Blue state CEO who put up 100 ft. pro-Trump sign to spend $2.6 million on campaign for Congress
FIRST ON FOX: Sticker Mule CEO Anthony Constantino has officially tossed his hat in the ring to fill the vacancy left by New York Rep. Elise Stefanik’s appointment to serve in the Trump administration. The pro-Trump businessman, who installed a 100-ft. “Vote for Trump” sign in upstate New York before the election, tells Fox News Digital he will spend $2.6 million to self-fund his bid to succeed Stefanik once she becomes the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in January. “My phones are ringing off the hook with people encouraging me to run, who wanted me to run,” Constantino, 40, said in an interview. “And just like President Trump was an outsider who brought a great skill set to politics, a great skill set to government, I think the country needs more people with similar backgrounds that are outsiders, that are talented people. And I happen to be one of them.” Stefanik currently represents New York’s 21st Congressional District, which encompasses the solidly Republican North Country, a large swath of upstate New York that includes most of the Adirondack Mountains and Thousand Islands regions. She is expected to resign from Congress after President-elect Trump tapped her to represent the United States at the U.N. PRO-TRUMP TECH CEO MULLING CONGRESSIONAL RUN TO FILL STEFANIK’S SEAT IDENTIFIES NEW YORK’S ‘BIGGEST PROBLEM’ “I am honored to nominate Chairwoman Elise Stefanik to serve in my Cabinet as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Elise is an incredibly strong, tough, and smart America First fighter,” Trump said. Stefanik gladly accepted the nomination, stating, “I am truly honored to earn President Trump’s nomination to serve in his Cabinet as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. During my conversation with President Trump, I shared how deeply humbled I am to accept his nomination and that I look forward to earning the support of my colleagues in the United States Senate. President Trump’s historic landslide election has given hope to the American people and is a reminder that brighter days are ahead — both at home and abroad.” Her appointment sets the stage for a special election to fill her seat in the 21st congressional district following her successful re-election bid last week. Stefanik secured victory by more than 24% of the vote against her opponent, Paula Collins. Constantino filed paperwork with the Federal Elections Commission on Thursday to set up his campaign committee. Formerly a registered Democrat, he is now one of several Republicans expected to contend for the GOP nomination, a group that could include established state lawmakers, local officials and other experienced politicians. What makes him stand out, in his view, is that he had no intention of entering politics until about three months ago. TECH CEO WHO WENT VIRAL FOR PRO-TRUMP EMAIL DEFENDS CALL TO ACTION OVER ‘POLITICAL HATE’ “The best thing about my situation is until recently, I had no political ambitions, which I think makes me a better candidate,” he said. “I just got involved because a bullet hit President Trump, and immediately I spoke up, and I sent out a message to five million customers that was a massively viral message.” A would-be assassin’s bullet struck Trump in the right ear during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13. The gunfire injured two others in the crowd and killed a third, volunteer firefighter Corey Comperatore. Constantino says he was inspired by that horrific act of violence to take a stand against “anti-Trump hate” and seek to unify the country. He worked “around the clock” to support Trump’s White House campaign, formed a political action committee and defeated local Democratic officials who had sued to remove his $125,000 pro-Trump sign on the repurposed Fownes glove factory building in Amsterdam. “President Trump has really done great things. He’s a great human. He’s done great things for the world. And he doesn’t deserve all the hate directed at him, and his supporters don’t deserve it either,” Constantino previously told Fox News Digital. BLUE STATE CEO SUED OVER PRO-TRUMP SIGN NETS ‘EPIC WIN FOR FREE SPEECH’ Now that Trump has won in a historic victory, Constantino believes the anti-Trump fervor that consumed half of the country before the election is dying down. And with a desire to “do big things” and make an impact, he is eyeing a seat in Congress. “I like to be impactful. I like to do big things. And right now, this is probably the biggest, most impactful thing I can do with my life,” he said. If elected, Constantino said his priorities would be to support businesses and help make New York a happier place to live. “The biggest problem in New York is people are leaving, and we’ve got to bring energy and enthusiasm back to New York. And we’ve got to show America that New York is safe for people from all parties, Democrats and Republicans alike,” he said. There will not be a traditional Republican primary for the special election. Instead, both the GOP and Democratic nominees will be chosen by party chairs in the district. It’s a process that could advantage political insiders – other candidates floated for the position include ousted Rep. Marc Molinaro, Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin, state Sens. Dan Stec and Jake Ashby and Assembly Members Chris Tague and Robert Smullen, according to City & State New York. But Constantino enters the fray as a wealthy self-made man and favorite of the online MAGA movement thanks to his viral pro-Trump sign. He plans to meet with the GOP chairs in his district to discuss how he can fund his candidacy without relying on party resources. He also hopes to earn Stefanik’s support as she is likely to play kingmaker when it comes to her successor. “I’m going to be funding my own campaign. I don’t want to be a drain on the party,” Constantino told Fox News Digital. “I want people to know that I won’t be beholden to any special interests. I’m doing this for the right reasons.
