INTERNACIONAL
Michigan governor hopeful pressed on past SPLC work after DOJ indictment: ‘What did Jocelyn know?’
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s campaign hit back at Republican attacks Friday after the state GOP demanded answers from the Democratic gubernatorial front-runner on her past work with the federally-indicted Southern Poverty Law Center.
Benson is a former volunteer and later board member of the SPLC, which was indicted Tuesday on 11 counts over accusations it fraudulently paid members of extremist groups like the KKK and those tied to the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the SPLC paid members of these extremist groups so it could create a «work product that reported on these activities.»
«Jocelyn Benson regularly touted her experience as a leader of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a group that the Department of Justice says secretly funneled money to the KKK and other hate groups they were purportedly tracking,» the Michigan Republican Party posted on its official X account on Friday.
«What did Jocelyn know, and when did she know it?»
JAY JONES TARGETED AS AGS URGE NATIONAL GROUPS TO DENY MEMBERSHIP OVER SCANDALS: ‘STAIN ON OUR INSTITUTION’
Michigan Attorney General Jocelyn Benson is seen at an event. (Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)
After her 2004 graduation from college in Massachusetts, Benson moved to Alabama to work for the SPLC, where she aided investigations of hate groups and hate crimes, according to the Harvard Law Review.
She also visited the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma where civil rights figures like the late Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., marched and were badly beaten by law enforcement.
An official with the Benson campaign confirmed she served as a volunteer researcher for the SPLC after college and later served on the Montgomery-based group’s board from 2014–2018.
But when pressed on what Benson knew about the allegations in the DOJ’s indictment, her campaign pushed back on the Republican Party’s attacks.
«Jocelyn Benson has spent her career advancing the unfinished work of the civil rights movement and expanding economic opportunity, including helping dismantle white supremacist and neo-Nazi extremist networks responsible for hate crimes across the country,» the campaign told Fox News Digital on Friday.
«And while Donald Trump is trying to use his Justice Department to distract from his reckless economic policies that are driving up costs for Michiganders, Jocelyn remains focused on lower costs, raising wages, and protecting the rights and freedoms of the people in this state.»
Republicans continued to press Benson for answers.
MIGOP Chairman Jim Runestad told Fox News Digital that Benson’s tenure on the SPLC board coincided with the timeframe in which the DOJ alleged the group began «paying the KKK and other extremist groups.»
DEM GOV’S NEW CAMPAIGN MESSAGE MAN ONCE SAID ‘RELIGIOUS RIGHT’ UNITED BY ‘WHITE SUPREMACY’
«Benson owes an explanation to the public in what she knows about the SPLC’s alleged criminal behavior, considering the criminal activity started around the same time Benson was named to the Board,» Runestad said.
Benson has previously described her early work at the SPLC as focused on investigating extremist groups.
In a 2025 interview with «Keen on America,» Benson recounted researching groups «claiming to be the reincarnation of [Adolf] Hitler,» saying she once sat alone in a hotel room in Spartanburg and feared those people «were going to find out who I was and come and kill me and no one would ever know about it and all the rest.»
«And that was an act of courage, small and no one saw it, but it helped me build a bravery muscle that and several other points throughout my life so that 20 years later, 25 years later, when I’m standing up to the president of the United States, it wasn’t the first time I’ve had to take on those harrowing fights,» Benson went on in the interview.
In prior comments, an SPLC official named Penny Weaver described Benson as coming to Montgomery «straight out of college as an unpaid intern, then worked for us.»
«Benson worked as a waitress to support herself so she could continue to volunteer at the center,» Weaver said, adding that Benson begged to be able to volunteer for the SPLC.
BLACK LIVES MATTER OKC LEADER CHARGED WITH WIRE FRAUD, MONEY LAUNDERING IN ALLEGED $3.15M EMBEZZLEMENT SCHEME
The SPLC is a longstanding left-wing nonprofit that claims to fight White supremacy and racial hatred by reporting on extremist groups and conducting research to inform law enforcement about them with the goal of dismantling the groups. SPLC’s CEO, Bryan Fair, addressed the probe in a video message posted online, arguing the Trump administration has «made no secret who they want to protect and who they want to destroy.»
