Istanbul elects Aslan interim mayor amid ongoing protests over Imamoglu
The city council has chosen a temporary mayor to take over from Ekrem Imamoglu, who was jailed last week. Istanbul’s municipal government has elected Nuri Aslan as interim mayor to replace Ekrem Imamoglu, who has been imprisoned on corruption charges. Local broadcaster NTV and Turkish news outlet Anadolu reported on Wednesday that Aslan, from Imamoglu’s Republican People’s Party (CHP), was chosen to run the city for the remainder of Imamoglu’s term, as he awaits trial. In the first round of voting, Aslan won 173 votes, while President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AK Party) candidate, Zeynel Abidin Okul, won 123. In the second round of the election, Aslan received 177 votes, while Okul received 125. As both candidates were unable to win the two-thirds majority required to win the vote, a third round of voting began. In that vote, where candidates would need a simple majority to win, Aslan received 177 votes, Okul received 125 votes, securing Aslan’s election. Speaking at the Istanbul Municipality building in Sarachane, CHP chairman Ozgur Ozel said the interim mayoral election had blocked Erdogan’s push to appoint a trustee at the municipality. Advertisement “The struggle will expand to all of Turkiye from now on, but one leg will always be in Istanbul and one hand will always be on Sarachane,” Ozel said, adding that resistance from the public had thwarted what the opposition calls a “coup attempt” against it. Aslan, speaking alongside Ozel, reiterated his new position was temporary. “Our mayor, elected with the votes of Istanbul, will come back as soon as possible. We, along with our chairman, will take care of what he entrusted us with and give it back to him,” he said. This comes as demonstrations have been held daily across the country after Imamoglu was detained a week ago. His supporters say they will continue protesting despite authorities cracking down on gatherings and arresting hundreds of people, including journalists. By Tuesday afternoon, police had detained 1,418 people, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said. Among them were 11 Turkish journalists covering the protests, seven of whom were remanded in custody. ‘Street terror’ Erdogan said on Wednesday that his government would not get worked up over what he described as “provocations” by the main opposition. Erdogan has remained defiant a week into the protests, denouncing the rallies as “street terror”. “Those who spread terror in the streets and want to set fire to this country have nowhere to go. The path they have taken is a dead end,” he has said. Government officials have rejected accusations that the legal action against the opposition figure is politically motivated and insisted that Turkiye’s courts operate independently. Advertisement Protests erupted on March 19 after Imamoglu’s arrest in a graft and “terrorism” probe which his supporters have denounced as a “coup”. The “terrorism” charge has been dismissed by the court for the time being. Vast crowds have participated in street demonstrations since then, defying protest bans in Istanbul, the capital Ankara and Izmir with the unrest spreading across the country. In a possible shift in tactics, the main opposition Republican People’s (CHP) party said it was not calling for another nightly protest on Wednesday outside the Istanbul mayor’s office. Most nights, some of the protests have turned into running battles with riot police, whose tough crackdown has alarmed rights groups. Adblock test (Why?)
Meet woman, photographer turned bouncer, who now handles security of high-profile celebs like….she is…
An increasing number of women have taken interest in becoming bouncers, being confident in their physical strength and building mental resilience. One of the famous contemporary bouncers is Anu Kunjumon, who handles the security of South superstar Mohanlal.
Kunal Kamra criticises T-Series after visibility of ‘Naya Bharat’ video blocked on YouTube
Kamra shared a screenshot from YouTube on X, which showed ‘Naya Bharat’, his new video, has been blocked due to copyright restrictions.
