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Artist fumes after tribute honoring slain Iryna Zarutska gets scrubbed amid woke blowback
The Providence, Rhode Island artist commissioned to paint a mural of slain Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska said he feels his freedom of expression has been curtailed after left-wing backlash to the project caused it to be shut down.
"So, we installed the mural, and, as it started to evolve, the gay community spoke loudly about their displeasure that Elon Musk donated to the project, and that has reached a fever pitch, and the result is that the business owners have decided to remove the mural," Ian Gaudreau, who was working on the project before its abrupt cancellation, told Fox News Digital
"I'm saddened by the fact that the mayor has called for the work to be removed before I was allowed to finish speaking," he said. "I think that it is stifling my freedom of expression, my freedom of speech, and it's unfortunate."
On Aug. 22, Zarutska was stabbed to death in a random and unprovoked attack on a light rail train in Charlotte, North Carolina. Shocking surveillance video of the incident showed suspect Decarlos Brown Jr. allegedly stab Zarutska in the neck before calmly walking away as she bled out.
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The incident sparked a fierce political debate about criminal justice, as Brown had cycled through the criminal justice system for more than a decade, racking up 14 arrests and previously spending five years in prison.
Musk contributed $1 million to help fund a nationwide campaign of public murals depicting Zarutska.
Gaudreau explained that he wasn't taking sides politically when he took the job painting the mural.
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"I think that some people are not able to view the work for what it is — for the work that I have done — because they're allowing their disdain for Elon to cloud their judgment of the work as itself, because the work as itself is a response to the entire conversation," he said.
He said he was incorporating symbolism into his work that was itself a critique of the political flashpoint caused by Zarutska's death that he thinks overshadowed her memory.
"And in the painting, she sort of shines through that, despite this strangling effort. And that's what I want to symbolize here, is that Iryna was a human being with a mother and father who are still with us and are still grieving."
Gaudreau also said his work was a response to how works of art depicting Zarutska, and their artists, have been treated. In early March, a mural of the young woman was defaced in Chicago.
"I'm making this work in reaction, post all of the conversation," he said. "I have the benefit of being on the tail end of this project, in a sense, because I've seen how these murals have been treated in the past. I've seen that they've been defaced, I've seen my fellow artists get dragged through the mud for making the choice to paint her, and my work is a reaction to all of that."
The mural was set to be displayed on the exterior of The Dark Lady, an LGBT bar in Providence.
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When the bar received blowback, it first defended itself from criticism, noting on Instagram that "Any of you who know us personally—even just for five minutes—realize the illicit intentions being portrayed here are completely false."
As pressure mounted, the bar paused the project, and then later canceled it completely.
Amid the scrutiny, Providence's Democrat Mayor Brett Smiley slammed the mural.
"The murder of the individual depicted in this mural was a devastating tragedy, but the misguided, isolating intent of those funding murals like the one across the country is divisive and does not represent Providence," he said in a statement, later adding that he wants to "encourage our community to support local artists whose work brings us closer together rather than divide us."
He later doubled down in an interview with WPRI.
"I regret the state of where we are in politics today where absolutely everything is political and controversial and hard," he said in the interview. "There's nothing we should be doing to take away from the tragedy of the loss of life represented here, but then it was distorted by an erroneous tweet by our president and then a movement was funded by some right-wing billionaires, and it found its way to our community."
"A private owner of a building decided to put a mural up that I don't think he understood the full context of, and I was asked whether I thought it should come down, and I thought it should," said Smiley. "I didn't stifle anyone's speech, it was his decision whether to continue with it or to take it down, but it certainly wasn't bringing us together as a community. There was really angry protests on both sides, a lot of hate speech online, and so I don't think we're a stronger, more united community because of this mural, and so I thought the best thing to do was just to take it down."
SHANNON BREAM: Easter is living proof that God still overcomes the impossible for us
For faithful Christ followers, Holy Week is a roller coaster of emotions. Jesus arrived in Jerusalem to overwhelming acclaim, crowds shouting praises and exalting Him as he fulfilled prophecy by riding into town on a humble donkey. In just a matter of days, Jesus would be rejected and scorned, dragged to a sham trial, beaten, tortured and brutally killed in public. He was mocked, despised and abandoned by many in His inner circle. But that’s just the beginning of the real story…
We must never forget that Jesus knew every single detail about what would happen to Him, and yet He willingly chose to come to us. He took on our frailties – experiencing grief, temptation and death. He did not have to do any of those things, but because He did we have the greatest gift imaginable: the promise of eternal life with God.
Whatever you may be walking through this week, God is keenly aware and He promises never to leave His children. The Bible is full of men and women who experienced broken families, devastating diagnoses, financial ruin, war, famine – you name it! By revisiting their lives, we can see how God was weaving together long-term good in some of the darkest valleys. That’s the truth at the heart of Jesus’ earthly story too.
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I have written about many of these encouraging biblical heroes over the last several years, and my new book, "Nothing Is Impossible with God," specifically highlights those who faced enormous obstacles. Beginning with Gideon, we meet a frightened man whom God addresses as a "mighty warrior." The English translation of Gideon’s response is literally "pardon me."
