"The lieutenant governor [Peggy Flanagan], even as we sit here today, continues to take absolutely no accountability for any of the fraud issues, and she continues to blame the governor. And I'm going to be honest: It's p---ing me off."

The above quote is not from a Republican, but from Democratic Rep. Angie Craig in July when she was running in the Minnesota Senate primary against Peggy Flanagan. While harsh words are often lightly thrown in primary battles, in this case, one must ask: Where is the lie?

While Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and Colorado’s House candidate Milot Kiros have snagged headlines for their far-left views, Flanagan has been able to hide a bit.

However, the tightening race in Minnesota, as shown both through on-the-ground reporting and in polling, is putting Democrats everywhere in an awkward position because they had thought Flanagan’s leftist lunacy would float under the radar this cycle.

Well, not anymore.

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Now that the Gopher State is firmly in the political spotlight, voters will be reminded, for example, of Flanagan wearing a T-shirt that says "Protect Trans Kids" on it, with a picture of a large Bowie knife — which can only be rationally read as a threat of physical violence.

We know what the shirt means because not just threats, but also acts of physical violence by, or in defense of, members of the trans community have become commonplace in our society. Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling is threatened constantly for simply believing that men cannot become women.

Trans-related mass shootings have become a norm.

Progressive protests and internet forums echo with terms like "Kill All TERFS (Trans Excluding Radical Feminists)," and instead of trying to calm tensions, Flanagan’s answer is to pour gasoline on the rhetorical fire with death threats while insisting that men belong in women’s sports.

PEGGY FLANAGAN VOWS TO 'RIP ICE APART' AFTER TOPPLING MODERATE DEM IN KEY SENATE BATTLE

On the economy, Flanagan also flails to the far left, favoring a $17 national minimum wage that would crush many small businesses, not just in Minnesota, but across America, and "Medicare-for-all" that would take away the private insurance of every citizen.

When it comes to diversity, equity and inclusion, Flanagan is exactly where you would expect her to be, just to the left of Chairman Mao, saying in 2023, "We remain committed to centering the people most impacted by disparities based on race, geography, and economic status… We will continue working to engage and empower those who have been historically left out of government."

Among the farcical programs created by this unhinged rubric was Minnesota’s marijuana legalization efforts that gave loans, often forgivable, to people based on "special equity status," to open dispensaries — many of which have now failed and closed.

Truly, only government leftists could foul up selling weed, something mastered by the stoners we all knew in high school.

Of course, this emphasis on "special equity" and DEI also lies at the root of Flanagan’s massive Somali fraud scandal, where whistleblowers were ignored as hundreds of millions, at least, were pilfered because Peggy was uncomfortable criticizing Somalis.

To make matters worse, some of the alleged fraudsters appear to be inside Flanagan’s inner circle, including Nimco Ahmed, with whom Flanagan recently appeared in full hijab, no less, whose autism center is now under investigation.

For her part, Flanagan’s opponent, Republican Michele Tafoya, is offering Minnesotans a centrist and moderate version of the GOP with stances such as supporting abortion rights, even angering more traditional conservatives.

Tafoya has taken her middle-of-the-road message on a media blitz in recent weeks. One half expects her to be interviewed on Prairie Home Companion, while Flanagan has all but been in hiding, entertaining only the most comfortable and coddling interviews possible.

Notwithstanding the fact that early voting has already begun in Minnesota, a month is too long for Flanagan to pull a Biden-esque hide-in-the-basement strategy, especially as Tafoya’s national profile is only growing stronger.

To date, Flanagan has not agreed to debate the eager Tafoya, presumably for all the reasons, reflecting her failed record. But at this point, refusing to take on her opponent face-to-face might play worse than any embarrassment the event itself might cause.

The Democrats have a Peggy Flanagan problem. They really, really, really don’t want her and her bizarre brand of progressivism on the Sunday shows, but at this point, they may have no choice.

Meanwhile, for Michele Tafoya and Minnesotans, what once looked like a long shot is now very close to even money.

FIRST ON FOX: The Trump administration is seeking to disrupt with a sweeping set of sanctions a sprawling Sinaloa cartel network accused of corrupting Mexican officials just across the U.S. border.

Los Mayos, a powerful faction of the Sinaloa cartel, and its U.S.-born leader are accused of funneling fentanyl and drug money through California and hiring hitmen to kill rivals on American soil.

The Treasury Department, according to material exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital ahead of their public release on Tuesday, will sanction 21 individuals and 25 entities in a crackdown against Los Mayos and their alleged illegal activity within U.S. borders.

