Defiant Mamata Banerjee determined to fight, to move SC over alleged poll rigging, here’s all you need to know
TMC chief Mamata Banerjee is preparing to take alleged election rigging in West Bengal to the Supreme Court. This comes after she chose not to step down as Chief Minister in the wake of the BJP’s historic victory in the state.
Vijay CM Oath taking ceremony: TVK struggles to get numbers, Governor says ‘come with 118’; What happened so far?
Vijay’s TVK is struggling to get majority mark as it seeks support from parties other than Congress which has already given him support. The party is still six seats short to form government delaying Tamil Nadu CM swearing-in.
Former Bihar CM Nitish Kumar’s son Nishant Kumar likely to join Samrat Choudhary’s cabinet on May 7
Nishant Kumar kicked off his ‘Sadbhav Yatra’ or Goodwill Tour on May 3, traveling from Patna to Valmikinagar. He continued the tour the next day from Valmikinagar, attending multiple events across West Champaran and East Champaran districts.
Texas lawmakers repeatedly failed to pass flood protections. Some could have saved lives.
Dozens of bills were rejected over nearly 60 years, ProPublica and The Texas Tribune found. Some measures would have prohibited youth camps and new construction in high-risk flood areas.
More green, less steel: Laredo proposes alternative border fencing for Rio Grande waterfront
Laredo is working with federal officials to minimize the disruptions a potential wall could pose.
Texas’ 33rd Congressional District Democratic runoff: Who is running and what to know
The primary between predecessor and successor arose from a combination of redistricting and Allred’s move to exit the U.S. Senate race to make way for Rep. Jasmine Crockett.
FBI raids Spanberger ally office as federal corruption probe targets cannabis business
The FBI has raided the office of a powerful Virginia Democratic lawmaker and ally of Gov. Abigail Spanberger as part of a federal corruption and illegal marijuana sale probe, Fox News has learned. Longtime state Sen. L. Louise Lucas, a major power broker in Virginia politics who stumped for Spanberger on the campaign trail in 2025, is now at the center of a major FBI corruption probe, according to federal law enforcement sources. Agents executed court-authorized criminal search warrants at Lucas’ office in Portsmouth, Virginia, Wednesday, according to federal law enforcement sources. The FBI simultaneously carried out a search of a cannabis dispensary believed to be connected to Lucas. The state senator arrived at her office as the raids were being conducted. She told Fox News that she had no idea what the FBI agents were doing at her office. FORMER CONGRESSWOMAN TURNED VA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE ABIGAIL SPANBERGER ACCUSED OF ETHICS VIOLATION The raids put more political pressure on Spanberger, who already is facing tumbling polling numbers as many critics accuse her of forcing down a far-left agenda on the once-purple state. The search warrants were signed off by a federal judge, who agreed there is probable cause to conduct the raids. This is not the first political firestorm Lucas has faced. She has co-owned a cannabis shop in Portsmouth, Virginia, that faced scrutiny after an investigation reported that some products were allegedly mislabeled or exceeded legal THC limits, raising regulatory concerns under Virginia law. DHS UNLOADS ON ‘SANCTUARY CALAMITY’ VIRGINIA AFTER ILLEGAL ALIEN ACCUSED OF HEINOUS CRIME RELEASED: ‘SICKO’ Lucas is known for a bombastic social media presence, heavy on crude language and memes. Fox News Digital reached out to Spanberger and Lucas for comment. This is a developing story. Check back for more updates.
Chicago knows what happens when Ken Griffin turns on a city, now Mamdani may find out
here is no clearer example of what happens when billionaire Ken Griffin turns on a city than Chicago, a blueprint now playing out in New York. The Citadel founder is clashing with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani over taxes targeting the ultra-wealthy and intensifying crime, reviving the same tensions that drove him to pull his business and billions out of Chicago. Griffin, worth about $50 billion according to Forbes, moved the firm’s global headquarters from Chicago to Miami in 2022, a departure that showed how quickly jobs, investment and influence can follow when a major financial player leaves. The move marked Griffin’s break from Chicago, where he built one of the world’s most powerful hedge fund and market-making operations, which helped cement the city’s status as a global financial hub. MAMDANI’S RISE IN NYC MIRRORS ECONOMIC FLIGHT TO THE SOUTH, STUDY SHOWS The Windy City, which served as Citadel’s home for more than 30 years, has seen much of the firm’s workforce shift south, with the office going from roughly 1,300 employees to a few hundred and still shrinking. “Asking people to leave Chicago for New York or Miami has not been hard,” Griffin said at a conference in New York on Oct. 6. “Chicago, over the past six or seven years, has been engulfed in a series of problems,” he said, pointing to crime as one of the city’s most pressing challenges, along with broader economic and policy concerns weighing on employees’ willingness to stay. BILLIONAIRE KEN GRIFFIN SAYS CITADEL’S CHICAGO EXODUS WAS ‘NOT HARD,’ CITES CRIME, TAXES “I think the sad part of the story is how many people who had built lives in Chicago were willing to walk away from that and move to Miami or New York, just given the challenges that Illinois has faced,” he added. For Chicago, the result has been a steady erosion of one of its most prominent corporate anchors — shrinking office space, relocating employees and the departure of a billionaire who once poured hundreds of millions into the city’s institutions and politics. It also meant fewer high-paying