‘Champagne socialists’ Sanders and AOC spotted boarding private jet on ‘Fighting Oligarchy’ tour
FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., chartered a private jet worth up to a staggering $15,000 an hour for several West Coast stops on their “Fighting Oligarchy” tour. Sanders boarded the luxury Bombardier Challenger private jet at the Meadows Field Airport in Bakersfield, California, on Tuesday afternoon, according to a photo captured by a source on the ground and shared exclusively with Fox News Digital. Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez, whom the source also spotted boarding the private jet, spoke at their “Fighting Oligarchy” event in Bakersfield just hours earlier. Flight records reveal the jet landed at Sacramento Mather Airport on Tuesday evening, which is about a 20-minute drive to Folsom, California, where the self-identified Democratic socialists hosted their second rally of the day. The jet Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez were seen boarding made stops in Salt Lake City and Boise prior to landing in Bakersfield, according to flight records. The arrival dates match the duo’s “Fighting Oligarchy” events in Salt Lake City and Nampa, which is about a 25-minute drive from Boise Airport. BERNIE SANDERS, AOC AND OTHER ANTI-TRUMP PROGRESSIVES HAUL IN BIG BUCKS FOR 2026 MIDTERMS “Champagne socialists Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez demand Americans surrender their pick-up trucks, air conditioning and meat from the luxe leather seats of their private jets that cost more per hour than most Americans earn in months. Their hypocrisy is staggering,” National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) spokesperson Ben Petersen said in a statement to Fox News Digital. BERNIE SANDERS COMPARES TRUMP, MUSK AND OTHER ‘OLIGARCHS’ TO ‘HEROIN ADDICTS,’ SAYS DRUG OF CHOICE IS ‘GREED’ The Bombardier Challenger private jet is operated by Ventura Air Services, which touts “one of the widest cabins of any business jet available today” and provides “superior cabin comfort for its passengers.” According to their website, the private jet can cost up to $15,000 an hour. Sanders has long been ridiculed for relying on luxury private planes while crisscrossing the country, warning Americans about climate change and the threats of billionaires seizing political power. Despite his Democratic socialist platform advocating for universal healthcare, the Green New Deal and ending wealth inequality, Sanders flying private has become infamous. Sanders’ campaign committee, Friends of Bernie Sanders, spent over $221,000 chartering private jets during the first quarter of 2025, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings reviewed by Fox News Digital. The filing, which was released on Tuesday, shows that Sanders dropped the massive haul between three private jet companies: Ventura Jets, Cirrus Aviation Services and N-Jet. The six-figure spending on private jets this year follows Sanders spending over $1.9 million on private jets during his failed presidential campaign in 2020. A Fox News Digital review found that Sanders dished out almost $2 million to Apollo Jets and the Advanced Aviation Team, a Virginia-based private jet company. Private jets have faced the ire of Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez’s fellow climate activists. According to 2021 Transport and Environment report, private jets are up to 14 times more polluting than commercial planes. “For real, how many private jets do these CEOs need? It is insatiable. It is unacceptable,” Ocasio-Cortez said in 2023, in one example of the New York congresswoman herself railing against private jets. Both Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez championed the Democrats’ failed Green New Deal, the aggressive climate change policy targeting carbon emissions and fossil fuel production. Ocasio-Cortez proposed the controversial legislation in 2019, and Sanders designed his own Green New Deal plan during his 2020 presidential primary campaign. Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez have welcomed massive crowds to their “Fighting Oligarchy” stops across the country. On Saturday, the two political leaders hosted what they said was their largest rally ever, with 36,000 people in Los Angeles. Sanders started the “Fighting Oligarchy” tour in response to President Donald Trump’s second term to “take on the Oligarchs and corporate interests who have so much power and influence in this country.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez for comment.
MEA’s big statement on extradition of 26/11 accused Tahawwur Rana: ‘Pakistan may try very hard…’
Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Thursday said that the extradition of 26/11 Mumbai attacks accused Tahawwur Rana to India sends a strong signal to Pakistan.
