Kentucky senate race for McConnell’s seat heats up
A critical Kentucky seat in the U.S. Senate will soon have a new face after former GOP leader Mitch McConnell announced his retirement in February, and Republican hopefuls appear to be gearing up for what will be a challenging primary. Daniel Cameron, Kentucky’s first Black attorney general and 2024 gubernatorial candidate, still remains the only declared Republican candidate so far after he announced his intention to run for the vacant seat just days after McConnell’s retirement address. With first quarter fundraising numbers being released on Tuesday, another possible candidate has been seemingly busy building a war chest behind the scenes. HOUSE REPUBLICAN CAMPAIGN ARM TOUTS ‘UNSTOPPABLE MOMENTUM’ WITH RECORD FUNDRAISING HAUL Republican Rep. Andy Barr, R-Kentucky, who has hinted at a possible run though has not officially stepped into the race, posted a sizable $2.26 million raised since January, with approximately $5.35 million in cash on hand through various Political Action Committees. Amanda Milward, a spokesperson for the Barr campaign, spoke with Fox News Digital after the numbers were posted on Tuesday. “Andy Barr is humbled by the outpouring of support from Kentuckians and donors across the country for his strong America First leadership,” Milward explained. “As Andy considers running for the U.S. Senate, it is clear that Kentucky Republicans want leaders who will not only stand with President Trump, but who also have the drive and resources to win. We cannot afford to lose another statewide race.” Cameron posted $507,656 in campaign contributions and $455,395 cash on hand after expenditures. VP VANCE BLASTS MCCONNELL’S VOTE AGAINST TRUMP PENTAGON NOMINEE: ‘POLITICAL PETTINESS’ “From every corner of Kentucky to supporters across the country, folks are rallying behind our campaign because they’re ready for a true America First fighter—someone who will stand up for our values and advance President Trump’s agenda in the U.S. Senate,” Cameron told Fox News Digital Tuesday. “We’re pressing forward, the path to victory is clear, and we’re not looking back.” Former Senate Leader Mitch McConnell was elected to the coveted seat in 1985, making him the longest-serving senator in Kentucky history. However, McConnell’s endorsement may not carry the weight it did some years ago, given the tumultuous relationship between the Kentucky senator and President Donald Trump. Sources close to the race told Fox News Digital that a McConnell endorsement would actually do more harm than good and that the endorsement from President Trump is the key to the ticket. While President Trump has not yet endorsed a candidate, he has made comments about both Cameron and Barr in the past. Last week at the White House, the president made a nod to Barr’s attendance during a press conference, telling the likely candidate “good luck with everything, I hear good things.” GOP SENATOR REVEALS WHY TRUMP’S ‘COMPLETE AND TOTAL ENDORSEMENT’ WILL BE CRUCIAL FOR HIS MIDTERM RACE Notably, a Trump endorsement for Cameron would not be the first, as the 45th and 47th president endorsed Cameron for governor in October 2023. Following Cameron’s loss to Democrat Andy Beshear, Trump blamed ties with McConnell as the reason for the defeat. “Daniel Cameron lost because he couldn’t alleviate the stench of Mitch McConnell,” Trump posted to Truth Social. “I told him early that’s a big burden to overcome. McConnell and Romney are Kryptonite for Republican Candidates. I moved him up 25 Points, but the McConnell relationship was ‘too much to bear.” To shake things up even more, a third possible candidate is eyeing a possible run for the hotly contested seat. Wealthy businessman Nate Morris, CEO of Morris Industries and former CEO of Rubicon Investments, has also been in the mix of possible names in the primary. Morris has already targeted ties to McConnell as a possible weakness for a potential victor, posting on X that “the last thing Kentucky needs is another puppet for Mitch McConnell.” Who the sitting president plans to support remains unclear, though it seems his endorsement in the race may be one of the more substantial in the upcoming midterm election. Fox News Digital reached out to Nate Morris for comment but did not receive a response.
Russia jails journalists for alleged ties to Navalny
NewsFeed Four Russian journalists have been sentenced to over 5 years in prison for alleged ties to late opposition leader Alexey Navalny. All four reject the charges and supporters say they are being punished simply for doing their jobs. Published On 16 Apr 202516 Apr 2025 Adblock test (Why?)
