Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani this week released a video encouraging illegal immigrants to enroll in the city’s free childcare programs. “Any New York City parent, regardless of your occupation, income, or immigration status, is eligible to sign their child up,” Ocasio-Cortez said in the video, which was entirely in Spanish. Mamdani briefly addressed viewers, saying his Spanish was rusty before deferring to the New York congresswoman. Children turning three or four in 2026 are eligible to enroll for Pre-K or 3-K, “free, full-day, high-quality education to three-year-old children.” Parents are generally required to provide proof of the child’s age and verification of New York City residency. However, the residency requirement can be waived if a parent indicates the child is living in temporary housing. “Students in temporary housing, as defined by McKinney-Vento, are not required to submit documentation (including address, proof of date of birth, and immunization) in order to enroll,” the form states.  My Spanish is… not very good,” Mamdani wrote on X, in a post also in Spanish. “But the fight for universal childcare? That’s very good.” Mi español es… no muy bueno. Pero la lucha para cuidado infantil universal? Eso es muy bueno. Asi que traje una amiga para ayudarme a compartirles porque registrarse para el kinder-3 y prekinder esta semana importa. Vamos a registrarlos. Visite https://t.co/Ghy11RZNkq para… pic.twitter.com/8GkRRPJeDX — Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) February 24, 2026 Mamdani and Ocasio-Cortez are both at the forefront of the Democratic Party’s defense of illegal immigration. The congresswoman has publicly clashed with border czar Tom Homan over the Trump administration’s detention and deportation of illegal aliens. Mamdani’s immigration chief is a radical leftist activist who has called for the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Parents can apply online through the city’s “MySchools” portal, by phone with interpretation services available in more than 200 languages, or in person at Family Welcome Centers. The free Pre-K program is indicative of Mamdani’s young administration. The avowed socialist ran for office promising to make a number of things free — notably city buses and city-run grocery stores — pledges that appealed to young New Yorkers but have made Mamdani the bete noir of conservatives across the country. Mamdani has thus far struggled to find funding for the free programs he’s promised. Mamdani’s proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year projects that total city spending is going to jump to $127 billion, resulting in a large deficit. The mayor has faced backlash for proposing raising property taxes by 9.5% to pay for the budget jump.  To avoid raising property taxes, Mamdani has an open request to Governor Kathy Hochul to raise taxes by 2% on those who make over one million dollars a year, but Hochul has pledged not to raise taxes in 2026. She did, however, promise Mamdani $1.5 billion dollars over the next two years to help fund his budget, with some of the funding going towards early childhood programs. But even a successful launch of the universal childcare program may not save Mamdani from criticism. Since taking office in January, the mayor has come under fire for failing to deliver on his agenda, and for resuming homeless encampment sweeps, which the leftist had eliminated shortly after taking office.

Disclaimer: Mayflower cigars does not sell tobacco products to anyone under the age of 21. If you are not at least 21 years of age, please do not enter our website. No U.S. government official or entity endorses Mayflower Cigars. Daily Wire host Michael Knowles proudly repped conservative values and his Mayflower Cigars brand at the Capitol on Tuesday night for President Donald Trump’s State of the Union. Knowles had the privilege of sitting in the chamber for Trump’s address as a special guest of House Speaker Mike Johnson.

