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Kamala Harris takes next step in return to political stage
Former Vice President Kamala Harris headlines a top-dollar Democratic National Committee fundraising dinner on Tuesday, marking the latest step back into the political spotlight by the Democrats’ 2024 presidential nominee.
The New York City gathering of top party officials, politicians and donors, where tickets range upwards of $25,000 per person, according to an invitation obtained by Fox News, comes as Harris is mulling her political future after last November’s election defeat at the hands of Republican President Donald Trump.
Among her campaign options that she’s weighing is a 2026 run for the open governor’s seat in her home state of California and another bid in 2028 for the White House.
The event also comes as the Democratic Party, facing historically low favorable ratings in national polling, aims to leave the political wilderness after the party lost control of the White House and the Senate and fell short in its bid to regain the House majority in the 2024 elections.
KAMALA HARRIS REVEALS POLITICAL TIMETABLE FOR MAKING KEY DECISION
Former Vice President Kamala Harris is headlining a major Democratic National Committee fundraiser in New York City on Tuesday. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
And it is being held as an increasingly angry and energized base of Democrats is pushing for party leaders to take a stronger stand in pushing back against Trump’s sweeping and controversial agenda during the opening months of his second administration.
«Kamala Harris understands the fight that we are in,» DNC committee member and veteran Democratic strategist Maria Cardona told Fox News.
She added that «Kamala Harris is a beloved figure in the Democratic Party.»
«The DNC is using every tool in their toolbox to bring people together, to get people excited about the campaigns that are coming in the next two cycles,» said Cardona, a member of the DNC’s influential Rules and Bylaws committee. «I think it’s super smart for the DNC to use her, to use every other elected [official], to use governors, to use former administration officials. … I think this is just par for the course for what the DNC needs to do going forward.»
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The fundraiser is being held the day after the president helped haul in big bucks as he headlined a gathering of major donors at one of his golf courses in Virginia for MAGA Inc., which was the top Trump-aligned super PAC during the 2024 election cycle.
Harris proved her fundraising prowess last year, hauling in over $1 billion during her three-and-a-half-month White House campaign after replacing then-President Joe Biden atop the Democrats’ national ticket in late July, amid mounting questions over the then-81-year-old president’s physical and mental stamina.
Then-Vice President Kamala Harris (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
«She raised an eye-popping record amount of money,» Cardona noted. «She is still a tremendous draw for the Democratic faithful and donors and that will continue to be the case going forward.»
The DNC is using much of the money brought in at its fundraisers to build its ground operations and messaging efforts ahead of next year’s midterm elections.
A top progressive leader agreed that using Harris to help fundraise for the DNC makes sense.
HERE ARE THE DEMOCRATS WHO MAY EVENTUALLY RUN FOR WHITE HOUSE IN 2028
But Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, a major grassroots organization that promotes economic populism and democracy through electoral and issue advocacy efforts, pointed to Harris’ 2024 setback as well as her flameout in the 2020 Democrat presidential primary when asked about how the left would receive a potential 2028 White House bid by Harris.
«She had her chance. Sometimes you have to know when to step away,» Green told Fox News.
He argued that Harris felt more like a candidate from the party’s establishment than a shake-up of the system, populist, during her two presidential campaigns, and that the more voters got to know her, the less they supported her.
Harris’ appearance at Tuesday’s DNC fundraiser, where she’ll take part in a question-and-answer session with national party chair Ken Martin, comes a week after she made some of her first major public remarks since her 2024 defeat.
The former vice president at an event in San Francisco took aim at Trump’s economic agenda. She said the president’s controversial implementation of tariffs, which initially triggered a massive stock market selloff, «as I predicted, are clearly inviting a recession.»
Then-Vice President Kamala Harris (Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The stepped-up appearances by Harris come as she continues to meet with advisors and friends as she considers her political future.
A source in the former vice president’s political orbit confirmed to Fox News Digital two months ago that Harris had told allies she would decide by the end of summer on whether to launch a 2026 gubernatorial campaign.
