Who is Darline Graham Nordone? Lindsey Graham's sister emerges as Trump's Senate pick

Tragedy built a strong bond between Darline Graham Nordone and her brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

Tragedy is once again striking its bell, this time with the sudden passing of her brother and father figure. And now, she’s being considered to replace him in the Senate, just over 24 hours after his death.

President Donald Trump and Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., both want her in the role, and sources have told Fox News that Scott has been speaking with her about filling in for the remainder of Graham’s term.

TRUMP MAKES SURPRISE PICK TO FILL GRAHAM'S SENATE SEAT

Trump is pushing South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster to appoint her, announcing that he recommended the governor tap Graham’s "wonderful sister" to serve out his term as a caretaker.

"This would be a fabulous tribute to Lindsey, who loved her dearly," Trump said on Truth Social.

McMaster is slated to announce his pick Monday afternoon in a news conference that Scott is also expected to attend.

If he does tap Nordone, it would be a temporary selection. In the background, private jockeying is already happening to succeed Graham as the GOP nominee in the Palmetto State.

The filing deadline to succeed Graham and run for a full six-year Senate term opens July 21 and a special election primary is scheduled for Aug. 11. Many South Carolina politicians have expressed interest in the job, seeing the vacant Senate seat as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to serve in the upper chamber.

Meanwhile, Nordone has never held public office, unlike her brother, who served in Congress for three decades in both the House and Senate. Nordone is a mother of two and worked in a vocational rehabilitation role that specifically helped people with disabilities find employment in South Carolina.

GRAHAM'S DEATH IGNITES GOP SCRAMBLE FOR SENATE SEAT AS TRUMP HINTS HE ALREADY HAS A FAVORITE

And whether she’s ready to accept the position remains unclear.

"Actually, I’m just kind of like devastated right now," Nordone told the New York Post shortly after Trump’s announcement.

Nordone and Graham shared a unique bond, too. Graham was in his early 20s when both their parents died within less than a year of one another. That tragedy pushed him to become her primary legal guardian and caretaker, thrusting him into the role of father and brother to his younger sister.

"Of all the things that have happened in my life, her turning out so well is the highlight of it by far," Graham told C-SPAN in 2015.

FROM 'DISGRACE' TO 'FAMILY': TRUMP'S REMARKABLE JOURNEY WITH LINDSEY GRAHAM

Nordone highlighted the outsized role Graham played in raising her after the death of their parents. After becoming her legal guardian, he enlisted in the Air Force to allow her to qualify for his military benefits. She later credited him with ensuring that she completed high school and college.

"He’s kind of like a brother, a father and a mother rolled into one," she told The New York Times in an interview in 2015.

Nordone was a frequent presence in Graham’s campaigns during his decades-long career.

"My parents, they were loving people and cared about us, but Lindsey was always the one that took care of me and helped me with my homework," she said in a campaign spot titled "Darline." "If I was sick, he gave me my medicine. He taught me how to ride a bicycle."

"He never let me down," she continued. "To take on that responsibility of raising a little sister — that came from within for Lindsey."

source https://www.foxnews.com/politics/darline-graham-nordone-lindsey-grahams-sister-emerges-trumps-senate-pick

Texas DoorDash driver gets hit by a car fleeing from police and still delivers the order

A Texas DoorDash driver didn’t let the pain of being struck by a car keep her from delivering an order. A less dedicated driver may have seen the police chase headed their way, hopped back in their car, and canceled the order.

This heroic delivery driver did not. She was knocked onto the hood of the car driven by an alleged burglary suspect who refused to stop during an attempted traffic stop.

Understandably, she dropped the order. But only for a moment.

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While the suspect, identified by police as Torrance Whitaker, was fleeing from the car and making a run for it, the DoorDash driver slid off the hood and picked up the order which had landed in the street in front of the car.

She then proceeded to complete the delivery while officers gave chase to the man now jumping fences and running through the yards of the Houston neighborhood.

"I was on the phone with my husband, and I just hear somebody crash. So I'm like, wait a minute, I heard something from police. When he came out from my door, I think it was HPD parked on my mulch, like what happened here!," witness Lily Portillo, whose cameras caught the action, told KTRK.

