Tag: politics

Mamdani allocates $500K for reparations talks as NYC faces $5.4B deficit

Under Mayor Zohran Mamdani, New York City has set aside $500,000 to fund community discussions on reparations and other forms of assistance for Black New Yorkers as a major budget deficit looms, internal communications show.

An internal message, dated January, detailed how more than two dozen groups would be given tens of thousands of dollars each to participate in “conversations to discuss the development of a Reparations study” and to gather “input on the early development of the citywide Truth, Healing and Reconciliation plan.” 

Funding, according to the document, “allows for each community member to receive an incentive for their time” and covers the costs of providing participants with “refreshments.”

Amid the reparations spending, New York City faces an estimated $5.4 billion budget deficit throughout the next two fiscal years. 

Mamdani thus far has not proposed service cuts to address the shortfall, opting instead to seek out increased taxes and dip into the city’s emergency cash reserves while increasing funding for racial equity initiatives.

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More Devastating News for Democrats

The Supreme Court’s bombshell ruling striking down racial gerrymandering under the Voting Rights Act sent shockwaves through the political landscape this week — and Southern Republican governors wasted no time acting on it. For Democrats, who have spent years leaning on race-based district engineering to protect their congressional seats, the timing couldn’t be worse.

Alabama and Tennessee both called special legislative sessions on Friday to redraw their congressional maps, and the dominoes are already starting to fall across the South.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey moved quickly, calling lawmakers into special session and signaling she wants the state ready to hold new primary elections if the courts move fast enough to allow it. Right now, Alabama’s May 19 primaries are set to proceed using a court-ordered map that artificially packs black voters into two districts — a map the Supreme Court’s ruling makes unconstitutional. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall filed an emergency motion Friday asking the court for a quick answer on whether the state can revert to its previously drawn map, which has just one majority-black district and would almost certainly deliver an additional Republican seat in Congress.

“By calling the Legislature into a special session, I am ensuring Alabama is prepared should the courts act quickly enough to allow Alabama’s previously drawn congressional and state Senate maps to be used during this election cycle,” Ivey said Friday afternoon.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee followed suit, calling his own special session to review the state’s congressional map. The current map includes a single Democratic-controlled district anchored in Memphis, and Lee’s office has warned that “any change to Tennessee’s congressional map must be enacted as soon as possible,” ahead of the August 6 primary.

It’s not hard to read the tea leaves on where this is headed.

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Michigan Dem Senate candidate Mallory McMorrow purges X account following The Post’s report on her social media history

Michigan Democrat Mallory McMorrow, a candidate for US Senate, deleted thousands of tweets, some of which defended “coastal elites” and were critical of “Middle America,” after The Post first reported on them last year. 

Morrow, 39, purged her X account of roughly 6,000 posts, including all her tweets posted prior to 2020, CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski reported Wednesday. 

The journalist noted the social media cleanse came after The Post’s April 2025 scoop on McMorrow’s tweet history. 

The deleted posts even included jabs at the purple state she is now running to represent.

“Aaaand it’s snowing. Screw you, Michigan. #NYCtoLA,” read a now-deleted April 2014 X post.

“There are days like these that make me miss California even more,” McMorrow groused on Jan. 5, 2017, the day before Donald Trump’s victory over Hillary Clinton was certified by Congress. 

She also removed a bizarre post where she mused about “Middle America” breaking away from the country weeks before Trump’s swearing-in as the 45th president.

“I had a dream that the US amicably broke off into The Ring (coasts+Can+Mex+parts Mich/Tex) and Middle America,” McMorrow wrote in the since-deleted tweet. 

McMorrow, a state senator who is running in the hotly contested Democratic primary to replace retiring US Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), has positioned herself as a moderate in the race and is considered a rising star in the party. 

She expressed frustration last year that Democrats give off “elitist” and “academic” vibes, but her social media history includes posts suggesting Trump supporters are poorly educated and agreeing with users who voiced criticism of rural voters. 

“We’ve downplayed the importance of quality education for all, replaced it with fear and blaming and anger, and here we are,” McMorrow posted on Election Day 2016.

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Mills Drops Out In Maine Governor’s Race As Oysterman With Nazi Tattoo Becomes Democratic Frontrunner

Maine Gov. Janet Mills suspended her U.S. Senate campaign Thursday morning, citing a lack of financial resources.That’s the official explanation. The more accurate one is that the polls showed her trailing badly to Graham Platner, an oysterman from coastal Maine with no electoral experience. 

Mills had every structural advantage working for her: she’d already won a statewide election, had name identification, and the support of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. The writing was on the wall for weeks, but Mills’s exit from the race was her concession that all the momentum on the Democratic side was for Platner. 

Platner had long lapped Mills in polling and fundraising, and she’d stopped running television ads weeks earlier. Which means Platner will be the party’s nominee against Sen. Susan Collins in one of the most consequential Senate races of the 2026 cycle.

