoft-wide visa renewals and new hire applications. They are not specific to XBOX and represent a small percentage of Microsoft’s overall workforce. And the majority of roles impacted were not American roles,” Frank Shaw said on X, adding that XBOX is the largest employer of American workers in the gaming industry.

Peter D’Abrosca is a politics reporter at Fox News Digital.

DOJ accuses Maryland of ‘active and deliberate effort’ to prevent deportations of illegal immigrants: lawsuit

2026-07-10T12:29:11-04:00 / Fox News

DOJ says Maryland law blocks ICE detainers and shields illegal migrants from deportation

By James Cirrone Fox News

Published July 10, 2026 12:29pm EDT

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The Department of Justice sued Maryland over its sanctuary policies, accusing the state of engaging in an “active and deliberate effort” to obstruct federal immigration enforcement.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Maryland federal court, comes after the U.S. attorney general in February 2025 ordered the DOJ’s civil division to identify state and local policies that provide sanctuary to illegal migrants. Since then, 20 other lawsuits have been brought, including against Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois and New York.

The DOJ’s suit against Maryland argues that the state’s Community Trust Act, passed this year, “jeopardizes the public safety for all Americans” by purposely thwarting immigration-related arrests and deportations.

“Federal immigration officers merely enforce the laws that our Nation’s elected representatives in Congress passed, reflecting the will of We the People,” Associate U.S. Attorney General Stanley Woodward said in a statement. “Today’s suit proves that this Department will never stand for such lawless action from blue state leaders.”

EXCLUSIVE: DHS BLASTS SANCTUARY LEADERS AFTER ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ACCUSED OF BAT ATTACK FREED FROM JAIL

ICE agents walk down a street during a multi-agency targeted enforcement operation in Chicago, Illinois, on Jan. 26, 2025.(Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The lawsuit also said that Maryland’s law violates the supremacy clause of the Constitution, which says state laws must be compliant with federal law.

DOJ lawyers argued that the Community Trust Act has led to local authorities not cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other immigration officers.

They pointed to an incident on May 29, 2026, when a warden of a Worcester County Jail told a detention and deportation officer that as a result of the Community Trust Act, his facility “would no longer honor ICE detainers, release individuals to ICE custody, or notify ICE when individuals are in custody and ready for release.”

“The facility denied a scheduled ICE pickup that morning and did not release the individual in question to ICE custody,” DOJ lawyers wrote.

DOJ ESCALATES BLUE-STATE ICE STANDOFF AFTER STATES REFUSE KEY FEDERAL REQUEST

The text of the law says Maryland correctional facilities may not transfer individuals into federal custody without a “valid judicial warrant.”

The DOJ argued that immigration law allows arrests through administrative warrants, not just through warrants signed by a judge.

Most local law enforcement officers in Maryland agree with the federal government’s assessment of the Community Trust Act.

Wes Moore attends a conversation about his new book “Courage Will Save Us” at 92NY on June 9, 2026, in New York City.(Dominik Bindl/Getty Images)

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

In late May, 17 of Maryland’s 24 sheriffs sued the state, saying the law “interferes with the ability of sheriffs and local detention centers to coordinate with [ICE]regarding individuals in custody who may pose threats to public safety.”

The sheriffs claimed in a statement that Gov. Wes Moore, who was named in the lawsuit, told them during a phone call that he “was aware of the unintended public safety consequences this legislation could have on our communities.”

Moore did not sign the Community Trust Act, but under Maryland law, a bill approved by both chambers becomes law if the governor does not sign or veto it within 10 days.

Moore’s office confirmed to Fox News Digital that this phone call took place and that Moore “explained his rationale for letting the bill go into law without his signature.”

Anthony Brown, attorney general of Maryland, speaks during a press conference at Digital Harbor on Oct. 20, 2025.(Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Moore previously said that despite the implementation challenges, the Community Trust Act keeps “local law enforcement focused on the work that has helped drive Maryland’s historic reductions in violent crime.”

A representative from Moore’s office also told Fox News Digital that the Community Trust Act allows local authorities to coordinate with federal immigration officers “when it comes to people convicted of serious crimes.”

Moore’s office declined to comment on the DOJ lawsuit but offered a statement attacking President Donald Trump’s approach to immigration enforcement.

“Maryland will work with the federal government when that coordination makes our people safer – but we will not let Donald Trump’s untrained, unqualified, and unaccountable ICE agents deputize our law enforcement officers to do immigration work,” the statement read.

The office of Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown — who was named in both the federal lawsuit and the complaint filed by the collection of sheriffs — declined to comment.

DHS says Ahmed was first spotted on April 14 by an off-duty Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer.(Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) condemned Maryland’s so-called sanctuary policies and claimed that seven of the 10 safest cities cooperate with ICE.

