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Boston mayor denies funding LGBTQ migrant ‘wellness’ perks after program touts up to $500 benefits
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Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s office is denying reports that city funds were used to support a program offering LGBTQ migrants up to $500 in «wellness» perks, after a local advocacy group advertised the benefits and later scaled back its description amid backlash.
Through its program «Belonging Matters,» the group had planned to provide yoga, arts and other recreational services.
«No funds have been distributed or directed for these purposes. This organization received a $7,500 grant through a City program to support mental health services. Those funds were not designated for and may not be used for the voucher program referenced,» a spokesperson for the city told Fox News Digital.
The dispute highlights conflicting claims about what the «Belonging Matters» program actually offered and whether any city-backed funding was tied to those benefits, drawing scrutiny over how Boston distributes and oversees grants to outside advocacy groups.
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Boston Mayor Michelle Wu ordered the release of ICE body cam and surveillance footage, accusing federal agents of unconstitutional actions and pledging transparency and accountability. (Getty Images)
OUTnewcomers is listed as one of 45 recipients of a larger $200,000 push to support LGBTQ communities in Boston. The $200,000 figure was approved by Wu last year as a part of the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ+ Advancement (MOLA).
According to Boston officials, OUTnewcomers was awarded a $7,500 mini-grant allocated from the 2026 budget. The city has not green-lighted grant funding or cash assistance.
«These investments represent our continued dedication to uplifting LGBTQ+ Bostonians by putting resources directly into the hands of trusted community organizations,» Wu said in a press release at the time.
The mayor’s office declined to answer questions about what the $7,500 fund had originally been approved for.
The registration form for Belonging Matters offered applicants yoga, breathwork and meditation, gym memberships, creative arts, peer support, storytelling, nature-based wellness and hair styling. If approved, the program promised applicants $250 to $500 in «wellness allowances» evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
But the organization later described the program as offering vouchers of $50 or less, creating a discrepancy between how the initiative was initially presented and how it was later characterized.
«Our City of Boston-funded program is modest and need-based. It provides small vouchers of $50 or less to eligible LGBTQ+ migrants living in Boston to access limited wellness support such as haircuts, acupuncture, or massage,» the organization said in a press release.
BOSTON’S WU ORDERS RELEASE OF ICE SURVEILLANCE AND BODY CAM FOOTAGE, SAYS FED GOVERNMENT ‘HIDES BEHIND MASKS’
Boston, Mass., skyline. (Getty Images)
The program drew scrutiny online, with critics calling it a waste of taxpayer dollars.
«Handing out perks & benefits like this all the while telling the tax payers of Boston you need to pay more because we have a huge shortfall in our budget,» one observer wrote in a post to X, alluding to property tax hikes approved by the Boston City Council in 2025.
OUTnewcomers did not respond to requests for comment from Fox News Digital on how many registrants are expected to join or how many have enrolled so far. The group announced on Thursday that it had temporarily suspended the program due to «security threats.»
Founded by Sal Khan, a queer journalist originally from Pakistan, OUTnewcomers describes itself as a «grassroots and volunteer-run organization based in the Greater Boston Area» focused on «community-led advocacy, resource navigation and collective care.»
Mayor Wu speaks as the Mayor and City leaders hold a press conference on violence and drug use in DTC on February 26. (Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald/Getty Images)
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OUTnewcomers only recently launched its website in April, according to a post to X put up by the organization.
Their website does not list a 990 form, the required disclosure for nonprofits that normally lays out an organization’s structure, leadership and revenue.
immigration, fitness and wellbeing, immigrant rights, boston, massachusetts
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Un asalto en altamar dejó a 27 pescadores ecuatorianos a la deriva: fueron hallados con vida tras horas de incertidumbre
Durante varias horas, 27 pescadores artesanales navegaron a la deriva frente a la costa ecuatoriana sin motores, sin equipos de comunicación y sin posibilidad de pedir ayuda. Lo que comenzó como una jornada habitual de pesca frente a Manabí terminó convirtiéndose en un operativo de búsqueda que movilizó a las autoridades marítimas y mantuvo en vilo a decenas de familias. El desenlace llegó cuando todos fueron encontrados con vida en la comuna La Entrada, en la provincia de Santa Elena, después de sobrevivir, según sus primeros testimonios, a un violento asalto en alta mar.
Los pescadores habían salido desde comunidades pesqueras del cantón Manta, principalmente de los sectores de Santa Rosa y Las Piñas, en la parroquia San Lorenzo, para cumplir una faena de pesca artesanal. Con el paso de las horas dejaron de comunicarse y no regresaron al puerto en el tiempo previsto, por lo que sus familiares alertaron a la Capitanía del Puerto sobre su desaparición.
La denuncia dio paso a un operativo de búsqueda en aguas del litoral ecuatoriano. Durante las primeras inspecciones fueron localizadas varias embarcaciones flotando sin sus motores fuera de borda, un hallazgo que llevó a las autoridades y a los propios pescadores de la zona a sospechar que la flotilla había sido víctima de un ataque de piratas del mar, una modalidad delictiva que ha ganado presencia en la costa del país.
