Putin gifted Trump a portrait of the US president, Russian artist reveals mystery painting
Russian leader Vladimir Putin gifted President Donald Trump in March a portrait showing the moment Trump pumped his fist into the air in defiance after surviving an assassination attempt last year. While outlets previously reported the gift as a mystery portrait, the Russian painter has now revealed the details behind his work, according to a Russian embassy. Artist Nikas Safronov said he created the painting in hopes that the artwork would strengthen U.S.-Russia ties, the Russian Embassy in Kenya said on Wednesday in a post on X. The painting depicts Trump pumping his fist into the air while the other hand holds a red cap similar to Trump’s famed MAGA headwear. The American flag and Statue of Liberty are spread across the background, and blood is splattered across the president’s face. TRUMP SAYS HE IS ‘PISSED OFF’ WITH PUTIN OVER LACK OF PEACE PROGRESS: REPORT “It was important to me to show the blood, the scar and his bravery during the attempt on his life,” Safronov told CNN. “He didn’t break down or become afraid, but raised his arm to show he is one with America and will bring back what it deserves.” The painting is an illustration of a dramatic photo that captured the moment Trump survived an assassination attempt during a presidential campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024. RUSSIA, UKRAINE AGREE TO BLACK SEA CEASEFIRE FOLLOWING US TALKS Safronov has painted numerous global figures, including the late Pope Francis and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. He told the outlet that he was “visited by some people who said they want me to paint Trump as I see him.” While Safronov said he did not know who the visitors were, adding that some clients “do not go into details,” he suspected it was the Kremlin, the outlet reported. “When I started the portrait, I realized this could bring our countries closer, and decided not to charge any money because I suspected what this painting was for,” the artist said. TRUMP TELLS PUTIN ‘STOP’ AFTER DEADLY RUSSIAN STRIKES ON KYIV The painting was given to Trump envoy Steve Witkoff in March when the official was in Moscow seeking a ceasefire in the three-year war between Russia and Ukraine, the Associated Press reported, citing Russian president’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov. AP said Witkoff described the artwork as a “beautiful” portrait by “a leading Russian artist,” and added that Trump was “clearly touched by it.” While Trump and Putin have worked to strengthen their relationship, tensions over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine continue to simmer between the three countries. Russia recently pounded Kyiv with missiles and drones overnight and killed at least 10 people in the biggest attack on the Ukrainian capital this year. The attack on April 24 prompted a rare rebuke from Trump who said “Vladimir, STOP!” The Associated Press contributed to this report.
New DHS portal to help migrants register biometrics to comply with Trump order
FIRST ON FOX: The Trump administration is releasing a new online government tool designed to help millions of unlawful migrants living in the U.S. comply with a Trump order to register their biometric data with the government and carry documentation at all times. An online survey launched by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) determines whether an immigrant, lawful or unlawful, still needs to register under the renewed enforcement of the Alien Registration Act. The new tool, launched Wednesday, guides users through the requirement with a series of questions and tells them whether they still need to register. Registration is mandatory for everyone over the age of 14 and without legal status in the U.S., and requires a fingerprint and a home address, per an executive order from President Donald Trump. Some immigrants who are here legally and who did not have to go through the biometric vetting process upon arrival would also need to check their registration. The aim is to require those unlawful immigrants who have not interacted with the government by applying for asylum or a work permit to come forward. “Tens of thousands” of immigrants have already come forward to register, according to USCIS. TWO FEDERAL JUDGES MAY HOLD TRUMP IN CONTEMPT AS HE DEFIES COURTS IN IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN “As we approach the 100-day mark of President Trump’s presidency, we have already seen tens of thousands of aliens come forward to register – a remarkable feat,” spokesperson Matthew Tragesser told Fox News Digital. “For the first time in years, there is broad recognition that the failure to comply with the law will carry serious consequences. We look forward to many more registrations.” Once an immigrant has registered and appeared for fingerprinting, DHS will issue evidence of registration, which any alien over the age of 18 must carry at all times. They can register by filling out the form, G-325R, Biometric Information (Registration). NOEM ANNOUNCES DHS REGISTRY FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS IN US THAT WILL REQUIRE THEM TO BE FINGERPRINTED If an immigrant fails to register, they could be fined, jailed, deported and unlikely allowed to return to the U.S., the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has warned. Those who fail to carry registration proof