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The exhausting view of this bizarre week -- with the first GOP presidential primary debate one day, followed by the fourth arrest this year of the former president the next -- is that everyone should prepare for so much more of this uniquely American and continuously unbelievable political spectacle.

Border wall construction, which was abruptly ended shortly after the Biden administration took office, is again becoming a major political issue in both Congress and on the 2024 campaign trail as the border sees new increases in migrants again. More than 450 miles of barrier were either built or upgraded during the Trump administration as part of its efforts to end illegal immigration. But Biden promised that "not another foot" would be built and construction was halted within days of Inauguration Day. But within months the administration was tackling a historic migrant crisis that is still in ongoing today. Officials encountered over 180,000 migrants in July alone and multiple Border Patrol sectors have been overwhelmed. GOP LAWMAKERS FILE AMICUS BRIEF BACKING TEXAS AGAINST DOJ LAWSUIT OVER BORDER BARRIER  As the administration has pursued a policy of expanding lawful pathways for migrants to enter via parole, while limiting asylum eligibility for some illegal immigrants and increasing the use of Title 8 penalties – Republicans have zeroed in on restoring Trump-era policies, including the wall, as a fix to the crisis. On the 2024 field, a number of top candidates including Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., former N.J. Gov. Chris Christie and others have backed finishing the incomplete project. "As the next president of the United States, I will make that border wall complete," Scott said at the first GOP presidential debate on Wednesday. No-one expressed disagreement.  Former Vice President Mike Pence, also running for the 2024 nomination, highlighted his role in obtaining funding to build the wall when he served in the administration. Meanwhile, Republicans in the House and Senate have made multiple efforts to pass legislation that would restart border wall construction. The signature border and asylum legislation passed by Republicans in the House earlier this year has as its core language that would immediately restart border wall construction using existing funds appropriated by Congress. Last week, it emerged that the administration has been selling off border wall materials – specifically hollow beams to act as vertical bollards in the 30-foot panels. BIDEN QUIETLY AUCTIONS OFF BORDER WALL PARTS TO STUNT REPUBLICAN EFFORT TO RESTART CONSTRUCTION: REPORT  "The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is disposing of the excess border wall materials in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation," a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spokesperson said in an email to Fox News Digital on Sunday. "USACE has already transferred approximately $154 million worth of the roughly $260 million of bollard panels and other materials in accordance with standard excess property disposition procedures. USACE stands ready to implement a decision regarding disposition of the remaining materials." The news of the auction sparked outrage from lawmakers in both the House and Senate. Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee took aim at the move and called for the suspension of ongoing auctions in a letter to the Pentagon this week. TEXAS SAYS MEXICO IS ‘FLAT-OUT’ WRONG TO TIE MIGRANT DEATH TO FLOATING BORDER BARRIER  "President Biden cannot get away with subverting Congress’ work on this — he must put the border materials to use, end the taxpayer-funded waste, stop the unprecedented flow of illegal aliens across our southern border, and finish the wall!" Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, who led legislation to turn materials over to states, so they can continue construction independently, said in a statement. However, the Biden administration has also continued with some construction in other areas, including some repair work to fix environmental damage. In June it announced that, mandated by the FY 2019 border barrier appropriation, it had authorized Customs and Border Protection to build up to 20 miles of barrier in the busy Rio Grande Valley Sector. However, it has also sparred with Texas over its own border barriers. Texas has not only launched its own land barrier construction, it has also set up a floating barrier in the Rio Grande itself. The Department of Justice has sued over that construction, arguing that it is in violation of federal law. An initial ruling in that case could come before the end of the month.  Fox News' Danielle Wallace and Jamie Joseph contributed to this report.

Wagner could be absorbed into Russia’s Defense Ministry or its military intelligence arm. A Russian general could also be installed to lead the group, U.S. and Western officials said.

Members of the Wagner group stood guard in the city of Rostov-on-Don in June. Moscow has not decided how to use the fighting force after their leader’s presumed death this week.

