FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., has said the Democratic Party needs to “focus on” corruption in American politics and that the “vast sums of corporate and billionaire money in our political system” is the reason why Americans are so ill-served by Congress.

But the vulnerable senator up for reelection in 2026 has received nearly half-a-million dollars from billionaires, including more than $154,000 just this year, a Fox News Digital review of Federal Election Commission filings found.

“Much of the American public has lost faith in our political system, and with just cause. Since Citizens United, this political system has been corruption on steroids, and that is a big part of why policy doesn’t serve ordinary people,” Ossoff said on the popular left-leaning “Pod Save America” podcast.

“We can’t just become mere guardians of the status quo. We have to be about change and reform and money in politics is, like, the root of all of this,” he continued. “We have to focus on that, you know, the vast sums of corporate and billionaire money in our political system, with or without Trump, are why ordinary people are so ill served by elected officials and by Congress.”

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Several contributors from the billionaire class to Ossoff’s campaign include members of the Soros family, tech billionaire Eric Schmidt, LinkedIn co-founder and a tech billionaire in his own right, Reid Hoffman, co-owner of the Atlanta Hawks, publisher of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and owner of Cox Enterprises, James Cox-Chambers, billionaire hedge fund manager Henry Laufer, and dozens of others. 

In total, Ossoff’s campaigns have received contributions from over 70 billionaires since 2017 when Ossoff first ran for Congress. Ossoff has touted his refusal to accept corporate PAC money, but according to election finance watchdog Open Secrets, some of Ossoff’s top individual contributors come from major corporations like Google, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta. 

Open Secrets also shows that in 2023–2024 Ossoff received thousands of dollars from PACs representing lawyers and lobbyists, miscellaneous businesses, agribusiness and labor.    

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In addition to his comments during the “Pod Save America” podcast, Ossoff has repeatedly ripped the influence of the “wealthy political donors” and said they have no place in politics.

 “As power becomes concentrated in fewer and fewer hands, and wealth becomes concentrated in fewer and fewer hands…wealthy and powerful groups can spend limitless amounts in secret…to manipulate elections,” Ossoff said in 2019.

Ossoff, who was endorsed by End Citizens United in July, said Citizens United “unleashed the torrent of secret, corporate, and billionaire money that has deeply corrupted Congress and our political system.” However, he is still taking campaign cash from billionaires and just last month he featured Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzer, whose estimated net worth is over $3.5 billion, on a fundraising email soliciting donations for his reelection campaign.

Ossoff declined to provide a response when reached for comment on this story.

Described by CNN as the nation’s “most endangered Senate Democrat,” Ossoff has touted “an unstoppable grassroots coalition” amid his reelection efforts heading into 2026. 

The Georgia senator, in a press release following his campaign’s most recent quarterly filing with the FEC, touted that his “re-election juggernaut” was “overwhelmingly” powered by small donors with an average of $36 from approximately 233,000 donors. 

But, more than 80% of the money he raised during the last filing period came from out-of-state, not Georgia, FEC records showed. Meanwhile, over half of his maxed-out donors hailed from California, New York or the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia region. If a donor has not given an aggregate of at least $200, that donor’s contribution remains undisclosed in FEC filings. 

Ossoff is running for re-election in a state Trump won in 2024, albeit by a thin two-point margin. He first arrived in Congress in 2021 after defeating incumbent Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., in a razor-thin election that required a runoff. 

During that first election cycle, Ossoff reportedly raised 60% of his contributions from outside the state of Georgia.

Florida authorities are pushing back on social media rumors about a “serial killer on the loose” in Jacksonville after three women were found dead in separate incidents over three days.

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) addressed the speculation directly on Tuesday, emphasizing that the cases are unrelated and urging calm as investigations continue.

“JSO is aware of rumors circulating about a serial killer on the loose in Jacksonville. We can confirm these claims are FALSE,” the agency wrote Tuesday on social media.

The department added that detectives are investigating each case individually, “following the facts and evidence,” adding “there is no danger to the public related to these incidents.”

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Despite that clarification, speculation continued to spread online, with many users drawing comparisons to crime thrillers or past serial killer cases.

“Isn’t this what the police say in every serial killer movie?” one Facebook user wrote.

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Others invoked infamous cases like Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacy, arguing that police in those eras also downplayed initial warnings.

Worries spread over the weekend after three women were found dead in different parts of Jacksonville within three days.