TOP TRUMP ALLY TEASES BID FOR CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR IF HARRIS RUNS
Harris served as San Francisco district attorney, California attorney general and represented the Golden State in the U.S. Senate before joining Biden’s 2020 ticket and winning election as vice president.
And Harris would be considered the clear frontrunner for governor in heavily blue California in the race to succeed term-limited Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the Leading Women Defined Summit, April 3, 2025, in Dana Point, Calif. (Juliana Yamada/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Meanwhile, extremely early polls in the next Democratic Party presidential nomination race, which are heavily reliant on name recognition at this point, indicate that the former vice president holds a significant lead over other potential White House contenders.
It is unlikely she could do both. Running and winning election in 2026 as governor of California, the nation’s most populous state and home to the world’s fifth-largest economy, would likely take a 2028 White House run off the table, allies and political analysts have indicated.
While no decisions have been made, the former vice president has vowed to remain politically involved.
Harris, in a video message to the Democratic National Committee as it huddled for its winter meeting in early February, pledged to be with the party «every step of the way.»
And in an early April speech in California, Harris reiterated that she’ll stay politically active, noting that «I’m not going anywhere.»
2028 WATCH: VIRAL VIDEO SPARKS MORE AOC SPECULATION
But Harris is far from the only Democrat sparking 2028 speculation.
Among those making headlines in the extremely early moves for the next Democrat presidential nomination race is two-term Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois, who took aim at Trump and his own party as he headlined a state Democratic Party fundraiser a week and a half ago in New Hampshire, which traditionally has held the first primary in the White House race.
Also grabbing plenty of 2028 buzz is Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the four-term, outspoken progressive from New York City.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., speaks at a town hall gathering on May 2, 2025, in New York City. (David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)
A viral video of her nationwide series of rallies with longtime liberal champion Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont, drew large crowds and sparked more speculation that the lawmaker known as AOC might have presidential ambitions in 2028 or that she could potentially primary challenge longtime Democrat Senate Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York in three years.
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Green, in contrasting Harris and Ocasio-Cortez, said «this moment calls for authentic outsiders who want to shake up the broken political system and an economic status quo rigged for billionaires against working people. That’s why Kamala Harris lost, and it’s why a lot of people are looking at AOC.»
Kamala Harris,Donald Trump,Politics,Elections,Governors,California,Democratic Party
INTERNACIONAL
La guerra con Rusia: la niebla y la lluvia frenan a los drones de Ucrania y favorecen los asaltos rusos
La niebla persistente y las frecuentes lluvias ofrecen cobertura a la infantería rusa frente a los drones ucranianos, lo que permite a las fuerzas de Moscú intensificar los asaltos que lanza en el frente.
Los soldados ucranianos dicen que el tiempo desfavorable que ha dominado durante buena parte del último mes ha reducido drásticamente la efectividad de los vehículos aéreos no tripulados que son el puntal de su defensa en el este del país.
«En cuanto hay niebla, los asaltos rusos se intensifican», dijo a EFE Anatoli Repsh, sargento jefe de un batallón que está combatiendo cerca de Kúpiansk, en la región nororiental de Járkov.
La unidad de Repsh recurre a una combinación de drones de reconocimiento y de ataque para detectar y eliminar a los soldados rusos que avanzan a pie -a menudo de manera individual o en parejas- como parte de los intentos diarios por infiltrarse más allá de las posiciones ucranianas.
La lluvia y la niebla no solo limitan la visibilidad, sino que también dañan rápidamente las cámaras de los drones y otros componentes electrónicos delicados.
«Aún con lluvia y niebla intentamos volar, pero el equipamiento se resiente mucho. Un dron que ha estado operando todo el día bajo la lluvia rara vez aguanta más de dos o tres días», dijo Repsh.
La escasez de drones lleva a los soldados a usar el equipamiento de forma más conservadora cuando las condiciones meteorológicas son malas y recurren en cambio a interceptar comunicaciones para detectar al enemigo, así como a obstáculos de alambre de espino y campos minados para ralentizar su avance.