“When politicians bar local law enforcement from working with DHS, our law enforcement officers have to have a more visible presence so that we can find and apprehend the criminals let out of jails and back into communities,” DHS said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

DHS also said ICE officers “are held to the highest professional standard and officers regularly receive ongoing training.”

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DHS offered the names of five illegal migrants who were arrested in Maryland by ICE agents on suspicion of crimes such as homicide, sexual assault, incest, and drug trafficking. The agency did not specify when the men were arrested or their current statuses.

James Cirrone is a writer on the Breaking/Trending News team at Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to james.cirrone@fox.com.

Trump refuses to sign bipartisan housing bill in protest over SAVE Act

2026-07-10T14:28:40-04:00 / Fox News

The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, aimed at cutting home construction costs, becomes law Saturday unless Trump vetoes it

By Louis Casiano Fox News

Published July 10, 2026 2:28pm EDT | Updated July 10, 2026 2:30pm EDT

Trump will not sign housing bill without voter ID, criticizes Senate

President Donald Trump took to Truth Social, declaring he will not sign the housing bill despite congressional approval. He protests the Senate’s inability to pass The SAVE America Act, which he claims is supported by 97% of Republicans and many Democrats. Trump emphasizes the need for photo voter ID and proof of citizenship to prevent voter fraud.

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President Donald Trump on Friday said he will not sign a bipartisan housing bill passed by Congress in protest over the failure of lawmakers to bring the SAVE Act over the finish line.

Meanwhile, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which is intended to lower the costs of housing and spur more home construction, is slated to become law Saturday unless Trump vetoes the legislation.

“I will not sign the Housing Bill, which has been fully approved by Congress and sent to the White House, in PROTEST over the fact that the United States Senate is not capable of passing THE SAVE AMERICA ACT,” Trump posted on social media.

TRUMP HOLDS WASHINGTON HOSTAGE OVER SAVE ACT AS MIDTERM CLOCK TICKS ON GOP CONTROL

In an aerial view, construction workers stand on the roof of homes under construction at a new housing development on June 24, 2026, in Valencia, California. U.S. President Donald Trump canceled a planned signing ceremony for a bipartisan housing bill that would speed home construction and limit large investors’ ownership of single-family homes, saying he would not act until Congress passes the SAVE America Act, a voting measure he called a “national emergency.”(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

The SAVE America Act, which would introduce new measures to prevent noncitizens from voting in federal elections, doesn’t have enough Republican support to pass.

Trump has repeatedly pushed Republicans to make it a top legislative priority ahead of the midterm elections in November.

“THE SAVE AMERICA ACT’S non-passage is CRAZY, and a serious threat to any politician who votes against it!” Trump wrote. He also said the non-passage of the bill is a “serious threat” to any politician who opposes it.

CONGRESS EYES RARE BIPARTISAN HOUSING WIN WITH OR WITHOUT TRUMP’S HELP

President Donald Trump on Friday said he will not sign a bipartisan housing bill in protest over the failure of lawmakers to pass the Save America Act, which would enact new measures to safeguard federal elections.(SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images)

Under the U.S. Constitution, a president has 10 days to sign a bill upon receiving it, so it becomes law as if the legislation is signed.

Trump’s post came a week after he canceled plans to sign the bipartisan legislation, announcing he was using it as leverage in his push for the strict voter ID bill.

Last month, he called the housing bill “a yawn” and “so unimportant” compared to legislation that would require proof of citizenship for all voters.

AMERICA’S HOUSING MARKET COULD RUN OUT OF SOMETHING MORE IMPORTANT THAN HOMES

“Millions of Americans are being crushed by housing costs,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., posted Friday on X. “Donald Trump called their crisis ‘a big yawn’ — then refused to sign the most significant bipartisan housing bill in decades. His priorities couldn’t be clearer: higher costs for families and more power for himself.”

“Republicans would rather make it harder to vote than easier to afford a home. When people show you who they are, believe them,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., wrote in an X post in response to Trump.

Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., wrote on X that “the rising cost of mortgages and rent are hitting Americans hard. Yet Trump refuses to act.”

The White House referred Fox News Digital to Trump’s social media post when asked for comment.

Trump’s remarks came a day after the National Association of Realtors reported that the median price for a home has reached an all-time high.

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The median price for a home sold in June was $440,600, a 1.8% increase from a year ago, the report states.

“Even so, affordability is better than a year ago because wage growth is outpacing home price growth,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun.

“However, progress on long-term housing affordability could be hampered if inventory growth continues to stall,” Yun added. “Without consistent gains in inventory, home prices can accelerate. It is critical to introduce more supply to the market to widen the opportunity for homeownership.”

Louis Casiano is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to louis.casiano@fox.com.

