Mamdani’s radical housing plan generates backlash as landlords dump NYC buildings
When Zohran Mamdani ran for mayor of New York City, he made one promise unmistakably clear: he would freeze the rent. Now that campaign tentpole is poised to collide with the complex economic factors exacerbating the Big Apple’s housing affordability crisis.
As his administration begins to take shape, that pledge, rooted in a democratic socialist vision of housing as a human right, is likely to be the first major political test for Mamdani. Supporters say it is an urgent lifeline for tenants battered by inflation and record rents. Critics warn it could destabilize the city’s fragile housing ecosystem, deepen building distress, and accelerate an exodus of small property owners.
“I have people walking away. I have two people selling their buildings right now. I have more people selling the buildings and leaving for Texas and Florida,” Humberto Lopes, founder of the Gotham Housing Alliance, told Fox News Digital.
“People already came to me, and I have their buildings on the market already. Since January, my business in the real estate, I’m a licensed corporate broker, has doubled in the number of buildings we are selling.”
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Lopes’ interview, among others, is part of Fox News Digital’s “The Rise of Socialism” series, which examines how socialist ideas and policies are increasingly shaping political debates and public policy in major cities across the United States.
Roughly one million apartments in New York City are rent-stabilized. A rent freeze would apply only to those units, holding annual increases at zero down from 3% for at least a year.
Tenant advocates argue the move is overdue. Median rents in Manhattan hover around $5,000 per month, a figure that Carlina Rivera, president and CEO of the New York State Association for Affordable Housing (NYSAFAH), concedes is “absurd” and increasingly unsustainable for working- and middle-class residents.
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Rivera supports voucher programs, such as CityFHEPS, which moved approximately 30,000 families from shelters into stable housing last year. About 135,000 New Yorkers rely on rental vouchers to remain in their homes. Even so, affordability pressures persist across boroughs.
Mamdani has framed the rent freeze as part of a broader affordability agenda that includes strengthening tenant protections, preventing homelessness, and accelerating housing production on vacant city-owned lots. His administration has signaled support for cutting red tape in environmental review and permitting processes, changes developers say could reduce costs by tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars per project.
But landlords and property owners argue the freeze targets only part of the market while ignoring underlying financial realities.
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“It’s impossible to freeze rents when expenses to operate housing continue to rise,” said Ann Korchak, board president of the Small Property Owners of New York (SPONY), in an interview with Fox News Digital. “Revenue, which is rent in housing, needs to rise to cover rising expenses.”
Across interviews with housing providers, from nonprofit developers to small “mom-and-pop” landlords, a consistent theme has emerged: Operating costs are climbing rapidly.
Insurance premiums for residential properties have risen dramatically since 2019, in some cases more than doubling. Utility costs remain elevated. Property taxes — which often make up 40% to 50% of some small owners’ rent rolls — have increased steadily for years.
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Lopes says property taxes on some buildings are projected to rise between 15% and 40% this year. He revealed that one of his buildings’ tax bills will jump from $68,000 to nearly $100,000 while allowable rent increases remain capped at a fraction of that yearly jump.
“Where do you think that money’s going to come from?” Lopes asked.
Landlord groups argue that freezing stabilized rents doesn’t eliminate costs, it redistributes them. In mixed buildings, they say, commercial tenants or market-rate renters may shoulder a greater burden. In others, maintenance and capital upgrades may be deferred.
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“If you freeze the rent-stabilized housing,” Korchak said, “the commercial rents are going to have to continue to go up to make up for that shortfall, or the free-market tenants will have to pay higher rents.”
Affordable housing developers express similar concerns. Rivera said operational stress in rent-stabilized buildings is no longer anecdotal.
“The data is out there as to how people are really struggling,” Rivera said. “Operational costs are up in the double digits. And that would be hard for anybody to maintain.”
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Rivera supports tenant protections and acknowledges affordability challenges but warns that layering on a rent freeze and higher property taxes could risk foreclosures or bankruptcies, a worst-case scenario she says would be “bad for the city, bad for business.”
