Rep Randy Fine to bring 4-legged guest Sadie to Trump’s State of the Union amid backlash over X post
FIRST ON FOX: Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., is using President Donald Trump’s State of the Union to send a message to critics of an X post he made about choosing “between dogs and Muslims.” Fine’s guest to Trump’s primetime address will be his father, Alan Fine, along with his father’s seeing-eye service dog, Sadie. “I think it’s also important, given the issues that I burst into the public consciousness last week, to talk about the importance of our dogs as Americans,” Fine told Fox News Digital on Monday. “My father’s seeing-eye dog is part of our family and allows him to live his life, and I’m going to fight like hell against anyone who wants to take it away.” The dog will be outfitted with a shirt that reads, “Don’t tread on me,” which has become Fine’s rallying cry against the outpouring of rage from Democrats over his controversial X post. HOUSE GOP UNVEILS RESOLUTION TO CONDEMN BOULDER TERROR ATTACK, CALL FOR MASS DEPORTATION OF OVERSTAYED VISAS Last week, Fine shared a screenshot from X of Palestinian Muslim activist Nerdeen Kiswani writing, “Finally, NYC is coming to Islam. Dogs definitely have a place in society, just not as indoor pets. Like we’ve said all along, they are unclean.” Fine wrote on the platform in response, “If they force us to choose, the choice between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one.” It prompted an outpouring of criticism from House Democrats, with calls ranging from a censure to Fine’s outright ouster from Congress. REPUBLICAN WANTS JUDGES HELD ACCOUNTABLE IF THEY RELEASE REPEAT VIOLENT CRIMINALS WHO STRIKE AGAIN House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., posted on X, “House Democrats will not let the racist and bigoted behavior of Randy Fine go unchecked. Accountability is coming to all of these sick extremists when the gavels change hands in November, if not sooner.” The Florida Republican responded to the criticism by questioning the lack of widespread outrage when a member of the House Democratic Caucus, nonvoting Del. Stacey Plaskett, D-V.I., was found to have been texting Jeffrey Epstein during a congressional hearing, and when Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., was accused of misusing COVID-19 pandemic funds. “I think the same people that don’t have a problem with a member of Congress texting Jeffrey Epstein, the same members of Congress who don’t have a problem with a member who stole $5 million of money that was supposed to go to people suffering from natural disasters … somehow have a problem with a member of Congress who says Americans have a right to have a dog and if people don’t like it, they can leave,” Fine said. “So they can shove it.” Kiswani has since posted that her initial comment was meant to be a joke and called Fine’s X post “genocidal.” But he has dug in since then, even introducing a resolution to Congress called the “Protecting Puppies from Sharia Act.” His father, Alan Fine, said he was eager to see his son on the House floor as a member of Congress. “I’m actually more excited to be here to watch my son,” he said. “More to see him than the president, to be quite honest. I guess that’s because I’m a Jewish father.”
