Iowa GOP using 'fear' to 'unleash a frenzy of book-banning across the state': analysis

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Republican legislators in Iowa passed intentionally vague laws that have spurred the removal of books from school libraries and classrooms.

Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law in May a requirement for schools to remove books that depict a "sex act," a vaguely worded statutory term that that Washington Post columnist Greg Sargent says "has now helped unleash a frenzy of book-banning across the state."

"Their vagueness is the point," Sargent writes. "When GOP-controlled state legislatures escalated the passage of laws in 2022 and 2023 restricting school materials addressing sex, gender and race, critics warned that their hazy drafting would prod educators to err on the side of censorship. Uncertain whether books or classroom discussions might run afoul of their state’s law, education officials might decide nixing them would be the 'safer' option."

"What’s happening in Iowa right now thoroughly vindicates those fears," Sargent adds.

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The Iowa City Community School District issued a list of 68 books removed from the shelves to comply with the law, including The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood and “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison, school districts in other parts of the state have removed such books as “1984” by George Orwell and “Slaughterhouse-Five” by Kurt Vonnegut.

“Many literary classics have sex in them,” said Jonathan Friedman, director of free expression and education programs at PEN America. “But now the term ‘sex act’ is turning into a blunt instrument to remove scores of books that have all kinds of literary merit and cultural significance.”

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Trump prosecutor warns senator of ‘significant legal consequences’ over ballroom probe

A Trump-appointed federal prosecutor issued an ominous legal warning to a Democratic senator Wednesday, demanding that he preserve documents related to his investigation into donors financing President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom.

U.S. Attorney Aaron Reitz of the Southern District of Texas took aim at Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) in a sharply worded letter accusing the lawmaker of intimidating Americans over their associations with the president.

“In recent weeks, you have threatened citizens for associating themselves with the President and other public officials,” Reitz wrote.

The Trump prosecutor went further, warning Blumenthal that failure to preserve records could result in “sanctions, adverse-inference instructions, or other penalties” and carry “significant legal consequences.”

Reitz then took the confrontation public.

“After the election, @SenBlumenthal & his allies think they can intimidate Americans for their constitutionally protected associations w/ President Trump,” he wrote in an X post. “Congress is not a weapon to be wielded against the American people.”

“I'm taking the first step to stop this abuse of power,” he added.

The warning comes as Blumenthal investigates private donations to Trump’s $330 million White House ballroom project.

Blumenthal, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, has demanded records from donors about their contributions and communications with administration officials as he investigates potential conflicts of interest.

The confrontation also drew a response from one of the Justice Department’s highest-ranking officials, who publicly defended the department’s position.

“The First Amendment expressly prohibits Congress from infringing the speech and association rights of Americans,” wrote Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter, who serves directly under Attorney General Todd Blanche, in his own X post.

“DOJ will defend against threats to those rights, period.”

Reitz's letter demanded that Blumenthal confirm compliance by Nov. 18 and extended the preservation demand to his staff, consultants and campaign personnel.

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Rubio’s State Department scrubbed Vanilla Ice deal as records contradict spin: report

Federal contracting records show a $150,520 award for a Vanilla Ice performance at an event during Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s India trip last month, which the State Department later zeroed out, The Washington Sun reports.

The Sun says the U.S. consulate in Mumbai listed a contract on Oct. 18 with the booking firm Universal Attractions for the rapper, whose real name is Robert Van Winkle, to play a Freedom 250 event. According to a USAspending ledger the Sun cites, the award was zeroed out on Oct. 22.

Rubio and Ambassador Sergio Gor had attended a Freedom 250 reception on Oct. 20. Vanilla Ice never performed.

A State Department spokesperson told the Sun the embassy had weighed hiring him but opted against it, adding that entertainment at these events receives “no U.S. taxpayer funding or subsidies.” The Sun says the spokesperson declined to say where payment would have come from.

Contracting records list the department’s Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs as the funding office.

Freedom 250 is a Trump administration public-private partnership that is distinct from, and has overshadowed, the bipartisan nonprofit America250, which was originally authorized by Congress to put on anniversary celebrations for the founding of the United States. Vanilla Ice was one of nine acts slated to play Freedom 250 events on the National Mall this summer, and he stayed on after seven others withdrew.

His National Mall set was ultimately canceled, the report noted, with “inclement weather” given as the reason.

'Stephen Miller shake-up exposes Susie Wiles’ ‘absolute control’ over White House: report

White House chief of staff Stephen Miller is moving quickly to overhaul the Trump administration’s internal operations, with a newly disclosed memo revealing sweeping changes to how Cabinet officials communicate and answer to the White House.

The changes also offer a glimpse into simmering tensions inside Trump’s White House, where officials reportedly grew frustrated under Susie Wiles’ tight grip on administration communications.

The internal memo, obtained exclusively by Fox News Digital, outlines a shake-up that gives Cabinet secretaries greater control over their own messaging, reversing restrictions reportedly imposed under Wiles, Miller’s predecessor.

“This will streamline the Cabinet, making it a more effective instrument for the President, whereas previously it was too constrained," a source familiar with the memo told Fox News.

The restructuring also replaces the White House Cabinet secretary position with a director of Cabinet relations, a role intended to support agency leaders rather than tightly control their communications.

One administration insider described the shift as “unleashing the Cabinet to be the captains of their own ship.”

But the changes also exposed sharp criticism of Wiles’ management style.

A former Trump administration official accused Wiles of demanding complete authority and using threats to keep officials in line.

“The control comes from threat of duress,” the former official alleged. “Like, 'if you don't do this, I'm going to destroy you in the media,'" the source continued.

The former official also claimed Wiles had acknowledged limits to her influence over the president while asserting authority over everyone else.

“I can't control [Trump]. I can control everything else,” the former official quoted Wiles as saying.

“It's absolute control," the former official added.

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