Author: NOVA Corp

FIRST ON FOX: A Senate Republican wants to slash six figures from the cost of a new home by rooting out cumbersome regulations at the state and local level, which he said will make homeownership more affordable for Americans.

Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., wants to gut the so-called “bureaucrat tax,” which piles on regulations that amount to nearly $100,000 in added costs when building single-family homes, in order to expand the housing supply in the country and lower the barrier to entry for buying a home.

He’s introducing the Freedom to Build Act, which would create a designation of the same name that would open up a flow of federal grants to builders and communities that would offset construction costs and incentivize deregulation along the way.

TRUMP-BACKED AFFORDABLE HOUSING OVERHAUL CLEARS SENATE, WHILE HOUSE GOP RAISES RED FLAGS

But it’s not a federal mandate to spur deregulation. Instead, communities could opt into the Freedom to Build designation, which would, in turn, put those locales at the front of the line for federal grants from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

“For many Americans, the dream of owning a home is increasingly out of reach, and excessive regulations have made new homes too costly for many American families,” Hagerty said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “My Freedom to Build Act streamlines costly and often redundant regulations to reduce the cost of a new home in our country.”

Hagerty’s legislation follows the newly released Economic Report of the President, which lamented the so-called bureaucrat tax and its effect on the construction of single-family homes. It described the bureaucrat tax as a barrier to building and homeownership because of the addition of “California-style fees, mandates, regulations, and red tape in many states and localities.”

BIPARTISAN HOUSING PUSH ADVANCES, BUT TRUMP-BACKED INVESTOR BAN FACES RESISTANCE

The report contended that home prices rose sharply during a period of low interest rates between 2012 and 2021 because of “strong demand running up against a wall of tight supply due to bureaucratic costs and delays that function like a six-figure ‘bureaucrat tax’ on the cost of building a new home.”

The report also found that the bureaucrat tax constituted between 24% and 29% of the cost of a new home, and that the cumbersome regulations not only add to the cost of building a new home but also slow down the construction of a single-family home.

HOUSE PASSES BIPARTISAN HOUSING BILL AS TRUMP ZEROES IN ON AFFORDABILITY CRISIS

“Put even more concretely, the bureaucrat tax adds over $100,000 to the cost of a new single-family home,” according to the Economic Report of the President.

“Reform at the state and local levels to tackle the sources of the six-figure bureaucrat tax would greatly enhance the ability of supply to keep up with stronger demand,” the report continued.

Meanwhile, the Senate passed a massive affordable housing package backed by President Donald Trump last month.

The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which easily sailed through the upper chamber on a bipartisan vote, is geared toward helping first-time homebuyers and lower-income Americans enter the housing market or gain access to more affordable housing options.

It also includes Trump’s push for a ban on institutional investors buying up homes. Still, the bill has not moved in the lower chamber, where lawmakers are frustrated with some of the tweaks made in the Senate, including the institutional investor ban.

FIRST ON FOX: Democratic congressional candidate and Latin music star Bobby Pulido is being criticized for a joke he made about a longtime bandmate exposed as a child predator.

Pulido, a two-time Latin Grammy Award-winning singer who is the Democratic nominee in Texas’ 15th Congressional District, is facing scrutiny over bandmate Frankie Caballero, who is a registered sex offender convicted of indecent contact with an 8-year-old girl. Pulido has said he was not aware of the bandmate’s conviction and that he cut ties with him as soon as he learned.

However, Congresswoman Monica De La Cruz, R-Texas, who Pulido is attempting to unseat, called out the musician-turned-politician for the joke, which he made at a 2018 concert, claiming, “Everyone knows he knew.”

Fox News Digital reviewed YouTube video of the concert, which took place in November 2018, when Pulido referred to Caballero as a “bad man.” He quipped that though Caballero was born in South Bend, Indiana, he did not attend Notre Dame but went to “Penn State,” which prompted Caballero to take a step back and Pulido to laugh, saying, “No, no, I’m just kidding, don’t worry.” 

DEM CANDIDATE’S UNEARTHED ‘WINTER TEXAN’ COMMENT COULD HAUNT CAMPAIGN

A spokesperson for Pulido has pushed back on De La Cruz’s comments, accusing the congresswoman of “telling lies” and saying that “Bobby Pulido had no knowledge of Caballero’s sex offender registration and would never knowingly associate with anyone with such a history.”

In an interview with Fox News Digital, De La Cruz asserted that “the question isn’t whether Bobby Pulido knew what his close friend did to these children — everyone knows he knew — the question is why Bobby Pulido spent decades bringing a pedophile around to our families?”

“The answer is, he doesn’t care, because he is a celebrity who barely even lives in this country,” she said. 

