East Village residents are up in arms over Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s scheme to relocate one of the Big Apple’s most notorious homeless shelters to their neighborhood — potentially transforming it into a doormat for Gotham’s indigent, and a magnet for crime.

Former clientele at the soon-to-shutter Bellevue Shelter on East 30th Street in Midtown included a slew of ex-cons and sickos, such as deranged stabber Ramon Rivera, who went on a 2.5-hour stabbing spree in Manhattan on Nov. 18, 2024, that killed three people.

“None of you all can stop drinking and drugging … and all lingering around here creating crimes and all kinds of stuff,” roared Rev. Keith Gadson, one of the hundreds of locals who bashed city officials at a heated meeting Tuesday about the under-the-radar facility. “Put it in your neighborhood!”

Mamdani abruptly announced in March that Bellevue’s then-250 residents would be headed downtown, saying the nearly century-old site was in a “severe state of disrepair.”

Beginning May 1, the city’s main homeless intake center — where they are assessed and connected to mental health and social services — will be at 8 East 3^rd St., a building where nonprofit Project Renewal currently provides a homeless shelter and other services.

The facility will have 117 beds, with residents staying roughly one to two days before being relocated to other sites, the Department of Homeless Services said.

Stays are supposed to be short-term, but the Bellevue site came under fire from critics because the city housed homeless New Yorkers there for months at a time.

Intake services for families without children will be relocated to the 117-bed sister facility at 333 Bowery, which is about a block away from the East 3^rd Street site.

And the city has the power to flood both buildings with hundreds of more residents — for as long as it wants — according to a review of Mamdani’s March 26 “emergency executive order” approving the shelter switcheroo.

The order suspends a local city code that currently prohibits more than 200 shelter beds at shelter sites. The suspension also waives safety-code regulations prohibiting no more than 90 people on the first floor of both East Village sites.

“This will not be temporary shelters as they claim, it will be mega-shelters,” said Jason Murillo, a neighborhood activist and Republican running for state Senate.

Murillo accused Mamdani of pushing through the relocation plan under the guise of an “emergency” to avoid community backlash.

He and other neighbors are planning to file a lawsuit to block the opening, fearing the facility will be a magnet for criminals.

During the meeting, Murillo told DHS officials residents were upset over the rushed process — and have serious concerns that the shelters would be a bad mix for a neighborhood filled with apartment buildings, restaurants, schools, hotels and bars.

“We support services for vulnerable New Yorkers, but the issue here is transparency and planning,” he said. “Where is the environmental review? Where was the public safety plan to make sure we are all safe?”

DHS officials insisted the city notified the neighborhood as fast as it could — and that it would take steps to ensure both the interior and exterior of both buildings would be kept clean and secure.

Other residents in attendance questioned why the Bellevue site simply couldn’t be renovated or why Mamdani couldn’t find another location for it in Midtown.

“We have lots and lots of empty store space!” ripped one woman.  “You can rent a store space in the 42^nd street area? So why us?”

It’s unclear what will become of the prime Midtown real estate once the Bellevue intake center is vacated.

DHS police and security staff will regularly monitor the new shelters’ exteriors to limit crowding and loitering and will work with NYPD cops to address any community concerns, a Mamdani administration spokesman said, adding there is “no expectation” lines will form outside.

Both East Village intake centers will operate on a “temporary” basis until the city builds a permanent site, a process that could take several years to complete, he said.

Most residents staying at the Bellevue site will be relocated to more permanent accommodations in other parts of NYC — not the new East Village intake centers, the spokesman added.

However, neighborhood activist Veronica Gonzalez said on X that “local residents are fed up.”

“Our community, families, and district deserve answers from City Hall and the mayor,” added Gonzalez, a Republican running for state Assembly.

“We hope to receive an answer soon from Mayor Mamdani and a full pause to the relocation of the Bellevue Homeless Shelter [to] the East Village.”