could also risk legal ramifications. The Alien Registration Act of 1940 required all people living in the U.S. who are not citizens, here legally or illegally, to register with the U.S. government. But until Trump’s executive order, the registration requirement for illegal immigrants went unenforced for decades. Immigrant advocates argue the new requirement puts those here illegally in a bind: do they register and give the government their location, making it easier to find them for deportation, or risk being charged with the crime of not registering. “The Trump administration will enforce all our immigration laws – we will not pick and choose which laws we will enforce. We must know who is in our country for the safety and security of our homeland and all Americans,” HHS Secretary Kristi Noem said. Advocates sued against the new rule, but a federal judge earlier this month allowed the Trump administration to move forward with the requirement. President George W. Bush created a similar immigration registry after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, requiring men and boys from predominantly Muslim countries to submit pictures and fingerprints to the government, and tens of thousands of people were deported from the registry.
Trans inmate who killed baby blames Trump admin for alleged assaults in prison: Lawsuit
A transgender inmate in Indiana convicted of reckless homicide of a baby is suing President Donald Trump over alleged sexual assaults caused by the president’s “transphobic” and “extremist rhetoric,” court documents filed on April 1 show. Jonathan C. Richardson, who goes by Autumn Cordellioné, claims in the handwritten complaint that, due to Trump’s “extremist rhetoric and transphobic hate speech,” he has “emboldened the Defendants and the assailants that brutally assaulted and raped plaintiff, not once, but multiple times, to act on their hate and prejudices, constituting the cause in action and his liability in this case. Therefore, President Trump was negligent due to his alleged knowledge that others may act on his words.” Cordellioné also claims the alleged assaults came after being transferred from New Castle Correctional Facility (NCN), where he was being “housed in protective custody,” to Westville Correctional Facility (WCA), an all-male prison. Fox News Digital reached out to the Indiana Department of Corrections (IDOC) to find out whether the transfer was due to Trump’s executive order mandating federal prisoners be housed in units according to their biological sex. TRANS INMATE IN PRISON FOR KILLING BABY MUST GET GENDER SURGERY AT ‘EARLIEST OPPORTUNITY’: JUDGE When reached for comment about the lawsuit, a White House spokesperson said: “President Trump has vowed to defend biological women from gender ideology extremism and restore biological truth to the Federal government.” The inmate is seeking $3.5 million in compensatory damages from Trump, alongside the other defendants, including prison employees and 12 other “gang affiliated inmates,” who allegedly “stabbed” and sexually assaulted the inmate over a four-day period in January. “Trump’s president now, and we won’t even get in trouble for f—–g you trannies up, we’re patriots and even if you tell on us, Trump will pardon us and probably give us a medal,” Cordellioné claimed one of the offenders said, according to the complaint. Cordellioné further alleged the unit team manager and case manager also said similar things during the alleged assaults. “I’ve seen your case on the news, and I personally don’t think us tax payers should have to pay for your surgery,” the case manager allegedly said. INDIANA JUDGE RULES PRISON MUST PROVIDE TRANSGENDER SURGERY FOR INMATE WHO KILLED BABY The lawsuit alleges that the offenders had violated Cordellione’s Eighth Amendment rights and committed gross negligence under Indiana tort law. Cordellioné’s years-long legal battle began in August 2023, when, with support from the ACLU, Cordellioné sued the Indiana Department of Correction over a state law that bans taxpayer-funded transgender surgeries for inmates. Since then, Cordellioné—serving a 55-year prison sentence for the reckless homicide of an 11-month-old stepchild—has filed several complaints, including a civil lawsuit against the prison chaplain for allegedly prohibiting the wearing of a hijab outside of immediate bedquarters, despite identifying as a Muslim woman. ACLU SUES INDIANA OVER DENIAL OF SEX REASSIGNMENT SURGERY FOR INMATE WHO STRANGLED 11-MONTH-OLD TO DEATH Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita has been defending the state’s law and submitted a brief in January to a court of appeals defending Indiana’s law barring sex-change operations for inmates. The attorney general argued that the Eighth Amendment doesn’t require the state “to provide experimental treatments generally, and it certainly doesn’t here, when multiple doctors have said this inmate is a poor candidate for surgery,” a spokesperson previously told Fox News Digital. In March, Judge Richard Young, a Clinton appointee, ordered the IDOC to arrange sex reassignment surgery for Cordellioné at the “earliest opportunity.” Fox News Digital scooped earlier this month that states failing to comply with federal orders to house inmates based on their biological sex can expect “imminent changes” and funding cuts. Trump’s orders also bar federal funds from being used for sex reassignment surgeries for inmates.
