Obama intel chief angered president at meeting by asking if he'd tolerate Iran having nuclear weapon

Former Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair once angered then-President Barack Obama during a White House meeting on Iran, after he pressed Obama on whether he could tolerate the nation obtaining a nuclear weapon, according to newly released oral history interviews.

"When it came my turn to speak at this meeting," Blair said, "I said, ‘Mr. President, you really just have one decision to make… Are you going to tolerate Iran having a nuclear weapon or not?’" He added that rejecting a nuclear Iran would require espionage and military options, while acceptance would mean a strategy to contain and deter Iran.

The exchange, documented in interviews conducted by the University of Virginia's Miller Center and reported by The New York Times, offers a window into internal divisions within the Obama administration as officials debated how to respond to Iran's nuclear program.

Blair said the moment prompted a sharp warning from Obama.

"The president took me aside after that meeting and said, ‘Denny, don’t ever put me on the spot like that again,’" he recalled. "I said… ‘Yes, sir, Mr. President. I certainly won’t.’" He added, "I was kept out of meetings from that time forward."

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Blair described the meeting as one that had been presented as an opportunity to provide input on Iran policy, and he made the "mistake" of thinking Obama was honestly looking for "fresh insights."

Blair served as Obama's DNI from the start of his presidency in 2009 until he resigned at Obama's request in May 2010.

Obama would go on to negotiate the Iran nuclear deal during his second term, which his administration hailed as a landmark diplomatic achievement that limited the country's nuclear ambitions while avoiding bloodshed. Its critics savaged the deal as mere appeasement that granted unearned sanctions relief to the world's largest state sponsor of terror. 

President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the agreement in 2018.

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The released oral histories also include accounts of internal political discussions within the Obama White House, including deliberations over Vice President Joe Biden’s potential 2016 presidential bid.

David Plouffe, a top political strategist, urged Biden not to enter the race, telling him, "There's no room. There's just no room for you."

Plouffe added, "I’m concerned about you as a human being. I’m not sure you’re in a state to run."

Biden, who mourned the death of his son Beau in 2015, announced later that year that he would not enter the Democratic race, which came down to a heated battle between Hillary Clinton, Obama's preferred candidate, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

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Clinton would go on to win the nomination and lose the general election to Trump.

Obama's office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. 

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Trump mocks 'discombobulated' Schumer over Democrats' near gaffe on funding ICE

President Donald Trump mocked Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., for a near gaffe Saturday on the Senate floor.

"Schumer got 'discombobulated' in the Senate yesterday, and said, 'WE MUST FUND ICE,' prior to correcting himself," Trump wrote Sunday morning on Truth Social. "Thank you Chuck, I agree!"

Schumer and Senate Democrats are filibustering the SAVE America Act — an election integrity bill — but the minority leader was arguing the Republicans are responsible for the government shutdown that has left American airline passengers frustrated with long TSA wait times at airports across the country.

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Schumer did quickly correct himself by saying, "We must fund TSA now," but the irony was not lost on Trump, who has long reminded Americans that the government shutdown of Department of Homeland Security funding does not impact Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in real time, because ICE was fully funded in last summer's One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Schumer's call to "fund TSA now" was related to the Senate Democrats' failed effort to isolate a funding package solely for TSA, but Republicans blocked that effort, noting the rest of DHS funding that is on hold due to the shutdown is vital to American national security amid strikes on Iran, too.

Republicans negotiating on DHS, including Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Homeland Security Subcommittee Chair Katie Britt, R-Ala., are meeting Sunday.

"There are lots of ideas swirling right now, some of which you know my colleagues are talking about, but obviously what my sense is at least the good news, and all that is people realizing this has to get fixed," Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters on his walk off the Senate floor Sunday morning. 

"It has to get solved, but the best way again, to solve it is to get Democrats to support funding the entire Department of Homeland Security, you know, not picking and choosing certain aspects of it," he said. "So we'll see where the discussions go today."

