Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough reportedly has advised that a provision prohibiting Medicaid funds from supporting Planned Parenthood and other clinics that provide abortions can stay in President Donald Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill.’ 

Senate Republicans revised the provision on Friday from blocking Medicaid funding to abortion providers for a full 10 years to just one year. The parliamentarian’s assessment that the provision could remain without jeopardizing the budget package from passing the upper chamber of Congress along party lines was championed by pro-life advocates. 

‘The One Big Beautiful Bill Act that stops forced taxpayer funding of the abortion industry has been retained in the Senate bill, as we were confident it would, though for one year. This is a huge win,’ Susan B. Anthony Pro-life America’s President, Marjorie Dannenfelser, said in a statement to Fox News Digital. ‘Taxpayers should never be forced to funnel their hard-earned dollars to Big Abortion. This funding currently hits almost $800 million annually.’

The provision’s inclusion, meanwhile, was condemned by Democrats as essentially clearing the defunding of Planned Parenthood. 

‘Republicans will stop at nothing in their crusade to take control of women’s bodies and deny them the right to make their own health care decisions,’ Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., said in a statement. ‘Republicans are trampling the law to force their extremist ideology onto the American people.’

The Hyde Amendment, introduced in the 1970s, has long prohibited federal dollars from paying for most abortions, with some exceptions. Planned Parenthood, which also provides other women’s health services, such as gynecological exams, contraception and STI testing, reported receiving approximately $792.2 million in taxpayer-funded grants, contracts and Medicaid reimbursements during the 2023-2024 fiscal year.

Republicans say the loophole essentially results in taxpayers subsidizing abortions. Planned Parenthood reported performing 402,000 abortions during that fiscal year. 

Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., defended the provision during Monday’s vote-a-rama session as ‘establishing a commonsense protection of taxpayer dollars by prohibiting abortion providers from receiving Medicaid funds for one year.’ 

‘There was a time when protecting Americans’ tax dollars from supporting the abortion industry was an uncontroversial, nonpartisan effort that we could all get behind,’ Hyde-Smith said on the Senate floor. ‘Even if we had opposing views on protecting the dignity of human life, this provision does not target any one entity. If a medical provider wishes to stay within the Medicaid program, it should simply cut elective abortion procedures from its services.’ 

Hyde-Smith, chair of the Senate Pro-Life Caucus, spoke out against an amendment introduced earlier Monday by Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., to strike the provision from the GOP’s $3.3 trillion budget package. 

Murray’s amendment ultimately failed by a 49-52 vote, according to the Washington Examiner. 

Murray claimed the one-year ban on Medicaid funds for abortion providers would ‘cut millions of women off from birth control, cancer screenings, essential preventive health care – care that they will not be able to afford anywhere else, and it will shutter some 200 healthcare clinics in our country.’ 

‘This is a long-sought goal of anti-choice extremists—no surprise, it is overwhelmingly unpopular with the American people,’ Murray said. ‘But Republicans are bent on ripping away any access to abortion care, and happy to cut off this lifesaving care. No matter that women may not have another place to get the care that they can afford, or another place they can get any care at all!’

She pointed to a Congressional Budget Office assessment to argue that ‘defunding’ Planned Parenthood would cost taxpayers $52 million over the next ten years. That was based on the 10-year Medicaid block in an earlier version of the bill passed by the House. 

This budget provision comes after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last week that states have the power to block Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood clinics in a major pro-life victory. 

President Donald Trump warned that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is a ‘monster that might have to go back and eat Elon,’ after tech billionaire Elon Musk intensified his attacks on Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill.’ 

‘DOGE is the monster that might have to go back and eat Elon. Wouldn’t that be terrible?’ Trump told the media Tuesday morning as he departed for a trip to the Florida Everglades to visit a new migrant detention center. ‘He gets a lot of subsidies. But, Elon was very upset that the EV mandate is going to be terminated.’ 

His response followed a question regarding whether he would deport Musk, who is originally from South Africa. Trump responded, ‘I don’t know, we’ll have to take a look.’

