Gabbard declassifies Biden counterterrorism strategy, confirms push for information-sharing with Big Tech
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard declassified a Biden-era plan to counter domestic terrorism that called for greater information-sharing with tech companies and a legislative push to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. Developed in 2021 after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, the plan outlined a government-wide effort to track how foreign actors use disinformation to radicalize Americans and urged coordination with private industry on domestic threats. It also called for measures to curb in-prison radicalization and study extremism within the military. Among its proposals was a plan to “develop awareness training for active service military members, DOD employees and contractors, and those service members separating or retiring from the military on the threat posed by domestic terrorism, the potential targeting of those with military training by violent extremist actors, and relevant reporting mechanisms.” TRUMP THREATENS IRAN OVER NUKES AS DNI GABBARD CLAIMS TEHRAN IS NOT BUILDING BOMBS The strategy had a four-part goal: “Understand and Share Domestic Terrorism-Related Information,” “Prevent Domestic Terrorism Recruitment and Mobilization to Violence,” “Disrupt and Deter Domestic Terrorism Activity” and “Confront Long-Term Contributors to Domestic Terrorism.” The Biden administration plan encouraged “teaching and learning of civics education that provides students with the skill to fully participate in civic life,” and promoted “literacy education for both children and adult learners and existing proven interventions to foster resiliency to disinformation.” It also called for advancing “inclusion” in the Covid-19 response and addressing “hate crime reporting barriers faced by disadvantaged communities by promoting law enforcement training and resources to prevent and address bias-motivated crimes; improve federal hate crimes data and analysis to eliminate hate crimes underreporting; mitigate xenophobia and bias.” DEMS WHO HAVE SPOKEN PASSIONATELY AGAINST DOMESTIC TERRORISM GO SILENT AS TESLA TORCHERS ARE CHARGED Former President Joe Biden’s administration launched the first-ever National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism in 2021, identifying domestic terrorism as a major national security threat in the wake of the Capitol riot. Gabbard declassified the strategy after prompting from conservative groups like America First Legal. The group wrote to Gabbard earlier this month, asking her to declassify the strategy amid concerns of “weaponization” of power by “censoring disfavored speech on the Internet by labeling such speech ‘misinformation,’ ‘disinformation,’ ‘hate speech,’ ‘domestic terrorism.’” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Biden’s summer 2021 counterterrorism strategy garnered criticism from the American Civil Liberties Union, which said it “reflects the government’s ever-expanding authority to surveil and monitor American communities; law enforcement guidance that permits profiling on the basis of race, religion, or national origin; and the use of abusive tools such as the watchlisting system against people for constitutionally protected speech and association.”
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More Dems work to join Sen. Van Hollen in El Salvador to push for alleged gang member’s return to US
Several more congressional Democrats have made statements or issued requests to leadership to travel to El Salvador in hopes of bringing imprisoned deportee and accused MS-13 member Kilmar Abrego Garcia back to Maryland. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., remained in the Central American country as of Thursday morning, after Salvadoran Vice President Felix Ulloa rejected his entreaties to contact or free the alleged gang member on Wednesday. A representative for Rep. Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz., confirmed to Fox News Digital on Thursday that the freshman lawmaker would be taking a trip to El Salvador to essentially aid Van Hollen’s efforts. “Kilmar Abrego Garcia should be home in Maryland right now,” Ansari said in a separate statement. “His illegal abduction and the subsequent complete dismissal of the Supreme Court ruling is deeply disturbing. Our rights shouldn’t be revoked to propagate Trump’s authoritarian agenda. This is a constitutional crisis.” DOJ INDICATES TRUMP ADMIN NOT OBLIGATED TO RETURN MAN DEPORTED TO EL SALVADOR, PUSHING BACK ON JUDICIARY “He’s already said that he’s ready and willing to illegally deport ‘home-growns’ and American citizens. If this can happen to Mr. Garcia, it can happen to any of us. My parents fled an authoritarian regime in Iran where people ‘disappeared’ – I refuse to sit back and watch it happen here, too. That’s why I plan to join my colleagues in traveling to El Salvador to visit Mr. Garcia and make sure Trump’s war on our Constitution and due process stops here.” Reps. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., and Robert Garcia, D-Calif., also wrote to House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., requesting a former CODEL (congressional delegation) authorization to visit Tecoluca, El Salvador, where the infamous El Salvadoran mega prison “Terrorism Confinement Center” (CECOT) is located. “Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national legally living and working in Maryland, was subject to a 2019 withholding order from an immigration judge prohibiting his removal to El Salvador,” Frost and Garcia wrote. “A Congressional delegation would allow Committee Members to conduct a welfare check on Mr. Abrego Garcia, as well as others held at CECOT.” Additionally, Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., is reportedly planning to travel to CECOT, according to reports from Politico and Axios. His office did not respond to a Fox News Digital inquiry. NOT A MARYLAND MAN: GOP BLASTS DEMOCRAT SENATOR FIGHTING FOR RETURN OF SALVADORAN NATIONAL Fox News Digital reached out to Comer’s office for comment, and whether other lawmakers had contacted him seeking CODEL authorization. “Squad” member Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill., also wrote to House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., demanding her own CODEL to El Salvador, “given that the Administration’s use of CECOT for illegal and unconstitutional deportations is rife with ‘administrative errors.’” While not party to the letter to Comer, Ansari tweeted Monday that “we need answers now” from either government. She said she is ready to join Van Hollen – and Frost and Garcia if they go – to “demand” the man’s release. BONDI DEFIANT, SAYS ABREGO GARCIA WILL STAY IN EL SALVADOR: ‘END OF THE STORY’ Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., also suggested to Axios that travel to El Salvador may be necessary. “We have to do similar kinds of things for the others who are victims of this dystopian attack on our Constitutional rights. This president is dangerous and we can’t let this go,” she said. Meanwhile, at least two Republicans have also traveled to CECOT, albeit for different reasons. Rep. Riley Moore, R-W.Va., tweeted a photo from the prison, saying he just finished a tour and that many inmates were “extremely violent” recent U.S.-deportees. “I leave now even more determined to support President Trump’s efforts to secure our homeland,” Moore said. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., appeared to comment on Van Hollen’s trip in his own post from the prison, writing: “It is unconscionable that Democrats in Congress are urging the release of more foreign criminals back into our country.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Homeland Security released new documents this week that it says definitively prove Abrego Garcia, who is imprisoned at CECOT after his deportation from the U.S., is a member of the notorious MS-13 gang, which his lawyers deny. Abrego Garcia also allegedly has a record of being a “violent” repeat wife beater, according to records filed in a Prince George’s County, Maryland, district court by his wife. Fox News Digital reached out to Booker, Frost, Balint, Ramirez and Garcia for further comment.
Trump admin guts AmeriCorps, Clinton-era volunteer agency that failed 8 consecutive audits
The Trump administration placed roughly 75% of full-time AmeriCorps employees on administrative leave on Wednesday as the administration looks to rebuild the Clinton-era volunteer agency from scratch, Fox News Digital learned. A total of 535 full-time AmeriCorps employees out of the agency’s 700 staff were placed on leave, an administration official confirmed to Fox News Digital Thursday. Volunteers with AmeriCorps’ National Civilian Community Corps, a program that focuses specifically on volunteer opportunities for youth between the ages of 18–26, were preemptively pulled out of the field ahead of the Trump administration placing the agency’s full-time staffers on leave Wednesday, Fox Digital learned. Roughly $250 million in AmeriCorps contracts have also been canceled. AmeriCorps is expected to remain in existence, according to the admin official, but the operations will essentially restart from scratch. IRS CUTTING ITS WORKFORCE BY 25%, ELIMINATING AGENCY’S CIVIL RIGHTS OFFICE Former President Bill Clinton created the AmeriCorps National Service Program in 1993, during his first year in office, as a volunteer arm of the government to help aid communities nationwide. The agency has received roughly $1 billion in taxpayer funds every year, the House Higher Education and Workforce Development Subcommittee previously found, but had failed eight consecutive audits across the past decade. “Unfortunately, AmeriCorps has a long history of abusing taxpayer dollars,” chair of the House subcommittee, Republican Utah Rep. Burgess Owens, said in a statement in December 2024. “AmeriCorps is entrusted with over $1 billion of taxpayer funds every year, with the result of failure of eight consecutive audits,” he continued. “In 2023, the AmeriCorps Inspector General issued a ‘Management Challenges’ report detailing significant challenges AmeriCorps faces. This includes being unable to detect fraud. We have no real idea when AmeriCorps will be able to have a clean audit again. In fact, this year’s audit includes 