Maine Dems push for tampons in boys’ bathrooms amid ongoing debate over trans sports participation
Democrats in Maine are pushing a bill that would require all public schools to provide tampons in boys’ bathrooms starting in middle school, a move that comes as state leaders continue to face backlash over their stance on transgender athletes competing in women’s sports. LD 155, introduced by state Rep. Kristen Cloutier, D-Lewiston, seeks to “require” all public schools in the state that serve grades 6–12 to make tampons and sanitary pads available in all student bathrooms, including those designated specifically for males. The bill is being pushed during an ongoing debate over whether transgender athletes should be allowed to compete on female sports teams, particularly in high school. MAINE GOP URGES DEMS TO REPEAL TRANSGENDER ATHLETE POLICY FOLLOWING FEDERAL TITLE IX VIOLATION FINDING “This is really quite clearly a pattern that reveals where the legislative Democrats’ priorities are,” said state Rep. Rachel Henderson, R-Rumford. Henderson likened the move to an ongoing budget battle in the legislature, which saw Democrats usurp Republican authority in order to get their priorities across by passing a bill without a two-thirds majority. The move has delayed critical funds needed for the states’ Medicaid program, according to Henderson. “It just kind of shows how out of touch the legislative Democrats here in Maine are when their priorities are paying for tampons in boys’ bathrooms rather than ensuring that we have any type of balanced budget,” she said. Meanwhile, Assistant House Minority Leader Katrina Smith, R–Palermo, said Democrats in the state legislature think “they can push through anything they want,” even at the expense of taxpayers, because they have control over both chambers and the governor’s office. CALIFORNIA SCHOOL DISTRICT INFORMS PARENTS PERIOD PRODUCTS ARE IN BATHROOMS FOR ‘ANY STUDENT WHO MENSTRUATES’ “Maine is ground zero for these types of policies,” Smith told Fox News Digital. “They think that, because they have the majority in every body, that they can push through anything they want and anything they want usually costs taxpayers money as well, which this would.” Earlier this year, Democrats in the state legislature voted to censure GOP state Rep. Laurel Libby, who has been an outspoken advocate against state leaders choosing to defy President Donald Trump’s executive order prohibiting transgender athletes from competing in women’s athletics. The censure vote followed Libby’s opposition to state leaders’ decision that Maine’s Human Rights Law – which mandates athletic eligibility be based on gender identity – takes precedence over the president’s executive order banning that practice. Maine’s Democratic Gov. Janet Mills has supported the move to defy Trump’s executive order on trans sports participation as well, telling the president at the White House last month, “We’ll see you in court,” in reference to the matter. Fox News Digital reached out to Cloutier for comment on her bill that would require schools to provide tampons in boys’ bathrooms, but did not receive a response in time for publication.
From ‘food justice’ to ‘useless surveys,’ Trump’s Cabinet reveals ‘nonsensical’ contracts it has canceled
President Donald Trump’s Cabinet outlined billions of dollars in contracts it says it has canceled since he took office, including a “$300,000 contract educating on food justice for queer and transgender farmers in San Francisco” and $830 million on surveys described as looking like “anyone’s child in junior high could have put together.” The contracts, which Trump said represented “fraud,” are being canceled as Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are trying to eliminate wasteful spending by the federal government. “Even at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, we canceled a $300,000 contract educating on food justice for queer and transgender farmers in San Francisco. A similar contract we canceled in New York, again educating transgender and queer farmers on food justice and food equality. I’m not even sure what that means, but apparently the last administration wanted to put out taxpayer dollars towards that,” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told Trump. “We canceled a $600,000 contract out of Louisiana that was studying the menstrual cycles of transgender men. We canceled another contract out of a university in the middle of the country that focused on getting more diversity, equity and inclusion into our pest management industry,” she continued. “Again, these are nonsensical, it makes zero sense to use taxpayer dollars to fund these. I know these are just a few examples of the hundreds and hundreds we have found.” FEDERAL GOVERNMENT BLOCKS DOGE FROM PERSONAL DATA, IN ANOTHER INJUNCTION AGAINST TRUMP Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told Trump that “There is a federal consulting group which was a group inside of Interior, but it was managing contracts for many different agencies that flowed through here” and “one of those contracts was to do surveys of individuals, $830 million for surveys.” “And so part of the question was ‘hey could we actually see the surveys?’ and then the surveys came back and it was, the survey was like 8.5 by 11 sheet of paper with ten questions that anyone’s child in junior high could have put together, or AI could have done for free,” Burgum said during the Cabinet meeting. “$830 million, so that is one that we stopped and that contract was going out after you were inaugurated, sir.” “It’s fraud,” Trump responded. “But we’ve had many fraudulent contracts that were caught by the work that Elon and his people are doing and working with our people. It’s been brought to light. The fraud, not just waste and abuse. The fraud has been incredible.” REPUBLICAN SENATORS URGED TO ‘GO ON OFFENSE’ ON DOGE GOALS, HIGHLIGHT WORK WITH TRUMP, MUSK An X account linked to the White House said Burgum announced $830 million in savings by “cutting contracts for useless surveys.” “The EPA has now canceled over $22 billion worth of contracts – $2 billion going to this NGO that Stacey Abrams was tied to. They received only $100 in 2023 and then the Biden administration gave them $2 billion,” Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin also said. “The director of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund saw his former employer get $5 billion dollars. So $20 billion went to just eight NGOs.” “The partnership with DOGE and Elon Musk has been incredible at EPA. Their team is very talented, we wouldn’t have been able to do it without them and of course this mandate from President Trump to make sure that we identify every last penny, whether we are saving $50,000, five million dollars or $22 billion dollars we will not rest until every last penny is saved. Thank you, Mr. President for the opportunity to do this for the American public,” Zeldin added.
US to meet Ukraine again in Riyadh after talks with Russian delegation
United States officials are set to meet with their Ukrainian counterparts again after a round of talks with Russian negotiators on a partial ceasefire in Ukraine. A senior Ukrainian official told the AFP news agency that the meeting would be held later on Monday after US and Russian delegations wrap up their day’s talks in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh. Monday’s US-Russia talks were primarily focused on ending attacks on Black Sea shipping, with a view to ushering in a broader ceasefire agreement that would bring an end to the three-year Russia-Ukraine war. US officials had already met the Ukrainian team on Sunday to discuss the protection of civilian and energy infrastructure, said Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, who led the delegation and called the talks “productive”. Reporting from Kyiv, Al Jazeera’s Assed Baig said Ukraine was now keen to see Russia agree to a deal that would protect Black Sea shipping, particularly “the cessation of shelling of Ukrainian ports Odesa, Kherson and Mykolaiv”. Advertisement “Now that’s been a major concern for the Ukrainians. Ukraine really wants their ports operating and running and that’s why initially they proposed a ceasefire on air and sea,” said Baig. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed on Monday that US and Russian officials were discussing the possible resumption of the 2022 Black Sea Grain Initiative, an agreement that was supposed to allow Ukraine to ship millions of tonnes of grain and other food exports from its ports. Moscow pulled out of the initiative – brokered by Turkey and the United Nations – in 2023, accusing the West of failing to uphold its commitments to ease sanctions on Russia’s own exports of farm produce and fertilisers. No breakthrough expected “Nobody is holding their breath here expecting any breakthroughs. Even the spokesperson of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, said there are no expectations for a breakthrough in Riyadh on Monday”, said Al Jazeera’s Dorsa Jabbari, reporting from Moscow. “What is expected is that they are going to hammer out details of what Russia is asking for. The Russian delegation has been talking to the US official for at least the past eight hours, as we understand it, about the details on a 30-day ceasefire agreement when it comes to energy and infrastructure, and also the Black Sea initiative”, she added. Oleksiy Melnyk, co-director of Foreign Relations and International Security Programmes at Ukraine’s Razumkov Centre think tank, said the length of the negotiations pointed to the Russian side once again making “more and more” requests and demands. Advertisement Speaking to Al Jazeera from Kyiv, he said there was “zero trust between the two sides” and no “possibility for direct talks” between Moscow and Kyiv. Melnyk said the US could increase its pressure on the Ukrainian government, but noted: “If there are no prospects or interest on the Russian side except capitulation of Ukraine, what is the reason for Ukraine to engage in such negotiations?” Maximalist demands The focus on the Black Sea is a much narrower one than a broad 30-day ceasefire agreement that the US proposed to Russia