Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said she is ‘fearful that any day’ planes filled with illegal immigrants will be flown into the city.

During an event hosted by Axios on Thursday, Bass said, ‘We live in a city that welcomes immigrants, and so I think we have been able to handle it, but I am fearful that any day, planes could start coming.’

She added that the transportation of immigrants from border states and Florida to ‘sanctuary’ juristictions ‘is just setting the stage for the presidential election next year.’

The liberal city mayor’s comments come as governors overrun by illegal immigration have sent busloads of migrants to cities like New York City, Chicago and Washington, D.C. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has already sent 13 busloads of migrants to Los Angeles — which touts itself as a sanctuary city — as part of Operation Lone Star. 

Abbott continued to send buses as the city was hit by Tropical Storm Hilary, which Bass called ‘evil.’

‘Our border communities are on the frontlines of President Biden’s border crisis, and Texas will continue providing this much-needed relief until he steps up to do his job and secure the border,’ Abbott said in a statement.

In June, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis transported batches of migrants from border states to Sacramento. In the preceding fall, Florida also facilitated the travel of 49 Venezuelans to Martha’s Vineyard, a wealthy Massachusetts island.

Bass called the effort by Republican governors an attempt to ‘destabilize cities.’

‘It’s the narrative that these are Democratic-run cities and that we don’t know how to govern and that everything is chaotic here,’ Bass said during the event, Axios reported. 

Illegal immigrants entering Los Angeles are reportedly coming from Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras and Venezuela. 

According to the Migration Policy Institute, in 2019, it was estimated that there were approximately 951,000 illegal immigrants residing in Los Angeles County, nearly 10% of the county’s total population, marking the highest concentration of migrants in any U.S. county.

‘What’s maddening is the fact that in New York and Chicago, in D.C. and LA, and other places, they put out policies self-proclaiming that they’re sanctuary cities, and they love to promote these liberal ideologies until they have to actually live up and apply them,’ Abbott said recently on Fox News’ Jesse Watters Primetime. ‘It was clear that the policies of sanctuary cities and letting everybody live for free simply do not work. This is a day of reckoning for all of the United States, realizing that the liberal policies of open borders will not work in this country.’

Other cities with incoming migrants include Chicago and New York. On Friday, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and other Democrats were shouted down at a press conference in New York City regarding the illegal migrant crisis there.

The Democrats, who spoke outside the Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan, which has become a relief center for more than 100,000 asylum seekers in the past year, were drowned out by shouting protesters chanting, ‘Send them back!’ and ‘Close the border!’

Some Democrats in the commonwealth of Virginia are rallying around a House of Delegates candidate who posted videos online that showed her engaging in sexual acts with her husband while soliciting tips.

Virginia State Sen. L. Louise Lucas, a leading Democratic lawmaker in Virginia, came to the defense of Democratic House of Delegates candidate Susanna Gibson, calling on voters to ‘make this the biggest fundraising day of (Gibson’s) campaign’ along with a link to donate to the campaign. 

‘Susanna and I just crossed over 100 donations today to fight back against the Republicans,’ Lucas wrote in another post. ‘If you are as pissed as I am then please donate tonight!’

Lucas accused Virginia’s Republican governor of being behind the story leak in an effort to ‘try to embarrass and humiliate her and they failed completely.’

A Washington Post report earlier this week first revealed that Gibson, a 40-year-old nurse practitioner and mother of two, used a platform called Chaturbate to stream sex acts with her husband and solicited ‘tips’ from viewers for performing certain acts that would go to a ‘good cause.’ 

Gibson posted more than a dozen videos in September 2022, after she had officially entered the race in suburban Richmond for the House of Delegates in the 57th district.

‘Anybody who looks at this knows it’s a hit job,’ said Amanda Linton, a 45-year-old defense contractor who donated $25 to Gibson’s campaign after reading about the videos. Linton said she plans to donate another $100 to Gibson’s campaign even though she can’t vote for her because she lives outside her district.

Emily’s List, an advocacy group for Democratic female candidates, also defended Gibson.

‘Susanna originally ran for office because of the overturning of Roe and she’s been very outspoken on standing up for reproductive rights. People are coming out in support of Susanna because they know that Republicans are coming after her because she was standing up for them,’ said spokesperson Lauren Chou.

Gibson responded to the controversy by calling it ‘an illegal invasion of my privacy designed to humiliate me.’

‘My political opponents and their Republican allies have proven they’re willing to commit a sex crime to attack me and my family because there’s no line they won’t cross to silence women when they speak up,’ Gibson told CNN in a statement on Tuesday.

If Gibson stays in the race, she is set to face her GOP opponent, David Owen, in a Nov. 7 election.

Associated Press contributed to this report

A non-profit Catholic advocacy group is speaking out against an ad in Ohio supporting abortion that depicts an image of Jesus Christ and a man praying inside a church to promote ‘abortion rights.’

The ad in question, posted by Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights, includes a shot of a man kneeling and praying inside a Catholic Church with the Divine Mercy image of Christ in the background along with messaging supporting a November measure that would enshrine abortion access into the Ohio state constitution. 