Rep Jasmine Crockett refuses to apologize for ‘Gov Hot Wheels’ comment
Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, refused to apologize for referring to Gov. Greg Abbott, who uses a wheelchair, as “Governor Hot Wheels” on Wednesday. Crockett refused to apologize multiple times in an interview with Fox News before growing frustrated and ending the conversation. The lawmaker put out a statement regarding her comment earlier this week, but it did not include an apology. “I do have a statement. Why would I apologize when I put out a statement? My statement was clear,” Crockett said when confronted on the matter. “But you didn’t apologize for calling him ‘Governor Hot Wheels’ when he gets around in a wheelchair, you don’t understand how that’s offensive to people?” Fox Business reporter Hillary Vaughn pressed. PAM BONDI ON JASMINE CROCKETT’S COMMENTS: WORDS HAVE CONSEQUENCES | FOX NEWS VIDEO “I don’t understand how many times you need me to repeat this to you,” Crockett responded. “Right. But why won’t you apologize?” Vaughn said. “I put out a statement,” Crockett repeated. JASMINE CROCKETT DESCRIBES DEMOCRATIC DONOR TALK ON SCHUMER ‘REMINISCENT’ OF BIDEN BEING TAKEN DOWN “That didn’t have an apology in it,” Vaughn countered. “You don’t feel bad about making fun of someone who is in a wheelchair?” “Okay, well. I’m done here,” Crockett said as she began to walk away. “I’m done. I’m done with this.” Speaking at a benefit for the Human Rights Campaign in Los Angeles, Crockett mocked Abbott, whose legs were paralyzed in a running accident in 1984. “We in these hot a– Texas streets, honey. Y’all know we got Governor Hot Wheels down there, come on now! And the only thing hot about him is that he is a hot a– mess, honey!” she said, laughing. Crockett issued a statement on social media regarding her comments, arguing that she had not been referring to Abbott’s paralysis. “I wasn’t thinking about the governor’s condition—I was thinking about the planes, trains, and automobiles he used to transfer migrants into communities led by Black mayors, deliberately stoking tension and fear among the most vulnerable. Literally, the next line I said was that he was a ‘Hot A** Mess,’ referencing his terrible policies. At no point did I mention or allude to his condition,” she wrote.
‘Veto Corleone’: Youngkin kills left-wing dreams with record-setting bill nixing spree
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin is drawing comparisons to “The Godfather” after vetoing nearly 160 bills from the Democrat-controlled legislature Wednesday. “You could call him ‘Veto Corleone’,” a Republican strategist told Fox News Digital in comments later Wednesday, after 159 bills were killed upon reaching his desk. Virginia’s General Assembly passed bills this session that would have prevented prayer in front of abortion clinics, required the commonwealth to implement a comprehensive “environmental justice” strategy and adjusted criminal bond policies. All of those bills were vetoed by Youngkin, and the legislature’s Democratic majority is far from veto-proof – with two-seat margins in each chamber. YOUNGKIN WALKS POLITICAL TIGHTROPE WITH SUPPORT FOR DOGE, MEGA-JOB FAIR Other vetoed bills included two pertaining to gun control legislation, restricting the purchase or transfer of firearms and the like. Ten of the bills were considered “soft on crime” legislation by critics, and about a dozen would have raised costs on Virginians, according to Republicans. The governor also nixed a proposal to raise the state minimum wage to $13.50 per hour, and later to $15. In a statement, Youngkin highlighted legislation supported by some in the Trump administration – such as a bill to keep school lunches free of artificial dyes, which he signed and which mirrors an initiative from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. YOUNGKIN INVITES NEW TRUMP ADMIN TO SETTLE IN VA OVER MD, DC; TOUTING OLD DOMINION’S BIGGEST DRAWS “I have completed my actions on the more than 900 bills sent to me during the 2025 legislative session,” Youngkin said. “The legislation that I’ve signed into law and the budget amendments I’ve put forward this year will go a long way to helping ensure Virginia remains a great place to live, work, and raise a family. “I have returned many bills with recommended amendments, hoping that we can come together next week with a common purpose to advance these bills,” he added. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Of his veto choices, Youngkin said those bills collectively would “take the commonwealth backward by raising the cost of living, hurting our strong job growth, stifling innovation, undermining our All-American All-of-the-Above Power and Energy Plan or making our communities less safe.” On X, formerly Twitter, observers contrasted Youngkin’s veto prowess with his predecessors. The incumbent is one veto away from hitting 400, while Sen. Mark Warner, a Democrat, only vetoed 18 bills in his four years as governor. Fellow Republican Bob McDonnell vetoed a similar amount to Warner, while the nearest governor of the 21st century in veto usage was Democrat Terry McAuliffe, with more than 110 vetoes.
