AwesomeCapital

Saturday, May 3, 2025

Albany Dems push bill to give NYC Council the power to remove mayor

A pair of lefty state pols are pushing new legislation that would provide the City Council immense power to remove a sitting mayor from office.

The bill introduced Thursday by state Sen. Jabari Brisport (D-Brooklyn) and Assemblyman Harvey Epstein (D-Manhattan) would put the screws to the Big Apple’s “strong mayor” form of government by allowing the Council to oust a mayor with a three-fourths majority, or 39 of its 51 members.

The bill is in direct response to Gov. Kathy Hochul refusing to bow to pressure earlier this year from far-left Democrats and remove Mayor Eric Adams from office after President Donald Trump’s Justice Department dropped the mayor’s corruption case.

Brisport and Epstein claim the move left Hizzoner beholden to the Republican president, which Adams has adamantly denied.

“It makes no sense that we have had to wait around for a governor from Buffalo to make a decision about our city,” Brisport said.

Adams spokesperson Kayla Mamelak ripped the new bill, saying Brisport and Epstein “are smacking democracy in the face and making it abundantly clear that they do not care at all about the will of the voters.”

“The nearly 8.5 million New Yorkers who call this city home are the only people who should ever be able to decide who their mayor is, and Jabari and Harvey should be ashamed for trying to usurp the will of the people,” she said.

Epstein has added incentive for the bill to pass: he’s running for a City Council seat representing the Lower East Side.

Adams, a registered Democrat, is running in November for a second four-year term, but as an independent.

Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo is the favorite to win the June 24 Democratic mayoral primary, whose crowded field also includes Council Speaker Adrienne Adams.

Reps for Cuomo and the speaker — who is not related to the mayor – declined to comment.

https://nypost.com/2025/05/03/us-news/albany-dems-pushing-bill-to-let-nyc-council-oust-mayor/

Portugal announces the expulsion of 18,000 foreigners ahead of national election

Portugal’s caretaker government plans to expel some 18,000 foreigners living in the country without authorization, a minister said Saturday in the buildup to a national election.

Minister of the Presidency António Leitão Amaro said the center-right government will issue approximately 18,000 notifications to people in the country illegally to leave.

Some of the migrants who were stuck on a ship since their rescue in the Mediterranean 10 days ago, arrive to disembark in Valletta, Malta on April 13, 2019 after four European countries agreed to take them in. - All 62 migrants — Portugal’s government will ask 18,000 foreigners to leave the country ahead of election.AFP via Getty Images

The minister said officials will begin next week by asking some 4,500 foreigners to leave voluntarily within 20 days.

Portugal will hold an early general election on May 18.

Prime Minister Luis Montenegro called the snap ballot in March after his minority government led by his conservative Social Democratic Party lost a confidence vote in Parliament and stood down.

Portugal has been caught up in the rising European tide of populism, with its far-right Chega party surging into third place in last year’s election.

https://nypost.com/2025/05/03/world-news/portugal-announces-the-expulsion-of-18000-foreigners-ahead-of-a-national-election/

Trump's budget proposal seeks to slash EPA funding by more than half to 1980s levels

The Environmental Protection Agency's budget would be cut by 54% under President Trump's initial FY 2026 budget request released Friday, which EPA Adminstrator Lee Zeldin said would better position the agency to meet Trump's goals to "unleash American energy, revitalize domestic manufacturing, cut costs for families and pursue permitting reform."

The plan would reduce the EPA's budget from $9.1B to $4.2B, the agency's smallest budget since 1986, as the Trump administration seeks to dramatically withdraw the federal government from its traditional role of writing and enforcing environmental rules.

Among the cuts outlined in the budget request are $2.46B to the EPA's clean and drinking water state revolving loan funds, a program the agency said "has been heavily earmarked by the Congress for projects that are ultimately not repaid into the program," $1B to the EPA's categorical grants program, which the budget request said "have become a crutch for states at the expense of taxpayers, many of whom receive no benefit from these grants." $254M in funding for Superfund cleanup, and $100M for environmental justice.

The budget also proposed a $235M cut from the EPA's Office of Research and Development, as pat of a reorganization that would consolidate several key offices, reflecting plans to cut regulatory red tape and promote more energy development, Zeldin said.

