State Department Applauds President Trump as Paris Boards Up Its Windows

France's President Emmanuel Macron is currently learning a hard lesson in global governance: ignoring reality does not stop shop windows from being boarded up with plywood. Following a weekend where over 3,000 shops were looted and 2,500 people arrested across France, the U.S. State Department has officially declared that President Donald Trump was entirely correct in his assessment of the chaos.

Trump pointed out the obvious during a recent rally, stating that the nation is being "looted and burned to the ground by migrants, jihadists and communists who hate Christianity" and "the Western civilization itself." He added that "the migrants have taken over France" and that the country needs to finally secure its borders. Of course, he repeated each point at least three times, but that's Trump for ya.

Predictably, Paris reacted not by securing the streets, but by clutching its collective European pearls and having the vapors. 

Macron lashed out at foreign leaders, labeling their remarks "unacceptable and stupid comments" while whining about phantom AI-generated misinformation. He insisted that claims of the country being overrun by hordes of migrants are completely false.

State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott gave a much-needed dose of common sense in response to Macron's temper tantrum, telling Fox News Digital that Trump "is on point as he is consistently on point."

"He has been clear about the dangers of mass migration for years, especially since the beginning of this administration, but certainly long beforehand as well. The president has secured the border on day one when it comes to the United States of America," Pigott said. "But we've also been clear from the State Department's perspective that we are going to oppose international institutions, for example, that seek to impose an agenda upon sovereign nations to encourage mass migration."

While European technocrats continue to lecture everyone else on utopian multiculturalism, the Louvre and major museums in Paris are shutting their doors in preparation for yet another weekend of civil unrest.

Pigott emphasized that open-border policies carry a heavy, undeniable price tag.

"Mass migration is inherently destabilizing. It is inherently destabilizing. It is something that we don't believe solves problems, but actually creates problems. And this is something the president has raised time and time again. He's raised it in reaction to these recent protests," Pigott added.

"He's also raised it directly to world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly. Two years in a row raising this issue, calling for an end to the destructive policies of illegal amassed migration. Illegal amassed migration that, by the way, only helps criminal cartel groups. That's something we see in our own hemisphere, for example," Pigott continued. "The fact that cartel groups have traveled along these migration pathways. So the president is spot on, he's bringing attention to this issue, he is taking action to address this issue and, from the State Department's perspective, we have also taken concrete action to end the era of mass migration."

Amid the burning barricades and shuttered storefronts, the State Department offered practical advice for any American citizens currently trapped in the European capital of lights and riots.

"One of things that we really stress to Americans is that when they're traveling abroad, if they could please register for the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP). That program lets you tell us which countries you're going to so that we can provide real-time information to Americans in the country that have registered," Pigott told Fox News Digital.

"Speaking generally, when it comes to Americans that need assistance, we have personnel across the world at the State Department, at embassies and consulates that are working 24/7 to help the American people. If you have an issue when you're abroad, please contact the embassy or consulate," he added. "There are people that are there to help you that can provide information. Everything from a lost passport to responses to a security situation, that is something that is hugely important and a huge factor for the State Department."

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Ilhan Omar, confronted with the rumor that she once married her own brother, offered the reassuring reply "Not to my knowledge."

The Minnesota Democrat told MS NOW's Chris Hayes that the recent federal raid on her Washington home was simply an attempt to excite Republican voters and frighten her supporters. 

She rejected the claim that her 2009 marriage to Ahmed Nur Said Elmi was arranged to game the immigration system, and she denied that the two of them are related. Asked directly whether any family connection existed, she said, "Not to my knowledge."

This was her first media appearance since Homeland Security Investigations agents searched the residence on October 12 under a warrant signed by U.S. Magistrate Judge Matthew J. Sharbaugh. Her office has ignored repeated requests for comment from Fox News Digital. The Justice Department has released no public description of the allegations, which center on possible false statements in her immigration and naturalization paperwork.

"It all started with the Somali blog," Omar told Hayes. "Somebody put it there, that he had to have been my brother or something to that effect."

She has labeled the entire probe political. After the search she released a video filmed from the back seat of a car in which she urged donors to keep the contributions coming. Federal authorities have served more than a dozen grand jury subpoenas, including to members of her family, and seized her cellphone, according to the Associated Press. Fox News Digital reported that her sister, Sahra Noor, spoke with investigators last week.

A separate inquiry, opened in 2024 under the Biden administration, is examining her campaign finances and personal financial disclosures. A complaint about the gap between her reported income and assets was dismissed by House ethics officials but is now under review by the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro. 

Both investigations continue.

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Is Dr. Oz a wizard or what, in his crackdown on NYC daycare center directors?

FLUSHING, N.Y. — Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz showed up in a surprise visit at two New York City senior care centers suspected of treating Medicaid like an open bar tab, and the staff responses landed somewhere between "the computer did it" and "please come back after lunch when the room looks fuller." 

Fox News Digital tagged along as federal officials delivered the kind of warning letters that tend to make billing departments check the exits.

Oz and senior federal health officials handed the notices to Kent Senior Care and Evergreen Adult Day Care in Flushing, Queens, causing several severe cases of loose stools, and not the kind you sit in unless you're very weird.

The visits formed part of a wider sweep that put the FBI, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, the NYPD and other agencies on the same Tuesday itinerary. More than 80 stops and warning letters went out across the city that day. 

Taxpayers who fund the programs received no such courtesy tour.

"The whole experience was suspicious," Oz told Fox News Digital afterward.

Authorities described a broader effort that included arrests, search warrants and moves to halt certain operators from billing Medicaid, although these steps at the two Queens, NY sites were not observed directly by Fox News Digital.

Oz questions senior center director: 'We don't believe you'

The first stop, around 8:30 a.m. at Kent Senior Care, when residents were likely in the throes of being cleaned up, began with Oz walking in and personally delivering the federal letter. The posted maximum occupancy was 70. The room did not appear to be testing that number.

"The bills are much higher than they should be," Oz told the director. "The billing is for more people. It doesn't look very crowded here."

The director claimed that more seniors would arrive later. Oz noted the paperwork suggested something closer to this being the perpetual capacity.