UK’s top court rules legal definition of ‘woman’ refers to ‘biological sex’
The decision was welcomed by some activists, but transgender campaigners warned it could lead to discrimination. The United Kingdom’s highest court has ruled that the terms “woman” and “sex” refer to a “biological woman and biological sex” under British equality laws, a landmark decision greeted with concern by supporters of transgender rights but welcomed by the government as bringing clarity. The highly anticipated ruling on Wednesday centred on whether a trans woman with a gender recognition certificate (GRC), a formal document giving legal recognition of someone’s new gender, is protected from discrimination as a woman under Britain’s Equality Act. The decision confirms that single-sex services for women such as refuges, hospital wards and sports can exclude trans women, clearing up legal ambiguity. Transgender campaigners said the decision could lead to discrimination, especially over employment issues. “The unanimous decision of this court is that the terms ‘women’ and ‘sex’ in the Equality Act 2010 refer to a biological woman and biological sex,” said Deputy President of the Supreme Court Patrick Hodge. Advertisement “But we counsel against reading this judgement as a triumph for one or more groups in our society at the expense of another – it is not.” Transgender rights have become a polarising political issue in the UK and other parts of the world. Some critics say the conservative right has weaponised identity politics to attack minority groups, while others argue that support for transgender people has infringed on the rights of biological women. In the United States, legal challenges are under way after US President Donald Trump issued executive orders that include barring transgender people from military service. The judgement in Britain followed legal action by a campaign group, For Women Scotland (FWS), against guidance issued by the devolved Scottish government that accompanied a 2018 law designed to increase the proportion of women on public-sector boards. The guidance said a trans woman with a gender recognition certificate was legally a woman. FWS, which was backed by lesbian rights groups, lost its case in the Scottish courts, but the Supreme Court ruled in its favour. “Today the judges have said what we always believed to be the case: that women are protected by their biological sex, that sex is real and that women can now feel safe that services and spaces designated for women are for women,” Susan Smith, co-director of FWS, told cheering supporters outside court. ‘Deeply concerned’ Britain’s Labour government said the Supreme Court’s decision would bring clarity for hospitals, refuges and sports clubs. Advertisement “Single-sex spaces are protected in law and will always be protected by this government,” a government spokesperson said. In an example of the ruling’s potential impact, a Scottish health organisation that is being sued by a nurse it suspended over her response to a trans woman using a female changing room said it had noted the judgement. “We will now take time to carefully consider the judgement and its implications,” a spokesperson for NHS Fife said. The Supreme Court said trans people – whether trans women or men – would not be disadvantaged by its decision, as the Equality Act afforded them protection against discrimination or harassment. Trans rights campaigners said the ruling had worrying implications. “Today is a challenging day, and we are deeply concerned at the widespread, harmful implications of today’s Supreme Court ruling,” a consortium of LGBT+ organisations, including the prominent group Stonewall, said in a statement. “We need to take the time to digest the full implications of the ruling and to understand what this will mean on both legal and practical levels … it is important to be reminded that the Supreme Court reaffirmed that the Equality Act protects trans people against discrimination.” Trans woman and campaigner Ellie Gomersall said the ruling was “another attack on the rights of trans people to live our lives in peace”. Legal experts said the ruling showed equality legislation might need to be urgently updated to ensure trans people were protected. Advertisement Adblock test (Why?)
As US and China escalate trade war, the world asks, ‘Who will blink first?’