Mamdani and his allies frequently describe housing as a human right. Critics counter that in New York’s current system, housing is also overwhelmingly a private enterprise.
“When people say housing is a human right,” Korchak said, “the reality is most housing in New York is provided by private owners. We are supporting the city through the property tax collection attached to every rental building.”
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Property taxes fund schools, police, fire departments, and hospitals. If large swaths of housing were converted to social or nonprofit models, owners argue, the city would lose significant tax revenue unless replacement funding were found.
Jan Lee, a third-generation Chinatown property owner, fears what he sees as increasing hostility toward private ownership.
“If we keep pushing small property owners over this cliff, and we don’t give them the tools that they need to maintain their units, we’re just going to leave New York City,” Lee said. “And tenants will be left with a 1-800 number to a corporate entity.”
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Lee and others also reject rhetoric that characterizes landlords as exploitative, arguing that many are immigrants or children of immigrants who built intergenerational wealth through property ownership.
“I fear that a lot of the rhetoric that was out of the campaign trail to get votes is actually going to solidify and calcify into something that will reflect true socialism, true socialist views toward housing,” he said.
“I think when you start to lump all of us together. And say that we’re all the bad thing that’s keeping people out of housing, that’s racist. I think that saying that [people’s] history should be denied and that everything about home ownership is related to White superiority, [that’s] racist. You know, this denies the history of how New York City was built. And I, for one, don’t agree with it,” Lee continued, referencing comments made by Cea Weaver, Mamdani’s new director of the city Office to Protect Tenants.
Weaver and the mayor’s office did not return Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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Those deeply embedded in New York City’s housing hub argue the current system has failed tenants for decades. They point to chronic underbuilding, restrictive zoning, and the 2019 Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act, which strengthened rent regulations but, critics say, also limited incentives to renovate vacant stabilized units.
Tenant groups contend that rent stabilization has kept millions housed and that without intervention, market forces alone would push rents even higher.
Any conversation about socialism and housing in New York inevitably turns to NYCHA, the New York City Housing Authority, which houses nearly 400,000 residents. Long plagued by underfunding and deteriorating conditions, NYCHA stands as both a testament to large-scale public housing and a warning about chronic neglect.
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Rivera argues NYCHA should be treated like other essential infrastructure, akin to the MTA or public hospitals, with sustained investment and conversation rather than episodic crisis management.
“When you see the bad landlords in New York City and the conditions of some of these units, you certainly want to hold them accountable,” she said. “When you look at NYCHA, who’s the biggest landlord and arguably really responsible for some of the worst conditions, it’s a really hard line to walk as to how do you hold an agency accountable in which the government is in charge of when there’s also been decades of neglect.”
Mamdani has signaled support for stronger public investment and faster housing production, including building on vacant city lots and streamlining bureaucratic processes. But even ambitious construction timelines would take years to materially increase supply.
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New York’s housing crisis was decades in the making. Vacancy rates hover near historic lows. Homelessness remains elevated. Insurance and construction costs are rising nationally. And political polarization has hardened.
A rent freeze may offer immediate relief to stabilized tenants. But its long-term impact will depend on whether it is accompanied by property-tax relief, subsidy expansion, faster production, or deeper structural changes.
For now, the city stands at a crossroads.
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To Mamdani’s supporters, this moment represents a long-overdue correction. To critics, it risks repeating the fiscal and housing distress of the 1970s, when disinvestment and abandonment scarred neighborhoods across the five boroughs.
The outcome may determine not only whether New York becomes more affordable, but also what kind of city it chooses to be: one driven primarily by market incentives, or one increasingly shaped by a socialist vision of housing as a public good.
Nightly bathroom habit was missed sign of common men’s cancer: ‘I didn’t know’
A father was diagnosed with prostate cancer after chalking his nightly bathroom trips up to drinking too much fluid before bed, as reported by SWNS.