"The bills we're getting are as though it's completely full all the time," Oz said. So something stank, much like these places at 8:30 in the morning.

The director insisted the center billed only for actual attendance and required sign-in sheets. Oz was unmoved.

"You're getting this letter from the U.S. Government because we don't believe you," he told the director.

Billing records indicated five-day-a-week participation. The director said many seniors came only two or three days. When the conversation turned to specialized wheelchair transportation charges, Oz looked around the room.

"I don't see any wheelchairs here," Oz told the director.

Fox News Digital saw seniors using walking aids but no wheelchairs during the visit. Another official noted the billing for specialized transport. The director said some participants had mobility issues after strokes, that wheelchairs were available, and that staff might have reused old codes.

"Probably he just copy and pasted," the director said, lying like an abandoned sofa by Coney Islamd Creek.

Oz then walked over to the mahjong tables set up for the Medicaid-funded program.

"Should the American taxpayers be paying so folks can play mahjong?" Oz asked the director.

The director said the game helped with finger exercise, socialization and memory. Oz answered that the benefit was not free.

"It's free for them, not free for the taxpayers," Oz responded. "Is that what our federal tax dollars for Medicaid is supposed to go to? Or is it life-saving heart surgery? Or, you know, new therapies for cancer?"

Oz also watched seniors walk in without signing anything, despite the stated requirement. He later described the timing.

"People were just walking in there without signing anything," Oz said. "And then after I showed up and he saw what we were doing with my team, he started collecting these documents to be signed." You know, closing the barn door after the chickens made a run for it.

Social adult day care programs can supply activities, supervision, meals and support. Medicaid payment hinges on eligibility and documentation of what was actually provided. The gap between that rule and the observed room proved difficult to close on the spot.

At Evergreen Adult Day Care the pattern repeated. 

A floor manager said roughly 200 seniors attended on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and about 150 on the other days. Oz walked the space and offered a different count.

"So I look at maybe 25 people in the whole space now," Oz said, perhaps forgetting to multiply by 10. 

The manager claimed that some were in classes and others had left for shopping, the pharmacy or appointments.

"The numbers don't seem to add up," Oz responded.

On wheelchairs the manager first said none were in use, then acknowledged a small number.

"But you said there weren't any, didn't you?" Oz pressed. He compared notes with the other federal officials present.

"I'm struck by how few people are here as well," Oz said. "This makes me wonder how they sustain these billing levels."

The attendance books supplied the next discrepancy. Fox News Digital saw sign-in sheets with names already entered for Oct. 22 and Oct. 23, dates that had not yet arrived. Whether the pages were finished records or advance schedules remained unclear. Let's hope he took photos of the fraudulent-sounding evidence,

Oz alleges organized crime ties to NYC Medicaid fraud. He said federal authorities believed organized criminal networks were paying seniors to appear at facilities so operators could bill for services never delivered. He described individuals he linked to the "Chinese mafia" offering some seniors between $1,000 and $1,200 to participate. 

He did not name a specific group or present supporting evidence in the interview. He said billing spikes across the sector had pushed annual spending toward $1 billion. 

Sounds a lot like a Minnesota Learing Center, doesn't it?

"We know from the billing here that there's no way this business is running in the way that they claim to be running without something being wrong," Oz told the media outlet.

"Is it an innocent mistake? A hundred times in a row, I don't think so."

He added that proceeds from the schemes were financing other crimes, including money laundering and human trafficking. 

"It's really a clubhouse for crime," Oz said.

He said the fraud grew during the COVID-19 period and faulted the previous administration for letting the spending and the suspicious patterns continue. 

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Democratic New York Gov. comrade Kathy Hochul called the Tuesday actions part of a "massive effort to combat fraud and abuse" and noted that state health officials joined the federal and local effort. While Oz delivered the letters in Queens, searches continued at other sites across the city. Details on the remaining targets, the people involved and any evidence recovered were not available while the investigations continued.

Imagine if the Democrats were in power in the federal government. They would look the other way while holding out their hands for a little greasing. 

Change my mind.

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Potty-mouth protesters have no points to make so they scream vulgarity at Pete Hegseth

Another day, another high-strung meltdown in the nation's capital.

A brave new world of elite defense strategy met the fragile world of professional outrage on Wednesday as a handful of self-appointed hall monitors tried to shut down War Secretary Pete Hegseth at the Association of the United States Army’s annual conference in Washington. 

Senior military leaders had gathered to discuss the Pentagon’s plans for autonomous warfare, but the proceedings were repeatedly interrupted by foul-mouthed performance artists posing as protesters.

At least five times in the first half hour of a panel, potty-mouthed anti-war agitators hollered at Hegseth, treating a defense trade show like an open-mic night for emotional catharsis. They hurled sophisticated policy critiques such as calling him a "f---ing Nazi," a "war criminal," and a "coward." It is believed that their collective IQs add up to 14.

Hegseth responded with chuckles and sarcastic comments, at first, maintaining the composure of a man who has heard better insults from third-graders. But his reactions became increasingly short and irritated as he slammed the semi-coordinated ambush as one-by-one malcontents popped up around the room like caffeinated prairie dogs in Washington, D.C.

"You’re not a warrior you’re a coward!" one demonstrator shouted at Hegseth. "Children in Gaza are starving! He is a war criminal!"

"She thinks highly of me," the Pentagon chief quipped after one outburst, which led to brief applause from a crowd that actually knows what a defense conference is for.

The disrupters were scattered strategically throughout the room, carefully pausing for dramatic effect between tantrums to maximize their screen time. As Hegseth spotted the pattern behind the chaos, he noted: "Appears we have a bit of a tactic."

"The protesters are spouting off slogans, Iran really will never have a nuclear weapon," he later added. [He might have also pointed out that Iran is supporting the Democratic Party.]

Event security eventually escorted the theatrical geniuses out, with at least one dedicated activist needing to be carried bodily out of the venue while keeping up a valiant, high-decibel rodent sounding squeal for the cameras.