I think many of us would react the same way if God showed up and told us we were going to charge into a battle against a powerful oppressor with none of the weapons or advantages our human minds would logically deem necessary! But isn’t that what He does with us over and over again on our spiritual journey – asks us to trust that He has a plan where we can see no way?
In my new book, "Nothing Is Impossible with God," I take a deep dive into people from the pages of the Bible who encountered stumbling blocks that would have stopped most of us in our tracks.
Sometimes it was outsiders openly scheming against them. If you’ve experienced that, you’ll love Nehemiah’s story. Rather than fold, he trusted God to handle the crafty, sarcastic frenemies trying to undermine him. He prayed, he prepared and he persevered. You can, too!
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Sometimes it’s our own self-doubt that throws us off track. Moses was overwhelmed by the assignment he was given, even arguing with the God of the Universe about how he wasn’t the guy for the job. I may be quick to judge with thousands of years of hindsight, but I’ve certainly done the same!
What about Jonah, who ran in the opposite direction of what God asked him to do? As we walk their journeys alongside them, we see Gideon, Moses and Jonah all grow in their faith and obedience. What was impossible by human standards was accomplished through God’s power and guidance.
In the pages of Scripture, we also meet men and women who were faithful from the start. Noah was asked to build a structure that made zero sense, a gigantic boat with no system to control it, in order to survive a coming flood – and yet rain had never fallen on the earth’s surface. He simply got to work.
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Joshua stood against the groupthink that told the Israelites there was no way they could face an enemy the Lord had guaranteed they would overcome. We watch Daniel’s courage and godly commitment for decades, never wavering in a culture that made his faith a criminal offense – punishable by death!
I think it’s fair to say that Peter represents a combination of these various challenges. He was fiery, passionate and willing to defend Christ with all he had. He was part of Jesus’ inner circle, impulsive and opinionated, and sometimes reprimanded by the Man he admired most. So, when Jesus told Peter he would betray him, his beloved friend and disciple fired back with typical gusto:
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"But Peter declared, ‘Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.’" (Matthew 26:35)
Just hours later, Jesus’ prophecy was fulfilled. Peter denied ever knowing his friend and esteemed rabbi, even shouting and cursing with anger. When the realization of his devastating failure landed on his heart, we’re told he "went outside and wept bitterly." Again, this is far from the end of the story.
Days later, Jesus rose from the grave – overcoming sin and death for good. Rather than approaching his broken friend with judgment and contempt, He approached Peter with grace and care. Peter had returned to where Christ found him, fishing for a living. I’m sure he felt unworthy of the calling to be something more. But Jesus wouldn’t leave him there. He knew Peter’s tender, broken heart. He lovingly restored Peter, telling him to finally leave the fishing gig behind for good and focus on what he was created and gifted to do: fish for men.
This – and every Easter – there is so much evidence of how God overcomes the impossible in our lives. He can work through our fears and failures, our rebellion and our rabbit trails.
He’s overcome what we cannot – sin and death – and every Easter is a celebration of that glorious gift. We can’t earn it; we must humble ourselves to first recognize that we need it – and then accept it.
That can be hard for us to understand and embrace as human beings who can only begin to fathom that level of mercy and generosity.
I pray this Easter you’ll accept the Gift.
World-record carrot cake? Massive dessert feeds town, stuns crowd with sheer size
At 80 years old, Canadian coffee shop owner Ted Martindale believes he's done what few would attempt, let alone achieve. He says he's baked the largest carrot cake in the world.
"I know we broke the record, and I'm pretty sure I can convince [Guinness World Records] of that," Martindale told Fox News Digital.
The nearly 6,000-pound cake, built in his small British Columbia community of Quesnel, is now under review by Guinness. But for Martindale, the verdict is already clear.
"I've got all the documentation required," he said.
The idea for the giant carrot cake was a little wild, by his own admission, he said.
"I looked up the [Guinness World Records book] carrot cake and I thought, 'Well, we can bake that. All we have to do is do the mathematics and the whole thing, and I can easily beat that record,'" he said. "So, we went for it."
In celebration of his 80th birthday on March 25, the owner of Granville's Coffee unveiled the giant carrot cake — inviting the community to join in the festivities at the town's senior center.
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What he didn't anticipate was how the attempt would evolve into a town-wide event.
"Two weeks ago, my wife and I thought, 'Nobody's going to show up for this,'" he said. "And then the whole town just almost showed up. There was no parking in town. All the restaurants were busy. It was almost like a civic holiday. It was just amazing."
Pulling it off required precision and scale.
"It was a month-long process because we had to make 432 sheet cakes, and we had to store them in a big freezer in a grocery store," Martindale said.
Assembly, he said, "was just like brickwork."
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"It was like a construction project. And we had to make all the icing on that day because you can't make icing and freeze it."
In all, it took "14 hours and about 12 people to put the whole thing together," he said.
The final product exceeded expectations.
"When the whole thing was finished, it was amazing," Martindale said. "I just never expected it to look like that. It was beautiful."
Martindale, who has owned Granville's Coffee for 34 years, is no stranger to big ideas.
"I'm sort of a crazy old man," he said.
For all the spectacle, Martindale sees his coffee shop, which he calls the "focal point of the whole town," as his real legacy.
"Everybody comes here, and it's a gathering place," he said.
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Martindale has no plans of slowing down.
"I still go to work every day," he said.