“I would wake up in the middle of the night and go to the loo a couple of times, but I never thought too much of it,” Ed Matthews, who lives in London, told the news outlet.
Matthews wrote off the early warning signs — until he received a shocking diagnosis in April 2025.
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The avid golfer and skier said he felt “fit and healthy” when he went in for a routine health check provided by his employer last April.
There, he underwent a prostate-specific antigen test, which showed a reading of 4.2. (Traditionally, a PSA level under 4.0 ng/mL is considered “normal.”)
While the number was slightly higher than normal, doctors considered it “nothing too alarming.” They did, however, refer Matthews to a urologist as a precaution.
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When an MRI scan produced inconclusive results, Matthews underwent a biopsy. Less than three weeks after he went for the original check-up, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
“From being a fit human being all your life, your world’s turned upside down,” he told SWNS, adding that it felt as though he’d been thrown into a “world of pain.”
“It was an emotional shock … No one ever wants to be told they’ve got cancer.”
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Matthews underwent robotic surgery to remove his prostate last July, and tests since then haven’t shown any traces of cancer.
“I never had any issues with blood, but it was about a year or 18 months of going to the toilet more frequently,” he said.
“Your world’s turned upside down.”
Matthews said he “didn’t really know” what the prostate was before receiving his diagnosis.
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The prostate is a small, firm, partly muscular gland that helps make up the male reproductive system, according to Cleveland Clinic’s website.
For every 100 American males, 13 will develop prostate cancer at some point in their lives, the above source stated. Approximately 35,770 people in the U.S. die from the disease each year.
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Matthews is now planning to run the London Marathon for Prostate Cancer UK to raise awareness.
“I was very open and honest and told people what happened, and I think that’s caused a lot of people, friends, connections to go off and get tested,” he told SWNS.
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Early-stage prostate cancer rarely causes symptoms. However, as the disease progresses, changes include a frequent, sometimes urgent, need to urinate, especially at night. Other signs include weak urine flow, flow that starts and stops, and blood when using the restroom, per Cleveland Clinic.
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Experts advise people experiencing any of these symptoms to contact their healthcare provider.
Ex-NFL player busted in $328M Medicare scam, bragged about ‘filling bathtub with ones’
Former UConn football standout and Texas laboratory owner Keith J. Gray was convicted Thursday for his role in a wide-ranging genetic testing fraud scheme, the Justice Department announced Friday.
According to investigators, the cardiovascular testing scheme generated up to $328 million in fraudulent claims. Gray, who never appeared in a regular season NFL game, owns Axis Professional Labs and Kingdom Health Laboratory.
He was convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay and receive health care kickbacks, five counts of violating the anti-kickback statute. Gray also faces three counts of money laundering, a news release from the DOJ confirmed.
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Prosecutors said Gray knowingly billed Medicare for “medically unnecessary genetic tests designed to evaluate the risk of various cardiovascular diseases and conditions.” According to officials, Gray provided kickbacks in return for referrals of DNA samples and executed test orders authorizing the procedures.
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Marketers would seek out Medicare beneficiaries and “doctor chase” to uncover the identity of the beneficiaries’ primary care physicians. Prosecutors said that once an individual’s identity was obtained, a doctor was believed to have been pressured into approving the tests.
Fabricated documents and invoices were used to try and conceal payments that listed charges for “marketing” hours. Another aspect of the operation involved Gray allegedly mischaracterizing the payments as “software” expenses or labeling them as non-existent loans.
During the trial, prosecutors presented evidence including text messages between Gray and a co-conspirator. The messages appeared to be enthusiastic exchanges between the two over the anticipation of the money they were gaining from Medicare.
“$ent, you should have it any minute if you don’t already. Get it?” Gray then replied by saying, “Sorry I was filling my bathtub with ones. Yes lol.”
Axis and Kingdom billed Medicare an estimated $328 million for false claims, while Medicare paid claims totaling approximately $54 million. A sentencing date for Gray was not immediately announced. He faces up to 10 years in prison for each count.
