Politics
In One Swing District, Guarded Optimism After Trump’s First Six Weeks
Keith Mann, a self-described independent voter, sat out the 2024 election, dismayed by both candidates for president.
He still does not care for President Trump’s character. But more than a month into Mr. Trump’s second term, Mr. Mann, a 41-year-old Phoenix resident, said he was cautiously optimistic about what he had seen so far.
“He’s doing what he said he would do,” Mr. Mann said. He was encouraged by reports of fewer migrants crossing the border, in favor of reducing aid to Ukraine and hopeful that Elon Musk would root out excessive government spending and, “like Robin Hood,” deliver the savings to citizens in the form of $5,000 dividend checks.
“I’m just waiting to see how it pans out,” Mr. Mann said. “At the end of the day, he’s our president — you can’t just wish him bad.”
As Mr. Trump prepares to address a joint session of Congress on Tuesday evening — a stand-in for the State of the Union during a president’s first year in office — voters in battleground districts around the country are trying to make sense of the frenzy of executive orders and other actions that have so far defined Mr. Trump’s second term.
In Arizona’s First Congressional District, around the swingy suburbs of Phoenix and Scottsdale — areas that helped flip Arizona blue in 2020 before shifting rightward again last year — reactions to Mr. Trump ranged from elation among Republicans to disgust among Democrats, with a few wary independents wedged in between.
The partisan rancor in this competitive district remains high, but, in conversations with several dozen voters across the political spectrum, many seemed willing to give Mr. Trump the runway he needs to execute his “America First” vision of the country.
“I feel great,” said Rashad Davis, 33, a Republican who was particularly enthused about the import tariffs Mr. Trump has announced. “He’s sticking to his word — everything he said.”
Many voters singled out the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, Mr. Musk’s cost-cutting effort, as a major driver of their open-mindedness toward the Trump administration — at least, to a point.
Maureen Wielgus, 69, said that she had voted for Mr. Trump in each of the last two elections and that she was pleased with his performance so far, though she added that he needed “to soften his approach a bit sometimes.”
Ms. Wielgus had similarly qualified praise for Mr. Musk’s initiative, which has fired thousands of workers and boasted of tremendous government savings, often only to backtrack and delete its mistakes.
“They’re going in like a bulldozer, a little firm,” she said. “But they’re finding the corruption and the fraud.”
Around the state, Arizonans seemed to be split on Mr. Trump. Recent polling there has found that roughly half of the state’s residents at least somewhat approve of his handling of the job. Rich Thau, the president of the nonpartisan research firm Engagious, said that, in a recent focus group of a dozen Arizona residents who voted for Joseph R. Biden Jr. in 2020 before switching their support to Mr. Trump last year, all of the people gave Mr. Trump high marks for his performance.
“They want somebody who’s a strong leader, who takes command, does what he says, and that’s what they feel like they’re getting when they see Trump in action,” Mr. Thau said. But, he added, “they are very concerned about his getting distracted.”
Dan Hylen, 39, an independent who did not vote last November, said he had seen “some good and some bad” from Mr. Trump so far.
“Some of the government efficiency stuff I feel like is maybe going in the right direction,” he said. “I like the idea of cutting the fat.”
But he disliked Mr. Musk’s “willy-nilly, shoot-from-the-hip attitude,” and was not in favor of Mr. Trump’s approach to Ukraine. “I don’t want to be in every single war in the world,” Mr. Hylen said, “but I think we have to help some people out sometimes.”
Some voters said Mr. Trump’s combative showdown with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine on Friday, in which he angrily rebuked Mr. Zelensky for not showing sufficient gratitude for the United States’ support of Ukraine in its war against Russia, was a shameful display.
“It’s an embarrassment,” said Greg Wise, 53, who votes Democratic. “Throwing away decades of good will with neighbors.”
Others saw it as the perfect representation of a foreign policy agenda that prioritizes American interests.
“He’s showing that we’re not messing around,” said Tasha K., a Republican from Scottsdale who declined to give her last name out of fear that her husband, who is a federal employee, would face retribution. “He put America first, and that’s what we hired him to do.”
The First Congressional District’s ambivalence toward Mr. Trump could be seen recently in moments beyond conversations with voters.
On Monday, Democratic groups organized a protest on a busy street corner in the district, accusing Mr. Trump and the district’s Republican representative, David Schweikert, who voted for a budget resolution last month that calls for deep cuts to government spending, of neglecting their interests. Protesters held up signs reading “Fire Musk,” as well as images of a “missing” Mr. Schweikert on a milk carton. Many passing drivers honked in support, while others rolled down their windows to voice their dissent.
Still, in a purple district where voters of different political stripes frequently brush up against one another, even some of the president’s steadfast opponents were willing to look for silver linings.
Nina Meixner, 71, said she was a conservative who had backed former Vice President Kamala Harris last year because she disliked Mr. Trump’s personality. But she was encouraged by his tough stance on immigration and the tariffs he was putting into effect.
Ms. Meixner cringed at the chaos that she said was Mr. Trump’s “business model.” But, she added, “there’s things that I am happy for.”
