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'Authoritarian': Furious NY House Republicans send warning to Dem leaders in war over Stefanik seat

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'Authoritarian': Furious NY House Republicans send warning to Dem leaders in war over Stefanik seat

FIRST ON FOX: Republicans in New York’s congressional delegation are up in arms over reports that state Democrat leaders are considering legislative routes to delay the special election to replace Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y.

The six GOP lawmakers signaled they would seek intervention from the Department of Justice (DOJ) if the alleged legislative maneuver runs afoul of federal law.

“Your clear attempt at playing political games to limit Republican numbers in the House of Representatives is overreaching, corrupt, and undemocratic,” reads a letter led by Reps. Mike Lawler and Nick Langworthy.

“We demand you cease any and all such attempts to change this law, and in preparation of this conspiratory, corrupt act that clearly threatens the constitutional rights of American citizens, we will also be alerting the Department of Justice.”

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New York House Republicans are putting Gov. Kathy Hochul on notice after alleged efforts to delay the special election to replace Rep. Elise Stefanik. (Getty Images)

The letter was also signed by New York Republican Reps. Nicole Malliotakis, Nick LaLota, Andrew Garbarino and Claudia Tenney.

Their pressure on New York’s Democrat leaders is backed by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who told “Fox & Friends” on Monday morning, “This is open political corruption by state officials in New York.”

“They’re going to try to disenfranchise over 750,000 New Yorkers who live in that 21st District. It’s unconscionable,” he said.

New York lawmakers in the state Senate and Assembly met last week to discuss a rules change that could keep Stefanik’s seat empty until at least June, according to the New York Post.

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Stefanik was tapped to be President Donald Trump’s U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and is expected to easily pass a Senate confirmation vote. She and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz’s departure from Congress leave the House with a razor-thin GOP majority, leaving no room for Republican dissent to pass any legislation without Democrat support.

The letter noted that Stefanik could be confirmed “as early as this week,” which would leave residents of New York’s 21st Congressional District without representation in the House until the seat is filled.

President Donald Trump picked Stefanik to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. (Getty Images)

The deep-red district is almost certainly going to stay in Republican control, as is the case with Waltz’s former Florida seat.

While Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis acted quickly to set special elections for April, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has been silent.

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Under current state law, Hochul has 10 days after Stefanik’s resignation to call a special election within a further 70 to 80 days.

But the rule change would reportedly consolidate the special elections date with the June primary race, allegedly in the name of saving resources and time.

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“Your claims that you’re doing this to be cost-effective or to promote equity are laughable and will do nothing more than leave every New Yorker in the 21st district with no representation in the House for additional months,” the GOP lawmakers wrote.

“Your scheme to alter the schedule for the special election is a serious abuse of power that is more alike to election processes in authoritarian countries than anything we see in the United States.”

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They argued that any delay would run afoul of the Constitution’s clauses on filling House vacancies as well as Supreme Court precedent.

“Any delay or postponement in calling a special election to fill a vacancy in the House of Representatives is not just undemocratic, but it is unconstitutional as well,” they wrote. “It would be reminiscent of other failed efforts regarding New York’s elections in recent years, such as the unconstitutional attempts to gerrymander New York’s congressional districts.”

The letter also cited a 2009 New York State Court of Appeals ruling that special elections to fill a vacancy should occur in the “shortest space of time reasonably possible.”

“The citizens of New York’s 21st Congressional District are constitutionally entitled to representation in the House and it is our hope that these reports have little basis in reality. If not, we strongly urge you to abandon this absurd, shameful scheme to deny representation for more than 750,000 New Yorkers and maintain current state election laws,” the lawmakers wrote.

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Fox News Digital reached out to Hochul’s office as well as the offices of New York State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins.

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Northeast

Murder suspect in Baltimore robbery spree was on probation, records show

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Murder suspect in Baltimore robbery spree was on probation, records show

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A Baltimore man faces first-degree murder and multiple armed robbery charges after authorities say he carried out a nine-day crime spree that left a convenience store clerk dead.

