Bizarre discoveries found at the US-Mexico border result in several arrests
Border patrol agents at the Texas-Mexico border made two interesting finds while searching vehicles last weekend, resulting in the arrests of three people in two separate incidents.
A 20-year-old man and a 21-year-old woman, both U.S. citizens, were crossing into the United States through the Anzalduas International Bridge when their vehicle was flagged by CBP agents for a second inspection on Sunday.
Upon investigation, officials discovered a spider monkey stowed inside a backpack in the vehicle. The two individuals were taken into custody and the monkey was transported to Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville.
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The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora protects certain types of monkeys and their importation is regulated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to CBP officials. However, monkeys are not permitted to be imported as pets.
On the same day, CPB agents at the Hidalgo International Bridge stopped a 68-year-old Mexican citizen crossing into the U.S. for a second inspection.
Agents discovered approximately 73 pounds of alleged cocaine stashed inside the man’s Fort Explorer. Authorities estimate the alleged narcotics have a street value of approximately $980,000.
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The man was taken into custody by Homeland Security and the cocaine was seized by CBP.
The identities of the three suspects have not been released by authorities.
“Our frontline CBP officers and agriculture specialists continue to remain vigilant as they conduct their inspections; their attention to detail and inspections experience led to an interception of an endangered species and a significant narcotics seizure in two separate enforcement events,” Hidalgo Port Director Carlos Rodriguez said in a statement. “We remain committed to preventing the exploitation of protected animals and the spread of animal diseases. Seizures of narcotics also reinforce our continued commitment to our border security mission.”
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CBP did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
China raises tariffs on US goods from 84% to 125% in retaliation
China announced on Friday that it will hike tariffs on American imports from 84% to 125%.
The move represents the latest escalation of an ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China, which is led by the Chinese Communist Party.
China indicated that it made the move in response to the U.S. raising tariffs, but indicated it does not plan to retaliate against any potential additional U.S. tariff increases.
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“The US’s imposition of abnormally high tariffs on China seriously violates international economic and trade rules, and also violates basic economic laws and common sense. It is a completely unilateral bullying and coercive practice,” the Chinese finance ministry asserted.
“Given that at the current tariff level, there is no market acceptance for U.S. goods exported to China, if the U.S. continues to impose additional tariffs on Chinese goods exported to the U.S., China will ignore it.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment on Friday morning.
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China’s latest retaliation announcement comes as U.S. President Donald Trump has been slapping tariffs on the U.S. adversary.
Trump announced in a Truth Social post this week that the tariff against China would be 125%.
“Based on the lack of respect that China has shown to the World’s Markets, I am hereby raising the Tariff charged to China by the United States of America to 125%, effective immediately. At some point, hopefully in the near future, China will realize that the days of ripping off the U.S.A., and other Countries, is no longer sustainable or acceptable,” the president wrote.
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But when factoring in the tariff Trump slapped on China pertaining to fentanyl, America’s tariffs against China are at a whopping 145%.
Supreme Court rules alleged gang member deported to El Salvador must return to US
The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a lower court’s decision to facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national living in Maryland, from an El Salvador prison where federal officials sent hundreds of suspected criminals and gang members in March.
Abrego Garcia, 29, was deported to the El Salvadoran megaprison last month for being an alleged MS-13 gang member, but his attorneys maintain he does not have any gang ties.
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ordered federal officials to coordinate his return back to Maryland in a Monday order, calling his deportation “wholly unlawful.” On Thursday, the Supreme Court sided with Xinis.
“On March 15, 2025, the United States removed Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia from the United States to El Salvador, where he is currently detained in the Center for Terrorism Confinement (CECOT),” the order states. “The United States acknowledges that Abrego Garcia was subject to a withholding order forbidding his removal to El Salvador, and that the removal to El Salvador was therefore illegal.”
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Justice Sonia Sotomayor said she “would have declined to intervene in this litigation and denied the application in full.”
“Nevertheless, I agree with the Court’s order that the proper remedy is to provide Abrego Garcia with all the processes to which he would have been entitled had he not been unlawfully removed to El Salvador,” Sotomayor wrote. “That means the Government must comply with its obligation to provide Abrego Garcia with ‘due process of law,’ including notice and an opportunity to be heard, in any future proceedings.”
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The High Court further said it “properly requires the government to ‘facilitate’ Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador.”
