The Pentagon has created a new medal for service members who’ve deployed to the southern border to assist federal law enforcement with President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration. 

The Pentagon unveiled plans for a Mexican Border Defense Medal for U.S. troops serving with Joint Task Force Southern Border, according to a new memo the Pentagon released Aug.13 that was shared on social media. 

A U.S. defense official confirmed the authenticity of the memo to Fox News Digital Wednesday. 

Now, service members will receive the Mexican Border Defense Medal (MBDM) instead of the Armed Forces Service Medal (AFSM) like they previously earned for supporting Customs and Border Protection at the border, the memo said. 

The Armed Forces Service Medal, originally created in 1996 by former President Bill Clinton, is awarded to troops who have participated in a military operation with ‘significant activity,’ but didn’t encounter foreign armed opposition or imminent hostile action, according to a U.S. Army description of the medal. 

The Pentagon said in July that approximately 8,500 military personnel are assigned to Joint Task Force Southern Border, and have been tasked with responding to security threats there. The task force got underway in March and completed approximately 3,500 patrols between then and July, according to the Pentagon. 

Those eligible for the award must have deployed since Jan. 20 to support Customs and Border Protection, and served within 100-nautical miles from the international border shared with Mexico in either Texas, New Mexico, Arizona or California. 

Those who’ve also served in adjacent waters up to 24 nautical miles away from the border also are eligible. 

‘Service members must have been permanently assigned, attached, or detailed to a unit that deployed to participate in a designated DoD military operation supporting CBP within the (area of eligibility) during the (period of award) for 30 consecutive or nonconsecutive days,’ the memo said. 

Those who already have received the Armed Forces Service Medal for service at the southern border may appeal to receive the new award but are ineligible to receive both, according to the Pentagon. 

‘Service members and Veterans previously awarded the AFSM for DoD support to CBP may apply to their respective Military Service for award of the MBDM in lieu of the AFSM previously awarded to recognize such service; however, no Service member or Veteran may be awarded both the AFSM and the MBDM for the same period of qualifying service,’ the memo said. 

The Pentagon, per the direction of the president, has established four national defense areas along the border, bolstering U.S. troops’ capacity to assist Customs and Border Protection under the task force. 

The national defense areas operate under military jurisdiction, paving the way for U.S. troops to detain trespassers. Without placing these stretches of land under military jurisdiction, U.S. troops were barred from doing so under existing federal law. 

‘Through these enhanced authorities, U.S. Northern Command will ensure those who illegally trespass in the New Mexico National Defense Area are handed over to Customs and Border Protection or our other law enforcement partners,’ Air Force Gen. Gregory Guillot, commander of U.S. Northern Command, said in an April statement. ‘Joint Task Force Southern Border will conduct enhanced detection and monitoring, which will include vehicle and foot patrols, rotary wing and fixed surveillance site operations.’

A judge on Thursday found that Alina Habba was unlawfully serving in the role of acting U.S. attorney of New Jersey after President Donald Trump sidestepped typical processes to keep her in charge.

Judge Matthew Brann said Habba has not been the rightful temporary U.S. attorney for New Jersey since July 1, a ruling that follows two criminal defendants in New Jersey challenging her appointment in court, alleging it was unconstitutional.

‘Faced with the question of whether Ms. Habba is lawfully performing the functions and duties of the office of the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey, I conclude that she is not,’ Brann wrote in a 77-page order.

Habba, Trump’s former personal defense lawyer, had been serving as interim U.S. attorney, but when her term expired last month, Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi used loopholes in federal vacancy laws to install her as ‘acting’ rather than ‘interim’ U.S. attorney.

One of the defendants in the district, Julien Giraud, alleged that the moves violated his constitutional rights because of the string of unconventional actions it took to attempt to keep Habba in the role.

Brann, an Obama appointee serving in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, agreed and found Habba could not prosecute Giraud or another defendant who challenged Habba’s position.

