Trump admin removes Biden-era transportation safety board vice chair
The Trump administration has removed the vice chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, who was appointed to the role in the waning days of the Biden administration, Fox News Digital learned. The White House removed Alvin Brown from the National Transportation Safety Board, a White House official confirmed to Fox News Digital Tuesday morning. Brown had served on the five-person safety panel since March 2024, before President Joe Biden appointed him as vice chair of the board in December 2024 – one month before President Donald Trump’s inauguration. The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent government agency charged with investigating major transportation accidents, such as plane crashes, and crafting safety guidance to prevent accidents. Brown, a Democrat, was the first Black mayor of Jacksonville, Florida, serving from 2011 to 2015, before serving as senior advisor for Community Infrastructure Opportunities for the U.S. Department of Transportation in 2022, according to his biography. ‘EVERYTHING IS ON THE TABLE’ AS NTSB INVESTIGATES DEADLY HUDSON RIVER TOUR HELICOPTER CRASH The National Transportation Safety Board’s website, as of Tuesday morning, lists four members, all of whom were appointed by Trump either during his first or second administration. They are Chair Jennifer L. Homendy, Michael Graham, Thomas B. Chapman and J. Todd Inman. NTSB CALLS FOR BAN ON SOME HELICOPTER ROUTES NEAR REAGAN AIRPORT AFTER MIDAIR COLLISION THAT KILLED 67 PEOPLE The Trump administration was rocked by a plane crash on Jan. 29 near the nation’s capital, when 67 people were killed after an Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines passenger plane collided near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. That accident was followed by other high-profile plane crashes. Air travel was hit with delays in recent days, most notably at New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport, when air traffic controllers briefly lost communication with planes. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy joined Fox News’ Laura Ingraham Monday evening, where he addressed the delays and said he plans to overhaul and “radically transform” America’s air traffic control system. ‘GATE LICE’ RUN-INS HAVE FLYERS DEMANDING MORE AIRLINES ‘CRACK DOWN’ ON PESKY TRAVEL TREND “We’re going to build a brand-new air traffic control system – from new telecom, to new radars, to new infrastructure. We’re bringing on new air traffic controllers,” he said. “This has been a problem in the decades coming, and we’re going to fix it.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “When you have an incident like this, you want to make sure that people are safe,” he added, referring to the delays in Newark. “And so, you just have less departures out of the airport until we feel comfortable and safe that the system isn’t going to go down again.”
Columbia University lays off around 180 staff after Trump administration revokes grants
Columbia University said it will cut around 180 staff members Tuesday following the Trump administration’s announcement in March that it canceled $400 million in federal grants over the Ivy League school’s “failure to protect Jewish students from antisemitic harassment.” “Across the research portfolio we have had to make difficult choices and unfortunately, today, nearly 180 of our colleagues who have been working, in whole or in part, on impacted federal grants, will receive notices of non-renewal or termination,” acting Columbia University President Claire Shipman said in a statement. “This represents about 20% of the individuals who are funded in some manner by the terminated grants. “In the coming weeks and months, we will need to continue to take actions that preserve our financial flexibility and allow us to invest in areas that drive us forward,” she added. “This is a deeply challenging time across all higher education, and we are attempting to navigate through tremendous ambiguity with precision, which will be imperfect at times.” The White House did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. LINDA MCMAHON BLASTS HARVARD IN SCATHING LETTER TELLING ELITE UNIVERSITY IT WILL NO LONGER GET FEDERAL GRANTS Columbia University said in early March that it was “notified of federal action from Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Department of Education (ED), and the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) cancelling $400 million in federal funding to the University. “The federal agencies cite ‘the school’s continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.’ There is no question that the cancellation of these funds will immediately impact research and other critical functions of the University, impacting students, faculty, staff, research, and patient care,” it added at the time. COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY JANITORS SUE ANTI-ISRAEL AGITATORS ACCUSED OF HOLDING THEM HOSTAGE IN CAMPUS BUILDING Then in April, Columbia University caved in to demands from the Trump administration in an effort to restore federal funding. The Ivy League school agreed to ban masks for the purpose of concealing identity, empower 36 campus police officers with new powers to arrest students and appoint a senior vice provost with broad authority to oversee the department of Middle East, South Asian and African Studies, as well as the Center for Palestine Studies. As of today, “Columbia’s leadership continues discussions with the federal government in support of resuming activity on these research awards and additional other awards that have remained active, but unpaid,” according to Shipman. “Increasing budget constraints combined with uncertainty related to future levels of federal funding for research, including proposed reductions in facilities and administration (i.e., indirect costs) reimbursements, requires us to make difficult choices,” Shipman said about the layoffs. “We have had to make deliberate, considered decisions about the allocation of our financial resources. Those decisions also impact our greatest resource, our people. We understand this news will be hard.” Fox News’ Louis Casiano and Alexis McAdams contributed to this report.
