Pakistan blames India after seven soldiers killed in Balochistan blast
Pakistan says Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) armed group targeted vehicle with an improvised explosive device. Seven Pakistani army soldiers have been killed when their vehicle was targeted by an improvised explosive device in the southwestern province of Balochistan, Pakistan’s military says, blaming India for the attack amid rising tensions. Pakistan’s military said members of the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) armed group targeted the vehicle carrying the soldiers in the province bordering Iran and Afghanistan on Tuesday. It described the group as an “Indian proxy”, but it did not provide any evidence to support its claim. There was no immediate comment from New Delhi or the BLA. An unnamed senior local government official told the AFP news agency the vehicle that was hit was part of a convoy on its way to a security operation. He said five people were wounded and taken by helicopter to a military hospital in the provincial capital, Quetta. More than 200 people, mostly members of the security forces, have been killed in 2025 by armed groups in Balochistan and neighbouring Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, according to an AFP tally. Advertisement At least 31 people, many of them soldiers, were killed in March when the BLA hijacked a train carrying more than 400 passengers while travelling from Quetta to the northern city of Peshawar. The bombing of the military convoy was carried out amid heightened tensions between nuclear-armed Pakistan and India after a shooting attack in India-administered Kashmir’s Pahalgam region on April 22 that killed 25 Indian tourists and one Nepalese citizen. India blamed Pakistan for backing the “terrorist” group that carried out the attack, a charge Islamabad has denied. After the Pahalgam attack, India and Pakistan have taken a series of steps against each other with Pakistan warning that India may be preparing to launch military attacks. The two countries have suspended trade, shut down a land border crossing, closed off their airspace to one another, expelled citizens and diplomats, and India has suspended a key water treaty. On Tuesday, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif along with the deputy prime minister, foreign and defence ministers, and the military chiefs visited the headquarters of the Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence, the country’s top spy agency, to attend a security briefing. Pakistan has conducted two missile tests in three days while India has announced plans for civil defence drills across several states on Wednesday that will include air raid sirens and evacuation plans. The two countries also aired their grievances during a United Nations Security Council meeting in New York on Monday. Advertisement UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has emphasised the need to avoid a military confrontation that could “easily spin out of control”. “Now is the time for maximum restraint and stepping back from the brink,” he said on Monday. Pakistani soldiers stand outside a tunnel where a train was attacked by secessionist fighters in Bolan, Balochistan, on March 15, 2025 [File: Reuters] Adblock test (Why?)
Canada trade shifts away from US amid trade tensions
New data show both imports and exports with US fall as Canada expands trading relationships with other countries. Canada’s trade with the United States has tumbled in March, but a surge in exports to other countries have helped make up the downward shift. Exports to the US dropped by 6.6 percent during the month while imports from the US fell by 2.9 percent amid growing public discontent towards Canada’s longstanding ally and top trading partner, according to data released by Statistics Canada on Tuesday. Total exports fell by 0.2 percent in March mainly on lower prices whereas imports tumbled by 1.5 percent. Canada’s trade deficit shrank from 1 billion Canadian dollars (US$1.4bn) in February to 367 million Canadian dollars (US$506m) in March. Its trade surplus with the US fell to 6.1 billion Canadian dollars (US$8.4bn) . “This decline was almost entirely offset by a significant rise in exports to countries other than the United States,” the agency said, highlighting a 24.8 percent surge in overseas shipments. Canada increased exports of gold to the United Kingdom, crude oil to the Netherlands and various goods to Germany. Advertisement Exports of motor vehicles and parts also increased amid US tariffs targeting the auto sector. Exports of pharmaceuticals and uranium to the US as well as pork to Asian markets declined. Natural gas exports also fell. Steel exports dropped while aluminium exports rose for a fourth straight month. Imports of steel declined, but imports of aluminium grew as both products face 25 percent US tariffs. Analysts have warned that the full effects of the tariffs have yet to be seen. Canada should “brace for increasing headwinds to trade as the worst of the trade conflict is expected to take place over the coming quarters”, TD Economics analyst Marc Ercolao said in a research note. Carney and Trump meet The trade data was released the day Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney met with US President Donald Trump in Washington, DC, to discuss strained trade and security ties. Carney won last week’s elections on a pledge to stand up to Trump and his America First agenda. He said the strained relationship between the two countries can never be the same again. The US imposed broad tariffs on Canadian goods at the beginning of March before announcing several reductions and exemptions even as tariffs on cars, aluminium, steel and potash stayed in place. Canada has hit back with countermeasures. “Canada and the United States are strongest when we work together – and that work starts now,” Carney said on the social media platform X as he arrived in Washington, DC, on Monday night. Adblock test (Why?)