Trump previously told the media in June that his relationship with Musk changed when the president began discussing plans to eliminate the electic vehicle mandate, which would affect Musk’s signature electric company, Tesla. Trump signed a trio of congressional resolutions on June 12 ending California’s restrictive rules for diesel engines and mandates on elective vehicle sales, with Trump celebrating that his signature ‘will kill the California mandates forever.’

‘When you look at it … not everybody wants an electric car,’ Trump continued in his remarks regarding Musk on Tuesday morning. ‘I don’t want an electric car. I want to have maybe gasoline. Maybe electric, maybe a hybrid. Maybe some day a hydrogen. You have a hydrogen car, it has one problem: it blows up.’ 

Musk shot back in response to a video clip of Trump’s remarks Tuesday morning that he would not continue escalating the feud ‘for now.’

‘So tempting to escalate this. So, so tempting. But I will refrain for now,’ Musk posted X. 

Musk intensified his feud with former close ally Trump this week in a political warning to lawmakers that he will work to unseat them if they vote in support of Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill.’

‘Anyone who campaigned on the PROMISE of REDUCING SPENDING , but continues to vote on the BIGGEST DEBT ceiling increase in HISTORY will see their face on this poster in the primary next year,’ Musk posted to X Monday evening. 

The message was accompanied by an image of Pinocchio sitting on fire and the caption, ‘LIAR Voted to increase America’s DEBT by 5,000,000,000.00’

Musk previously served as a special government employee with the Trump administration to help lead DOGE, frequently attended Cabinet meetings and joined Trump during public events. Musk’s tenure with DOGE wrapped up at the end of May, as negotiations over the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ intensified in Congress. 

The budget reconciliation bill, if passed, will advance Trump’s agenda on taxes, immigration, energy, defense and the national debt. The legislation is currently before the Senate. 

Musk found himself aligned with a handful of Republican lawmakers, like Kentucky’s Sen. Rand Paul, who have spoken out against the legislation, arguing it would increase the debt ceiling by $5 trillion. 

Musk’s post threatening to primary Republicans who vote in support of the legislation was followed by a late-night Truth Social message from Trump suggesting, ‘DOGE take a good, hard, look’ at how government subsidies assist Musk-owned businesses such as Tesla and SpaceX. 

‘Elon may get more subsidy than any human being in history, by far, and without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa. No more Rocket launches, Satellites, or Electric Car Production, and our Country would save a FORTUNE. Perhaps we should have DOGE take a good, hard, look at this? BIG MONEY TO BE SAVED!!!’ Trump posted after midnight Tuesday.

The post continued, ‘Elon Musk knew, long before he so strongly Endorsed me for President, that I was strongly against the EV Mandate. It is ridiculous, and was always a major part of my campaign. Electric cars are fine, but not everyone should be forced to own one.’

Trump added in comment to the media from the White House Tuesday morning that Musk is ‘upset is that he’s losing his EV mandate.’

‘He could lose a lot more than that,’ Trump added. ‘I can tell you right now.’ 

Musk first remarked in May that he was ‘disappointed’ Trump’s ‘one big beautiful bill’ passed the House, arguing it ‘undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing,’ before publicly working to rally Republican lawmakers to ‘kill the bill’ in messages posted to X. 

‘Call your Senator, Call your Congressman,’ Musk said amid a flurry of similar posts June 4. ‘Bankrupting America is NOT ok! KILL the BILL.’

Musk had kept his criticisms of the legislation quiet in recent days, including posting messages in support of the Trump administration as anti-ICE riots raged in Los Angeles in June. Musk reignited his criticisms of the bill Monday as the July 4 deadline to pass the ‘big beautiful bill’ looms over Washington this week. 

‘It is obvious with the insane spending of this bill, which increases the debt ceiling by a record FIVE TRILLION DOLLARS that we live in a one-party country – the PORKY PIG PARTY!! Time for a new political party that actually cares about the people,’ Musk posted to X Monday afternoon. 

‘What’s the point of a debt ceiling if we keep raising it?’ Musk asked in another post early Tuesday morning. Adding in another: ‘All I’m asking is that we don’t bankrupt America.’