Solo una vez que localizan a la infantería rusa envían los drones para atacarla.
Repsh calcula que aproximadamente tres cuartos de los atacantes mueren o son heridos mientras intentan atravesar la «zona de la muerte» de entre siete y diez kilómetros que separa a los dos ejércitos.
Los que sobreviven, sin embargo, se van acumulando gradualmente, lo que obliga a las unidades ucranianas a gastar aún más recursos para repelerles.
«Ya no tenemos infantería suficiente para recuperar con contraataques el terreno perdido y tenemos que gastar más drones, cuando el tiempo lo permite, para destruir las casas y posiciones en las que se esconden los rusos», explicó el sargento.
Pese al clima adverso y a su impacto sobre algunas unidades que dependen casi exclusivamente de los drones para mantener la línea de defensa, las fuerzas ucranianas han impedido hasta ahora que los rusos irrumpan en un avance brusco.
Aún así los progresos territoriales de Moscú se aceleraron en noviembre, cuando según la plataforma de análisis DeepState alcanzaron 505 kilómetros cuadrados, la misma superficie que en los dos meses anteriores combinados.
En Vovchansk, una pequeña ciudad fronteriza que lleva más de un año y medio bajo asedio, la densa niebla ha permitido a las tropas rusas acelerar sus avances en semanas recientes.
«Los drones están volando mucho menos y los rusos están aprovechando su superioridad numérica», dijo este viernes el portavoz militar regional Víktor Tregúbov.
En Pokrovsk, en la región de Donetsk, se está dando una situación similar, pues la espesa niebla ha facilitado la infiltración y acumulación por parte de la infantería rusa en la ciudad y sus inmediaciones.
El mal tiempo también protege los movimientos ucranianos de los drones kamikaze rusos, lo que está facilitando el transporte de munición y alimentos a las posiciones más avanzadas, así como la evacuación de heridos y la rotación de personal.
«Para nosotros es más fácil cuando hay niebla, lluvia intensa o vientos fuertes, porque lanzan menos drones de ataque», dijo a EFE Vasil Vovk, un soldado que está combatiendo en el frente del este.
Sin embargo, la incapacidad de usar los drones tanto como en condiciones meteorológicas favorables hace más daño a Ucrania que a Rusia, enfatizan los soldados, porque Moscú es superior en número de efectivos, así como en la artillería y en el uso de bombas aéreas guiadas, que dependen menos del tiempo.
Los ingenieros ucranianos trabajan en soluciones que hagan a los drones menos vulnerables a los efectos climatológicos, pero la niebla y la lluvia ponen de manifiesto la necesidad persistente de armas convencionales.
Aunque Ucrania ha incrementado de forma drástica la producción doméstica de drones y está buscando financiación adicional para seguir expandiéndola, los sistemas de artillería, los vehículos blindados y las defensas antiaéreas modernas siguen siendo indispensables para detener los avances rusos, dicen soldados y analistas militares.
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The Trump administration is reshaping when Americans can enter national parks for free – adding President Donald Trump’s birthday as a fee-free day while eliminating Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth in a move already drawing criticism from civil rights leaders.
Although presidents often revise the list, the changes are sparking criticism from civil rights advocates and Democratic lawmakers who say the removals undercut holidays that honor Black Americans’ history and contributions.
The shift in free-entry days marks a notable break from the 2025 calendar, which leaned heavily on long-established public lands celebrations and civil rights observances.
This year’s lineup included Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Juneteenth, National Public Lands Day, and the kickoff to National Park Week – all of which disappear under the 2026 schedule.
