Combat veteran nearly killed by Taliban fires back at Platner’s deleted online attack: ‘You’re a coward’
Combat veteran and Purple Heart recipient Ted Daniels, who was nearly killed by the Taliban, ripped Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner over a resurfaced post in which Platner said Daniels should not have survived. Speaking to “The Bottom Line” on Thursday, Daniels called Platner a “coward” for hiding behind a keyboard. “People like this don’t say stuff like this to my face,” he said. “It’s online, and that right there tells me, Graham, you’re a coward.” In a now-deleted Reddit post from June 2019, Platner reacted to a viral helmet-cam video showing Daniels being shot four times during a 2012 clash with Taliban fighters. “This video never gets old,” Platner wrote under the username “P-Hustle,” a deleted Reddit account he has acknowledged owning. “Dumb motherf—– didn’t deserve to live. At least his stupidity and fat a– wheezing are available for all future infantrymen to witness and hold in contempt. Poor marksmanship on the Taliban’s part is the only reason this mouthbreather made it home, he managed to make every possible s— decision possible when it comes to small unit combat,” the post read. PLATNER’S DELETED REDDIT SPARKS OUTRAGE AGAIN AS HE APPEARS TO MOCK WOUNDED SOLDIER: ‘DIDN’T DESERVE TO LIVE’ The deleted post can still be found in the Maine Monitor’s database of Platner’s deleted Reddit history. Platner, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served four combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, is facing mounting backlash over his past online comments, which have drawn criticism from veterans and lawmakers across the political spectrum. His resurfaced Reddit account also featured a stream of vulgar and highly unusual posts that critics say raise broader questions about Platner’s judgment. “Thank you for your service, Graham, but I think you’re a scumbag personally,” Daniels said. Other resurfaced Reddit posts included Platner describing himself as a “communist” and “socialist,” alleged homophobic slurs, and praise for Hamas military tactics. Daniels said Platner’s comments may stem from personal insecurity. “Hate never comes from above,” he said. “It always comes from below. I don’t know if Mr. Platner has an inferiority complex. I don’t know if he’s disgusted or not proud of his own service because he’s out there attacking folks who are proud of their service and have done the right things for the right reason.” TOP OFF-THE-WALL REDDIT POSTS HAUNTING GRAHAM PLATNER’S MAINE SENATE BID He said he first learned about the post while having coffee with his wife and immediately asked whether it came from a “liberal” before knowing who wrote it. After his wife confirmed it was Platner, Daniels said the comments “made sense.” “This is what they do. It’s the violent rhetoric. It’s hateful rhetoric,” he said. Daniels said Platner needed “therapy” for attacking other soldiers, including “American Sniper” and former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, whom Platner previously accused of killing civilians to inflate his numbers. “The comments that he made about me are just one thing. He attacked former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle as well. Chris Kyle’s an American hero, he’s an icon, the legend,” he said. WATCH: COLLINS RIPS MAINE CHALLENGER PLATNER OVER RESURFACED REDDIT POST MOCKING WOUNDED US SOLDIER He added that Platner’s comments reflect poorly on the military as a whole. “Everybody thinks that everybody that served in the military is a saint and can do no wrong and that’s just not the case,” he said. “Just to have somebody like this involved in our culture in the first place, it’s embarrassing for the entire military and veteran community.” Daniels said Platner is contributing to extreme political rhetoric online. “This man has cheered on Antifa. He has called for violence. He hates cops, and it’s like, this is what we’re dealing with,” he said. “From what I see, it’s all behind the keyboard.” He said Platner’s rhetoric and emotionally unstable behavior make him unfit for office. “This is coming from a man whose party has no idea what a woman is, yet he saw a video of a man online and had an emotional meltdown like a 13-year-old girl who just got dumped by her boyfriend,” Daniels said. “Honestly, that’s not the type of leadership that we need in our government.” Platner became the Democrats’ presumptive nominee after two-term Gov. Janet Mills ended her campaign last month. If he wins the June primary, Platner will face five-term incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins this fall.