Brann is presiding over the matter after the chief judge of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers New Jersey and Pennsylvania, decided the case presented too much of a conflict for New Jersey’s federal judges.

The New Jersey judges made the rare decision to decline to extend Habba’s term and instead appointed career attorney Desiree Grace to the job. Trump and Bondi fired Grace, withdrew Habba’s nomination as permanent U.S. attorney and then reinstated Habba as acting U.S. attorney, which they said kept Habba in charge for at least another 210 days under federal statute.

Fox News Digital reached out to a spokeswoman for Habba for comment.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

The latest addition to the pool of Democrats seeking to challenge Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, is doubling down on Zohran Mamdani-style socialism, says the chief of Maine’s Republican Party.

Democrat Graham Platner launched his campaign highlighting his history as an Army and Marine veteran as well as an oyster farmer, but state GOP chief Jason Savage told Fox News Digital that rural accolades aren’t policy positions. He pointed to Platner’s hiring of a top Mamdani adviser, Morris Katz, to produce his campaign launch video.

In that video, Platner rails against the ‘oligarchy’ and endorses universal healthcare. His website features messaging that claims the U.S. has a ‘billionaire economy,’ and that – if elected – Platner would view it as a key part of his job ‘to dismantle’ it.

‘Graham Platner is Maine’s Mamdani,’ Savage told Fox News Digital in an interview. ‘He brought in the Mamdani team to support his campaign. He’s out doing a lot of work with socialist groups.… He’s a Bernie bro.’

‘What we’re seeing here is the exporting of the Mamdani ideology to the state of Maine because they think that they can gain ground in a small state where things aren’t as expensive,’ he added.

‘You can look through Graham Platner’s donor history, and you can see that he donated to Harris for President, Bernie Sanders, Ilhan Omar,’ he continued, arguing that far-left candidates are a major threat to the Democratic Party.

Platner’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

‘If common-sense Democrats, and then the leadership like [Sen.] Chuck Schumer don’t do something and say that isn’t the future of our party, then they’re gonna run in a bunch of these races. and we’re gonna beat them,’ he said.

Savage argued that the Democratic Party’s embracing of the far-left is a ‘double-edged sword.’ He said Democratic candidates can’t succeed without the ‘extreme wing’ of the party, and now ‘they’ve created a monster that they don’t have the ability to control.’

‘In the long run, it’s going to be catastrophic for them. I mean, Graham Platner advocates for allowing men to be in girls’ and women’s sports,’ Savage said. ‘He advocates for all sorts of policies that are very, very unpopular, and the Democrats can’t say anything to stop that.’

The Democratic challenger list against Collins is growing, and reports say those already in office are trying to tap Janet Mills, the state’s 77-year-old Democratic governor, for the seat.

Republicans currently control the majority of the Senate by a 53-47 margin. Democrats would need to flip four seats in the 2026 midterm elections to take the majority. 

A spokesperson for Collins told Fox News Digital that Platner is ‘just another progressive entering the race.’

Fox News’ Pilar Arias contributed to this report 

Andrew Roth, president of the State Freedom Caucus Network, helms an organization fighting to help conservatives win and wield control of state governments across the nation.

‘There is a swamp in all 50 states. There are 50 swamps,’ Roth told Fox News Digital during a Tuesday interview, noting that ‘liberal Republicans’ join with Democrats to expand government.

This ‘uniparty’ phenomenon exists in the U.S. Congress and in every state, Roth indicated, asserting that in red states many Democrats cannot win elections unless they don the Republican label.

‘They say they’re good on guns, and babies, and a few other things, but then they get in there, and they vote like liberals, growing government[.] ‘ Roth noted. 

He said that while the goal of state freedom caucuses is to slash taxes and government, the first step is exposing ‘deceitful lawmakers for who they are. And then once you can do that, then you can hopefully start getting good people elected and then cut the budget, cut taxes, cut spending,’ he explained.

