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Republican gov slams city for considering 'antisemitic' resolution, threatens to pull funding

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Republican gov slams city for considering 'antisemitic' resolution, threatens to pull funding

A city in Texas could lose its state funding over a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and an arms embargo against Israel. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott wrote a letter to San Marcos Mayor Jane Hughson admonishing the City Council, which voted to bring the resolution to a formal vote on May 6.

In his letter, Abbott pointed out that while the council was considering a resolution for a “permanent ceasefire in occupied Palestine,” it had not done the same to condemn Hamas following the Oct. 7 massacre.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott makes an announcement on the future of the space industry in his state at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on March 26, 2024. (Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP via Getty Images)

UT AUSTIN ANTI-ISRAEL AGITATORS FREED AFTER GOVERNOR SAID THEY ‘BELONG IN JAIL’

“Israel is a stalwart ally of the United States and a friend to Texas. I have repeatedly made clear that Texas will not tolerate antisemitism. Anti-Israel policies are anti-Texas policies,” Abbott wrote.

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The governor said he was “proud” to have signed a law banning Texas government entities from supporting efforts to boycott, divest from and sanction (BDS) Israel. The BDS movement argues that Israel should not receive financial support due to its actions in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

ABBOTT SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDER TO CURB ANTISEMITISM ON TEXAS CAMPUSES, DEMANDS ‘APPROPRIATE PUNISHMENTS’

Texas law, specifically Code § 2271.002, states that government entities are prohibited from entering into a contract worth $100,000 or more without a written guarantee that the contracting entity does not boycott Israel. Under the law, “boycott Israel” is defined as “refusing to deal with, terminating business activities with, or otherwise taking any action that is intended to penalize, inflict economic harm on, or limit commercial relations specifically with Israel…” Government entities that violate the law put their funding at risk.

Abbott wrote in his letter that his office had already begun “reviewing active grants with San Marcos to determine whether the city has breached terms by falsely certifying compliance with Texas law.” Additionally, he said that if the city moves to pass the resolution, his office would not enter into future grant agreements with the city and would terminate active grants.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott delivers remarks during a solidarity gathering for Israel at the Dell Jewish Community Campus in Austin, Texas, on Oct. 9, 2023. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

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UT AUSTIN PROTESTS DESCEND INTO CHAOS, ANTI-ISRAEL STUDENTS YELL AT POLICE: ‘PIGS GO HOME!’

The City Council agenda description of the April 15 discussion read: “Hold a discussion regarding a possible resolution calling for the immediate and permanent ceasefire in occupied Palestine, an arms embargo on Israel, recognition of Palestinian sovereignty, and the protection of constitutional rights for all people under national and international law.”

San Marcos City Council member Alyssa Garza, who apparently put the resolution on the agenda, spoke at the April 15 meeting, framing the resolution as a way to fight big government. Garza listed the ways in which she believes larger government entities are threatening smaller ones and insisted that Texans could not rely on the same government “to stop a genocide.”

“[It’s] clear to me that when they fund bombs, but cut aid for housing and education and so on here, that’s connected. When they silence protests here and crush dissent abroad, that’s connected. When they defund local governments and nonprofits and they call us ‘distractive’ for standing up, that’s absolutely connected,” Garza said.

Palestinians return to Beit Lahia, a city in northern Gaza, on March 8. (Khalil Ramzi Alkahlut/Anadolu via Getty Images)

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GAZA CEASEFIRE NEGOTIATIONS SEEING ‘SIGNIFICANT BREAKTHROUGH’ IN CAIRO: SOURCES

Another council member, Amanda Rodriguez, said the resolution wasn’t political, but rather a “moral litmus test.” She also described the war in Gaza as a “genocide.” Additionally, Rodriguez made a plea to Jews who did not attend the meeting because “there has been such a conflation with this resolution being compared to antisemitism.” As part of the plea, she then said, “You cannot tell me that Judaism as a religion supports this.”

In just five days, the San Marcos City Council is set to vote on the resolution and if it passes, Abbott’s office is expected to evaluate its grants to the city.

Hughson, Garza and Rodriguez have yet to respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.

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Republican senators hit border, touting tougher security and tax cuts, in 2026 kickoff

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Republican senators hit border, touting tougher security and tax cuts, in 2026 kickoff

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Aiming to not only hold but expand their 53-47 majority in November’s midterm elections, top Senate Republicans are showcasing the plummeting rates of border crossings during a stop Friday at the nation’s southern border with Mexico.