Palestine and the decline of the US empire
It has been 19 months now since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza. The International Court of Justice is investigating a “plausible genocide”, while the International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes. Scholars of genocide, major human rights organisations, and United Nations experts have identified what is going on in Gaza as genocide. People across the world have marched to call on their governments to act to stop it. There is a single power that stands in the way of putting an end to this genocide: the United States. One administration has handed over to another, and yet there has been no change in policy. Unconditional support for Israel seems to be a doctrine that the US political establishment is unwilling to touch. Various analyses have suggested that at the root of this “special relationship” are Judeo-Christian values and a shared democratic path; others have argued that it has to do with the two-party system and the donor class dominating US politics. Advertisement But the reality is far simpler. The US views Israel as a critical ally because it helps promote US global supremacy at a time when it is facing inevitable decline. Israel’s survival in its current settler-colonial form – the US elites believe – is closely tied to maintaining US supremacy. The supremacy of US empire Since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, the US has been leading a unipolar world as the sole superpower. As a continuation of Western imperial global dominance, the US empire holds much sway over global economic, political, and cultural matters, often with devastating consequences for the lives of millions of people around the world. Like all empires, the US solidifies and expands its position of supremacy and hegemony in the world through its overwhelming military force. Through the US infrastructure of organised imperial violence, it is able to secure access to and control of resources, trade routes, and markets. This, in turn, guarantees continuous economic growth and dominance. But in recent years, we have seen signs that US supremacy is being challenged. The momentum to do so built up in the aftermath of the 2008-2009 US financial crisis, which turned into a global one. It demonstrated the negative impact of US supremacy on the world economy and motivated powers such as China and India to take action to protect themselves from it. The BRICS coalition of economies emerged as their shared response on the economic front. In the following years, various US foreign policy mishaps, including the US failure in Afghanistan, its waning influence in Africa and its inability to prevent the Russian invasion of Ukraine, also demonstrated the limits of US global power. Advertisement The rise of US President Donald Trump and far-right populism in the United States reflected the fact that cracks were appearing in the very core of the US-led so-called liberal order. No empire has ever easily accepted its decline, and neither will the US. It intends to hold onto its status as the unquestionable superpower, and for that, it needs imperial outposts to stand loyally by its side. Israel – the most reliable imperial ally Throughout the Cold War, Western Europe and Israel stood as the US’s junior partners in its confrontation with the Soviet Union in Europe and the Middle East. Today, while the decades-old transatlantic alliance seems to somewhat falter, the US-Israeli relationship appears as strong as ever. Israel has demonstrated loyalty as an imperial outpost. It has played a key role in supporting US imperialism in two ways. First, Israel helps the US secure its access to and control over one of the most critical markets for any empire: the energy market. The Middle East is an important force in the global energy trade, and its oil and gas policies can have a tremendous impact on the world economy. What the US fears the most is losing its dominance in the global energy markets to a competing power, which is why it wants to secure its interests by establishing a regional order in the Middle East that