So far, the organization boasts freedom caucuses in 13 of the 50 states, including Pennsylvania, Maryland, South Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Illinois, Missouri, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Arizona and Idaho – but deep red states like Texas and Florida are conspicuously absent from the list. 

Asked whether this is because there are not enough conservative legislators in those states to form a freedom caucus, Roth replied, ‘That’s absolutely correct,’ explaining, ‘In Texas I could probably say there’s only one or two House members, and in Florida I’m not even sure I can say two.’

There are ‘zero’ conservative state lawmakers in the Alabama, Tennessee and Mississippi state legislatures, he said.

‘This is a big, big problem’ he noted, ‘and I don’t think enough people realize how bad it is.’

Roth indicated that the organization provides a state director in each freedom caucus state – those directors help read legislation, offer vote recommendations, work with other groups, and help with organizing and strategizing, he explained.

Roth noted that Louisiana state Sen. Blake Miguez, a Republican who belongs to that state’s freedom caucus, is challenging incumbent GOP U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy. 

A Trump-aligned legal group founded by White House aide Stephen Miller filed Freedom of Information Act requests Thursday targeting a Biden organ transplant program that critics warn could be open to abuse.

The requests from America First Legal went to the Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and the Health Resources and Services Administration. At issue is the Increasing Organ Transplant Access Model, a six-year mandatory program finalized in December 2024 and set to take effect in July 2025, which aims to expand access to kidney transplants but has drawn criticism from Trump officials who warn it may be vulnerable to outside influence.

The model builds on earlier payment experiments, testing whether financial rewards and penalties can improve care and expand access for Medicare and Medicaid patients.

Trump officials and allies, including America First Legal, argue the system risks distortion by outside interests — a charge that prompted AFL’s FOIA requests as part of a broader investigation.

They cited in part recent findings from an HRSA-led probe published earlier this year. That investigation suggested third-party groups or for-profit organizations ‘may have unduly influenced the IOTA Model’— though their exact role or the extent they may have done so is unclear.

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also cited concerns from the study, which the department said in a statement ‘revealed clear negligence and disturbing practices’ by a large organ procurement organization in the U.S., prompting him to launch a new reform initiative.

In previewing the FOIA requests to Fox News Digital, AFL cited related concerns about patient safety, ethical misconduct, and discrimination in organ allocation, among other things.

The requests ask HHS, CMS and HRSA for a long list of information regarding the program and related correspondence — including emails, letters and memos between agency personnel and third-party representatives about the development or implementation of the IOTA Model. They also seek meeting records, agendas and summaries of discussions involving agency staff and outside officials.

The payment model will affect more than 100 U.S. transplant hospitals over six years, imposing mandatory financial incentives and penalties tied to a final performance score.

IOTA was touted as a way to help increase access to organ donors and transplants in the U.S. and help address the long waiting list of patients awaiting a transplant, which as of last fall stood at roughly 90,000 people.

Participating hospitals are evaluated for their performance in three key areas, according to CMS’s final rule, which took force in July, including the volume of kidney transplants, their matching efficiency, and post-transplant outcomes of their patients. But the role outside groups have played, including during the process of drafting the final rule, has prompted criticism and calls for additional scrutiny from Trump allies, including AFL. 

Self-interested third parties should play no role in shaping America’s organ transplant policy,’ AFL counsel Laura Stell told Fox News Digital in a statement previewing the FOIA requests and broader investigation.

‘Where monetary incentives and penalties come into play, there must be utmost certainty that CMS developed the program without influence from entities with improper motives.’

America First Legal, though not officially part of the Trump administration, was founded by longtime Trump adviser Stephen Miller after Trump’s first presidential term. 

Miller stepped down from AFL before rejoining the White House in 2025 as Trump’s deputy chief of staff. 

The NATO Chiefs of Defense reaffirmed support for Ukraine in a virtual meeting Wednesday in Brussels that included all 32 allied military leaders and featured the first briefing in this format led by U.S. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, the new Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR).

