Canada announces $21B in new US tariffs as trade war escalates
Canada announced $21 billion in additional tariffs against the U.S. Wednesday after President Donald Trump’s new 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum went into effect.
Canada is the biggest foreign supplier of steel and aluminum to the U.S.
“Today, I am announcing that the government of Canada, following a dollar-for-dollar approach, will be imposing, as of 12:01 a.m. tomorrow, March 13, 2025, 25% reciprocal tariffs on an additional $29.8 billion of imports from the United States,” Canadian Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc said. “This includes steel products worth $12.6 billion and aluminum products worth $3 billion as well as additional imported U.S. goods worth $14.2 billion.”
“The list of additional products affected by counter-tariffs includes computers, sports equipment, and cast iron products as examples,” he continued.
TRUMP’S 25% TARIFF INCREASE ON ALL STEEL, ALUMINUM IMPORTS TAKES EFFECT
“We will not stand idly by while our iconic steel and aluminum industries are being unfairly targeted,” LeBlanc added, according to the CBC.
President Donald Trump’s 25% tariff increase on all steel and aluminum imports officially took effect on Wednesday, the latest move in the administration’s plans to reshape global trade norms in favor of U.S. manufacturing.
The action prompted retaliation from the European Commission, which announced shortly after Trump’s tariffs took effect that it would impose counter tariffs on the equivalent of $28 billion worth of U.S. goods starting next month.
ONTARIO PREMIER BACKS DOWN, SUSPENDS ELECTRICITY SURCHARGE ON US
“We regret the unjustified US 25% tariff on steel and aluminium imports. The EU will protect its consumers and businesses,” the Commission said in a statement. “We are launching swift, proportionate countermeasures worth up to ($28 billion), matching the economic impact of the US tariffs.”
Trump’s action to bulk up protections for American steel and aluminum producers restores effective global tariffs of 25% on all imports of the metals and extends the duties to hundreds of downstream products made from the metals – everything from nuts and bolts to bulldozer blades and soda cans.
The countries most affected by the tariffs are Canada, the biggest foreign supplier of steel and aluminum to the U.S., Brazil, Mexico and South Korea, which all have enjoyed some level of exemptions or quotas.
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Most U.S.-Canada trade remains duty-free under the USMCA trade deal that Trump signed in 2020, but he continues to complain about Canada’s high tariff rates for dairy products.
Outraged Dem stops hearing after GOP lawmaker calls trans rep wrong pronoun
Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, abruptly adjourned a congressional hearing on Tuesday after Rep. Bill Keating, D-Mass., vehemently objected to Self recognizing Rep. Sarah McBride, D-Del., as “the representative from Delaware, Mr. McBride.”
McBride, who identifies as a transgender woman, responded to Self — who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Europe Subcommittee — by saying, “Thank you Madam chair.”
As McBride sought to continue speaking, ranking member Keating interrupted, asking Self, “could you repeat your introduction again please?”
HOUSE REPUBLICAN INTRODUCES TRANSGENDER LAWMAKER AS ‘THE GENTLEMAN … MR. MCBRIDE’ FOR FLOOR SPEECH
“Ah, yes,” Self replied, adding, “we have set the standard on the” House floor.
“What is that standard Mr. Chairman?” Keating questioned, before again asking Self to repeat what he had said when introducing McBride.
“I will,” Self replied. “The representative from Delaware Mr. McBride,” Self repeated.
“Mr. Chairman you are out of order,” Keating declared. “Mr. Chairman, have you no decency?” he asked, going on to say “this is not decent.”
Self said they would continue the hearing.
“You will not continue it with me unless you introduce a duly-elected representative the right way!” Keating declared.
In response to the ultimatum, Self announced, “This hearing is adjourned.”
GOP LAWMAKER SCRAPS WITH DEMOCRAT IN HEARING OVER TRANSGENDER ‘SLUR,’ BATHROOM RIGHTS: ‘NOT GOING TO HAVE IT’
Last month Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill., recognized McBride for a House floor speech by saying, “The chair recognizes the gentleman from Delaware, Mr. McBride, for five minutes.”
In a tweet after the episode on Tuesday, Miller sided with Self, saying that Self “is right to state the biological reality that Tim ‘Sarah’ McBride is a man. Enough with the lies. As God ordained and President Trump declared, there are only TWO GENDERS: Male and Female!”
