Canisters were in…: Accused Manoranjan reveals details on how Parliament attack was planned
The group that planned the security breach found value in what Manoranjan witnessed in July at the old Parliament building because the canisters were concealed inside the shoes.
GOP senator wants immediate vote to bar federal tax dollars for colleges that fail to condemn antisemitism
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., is demanding an immediate vote on a bill he is co-sponsoring that would rescind funding for colleges that do not condemn antisemitism on campus. Scott told Fox News Digital in an interview that the call for a vote on the bill — drafted by Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., in October — comes after Harvard refused to take action against university President Claudine Gay after her testimony before the House Education and the Workforce Committee hearing this month. During the hearing, Gay said that calls on campus for the genocide of Jews require “context” before they would violate the school’s code of conduct. “I don’t think you ought to be going to schools that don’t want to stop antisemitism, and we’ll call it for what it is,” Rick Scott said. “And so, I think that I think that we ought to outlaw this.” Scott added, “This is absolute hatred, and our schools should not be allowing this.” SEN RUBIO INTRODUCES BILL TO BAN FEDERAL TAX DOLLARS TO PRO-TERRORIST ACTIVITIES ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES The bill, known as the Stop Antisemitism on College Campuses Act, would “prohibit institutions of higher education that authorize Anti-Semitic events on campus from participating in the student loan and grant programs,” according to the bill text. It was introduced in the upper chamber last month. Other co-sponsors include Republican Sens. Marsha Blackburn, Katie Britt, John Cornyn, Joni Ernst, Cindy Hyde-Smith, James Lankford and Ted Budd. This isn’t the first attempt by Republican lawmakers to call out reported antisemitism on college campuses. Last month, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., tried to pass a resolution with unanimous support that would condemn antisemitism on college campuses. Democrat Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., blocked the resolution from advancing. Van Hollen argued that most of the pro-Palestine protests across U.S. campuses were not violent, “as repugnant as some of them were in terms of the words.” He said the resolution would “smear all of the students who engage in these protests,” potentially violating First Amendment rights. HAWLEY TAPS DOJ TO INVESTIGATE PRO-PALESTINIAN STUDENT GROUPS’ POTENTIAL TIES TO HAMAS CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Also last month, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., introduced the Ending Subsidies for Pro-Terrorist Activities on Campus Act, which would designate terrorist-related activity as grounds for disqualification from federal student aid. Rubio cited several student groups on college campuses that have shown support for Hamas, the Islamist terrorist group, after its attack on Israel. Since the Oct. 7 massacre carried out by Hamas, Jewish students nationwide have experienced a surge in incidents like vandalism, arson and harassment.
Hunter Biden claimed he didn’t ‘stand to gain anything’ in controversial Burisma role despite making millions
FIRST ON FOX: Hunter Biden previously claimed he didn’t “stand to gain anything” from his role on the board of Ukrainian energy firm Burisma despite it leading to him making millions of dollars. He made the claim in a May 15, 2014 email recovered from his infamous abandoned laptop, which revealed he was considering writing an op-ed to push back on what he perceived were misleading reports about his then-new role on the Burisma board. However, emails from weeks earlier and the millions of dollars he would later make contradict his claim. “So you think it makes sense for me to write some sort of op/ed explaining my role as an independent director with no equity interest in the company. The objective would be to clarify that I don’t ‘work’ for Burisma and that I don’t stand to gain anything as I am not an equity shareholder in the company,” Hunter wrote. WASH POST ADMITS HUNTER BIDEN’S BURISMA BOARD MEMBERSHIP ‘SHOULD HAVE BEEN A SCANDAL’ WHEN HIS DAD WAS VP “My decision to join the board was made in the context of lending support and ‘western’ corporate governance standards to a vital Ukrainian company and industry under siege from pro-Putin/ Russian forces,” he added. Despite Hunter’s claims, the wheels were already in motion for then-Vice President Biden’s son to make a lucrative salary from Burisma. One day before Hunter’s email, a