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“Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” – Winston ChurchillIt’s not an agreement. Just a plan.But the political ice which has frozen lawmakers and closed the government for 37 days is softening.Just barely.THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO WHERE WE STAND WITH A POTENTIAL BREAK IN THE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN”There seems to be some indication of a thaw,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.

Rep. Elise Stefanik will officially launch her long-anticipated campaign for New York governor on Friday, entering the 2026 race as a Republican challenger to Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, multiple sources confirmed to Fox News on Thursday.Stefanik, a top House Republican and one of former President Donald Trump’s closest allies, represents a conservative-leaning district in upstate New York and has been weighing a gubernatorial run for months.

The Helena, Montana city commissioner candidate who made headlines for lobbing threats and wishing a painful cancer death on Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., in an expletive-filled voicemail, failed to crack the threshold of the top 2 candidates.Haley McKnight made national headlines earlier this week after audio of her voicemail she left for the senator in July came to light.

The Trump administration said it has rescinded tens of thousands of nonimmigrant visas since January, pointing to criminal activity as the primary reason.The State Department announced Thursday that 80,000 visas have been revoked this year, noting this is more than twice the number revoked last year.More than 8,000 student visas were among those affected.

President Donald Trump said more countries are lining up to join the Abraham Accords in an effort to normalize relations with Israel. Kazakhstan is expected to join the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco, which had formalized relations with the Jewish state. On Thursday, Trump said he spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan.

Kansas leaders brought criminal charges Wednesday against Joe Ceballos, the mayor of a small city in rural Kansas, alleging he voted in several elections but is not a U.S. citizen.Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab and Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, both elected Republicans, announced they filed six charges in Comanche County against Ceballos, a lawful permanent resident from Mexico, for voting in elections in 2022, 2023 and 2024.

Following Zohran Mamdani’s decisive mayoral victory in New York City Tuesday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., dodged a question on whether the self-proclaimed democratic socialist is the future of the Democratic Party.”You had record turnout in New York City for this election. Would you say that Mamdani is the future of the Democratic Party?” a reporter asked Jeffries during Wednesday’s press conference on Capitol Hill.

Zohran Mamdani vowed Tuesday night during his victory address to “turn the page” on old-guard New York City Democrats. But within less than 24 hours, the mayor-elect of New York City announced a transition team comprised of folks with ties to the administrations of Bill de Blasio, Eric Adams, Michael Bloomberg and Joe Biden.

Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content.

EXCLUSIVE: Ultimate Fighting Championship pioneer and legend Royce Gracie has endorsed a pro-law enforcement candidate who is running for governor in California.One of the biggest names in mixed martial arts and the first UFC champion, Gracie made a name for himself by taking down much larger opponents through precision and skill.Now he is weighing into the political sphere in the race to replace Democratic Gov.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., claimed Monday that President Donald Trump blocked Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., from running for Georgia’s Senate seat next year — a move she says prompted Greene’s ongoing “revenge tour” against the GOP.Ocasio-Cortez made the comments during an Instagram livestream, telling her followers, “Here’s some tea for you.

The race to replace the late Democratic Rep. Sylvester Turner in Texas’ 18th Congressional District advanced to a runoff election between Democrats Christian Menefee and Amanda Edwards.The congressional seat, which covers some of the most densely populated portions of Houston, has been empty since Turner’s sudden death on March 5.A Democratic stronghold, there were 16 candidates in the race, seven Democrats, five Republicans, three independents and one Green Party candidate.

Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears told the crowd at her election watch party in Loudoun County that she is “not going anywhere” after a defeat to Abigail Spanberger, and adding that she hopes the governor-elect governs as the moderate she repeatedly pledged to be on the campaign trail.”I think I learn more in a loss than I ever do in a victory,” Earle-Sears said.

