Mamdani victory speech draws concern as NYC mayor-elect vows 'no problem too large for government to solve'

While delivering his victory speech on Tuesday night, New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani made a statement about the government's role in citizens' lives, sparking concern from critics online.

"We will prove that there is no problem too large for government to solve, and no concern too small for it to care about," Mamdani declared during his remarks.

The comments by the self-described Democratic socialist caught some people's attention.

SOCIALIST SHOCKWAVE: ZOHRAN MAMDANI STUNS NYC AS VOTERS HAND POWER TO DEMOCRATS' FAR-LEFT FLANK

"I’m from the government and I’m here to help!" Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wrote when reposting another user's post about Mamdani's comments.

DeSantis' post appears to be a reference to President Ronald Reagan's famous remark that he "felt the nine most terrifying words in the English language are, 'I’m from the government, and I'm here to help.'"

Libby Emmons, editor-in-chief for The Post Millenial and Human Events, called Mamdani's comments "terrifying words."

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Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, also weighed in on Mamdani's comments.

"Of all the terrifying words uttered by Zoram [sic] Mamdani, these might be the most startling," Lee declared in a post on X. "This is now the Democratic Party."

VAN JONES CALLS OUT ZOHRAN MAMDANI FOR ‘CHARACTER SWITCH’ DURING INTENSE VICTORY SPEECH

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Mamdani, a New York state assemblymember who ran as the Democratic candidate for New York City mayor, defeated former Empire State Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa in the Big Apple's mayoral contest.

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Convicted 'Ten Most Wanted’ fugitive faked bloody death, resurfaced as student before capture: authorities

A convicted sex offender hailed as one of Oklahoma’s Ten Most Wanted fugitives has been captured after allegedly faking his own death and reportedly enrolling in a New York university.

Anthony Lennon was taken into custody last week in Canton, New York, after nearly 13 years on the run, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.

In 2008, Lennon was convicted on charges of child pornography and handed a 20-year suspended sentence.

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However, in 2012, authorities began searching for Lennon after learning he was allegedly in possession of additional child pornography, according to officials. Evidence found inside his home reportedly consisted of chat logs, external disks and graphic videos of children, police said.

As authorities closed in on the Super 8 Motel in Moore, Oklahoma, to arrest Lennon on additional charges, they realized that he had "staged an elaborate and bloody abduction and robbery scene, leaving behind falsified evidence to make it appear he had been abducted," according to officials.

After successfully evading arrest, Lennon remained on the run for 13 years.

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"He went to extremes, and we did determine that the large amount of blood at the staged crime scene actually was his," Moore Poli​​ce Chief Todd Gibson said in a news conference, according to People.

While on the run, Lennon allegedly adopted the alias "Justin Phillips," and was enrolled in college at the State University of New York at Canton at the time of his arrest, NNY360 reported. According to the U.S. Marshals Service, Lennon had previously earned a master’s degree in computer science and was working to obtain a doctorate at the time of his disappearance.

Detectives subsequently interviewed Lennon under his alias and used fingerprint analysis to confirm his identity, police said. He was taken into custody in New York and is awaiting extradition to Oklahoma, People reported.

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Authorities are also working to determine if Lennon committed any additional crimes while on the run, according to 7News.

"This case remains active and under investigation," the U.S. Marshals Service said in a statement. "But with his capture we can now begin the process of holding Lennon accountable for the crimes he committed against children in our community."

The U.S. Marshals Service did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. 

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Bears' Caleb Williams makes first career TD catch vs Bengals

Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson went deep into his playbook in the first quarter of their matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday afternoon.

The Bears had the 2-yard line when Johnson called a trick play. Caleb Williams handed the ball to wide receiver Rome Odunze, who then gave it to wide receiver D.J. Moore.

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Moore flipped the ball to Williams, who was wide open in the end zone for the touchdown. It was the first reception and touchdown catch of Williams’ career. The score helped tie the game up at seven apiece.