finance jobs downtown and the disappearance of a major civic and cultural benefactor. That dynamic is now resurfacing in New York, where Griffin is locked in an escalating fight with Mamdani, echoing the early stages of his break with Chicago when Lori Lightfoot was mayor and JB Pritzker was governor of Illinois. MAMDANI THANKS SAME BILLIONAIRE HE TARGETED IN TAX VIDEO FOR NYPD MONEY The dispute was sparked by Mamdani’s viral April 15 video promoting a proposed tax on second homes worth more than $5 million. Filmed outside Griffin’s 24,000-square-foot Central Park South penthouse — purchased for a record $238 million — the video singled out the hedge fund powerhouse by name. “This is an annual fee on luxury properties worth more than $5 million, whose owners do not live full-time in the city. Like for this penthouse, which hedge fund CEO Ken Griffin bought for $238 million,” Mamdani said in the clip. Griffin has since criticized the video as “creepy and weird” during a discussion at the Milken Institute Global Conference on April 6. He said he watched it three times. Asked about Citadel’s plans for a $6 billion office tower at 350 Park Avenue, he said the firm is reassessing the project while doubling down on its expansion in Miami, which he called “unquestionably” the right choice. The clash highlights a widening divide between progressive ambitions in major cities and the financial leaders who help drive their economies. It also raises a broader question: whether New York could follow a path similar to Chicago’s where a prolonged standoff between political leadership and one of its most powerful business figures ultimately ended in departure. Meanwhile, Florida and other red states have branded themselves as business- and billionaire-friendly, welcoming high earners and balking taxes that would burden their empires.
Trump tentatively making peace with Iran, but potential future strikes remain as leverage
President Donald Trump hailed a tentative peace deal in the works with Iran with the caveat that in-person truce signings remain “too far” off. “Assuming Iran agrees to give what has been agreed to, which is, perhaps, a big assumption, the already legendary Epic Fury will be at an end, and the highly effective Blockade will allow the Hormuz Strait to be OPEN TO ALL, including Iran,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “If they don’t agree, the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before.” Shortly after that post, Trump told media outlets, “I don’t think” there should be any imminent plans to make a trip to the Middle East for any longtime peace deal talks or denuclearization signing. WHY TRUMP, IRAN SEEM LIGHT-YEARS APART ON ANY POSSIBLE DEAL TO END THE WAR “It’s too far,” Trump reportedly told the New York Post on Wednesday morning. “No, it’s too much.” Trump has long panned his peace negotiators getting on a long trek to the Middle East for merely exchanging ceasefire or peace proposals, repeating many times in the past week that talks with him and his administration can be done “telephonically” for now. “I think we’ll do it” over the phone, Trump has said. TRUMP CLAIMS IRAN ‘STARVING FOR CASH,’ ‘COLLAPSING FINANCIALLY’ AFTER EXTENDING CEASEFIRE Trump’s Truth post came as reports suggested Washington and Tehran were nearing a possible framework to end their 67-day war, with Pakistan helping mediate talks. Trump said he was meeting with military officials Wednesday morning amid announcements of an end to Operation Epic Fury before the 60-day Authorization of Military Force deadline this week. Trump also announced a pause to “Project Freedom,” a mission he had announced two days earlier to guide ships through the Strait of Hormuz. “Based on the request of Pakistan and other Countries, the tremendous Military Success that we have had during the Campaign against the Country of Iran and, additionally, the fact that Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement with Representatives of Iran, we have mutually agreed that, while the Blockade will remain in full force and effect, Project Freedom (The Movement of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz) will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalized and signed,” Trump wrote Tuesday night on Truth Social. VANCE EN ROUTE TO PAKISTAN FOR HIGH-STAKES IRAN TALKS AS ‘FRAGILE’ CEASEFIRE TEETERS Trump has previously said he would be open to traveling to Pakistan to sign a formal agreement, citing the role of Pakistani defense chief Asim Munir in helping bring the two sides together. Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday, when he also delivered a White House daily press briefing, standing in for press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who is on maternity leave. “They should check themselves before they wreck themselves in the direction that they’re going,” Rubio told reporters, adding that it is difficult to get a full read on Iran’s scattered and in-hiding leadership because some of the leftover regime hardliners are “insane in the brain.” MARCO RUBIO WARNS IRAN WANTED TO BE THE ‘NEXT NORTH KOREA’ AS HE SEES ‘FINISH LINE’ IN CONFLICT Trump declined to define what would lead to renewed military operations against Iran, saying Tuesday, “They know what not to do.” Iran’s president has said that surrender to “unilateral demands” is “impossible,” but Esmail Baghaei Hamaneh, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told Iranian news Wednesday that some unspecified leaders are “considering the U.S. proposal” for peace. “The U.S. proposal is still being considered by Iran, and after summarizing its points of view, Iran will convey its views to the Pakistani side,” Hamaneh added, according to a translation. As Iran’s foreign minister meets his counterpart in Beijing, Rubio warned that countries violating U.S. sanctions will face secondary penalties.
