INTERNACIONAL
Dem fundraising giant in the hot seat as GOP lawmakers demand answers over dodged subpoena
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House Republicans are demanding ActBlue, a top Democratic campaign fundraising apparatus, turn over international communications, probing whether the organization knowingly misled lawmakers and dodged subpoenas to hide weaknesses in its screening process to weed out illegal, overseas donations.
House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil, R-Wis., House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., collectively laid out their demands in a letter published on Tuesday.
«For more than a year, the Committees have conducted oversight regarding ActBlue’s ‘fundamentally unserious approach to fraud prevention,’» the letter reads.
«Recent reporting … strongly suggests that ActBlue deliberately obstructed the Committees’ investigation, including through misleading statements and noncompliance with our subpoenas.»
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Rep. Jim Jordan leaves a House Republican Conference meeting at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 10, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc)
The letter is addressed to Regina Wallace-Jones, the CEO and president of ActBlue, and is the most recent entry in investigations that began in 2023 when Republicans originally raised concerns about foreign donations possibly influencing American elections.
It also follows New York Times reporting on a memo from Covington & Burling, a law firm, warning that gaps in its screening armor could present «a substantial risk for ActBlue.»
The memo, on its own, does not implicate wrongdoing or indicate that ActBlue accepted international donations. Even so, the reporting caught the eye of Republicans in Congress.
Steil, Jordan and Comer are collectively asking ActBlue to produce two internal documents to examine the internal understanding ActBlue may have had about its own weaknesses.
The first is a resignation letter from General Counsel Aaron Ting — a document Republicans contend centers on liabilities created by ActBlue’s donation security.
Republicans believe the second, a message from ActBlue’s former legal counsel Zain Ahmad, relates to an ignored whistleblower complaint about those practices.
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House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer (R-KY) speaks to the media on his Committee’s investigation into former President Joe Biden’s cognitive state, in the Rayburn House Office Building on July 24, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Republicans have already requested those documents before, but haven’t received them.
«There is considerable reason to believe that ActBlue may have deliberately withheld this responsive material to impede our investigation,» the letter states.
For its own part, ActBlue has claimed it makes every effort to ensure its fundraising complies with legal requirements.
In ActBlue’s own letter published in Nov. 2023, Wallace-Jones, the CEO, affirmed that the organization maintained the highest standards for scrutiny of its fundraising.
«Our approach is multilayered, with checks and confirmations occurring throughout the donation process to verify donors and donor information,» Wallace-Jones wrote.
«These measures, which include compliance measures, technological tools, and manual reviews, help to ensure the identity of donors, root out potential foreign contributions, and protect donors from financial fraud.»
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Regina Wallace-Jones of Palo Alto soaks up the first evening of the DNC Convention at the United Center in Chicago, IL on Monday, August 19, 2024. (Photo by Yalonda M. James/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
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Republican lawmakers have given ActBlue two weeks to produce the requested documentation, setting a deadline for April 28, 2026.
«Absent these steps, the Committees are prepared to use available mechanisms to enforce our subpoenas,» the letter reads.
republicans, congress, republicans elections, investigations, fund raising
INTERNACIONAL
Mexico vows US will pay after ICE fatally shoots illegal migrant who allegedly attempted to ram agent with car
Mexico questions FBI role in Sinaloa Cartel abduction
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum strongly criticizes the U.S. government for its alleged involvement in the 2024 abduction of former Sinaloa Cartel boss ‘El Mayo’ Zambada. Sheinbaum explicitly states the U.S. lied about its participation, claiming a violation of Mexican sovereignty. This incident raises serious questions about diplomatic relations between the two nations and American intervention in Mexico.
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Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum vowed to pursue «significant legal measures» against the United States after a Mexican national was fatally shot during an ICE operation in Texas.
Mexican officials counted 17 cases of Mexican nationals who have died in U.S. immigration custody, while Sheinbaum focused on Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, an illegal migrant who has lived in the United States for decades.
DHS officials claimed Araujo was the subject of an ICE arrest operation when an agent shot him in self-defense because he allegedly ignored orders and allegedly attempted to ram the agent.