As a singer and actor, Pulido has spent much of his career splitting his time between Mexico and South Texas.

“This is someone who was already faced child sex abuse charges when Mr. Pulido personally recruited him and built his entire career around him,” she said.

“Then he goes on to molest an 8-year-old girl from our community and goes to prison. Once again, Mr. Pulido hires him,” she said. “He starts bringing this pedophile into our parks, into our festivals, and my opponent is even on tape joking about this man’s crimes.”

De La Cruz emphasized, “My heart breaks up for the families whose children were victimized by the predator that Bobby Pulido brought into our neighborhoods for decades, knowing full well what he had done.”

DEM CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE BOBBY PULIDO DEPICTS LEWD BEHAVIOR IN CONTROVERSIAL MUSIC VIDEO FOR HIS SONG

“I’m raising my own kids in South Texas, and I want every family that Bobby Pulido put in danger to know I’m here for you.”

In response, a spokesperson for Pulido’s campaign pushed back, telling Fox News Digital, “Monica and her máquina de mentiras (machine of lies) are at it again, telling lies because they don’t want you to know the truth.”

“Bobby Pulido had no knowledge of Caballero’s sex offender registration and would never knowingly associate with anyone with such a history,” the spokesperson added. 

The spokesperson added that “Bobby, and his supporters, will not be lectured by Monica De La Cruz, who is the only candidate in this race who has been accused of child abuse under oath in a court of law and even had a restraining order issued against her to protect a child.”

During divorce proceedings in 2021, De La Cruz was accused by her ex-husband of pinching her then-step-daughter and of being verbally abusive. A temporary restraining order was granted, and no further charges were pursued, and the order was eventually dissolved. 

De La Cruz has denied the accusations as false.  

Meanwhile, a former Democratic prosecutor in Hidalgo County, Texas, told Fox News Digital that they “have thoroughly reviewed this case,” and concluded that “Mr. Pulido has no plausible deniability.”

The prosecutor said that Pulido’s “Penn State” comment “can only be inferred as either a child sex abuse joke or a reference to the fact that his friend spent four years in the state pen — both are devastating to Mr. Pulido’s defense.” 

Caballero was first arrested for child sex abuse charges in 1992. Though he was hit with a $75,000 bond, according to the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office website, the disposition of that case is unclear. 

Pulido first collaborated with Caballero in 1995, three years after the 1992 arrest, and Caballero is credited on at least four of Pulido’s studio albums in 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1999.

In May 2014, Caballero was convicted of a second-degree felony involving indecent contact with an 8-year-old female and was incarcerated, according to the Texas Public Sex Offender website. He was incarcerated from 2014 to 2016. 

Following his conviction and prison sentence, he toured again with Pulido between 2018 and 2021, with the two seen performing together in several cities, including Kansas City, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Tucson, Arizona, per videos shared on YouTube.

DEM SENATOR RIPPED FOR ‘SMEAR’ OF FEMALE ACTIVIST ADVOCATING FOR SWALWELL’S ACCUSERS: ‘VERY BAD LOOK’

Between 2020 and 2021, Caballero was charged with indecency by sexual contact with a child, attempted aggravated sexual assault of a child, unlawful restraint of a child under 17, though those charges have been dismissed, according to Hidalgo County, Texas, Jail records. He was also charged with assault of a family member by impeding breathing and circulation, which resulted in him being released to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. 

He was also hit with failure to comply with sex offender registration in 2020 and 2021. 

In a prior statement to Fox News Digital, Pulido’s campaign manager, Abel Prado, said, “First and foremost, Bobby extends his deepest sympathies and support to all of the victims involved.”

“Frankie Caballero has long struggled with addiction issues and Bobby Pulido has acknowledged and attempted to help him with that battle,” Prado continued. “When Jimmy Montez Management learned of Caballero’s criminal history in 2021, he was immediately fired and that relationship was severed.” 

“Bobby was never made aware of Caballero’s sex offender registration and would never knowingly associate with anyone with that kind of history.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Caballero for comment.

Congressional Democrats want President Donald Trump out of the White House, but they are not on the same page about how or when to act.

More than five dozen Democrats have called for Trump’s impeachment, but that push is likely dead on arrival absent GOP support.

Others want Trump’s Cabinet and Vice President JD Vance to effectively usurp him by invoking the 25th Amendment, which has never been used to oust a sitting president in the nearly 60 years since the amendment was ratified.

FLASHBACK: DEMS WANT TO BOOT TRUMP WITH 25TH AMENDMENT, BUT REFUSED TO DO SO UNDER BIDEN

Most Democrats aren’t admitting the political realities of either option, and their typically unified front is showing cracks as they debate how best to push back against the administration.