Everyone knows about President Trump’s Investment Accounts for kids, but at the State of the Union, he announced plans to launch similar investment accounts for adults. After touting the stock market at all-time highs, Trump said he wanted everyone to benefit — including those who are not offered retirement accounts through their employers. “Half of all working Americans still do not have access to a retirement plan with matching contributions from an employer,” Trump said. “To remedy this gross disparity, I’m announcing that next year, my administration will give these often forgotten American workers — great people, the people that built our country — access to the same type of retirement plan offered to every federal worker. We will match your contribution with up to $1,000 each year. We will match your contribution with up to $1,000 each year as we ensure that all Americans can profit from a rising stock market.” About 40.6 million full-time working Americans lack access to a retirement plan, and nearly 51% do not benefit from an employer match. The White House hopes the new initiative will help begin to close that gap. A White House official told The Daily Wire that the accounts would be similar to current federal employee savings plans known as Thrift Savings Plans (TSP). The federal retirement plans function similarly to a 401(k). Contributions can be made pre-tax or after-tax, with the IRS setting annual contribution limits. TSP allows holders to choose between five investment options that range from government securities, bonds, the S&P 500, small/mid-cap U.S. stocks, and international stocks. There are also several lifecycle funds that allow account holders to invest across the board.  Unlike Thrift Savings Plans, however, funding for the new program will stem from an existing Savers Match enacted under the bipartisan SECURE 2.0 legislation, allowing the government to match up to $1,000 for eligible Americans. The program will include a new structure allowing workers to utilize the accounts even when changing jobs. Critics argue existing legislation will not allow the plan to come to fruition, while the White House says it is possible but acknowledges future legislation would be needed to “bolster this game-changing plan.”  Under the proposal, private investors and philanthropists will be able to contribute to these accounts under the President’s plan, a model the White House also used for investment accounts for children and the White House ballroom project. The White House Ballroom plans to be fully funded by private donations, with contributions exceeding $300 million. Trump Accounts for kids have also had a healthy dose of private investment, with Michael and Susan Dell kicking off donations with $6.25 billion.  Once the Trump accounts are funded, the Trump administration expects 56 million previously uncovered workers to be matched with a high-quality, low-fee retirement plan. The White House told The Daily Wire they plan to unveil additional details in the near future. 

The U.S. Supreme Court announced Monday that it will take up a major climate change lawsuit targeting the energy industry — a case that could determine the future of similar lawsuits filed by left-wing states and municipalities across the country. The Court agreed to review Suncor Energy Inc. v. County Commissioners of Boulder County. They granted the hearing after the Colorado Supreme Court allowed Boulder County’s state-law claims to proceed, rejecting arguments from energy producers that the lawsuit is preempted by federal law. The decision comes amid a wave of nearly three dozen lawsuits brought by leftist jurisdictions seeking to hold oil and gas companies financially liable for alleged climate change damages. Boulder County’s lawsuit accuses energy companies of knowingly contributing to climate change and claims the resulting environmental effects have caused millions of dollars in damage to local property and residents. Energy producers have countered that such claims attempt to regulate interstate and global emissions through state tort law, an approach they argue is incompatible with the Constitution and federal environmental statutes. Legal experts say the Supreme Court’s intervention signals concern about allowing state courts to set national energy and climate policy. Christopher Mills, a constitutional attorney and former law clerk to Clarence Thomas, said the Court is correctly recognizing the national stakes involved. “The Court’s action shows that it rightly recognizes that this is a national issue in need of an immediate national resolution,” Mills said. “Letting these copycat lawsuits fester in state courts across the country is a recipe for uncertainty, undermining American energy production and harming consumers.” Todd Zywicki, a law professor at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School, described the case as a test of whether local governments can effectively impose national policy through litigation. “For years, trial lawyers and left-wing municipalities have used state law as a backdoor to impose their preferred energy policies on the entire country — without a vote, without Congress, and without accountability,” Zywicki said, adding that the Constitution does not permit such an end run around federal authority. Former Bush administration official John Shu emphasized that greenhouse gas emissions, by definition, do not respect state borders, placing them squarely within Congress’s regulatory authority under the Commerce Clause and the Clean Air Act. Boulder County, for its part, argued that Supreme Court review is premature because the case has not reached a final judgment. The justices nevertheless agreed to hear the dispute and directed the parties to address whether the Court has jurisdiction to review the case at this stage. The incentive for Boulder to resist Supreme Court review right now is that State and local governments have generally had more success keeping these climate lawsuits alive in friendly state courts, where judges have been willing to treat them as traditional nuisance or consumer-protection cases. Once the Supreme Court weighs in, especially on the federal preemption question, a ruling against Boulder could wipe out not just this case but dozens of similar lawsuits nationwide in one stroke. Oral arguments are expected in the fall, with a decision likely in 2026, and one that could determine whether state courts may continue serving as battlegrounds for national climate policy or whether such questions must remain with Congress.

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