NJ Dems seek to bar imprisoned Bob Menendez from future office as GOP targets his state pension
Top New Jersey officials asked for a court’s assistance in legally preventing scandal-plagued former Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., from ever seeking or holding office in the Garden State again. New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin, a Democrat, said Monday that Menendez – sentenced in January to 11 years for bribery, extortion, obstruction and charges he was acting as an unregistered foreign agent for Egypt – abused his Senate role for his “own personal and financial benefit.” “[He] betray[ed] the people who elected him and the oath he swore to serve their interests and not his own,” Platkin said in a statement. “Today, my office sought a court order ensuring he will be given no such opportunity again in New Jersey.” MENENDEZ WAS KNOWN IN DC AS ‘CROOKED FOR A LONG TIME,’ ETHICS LAWYER SAYS, AMID BIPARTISAN RESIGNATION CALLS Platkin added he wants to ensure the rule of law is applied equally regardless of political affiliation. “[C]orruption has consequences,” said Platkin, whose office of Public Integrity and Accountability filed the suit in Mercer County state superior court. He said he wants the court to confirm Menendez is “forever disqualified” from seeking or holding public office or employment from the municipal level up. His office noted that former Paterson Democratic Mayor Joey Torres, convicted on corruption charges as well, has been successfully barred in that regard under a similar order. At the same time, the state legislature’s Republican minority wants to see Menendez lose his state-funded pension from his elected roles prior to his time in Congress. Menendez first served as mayor of Union City in the 1980s, before rising into an assembly and later a state Senate seat centered around West New York, New Jersey, until his move to Congress in 1992. State Assemblymember Aura Dunn, R-Boonton, is seeking to have him stripped of his continuing $1,066-per-month pension of more than 30 years. TRUMP PROSECUTOR TO INVESTIGATE BLUE STATE GOVERNOR, AG OVER REPORTED ORDER TO IGNORE ICE WARRANTS Dunn has drafted a bill that prevents people like Menendez from receiving such a taxpayer-funded payout. “Most people assume this would happen automatically, especially here in the Soprano State. The fact that we need a court order to bar a convicted felon like ‘Gold Bar Bob’ from public work is absurd,” Dunn told Fox News Digital on Tuesday. Dunn’s bill, A4430, would require state and local pension trustees to order forfeiture of earned service credits or benefits to any member convicted of a state or federal crime, or who is found to have committed misconduct. “What’s worse? He’s still collecting a taxpayer-funded pension. That’s the real outrage. If the law doesn’t keep up with common sense, I’ll change it,” Dunn said. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Menendez has routinely professed his innocence, while saying publicly after his sentencing that he now understands President Donald Trump‘s criticisms of the justice system during his trial in New York. “President Trump is right. This process is political, and it’s corrupted to the core. I hope President Trump cleans up the cesspool and restores integrity to the system,” Menendez said. The ex-lawmaker’s wife, Nadine, was convicted on similar charges in April, including facilitating bribes in the form of the infamous gold bars. She will be sentenced June 12.
