NY House GOP launches pressure campaign on Hochul to scrap climate law over soaring energy costs

New York House Republicans are ramping up a pressure campaign against Gov. Kathy Hochul, D-N.Y., citing her failure to combat rising utility costs in the Empire State.

The group of lawmakers, led by Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., is calling on Hochul to scrap the state’s 2019 climate law that they blame for "skyrocketing" energy prices.

"Utility bills are at the center of the affordability crisis with New York," the lawmakers wrote in a letter to Hochul Thursday, citing a study that found electricity prices in New York were the sixth highest in the nation in December and 59% higher than the national average. "Given these significant cost burdens, we strongly urge that the CLCPA [Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act] be repealed."

The letter comes as Hochul, who is up for re-election in November and appears to be branding herself as a pragmatist on affordability issues, has acknowledged the "cataclysmic" costs for households and businesses if the law is implemented on schedule. That acknowledgment comes despite her long-standing support for the law, which passed under former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, D-N.Y.

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"Put simply, something has got to give," Hochul wrote in an op-ed in March. "[T]he undeniable fact is we cannot meet the Climate Act’s 2030 targets without imposing new and additional crushing costs on New York businesses and residents."

A Feb. 26 memo released by the Hochul administration found that households would pay $4,000 in additional energy costs per year if the state penalizes oil and gas producers as called for by the law. It also found the climate mandate would increase gas prices by $2.23 a gallon.

However, she has stopped short of backing a full repeal. In March, Hochul proposed delaying enforcement targets while keeping the law’s 2050 target of net-zero emissions in place.

Republicans, who see an opening to go on offense on affordability issues in deep-blue states, have ripped the governor's efforts to move the enforcement goalposts while keeping the law in place. 

"The basic fact is this: the 2019 Climate Law was based on faulty assumptions and was enacted using wishful thinking instead of hard facts," the GOP lawmakers wrote. "It is time to inform the citizens of our state about the realities of the 2019 Climate Law and acknowledge that its goals are unattainable, its costs are too high, and it is overall destructive to our state’s economy."

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The debate over New York’s climate law comes as Democrats across the country are walking back aggressive environmental and climate policies amid surging electric bills and growing voter concern about the cost of living.

"It is essential that the implementation of the energy transition move forward on an affordable and practical basis to protect ratepayers from skyrocketing energy costs," the GOP lawmakers wrote.

The group is also demanding that Hochul provide "immediate relief" to New Yorkers by redirecting several billion dollars in unspent ratepayer-collected funds back to residents facing high electric bills as utility bill credits.

More than 60% of New Yorkers said that keeping energy costs affordable is more important than lowering greenhouse gas emissions, according to an April 2025 Siena College poll. 

A spokesperson for Hochul did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

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Long-cold case shattered as DNA links suspect to savage attack, killing of young woman, investigators say

A Georgia man has been arrested in a decades-old cold case of the rape and murder of a young woman over 40 years ago, authorities announced.  

Freddie Lee Granger Jr., 68, was charged with one count of rape, malice murder, aggravated assault and two counts of felony murder in the death of Sandra Kaye Davis, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI).

Davis was just 22 years old when authorities with the Waycross Police Department discovered her body next to a home on Kollock Street in Waycross Sept. 1, 1984, officials said. 

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Authorities determined Davis had been strangled to death.

After the discovery, local officials requested that GBI assist with investigating the case. 

The case ran cold for several decades as authorities continued to investigate.

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Nearly 42 years later, DNA technology linked Granger to Davis’ alleged killing, officials said. 

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Granger was located and taken into custody March 31, according to GBI.

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He was later booked into the Ware County Jail, authorities said. 

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The Waycross Police Department, Ware County Sheriff’s Office, Georgia Department of Community Supervision and GBI’s Cold Case Unit assisted the GBI Regional Investigative Office in both the investigation and arrest of Granger.