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"It's amazing how the girl just delivered the food. I asked her if she was OK, and she said she was OK. She needs a big tip. I really hope somebody finds her and hope she's OK."

After being chased through several yards, a Houston Police K-9 eventually catches up to him, and he's arrested.

The court documents, according to the outlet, state that Whitaker was charged with aggravated assault for hitting the delivery driver with his car while fleeing from police.

KTRK spoke with the DoorDash driver. She, like the hero that she is, didn’t want to be identified. She is in a lot of pain, but avoided breaking any bones. She's also looking into filing a claim against the suspect's insurance.

What a story of dedication. This order was being delivered if the delivery driver was physically able to do so.

There's very little hesitation. It's more of a moment to collect herself, then she's back to the business at hand. Truly impressive work.

source https://www.foxnews.com/outkick-culture/texas-doordash-driver-hit-car-fleeing-police-still-delivers-order

Mamdani ripped over record-high NYC rents with critics pointing to policy they say is fueling crisis

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is facing renewed criticism over housing affordability as rents in Manhattan and Brooklyn hit record highs, with conservative commentators arguing that immigration-driven demand is adding pressure to an already tight rental market that the mayor campaigned to ease.

Manhattan's and Brooklyn’s median rents reached $5,295 and $4,350, respectively, in June, according to an analysis conducted by the Corcoran Group, a real estate firm. The most recent available data shows roughly 38% of New Yorker residents were born outside the United States, and about 40% of rentals in the city are occupied by foreign-born individuals, though the data does not distinguish between legal and illegal immigration status.

"You declared yourself a sanctuary city. You ‘welcomed’ hundreds of thousands of illegals. Then you had to find places to put them," conservative radio host Andrew Wilkow wrote on X, reacting to news of increased rents. "That put pressure on housing supply. Shortages create price increases. It's pretty simple."

BIDEN'S ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION SURGE CAUSED HIGHER RENT AND HOME PRICES, FED STUDY FINDS

A 2003 paper published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia found that immigration "pushes up rents and housing values in destination cities," with an immigration inflow equal to 1% of a city’s population associated with about a 1% increase in average rents and housing values. More recently, a paper published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas in March found that a 1% increase in illegal immigrants working in a given area corresponded to a 1.4% increase in rental prices because localities did not build enough new housing to match population growth.

Both papers reflect the authors’ findings and do not represent official positions of the Federal Reserve System or its regional banks.

"Young Americans compete for housing with millions of foreign arrivals," Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, wrote on Monday in response to the rent data out of New York City.

'AMERICAN HOUSES ARE FOR AMERICAN PEOPLE': TRUMP HOUSING CHIEF INSISTS IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN WILL LOWER COSTS

Between 2020 and 2023, the most recent years available, the share of renter households associated with foreign-born New Yorkers rose from 37% to 40%, according to the New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey. The data does not distinguish a resident's legal status, making it unclear whether illegal immigrants represent an increased share of renters.

New York City Comptroller Mark Levine, responding to news of rising rents on Sunday, recommended that the city rezone neighborhoods to allow more homebuilding, invest in affordable housing development, and cut construction regulations to increase housing supply and bring down costs.

Conservative lawyer Mike Davis responded to Levine’s recommendations by asking, "How about deporting illegals?"

AMERICA'S HOUSING MARKET COULD RUN OUT OF SOMETHING MORE IMPORTANT THAN HOMES

The White House claims that declining rental costs in the South and Southwest have been caused by its deportations, a claim disputed by critics who point toward broader market conditions. A March 2024 academic study found that deportations could actually increase overall housing prices by harming the construction industry, though the authors conceded that removing illegal immigrants could also cause housing demand to come down somewhat.

Mamdani campaigned on addressing New York City’s housing crisis by freezing increases for rent-stabilized tenants, building 200,000 new affordable homes and expanding tenant protections. Since taking office, he has successfully frozen rents on rent-stabilized leases, released a housing plan aimed at building and preserving 400,000 affordable homes and moved to expand rental vouchers.

"Zohran Mamdani ‘froze the rent’ and served himself some taxpayer-funded cake," Red State writer Bonchie posted to X, referring to Mamdani's celebrating the rent freeze with cake earlier this summer. "Then rents hit an all-time high, vacancy rates reached the highest since COVID, and he proposed a 20% raise for himself. Incredible stuff."