"The First Amendment right to protest is fundamental. However, everyone who registers to attend the Annual Meeting and enters the convention center does so after agreeing to abide by a code of conduct, so the protestors’ outbursts were certainly not appropriate during today’s forum," the Association of the U.S. Army said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

"The acting Army Secretary organized, and we were honored to host, a historic forum to discuss a critical issue that directly affects national security. We’re grateful for the swift action of security and the Metropolitan Police Department to ensure this important discussion could continue."

"Mommeee"

The panel alongside Hegseth featured acting Army Secretary Adam Telle, acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao, Air Force Secretary Troy Meink, and Assistant Secretary for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict Derrick Evans.

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As the background noise dragged on, the speakers simply decided that America’s national defense is slightly more important than catering to adult temper tantrums, stopping their pauses and talking straight through the noise. It remains a profound mystery how individuals with such utter disdain for military readiness managed to secure credentials for an event explicitly designed for Army brass and defense contractors.

The panel focused on Project Agincourt, the Pentagon’s high-tech initiative to accelerate the development and deployment of autonomous weapons systems. Hegseth joined senior leadership to discuss how America plans to integrate drones, robotics, and advanced autonomous technologies to keep the nation safe, secure, and light-years ahead of any adversaries who prefer actual fighting over indoor screaming.

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Former Hamas Hostage Counters Hasan Piker’s UT Austin Appearance With the Reality of Oct. 7

Maya Regev recovers in hospital

There is a peculiar luxury enjoyed by people who discuss atrocities from a comfortable distance. They can reduce human beings to political abstractions, transform suffering into talking points, and dismiss inconvenient facts when those facts interfere with a preferred ideological narrative.

Former Hamas hostage Maya Regev does not have that luxury.

Regev survived the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre at the Nova Music Festival, was shot in both legs, abducted by Hamas and held captive in Gaza for two months. When controversial Twitch streamer and human excrement Hasan Piker appeared at the University of Texas at Austin, Regev offered students something considerably less fashionable than internet commentary: firsthand experience.

Piker, a vocal critic of Israel and proud anti-Semite, made headlines with his visit to UT Austin, even before he arrived in the Lone Star State.

Piker: post-digestive waste

While he was speaking at an event hosted by University Democrats, Regev was telling students what it was actually like to experience the horrors of Oct. 7 and Hamas captivity.

The contrast was difficult to miss.

In a recent conversation with Fox News Digital, Regev addressed one of Piker's most infamous remarks concerning the sexual violence committed by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7: "It doesn’t matter if rapes f---ing happened on Oct. 7, like that doesn’t change the dynamic for me." What a dickweed.

Regev pointed out the obvious problem with allowing such a worldview to dominate the conversation, particularly among students who may be hearing competing claims about the atrocities committed that day.

Asked about his remarks concerning reported rapes committed by Hamas, Piker later told The New Republic that there was "definitely testimony of sexual violence that had taken place amongst the hostages. But that doesn’t change the dynamic of Israel committing a genocide against the Palestinians, and my opposing that genocide."

Regev's response was not to demand that Piker be silenced. It was to make sure students heard from someone who had actually been there.

Chabad, a Jewish organization with representatives across the globe, contacted Regev about speaking at UT Austin after Piker's appearance was announced.

"I'm not here to silence anyone," Regev told Fox News Digital. "I came there to let people hear what I've been through, like the other side of the story, with facts, with pictures, with records."

That distinction matters.

Piker has millions of low-information followers and an enormous platform. Regev has something different: the scars of what she is describing, much like the Hamasshole who video taped the atrocities and bragged about it. Much like the other now eliminated Hamasshole who called his parents on his dead victim's phone and bragged about all the Jews he murdered.

The Anti-Defamation League has criticized Piker for what it calls his "anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and tropes." Among the comments highlighted by the organization is Piker's claim that Hamas hostage and American-Israeli soldier Edan Alexander had volunteered for the "Nazi army."

Anyone who actually believes this garbage needs a brain transplant.

Regev acknowledged that Piker has freedom of speech and "can say whatever he wants." Her point was that students should not mistake popularity for evidence or social-media reach for firsthand knowledge.

"For me, Oct. 7, it's not a debate, it's not something I read online. It's something that I've lived through, something that will forever be inside me, something that I will have to live with for the rest of my life," she told Fox News Digital. "I just think that it's important for them to understand that behind every story there are real human beings."

There is a fundamental psychological difference between reading about an atrocity and being one of its victims, aka fiction v. truth.

"I was a hostage. I was a Hamas hostage," Regev told Fox News Digital. "I was being held by Hamas, by those monsters, and I think that students might, you know, forget that they are actually real human beings, real families that lost their lives, real women that got raped, men, lives were destroyed on Oct. 7."

That is precisely the danger of turning mass violence into ideological theater. Once victims become symbols rather than people, almost anything can be rationalized, especially by a scumcrumpet like Piker who makes a ton of money off his Jew-hating balderdash.

Regev also challenged the growing influence of online personalities who form opinions for audiences that have never personally encountered the realities being discussed.

"When they hear an influencer post something, when they read something, it's important for them to check the facts before they are repeating a slogan or celebrating death of innocent people," Regev said.

She later added, "I sat with those people. I lived with them for two months, with Hamas people... I think that people should listen to a person who was really there and not to a person who just sees stuff online and has millions of followers."

It is difficult to identify a more elementary principle for evaluating competing claims: someone who experienced an event possesses information that someone watching videos about the event does not--especially by someone looking to weave a story to align with his anti-Zionist/anti-Semitism about the event.

Regev also addressed what she believes influencers such as Piker fail to understand about Gaza, particularly Hamas' use of Palestinian civilians as human shields.

I suspect Piker understands what Hamassholes did on Oct. 7, 2023, but lies about it to make his evil point.

"Hamas is using children and women and elderly women as a human shield," Regev said. "I think, again, people should know the facts before they're talking, and especially when you're very influencing."

Her own story began at the Nova Music Festival on Oct. 7, 2023.

Regev attended the festival with her brother, Itay Regev, and her friend Omer Shem Tov. When the rocket alerts began at 6:29 a.m., she initially was not especially alarmed. Having grown up in Israel, she had experienced rocket alerts before. Even young children know the score.