U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine attended the meeting virtually, along with Grynkewich, who also leads U.S. European Command, U.S. officials confirmed to Fox News on Tuesday.

NATO officials said in a statement that the ‘candid discussion’ centered on what security guarantees the alliance might provide Ukraine as part of a potential peace agreement to end Russia’s three-year war.

Col. Martin O’Donnell, spokesperson for Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, wrote on X that ‘the Supreme Allied Commander was honored to brief the Chiefs of Defense, his first in such a format. As he has said before, ‘these are consequential times.”

‘NATO has faced important times before — and these have only made our Alliance stronger. As we work through these important issues, we will all stay informed, engaged, and united in the defense of the Euro-Atlantic region and with NATO’s ongoing support to Ukraine as progress towards peace continues,’ he added.

The Chair of NATO’s Military Committee also praised the discussions, writing on X that it was a ‘great, candid discussion among NATO Chiefs of Defence’ and an ‘excellent update on the security environment from our new SACEUR, his first with us.’

The chair added that the meeting confirmed support for Ukraine, emphasizing the alliance’s focus on a ‘just, credible and durable peace’ and praising the ‘relentless courage’ of Ukrainian forces.

According to the Associated Press, assurances that Ukraine won’t face another invasion are seen as central to any settlement, with Kyiv pressing for Western-backed military commitments, including weapons and training. European allies are working on options for a multinational security force that could backstop a peace deal.

Wednesday’s virtual session unfolded against the backdrop of President Donald Trump’s push to steer Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy toward a settlement. Trump met with Putin last Friday in Alaska and hosted Zelenskyy and European leaders at the White House on Monday. 

The reaffirmations come a day after Caine convened a smaller meeting in Washington with defense chiefs from Germany, the U.K., France, Finland and Italy to prepare for Wednesday’s broader NATO discussions.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov criticized NATO discussions on Ukraine’s security conducted without Moscow’s involvement, warning that ‘this will not work’ and vowing Russia would ‘ensure its legitimate interests firmly and harshly,’ RIA Novosti reported, according to AP.

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

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A Russian drone may have crashed in a field in Poland, a move the country’s deputy prime minister called a ‘provocation’ as the United States and European leaders continue to push Moscow to end its war in Ukraine. 

The drone hit a cornfield in the village of Osiny in the eastern Lublin province, about 62 miles from Poland’s border with Ukraine, Reuters reported. 

Deputy Prime Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, who also serves as defense minister, said Wednesday’s incident was similar to cases in which Russian drones flew into Lithuania and Romania and could be linked to efforts to end the war in Ukraine, according to the outlet. 

‘Once again, we are dealing with a provocation by the Russian Federation, with a Russian drone. We are dealing with it in a crucial moment, when discussions about peace (in Ukraine) are underway,’ Kosiniak-Kamysz told journalists.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pawel Wronski told Reuters some experts have suggested a Russian version of the Shahed drone developed by Iran was involved in the latest incident.

Polish Gen. Dariusz Malinowski said the drone had a Chinese engine and appeared to be a decoy that was designed to self-destruct.

The blast shattered windows in several homes, but nobody was injured, the Polish PAP news agency reported.

Police recovered burnt metal and plastic debris at the site.

‘I was sitting in my room at night, around midnight, maybe, and I heard something just bang,’ local resident Pawel Sudowski told local news website Lukow.tv. ‘It exploded so loudly that the whole house simply shook.’

On X, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said his ministry would issue a protest against the airspace violation without naming the perpetrator. 

‘Another violation of our airspace from the East confirms that Poland’s most important mission towards NATO is the defence (sic) of our own territory,’ he wrote. 

The incident came as the Trump administration continues to broker talks between Russia and Ukraine to end the bloody three-year conflict. On Monday, Trump hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and a group of European leaders at the White House.

On Friday, he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska. 

A Russian drone may have crashed in a field in Poland, a move the country’s deputy prime minister called a ‘provocation,’ as the United States and European leaders continue to push Moscow to end its war in Ukraine. 

