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Trump-appointed arts panel approves gold coin featuring president’s image | Reuters

By Tim Reid
March 19, 2026 7:18 PM UTC Updated 40 mins ago

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A Semiquincentennial commemorative gold coin design featuring U.S. President Donald Trump, in this undated handout image. U.S. Mint/Handout via REUTERS Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

• Summary

• Trump-picked panel approves gold coin with Trump’s image
• Critics say using sitting president’s image is inappropriate
• Proposal is new move to promote Trump’s name and image on buildings and currency

WASHINGTON, March 19 (Reuters) – A federal arts panel comprised of members appointed by Donald Trump on Thursday unanimously approved a commemorative gold ​coin featuring his image, the latest effort by the administration to celebrate the president.

Critics, including Democrats and members of another federal ‌arts committee, said minting a coin with a sitting president’s image went against American values, especially as the nation celebrates its 250th birthday this year and the end of British monarchical rule.

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During a presentation by a U.S. Mint official to the Commission of Fine Arts, discussion turned to what diameter the 24-carat coin should be, up to a ​maximum of three inches.

Chamberlain Harris, 26, a White House aide who Trump appointed to the commission this year, said the biggest possible coin ​would be Trump’s preference.

“The larger the better,” she said, shortly before the coin was approved by the entire panel.

The ⁠U.S. Mint will now produce final dimensions for the coin. Trump has already approved the design and it is expected that Treasury Secretary Scott ​Bessent, a Trump loyalist, will order the coin to be minted.

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The White House referred questions to the Treasury Department. The Treasury Department and the U.S. Mint ​did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The coin would depict a stern-looking Trump leaning over a desk and staring forward. It is based on a photograph displayed in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington.

“Monarchs and dictators put their faces on coins, not leaders of a democracy,” Jeff Merkley, a Democratic U.S. senator, told Reuters in a ​statement.

“Trump’s administration moving to put his face on a commemorative coin is his latest effort to distort the meaning of America’s 250th birthday.”

The Trump ​administration has also proposed a different, $1 coin featuring Trump’s image that would mark America’s 1776 Declaration of Independence from British rule.

COIN IS LATEST EFFORT TO CELEBRATE TRUMP

Donald Scarinci, a ‌member ⁠of the bipartisan Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee – a separate federal panel that refused to consider the gold coin proposal last month – said the one dollar coin would be in clear breach of a law that prohibits the image of a sitting or former president being on a dollar coin until three years after their death.

There is a potential loophole, however, when it comes to the gold coin, because unlike the dollar coin, which would be in circulation, ​the gold coin is a non-circulating ​collector coin.

Scarinci said under law both ⁠his panel and the Commission of Fine Arts are meant to approve any coins.

“But we still fully expect them to plough ahead and mint both coins,” Scarinci said.

The gold coin proposal is the Trump administration’s latest effort to place ​his name and image on public institutions and U.S. currency.

Since he reentered the White House in January 2025, ​Trump has affixed his ⁠name to prominent Washington buildings, a planned class of Navy warships, a visa program for wealthy foreigners, a government-run prescription drug website, and federal savings accounts for children.

There was fierce backlash against the renaming of Washington’s premier performance venue as the Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.

Trump’s handpicked ⁠Kennedy Center ​board of trustees voted on Monday to close the institution for two years for renovations.

Just ​up the Potomac River sits the U.S. Institute of Peace, a government-funded think tank established by Congress and focused on conflict avoidance.

On December 3 the State Department renamed it the Donald ​J. Trump Institute of Peace, three months before Trump began a war with Iran.

Reporting by Tim Reid in Washington; Editing by Ross Colvin and Daniel Wallis

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FIRST ON FOX: Beijing’s growing influence inside the United Nations is raising alarms after a new report from the House Select Committee on China warns the Chinese Communist Party is allegedly leveraging money, personnel and peacekeeping deployments to advance its strategic interests.

The report, obtained by Fox News Digital ahead of its release, outlines what lawmakers describe as a “systematic campaign” by China to reshape the U.N. from within — using expanded financial contributions, placement of Chinese nationals in key roles, and state-linked organizations to steer outcomes in Beijing’s favor.

One of the report’s most concrete findings centers on China’s use of U.N. peacekeeping operations.

Chinese troops increasingly are deployed to regions tied to Beijing’s economic and strategic priorities, the report claims, particularly in Africa, as part of a “sophisticated strategy” to convert influence into hard power.