Trump admin scraps ‘weaponized’ wildlife rule that became ‘burden’ on American families and businesses: Burgum

July 10, 2026 1:12pm EDT / Fox News

Doug Burgum and Howard Lutnick cite Loper Bright v. Raimondo to roll back habitat-based restrictions

By Charles Creitz Fox News

Doug Burgum praises Trump’s leadership on rolling back regulations

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum thanks President Trump for his leadership in rolling back ‘job-killing, community-killing’ regulations impacting the fishing industry. He emphasizes that Trump’s actions have supported American citizens and businesses in territorial waters, from the Pacific to other regions, ensuring healthy food for the nation and creating fifth-generation family businesses.

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EXCLUSIVE: The Interior and Commerce Departments are scrapping a sweeping Endangered Species Act (ESA) rule that officials say past administrations “weaponized” to block energy production, logging, infrastructure projects and private citizens’ land use.

Officials pointed to several ESA-listed species they say triggered undue or burdensome restrictions by treating habitat modification as potential “harm” to protected species, purportedly expanding the ESA’s “harm” provision.

“For years, federal agencies abused the ESA to obstruct lawful land use and burden American families and businesses,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told Fox News Digital.

“That approach turned routine activity into a regulatory trap, drove up costs that impacted people’s lives, and expanded federal authority beyond what Congress intended.”

BIDEN-ERA ENVIRO RULE ACCUSED OF STRANGLING TRUCKERS, SQUEEZING AMERICANS LANDS ON TRUMP CHOPPING BLOCK

A male lesser prairie chicken displays on an Edwards County, Kansas lek on April 18, 2014. For centuries, they’ve gathered daily in the same places for up to three months hoping to impress a female. The federal government designates the lesser prairie chicken as threatened, prompting praise from environmentalists and threats of defiance from lawmakers, landowners and businesses in the bird’s five-state habitat.(Michael Pearce/Wichita Eagle/MCT via Getty Images)

On Friday, the Interior and Commerce Departments announced they are rescinding the ‘outdated’ regulatory definition of ‘harm’ and returning the Endangered Species Act’s interpretation to its original intent to end years of federal overreach.

The administration is relying in part on the Supreme Court’s 2024 decision in Loper Bright v. Raimondo, which overturned “Chevron deference” and held that courts must use independent judgment when interpreting federal statutes rather than deferring to an agency’s preferred reading of ambiguous law.

The rule change therefore aims to align regulations with the “single best” meaning of a statute rather than letting it be “contort[ed] to fit a political agenda,” officials said.

LEGAL WAR ON TRUMP’S AGENDA GAINS FIREPOWER AS FEDERAL LAWYERS DEFECT TO DEMOCRATS

An oil field near McKittrick, California is seen.(Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Officials pointed to the dunes sagebrush lizard, which the Biden administration listed as endangered in 2024, as an example of what they view as speculative habitat-based restrictions.

Officials argued the change led to unnecessary restrictions on energy projects in Texas’ lucrative Permian Basin, most recently depicted in the acclaimed Billy Bob Thornton series “Landman.”

Under Section 9 of the ESA, it is unlawful to “take” endangered wildlife, a term Congress defined to include actions such as harming, harassing, wounding or killing protected species.

TRUMP’S ENERGY INITIATIVES MAY FINALLY EXTRACT AMERICA FROM MIDEAST CHAOS

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6397598867112

Federal materials tied the species’ decline to surface-disturbing activities, including energy development and sand mining, which officials and industry representatives say can trigger costly permitting and compliance burdens.

Officials also cited the lesser prairie-chicken, a grassland bird whose federal protections have drawn opposition from farmers, ranchers and energy developers across New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Colorado.

The fight over habitat-based “harm” dates back decades, including the northern spotted owl, whose 1990 ESA listing fueled a long-running battle over timber harvesting in the Pacific Northwest and was blamed for job losses.

A 2021 study in the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management estimated the owl’s ESA listing reduced timber employment by roughly 16,000 to 32,000 jobs in the Pacific Northwest and northern California.

Timber interests and landowners challenged the federal definition, arguing that “harm” should cover direct injury to wildlife, not habitat modification that indirectly affects a species.

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Clinton Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt in 1995, upholding a definition of “harm” that included significant habitat modification when it actually kills or injures protected wildlife.

Officials say the change is designed to narrow the regulation after Loper Bright and prevent agencies from using habitat-based theories to block lawful activity far beyond what Congress authorized.

The agencies argued the previously broadened definition of “harm” became an unlawful intrusion on private property rights.

https://www..com/video/6400794525112

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick added that fishermen in particular have been burdened by the regulation for “too long.”

Returning the ESA to its original purpose protects both the environment and economic development, Lutnick said.

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A logger lifts hardwood during a harvesting operation in the U.S.(Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images)

“This administration is committed to protecting wildlife using Gold Standard Science, the law and the tools Congress actually gave us,” added U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Brian Nesvik. “We can protect species and respect communities at the same time.”

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Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, left; Timber logging in the U.S., right.(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images; Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images)

Administration officials stressed that core ESA protections remain in place, including prohibitions on directly injuring or killing protected wildlife.

