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Trump Adding $100K Fee to H-1B Visa Applications in Latest Crackdown on Foreign Workers

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President Trump signed an executive order Friday adding an annual fee of $100,000 to all H1-B visa applications.

The move marks the latest crackdown by the administration on migrants coming into the US for job opportunities, and is likely intended to limit visa applicants to those from higher financial brackets.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the idea behind the order is to have American companies hire and train US workers, instead of hiring foreign ones.

The policy would apply to all H1-B visa holders, including those seeking to renew their status, he said.

The $100,000 fee would have to be paid out per year for the next six years. (Read more from “Trump Adding $100K Fee to H-1B Visa Applications in Latest Crackdown on Foreign Workers” HERE)

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Here’s What FBI Agents Took From John Bolton’s House in Raid — and What Charges He Could Face

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Federal agents seized three computers, two iPhones and reams of documents from former Trump national security adviser John Bolton’s house during their Aug. 22 raid, according to court records — which also revealed that the 76-year-old could soon face charges that may land him in prison for more than a decade.

The feds raided Bolton’s Bethesda, Md., home and Washington, DC, office as part of an investigation into allegations that he snuck national security files out of the White House during President Trump’s first term by emailing them to family members on a private server, high-ranking FBI officials told The Post at the time.

In addition to the high-tech hardware, agents confiscated two USB drives, a hard drive, four boxes of “printed daily activities,” “typed documents in folders labeled ‘Trump I – IV’” and a white binder labeled “statements and reflections to allied strikes,” according to an inventory made public Thursday.

The warrant also revealed that Bolton is being looked at for allegedly violating two sections of the Espionage Act of 1917 forbidding unauthorized possession or removal of national defense information, and another law preventing hoarding of classified files.

If tried and convicted on all counts, Bolton could face up to 25 years behind bars. The longtime diplomat has not been arrested or charged with a crime. (Read more from “Here’s What FBI Agents Took From John Bolton’s House in Raid — and What Charges He Could Face” HERE)

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Trump Administration Cancels Army Program After Officer Participation Plummets

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The Trump administration has officially scrapped the Army’s Command Assessment Program (CAP) — a leadership evaluation system that incorporated psychological testing, peer feedback, and behavioral analysis into the promotion process for senior officers — following years of declining participation and controversy within the ranks.

The decision marks a sharp break from the Army’s recent attempts to modernize its promotion pipeline by reducing bias and incorporating non-traditional metrics like emotional intelligence and cognitive capacity. CAP, introduced in 2020 and formally codified in early 2025 under former Army Secretary Christine Wormuth.

According to internal Army documents, the program used a range of psychometric tools to measure leadership traits such as self-awareness, conscientiousness, and emotional intelligence. Each year, approximately 2,000 senior officers were invited to undergo the assessments as part of the process to fill key command positions.

But the program struggled to gain traction. By 2024, more than half of eligible officers — 54% — declined to participate, up from 40% in 2019. Critics within the ranks argued the assessments were overly subjective, bureaucratic, and disconnected from actual field performance.

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll placed the program under review last month before officially pausing it. The Army will now revert to the Centralized Selection List (CSL) process, which evaluates candidates based on their service record, prior assignments, and evaluations from senior leaders — a more traditional method long favored by military brass.

The termination of CAP also aligns with a broader Defense Department review, ordered in June, to evaluate how officer promotions are conducted across all branches. The June 20 memo from the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness called for a return to selection methods that emphasize proven performance and experience over experimental assessment tools.

With CAP now shelved, the Army will re-center its leadership selection process around the CSL system. Proponents argue this will restore confidence and objectivity to promotions.

Trump Admin Reverses Course After Outrage Over Israel Boycott Funding Ban

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The Trump administration has rolled back a controversial policy that would have blocked federal disaster preparedness grants from cities and states engaged in boycotts against Israel. The change came just days after updated funding guidance from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) sparked widespread criticism.

On Friday, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) released guidelines for its upcoming grant cycle, which governs the distribution of over $1.9 billion in emergency preparedness funding. The guidance originally referenced a DHS provision that prohibited awarding funds to jurisdictions involved in “discriminatory prohibited boycotts”—a phrase specifically defined to include boycotts of Israeli companies or entities doing business with Israel.

