DHS’ Kristi Noem says Trump admin will resume construction of 7 miles of southern border wall
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem announced the building of seven miles of new border wall in Arizona as part of the administration’s efforts to “make America safe again.” Noem’s announcement, coming in a short video posted to her X account, marks the beginning of additional border wall construction along the southern border during the second Trump administration. The DHS said in a press release Friday that U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) had awarded the first contract of President Donald Trump’s second term to Granite Construction Co. for more than $70 million, which will result in seven miles of new border wall in the Rio Grande Valley Sector, according to Noem’s announcement. “Everybody, I’m here in Arizona, and right at this spot, you can see where the border wall ends,” Noem said while standing along the border, donning a CBP hat and jacket. “As of today, we’re starting 7 new miles of construction, we’re going to continue to make America safe again.” VETS GROUP PATCHING BORDER FENCE PLEDGES VIGILANCE AMID TRUMP SUCCESS: ‘THERE ARE STILL GAPS’ The new wall will be paid for via CBP’s Fiscal Year 2021 funds, per DHS. Trump’s predecessor, former President Joe Biden, moved on his first day in office to halt all border wall construction along the U.S.-Mexico border. In late 2023, construction on roughly 20 miles of border barriers in South Texas was allowed to commence under Biden, since the money had already been appropriated by Congress during Trump’s first administration. Under Trump’s first term, approximately 458 miles of primary and secondary barriers were built, per CBP data. This included parts of the current wall that were dilapidated and needed to be replaced. SANCTUARY CITY LAWYERS PLOT TO HELP ILLEGAL MIGRANTS EVADE ICE IN EXPOSED GROUP EMAIL Vice President JD Vance said earlier this month during a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas that he was under the belief that Trump was hoping to build a wall across every mile of the southern border by the end of his term in 2029. “I think the president’s hope is that by the end of the term we build the entire border wall,” the vice president told reporters during a press conference. “And, of course, that’s the physical structure — the border wall itself — but we even heard today, there are so many good technological tools, so many great artificial intelligence-enabled technologies” that can also be used to secure the border, Vance added. CALIFORNIA EXPLOITING MEDICAID ‘LOOPHOLE’ TO PAY BILLIONS FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS’ HEALTHCARE, STUDY SAYS The number of illegal migrant “gotaways,” or the number of successful illegal crossings, which are recorded using cameras and other surveillance methods, has dropped as much as 90% since Trump took office, according to some estimates based on numbers reported by Fox News’ Bill Melugin last week. According to the numbers reported by Melugin, border agents have been spotting an average of 77 “gotaways” per day, while during the height of the immigration crisis under Biden, that number reached as much as 1,800 per day, according to reports.
Vadodara Car Accident: Drugs found in accused Rakshit Chaurasia’s blood in narcotics test
The blood samples of Rakshit Chaurasiya, the accused driver in Vadodara car accident case, contain drugs, according to the Vadodara police who is currently investigating the in the case.
