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U.S. indicts former SPLC executive in alleged fraud scheme to funnel donations to white supremacist groups

August 12, 2026 3:52 PM EDT / CBS News

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Jacob Rosen Justice Department Reporter
Jake Rosen is a reporter covering the Department of Justice. He was previously a campaign digital reporter covering President Trump’s 2024 campaign and also served as an associate producer for “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.”

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Heidi Beirich, a former executive at the Southern Poverty Law Center, has been charged in a superseding indictment for her alleged role in what the government claims was a fraudulent scheme that duped donors and banks, according to court documents unsealed Wednesday.

Prosecutors have accused the SPLC of telling donors and banks the group was dismantling white supremacist and extremist groups, but instead funneling payments to confidential informants in the groups to fund “violent, racist and extremist activities,” court documents said.

The new indictment marks the first time that an individual connected with the civil rights nonprofit has been charged in the case, which the Justice Department announced in April.

The indictment charges Beirich with wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering, and alleges that she oversaw payments to informants, including one with whom she had a “romantic relationship.”

During that alleged relationship with the informant, the indictment says they shared a home and two bank accounts, through which $140,000 flowed from an SPLC-operated account into their joint accounts between 2015 and 2021. She allegedly used some of the funds to pay for personal living expenses, according to the indictment.

In a statement to CBS News, Beirich’s lawyer Michael J. Proctor said that his client is innocent, adding, “this case is without merit.”

“We believe the charges against her and the SPLC are politically motivated, and Dr. Beirich has been targeted in this case because of the important work she has done to combat hate groups and extremists,” Proctor said, adding, “Violent extremists have not stopped or intimidated Dr. Beirich from her vital work during her time at the SPLC or in the six and a half years after she left the SPLC. Dr. Beirich won’t be silenced or intimidated by the government’s false and politicized allegations now.”

Beirich’s arraignment is scheduled for Aug. 19, according to the case docket.

CNN first reported her arrest.

The Southern Poverty Law Center is facing 11 counts of wire fraud, bank fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, with prosecutors alleging it defrauded its donors and duped its banks by creating shell accounts to funnel money to insiders who belonged to the same hate groups it pledged to dismantle.

The Southern Poverty Law Center pleaded not guilty to the charges filed in April.

Beirich previously served as the director of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Project, which is the monitoring and research arm of the nonprofit, according to her LinkedIn profile. She rose through the ranks, starting first as a writer in 1999. She left the SPLC in December 2019.

Beirich was not the target of the Justice Department’s original probe, which started in 2018 while Jeff Sessions was attorney general. At the time, the FBI launched a preliminary inquiry into SPLC’s chief financial officer under suspicion she was embezzling money from the nonprofit, CBS previously reported.

The case was expanded to investigate possible tax charges in 2019 under Attorney General Bill Barr, with the focus shifting to the SPLC’s bank accounts and its payments to informants. The CFO at the time controlled those accounts and was part of the probe.

Ultimately tax charges were never filed in the case and to date, that former CFO has not been criminally charged. During the course of the investigation, IRS agents found that the CFO had created the shell bank accounts with assistance from at least some of the bank employees.

At a press conference Wednesday, Attorney General Todd Blanche mistakenly identified Beirich as the SPLC’s “former CFO.”

“I think, as alleged in the indictment, this individual participated in the scheme,” he said. “I believe she was part of the effort to open bank accounts… and make payments to individuals for reasons that were not accurate as described,” he said, before the indictment was available on the public docket.

Earlier this month, a federal judge denied the SPLC’s motion to dismiss the indictment against the group on the grounds of a vindictive prosecution, finding that lawyers for the group “failed to offer some evidence tending to show animus on the part of the prosecutors involved in bringing this case.”

Legal experts have previously said they believe the case contains a number of potential legal defects, noting it is not clear from the language in the indictment itself that donors had in fact been misled or that banks were deceived into taking certain actions due to fraud.

Abbe Lowell, who is defending the SPLC in the criminal case, said in a statement Wednesday that the Trump administration’s attacks on Beirich are “as legally and factually flawed as their previous attacks.”

“This charge reflects a desperate government confronting a weak case, scrambling to make something — anything — stick as we approach trial,” he said.

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/justice-department-charges-southern-poverty-law-center-fraud-extremism-investigations/

Minnesota’s Lieutenant Governor wants a promotion. Will her state’s Covid-era fraud scandal hold her back?

2026-08-12T17:35:46.508Z / CNN Politics

By Dana Bash, CNN
Updated 1:37 PM EDT, Wed August 12, 2026

Minnesota’s Lieutenant Governor wants a promotion. Will her state’s Covid-era fraud scandal hold her back?

Inside Politics

Peggy Flanagan was Lieutenant Governor in Minnesota during the COVID-era fraud scandal that cost taxpayers at least hundreds of millions of dollars. Now she wants to represent her state in the Senate. Sen. Tina Smith—the woman she hopes to replace—says Flanagan has been clear that we “cannot put up with” even a dime of fraud.

