Category: USA Politics

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Wednesday he will remain at the central bank while the Department of Justice’s criminal investigation continues.

“I have no intention of leaving the board until the investigation is fully resolved with transparency and finality,” Powell said, referring to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, commonly known as the Fed Board.

With the probe complicating efforts to confirm his successor, Powell said that if no replacement is in place by the end of his term as chair, he would continue serving as chair pro tempore until one is confirmed.

“That is what the law calls for,” he said. “That’s what we’ve done on several occasions, including in my own case, and it’s what we’re going to do in this situation.”

DOJ’S CRIMINAL PROBE OF FED CHAIR POWELL SPARKS RARE GOP REVOLT ON CAPITOL HILL

The federal investigation centers on Powell’s June 2025 testimony to lawmakers about the Federal Reserve’s renovation of its two historic main buildings on the National Mall, a project that has drawn scrutiny from Republicans and the Trump administration.

On Jan. 11, Powell disclosed that the Justice Department had opened a criminal investigation into that testimony, an unusual development for a sitting Fed chair.

In a rare video statement, Powell called the probe “unprecedented” and described it as another salvo in what he said was President Donald Trump’s pressure campaign on the central bank to cut rates. The unusually public response followed days of private consultations with advisors and stood out for a Fed chair known for his measured approach.

TRUMP VS THE FEDERAL RESERVE: HOW THE CLASH REACHED UNCHARTED TERRITORY

The video statement echoed Powell’s earlier testimony before the Senate Banking Committee, where he forcefully disputed claims about lavish features in the renovation project.

Testifying before the Senate Banking Committee, Powell said, “There’s no new marble. There are no special elevators. They’re old elevators that have been there. There are no new water features. There are no beehives, and there’s no roof garden terraces.”

Powell added that no one “wants to do a major renovation of a historic building during their term in office” and said cost overruns were driven in part by unexpected construction challenges and inflation.

ONE LITTLE-KNOWN MEETING HELPS DECIDE WHAT AMERICANS CAN AFFORD — AND WHAT THEY CAN’T

The renovation is estimated to cost $2.5 billion and is being funded by the central bank itself, not by taxpayers.

The Fed is self-financing and does not rely on congressional appropriations to cover its operating expenses, which include employee salaries, building maintenance and the current renovation. 

Its primary income comes from interest earned on government securities and fees charged to financial institutions.

Powell, a Trump nominee first tapped to lead the Fed in 2017, is expected to finish his term at the end of May.

Trump has picked former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh to replace Powell, but the nomination is effectively stuck after Sen. Thom Tillis vowed to block any Fed nominees while the DOJ probe remains open.

House Republicans are hauling in two top Fairfax County law enforcement officials, including a Soros-backed prosecutor, after violent crimes involving illegal immigrants released from custody intensified federal scrutiny of the county’s sanctuary-style policies.

Fairfax County Sheriff Stacey Ann Kincaid and Fairfax Commonwealth’s Attorney Steven Descano are invited to voluntarily testify at an upcoming Immigration Integrity, Security and Enforcement Subcommittee hearing entitled “Fairfax County Virginia – The Dangerous Consequences of Sanctuary City Policies.”

Both are elected Democrats, and Descano’s campaigns have received more than $700,000 in funds from organizations backed by far-left Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros, according to the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund, a pro-police group.

Descano and Kincaid received near-identical letters signed by Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Subcommittee Chairman Tom McClintock, R-Calif., which were also obtained by Fox News Digital.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT RELEASED UNDER BIDEN CHARGED WITH GROPING FEMALE STUDENTS AT VIRGINIA HIGH SCHOOL

“The hearing will examine how state and local policies that prohibit cooperation with federal immigration authorities hurt public safety,” Jordan and McClintock wrote.

“Your testimony will assist the Committee and Subcommittee in developing legislative reforms to address sanctuary jurisdictions.”

The Fairfax officials have until Monday to confirm their presence at the April 15 hearing to be held at the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill.

