Mamdani Forced to Explain to MAGA How Brown People Use the Word “Aunt”

Zohran Mamdani has been forced to explain what the word “aunt” means in South Asian culture.

On Friday, the Democratic nominee for New York City mayor made a speech about Islamophobia outside of a Bronx mosque. The speech highlighted how Muslims in New York City deal with discrimination and prejudice, especially after the 9/11 attacks. Mamdani spoke of a personal experience where one of his loved ones was fearful of experiencing prejudice in the city.

“I want to speak to the memory of my aunt who stopped taking the subway after September 11 because she did not feel safe in her hijab,” Mamdani said, while getting emotional. “I want to speak to the Muslim who works for our city, whether they teach in our schools or walk the beat for the NYPD.”

But, rather than actually listening to his story or perhaps engaging in some introspection about prejudice others face in America, right-wing media seized upon Mamdani’s mention of his “aunt” to try to claim some kind of gotcha. The Murdoch-owned New York Post and Fox News both claimed to find Mamdani’s actual aunt, who doesn’t wear a head covering.

On Tuesday morning, Mamdani had to clarify what the word “aunt” means in South Asian culture, explaining that he was speaking about his father’s cousin Zehra fuhi, who passed away a few years ago. An “aunt” can refer not just to a sister of a parent but to any elder female relative or even a friend or acquaintance.

Some right-wing commentators then tried to claim “Zehra Fuhi” isn’t a real person, believing fuhi is a surname, rather than a term for paternal aunt in Urdu, Hindi, and Gujarati.

The whole saga is another bigoted attempt to smear Mamdani based on his religion. Mamdani’s opponent Andrew Cuomo, along with right-wing media, has made multiple Islamophobic attacks in a desperate attempt to gain ground on the surging Democratic candidate. Cuomo and the media have tried to claim that Mamdani is pro-Hamas, wants a global intifada, and is close to Siraj Wahaj, an imam in the city baselessly accused of supporting the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. These efforts have only demonstrated how pervasive Islamophobia is in New York and American politics, proving the points Mamdani made in his Bronx speech.

Senator Elizabeth Warren has called for an investigation into former Barclays CEO Jes Staley and “all current and former U.S. banking executives who may have facilitated Jeffrey Epstein’s illicit conduct,” according to a letter seen by The Guardian.

Staley, who, like the Democratic senator, is from Massachusetts, was known as one of the chief financial enablers of Epstein, allowing the late sexual predator to continue his account with JPMorgan in the midst of his crimes coming to light. The New York Times described Staley as Epstein’s “chief defender” at JPMorgan, which processed more than a billion dollars for him even as Epstein’s abuse and trafficking crimes were public.

Warren also noted that Staley is already banned for life in the U.K. banking industry for his connections to Epstein, and referred to court documents suggesting that Staley told Epstein about the bank’s apprehension toward him (and his large cash withdrawals), allowing him to alter his approach so that his account wouldn’t raise further suspicion.

JPMorgan has paid $290 million in settlements to Epstein’s victims, but according to Warren, “Staley has so far avoided accountability in the United States.”

Warren has urged the Federal Reserve Board, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, or OCC, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC, to announce plans for an investigation by November 7.

“It is critical to send a message to the public and current bank employees that this type of egregious misconduct has no place in the American banking system,” Warren wrote.

“Staley is not the only bank executive with concerning ties to Epstein. For example, according to Staley’s sworn deposition, he discussed Epstein with [JPMorgan] CEO Jamie Dimon on at least two occasions,” she continued. “The Fed, OCC, and FDIC should investigate any other current or former banking executives who engaged in similar conduct to determine whether their conduct satisfies the legal standards for a ban on working in the banking industry and civil monetary penalties.… Any banking executives who facilitated the crimes of one of the world’s most notorious sex criminals should be held to account.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth won’t even look at any soldiers with beards during his upcoming South Korean engagement.

An email from the 51st Fighter Wing at Osan Air Base in South Korea formally restricts any “members with shaving waivers” from attending the military chief’s speaking engagement at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, according to a screenshot shared to an unofficial Air Force Facebook page. The post was made on Sunday, ahead of Hegseth’s visit to South Korea alongside Donald Trump.

The memo underscored that unshaven members are “NOT authorized” to attend the event.

“No Beardos allowed at Osan,” the post captioned the image.

An Air Force official confirmed the memo’s authenticity to Task & Purpose.

Last month, Hegseth ordered hundreds of America’s top military commanders to leave their international posts to attend a mandatory in-person assembly in Quantico, Virginia. The meeting unveiled the hairphobic ex–Fox News host’s latest efforts to de-woke the country’s armed forces—part of which included snipping shaving waivers away entirely.

That policy is expected to disproportionately affect Black service members due to the potentially injurious effects of frequently shaving their faces, given the curl pattern of their hair.

“No more beardos,” Hegseth said, during his September address. “Calling someone to shave, or work hard, is exactly the kind of work force we want.”

“The era of rampant and ridiculous shaving profiles is done,” Hegseth continued, adding that anyone unwilling to comply should look for a “new position or a new profession.”

Hegseth is far from the first commander to redefine the military’s relationship with facial hair. The armed forces have a long and strange history with beards, changing hygiene requirements and regulations every few decades.

But that’s far from Hegseth’s only hyperfixation on physical appearance. In the same address, Hegseth also announced that he would be changing physical standards for combat roles to the “highest male standard only,” a revision that could eject women from their positions.