3:45 • Source: CNN

Spanberger’s rough rural reception draws Hillary Clinton parallels

August 12, 2026 9:00am EDT / Fox News

State delegate compares governor’s visit to Hillary Clinton’s hot sauce moment, calling it pandering to rural constituents

By Charles Creitz, Eric Mack, Fox News

Virginia Democrat Gov. Abigail Spanberger was met with loud boos in a brief appearance on stage on the final day of the annual Old Fiddlers’ Convention in Galax, Virginia.

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Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger was roasted for her visit to a nearly century-old fiddling convention in southwestern Virginia, with the area’s state delegate comparing her unfavorably to failed presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Clinton famously surprised the hosts of New York’s “Breakfast Club” radio program in 2016 when she said she regularly carries hot sauce in her purse — a remark critics said echoed Beyoncé Knowles and amounted to political pandering to Southern and Black voters during her 2016 race against then-businessman and reality TV star Donald Trump.

Del. Wren Williams, a Republican who represents Galax, where the 90th Annual Old Fiddlers’ Convention took place, told Fox News Digital he was proud of constituents who made their feelings about the governor known peacefully but strongly.

DEM GOVERNOR BOOED AT VIRGINIA OLD FIDDLERS’ CONVENTION

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger, left; Hillary Rodham Clinton, right.(Mike Kropf/Getty Images; David Dee Delgado Getty Images)

Williams said it was clear to those assembled that Spanberger was trying to “pander” to rural residents, who have pushed back on several of the governor’s priorities, including the judicially halted redistricting effort and a slew of what Richmond Republican leaders have called “the bad bills.”

“[It was] about like Hillary Clinton and her hot sauce – nobody was buying it,” Williams said.

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6403213371112

Over the weekend, Spanberger and her public safety chief, Galax native Stanley Meador, were booed after Meador introduced the governor. Meador previously served as special agent in charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office during the “anti-Catholic memo” controversy that drew congressional scrutiny.

Williams told Fox News Digital that people in Galax and surrounding Carroll County — atop the Blue Ridge and just over the border from Andy Griffith’s “Mount Pilot” area of North Carolina — have felt ignored by Spanberger and said their reaction was justified.

SUPREME COURT DEALS BLOW TO VIRGINIA DEMOCRATS IN FIGHT OVER STATE COURT ELECTION MAP RULING

“These are my constituents, the same ones that she just disarmed, tried to force into one single congressional district that represented their political views, and lied every step of the way while jockeying for the national Democratic Party nod for her shot at first female president,” Williams said, referring to another parallel between Spanberger and Clinton.

Galax, currently represented in Congress by Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Va., would have sat at the edge of the only remaining Republican-held district under Richmond Democrats’ proposed 10-1 congressional map, which a bipartisan group of Virginia Supreme Court justices blocked earlier this year.

Virginia’s top state Republican — whose district is not far west of where Spanberger got booed — told Fox News Digital the incident proved to the governor that her policies run counter to what his neighbors want from Richmond:

“Southwest Virginians have never been shy about standing up for their values and their way of life,” said House Minority Leader Terry Kilgore of Gate City.

“When you try to take away their voice in Congress, go after their Second Amendment rights, and drive up their power bills to pay for a green energy agenda they don’t want and can’t afford, folks are going to let you know how they feel,” he said.

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6392984665112

Former Attorney General Jason Miyares, a top figure in the “Vote No” coalition opposing Spanberger’s redistricting effort, said in a statement that the crowd’s response was predictable.

“Governor Spanberger booed in Galax. Turns out when you break your campaign promise, attempt a leftist power grab pushing an unconstitutional gerrymandering effort in order to silence rural Virginia voices, coupled with massive tax increases, it results in a frosty reception,” Miyares said.

WATCH: SPANBERGER KNOCKED FOR ‘BAIT AND SWITCH’ HYPOCRISY AS POPULARITY PLUMMETS AMID REDISTRICTING FIASCO

“Spanberger finally had to face the music,” another Virginia user wrote on X.

Other critics contrasted Democrats’ strength in Northern Virginia with opposition to Spanberger in more rural parts of the state.

“These folks booing are showing how the vast majority of those of us in Virginia feel… not those communists in the blue suburbs of DC,” Diane Cheesbrough wrote on X.

“She needs to go and take Tim Kaine and Mark Warner and Eugene Vindman with her.”

TRUMP BLASTS SPANBERGER AHEAD OF VIRGINIA MEETINGS, SAYS STATE FACES TAX BASE EXODUS LIKE NEW YORK, CALIFORNIA

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6393380610112

Radio host Scott Adams added that rural voters “are not forgetting” the redistricting controversy.

“Southwest Virginia just delivered the message in person,” he said.

“Virginians are done with her,” added former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla.

Some observers, however, credited Spanberger with going to Galax and Carroll County despite her weak electoral support in the area.

VIRGINIA VOTERS CEMENT SWING DISTRICT REMATCH AFTER DEMS’ REDISTRICTING FAIL

“Abigail Spanberger lost the independent city of Galax 68 to 32 and showed up anyway,” said Democratic strategist Matt Royer.

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https://www.foxnews.com/video/6392797954112

“A Republican would have tucked tail and stayed at home when it comes to events in places they lost, like Jason was yesterday. She won Virginia by 15 and still went to one place that booed her. That is the job.”

