Huntington, California, city hall and mayor’s home raided in $14M public funds probe
A city hall building, the mayor’s house and some residences of current and former council members in Huntington, California, were raided on Wednesday in a major corruption probe of a $14 million project, according to Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman. The investigation, named “Operation Dirty Pond,” has been focusing on the “potential misuse of millions of dollars in public funds allocated for the construction of an aquatic center” since November 2022, the DA’s Office said. The Huntington Park Regional Aquatic Center, which was deemed “critical” on the city website, was expected to become a two-story building with an Olympic-size pool, gym, football field, conference rooms and more. However, residents never saw any results, according to the city’s vice mayor. “This is a project that has yielded nothing for the residents,” Vice Mayor Arturo Flores said to FOX 11 Los Angeles. “It’s my understanding that there’s an estimated $14 million, give or take, that has been expended by the city, and that from those funds, the residents of the city have only received an empty lot with dead grass and nothing to show for those millions of dollars.” RECALLED OAKLAND MAYOR INDICTED ON FEDERAL CORRUPTION CHARGES Fox News Digital also reached out to Flores and Huntington Park Mayor Karina Macias for comment but did not immediately hear back. Former Huntington Park city council member Linda Caraballo reportedly said she sent a 282-page dossier to the DA’s Office many years ago to alert them to alleged corruption. Caraballo said to the local station that “big time city officials from the city manager all the way down to the shot caller” should be prepared. “Heads are going to roll and a lot of people are going to be really put into some serious problems,” Caraballo said to FOX 11. “They all should find lawyers right away.” SKYROCKETING HEALTHCARE BUDGET FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS HAUNTS BLUE STATE TAXPAYERS Valentin Amezquita, another former Huntington Park council member, said to FOX 11 that this may not be the city’s only corrupt project and suggests conducting a “forensic audit of the city of current and past contracts.” “This is just the tip of the iceberg,” Amezquita said to the local station. “There’s many, many more.” NYC MAYOR ERIC ADAMS ASKING FOR CORRUPTION CHARGES TO BE SCRAPPED Numerous items were seized during the searches, including public records, financial paperwork and electronic devices, according to the DA’s Office. “My office is committed to ensuring that public officials uphold the highest standards of honesty, integrity and transparency,” Hochman said. “When concerns arise about the use of public funds or the actions of those in office, it is our duty to investigate thoroughly and protect the public’s trust.” “I want to commend our dedicated prosecutors and investigators for their diligent work on this complex case. Their unwavering commitment to justice ensures that no one – regardless of their position or title – is above the law.”
UK’s Starmer meets Trump at White House amid divide between US, Europe over Ukraine peace deal
United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer is meeting with President Donald Trump on Thursday at the White House hours after Trump told his Cabinet that he wouldn’t provide security guarantees to Ukraine “beyond very much.” Trump, who met with French President Emmanuel Macron at the White House on Monday regarding Ukraine, is expected to sit down with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tomorrow in Washington. The meeting between Trump and Starmer will include much discussion about the president’s efforts to bring the conflict to an end through a peaceful resolution, a senior administration official said. They will later hold a joint press conference at 2 p.m. ET. As Trump was greeting Starmer Thursday, the president was asked if he was confident he could get a peace deal done on Ukraine, to which he replied “We can and we will.” WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE US-UKRAINE MINERAL DEAL SO FAR Starmer pushed the United States on Wednesday to provide a security “backstop” for any potential European peacekeepers in Ukraine, according to Reuters. “I’m absolutely convinced that we need a lasting peace, not a ceasefire, and for that to happen we need security guarantees,” he was quoted as saying. “Precisely what that layers up to, what that looks like, is obviously a subject of intense discussion.” Starmer reportedly added that his “concern is if there is a ceasefire without a backstop, it will simply give him [Putin] the opportunity to wait and to come again because his ambition in relation to Ukraine is pretty obvious, I think, for all to see.” However, Trump said during a Cabinet meeting Wednesday that “I’m not going to make security guarantees beyond very much, we’re going to have Europe do that, because… Europe is their next-door neighbor. But we’re going to make sure everything goes well.” ZELENSKYY LOOKING FOR ‘NATO OR SOMETHING SIMILAR’ AS HE PREPARES FOR MEETING WITH TRUMP “I’ve had very good conversations with President Putin. I’ve had very good conversations with President Zelenskyy. And until four weeks ago, nobody had conversations with anybody,” Trump also said Wednesday. “It wasn’t even a consideration. Nobody thought you could make peace. I think you can.” “We’re going to do the best we can to make the best deal we can for both sides,” Trump added.