Hegseth faces latest battle defending his defense secretary post at the Pentagon
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth may have deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan — but now he’s facing another battle: this time on his home turf at the Pentagon. Controversy has plagued Hegseth since Trump first nominated him to serve as the secretary of defense, from sexual assault and drinking allegations, to two Signal chat debacles, and an op-ed suggesting that Hegseth may be on the way out. The new Signal controversy, along with the op-ed, are only the latest blows in what the Trump administration claims are sustained effort against Hegseth as defense secretary, dating back to his nomination. Scrutiny has heightened after a Sunday New York Times report said that Hegseth shared information about a March military airstrike against the Houthis in a Signal messaging app group chat that also included his wife, brother and personal lawyer. That incident follows a similar episode in March, when the Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg was added to a Signal group chat alongside Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance and others, to discuss the same attack on the Houthis. DEFENSE SECRETARY PETE HEGSETH REBUFFS NEW GROUP CHAT ALLEGATIONS AS ATTEMPT TO ‘SABOTAGE’ TRUMP’S AGENDA While the White House continues to back Hegseth, a series of Democratic coalitions and multiple lawmakers are calling for Hegseth’s resignation. Senate Armed Services Committee ranking member Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., is urging for the Pentagon’s inspector general to launch an investigation into the recent Signal chat allegations. “Since he was nominated, I have warned that Mr. Hegseth lacks the experience, competence, and character to run the Department of Defense. In light of the ongoing chaos, dysfunction, and mass firings under Mr. Hegseth’s leadership, it seems that those objections were well-founded,” Reed said in a Sunday statement. “Accountability starts at the top, and I have grave concerns about Secretary Hegseth’s ability to maintain the trust and confidence of U.S. service members.” Meanwhile, Vance told reporters Wednesday that he believed Hegseth is doing a “great job.” In response to a video post on X of Vance issuing the remarks, the Pentaton’s Rapid Response Team replied: “We will not be stopped. We will not be deterred.” While the secretaries of defense historically have received bipartisan support in the Senate, the upper chamber did not issue broad backing for Hegseth’s nomination. The Senate confirmed Hegseth along party lines in January, with all 47 Democrats opposing his nomination. Every senator except for Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., voted to confirm Trump’s first secretary of defense in 2017, retired Marine Gen. Jim Mattis. Likewise, the Senate voted in 2019 by a 90–8 margin to confirm Trump’s second secretary of defense, Mark Esper. HEGSETH SHARED DETAILS OF YEMEN STRIKES IN SECOND SIGNAL CHAT: REPORT Hegseth first came under fire as sexual assault allegations emerged leading up to his confirmation. For example, he told lawmakers in written responses during his confirmation process that he had paid $50,000 as part of a settlement payment to a woman who had accused him of sexual assault in 2017. The police report on the incident says a woman had alleged that Hegseth sexually assaulted her in a hotel room, confiscated her phone and blocked the door. Hegseth told lawmakers that he had been “falsely accused” by the woman. Hegseth also faced allegations of alcohol misuse during the confirmation process. In response, Hegseth told lawmakers that he is not a “perfect person,” but said he was the subject of a “coordinated smear campaign orchestrated in the media.” Controversy has not left Hegseth since the Senate confirmed him in January, however. Hegseth’s role in the original Signal chat that included the Atlantic editor-in-chief, Goldberg, emerged in the spotlight in March following an initial report. Even so, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz’s team was responsible for creating the chat. Hegseth has said that no “war plans” were discussed in both the initial Signal chat with Goldberg, and the one with his wife. Additionally, he said that all discussions conducted over Signal were unclassified. “I said repeatedly, nobody is texting war plans,” Hegseth told Fox News Tuesday. “I look at war plans every day. What was shared over Signal then and now, however you characterize it, was informal, unclassified coordinations, for media coordinations and other things. That’s what I’ve said from the beginning.” Staff firings at the Pentagon have also shined a light on Hegseth’s leadership. John Ullyot, a former senior communications official for the Pentagon who stepped down from his post in April under Hegseth, wrote that the abrupt Friday