California Gov. Gavin Newsom said during a campaign event Tuesday evening that he stayed close with Charlie Kirk after he appeared as his debut guest on his podcast, ‘This is Gavin Newsom,’ in January.

‘He was gracious enough, to not only say, yes, he flew out, to do it in person,’ Newsom said to progressive political commentator Bryan Tyler Cohen. 

‘And I spent not just the hour plus, in a very civil conversation with Charlie, I spent time with him after, and we stayed in touch, including my team, stayed in touch pretty consistently,’ the liberal governor said.

Kirk and Newsom clashed over transgender athletes in women’s sports on the podcast, but Newsom — breaking with his progressive base — sided with Kirk, calling it ‘an issue of fairness’ and ‘deeply unfair.’ He also noted that his own children watch Kirk’s videos.

‘Obviously, we have deep differences of opinion,’ Newsom said Tuesday. ‘Obviously, he was very offended by positions I hold dear, and I, in turn, very offended by things that he said in positions he held. But the fact is, we had that opportunity to engage.’

‘It’s all at stake,’ the governor continued. ‘This is a profound and consequential moment in American history. We can lose this republic if we do not assert ourselves. And stand tall at this moment and stand guard, to this republic and our democracy.’

The comments came during a three-hour livestream rebranded as a Voter Registration Day Rally after Kirk’s death. Newsom framed his ‘FAFO 50’ (F— Around and Find Out) redistricting measure as part of a broader battle against what he called a ‘code red’ threat to American democracy. Joined by Democrat politicians, celebrities and influencers, Newsom claimed President Donald Trump and his allies are undermining institutions from universities to the Justice Department, and pushing to redefine dissent as ‘hate speech.’ 

Newsom urged Democrats to wield their ‘moral authority’ with ‘muscularity’ to counter Republican redistricting efforts.

‘We need to win this,’ he said, ‘or we lose this republic, we lose this democracy.’

Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA — the nation’s largest grassroots conservative youth movement — was assassinated last week at Utah Valley University during his ‘American Comeback Tour,’ where he invited liberal students to challenge him in open debate and ask questions.

Suspect Tyler Robinson was formally charged by the state of Utah on Tuesday. Robinson espoused far-left ideology and had a ‘hatred’ for Kirk’s views, according to an indictment.

Ahead of Charlie Kirk’s memorial service, his organization, Turning Point USA (TPUSA), added new commemorative merchandise to its online store this week. 

The 11 new items are available ahead of Kirk’s celebration of life ceremony, which is scheduled for Sunday at State Farm Stadium in Arizona. President Donald Trump will speak at Kirk’s memorial service along with Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.

One T-shirt features a line-art illustration of the Kirk family walking hand in hand, with a halo above Charlie Kirk’s head. Under the image, in bold block letters, the shirt reads ‘NEVER SURRENDER,’ and beneath, in script, it says ‘Love, An American Mother.’ A black shirt dubbed as the memorial tee, features a bold distressed graphic with the words ‘This Is Our Turning Point.’ The new merchandise also includes baseball hats and stickers.

In addition to the new merchandise, Kirk’s books are charting in Amazon’s top 20, and his podcast has soared to the No. 1 position in multiple categories. Meanwhile, millions have gravitated to Kirk’s social media presence in the wake of his assassination. The spike has been especially pronounced on YouTube, where subscriber growth has translated into higher view counts and a jump in estimated earnings.

Kirk was assassinated on Sept. 10 during an outdoor event at Utah Valley University. The gathering was the first stop on TPUSA’s planned ‘American Comeback Tour,’ and, at first, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The charismatic founder of TPUSA gained recognition for his signature political debates on college campuses. Before the shot that killed him was fired, Kirk sat under a white tent marked with the slogan ‘Prove Me Wrong,’ fielding open-mic questions from thousands. 

After his death, TPUSA has seen a massive surge in inquiries for new college chapters as the organization works to advance Kirk’s vision. Andrew Kolvet, executive producer of ‘The Charlie Kirk Show,’ said the organization has received more than 54,000 requests to establish new campus chapters, adding to its current network of 900 official chapters. 

He also told Fox News Digital that he has ‘personally received hundreds of offers to work’ for TPUSA.  

FBI Director Kash Patel battled with Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee during Wednesday’s hearing on oversight of the bureau. 

The Jeffrey Epstein case was at the center of the clashes, with several Democrats accusing Patel of going back on his promise to release all available information to the public. Meanwhile, Patel argued that the FBI’s undisclosed information was either under some form of legal restriction or was abuse material, which he would not release.