overwhelmingly favours its imperial power. This new order is about giving the US a major advantage over any competitor seeking to make inroads into the region, namely China. Advertisement For the administration of former US President Joe Biden and its successor, the Trump administration, the Israeli genocide of Palestinians and aggression against neighbouring countries are about establishing this new security reality in the region by eliminating hostile groups and governments. That is why US support for them has not stopped. Second, Israel plays a critical role in advancing US military supremacy. The US provides Israel with billions of dollars in aid, which is in fact a form of self-investment in developing military capabilities and expanding sales. The Israeli state uses these funds to buy weapons from US arms manufacturers, which then use Israel’s deployment of that weaponry in the Middle East as testing and marketing tools. The US military-industrial complex is thus able to sell more weapons and continue to innovate and grow to ensure the US has a military edge over its rivals. In this sense, Israel is one of the most critical parts of the US imperial machinery. Without it, the US would find it challenging to maintain its imperial power in the Middle East. It is for this reason that Biden once famously proclaimed that if Israel did not exist, the US would have to invent it. Free Palestine and global decolonisation Over the past year, we have witnessed an unprecedented attack on the Palestine solidarity movement in the US, which has affected all public spheres, including education and healthcare. We have also seen an intensification of US threats against states, such as South Africa, for their support for Palestine. Advertisement Based on the magnitude of the resources and energy that the US empire expends on the elimination
GOP to grill blue state governors on sanctuary policies in high-profile hearing
Three blue state governors are being summoned to Washington, D.C., to testify on their sanctuary policies before the Republican-run House Oversight Committee. Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., is announcing a hearing set for next month, June 12, featuring three Democratic leaders – New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. “Sanctuary policies only provide sanctuaries for criminal illegal aliens. Former President Biden created the worst border crisis in U.S. history and allowed criminal illegal aliens to flood our communities,” Comer said in a statement. SCOOP: REPUBLICANS DISCUSS DEFUNDING ‘BIG ABORTION’ LIKE PLANNED PARENTHOOD IN TRUMP AGENDA BILL “The Trump administration is taking decisive action to deport criminal illegal aliens from our nation but reckless sanctuary states like Illinois, Minnesota and New York are actively seeking to obstruct federal immigration enforcement,” he continued. “The governors of these states must explain why they are prioritizing the protection of criminal illegal aliens over the safety of U.S. citizens, and they must be held accountable.” It’s likely to be a contentious hearing, with Hochul, Walz and Pritzker all serving as past boogeymen on the left. Republicans have blamed blue state governors for continuing to fuel the border crisis by resisting the Trump administration’s stringent crackdown on illegal immigration. Walz will be particularly notable to watch. A former House member himself, it’s one of the Democrat’s first appearances back in Washington since losing the 2024 presidential election as ex-Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate. Both Walz and Pritzker have also been floated as potential 2028 presidential contenders. MEET THE TRUMP-PICKED LAWMAKERS GIVING SPEAKER JOHNSON A FULL HOUSE GOP CONFERENCE The hearing is set to come after a similar event in March, when the House Oversight Committee heard from Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston and New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Comer sent each of the three governors requests for information on their sanctuary policies in April. Fox News Digital reached out to the three governors for comment.