US SEEKS UN AUTHORIZATION FOR GAZA INTERNATIONAL FORCE LASTING THROUGH 2027 UNDER TRUMP PLAN

A new report from the House Select Committee on China is raising alarms about Beijing’s growing influence inside the United Nations.(Li Gang/Xinhua via Getty Images)

Lawmakers point to South Sudan as a key example, where a significant share of oil production is exported to China and Chinese state-backed firms maintain major investments.

The report highlights a concentration of Chinese peacekeepers in the U.N. mission in South Sudan and argues these deployments allow China to “secure its national interests” while operating under the legitimacy of the U.N.

The committee does not allege China is violating U.N. rules. Instead, the report finds Beijing is “exploiting” its participation in the U.N. system to shape outcomes in its favor.

The bipartisan committee is led by Chairman John Moolenaar, R-Mich., and Ranking Member Ro Khanna, D-Calif.,, and has spent months investigating China’s influence across international institutions. Moolenaar previously has warned China is working to “reshape the international system to serve its interests.”

The findings are based on a review of Chinese government documents, U.N. data, academic research and open-source reporting, according to the committee.

TRUMP ADMIN WARNED TO TAKE FRONT SEAT AS UN CHIEF RACE SHIFTS LEFT, BOOSTING ANTI-US CONTENDERS

Beyond troop deployments, the report details how China’s financial contributions to the U.N. have surged throughout the past two decades, increasing from roughly 2% to more than 20% of the U.N. budget.That growing share gives Beijing more influence in budget negotiations and agency priorities, particularly as the U.N. faces periodic funding shortfalls.

The report states China uses its financial weight to “redefine UN norms to advance its own national interests” and influence budget discussions and mandates.

In one example cited, delays in Chinese funding during a budget dispute were linked to disruptions that slowed human rights investigations, illustrating how financial pressure can affect U.N. operations.

The report also raises concerns about China placing nationals in senior U.N. roles, arguing Beijing “captures key bodies” by securing influential positions that allow it to shape decision-making from within.

U.N. hiring rules allow member states to nominate candidates and compete for senior roles across agencies, creating openings for countries like China to expand their presence through standard selection processes.

Another focus is the role of so-called “GONGOs” — government-organized nongovernmental organizations — which the report says are used to “inject” political influence into U.N. processes while presenting as independent civil society groups.

The findings come as U.S. officials increasingly focus on countering China’s influence in international institutions.

The committee calls for greater transparency, stronger U.S. leadership, and coordination with allies to counter what it describes as China’s expanding influence inside the U.N. system.

House committee accuses China of using funding and troops to steer U.N. outcomes.(Wang Fan/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images)

The report also lands amid broader questions about the U.S. role at the United Nations under President Donald Trump.

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“What is the purpose of the United Nations?” Trump asked during an address to the U.N. General Assembly in September 2025.

He argued that the organization is prone to writing “very strongly worded letters” that never lead to action, famously stating that “empty words don’t solve war.”

The U.S. remains the UN’s biggest financial backer — paying roughly 22% of its budget — while also owing billions in unpaid contributions.

The dynamic has effectively turned Washington into both the U.N.’s top funder and one of its biggest debtors, a position that shapes everything from budget fights to influence battles with China.

Fox News Digital reached out to the United Nations and China’s mission to the U.N. for comment.

Chinese officials previously have defended their role at the United Nations, describing China as a supporter of multilateralism and international cooperation.

Sen Kennedy urges ‘smart lawyers’ to rework SAVE America Act for simple-majority path

Budget reconciliation strategy could bypass Dem filibuster, but Kennedy yet to find much support for idea

By Eric Mack
Fox News

Published March 19, 2026 12:16pm EDT | Updated March 19, 2026 1:31pm EDT

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., is urging “smart lawyers” to rework the SAVE America Act to try to pass it with a simple budget reconciliation majority, an idea he said does not have much support among his colleagues.

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Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., in his patented off-the-cuff, southern style, urged the “smart lawyers” in Congress and beyond to rework the SAVE America Act to pass Senate parliamentarian “muster,” so it can move to law with a simple budget reconciliation majority.

“You don’t know till you try, and we haven’t tried,” Kennedy said Wednesday night during the brief Senate debate window on the federal election integrity bill seeking voter I.D., proof of citizenship, vetted voter rolls and mail-in ballot reforms.

“And if this bill is as important as everybody says it is — and I think it is because we’re not just talking about voting; we’re talking about the confidence, the trust of the American people in our elections if — this bill is as important as we say it is, we should try it through reconciliation.”