in Saudi Arabia earlier this month. Last week, after separate phone calls with US President Donald Trump, both Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy agreed to a 30-day limited ceasefire, pledging not to attack energy infrastructure in each other’s territories. But both sides have accused the other of carrying out attacks on those specific energy targets in recent days. The Kremlin said on Monday that Russia was still abiding by the moratorium that Putin had promised Trump, despite Kyiv continuing to strike Russian energy facilities. Ukraine, which said it would only agree to the pause if a formal document was signed, has accused Moscow of flouting its own moratorium. Nevertheless, Trump has expressed broad satisfaction over the way talks have been going and has been complimentary about Putin’s engagement in the process so far, saying on Saturday that efforts to stop further escalation in the conflict were “somewhat under control”. Advertisement But there is scepticism among major European powers over whether Putin is ready to make meaningful concessions or will stick to what they see as his maximalist demands. Putin says he is ready to discuss peace but that Ukraine must officially drop its NATO ambitions and withdraw its troops from the entirety of the territory of four Ukrainian regions claimed and mostly controlled by Russia. Continued attacks Monday’s talks came after Russia launched its third consecutive overnight air attack on Kyiv, wounding one person and damaging houses in the region around the Ukrainian capital. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Russia must stop its strikes instead of “making hollow statements about peace” in the wake of a Russian missile attack on the northeastern city Sumy in a “residential neighbourhood”. The attack injured at least 74 people, including 13 children, damaging a school and a hospital, according to the regional governor. “Any diplomacy with Moscow must be backed up by firepower, sanctions and pressure”, Sybiha said on X. Russia, for its part, said it had downed 227 Ukrainian drones in the last 24 hours, as firefighters in its southern Krasnodar region battled for a fifth day to put out a blaze at an oil depot struck in a Ukrainian drone attack last week. The Russian Defence Ministry claimed on Monday that Ukraine conducted two drone strikes on the Valuika gas distribution station in the Belgorod region on Saturday. Additionally, it said Ukrainian forces had attempted to attack the Glebovskoye gas condensate field in Crimea on Sunday, but that Russian air defences had repelled the assault. Advertisement Adblock test (Why?)
HIV and AIDS deaths could increase globally amid US aid freeze, UN says
US President Donald Trump put almost all US foreign aid on hold upon taking office. There could be 2,000 new HIV infections a day across the world and a tenfold increase in related deaths, possibly in the millions in the years to come, if funding frozen by the United States is not restored or replaced, the United Nations AIDS agency has said. US President Donald Trump put almost all US foreign aid on hold upon taking office on January 20. Days later, the US Department of State said life-saving HIV work under the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) would continue. But the disruption to health funding and the impact on broader services were having a devastating impact on people living with HIV/AIDS, UNAIDS executive director Winnie Byanyima told reporters in Geneva on Monday. “This sudden withdrawal of US funding has been shutting down many clinics, laying off thousands of health workers … All this means that we expect to see new infections rising. UNAIDS has estimated that we could see 2,000 new infections every day,” she said. She added that if funding from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) did not resume at the end of the 90-day pause, in April, or was not replaced by another government, “there will be, in the next four years, an additional 6.3 million AIDS deaths.” Advertisement “We’ll see it come back, and we’ll see people die the way we saw them in the ’90s and in the 2000s,” she said. Byanyima said the figures were based on UN modelling, but did not give more details on how the estimates had been reached. According to the latest data, there were 600,000 AIDS-related deaths globally in 2023. UNAIDS, which coordinates the global response to preventing and treating HIV/AIDS, received $50m in core funding last year from the US, representing 35 percent of the UN agency’s budget. The Trump administration has said the funding was frozen to ensure it was in line with the president’s “America First” policy. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has dismissed concerns that Washington is ending foreign aid, saying waivers had been provided for life-saving services. Trump’s team members say they have saved US taxpayers tens of billions of dollars through rapid-fire moves to cancel contracts, fire workers and root out fraud and waste in the government, although they have offered little evidence to support that assertion. Adblock test (Why?)