"We thought it was just a matter of time before everything will calm down, and we can keep on partying, but after some time we understood that it [was] a lot more serious than what we thought," she said.

The group headed toward their cars, only to be told by police officers to abandon them because terrorists had invaded Israel.

Regev, her brother and Shem Tov then ran for what she estimated was between 60 and 90 minutes.

Eventually, they received a call from Ori Danino, a friend of a friend who had also been at the festival. Danino had escaped the immediate danger but turned around to try to rescue them.

It was an act of extraordinary courage.

It also ended with all of them being abducted.

The group had been driving for approximately five minutes when "a big pickup truck" carrying terrorists opened fire. Regev was shot in both legs. Her brother was also wounded.

The terrorists dragged Regev, her brother and Shem Tov from the vehicle, forced them into the pickup truck and drove them into Gaza.

Danino initially escaped, but another group of terrorists eventually captured him and took him into the Strip.

The Regev siblings were released from Hamas captivity in late November 2023, only days apart.

Freedom, however, did not mean that Regev could simply return to the life she had known.

Her release was accompanied by the knowledge that friends remained underground in Gaza.

"It was a total shock. I thought that Omer will return home, like, a few days after me, but then the ceasefire was stopped. So, it was very hard for me. I couldn't believe that I escaped this hell, and they are still there being held, Ori, Omer, all the other hostages," Regev told the outlet.

Danino, the man who had risked his life attempting to rescue Regev, her brother and Shem Tov, would spend 11 months in captivity before Hamas executed him along with Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Carmel Gat, Almog Sarusi and Alexander Lobanov.

Shem Tov endured 505 days in Hamas captivity before being released on Feb. 22, 2025.

For Regev, surviving created its own psychological burden.

"I felt very guilty that I was saved, that I'm back home with my family. I can get the medical treatment that I needed to receive and there are people there suffering, still hostages suffering, not eating, being abused physically and mentally. But I understood that I have a voice now, and I have to use it, and I'll do anything in my [power] to bring them back home," she added, obviously experiencing survivor's guilt.

Eventually, with her brother and Shem Tov home, Regev could begin contemplating a future rather than simply surviving the present.

Her ambitions are remarkably ordinary.

She wants to walk outside. Look at the sky. Travel. Study. Spend time with friends and family. Enjoy being alive.

"I just want to do everything that makes me happy," Regev told Fox News Digital. "When I was there in captivity, I promised myself that I will live life. I told myself that if I'll ever be home again, I'll live life, and I'll study, and I'll go travel the world, and I'd be with friends and my family. And it's what I'm doing now, you know, I'm just doing whatever makes me happy."

"I think that the only thing I wish for myself is to be happy forever and grateful for everything that I have."

Perhaps that is the most important counterargument Regev brought to UT Austin.

It was not merely a competing political position. It was a reminder that beneath the slogans, statistics and ideological narratives are human beings who bleed, suffer, remember and mourn.

Piker can discuss Oct. 7 from a livestream. Regev carries Oct. 7 with her.

One is hateful commentary.

The other is real memory.

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Iranian Official Clarifies That Torturing Citizens Is Purely Self-Care, Actually

Reminiscent of the Zohran Mamdani Sleazy Grin

NEW YORK — Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi shared a warm, heartfelt smile with a reporter on Friday after being asked why his government has executed over 900 citizens this year while subjecting thousands more to torture and imprisonment.

According to witnesses, the foreign minister appeared visibly delighted to be asked about his regime’s favorite weekend activity.

"Tried to ask Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi how he can call himself 'a victim of terrorism' while his government has executed more than 900 Iranians this year, and while thousands of others have been tortured and imprisoned?" asked Fox News Digital reporter Efrat Lachter, posting footage of the interaction to social media. "What, exactly, did he find amusing?"

Sources inside the diplomatic delegation confirmed that Araghchi was simply amused that someone would question the therapeutic benefits of state-sponsored public hangings.

The exchange followed inspiring remarks made Wednesday by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian at the United Nations General Assembly, where he courageously called out the international community for labeling his peaceful torture-enthusiast government as bad guys.

“The US president described us as terrorists,” Pezeshkian explained to the assembly. “We have been the victims of terrorism.”

Earlier in the week, Araghchi expressed deep sorrow over the lack of international empathy for his regime's struggle to crush basic human rights in peace.

"In the face of the atrocities that occurred, where 168 innocent children were deliberately massacred in a single instant, these countries do not even issue a simple condemnation," Araghchi noted, adding that his delegation was in New York specifically to "defend the legitimacy, rights and interests of the Iranian people," right up until those same people speak out of turn and need to be promptly executed.

At publishing time, the Iranian delegation was seen browsing local real estate in Manhattan to find a nice, quiet park for their next scheduled execution.

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NJ Mayor Says Sanctuary Policies Need a Tune-Up After Baby Killed in Crash

Apparently, there are limits to how many “condolences” a grieving family can use in place of actual government policy.

Jackson Township Mayor Jennifer Kuhn is asking New Jersey to reconsider its sanctuary policies after authorities say an illegal immigrant without a driver's license allegedly plowed into a family in a grocery store parking lot, killing a 9-month-old boy.

Because nothing says “well-functioning immigration system” quite like discovering that someone allegedly driving without a license was apparently not supposed to be driving in the first place.

"If our police pull somebody over and they're undocumented... they can't call the federal agencies, they can't call ICE. That needs to change," Kuhn told Fox News Digital. "Condolences at this point are not enough. At this point, leadership needs to step in. And we have to do something."

That last sentence may come as a shocking concept in New Jersey: do something.

Authorities say Maria Cobon-Guzman, a 20-year-old Guatemalan national who did not have a driver's license, struck a mother pushing a stroller with her 9-month-old son and 5-year-old daughter on Aug. 28 in the parking lot of a kosher grocery store in Jackson.

Maria Cobon-Guzman, 

The baby was killed. The mother and 5-year-old were critically injured.

Kuhn says the tragedy illustrates the consequences of policies that restrict cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities.

"These issues shouldn't happen whether you're illegal or legal. But the problem is that we can't hold them accountable if they're not documented and they're illegal aliens," she said.