Critics argue that rent freezes will lead to increased prices for everyone else and disincentivize property owners from doing more than the bare minimum to maintain units that they aren’t being paid market rate to rent.

Mamdani’s office did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Monday.

source https://www.foxnews.com/politics/mamdani-ripped-over-record-high-nyc-rents-critics-pointing-policy-say-fueling-crisis

Dad and his kids think they've captured Bigfoot on video after spotting something in the woods

A dad out for a drive with his kids claims to have caught a Bigfoot on video hanging out in the woods alongside the road. Skeptical? So was the dad at first until he drove past the area of the supposed sighting again.

Since the video of the purported Bigfoot was posted a few days ago, it has more than 17 million views. It shows a wooded area next to the road, then a dark figure standing among the trees as the vehicle passes by.

"My kids screamed they saw Bigfoot and were freaking out," the text on the video posted on TikTok reads. "So I turned around thinking they're full of crap. They weren't."

STEVEN SPIELBERG ADMITS HE'S BEEN CONVERTED ON UFOS, SAYS HE BELIEVES THE BELIEVERS

Incredibly, this visual evidence attracted many doubters. They're not sold on the figure in the viral video being that of the elusive hide-and-seek champion as some have labeled the creatures.

Doubters like this who are apparently expecting Bigfoot to pose for the video. They wrote among the thousands of comments, "You really tryna tell me that, in 2026, your phone camera has qualify so good that I could count the leaves on any given tree, yet somehow you managed to record specifically JUST BIGFOOT on a 1990s flip phone camera."

Another skeptic wrote, "Always filmed on a potato."

BIGFOOT IS A NEANDERTHAL-HUMAN HYBRID, ACCORDING TO THE MAN WHO CLAIMS TO HAVE FOUND REMAINS

There were even claims that the dark figure seen in the video was nothing more than a yard display. They expect you to believe that someone purchased one of these displays and set it up in the woods.

Others chose to buy what the video is selling. They took one look at the figure and knew that what they were laying their eyes on was in fact a Bigfoot. They've seen them before.

One of the believers wrote, "you know it's him because he's mid stride and blurry."

DECLASSIFIED APOLLO MISSION UFO FILES CHALLENGE LONG-RUNNING MOON LANDING CONSPIRACY THEORIES

The blurry sentiment was shared by many and explained by at least one who weighed in with, "Apparently they are Interdimensional beings. They give off a high vibration which affects the camera quality."

Some saw more than one Bigfoot, which puts them in a special class. A member of this group of commenters watched the clip more than once and concluded, "I watched the video a few times, there is more than one."

Is it Bigfoot? Are there more than one? Is this nothing more than a yard sign planted in the woods to scare children? I'll let you decide.

Let me know what you think sean.joseph@outkick.com. Also, feel free to share your own Bigfoot stories and/or encounters.

source https://www.foxnews.com/outkick-culture/dad-kids-think-theyve-captured-bigfoot-video-spotting-something-woods

Britney Spears stands through sunroof at 45 mph on Studio City freeway after DUI charge was dropped

Britney Spears raised eyebrows on Friday when she was spotted sticking her head out of the sunroof while in the passenger seat of a moving car.

According to The Daily Mail, the 44-year-old singer was traveling down the crowded 101 freeway around Studio City in Los Angeles after starting her journey in Thousand Oaks.

In the photos, the "Oops I Did It Again" singer can be seen standing fully upright out of the sunroof of the black Mercedes SUV, wearing a nude dress as her blonde hair blew in the wind.

The outlet reported the singer stood up as the car was traveling around 45 miles per hour, and she remained standing for about two minutes before the car exited the freeway and pulled into a nearby gas station.

BRITNEY SPEARS SAID SHE WAS 'AN ANGEL' WHO COULD 'DRINK FOUR BOTTLES OF WINE' BEFORE DUI ARREST: POLICE REPORT

A source told The Daily Mail that Spears only "went through the sunroof for a quick moment" in order to check on the level of traffic. They added that "if it's illegal to put your head through a sunroof, she doesn't know it!" and that "she didn't mean to do anything bad."

"She wanted to see what the traffic was about up ahead because the cars came to a stop," the source added. "She wanted to see how long they would be delayed."