Mientras avanzaba la búsqueda, la incertidumbre crecía entre las familias. La noticia cambió cuando comenzó a circular un video enviado desde Santa Elena en el que aparecían varios de los pescadores confirmando que estaban con vida. Poco después, las autoridades verificaron la información y confirmaron que los 27 hombres habían logrado llegar a la comuna La Entrada, ubicada en el límite entre Santa Elena y Manabí.
De acuerdo con las versiones preliminares entregadas por los sobrevivientes, la flotilla fue interceptada por hombres armados mientras realizaba labores de pesca. Los atacantes les habrían robado los motores fuera de borda, los equipos de comunicación, combustible y otras pertenencias de valor antes de abandonar las embarcaciones en mar abierto.
Sin los motores, los pescadores quedaron completamente expuestos a las corrientes marinas. Incapaces de maniobrar o de solicitar auxilio por radio, permanecieron durante horas desplazándose sin control hasta conseguir acercarse a la costa de Santa Elena, donde finalmente recibieron ayuda y pudieron contactar a sus familiares.
En las horas posteriores al hallazgo circularon versiones no confirmadas sobre la existencia de otros pescadores desaparecidos e incluso sobre un posible fallecimiento. Sin embargo, hasta el 10 de julio las autoridades únicamente habían confirmado que los 27 trabajadores del mar cuya desaparición había sido denunciada fueron encontrados con vida. Las investigaciones continúan para esclarecer los hechos y verificar la información que comenzó a difundirse durante la emergencia.
El caso volvió a poner de relieve la vulnerabilidad de la pesca artesanal frente al incremento de los ataques de delincuentes que operan en aguas ecuatorianas. En los últimos años, pescadores de Manabí, Santa Elena, Esmeraldas y otras provincias costeras han denunciado un aumento de los robos en altamar, principalmente dirigidos al hurto de motores fuera de borda, cuyo elevado valor en el mercado ilegal los convierte en uno de los principales objetivos de estas organizaciones.
Para los pescadores, la pérdida del motor no solo representa un golpe económico que puede impedirles volver a trabajar durante semanas o meses. También constituye un riesgo inmediato para la vida, ya que una embarcación inmovilizada queda a merced del viento, las corrientes y las condiciones del océano, especialmente cuando la tripulación pierde además los equipos de navegación y comunicación.
Las autoridades marítimas y los organismos de seguridad mantienen abiertas las investigaciones para identificar a los responsables del asalto denunciado por los sobrevivientes y establecer cómo operó el grupo que interceptó a la flotilla. Los testimonios de los pescadores serán incorporados a las diligencias para reconstruir la secuencia del ataque y determinar si este caso guarda relación con otros episodios similares registrados en la costa ecuatoriana durante los últimos meses.
Nature / Wildlife,Environment,South America / Central America,Government / Politics,Puerto Ayora
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Graham Platner’s political collapse did more than derail a scandal-plagued Senate campaign in Maine. It also completed Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman’s public transformation from a Bernie Sanders-backed progressive populist to one of the left’s most aggressive internal critics.
Fetterman was among the first prominent Democrats to call out Platner’s mounting controversies, even as many party leaders continued backing the scandal-plagued candidate until a former girlfriend publicly accused Platner of rape, an allegation he denies. The accusation prompted the remaining pillars of Democratic support to collapse.
By Wednesday night, Fetterman laid into his onetime political ally Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in an interview with Fox News’ Charles Hurt on «Jesse Watters Primetime.»
«The trash took itself out,» Fetterman said of Platner’s withdrawal, as Hurt asked who should be held most responsible for the Platner chaos.
KINGMAKER MAMDANI CALLS ON PLATNER TO ‘DROP OUT OF THE RACE’ AFTER RAPE ALLEGATION
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., center, watches Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., right, speak from a podium in front of Sen. Jeffrey Merkley, D-Ore., left. (Al Drago/Getty Images)
«Absolutely, Bernie Sanders needs to apologize to the voters of Maine and to everyone that donated to that train wreck of a campaign,» Fetterman said.
Sanders ultimately called on Platner to end his candidacy after the allegation surfaced, but Fetterman argued the Vermont progressive owed voters an apology for helping elevate him in the first place.
«More than anyone, he pushed ‘P. Hustle’ into the election. And now he keeps pushing these Communists and these kinds of awful, anti-American people.»
Fox News Digital reached out to Sanders, Fetterman and Platner’s campaign for comment.
JOHN FETTERMAN’S FALL FROM HERO TO HERETIC EXPOSES DEMOCRATS’ HARD LEFT TURN
Graham Platner, Democratic US Senate candidate for Maine, during a primary election night event at the Blue Hill YMCA in Blue Hill, Maine, US, on Tuesday, June 9, 2026. Progressive Democrat Graham Platner won the party’s Senate primary in Maine after a bruising campaign which became as much about his accusations of past misbehavior as it was voters’ top concerns. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The comments cap a remarkable political evolution for Fetterman, who recently acknowledged he is more popular with some Republicans than his own party.