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The investigation remains ongoing, and authorities ask anyone with information to contact the GBI Regional Investigative Office at 912-389-4103 or submit a tip online. 

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Minnesota man who pocketed cash in kids’ meal scheme gets prison time despite 'I'm sorry' apology

A Minnesota man was sentenced on Monday to more than a year in prison after pleading guilty to creating fake invoices to a nonprofit that falsely claimed it served 1.5 million meals to children in need within seven months.

Abdul Abubakar Ali, of St. Paul, Minn., was one of nearly 100 defendants charged in the "Feeding Our Future" fraud scheme, which the Department of Justice (DOJ) claims exploited a federally-funded child nutrition program during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ali pleaded guilty in 2022 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, but he was initially charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, according to the DOJ.

The nonprofit, Youth Inventors Lab, allegedly acted as a shell company to submit millions of dollars in fraudulent reimbursement claims for meals that were never served, FOX9 Minneapolis reported.

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According to his guilty plea, Ali submitted fake invoices for technology services from his company, Bilterms Solutions, to Youth Inventors Lab. 

The Justice Department claimed the Youth Inventors Lab received more than $3 million in reimbursements, of which Ali personally pocketed at least $129,000.

During his sentencing hearing Monday, Ali apologized for his role in the scheme, telling U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel he would be "sorry for the rest of his life."

"Your honor, I just want to say I’m sorry to everyone that my actions have hurt," Ali said, according to local reports. "This was a mistake. I will try to correct it for the rest of my life. It’s not something that’s in the past. I’ve let down a lot of people. I promise I will attempt to fix it for the rest of my life. So, I’m sorry."

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While the recommended sentence for Ali's crimes is about three years, the court noted Ali had already paid $90,000 of the $122,000 of ordered restitution, and was one of the first people to plead guilty.

Despite his cooperation, Brasel, an appointee of President Donald Trump, denied Ali's request for probation, sentencing him to one year and one day in prison.

"This is part of a very large fraud scheme, the largest in the District of Minnesota and one of the largest ever in the country. And you stand responsible for that, and for that reason, I just can’t see, despite your cooperation, a noncustodial sentence here," Brasel reportedly said.

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"Let me also add, aggravating factors of not just the money, but the fact that the public trust in government programs has been so substantially undermined and continues to be so," she continued. "We are still having a conversation in this state about the structure of government programs, given the fraud you participated in, and the impact and ripples of that scheme just keep going on and on and on, and you are one reason for it."

Right-wing users on X expressed outrage over the sentencing decision.

"Stole millions from a program meant to feed children and got one year," one user wrote. "Meanwhile, people go to jail longer for drug possession. This is the Minnesota fraud that Tuberville was talking about. The system is broken and the sentence proves it."

Other users said the outcome failed to rebuild confidence in the legal system, noting "a slap on the wrist isn't justice."

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Scorned ex-lover accuses Sinema of 'malicious' marriage interference

Kyrsten Sinema could be forced to shell out tens of thousands of dollars in damages for an affair she had with her former bodyguard after his estranged wife sued the former senator under a 19th century law that allows jilted spouses in a handful of U.S. states to sue for a broken heart.

The so-called "alienation of affection" lawsuits are currently recognized in just six U.S. states — including North Carolina, where Sinema’s former bodyguard, Matthew Ammel, had lived with his now-estranged wife, Heather Ammel, for roughly a decade. 

The complaint against Sinema accused her of engaging in "intentional and malicious interference" in Ammel's marriage and sought $25,000 in damages from Sinema as a result of the allegedly "willful and wanton" conduct.

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In order to succeed in the lawsuit, plaintiffs must satisfy a difficult burden of proof. First, that the marriage had real affection and a viable relationship before any third-party involvement; second, that the "love and affection" were destroyed, or significantly diminished; and third, that the defendant in question directly "caused the destruction of that marital love and affection."

Perhaps for this reason, the complaint spares no detail: it ticks through an extemporaneous timeline of Ammel's relationship with Sinema, as a member of her security detail, a member of her staff, and later, as her romantic partner.