This apparently remains a controversial position in a state where asking too many questions about someone's immigration status can make government officials nervous.

Cobon-Guzman has been charged with manslaughter. Prosecutors also charged Ariadna Lazaro-Flores, alleging that she allowed Cobon-Guzman to drive her vehicle despite knowing she did not have a driver's license.

Lazaro-Flores, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, was charged with endangering the welfare of an incompetent person, according to an inmate report.

And the immigration history makes the situation even more difficult to explain away.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, both women illegally entered the United States during the Biden administration. Lazaro-Flores allegedly entered five times in October 2023 and was removed each time.

Cobon-Guzman entered once in October 2023 but was released into the interior of the country. On July 31, an immigration judge issued an order of removal against her.

So apparently there were multiple opportunities for the immigration system to say, “Perhaps this person should not remain here.”

The system apparently had other plans.

At the center of Kuhn's criticism is New Jersey's Immigrant Trust Directive, implemented under former Gov. Phil Murphy in 2018.

Among other provisions, the directive generally restricts police from asking about a person's immigration status, notifying Immigration and Customs Enforcement when someone is released from custody, or sharing certain non-public personal information for civil immigration enforcement.

Current New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed legislation codifying the directive into state law in March.

Kuhn wants the Jackson Township Council to pass a resolution demanding that New Jersey roll back such policies.

"I know that there's other towns around in Ocean County and in other counties that are also doing the same. Something needs to change," Kuhn said.

Naturally, supporters of sanctuary-style policies disagree.

They argue that restricting cooperation with federal immigration authorities builds trust with immigrant communities and encourages victims and witnesses to report crimes.

Because apparently one of the great achievements of modern government is making sure people who are here illegally feel sufficiently comfortable that nobody checks why they are here.

Dan Prochilo, a spokesperson for the New Jersey Attorney General's Office, defended the Immigrant Trust Directive and other sanctuary-style reforms signed by Sherrill.

According to Prochilo, county jails and state prisons can notify ICE when someone is being released if they are charged with or convicted of certain violent or serious crimes.

Those crimes include assault, stalking, criminal sexual contact, arson and burglary.

New Jersey jails can also notify ICE if a suspect has been convicted of a felony within the past five years or is under a final deportation order from a federal immigration judge.

"Such notice has been provided regularly in appropriate cases by New Jersey law enforcement agencies since the Immigrant Trust Directive took effect in 2019," Prochilo added.

Which is certainly reassuring.

Just ask the grieving family how reassuring it feels.

Mayor Kuhn's complaint is not particularly complicated. If local police encounter someone who is in the country illegally, lacks a driver's license and may be violating the law, she believes local authorities should be able to communicate with federal immigration authorities.

This revolutionary proposal is known in some parts of America as law enforcement.

In New Jersey, however, it apparently requires a mayor to launch a campaign to convince the state that federal immigration officials should be allowed to know when an illegal immigrant is in police custody.

Perhaps next year they can tackle the really radical stuff, like checking whether someone is legally allowed to drive before handing them the keys.

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Democrats Scramble to Replace One Embarrassing Candidate With Guy Who Had Kids With His Second Cousin

[COUSIN] BANGOR, ME — The Democratic Party, ever the champions of normalcy and family values, has once again demonstrated its unmatched talent for candidate selection. 

After Graham "HH" Platner withdrew from the Maine Senate race amid a rape allegation (which he called "categorically false"), party leaders tapped Troy Jackson as their shiny new replacement. A Maine Wire report soon revealed that Jackson and his high school sweetheart share the same great-grandparents, and the couple has two adult sons together. 

But at least they aren't siblings like Ilhan Omar.

Jackson, a former state senator and failed gubernatorial candidate, was formally nominated at the Maine Democratic Party's U.S. Senate Nominating Convention earlier this month. The report noted that such relationships are not uncommon in northern rural Maine and remain perfectly legal, a detail that only heightened the internet's reaction.  

Conservatives wasted no time celebrating the party's latest personnel decision."Can’t wait for Democrats to defend cousin marriage!," Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), posted on X.

"If you thought Platner was a freak - meet Troy Jackson," former White House press secretary Sean Spicer posted on X.

"WTF?! Maine’s new Democratic Senate candidate Troy Jackson is in a ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP with his COUSIN, and has TWO CHILDREN with her. THIS is the guy the Democrat Party swapped Graham Platner out for," conservative influencer Nick Sortor posted on X.

I have no idea WTF stands for but it sounds bad.

"The Democrats are having a REALLY tough time finding candidates who aren’t total freaks," Sortor added.

"Troy Jackson's 'partner' is his second cousin, according to genealogical records found in Maine. Which means his kids are also his third cousins. Who said Democrats were anti-family?" Drew Berkemeyer, a writer for the Daily Wire, posted on X.

In a post on X, Independent Women's Forum Senior Policy Analyst Inez Stepman wrote, "Second cousins seem like relevant information here. But it is funny that Dems keep selecting candidates who fit the vicious stereotypes they hold about rural or working-class people: beats women, hooks up with cousin, etc."

"It's truly hysterical how Democrats can't seem to find one normal dude to run for office," conservative commentator Greg Price posted on X. The Republican account on X also posted, "Wellness check on Maine Democrats." 

I want to thank you for following Brain Flushings. Please take time to simply check out the sponsors on this page--it's one way to support my work and you don't need to purchase anything to do so. Of course, you can Buy Me A Coffee if you want to support me directly. And finally, don't be afraid to subscribe if you enjoy the blog--it's free, and worth the cost.

The Jackson campaign responded by changing the subject, telling Fox News Digital: "Susan Collins will do anything to distract from the fact that she votes with Trump 96% of the time and has sold out working people in Maine. Personal attacks on Troy's family are shameful and desperate."

Jackson will face incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins on Nov. 3 as Republicans work to protect their 53-47 Senate majority. In the meantime, Maine Democrats continue their proud tradition of proving that when it comes to finding candidates free of personal baggage, they remain the gold standard of political incompetence.