Kennedy admitted he is “in the minority on this,” but joked that “sometimes the majority just means all the fools are on the same side.”

“Sometimes someone in the minority can be right,” he said, noting Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., needs even more convincing on budget reconciliation than he needed to bring this week’s limited debate to the Senate floor on what could be President Donald Trump’s signature election integrity law.

There are enough “smart lawyers” in the U.S. to find a budget reconciliation form of the bill, according to Kennedy.

“I haven’t convinced Sen. Thune to that,” he said. “I haven’t convinced all my colleagues on either side of the aisle. But, I plan on continuing to chase them like they stole Thanksgiving and Christmas put together.”

The bill might have to overcome Democrat filibuster in the next week before the Senate’s Easter recess, particularly amid the new urgency on other Senate priorities, including Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., moving to a full Senate vote to confirm him as the next Department of Homeland Security secretary.

The Senate can debate Mullin’s nomination as the SAVE America Act debate remains open, but it will be more complex than the normal confirmation process and take a few extra procedural votes, senior GOP sources told Fox News on Thursday.

The Senate procedure tends to be complex, but nothing a few “smart lawyers” cannot navigate, according to Kennedy.

“Anything you pass through reconciliation has to conform with the contours of the Budget Control Act: We call that giving a provision a ‘Byrd bath,’” Kennedy said. “And our parliamentarian decides what passes muster under the Budget Control Act.”

Kennedy dropped an “Oliver Wendell Scalia” challenge on the professed “smart lawyers” around Washington, referencing two of the most influential (and stylistically similar) Supreme Court justices in American history: Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. and Antonin Scalia.

“We’ve got a lot of smart lawyers in the United States Senate: Every single one of them thinks they’re Oliver Wendell Scalia,” Kennedy said. “But we’ve got a lot of other smart lawyers in America.

“Here’s what I’m getting at: We have yet to try going to these smart lawyers, some in the Senate — and some, believe it or not, not in the Senate — and saying, ‘craft us a SAVE act that will pass muster under the Budget Control Act and can be blessed by the parliamentarian.’”

The bill being most actively pushed by Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, faces the tall 60-vote hurdle in the Senate, with Republicans holding just a 53-47 majority. The 45 Democrats and the two independents that caucus with them almost always obstruct any Trump agenda item.

But why fight the obstruction, Kennedy urged, just do an end run around it.

“Some of my colleagues, those Oliver Wendell Scalia types, they say, ‘Kennedy, you know that you’ll never be able to do that’: They don’t know!” Kennedy said. “I’ve been here 10 years: I’ve seen things pass muster, survive a bird bath that I didn’t think had a hope in hell.

“And I’ve seen provisions pass the parliamentarians’ judgment under a Byrd bath,” he continued, also admitting, “I’ve seen them not pass that I thought were slam dunks.”

Lee hosted an X Spaces briefing late Wednesday night, dispelling the “lies” put forth by filibustering Democrats.

“I’ve listened carefully to hours upon hours of the Democrats’ arguments against it I have yet to hear a single argument that I cannot refute — and in fact have not refuted on the Senate floor in the last 24 hours,” Lee wrote on X. “Even worse, most of their arguments are based on a profoundly indefensible mischaracterization of my bill.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Lee’s office for comment on Kennedy’s budget reconciliation recommendation.

Eric Mack is a writer for Fox News Digital covering breaking news.

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6391177049112
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https://www.foxnews.com/video/6391143460112

UC Berkeley tightens antisemitism policies to settle lawsuit

March 19, 2026 5:34 PM UTC / Reuters

Students attend a protest encampment in support of Palestinians at University of California, Berkeley during the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Berkeley, U.S., April 25, 2024. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo [Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab]

• Summary
• Companies

• Student groups cannot exclude supporters of Israel, Zionism
• UC Berkeley denies liability, says Jews should feel safe and respected
• Brandeis Center has settled with Harvard, others
• Law school dean opposes restrictions in bylaws

March 19 (Reuters) – The University of California, Berkeley, agreed to tighten protections ‌against antisemitism on campus to settle a lawsuit accusing the school of tolerating an “unrelenting” stream of harassment toward Jewish students and faculty.

Thursday’s settlement resolves a lawsuit filed by the nonprofit Louis D. Brandeis Center and Jewish Americans for Fairness in Education in November 2023, following harassment and other alleged mistreatment of Jews ​in the wake of Hamas’ attack on Israel a month earlier.