And the group, led by Senate Majority Leader John Thune, is also highlighting how President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers are “putting more money in Americans’ pockets.”

The stop at the border, hosted by One Nation, a nonprofit outside group closely aligned with Thune, is seen as an unofficial kickoff by Senate Republicans ahead of the midterms to tout the sweeping “One Big, Beautiful Bill Act,” Trump’s signature domestic achievement last year that was passed nearly entirely along party lines in the GOP controlled Congress.

At the event at the border, which was a regular stop for Republicans amid the surge in border crossings during then-President Joe Biden’s administration, the GOP senators are teaming up with members of the National Border Patrol Council. And they are highlighting how the passage of the domestic policy measure “secured transformational border security funding,” according to One Nation.

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THUNE PREVIEWS SENATE REPUBLICANS’ MIDTERM MESSAGE 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune and fellow Senate Republicans speak to reporters at an event at the nation’s southern border with Mexico, on Jan. 9, 2026. (One Nation)

“This is a remarkable, remarkable difference in just a year,” Thune said at the event. “It’s been an incredible year of progress when it comes to the southern border and the American people are experiencing the benefit of that in the form of having safer streets and safer communities and safer neighborhoods.”

But with Democrats enjoying decisive victories and overperformances in the 2025 elections and in a slew of special elections and other ballot box showdowns last year, which were fueled by their laser focus on affordability amid persistent inflation, the Republican senators are also using Friday’s trip to spotlight the tax cut and energy policy provisions in the bill, which they rebranded as the “Working Families Tax Cut.”

“The Working Families Tax Cut will make buying groceries more affordable for working Americans this year,” the Senate Republicans touted on social media on the eve of the border stop. “Every Democrat voted against it.”

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DOUBLING DOWN: TOP HOUSE DEMOCRAT SAYS FOCUS ON HIGH PRICES ‘ABSOLUTELY GOING TO CONTINUE’

And they also highlighted that “Senate Republicans have worked closely with President Trump to lower energy prices and make life more affordable — and the results speak for themselves.”

Thune, at the border, pointed to the tax cut provisions in the GOP measure, including no tax on tips and overtime and reduced rates for seniors on Social Security, along with “the jobs that are going to be created by the pro-growth policies that we put in place….are going to lead us to a place where the American people are seeing their incomes go up.”

But Democrats see the cost of living as their winning issue heading into the midterms.

“If the Republican agenda actually made life more affordable for working Americans, then they wouldn’t be desperately flailing as families struggle to afford groceries, health care, and housing,” Lauren French, communications director at Senate Majority PAC, the top Senate Democrat-aligned outside group, told Fox News Digital. “Instead of focusing on working people, Trump and Senate Republicans are focused on bringing chaos and instability into our communities.”

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Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., holds a political and policy event Friday at the nation’s southern border with Mexico. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Joining Thune, the longtime senator from South Dakota, at the border is Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, number two in Senate Republican leadership.

There are also Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, who faces a bruising GOP primary showdown in March against challengers Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt; and Republican Sens. Jon Husted of Ohio and Ashley Moody of Florida, who were appointed last year and will face voters this November.

HEALTHCARE, ECONOMY AND THE ‘ONE BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’: WELCOME TO THE MIDTERMS

GOP Sens. Pete Ricketts of Nebraska and Mike Rounds of South Dakota, who are up for re-election this year, are also on the trip, as are former Rep. Mike Rogers and former Republican National Committee chair Mike Whatley, the GOP Senate candidates in battlegrounds Michigan and North Carolina who are backed by Thune and the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

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“We’re seeing signs already that the economy is starting to tick up and is starting to take hold as the President’s policies are getting in place,” Whatley argued last month in a Fox News Digital interview. “We need to make sure that we have the trade policies, the tax policies, the regulatory policies from this administration that are going to help our small businesses, our manufacturers and our farmers across North Carolina.”

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But Democrats are energized as the midterm year begins, as they continue to keep their focus on the issue of affordability.

“Donald Trump has lost the economy, is losing his mind, and is going to lose the midterms,” Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin claimed in a recent statement.

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Body found during search for missing Texas teen Camila Mendoza Olmos as another teen girl disappears

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Body found during search for missing Texas teen Camila Mendoza Olmos as another teen girl disappears

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A body was found Tuesday evening as authorities in Bexar County, Texas, grapple with a series of disappearances involving teen girls who all went missing within a week.