The No. 2 House Republican is dismissing Elon Musk’s attacks on President Donald Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ after the tech billionaire once again jumped into the public fray over the legislation.

‘His criticism has been consistently off-base,’ House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., told Fox News Digital on Monday. 

‘You know, this is a bill that will create millions of jobs. And, you know, you go back and look at what happened in 2017 when we lowered rates and created a good atmosphere to create jobs, then we saw millions of jobs get created. And we’re at the point again today where the economy is waiting for this bill.’

Musk, who criticized the House version of the bill before appearing to back off, has launched another tirade against the legislation this week while it’s being pushed through the Senate.

‘It is obvious with the insane spending of this bill, which increases the debt ceiling by a record FIVE TRILLION DOLLARS, that we live in a one-party country – the PORKY PIG PARTY!! Time for a new political party that actually cares about the people,’ Musk posted on X.

But Scalise told Fox News Digital, ‘We’re moving fast to get it done because of the positive impacts it will have on our economy.’

The Senate is expected to pass the legislation sometime Wednesday, after which it is poised to move back to the House of Representatives.

An earlier version passed the House in late May by just one vote, but the two chambers must now sync up to get a bill on Trump’s desk by the Fourth of July.

Two sources told Fox News Digital on Tuesday morning that House GOP leaders are still planning for a 12 p.m. House Rules Committee meeting to advance the bill.

The House Rules Committee is the final gateway before most legislation gets a chamber-wide vote.

That could tee up a procedural vote on the bill as early as Wednesday morning, and final passage by Wednesday evening or Thursday.

‘I’ve always said failure’s not an option because, you know, there have been many times where the bill could have fallen apart. And it didn’t, because we always stayed focused on getting it done,’ Scalise said. ‘And that’s that’s where all the focus needs to be right now.’

But the Senate’s various modifications to the bill have angered both moderate and conservative Republicans. 

Moderates are wary of the Senate measures that would shift more Medicaid costs to states that expanded their programs under ObamaCare, while conservatives have said those cuts are not enough to offset the additional spending in other parts of the bill.

‘We’re having a lot of conversations with our members, and we are following what changes are being made to the bill because some could help fix some of those issues,’ Scalise said.

‘We’re definitely aware of the concerns from our members. But there are a lot of other members that do want to get this bill passed for the president and recognize that the bulk of what we sent over to them is still intact.’

Asked if he was optimistic about the timeline as of early Monday evening, Scalise said, ‘The plan is still to bring members back and have votes as early as Wednesday morning.’

The legislation is a 940-page bill advancing Trump’s agenda on taxes, the border, defense, energy and the national debt.

Fox News Digital reached out to Musk for comment via email to Tesla.

Iran’s foreign minister is vowing that ‘the doors of diplomacy will never slam shut’ following the Trump administration’s airstrikes — a statement an Iran expert says shows that Tehran is trying to buy time. 

Abbas Araghchi was quoted as making the remark to CBS News after President Donald Trump told reporters last Wednesday that the U.S. would meet with Iranian officials this week. 

‘I don’t think negotiations will restart as quickly as that,’ Araghchi added. ‘In order for us to decide to reengage, we will have to first ensure that America will not revert back to targeting us in a military attack during the negotiations. And I think with all these considerations, we still need more time.’  

Behnam Ben Taleblu, the senior director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies Iran Program, told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that ‘Tehran’s strongest weapon when it is weak is actually diplomacy. 

‘Negotiating to buy time and bail out the regime is an art form for Iranian political elites. Even when done from a position of weakness, one reason Tehran will not shut the door on talks is because it seeks to prevent widening military action from stiffening the spine of domestic dissidents at home. 

‘No doubt, the Islamic Republic will cause a ruckus about engaging in negotiations post-strike, but ultimately agreeing to talk when it has been conventionally bested on the battlefield does mean its mission accomplished,’ Taleblu added. 

Trump said following the conclusion of a NATO summit in the Netherlands last week that ‘I could get a statement’ that Iran is ‘not going to go nuclear.’ 