Dem candidate who called for imprisoning ‘Zionists’ blames her own party, media for backlash
The Democratic House candidate under fire for recommending imprisonment for “American Zionists” blamed journalists and her own party for allegedly mischaracterizing her as wanting to create a holding center for “American Zionists” and a purported castration facility. In an Instagram post last week, South Texas sex therapist Maureen Galindo proposed legislation that would repurpose a federal detention facility to imprison “American Zionists.” In other posts, she also accused her Democratic runoff challenger, Bexar County Sheriff’s Office Johnny Garcia, of being paid to put “Jews and Mexicans in concentration camps via Zionist trafficking networks.” In a social media video posted Thursday, Galindo blamed journalists for mischaracterizing her comments and said she has received threats and hate mail. She also sought to set the record straight about her reference to using an ICE facility in her district. “I’m sorry to all journalists if I missed your email or social media message, it got lost in a wave of hundreds of death threats and the most vile things. I’m in Texas, I know MAGA. This is worse than MAGA, that’s because MAGA and Zionism is religious overtaking of government,” Galindo said. DEMOCRATS VOW TO VOTE ‘EVERY SINGLE DAY’ TO EXPEL FELLOW DEM FROM CONGRESS IF SHE WINS MIDTERM “I never said I wanted to use an internment camp. Literally never said it. I said I want to close all detention centers… and put billionaire American Zionists who are funding the genocidal prison systems involved in trafficking into prison.” Galindo nevertheless reiterated her support for imprisoning what she called “billionaire American Zionists,” whom she accused of supporting “genocidal prison systems.” She said the use of the phrase “internment camp” was invented by an unnamed journalist who “literally wants me dead.” Galindo then accused House Democrats’ campaign arm, the DCCC, of fueling the uproar and criticized the organization for backing Garcia over her. CROCKETT BLASTS ‘LEFT’ FOR ALLEGED SKIN DARKENING IN ADS AS TEXAS SENATE CLASH HEATS UP She then accused Garcia of being the “PR guy” for the “deadliest jail in all of Texas” and called him a “Zionist-backed cop-candidate.” Fox News Digital reached out to the DCCC and Garcia’s campaign for comment. In a video response, Garcia said Galindo’s comments have “no place in our Democratic Party or any place in public service.” While Galindo could not be immediately reached, she posted a direct response to the matter on her media page, addressing it to all journalists seeking comment on the matter. “Maureen never said that she wants anyone in internment camps.” The campaign said Galindo still wants the Karnes ICE facility to be refitted for “billionaire Zionists” who could practice Evangelism, Catholicism, Mormonism and not just Judaism. “It’s their behaviors and actions that will be judged,” the statement went on, adding that the retrofitting would also provide jobs to the region. TEXAS DEMOCRATS CALLED OUT OVER ‘EGREGIOUS CIRCULAR-FIRING SQUAD BEHAVIOR’ IN SENATE PRIMARY RACE Galindo shocked the body politic when she edged out Garcia in the original primary by a few points — putting her and the law enforcement official in the runoff. The district number matches that of incumbent “Squad” member Rep. Gregorio Casar of Austin, but Casar is running in adjacent Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett’s district, which also overlaps with his current seat, after Doggett said he would retire if the GOP’s new map holds up in court. Meanwhile, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York and DCCC Chair Rep. Suzan DelBene of Oregon hit back at the situation by blaming Republicans for “propping up” the “antisemitic” Galindo. Jewish Democrats, including Reps. Jared Moskowitz of Florida and Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, also condemned Galindo. Even some on the far left condemned Galindo, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, who called her comments “disgusting.”
As China tensions loom, US temporarily pauses Taiwan weapons sales due to Iran war, acting Navy secretary says
The United States has temporarily paused weapons sales to Taiwan in order to ensure readiness for a potential escalation in Iran, acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao testified to the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee on Tuesday. “I have not heard, I have not spoken to the Taiwanese. However, we have done some military, foreign military sales to them. And it’s just, right now we’re doing a pause in order to make sure we have the munitions we need for Epic Fury, which we have plenty, but we’re just making sure we have everything,” Cao testified. When asked by Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., if sales would be resumed at any point, Cao replied, “That would be up to the secretary of war and the secretary of state, sir.” “Well, that’s really distressing,” McConnell responded. TRUMP RALLIES DEFENSE TITANS TO SURGE WEAPONS OUTPUT AS IRAN WAR RAGES Cao did also add that “the foreign military sales will continue when the administration deems necessary.” His testimony came a week after President Donald Trump’s state visit to China, where Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed the importance of Taiwan as a red-line issue. “President Xi stressed to President Trump that the Taiwan question is the most important issue in China-U.S. relations. If it is handled properly, the bilateral relationship will enjoy overall stability. Otherwise, the two countries will have clashes and even conflicts, putting the entire relationship in great jeopardy,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said in a statement after Trump and Xi’s bilateral meeting. BEHIND SUMMIT SMILES, XI GIVES BLUNT WARNING TO TRUMP OF ‘CLASHES’ AND ‘CONFLICTS’ Congress pre-approved a $14 billion weapons package for Taiwan in January, though Trump has yet to formally notify the package, a key step in approving the delivery to Taiwan. Though a bipartisan group of lawmakers urged him to do so before his China visit, Trump withheld his stamp of approval, leaving the armament deal in limbo. During an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier from China, Trump urged both Taiwan and China to “cool down” and remained ambivalent on the likelihood he’d sign off on the weapons bundle. “I may do it. I may not do it,” he told Baier. “We’re not looking to have wars. If you kept it the way it is, I think China is [going to] be OK with that. But we’re not looking to have somebody say, ‘Let’s go independent because the United States is backing us.’” CHINA PROMISES ‘COUNTERMEASURES’ TO US ARMS SALE TO TAIWAN Beijing has long viewed Taiwan as a “breakaway province” and lays claim to the island as belonging to the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The U.S., in concert with President Ronald Reagan’s “six assurances” to Taiwan, has historically been the island nation’s chief weapons supplier, a trend that many Washington lawmakers wish to see continued. Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., asserted as much during Tuesday’s subcommittee hearing, insisting that weaponizing Taiwan provides the U.S. strategic leverage in ongoing security competition with China. “I’m sorry, what more do we have to know?” he asked Adm. Daryl Caudle, the Navy’s chief of operations. US COULD BURN THROUGH KEY MISSILES IN ‘A WEEK’ IF WAR WITH CHINA ERUPTS, TOP SECURITY EXPERT WARNS “President Xi has telegraphed his anxiety, his insecurity now that he knows that America’s re-learned how to fight. We want leverage. We want stability, not a hot war. We want leverage. What’s his insecurity? Taiwan. Why don’t we just go ahead and sell the weapons to Taiwan that Taiwan wants? The president can call President Xi and say, hey, President Xi, don’t take it personally. Don’t get excited, don’t get your bows in an uproar. But I’m selling these weapons. Why wouldn’t we do that?” “We definitely want Taiwan to be as strong as they can be,” Caudle replied. “They’d be stronger with those weapons are, wouldn’t they?” Kennedy asked. “Yes, sir,” Caudle replied. WATCH: KENNEDY PRESSES NAVY ADMIRAL ON WEAPONS SALES TO TAIWAN: Taiwan, meanwhile, said they haven’t received any notification from the U.S. about the pause. “Currently there is no information regarding any adjustments the U.S. will make to this arms sale,” Taiwanese presidential spokesperson Karen Kuo said Friday, according to The Associated Press. “As President Trump said, he will make a determination in a fairly short time regarding a new Taiwan arms package,” a White House official told Fox News Digital. “The President approved $11.1 billion in arms sales to Taiwan in December 2025, consistent with U.S. policy since the 1950s. In his first term, President Trump approved more arms sales to Taiwan than any other President in history. In his second term, President Trump approved more in his first year than all four years under President Biden,” the official said. Fox News Digital contacted the Department of War, the State Department, the U.S. Navy and a representative for the Taiwanese government for comment.
Trump doubles down on $1.8 billion ‘slush fund’ that killed his agenda, spurred Republican rebellion
President Donald Trump isn’t backing down from his administration’s latest move that has blown up his agenda in Congress. Trump on Friday stood by the newly created “anti-weaponization” fund that some Republicans have described as a slush fund launched by the Department of Justice (DOJ) earlier this week. He argued that what could have been a massive payday for himself was converted into “justice” for others. “I gave up a lot of money in allowing the just announced Anti-Weaponization Fund to go forward,” Trump said on Truth Social. “I could have settled my case, including the illegal release of my Tax Returns and the equally illegal BREAK IN of Mar-a-Lago, for an absolute fortune.” SENATE GOP ERUPTS OVER TRUMP DOJ ‘ANTI-WEAPONIZATION’ FUND, PUNTS ICE, BORDER PATROL FUNDING “Instead, I am helping others who were so badly abused by an evil, corrupt, and weaponized Biden Administration, receive, at long last, JUSTICE! President DJT,” he continued. The fund stemmed from an agreement among Trump, his family and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to settle his $10 billion lawsuit against the government over the leak of their tax returns. The nearly $1.8 billion fund would “provide a systematic process to hear and redress claims of others who suffered weaponization and lawfare,” according to the DOJ. But its creation foiled his agenda in Congress to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Border Patrol throughout his term. Republicans contended that the timing could have waited. REPUBLICANS RECOIL AS TRUMP’S BILLION-DOLLAR DOJ ‘SLUSH FUND’ FOR ALLIES THREATENS ICE, BORDER PATROL PLAN “Well, it would have been nice if they had consulted, and I think they probably would have gotten plenty of advice from lots of folks about it, but it’s water under the bridge now,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said. “And you play the hand you’re dealt, and we’ll sort it out from here, but obviously it became a more complicated and bumpy path than we hoped,” he continued. That’s because the majority of Senate Republicans on Thursday took issue with a lack of clear guardrails on whether those convicted of assaulting police officers during the riots on Capitol Hill on Jan. 6, 2021, could make a claim and get a taxpayer-funded payout. The announcement of the settlement and subsequent creation of the fund earlier this week derailed what was meant to be the last sprint to pass the massive, $72 billion package. The goal was to have the legislation on Trump’s desk by June 1. SENATE REPUBLICAN THREATENS TO DERAIL ICE, BORDER PATROL PACKAGE OVER TRUMP’S BILLION-DOLLAR REQUEST But Republicans, facing severe political headwinds, weren’t satisfied with the explanations of how the fund would work and what guardrails could be installed. And despite the administration’s argument that the fund has nothing to do with the reconciliation process, it is inextricably tied to the maneuver because the Senate Judiciary Committee oversees the DOJ and has played a major role in crafting the broader package. The Senate doesn’t return until Trump’s deadline, and the likelihood that lawmakers solve the issue and finish their work is low. Meanwhile, Senate Democrats cheered the result. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., accused Republicans of “fleeing” from Washington, D.C., on Thursday, and charged that “they’re at each other’s throats.” “Trapped in a corner by their own president, Republicans have their backs to the wall with no way out. Nowhere to hide. No end in sight,” Schumer said. “The only way for Republicans to get out of this box is to stop backing the slush fund. Stop pushing the ballroom.”