TOP TRUMP DEPARTMENT ROLLS OUT CHRISTMAS TREE SAVINGS PLAN: ‘MAKING THIS SEASON BRIGHTER’
Yosemite National Park visitors take a look at El Capitan rock formation and Bridalveil Fall from Tunnel View in Yosemite Valley in California. (Craig Kohlruss/Fresno Bee/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
In their place, the Trump administration has added a slate of historically themed or presidentially-aligned dates. President Donald Trump’s birthday on June 14 becomes a fee-free day for the first time, as do Constitution Day, the 110th anniversary of the National Park Service, and the birthday of Theodore Roosevelt.
The agency is also shifting some observances to federal holidays with broader national recognition, including Presidents’ Day, Memorial Day and a three-day Independence Day weekend.
YOSEMITE RANGERS BUST OUTLAW JUMPERS OFF EL CAP — ZERO TOLERANCE, SHUTDOWN OR NOT
The Trump administration is making changes to which days the public will be able to access National Parks for free in 2026, adding President Donald Trump’s birthday as one day, and removing Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth. (Rick Bowner/AP Photo)
Veterans Day remains the lone date carried over from both years, underscoring how dramatically the free-day calendar is being remade heading into 2026.
FOX 5 in DC reported that some civil rights leaders have voiced opposition to the changes.
National Parks Conservation Association spokesperson Kristen Brengel told the station that the elimination of Martin Luther King Jr. Day is concerning, adding that the day had become a popular day of service for community groups that use it to conduct volunteer projects at the parks.
SQUATTERS TAKE OVER YOSEMITE AS SHUTDOWN LEAVES POPULAR NATIONAL PARK WITH FEW RANGERS: REPORT
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., also weighed in on the changes in a post on X on Friday.
«Let’s be clear here: both MLK Jr. Day and Juneteenth were free entry days last year,» she wrote. «The President didn’t just add his own birthday to the list, he removed both of these holidays that mark Black Americans’ struggle for civil rights and freedom. Our country deserves better.»
Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House regarding the changes.
AMERICA’S NATIONAL PARKS ARE AT A CROSSROADS. HERE’S HOW CONGRESS CAN PROTECT THEM
An entrance sign for Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park. (John Greim/LightRocket via Getty Images)
The Department of Interior is pairing the new free-day schedule with a broader overhaul of how visitors access national parks beginning Jan. 1, 2026.
The agency is rolling out fully digital America the Beautiful passes – including annual, military, senior, fourth-grade and access passes – that can be purchased and displayed on mobile devices through Recreation.gov. Visitors will be able to activate passes instantly and still link them to physical cards if needed.
Officials say updated validation tools and new training for park staff are intended to speed up entrance lines and simplify visitor experiences across the system.
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE ANNOUNCES IT WILL RESTORE, REINSTATE STATUE HONORING CONFEDERATE GENERAL ALBERT PIKE
Yellowstone National Park sign and entrance. President Trump added his birthday to the list of dates that people can enter national parks for free. (iStock)
«President Trump’s leadership always puts American families first,» Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said. «These policies ensure that U.S. taxpayers, who already support the National Park System, continue to enjoy affordable access, while international visitors contribute their fair share to maintaining and improving our parks for future generations.»
The department is also refreshing annual pass designs with new patriotic artwork that will appear on both digital and physical versions.
Alongside the digital rollout, the administration announced it is shifting its fee structure to emphasize lower costs for U.S. residents and higher prices for international visitors.
The annual pass will remain $80 for Americans but jump to $250 for nonresidents. Foreign visitors who do not hold a pass will pay an added $100 per person at 11 of the most visited national parks.
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The agency is also broadening access for motorcycle riders by allowing all America the Beautiful passes to cover two motorcycles instead of one.
Interior officials say the increased revenue from higher nonresident fees will be directed toward facility upgrades, maintenance projects, and visitor services across the park system.
national parks,donald trump,parks
INTERNACIONAL
Chechen leader threatens Zelenskyy amid drone strike, echoes alleged assassination plot
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Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov’s threats against Ukraine following a drone strike echo a 2022 plot to infiltrate Kyiv and target President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a former Ukrainian government official has said.
The leader’s latest threat came after a Ukrainian drone reportedly struck a high-rise building near Kadyrov’s home in Grozny on Nov. 5.