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., said in a post on Tuesday, “You know what’s indecent? A mentally ill man pretending to be a woman. Biology. Science. The Left should try it some time(sic).”
AFTER DECLINING TO STATE WHETHER TRANS REP-ELECT IS A MAN OR WOMAN, JOHNSON SAYS ‘A MAN CANNOT BECOME A WOMAN’
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McBride stated in a Tuesday post on X, “No matter how I’m treated by some colleagues, nothing diminishes my awe and gratitude at getting to represent Delaware in Congress. It is truly the honor and privilege of a lifetime. I simply want to serve and to try to make this world a better place.”
Dem senator not running for re-election, setting up open race in key swing state
Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire is the latest Democrat in the Senate to announce her retirement rather than seek re-election in the 2026 midterms.
The Wednesday announcement by the former governor and three-term senator in a key New England swing state will further complicate the Democrats’ efforts to regain control of the Senate from the Republicans in next year’s elections.
The news also marks the beginning of the end of a long and successful career of the first woman in American politics to win election both as a governor and as a U.S. senator.
SENATE REPUBLICAN CAMPAIGN CHAIR REVEALS HOW MANY SEATS HE’S AIMING FOR IN 2026
“I ran for public office to make a difference for the people of New Hampshire,” Shaheen said. “That purpose has never and will never change. But today, after careful consideration, I am announcing that I have made the difficult decision not to seek re-election to the Senate in 2026.”
TOP POLITICAL HANDICAPPER REVEALS DEMOCRATS CHANCES OF WINNING BACK THE SENATE MAJORITY
Shaheen, who turned 78 earlier this year, added that “it’s just time.”
The senator emphasized that “while I am not seeking re-election, believe me I am not retiring. I am determined to work every day over the next two years and beyond, to continue to try to make a difference for the people of New Hampshire and this country.”
There was intense speculation for months regarding whether Shaheen, who first won election to the Senate in 2008 and who this year became the first woman in history to hold one of the top two positions on the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, would seek another term in office.
Shaheen raised a paltry $170,000 in the final fundraising quarter of 2024, which sparked buzz that the senator might not be preparing for another re-election campaign. But sources in Shaheen’s political orbit noted that the senator did not emphasize fundraising in the fourth quarter of last year, which included the final month of the 2024 presidential election.
Fox News confirmed last week that Shaheen had a major fundraiser scheduled for March 20 in Manchester, New Hampshire. There’s no word yet on whether that event has now been canceled.
It has been 15 years since Republicans last won a Senate election in New Hampshire, with Democrats victorious in the past four elections.
“No Republican has won a Senate race in over a decade in New Hampshire, and that trend will continue in 2026. This is exactly the kind of state where the building midterm backlash against Republicans will hit their candidates especially hard,” Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokesperson David Bergstein told Fox News in a statement.
But national Republicans see opportunities to flip the Senate seat in New Hampshire from blue to red, and the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) had already run ads targeting Shaheen over her defense of USAID funding that the Trump administration is axing.
“Another one! Shaheen’s retirement is welcome news for Granite Staters eager for new leadership. New Hampshire has a proud tradition of electing common-sense Republicans – and will do so again in 2026,!” Sen. Tim Scott, the NRSC chair, said in a statement to Fox News.
Former Sen. Scott Brown, the former senator from Massachusetts who later narrowly lost to Shaheen in New Hampshire in the 2014 election, is seriously considering a 2026 run.
FORMER TRUMP AMBASSADOR EYES SENATE RETURN
Brown, who served four years as U.S. ambassador to New Zealand during President Donald Trump’s first administration, has been holding meetings with Republicans across New Hampshire for a couple of months and has met multiple times with GOP officials in the nation’s capital.
“I appreciate @jeanneshaheen’s service to our state and for her support and vote for me as NH’s Ambassador to NZ and Samoa. Now it’s time for New Hampshire to have someone in the delegation who fights for our priorities and stands with, not against, the Trump agenda,” Brown said in a social media post.
New Hampshire’s popular former Republican governor, Chris Sununu, had said repeatedly in interviews with Fox News and other news organizations over the past year that he has no interest in running for the Senate in 2026.
Among Democrats, all eyes will now be on four-term Rep. Chris Pappas to see if he launches a Senate campaign.
Pappas, in a social media post, praised Shaheen as a “trailblazer who has worked every day to put New Hampshire first and make a difference for our families, community, and economy. Thank you for always leading with integrity, determination, and effectiveness for our state and nation.”