«For some strange [reason], I am more popular with Republicans, which is confusing because I vote in the 90-[percentile] Dem-line,» Fetterman told NewsNation in March, adding that he supports Israel and President Donald Trump’s «Operation: Epic Fury» against Iran.
Chris Borick, a professor at Lehigh University and former president of the Pennsylvania Political Science Association, called Fetterman’s change in relationship with Sanders and the Democrats’ progressive wing «dramatic.»
«As someone that follows Pennsylvania politics, I can’t find anything even close in comparison to the shifts that we’ve seen in Fetterman’s positions on an array of matters over a short period of time,» Borick said. «We’ve seen people switch parties, like Arlen Specter… but in terms of a quick departure on the most significant levels, Fetterman’s changes are without precedent in the state.»
Fetterman’s break with the left has not been limited to Sanders-world. In Pennsylvania, his increasingly independent posture has also put distance between him and parts of the state Democratic establishment, including breaking some partisan norms.
State Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Gettysburg, who served in the Pennsylvania Senate while Fetterman was lieutenant governor and presided over the chamber, said the Democrat had «political differences» with him but was typically «gracious and respectful.»
He spoke of an interaction on the Harrisburg Senate floor when Fetterman learned Mastriano accrued a record number of ballot signatures to qualify to run for governor against then-Attorney General Josh Shapiro.
«Senator Fetterman came down from the rostrum, congratulated me, and said, ‘Doug, 30,000. That’s really impressive. Great job.’ It wasn’t something he had to do,» Mastriano told Fox News Digital.
«I can’t speak for Sen. Fetterman’s political evolution — that’s something only he can explain. But I do respect anyone who is willing to speak their mind, think independently, and put what they believe to be America’s interests first, even when doing so may not be popular within their own party,» said Mastriano, who said Fetterman appears to be «put[ting] Pennsylvania ahead of politics.»
Fetterman recently upstaged his home state’s Democratic standard-bearer, Gov. Josh Shapiro, by teaming up with Republican Sen. David McCormick to help secure a booth on the National Mall for the Great American State Fair after the governor’s office said there was too little time and too little vendor interest to assemble one.
Shapiro’s predecessor, Gov. Tom Wolf, with whom Fetterman served as lieutenant governor during Wolf’s second term, also appeared to have no love lost for his party’s new maverick.
«I have thoughts, but I don’t have to share them anymore,» Wolf, who has largely retired from public life, said in March of Fetterman’s job performance.
When the two were in office in Harrisburg, Fetterman was closely aligned with Sanders and rode a wave of progressive populism to the lieutenant governor’s office — which is a separate primary-ballot line from the governorship.
Sam Chen, a Pennsylvania political analyst and chief strategist at the Allentown-based Liddell Group, told Fox News Digital that Fetterman’s evolution from Sanders ally to critic is a significant one while questioning whether the Democratic Party’s political environment helped cause the break.
«Fetterman was really helped by Sanders — even in Fetterman’s first Senate run … and then against who we really thought was probably the frontrunner in Conor Lamb.»
«Sanders really helped put Fetterman on the map and helped get him over the top,» Chen said, calling the senator’s recent condemnation of Sanders his «biggest break» with the progressive wing.
However, Chen questioned whether Fetterman’s break with Sanders over Platner was less about policy than about judgment, character and candidate quality.
«I wonder if Fetterman would have had this position if Platner had all his policy views that he has now but there was no Totenkopf tattoo or allegations from women.»
During his 2018 lieutenant governor campaign, Fetterman touted Sanders’ endorsement as proof of his progressive bona fides, describing the Vermont senator as one of the few national politicians who had the «little guy’s» back. Fetterman was then still mayor of postindustrial Braddock, a working-class suburb outside Pittsburgh, but his populist profile was already drawing national attention.
Sanders in turn came to Pennsylvania to endorse Fetterman: «What John’s campaign is about … is that we are going to transform this country and create a government that works for all of us, not just wealthy campaign contributors,» he said, according to PBS’ Philadelphia affiliate.
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Sen. John Fetterman heads to a lunch meeting with Senate Democrats at the U.S. Capitol on Nov. 15, 2022, in Washington, DC. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Since his election to the Senate, Pennsylvania Democratic groups, including the Monroe County Democratic Party in the Poconos, have branded him a «traitor,» while Punchbowl described his current political standing as «tenuous» and reported that no member of the Keystone State’s House delegation would confirm support for a 2028 reelection bid.
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«Squad» member Rep. Summer Lee, who represents Fetterman’s hometown and is more ideologically aligned with Sanders, told the outlet the increasingly isolated senator would run «at his own peril.»
Chen said Fetterman’s progressive «bona fides» remain, noting he still is reliably liberal on LGBTQ rights, marijuana and abortion — adding that as mayor or lieutenant governor, foreign policy positions were a nonfactor. Still, he argued, the fight over Platner shows how far Fetterman has moved from the progressive coalition that launched him into national politics.
john fetterman, bernie sanders, graham platner, elections, maine, democrats senate, socialism
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Un asalto en altamar dejó a 27 pescadores ecuatorianos a la deriva: fueron hallados con vida tras horas de incertidumbre
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