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Democrats in Congress in February agreed to fund most of the government in exchange for withholding funds from DHS following the fatal shootings of ​two anti-ICE agitators in Minnesota by immigration ​authorities.

The Senate failed to get the 60-vote supermajority needed to advance a Republican proposal to fund the entire DHS earlier in March, after Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, objected to an earlier Democratic proposal to separately fund the TSA earlier.

Moreno separately proposed a two-week DHS funding extension, but Democrats blocked that.

Absences by TSA airport officers have already disrupted travel at some major airports over the last week, raising alarm among airlines as the busy spring break travel season peaks. DHS funding lapsed Feb. 13.

Airlines are expecting a record-breaking spring travel period, with 171 million passengers expected ‌to ⁠fly, up 4% over the same two-month period last year.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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IOC addresses execution of 19-year-old Iranian wrestler Saleh Mohammadi

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has addressed the recent execution of 19-year-old wrestling star Saleh Mohammadi by the Iranian regime. 

After multiple Olympians, including three gold medalists, condemned the execution to Fox News Digital, the IOC has now made a statement on the matter. 

"Sadly, today’s world is divided and full of conflicts and tragedies. The IOC cares deeply about the situation of athletes all around the globe and is concerned every time it learns of individual cases of mistreatment. However, it is very difficult to comment on situations of individuals during a conflict or unrest in a country, without the IOC being able to verify the often contradicting information," the IOC said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

"At this moment in time, we are particularly concerned about the situation of Iranian athletes impacted by the events unfolding in their country – as we are with all athletes who face conflict and tragedies elsewhere in the world. Unfortunately, these situations are more regularly brought to our attention due to the increasingly divided world in which we live."

The IOC reiterated that it does not have the power to dictate the decisions of a sovereign nation. 

"The IOC, as a civil, non-governmental organization, has neither the remit nor the ability to change the laws or political system of a sovereign country. This is the legitimate role of governments and the respective intergovernmental organizations. The IOC is a sports organization whose remit and success is based on bringing the world together in peaceful competition. We have to be realistic about the IOC's ability to directly influence global and national affairs," the statement continued.

"At the same time, we will continue to work with our Olympic stakeholders to help where we can, often through quiet sports diplomacy. The IOC remains in touch with the Olympic community from Iran."

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Mohammadi was reportedly killed in a public hanging on Thursday, according to Iranian American human rights activists and dissidents. 

Iran International reported that Iran’s regime hanged Mohammadi and two additional Iranian men, Mehdi Ghasemiand and Saeed Davoudi, "after being accused of killing two police officers during nationwide protests earlier this year," the judiciary-linked Mizan news agency reported.

Mohammadi previously told Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting that his dream was to be an Olympic champion. 

President Donald Trump condemned the regime for the executions while speaking to reporters this week. 

"These are thugs and animals and horrible people," Trump said of the regime. "I'm not surprised they executed three young people for protesting."

Mohammadi won a bronze medal in September 2024, for Iran’s national freestyle wrestling at the Saytiyev International Cup in Krasnoyarsk, Russia.

Olympians to speak out against the execution included U.S. Gold medalists, wrestler Brandon Slay, swimmer Tyler Clary and bobsledder Kaillie Humphries.

"My prayers are with Saleh Mohammadi’s family and all who are suffering. In the face of such oppression, I hold to the hope of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the only light that overcomes darkness and only truth that proclaims justice and mercy will one day prevail," Slay said. 

Clary added, "President Trump has been clear-eyed about the nature of this regime and the need to stand up to it, and moments like this prove why that approach is necessary." 

Fox News Digital's Benjamin Weinthal contributed to this report. 

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

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Iran conflict won’t trigger Biden-style refugee replay, expert predicts

Iran’s instability is unlikely to trigger a Syrian- or Afghanistan-style refugee crisis, a top immigration expert told Fox News Digital, even as questions mount over what comes next for the Iranian people once the fighting subsides.