“I don’t think it is the best use of our time,” Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pa., said last week at a news conference when asked about impeachment. “Let us get into the majority, let us get a Senate majority and then hold this president to account.”

“All options should be on the table,” Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-Calif., a member of House Democratic leadership, said following Dean’s comments.

Top Democrats in both chambers are not in direct alignment, either.

TRUMP IRAN THREAT SPARKS CALLS FOR HIS OUSTER, BUT ONE DEM SAYS EFFORT ‘NOT REALISTIC’

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has stopped short of calling for either impeachment or the 25th Amendment, instead pushing for another war powers resolution vote this week to rein in Trump’s authorities in Iran.

“Congress must reassert its authority, especially at this dangerous moment,” Schumer said. “No president, Democrat or Republican, should take this country to war alone — not now, not ever. Republicans will once again have the opportunity to join Democrats and end this reckless war of choice.”

Meanwhile, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., has appeared to encourage removal conversations among House Democrats and touted a caucus-wide briefing on the 25th Amendment led by Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., last week.

“Shockingly, Donald Trump threatened to escalate his war of choice in a profane Easter Sunday rant and to eradicate an entire civilization,” Jeffries wrote in a “Dear Colleague” letter. “We will continue to unleash maximum pressure on Republicans to put patriotic duty over party loyalty and join Democrats in stopping the madness.”

The 25th Amendment has a much higher threshold for success than impeachment, given that it would require Vance, most of Trump’s Cabinet, and two-thirds of both chambers of Congress to align to remove Trump.

TRUMP’S THREAT TO END IRANIAN ‘CIVILIZATION’ SPARKS UPROAR ON CAPITOL HILL

Impeachment would have to start in the House, and it’s unlikely that formal proceedings against Trump would even begin under House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.

But that hasn’t stopped Democrats from trying. Late last year, Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, forced votes on two articles of impeachment against Trump, and nearly two dozen Democrats joined Republicans to kill the effort.

Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., filed 13 articles of impeachment against Trump last week, citing the president’s military intervention in Venezuela, the deployment of National Guard troops to cities across the country, and his executive order to curtail birthright citizenship, among other charges.

It is unclear whether Larson, who is facing a heated primary challenge from a decades-younger opponent, will force a vote on his resolution.

In the Senate, even fewer lawmakers are calling for drastic measures against Trump. Only a handful — including Sens. Andy Kim, D-N.J., Chris Murphy, D-Conn., Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore. — have called for impeachment or the 25th Amendment.

“I mean, he’s unfit for office,” Kim said. “I think the 25th Amendment, and if not, then impeachment.”

It’s also a desire that Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., contended was “not realistic right now, given his oddball Cabinet of sycophants and eccentrics.”

“We’re going to have to buckle down and win this the old-fashioned way,” Whitehouse said.

Abdul El-Sayed’s refusal to distance himself from controversial Twitch streamer Hasan Piker has intensified claims that the Michigan Senate candidate is an extremist.

As El-Sayed’s campaign continues, Fox News Digital uncovered even more ties to radical socialist activists, such as a pro-Maduro organizer and other far-left figures, whose support is now becoming a political liability. 

For example, El-Sayed recently touted an endorsement from Tom Burke, the longtime executive leader of a group that hopes to build a new Communist Party in America and a publicly pro-Nicolas Maduro activist who regularly travels to Venezuela. He was just in New York protesting Maduro’s imprisonment on narco-terroism charges, visited Caracas in 2022 to attend the party convention of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela, the ruling party of Venezuela at the time led by Maduro, and, in 2020, he met with top officials from the country’s elections agency that has been accused of rigging elections under Maduro. 

Meanwhile, El-Sayed just held a fundraiser with Anas ‘Andy’ Shallal as well. Shallal has publicly praised Cuba’s Fidel Castro and Assata Shakur, of the Black Liberation Movement, who was convicted of killing a New Jersey State Trooper during a shootout with fellow activists. El-Sayed has also received donations from Marxisim expert Robert Meister and Brooklyn professor, Nancy Romer, who has lambasted the United States’ “savage capitalism.” 

MICHIGAN SENATE CANDIDATE ABDUL EL-SAYED TAKES HEAT FOR KHAMENEI COMMENTS, HASAN PIKER EVENT

Fox News Digital reported last month that El-Sayed was among a slew of Michigan candidates and politicians who had received donations and were pictured with a radical Michigan-based Imam on his social media pages who eulogized and held formal events honoring the death of Ayatollah Khamenei after he was taken out by U.S. forces in February.