Republicans flipped four Democrat-held Senate seats in last November’s elections to win back control of the chamber. They now control the chamber and are aiming to expand their majority in 2026.
Besides New Hampshire, the GOP is targeting battleground Michigan, where Democratic Sen. Gary Peters announced in January that he would not seek re-election. Also on their 2026 radar is Georgia, another key battleground state where Republicans view first-term Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff as vulnerable.
Democratic Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota announced last month that she would not bid for another term in next year’s midterms, giving the GOP hope that it might be competitive in the blue-leaning state.
But Republicans are also playing defense in the 2026 cycle.
Democrats plan to go on offense in blue-leaning Maine, where moderate GOP Sen. Susan Collins is up for re-election, as well as in battleground North Carolina, where Republican Sen. Thom Tillis is also up in 2026.
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And Democrats are looking at red-leaning Ohio, where Republican Lt. Gov. Jon Husted was appointed in January to succeed now-Vice President JD Vance in the Senate. Husted will run next year to finish out Vance’s term.
Shaheen’s career in politics began long before she ran for elective office.
She served as a county organizer on former President Jimmy Carter’s historic first White House campaign, as part of the team that boosted the little-known former Georgia governor to the presidency.
Four years later she ran Carter’s re-election campaign in the first-in-the-nation presidential primary state as the White House incumbent fought off a serious primary challenge from the late Sen.Ted Kennedy of neighboring Massachusetts.
In 1984, Shaheen ran Gary Hart’s presidential campaign in New Hampshire, helping Hart to a surprise victory over former Vice President Walter Mondale in New Hampshire.
Shaheen went on to win election as a state senator, and in 1996 won the first of three straight two-year terms as New Hampshire governor. And her 2008 Senate victory was the first by a Democrat in New Hampshire in more than three decades.
Shaheen is credited with boosting the Democratic Party in New Hampshire and helping turn a solidly red state purple.
Longtime state party chair Ray Buckley called Shaheen “an iconic New Hampshire trailblazer.”
New study from key swing state shatters Democrat narrative against voter ID laws
FIRST ON FOX: A study in the crucial swing state of Wisconsin runs contrary to the popular claim of many on the political left and concludes that voter ID laws have not suppressed the vote in the state.
“The study finds no statistically significant negative impact of Wisconsin’s voter ID law on overall voter turnout,” the new study from the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) concludes.
“In fact, turnout has slightly increased since the law’s implementation, challenging claims that voter ID requirements lead to widespread disenfranchisement.”
Critics have also railed against voter ID laws in recent years, claiming that it disenfranchises minority voters who, according to critics, have difficulty obtaining identification. The study states that it found “no evidence of a negative effect on turnout from the implementation of voter ID among non-white Wisconsinites.”
‘FULFILL THE MANDATE’: NEW ELECTION INTEGRITY REPORT CALLS FOR CRITICAL CHANGES TO GUARANTEE SECURE ELECTIONS
The study compared turnout in Wisconsin over a 20-year period, starting with the 2004 presidential election and ending with the 2024 presidential election while including gubernatorial elections in the years between. WILL acknowledged that turnout can be “impacted by many factors beyond voter ID laws” but explained that it “included these key control variables to ensure we isolated the law’s true impact.”
Wisconsin established voter ID laws in 2011 that have undergone several court challenges in the following years.
Will Flanders, research director at WILL, told Fox News Digital that he hopes people takeaway from this study that the popular narratives about voter ID laws are not based in data.
“When people make these claims that voter I.D. is this instrument of suppression, there’s really no evidence to back that up,” Flanders said.
“People often say it’s especially hard for minorities and folks from low-income backgrounds. We specifically looked at the impact on areas with more minority voters, and we found that there’s no evidence, even in those areas, to support this case. There’s no impact on voter turnout in areas with high numbers of minority residents relative to other parts of the state as well. So no impact overall and no impact on those voters that are generally claimed to be most affected.”
‘HE CANNOT BUY AN ELECTION HERE IN WISCONSIN’: SANDERS SLAMS MUSK IN STATE TRUMP WON BY LESS THAN 1%
Honest Elections Project Action Executive Director Jason Snead told Fox News Digital that the WILL report is consistent with “many” other studies that show voter ID laws “do not do what the Left claims.”