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Gray was a key contributor to the Huskies, starting every game in 2007. He signed with the Carolina Panthers as an undrafted free agent after college.
Man detained in law enforcement raid denies link to Nancy Guthrie abduction
TUCSON, Ariz. — Two ex-cons from Tucson are facing intense online scrutiny in the Nancy Guthrie case despite authorities accusing neither of involvement — even after one was detained for hours in a SWAT raid and released without charges.
They are Luke Daley, 36, and Kayla Day, 32. Neither have been accused of playing a role in Guthrie’s disappearance.
Day was already in jail at the Pima County Adult Detention Complex during the operation targeting Daley last week, for allegedly skipping court dates on unrelated charges. The raid went on for hours on Feb. 13, with dozens of law enforcement vehicles seen at a home in the Catalina Foothills neighborhood and more surrounding a Range Rover at a nearby Culver’s restaurant.
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Court documents obtained by Fox News Digital detail the May 2025 arrests of both of them in a Walmart parking lot.
Daley was arrested by the Marana Police Department in Pima County on May 15, 2025, accused of selling drugs, possessing paraphernalia and a gun despite a prior felony conviction, according to the filings.
Officers allegedly witnessed “indicators of illegal drug transactions” centered on a vehicle he was driving.
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Although Daley’s complaint does not identify the passenger, Day was also arrested on May 15 at the same Walmart location, and her complaint states she was with a male driver. She also faces drugs and weapons charges in connection with the incident.
Police approached the vehicle where they saw a used syringe with heroin-like residue, according to a probable cause affidavit. Daley and the passenger were subsequently detained.
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A search of the vehicle found heroin paraphernalia, a 9 mm pistol with a loaded magazine, about a thousand opioid pills, suboxone strips and $1,366 in cash, police alleged.
Daley appeared in court on Jan. 12, and is currently out of custody. His jury trial was rescheduled from Feb. 24 to May 19, according to court documents.
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He was the target of a search warrant on Feb. 13, in which Pima County deputies and the FBI detained people for hours, including Daley and his mother. They were released without charges. None have been accused of playing a role in Guthrie’s suspected abduction.
A Range Rover was towed during the incident, but it was not immediately clear whether it belonged to him. A neighbor told Fox News Digital earlier this week that Daley’s totaled Dodge Charger had been towed by his insurance provider after the raid due to an unrelated crash.
The neighbor added that Daley was “pissed” about the SWAT raid, and his mother was upset because she doesn’t know what’s going on — adding that “everyone wants Nancy Guthrie found.”
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The Pima County Sheriff declined to comment regarding Friday’s activity and whether any vehicles towed so far in the case had been returned to their owners.
The Range Rover, which had been searched at the scene and sealed with evidence tape before the tow, was not visible from the perimeter of the sheriff’s impound lot when visited by Fox News Digital Tuesday.
“We have no additional comments at this time besides the information released in our updates,” a public information officer told Fox News Digital.
Additional court documents reveal Day was also arrested on March 19, 2025, on four more drug-related charges.
Authorities allegedly found Day passed out in the driver’s seat. They saw in “plain view” the presence of drug paraphernalia, according to the complaint. She was asked to step out of the vehicle and allegedly responded with slurred speech and confusion.
She was arrested, and arresting officers said they found opioid pills, a white crystalline substance, a black tar substance and evidence of heroin use.
A warrant was issued for Day’s arrest in January, accusing her of missing court dates in her pending cases.
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She is currently being held without bail, according to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, but she refused transport to her Feb. 18, court date.
It was rescheduled to Feb. 27, and the Pima County Sheriff’s Department was ordered to transport Day “by any means necessary,” according to court documents.
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Daley’s lawyer Chris Scileppi and Day’s lawyer Nicholas Brereton both declined to comment when contacted by Fox News Digital.
In a statement to 12 News, a local outlet, Scileppi disavowed any connection to the Guthrie case.