“Abdul El-Sayed cannot win a general election in Michigan, full stop,” a longtime Democratic strategist told Fox News Digital in response to this reporting. “This is a candidate who spent years calling police ‘standing armies we deploy against our own people,’ posted more than a dozen times in support of defunding the police, and then deleted his entire social media history the moment he decided to run statewide, hoping Michigan voters wouldn’t notice. They will notice. And so will Mike Rogers.”

As a gubernatorial candidate in Michigan in 2018, El-Sayed said that he “share[s] a lot of ideals” with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and, since 2019, El-Sayed has spoken at, or attended, at least five DSA-organized or sponsored events, according to public reporting and social media posts.

El-Sayed’s remarks came after he was asked whether he had sought out any endorsements from the country’s national socialist movement – DSA – while running for governor. El-Sayed responded that he doesn’t like labels but shares a lot of “ideals” with the group.

“We’ve had great conversations, and we share a lot of ideals, [but] I don’t like labels,” El-Sayed responded to the question. “I come from that world, where we pick our words very carefully and very thoughtfully. And I think that the term ‘socialism’ is too slippery of a word right now, and it evokes too many different things to too many different people.”

“I think for a millennial the word ‘socialism’ is spelled with a lower-case ‘s,’ and it implies an engagement of government in some of the most important aspects of our lives to ensure and address a level of equity that we have not had,” he continued. “And then, I think for people who are over the age of sixty, it implies a history that was some of the most fearful in their lives. And I think because it evokes different meanings politically, it’s just not a useful term.”

Last month, El-Sayed touted an endorsement from IATSE Local 26, with Burke quoted as the union president. Burke, a decades-long socialist leader, is the organizational secretary at the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, which describes itself as aiming to start a new Communist Party in the United States. Burke has also proven himself to be a loyal supporter of Venezuela’s Maduro and his political party. Maduro was recently captured by the Trump administration and sent to court on narco-terrorism charges, which Burke has described as “disgraceful” acts by the military at Trump’s direction. 

Burke has slammed the U.S. efforts in Venezuela as amounting to the same sort of regime change efforts seen in Iraq and Afghanistan.

SQUAD MEMBER SUMMER LEE CALLS ‘UPPER CLASS’ THE ‘ENEMY’ AT EL-SAYED RALLY 

Meanwhile, Burke travels to Venezuela frequently, according to publicly posted summaries and photos of his trips, including in 2022 when he attended the political convention for Maduro’s ruling party, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela, and in 2020, when he met with the president of Venezuela’s elections agency, which has been accused of interfering in the country’s elections. 

Burke can be seen in photos alongside other individuals who met with the Maduro-backing Bolivarian Militia, and photos Fox News could not independently verify showed Burke at a 2020 protest in Caracas next to Bolivarian militiamen that involved both pro-government and anti-government forces and ultimately became violent. 

Despite Maduro’s fall from grace and praise following his departure, Burke said during a radio interview in 2023 that Maduro was “very popular with people.”

“We want social change that builds upon the civil rights movement and the women’s liberation movement, the LGBTQ movements of the 70s and 80s, and especially the labor movement,” Burke recently said in an interview with Fight Back! Radio several weeks ago. “We want to build up those movements to create a new society from the ashes of the one that the billionaires are destroying.”

El-Sayed also campaigned just recently alongside Shallal, a wealthy Iraqi-American business owner and entrepreneur, according to a web page advertising the event that included a domain belonging to the Democratic Party’s ActBlue fundraising arm. Shallal has praised and commemorated radical far-left individuals, like communist Cuban leader Fidel Castro and radical American activist Assata Shakur, known for killing a state trooper in a gunfight with other activists, being sentenced to life, and then fleeing to Cuba.

“Fidel Castro was a bigger than life figure whose impact reached far beyond his beloved country, Cuba,” he wrote on Instagram in November. In February, Shallal also posted a letter from American activist Alice Walker praising Castro. Shallal visited the Cuban embassy as recently as last year, posting about it on social media in front of a statue at the embassy of Cuban political figure Jose Marti. 

In addition to Burke and Shallal, El-Sayed accepted support from radical socialist professor Nancy Romer and Marxism philosopher Robert Meister, who both have donated to his campaign. 

Romer has lambasted America’s “savage capitalism,” and claims she helped bring about a statewide Michigan chapter of the Human Rights Party decades ago, which historical reports show was often far-left of traditional Democrats and circumvented orthodox Democratic Party priorities. 

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Meister, who has donated thousands to El-Sayed, is a Marxism expert who has posited that the Soviet Empire helped prevent anti-Imperialist movements from being squelched during the Cold War era and has written books on how to apply Marxism in the current political environment. Meister previously served as director of The Bruce Initiative on Rethinking Capitalism, and his published works include “Political Identity: Thinking Through Marx” and “Critique Of The Global Discourse Of Humanitarian That Followed The Fall Of Communism.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the Michigan Senate candidate about his comments and his ties to publicly avowed socialists, other radicals and their ideals, but did not receive a response. 