According to the complaint, Sinema sent suggestive messages to Matthew Ammel repeatedly over Signal, the encrypted messaging app, months before he and his wife officially split.

"I keep waking up during my sleep and reaching over for your arms to hold me," Sinema told Ammel via Signal in June 2024, according to the complaint — around the same time Ammel allegedly stopped wearing his wedding ring.

On another occasion, Sinema offered to "work on" Ammel's back with a Theragun, and allegedly suggested that he bring MDMA on a work trip and offered to "guide him through a psychedelic experience," though Sinema said she has "no recollection" of those messages. 

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At times, Heather was herself a party to the relationship, before and after the affair allegedly began. In 2023, she traveled to Las Vegas to attend a U2 concert with her husband and Sinema where they drank Dom Pérignon wine in Cindy McCain’s suite, according to the lawsuit. 

The two also traveled to Miami for a Taylor Swift concert in October 2024 — which the three attended out of "concern" for Ammel’s children, according to copies of the affidavit reviewed by Fox News Digital. 

It was the same month that Heather Ammel allegedly confronted Sinema directly by responding to one of her Signal messages. 

"Are you having an affair with my husband? You took a married man away from his family," she wrote, according to the complaint. Sinema has since acknowledged having received the message.

The lawsuit accuses Sinema of acting with "deliberate" interference in the marriage of her bodyguard and his now-estranged wife, who argued that the former lawmaker seduced him and thus "wrongfully and maliciously" deprived her of the "warmth, companionship" and love of their marriage.

The relationship between the two is not in dispute: Sinema, who served in the Senate from 2019 to 2025, has since acknowledged her relationship with her former bodyguard, though she argued the case should be dismissed for a lack of jurisdiction, since the affair in question took place "exclusively outside" the boundaries of the Tar Heel state, according to her lawyers.

While these lawsuits have become increasingly rare in the 21st century, they are not unheard of — and plaintiffs in the state have at times won eye-popping payouts for such claims. 

In 2010, a jury in North Carolina awarded plaintiff Cynthia Shackelford a total of $9 million in compensatory and punitive damages for an "alienation of affection" lawsuit brought against her husband’s alleged mistress. More recently, 2018, a Durham County judge ordered some $8.8 million in damages be paid out to BMX show owner Keith King from the man he said stole his wife — and ruined his company.

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Sinema, for her part, says the relationship between the two became "romantic and intimate" beginning in May 2024, during a trip to Sonoma, California, and said they were subsequently "physically intimate" in the months that followed, including in Phoenix, Arizona; Aspen, Colorado; and New York City. 

They were not, her lawyers stressed, intimate within the physical bounds of North Carolina prior to the dissolution of Ammel's marriage.

The judge presiding over the case ordered the plaintiff, Ammel, to file a response to Sinema's motion to dismiss the lawsuit by mid-April.

Matthew Ammel filed for divorce from his wife earlier this year.

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Scathing report claims nation's oldest labor union 'betrayed' MAGA members through 'shocking' spending

FIRST ON FOX: One of the nation’s most prominent railroad unions is facing new scrutiny after a watchdog report alleged its leadership is quietly working against the political views of its members who support President Donald Trump's agenda.

The report, released by the American Accountability Foundation (AAF), claims the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), one of the nation’s oldest labor unions, is run by leaders who are endorsing and promoting Democratic policies and candidates despite a membership base that data suggests largely supports the president.

The report, which alleges the union "betrayed" its MAGA members, points to the union’s endorsement of the Harris-Walz ticket in the 2024 election cycle, as well as its ties to prominent Democrats, including Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and former Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, who is running for Senate again.

While BLET has touted Republicans in recent years, including earlier this year when it applauded Vice President JD Vance and the bipartisan reintroduction of the Railway Safety Act (RSA), the report highlights repeated criticism of Trump-era policies, including transportation regulations, immigration enforcement and the conservative-backed Project 2025 agenda, alongside praise for the policies of the Biden administration.