On Saturday, 24-year-old Cherrish Nunley, a mother of two, was found fatally shot in a parking lot, according to News4Jax. A GoFundMe page created for her family described her as a devoted mother and “a bright, beautiful girl” who was “killed in cold blood.”

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The following day, a fisherman discovered the body of Tiffany Felton beneath a bridge on Blanding Boulevard, FirstCoastNews reported.

“This was an unnecessary killing,” AJ Jordan, outreach coordinator with MAD DADS, told the outlet. “Him or her left this lady under a bridge, under a bridge. It’s just, it’s just sad.” 

On Monday, deputies were called to a rooming house in the city’s Phoenix neighborhood, where another woman was found unresponsive, according to FirstCoastNews. A sheriff’s sergeant told the outlet that details surrounding her death were not immediately clear.

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Investigators say that, at this stage, the cases do not appear connected. Police have not confirmed whether any suspects have been identified or taken into custody.

While online speculation remains intense, authorities reiterated that there is no evidence linking the deaths or suggesting a broader threat.

“3 bodies in 3 days? Forgive me, but you can’t credibly say it’s not a serial killer if you haven’t solved it yet,” one skeptical user wrote.

Another commented, “Well… honestly there probably is one or two, but we just don’t know about it yet.”

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“Our detectives are investigating recent homicide cases that involve female victims, following the facts and evidence in each case. We will share updates as soon as we are able to, but we want to reassure the community there is no danger to the public related [to] these incidents,” the department said.

Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to stepheny.price@fox.com.

West Virginia Attorney General John McCuskey weighed in on his state’s upcoming Supreme Court case against trans athlete Becky Pepper-Jackson after 130 congressional Democrats filed an amicus brief backing Pepper-Jackson. 

Pepper-Jackson filed the West Virginia v, B.P.J. case in July 2024, to challenge the state’s law, The Save Women’s Sports Act, to compete on a girls high school cross-country and track and field team. But the case will now be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court in January. 

“The Save Women’s Sport Act is about making sports fair and safe for all involved. It is not about banning anyone from competition. Biological males can compete against biological males but not against biological females,” McCuskey said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital through the law firm Alliance Defending Freedom. 

“Women and girls have lost places on sports teams, surrendered spots on championship podiums and suffered injuries competing against bigger, faster and stronger males. This case is about preserving the hard-earned victories afforded in Title IX and, more than anything, protecting our female athletes.”

The lawsuit was brought against the state of West Virginia by trans athlete Becky Pepper-Jackson, who was initially granted a preliminary injunction allowing the athlete to participate on the school’s sports teams. The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the law violated Title IX and the equal protection clause. Now, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear the state’s appeal.

In a response brief, the athlete’s mother, Heather Jackson, argued West Virginia’s law that prohibits transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports violates Title IX.

However, Title IX does not explicitly protect the right of biologically male transgender people to identify as women. The Trump administration and West Virginia state government do not interpret Title IX as protective of that right.

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The 130 Democrats who have thrown their support behind Pepper-Jackson include nine Senators and 121 House members. 

The list of signees features prominent figures on the party’s left wing, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Ilhan Omar, D-Minn. The list also includes House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Rep. Nancy Pelosi. The list does not include noted moderate Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., or Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

“Categorical bans — such as the bans in West Virginia and Idaho — undermine those protections and the ability of transgender students to be part of their school community,” the brief says.

The amicus brief also expressed support for another trans athlete, Lindsay Hecox, whose case will also be heard by the Supreme Court in January. 

The Little v. Hecox lawsuit was initially filed by trans athlete Lindsay Hecox in 2020, when the athlete wanted to join the women’s cross-country team at Boise State and had the state’s law to prevent trans athletes from competing in women’s sports blocked.

Hecox was joined by an anonymous biological female student, Jane Doe, who was concerned about the potential of being subjected to the sex dispute verification process. The challenge was successful when a federal judge blocked Idaho’s state law.

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A 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel upheld an injunction blocking the state law in 2023, before the Supreme Court agreed in July to hear the case. Hecox then asked the court last month to drop the challenge, claiming the athlete “has therefore decided to permanently withdraw and refrain from playing any women’s sports at BSU or in Idaho.”

Hecox tried to have the case dismissed in September after the Supreme Court agreed in July to hear the case, but U.S. District Judge David Nye, appointed by President Donald Trump in 2017, rejected Hecox’s motion to dismiss the case. 

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