Baltimore police said 52-year-old Brian Burrows was arrested in connection with a commercial armed robbery and the fatal shooting of Khaled Saleh Mohamed Alshariki on Feb. 13.

Court records show Burrows has been charged in three separate cases stemming from incidents on Feb. 6, Feb. 13 and Feb. 15. In total, he faces 21 charges, including one count of first-degree murder, three counts each of armed robbery, first-degree assault, use of a firearm in a violent crime and handgun on person.

He also faces two counts each of robbery and second-degree assault, along with charges including reckless endangerment, theft and discharging a firearm.

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Brian Burrows faces first-degree murder charges, among numerous others, after police say a nine-day robbery spree left a convenience store clerk dead. (Baltimore City Police)

According to police, officers responded to reports of a shooting around 9:30 a.m. on Feb. 13 and found a 36-year-old man suffering from a gunshot wound to the torso. The victim, later identified as Alshariki, was transported to a nearby hospital where he died.

FOX45 News in Baltimore reported it obtained charging documents in the cases, which state surveillance footage captured a suspect approaching Alshariki as he worked behind the counter, pulling out a gun, demanding money and firing a fatal shot.

Court records show investigators used facial recognition technology to identify Burrows as a possible match.

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A Baltimore man faces first-degree murder and 20 other charges. (Getty Images)

Two days later, another armed robbery was reported at Family Grocery and Tobacco, about a half mile north of the Broadway store.

Police said witness statements and surveillance footage helped identify Burrows, and investigators allege the video evidence also linked him to the fatal shooting.

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Burrows was arrested Feb. 19 after detectives executed a warrant. (iStock)

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Burrows was arrested Feb. 19 after detectives executed a warrant at a home in Linden Heights. He was taken to an intake facility and charged.

Court records also show Burrows had an outstanding probation violation warrant issued in September 2025 in a prior armed robbery case. In that case, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison, with 13 years suspended, and placed on supervised probation before his release.

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Burrows remains held without bond as prosecutors pursue the murder and robbery charges, while the probation violation from his prior armed robbery case remains pending.

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Boston, MA

Red Sox rotation contender strikes out four in dominant outing

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Red Sox rotation contender strikes out four in dominant outing


FORT MYERS, Fla. — Johan Oviedo’s first outing of the spring last week didn’t go great, as the right-hander walked three over 1 2/3 innings in a performance manager Alex Cora described as “erratic.”

His second outing on Monday went much better.



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Pittsburg, PA

Record number of peregrine falcons counted in Allegheny County

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Record number of peregrine falcons counted in Allegheny County



In the early 1960s, the peregrine falcon population declined so sharply that the raptors weren’t even nesting in Pennsylvania. But now, the National Aviary says a record number have been counted in Allegheny County.

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The National Aviary says six peregrine falcons were recorded in the county during the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count. The nation’s longest-running citizen science project collects data on bird populations for ornithologists, the aviary says. It also plays a role in guiding conservation action, like what was needed to bring peregrine falcons back from the brink of extinction. 

Because of the use of DDT, peregrine falcons were no longer nesting in the state of Pennsylvania by the early 1960s, the aviary said. But after the harmful pesticide, which negatively affects reproduction rates in birds, was banned in 1972, conservation efforts have helped the peregrine falcon rebound. It was removed from the federal endangered species list in 1999 and Pennsylvania’s list in 2021. 

The record number of peregrine falcons in Allegheny County is thanks in part to the nest on top of Pitt’s Cathedral of Learning in Oakland. For the past two years, biologists with the Pennsylvania Game Commission have banded chicks born in the nest. Three were banded last year, and two the year before that. 

People can watch Carla and Ecco raise their family in the nest on a livestream camera run by the National Aviary. Carla laid her first egg of the breeding season on March 16 last year, so the aviary says the start of another season isn’t too far away. 

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