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“Scileppi Law can confirm that Luke Daley was the subject of two search warrants issued and served on February 13, 2026,” he said. “Mr. Daley and his mother were both detained by law enforcement while the search warrants were being executed.
Both were released without charges, he said.
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“Mr. Daley has no link whatsoever to Nancy Guthrie and has no information related to her kidnapping,” Scileppi added. “Like the entire Tucson community, both Mr. Daley and his mother are hopeful that Nancy will be returned to her family unharmed.”
A masked suspect in Guthrie’s apparent abduction has been described as standing between 5 feet, 9 inches and 5 feet, 10 inches tall, with an average build. He was carrying a black Ozark Trail brand backpack and what appears on video to be a holstered pistol.
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She is believed to have been abducted from her home in Tucson’s Catalina Foothills around 2:30 a.m. on Feb. 1 — about 2 miles from Daley’s home.
Authorities have said that DNA recovered from a glove in the area was not a match for the FBI’s CODIS database — suggesting it does not belong to someone with a criminal history like Daley or Day.
Olympian serving in US military speaks out on teammates’ anti-Trump protests
U.S. Olympic women’s skeleton athlete and Air Force staff sergeant Kelly Curtis didn’t get the results she was looking for individually in Milan Cortina.
But she still comes away feeling like a winner because she got to represent her country, and gets to continue root on her Team USA teammates, especially the Americans currently challenging Germany in women’s bobsled.
“Whenever I put on the uniform that says the USA I’m proud to represent both my country and the U.S. Air Force,” Curtis told Fox News Digital. “But to have it on the Olympic stage just makes it that much more special.”
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Curtis’ patriotism comes at a time when some U.S. Olympians have expressed concern and criticism about the current state of America under President Donald Trump. Curtis, as a loyal member of the U.S. military, insists she will defend any of her teammates or fellow Americans looking to exercise their freedom of speech.
“I love the first amendment, and I love that I get to defend the country in whatever way I do on behalf of the first amendment,” Curtis said. “My fellow Olympian teammates have the right to speak whatever they want, and I will defend their right to do so.”
Team USA athletes Hunter Hess, Amber Glenn and Mikaela Shiffrin have all made statements criticizing the state of the U.S. while competing in Italy. Meanwhile, Curtis and fellow U.S. Air Force Olympian Jasmine Jones, who’s currently looking to help lead the U.S. to the podium in bobsled, are joined by ice hockey players Brady Tkachuk and Quinn Hughes in praising their country at Milan Cortina.
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After finishing in 12th place in women’s skeleton, Curtis will be cheering on the bobsled team of Jones and Kaillie Humphries, who are in position to contend for a medal podium in a crowded field of elite German rivals.
Humphires and Jones finished in first place in the first heat of the final on Friday, and then in fourth place in the second heat. They have an inside track to reaching the podium, likely a bronze or silver, but their dream of gold is still alive.
“They have a good thing going,” Curtis said. “They have a winning formula for sure.”
As Curtis and Jones represent the only two Air Force members competing for Team USA in Milan Cortina, Curtis hopes to grow that number by the time the 2030 Winter Games in the French alps comes along.
“We have a small program for the Winter Olympics cycle, but hopefully our program grows and develops, and we’ll have a lot more athletes competing at the 2030 games,” she said.
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“This program requires a three-year active duty service commitment, so once we’re done, we go back to our airbases where we serve as active duty service members.”
Team USA fans can send Jones and fellow airman Kelly Curtis, who is also competing in Italy, a personalized letter through a program involving a partnership between Team USA and Sandboxx.
Cowboys legend warns NFL to never bring Super Bowl back to San Francisco
The Seattle Seahawks returned to the headlines this week after news surfaced that Paul Allen’s estate, which is overseen by the late owner’s sister, Jody Allen, has initiated the process to sell the franchise.
The eventual transaction aligns with Allen’s final wishes and comes less than two weeks after the Seahawks defeated the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX to capture the franchise’s second Vince Lombardi Trophy.