As United States President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping face off in an escalating trade war that has roiled global markets and businesses big and small, the question on countless minds is who will blink first. Trump has pummelled China with a 145-percent tariff. Beijing has retaliated with a duty of 125 percent. On Tuesday, Trump ramped up his trade salvoes by ordering a national security review of imports of critical minerals, most of which come from China. Earlier, Bloomberg News reported that China had ordered its airlines not to take deliveries of Boeing jets and halt purchases of aircraft-related equipment and parts from US companies, while Hong Kong’s postal service announced it would no longer handle US-bound mail. “A 145-percent tariff will make it impossible for China to sell to the US – the costs on both economies will be exceptionally high,” Vina Nadjibulla, vice president of research and strategy at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, told Al Jazeera. “A complete decoupling is almost impossible to contemplate.” Advertisement “Who will blink first depends on who can stand more pain and who is better prepared,” she added. While Trump has long accused China of ripping off the US on trade, analysts have questioned whether his administration has a clear goal of what it wants to achieve with its tariffs. Harry Broadman, a former US assistant trade representative and one of the chief negotiators of the WTO, said it is not clear whether Trump wants to close the trade deficit with China or end business with the country outright. “How does Trump deal with US firms that need their goods from China for their factories to work? It’s not black and white,” Broadman told Al Jazeera. “Markets are layered through the different stages of production, you’ve got components coming from all over the world. The global economy is finely chopped up vertically, so it’s not obvious who the winners and losers are.” Broadman said Trump’s approach to trade has been simplistic and unrealistic. “He’s obviously a deals guy in real estate, but not international markets … How he thinks is, ‘How can I win and how can I make the opponent lose?’” he said. “It’s not more sophisticated than that. He’s not interested in splitting the spoils. But you don’t get very far with that.” Miscalculations Trump has made it clear that he believes it is up to China to come to the negotiating table. In a statement on Tuesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt quoted Trump as saying that “the ball is in China’s court.” “China needs to make a deal with us, we don’t have to make a deal with them,” Leavitt told a media briefing in remarks that she said came directly from Trump. Advertisement While the US economy entered the trade war in a relatively strong position compared with China – which is facing headwinds including high unemployment and low domestic demand – Beijing has been preparing for a trade war since at least since Trump’s first term, according to analysts. “The Trump administration has miscalculated that China would quickly come to the negotiating table and would respond to threats,” Dexter Tiff Roberts, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub, told Al Jazeera. Last week, the People’s Daily, a mouthpiece of China’s Communist Party, said the country was prepared for the tariffs after accumulating “rich experience” during the past eight years of trade tensions with the US. “For China, this is an almost existential struggle both on trade and security,” Roberts said, referring to repeated statements from Xi that the East is on the rise while the West is in decline. China has been diversifying its trade away from the US for years, including by reducing its dependence on US agricultural products such as soya beans, which it now mostly sources from Brazil. In 2024, 14.7 percent of China’s exports went to the US, down from 19.2 percent in 2018. On Monday, Xi began a five-day tour of Southeast Asia aimed at buttressing China’s self-styled image as a champion of free trade and a more reliable partner to the region than the US. There are also political considerations for China. Xi has built an image of a strong man and capitulating to the US quickly would damage this image, something he cannot risk both domestically and in China’s dealings with other countries, Roberts said. Advertisement “It is likely they’ll find some MO where both sides declare victory, otherwise it’s like going nuclear and it will shut down entire trade between US and China and I don’t even understand how that works and it will have shocking global implications,” Roberts said. ‘Misguided obsession’ Robert Rogowsky, a professor of trade and economic diplomacy at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California, said he expects Trump to blink first. “There’s so much blinking going on in Washington that it’s almost hard to believe there won’t be more,” Rogowsky told Al Jazeera. “Trump has this misguided obsession with tariffs and he blinks because he comes under pressure from special interests – the wealthy class that has been losing huge amounts of wealth in stock and bond markets,” Rogowsky said, adding that recent turmoil in the financial markets had damaged his support base. On Friday, the Trump administration announced it would exempt technology imports from the 145-percent levy on China, although later White House officials said that was a temporary reprieve and sectoral tariffs were in the pipeline. Trump on Monday suggested he was also considering exemptions from his 25-percent auto tariffs. “Every public policy negotiation has layers of negotiation: the negotiation with those across the table and the many with those behind you [who helped you] to get to the table,” Rogowsky said, adding that in this case, Trump had “negotiated” with special interests in the tech and auto sectors and “given in right away”. Advertisement It is possible Trump was driven by fear of losing the support of industry
Meet the richest DM of UP, 2011 batch IAS officer, whose total assests are worth Rs…
He is currently serving as the Agra DM. Recently, all the IAS officers of Uttar Pradesh have made public the details of their properties.