The administration said the change is intended to reduce permitting and compliance costs while providing greater legal clarity for landowners, energy producers and developers, advancing President Donald Trump’s vision of domestic energy dominance and a regulatory state that works for, not against, the average American.

Born and raised in Allentown, Pennsylvania, worked in both the New York and Washington bureaus for Fox News since 2013.

Romney weighs in on 2028: Those 80 and older shouldn’t be ‘running the world’

July 10, 2026 1:51pm EDT / Fox News

President Donald Trump just turned 80 last month and former President Joe Biden was 82 when he left office

Mitt Romney says people 80 and older shouldn’t be helming the nation

Former governor and senator Mitt Romney, who will turn 80 next year, opined that individuals 80 and over shouldn’t be “running the country.” (Credit: Deseret News)

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Mitt Romney, a former Massachusetts governor and former U.S. senator from Utah who will turn 80 years old next year, opined that he thinks individuals 80 and older should not be at the nation’s helm.

He made the comments during an interview on “Deseret Voices” after host McKay Coppins jokingly asked Romney whether he would run for president in 2028.

Romney indicated he “would love” to run again, adding, “and this time I might get it right. You know, third time’s a charm.”

CASSIDY PRIMARY DEFEAT IS A ‘LOSS FOR THE COUNTRY,’ ROMNEY SAYS

Then-Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, departs from a luncheon with Republican presidential candidate, then-former U.S. President Donald Trump at the National Republican Senatorial Committee building on June 13, 2024, in Washington, D.C.(Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Coppins said, “80 isn’t what it used to be.”

Romney referred to “The Body,” saying the book’s author, Bill Bryson, “points out that the human brain shrinks by 20% by the time you’re 80 years of age.”

Romney noted, “I basically think people who are 80 and above really should not be, uh, running the world or running the country.”

WHITE HOUSE FIRES BACK AFTER ‘SLOB’ JB PRITZKER SAYS TRUMP IS SUFFERING FROM ‘DEMENTIA’

Then-President Joe Biden and then-President-elect Donald Trump arrive for the inauguration ceremony where Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 47th U.S. president in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20, 2025.(Melina MARA / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

Romney sought the GOP presidential nod in 2008, but ultimately dropped out. He later clinched the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, but lost the general election that year to incumbent Democratic President Barack Obama.

President Donald Trump just turned 80 last month.

Former President Joe Biden, who was 82 when he left office last year, was the oldest person ever to serve in the U.S. presidency.

DONALD TRUMP’S AGE IS NOT RECEIVING THE SAME ‘SCRUTINY’ AS BIDEN’S DID, ATLANTIC WRITER COMPLAINS

Former Sen. Mitt Romney accepts, on behalf of his father, George W. Romney, the Medal of Freedom from then-President Joe Biden during a ceremony at the White House in Washington, D.C., Jan. 4, 2025.(CHRIS KLEPONIS/AFP via Getty Images)

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Trump, who would also be an even older 82 by the end of his current term, is on track to become the oldest man ever to serve in the presidency.

Alex Nitzberg is a writer for Fox News Digital.

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New Trump UFO file dump includes military footage of mysterious star-shaped object

July 10, 2026 3:12pm EDT / Fox News

Newly declassified report details a 2015 incident involving a UAP over the Pantex Plant for assembling nuclear weapons

By Morgan Phillips Fox News

Pentagon releases video of star-shaped UAP captured over Yellow Sea

Newly declassified infrared footage from U.S. Indo-Pacific Command shows a six-pointed star-like object captured by a military sensor in 2025 as part of the Trump administration’s latest UAP records release. (Credit: Department of War)

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The Trump administration on Friday released its fourth tranche of declassified unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) records, including newly released military infrared videos and additional details about a 2015 unidentified object reported near the nation’s primary nuclear weapons assembly facility.

Officials said the latest release is part of the administration’s effort to expand public access to UAP records while protecting information that could reveal sensitive military capabilities, eyewitness identities or national security operations.

Among the newly released files is an 18-second infrared video submitted by U.S. Indo-Pacific Command in 2025 showing an object officials described as resembling a six-pointed star.

UFO EXPERT WARNS MYSTERY CRAFT ARE OUTMANEUVERING US MILITARY IN RESTRICTED AIRSPACE

An infrared image released by the Department of War shows an object described by officials as resembling a six-pointed star during a U.S. Indo-Pacific Command mission over the Yellow Sea on Jan. 1, 2025.(Department of War)

The footage, captured by an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform over the Yellow Sea, shows the sensor tracking what the government described as an “area of contrast” while cautioning that the video’s description should not be interpreted as an official conclusion about the object’s identity or significance.

The latest release also includes a newly declassified Department of Energy report detailing a 2015 incident involving an unidentified object over the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas, the nation’s primary facility for assembling, maintaining and dismantling nuclear weapons. Portions of the report had previously been released in a more heavily redacted form, but Friday’s tranche includes additional details and imagery.