Descano has a record of dropping charges against illegal immigrants who often have prior criminal records, including Salvadoran national Marvin Morales-Ortez, who was accused of the murder of a Virginia man ambushed on a walking trail.

Jordan and McClintock previously wrote to Descano about their concerns in that case, saying his policies “prioritize illegal aliens over American citizens and threaten public safety.”

DHS BLASTS SPANBERGER ON POTENTIAL RELEASE OF ILLEGAL MIGRANT WITH 30+ ARRESTS CURRENTLY CHARGED WITH MURDER

They said Kincaid released Morales-Ortez on December 16 despite his potential MS-13 ties after Descano’s office declined to further pursue prosecution in a malicious wounding case from September 12.

“Despite an ICE detainer on Morales-Ortez, your office refused to briefly detain him until ICE could arrest him and failed to even notify ICE about his imminent release,” the lawmakers wrote to Kincaid at the time.

“One day later, Morales-Ortez allegedly murdered a man in Reston, Virginia, and has now been charged with second-degree murder. Even now, however, you continue to defend your failed sanctuary policies and refuse to take accountability for their consequences,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter, first reported by Washington’s ABC affiliate.

The outlet further reported that Fairfax County’s board, led by Chairman Jeffrey McKay, D-Franconia, also prohibits the Fairfax County Police Department from cooperating with ICE.

Nick Minock, a reporter for the outlet, later obtained a transcript of Morales-Ortez’s preliminary hearing in which Descano’s office posited that Morales-Ortez was present when Jose Guillen Mejia was murdered and had ambushed the man on the trail.

A short time after he was released, Morales-Ortez allegedly went to a home on Fan Shell Court in Reston, Va. — near John F. Dulles International Airport — and allegedly shot a man inside.

POLICE WARNED PROSECUTORS 3 TIMES ABOUT VIOLENT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT BEFORE HE ALLEGEDLY KILLED VIRGINIA MOTHER

That chain of events enraged the Trump administration, with then-Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin saying that “Fairfax County politicians [who] pushed policies that released this illegal alien from jail” have “blood on their hands.”

More recently, the family of Stephanie Minter, a 41-year-old mother stabbed to death at a Fairfax bus stop by an illegal immigrant with a long rap sheet, called for Descano’s ouster.

Abdul Jalloh, a Sierra Leone national, was charged with second-degree murder, and Descano released him despite being warned of his 30 prior arrests. Jalloh had been served an order of removal during the Biden administration but was never deported.

A police official in Mount Vernon emailed concerns to Descano’s office about Jalloh being released again, according to Fox & Friends.

Given the heavy Democratic bent of Fairfax, Virginia’s largest county by population and one state officials are trying to include in at least five newly drawn congressional districts, Descano and Kincaid have been strongly supported by voters in each election.

Republicans did not mount opponents against either candidate in 2023, while Descano’s only challenge came from fellow Democrat Ed Nuttall, whose primary bid was reportedly boosted by victims’ rights advocates.

ICE NABS IRANIAN NATIONAL WITH RAPE, SODOMY CONVICTIONS AFTER VIRGINIA DEMOCRATS MOVE TO CURB COOPERATION

Nuttall also mounted a write-in challenge in the general election that year but lost. Kincaid was first elected in 2013.

Fairfax Democrats removed Nuttall from their party amid that write-in bid after he attended a Brain Foundation fundraiser with Fairfax’s lone Republican board member, Pat Herrity of Springfield, and a Republican board candidate from Sully named Keith Elliott, according to FairfaxNow.

Herrity is the son of the late Chairman Jack Herrity, a Republican known as “Mr. Fairfax” in the 1980s when the county was much more conservative.

Fox News Digital reached out to Descano’s and Kincaid’s offices for comment.

The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog chief says Iran’s enriched uranium stockpiles remain largely in place and its nuclear infrastructure — much of it buried deep underground — cannot be fully eliminated by airstrikes, underscoring the limits of military action.

