A Senate Democrat ripped President Donald Trump for a recently released memo that detailed mass firings in the event of a shutdown, and accused the president of engaging in ‘mafia-style blackmail.’

Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., railed against the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) memo sent to federal agencies this week that outlined a plan to reduce employees across the government beyond those that are typically furloughed.

While the House passed a short-term funding extension last week, Senate Republicans and Democrats are at odds over the bill. The deadline to fund the government is Sept. 30, and so far, no progress has been made to reach an agreement to keep the lights on.

Van Hollen charged that Trump ‘is engaged in mafia-style blackmail, with his threats ultimately harming the American people,’ and likened the OMB’s memo to actions taken by tech billionaire Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency earlier this year that led to tens of thousands of federal employees being either fired or incentivized to retire or take a buyout.

‘He is threatening to double down on the failed actions of Elon Musk and his chainsaw — going after patriotic civil servants that provide Americans with critical services — despite having to rehire many of these workers after Americans experienced the negative impact of those cuts,’ he said.

‘These dedicated workers have nothing to do with the ongoing political and policy disputes that have brought us to the brink of a shutdown,’ Van Hollen continued. ‘These threats are not only an attack on Americans’ services and benefits, they’re also likely illegal. We’ll be fighting back with every tool we have.’

Van Hollen’s ire comes as the Trump administration is gearing up for mass firings beyond the standard furloughs in a government shutdown.

The OMB’s memo, obtained by Fox News Digital, directed that in the event lawmakers cannot pass a funding extension, or continuing resolution (CR) by the deadline, agencies should ‘use this opportunity to consider Reduction in Force (RIF) notices for all employees’ in programs that have no other available funding source and that don’t comport with Trump’s priorities.

‘RIF notices will be in addition to any furlough notices provided due to the lapse in appropriation,’ the memo read, and would be issued ‘regardless of whether the employee is excepted or furloughed during the lapse in appropriations.’

Lawmakers are set to return to Washington on Monday, just a day before the deadline to fund the government. Senate Democrats blocked the GOP’s CR last week, and demanded a seat at the table to negotiate with congressional Republican leaders and Trump.

However, Republicans have pushed back against Democrats’ counter-proposal as unserious, and are unwilling to budge on a laundry list of items tossed into their CR, which included permanently extending expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies, repealing the healthcare section of Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill,’ and clawing back canceled funding for NPR and PBS. 

A meeting between Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Trump was set for Thursday, but the president canceled, and accused Democrats of ‘ridiculous’ demands in their counteroffer to the GOP’s plan. 

A young Gazan boy dubbed ‘Amir’ who traveled to a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) distribution site and was reported as having been killed by Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in May, has been found alive hiding out with his mother. 

Both were safely extracted from the Gaza Strip earlier this month, though the location has not been disclosed for their security.

The boy, whose full name was later discovered to be Abdul Rahim Muhammad Hamden, nicknamed Abboud, and who is 8 years old but will turn 9 in October, appeared with his mother, Najlaa, at GHF Secure Distribution Site (SDS) 3 late last month in a heavy disguise to avoid detection, a GHF representative involved in the operation confirmed to Fox News Digital.

An extensive internal operation by the GHF was launched to uncover the identity of the boy in late July after a former GHF employee, Anthony Aguilar, a 25-year veteran of the U.S. Army and retired Green Beret Lt. Col. turned alleged ‘whistleblower,’ gave a series of explosive interviews in which he said a 10-year-old boy he called Amir, was killed by IDF forces after leaving a GHF aid site on May 28. 

In his account, Aguilar showed images taken using his cellphone of the boy approaching himself and another contractor clutching bags of food and barefoot. 

The former Green Beret turned GHF contractor for UG Solutions – a subcontractor of the GHF which received $30 million in U.S. government funding to support its ‘critical work’ – described to multiple outlets an emotional encounter he had with the Palestinian child, in which he claimed the boy kissed his hand, touched Aguilar’s face, and thanked him for the supplies of rice and lentils he had found. 

But the footage taken by Aguilar and handed over to GHF officials before it was obtained by Fox News Digital, did not show this interaction ever took place.

The GHF contested Aguilar’s account on several fronts and pointed out the hand the boy kissed was that of Aguilar’s colleague standing to his left, which the footage also showed. 