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During Sheinbaum’s daily «Mañanera del Pueblo» press availability in Mexico City, she laid out her planned escalation of objections against U.S. immigration enforcement’s behavior.
«Our goal is to go beyond diplomatic notes and the representations we made to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. We cannot tolerate the mistreatment of our fellow citizens, our brothers and sisters, in the United States. So, we are proposing further measures,» Sheinbaum said in Spanish.
Sheinbaum said the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs will present the measures to Washington, and commented on Araujo’s death.
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Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum, left, listens to President Donald Trump, right. (Mandel Ngan/Getty Images)
«This occurred in the context of detention, even though their only offense was lacking documentation — and this despite having been hired by a U.S. company.»
She said the U.S. has no reason to hold people like Araujo in detention or allegedly «subject [them] to violence.»
«We are therefore preparing, obviously, more significant legal measures.»
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On Thursday, Mexican Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco said he is requesting criminal charges be brought in connection with the 17 Mexican nationals who died in U.S. custody, according to the AP, which reported the requests will be sent to the Justice Department and various state attorneys general.
Multiple reports suggested Sheinbaum’s demands would have no legal effect in U.S. courts.
Mexico City has claimed 14 of the 17 died in custody while three have been killed during active DHS operations, according to the outlet.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Justice Department and DHS for comment. The White House directed Fox News Digital to DHS.
Araujo, 52, was reportedly transporting workers to a jobsite for a homebuilding company in the Magnolia Park section of Houston.
As critics disputed the government’s recounting of events, objections arose over the lack of bodycams on the agents on-scene.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum is seen. (Daniel Cardenas/Getty Images)
A DHS spokesperson defended the agents, telling Fox News they had not been issued body-worn cameras because of the repercussions of the Democrat-backed agency shutdown earlier this year.
«The process of purchasing and issuing body-worn cameras to all of our ICE field offices was interrupted by the Democrats multiple government shutdowns. Body cameras have been deployed to more than half the field offices, with the remaining half to receive them in the next 60 days,» a spokesperson said, while noting a 1,300% increase in assaults against agents during the same period.
Meanwhile, advocacy group Voto Latino condemned the Araujo incident, saying that the Mexican national should still be alive.
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Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, left, speaks with President Donald J. Trump, right. (Mandel Ngan/Getty Images)
«His story is the embodiment of what it means to seek the American Dream — the same dream that drives so many of us to call this nation home. Lorenzo called the United States home for nearly 35 years, and his family deserves immediate answers that come from a completely independent process, not from the very agency that upended their lives,» Voto Latino executive director Beatriz Lopez said in a statement, which also called for Secretary Markwayne Mullin’s resignation.
Asked about Sheinbaum’s warning, an ICE spokesperson defended the agency and the accounting of events depicting Araujo as trying to hit an agent.
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«[He] refused to follow multiple verbal commands, and weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to run over an ICE law enforcement officer resulting in our officer firing his weapon in self-defense,» the spokesperson said.
«DHS-OIG is leading an investigation into the agent-involved shooting. FBI Houston is leading an investigation into the potential assault on a federal law enforcement officer. This is a developing situation, and we will update the public when more information is available.»
Fox News’ Brooke Taylor and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
mexico, justice department, latino, deportation, homeland security, immigration, white house, donald trump, texas
INTERNACIONAL
Cuatro estudiantes costarricenses representarán al país en la Olimpiada Internacional de Química en Uzbekistán
Costa Rica volverá a tener representación en uno de los certámenes científicos más prestigiosos del mundo. Cuatro estudiantes de secundaria fueron seleccionados para participar en la 58.ª Olimpiada Internacional de Química (IChO), que se desarrollará del 10 al 19 de julio en Uzbekistán, luego de superar un proceso de clasificación que se extendió por más de un año y que puso a prueba sus conocimientos mediante evaluaciones de nivel universitario.
Los elegidos son Tamara Garrote Villalobos, Leonor Isaura Obando Umaña, Juan Pablo Valverde Cordero y José Edwin Chávez Rodríguez, quienes representarán a Costa Rica con el acompañamiento académico de la Universidad Nacional (UNA) y la Universidad de Costa Rica (UCR).