The release also includes a 1-minute, 46-second infrared video submitted by U.S. Indo-Pacific Command in 2024 that shows a military sensor tracking an elongated area of contrast. As the sensor zooms in, the object appears as a line of several points moving across the field of view before becoming less distinct as it recedes into the distance. Officials cautioned that the video’s description should not be interpreted as an official conclusion about the object’s identity or significance.

Another newly released Navy “Range Fouler Debrief” — a standardized report used to document unauthorized intrusions into military training airspace — describes a military operator observing a “quite small” object with a metallic appearance and reflective underside that continued traveling in a constant direction. The report cautions that the descriptions reflect the observer’s impressions at the time and are not definitive assessments of the object’s characteristics.

A screenshot of video footage from an alleged unidentified anomalous phenomenon (UAP) sighting in the northeastern United States in July 2025, which was detailed in files released by the DOW and originally obtained by the FBI.(DOW/FBI)

PENTAGON FILES REVEAL AGENTS’ REPORTS OF ‘ORBS LAUNCHING ORBS’ NEAR SENSITIVE US SECURITY SITE

The release also features additional infrared videos submitted by U.S. Central Command, the Air Force and Indo-Pacific Command. One 2024 video shows what appears to be an elongated area of contrast that later resembles a line of multiple bright points as the military sensor tracks it. Another 2023 video captures two areas of contrast crossing the sensor’s field of view in opposite directions.

In at least one case, AARO included technical context alongside the footage, noting that apparent flickering in a 2019 Air Force infrared video could result from the sensor’s automatic contrast adjustments when tracking an object whose temperature closely matched its background.

An artist’s rendering released by the U.S. Department of War depicting a 2023 sighting of “orbs launching other orbs” near a national security site in the western United States.(Department of War)

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Congress established AARO in 2022 to investigate reports of unidentified objects across air, sea, space and other domains, with a focus on determining whether incidents could pose flight safety or national security risks. The office is tasked with assessing whether sightings can be attributed to foreign adversaries, classified U.S. programs or conventional explanations before labeling them unresolved.

The latest release is the fourth tranche in a series that is part of President Donald Trump’s directive to expand public access to UAP records, adding that redactions were limited to protecting eyewitness identities, sensitive military locations and unrelated government facilities.

Federal appeals court upholds controversial Illinois ban on semiautomatic guns

2026-07-10T13:43:00-04:00 / Fox News

Chief Judge Michael Brennan dissented, saying the state’s ‘ban goes too far’

By Alex Nitzberg Fox News

Published July 10, 2026 1:43pm EDT

EXCLUSIVE DOJ’s Harmeet Dhillon details wave of Second Amendment lawsuits and says strategy aims to expand gun rights

The Civil Rights Division of the DOJ filed two lawsuits against California and Virginia over the state’s gun law restrictions.

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A federal appeals court upheld a controversial Illinois gun control law that largely bans assault weapons.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit decision issued on Thursday slapped down a district court decision that declared the ban unconstitutional.

“Among other things, the Act criminalizes the manufacture, sale, delivery, purchase, and possession of assault weapons and large-capacity magazines. A grandfather clause permits preexisting lawful owners of the regulated items to continue possessing them,” the Thursday decision noted.

US JUDGE TOSSES ILLINOIS’ BAN ON SEMIAUTOMATIC WEAPONS, GOVERNOR PLEDGES SWIFT APPEAL

Smith & Wesson M&P-15 semi-automatic rifles of the AR-15 style are displayed during the National Rifle Association (NRA) annual meeting at the George R. Brown Convention Center, in Houston, Texas, on May 28, 2022.(PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)

“For reasons that follow, we focus on the Act’s application to AR-15s and thirty-round rifle magazines. The Act’s restrictions on these items, we hold, are consistent with the principles that underpin our Nation’s tradition of firearm regulation. Whether to adopt them is thus a decision reposed in our elected representatives, and we reverse,” the decision declared.

Chief Judge Michael Brennan dissented from the panel’s decision.

“Our Nation’s enduring traditions forbid governments from prohibiting firearms commonly owned for self-defense. Because the people have overwhelmingly chosen the AR-15 rifle and its magazine as their weapon of choice, they are protected by the Second Amendment,” Brennan wrote.

“Illinois’s ban goes too far and should be enjoined as unconstitutional. I respectfully dissent,” he noted.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat who signed the controversial law in early 2023, hailed the court’s decision.

DOJ TARGETS SPANBERGER, NEWSOM GUN LAWS WITH TWIN LAWSUITS AFTER SCOTUS AFFIRMS SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker holds a news conference in Chicago, Wednesday, June 24, 2026, to sign the Reproductive Health Records Privacy Act (HB 5295) into law.(Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

“BREAKING: The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Protect IL Communities Act. Illinois will continue banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines capable of inflicting mass casualties. A victory in the fight to end gun violence that helps keep our communities safe,” the governor said in a Thursday post on X.