Republicans aim to expand slim House majority as final races near finish line
Republicans are pushing to expand their slim majority in the House of Representatives as the final handful of undecided races near their conclusion. Five House races remain uncalled as of Sunday morning. The balance of power currently sits at 218 seats for Republicans, and 212 for the Democrats. Democratic incumbent Rep. Mary Sattler Peltola is in a tight race in Alaska’s at-large congressional district, where she is trailing Republican entrepreneur Nick Begich. As of Sunday morning, Begich holds a nearly 3-point lead at 48.7% of the vote compared to Peltola’s 46.1%. The vote count sits at 155,120 to 146,782 with roughly 98% of the vote counted. GOP INCUMBENT PROJECTED TO DEFEAT DEM CHALLENGER IN CLOSELY WATCHED ARIZONA HOUSE RACE Republican Rep. John Duarte is leading former Democratic state assembly member Adam Gray in California’s 13th Congressional District, but the highly contested race remains uncalled as of Sunday morning. Roughly 86% of the vote has been counted, and Duarte holds a 50.6% to 49.4% lead. The pair is separated by just over 2,000 votes. REPUBLICANS PROJECTED TO KEEP CONTROL OF HOUSE AS TRUMP PREPARES TO IMPLEMENT AGENDA Democratic challenger Derek Tran has taken the lead over Republican incumbent Rep. Michelle Steel in the 45th District. Steel had been in the lead by a few hundred votes late last week, but Tran now has a razor-thin 36-vote lead. Roughly 94% of the vote has been counted for the district. Republican incumbent Rep. Mariannet Miller-Meeks holds a less than 1% lead over challenger Christina Bohannan with 99% of the vote counted. Miller-Meeks’ lead sits at just under 1,000 votes. TRUMP THROWS FULL SUPPORT BEHIND MIKE JOHNSON BEFORE SPEAKER ELECTION Bohannan has requested a recount in her bid to unseat Miller-Meeks. The Associated Press has not yet called the race because the margin was close enough that it could prompt a recount. Miller-Meeks has declared victory and said she was confident in her lead. Democratic incumbent Marcy Kaptur leads her Republican challenger, Derek Merrin, by less than 1 point with 99% of the votes counted. Kaptur’s lead sits at just over 1,000 votes as of Sunday morning. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Races with a margin of 0.5% or less trigger an automatic recount in Ohio. Fox News’ Chris Pandolfo and Jasmine Baehr and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
Baba Siddique murder: Mumbai crime branch makes 25th arrest of Gujarati man from…
The Mumbai Crime Branch on Sunday arrested a Gujarat resident from Akola in Maharashtra in the Baba Siddique murder case, taking the number of people held in the sensational incident to 25, an official said.
Pentagon fails 7th audit in a row, unable to fully account for $824B budget
The Pentagon failed its seventh consecutive audit on Friday as the agency was unable to fully account for its massive $824 billion budget, though officials were confident the Department of Defense “has turned a corner” in understanding its budgetary challenges going forward. The audits resulted in a disclaimer of opinion, which means auditors were provided with insufficient information to form an accurate opinion of the accounts. Of the Department of Defense’s (DoD) 28 reporting entities that had standalone audits, 9 received an unmodified audit opinion, 1 received a qualified opinion, 15 received disclaimers, and 3 opinions remain pending, the Pentagon said. But with the goal of achieving a clean audit by 2028, Michael McCord, Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) and Chief Financial Officer, said the agency “has turned a corner in its understanding of the depth and breadth of its challenges.” MILITARY SUICIDES WERE ON THE RISE LAST YEAR, DESPITE A MASSIVE INVESTMENT IN PREVENTION PROGRAMS “Momentum is on our side, and throughout the Department there is strong commitment—and belief in our ability—to achieve an unmodified audit opinion,” he said in a statement. The objective of earning an unmodified audit opinion is mandated by the National Defense Authorization Act. McCord told reporters at a briefing on Friday that he would not say that the agency “failed” as it had “about half clean opinions.” “So if someone had a report card that is half good and half not good, I don’t know that you call the student or the report card a failure,” he said. US DEPLOYS ADDITIONAL MILITARY FORCES TO MIDDLE EAST AMID INTENSIFYING REGIONAL TENSIONS: PENTAGON Independent public accountants and the DoD Office of Inspector General closely examined the financial statements for the audit. McCord emphasized in a statement that the path to a clean audit is clear. “Significant work remains and challenges lie ahead, but our annual audit continues to be a catalyst for Department-wide financial management reform, resulting in greater financial integrity, transparency, and better-supported warfighters,” he said.