The upstart Republican candidate has made inaccurate claims about climate change as well as the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, while mischaracterizing his own positions and past comments.

Vivek Ramaswamy after the first Republican presidential debate on Wednesday, when he came out swinging against his opponents — with a smile.

In dismissing a confession in the bombing of the U.S.S. Cole, Col. Lanny J. Acosta Jr. has shaken a foundation of U.S. government cases at the post-9/11 court.

A U.S. flag waves over the court compound at Guantánamo Bay as seen from inside an abandoned airstrip hangar. The judge found that the “clean team” interrogations could not undo the damage of C.I.A. torture.

Oliver Anthony, the country singer whose song "Rich Men North of Richmond" rocketed to the top of the Billboard 100, spoke out after his song was used as the crux of a question at the first Republican presidential debate. CNN's Abby Phillip reports.

Police would be given the power to remove tents and other makeshift shelters at a Boston intersection that's become home to a sprawling encampment for the homeless, many of whom struggle with mental health issues and substance abuse disorder, Mayor Michelle Wu and other city officials announced Friday. The plan also calls for a new short-term shelter for up to 30 people in the area known as Mass and Cass. The encampment at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard has become a haven for drug use and has become increasingly violent, according to law enforcement. SAN FRANCISCO MAYOR LONDON BREED BLASTS HOMELESS COALITION: HELD CITY ‘HOSTAGE FOR DECADES’ "No one is being served living in a crowded and dangerous encampment, visited by hundreds of people engaged in drug trafficking and violence," Wu said. The proposal allowing police to remove tents requires city council approval. Wu said she would file an ordinance with the council Monday. No tents would be taken down before the people living in them have been offered adequate housing, the treatment services they need, transportation, and a place to store their personal belongings, city officials said. "Over the past few weeks, the situation on the ground at Mass and Cass has made it impossible for the (Boston Public Health Commission) and our partners to adequately provide critical services to those in need," said Dr. Bisola Ojikutu, the city's commissioner of public health. "Things need to change, and this ordinance is a necessary step to get the situation under control." It would apply not just to Mass and Cass, but the entire city, so the problem does not just relocate, police Commissioner Michael Cox said. Police will deploy mobile units and will have a presence in the area at all times. "We are going to be in every neighborhood with these mobile teams to make sure this does not occur," Cox said. ST. LOUIS RESIDENTS SOUND OFF ON 'SIDEWALK SQUATTERS' WHO HAVE LIVED ON STREETS MORE THAN A DECADE In addition to the 30 temporary beds at the Boston Public Health Commission’s campus on Massachusetts Avenue, the city is also expanding low-threshold shelter space at its emergency shelters. Homelessness has long been an issue in the neighborhood. In January 2022, after notifying people living in the area, city public works employees driving bulldozers loaded tents, tarps and other detritus, including milk crates, wooden pallets and coolers, into trash trucks to be hauled away. Since then, more than 500 people who were living at the encampment have gone through the city’s six low-threshold housing sites, and 149 have moved into permanent housing, city officials said. In recent years, cities across the nation, including Los Angeles, Washington and Phoenix, have been struggling with clearing tent encampments while caring for the people who live in them.

