NY Gov Hochul now says she will lead ‘resistance’ against Trump, after saying the opposite weeks ago
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul now says she will be “leading the resistance” against President Donald Trump, just weeks after telling reporters the opposite. Hochul said she would “fight back hard” during an interview with NPR’s “Morning Edition” on Monday when asked about New York City’s congestion pricing toll that the Trump administration moved to block last month. “We offered up an olive branch, [we said] ‘We’ll work with you on infrastructure. Let’s redo Penn Station,’” Hochul said. “Those areas were common ground. But once you draw first blood on us, we’re coming back hard. And I will be leading the resistance on policies like these where you’re hurting New Yorkers directly. This is our decision, not yours.” Less than two weeks ago, however, the Democratic governor told reporters just the opposite. KATHY HOCHUL DOES APPARENT ABOUT-FACE ON NATURAL GAS AS NYC UTILITY SIGNALS MAJOR RATE HIKES “I’ve been asked countless [times] ‘are you leading the resistance?’ – No, I’m governing the great state of New York,” Hochul said when asked about her stance toward the Trump administration, according to the New York Post. The Trump administration last month ordered a stop to the controversial congestion toll program, which launched Jan. 5 with the goals of thinning traffic and funding mass transit by imposing a $9 toll on most vehicles entering Manhattan’s core south of Central Park. NEW YORK GOVERNOR LAMENTS FEDERAL WORKERS BEING ‘UNCEREMONIOUSLY’ FIRED BY TRUMP ADMIN, OFFERS THEM JOBS Later that month, Hochul met with Trump at the White House for a one-on-one meeting, in which the governor made a case for the program. But Hochul later said the meeting likely did not persuade Trump to change his mind about the program. On Monday, Hochul also said that it’s up to Democratic governors to be the “firewall” against the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress who threaten to slash federally funded social programs. Hochul said that Democratic governors must heed the call “to stand up against this destruction of policies that are helping people and have been in place for decades.”
Far-left Dems plan protests, disruption at Trump’s speech to Congress: report
Democratic lawmakers are planning widespread protests at President Donald Trump’s speech to Congress on Tuesday night, but party members are debating how far to go. Many far-left Democrats are advocating for major disruptions at the event, ranging from outright walkouts to using noisemakers to drown out Trump’s speech, Axios reported Tuesday. Some of the more moderate ideas floated reportedly include carrying egg cartons to highlight costs, carrying protest signs, and coordinating outfits. “The part that we all agree on is that this is not business as usual and we would like to find a way — productively — to express our outrage,” one lawmaker told Axios. Other Democrats discussed plans to storm out of the chamber if Trump crosses certain rhetorical lines, such as discussing gender-confused youths. THEME OF TRUMP’S ADDRESS TO CONGRESS REVEALED Democratic leaders reportedly encouraged members in closed-door meetings this week to keep their protests civil, however, with many arguing that major outbursts would only help Trump. “There are definitely a lot of constituents that really want Democrats to disrupt and there are constituents who feel like that just plays into his hands,” another lawmaker told the outlet. TRUMP SET TO CONTINUE UNPRECEDENTED LEVEL OF ACTIONS, ADDRESS CONGRESS IN 7TH WEEK BACK IN OFFICE More traditional protest plans include the Democratic Women’s Caucus encouraging members to wear pink, as well as women with the Congressional Black Caucus discussing plans to wear black. Other members have mulled wearing blue and yellow to show solidarity with Ukraine. Protests at State of the Union speeches and other major presidential events have grown more common and severe in recent years. While Trump’s Tuesday address is not technically a State of the Union address, it follows essentially the same format. The president is scheduled to speak before all members of Congress on Tuesday at 9 p.m. EST. TUNE IN: LIVE COVERAGE OF TRUMP’S ADDRESS TO CONGRESS TONIGHT ON FOX NEWS White House officials exclusively told Fox News Digital that the speech, themed “The Renewal of the American Dream,” will feature four main sections: accomplishments from Trump’s second term thus far at home and abroad; what the Trump administration has done for the economy; the president’s renewed push for Congress to pass additional funding for border security; and the president’s plans for peace around the globe. Trump’s joint address “will be must-see TV,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Digital. “President Trump has accomplished more in one month than any president in four years, and the renewal of the American Dream is well underway,” Leavitt said. “In his joint address to Congress, President Trump will celebrate his extraordinarily successful first month in office while outlining his bold, ambitious and commonsense vision for the future.” The president will review his administration’s “accomplishments from his extraordinarily successful first month in office, both here at home and abroad,” White House officials said. Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
Major Trump tariff move likely to benefit this heartland American city
Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., praised the likely decision by Honda to manufacture its popular Honda Civic model in Indiana instead of Mexico. The move by the major automaker was triggered by President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on Mexico, which are set to go into effect on Tuesday after a month-long pause after a temporary agreement with the country, Reuters reported. The outlet reported that production is likely to start in 2028 for over 200,000 vehicles, but the announcement has yet to be made public by the company. “President Trump has taken the ‘kick me’ sign off the backs of our workers and manufacturers. This report is great news for Hoosiers and all Americans—and it’s only just the beginning,” Banks said in an exclusive statement to Fox News Digital. HERE’S HOW TRUMP’S TARIFFS ON CHINA COULD IMPACT DRUG PRICING AND OTHER HEALTHCARE COSTS “The America First agenda is going to be racking up countless wins over the next four years,” the senator added. The report is presumably good news for the Greensburg, Indiana, plant of the Japanese company, which has over 3,000 employees and opened in 2008, according to its website. Greenburg itself has a population of just over 12,000 people, according to the United States Census Bureau data from 2023. WISH-TV reported that Honda only has one plant in Indiana right now. “It’s called the ‘TRUMP EFFECT,’” the White House’s rapid response account tweeted Monday. Trump’s tariff policies on Mexico, Canada and China have made waves in recent weeks as proponents argue it’s a critical step in boosting American manufacturing and stopping illicit fentanyl trafficking, whereas opponents worry it will unnecessarily raise the price of goods. The president also announced that reciprocal tariffs all over the globe will take place on April 2. TRUMP SAYS TARIFFS WILL GO INTO EFFECT MARCH 4 AFTER ‘UNACCEPTABLE’ FENTANYL LEVELS “To the Great Farmers of the United States: Get ready to start making a lot of agricultural product to be sold INSIDE of the United States. Tariffs will go on external product on April 2nd. Have fun!” Trump said on Truth Social on Monday. As for Banks, he recently praised the reciprocal tariffs, saying they will likely serve as a benefit to the United States. “The globalist approach to trade threw our workers under a bus driven by their foreign competitors,” Banks tweeted on Feb. 13. “President Trump’s America First trade plan corrects this injustice that our industries and workers have faced for decades. The reciprocal tariffs announced today will bring back fairness and prosperity and stop Americans from being taken advantage of.” TRUMP WHITE HOUSE RIPS AUTO STATE GOVERNOR WHO ATTACKED PRESIDENT’S TARIFF PLANS: ‘DEADLY STATUS QUO’ Honda is not the first automaker to reconsider its approach to tariff policies. Nissan’s CEO said last month that the company may move some production out of Mexico to accommodate the changes, although he did not say if it would be in the U.S. instead. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
BIG update on Noida’s Jewar airport: Proposal for connectivity to several states approved; know details here
One of the most prominent of the passed proposals is related to the connectivity of the airport. It was decided that 250 buses will run from the airport to 26 districts of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Uttarakhand, and several other states.
‘Don’t take my soft-heartedness into…’: Punjab CM Mann has THIS to say after walking out of meeting with farmer leaders
Earlier, protesting farmers claimed that Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann had got “angry” and “provoked” them during a meeting with him in Chandigarh. Farmer leader Balbir Singh Rajewal described him as unusually angry, noting that he had never witnessed such an outburst, even in high-level negotiations.
West Texans, Mennonites at center of measles outbreak choose medical freedom over vaccine mandates
In rural West Texas, measles has sickened nearly 150 people, most of them unvaccinated. A school-age child has died. The virus is spreading among Gaines County’s Mennonite community, where government mandates are not trusted.
Voucher bills want to prioritize low-income families and be open to all students. Those goals might be at odds.
Neither of the Legislature’s voucher bills require private schools to accept certain students, which some warn could block the neediest children from access.
House Dem Leader Hakeem Jeffries says he plans to attend Trump’s speech: ‘dignified Democratic presence’
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., has noted that he plans to attend President Donald Trump’s Tuesday night address before a joint session of Congress. “Given my responsibilities in the House, I plan to attend the speech, along with other members of the Democratic leadership, to make clear to the nation that there is a strong opposition party ready, willing and able to serve as a check and balance on the excesses of the administration,” Jeffries said in a message to colleagues. Trump’s speech will come less than two months into his second presidential term. SEVERAL DEMOCRATS TO BOYCOTT TRUMP’S ‘PEP RALLY’ SPEECH TO CONGRESS “The decision to attend the Joint Session is a personal one and we understand that members will come to different conclusions,” Jeffries noted. “However, it is important to have a strong, determined and dignified Democratic presence in the chamber. The House as an institution belongs to the American people, and as their representatives we will not be run off the block or bullied,” he continued. Some Democratic lawmakers have announced that they will skip the event. TRUMP TO DELIVER FIRST ADDRESS OF HIS SECOND TERM TO JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS “The State of the Union is that the President is spitting in the face of the law,” Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., asserted in a Monday post on X. “He is letting an unelected billionaire fire cancer researchers and wreck federal agencies like the Social Security Administration at will. I won’t be attending tomorrow’s Joint Address.” Then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi famously ripped up pages of Trump’s speech in 2020 after the president delivered his State of the Union address. THEME OF TRUMP’S ADDRESS TO CONGRESS REVEALED CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Our focus remains on driving down the high cost of living for everyday Americans and pushing back against the far-right extremism that Republicans have unleashed on the country,” Jeffries said. “Thank you all for your continued leadership on behalf of the people and in defense of the American way of life.”