«We are reviewing the charges,» a subsequent statement from Fair sent to Fox News Digital added. «However, after today’s Department of Justice press conference, we are outraged by the false allegations levied against SPLC – an organization that for 55 years has stood as a beacon of hope fighting white supremacy and various forms of injustice to create a multi-racial democracy where we can all live and thrive. Taking on violent hate and extremist groups is among the most dangerous work there is, and we believe it is also among the most important work we do. To be clear, this program saved lives.»
The complete list of these groups, according to a Justice Department press release, includes the Ku Klux Klan, United Klans of America, Unite the Right, National Alliance, the National Socialist Movement, Aryan Nations affiliated Sadistic Souls Motorcycle Club, National Socialist Party of America (American Nazi Party), and the American Front.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Blanche and FBI Director Patel also argued Tuesday that the SPLC tried to hide its payments to groups the SPLC told its donors it was trying to combat, leading to several of the charges in the indictment.
Fox News Digital’s Alexandra Koch and Alec Schemmel and Fox News’ Jake Gibson and David Spunt contributed to this report.
democrats elections, michigan, hate crime, republicans, politics, justice department
INTERNACIONAL
DOJ warns former red state is becoming the next California as governor embraces ICE limits
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
The Department of Justice (DOJ) is warning that Virginia risks becoming «the next California» in the Trump administration’s fight against resistance to federal immigration enforcement after filing a new lawsuit last week.
«We are suing Virginia to prevent Virginia from becoming the next sanctuary jurisdiction, just like California,» DOJ Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division Brett Shumate told Fox News Digital in a Zoom interview.
The lawsuit, first shared with Fox News Digital earlier in June, argues Virginia is violating the Constitution by trying to regulate federal law enforcement operations, including restrictions on agents’ masks, identification requirements and conditions on local cooperation with ICE.
«Under our Constitution, the states do not get to regulate or dictate how the federal government performs its duties, and that is especially the case when it comes to law enforcement. Virginia passed two bills in this newest session, one that restricts the ability of law enforcement officers to wear facial coverings and requires officers, federal agents, to wear identification badges,» said Shumate.
FIRST ON FOX: DOJ SUES SPANBERGER’S VIRGINIA OVER LAWS KNEECAPPING FEDERAL AGENTS AS MASK WAR ESCALATES
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche testified during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies hearing at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on May 19, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
He said the other bill «restricts cooperation agreements between local law enforcement agencies, like sheriffs, and ICE to voluntarily cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.»
The lawsuit names Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones and left-wing Fairfax County Commonwealth Attorney Steve Descano — who was previously backed by groups connected to George Soros.
While DOJ has not heard back from state officials, Shumate shared that the department feels confident about the previous case due to precedent.
FEDERAL COURT BLOCKS NEWSOM’S BID TO SHACKLE ICE IN TRUMP IMMIGRATION WIN
A redistricting failure is another headache for newly-elected Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
«We brought a nearly identical lawsuit against California earlier this year, and we won that case,» he said.
In April, a federal appeals court handed the Trump administration a legal victory over Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom. The court blocked California from requiring federal immigration agents to display identification during operations.
He says they are asserting the same legal theory in this case.
NEWSOM ON COURTROOM COLLISION COURSE WITH TRUMP OVER ICE MASK BAN
Anti-ICE agitators attempted to block vehicles from leaving the Delaney Hall detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, on Friday night. (FreedomNewsTV)
«Under the Constitution, the Supremacy Clause in particular, the states do not get to regulate or discriminate against the federal government,» said Shumate. «That’s exactly what Virginia has done. They have attempted to regulate how the federal goes about its business. They do not have the authority to do that under the constitution.»
The two Virginia laws are set to take effect July 1 and Shumate shared the DOJ plans to move quickly to a district court judge to enjoin these laws from taking effect. Virginia was previously a solidly red state, voting for Republicans in nearly every presidential election for decades before shifting to the left in the last roughly 20 years.