‘When we face personal medical decisions, we depend on our doctors, our faith, our family, and the last thing we want is the government making those decisions for us,’ the ad says.

The ad has generated controversy and criticism from Catholics and opponents of abortion. 

‘Those who want to eliminate all protections for the unborn in Ohio have resorted to exploiting images of Jesus in order to impose a radical change to the Ohio constitution,’ CatholicVote president Brian Burch said in a statement in response to the ad. 

‘Their newest ad campaign features the Divine Mercy, a sacred image for Catholics given to a saintly polish nun in the early 20th century. The use of this image to advance the cause of abortion, even painful late term abortion, is abhorrent, and reveals a gross disregard for the cherished faith of millions of Christians in Ohio. We urge those responsible for this ad to remove it immediately and apologize for the great offense it has caused.’

In addition to outrage about the Catholic imagery, opponents of the ad say its misleading in other ways. 

‘The backers of Issue 1 stooped lower than anyone could have imagined with their ad, invoking faith and family, medical misinformation and fearmongering to distract from the dangers lurking within the proposed amendment,’ Amy Natoce, press secretary for Protect Women Ohio, told Fox News Digital about the ad. 

‘The ad fails to mention that Issue 1 will strip Ohio parents of their basic rights, permit abortion-on-demand through all nine months, including when the unborn child is capable of feeling pain, and remove commonsense health and safety protections for women. The ACLU pedaled the same lies in Michigan, and now they’re coming for Ohio. Issue 1 is too radical for Ohio families and parents will not stand for it.’

In a statement to Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights said, ‘When Ohioans face personal medical decisions, we depend on our doctors, our family, and our faith. Voting Yes on Issue 1 puts Ohioans back in charge of their families’ personal medical decisions and stops government from making these decisions for us.’

Border Patrol agents in San Diego are releasing hundreds of illegal immigrants onto city streets as it struggles to deal with a surge of migrants into the area – just after similar releases had started in Arizona.

Video out of San Diego shows hundreds of migrants being released from buses, with migrants from China and Pakistan onto the streets. A conversation in the video shows a migrant speaking to a Border Patrol agent, who tells him he can do whatever he wants now.

‘You’re free to go on and do wherever you want. You’re free,’ the agent says.

‘It’s no problem if I go to Chicago?’ the migrant asks.

‘You can do whatever you want,’ the agent says.

This is after releases have been taking place in Arizona in the Tucson Sector for days as agents have been facing 2,000 encounters a day and images have emerged of packed shelters in places like Ajo.

Meanwhile, Texas is continuing to use razor wire to block migrants trying to enter illegally, as it fends off a challenge from the Biden administration seeking to stop it from building a buoy barrier in the Rio Grande. 

The border as a whole has seen multiple days this week of over 7,000 illegal crossings, and when combined with migrants who have come to the ports of entry, that number rises to over 9,000.

Sources told Fox News this week that early indications show migrant encounters for August on track to exceed 230,000, making it the sixth month this fiscal year over 200,000. Fox has reported on how Border Patrol leadership is setting ‘bookout’ targets to more quickly process migrants either into the interior or into deportation or removal.

It marks the latest difficult month for overwhelmed agents at the border, who are now in the third year of a migrant crisis which has affected not only border communities but also those deeper within the U.S. 

Both New York City and Chicago have been sounding the alarm about their troubles with coping with the number of migrants that have come their way — either by themselves or with the assistance of Texas, which has run a bussing program to ‘sanctuary’ cities. 

New York City Mayor Eric Adams recently warned that the crisis threatens to ‘destroy’ the city, as it copes with over 110,000 migrant arrivals since last year. 

Republicans in Congress are pushing for a border security to be passed in the Senate, having already passed the House. But that has shown little chance of receiving Democratic support, while a Democratic reform bill has been rejected by Republicans for the inclusion of an amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants.

Special counsel Jack Smith have requested a federal judge in Washington, D.C. to impose a ‘narrowly tailored’ order restricting former President Donald Trump from making public statements that could ‘present a serious and substantial danger of material prejudicing this case.’

In a filing, Smith’s office accused Trump of engaging in a sweeping campaign of disinformation and harassment intended to intimidate prosecutors and undermine public confidence in the judicial system during his prosecution. 

‘In service of his criminal conspiracies, through false public statements, the defendant sought to erode public faith in the administration of the election and intimidate individuals who refuted his lies,’ the filing said.

‘The defendant is now attempting to do the same thing in this criminal case — to undermine confidence in the criminal justice system and prejudice the jury pool through disparaging and inflammatory attacks on the citizens of this District, the Court, prosecutors, and prospective witnesses,’ the filing said.

If approved by Judge Tanya Chutkan, the ‘well-defined restriction’ would prohibit Trump from making statements regarding the identity, testimony, or credibility of prospective witnesses.

Trump has pleaded ‘not guilty’ in federal courts to all four federal charges stemming from Smith’s investigation into 2020 election interference and the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. 