La clasificación de los cuatro estudiantes es el resultado de un proceso que comenzó en febrero de 2025, cuando decidieron inscribirse en la Olimpiada Costarricense de Química, en la categoría intermedia. A partir de ese momento iniciaron una serie de competencias nacionales en las que fueron avanzando gracias a sus resultados académicos hasta alcanzar la final del certamen.
Obtener una medalla en esa etapa les permitió postularse para integrar la selección nacional que representaría al país en la Olimpiada Internacional de Química. Sin embargo, el camino aún estaba lejos de terminar.
De los 18 estudiantes que aspiraban a integrar la delegación costarricense, únicamente 12 lograron avanzar a una segunda fase de selección. Posteriormente, una superfinal definió a los cuatro representantes nacionales mediante una combinación de pruebas de alta complejidad, con una ponderación del 60 % para la evaluación teórica y del 40 % para las pruebas experimentales de laboratorio.
Durante el mes de junio, los seleccionados participaron en un programa intensivo de entrenamiento basado en los problemas preparatorios oficiales de la competencia internacional, enfrentándose a contenidos que habitualmente forman parte de carreras universitarias en Química.
Cada integrante de la delegación tiene una historia distinta, pero todos coinciden en que la curiosidad científica y el gusto por la química fueron determinantes para alcanzar este objetivo.
Tamara Garrote Villalobos, estudiante de undécimo año, explicó que su interés por las olimpiadas científicas nació desde muy pequeña y que, desde noveno año, comenzó a prepararse específicamente en química.
“Cuando me propuse llegar a una olimpiada internacional, tuve que organizar muy bien mi tiempo. Ha sido una experiencia muy bonita, pero también muy retadora”, comentó.
Para Leonor Isaura Obando Umaña, quien cursa décimo año, la motivación proviene tanto de la ciencia como del ambiente que se genera entre los participantes.
La estudiante aseguró que disfruta cada etapa de preparación porque estudiar química es una actividad que la apasiona y aprovechó para enviar un mensaje a otros jóvenes interesados en seguir un camino similar: creer en sus capacidades, esforzarse desde el inicio y mantener la disciplina.
Juan Pablo Valverde Cordero considera que representar al país es el resultado de un esfuerzo construido a lo largo de toda su formación académica. A su juicio, el aprendizaje solo puede sostenerse cuando existe un verdadero interés por la materia.
José Edwin Chávez Rodríguez, por su parte, atribuye parte de este logro al apoyo recibido por uno de sus profesores, quien despertó en él un mayor interés por la química y lo motivó a participar en las olimpiadas científicas. Su meta en Uzbekistán es aprovechar al máximo la experiencia y luchar por obtener una medalla para Costa Rica.
La delegación costarricense estará acompañada por Manuel Sandoval Barrantes, de la Universidad Nacional, quien fungirá como jefe de delegación; Cristian Campos Fernández, de la Universidad de Costa Rica, como profesor mentor; y José Pablo Sibaja Brenes, también de la UNA, en calidad de observador científico.
Los tres tendrán la responsabilidad de orientar académicamente a los estudiantes y representar oficialmente al país durante la competencia internacional.
Sandoval destacó que la clasificación de los cuatro jóvenes refleja un proceso de preparación sostenido y un elevado nivel académico.
“Cada uno de ellos representa el talento de la juventud costarricense y demuestra que la dedicación y la pasión por la ciencia pueden abrir las puertas a los escenarios académicos más prestigiosos del mundo”, señaló.
Asimismo, agradeció el respaldo brindado por la Rectoría de la Universidad Nacional, cuyo apoyo permitió hacer posible la participación de la delegación en este importante certamen.
La Olimpiada Internacional de Química reúne cada año a los mejores estudiantes de secundaria del mundo en pruebas que evalúan conocimientos avanzados de química teórica y experimental. Además de fomentar la excelencia académica, la competencia promueve el intercambio científico y cultural entre jóvenes de decenas de países.
Con su participación en Uzbekistán, los cuatro estudiantes costarricenses buscarán dejar en alto el nombre del país y demostrar que el talento, la disciplina y el respaldo de las instituciones educativas pueden abrir las puertas a los escenarios científicos más exigentes del planeta.
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