«We will be filing very quickly in the district Court in Virginia to seek an injunction to stop these laws from taking effect, which these laws have criminal penalties that put federal agents at risk, not only of criminal prosecution, but also at risk of doxing and harassment,» he added.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
ICE has defended the practice of agents concealing their identities during operations, saying last summer as Trump’s intensifying immigration crackdown prompted anti-ICE protests and riots that rhetoric on the left had caused a spike in «threats and assaults against [agents’] families.»
Shumate shared the department is looking at several bills in other states that are considering mask restrictions.
«Any state that’s considering passing this type of bill is on notice that we will file a lawsuit and we will ask for an injunction to block those laws from taking effect,» said Shumate.
virginia, justice department, immigration, california, sanctuary cities
INTERNACIONAL
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces potential leadership challenge from newly-elected Andy Burnham
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Andy Burnham has officially won his special election and regained a seat in Parliament, setting him up to challenge the deeply unpopular Keir Starmer as the leader of the Labour party and as prime minister.
Burnham, currently the mayor of Greater Manchester in northwest England, won a seat in Makerfield and came away with 55% of the vote in a field of more than a dozen candidates, according to The Associated Press. The runner-up was Rob Kenyon of Reform UK, a right-wing populist party, who received more than 9,000 fewer votes than Burnham.
Burnham last served as a member of Parliament in 2017 but strongly implied in his victory speech that he is returning with the intention to lead the United Kingdom.
«Everyone knows that politics isn’t working. Everyone can feel that the country isn’t where it should be. Tonight could, just could, be the turning point,» he said, according to the AP. «This result will bring about a country that works fairly for everywhere and for everybody.»
TRUMP ALLY NIGEL FARAGE DEALS MAJOR BLOW TO STARMER IN LOCAL UK ELECTIONS AS RESIGNATION CALLS MOUNT
Britain’s Labour party candidate Andy Burnham speaks to supporters after the Makerfield by-election in Ashton in Makerfield, England, on Friday, June 19, 2026. (Jon Super/AP)
This special election, called by-elections in Britain, was unusually significant because the area’s Labour MP, Josh Simons, intentionally resigned to allow Burnham to win the seat and pursue leadership.
The potentially outsized impact of this election was juxtaposed with the strange scene that unfolded when all the candidates gathered on Friday morning to hear the results. Burnham stood in between an independent candidate dressed in a fox costume and another candidate known as «Count Binface».
As his name suggests, «Count Binface,» whose real name is Jonathan David Harvey, was wearing a trash can on his head and regularly runs in U.K. elections to advocate for increased voter turnout.
Starmer congratulated Burnham in a social media post on X, saying voters «chose Labour’s campaign of hope and optimism over division and hate.»
When asked about Burnham’s intentions to oust him as leader, Starmer said he will fight to remain prime minister, a position he has held for nearly two years.
«I’ve said repeatedly I’m not going to walk away from that,» Starmer told reporters.
Labour party candidate Andy Burnham, center, stands with other candidates on the podium at the Edge Wigan, awaiting the Makerfield by-election result announcement in Wigan, England, on Friday, June 19, 2026. (Jon Super/AP)
AS EPSTEIN-LINKED APPOINTMENT SPARKS BACKLASH, UK PM STARMER FACES PARTY REVOLT AMID RESIGNATION CALLS
Starmer led the Labour party to a landslide victory in July 2024 and ever since, his popularity has been eroding thanks to a persistently high cost of living, an anemic economy and a scandal over his willingness to accept gifts from wealthy donors.
Last September, Starmer was slammed for appointing Peter Mandelson as the British ambassador to the United States, when it was known as early as 2019 that Mandelson had a friendship with convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Following an enormous public backlash, Mandelson was quickly dismissed from his post.
With Starmer as leader, Labour is increasingly losing liberal-minded voters to the Green Party, while also facing stronger challenges by Reform UK, a Nigel Farage-led party that advocates against mass migration and in favor of tighter border controls. Farage, an ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, said he was disappointed by Burnham’s victory.