In 2007, Graham Platner got a Nazi Totenkopf tattoo on his chest. He kept it there for roughly 18 years. He claims he didn’t know what the symbol meant for nearly two decades. But there is significant evidence that he did, and that it was intentional. Platner amplified a social media post from Stew Peters, a neo-Nazi radio host the Anti-Defamation League has called “a prolific antisemite” who blames “‘the Jews’ for everything he believes is wrong with society” and who has openly called for a “final solution” to mass-deport American Jews. Platner deleted the post, but only after it got attention, not before. He also sat for a lengthy interview with antisemitic conspiracy theorist Nate Cornacchia, describing himself as a longtime fan. He has called the U.S.-Israel relationship “shameful” and praised a violent Hamas attack on Israel in 2014.

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Progressive Dems Unveil ‘New Affordability Agenda,’ and It’s Just As Bad as You Might Think

If you think America is costly now, wait until — heaven forbid — voters give it over to people preaching “affordability.”

On Wednesday, the Congressional Progressive Caucus unveiled what it called its “New Affordability Agenda.” If it ever gets enacted, it’ll go down with “jumbo shrimp” and “open secret” in the great oxymorons of all time.

But don’t listen to the members of the caucus, who are pushing “affordability” as the buzzword for Democrats ahead of the midterms.

Their solutions? Make drug, oil, utility, and grocery companies pay more — and force all companies and taxpayers to provide freebies — under the unsupportable idea that none of these costs will be passed on to you.

“These bills tackle the biggest parts of most American’s budgets, making cheaper: prescription drugs, groceries, housing, utility bills, gas, and childcare,” a media release read. “New polling from Data for Progress shows every single proposal in the New Affordability Agenda is supported by the vast majority of Americans.”

Yes, well, so is Santa Claus giving you every present on your Christmas list — until you’re a parent, of course, which is the problem with this logic.

The first item of business would be “establishing a government program to sell generic drugs at a discount,” which doesn’t sound horrible except for the vagueness of it and the old maxim that if the government were put in charge of the Sahara they’d run out of sand in five years.

The Congressional Progressive Caucus meanwhile promised to make “utilities cheaper by cracking down on for-profit utilities overcharging consumers,” which will supposedly in no way be passed on via other costs or worse service.

They also plan to make “gas cheaper by charging big oil companies a tax on extra profits because of the war, then refunding that money to consumers.” Again, totally won’t be passed on. Also, that email in your spam folder really is from a Nigerian prince, and all you need to get a massive inheritance is give him your account and routing numbers.

Other soak-the-corporations provisions which absolutely, positively won’t trickle down to you, dear consumer:

  • “Making groceries cheaper by cracking down on big grocers who fix prices and on companies that abuse seed patents to make farming more expensive.”
  • “Making time off cheaper by guaranteeing every worker two weeks of paid vacation time.”
  • “Putting money in pockets by requiring companies to pay double wages for overtime, as opposed to the current time-and-a-half standard.”

And when they’re not forcing corporations to pass on the price to you in creative ways, they’re finding ways to get government to make things cheaper by making them more expensive for someone who they swear won’t be you, for real, Scout’s honor.

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Missing Republican Oklahoma Senate candidate Barry Christian, 54, found dead in rural area

The body of a missing Republican Oklahoma state Senate candidate was found in a truck in a rural area — turning his family’s world “upside down,” his devastated daughter said.

Barry Christian, a 54-year-old Trump-supporting candidate for District 38 in western Oklahoma, was discovered dead Thursday after he mysteriously vanished just two days prior, his campaign said in a news release obtained by KOCO.

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation confirmed to the outlet that Christian’s 2024 charcoal gray Ram truck was found just off Highway 30, south of Erick, with a body inside.

The truck was located by a ravine near the Sandy Sanders Wildlife Management Area. Because of where the vehicle is located, officials are unable to remove his body, delaying identification, the outlet reported.

A large campaign sign for Christian, however, was photographed eerily tossed onto the prairie land as authorities scoured the area.

The circumstances surrounding his death are unclear. The OSBI did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.

Christian was reported missing Tuesday after he failed to show up to a scheduled meeting. He was last seen driving his Ram truck, according to the Harmon County Sheriff’s Office.

He last posted on Facebook on Saturday, asking his district’s residents to attend a meet-and-greet at the Mangum Oklahoma Rattlesnake Festival to discuss “issues that matter most to our community.”

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Rep. Jasmine Crockett Declares ‘I Am One of the 535 Most Powerful People’ in America While Whining About ‘Disrespect’ Toward Black Women, Demands Regular Americans Need to Know Their Place

Texas Democrat Rep. Jasmine Crockett unleashed an unhinged and egotistical rant on national television Tuesday, insisting she is one of the “535 most powerful people in this country” and complaining that everyday Americans are showing her “disrespect” by failing to treat her as an untouchable elite.