PEDO Act: Lawmaker moves to protect Epstein files, accuses ‘certain FBI agents’ of trying to destroy docs
Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., is preparing legislation to safeguard the FBI’s Jeffrey Epstein files, citing concerns that some documents at the bureau were in danger of being destroyed. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the government was in possession of “pretty sick” information on the late convicted pedophile, during an interview with Fox News host Jesse Watters on Wednesday. She said documents could be released as early as Thursday. “Should you encounter any statutory barriers to the expeditious public release of Jeffrey Epstein’s client list or other pertinent information related to his activities – to include circumstances in which any such documentation is housed in other federal agencies – I stand ready to assist,” Ogles wrote to Bondi in a memo on Wednesday. GOPERS PRESS FOR THE RELEASE OF JFK, EPSTEIN FILES: HERE’S WHY THEY’RE NOT OUT “To that end, upon hearing reports that certain FBI agents are allegedly attempting to destroy critical records, I am currently drafting legislation entitled the Preventing Epstein Documentation Obliteration Act, or the PEDO Act.” The legislation, which is still in the works, would protect all files across Bondi’s jurisdiction. Ogles did not cite the names of any specific agents. He’s the latest Republican lawmaker to speak out about the Epstein files this week, after the House announced the creation of a new task force led by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., dedicated to declassification efforts. It comes after conservative influencer Benny Johnson reported on whistleblower allegations that there were rank-and-file agents within the FBI destroying documents in a bid to block FBI Director Kash Patel’s work. TRUMP SIGNS ORDER TO DECLASSIFY FILES ON JFK, RFK AND MLK ASSASSINATIONS “Our constituents deserve nothing more than radical transparency in matters implicating the integrity of our justice system,” Ogles wrote to Bondi. Fox News Digital reached out to the FBI and Department of Justice (DOJ) for comment, but did not hear back.
11 House Dems vote with Republicans to overturn Biden’s gas water heater ban
A handful of House Democrats joined Republicans in passing a resolution on Thursday to block a Biden-era appliance regulation. The Department of Energy (DOE) announced a new rule in the final days of former President Joe Biden’s term to ban non-condensing, natural-gas-fired water heaters by 2029. The rule was set to go into effect in March but faces headwinds after a resolution to overturn the appliance rule was passed in the House, with every House Republican and 11 Democrats voting for its passage. “The Democrats want control,” Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Ala., who introduced the Congressional Review Act (CRA) in January with Fox News Digital, said ahead of the vote. “Their cold rhetoric leads to cold homes and cold water.” BIDEN SENT $2 BILLION TO STACEY ABRAMS-LINKED GROUP IN GREEN ENERGY ‘SCHEME,’ EPA SAYS “The American people were tired of being told what to do, what they could buy, what they could wear, what they could use,” Palmer said on the House floor. “That’s why I introduced this resolution, because we’re determined to restore a quality of life in this country that we enjoyed before the Democratic Party took over the White House, and the House and the Senate.” “We believe that we can help American people be able to afford their groceries, afford an automobile, afford their education, and that is why we are doing what we’re doing,” he added. The vote comes after the owner of a tankless water heater manufacturing facility, Frank Windsor, recently warned that hundreds of jobs could be at risk if the new rule were to go into effect, telling FOX Business that the ban on “very efficient and highly effective technology for water heating” does not align with consumer interests. TRUMP REVERSES BIDEN CRACKDOWN ON LIGHTBULBS AND DISHWASHERS, RETURNING TO ‘COMMON SENSE STANDARDS’ “The scary thing is most Americans don’t understand what’s going on with these, I would describe, radical energy decisions that people are making that are going to have far-reaching impacts on consumers,” Windsor, president of Rinnai America Corporation, told FOX Business in an interview. House Republicans are working to introduce resolutions derailing Biden’s climate agenda, specifically overturning regulations on household appliances. The House passed another CRA on Wednesday to overturn the Biden-era Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Methane Emissions and Waste Reduction Incentive Program. Also on Wednesday, a Democrat-led resolution to reverse President Donald Trump’s executive order declaring an “energy emergency” failed to pass in the Senate.