Turkiye detains over 1,100 as Erdogan blames ‘evil’ opposition for protests
Despite the crackdown, opposition activists promise to ‘not back down’, urging more people to take to streets. Turkish police have detained 1,113 people across the country over five days of protests as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan blames the main opposition party for the unrest sparked by the detention of his main political rival. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya confirmed the total number of arrests on Monday after a fifth night of the largest anti-government protests the country has seen in more than a decade. They started after Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested on Wednesday and charged with corruption, aiding the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), and leading a criminal organisation. Speaking in Ankara on Monday, Erdogan slammed the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) for starting a “movement of violence”, adding that its “show” would eventually end and it would feel ashamed for the “evil” it did to the country. Reporting from Istanbul, Al Jazeera’s Aksel Zaimovic said the arrests had not dimmed the opposition’s resolve. “They say they are not backing down. In fact, they are encouraging more people to come and join the rally that’s scheduled in a few hours from now. Advertisement “They are saying they should boycott what they perceive to be pro-government media, all the media outlets that are not covering these protests, but also companies that have ties with government,” he said. Imamoglu is widely seen as the only politician who could pose a significant challenge to Erdogan, who has dominated Turkiye’s politics since 2003, first as prime minister and then as president. The Turkish government denies that the arrest of Imamoglu was politically motivated, insisting that the nation’s courts are independent. On Sunday, 53-year-old Imamoglu was stripped of his mayoral title and jailed in Silivri Prison on the outskirts of Istanbul pending trial on corruption charges that he denies. A further charge of “terrorism” was dismissed for the time being. That same day, he was overwhelmingly voted in as the CHP’s candidate for the 2028 presidential election with about 15 million people casting their ballots in a show of support for him. The demonstrations began in Istanbul after Imamoglu’s arrest, spreading to more than 55 of Turkiye’s 81 provinces. Protesters have clashed with riot police who have deployed tear gas and water cannon. Despite bans on street gatherings in many cities, the antigovernment demonstrations continued for a fifth consecutive night on Sunday with fierce clashes between protesters and riot police. Before dawn on Monday, police detained 10 Turkish journalists at home, according to the Media and Law Studies Association rights group. Detained journalists’ police statements completed, expected to be sent to the courthouse tomorrow On the morning of March 24, at least 10 journalists were detained in dawn raids in Istanbul and Izmir. The statements of the detained journalists have been completed and they are… pic.twitter.com/c949nEbvpg — MLSA (@mlsaturkey) March 24, 2025 Advertisement On Monday, young protesters held a rally next to the Besiktas port on the Bosphorus in Istanbul before the main nightly rally outside city hall, scheduled for 17:30 GMT. Yerlikaya said 123 police officers had been injured during the protests so far, adding that the government would not allow “terrorising of the streets”. Adblock test (Why?)
‘I regret what I…’: Samay Raina appears before Maharashtra cyber cell after India’s Got Latent row
Recently, Samay Raina rescheduled his India tour amid India’s ongoing Got Latent row.