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UC Berkeley was accused of turning a blind eye to ​long-festering antisemitism, including anti-Israel protests and the exclusion of speakers who support Israel or Zionism.

The Brandeis ⁠Center said the settlement prohibits student groups, journals and clinics from excluding anyone from participating or speaking regardless of their support for ​Israel and Zionism, and an array of groups from including such exclusions in their bylaws.

Other changes include mandatory antisemitism and anti-discrimination training ​for faculty and staff, an improved process to handle complaints, and hiring an officer to ensure compliance with a U.S. law prohibiting discrimination based on race, color and national origin in programs receiving federal funding. UC Berkeley will also pay $1 million of the Brandeis Center’s legal bills.

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The settlement came nearly one ​year after a federal judge refused to dismiss the lawsuit, saying the plaintiffs plausibly alleged that Jewish students and professors were treated ​differently because they were Jewish, and the university was “deliberately indifferent.”

Many top U.S. colleges and universities have been accused, including by the Trump administration, of tolerating ‌or ⁠encouraging antisemitism and mishandling protests.

The Brandeis Center has settled similar lawsuits against several other schools, including Harvard University.

UC BERKELEY SAYS JEWS SHOULD FEEL SAFE, RESPECTED

In a statement, UC Berkeley said the settlement reflects its commitment to combatting “abhorrent” antisemitic expression, harassment and discrimination on campus. The school has about 46,000 undergraduate and graduate students.

“UC Berkeley is and will continue to be a place where Jewish students, staff and faculty ​can thrive and feel safe, respected, ​and a true sense of ⁠belonging,” it added.

The Regents of the University of California, the governing body for the University of California system, denied liability in agreeing to settle.

“What happened at Berkeley is a cautionary tale,” Brandeis Center ​Chairman Kenneth Marcus said in a statement. “Universities, unions, corporations, and political parties cannot create an anti-Zionist ​exception to their ⁠conduct codes.”

The original complaint said “no fewer” than 23 groups at UC Berkeley’s law school had anti-Jewish policies, such as requiring invited speakers to repudiate Zionism, and forcing some Jewish students to undergo training that emphasized Israel’s supposed illegitimacy.

“My position since this issue emerged has not wavered,” ⁠Dean Erwin ​Chemerinsky wrote in a letter to the law school community on Thursday. “Student organizations ​have the First Amendment right to choose speakers based on their views, but I believe that these bylaws are inconsistent with the law school’s commitment to be a ​place where all ideas and views can be expressed.”

Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Bill Berkrot and Daniel Wallis

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Repaired Artemis II moon rocket heads back to pad for April 1 launch try

March 19, 2026 / 3:13 PM EDT / CBS News

NASA readied its repaired Artemis II moon rocket for a return trip to the launch pad overnight Thursday, setting the stage for a delayed April 1 launch to send four astronauts on a historic nine-day flight around the moon and back.

Mounted atop a powerful Apollo-era crawler-transporter, the 332-foot-tall Artemis II Space Launch System rocket and its mobile launch platform were expected to start inching out of NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building around 8 p.m. EDT to begin the 4-mile, 12-hour trip to launch pad 39B.

Once on the firing stand, NASA and contractor engineers and technicians will connect fuel lines, power and data cables and rig the pad for launch.

The Artemis II Space Launch System rocket is seen here atop NASA’s crawler-transporter during its initial roll out to the Kennedy Space Center’s pad 39B in January. After delays due to hydrogen leaks and work back in the Vehicle Assembly Building to fix a propellant pressurization problem, the rocket is being hauled back out to the pad for an April 1 launch try. NASA/Keegan Barber

NASA managers say earlier problems and repairs that required a follow-on fueling test have been resolved and that the next time the SLS rocket is loaded with more than 750,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and oxygen propellants, it will be for an actual launch.

Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen went into pre-flight medical quarantine Wednesday night. They plan to fly to the Kennedy Space Center a week from Friday, and if all goes well, they hope to strap in for blastoff at 6:24 p.m. April 1, the opening of a two-hour launch window.

The flight will mark the first time astronauts have flown atop an SLS rocket and aboard an Orion crew capsule after a single unpiloted test flight in 2022.

In that flight, the Orion crew capsule was not equipped with a life support system. The Artemis II astronauts will devote their first full day in space to checking out the spacecraft’s propulsion, navigation, communications and life support systems before heading off to the moon.