When asked by Fox News Digital why he said the boy engaged with him in this manner despite what the footage shows, he maintained his story and said, ‘Amir kissed my right hand. He kissed my forehead, too. He thanked us and told us he was very hungry and thankful.’ 

In multiple interviews with various outlets, Aguilar described how the boy then returned to the group where other Palestinians were gathered at the distribution site before they were then dispersed by GHF contractors through the use of pepper spray, tear gas, stun grenades and bullets fired into the air, forcing them to flee the compound.

However, Fox News Digital was told that the GHF did not yet have access to non-lethal arms in the early days of the operations, according to a GHF colleague who was aware of Aguilar’s position at SDS 3 on May 28. 

Additionally, Aguilar claimed that once the Palestinian civilians had been pushed out of the SDS center, IDF forces then opened fire on the crowd and killed ‘Amir,’ along with other Palestinians. He reiterated this claim in an interview late last month in which he told Dialogue Works that the boy had received a ‘shot to the torso, a shot to the leg – dead.’

But the GHF challenged Aguilar’s story – including the location of where he claimed the event occurred.

In one of his first accounts of the incident on July 29 to Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., Aguilar claimed the killing happened first outside GHF aid site SDS 1 before telling MSNBC on Aug. 2 that the shooting happened near SDS 2, and then telling Dialogue Works last month the events occurred outside SDS 3. 

On Sept. 9, Chris Hayes gave an update on the report, telling viewers that the boy who was reported dead was, in fact, found to be alive. He said NBC producers had confirmed that the boy was now out of Gaza in an unnamed country. 

Multiple GHF sources confirmed that no such incident was reported at or outside SDS 1 or SDS 3, and SDS 2 was not yet even operational on May 28. 

Fox News Digital confirmed in speaking with multiple sources that Aguilar was on SDS 3 on May 28.

In comments to Fox News Digital, Aguilar said, ‘I sincerely, and with bated breath and joy, hope that Amir is alive. I’ve always said as much. I have been in contact with his family and others, and Amir’s family is not aware that he is alive, only that he is ‘gone’. 

‘I have always said that due to GHF and IDF restrictions from UG S[olutions] personnel moving beyond the concentration camp style corals extending from the North entrance, that I was NOT, say again, NOT able to verify Amir’s death,’ he said. ‘But I did in fact see Palestinians gunned down by IDF machine gun fire at the intersection of the SDS 3 exit and the military corridor, north of SDS 3, where an IDF Merkava tank was located.’

Abboud’s stepmother also later told the GHF that the boy didn’t go missing until July 28, two months after Aguilar said he had been killed.

Abboud ran away to be with his birth mother on July 28 amid a rift with his stepmother’s family, whose custody he was put in following the death of his father, per Palestinian law. 

A GHF representative involved in the operation explained the search to find Abboud became not only a matter necessary to uncover what allegedly happened on May 28, but because there was increasing concern regarding threats posed by Hamas as traction picked up around the story.

The official explained that Hamas had a vested interest in making sure this child was not found, as it would discredit Aguilar’s story that a Palestinian boy had been gunned down by Israeli forces outside a GHF site.

Ultimately, the GHF were able to locate the boy and his birth mother by speaking with local Palestinians and later, a family member who agreed to speak with the team before connecting them with Najlaa. 

She then brought Abboud to the GHF site so that she, her son, and four other male family members whose identities Fox News Digital has agreed to conceal, could be extracted from the Gaza Strip, after at least one of the male family members received direct threats from the Hamas terrorist network.

In an interview shared with Fox News Digital, Najlaa is seen sitting with Abboud and another young male, who was also set to be extracted with them, speaking with GHF officials. 

In the video, which Fox News Digital did not post to protect multiple identities, Abboud refers to Najlaa as his ‘mama’ and, according to a translation of the comments, he says he is happy to be with her while smiling and sitting next to her. 

The identities of Abboud, his mother and his relatives were verified by GHF using facial recognition software that compared the images of the boy with those captured by Aguilar. 

Facial recognition software, biometric data and the death certificate of Abboud’s father, were used by GHF to verify the family members’ identities and relationships, and were also shared with Fox News Digital.

Abboud also brought the shirt he was wearing in the footage taken by Aguilar, which is what the former GHF contractor said the boy was wearing when he was allegedly gunned down.

Aguilar did not respond to Fox News Digital regarding the intact shirt, and said, ‘the new pictures are not Amir.’