‘So, you were sworn in as director more than 200 days ago. Now the ‘Black Book’ is under your direct control. So why haven’t you released the names of Epstein’s co-conspirators in the rape and sex trafficking of young women and girls?’ Ranking Member Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., asked.

Patel insisted that the late disgraced financier’s Rolodex had been released. However, Raskin was not satisfied with the answer and further challenged Patel, saying there was more material that had not been released. However, Patel pushed back and admonished the Biden and Obama administrations for not releasing more material on the case.

‘Everything that has been lawfully permitted to be released has been released,’ Patel said. He continued along this line as Raskin asked about other materials allegedly seized from Epstein’s home, with Patel repeating that anything that has been allowed to be uncovered by law has been released.

‘I’m not going to break the law to satisfy your curiosity,’ Patel said to Raskin, as the Democrat lawmaker continued to insist that the FBI director was sitting on information that should be made public.

The next Democrat to tangle with Patel was Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., who opened his line of questioning by asking whether President Donald Trump appeared in the Epstein files. Before his questioning continued, the tension between Goldman and Patel became clear as the FBI director asked the New York congressman to repeat his question. The lawmaker responded, ‘It’s not a complicated question,’ before repeating what he asked.

Goldman asked why videos or photos – perhaps any potentially related to Prince Andrew – that the FBI could release had not been made public. Patel rejected the question as being based on a ‘false’ premise. 

The two continued to clash over exactly how much of the material had been released, with Goldman closing his time by saying, ‘You are hiding the Epstein files, Mr. Patel. You are part of the cover-up.’

‘Any allegations that I am part of a cover-up to protect child sexual trafficking in victims of human trafficking and sexual crimes is patently and categorically false,’ Patel said in response.

While Democrats battled with Patel, accusing him not only of covering up information on Epstein but also of being unqualified, Republicans retorted with praise for the changes implemented at the FBI. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, went through a litany of information that he credited Patel with making public.

New York City socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani once signed a letter labeling conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated last week, as an ‘extremist’ while calling on a venue to block his ability to speak in New York City. 

In a June 2023 press release by several local Democrats, Mamdani and his colleagues issued a statement ‘in response to Motif Studios agreeing to host a far-right extremist event on June 17th at Tammany House in Long Island City.’

‘As elected officials representing western Queens, we are deeply disappointed by the decision by Motif Studios to host an event by the far-right extremist groups Blexit and Turning Point USA at their Triplex LIC/Tammany House venue in Long Island City,’ the statement explained. 

‘Providing a platform for the kind of transphobic, bigoted views held by invited speakers Candace Owens, Charlie Kirk and others goes directly against the diversity and inclusivity that we hold dear as New Yorkers and is an insult to every member of our community.’

The elected Democrats went on to call on Motif Studios to ‘follow the lead’ of another local venue who was originally going to host the event but ‘canceled their booking after the community spoke out’ about the ‘bigotry’ of the event organizers. 

‘Hate has no home in Queens, New York City, or anywhere else and certainly not here in Long Island City,’ the press release said. 

The scheduled event was held according to plan and Kirk posted a video of an activist being removed after attempting to disrupt the proceedings. 

GOP Assemblyman Jake Blumencranz, who represents New York’s 15th District, told Fox News Digital that Kirk was murdered for exercising his free speech and that elected officials should be forced to ‘reckon with the culture of hate that has been allowed to grow.’

‘We cannot ignore that my colleagues, Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani and his radical DSA allies, once tried to silence Charlie Kirk in New York City, pressuring venues to cancel his events,’ Blumencranz said. 

‘That mindset of censorship and public shaming feeds the hostile climate we see today and corrodes the American ideal that speech must be met with more speech, not suppression.’

Kirk’s death has ignited a firestorm of political debate about free speech in the U.S. and Blumencranz told Fox News Digital he believes Mamdani, who holds a commanding polling lead in the race to be New York City’s next mayor, has been hypocritical on the issue of speech. 

‘What’s most telling is Mamdani’s double standard: the speech he rushes to protect — like ‘globalize the intifada,’ which many view as a call to violence against Jews — tears at America’s fabric, while the speech he vigorously fights to silence is the very kind that keeps our democracy alive,’ Blumencranz said.

Blumencranz continued, ‘New Yorkers must ask themselves what it would mean to have a ‘Silencer-in-Chief’ like Zohran Mamdani in City Hall. New York deserves a ‘Unifier-in-Chief,’ who will defend free expression and bring people together — clearly, Zohran Mamdani is not that leader.’

Fox News Digital reached out to the Mamdani campaign for comment. 

Mamdani publicly addressed Kirk’s assassination, telling a group of supporters that the shooting was ‘horrific’ and ‘yet another victim of gun violence in a nation where what should be a rarity has turned into a plague.’