TANVI RATNA: Iran war isn’t a distraction from America’s problems, it’s where they lead
Americans are asking a simple question: why focus on Iran when we have a crisis at home? It sounds reasonable. Immigration is strained. Fraud is rising. Enforcement systems are under pressure. Why escalate overseas?
Because the premise behind that question is wrong. It assumes the problems are separate. They are not. We already accept this in one part of the world. Violence and cartel control in Central America push migration directly to the U.S. border. When those systems stabilize, migration drops. Foreign instability does not stay foreign. It shows up here. The same thing is now happening through a different corridor, one most Americans have never been asked to look at.
Start with the map. The Iran warIran war is no longer confined to the Persian Gulf. Tehran has signaled it can open a second front at the Bab el Mandeb Strait. Most Americans have never heard of it. But they know the Red Sea. They know Saudi Arabia. They know the Suez Canal.
Bab el Mandeb sits at the other end of that same waterway, where ships leave the Red Sea and enter the Indian Ocean. It is not Iranian territory. It lies between Yemen, where Iran backed Houthi forces operate, and the Horn of Africa. That is exactly why it matters.
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Iran does not need to control the strait. Through the Houthis, it can threaten traffic moving through it. That allows Tehran to pressure two global chokepoints at once, Hormuz and Bab el Mandeb, forcing energy markets, shipping routes, and military deployments to react.
But the real story is not the water. It is the land on the other side. Across from Yemen sits a fractured corridor in East Africa that has been quietly reorganizing for years. Somaliland, a breakaway region, has become a strategic node. The UAE has built up the Port of Berbera. Ethiopia secured long term coastal access in 2024. In December 2025, Israel became the first country to recognize Somaliland.
That recognition was not symbolic. It opened the door to a new alignment, ports, logistics, and potentially military positioning along one of the world’s most critical trade routes. On the other side sits Somalia’s central government, backed in different ways by Turkey, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, all wary of fragmentation and external control.
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Now add pressure. Saudi Arabia needs U.S. and Israeli cooperation to counter Iran and Houthi threats in the Red Sea. At the same time, it is trying to block the UAE from building a chain of ports and proxies stretching from Yemen to Somaliland. That is the bind. Support the coalition against Iran, and you risk enabling a new regional order that sidelines you. Resist it, and you weaken the response to Iran.
The Red Sea is no longer just a shipping lane. It has become a convergence point, war, Gulf rivalry, and fears of fragmentation all sitting on the same corridor.
If Somaliland becomes a staging ground for Israeli or Emirati operations, and if recognition spreads, this does not stay local. It becomes a new flashpoint across Africa and the Gulf.
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You may not know it, but it is also closely linked to a flashpoint at home. The same Somali region at the center of this contest is directly connected to the United States through migration and diaspora networks, especially in Minnesota and Michigan. Those connections are not theoretical.
In late 2025, ICE launched Operation Metro Surge, targeting Somali heavy neighborhoods in Minneapolis and expanding into other cities, including parts of Michigan. At the same time, Temporary Protected Status for Somalis was ended.
Alongside enforcement came something else. A massive fraud system.
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The Feeding Our Future case exposed roughly $250 million in fraudulent claims. Broader investigations into Medicaid and social service programs have examined billions more, with estimates suggesting the scale of fraud could reach into the billions.
Then came the escalation.
Reports and investigations began raising the possibility that some of those funds moved through informal transfer networks into Somalia, and potentially toward al Shabaab. Al Shabaab is not a local gang. It is a Somalia based Islamist militant group affiliated with al Qaeda, seeking to unify Somali regions under a fundamentalist state.
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Whether U.S. funds reached that network is still under investigation. But the fact that the question is now being asked is the shift. What was treated as a domestic fraud issue is now being viewed through a national security lens. There is also a political layer.
In January 2024, Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., told a Somali audience in Minneapolis that "Somalia is one… our lands are indivisible," and that the United States "will do what we tell them" on Somali territorial issues, explicitly opposing the Ethiopia Somaliland deal.
That is not an isolated statement. It reflects a real alignment, diaspora politics tied to territorial disputes that now sit inside a live geopolitical conflict.
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Put the pieces together. A maritime chokepoint under pressure from Iranian proxies. A contested African corridor being reshaped by Gulf states, Israel, and regional actors. A diaspora network embedded inside the United States. And domestic systems, immigration enforcement, fraud networks, political alignments, already under strain.
The Iran war did not create these systems. But it is now activating them. The same corridor emerging as a second front in the Iran conflict runs through a region tied directly into American communities, financial flows, and political dynamics.
This is not a distraction from America’s problems. It is where those problems lead. If the United States treats foreign conflict and domestic instability as separate, it will keep reacting at the point of breakdown, at the border, in the courts, in local politics, while the system driving those pressures continues to build. The Iran war breaks the back of that nexus for the Middle East.
This article is a Fox News Digital exclusive from the author’s Substack series on different theaters President Trump is realigning with the Iran War.
Ex-supermodel Kim Alexis warns body positivity can become 'unhealthy'
EXCLUSIVE— As one of the most recognizable supermodels of the 1980s, Kim Alexis knows a thing or two about the pressure of meeting beauty standards, but she also sees a dangerous trend among those who are eschewing those standards completely.