Battle of the chambers: House and Senate tensions boil over as Trump budget hangs in limbo
Republicans in the Senate aren’t necessarily being swayed by a new push from House GOP leaders to take up their preferred budget bill for President Donald Trump. House Republicans have reportedly been concerned by the Senate’s lack of action on their budget bill passed weeks ago, addressing key Trump priorities such as the border and tax cuts. In response to suggestions that the Senate isn’t moving fast enough to get Trump’s budget bill done, a Senate GOP aide pointed Fox News Digital to the fact that the upper chamber just ended what was the longest work period in over 15 years. The Senate aide noted that members and their staff have been “actively engaged in substantive discussions” regarding the key budget reconciliation process for months. Even over the week-long recess, staff engagement has been “virtually non-stop,” they said. BIDEN ADMIN’S ‘VAST CENSORSHIP ENTERPRISE’ WITH HELP OF NGOS SLATED FOR KEY HEARING, LAWMAKER SAYS The budget reconciliation process lowers the threshold for Senate passage from 60 votes to 51 out of 100, allowing the party in power to skirt its opposition to advance its agenda, so long as the included provisions relate to budgetary and other fiscal matters. The House of Representatives already has a simple majority threshold. The process is crucial for Republicans, who have a trifecta in Washington, to get certain Trump agenda items accomplished. CONGRESS EXPANDED THE EXECUTIVE—ONLY FOR TRUMP TO QUASH MUCH OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE STATE The Senate GOP aide noted that the Senate managed to pass its preferred reconciliation bill as part of a two-track plan – before the House passed an alternate version. Early Monday morning, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., and Chairwoman Lisa McClain, R-Mich., released a joint statement alongside 12 chairs of committees with jurisdiction in the budget reconciliation process. “We took the first step to accomplish that by passing a budget resolution weeks ago, and we look forward to the Senate joining us in this commitment to ensure we enact President Trump’s full agenda as quickly as possible,” they said. “The American people gave us a mandate, and we must act on it. We encourage our Senate colleagues to take up the House budget resolution when they return to Washington.” The Senate aide reiterated that Senate Republicans have zeroed in on certain “consequential issues” in the budget reconciliation process, of which the details have to be exact before moving forward. The tax portion, which has been the area of contention between House and Senate Republicans, is expected to get consideration during the new work period, the aide said. GOP SENATOR SAYS HE’S WORKING WITH TRUMP ON BILL TO ABOLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., who has been generally opposed to the House’s one-bill reconciliation approach, also pushed back on their statement. “Until we seriously address out-of-control spending and create an effective process to return to a reasonable pre-pandemic level, I will not support another budget resolution,” he told Fox News Digital in a statement. “Unfortunately, the House Budget Resolution does not do that.” Just before the brief legislative recess, Senate Finance Committee Republicans met with Trump at the White House to discuss the at-issue tax portion of his agenda and its reconciliation hopes. Trump has in recent weeks backed off from taking explicit sides in the reconciliation fight between the GOP chambers, despite initially supporting the House’s plan. ‘EDUCATORS WILL BE FIRED’: REPUBLICANS CHEER TRUMP ORDER DISMANTLING EDUCATION DEPARTMENT AS DEMS SEETHE At the center of the tax-cut controversy are Senate Republicans’ claims that the House’s bill would not make Trump’s tax policies from 2017 permanent, and House GOP complaints that multiple reconciliation bills would be difficult to pass, given tight party margins. Senate Republicans did not include an extension of the tax cuts in their passed bill, preferring to do a separate reconciliation bill in the fall. Their bill instead focused on Trump’s border priorities. The House’s measure tackled both in one bill. The House-passed bill has yet to be brought up in the Senate.