State Attorney General Kwame Raoul also celebrated the decision.

“This is a win that enhances public safety in Illinois. We have seen the damage that assault weapons and large-capacity magazines can inflict, and these weapons of war have no place in our communities,” he said in a Thursday statement. “My office has successfully defended the state’s prohibition on these weapons in both state and federal court, and I am immensely proud of the hardworking attorneys in my office who have worked diligently to preserve this critical public safety measure.”

INSIDE TRUMP’S UNPRECEDENTED BATTLE PLAN TO EXPAND SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS THROUGH JUSTICE DEPARTMENT

Stag Arms AR-15 style semi-automatic rifles are displayed during the National Rifle Association (NRA) Annual Meeting at the George R. Brown Convention Center, in Houston, Texas on May 28, 2022.(PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)

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The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) was displeased by the decision.

“NSSF is a plaintiff in this case and plans on filing a cert petition with the U.S. Supreme Court,” the group noted in a statement on Thursday.

Alex Nitzberg is a writer for Fox News Digital.

Border agents crack open cabbage shipment hiding multimillion-dollar secret at Texas border

Port Director Carlos Rodriguez credited CBP vigilance after agents seized 1,173 pounds of narcotics worth nearly $10.8M

July 10, 2026 2:24pm EDT / Fox News

By Leo Briceno

FIRST ON FOX:**Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers made a $10 million drug bust on Monday during an inspection of a commercial tractor trailer transporting cabbage at the Pharr Port of Entry, a bridge near the southernmost part of Texas.

A canine inspection and nonintrusive imaging scan led officers to a hidden load inside the trailer, CBP said. A physical search uncovered 477 packages containing 1,173 pounds of cocaine with an estimated street value of $10,787,500.

“This interception is a powerful reminder that our CBP officers are on duty 24/7, employing every resource to detect and deter those who attempt to exploit our borders,” Carlos Rodriguez, Port Director for the Hidalgo Port of Entry, said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

CBP seized the narcotics and commercial truck.

COCAINE WORTH OVER $1.1M SEIZED FROM ‘EMPTY’ TRUCK AT TEXAS BORDER

Border patrol agents seized packages containing approximately 73 pounds of alleged cocaine at Hidalgo Port of Entry at the Texas-Mexico border.(Customs and Border Patrol)

The haul continues to illustrate the smuggling threat faced by the country even amid historic investments in border security and record-breaking staffing levels at CBP.

Republicans in Congress have flooded the agency with cash through President Donald Trump’s signature Big Beautiful Bill as well as recent efforts to fund the Department of Homeland Security through the end of the administration. The two bills included $64 billion and $26 billion for CBP, respectively. A large portion of the second bill is set aside for agency manpower.

SENATE REPUBLICANS UNVEIL IMMIGRATION FUNDING PLAN WITH $140 BILLION PRICE TAG AS GOP AIMS TO SPEND LESS

U.S. Border Patrol agent Nicole Ballistrea watches over the U.S.-Mexico border fence on December 9, 2014 in Nogales, Arizona. With increased manpower and funding in recent years, the Border Patrol has seen the number illegal crossings and apprehensions of undocumented immigrants decrease in the Tucson sector. Agents are waiting to see if the improved U.S. economy and housing construction will again draw more immigrants from the south.(John Moore / Getty Images)

Earlier this year, CBP announced it had broken staffing records, reaching 21,471 officers — the most in the agency’s 102-year history.

At the same time, since the end of 2024, border crossings have fallen dramatically, going from over 144,000 encounters in December 2024 to just 13,500 in May — a 90% reduction.

Despite the heavy investments, CBP and other federal agencies remain engaged in intercepting more organized smuggling operations that threaten to bring drugs, weapons and people illegally into the country.

BORDER AGENTS UNCOVER $3.7M IN COCAINE MASQUERADING AS A CUCUMBER DELIVERY

More than 430 pounds of cocaine and methamphetamine were discovered in hidden parts of vehicles by U.S. Customs and Border Protection authorities, April 7-8.(CBP)

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In April, for example, CBP announced it had prevented a car carrying a rocket-propelled grenade launcher, 16 AK rifles, 24 rifle magazines, 16 rifle stocks, 20 pistol grips, and other weapon parts from crossing the border.

“The threat of illicit narcotics is constant, but so is our vigilance,” Rodriguez said.

Leo Briceno is a politics reporter for the congressional team at Fox News Digital. He was previously a reporter with World Magazine.

Platner collapse completes John Fetterman’s break from Sanders socialists who put him in Senate

July 10, 2026 1:22pm EDT / Fox News

Pennsylvania senator calls Platner’s withdrawal ‘the trash took itself out’ in a Fox News interview with Charles Hurt

By Charles Creitz, Fox News

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., issued a fiery rebuttal to former Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner after he dropped out of the race following sexual assault allegations on ‘Jesse Watters Primetime.’