The head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog suggested to reporters Wednesday Iran’s nuclear program is unlikely to be eliminated through military force, warning that ongoing U.S. and Israeli strikes cannot fully dismantle Tehran’s capabilities.

Asked directly whether the program could be resolved militarily, International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi said he did not believe it could.

NEXT MOVE ON IRAN: SEIZE KHARG ISLAND, SECURE URANIUM OR RISK GROUND WAR ESCALATION

“This program is a very vast program,” Grossi said, describing a network of facilities, expertise and infrastructure built throughout decades. “At the end of this … the material will still be there, the enrichment capacities will be there.”

“We will have to go back to some form of negotiation,” he said. 

Grossi emphasized he does not offer military advice, framing his comments as a technical assessment of the program’s scope.

The nuclear inspector said the agency’s assessment is that Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile remains largely where it was prior to the strikes, with most of the material believed to be at the Isfahan nuclear complex and smaller amounts at Natanz.

“Our assumption is that the material is … where it was,” he said. 

That reality underscores a broader challenge: much of Iran’s most sensitive nuclear infrastructure — including storage sites for enriched uranium — is buried deep underground, making it difficult to destroy through airstrikes alone.

While U.S. and Israeli strikes have degraded parts of Iran’s nuclear program, including above-ground facilities and support infrastructure, they have not eliminated the core components of the program.

That assessment aligns with previous reporting on the limits of military action against Iran’s nuclear program. Analysts say highly enriched uranium stored at sites like Isfahan is believed to be kept deep underground in relatively mobile containers, making it difficult to destroy or secure without direct access to the facilities.

UN NUCLEAR CHIEF WARNS STRIKE NEAR IRAN REACTOR RISKS CROSSING ‘REDDEST LINE’

“It’s not even clear the United States knows where all of the uranium is,” Kelsey Davenport, director of nonproliferation policy at the Arms Control Association, previously told Fox News Digital, noting that the mobility of storage containers raises the possibility that some material could be moved or dispersed.

Iran possessed roughly 441 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60% as of mid-2025 — enough, if further enriched, to fuel multiple nuclear weapons, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. 

Experts estimate the final step to weapons-grade enrichment could take weeks under ideal conditions, though building a deliverable weapon would require additional time for weaponization and delivery systems.

Grossi also pointed to continued uncertainty surrounding a newly disclosed enrichment facility near Isfahan.

The site is believed to be a newly declared underground enrichment facility where Iran could potentially install centrifuges to produce enriched uranium. Grossi said the International Atomic Energy Agency has not yet inspected the location and does not know whether it is operational, under construction or equipped with nuclear material.

“We know where it is… but we have not been able to go,” he said.

Grossi said the agency has not been able to access some sites during the conflict and is relying in part on imagery to assess conditions.

The gaps in access highlight the limits of current monitoring. Grossi acknowledged the agency lacks full visibility into some parts of Iran’s program, particularly sites it has not been able to inspect.

The White House says “no one” will change the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement agenda in response to an appeal by Angel Mom Angie Morfin.

Morfin, whose 13-year-old son, Ruben, was executed by an illegal alien gang member, issued a heartfelt appeal to the administration to “make sure no other mother has to get the call I did.” This comes as incoming Homeland Security head Sen. Markwayne Mullin undergoes the Senate confirmation process and is expected to take the reins at the agency at the end of the month.

Morfin emphasized she is hopeful that Mullin, a Republican senator from Oklahoma, “will continue to listen to Angel Families and stand with us.”

In response, Lauren Bis, DHS acting assistant secretary, told Fox News Digital that “our hearts break for the families and victims of illegal alien crime who’ve been completely abandoned and ignored by sanctuary politicians.”

ORGANIZED AND TECHNOLOGICAL: ICE RESISTANCE GROUPS POSING GROWING DANGER, WARNS FORMER TOP NSA, DHS OFFICIAL

Bis wrote in an emailed statement that “THIS is why we do what we do.” She noted that DHS is currently “targeting dangerous criminal illegal aliens to stop another preventable tragedy.”