Georgia lawmaker calls for ICE surge after Savannah teacher allegedly killed by illegal immigrant
A Georgia congressman is calling for a surge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to his state after a teacher was allegedly killed by an illegal immigrant fleeing law enforcement. “It is truly a tragedy,” Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Ga., told Fox News Digital. “This is something that should have never happened.” A special education teacher at a K-8 school in Savannah, Ga., was killed when Oscar Vasquez Lopez ran a red light while trying to leave the scene of an ICE operation earlier this month, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said. FAMILY OF IOWA GRAD KILLED BY ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT TO ATTEND TRUMP’S STATE OF THE UNION DHS said Vasquez Lopez is “a criminal illegal alien from Guatemala who was issued a final order of removal by a federal judge in 2024.” Carter, who has previously called for more ICE agents in Georgia’s capital, said he believed having more federal agents throughout the Peach State could help prevent such tragedies in the future. “I’ve already called for more ICE agents to be in Atlanta, and now I’m calling for more ICE agents to be out throughout the state of Georgia,” Carter said. “Listen, this is serious. We need to get rid of the criminal illegal immigrants here in this country. We’ll deal with the others later.” Carter cited reports that claim there are roughly 500,000 illegal immigrants residing in Georgia. ICE REVEALS ‘WORST OF THE WORST’ ARRESTS IN JUST ONE DAY AFTER ROUNDING UP ‘THUGS’ CONVICTED OF VILE CRIMES “It would be naive of us to think that some of those aren’t criminal illegal immigrants,” he said. DHS said Vasquez Lopez was charged with vehicular homicide by the Chatham County Police Department after the fatal collision, in which he sustained “minor injuries.” The department said ICE agents had attempted a traffic stop when Vasquez Lopez “initially complied” but then fled, making an illegal U-turn and running a red light before striking the teacher’s car. Tensions over ICE have reached a fever pitch after President Donald Trump’s illegal immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, which recently concluded after the administration directed a surge of federal officers to the Midwest city to withdraw. A U.S. citizen was shot and killed by ICE agents last month while attempting to leave the scene of a demonstration, though she was accused by the federal government of trying to hit one of the agents with her car while fleeing. Weeks later, a second U.S. citizen was killed by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents while recording them during a separate anti-ICE demonstration.
Cartel attacks kill more than two dozen people in Mexico
NewsFeed Cartel reprisals for the killing of drug lord Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera killed at least 25 Mexican National Guard soldiers, a prison guard, a state official, and a civilian, according to the country’s security secretary. Published On 23 Feb 202623 Feb 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Adblock test (Why?)
Putin’s strategy is that Ukraine will fall before he does: Ex-FM Kuleba
As Ukraine marks four years since Russia’s full-scale invasion on Tuesday, Dmytro Kuleba, the war-torn nation’s former foreign minister from 2020 until 2024, talks to Al Jazeera about how early expectations of a short war gave way to a grinding conflict with no clear end in sight. From shifting definitions of victory and growing fractures among Ukraine’s allies to negotiations with Moscow and lessons learned in the Global South, Kuleba reflected on what survival, realism and resolve mean for Ukraine today. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list The 44-year-old, who is now an associate professor at Sciences Po in France and a non-resident senior fellow at Harvard Kennedy School, spoke to Al Jazeera via video-link from Kyiv, where he resides. Here’s our interview, which has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity. Al Jazeera: As the war enters a fifth year, is there any room for optimism? Dmytro Kuleba: Optimism should be rooted in reality, and there will be no ceasefire until the end of winter in Ukraine. I do not mean the calendar winter; I mean the temperatures and the weather. [Russian President Vladimir] Putin has been ruthlessly destroying our energy system and plunging millions of Ukrainians into cold and darkness to break them down, not to make a good deal with them. After winter ends, there will be a slim chance for a ceasefire, and whether the slim chance can become real, will depend on two factors. First, whether Russia will be able to make advances on the battlefield, because if it does, it will have zero incentive to stop. Advertisement And secondly, whether the Russian economy will cripple under the pressure of mounting problems. Al Jazeera: Is Russia negotiating in good faith or buying time with the current talks? Kuleba: Russia, throughout its history, has not been particularly famous for negotiating in good faith. They are testing how much they can achieve at the negotiating table instead of achieving the same goals on the battlefield. Secondly, they are engaging in meaningful conversation, trying to understand how a potential ceasefire could work from a technical perspective, just to have that frame on the table. But meaningful does not mean in good faith. Putin believes he can win the war. He believes he’s making progress on the battlefield and that he can manage problems