Politics
Video: Federal Airport Workers Collect Food Aid
new video loaded: Federal Airport Workers Collect Food Aid
transcript
transcript
Federal Airport Workers Collect Food Aid
As growing numbers of federal aviation workers missed paychecks nearly a month into the government shutdown, some began collecting food assistance.
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“Grab a bag, and there you go.” “There you go.” “Thanks a lot.” “Yeah, thanks for having me.” “Absolutely. We’ll be here a few hours, at least.” “We appreciate it.” “Thank you.” “Appreciate you.” “… share with you.” As both my parents are traveling right now, they wouldn’t be able to do that right now without these people showing up and really putting their own jobs ahead of their own livelihood in a lot of ways. And we’re just here to try to fill those gaps, to make sure that these people can still stay fed and that their families stay fed.
October 29, 2025
Politics
Virginia school district slapped with complaint alleging new claims in viral trans locker room fight
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The legal team representing two boys suspended for questioning a transgender classmate’s access to the boys’ locker room have now filed an amended federal complaint alleging fresh factual claims and a new conspiracy charge, as they escalate their federal case against the Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) in Virginia.
America First Legal and the Founding Freedoms Law Center, who are representing the boys and their families, added new factual allegations to their previously submitted federal complaint on Wednesday, alleging LCPS engaged in a conspiracy to retaliate against the boys. It also claimed there were alleged inconsistencies in the district’s handling of its Title IX investigation that found the boys guilty of sexual harassment and suspended them for 10 days.
“Loudoun County Public Schools’ Title IX investigation into our clients inexplicably relied on non-credible evidence, ignored credible witness testimony, failed to interview key
witnesses, deleted potentially exonerating video evidence, and failed to disclose LCPS’s own admission that the allegations against our clients did not constitute sexual harassment,” said Ian Prior, Senior Counsel at America First Legal.
VIRGINIA PARENTS CRUSH FUNDRAISING GOAL FOR TRANS LOCKER ROOM FIGHT AFTER JUDGE ORDERED MASSIVE BOND
Video from a locker room in Stone Bridge High School where a trans male was in a male bathroom. (Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office)
“Making matters worse, and as we set forth in the amended complaint, it appears that the school board was passing along confidential information to a political action committee for the purpose of further retaliating against our clients and their families. If proven true at trial, and we intend to do exactly that, this entire affair is a travesty of justice, a waste of taxpayer money to defend, and everything that is wrong with the Loudoun County School Board and its misplaced priorities.”
Earlier this year, LCPS, located in Northern Virginia, launched a Title IX sexual harassment investigation into two high-school-aged boys after they were videotaped by a biological female who identified as transgender inside the boys’ locker room. The video caught them outwardly complaining to each other about the fact that there was a biological girl who identified as a boy using their facilities.
Before taking the case to federal court, the boys and their parents sought to appeal LCPS’s Title IX sexual harassment finding to keep the boys from being suspended or marked as sexual harassers on their permanent record. However, their appeal was ultimately denied by the district, leading the families to pursue action in federal court.
On Wednesday, the families turned up the heat with fresh allegations not laid out in their original complaint, including that the district conspired with a local political action committee, Loudoun for All, for the purpose of retaliating against the boys and their families.
The amended complaint also points to inconsistencies in the district’s Title IX investigation, such as relying on non-credible evidence, ignoring credible evidence and witness testimony, misrepresenting evidence, failing to interview key witnesses, and failing to disclose potentially exonerating evidence.
PRESSURE MOUNTS ON VIRGINIA DEMS TO CLEARLY STATE VIEW ON TRANS BATHROOMS AFTER BOMBSHELL EMAILS

Fox News Digital interviewed two Virginia parents whose kids have been accused of sexual harassment for complaining about a biological girl who identifies as a boy using their locker room. (Fox News/istock)
The fresh complaint claims that days after the federal court issued a preliminary injunction halting LCPS from suspending the boys or making Title IX findings part of their student record, the district reached out to Loudoun For All and corroborated with them in a press release and other messaging materials that included “a number of false and defamatory allegations” used to generate a public narrative against the boys and their families. The press releases and other materials, such as a timeline of the case’s events, were listed on the political action committee’s website, Facebook page, Reddit account and Bluesky account, and allegedly also contained privileged, confidential information pertaining to the case cited in a subsequent local media report titled, “Locker Room Lawsuit Against LCPS Involves Misinformation, Loudoun4All Says.”
The press release Loudoun For All put out accused the boys’ parents of “orchestrat[ing] a coordinated campaign of disinformation, knowingly misrepresenting facts to fuel political outrage,” and argued that they were trying to “inflame voters ahead of an election.”
It also claimed that 24 witnesses corroborated that the boys’ called the female student, who identifies as transgender, a “girl,” “it,” “girl-boy,” and told them “get out” while inside the boy’s locker room. But, according to the boys’ legal counsel, witnesses never corroborated these claims and the female student’s accusations of when the harassment took place appeared to be inconsistent.