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Graham Platner’s political collapse did more than derail a scandal-plagued Senate campaign in Maine. It also completed Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman’s public transformation from a Bernie Sanders-backed progressive populist to one of the left’s most aggressive internal critics.

Fetterman was among the first prominent Democrats to call out Platner’s mounting controversies, even as many party leaders continued backing the scandal-plagued candidate until a former girlfriend publicly accused Platner of rape, an allegation he denies. The accusation prompted the remaining pillars of Democratic support to collapse.

By Wednesday night, Fetterman laid into his onetime political ally Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in an interview with Fox News’ Charles Hurt on “Jesse Watters Primetime.”

“The trash took itself out,” Fetterman said of Platner’s withdrawal, as Hurt asked who should be held most responsible for the Platner chaos.

KINGMAKER MAMDANI CALLS ON PLATNER TO ‘DROP OUT OF THE RACE’ AFTER RAPE ALLEGATION

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., center, watches Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., right, speak from a podium in front of Sen. Jeffrey Merkley, D-Ore., left.(Al Drago/Getty Images)

“Absolutely, Bernie Sanders needs to apologize to the voters of Maine and to everyone that donated to that train wreck of a campaign,” Fetterman said.

Sanders ultimately called on Platner to end his candidacy after the allegation surfaced, but Fetterman argued the Vermont progressive owed voters an apology for helping elevate him in the first place.

“More than anyone, he pushed ‘P. Hustle’ into the election. And now he keeps pushing these Communists and these kinds of awful, anti-American people.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Sanders, Fetterman and Platner’s campaign for comment.

JOHN FETTERMAN’S FALL FROM HERO TO HERETIC EXPOSES DEMOCRATS’ HARD LEFT TURN

Graham Platner, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate for Maine, during a primary election night event at the Blue Hill YMCA in Blue Hill, Maine, on Tuesday, June 9, 2026. Progressive Democrat Graham Platner won the party’s Senate primary in Maine after a bruising campaign which became as much about his accusations of past misbehavior as it was voters’ top concerns.(Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The comments cap a remarkable political evolution for Fetterman, who recently acknowledged he is more popular with some Republicans than his own party.

“For some strange reason, I am more popular with Republicans, which is confusing because I vote in the 90-percentile Dem-line,” Fetterman told NewsNation in March, adding that he supports Israel and President Donald Trump’s “Operation: Epic Fury” against Iran.

Chris Borick, a professor at Lehigh University and former president of the Pennsylvania Political Science Association, called Fetterman’s change in relationship with Sanders and the Democrats’ progressive wing “dramatic.”

“As someone that follows Pennsylvania politics, I can’t find anything even close in comparison to the shifts that we’ve seen in Fetterman’s positions on an array of matters over a short period of time,” Borick said. “We’ve seen people switch parties, like Arlen Specter… but in terms of a quick departure on the most significant levels, Fetterman’s changes are without precedent in the state.”

Fetterman’s break with the left has not been limited to Sanders-world. In Pennsylvania, his increasingly independent posture has also put distance between him and parts of the state Democratic establishment, including breaking some partisan norms.

State Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Gettysburg, who served in the Pennsylvania Senate while Fetterman was lieutenant governor and presided over the chamber, said the Democrat had “political differences” with him but was typically “gracious and respectful.”

He spoke of an interaction on the Harrisburg Senate floor when Fetterman learned Mastriano accrued a record number of ballot signatures to qualify to run for governor against then-Attorney General Josh Shapiro.

“Senator Fetterman came down from the rostrum, congratulated me, and said, ‘Doug, 30,000. That’s really impressive. Great job.’ It wasn’t something he had to do,” Mastriano told Fox News Digital.

“I can’t speak for Sen. Fetterman’s political evolution — that’s something only he can explain. But I do respect anyone who is willing to speak their mind, think independently, and put what they believe to be America’s interests first, even when doing so may not be popular within their own party,” said Mastriano, who said Fetterman appears to be “putting Pennsylvania ahead of politics.”

Fetterman recently upstaged his home state’s Democratic standard-bearer, Gov. Josh Shapiro, by teaming up with Republican Sen. David McCormick to help secure a booth on the National Mall for the Great American State Fair after the governor’s office said there was too little time and too little vendor interest to assemble one.

Shapiro’s predecessor, Gov. Tom Wolf, with whom Fetterman served as lieutenant governor during Wolf’s second term, also appeared to have no love lost for his party’s new maverick.

“I have thoughts, but I don’t have to share them anymore,” Wolf, who has largely retired from public life, said in March of Fetterman’s job performance.

When the two were in office in Harrisburg, Fetterman was closely aligned with Sanders and rode a wave of progressive populism to the lieutenant governor’s office — which is a separate primary-ballot line from the governorship.