The strike prompted the Chechen strongman to vow retaliation in an online video post, according to Reuters.
«This new threat would just be another assassination threat for Zelenskyy. The Chechens are really serious about revenge,» a former government official told Fox News Digital.
RUSSIAN CRUISE MISSILES HIT US COMPANY IN MASSIVE UKRAINE STRIKE AMID TRUMP’S PEACE PUSH
Head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov smiles prior to Russian-UAE talks on December 6, 2023, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Getty Images)
«But in Kyiv they are not panicking about this like they were in 2022,» the former official said under condition of anonymity.
«Zelenskyy is now better protected, feels more powerful and is less fragile,» they said.
The recent Ukrainian strike, reported by Reuters, hit the 28-story Grozny-City tower that sits roughly 830 meters from Kadyrov’s home.
TRUMP EYES NEW SANCTIONS ON PUTIN AFTER LARGEST-EVER DRONE ATTACK
Ramzan Kadyrov is one of Vladimir Putin’s most aggressive enforcers. (Rob Welham/Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Kadyrov, who is loyal to Russia, later allegedly confirmed the attack in a Telegram post, stating there were no casualties, but he condemned the strike as making «no tactical sense.»
He also warned that retaliation was imminent.
«Starting tomorrow and in the course of the week, the Ukrainian fascists will be feeling a stern response,» he threatened.
Unlike Ukraine’s strike, he added, «we will not be making a cowardly strike on peaceful targets,» per Reuters.
Ukrainian attacks have hit sites in Chechnya before now, including a police barracks and a training academy. Chechen units were also deployed during Russia’s 2022 invasion and were among the Kremlin’s most loyal forces.
RUSSIA LAUNCHES MASSIVE DRONE AND MISSILE BARRAGE ON UKRAINE HITTING KYIV, OTHER TARGETS THROUGHOUT COUNTRY
Russian and Chechen soldiers in a devastated Mariupol neighborhood close to the Azovstal frontline. (Maximilian Clarke/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
At the time of the 2022 invasion, the official said there was intense anxiety in Kyiv.
«At the beginning of the large-scale invasion in 2022, Chechens were sent to Kyiv to murder top politicians,» the former official said.
«This included Volodymyr Zelenskyy and top politicians from the government and security services and Parliament, and many other agencies.
«Zelenskyy and Yermak were very scared,» they claimed. «They were calling from the office, asking some people in the military and security service to secure the metro station in Kyiv.»
The source said one metro station in Kyiv was a potential infiltration route for the Chechens into Zelenskyy’s presidential bunker.
RUSSIAN ATTACK ON UKRAINE LEAVES 25 DEAD IN TERNOPIL AFTER MASSIVE OVERNIGHT STRIKES
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky gives a press conference in Kyiv on February 26, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Tetiana Dzhafarova/AFP via Getty Images)
At the time, the station in Kyiv that was deep underground and near the presidential bunker, was viewed as the most vulnerable entry route, the source said.
«They were afraid that Chechens would get to the bunker through this metro station, but in the end the Chechens were killed before they reached Kyiv.
«They tried to reach Kyiv, somehow downtown, somehow via the river, but it’s quite a complicated way to get there,» the former official said.
Meanwhile, with the Nov. 5. Grozny strike landing so close to his home, Kadyrov, already one of Putin’s most aggressive enforcers, is signaling a harsher stance as attacks reach inside Russian territory.
The Moscow Times reported that the drone struck a building that houses regional government offices, including the Chechen Security Council and agencies connected to tourism and religious affairs.
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Despite the rhetoric, the former Ukrainian official claimed Zelenskyy is unfazed this time around.
«These days, Zelenskyy isn’t afraid of Kadyrov’s actions against him or the Ukrainian people. Zelenskyy is feeling very powerful right now,» they added.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Zelenskyy’s office for comment.
volodymyr zelenskyy,ukraine,russia,vladimir putin,wars
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