Dems grill Pentagon nominee Tata over past inflammatory remarks, calling Obama ‘terrorist leader’
Retired Brig. Gen. Anthony Tata, President Trump’s pick for a top Pentagon post, came under fire at his Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday for past inflammatory remarks, including calling former President Barack Obama a “terrorist leader” and suggesting ex-CIA Director John Brennan deserved execution. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, called Tata’s record of political statements “disqualifying” and said his rhetoric was “not appropriate for a position of this significance.” “I respect and appreciate your military service,” Reed said, “but your record of public statements and behavior toward individuals with whom you disagree politically is disqualifying.” Tata, under questioning from Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., said he regretted the comments, calling them “out of character.” HEGSETH ORDERS ‘HISTORIC’ REDUCTION OF GENERAL OFFICERS IN THE MILITARY “I regret making those comments,” said Tata. “I have 45 years of solution-oriented leadership, that was out of character. I regret it. I can guarantee that I will be an apolitical leader.” The retired Army general and former Trump administration official was nominated for a senior Pentagon role in 2020, but the Senate canceled his confirmation hearing at the last minute over similar concerns. Trump later appointed him to a civilian advisory role without Senate confirmation. Tata’s post-military career includes stints as a school district official, North Carolina’s secretary of transportation, and a military thriller author. After calling Obama a terrorist in 2018, Tata later wrote on X that he was “joking” and meant to criticize Obama for the Iran deal. “I was joking! Of course it’s not a conspiracy theory. He did more to harm US vital interests and help Islamic countries than any president in history. The Iran deal alone is more than enough evidence of his drive to subvert US national interests to Islam and a globalist agenda.” “Might be a time to pick your poison,” Tata had also replied on X to Brennan in a since-deleted post, accusing him of treason. Last month, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired Darin Selnick, his deputy chief of staff who had also been performing the duties of undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness. Selnick was one of three top aides Hegseth fired after a leak investigation and fights between the aides and his former chief of staff. HEGSETH ORDERS SWEEPING ARMY OVERHAUL AND CONSOLIDATION AIMED AT COUNTERING CHINA AND GOLDEN DOME CAPABILITIES Senators also pressed Tata on more recent social media posts, including a tweet suggesting military officers were engaged in “mutinous discussions” and another calling for senior defense officials appointed by President Joe Biden to be fired. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., asked whether Tata valued loyalty to the Constitution or the administration’s political agenda more. “We all raise our right hand to uphold the Constitution,” Tata responded, though he defended Trump’s vision of avoiding “unnecessary wars” and rebuilding the military. He pledged to uphold his oath even “if it means getting fired.” If confirmed as undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, Tata would oversee military recruitment, education, healthcare and overall force readiness. He would also play a key role in implementing efforts backed by Trump allies to reduce the number of general officers and eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the department. Tata said he would push to improve military recruiting by expanding access to high school programs to build a “warrior ethos,” and streamline medical waivers for disqualified candidates. He also pledged to advise the chain of command on “apolitical and objective hirings,” and denied supporting any kind of “blatant purge.” Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., expressed concern about political pressure on military leadership, citing the recent ouster of Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. C.Q. Brown. Tata insisted his approach would be objective. In contrast, the nomination of Katherine Sutton for a top Pentagon technology role drew little opposition. Sutton, currently chief technology advisor at U.S. Cyber Command, warned that China’s cyber threats demand urgent investment in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence. Sutton was pressed by Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., on whether she believed Signal and Telemessage were permissible for work purposes at the DoD, after a slew of reports about the secretary’s use of the encrypted messaging applications. “Depends on the level of classification,” said Sutton, adding there are a “wide variety” of apps in use at the DoD. “OK, glad you got your talking point answer out,” said Slotkin. “It’s concerning to me that going into this job you can’t give a straight balls and strike answer.”
Newark mayor takes fight to the gates of ICE detention center amid legal battle over alleged safety violations
The Democrat mayor of Newark, New Jersey, on Tuesday continued his crusade to stop Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activities inside a previously vacant prison that is being converted into an immigrant detention center. Mayor Ras Baraka arrived at the gates of Delaney Hall this morning alongside activists to demand entry into the facility that he claims GEO Group, the building’s new owner, is unlawfully preventing from being inspected. A lawsuit filed on behalf of the City of Newark on April 1 alleges that GEO Group failed to permit entry to safety inspectors and violated city construction code, including by conducting electrical and plumbing renovations without proper oversight. Fox News Digital reached out to the mayor’s office for comment on the ongoing litigation and Baraka’s visit to the facility. ‘BOGUS CLAIMS’: BLUE CITY MAYOR UNDER FIRE FOR TRYING TO HALT REOPENING OF ICE FACILITY In a press conference on Monday, Baraka said GEO Group is “following the pattern of the president of the United States who believes that he can just do what he wants to do and obscure the laws, national and constitutional laws, and they think they can do the same thing in the state of New Jersey and in Newark.” Baraka said fire