Trump admin seeks emergency relief of Boasberg contempt threat
The Trump administration on Wednesday asked a federal appeals court to review a lower court order that threatened to hold officials in contempt over March 15 deportation flights – the latest flashpoint in a wave of immigration disputes playing out in federal courts nationwide. The emergency request came hours after U.S. District Judge James Boasberg said he found probable cause that administration officials had violated court directives to return those flights. In his ruling, Boasberg threatened criminal contempt charges and directed the administration to submit additional declarations by April 23 explaining why such proceedings should not move forward. Boasberg said that if officials fail to submit the declarations, the court will consider holding further hearings and potentially refer the matter for prosecution. WHO IS JAMES BOASBERG, THE US JUDGE AT THE CENTER OF TRUMP’S DEPORTATION EFFORTS? The Trump administration filed its appeal with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday night. The Trump administration’s brief appeal to the D.C. Circuit Court does not include any new details, as the facts of the case have already been heard by the district and appellate court. The appellate court last month ruled 2-1 to uphold Boasberg’s temporary restraining order. The Supreme Court, however, ruled 5-4 last month that the Trump administration could resume its deportation flights under the Alien Enemies Act, so long as individuals subject to removal under the law were given due process protections, and the opportunity to pursue habeas relief – or the ability to have their case heard by a U.S. court prior to their removal. Boasberg said Wednesday that the court found that the Trump administration had demonstrated a “willful disregard” for his March 15 emergency order, which temporarily halted all deportation flights to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act, a 1798 statute providing for such deportations during “a declared war between the United States and any foreign nation or government, or any invasion or predatory incursion” by a foreign nation. “The Court ultimately determines that the Government’s actions on that day demonstrate a willful disregard for its Order, sufficient for the Court to conclude that probable cause exists to find the Government in criminal contempt,” Boasberg said Wednesday. Boasberg said he will give government officials the opportunity to propose “other methods” of coming into compliance, which he will evaluate. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT TELLS FEDERAL JUDGE IT MIGHT INVOKE STATE SECRETS ACT ON HIGH-PROFILE DEPORTATION CASE Boasberg had scolded the Trump administration, including Justice Department lawyer Drew Ensign, for failing to comply with repeated requests for information from the court about the individuals deported on the flights – and who in the administration knew about the restraining order handed down, and when. The lack of information provided had sparked frustration from Boasberg, who described their compliance last month in a blistering order as “woefully insufficient.” The Trump administration, for its part, had argued in an earlier emergency appeal that Boasberg’s actions amounted to a “massive, unauthorized imposition on the Executive’s authority to remove dangerous aliens,” whom they alleged “pose threats to the American people.” “If you really believed everything you did that day was legal and would survive a court challenge, you would not have operated the way that you did,” Boasberg told Ensign earlier this month.
LGBTQ Christians invoke ‘righteous rage’ at Capitol during Holy Week
A community of LGBTQ+ Christians began Holy Week with a proclamation of “righteous rage and holy hope” at the U.S. Capitol in Washington Monday. Fox News Digital asked attendees at the Collective of Queer Christian Leaders event how “woman” should be defined in 2025. While some spoke about gender fluidity, spirituality and inclusivity, activists called for politicians to focus less on pronouns and more on delivering for Americans. “While the right is interested in litigating biology, I’m interested in litigating humanity,” the Rev. Don Abram, the founder of Pride in the Pews, told Nicholas Ballasy of Fox News Digital. Abram pivoted from the question to saying God is in everyone, and all people are “deserving of rights, protections, resources and safety,” regardless of identity. The pastor and member of Pride in the Pews, which is a Black LGBTQ+ advocacy group, said conservatives focusing on gender ideology is a distraction from the issues Americans care most about, like whether Medicaid will be cut or how tariffs will affect the economy. BONDI ANNOUNCES LAWSUIT AGAINST MAINE FOR REFUSING TO BAN TRANS ATHLETES FROM GIRLS’ SPORTS “I think the conversation on gender and who identifies, how they identify, it’s just a scapegoat for them to not focus on the real issues and the real problems that are affecting all of us,” Abram said. WHITE HOUSE PLANS ‘EXTRAORDINARY’ HOLY WEEK AS TRUMP HONORS EASTER WITH ‘THE OBSERVANCE IT DESERVES’ Guthrie Graves, an ordained Baptist deacon, said Americans might disagree on the fluidity of sex and gender, but “what we can all agree on is nobody should fear for their safety, or fear losing their job or face violence on the street.” He said a foundation of human rights should predicate debates about “human sexuality and gender.” Other attendees, who answered the question more literally, said definitions of sexuality and gender are not so rigid. “From a faith perspective, we are all children of God, and if someone identifies as transgender and claims that as their identity, then who is anyone else to argue with that?” Jan Lawrence, executive director of Reconciling Ministries Network, an LGBTQ+ justice organization within the United Methodist Church, told Fox News Digital. Rep. Sarah McBride, D-Del., became the first openly transgender person elected to Congress in November. Debates over which bathroom McBride was permitted to use dominated her first few weeks on the job after Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., advocated for a ban on transgender women using the women’s restrooms at the U.S. Capitol. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson later announced the U.S. House would institute a bathroom ban, stating all single-sex bathrooms were reserved for individuals of that biological sex. Johnson noted that every member of Congress has an office with a private restroom, and unisex restrooms are available throughout the Capitol. “I’m not here to fight about bathrooms. I’m here to fight for Delawareans and to bring down costs facing families,” McBride said in a statement in November. President Donald Trump, on his first day back in the Oval Office, issued an executive order establishing only two sexes, male and female. Trump’s Attorney General Pam Bondi announced a lawsuit against Maine Wednesday for allowing transgender women to continue playing women’s sports. Democratic Maine Gov. Janet Mills has refused to comply with Trump’s executive order restricting biological men from playing in girls and women’s sports. Nearly two months ago, Trump and Mills sparred during a bipartisan meeting of governors at the White House during which Trump promised Mills he’d “see you in court.” Last year, President Joe Biden proclaimed March 31, which fell on Easter Sunday, Transgender Day of Visibility to show “transgender and nonbinary Americans that we see them, they belong and they should be treated with dignity and respect.” This year, Trump’s new White House Faith Office has announced a robust Holy Week schedule to celebrate Easter.
CAIR panelist accuses Trump admin of using AI and antisemitism against free speech
The Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) held a “Know Your Rights with ICE on Campus” webinar Wednesday night, during which an attorney on the panel accused the Trump administration of using antisemitism as a “ruse” to crack down on freedom of speech. Immigration attorney Hassan Ahmad also advised students listening in on the CAIR panel to wipe their phone memory when traveling internationally to avoid allowing immigration officials to search their data. This comes amid a multi-agency plan by the Trump administration to “root out” antisemitism across U.S. college campuses following several years of widespread protests in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks and the subsequent Israel-Hamas war. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has arrested a slew of foreign-born students who have been involved with pro-Palestinian and pro-Hamas demonstrations, and who the administration has accused of being terrorist sympathizers and threats to national security. ‘SAFER WITHOUT HIM’: COLUMBIA STUDENT CLAIMS CLASSMATE ARRESTED BY ICE ‘HATES AMERICA’ Most notably, the administration arrested Mahmoud Khalil, who played a major role in the protests against Israel at Columbia University, and met with university officials on behalf of Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a group of student groups urging the university to divest from Israel. On Monday, DHS agents arrested another Columbia student, Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian-born green card holder in Colchester, Vermont. Mahdawi co-founded the Palestinian Student Union at Columbia with Khalil. CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE During the Wednesday webinar, Ahmad suggested the Trump administration’s crackdown is motivated by racism and said that “it is clear the administration is using antisemitism as a ruse to clamp down on free speech and that’s why they’re targeting a lot of the Palestinian activists or pro-Palestinians.” “I won’t even call them activists,” he went on, “people who acknowledge the humanity of the Palestinian people, that’s all it takes.” TRUMP TALKS BORDER SECURITY, TARIFF POLICIES AND MORE ON FOX NOTICIAS The attorney went on to decry U.S. law, bizarrely suggesting that the Trump administration could be using AI to pick its targets for deportation. “Honestly, part of me thinks that the rumors are true and that the State Department is using AI to identify people,” he said. “The way these laws are written right now, especially the foreign policy ground … it’s very broadly worded, it allows [Secretary of State] Marco Rubio to ChatGPT a reason to why somebody is bad for the foreign policy of the United States and there’s very little, if any, judicial review questioning as to what his reasoning was.” Ahmad also cautioned noncitizen students to take steps to hide their phone data from the government. “Don’t travel, don’t cross international lines with your phone with all the data on it,” he said. “Make sure there’s nothing on it. If it has to be your phone, you need to take steps to delete all of the apps and re-download them from the cloud after you safely cross the border.”