According to Bis, nearly 70% of arrests by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement are of illegal aliens charged or convicted of a crime in the U.S.

“Under the leadership of President Trump,” Bis continued, “DHS is prioritizing the lives of innocent Americans victimized by illegal aliens.”

Meanwhile, Abigail Jackson, a spokesperson for the White House, told Fox News Digital in an emailed statement that “nobody is changing the Administration’s immigration enforcement agenda.” 

Jackson said that President Donald Trump’s “highest priority has always been the deportation of illegal alien criminals who endanger American communities.”

She emphasized that “thanks to President Trump’s strong immigration enforcement policies, approximately 3 million illegals have left the United States, either through forced deportation or self-deportation, with zero illegals coming through the most secure border in U.S. History for nine straight months.” 

In a recent interview with The American Border Story, shared exclusively with Fox News Digital, Morfin said her family remains devastated decades after losing her son, Ruben.

“I cry for him today, like if it was just yesterday,” she shared.

In the winter of 1990, Ruben, a young Hispanic teenager with no gang affiliation, was chased down and shot in the back of the head by Mexican national Ezequiel Mariscal in Salinas, California. Morfin said she had sent Ruben to stay with his grandparents during the holidays over concerns about gangs in their area.

Then one night, just after midnight, Morfin said she got a call.

MIGRANT ACCUSED OF GROPING MULTIPLE HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS FACES CHARGES AS DHS WARNS SPANBERGER AGAINST RELEASE

“I grabbed the phone, and I could hear my mom screaming, ‘They shot Nino, they shot Nino.’ I knew it was my baby because that’s what we called him, because he was so small,” she said.

Since losing her son, Morfin said she has fought for the last 34 years “to keep his memory alive, so he didn’t die in vain.” She emphasized she is hopeful that Mullin, a Republican senator from Oklahoma, “will continue to listen to Angel Families and stand with us as we fight to make sure no other mother has to get the call I did.”

Mullin is currently undergoing an intense Senate confirmation process, during which several Democrats, and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., have expressed extreme skepticism about his leadership. Meanwhile, Mullin said in his opening statement that “as Secretary of Homeland, I’ll be protecting everybody … as much as I will my own backyard in Oklahoma.”

“The truth is I have a job to do,” Mullin added. “It’s bigger than the partisan bickering that we have, it’s bigger than the political differences we have.”

In response to Morfin’s appeal ahead of the Senate confirmation vote, Mullin’s Senate office referred Fox News Digital to the White House. 

GOP LAWMAKERS WOULD STRIP CITIZENSHIP FROM TERRORISTS AFTER ATTACKS TIED TO NATURALIZED CITIZENS

Nicole Kiprilov, executive director of The American Border Story, an advocacy group for the victims of migrant crime, told Fox News Digital that like DHS, “Our hearts are with Angie Morfin and every Angel Family living with a loss that never should have happened.” 

Kiprilov said “we appreciate DHS’s leadership and their commitment to standing with these families and preventing future tragedies,” noting that “just last week, we worked alongside ICE, DHS, and members of Congress to bring Angel Families to the table, ensuring their voices are heard and their stories drive real policy change.” 

“This is exactly the kind of leadership needed to make sure no family is ever ignored again,” said Kiprilov. 

Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., grew emotional during his Senate Homeland Security nomination hearing as he described how President Donald Trump supported his family after Mullin’s son Jim suffered a severe brain injury in January 2020.

“I’m going to try getting through without crying. It’s not about President Trump. It’s about my son,” Mullin told Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., during what was otherwise a tense hearing, explaining why he is friends with the president who nominated him.

Fighting back tears, Mullin said his son, once a “world-class athlete,” was left unable to walk normally, control his muscles or handle basic tasks after a traumatic brain injury from wrestling. 

