Ex-McConnell advisor-turned-MAGA star doesn’t rule out potential Senate bid as rumors swirl
Scott Jennings, CNN’s Trump-supporting commentator who has gone viral on social media for his sparring matches with left-leaning guests, responded to reports that he may run for Senate in Kentucky to succeed Sen. Mitch McConnell. “Man, the internet’s a crazy place. Long way until next May,” Jennings, who formerly advised multiple McConnell campaigns, told Fox News Digital at the White House Correspondents Dinner on Saturday. “I read all this with some amusement, but again, it’s a long way until next year.” Fox News Digital reported in February that he is being encouraged to run and the Lexington Herald-Leader reported last Friday that he’s mulling a bid. Jennings went on to say that he believes “Kentucky has benefited from having Republican senators for a long time” and that he thinks the Senate seat “ought to be in the hands ultimately of somebody who’s going to help Donald Trump execute on the president’s agenda.” CNN’S JENNINGS SAYS ALL THE ‘CLINTON GUYS FROM THE 90S’ HAVE LEFT THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY FOR TRUMP “And frankly, I think politics is a team sport. The president’s the head of our team and I think eventually he’ll need to weigh in here on who he thinks is the best to help him execute on his agenda,” Jennings added. At President Donald Trump’s 100-day rally in Michigan on Tuesday night, the president invited Jennings to address the audience. “We have a man here that I don’t know, but he’s defending me all the time on CNN. And he defends me really well, but he can’t go too far because if he goes too far he’ll get fired,” Trump said. “I got to get a farm in Michigan, because when you own as many Libs as I do, you gotta get a place to put ‘em all!” Jennings joked. CNN’S JENNINGS SAYS LEFT ‘IN LOVE WITH THE WORST PEOPLE’ DURING PANEL ABOUT ILLEGAL ALIEN DEPORTED TO EL SALVADOR Currently, Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., and former Kentucky Attorney General David Cameron are in the race for the seat on the Republican side. There has also been speculation that Kentucky businessman Nate Morris, a close ally of Vice President JD Vance, will hop into the race. In the Democratic primary, Kentucky House Minority Leader Pamela Stevenson is in the race. Trump won the state by a wide margin in November and it is generally considered a red state, with the notable exception of Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear. HOUSE REPUBLICAN ENTERS RACE FOR MITCH MCCONNELL’S SENATE SEAT, SETTING UP HIGH-STAKES GOP PRIMARY The 83-year-old McConnell, who has regularly butted heads with the president despite also receiving high praise from Trump, said in February he would not run for re-election after being in the seat since the 1980s. As for Jennings, who was initially floated as a potential pick for the White House press secretary role before Karoline Leavitt was chosen, he was formerly a top advisor to McConnell and served in the George W. Bush administration. He has also advised several other campaigns and is the founding partner of RunSwitch, which is advertised as “Kentucky’s largest PR and public affairs firm.”