Love avocados? Biden admin caving to Mexican cartels could have devastating impact on wildly popular fruit
California avocado growers are sounding the alarm over a potential infiltration of crop pests from across the border after the Biden administration caved to Mexican cartel threats and ended a Clinton-era food inspection process that now threatens U.S. farmers. “We understand the importance of free trade,” Ken Melban, the vice president of industry affairs and operations at the California Avocado Commission, told Fox Digital in a Tuesday Zoom interview. “Eight-five to 90% of the total U.S. demand for avocados is supplied by Mexico. However, that free trade should not increase risk on our California growers.” “Our growers are working hard to maintain a business, to drive their economic engine, to provide for their families, to support the economies around them,” he said. “And they shouldn’t have to face a pest, no fault of their own, just because our government in the past was afraid to stand up to the cartel.” Melban was reacting to a Biden administration decision in September 2024 to end a U.S. Department of Agriculture program called the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) specifically in the context of inspecting farms in Mexico to ensure that avocados exported to the U.S. did not also include pests that could disrupt U.S. agriculture. The policy change came after criminals in Mexico reportedly assaulted and threatened the inspectors in recent years. EATING ONE TYPE OF FRUIT REGULARLY COULD REDUCE DIABETES RISK IN WOMEN, STUDY SUGGESTS: ‘INCREDIBLY HEALTHY’ Instead, Mexico was charged with ensuring avocados sent across the border were free of harmful pests, such as seed and stem weevils and seed moths. Weevils are small insects that typically have long snouts, and are notorious for damaging or destroying crops. The avocado industry is a multibillion business in Mexico, but it is often rocked by crime and exploitation of farmers, as cartels work to control the supply chain to help finance their operations and often exploit farmers through rackets that level fees on avocado growers in exchange for protection from violence, various studies and reports on crime affecting the Mexican lime and avocado industry show. Mexico’s Agriculture Department confirmed the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service program ended in a statement in September 2024, claiming “with this agreement, the U.S. health safety agency is recognizing the commitment of Mexican growers, who in more than 27 years have not had any sanitary problems in exports,” the Associated Press reported at the time. US HALTS INSPECTIONS OF POPULAR FRUITS FROM MEXICO OVER SECURITY CONCERNS: USDA Former President Bill Clinton established the inspection program to better bolster U.S. farming communities, with the California Avocado Commission and Department of Agriculture reaching an agreement with Mexico in 1997 to allow for Mexican avocados to be exported to the U.S. under the condition that the fruit be inspected. All expenses related to the program’s inspections of orchards and packing houses were footed by Mexico, not U.S. taxpayers, according to the commission. The Biden administration also paused the program in 2022 after an inspector in Mexico’s western state of Michoacan received a threat “against him and his family,” the USDA said at the time. Two other USDA employees were also reportedly assaulted and temporarily held by suspects in the same Mexican state in June 2024, leading to another pause before Mexico ultimately was charged with conducting inspections in September 2024. “We know that without the U.S. government present, the likelihood for corruption exists,” Melban said of the lack of USDA inspector currently in Mexico. “You can’t just show up one day and pretend that your grove has been certified and that you’re taking all the measures necessary to keep pests out and free. We also know that there has been fruit brought in from other non-certified groves in the past, and that’s part of the problem. That’s where we need the USDA to have boots on the ground and make sure that the inspections and the integrity of the inspections are maintained.” “This entire inspection program is funded by Mexico,” he added. “It’s part of their privilege to come into our U.S. market.” SCHUMER MOCKED FOR CORONA AND GUAC CLIP WARNING TRUMP TARIFFS WILL HURT SUPER BOWL PARTIES: ‘NOT GOOD AT THIS’ Michoacan has long been a hotbed for cartel activity, with the State Department in September issuing a “Do Not Travel” advisory for the Mexican state due to its high threats of kidnapping and crime, according to the travel advisory. Michoacan and Jalisco are the only two Mexican states authorized to export avocados to the U.S. Some residents and farmers of the Michoacan state have also formed various self-defense groups in the past decade to help protect against cartel violence. “We’ve all heard the stories and see the reporting that the cartel is very prevalent in Michoacan, which is a big growing area and the first state that was ever allowed access to the U.S. And so it only stands to reason that they’re going to be involved at some level. And in many instances, they are actually exploiting our pure growers in Mexico too. We’re just looking for the safety of the entire program, so the