FIRST ON FOX: Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy revealed Friday why he is running against former President Donald Trump, despite praising him as the "best president of the 21st century." Fox News asked Ramaswamy during an Iowa campaign event why he was running against Trump considering his strong feelings about the latter's presidency, arguing the former president's policies were something he could take "to the next level." "I think we need to aspire for excellence. We're Americans. We aspire constantly higher. So, yes, George Bush, Barack Obama, Joe Biden. I put Donald Trump by far at the top of that pack. But I want to build on the foundation that he laid to take the America First agenda to the next level," he said.  DEMOCRATS CELEBRATE, BIDEN FUNDRAISES OFF TRUMP ARREST "I think it will take someone of a different generation with fresh legs and an actual positive vision for the country to get us there. I think I can deliver a landslide election in a way that nobody else in this race can. Building that multi-ethnic working class coalition that includes people both young and old to make it happen, black and white, inner city and rural. That's my sense of responsibility that I have to deliver it. And I think that's what we need to reunite this country," he added. During the first Republican presidential primary Wednesday night's debate hosted by Fox, Ramaswamy set himself apart from his GOP opponents who openly threw their support behind Mike Pence, the former vice president and another White House hopeful, concerning his refusal on Jan. 6, 2021, to overturn the 2020 Electoral College tally as requested by Trump. "Let's just speak the truth, OK? President Trump, I believe, was the best president of the 21st century. It's a fact," Ramaswamy said. "I am running for President of the United States. We're skating on thin ice. And we cannot set a precedent where the party in power uses police force to indict its political opponents. It is wrong. We have to end the weaponization of justice in this country."  BIDEN CALLS TRUMP A ‘HANDSOME GUY’ AFTER HE SAW FORMER PRESIDENT'S MUGSHOT ON TV Prior to the debate, Ramaswamy had taken a noticeably changed tone toward Trump after claiming in May that Trump's then-suggestion he wouldn't attend the debate — he ultimately did not — would show he was "not the same Donald Trump as in 2016." "He’s not somebody who’s made a habit of himself to be a coward," he said at the time. Ramaswamy later said he had "no problem" with the GOP front-runner skipping the first few primary debates. Fox News' Monica Oroz, Danielle Wallace and Jessica Chasmar contributed to this report.

A judge in Texas has blocked for now a new law that prohibits gender-affirming care for most minors in the state.

A federal judge ruled in favor of West Virginia's restrictions on medication abortion Thursday, dismissing part of a lawsuit brought by an abortion drug manufacturer earlier this year.

The Biden administration is preparing to reveal Tuesday the first 10 drugs that will be subject to negotiation in Medicare, according to two sources briefed on the matter.

Former President Donald Trump and all 18 of his co-defendants have now surrendered at the Fulton County jail in Atlanta to be booked on charges that they attempted to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Nikole Killion has more.

Former North Dakota Gov. Ed Schafer learned a lesson about his car keys after his vehicle was stolen as he hosted a Fargo radio show. Schafer was guest hosting KFGO's "News and Views" program Friday morning when police called the station to ask if he owned a 2020 GMC Yukon, the station reported. $6M WORTH OF COCAINE FOUND IN TRUCK CROSSING CANADIAN BORDER FROM NORTH DAKOTA It turns out that the SUV had been stolen out of the station’s parking lot. The thief apparently drove it to a probation office and surrendered to authorities, Schafer said. The vehicle has a push-button start feature and requires a key fob to be in the vehicle before it can be operated. But Schafer had left a spare fob inside, enabling the thief to start it up and drive off. DOUG BURGUM REFLECTS ON FIRST NATIONAL DEBATE PERFORMANCE: 'WE WON THE FOURTH QUARTER' The former governor and U.S. agriculture secretary says he's been warned about being more careful. "My wife for 31 years has said, ‘Why don’t you lock your car?’" Schafer said.