The proposal would add 130 positions to the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention to work on reviewing a backlog of more than 500 new chemicals and 12,000 pesticides, and create an Office of State Air Partnerships to work with state permitting agencies to resolve permitting concerns.

The Union of Concerned Scientists said shuttering the EPA's scientific arm that conducts independent research and folding it into policy offices would turn the EPA into a purely political agency.

The budget request also seeks a 9% cut for the Department of Energy and 21% for the Department of the Interior.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/trump-s-budget-proposal-seeks-to-slash-epa-funding-by-more-than-half-to-1980s-levels/ar-AA1E7zEB

Israel calls on Qatar to 'stop playing both sides' in Gaza talks

Israel called on Qatar, a key mediator between Israel and Hamas, to "stop playing both sides with its double talk and decide if it's on the side of civilization or if it's on the side of Hamas", the Israeli Prime Minister's office said on Saturday.Qatar rejected the statements as "inflammatory".

Despite efforts by Egyptian and Qatari mediators to restore a ceasefire, neither Israel nor Hamas has shown willingness to back down on core demands, with each side blaming the other for the failure to reach a deal.

Israel, which wants the return of 59 hostages still held in Gaza, has insisted Hamas must disarm and be excluded from any role in the future governance of the enclave, a condition that Hamas rejects.

It has insisted on agreeing a lasting end to the fighting and withdrawal of Israeli forces as a condition for a deal that would see a release of the hostages.

"The State of Qatar firmly rejects the inflammatory statements issued by the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, which fall far short of the most basic standards of political and moral responsibility," Qatar's foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari posted on X early on Sunday.

Al-Ansari criticized the portrayal of the Gaza conflict as a defense of civilization, likening it to historical regimes that used "false narratives to justify crimes against civilians."

In his post, Al-Ansari questioned whether the release of 138 hostages was achieved through military operations or mediation efforts, which he said are being unjustly criticized and undermined.

He also cited the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza represented by what he called a suffocating blockade, systematic starvation, denial of medicine and shelter, and the use of humanitarian aid as a tool of political coercion.

On Friday, Israel's security cabinet approved plans for an expanded operation in the Gaza Strip, Israeli media reported on Friday, adding to signs that attempts to stop the fighting and return hostages held by Hamas have made no progress.

Israel's campaign was triggered by the devastating Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, that killed 1,200 people in southern Israel and saw 251 taken hostage. It has so far killed more than 50,000 Palestinians and devastated Gaza where aid groups have warned the Israeli blockade risks a humanitarian disaster.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/world/944890/israel-calls-on-qatar-to-stop-playing-both-sides-in-gaza-talks/story/

Turkish Jets Engaged In Electronic Jamming Operations Against Israel Over Syria

Both Israel and Turkey have long been the major regional players with a "hidden hand" in Syria - with both at times covertly leading the drive to weaken and overthrow the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad.

And now the scramble for the spoils have been on since Assad's exiting the country to Moscow on December 8. Israeli tanks and ground units have moved up toward Damascus from the South, and Turkey's "Syrian National Army" proxy fighters have been active in Aleppo province and in northern Syria.

Turkey has also reportedly been involved with the new Syrian government under al-Qaeda linked Jolani (Sharaa), establishing anti-air defense infrastructure at Syrian bases, particularly near Palmyra in the center of the country.

*Illustrative, via EPA*But Israel has since December been busy bombing Syrian military sites and equipment out of existence. Syria once had to most advanced (Russian-supplied) air defense missile systems in the whole region, but now these batteries have been destroyed.

Further, there's no longer a Syrian Arab Army (SAA) to man or operate sophisticated systems. This means Israel's air force has had free reign over Syria's skies. But Tel Aviv increasingly has a rival in Syria: Turkey's military.

With sectarian fighting this week resulting in dozens of deaths among Syria's Druze community, Israel has been sending 'warning' strikes, including near the presidential palace in Damascus.