Jasmine Crockett accused of ‘abusing her power’ at airport boarding gate
Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, was slammed on social media after House Republican Conference Chair Lisa McClain shared a photo of her apparently skipping ahead of two passengers in wheelchairs while boarding a flight at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Sunday. “SPOTTED: Jasmine Crockett with a taxpayer-funded police escort, cutting everyone in line — even making DISABLED people wait. Nothing to see here, just the next leader of the Democrats, abusing her power!” McClain, R-Mich., posted on her personal campaign account on Sunday. McClain’s post included photos of Crockett apparently skipping the line, outraging the Republican’s base with accusations that Crockett is “evil.” A source familiar with the incident said Crockett was the first passenger “other than the crew” to board a Sunday afternoon Delta Air Lines flight from Atlanta to Washington, D.C., including before two passengers in wheelchairs. ‘USE A CHAIR’: JASMINE CROCKETT INVOKES 2023 MONTGOMERY BRAWL IN COLLEGE SPEECH According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, “If you self-identify as a passenger with a disability who needs additional time or assistance to board the airplane, the airline must allow you to board the airplane before other passengers.” Customers who need assistance or extra time, active duty U.S. military members and Delta 360 Members, which is an invitation-only membership, are allowed to pre-board within Delta Air Lines’ policy. According to the source, Crockett walked up to the gate flanked by a police officer and “what looked like her staffer,” had her boarding pass scanned and then proceeded to board the plane before any other passenger. When reached by Fox News Digital, Crockett’s chief of staff said, “We do not have any comments.” TRUMP MOCKS ‘LOW IQ’ JASMINE CROCKETT, ‘NUTJOB’ BERNIE SANDERS AS POTENTIAL LEADERS FOR THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY Delta Air Lines did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. Reports last week indicated that Crockett, who is currently the vice ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, has her eyes set on the chair position of the committee. Crockett would lead oversight of the federal government if she gets the gig, which could include investigating President Donald Trump‘s agenda. Crockett, a vocal opponent of Trump’s second term, took aim at the president in a social media post on Sunday. “For you to be in charge of the WHOLE country, you sure do have my name in your mouth a lot. Every time you say my name, you’re reminding the world that you’re terrified of smart, bold Black women telling the truth and holding you accountable. So keep talking,” Crockett said. Trump on Sunday told Kristen Welker, host of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” that Crockett is a “low IQ person,” calling her the future of the Democratic Party, which he described as in “disarray.” Earlier that day, Crockett was criticized by conservatives for her comments during a commencement speech at Tougaloo College in Jackson, Mississippi, after suggesting the students know how to “use a chair” in the face of adversity, invoking the infamous 2023 Alabama brawl. “There are people that are going to tell you that there is not a table in which there is not a seat for you, but I am here to remind you of Montgomery and those folding chairs. Let me tell you that we know how to use a chair, whether we [are] pulling it up or we doing something else with it,” Crockett said. Crockett seemed to reference the viral video from August 2023 of a group of White boaters attacking a Black riverboat captain, Dameion Pickett, in Montgomery, Alabama. The white folding chair became a symbol of resistance when a Black man raised a chair over his head in Pickett’s defense as the other men attacked him. The Texas Democrat urged the graduating class at the historically Black college to pull up their own seat at the table, reminding students of the bystanders who rushed to defend Pickett when he was attacked. Conservatives were quick to reply to the clip of Crockett’s remarks, and Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said Crockett’s comments were “not cool.”
What will happen in mock drills? Air raid warning, blackouts, camouflaging vital installations, evacuation and…
The mock drills amid India-Pakistan tensions will be held across the country, with special emphasis on highly sensitive border states like Punjab, Rajasthan, Jammu & Kashmir, West Bengal, and the Northeast.
E-way hubs to be constructed along two expressways in Uttar Pradesh, EV charging stations, hotels, more, check details
The Uttar Pradesh government has upgraded two of its major expressways with world class amenities. UPEIDA will transform the Purvanchal and Bundelkhand Expressways into e-way hub. A detailed action plan for the construction and development of at least 12 e-way hubs has been prepared.