US moves to extradite 3 alleged Tren de Aragua members to Chile
The U.S. declared that three alleged members of the violent transnational gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) are “alien enemies” and plans to extradite them to Chile, where they are wanted for numerous violent crimes, officials said Monday. The Justice Department said the three gang members were Adrian Rafael Gamez Finol, 38, Miguel Oyola Jimenez and Edgar Javier Benitez Rubio, both aged 37. All three men entered the U.S. illegally after committing “brutal” crimes, including murder, kidnapping, extortion, human and drug trafficking and other offenses, in Chile. “The Justice Department will work expeditiously to return these Alien Enemies to Chile to face justice,” the department said. Gamez Finol is a dual Venezuelan and Colombian citizen who was deported from the U.S. to Venezuela in August 2023 and later allegedly re-entered the U.S. illegally. He is currently in Texas county prison serving a sentence for human smuggling. EXCLUSIVE: GOP MOVES TO AUTHORIZE TRUMP TO WAGE WAR ON CARTELS THROUGH MILITARY FORCE Oyola Jimenez, a dual Venezuelan and Ecuadorian citizen, is in custody in Washington after Chilean authorities requested his arrest and return to Chile to stand trial on kidnapping charges. Benitez Rubio, a Venezuelan citizen, is in immigration custody in Indiana. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a written statement that the men would have already been removed if not for an injunction against the Alien Enemies Act. “In fact, we would have already removed these violent gang members to Chile to face justice were it not for the nationwide injunction imposed by a single judge in Washington, D.C., which we are challenging today in the D.C. Circuit,” Blanche said. “We hope common sense and justice will prevail.” HIGH-RANKING TREN DE ARAGUA GANGSTER MURDERED TWO AMERICAN WOMEN, CAPTURED ACROSS COUNTRY: FEDS The Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which allows deportation of natives and citizens of an enemy nation without a hearing, has been invoked three times, during the War of 1812, World War I and World War II. Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg of the D.C. Circuit granted a temporary restraining order preventing the deportations under the act. The Trump administration has appealed the order. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is scheduled to hear arguments on the matter on Monday afternoon. TdA is a narco-terrorism enterprise based in Venezuela. It was designated a foreign terrorist organization on Feb. 20 by the Department of State.
Homan blasts blue state as report shows it releasing illegals charged with ‘horrific’ crimes on low bails
Following a Massachusetts law barring law enforcement cooperation with ICE, illegal child rapists and other serious criminal illegals charged with “horrific crimes” are being released on to the streets on bail as low as $500 and, in some cases, no bail at all. Responding to these releases, Tom Homan, President Donald Trump’s border czar, said that Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healy and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, both Democrats, “should be ashamed” and that despite their actions, deporting criminal illegals “will be done.” Healey has previously said that Massachusetts is not a sanctuary state. However, a 2017 ruling by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, Lunn vs. Commonwealth, bars local and state law enforcement from coordinating with ICE to assist with deportation operations. The ruling stipulates that law enforcement cannot comply with ICE detainers, forcing agencies to release criminal migrants onto the streets. Last week, Wu renewed her pledge to resist Trump’s deportation efforts, saying, “We stand with immigrants,” and “No one tells Boston how to take care of our own, not kings, and not presidents who think they are kings.” BLUE CITY MAYOR RIPPED BY LOCAL LEADERS FOR PRIORITIZING POLITICS OVER SAFETY: ‘UNDERMINING PUBLIC TRUST’ However, at least seven illegal immigrants charged with serious crimes, including child rape and fentanyl trafficking, were released by local law enforcement agencies in Massachusetts in recent months, according to CBS. The outlet reported that in one instance, a 39-year-old Honduran national named Juan Alberto Rodezno-Marin, who was charged with indecent assault and battery on a person over 14, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, masked armed robbery and assault to rape, was released on his own recognizance without having to pay bail. According to an ICE statement, immigration officials had previously arrested and removed Rodezno-Marin twice for illegally re-entering the U.S., in 2008 and 2009. Despite these crimes and an ICE