The Justice Department responded to the order in a statement to Fox News in a statement.
“As the Supreme Court correctly recognized, it is the exclusive prerogative of the President to conduct foreign affairs,” the statement says. “By directly noting the deference owed to the Executive Branch, this ruling once again illustrates that activist judges do not have the jurisdiction to seize control of the President’s authority to conduct foreign policy.”
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Federal court filings say Abrego Garcia fled Garcia to escape gang violence. Starting around 2006, gang members “stalked, hit, and threatened to kidnap and kill him in order to coerce his parents to succumb to their increasing demands for extortion.”
He entered the United States illegally in 2011 and traveled to Maryland, where his older brother, a U.S. citizen, lived.
Around 2016, Abrego Garcia became romantically involved with a female U.S. citizen — Jennifer Vasquez Sura — and her two children, also U.S. citizens. They moved in together and the woman became pregnant with his child. Abrego Garcia worked in the construction industry to support his family, court filings say.
On March 28, 2019, Abrego Garcia went to a Home Depot in Hyattsville, Maryland, to solicit employment and was recruited by three other men. Prince George County Police Department soon arrived at the scene and detained all four men.
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“At the police station, the four young men were placed into different rooms and questioned. Plaintiff Abrego Garcia was asked if he was a gang member; when he told police he was not, they said that they did not believe him and repeatedly demanded that he provide information about other gang members,” court documents state. “The police told Plaintiff Abrego Garcia that he would be released if he cooperated, but he repeatedly explained that he did not have any information to give because he did not know anything.”
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A judge later granted his release, and Abrego Garcia married his now-wife in 2019. He did, however, miss the birth of his child while in federal custody, the federal complaint says.
Abrego Garcia was arrested in Baltimore on March 12 after he worked a shift as a sheet metal apprentice in Baltimore and picked up his now-5-year-old son, who has autism and other disabilities, from his grandmother’s house, the complaint says.
Pilot, two adults and three kids dead after a tour helicopter crashed into the Hudson River
Six people — including a pilot, two adults and three children — were killed after a tour helicopter crashed into the Hudson River in Jersey City, New Jersey, on Thursday afternoon.
Five of the victims have been identified as a Spanish family: Siemens executive Agustin Escobar, his wife, Merce Camprubi Montal, and their three young children, The Associated Press reported. The pilot’s identity has not been released.
Siemens is a German global technology company with a headquarters in Spain. Escobar’s LinkedIn profile identified him as the Global CEO of Rail Infrastructure at Siemens Mobility and showed he had been with the company in various roles for more than 27 years.
New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said during a news conference that at 3:17 p.m., authorities received multiple 911 calls about a helicopter crash in the Hudson River near the New Jersey coastline. The helicopter was inverted when it crashed, and the cabin was visible above the water.
New York City Fire Department (FDNY) and New York City Police Department (NYPD) divers entered the water within minutes, along with personnel from the port authority and various New Jersey agencies.
NYPD divers pulled four people from the crash site and FDNY divers recovered an additional two people, Tisch said.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams confirmed the family was visiting from Spain. He said it is “heartbreaking” that a family on vacation was involved in such a tragic incident.
“We had over 65 million people that visited our city last year, and just think about it, you’re on a vacation, you’re with your family, you want to experience New York from the sky, and something like this happens. It’s heartbreaking to everyone,” Adams said, in part.
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Immediate lifesaving measures were taken on the vessels and on an adjoining pier. However, four people were pronounced dead at the scene and the other two people were pronounced dead at local hospitals.
According to flight tracking software and a statement from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Bell 206 helicopter, flying for the tour company New York Helicopters, took off from the downtown Manhattan heliport at 2:59 p.m.
The aircraft flew south, before turning to fly north along the Manhattan shoreline up the Hudson River.
At 3:08 p.m., the helicopter reached the George Washington Bridge and then turned again to fly south along the New Jersey shoreline.
Shortly after, the aircraft lost control and hit the water just a few feet off the shore near Hoboken.
The Army Corps of Engineers announced just before 10 p.m. it had salvaged the helicopter.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) confirmed they will investigate the cause of the crash.
A NTSB “go-team,” including chairman Jennifer Homendy, was deployed and will arrive at the scene Thursday night, according to a statement.
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According to FOX Weather, the water temperature in the Hudson River is in the mid 40’s.
There were no known adverse weather conditions that might have caused the crash.
