Contributing Writers

FIRST ON FOX: The Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) threw down the gauntlet on critical race theory in public schools, demanding superintendents turn over materials for the recently pulled, controversial Advanced Placement African American Studies pilot program. This month, Arkansas became the latest state to pull the controversial College Board AP African American Studies pilot program from its schools.

James Buckley, a former U.S. senator from New York and judge on the U.S. Appeals Court for the District of Columbia Circuit, died Friday at 100 years old. Buckley, the older brother of National Review founder William F. Buckley Jr., is one of the few people to have served in the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the Federal government. The former judge died at a hospital in Washington, D.C., according to his son, David Buckley, of Arlington, Virginia.

A Hawaiian company says that its efforts to divert water to fight a devastating wildfire last week were delayed for hours while a government agency, led by a man who has pushed for “water equity,” consulted with local farmers.

A Biden administration crackdown has reportedly resulted in hundreds of gun dealers losing their licenses which has sparked anger and the belief by the dealers that they are being targeted. During the last fiscal year that started in October, 122 gun dealers had their licenses revoked by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives which is up from 90 the year before and 27 in 2021, Wall Street Journal reported.

Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, unloaded on “radical left elitists” as he defended his vote against President Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan.  Golden’s leadership as co-chair of the moderate House Democratic Blue Dog Coalition was spotlighted by the Maine Beacon Friday after financial disclosures showed the group got a donation from student loan servicing giant Sallie Mae about two weeks after he voted against Biden’s plan.

President Biden has taken fire this week for reportedly using aliases and “secret” email addresses as vice president in messages to his son Hunter Biden, who had business in Ukraine at the time. Under former President Barack Obama’s administration, White House officials defended the use of alternate email addresses.

Robert F. Kennedy, who spent the weekend campaigning in Iowa, said in an interview he would support a ban on abortions on pregnancies three months or later if elected, according to reports, though his team later clarified the candidate’s statement. NBC reported that Kennedy made the statement during an interview at the Iowa State Fair on Sunday.

A member of the White House press corps has filed a lawsuit against White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and the Secret Service, alleging they wrongfully revoked his press badge. In his suit filed Thursday, African journalist Simon Ateba argues that the White House policy for revoking press access violates the First and Fifth Amendments of the Constitution.

Rep. Mike McCaul, R-Texas, ridiculed the agreement orchestrated by the Biden administration for Iran to release five Americans in exchange for $6 billion in assets and jailed Iranians.  “Reagan said trust but verify. I have to use the word naïveté,” McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said during an appearance on “Fox News Sunday.” “Look I want to get these Americans home more than anybody.

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said Sunday that global warming played a major role in the Maui wildfire that destroyed a historic town and has so far killed at least 93 people. Green spoke about the devastation in the centuries-old town of Lahaina during an appearance on MSNBC’s “The Sunday Show with Jonathan Capehart,” describing the wildfire as a “fire hurricane” with gusting 80 mph winds and “1,000-degree heat creating fire cyclones going through buildings.

Former Vice President Mike Pence vowed Sunday to “clean house on the whole top floor” of the Department of Justice if he is elected president in 2024. Pence, who is seeking the Republican Party’s nomination for president, said he knows firsthand what it’s like to be treated unfairly by the DOJ due to what conservatives believe is political bias.

Utah resident Craig Robertson was killed Wednesday while FBI agents attempted to execute a search and arrest warrant, and officials say the man had made numerous online threats against President Biden and other politicians. Federal law enforcement sources told Fox News that Craig Robertson was killed around 6:15 a.m. Wednesday by FBI agents who were attempting to serve an arrest and search warrant at a Provo, Utah residence.

Massachusetts Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll asked state residents Wednesday to open their doors and assist housing migrants after the Democratic governor, Maura Healey, declared a state of emergency Tuesday as the state is faced with a vast shortage of shelters. “Most importantly, if you have an extra room or suite in your home, please consider hosting a family. Housing and shelter is our most pressing need and become a sponsor family,” Driscoll said.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s office and the Border Patrol Union on Wednesday pushed back against criticism of the administration’s use of marine barriers after they were tied to the death of a migrant.  Abbott Press Secretary Andrew Mahaleris accused Mexican President Lobez Obrador and Democrats of “spreading false information” that Texas’ marine barriers caused any death.

The mayor of Surfside, Florida, apologized during a commission meeting Tuesday, nearly a week after making controversial comments toward one of the commissioners. Mayor Shlomo Danzinger opened Tuesday’s meeting with remarks about last week’s special commission, saying he found himself grappling with a challenging situation involving one of the commissioners, who was not following the established rules and directions.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Wednesday admitted during a press conference that the city’s accommodation of migrants “is just not sustainable.”  The Democratic mayor noted that, under New York City’s current mandate, anyone can arrive “from anywhere on the globe” and “we are supposed to feed, cloth [and] house you as long as you want.”  “That is just not sustainable. It’s not realistic.

A federal judge in Colorado on Monday temporarily blocked a state law that raised the legal age requirement for purchasing a firearm to 21. Chief U.S. District Judge Phillip A. Brimmer ruled in favor of the gun rights group, Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, who had filed a lawsuit against Gov. Jared Polis.  The state law, SB23-169, was one of several sweeping gun reform measures approved by the state legislature and signed by Gov. Polis in the spring.

FIRST ON FOX: Former Vice President Mike Pence has met the requirements to qualify for the first Republican presidential nomination debate, his campaign tells Fox News. Pence’s 2024 presidential campaign said on Monday that earlier in the day they crossed the 40,000-donor threshold – one of two criteria set by the Republican National Committee for GOP White House hopefuls to reach the debate stage. Pence had already passed the polling threshold mandated by the RNC.

Former President Donald Trump’s attorneys filed court documents on Monday arguing for less restrictions over evidence in the 2020 election case, saying this was a trial about First Amendment rights. In the court filing, Trump’s legal team said the government requested the Court restrict all documents produced by the government, regardless of sensitivity. Doing so, the team argued, goes against established law and the former president’s First Amendment rights.

A letter from then-Vice President Joe Biden to Hunter Biden’s former friend and business partner, Devon Archer, underscores his closeness to his son’s business activities.  In a widely discussed 2011 letter, which Fox News Digital has also obtained, Biden thanked Archer for attending an event where he hosted then-Chinese President Hu Jintao. “I apologize for not getting a chance to talk to you at the luncheon yesterday,” Biden wrote to Archer.