The drone hit a cornfield in the village of Osiny in the eastern Lublin province, about 62 miles from Poland’s border with Ukraine, Reuters reported. 

Deputy Prime Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, who also serves as defense minister, said Wednesday’s incident was similar to cases in which Russian drones flew into Lithuania and Romania, and could be linked to efforts to end the war in Ukraine, according to the outlet. 

‘Once again, we are dealing with a provocation by the Russian Federation, with a Russian drone. We are dealing with it in a crucial moment, when discussions about peace (in Ukraine) are underway,’ Kosiniak-Kamysz told journalists.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pawel Wronski told Reuters that some experts have suggested a Russian version of the Shahed drone developed by Iran was involved in the latest incident.

Polish Gen. Dariusz Malinowski said the drone had a Chinese engine and appeared to be a decoy that was designed to self-destruct.

The blast shattered windows in several homes, but nobody was injured, the Polish PAP news agency reported.

Police recovered burnt metal and plastic debris at the site.

‘I was sitting in my room at night, around midnight, maybe, and I heard something just bang,’ local resident Pawel Sudowski told local news website Lukow.tv. ‘It exploded so loudly that the whole house simply shook.’

On X, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said his ministry would issue a protest against the airspace violation, without naming the perpetrator. 

‘Another violation of our airspace from the East confirms that Poland’s most important mission towards NATO is the defence (sic) of our own territory,’ he wrote. 

The incident came as the Trump administration continues to broker talks between Russia and Ukraine to end the bloody three-year conflict. On Monday, Trump hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and a group of European leaders at the White House.

On Friday he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska. 

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announced a transformation of the agency Wednesday that will cut the ‘bloated’ ODNI by more than 40% by the end of the year and save taxpayers more than $700 million annually, all while executing its core national security and intelligence mission ‘in the most agile, effective, and efficient way.’

Gabbard, on Wednesday, announced what she described as a ‘long-overdue’ transformation, that will refocus ODNI and eliminate offices that were involved in the politicization of intelligence. 

‘Over the last 20 years, ODNI has become bloated and inefficient, and the intelligence community is rife with abuse of power, unauthorized leaks of classified intelligence, and politicized weaponization of intelligence,’ Gabbard said. ‘ODNI and the IC must make serious changes to fulfill its responsibility to the American people and the U.S. Constitution by focusing on our core mission: find the truth and provide objective, unbiased, timely intelligence to the President and policymakers. Ending the weaponization of intelligence and holding bad actors accountable are essential to begin to earn the American people’s trust which has long been eroded.’

Gabbard said that ‘under President Trump’s leadership, ODNI 2.0 is the start of a new era focused on serving our country, fulfilling our core national security mission with excellence, always grounded in the U.S. Constitution, and ensuring the safety, security, and freedom of the American people.’ 

ODNI was first created after the 9/11 terror attacks and exposed systemic failures across the intelligence community. ODNI’s purpose was to integrate intelligence from and provide oversight over all intelligence community elements in order to ensure the intelligence provided to the president and policymakers was ‘timely, accurate, and apolitical.’

‘Unfortunately, two decades later, ODNI has fallen short in fulfilling its mandate,’ an ODNI spokesperson said.

ODNI 2.0 is set to eliminate ‘redundant missions, functions and personnel,’ and is set to make ‘critical investments’ in areas that support Trump’s national intelligence priorities.

ODNI officials said that ODNI 2.0 will focus on rebuilding trust, exposing politicization and weaponization of intelligence, holding bad actors accountable, saving American tax dollars, and focusing on their ‘core mission,’ which is to protect ‘the safety, security, and freedom of the American people.’

As part of the effort, Gabbard is closing ODNI’s Reston Campus and moving the National Intelligence Council to the main ODNI campus, which will ensure the all essential intelligence functions are kept ‘under one roof,’ which officials say will ‘enable savings,’ and will ensure ‘greater efficiency and oversight, and integration across the ODNI and IC.’

