Trump urges Americans to ‘hang tough’ on tariffs plan as markets tumble
President Donald Trump is doubling down on his controversial tariffs program and has called on Americans to “hang tough” amid stock market turmoil over the last few days. Trump, in a post on Truth Social Saturday morning, wrote that his plan is already working with trillions of dollars already being poured into the U.S. economy. “We are bringing back jobs and businesses like never before. Already, more than FIVE TRILLION DOLLARS OF INVESTMENT, and rising fast! THIS IS AN ECONOMIC REVOLUTION, AND WE WILL WIN,” Trump wrote. HERE’S WHAT TRUMP IS REALLY UP TO WITH HIGH-STAKES TARIFF GAMBIT This week’s steep losses for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were among the worst in the past decade as stocks tumbled for a second day in a row. On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 2,231.07 points, or 5.5%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite fell 5.97% and 5.82%, respectively. The Nasdaq entered into bear market territory on Friday. Trump implemented a 10% baseline tariff on all imported goods into the United States while some countries were slapped with higher tariffs. But Trump remains defiant that his plan will work in the long term as he aims to reduce America’s trade deficit with other countries, protect American industries and bolster jobs by encouraging companies to move manufacturing back to the U.S. “HANG TOUGH, it won’t be easy, but the end result will be historic,” Trump wrote. “We will, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!” Trump wrote. Trump took aim at China after the communist country clapped back to Trump’s Liberation Day tariff announcement with a reciprocal 34% tariff on U.S. imports. “China has been hit much harder than the USA, not even close,” Trump wrote. “They, and many other nations, have treated us unsustainably badly. We have been the dumb and helpless “whipping post,” but not any longer.” Trump’s 34% tariffs announced against China on Wednesday come in addition to the 20% tariffs already imposed against the country. HOW WE GOT TO LIBERATION DAY: A LOOK AT TRUMP’S PAST COMMENTS ON TARIFFS “China played it wrong, they panicked — the one thing they cannot afford to do,” Trump wrote Friday on Truth Social. The back and forth has raised concerns about a global trade war and possible recession. The new Chinese tariffs against the U.S. will go into effect on April 10, according to The Wall Street Journal. Companies who sell their goods to China were hit hard on Friday, including those in aerospace, agriculture and heavy equipment. Some of Thursday’s biggest losers — banks, airlines and technology companies — sank again on Friday. Others, such as retailers, clothing and restaurants, were down but not nearly as bad. A handful, like Nike, even posted small gains on Friday. The so-called Magnificent 7 stocks that have dominated the market the past few years had some of the heaviest losses. Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Tesla have lost around $1.8 trillion in market value combined in the past two days. Meanwhile, a conservative legal group is challenging President Trump’s tariffs on China, calling them “an unlawful attempt” to make Americans pay higher taxes on Chinese imports. The Fox Business team and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
‘Deep ties to the CCP’: Meet the vaping lobbyist ramping up pressure on Trump to save ‘illicit’ vape industry
FIRST ON FOX: A top vaping lobbyist, whose group worked closely with the Trump campaign last year and is now ramping up pressure on the Trump administration to “uphold their promise to save the flavored vaping industry,” has extensive ties to the Chinese Communist Party, a Fox News Digital review found. Tony Abboud, the Illinois-based executive director of the Vapor Technology Association, made several smaller donations to pro-Trump GOP Senate candidates ahead of the 2024 election and met with then-candidate Donald Trump weeks before the election in a push to protect the vaping industry. However, his past ties to the Democratic Party and CCP are setting off alarm bells with a political operative close to the Trump administration and a top Republican Congressional leadership aide as Abboud’s group ramps up pressure on the Trump administration and lobbies several states to oppose directory bills, which would crack down on Chinese vape companies. “Tony Abboud and Vapor Technology Association have deep ties to the CCP and Never-Trumpers,” a person close to the Trump administration told Fox News Digital. “This goes against everything President Trump stands for, which is loyalty and reining in CCP influence, especially when it comes to illicit drugs pouring across the border.” 