Over the course of her modeling career, Alexis graced over 500 magazine covers, including Vogue and Glamour, and made six appearances in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. She said she is well-acquainted with what is and isn't a healthy beauty mindset and diet, sharing some concerns about the body positivity trend. Body positivity is a social movement promoting the acceptance of all body types, regardless of size or appearance. While advocates say it encourages embracing and loving one's bodies, critics have warned that it elevates unhealthy lifestyles and obesity.
"Well, if you're thinking of body positivity as, 'This is me. This is who I am. I love myself.' That's where we should all start, I believe," Alexis told Fox News Digital in an interview.
"Now, I think to go a step further, it's, ‘How can I improve?’" she continued. "'What could be better? How can I stay healthy or go towards health?' And I think that's the difference is that some people accept, 'This is just who I am, and I don't need to change, and I'm not changing, and I don't care what society says.' They can say that, and I think in their mind that can be healthy, at least for accepting yourself and having that self-love. But I believe it's unhealthy if you're overweight or too underweight, and you're not where the body is designed to be."
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Alexis identified a tension between embracing that so-called "self-love" and promoting physical health. She also noted that maintaining one's health looks different with age.
"I think self-love and accepting yourself should lead to, how do I maintain or how do I better myself?" she said. "And I believe we need to be doing and saying that all through our lives. I'm in my 60s now, and it's like, 'OK, I'm not running 10 miles a day, but what can I do to stay healthy? How do I keep moving? What in my age group is good for me at this point?'"
One former body positivity influencer recently spoke to The New York Times about why she regretted being a spokesperson for the movement.
"I’m only five feet tall and at my heaviest, I was close to 400 pounds," Gabriella Lascano told the outlet. "I started to wonder if loving myself at any size had become an excuse to ignore how big I was getting. I felt like I saw myself being brainwashed, essentially. Meanwhile, the language around body positivity began sounding more extreme online."
In 2023, she posted a video denouncing body positivity, saying she felt "guilty" for being a part of the movement and adding that it's "not fatphobic to care about your health."
However, body positivity advocates like the Body Positive Alliance say one's body "should not be the determinant of self-worth and self-perception" and everyone, regardless of shape, should have access to the same opportunities.
"People, regardless of body type, gender, race, and ability deserve to feel confident, as well as represented through our organization’s messaging," the group says on its website.
Also making health headlines in the past couple of years has been the skyrocketing use of Ozempic. Alexis told Fox News Digital it's hard to gauge how effective the injection is quite yet because there haven't been enough studies on its long-term effects.
"I think it is a good start for some people who do have some glucose and sugar problems," Alexis said. "I believe before people go on it, they should have that A1C marker checked because it's not... It shouldn't be used as a crutch — it should be used as a supportive tool in getting yourself back to being healthy, being active, eating correctly."
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She said a good start would be for people to get educated on what they're putting in their bodies and understanding the importance of eating "as clean and healthy as possible."
Alexis recalled how much pressure she and her fellow models were under in the world of 1980s fashion and compared it to the scrutiny young women face today. But she said it's a matter of how they manage that scrutiny.
"Oh my gosh, the fashion industry was tough no matter what," she said. "They were always looking for something that could change. You were not so much celebrated for things, I think, as people are now, or they're doing self-celebration."
Alexis added, "And I think we also put more pressure on ourselves than maybe others do. We perceive that there's more pressure and that does one of two things: It either drives you too far where you're fanatical and that's all you think about, or it drives you to better yourself. And as you know, my vote is to always better yourself."
Alexis has a new podcast set to release in mid-April called "UNEXPIRED," in which she'll further explore the topics of health and wellness.
Son of Republican megadonor throws hat in the ring for open at-large House seat in Wyoming
Steve Friess, the son of the late Republican mega donor Foster Friess, just threw his hat in the ring to run for Wyoming's open at-large House seat, seeking to pivot from helping fund political candidates to becoming one himself.
Friess announced this week that he would be throwing his hat in the ring for Wyoming's vacant, at-large House seat, which is currently held by Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., who, in December, indicated she would not run for reelection but instead for the U.S. Senate to replace retiring GOP Sen. Cynthia Lummis.
Friess's father, Foster, ran for governor of Wyoming in 2018 before his subsequent passing a few years later. Despite losing in a fiercely competitive race, the late GOP businessman and donor was able to obtain the backing of Donald Trump at the time. His son, Steve, says he thinks he too can help lead Trump's America First agenda "confidently and boldly."
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"I'm optimistic that I can help lead others to be very confidently and boldly continuing the America First agenda for President Trump. I think you can't – you can't always do that as a donor. You know, you write a check and you don't always get what you hope comes out on the other side," Friess, a longtime Wyoming resident, told Fox News Digital.
Friess, a longtime Wyoming native, describes himself as a "political outsider," but at the same time is touting his record in "the trenches" fighting for conservative causes.
Friess was one of the early seed funders of the late GOP activist Charlie Kirk's Turning Point USA, raised the first million dollars for Tea Party Patriots and has been a big finder of the election-integrity nonprofit True the Vote. In talking to Fox News Digital, Friess also touted his work helping get major GOP candidates elected, such as Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., and Montana GOP Governor Greg Gianforte.