Gabbard is also leading intelligence community-wide reforms for ‘efficient and effective operations.’ Gabbard is expected to issue guidance to create a streamlined contracting authority for companies that pursue emerging technologies, and that are already approved for business with the IC to provide services quickly.

Gabbard is also leading an IC-wide effort to ‘rebalance and optimize’ its civilian and contractor workforce to ‘reduce bloat, increase analytic capability, remove stovepipes, eradicate politicization and analytic bias, accelerate information sharing, and increase efficiency to ensure mission success,’ officials said.

Meanwhile, Gabbard has also ended non-merit-based recruitment of intelligence community professionals.

As for ODNI components, the National Counterterrorism Center is building capability to increase two-way information sharing between federal, state, and local law enforcement to secure borders and communities.

As for the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, Gabbard is calling for a renewed focus on security clearance reform, deterring counterintelligence threats, and oversight of investigations and probes of unauthorized leaks of classified information.

A throng of protesters chanted slogans as Vice President JD Vance thanked National Guard and police at Union Station in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday.

Vance praised law enforcement and said that violent crime had dropped by 35% in the nine days since President Donald Trump ordered the crackdown. The vice president appeared alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, each of whom remarked on the shouting protesters.

Over the past several years, Vance described Union Station as having vagrants, drug addicts, ‘chronically homeless’ people and the mentally ill threatening violence and attacking families in the public transportation hub. 

‘I think you hear these guys outside here screaming at us. Of course, these are a bunch of crazy protesters. But I’ll tell you, a couple of years ago, when I brought my kids here, they were screamed at by violent vagrants. And it scared the hell out of my kids,’ Vance said. 

‘I know that we’ve traded now, some violent, crazy people who are screaming at kids with a few crazy liberals who are screaming at the vice president. But I think that’s a very worthwhile trade to make, because we want our people to be able to enjoy our beautiful cities,’ Vance continued. ‘This is your city. You should feel free to come and visit here.’ 

Vance also clashed with a reporter who asked if he had evidence of Washington’s crime problem. 

‘You just have to look around – obviously D.C. has a terrible crime problem,’ he said, pointing to how Department of Justice and FBI statistics ‘back it up.’ 

‘Just talk to a resident of this city, this beautiful, great American city,’ Vance said. ‘We hear these people outside screaming ‘Free D.C.’ Let’s free D.C. from lawlessness.’

‘It is kind of bizarre we have a bunch of old, primarily White people who are out there protesting the policies that keep people safe when they have never felt danger in their entire lives,’ the vice president added. 

Miller was even more blunt, describing many of the protesters as ‘elderly’ and ‘over 90 years old.’

‘We’re not going to let communists destroy a great American city, let alone the nation’s capital,’ Miller said, deriding the protesters as ‘stupid White hippies.’

‘For too long, 99% of this city has been terrorized by 1% of this city,’ Miller said. ‘And the voices that you hear out there, these crazy communists, they have no connection to the city. They have no families. They weren’t raised in this city. They have no one that they’re sending to school in this city. They have no jobs in this city. They have no connections to this community at all. They’re the ones who’ve been advocating for the 1%. The criminals, the killers, the rapists, the drug dealers.’

The Trump administration’s crackdown on violent crime in D.C. has already netted hundreds of arrests. The show of force has swept up gang members, robbery suspects and immigration violators. On Friday alone, 52 people were arrested, including 28 illegal immigrants, while three guns were seized.

Federal teams have also cleared dozens of homeless encampments, and officials said those removals were carried out without confrontations or arrests.

The operation began quietly on Aug. 7 with the launch of the ‘Making D.C. Safe and Beautiful’ task force created by Trump in March through an executive order. 

He escalated it on Aug. 11 by temporarily seizing federal control of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) under emergency powers in the Home Rule Act, the first such move in U.S. history.

Fox News’ Michael Dorgan contributed to this report