‘Your input is…’: Nirmala Sitharaman’s response to X user requesting ‘relief’ for middle class
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Virginia attorney general expects ‘a lot more common sense’ during Trump presidency
Republican Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares said he anticipates “a lot more common sense to come out of Washington” with a Trump presidency ahead. With President-elect Donald Trump heading to the Oval in January, Miyares said he looks forward to the administration rolling back “the overly burdensome regulations that have impacted so many Americans these last four years.” “Everything from the OSHA vaccine mandate . . . to a pretty radical interpretation of Title IX to essentially say that now biological boys are allowed to be on women’s sports teams,” Miyares told Fox News Digital. “So I anticipate you’re going to see a lot more common sense to come out of Washington and come out of the administration.” Miyares said he anticipates lots of new developments with the new Republican administration, and “we look forward to seeing it.” VIRGINIA AG CHEERS SUPREME COURT RULING AS ‘HUGE WIN’ FOR ELECTION INTEGRITY Following his win, Trump and his team have already started to announce various Cabinet nominations and policy expectations. Among them have included Trump’s announcement that he would be nominating Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz to be the next attorney general. Miyares did not directly comment on Gaetz as the potential head of the Justice Department, but clarified that he also looks forward to working with the new AG. “We’re going to work with the attorney general,” Miyares said. “I know that’s why we have the Senate to advise and consent.” “But this is what I would say — the new administration and who they’re going to put in elevated leadership is, again, I think, going to be fundamentally different than I think some of the real left-wing ideology that we’ve seen pushed down by the Biden administration,” Miyares continued. TRUMP’S SPEEDY CABINET PICKS SHOW HIS ‘PRIORITY TO PUT AMERICA FIRST,’ TRANSITION TEAM SAYS Miyares recently made headlines after challenging a lower court’s ruling ordering the state to restore the names of approximately 1,600 potential noncitizens to its voter rolls ahead of the Nov. 5 election. Miyares, along with Gov. Glenn Youngkin, remained steadfast after the Department of Justice initially sued them over the voter removals, arguing that the state’s process was “individualized” and conducted in accordance with state and federal law. Miyares is up for re-election in 2025 but has yet to announce any formal plans for running again. Two Democrats have already announced their plans to run for the post, including former Virginia delegate Jay Jones and Henrico County Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor. Both have voiced their criticisms of Gaetz’s nomination on social media. “When I am Virginia’s next Attorney General, you better believe I’ll be taking on Matt Gaetz’s overreach in court. We are going to hold this Administration accountable for Virginia families,” Jones wrote on X. MATT GAETZ FACES GOP SENATE OPPOSITION AFTER TRUMP SELECTION FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL “Matt Gaetz, who was investigated by law enforcement for sex trafficking and who has been under investigation by the House Ethics Committee (a Republican-led committee in a Republican-majority House) was nominated by President-Elect Trump as the next US Attorney General,” Taylor wrote on X. “I call on Attorney General Miyares @JasonMiyaresVA who is the highest legal officer in our Commonwealth, to oppose this appointment and to call on President Elect-Trump to instead nominate an Attorney General who is above reproach as opposed to a man under ethics investigation himself.” Trump first announced his intentions to nominate Gaetz as AG in a Truth Social post on Wednesday, saying Gaetz “has distinguished himself in Congress through his focus on achieving desperately needed reform at the Department of Justice.” Gaetz then confirmed the nomination on the social media site X, adding, “It will be an honor to serve as President Trump’s Attorney General!” Shortly after the announcement, Gaetz resigned from his post in Congress, House Speaker Mike Johnson announced. Republicans have already signaled concerns over Gaetz’s potential appointment. He was previously under a yearlong DOJ investigation stemming from accusations that he had had a sexual relationship with a minor, but the department ultimately did not press charges. Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind and Kelly Phares contributed to this report.
Trump “bad” for climate change but all not lost if …
[unable to retrieve full-text content] Adair Turner on how a Trump administration is expected to push back on climate action, but says there are other options.