EXCLUSIVE: Former Ukrainian Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin told Fox News in an exclusive sit-down interview that he was fired during the Obama administration for investigating Burisma, the energy firm whose board Hunter Biden served on. During the interview with Fox News' Brian Kilmeade – set to air Saturday at 8 p.m. – Shokin said it is his "firm personal conviction" that he was fired because then-Vice President Biden and Hunter were bribed. Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko ousted Shokin in 2016 – he was hired a year prior – due to Shokin's alleged corruption and pressure from the U.S. government led by Biden. "I have said repeatedly in my previous interviews that Poroshenko fired me at the insistence of the then Vice President Biden because I was investigating Burisma," Shokin said in the interview. "[Poroshenko] understood and so did Vice President Biden, that had I continued to oversee the Burisma investigation, we would have found the facts about the corrupt activities that they were engaging in. That included both Hunter Biden and Devon Archer and others." DEVON ARCHER 'ABSOLUTELY' REVEALED SMOKING GUN ABOUT BIDENS, SAYS REP PAT FALLON Shokin added that he believed both Joe and Hunter Biden received bribes in connection to the case, though he didn't provide proof of that accusation.  "I do not want to deal in unproven facts, but my firm personal conviction is that, yes, this was the case," he added. "They were being bribed. And the fact that Joe Biden gave away $1 billion in U.S. money in exchange for my dismissal, my firing – isn't that alone a case of corruption?" JOE BIDEN ALLEGEDLY PAID $5M BY BURISMA EXECUTIVE AS PART OF A BRIBERY SCHEME, ACCORDING TO FBI DOCUMENT "For years, these false claims have been debunked, and no matter how much air time Fox gives them, they will remain false," White House spokesperson Ian Sams responded to Fox News. "Fox is giving a platform for these lies to a former Ukrainian prosecutor general whose office his own deputy called ‘a hotbed of corruption,’ drawing demands for reform not only from then-Vice President Biden but also from U.S. diplomats, international partners, and Republican senators like Ron Johnson." One year after leaving the White House, Biden boasted about how he personally put pressure on Poroshenko to fire Shokin. He explained that he told Ukrainian officials the U.S. would withhold up to $1 billion in aid money earmarked for their country if Shokin remained in his position. "I said, ‘Nah, I’m not going to – we’re not going to give you the billion dollars.’ They said, ‘You have no authority. You’re not the president. The president said –.' I said, ‘Call him.’" Biden remarked during a January 2018 event hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations. "I said, ‘I’m telling you, you’re not getting the $1 billion.’" "I said, ‘You’re not getting the billion. I’m going to be leaving here,'" Biden continued. "I looked at them and said, ‘I’m leaving in six hours. If the prosecutor is not fired, you’re not getting the money.’ Well, son of a bitch, he got fired. And they put in place someone who was solid at the time." Shokin, though, said he was probing Burisma and its owner Mykola Zlochevsky at the time of his ouster. In February 2016, one month before Shokin was fired, his office filed a legal petition to seize Zlochevsky's property, including four homes, two pieces of property and a Rolls-Royce sports car, the Kyiv Post reported at the time. The former prosecutor general told Fox News that Burisma illegally produced, sold and utilized natural gas supplies. His investigation took place while Hunter Biden served on the Burisma board of directors. Hunter joined the firm in 2014 and departed in 2019 after his term on its board expired.  Hunter's former business partner Devon Archer, who also served on Burisma's board, testified in a closed-door House Oversight Committee hearing in July that, amid pressure from Shokin's office and other entities investigating Burisma, company leaders turned to Hunter for help. Archer said Hunter "called D.C." to help get Shokin fired. EXCLUSIVE: PERSON ALLEGING BIDEN CRIMINAL BRIBERY SCHEME IS 'HIGHLY CREDIBLE' FBI SOURCE USED SINCE OBAMA ADMIN: SOURCE "Devon Archer’s testimony today confirms Joe Biden lied to the American people when he said he had no knowledge about his son’s business dealings and was not involved," Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said after Archer's testimony. "Joe Biden was ‘the brand’ that his son sold around the world to enrich the Biden family." "When Burisma’s owner was facing pressure from the Ukrainian prosecutor investigating the company for corruption, Archer testified that Burisma executives asked Hunter to ‘call D.C.’ after a Burisma board meeting in Dubai," he added. "Why did Joe Biden lie to the American people about his family’s business dealings and his involvement? It begs the question, what else he is hiding from the American people?" Fox News Digital recently reported that, on Nov. 2, 2015, Burisma executive Vadym Pozharski emailed Hunter Biden, Archer and fellow Hunter associate Eric Schwerin about a "revised proposal, contract and initial invoice for Burisma Holdings," from lobbying firm Blue Star Strategies. Hunter reportedly connected Burisma with Blue Star Strategies to help the energy firm fight corruption charges levied against Zlochevsky, the company's owner. Pozharski emphasized in his email that the "ultimate purpose" of the agreement with Blue Star Strategies was to shut down "any cases/pursuits against Nikolay in Ukraine," referring to Zlochevsky, who also went by Nikolay.  "Evidence makes it clear that Hunter Biden was only appointed to Burisma’s board of directors because of his last name and family’s network," Comer told Fox News Digital after the report. FBI TO BRING BIDEN DOCUMENT TO CAPITOL HILL MONDAY, AFTER THREATS TO HOLD WRAY IN CONTEMPT OF CONGRESS However, in a statement to Fox News, the White House pointed to indications that Shokin was fired because he had been too soft on corruption.  The White House also stated Shokin's office had not been investigating Burisma or Hunter at the time of his ouster in March 2016, and it pointed to three reports published within weeks of each other in 2019 by The Washington Post, Associated Press and New York Times stating Shokin's office wasn't investigating Burisma. After Shokin's ouster, The New York Times reported that Shokin had been criticized in Ukraine for not prosecuting officials, businessmen and lawmakers for corruption while Viktor Yanukovych was president. The U.S. government and International Monetary Fund had believed in 2016 that Shokin wasn't doing enough to fight corruption, which ran rampant throughout Ukraine. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Both former Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland and former Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Bridget Brink testified during a Senate hearing in 2020 that Shokin's decision not to pursue a Burisma investigation or root out corruption elsewhere were reasons for his firing. "It was our conclusion by then that, in fact, the dismissal of Prosecutor Shokin would be counter to Burisma’s interests, because not only was he not pursuing the Burisma case, he was responsible for protecting those who had helped get the case dismissed," Nuland said. She also said, though, that the U.S. government was "dissatisfied that past investigations of Burisma had not been brought to conclusion." Fox News Digital's Jessica Chasmar contributed to this report.