Inside House Republicans’ new task force to battle criminal Mexican cartels
EXCLUSIVE: Successfully ridding the U.S. of the effects of Mexico’s criminal cartels operating along the southwestern border would be a 20-year ordeal, Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, said – but argued Congress could begin having an impact in a matter of weeks to months. “Look, there’s places we can boost right now to help the administration – the administration is refocusing a lot of efforts, especially in the [Department of Defense (DOD)], on the cartel situation, but there’s no extra money for that. That is something we could produce in reconciliation,” Crenshaw told Fox News Digital. “I already know what programs need to be boosted, I just need to know the numbers. And that will come from [the Office of Management and Budget] that’ll come from the Department of Homeland Security, it’ll come from the DOD, it’ll come from [Department of Justice]. And so over the next couple of weeks, even while we’re in recess, we’re working on getting those numbers.” TWO VENEZUELAN ILLEGAL ALIENS CHARGED WITH KIDNAPPING, TORTURING, ATTEMPTING TO KILL WASHINGTON STATE WOMAN Fox News Digital spoke with Crenshaw days after he was tapped to lead a new task force on combating Mexico’s drug cartels. It’s operating under the House permanent select committee on intelligence, which Crenshaw sits on. He said it differs from his initiative last year, a similar task force, albeit with few resources to execute his goals, according to the congressman. “Last year’s cartel task force didn’t have any staff. We were a series of members conducting hearings, investigations,” Crenshaw said. “I think we’re past that stage at the moment. Now, what I lead is really the House’s effort to actually create some legislation to combat the cartels.” He added that the intelligence panel was “the right place for it” given “a lot of the work we do is classified.” “So the goal here is to actually get some outcomes as opposed to continuing more hearings, continuing more investigation. I’ve got a pretty good outline of what needs to happen. We’ve got President Trump in the White House now, who wants to make it happen,” Crenshaw said. “Another huge difference between now and last year is we have a Mexican administration under President Sheinbaum, who also wants to make it happen and take the fight to the cartels.” That fight would largely be a two-phase approach, Crenshaw explained. The first would be funding, while the second would entail “additional authorities and laws that need to be changed” to combat what the Texas congressman likened to “a terrorist insurgency” within the U.S.’ close neighbor and trading partner. “That means boosting up certain funding lines in existing authorities, especially places like the Department of Defense. You know, NORTHCOM owns this area of operation when it comes to Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. They’re going to need extra resources because we’re going to need to do a lot more training on Mexican special forces,” he said. Crenshaw called for sending military-grade gear to forces at the border, including Blackhawk helicopters, and bolstering reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering efforts. PAM BONDI CALLS OUT ‘DETACHED FROM REALITY’ DEMS FOR DEMANDING ALLEGED MS-13 GANG MEMBER BE RETURNED TO US “Things they really don’t have and that currently cause them to be outgunned by these pretty massive militias that have unlimited funding and are ruthless in the way that they terrorize the Mexican population,” Crenshaw explained. “So there’s a lot to do there.” He’s hoping the funding can largely be allocated through the budget reconciliation process, a means for Republicans to pass a massive conservative policy overhaul while totally sidelining Democrats. They can do so because reconciliation brings the Senate’s passage threshold down from 60 votes to 51, provided the legislation deals with taxation, spending or the national debt. Republicans are looking to increase funding for President Donald Trump’s border initiatives, but it’s not immediately clear what shape that will take. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The contours of that plan will become clear in the next several weeks, with lawmakers returning from a two-week recess at the end of this month. But House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said his full faith was in Crenshaw to execute the task force’s goals. “Now it is the responsibility of Congress to ensure this good work can continue by providing the President with the tools he needs to dismantle the drug cartels for good,” Johnson said in a statement. “No one has worked harder on this important issue than Congressman Crenshaw, and I am grateful he is willing to continue leading at this pivotal time.”