The source continued, "She used to do this all the time as a kid growing up in the South, she loves having the warm wind blow through her hair in the summer, it's fun. She is having a fun summer and is happy, she is in a good place."

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The photos of her standing out of the sunroof come just a few months after she was arrested for driving under the influence in March.

According to documents obtained by Fox News Digital, Spears claimed she was "an angel" before officers arrested her, telling California Highway Patrol officers that she could "probably drink four bottles of wine and take care of you."

Spears refused an alcohol screening test, but once handcuffed, officers noted they found a bottle of Adderall in her purse, which was not prescribed to her, and also discovered an "empty wine glass in the cup holder between the front driver seat and passenger seat."

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The DUI charge was dropped in May, after she pleaded guilty through her lawyers to what's commonly called a "wet reckless."

She was hit with fines, given 12 months of probation, time served and will need to complete a DUI course. The plea offer was standard for defendants with no DUI history, no crash or injury on the road, and a low blood-alcohol level, the county district attorney’s office said.

"Ms. Spears took responsibility for this misdemeanor offense, entering a guilty plea at the earliest stage and two months from the day she was arrested," District Attorney Erik Nasarenko said.

A representative for Spears confirmed to Fox News Digital at the time of her arrest that the "Toxic" singer voluntarily checked herself into a treatment facility.

Fox News Digital's Lauryn Overhultz and Tracy Wright contributed to this story.

source https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/britney-spears-stands-through-sunroof-45-mph-studio-city-freeway-after-dui-charge-dropped

Shark sightings trigger beach alarm after swimmer is bitten during summer spike

A surge in shark sightings and a swimmer’s shark bite have beachgoers on the East Coast on high alert.

A small sand tiger shark is likely what bit a man who suffered non-life-threatening lacerations to his foot while swimming at Jones Beach State Park Field 6 on Long Island over the Fourth of July weekend, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation determined.

The beach was temporarily closed while state officials searched for more sharks, but they reopened it to restricted swimming after an hour.

Days before, the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation (NYC Parks) alerted beachgoers to expect intermittent beach closures at Rockaway Beach in Queens, New York City’s largest beach, due to multiple shark sightings. According to NYC Parks, Rockaway Beach has recorded 23 shark sightings and been closed 23 times since May.

Sixteen of those shark sightings occurred within the first five days of July, reported NYC Parks.

"The city’s emergency management agency said they received multiple shark sightings at the Queens beach ... and asked those trying to escape the heat to follow guidance from on-duty lifeguards," Fox Weather reported.

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Long Island beach lifeguards spotted a shark off Point Lookout on July 2, prompting the beach’s temporary closure, along with the shutdown of neighboring Hempstead beaches, the Associated Press reported.

A fisherman hooked and released a 5½-foot sandbar shark about 200 yards offshore from East Haven Town Beach in Connecticut in late June, according to local sources. No injuries were reported.

The uptick in shark sightings in the New York area may be due to increased surveillance efforts.

In May, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced in a press release that the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, in collaboration with the Department of Environmental Conservation were enhancing the state's surveillance capability with new drones and drone operators to patrol sharks and other marine-life activity along Long Island State Park beaches this summer.

Shark bites are rare, especially with alert systems in place, Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Museum of Natural History’s shark research program, told the AP.

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Last year, the Lulu Gribbin Shark Alert System Act became law in Alabama. It’s named after Lulu Gribbin, who survived a shark attack, but lost a hand and part or her leg, in the incident.

The system works like an Amber Alert and sends an emergency warning to people’s cellphones when a confirmed shark attack happens near an Alabama beach.

"If there had been any type of alert that was given, that there’s no way that Lulu would have been in the water," U.S. Sen. Katie Britt, the Alabama Republican who sponsored the legislation, told the AP. "And so we talked about how a simple change could have made a huge impact."

Naylor told the AP, "If somebody is bitten by a shark, and then an alert goes out, the probability that another person’s going to be bitten by a shark within, let’s say, two or three hours is incredibly small."