firings of three of Hegseth’s “most loyal” advisors were alarming and “baffling.” Hegseth’s aide Dan Caldwell, his deputy chief of staff Darin Selnick and chief of staff to the deputy defense secretary, Colin Carroll, were all ousted. “The dysfunction is now a major distraction for the president — who deserves better from his senior leadership,” Ullyot wrote in a Sunday op-ed for Politico. “Trump has a strong record of holding his top officials to account. Given that, it’s hard to see Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth remaining in his role for much longer.” Support for Hegseth is also cracking within Trump’s own party. For example, Rep. Don Bacon, a former Air Force general who serves on the House Armed Services Committee, told Politico on Monday that Hegseth is an “amateur person” and that he doesn’t believe that Hegseth has the experience to lead the Pentagon. These concerns started from the “get-go,” said Bacon, a Republican from Nebraska. NPR reported on Monday that the White House was eying a new secretary of defense. The story was based on one anonymous U.S. official who was not authorized to speak to the media. Meanwhile, the White House has pushed back on allegations that it is eyeing a replacement for Hegseth. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “He is bringing monumental change to the Pentagon, and there’s a lot of people in the city who reject monumental change, and I think, frankly, that’s why we’ve seen a smear campaign against the Secretary of Defense since the
Trump-appointed judge orders administration to return second deported migrant
A second U.S. judge in Maryland ordered the Trump administration to return another man who was deported from the U.S. to El Salvador last month under the Alien Enemies Act – the latest case in a high-profile legal battle playing out in federal courts across the country. U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher, a Trump appointee, on Wednesday ruled that the Trump administration violated a settlement agreement DHS reached last year with a group of young asylum seekers when it deported a 20-year-old man, referred to in court filings as “Cristian,” to El Salvador last month. He was part of a group of migrants who had entered the U.S. illegally as unaccompanied children and who later filed asylum claims to remain in the U.S. DHS agreed in the settlement that it would refrain from deporting any of the individuals in the class until their asylum claims could be fully adjudicated by a U.S. court. Gallagher ruled that the government breached that agreement when it deported Cristian, a member of the class, and ordered that they return him to the U.S. News of the case and settlement in question was first reported by ABC News. FEDERAL JUDGE JAMES BOASBERG FINDS PROBABLE CAUSE TO HOLD TRUMP IN CONTEMPT OVER DEPORTATION FLIGHTS Gallagher stressed in her ruling that, unlike other court challenges to Trump’s deportations under the Alien Enemies Act, this one centers on a “breach of contract” by the government. Her ruling also alluded to the deportation of Abrego Garcia, an alleged MS-13 member living in Maryland who was deported to El Salvador last month. U.S. officials have resisted court orders to facilitate his return to the U.S. In response to this, Gallagher specifically tasked the Trump administration in her ruling with “making a good faith request to the government of El Salvador and to release Cristian to U.S. custody for transport back to the United States to await the adjudication of his asylum application on the merits by USCIS.” The Trump administration, meanwhile, told the court it had determined that Cristian was eligible for removal under the Alien Enemies Act because he had been arrested and convicted for cocaine possession earlier this year. They told the court that his designation as an “alien enemy pursuant to the AEA results in him ceasing to be a member” of the class that had negotiated a settlement. JUDGES V TRUMP: HERE ARE THE KEY COURT BATTLES HALTING THE WHITE HOUSE AGENDA That agreement did not appear to hold water with Gallagher, who ordered the government not to remove any other members of the class until their asylum claims are properly adjudicated. “Therefore, under the plain terms of the Settlement Agreement and fundamental tenets of contract law, removal from the United States of a Class Member, including but not limited to Cristian, without a final determination on the merits by USCIS on the Class Member’s pending asylum application violates the Settlement Agreement,” Gallagher said. She also granted a temporary restraining order to another member of the class, an 18-year-old referred to as Javier, whom counsel for the group said was in “imminent danger” of being deported earlier this month, as ABC reported. Gallagher agreed that Javier was covered by the settlement with the government and blocked his removal from the U.S.
