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Blue state poured thousands of dollars into study on reparations as effort launches
Washington reportedly began a study on “reparative actions” for descendants of slavery on Friday after allocating $300,000 to the effort.
Last year, the Washington State Legislature funded a study to examine the history and impact of slavery in the U.S. as it relates to “the geography of the former Washington and Oregon territories.”
The state also wants to analyze how residents were impacted by state laws and systems regarding criminal justice, economics and education, according to the Washington State Department of Commerce.
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State documents show that the legislature approved $300,000 to fund the project. The Washington State Department of Commerce reserved 10% of the money for administrative costs to manage the program and the remaining funds will be distributed yearly through fiscal year 2026 to 2027, beginning July 1 to the end of June.
The department is open to philanthropic or private donations to “expand the scope and depth of the study.”
Ashley Gardner, the lead director of the project, vowed a thorough review of the historical injustices during an info session last month.
“We intended to leave no research stone unturned,” Gardner said, according to Seattle Times reporting.
The amount of funding provided by the state resulted from consultation with the Commission on African American Affairs. The commission is a representative of the African American community in Washington advising the governor, legislature and state agencies on public policy and its execution.
Researchers must have a Ph.D. qualification in history, African American studies, sociology and several other listed social science and liberal arts degrees with a “direct focus” on “reparations or United States chattel slavery.” The study sought candidates with an “expertise in calculating the present value of uncompensated slave labor for direct victims of the United States chattel slavery.”
The launch of the study came after the state issued a survey to residents to help inform policy recommendations within the study.
“We’re tasked with looking at the national picture, and understanding, is Washington culpable, and if it is culpable, to what degree?” Marvin Slaughter Jr., co-lead of the valuation and policy team, said.
The research team, the Washington Department of Commerce and the Commission on African American Affairs did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Washington follows several other local municipalities and states spanning from coast to coast looking to study the harms of slavery, Jim Crow-era policies, and redlining policies that led to housing discrimination in order to issue reparations in some form. Many others have already conducted a study, which resulted in reports on a detailed review of the past that linked to researchers’ policy recommendations.
A Chicago suburb — Evanston, Illinois — went as far as paying $25,000 in cash to Black residents to address past racial housing discrimination through its program.
As far as what reparations would look like in Washington, researchers reportedly believe it is too early to determine.
“Should it be cash payments? Should it be pensions? Should it be health care?” asked Thomas Craemer, the co-lead of the valuation and policy team on the research project.
“There’s a number of ideas,” he continued. “This is a research project. We’re not actually making any decisions, and we don’t want to. We want to let the community speak to us and to guide us.”
Despite efforts to issue reparations, some of the programs are facing obstacles due to budgetary or legal pressures. The cities of Evanston and San Francisco have been hit with lawsuits over alleged racial discrimination due to their reparations efforts.
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James Comer raises felony questions over Ilhan Omar’s finances after disclosure discrepancy
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., is raising questions about possible felony conduct with Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar’s finances after a glaring discrepancy between an initial disclosure listing up to $30 million in net worth and a revised filing showing less than $100,000.
“Who makes a multimillion-dollar mistake on their financial disclosure form?” Comer asked Monday on “Hannity.”
“Either her accountant went to one of those ‘Quality Learing Centers’ in Minnesota, or she lied about it,” he continued, mocking an allegedly fraudulent Minneapolis daycare whose sign was notoriously misspelled.
“If she lied about it, that’s a felony.”
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The remarks come after an amended disclosure showed Omar and her husband’s assets were between $18,004 and $95,000, a sharp drop from an earlier disclosure that estimated their holdings between $6 million and $30 million, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The sharp dropoff drew scrutiny from Republicans and a congressional watchdog.
Omar’s office said the congresswoman is not a millionaire and blamed a major accounting error for the discrepancy.
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“The amended disclosure confirms what we’ve said all along: The congresswoman is not a millionaire,” Omar spokesperson Jacklyn Rogers told the Journal, adding that the filing was corrected “as soon as the discrepancy was identified.”
Her attorney also pushed back on allegations of misconduct, saying it is common for lawmakers to rely on accountants when preparing financial disclosures.
“While the error is, of course, unfortunate, there is nothing untoward, and nothing illegal has occurred,” the attorney said in part.