Youngkin grants clemency to fired police sergeant convicted after fatally shooting unarmed man
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, granted clemency to a fired police sergeant just days after the officer was sentenced to prison in connection with shooting and killing an unarmed man accused of stealing sunglasses. Wesley Shifflett, 36, was sentenced Friday to three years in prison after he was found guilty of recklessly handling a firearm in the Feb. 22, 2023, killing of 37-year-old Timothy McCree Johnson. He was acquitted of involuntary manslaughter in Johnson’s death. Youngkin granted Shifflett clemency on Sunday, allowing the officer to be freed from prison, although his felony conviction will remain. “I am convinced that the court’s sentence of incarceration is unjust and violates the cornerstone of our justice system—that similarly situated individuals receive proportionate sentences,” Youngkin said in a statement. “I want to emphasize that a jury acquitted Sgt. Shifflett of the more serious charge of involuntary manslaughter, a conviction for which the sentencing guidelines recommend no jail time or up to six months’ incarceration.” GOV. GLENN YOUNGKIN OFFERS SUPPORT TO FEDERAL WORKERS FIRED BY DOGE: ‘WE CARE ABOUT YOU’ “In this case, the court rejected the Senior Probation and Parole Officer’s recommendation of no incarceration nor supervised probation and instead imposed a sentence of five years’ incarceration with two suspended and an additional five years of probation,” the governor continued. “Sgt. Shifflett has no prior criminal record, and was, by all accounts, an exemplary police officer. It is in the interest of justice that he be released immediately.” Youngkin also noted that his clemency does not limit Shifflett’s right to appeal his conviction for reckless discharge of a firearm. Johnson’s mother, Melissa Johnson, said Youngkin’s decision felt as if it validated Shifflett’s killing of her son. “Why now do we find it necessary to vacate or not consider the jury’s verdict, and to think that this honorable and fair judge did not sentence within the guidelines that he was afforded to?” she said at a news conference on Monday. “I don’t know where everyone’s coming from — if it’s because my son was Black, or because it was attempted shoplifting, or because he’s not here to defend himself.” Fairfax County Commonwealth Attorney Steve Descano, a Democrat whose office prosecuted the case, said at the news conference that the governor “stuck his face in where it didn’t belong.” “If you care about having a fair justice system of Virginia that’s untainted by outside influence, Glenn Youngkin just spit your face,” Descano said. Descano also argued that the governor was siding with a “White officer that was convicted of a crime that ended in a Black man being killed.” During the trial, prosecutors argued that Shifflett, who at the time was a sergeant with Fairfax County police, acted recklessly when he shot and killed Johnson after a short foot pursuit outside Tysons Corner Center. Police had received a report from security guards that Johnson had stolen sunglasses from a Nordstrom department store. Shifflett and another officer chased Johnson into a densely wooded area near the mall before Shifflett shot twice at Johnson, who was unarmed. The former sergeant testified that he shot Johnson in self-defense after he believed Johnson reached into his waistband once he fell. Body camera video played during the trial showed Shifflett yelling “Get on the ground” before firing two shots at Johnson two seconds later. After firing his weapon, Shifflett immediately shouted, “Stop reaching,” and purported to other officers that he observed Johnson putting his hand in his waistband. Shifflett testified that his “motor functions were operating more quickly than I could verbalize.” VIRGINIA GOVERNOR PROMISES ‘FULL COOPERATION’ WITH ICE TO DEPORT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS Johnson was heard in the footage saying, “I’m not reaching for nothing. I don’t have nothing.” Melissa Robey, executive director of the police advocacy group We Black Blue, said Monday that Shifflett’s mother called her three weeks ago about her son’s upcoming sentencing hearing to ask for help. Robey, who previously worked in Youngkin’s administration, said she contacted Shifflett’s attorneys, who ultimately lobbied the governor for clemency. “Somebody’s got to say ‘Enough is enough,’” Robey said. “These guys put that uniform on every single day — they’re there for your worst day. When is it time to stand up for them?” The Associated Press contributed to this report.