The OCEARCH Shark Tracker is a free, public online map that allows people to follow the movements of tagged sharks through satellite tracking.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.

source https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/shark-sightings-trigger-beach-alarm-swimmer-bitten-summer-spike

Trump admin scraps ‘weaponized’ wildlife rule that became 'burden' on American families and businesses: Burgum

EXCLUSIVE: The Interior and Commerce Departments are scrapping a sweeping Endangered Species Act (ESA) rule that officials say past administrations "weaponized" to block energy production, logging, infrastructure projects and private citizens' land use.

Officials pointed to several ESA-listed species they say triggered undue or burdensome restrictions by treating habitat modification as potential "harm" to protected species, purportedly expanding the ESA's "harm" provision.

"For years, federal agencies abused the ESA to obstruct lawful land use and burden American families and businesses," Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told Fox News Digital.

"That approach turned routine activity into a regulatory trap, drove up costs that impacted people’s lives, and expanded federal authority beyond what Congress intended."

BIDEN-ERA ENVIRO RULE ACCUSED OF STRANGLING TRUCKERS, SQUEEZING AMERICANS LANDS ON TRUMP CHOPPING BLOCK

On Friday, the Interior and Commerce Departments announced they are rescinding the 'outdated' regulatory definition of 'harm' and returning the Endangered Species Act's interpretation to its original intent to end years of federal overreach.

The administration is relying in part on the Supreme Court’s 2024 decision in Loper Bright v. Raimondo, which overturned "Chevron deference" and held that courts must use independent judgment when interpreting federal statutes rather than deferring to an agency’s preferred reading of ambiguous law.

The rule change therefore aims to align regulations with the "single best" meaning of a statute rather than letting it be "contort[ed] to fit a political agenda," officials said.

LEGAL WAR ON TRUMP’S AGENDA GAINS FIREPOWER AS FEDERAL LAWYERS DEFECT TO DEMOCRATS

Officials pointed to the dunes sagebrush lizard, which the Biden administration listed as endangered in 2024, as an example of what they view as speculative habitat-based restrictions.

Officials argued the change led to unnecessary restrictions on energy projects in Texas’ lucrative Permian Basin, most recently depicted in the acclaimed Billy Bob Thornton series "Landman."

Under Section 9 of the ESA, it is unlawful to "take" endangered wildlife, a term Congress defined to include actions such as harming, harassing, wounding or killing protected species.

TRUMP’S ENERGY INITIATIVES MAY FINALLY EXTRACT AMERICA FROM MIDEAST CHAOS

Federal materials tied the species’ decline to surface-disturbing activities, including energy development and sand mining, which officials and industry representatives say can trigger costly permitting and compliance burdens.

Officials also cited the lesser prairie-chicken, a grassland bird whose federal protections have drawn opposition from farmers, ranchers and energy developers across New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Colorado.

The fight over habitat-based "harm" dates back decades, including the northern spotted owl, whose 1990 ESA listing fueled a long-running battle over timber harvesting in the Pacific Northwest and was blamed for job losses.

A 2021 study in the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management estimated the owl’s ESA listing reduced timber employment by roughly 16,000 to 32,000 jobs in the Pacific Northwest and northern California.

Timber interests and landowners challenged the federal definition, arguing that "harm" should cover direct injury to wildlife, not habitat modification that indirectly affects a species.

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Clinton Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt in 1995, upholding a definition of "harm" that included significant habitat modification when it actually kills or injures protected wildlife.

Officials say the change is designed to narrow the regulation after Loper Bright and prevent agencies from using habitat-based theories to block lawful activity far beyond what Congress authorized.

The agencies argued the previously broadened definition of "harm" became an unlawful intrusion on private property rights.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick added that fishermen in particular have been burdened by the regulation for "too long."

Returning the ESA to its original purpose protects both the environment and economic development, Lutnick said.

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"This administration is committed to protecting wildlife using Gold Standard Science, the law and the tools Congress actually gave us," added U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Brian Nesvik. "We can protect species and respect communities at the same time."

Administration officials stressed that core ESA protections remain in place, including prohibitions on directly injuring or killing protected wildlife.

The administration said the change is intended to reduce permitting and compliance costs while providing greater legal clarity for landowners, energy producers and developers, advancing President Donald Trump's vision of domestic energy dominance and a regulatory state that works for, not against, the average American.

source https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-admin-scraps-weaponized-wildlife-rule-became-burden-american-families-businesses-burgum