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Fox News Digital reached out to Spanberger and Clinton for comment.

Dem in key swing race missed nearly half her state House votes while taking taxpayer salary: ‘No show’

Records show the Democrat skipped 348 of 773 floor votes in 2022 despite later stressing the importance of leaders showing up

August 12, 2026 11:10am EDT / Fox News

By Kiera McDonald , Andrew Mark Miller

Democrat House hopeful called Iowa a ‘backwater’ over transgender sports bill

Christina Bohannan warned in 2021 that Iowa would become a ‘backwater’ if lawmakers barred transgender athletes from girls and women’s sports. Iowa enacted the ban in 2022. (Credit: YouTube/City of Iowa City — April 2, 2021)

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FIRST ON FOX: Former Democratic state Rep. Christina Bohannan missed nearly half of her votes in Iowa’s House of Representatives during her final year in office as she campaigned for a congressional seat in the battleground district, records show.

In 2022, Bohannan missed 348 of 773 floor votes, or about 45% of all votes, according to the legislature’s records, despite stressing the importance “for leaders to show up” three years later.

Bohannan is running for Congress in Iowa’s 1st Congressional District, a race the Cook Political Report ranks as a “toss up” in November as Republicans attempt to preserve their razor-thin majority in the House of Representatives.

Some of the skipped votes involved bills addressing protections for sexual abuse victims, volunteer firefighters and first responders, Iowa’s dairy industry, agricultural programs, emergency 911 services and juvenile justice reform.

IOWA DEM WHO TOUTED ‘STRONG WORK ETHIC’ MISSES MORE THAN HALF OF HER HOUSE VOTES

Former Iowa Democratic state Rep. Christina Bohannan missed nearly half of her state House votes while campaigning for Congress, records show.(Iowa Legislature ; Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

“Liberal Christina Bohannan says leaders should ‘show up’ and then is a no-show herself,” Emily Tuttle, a spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“Missing half your job while collecting your taxpayer-funded paycheck isn’t leadership worthy of a promotion. It’s the kind of performance that would get you fired anywhere else.”

The absences stand in contrast with Bohannan’s past comments. In an Oct. 6, 2025, post on X, she wrote that she had the “honor of speaking” with more than 100 voters at a candidate forum representing five Iowa counties.

“At a time when so much is uncertain, it’s more important than ever for leaders to show up and talk directly with Iowans,” she added.

Similarly, in a 2021 interview with Bleeding Heartland, an Iowa politics blog, Bohannan was described as planning to spend “a lot of time on legislative work during the 2022 session” with the rest of her efforts focused on her congressional campaign.

Bohannan served one term in the Iowa House from 2021 to 2023 before launching her first campaign for Congress.

BATTLEGROUND DEM CALLED PATRIOTISM ‘SENSITIVE AND CONTROVERSIAL’ DURING DEBATE OVER THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

Christina Bohannan, candidate for Iowa’s first congressional district, listens during a roundtable on affordable housing Oct. 23, 2024 in Iowa City, Iowa.(Iowa City Press-Citizen)

She is challenging incumbent Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, for a third time in the 1st Congressional District, which includes Davenport and Iowa City, after losing by about seven points in 2022 and roughly 800 votes following a recount in 2024.

But Bohannan remained on the state’s legislative payroll during that period. According to state legislative records, Iowa lawmakers earned a $25,000 annual salary in 2022, plus $175 per day per diem for up to 100 days, or $17,500.

The Democratic lawmaker has also faced mounting criticism for her past comments and middle-class messaging on the campaign trail.

‘QUEEN OF DEI’ RUNNING FOR CONGRESS RIPPED HER RURAL STATE AS ‘BACKWARDS’ ON PODCAST

Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, attends a news conference in the Capitol Visitor Center after a meeting of the House Republican Conference Dec. 16, 2025.(CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Fox News Digital previously reported that Bohannan warned Iowa could be seen as “backwards” over limits on diversity training at public schools and universities and “look like a backwater” over restrictions on transgender athletes.

Other reports revealed that Bohannan and her husband owned a waterfront Sarasota, Florida, condo valued between $500,001 and $1 million, in addition to a $1.55 million Iowa City home while campaigning as a hard-working, middle-class advocate who understands what it’s like “to still struggle to put food on the table.”

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Fox News Digital reached out to Bohannan’s campaign for comment.

Kiera McDonald is a Production Assistant for Fox News Digital.

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6402275745112

New power axis in the making? Three military heavyweights lock arms, complicating Abraham Accords strategy

August 12, 2026 9:53am EDT / Fox News

Analysts question whether the agreement challenges US-backed security architecture or complements American partnerships

Saudi-Turkey-Pakistan pact signals new regional security model, Saudi expert says

Saudi analyst Aziz Alghashian says the alliance complements US interests by increasing burden-sharing rather than challenging the Abraham Accords.

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A new defense pact linking Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan is fueling debate over whether the three countries are laying the groundwork for a competing regional bloc — potentially challenging the U.S.-backed architecture built around Israel and the Abraham Accords — or simply creating a new model of burden-sharing among American partners.