DNC chair under pressure again after flipping on releasing autopsy
Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin is facing increased scrutiny from his party, including calls to resign, after he changed his months-long stance and released the party’s long-awaited autopsy on its 2024 election loss. After months of refusing to release the report, which was meant to be an analysis of how and why former Vice President Kamala Harris lost the 2024 presidential election, Martin flipped and released the report Thursday. Martin claimed he initially believed that putting out the report would be a distraction but then said that not releasing the report became “an even bigger distraction.” Critics within his own party argued the report released Thursday was far from comprehensive. DEMOCRATS RELEASE 2024 ELECTION AUTOPSY THAT CHAIR SAYS ‘DOES NOT MEET MY STANDARDS’ “I think it’s pretty unbelievable that Gaza would not be mentioned once in the autopsy report,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., told reporters Thursday. “I think it was very clearly a major dynamic and a major thread that was happening in 2024, regardless of how one feels about that issue, the fact that it’s not even addressed, I think, is a major oversight, and I think that for young people it was a huge part of the environment. I can tell you for myself, as a candidate during that cycle, there’s no way that it was an ignorable issue or totally immaterial. So, I think that you know it’s a real disservice to not speak to that or include or assess that,” she said. Ocasio-Cortez was far from the only congressional critic. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., also criticized the document’s failure to mention Gaza. “One of the reasons we lost was our blank check to Israel and Netanyahu while they committed genocide in Gaza,” he said in a video posted to his YouTube channel. “We must speak and confront hard truths if this party is to win in 2028,” he added. UNITY TESTED: DEMOCRATS FACE OFF OVER ISRAEL AND AIPAC DARK MONEY DURING DNC MEETING Others, like Rep. Mark Veasey, D-Texas, went as far as calling for Martin to resign. “There doesn’t seem to be a plan to turn things around and the clock is ticking,” he told Semafor, adding, “November is literally around the corner… I believe it’s time for him to move on.” Democratic strategist Steve Schale called the report release “an unmitigated s—show,” according to NBC, adding “there’s just no confidence in the competence in the DNC.” Martin himself admitted the report’s inadequacy. “I am not proud of this product; it does not meet my standards, and it won’t meet your standards,” he wrote Thursday, claiming he could not “in good faith put the DNC’s stamp of approval on it.” Entire sections of the report, which was written by Democratic strategist Paul Rivera, according to CNN, were left blank, and the document was reportedly riddled with omissions and factual errors. Aside from omitting any mention of the Gaza conflict splitting party voters, the report also failed to mention former President Joe Biden’s age or Kamala Harris’ selection of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate. Fox News Digital contacted the DNC for additional comment. Fox News’ Dan Scully contributed to this report.
Dem senators deflect questions on Platner’s scandal-plagued campaign: ‘Not following that race closely’
Democratic senators largely avoided answering questions about Graham Platner, the controversial candidate in Maine looking to unseat Republican incumbent Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and his many off-color comments that have resurfaced in recent months. Most Democrats told Fox News Digital they aren’t focused on the Maine contest. “I’m not following that race closely,” Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., told Fox News Digital earlier this week when approached about Platner. DEMS SILENT ON PROGRESSIVE CANDIDATE’S NAZI-STYLE TATTOO AFTER KNOCKING HEGSETH FOR CHRISTIAN SYMBOL The comments — and in many cases, silence — from Democratic lawmakers have done little to clarify whether lawmakers see Platner’s past remarks on sexual abuse, race and terror as a meaningful threat to his Senate candidacy. It’s a seat Democrats believe presents a ripe opportunity; a chance to knock off a moderate Republican in a Democratic-leaning state. Should Platner take the nomination, Democrats will have to hope his colorful past won’t turn enough voters away to inadvertently hand Collins a sixth term. Collins, who first took the seat in 1997, last won re-election in 2021 in a 51.0% to 42.4% victory over Democratic challenger Sara Gideon, a state legislator. Among other resurfaced comments, Platner in one Reddit post once blamed rape victims for failing to protect themselves. SCHUMER’S ‘NUMBER ONE TARGET’ SAYS VOTERS WILL SEE HER DEMOCRAT SENATE CHALLENGER AS TOO EXTREME “How about people just take some responsibility for themselves and not so f—ed up when they wind up having sex with someone they don’t mean to?” Platner wrote in 2013. “If you don’t want to be in a compromising situation, act like an adult for f—s sake.” To Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., the story behind those comments isn’t clear. Like Durbin, Booker said his focus has been elsewhere. “I have not been focusing on this race,” Booker said. But he promised to give the matter a closer look. “I am going to do my due diligence and look through the full body of evidence around him. He has a case to make to the voters, not to people like me. And he needs to make it because obviously this election is highly consequential,” Booker said. MAINE SENATE CANDIDATE CITES COMBAT TRAUMA WHEN CONFRONTED ON ‘TERRIBLE’ POSTS ABOUT SEXUAL ASSAULT Still, other senators said the Maine race is the prerogative of voters in the Pine Tree State. “It’s up to Maine,” Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., said. “It’s up to Maine’s people.”