Burnham is expected to head to London to be sworn in as soon as Monday. Under the British parliamentary system, the governing party can hold leadership elections in the middle of the term. The winner of such a contest can become prime minister without there having to be a national election.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer awaits Switzerland’s Federal President Guy Parmelin on the sidelines of the G7 summit, in Evian-les-Bains, France, on Tuesday, June 16, 2026 (Isabel Infantes/Pool Reuters via AP)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Under Labour rules, a lawmaker can challenge the leader if they win the backing of a fifth of their party’s members in the House of Commons. Burnham has enough lawmakers on board to trigger a leadership contest, according to a report from The New Statesman.
According to the AP, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said Burnham and Starmer will «have a conversation about what comes next» in the next few days.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
united kingdom, elections, politics
INTERNACIONAL
Tragedia en Central Park: un turista de 18 años murió al caer de un carruaje luego de que un caballo saliera desbocado
Un adolescente que viajaba como turista murió el miércoles por la tarde cuando el caballo que tiraba del carruaje en el que viajaba se asustó y salió al galope por Central Park.
Todo comenzó cerca de la fuente de Cherry Hill, en el parque, el cochero se detuvo para tomar una foto familiar a Romanch Mahajan, de 18 años, a sus padres y a su hermano pequeño. El conductor se alejó del carruaje rojo y blanco para encuadrar la foto, dijo Deepak Mahajan, el padre de Romanch.
En un instante, el caballo se desbocó. Se subió a la vereda y se metió en el césped, acelerando sin control, con el conductor corriendo detrás.
“Gritábamos: ‘¡Ayuda, ayuda!’”, dijo Mahajan. La familia se aferró desesperadamente unos a otros, pero cuando la mujer de Mahajan, Priya, se cayó del carruaje, Romanch saltó para intentar ayudarla, contó él.
“Mi hijo, solo para salvar a su madre, se cayó”, dijo Mahajan, de 44 años. “Gritaba: ‘¡Mamá!’”.
Romanch se golpeó la cabeza contra el suelo y se quedó inmóvil. Romanch Mahajan junto a su familia. (Foto: The New York Times).
Murió el miércoles por la noche en el NewYork-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center. El resto de la familia salió ileso, aunque su carruaje chocó contra otro y se volcó, haciéndose añicos.
El accidente, que ocurrió sobre las 14:45, fue el último de una larguísima serie de percances relacionados con los caballos de los carruajes.
El sindicato que representa a los cocheros, los conductores de este tipo de transporte, dijo que esto nunca debería haber pasado.
“Parece que el cochero estaba al menos a un brazo de distancia de su caballo”, dijo Alexander Kemp, vicepresidente del sindicato Transport Workers Union Local 100, en un comunicado. “Esto es inaceptable. Un cochero no debe bajarse del carruaje para hacer fotos, nunca. Apoyamos que se lleve a cabo una investigación exhaustiva”.
Romanch Mahajan murió en el accidente del carruaje. (Foto: gentileza WNYW).
Dijo que el caballo, un ejemplar de 7 años llamado Sampson que parecía no haber sufrido lesiones, llevaba solo seis semanas trabajando en el parque y pidió que se le retirará del servicio. El propietario del carruaje suspendió al cochero de forma indefinida, añadió Kemp. Un agente de las fuerzas del orden, que pidió permanecer en el anonimato para hablar de una investigación en curso, identificó al cochero como Ertan Gokdepe, de Queens.
El accidente provocó de inmediato nuevos llamamientos por parte de defensores de los animales, funcionarios y la asociación Central Park Conservancy -que gestiona el parque- para prohibir los carruajes en el parque. Hay más de 100 caballos de carruaje en Manhattan.
“No podemos permitir que esto se trate como un incidente aislado más”, dijo en un comunicado el concejal Christopher Marte, que presentó un proyecto de ley para prohibir los carruajes a finales del año que viene. “El Ayuntamiento debe actuar con la urgencia que exige esta tragedia”.
La presidenta del Ayuntamiento, Julie Menin, anunció el miércoles por la noche que el Ayuntamiento debatirá el proyecto de ley de Marte el mes que viene.