integrity can be maintained to protect our growers’ interests here in the U.S.,” Melban explained. The USDA told Fox Digital on Wednesday that the APHIS program continues to inspect fruit entering the U.S. at the border and is comitted to “mitigating plant health risk in a way that does not compromise the safety and security of our employees or the phytosanitary security of the United States.” “USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) understands the vital importance of the avocado industry to the State of California and recognizes the concerns raised by residents. APHIS staff continue to fulfill their inspection responsibilities regarding fruit entering the United States from Mexico. Nearly 30 years of experience administering this program has proved the effectiveness of the avocado program’s system of overlapping safeguards to prevent the entry of invasive pests,” a spokesperson said. “Staffing levels and budget levels for the inspection
Texas measles cases are underreported, response hurt by funding cuts, CDC scientist says
Measles cases in Texas are underreported and the response by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is impacted by recent funding cuts, a scientist said. “We do believe that there’s quite a large amount of cases that are not reported and underreported,” Dr. David Sugerman, CDC Senior Scientist, said during an Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices meeting on Tuesday. “In working very closely with our colleagues in Texas, in talking with families, they may mention prior cases that have recovered and never received testing. Other families that may have cases and never sought treatment,” he said. Sugerman took media questions following his presentation on the U.S. measles outbreak. Since measles was declared eliminated by the World Health Organization in 2000, there have been 11 large outbreaks in the U.S. with more than 50 cases, Sugerman said. TEXAS MEASLES OUTBREAK SWELLS TO 561 CASES, CDC SENDS MORE HELP “Seven of these outbreaks occurred in the last five years and nine were among close-knit communities with low vaccine coverage,” he said. “There are funding limitations in light of COVID-19 funding dissipating,” Sugerman said, referring to $12 billion from the Department of Health and Human Services hit by DOGE cuts last month, The Austin American-Statesman reported. VITAMIN A AS MEASLES TREATMENT? RFK JR.’S COMMENTS SPARK DISCUSSION OF BENEFITS AND RISKS “They are mobilizing the resources they have and moving staff from other domains into measles, moving them from other regions into region one in particular,” Sugerman said. Measles cases have continued to surge in Texas since the outbreak first began in late January. State health officials reported 561 confirmed cases across 23 counties on Tuesday, an increase of 20 from April 11. Gaines County, the center of the outbreak in west Texas, now accounts for nearly 65% of the state’s total cases. Fox News Digital’s Bonny Chu and Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.
Vietnam: 50 Years of Forgetting
The granddaughter of a Vietnamese hero explores the enduring legacy of the Vietnam War on her family and country. The 50-minute documentary 50 Years of Forgetting explores the enduring impact of the Vietnam War on the lives of contemporary Vietnamese. Prompted by a letter from an American veteran, filmmaker Mai Huyen Chi embarks on a personal and national investigation. Chi’s quest begins by unravelling the story of her war hero grandfather who fought for the winning North, a figure shrouded in family silence. As that soon meets its dissatisfying end, she embarks on a journey across Vietnam and meets people whose lives were shaped by some of the most traumatic events of the war: the Battle of Hue in 1968, the Christmas bombing in 1972 and the fall of Saigon in 1975. Their experiences, filled with both resilience and loss, force Chi to confront her own family’s buried truths. She discovers the story of her aunt married to a pilot on the losing Southern side who fled, highlighting the war’s fracturing impact on Vietnamese families across generations. The exploration becomes deeply personal. Chi confronts a harsh reality: Her own cousin suffers from the debilitating effects of Agent Orange, a cruel consequence of the war that continues to inflict pain on countless Vietnamese. By weaving these diverse narratives together, 50 Years of Forgetting transcends the Vietnam War to explore universal themes of conflict and its enduring legacies. Will past lessons be forgotten? Can Vietnam build a collective memory that honours the sacrifices of millions of people when those who endured years of brutality during the Vietnam War are trying so hard to forget? Advertisement Adblock test (Why?)
Video: Easter overshadowed by war for Christians in Palestine
[unable to retrieve full-text content] Palestinian Christians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza find little joy beset by war and conflict.
Israel kills children in attacks on tents including Gaza’s “safe zone”
NewsFeed Israeli air attacks on tents in Gaza have killed at least 35 Palestinians in the past 24 hours. A strike on a camp sheltering forcibly displaced Palestinians in the al-Mawasi ‘safe zone’ burned several people alive. Published On 17 Apr 202517 Apr 2025 Adblock test (Why?)