Regional reports say Turkey is at the same time quietly engaging in anti-Israel operations:

Turkish fighter jets reportedly issued electronic warning signals and engaged in jamming operations late on Friday in an effort to deter Israeli aircraft operating in Syrian airspace, amid a new wave of airstrikes across the country.
The rare move came as Israeli warplanes launched attacks on multiple sites, including in the Hama and Damascus regions, drawing renewed scrutiny over ongoing violations of Syrian sovereignty.

"Turkish fighter jets issued warning signals and jammed Israeli aircraft during Tel Aviv's latest deadly bombing campaign in Syria," The New Arab writes.

The Netanyahu government has already been strongly warning Turkey against getting more deeply involved in Syria, but clearly Jolani and his HTS rulers have found their biggest backer in Erdogan.

There does seem to be confirmation coming from Israeli sources on the Turkish jamming story:

The Israeli Broadcasting Authority confirmed the Turkish interference, reporting that "Turkish aircraft are sending warning signals and jamming Israeli fighter jets to make them leave Syrian airspace."
Turkish officials have voiced increasing frustration at Israel's expanding operations in Syria, which Ankara regards as a threat to its interests and to regional stability.

Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned against Israeli strikes late this week. "In this context, Israel must put an end to its airstrikes, which harm efforts toward Syria’s unity and territorial integrity," a statement said.

As for Israel's support to the Druze religious minority, many Syrians see this as but a pretext for Israeli invasion and occupation of the south - where most Druze happen to be. The ruling HTS is made up of hardline Sunnis, who consider Druze to be 'apostates' and 'heretics' - given their outlier and esoteric beliefs.

Turkey, on the other side, has long supported Sunni interests in Syria. Erdogan has long been accused of 'neo-Ottoman' policies, also as Turkey wages war against the Kurds of northern Syria.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/turkish-jets-engaged-electronic-jamming-operations-against-israel-over-syria

IDF reservists called up for expanded ops in Gaza, expected to follow Trump’s Middle East trip

Israeli plans to “significantly deepen” its military operations in Gaza after failed truce talks with Hamas, but the upcoming offensive will likely wait until after President Trump’s tour of the Middle East this month.

The Israel Defense Forces called on tens of thousands of reservists to mobilize Saturday night, following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s authorization of expanded operations in Gaza during an hours-long security meeting Friday.

The plans were expected to be voted on Sunday by the full cabinet.

“As long as Hamas does not release our hostages, we will significantly deepen our military action,” an Israeli official told Ynet after the meeting.

The soldiers are expected to report for duty this week, according to reports.

Some reservists may be sent to other Israeli fronts including Lebanon, Syria and the West Bank, to fill in for Israeli military who will be re-deployed to the Strip, the Times of Israel reported.

The Israel Defense Forces also signaled that the operation would be carried out in phases, according to the Jerusalem Post.

The planned offensive likely won’t occur until after Trump’s visit to the Middle East on May 13 for meetings with Gulf leaders, The Times of Israel reported.

In his first official foreign trip, Trump is expected to present his vision for US involvement in the region, touching on issues related to investments, weapons sales and artificial intelligence at a summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Axios reported. He’s also expected to visit Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Israel is not on Trump’s itinerary because a hostage and cease-fire deal isn’t imminent, the outlet reported.

Israel is also aiming to allow more time for hostage negotiations.

Netanyahu’s office on Friday denied reports that Israel rejected a hostage-ceasefire deal proposal proposed by Egyptian mediators, and insisted that Hamas terrorists have remained the obstacle since their surprise attack on Oct. 7, 2023.

The prime minister reiterated that the “ultimate goal” is to defeat Hamas.

The comments come amid revelations that even fewer hostages are alive than previously thought.

“Out of 59, you had 24 that were living, and now I understand that it’s not even that number,” Trump said Thursday during an event at the White House.

The condition of Edan Alexander, the last American-Israeli captive, is “hopefully positive” but unknown, he added.

The IDF is gearing up to oversee the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza as part of an agreement between Israel, the US and representatives of a new international foundation.

A new system aims to prevent Hamas from stealing and selling supplies to pay its members and using it as leverage over civilians, officials told Axios.

Trump said he urged Netanyahu last week to allow food and medicine into the battered region.

https://nypost.com/2025/05/03/world-news/idf-to-significantly-deepen-gaza-ops-after-trumps-middle-east-trip/

Search This Blog