Just over half of Canadians want the federal Liberals to win enough seats in Monday’s byelections to give Prime Minister Mark Carney a majority government, new polling suggests.

The Ipsos poll conducted exclusively for Global News found that 53 per cent of Canadians want the Liberals to form a majority, while 47 per cent are opposed to the idea.

The support is starkly split between Liberal and Conservative voters, but 56 per cent of NDP voters also said they would prefer the Liberals to win enough of the three byelections being held Monday to form a majority.

Two of the three byelections are in Toronto-area ridings that are considered safe Liberal seats, which makes it likely the government will cross the 172-seat majority threshold in the House of Commons.

“I think the Liberals are going to be sleeping quite nicely on Sunday night and getting ready to celebrate on the Monday,” said Darrell Bricker, CEO of Ipsos Public Affairs.

The Liberals got even closer to a majority after Marilyn Gladu became the fourth former Conservative and fifth MP to cross the floor since December 2025 on Wednesday.

MP Lori Idlout switched to the Liberals from the NDP last month.

1:48
Longtime Conservative Marilyn Gladu crosses floor, Liberals 1 seat shy of majority

Although a majority of Canadians have voiced displeasure with MPs switching parties in past Ipsos polling, Bricker said Canadians appear to be accepting what it’s leading to in this case.

“Even if people don’t necessarily like the means, the ends of stability — particularly in a situation in which the country is confronted with a lot of big issues, including its position with the United States — Canadians seem to think that this is all right,” he said.

The prospect of a majority Liberal government puts more pressure on Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre amid the growing exodus from his caucus, Bricker added, despite a decisive leadership vote result in January.

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“He can’t make the argument, which is, ‘You need me to be around because there could be an election any day,’” he said. “There isn’t going to be an election any day. So caucus relations is going to be an outsized part of what Mr. Poilievre is going to have to do over the next period of time.

“When restless members in opposition have nothing to worry about, and there’s no prospect of being in government, and they haven’t been in government since 2015, well, idle hands are the devil’s workshop.”

2:35
Poilievre’s leadership under scrutiny as Conservative floor-crossings mount

The Ipsos poll suggests more bad news for the Conservatives.

If a general election were held tomorrow, 33 per cent of voters would choose the Conservatives, down three points from last month. The Liberals, meanwhile, rose by one point to 45 per cent support.

The Liberals now lead the Conservatives by 12 points — four times the gap between the two parties in December 2025, which was also the margin in last year’s election.

“Those double digits are coming from somewhere,” Bricker said.

“Last [year], they came from just the NDP. Now they’re also coming from the Conservatives, and the groups that voted disproportionately for the Conservatives, are more likely to vote for the Conservatives last time, are now taking a look at the Liberals and feeling comfortable with them.”

That includes younger voters, who flocked to the Conservatives in the 2025 election, believing the party was best equipped to address affordability issues.

2:00
Pierre Poilievre condemns latest Liberal floor-crossing, Carney’s ‘backroom deals’

Now, according to the new Ipsos poll, 29 per cent of respondents aged 18 to 35 say they would vote for the Liberals, versus 22 per cent who chose the Conservatives.

Men and women are now equally likely to vote Liberal at around 45 per cent each, the poll found, despite Ipsos saying men have historically been more likely to vote Conservative.

“[Poilievre] is losing across the demographic perspective,” Bricker said. “You can’t go from three to a dozen points behind without losing people who were voting for you in the last election. And that’s who he’s losing.”

Conservative support remains highest in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, though that support sits at less than half of all voters surveyed in those provinces.

The NDP would gain nine per cent of the vote if an election were held tomorrow, the poll found, up one point from last month but equal to the number in December.

The Bloc Québécois was unchanged at seven per cent nationally (29 per cent in Quebec), while the Green party sits at two per cent, down one point. The People’s Party of Canada rose one point from last month to two per cent.