Trump champions bid to nix clock changes by adopting permanent daylight saving time
President Donald Trump is championing the prospect of putting the kibosh on twice-annual clock changes by making daylight saving time permanent. A bill to make daylight saving time permanent has been folded into a larger measure that the House Energy and Commerce Committee advanced in a 48-1 vote on Thursday. “Big Vote today (48-1!) in the Energy and Commerce Committee on a Bill including The Sunshine Protection Act, which will be making Daylight Saving Time Permanent! This is so important in that Hundreds of Millions of Dollars are spent every year by people, Cities, and States, being forced to change their Clocks. Many of these Clocks are located in Towers, and the cost of renting, or using, Heavy Equipment to do this twice a year is prohibitive!” Trump wrote in a Thursday Truth Social post. TRUMP SAYS CONGRESS SHOULD PUSH ‘FOR MORE DAYLIGHT AT THE END OF A DAY’ “It’s time that people can stop worrying about the ‘Clock,’ not to mention all of the work and money that is spent on this ridiculous, twice yearly production. It will also be a very nice WIN for the Republican Party. Take it! We are going with the far more popular alternative, Saving Daylight, which gives you a longer, brighter Day — And who can be against that — This is an easy one!” the president declared. Rep. Vern Buchanan’s, R-Fla., office noted in a Thursday press release that “The Sunshine Protection Act was included as a provision within an Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute (AINS) to the Motor Vehicle Modernization Act, which was marked up and sent to the House floor by the House Energy and Commerce Committee today.” FLORIDA GOP REP VERN BUCHANAN TO RETIRE, ADDING TO WAVE OF HOUSE EXITS The push is actually bipartisan. “The legislation has 32 bipartisan cosponsors in the House, and Senate companion legislation (S. 29) introduced by Senator Rick Scott (R-Fla.) has 18 bipartisan cosponsors,” Buchanan’s release noted. The proposal would not compel a state that is not observing daylight saving time to start observing it. In a Truth Social post last year, Trump called for Congress to address the issue. DAYLIGHT SAVINGS: IT’S ABOUT THE SUNLIGHT “The House and Senate should push hard for more Daylight at the end of a day. Very popular and, most importantly, no more changing of the clocks, a big inconvenience and, for our government, A VERY COSTLY EVENT!!!” he declared in an April 2025 post.