The Artemis II flight will be the first piloted moon mission since the last Apollo crew landed on the moon in 1972. While Wiseman and his crewmates will swing around the moon and return to a Pacific Ocean splashdown without going into lunar orbit, an on-time launch will allow them to travel farther from Earth than any humans before them.

If the flight goes well, NASA plans to launch another SLS rocket and Orion crew next year to test rendezvous and docking procedures with one or both moon landers being built by SpaceX and Blue Origin. That flight will be followed by at least one and possibly two moon-landing missions in 2028.

But first, the Artemis II crew must show the rocket and Orion spacecraft are up to the task with a successful trip to the moon and back.

The flight originally was planned for early February, but it was delayed after hydrogen fuel leaks were detected during a dress rehearsal countdown. That problem was fixed at the pad and the rocket sailed through a second fueling test without any major problems. That set the stage for a launch around March 6.

But after the fueling test, engineers ran into a fresh problem when they were unable to pump high-pressure helium back into the SLS rocket’s upper stage. Pressurized helium is routinely used in rockets to push propellants to engines and to help clean and dry tanks and propellant lines when needed.

Unlike the first stage leak, engineers could not access the second stage at the launch pad. So the entire SLS rocket had to be hauled back to the Vehicle Assembly Building, where extendable platforms provided the needed access.

The helium issue was traced to out-of-place seals in a quick-disconnect fitting and was quickly repaired. Engineers also replaced batteries in the rocket’s self-destruct system, recharged a variety of other batteries and replaced seals in the first stage liquid oxygen propellant umbilical mechanism.

Because of the constantly changing positions of Earth and moon, along with lighting and solar power constraints, NASA only has until April 6 to get the Artemis II mission off the ground. After that, the flight will slip another three weeks or so when conditions will once again be favorable for launch.

4 House Dems vote against Women’s History Museum bill over biological women-only amendment, Republican claims

House Republican Nicole Malliotakis slams Dems after bill to build a Women’s History Museum on the National Mall advances out of committee along party lines

By Alex Nitzberg
Fox News

Published March 19, 2026 2:19pm EDT

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All four Democrats on the House Administration Committee voted against advancing a measure to authorize land on the National Mall to construct the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum.

The measure cleared the committee on a 7-4 party-line vote, the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., said.

Malliotakis, who does not sit on the committee, said in a post on X that Democrats opposed an amendment to ensure the museum only honors biological women.

“Democrats in the House Administration Committee just voted against my bill to build a Women’s History Museum on the National Mall because an amendment was adopted to ensure only biological women are exhibited. What a way to celebrate #WomensHistoryMonth!” Malliotakis said in the post.

CALIFORNIA’S TRANS AGENDA SUFFERS ANOTHER LEGAL BLOW AFTER ATTEMPT TO UNDERCUT SCOTUS ORDER FAILS

Rep. Joe Morelle, D-N.Y., walks down the House steps after the last vote before the Easter recess at the Capitol on Thursday, March 30, 2023.(Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Her post includes a screenshot of the legislative text that states, “The Museum shall be dedicated to preserving, researching, and presenting the history, achievements, and lived experiences of biological women in the United States” and “The Museum may not identify, present, describe, or otherwise depict any biological male as a female.”

The four Democrats on the committee include Ranking Member Rep. Joe Morelle of New York, as well as Reps. Terri Sewell of Alabama, Norma Torres, of California, and Julie Johnson of Texas, the committee’s website indicates.

The bill initially had 231 cosponsors, including Johnson and Sewell, two of the committee Democrats who voted against advancing the measure.

Morelle criticized Republicans in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital, saying that they inserted “ideological poison pills” into the proposal.

“The Republican majority took a bipartisan, Republican-led bill with 230 cosponsors and, at the last minute, replaced it with one that gives President Trump unchecked authority to choose the museum’s location, hands control of its design and construction to boards now filled with political loyalists, omits its sister museum honoring American Latinos, and inserts ideological poison pills aimed not at building a museum, but at generating cheap political talking points,” Morelle said in the statement.

TRANSGENDER TRIPLE KILLER REMOVED FROM HOME WITH 2 FOSTER CHILDREN MONTHS AFTER AUTHORITIES WERE NOTIFIED

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., arrives for the House Republican Conference caucus meeting in the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, March 4, 2026.(Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

“The star of the Epstein files and Access Hollywood tape is the last person who should be handed the keys to a museum celebrating American women,” he added.