With Ayatollah Ali Khamenei killed in an airstrike, several top officials dead and competing factions vying for control, questions are mounting over whether Iran’s turmoil could trigger a refugee crisis.

However, given the geography and environment in Iran, a mass refugee exodus appears unlikely, according to Andrew "Art" Arthur – a nationally-recognized national security and immigration expert at the Center for Immigration Studies.

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"It's actually an interesting question, and there are a couple of things to keep in mind," Arthur said in a recent interview.

"One is Iran is about twice the size of Texas. It's, I think, roughly the size as Alaska. It is a huge country, and I think there are 93 million people there, but it's still a big country and most of it is untouched by the conflict, so it's not like individuals couldn't relocate in-country and be perfectly safe."

Unlike Afghanistan, he added, the U.S. and the West don’t have a previous footprint on the ground and don’t have people inside the country offering assistance.

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"[W]e don't have the ability to do something like President Biden did where we load up C-130s with everybody we can get our hands on and fly them to the United States. So, that's a huge distinction."

During the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal, chaos reigned at Hamid Karzai International Airport as U.S. military planes with refugees hanging off of them flew in and out of Kabul while Taliban forces created deadly roadblocks and uncertainty for those trying to flee.

The operation led to a huge influx of largely unvetted Afghan nationals into the U.S., which many immigration hawks blame for some of the migrant violence seen domestically.

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Arthur said that exemplar is rare, in that most refugees don’t or aren’t able to fly "halfway around the world" to escape unrest.

"The Afghanistan evacuation operation, Allies Refuge and Allies Welcome, was completely without precedent in U.S. history, because, generally, refugees resettle in an adjacent country assuming that they can resettle in-country," he said.

Such was true during the other major refugee flow this century, the Syrian crisis during the 2011 "Arab Spring."

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Then-Syrian President Bashar al-Assad responded to peaceful civilian protests with military force, spurring years of outflows of about 11 million Syrian nationals around Europe with a smaller proportion ultimately making their way to the U.S.

The Obama administration set a goal of 10,000 admissions of Syrians through refugee resettlement, while nearly 5 million were registered globally as refugees as of 2017, according to the Migration Policy Institute.

A good proportion of the U.S.’ Syrian population also predates the refugee crisis, some by more than 100 years, like the estimated 5,000 in Allentown, Pennsylvania. 

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Addressing the potential for any Iranian refugee crisis, Arthur said that, in practice, the U.S. could offer resources to neighboring countries but would not be obligated to take in refugees.

"That’s not the way that this works," he said, pointing out that during the 1980s Afghan-Soviet conflict, Afghans relocated to Pakistan and the U.S. helped them from afar.

"We didn’t bring them to the United States," he said, adding that the U.S. helped enforce a no-fly zone to assist aligned factions, such as the Kurds, maintain safer territory.

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Fox News Digital also asked the White House for its thoughts on the prospect of another refugee crisis amid another bout of instability in a Mideast country.

The White House directed Fox News Digital to recent comments by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on the matter, when he was questioned about the proclivity for such conflicts as Iran to force thousands to flee from the conflict zone and into the U.S. – and whether there are any "safeguards" in place to prevent such.

"I think it's safe to say there's no plan for a wave of new Middle Eastern refugees to the United States of America," Hegseth said.

"I think, as the president has pointed out for a long time, there are a lot of countries in the region who would be capable of providing that kind of support if need be."

"But that's certainly not something we're planning on," he said.

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Bloody NYC Khamenei vigil reveals anti-US protest network linked to Iran

A small group of New Yorkers lined candles beneath a portrait of Iran’s late leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, at a recent "vigil" in Manhattan's Washington Square Park, and within minutes, a confrontation turned violent, then viral.

As Jewish rapper Rami Even-Esh approached the March 6 vigil, he noticed something was missing in the pro-regime gathering, which drew only a few dozen people from five far-left groups, including the socialist "Workers World Party."

"I looked around for images of the regime’s victims," Even-Esh told Fox News Digital, referring to tens of thousands of protesters the Iranian regime reportedly killed earlier this year. "I looked for Iranians who supported the regime, and I didn’t see any."