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between April 2 and 7, 2026, on behalf of Global News. For this survey, a sample of 1,000 Canadians aged 18+ was interviewed online. Quotas and weighting were employed to ensure that the sample’s composition reflects that of the Canadian population according to census parameters. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within ± 3.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Canadians aged 18+ been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to, coverage error and measurement error.

&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

If you thought the Congressional appropriations process couldn’t get any worse, I present you with 2026. And perhaps beyond.

The Department of Homeland Security remains shut down, running on pocket lint, nickels lost between the couch cushions and faded S&H Green Stamps (look ‘em up, kids). Congress hasn’t funded DHS for two months. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., torqued himself into a political pretzel – opposing, then supporting, then not acting on – a Senate-approved package to fund most of DHS.

As we always say, it’s about the math, and when it comes to DHS money, it appears that lawmakers have locked a box to which they lack the combination. There is apparently no sequence of votes in the House and Senate which can crack the DHS safe as a traditional, standalone appropriations bill. 

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: WHY TRUMP MAY NOT BE ABLE TO FORCE CONGRESS BACK OVER THE DHS SHUTDOWN

The U.S. capitol building in Washington, D.C., (left); An Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Officer arrives at a scene (right). (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images (left); Reuters (right))

Now, Congressional Republicans and President Donald Trump are turning to one of the few methods which might work to fund DHS – something called budget reconciliation.

The Congressional budget reconciliation process is not customarily used for appropriations bills – although lawmakers can plug the measure with money to spend on federal programs. However, reconciliation is inoculated from filibusters. Thus, Republicans don’t need 60 votes. They can – ostensibly – pass a DHS bill on its own without help from Democrats if they hold their narrow coalitions together in both the House and Senate.

Congressional Republicans intend to stuff this reconciliation package with only money for ICE and Customs and Border Patrol. Nothing for disaster aid. Nothing for farmers. Nothing about the SAVE America Act. The president agrees. The goal is to finish this by June 1 – months after the latest DHS funding lapse.

But it’s more complicated than that. 

GOP INFIGHTING REPLACES CLASH WITH DEMS, DERAILS PATH TO END HISTORIC DHS SHUTDOWN

The House and Senate must take a number of steps to approve a shell of a budget resolution in order to have the filibuster-proof reconciliation tool available to them. Republicans undertook a similar endeavor last winter and spring. It was absolutely harrowing and consumed months before finally approving the One, Big, Beautiful Bill, via reconciliation. Republicans don’t have that kind of time now. Then again, DHS has either been unfunded or held together by interim spending bills since last October.

We haven’t even mentioned how Trump is using a somewhat dubious authority to pay TSA workers and others from other funds – without Congressional approval.

Travelers experienced extensive wait times Sunday, March 22, 2026, at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (left, middle) and Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport (right) due to the partial government shutdown. (WVUE)

That leaves some to question why the administration didn’t do this to start with. But the bigger issue is an alarming pattern of Congress ceding its most precious prerogative – the power of the purse – to the executive branch. That’s to say nothing as to whether Trump’s gambit to pay workers is even Constitutional. And, it establishes a precedent which may be hard to ignore during other funding impasses.

However, here’s the bigger problem: the Congressional paralysis to pass appropriations bills on a timely basis. That’s been an issue for years now.

Historically, Congress has missed the Oct. 1 fiscal deadline, relying on “Continuing Resolutions” (CR’s) which simply renew all funding on a temporary basis. Or, lawmakers cobble together a set of the 12 annual spending bills in a “minibus” appropriations package. Lawmakers who might oppose an individual bill are willing to support a group of bills – because there’s something in there which they like or support.

But turning to reconciliation as a way out of the appropriations box canyon is also another precedent which likely agitates Congressional appropriators. Sure. They’ve done that before. And in this instance, it might finally get DHS funded. But what does this mean for the future?

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said that congressional Democrats got “zero” reforms in the DHS funding deal.  (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Which brings us to Oct. 1, 2026. That’s when the federal government pivots from Fiscal Year 2026 to start Fiscal Year 2027. 