Federal judge declares Trump admin blocking federal money from sanctuary cities unconstitutional
A federal judge in San Francisco blocked the Trump administration from withholding federal funds from “sanctuary” jurisdictions, claiming doing so would be unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge William H. Orrick – who was nominated to the Northern District of California bench by former President Barack Obama – said that Trump’s executive orders instructing Attorney General Pam Bondi and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to withhold federal funds from sanctuary cities and counties that do not cooperate with federal immigration law would violate the Constitution’s separation of powers principles and the Spending Clause. The judge said the orders violate the Fifth Amendment “to the extent they are unconstitutionally vague and violate due process.” Trump’s directives to withhold federal funding from sanctuary jurisdictions “also violate the Tenth Amendment because they impose coercive condition intended to commandeer local officials into enforcing federal immigration practices and law,” Orrick wrote. “The Cities and Counties have also demonstrated a likelihood of irreparable harm,” the judge said. “The threat to withhold funding causes them irreparable injury in the form of budgetary uncertainty, deprivation of constitutional rights, and undermining trust between the Cities and Counties and the communities they serve.” In granting the preliminary injunction, Orrick wrote that “defendants and their officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys, and any other persons who are in active concert or participation with them ARE HEREBY RESTRAINED AND ENJOINED from directly or indirectly taking any action to withhold, freeze, or condition federal funds.” This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
‘Biden effect’ hits the Senate: Wave of retirements clears path for younger Dems
The so-called “Biden effect” appears to be a factor in congressional longevity after Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin announced he would not seek re-election after nearly four decades in Congress. In 2024, President Joe Biden was politically pushed out after a disastrous debate performance against President Donald Trump in favor of his decades-younger deputy, Kamala Harris. Since then, several senators – mostly Democrats – and many above private-sector retirement age, have announced their retirement. “This is fallout from the ‘Biden Effect,’” said Rutgers University political scientist Ross Baker. “It contaminated old Democrats.” Durbin, 80, Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., 78, Tina Smith, D-Wis., 67, Gary Peters, D-Mich., 66, as well as Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., 83, all announced their exit in 2025. Prior to Biden’s infamous debate, several 2024-cycle Democrats – now-former Sens. Benjamin Cardin of Maryland, 81, Tom Carper of Delaware, 78, Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, 74, and Democrat-turned-independent Joe Manchin of West Virginia, 77 – all declared their exits. SCHUMER SINKS AOC SOARS IN NEW POLL AS LIBERAL VOTERS DEMAND HARDER LINE ON TRUMP Durbin’s seat has already been targeted by up-and-coming Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, 20 years his junior – who announced a bid shortly after he announced his retirement. Of the members still seated in Congress, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., 74, is potentially facing a heated primary in 2028 from the likes of progressive star Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 35. After Schumer faced intense backlash from his own party for ultimately supporting the GOP’s government funding bill earlier this month, Ocasio-Cortez’s name returned to the discussion as a young upstart potentially taking out the old guard. MCCONNELL FREEZES AGAIN DURING KENTUCKY PRESS CONFERENCE Schumer saw his worst polling within the Empire State in 20 years, according to a Siena College survey, with the Brooklynite 10 points underwater following the funding bill debacle. Meanwhile, Ocasio-Cortez’s favorables are 47-33 in New York, up about 10 points from 2021. A renewed push for older Democrats to pass the torch came when DNC vice chair David Hogg launched a project to recruit and bankroll primary opponents for older Democratic incumbents. “Today’s party politics has an unwritten rule – if you win a seat, it’s yours for life. No one serious in your party will challenge you. That is a culture that we have to break,” Hogg, 25, wrote on his political website, Leaders We Deserve. The oldest member of Congress – Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, at 91 – is the rare example of a lawmaker who has not been in the retirement discussion due to the “Biden effect” or any other phenomenon. On the left, the same appeared to be true for Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who – though older than Biden – was contrasted with him on an energy and cognitive level throughout the campaign season. Sanders has signaled he may seek to serve a fourth term in 2030, when he will be 89, according to the Burlington Free Press. “Friends of Bernie Sanders” has