21,000% SPIKE IN MA VAPE SEIZURES THROWS CIGARETTE BAN INTO QUESTION, EX-ATF OFFICIAL SAYS Abboud, who previously donated thousands between Obama’s Senate campaign and failed House campaign, among other Democrats, and his vaping group have a close relationship with the Electronic Cigarette Industry Committee of the China Electronics Chamber of Commerce (ECCC), an entity of the CCP. Abboud’s VTA and the ECCC previously had an informal relationship but officially inked an official partnership together in late 2023, forming the Global Vape Alliance, which includes the UK Vaping Industry Association and the Independent European Vape Alliance. This alliance led to cooperation between the different entities, which entails sharing “information and strategies for best practices to educate and guide member companies on existing laws, regulations and industry standards.” “The Alliance will share strategies for the promotion of the healthy development of the global vaping industry, and as a unified voice for the industry, will look to empower their member companies by promoting the sophistication, professionalism, and importance of the industry,” the declaration continued. “VTA–like Temu, Shein, and TikTok–is well known for putting the interests of Chinese companies ahead of Americans,” a top Republican Congressional leadership aide warned in a statement to Fox News Digital. “No Hill Republicans are take their lobbying seriously and they should be ashamed for lobbying for interests connected to the Chinese Communist Party. American kids deserve a lot better.” However, a senior adviser to the 2024 Trump campaign dismissed criticism of the group and Abboud, telling Fox News Digital that the “idea that VTA is an anti-Trump group is downright dishonest and utterly laughable.” “Not only did they support President Trump’s re-election financially, but they also worked closely with the Trump campaign on a get-out-the-vote program targeting pro-vaping voters in support of the President in all the battleground states,” the former senior adviser said. “Their GOTV operation was so robust that it didn’t just extend to the President himself, but it was also used to support Trump-endorsed MAGA Senate candidates like Bernie Moreno in Ohio.” The ECCC, which partners with Abboud’s group, was established in Shenzhen, China, in January 2017 and operates under the China Electronics Chamber of Commerce (CECC), which is registered with the CCP’s Ministry of Civil Affairs of P. R. China. A Fox News Digital review found that some of the top leaders of the CECC are former high-ranking members of the CCP, which includes a former member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, a former Vice Premier of the State Council, and a former vice chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the “key mechanism for multi-party cooperation and political consultation” under the leadership of the CCP, according to the CPPCC website. FIVE-FIGURE AD BUY URGES STATES TO CRACK DOWN AS CHINA FLOODS MARKET WITH ILLICIT VAPES: ‘TRUMP WAS RIGHT’ As the executive director of VTA, Abboud has met with Ao Weinuo, the Secretary-General of the ECCC, several times over the years and is featured in several photos with Abboud. In a batch of photos from the 2023 InterTabac trade show in Germany, which is where the Global Vape Alliance was officially announced, Weinuo and Abboud posed together for several photographs, including one where the pair and a couple other guys from the GVA toasted each other with their drinks. During the meeting portion of the event, Weinuo and Abboud were also on the same panel that appeared to be going after the Biden administration’s FDA for feeding a “false narrative.” That same year, Weinuo and the ECCC members participated in a team-building outing with the theme of “Seeking Red Footprints and Drawing Strength for Progress.” In the background of the photo, which included Abboud’s business partner, the hammer and sickle CCP emblem was visible. In a promotional video that ECCC posted on Tencent in 2021, ECCC emphasized their goals for Chinese domination and price control in the vaping market, saying, “China has the pricing power” and “influence,” according to English subtitles provided by ECCC. When pressed for comment on VTA’s ties to China and the CCP, Abboud did not address them and instead talked about how he was a “former Democrat who became a Republican because of President Trump” and that “Joe Biden spent 4 years attempting to shut down and bankrupt American vape companies across the country and President Trump is the only person we trust to reverse Biden’s anti-vaping policies and save our industry.” The political operative close to the Trump administration pushed back, pointing to a Linkedin post from Abboud’s group, which showed Abboud networking with Democrats, including then-DNC Chair Jaime Harrison, at the 2024 DNC Convention. The post said that VTA sponsored events for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Choose Atlanta and the Democratic Party of Virginia. “I’m even more
Dems slam Elon Musk, Melania Trump with xenophobic attacks: ‘Go back to South Africa!’