However, according to Republican strategists who spoke with Fox News Digital, whether El-Sayed calls himself a socialist or not, Democrats running against him should be aware of the company he keeps and use it to their advantage. Fox News Digital reported last month that El-Sayed accepted money as a political candidate and has been seen as recently as 2023 rubbing elbows with Michigan-based Muslim Imam Mohammad Ali Elahi, who complained in a eulogy following Khamanei’s death that the Iranian Supreme Leader was killed by “the most wretched hands on Earth.”

Ali Elahi, whose social media pages were a who’s who of Michigan and national level Democratic politicians until the photos were deleted after Fox News Digital inquired about the connections, showed him regularly meeting with Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly and the Imam also showed himself taking trips to Iran as well. 

At the latest gathering on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September, pictures from the meeting showed it was also attended by the co-founder of the left-wing activist group CODEPINK, which has been accused of having close ties to China, and former U.S. intelligence official and U.N. weapons inspector Scott Ritter, whose house was raided by the FBI for what Ritter himself described as violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. 

“Abdul El-Sayed is campaigning with, and for, extremists. If his recent comments weren’t bad enough, El-Sayed’s ties to the DSA, Maduro cronies, and Iranian regime sympathizers check all the boxes of radical leftism that has become all too commonplace in the Democrat Party,” said Jessica Anderson, President of the conservative Sentinel Action Fund. “Michiganders are tired of the chaos and extremism. That’s why we see support growing for commonsense leaders like Mike Rogers.”

While El-Sayed did not respond to Fox News Digital’s inquiries, he did go on Fox News channel’s “America’s Newsroom,” during which anchor Bill Hemmer pressed him on his plans to hold a campaign event with controversial, communist-sympathizing podcaster Hasan Piker. Hemmer also gave El-Sayed a chance to respond to criticism about his comments, suggesting he was worried about upsetting people “sad” about the Iranian Supreme Leader’s death at the hands of U.S. military forces with any statement about the matter. El-Sayed said in the recording he preferred to stay silent about it.

“I just want to remind you that most people in the city of Dearborn and Dearborn Heights are not Arab-American. They are white. And they’re worried, just like I am, they’re saddened by the fact that their tax prices go up and they are watching their gas prices go up with it all to fight a war that we shouldn’t really be a part of,” El-Sayed said, trashing the war as “illegal,” “immoral” and described what was going on in Iran as a “regime change war.”

Hemmer also gave El-Sayed a chance to respond to his decision to campaign with Piker, which has earned him immense criticism. Piker has been slammed for justifying Hamas’ attacks and slaughter, including rapes, on innocent Israelis, was forced to walk back comments about how Americans deserved 9/11, and recently told his followers that “you really don’t need suicide bombing anymore,” because cheap Chinese-made drones can be bought online for anyone who is interested in performing a terror strike.

Piker sympathizes with communist ideals, but has labeled himself a socialist and Marxist while rejecting communist labels. However, Piker has also described communism as the “honorable end goal” of socialism.

“It’s an active decision to reach out to people who feel locked out of their politics to have a conversation, just like I’m making an active decision as somebody who is running in the Democratic primary to have a conversation on Fox News,” El-Sayed said of his decision to campaign with Piker. “Just because you invite somebody to campaign with you, or you’re engaging with them, does not mean that you agree with them.”

Long-time GOP strategist Collin Reed agreed with other sources Fox News spoke to who said that, even though El-Sayed may be brushing off his ties to radical folks, if other Democrats in the upcoming primary want to win they should be zeroing in on his affiliations. 

“Welcoming the support from open and avowed socialist sympathizers will no doubt make Mr. El-Sayed the belle of the ball at No Kings rallies and other left-wing resistance movements, but it’s a tough sell in a battleground state like Michigan,” Reed said. “You are the company you keep, and the other Democrats competing in this primary would be wise to use these revelations to disqualify Mr. El-Sayed in the eyes of their voters. If they don’t, it will be another sign that the tail is wagging the dog and the far left driving the debate in these primary contests, which is poised to shape the overall contours of the midterm elections.”

President Donald Trump on Tuesday issued full-throated re-election endorsements for the incumbent lieutenant governors of Nevada and Idaho.

“Stavros Anthony has been a fantastic Lieutenant Governor for the Great People of Nevada!” the president declared in a Monday Truth Social post.

“Stavros Anthony has my Complete and Total Endorsement for Re-Election — HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!” he asserted.