The three countries, all with longstanding security ties to the United States, enter the pact with different interests — but together they could begin shifting the region’s balance of power.

Saudi Arabia signed a Strategic Defense Agreement with the United States in November 2025 and was designated a major non-NATO ally, but Riyadh did not secure the treaty-level, Article 5-style U.S. defense guarantee it had long sought, making the new pact a potential hedge against uncertainty over Washington’s future security commitments.

Pakistan, a nuclear-armed state, gains greater energy security, Saudi investment and regional influence, while offering significant military capabilities — although whether its nuclear deterrent extends to its partners remains unconfirmed. Turkey, already a NATO member, gains a larger market for its growing defense industry and additional strategic weight as tensions with Israel rise.

WHO IS TURKEY’S RECEP TAYYIP ERDOĞAN? HOW NATO’S MOST UNPREDICTABLE LEADER KEEPS REINVENTING HIMSELF

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (L), Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (C) and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (R) sign a trilateral joint defense agreement in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on August 7, 2026.(TUR Presidency /Murat Cetinmuhurdar / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Taken together, the arrangement gives three U.S. partners greater ability to build deterrence on their own — potentially easing Washington’s security burden while also giving them more independence from it.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement on Aug. 7. A joint statement said the pact was intended to “strengthen collective deterrence against any act of aggression” and stipulated that an armed attack against one country would be regarded as an attack against all three.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan went further the following day, telling Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency that the agreement was “technically the same” as NATO’s Article 5 mutual-defense provision, which treats an attack on one member as an attack on all. Fidan said, however, that the countries would consult on the degree and form of assistance provided following an attack, with operational details still to be determined by a new ministerial committee. The alliance will also establish a general secretariat based in Saudi Arabia, Reuters reported Aug. 8.

Fidan said President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan wants the alliance to eventually expand beyond its three founding members and identified Egypt as a potential participant. He said negotiations over the pact had been underway for two years and eight months.

Saudi Deputy Minister for Public Diplomacy Rayed Krimly has pushed back on suggestions that the agreement represents the creation of a new sectarian or military bloc, saying it is not connected to nuclear ambitions or an arms race. Turkish officials have similarly said the pact is defensive and not directed against Iran or any other country.

Iran, meanwhile, played down the pact as a threat to Tehran. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Aug. 10 that Iran saw no reason to be concerned that the agreement was directed against it, telling Reuters that the pact reflected a regional shift toward countries relying more heavily on their own security capabilities rather than outside powers.

“Any plan that is based on the geopolitical and historical realities of the region, is comprehensive and inclusive, and correctly identifies the enemy and the threat, has a chance of helping to strengthen security and prevent instability and abuses by the Zionist enemy and its allies,” Baghaei said, referring to Israel.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Turkish Embassy in Washington, D.C., and the Pakistani government for comment but did not receive responses in time for publication.

Sinan Ciddi, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and director of its Turkey program, told Fox News Digital that he remains skeptical that the pact currently amounts to a NATO-style alliance.

AMERICANS ARE NOT GIVING UP ON NATO, BUT THEY EXPECT EUROPE TO DO ITS SHARE

Video

“Does it have teeth? Is it a serious deterrent? Is that a serious collective defense pact? Is it a Muslim NATO? We’re not actually sure yet,” Ciddi said.

Ciddi said each of the three countries enters the pact with different incentives. For Saudi Arabia, he sees it as a hedge against doubts over the reliability of U.S. security guarantees; for Pakistan, it offers greater energy security, Saudi investment and added regional prestige; and for Turkey, it creates new opportunities for defense cooperation and a larger market for its arms industry. Ankara also gains additional deterrent weight as its tensions with Israel grow, he argued.

“I would say that this pact is much more targeted towards closer economic and commercial ties rather than substantive NATO-like security ties,” Ciddi added.

Saudi Arabia rejects the suggestion that the agreement represents a turn away from Washington.

WATCH: DEMOCRATS BLAST TRUMP SAUDI NUCLEAR DEAL AS GOP TOUTS REGIONAL ALLIANCE

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is received by Deputy Governor of Mecca region, Prince Saud bin Mishaal bin Abdulaziz upon his arrival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, August 6, 2026.(SPA Saudi Pess Agency via Reuters)

“The United States remains to be our primary strategic partner,” a Saudi source told Fox News Digital on background, saying the kingdom’s expanding ties with Pakistan and Turkey should not be viewed as coming at the expense of its relationship with Washington.

The Saudi source also rejected descriptions of the agreement as a “Muslim NATO” or Sunni alliance and said it was not directed against Israel, Iran or any other particular country. Asked whether the pact represented a Saudi move away from normalization with Israel, the source said, “It’s not related in any way.”

Aziz Alghashian, a senior non-resident fellow at the Gulf International Forum, offered a similar interpretation.

“I don’t think it’s a counterweight to the Abraham Accords,” Alghashian told Fox News Digital.

WHY NATO’S DEFENSE SPENDING IMBALANCE LASTED FOR DECADES

Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan meets Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, ahead of the expected signing of a defense deal between Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey, in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, August 7, 2026.(Murat Cetinmuhurdar/Turkish Presidential Press Office/Handout via Reuters)

Instead, Alghashian described the agreement as part of Saudi Arabia’s longer-term diversification of strategic relationships.

