Kristi Noem, Trump respond to shocking cross-dressing photos tied to her husband
President Donald Trump reacted on Tuesday after newly released photos appeared to show the husband of former Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem cross-dressing in private messages to a number of women. The images were allegedly part of a trove of hundreds of messages sent between Noem’s husband, Bryon, and three women, obtained by The Daily Mail. The father of three appeared to be pictured in hot pink underwear, wearing a skin-colored shirt with large, faux breasts worn underneath. The New York Post reported the photos were taken while acting out a “bimbofication” fetish, which focuses on hypersexual, exaggerated physical appearances. TRUMP HIGHLIGHTS BORDER PATROL UNION’S ENDORSEMENT OF SEN. MARKWAYNE MULLIN TO HELM DHS Another image appeared to show Bryon Noem posing with large, fake breasts in a tight light blue T-shirt while making a kissy face. Trump told the Daily Mail he did not know about the photos and was surprised the Noem family confirmed their authenticity. “They confirmed it? Wow, well, I feel badly for the family if that’s the case, that’s too bad,” Trump told the outlet. “I haven’t seen anything. I don’t know anything about it. That’s too bad, but I just know nothing about it.” It is unclear if anyone else inside the administration knew about the alleged photographs. Fox News Digital was unable to authenticate the photos independently. FIRED DHS CHIEF KRISTI NOEM FACES CRIMINAL REFERRAL FROM CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS Markwayne Mullin was sworn in as Homeland Security Secretary last week after Kristi Noem’s March 5 ousting. Kristi Noem is currently serving as special envoy to the Shield of the Americas. In a statement to The Post, a spokesperson for Kristi Noem said she was “devastated” by the discovery. “The family was blindsided by this, and they ask for privacy and prayers at the time,” the spokesperson said. While the couple has been married for more than 30 years, Fox News previously reported rumors of an alleged affair between Kristi Noem and her top advisor, Corey Lewandowski, contributed to her dismissal from the DHS post. NEWSOM DECLARES ‘TRUMP IS IN RETREAT’ AFTER NOEM OUSTER, DEMANDS MILLER BE ‘NEXT’ During her time as 33rd governor of South Dakota, Kristi Noem was sued by a transgender and “gender nonconforming” advocacy group, The Transformation Project, after the state terminated a contract with the organization. She also received backlash from the LGBTQ community for signing the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which advocates claimed sanctioned discrimination against queer people. The White House, Department of State and DHS did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
PHOTOS: Anti-ICE agitators dox agents by sending warning postcards to neighbors
EXCLUSIVE: Activists and agitators opposed to enforcement of federal immigration laws have found a new, intrusive way to dox or leak personal and identifying information of ICE and CBP agents, the Department of Homeland Security exclusively told Fox News Digital Tuesday. Immigration agents continue to face an escalating 8,000% increase in death threats and a 1,300% increase in assaults since President Donald Trump took office in January 2025, according to DHS. An ICE agent living in Wake County, North Carolina, was doxxed in recent days, as evidenced by postcards sent to the officer’s neighbors with language suggesting they needed to be warned of his presence on their block. “Beware, your neighbor is an ICE agent. Immigration enforcement lives next door,” the postcard said in billboard-style font festooned with a generic image of a federal agent and a mock-up of an ICE badge addressed to a resident in Raleigh. DEMOCRATIC OFFICIALS, TIKTOKERS, LIBERALS TAKE THEIR ANTI-ICE RHETORIC TO THE NEXT LEVEL The message section of the postcard shared with Fox News Digital showed what appeared to be a still shot from CCTV footage depicting a Black federal immigration agent. DHS blurred the agent’s face, which was not blurred in the original mailing. DHS Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis told Fox News Digital the doxxing only adds to threats because agents “risk their lives every single day to remove murderers, pedophiles, rapists, terrorists and gang members from American neighborhoods.” Fox News Digital also noticed fine print on the doxxing postcard’s postage stamp indicating it was sent “presorted first-class,” a special subset of USPS business mail that requires the sender to mail at least 500 pieces, each weighing 3.5 ounces or less. Presorted first-class also requires more than typical local “junk mail” granted presorted standard postage, which indicates at least 50 such letters or