When pressed on where specifically he thought there were discrepancies in the images of the boy, he said, ‘Amir in my photos had a scar on his left clavicle. The boy featured by GHF does not. The Amir in my photos from SDS 3, does not have a scar on the right side of his forehead as the GHF’s photos show.’

The GHF representative confirmed that the boy’s scars were in fact used to verify his identity.

‘I believe that is a boy of similar appearance,’ Aguilar said, noting he believes the outcome of the investigation ‘is a lie.’

The GHF spokesperson for the organization, Chapin Fay, called Aguilar’s story regarding the boy and his alleged murder by the IDF ‘false’ during a press conference earlier this month.

Aguilar told Fox News Digital that the GHF statements made against him during a July 29 press conference were ‘libel and slanderous.’

Fay described him as a ‘disgruntled former employee’ who was ‘terminated for cause’ after he engaged in ‘volatile conflicts with staff and erratic behavior.’ 

According to text messages shared with Fox News Digital, Aguilar also did not handle being removed from his role well, and threatened in a text exchange with a GHF official that he ‘could be your best friend, or your worst nightmare’ if they didn’t ‘put [him] back to work.’

David Panzer, counsel for UG Solutions, echoed this belief in a statement he gave on July 29 in which he said, ‘Mr. Aguilar was terminated from his contract with UG Solutions on June 13, 2025, due to poor performance, volatile conflicts with staff, and erratic behavior. 

‘Since termination, Mr. Aguilar has spread a false narrative to media outlets around the world, all at the same time begging UG Solutions to hire him back,’ Panzer added. ‘Mr. Aguilar’s activities in the last several weeks make clear that he’s making good on his threats to, in his own words…be UG Solutions’s ‘worst nightmare’ if they didn’t hire him back.’

Panzer said Aguilar’s comments ‘raise[d] substantial questions of motive.’

Aguilar told Fox News Digital that the GHF statements made against him in the July 29 press conference were ‘libel and slanderous.’

The Trump administration agency that manages the government’s real estate holdings, procurement and technology services is partnering with Elon Musk’s xAI in a move it says will cost effectively streamline federal workflow. 

The General Services Administration announced on Thursday morning that federal agencies will now have access to Grok 4 and Grok 4 Fast as part of an agreement with xAI, valid until March 2027, that Musk says will make government drive innovation in government. 

‘xAI has the most powerful AI compute and most capable AI models in the world,’ Musk, co-founder and CEO of xAI, said in a statement to Fox News Digital. 

‘Thanks to President Trump and his administration, xAI’s frontier AI is now unlocked for every federal agency empowering the U.S. Government to innovate faster and accomplish its mission more effectively than ever before,’ Musk added.

‘We look forward to continuing to work with President Trump and his team to rapidly deploy AI throughout the government for the benefit of the country.’

Josh Gruenbaum, federal acquisition service commissioner at the General Services Administration, explained in a press release that the new widespread access to AI models is an ‘essential’ tool not only in fulfilling Trump’s promise that the United States will win the AI race, but also for ‘building the efficient, accountable government that taxpayers deserve.’

As part of the agreement, xAI engineers will provide full support in order to ‘accelerate the adoption of Grok to transform government operations.’

The agreement between GSA and xAI will be effective immediately, allowing federal agencies to ‘begin leveraging the benefits of Grok AI models through GSA’s established procurement channels,’ the GSA press release says. 

Gruenbaum told Fox News Digital the AI tools being deployed are essential to the goal of aligning with Trump’s goal of modernizing government operations and winning the race with China to dominate the AI space, adding that xAI ‘stood out’ as a strong partner that offers ‘world class technical talent.’

‘This technology could be as transformative as the internet, maybe more,’ Gruenbaum said about artificial intelligence. ‘Right now, we’re in the human-augmentation phase, but soon agents will be able to handle tasks more independently. That raises questions of values—what data, history, and perspectives are embedded in these systems. It’s crucial that Western, American values are front and center. We need to work with allies to ensure those values shape the technology that ends up leading the world.’

The agreement, the final frontier model to be unveiled as part of the GSA’s comprehensive OneGov Strategy, will also be providing agencies with an ‘upgrade path’ to the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program, a government compliance program standardizing security measures.

‘‘Grok for Government’ will deliver transformational AI capabilities at $0.42 per agency for 18 months, with a dedicated engineering team ensuring mission success,’ xAI cofounder Ross Nordeen said in a statement.