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A review of the union's social media account by AAF shows numerous examples of the union opposing various moves by the first Trump administration during his presidential campaign against incumbent Joe Biden, which the report describes as evidence of "woke leadership."

"In the lead-up to the 2024 election, BLET issued 14 tweets that criticized the actions of the first Trump administration while praising the Biden administration's railroad policies," the report says. "The messaging was clearly intended to skew union members toward the Democratic presidential ticket. In these tweets, they attacked nearly every major Trump-era rail policy decision while framing the Biden administration's actions positively."

The union’s public support of Democrats had a financial angle as well, as the report states that the organization spent more than $26 million on political activity in recent years, with the vast majority supporting Democratic candidates and causes to a degree that AAF referred to as "shocking."

According to the report, 99% of the union’s party committee donations went to Democrats.

"For example, in the 2016 cycle, BLET donated $15,000 to the DNC when they were the nexus for GOTV for the Hillary Clinton campaign but never donated a dollar to the RNC," the report says. "In 2024, long after it had become clear that industrial union membership was strongly behind President Trump, the BLET leadership still hadn’t gotten the message, making 24 different donations to Democrat party committees for a total of $53,400 and a mere two donations to Republican committees for a spare $2000."

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According to the report, the divide reflects a broader shift in American politics, with blue-collar workers increasingly backing Trump while union leadership remains entrenched in traditional left-leaning positions.

The report goes beyond the union’s spending on politics and delves into what it calls "waste and abuse" in the form of millions of dollars of member dues being shelled out for travel, hotels and "swag."

"While it’s bad enough that BLET spent over $5,000,000 on hotels and conferences, even more concerning is the fact that the union spent over $2,000,000 on casinos and resorts alone," the report says. "The union appears more concerned with staying at entertaining destination resorts than they do being thrifty with their members’ dues."

Recent polling shows that labor unions like BLET consist of a large number of workers who support Trump, including Teamsters polling that shows a 60/40 breakdown in favor of Trump and exit polling from the 2024 election that shows working-class voters without a college degree went 56% for Trump and 42% for Harris. 

The report also points to leadership compensation as part of the disconnect, noting multiple top officials earning over $200,000 annually, with the union president and vice president each making more than $300,000.

"The men pulling America’s freight voted for President Trump because they believe in secure borders and putting American workers first," AAF President Tom Jones said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

"But their union bosses are busy living large on member dues and carrying water for the Left. They’ve turned a blue-collar brotherhood into a woke political machine that’s doing everything it can against the Trump-Vance agenda, and likewise, against everyday railroad workers. Every BLET member should be asking where their hard-earned dollars are really going." 

In a statement to Fox News Digital, a BLET spokesperson said: "We do not comment on false press releases by dark money groups who have no accountability to the truth."

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Border czar Tom Homan rips Congress for paid vacation as TSA agents struggle without pay

White House border czar Tom Homan said it was ridiculous that TSA officers were struggling to pay rent and feed their families while D.C. lawmakers remained deadlocked over Department of Homeland Security funding on "State of the Union," Sunday.

"These TSA officers are struggling. They can’t feed their families or pay their rent," Homan told Jake Tapper. "Your heart goes out to them because they’re sitting there right now working very hard and not being paid by members of Congress [who are] now on vacation, getting paid. It’s ridiculous."

Homan made the remarks as the funding fight over DHS stretched into a sixth week, disrupting airport operations and leaving TSA officers and other Homeland Security personnel without pay.

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"Well, as soon as Congress opens up the government and funds the Department of Homeland Security, that’s what needs to happen," Homan said. "But yeah, I talked to Secretary Markwayne Mullin yesterday. There is a plan to get these TSA agents pay. Hopefully by tomorrow, Tuesday."

Homan made clear, however, that he sees the TSA pay issue as only part of the problem. He argued that other DHS personnel are still going without pay even if TSA officers begin receiving checks.