“I wrote this song about those people,” Oliver Anthony said of his No. 1 hit, after presidential candidates answered a question about his Billboard hit at their first debate.

Oliver Anthony’s song “Rich Men North of Richmond” was played during this week’s Republican presidential debate, sparking controversy about the song’s lyrics.

Dutch brewer joins more than 500 companies that have exited the country since it attacked Ukraine.

Campaigns saw the nationally televised event, the first of the 2024 campaign, not just as a way to reach voters, but also as an appeal to donors big and small.

The debate performances of former Gov. Nikki Haley and former Vice President Mike Pence were standouts to many Republican donors, even some who are supporting their opponents.

Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida has been retelling Miriam Hopper’s 1955 birth story. The details are jarring, highly unusual and unverifiable.

Gov. Ron DeSantis used a jarring anecdote to dodge a debate question about a six-week federal abortion ban, catching the attention of viewers on social media, who speculated that Mr. DeSantis was fabricating the story.

At the G.O.P. debate, the senator often faded into the background. “He was one that I wanted to hear more from,” one voter said as he sought to regain momentum in New Hampshire.

Senator Tim Scott, Republican of South Carolina, sitting with David Coffey, 79, a former schoolteacher, at a diner in New Hampshire. Mr. Scott’s debate performance on Wednesday disappointed some voters.