HOUSE GOP LEADER LAUNCHES SENATE BID AS TRUMP TAPS MARKWAYNE MULLIN FOR DHS

He recalled that Trump called immediately after learning what had happened and stayed in close contact as the family sought treatment, even offering his private plane to travel for healthcare treatment.

“I mean, here’s the president of the United States, and he did it just because he cared,” Mullin told Johnson.

“And, so, when you want to say why he’s a friend. Yeah, we were acquaintances before that. We’ve been friends ever since.”

According to Mullin, Trump offered the use of his personal plane to help the family reach a California neurological rehabilitation center, then called almost daily for two weeks to check on Jim’s condition. Mullin said Trump later visited Jim in Bakersfield during the middle of the 2020 election campaign, spending time with him despite pressure from aides to leave.

“His team came to him twice and said, ‘Sir, we got to go; we got to go,’” Mullin said. “On the third time, they came over to him, he looked at them. He says, ‘Hey, I guarantee you that plane won’t leave without me for the next 15 minutes.’”

40-PLUS HOUSE REPUBLICANS RALLY BEHIND MARKWAYNE MULLIN FOR DHS, CALL IT A ‘CRITICAL MOMENT’ FOR BORDER SECURITY

“He did nothing but love on my son,” Mullin testified.

Trump spending time with Mullin’s son was credited with helping heal, including jump-starting his memory.

“That one incident jogged his memory, and, from then on, he started retaining things,” Mullin continued, sharing a story he had shared before.

“And Jim’s attitude went from this, ‘You know, we’re going to get through it to this.’ I’m going to get through it.”

FETTERMAN BACKS TRUMP’S DHS PICK MULLIN AS ‘NICE UPGRADE’ IN BREAK WITH DEMOCRATS

Mullin went from fearing the worst to getting on the road to recovery, thanks to his son meeting Trump and recognizing the sitting president of the U.S. over his own mother and father.

“We almost lost him, for 26 hours,” Mullin said. “He had an extremely low pulse. There was a time that they thought that they lost his pulse altogether. And when he woke up, he was just different.

“I mean, here you had a world-class athlete that wrestled all over the world since he was 12 years old, and he couldn’t touch his nose. He couldn’t walk without shuffling his feet. He had short-term memory loss. He couldn’t control his muscles. Couldn’t add five plus three. He was in high school at that time. Had to learn how to read, walk, everything.”

MULLIN WINS BACKING FROM CHINA, CUBA HAWKS — AND SOME DEMOCRATS — AS CRITICS QUESTION FITNESS TO LEAD DHS

Trump continued calling regularly to ask how Jim was doing and offered support without seeking publicity.

“And every week, if not most days, the president would call and ask how he could help,” Mullin said. “Ask what? How’s his buddy doing? How’s Jim doing? He didn’t do it for publicity. He didn’t do it for any show. He was running in one of the toughest elections he had been in, and the guy was still that concerned about my son.”

Mullin, a former wrestler himself, nearly broke down in tears during what was otherwise a fiery nomination hearing.

“I hate getting emotional,” Mullin said. “See, if I talk about my kids, I get emotional. Other than that, you can’t make me cry, but my kids …”

“That’s actually a good thing,” Johnson interjected, adding that “the American people need to hear that.”

EXCLUSIVE: A senior House GOP leader is accusing Democrats of reviving their controversial push to “defund the police” with their latest bid to circumvent funding for law enforcement under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., called the progressive slogan “one of the dumbest ideas in the history of politics” in an interview with Fox News Digital.

“The American people lambasted them, and they moved on for a little while, but they came back to it, and they’re trying it again,” Scalise said. “We’re not going to let them do it. And by the way, we’re at a heightened level of threat — this is when everybody should be coming together and making sure that the Department of Homeland Security has all the tools they need to keep Americans safe.”

Democratic leaders announced on Wednesday that they would move to force a vote on legislation to fund all of DHS except for agencies that aid in President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration. It comes as the ongoing partial government shutdown, only affecting DHS, has gone on for over a month with no end in sight.

