James Talarico enlists Barack Obama to help win over black voters after contentious Texas primary
Former President Barack Obama appeared in Texas to help shore up support among Black voters for Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico on Tuesday. Talarico has struggled to shore up support among the Black community after a heated primary against Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas. Crockett won Black voters by a huge majority, but nevertheless lost the primary thanks to Talarico’s support among white and Latino Democrats. Winning in Texas remains a long shot for Democrats, but Obama appeared at a campaign event for Talarico on Tuesday, ordering tacos from the candidate’s favorite local restaurant in Austin, Taco Joint. Also present was Gina Hinojosa, a state-level politician challenging Gov. Greg Abbott. “Do you know our outstanding next governor and senator?” Obama asked one table of patrons, according to The New York Times. RISING STAR TALARICO TOPPLES PROGRESSIVE FIREBRAND CROCKETT IN HIGH-STAKES TEXAS SENATE DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY Talarico’s struggle with Black voters came to a head in the March primary against Crockett, when he was accused of calling Rep. Collin Allred, R-Texas, “mediocre.” “James Talarico told me that he signed up to run against a mediocre Black man, not a formidable and intelligent black woman,” Morgan Thompson, a political commentator and one-time supporter of Talarico’s said in a video at the time. Allred then amplified the incident with a video on X, saying he had steam “coming out my ears.” CROCKETT DISPUTES OPPONENT’S DENIAL OF ‘MEDIOCRE BLACK MAN’ COMMENT, CALLS OUT ‘WELL-INTENTIONED WHITE FOLK’ “I understand that James Talarico had the temerity and the audacity to say to a Black woman that he had signed up to run against a mediocre Black man, meaning me, not a formidable, intelligent, Black woman, meaning Jasmine Crockett,” Allred said, adding that Talarico shouldn’t compliment Black women while “tearing down Black men.” “We’ve seen that play before. We’re sick and tired of it,” he said. Talarico told the Times that Thompson’s recollection of his comment was a “mischaracterization.” “In my praise of Congresswoman Crockett, I described Congressman Allred’s method of campaigning as mediocre,” he told the outlet in a statement. “I would never attack him on the basis of race.”
Singham-backed, pro-China group drops huge sum on Manhattan HQ as feds probe shadowy network
NEW YORK — The People’s Forum Inc., a pro-China nonprofit that has been funded by Shanghai-based Marxist mogul Neville Roy Singham, bought a rundown building in Manhattan for $5.15 million and is now urging supporters to raise another $5 million to renovate the building — and to turn it into a “permanent home” for its far-left organizing efforts in the U.S. The fundraising drive comes as lawmakers and federal officials investigate Singham’s network over what they have described as a foreign-aligned influence operation promoting Chinese Communist Party narratives in the U.S. Scrutiny of China’s influence has intensified in recent days, including the resignation of a California mayor who agreed to plead guilty to acting as an illegal agent of the People’s Republic of China. The People’s Forum, a central organization within the Singham network, says it serves as a hub for more than 200 organizations and has helped coordinate left-wing protests across the U.S. since its founding in 2017. The group told supporters on X Friday that it is urgently seeking to raise $2 million from individual donors by a December 2026 deadline, its first major fundraising target since it launched a broader $5 million campaign in September. The group hasn’t publicly disclosed the address of the new building, but property records obtained by Fox News Digital show it purchased a three-story building at 137 W. 14th Street in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood for $5.15 million in December 2024. Sources familiar with the transaction told Fox News Digital that the W. 14th Street building is the new nonprofit’s new headquarters. The details of the transaction and the records documenting the sale are being reported here for the first time. The records don’t detail how the purchase was financed. FAR-LEFT NONPROFITS IN THE HOT SEAT AS LAWMAKER EXPOSES THEM FOR ‘SOWING CHAOS’ IN US The fundraising and expansion drive comes as Congress is investigating what lawmakers have described as a “foreign-aligned influence network” tied to Singham. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., said the nonprofit’s funding structures raise “significant concerns” about “foreign influence or control.” According to a Fox News Digital investigation, Singham has funneled $285 million into the broad network of nonprofits since 2017, and Justice, State and Treasury Department officials are investigating financial activity tied to the network, including $22.5 million in funding directed to the People’s Forum. Since 2017, the Singham network has led volatile protests across the country, with organizations including the Party for Socialism and Liberation, the ANSWER Coalition, CodePink and BreakThrough News working with the People’s Forum to organize demonstrations and coordinate messaging, Fox News Digital has reported. The People’s Forum, which brags about publishing “over 25 revolutionary texts” and organizing “over 6,000 events,” said on its website that it initially relied on support from a “generous donor” to establish its operations in 2017, but that new cash injections are desperately needed. “Our initial donation is running out,” the organization wrote in a September appeal, adding that it now faces a “critical new stage.” The organization said the new building “right now is just a shell” and would require millions in renovations to become operational. The narrow, mixed-use property appeared vacant when Fox News Digital visited the location on Tuesday. PHOTOS: Swipe to see more exterior images The storefront, previously occupied by a curtains and shades business, was painted black, with its signage removed, and the front windows covered by a dark tarp. The entrance doors appeared to be covered with brown paper, and a metal fire escape runs along the exterior, tan-colored facade. Property records describe the building as a roughly 2,580-square-foot lot with a footprint of approximately 25 feet wide by 96 feet deep. “We need your help to make this urgent project come to reality,” the group wrote on Friday amid a renewed fundraising drive, sharing images of the building’s interior in disrepair, including exposed wires and other structural damage. The purchase and fundraising push reflect the group’s effort to expand its organizing infrastructure, raising questions about the scale and reach of its operations. PHOTOS: Swipe to see more interior images CHINA’S AMERICAN MAO: INSIDE SINGHAM’S BLUEPRINT TO ‘WAGE WAR’ FOR A ‘NEW WORLD ORDER’ The group previously said the decision to purchase the new building was driven in part by the need to replace its current leased space and create what it described as a permanent base that “cannot be threatened by landlords or political attacks.” The building previously sold for about $4.3 million in 2022, meaning the People’s Forum paid $850,000 more just over two years later. City records also show the building has active violations, including issues tied to elevators and the boiler system, with about $20,000 in civil penalties currently outstanding, suggesting the building requires substantial repairs. “The condition of disrepair in this building will take millions of dollars to renovate,” the group said in the Friday post. It has so far raised around $570,000 for the renovations, according to its website. PHOTOS: Swipe to see more interior images FAR-LEFT NONPROFITS IN THE HOT SEAT AS LAWMAKER EXPOSES THEM FOR ‘SOWING CHAOS’ IN US The People’s Forum operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, allowing it to receive tax-deductible donations under U.S. law. While the property is owned by the People’s Forum, city filings show David Chung, the group’s organizing director, signed a property ownership certification tied to the building in October 2025. Chung, who was born in South Korea and grew up in New York City, has also been identified in prior Fox News Digital reporting as directing protest activity in New York City. In one protest, he referred to supporters as “comrades.” He has also appeared at protests where he referred to the “brutality of this imperialist system” in the U.S. and led chants of “Free Palestine,” according to a video posted by the organization. In a caption accompanying the video, the group described the conflict in Gaza as a “genocide.” The group said it has “trained over 40,000 people” through political education programs, positioning
Platner called PTSD excuse ‘bulls—‘ in 2020 post, now cites his own struggle to explain online controversies
Democrat Graham Platner has leaned into his struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to explain a bevy of incendiary social media posts prior to his Senate run in which he justified political violence and insulted law enforcement. But the progressive darling suggested PTSD and the trauma from multiple combat deployments are not an excuse for offensive behavior in a since-deleted post obtained by Fox News Digital. Platner, 41, made the comment on the Reddit forum r/SocialistRA in 2020, five years before emerging as a potent challenger to Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, in November’s midterm elections. Using a handle that did not identify him, Platner criticized a report in the Portland Press Herald about two former police officers who admitted to killing porcupines with their batons while on duty. One officer, a Marine veteran who was deployed to Afghanistan, attributed his actions to PTSD from his overseas deployment. DELETED POSTS URGING VIOLENCE HAUNT DEMOCRATIC SENATE HOPEFUL IN MAINE RACE “Don’t buy into that bulls—. I did 4 tours in the infantry to Iraq and Afghanistan, saw all kinds of awful things, have a PTSD diagnosis and STILL manage not to beat defenseless animals to death for fun,” Platner, a Marine and Army veteran and oyster farmer, wrote in a social media post. “That’s just cops giving excuses for their garbage behavior,” he added. Platner’s activity on the subreddit r/SocialistRA and other Reddit forums was first reported by CNN. All the Reddit posts were deleted months prior to the left-wing populist launching his Senate run. Throughout the campaign, Platner has sought to tie his past offensive remarks to PTSD he developed after multiple overseas deployments, which he has called the darkest chapter of his life. He has argued the statements are not representative of who he is today, but reflect someone who was “having a very difficult time settling into a society that he felt betrayed by and left behind by after having a fight in Iraq and Afghanistan.” “This was a time in my life where I was struggling deeply,” Platner said in a video posted to social media in late 2025. “I got out of the Army in 2012, I had PTSD, I had depression, I had all of the things that come with serving in a war, two wars that I eventually began to not believe in at all.” “It left me feeling very unmoored. It left me feeling very disillusioned, very alienated and very isolated,” he added. “And I think, like a lot of people, I went on the internet to post stupid things and get in fights and find some form of community in some way, some outlet for my feelings.” GRAHAM PLATNER BLAMES NAZI TATTOO ON MILITARY ‘CULTURE,’ DRAWS BACKLASH FROM GOP VETERANS In 2013, while discussing a video promoting female underwear designed to prevent rape, Platner wrote in a since-deleted message, first obtained by The Washington Post, “Rape is a real thing. If you’re so worried about it to buy Kevlar underwear you’d think you might not get