The Biden administration is facing a significant legal challenge to a key border policy that allows 30,000 nationals from four countries to fly in and be paroled into the U.S. each month as part of the administration’s efforts to tackle the ongoing crisis at the southern border – with the conservative plaintiffs in the case believing a win could bring down other Biden policies in its wake. Arguments began Thursday in a case challenging a Homeland Security policy expanded in January to allow up to 30,000 Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan and Venezuelan (CHNV) nationals into the U.S. each month. Those brought in, who are not present at the border, are flown in and paroled, and allowed to apply for work permits if they meet certain conditions such as having a sponsor and passing background checks. Twenty GOP-led states are suing to block the policy, claiming that it represents an abuse of parole – which is set out by Congress to be used on a "case-by case" basis for "urgent humanitarian need or significant public benefit."  DHS ANNOUNCES $77 MILLION MORE IN FUNDING TO NGOS, COMMUNITIES HIT BY MIGRANT SURGE The administration says it is confident that its use of parole is legal, and has pointed to past uses of parole for Vietnamese refugees in the 1970s, and more recently Ukrainian nationals last year. It also says the processes are necessary as nationals from those countries are "difficult for DHS to remove to their home countries." The expanded parole pathways have been part of the administration’s strategy to tackle the ongoing crisis that has hammered the border since 2021. That strategy has seen a number of legal pathways opened up while the administration says it has increased consequences for illegal entry since the end of Title 42 on May 11 and introduced an asylum restriction for some illegal immigrants that is also facing legal challenges. It says the expanded pathways encourage people to use them as an alternative to entering illegally. In July it said the program had yielded "positive results" and pointed to a drop in illegal encounters at the border from those nationalities. In its filing, the administration warned that without the CHNV process and others in place to encourage migrants to use lawful routes "there will be a significant surge in migration at the southwest border – the precise outcome that Plaintiffs allegedly seek to avoid." The 20 GOP-led states are partnering with America First Legal, former Trump White House adviser Stephen Miller’s group, which has already won a number of victories in court challenging Biden initiatives. Miller, in an interview with Fox News Digital, said the administration is abusing the parole authority to create what he described as a form of amnesty for would-be illegal immigrants. "America First Legal is partnering with Texas and 19 other states in what we regard as one of the most important, not just immigration cases, but one of the most important lawsuits in American history. Because if Biden prevails then, in effect, the border is gone forever," he said. Miller said the administration has "gone past just catch-and-release to actively importing would-be illegal immigrants with the goal of making them into future citizens."  MIGRANT ENCOUNTERS AT SOUTHERN BORDER ON THE RISE AGAIN AFTER BIDEN ADMIN TOUTED REFORMS "And so I would say it's as if the Biden administration created a brand-new visa program for illegals that was never authorized, funded or in any way established by Congress," he said. The case lands in favorable courtroom territory for the plaintiffs. Judge Drew Tipton, a Trump nominee who in 2021 shut down the administration's reduced interior enforcement priorities. CBS News reported this week that the administration is bracing for the program to be blocked. But should the CHNV program be shut down, it could have a knock-on effect on other related policies. Specifically, the administration has also used parole to bring in up to 1,450 migrants a day at the border itself if they have made an appointment by the CBP One app.  While this case does not target those paroles specifically, Miller believes it could lead to that program being declared unlawful as well. "If we prevail on the merits, as we are confident that we must, it creates the possibility that the whole entire artifice of Biden's parole scheme could come tumbling down," he said. He warns, however, that if it remains in place, there is no upward limit to the number of people it could be expanded to. "If you accept the preposterous notion that Biden has the authority to do this, which he clearly does not, then there's no limit on the number of illegal immigrants that he can mint into legal immigrants through parole," he said. The case comes as the border has seen an increase in numbers in July, with over 180,000 encounters. Republicans have blamed the ongoing crisis on the Biden administration’s policies, while the administration has called for Congress to approve more funding and pass an immigration reform bill – legislation that Republicans have rejected due to its inclusion of a pathway to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants.