DEM SENATORS IN THE HOT SEAT AS REPUBLICANS RIP THEIR DHS VOTE AMID TERROR THREATS: ‘UNDER ATTACK’

“If you look, they fund everything except the law enforcement side, which is defunding the police. So here they go again. Democrats, for some reason, just hate law enforcement,” Scalise said.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., announced Democrats are filing a discharge petition on a bill to fund all of DHS except immigration enforcement on Wednesday. A discharge petition is a mechanism to force a vote on legislation over the objections of House leadership, provided the measure in question has support from a majority of House lawmakers.

“We can fund [the Transportation Security Administration], fund the Coast Guard, fund our cybersecurity professionals or continue to allow ICE to brutalize and in some cases kill American citizens or to violently target law-abiding immigrant families,” Jeffries told reporters.

It would need some GOP support to reach that threshold under current numbers. Scalise would not say whether he anticipated it getting that support, but he was skeptical that it would unite all House Democrats.

“Frankly, there should be Democrats that don’t want to be a part of that, that don’t wanna be associated with defunding the police again. They touched the stove and got burned a few years ago. Are they really gonna be stupid enough to make that same mistake again?” he said.

The infamous three-word slogan made headlines in 2020 amid nationwide racial justice protests in the wake of George Floyd’s murder in Minneapolis.

Progressives across the country demanded that their governments withhold funding from police departments if they did not radically change their standards, while some on the far-left called to abolish law enforcement altogether.

But it quickly became unpopular with the majority of Americans, who were concerned it would lead to nationwide policies that led to more crime across towns and cities.

Then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., famously said the movement was “dead” in 2022 and said “defund the police” is “not the position of the Democratic Party.”

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Democrats faced significant losses in the midterms that year, with Republicans winning back control of the House of Representatives.

But Republicans are arguing that Democratic leaders are mounting that push once more in their efforts to partially fund DHS.

Their proposal would mean that both Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) are both left unfunded, agencies that Republicans argue are responsible for law enforcement that’s critical to national security.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., pointed out during a Tuesday press conference that CBP is the largest federal law enforcement agency in the country.

“Customs and Border Protection plays an irreplaceable role in our national security framework. This is not a game. Our CBP agents stand on the front lines. They protect our nation against transnational crime, drug and child trafficking, and terrorist threats before they reach our communities,” Johnson said.

“The law enforcement agencies that are part of the Department of Homeland Security are what they’re targeting. Democrats refuse to reopen TSA and FEMA and the Coast Guard and these other critical functions of government unless they can reopen our borders to illegal aliens.”

Both ICE and CBP’s responsibilities extend beyond border security as well.

ICE is responsible for investigating transnational crimes, including terrorism, narcotics smuggling, and international gang activity. CBP also has its own counterterrorism responsibilities, along with its duties to facilitate lawful travel into the U.S. and combat transnational crime.

The head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog warned Wednesday that a projectile strike near Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant risked crossing the “reddest line” of nuclear safety, as fighting between the U.S., Israel and Iran intensifies.

A direct hit on an operating nuclear reactor like Bushehr could trigger a severe radiological incident, even as a recent strike caused no apparent damage to the plant’s core systems, International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi said. 

“An accident on an operating nuclear power plant would be something very, very serious,” Grossi told Fox News Digital Wednesday. “This is the reddest line of all that you have in nuclear safety.”

“The possibility of dispersion in the atmosphere of radioactivity is very high if you get to the core of the reactor,” he added.

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A projectile struck part of the Bushehr nuclear power plant complex in recent days, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency, marking the closest known impact on an operating reactor since the conflict began. It remains unclear what caused the strike or who was responsible.

Grossi said the impact appears to have hit a smaller structure within the facility’s broader premises — possibly a laboratory or auxiliary building — and did not affect the reactor itself or cause any reported casualties.