It was a triumphant response to the Bengals’ opening kick.

Bengals kick returner Charlie Jones gave his team an electric start to Week 9 in their matchup against the Bears.

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Jones fielded a Cairo Santos kick from the 2-yard line, found a hole and busted through the Bears’ coverage team. He returned the kick 98 yards for a Bengals touchdown. Jones hit a top speed of 21.78 mph on the kick return, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.

Both teams came into the game in need of a victory to stay afloat in their respective playoff races.

Cincinnati has been able to stay within a shot of the AFC North lead behind Joe Flacco and Jake Browning, who have played in lieu of an injured Joe Burrow.

Chicago was still in the hunt for the postseason despite being 4-3 and in third in the NFC North division behind the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions.

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Jeffries says 'no' when asked if Mamdani is future of Democratic Party despite endorsement

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said he didn't see New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani as the future of the Democratic Party during an interview on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday.

Asked by CNN host Jake Tapper whether he believed Mamdani was the future of the party, Jeffries responded, "No, I think the future of the Democratic Party is going to fall, as far as we‘re concerned, relative to the House Democratic Caucus and members who are doing a great work all across the country as it relates to our need to both take back control of the House."

Jeffries went on to criticize President Donald Trump and predict a positive turnout for Democrats in the elections on Tuesday in Virginia, New Jersey and California, citing Proposition 50.

Tapper pressed Jeffries, saying he didn’t really answer the question.

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"Are you concerned about Republicans using him [Mamdani] as a lightning rod? So as to hurt your ability to win back the House in 2026?" Tapper asked.

Mamdani is set to face former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent, and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa on Tuesday. Mamdani, a democratic socialist, is considered the frontrunner in the race.

"No, the lightning rod, in terms of what‘s going to impact the ability of either side to win control of the House or hold control of the House in 2026, is going to be the failure of Republicans to actually deliver on the promises that they‘ve made, and to actively make life worse for everyday Americans," Jeffries said.

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He added that Americans know the country is headed in the "wrong direction" and blamed it on Trump and the Republican Party. 

Jeffries endorsed Mamdani in late October.

"Zohran Mamdani has relentlessly focused on addressing the affordability crisis and explicitly committed to being a mayor for all New Yorkers, including those who do not support his candidacy," Jeffries said in the statement.

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However, the House minority leader also said in his statement that he has "areas of principled disagreement" with Mamdani.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has not endorsed Mamdani.

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., criticized Schumer for not endorsing the Democratic socialist candidate on Thursday.

Omar was asked why she believed Schumer had withheld his support. 

"I really don‘t know. It makes no sense," Omar said. "We as Democrats have always believed that, in an election, we support our party‘s nominee. Schumer has pressured other Democrats to do just that, and he should be following his own advice."

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Harrison Ford says he doesn't 'know of a greater criminal in history' than Trump

"Indiana Jones" star Harrison Ford told The Guardian on Friday that he doesn't "know of a greater criminal in history" than President Donald Trump, criticizing him for failing to address climate change.

Ford said to The Guardian that Trump "doesn’t have any policies, he has whims. It scares the s--- out of me. The ignorance, the hubris, the lies, the perfidy. [Trump] knows better, but he’s an instrument of the status quo, and he’s making money, hand over fist, while the world goes to hell in a handbasket."

"It's unbelievable," he added. "I don’t know of a greater criminal in history."

HARRISON FORD ADMITS WHAT KEEPS HIM GOING IN HOLLYWOOD

The 83-year-old actor told the outlet that Trump is "losing ground because everything he says is a lie," and said that the president's "drill, baby, drill," mantra would fail.

"I’m confident we can mitigate against [climate change], that we can buy time to change behaviors, to create new technologies, to concentrate more fully on implementation of those policies," he continued. "But we have to develop the political will and intellectual sophistication to realize that we human beings are capable of change. We are incredibly adaptive, we are incredibly inventive. If we concentrate on a problem we can fix it most times."