New York Helicopter did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
The crash site is less than a mile from Manhattan and is close to the Holland Tunnel, where 15.8 million vehicles cross annually from New Jersey into New York City.
A safety zone one mile north and one mile south of the Holland Tunnel across the entire Hudson River remains in effect, as of 10 p.m., according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
“The Coast Guard and Army Corps, along with local partners, continue to support the NTSB in their ongoing investigation and debris recovery efforts,” according to a statement from the Coast Guard.
President Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Thursday night to offer his condolences.
“Terrible helicopter crash in the Hudson River,” Trump wrote. “Looks like six people, the pilot, two adults, and three children, are no longer with us. The footage of the accident is horrendous. God bless the families and friends of the victims. Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy, and his talented staff are on it. Announcements as to exactly what took place, and how, will be made shortly!”
Just after 8 p.m., Duffy took to X to share that no air traffic control services were being provided when the helicopter crashed.
“We pray for the victims and their families. Here’s what we know: The tour helicopter was in the Special Flight Rules Area established in New York which means no air traffic control services were being provided when the helicopter crashed,” Duffy wrote in the post. “Several minutes prior to entering the Special Flight Rules Area, Air Traffic Control from LaGuardia airport was providing support.”
Duffy added his agency will launch a Safety Review Team on Thursday night and provide updates as they become available.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams spoke during a joint news conference with the FDNY and NYPD.
“Our hearts go out to the families of those who were onboard,” Adams said. “It’s almost reminiscent of the plane going down here on the Hudson River. Thank God we didn’t lose any lives back then. It’s still fresh and still new, the investigation is ongoing, and … the family members … we lift them up in prayer.”
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said in a post on X he was briefed by law enforcement, and called the incident “tragic.”
“We are supporting the emergency response effort through the @NJSP, @PANYNJ, and local first responders,” Murphy wrote in the post.
NYPD officials told Fox News Digital they are not able to provide further details at this time.
Prior to the Hudson River crash on Thursday, the NTSB reported 211 helicopter accidents in the past two years, 37 of which were fatal.
Since 1965, 36 crashes have occurred in nearby New York City, 11 of which were fatal.
In 2019, two helicopters crashed in New York City.
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One of the helicopters hit the roof of a Manhattan skyscraper in restricted airspace, killing the pilot, according to a report from The Associated Press.
The other helicopter went into the Hudson River and sank while being maneuvered at a heliport, but the pilot escaped.
King Charles won’t hand throne to Prince William as shake-up could spark ‘crisis,’ experts say
Prince William has been quietly taking on more duties to support his father behind palace doors, raising questions about whether the monarch would ever step down to prioritize his health.
But according to several royal experts, King Charles, who is battling an undisclosed form of cancer, has no plans to give up the throne anytime soon. And William fully supports him as he steps up to the plate as heir.
British royals expert Hilary Fordwich stressed to Fox News Digital that William’s intention is to help lighten his father’s workload as the monarch continues his treatments while taking on duties at the same time.
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The last time a royal abdicated, it caused a “crisis” in the U.K., something “The Firm” won’t want to repeat, she said.
Fox News Digital contacted Kensington Palace, which handles the Prince of Wales’s office, for comment.
“Prince William has been assuming more responsibilities and there have been preparations for more transitions of responsibility,” said Fordwich.
“Both Prince William and Princess Catherine have been readying to assume leadership roles with an accelerated schedule of preparation for their future positions as king and queen. But most certainly, they are not in any way actively seeking an immediate ascension,” she stressed.
“The entire family, all senior roles, are more focused on the best interests of the monarchy’s stability and continuity, hence all being content with the gradual transition rather than any immediate decisions. The only definite thing is that an abdication would be a significant departure from all tradition.”
Fordwich noted that abdication isn’t typically the norm for the British royal family. The last one, which involved Queen Elizabeth II’s uncle, Edward VIII, caused “a constitutional crisis,” she noted.
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“Given his mother’s values, King Charles is most likely to do all he can to continue serving, dedicating himself to duty,” she said.
In 1936, Edward declared in an explosive broadcast to a stunned nation that he was voluntarily abdicating the throne, the first English monarch to do so, to marry American socialite Wallis Simpson, the BBC reported. This resulted in George VI being king and the former Princess Elizabeth suddenly finding herself next in line.