“I think it’s actually a supplementation. It’s complementary to the United States,” he said, arguing that greater cooperation among regional partners could provide increased burden-sharing for Washington.

From Pakistan’s perspective, the agreement offers both military and political advantages, Raza Rumi, distinguished lecturer at the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at CUNY, told Fox News Digital.

“Pakistan gains strategic depth, greater leverage in the Gulf and a more formal place in an emerging regional security architecture,” Rumi said, pointing to potential cooperation on defense production, technology transfers, intelligence, training and air and missile defense.

But he cautioned against interpreting the pact’s mutual-defense language too literally.

“Seriously, but not literally as an Article 5-style guarantee, at least not yet,” Rumi said. Its credibility, he added, will depend on whether the countries develop joint planning, command structures and procedures for responding to crises.

Rumi also warned against assuming the Middle East is already dividing into two fixed camps. India, however, is watching the new alignment closely. India’s Ministry of External Affairs said Aug. 11 that it was examining the pact’s implications for national security and regional peace and stability, adding that New Delhi would take “whatever necessary steps are required” to safeguard its interests.

“These states are hedging, not choosing permanent blocs,” he said.

TRUMP SQUEEZED BETWEEN ISRAEL AND TURKEY AS NETANYAHU, ERDOGAN ESCALATE FEUD

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (L), Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (C), and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (R) sign a trilateral defense agreement in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on August 7, 2026.(Turkish Presidency / Murat Cetinmuhurdar / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Ciddi, on the other hand, argued that the agreement reflects “serious reservations” among regional countries about U.S. security guarantees. His greater concern is that even a militarily weak pact could encourage opposing alignments to harden.

“Security pacts beget more security pacts,” Ciddi said, arguing that Israel, Greece, Cyprus and potentially India could deepen their own cooperation in response.

“You’re buying security, but you’re also creating tension,” he said. “That’s where I think the harm comes in.”

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U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia during a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on November 18, 2025, in Washington, D.C.(Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Calling the pact a direct counterweight to the Abraham Accords or the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor would therefore be “premature,” Rumi argued. But he said a broader competition is emerging over the region’s future — between U.S.-backed economic integration involving India, Israel and the Gulf and efforts by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan to develop greater strategic autonomy.

Efrat (Effie) Lachter is a reporter for Fox News Digital with more than 15 years of experience covering conflict, global affairs, human rights and political accountability.She has directed and produced more than 200 documentary segments across more than 40 countries, documenting conflicts, humanitarian crises, corruption, human trafficking, gender-based violence and the human stories behind major world events.

Lachter’s reporting has taken her into conflict zones and crisis areas across the Middle East, Europe, Asia and Africa. Her work has included uncovering human trafficking networks, revealing an ISIS underground torture prison in Syria, documenting the war in Ukraine and interviewing senior political figures and world leaders. She was also among the Western journalists who entered Russia after the war began to bring testimonies from Putin’s opposition. Lachter is the recipient of the 2022 Peres Center for Peace Award and was a 2023–2024 Knight-Wallace Journalism Fellow at the University of Michigan. She also won two Rockower Awards for Excellence in Reporting. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communication and a master’s degree in political science.

Mamdani’s team said NYPD would accompany his wife on Middle East vacation — cops say that’s not true

Both countries are on the State Department’s ‘Do Not Travel’ list due to terrorism concerns

August 12, 2026 11:15am EDT / Fox News

By Peter D’Abrosca

NYPD denies security detail for Mamdani’s wife’s Middle East trip

Police security escorts are denied for the wife of NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani during her upcoming trip to Lebanon and Syria. Nate Foy breaks down the NYPD decision. Mamdani’s office initially claimed security would join her, later blaming a miscommunication.

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The New York Police Department (NYPD) will not provide a security detail to Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s wife during her upcoming vacation to two terror hotspots in the Middle East, despite the mayor’s office claiming otherwise.

“The NYPD does not send officers to countries with level 4 travel advisories for discretionary reasons such as personal travel,” a spokesperson for the law enforcement agency told Fox News.

Mamdani’s wife, Rama Duwaji, is planning to travel to Syria and Lebanon to visit family in September, according to the New York Post. Both of those countries are on the State Department’s “Do Not Travel” list due to terrorism concerns.

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and his wife, Rama Duwaji, smile as confetti falls after his ceremonial inauguration as mayor at City Hall on Jan. 1, 2026, in New York.(David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)

MAMDANI’S WIFE CO-HOSTS LUXE MUSLIM RETREAT CASTING VIRGIN MARY AS ‘PALESTINIAN WOMAN’ UNDER OCCUPATION

The mayor’s office had previously confirmed that Duwaji would have an NYPD security detail on the trip.

“Upon the strong recommendation of the NYPD, the first lady’s security detail will be joining her when she travels to visit family in Syria and Lebanon,” Mamdani’s spokeswoman Dora Pekec reportedly said.

But later, as it became clear that the NYPD would not be making the overseas trek, the mayor chalked the confusion up to a staff “miscommunication” when asked about it by news outlet PIX11 on Tuesday.