Democrats claimed victory in a trio of high-stakes elections that largely focused on economic anxiety and affordability issues. New Jersey Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill defeated Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli in the New Jersey governor’s race, while former Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger defeated Republican challenger Winsome Earle-Sears in the Virginia gubernatorial race.

The Minneapolis mayor’s race will advance to ranked choice voting after none of the candidates received at least 50% of the vote in Tuesday’s election, The Associated Press has reported.Minneapolis allows voters to rank up to three candidates in its municipal races. The field for mayor included more than a dozen candidates. As of 10:41 p.m. EST Tuesday, Jacob Frey and Omar Fateh had received the most first-choice results.

It is said that everyone’s a critic.But when it comes to the government shutdown, everyone’s an oracle.Especially when trying to determine when it might end.”[Democrats] are waiting to elect [Zohran] Mamdani, the communist, soon-to-be mayor of New York. And then I believe things will go back into business as normal,” said Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., on FOX Business.

Freshman Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., was targeted with death threats and other extreme insults by a left-wing city commissioner candidate from Montana’s capital city of Helena, who called his office several weeks ago to leave her thoughts about the Republican senator over a voicemail.

FIRST ON FOX: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) continued its crackdown on the “worst of the worst” dangerous illegal immigrants over Halloween weekend, arresting criminals convicted of intercourse with minor, sexual abuse, kidnapping, homicide and other serious crimes.The Department of Homeland Security highlighted that 70 percent of ICE arrests are of criminal illegal aliens charged or convicted of a crime in the U.S., according to a statement to Fox News Digital.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) said Monday that it has canceled this year’s National Veterans Small Business Week (NVSBW) because of the ongoing federal government shutdown.The 12th annual NVSBW was scheduled to run from Monday through Friday and would have honored America’s 1.6 million veteran-owned small businesses.

President Barack Obama’s campaign efforts in New Jersey to support Rep. Mikie Sherrill’s race to serve as the Garden State’s governor was a “Hail Mary” pass from Democrats that generated “fake excitement,” conservative voters told Fox News Digital during a Turning Point Action rally in South Jersey Monday afternoon.

U.S. District Court Judge Karin Immergut on Sunday temporarily extended an order blocking the Trump administration from deploying National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon, saying the government failed to justify the move.In an order issued Sunday evening, Immergut “preliminarily enjoins Defendant Secretary of Defense Hegseth from implementing” memorandums that authorized the federalization and deployment of National Guard members from Oregon, Texas and California into Portland.

California voters are in the final days of a special election that could help determine control of the U.S. House of Representatives in 2026. The ballot measure, known as Proposition 50, would allow state lawmakers to temporarily redraw California’s congressional map — a move Democrats say could help them pick up additional seats in Congress.

President Donald Trump defended his use of tariffs as critical to national security ahead of a landmark Supreme Court case, while warning the U.S. will not tolerate the mass killing of Christians in Nigeria and refusing to rule out potential military action in Venezuela.Trump spoke with reporters on Air Force One as he flew from West Palm Beach, Florida, to Washington, D.C.

Palestinian-American activist Linda Sarsour issued a thinly veiled warning Saturday night to New York City mayoral front-runner Zohran Mamdani, saying she will “hold Zohran accountable” to fulfill campaign promises, including dismantling an NYPD unit that polices terrorism threats, protests and riots.

Curtis Sliwa says he’s charging into the final stretch of New York City’s mayoral race like “Braveheart” — confident, defiant and ready to die on his sword for the city he loves.In an interview with Fox News Digital, Sliwa, known for his tough-on-crime positions and plainspoken rhetoric, compared himself to the legendary freedom fighter, saying he’ll keep battling Democrat nominee Zohran Mamdani and his socialist allies regardless of who wins on Tuesday.

Three days ahead of the New York City mayoral election, former President Barack Obama called frontrunner Zohran Mamdani to offer his support.The 64-year-old Democrat offered to be a “sounding board” to Mamdani, a Democratic socialist who continues to lead the race in polling.