department officials were trying to verify whether people were being detained in Delaney Hall after hearing “from word of mouth that they said they’ve been putting people in the building, from an employee there who told us that detainees were in fact being allowed in the building.” “In the initial inspection, we found some violations. Some of them weren’t grave violations, but they were, in fact, violations. Violations that put first responders at risk, violations that put detainees or workers that are there at risk,” the mayor continued. Possible violations listed later in the press conference by lawyer Kenyatta K. Stewart included unsanitary kitchens, lack of emergency exits and lack of proper ventilation. IDENTITY OF SECOND DEPORTED MAN WHO JUDGE WANTS RETURNED TO US REVEALED AS TRUMP ADMIN FIGHTS ORDER Stewart and Baraka expressed concern about the possibility of children being detained in the building. The mayor said it violates the law to refuse access to fire inspectors, health inspectors and uniform code of construction inspectors. GEO Group contends they are using an old certificate of occupancy from 2007, but Baraka says it’s invalid. “The attempt by local and state officials to stop the opening of a lawful federal immigration processing center at the Delaney Hall facility in Newark is another unfortunate example of a politicized campaign by sanctuary city and open borders politicians in New Jersey to interfere with the federal government’s efforts to arrest, detain, and deport dangerous criminal illegal aliens in accordance with established federal law,” a spokesperson for the group told Fox News Digital in a statement last month. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “These politically motivated tactics threaten both public safety and the local economy and are based on bogus claims about the Delaney Hall facility, which previously operated as a federal immigration processing center for six years under President Obama’s administration, without opposition from local political leaders,” the statement continued. Baraka, who is running for governor of the Garden State, denied politicizing the issue. “The reality is, this is not a Republican or a Democratic issue, in my mind. It’s an issue of human rights. It’s an issue of due process. It’s the issue of the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States,” he said.
Supreme Court hands down decision in trans military ban suit
The Supreme Court has sided with the Trump administration in lifting a lower court’s order that paused the Pentagon’s transgender military ban. In a short order on Tuesday, the high court handed the White House win as Trump seeks to unmake the Biden-era diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) agenda. The court stayed a lower court order, allowing the Pentagon policy to take effect. Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson would have denied the administration’s appeal and kept the lower court injunction in place. At issue in the suit, Shilling v. United States, is President Donald Trump‘s January executive order banning transgender military members. The order required the Department of Defense to update its guidance regarding “trans-identifying medical standards for military service” and to “rescind guidance inconsistent with military readiness.” HEGSETH SAYS HE’S SIGNING MEMO ON COMBAT ARMS STANDARDS FOR MEN AND WOMEN Seven transgender military members proceeded to then bring suit against the administration in a Seattle-based federal court in early February. Trump was dismissed from the suit as a defendant in his official capacity as the suit played out in court. The initial complaint argued that the executive order “turns” away transgender military members “and kicks them out – for no legitimate reason.” “Rather, it baselessly declares all transgender people unfit to serve, insults and demeans them, and cruelly describes every one of them as incapable of ‘an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life,’ based solely because they are transgender,” it continued. U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle had issued a preliminary injunction in March that blocked the administration from identifying and removing transgender service members as the suit worked its way through legal proceedings. In his opinion granting the injunction, Settle characterized the ban as a “blanket prohibition on transgender service.” Settle found the plaintiffs would likely succeed on the merits of their equal protection, First Amendment, and procedural due process claims, among others. TRUMP’S TRANSGENDER MILITARY BAN DEALT LEGAL BLOW AFTER APPEALS COURT RULING “The government’s arguments are not persuasive, and it is not an especially close question on this record,” Settle wrote. Settle wrote in his order that the injunction was to “maintain the status quo of military policy regarding both active-duty and prospective transgender service” that were in place prior to Trump’s January 27 executive order. The administration quickly appealed the order to the Ninth Circuit, requesting the appellate court stay Settle’s order. The administration argued in court filings that the policy “furthers the government’s important interests in military readiness, unit cohesion, good order and discipline, and avoiding disproportionate costs.” A three-judge panel – composed of Judges Atsushi Wallace Tashima, a Clinton-appointee, John B. Owens, an Obama-appointee, and Roopali H. Desai, a Biden-appointee – denied the administration’s request for a stay on March 31. HEGSETH SUGGESTS JUDGE REPORT TO MILITARY BASES AFTER RULING THAT PENTAGON MUST ALLOW TRANSGENDER TROOPS The stay would have allowed the administration to enforce the ban while the legal challenge moved forward. “The Department of Justice has vigorously defended President Trump’s executive actions, including the Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness Executive Order, and will continue to do so,” a Justice Department official told Fox News Digital at the time. Shilling v. United States is just one of several suits challenging the Trump administration’s military ban. Transgender plaintiffs also notably sued in D.C. federal court where U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes also initially blocked the ban from going into effect. Fox News Digital’s Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report.