President Biden on Friday quipped that former President Donald Trump was a "handsome guy" after his former 2020 rival and potential 2024 foe had his mugshot taken a day after turning himself in to an Atlanta jail. Biden, who is at Lake Tahoe on his second vacation in a month, took boos from people around his motorcade while reporters asked him if he had seen Trump’s mugshot yet. Biden said he saw it on television, and was asked what he thought. "Handsome guy, wonderful guy," he said. Trump, who is the current Republican 2024 frontrunner, turned himself in Thursday night at the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, Ga. after being charged out of District Attorney Fani Willis’ investigation into his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the state. TRUMP SAYS TAKING MUGSHOT WAS ‘NOT A COMFORTABLE FEELING, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU’VE DONE NOTHING WRONG'  Trump told Fox News Digital that officials insisted on the picture, which assumed iconic status almost immediately both among his detractors and supporters. He added: "It is not a comfortable feeling — especially when you’ve done nothing wrong." TRUMP BOOKED AT FULTON COUNTY JAIL AFTER CHARGES STEMMING FROM 2020 ELECTION PROBE Trump was charged with one count of violation of the Georgia RICO Act, three counts of criminal solicitation, six counts of criminal conspiracy, one count of filing false documents and two counts of making false statements. Trump and more than a dozen others were charged out of the probe, including former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, his former attorneys Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Jenna Ellis, Kenneth Chesebro, Jeff Clark, John Eastman, among others. CONSERVATIVES UNLOAD AFTER TRUMP BOOKED INTO GEORGIA JAIL IN 4th INDICTMENT: ‘SICKENING’ He doubled down on his claims that the four prosecutions he is facing — related to his actions around the 2020 election, his alleged holding of classified documents and alleged hush-money payments — are politically motivated. "This is all about election interference," Trump said. "It all comes through Washington and the DOJ and Crooked Joe Biden — nothing like this has ever happened in our country before." Biden’s re-election campaign had caused controversy on Thursday evening when, as Trump was being booked, it posted a call for donations. "Apropos of nothing, I think today's a great day to give to my campaign," the post on X said. Fox News' Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville refuses to release his hold on military nominations due to his opposition to the Pentagon's abortion policy — which covers some expenses for Department of Defense (DoD) personnel — leaving hundreds of key leadership positions unfilled. "I warned the Pentagon that I would hold their most senior nominees if they broke the law," Tuberville said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital.  "They did it anyway, and forced my hand. Since then, Chuck Schumer and the Biden administration have refused any serious negotiations, and so this situation has dragged on," the statement continued.  Tuberville — a retired college football coach — said the hold, which began in February, has given him "more time to look more closely into the background of some these nominees," which has prompted "deep concerns."  SENATE DEMOCRAT SAYS TUBERVILLE 'PREPARED TO BURN THE MILITARY DOWN' AMID BLOCKADE: REPORT "I will continue this process of oversight and I will announce my opposition to specific nominees in the weeks ahead," he said. The statement was first obtained by Breitbart. On Wednesday, Tuberville's office said in a statement regarding some of the nominees: "What we're finding isn't always pretty." Tuberville's office pointed to an op-ed by Col. Ben Jonsson — one of President Biden's nominees — published in the Air Force Times in July 2020 in which Jonsson lists examples of what he terms "white defensiveness" in the wake of George Floyd's death.  "Defensiveness is a predictable response by white people to any discussion of racial injustice. White colonels are no exception," Jonsson wrote. His article concludes by urging readers to get the controversial book "White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism," authored by critical race theory advocate Robin DiAngelo. TUBERVILLE CRITICIZES VA FOR 'TROUBLING' NEEDLE EXCHANGE PROGRAM THAT HE SAYS PUTS VETS AT RISK, VIOLATES STATE LAW As of Aug. 12, 301 leadership positions in the DoD were vacant, and the number could double by the end of the year if the hold continues, according to data obtained by The Washington Post.  Each of the DoD's five military branches is affected by the hold, including President Biden's nominee to be Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman, Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. Tuberville argues the Pentagon's abortion policy violates the Hyde Amendment from the 1970s, which restricts the use of federal funds to cover the cost of abortions, except in cases of rape, incest, or when the life of the mother is in danger. In the aftermath of Roe v. Wade's reversal, the Pentagon's existing policy provides reimbursement for travel costs and grants leave for abortion procedures to military personnel. ARMY, MARINE CORPS NOW WITHOUT SENATE-CONFIRMED LEADERS AS TUBERVILLE KEEPS UP PENTAGON PROTEST "Coach’s position has not changed," Tuberville's office told Fox News Digital on Friday. "The hold will stay on as long as it takes." "It ends when the Biden administration stops their illegal use of taxpayer dollars to facilitate abortion. Coach would lift the hold immediately in such a scenario," it added.