already been listed on a Federal Election Commission filing for the 2030 sweeps. McConnell, the former Republican leader, has stepped aside from leadership and was replaced by Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., nearly 20 years younger. During a 2024 press availability, McConnell appeared to freeze up while speaking, though staffers later suggested he was fine. He has also announced his retirement after 40 years in the Senate. Rep. Andy Barr, 51, and former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, 39, jumped into the fray to succeed the octogenarian Republican. Of the oldest sitting senators not yet mentioned, Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, will be 82 by his 2026 potential re-election bid. Fox News Digital reached out for comment from the Gem State senator. On the flip side, even some of the youngest Senate Democrats are seeing their re-election prospects heavily challenged. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., is facing potential Republican challengers in what is now a swing state. While none have declared their candidacy, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene – who would have the stated backing of President Donald Trump – as well as Rep. Earl “Buddy” Carter and Gov. Brian Kemp are all said to be formidable potential rivals, according to several reports. Fox News Digital reached out to a representative for Biden for comment on the moniker “the Biden effect.” Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser and Chad Pergram contributed to this report.
Trump urges Supreme Court to let trans military ban proceed
The Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to review a lower court’s ruling that temporarily blocked its ban on transgender troops in the military. In a filing on Thursday, the Justice Department requested that the high court stop the lower court’s injunction and allow the military to disqualify from service “individuals who have gender dysphoria or have undergone medical interventions for gender dysphoria.” “Absent a stay, the district court’s universal injunction will remain in place for the duration of further review in the Ninth Circuit and in this Court – a period far too long for the military to be forced to maintain a policy that it has determined, in its professional judgment, to be contrary to military readiness and the Nation’s interests,” lawyers for the Trump administration argued. At issue is President Donald Trump’s Jan. 27 executive order requiring the Defense Department to update its guidance regarding “trans-identifying medical standards for military service” and to “rescind guidance inconsistent with military readiness.” HEGSETH SAYS HE’S SIGNING MEMO ON COMBAT ARMS STANDARDS FOR MEN AND WOMEN U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle issued a preliminary injunction in March, barring the administration from identifying and removing transgender service members while the case proceeds. The administration appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, but a three-judge panel rejected its request to stay the injunction. The administration argued in court filings that the policy “furthers the government’s important interests in military readiness, unit cohesion, good order and discipline, and avoiding disproportionate costs.” However, the Ninth Circuit declined to grant an administrative stay, which would have let the government enforce the ban while the legal challenge moved forward. “The Department of Justice has vigorously defended President Trump’s executive actions, including the Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness Executive Order, and will continue to do so,” a Justice Department official told Fox News Digital at the time. The policy has faced multiple legal challenges, including a high-profile lawsuit filed in Washington, D.C. FEDERAL COURT WARNS PENTAGON NOT TO ACT AGAINST TRANSGENDER SERVICE MEMBERS DURING APPEAL On March 27, a three-judge panel on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals paused a lower court’s order blocking the ban. The panel emphasized that the stay “should not be construed in any way as a ruling on the merits” of the case. The panel also said it reserved the right to lift the stay if the military was found to have taken adverse action against transgender service members. U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes on March 26 denied the administration’s motion to dissolve her earlier injunction blocking the Pentagon’s transgender troop ban. The decision came two days before the ban was set to go into effect on March 28. TRUMP’S TRANSGENDER MILITARY BAN DEALT LEGAL BLOW AFTER APPEALS COURT RULING Reyes had asked the government to push its original March implementation deadline, saying she wanted to allow more time for the appeals process. She also said she had previously allowed plenty of time to appeal her earlier opinion blocking the ban from going into effect. “I don’t want to jam up the D.C. Circuit. That’s my main concern here,” Reyes said during the March 21 hearing. “My chambers worked incredibly hard to get out an opinion on time.” Fox News Digital’s Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report.