postcards. That detail indicates that hundreds of such postcards were disseminated around the country. THE FAR-LEFT NETWORK THAT HELPED PUT ALEX PRETTI IN HARM’S WAY, THEN MADE HIM A MARTYR “Comparing ICE day-in and day-out to the Nazi Gestapo, the Secret Police and slave patrols has consequences,” Bis said Tuesday. “The men and women of ICE are fathers and mothers, sons and daughters. They get up every morning to try and make our communities safer. “Like everyone else, they just want to go home to their families at night. The violence and dehumanization of these men and women who are simply enforcing the law must stop.” The news comes weeks after identifying information for a reported 4,500 ICE and USBP employees was allegedly leaked by a DHS whistleblower to an Irish national who runs a website called the “ICE list.” After the shooting death of Renee Good in January, Dominick Skinner received the massive dataset, The Daily Beast reported. The outlet quoted the website administrator as saying information about ICE agents’ identities flooded in. Some people told him their neighbors were allegedly immigration agents, while hotel and bar staff reportedly sent him sticky notes, according to the outlet. Skinner, who now lives in the Netherlands but has American family, told the outlet the website was not supposed to turn into a database but suggested it was a response to then-Secretary Kristi Noem warning people stateside they could be prosecuted for doxxing. Anyone who receives similar postcards or paraphernalia doxxing DHS agents is advised to contact ICE’s tip line at (866) DHS-2-ICE or (866) 347-2423.
Dem gubernatorial candidate racked up eye-popping travel bill as AG on up to 400+ travel days out of state
FIRST ON FOX: Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, a Democrat running for governor of Nevada in November, has racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars in travel costs since assuming office, prompting criticism from his political rivals as he pursues re-election in 2026. State records indicate that Ford spent close to $270,000 on airfare and out-of-state hotel stays since assuming office in 2019. When combined with over $140,000 Ford accepted from group-sponsored travel and lodging, such as the Democratic Attorneys General Association, his total travel amounts to over $410,000 in trips over seven years. In 2024 alone, Ford spent $60,730 on trips to 16 different cities, including $2,819 on a trip to Secrets Puerto Los Cabos, a luxury resort in Mexico, and another $11,992 at Martha’s Vineyard, a top vacation spot that attracts a wealthy clientele. While it’s unclear how much of the figure represents in-state travel, the numbers dovetail with reports that Ford spent as much as 137 days away from his state in 2024, a figure confirmed by his office. SENATE HOPEFUL WITH DEEP DEM TIES HAS PAID FAMILY OVER $350K FROM HIS CAMPAIGN COFFERS Additionally, Ford’s record of hotel travel stays since his election indicate he has spent almost 20% of his career as Nevada AG out of the state, based on reporting from The Nevada Independent that found Ford spent at least 420 days out of state during his time in office. To at least one Republican strategist, the costs and time away exceed what’s likely necessary for the job. “High-Flying Aaron Ford has treated his position as attorney general like a part-time job, vacationing on the dime of special interests and campaign donors for well over a year of his tenure,” John Burke, spokesman for Better Nevada PAC, said in a comment to Fox News Digital. Ford is also under investigation by the Nevada Commission on Ethics over whether he solicited improper gifts or used his office to improperly benefit himself, according to documents recovered by local outlets. John Sadler, a spokesperson for the attorney general’s office, noted that the reported travel falls under campaign events and would not draw from state funding. At the same time, Sadler noted that Ford traveled to perform his role and coordinate with law enforcement offices across the country. Under Nevada state law, candidates are allowed to use campaign funds to conduct official business. “He attended several meetings for bipartisan groups, such as NAAG and AGA, an organization that Attorney General Ford was voted by his attorneys general colleagues to serve as chair of in 2024,” Sadler said, referring to the National Association of Attorneys General and the Attorney General Alliance, respectively. “These events allowed AG Ford to discuss critical issues for Nevadans, such as human and sex trafficking, cybercrime and fraud and the opioid crisis,” Sadler added. FEDERAL ELECTION COMPLAINT ALLEGES AOC MISUSED CAMPAIGN FUNDS FOR PSYCHIATRIST SERVICES Before becoming attorney general, Ford served in the Nevada State