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"Each of these gentlemen had great successful careers and then took the time in their life to engage in this way of serving the country. I think this is what the founders intended," Friess said. "None of us, none of that group – we're not doing this for, you know, as a career, a title, or a way to get ahead. We all have a sincere vision of serving our state and our nation."
Friess told Fox News Digital that he supports President Trump's "bold" actions in Iran, described his actions in Venezuela as "wonderful" and said he wants to focus even more on the government's budget priorities.
Friess also said if elected, he would put his full support behind passing the SAVE America Act, a voter integrity law being pushed by Trump and Republicans aimed at shoring up election security, and has also said he would support term limits for members of Congress.
Meanwhile, Friess told Fox News Digital that, if elected, he would also push to bring back Wyoming's Federal Bureau of Mines, a federal agency previously housed under the Department of the Interior created in 1910 but later closed in 1966.
"One important issue that I think we face from a national security level is the fact that China has us over the barrel for a lot of strategic minerals. Wyoming has those strategic minerals, and I'm going to be calling for the recreation of something that was once known as the Bureau of Mines," Friess posited. "What I'm envisioning is a government entity that'll be here in Wyoming, not a new bureaucracy in DC, but it will be designed to expedite, streamline and advance the idea of making use of the resources that we have here, both from a jobs perspective and an opportunity perspective, but also from a national security perspective."
Washington business owners fear socialist ‘millionaires tax’ is driving businesses out — and they’re next
SEATTLE—Business owners in Washington state are worried that the recently passed "millionaires tax" will drive economic activity out—and even target them next.
"There's a lot of fear and trepidation with what's going on in our government when it comes to taxes," Matt Humphrey, a Seattle barber who has locations in the Ballard and Roosevelt areas, told Fox News Digital.
"This new millionaire's tax is definitely going to impact us," Humphrey said. "We're afraid… they treat us a bit like an ATM when it comes to paying out taxes as a small business."
Steve Gordon, principal of Gordon Truck Centers, a truck dealer in Pacific, Washington, said he is concerned that the millionaires tax will eventually make its way to those who are not in the millionaire income bracket.
"The income tax is the latest kind of battle that's happened here recently," Gordon said. "But while they frame it as it's just a tax on millionaires, I mean that's stacked on a whole bunch of other taxes and there's nothing to keep it from expanding to regular citizens. And I think a lot of regular folks realize that what might be just for millionaires today supposedly will be coming for them later as they broaden that tax base."
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Washington state Democrats last month passed the "millionaires tax," which Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson signed March 30. It's the state's first-ever income tax, celebrated by progressives and socialists and opposed by conservatives; the Wall Street Journal editorial board called it a "con" after its passage that will "inevitably capture the middle class."
The new tax will impose a 9.9% income tax on households earning more than $1 million each year. T tax applies to any money earned after the first $1 million of someone's annual income. It will take effect on Jan. 1, 2028, with the first payments due in April 2029, KOMO News reported.
"Adoption of the historic Millionaires’ Tax makes our tax system more fair, and means free meals for K-12 students, the largest tax break in state history for small businesses, eliminating the sales tax for baby diapers, and sending a check to nearly 500,000 working families to make life more affordable," Ferguson said at the time.
His office touted that the new tax "sends significant revenue back to Washington families and small business owners."
But not everyone is thrilled.
"They're all concerned. Everybody's concerned," radio host Ari Hoffman told Fox News Digital.
"And it doesn't matter what kind of business you have, because as I mentioned before with regards to Amazon, if you're a barber and you were reliant on the Amazonians as your customers, now you don't have them anymore. You don't have a barbershop anymore. There were a lot of places that opened up in South Lake Union where Amazon was specifically for Amazon, and they had to close shortly thereafter."
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570 KVI reported Wednesday that Socialist Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson is suggesting she might be pursuing additional taxes on the wealthy and big business.
"Speaking at a community forum Friday night, Wilson said her administration is exploring new ‘progressive revenue options’ to help close a projected $140 million city budget gap in 2027," the outlet reported, quoting Wilson who said, "My team is very hard at work looking for progressive revenue options, taxing the rich, taxing big business in a way that we think will be politically viable and practical."
The city of Seattle, according to the Tax Foundation, has the highest combined state and local sales tax rate, sitting at 10.35%.
The organization points out that Seattle surpassed the city of Tacoma, Washington, which had a 10.3 percent tax rate, when King County, where Seattle is located, adopted a 0.1% additional sales tax to generate additional revenue for nonprofits providing cultural programming.
"I pay two different B&O taxes, a state B&O tax, a city B&O, I pay sales tax," Humphrey told Fox News Digital.
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"They want to tax me on all my equipment that I use here annually, that I've already paid sales tax on," he said. "They come up with the highest minimum wage in the state, if not in the country, that I'm aware of. So the cost of labor, the other thing is our relationship with labor. They put us in a very vulnerable position when it comes to actually being an employer. It doesn't favor the employer."
Washington State’s Business & Occupation (B&O) tax is the Evergreen State’s primary business tax. It is unusual because it is charged on gross receipts, or total revenue, rather than profit, meaning that businesses must pay the tax even if they lose money.
Several Washington cities have a higher minimum wage than Seattle's $21.30 per hour, including Tukwila at $21.65 for large employers and Renton at $21.57.