‘We’re probably going to ask for that… but they’re not going to be doing it anyway. They’ve had it,’ Trump added.  

‘We’re going to talk to them next week, with Iran. We may sign an agreement, I don’t know. To me, I don’t think it’s that necessary. I mean, they had a war. They fought. Now they’re going back to their world. I don’t care if I have an agreement or not. The only thing we would be asking for is what we’re asking for before about, we want no nuclear [program]. But we destroyed the nuclear,’ Trump also said.  

‘If we got a document, it wouldn’t be bad. We’re going to meet with them. Actually, we’re going to meet with them,’ the president continued. 

However, Trump then wrote on Truth Social Monday that he is not talking to Iran. 

‘The administration and namely our special envoy, Steve Witkoff, has been in communication both directly and indirectly with the Iranians. That communication continues. The president himself has not talked to Iran, which he pointed out in his Truth statement,’ White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt added later Monday. 

Israel’s Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), which oversees humanitarian and civil efforts in Gaza, released two revealing conversations between Gaza residents and officers from the Coordination and Liaison Administration (CLA) for Gaza.

The Gaza residents, who COGAT — an Israeli  says were at humanitarian aid distribution sites, told a CLA officer about how Hamas tries to disrupt the aid system through violence and manipulation. The testimonies reveal that ‘Hamas fires at Gaza residents near the aid distribution sites, spreads false claims about IDF fire, publishes fabricated data about large numbers of casualties, and circulates fake footage,’ according to COGAT.

State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce acknowledged Hamas’ use of violence to ‘interfere with aid deliveries to the people of Gaza.’

‘This is how Hamas operates — they deliberately fire at people and want it to appear as though the army is the one shooting, so that no one will approach the aid distribution areas,’ one Gaza resident told a CLA officer, according to COGAT’s translation.

Another Gaza resident told a CLA officer that Palestinians trying to get aid ‘encounter thugs on the way’ and that ‘those thugs definitely kill 2, 3, 5 people.’

Fox News Digital was unable to independently verify the identities of the residents.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a U.S.- and Israel-backed group,  has faced backlash over reports of violent and even deadly incidents around its secure sites. In response to the videos released by COGAT, a GHF spokesperson said that ‘Hamas is working to destroy the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation because our model is working.’

GHF has pushed back on claims that Palestinians are being killed at its sites. However, it does say that Hamas has killed some of its staff members, ‘put bounties on our American workers and threatened civilians for accepting aid.’

‘To date, there has not been a single casualty at or in the surrounding vicinity of any of our sites. Many of the alleged incidents had no correlation to our sites but deliberate misinformation orchestrated by Hamas-controlled [Gaza] Health Ministry,’ a GHF spokesperson told Fox News Digital. 

Despite the backlash, the GHF is encouraging other organizations — including its critics — to join its mission to bring aid to the people of Gaza while ensuring Hamas does not get its hands on it.

‘Ultimately, the solution is more aid. If other groups would join us, we could scale up… We could also collaborate with the U.N. and other groups on other means while ensuring their aid reaches the right people,’ the GHF spokesperson said.

Many senators failed to get their amendments across the finish line during the chamber’s vote-a-rama on Monday, leaving the future of President Donald Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ uncertain.

Two key failures came from Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, with the former proposing a plan that would have boosted funding for rural hospitals and the latter calling for further cuts to Medicaid. 

Collins and Cornyn were far from the only lawmakers who had amendments fail, however. Here are some details on some of the unsuccessful efforts, plus one that succeeded with nearly unanimous support.

Rural hospital funding

Collins’ amendment would have doubled funding for rural hospitals from $25 billion to $50 billion over the next 10 years, and it would have allowed a larger number of medical providers to access the funds.

‘Rural providers, especially our rural hospitals and nursing homes, are under great financial strain right now, with many having recently closed and others being at risk of closing,’ Collins said prior to the vote. ‘This amendment would help keep them open and caring for those who live in rural communities.’

Collins said the bill was something of an olive branch to Democrats, who had criticized the cuts to Medicaid involved in the megabill. Her amendment would also have raised tax rates for individuals who make more than $25 million per year and couples who make more than $50 million.