78 recommendations still open, even after AmeriCorps said it addressed 20 last year.” Fox News Digital examined AmeriCorp’s budget in recent years and found its 2023 fiscal year budget stood at $1,312,806, which included $99,686,000 in expenses and salaries, while fiscal year 2024 saw a budget of $1,262,806, which included the same figure for expenses and salaries. The Biden administration proposed a budget of $1,342,093,000 for fiscal year 2025. The agency’s annual management report for fiscal year 2024 showed that it had $3.7 billion in assets, including over $1.5 billion in investments. Diversity, equity and inclusion and climate change initiatives have been a top priority for the volunteer-focused agency, with the 2024 annual management report identifying “advancing racial and economic equity” as one of its top priorities, Fox Digital found. “AmeriCorps has a decades-long commitment to advancing racial and economic equity through national service and volunteering,” the report stated. “These efforts are designed to expand pathways to opportunity for all Americans. Racial and economic equity will be central to AmeriCorps’ planning and implementation of all priorities, ensuring AmeriCorps members and volunteers reflect the diversity of the American people and the communities in which they serve.” Owens said in 2024 that while some of the agency’s programs are “well-intentioned,” taxpayers should not continue funding the office and called for it to land on the Department of Government Efficiency’s chopping block. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “It makes no sense to expand this agency or give it more money when it continuously fails to meet basic accountability standards,” he said. “Every time its representatives come before this Committee, AmeriCorps assures us that they will implement reforms, and year after year nothing changes. We can tell AmeriCorps to modernize and reform until we are blue in the face, but nothing will change unless we recognize the system is built on a flawed idea. It is time to admit that this is a failed program that needs a complete overhaul or elimination. It should be on DOGE’s chopping block.”
‘Mass surveillance’: Conservatives sound alarm over Trump admin’s REAL ID rollout
Conservatives are speaking out against the Trump administration’s plans to finally enact long-expected REAL ID laws in a bid to crack down on illegal immigration. “If you think REAL ID is about election integrity, you’re going to be sorely disappointed. Someone has lied to you, or you’re engaged in wishful thinking. Please don’t shoot the messenger,” Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., wrote on X earlier this week. Responding to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem’s video announcing the May 7 REAL ID deadline, the former vice presidential candidate and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin questioned in a lengthy post: “Or what?? Evidently, existing ID requirements for American citizens just aren’t adequate now, so Big Brother is forcing us through more hoops for the ‘right’ to travel within our own country.” Palin continued: “Other administrations delayed this newfangled, burdensome REAL ID requirement. Are you curious why its implementation is imperative now?? And who came up with this?” NO ‘REAL ID’ APPOINTMENTS OPEN IN NEW JERSEY AS RESIDENTS SOUND OFF: ‘GET WITH THE TIMES, NJ’ The REAL ID Act was passed in 2005, but the federal government has yet to implement it 20 years later. It requires all U.S. travelers to be REAL ID compliant when boarding domestic flights. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced last week that REAL ID would go into effect May 7, and that no other state-issued ID cards would be accepted for air travel. TSA senior official Adam Stahl said in the announcement that REAL ID “bolsters safety by making fraudulent IDs harder to forge, thwarting criminals and terrorists.” While an overwhelming majority of Republicans appear to have few issues with the change, some on the right have cried foul. Massie argued in an X post, “As long as the pilot’s door is locked and no one has weapons, why do you care that someone who flies has government permission? REAL ID provides no benefit, yet presents a serious risk to freedom. If a person can’t be trusted to fly without weapons, why are they roaming free?” REAL ID DEADLINE FOR TRAVELERS, SOME FEDERAL BUILDING ACCESS QUICKLY APPROACHING Massie targeted President Donald Trump more directly in response to another X user who asked whether he was opposed simply because of his differences with the commander in chief. The Kentucky Republican has been known for multiple public spats with Trump. “REAL ID is a 2005 George Bush-era Patriot Act overreach that went completely unenforced until Trump got into office. Let me guess: he’s playing 4D chess and I should just go along with it?” Massie wrote. Former presidential candidate and ex-House Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, wrote on X, “Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem announced Friday that the notorious PATRIOT Act-era REAL ID scheme would go into effect at the end of the month. REAL ID is one of the greatest