"Amazon used to be bustling," Hoffman told Fox News Digital. "It was like when I would go down there, I felt like it was in Manhattan. I couldn't find a parking spot anywhere. And now, no problem, I can park wherever I want. It's really sad."
FROM ‘JUMP ON A BUS’ TO TAX CRACKDOWNS: BLUE STATES CHASE WEALTHY RESIDENTS FLEEING TO RED HAVENS
On Feb. 24, Amazon told GeekWire that it would not renew its lease at 1915 Terry Ave in the Denny Triangle area of downtown Seattle, which had occupied the space for 12 years.
GeekWire reported that the company is growing its presence outside downtown Seattle in Bellevue, located in King County, Washington, across Lake Washington from Seattle.
It has opened new office buildings and plans to have 25,000 employees as part of its regional headquarters.
"I mean, I look at my own community," Hoffman said. "When you had a lot of people who lived here specifically for the tech world, and in 2020 they were told they could work remotely, a lot of them went elsewhere and were still collecting a Seattle salary and then found jobs in those other places. They never came back. The jobs aren't going to come back magically. These taxes, these policies are scaring people off and a lot of people are leaving."
Starbucks is another company appearing to lessen its Seattle presence, confirming in March that it will be closing five additional stores in the city. That follows several closures in 2025, including the Starbucks Reserve Roastery on Capitol Hill.
Additionally, in a March post on LinkedIn, former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz announced that he and his wife moved to Florida for their "retirement phase," leaving Washington state after almost half a century.
GRADUALLY, THEN SUDDENLY, BLUE STATE AMERICA IS HEADING FOR FINANCIAL DISASTER
While Schultz did not mention the millionaires tax, some, like Gordon, speculate his departure could have been due to it.
"It was pretty ironic that Howard Schultz, who definitely has been a person of the Left nationally with his political profile, announced the day that they approved that income tax in our legislature, he made the announcement that he was leaving for tax-free Miami, Florida," Gordon said.
"So I don't think that was a coincidence," he went on. "And for people that have watched Jeff Bezos leave and other prominent members of the Seattle business community, you start to see a trend there that's unavoidable that the leaders of the businesses are leaving and the businesses themselves are relocating. Starbucks headquarters, for instance, has just opened up a new second headquarters in Tennessee and the speculation is they're eventually going to move all of their employees out of their Seattle headquarters to Tennessee."
SEATTLE MAYOR PUSHES LOCAL POLICE TO TRACK, INVESTIGATE ICE AGENTS' ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITIES
But State Rep. Shaun Scott of Seattle, a member of the Seattle Democratic Socialists of America since 2017, told Fox News Digital that he doesn’t want to engage in hypotheticals about the future of the millionaires tax trickling down to the less wealthy.
"Well, it's very difficult to legislate with hypotheticals and to legislate thinking about what may happen 10, 15, 20 years down the line in a legislative body that I may not even actually be a part of," Scott said.
"I believe that it is our role as state lawmakers to legislate according to the issues that are impacting us while anticipating ones that might come down the line," he added.
Scott continued, "And the fact of the matter is that right now in Washington state we have galling wealth inequality. And underfunded public institutions. And the way that that is reconciled is through basic arithmetic. People who have more could afford to be paying more into the system. And when that happens, I think that Washington will be an even more competitive place to live, work, and do business than it is at present."
CORPORATE AMERICA IS ON THE MOVE, AND THESE RED STATES ARE CASHING IN
Scott said he believes "taxing the rich" is popular among both Republicans and Democrats.
"Well, taxing the rich and the idea of taxing wealth in order to fund services that we all use, make no mistake about it, this is about as popular a policy position in Washington state as any other," Scott said.
"As a matter of fact, it is, I would venture to say, the most popular position that somebody could take," Scott added. "In the November 2024 election cycle here in Washington state, approaching two-thirds of Washington state voters statewide cast their ballots in favor of a capital gains tax upholding our capital gains tax, which funds early learning K-12 schools and child care in our state. So when you talk about taxing the rich in our state, that is something that is staunchly supported in very red conservative legislative districts as well as very progressive blue legislative districts like my own."
Vijay Boyapati, a former software engineer for Google, moved to Seattle in 2006 from California to escape high taxes there.
He told Fox News Digital that he sees taxes consistently rising in the state without "results."
"Taxes have gone up constantly over the last decade. They've almost doubled from about ten years ago, but educational results are much worse, so the money isn't producing the results that they say it will produce," Boyapati said.
DEMS WHO RAN ON AFFORDABILITY NOW FACE BACKLASH AS COSTS CLIMB IN NY, VIRGINIA
"So the question really needs to be, why are we not getting better results? he asked. "I think we need to look at why our school systems are failing, why 8th graders, for instance, have like a 70% rate of illiteracy and really poor scores on math, those are really important things to look at and throwing more money at it hasn't solved the problem, so I think we need to kind of address the problem first before throwing more at it."
A June report from the Washington State Standard found that, "More than two-thirds of the state’s 4th graders failed to meet reading standards, and 70% of 8th graders weren’t proficient in math last year."
Boyapati also said friends of his are leaving the state because of the tax climate.