After a decade away, the big game returned to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2026. Events throughout the week were split between the heart of San Francisco and Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, about 40 miles away. Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Irvin cited the week’s apparent logistical issues and deemed Super Bowl LX as the “worst ever.”
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“Literally, you could not go anywhere on the streets,” he said. “It took forever to get right down the street because traffic was so bad.” Irvin also expressed his hope that future Super Bowls are not awarded to the region.
“This was a horrible Super Bowl,” the former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver declared. “They should never ever, ever, ever bring the Super Bowl back to San Francisco. … It was ‘blah’ in the city, you know what I mean? It just wasn’t jumping.”
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Irvin attended several high-profile pregame events before, but ultimately determined the host city failed to deliver a festive atmosphere.
“The people, ‘blah.’ The buildings out here looked ‘blah.’ When you go into events, it was ‘blah,’” Irvin said in a video shared on his YouTube channel, continuing his review of the week. “I’m thinking there should be so much money out here because the tech is out here, right? But it all looks so ‘blah.’”
Irvin said he waited until well after the events and the game to voice his criticism.
“I didn’t want to dampen anybody’s thoughts or hopes about a Super Bowl during the Super Bowl, so I said ‘Imma wait.’ But I couldn’t wait ‘till this moment came to tell you,” he explained. “Damn! It’s, I believe, the worst Super Bowl I’ve ever gone to, and I’m talking about just seeing how the city rocks and everything.”
Irvin won three Super Bowls during his tenure with the Cowboys.
Irvin’s comments differ sharply from those of San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy’s and running back Christian McCaffrey’s comments, who took a more positive view of the host city.
“It’s a historic city with so much character. The food, the hills, the homes, the water, the bridge, the whole thing. It’s just such a great city, too, and it’s really cool to see it come to life even more than it already is,” Christian McCaffrey told Fox News Digital on radio row in the days leading up to kickoff.
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“Man, I think San Francisco has so much to offer,” Purdy added. “Just, obviously, with the restaurants, the experiences, just how pretty it is out here with the Golden Gate Bridge and the ocean. It’s a great city, great people. So to have the Super Bowl out here is really cool.”
Next year’s Super Bowl heads back to the Los Angeles area, with Atlanta set to host in 2028.
Boebert congratulates Crockett’s opponent while describing her as ‘so extreme’
Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado did not mince words when talking about Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett, describing the Texas congresswoman as “radical” and “extreme.”
On “Real Time with Bill Maher” Friday, Boebert joked about possibly endorsing Crockett while seated next to the Texas congresswoman’s rival for U.S. Senate.
“Maybe I should endorse Jasmine Crockett, so you could do a little better,” she told Democratic Texas state Rep. James Talarico.
Among Texas voters, Crockett is currently running ahead of Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, according to a recent statewide survey from Hart Research.
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However, Talarico’s campaign has surged in fundraising and media attention. He raised $2.5 million after CBS pulled his interview with late-night host Stephen Colbert over “equal time” rules for political candidates.
Instead, the interview was uploaded to YouTube on Tuesday and has since received more than 8.4 million views.
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On Wednesday, Crockett called the move to post Talarico’s interview online “good strategy” and something that probably gave him a “boost.”
While Boebert began by congratulating Talarico on his success in the Democratic primary, she offered a pointed explanation.
“I do think that is why he and the Democrat portion of this primary is doing so well,” Boebert said. “Because his opponent is so radical, so extreme. Just a false identity. Came from one place, pretends to be from another.”
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After the congresswoman thanked Talarico for doing his best to defeat Crockett in the race, the Democrat pivoted to their united front.
“[Crockett] and I are friends, we serve together,” he replied. “We do have different approaches to campaigning and politics, but we are both trying to fight 30 years of one-party rule in our state, which has led to the extremism and the corruption I was just talking about.”
In both of his late-night appearances, Talarico spoke out against “Christian nationalism” and advocated for removing the 10 Commandments from public schools in the name of separation of church and state.