NYPD Detectives’ Endowment Association (DEA) President Scott Munro furiously slammed the implication that NYPD detectives would accompany the city’s First Lady to the Middle East.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch speak at a Sunday morning news conference after a spate of weekend shootings in Brooklyn.(Kyle Mazza/Anadolu)

MAMDANI CLASHES WITH DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS’ PUSH TO ABOLISH POLICE AND PRISONS

“Our detectives put themselves in harm’s way every day protecting New Yorkers,” said Munro. “The DEA would never remain silent if our members were asked to travel to a dangerous, off-limits foreign country for anything other than a legitimate law-enforcement or intelligence operation.”

“Our detectives are needed here in New York City protecting residents and fighting crime,” he added.

Mamdani has a long history of trashing the very police department he thought would accompany and provide security for his wife to the dangerous Middle Eastern countries on New York City taxpayer’s dime.

“There is no negotiating with an institution this wicked & corrupt. Defund it. Dismantle it. End the cycle of violence,” Mamdani said in reference to the NYPD in a viral 2020 post on X.

Zohran Mamdani, mayor of New York, holds up bananas labeled with a 30% off sticker during an announcement on municipal grocery stores at a Campaign for Hunger community food distribution center in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Monday, July 27, 2026.(Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“We don’t need an investigation to know that the NYPD is racist, anti-queer & a major threat to public safety,” he said in another 2020 post, adding in a follow-up: “What we need is to #DefundTheNYPD.”

JON STEWART PRESSES MAMDANI ON WHERE HE BREAKS WITH FELLOW DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS ON PRISONS AND BORDERS

“Queer liberation means defund the police,” he said in yet another post.

The mayor, who has also faced scrutiny for his anti-Israel views and recently called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “war criminal” while calling for his arrest, derogatorily linked the NYPD to the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).

“We have to make clear that when the boot of the NYPD is on your neck, it’s been laced by the IDF,” Mamdani, who was a keynote speaker, said during a panel discussion at the Democratic Socialists of America’s 2023 national convention.

Jessica Tisch speaks after being sworn in as the next Commissioner of the New York Police Department (NYPD) during a ceremony at One Police Plaza on November 25, 2024, in New York City.(Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

During his campaign for mayor of the most populated U.S. city, Mamdani said the exact opposite, explicitly stating that he did not want to defund the police.

SEE IT: MAMDANI BOOED OFF STAGE AT NEW YORK CITY PRO-POLICE CELEBRATION: ‘WALKED OFF IN SHAME’

Still, it appears there is no love lost between Mamdani and the NYPD.

Just last week, he was booed offstage when he tried to speak at a pro-police event in Staten Island.

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

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

Iran-backed Houthi threat in Red Sea could lead to major US policy shift, analysts say

Former US general says ‘The Houthis could compel a different US strategy in Africa’

2026-08-12T09:15:09-04:00 / Fox News

By Paul Tilsley, Fox News

Published August 12, 2026 9:15am EDT | Updated August 12, 2026 6:00am EDT

Iran-backed Houthis target another strategic Middle East shipping route

Fox News chief national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin explains how attacks by Iran-backed Houthis in the Bab el-Mandab Strait could complicate U.S. military operations in the Middle East on ‘The Story.’

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JOHANNESBURG: As the Iran-backed Houthis step up their threat to Red Sea shipping, analysts say the U.S. could consider a major change in strategy.

Houthi attacks on ships passing through a vital chokepoint may lead Washington to cement relations with more reliable partners along Africa’s coastline.

Somaliland is a pro-U.S. outpost, having broken away from war-torn Somalia in 1991, and is offering the U.S. the use of one of the longest runways in Africa, an air base and a deep sea port on the Red Sea.

IRAN AND HOUTHI TERROR PROXY FACING RED SEA THREAT FROM PRO-US AFRICAN NATION

An aerial view of The Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a sea route connecting the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal.(Gallo Images/Orbital Horizon/Copernicus Sentinel Data 2021)

The Houthis have vowed to close the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, a narrow waterway through which Saudi Arabia exports up to 7 million barrels of oil a day, now that access to the Strait of Hormuz is severely restricted. In the past month in the Red Sea, the Houthis have reportedly attacked Saudi-flagged ships, are said to have sunk an Indian commercial cargo vessel and, on Aug. 13, an Egyptian cargo ship was hit, with at least four of its crew killed.

The U.S. already has a large military base on the Red Sea in Djibouti, but this is claimed to be increasingly problematic. “China is significantly expanding its military and commercial presence in Djibouti,” Edmund Fitton-Brown previously told Fox News Digital.

Fitton-Brown, the former British ambassador to the Houthis’ home country, Yemen, and a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, (FDD), added, “There is a sense that Djibouti is not a reliable ally for the U.S. So Somaliland’s time has probably come.”

Major General Ken Ekman, who retired last year from being the Department of War’s West Africa Coordination Element Lead, said, in essence, the Houthis could force the U.S. into recognizing Somaliland as an independent state. “The Houthis could compel a different U.S. strategy in Africa.”