The body was found during the search for 19-year-old Camila Olmos, though police said it is too early to determine whether the remains belong to her.

Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said during a news conference that investigators had “just recently found a body in a field” around 4:40 to 4:45 p.m., adding that the medical examiner will determine both the identity of the body and the cause and manner of death.

The body was found by a joint team of sheriff’s deputies and FBI agents in an area of tall grass near a landscaping business, a few hundred yards from Olmos’ home, according to Salazar.

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MISSING CAMILA MENDOZ OLMOS: DASHCAM CAPTURES LAST SIGHTING OF TEXAS TEEN WHO VANISHED CHRISTMAS EVE

Camila Olmos was reported missing on Christmas Eve. (Bexar County Sheriff)

A firearm was recovered near the body, which authorities said had been an item of interest during the search.

Salazar said investigators do not currently suspect murder and noted there were indicators consistent with possible self-harm, though he stressed it is too early to draw conclusions while the scene is still being processed.

Olmos was last seen leaving her home in far northwest Bexar County around 7 a.m. on Dec. 24, authorities said. Her case came as two other girls were reported missing in the area. Fourteen-year-old Sofia Gabriela Peters-Cobos has since been found safe, while 17-year-old Angelique Johnson remains missing, according to police.

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Law enforcement has said there is no confirmed connection between the cases.

MISSING CAMILA MENDOZ OLMOS: DASHCAM CAPTURES LAST SIGHTING OF TEXAS TEEN WHO VANISHED CHRISTMAS EVE

Angelique Johnson, from San Antonio, Texas, was reported missing. (Bexar County Sheriff’s Office)

Texas Department of Public Safety said the Clear Alert for Olmos has been discontinued, though authorities urged anyone with information related to the cases or the whereabouts of Angelique Johnson to contact the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office.

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The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office and the San Antonio Police Department did not respond immediately to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Greg Norman and Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.

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Former GOP Sen Jon Kyl announces dementia diagnosis, steps away from public life

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Former GOP Sen Jon Kyl announces dementia diagnosis, steps away from public life

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Former Republican Sen. Jon Kyl announced on Tuesday he is withdrawing from public life after being diagnosed with dementia.

Kyl, 83, became one of Arizona’s most prominent Republicans during a career that spanned nearly three decades across both chambers of Congress, including a stint as Senate minority whip.

“I was blessed to represent the people of Arizona in Congress and to have numerous other opportunities to contribute to the political and civic life of our nation and state,” Kyl said in a statement. “However, the time has come for me to withdraw from public life. I have been diagnosed with a neurological disease manifesting as dementia.”

Kyl represented Arizona’s 4th Congressional District in the House from 1987 to 1995 before serving in the U.S. Senate from 1995 to 2013.

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DAVID MARCUS: BEN SASSE IS DYING, BUT HIS LETTER TO AMERICA WILL LIVE FOREVER

Former Arizona Republican Senator Jon Kyl announced on Tuesday he is withdrawing from public life after being diagnosed with dementia. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

After leaving the Senate, Kyl joined the lobbying firm Covington and Burling, before being appointed in 2018 by then-Gov. Doug Ducey to fill the vacancy caused by the death of former Sen. John McCain.

Kyl held the seat for several months in the Senate before rejoining the firm in 2019, where he helped guide the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

The longtime Arizona lawmaker described himself as “a very fortunate man” despite the diagnosis.

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FORMER COLORADO SEN. BEN NIGHTHORSE CAMPBELL DEAD AT 92

Former Arizona Republican Sen. Jon Kyl, left, and Bruce Babbitt, right, former Arizona Republican governor and secretary of the Interior, wave to the crowd as they are recognized during Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey’s state of the state address Monday, Jan. 14, 2019, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

“My family and I now head down a path filled with moments of joy and increasing difficulties,” he stated. “I am grateful beyond expression for their love and support, in these coming days as in all the days of my life.”

Kyl moved to Arizona as an 18-year-old freshman to attend the University of Arizona, where he met his wife.

The university said Kyl devoted more than two decades to public service, leaving a lasting impact on water policy, national defense and intelligence.

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“His leadership, integrity, and commitment to service reflect the highest ideals of public life,” the university said in a statement.

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Former Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., announced he is withdrawing from public life after being diagnosed with dementia. (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., said Kyl gave “decades of his life” serving Arizona, adding that he’s grateful for the former GOP senator’s “commitment to our state and country.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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