top Burisma executive sent an email that said they planned on paying “monthly fees” to the directors as previously discussed, referring to Hunter Biden and his now-former business partner Devon Archer, among a couple others. A follow-up email noted that the wires were “received” for Hunter and Archer. An email Biden sent a month earlier to Archer shows Hunter was actively strategizing how the pair could capitalize on their board memberships and expand their business. In one section, Hunter appears to be attempting to leverage his connections with his father, then-Vice President Joe Biden, in order to boost his potential pay, including saying that his contract with Burisma should include “a retainer in the range of 25k p/m [with] additional fees where appropriate for more in depth work to go to [law firm Boies, Schiller, Flexner] for our protection.” Hunter’s pay per month ended up being more than double that proposed figure. Citing bank records, the House Oversight Committee investigating Biden’s foreign business dealings said Hunter and Archer reached a deal with the firm to be paid $1 million per year, which the committee said equated to approximately $83,333 per month. A couple of these payments rolled in mid-April 2014 and then more payments arrived on May 15, 2014, the same day Hunter said that he didn’t “stand to gain anything.” Hunter and Archer each received a $83,333 payment to Rosemont Seneca Bohai and would continue to receive identical payments until late 2015 when Hunter’s payments were switched to his corporate account, Owasco P.C. JORDAN SAYS HUNTER BIDEN MADE A ‘HUGE CHANGE’ BY SAYING HIS FATHER WAS ‘NOT FINANCIALLY INVOLVED’ IN BUSINESS The committee reported that the two men received approximately $3.32 million in 2014 and 2015 alone, and $6.5 million total, according to FBI whistleblower testimony. Other emails showed Biden thanking a top Burisma executive for birthday gifts he described as “far too extravagant” less than two months before the top Ukraine prosecutor investigating the energy company was infamously fired. “V- Thanks so much,” Hunter wrote in the email to Vadym Pozharskyi, an adviser to Burisma’s board, asking him to thank “Nikolay” for the gifts, appearing to refer to Burisma’s founder and former president, Mykola Zlochevsky, who also went by “Nikolay.” WATCH: WHITE HOUSE SAYS BIDEN ‘PROUD’ OF HUNTER DESPITE MOUNTING LEGAL ISSUES, SUBPOENA DEFIANCE “Let Nikolay know how much I appreciate his friendship and loyalty. I truly believe in what we are doing and I’m proud to say I am a part of this organization. And I am so glad you and I are on the same team,” Hunter wrote. The committee has also been investigating whether President Biden was involved in Hunter’s business dealings, something the latter denied Wednesday during a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol ahead of what was supposed to be his appearing for a deposition as a result of a congressional subpoena. “My father was not financially involved in my business,” Hunter said. “No evidence to support that my father was financially involved in my business because it did not happen.” Hunter’s recent indictment last week in California, which includes 9 new tax-related charges, talks about how he “earned handsomely” while serving on Burisma’s board and his involvement with CEFC China Energy Co Ltd, a Chinese energy conglomerate, but failed to pay over $1M in federal income taxes over the course of a “four-year scheme.” Fox News Digital has reached out to representatives of Hunter for comment.
DOJ prosecutor accused of limiting questions on Biden during Hunter probe expected to appear for deposition
The assistant U.S. attorney who is accused of limiting questions related to President Biden during the federal investigation into Hunter Biden is expected to be deposed at the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday morning, all while the whistleblowers who made the allegations against her testify at a separate committee. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lesley Wolf was subpoenaed last month for a deposition. She is expected to sit behind closed doors at the House Judiciary Committee at 10 a.m. on Thursday. HUNTER BIDEN INVESTIGATORS LIMITED QUESTIONS ABOUT ‘DAD,’ ‘BIG GUY’ DESPITE FBI, IRS OBJECTIONS: WHISTLEBLOWER Over at the House Ways and Means Committee, the whistleblowers who put Wolf’s work under the microscope will sit for a closed-door hearing during the committee’s executive session on Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. Gary Shapley, who led the IRS’ portion of the Hunter Biden probe, and Joseph Ziegler, a 13-year special agent within the IRS’ Criminal Investigation Division, are expected to speak to the