Top agency staffer trying to block crucial Trump directive once managed DEI team
EXCLUSIVE: Republicans on Capitol Hill are fuming that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) general counsel who shut down President Donald Trump‘s request to supersede California’s aggressive gas emissions laws once managed diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives for the agency. Republicans have dismissed the decision penned by GAO General Counsel Edda Emmanuelli Perez, because she once served as the agency’s “Managing Director of Opportunity and Inclusiveness (O&I).” According to the GAO’s official website, the O&I office includes advising senior staff on equal employment opportunities and promoting a “work environment that is fair, unbiased and inclusive.” “A far-left radical whose main job is pushing DEI nonsense is trying to undermine American prosperity. What a surprise. These bad actors should be removed from government swiftly,” Sen. Jim Banks, R-Indiana., told Fox News Digital in a statement. While some Republicans discredit Emmanuelli Perez’s decision as “DEI nonsense,” other Republicans denied the “democratic legitimacy” of banning California’s gas vehicles without a vote. Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., told Fox News Digital the House will move forward with a Congressional Review Act resolution regardless of the GAO decision. EPA GRANTS CALIFORNIA PERMISSION TO BAN NEW GAS CAR SALES BY 2035 “The GAO’s conclusion that California can ban 95 percent of the state’s cars, without a vote of the Legislature and with no recourse from Congress, defies basic notions of democratic legitimacy and common sense. We will be moving forward with our Congressional Review Act resolution to reverse this insane ban and restore choice for California consumers,” Kiley said in a statement. TRUCKING EXEC ‘HOPEFUL’ AS TRUMP EPA TARGETS BLUE-STATE EMISSIONS REGS: ‘LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL’ Emmanuelli Perez shut down any insinuation from Republicans that she ruled independently on the case, telling Fox News Digital in a statement that the GAO’s decisions are “institutional, not individually authored, products.” “In response to a Congressional request, we summarized relevant, established case law related to the Congressional Review Act and waivers under the Clean Air Act. We stand behind our work, as all GAO products go through our extensive quality assurance process,” Emmanuelli Perez said. The GAO released its decision earlier this month in response to a request from Congress on whether EPA waivers that grant California permission to enforce its 2035 gas car ban are subject to the Congressional Review Act (CRA). The GAO determined that California’s EPA waiver is not subject to the CRA, so Congress cannot use the CRA to overturn California’s aggressive zero-emission goals. Kiley, however, has committed to moving forward with the CRA despite the GAO’s ruling. Trump and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced last month the creation of a National Energy Dominance Council, in which the EPA will send President Joe Biden-era EPA rules to Congress for review. Those Biden-era EPA waivers included “allowing California to preempt federal car and truck standards promulgated by EPA and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.” The Trump administration announced the EPA waiver transmitted to Congress included “California’s Advanced Clean Cars II, Advanced Clean Trucks, and Omnibus NOx rules,” arguing the waivers on trucks increased the cost of vehicles, goods, and therefore, the cost of living for Americans. “The Biden Administration failed to send rules on California’s waivers to Congress, preventing Members of Congress from deciding on extremely consequential actions that have massive impacts and costs across the entire United States. The Trump EPA is transparently correcting this wrong and rightly following the rule of law,” Zeldin said alongside the president in the Oval Office. Following Zeldin and Trump’s announcement, Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., Alex Padilla, D-Calif., and Adam Schiff, D-Calif., requested a legal decision from the GAO on whether the EPA’s decision to grant California waivers under the Clean Air Act could be overturned using the CRA. The Democratic senators championed the GAO’s ruling and slammed the Trump administration for trying to eliminate the “California emission standards [that] have protected generations of Americans against fossil fuel emissions.” “By ignoring decades of precedent and the plain text of the Congressional Review Act, the Trump EPA is attempting to sell out our nation’s public health and environmental protections to the same polluting industries that bankrolled much of Trump’s campaign,” the senators said following the GAO’s decision. However, Trump campaigned on eliminating such regulations, and on his first day back in the White House, the president signed an executive order “unleashing American energy.” The executive order eliminated the “electric vehicle (EV) mandate” to promote consumer choice. While the litigation is tied up in the congressional branch, with the stroke of a pen on day one, Trump moved to terminate “state emissions waivers that function to limit sales of gasoline-powered automobiles.” Trump also campaigned on a day-one commitment to eliminating DEI in the federal government. On his Inauguration Day, Trump signed an executive order “ending radical and wasteful government DEI programs and referencing,” which rolled back Biden-era DEI policies and initiatives in the federal government.