“To the contrary, voter ID laws enhance public trust in elections, leading directly to higher voter turnout and greater trust in the democratic process. Liberal politicians are desperate to mislead the public, but the truth is that voter ID laws are overwhelmingly popular. That is why 36 states have them and voters in states as diverse as North Carolina and Nevada have voted for ballot measures to require voter ID.”
On April 1, voters in Wisconsin will be asked if they want to enshrine Wisconsin’s voter ID law into the state Constitution.
Polling shows that the majority of Americans support the idea of requiring identification to vote.
The latest Gallup poll on the issue showed that more than 80% of voters support showing photo identification to vote as well as providing proof of citizenship.
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A 2024 Pew Research Poll also showed a bipartisan consensus that over 80% of Americans support voter ID measures.
In Wisconsin, nearly 75% of residents polled by Marquette University Law School supported voter ID.
Trump-appointed judge quits association over group’s rare statement against threats
A federal judge appointed by President Donald Trump in 2018 announced that he had resigned from the largest association of federal judges, decrying how the group issued a rare statement last week condemning recent alleged threats against judges but stayed quiet for years while conservative members of the judiciary faced scrutiny and attack.
Judge James C. Ho, of the New Orleans-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, announced his departure from the Federal Judges Association during a speaking event Saturday hosted by the conservative Federalist Society at the University of Michigan Law School. It comes in response to the 1,100-member group issuing a statement on March 5 saying in part that “judges must be permitted to do their jobs without fear of violence or intimidation of any kind.” Trump and his allies have grown increasingly critical of judges who have blocked the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and other aspects of the administration’s agenda, while DOGE leader Elon Musk last month called for an “immediate wave of judicial impeachments.”
“I was very surprised by that statement. And the next morning, I sent an email to the organization saying that I wanted to resign,” Ho said of the Federal Judges Association. “I researched for myself, and I also asked the association if they ever issued any such statements when Justice Thomas received attacks, or Justice Alito. Justice Kavanaugh dealt with an assassination attempt. We’ve had federal district judges in Texas and in Florida – as well as, I’m sure, other states, but those are the ones that come to mind immediately – all faced the kinds of things that that statement was complaining about and more. Did we see these statements in 2024 or 2023 or 2022? From what I can tell, no.”
WHO IS JUDGE AMIR ALI? THE BIDEN-APPOINTED FEDERAL JUDGE AT THE CENTER OF TRUMP’S USAID BATTLE
“You can’t say that you’re in favor of judicial independence only when it comes to decisions that you like. That’s not protecting the judiciary, that’s politicizing the judiciary,” Ho said, arguing that such statements actually harm the cause they try to further. “Because one of two things turns out to be true when you’re selective in this way. And either of these options, I think, is a bad thing. Option number one is that you’re basically lying, that you actually don’t care about this principle because you didn’t stand up for it when the shoe was on the other foot, and so you’re telling the world essentially we’re not seriously committed to judicial independence.”
“The alternative is perhaps even worse, which is that you are telling the truth – you do care about this, this principle, whether it’s judicial independence or free speech. I think this concept applies to a lot of things,” Ho continued. “If you’re telling the truth, you really care about this principle, but there are just some people who have views that are so anathema to you that you don’t think they are worthy of this principle that you expound on.”
“And so what you may think is a statement born of righteousness I think is perceived by a lot of people as merely sanctimonious,” he concluded.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Federal Judges Association for comment, but they did not immediately respond.
JUDGE RULES DOGE LIKELY SUBJECT TO PUBLIC RECORDS REQUESTS, SAYS DEPARTMENT OPERATING IN ‘UNUSUAL SECRECY’
The president of the Federal Judges Association, U.S. Circuit Judge J. Michelle Childs, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, wrote in an email to members last week that the “judiciary faces growing threats, including violence, intimidation, disinformation, and unprecedented impeachments that challenge its independence,” according to Reuters.
The Federal Judges Association then released a lengthier public statement the next day that did not elaborate on specific threats against specific judges.
It began by saying that “recent events are a clear and urgent reminder that federal judges play a crucial role in upholding our democracy as guardians of the rule of law.”
“In the history of our Republic, there has always been tension between the three separate and equal branches of the federal government, including criticism of judicial interpretations. The FJA strives to ensure that accurate information is shared with all American citizens regarding the role of the judiciary as defined in the U.S. Constitution: to impartially interpret the laws that have been created by the U.S. Congress and enforced by the Executive branch,” the group said. “Specific decisions issued by judges are not formed from individual opinions, but rather are prepared against evaluation of what the ‘laws on the books’ require.”