"I have friends who've left to Texas, friends who left to Miami, friends who've left to Wyoming," he said. "And it's all for the same reason. It's because Washington really went very far left in the last four years, and the policy changes have been really dramatic and that caused a lot of my friends to leave, unfortunately."
Humphrey, the Ballard barber, said that he would warn others about something similar happening in their state.
"What I would say to the rest of the country is don't let this happen to you," Humphrey said.
VIRGINIA DEMOCRATS SEEK DOZENS OF NEW TAX HIKES, INCLUDING ON DOG WALKING AND DRY CLEANING
"Don't become so compassionate around these issues that sound good and don't not do your homework," Humphrey added. "Please look. Look closely at the taxing of small businesses. You can't, you know, what we're doing here in the state – going against the Constitution for an income tax is a terrible decision, and it's going to snowball right towards us, right? I'm next. I'm the next in line. I don't make a million dollars a year for sure, but I'm in line for them to come after for a state income tax. And I guarantee you, I can't afford that."
In a statement to Fox News Digital about its Seattle presence, Starbucks said, "We regularly review how our coffeehouses serve their neighborhoods and if they are meeting customers where they are. Sometimes that means investing in updates or trying new formats."
The company added, "Other times, it means making the difficult decision to close a location that no longer fits how people in that community live, work, or gather. These choices are never easy — especially here at home — but they’re an important part of focusing on what we do best and delivering on our Back to Starbucks strategy."
An Amazon spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement that, "Amazon employees will be moving out of 1915 Terry Avenue at the end of May when our lease expires and relocating to other Puget Sound headquarter offices."
Fox News Digital reached out to former Starbucks CEO Schultz, Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson, and Gov. Bob Ferguson for comment.
FIRST LADY MELANIA TRUMP: AI could improve teaching and help deliver a world-class education to our children
Every parent seeks the best education for their child. Artificial intelligence (AI) provides access to an elite education — the highest level of human knowledge — benefiting students, families and educators alike.
On March 24th and 25th, 45 nations joined me in the White House and the State Department for Fostering the Future Together’s two-day inaugural global coalition summit. Each leader shared their nation’s strategy to empower its children with technology and education. Clearly, we should embrace AI now in order to ensure America’s children outpace the global community. The naysayers must stop wasting their time fearmongering about robots.
AI is a great equalizer and can level the educational playing field for all children. For generations, only wealthier families could afford tutors and specialized programs. AI changes this completely.
AI STUDENT ADVOCATE AMONG FIRST LADY MELANIA TRUMP'S STATE OF THE UNION GUESTS
For example, AI-powered tutoring tools can give all students personalized help with difficult subjects and adjust to each child’s pace as needed. Students in remote or under-resourced communities can access expert explanations at any time. In these ways, AI democratizes education and provides children in underserved communities equal access to the best caliber of academics.
Throughout history, every major leap in education has come from technology. The printing press shipped books to the masses, computers brought information into classrooms and the internet made knowledge globally accessible. AI is the continuation of human knowledge’s delivery evolution and should be embraced.
America’s teachers will remain the foundation of education, but can also be empowered by AI. As their roles evolve, AI will support them with up-to-date information, tools for personalized instruction and more time to focus on critical thinking, creativity and mentorship. AI is not intended to replace teachers with humanoids.
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Digital literacy is vital. If America’s children are not fluent in AI — how it works, how to use it, and how to think decisively about it — they will fall behind. We will all fall behind.
Since 2017, I have advised Americans on cyberbullying, digital security and tech safety to protect our children and families. At the time, my ideas were wrongfully deemed trivial and inconsequential. And yet today, parents face these issues regularly. With the advent of AI, now is another critical moment in time. Do not dismiss the power of AI — open your mind to its potential and educate yourself.
As we transition into an AI technology-driven future, equipping our youth with the skills to navigate and leverage AI is crucial to their success and to the advancement of society as a whole. Let us commit to fostering a generation that is not only adept at using technology but also understands its implications and potential.
We are not protecting our children if America limits access to AI in education. In fact, we are putting our next generation at a global disadvantage. China is aggressively integrating AI into its education, industry and national strategy, and it understands that the country that leads in AI will lead in global influence, economic power and information dominance.
America’s future leadership in the world begins in our classrooms. Let’s ensure our children have every advantage to lead, succeed and keep America superior.
Viral surveillance video shows suspects in killing of 7-month-old flung from moped in frenzied getaway crash
The two men who face charges in what authorities are calling a "gang-related" shooting that left a 7-month-old baby dead in Brooklyn were captured on surveillance video crashing the moped they used to flee the scene of the crime.
In the video, the pair can be seen racing the wrong way down a one-way street before crashing into a black sedan driving towards them. The force of the crash flung both suspects forward off the motorbike before landing hard on the pavement.
The pair can be seen staggering to their feet, one hopping on his right foot, while both attempt to gather items that were strewn about during the crash, before moving back towards the moped.
The 7-month-old was identified as Kaori Patterson-Moore of Brooklyn. Her mother was pushing her in a stroller when shots were fired in their direction early Wednesday afternoon. Her father and 2-year-old brother were also present during the shooting. The family ducked into a bodega in an attempt to dodge the bullets.
Kaori was struck and pronounced dead at a nearby hospital soon after the incident.
