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Year: 2025

Senate Dem candidate who wrote he ‘became a communist’ now says he was joking

Senate Dem candidate who wrote he ‘became a communist’ now says he was joking

Maine Democrat Graham Platner now says he was “joking” in years-old Reddit posts where he identified himself as a “communist.” Platner, who is seeking the Democratic nomination to unseat Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine., in 2026, published the now-deleted Reddit posts between 2020 and 2021. In one of the posts, he wrote, “I got older and became a communist,” but he now claims it was merely “internet s—posting.” “I believe in Medicare-for-all. I believe in expanding the rights of workers to organize. I believe in taxing the ultra-rich. I believe in a fairer economic system,” he told NBC News on Sunday. “I also know that because I believe in those things, people will refer to me as that no matter what… That’s the joke.” He went on to explain away other posts he made at the time in which he described rural White voters as “stupid and racist.” MAINE DEM SENATE HOPEFUL BACKED BY BERNIE SANDERS APOLOGIZES FOR NAZI-STYLE TATTOO, VOWS TO STAY IN RACE “I did get in a fight with somebody and say that some rural White voters were stupid and racist,” he told the outlet. “I myself am a rural White voter in eastern Maine. These are my neighbors and my friends. I actually rise to their defense often and continue to do so.” “I don’t want to be flippant about it, but I was getting in arguments on the Internet … at a part in my life when I was looking for interaction and engagement, at a time where I was feeling quite isolated and alone and very disillusioned at that point,” he added. “I do not hold those feelings.” The internet posts were only one avenue of criticism Platner has faced in recent weeks. He also faced a whirlwind of backlash after photos revealed that he had a tattoo depicting the Totenkopf used by Hitler’s SS paramilitary forces. BERNIE SANDERS DEFENDS MAINE SENATE CANDIDATE UNDER FIRE FOR REDDIT COMMENTS Platner weathered calls for him to withdraw for the race, and a number of his top campaign staffers bowed out under the pressure. Nevertheless, he now claims his campaign is strong as ever. “It is amusing for me to watch the campaign described in the media as collapsing or falling apart — when internally, we frankly have not felt this strong since the beginning,” Platner told NBC News. “It hasn’t sunk my campaign. In fact it seems, in many ways, it’s strengthened us.” “I want to talk about my evolution as a human being,” he said. “A lot of Americans also want to have hope that you can change and that you can evolve, and that we can have a society that gives grace and forgiveness to people. Because if we can’t, if we think that people are just ossified into who they are right now, and can never be something different, then what’s the point?” “We find ourselves now in a significantly stronger position, team-wise,” he said. “While we lost some people, we’ve kept almost everybody, and people that have stayed are galvanized and committed.”