A year after Texas’ largest wildfire, Panhandle residents tugged between hope and anxiety
The Panhandle town of Canadian is determined to move beyond the deadly fire. And yet, they are reminded almost daily another catastrophe is possible.
US and Canada conduct air defense drills in Greenland as Trump pushes for control
U.S. and Canadian air force members conducted joint military drills in Greenland in practice for action under bitterly cold conditions. Operation Noble Defender took place from Jan. 28 through Feb. 11 at Pituffick Air Force Base, the U.S. military’s northernmost installation, according to NORAD. The roughly 100 total service members had to operate in temperatures that were regularly below 0 degrees Fahrenheit, sometimes dropping as low as -28 degrees. “Over the last three weeks, our integrated American and Canadian NORAD teams have demonstrated the ability to operate at the highest level in one of the most austere environments in the world,” Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Shemo said in a statement. “I am immensely proud of them and their dedication to this mission and appreciate the close cooperation from the Kingdom of Denmark as we train for the defense of Canada and the United States across all domains,” he added. SECRETARY OF STATE RUBIO CONFIRMS BECOMING ACTING USAID CHIEF The joint military exercise comes weeks after President Donald Trump pushed the idea of the U.S. purchasing Greenland, an idea that has been rebuffed by Denmark, its current owner. US FLIES JOINT PATROL WITH THE PHILIPPINES NEAR SHOAL REGION GUARDED BY CHINA Trump has signaled interest in acquiring Greenland since 2019, calling it a potentially “large real estate deal,” toward the end of his first term. In December, he ramped up calls for the U.S. to acquire the Danish territory and called it a national security issue. “[F]or purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity,” the then-president-elect wrote in a Truth Social post at the time. At the beginning of February, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen affirmed that Greenland is “not for sale,” but said she was open to the U.S. increasing its footprint in the Arctic region. “I totally agree with the Americans that the High North, that the Arctic region is becoming more and more important when we are talking about defense and security and deterrence,” Frederiksen said, referencing Chinese and Russian activity in the region. “And it is possible to find a way to ensure stronger footprints in Greenland. They [the U.S.] are already there, and they can have more possibilities.”
Trump urged to use executive power after Vance relative reportedly denied organ transplant over COVID vaccine
FIRST ON FOX: House Republicans are urging President Donald Trump to use his executive power to block hospitals from denying organ transplants for people not vaccinated against COVID-19. Rep. Michael Rulli, R-Ohio, who is leading the letter, said he was partially moved to act after Vice President JD Vance’s 12-year-old relative was reportedly denied a heart transplant over her COVID-19 vaccination status. “Over the past week, it has come to light that multiple desperate Americans have been denied life-saving organ transplants due to their COVID-19 vaccination status,” the letter said. “This outrageous denial of care has affected some of our most vulnerable citizens – including a child from Indiana and a veteran from Ohio.” BLACK CAUCUS CHAIR ACCUSES TRUMP OF ‘PURGE’ OF ‘MINORITY’ FEDERAL WORKERS Earlier this month, he and Rep. Erin Houchin, R-Ind., introduced a bill to stop federal funds from going to any entity that denies someone treatment based on COVID-19 vaccination status. “President Trump has done such a great job recently on executive orders,” Rulli told Fox News Digital in an interview. “And I am asking President Trump if he sees this, to please do an executive order… because you could save someone’s life today.” “The timing is everything. If we don’t get this done, people’s lives could be at risk.” The letter, signed by Rulli, Houchin and five other House Republicans, cited Trump’s executive orders ending COVID-19 vaccine mandates in schools and reinstating military service members who were discharged for not getting the vaccine. “The same principles apply here. These reckless mandates, implemented under the Biden Administration, do more harm than good,” the letter said. “With your leadership, our nation could return to a time when our brave and talented medical professionals