Bipartisan senators push tougher penalties for foreign-backed crimes on US soil
In the wake of the arrest of two foreign nationals seeking to murder a U.S. journalist on behalf of the Iranian government, a bipartisan group of senators put forward a bill Tuesday to stiffen penalties on people who commit crimes in the U.S. on behalf of foreign countries. Sens. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., Jim Banks, R-Ind., Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., introduced the Deterring External Threats and Ensuring Robust Responses to Egregious and Nefarious Criminal Endeavors (DETERRENCE) Act. The bill increases penalties on murder-for-hire schemers, those convicted of attempted murder or assassination of federal officials, as well as suspects allegedly involved in attempting to kill former officials because of their actions while in office. Stalking and attempted kidnapping in the name of foreign governments would also lead to more serious charges for any offender. Many sentence enhancements fell at 10 additional years in prison. IRANIAN BORN JOURNALIST TARGETED IN KIDNAP PLOT TELLS FOX THE TEHRAN REGIME ‘CANNOT BREAK ME’ “If you commit crimes in America on behalf of foreign adversaries, you must face serious consequences,” Slotkin said in a statement. “The bipartisan DETERRENCE Act helps strengthen penalties for these crimes and sends a clear message about how seriously we take our national security and how we will hold accountable those who commit crimes against our nation.” In March, two foreigners appeared in New York federal court and pleaded not guilty to an alleged murder-for-hire plot against Masih Alinejad – an Iranian-born U.S. journalist. Rafat Amirov of Iran and Polad Omarov of the Czech Republic and Slovenia were members of the Russian mob and were hired by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps to kill the New York City resident, according to prosecutors. “Finally, I will face the men hired by the Islamic Republic to kill me, right here in New York,” Alinejad said at the time. IRANIAN-AMERICAN JOURNALIST TESTIFIES AGAINST MEN ACCUSED OF MURDER-FOR-HIRE PLOT “I’m deeply grateful to my new country, the United States of America, for trying to keep me safe from the government of my birth country, Iran.” Ernst said the U.S. cannot allow foreign adversaries like Iran to “fund crimes against Americans on our own soil.” She called the DETERRENCE Act an example of Reagan-esque “peace through strength” that puts foreign criminals “on notice” and is a direct warning to anyone trying to act on Tehran’s motto of “Death to America.” Meanwhile, Hassan said in a statement that Congress should pass the legislation as a clear message to foreign adversaries that they will face serious consequences if their criminal behavior crosses the U.S. border. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Foreign adversaries are working with gangs and criminals in the United States to try to kill people on our soil, which is a national security risk,” she warned. Another reported foreign murder-for-hire plot was revealed last fall when an ex-Indian intelligence officer allegedly plotted to kill a U.S. citizen in New York who was a leader of a pro-Sikh independence movement. Vikash Yadav’s October indictment reportedly laid out a connection to the Indian government, according to NPR.
JD Vance gears up to talk economic priorities during trips to Italy, India
Vice President JD Vance is poised to kick off a trip to Italy and India on Friday – marking his third international trip with the Trump administration. Vance and the second family are poised to meet with and “discuss shared economic and geopolitical priorities with leaders in each country,” according to a statement from Vance’s office. When in Rome, Vance is scheduled to meet with Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin. He will meet with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi while visiting New Delhi, Jaipur and Agra. VANCE’S ‘AMERICA FIRST’ APPROACH GOES GLOBAL, TAKES HARDLINE MESSAGE TO GREENLAND Meanwhile, Meloni is also slated to visit the White House on Thursday in Washington. The vice president and the second family are also planning to conduct engagements at several unspecified cultural sites. The vice president’s office did not provide specifics regarding their trip. It comes as the White House has said that more than 75 countries have reached out seeking to negotiate trade deals with the U.S., after the Trump administration unveiled historic tariffs on April 2. Both the European Union and India have signaled interest in brokering a deal with the U.S. on trade. Meloni has said Italy isn’t on board with the tariffs imposed on the EU, and is prepared to “deploy all tools” to protect Italian businesses. JD VANCE STEPS INTO SPOTLIGHT DEFENDING TRUMP’S FOREIGN POLICY IN OVAL OFFICE DUSTUP WITH ZELENSKYY The original tariff plan slapped 20% duties on goods from the European Union, as well as at least 26% duties on Indian goods. However, Trump announced on April 9 a 90-day pause on those tariffs where duties would be reduced to 10% as countries work to hash out trade deals with the U.S. Vance’s previous international trips include attending the Munich Security Conference in February, where he delivered remarks pushing Europe to “step up in a big way to provide for its own defense.” He also warned that Russia and China don’t pose as great a threat to European nations as the “threat from within,” concerning issues like censorship and illegal immigration. In March, Vance visited Pituffik Space Base in Greenland, the Department of Defense’s northernmost military installation that houses Space Force’s 821st Space Base Group to conduct missile warning, missile defense and space surveillance operations.