Mamdani’s Wall Street courtship sparks criticism of anti-billionaire agenda
Socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is courting powerful Wall Street leaders after months of attacking wealthy New Yorkers and pushing for higher taxes on corporations. Given New York City’s outsized role in U.S. banking, investing and corporate headquarters, business leaders warn financial instability in the Big Apple could reverberate nationwide. Mamdani’s meetings this week with JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon underscored growing concerns that the mayor’s push to tax wealthy individuals and businesses could clash with the financial sector that underpins the city’s economy. And critics tell Fox News Digital that they view the sit-downs as part of a growing contradiction at the center of his economic agenda in the world’s largest business and finance hub. BLUE-STATE TAX BURDEN FUELS AMERICANS FLEEING TO REPUBLICAN-LED SOUTHERN STATES “The Mamdani administration has come to recognize that so much of their agenda depends on having successful businesses and wealth creators in the city,” Manhattan Institute economic policy expert Adam Lehodey told Fox News Digital. “Simply alienating them isn’t going to solve any of New York’s problems,” he added. Lehodey argued the city cannot fund progressive priorities like free childcare and subsidized housing without strong tax revenue and a healthy private sector. He warns that a “tax-the-rich strategy” could worsen the city’s economic challenges because it might discourage investment in New York. “It’s a good thing that he’s meeting with them, but now he needs to follow up and deliver something substantive,” Lehodey said. “The current tax-the-rich strategy is only going to worsen the problems unless he follows up and says, ‘Let’s look at what we can do to make it easier to invest in New York State and New York City.’” Mamdani’s outreach has also extended beyond major banking executives. The socialist mayor recently reached out to Citadel founder Ken Griffin after previously criticizing the billionaire hedge fund manager over his Manhattan penthouse and personal wealth. Mamdani stood outside Griffin’s multimillion-dollar property in the city to tout his proposal for higher taxes on second homes in NYC worth more than $5 million. CHICAGO KNOWS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN KEN GRIFFIN TURNS ON A CITY, NOW MAMDANI MAY FIND OUT Citadel told FOX Business that Griffin “welcomes thoughtful, serious conversations about the policies that can grow the city’s economy and create more opportunity for all New Yorkers,” while cautioning that “reckless political theater serves no purpose.” Amazon founder Jeff Bezos supported Griffin when on Wednesday he criticized Mamdani’s rhetoric toward wealthy business leaders. The world’s fourth-richest person accused politicians of using an “age-old technique” of “picking a villain and pointing fingers.” FROM FREE BUSES TO CITY-OWNED GROCERY STORES, HERE ARE MAMDANI’S KEY ECONOMIC PROMISES “It isn’t right… to stand in front of Ken Griffin’s house and act like he is some kind of villain,” Bezos told CNBC. “Ken Griffin isn’t a villain, he hasn’t hurt anybody, he’s not hurting New York, in fact quite the opposite.” While Bezos said debates over raising taxes on top earners are legitimate, he criticized what he described as the “vilification” of wealthy Americans and argued that overspending — not insufficient tax revenue — is the root of the nation’s fiscal problems. The tensions underscore the difficult balancing act facing the mayor of the nation’s financial capital: Wall Street and high-income taxpayers generate a major share of New York City’s tax revenue, even as progressive activists push for a more aggressive redistribution of wealth. Nicole Huyer, a senior policy analyst at The Heritage Foundation, characterized the meetings with Dimon and Solomon as an effort to repair strained ties with New York’s business community after Mamdani’s “tax the rich” campaign rhetoric. She cautioned that policies perceived as hostile to corporations and wealthy taxpayers could accelerate corporate and capital flight from New York, pointing to Griffin’s relocation to Florida as one example. “Jamie Dimon and David Solomon lead two of the nation’s most influential financial institutions and have enormous influence over the financial sector and labor market,” Huyer told Fox News Digital. “If policies drive major firms or wealthy taxpayers out of New York City, the impact on tax revenue, jobs and broader economic activity could be significant.” Huyer added that “pitching class warfare and then pivoting to court Wall Street executives risks appearing politically performative.”
Army cuts helicopters, pushes ‘Amazon for war’ as drone combat reshapes military
Army leaders signaled Wednesday that drone-heavy warfare and recent conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East are reshaping the service’s aviation and missile defense strategy, driving new scrutiny of helicopter programs and costly Patriot interceptor systems. The comments come as the Army’s fiscal year 2027 budget request sharply cuts the funding request for helicopter procurement, including reducing Apache funding from roughly $361.7 million to about $1.5 million, Black Hawk funding from about $913 million to roughly $39.3 million and Chinook procurement from roughly $629 million to about $210 million, while increasing investment in drones, autonomy and low-cost battlefield technologies. The transformation push is already extending beyond procurement. The Army previously announced plans to cut roughly 6,500 active-duty aviation positions over fiscal years 2026 and 2027 — including pilots, flight crews and maintainers — as leaders shift resources toward unmanned systems and drone warfare. It remains unclear whether the procurement reductions ultimately will shrink aviation fleet sizes, extend the service life of aging aircraft or delay planned replacement cycles. Army leaders suggested the battlefield lessons driving the changes are already shaping budget decisions, as the service redirects money away from some traditional aviation programs