The group commended those, including Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, “who have commented recently on the rise in criticism, threats and violence aimed at members of the judiciary.”
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“Irresponsible rhetoric shrouded in disinformation undermines the public’s confidence that our justice system can fulfill its constitutional duties,” the statement said. “The security of federal judges and all those serving in the judicial branch of our government is fundamental to their ability to uphold the rule of law, and to fulfill their constitutional duty without fear or undue influence. Any erosion in the independence of the judiciary is a threat to our Constitution and to democratic rule of law. Ensuring judicial security is not just about protecting individuals, it is about preserving the integrity of our legal system and the public’s trust in an impartial judiciary.”
Hotel in spring break mystery troubled guests before college student vanished
The Dominican Republic resort where University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki went missing last week experienced a lengthy power outage just hours before Konanki vanished, the resort company and guests told Fox News Digital.
Konanki, a 20-year-old Virginia resident, was seen for the last time after 4 a.m. on March 6, apparently walking on the beach outside the RIU Republica Resort in Punta Cana, according to authorities and a flyer being circulated online.
Less than two hours before the University of Pittsburgh student disappeared, power was restored at the five-star, adults-only RIU Republica, where she was staying with five female friends, following an approximately 22-hour outage.
“[T]he electrical issue started on Wednesday [March] 5 at 1 AM. But the same was solved on Thursday [March] 6 at 3 AM, so when the guests went to the beach past 4 AM, the electricity had already recovered hours ago. So one thing has nothing to do with the other,” RIU Hotels told Fox News Digital in a statement, presumably referring to Konanki’s disappearance and the outage.
AMERICAN COLLEGE STUDENT DISAPPEARS IN DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: TIMELINE
The Dominican Republic, which is currently under a State Department Level 2 travel advisory and shares a border with Level 4 Haiti, experiences almost daily blackouts in certain areas that can last for more than 10 hours, according to the OPEC Fund for International Development.
“Our commitment to the well-being and comfort of our guests is our priority, so we deeply regret the power failure that affected the Riu Republica Hotel last week,” RIU Hotels said. “From the moment the problem was detected, in the early hours of Wednesday, March 5, until it was completely resolved in the early hours of Thursday, March 6, the hotel team worked tirelessly to resolve the problem rapidly and thus restore all services, which happened progressively during that period of time.”
MISSING AMERICAN COLLEGE STUDENT’S HOMETOWN SHERIFF NAMES PERSON OF INTEREST FIVE DAYS INTO SEARCH
The hotel parent company added that members of the RIU Republica’s staff “have been doing their best to mitigate the inconveniences generated by this situation.
“Despite this, we are aware of the inconvenience that this event generated for the affected guests. For this reason, RIU has established a compensation policy that will apply to all those customers who process their claim through official channels, either directly with RIU Hotels or with the travel provider with whom they made their reservation,” RIU Hotels said.
AMERICAN COLLEGE STUDENT MISSING IN DOMINICAN REPUBLIC DIDN’T DROWN, NATALEE HOLLOWAY PRIVATE EYE BELIEVES
Konanki was reportedly walking with a young man just before she vanished, La Policia Nacional, the country’s national police force, said in a translated statement.
Several guests who spoke with Fox News Digital expressed their concerns with the power and water outage, as well as other safety concerns at the RIU Republica. Various recent Google reviews also complain about power and water issues.
POLICE REVEAL MALE FRIEND IS UNDER INVESTIGATION FOLLOWING KONANKI’S DISAPPEARANCE
“I understand it’s spring break, but this is terrible,” Nick Musca said. “The water doesn’t work. There was no power yesterday. This is terrible.”
D’Lani Sweeney described her stay at the RIU Republica as “the spring break trip from Hell” on TikTok but noted that most staff members were very accommodating and tried to make guests comfortable when problems arose.
“The night that she did disappear was the night that everything was kind of going on and was so chaotic.”
“People were staying out later by the pools or on the beach because they had no AC in their rooms,” Sweeney told Fox News Digital. “It was so hot, and that’s kind of the only way they could cool down or have any … relaxation at all. It just makes me a little bit mad and also … sad.”
Sweeney described using bottled water to brush her teeth in her hotel room and using outlets in the hotel’s lobby or gym to charge her phone. Due to the power outage, there was no Wi-Fi service in certain areas of the resort.
