Author: Press Room

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani invoked Islam’s Hijrah — a concept he framed as a religious model for migration — as he rolled out a sanctuary-related executive order Friday, drawing backlash from critics who accused him of using religious doctrine to justify mass migration and shield illegal immigrants from federal enforcement. Mamdani announced the order at his first Interfaith Breakfast at the New York Public Library, accusing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents of “visit[ing] terror upon our neighbors,” and likening their presence to riders arriving “atop a pale horse.” “We will make it clear once again ICE will…

The congressional investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein hit its latest snag Monday morning when Epstein’s longtime associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, declined to answer questions in a sworn deposition. Maxwell, now serving a 20-year sentence for her part in Epstein’s sex trafficking scheme, invoked her Fifth Amendment right over video from a prison camp in Texas, months after she had been subpoenaed by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. In a copy of Maxwell’s lawyer’s opening statement obtained by POLITICO, David Oscar Markus reiterated that grant of clemency would facilitate her testimony — a power only President Donald Trump…

The prospects “cannot be good” for Libya after the assassination of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the British journalist has said The British and French intelligence services played a role in the assassination of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, British journalist Afshin Rattansi has said, citing sources.Saif al-Islam Gaddafi was killed last week by four gunmen at his residence in the city of Zintan in northwestern Libya. The 53-year-old politician had intended to run for president of the North African country, which remains divided between rival governments and has been plagued by intermittent civil war since…

Chinese regulators have advised the country’s biggest banks to rein in their exposure to U.S. Treasuries, citing concentration risk and market volatility, Bloomberg News reported Monday. The guidance, delivered verbally in recent weeks, included instructions to limit purchases of U.S. government bonds and for banks with heavier exposure to pare positions, according to people familiar with the matter cited by Bloomberg. Bloomberg said the directive does not apply to China’s state holdings of Treasuries. Officials framed the move as a market-risk diversification step rather than a geopolitical signal or a judgment on U.S. creditworthiness, Bloomberg reported. The people said regulators…

More than 900 Google workers have signed an open letter calling on the tech giant to sever its business relationships with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. CNBC reports that a group of over 900 Google employees has publicly condemned the company’s partnerships with federal immigration enforcement agencies, demanding full disclosure of contracts and complete divestment from these relationships. The open letter, circulated among staff, comes amid growing concern about the role technology companies play in supporting government immigration operations. The letter says Google workers are “appalled by the violence” and “horrified” by Google’s involvement in ICE…

Former Border Patrol Commander Gregory K. Bovino was reportedly “asked to leave” a bar in Las Vegas, Nevada, according to a recent report. The Bottled Blonde confirmed to The Daily Beast that while the bar “does not engage in political activity or affiliations,” Bovino was asked to leave the business after they became “aware of the individual’s presence.” While at the bar on January 30, Bovino was “photographed drinking red wine and laughing with a group of male acolytes.” “Upon becoming aware of the individual’s presence, the patron was asked to leave the premises and was escorted out by staff…

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is facing bipartisan calls to resign after he appeared in a recent batch of files linked to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) accused Lutnick in a statement Monday of having “lied” about the extent of his connection to Epstein. Lutnick has sought to downplay their relationship, saying in a podcast appearance last year he vowed in 2005 to never again be in the same room as Epstein. But files recently released by the Justice Department suggest he continued his interactions with Epstein, including planning a visit several years later to Epstein’s Caribbean…

The SpaceX CEO has said a lunar settlement could be built within a decade, as the global powers race for Earth’s only natural satellite US tech billionaire Elon Musk has announced plans to build a “self-growing city” on the Moon, placing the project ahead of his long-stated ambitions to reach Mars.In recent years, SpaceX has focused on developing spacecraft capable of reaching the Red Planet, with Musk previously saying that the first uncrewed Starship mission to Mars could launch as early as late 2026.However, in a post on his social media platform X on Sunday, Musk said the company has…

On Friday’s broadcast of NPR’s “Morning Edition,” House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) responded to a question on if he believes ICE agents are doxxed and targeted and how he would deal with that concern by saying that “We want to make sure that ICE agents are conducting themselves like every other law enforcement agency in the country.” Co-host Steve Inskeep asked, “You want agents to take off their masks. As a citizen, I very much understand the case for this. The agent works for me. I’m their employer. I pay their salary. They’re doing my business. They should…

Wearing the flag doesn’t mean endorsing “everything that’s going on in the US,” athlete Hunter Hess has said US President Donald Trump has branded Olympic skier Hunter Hess a “real loser” in response to the athlete saying he had “mixed emotions” about representing his country at the ongoing Winter Games in Italy.During a press conference last week, Hess, who is from Oregon, was asked how he felt about competing for the US amid the current political climate.“There’s obviously a lot going on that I’m not the biggest fan of, and I think a lot of people aren’t,” he said. “Just because…