TRUMP THREATENS ‘MAJOR MILITARY PUNISHMENT’ FOR IRAN OVER FUTURE HOUTHI ATTACKS

This handout screen grab captured from a video shows Yemen’s Houthi fighters’ takeover of the Galaxy Leader Cargo in the Red Sea coast off Hudaydah, on Nov. 20, 2023 in the Red Sea, Yemen.(Photo by Houthi Movement via Getty Images)

Ekman said the Houthis are building up a second front in this Middle East conflict. “It distracts the U.S. and stretches our assets,” he added.

“The Houthis have a strategy of their own. They are testing U.S. military ability, and are likely to pull the trigger in a major way when Iranian influence in the Strait of Hormuz wanes in leverage.”

He said that recently the U.S. Africa Command, AFRICOM, has concentrated on looking at land-based threats. “To date, our Africa strategy is driven by counterterrorism missions against Islamist al Qaeda and ISIS-linked groups based in Africa.”

He continued, “These groups pose a limited and not immediate threat to the U.S. homeland. Overall, Red Sea basing to date has focused more on crisis response in East Africa, countering and competing against Russia and China.”

COULD THIS AFRICAN NATION BECOME TRUMP’S NEXT TERROR TARGET AS JIHADISTS CLOSE IN ON POWER?

U.S. Air Force Gen. Dagvin Anderson, commander, U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), meets with President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, president of Somaliland, in Hargeisa, Somaliland, on Nov. 26, 2025. The meeting was part of Gen. Anderson’s trip in East Africa to meet with government and defense leaders to strengthen America’s strategic approach to confronting terrorism through mutual engagement, stronger cooperation, and aligned security priorities.(U.S. Army photo by Cpt. Ubon Mendie)

Ekman added, “orienting a Horn of Africa strategy against the Houthis would place a premium on freedom of navigation. Somaliland is proximate and overcomes some of the limitations imposed by other regional hosts like Djibouti and Middle East partners.”

Limitations and an apparent sense of frustration with Somalia, Somaliland’s neighbor and rival, have been expressed in a warning from U.S. Air Force Gen. Dagvin Anderson, commander of U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM).

In a recent interview with a Somali journalist, he was asked whether the U.S. was pulling out of the nation and turning its back on it.

Anderson said the U.S. has not turned its back on Somalia, having been committed to the country for several years, he noted the success of its counterterrorism group known as DANAB, which he said is “one of the most capable forces on the continent.” He noted that “it was up to Somalia to sustain that force… to build it and continue to make it effective going into the future and use it as it was designed to counter terrorism.”

A general view of the Berbera Port at dusk, the official seaport of Berbera, the commercial capital of Somaliland, on Feb. 18, 2026.(Tony Karumba / AFP via Getty Images)

Referring to the Somali government’s apparent lack of ability to deal decisively with Islamist al-Shabab terrorists, Anderson seemingly hinted at pulling some or even all military support. “If Somalia steps up and the government steps up and takes the lead on this, we will continue to be there because there is mutual interest.”

He continued, “But if we can’t see that in, the political instability and political infighting continues, then it’s going to be very hard for us to continue to stay engaged.”

Bill Roggio, editor of the Long War Journal, said Washington is fed up with Mogadishu, but currently not enough for the U.S. to change allegiance to Somaliland.

He told Fox News Digital, “The U.S. has expressed displeasure with the Somali government’s rampant corruption and internal infighting with local and regional governments, and with various clans. However, full recognition of Somaliland independence would create a major rift between the U.S. and Somalia.”

U.S. forces conclude an operation targeting ISIS in Somalia in August 2025.(Hannah Kantner/AFRICOM)

Roggio didn’t rule out the U.S. operating a second Red Sea base in Somaliland, saying “U.S. forces situated at Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti are far better situated geographically to deter the Houthis from shutting down the Bab el Mandeb Strait than a potential base in Somaliland. That being said, redundancy (back up plan) is a good thing in military operations.”

“The United States needs reliable partners on Africa’s coastline,” Bashir Goth, Somaliland Representative to the United States, told Fox News Digital.

Goth said, “Somaliland is that partner and our defense officials have been in active dialogue with AFRICOM on Red Sea security. Somaliland has the geography, the stability and the will to work closely with Washington — and will continue to do so.”

TRUMP SAYS IRAN WILL PAY — WHAT IT TAKES TO END THE WAR REMAINS UNCLEAR

A Houthi follower looks on, during a pro-Iran demonstration, as the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran continues, in Sanaa, Yemen April 6, 2026.(Khaled Abdullah/Reuters)

Officially, the U.S. still stands with Somalia, in preference to Somaliland.

A State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital, “The United States works with Somali and international partners to address terrorist threats in Somalia when necessary and appropriate to protect U.S. national security interests.”

In the Red Sea, Saudi Arabia and 13 other nations established a new maritime defense coalition to combat the Houthi threat. Publicly, at least, the U.S. is not part of this coalition.

Responding to questioning on this issue, a State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital, “The United States stands firmly with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia against Houthi terrorism. We are in close consultation with our Saudi allies and remain committed to their security.”