‘They’ve complained repeatedly about the distribution in this bill, of Medicaid cuts hurting individuals, rural hospitals, and tax cuts being extended for people who are wealthy, and yet when I tried to fix both those problems, they took a very hypocritical approach,’ Collins said.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., argued Collins’ amendment was merely putting a ‘Band-Aid on an amputation.’

Expanded Medicaid cuts

Cornyn was joined by Sens. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and John Barrasso, R-Wyo., in pushing an amendment cutting an additional $313 billion in Medicaid funding on Monday.

The trio said they were pushing to limit the growth of Medicaid, and they had been confident the adjustment would pass. All three were seen entering Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s office on Monday as it became clear the amendment lacked support.

The base bill already cuts some $930 billion in funding for Medicaid, leading many of the trio’s colleagues to balk at further cuts.

‘It just seems like we’ve taken it as far as I’m comfortable taking it,’ said Sen. Jim Justice, R-W.V., regarding trims to Medicaid.

Boosting deductibles for teachers

Kennedy had proposed an amendment that would have allowed teachers to deduct $600 in school supplies that they pay for out of pocket each year.

The proposal ultimately failed in a 46-54 vote.

Child tax credit enhancement

Bennet proposed an amendment that would have increased both the amount and availability of the child tax credit included in the megabill, but it failed to garner enough support.

The Senate rejected Bennet’s proposal in a 22-78 vote.

Clearing the way for state AI laws

One amendment that did succeed was a measure that killed a provision in the bill that would have placed a 10-year moratorium on state AI regulations.

The original version of the bill would have forced states to choose between enforcing AI regulations or accepting federal funding to expand broadband internet access. Sens. Edward Markey, D-Ma., and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., joined Sen. Maria Cantwell in sponsoring the amendment.

‘The Senate came together tonight to say that we can’t just run over good state consumer protection laws,’ Cantwell said Monday. ‘States can fight robocalls, deepfakes and provide safe autonomous vehicle laws. This also allows us to work together nationally to provide a new federal framework on Artificial Intelligence that accelerates U.S. leadership in AI while still protecting consumers.’

The Senate passed the amendment in an overwhelming 99-1 vote.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., was the sole vote opposing the measure.

Senior Democratic Party officials vowed Monday to ‘fight tooth and nail’ to keep in place federal campaign spending limits up for Supreme Court review this fall — describing the GOP-led effort to repeal the limits as unprecedented and dangerous ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to review the case, National Republican Senatorial Committee v. Federal Election Commission, taking up a challenge filed by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the National Republican Congressional Committee, and on behalf of two Senate Republican candidates, including now-Vice President JD Vance, following the 2022 elections.

In a statement Monday, the Democratic campaign groups vowed to fight back against what they characterized as the GOP’s attempt to ‘sow chaos and fundamentally upend our campaign finance system, which would return us to the pre-Watergate era of campaign finance.’

At issue are federal spending limits that restrict the amount of money political parties can spend on behalf of certain candidates — and which Republicans argue run afoul of free speech protections under the First Amendment of the Constitution.

A decision from the Supreme Court’s 6-3 conservative majority could have major implications on campaign spending in the U.S., further eroding the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, a law Congress passed more than 50 years ago with the aim of restricting the amount of money that can be spent on behalf of candidates.

That law, and subsequent amendments, restricts the amount of money that political parties can funnel into certain campaigns.

Senior Democratic Party officials described the GOP-led effort Monday as the latest effort by Republicans to claw back campaign spending limits and erode some 50 years of federal election law.

‘Republicans know their grassroots support is drying up across the country, and they want to drown out the will of the voters,’ DCCC chair Suzan DelBene, DSCC chair Kirsten Gillibrand, and DNC chair Ken Martin said in a joint statement Monday. 

The case is almost certain to be one of the most high-profile cases heard by the Supreme Court this fall.

Adding to the drama is the involvement of the Trump-led Justice Department, which said in May that it planned to side with the NRSC in the case — putting the Trump administration in the somewhat unusual position of arguing against a law passed by Congress.