He noted that nuclear power plants are large compounds that include administrative buildings and support infrastructure beyond the reactor itself, increasing the likelihood that a strike could hit the site without directly damaging the core.

AMERICA STRIKES IRAN AGAIN — HAS WASHINGTON PLANNED FOR WHAT COMES NEXT?

Grossi said the agency has not conducted an on-site inspection, noting that “independent” verification would require being physically present, but said available imagery suggests the damage is not significant.

But he stressed the risks would be far more severe if the reactor were struck.

Unlike other nuclear facilities, an operating reactor contains a live core undergoing nuclear fission, meaning a direct strike could release large amounts of radioactive material into the environment.

Grossi said there is broad international understanding that nuclear power plants should not be targeted during conflict, even as recent strikes have come dangerously close to sensitive nuclear infrastructure.

Iran blamed the United States and Israel for the strike, though the claim has not been independently verified. 

U.S. officials have not confirmed involvement, and Israel’s military said it was not aware of any such strike.

New York City has more than tripled spending on unsheltered homelessness since 2019, shelling out nearly $368 million even as the number of people living on the streets continued to rise, according to a state comptroller’s report.

The city’s own numbers show the unsheltered population grew from 3,588 in fiscal year 2019 to 4,504 in fiscal year 2025, a 26% increase from pre-pandemic levels. Over that same period, spending on services for the unsheltered jumped 262%, from $102 million to nearly $368 million. 

That works out to roughly $81,700 per unsheltered person in FY 2025 — slightly more than the city’s median household income, though the comparison is only a broad benchmark since public spending and household earnings are not directly comparable.

The numbers show the city is pouring in more money while the street homeless population continues to grow — and taxpayers are footing the bill.

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Still, the report notes that New York’s shelter system remains unusually large by national standards. 

Los Angeles, the city with the next-largest homeless population, has about 71,000 homeless people, roughly half of New York City’s 2024 total, and about 70% of them are unsheltered. In New York City, by contrast, nearly 97% of the homeless population is in shelters.

The findings are likely to add fuel to the broader debate over housing affordability, as soaring rents and a shortage of low-cost housing remain central to New York City’s homelessness crisis — and a key issue for Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

While Mamdani has proposed freezing rents on roughly 2 million stabilized apartments, many economists argue that rent freezes may shield current tenants in the short term while worsening the city’s long-term housing shortage — doing little to solve the supply crisis at the root of New York’s homelessness problem.

MAMDANI BUDGET POURS MILLIONS INTO DEI OFFICES AND CUTS 5,000 NYPD JOBS

More broadly, his $127 billion budget proposal calls for higher taxes on wealthy residents and corporations, along with a possible 9.5% property tax increase if state lawmakers decline to act.

Whether that approach will ease the affordability crunch or further disrupt the housing market remains an open question, with critics warning that rent freezes and higher taxes could discourage investment and strain supply.

In the nation’s largest city and a global financial capital, the stakes of Mamdani’s agenda extend far beyond local politics. The success or failure of his housing and tax proposals could shape not only the future of New York’s affordability crisis, but also the broader debate over regulation, taxation and progressive urban governance.

Mamdani’s office did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Lone wolf attackers inspired by extremist ideologies pose the most likely terrorist threat to the U.S. homeland, according to the 2026 Annual Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community.

The 34-page document was released by Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard Wednesday. She testified at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on worldwide threats alongside other key military and Trump administration officials.

The 2025 threat assessment similarly warned that terrorist threats to the U.S. increasingly come from individuals acting alone or in small groups.

The new report says ISIS and al Qaeda remain intent on targeting the United States, but their ability to plan and execute complex attacks has been significantly degraded over time.

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Officials warn that individuals radicalized online are increasingly carrying out or attempting attacks with little direction, often using simple tactics and requiring minimal coordination.