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Wisconsin brewery that dangled free beer for Trump's death just got its alcohol permit yanked, and the owner is sobbing into his progressive pint glass

Leftist owner of the Minocqua Brewing Co., Kirk Bangstad vows to fight 'tooth and nail' after the Department of Revenue ordered the establishment's license pulled by Aug 4. 

In a development that will shock absolutely no one who has watched left-wing activism turn businesses into political therapy sessions, a Wisconsin brewery famous for its anti-Trump social media tantrums has finally had its permit to operate revoked by state officials who apparently decided enough was enough. 

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Monday that liberal activist and brewery owner Kirk Bangstad is "vowing to fight ‘tooth and nail’ [and he might even pull hair] after receiving a letter from the state's Department of Revenue revoking Minocqua Brewing Co.'s permit to operate in Wisconsin, according to a July 26 newsletter sent to his supporters."

"As you can imagine, I’m not taking this lying down," Bangstad wrote in a Substack post on Sunday. "We’re going to fight the state of Wisconsin tooth and nail, and once again, they’ll have to pry me out of my taprooms before I stop selling beer to thirsty progressives who come to visit us."

Not surprisingly, he asked readers to donate to his legal defense fund, writing, "As usual, fighting to keep my business alive means I have to pay lawyers, and that’s never cheap. Every time this [happens], I rack up $100K in legal bills before we even see a judge. If you can help chip in to the Minocqua Company’s legal defense fund, I’d really appreciate it."

The revocation of the beer license goes into effect on Aug. 4, the Sentinel reported. The business has locations in Madison and Minocqua, where one assumes the clientele consists mainly of people who order "resistance IPAs" and then lecture the bartender about systemic injustice. 

In a statement to Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for the Wisconsin Department of Revenue said, "The Wisconsin Division of Alcohol Beverages is dedicated to the fair and consistent enforcement of alcohol beverages regulations in Wisconsin. The division is required to follow and implement state law, including ensuring permit holders and licensees follow all applicable laws and regulations. The division takes appropriate actions when these laws are not followed." The spokesperson added, "We can confirm that the Department of Revenue has issued notice of a Brewer's permit revocation for two Minocqua Brewing Company locations and notice of an Alcohol Beverage Warehouse permit revocation for one location. The business has until August 4th to appeal and can operate during the appeal process. Should the business decide to appeal, the next step would be to appeal to the Secretary of the Department of Revenue, who will assign the appeal to a Department of Revenue hearing examiner for their recommendations as to proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law."

The Sentinel reported that state regulators pursued revoking Bangstad's alcohol license after authorities seized canned beer from his company in June, alleging it had been transported from Illinois without the required permits and taxes. The newspaper also reported that Bangstad criticized the proposed action as an excessive response, arguing the alleged tax violations did not warrant shutting down his business. How dare the state expect a self-styled resistance warrior to bother with boring things like following tax laws when there are orange men to rage against? 

Of course, the real flavor of this operation has never been about hops. 

On Jan. 22, the Minocqua Brewing Company appeared to suggest it would give free beer to patrons if Trump was killed, and while not explicitly using his name, posted on Facebook, "Free beer, all day long the day he dies." 

The post continued, "Show us this post when it happens in a few months and we’ll make good on that promise." The post was updated to say, "we meant the Madison Taproom because that’s open all year, if he dies in the summer, then it’s gonna be the Minocqua Taproom."

In reply to comment on the post, the company also did not refer to Trump by name but said that the post hinted at a high-profile figure when asked whether the timeline for the deal could be moved up earlier. "Well that's up to you and your ability to act like a cia [sic] agent," the company wrote. 

Following the April shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner where Trump was present, the company wrote on Facebook, "Well, we almost got #freebeerday." That should tell us something about Bangstad's intentions.

"Either a brother or sister in the Resistance needs to work on their marksmanship or he faked another assassination to get a positive news cycle," the post added. "We’ll never know. Regardless, we stand at the ready to pour free beer the day it happens."

Bangstad owns the brewery and is also the founder of the Minocqua Brewing Company SuperPAC, which "aims to remove Republican federal and state elected officials who perpetuated the election lies that caused the Insurrection of January 6, 2021, and whose downplaying of the seriousness of COVID-19 caused so many unnecessary deaths in our country," according to the brewery’s website. 

In other words, a SuperPAC that exists to punish people for noticing that 2020 was messy and that lockdowns were not the unalloyed triumph progressives claimed. Bangstad declined to comment directly but made jokes about the deaths of Trump and Mitch McConnell and made disparaging remarks about Fox. 

He's a real classy douchbagel, especially when it comes to asking for other people's money for his crusade against sanity. 

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Bombshell Memo Shows Biden Planned To Leave Trump With Even More Massive Immigration Crisis

In a shocking development that will stun only those who still believe the previous administration ever cared about borders or the word temporary, Sen. Eric Schmitt obtained a document showing the Biden White House planned protections for Guatemalans, Ecuadorians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans in a final desperate bid to hand President Trump an even bigger immigration clusterfrack.

The Supreme Court delivered a significant victory to President Trump's immigration policies ruling 6 to 3 that the administration can terminate Temporary Protected Status for Haitian and Syrian migrants. Fox News Legal Editor Kerri Urbahn highlights the majority opinion.

A newly uncovered Biden White House memo from the administration's final days revealed plans that could have expanded Temporary Protected Status to more than 3 million illegal aliens while acknowledging that previous court challenges had blocked many of President Donald Trump's efforts to end the protections.

TPS is meant for foreign populations experiencing crises like political unrest or natural disasters and while Trump has tried to end the temporary provisions for Haitians, Nepalese, Salvadorans, and Sudanese people lawsuits from pro migrant advocates have halted most attempts.

"My investigation uncovered that the Lame Duck Biden White House tried to keep millions of illegal aliens in our country by abusing the 'Temporary' Protected Status program," Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) who acquired the memo told Fox News Digital on Friday. "After the American people voted for President Trump’s promise to end the TPS scam, the Biden administration tried to subvert the will of the American people. This was mass amnesty-by-decree. America is for Americans, and it is our home—it is not a permanent refugee camp," he said.

The memo argued that "granting TPS will potentially protect many vulnerable people from President-elect Trump's planned mass deportations... They argue that these protections are likely to hold in court, and they are prepared to litigate efforts to terminate or slow down the implementation of TPS for specified nations by the Trump Administration."