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Crockett has been criticized for her rhetoric against Republicans, including referring to their support for President Donald Trump as “loyalty to this…wannabe Hitler” in 2025.
Fox News Digital reached out to Crockett’s team, but did not immediately hear back.
Popular frozen product recalled after reports of glass contamination
More than 3.3 million pounds of frozen chicken fried rice are being recalled after federal officials warned the products may contain glass.
Ajinomoto Foods North America is recalling approximately 3,370,530 pounds of frozen not-ready-to-eat chicken fried rice products that may be contaminated with glass, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced Friday.
The recall includes products sold at Trader Joe’s locations nationwide, while the Ajinomoto items were shipped only to Canada.
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The FSIS said it was recalling 20-oz. plastic bag packages containing Trader Joe’s frozen chicken fried rice with stir-fried rice, vegetables, seasoned dark chicken meat and eggs.
The Ajinomoto product is sold in a carton containing six bags of “Yakitori Chicken with Japanese-Style Fried Rice.”
All the chicken fried rice items were produced between Sept. 8, 2025, and Nov. 17, 2025, according to the FSIS.
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Federal officials said the issue was discovered after FSIS received four consumer complaints tied to glass being found in the product.
FSIS said there have been no confirmed reports of injury due to consumption of this product.
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Officials said the product may still be in retailers’ and consumers’ freezers and urged consumers to throw the items away or return them to the store.
Officials say ‘targeted attack’ after ‘toxic substance’ found at Trump-Kennedy Center
FIRST ON FOX: The Trump-Kennedy Center was the target of what officials described as a “calculated, malicious attack” early Friday after a “toxic chemical” was poured onto its outdoor ice rink, forcing a performance cancellation.
Trump-Kennedy Center leadership said a dark substance was poured onto the ice surface, severely damaging the outdoor arena.
Leadership said the incident was not a protest but an act of outright vandalism targeting the Trump-Kennedy Center.
“Today, a targeted attack on the Trump Kennedy Center vandalized and destroyed our outdoor arena, causing severe damage that we unfortunately must cancel tonight’s performance, but we are working feverishly to complete repairs so programming can resume tomorrow,” Roma Daravi, vice president of public relations for the Trump-Kennedy Center, said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “We have turned over video footage to the authorities who are investigating this calculated, malicious attack and hold those responsible accountable.”
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Leadership added that violence “will not be tolerated” at the Trump-Kennedy Center and said those responsible would be held accountable.
Trump-Kennedy Center officials said a brown-black substance was poured across the ice early Friday morning. Images from the scene show the material spread widely across the rink, with what appears to be a gallon-sized milk container visible on the ice.
Leadership at the venue said the substance was “toxic.” The exact chemical has not yet been publicly identified.
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The vandalism forced the cancellation of a scheduled performance at the Trump-Kennedy Center by Montreal-based skating company Le Patin Libre.
The incident comes amid a broader transformation of the Trump-Kennedy Center following a leadership overhaul and significant funding secured for long-deferred infrastructure improvements.
The board of trustees voted unanimously in December 2025 to rename the facility “The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.”
President Donald Trump was later elected chairman of the board.
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Fox News Digital previously reported that the Center plans a temporary closure beginning July 4 for an extensive restoration and modernization project. Leadership has cited roughly $250 million in deferred maintenance and aging infrastructure accumulated over decades.
Congress appropriated $257 million for renovation work in Trump’s “One, Big, Beautiful Bill” and officials have described the project as critical to stabilizing and preserving the nation’s premier performing arts institution for future generations.
The complex, which opened in 1971, has faced years of financial strain and structural deterioration before new funding was secured.
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Daravi said the institution intends to pursue accountability for the damage and restore the outdoor arena as quickly as possible, so programming can continue as scheduled.
Neither a suspect nor a motive have been publicly identified by either the Trump-Kennedy Center or authorities.
Authorities are continuing to investigate the incident as the Trump-Kennedy Center works to restore the damaged outdoor arena and resume scheduled programming.
The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.