In a post on X, Mamdani said he was ‘horrified’ and declared that ‘political violence has no place in our country.’

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., clashed with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and former CDC Director Susan Monarez over recommending vaccines for infants on Wednesday.

The back-and-forth arose during a Senate hearing on Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s decision to oust Monarez last month. Monarez claims she was forced out for refusing to fire individuals responsible for the CDC’s vaccine recommendations, arguing there is no scientific support for removing certain vaccines from the list.

Paul sought to turn the tables on the former official during his questioning.

‘When we’re discussing the science here, we have to discuss what is the science in favor of giving the vaccine to a 6-month-old, and what are the benefits from that? And there is no benefit of hospitalization or death. And then what would the risks of that vaccine be? We have large population studies of the risks of the vaccine in younger people,’ Paul said.

‘You won’t fire the people who are saying we have to vaccinate our kids at 6 months of age. That’s who you refused to fire,’ he pressed.

‘That assertion is not commensurate with the experience that I had with the individuals who were identified to be fired,’ Monarez replied as Paul cut her off.

‘Did any of the people you refused to fire,’ Paul began before Sanders then interjected himself: ‘She’s about to answer the question.’

Paul then argued that ‘we should’ remove recommendations that infants receive the COVID-19 vaccine and others that he said are not relevant for children.

‘What is the medical reason to give a Hepatitis-B vaccine to a newborn whose mom has no Hepatitis?’ Paul asked.

Sanders then interjected again as Paul spoke over Monarez, who did not directly answer the question.

‘You had your time Bernie, I’ve got mine,’ Paul said testily before turning back to Monarez. ‘What is the medical, scientific reason and proof for giving a newborn a Hepatitis-B vaccine if the mom is Hep-B negative?’

Monarez again refused to answer the question directly, and Paul argued that ‘the burden should be on you’ to prove that vaccines recommended for infants are actually helpful.

‘You want to make all kids take this? The burden is upon you,’ he said.

Turning Point USA has seen a massive surge in inquiries for new college chapters as the organization works to advance Charlie Kirk’s vision following his assassination last week.

Andrew Kolvet, executive producer of ‘The Charlie Kirk Show,’ said that Turning Point USA (TPUSA) has received more than 54,000 inquiries from people wanting to start new campus chapters. Kolvet said that TPUSA currently has 900 official college chapters and approximately 1,200 high school chapters.

Kolvet, who is also a spokesman for TPUSA, also said the organization has seen an increase in job applications. 

‘I have personally received hundreds of offers to work for us, or to work for free, or to just help, however,’ Kolvet told Fox News Digital. On Wednesday, Kolvet said that ‘lots of job requests’ were still flooding his inbox.

‘Charlie’s vision to have a Club America chapter in every high school in America will come true much, much faster than he could have ever possibly imagined,’ Kolvet wrote on X on Sunday, calling the response to expand Kirk’s mission ‘truly incredible.’

In a separate post, Kolvet wrote, ‘This is the Turning Point.’

Kirk was assassinated during an outdoor event at Utah Valley University on Sept 10. The event was the first in what was supposed to be a series called the ‘American Comeback Tour.’ The charismatic 31-year-old founder of the conservative youth activist group gained recognition for his signature political debates on college campuses. 

Kirk’s celebration of life ceremony is scheduled for Sunday at State Farm Stadium in Arizona. President Donald Trump will speak at Kirk’s memorial service along with Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.

On Friday evening, Kirk’s widow galvanized the TPUSA movement and vowed to carry on her husband’s mission.

‘To everyone listening tonight across America, the movement my husband built will not die,’ Kirk said. ‘I refuse to let that happen. No one will ever forget my husband’s name. And I will make sure of it. It will become stronger. Bolder. Louder and greater than ever,’ Kirk said.

She also said that TPUSA’s annual ‘AmericaFest’ conference in Phoenix this December will continue as scheduled.

Judah Waxelbaum, a former campus activist at Arizona State University for Republican causes, said that the assassination likely awoke a ‘sleeping giant’ and will likely see an increase in members.

Turning Point’s not going anywhere. Turning Point, I think, will probably actually get significantly larger in the wake of what happened to Charlie,’ he told Fox News Digital in an interview on Saturday.

 ‘You couldn’t do youth politics in Arizona, really anywhere in the United States without coming across Charlie Kirk.’

Fox News Digital’s Cameron Arcand contributed to this report.