Loudoun For All did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
WOMAN DISROBES AT CALIFORNIA SCHOOL BOARD MEETING IN PROTEST OF LOCKER ROOM POLICIES
Meanwhile, the complaint also alleges that LCPS failed to disclose that a video cited as evidence in the district’s Title IX finding against the boys included the female student saying “I got it” while laughing. It adds that the district allegedly deleted other video the female student took of boys using or coming out of the bathroom.
The amended complaint notes that despite inconsistencies in the female student’s story at times, they were credited with “superior credibility” by Title IX investigators in the district. Furthermore, it claims that a threat assessment of the male students found no threat and the district had previously concluded that a situation similar to the one at hand resulted in the district finding no cause for a sexual harassment under federal law.
LCPS declined to comment on the amended complaint, telling Fox News Digital that it is the district’s practice not to comment on pending legal matters.

A transgender flag waves at an undisclosed location on an undisclosed date (left). A judge uses his gavel (right). (Getty Images/iStock)
Shortly after LCPS denied the boys’ Title IX appeal, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights found LCPS violated Title IX by discriminating against the boys on the basis of sex. Specifically, the Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights determined LCPS “failed to meaningfully investigate complaints of sexual harassment by two male students concerning the presence of a member of the opposite sex in male-only intimate spaces yet thoroughly investigated the female student’s sexual harassment complaint about the boys.”
Both of the boy’s parents told Fox News Digital in August that their sons attempted to voice discomfort to school officials about the female classmate using their locker room, but that their complaints fell on deaf ears.

ASHBURN, VA – AUGUST 11: Supporters of Policy 8040 celebrate with signs as the transgender protection measures were voted into the school system’s policies during a school board meeting at the Loudoun County Public Schools Administration Building on August 11, 2021 in Ashburn, Va. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
The Trump administration indicated LCPS would lose federal funding if they did not rescind its suspensions and sexual harassment findings against the two boys, review its initial findings, and investigate the Title IX complaint the boys filed against the female student for videotaping them in the locker room, which the boys’ attorneys say was ignored by the district.
“The amended complaint we filed today unveils Loudoun County Public Schools’ sham targeting of these boys while it ignored numerous, credible threats to their privacy and safety,” said Victoria Cobb, President of the Founding Freedoms Law Center. “As alleged, a female student repeatedly filmed male students, including while using the bathroom, yet Loudoun did nothing. Instead, Loudoun appears to have conspired with an outside political organization to continue its attacks against these boys and their parents.”
The Trump administration has also included LCPS among a list of five Northern Virginia school districts in violation of Title IX due to their locker room and bathroom policies. As a result of that determination, the districts’ federal funding will now be “done by reimbursement only” and the Trump administration commenced proceedings to potentially terminate their funding altogether, the Education Department indicated over the summer.
Politics
‘CBS Saturday Morning’ co-hosts Michelle Miller and Dana Jacobson out in Paramount layoffs
“CBS Saturday Morning” co-hosts Michelle Miller and Dana Jacobson are among the nearly 100 news division employees cut as part of a massive round of layoffs at parent company Paramount.
The program is getting a new format that will align it closer to the weekday show “CBS Mornings,” according to people familiar with the plans who were not authorized to comment publicly. Brian Applegate, the executive producer of the Saturday program, is out as well.
CBS has also canceled “CBS Mornings Plus,” an extension of its morning program that ran in several markets, including Los Angeles. “CBS Evening News Plus,” a streaming program anchored by John Dickerson is also being shuttered. Dickerson announced Monday he is leaving the network.
Several correspondents have already been laid off, including Debora Patta, who covered the Gaza war for the network, as well as Janet Shamlian, Nancy Chen and Nikki Battiste.
Lisa Ling, who joined CBS News as a contributor in 2023, is also departing.
The news division also shuttered its race and culture unit, which was formed in the aftermath of the 2020 police killing of George Floyd. Some of the employees in the unit will move to other parts of the company.
A CBS News representative declined to comment.
The cuts are part of parent company Paramount’s reduction of 1,000 employees across all of its divisions. New owner Skydance Media is looking to reduce costs by $2 billion across the company, with a second round of cuts expected later this year.
Miller was a prolific correspondent for CBS News in addition to her Saturday co-host duties, contributing pieces to “CBS Sunday Morning” and “48 Hours.” She also was a frequent fill-in for Gayle King on the weekday morning program.
Miller, 52, is a Los Angeles native and the daughter of Dr. Ross Miller, a trauma surgeon who served on the Compton City Council. She worked at the Los Angeles Times in the early 1990s.
Miller covered a wide range of stories at CBS News, and paid special attention to issues of racism and social injustice. She is married to Marc Morial, the former mayor of New Orleans who is currently head of the National Urban League.
Jacobson, 52, has been with CBS News since 2015. She previously spent a decade at ESPN, where she appeared on “First Take” and “SportsCenter.”
Miller and Jacobson have served as co-hosts of “CBS Saturday Morning” since 2018, when it was called “CBS This Morning Saturday.”
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