in the Russian economy. His strategy is that Ukraine is going to fall before he does. Al Jazeera: Is the current situation something you imagined back in February 2022? Kuleba: When war breaks out, your first instinct is to believe that it’s not going to last long … and all you have to do is just to survive the first attack, and then the attacking side will realise that it failed to achieve its goals. But while keeping this instinctive scenario on your mind, you always have to also remember that things may last longer than you expect. Did I expect the war to last for four years? No, I didn’t. But was I preparing myself for a long war? Yes, somewhere in the back of my mind, I was keeping that option open. Al Jazeera: What does victory mean to you now? Kuleba: It started as a nightmare, and by the end of [2022], we captured half of the territories Russia had captured in the first months of the invasion, and we were pushing them back on old fronts. [Russian troops] were struggling to stabilise the front line; a sense of euphoria dominated in Ukraine, both among the decision-makers and the population. This was the moment when victory was defined as regaining control of the 1991 border, which had existed before Russia annexed Crimea and intervened in the east of Ukraine in 2014. But this hope … did not pass the reality check by the end of 2023, when our big counteroffensive failed to deliver. Since then, politicians and people in Ukraine find it more and more difficult to redefine victory and speak about it, which I think is a big problem, because if you do not define what your final goal is, you will never get it. So I offer my understanding of victory today, which would be to cease fire along the existing front line to stop hostilities and introduce a provisional truce between Russia and Ukraine to receive a long multi-year programme of military support to Ukraine; to launch a multi-billion recovery plan for Ukraine, and to see Ukraine as a member of the European Union. Advertisement Victory should always be defined, not only against your own goals, but also against the initial goals of your enemy. So if I look back at 2022 and assume that Russia’s main objective was the demolition of the Ukrainian statehood and the return of Ukraine under its full control, then … Russia failed. Al Jazeera: Do you feel the West and your vision are aligned? Kuleba: The West doesn’t really exist anymore in the form we are used to thinking about it. Europe is aligned. Some countries outside of Europe, which belong to what used to be the West, are aligned as well, such as Japan, Australia, and other nations. The United States holds a different view now; they just want to end hostilities at any cost. Al Jazeera: What security guarantees does Ukraine need for a potential ceasefire to hold? Kuleba: It would be Russia accepting that Ukraine has a right to exist as an independent, sovereign and European nation. Everything in between a potential ceasefire and the acceptance of this fact will be a conflict, taking one form or another. Al Jazeera: Is there still defiance among Ukrainians? Kuleba: We won the winter battle. It was the battle for our resolve and stamina, and Putin hoped we would be broken. We are exhausted, but not broken. Al Jazeera: What would you say to Ukraine’s backers who have expressed concern about recent corruption scandals? A big corruption case always triggers two reactions. If you want to argue, if your goal
Israel bans 5 Palestinian media organisations from occupied East Jerusalem
NewsFeed Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has issued an order banning the work of five Palestinian local media organisations based in occupied East Jerusalem, accusing them of links to Hamas and causing “incitement”. Published On 23 Feb 202623 Feb 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Adblock test (Why?)
EPFO Refund: Govt simplifies withdrawal process for PF account holders; Who can benefit? Check details
According to official figures, more than seven lakh inoperative accounts fall under this category. Accounts that are already Aadhaar-linked will receive the money immediately, while transfers to the remaining eligible accounts will be processed in phases.
Tejas crash: HAL clarifies ‘minor technical issue on ground, no airborne accident’
The tragic crash involving the LCA Tejas aircraft was limited to a minor technical issue on the ground, and there was no airborne accident, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) said in a filing to the stock exchange. The company also said that the issue is being analysed and HAL is working closely with the Indian Air Force(IAF) for speedy recovery.
Panipat refinery protest: Workers turned violent, throw stones at security, know what happened
Harayana witnessed a massive violence at Panipat Refinery and Petrochemical Complex at Baholi, when the protesting workers started throwing stones at the security officers on Monday. The protest turned violent after a standoff with the security officials.
Indian Railways to scrap UTS, enable unreserved ticket bookings on single ‘RailOne’ app
The Indian Railways will now shut down its long time Unreserved Ticketing System mobile app from March 1, 2026, changing the digital process of railway ticket booking. The discontinuation of the app is part of a strategy to make the ticketing process smoother.
The border wall is closing in on Big Bend, sparking opposition by locals
Residents and elected officials are speaking out against a proposed border barrier through Texas’ biggest state park and one of the jewels of the national park system.