Focusing on renewable energy, Ford told The Guardian that Trump’s contempt for wind turbines stems from the fact that "he has just not seen a gold one."

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Trump has called wind turbines "ugly" on multiple occasions, even urging the United Kingdom to "get rid of the windmills and bring back the oil" during a trip to Europe this summer.

Ford has been an outspoken critic of Trump for years, endorsing former Vice President Kamala Harris for president in 2024 via a recorded video statement.

In the actor's campaign video for Harris, he said, "The truth is this: Kamala Harris will protect your right to disagree with her about policies or ideas."

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In July, the "Indiana Jones" star criticized Trump’s second term during an interview with Variety, lamenting that "the rich get richer and the poor get poorer," which he said "isn’t right."

"In politics and in life, you don’t always get what you want, but you get what you get, and you don’t get upset. They teach us that in kindergarten, but they also teach you to fight for what you think is right," he told the outlet.

"Now, because we’ve been disaggregated in this way, we’re having a hard time finding commonality. But if you look at the economy, you’ll figure out where the commonality is — it’s where it always was: Rich get richer, and poor get poorer. And that ain’t exactly right," Ford added.

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Fox News' Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.

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Escaped monkeys from Mississippi truck crash puts spotlight on NIH-funded Tulane lab

Three aggressive monkeys still on the loose after a truck hauling 21 of the animals from Tulane University in New Orleans flipped on a Mississippi interstate Tuesday. They are part of a controversial program funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), according to the White Coat Waste Project, a nonprofit focused on eliminating wasteful government spending on animal testing.

The Jasper County Sheriff's Office, which "eliminated" five of the escaped 40-pound monkeys, initially said the driver of the truck told authorities the primates were dangerous, a threat to humans and required personal protective equipment (PPE) to handle.

The university later confirmed to Fox News Digital the monkeys in question were not carrying any diseases and had received recent checkups at Tulane before they left the facility, confirming they were pathogen-free.

Tulane officials said 13 of the monkeys remained caged during the wreck, which happened north of Heidelberg, and are now in the possession of their owner en route to their intended destination.

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The identity of the owner and "original destination" were not released.

"The transport of research animals is a common occurrence and usually requires legally binding contracts that prevent the involved parties from disclosing information, both for the safety of the animals and to protect the parties' proprietary information," the university wrote in a statement.

White Coat Waste Project told Fox News Digital it has been working to cut taxpayer funding for Tulane’s primate lab for years, and right after the crash, followed the monkeys and the money allegedly straight to the NIH.

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"Every year, the NIH ships $35 million of our hard-earned tax dollars to Tulane so it can breed thousands of primates, torture them in wasteful and abusive experiments, and truck them off to other labs," White Coat Waste Project senior vice president Justin Goodman wrote in a statement. "Nearly 6,000 monkeys are locked up in Tulane’s taxpayer-funded facility where the primates are isolated in tiny cages and infected with some of the deadliest pathogens on earth—like anthrax, botulism, monkeypox, COVID, and AIDS-like viruses."

The organization alleges in a recent experiment at Tulane’s primate center, human nipples were sewn onto male monkeys.

"Despite promising White Coat Waste that he'd end all primate tests, NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya just renewed millions in funding for Tulane's torture lab," Goodman wrote. "We’re urging [Health and Human Services] Secretary [Robert F.] Kennedy to follow the lead of the first Trump administration and shut down government primate labs and retire the survivors to sanctuary. The way to end Tulane’s monkey business is simple: Stop the money. Stop the madness."

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An HHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital the NIH is currently subject to a court injunction stemming from ongoing litigation related to the previously canceled Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) grants, which prevents the immediate termination of the Tulane grant. 

The HHS clarified the grant has not been newly renewed; the spokesperson said what has been described as "renewals" are continuing disbursements under the original grant.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) senior science advisor for primate campaigns Dr. Lisa Jones-Engel called on authorities to demand full necropsies and veterinary records for the monkeys killed in the crash and to make the results public.