Dem mayor fed up with homeless crisis proposes jailing vagrants who refuse housing
A Democratic mayor fed up with the way homelessness has proliferated in his state has proposed a bold new solution for his city: jailing homeless people who refuse housing services three times. “There’s an extremely vulnerable subset of folks who refuse those options, no matter how nicely designed they are,” San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan told Fox News Digital in an interview Wednesday. “That speaks to me of a persistent challenge we face with addiction and mental illness on our streets, and we’ve sort of built a system that biases toward helping those who want help, while turning a blind eye to those who are trapped in a cycle of addiction. And the reality is it’s deadly. We’re sentencing people to die on the streets.” The move comes as California Gov. Gavin Newsom placed the onus on local governments last year to get homeless encampments in some of the state’s most populous cities cleaned up. In San Jose alone, roughly 6,000 people are homeless, a stark contrast to the city’s image as the heart of Silicon Valley’s tech boom. NEW LAW CLAMPS DOWN ON HOMELESS AS BLUE CITY ADVOCATE ADMITS THE ‘FRUSTRATION’ IS JUSTIFIED Mahan offered the proposal last month after observing how homeless people in his town have avoided the housing services offered as well as talking with recovery groups to find out what most commonly breaks the cycle of addiction. A new study from the University of California San Francisco’s Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative (BHHI) last month found that approximately 37% of California’s homeless population are regular illicit drug users. The study also found that 48% have complex behavioral health needs, encompassing regular drug use, heavy drinking, hallucinations or recent psychiatric hospitalization. Additionally, 66% reported experiencing mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, hallucinations or cognitive difficulties. “I think the appropriate response is to say, you’ve got to, at a minimum, come indoors,” Mahan said. “Camping can’t be a choice when we’re offering housing. And if you’re so caught in the throes of addiction that you can’t say yes to interim housing or dignified shelter, we need to create accountability.” Mahan said “it’s the threat of consequence, it’s the intervention, it’s disrupting the pattern” that actually propels people who “are most susceptible to addiction to break out of that cycle.” NEWSOM MAKES GENERIC $24 NARCAN AVAILABLE AFTER PRO-DRUG POLICIES PUSH ‘SAFE’ USE While Mahan’s proposal is a departure from the progressive flank of his party, a poll from Politico and UC Berkeley’s Citrin Center this month indicates that 37% of voters, including political experts, support arresting homeless people if they refuse shelter. As the San Francisco Chronicle has reported, San Francisco and Sacramento are thus seeing an uptick in homeless people being arrested over illegal encampments in the wake of City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, where the Supreme Court ruled municipalities have the power to make public camping illegal. State lawmakers this session are also considering a bill brought forth by Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez, a Los Angeles County Democrat, which would ban measures that result in criminal penalties for refusing housing. But to Mahan, who campaigned on reducing homelessness before taking office in 2023, it’s not a “partisan issue.” “I’m just interested in figuring out what works,” he said. “And clearly, what we’re doing on homelessness in California is not working. We’re about… nearly half of the nation’s unsheltered population, so the status quo is failing, and the sooner we acknowledge that the status quo on homelessness in California is failing, the sooner we will embrace solutions that work to get people indoors and connected to services.” California’s “Housing First” model, adopted statewide in 2016, prioritizes providing permanent housing to homeless individuals without preconditions such as sobriety or participation in treatment programs as prerequisites. Critics of the policy argue that offering housing without mandatory treatments has only made the problem worse and more expensive, as some estimates of building a single unit reach up to $1.2 million in cities like San Francisco. SCOOP: NEWSOM ASKS WORLD LEADERS TO EXEMPT CALIFORNIA EXPORTS FROM RETALIATORY TARIFFS Of that policy, Mahan said, “We have to meet people where they are.” “The insight we have taken from housing first, that I think is very much worth preserving, is that we’ve designed these interim housing communities to be low barrier. We allow people to bring their pets, their partner, their belongings. We do not have a strict sobriety requirement, though I do believe that sober living environments absolutely should be an option and one that the public sector invests in.”