The U.S. does appear though to be stepping up interaction with Somaliland. AFRICOM Commander Anderson again visited Somaliland this past week, with an official statement saying he “traveled to the port city of Berbera to assess the security environment and review the port’s operational capacity.”

Somaliland’s Minister of Defense Mohamned Yusuf Ali led a delegation to meet U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) at their headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, Aug 2. Red Sea security was discussed.(Somaliland Ministry of Defence)

In the same week, the U.S. reportedly hosted a delegation of Somalilanders led by the state’s defense minister at AFRICOM HQ in Stuttgart, Germany, where Red Sea security was reportedly again discussed.

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AFRICOM and the Department of War did not respond to Fox News Digital requests for information about the visits.

Paul Tilsley is a veteran correspondent who has reported from four continents for more than three decades. Based in Johannesburg, South Africa, he can be followed on X @paultilsley.

马国首相安华获准出院 在社媒发文报平安

2026年8月12日 23:38 / 联合早报

马国首相安华星期三（8月12日）获准出院。他回家后除了阅读，也在脸书报平安。（取自安华脸书）

马来西亚首相安华星期一（8月10日）接受腹腔镜手术并留院观察后，星期三（12日）晚间获准出院。

安华星期三晚间在脸书贴文说：“感谢真主，终于回家了。”他也上载他悠闲阅读的照片。

安华夫人、吉隆坡敦拉萨镇区国会议员旺阿兹莎星期三下午出席选区活动后向告诉媒体，安华预计当天就能出院。

安华星期一79岁生日当天入院，并顺利完成腹腔镜手术。

安华医疗团队发言人阿斯里当天下午在安华脸书发文说，安华已顺利接受选择性腹腔镜手术以治疗脐周疝，目前正在接受物理治疗及专科医疗团队的密切监察。

Trump-backed Michael Alfonso wins crowded GOP primary for his father-in-law’s former Wisconsin seat

The 26-year-old son-in-law of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy will face Democrat Fred Clark in November

August 12, 2026 8:49am EDT / Fox News

By Greg Norman-Diamond

Michael Alfonso reacts to James Carville warning Democrats about far-left progressives

Wisconsin congressional candidate Michael Alfonso joins ‘Fox & Friends First’ to analyze key primary results shaping the upcoming midterm elections. Alfonso reacts to veteran Democratic strategist James Carville warning his party against far-left progressives like Hasan Piker. As inflation and economic worries dominate voter concerns, Alfonso explains why conservative solutions resonate with everyday Americans.

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Michael Alfonso, the son-in-law of Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Fox News host Rachel Campos-Duffy, has won the Republican Party’s nomination in Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District.

The 26-year-old, endorsed by President Donald Trump, defeated a crowded field of contenders as he seeks the same northern Wisconsin congressional seat once held by his father-in-law, who represented the district from 2011 to 2019.

“It is my Great Honor to endorse MAGA Warrior, Michael Alfonso, a young ‘STAR’ who is running to represent the incredible people of Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on the eve of Tuesday’s Election Day.

“As your next Congressman, Michael will work tirelessly to Grow our Economy, Cut Taxes and Regulations, Champion our Amazing Farmers and Ranchers, Promote MADE IN THE U.S.A., Unleash American Energy DOMINANCE, Keep our Border SECURE, Stop Migrant Crime, Support our Military/Veterans, Safeguard our Elections, and Protect our always under siege Second Amendment,” Trump added.

DEMOCRAT ESTABLISHMENT STRIKES BACK AS SOCIALIST CANDIDATE DOWNED IN BATTLEGROUND PRIMARY

First lady Melania Trump, Michael Alfonso, President Donald Trump and Evita Duffy-Alfonso are seen in this photo. On Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026, Alfonso won the Republican nomination in the race for Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District.(Alfonso for Wisconsin)

The seat is currently held by Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wis., who on Tuesday won the Republican nomination in the Wisconsin governor’s race.

Tiffany was first elected to the seat in a May 2020 special election after Duffy resigned due to one of his children’s health issues.

District 7 has been under control of Republicans for 15 years, and it is deemed a solid Republican by Cook Political Report. Trump carried the district with about 60% of the vote during the 2024 presidential election.

NEW MIDTERM BATLEGROUND TAKES SHAPE AS PARTIES BUILD ELECTION ARMIES

Michael Alfonso, a candidate for U.S. House in Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District, speaks during a campaign event Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in New Richmond, Wis.(Ellen Schmidt/AP)

Alfonso will face off against Fred Clark in November, who won Tuesday’s Democratic primary for Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District.

Clark, a former Wisconsin state assemblyman, said on his website that he believes northern Wisconsin has the “makings of a new rural majority.”

Michael Alfonso, Republican U.S. congressional candidate for Wisconsin, attends a roundtable with President Donald Trump at Custer Farms Inc. in Chippewa Falls, Wis., on Friday, June 5, 2026.(Steven Garcia/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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“That’s a majority not based on old right wing and left wing politics, but a majority made up of real people who live and work in our communities,” Clark’s website said. “Fred Clark will become part of a new majority of leaders in Congress who will stand up, represent their communities, and do the work we expect from our elected representatives.”

Fox News Digital’s Elaine Mallon contributed to this report.

Greg Norman is a reporter at Fox News Digital.

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