"Paying TSA agents doesn’t pay the rest of the Department of Homeland Security," Homan said. "You got the Coast Guard, you got the men and women [of the] Secret Service, you got a lot of people working for Homeland Security [who] aren’t getting paid."

TSA WARNS OF 'LONGSTANDING' SHUTDOWN FALLOUT EVEN AFTER FUNDING CLEARS, AND A MAJOR EVENT COULD MAKE IT WORSE

Tapper also asked Homan if President Donald Trump could have paid agents the whole time, "Why only start doing it now?" 

"Look, I don’t understand," Homan said. "I’m a cop. I don’t understand the whole appropriations language, appropriations law. I’m just glad that President Trump is able to pay the TSA agents. At least that’s a start."

Homan also said the administration is still relying on ICE agents at airports to help with security and staffing pressures. Tapper noted that ICE agents had been sent into airports a week earlier, while long lines remained a problem.

"We’ll see," Homan said when asked whether ICE agents would leave airports once TSA officers start getting paid. "It depends on how many TSA agents come back to work, how many TSA agents have actually quit and have no plan of coming back to work."

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Homan mentioned that ICE officers are helping with identification checks, exit-lane coverage and other support duties that allow TSA personnel to focus on screening operations.

"They’re checking identification before you go to screening," Homan said. "We’re plugging other security holes. We want to keep the airport safe."

Homan argued that ICE’s presence has produced some measurable results, even as critics questioned whether the deployment could meaningfully solve the staffing crunch.

"The wait lines have decreased," Homan said. "I was in Houston, wait lines decreased about half. We got additional agents going to Baltimore yesterday to bring those lines down."

Trump signed a memorandum Friday directing DHS to begin paying TSA employees, and administration officials said workers could begin receiving pay as soon as Monday or Tuesday.

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Arnold Schwarzenegger passes bodybuilding torch to lookalike son Joseph Baena

Like father, like son — and a bodybuilding legacy in the making.

Arnold Schwarzenegger was spotted stepping back into coach mode as he trained his son, Joseph Baena, ahead of his first bodybuilding competition — signaling the next generation may be ready to carry the torch.

The seven-time Mr. Olympia winner, 78, was seen working closely with Baena, 28, inside the iconic Gold’s Gym in Venice Beach, California, where the bodybuilding legend once built his empire.

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But this time, Schwarzenegger wasn’t the one posing under pressure — he was fine-tuning every detail from the sidelines.

In the video obtained by Fox News Digital, the "Terminator" star carefully adjusted Baena’s positioning, ensuring each muscle hit just right.

After a session of pumping iron, Baena went shirtless to show off his increasingly sculpted physique, flexing his biceps as his father corrected his angles and form — even helping him lock in one of Schwarzenegger’s signature poses.

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Schwarzenegger, dressed casually in a black T-shirt, shorts and knee-high socks, watched closely as he coached his son.

Onlookers quickly gathered as the pair moved through each pose with precision, drawing a crowd inside the gym famously dubbed "the mecca of bodybuilding."

The "Dancing with the Stars" alum has recently showed off his fit physique and fitness routines in behind-the-scenes training videos on his social media.

WATCH: ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER TRAINS LOOKALIKE SON JOSEPH BAENA AT GYM AS BODYBUILDING BUZZ GROWS

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Baena has been carving out his own path — from acting roles, including the 2024 action thriller "Gunner," to landing a Men’s Health cover — while navigating inevitable comparisons to his father.

"It's been a huge growth year of me finding out who I am and really being secure… confident… no matter what the challenges are, what the comparisons are," Baena previously told Fox News Digital.

Still, he’s acknowledged the pressure that comes with the name.

"The message that I wanted to get across was, there’s a lot of people out there with very accomplished parents… and it’s scary. It’s scary to get compared to these giants, and to have the feeling like you need to live up to these expectations."

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