Legislature, leading the chamber as majority leader from 2017-2019. Before that, he served as minority leader from 2015-2016 and as an assistant majority whip from 2013-2014. Ford’s travel habits didn’t start off expensive. In 2019 and 2020, his travel outside of Nevada totaled less than $15,000 each year but increased significantly soon after. He spent $29,189 outside of Nevada in 2021 and then $52,630 in 2022. While past attorneys general have also conducted out-of-state travel, Ford stands out when compared to his predecessor, Adam Laxalt, a Republican. In his last year as AG, Laxalt spent under $5,000 out of state, less than 1% of his total expenses that year. Ford’s Republican opponent, Gov. Joe Lombardo, reacted to the news via a statement from his campaign. “Governor Joe Lombardo has delivered real results for Nevada: creating over 40,000 new jobs, driving billions in record economic investment, securing historic funding for education, expanding attainable housing and cutting hundreds of burdensome regulations , all while showing up every day to get the job done,” Halee Dobbins, spokeswoman for the Joe Lombardo Campaign, told Fox News Digital. “While our state is moving in the right direction, Governor Lombardo is committed to building on this progress and continuing to improve the lives of all Nevadans. Meanwhile, while hardworking Nevada families are struggling, Part-Time Aaron Ford has spent 420 days on special interest-funded travel and collecting a taxpayer-funded salary. Aaron Ford’s record makes clear he’s focused on himself, not the people he was elected to serve.” AOC SPENT OVER $53K IN CAMPAIGN FUNDS ON LUXURY HOTELS IN 2025: ‘CARPETBAGGER’ Burke blasted Ford for failing to provide reasons for the travel expenses or contextualize his time away from the office. “Now, as he faces legal jeopardy from the Nevada Commission on Ethics, he still refuses to be transparent with the people of our state about his outrageous travel spree. Ford has disgraced his office and made a mockery of public service; he has no business leading Nevada,” Burke said.
Trump floats dragging Congress back during spring recess to end shutdown — but one hurdle stands in the way
President Donald Trump floated cutting Congress’ two-week spring recess short as the Department of Homeland Security shutdown continues, but the move is unlikely as lawmakers are still negotiating, Fox News Digital has learned. “It’s something that’s under consideration,” Trump told the New York Post on Tuesday, floating the possibility of calling lawmakers back to the nation’s capital as a 45-day partial DHS shutdown continues. A GOP Senate source familiar with the matter told Fox News Digital that while it’s possible Trump will call Congress back to the nation’s capital for a special session, it is unlikely, citing that lawmakers need legislative text to vote on — not a “show vote.” “You don’t need senators on the floor until you have that something figured out, and that product text ready to go,” the source said. “And if we do have to call people back, they can get here pretty quickly.” SCHUMER, DEMS BLOCK DHS FUNDING AGAIN, TRUMP INTERVENES TO PAY TSA AGENTS Last week, the House passed its own version of a bill to restore Department of Homeland Security funding, ensuring all personnel are paid and “critical operations are resourced and ready” through May 22. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer swiftly called the bill “dead on arrival” in the Senate, meaning GOP lawmakers in the upper chamber do not have legislation to consider after Democratic colleagues rejected it. HOUSE CONSERVATIVES RAGE AGAINST SENATE DHS SHUTDOWN DEAL The Constitution grants the president the power to call Congress into a special session. The last time Congress was called into a special session was by President Harry Truman. Congress is on recess until April 14. Senate Majority Leader John Thune told colleagues over the weekend that he would only bring senators back for DHS action if there were legislative text to vote on, not merely another procedural exercise. Thune is continuing negotiations during the congressional recess. On Monday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt suggested during a press briefing that Congress’ recess should be cut short. “But again, Congress needs to come back,” Leavitt told the briefing room. “Democrats need to fund the Department of Homeland Security so we can formally and fully get these great employees paid long into the future.” Fox News Digital reached out to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., for response to Trump’s comments. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for further comment on potentially calling lawmakers back to the capital but was referred to Trump’s remarks to the New York Post.
