DHS shutdown blows past one-month mark as Dems push to carve out ICE from any new funding deal
As a partial government shutdown blows past the one-month mark, Democrats are demanding lawmakers shrink the size of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) funding lapse — while leaving out the agency at the heart of Trump’s immigration crackdown. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in their view, can stay shut down. “We already said we’d open everything in the department except ICE, so the answer is yes,” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., said when asked about partial funding for DHS. “Republicans won’t agree, because they’re trying to hold the security of the country hostage.” SCHUMER, DEMS AGAIN BLOCK DHS FUNDING, FORCE STATE OF THE UNION SHOWDOWN His position was echoed by Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif. “We need to fund every aspect of it other than ICE. We’re going to fight on the ICE funding. I mean, they already have $75 billion,” Khanna said, noting that ICE itself already received funding through Donald Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill. In light of those appropriations, Republicans believe Democrats have assumed an unsustainable position as they continue to shoot down efforts to fund DHS in its entirety. “They’re not interested in reopening, right? Their whole thing is: ‘Okay, we’re doing a shutdown to go out there and affect ICE and Border Patrol.’ But ICE and border patrol are the ones that are not even affected by this shutdown. They’re funded by the One Big, Beautiful Bill that passed previously,” Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., said. “How long do I foresee Democrats lying to their base? Forever,” Mast added. Calls to implement the partial funding stance have grown louder since the shutdown first began. KRISTI NOEM’S FIRING FAILS TO SWAY DEMOCRATS AS DHS SHUTDOWN DRAGS ON Funding for DHS originally lapsed on Feb. 14 when Democrats refused to advance spending legislation for DHS that didn’t also include a set of demands to reform ICE. Among other changes, Democrats have conditioned their support on a ban on masks for ICE agents, stiffer warrant requirements for apprehending suspects in public and a ban on roaming patrols. Republicans have rebuffed the demands, arguing they would handcuff President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement goals. Republicans need at least seven Democrats to reach the 60-vote threshold to break a filibuster in the Senate, where they hold just 53 seats. The standoff has overlapped with a series of domestic attacks, raising alarm among Republicans that DHS’ closure may be reducing the country’s preparedness to counter similar threats. A vehicle-ramming at a synagogue in Michigan, a university shooting in Virginia, the detonation attempts in New York and another shooting in Texas have left members like Seth Magaziner, D-R.I., joining calls to pass non-ICE DHS funding. ‘YOU CAN CRY ABOUT IT’: TEMPERS FLARE IN SENATE AS DHS SHUTDOWN DEBATE ERUPTS, STALEMATE DIGS DEEPER “If it takes more time to negotiate those changes to ICE, then the right thing to do is to fund the rest of DHS, TSA, Coast Guard, FEMA, counterterrorism, all of that, while we continue to negotiate over ICE,” Magaziner said. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said he has also joined that position. “Ready, willing and eager to approve funding for TSA, for FEMA, and for the Coast Guard through the separate bill that we’ve offered and Republicans have rejected. There’s an easy solution here,” Blumenthal said.
Iran war live: Trump says no ceasefire as Khamenei issues defiant message
blinking-dotLive updatesLive updates, Trump calls NATO cowardly over lack of support for Iran war, says Strait of Hormuz should be protected ‘by other nations who use it’. Published On 21 Mar 202621 Mar 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)
Al Jazeera reporter’s journey from Jordan to Iraq
NewsFeed Al Jazeera’s Nicolas Haque recorded his journey on the long road from Amman, Jordan to Baghdad, Iraq as he deploys to cover the US-Israeli war on Iran. Along the 900km drive he found tight security and people largely unfazed by the conflict. Published On 21 Mar 202621 Mar 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)
Aid flotilla for Cuba sets sail from Mexico
NewsFeed “Cuba, yes! Blockade, no!” An aid flotilla from Mexico is sailing for Cuba as the country suffers under a tightening US fuel blockade. Published On 21 Mar 202621 Mar 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)
UP Shocker: Varanasi student shot dead on campus, father demands encounter of accused; Protests erupts in college, teachers attacked
a student from Varanasi was shot dead on a college campus in a broad daylight. The deceased has been identified as Surya Pratap Singh, who was a BA fourth semester student at Uday Pratap College, hailing from Dubaiitha village in Saidpur tehsil of Ghazipur district and was living in Varanasi.
Air India, IndiGo, SpiceJet oppose govt’s 60% free seat rule, warn of fare hikes
IndiGo, Air India, and SpiceJet oppose the government’s rule mandating 60% free seat selection, warning it may raise airfares. Airlines say losing ancillary revenue will force higher ticket prices, impacting affordability despite the policy aiming to benefit passengers.