can save lives freely, unburdened by bureaucratic barriers that endanger our most vulnerable citizens.” KEY CONSERVATIVE CAUCUS DRAWS RED LINE ON HOUSE BUDGET PLAN The girl’s mother, Jeneen Deal, told the Daily Mail that giving her daughter the vaccine would violate the family’s religious beliefs. When reached for comment on the lawmakers’ letter by Fox News Digital via Facebook Messenger, Deal beseeched them to include the influenza vaccine in their request to Trump. “Just removing the covid is just a start. The flu and covid are keeping her from being on the list,” Deal wrote. Vance said in comments to the Daily Mail that he would try to help. “I guess it’s been circulating on social media, but I was made aware of a couple days ago, and we’re trying to dig in and trying to help, obviously, as much as possible,” he said. Fox News Digital reached out to spokespeople for Trump and Vance for comment, but did not hear back.
Straight woman’s job discrimination claim likely to prevail with SCOTUS rebuke of lower court: expert
The Supreme Court appears poised to rule in favor of a straight woman’s discrimination claim in a case that could overturn a line of precedent that has made “the Civil Rights Act apply unequally,” according to a legal scholar familiar with civil rights litigation. Petitioner Marlean Ames claims that she was demoted and passed over for a position in the Ohio youth corrections system in favor of two less-qualified gay employees who had neither applied for nor interviewed for the roles. At issue in her case is a higher burden of proof some lower courts have required for those considered to be in “majority groups” – in this case heterosexuals – to prove discrimination occurred under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. During Wednesday’s oral arguments, the justices – and the lawyers on both sides of the dispute – all agreed that the appeals court erred in Ames’ case, which required her to provide additional “background circumstances” to “support the suspicion that the defendant is that unusual employer who discriminates against the majority.” Trump-appointed Justice Brett Kavanaugh said Wednesday all the court really needs to do is issue “a really short opinion that says discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, whether it’s because you’re gay or because you’re straight, is prohibited, and the rules are the same.” SCOTUS TO HEAR STRAIGHT WOMAN’S DISCRIMINATION CASE THAT COULD RESHAPE EMPLOYMENT LAW At one point during the arguments, Ohio Solicitor General Elliot Gaiser – arguing on behalf of the Ohio Department of Youth Services – perplexed liberal Justice Elena Kagan when he agreed that “the idea that you hold people to different standards because of their protected characteristics is wrong.” “I mean, it’s a little bit of a peculiar situation, isn’t it, because this is what the court said,” Kagan said. “And you’re up here, and I don’t know exactly what to make of this.” Gaiser said he agreed with Ames “on that major premise point,” but “we don’t think Ms. Ames proved enough evidence to showcase a discrimination claim.” “I think we had six depositions under oath, if you can’t show any evidence that the employer was motivated by a protected characteristic when they took the adverse action, and certainly, if you can’t show an adverse action at all, that’s not enough to create any burden of production for the employer,” Gaiser said. “And that sample pattern approved the four elements that McDonnell Douglas lays out, courts have adapted that under this court’s guidance.” The governing precedent in question is McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, a 1973 case where the high court established a four-step process for handling discrimination cases based on indirect evidence. Gaiser told the justices that Ames has not met the criteria set by those tests, even as the appeals court’s application of the precedent was wrong. SCOTUS TURNS DOWN ABORTION CLINIC BUFFER ZONE CHALLENGE, THOMAS SLAMS ‘ABDICATION’ OF DUTY The “higher burden of proof” at the center of the case, which several circuit courts choose to apply, “is not supported by the text of Title VII,” GianCarlo Canaparo, senior legal expert at Heritage Foundation, told Fox News Digital in an interview. “There was, and to some extent still is, an ideological movement which says the text of the Civil Rights Act, not just Title VII, all of it applies to everybody equally, but really it’s only meant to give special protection to certain groups, and