A moderate House Democrat said he believes both Republicans and his own party have fallen short in their responses to the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

‘I’m disappointed. I wish that there was more effort as a group, Democrats and Republicans, to express condolences for his family and for him, and to express the real sadness that it engenders,’ Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., told Fox News Digital in an interview. 

He warned later, ‘Punch, counter-punch is the natural reaction of most human beings. But we can’t just keep on doing this. It’s very destructive, and it’s a road to ruin.’

Suozzi said he believed leaders, in particular, on both sides of the aisle needed to do more.

‘I don’t think there’s been enough of an effort to try and bring us together,’ he said.

The New York lawmaker was one of a handful of Democrats who attended a memorial vigil in Kirk’s honor called by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., at the U.S. Capitol on Monday.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., told reporters that he did not attend because he ‘had a meeting.’

But Suozzi said he spoke with several House Democrats who said they simply were not aware it was happening.

‘I’m not casting blame on anybody, Democrats or Republicans. I don’t know the facts as far as what kind of outreach was made,’ Suozzi said.

‘I do know that I spoke to several members, you know, [Democrats] that I know that attend the bipartisan prayer breakfast, for example. And they said, ‘Oh, I didn’t even know about it.”

Both Jeffries and Johnson have made calls for unity in the wake of Kirk’s killing last week, and lawmakers have expressed bipartisan condemnation of political violence.

But partisan tensions have erupted since then, with Republicans blaming Democrats for their anti-GOP rhetoric and for fomenting the political tension that led to Kirk’s death.

Democrats, in turn, have accused Republicans of similarly inflaming tensions both before and after the assassination.

In the House, scrutiny has been centered on Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., after an interview with progressive news outlet Zeteo, where conservatives have accused her of disparaging Kirk’s legacy days after his death.

‘There are a lot of people who are out there talking about him just wanting to have a civil debate,’ Omar said. ‘There is nothing more effed up, you know, like, than to completely pretend that, you know, his words and actions have not been recorded and in existence for the last decade or so.’

The Minnesota progressive also called Kirk’s death ‘mortifying’ and expressed condolences for his wife and young children.

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., is now moving to force a vote to censure Omar for her comments, a move Suozzi called ‘very unhelpful.’

When asked about Omar’s remarks, Suozzi did not mention her directly but said, ‘I just don’t think that this is the time to be trying to incite more anger for people.’

If he was able to give remarks at Kirk’s vigil, for example, Suozzi said, ‘I would say I didn’t really know Charlie Kirk or much about him before this incident. But like everybody, I’ve been seeing all the media reports since his assassination, and I saw a couple different times people would ask, ‘What, what would you want to be remembered for?’ And he said, ‘I want to be remembered for having the courage to live my faith.’’

‘One of the most difficult concepts that Jesus ever had was to love your enemies,’ Suozzi said. ‘And that’s what we need to be doing right now.’

Suozzi also blamed the current social media environment for fueling divisions.

‘We have to understand that there are very strong forces working against us right now. Social media is, you know, being corrupted, I think, not only by our foreign adversaries, but also by people trying to get political or financial gain,’ he said.

‘I think that we have to be very conscious of the fact that there are people that use our freedom of speech and use our social media … that are just lying and putting up doctored videos and explosive commentary to get us … to hate each other.’

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump will receive a full royal welcome from King Charles III following their arrival to Windsor Castle on Tuesday night.

Wednesday’s festivities will kick off with Trump, the first lady and several top U.S. officials participating in a carriage procession with the king, queen and other members of the royal family. Ahead of the couple’s arrival, hundreds of staff worked through the halls and grounds of the nearly 1,000-year-old castle to ensure the monarch welcomed the couple in true royal fashion.

Trump is set to ride in the foremost carriage along with King Charles, while Melania will ride in a following carriage with the queen. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and special envoy Steve Witkoff will also ride in follow-up carriages.

Ahead of his visit, Trump hailed the ‘great honor’ of being hosted by his ‘friend’ at ‘the ultimate’ Windsor Castle for his second state visit, the U.K.’s Standard reported.

‘My relationship is very good with the U.K., and Charles, as you know, who’s now king, is my friend,’ Trump told reporters, quoted by the outlet. ‘It’s the first time this has ever happened where somebody was honored twice. So, it’s a great honor.’

‘And this one’s at Windsor,’ Trump added. ‘And I don’t want to say one’s better than the other, but they say Windsor Castle is the ultimate, right? So, it’s going to be nice.’

‘Primarily it’s to be with Charles and Camilla,’ he continued. ‘They’ve been friends of mine for a long time, long before he was king, and it’s an honor to have this king.’