CIA director blasts Democrat’s ‘offensive line of questioning’ about Hegseth’s ‘drinking habits’
CIA Director John Ratcliffe blasted a California Democrat Wednesday for asking him “whether Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth had been drinking before he leaked classified information” in a Signal chat group, calling his words an “offensive line of questioning.” Rep. Jimmy Gomez sparked the testy exchange during a House Intelligence Committee hearing on worldwide threats, where Ratcliffe appeared alongside Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and other top Trump administration officials. “The main person who was involved in this thread that a lot of people want to talk to is, Secretary of Defense Hegseth. And a lot of questions were brought up regarding his drinking habits in his confirmation hearing. To your knowledge, do you know whether Pete Hegseth had been drinking before he leaked classified information?” Gomez asked Gabbard, to which she responded, “I don’t have any knowledge of Secretary Hegseth’s personal habits.” When Gomez then asked Ratcliffe the same question, telling him it was either a “yes or no” answer, Ratcliffe fired back, saying “You know, no. I’m going to answer that. I think that’s an offensive line of questioning.” ATLANTIC REPORTER PUBLISHES MORE TEXTS ABOUT ATTACK ON HOUTHI TARGETS “The answer is no. I find it interesting…” Ratcliffe continued before Gomez began shouting “Hey, I yield back, this is my time, director! Director!” “You asked me a question, do you want an answer?” Ratcliffe said. “You don’t want to focus on the good work that the CIA is doing, that the intelligence community…” “Director, I reclaim my time. Director, I reclaim my time,” Gomez then said. “I have huge respect for the CIA, huge respect for men and women in uniform. But this was a question that’s on the top of the minds of every American, right?” “He stood in front of a podium in Europe holding a drink,” Gomez then claimed. “Was his performance compromised because of a successful strike?… you think he should accept responsibility for a successful strike to make Americans safer?” Ratcliffe started saying as Gomez again interrupted him in an attempt to get the situation under control. RATCLIFFE SAYS NEW SIGNAL TEXTS SHOW HE ‘DID NOT TRANSMIT CLASSIFIED INFORMATION’ Rep. Ben Cline, R-Va., followed Gomez’s questioning and allowed Ratcliffe to speak without interruption. “I appreciate that, Congressman. I guess, you know, just a general reflection here again, that, for the last two days, members of the intelligence community have been asking questions about a Signal messaging group and not asking questions — from Democrats either in the Senate or the House — on China, Russia, Iran and the real threats, that are going on the United States,” the CIA director said. “No one’s asked me about my second day on the job here, where I lit the fuse that led to a foreign government participating with us to capture one of the senior planners of the Abbey gate bombing that killed 13 Americans,” he added, “But instead, we’re getting questions about whether or not someone has drinking habits.”