Fordwich’s statement came shortly after Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine and author of “My Mother and I,” told Newsweek that the monarch should consider allowing William to take on more significant roles as heir on his behalf. However, Seward noted that the 76-year-old is too much of a workaholic and won’t give up the throne anytime soon.
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“The trouble is, he’s been so conditioned to work that I don’t think he functions unless he’s working,” she told the outlet. “When he’s not working, he’s probably a bit all over the place… He’s always working, and it’s just not his nature to take an afternoon nap, which I’m sure Camilla is trying to make him do.”
Still, Seward stressed that the king is still a cancer patient.
“Cancer treatment makes you very, very tired,” she said. “The trouble is it’s his duty as monarch to do these stifling, boring handshakes with incoming and outgoing ambassadors. How boring that must be. I would think that’s very exhausting, but the only way he could slow down is if someone took over some of his official roles as monarch.”
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“If someone could take some of that away from him, I think his life would be easier,” Seward added.
In late March, Charles canceled planned engagements on the advice of his doctors, Buckingham Palace said, without providing details about the “temporary side effects” that he experienced. The episode was a reminder that the king continues to undergo treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer diagnosed more than a year ago.
That reality has slipped away from the collective consciousness since last spring when Charles returned to public duties after stepping away for almost three months to focus on his initial treatment and recovery. In the intervening months, he has attended D-Day commemoration events in France, presided over the State Opening of Parliament and even embarked on a nine-day visit to Australia and Samoa.
During the early stages of his treatment, Charles continued fulfilling his constitutional duties as head of state, including reviewing government papers and meeting with the prime minister.
And after being briefly hospitalized in late March this year, Charles was again back at work.
On Monday, Charles arrived in Rome for a state visit to Italy. He was traveling with his wife, Queen Camilla, for a three-day visit, which included the first address to the Italian Parliament of a British monarch, visits with the Italian president and premier and a side trip to Ravenna to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Adriatic city’s liberation by Allied forces.
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A planned meeting with Pope Francis was initially postponed by mutual agreement due to the pope’s bout with double pneumonia. The 88-year-old pontiff returned to the Vatican two weeks ago and made a surprise appearance in St. Peter’s Square.
But on April 9 – Charles and Camilla’s 20th wedding anniversary – they met privately with the pope at the Vatican. The pope issued a new invitation for a private audience, but it was only confirmed that Wednesday morning.
The king is expected to press ahead with his work in the coming days.
“It seems unlikely that the king will want to step back from his duties any more than is strictly necessary,” British broadcaster Jonathan Sacerdoti told Fox News Digital. “Though he had to cancel some engagements recently, it caused very minimal disruption to his otherwise busy schedule. He has always been clear that his work ethic compels him to be as busy as possible.”
“Of course, he is not a youngster, and the example of his late mother’s older years shows that, when needed, the royal family can accommodate sharing the burden, if necessary,” Sacerdoti shared. “But just as Queen Elizabeth II continued to work well into her old age, and even when she was not entirely healthy, I am sure that the king will want to do the same and keep going as much as is possible.”
Charles ascended to the throne upon the death of his mother. Queen Elizabeth II, England’s longest-reigning monarch, died in 2022 at age 96. Her last official duty was appointing Liz Truss as prime minister on Sept. 6, 2022, at Balmoral Castle. The queen passed away two days later at the Scottish estate.
“King Charles will never abdicate through his own volition, especially as he has waited a lifetime to become monarch,” royal expert Ian Pelham Turner told Fox News Digital.
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“He enjoys the role and the values it brings to Camilla as queen,” he shared. “Behind the scenes, I am sure discussions are being held in case the king’s conditions worsen to an extent where he cannot complete even the smallest tasks. But in reality, we are not at that stage yet.”
“There have been more reports that, again, behind the scenes, William and Kate are preparing for their eventual roles,” Turner continued. “Of course, this fuels more speculation about the king’s health. I hope he remains on the throne as he has many good qualities and crowds on royal engagements adore him.”
A royal aide previously told Newsweek that Camilla was the only one who had any success asking the king to slow down.
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“She can jolly him along with great affection – and at the other end of the spectrum, she’s about the only person in the universe who can try to rein him back when he’s undertaking too much because of his insatiable appetite for work,” the insider claimed.
The aide added that Camilla is only “partially” successful.
Seward does feel hopeful about the king’s health.