5 key races to watch on Election Day 2025

5 key races to watch on Election Day 2025

With one day until Election Day, and the latest polls pointing to a potential photo finish in the battle for New Jersey governor, the two major party nominees are urging their supporters to get out and vote. “When we vote, we win,” Democratic nominee Rep. Mikie Sherrill told supporters. And her Republican rival, Jack Ciattarelli, told his supporters that “championship teams finish strong… let’s win this race.” New Jersey is just one of two states, along with Virginia, that hold statewide elections for governor this November. And the contests, which traditionally grab outsized national attention, are viewed as crucial early tests of President Donald Trump’s unprecedented and explosive second-term agenda, as well as key barometers ahead of next year’s midterm showdowns for the U.S. House and Senate. DEMOCRATIC PARTY CHAIR CONFIDENT MAJOR INVESTMENT IN 2025 ELECTIONS WILL PAY OFF Also in the political spotlight this November is New York City’s high-profile mayoral election, the ballot box proposition over congressional redistricting in California and three state Supreme Court contests in battleground Pennsylvania. Democrats, who are aiming to exit the political wilderness following last year’s election setbacks when they lost control of the White House and Senate and failed to win back the House majority, are highlighting their success so far this year in special elections. “There’s wind at our back,” Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Ken Martin recently touted. “We have overperformed in every single election that’s been on the ballot since Donald Trump was inaugurated.” TRUMP TAPS MASSIVE WAR CHEST TO MOTIVATE MAGA VOTERS TO HEAD TO THE POLLS But Republicans point to the multitude of problems facing the Democratic Party. “Sadly for the DNC, the truth is that Democrats’ approval rating is at a 30-year low as the party has hemorrhaged more than 2 million voters over the past four years,” Republican National Committee communications director Zach Parkinson told Fox News Digital recently. Here’s a closer look at 2025’s top elections. Ciattarelli, who’s making his third straight run for Garden State governor and who nearly upset Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy four years ago, has good reason to be optimistic he can pull off victory in blue-leaning New Jersey. In a state where registered Democrats still outnumber Republicans despite a GOP surge in registration this decade, a recent public opinion poll suggested Ciattarelli narrowing the gap with Sherrill in the race to succeed the term-limited Murphy. While Democrats have long dominated federal and state legislative elections in blue-leaning New Jersey, Republicans are very competitive in gubernatorial contests, winning five out of the past 10 elections. And Trump made major gains in New Jersey in last year’s presidential election, losing the state by only six percentage points, a major improvement over his 16-point deficit four years earlier. THE POLITICAL BOMB TRUMP EXPLODED IN THE NEW JERSEY SHOWDOWN FOR GOVERNOR Trump headlined a tele-rally with Ciattarelli a week ago, on the eve of early voting. Trump’s teaming up with Ciattarelli may help energize MAGA supporters, many of whom are low propensity voters who often skip casting ballots in non-presidential election years. The race in New Jersey was rocked a couple of weeks ago by a report that the National Personnel Records Center, which is a branch of the National Archives and Records Administration, mistakenly released Sherrill’s improperly redacted military personnel files, which included private information like her Social Security number, to a Ciattarelli ally.  But Sherrill’s military records indicated that the United States Naval Academy blocked her from taking part in her 1994 graduation amid a cheating scandal. Sherrill, who was never accused of cheating in the scandal, went on to serve nearly a decade in the Navy flying helicopters. The showdown was jolted again at last month’s final debate after Sherrill’s allegations that Ciattarelli was “complicit” with pharmaceutical companies in the opioid deaths of tens of thousands of New Jerseyans, as she pointed to the medical publishing company he owned that pushed content promoting the use of opioids as a low-risk treatment for chronic pain. ONE OF THE TOP 2025 RACES MAY END UP IN A PHOTO FINISH And Trump recently set off a political hand grenade in the race, as he “terminated” billions of federal dollars for the Gateway Project, which is funding a new train tunnel under the Hudson River connecting New Jersey and New York. Sherrill, holding a news conference at a major commuter rail station just a few miles from the site of the tunnels in one of the busiest train corridors in the nation, called the project “critical” as she took aim at Trump and Ciattarelli. Explosive revelations in Virginia’s attorney general race that the GOP is aiming to leverage up and down the ballot recently shook up the race for governor, forcing Democratic Party nominee, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, back on defense in a race where most polls indicated her enjoying a sizable lead over Republican rival Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears. Virginia attorney general Democratic nominee Jay Jones was in crisis mode after controversial texts were first reported a couple of weeks ago by the National Review. Jones acknowledged and apologized for texts he sent in 2022, when he compared then-Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert to mass murderers Adolf Hitler and Pol Pot, adding that if he was given two bullets, he would use both against the GOP lawmaker to shoot him in the head. But he faced a chorus of calls from Republicans to drop out of the race.  Earle-Sears hasn’t wasted an opportunity to link Spanberger to Jones. And during last month’s chaotic and only gubernatorial debate, where Earle-Sears repeatedly interrupted Spanberger, the GOP gubernatorial nominee called on her Democratic rival to tell Jones to end his attorney general bid. FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING ON THE VIRGINIA SHOWDOWN, HEAD HERE  “The comments that Jay Jones made are absolutely abhorrent,” Spanberger said at the debate. But she neither affirmed nor pulled back her support of Jones. Earle-Sears has kept up the pressure. “Abigail Spanberger should have been the first to call for

Telangana road accident: At least 16 dead, 8 injured in truck-RTC bus collision

Telangana road accident: At least 16 dead, 8 injured in truck-RTC bus collision

A tragic accident occurred near Chevella in Telangana when a tipper lorry carrying gravel collided head-on with a Telangana Road Transport Corporation (RTC) bus. The impact caused the gravel to fall on the bus, resulting in 16 deaths and 8 injuries, according to a PTI report. This comes hours after the Rajasthan tragedy killed 15.

California farmers push back on Prop 50 as Democrats eye new House map

California farmers push back on Prop 50 as Democrats eye new House map

California voters are in the final days of a special election that could help determine control of the U.S. House of Representatives in 2026. The ballot measure, known as Proposition 50, would allow state lawmakers to temporarily redraw California’s congressional map — a move Democrats say could help them pick up additional seats in Congress. Jenny Holtermann, a fourth-generation farmer in California’s Central Valley, said that under the proposed map, she would remain in a Republican District, but worries about the changes could affect her community.  “It really is, it’s sad that they are really carving out those Republican areas of the district and moving them to really make the areas more Democrat, and that’s not what the Central Valley is,” Holtermann told Fox. REPUBLICANS FIGHT NEWSOM’S $88M REDISTRICTING ‘POWER GRAB’ AS PROP 50 BATTLE HEATS UP OBAMA ENDORSES NEWSOM CALIFORNIA REDISTRICTING PROP 50 Beyond Central Valley farmers, the California Farm Bureau has also come out against Prop 50. Holtermann said she’s used to larger cities having more political influence in Sacramento but fears the measure would further silence rural voices. “We are California, and as Californians we should not be caught up with what other states are doing to [gerry]mander their votes,” Holtermann said. NORTHERN CALIFORNIA VOTERS WEIGH IN ON PROP 50 REDISTRICTING FIGHT Lonny Johnson, vice chair of the Fresno County Democratic Party, said he doesn’t welcome the fight either, but argued that redistricting efforts in Republican-led states left California Democrats with few options. “We can either fight this – which is what we’re doing – and the people of California seem very supportive if you look at recent polling, or we can do nothing. We can let them game the system, keep control of the House of Representatives, and there will be no check, no check, on the Trump Administration,” said Johnson. Johnson added that unlike other states, the question of redistricting is up to California voters. “This was not an option that was afforded the voters of Texas, or the voters of North Carolina, or the voters of Missouri. The state legislatures just put it in,” Johnson told Fox.

Trump says tariffs critical to national security as Supreme Court prepares landmark decision

Trump says tariffs critical to national security as Supreme Court prepares landmark decision

President Donald Trump defended his use of tariffs as critical to national security ahead of a landmark Supreme Court case, while warning the U.S. will not tolerate the mass killing of Christians in Nigeria and refusing to rule out potential military action in Venezuela. Trump spoke with reporters on Air Force One as he flew from West Palm Beach, Florida, to Washington, D.C. He was asked about the upcoming Supreme Court case on tariffs, which he called “one of the most important decisions in the history of our country.” Trump argued that the outcome will determine whether presidents can use tariffs freely as a tool for both economic leverage and national security. TRUMP’S TARIFF POWER GRAB BARRELS TOWARD SUPREME COURT “Other countries use tariffs against us, and we weren’t able to openly and freely use tariffs against them,” Trump said. “I’ll give you an example – China. That was going to be a disaster for the world, and I was able to settle it very quickly, very easily because I was able to use tariffs. It’s total national security, and economic health is also part of national security, by the way.” Trump said he will not attend oral arguments to avoid drawing attention to himself, explaining, “It’s not about me. It’s about our country.” Instead, he plans to deliver a speech in Miami. “I wanted to go so badly,” he said. “I just didn’t want to do anything to deflect from the importance of that decision. If we don’t have tariffs, we don’t have national security, and the rest of the world would laugh at us because they’ve used tariffs against us for years and took advantage of us.” TRUMP ASKS SUPREME COURT FOR URGENT RULING ON TARIFF POWERS AS ‘STAKES COULD NOT BE HIGHER’ He credited tariffs for driving the stock market to 48 record highs during his term and said they remain essential for “fair and sustainable” trade deals. “We’ve become wealthy,” he said. “Our stock market hit a record high on Friday – 48 record highs during my term – and a large part of that is because of tariffs and our good trade deals. Without that, you couldn’t make a good trade deal. We were being abused by a lot of other countries, including China, for years. Not anymore. Tariffs have brought us tremendous national security.” Trump warned in a post on Truth Social that the upcoming Supreme Court case on tariffs could reshape America’s economic and national security future, arguing that presidents must have the power to impose tariffs freely to protect U.S. interests and negotiate strong trade deals. SUPREME COURT PREPARES TO CONFRONT MONUMENTAL CASE OVER TRUMP EXECUTIVE POWER AND TARIFF AUTHORITY He said tariffs have fueled record market growth and “great wealth” during his presidency and remain vital to keeping the country competitive with global powers. “It will be, in my opinion, one of the most important and consequential decisions ever made by the United States Supreme Court,” Trump said. “If we win, we will be the richest, most secure country anywhere in the world, by far. If we lose, our country could be reduced to almost third world status.” On foreign policy, Trump dismissed questions about using frozen Russian assets as leverage, saying Europe and Russia “are having discussions” and that he was “not involved.” TRUMP’S DEADLINE ON SECONDARY TARIFFS ARRIVES; US-RUSSIAN RELATIONS HANG IN THE BALANCE He ruled out sending long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, saying “not really” when asked if he was considering it. “There’s no final straw,” he added. “Sometimes you have to let it fight it out – that fighting and then fighting it out. It’s been a tough war for a lot of soldiers.” Trump also said the U.S. will not tolerate the mass killing of Christians in Nigeria. TRUMP LEARNS A LESSON GROUNDED IN FAITH, HOW BEST TO STAND TOUGH ON TRADE WITH CHINA “They’re killing record numbers of Christians in Nigeria,” Trump said. “They’re killing the Christians and killing them in very large numbers. We’re not going to allow that to happen.” A day earlier, he warned the U.S. will halt aid if Abuja does not stop the killings and said he may order rapid action to wipe out Islamist terrorists after designating Nigeria a country of particular concern. The persecution of Christians in Nigeria has reached crisis levels as Islamist militants burn down villages, massacre worshipers and displace thousands across the north and central regions. When asked about potential U.S. strikes in Venezuela, Trump declined to confirm or deny, saying, “How can I answer a question like that?” “Who would say that?” Trump asked a reporter. “Supposing there were – would I say that to you? Honestly. Yes, we have plans. We have very secret plans. Look, we’ll see what happens with Venezuela. Venezuela sent us thousands and thousands, hundreds of thousands of people from prisons, from mental institutions, drug addicts – and so did other countries.” He blamed President Biden’s immigration policies for allowing criminals to cross into the U.S., calling him “the worst president in the history of our country.” Trump added, “It’s the other countries too, because we were run by very stupid people, very, very stupid people. Biden, who is the worst president in the history of our country by far… Many countries, they sent their prisoners – they sent drug dealers, they sent drug addicts. They sent anybody they didn’t want. They sent them through our country. And Venezuela was one of the worst abusers.”