"Tulane has locked down information after the crash—refusing to say who owned the monkeys, what they were being used for, or what pathogens they carried. Inside sources have told us the monkeys were actually not headed to Florida," Jones-Engel wrote in a statement Thursday to Fox News Digital. "PETA has requested that local authorities be provided with necropsies and veterinary records, and we are also going to the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)] because this is fundamentally a public health issue."

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She alleged Tulane National Primate Research Center’s colony harbors diseases including Chagas, Valley Fever, West Nile virus and diarrheal pathogens, while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is aware imported monkeys have arrived in U.S. primate facilities carrying tuberculosis and Burkholderia pseudomallei.

"Tulane's claim that secrecy protects ‘animal safety’ is obscene," Jones-Engel wrote. "These animals were shot dead. Tulane’s primate center is funded by taxpayers, and transparency is a matter of public health, not proprietary privilege. Passing the buck to highway patrol or state wildlife officers is an outright dodge. Local responders are not equipped to assess zoonotic risks—that responsibility lies with Tulane and with the CDC. By hiding behind contracts and weak paperwork, Tulane is shielding its dangerous primate center and protecting the notorious monkey experimentation industry from scrutiny at the expense of community safety."

Though the university sent a team of animal care experts to assist, officials emphasized the monkeys were not being transported by Tulane, not owned by Tulane, and not in Tulane’s custody at the time of the crash.

PETA wrote a letter to the CDC Friday, requesting the CDC "acknowledge its responsibility, increase transparency, and protect communities from the dangers posed not only by the primate trade but also by the presence of entrenched pathogens in U.S. primate facilities."

The NIH and Kennedy's office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's requests for comment.

Deputies said they have been in contact with an animal disposal company to "help handle the situation."

Mississippi Highway Patrol and Mississippi Wildlife and Fisheries are investigating, along with local law enforcement.

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ICE says suspect accused of killing teen in second drunk driving incident was in US illegally

A suspect facing a DUI manslaughter charge in connection with the tragic death of a 16-year-old in Mobile, Alabama, is in the United States illegally, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

ICE announced that an immigration detainer has been placed on Franklin Oriel Fajardo-Arana. The agency described him as "an illegal alien from Honduras" following his arrest by the Mobile Police Department on Monday.

"ICE remains committed to prioritizing the arrest and removal of criminal illegal aliens who pose threats to public safety," acting ICE New Orleans Field Officer Director Scott Ladwig said in a statement. "This case underscores the critical importance of ICE’s partnerships with local law enforcement agencies to identify and remove individuals who have violated our nation’s immigration laws and endangered our communities."

ICE said police in Mobile responded to a traffic accident Sunday involving a Toyota Corolla and a Toyota 4Runner.

PREVIOUSLY DEPORTED HONDURAN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CHARGED WITH KILLING TEEN WHO REJECTED HIS SEXUAL ADVANCES

"The 4Runner had flipped on its side, and the teen boy — a passenger — was pronounced deceased at the scene. On the same day, ERO New Orleans issued an immigration detainer to the Mobile County Metro Jail, ensuring that Fajardo-Arana will be transferred to ICE custody upon his release," ICE said.

"An investigation revealed that the Fairfield Police Department in Kentucky has an active in-state warrant for Fajardo-Arana for a separate DUI offense," the agency added.

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The Mobile Police Department did not immediately respond Thursday to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. Fajardo-Arana has been charged with DUI manslaughter, according to ICE.

Ernest Williams, a local barber and witness to the crash, told WALA that he "was just standing outside talking with the other barbers" and "then we heard the crash" and "everything changed in that instant."

"We instantly ran over there to see what was going on," he said to the station. "We got the driver out and pushed the vehicle up to get the victim from under it."

"Now that I know he passed away, it kind of makes it seem like you didn’t do enough," Williams added in reference to the victim. "But we were just there to help however we could."

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