‘We will work hand in glove with the entire government to not only deploy AI, but to deeply understand the needs of our government to make America the world leader in advanced use of AI ‘

Gruenbaum called it ‘impressive’ from a ‘milestone perspective’ how ‘quickly we got all these frontier models onto the GSA schedules—at dollar deals or less.’

‘This one is the best value yet, and with the longest duration. That’s a big deal.’

Last month, GSA announced the launch of a new tool it says will be instrumental in enabling agencies across the federal government to efficiently implement artificial intelligence at scale and take a major step forward rolling out the president’s ‘AI Action Plan.’

The Trump administration rolled out it’s A.I. Action Plan in July after Trump ordered the federal government in January to develop a plan of action for artificial intelligence in order to ‘solidify our position as the global leader in AI and secure a brighter future for all Americans.’ 

Trump has made U.S. artificial intelligence growth a cornerstone of his administration, such as notching multi-billion deals with high-tech firms such as Oracle and OpenAI for the Stargate project, which is an effort to launch large data centers in the U.S, as well as a $90 billion energy and tech investment deal specifically for the state of Pennsylvania to make it the U.S. hub for AI. 

After completing his tenure with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in late May and a public falling out with Trump, Musk was seen sitting next to and talking with Trump at the memorial service for Charlie Kirk last weekend in Arizona, suggesting a possible rekindling of their friendship.

‘Elon came over and said hello,’ Trump said to reporters after the event. ‘I thought it was nice, he came over, we had a little conversation.’

A GSA spokesperson told Fox News Digital the agreement with xAI has been in the works for weeks. 

Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report

A shocking new report has found that Jew-hatred in the U.S. dramatically spiked in August.

The report from the Combat Antisemitism Movement monitored 694 antisemitic global incidents, an average of 22.4 incidents per day. The volume of antisemitism amounts to more than15.7% more incidents worldwide compared with August 2024.

The United States recorded the highest number of antisemitism incidents in August, with 162 incidents. That represented a 13.3% increase from the 143 incidents recorded in July, noted the CAM report.

Some telling examples cited were in Oregon, where swastikas were painted on the Jewish Museum and ‘Death to the IDF [Israel Defense Forces]’ vandalism in St. Louis, where cars were torched. 

CAM stated’ 458 of the 694 incidents (66.3%) recorded in August involved Israel-related antisemitism, reflecting the persistent trend of anti-Zionist rhetoric and attacks directed at Jewish individuals and institutions in the ongoing aftermath of the October 7th massacre.’

Anti-Zionism is defined as the rejection of the Jewish state and translates into efforts to dismantle Israel via the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions campaign (BDS) and comparisons with Hitler movement. The German and Austrian parliaments define BDS as antisemitic campaign that recalls the Nazi boycott campaign of Jewish businesses during the Holocaust.

The clear spike of Israel-related antisemitism in August unfolded in multiple examples, according to CAM. In Utah, a brewer built a ‘Dropkick a Zionist’ cider. In France, a Paris air traffic controller blurted out ‘Free Palestine’ to an El Al flight crew.

 In Germany, a Russian national sought to attack the Israeli embassy in Berlin.

 In Spain, the anti-Israel musician Bob Vylan articulated support for ‘armed resistance’ to oppose ‘Israel’s genocide.’  Israel and the Trump administration deny that Israel is engaged in genocidal activity. Critics argue that pro-Hamas and pro-Palestinian activists are spreading disinformation. 

Hamas’ charter calls for a genocide of Israel and its October 7, 2023 invasion of Israel, causing the murder of over 1,200 people and the kidnapping of more than 250, was Hamas’ attempt to destroy the Jewish state.

Antisemitism on college campuses across the globe continued to proliferate. CAM noted that in August there 19 acts of antisemitism on institutions of higher learning, 14 of which unfolded in the U.S. The Trump administration launched an aggressive crackdown on academic antisemitism, in contrast to former President Joe Biden’s administration, noted observers of the world’s oldest hatred.

The global surge in denial of the Holocaust also continued. Anti-Israel protesters in Sydney held signs declaring ‘Zionists are neo-Nazis’ and ‘Never again means never again for anyone.’

 In Germany, antisemites vandalized a stone column at a Holocaust memorial in Baden-Baden in the state of Baden-Württemberg.

