News outlets boycotting pool report might have violated US law, Justice Department says
The ongoing feud between the mainstream media and the Trump administration has opened up another field of battle after the Justice Department confirmed a criminal investigation.
Five news outlets rebelled against the White House after President Donald Trump banned three outlets for what he said was fake news reporting.
'Group boycotts among commercial competitors can violate the Sherman Act.'
ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC, and Fox News said in a joint statement in September that they would not resume their pool reporting duties to cover the president.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Justice said five news outlets were under investigation after they boycotted the White House pool report.
"Members of the television press pool have boycotted covering White House events. Group boycotts among commercial competitors can violate the Sherman Act," the spokesperson said. "The Antitrust Division is simply investigating to determine whether these news organizations have violated the antitrust laws."
Trump attorneys argued previously in a filing that the three outlets had failed to meet basic "standards of professionalism and decorum expected of those given access to the White House Complex."
The president elaborated on the ban in comments to reporters.
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"I don't want them in my office. I don't want them here," Trump said.
"The ban is because they are fake news, they cannot write the truth," he added. "If they had credibility, I wouldn't be sitting here right now."
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Illegal alien and 15 others charged with election crimes, DOJ says
The U.S. Department of Justice has announced another round of alleged election crimes, including one case involving an illegal alien.
A DOJ press release on Monday documented the details of the charges that involved people from Pakistan, Portugal, France, Peru, Jamaica, and Cuba, among others.
'Criminals who disrupt the integrity of America's elections will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.'
68-year-old Forrest Scott Woody of Hendersonville, North Carolina, was charged for allegedly voting twice in the 2024 election, once in North Carolina and once in Alabama, according to a press release from the DOJ.
78-year-old permanent legal resident Silvia Delgado Phelps from Peru was charged for allegedly voting in multiple elections in Baldwin County, Alabama, despite not being a U.S. citizen.
48-year-old Hacina Saadi, described by the DOJ as an illegal alien from France, was charged "by information with voting by an alien during the 2024 election."
Two lawful permanent residents from Pakistan and another lawful permanent resident from Portugal were similarly charged.
42-year-old Staciann Pollion Davis, a lawful permanent resident from Jamaica, was charged for allegedly voting in the general election in Clarke County, Alabama, despite Davis not being a U.S. citizen.
64-year-old Andre’s Garcia, a lawful permanent resident from Cuba, allegedly voted in at least 15 elections, including at least 13 federal elections, over the last 20 years.
59-year-old Cary Ann Patterson, a lawful permanent resident from Britain, allegedly voted in at least 10 elections as an alien, based on records from the Gallia County Board of Elections in Ohio.
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A 69-year-old from Pakistan was arrested for allegedly voting in at least six elections, while a 63-year-old from the Philippines was arrested for allegedly illegally voting. Both were charged in the Northern District of Ohio.
"Under President Trump, criminals who disrupt the integrity of America's elections will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," read a White House post about the announcement.
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Actor MELTS DOWN over jokes about women in Shane Gillis' 'SNL' monologue
Popular comedian Shane Gillis outraged many on the left during his monologue on "Saturday Night Live" over the weekend, and a high-profile actor is leading the charge.
Gillis touched upon many subjects in his monologue, but one story especially triggered leftists: when he criticized women for dressing like "whores" at gyms.
'They are not objects. They are superior human beings to men, OK? And I’m sorry if this gets me in trouble with the internet, but f**k!'
"I haven’t been to the gym in so long, I didn’t know women just dress like whores now,” said Gillis.
“Look, I’m sorry, there’s no other way to describe [it]. Have you seen it? I’ve seen it. The shorts. Have you seen the shorts? There's neon ... they're like artificial bait-colored [shorts], and the wrinkles go around the cheeks and all combine at the butthole. And don’t look! You’re not allowed to look.”
"For real, don't look because they are filming. I'm in the background of like 10 TikToks right now," Gillis joked.
While his joke got a large laugh from the audience, leftists had a different reaction: outrage.
"Women wearing short shorts at the gym does not make them whores. It makes the men calling them whores misogynists. There’s a difference there. By the way, I’ve seen more men’s nipples at the gym than I’ve ever seen women showing their bodies off," actor Dan Levy of "Schitt's Creek" fame said in a video on Instagram.
"But I’m speechless that something like that can exist on live national television. And to be perfectly honest, more men need to be standing up in opposition to it, because it’s complacency that has created the environment in which women are sexually assaulted, and it’s a 'conversation' as opposed to a 'crime,'" he added.
He went on to say that men would treat women as objects because of speech like that from Gillis.
"They are not objects. They are superior human beings to men, OK? And I’m sorry if this gets me in trouble with the internet, but f**k!" Levy concluded.