toward drones, autonomy and low-cost mass systems. “Absolutely, as we look across the aviation portfolio … we’re re-looking that,” Assistant Army Secretary Brent Ingraham said during a Pentagon media roundtable Wednesday. Ingraham said the Army is reassessing how traditional manned aircraft fit alongside larger unmanned systems increasingly capable of missions once handled by helicopters. The proposed aviation cuts already have drawn concern on Capitol Hill. During a recent Senate Armed Services Committee hearing May 12, Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., warned that the Army’s budget request included “zero H-64 Apaches, zero Chinook Block IIs and one UH-60 Black Hawk,” arguing the service was divesting critical capabilities before validating replacements. “Your department’s budget request cuts over $5 billion from the industrial base in the aviation sector alone, effectively shutting down all current Army aviation platforms,” Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, pressed War Secretary Pete Hegseth during a May 12 House Appropriations hearing. “How did the department arrive at the conclusion that reducing procurement for these Army aviation platforms strengthens rather than weakens the aviation industrial base?” Hegseth acknowledged the Pentagon was reconsidering parts of the plan. “There are some very good things in the Army Transformation Initiative, and there are some things that we’ve needed to get another look at,” Hegseth told lawmakers during a House hearing after facing questions about the scale of the aviation cuts. Hegseth said Pentagon leaders were focused on ensuring the Army does not create “aviation capability gaps” as it transitions toward more unmanned systems and next-generation technologies. ‘EYES IN THE SKY’: ARMY DRONE EXPERT EXPLAINS US STRATEGY ON INNOVATION AS GLOBAL CONFLICT LOOMS Army leaders said the rapid spread of cheap drones is forcing the Army to rethink how it buys and fields aircraft, missile defenses and battlefield technology. “We know we don’t want to continue to use a Patriot missile to shoot down a cheap drone,” Ingraham said. “You’ve got to get on the right side of the cost curve.” The concern has become increasingly urgent after the U.S. and its allies burned through large numbers of expensive missile defense interceptors during the Israel-Iran conflict and broader Middle East operations, fueling Pentagon concerns about stockpile depletion and the long-term sustainability of relying on multimillion-dollar defensive systems against cheap drones and missiles. Officials also described a new allied drone and counter-drone procurement marketplace designed to speed foreign military sales and standardize interoperable systems across partner nations. Driscoll compared the effort to “an Amazon for war.” Officials said the marketplace is expected to become available to roughly 25 U.S. allies and partners worldwide, initially focused on drone and counter-drone systems before potentially expanding to additional capabilities and countries. The platform will for now only allow allies to buy U.S. capabilities. US DRAINS CRITICAL MISSILE STOCKPILES IN IRAN WAR AS YEARSLONG REBUILD LOOMS The Army also is launching a rapid competition to develop low-cost interceptors designed to counter drones and cruise missiles without exhausting multimillion-dollar Patriot missile stocks. Ingraham said companies will have roughly 120 days after an upcoming industry event to demonstrate technologies ranging from rocket motors and seekers to fully integrated interceptor concepts. “Even if you don’t have it all on the ground … bring it,” he said. The transformation effort reflects growing concern inside the Pentagon that cheap drones, autonomous systems and mass-produced weapons are rapidly changing the economics and survivability assumptions of modern warfare, particularly after conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East exposed vulnerabilities in traditional armored and aviation-heavy battlefield concepts. Army leaders increasingly suggest future wars will rely less on small numbers of expensive manned platforms and more on large quantities of cheaper, networked and rapidly replaceable systems capable of surviving in drone-saturated battlefields. Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll said at the roundtable that the service is attempting to overhaul what leaders view as decades of broken acquisition practices that left the Army too slow to adapt to rapidly changing battlefield conditions. “How do we dig down deep into the system to change the broken processes that have led to so many bad outcomes over the last 30 years?” Driscoll said. Driscoll said the Army had lost Congress’s trust after decades of acquisition failures and budget overruns. “The United States Army had in some ways lost Congress’s trust over the last 30 years that we could do big new projects, keep them on time, keep them on budget,” he said. He later referenced the Army’s now-canceled M10 Booker armored vehicle program as an example of the type of procurement failure leaders are trying to avoid. “When we go to Congress and say, ‘Hey, trust us to develop a new platform. This one will not turn out like the Booker tank,’” Driscoll said. Driscoll argued the Army already is trying to field new capabilities on dramatically accelerated timelines more similar to wartime adaptation cycles seen
Massive SPLC-linked grant under fire as watchdog exposes ties to middle school programs