detainer being filed against him, the Middlesex Superior Court released Rodezno-Marin in December. He was not arrested by ICE until a month later. He is currently in ICE custody. DEMOCRAT MAYOR BLASTED FOR VOWING TO MAKE MAJOR CITY ‘SAFE HAVEN’ FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS Meanwhile, ABC reported the Worcester County Jail released two illegal immigrant inmates charged with child rape on bail of just $500. Another illegal immigrant, Jose Fernando-Perez, a 49-year-old Guatemalan national charged with three counts of forcible rape of a child and three counts of aggravated rape of a child, was released in 2022 on a $7,500 bail with just an order to “stay in his home.” Fernando-Perez was finally arrested by ICE on Feb. 2 of this year. At the time, Patricia Hyde, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston acting field office director, said Fernando-Perez’s “horrific crimes against a minor in our commonwealth” made him “exactly the type of alien we are targeting with our ‘worst first’ policy.” In northeastern Massachusetts, the Lawrence District Court released another Honduran national, 19-year-old Stivenson Omar Perez-Ajtzalan, on $7,500 bail despite pending charges of aggravated rape of a child with a 10-year age difference. BLUE SANCTUARY STATE OPERATING AS ‘CONTROL’ CENTER FOR VICIOUS MIGRANT GANG: ACTING DEA CHIEF CBS reported that two other inmates charged with cocaine and fentanyl trafficking were released with bail amounts of $500 and $4,000. While speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in February, Homan issued a stark warning to Boston and Massachusetts leaders, saying, “You said you doubled down on not helping the law enforcement officers of ICE. I’m coming to Boston, and I’m bringing hell with me.” Today, Homan renewed his criticism of Massachusetts and Boston’s anti-ICE policies and announced ICE arrested a total of 370 illegal immigrants in the Boston area during a five-day joint federal agency operation last week. “I made a promise at CPAC that I was going to Boston after reading about numerous illegal alien child rapists walking the streets of Boston and Massachusetts,” he wrote on X. “Mayor Chu [sic] later testified that I was lying. Well, I traveled to Boston last Tuesday, as promised, and we kicked off a five day operation with ICE, FBI, ATF, DEA, US Marshals and DSS. These incredible men and women arrested a total of 370 Illegal aliens in Boston and surrounding areas.” PRESIDENT TRUMP COMFORTS MOTHER WHOSE SON DIED OF FENTANYL POISONING: ‘UP THERE WATCHING YOU’ Homan said that a majority of the 370 illegals were “significant criminals,” including four wanted for murder as well as drug traffickers, child sex predators and “numerous other violent public safety threats.” “ICE had to find and arrest these illegal alien rapists because Massachusetts and Boston are sanctuaries that refuse to cooperate with ICE. They would rather release these animals back into the community rather than honor ICE detainers or notify ICE when they are scheduled to be released,” he said. “These officers and agents made the neighborhoods of Boston and Massachusetts much safer. They risked their own safety by arresting these criminals on the street, rather than a jail.” CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE “Releasing public safety threats back into the public, rather than working with ICE at the jails, puts the public at great risk,” he continued. “President Trump’s ‘all of government effort’ to arrest and remove the WORST FIRST is making our communities safer every day. President Trump is a Game Changer who is keeping his promises to the American people. Much more to do, but it will be done!” EXCLUSIVE: GOP MOVES TO AUTHORIZE TRUMP TO WAGE WAR ON CARTELS THROUGH MILITARY FORCE Speaking with Fox News Digital, Logan Trupiano, a representative for the Massachusetts Republican Party, said that while both Healey and Wu “utilize emotion and try to make this an issue of empathy … they’re not utilizing any empathy when they’re allowing illegal immigrants who were arrested for heinous crimes, particularly crimes against children, and released back in the community to re-offend.” “It’s absolutely egregious, absolutely ridiculous, and there’s no decent argument against [deporting criminal illegals],” said Trupiano. “All they’re really doing is just attacking the Trump administration and mischaracterizing the
Canada election 2025: What you need to know