Longtime Trump foe Letitia James reviewing possible insider trading over president’s tariff pause
New York Attorney General Letitia James is in the preliminary stages of looking into whether President Donald Trump’s recent reciprocal tariff pause included insider trading violations, Fox News Digital confirmed. James, who is a longtime political foe of Trump’s, is only in the preliminary stages of investigating whether Trump or people close to him may have had advance knowledge of a tariff decision that caused stock markets to surge. The attorney general’s office confirmed the preliminary review of the matter to Fox News Digital Wednesday morning. Trump’s customized, reciprocal tariffs on nations that historically have installed trade barriers on U.S. goods took effect April 9. Trump, ahead of pausing the reciprocal tariffs, posted to Truth Social, “BE COOL! Everything is going to work out well. The USA will be bigger and better than ever before!” and “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT.” He announced a 90-day pause on the reciprocal tariffs later that day in a surprise move that helped push U.S. markets sharply higher. China, however, was not part of the tariff pause and was instead hit with a higher 125% tariff after retaliating with its own additional tariffs against the U.S., and the 10% baseline tariff leveled on nations earlier in April was kept in place. NY AG LETITIA JAMES SKEWERED FOR ‘DISTASTEFUL’ REMARKS AFTER TRUMP VICTORY: ‘UTTER ARROGANCE’ TRUMP VOWS NOBODY GETTING ‘OFF THE HOOK’ FOR ‘UNFAIR’ TRADE BALANCES, SAYS THERE WAS NO TARIFF ‘EXCEPTION’ The DOW went up 7.9%, the S&P 500 rose 9.5% and the Nasdaq jumped 12.2% the same day. Some lawmakers have raised concerns about possible insider trading. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” that the Securities and Exchange Commission should investigate. “It’s entirely appropriate to have an investigation to make sure that Donald Trump, Donald Trump’s family, Donald Trump’s inner circle, didn’t get advance information and trade on that information,” Warren said. Sens. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., wrote a letter Thursday to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, as well as Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, calling for an investigation into potential insider trading. The White House hit back in comments provided to Fox Digital amid allegations of insider trading that Democrats were “playing partisan games.” WH SLAMS DEMS’ ‘PARTISAN GAMES’ AFTER TRUMP-FOE SCHIFF CALLS FOR INSIDER TRADING INVESTIGATION OVER TARIFFS “It is the responsibility of the President of the United States to reassure the markets and Americans about their economic security in the face of nonstop media fearmongering,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said in comment to Fox Digital Thursday. “Democrats railed against China’s cheating for decades, and now they’re playing partisan games instead of celebrating President Trump’s decisive action yesterday to finally corner China,” James, a former city council member in New York and public defender, launched her run for New York attorney general during the 2018 cycle, while emphasizing that if she were elected, she would aggressively pursue legal charges against Trump, vowing to expose the “con man” following her win that year. James reported in November 2024 that her office took on nearly 100 legal challenges against Trump during his first administration and added after his second presidential win last year that she would continue challenging him in the courts to “defend the rights of New Yorkers and the rule of law.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “We did not expect this result, but we are prepared to respond to this result. And my office has been preparing for several months because we’ve been here before,” James said following Trump’s election win in November 2024. “We faced this challenge before, and we used the rule of law to fight back. And we are prepared to fight back once again because, as the attorney general of this great state, it is my job to protect and defend the rights of New Yorkers and the rule of law. And I will not shrink from that responsibility.” Under the 1921 Martin Act, the New York attorney general has broad authority to investigate possible securities fraud. The law allows the office to subpoena witnesses, demand documents, and bring civil or criminal cases without proving intent to defraud.