The question of Ramzi bin al-Shibh’s sanity has shadowed the case since he first appeared at the Guantánamo court in 2008. A new medical panel report says he has a mental illness making him incompetent for trial.

The Las Vegas Aces’ hoop dreams came to fruition Friday with a visit to the White House to celebrate their 2022 WNBA championship.

“Today, we celebrate a group of leaders that define excellence in every way,” Vice President Kamala Harris said.

The Aces defeated the Connecticut Sun in four games to win the WNBA Finals last year. The win was celebrated as the first title for the Aces and the first major pro sports championship in Las Vegas history.

The WNBA team was greeted by Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff in the East Room of the White House. During Harris’ speech, she highlighted the team’s success both last season and this season by celebrating multiple players, including A’ja Wilson, who recently tied the league record for 53 points in a single game.

“These players lift up their teammates and step up when their team needs them,” Harris said.

The visit comes after Wilson asked on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, when the team’s White House visit would be after President Joe Biden congratulated the NHL's Golden Knights on their Stanley Cup win. Shortly thereafter, the team was invited to the White House over the summer.

The White House had announced that Biden and his wife, Jill, would host the Aces. But it was announced earlier this month that Harris would host the team after Biden extended a family vacation in Lake Tahoe to Saturday.

Harris on Friday also highlighted the importance of women's sports and the role the league has played in fighting for equal pay.

“All of this leadership, of course, is part of a larger story and it is the story of the WNBA,” Harris said. “You inspire our young people and people across our nation to dream with ambition. You are living the truth that women belong in every room and on every court.”

The visit comes after A'ja Wilson asked on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, when the team’s White House visit would be after President Joe Biden congratulated the NHL's Golden Knights on their Stanley Cup win.

Trevian Kutti, once the publicist for rapper Ye – formerly known as Kanye West – was photographed smiling from ear to ear in her mugshot after she was booked into a Georgia jail. Kutti, a Chicago-based publicist who surrendered to the Fulton County jail around 10 a.m. Friday, is one of 19 individuals who authorities say were involved in illegal efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the Peach State. Kutti – who was granted a $75,000 bond earlier this week, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution – is charged with violating Georgia's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, conspiracy to commit solicitation of false statements and writings, and influencing witnesses, Fulton County jail records show. WHO ARE THE 19 PEOPLE INDICTED IN THE GEORGIA ELECTION CASE AGAINST TRUMP? Released shortly after she was booked, Kutti is accused of visiting election worker Ruby Freeman in January 2021 at her Cobb County home, where she reportedly claimed to be a crisis manager and urged Freeman to confess to committing election fraud or potentially face arrest. Freeman, reluctant to speak with Kutti, later met with the Chicago publicist at a local police station, where Kutti shared a similar message and was recorded telling Freeman, "I cannot say what specifically will take place." TRUMP SAYS TAKING MUGSHOT WAS 'NOT A COMFORTABLE FEELING, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU'VE DONE NOTHING WRONG' "I just know that it will disrupt your freedom… and the freedom of one or more of your family members," Kutti continued in her message to Freeman from the station. "Whether you choose not to deal with us, I am not your enemy," Kutti added. She also described Freeman as "a loose end for a party that needs to tidy up," in the footage. Kutti was reportedly put in touch with Freeman through Harrison Floyd, a co-defendant in the case and the executive director of Black Voices for Trump. The booking of Kutti comes one day after former President Donald Trump turned himself in after he was charged with 13 counts stemming from the state probe into his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The court had set Trump’s bail at $200,000. He was quickly processed and released. Fox News Digital has learned his formal arraignment, where he is expected to plead not guilty, will take place sometime early next month. Trump was required to take a mugshot. Others charged out of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ probe, including former Trump lawyers Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Jenna Ellis, had their photos taken during processing as well. Kutti was the sixth defendant to turn herself in to authorities on Friday, following the surrenders of Robert Cheeley, Jeffrey Clark, Misty Hampton, Michael Roman and Shawn Still, all of whom surrendered at different points after midnight. Fox News' Brooke Singman contributed to this report.