Since President Donald Trump’s return to the White House, Democrats have made xenophobic comments about DOGE chief Elon Musk and first lady Melania Trump. Some of the party’s leaders have repeatedly complained about Musk’s country of birth being South Africa and told Trump to look into deporting his wife, who was born in the former Yugoslavia. Speaking at an anti-DOGE protest in Los Angeles March 22, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., suggested Trump should investigate and potentially deport the first lady. “When he [Trump] talks about birthright, and he’s going to undo the fact that the Constitution allows those who are born here, even if the parents are undocumented, they have a right to stay in America. If he wants to start looking so closely to find those who were born here and their parents were undocumented, maybe he ought to first look at Melania,” Waters said on stage at a rally in Los Angeles, various videos posted to social media show. CORY BOOKER ON WHETHER HE SHOULD BE DEMOCRATS’ NEXT LEADER: ‘IT’S TIME FOR ALL OF US’ “We don’t know whether or not her parents were documented. And maybe we better just take a look.” The first lady became a U.S. citizen in 2006, according to official government biographies. She is the first U.S. first lady to become a naturalized citizen and the second first lady to be born outside the U.S., following President John Quincy Adams’ wife, Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams, who was born in London in 1775. Democrats, however, have reserved some of their most vitriolic attacks for Musk, who immigrated to the U.S. in 1995 and became a citizen in 2002. Speaking at a congressional Democratic rally protesting musk’s access to the Treasury Department Feb. 4, Rep. Janelle Bynum, D-Ore., compared Musk to the British burning the city of Washington, D.C., during the War of 1812. WATCH: DEM JASMINE CROCKETT SILENT AS AIDE ATTEMPTS TO INTIMIDATE, BLOCK REPORTER’S QUESTION ABOUT VIOLENCE “They always told us the British had come to storm the city. They always reminded us the British had come, and they burned everything down, and we could never let that happen again. They told us, and here we are, Trump and his billionaire boy band. They are not British this time. This one is South African. But they came back,” said Bynum. Rep. Nydia Velázquez, D-N.Y., did not use allegories, but simply called for Musk to “go back to South Africa.” “It was interesting yesterday. I was watching a video of an interview of Elon Musk with someone where he said that the Italians should stay in Italy and the Chinese should stay in China. My question to Elon Musk is, what the hell are you doing here in America?” Velazquez said while speaking at an event outside the HUD Department. Even before Musk took the helm at DOGE, far-left Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, slammed him during a Jan. 20 interview for not being born in the U.S. while suggesting he supported apartheid. BAN ON TAXPAYER-FUNDED SEX CHANGES FOR PRISONERS SPARKS DEM WALKOUT IN GEORGIA HOUSE VOTE “[Musk] went from being the dork that was jumping around on stage to allegedly being this amazing genius that’s going to save this entire country, the country he wasn’t born in and a country that maybe he doesn’t agree with, the idea of a Democratic Republic, considering the fact that he may have been more so on the side of apartheid,” said Crockett. Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., piled on further, suggesting in a February interview that Musk was reverting to a fascist state of mind due to his South African heritage. “I think that’s a leftover from Elon Musk’s South African heritage, and maybe he’s falling too far back on the apartheid system of government that was a fascist form of government,” said Connolly. “Here in the United States, Mr. Musk,” he added, “we have three branches of government, each of them separate but coequal, and, ultimately, the judicial branch is the deciding factor when there is a dispute between the other two branches of government. That’s how our system works here.” DEM CONGRESSMAN LASHES MUSK IN OPENING SALVO OF POPULIST BID IN 2026 SWING-STATE SENATE RACE Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., accused Musk’s parents of trying to deny Black people their rights in South Africa, comparing them to Russian President Vladimir Putin. “Why can’t you understand? The Ukranians [sic] are fighting for the same thing which his parents tried to deny black South Africans,” Cohen wrote in a February X post. “Squad” member Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., also suggested Musk did not care for democracy because he came from South Africa. “Elon Musk, who grew up in apartheid, Trump who worships dictators around the country, and strong men, are not interested in our constitutional republic,” Omar said. Despite these claims, a Snopes fact-check found the reason Musk left his birth country in the first place was to avoid military service because he did not want to fight for an apartheid state.
Democrats propose bill to prevent Trump from relocating federal agencies outside DC
A cohort of Democratic representatives and senators are proposing legislation aimed at stalling President Donald Trump’s efforts to relocate federal agencies outside of Washington, D.C., something the president has taken steps to start doing. Guidance issued in February from the Trump administration instructed federal agencies to submit any proposed relocation of agency bureaus and offices by April 14, instructions that were tied to the president’s broader efforts to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse within the federal government. The pair of companion bills from Democrats in the House and Senate seeks to require agencies to conduct and share a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis with Congress and the public prior to any relocations. ELON MUSK SAYS DOGE WILL INVESTIGATE ‘STRANGELY WEALTHY’ LAWMAKERS: ‘NOBODY CAN EXPLAIN THAT’ “Everyone standing here, every one of my colleagues, wants to get rid of fraud, waste and abuse… but that rhetoric [from the administration] is a cover for an agenda that is perverse and contrary to the interests of the United States of America,” Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said during a press conference held at the Capitol announcing the new legislative effort. “All of this is targeted at depleting the federal workforce and nullifying the government of the United States,” Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., added. “That is the philosophy that is driving this entire thing.” ELON MUSK AND DOGE TEAM SIT DOWN WITH BRET BAIER IN ‘SPECIAL REPORT’ EXCLUSIVE CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Maryland Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen previously introduced “The COST of Relocations Act” in 2020, and again in 2023. “We hoped [the bill] wouldn’t be necessary again, but it is,” Van Hollen stated at the press conference. “It’s necessary in order to stop Donald Trump and Elon Musk from wasting American taxpayer dollars by sabotaging services that the American public depends on.”