The targets of the sanctions include Ismael Zambada Sicairos, known as "Mayito Flaco," a dual U.S.-Mexican citizen born in Anaheim, California, whom Treasury describes as the "undisputed head" of Los Mayos.

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The action lays out how one of Mexico’s most powerful cartel factions allegedly maintains its grip on two critical trafficking corridors along the U.S. border — through political and police corruption, money laundering and violence that Treasury says has extended into Southern California.

It also exposes what Treasury describes as deep cartel penetration of government and law enforcement in Baja California, the Mexican state bordering California.

The Treasury says Sinaloa-linked "narco-corruption has reached the highest levels" of the state government, alleging that the ex-husband of Gov. Marina del Pilar Ávila Olmeda used his political influence to protect cartel operations and that a former Mexicali public security chief accepted bribes to allow the cartel to exert control over municipal police.

The allegations shed new light on a controversy that erupted last year when the U.S. revoked the visas of both Ávila and her then-husband, Carlos Torres Torres.

The State Department revoked Torres’ U.S. visa in May 2025 over what Treasury now describes as his "cartel affiliation and work on behalf of the Sinaloa cartel." Olmeda’s U.S. visa was also revoked around the same time, though U.S. officials did not publicly disclose a reason for the action against her.

The Department of War also played a role in the effort through Joint Interagency Task Force-Counter Cartel, which works with federal law enforcement, intelligence agencies and Treasury to identify cartel financial and facilitation networks.

"These sanctions reflect the impact of sustained interagency collaboration and intelligence fusion in identifying and disrupting the networks that enable violent transnational cartels," Brig. Gen. Maurizio Calabrese, director of JIATF-Counter Cartel, told Fox News Digital.

Calabrese said the task force contributed analysis and operational insight on cartel-linked financial and facilitation networks to support the broader effort behind the sanctions.

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Treasury also alleges the cartel’s reach extended directly into California.

Lorenzo Castillo Maldonado, an associate in Mayito Flaco’s network, allegedly hired hitmen on the cartel leader’s orders to kill rival cartel members in Southern California. Another part of the network allegedly worked with complicit Southern California money exchanges to collect bulk cash from U.S. drug sales and move the proceeds back to Mexico.

The sanctions are aimed in part at disrupting Los Mayos’ grip on the Tijuana and Mexicali "plazas," strategic corridors Treasury says the cartel uses to move fentanyl and other narcotics into the U.S.

"Today’s action underscores that no cartel kingpin, corrupt Mexican government official, or financial facilitator is beyond the reach of Treasury’s authorities," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said. "Our message is clear: the Trump administration will identify and disrupt any cartel actor who threatens our security or the integrity of our financial system."

The designations effectively cut the targets off from the U.S. financial system, blocking property and assets under U.S. jurisdiction and generally barring Americans from doing business with them. Foreign financial institutions that knowingly facilitate significant transactions for sanctioned individuals could also face U.S. sanctions.

At the center of Tuesday’s action is Mayito Flaco, who Treasury says has emerged as the undisputed leader of Los Mayos following the July 2024 arrest of his father, longtime Sinaloa cartel kingpin Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada Garcia.

SINALOA CARTEL BOSS 'EL MAYO' SENTENCED TO LIFE, ORDERED TO PAY $15B IN DRUG TRAFFICKING PROFITS

El Mayo’s arrest set off a violent struggle between Los Mayos and Los Chapitos, the Sinaloa faction led by sons of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman. Treasury says the two factions remain locked in a costly internal war that has forced both sides to rebuild their leadership and alliances.

Mayito Flaco, 44, was born in Anaheim in 1982 and later filed a U.S. name change to Fernando Sicairos Aispuro, according to Treasury. He was federally indicted in California in 2014 on drug trafficking and money laundering charges and remains a fugitive in Mexico.

The Treasury says he now commands Los Mayos’ drug trafficking, murder, extortion, corruption and kidnapping operations.

The sanctions also target Torres’ brother, Luis Alfonso Torres Torres, whom Treasury accuses of collecting bribes and laundering illicit funds through companies and political campaigns.

Former Mexicali Public Security Director Pedro Ariel Mendivil Garcia is also being sanctioned. The Treasury alleges Mendivil accepted bribes from Los Rusos leader Juan Jose Ponce Felix, known as "El Ruso," in exchange for allowing the cartel to exert control over municipal police, facilitate drug trafficking and carry out enforcement operations.

A Boston-bound Delta Air Lines flight was forced to make an emergency landing in Portugal, disrupting travel plans for more than 280 passengers.