Josh Hawley calls for federal investigation after whistleblower alleges child labor at Tyson Foods plant
FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., is urging President Donald Trump‘s Department of Labor to open an investigation into Tyson Foods on Tuesday after receiving a whistleblower report claiming the company employed child labor at one of its facilities. Hawley wrote a letter to Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer on Tuesday, urging her to investigate the matter. He said his Senate Judiciary subcommittee opened its own investigation after being contacted by the whistleblower. Tyson plants in Tennessee and elsewhere have been the subject of child labor investigations in recent years. “The whistleblower, a former Tyson Foods employee who oversaw plant safety, alleges that they personally witnessed underage workers and also received multiple reports from hourly Tyson employees about child workers in the plant. According to the allegations, these child workers were employed by a third-party entity contracted by Tyson for work in the plant,” Hawley wrote in his letter. “After reporting concerns to company superiors about child workers employed at the plant, the whistleblower was subjected to retaliation and a ‘toxic work environment.’ Due to the toxic work environment, the whistleblower quit. Tyson is now pursuing legal action against them related to their departure from the company,” the letter continued. ONE DEAD, 2 HOSPITALIZED AFTER FIRE AT TYSON FOODS PLANT IN GEORGIA Hawley went on to note media reports showing that “Tyson purposely uses subcontractors to avoid punishment for illegally employing children. As a result, Tyson has successfully avoided all liability and culpability for its clear violations of child labor laws.” Tyson denied any wrongdoing in a statement to Fox News Digital on Tuesday. “We do not allow the employment of anyone under the age of 18 in any of our facilities, and we do not facilitate, excuse, or in any other way participate in the use of child labor by third parties. We take the enforcement of all labor laws seriously, and we verify the age of all team members by fully participating in the federal government’s E-Verify and IMAGE programs. We also have multiple processes in place, including an anonymous ethics hotline, for all team members to report suspicious activity,” a Tyson Foods spokesperson said in a statement. EXPLOSION AT LOUISVILLE FACTORY KILLS 2, INJURES SEVERAL, COMPANY CONFIRMS During her confirmation hearing, Chavez-DeRemer vowed to use her role in the new Trump administration to crack down on labor abuses. “Child labor should not be accepted by anybody in America. The Department of Labor has the enforcement capability to double down if [companies] are knowingly breaking the law and exploiting children in their factories,” she told Hawley during the confirmation process. Chavez-DeRemer’s office confirmed to Fox News Digital that the secretary had received Hawley’s letter on Tuesday. “The Secretary is reviewing the Senator’s letter and remains committed to protecting America’s children from potential labor violations,” Labor Department spokesperson Courtney Parella said in a statement. Tyson also faced heavy criticism in 2024 after announcing plans to hire asylum seekers for one of its plants in Tennessee, just days after closing another facility in Iowa, costing roughly 1,000 jobs.