Hegseth has openly said before that he does not believe women should serve in combat roles. During a November interview on The Shawn Ryan Show, Hegseth said, “I’m straight-up just saying we should not have women in combat roles. It hasn’t made us more effective. Hasn’t made us more lethal. Has made fighting more complicated.”

Immigration and Customs Enforcement leadership is reportedly being replaced in favor of the more aggressive leadership tactics of U.S. Border Patrol—who don’t care about only detaining immigrants with criminal records—as friction grows in the Department of Homeland Security over unsatisfactory deportation rates.

Four senior sources in President Donald Trump’s administration and DHS told Fox News’s national correspondent Bill Melugin Monday night that nationwide staffing shakeups were underway. ICE field office directors are reportedly being removed in Denver, El Paso, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, as well as Portland and Los Angeles, where massive ICE operations have been ongoing.

Corey Lewandowski, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s rather disruptive special government employee, compiled the list of ICE officials to be reassigned.

Despite Trump’s sweeping deportation efforts, his administration is still falling short of White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller’s goal of 3,000 immigration arrests per day. As of late September, ICE was detaining an average of only 1,178 people per day.

This has led to “significant friction” at the DHS, Melugin reported. ICE’s style of more targeted operations, helmed by Tom Homan and Todd Lyons, is now considered too mild for the sweeping ethnic cleansing the Trump administration has planned. Instead, Lewandowski and Noem hope the roaming hordes of Border Patrol officers will weed out scores of noncitizens to deport.

“What did everyone think mass deportations meant? Only the worst? Tom Homan has said it himself, anyone in the U.S. illegally is on the table,” one Border Patrol officer told Melugin.

Not only does Border Patrol care less about pursuing the “worst” undocumented immigrants with criminal rap sheets, but it has an aggressive style that lends itself to Trump’s vision of made-for-television deportation raids.

“President Donald Trump’s top aides have welcomed Border Patrol’s more aggressive tactics to secure arrests, such as rappelling into apartment buildings from Black Hawk helicopters and jumping out of rental trucks in Home Depot parking lots, as they’ve become disappointed with ICE,” one DHS official told NBC News.

“The mentality is CBP does what they’re told, and the administration thinks ICE isn’t getting the job done,” another DHS official told NBC News. “So CBP will do it.”

As has become the standard for her, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin offered a statement that did not reflect reality at all. “While we have no personnel changes to announce at this time, the Trump administration remains laser-focused on delivering results and removing violent criminal illegal aliens from this country,” she told Fox News.

The Trump administration’s war on Tylenol is having real legal ramifications in Texas.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the acetaminophen brand’s parent company Tuesday, regurgitating Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s talking points about the drug’s alleged ties to autism rates.  

Last month, Kennedy and Donald Trump told Americans that the number one drug prescribed to pregnant patients for pain relief and fever reduction was actually not safe to take, despite an overwhelming lack of evidence to support their claim.

But their comments have now morphed into a serious legal challenge that could have huge ramifications for one of America’s biggest drugmakers. Citing Kennedy’s comments, Paxton argued that Johnson & Johnson failed to adequately warn consumers that Tylenol use during pregnancy posed a “significantly increased risk of autism” and ADHD.

“Big Pharma betrayed America by profiting off of pain and pushing pills regardless of the risks. These corporations lied for decades, knowingly endangering millions to line their pockets,” Paxton said in a statement. “Additionally, seeing that the day of reckoning was coming, Johnson & Johnson attempted to escape responsibility by illegally offloading their liability onto a different company. By holding Big Pharma accountable for poisoning our people, we will help Make America Healthy Again.” 

More than any other over-the-counter drug, doctors have recommended Tylenol for pregnant people due to its wide availability and its well-researched safety. It has been on the market since 1955, and is considered to be the single safest fever reducer and painkiller for pregnant women. Because of this, it’s also one of the few pain medications that expecting parents are allowed to consume, and they do consume it: Studies have found that two-thirds of pregnant women in the U.S. consume Tylenol during their pregnancies. 

The flip side of not taking Tylenol to, say, reduce a fever, is that it puts a developing fetus at risk for serious defects such as spina bifida and anencephaly.

The drug—which is really just acetaminophen—is so safe that governments around the world launched public education campaigns for their own residents in the wake of Kennedy’s announcement, urging pregnant people not to stop consuming the drug over the Trump administration’s unfounded fears.

“The conditions people use acetaminophen to treat during pregnancy are far more dangerous than any theoretical risks and can create severe morbidity and mortality for the pregnant person and the fetus,” Dr. Steven J. Fleischman, president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said in a statement in September following the announcement.

Combating autism is the cornerstone of Kennedy’s public health policy. Kennedy is a part of a growing movement of anti-vax parents who refuse to provide their children with the same public health advantages that they received in their youth, mostly in fear of thoroughly debunked conspiracy theories that, at one point, linked autism to the jab. 

The researcher who sparked that myth with a fraudulent paper lost his medical license and eventually rescinded his opinion. Since then, dozens of studies have proven there’s no correlation between autism and vaccines, including one study that surveyed more than 660,000 children over the course of 11 years.

But confusion persists regarding the basic figures. A study published by the Autism Society of Texas found that one in 31 people are estimated to have autism—a disturbingly sharp uptick from figures released in 2006 that found about one in every 110 children were diagnosed with autism by age eight. 

But behind those numbers is a different story, since the definition of autism was broadened in that same time span. Increased research, social destigmatization, and improved mental health screening have also contributed to the inflated numbers.