How the discovery of a mass grave sparked uproar over the missing in Mexico
Since the March 5 revelation, Mexican media have published a wave of testimonies from those who claim to have survived or escaped Rancho Izaguirre. Many of those who came forward chose to remain anonymous. They identified as impoverished youths from Guadalajara and explained they were lured to the ranch by false promises of work in online advertisements — or simply kidnapped. One young man said the ranch was described as “hitman school”. Those who complained, questioned the cartel leader’s orders or failed to pass the brutal tests were executed. Indira Navarro, the head of the Warrior Searchers of Jalisco, said in a radio interview that one survivor dubbed it “a little school of terror”. A protester lights a candle next to shoes representing Mexico’s missing on March 15 [Jared Olson/Al Jazeera] Other documents have emerged suggesting that local authorities may have known about the site but failed to act. On March 12, the advocacy group Mexicans Against Corruption and Impunity published a report showing that National Guard members discovered burned bodies in the same area in August 2019. It also found that a local police commissioner sent the National Guard a message in March 2020, disclosing an act of attempted bribery. According to the internal document, an anonymous female caller said that National Guard personnel “would be given a sum of money” in exchange “for reducing the intensity of the operations” in the area. Jalisco has the highest official rate of forced disappearances in Mexico. Since the government began collecting statistics on disappearances in the 1950s, more than 15,000 people have been reported missing in the state alone. In the wake of the recent uproar, the state attorney general, Salvador Gonzalez de los Santos, said heavy machinery had been deployed to the Teuchitlán site but that the area was too big to search in its entirety. That has led the federal government to point the finger at local authorities for not investigating thoroughly enough. “They failed to track down the evidence or identify anything found abandoned at that location,” Mexico Attorney General Alejandro Gertz Manero said at a March 19 news conference. “A full examination of the site was not conducted, nor were fingerprints taken.” A protester in Mexico City holds up a sign denouncing ‘mass graves, extermination centres and slavery’ [Jared Olson/Al Jazeera] A day later, on March 20, federal and state authorities organised a tour of the site for journalists, officials and members of the search brigades. More than 12 buses arrived, some carrying social media influencers. But the visit was widely criticised, not least for letting the public access an ongoing crime scene. Family members of the disappeared also questioned why the influencers were reportedly allowed to access the ranch before they were. Some of the influencers later published accounts online denying the existence of crematoriums on the site. President Sheinbaum, meanwhile, has assigned federal prosecutors — led by Gertz Manero — to take up the case. “The first thing we need to do is investigate, because the images are painful, and the first thing we need to know is what happened there, before anything else,” she said. Some critics, however, fear the federal authorities cannot be trusted to helm the investigation. The National Guard, after all, was created in 2019 under former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Sheinbaum’s mentor. Still, on Monday, federal authorities announced progress in their investigation. They confirmed that they had detained a recruiter for the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación in a low-income neighbourhood in Mexico City, where he allegedly sought out youths to be brought to the “extermination site”. Two former police officers from a village near Teuchitlán were also arrested in relation to the ranch. But academics and investigative journalists have suggested that the ranch in Teuchitlán is part of a vast archipelago of training centres in the hills to the west of Guadalajara. Nor is the problem limited to one state: On March 12, a separate search brigade said it had discovered another “extermination site”, this time in Reynosa, Tamaulipas. Police stand guard around the National Palace in Mexico City, as protests unfold on March 15 [Jared Olson/Al Jazeera] At the recent protest at the Zócalo, tensions started to boil over as evening fell. Some demonstrators broke through barricades and brawled with the police holding riot shields in front of the National Palace. “Mercenaries! Killers!” they shouted towards the palace, the official residence of Mexico’s president. Sebastián Arenas, a journalism student from the National Autonomous University of México, explained that many of his fellow protesters saw Teuchitlán as indicative of a federal security strategy that has allowed mass murder. “In the press, it’s said that things have changed in Mexico, that there aren’t disappearances, or that they’re going down, that the judicial reform is going to bring justice,” he told Al Jazeera. “But here are the results: a clandestine grave, an extermination camp that looks like Auschwitz.” Adblock test (Why?)