its protection doesn’t apply to other groups,” Canaparo said. “And that sort of logic is what underpinned the rule in the Sixth Circuit and others, that says if you’re a majority group, you’re presumptively entitled to less protection, and so you have this disparate standard.” Canaparo said that during oral arguments “pretty much everybody, except maybe Justice Jackson, said, ‘Look, the text is what it is. It’s really clear.’” He also said Ohio’s goal in the case is to raise the standard for everyone, making it more difficult to file discrimination claims. Under the current McDonnell Douglas framework, plaintiffs only need to present minimal preliminary evidence to suggest discrimination, after which the employer must prove a legitimate reason for firing the employee, Canaparo said. UNPACKING THE SUPREME COURT: WHY IT’S NOT JUST A MAGA STRONGHOLD, AND HOW THE JUSTICES REALLY VOTE “Now that sounds good in theory, but how it actually works out is that the evidentiary burden that a lot of plaintiffs have to put up in the first instance is so low that what functionally happens in a lot of cases is that the defendant, the employer, has to prove its own innocence,” he said. Gaiser’s proposal, according to Canaparo, is to raise the initial burden on plaintiffs so that they must present a stronger case before the employer is required to defend itself, while maintaining an equal standard for all. “I think Ames will win, but that means a couple things. Number one, it means that traditionally created doctrines that make the Civil Rights Act apply unequally are on the way out,” he said. This approach is expected to have significant implications in a second Trump term, especially as the president issued executive actions weeding out discriminatory DEI policies, he added. “I think it’ll have a pretty powerful effect in continuing to shape the country toward the colorblind understanding of the law,” he said. ‘THE PENDULUM IS SWINGING’: EXPERTS WEIGH IN ON HISTORIC SCOTUS TRANSGENDER CASE AMID ORAL ARGUMENTS Meanwhile, Andrea Lucas, acting chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, wrote in a post on X that the “neutral standard that SCOTUS likely will land on in Ames” already applies “and has for decades.” “@USEEOC unanimously signed @TheJusticeDept’s brief in Ames. Don’t wait for SCOTUS’s opinion—comply with Title VII now,” she wrote. Lucas told Fox News Digital in a phone interview Thursday that “the EOC has never held that position” of requiring a heightened background circumstances test for a “majority” plaintiff or group. “The EOC position is that this background circumstances test conflicts with the McDonnell
‘New low’: Longtime House Dem ripped for ‘disgusting’ questioning of Musk’s loyalty to US as an immigrant
Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, sparked a firestorm on social media Wednesday over comments questioning DOGE chief Elon Musk’s allegiance to the United States given that he has been a citizen for “only” 22 years. “Mr. Musk has just been here 22 years,” Kaptur said outside the Capitol on Wednesday. “And he’s a citizen of three countries. I always ask myself the question, with the damage he’s doing here, when push comes to shove, which country is his loyalty to? South Africa? Canada? Or the United States? And he’s only been a citizen, I’ll say again, 22 years.” Kaptur, who has served in Congress since 1983, drew immediate criticism on social media from conservatives accusing Kaptur of hypocrisy and using language that Republicans would be pilloried for using. “Just like @elonmusk, I immigrated LEGALLY and pledged my full loyalty to America,” Ohio GOP Sen. Bernie Moreno posted on X. “But Democrats just see us as cheap labor who pick their crops and mow their lawns. If you step out of line & question their liberal narrative, they say you don’t belong here. It’s disgusting.” ELON MUSK TAKES AIM AT NATIONAL DEBT, WARNS OF ‘DE FACTO BANKRUPTCY’ WITHOUT DOGE: ‘$2 TRILLION IN DEFICITS’ “Rep Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) is now a nativist when it comes to Elon Musk,” Greg Price of the White House Rapid Response team posted on X. The White House’s official rapid response account also posted on X, saying, “@RepMarcyKaptur is now questioning the loyalty of American citizens. This is a new low.” “A really bad thing for Marcy Kaptur to say,” Taxpayers Protection Alliance President David Williams posted on X. “Is she really saying this about immigrants? Punchbowl News founder Jake Sherman posted on X