Trump dares Newsom to run in 2028, slams record on LA wildfires
President Donald Trump said he would “love” California Gov. Gavin Newsom to launch a White House bid for the Democrats, but said his response to wildfires and other issues would “pretty much put him out of the race.” The president, during a bilateral meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, took a swipe at Newsom, blasting California’s high-speed rail project. SMELT TEST: TRUMP ORDER OVERRIDES CALIFORNIA’S FISH-PROTECTING RULES TO MAXIMIZE WATER SUPPLY “A little train going from San Francisco to Los Angeles that’s being run by Gavin New-scum—the governor of California,” Trump said. “Did you ever hear of Gavin Newsom? He has got that train—the worst cost overrun I’ve ever seen. It’s like, totally out of control.” Trump said he “always liked Gavin” and “had a good relationship with him.” “I just got him a lot of water, you know, I sent in people to open up that water because he refused to do it,” Trump said, adding that “if they would have done what I said to do, they wouldn’t have had the fires in Los Angeles.” “Those fires would have been put out very quickly,” Trump said. Trump traveled to Southern California in January, just days after taking office, to see damage from the devastating wildfires that destroyed thousands of acres and more than 10,000 buildings in the Los Angeles area. After the visit, Trump issued an executive order calling on federal agencies to overrule California regulations on endangered species to create more water availability, expedite the removal of debris in the areas affected by the fires and conduct investigations into the City of Los Angeles’ use of federal grants. Trump also called on the Department of the Interior to immediately override existing regulations in California that “unduly burden efforts to maximize water deliveries” to the Central Valley Project, a water management effort in the state. TRUMP MEETS WITH CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS, FIRE AND LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS TO SEE LA WILDFIRE DAMAGE FIRST HAND Shifting back to the high-speed rail project, Trump said he has “watched a lot of stupid people build a lot of stupid things,” but that this is “the worst cost overrun I’ve ever seen.” California’s high-speed rail project was designed to cart riders between San Francisco and Los Angeles in less than three hours. It was expected to cost $33 billion and be finished by 2020, but the project has been riddled with funding challenges, cost overruns and delays. The project is now reportedly expected to cost an estimated $106 billion to complete. “This government is not going to pay,” Trump said, noting that he told Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy that the Trump administration is “not going to pay for that thing” – [it’s] “30 times over budget.” “It was supposed to be a simple train,” Trump said. Duffy, in February, began a Transportation Department review to determine whether the California High-Speed Rail Authority had “followed through on the commitments it made to receive billions of dollars in federal funding.” “If not, I will have to consider whether that money could be given to deserving infrastructure projects elsewhere in the United States,” Duffy said at a news conference in Los Angeles in February. Looking ahead to 2028, the president said he would “love” to see Newsom run for president. Newsom is barred from seeking re-election as California governor in 2026 due to term limits. NEWSOM PROPOSES TO WORK WITH TRUMP TO ‘MAKE AMERICA FILM AGAIN,’ FLOATS $7.5B FEDERAL TAX CREDIT “But I don’t think he’s going to be running because that one project alone—well, that and the fires and a lot of other things—pretty much put him out of the race,” Trump said. Newsom has been rumored to be mulling a 2028 presidential bid but has not committed to doing so. In a statement to The New York Times, Newsom said he wanted to work with the Trump administration on a $7.5 billion federal tax credit program to bolster the TV and film production industry. “California built the film industry – and we’re ready to bring even more jobs home,” Newsom wrote on X on Monday. “We’ve proven what strong state incentives can do. Now it’s time for a real federal partnership to Make America Film Again.” The White House said Monday that “no final decisions” had been made as the administration was “exploring all options” to deliver on Trump’s directive “to safeguard our country’s national and economic security while Making Hollywood Great Again.” Trump first announced in a Truth Social post on Sunday that he was authorizing the Department of Commerce and the U.S. trade representative “to immediately begin the process of instituting a 100% Tariff on any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands.” The Associated Press contributed to this report.