Justice Department officials cited free speech protections as its basis for siding with the NRSC, which they said represents ‘the rare case that warrants an exception to that general approach’ of backing federal laws.’ 

Meanwhile, the Democratic groups sought to go on offense with their message, describing the GOP efforts as the latest iteration of a decades-long effort to ‘rewrite’ election laws in ways that benefit the party. They cited another Republican-led challenge to campaign spending limits brought more than 20 years ago, in Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee v. FEC. 

That challenge was ultimately rejected by the high court, DNC officials noted.

‘To date, those efforts have failed at every turn, ensuring a stable, predictable campaign finance structure for party committees and political candidates across the country,’ DNC officials said. 

Meanwhile, Republican officials praised the Supreme Court’s decision to take up the case, which they described as helping the GOP ensure they are in ‘the strongest possible position’ ahead of the 2026 midterms and beyond.’

‘The government should not restrict a party committee’s support for its own candidates,’ Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C. who chair the NRSC and NRCC, respectively, said Monday.

‘These coordinated expenditure limits violate the First Amendment, and we appreciate the court’s decision to hear our case,’ they added.

The State Department has joined the pope in lashing out at the latest massacre of Christians in Nigeria, reportedly by Islamist Fulani ‘terrorists.’

Pope Leo XIV declared during a recent address to thousands at the Vatican that ‘some 200 people were murdered, with extraordinary cruelty’ on June 13 in Yelewata, in Nigeria’s Benue State.

Late Monday, a State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital, ‘We strongly condemn these increasing attacks, including recent massacres in Benue state which primarily targeted Christian farming villages.’

‘Shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ (Arabic for ‘God is great’), they (the attackers) burnt the buildings and attacked people with guns and machetes,’ NGO Aid to the Church in Need wrote in a statement, adding that the militants ‘used fuel to set fire to the doors of the people’s accommodation before opening fire.’

The pope told the crowds in Rome that the majority of those ‘brutally killed’ in Yelewata had been sheltering in a Catholic sanctuary. ‘Most of the victims were internal refugees, who were hosted by a local Catholic mission,’ the pontiff stated. He added that he would pray for ‘security, peace and justice,’ particularly for ‘rural Christian communities of the Benue state who have been relentless victims of violence.’

Nigeria is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a Christian, according to Open Doors International’s 2025 World Watch List (WWL). Of the 4,476 Christians killed worldwide in WWL’s latest reporting period, 3,100 of those who died – 69% – were in Nigeria. 

Talking to Fox News Digital, a State Department spokesperson reinforced reports that the attacks on Christians are being carried out by Islamic militant groups. ‘The United States remains deeply concerned about the levels of violence in Nigeria, including the threats posed by terrorist groups like Boko Haram and ISIS-West Africa in northern Nigeria, and the impact that violence has on all communities in Nigeria.’

This year, Islamist militants have often attacked areas of Nigeria where the people are predominantly Christian. Benue State, where the latest massacre took place, is said to be 93% Christian. 

One Nigerian church leader, who asked to remain anonymous for his safety, told Fox News Digital just last month that what the attackers ‘want is to be sure that Islam [takes] over every part of these places. … And so they’re doing everything to make sure that Christianity is brought down and Islam is [the] established No. 1. They want to make sure that Sharia law (strict Islamic law) has taken over Nigeria.’

The State Department spokesperson appeared to back up this viewpoint, saying, ‘violent extremist groups target a wide range of civilians and military targets as part of their broader campaign against a secular state. The increase in violent Islamic extremism and repeated attacks against vulnerable communities in Nigeria must be addressed more effectively.’

A Nigerian bishop told Fox News Digital in June that he had been threatened and his home village murderously attacked after he appealed to lawmakers at a March congressional hearing for the killing of Christians to stop.

Bishop Wilfred Anagbe said that after he went to Washington to testify, ‘terrorist Jihadists’ killed 20 parishioners in four attacks in 10 days in his diocese, the area he is responsible for.