WATCH: Dems dodge on calling Tesla attacks acts of ‘domestic terrorism’
After taking to social media to announce he was ditching his Tesla because it was made by an “a–hole” he claimed is damaging the country, Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., refused to say whether Democrats’ inflammatory rhetoric against Elon Musk is to blame for the ongoing spate of attacks against Tesla owners and dealers across the country. Kelly also refused to say whether the attacks — some of which have involved shooting at and throwing Molotov cocktails into dealerships — qualify as “domestic terrorism.” The Arizona senator admitted that “it’s certainly vandalism and it’s a crime, a significant crime, especially if you firebomb a car or vandalize somebody’s vehicle, or even key somebody’s vehicle, you shouldn’t be doing it.” While Kelly said those responsible should be tried and prosecuted, pressed by Fox News Digital on whether the attacks qualify as terrorism, he responded, “I think we’ve got to tread lightly on the whole ‘terrorist’ word.” OVER 200 ‘TESLA TAKEDOWN’ PROTESTS ERUPT NATIONWIDE “Sometimes trying to expand this thing, it kind of loses its focus,” he said. “But when folks are vandalizing people’s vehicles or dealerships, it is wrong and it is dangerous. Somebody’s going to get hurt. For that reason, we should let the full force of law enforcement get to this problem and prosecute it.” There have been at least 80 acts of vandalism against Tesla vehicles in the U.S. and Canada, and at least 10 incidents of vandalism and arson against Tesla dealerships, charging stations and properties. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has said the Justice Department is investigating the incidents as “domestic terrorism.” Leading Democrats, however, have been largely silent on the issue, with few being willing to condemn the attacks as acts of terrorism. THE LOUDEST SILENCE: TOP DEMOCRATS REMAIN MUM AMID VIOLENT ATTACKS ON TESLA Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who, in a 2023 CNN interview, accused Republicans who criticized her of engaging in “stochastic terrorism” — that is, incitement of violent political action — also refused to say whether Democrats’ anti-Musk rhetoric should be held responsible for the attacks. Fox News Digital asked Ocasio-Cortez whether she sees a connection between language against Musk and the violent incidents across the nation. Cortez began to answer, saying, “Yeah, I mean, again, I’ve seen Republicans call me ‘communist’ and that I ‘hate this country,’” before trailing off. Meanwhile, Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., refused to label the attacks as even violent, saying, “While I have no opinion on what’s been going on, I actually haven’t been following that much, but let’s be precise about our language — ‘violence’ is against human beings.” EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: AOC REFUSES TO SAY WHETHER DEMOCRATS’ RHETORIC IS RESPONSIBLE FOR TESLA ATTACKS Asked about Democrats’ rhetoric, Lee said it is important to “recognize the difference between the frustration of people that is maybe organic, but also the language that is coming from people who are in power.” “Donald Trump is in power and he’s abusing that and it’s going to harm people and has already,” she said. “Because of the rhetoric from the administration, because of the rhetoric from the right, we’re seeing American citizens being picked up, we’re seeing a lot of profiling that’s happening, I think that that’s incredibly dangerous and again those are being perpetrated against people.” Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., also attempted to turn the question around, saying President Donald Trump “in effect… told people to resort to violence” at his rally on Jan. 6, 2021. Hoyer said he discourages anyone from resorting to violence but advocated for peaceful ways of telling Trump and Musk “how angry we are.” TESLA HYPOCRISY: DEMS CONTINUE INVESTING IN ELON MUSK COMPANY DESPITE PAINTING HIM AS VILLAIN “Effectively, he [Musk] and Trump are both trying to profit from being president. And this is unheard of what Musk is doing,” said Hoyer. “I’m opposed to all violence, beginning with the Jan. 6th insurrection,” Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., told Fox News Digital. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, who has been warned by Bondi to “tread lightly” after seeming to threaten Musk by calling for him to be “taken down,” refused to answer the question, while her security got into the face of the Fox News Digital reporter. Republicans, in the meantime, hammered that the attacks are obvious examples of terrorism. JASMINE CROCKETT SAYS SHE WAS HIRED AS A PUBLIC DEFENDER BECAUSE SHE WAS BLACK “I think it’s awful, they need to bust their a–,” said Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn. “Elon doesn’t even own a majority share of it anymore. All you’re doing is hurting Americans.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Rep. Addison McDowell, R-N.C., pointed out that “when we boycotted Bud Light over their support over these radical issues, we didn’t just say, ‘We’re going to burn down Bud Light manufacturers.’ We just didn’t buy it.” “What you see these woke, radical liberals doing to a car they used to want championed, is lighting them on fire, destroying property, that’s not how adults behave,” McDowell said, adding, “they’re behaving like criminals.”