SCOOP: Trump ally’s Gulf of America bill sparks frustration in House GOP
FIRST ON FOX: A scheduled vote on making President Donald Trump’s Gulf of America name change permanent is causing some heartburn within the House GOP conference. Multiple House Republicans who spoke with Fox News Digital said they were frustrated by House GOP leaders’ decision to spend time voting on what they saw as a largely symbolic gesture in an otherwise light legislative week. It comes as GOP negotiators work behind the scenes to iron out divisions on Medicaid, tax policy and green energy subsidies in time to pass Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” by the Fourth of July. “This is a time where we should be in our districts, going to graduations, making sure that we’re listening to folks who have tariff issues,” a more moderate GOP lawmaker, granted anonymity to speak freely, told Fox News Digital. “Instead, we’re going to spend time doing this… it’s frustrating for somebody who’s got a lot of pragmatic legislation, waiting in the queue to be heard. Instead, we’re doing posture bills. It’s not what I came here to do.” SCOOP: REPUBLICANS DISCUSS DEFUNDING ‘BIG ABORTION’ LIKE PLANNED PARENTHOOD IN TRUMP AGENDA BILL But the frustration is not limited to moderate and mainstream Republicans. One conservative GOP lawmaker vented to Fox News Digital, “125 other [executive orders], this is the one we pick.” “Folks are upset that we’re not doing something more important,” the conservative lawmaker said. Two sources familiar with House Republicans’ whip team meeting said at least three GOP lawmakers aired concerns about the bill — Reps. Don Bacon, R-Neb., Jay Obernolte, R-Calif., and Glenn Grothman, R-Wis. One of the sources described their sentiments as, “They just think it’s kind of frivolous or not serious.” “I’ve heard criticisms from all corners of the conference. Conservatives to pragmatic ones,” Bacon told Fox News Digital. “It seems sophomoric. The United States is bigger and better than this.” Bacon is among the Republicans pushing hard for a restrained hand on Medicaid cuts in Trump’s multitrillion-dollar bill, while other GOP lawmakers are pushing for more significant cuts. Grothman would not confirm or deny his concerns, telling Fox News Digital, “That’s behind-the-scenes stuff.” Obernolte’s office did not respond to requests for comment by press time. While the concerns have not come from a large number of the overall conference, any degree of defections is significant with the GOP’s razor-thin House majority. With all lawmakers present in the chamber, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., can currently lose up to three votes to still pass something along party lines. It’s also a sign of Trump’s continued dominance on Capitol Hill starting to wear on some Republican lawmakers. It’s not clear that the lawmakers who expressed concerns will vote against the final bill, however, particularly with pressure from House GOP leaders. A third House Republican who spoke with Fox News Digital anonymously acknowledged the frustrations, but nevertheless said, “It’s not the hill to die on.” It’s worth noting that congressional Republicans have passed several bills promoting Trump’s agenda already, including resolutions to roll back key Biden administration policies. The budget reconciliation package, Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” is GOP negotiators’ current priority. MEET THE TRUMP-PICKED LAWMAKERS GIVING SPEAKER JOHNSON A FULL HOUSE GOP CONFERENCE The Gulf of America Act was introduced by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., a top Trump ally. When reached for comment on some GOP lawmakers’ concerns, Greene told Fox News Digital, “Codifying the rightful renaming of the Gulf of America isn’t just a priority for me and President Trump, it’s a priority for the American people. American taxpayers fund its protection, our military defends its waters, and American businesses fuel its economy. My bill advances President Trump’s America First agenda.” “If certain moderate Republicans want to start elsewhere, where do they suggest?” she continued. “I have bills ready for all of it. But let’s be clear, we should be voting to codify every single executive order President Trump issues.” The bill is currently slated to get a vote on Thursday morning, and Johnson promoted it during his House GOP leadership press conference on Tuesday. “We’re going to pass Marjorie Taylor Greene’s bill to permanently rename the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of America. And then we’re going to codify dozens more of President Trump’s budget-related executive orders, spending-related executive orders through the budget reconciliation process,” the speaker said. Rep. Jimmy Patronis, R-Fla., posted on X in response to the speaker, “This will be a tremendous economic driver for my district. Families across the country will flock to the Florida Panhandle to be the FIRST to enjoy the Gulf of AMERICA!” The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.