Crockett made the comments during an appearance on “The Sherri Show,” hosted by Sherri Shepherd, while discussing criticism of Black women in Congress.

“Some people are just like, ‘Oh, but you’re a congresswoman.’ I’m a Black woman first,” Crockett declared.

The soon-to-be former politician added, “So, the level of disrespect that is continuously lobbed against us as Black women, for me, I’m like, wait a minute now. I am one of the 535 most powerful people in this country!”

Crockett went on to demand that everyday Americans know their place beneath her.

“And for some reason you think we’re on the same level, but you’re going to disrespect me? Like, it’s not going to happen!” Crockett asserted.

The interview has drawn swift backlash and criticism on social media, with commenters explaining that members of Congress are public servants elected by the American people, not royalty above reproach.

Crockett’s latest outburst comes at a particularly awkward time, because in March, she was decisively defeated in the Democrat primary for U.S. Senate in Texas by state Rep. James Talarico.

The stunning loss ended her bid to move up from the House, leaving her as a lame-duck congresswoman heading into the final months of her term.

Crockett, a former public defender and civil rights attorney, first won election to Congress in a 2023 special election for Texas’s 30th District following the retirement of longtime Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson.

The loudmouth representative quickly gained national attention for her combative style in House hearings, most notably her viral exchanges with then-Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and other Republicans during Judiciary Committee proceedings.

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Senate Passes Rule Banning Members From Trading on Prediction Markets

The U.S. Senate unanimously voted on April 30 to ban members and their staff from betting on prediction markets such as Kalshi and Polymarket. The rule, aimed to stop senators from insider trading will go into effect immediately.

“Serving in Congress is an honor, not a side hustle,” Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) wrote in an X post on Thursday. “Americans deserve to know that their leaders are here for the right reason!”

Moreno spearheaded the ban, and Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) added an amendment to expand the rule to Senate staff.

Polymarket, one of the most popular prediction markets in the world, quickly voiced support for the legislation on social media.

“We’re in full support of this,” the trading platform wrote in an X post after the decision was made in Washington.

“Our Rulebook & Terms of Service already prohibit such conduct, but codifying this into law is a step forward for the industry. Happy to help move this forward however we can.”

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Senators Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Tighten US Ban on Chinese Vehicles

A bipartisan group of senators has introduced legislation aimed at strengthening a U.S. government ban on Chinese automakers accessing the U.S. market, citing national security concerns.

Sens. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) and Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) introduced the Connected Vehicle Security Act of 2026 on April 29, which would codify a Commerce Department rule that effectively bars all Chinese automakers from selling passenger vehicles in the United States and take other measures to block China from entering the U.S. light-duty market.

“The American auto industry is the backbone of the American industrial economy, we cannot afford to make the same mistakes globalists have made for decades and see these great American companies devastated by predatory and massively subsidized Chinese state enterprises hellbent on the destruction of our economy,” Moreno said in a statement.

“As Europe, Mexico, and others allow their markets to be overrun by Chinese predators, the U.S. must act before it’s too late. The answer is simple: Chinese vehicles can never be allowed into the U.S. market—the fate of the American auto industry and countless autoworkers depends on it.”

The legislation would ban internet-connected vehicles and related hardware and software tied to the Chinese regime or other foreign adversaries from being imported, manufactured, sold, or resold in the United States.

It would empower the Commerce Department to identify and block technologies or parts deemed national security threats from entering the U.S. market.

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Son of Norwegian Diplomats, Who Inherited $10M From Jeffrey Epstein’s Will, Commits Suicide Days After Police Launch Investigation on His Parents

Late sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein’s impact on Norway keeps producing nefarious outcomes.

Since the US DOJ released the ‘Epstein files’, a lot of activity has been going on in the Norwegian kingdom, notably around Crown Princess Mette-Marit, who is suffering deep reputational damage, and former Prime Minister Thorbjørn Jagland, who is under criminal investigation.

But a horrifying development involved diplomat Terje Rod-Larsen and his wife Mona Juul, a former ambassador.

Days after an investigation into their ties to Epstein was launched, their 25-year-old son has reportedly died by suicide.

Daily Mail reported:

“Edward Juul Rod-Larsen, 25, was found dead in Oslo on Wednesday, just days after Norwegian and French police launched a joint investigation into his parents,

[…] ‘It stands in the shadow of months of a public spotlight that has long since ceased to be critical, and has instead become suspicious, speculative and at times limitless. A spotlight that has not only affected two parents, but has also drawn their children involuntarily into the relentless machinery of the public,’ [his family] lawyers wrote.

‘Speculating on connections is both irresponsible and undignified. Suicide is always complex. There is never one explanation, never one cause, never one blame’.”

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