House Dems rally around Hamas sympathizer facing potential deportation: ‘Free Mahmoud Khalil’
House Democratic lawmakers reacted to the detention of anti-Israel activist and Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil amid outrage that he could potentially be deported. “Free Mahmoud Khalil!” Rep. Deila Ramirez, D-Ill., said at a news conference on Capitol Hill on Tuesday alongside Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., who has also been a vocal critic of the Trump administration’s decision to detain him. “The idea that this government believes that they can target people because they dare to dissent, and they don’t agree with what the president is doing for this specific. While we may not all we may not agree with everything he may or may have not said as a student at Columbia, I think you should be asking yourself, perhaps you don’t agree with me. I don’t agree with you. Or should you be criminalized for daring to speak up for what you believe is injustice?” Ramierz said following the news conference. FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS DETENTION OF COLUMBIA ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTER YUNSEU CHUNG Other lawmakers told Fox News Digital that there is a need for due process regardless of Khalil’s stances. “We’ve done some letters and stuff,” Rep. Ami Bera said. “I think we’ve gotta give everyone due process rights, you know, especially folks that are legally here as the Columbia students. Obviously let’s uphold the law,” he added. Others, such as Rep. Lois Frankel, D-Fla., has expressed disagreements with Kahlil’s views but still believes that his detainment is cause for concern. “I don’t like his position. I don’t like what he has said. I don’t like the disruptive students trying to go to school, but I will say this: This is a country. We’re supposed to be a democracy. Freedom of speech is in our constitution,” she said. COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY STUDENT PROTESTER SUES TRUMP ADMIN TO PREVENT DEPORTATION “And before anybody is arrested, you should have good probable cause. Absolutely before anybody is held and deported, there absolutely has to be full legal rights and due process,” she continued. Khalil, a 30-year-old green card holder married to a U.S. citizen, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials on March 8. In a court brief dated Sunday, the U.S. government outlined its arguments for keeping Khalil in custody while his removal proceedings continue. The department says Khalil fraudulently applied to change his immigration status without fully disclosing his “membership in certain organization,” which could be grounds for deportation. The Justice Department said Sunday that the fact he allegedly lied on his application provided an “independent basis” to deport him, overriding free speech rights. “Regardless of his allegations concerning political speech, Khalil withheld membership in certain organizations and failed to disclose continuing employment by the Syria Office in the British Embassy in Beirut when he submitted his adjustment of status application,” they said. “It is black-letter law that misrepresentations in this context are not protected speech.” President Donald Trump himself has backed the decision as a result of his administration’s crackdown, thanking Immigration and Customs Enforcement for taking Khalil into custody in a Truth Social post on March 10. COLUMBIA FACULTY HOLD ‘EMERGENCY VIGIL’ TO PROTEST UNIVERSITY RESPONSE TO TRUMP “Following my previously signed Executive Orders, ICE proudly apprehended and detained Mahmoud Khalil, a Radical Foreign Pro-Hamas Student on the campus of Columbia University. This is the first arrest of many to come. We know there are more students at Columbia and other Universities across the Country who have engaged in pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity, and the Trump Administration will not tolerate it,” Trump posted. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Many are not students, they are paid agitators. We will find, apprehend, and deport these terrorist sympathizers from our country — never to return again. If you support terrorism, including the slaughtering of innocent men, women, and children, your presence is contrary to our national and foreign policy interests, and you are not welcome here. We expect every one of America’s Colleges and Universities to comply. Thank you!” the president added. The Trump White House took away $400 million in federal funding for Columbia University as a result of its encampment-style protests that made waves last year, as the university is taking strides to earn the money back. Another alleged Columbia protester, Ranjani Srinivasan, self-deported back to India after having her student visa nixed, and Leqaa Kordia was arrested for allegedly overstaying their student visa. Fox News’ Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.