Slowly, Even-Esh, who performs under the moniker "Kosha Dillz," picked up the Khamenei photo, video footage shows, prompting several vigil organizers to quickly tackle him, punch him in the head and kick him as he fell to the ground. He emerged bloodied, and New York Police Department officers arrested both him and one of his assailants.

Video of the confrontation quickly spread online, generating widespread attention, with pro-regime groups framing the event far beyond the park as a symbol of widespread "resistance" to the war in Iran. The incident also offered a telling glimpse into a wider influence campaign now drawing scrutiny.

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A new report by the Network Contagion Research Institute, a think tank based in Princeton, New Jersey, finds that the vigil — along with a follow-up "Al-Quds Day" protest a week later on March 13 — was organized, promoted and amplified by a well-connected network of far-left U.S. activist groups with documented ties to Iranian state media. 

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump warned that Iran is pursuing an aggressive disinformation campaign, accusing the regime of using artificial intelligence and coordinated narratives to shape perception beyond traditional battlefields.

Drawing on leaked internal records, dating from 2019 to 2022, from Iran’s state-owned Press TV propaganda network, researchers identified repeated direct contact between Press TV officials and organizers of recent pro-regime protests, as well as patterns of coordination and amplification that helped transform small local gatherings into widely circulated global flashpoints.

The report identifies a structured ecosystem linking U.S. activist groups, intermediary media platforms and Iranian state outlets to a campaign of malign foreign influence, which is defined by the Directorate of National Intelligence as "subversive, undeclared, coercive, or criminal activities by foreign governments, non-state actors or their proxies to affect another nation’s popular or political attitudes, perceptions or behaviors to advance their interests."

Organizers tied to the New York vigil also coordinated follow-up protests for Al-Quds Day, the Arabic name for "Jerusalem Day," promoted through the same network of social media accounts, organizations and leadership.

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Fox News Digital has identified at least 75 organizations that have protested in support of Iran’s regime since the conflict began, including 50 that identify as far-left, Marxist, socialist or communist groups, and 22 that are Muslim organizations aligned with forms of political Islam, or Islamism. The remaining organizations fall into overlapping ideological categories.

Many of these groups are connected through a broader activist network linked to American-born tech tycoon Neville Roy Singham, who is based in Shanghai. Lawmakers on the House Ways and Means Committee and House Oversight Committee have launched investigations probing whether Singham and the organizations he funds should register as foreign agents, promoting the interests of the Chinese Communist Party.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Singham and the groups organizing the pro-regime protests. 

Organizations associated with Singham's network include the People’s Forum, the ANSWER Coalition, the Party for Socialism and Liberation, CodePink Women for Peace and the Palestinian Youth Movement, and while they didn't organize the Khamenei vigil, they participated in Al-Quds Day protests.

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The scene at the vigil reflected the mix of political messaging and symbolism that has defined "intersectional" activism of far-left politics in recent years. Organizers draped the table with Khamenei’s image with Palestinian checkered keffiyeh scarves and stocked it with pamphlets framing global conflicts — from Gaza to Haiti and apartheid South Africa — as part of a shared "anti-imperialist" struggle. A copy of the Quran sat alongside revolutionary communist literature, blending the kind of ideological and theological messaging that defines the so-called "red-green" alliance of socialists, represented by red, and Muslim theocrats, represented by the color of green for Islam.

Organizers and affiliated groups include a coalition of activist organizations connected to the "United National Antiwar Coalition," the Workers World Party, the "Bronx Anti-War Coalition" and the ANSWER Coalition, networks of socialists and communists who have organized protests across the United States on foreign policy and domestic issues.

The report’s strongest evidence centers on a history of direct contact between Iranian state media and activists from the groups.

The leaked internal records from Press TV, which is sanctioned by the U.S. government, showed hundreds of communications with the small group of organizers tied to the recent protests, including 83 calls to one senior figure. Researchers found that outreach far exceeded contact with other individuals based in the U.S., suggesting sustained engagement rather than routine media interaction.