Man wearing ICE uniform brutally beaten in Honolulu not affiliated with agency, DHS says
The Department of Homeland Security said that a man recently filmed dressed in what resembles a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement uniform being beaten next to a Honolulu street is not affiliated with the agency in any way. A recent viral video showed a man wearing a tactical vest with the word “ICE” being punched and kicked on a street in Honolulu’s Waikiki neighborhood Saturday night. The video caused an uproar on social media amid heightened concerns about rising assaults on ICE agents and debate over whether officers should wear masks to protect their identities. The video shows the man confronting a small group that throws liquid at him. Three individuals grab him, pull him to the ground and begin punching and kicking him. He eventually goes limp as one individual continues to pound his face while two others hold him. The man later gets up and stumbles away, appearing to have a bloody nose. A DHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital in an emailed statement that despite the vest, “this person is NOT an ICE agent and is not connected to DHS in any way.” WATCH: MASKED AGITATOR SPRAYS MESSAGE TARGETING ICE AGENTS ON FEDERAL BUILDING DURING LA PROTEST The spokesperson did not offer any details on the true identity of the man but emphasized that “anyone caught impersonating a federal immigration agent will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” They added that “impersonating a federal immigration officer endangers public safety and erodes trust in law enforcement.” The Honolulu Police Department confirmed to Fox News Digital that a 15-year-old male is being charged with attempted assault in connection with the incident. The department shared a report that stated the suspect was originally arrested for second-degree assault, but that his charges were reduced to attempted assault. The report lists the time of assault at 8:12 p.m. on Saturday. The age of the victim listed on the report is 52. Neither the suspect’s nor the victim’s identities are listed. ‘NO KINGS’ PROTESTERS ARE ‘VERY SELECTIVE IN THEIR OUTRAGE,’ CONSERVATIVE COMMENTATOR SAYS A spokesperson for the department noted they were not able to offer any additional information “as this investigation is active and ongoing.” The attack occurred the same day a “No Dictators” protest opposing the Trump administration took place. The protest, held in conjunction with “No Kings” demonstrations across the continental U.S., occurred several miles from Waikiki in downtown Honolulu earlier that morning. Local outlet Big Island Now reported that organizers changed the name of the Honolulu No Kings protest to No Dictators “out of respect for Hawaiʻi’s history of aliʻi (chiefs and kings).” HOMELAND SECURITY VOWS DEPORTATION OPERATIONS ‘WILL CONTINUE’ AS ICE AGENTS HELP TSA, AGENCY DEFUNDED Though the individual in this instance was not an ICE agent, DHS has reported a dramatic rise in assaults on its officers. Earlier this year, DHS reported a 1,300 percent increase in assaults against ICE officers and a 3,200 percent increase in vehicular attacks. The agency also said ICE officers have experienced an 8,000% increase in death threats. During a No Kings protest in Los Angeles over the weekend, a protester was seen spray-painting a federal building with the message, “Kill your local ICE agent,” along with two targets.