Congress has struggled to fund the federal government since early 2025, when it began work on appropriations bills for this year. The FY ’26 funding crisis – which spawned the record-breaking, 43-day, government-wide shutdown in the fall, another partial government shutdown last winter and the current DHS stalemate – has been an issue since lawmakers were working on bills for this cycle around this time LAST spring. So how pray tell is Congress going to avoid a shutdown THIS autumn for FY ’27?

In fact, few are even speaking about that possible peril – because no one can wrap their heads around the present appropriations saga. And it’s possible that this fall’s problems could be worse than last fall’s impasse. The reason? The midterm elections hit in November. It’s doubtful that either side will be willing to make much of a deal right before voters head to the polls.

The scenarios are frightening to fathom, so people are just kind of ignoring them.

SEE IT: LAWMAKERS CAUGHT ON VACATION AMID RECORD-BREAKING SHUTDOWN WHILE DHS WORKERS GO UNPAID

We have entered a new period of semi-perpetual funding standoffs – exacerbated by mistrust between the sides, narrow Congressional margins in both the House and Senate, parliamentary mathematical equations which don’t balance and an unwillingness by Trump to broker deals or even negotiate with Democrats.

Yes. They have options to cover DHS into next year, but it’s the other 11 spending bills which could be problematic.

Imagine trying to pass a defense spending bill which has a price tag 44% higher than the one last year? Or tacks a bunch of money on for the war in Iran?

Where’s the vote combination to approve a CR, let alone an individual bill? Will Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., be willing to help Republicans hit the 60 vote threshold to fund things? Especially if he sees the possibility of emerging again as Majority Leader? Probably not.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Democrats aren’t backing down from their list of DHS demands as the partial government shutdown rages on. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

And let’s say Democrats win the House, Senate or both in the fall? Do you really think these spending standoffs get better over the final two years of Trump’s term?

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Back to Chevy Chase and Clark Griswold. There’s a second part to that iconic quotation from Christmas Vacation: “We’re at the threshold of hell!” he declares.

Pretty funny, but not if you’re trying to keep the government open after the adventures of the past year. This is not hilarious to millions of federal workers who suffer from paycheck PTSD. Another round of spending mayhem could only erode further trust between federal workers and their employers. It will damage morale – which is already subterranean. That’s to say nothing of courting people to work for the government.

Yes. Things can get a lot worse. The political schisms are deep and the vote matrices to pass the bills simply don’t exist.

It may be spring, but the Christmas Vacation movie provides insight into where we stand with the Congressional appropriations bills: “It’s Christmas and we’re all in misery,” declares Ellen Griswold, played by Beverly D’Angelo.

Yeah. And wait to see what Congress has in store for THIS Christmas.

MIAMI — The main attraction early at UFC 327 on Saturday night wasn’t any of the fighters, but President Donald Trump.

Trump entered the Kaseya Center shortly after 9 p.m. to watch the light heavyweight fight between Jiri Prochazka and Carlos Ulberg. He was accompanied by Dana White, the president of Ultimate Fighting Championship, and several members of the Trump family.

As a Kid Rock song blasted from the speakers, Trump walked to his seat where Secretary of State Marco Rubio was waiting. Also nearby was Sergio Gor, the U.S. ambassador to India.

Trump shook hands with attendees on the floor and made a point of greeting Joe Rogan, the podcaster who also works as a UFC color commentator.

Trump gave several smiles to the cameras.

Earlier, on his way to the arena, Trump’s Truth Social account posted an advertisement that appeared to be for a UFC fight at the White House on June 14, on what would be Trump’s 80th birthday.

A crowd of onlookers could be seen filming the presidential motorcade upon arrival.

With former champion Alex Pereira vacating the belt to move up and challenge for the interim heavyweight crown at UFC Freedom 250 at the White House, Ulberg (14-1-0) earned his spot across Prochazka (32-5-1) in the main event of Saturday’s card.