The flight on Sunday from Barcelona, Spain, to Boston, Massachusetts, was diverted to Porto after smoke was detected in the cabin.

Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported that 14 passengers required medical attention after the plane landed, citing Portugal's civil protection service.

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Of the 14 passengers, four were taken to local hospitals for smoke inhalation and were reportedly only "lightly" affected, the news agency said.

A Delta spokesperson confirmed the Sept. 27 incident to Fox News Digital but did not comment on the hospitalization reports.

The diversion was due to a "reported mechanical issue," the official said.

"The flight landed safely, and we apologize to our customers for the delay in their travels as we work to get them to Boston as safely and quickly as possible," the spokesperson added.

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Delta Air Lines said it was working to rebook customers on alternative flights to their final destinations.

The Airbus A330-300 carried 13 crew members and 283 customers.

The air in aircraft cabins "is as good as or better than the air found in offices and homes," according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). 

"In rare instances, mechanical issues such as failures of an engine oil seal or recirculation fan bearings can cause fumes to enter the cabin," the FAA notes on its website.

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"Airlines are required to report these incidents to the FAA. The FAA investigates the causes and makes sure they’re fixed before the aircraft returns to service."

All airlines are required "to supply clean air to both passengers and crew members," the FAA added. 

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"Airplanes must be designed to provide the equivalent of 0.55 pounds of fresh air per minute per occupant, a ventilation rate that is consistent with other public environments," the agency's website states.

Other flights have made headlines in recent months after unexpected incidents prompted crews to return to airports or alter their routes.

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Earlier this year, a Cape Air flight bound for Boston was forced to return to Nantucket, Massachusetts, shortly after takeoff when the upper section of its main cabin door partially opened mid-flight.

More recently, a Delta Air Lines flight bound for Orlando returned to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport minutes after takeoff due to a reported medical issue involving a pilot.

The Aug. 31 flight, which carried 178 passengers and seven crew members, landed safely before Delta arranged for a new crew to continue the trip to Orlando.

If you thought a truck bed cover was going to protect your belongings and/or food from bears, think again. They're not likely to pop open your tailgate using the handle to snoop around.

But, as you can see in the video below, bears can rip the bed cover off with ease. Not only that, hopping up on top of a truck bed cover in a parking lot and ripping it open is a teachable moment they can pass along to their cubs.

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You can't see exactly what momma bear is after, but her cub is definitely taking notes as it figures out how to get onto the bed cover to join her.

It's safe to assume the bear isn't interested in camping gear or tools.

She in all likelihood is sniffing out food the truck owner mistakenly thought would be protected in the bed of the truck by the cover.

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Perhaps a picnic basket? Whatever it was the bears caught the scent of, the cover was no match for these two.

There's more knowledge that can be passed along here, aside from the fact that your food is not safe from bears in the bed of your truck under a cover.

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The Instagram account that shared the viral video recognized that and shared the one rule you need to remember if you encounter a mother bear and her cubs, never get between them.

Also, if you encounter them:

• Stay calm and do not run.

• Give them plenty of space and slowly back away.

• Never approach the cubs — even for a photo.

• Keep dogs leashed and under control.

• Don’t climb a tree; black bears and cubs can climb extremely well.

• If the bear changes behavior because of you, you’re already too close.

• Carry bear spray where bears are present — and keep it accessible, not buried in your backpack.

Peanut butter is a spread by definition, but when the word "spread" appears on a peanut butter jar label, it's most likely satisfying a legal requirement rather than acting as a simple descriptor.

Skippy, a well-known name in the peanut butter world, must label its Natural Peanut Butter Spread as such because it contains palm oil.

Regulations set by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) state that, in order to be classified as peanut butter, a product must contain at least 90% peanuts — otherwise, the word "spread" needs to be included on the label.

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The Skippy website acknowledges this FDA regulation, saying: "Natural Peanut Butter Spreads can include additional ingredients like palm oil or other oils, which are not hydrogenated."

"These spreads may still contain at least 90% peanuts but include other ingredients that place them outside the standard definition of 'peanut butter,'" the website notes.

It wasn't the smoothest journey to get this regulation set in stone.

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Back in 1959, an FDA press release included the findings of a survey which showed that "products labeled ‘peanut butter’ had reduced their peanut content as much as 20 percent by substituting cheaper hydrogenated or vegetable oils for expensive peanuts and peanut oil," according to the FDA.

When manufacturers asked about adding glycerin to peanut butter in order to fight oil separation, the FDA responded by stating that, "if glycerin could be added without rendering the food adulterated, its addition would have to be set forth prominently on the product label."