Kashmir attack: How India might strike Pakistan – what history tells us
Pakistan said on Wednesday that it had “credible intelligence” that India might launch a military strike against it within the next few days. Meanwhile, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi led a series of security meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday, adding to speculation of an impending Indian military operation against its archrival, after the April 22 attack on tourists in Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir in which 26 people were killed. Since the attack, barely existent relations between the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours have nosedived further, with the countries scaling back diplomatic engagement, suspending their participation in bilateral treaties and effectively expelling each other’s citizens. The subcontinent is on edge. But how imminent is an Indian military response to the Pahalgam killings, and what might it look like? Here’s what history tells us: What happened? Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said in a televised statement early on Wednesday that Islamabad had “credible intelligence” that India was planning to take military action against Pakistan in the “next 24 to 36 hours”. Advertisement Tarar added that this action would be India’s response on the “pretext of baseless and concocted allegations of involvement” in Pahalgam. While India has alleged Pakistan’s involvement in the Pahalgam attack, Islamabad has denied this claim. India and Pakistan each administer parts of Kashmir, but both countries claim the territory in full. Tarar’s statement came a day after Modi gave the Indian military “complete operational freedom” to respond to the Pahalgam attack in a closed-door meeting with the country’s security leaders, multiple news agencies reported, citing anonymous senior government sources. On Wednesday, Modi chaired a Cabinet Committee on Security meeting, the second such meeting since the Pahalgam attack, state-run Doordarshan television reported. Meanwhile, as the neighbours continued to exchange gunfire along the Line of Control (LoC) dividing Indian and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, other world leaders stepped up diplomacy to calm tensions. “We are reaching out to both parties, and telling … them to not escalate the situation,” a United States state department spokesperson told reporters on Tuesday, quoting US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is expected to speak to the foreign ministers of India and Pakistan. Also on Tuesday, the spokesperson for United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that he had spoken to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, offering his help in “de-escalation”. What military action could India take? While it is unclear what course of action India could take, it has in the past used a range of military tactics. Here are some of them: Advertisement Covert military operations By design, they aren’t announced – and aren’t confirmed. But over the decades, India and Pakistan have each launched multiple covert raids into territory controlled by the other, targeting military posts, killing soldiers – and on occasion beheading the enemy’s troops. These strikes are often carried out as a retaliatory step by a military unit whose personnel were themselves previously attacked, as a form of retribution. But such raids are never confirmed: The idea is to send the other country a message but not force it to respond, thereby containing the risk of escalation. Public announcements lead to domestic pressure on governments to hit back. Publicised ‘surgical strikes’ Sometimes, though, the idea is not to send subtle messages – but to embarrass the other country by making an attack public. It also doesn’t hurt politically. India has in the past carried out so-called surgical strikes against specific, chosen targets across the LoC – most recently in 2016. Then, after armed fighters killed 17 Indian soldiers in Uri, Indian-administered Kashmir, special forces of the Indian Army crossed the de facto border to attack “launch pads” from where, New Delhi alleged, “terrorists” were planning to strike India again. “The operations were basically focused to ensure that these terrorists do not succeed in their design of infiltration and carrying out destruction and endangering the lives of citizens of our country,” Lieutenant General Ranbir Singh, then the director-general of military operations for the Indian Army, said in a public statement, revealing the raid. Advertisement India claimed that the surgical strike had killed dozens of fighters, though independent analysts believe the toll was likely much lower. Aerial strikes In February 2019, a suicide bomber killed 40 Indian paramilitary soldiers in Pulwama in Indian-administered Kashmir, weeks before national elections in the country. This attack was claimed by the Jaish-e-Muhammad, an armed group based in Pakistan. Amid an outpouring of rage, the Indian Air Force launched an aerial raid into Pakistan-administered Kashmir. India claimed it had struck hideouts of “terrorists” and killed several dozen fighters. Pakistan insisted that Indian jets only hit a forested region, and did not kill any fighters. Islamabad claimed it scrambled jets that chased Indian planes back across the LoC. But a day later, Indian and Pakistani fighter jets again engaged in a dogfight – this one ending with Pakistan downing an Indian plane inside territory it controls. An Indian fighter pilot was captured, and returned a few days later. Attempts at taking over Pakistan-controlled land Over the past few years, there have been growing calls in India that New Delhi should take back Pakistan-administered Kashmir. That chorus has only sharpened in recent days after the Pahalgam attack, with even leaders of the opposition Congress Party goading the Modi government to take back that territory. While retaking Pakistan-administered Kashmir remains a policy objective of every Indian government, the closely matched military capabilities of both sides make such an endeavour unlikely. Advertisement Still, India has a track record of successfully taking disputed territory from Pakistan. In 1984, the Indian Army and Indian Air Force launched Operation Meghdoot, in which they rapidly captured the Siachen glacier in the Himalayas, blocking the Pakistan Army from accessing key passes. One of the world’s largest non-polar glaciers, Siachin has since been the planet’s highest battleground, with Indian and Pakistani military outposts positioned against each other. Naval missions In the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack, the Indian Navy announced that it had carried out
Ukraine says it is poised to sign minerals deal with the US
Ukraine’s PM says agreement is ‘good, equal and beneficial’, hopes it will be signed ‘within the next 24 hours’. Ukraine is poised to sign a much-anticipated minerals deal with the United State, Prime Minister Denys Shmygal has said, as both sides finalised details. The agreement would see Washington and Kyiv jointly develop Ukraine’s mineral resources, an arrangement US President Donald Trump has called “money back” for the wartime aid it has received from the United States. “This is truly a good, equal and beneficial international agreement on joint investments in the development and recovery of Ukraine,” Shmygal said on national TV on Wednesday. “I hope that the agreement will be signed in the near future, within the next 24 hours, and we will take the first step,” he added. There was no immediate comment from Washington. Ukraine and the US had planned to sign the agreement weeks ago, but a fiery clash between Trump and Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the White House temporarily derailed talks. Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher, reporting from the White House, said, “It seems there are still some details to work out. But the signing of that deal is expected within the next 24 hours”. Advertisement Joint fund Ukraine has been pushing for security guarantees as part of any deal to halt Russia’s three-year invasion. The Trump administration has argued that boosting US business interests in Ukraine will help deter Russia from future aggression in the event of a ceasefire. It was not clear if the deal included any security guarantees for Ukraine. The deal will not be linked to any “debts” for previous assistance Kyiv has received, and will create a “50/50” joint fund split between Kyiv and Washington, a senior source in the Ukrainian presidency said, as cited by the AFP news agency. “It ensures the equality of the parties. An investment fund will be created to invest in reconstruction. It is envisaged that there will be contributions from us and the United States,” it added. When Washington provides new military aid, it will be counted as their contribution to the joint fund, the Reuters news agency reported, citing a draft of the agreement. However, the draft does not spell out how the joint fund’s revenues will be spent, who benefits, or who controls decisions about the spending. According to the draft, the United States, or other entities it designates, will get preferential – but not exclusive – access to new permits, licences and investment opportunities in the field of Ukrainian natural resources, according to the draft. Existing deals are not covered. Previous iterations of the deal during negotiations had said that it would include Ukrainian natural gas infrastructure, which is one of Ukraine’s most valuable assets, sources with knowledge of the matter said earlier this month. Advertisement Gas infrastructure was not covered by the draft cited by Reuters on Wednesday. Adblock test (Why?)
Pro-Palestinian students confront University of Manchester leadership
NewsFeed Video from the Youth Front for Palestine shows student activists interrupting a meeting of University of Manchester leaders to demand the school sever ties with Israel’s Tel Aviv University. The school’s leadership defended its decision to maintain ties, saying that doing so is not in support of genocide or Israel. Published On 30 Apr 202530 Apr 2025 Adblock test (Why?)
UP school boy forced to urinate on Pakistani flag, details here…
In a police complaint, the 15-year-old student’s family said he was returning home from the Government Inter College with friends on Monday afternoon when he noticed the flag lying on the ground. Moments later, a mob accosted the boy, demanded to know his name, started abusing him.
Anti-Israel Columbia protester detained by ICE is freed after federal judge’s order
A federal judge ordered the release of an anti-Israel protester who helped organize riots and protests at the University of Columbia on Wednesday. Authorities with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained Mohsen Mahdawi, a green card holder, earlier this month in Vermont. “I’m not afraid of you,” Mahdawi declared in a message for President Donald Trump as he left the courthouse. According to the court filing, Mahdawi co-founded the Palestinian Student Union at Columbia in the fall of the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack. He founded the group with Mahmoud Khalil, another pro-Palestinian activist who was detained by federal immigration officials under the Trump administration earlier this year. ‘SAFER WITHOUT HIM’: COLUMBIA STUDENT CLAIMS CLASSMATE ARRESTED BY ICE ‘HATES AMERICA’ Vermont’s two U.S. senators, Bernie Sanders, an independent, and Peter Welch, a Democrat, as well as the state’s sole member of Congress Rep. Becca Balint, a Democrat, condemned Mahdawi’s arrest on April 14. COLUMBIA ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTER MAHMOUD KHALIL CAN BE DEPORTED, JUDGE RULES The three issued a joint statement saying Mahdawi walked into an immigration office for “what was supposed to be the final step in his citizenship process” and was instead “arrested and removed in handcuffs by plainclothes, armed individuals with their faces covered.” “These individuals refused to provide any information as to where he was being taken or what would happen to him,” the statement alleged. HOMELAND SECURITY TO SCAN MIGRANTS’ SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS FOR ANTISEMITISM: ‘NO ROOM FOR TERRORIST SYMPATHIZERS’ “This is immoral, inhumane, and illegal,” it continued. “Mr. Mahdawi, a legal resident of the United States, must be afforded due process under the law and immediately released from detention.” As a student at Columbia, Mahdawi was an outspoken critic of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and organized campus protests until March 2024. He co-founded the Palestinian Student Union at Columbia with Mahmoud Khalil, another Palestinian permanent resident of the U.S. and graduate student who was detained by immigration authorities. According to a court filing, Mahdawi was born in a refugee camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and moved to the United States in 2014. He recently completed coursework at Columbia and was expected to graduate in May before beginning a master’s degree program there in the fall. Fox News’ Peter Pinedo and the Associated Press contributed to this report
Liberal Supreme Court justices grill religious institution in landmark school choice case
The Supreme Court on Wednesday heard oral arguments in a case involving the nation’s first religious charter schools, and whether it is eligible for state funding despite its religious teachings. At issue in the case is a virtual Catholic charter school in Oklahoma, St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, and whether the school is eligible to receive public funding because of its religious teachings. Lawyers representing the school have argued that it is operating like a private actor working under a contract with the state, and asked the high court on Wednesday to overturn an earlier decision by the Oklahoma Supreme Court. During Wednesday’s arguments, lawyers for St. Isidore argued that just because they receive state funding does not mean they are a state actor. They also noted recent Supreme Court precedent, which they said has been in their favor. This Court has “‘repeatedly’ held that ‘a State violates the Free Exercise Clause when it excludes religious observers from otherwise available public benefits,” James Campbell, attorney for St. Isidore, told the court. 100 DAYS OF INJUNCTIONS, TRIALS AND ‘TEFLON DON’: TRUMP SECOND TERM MEETS ITS BIGGEST TESTS IN COURT Justices used oral arguments to press Campbell on how they would treat individuals with different religious backgrounds. “What would you do with a charter school that doesn’t want to teach evolution, or it doesn’t want to teach history, including the history of slavery, or it doesn’t want to include having children of another faith. In them, as this one does?” Justice Sonia Sotomayor asked Campbell. “This one does not say it won’t exclude children of other faiths. But it said, if you want to attend this school, you have to attend mass. You have to accept the teachings of the church with respect to certain principles. So is that something you look at?” In response, Campbell notes that the school does not require students to affirm its religious beliefs, noting that St. Isidore “allows exceptions for anyone that doesn’t want to attend mass,” and says “point blank” in its handbook that there is no requirement that a student affirm the beliefs of the school.” TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ASKS SUPREME COURT TO REVIEW EL SALVADOR DEPORTATION FLIGHT CASE The Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board approved St. Isidore’s contract request in June 2023, making them eligible to receive public funds. But its ability to receive state funds was later blocked by the Oklahoma Supreme Court, which ruled that the public funding for the school was in violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Oklahoma Attorney General, Gentner Drummond, has argued that the school would be a state actor if it received state funding. “Charter schools no doubt offer important educational innovations, but they bear all the classic indicia of public schools,” Drummond argued in an earlier Supreme Court filing. If its “charter-school law violates the Free Exercise Clause, then this is one of the most far-reaching free exercise violations in the Nation’s history,” he argued. The court’s decision here could have wide-ranging ramifications far beyond Oklahoma. More than 40 U.S. states currently authorize charter schools, and the ruling in the case could have ripple effects across the country. The charter school states outright on its site that it “fully embraces” the teachings of the Catholic Church, “fully incorporates” them “into every aspect” of the curriculum— and that it intends to participate “in the evangelizing mission of the church.” This is a breaking news story. Check back soon for updates. Fox News’s Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.
Biden-appointed federal judge keeps blocking Trump admin from nixing funding for lawyers for migrant children
U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín is continuing to block the government from cutting off funding for legal services for unaccompanied immigrant children. “This injunction precludes cutting off access to congressionally appropriated funding for its duration,” the court ordered. The move to grant the motion for a preliminary injunction came after the court had previously granted a temporary restraining order to the same effect. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment on Wednesday but did not receive a response by the time of publication. BIDEN-APPOINTED JUDGE BLOCKS TRUMP ADMIN FROM TERMINATING LEGAL AID FOR UNACCOMPANIED MIGRANT CHILDREN In 2023, then-Vice President Kamala Harris broke a tie vote in the U.S. Senate to confirm then-President Joe Biden’s nomination of Martínez-Olguín to serve as a U.S. district judge for the Northern District of California. The judge has previously worked as an attorney with the National Immigration Law Center, according to her biography on the court’s website. “Working at the intersection of immigrant, economic, and racial justice, NILC deploys a multi-pronged strategy to secure lasting, transformational change,” the organization notes on its website. 100 DAYS OF INJUNCTIONS, TRIALS AND ‘TEFLON DON’: TRUMP SECOND TERM MEETS ITS BIGGEST TESTS IN COURT The preliminary injunction comes amid a challenge against the government’s move to cut off funding pertaining to legal aid for unaccompanied immigrant children. Various organizations lodged a legal challenge after the government partially terminated a contract with the Acacia Center for Justice, though Acacia itself is not a plaintiff. FEDERAL JUDGE ORDERS LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT TO STOP ENFORCING NEW IMMIGRATION LAW “Until March 21, 2025, the Acacia Center for Justice (“Acacia”) managed a network of 89 legal services organizations (including Plaintiffs) in 159 offices across the country providing representation to unaccompanied children through funding from HHS and ORR, under a contract between Acacia and DOI (contracting on behalf of HHS and ORR),” a complaint asserted, referring to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), HHS’s Office of Refugee Resettlement and the Department of Interior. The Trump administration has been facing a string of legal challenges over a variety of issues during the first 100 days of the president’s second term in office.
Cruz escalates feud with ex-Iranian official working at Princeton: ‘You should be deported’
Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz escalated his war of words with a former Iranian regime official who, as a faculty member at Princeton, was reportedly making Jewish students feel uncomfortable amid global tensions. “I try not to be in the room with people linked to Iranian terrorists who have murdered dozens of dissidents,” Cruz wrote in response to a lengthy post on X, formerly Twitter, from former Iranian Ambassador to Germany Seyed Hossein Mousavian. “Your books are unreadable, and the only debate you should be having is with DHS agents, at the end of which you should be deported,” Cruz quipped. Mousavian was responding to a Fox News Digital story in which Cruz called on Princeton to fire him from his role as a Middle East security and nuclear policy specialist. Mousavian had been a spokesman for Iran during nuclear negotiations in the 2000s. CRUZ URGES PRINCETON TO TAKE ACTION OVER PROFESSOR ACCUSED OF PRO-IRAN ALLEGIANCES, CITING RISK TO STUDENTS Mousavian had invited Cruz to publicly debate him so that the American people could judge the facts of the matter. “If you do not accept this offer, I ask you to read some of the books and articles I have written over my 15 years of academic work at Princeton University,” he wrote. “You will see that all of them focus on establishing peace between Iran and the United States, introducing a peaceful resolution of Iran’s nuclear crisis based on NPT, avoiding dragging America into another devastating war in the Middle East, promoting peace, stability, and security in the Persian Gulf, and making the Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction.” SCHUMER KICKS OFF PLANNED DEMOCRAT ALL-NIGHTER, RAILING AGAINST TRUMP’S 100 DAYS: HE’S ‘BEING A MOB BOSS’ The ex-Tehran official said he had been arrested by Iran in 2007 and forced out of the country in 2009. Fox News Digital reached out to Cruz, Mousavian and Princeton University for comment. Mousavian previously expressed support for Hamas and Hezbollah and attended the funeral of terrorist Qassem Soleimani – who had been killed in an attack ordered during President Donald Trump’s first administration. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP In 2023, several top Republicans, including House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer of Kentucky and now-DOGE chairman Aaron Bean of Florida, wrote to Princeton with their concerns about Mousavian’s tenure. The letter expressed how Mousavian had been the Berlin ambassador during a time when “a German court found [it] served as the headquarters for the planning of the 1992 assassination of four Iranian dissidents” at a Greek restaurant in the capital. “Did Princeton consult with U.S. government officials regarding the hiring of Mousavian?” they asked. Fox News Digital’s Benjamin Weinthal contributed to this report.
Uzbekistan agrees to pay for and accept 131 Central Asian illegal immigrants in landmark agreement
FIRST ON FOX: A plane full of Central Asian illegal immigrants is on its way from the U.S. to Uzbekistan at no cost to Americans under a deal brokered between the two governments, Fox News Digital has learned. Over 100 unlawful immigrants are flying back to Uzbekistan on Wednesday as part of the agreement, and Uzbekistan is paying for the chartered deportation flight, the first such agreement by a foreign government since President Donald Trump took office. The flight, which took off this morning, had 131 migrants on board. People from Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan were on board the flight after Uzbekistan’s government agreed to accept nationals from all three countries. The deal, which the Trump administration says is a model framework for how it wants other nations to engage with the U.S. on immigration, is the result of months of diplomatic engagement between State Department officials, DHS officials, the White House and the National Security Council with their counterparts from Uzbekistan. TRUMP ADMIN REVOKES 4K FOREIGN STUDENTS’ VISAS IN FIRST 100 DAYS, NEARLY ALL WITH SERIOUS CRIMINAL RECORDS The deal “underscores the deep security cooperation between our nations and sets a standard for U.S. alliances,” the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a statement. “We commend Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev for his leadership in sending a flight to return 131 illegal aliens back to their home country,” said DHS Secretary Kristi Noem in a statement. “We look forward to continuing to work together with Uzbekistan on efforts to enhance our mutual security and uphold the rule of law.” Uzbekistan, with its more than 37 million people, is a security partner of the U.S. in Central Asia, situated in the neighborhood of Iran, China and Afghanistan. NEW DHS PORTAL TO HELP MIGRANTS REGISTER BIOMETRICS TO COMPLY WITH TRUMP ORDER The arrangement follows a deal brokered by the Trump administration after a showdown with Colombia, by which the South American country agreed to accept its nationals, including those on military planes, after President Gustavo Petro originally rejected two Colombia-bound U.S. military aircraft carrying unlawful migrants. It also follows an agreement with El Salvador, by which President Nayib Bukele agreed to receive not only his own nationals but those from Venezuela and potentially other countries that will not take their own citizens back from the U.S. Many of the immigrants are suspected of gang ties and are being held in El Salvador’s notoriously brutal CECOT prison. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has arrested 66,463 illegal immigrants and removed 65,682 of them. Border encounters dropped to an average of 11,363 per day in February and March, Trump’s first two full months in office, compared to an average of nearly 160,000 during the Biden administration.