“He’s always been driven, and he’s strong,” she told the outlet. “This cancer has weakened him, but I think he’s fine.”
Maine school board silences ‘MAGA’ parent opposing trans athletes in girls’ sports
A school board meeting in Maine’s capital city of Augusta on Wednesday night featured a contentious interaction between a parent in a “MAGA” hat and the school board president over the state’s ongoing controversy over trans athlete inclusion in girls’ sports.
Augusta School Board Chair Martha Witham cut off local parent Nick Blanchard while he discussed the controversial issue and a petition he launched to have Cony Middle and High School Principal Kim Liscomb removed from her position, as seen in footage of the meeting.
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Liscomb is currently the president of the Maine Principals’ Association (MPA), which supports transgender athletes’ participation in school sports based on gender identity and has been a subject of scrutiny by President Donald Trump’s administration over the issue.
Blanchard, who showed up to the meeting in a “MAGA” hat and a T-shirt of Gov. Janet Mills that read, “You’re fired,” started his speech by praising the six of the seven members of the board who voted to adopt the 2020 interpretation of Title IX that did not allow trans athletes to compete as girls.
Blanchard also condemned the board member who voted against it, which prompted the first interruption by Witham.
“Good job and thank you to the six members that voted to go back to the 2020 interpretation of Title IX, and shame on the one board member that voted no,” Blanchard began.
Witham then cut him off, saying, “I’m sorry, but negative comments will not be allowed.”
Blanchard then proceeded to discuss his petition to have Liscomb removed.
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“This petition is asking … if you the school board members will put up a vote,” Blanchard began before being cut off again by Witham.
Witham told Blanchard that his statements would “not be tolerated” and warned him that he would be asked to step down from the podium if he continued making “defamatory remarks.”
When Blanchard asked how his remarks were “defamatory,” Witham responded by saying “I don’t have to explain it to you.”
“These comments will not be tolerated at the meeting directed toward us or to anybody else in this room,” Witham said.
Blanchard then agreed to proceed with his speech without referring to Liscomb by name.
“So, as most of you know, someone who is the president of the Maine Principal’s Association,” Blanchard began before being interrupted by Witham for the final time.
“Nope, close enough. I’m sorry, you’re done, Mr. Blanchard,” Witham said, ordering him off the podium.
As Blanchard walked away, he yelled “Communist China right here!”
Fox News Digital has reached out to Augusta Schools for comment.
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Maine is currently considered ground zero in the national debate over trans inclusion in girls’ and women’s sports as multiple federal agencies have levied pressure on the state since February to amend its current policies that enable trans inclusion.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture froze funding to the state last week, and the Department of Health and Human Services has already referred the Maine Department of Education, the MPA and Greely High School to the Justice Department.
Friday is the deadline for the state to amend its current policies or face another referral to the justice department by the U.S. Department of Education.
Forced to defend the indefensible, Congressional Democrats are having trouble coming up with rational arguments against fighting the elimination of waste, fraud, and abuse being exposed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The combination of legal nitpicks, personal attacks, and apocalyptic warnings reflects a scattershot approach that is no match for DOGE’s clear populist appeal.
Case in point – the April revelation from Valor CEO Antonio Gracias that DOGE found some 2.1 million Social Security numbers given out to non-citizens in 2024, many of which were being used to access social programs. Democrats have largely refused to engage with the argument, offering only denials, deflection, and ad hominem attacks.
Delaware Senator Chris Coons elicited an eye-roll from Fox News’ Martha MacCallum when he attempted to minimize the fraud in an April 2 interview. Acknowledging just one type of fraud in which the rate is reportedly low, Coons then pivoted to ad hominem attacks on Elon Musk.
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Biden’s home state senator was left scrambling after MacCallum pressed him on the solvency of the program, asking, “What have Democrats done to find the waste, fraud, and abuse in Social Security?” Coons could only dissemble. Democrats have done nothing to prevent insolvency. There is no good argument to be made.
Likewise, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is having trouble finding a persuasive line of attack. He has resorted to claiming Trump and Musk are engaged in deep corruption and self-dealing even as they expose the deep corruption and self-dealing of the Democrats’ nonprofit grift machine.
Schumer’s tactic is even less effective in light of a recently unearthed clip from 1995 in which Schumer himself sounds unabashedly . . . DOGE. “All over where we go, people say, why can’t you stop illegal immigrants and others from coming here,” says the 1995 Chuck Schumer. “And the number one answer we give our constituents is when they come here, they can get jobs, get benefits against the law because of fraud,” he says self-righteously. It would seem 1995 Schumer made more sense than this 2025 Schumer.