Federal judge blocks Trump executive order to cease funding for NPR and PBS, cites First Amendment
A federal judge on Tuesday blocked the Trump administration‘s efforts to defund PBS and NPR. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss in Washington, D.C., pertains to President Donald Trump’s executive order to cease federal funding for both entities, an action the judge ruled was unlawful and unenforceable. “It is difficult to conceive of clearer evidence that a government action is targeted at viewpoints that the President does not like and seeks to squelch,” wrote Moss, an Obama appointee. NPR CEO KATHERINE MAHER VENTS ‘DEEP FRUSTRATION’ OVER GOP CUTS, SAYS IT WILL CONTINUE TO OPERATE “The Federal Defendants fail to cite a single case in which a court has ever upheld a statute or executive action that bars a particular person or entity from participating in any federally funded activity based on that person or entity’s past speech,” the judge wrote. Republicans have long campaigned on ending federal funding for public media, citing left-wing political bias and wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars. “The message is clear: NPR and PBS need not apply for any federal benefit because the President disapproves of their ‘left-wing’ coverage of the news,” Moss wrote. The White House called Tuesday’s ruling “ridiculous.” “This is a ridiculous ruling by an activist judge attempting to undermine the law,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital. “NPR and PBS have no right to receive taxpayer funds, and Congress already voted to defund them. The Trump Administration looks forward to ultimate victory on the issue.” NPR claimed that Trump wanted to cut off access to public funds as punishment for its reporting. In a statement to Fox News Digital, Katherine Maher, NPR’s president and CEO, called Tuesday’s ruling a win for a free and independent press. FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS VOICE OF AMERICA MASS TERMINATIONS IN SCATHING RULING AGAINST LAKE “The court made clear that the government cannot use funding as a lever to influence or penalize the press, whether as a national news service or a local newsroom,” Maher said. “Public media exists to serve the public interest—that of Americans—not that of any political agenda or elected official.” Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House and PBS for comment. While the government argued some legal claims were moot because of the organizational shifts following the initial defunding attempts, Judge Moss disagreed. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “But that does not end the matter because the Executive Order sweeps beyond the CPB,” Moss added. “It also directs that all federal agencies refrain from funding NPR and PBS—regardless of the nature of the program or the merits of their applications or requests for funding.” The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Kagan turns on liberal ally Jackson with footnote jab over free speech
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson drew fire from an unlikely colleague on Tuesday over her lone dissent in the Supreme Court’s 8-1 decision finding Colorado’s ban on so-called “conversion therapy” for minors violated free speech rights. Fellow liberal Justice Elena Kagan criticized Jackson for failing to acknowledge case law that governs when speech can be regulated in the medical field, marking a rare public break between two justices typically aligned in cases centered on high-profile cultural issues. “Justice Jackson’s dissenting opinion claims that this is a small, or even nonexistent, category,” Kagan wrote in a footnote of a concurring opinion, which Justice Sonia Sotomayor joined. “But even her own opinion, when listing laws supposedly put at risk today, offers quite a few examples.” Kagan, an Obama appointee, said Jackson’s view “rests on reimagining—and in that way collapsing—the well-settled distinction between viewpoint-based and other content-based speech restrictions.” SUPREME COURT SKEPTICAL OF “CONVERSION THERAPY” LAW BANNING TREATMENT OF MINORS WITH GENDER IDENTITY ISSUES The 8-1 decision on Tuesday arose from a lawsuit brought by Kaley Chiles, a licensed Christian therapist, who argued her conversations with youth clients were a form of protected speech. The Colorado government had said the conversations amounted to professional conduct that the state was allowed to regulate. Jackson’s fiery 35-page dissent, which she read from the bench when the high court announced the opinion, was longer than the majority opinion and Kagan’s concurrence combined. “Professional medical speech does not intersect with the marketplace of ideas: ‘In the context of medical practice we insist upon competence, not debate,’” Jackson, a Biden appointee wrote, later adding, “Treatment standards exist in America.” Jackson issued an ominous warning about national implications of the