NYC Mayor Mamdani’s wife glorified terrorists in online posts, criticized US military: report
The wife of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani reportedly celebrated terrorists in a series of social media posts as a teenager and young adult as scrutiny over her online history continues. In September 2017, Rama Duwaji posted a photo on her Tumblr account of Leila Khaled, longtime active leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) who participated in two plane hijackings in 1969 and 1970. “If it does good for my cause, I’ll be happy to accept death,” the caption said. CITY-RUN BOARD CANCELS LEASE OF ISRAEL DRONE SUPPLIER, SPARKING BACKLASH TOWARD MAMDANI: ‘LUDICROUS’ Khaled is the first woman to hijack an airplane and is revered by terrorists for her role in the crimes. Many of her posts were made in her early 20s, the Washing Free Beacon reported, noting that Duwaji, now 28, spent her early childhood in New Jersey before moving with her family to Dubai. In March 2015, when she was 17, Duwaji reposted a tweet on International Women’s Day praising the terrorist Shadia Abu Ghazaleh. An image in the post shows Ghazaleh, who participated in the bombing of an Israeli bus and led several other terrorist attacks. The image showed her posing with a rifle. She was killed in 1968 when a bomb she was building in her home accidentally exploded. The device that killed her was allegedly intended to blow up a building in Tel Aviv. Other posts include someone wearing keffiyeh clothing while sewing a flag. “Photography: ‘A Palestinian demonstrator sews a Palestinian Liberation Organization flag before a protest during the first Intifada’, February, 1988,” the caption says. Another showed a Bangladeshi postage stamp that said, “We salute the valiant freedom fighters of Palestine.” A July 2015 post criticized the U.S. military presence abroad. “*taps mic* American soldiers fighting in imperialist wars are not brave nor are they fighting for anyone’s freedom,” the post said. “They are mercilessly slaughtering 3rd world civilians and fighting to maintain American hegemony. That is all, thank you! *drops mic*” ISRAEL ACCUSES MAMDANI OF POURING ‘ANTISEMITIC GASOLINE’ AFTER HE REVOKES ADAMS EXECUTIVE ORDERS Later that same year, Duwaji reposted a Tumblr user. “You can’t blame muslims for terrorism because they didn’t construct, fund nor train Al-Qaeda,” the user wrote. “White People did that too.” In another 2015 post, she reposted a criticism of Snapchat for adding Tel Aviv to its live story feature. “But in all reality, @Snapchat has disappointed me. F*** #TelAviv. Shouldn’t exist in the first place. They’re occupiers. You celebrate them,” a post retweeted by Duwaji said. “And finally. Hey @Snapchat, as you give Israelis an outlet to celebrate their atrocities, youre supporting a genocidal state. Bye. #TelAviv.” Duwaji, who was born in Houston and identifies as Syrian, married Mamdani in 2025,. She drew national attention after revelations she liked several posts in the immediate aftermath of the Oct. 7 attack that were critical of Israel. On the day of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas, Duwaji liked an Instagram post showing images from participants who livestreamed footage of the onslaught, which left 1,200 Israelis dead, including young children. She also allegedly liked a February 2024 Instagram post claiming The New York Times’ investigation into sexual violence during the Oct. 7 attack was “fabricated,” Fox News Digital has reached out to the mayor’s office.
Chicago’s teetering debt is stark warning left-wing mayor is fueling ‘pay later’ doom cycle: expert
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and his administration are presiding over a city in serious financial straits. Chicago, the nation’s third-largest city, is facing a corporate fund budget gap of more than $1 billion, while its 2025 fiscal year is projected to close with a roughly $150 million deficit with about two-fifths of the budget going toward debt service and pension costs. Johnson said in April the city was “at a crossroads” and had to “essentially do more with less,” while simultaneously slamming the Trump administration for reportedly threatening federal funding, calling it a “different scenario we weren’t under before.” Austin Berg, executive director of pro-taxpayer research group Illinois Policy Institute, said markets are looking at the true numbers and are “really concerned” about Chicago. RECORDS REVEAL CHICAGO MAYOR’S ‘GIFT ROOM’ WAS CONSTRUCTED AFTER INVESTIGATORS TURNED AWAY “And that’s why you see the spreads on Chicago debt getting wider and wider — the structural issues,” he said. Berg explained that the situation is akin to someone calling financial advisor Dave Ramsey’s radio show to ask what to do while buried in debt. “The solution set is always the same: Stop making bad decisions, and you have to put a structure in place to make better decisions,” Berg said. “So, the bad decisions are things like taking one-time revenues from federal COVID spending and putting it into operations. The bad decisions are borrowing for operations, which this latest bond issue just did. That’s a huge no-no and a red flag for investors.” Chicago also drew scrutiny over former Mayor Richard M. Daley’s 75-year parking meter lease in 2008, a deal critics say has already allowed the private operator to recoup its investment while leaving the city without that revenue stream for decades. Berg pointed to a recent analysis he authored accusing Johnson of extending the city’s “pay later” culture, arguing that the mayor’s $830 million 2025 bond deal, which delays principal payments for 20 years, is his version of Richard M. Daley’s parking meter boondoggle. CHICAGO SUES TRUMP DOJ OVER ‘UNLAWFUL’ DEI RESTRICTIONS ON