New York City Council speaker Adrienne Adams launches run for mayor: reports
Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is facing a new Democratic challenger in his bid to replace Eric Adams as New York City Mayor, according to reports. New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, 64, will officially launch her campaign with a rally over the weekend, per reporting from FOX 5 NYC. With the Democratic primary just four months away, Adams is expected to immediately petition to secure ballot access. In a statement to media outlets, Adams said New Yorkers couldn’t afford to live in the city, that City Hall was “in chaos,” and alleged that President Donald Trump was “corrupting our city’s independence.” NYC MAYOR ERIC ADAMS, AN EX-COP, HAS ‘UPPER HAND’ OVER OTHER SANCTUARY CITY MAYORS: BLUE LIVES MATTER FOUNDER “It’s time to stand up. I never planned to run for Mayor, but I’m not giving up on New York City,” Adams said in the statement, first shared with Politico. NYC GIVES MIGRANTS MORE WAYS TO OBTAIN CITY ID MAKING IT EASIER FOR THEM TO GET BENEFITS, HOUSING: REPORT First elected to the city council in 2017, Adams went on to become the first Black council speaker five years later. Adams is the latest high-profile figure to throw her hat in the ring, challenging the front-runner, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, to replace embattled NYC Mayor Eric Adams. Cuomo resigned in 2021 after a report released by the state attorney general concluded that he had sexually harassed nearly a dozen women. Cuomo has apologized for having “offended” the women with remarks he said were intended to be collegial, and admitted that he had sometimes been “too familiar” with people, but he denied touching anyone inappropriately and said the investigation of his conduct was flawed and politically motivated. The race comes after Mayor Eric Adams was indicted in September on federal corruption charges. He is now dealing with a tempest of criticism after Trump’s newly installed Justice Department leaders asked a court to drop the case, so Adams could assist with the federal government’s immigration crackdown. Fox News Digital has reached out to Speaker Adams’ office for comment.
Texas House majority signs on to new bill restricting the use of bathrooms in public buildings by transgender people
House Bill 239, which echoes a bathroom bill that failed in 2017, includes new provisions for shelters and prisons.
Draft of Trump order seeks to eliminate Department of Education: report
President Donald Trump is expected to issue an executive order, possibly Thursday, aimed at abolishing the Department of Education, The Wall Street Journal reported. The newspaper cited several people briefed on the matter and reviewed a draft of the order. It directs newly sworn Education Secretary Linda McMahon to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Education Department” based on “the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law.” DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION CANCELS ANOTHER $350M IN ‘WOKE’ SPENDING FOR CONTRACTS, GRANTS “The experiment of controlling American education through Federal programs and dollars—and the unaccountable bureaucrats those programs and dollars support—has failed our children, our teachers, and our families,” the draft order reads. Shortly after taking her position, McMahon said she would “send education back to the states.” Trump has long talked about dismantling the Department of Education, saying it has failed America’s students. “It’s a big con job,” the president said in November. “They ranked the top countries in the world. We’re ranked No. 40, but we’re ranked No. 1 in one department: cost per pupil. So, we spend more per pupil than any other country in the world, but we’re ranked No. 40.” DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION LAUNCHES ‘ENDDEI’ PORTAL FOR PARENTS, STUDENTS, TEACHERS TO REPORT DISCRIMINATION In a letter to Democratic members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), McMahon said that she “wholeheartedly” agreed with Trump’s plan to abolish the department. With around 4,500 employees, the department is the smallest cabinet-level agency, the Wall Street Journal reported. It is currently offering an incentive of up to $25,000 to the majority of its staff to resign or retire by Monday evening ahead of rumored work force reductions. “President Trump believes that the bureaucracy in Washington should be abolished so that we can return education to the states, where it belongs. I wholeheartedly support and agree with this mission,” McMahon wrote. Under McMahon, the department will work from three base convictions, according to her letter: that parents are the primary decision makers in their children’s education, that taxpayer-funded education should refocus on “meaningful learning in math, reading, science, and history—not divisive DEI programs and gender ideology,” and that post-secondary education should be a path to a well-paying career aligned with workforce needs. Fox News Digital’s Aubrie Spady contributed to this report.
