Contributing Writers

The White House has a new curator and Donna Hayashi Smith is the first Asian American to hold the post.The White House announced her appointment Wednesday, the start of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.WHITE HOUSE DENIES SECRET PLOT TO OUST KARINE JEAN-PIERRE AS BIDEN FACES MORE BAD NEWSOriginally from Wahiawa, Hawaii, Hayashi Smith joined the White House curator’s office in 1995 and has now served under five presidents.

Georgia’s governor gave the final approval on Wednesday for a bill requiring jailers across the state to check the immigration status of inmates and work with federal immigration officials instead of sheltering people who are in the U.S. illegally.Gov. Brian Kemp signed the bill into law at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center in Forsyth, making most of the provisions effective immediately.

A three-judge panel ordered Wednesday that two county commissioners in West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle be removed from office over a month after they were arrested for purposefully jilting their duties by skipping public meetings.Circuit Court Judges Joseph K. Reeder of Putnam County, Jason A.

A Republican who spent years as one of Ohio’s highest profile politicians has been threatened with jail time for violating the terms of his 2020 divorce agreement.Josh Mandel, a former two-term state treasurer who ran three times for U.S. Senate, was sentenced to seven days behind bars, as was his ex-wife, Ilana Mandel, after an Ashland County court magistrate found them in contempt of court for violating elements of the deal.

Missouri voters on Wednesday got a step closer to getting to decide whether to raise the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour, after a group behind the effort said it turned in nearly double the required number of signatures.The ballot measure backed by Missouri Jobs with Justice would raise the minimum wage from its current $12.30 an hour to $13.75 an hour next year and then to $15 an hour in 2026.

The Biden administration is considering welcoming certain Palestinians to the U.S. as refugees as they seek to escape war-torn Gaza amid the ongoing war in the Middle East between Israel and Hamas.Senior officials across several federal U.S. agencies have discussed in recent weeks the details of potential options to accept Palestinians from Gaza who have immediate family members who are American citizens or permanent U.S.

Pennsylvania took a step Tuesday toward becoming the latest state to punish someone for using a Bluetooth-connected device to track someone without their permission.The state House of Representatives voted 199-1 to approve legislation that would make using a tracking device to secretly track another person part of Pennsylvania’s laws against stalking. The crime would be punishable as a third-degree misdemeanor, or up to 90 days in jail.

Alabama lawmakers on Tuesday proposed a compromise on gambling legislation that would authorize a state lottery and multiple sites with electronic gambling machines. But the measure faces an uncertain outlook in the closing days of the legislative session.A conference committee approved the two-bill proposal as lawmakers aim to put the issue to a statewide vote this August.

House conservatives are warily watching their Democratic counterparts after House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., led a statement promising to protect Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., from a GOP-led ouster threat.”Some people are wondering if this isn’t like a psy-op, where the Dems are saying we’re going to publicly support you because they want, at the end of the day, for him to be vacated?” Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., told Fox News Digital on Tuesday.

EXCLUSIVE: House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., is calling for the removal of Columbia University President Dr. Nemat “Minouche” Shafik, after a mob of anti-Israel agitators took over an academic building early Tuesday morning.

The amount of state funding headed to Kentucky’s largest city to support downtown renewal, education, health care and other priorities shows that the days of talking about an urban-rural divide in the Bluegrass State are “now behind us,” Louisville’s mayor said Monday.

New Mexico has reached a record settlement with a Texas-based company over air pollution violations at natural gas gathering sites in the Permian Basin.The $24.5 million agreement with Ameredev announced Monday is the largest settlement the state Environment Department has ever reached for a civil oil and gas violation.

Disgraced former Rep. George Santos announced his latest money grab on Monday by offering Cameo videos with his alleged drag queen alter ego “Kitara.” “Y’all weren’t ready for this drop? I’ve decided to bring Kitara out of the closet after 18 years!” Santos, a Republican, posted on X, formerly Twitter.For $350, Santos is offering videos featuring his drag alter ego Kitara Ravache.

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has revealed what he says is his path to the White House as he faces increased pressure from the Biden and Trump campaigns targeting what some have described as his “spoiler” candidacy.”All we need to do is get to 33% to win the election,” Kennedy told Fox News contributor Raymond Arroyo last week on his show “World Over,” which appears on EWTN Global Catholic Network.”You don’t need 50%.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre dodged several questions during a press briefing on Monday, regarding the responses of many universities in the U.S. as anti-Israel protests, which sometimes turn violent, continue to flare up.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday asked for the public’s help in designing a new $1 coin to honor the state’s innovations, but many of the responses pointed to anything but positive accomplishments for which the state was once proudly known.When people outside California think of innovation, they think of things like Silicon Valley and the tech boom as well as leading the way in wildlife conservation.

Former President Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis met privately in Miami on Sunday, multiple Republicans with knowledge of the meeting confirmed to Fox News.During the several-hour meeting, DeSantis agreed to help Trump as the GOP’s presumptive presidential nominee tries to close his fundraising gap with President Biden in their 2024 election rematch, the sources confirmed.

A defiant South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem hit back at critics following outrage over her upcoming memoir that reveals she once killed a dog.”I can understand why some people are upset about a 20 year old (sic) story of Cricket, one of the working dogs at our ranch, in my upcoming book — No Going Back.

White House national security communications adviser John Kirby said Sunday that the United States remains hopeful for “six weeks of peace” with a hostage deal that “Hamas has not fully rejected.

The Biden administration is denying that there was a secret internal plot to get rid of White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, a scheme first reported Thursday by the New York Post.