TRUMP-BACKED GOVERNOR ANNOUNCES BID FOR THIRD CONSECUTIVE TERM

Anthony thanked the president for his backing.

“Thank you, President Trump, for your support for my re-election and for your support for Nevada. I look forward to seeing you this week in Las Vegas,” the state official wrote in a post on X.

REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR TARGETED BY DEMOCRATS LAUNCHES RE-ELECTION BID IN KEY BATTLEGROUND

Trump also gave his stamp of approval to Idaho Lt. Gov. Scott Bedke, declaring that he “has been a tremendous Lieutenant Governor of Idaho, a place I love and WON BIG in 2016, 2020, and 2024!”

“Scott Bedke has my Complete and Total Endorsement for Re-Election — HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!” the president declared in a Truth Social post.

24 STATES BACK CHALLENGE TO TRANSGENDER INMATE SURGERY RULING WITH NATIONWIDE STAKES

President Trump previously issued posts in which he endorsed Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo and Idaho Gov. Brad Little for re-election last year.

A recent webinar hosted by some of the top teachers’ unions in the United States that pushed a curriculum focused on the upcoming May Day protests is prompting education experts and watchdogs to sound the alarm about alleged political indoctrination inside classrooms.

The Chicago Teachers’ Union and the National Education Association collaborated with the Zinn Education Project on an April 2nd seminar referred to as a “curriculum build” to “bring “social justice into the classroom” ahead of May Day, the traditional May 1st holiday that has long been embraced by communist and socialist movements as a day of mass political action.

“There’s probably gonna be a lot worse things that Trump does, and so May Day is a dress rehearsal for maybe there’s a random day in, you know, June that we all are, like, no work, no school, no shopping, because of something Pete just did, right?” Dave Stieber, a history teacher in Chicago Public Schools, said during the presentation. 

“So this is a continuation and a buildup of that.”

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The webinar also included guidance on how educators could bring activism into the classroom, including with very young students, with speakers who encouraged lessons centered on activism for children as young as three, presenting such engagement as a way to build early awareness and participation. 

“I did want to say I really encourage teachers of young children not to feel like this is stuff that’s way beyond their students, not to be afraid of raising up social justice issues, including workers’ rights, anti-racism, pro LGBT, LGBTQIA plus issues, immigration and immigrants rights,” Kirstin Roberts, a pre-school teacher in Chicago Public Schools, says in the seminar. 

The North American Values Institute (NAVI), who first posted the seminar online, argues that the unions are attempting to “groom” students to push social justice platforms in protests across the United States including on May Day.

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“The webinar demonstrates clearly that our teacher unions view students as foot soldiers in their political and ideological battles and the classroom as an appropriate venue to wage their war,” Mika Hackner, director of research at NAVI, told Fox News Digital. 

During the seminar, one of the lessons on “May Day curriculum building” focuses on making the upcoming protest look less “scary” to children. 

“In this lesson, we really want to introduce the idea that there’s going to be marches and protests on Mayday,” Roberts says.

LEFT-WING TOOLKIT FROM COLLEGE PROFESSORS GROUP URGES STUDENTS TO ‘CREATE A CRISIS’ OVER ICE

“Sometimes those are made to look really scary on the news and so we, or in social media, and so we want to share images with our children of protests that lifts up the beauty and the humanity of the people involved.”

The Chicago Teachers’ Union, which has been pushing for schools to be closed on May Day, has long faced criticism for pushing far-left political agenda items in the classroom and encouraging teachers to take to the streets in opposition to the Trump administration. 

Earlier this year, Fox News Digital reported that CTU appears poised to spend a substantial amount of money on “political activities” to the tune of $3.1 million dollars.

In January, CTU members filmed themselves protesting federal immigration enforcement and anti-DEI measures at a local Target, sparking criticism both online and from experts.

“It’s very clear that teachers unions seek to destroy our country by turning our students against it,” Teacher Freedom Alliance CEO Ryan Walters told Fox News Digital.

 “The Chicago Teachers Union is one of the worst. The fact that they are targeting students as young as 3 years old with this anti-American propaganda should be criminal. The teachers unions will continue to use students as Marxist pawns until we have driven them out of our schools.” 

The NEA has found itself facing criticism over political activism in recent months as well which Fox News Digital has extensively reported on, including federal labor filings in January that showed the nation’s largest teacher’s union funneling millions to far-left activist groups, ballot initiatives and social justice organizations.

“They don’t care about the students, they care about pushing these leftist, liberal Democrat people [politicians] so that they can get more money and just fund all these stupid initiatives,” an NEA whistleblower told Fox News Digital in January.