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The analysis also identified a pattern in which that outreach appeared to happen before protests from 2019 to 2022. According to the report, spikes in contact from Press TV personnel often occurred in the weeks leading up to increased protest activity in the United States, indicating a level of synchronization that researchers say is unlikely to be coincidental.

The report also documents a broader amplification loop: activists appear on Iranian state broadcasts, sharing and reposting state media content and promoting protest activity later picked up by outlets aligned with Iran’s messaging ecosystem.

A separate media platform, "Vox Ummah," is identified as an intermediary linking U.S.-based activists with Iran-aligned narratives in the "ummah," an Arabic term for the global community of Muslims, promoting the vigil and Al-Quds protests while republishing content from Iranian state outlets.

The report stops short of asserting direct operational coordination, but it concludes that the overlap of communication and messaging reflects a "repeatable influence pipeline" capable of turning local protest activity into widely distributed political narratives of malign foreign influence.

"A strain of moral confusion has taken hold where a growing number of people in our communities protest America while excusing regimes that jail, torture and silence their own people," Adam Sohn, co-founder of the Network Contagion Research Institute, told Fox News Digital. "That’s not justice. It’s a psychological contagion causing these people to lose sight of what evil actually looks like."

The report also notes that messaging tied to the vigil, such as references to Khamenei’s "martyrdom," opposition to U.S. and Israeli policy, and alignment with the "Axis of Resistance," a term invented to describe opposition to U.S. foreign policy, mirrors themes promoted by Iranian state media following Khamenei's death.

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On the edge of the Khamenei vigil, Iranian American Reza Ebrahimi, founder of a group called Lion Sun NY, watched the scene unfold with Even-Esh emerging bloodied and handcuffed.

Ebrahimi told Fox News Digital he is immune to pro-regime disinformation and propaganda. He was emboldened to see that Even-Esh also didn't succumb to the intimidation. 

He later told him, "I’m proud of you that you’re supporting us."

Azziana Solomon contributed to this report.

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McConnell claims Joe Kent's resignation letter contained 'virulent anti-Semitism'

Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky asserted in a post on X that Joe Kent's resignation letter was tainted by "virulent anti-Semitism."

Kent posted the resignation letter on Tuesday, announcing that he was stepping down from the role of National Counterterrorism Center director.

"Joe Kent testified before the Senate one year ago that Iran and its terror proxies threatened U.S. servicemembers in the Middle East. He said it would be an honor to return to the fight against terrorism, and he pledged to lead with integrity and accountability," McConnell declared in the post on X.

"The virulent anti-Semitism of his resignation letter makes it clear that Mr. Kent is incapable of upholding these pledges, and those who mistake its baseless and incendiary conspiracies for brave truth-telling are only fooling themselves. Isolationists and anti-Semites have no place in either party, and certainly do not deserve places of trust in our government," the senator added.

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Kent explained in the resignation letter that he was leaving the job due to his opposition to the Iran war.

"I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby," Kent wrote in the message directed toward President Donald Trump.

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"Early in this administration, high-ranking Israeli officials and influential members of the American media deployed a misinformation campaign that wholly undermined your America First platform and sowed pro-war sentiments to encourage a war with Iran. This echo chamber was used to deceive you into believing that Iran posed an imminent threat to the United States, and that should you strike now, there was a clear path to a swift victory. This was a lie and is the same tactic the Israelis used to draw us into the disastrous Iraq war that cost our nation the lives of thousands of our best men and women. We cannot make this mistake again," he warned.

"As a veteran who deployed to combat 11 times and as a Gold Star husband who lost my beloved wife Shannon in a war manufactured by Israel, I cannot support sending the next generation off to fight and die in a war that serves no benefit to the American people nor justifies the cost of American lives," Kent declared in his resignation letter.

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McConnell, who has served in the U.S. Senate since early 1985, is not seeking another term this year.