Hunter Biden’s financial woes revealed in new motion to drop lawsuit: ‘Significant debt’
Hunter Biden’s legal team recently filed a motion to drop his lawsuit against the ex-White House aide who published the contents of his infamous laptop, citing financial issues. The motion, filed in Los Angeles Wednesday, pertains to the former first son’s lawsuit against Garrett Ziegler. The court documents, obtained by Fox News, illustrate the financial and personal issues Biden has experienced in the new year, including being a victim of the wildfires in the Pacific Palisades in Los Angeles. Biden first filed the lawsuit in September 2023 but “does not have the resources to continue to litigate this matter,” according to the filing. “Plaintiff has suffered a significant downturn in his income and has significant debt in the millions of dollars range,” the document states. WEISS REPORT: HUNTER’S DRUG USE CAN’T EXPLAIN AWAY NOT PAYING TAXES ON MONEY EARNED BY ‘LAST NAME’ The house Biden rented in Los Angeles is now “unlivable” according to the filing, which says Biden has “had difficulty” finding both a new home and a new job. “Moreover, this lack of resources has been exacerbated after the fires in the Pacific Palisades in early January upended Plaintiff’s life by rendering his rental house unlivable for an extended period of time and, like many others in that situation, Plaintiff has had difficulty in finding a new permanent place to live as well as finding it difficult to earn a living,” the document states. “So, Plaintiff must focus his time and resources dealing with his relocation, the damage he has incurred due to the fires, and paying for his family’s living expenses as opposed to this litigation.” DOJ RELEASES SPECIAL COUNSEL DAVID WEISS’ REPORT ON HUNTER BIDEN In another document filed Wednesday, Biden penned a letter explaining that his income “has decreased significantly” and revealed what he earned for his artwork. “In the 2 to 3 years prior to December 2023, I sold 27 pieces of art at an average price of $54,481.48, but since then I have only sold 1 piece of art for $36,000,” Biden wrote. “Similarly, for my book sales, in the six month period before the statements (April 1, 2023 through September 30, 2023), based on the September 30, 2023 statement, 3,161 copies of my book were sold, but in the six months after the statements, only approximately 1,100 books were sold.” Selling 27 pieces of art for an average price of $54,481.48 means he could have earned nearly $1.5 million on the artwork. The Yale Law School grad also wrote that he expected to land paid speaking engagements and appearances after the success of his book, “but that has not happened,” Biden wrote. “This significant decrease in revenue has also impacted my ability to pay off my significant debt, which as has been reported in the press as being several million dollars. As a result of this, I am not in a position where I can borrow money.” Fox News Digital reached out to Hunter Biden’s team for additional comment.
Elon Musk strategizes $1 trillion spending cuts with House DOGE panel in closed-door meeting
Elon Musk met with a small group of House Republicans on Wednesday evening where he discussed avenues for cost savings in a quest to find as much as $1 trillion in government waste, people familiar with the discussion told Fox News Digital. “The executive DOGE team is confident, they think they can get $1 trillion,” one lawmaker familiar with the meeting told Fox News Digital. “Now, we’ll see, right? And the thing is, he acknowledged that we’re going to make mistakes, but we’re going to correct them very quickly.” The GOP lawmaker said some concerns were raised about whether other government offices like the Treasury Department “have the bandwidth to do” what Musk is detailing. “And he says, ‘We’re gonna help them,’” the lawmaker said. Multiple sources said Musk met with the House DOGE subcommittee led by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., for about 45 minutes before a wider meeting with the House GOP Conference. DOD TELLS CIVILIAN WORKFORCE TO IGNORE ELON MUSK’S REQUEST TO REPORT PRODUCTIVITY Several people said Musk pointed to areas where the government could be made more efficient, including an audit of how many dead people were de-listed off some federal benefits like Social Security but still had taxpayer dollars going into their accounts for unemployment or other programs. “A lot of this is cross-referencing databases, making sure they’re talking to each other,” Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas, a member of the subcommittee, told Fox News Digital. Two lawmakers present for the meeting also said the idea of a congressional rescissions package was floated as another way to claw back excessive government spending, as Republicans and Democrats battle over giving President Donald Trump leeway to spend less money than Congress appropriates. Rescissions authority is granted to Congress to allow for the cancelation of some planned government spending. MUSK TELLS CABINET THAT DOGE EMAIL WAS ‘PULSE CHECK’ FOR WORKERS, WARNS US WILL ‘GO BANKRUPT’ WITHOUT ACTION It’s also among the special cases where the Senate only needs 51 votes to pass a bill, rather than 60 – meaning Senate Republicans can pass it without Democratic support. Greene confirmed the sit-down to