In the co-main event, Azamat Murzakanov (17-0-0) used a right roundhouse to the head to drop Paulo Costa (15-5-0) and end the bout at the 1:23 mark of the third round.

Murzakanov stepped onto the apron of the Octagon after his victory to shake Trump’s hand, and the president praised him. Murzakanov acknowledged Trump during his post-fight interview with Rogan.

Josh Hokit (9-0-0) and Curtis Blaydes (19-6-0) battered each other in the slugfest of the night, with Trump excitedly watching the heavyweights as fans chanted “This is awesome!” as the fighters bloodied each other’s faces. Hokit won by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

In a light heavyweight clash, Dominick Reyes (16-5-0) defeated Johnny Walker (22-10-0) with a split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28).

Featherweight Cub Swanson (32-14-0) ended a celebrated career with a devastating first-round TKO of Nate Landwehr (18-9-0). The 42-year-old Swanson overmatched Landwehr with a bevy of punches to the head before referee Herb Dean stepped in to stop the fight with 54 seconds left in the opening round.

___

AP MMA:

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office confirmed on Saturday it is launching an investigation into Californian Rep. Eric Swalwell, over an alleged sexual assault involving a former staffer in 2024, according to a new report.

Swalwell’s former staffer — who has not been identified — told CNN that after a night of drinking with her former boss in April 2024, she was heavily intoxicated and woke up to him having sex with her in his hotel bed.

“I was pushing him off of me, saying no,” the woman told the outlet. “He didn’t stop.”

The staffer — who is one of four women to recently come out with allegations of sexual misconduct by Swalwell — said the incident occurred after she stopped working in his office.

“We urge survivors and anyone with knowledge of these allegations to contact our Special Victims Division at 212-335-9373,” the DA’s office said in a statement to the outlet.

“Our specially trained prosecutors, investigators and counselors are well-equipped to help you in a trauma-informed, survivor-centered manner.”

The embattled pol denied all allegations of sexual misconduct and assault in a video statement on Friday.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he revoked the lawful permanent resident status of family members linked to Masoumeh Ebtekar, a spokeswoman for the Islamic terrorists who stormed the U.S. Embassy during the 1979 hostage crisis.

Rubio said the individuals were placed in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody pending removal from the United States. 

He said the Obama administration granted visas to Ebtekar’s son and his family in 2014 and later approved green cards through the Diversity Visa Program in 2016.

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Masoumeh Ebtekar, a spokeswoman for the militants involved in the 1979 U.S. Embassy hostage crisis, speaks at a press conference in Tehran on Jan. 29, 2019. (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

“Masoumeh Ebtekar —  also known as ‘Screaming Mary’ —  was the spokeswoman for the Islamic terrorists who stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979 and held 52 Americans hostages for 444 days — subjecting them to beatings, starvation, and mock executions,” Rubio wrote on X.

Rubio said her family should never have been allowed to benefit from the extraordinary privilege of living in the United States.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he revoked the lawful permanent resident status of family members linked to Masoumeh Ebtekar, a spokeswoman for the militants who stormed the U.S. Embassy during the 1979 hostage crisis. (Thomas Trutschel/Photothek)

“America can never become home for anti-American terrorists or their families — and under the Trump administration, it never will,” Rubio said.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. 

One of President Donald Trump’s top Democratic foes running for the Senate is taking a page from his and conservatives’ playbook in their pitch to reform the filibuster.

Democratic Maine Gov. Janet Mills, who is running to unseat longtime Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, released her policy platform in recent days. Among several pitches to voters is a call to reform the filibuster. 

Mills, if elected, said in the 19-page document that she would require “Senators to remain on the Senate floor and actually speak, rather than simply threatening a filibuster to delay action.”

The filibuster has become a flashpoint in the Senate, particularly for Republicans, given that its current 60-vote threshold requires legislation to be bipartisan in nature. And Mills’ position, which has been previously supported by Democrats, is one Trump and some in the GOP are pushing for to pass a massive election integrity bill.