case, as about two dozen other states have laws similar to Colorado’s and will now need to take into account the high court’s ruling. SUPREME COURT BLOCKS COLORADO’S SO-CALLED ‘CONVERSION THERAPY’ BAN ON FIRST AMENDMENT GROUNDS “Ultimately, because the majority plays with fire in this case, I fear that the people of this country will get burned,” Jackson said. “Before now, licensed medical professionals had to adhere to standards when treating patients: They could neither do nor say whatever they want.” One conservative lawyer on social media observed that Kagan seemed “exasperated” by Jackson, who has become known as a verbose justice inclined to tack on lengthy solo dissents to the majority’s opinions in prominent cases. Manhattan Institute’s Ilya Shapiro agreed. “That should be a separate descriptor of an opinion: concurring, dissenting, expressing exasperation with Justice Jackson,” Shapiro wrote on X. Kagan joined the eight justices in finding that the Colorado government erred in regulating Chiles’ practice because the state used a 2019 law that only banned therapists from counseling minors if the therapy entailed advising them on how to resist becoming transgender or gay. That amounted to restricting one viewpoint, in violation of the First Amendment, the majority said. Kagan said that if the law were “content-based” rather than “viewpoint-based,” it would present less of a free speech problem. “Because the State has suppressed one side of a debate, while aiding the other, the constitutional issue is straightforward,” Kagan said. “It would, however, be less so if the law under review was content-based but viewpoint neutral.” Jackson argued that Chiles was “not speaking in the ether; she is providing therapy to minors as a licensed healthcare professional.” The Supreme Court’s ruling was narrow, as Justice Neil Gorsuch explained in the majority opinion, as it directed the lower court to reexamine the Colorado law and ensure it did not interfere with Chiles’ speech rights. “The First Amendment stands as a shield against any effort to enforce orthodoxy in thought or speech in this country,” Gorsuch wrote. “It reflects instead a judgment that every American possesses an inalienable right to think and speak freely, and a faith in the free marketplace of ideas as the best means for discovering truth. However well-intentioned, any law that suppresses speech based on viewpoint represents an ‘egregious’ assault on both of those commitments.”
Trump admin eases asylum freeze for vetted migrants, keeps bans on ‘high-risk’ nations
The Department of Homeland Security announced Tuesday it is slackening restrictions on asylum applications set in place after an Afghan asylee allegedly murdered one West Virginia National Guardsman and gravely wounded another in Washington last fall. The November incident near Farragut Square led President Donald Trump to crack down on allowing asylum seekers into the country, and the administration hammered more lax Biden-era policies that allowed Afghans such as the suspect into the country. A DHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the stringent screening process itself will not change, nor will restrictions on emigrants from a list of “high-risk” countries. “Under the leadership of President Trump, maximum screening and vetting for all aliens continues unabated,” the spokesperson said. DOJ ACCUSES COURTS OF UNDERCUTTING EXECUTIVE POWER IN HIGH-STAKES SUPREME COURT BORDER CASE “USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) has lifted the adjudicative hold for thoroughly screened asylum seekers from non-high-risk countries. This move allows resources to focus on continued rigorous national security and public safety vetting for higher-risk cases.” Some of the 39 countries the administration deemed lacking in the provision of adequate screening and vetting information to U.S. officials still include Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Mali, Niger, Yemen, Syria, Somalia and Sierra Leone; the latter being where two different migrants named Jalloh, accused of recent violent crimes in Virginia, hailed from. JUSTICE JACKSON AUTHORS UNANIMOUS SCOTUS OPINION HANDING TRUMP AN IMMIGRATION WIN “Since taking office, President Trump has prioritized national security and public safety by implementing a series of executive orders and proclamations that mandate strict screening and vetting of foreign nationals seeking entry or immigration benefits,” USCIS said in a statement. The agency said that security gaps in applications for naturalization or permanent residency exposed serious public safety risks and endangered the integrity of the U.S. immigration system. “[A]pplications were approved and individuals were naturalized who should not have been,” the agency said. The latest move is expected to have limited impact on the situation, according to The Hill newspaper, but will still ease the overall restrictive environment.