The NYPD announced Thursday that 21-year-old Amuri Greene is the suspected triggerman. Police say he was a known affiliate of a gang that operates out of a housing project in Brooklyn. They are investigating whether Kaori's father might have been the intended target of the shooting.
Greene was the rear passenger on the moped. He suffered a broken leg and was taken to the hospital after the crash, where he was subsequently arrested on unrelated domestic violence charges.
The NYPD announced Thursday that he has been charged with one count of murder and two counts of attempted murder. He will be taken into custody and arraigned after his hospital stay.
Police announced Friday the second suspect, Matthew Rodriguez, was arrested in Pennsylvania. The 18-year-old, who can be seen driving the moped in the surveillance video, was taken into custody by NYPD detectives assigned to the U.S. Marshals Regional Fugitive Task Force. Charges are pending.
The gun used in the shooting has not been recovered, though police say they have found two shell casings related to the incident.
At an emotional news conference, NYPD Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch decried the heinous crime.
"This is a terrible day in our city, a tragedy that truly shocks the conscious," she said. "As a mother, I cannot imagine the pain that this family is feeling or the grief that they now carry with them. It is unspeakable."
Police are asking anyone with information regarding the incident to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or, for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit tips online or on X @NYPDTips.
Fox News' Michael Sinkewicz and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Mike Rowe doubles down after blasting Kimmel’s ‘tone-deaf’ plumber jokes
After being scorned on social media, "Dirty Jobs" television show veteran Mike Rowe doubled down on his criticism of Jimmy Kimmel’s "tone deaf" monologues mocking new Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin for being a former plumber.
Rowe said he had not noticed his post about late-night host Kimmel "belittling plumbers" had gone viral because he had been too busy working.
"I want to apologize for not responding to any of the 22 thousand comments my last post inspired," he wrote. "I’ve been filming all week and just noticed my observations about Jimmy Kimmel and a former plumber named Markwayne Mullin have gone viral."
Rowe said that Kimmel’s digs at Mullin for being a former plumber are evidence of "longstanding stigmas and stereotypes" against blue-collar skilled trade workers as "uneducated, one-dimensional workers who never made it to college."
LATE-NIGHT HOST JIMMY KIMMEL SHOWS UP TO 'NO KINGS' PROTEST WITH KIDS, HOLDS 'ENOUGH ALREADY' SIGN
"I did not suggest – even remotely - that a plumber was inherently qualified to hold a cabinet position," he wrote on X. "What I said was that being a plumber should not disqualify a person from holding such a position."
Kimmel, a regular critic of the Trump administration, was recently criticized as elitist for using Mullin’s prior experience as a plumbing business owner as evidence that he is unqualified to lead the Department of Homeland Security.
"Trump's got a whole new generation of thinkers lined up, including his newly confirmed secretary of Homeland Security, Markwayne ‘Chuck Mike Bruce Dave’ Melon — Mullin. Maybe Melon's better," Kimmel said on air March 24. "He's the now former senator of Oklahoma. Before he was elected to the Senate, Markwayne Mullin was a low-level MMA fighter and a plumber. That's right. We have a plumber protecting us from terrorism now. It worked for Super Mario. Why not Markwayne?"
He continued, "But honestly — I mean, if Trump is going to keep picking these unqualified people to run the department, why not have more fun with it? I mean, next time, instead of Markwayne, how about Lil Wayne for Homeland Security? At least we can get a concert out of it, right?"
Kimmel later doubled down, saying, "I’m not upset that the head of Homeland Security used to be a plumber. I’m upset that he isn’t still a plumber."
JIMMY KIMMEL REFUSES TO BACK DOWN AFTER MOCKING SECRETARY MULLIN OVER PLUMBING BACKGROUND
Rowe had ripped late-night host Kimmel for the dig, saying he took offense at the "suggestion that skilled workers should never evolve into something new."
He asked if Mullin’s career progression from plumbing business owner to Congress and then to a top Cabinet official is "not the embodiment of the American Dream?"
On Friday, he wrote that stereotypes reinforced by jokes like Kimmel’s are contributing to a critical shortage of American skilled laborers.
"Reasonable people can disagree as to what is funny and what isn’t. Frankly, I couldn’t care less. What I do care about," he wrote, "is the extraordinary shortage of plumbers and electricians our country is facing, and the longstanding stigmas and stereotypes that continue to discourage people from considering a lucrative career in the skilled trades."
"Jimmy’s joke – and his audience’s reaction to it," wrote Rowe, "is proof positive that those stigmas and stereotypes are alive and well."
JIMMY KIMMEL'S TRUMP, MELANIA DIGS AT OSCARS 'FELL FLAT' WITH CRITICS
Digging even deeper, Rowe asked, "What do their credentials and diplomas have to do with their actual competency? Are we not already surrounded by a legion of perfectly qualified experts who don't know what the hell they're doing?"
"Jimmy is entitled to his opinion, along with anyone else who believes that Mullin is unqualified to lead the DHS," he wrote on X. "The Constitution, however, says otherwise, and so does the Senate."
Rowe, who runs a nonprofit promoting skilled labor careers called the mikeroweWORKS Foundation, concluded by encouraging people to launch a career in the skilled trades, saying, "Who knows? Could be the first step on your road to President."
Fox News Digital reached out to spokespeople for Kimmel for comment.