Now, the bishop is in hiding after several foreign embassies in Nigeria’s capital Abuja warned him of credible high-level official threats that ‘something might happen to him.’

The State Department spokesperson added, ‘We regularly urge the Government of Nigeria to intensify their efforts to protect civilians, enforce rule of law, and hold perpetrators accountable. The United States partners with the Government of Nigeria to strengthen Nigeria’s counterterrorism capabilities, working together toward the elimination of terrorist organizations and their networks of support.’

The Nigerian government did not respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment. However, President Bola Tinubu visited Benue State this past week and told reporters, ‘Let’s fashion out a framework for lasting peace.’ 

The same day, in the same district, six more people were reported to have been killed.

A deal that had been reached between Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Ted Cruz, R-Texas, over how states can regulate artificial intelligence has been pulled from President Donald Trump’s ‘big, beautiful’ bill.

The collapsed agreement would have required states seeking to access hundreds of millions of dollars in AI infrastructure funding in the ‘big, beautiful’ bill to refrain from adopting new regulations on the technology for five years, a compromise down from the original 10 years.

It also included carveouts to regulate child sexual abuse material, unauthorized use of a person’s likeness and other deceptive practices.

Blackburn announced Monday night that she is withdrawing her support for the agreement.

‘For as long as I’ve been in Congress, I’ve worked alongside federal and state legislators, parents seeking to protect their kids online, and the creative community in Tennessee to fight back against Big Tech’s exploitation by passing legislation to govern the virtual space,’ Blackburn said in a statement to Fox News.

‘While I appreciate Chairman Cruz’s efforts to find acceptable language that allows states to protect their citizens from the abuses of AI, the current language is not acceptable to those who need these protections the most,’ she continued. ‘This provision could allow Big Tech to continue to exploit kids, creators, and conservatives.’

Blackburn added: ‘Until Congress passes federally preemptive legislation like the Kids Online Safety Act and an online privacy framework, we can’t block states from making laws that protect their citizens.’

When asked about Blackburn pulling her support for the compromise, Cruz told Punchbowl News the ‘night is young.’

But Blackburn appears to now be co-sponsoring an amendment with Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., that would completely pull the AI moratorium from the bill.

Cantwell had earlier said that the since-scrapped deal between Blackburn and Cruz would do ‘nothing to protect kids or consumers.’

‘It’s just another giveaway to tech companies,’ Cantwell said in a statement Monday. ‘This provision gives AI and social media a brand-new shield against litigation and state regulation. This is Section 230 on steroids.’

Blackburn is one of several Republicans who have expressed concerns about the 10-year ban on state AI regulation.

Last week, 17 Republican governors wrote a joint letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., calling for the pause to be scrapped completely.

‘AI is already deeply entrenched in American industry and society; people will be at risk until basic rules ensuring safety and fairness can go into effect,’ the letter reads. ‘Over the next decade, this novel technology will be used throughout our society, for harm and good. It will significantly alter our industries, jobs, and ways of life, and rebuild how we as a people function in profound and fundamental ways.’

‘That Congress is burying a provision that will strip the right of any state to regulate this technology in any way – without a thoughtful public debate – is the antithesis of what our Founders envisioned,’ it continued.

Some House Republicans also said they do not support the AI provision, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who admitted she found out about it a few days after voting for Trump’s spending bill.

‘Full transparency, I did not know about this,’ Greene wrote on X. ‘I am adamantly OPPOSED to this and it is a violation of state rights and I would have voted NO if I had known this was in there.’

Donald Trump must be feeling pretty powerful.

He’s even demanding that Israel cancel the criminal trial of Bibi Netanyahu.

By any objective analysis, whether you like the president or not, he has been on an incredible winning streak for the last two weeks. Everything seems to be breaking his way.

And as he racks up these victories, from the powder keg of the Middle East to the staunchly conservative Supreme Court, he seems to grow bigger and stronger, like some comic book superhero, and then zap his next adversary.

By hitting Iran’s nuclear sites with 30,000-pound bombs – even as we debate the impact – Trump took a risk that stunned the world.