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Apple News fails to provide balanced coverage of DHS shutdown, ignores right-leaning outlets: study

FIRST ON FOX—Apple News and other prominent aggregators are failing to provide balanced coverage of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown, according to a study. 

The conservative-leaning Media Research Center (MRC) examined Apple News, Google News, Microsoft’s MSN and Yahoo News for the first month of the DHS funding lapse. The MRC wanted to see how the four major news aggregators had been curating information related to the partial government shutdown that began on Feb. 14, and findings indicate many Americans are only hearing one side of the story. 

The four apps limited their coverage of the DHS shutdown to only 1%, comprising 28 stories, out of the 1,977 promoted during the period, according to the MRC. Of the 28 stories, 19 came from "leftist" media sources and seven came from "center" sources. 

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"Out of the 28 articles about the shutdown, only one headline exclusively blamed Democrats," MRC Vice President Dan Schneider told Fox News Digital. 

Apple News published 17 stories related to the shutdown, but none of them came from right-leaning news organizations. None of the stories featured a headline that blamed Democrats, and only one of the 17 even mentioned Democrats in the headline at all, according to the MRC. 

Apple News published 12 stories from organizations that the MRC considers "left" or "lean left," and five from outlets labeled "center." No right-leaning or conservative outlets had DHS shutdown content published by Apple News, according to the MRC. 

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"When a dominant platform like Apple News delivers 71 percent left-leaning coverage and zero right-leaning perspectives on a major political fight, that is not balance. That is the information pipeline tilting the playing field," MRC President David Bozell told Fox News Digital. 

During the time period Feb. 14 to March 14, 2026, MRC researchers examined the top 20 stories featured on the Big Four News Apps — Apple News, Google News, Microsoft’s MSN and Yahoo News — each day at approximately 8:30 AM ET and searched the article headlines for the terms "DHS," "Homeland Security," "shutdown" and "shut." MRC researchers used the AllSides media bias ratings, which categorize an outlet as "left," "lean left," "center," "lean right" or "right" to determine the overall bias presented by Google News and analyzed the results.

Google News published six stories on the topic, and none of them featured a headline that blamed Democrats or even mentioned the party. Four were from left-leaning outlets, according to the MRC, while two stories from the BBC and Reuters were considered "center" by the media watchdog. 

When reached for comment, Google questioned the methodology of the study and said Google News changes throughout the day and is personalized to users.

Apple News did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Microsoft’s MSN only pushed a single article related to the shutdown, which came from Bloomberg News, according to the MRC.

"Microsoft is especially egregious in covering up the Democrat-led effort to shut down DHS in the middle of the U.S. fight against Iran. Even the one story it published was from Bloomberg, which buries stories behind its paywall. Only users who pay extra can access the one story MSN published about the shutdown," Schneider said. 

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MSN did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Yahoo News was the most balanced, publishing four stories, including a pair from Fox News. 

Democrats on Capitol Hill are accusing Republicans of walking away from attempts to shrink the size of a partial shutdown, arguing that the impasse over funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) doesn’t need to hold up funding for other agencies.

Democrats are demanding a ban on masks for ICE agents, an end to roaming patrols, stiffer warrant requirements and visible identification markings. Their demands came about in the wake of the deaths of two civilians in Minnesota who lost their lives in escalated confrontations with immigration enforcement.

Without those demands, Democrats say there’s no way to press on towards funding ICE. As the partial government shutdown continues to drag on, Transportation Security Administration officers are not getting their paychecks due to the lapse in funding.

Over the weekend, airports across the country faced long security delays, with TSA officers calling out of work.

Republicans maintain the demands would handcuff President Donald Trump’s illegal immigration crackdown efforts.

Republicans can’t advance funding legislation in the Senate without the help of at least 7 Democrats. Republicans hold 53 seats in the chamber and need 60 votes to break the threat of a filibuster.

Fox News Digital’s Leo Briceno and Ashley J. DiMella contributed to this report.

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