MISSING AMERICAN COLLEGE STUDENT’S SPRING BREAK DISAPPEARANCE ‘TOO EARLY’ TO RULE DROWNING
People without international phone plans who were using Wi-Fi to contact people overseas had trouble connecting with friends or family to explain the situation, she said.
WATCH: TOURISTS VISITING RIU REPUBLICA RESORT SHARE VIDEOS DURING POWER OUTAGE
Additionally, the resort had red flags on the beach to warn travelers about strong currents and big waves around the time of the outages.
“There are no lights or lanterns or anything on the beach to kind of illuminate it to help someone if they are on the beach.”
“We could see the beach, and it was pitch black,” Sweeney said of the beach at night. “We’d also been on the beach before, even when power was on, and there was a little trickle of light … so in a power outage, you can’t see anything at all.
“There are no lights or lanterns or anything on the beach to kind of illuminate it to help someone if they are on the beach. When you go down there, you can’t see anything. The only anything that you can see is just … pitch black — maybe a couple stars in the sky or lights from surrounding resorts farther down the beach. And then you can just only hear like the waves of the ocean.”
A woman who stayed at a different RIU resort in Punta Cana about a week prior to Konanki’s disappearance and opted to be identified by her first name, Woeser, said the resort felt safe overall, but she had similar trouble using power outlets and had one strange experience with a man who did not speak English at a club on the resort property.
“We were there sitting at the bar, and two guys came over to us. We were just talking,” Woeser told Fox News Digital.
One of the men opted to communicate with Woeser and her friend using Google Translate on his phone. At one point, Woeser’s friend said it was too loud and went outside to get some air. Woeser then went to use the bathroom.
When she got back to the bar, she forgot her friend had stepped outside and asked the man using Google Translate that she was speaking to previously if he knew where her friend went.
“On his Google Translate app, he was saying…’Oh, you’re alone. You shouldn’t be here. Let’s go to the beach.”
Woeser felt the comment was “suspicious” and recorded him, but her friend returned before they could say anything more to each other.
AMERICAN COLLEGE STUDENT BELIEVED TO HAVE DROWNED IN BIG WAVE: REPORT
The FBI and Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office in Virginia are involved in the search for the missing Pitt student. All of the friends she traveled with have been accounted for.
“The ongoing investigation includes wide-ranging search efforts, along with a review of surveillance video and telephone records,” the sheriff’s office said in a Monday press release. “Interviews are also continuing with anyone who may have seen or been with Konanki before she went missing. The LCSO has filed for a Yellow Notice (worldwide police alert for a missing person) to be issued by INTERPOL.”
The sheriff’s office added that “[t]here has been considerable public speculation about what may have happened to Konanki and who may be involved.”
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“We caution anyone from drawing any unsubstantiated conclusions and are committed to ensuring that a thorough investigation is conducted before any conclusions are reached,” they said in a news release. “The LCSO is hopeful for the safe return of Sudiksha Konanki, and we are committed to supporting this investigation and her family in every way possible.”
Authorities are asking anyone with information to contact the LCSO at 703-777-1021. To remain anonymous, call the Loudoun Crime Solvers at 703-777-1919.
Terror sympathizers take over street in America with scathing mockery of police
About a dozen protesters demonstrating in support of former Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil were arrested on Tuesday as they clashed with New York City Police.
Immigration enforcement agents arrested Khalil, a permanent U.S. resident, in New York on Saturday, and he has been moved to an immigration detention center in Louisiana as the Trump administration seeks to revoke his legal status and deport him for his involvement last year in anti-Israel protests on campus.
The White House said Tuesday that Khalil distributed pro-Hamas flyers on campus.
“This is an individual who organized group protests that not only disrupted college campus classes and harassed Jewish American students and made them feel unsafe on their own college campus, but also distributed pro-Hamas propaganda flyers with the logo of Hamas,” White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said.
U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman has ordered that Khalil, whose American wife is eight months pregnant, not be deported while the court considers the legal challenge brought by his lawyers, who argue the government is unlawfully retaliating against him for constitutionally protected speech. His lawyers want him brought back to New York and released under supervision.
On Tuesday, the NYPD made arrests after several protesters blocked a downtown street in Manhattan, even after warnings to clear the roadway, according to the New York Post.
WHO IS MAHMOUND KHALIL, THE ANTI-ISRAEL COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY ACTIVIST ICE ARRESTED?