that Kaptur’s comment was a “new tone for House Democrats…” “Marcy Kaptur’s disgusting remark questioning Elon Musk’s loyalty based on his immigrant background exposes the Democrat Party’s descent into nativist rhetoric – the very thing they claim to oppose,” NRCC spokesman Mike Marinella told Fox News Digital in a statement. “Their hypocrisy is clear: they champion open borders when it benefits them but resort to xenophobic attacks when an immigrant doesn’t align with their political agenda.” “Only immigrant the Democrats aren’t for,” National Review editor Ramesh Ponnuru posted on X. WHO IS DOGE’S NEWLY IDENTIFIED ADMINISTRATOR AMY GLEASON? ‘WORLD-CLASS TALENT’ “This is the attack they want to make?!” Republican communicator Matt Whitlock posted on X. “That Elon has only been a citizen for 22 years? The Trump administration continues to be blessed with the absolute dumbest opposition I’ve ever seen.” “I’m sorry, what?” Macarena Martinez, communications director for GOP Sen. Ted Cruz, posted on X. “If a Republican said this they would be cancelled” Kaptur, 78, previously signed onto a House resolution in 2019 condemning President Trump for alleged xenophobic comments. “This resolution states that immigrants and their descendants have made America stronger and naturalized citizens are just as American as those whose families have been in the United States for generations,” the resolution stated. “It also expresses a commitment to keep America open to those who lawfully seek refuge from violence and oppression and those willing to work hard to achieve the American Dream, regardless of race, ethnicity, faith, or country of origin.” Musk has continued to draw the ire of Democrats in recent weeks for his cuts to federal spending and government programs. At the same time, polling suggests most Americans agree with DOGE’s mission. Kaptur’s office did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
HUD terminates Obama-era housing rule that Trump warned would ‘destroy’ home values
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) eliminated federal regulations created during the Obama administration, which Secretary Scott Turner accused of putting “extreme and restrictive demands” on local housing developers. President Donald Trump rescinded the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule, created under former President Barack Obama, during his first administration. Trump said at the time in a speech about cutting red tape in the federal government that the rule serves to “eliminate single-family zoning to destroy the value of houses” at the benefit of “far-left Washington bureaucrats.” Then-President Joe Biden later worked to reinstate the rule but ultimately pulled back due to fear it could make him politically vulnerable as he sought reelection, according to Politico. On Wednesday, HUD initiated its own rulemaking to squash the Obama-era AFFH rule, which mandated that localities commission extensive analyses to certify that new housing developments do not exacerbate disparities among federally protected groups. This includes access to public transportation, schools, hospitals and parks. HUD SECRETARY PROMISES TO SAVE THE SUBURBS During a Wednesday conference call about the AFFH rule’s termination, a HUD official said that discrimination that is prohibited under the Fair Housing Act of 1968 will still remain illegal. But under the new change, localities will now be able to self-certify that their new developments comply with anti-discrimination laws implemented under the 1968 Fair Housing Act. “Over the past four years, and really dating back to the Obama administration, far-left Democrats have tried to socially re-engineer communities from the top down,” Turner said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital. HUD SECRETARY DIRECTS AGENCY TO BAN TRANSGENDER WOMEN FROM FEDERALLY FUNDED WOMEN-ONLY SHELTERS “By terminating the AFFH rule, localities will no longer be required to complete onerous paperwork and drain their budgets to comply with the extreme and restrictive demands made up by the federal government.” Turner added that as a result of cutting this regulation, the federal government will be able to “better serve rural, urban and tribal communities that need access to fair and affordable housing.” Research from the libertarian think tank the Cato Institute found that the AFFH rule, as initiated under Obama, cost taxpayers as much as $55 million annually to collect the certification information the regulation required.