“Jihadist narratives that address personal grievances may be attractive to individuals seeking validation of violent desires or moral clarity, even if they lack familiarity with Islam. Such content normalizes intolerance of other beliefs and persons and attracts followers to Islamism,” the threat report states. 

“Anti-Western and anti-Semitic narratives probably influence Muslim youths facing integration challenges or who are disaffected by the West’s role abroad, including with the Israel–HAMAS conflict.”

It notes that al Qaeda and ISIS have expanded in recent years primarily through local conflicts in Africa, where some of their largest and most violent affiliates are now based.

DEADLY BLASTS AT MARKET AND HOSPITAL RAISE FEARS OF RENEWED BOKO HARAM INSURGENCY IN NIGERIA

The intelligence community is continuing to monitor developments in the Middle East, particularly how the terrorism landscape may evolve after Operation Epic Fury, according to the assessment.

DNI Gabbard told lawmakers on Capitol Hill that stricter border enforcement has helped limit terrorist access to the U.S. and lowered the risk of potential attacks.

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“Since January, U.S. officials have only had a handful of encounters at our borders with individuals associated with terrorist groups. This is a positive trend,” she said. “However, our Interagency coordinated efforts to continue to identify, locate and remove known or suspected terrorists who may already be in the United States continues with vigilance.

“In 2025, there were at least three Islamist terrorist attacks in the United States. Law enforcement disrupted at least 15 U.S.-based Islamist terrorist plotters. Roughly half of last year’s disrupted plotters had some online contact with Islamist terrorists.”

Progressive influencer Kat Abughazaleh closed out her failed Illinois congressional bid Tuesday night with an expletive-laced tirade against President Donald Trump and federal immigration authorities, telling supporters, “F— Trump, f— ICE, free Palestine.”

The comments came at the end of her concession speech after losing the Illinois 9th Congressional District Democratic primary on Tuesday.

“I don’t know if you heard, but we didn’t win, and it really f—— sucks. We came really close,” Abughazaleh told the crowd, adding that her campaign was “something that no one in power even expected would be possible at all.”

Abughazaleh lost the primary to Daniel Biss, the current mayor of Evanston, Illinois.

ILLINOIS LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR SEEKING US SENATE SEAT RELEASES VIDEO OF PEOPLE SAYING ‘F— TRUMP’

She received about 26% of the vote, compared to Biss’s nearly 30% support, according to a report from The Associated Press. 

“There are progressives all over the country who are taking a chance just like we did, and we have to help them win,” Abughazaleh said. “No matter how hard it is, we have sent a message to this administration and anyone who enables it. … You and your jobs are not safe. This is the start and not the end.”

The Democrat, a Palestinian American, went on to claim the administration was “kidnap[ping] and kill[ing]” citizens, and “start[ing] illegal wars.”

HOUSE DEM EXPLODES ON TOP TRUMP IMMIGRATION OFFICIAL, SAYS HE ‘BETTER HOPE’ FOR PARDON FROM PRESIDENT

“When I said, when I said I would spend every single waking moment of the rest of my life to hold this administration accountable, win or lose, I f—— meant it,” Abughazaleh said. “I’m sorry that this sucks. But, f— Trump, f— ICE, free Palestine, I love you all.”

Biss will face Republican pastor John Elleson in November’s general election to replace Rep. Jan Schakowsky, a Democrat who is retiring after nearly 30 years in office.

Abughazaleh is still facing federal charges after she was accused of interfering with ICE operations outside the Broadview, Illinois ICE processing center last fall.

‘SQUAD’ MEMBER WEARS ‘F— ICE’ PIN ON HOUSE FLOOR DURING TRUMP ADDRESS

Federal prosecutors allege Abughazaleh and a group of others scratched the word “PIG” on an ICE agent’s vehicle. 

She pleaded not guilty and criticized the charges as an “attempt by the Trump administration to criminalize protest and punish those who dare to speak up.”

The influencer also went viral after video showed an agent throwing her to the ground during the incident, footage she later used in her campaign ads for Congress.

Abughazaleh’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.