The centerpiece of Trump’s visit is set to be the banquet in St. George’s Hall. The Waterloo Table, about half the length of a football field, can seat up to 160 guests. The Associated Press reported it takes five full days to set the table, which is laid with more than 4,000 pieces, including 200-year-old silver.

The visit comes as the U.S. and U.K. continue trade negotiations, though the White House has not indicated that any deals will be announced during the event.

Trump is the first U.S. president to be invited for two state visits by a British monarch. The late queen hosted him and Melania in 2019 during his first administration.

Fox News’ Stephanie Nolasco contributed to this report

The Social Security Administration is pushing back against Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., after she accused the agency of removing key data and covering up dysfunction.

In a Sept. 16, 2025 letter and data report shared exclusively with Fox News Digital, SSA Commissioner Frank J. Bisignano claimed Warren’s analysis was inaccurate. 

He said the agency is more transparent and performing better under the Trump administration than it did under the prior administration. The documents reflect SSA’s position and have not been independently verified.

‘SSA currently reports nearly three times the number of data elements on the performance webpage under the Trump Administration (30) than it did under the Biden Administration (11),’ Bisignano wrote.

‘These facts conclusively demonstrate that you are wrong in alleging a lack of transparency.’

He also pushed back on Warren’s charge of a cover-up, saying SSA has made improvements in customer service, including ‘shorter wait times on the phones and in offices, as well as reduced backlogs.’ Bisignano said 81 percent of performance measures are better than before, with the rest about the same.

According to SSA’s data, average phone wait times dropped from 29 minutes in 2024 to 16 minutes in 2025, with August down to just 9 minutes.

Pending disability determinations fell from nearly 1.2 million in August 2024 to about 907,000 a year later. Disability claim processing sped up from 231 days to 217 days. SSA reports retirement and survivor claims were processed on time 87% of the time in August 2025.

Bisignano wrote that the agency’s goal is to become a ‘digital-first’ operation that runs efficiently and serves people whether they call, visit an office or use the website. He said constant monitoring of key performance indicators is part of that effort.

He also urged Warren to work with SSA instead of spreading what he called ‘fearmongering and reckless lies that Social Security is going away.’

‘The time has come to stop weaponizing Social Security,’ he wrote. ‘The American people do not want a Social Security War Room. They want their leaders to protect and preserve Social Security, just as President Trump has promised.’

Democrat Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii clashed with FBI Director Kash Patel during a heated Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday, questioning agency firing and counterterrorism priorities and even calling the bureau’s physical fitness requirements ‘harsh’ for applicants.

In an exclusive statement to Fox News Digital, Patel said, ‘Americans expect their FBI agents to be capable, resilient and ready to protect them.

‘That’s why, under my watch, every field office is receiving more trained agents, more boots on the ground and a renewed commitment to getting out from behind the desks and back onto the streets where they’re needed most. We’re rebuilding a bureau that earns the public’s confidence by being present, prepared and physically ready to do the job.’

The most viral clash came when Hirono pressed Patel on fitness standards.

‘One question I had is that you are now requiring applicants to be able to do a certain kind of pull-ups, which a lot of women cannot because of physiological differences. Are you requiring these kinds of pull-ups?’ Hirono asked.

Patel didn’t budge.

‘We are requiring everybody to pass the 1811 standards at BFTC. If you want to chase down a bad guy, excuse me, and put him in handcuffs, you had better be able to do a pull-up.’

Hirono replied, ‘There are concerns about whether or not being able to do these kinds of harsh pull-ups is really required of FBI agents.’

Patel interjected, ‘Doing one pull-up is not harsh, and there are always medical exemptions to that.’

According to the FBI recruitment website, ‘Starting in November 2025, pull-ups will be a required event for all candidates.’ For male recruits, 2-3 pull-ups are now a required minimum alongside the traditional Physical Fitness Test (PFT). For female candidates, one pull-up is the required minimum. 

Any additional pull-ups count to a recruit’s overall PFT score, with the maximum points received for 20 or more pull-ups capped at 10.

The White House’s official X account, @RapidResponse47, shared the exchange in a now-viral clip on X.

Beyond fitness standards, Hirono accused Patel of being loyal to Trump rather than the FBI.

‘Your most significant qualification … was your 100% loyalty to President Trump. And I fear that continues to be the motivating factor in your position as FBI director.’

Patel rejected that claim. 

‘That is an entire falsehood. You can delete my 16 years of government service to multiple administrations all you want. … There was no loyalty then. There’s no loyalty now to anything but the Constitution.’

Patel also used the hearing to share the bureau’s wins under his leadership. He pointed to 409 cyber arrests this year and 169 convictions, a 42% increase from the same time last year.

The FBI and the office of Sen. Mazie Hirono did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.