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Jim Banks calls on Biden to 'publicly acknowledge' Laken Riley at SOTU

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Jim Banks calls on Biden to 'publicly acknowledge' Laken Riley at SOTU

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FIRST ON FOX: Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., penned a letter to President Joe Biden on Monday, calling on him to acknowledge the death of Georgia college student Laken Riley during his State of the Union address Thursday night. 

Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student at Augusta University, was killed last month and the suspect charged in relation to her death is Jose Ibarra, who was found to have illegally immigrated into the U.S. in 2022. 

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“At just six years old, Laken knew she wanted to be a nurse so she could help people. She was living her dream until it was shattered by Joe Biden’s wide open border,” Banks told Fox News Digital in a statement. “This was a totally avoidable tragedy. President Biden owes it to her family and the American people to say her name.”

Laken Riley poses for a photo posted to Facebook. Riley, a nursing student, was found dead near a lake on the University of Georgia campus on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024. (Laken Riley/Facebook)

Banks implored Biden in the letter to “publicly acknowledge the Riley family’s tragedy” by speaking about their daughter Laken’s death during the annual address to Congress. 

GOP CONGRESSMAN INTRODUCES ‘LAKEN RILEY ACT’ TO REQUIRE ICE TO DETAIN MIGRANTS ARRESTED FOR THEFT

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

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“As Commander-in-Chief, it is your duty to protect American citizens, and this tragedy highlights the urgent need to address the surge in crime resulting from your negligence at our southern border,” Banks wrote. 

The Indiana Republican, currently running for the Senate seat being vacated in 2025 by Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., further listed what he considered Biden’s failures on the issues of the southern border and immigration. Banks noted Biden’s reversals of Trump-era policies such as “Remain in Mexico,” Title 42, and the building of a border wall. 

“Your failure to publicly acknowledge this tragedy is unacceptable,” Banks added. 

Last week, the White House provided a statement to Fox News Digital regarding Riley’s death. “We would like to extend our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of Laken Hope Riley,” a spokesperson said. “People should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law if they are found to be guilty. Given this is an active case, we would have to refer you to state law enforcement and ICE.”

Rep. Jim Banks questions witnesses during a House hearing on Feb. 28, 2023, in Washington, D.C. ( Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

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Biden, himself, has not addressed the death of Riley, despite being asked during a press conference if he bears any responsibility for it following a speech last week. 

MIGRANT ENCOUNTERS AT SOUTHERN BORDER SURPASS 21,000 IN 72 HOURS, CBP SOURCES SAY

“You have a great opportunity to respect the wishes of Laken Riley’s mother by breaking your silence and saying her name at the upcoming State of the Union address on Thursday, March 7, 2024,” Banks told Biden in the letter. 

Riley’s mother, Allyson Phillips, recently changed her Facebook profile picture to a heart in UGA’s colors of Red and Black, with the hashtag “#SayHerName.”

In addition to asking Biden to acknowledge Riley at his SOTU address, Banks also called on the president to “take swift and decisive action to secure the border. You can prevent further tragedies and ensure a safer future for all Americans.”

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Milwaukee, WI

Milwaukee Bucks to hire Taylor Jenkins in bid to keep Antetokounmpo this summer

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Milwaukee Bucks to hire Taylor Jenkins in bid to keep Antetokounmpo this summer


The Milwaukee Bucks became the first NBA team to hire a new coach this offseason, targeting and landing former Memphis Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins to succeed Doc Rivers.

According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Jenkins and the Bucks’ front office were finalizing a deal on Thursday afternoon to bring the 41-year-old former Milwaukee assistant back to serve as the franchise’s fourth coach since parting ways with Mike Budenholzer in 2023.

Jenkins served as an assistant under Budenholzer in 2018-19 after serving under him for five seasons in Atlanta. 

Rumors of Jenkins being spotted with Milwaukee star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who faces a decision regarding his own future this summer, made the rounds on social media this week as unconfirmed sightings suggested the Bucks’ franchise star was helping the coach tour schools.

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Bobby Portis, under contract for next season and holding a player option for ‘28-’29, was on popular NBA show “Run it Back and believed landing him to lead the team going forward would be a positive in convincing Antetokounmpo to stay put.

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“What helps is that (Jenkins) was in Milwaukee during Coach Bud’s stint in Milwaukee. He was one of the assistant coaches on the roster,” Portis said. “I think that kind of relationship with Giannis and that kind of relationship with (GM) Jon Horst sits well with the franchise, and I think that kind of helps”

Horst and Bucks ownership courted Jenkins in Memphis and clearly zeroed in on him as the top target in the coaching search. Although what Antetokounmpo is going to do is anyone’s guess, keeping the “Greek Freak” in Milwaukee has been the franchise’s primary objective over the last few years as rumors he was growing dissatisfied with the direction of the team intensified, so it’s clear that the team’s leadership views Jenkins as an asset in retaining Antetokounmpo’s services.

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ESPN’s Charania reported that Antetokounmpo wasn’t involved in Jenkins’ hiring and has had no communication with the Bucks.

Jenkins went 250-214 in six seasons with the Grizzlies, but was fired late in the 2024-25 season with a postseason berth lined up. He was linked to the New York Knicks opening last summer that Mike Brown ultimately filled and was going to be a candidate for the vacancies in Chicago and potentially Orlando if the Magic move on from Jamahl Mosley after their postseason run ends.