FEDERAL POLICING GRANTS He also suggested the city take more seriously a plate of $1 billion in potential efficiencies produced in a taxpayer-funded deep-dive by consulting firm EY, formerly Ernst & Young. While Chicago spends 40% of its money on debt service, actual services suffer, Berg said, adding is also the only city besides New York that doesn’t require voter approval of new general obligation debt. CHICAGO MAYOR LASHES OUT AT REPORTER OVER ‘ILLEGAL ALIEN’ TERM: ‘RACIST, NASTY LANGUAGE’ The city lacks a “truly independent” chief financial officer, Berg claimed, saying that the treasurer’s office does not have full auditing authority and that another related agency called COFA is understaffed and lacks resources. “Voters didn’t decide to have all of that debt. And it’s important for voters to be able to decide because those decisions affect Chicagoans 30 years from now. So, shackling them with these political decisions now is just really unfair,” he said. Chicago has also come under fire for expenditures on social justice and other efforts while city services continue to lack. Independent journalist William J. Kelly created a viral moment in January when he questioned Johnson on which type of ICE he should be focused on, immigration officers or snow that inundated the city, as he drove through unplowed streets. “Let me just commend the efforts of the city employees that made sure that our streets were plowed. … I do not personally plow streets. … No one was stuck,” Johnson replied. Berg suggested one outlet for Chicago would be to demand the state of Illinois allow municipalities to declare Chapter 9 bankruptcy, which he said is a rare restriction nationally. He noted he did not want to see Chicago declare bankruptcy but that, without that lever, the city has much less leverage when negotiating with public sector unions for the very liabilities it is drowning in. The City Council successfully killed Johnson’s proposed “head tax,” a per-employee levy on large corporations, which critics said would have driven out or prevented future business and, thereby, sources of revenue in the city. DHS BLASTS CHICAGO MAYOR FOR COMPARING RAID LEADER TO SEGREGATIONISTS, ACCUSING HIM OF ‘TERROR’ The editorial board of the left-leaning Washington Post also slammed Chicago’s straits in a recent op-ed, writing that “it takes a long time to kill a city, and the bigger the city, the longer it takes.” “Chicago’s ‘public servants’ have done a fine job speeding up the process,” the board wrote, while noting the city had its bond rating downgraded in February by both Kroll and Fitch. “The modest tweaks [council] forced [Johnson] to accept in December won’t change the fiscal trajectory,” the paper predicted. Fox News Digital reached out to Johnson’s office for comment.
FBI warns Russian hackers targeting Americans on Signal; thousands of accounts compromised
Russian intelligence-linked hackers are targeting users of popular messaging apps like Signal, gaining access to private messages and impersonating victims in a sweeping global campaign, according to a joint warning from the FBI and U.S. cybersecurity officials. The FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said the operation has already compromised “thousands of individual” commercial messaging app (CMA) accounts, allowing attackers to read messages, access contact lists and send messages posing as the victim. FBI Director Kash Patel warned the campaign is targeting individuals of “high intelligence value,” including U.S. officials, military personnel and journalists, and has already resulted in widespread account compromises. Patel warned the attackers could exploit compromised accounts to impersonate victims and target others using a trusted identity. MILLIONS OF AI CHAT MESSAGES EXPOSED IN APP DATA LEAK “This global campaign has resulted in unauthorized access to thousands of individual CMA accounts,” the agencies said in a joint public service announcement. “After compromising an account, malicious actors can view the victims’ messages and contact lists, send messages, and conduct additional phishing against other CMA accounts.” Officials said the activity is linked to actors associated with Russian intelligence services. MALICIOUS BROWSER EXTENSIONS HIT 4.3M USERS “RIS actors have compromised individual CMA accounts, but not CMAs’ encryption or the applications themselves,” the FBI and CISA said. The agencies emphasized the activity does not involve breaking Signal’s encryption. Instead, it relies on tricking users through phishing schemes. “Phishing remains one of the most unsophisticated, yet effective means of cyber compromise, often rendering other protections irrelevant, including end-to-end encryption,” the agencies said. SPOTIFY VOTING SCAM EXPOSED According to officials, the hackers often pose as messaging app support or send fake security alerts designed to create urgency, prompting users to click malicious links or share verification codes or PINs. If a user complies, attackers can link their own device to the account or take it over entirely, allowing them to monitor private conversations and impersonate the victim. Patel cautioned that the scheme allows cybercriminals to “conduct additional phishing.” “After gaining access, the actors can view messages and contact lists, send messages as the victim and conduct additional phishing from a trusted identity,” Patel said. The PSA said users who believe they may have been targeted should report incidents to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center. The link to “cyber actors” associated with Russian Intelligence was not made more specific in the agencies’ joint PSA. Signal did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. The FBI did not provide further comment to Fox News Digital.