blacked out f—ed up around people you aren’t comfortable with.” And in 2018, he appeared to justify political violence to achieve “economic justice,” in a since-deleted post reported by Politico. But many of Platner’s most controversial remarks came as recently as five years ago, when he suggested that PTSD was not a shield for “garbage behavior.” In 2020, Platner wrote that white people living in rural America are “actually” racist and stupid and that all law enforcement officers are “bastards,” in since-deleted Reddit posts reported by CNN. The following year, Platner said he “got older and became a Communist” in a since-deleted post. The Maine Democrat has also faced scrutiny over a chest tattoo of a Nazi-linked symbol that he had for most of his adult life after getting it in 2007 while out drinking with fellow Marines stationed in Croatia. ‘THE VIEW’ LADIES SLAM MAINE SENATE CANDIDATE OVER NAZI SYMBOL TATTOO, SAYING IT’S ‘NOT JUST A WHOOPSIE’ Platner has expressed remorse for some of the online posts and covered up the tattoo, saying he did not know what the symbol of the skull-and-crossbones meant. Some reports that Platner denied indicate that he knew about the tattoo’s association with Nazi Germany. Fox News Digital reached out to Platner’s campaign for comment. The blockbuster Senate contest in the blue-leaning state is pivotal to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s, D-N.Y., long-shot bid to retake control of the upper chamber. Platner told Fox News Digital in an interview Monday that he would not support Schumer remaining Democratic leader — part of a growing chorus of progressives who want new leadership in the upper chamber. The presumptive Democratic nominee has also argued that backlash from his past social media posts will fail to halt his campaign’s momentum. Gov. Janet Mills, D-Maine, 78, attempted to spotlight Platner’s comments about rape in campaign advertising, but the negative spot did not appear to damage his standing among Democratic primary voters. Mills, who was backed by Schumer, dropped out of the race in late April after significantly trailing Platner in public polling. “The Democratic establishment tried to use all those attacks against me and failed miserably,” Platner said as he referred to the Mills campaign’s negative spots before she exited the race. “Now the Republican establishment is going to try to use the exact same attacks, and that will also fail miserably.”
Texas Republicans see opening to raid Wall Street as NYC’s left-wing agenda rattles finance giants
EXCLUSIVE: Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson blasted New York City’s leadership for “punishing success” and joined Gov. Greg Abbott in pitching Texas as a place where Wall Street firms can hang their hats. His pitch for “Y’all Street” over Wall Street comes as a steady stream of financial firms have in recent years expanded operations in Texas. They were drawn there because of the lower taxes and fewer regulations, a trend Johnson says is accelerating even more under New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. The trend toward moving big business out of big blue cities has the potential to redraw the map of American finance, determining which jurisdictions capture high-paying jobs, investment, tax revenue and influence. The Republican mayor of Dallas told Fox News Digital that the latest clash between City Hall and Wall Street heavyweights only reinforces his concerns. CHICAGO KNOWS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN KEN GRIFFIN TURNS ON A CITY — NOW MAMDANI MAY FIND OUT “The recent back-and-forth between Mayor Mamdani and Ken Griffin exemplifies exactly what I have been saying publicly for some time: New York City, under its current leadership, does not believe in rewarding success,” Johnson said. “New York City believes in punishing success,” he told Fox News Digital, adding that Dallas, by contrast, embraces successful companies and the leaders who built them. The clash between Mamdani and Griffin has quickly become a flashpoint in the broader debate over New York’s economic direction, with the Citadel founder warning that tax hikes, anti-business rhetoric and crime risk are pushing firms out. The feud intensified after Mamdani posted a viral video outside Griffin’s condo promoting his plan to tax second homes in NYC worth more than $5 million. NYC GROCERS SOUND ALARM ON MAMDANI’S SUPERMARKET PLAN: “WE’LL LOSE CUSTOMERS The dispute highlights a growing rift between New York City’s progressive agenda and the financial sector that has long powered the entire state’s economy — a divide only sharpened by Mamdani’s push for higher taxes on corporations and top earners. Experts warn that this, along with expanded DEI initiatives, rent freezes and tighter regulations, risk driving businesses away from the center of the world’s financial markets. Texas has already emerged as a major destination for firms in recent years, with companies like Goldman Sachs expanding their footprint in Dallas and JPMorgan Chase growing its workforce across the state. Meanwhile, the Texas Stock Exchange is preparing to launch in Dallas to rival legacy markets. At the same time, the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq are expanding into the state — underscoring the Lone Star State’s rise as a financial powerhouse. The state’s broader economic strength has also been a draw for outsiders. Texas reported a record $24 billion budget surplus in 2025, reinforcing its reputation as a fiscally stable, business-friendly environment. Johnson argued Dallas is not just benefiting from the trend, it’s helping lead it. “Dallas’s pro-businesses approach is fueling this shift,” Johnson said, adding that “Y’all Street” is emerging as a major center for financial services. “Instead of demonizing those who have achieved the American dream, we embrace our local business leaders as partners in building a better city, a city of genuine opportunity for everyone.”