‘Dangerous’ order by liberal judge to rehire federal workers should go to SCOTUS, Trump says
President Donald Trump said the U.S. Supreme Court may need to decide if a Clinton-appointed judge can require the administration to reinstate thousands of probationary workers fired as the administration moves to shrink the federal workforce. “It’s a judge that’s putting himself in the position of the president of the United States, who was elected by close to 80 million votes,” Trump said aboard Air Force One on a flight back to Washington Sunday night. “That’s a very dangerous thing for our country. And I would suspect that we’re going to have to get a decision from the Supreme Court.” U.S. District Judge William Alsup, issued the order last week during a federal court hearing in San Francisco on a lawsuit brought by labor unions and other organizations challenging the mass firings ordered by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). SECOND JUDGE REQUIRES TRUMP ADMIN TO REHIRE PROBATIONARY WORKERS LET GO IN MASS FIRINGS “And that’s a very dangerous decision for our country, because these are people in many cases, they don’t show up for work. Nobody even knows if they exist. And a judge wants us to pay them, even if they don’t know they exist and if they exist,” Trump said. “And I don’t think that’s going to be happening. But we’ll have to say you have to speak to the lawyers about that.” Shortly after Alsup’s order, a second judge – appointed by former President Barack Obama – also issued a ruling ordering the Trump administration to rehire the fired workers. In Baltimore, U.S. District Judge James Bredar, ruled the firings should cease for two weeks while the federal workforce returns to its previous regulations, arguing the Trump administration ignored procedures for mass layoffs. JUDGE ORDERS TRUMP ADMIN TO REINSTATE PROBATIONARY WORKERS FIRED AT 6 AGENCIES Trump, calling the order “absolutely ridiculous,” ordered the mass layoffs across six government agencies: the Departments of Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Defense, Energy, Interior and Treasury. The Trump administration has already filed an appeal to the order, arguing that states have no standing to influence the federal government’s relationship with its employees. Trump’s attorneys contend the layoffs were performance-related, not subject to the regulations governing large-scale reductions. Probationary workers – employees who are still within their initial trial period of employment – have been the target of the layoffs since they’re typically new to the job and lack certain civil protection benefits offered to government employees. Several lawsuits have already been filed over the mass firings. BLUE STATE OFFERS TO HIRE FEDERAL WORKERS FIRED BY DOGE The Trump administration’s lawyers find themselves busy as more than 100 lawsuits have been filed against Trump’s orders since he took office in January. Trump has already filed an emergency petition last week in the high court asking justices to allow parts of his executive order restricting birthright citizenship to take effect while other legal battles in the states play out.
Americans want smaller government but new polls shows whether they like how Musk, DOGE, are going about it
Americans like the idea of downsizing the federal government but are far from thrilled with how billionaire Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are carrying out cuts to the federal bureaucracy, according to new national polling. President Donald Trump, after winning back the White House in last November’s election, created DOGE with marching orders to overhaul and downsize the federal government. Trump named Musk, the world’s richest person and the chief executive of Tesla and SpaceX, to steer the organization. DOGE has swept through federal agencies during the first two months of the Trump administration, rooting out what the White House argues was billions in wasteful federal spending. Additionally, it has taken a meat cleaver to the federal workforce, resulting in a massive downsizing of employees. The moves by DOGE grabbed tons of national attention and have triggered a slew of lawsuits in response. HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING, ANALYSIS ON ELON MUSK American voters, by a 46%-40% margin in an NBC News poll conducted March 7-11 and released on Sunday, said creating DOGE was a good idea rather than a bad idea. However, when asked about their feelings towards DOGE, 47% of respondents held negative views, with 41% saying they saw DOGE in a positive light. It is a similar story in a Reuters/IPSOS survey conducted March 11-12. By a 59%-39% margin, Americans questioned in the poll said they supported downsizing the federal government. NEW POLLS SPELL TROUBLE FOR THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY However, 59% opposed the firing of tens of thousands of federal workers, with 38% supporting the moves by the Trump administration, and by a 50%-38% margin, they said Trump and Musk had gone too far in cutting federal spending. Trump has repeatedly praised Musk for his efforts with DOGE, including during a primetime address earlier this month to a joint-session of Congress. During an interview a week ago on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” Trump called Musk a “real patriot” whose efforts have “opened a lot of eyes.” However, Americans do not hold such rosy views of Musk, according to the surveys. Only 39% of those questioned in the NBC News poll had a positive view of Musk, with 51% holding a negative view. He was underwater at 38% favorable and 59% unfavorable in the Reuters/Ipsos survey. WHAT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLS SHOW According to a Quinnipiac University national poll conducted March 6-10, 60% disapproved of the way Musk and DOGE are dealing with workers employed by the federal government, with only 36% approving. The survey’s release noted that “54% of voters think Elon Musk and DOGE are hurting the country, while 40% think they are helping the country.” A CNN poll conducted March 6-9 indicated that more than six in 10 thought the cuts by DOGE would go too far and that important federal programs would be shut down, with 37% saying the cuts wouldn’t go far enough in eliminating fraud and waste in the government. It appears Trump is well aware of the negative reviews for Musk and DOGE. Two weeks ago, Trump told the Cabinet secretaries that they, rather than Musk, would be in charge of department downsizing at their agencies. In a social media post, Trump said they would use a “scalpel” rather than a “hatchet” in making government staffing cuts.