6 US governors to open talks with Canadian provincial leaders on tariffs
The governors of six northeastern U.S. states have invited the premiers of six Canadian provinces to meet in Boston as both sides face the impacts of tariffs. President Donald Trump’s policy of imposing tariffs on products imported from America’s northern neighbor and other nations has sparked controversy both in the U.S. and abroad. The group of governors includes five Democrats — Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, Maine Gov. Janet Mills, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, and Rhode Island Gov. Daniel McKee — and one Republican — Vermont Gov. Phil Scott. CANADIAN PM CARNEY TO MEET TRUMP AT WHITE HOUSE AFTER ELECTION INFLUENCED BY ANNEXATION THREATS The governors are inviting the premiers of the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island and Québec, Healey and Mills press releases indicate. “While the international uproar over tariffs threatens to upend the economies of our respective communities, we write to reaffirm our friendship and unique interdependence. Ours is a cherished relationship that is founded not only on mutual financial advantages but also on centuries-old familial and cultural bonds that supersede politics,” the U.S. politicians said in their invitation. “As Governors of the Northeast, we want to keep open lines of communication and cooperation and identify avenues to overcome the hardship of these uninvited tariffs and help our economies endure. As we continue to navigate this period of great uncertainty, we are committed to preserving cross border travel, encouraging tourism in our respective jurisdictions, and promoting each other’s advantages and amenities,” they noted. ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ACCUSED OF POCKETING THOUSANDS BY SMUGGLING HUNDREDS OF ALIENS EACH WEEK FROM CANADA TO US Trump, who has repeatedly indicated that he would like Canada to become America’s 51st state, is meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday. “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker asked Trump if he would speak to Carney about making the country the 51st state. TRUMP BLASTS ‘DISHONEST INTERVIEW’ DURING CONTENTIOUS DEBATE ON TARIFFS CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “I’ll always talk about that. You know why? We subsidize Canada to the tune of $200 billion dollars a year. We don’t need their cars, in fact we don’t want their cars. We don’t need their energy, we don’t even want their energy, we have more than they do. We don’t want their lumber, we have great lumber, all I have to do is free it up from the environmental lunatics. We don’t need anything that they have,” Trump declared. Mills said that the economic and cultural relationships between the U.S. and Canada have been “strained by the president’s haphazard tariffs and harmful rhetoric targeting our northern neighbors,” according to the press releases.
Blue state Republican calls on county sheriffs to defy sanctuary law, Dem governor rumored for 2028 run
EXCLUSIVE — Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill., is calling on sheriffs in her state to defy Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the state’s sanctuary laws and instead uphold federal immigration law. Miller said the state’s sanctuary policies have transformed the Land of Lincoln into a “cesspool of crime and drugs.” She is calling on sheriffs in the state to “act now” and ignore Pritzker’s attempts to circumvent President Donald Trump on immigration law and instead work directly with U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE) on deportations. This comes as Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, also a Democrat, have emerged as some of the nation’s leading resistance voices against the Trump administration, especially when it comes to his crackdown on illegal immigration. The Democratic-majority Illinois legislature passed the TRUST Act in 2017, which limits local law enforcement’s ability to cooperate with ICE and bars them from enforcing immigration law. ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT RELEASED BY BIDEN ADMIN PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO MURDER OF GEORGIA GRANDMOTHER Pritzker, who is seen as a possible 2028 presidential candidate, has continued to fight the administration, even denouncing Trump as an “authoritarian” and calling for mass protests to disrupt the president’s agenda, saying Republicans “cannot know a moment of peace.” The Democratic governor has also vowed to resist the administration’s immigration agenda and has said that Trump and border czar Tom Homan are “the ones who are threatening people.” ICE has said that state and local policies inhibiting law enforcement from cooperating with ICE endangers federal agents and communities by allowing public safety threats to walk free. The Trump Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed legal charges against Pritzker, Johnson and several other Chicago officials for refusing to honor ICE detainers, which the department said, “obstructs ICE from assuming custody of an alien in a safe and controlled manner.” In its filing, the DOJ said that “when a detainer is not honored or an alien is released from a non-federal facility without notification or transfer to ICE, ICE must conduct investigations and perform targeted enforcement actions to re-apprehend the alien. And while ICE is undertaking re-apprehension efforts, the alien remains at-large in