The 2024 GOP front-runner is charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding and conspiracy against rights.

The former Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agent who inspired the hit film ‘Sound of Freedom’ said Friday he is ‘very seriously considering’ a run for the U.S. Senate in his home state of Utah to replace retiring Sen. Mitt Romney.

Tim Ballard made the announcement during an appearance on the digital show of former Trump White House press secretary Sean Spicer, where he said he had been approached by numerous ‘influential people’ for weeks about a potential run before Romney announced Wednesday he would not be running for re-election.

‘Since Sound of Freedom took out any opportunity for me to ever be an operator again — those days are done … They know my face. But starting several weeks ago, I’ve been asked by a lot of very influential people, names you would even know, asking me to throw in,’ Ballard said.

Spicer noted Ballard lived in Utah, which the former admitted was the very seat he was asked to look at running for.

‘I was very seriously considering it then. And now, I’ll be honest, even mores very, very seriously considering,’ Ballard said.

When asked what would get him into the race, Ballard said his ‘wife and prayer.’

‘So she says yes when you go home, you’re in?’ Spicer asked.

‘That’s how it’s always worked in the past. So even before Senator Romney announced his retirement, a lot of things were building up to this consideration. I was with the president of Honduras last week, and the president of Guatemala last week, and I was just listening to them in their plight, in their tears, over the plight of their people because of our border policies,’ Ballard said. 

‘We’re talking about millions of people being affected by forms of slavery because of the wind that our policies put into the sails of child traffickers. And I thought, there has to be something done — more done — at the federal level. So it just kept building and building and building. At the same time that’s happening I’m getting phone calls from people,’ he said. 

He added that confirmation Romney would not be running again took his consideration to the next level.

The Biden administration has unveiled new regulations expanding the authority of states and tribes to deny certification for various infrastructure activities including fossil fuel pipelines that may impact water sources.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued the final rule in a move applauded by a wide range of Democratic governors who said it would strengthen their ability to protect the environment and weigh in on key federal permits. According to the EPA, the rule realigns the scope of a provision in the Clean Water Act of 1972, Section 401, which prohibits projects that result in any discharge into waters from being approved.

‘The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to supporting economically secure, healthy, and sustainable communities,’ EPA Administrator Michael Regan said Thursday in a statement.

‘To achieve this goal, we must protect our water resources while also making investments that move our nation forward,’ he continued. ‘With EPA’s final Clean Water Act Section 401 rule, we are affirming the authority of states, territories, and Tribes to protect precious water resources while advancing federally permitted projects in a transparent, timely, and predictable way.’

States for years had previously used authority under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act to reject fossil fuel projects in their jurisdiction. For example, New York rejected permits for a natural gas pipeline in 2018 and, one year later, Oregon rejected certification for a natural gas export facility. 

However, former President Donald Trump issued an energy security and infrastructure executive order in 2019 that ordered the EPA to restrict states’ authority under the Clean Water Act.

The EPA then finalized regulations in 2020 rolling back how much states could intervene in federal permitting for activities potentially impacting water sources, a move that was ultimately challenged by Democratic-led states in federal court. The EPA’s regulations this week reverse the Trump administration’s actions.

‘EPA’s action will better protect New Mexico’s water quality at a time when federal and state protections are needed most,’ Democratic New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said after the Biden administration announcement. ‘New Mexico must do all it can to protect our most precious resource — our water.’

‘As Attorney General, I stood up to efforts to undermine this and now, as Governor, I’m grateful to see it restored,’ Democratic Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey added. ‘Massachusetts thanks the U.S. EPA for strengthening the partnership envisioned by the Clean Water Act with today’s rule, helping us fulfill our commitment to protecting waterways across Massachusetts.’

The Environmental Council of States, a nonprofit that works with state environmental agencies to push green policies, also endorsed the EPA’s action.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre addressed the possibility of President Biden pardoning his son, Hunter, for the first time since the latter was indicted on federal charges for making false statements and unlawfully possessing a firearm.

‘Will the president pardon or commute his son if he is convicted?’ one reporter asked Jean-Pierre during Friday’s daily White House press briefing.

‘So I’ve answered this question before. It was asked of me not too long ago — a couple of weeks ago — and I was very clear, and I said no,’ Jean-Pierre responded.

Her answer was unchanged from the one she gave in July following Hunter’s first appearance at a Delaware federal court where the president’s sonded not guilty to tax charges pl. Jean-Pierre simply said ‘no’ when asked if the president would pardon his son if convicted.

Biden was indicted Thursday on federal gun charges out of Special Counsel David Weiss’ investigation. 

He was specifically charged with making a false statement in the purchase of a firearm; making a false statement related to information required to be kept by a federal firearms licensed dealer; and one count of possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance. 

These are the first charges Weiss has brought against the first son since being granted special counsel status. 

The charges come after an original plea agreement collapsed during Hunter’s July court appearance, when he was expected to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax counts of willful failure to pay federal income tax as part of a plea deal to avoid jail time on the felony gun charge.

Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.