With media liberals and Democrats still in full resistance mode, the coverage has been largely negative, but that doesn’t matter. Since his days as a New York developer, he has been boosted by critical coverage because that drives the news agenda and gets everyone chattering about his preferred topic. 

But telling another country to drop criminal charges against its leader is a whole new level of what his native city calls chutzpah.

Trump posted the following: ‘It is terrible what they are doing in Israel to Bibi Netanyahu. He is a War Hero, and a Prime Minister who did a fabulous job working with the United States to bring Great Success in getting rid of the dangerous Nuclear threat in Iran.’

Netanyahu is in ‘the process of negotiating a Deal with Hamas, which will include getting the Hostages back,’ and Trump wonders how the Israelis could force him ‘to sit in a Courtroom all day long, over NOTHING.’

As Axios points out, Netanyahu is charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust:  

‘He’s accused of accepting more than $200,000 in gifts from wealthy businessmen, and of granting regulatory benefits worth hundreds of millions of dollars to a telecom tycoon in exchange for favorable news coverage.’

The trial has dragged on for four years, thanks to Netanyahu’s delaying tactics, and there was this war thing that intervened. 

So now Trump has called for the trial to be cancelled or Netanyahu granted a pardon – and done it quite openly. 

Imagine if a foreign head of state urged this country to drop charges against a major political figure. But Trump doesn’t play by everyone else’s rules.

Another Trumpian tactic is to make a big move immediately after a major uproar, when the public and press barely has time to digest the previous controversy. 

So the president cut off trade talks with Canada to protest its taxation of major American tech companies such as Amazon and Google. This involves revenue they earn from online marketplaces, data and social media involving Canadian users.

Before the weekend was out, Canada caved and rescinded the taxes. It’s another case of Trump’s tough-guy negotiating tactics getting instant results.

The not-so-beautiful budget bill in the Senate is another classic case. Elon Musk – did you really think he’d stay quiet for long? – calls it ‘utterly insane’ and ‘political suicide for the Republican Party.’ The CBO says it would add $3.3 trillion to the deficit over a decade. The Senate measure would also make deep cuts in Medicaid, which Trump has vowed to protect. 

Here’s the point: One of the loudest Republican critics is Sen. Thom Tillis, who has been voting against a bill he says would betray the president’s promise to protect those on Medicaid. Trump has trashed him, saying he will recruit a challenger to oust him from the Senate in next year’s primary. 

The next day, literally, Tillis announced that he would not run for reelection. 

So Trump can save his money. He knocked out the North Carolina lawmaker with a couple of postings. 

And then there’s the Supreme Court.

By ruling that local judges cannot issue nationwide injunctions, the court has immensely increased the power of Trump and the executive branch. The 6-3 decision came in the birthright citizenship case, though not on the merits, and tore down one of the last guardrails against unchecked presidential power.

It applies to Democratic presidents too, though far more of these injunctions – 40 – have been brought against Trump just in the opening months of his second term. Joe Biden faced 14 in the first three years of his term.

These injunctions – which have always seemed unfair to me, on both sides – also extend Trump’s winning streak in the high court. He has, after all, appointed three of the six justices that make up the conservative majority.

And that’s not all. SCOTUS ruled that parents with religious objections can pull their children out of public school classrooms when books with LGBTQ themes are being taught.

In yet another decision, the court upheld a Tennessee law banning some forms of transition surgery for transgender youths. Trump has ordered transgender members of the military to leave the service.

Sonia Sotomayor read two blistering dissents from the bench, especially in the birthright citizenship case: ‘Today’s decision is not just egregiously wrong, it is also a travesty of law…No right is safe.’ 

Trump has made clear that he will use expanded powers to be even more aggressive than in the past. Throw in his pressure tactics and funding freezes against elite law firms and Ivy League universities and you have an emboldened president even more determined to stick it to his opponents and detractors.

Of course, even Trump has his limits. The effort to derail Netanyahu’s corruption trial was destined to fail. 

Oh wait.

An Israeli court yesterday canceled this week’s hearings on diplomatic and national security grounds, based on classified information provided by the prime minister and the Mossad spy agency. 

Coincidence?