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Fox News Digital previously reached out to Omar’s office for additional comment regarding the matter but did not receive a response.
Republicans have seized on the incident, criticizing Omar and speculating that fraud could be at play.
“If she made a mistake, [she never explained] how the mistake happened. It’s not possible,” Comer said.
“You review that financial disclosure form. Before you hit enter, you enter all the assets in, and then it pops up and you review it, and you hit it again, so it’s highly unlikely that she made the mistake.
“This isn’t going to go away from her, so we’re going to continue to try to push for answers and see if her name pops up in any of these frauds that Vice President Vance and the House Oversight Committee are detecting in Minnesota,” he added.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., criticized Omar as a “complete fraud” over the weekend, amplifying the Republican voices critiquing the development.
“Quite frankly, if she is discovered to be involved in any of this fraud personally, that she benefited from it, even by her actions of promoting it and trying to resist investigations, she should be held accountable to the fullest extent,” he said.
Fox News’ Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.
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US updates travel advisory for Caribbean country, cites crime and terrorism concerns
→ The State Department updated a travel advisory warning Americans to reconsider visiting a Caribbean destination amid crime and terrorism concerns.
→ A popular European city proposed a nightly tourist tax aimed at raising millions to address overtourism.
→ What was once a go-to cheap escape is now raising eyebrows for reasons beyond price.
→ A viral incident showed airport lounge passengers hoarding food and leaving messes amid overcrowding issues.
→ An airline debuted bunk-style sleeping pods with four-hour access priced at nearly $500 on long-haul flights.
→ A cruise startup began accepting dogs and cats onboard, reigniting debate as most major lines continue to ban non-service animals.
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→ Archaeologists uncovered hundreds of medieval cannonballs at a construction site in a coastal city.
→ A 2,000-year-old Roman shipwreck was discovered with cargo still clustered on the lakebed where it sank.
→ The Library of Congress identified a lost 1897 film featuring one of cinema’s earliest robot characters.
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Health officials issued brown water advisories after storm runoff contaminated coastal waters with bacteria and debris, raising risks for swimmers.
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Byron Donalds cracks down on persistent border blind spot leaving US vulnerable to overstays
FIRST ON FOX: Florida Republican Rep. Byron Donalds introduced legislation that would require biometric tracking of every entry and exit from the United States, as part of a Republican push to crack down on visa overstays and fraudulent immigration documents.
With illegal crossings down sharply under President Donald Trump’s second term, Republicans are shifting toward the next phase of immigration enforcement — tracking visa overstays and closing documentation loopholes. Donalds’ bill aims to force full nationwide use and federal oversight of the biometric entry-exit system.
Donalds told Fox News Digital exclusively he introduced the legislation on Monday.
“Thanks to President Trump’s decisive actions, our borders are more secure than they have been in decades. We are now moving to finish the job by introducing the Reform Immigration Through Biometrics Act, which provides the oversight needed to ensure every entry and exit is fully verified,” Donalds told Fox News Digital.
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The bill would close gaps to ensure full coverage at every port, provide system flow updates and identify what is “slowing” it down by requiring DHS to report to Congress. The biometric data system collects fingerprints, facial images and iris scans.
Immigration reform is a central focus of the second Trump administration, with officials shifting attention toward internal tracking and enforcement gaps, not just border crossings.
The biometric entry-exit system was first introduced a decade ago, following a 2004 recommendation from the 9/11 Commission to strengthen national security through a comprehensive tracking method.
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Previous administrations failed to fully implement the system across all ports of entry, leaving it incomplete. A final rule issued in December 2025 now mandates a nationwide rollout.
Donalds’ legislation aims to ensure it is fully executed this time by holding DHS accountable.
“The border has been secured, but the work is far from over,” said Donalds in a press release. “Visa overstays and fraudulent documentation remain a large piece of the overall illegal immigration puzzle that needs to be addressed.”
Data from the Border Patrol cited by Pew Research found there were 237,538 migrant encounters at the Mexican border in 2025. It is the lowest number since Richard Nixon was president in 1970 when 201,780 were encountered.
Donalds, a candidate for Florida governor to succeed term-limited Gov. Ron DeSantis, said he anticipates “swift passage” of the bill.
“Republicans are steadfast in our commitment to the mandate entrusted to us by the American people,” he told Fox News Digital.
Fox News Digital reached out to DHS for comment.
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