Walz hit with local revolt from Minnesota mayor refusing ‘ugly’ new flag: ‘People’s decision’
Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz is facing a new challenge from a Minneapolis-area mayor who is refusing to back down from flying the original 1980s state flag. The mayor said the controversial flag redesign has left citizens out of the process and stuck with what consider an “ugly” replacement. In an interview with Fox News Digital, Champlin Mayor Ryan Sabas said that “in my nearly 10 years of being on the city council in Champlin and going on four years as mayor of this town, I have never heard from more people on any one issue than I did about the Minnesota state flag.” The new flag has become a cultural and political flashpoint in a state already reeling from one of the largest fraud scandals in U.S. history, heavily involving the Somali immigrant community. The flag was approved by a 13-member commission created by the Democratic-controlled legislature in 2023. Critics of the flag say it is overly simplistic and some have even knocked it as bearing a resemblance to Somalia’s national flag. Sabas said that “without any question” there is at least a two-to-one majority in favor of keeping the earlier 1983 version of the state flag. He said that many believe it erases their history, while others simply think it is “ugly.” He also emphasized the massive wasteful spending to replace the old flag, pointing to the $40,000 it cost the city of Champlin alone. For these reasons, he is now calling on Walz and the state legislature to reopen the flag issue and put it to a vote by citizens across the state. “These are the people’s flagpoles. This is the people’s decision,” he emphasized. MINNESOTA DEMOCRATS PUSH BILL TO CUT STATE AID TO CITIES THAT FLY THE ORIGINAL STATE FLAG The old flag features a blue field with the state seal, with a farmer and American Indian figure along with the state motto and founding date. The new flag touts a more simplified design with a dark shape representing Minnesota, a light blue field and an eight-point North Star. In its final report to the Minnesota legislature, the Minnesota State Emblems Redesign Commission said that “through extensive public input, a design contest that drew over 2,500 entries, and many hours of deliberations,” the commission had “created designs that reflect the spirit of Minnesota — the people, the land and water, and the history of our state.” Many Minnesotans, however, do not feel the flag represents them or their state. The Champlin City Council voted in February to continue flying the original Minnesota state flag. There has been an effort by some Democrats in the legislature to crack down on around a dozen towns and counties across the state refusing to fly the new flag. Sabas emphasized that Champlin is well within its legal rights to fly whichever state flag it wants or even no flag at all. He said that he does not have a particular personal attachment to the old flag. He does, however, take issue with how he believes the citizens of Minnesota were left out of the process of choosing their own flag. “Two years ago, the governor and the Democrats had full power of the House, Senate, and the governor’s seat. They chose they wanted to change the state flag, which they legally have the ability to do that. But instead of bringing this to the House, through the Senate and all voting on it, they picked select members of a committee and that’s who chose the flag,” he said. Now, Sabas said Walz and the state legislature “have the opportunity to do this legally and do it right.” ‘SCHEMES STACKED UPON SCHEMES’: $1B HUMAN-SERVICES FRAUD FUELS SCRUTINY OF MINNESOTA’S SOMALI COMMUNITY In the state legislature, Minnesota Sen. Mark Koran, a Republican, told Fox News Digital that despite being created as a bipartisan commission, the flag redesign committee only represented “about 13 percent of Minnesota’s population.” “Native Americans, Hispanic, LGBT, you name it, every special group was identified,” he said. “So, that was really reflective of how all governance [in Minnesota] has been done by a small group of people that they’ve pandered to under the guise that they’re they’ve been oppressed and they’ve given them the strongest voice.” While he admitted that the flag “may seem unimportant at one level,” he said it has galvanized people across the state because “it’s a direct assault on hard-working, legal U.S. Minnesotans.” “It was a process that reflected almost how all of [Minnesota] legislation has been implemented,” he asserted. Back in Champlin, Tim Huttner, a member of the city council, echoed the mayor’s sentiment on putting the new flag to a statewide vote. “We cannot legally put it on a city ballot, but it doesn’t mean we can’t put it on a state ballot,” he told Fox News Digital. Huttner said that before the council voted on which flag to fly, he held a roundtable of his own with constituents. By taking an informal vote of roundtable attendees, Huttner said he found “100 percent” expressed support for flying the original flag. KEVIN MCCARTHY SAYS MINNESOTA’S ‘ENTIRE DEMOCRAT ADMINISTRATION’ WILL HAVE TO RESIGN OVER FRAUD SCANDAL When a constituent asked him what his opinion was on the flag, Huttner said his response was, “I don’t have an opinion. I work for you.” “I respect our city legislators, I respect our state legislators, but sometimes you’ve got to redo a redo,” he continued. “I believe this is one of those times.” As the nonpartisan leader of a purple municipality, Sabas said of Walz, “I’ve always felt that he’s someone who does listen to me when I have something to say.” “So, I challenge the governor in his last year of being governor of the state of Minnesota to really find a way to unite,” he said. “Unite Minnesotans, unite us, Republicans, Democrats, people that don’t know which side they are on, unite us.” Fox News Digital reached out to Walz, Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth