Walz ‘very pessimistic’ on Democrats retaking the Senate
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is “very pessimistic” about Democrats’ chances of retaking the Senate in 2026, the failed vice presidential candidate said Monday. Walz made the statement during a Monday night interview at Harvard University’s Kennedy School Institute of Politics, telling ABC News reporter Brittany Shepherd that he is confident in the House of Representatives but not in the Senate. “I think we will take back the House,” Walz said. “I am very pessimistic about the Senate, just to be honest with you.” “With the way things work, I think it’s a very difficult look,” he added. TRUMP REPORTS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ENCOUNTERS AT HISTORIC LOWS DURING FIRST FULL MONTH IN OFFICE Walz pointed in part to the unpopularity of the national Democratic Party, arguing candidates in state races need to overcome stigma. “The thing was, is being associated with national parties and things on these state races, we’re going to have to figure that piece out of, how do we reimagine,” he said. SANCTUARY GOVERNORS WALZ, PRITZKER, HOCHUL CALLED TO TESTIFY BEFORE CONGRESS He nevertheless argued that President Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office have been a benefit to Democrats. “I think there’s a lot of wind at our back, but it’s been 100 days of destruction,” he said. “You think we can survive 550 more? That’s the real challenge. That’s how long it is ‘til the midterm.” Walz’s comments come as the White House touts Trump’s victories in his first 100 days, having started on Monday with his illegal immigration crackdown. FEDERAL JUDGE DECLARES TRUMP ADMIN BLOCKING FEDERAL MONEY TO SANCTUARY CITIES UNCONSTITUTIONAL White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt appeared alongside Border Czar Tom Homan to announce a 96% decrease in border crossings under the new administration. They also decorated the White House lawn with mug shots of illegal immigrants who had been arrested for alleged violent crimes. Leavitt will appear again later Tuesday morning alongside Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent to highlight the administration’s economic priorities.
Trump steams ahead on these campaign promises as he reaches 100 days in office
President Donald Trump is now at the finish line of his first 100 days of his second term in the White House, as of Tuesday. Key tenants of Trump’s first 100 days include imposing harsh tariffs on Chinese imports, starting and continuing peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, unveiling plans to dismantle organizations like the Education Department and cracking down on border security amid a mass deportation initiative. The period also marked a steep increase in executive orders in comparison to previous presidents. Altogether, Trump has signed over 140 executive orders during his first 100 days in office during his second term. That is an increase from the 33 he signed during the first 100 days of his first term, and up from the previous record of 99 that former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed during that same timeframe. The Trump administration’s mass deportation effort is in full force, and border czar Tom Homan told reporters Monday that border crossings were down by 96% under the Trump administration. WHITE HOUSE TOUTS 100-DAY ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN AFTER BIDEN ‘UNSECURED THE BORDER ON PURPOSE’ Additionally, the White House said earlier in April it has deported more than 100,000 illegal immigrants in 2025. The administration’s handling of these deportations has attracted scrutiny in certain high-profile cases, including one involving El Salvador native Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who the Trump administration claimed in court filings was deported by mistake. However, the Trump administration has since said Garcia is a member of the MS-13 gang and has released protective order documents from his wife. Following through on another campaign promise, the Trump administration unveiled sweeping tariffs against a host of countries on April 2, after historically lambasting other countries’ trade practices and accusing them of engaging in unfair trade practices against the U.S. “For decades, our country has been looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far, both friend and foe alike,” Trump said April 2 at the White House. The administration later walked back its initial proposal, and announced April 9 it would immediately hike tariffs on Chinese goods to 145% but scale back reciprocal tariffs on other countries for 90 days to a baseline of 10%. In response, China proceeded to boost its tariffs on U.S. goods to 125%. Additionally, Trump signed an executive order on March 20 to overhaul the Education Department — following through on a campaign promise he made to eliminate the federal government’s influence over education and “stop the abuse of your taxpayer dollars to indoctrinate America’s youth.” TRUMP’S EXECUTIVE ORDER SURGE: THE UNPRECEDENTED USE OF PRESIDENTIAL AUTHORITY A White House fact sheet on the executive order said the directive aims to “turn over education to families instead of bureaucracies” and instructs Education Secretary Linda McMahon to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return education authority to the States, while continuing to ensure the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely.” Still, Trump revealed that functions of the department overseeing Pell Grants, student loans and others that provide services for those with special needs would continue at other agencies. Likewise, Trump has long called for an end to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and promised to end the conflict between the two within 24 hours during his time on the campaign trail. TRUMP REPORTS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ENCOUNTERS AT HISTORIC LOWS DURING FIRST FULL MONTH IN OFFICE Still, he has continued to advance negotiations during his first 100 days in office — including hosting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the White House in February. Trump said Sunday that he is aiming to end the war in the next two weeks or so and that he wants Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop launching strikes against Kyiv. “I want him to stop shooting, sit down and sign a deal,” Trump told reporters Sunday on the way back from Italy for Pope Francis’ funeral. “We have the confines of a deal I believe and I want him to sign it and be done with it and just go back to life.”
India to close airspace for Pakistani Airlines after Pahalgam terror attack? Report claims…
India has also suspended the Indus Waters Treaty, saying it will only resume talks if Pakistan stops supporting terrorism.
Railways withdraw ban on recruitment candidates wearing these items after backlash over…
Following the backlash, the Railway Recruitment Board (RRB) has withdrawn its order banning women candidates from wearing religious symbols inside exam halls for recruitment exams.
Former Punjab CM Najam Sethi threatens, says, Pakistan will use nuclear bomb to blow up India if…
Najam Sethi emphasised that Pakistan may use its nuclear bomb even in a conventional war if its existence is at stake. He said that Islamabad will not wait for India to use its atomic bomb and retaliate, it may be the first country to use the ultimate weapon if threatened.
Gov. Hochul, New York lawmakers agree on criminal charge for wearing mask while committing crime
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, announced a $254 billion budget deal on Monday that includes an agreement with state lawmakers to add an extra charge for people who wear masks while committing crimes. The additional charge could only be applied if a suspect is charged with a class A misdemeanor or more serious charges, Hochul said. Lawmakers agreed to reduce the mask penalty to a class B misdemeanor when prosecutors charge separate crimes, Politico reported. The governor initially wanted stricter legislation to combat mask-wearing suspects, raising the issue last summer as politicians across the country addressed widespread protests against the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. NEW YORK’S NASSAU COUNTY SEEKS TO BAN STANDING WITHIN 15 FEET OF COPS UNDER BILL PANNED AS UNCONSTITUTIONAL “It’s really trying to concentrate on people who wear a mask in regards to hiding their identity while they commit another crime,” Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie told reporters, according to Gothamist. The extra charge also applies to people fleeing from the scene of a crime. Hochul had wanted to create an extra penalty if someone was covering their face while threatening or harassing a group of people, a proposal that was softened ahead of the agreed bill being added to the state budget this week following concerns from Democrat lawmakers and civil liberty advocates. The annual budget, which will not take effect until lawmakers resolve several spending decisions, would also allow hospitals to involuntarily commit mentally ill New Yorkers if patients cannot meet their basic needs, which lowers the previous standard that only allowed a person to be involuntarily committed when they posed a physical threat to themselves or others. Other proposals in the budget include a stronger state discovery law in an effort to address recidivism and banning students’ cell phone use during the school day. NEW YORK PROPOSAL WOULD BAN POLICE FROM MAKING TRAFFIC STOPS FOR MINOR VIOLATIONS TO PURSUE ‘RACIAL EQUITY’ While Hochul announced a deal for the budget on Monday, lawmakers still need to hash out spending decisions on some issues, including the funding formula for public schools and Medicaid, according to Politico. The governor’s spending plan is set to be the highest in state history and $100 billion more than the state budget a decade ago, the outlet reported. An uptick in prison costs as well as additional health care, child care and education spending ballooned the size of the budget to $2 billion more than what she proposed in January.
Days after Pahalgam terror attack, Jammu and Kashmir govt takes big action, 48 tourist destinations out of 87 closed in Valley
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that the terrorists, their backers and handlers would be hunted down and given a punishment they could not imagine.
How Donald Trump tried to court the Atlantic – and why the liberal magazine landed an interview
Hell hath frozen over: At the White House the other day, Donald Trump “was launching a charm offensive, directed mainly at Goldberg,” as in Jeffrey Goldberg, the Atlantic’s editor-in-chief. “There was none of the name-calling or hostility he regularly levels at our magazine.” That’s according to Atlantic reporters Ashley Parker and Michael Scherer, who wrote the magazine’s cover story, which was posted yesterday. For all the insights gleaned from the interview, nothing is more fascinating than how it came about. They called the president on his cell phone. (Wha? Who do I have to court to get that? The reporters ain’t saying.) Trump says he did the initial phone interview to see if the liberal magazine could be fair. PRESIDENT TRUMP TELLS THE ATLANTIC HE RUNS THE COUNTRY ‘AND THE WORLD’ So I’m here to pronounce that the entire, seemingly endless piece is fair. The president hasn’t taken a shot at it on Truth Social, at least so far. He has, however, ripped new polls from the “Failing New York Times” and “ABC/Washington Post” as “FAKE POLLS FROM FAKE NEWS ORGANIZATIONS,” saying they should be “investigated for ELECTION FRAUD, and add in the Fox News Pollster while you’re at it.” His lowest approval rating, in the Post-ABC survey, was 39 percent. Meanwhile, we may now look back on Trump’s 2024 victory as inevitable, but after Jan. 6 it was anything but. On the cell call, “The president seemed exhilarated by everything he had managed to do in the first two months of his second term.” And then came the transaction: “As ever, Trump was on the hunt for a deal. If he liked the story we wrote, he said, he might even speak with us again.” Goldberg describes the session: “What I found in this particular meeting was a Trump who was low-key, attentive, and eager to convince us that he is good at his job and good for the country. It isn’t easy to escape the tractor beam of his charisma, but somehow we managed, and we asked him what needed to be asked. “But squaring Trump the Charmer with the Orcish Trump we more frequently see is difficult…Trump posted on the social-media platform he owns that Ashley is a ‘Radical Left Lunatic’ (she is not) and that Michael ‘has never written a fair story about me, only negative, and virtually always LIES’ (also false). It is our task at the Atlantic not to be bullied by these sorts of attacks.” STATE OF WAR: HOW TRUMP IS FIGHTING A 9-FRONT BATTLE The most interesting Trump sound bite is his comparison of the two terms: “The first time, I had two things to do—run the country and survive; I had all these crooked guys. And the second time, I run the country and the world.” Parker and Scherer did many other interviews, such as with Steve Bannon. “Our reality is that we won,” and he cited the conspiracy theory that the FBI had incited the crowd on Jan. 6. The reporters said that was simply untrue. “Now, here’s the interesting thing,” Bannon said. “Who’s won that argument? I think we have… “This time it’s ‘Hey, f**k you, Greenland’s ours…When you’ve come back from such long odds, you clearly feel, ‘I can do anything.’ ” What about the four criminal investigations, including the conviction on the weakest one – Alvin Bragg’s hush money case? Trump says his numbers kept going up. INTERVIEWING DONALD TRUMP: A LAST-MINUTE BLITZ AND NEW CLOSING MESSAGE “Shockingly, yes,” Trump said. “Normally, it would knock you out. You wouldn’t even live for the next day. You know, you’d announce your resignation, and you’d go back and ‘fight for your name,’ like everybody says—you know, ‘fight for your name, go back to your family.’ …Yeah, it made me stronger, made me a lot stronger.” He also said in the phone interview: “I got indicted five different times by five different scumbags, and they’re all looking for jobs now, so it’s one of those things. Who would have thought, right? It’s been pretty amazing.” After the 2016 election, Trump told oil executives at Mar-a-Lago: If I’m not president, you’re f***ed. Look at your profit-and-loss statements. You realize what would have happened to you if she was president? What’s wrong with you?”) She was Kamala Harris, of course. One turning point: When he went to East Palestine, Ohio after the derailment of a train carrying toxic chemicals, while Joe Biden didn’t do squat. On the Kennedy Center: “I didn’t really get to go the first time, because I was always getting impeached or some bulls**t, and I could never enjoy a show.” So he fired the Democrats and made himself chairman. All right, enough quotes. Wait, one more that captures the tone of the piece: “I got 38 percent of the male Black vote. Nobody knew that was possible. That’s a lot. I got 56 percent of Hispanics. How about that one? Every county along the Texas border is Hispanic. I won every one of them.” Though every single number he cited was wrong, the general thrust of his observation was correct.” The reporters chronicled how things have gone south for the president, especially on tariffs and the economy, and how he pressured Hill Republicans into backing his nominees with primary threats. SUBSCRIBE TO HOWIE’S MEDIA BUZZMETER PODCAST, A RIFF ON THE DAY’S HOTTEST STORIES After the March phone interview, the reporters tried Trump’s cellphone again. Just got voice mail. But at 1:38 am, he tried them back. No message. Trump believes he can win over even his worst enemies. In 2015 or 2016, I watched him make a beeline in the New York green room for Karl Rove, who was very rough on him. At worst, he thinks, he can neutralize the person. Or soften him or her up for the next time. He enjoys the challenge. The mainstream media almost uniformly can’t stand Donald Trump. He does invite some of his own negative headlines, while providing unprecedented access, but
Hashim Musa, terrorist behind Pahalgam terror attack, trained as para commando in Pakistan Army: Sources
Musa’s background and methods suggest possible links to ISIS, according to senior security officials. He has also been connected to earlier attacks in Kashmir, including those in Gagangir and Ganderbal, making him a common link in several major incidents.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi, 14, hits second-fastest IPL century, breaks T20 record
Rajasthan Royals’ schoolboy prodigy Vaibhav Suryavanshi becomes youngest T20 centurion after scoring a stunning 35-ball 100 against Gujarat Titans in the IPL. Fourteen-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi became the youngest centurion in men’s Twenty20 cricket as he guided Rajasthan Royals to an eight-wicket victory over the Gujarat Titans in an Indian Premier League match in Jaipur. Suryavanshi doled out severe punishment to Gujarat’s bowling attack on Monday, hitting 11 sixes and seven fours in his 101 off 38 balls, as the hosts chased down a 209-run target in 15.5 overs. The left-hander reached his 100 in 35 balls to register the second-fastest century in IPL history, while combining with Yashasvi Jaiswal in a 166-run opening partnership. “It is a very good feeling. It’s my first hundred in the IPL and it’s my third innings. The result has shown here after the practice before the tournament,” the player of the match, Suryavanshi, said. “I just see the ball and play. It has been a dream to get a 100 in the IPL, and today, it materialised. There is no fear. I don’t think much, I just focus on playing.” Suryavanshi’s century was also the quickest by an Indian in the IPL, bettering Yusuf Pathan’s 37-ball effort for Rajasthan against the Mumbai Indians in 2010. Advertisement “Many congratulations to young Vaibhav Suryavanshi for breaking my record of the fastest IPL hundred by an Indian,” Pathan wrote on social media. “Even more special to see it happen while playing for Rajasthan Royals, just like I did.” Suryavanshi grabbed headlines when he became the youngest player to earn a contract in the lucrative IPL at the age of 13, before making his debut this month and announcing himself in style with a six off the first ball he faced. He played in the domestic Ranji Trophy red-ball competition aged 12 last year and has represented India’s Under-19 side against Australia, scoring a 58-ball century. Suryavanshi also made a triple hundred in a local tournament in his home state of Bihar. Rajasthan are eighth in the IPL standings, with the win over Gujarat snapping a five-game losing run for the 2008 champions. The Rajasthan Royals’ Vaibhav Suryavanshi in action against the Gujarat Titans at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur, India on April 28, 2025 [Abhijit Addya/Reuters] Adblock test (Why?)