NYC Dem, Hochul aide under investigation over alleged migrant shelter bribes
Federal prosecutors are investigating whether a New York City councilmember and her sister, a top aide to Gov. Kathy Hochul, accepted bribes or kickbacks tied to city funding steered to a migrant shelter provider, according to a search warrant obtained by The Associated Press. The March 19 warrant seeks evidence of possible criminal conduct involving Councilmember Farah Louis, a Brooklyn Democrat; her sister, Debbie Louis, Hochul’s assistant secretary for New York City intergovernmental affairs; and Edu Hermelyn, husband of Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, the chair of the Brooklyn Democratic Party. A spokesperson for Hochul said Debbie Louis was placed on leave last week after the governor became aware of the federal corruption probe. Someone answering a phone number associated with Louis ended the call when asked by the AP about the investigation, and the AP reported messages left for Farah Louis and Hermelyn were not returned. SEC SCOTT BESSENT: HOW TO STOP FRAUD IN MINNESOTA—AND ACROSS THE COUNTRY According to the warrant, investigators are examining whether the three received benefits in exchange for actions taken on behalf of BHRAGS Home Care Inc., a Brooklyn nonprofit that historically provided in-home care for sick and elderly clients. As New York City’s migrant influx intensified in 2022, BHRAGS broadened its work to include emergency shelter operations for asylum seekers and other homeless services. Since then, public records show the group has been awarded more than a dozen contracts worth upward of $200 million from the city’s Department of Homeless Services. “This is political persecution driven by the far-right, targeting immigrants and the leaders who stand with them,” a political insider tied to Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn told the New York Post on Monday. “There are no charges at this time, and the facts will ultimately lead to this case being dropped on its merits.” DEPUTY AG TODD BLANCHE SHEDS LIGHT ON NEW DOJ FRAUD DIVISION TO ADDRESS ‘INSANE’ PROBLEM An attorney for BHRAGS Executive Director Roberto Samedy declined to comment to the AP. The warrant also seeks records of money transfers and communications involving Edouardo St. Fort, a former New York Police Department sergeant who retired in 2023. That same year, records indicate his firm, Fort NYC Security, secured a $3 million contract from the Department of Homeless Services. AP calls and emails seeking comment from St. Fort were not returned. TRUMP’S FRAUD CZAR NOMINEE TOUTS MINNESOTA BLUEPRINT TO ROOT OUT OBAMACARE FRAUD, SENIOR SCAMS The warrant’s existence does not mean charges are imminent. It indicates only that federal investigators convinced a judge they had sufficient grounds to search for and seize potential evidence. The probe lands amid broader scrutiny over how New York City awarded emergency shelter contracts during the migrant crisis, when the arrival of tens of thousands of asylum seekers strained the city’s shelter system and prompted officials under then-Mayor Eric Adams to rapidly expand housing capacity through outside providers. Some of those arrangements have drawn criticism from watchdogs and political opponents, who questioned the speed, scale and oversight of the contracting process. FEDERAL PROSECUTOR CALLS NEWSOM ‘KING OF FRAUD’ AS TRUMP LAUNCHES CALIFORNIA CORRUPTION PROBE The figures named in the warrant are all connected to Brooklyn’s Democratic political establishment, which has been rocked by a series of ethics controversies in recent years. Hermelyn, who once served as a senior adviser to Adams, stepped down after questions were raised about whether his role as a Brooklyn district leader conflicted with rules barring certain dual government positions. He also went on to advise former Gov. Andrew Cuomo during Cuomo’s unsuccessful mayoral campaign. The Trump administration, led by fraud investigation czar Vice President JD Vance, has prioritized federal law enforcement investigations nationwide. VANCE SAYS BIDEN ADMIN ‘TURNED OFF’ ANTI-FRAUD PROTECTIONS, DEBUTS NEW TASK FORCE WITH FOCUS ON SOMALI SCHEMES Just this week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s Treasury Department announced it is offering whistleblowers a major financial incentive to help expose fraud, directing would-be tipsters to the Treasury.gov website, telling Fox News on Monday that the administration has already received more than 700 leads. The Treasury’s whistleblower page says eligible tipsters can receive between 10% and 30% of monetary sanctions collected for successful actions. While Minnesota fraud among the state’s Somali community has made headlines thus far thanks to independent journalist Nick Shirley’s reporting, Bessent actually praised that state for having some level of transparency that is not permitted in California or New York. “That’s why that young man, Nick Shirley, was able to go to see the scams, because it was: This is the name of the facility; this is the address; this is how much money they got,” Bessent said. “Oh look, it’s an empty storefront. There’s no one here. New York, California are hiding it.” The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Democrats pounce on $4 a gallon gas, blame Trump’s Iran war for ‘broken promise’