One demonstrator was tackled to the ground by a pair of officers during his arrest.
“Move cops, get out the way, we know you’re Israeli-trained,” some protesters shouted as police blocked them from entering City Hall Park. “Oink, oink, piggy, piggy. We’re gonna make your lives s–tty.”
Police repeatedly warned protesters that if they remained on the roadway, they would be arrested and charged with disorderly conduct.
The NYPD said late Tuesday that one person was charged with disorderly conduct and obstructing governmental administration charges while 11 others were issued summonses, the New York Post reported.
Police also took a man into custody after he got into an argument with a protester, according to the outlet.
ICE AGENTS ARREST ANTI-ISRAEL ACTIVIST WHO LED PROTESTS ON COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY FOR MONTHS
Earlier, about 350 protesters marched from Washington Square Park to Federal Plaza Immigration Court as they chanted anti-Israel slogans and called for Khalil’s freedom, the outlet noted.
“There is only one solution, intifada revolution,” protesters chanted.
The group was attempting to make speeches in front of the federal courthouse in the middle of the street when they were told by the NYPD to continue walking. When demonstrators attempted to enter City Hall Park, police blocked them and forced them to turn around.
Protesters said Khalil was criminalized for expressing his freedom of speech. They also said he was a “political prisoner.”
“The Trump administration and the complicit Columbia University believe if they separate us from this key cornerstone of our community, our movement will begin to crumble,” the protesters shouted.
Officers also clashed with demonstrators outside Gracie Mansion to protest New York City Mayor Eric Adams holding Iftar — a meal Muslims have at sundown to break the daily fast during Ramadan — as they demanded Khalil’s release.
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Free speech groups and other civil rights organizations have criticized Khalil’s detention as a violation of his First Amendment rights to freedom of expression, saying that the Trump administration is seeking to curb speech it disagrees with.
“This is America. We don’t throw people in detention centers because of their politics. Doing so betrays our national commitment to freedom of speech,” the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression said in a statement.
President Donald Trump has vowed to root out alleged antisemitism by foreign citizens on college campuses after several anti-Israel protests at Columbia and other U.S. campuses after the Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7, 2023, following Hamas’ surprise attack on the Jewish State.
Khalil’s next court hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.
ICE, DEA arrest several criminal illegal aliens at posh summer vacation destination
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents in New England executed a joint operation on Nantucket, Massachusetts, to arrest “illegal criminal aliens” on Tuesday.
In a post on X, the DEA New England division said its agents assisted ICE and ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston with the arrests on the idyllic and posh summer vacation destination island situated 30 miles south of Cape Cod.
The Nantucket Current reported that the DEA confirmed it had arrested a man previously charged with kidnapping and domestic assault and battery, as well as a woman.
Authorities did not identify the suspects’ names or countries of origin.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the DEA for additional information.
TRUMP GOES TOE-TO-TOE WITH SANCTUARY CITIES OVER DEPORTATION AS ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN SET TO BEGIN
In a statement to the publication, the acting special agent in charge of the DEA’s New England Field Division would only say it worked with its federal partners on immigration enforcement efforts.
Also assisting with the operation was the U.S. Coast Guard, which reportedly took federal agents to Nantucket and back to the mainland with a suspect in tow.
The Town of Nantucket said in a press release that the Nantucket Police Department was contacted by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and DEA about their plans to arrive at the island to serve an arrest warrant for a “violent offender.”
ICE ARRESTS MORE THAN 530 MIGRANTS IN ONE DAY AMID TRUMP’S CRACKDOWN
The federal agencies also requested assistance from Nantucket police, given their local geographical knowledge of the area.
The department’s detective unit assisted federal agents in identifying requested addresses, while also providing the DEA with transportation.
The DEA released two photos of the operation. In one photo, DEA agents were seen on a U.S. Coast Guard vessel with their backs to the camera, while in the other photo, the two suspects appeared in custody.
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In September, ICE made at least six arrests between the islands of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard. The arrests were part of a larger operation to detain illegal immigrant suspects accused of egregious crimes in the beach towns favored by the Biden and Obama families.
One of those arrests was on Sept. 10, when ICE ERO Boston arrested a 28-year-old Salvadoran illegal immigrant named Bryan Daniel Aldana-Arevalo, who was charged with one count of rape of a child with a 10-year age difference and two counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14.