reporters but did not mention talk of congressional spending authority. “We had a very lengthy meeting, just my DOGE committee with Elon Musk and his team, and learned a lot of valuable information. The collaboration is going to be fantastic and it needs to happen,” Greene said. Also present at both of Musk’s House meetings was his adviser Steve Davis, people told Fox News Digital. After the smaller-scale meeting, Musk had a wider discussion with House Republicans where he spoke for roughly 15 minutes and then took questions. “What we were doing was getting a deeper insight into what Elon Musk is doing and kind of being able to strategize with him, how we can coordinate what we’re doing,” Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, who is also on the DOGE subcommittee, told reporters. Rep. Mike Haridopolos, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital that “systematically there were no checks in order to make sure the taxpayer dollars were spent correctly.” He said Musk did not discuss other fiscal battles ongoing in Congress, and that Musk “was just trying to outline what they are finding in a very short period of time and how little accountability exists in the operating system of our government.” “It made me laugh and it made me sick all at the same time,” Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Pa., told Fox News Digital. “The level of waste and what they are finding is mindblowing.” Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., said Musk was “just getting started.” “He just says, ‘I’m investigating and finding things that you really can’t argue with.’ He said he’s making mistakes, he’ll correct them, but his mission is to uncover where our tax money is. Let the chips fall where they may,” Norman said. It comes as some House Republicans have faced contentious town halls or demonstrations related to Musk and DOGE in their home districts. GOP lawmakers previously shared frustrations with Fox News Digital that they were often left somewhat in the dark on Musk’s work. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., told reporters he aired similar concerns in the closed-door meeting. Musk was receptive to those issue, he added. “I spoke to Elon specifically about this. There are our veterans and our farmers. So there’s a lot of angst going right now because people don’t understand what’s going on,” Van Orden said. “And I expressed very clearly the concerns of our veterans community. And Mr. Musk was explicitly clear that we will make sure that we have no degradation of the benefits for our veterans that they have earned.” The back-to-back House meetings for Musk came after he spoke with Senate Republicans in a similar closed-door setting.
Weather update: Why is it so cold and windy in Delhi-NCR in March?
The weather department has predicted strong surface winds for Thursday, likely from the northwest direction, with wind speed ranging from 14-18 kmph during morning hours.
USAID head Peter Marocco tells lawmakers he’s eyeing potential criminal charges for foreign aid fraud: report
The acting head of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) told congressional lawmakers Wednesday his staff was preparing potential criminal referrals against those who misused taxpayer dollars intended for foreign development programs. The New York Times said Peter Marocco made his remarks while speaking with members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee during a closed-door meeting. An internal review is in its early stages, but members of Marocco’s team believe they’ve uncovered a pattern of illegal activity at the agency, which serves as the main component used by the United States to deliver foreign aid. TRUMP TEMPORARILY THWARTED IN DOGE MISSION TO END USAID Marocco has been tasked by President Donald Trump with dismantling USAID and told lawmakers he was looking at contracts and grants awarded by the agency. Much of the money given by USAID is supposed to promote stability and economic growth and supply humanitarian assistance in fragile regions. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court denied the Trump administration’s request to block a lower court’s order for the administration to make nearly $2 billion in USAID payments, delivering a near-term reprieve to international aid groups and contractors seeking payment for previously completed projects. HERE’S WHY DOZENS OF LAWSUITS SEEKING TO QUASH TRUMP’S EARLY ACTIONS AS PRESIDENT ARE FAILING U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., the chairman of the foreign affairs panel, told the Times USAID is structured in such a way that makes accountability difficult. “Mr. Marocco was very clear in exposing the waste that goes on out there and in pointing out the way that many of these programs in state and USAID were designed to not be accountable,” he said. USAID was one of the first targets by the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is charged with rooting out wasteful spending. Fox News Digital has reached out to USAID for comment. Fox News Digital’s Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report.
Following Trump’s lead, Gov. Abbott pushes state agencies to end telework
The directive comes as some state agencies have downsized their office spaces after the pandemic forced many employees to work remotely.