Trump claims Biden pardons are ‘VOID,’ alleging they were signed via autopen
President Donald Trump claimed that former President Joe Biden’s pardons of lawmakers who served on the House Select Committee to investigate the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, and others, are “VOID,” alleging that they had been signed via an autopen and that Biden did not even know about them. “The ‘Pardons’ that Sleepy Joe Biden gave to the Unselect Committee of Political Thugs, and many others, are hereby declared VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT, because of the fact that they were done by Autopen,” Trump claimed in a Truth Social post. “In other words, Joe Biden did not sign them but, more importantly, he did not know anything about them! The necessary Pardoning Documents were not explained to, or approved by, Biden. He knew nothing about them, and the people that did may have committed a crime,” Trump added. TRUMP TAKES JAB AT BIDEN OVER ‘AUTOPEN SIGNATURE’ FOLLOWING CONCERNING REPORT OVER WHO RAN THE WHITE HOUSE The president continued in his post, “Therefore, those on the Unselect Committee, who destroyed and deleted ALL evidence obtained during their two year Witch Hunt of me, and many other innocent people, should fully understand that they are subject to investigation at the highest level. The fact is, they were probably responsible for the Documents that were signed on their behalf without the knowledge or consent of the Worst President in the History of our Country, Crooked Joe Biden!” While aboard Air Force One on Sunday night, Trump was asked whether executive orders and pardons signed by Biden via an autopen are void. “I think so. It’s not my decision. That would be up to a court,” Trump replied. BIDEN’S ‘AUTOPEN SIGNATURE’ APPEARS ON MOST OFFICIAL DOCS, RAISING CONCERNS OVER WHO CONTROLLED THE WH: REPORT Trump’s comments come after the Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project suggested that an autopen had been heavily used during Biden’s White House tenure. “We gathered every document we could find with Biden’s signature over the course of his presidency. All used the same autopen signature except for the announcement that the former President was dropping out of the race last year. Here is the autopen signature,” the Oversight Project declared in a post on X earlier this month. TRUMP UNDOES STACK OF ‘HARMFUL’ BIDEN EXECUTIVE ORDERS, SHRINKS MULTIPLE AGENCIES CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP In a statement on Jan. 20, the same day he departed from office, Biden announced that he was pardoning “General Mark A. Milley, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the Members of Congress and staff who served on the Select Committee, and the U.S. Capitol and D.C. Metropolitan police officers who testified before the Select Committee.” “These public servants have served our nation with honor and distinction and do not deserve to be the targets of unjustified and politically motivated prosecutions,” he noted. Fox News Digital has reached out to a Biden spokesperson for comment.
Five years after COVID lockdowns: The 5 most bizarre ‘Stop-the-Spread’ moments
As the U.S. nears the five-year mark since nationwide lockdowns turned toilet paper into a hot commodity, Fox News Digital took a look back at some of the most controversial mandates – those that sparked debate – and, to some, defied logic. Former NIAID Director Anthony Fauci was a ubiquitous sight throughout the pandemic, during the administrations of both Donald Trump and Joe Biden. The octogenarian allergist, who had been with the government since 1968 and appointed head of the NIH’s infectious disease arm by former President Ronald Reagan, was often lambasted for contradictory or questionable medical orders. Fauci drew heat for apparent contradictions in mask-wearing orders, with critics often locking onto the certainty with which the Brooklynite announced each countervailing development. In March 2020, Fauci told “60 Minutes” about “unintended consequences” of wearing masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19. “People keep fiddling with the mask and they keep touching their face,” he said, suggesting germs and viruses could be spread by too much fidgeting. Soon after, and for most of the rest of the pandemic, Fauci was adamant that Americans must wear masks nearly at all times in public. He raised eyebrows further when he told CNBC it might be time to double up on masks – a stance that clashed with claims from