Senate Republican DOGE leader Joni Ernst faces first Democratic challenger in 2026 race
Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, is facing her first Democratic challenger in the 2026 election as one Marine and Army veteran jumped into the race on Tuesday, vowing to fight “for a Democratic Party that people like me will want to be a part of.” Nathan Sage, currently the executive director of the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce, announced his candidacy through a campaign video introducing himself as a dad, mechanic, sports radio host and a child of a trailer park in Mason City, Iowa. He said he’s fighting for a country “that’s ruled by the people who sustain it, not the billionaire class.” “I want to kick corporate Republican Joni Ernst’s a— next November,” Sage said. SEN. ERNST PRAISES TRUMP ADMIN FOR EXTRADITION OF MIGRANT TO US: ‘ABSOLUTELY ELATED’ “The economy is rigged, and those in power don’t give a damn. They’re the ones doing it. Only 2% of Congress come from the working class. We built the damn table. It’s time we had a seat at it,” Sage said in his first campaign video shared on X. “I’m fighting for a Democratic Party that people like me will actually want to be a part of. People like my dad, myself, my kids, all the people like us,” Sage said. “The DC elites, the ruling class, they don’t want me. But I think maybe you will.” Sage, whose father was a factory worker and mother was a daycare teacher, also took a swing at tech billionaire and President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency adviser Elon Musk using X, which Musk owns. “We’ll be up against all the money Elon Musk can throw at us. Please consider supporting this transformative campaign,” Sage wrote, sharing a donation link for his campaign on ActBlue, the main fundraising platform for the Democratic Party. Ernst, notably, is leading DOGE efforts in the Senate. Sage’s campaign video – which includes sprinkles of profanity – begins by categorizing Ernst as “scandal-ridden” and “corporate-funded.” It also further highlights his working-class background and military service. “I never thought someone like me could run for Senate,” Sage said. When he was five years old, Sage said, that his father was “arrested for a bounced check — $50.” “He was trying to pay for new school clothes for my sister and I,” Sage said. “We grew up poor. But I still believed in this country. So I enlisted again and again. Eight years. We were attacked by mortars and rockets more times than I can count. And by the grace of God, I made it home. Now I’m the executive director of Knoxville Chamber of Commerce, one of the many places that’s being abandoned, hurt by corporations, billionaires and the politicians they own.” SEN. JONI ERNST ACCUSES USAID OF ‘OBSTRUCTION’ AMID ‘WASTE AND ABUSE’ SPENDING ALLEGATIONS “There’s a war at home, and we’re losing. Unions under attack. Farmers f—ed over,” Sage said. “People working nonstop just to survive. Too busy to enjoy life. People like my dad are spending their life slaving away in factories only to die of cancer caused by those same corporations.” In an interview with The Hill, Sage said he decided to run out of concern for women’s healthcare coverage after November’s election, noting his wife had a miscarriage earlier last year. “That got me to the point where we shouldn’t be as a working class – as people in general – we shouldn’t be living like that,” Sage reportedly said. Ernst, who is running for her third Senate term in 2026, retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Iowa Army National Guard after 23 years of military service, but Sage claimed that the Republican senator has “kind of left the working class and left a lot of Iowans behind.” Cook Political Report – the leading nonpartisan handicapper – categorizes Ernst’s seat as “solid Republican” in the 2026 race. She faces several GOP primary challengers but is considered the front-runner. Iowa hasn’t elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 2008, when Sen. Tom Harken secured another term. The Hawkeye State last voted for a Democratic presidential candidate in 2012, when former President Barack Obama was re-elected. Trump has won Iowa in every consecutive presidential contest since then. Marion County, where Sage is from, voted for Trump by a sweeping 38 points. “Marion County is a manufacturing county, and most of those people are trying to make ends meet every day of their life. They tried to figure out ways to put food on the table, and I feel like most of them just aren’t represented,” Sage told The Hill. “They don’t have anybody that they feel like is very confident in casting their vote for. And I feel like, for me, I’m one of them, and I’m one of these people that’s just in the middle and that’s going to stand up for the whole of everybody.”