Here’s what happened during Trump’s 11th week in office
President Donald Trump marked the week by unveiling an unprecedented wave of tariffs on imports to the U.S., aligning with his long-held position that other countries have taken advantage of the U.S. in trade. Trump disclosed the historic tariffs in a ceremony at the White House’s Rose Garden for a “Make America Wealthy Again” event, asserting these new duties would generate new jobs for U.S. workers. “For nations that treat us badly, we will calculate the combined rate of all their tariffs, nonmonetary barriers and other forms of cheating,” Trump said Wednesday. “And because we are being very kind, we will charge them approximately half of what they are and have been charging us,” he said. “So, the tariffs will be not a full reciprocal. I could have done that. Yes. But it would have been tough for a lot of countries.” HERE’S A CLOSER LOOK AT TRUMP’S TARIFF PLAN: WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE NEW DUTIES The tariff plan establishes a baseline tax of 10% on all imports to the U.S., along with customized tariffs for countries that place higher tariffs on American goods. The baseline tariffs of 10% will take effect Saturday, while the others will take effect Wednesday. The Trump administration previously imposed a 25% tariff on imported vehicles, up to 25% tariffs on certain goods from Mexico and Canada and a 20% tariff on shipments from China. The tariffs already imposed on Canada and Mexico remain unaffected, but the new tariffs on China will be added on top of the previous duties on Beijing, according to the White House. The tariffs have faced backlash from both parties in Congress, and allies, including Canada and Australia. A bipartisan group of senators introduced legislation Friday called the Trade Review Act of 2025 that would require the executive branch to provide Congress a 48-hour notice before imposing tariffs. Likewise, the measure would permit tariffs to expire after 60 days, unless Congress moves to approve a joint resolution codifying the duties. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged countries against imposing retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. in response. “My advice to every country right now: Do not retaliate,” Bessent said in an interview Wednesday with Fox News. “If you retaliate, there will be escalation.” TRUMP CONFIRMS NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL FIRINGS AS WALTZ’S SIGNAL CHAT WOES SNOWBALL Here’s what also happened this week: Trump also disclosed that several members of the National Security Council, headed by National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, were fired Thursday. Trump said the firings affected a small number of employees, and he still had a high level of confidence in his national security team. “Always, we’re going to let go of people we don’t like or people we don’t think can do the job or people who may have loyalties to somebody else,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One when asked about media reports on the firings. The firings come amid scrutiny over Waltz’s use of a Signal group chat to discuss strikes in Yemen after a journalist was accidentally added to the group. Waltz created the group chat that included White House leaders like Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. The chat also included Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg. The White House said classified information was not shared via the encrypted messaging service. However, The Atlantic published the full exchange of messages March 26. The messages included certain attack details, including specific aircraft and times of the strikes. Still, the White House has defended Waltz and said the White House is no longer looking into the incident. MUSK NOT LEAVING YET, WRAPPING UP WORK ON SCHEDULE ONCE ‘INCREDIBLE WORK AT DOGE IS COMPLETE’: WHITE HOUSE “As the president has made it very clear, Mike Waltz continues to be an important part of his national security team,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Monday. “And this case has been closed here at the White House as far as we are concerned.” The White House confirmed that SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk would depart his position spearheading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) later this spring in response to reports from Politico that Trump was disclosing to those close to him that Musk would “step back” from his role with DOGE in the forthcoming weeks. “This ‘scoop’ is garbage,” Leavitt posted on X Wednesday. “Elon Musk and President Trump have both *publicly* stated that Elon will depart from public service as a special government employee when his incredible work at DOGE is complete.” Musk is a “special government employee.” The executive or legislative branches are permitted to take on temporary employees to address short-term projects for up to 130 days in a single 365-day period. For Musk, that period of time will expire at the end of May. Musk and Trump have previously said they anticipate Musk will complete the work necessary for DOGE within that window of time. Fox News’ Emma Colton contributed to this report.