right-wing physicians who warned that excessive face coverings could obstruct breathing. ‘CUOMO CHIP’ LOOPHOLE CRUMBLES AS NY NOW WANTS ‘SUBSTANTIAL FOOD’ SOLD WITH BOOZE “If you have a physical covering with one layer, you put another layer on it just makes common sense that it likely would be more effective,” Fauci said. National Review writer David Harsanyi balked at the order at the time, quipping, “No, thanks, Dad.” Current Secretary of State Marco Rubio also commented at the time about Fauci’s varied orders: “Dr. Fauci is a very good public-health official. His job is to advise policymakers and inform the public, but his job is not to decide what we can do, where we can go or which places can open or close. His job is not to mislead or scare us into doing the [supposed] right things,” the Floridian said. Pennsylvania’s most visible shutdown-opposing lawmaker, who later ran for governor on a related “Walk as Free People” slogan, regularly quipped in public remarks at people he would see driving alone in their cars on Interstate 81 while wearing a mask. “You can’t make this stuff up,” Sen. Doug Mastriano often repeated. New York City is known for its pizza, bagels, heros and chopped cheese – but western New York holds another food item just as dear – the Buffalo wing. The COVID-19 lockdowns proved the love upstaters have for their chicken apps after then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo laid out what “substantive food” a watering hole has to offer in order for patrons to go out for a drink. “To be a bar, you have to have food available. Soups, sandwiches – More than just hors d’oeuvres, chicken wings; you had to have some substantive food,” he said. New Yorkers used to sloshing Frank’s Red Hot on their chicken became Red Hot themselves and lambasted the governor for appearing to define their beloved dish as less than a meal. The outrage led to a New York state communications official later tweeting a diagrammed-sentence breakdown of Cuomo’s comments, seeking to illustrate that the clause “more than just hors d’oeuvres” was an interjection and that “chicken wings” were to be associated with the “soups, sandwiches” mentioned – but the damage had been done. In return, bars began charging a dollar or so each for a slice of deli meat, a handful of croutons or a single french fry in order to allow their patrons an end-round around the edict and have a cold one. PENNSYLVANIA GOV. TOM WOLF THREATENS TO WITHHOLD CORONAVIRUS AID TO COUNTIES THAT DEFY LOCKDOWN ORDERS In neighboring Pennsylvania, Gov. Tom Wolf instituted a similar ban – requiring a meal to be purchased before alcohol could be served. The state police’s bureau of liquor enforcement patrolled towns to enforce the mandate and other regulations, warning small-town saloons that their liquor licenses were on the line. When many restaurants were closed for eat-in dining in Pennsylvania, several lawmakers held a demonstration in Lebanon outside what was then the Taste of Sicily Italian Restaurant. Several area lawmakers – state Reps. Russ Diamond, Frank Ryan and the late Dave Arnold – joined Mastriano and restaurant manager Mike Mangano to decry “stop the spread” orders that cut off family restaurants’ income. Flanked by the others, Diamond read from Article I Sec. 2 of the Pennsylvania Constitution, which stated “all power is inherent in the people… and they have at all times an inalienable… right to alter, reform or abolish their government in such matter they see fit.” “That means,” he said, “You can exercise your constitutional right to abolish the interminable b—- of this government, which happens to be the governor’s obtuse, stupid and bass-ackward orders.” In Pennsylvania, Wolf and Health Secretary Rachel Levine were ubiquitous on the airwaves with their lockdown provisions and orders – from traffic-light color-coded maps instructing which counties’ residents could have varying levels of freedom, to Levine’s daily warning on TV to “stay home, stay calm, stay safe.” Early in the shutdown period, the Wolf administration utilized a seven-decade-old state law aimed at blunting a syphilis outbreak as legal backing for some of their orders. In April 2020, a York woman was charged under that statute when she tried to quell her cabin fever with a Sunday drive. Anita Shaffer told local media at the time she had been returning home from a drive when she passed police parked in the town of Yoe. Originally stopped for a broken taillight, Shaffer was ultimately issued a $202 ticket for violating the Disease Prevention and Control Act of 1955, which was described to her as the “stay-at-home-act” in force at the time – to which she pleaded “not guilty.” PENNSYLVANIA LAWMAKER SLAMS PA COVID LOCKDOWNS