FBI Director Kash Patel fires back at drinking allegations
NewsFeed FBI Director Kash Patel and Senator Chris Van Hollen had a heated exchange during a Senate budget hearing after Van Hollen questioned Patel about drinking allegations first reported by The Atlantic magazine. Patel called the claims “unequivocally, categorically false.” Published On 13 May 202613 May 2026 Click here to share on social media share-nodes Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)
Argentines protest against Milei’s defunding of public universities
NewsFeed Large crowds marched across Argentina’s major cities to demand that President Javier Milei comply with a university funding law, and reverse sweeping budget cuts to the country’s tuition-free public university system. Published On 13 May 202613 May 2026 Click here to share on social media share-nodes Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)
Prateek Yadav, Mulayam Singh Yadav’s younger son, passes away at 38
Police sources said family members took him to the hospital at 6:15 am, where doctors pronounced him dead. His wife was not present then.
Marco Rubio spotted in Nike tracksuit aboard Air Force One during trip to China, igniting memes online
Secretary of State Marco Rubio ditched his usual suit for a Nike tracksuit aboard Air Force One, sparking widespread online reactions as images of the unexpected look spread across social media. Photos posted to X by White House communications director Steven Cheung showed Rubio wearing a gray Nike Tech fleece outfit — a notably casual departure from the formal attire typically worn by top U.S. officials during official travel. The moment comes as Rubio travels with President Donald Trump on a high-stakes trip to China, where officials are expected to focus on trade and national security issues, creating a contrast between high-level diplomacy and a social media-driven fashion moment. The outfit quickly drew comparisons to the internet’s so-called “Venezuela Nike Tech” meme, which gained traction earlier this year after images of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro wearing a similar tracksuit circulated online. DAN GAINOR: FROM SECRETARY OF STATE TO SECRETARY OF MEMES, RUBIO WINS OVER MAGA Social media users flooded X with jokes and commentary after the images surfaced. “Is Marco going to be the DJ for the flight?” one X user wrote alongside an edited image showing Rubio standing behind a DJ booth. Another viral meme labeled Rubio “Nicolás Maduro as Marco Rubio,” continuing the comparisons between the secretary of state’s outfit and the now-viral Maduro images. MARCO RUBIO SPOTTED BEHIND DJ BOOTH AT FAMILY WEDDING AS SOCIAL MEDIA REACTS TO VIRAL CLIP Another user wrote, “Okay — did I miss one of Marco Rubio’s new jobs? Sportswear model?” Others dubbed the outfit “the Maduro fit,” while some questioned the casual attire aboard Air Force One. Rubio has also become an unlikely recurring viral figure online in recent weeks. Earlier this month, videos shared by White House officials showed the secretary of state DJing at a family wedding, wearing headphones behind a mixing booth as guests danced around him. Nike Tech fleece tracksuits have surged in popularity online in recent months, fueled in part by the Maduro images that helped turn the minimalist athletic style into an unlikely political meme. While senior officials are typically seen in formal wear during Air Force One travel, Rubio’s off-duty look offered a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse — and quickly became another social media talking point.
Iran war live: Trump travels to China as conflict with Tehran looms large
blinking-dotLive updatesLive updates, Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed 2,883 people and injured 8,787 since March 2, Lebanon’s Health Ministry says. Published On 13 May 202613 May 2026 Click here to share on social media share-nodes Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)
Starmer at risk because he pushed Labour to be ‘new Conservative Party’
NewsFeed Author Oliver Eagleton says British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is fighting for his job because he tried to turn the Labour Party into the ‘new Conservative Party’ and ‘occupy that centre ground’. Dozens of lawmakers are calling for Starmer’s resignation after devastating local elections. Published On 13 May 202613 May 2026 Click here to share on social media share-nodes Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)