Jenkins was already in Memphis when the Bucks broke through to win the NBA Finals in 2021, but he reportedly had a great relationship with Antetokounmpo and helped set the foundation for the last big winner in Milwaukee. The Bucks lost 50 games this past season, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2015-16 under then-head coach Jason Kidd.

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Minneapolis, MN

Minneapolis Man Gets 8.5 Years For Trying To Join ISIS In Somalia

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Minneapolis Man Gets 8.5 Years For Trying To Join ISIS In Somalia


MINNEAPOLIS, MN — A 23-year-old Minneapolis man was sentenced Wednesday to 102 months in prison and 15 years of supervised release after pleading guilty to attempting to provide material support and resources to ISIS, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota.

Prosecutors said Abdisatar Ahmed Hassan tried to travel from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport to Somalia in December 2024 to join and fight for the foreign terrorist organization.

ISIS has been designated a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. secretary of state since 2014.

According to court documents cited by federal prosecutors, Hassan consumed and reposted ISIS propaganda, obtained bombmaking and weapons-related manuals, and communicated on social media with ISIS media wings and recruiters operating in Somalia.

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The U.S. attorney’s office said Hassan bought a one-way ticket, left Minneapolis for Chicago on Dec. 29, 2024, and was prevented from continuing to Somalia after an interview by Customs and Border Protection’s Tactical Terrorism Response Team.

Prosecutors said he later continued researching ISIS attacks and posting pro-ISIS content online before the FBI arrested him on Feb. 27, 2025.

Hassan pleaded guilty Sept. 29, 2025, before Judge Donovan W. Frank, who imposed the sentence on April 22.

In the announcement, FBI Minneapolis Special Agent in Charge Christopher D. Dotson said, “Abdisatar Hassan took active steps in an attempt to join and support ISIS—a brutal foreign terrorist organization responsible for the violent deaths of thousands of innocent people.”

He added that the sentence “takes a would-be terrorist off the streets and sends a clear message that the FBI and our partners will unremittingly pursue anyone seeking to join or support a foreign terrorist organization.”

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This case was investigated by the FBI, the Joint Terrorism Task Force, Customs and Border Protection and the New York Police Department.





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Indianapolis, IN

Cost of living tops Indiana voters’ minds as primary nears

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Cost of living tops Indiana voters’ minds as primary nears


INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A working mother told News 8 she’s not sure if any candidates have the answers to cost-of-living problems.

Lamia Nelson works as a nurse assistant and has her own home health care business. She also works multiple side gigs. Even with all that, she said she struggles to make ends meet for herself and her three children. Nelson pulled her two younger children out of their charter school and is having them take classes at home so that she can reduce transportation costs and avoid scheduling conflicts with her work.

Nelson said the rent for the home she and her children share has risen from about $900 a month eight years ago to $1,850 per month. She says it’s extremely difficult for working parents like her to properly invest time in their children while at the same time keeping the bills paid.

“Where’s the help here? If parents have to work all day because they need to be able to afford to keep a roof over their head, where are the programs at? Where is the assistance? Where’s the helping hand for single-parent families?” she said. “My kid needs help tutoring in school. I’m at work, I have to pull a double, who’s going to help with that? They’re putting so much money into the highways and streets, why don’t you do some programs for our children?”

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Polling data shows she’s not alone. In a survey of about 1,500 voters conducted in February of this year for the conservative group Americans for Prosperity, 37% of respondents said cost of living and affordability issues were the top issue they wanted Congress to address.

The second-highest category, protecting democracy, got top marks from 21%. An Ipsos poll conducted in October logged similar numbers, with 40% of respondents saying cost-of-living issues were their top concern.

According to Ball State University political science Prof. Chad Kinsella, cost-of-living issues dominate every election cycle because they affect every voter every day. Kinsella says voters tend to punish the party in power whenever their costs of living become too great.

President Donald Trump ran on affordability issues in 2024, and Democrats are doing the same thing in 2026. The Consumer Price Index, the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ measure of inflation, showed a 3.3% rise in costs for all items in March. Much of that was driven by a 12.5% increase in energy costs driven by oil prices. Those prices spiked as a result of the war with Iran and Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway through which 20% of the world’s oil flows.

“Inflation and, you know, utility, gas prices, grocery prices, and everything, it affects people no matter where they are on the political spectrum,” Kinsella said. “And they’re aware of that. And people care. And so, I think talking about those matters, even if you’re in a primary election, it’s gonna matter.”

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Lamia Nelson says gas prices are a problem for her, but rent and utilities are her biggest concerns. Moreover, she says whoever is running for office needs to come up with a plan to bring up worker pay.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average weekly wage in Indiana during the fall of 2025, the most recent quarter for which data is available, was $1,214, compared to $1,459 for the country as a whole.

That works out to about $63,000 per year in Indiana. Indiana’s minimum wage is tied to the federal minimum wage, which has been set at $7.25 per hour since 2009. The minimum wage would have to rise to $11.10 per hour to offset inflation since then.

“They need to focus on the rent prices, and I feel like the rent and utilities go hand in hand, and they need to focus on the pay. People cannot survive with these types of pay rates employers are giving. It’s ridiculous,” Nelson.

Nelson says cost-of-living issues are far and away her top issue when she goes into the voting booth, but says she doesn’t have high hopes about the candidates currently on the ballot.

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“Of course, you’re going to want to go with who’s going to help us, but who is going to help us, in reality?” she said.

Early voting runs through May 4. Primary Day itself is on May 5. Click here to find out how to vote and check your voter registration.



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