New polls reveal which White House term showed stronger polling numbers for Trump
President Donald Trump is expected to showcase the avalanche of activity during his first six weeks in the White House when he heads to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to deliver a primetime address to Congress and the nation. “Best Opening Month of any President in history,” Trump wrote in a social media post last week, as he touted his accomplishments – many of them controversial – since his Jan. 20 inauguration. Trump, on the eve of his first major speech to Congress during his second presidential administration, vowed that “TOMORROW NIGHT WILL BE BIG. I WILL TELL IT LIKE IT IS!” However, the latest polls indicate Americans are divided on the job he’s done so far in the White House. TUNE IN: LIVE COVERAGE OF TRUMP’S ADDRESS TO CONGRESS TUESDAY NIGHT ON FOX NEWS Trump stands at 45% approval and 49% disapproval in one of the latest polls, a Marist College for PBS News and NPR. Additionally, a CNN survey, also conducted last week, put the president’s approval rating at 48%, with 52% disapproving. Meanwhile, Trump’s approval ratings were slightly above water in other new polls, including one for CBS News that was also in the field in recent days and released over the weekend. HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLING With the president an extremely polarizing and larger-than-life politician, it is no surprise that the latest polls indicate a massive partisan divide over Trump’s performance. The surveys spotlight that the vast majority of Democrats give the president a big thumbs down, while Republicans overwhelmingly approve of the job he is doing in office. While Americans are split on Trump’s performance, the approval ratings for his second term are an improvement from his first tour of duty, when he started 2017 in negative territory and remained underwater throughout his four-year tenure in the White House. One reason – Trump nowadays enjoys rock solid Republican support. “He never had support among Democrats in the first administration, but he also had some trouble with Republicans,” Daron Shaw, a politics professor and chair at the University of Texas, noted. Shaw, who serves as a member of the Fox News Decision Team and the Republican partner on the Fox News Poll, emphasized “that’s one acute difference between 2017 and 2025. The party’s completely solidified behind him.” Trump has been moving at warp speed during his opening six weeks back in the White House with a flurry of executive orders and actions. His moves not only fulfilled some of his major campaign trail promises, but also allowed the returning president to flex his executive muscles, quickly put his stamp on the federal government, make major cuts to the federal workforce and also settle some long-standing grievances. FIRST ON FOX: WHAT TRUMP WILL SAY IN HIS PRIMETIME SPEECH Trump as of Monday had signed 81 executive orders since his Jan. 20 inauguration, according to a count from Fox News, which far surpasses the rate of any recent presidential predecessors during their first weeks in office. Expect Trump in his address to Congress and the nation to showcase the moves – many of them controversial – that he has taken so far. That includes a high-profile crackdown on immigration, threatening tariffs on major trading partners, including Canada and Mexico, and upending the nation’s international agenda and freezing foreign aid. TOP WILDEST MOMENTS FROM PRESIDENTIAL SPEECHES TO CONGRESS “It’s been a flooding-of-the-zone here every day, often multiple times a day,” Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion, told Fox News Digital. “We’re just seeing a lot of things happening with little time for the public to digest. The net effect of it all is there’s a sense, on the part of the public, that some things are moving just a little too fast.” While an improvement over his first term, Trump’s approval ratings are lower six weeks into his presidency than any of his recent predecessors in the White House. Shaw noted that neither Trump nor former President Joe Biden “started out with overwhelming approval. This is not like the honeymoon period that we historically expect presidents to enjoy….Historically the other side gives you a little bit of leeway when you first come in. That just doesn’t happen anymore.” Biden’s approval rating hovered in the low to mid 50s during the first six months of his single term as president, with his disapproval in the upper 30s to the low to mid 40s. However, Biden’s numbers sank into negative territory in the late summer and autumn of 2021, in the wake of his much-criticized handling of the turbulent U.S. exit from Afghanistan and amid soaring inflation and a surge of migrants crossing into the U.S. along the nation’s southern border with Mexico. Biden’s approval ratings stayed underwater throughout the rest of his presidency. “He just got crippled and never recovered,” Shaw said of Biden. An average of all the most recent national polls indicates that Trump’s approval ratings are just above water. However, Trump has seen his numbers edge down slightly since returning to the White House in late January, when an average of his polls indicated the president’s approval rating in the low 50s and his disapproval in the mid 40s. “The honeymoon is over, and he’s actually governing, and that typically does bring numbers down,” veteran political scientist Wayne Lesperance, the president of New Hampshire-based New England College, told Fox News Digital. “I expect the numbers to continue to slip as the changes in Washington really do begin to impact people’s everyday lives.” Shaw noted that Trump’s “rating on the economy is about minus four, which is 25 points better than Biden. He’s above water on immigration. His best issue right now is crime. He’s plus ten on crime.” However, Shaw emphasized that inflation, the issue that helped propel Trump back into the White House, remains critical to the president’s political fortunes. “If prices remain high, he’s going to have trouble,” Shaw warned.