the community and free to commit further crimes or otherwise threaten public safety.” DHS UNLEASHES POSSIBLE MONEY-SAVING MEASURE FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS TO SELF-DEPORT: ‘SAFEST OPTION’ Though police departments are typically under the direct control of city officials, sheriffs are elected by the people they serve and often have more leeway to enforce the law unimpeded by political pressure. As such, Miller is urging sheriffs across the state to stand against Pritzker and state authorities and enforce immigration law. “I call on every local sheriff in Illinois to defy these dangerous directives, cooperate with ICE, and support President Trump’s deportation efforts,” Miller said to Fox News Digital. She said that “Pritzker’s sanctuary state policies have transformed Illinois into a cesspool of crime and drugs brought by the illegals he is actively resettling.” FATHER WHOSE SON DIED FROM FENTANYL WARNS OVERDOSES ‘CAN HAPPEN TO ANYONE’ AS STATES FIGHT DEADLY CRISIS “Our communities are being overwhelmed, innocent girls are being raped, and Americans are being ruthlessly murdered,” she added. “These are the tragic consequences of his failed leadership.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “We must act now before one more innocent American life is lost or harmed,” she said. Pritzker’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Activist reportedly held by Uganda’s military chief shows signs of torture
Justice minister says Eddie Mutwe shows signs of abuse at court appearance, and his lawyer says he was tortured daily. An opposition activist whom Uganda’s military chief, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, claimed to have held captive in his basement has appeared in court “visibly weak” and showing signs of torture, according to the justice minister. Eddie Mutwe, who acts as the chief bodyguard for Uganda’s leading opposition figure, Bobi Wine, went missing on April 27 after being grabbed near the capital, Kampala, by armed men, according to Wine’s National Unity Platform (NUP) party. Chief of Defence Forces Kainerugaba, longtime President Yoweri Museveni’s eldest child, said last week that he had detained Mutwe, writing on X that he had captured him “like a grasshopper” and was “using him as a punching bag”. Kainerugaba also alluded to Mutwe being tortured, saying he had beaten him and shaved his head. “If they keep on provoking us, we shall discipline them even more,” he said of the opposition. Facing robbery charges Mutwe was presented in court on Monday and remanded into custody on robbery charges, his lawyer said. In a statement released late on Monday, Justice Minister Norbert Mao said Mutwe appeared in court “in a visibly weak condition and showing signs of having been tortured”. “Bringing illegally detained, brutalised and tortured suspects before the courts of law is an abuse of judicial processes,” said Mao, the leader of an opposition party who was appointed justice minister in 2022. Advertisement Mao did not say who was responsible for Mutwe’s condition but called on the courts to deal swiftly with the opposition figure’s case. Mutwe’s lawyer, Magellan Kazibwe, told reporters outside court on Monday that his client had been tortured daily and electrocuted while being detained. He is in my basement. Learning Runyankore. You are next! https://t.co/8pMgdGCru2 — Muhoozi Kainerugaba (@mkainerugaba) May 1, 2025 Opposition crackdown The court case comes amid an escalating crackdown on the Ugandan opposition as Wine has been preparing to launch a “protest vote” campaign in advance of a general election in January. On Friday, Wine – a former singer whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi and who has become Museveni’s leading opponent – said on X that security forces had “just raided and cordoned off our headquarters”. He also condemned the abduction of Mutwe, telling the AFP news agency that it was “a reminder to the world as to how law and order has broken down in Uganda”. Ugandan musician-turned-politician Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine [File: Badru Katumba/AFP] Kainerugaba, who is widely viewed as being groomed to succeed his 80-year-old father, frequently makes incendiary comments on social media and has written on X that he wanted to behead Wine. The Ugandan government has faced international condemnation over the abduction of opposition figures, including veteran leader Kizza Besigye, who was seized in Kenya last year and forcibly returned to face treason charges. Advertisement Museveni, who has ruled since 1986 and plans to seek re-election in January, has denied allegations of human rights abuses. But the Uganda Law Society said the abduction of Mutwe was not an isolated incident. Instead, it is “part of a systematic campaign to silence dissent and crush the aspirations of young people yearning for freedom”, the group said in a statement. The Uganda Human Rights Commission, which is tasked with investigating abuses and monitoring the government’s human rights record, said it issued an order on Friday directing the authorities to release Mutwe. Adblock test (Why?)
What we know about Israel’s new plan for Gaza
NewsFeed Israeli Prime Minister says Palestinians in Gaza will be relocated to the south during a ‘new phase’ of intense military operation, with reports suggesting that Israel is considering occupying the entire enclave and taking control of aid distribution. Published On 6 May 20256 May 2025 Adblock test (Why?)