Fox News Digital reached out to the NEA, CTU, Chicago Public Schools, and Zinn Project for comment.

Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., is demanding consideration of a Democrat-led war powers resolution that would require President Donald Trump to pull U.S. armed forces out of hostilities with Iran.

“I think it’s important for us to keep trying to push the issue forward, and eventually [Republicans] are going to have to allow us to bring it to the floor and have a vote on it. So, we’re hoping that that’s going to be sooner rather than later,” Ivey said.

“Now we’re at a point where gas prices have gone up more than a dollar per gallon. We spent $54 billion on this war so far, and there’s no end in sight.”

If passed, the resolution would prevent the president from engaging in additional military action, save for defensive reasons, and require a declaration of war for any additional operations in Iran.

TRUMP’S THREAT TO END IRANIAN ‘CIVILIZATION’ SPARKS UPROAR ON CAPITOL HILL

Republicans have panned the idea as an unhelpful restriction on an administration navigating international uncertainty.

The House of Representatives already voted down one Iran war powers resolution earlier this year, offered by Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky. That measure failed in a 212-2019 vote in March.

The effort drew the condemnation of U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.

“As you know, the War Powers Resolution failed. That is the right result. We are not at war. We have no intention of being at war. The president and the Department of War have made it very clear that this is a limited operation,” Johnson said shortly after its consideration.

“It would have been a very serious misstep by Congress,” Johnson added.

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The U.S. first began hostilities with Iran on Feb. 28, launching a joint bombing attack with Israel that targeted the country’s military leadership and killed the country’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Trump and Cabinet officials maintained the campaign was necessary to prevent Iran from securing a nuclear weapon.

Since then, Democrat lawmakers have blasted Trump for what they viewed as the beginning of war efforts without the consent of Congress — something they maintain goes against the War Powers Act of 1973.

That law states that any military engagement that extends past 60 days requires congressional approval.

Despite a recent ceasefire agreement, Ivey said he doubts the negotiations will result in a lasting peace, raising questions about the scope of the conflict.

ROGUE DEM BUCKS PARTY ON TRUMP WAR POWERS, CALLS IRAN ‘47-YEAR-OLD WAR CRIME’

“At this point, it’s hard to know exactly what the administration has in mind or where they’re trying to go. The 10-point proposal that Iran sent to us and the 15 points that we sent back, I don’t see any common ground on that,” Ivey said, referring to a contrasting set of demands the two countries have issued.

“I’m not clear if we’re going to be able to find some kind of common ground where we can resolve it in the short term,” he added.

The Justice Department released a report Tuesday alleging the Biden administration weaponized federal law by selectively prosecuting pro-life activists under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, following a review of more than 700,000 internal records.

DOJ officials said prosecutors coordinated with abortion-rights groups to track activists, sought harsher sentences for pro-life defendants and, in some cases, withheld evidence or tried to exclude jurors based on religion.

“This Department will not tolerate a two-tiered system of justice,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement. “No Department should conduct selective prosecution based on beliefs. The weaponization that happened under the Biden Administration will not happen again, as we restore integrity to our prosecutorial system.”

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. 

Andrew Yang, who ran against Eric Swalwell during the crowded 2020 Democratic primary for president, questioned why his one-time rival had ever thought he could win an election for some of the highest offices in the land, shortly before he announced on Monday that he was resigning his House seat.

Yang slammed Swalwell’s political career as “lightweight,” arguing he is not “an intellect or deep policy thinker,” and described the California congressman as someone whose actions reflect a stronger desire to get ahead than fighting for what he believes is right.

“Eric made the first debate in 2019, which he spent challenging Joe Biden to ‘pass the torch’ and quoting Joe in his first Senate campaign saying that the incumbent was too old and out of touch and it was time to give way to the next generation. Joe came up to him during a commercial break, took Eric by both lapels, and said to him ‘nice try, I’m not going anywhere.’ Eric then dropped out a few days later,” Yang recounted in his post.

“After 2020, Eric became a fixture on cable news programs, particularly MSNBC and CNN, mouthing Democratic talking points. He burnished his social media following. In 2024, when Joe Biden’s age became one of the central issues of the day and Dean Phillips tried to force a primary, Eric was nowhere to be found. He had gotten the message that being a good partisan soldier was a better path.”

DEM SENATOR RIPPED FOR ‘SMEAR’ OF FEMALE ACTIVIST ADVOCATING FOR SWALWELL’S ACCUSERS: ‘VERY BAD LOOK’

Yang said that running for higher office, and particularly the presidency, candidates must have “vision, intellect, confidence, conviction, communication ability, charisma, [and] maybe even morality or principle.” However, Swalwell has none of these, according to Yang, who ran for Mayor of New York City Mayor in 2021 and is currently leading a new political party he founded called the Forward Party.