threats to Americans’ civil liberties in decades.” Kentucky state Rep. TJ Roberts, a Republican, agreed with Paul on social media, writing, “Repeal REAL ID!!” New Hampshire state Rep. Joe Alexander, a Republican, added on the accusations, calling REAL ID a “violation of the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution,” and writing, “the Federal Government should not be mandating ID for its citizens to travel between states. Just say NO.” Cato Institute senior fellow Patrick Eddington told Fox News Digital, “I’m not aware of a single post-9/11 instance of an alleged or actual terrorist being apprehended, much less successfully boarding an airliner, with false ID credentials – which is the entire-stated rationale for REAL ID.” Eddington argued it imposed unconstitutional burdens on people who are seeking to travel by air versus train. “If you got word that your mother had just had a stroke and her prognosis was uncertain, and you wanted to quickly fly home to be with her but couldn’t because you didn’t have a REAL ID-compliant ID card, that would be one very real-world example of a tangible harm this insane law could cause on literally a daily basis,” he said. “The REAL ID Act effectively institutes a form of mass surveillance and verification that doesn’t discriminate between those who have given reason for suspicion and those who haven’t, which is why it should never have been enacted in the first place.” Meanwhile, Trump ally Rep. Mark Alford, R-Mo., targeted critics in his own public statement. “The REAL ID Act was passed way back in 2005, 20 years ago!!!! It’s about time everyone stop dragging their feet. Quit scrolling through social media, quit complaining, get your info together, and get down to the DMV to get your REAL ID,” Alford said Wednesday. The DHS has argued that implementing REAL ID now will help the Trump administration further its goals in cracking down on illegal immigration. A DHS memo obtained by Fox News Digital earlier this week argued in favor of its implementation, that REAL ID “closes the gaping vulnerabilities Biden’s policies created, preventing criminals and potential terrorists from exploiting our aviation system, as seen during 9/11 when fraudulent IDs enabled attacks.” Trump administration allies have also pointed out that it is carrying out a directive by Congress that’s long been stalled, but that the current White House took no part in deciding. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and TSA for further comment. Massie’s spokesman said he was not available for an interview when reached by Fox News Digital. Fox News Digital’s Cameron Arcand contributed to this report.
Trump says Fed Chair Powell’s exit ‘can’t come soon enough’
United States President Donald Trump has hinted at firing Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell amid the president’s frustration that the central bank will not aggressively cut interest rates. On Thursday, Trump said that Powell’s “termination cannot come fast enough”. Powell’s term does not expire until May 2026. The president does not have the authority to remove Powell from the central bank. Trump’s attacks on Powell come after the Fed chair’s speech at the Economic Club of Chicago on Wednesday. Powell said the Fed would base its decisions solely on what is best for all Americans. “That’s the only thing we’re ever going to do,” Powell said. “We’re never going to be influenced by any political pressure. People can say whatever they want. That’s fine, that’s not a problem. But we will do what we do strictly without consideration of political or any other extraneous factors. “Our independence is a matter of law,” Powell continued. “We’re not removable except for cause. We serve very long terms, seemingly endless terms.” Advertisement The Republican president’s broadside comes a day after Powell signalled that the Fed would keep its key interest rate unchanged, while it seeks “greater clarity” on the effect of policy changes in areas such as immigration, taxation, regulation and tariffs. Powell also reiterated that Trump’s tariffs would likely raise inflation and slow the economy, which could make it harder for the Fed to cut rates anytime soon. The Fed chair suggested that the central bank would focus on fighting inflation in the wake of the tariffs, even if the duties did weaken the economy. Powell’s comments contributed to a drop in stock prices on Wednesday. Trump pushes back Pushing back on Powell, Trump in a social media post said, “Oil prices are down, groceries (even eggs!) are down, and the USA is getting RICH ON TARIFFS.” On the contrary, oil prices have risen 2 percent in the last two weeks. Grocery prices have actually increased under Trump, according to the most recent consumer price index report in April, and egg prices hit record highs last month as per the same report. Last week, the president falsely claimed the US brought in $2bn a day thanks to tariffs – it was $200m a day. Referring to the European Central Bank (ECB), Trump added that Powell “should have lowered Interest Rates, like the ECB, long ago, but he should certainly lower them now. Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough!” The ECB on Thursday lowered its key interest rate from 2.5 percent to 2.25 percent. Powell was initially nominated by Trump in 2017 and was appointed to another four-year term by former President Joe Biden in 2022. At a November news conference, Powell indicated he would not step down if Trump asked him to resign, pointing out that removal or demotion of top Fed officials was “not permitted under the law”. Advertisement Trump’s comments come with the backdrop of a legal case at the Supreme Court that could determine whether presidents can fire the heads of independent agencies such as the Fed. The case stems from Trump’s firings of officials from two independent agencies. The Supreme Court last week let the firings stand while it considers the case. It could issue a broader ruling this summer that would enable the president to fire Fed officials, including the chair. Powell said the Fed is watching the case closely, adding it might not apply to the Fed. Lawyers for the Trump administration have argued that allowing the president to fire the two officials wouldn’t erode the Fed’s independence. “It is difficult to overstate the consequences at this stressed moment of a Court ruling that found that President Trump … does have the authority to dismiss the heads of independent agencies and did not establish a clear carve-out for the Fed,” Krishna Guha, an analyst at investment bank Evercore ISI, wrote on Thursday. “If you liked the tariff debacle in markets, you’d love the loss-of-Fed-independence trade.” Tariff mayhem Powell started Trump’s second term in a relatively secure spot with a low unemployment rate and inflation progressing closer to the Fed’s 2 percent target, conditions that could have spared the US central banker from the president’s vitriol. But Trump’s aggressive and haphazard tariffs have raised the threat of a recession with both higher inflationary pressures and slower growth, a tough spot for Powell, whose mandate is to stabilise prices and maximise employment. With the economy weakening because of Trump’s choices, the president appears to be looking to pin the blame on Powell. Advertisement Trump has unleashed a rash of tariffs that have put the US economy and the Fed in an increasingly perilous spot. On April 2, the president rolled out aggressive tariff hikes based on US trade deficits with other nations, causing a financial market backlash that almost immediately led him to announce a 90-day pause in which most countries would be charged a baseline 10 percent tariff while negotiations go forward. But Trump increased his tariff hikes on China to a rate of 145 percent in addition to his existing tariffs on Canada, Mexico, autos and steel and aluminium. Wall Street banks such as Goldman Sachs have raised their odds that a recession could start. Consumers are increasingly pessimistic in surveys about their job prospects and fearful that inflation would shoot up as the cost of the import taxes get passed along to them. The risk of stagflation – stagnant growth and high inflation – would make it harder for the Fed to respond with the same playbook as recent downturns. The Budget Lab at Yale University estimated that the increased inflationary pressures from the tariffs would be equal to the loss of $4,900 in an average US household. Adblock test (Why?)
Trans women aren’t legally women: What the UK Supreme Court ruling means
The United Kingdom’s Supreme Court has ruled that the terms “woman” and “sex” refer to a “biological woman and biological sex” under UK equality laws, bringing a long-running court battle between feminist groups and the government of Scotland to an end. Wednesday’s ruling is expected to have far-reaching consequences for policies on whether and how spaces and services reserved for women should be extended to include “trans women” – those born male who have transitioned socially or medically or who identify as women – such as changing rooms, domestic violence shelters and medical services. Although the case originally began in Scotland, the court’s interpretation of the law will be effective across the UK, including in England and Wales. Reactions towards the ruling have been mixed: Feminist advocacy groups involved in the legal case have voiced satisfaction, while trans groups and some members of the Scottish government expressed disappointment and fear about future discrimination. Here’s what we know about the Supreme Court’s ruling and how the case started: Marion Calder and Susan Smith from For Women Scotland celebrate outside the Supreme Court to challenge gender recognition laws, in London, UK, Wednesday, April 16, 2025 [Kin Cheung/AP] What was the case about and how did it start? The legal dispute began in March 2018 when the Scottish Parliament passed an act stating that 50 percent of non-executive members of the boards of Scottish public bodies must be women. Advertisement The act, which is known as Holyrood’s Gender Representation on Public Boards (Scotland) Act 2018, was supposed to ensure better representation for women in public bodies. A sticking point in the policy, however, was the definition of “woman”. The act itself said that “women” included transgender women who held gender recognition certificates (GRCs) – that is, trans women who have legally transitioned and are certified by the government as having changed their gender. A feminist group, For Women Scotland (FWS), challenged the new law and launched a petition against it in 2018. The group argued that the Scottish parliament had wrongfully defined “woman” and that the law had failed to use legal definitions as set out in the UK Equality Act of 2010. That Act prohibits discrimination based on age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership (in cases of employment), pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. However, the UK Equality Act 2010 does allow for separate or single-sex services to be provided when this is reasonably necessary, such as for reasons of privacy, decency or preventing trauma. A Scottish court dismissed the first case brought by FWS in 2022, concluding that the Scottish legislation did not necessarily redefine “woman” by including transgender women. The judge ruled that women were “not limited to biological or birth sex”. FWS launched an unsuccessful appeal in 2023. The case was then heard at the Scottish Court of Session several times as the group sought to clarify how to correctly interpret the term “woman” as enshrined in the Equality Act. Advertisement In March 2024, the advocacy group, backed by other feminist organisations and lesbian groups, appealed to the Supreme Court. The group was also supported by Harry Potter author and women’s rights campaigner JK Rowling, who reportedly donated 70,000 pounds ($92,000) to a crowdfunding campaign by FWS. The rainbow flag, bottom right, a symbol of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community, flies alongside the UK, left, and the Scottish flags over the UK government’s Scotland Office building, in central London, Friday, March 28, 2014 [Lefteris Pitarakis/AP] What did the Supreme Court decide, and how does the UK law define ‘woman’? On Wednesday, five judges ruled unanimously that the term “woman” in the existing UK Equality Act should be interpreted as only people born biologically female, and that trans women, even those with GRCs, should be excluded from that definition. The ruling further clarified, therefore, that trans women can be excluded from certain single-sex spaces and groups designated for women, such as changing rooms, homeless and domestic violence shelters, swimming areas and medical or counselling services. “Interpreting ‘sex’ as certificated sex would cut across the definitions of ‘man’ and ‘woman’ … and, thus, the protected characteristic of sex, in an incoherent way,” Justice Patrick Hodge said while summarising the case. “It would create heterogeneous groupings.” The court added that the ruling was not a “triumph” of one side over the other, and emphasised that transgender people are still protected from discrimination under UK law. However, some protections, the judges clarified, should only apply to biological females and not transgender women. Transgender rights supporters protest in favour of Scottish gender reform bill outside Downing Street in London, UK, January 17, 2023 [Henry Nicholls/Reuters] What are the broader implications? Until now, trans women with GRCs could be counted as women for the purpose of all-women shortlists for political parties or to fill quotas for women on boards or within organisations. This will no longer be the case. Advertisement In the 20 years since the Gender Recognition Act was passed in the UK, nearly 8,500 GRCs have been issued. The Gender Recognition Panel received 1,397 applications for GRCs in 2023-2024 – a record number. Of those, 1,088 were granted. This was triple the number of applications in 2020-2021, after which the application fee dropped from 140 to 5 pounds ($180 to $7). The ruling provides some clarification on an issue that has proved polarising not only in the UK but also in the United States. Debates have raged in both countries, as well as in other Western nations, on whether certain women’s rights, services or spaces should be extended to trans women. US President Donald Trump is facing legal challenges for signing orders to define sex as only male or female. Trump has also tried to ban transgender people from entering the military and block trans people from participating in sports teams that do not align with their biological sex. It’s unclear how the ruling could affect sport in the UK, but trans women
Haiti in ‘free fall’ as violence escalates, rights group warns