Trump putting troops on border was game changer, San Diego sector chief says: ‘Force multiplier’
SAN DIEGO, Calif. — U.S. military personnel sent by President Donald Trump to the southern border to assist in security operations have had a profound impact on the number of illegal crossing attempts, a veteran border agent tells Fox News Digital. “It’s a force multiplier,” San Diego Sector acting Chief Patrol Agent Jeffrey Stalnaker said of the military assistance at the border in an interview with Fox News Digital. “It assists us to accomplish our mission.” At the San Diego border sector, traditionally one of the busiest crossing areas of the U.S. border with Mexico, hundreds of service members from the Army, Marines, and Navy have been deployed to assist U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents over the last several weeks. BORDER AREA BUSTLING UNDER BIDEN NOW QUIET UNDER TRUMP, SAYS VETERANS GROUP: ‘AMAZING DIFFERENCE’ The deployments, which were ordered just days after President Trump took office, have helped put an almost sudden stop to the record-setting illegal crossings seen in recent years. The number of southern border apprehensions in February hit lows not seen since the year 2000, according to CBP data, while CBP agent encounters with illegal migrants have also fallen sharply, with the agency recording just 30,000 encounters in February, compared to the over 130,000 recorded during the same time period in 2023 and 2024. According to Stalnaker, the military forces currently assisting at the border have had a lot to do with the recent success. “It’s not just walls and c-wire, it’s also our weather roads. It gives us access, quick access, to be able to move our agents … to be able to respond to an event, a law enforcement event,” he said. The nearly 500 Marines operating at the border as part of Task Force Sapper have helped CBP by reinforcing existing border barriers with additional protection, including the welding of razor wire that has been strategically placed to slow down any potential crossings and give CBP agents time to react. CALIF POLITICIAN PATCHES GAPING BORDER HOLE WITH 400 FEET OF RAZOR WIRE USING HER OWN CASH “We are the engineers that are conducting the construction down on the southern border in order to reinforce the existing primary and secondary barrier that exists in the San Diego sector,” Lt. Col Tyrone Barrion, the commanding officer of Task Force Sapper, told Fox News Digital, noting that the Marines’ efforts have created an “obstacle that disrupts any type of activity that tries to cross over the top or through the barrier.” “That allows more reaction time for border patrol,” he added. Barrion said that the Marines plan on continuing their efforts from the Pacific coastline of San Diego until about 20 miles inland, where they will then tackle a break in the existing barrier caused by the area’s rough terrain. Joining the Marines are multiple companies of Army engineers and military police officers based out of Ft. Campbell, Kentucky, who have fanned out across the landscape to help with surveillance and detection. While the soldiers don’t intervene to stop illegal crossings themselves, a CBP spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the troops have become the eyes and ears of agents, taking some tasks off their plate and allowing them to quickly and accurately respond to potential crossings. On Otay Mountain, which lies southeast of San Diego and overlooks the border near the Mexican city of Tijuana, Army soldiers perched high above a popular crossing valley helped operate a CBP surveillance station that can detect the potential movements of illegal crossings for miles in the surrounding area. While CBP agents are trained and typically tasked with operating the equipment, the help of Army soldiers has allowed CBP to make more efficient use of their limited resources. Facing limited manning, the CBP spokesperson said that the troops at the border have allowed agents to focus their attention on responding to crossers and making apprehensions, all done with the assistance of troops who are in constant contact with their CBP counterparts. Those Army forces have contributed to the drastic turnaround at the once-busy border sector. “They’re a great partner,” Stalnaker said. “We enjoy having them out here.”