The policy language, which appeared to mirror anti-boycott measures found in some state laws, quickly drew backlash—not only from critics of Israel’s policies but also from prominent voices within the MAGA movement, who accused the administration of applying political litmus tests to public safety funding.

By Monday, DHS quietly updated the guidance, removing the explicit reference to anti-Israel boycotts while retaining more general anti-discrimination provisions. The reversal came after increased public scrutiny and pressure from right-leaning commentators and media outlets.

A DHS spokesperson clarified that no state or city had been denied funding and that no new restrictions had been imposed. “FEMA grants remain governed by existing law and policy, not political viewpoints,” the spokesperson said, adding that the department enforces anti-discrimination laws, including those concerning the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement.

The initial proposal could have affected more than $300 million in emergency preparedness funding and over $1 billion in anti-terrorism support for major cities. While the policy is no longer in effect, the controversy highlights ongoing tensions surrounding U.S. policy toward Israel and how domestic political positions on the issue can impact federal funding.

President Trump has maintained strong public support for Israel, but this incident shows that policies seen as punishing dissent—even perceived anti-Israel sentiment—can create political friction, even among allies.

FEMA declined to comment on the policy update or its original inclusion in the funding requirements.

U.S. Navy Commander Now Investigated for Exposing ‘Unconstitutional and Illegal Actions by Military Leadership’ during Covid-Shot Mandates

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One of the U.S. military’s most high-profile and respected whistleblowers, active-duty Navy Commander Robert A. Green, Jr., says his chain of command has informed him that he is, as of July 8, “under investigation for publicly calling out the unconstitutional and illegal actions by military leadership during the COVID-19 mandates.” He made the announcement in an X post the following day:

“For 4 years I have been using the same language and the same demand for accountability that I continue to use on this platform,” posted Green.

“My leadership does not like that I have used the words ‘domestic enemies of the Constitution’ to describe many of them for their actions during the mandates. But where were they when thousands of us notified them about the laws they were breaking?” He added: “There is a clear line drawn between service members who will defend the Constitution, and Admirals & Generals who violate constitutional rights with impunity.”

Former service members are reacting strongly, clearly disturbed by the news. WorldNetDaily spoke to one such individual, Dr. Chase Spears, a retired U.S. Army public affairs officer.  When Green published his book, “Defending the Constitution behind Enemy Lines,” in July 2023, Spears quickly took notice. Having been a writer himself while serving in the Army and knowing the challenges that come with a hostile chain of command, he admired Green’s “direct approach.”

(Read more from “U.S. Navy Commander Now Investigated for Exposing ‘Unconstitutional and Illegal Actions by Military Leadership’ during Covid-Shot Mandates” HERE)

Key Senator: Trump’s DOJ, FBI Slow-Walking Assassination Attempt Investigations

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One year after a gunman came within a fraction of an inch of assassinating the 45th president of the United States, the American public remains in the dark on one of the darkest chapters in U.S. history. The senator leading the investigation into the bizarre sequence of events surrounding the murder plot in Butler, Penn., said his committee is “not an inch closer” to knowing why killer and would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks did what he did.

“We had earlier reports about the geolocation of his cellphone, bopping all over Washington, D.C. We have not gotten any more information. Again, it’s incredibly frustrating,” Sen. Ron Johnson told me Friday in an interview on the Dan O’Donnell Show on NewsTalk 1130 WISN in Milwaukee.

The Wisconsin Republican, who leads the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, issued a subpoena on Friday to Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel for records relating to the July 13, 2024 assassination attempt of then-GOP presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump. Johnson calls it a “friendly, not an adversarial subpoena,” but it’s clear, the FBI has not been forthcoming with the subcommittee’s many requests for information.

Trump’s Federal Bureau of Investigation, it seems, has been no better than Biden’s FBI, in cooperating with congressional investigators.

“Things just slowed down after our initial report. We were not getting access to [U.S.] Secret Service personnel,” Johnson said. “When President Trump won, I think my assumption was that his FBI, his Department of Justice, would certainly hop on this, investigate it, and produce the result. That hasn’t happened.” (Read more from “Key Senator: Trump’s DOJ, FBI Slow-Walking Assassination Attempt Investigations” HERE)

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Trump’s ICE Detains 1,355 in ‘Sanctuary State’ Colorado

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The Trump administration has quadrupled the arrests of migrants in sanctuary state Colorado, data shows.