Democrats invoke children’s shows in bizarre defense of PBS, NPR: ‘Fire Elon, Save Elmo’
Democrats had some bizarre defenses for NPR and PBS in Wednesday’s House DOGE Subcommittee, with some representatives invoking characters from Sesame Street and The Muppets to attack Republican efforts to cut funding to public broadcasting. Both PBS and NPR have been heavily criticized for political bias and for advancing leftist ideologies like gender ideology, such as a PBS movie called “Real Boy,” which, according to PBS, follows a transgender-identifying teen as he “navigates adolescence, sobriety, and physical and emotional ramifications of his changing gender identity.” The hearing – titled “Anti-American Airwaves: Holding the heads of NPR and PBS Accountable” – was called by the DOGE Subcommittee Chair Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., to question public media leaders on why the “demonstrably biased news coverage they produce for an increasingly narrow and elitist audience should continue to be funded by the broad taxpaying public.” This comes after President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would be “honored” to defund NPR, saying, “It’s been very biased. The whole group, I mean, a whole group of them.” EXCLUSIVE: HOUSE GOP FIREBRAND DRIVES DOGE COMMITTEE INVESTIGATION OF GOVERNMENT MEDIA AGENCY CORRUPTION Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, an adjunct member of the “Squad,” attempted to take shots at Trump and DOGE chief Elon Musk, asking, “Has Miss Piggy ever been caught trying to funnel billions of dollars in government contracts to herself and to her companies?” Sitting in front of a giant poster reading, “Fire Elon, Save Elmo,” Casar went on, “How about Arthur the Aardvark? Has he ever fired independent government watchdogs who are investigating his companies? The answer is no.” “I’m told we’re here to talk about government efficiency, but Daniel Tiger has not blown $10 million of taxpayer money to play golf with his friends. But Donald Trump has, just at the beginning of his administration. Miss Piggy hasn’t been caught funneling billions of dollars in government contracts to herself. But Elon Musk has, and Arthur has not fired independent government watchdogs investigating him and his companies. But Elon Musk has fired at least five,” Casar suggested that Republicans are using PBS and NPR as a “scapegoat” to “try to distract from the fact that Trump and Musk are robbing working people.” Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., also had a peculiar defense for NPR and PBS, asking PBS President Paula Kerger, “Is Elmo now or has he ever been a member of the Communist Party of the United States?” DEMOCRAT JASMINE CROCKETT LAUGHINGLY MOCKS DISABLED REPUBLICAN: ‘GOVERNOR HOT WHEELS’ Garcia went on to say that Elmo “has a very dangerous message about sharing and helping each other. He’s indoctrinating our kids, that sharing is caring. Now, maybe he’s part of a major socialist plot and maybe that’s why the chairwoman is having this hearing today.” He also indicated that Republicans are considering defunding PBS for using characters such as Big Bird to push for COVID-19 vaccines. “This is actually a tweet that Big Bird actually sent out about the COVID-19 vaccine, encouraging folks to actually get their vaccination, which of course we believe in vaccines,” he said. “Perhaps the reason why we’re having this hearing is because our chairwoman, Miss Green, has actually said some really negative things about getting vaccinations and that’s perhaps why we are here. And so, we support Big Bird being pro-vaccine and promoting vaccines across this country.” PAM BONDI THREATENS PROSECUTION AMID DOGE’S FINDINGS ABOUT FRAUD: ‘WE’RE COMING AFTER YOU’ He also brought up the characters Bert and Ernie, asking if they are “part of an extreme homosexual agenda,” as well as Cookie Monster, saying, “Now we know that Health Secretary RFK Jr. is coming out against fast food and baked goods. Are we silencing pro-cookie voters?” Garcia called the taxpayer funding for NPR and PBS a “tiny federal investment,” and said, “We need public media like PBS and NPR more than ever.” “The message I think today is very, very simple. If we’re going to get rid of any puppeteers, we should get rid of the one that’s actually controlling Donald Trump,” he said. “Fire Elon Musk and save Elmo.”