The security situation in Haiti is in “free fall”, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has warned, as armed groups continue to unleash deadly violence in the capital and other areas across the Caribbean nation. In a statement on Thursday, HRW said criminal gangs have escalated their attacks in Port-au-Prince since late last year, and only 10 percent of the city remains under government control. “Haiti’s security situation is in a free fall and Haitians are suffering horrific abuses,” said Nathalye Cotrino, the rights group’s senior Americas researcher. The country has reeled from years of violence as powerful armed groups, often with ties to the country’s political and business leaders, have vied for influence and control of territory. But the situation worsened dramatically after the July 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise, which created a power vacuum. Haitian security forces patrol during a protest against insecurity in Port-au-Prince on April 16, 2025 [Fildor Pq Egeder/Reuters] In 2024, the gangs launched attacks on prisons and other state institutions across Port-au-Prince, fuelling a renewed political crisis. Advertisement The campaign of violence led to the resignation of Haiti’s unelected prime minister, the creation of a transitional presidential council, and the deployment of a United Nations-backed, multinational police mission. That Kenya-led police force – formally known as the Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS) – has failed to take control back from the gangs, however. Observers say the mission has been underfunded and ill-equipped. Recently, so-called “self-defence” groups have formed in response to the armed gangs, leading to more deadly violence. Protests have also broken out in Port-au-Prince against the country’s transitional presidential council, which has been unable to restore security. On April 7, the authorities declared a new, one-month state of emergency amid the violence. “Declaring emergencies without equipping police with necessary resources, like effective armored vehicles, will not solve the insecurity crisis,” the National Human Rights Defense Network, a leading Haitian rights group, said in a recent report. “The absence of state response has turned the police into firefighters—constantly reacting without strategic direction—while towns fall one after another,” the group said. People walk past a burning barricade during a protest against insecurity in Port-au-Prince on April 16, 2025 [Fildor Pq Egeder/Reuters] ‘Why is no one helping us?’ According to UN figures, at least 1,518 people were killed and another 572 were injured between January 1 and March 27 in gang attacks, security force operations, and acts of violence committed by the “self-defence” groups and others. Advertisement Speaking to HRW, an aid worker in Haiti said people “no longer have a safe place” to go. “Women … seeking help have not only lost loved ones, but have also been raped, displaced and left on the streets, starving and struggling to survive. We don’t know how much longer they can endure such suffering,” the aid worker said. “All [victims] ask is for the violence to stop. With no support from the police or government, they feel abandoned. They ask, ‘Why is no one helping us? Why do Haitian lives not matter if we are human too?’” The UN also says more than 1 million Haitians have been displaced by the violence, while half of the country – some 5.5 million people – face acute food insecurity. In early April, Save the Children reported that more than 40,000 children were among those displaced in the first three months of 2025. “Children in Haiti are trapped in a nightmare,” the group’s Haiti country director, Chantal Sylvie Imbeault, said in a statement. “They are living in deadly areas controlled by armed groups, being robbed of a normal childhood, and at constant risk of recruitment—while humanitarian aid struggles to reach them,” she said. “As displacement continues to soar, shelters are becoming completely overcrowded, leaving children vulnerable to disease, exploitation, and sexual violence.” Adblock test (Why?)
Fierce Israel critic launches Senate bid in Michigan high-stakes 2026 midterm race
A former Michigan public health official and Democratic candidate for governor entered the race for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat on Thursday in what could be one of the most watched races in the 2026 midterm elections. Abdul El-Sayed, 40, is the second Democrat to put his name in the running to replace Democratic Sen. Gary Peters, who is not seeking reelection. El-Sayed, a prominent figure in a movement that was highly critical of support for Israel in the 2024 election cycle, aims to set himself apart from the other Democratic candidates in the race to replace Peters, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow. McMorrow has said she would vote against Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., retaining his leadership position should she prevail in the primary and general election to represent the battleground state in the upper chamber of Congress. However, El-Sayed held back criticism of Schumer. “Anybody who tells you that they’re going to unilaterally oppose one potential candidate without knowing who the alternative is, is either unnuanced or unsophisticated,” El-Sayed told Politico. “So I want to know who is available, who is actively seeking the leadership. I’ll make a decision from there.” GRETCHEN WHITMER RIBBED ONLINE FOR SEEMING TO HIDE FACE IN OVAL OFFICE “What we need right now is somebody who’s willing to take the fight directly to Trump and Musk, but then also knows how to rebuild a version of our federal government that better serves working people after the carnage that Musk and Trump are going to leave behind, and I think I offer that,” he told Politico. Other Democrats considering a run to replace Peters include