The House Democrats’ campaign committee chair charges that “skyrocketing” gas prices sparked by the Iran war are “another broken promise” by President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans. Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) Chair Rep. Suzan DelBene told Fox News Digital that House Democrats will keep spotlighting gas prices as part of their affordability messaging as they aim to win back the chamber’s majority from Republicans in this year’s midterm elections. The average price of gasoline in the U.S. topped $4 per gallon on Tuesday, according to national averages from AAA and GasBuddy, the highest level in four years. The surge in gas prices comes amid the monthlong attacks on Iran by the U.S. and Israel. In response, Iran has targeted energy facilities with missile and drone attacks in a number of Persian Gulf nations. It has also made the Strait of Hormuz nearly impassable to commercial shipping, bringing roughly 20% of the world’s oil supply to a halt and sending global fuel prices sharply higher. FOX BUSINESS: GAS PRICES TOP $4 PER GALLON The White House says the surge in prices is temporary. “When Operation Epic Fury is complete, gas prices will plummet back to the multiyear lows American drivers enjoyed before these short-term disruptions,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement on Tuesday. OIL HAS SURGED SINCE THE IRAN CONFLICT BEGAN, BUT GAS PRICES MAY NOT BE DONE RISING Leavitt emphasized that “President Trump remains committed to fully unleashing American energy dominance, lowering costs, and putting more money back in the pockets of hardworking American families.” The gas price surge is giving Democrats more political ammunition to target the GOP. “BREAKING: National Gas Prices Skyrocket to $4 Per Gallon,” read the headline from an email Tuesday morning from the Democratic National Committee. The DCCC last week launched digital ads showing prices at the pump going up and an image saying “D.C. Republicans Did That!” Sources say to expect another round of ads on gas prices in the coming weeks. FIRST ON FOX: SPEAKER JOHNSON’S ALLIES LAUNCH $10 MILLION AD CAMPAIGN SPOTLIGHTING TRUMP TAX CUTS DelBene argued that “Trump went into this war without thinking through the implications, and we’ve seen gas prices skyrocket across the country, on top of prices going up for families, housing, food, healthcare, all going up because of actions taken by this President and Republicans in Congress.” As they fight to hold their slim majorities in both the House and Senate, Republicans are battling stiff political headwinds, as the party in power in the nation’s capital traditionally loses seats in the midterms. They also face a rough political climate fueled by economic concerns over persistent inflation, an unpopular war with Iran, and Trump’s underwater approval ratings. A spotlight on inflation helped fuel sweeping victories by Trump and Republicans in the 2024 elections, when they won back the White House and Senate and successfully defended their slim House majority. A laser focus on affordability by Democrats has fueled a slew of victories and overperformances in 2025’s off-year elections and in special elections in the 14 months since Trump returned to the White House. “Affordability is a huge issue,” DelBene emphasized. “Folks are angry, they’re upset, and they’re struggling, and they need folks who are going to actually stand up and look out for them.” TRUMP BOOSTS HOUSE GOP’S WARCHEST AS MIDTERMS IN BATTLE FOR CHAMBER’S MAJORITY DelBene argued that “this is yet another broken promise from the President saying that he’s going to lower costs on day one. That’s been a broken promise… And he promised no forever wars, that he wouldn’t get involved in a conflict like this.” But DelBene’s counterpart at the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) welcomes the fight over affordability. NRCC’s chair, Rep. Richard Hudson, in a Fox News Digital interview, pointed to tax cuts in the Working Families Tax Cuts, the name of the sweeping GOP domestic policy bill passed along party lines and signed into law by Trump last summer. With the tax filing deadline quickly approaching, Hudson said, “Folks who work overtime, folks who work for tips, they’re going to see a lot more money in their pocket thanks to no tax on tips, no tax on overtime.” “Our policies are making the American people more prosperous, and they’re going to start feeling it more and more,” Hudson emphasized. “And these are promises that President Trump made. These are promises that we’ve kept.” Fox News’ Amanda Macias contributed to this report.