RELATED: Liberals are trying to CANCEL funnyman Nate Bargatze for what he did on Sunday
Gillis has a history of being canceled by "Saturday Night Live." He was hired on as a cast member in 2019 and then abruptly fired after the woke mob unearthed clips from his podcast they said were homophobic and racist.
His popularity has exploded since then, and his return five years later to host "SNL" enraged the critics who wanted him permanently canceled.
Saturday's show was his third time hosting.
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DHS may slam immigration 'back door' shut with new $70,000 fee
A program identified by the Trump administration as a potential significant source of fraud may be getting a major overhaul.
Last Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security announced a proposed rule that could change a major "pipeline" for nonimmigrant students to get jobs in the United States.
'A $70,000 university-paid fee could dramatically shrink it and potentially make OPT unworkable for a large number of international graduates.'
The DHS has proposed a new rule regarding the Optional Practical Training, a contingent program often used by nonimmigrant students with F-1 visas to find temporary employment within the United States.
If finalized, the new rule would place a significant financial burden on universities if and when they decide to recommend a student for OPT.
“Optional Practical Training was never meant to be a back door into the American workforce, a subsidy for cheap labor, or a prize for those who game the system,” a DHS spokesperson said in a press release.
“DHS is upskilling OPT to require foreign students to justify their worth to employers. American workers should not have to compete against a program that has been turned into a pipeline for cheap foreign labor.”
The higher barrier would, the administration argues, potentially decrease the amount of fraud within the program, which has reportedly suffered issues such as "problematic worksites and 'pay-to-stay' visa schemes."
The new rule would also add an extra $30,000 fee for additional OPT windows, meaning a student who is granted OPT, for example, during their program and again after the completion of their program would need to have the university recommend him or her both times and pay the base $70,000 plus the additional $30,000 fee.
The rule and the press release emphasize that the fees would be connected not to the employers to which these students are sent, but to the universities who are recommending them.
According to the proposal, the fees collected will be deposited in the Treasury of the United States.
Many have called for an overhaul of the OPT program for a significant amount of time, not least among them Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.).
In November 2025, Sen. Schmitt highlighted the "severe problems" with the OPT program, and his request to re-evaluate the program gained some traction within the Trump administration.
Schmitt called the OPT program, which was established through DHS regulations rather than a statute, a "back door into the U.S. job market for foreign workers," adding that it "incentivizes colleges to become 'visa mills.'"
Then-DHS Secretary Kristi Noem replied to Sen. Schmitt at the beginning of this year, writing that DHS was re-evaluating the program.
Rahul Reddy, an immigration lawyer at Reddy Neumann Brown PC, stressed that this was an "extraordinary" change that could possibly go into effect around graduation season next year.
"In practical terms, the proposal does not formally abolish OPT," Reddy wrote. "But a $70,000 university-paid fee could dramatically shrink it and potentially make OPT unworkable for a large number of international graduates."
The DHS will accept public comments before the rule is made final. Members of the public can view the proposed rule on the Federal Register website and submit comments until November 9.
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Ilhan Omar's residence raided by DHS: Report
The "ongoing criminal investigation" into Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) seems to have escalated Monday morning, as Homeland Security Investigations agents raided her residence in Washington, D.C., Fox News has reported.
Fox News reported that agents raided Omar's residence in connection with the immigration paperwork Omar's late father filled out on her behalf when she was a child.
'This enforcement action is part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation.'
Omar was born in Somalia in October 1982, according to her congressional biography. She claimed in a 2018 interview that she became a naturalized U.S. citizen before she turned 18.
Rumors have swirled for nearly a decade that Ahmed Nur Said Elmi is Omar's biological brother and that she married him to help him remain in the U.S.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin even seemed to confirm those rumors during the Republican midterm convention last month.
"We know that she married her brother to try to bring him to the United States," Mullin told podcaster Benny Johnson September 10. "We know he lives now in London."
Mullin confirmed an "investigation" into Omar and that "something's gonna happen."
RELATED: DHS secretary: Ilhan Omar married her brother, and consequences are coming
A few days after Mullin's comments to Johnson, border czar Tom Homan confirmed the "ongoing criminal investigation" into Omar.
"If someone committed immigration violation, if someone committed marriage fraud or anything like that, regardless if they're a congressman or not, no one's above the law," Homan said September 13.
According to Fox News, multiple people wearing HSI jackets were seen outside Omar's D.C. residence Monday morning at around 6 a.m. The DHS and the DOJ are both involved in the investigation, Fox said.
"Today in the Washington, D.C., area, Homeland Security Investigations executed a judicially authorized search warrant secured by the Department of Justice. This enforcement action is part of an ongoing federal investigation," a DOJ spokesperson told the outlet in a statement.
A TV broadcast of the report had a slightly different statement: "This enforcement action is part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation."
Fox could not confirm whether Omar was at the residence at the time of the raid.
Multiple attempts to reach Omar's office were unsuccessful. Omar's campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
This is a breaking story.
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