Yang also launched a nonprofit called Humanity Forward after his failed 2020 presidential bid, and began hitting the media circuit on various stations as a contributor and analyst.

Yang, while familiar with Swalwell but not super close to him, described Swalwell as “in way over his head” when running for president, and also pointed out that Swalwell’s sexual improprieties were an “open secret” within DC and California circles.

ERIC SWALWELL EXITS CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR RACE APOLOGIZING FOR PAST JUDGMENT WHILE DENYING CLAIMS

“I sometimes think of some of the other figures from my presidential primary ‘class,’ many of whom I’m loosely in touch with. I feel like Eric is Icarus from the Greek myths; he flew too close to the sun, and now he’s crashed to Earth,” Yang added about Swalwell’s ambition for higher office.

Yang said he thought the best-case outcome for Swalwell would be that he retains his seat in the House of Representatives, which both Democrats and Republicans have said they want him expelled from, but then loses it a few years down the line when someone is in a strong position to challenge him. Swalwell announced his resignation shortly after the post started spreading on social media.

Both Democrats and Republicans supported Swalwell resigning following the fresh allegations of sexual misconduct. Even Swalwell’s “best friend in the world,” as he described him at an event, Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., was forced to walk away from supporting his long-time friend and colleague just a day after he was raked over the coals for supporting him and, as one Democrat strategist put it, running a “smear” campaign to discredit Swalwell’s accusers.

“The allegations against Congressmember Swalwell are deeply disturbing,” California Democratic Party Chairman Rusty Hicks said in a statement.

When asked whether she had requested Swalwell resign, Pelosi reportedly responded, “Oh, I think that was his decision. I think it’s a smart decision to make,” according to Politico.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who ran against Swalwell and Yang during the crowded 2020 Democratic primary for president, said she is “glad that [Swalwell] will be gone,” adding that “people who are in positions of power and authority over others need to be held accountable when they take advantage of that position.”

Relief is on the way for House Speaker Mike Johnson, as the GOP clings to a razor-thin majority in the House of Representatives.

Republican Rep.-elect Clay Fuller of Georgia is expected to be sworn in by Johnson on Tuesday, one week after Fuller defeated Democrat Shawn Harris in a special election to fill the vacant U.S. House seat in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District, in the crucial southeastern battleground state.

The seat, in northwest Georgia, was left vacant when MAGA firebrand Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene stepped down at the beginning of January. Greene quit Congress with a year left in her term, after a bitter falling out with Trump.

DEMOCRATS BUILD MOMENTUM, BUT GOP STILL IN DRIVER’S SEAT IN BATTLE FOR SENATE MAJORITY

The special election came as Republicans clung to a fragile four-seat majority in the House. The GOP was under the gun to make sure the Democrats didn’t pull off an upset in a district that President Donald Trump carried by a whopping 37 points in his 2024 presidential victory. Fuller ended up topping Harris by 12 points.

REPUBLICANS WIN BUT DEMOCRATS ALSO CLAIM VICTORY THANKS TO BALLOT BOX SURGE IN TRUMP TERRITORY

Pointing to Fuller, Johnson in a statement to Fox News Digital said, “We look forward to welcoming him to our House Republican Conference and adding another strong member to our small but consequential majority.”

And the Speaker described Fuller, who was a local district attorney and a lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard who’s served in the Air Force since 2009, as “a principled leader who is laser-focused on delivering results for Georgia.”

Fuller, in an interview last week with Fox News Digital minutes after winning the runoff election, described himself as a “reinforcement” for Johnson and said his victory was “extremely crucial.”

And referring to Washington, D.C., he said he was looking “forward to getting up there as soon as possible…to being up there and fighting.”

TRUMP-BACKED WIFE OF RNC CHAIR LAUNCHES CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGN AS GOP CLINGS TO HOUSE MAJORITY

When Fuller is sworn in, the House Republican conference will stand at 219, which includes Republican-turned-independent Rep. Kevin Kiley of California, who caucuses with the GOP.

But the Democrats may soon boost their ranks by one to 215.

Democratic congressional candidate Analilia Mejia is favored in Thursday’s special election in New Jersey’s left-leaning 11th Congressional District, in the race to fill the seat left vacant when then Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill stepped down late last year after winning election as governor.

There’s one more vacant seat in Congress, in California’s 1st Congressional District, following the unexpected death in early January of Republican Rep. Doug LaMalfa.

A primary in the race to fill LaMalfa’s seat will be held on June 2, which is primary day in California. And the special general election will be held on Aug. 4.

The district, in northeastern California, is solidly Republican.