Raphinha gives 10-man Barcelona 1-0 win over Benfica in Champions League
Barcelona struggle to narrow win despite teenage defender Pau Cubarsi being sent off midway through first half. Raphinha scored the only goal of the game to give Barcelona a 1-0 Champions League last-16 first-leg win at Benfica, despite the Catalan giants playing most the game with 10 men. Eighteen-year-old defender Pau Cubarsi was sent off midway through the first half of the tight clash in Lisbon on Wednesday with the score goalless. Raphinha drilled home after 61 minutes to give five-time winners Barcelona a slim advantage on Bruno Lage’s side ahead of the second leg next Tuesday. Barcelona have not won the competition since 2015 but are expected to go deep this season, after a draw which many consider favourable. Hansi Flick insisted before the game there was no such thing as an “easy” Champions League tie and the coach was proven right on a tense evening in the Portuguese capital. “I’m very proud,” the German coach said after his team emerged with a victory. Goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny endured two high-profile mistakes against Benfica in the league stage in January but made amends with a string of saves as Barca were pinned back in the final half-hour. Advertisement Szczesny made a smart save to deny Benfica’s Kerem Akturkoglu after just a few seconds, and the opening stages were played in a way that indicated both sides were picking up where they left off in Barcelona’s wild 5-4 win in Lisbon. “The last time, I don’t think [Szczesny] left here very happy,” said Barca midfielder Pedri. “He saved a lot [tonight], one at the start where if they score you start the game on a bad footing – between the sticks he’s a big presence and it’s great to have him.” Dani Olmo fired narrowly wide at the other end as Barca threatened before Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin produced a stunning triple save to keep the score level. The Ukrainian first parried Dani Olmo’s prodded effort, then made a brilliant reaction stop to thwart Robert Lewandowski converting from point-blank range and mopped up Lamine Yamal’s attempt from the rebound. Barcelona were dealt a blow when 18-year-old centre-back Cubarsi was sent off after 22 minutes. The Spaniard scythed down Benfica striker Vangelis Pavlidis, who scored a hat-trick in the group match, as he ran through on goal. Cubarsi brings down Pavlidis just outside the box and gets a straight red [Filipe Amorim/AFP] Szczesny saved Orkun Kokcu’s drive from the free-kick, with Flick sacrificing Olmo for defender Ronald Araujo to steady the ship. The Polish goalkeeper, brought out of retirement by Barcelona after Marc-Andre ter Stegen suffered a severe knee injury in September, also made a fine reaction save to keep out Akturkoglu’s header before the break. Advertisement Despite their numerical disadvantage, Flick’s Barca gave as good as they got at the Estadio da Luz. Szczesny made another good intervention to stop Pavlidis and keep Benfica at bay before Raphinha broke the deadlock. On the right flank, after Flick replaced Yamal early in the second half with Ferran Torres, Raphinha stole in to win the ball back high up and wallop a low, deflected effort home from distance. It was his ninth goal in nine Champions League games, with the forward in the form of his career. Barcelona defended frantically in the final stages as Benfica sought to level. The hosts thought they had won a penalty when Szczesny felled Andrea Belotti, but there was an offside in the build-up and Barcelona survived with their lead intact. “Today we knew how to defend,” added Pedri. “After the red, we knew exactly what to do, stay together at the back, defend as a block and take advantage of our chances with the players we have up front.” Elsewhere in the Champions League last 16, Bayern Munich defeated Bundesliga rivals Bayer Leverkusen 3-0, and while Liverpool were second best all night, Harvey Elliott’s late goal secured them a 1-0 win at Paris Saint-Germain. In the early game on Wednesday, Lautaro Martinez scored to become Inter Milan’s all-time leading scorer in the Champions League in a 2-0 win for the Italian giants against Feyenoord. Adblock test (Why?)
Trump threatens Palestinians in Gaza: If you hold captives, ‘you are DEAD’
US president warns Hamas that there would be ‘hell to pay’ if Israeli captives in Gaza are not released immediately. Washington, DC – United States President Donald Trump has issued a threat to Hamas and the people of Gaza as part of a demand to release all Israeli captives in the territory. In a social media post on Wednesday, Trump renewed his warning that there would be “hell to pay” if the captives are not released. “This is your last warning! For the leadership, now is the time to leave Gaza, while you still have a chance,” Trump wrote. “Also, to the People of Gaza: A beautiful Future awaits, but not if you hold Hostages. If you do, you are DEAD! Make a SMART decision.” The president’s comment came hours after the White House confirmed that Washington is engaging in talks with Hamas. Trump has been calling for the forced displacement of Gaza’s entire population and for the US to “own” the Palestinian territory. It is unclear how the “beautiful future” Trump promised residents of Gaza would fit into his ethnic cleansing plan. Trump previously said that, under his proposal, Palestinians would not be able to return to the territory. Advertisement “’Shalom Hamas’ means Hello and Goodbye – You can choose. Release all of the Hostages now, not later, and immediately return all of the dead bodies of the people you murdered, or it is OVER for you,” Trump wrote. “Only sick and twisted people keep bodies, and you are sick and twisted! I am sending Israel everything it needs to finish the job, not a single Hamas member will be safe if you don’t do as I say.” Israel has held onto the bodies of hundreds of Palestinians over the years to use as a bargaining chip, a practice known as necroviolence. Trump has issued similar threats in the past, but Hamas has insisted that the captives will only be released as part of the ceasefire agreement. The first stage of the deal ended last week, but Israel has refused to move forward to the next stage of the ceasefire, which would lead to a permanent end to the war and the release of all captives. Instead, the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, backed by Trump, has sought to extend the first phase in order to free more captives without committing to a lasting ceasefire. Israel has also sealed off Gaza, preventing the entry of any humanitarian assistance, including food, fuel and medicine – a move that has sparked an outcry from the United Nations and countries around the world. Netanyahu is already facing an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court over alleged war crimes in Gaza, including the use of starvation as a weapon of war. Adblock test (Why?)