The Fox News Rundown

This Week:

After many stalled efforts and months of negotiations, a bipartisan group of Senate lawmakers reached an agreement this week on advancing the $1.2-trillion infrastructure bill, which includes new funding for roads, bridges, rail, transit and water. While the legislation has cleared its first hurdle it still has a long way to go in the Senate and then the House. Jared speaks with Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA), who was one of the Republican negotiators for the bill. Senator Cassidy tells us how they were able to come to an agreement and what we can expect next for the bill.

President Biden announced this week that he will require all federal workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or submit to frequent testing. The President also laid out a plan to incentivize Americans who haven't gotten vaccinated yet, including paid time off from work to get the vaccine and $100 payments paid by the government for those who receive it. This week, the CDC also revised its mask guidance recommending that people who are fully vaccinated should also where masks indoors in areas with high coronavirus transmission. Former U.S. Surgeon General under President Trump, Dr. Jerome Adams, returns to speak with Jared about the updated CDC mask guidance in response to the rise in Delta variant cases and the President's vaccine announcement for federal workers.

The southern border is continuing to see a surge of illegal immigrants trying to come into the U.S and officials in the region are overwhelmed and concerned about rising coronavirus cases from migrant crossings. FOX News Washington Correspondent Rachel Sutherland speaks with FOX News Correspondent Rich Edson who was at the southern border in the city of La Joya, Texas about the border crisis, the health risk from migrant infections and if there are any COVID protocols.

The House select committee formed to investigate the January 6 Capitol Hill attack held its first hearing this week. The Democrat-led committee heard from four law enforcement officers who defended the Capitol that day. In an emotional testimony accompanied with photos and video from that day, the officers described being overwhelmed, assaulted and verbally attacked by rioters. Jared and FOX News Congressional Correspondent Chad Pergram discuss.

It's been a busy week on Capitol Hill. A bipartisan group of Senate lawmakers reached an agreement Wednesday evening to advance the $1.2 trillion infrastructure spending bill after months of tense negotiations. The legislation includes $550 billion in new funding for "traditional" infrastructure programs. This week was also the first hearing on the January 6th insurrection. Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) and Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) are the only Republicans to serve on the Democrat-led House committee after Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) pulled GOP lawmakers in response to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) rejecting two of the proposed Republican picks to join. Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND), one of the lawmakers pulled from the committee, weighs in on the partisan feud over the committee selection, as well as the spending bill passing its first hurdle and the new COVID surge around the country.

 

Earlier this week USA Olympic gymnast and four-time gold medalist Simone Biles announced she would withdraw from the remaining women's gymnastics events, citing mental health reasons. After this unprecedented decision, Biles has been met with some criticism, however this choice also spurred an outpouring of support from fellow athletes and gymnasts. Three-time USA Olympic Gymnast and gold medalist Dominique Dawes joins to share her experience as a young Olympic gymnast and explains why Simone Biles likely made this decision and how mental health factors into an athlete's performance. Dawes also talks about her goal of changing the negative mental health environment surrounding gymnastics and how forming her own gym, the Dominique Dawes Gymnastics Academy, has furthered that objective.

 

Don't miss the good news with Tonya J. Powers.

 

Plus, commentary by FOX News Legal Analyst Gregg Jarrett.

Last weekend, Tunisian President Kais Saied dismissed the Prime Minister and suspended all activities by the parliament inciting protests with opposition leaders calling it a “coup”. President Saied has said this would only last thirty days but world leaders have voiced concerns urging calm and a quick return to democratic rule. FOX’s Trey Yingst speaks with Congressman Joe Wilson (R-SC), Foreign Affairs Committee Member, who has recently written a letter to the Secretary of State urging the administration to do more to help Tunisia during this time.

President Biden is expected to announce today whether or not he will require a vaccine mandate for federal employees. This comes as the Center for Disease Control and Prevention revised its recommendation for fully vaccinated Americans to wear masks indoors in areas with high coronavirus cases. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) and FOX News Medical Contributor Dr. Marc Siegel weigh in on the possibility of vaccine mandates and the updated CDC mask guidance for fully vaccinated people.

 

Tuesday July 27th, North and South Korean officials restored communication channels between their two nations after more than a year since the hotlines had been cut off by North Korea. The two Koreas are reportedly seeking to rebuild relations amid economic strains and health issues impacting the region due to the pandemic. U.S. officials see this as a positive step towards once again negotiating denuclearization with Pyeongyang. South Korea President Moon's administration relayed in a televised briefing that the two countries agreed to "restore mutual confidence and develop their relationships again as soon as possible." Newsweek Columnist and Author of "The Great US-China Tech War," Gordon Chang, joins to discuss the significance of this agreement, how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the Kim regime's grip on power and the importance of the truth about coronavirus origins being revealed by China.

 

Plus, commentary by FOX News contributor Joe Concha.