In other words the outgoing team decided the best parting gift for the nation that just rejected them was to load up the country with millions more people and then dare the new president to try cleaning it up through years of activist court battles.

"[P]rior federal litigation brought by advocates during the first Trump administration was successful in halting [its] efforts to terminate TPS, though that was due in large part to [its] failure to produce a factual record in support of termination, which is something that could be rectified," the memo went on. Schmitt said he obtained the memo from Archivist of the United States Edward Forst through his authority as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution.

"Biden tried to turn TPS into a 3.1-million-person deportation shield, protect Tren de Aragua members, and trap President Trump in years of litigation," he said, adding the move directly betrayed the will of the people who ousted liberal Democrats from power the prior election."

The most disturbing part, Biden's ‘Senior Advisors’ recommended "he create 2.1 million NEW TPS designees in the last few weeks of his presidency, despite admitting TPS applications take 6 months," Schmitt added. "Luckily, that never happened and we have been deporting Ecuadorians and Guatemalans."

Schmitt noted that one week after the January 2025 memo which he said was erroneously dated 2024, Biden extended TPS protections for nearly 1 million noncitizens meaning its transmission still led to a concrete mass migration action. Because when the American people demand an end to the scam, if you're on the left, you simply ignore them and stamp another million temporary forever statuses just for good measure.

The memo reminded Biden he gave TPS protections to Afghans, Cameroonians ,Ethiopians, people from Burma, Lebanese, Ukrainians, and Venezuelan, nationals and repeatedly extended protections for Haitians. Apparently temporary means until the next Democrat is ready to extend it again.

"The previous Administration unsuccessfully attempted to terminate TPS designations for Sudan, Nicaragua, Haiti, El Salvador, Nepal, and Honduras. Courts issued preliminary injunctions blocking the Trump Administration's actions," it read. "Your administration took actions to resolve this litigation by either re-designating Haiti or rescinding the terminations."

The memo noted that Trump had said during the 2024 campaign he intended to revoke TPS protections for Haitians and predicted his incoming administration would likely seek to rescind additional TPS designations. How dare Trump try to enforce the temporary part of Temporary Protected Status.

A chart in the memo estimated potential new TPS eligibility for roughly 1.5 million Guatemalans 600,000 Ecuadorians 464,000 Nicaraguans 455,000 Venezuelans and smaller populations from Ukraine Sudan and Afghanistan figures Schmitt said totaled more than 3.1 million people. Just a modest little expansion of the permanent temporary refugee program.

The memo said Biden’s senior team had also received requests for varying types of new TPS related actions before Trump would take office from Sens. Michael Bennet (D-CO), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Richard "Dick" Durbin (D-IL), Mazie Hirono (D-HA), Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and Alex Padilla (D CA).

"In addition, some stakeholders are requesting that your Administration designate nationals from new countries, most notably Ecuador and Guatemala, for TPS," it stated. While the proposals outlined in the memo were never fully implemented the document offers a rare glimpse into the immigration options Biden advisers presented as Trump prepared to return to the White House promising mass deportations. 

In classic fashion the outgoing team nearly succeeded in turning America into an even larger permanent refugee camp and then dared anyone to notice that temporary somehow always means forever. a shocking development that will stun only those who still believe the previous administration ever cared about borders or the word temporary.

Sen. Eric Schmitt obtained a document showing the Biden White House planned protections for Guatemalans, Ecuadorians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans in a final desperate bid to hand President Trump an even bigger immigration mess.

The Supreme Court delivered a significant victory to President Trump's immigration policies ruling 6 to 3 that the administration can terminate Temporary Protected Status for Haitian and Syrian migrants. A newly uncovered Biden White House memo from the administration's final days revealed plans that could have expanded Temporary Protected Status to more than 3 million noncitizens while acknowledging that previous court challenges had blocked many of President Donald Trump's efforts to end the protections.

TPS is meant for foreign populations experiencing crises like political unrest or natural disasters and while Trump has tried to end the temporary provisions for Haitians, Nepalese, Salvadorans, and Sudanese people lawsuits from pro migrant advocates have halted most attempts. Because nothing says temporary quite like inviting the entire third world to move in forever and then suing anyone who notices.

Corruption much?

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Obama Center Finally Delivers on Promise of Transformative Change by Bankrupting Local Plumber and Firing His Union Crew

In a stunning display of hope and change that somehow skipped over the people who actually built the thing, a Chicago plumbing subcontractor has suspended operations and laid off 25 union workers after getting stiffed for nearly $4 million on the Obama Presidential Center.

Adamson Plumbing owner Mike Owen says his company suspended operations, laid off 25 union workers amid a nearly $4 million payment dispute tied to the Obama Presidential Center.

Weeks after the Obama Presidential Center’s star-studded opening in Chicago, a subcontractor who previously claimed his company was stiffed for nearly $4 million has shut down operations and laid off 25 union workers. Mike Owen, the owner of Chicago-based Adamson Plumbing Contractors, told Fox News Digital that the financial fallout forced the company to abandon about half a dozen other construction jobs and left it on the verge of collapse.

Owen described the shutdown as a painful decision he believed was necessary to save the company from bankruptcy. "Laying off close to 30 people is something that no owner in our industry wants to do," he said. "It’s a hard thing to do, especially when you know you can finish them and the company can still make money. But we were put in a pretty bad corner."

Adamson, which performed its work on the center under the name Marsh-Adamson, has since filed a $1.72 million mechanic’s lien against the property, escalating the payment dispute into a legal fight.The company is one of several subcontractors to report financial trouble after working on the center, which was promoted as a transformative economic opportunity for small and minority-owned businesses.

A previous investigation by Fox News Digital identified several subcontractors including Black-owned firms the project was specifically intended to support that said they were owed money or had absorbed losses ranging from hundreds of thousands of dollars to millions. The largest dispute involves the Concrete Collective, which is seeking more than $40 million in additional payment.