In France, a Lyon Holocaust memorial was vandalized with the words ‘Free Gaza.’ In the U.S., the radical left-wing and pro-Iran regime group CodePink protested outside the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. Fox News Digital has documented the global antisemitic movement on its website titled Antisemitism Exposed.

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa made history at the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, delivering a speech that marked the first time in nearly six decades a Syrian leader has addressed the world body. His appearance in New York drew thousands of Syrian supporters who gathered outside UN headquarters, celebrating what they described as a new chapter for their war-torn country and urging U.S. President Donald Trump to back Syria’s reintegration into the international community.

The moment carried special weight for Syrians abroad, many of whom fled during the country’s 14-year civil war. They waved flags, carried banners, and chanted calls for peace and reconstruction. For them, the sight of a Syrian president welcomed at the U.N. was both symbolic and deeply personal.

Hamza Mustafa, Syria’s information minister, joined the demonstration and told Fox News Digital it was an emotional day. ‘It’s a historical moment for all the Syrian people — after 14 years of conflict, after revolution, after a lot of sacrifice, now we are here representing the Syrian people,’ he said. ‘We are gathering with the Syrian people to say that we are all serious in our struggle for a united and sovereign Syria.’

Mustafa also thanked the Trump administration for steps to ease sanctions, saying, ‘As a government, we say thank you to Mr. Trump for his courage in lifting sanctions on Syria.’

In his U.N. address, President al-Sharaa called for lifting sanctions, pledging to pursue ‘a new Syria built on unity, sovereignty, and peace with its neighbors.’ He said the conflict had brought ‘untold suffering’ and emphasized that ‘Syrians deserve the right to rebuild their lives, their homes, and their country.’

Syria’s Minister of Emergency and Disaster Management, Raad Saleh, addressed reports of a U.S.-brokered security agreement with Israel, telling Fox News Digital: ‘It’s a political decision, and we are leaving it to our president to take that decision. But Syrians are not looking for any conflict anymore — Syrians are only looking for reconstruction and rebuilding.’

The stakes are high: Israel has carried out dozens of strikes across Syria in recent months, targeting what officials say are Iranian-backed forces, weapons depots and positions near the Israeli border. Israeli officials have framed the operations as both a warning to Syria’s new leadership and a move to protect vulnerable minorities such as the Druze, who have faced attacks and massacres under al-Sharaa’s government.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who will speak at UNGA on Friday, said in a statement that any deal ‘is contingent on securing Israel’s interests,’ including the ‘demilitarization of southwestern Syria and safeguarding the Druze.’

The rally outside the UN was organized by Dr. Hicham Alnachawati, who emphasized that the new Syrian leadership wants peace — including with Israel.

‘This is a historic moment for us as Syrians. We haven’t seen a president give such a speech at the UN in over 57 years,’ Alnachawati said. ‘We are hoping that this message of peace and prosperity will encourage other world leaders, and especially President Trump, to support lifting the remaining sanctions so we can rebuild a new Syria.’

Alnachawati went further, directly linking Syria’s future to regional reconciliation. ‘We sent a message of peace to establish relations with our neighbors, especially Israel,’ he said. ‘Let’s extend the Abraham Accords here — this is an opportunity for the Trump administration to lead a peace process. Israelis are looking for the same thing, and Syrians are ready for peace, reconstruction, and development.’

Al-Sharaa’s past as a wanted terrorist has drawn sharp criticism from Western officials. When asked about it, Alnachawati responded that people can change, citing U.S. General David Petraeus, who has previously suggested Sharaa had the capacity to evolve into a statesman. 

‘I listened to Petraeus, and he said he saw this man as having hope to change,’ Alnachawati said. ‘He wants to unite Syria, achieve peace in the region, and reflect that peace on the whole world. Syrians are ready to reestablish themselves, to live a normal life like any other citizen, and to extend their hands for peace.’

For many Syrians who resettled in the United States, the day was especially poignant. Shadi Martini, CEO of the Multifaith Alliance and a Syrian who fled at the start of the war and personally met President al-Sharaa in Syria a few months ago, told Fox News Digital, ‘It’s probably been 50 or 60 years since a Syrian president came to the U.N., so it’s very historic and emotional for a lot of Syrian Americans to see. President Sharaa was greeted by so many presidents and foreign dignitaries, and hopefully there will also be a meeting with President Trump.’