panel. Shapley and Ziegler have alleged political influence surrounding prosecutorial decisions throughout the Hunter Biden investigation, which began in 2018. Shapley alleged that Wolf sought to block investigators from asking questions related to President Biden throughout the years-long federal investigation into his son, Hunter Biden. Specifically, Shapley alleged that Wolf worked to “limit” questioning related to President Biden and apparent references to Biden as “dad” or “the big guy.” Wolf allegedly said there was “no specific criminality to that line of questioning” relating to President Biden, which Shapley said “upset the FBI.” COMER, JORDAN DEMAND HUNTER BIDEN APPEAR FOR DEPOSITION, SAY HE WILL NOT RECEIVE ‘SPECIAL TREATMENT’ In October 2020, Wolf reviewed an affidavit for a search warrant of Hunter Biden’s residence and “agreed that probable cause had been achieved,” Shapley testified. However, Shapley said Wolf ultimately would not allow a physical search warrant on the president’s son. Shapley said Wolf determined there was “enough probable cause for the physical search warrant there, but the question was whether the juice was worth the squeeze.” Wolf allegedly said that “optics were a driving factor in the decision on whether to execute a search warrant,” Shapley said, adding that Wolf agreed that “a lot of evidence in our investigation would be found in the guest house of former Vice President Biden, but said there is no way we will get that approved.” Wolf also allegedly tipped off Hunter Biden’s legal team ahead of a planned search of his storage unit. The whistleblowers’ testimony before Ways and Means and Wolf’s deposition at Judiciary comes as part of the House impeachment inquiry against President Biden. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., are leading the investigation as the House gathers evidence and considers whether to draft articles of impeachment against President Biden. COMER DEFENDS PRIVATE DEPOSITION OF HUNTER BIDEN, VOWS TO RELEASE TRANSCRIPT AND HOLD PUBLIC HEARING The committees are investigating the alleged politicization of the federal probe into Hunter Biden. They are also investigating the Biden family’s foreign business dealings and whether the president was involved or benefited directly from those ventures. President Biden has repeatedly denied having any involvement in his son’s business dealings. Hunter Biden defied his subpoena to appear for a deposition at the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday. Instead, he made a public statement on Capitol Hill, blasting the Republican impeachment inquiry and saying his father was “not financially involved” in his business dealings. Comer and Jordan have threatened to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress. Hunter Biden’s public statement Wednesday came just days after he was charged out of Special Counsel David Weiss’ investigation. Weiss alleged Hunter Biden was engaged in a “four-year scheme” when the president’s son did not pay his federal income taxes from January 2017 to October 2020 while also filing false tax reports. Weiss filed the charges in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The charges break down to three felonies and six misdemeanors concerning $1.4 million in owed taxes that were since paid. Weiss also indicted Hunter Biden in September with federal gun charges, to which the president’s son has pleaded not guilty. Biden’s defense attorney, Abbe Lowell, this week moved to dismiss those charges altogether. Weiss’s investigation is ongoing.
Energy experts bash John Kerry’s UN deal to shut down fossil fuels
U.S. energy experts heavily criticized the United Nations’ sweeping agreement Wednesday to completely end fossil fuel reliance across the world, arguing that the pact would only serve to harm American national and energy security. The agreement was announced during the U.N.’s now-concluded COP28 climate summit in Dubai, which was extended with an “overtime” period as delegates hammered out a deal with commitments related to future fossil fuel usage and other climate-related priorities. The so-called global stocktake represented the first U.N. agreement of its kind to include language calling for nations to transition “away from fossil fuels.” “While diplomats are fearmongering about projected minuscule temperature changes, billions of men, women and children around the world would rejoice at the opportunity to enjoy reliable electricity that fossil fuels provide,” American Energy Institute CEO Jason Isaac told Fox News Digital. “Lunatics with the U.N. are inhumanely attempting to bribe countries into phasing out fossil fuels but [have] no realistic means for replacing the products and energy those hydrocarbons produce,” he continued. “Meanwhile, the Biden administration turns a blind eye to Iranian oil sanction and the spigot is flowing right to China, which is now refining the products that move the world: diesel and jet fuel.” TOP POWER GRID WATCHDOG WARNS FOSSIL FUEL SHUTDOWNS COULD DESTABILIZE FUTURE RELIABILITY Isaac added that the COP28 agreement ultimately “won’t be worth the paper it’s printed on” given the history of nations failing to meet other U.N. climate objectives and agreements. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, who led the U.S. delegation at the summit, applauded the agreement for delivering a significant piece of “climate action.” EXPERTS RAISE ALARM AFTER BIDEN STRIKES AGREEMENT WITH CHINA TO SHUT DOWN FOSSIL FUELS “The United States supported this call for clearer language about the need to largely phase out fossil fuels, but we know this was a compromise between many parties. And that does not detract from its significance,” Kerry remarked during a press conference Wednesday. “This text also aligns with the decisions the marketplace has already made,” he said. “The message coming out of this COP is that we are moving away from fossil fuels and we are not turning back.” Overall, the top-line goal of the agreement, which COP28 President Sultan Al Jaber characterized as a “historic achievement,” is to ensure future carbon emissions reductions and limit global warming to just 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The world has already warmed about one degree above pre-industrial levels, according to the U.S. In addition to the pledge to phase out fossil fuels, it calls for a tripling of renewable energy capacity by 2030, includes a firm commitment to shutter coal-fired power generation, calls for greater proliferation of electric vehicles, endorses carbon capture technology and disavows fossil fuel subsidies. DEM, GOP REPS RAISE ALARM THAT BIDEN ADMIN LOOKING OTHER WAY ON SOLAR INDUSTRY’S ALLEGED FORCED LABOR TIES “Thankfully, the COP28 agreement is just the latest do-nothing agreement to come out of the U.N. climate meetings … blah-blah-blah, as Greta Thunberg might say,” Steve Milloy, a senior legal fellow at the Energy & Environment Legal Institute, told Fox News Digital. “After 28 U.N. climate meetings, emissions have increased 50% with no end in sight, per a pre-COP28 U.N. report.” “There are no enforceable commitments to cut emissions or fossil fuel use and no requirements for rich countries to pay poor countries for climate,” Milloy added. “Next year, the COP29 circus will be held in Azerbaijan, another oil producing country. So, the climate farce will continue, as will fossil fuel use and emissions.” Power the Future, which advocates for energy workers, noted recent headwinds facing green energy development in the U.S., pointing in particular to the recent cancellation of a major offshore wind project green-lit by the Biden administration and Ford Motor Co.’s decision this month to cut back on its electric vehicle production. “This joke of an agreement really only has two goals: Allow Joe Biden to continue his war on American energy and ensure these elitists have something to do before next year’s COP29 exclusive junket,” Power the Future founder and Executive Director Daniel Turner said. “These unelected bureaucrats can smile as they board their carbon-spewing private jets knowing feckless leaders like Joe Biden will continue to do their bidding in pursuit of a fanciful and misguided agenda,” Turner added.
‘Gross misconduct’: TMC’s Derek O’Brien suspended from Rajya Sabha, here’s what happened
O’Brien had demanded a discussion on the security breach incident, in which two men jumped from the visitors’ gallery into the Lok Sabha and burst yellow smoke canisters.
2,366 farmers died by suicide in Maharashtra in 10 months this year
951 farmers ended their lives in the Amravati revenue division, followed by 877 in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar division, 257 in Nagpur division, 254 in Nashik division and 27 in Pune division, Maharashtra Minister for Relief and Rehabilitation Anil Bhaidas Patil informed the state assembly.
G20 Summit 2023: How India benefitted from G20 presidency and success of the event?
“This is a time for us to engage America, manage China, cultivate Europe, reassure Russia, bring Japan into play, draw neighbours in, extend the neighbourhood, and expand traditional constituencies of support,” said S Jaishankar. On each of these dimensions, India succeeded during the G-20 summit.
Parliament Security Breach: Lok Sabha Secretariat suspends eight security personnel
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting with senior ministers inside the Parliament over security breach.