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6399304092112

Sam Chen, a Pennsylvania political analyst and chief strategist at the Allentown-based Liddell Group, told Fox News Digital that Fetterman’s evolution from Sanders ally to critic is a significant one while questioning whether the Democratic Party’s political environment helped cause the break.

“Fetterman was really helped by Sanders — even in Fetterman’s first Senate run … and then against who we really thought was probably the frontrunner in Conor Lamb.”

“Sanders really helped put Fetterman on the map and helped get him over the top,” Chen said, calling the senator’s recent condemnation of Sanders his “biggest break” with the progressive wing.

However, Chen questioned whether Fetterman’s break with Sanders over Platner was less about policy than about judgment, character and candidate quality.

“I wonder if Fetterman would have had this position if Platner had all his policy views that he has now but there was no Totenkopf tattoo or allegations from women.”

During his 2018 lieutenant governor campaign, Fetterman touted Sanders’ endorsement as proof of his progressive bona fides, describing the Vermont senator as one of the few national politicians who had the “little guy’s” back. Fetterman was then still mayor of postindustrial Braddock, a working-class suburb outside Pittsburgh, but his populist profile was already drawing national attention.

Sanders in turn came to Pennsylvania to endorse Fetterman: “What John’s campaign is about … is that we are going to transform this country and create a government that works for all of us, not just wealthy campaign contributors,” he said, according to PBS’ Philadelphia affiliate.

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Sen. John Fetterman heads to a lunch meeting with Senate Democrats at the U.S. Capitol on Nov. 15, 2022, in Washington, D.C.(Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Since his election to the Senate, Pennsylvania Democratic groups, including the Monroe County Democratic Party in the Poconos, have branded him a “traitor,” while Punchbowl described his current political standing as “tenuous” and reported that no member of the Keystone State’s House delegation would confirm support for a 2028 reelection bid.

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“Squad” member Rep. Summer Lee, who represents Fetterman’s hometown and is more ideologically aligned with Sanders, told the outlet the increasingly isolated senator would run “at his own peril.”

Chen said Fetterman’s progressive “bona fides” remain, noting he still is reliably liberal on LGBTQ rights, marijuana and abortion — adding that as mayor or lieutenant governor, foreign policy positions were a nonfactor. Still, he argued, the fight over Platner shows how far Fetterman has moved from the progressive coalition that launched him into national politics.

Man, 26, arrested for murder of former British politician found dead in her home

2026-07-10T12:57:00-0400 / CBS/AP

A murder investigation was launched Friday into the death of Ann Widdecombe, a former member of Parliament who was found dead in her home in southwest England, police said. A suspect was arrested Friday afternoon.

The 78-year-old former Conservative lawmaker and prisons minister had “sustained serious injuries” when she was found on Thursday in Haytor, on the edge of Dartmoor National Park, according to a statement from Devon and Cornwall Police.

Police said earlier they were seeking a White male suspect, who U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer described as “clearly dangerous,” according to CBS News partner BBC News.

The BBC reported the man, 26, was arrested on Friday afternoon. The suspect was described by police as a British national. Police said it is too early to say if the suspect knew Widdecombe. A motive for the attack has not been determined.

When asked if there was evidence that Widdecombe’s death was politically motivated, Starmer said he would not speculate about the case, according to the BBC. Starmer, who recently resigned as prime minister and is holding the position until an election is held, said that Britons should “rise above any political differences,” and said he had spoken to top officials “to urge everybody to come together.”

Ann Widdecombe attends the Best Heroes Awards at The Waldorf Hilton on Oct. 16, 2025, in London. Dave Benett/Getty Images for Best Heroes Awards 2025

Widdecombe served in the House of Commons as an MP from 1987 to 2010 and was known for socially conservative views opposing abortion rights and expansion of LGBTQ+ rights.

She found fame after leaving Parliament as a contestant on the “Strictly Come Dancing” and “Celebrity Big Brother” reality television shows. Widdecombe’s “Strictly Come Dancing” partner Anton Du Beke called her death the “saddest of news” on social media and said he was devastated by the news.

Widdecombe later joined the Brexit Party and became a spokeswoman for the anti-immigration Reform UK party. Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson called her a “heroic Brexiteer and a great speaker who could move Tory audiences to such ecstasy that she was a very hard act to follow.”

The management company that represented her after she left politics said her life and career were driven by strong Christian values and a commitment to public service.

“She loved the cut and thrust of political debate and, 16 years after leaving Parliament, was still actively campaigning for Reform UK and offering forthright views on the hot topics of the day,” Cloud9 Management said.

“As Ann once said … ‘we get one go this side of eternity, one go. Life is not a dress rehearsal, you take opportunities that you like and you go for it, that’s my philosophy.’”

Widdecombe told the BBC in 2008 that she had spent time in Dartmoor National Park as a child. She told the BBC that she named her home Widdecombe’s Rest and that she planned to spend the rest of her life there.