La asociación de conservación del parque dijo que se habían producido ocho “incidentes relacionados con caballos” en el parque o en sus alrededores desde mayo de 2025, incluido uno el mes pasado en el que un caballo chocó contra otro carruaje y provocó que este volcara, y otro en enero en el que un caballo se adentró en el carril contrario y chocó contra varios coches. La semana pasada, un caballo de carruaje llamado Deniz murió tras comer tejo japonés, una planta tóxica para los caballos, en el parque.
Tanto la asociación como NYCLASS, que lleva años luchando para acabar con el uso comercial de caballos de carruaje, dijeron que esta muerte era la primera en un accidente de carruaje tirado por caballos de la que tenían constancia.
“La semana pasada estábamos en las escaleras del Ayuntamiento diciendo que alguien iba a morir”, dijo Edita Birnkrant, directora ejecutiva de NYCLASS. “Ahora ha pasado”.
NYCLASS pidió al alcalde Zohran Mamdani, quien apoya la retirada de los caballos de los carruajes del parque, que emita una orden ejecutiva para prohibirlos de inmediato.
Mamdani calificó la muerte de “incidente horrible” en un comunicado el miércoles por la noche. “Estoy deseando trabajar con el Ayuntamiento, los sindicatos, los cocheros, los defensores del bienestar animal y los líderes de la comunidad para lograr una transición justa que proteja a los trabajadores y, al mismo tiempo, acabe de una vez por todas con los carruajes tirados por caballos en Central Park”, dijo el alcalde.
La asociación de conservación del parque, que durante mucho tiempo evitó posicionarse sobre los caballos de carruaje pero que el año pasado empezó a pedir su prohibición, dijo que estaba consternada al enterarse de la muerte de Mahajan.
“Un joven vino a disfrutar de nuestro parque y perdió la vida”, dijo la asociación en un comunicado. “Ese no es un costo aceptable para una industria anticuada que opera en medio de uno de los espacios públicos más concurridos de Estados Unidos”.
Los videos publicados en X muestran cómo el carruaje toma una curva a toda velocidad y, segundos después, choca contra otro carruaje y vuelca.
A primera hora de la tarde del miércoles, el carruaje seguía volcado en West Drive, con las ruedas delanteras arrancadas de la carrocería.
Mahajan dijo que la familia había reservado un viaje especial para celebrar la graduación de Romanch de la secundaria. El lunes, el día que llegaron a Nueva York, se enteró de que lo habían admitido en la Universidad Manipal de Jaipur, que su padre describió como una de las mejores universidades de India.
“Este incidente hay que tomárselo muy en serio”, dijo Mahajan. “Le arrebató el sueño de mi hijo”.
The New York Times, data-cc, data-cc-nyt
La Justicia citó a declarar a dos funcionarios de ARCA por la investigación del SIRA
Argelia presentó un reclamo a la FIFA por el arbitraje contra Argentina en el Mundial: los detalles
El fiscal Pollicita pidió el expediente del hermano de Manuel Adorni y pone la lupa sobre la herencia familiar
DOJ warns former red state is becoming the next California as governor embraces ICE limits
Floppy Tesouro denunció que fue víctima de una estafa en las redes: “Quiero visibilizarlo para que no pase más”
Quién es y cómo piensa Adrián Ravier, el economista que eligió Milei para ser su nuevo vocero presidencial
Patricia Bullrich: “El Presidente considera que Adorni dio una explicación razonable”
El Gobierno envía señales de que Adorni tiene las horas contadas para evitar que sesione el Senado
La secuencia del golazo de Messi para Argentina ante Argelia en el debut en el Mundial 2026 y los récords que rompió
El Gobierno modificará por decreto el sistema de selección de jueces de la Corte Suprema de Justicia
POLITICA2 días agoPatricia Bullrich: “El Presidente considera que Adorni dio una explicación razonable”
- POLITICA2 días ago
El Gobierno envía señales de que Adorni tiene las horas contadas para evitar que sesione el Senado
- DEPORTE3 días ago
La secuencia del golazo de Messi para Argentina ante Argelia en el debut en el Mundial 2026 y los récords que rompió