President Biden met with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi at the White House Monday coming to an agreement that U-S forces in Iraq would end their combat mission but stay on to advise and assist with the fight against ISIS. Shia-led political parties with an allegiance to Iran have been demanding the withdrawal and have been accused of orchestrating most of the rocket attacks on U-S military bases. FOX’s Trey Yingst speaks with Behnam Ben Taleblu, a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, about the impact of the decision to leave Iraq as Iran and ISIS closely watch.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its guidance Tuesday, recommending that people who are vaccinated against COVID-19 should again wear masks indoors in areas of the U.S. where the virus is surging. The CDC also recommends that children wear masks this fall as they return to school for in-person learning. President Biden continues to urge Americans to be vaccinated as Delta variant cases continue to rise. This, as the White House continues its battle against coronavirus vaccine misinformation on social media, blaming it for vaccine hesitancy in America. Howard Kurtz, host of "MediaBUZZ" on the FOX News Channel and the Media BUZZMeter podcast, weighs in on the role social media platforms like Facebook play in vaccine misinformation, the debate over what misinformation is and where we draw the line with government involvement in determining what information people can or cannot see online.

 

According to a recent report from the Government Accountability Office, from April 2020 to March 2021 there were nearly 13 billion dollars in overpayments and fraud in unemployment benefits. The continuation of enhanced unemployment benefits has been a major topic of debate in the U.S. Some governors have opted out, insisting they discourage people from returning to the workforce. Many many on the left, including President Biden, have said businesses should simply pay their workers a more attractive wage. With the news of taxpayer funds being mismanaged to the tune of billions of dollars, many are looking for answers and solutions. Hillary Vaughn of Fox Business joins to discuss how the U.S. government overpaid in federal unemployment over the course of the pandemic, how criminals and scammers took advantage of the system to turn a profit and what lawmakers in Washington are doing to correct this mismanagement of federal resources.

 

Plus, commentary by FOX News Senior Meteorologist Janice Dean

President Biden announced last week new sanctions against a top Cuban military official and the special military unit most responsible for violent repression of those protesting the communist regime. Some support those sanctions but many others want to see more done including restoring internet services the government blocked after being used by protest organizers. FOX’s Trey Yingst speaks with Michael Gonzalez, of the Heritage Foundation, who escaped the island when he was twelve and feels the United States can be doing more to help Cubans calling for change.

On Monday President Biden hosted Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi in the Oval Office, where he announced that the U.S. combat mission in Iraq will conclude at the end of 2021. The President adding that American troops will continue to train and assist Iraqi forces in the fight against ISIS. Meanwhile, the timetable is still set for military operations in Afghanistan to be over by August. So is the war on terror finally coming to an end? Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX) weighs in on what it means for America's foreign policy.

It has been over two weeks since the Texas House Democrats fled their state for Washington, DC to prevent quorum and block Republican voting legislation from being passed into law. They also appealed to Congress to take action protecting voting rights at the federal level. Back home, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has warned he plans to arrest the Democrats who left the state and assured the public he will continue calling special sessions until the voting rights legislation is put to a vote. One of those State Representatives, Democrat Harold Dutton Jr., joins to discuss why he has returned to Texas, the conversations he has had with Republicans about his issues with the legislation and the importance of election integrity and ensuring that voting laws make it easier for Texans to vote.

Plus, commentary by Guy Benson, host of the Guy Benson Show.

The President of Tunisia, the birthplace of the Arab Spring, has ousted the Prime Minister and froze all activities by the parliament just a day after massive protests over a failing economy and the handling of COVID. Also, over a hundred are dead or missing after massive flooding and mudslides hit India.  FOX Field Producer Yonat Friling, joins Trey to discuss these stories and others developing around the world.

The Delta variant of COVID-19 is providing cause for concern, as some projection models predict a steady increase in cases through the fall. Currently, the spread of the virus has continued in largely unvaccinated communities across the country and public officials including President Biden are pushing incentives and new solutions to reach out to the vaccine hesitant citizens of America. While vaccines are part of the solution, Americans have seen new pandemic rules pop up in various aspects of their lives. Dr. Syra Madad, Senior Director of the Pathogens Program at New York City Health and Hospitals, joins to discuss new pandemic rules in the NFL and Olympics in response to the Delta variant, the new hotspots for COVID-19 around the world, new questions surrounding vaccine efficacy and weighs in on the guidelines for schools reopening this fall.

 

After serving more than two years of a three to ten-year sentence, Bill Cosby was freed from prison on June 30, after his sexual assault conviction was tossed out by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. The state’s high court dropped the disgraced “Cosby Show” star’s sentence after learning about an agreement with a previous prosecutor that prevented him from being charged in the case. FOX Nation host Nancy Grace weighs in on the shocking decision to release Cosby, why she disagrees with it and her new FOX Nation special: “Released: A Bill Cosby Investigation with Nancy Grace.”

 

Plus, commentary by commentary by former White House speechwriter and Fox News Contributor Marc Thiessen.