WATCH: Ramaswamy’s top moments on DEI, immigration, tax reform, Jan. 6 at CNN town hall: ‘This is important’
Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy appeared in Des Moines, Iowa for a CNN town hall on Wednesday night and not only addressed a broad range of topics but also repeatedly clashed with CNN anchor Abby Phillip. The most contentious moment of the hour-long town hall was when Phillip attempted to grill Ramaswamy over his recent comment referring to Jan. 6 as an “inside job.” As Ramaswamy accused the government of systemically lying in recent years and claimed that federal agents were within the crowd on Jan. 6, he mocked Phillip’s interruptions as proof that “the establishment doesn’t approve this message.” “I know it’s very uncomfortable for you. I know this is an uncomfortable issue for many people but we have to do the truth here,” Ramaswamy told the CNN anchor. Ramaswamy’s comments were repeatedly welcomed with applause by the GOP-friendly audience as Phillip continued sparring with the White House hopeful. WATCH: DESANTIS’ TOP MOMENTS ON ISRAEL, IMMIGRATION, TRUMP AND HALEY AT CNN TOWN HALL: ‘AN EASY ANSWER’ Ramaswamy, the son of immigrants, laid out his hard-line immigration policies. He began by repeating his vow to send the military to secure the southern border but quickly pivoted to his proposal to “ending the illegal incentives to be here.” “End birthright citizenship for the kids of illegal migrants to whom the 14th Amendment does not apply, end federal funding to sanctuary cities using our own taxpayer money to pay effectively for breaking the rule of law,” Ramaswamy said. “I do believe that anybody who’s in this country illegally needs to be returned to their country of origin. Not because they’re all bad people. In fact, many of them are good people… So this is not a value judgment about those people. It’s a value judgment about this country. We’re founded on the rule of law. And as a father of two sons in the White House, I can’t look them in the eye and tell them they have to follow the rules when our own government isn’t following its own rules.” The political outsider explained that he could implement such mass deportations by invoking an obscure law called 287 G he says allows local law enforcement to carry out warrants issued by ICE. He also clarified that ending birthright citizenship of illegal immigrants would take effect after he takes office rather than be retroactively applied to those already born in the U.S. Ramaswamy was asked by an Iowa voter about how he’d be able to balance an authentic approach on the world stage while maintaining a “presidential demeanor.” He responded by saying he wants to act as president the way he wants his sons to view him. “Am I going to tell my kids to go to school and be a bully? No, I’m not. But I’m gonna tell them if somebody bullies you or hits you, you’re gonna hit them back ten times harder. And that’s the way I’m going to lead this country,” Ramaswamy said. “As we say in our family- you have to be strong enough to protect your kindness. So if you watch those debates carefully, I don’t engage in four-letter words. I mean, there are other candidates who have called me dumb, scum and worse that I’m not going to repeat here. I didn’t go after them but if they’re gonna come after me, I’m not going to be a president whether it’s Xi Jinping or Vladimir Putin or anybody else who’s going to roll over. When I’m leading the United States, the same rule applies. If you hit us, we hit you back ten times harder.” TRUMP HOLDS MASSIVE LEAD IN IOWA 5 WEEKS FROM CAUCUSES THAT KICK OFF GOP RACE: POLL The GOP hopeful was asked about his past support of dramatically increasing the inheritance tax, telling Phillip it’s not part of his policy platform. “What we need is a 12% flat tax across the board,” Ramaswamy said. “Ordinary income, capital gain, corporate, flatten it out.” “And here is how we get money back for the system: end the croniest deductions, the deductions and the loopholes and the rebates that corporations, special interests have lobbied in. It’s about $700 billion a year, just the tax compliance costs, just the out-of-pocket costs not counting the time you spend preparing your taxes. Give that back to the people,” he continued. Ramaswamy was quick to reject the premise of a question from a Drake University professor who asked how he would promote “diversity and inclusion” and advance “underrepresented groups” in his administration and in the private sector. “So I think the Diversity Equity Inclusion agenda has been abused. In the name of diversity, we have at many of our universities totally sacrificed diversity of thought,” he said. “In the name of equity, we’ve perpetuated a lot of inequity and inequality of opportunity through affirmative action and otherwise. In the name of inclusion, we’ve created a new culture of exclusion where certain points of view aren’t welcome. So especially in a university setting, what do I care about? Diversity of viewpoint. This is important, actually, I think diversity of viewpoint is part of what this country was built on. Well, the best way to foster diversity of viewpoint is to screen candidates for the diversity of their views.” He later continued, “And I think the use of these racial and gender quota systems, I think, have actually created a new form of racism in the United States that otherwise would not have existed. It’s sad to me, I mean, I’ve hired, not because I was thinking about it consciously, plenty of Black women in different positions of authority in this campaign or other companies or whatever. And I can tell you it saddens me when people look at somebody who I hired on the basis of merit and say that they only got that job because of the race or gender. That doesn’t do anybody a favor. And so I think if we restore true meritocracy in this