Apocalyptic warnings don’t seem to be working, either. Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin called DOGE a coup operating “from the shadows.” In February, he filed a FOIA request in which he and Virginia Rep. Gerry Connolly referred to DOGE as an “oligarchical techno-state.” In an interview, Raskin claimed, “it’s a dystopian nightmare unfolding before our eyes.”
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That alarmism and dire tone directly conflict with the public mood. Newsweek reports that 65 percent of Democrats support cutting waste through expenditure reviews. This chilling vision of government collapse contrasts sharply with the $140 billion in savings DOGE has already documented. Voters don’t see the savings as an existential threat.
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Even Democrats’ derisive references to a young DOGE employee as “Big Balls” only served to make the young man a sort of folk hero.
Democrats ultimately make a fatal error by opposing DOGE’s success rooting out the fraud with American’s taxpayer dollars. They appear to be for the fraud and waste. And without a viable, reasonable, common-sense alternative, their attacks fall on deaf ears and leave most to wonder, “What do Democrats really stand for?”
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Airport’s strict new ‘policy’ has flight passengers sounding off online
One traveler is drawing attention from many others to a particular airport policy.
Posted in the “r/unitedairlines” forum on Reddit, the post was entitled, “What do you think of SFO’s ‘Quiet Airport policy’? Should other airports take note?”
The user then shared a photo of a monitor screen at the San Francisco International Airport (SFO) that says, “This is a quiet airport,” along with a speaker crossed out.
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“Flight announcements are made only [at] the boarding gates. Please refer to displays or your airline’s app for real-time status,” the screen says.
Reddit users took to the comments section to debate whether or they supported this travel change.
“I LOVE IT! There are so many ways to get notified (email, text, airline app push notifications) that you don’t need loud announcements across the airport,” said one user.
Another person commented, “The only announcements needed are for left-behind items and lost children or old people.”
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Said yet another, “Yes! Other airports need to take notes.”
A Redditor shared, “I flew through SFO a few weeks ago for the first time in a decade. The first thing I noticed was how quiet and peaceful it was compared to my outbound route with the connection in DFW,” referencing the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
“For a 4-hour layover, it was GLORIOUS to not have all the noise. It seemed like people were calmer and not in a rush, either. Not sure it’s related, but feels like it is,” the person added.
“Would be cool if they compensate[d] by adding more signs/screens around the terminal with flight alerts,” said another user. “Otherwise, it’s sort of a degradation of service in ways. And how does this work for blind people? They have to stay by the gate at all times.”
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One user commented, “The best way to eliminate most noise is to make all passengers and employees use earbuds or headphones when using devices, including phones.”
Another Redditor wrote, “It’s my home airport and I love it. I believe it sets the tone for a more calm and relaxed travel experience.”
The “quiet airport” program was launched in 2018. Its intention was “to limit sound footprints and establish guidelines around the use of music in tenant spaces,” according to SFO’s website.
“The SFO Customer Care team realigned where public address announcements would be made, to ensure that audio paging for passengers would be made only in necessary and relevant areas,” the announcement added.
Staff at the airport estimated more than 90 minutes of unnecessary announcements have been eliminated each day, for a 40% reduction.
Fox News Digital reached out to SFO for further comment.
Brandon Blewett, the Texas-based author of “How to Avoid Strangers on Airplanes,” told Fox News Digital he’s flown through SFO since 2020 and was not aware of the policy — but appreciates the intent.
“Airports aren’t exactly known for their serenity.”
“Airports aren’t exactly known for their serenity,” he said. “You’ve got hard surface floors, carts beeping, people FaceTiming at full volume, and neighboring gate agents just trying to make sure the right passengers get up [for boarding].”
Blewett added, “Maybe I’m an outlier because I live in airports, but for me, quiet isn’t the expectation — it just all blends together as background noise.”
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“In theory, I like the idea of limiting overhead announcements,” Blewett also said.
However, he said, “the execution sounds doomed. If a gate agent has to contact airport staff — who then target a specific speaker zone just to announce a gate change or final boarding based on where they think a passenger might be — it starts to feel less like a ‘quiet revolution’ and more like sonar whack-a-mole.”