GRAHAM EYES ‘DOWN PAYMENT’ ON TRUMP-BACKED SAVE ACT WITHOUT DEMOCRATIC SUPPORT

Democratic Maine Gov. Janet Mills, who is running to unseat longtime Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, released her policy platform in recent days.  (Getty Images)

Her desire to change the filibuster echoes one made by Trump and conservatives, both in Congress and online, that have demanded Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., launch a talking filibuster to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act.

“Washington is broken, and Maine people are paying the price,” Mills said in a statement introducing the platform. “Donald Trump and Washington Republicans are undermining our fundamental rights and driving up costs, all while Congress fails to solve the big problems facing Maine people. Enough is enough. Maine people deserve better than what D.C. is giving them.”

Mills and Trump have an adversarial relationship that reached a chaotic crescendo in 2025 when, during a meeting of governors at the White House, she declared, “We’ll see you in court,” over the president’s executive order to deny federal funding to states that allowed transgender athletes to participate in sports.

THUNE ACCUSES CRITICS OF ‘CREATING FALSE EXPECTATIONS’ AMID BACKLASH OVER STALLED SAVE AMERICA ACT

Maine Gov. Janet Mills and President Donald Trump have an adversarial relationship that reached a chaotic crescendo in 2025.  (Nathan Howard/Getty Images)

The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), the Senate GOP’s main campaign arm, warned that Mills’ desired change to the filibuster was a dog whistle for Democrats’ plan to slow-walk Trump’s agenda.

“Janet Mills is saying the quiet part out loud: If she goes to Washington, she will use every tool at her disposal to push her radical anti-Trump agenda on Americans,” NRSC spokesperson Samantha Cantrell told Fox News Digital.

Trump has asked Republicans to go a step further and nuke the filibuster altogether — an unlikely scenario in the Senate, given the lack of support to do away with the guardrail in its current form.

MAINE SENATE CANDIDATE CITES COMBAT TRAUMA WHEN CONFRONTED ON ‘TERRIBLE’ POSTS ABOUT SEXUAL ASSAULT

Senate candidate Graham Platner of Maine, left, and two-term Gov. Janet Mills are facing off in the state’s Democratic Senate primary. (Sophie Park/Getty Images; Scott Eisen/Getty Images)

A talking filibuster, as Mills suggested, would require senators to debate a bill rather than falling back on the typical 60-vote threshold.

The Senate is currently doing a version of the talking filibuster in the GOP’s bid to shine a light on Senate Democrats’ refusal to support the SAVE America Act. But it won’t lead to the legislation passing because the GOP isn’t unified to block Democratic amendments that could drastically alter the bill.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who handpicked Mills to run in Maine against Collins, has dubbed the legislation “Jim Crow 2.0” and rallied his caucus behind defeating the measure.

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Before Mills has a chance to square off against Collins, she’ll first have to survive a tough primary battle against insurgent candidate Graham Platner, an oyster farmer who has the backing of Schumer’s left flank.

Fox News Digital reached out for comment from Mills, Platner and Collins, but did not hear back by publication.

Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., was forced to make an emergency landing Friday after experiencing in-flight engine failure while piloting a plane.

According to Sheehy’s chief of staff, Mike Berg, the senator was conducting a routine flight training exercise that he completes twice a year.

“This afternoon, Sen. Sheehy was engaged in a routine flight training exercise which he completes twice a year,” Berg said in a statement. “The aircraft experienced a mechanical engine failure.”

Berg said Sheehy and his co-pilot made an emergency landing in a field.

“Neither pilot was injured,” he added.

The plane landed in a field in Ennis, Montana, according to KBZK.

The outlet reported that Sheehy is an FAA-certified commercial pilot and certified flight instructor.

Reached for comment, Sheehy’s office referred Fox News Digital to Berg’s statement.