Trail of destruction as Typhoon Man-yi lashes the Philippines
A powerful typhoon has wrecked houses, caused towering tidal surges and forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee to emergency shelters as it cut across the northern Philippines in the sixth major storm to hit the country in less than a month. Typhoon Man-yi slammed into the eastern island province of Catanduanes on Saturday night with sustained winds of up to 195km/h (125mph) and gusts of up to 240km/h (149mph). The country’s weather agency warned of a “potentially catastrophic and life-threatening situation” in provinces along its path. There were no immediate reports of casualties from the typhoon, which was forecast to blow northwestwards on Sunday across northern Luzon, the archipelago’s most populous region. The capital region of metropolitan Manila would likely be spared from a direct hit but was placed, along with outlying regions, under storm alerts and warned of dangerous coastal storm surges. The entire province of Catanduanes had no power after the typhoon knocked down trees and electricity posts, and disaster-response teams were checking how many more houses were damaged in addition to those affected by previous storms, he said. More than 750,000 people took refuge in emergency shelters, including churches and a shopping mall, due to Man-yi and two previous storms mostly in the northern Philippines, civil defence official Cesar Idio and other provincial officials said. The rare number of back-to-back storms and typhoons that lashed Luzon in just three weeks has killed more than 160 people, affected nine million and caused such extensive damage to residential communities, infrastructure and farmlands that the Philippines may have to import more rice, a staple food for most Filipinos. In an emergency meeting as Man-yi approached, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr asked his cabinet and provincial officials to brace for “the worst-case scenario”. The Philippines is battered by about 20 typhoons and storms each year. It is often hit by earthquakes and has more than a dozen active volcanoes, making it one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries. Adblock test (Why?)
Jon Jones vs Stipe Miocic – UFC 309: MMA heavyweight championship fight
Jon Jones has cemented his position as arguably the greatest mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter of all time by pulling off a stunning knockout of Stipe Miocic to retain his heavyweight belt at the UFC 309 fight night. The 37-year-old American looked fully in control throughout the main event at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, preventing his opponent from leveraging his boxing skills and finishing with a brutal heel to the body that left Miocic on the canvas clutching his ribs. “That body shot man, no matter how tough you are, the liver’s the liver,” a jubilant Jones said in the cage following his victory. In the aftermath, 42-year-old former champion Miocic said he was retiring from the sport. “I’m done,” Miocic said. “I’m hanging ’em up.” Widely considered the best fighter in the world, Jones (28 wins, 1 loss, 1 no contest) was the aggressor from the start and took Miocic down with a superbly timed trip and trapped him before raining down elbows as he dominated the rest of the round. Keen not to get taken down again, Miocic was hesitant as he tried to manage the distance, but Jones was able to measure strikes to the body from his southpaw stance to keep Miocic on the back foot. Croatian-American Miocic enjoyed some success early in the third round, but once again Jones was able to work out the puzzle, connecting with a couple of punches late in the round before his creative rotating kick ended the bout. British heavyweight Tom Aspinall looms as the next challenger for Jones. Aspinall won a fight for the interim heavyweight title in November 2023. UFC CEO Dana White had promised Aspinall, who chatted with Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray, would challenge the winner of the main event in a unification bout. UFC Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones (R) fights challenger Stipe Miocic [Kena Betancur/AFP] Trump, Musk in attendance With Donald Trump in the audience, Jones imitated the United States president-elect’s campaign trail dance as he celebrated. In the co-main event, Brazil’s Charles Oliveira defeated Michael Chandler by unanimous decision to put his name back in contention for a crack at the lightweight title he was stripped of for missing weight in May 2022. Jones posed and played to the crowd on top of the octagon in front of Trump, Elon Musk, picked by Trump to lead a new Department of Government Efficiency, and Robert Kennedy Jr, Trump’s choice to lead the Department of Health and Human Services in his incoming administration. Trump walked out to a rousing ovation in front of 20,200 fans just before the start of the pay-per-view card and seemed to bask in the thrill of the fighters that throughout the night gave him props — including Jones. “I want to give a big, big thank you to President Donald Trump [for] being here tonight,” Jones said to a roaring ovation that bled into a “USA! USA!” chant. “I’m proud to be a great American champion,” Jones said. US President-elect Donald Trump (L) and Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk watch the fight [Kena Betancur/AFP] Charles Oliveira vs Michael Chandler In a lightweight bout that made every fan, from Kid Rock to Jordan Knight to Anthony Kiedis, go wild at the finish in the fifth round, Charles Oliveira beat Michael Chandler via unanimous decision. The fight was a rematch of their May 2021 fight when Charles Oliveira topped Chandler to win the lightweight title. Oliveira staked his claim to another title fight with the win. The fifth round was about as good as it gets inside the octagon highlighted by Chandler dropping Oliveira twice on his back. The 38-year-old Chandler stepped inside the cage for the first time in two years, in large part because he waited for a fight that never materialised with Conor McGregor. “We’ve been wondering where you’ve been, Conor,” Chandler bellowed in the cage. “Come back and beat me if you can.” Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler grapple on the ground in a lightweight fight [Sarah Stier/Getty Images via AFP] Adblock test (Why?)