Sharing Malliotakis’ post, President Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump commented, “This is insane, but not surprising for the Democrats.” She also included the clown emoji in her tweet.

Former college swimmer Riley Gaines, who staunchly opposes allowing biological males to compete in female sports, wrote in a post on X, “A Women’s History Museum is one step closer to the National Mall. It passed out of committee, BUT only along party lines after an amendment was added to ensure it honors real women, not men identifying as women. Yes, that’s where the debate is in 2026.”

FORMER UTAH STATE VOLLEYBALL STAR SAYS SJSU TRANS SCANDAL CAUSED INJURED FINGERS, SHATTERED DREAMS

Riley Gaines speaks during the 10X Ladies Conference Hosted by Elena Cardone at JW Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort & Spa on Aug. 15, 2025, in Aventura, Florida.(Ivan Apfel/Getty Images)

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She added in another post, “Thank you to @RepNicole for championing this effort and standing firm in reality!”

Alex Nitzberg is a writer for Fox News Digital.

Photo of Michigan synagogue attacker shows him with AR-style rifle prior to the attack

March 19, 2026 / 12:57 PM EDT / CBS News

The man who drove a truck into a synagogue in Michigan and opened fire last Thursday sent a photo of himself with the AR-style rifle he had during the attack to a family member in Lebanon, according to a U.S. official who provided a copy of the picture.

In the photo, the Temple Israel synagogue attacker, Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, is wearing all black with a black and white scarf and is holding what appears to be a semiautomatic rifle with a scope attached. The photo is edited with verses from the Quran in yellow Arabic text.

A U.S. official told CBS News the photo was taken and edited prior to the attack on March 12, and sent to a relative the day Ghazali rammed his vehicle into the synagogue. The official said the rifle in the photo is the same weapon he had during the attack.

Photo shows Ayman Mohamad Ghazali holding an AR-style rifle, prior to his attack on a Detroit-area synagogue. Obtained by CBS News

The verse on the upper part of the photo said in Arabic: “Among the believers are men who have been true to what they pledged to God. Some of them have fulfilled their vow, and some are still waiting. They have never changed.”

There was also script on the lower part of the photo about “vengeance.”

Ghazali had been living and working in Dearborn Heights, Michigan, and was a naturalized U.S. citizen. He came from a southern Lebanese town that is now a Hezbollah stronghold. Four of his relatives there were killed in an Israeli drone strike on March 5, including two brothers who CBS News first reported were members of Hezbollah’s rocket squad, according to sources in Lebanon.

Israeli officials on Sunday confirmed the death of one brother, Ibrahim Mohamad Ghazali, who they said was a Hezbollah commander.

The attack at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, one of the largest synagogue congregations in the country, rocked the community. Young children were in school inside the building during the attack. No students or staff were injured in the incident, but a security guard was hit by Ghazali’s vehicle and knocked unconscious, officials said. The vehicle ramming started a fire in the building and other first responders were treated for smoke inhalation.

The FBI said the attack is being investigated as a “targeted act of violence against the Jewish community.”

At a briefing the day after the attack, Jennifer Runyon, the FBI Detroit Field Office special agent in charge, said Ghazali’s truck became jammed in a hallway and he was unable to exit the vehicle. She said Ghazali got in a gunfight with two security guards before turning the gun on himself, taking his own life. Runyon said he had waited in the parking lot for two hours before ramming his vehicle into the building.

Prior to the attack, Ghazali purchased more than $2,000 worth of fireworks from a local fireworks store. Phantom Fireworks CEO Bruce Zoldan told CBS News Ghazali was asked by a store worker why he was buying so much given that it was an unusual time of year for fireworks.

“He said it was to celebrate the end of Ramadan,” Zoldan told CBS News.

The Department of Homeland Security told CBS News that Ghazali entered the country legally in 2011 after receiving sponsorship from his then-wife, a U.S. citizen, and became a citizen himself in 2016.

Ghazali called his former wife just before the attack and she in turn called police to warn them that her ex-husband was “not stable.”

CBC warn billionaire governor that any Democratic presidential hopeful ‘has to go through’ them

By Adam Pack
Fox News

Published March 19, 2026 2:01pm EDT

Gov. JB Pritzker, D-Ill., emerged as a decisive kingmaker in Illinois’ primary elections Tuesday, but his efforts to boost his deputy, Lt. Gov. Julianna Stratton, D-Ill., could create headaches for a future presidential run.

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) are sharply criticizing Pritzker for spending millions of his personal wealth to shore up support for Stratton in the state’s bruising Senate primary.