Ex-lawmaker George Santos faces 7-year prison sentence for federal fraud, identity theft
Disgraced former Rep. George Santos could face more than seven years in prison if New York prosecutors get their way. Santos, 36, who became just the sixth House member to be expelled from the chamber and the first Republican, pleaded guilty to federal fraud and identity theft charges in August as part of a plea deal after having been indicted on felony charges. The former lawmaker stole from political donors, used campaign contributions to pay for personal expenses, lied to Congress about his wealth and collected unemployment benefits while actually working. GEORGE SANTOS ENDS CONGRESSIONAL RUN LESS THAN 2 MONTHS INTO INDEPENDENT CAMPAIGN “No matter how hard the DOJ comes for me, they are mad because they will NEVER break my spirit,” Santos posted on X Friday in the wake of a court filing by the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. Santos has already agreed to serve a minimum of two years in prison and was expected to be sentenced in February but asked the court to postpone sentencing until he can make enough money from his podcast to pay the nearly $600,000 he owes in restitution and forfeiture. Prosecutors alleged he had raked in around $800,000 from appearances on the Cameo app, with previous reports suggesting he was charging $350 a pop for videos featuring his drag alter ego Kitara Ravache. Santos previously denied ever dressing as a drag queen or associating with drag queens. Prosecutors argued in the filing Friday that Santos warrants a significant sentence because his “unparalleled crimes” had “made a mockery” of the country’s election system. “From his creation of a wholly fictitious biography to his callous theft of money from elderly and impaired donors, Santos’s unrestrained greed and voracious appetite for fame enabled him to exploit the very system by which we select our representatives,” the office wrote. EX-LAWMAKER GEORGE SANTOS OFFERING CAMEO VIDEOS WITH HIS DRAG QUEEN ALTER EGO They wrote that he had been unrepentant for years and blasted investigations into his crimes as a “witch hunt.” They also said his claims of remorse after pleading guilty “ring hollow” and suggested he has a “high likelihood of reoffending” given he has not forfeited any of his ill-gotten gains or repaid any of his victims. The lawyers maintain such a sentence is in line with those handed to former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. and other political figures facing similar financial crimes. Santos’ legal team asked for a two-year sentence in a Friday court filing. His lawyer, Andrew Mancilla, said prosecutors were selling a false narrative to the court. “The government wants headlines, not justice. This vindictive 87-month demand ignores sentencing norms for similar cases,” Mancilla said. The freshman lawmaker was expelled a year into his first term in the House in the wake of a damning House Ethics Committee report that found he misused campaign funds on luxury items and OnlyFans, among other things. He had not been convicted of a crime at the time. During his campaign, Santos claimed that he attended New York University, that he had worked at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, and that his grandparents had fled the Nazis during World War Two. None of those claims were true. Santos was once touted as a rising political star after he flipped the suburban district that covers the affluent North Shore of Long Island and a slice of the New York City borough of Queens in 2022. Last year he failed in an attempt to relaunch his political career by running as an Independent in a neighboring district to re-enter the House. Fox News’ Stepheny Price and Anders Hagstrom as well as The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Ohio teacher attempted to pay student $2K to kill estranged husband in failed murder-for-hire plot
An Ohio substitute teacher is accused of offering a student $2,000 to kill her estranged husband before the teenager’s mother caught wind of the murder-for-hire plot and alerted authorities. Stephanie Demetrius, 44, was arrested Wednesday and charged with first-degree conspiracy for the offer to a boy at The Academy For Urban Scholars High School in Columbus, WSYX reported. Demetrius approached a student at the school on March 26 and offered $2,000 to carry out the murder of her soon-to-be ex-husband. The student was initially paid $250 in cash as a down payment. “This particular teacher was attempting to groom this young person into committing murder,” Columbus Division of Police Sgt. James Fuqua told WSYX. OHIO TEACHER PLACED ON LEAVE AFTER ALLEGEDLY VISITING STUDENT’S HOME TO DEMAND MISSING HOMEWORK The plan was foiled when the student’s mom discovered texts on her son’s phone between him and Demetrius. The teenager’s mother then reported the incident to the police. “Without their help, some of this might not have come to light,” Fuqua said. “This was a situation where a parent was able to capture things inside this young person’s phone and contact authorities.” In a recorded phone call between the student and Demetrius, the substitute teacher told the student that he would receive the remainder of the payment, saying she owed an additional “15.” The substitute teacher also gave the student information about when her children would be out of the home, so he could kill her estranged husband, who worked from home, court records show, according to The Columbus Dispatch. SCHOOL BUS CAUGHT ON CAMERA ENGULFED IN FLAMES AFTER DRIVER’S ‘QUICK RESPONSE’ SAVES STUDENTS FROM INFERNO “When asked if the neighbors would hear the gunfire, she advised that they don’t care about the neighbors,” court records state, the outlet reported. Demetrius and her husband have been married since 2004 but were going through divorce proceedings, court records show. She appeared in Franklin County Municipal Court on Thursday morning, with her public defender denying the allegations and criticizing them as fabrication. Prosecutor Parker Schwartz said Demetrius’s estranged husband had received a protection order against her. Schwartz also noted that Demetrius had exhibited “possessive and controlling behavior,” had mental health issues and had previously made homicidal threats. Court filings show she has previously been accused of assaulting her estranged husband and some of her children, setting a fire in her home’s basement, smashing garage doors and damaging other property while the children were present and other threatening behavior, according to The Columbus Dispatch. Demetrius was released on a $150,000 bond and is barred from having any contact with her estranged husband or the student. She is due back in court on April 11.
Senate GOP pushes Trump budget framework through after marathon vote series
The Senate passed a framework for a sweeping bill promoting President Donald Trump’s agenda after an hourslong series of amendment votes during which Democrats sought to put Republicans on record on issues like tariffs and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). It passed mostly along party lines in a 51 to 48 vote around 2:30 a.m. ET on Saturday morning. Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Rand Paul, R-Ky., were the only two Republicans to join Democrats in opposing the measure. The amended framework would raise the debt ceiling by up to $5 trillion within the reconciliation process, taking future leverage away from Senate Democrats. It would also make Trump’s 2017 tax cuts permanent by using what’s called a current policy baseline that Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., decides. DEM SENATOR LOOKS TO HIJACK KEY TRUMP BUDGET PROCESS WITH TARIFF CHALLENGE The scoring tool essentially means the cost of making Trump’s tax cuts permanent would be factored at $0 because it extends current policy, rather than counting it as new dollars being added to the federal deficit. Some conservatives have signaled they’re wary of using that method, however. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said on the Senate floor ahead of the vote series, “I have been assured that there is a commitment and other ways to pay for the eventual reconciliation bill.” “Now, I am not saying that I think that it is better that we use current policy as baseline. It’s never been done before in a setting like this. I think it establishes a dangerous precedent. It might be within the rules to do so, but it doesn’t mean it’s wise to do so,” he said. Some House conservatives have gone so far as to call it a “gimmick.” Senate GOP leaders made clear they were in lock-step behind the framework, however. “This resolution is the first step toward a final bill to make permanent the tax relief we implemented in 2017 and deliver a transformational investment in our border, national, and energy security – all accompanied by substantial savings measures and commonsense reforms to our government,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said on Friday evening. Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said, “The American people gave us a mission and a mandate: secure borders, lower taxes, affordable energy, peace through strength, and, of course, efficient, effective government. Senate Republicans’ bold budget blueprint delivers.” REPUBLICANS CHARGE AHEAD ON TRUMP BUDGET, SETTING UP MARATHON SENATE VOTES Budget reconciliation lowers the vote threshold in the Senate from 60 to 51, which lets Republicans approve certain priorities with no Democrat support. Washington’s Republican trifecta thus sees reconciliation as a key tool for delivering on Trump agenda items. The Senate’s Friday night “vote-a-rama” was triggered by the chamber agreeing to a motion to proceed to the budget resolution amendment on Thursday night. Nearly a day of debate followed before the vote series was initiated. During this type of voting series, senators of both parties can introduce an unlimited number of amendments, and many get floor votes. No amendments were adopted during the roughly six hours-long vote series. Some notable measures, however, included an amendment by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., to raise the federal minimum wage to $17 over a period of five years, an amendment by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to limit many of Trump’s tariffs, and a bipartisan amendment aimed at blocking the reconciliation bill from making cuts to Medicaid. TED CRUZ CLASHES WITH KEY DEMOCRAT OVER ‘SECOND PHASE OF LAWFARE’ THROUGH FEDERAL JUDGES’ ORDERS “Tonight, Senate Democrats gave Senate Republicans the chance to hit the kill switch on Donald Trump’s tariffs on DOGE, on the attacks against Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid,” Schumer said after the vote. “And at each opportunity, Republicans refused.” Graham said in a statement on X after the vote, “Tonight, the Senate took one small step toward reconciliation and one giant leap toward making the tax cuts permanent, securing the border, providing much-needed help for the military and finally cutting wasteful Washington spending.” The budget would address border funding for the Trump administration as well as extend the hallmark tax cuts Trump passed in 2017. Initially, there was stark disagreement between Republicans in the House and Senate on how to organize a budget reconciliation resolution. The House GOP leaders preferred one bill with both the border and taxes included, while those in the Senate wanted to have two separate resolutions for them. House Republicans passed a framework that closely resembles the current Senate-passed version last month. But it’s still not clear that House conservatives will accept the Senate plan, despite its similarities to the lower chamber’s framework, with the Senate’s bid to permanently extend Trump’s tax cuts likely to be one of the biggest points of contention. The House Budget Committee’s Republican majority wrote on X just before the Senate kicked off its vote series, “Cutting taxes without cutting spending doesn’t reduce taxes, it merely shifts the tax burden to our children. We have a generational opportunity – and maybe our last – to get our fiscal house in order.” After matching frameworks pass the House and Senate, the relevant congressional committees will begin filling it out with policy and spending changes under their jurisdictions. Trump expressed support for the Senate framework earlier this week, saying at an unrelated event, “If we get this done, it’ll be the most incredible bill ever passed in the history of our Congress.”
Trump touts airstrike on Houthis, showing video: Will ‘never sink our ships again’
Trump on Friday shared video of a recent airstrike on Houthi rebels, writing, “They will never sink our ships again.” “These Houthis gathered for instructions on an attack,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Oops, there will be no attack by these Houthis! They will never sink our ships again!” The black and white aerial footage appeared to show a group assembling before a massive blast leaves nothing but a crater. The Trump administration has been conducting daily airstrikes on the Iranian-backed rebels for the last 20 days following renewed Houthi threats against Israeli vessels last month after Jerusalem cut off humanitarian aid headed for the Gaza Strip. IRANIAN-BACKED HOUTHIS SHOOT DOWN THIRD US REAPER DRONE AS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION CONTINUES DAILY STRIKES Late last month, the group took responsibility for attacks on the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier and several U.S. warships in the Red Sea. The Houthis have also shot down three U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drones since March 3, sources previously told Fox News. The State Department put forward sanctions after the Houthis shot down the first Reaper in early March, and on Tuesday, the State Department announced sanctions on “financial facilitators, procurement operatives, and companies operating as part of a global illicit finance network supporting the Houthis.” National Security Advisor Mike Waltz told CBS’ “Face the Nation” late last month: “These guys are like al Qaeda or ISIS with advanced cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and some of the most sophisticated air defenses, all provided by Iran. Keeping the sea lanes open, keeping trade and commerce open, is a fundamental aspect of our national security.” AFTER DEBILITATING STRIKES, TRUMP TELLS HOUTHIS: STOP SHOOTING AT US AND ‘WE WILL STOP SHOOTING AT YOU’ On Monday, Trump wrote on Truth Social that the Houthis have been “decimated by the relentless strikes over the past two weeks.” “Many of their Fighters and Leaders are no longer with us,” he continued. “We hit them every day and night — Harder and harder. Their capabilities that threaten Shipping and the Region are rapidly being destroyed. Our attacks will continue until they are no longer a threat to Freedom of Navigation. The choice for the Houthis is clear: Stop shooting at U.S. ships, and we will stop shooting at you. Otherwise, we have only just begun, and the real pain is yet to come, for both the Houthis and their sponsors in Iran.” The terrorist network, backed by Iran, began escalating its attacks on Western ships in the Red Sea following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel. Notably, security experts have pointed out the Houthi attacks are not indiscriminate as they do not routinely target Chinese or Saudi Arabian vessels. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Trump also issued a message to Iran on Monday and warned if the attacks do not stop, Washington will come for Tehran next. Fox News’ Rachel Wolf, Liz Friden, Caitlin McFall and Landon Mion contributed to this report.