China’s AI DeepSeek faces House probe over US data harvesting, CCP propaganda
FIRST ON FOX: A powerful House Committee is demanding information from DeepSeek on what U.S. data it used to train the AI model as members accuse the company of being in the pocket of the Chinese government. In announcing a new probe into DeepSeek, House Energy and Commerce committee members penned a letter expressing concern that companies like it “harvest Americans’ personal and proprietary information and introduce new data security vulnerabilities into the U.S. economy.” “DeepSeek admits to sending Americans’ personal information to servers in China, where it is undoubtedly accessed by officials connected to the Chinese Communist Party,” Chairman Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., and Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., said in a statement. “We are concerned that this close relationship with agents having close connections to our primary adversary jeopardizes our data and our national security.” The company’s privacy policy states that it collects user data and stores it “in secure servers located in the People’s Republic of China.” That data entails all questions or chats sent to DeepSeek’s AI model and the answers provided. DEEPSEEK FALLOUT: GOP SEN JOSH HAWLEY SEEKS TO CUT OFF ALL US-CHINA COLLABORATION ON AI DEVELOPMENT A growing number of states – New York, Texas and Virginia – have banned DeepSeek from government devices. It’s reminiscent of the arc of TikTok, where Chinese-owned ByteDance’s video-sharing platform became widely popular in the U.S. before growing skepticism of its data-sharing with the CCP. Now, the app is banned on government devices and may soon be banned entirely in the U.S. Several countries, including Canada, Australia, South Korea, Taiwan and Italy, have already blocked DeepSeek due to security risks. South Korea in February accused DeepSeek of sharing user data with ByteDance. The letter expressed concern about how Chinese companies access U.S. technology to advance AI development. Reports have suggested that DeepSeek trained its R1 model by “distilling” outputs from American competitors. CHINA’S DEEPSEEK AI STARTUP RELEASES NEW MODEL IN RIVALRY WITH OPENAI Guthrie requested DeepSeek offer the committee a description of the types and sources of data used to train its AI models, including any U.S. proprietary or personal information, and confirm whether data collected by DeepSeek is shared with any Chinese state entity. The letter also requests details on how the AI system is trained and whether any steps are taken to influence the system output to align with the CCP’s political goals. The letter requests a response by May 8. DeepSeek sent shockwaves across Silicon Valley and the rest of the U.S. as the company appears to be nearly matching the capabilities of chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, but at a fraction of the development cost. The Energy and Commerce Committee has jurisdiction over AI and data privacy. Last year’s legislation that forced TikTok to divest from ByteDance, or face a ban in the U.S., originated with the committee. Trump has extended TikTok’s deadline twice, buying more time to work out a deal to keep the app operating in the U.S. In April, the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party released a report finding that DeepSeek both funneled American data to China and manipulated the results it offers to align with CCP propaganda.