Pritzker’s deputy beat out Rep. Robyn Kelly, D-Ill., the CBC’s preferred candidate, and a $30 million war chest from Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., to advance to the general election.

“We don’t need to reach out to the governor,” Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., said of Pritzker, according to a new Politico report. “Others are going to have to reach out to us,” he said in a reference to Pritzker. Meeks helms the CBC’s PAC, which backed Kelly’s failed Senate campaign.

Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton waves during a primary election night watch party after winning the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, March 17, 2026, in Chicago.(Erin Hooley/AP Photo)

AS 2028 BUZZ BUILDS, PRITZKER DRAWS REPUBLICAN CHALLENGER IN SHOWDOWN FOR ILLINOIS GOVERNOR

Stratton’s dominant win could have immediate ramifications for Pritzker, who is running for a third gubernatorial term and is rumored to be considering a 2028 presidential bid. The Black caucus remains an influential force in the Democratic Party after allying itself with former President Joe Biden in 2020 and former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024.

For now, the group is holding Pritzker at arm’s length.

“Keep in mind, the Democratic candidate for president that prevails has to go through [us],” Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, said referring to the Black caucus, according to the report. “The CBC is very strategic and so if there is an issue … we will lay out our framework for what it will take” to earn the group’s support, the Ohio Democrat added.

Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss, a longtime CBC member, did not hide his frustration with Pritzker, telling the outlet that the billionaire governor “has to justify what he did” by backing Stratton’s Senate campaign.

“As to whether or not it has merit or not, remains to be seen,” he added, according to the report.

Gov. JB Pritzker, D-Ill., is drawing criticism from some Black lawmakers over his kingmaker status following the state’s Democratic primary elections.(Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

ESTABLISHMENT DEMOCRATS FEND OFF FAR-LEFT INFLUENCER IN PRIMARY TO SUCCEED REP JAN SCHAKOWSKY

The billionaire governor contributed at least $5 million to a super PAC supporting Stratton’s candidacy. The donation helped Stratton overcome a torrent of attack ads from the cryptocurrency industry seeking to block her from the nomination.

Additional CBC members have also lambasted Pritzker’s influence over the Senate race, with some voicing concerns that Stratton and Kelly’s dueling campaigns split the Black vote.

“Governor Pritzker’s effort to tip the scales in Illinois’ U.S. Senate race is beyond frustrating for the Congressional Black Caucus,” Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., chair of the CBC, told Punchbowl News earlier this month. “A sitting governor shouldn’t be heavy-handing the race. Quite frankly, his behavior in this race won’t soon be forgotten by any of us.”

Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Ill., who was endorsed by the Congressional Black Caucus, placed a distant third in Illinois’ Senate Democratic primary.(E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune via Getty Images)

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Stratton, who has served as lieutenant governor since 2019, branded herself as a staunch anti-Trump foe on the campaign trail. She sparked controversy when her campaign released an ad full of expletives directed toward Trump, which notably featured Pritzker.

Pritzker appeared to downplay his role in boosting Stratton when speaking with reporters Thursday.

“She got outspent more than 3 to 1, with all the money that went into the other candidate, the other leading candidate versus all the money that was supporting her 3 to 1, she was outspent,” Pritzker said. “Why is it that you can overcome that kind of onslaught?”

“It’s because she’s a genuine person who people believe when she stands up and says what she believes in, people look at her and understand she’s been advocating for them for her entire career,” he added.

Fox News Digital reached out to Pritzker for comment.

States challenge Trump decision to revoke basis of US climate regulations

March 19, 2026 5:33 PM UTC / Reuters / By David Shepardson

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United States Environmental Protection Agency logo and U.S. flag are seen in this illustration taken April 23, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

WASHINGTON, March 19 (Reuters) – Twenty-three states, led by Democratic-governed New York and California, along with 14 cities and counties, ​sued President Donald Trump’s administration on Thursday seeking to undo its decision to revoke the government’s ‌scientific finding that underpins U.S. climate regulations, the New York Attorney General’s Office said.

The legal challenge filed against the Environmental Protection Agency in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia takes aim at the agency’s move ​last month to terminate the government’s 2009 conclusion that climate change endangers human health and ​the environment. Trump has called climate change a hoax despite the scientific evidence.

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The ⁠U.S. Virgin Islands and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro are also among those suing the EPA.