Before the center opened, Owen said the project had left his company with $3.9 million in losses tied to delays, rework, labor overruns and changing project demands. He said he spent months negotiating with Lakeside Alliance, the project’s construction manager, before going public after failing to reach a resolution. Against the backdrop of that larger dispute, Owen said the breaking point came around the time of the Obama Presidential Center’s opening celebration.

Owen said Adamson and Lakeside Alliance reached an agreement under which Adamson would provide two journeyman plumbers to perform last-minute "housekeeping" work on campus at premium nighttime rates. In return, Owen said, Adamson was supposed to receive part of its outstanding payment days before the center opened on June 19.

An email shows a Lakeside representative telling Owen that $100,000 would be released through Adamson’s May payment application. Adamson completed the requested work, but the payment did not arrive on time, according to Owen, who said it was the company's breaking point and left him with no choice but to suspend operations on June 25.

"We negotiated it in good faith," he said. "Against my better judgment, I agreed [to do the work]. Not getting that large sum of money just kind of pulled the brakes on the train. It was just the final death blow to the company," he added.

"Rather than try to stretch it out and go bankrupt, I just decided the responsible thing was to shut it down. We’ll regroup, and we’ll see where we’re at come September." Owen said that the promised $100,000 retainage payment and around $35,000 for change orders payments have since arrived from Lakeside Alliance more than two weeks after he suspended operations and laid off 25 workers. Owen said the money helped reduce the company’s debt to one supplier but did not reverse the shutdown."It’s almost like too little, too late."

"It probably would have just prolonged the inevitable at this point," he said. "We’re still deep in the hole of what they owe us." Owen said Adamson has now moved out of its building and that he is working from home while turning the dispute over to his attorneys and determining whether the company has a future.

Owen has escalated his nearly $4 million payment fight.Documents reviewed by Fox News Digital show that Marsh-Adamson filed a $1.72 million mechanic’s lien against the Obama Presidential Center property, alleging it remains owed money for plumbing work performed on campus.

A mechanic’s lien is a legal claim filed against a property by a contractor or supplier alleging that it has not been fully paid for completed work. The lien is considerably lower than the approximately $3.9 million Owen says Adamson lost over the course of the project. Owen said the lien covers the amounts he believes are most readily documented, including unpaid fees, logged change orders and labor overruns supported by company records. "It doesn’t mean that I’m not going to pursue the $3.9 million in change that we lost overall," Owen said. "I’m still working with my legal team on that $3.9 million figure because I feel that it’s only right that we still hold ownership at the presidential center accountable."

Owen said he had initially avoided filing a lawsuit or lien while attempting to negotiate a resolution."I’m not a litigious person, but at the same time, our legal system is there to protect the small guy," he said. "I’m just going to have to fight this out legally from here on out, and these aren’t cheap costs."

Last week’s payment will be deducted from the $1.72 million, he said. Lakeside Alliance, a joint venture led by Turner Construction and four Black-owned Chicago construction firms, served as the project’s construction manager. The other firms are UJAMAA Construction, Powers & Sons Construction, Brown & Momen and Safeway Construction.In a previous statement, Lakeside said approximately 475 contractors worked on the center.

In its latest response, the alliance pointed to the project’s scale and said "contractual closeout continues long after the doors have opened" on major projects of such complexity." Lakeside Alliance remains committed to working through all outstanding matters to successfully close out the project," a spokesperson said.

Lakeside Alliance did not directly address Owen’s allegations, the layoffs or the $1.72 million lien. The Obama Foundation, former President Barack Obama’s private nonprofit organization that oversees the construction, said Lakeside was responsible for managing and paying subcontractors and that the foundation had no outstanding disputed charges with the alliance.

While it did not directly address Adamson’s allegations, the foundation said its financial support for firms working on the project exceeded industry standards. "Our commitment began with a 15-day payment cycle, which is largely unheard of in major construction projects," the foundation said in a statement, adding that it sometimes accelerated payment timelines or advanced payments months before work was completed.

The center has also faced scrutiny over its soaring price tag and promised taxpayer protections. Construction costs, initially projected at approximately $350 million, had climbed to $830 million by 2021 and have since reportedly surpassed $1 billion.Meanwhile, just $1 million has been deposited into a promised $470 million reserve intended to protect Chicago taxpayers if the center encounters financial trouble.

Those questions have drawn added scrutiny because the Obama Foundation secured the 19.3-acre Jackson Park site through a 99-year lease requiring a one-time $10 payment. Owen said the ordeal has left him financially and emotionally drained and uncertain whether he will ever restart Adamson Plumbing.

"This entire process really drained me out financially and emotionally," Owen said. "So that’s where I’m at — just kind of in a holding pattern." Owen said the opening ceremony which featured performances by Bruce Springsteen, Christina Aguilera, John Legend and U2’s Bono and The Edge, among others only sharpened his anger. Against that celebratory backdrop, he said, the struggles of the workers who built the center went largely unrecognized.

Owen argued that Chicago’s proud protest culture had been conspicuously absent and that the reaction would have been markedly different if the project were associated with figures such as Elon Musk or Ken Griffin, the Chicago billionaire whose name adorns the neighboring Griffin Museum of Science and Industry."There would be holy hell to pay," Owen said. "They would be picketing. They would be storming the castle."

Owen also singled out Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, questioning why the pro-union governor had not addressed the layoffs or payment disputes. "But he hasn’t said anything publicly about the union companies at the presidential center getting stiffed," Owen said. "And it bothers me."

Owen said he was not accusing former President Barack Obama of personal responsibility but believes the foundation should publicly acknowledge the subcontractors’ complaints and help seek a resolution. "It’s become perfectly obvious to me that the ownership group there — they truthfully just don’t care," he said. "I don’t know any other way to say it." Owen said contractors had held out hope that their disputes would be resolved once construction ended. "But I think a lot of us out there, the main subcontractors, all still had this feeling that it was going to be worked out in the end — until it wasn’t," he said.

Now, with Adamson’s future uncertain, Owen said the project has left him facing a personal turn he never saw coming."I mean, the only leverage I have now is just to continue speaking out and see where it goes," he said. "But my career, it’s funny, I’m going to have to go find a job, which is fine. It’s just that I did not anticipate the completion of this project would take this turn."

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