Montreal, Canada – Canadians will be heading to the polls next month for a federal election taking place in the shadow of a trade war with the United States. Prime Minister Mark Carney on Sunday triggered the vote as he seeks to build on his Liberal Party’s momentum since the start of the year. Experts say Canada-US ties – and a push for strong leadership to counter US President Donald Trump’s tariffs and annexation threats against the country – will dominate the five-week election race. Here’s a look at what you need to know about Canada’s election. When is the election? The parliamentary election will take place on Monday, April 28. Under Canadian election rules, federal campaign periods must be at least 37 days long but no more than 51 days. With Carney triggering the vote on Sunday and Election Day set for April 28, this year’s campaign will be the shortest allowable by law. Carney won the Liberal Party leadership race and became prime minister in March [Evan Buhler/Reuters] How does the election work? Canada has 343 federal electoral districts, which are known as ridings. Advertisement Eligible voters can cast a ballot for their preferred candidate in the riding in which they reside. The country has a first-past-the-post election system, which means that the candidate who secures the most votes in the riding wins – even if they don’t win a majority of the votes. They will then take up their respective seats in Canada’s lower house of Parliament, the House of Commons. Who will be the next prime minister? Under Canada’s parliamentary system, the party that wins the most seats in the House of Commons will typically be asked to form a government. If a party gets the most seats but not enough for an outright majority, it seeks to form an agreement with another party – or parties – to be able to pass legislation. The leader of the single largest party also becomes prime minister; Canadians do not vote directly for prime minister. Poilievre has been the leader of the Conservative Party since 2022 [Patrick Doyle/Reuters] What parties are in the running? Canada has four major federal political parties. The Liberals have been in government since 2015 and had 152 seats in Parliament at dissolution. The party was previously led by Justin Trudeau, who formally stepped down as prime minister on March 14 to allow Carney to take up the post. The Conservative Party served as Canada’s official opposition, with 120 seats in the previous Parliament. The party is led by Pierre Poilievre, an Ottawa-area legislator known for his populist rhetoric. The left-leaning New Democratic Party (NDP), led by Jagmeet Singh, had 24 parliamentary seats before the campaign was launched. The NDP had previously been propping up a Trudeau-led Liberal minority government but withdrew from that deal in September of last year. Advertisement The Bloc Quebecois – which only runs candidates in the French-speaking province of Quebec – had 33 legislators in the House of Commons. They are led by Yves-Francois Blanchet. Apart from the four big parties, there is also the Green Party of Canada, which had two seats in Parliament at dissolution but is not expected to make any major gains in the upcoming vote. Jagmeet Singh’s NDP had 24 parliamentary seats at dissolution [Patrick Doyle/Reuters] What do the polls say? Until as recently as January, the Conservatives had what many believed to be a clear path to winning a parliamentary majority. But Trump’s threats against Canada, coupled with Trudeau’s decision to resign and Carney’s rise as the new leader of the Liberal Party, have changed things: Most recent polls now suggest the Liberals either with a lead over the Tories, or locked in a neck-and-neck fight with their rivals. The CBC News Poll Tracker, which aggregates national polling data, had the Liberals with 37.5 percent support compared with 37.1 percent for the Conservatives on Sunday. The NDP was in third with 11.6 percent, followed by the Bloc Quebecois at 6.4 percent. The Greens had 3.8 percent. “The Liberals and Conservatives are effectively tied in national polls with the New Democrats trailing in a distant third place,” CBC reported as the election race began. “The Liberals would likely win the most seats, and potentially a majority government, if the election were held today due to the more efficient distribution of their support across the country.” Bloc Quebecois leader Yves-Francois Blanchet speaks to reporters in Ottawa [Carlos Osorio/Reuters] What issues will dominate the race? Opposition parties – including, most notably, Poilievre and the Conservatives – had hoped the 2025 election would centre on affordability issues, such as soaring grocery and housing costs. Advertisement But Trump’s tariffs and threats to make Canada into the US’s “51st state” have upended the conversation. Experts now say the central “ballot question” in the election campaign will be which party is best equipped to handle Trump and manage Canada-US ties. Canada’s main political party leaders have acknowledged Canadians’ concerns over Trump’s policies, promising to stand up for the country’s sovereignty. Adblock test (Why?)