It became apparent that customers liked peanut butter that spread easily and had a bit of sweetener.

So, in 1961, the FDA proposed a new standard which maintained products consisting of 90 percent peanuts and additional sweeteners would be classified as peanut butter.

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Upon this proposal, three peanut butter brands — Skippy, Jif and Peter Pan — began a twenty-week public hearing to argue what peanut percentage the new standard would dictate.

Eventually, the US Appeals Court approved the FDA proposal to set peanut butter standards "at no less than 90 percent for peanuts and no more than 55 percent fat," according to the FDA.

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Today, as shoppers browse supermarket shelves stocked with many different variations of peanut butter, taking a closer look at the label could answer an important question: Is it really peanut butter?

Fox News Digital reached out to Skippy's parent company, Hormel Foods, for comment.

Palm Beach County — home to President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago — passed a one-year moratorium on the planning and construction of data centers as commissioners seek to conduct a thorough review of data centers’ impacts on the environment, noise pollution and electric bills.

The moratorium, passed Thursday, comes just weeks after Trump said communities that reject data centers would "end up being backwards and poor." Among the wealthiest counties in the country, Palm Beach County includes the town of Palm Beach, home to 65 billionaires.

"If you want to go through poverty, crime and squalor, I would say don’t approve of data centers," Trump said from the Oval Office Sept. 4.

The Palm Beach County Commissioners’ 6-0 vote doesn’t put a permanent ban on data centers. Instead, it gives county leadership time to conduct environmental impact reviews before updating zoning rules for where data centers can be built.

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The moratorium applies to all new applications for data centers with an anticipated peak electrical load of at least 50 megawatts.

"Many communities want the economic benefits a data center brings, but we all fear the higher power bills, the negative environmental impact, disruptive noise, the depletion of water resources," a Palm Beach County resident shared during Thursday’s meeting.

Trump has made expanding data centers and accelerating artificial intelligence a cornerstone of his agenda, arguing the United States cannot afford to lose the AI race to China and warning that opposition to data centers only benefits Beijing.

Data centers are the physical backbone of artificial intelligence, housing thousands of powerful computers that store and process digital information while providing the computing power needed to train and run AI systems.

In 2016, Palm Beach County approved the construction of "Project Tango," a proposed 202-acre AI data center, which is located 20 miles from Mar-a-Lago. The data center will also be built near an elementary school and homes.

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In July, commissioners voted 6-1 to reject a proposal to expand Project Tango by roughly 1.67 million square feet. But existing approvals for two 100,000-square-foot data center buildings remain in place.

Residents at Thursday's meeting said Project Tango was the driving factor behind the push to hit pause on data center project approvals, with several residents advocating for no data centers to be built.

"I think the best good neighbor data center is no data center," resident Sergei Kelly said. "We have the Everglades to our South and to our West. The coast to our East. I don’t think data centers, especially large data centers they want to build desperately, should be here at all."

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and Palm Beach County Commissioners for comment.

The Premier League has reportedly given Manchester City a major red card.

City has been found guilty of more than 100 financial charges that were brought by the league over an eight-year period, according to a report from The Athletic. The punishment has not been decided, and City is expected to appeal potential sanctions, according to the report.

"The Premier League process remains ongoing, with significant elements to be completed, and subject to strict confidentiality. As such Manchester City FC’s position remains consistent with the club’s statement of February 2023," City told The Athletic in a statement.

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In November 2018, German outlet Der Spiegel published internal emails from City that it claimed detailed schemes by the club to conceal the true sources of income in a bid to comply with Financial Fair Play regulations. City did not dispute the emails but declined to comment because they came from hackers.

The emails prompted a Premier League investigation. In March 2019, UEFA opened a formal investigation into whether City broke the rules.

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In February 2020, City was banned from the Champions League for two seasons by UEFA for "serious breaches" of spending rules and failing to cooperate with investigators. City was also fined 30 million euros (then $33 million). City said UEFA’s investigation was "flawed" and announced plans to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

In July 2020, the Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned City’s ban but still imposed a 10 million-euro ($11.3 million) fine for lack of cooperation with investigators.

In 2023, City was referred to an independent commission by the Premier League, which alleged more than 100 breaches of financial rules by the club. City was accused of providing misleading information about its finances from 2009-18 and subsequently failing to cooperate with the league’s investigation. City said it was "surprised" by the allegations and claimed there was a "comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence" to counter them.

City won the Premier League for the fifth time in six seasons after the charges were brought. On Friday, The Athletic reported that City was found guilty of all but one of the charges.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.