FIRST ON FOX: A watchdog is sounding the alarm over at least $3.85 million in taxpayer-backed support tied to the Southern Poverty Law Center, including a multimillion-dollar federal grant for a university-led project that it says integrates SPLC’s racial justice curriculum into middle school classrooms. Using the power of public records requests, taxpayer watchdog OpenTheBooks released a report Friday highlighting $1,352,655.07 in taxpayer dollars it said had been paid “directly” to the SPLC from school districts, states, cities, counties, universities and other public entities since fiscal year 2016. OpenTheBooks also found an active National Institutes of Health-backed University of Michigan project grant worth $2.5 million, which materials from the university say integrates the SPLC’s “Learning for Justice” curriculum, previously called “Teaching Tolerance,” into programming for middle school classrooms. The grant’s original Freedom of Information Act-obtained application said researchers would integrate “the Teaching Tolerance curriculum from the Southern Poverty Law Center” into an existing middle school program and test it across six Genesee County, Michigan, middle schools. EXCLUSIVE: SPLC’S ‘FAR-LEFT’ ‘ANTI-RACISM’ CURRICULUM FOUND IN CLASSROOMS AS EARLY AS KINDERGARTEN: WATCHDOG Eighth-grade lesson materials from the SPLC’s curriculum, reviewed by Fox News Digital, directed students to a “map of active hate groups” suggesting “anti-gay” and “radical traditionalist Catholic” organizations are equivalent to the Ku Klux Klan, Neo-Nazis and Black-Separatists. Other Learning for Justice youth materials encourage students to see themselves as part of a “movement for justice” and include toolkits for sustained activism. President Donald Trump’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) told Fox News Digital the program “is no longer being funded” and has been “redesigned” to focus on reducing teen and family violence. However, OpenTheBooks points to University of Michigan’s current project page, which still says the active NIH-backed project integrates SPLC’s Learning for Justice curriculum and lists SPLC as a partner. FOIA-obtained NIH records also show the original grant documents repeatedly described the project as integrating SPLC’s Teaching Tolerance curriculum into the YES program. “Utilizing taxpayer resources to promote harmful, leftwing rhetoric in our education systems is inappropriate, and I support efforts to root out and expose organizations like SPLC,” Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., said in response to the grant funding. “I support the important work of the House Judiciary Committee to expose the nefarious agenda, funding, and tactics of the Southern Poverty Law Center.” The grant scrutiny comes the same week the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing titled “The Southern Poverty Law Center: Manufacturing Hate,” examining what the committee described as SPLC’s role in “distorting civil rights policy” and newly released information that the group allegedly funneled money to extremists it was claiming to combat. The hearing featured testimony from author of “Making Hate Pay: The Corruption of the Southern Poverty Law Center” and Daily Signal senior reporter Tyler O’Neil, who told Fox News Digital that “the NIH needs to address parents’ concerns about this grant.” WATCH: WESLEY HUNT FLIPS SCRIPT ON DEMS’ ‘JIM CROW 2.0’ ATTACKS AMID HEATED SPLC RACISM HEARING “The Southern Poverty Law Center’s Learning for Justice project pushes critical race theory and transgender ideology. Meanwhile, the SPLC uses its ‘hate map’ to condemn parental rights groups on the other side of the issue, silencing opposition to its agenda by comparing these groups to the Ku Klux Klan,” O’Neil added. “Federal tax dollars should not promote this divisive program in schools.” University of Michigan’s current project page says the active NIH-backed program integrates SPLC’s Learning for Justice curriculum into a middle-school program aimed at addressing “racism and racial discrimination” and measuring students’ “racist beliefs and behaviors.” Meanwhile, the SPLC’s current Learning for Justice materials frame the program around “educating for liberation,” “racial equity” and the “deconstruction of White supremacy.” Fox News Digital reached out to the University of Michigan, including the grant’s project leader, professor Marc Zimmerman, and Kate Barnes, a communications manager for the university’s Office of the Vice President for Research whose staff bio says she handles media relations for various projects, but did not immediately receive a response. Learning for Justice materials that included curriculum instruction for 8th graders, reviewed by Fox News Digital, categorized “Anti-Gay” and “Radical Traditionalist Catholic” under the same “hate group” banner as the “Ku Klux Klan,” “Neo-Nazi[s]” and “Black Separatist[s].” The same teaching materials directed students to SPLC’s “map of active hate groups,” part of SPLC’s broader hate-group tracking work that the organization has indicated was once supported by its now-disbanded informant program. The Department of Justice alleges that the program secretly funneled donor money to informants inside extremist groups, but SPLC has denied wrongdoing. NEO-NAZIS, ‘SADISTIC’ BIKERS AND CHARLOTTESVILLE ORGANIZER: 5 OF THE MOST SHOCKING SPLC INFORMANTS Other Learning for Justice youth materials reviewed by Fox News Digital encourage students to take part in a “movement for justice” and include resources for nonviolent direct action, public rallies, social media campaigns and community organizing. Materials for grades 6-8 and 9-12 include tasks directing students to write letters to corporate or elected officials calling for action and organizing live social media chats to raise awareness for social justice issues. OpenTheBooks argued the dollar figures they uncovered may understate SPLC’s taxpayer-backed footprint because free classroom resources and teacher-training materials often do not show up in spending databases. “Open the Books only came upon the details of ‘Teaching Tolerance’ and the SPLC curriculum by submitting a FOIA request and waiting ten weeks. That suggests there could be plenty more indirect support for the nonprofit that’s not readily visible to taxpayers,” the watchdog’s report states. “Anecdotal evidence suggests that’s true,” it continues, pointing to a second investigation OpenTheBooks has been working on into the Pentagon’s K-12 public schools, which also turned up SPLC learning materials. A previous Fox News Digital report, citing an investigation by conservative nonprofit Defending Education, found SPLC’s Learning for Justice program had been integrated into K-12 lesson plans and materials in 169 school districts across 42 states and Washington, D.C., including in classrooms as early as