Trump’s 9th week in office set to continue whirlwind actions, expected conversation with Putin
President Donald Trump’s ninth week in office is expected to include a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin as the nations inch closer to reportedly securing a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia. “The president uses the timeframe weeks, and I don’t disagree with him. I am really hopeful that we’re going to see some real progress here,” U.S. special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff said on CNN on Sunday. “Nobody expected progress this fast. This is a highly, very complicated situation, and yet we’re bridging the gap between two sides. So, lots of things that remain to be discussed, but I think the two presidents are going to have a really good and positive discussion this week.” Witkoff’s remarks come after U.S. and Ukrainian officials agreed to the terms of a potential ceasefire with Russia during a meeting in Saudi Arabia last week. Witkoff subsequently met with Putin in Moscow on Thursday, when the pair held “positive” and “solution-based” discussions. “Before this visit, there was another visit, and before that visit, the two sides were miles apart,” Witkoff added. “The two sides are, today, a lot closer. We had some really positive results coming out of the Saudi Arabia discussion led by our national security advisor, Mike Waltz, and our secretary of state, Marco Rubio.” TRUMP, PUTIN CALL EXPECTED THIS WEEK, AS ADMIN EDGES CLOSER TO RUSSIA-UKRAINE CEASEFIRE DEAL: WITKOFF A pair of American astronauts who have been left on the International Space Station (ISS) for nine months are in the midst of returning home and could reach Earth later this week. ‘WE HAVE NEVER BEEN THIS CLOSE TO PEACE’ SINCE RUSSIA INVADED UKRAINE, LEAVITT TELLS REPORTERS Astronauts Suni Williams and Barry Wilmore traveled to the space station in June of last year for what was intended to be an eight-day mission, but it devolved into a long-term stay after their spacecraft malfunctioned. Tech billionaire and Trump ally Elon Musk launched a rescue crew to bring the astronauts home over the weekend through his company SpaceX. The SpaceX team reached the space station overnight Saturday, inching the astronauts closer to their expected return to Earth later this week. Trump has railed against former President Biden for not rescuing the astronauts during his administration, telling the media earlier this month that Biden “left them alone” in space because he was “embarrassed by what happened.” “The most incompetent president in our history has allowed that to happen to you, but this president won’t let that happen,” the president continued at the time. The Trump administration is in the midst of mass deportation efforts, including deporting Tren de Aragua gang members under a wartime law invoked by Trump last week. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ordered the Trump administration to halt its deportations of illegal immigrants under the act on Saturday, ordering planes carrying migrants to return to the U.S. ‘ALIEN’ ENCOUNTER: ISS CREW MEMBER PLAYS JOKE AS SPACEX TEAM ARRIVES The Alien Enemies Act of 1798 allows deportation of natives and citizens of an enemy nation without a hearing and has been invoked three times before, including, during the War of 1812, World War I and World War II. Boasberg set a hearing for Friday regarding the deportation efforts, teeing up another court battle over Trump’s immigration policies. NASA’S STUCK ASTRONAUTS WELCOME REPLACEMENTS WHO ARRIVED TO SPACE STATION ON SPACEX CAPSULE In the meantime, the Trump administration has already flown hundreds of Tren de Aragua gang members to El Salvador, where the nation’s president agreed to house the individuals in a notoriously locked-down prison designed to handle cartel and gang members. “Today, the first 238 members of the Venezuelan criminal organization, Tren de Aragua, arrived in our country. They were immediately transferred to CECOT, the Terrorism Confinement Center, for a period of one year (renewable),” El Salvador President Nayib Bukele posted to X on Sunday morning, accompanied by video footage of planes on a tarmac. EL SALVADOR TAKES IN HUNDREDS OF VENEZUELAN GANG MEMBERS FROM US, EVEN AS JUDGE MOVES TO BLOCK DEPORTATIONS Bukele responded to news of Boasberg’s order on X, remarking, “Oopsie… too late,” accompanied by a laughing emoji. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Trump is anticipated to have another busy week back in the Oval Office, which follows him signing 89 executive orders since Jan. 20 – marking more executive orders signed in just months than any of his predecessors signed their entire first years in office, stretching back to President Jimmy Carter. Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.
Tulsi Gabbard, Rajnath Singh hold talks on India-US strategic ties
Gabbard’s talks with Singh came a day after she met NSA Ajit Doval and attended a conclave of global intelligence czars in Delhi that was hosted by India.
Will Dhaka accept deported migrants to improve India-Bangladesh relations, or Muhammad Yunus succumb to radical Islamists?
Will India-Bangladesh relations deteriorate further?