U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. El-Sayed was active in the “uncommited movement,” a group of anti-Israel, traditionally Democratic voters in Michigan, a critical swing state, who threatened to withhold support from then-President Joe Biden, and then then-Vice President Kamala Harris, over the administration’s stance on Gaza. He did say he would back whoever was the eventual Democratic choice for the presidential ticket to oppose now-President Donald Trump, according to Politico. The Israel-Hamas war exposed deep divisions within the Democratic Party last election cycle, and there is concern the conflict could again make for a messy Senate Democratic primary in Michigan if the American Israel Public Affairs Committee intervenes. The powerful pro-Israel lobby group financially backed Stevens in 2022, when redistricting forced a competitive primary run against fellow Democrat, Rep. Andy Levin. “Everybody is unified around leadership that reminds the Democratic Party that we ought to be the party of peace and justice, that we ought not to be the party sending bombs and money to foreign militaries to drop bombs on other people’s kids in their schools and their hospitals, when our kids need more, our hospitals and schools need more, and we should be spending that money here at home,” El-Sayed told Politico. FIRST ON FOX: REPUBLICAN LAUNCHES SECOND STRAIGHT BID TO FLIP DEMOCRAT-HELD SENATE SEAT IN KEY BATTLEGROUND El-Sayed ran for governor in 2018 as a progressive Democrat and was endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. He came in second in the Democratic primary, losing to Gretchen Whitmer by more than 20 points and beating now-U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar by more than 12 points. Whitmer went on to win the general election and is in the midst of a second term. She cannot run again because of term limits. A resident of Ann Arbor, El-Sayed recently served as director of the Department of Health, Human and Veterans Services in Wayne County, home to Detroit. Before that, he was the public health director of the city after it declared bankruptcy in 2013. El-Sayed cautioned Democrats against learning the “wrong lessons” from their defeats. “If you cut corners and trim your message, and you triangulate to the least common denominator, you can find something that’s perfectly inoffensive to everyone, and the problem with that is that you’re not actually saying anything,” he told Politico. El-Sayed said he met with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee on Tuesday. He told Politico that it was his “understanding” that the Senate Democrats’ campaign arm would not get involved in the primary. If that happens, that deviates from how the DSCC previously acted to clear the field of potential primary candidates to make for an easier primary victory for then-Rep. Elissa Slotkin. Now-Sen. Slotkin, D-Mich., easily won the primary over Hill Harper, and then won the general election. El-Sayed is also the second candidate this week to launch a campaign to replace Peters. On the Republican side, former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers launched his bid on Monday after losing the Senate race last year by 19,000 votes to Democrat Slotkin. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Republican uses George Washington, American Revolution to reject notion Ukraine should surrender to Russia
Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb. – who has advocated for the U.S. and Europe to “arm Ukraine to the max” – pointed to the American Revolutionary War to push back against the notion that Ukraine should surrender to Russia. “I’m glad General George Washington didn’t say ‘Let’s surrender because Great Britain is too powerful and defeating them is unlikely.’ But, that is what some of our leaders are saying to Ukraine, the victim of a Russian invasion. Surrendering to a tyrant is not peace,” Bacon wrote in a post on X. The congressman wants the U.S. to provide arms to help the embattled Eastern European nation repel Russia. PRO-UKRAINE GOP REP. BACON DECLARES ‘REAL REPUBLICANS KNOW THAT PUTIN’S RUSSIA HATES THE WEST AND FREEDOM’ “European Allies and U.S. should arm Ukraine to the max and help them defend their country against the Russians, and now the North Koreans and Chinese,” Bacon declared in a post on X. Some Americans oppose the prospect of providing additional aid to bolster Ukraine’s war effort. But Bacon contends that backing Ukraine is in America’s interests. 2 CHINESE MEN CAPTURED IN UKRAINE, ZELENSKYY CLAIMS “Supporting Ukraine in its struggle against Russian aggression is not only morally right. It is also in our national interest, because the future cost of abandoning Ukraine would vastly outweigh the investment we have made in rejecting Russia’s aggression,” he wrote in a New York Times piece. JD VANCE BLASTS ZELENSKYY’S ‘60 MINUTES’ COMMENTS AS ‘ABSURD,’ ‘NOT PRODUCTIVE’ CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “In recent weeks, too many of my fellow Republicans – including Mr. Trump – have treated Russia with velvet gloves, shying away from calling out Mr. Putin’s flatly illegal war and even blaming Ukraine for starting it,” Bacon declared in the piece.