GOP whip: ‘America-hating terrorists’ should lose citizenship under SCAM Act
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer says a string of recent terrorist attacks by naturalized citizens exposes serious flaws in U.S. immigration law, arguing it’s “more imperative now than ever” to pass the Stop Citizenship Abuse and Misrepresentation (SCAM) Act to allow the government to remove “America-hating terrorists” from the country. First introduced by Emmer in January, the SCAM Act would expand the U.S. government’s ability to revoke citizenship from naturalized citizens convicted of being involved in terrorism, fraud or espionage. The Senate version of the bill was introduced by Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo. “This has to be dealt with,” Emmer, a Minnesota Republican, told Fox News Digital. “If you’re going to take advantage of the generosity of Americans, or you are going to associate with known terrorist organizations or commit aggravated felonies or terrorist attacks, even attempted, it doesn’t matter; no more playing games,” said Emmer. “You should be denaturalized and shipped back to wherever the heck you came from.” HOUSE HOMELAND SECURITY REPUBLICAN URGES US MUSLIM LEADERSHIP TO ‘ISOLATE EXTREMISTS’ AFTER STRING OF ATTACKS He lamented that under current law, “the standards to denaturalize someone are just too high,” but noted, “we have a solution to fix it.” The bill, which on the House side currently sits in the House Judiciary Committee, allows prosecutors to use crimes committed after naturalization as evidence that an individual falsely claimed good moral character during the citizenship process, effectively arguing their citizenship was invalid from the start. The SCAM Act already has nearly 50 House co-sponsors, according to Emmer. Once it is scheduled for a vote, he believes it will not have an issue passing and may even receive some bipartisan support from Democrats recognizing the gravity of the issue. “It’s really simple,” he said. “The message is, terrorists do not belong on U.S. Soil, naturalized or not.” STRING OF ATTACKS CONNECTED TO NATURALIZED CITIZENS RAISES NATIONAL SECURITY QUESTIONS At the start of March, Senegalese-born naturalized citizen Ndiaga Diagne was killed by police after allegedly killing three people and injuring more than a dozen in a shooting in Austin, police said. Not long after, Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi, the children of naturalized citizens from Turkey and Afghanistan, allegedly pledged support to ISIS and attempted to bomb an anti-Islam demonstration outside the mayor’s mansion in New York City, according to police. They have been charged with attempting to provide material support to ISIS, attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction, and multiple explosives-related offenses including transporting, receiving and possessing destructive devices. Then, on March 12, Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Lebanon, allegedly attempted to ram his vehicle into a Michigan synagogue filled with children and teachers, according to authorities. The same day at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, a naturalized citizen from Sierra Leone, allegedly opened fire on a class of Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) students, killing Lt. Col. Brandon Shah, according to police. He also was killed at the scene. “Clearly something is broken in our immigration system,” said Emmer, adding that terrorists “keep getting into our country and they keep being allowed to stay here at the expense of Americans and American lives.” “We can’t go on like this,” he went on, emphasizing, “It is more imperative now than ever that we get this thing done.” EX-JIHADIST WARNS OF PREDATORY RECRUITMENT AFTER ISIS-INSPIRED BOMB PLOT IN NEW YORK CITY Despite this, Emmer has faced some opposition in Minnesota for his hardline stance. Local outlet MPRNews reported a community activist leader in his district named Abdikadir Bashir, who is executive director of the nonprofit Center for African Immigrants and Refugees Organization, accusing Emmer of “trying to erase us politically.” “The moment citizenship becomes conditional on whether a politician finds us convenient, none of us is safe,” Bashir said, according to the outlet. “Today, it might be the Somali Americans. Tomorrow, it could be another ethnic group.” Though he declined to hazard a guess on a timeline of when the bill might be passed, he said that “as soon as possible would be my plea.” “We have an immigration system that is not requiring these people to actually declare their allegiance to the United States of America and their willingness to be Americans,” he said. “We want anybody and everybody from anywhere who comes here to chase their American dream and become an American … we want you,” he concluded. “If you come here and you don’t intend to become an American, you intend to change America or destroy America, you need to get the heck out.”