LAWSUIT INCLUDES ​VEHICLE RULES

The lawsuit also challenges the EPA’s decision last month to repeal federal rules for all vehicles ​and engines from model years 2012 to 2027 that limit greenhouse gas tailpipe emissions from cars and trucks.

Some of the other states joining the lawsuit were Michigan, Connecticut and Virginia, alongside cities including New York, Boston, Chicago, Denver ​and Los Angeles.

A coalition of environmental groups previously sued the administration to challenge the revocation of ​the endangerment finding.

The EPA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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The endangerment revocation – a major climate change ‌policy rollback ⁠by Trump – followed a string of regulatory cuts and other moves intended to unfetter fossil fuel development and stymie the rollout of clean energy.

In announcing the revocation last month, the Republican president called the endangerment finding

Hawley launches investigation into abortion drug manufacturers over ‘grave risks’ to women

Published March 19, 2026 12:40pm EDT | Fox News

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., is launching investigations into two mifepristone manufacturers that he says profited off the abortion drug despite evidence that it “poses grave risks to women.”

Hawley notified the two companies, Danco Laboratories and GenBioPro, in letters addressed to the heads of the companies that were obtained by Fox News Digital. The letters notify company administrators that he is opening an investigation via the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, which he chairs.

“Mounting evidence suggests that mifepristone poses grave risks to women. Yet your company has continued to profit from the widespread distribution of this drug even as serious questions have emerged about hemorrhage, infection, sepsis, and other dangerous complications associated with its use,” Hawley wrote to both companies.

“Congress must determine what your company knew about the harms associated with mifepristone, when it knew it, what it told regulators, and what it may have failed to disclose to women and the public,” he added.

PRO-LIFE GROUP URGES SENATE TO PRESS RFK JR. ON ABORTION PILL SAFETY, DEMAND SAFEGUARDS RETURN

Sen. Josh Hawley asks questions during a Senate hearing.(Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The letters demand that the companies share documents relating to the investigation by April 24.

Those documents include all adverse event reports relating to mifepristone, relevant internal databases and a litany of other documents.

Neither company immediately responded to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

The investigation comes roughly a week after Hawley introduced a new bill to strip FDA approval from mifepristone.

A container holding boxes of mifepristone, the first medication in a medical abortion, are prepared for patients at a clinic in Carbondale, Illinois, April 20, 2023.(Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)

The new bill builds upon proposed legislation Hawley introduced last year that would ban mifepristone and allow women to sue manufacturers profiting from what the lawmaker deems an “inherently dangerous” drug.

The Safeguarding Women from Chemical Abortion Act was introduced in the Senate Tuesday and would prohibit the use of mifepristone for ending pregnancies.

SOUTH CAROLINA GOP LAWMAKERS INTRODUCE BILL TO CRIMINALIZE ABORTION AS MURDER

“The science is clear: The chemical abortion drug is inherently dangerous to women and prone to abuse. Yet major companies like Danco Laboratories are making billions off it,” Hawley told Fox News Digital in a statement. “That’s why I am introducing new legislation to ban the use of mifepristone for abortion and empower women to sue its manufacturers. Congress must act now to protect the health and safety of women.”

An advertisement in Florida plugs abortion drugs mifepristone and misoprostol.(Courtesy: 40 Days for Life)

If passed, the legislation would withdraw FDA approval for the drug and classify its distribution for abortion as a violation of federal law. In 2023, mifepristone was used in 63% of all abortions in the U.S., according to data from the Guttmacher Institute.

The Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit research organization formerly affiliated with Planned Parenthood, also estimates there were 1,038,100 clinician-provided abortions in 2024. However, that figure accounts only for states without abortion bans and does not include abortions performed outside the formal healthcare system or in states where abortion laws differ.

Hawley raised concerns about the abortion pill last May when he introduced a separate bill that would direct the FDA to create safeguards on mifepristone, allowing women who suffered complications the right to sue telehealth providers and pharmacies for damages.

Research by the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC) in Washington, D.C., showed the rate of side effects when using mifepristone is 22 times higher than indications from the FDA-approved drug label.

The study revealed more than one in 10 women have reported experiencing “infection, hemorrhaging, or another serious or life-threatening adverse event.”

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READ THE LETTERS TO DANCO LABS AND GENBIOPRO – APP USERS, CLICK HERE AND HERE:

Fox News’ Preston Mizell contributed to this report.

Anders Hagstrom is a reporter with Fox News Digital covering national politics and major breaking news events. Send tips to Anders.Hagstrom@Fox.com, or on X: @Hagstrom_Anders.