Texas lawmakers are charging ahead with what they call the nation’s strongest legislative effort yet to block hostile foreign powers from purchasing land in the Lone Star State. Championed by Republican state Rep. Cole Hefner and state Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, Senate Bill 17 (SB17) is designed to stop governments and entities tied to countries like China, Iran, North Korea and Russia from gaining a foothold on Texas soil.

A Massachusetts suspect was charged this week with attempting to assassinate a cabinet nominee, the U.S. Department of Justice said. Ryan Michael English, 24, was arrested in January after allegedly attempting to bring a knife and two improvised Molotov cocktails into the U.S. Capitol to assassinate then-Treasury Secretary nominee Scott Bessent during his nomination.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday sent a memo to West Point, the U.S. Naval Academy and the U.S. Air Force Academy, saying that all future admissions will be based solely on merit. “The Department owes it to our nation, our Service Members, and our young Americans applying to the MSAs to ensure admissions to these prestigious institutions are based exclusively on merit,” Hegseth wrote in a memo to the academies.

American author, speaker and theologian Bishop Robert Barron was at the Vatican this week to witness the election of a new pope, and he shared his thoughts with Fox News Digital about Cardinal Robert Prevost’s “intriguing” new papal name.Papal names are often very symbolic with regard to how a Pope will serve as the leader of the Catholic Church. Typically, Pope’s select the names of predecessors they admire or want to emulate.

A town hall being held by New York Attorney General Letitia James on Thursday night was briefly disrupted when an apparent supporter of President Donald Trump stood up to challenge her to apologize to the president.Though panelists mainly voiced leftist talking points throughout the night and the room primarily consisted of anti-Trump individuals, one apparent supporter of Trump stood up to ask James a question.”My question is for Tish James.

The Department of Justice has opened a criminal investigation into New York Attorney General Letitia James, Fox News has learned.A source familiar with the matter confirmed that a grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia sent out subpoenas related to accusations that James misrepresented a single-family home in Virginia as her primary residence to obtain more favorable loan terms.

Fox News caught up with several senators on Capitol Hill Thursday for their thoughts on the election of Pope Leo XIV, the first American-born pontiff, and many voiced excitement about the historic first.Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., called the news “unbelievable.””If you told me ahead of time, I said, ‘No way. Never happen.’ This is phenomenal,” said Hoeven. “I’ve been telling folks they’ll never pick an American cardinal to be the pope.

Former Vice President Mike Pence has a message for his old boss.Pence is urging President Donald Trump, under whom he served as vice president in Trump’s first administration, not to raise the tax rate on wealthy Americans.Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the signature domestic achievement of his first White House term, is scheduled to expire this year if it’s not extended by Congress.

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