The Trump administration has focused on several blue states to fulfill the president’s campaign promise of a crackdown on illegal immigration, and in Colorado that has amounted to a 300 percent increase in ICE apprehensions.

Federal data shows that in the latest period ending on June 10, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has arrested 1,355 people. That compares to the 342 who were picked up during the final year of the Biden administration. That is a 300 percent rise. The arrest rate has averaged about nine per day, according to the Denver Post.

Those taken into custody come from Mexico and Central and South America, as well as foreign countries including Afghanistan.

ICE is also ramping up arrests in other sanctuary states. (Read more from “Trump’s ICE Detains 1,355 in ‘Sanctuary State’ Colorado” HERE)

‘I’d Be Careful What You Read’: 7 Times Trump Officials Turned Tables on Dem Lawmakers Trying to Corner Them

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Members of President Donald Trump’s administration have pushed back at Democrats’ attempts to ask them harsh questions during hearings.

While Democrat lawmakers have attempted to stump Trump’s cabinet members, they have repeatedly turned tables on their preferred narratives by providing facts that are often not reported on by Democrats or the corporate media. Members of the administration, including Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, gave congressional members reality checks on issues ranging from the riots in Los Angeles, California, or the deportation of alleged MS-13 member Kilmar Abrego Garcia.

During a House Appropriations Committee hearing on June 10, Democrat Minnesota Rep. Betty McCollum criticized Trump’s “premature and escalatory” decision to deploy the National Guard and U.S. Marines in light of the Los Angeles, California, riots that broke out over Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) arrests. The congresswoman attempted to contrast Trump’s handling to Democrat Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s response to the 2020 riots; Hegseth reminded her of the chaos that took place in Minnesota under Walz’s leadership at the time.

“Well congresswoman, thank you for the question. You are right, we are both originally from Minnesota and that’s why I recall 2020 quite well, when Governor Walz abandoned a police precinct and allowed it to be burned to the ground,” Hegseth said. “And [he] also allowed five days of chaos to occur inside the streets of Minneapolis. The police precinct, ma’am, was abandoned and burned to the ground and because of that, the National Guard, was eventually, far too late, mobilized.”

(Read more from “‘I’d Be Careful What You Read’: 7 Times Trump Officials Turned Tables on Dem Lawmakers Trying to Corner Them” HERE)

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Elon Musk Raises Concerns After Sporting Black Eye at White House Farewell — Here’s What He Says Happened

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Billionaire Elon Musk stunned the White House press corps Friday by sporting a black eye to an Oval Office event to mark the end of his 130 days in the Trump administration.

“I’ve got a little shiner here,” the 53-year-old said after President Trump answered a question from Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy about “the first lady of France slapping her husband, Emmanuel Macron.”

“I wasn’t anywhere near France,” Musk added. “I was just horsing around with Little X, and I said, ‘Go ahead, punch me in the face,’ and he did.”

“Turns out even a five-year-old punching you in the face … ” he began before trailing off.

The mark was visible in pictures posted Thursday from a separate presentation that the now-former special government employee delivered about his company SpaceX’s plans to land on Mars.

“What do you think would be easier, colonizing Mars or making the government efficient?” a reporter asked. (Read more from “Elon Musk Raises Concerns After Sporting Black Eye at White House Farewell — Here’s What He Says Happened” HERE)

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New Student Visa Interviews on Hold as Trump’s Team Considers Broader Social Media Investigation

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The Trump administration is weighing requiring all foreign students applying to study in the United States to undergo social media vetting — a significant expansion of previous such efforts, according to a cable obtained by POLITICO.

In preparation for such required vetting, the administration is ordering U.S. Embassies and consular sections to pause scheduling new interviews for such student visa applicants, according to the cable, dated Tuesday and signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

If the administration carries out the plan, it could severely slow down student visa processing. It also could hurt many universities who rely heavily on foreign students to boost their financial coffers.

“Effective immediately, in preparation for an expansion of required social media screening and vetting, consular sections should not add any additional student or exchange visitor (F, M, and J) visa appointment capacity until further guidance is issued septel, which we anticipate in the coming days,” the cable states. (“Septel” is State Department shorthand for “separate telegram.”) (Read more from “New Student Visa Interviews on Hold as Trump’s Team Considers Broader Social Media Investigation” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr