‘Modi bunkers’ back in use amid fear of escalation along LoC after Pahalgam massacre
Following the recent terror attack in Pahalgam, tensions have heightened along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s border district, prompting border villagers to clean and prepare their underground bunkers amid rising fears of escalation.
‘No excuse’: Bipartisan fury erupts over New Jersey’s REAL ID backlog
It’s virtually illegal to make a left turn in many parts of New Jersey, and bipartisan lawmakers there are outraged at how equally difficult it is to make a REAL ID appointment as of late. “We’ve known for years that this deadline was coming,” state Assemblymember Nancy Muñoz, R-Union, told Fox News Digital on Friday. “There’s no excuse for the Motor Vehicle Commission to be this unprepared. Constituents are waking up early, refreshing their screens, only to watch appointments vanish in seconds,” Muñoz, the Budget Committee’s minority leader, said. “Some are driving over an hour just to find an available slot: It’s outrageous.” REAL ID SEES NATIONWIDE STATE GOVERNMENT COMPLIANCE AHEAD OF THE DEADLINE BUT IT WASN’T ALWAYS THAT WAY New Jersey, like all states and territories, is fully legally compliant with the Department of Homeland Security’s new standards, which require a driver’s license to have a star affixed to a corner to confirm the holder has provided additional identifying documentation in order to board a domestic flight. But the Garden State ranked last out of 49 states that responded to a CBS News survey on the percentage of residents who have actually obtained REAL IDs. Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald, D-Cherry Hill, told Fox News Digital he understands residents’ concerns and panic, noting the deadline has been pushed back several times since President George W. Bush signed the law in 2005. “Now we’re heading into summer, folks have travel plans, and they’re being told they’ll have to wait months just to get an appointment,” Greenwald said. NO ‘REAL ID’ APPOINTMENTS OPEN IN NEW JERSEY AS RESIDENTS SOUND OFF: ‘GET WITH THE TIMES, NJ’ “There’s no reason in the 21st century that we should still be relying solely on in-person appointments, which are time-intensive, often require residents to take off work or travel long distances, and where a single forgotten document means starting the process all over again.” Greenwald said New Jersey’s appointments system is more troublesome than other states like neighboring Pennsylvania, which allows residents to apply for REAL IDs online, and which he called a “common sense” tweak that’s not prohibited by the feds. In that regard, Greenwald said he will introduce a bill in Trenton to direct the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) to begin online processing of REAL ID applications to help fix the backlog and other issues. “[That way,] New Jerseyans can obtain their REAL IDs easily and conveniently, without unnecessary delays,” he said. A source familiar with New Jersey’s REAL ID rollout told Fox News Digital that because it is one of a handful of states where illegal immigrants can get “status-neutral” licenses, its low personal compliance proportion differs from states where only citizens can get drivers’ licenses — so there is a baseline percentage of drivers who cannot get a REAL ID to start with. Only green-card holders and U.S. citizens can get a REAL ID. Passports also remain acceptable for travel for people without a REAL ID. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The MVC has noted it holds weekly “REAL ID Thursdays” — where only REAL ID applications are processed, not learner’s permits or renewals — and employees are also required to work two weekends per month to better serve the public. Nonetheless, Muñoz said the state has had enough time to plan for the rush of New Jerseyans who need one. When reached for comment, Gov. Phil Murphy’s office directed Fox News Digital to the MVC. An agency spokesperson said the MVC has been working “nonstop” to help as many residents as possible. “Our challenges are not unique to New Jersey — every state in the nation is facing similar pressures as the deadline approaches,” the spokesperson said. “Our state has made REAL IDs available for the past five and a half years — since September 2019. We are currently issuing approximately 23,000 REAL IDs per week and remain focused on delivering efficient service and to ensure that every eligible New Jerseyan can secure one.”
Experts reveal Trump’s next move could be ‘nail in coffin’ for Biden-era regulations on nicotine
FIRST ON FOX: President Trump’s “nicotine freedom crusade” rolling back Biden-era policies related to nicotine and tobacco products could be primed to reverse a key rule that experts who spoke to Fox News Digital say would be a critical step forward. Shortly before Trump was sworn into office, Biden’s FDA proposed a rule that it described at the time as “bold” that “would make cigarettes and certain other combusted tobacco products minimally or nonaddictive by limiting the level of nicotine in those products.” Cigarettes and “certain other combusted tobacco products” would not be allowed to have more than 0.7 milligrams of nicotine per gram of tobacco under the proposed rule, according to the FDA. The agency said that lower nicotine levels would “be low enough to no longer create or sustain addiction.” While the FDA insisted at the time that the rule “would not ban” cigarettes, critics disagree and are optimistic that Trump will continue his push for nicotine freedom and upend the rule. TRUMP FDA NOMINEE TURNS VACCINE QUESTION ON DEM, RECALLING CONTROVERSIAL BIDEN DECISION “The Biden legacy on tobacco policy is one of hamfisted regulations, crippling bureaucracy, and prohibition fueling massive criminal markets — from cigarettes to Chinese vapes,” Rich Marianos, former assistant director of the ATF, executive director of the Tobacco Law Enforcement Network, told Fox News Digital. “President Trump can put the nail in the coffin of that failed era by killing this insane ban on cigarettes and focusing resources on vigilant enforcement.” Peter Brennan, Executive Director of the New England Convenience Store & Energy Marketers Association (NECSEM), told Fox News Digital that “prohibitionist tobacco policy” ends up punishing small businesses by “taking sales out of our stores and pushing them into the streets and the illicit market.” FDA PHASING OUT SOME ANIMAL TESTING IN ‘WIN-WIN’ FOR ETHICS AND PUBLIC HEALTH: COMMISSIONER “Biden’s plan to ban all cigarettes is a real threat that is still hanging over our heads.” Brennan said. “We are hopeful that President Trump will help America’s convenience stores by putting a stop to this disastrous idea.” Trump has taken several actions in the nicotine space since taking office, including withdrawing a proposed rule seeking to ban menthol cigarettes, after the Biden administration said it intended to make the ban become a reality after years of advocacy from anti-smoking groups. Months later, FDA Tobacco Director Brian King, who critics believed was a key figure behind the administration’s efforts against banning menthols and the “war on nicotine” was removed from his post in a move that experts who spoke to Fox News Digital praised earlier this month. “President Trump has succeeded in his nicotine freedom crusade since taking office, repealing Biden’s misguided menthol ban and firing the FDA architect behind it,” a Republican strategist who worked to elect Trump in 2024 told Fox News Digital this week. “The logical next step is to officially repeal a Biden-era rule on banning low nicotine products, which will be the final blow to Biden’s war on nicotine.” Fox News Digital reached out to the FDA for comment. Biden’s perceived “war on nicotine,” along with the surge in illicit Chinese vapes flooding the market over the last few years, is believed by some to have hurt his presidential campaign along with that of VP Kamala Harris, who eventually took his place on the ticket. “If President Trump withdraws Biden’s disastrous rule that would effectively ban cigarettes, it would be a huge win for his working-class coalition,” a person close to the Trump administration told Fox News Digital. Fox News Digital’s Alec Schemmel contributed to this report.
Fox News Digital’s Presidential 100 Days Quiz
As we close in on Donald Trump’s second 100 Days in Office, take the time to test your knowledge of Presidential Trivia and Achievements in the First 100 Days.
Alex Soros in hot seat after left-wing outlet exposes what his dad’s network thinks of his online footprint
A recent profile piece on Alex Soros, the heir to the vast liberal mega donor George Soros’ progressive fundraising network, suggested the younger Soros has hurt the family brand with his public profile in recent years. The article, posted by New York Magazine this week, takes place in Alex Soros’ luxury penthouse in Manhattan and characterizes the home as an example of his indifference to public opinion, which the story suggests hasn’t been beneficial to the family’s Open Society Foundations. “The setting itself is a testament to a certain indifference to public opinion on Alex’s part — or perhaps a lack of awareness,” the story says. ALEX SOROS FUMES AT LEFT-WING CLIMATE GROUP OVER ‘PALESTINE’ OBSESSION: ‘WHAT THE HELL’ “This past fall, he held a fundraiser at the apartment for vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz, then created a PR headache by posting photos from the event on social media, as is his custom after meeting heads of state and elected officials. (As a former OSF higher-up says, Alex likes to collect “shiny objects.”) “It was deemed unhelpful to a presidential ticket straining to underscore its regularness that the son of the 94-year-old hedge-fund billionaire accused of puppeteering the Democratic Party was publicly advertising his centrality to the election effort from a New York City penthouse.” MEET THE FAR-LEFT GROUPS FUNDING ANTI-DOGE PROTESTS AT GOP OFFICES ACROSS THE COUNTRY Soros drew strong criticism on social media over the photo with Walz in his penthouse standing next to a vice presidential candidate who had been labeled as someone who would resonate with rural and working-class voters. “This guy goes around saying he’s a small town midwestern guy who understands the struggles of the middle class and then goes to hang out at the floating home in the sky of the world’s biggest billionaire nepo baby,” digital strategist Greg Price wrote on X at the time. “A post like this does nothing to help Kamala Harris & Tim Walz win — if anything, it hurts them,” journalist Jerry Dunleavy posted on X at the time. “So why would Soros post something like this? To publicly signal his power & influence within the next would-be presidential administration.” New York Magazine wrote that Alex Soros’ “fondness for collecting powerful figures embarrasses people at the foundation.” “It also underscores his influence. OSF is by some measures the second-largest charitable foundation in the United States, trailing only the Gates Foundation. It gives out roughly $1.5 billion a year, and it spends its U.S. budget not only on liberal causes but also on some of the big dark-money nonprofits aligned with the Democratic Party, including America Votes, the Sixteen Thirty Fund, and the pro-Harris spending group Future Forward USA Action.” Fox News Digital has documented Soros’ online presence, which includes all the photos he takes with Democratic politicians in recent years, and his Rolodex includes some of the most powerful politicians in the Democratic Party. During the Biden administration, Soros visited the White House over 22 times and met with both Biden and Harris. His social media profiles have dozens of pictures of him and leading House and Senate Democrats since 2018. The two who appear the most are Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California. Alex had at least nine meetings with Schumer, whom he referred to as his “good friend.” Soros had at least eight visits with Pelosi, whom he has called the “greatest Speaker of the House in American History!” Soros has donated millions to Democrats over the past several years, albeit far less than his father. In 2020, he contributed over $700,000 to the Biden Victory Fund, making him among its top donors. For the 2024 cycle, he maxed out $6,600 in donations directly to Biden’s campaign, federal filings show. Since the 2018 elections, he has poured more than $5 million into federal political coffers. Records show that his largest contribution was $2 million to the Schumer-aligned Senate Majority PAC during this time. He’s also contributed hundreds of thousands in cash to the Nancy Pelosi Victory Fund, Democratic National Committee and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. He has given tens of thousands more to state Democratic parties and individual campaigns, many of which were maximum contributions. The article notes that the Soros network spent hundreds of millions in the last election cycle trying to elect Democrats and push progressive causes and that Soros was “probably the biggest liberal donor of the most recent election cycle” but that it is “hard to know for sure because of untrackable dark-money spending.”
Here’s what happened during Trump’s 14th week in office
President Donald Trump is closing in on the first 100 days of his administration this week, wrapping up three months marked by an unprecedented use of executive orders, and continued discussions surrounding a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. Trump met with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store at the White House Thursday, where he said that he and other allies are trying to wrap up a deal between Moscow and Kyiv in the near future. Still, he said he would stick to his own timeline. “I have my own deadline,” Trump told reporters Thursday. “And we wanted to be fast. And the Prime Minister’s helping us.” “He wants it to be fast, too,” he said. “And I think everybody in this, at this time in NATO, they want to see this thing happen.” The White House did not provide comment to Fox News Digital regarding details of the deadline. Trump’s team has signaled optimism about a deal this week, and Vice President JD Vance disclosed on Wednesday that a proposal is on the table. However, he said that time is limited and if neither party agrees, the U.S. will withdraw itself from advancing those discussions. The deal would require both Russia and Ukraine to give up some of their territory, but that the lines would remain “close to where they are today,” according to Vance. Here’s what also happened this week in the Trump administration: The White House went to bat for Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who has come under additional scrutiny following a New York Times report that Hegseth shared information about a March military airstrike against the Houthis in a Signal messaging app group chat that also included his wife, brother and personal lawyer. In March, the Atlantic reported about an initial Signal group chat that included Hegseth and Vance to discuss the same attack on the Houthis. In that chat, Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg was accidently included. HEGSETH FACES LATEST BATTLE DEFENDING HIS SECRETARY OF DEFENSE POST AT THE PENTAGON The most recent incident has prompted lawmakers to call for Hegseth’s resignation, even though Hegseth maintains no war plans were disclosed in the chats. Despite a report from NPR that said the White House was considering finding a new secretary of defense amid the controversy, the Trump administration has voiced support for Hegseth this week. “He is bringing monumental change to the Pentagon, and there’s a lot of people in the city who reject monumental change, and I think, frankly, that’s why we’ve seen a smear campaign against the Secretary of Defense since the moment that President Trump announced his nomination before the United States Senate,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Tuesday. “Let me reiterate: The president stands strongly behind Secretary Hegseth and the change that he is bringing to the Pentagon, and the results that he’s achieved thus far speak for themselves,” Leavitt said. Trump and first lady Melania Trump departed Washington Friday morning to attend Pope Francis’ funeral in Rome Saturday. The Vatican announced that Pope Francis died Monday at the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta. “Rest in Peace Pope Francis!” Trump said in a Monday post on Truth Social. “May God Bless him and all who loved him!” POPE FRANCIS AND US PRESIDENTS: A LOOK BACK AT HIS LEGACY WITH THE NATION’S LEADERS The pope’s death came a day after Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, met with him in one of the reception rooms of the Vatican hotel just hours before his death. Additionally, Trump signed an executive order Monday ordering all U.S. flags be flown at half-staff on all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels to remember Francis. The order also applies to all U.S. embassies, legations, consular offices and other facilities abroad, including military facilities and naval vessels and stations. Former President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, are also planning to attend the Rome funeral. Trump also signed seven executive orders pertaining to education, including several that would incorporate artificial intelligence into K-12 school curricula, modify school discipline and accreditation guidelines, and update requirements for the disclosure of foreign funding to schools. Meanwhile, Trump’s Education Department also announced Monday it would resume collections on defaulted federal student loans in May for the first time since 2020. EDUCATION DEPARTMENT TO RESUME COLLECTIONS ON DEFAULTED FEDERAL STUDENT LOANS FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 2020 The first Trump administration paused referring federal student loans to collections in March 2020 during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. But Trump administration officials are concerned that the pause has led the federal student loan portfolio to be “headed toward a fiscal cliff if we don’t start repayment in collections,” according to a senior department official. “The result has been that the federal government student loan portfolio has continued to grow, and we’ve got a record number of borrowers that are at risk of or in delinquency and default,” the senior department official told reporters Monday. Fox News’ Emma Colton contributed to this report.
How much time will it take for India to stop water flow to Pakistan after suspension of Indus water treaty?
One of the key decisions announced by India includes the suspension of Indus water treaty – a move being seen as a big jolt to Pakistan. But let us first understand what is Indus water treaty and why it is so significant to both the countries.
Government’s advisory to media channels to refrain from live coverage of security operations: ‘During Kargil war, Mumbai attacks…’
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has issued an advisory to all media platforms to refrain from showing live coverage of defence operations and movement of security forces. The advisory has come days after the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed.
‘First they denied, then they..’: Omar Abdullah slams Pakistan’s ‘neutral’ probe offer into Pahalgam attack
Omar Abdullah condemned Pakistan’s initial denial and blamed India’s claims over the Pahalgam terror attack before Shehbaz Sharif later offered a “neutral” probe, exposing Islamabad’s flip-flop.
Trump’s MAGA imprint on GOP strong now, but will it last? Experts weigh in
President Donald Trump recently hyped a new national poll which indicates an increasing percentage of Republicans now identify as MAGA supporters. The president, in a social media post, pointed to what he said was “tremendous support” for MAGA, which is the acronym for Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement. “I am not, at all, surprised!!!” Trump wrote, days ahead of the 100-days milestone. The poll indicated that 71% of Republicans now identify as MAGA supporters, up from 55% in November. CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLING The NBC News survey is the latest piece of evidence of Trump’s extremely firm grip over the GOP, and his remaking of the Republican Party in his image, a transformation that started with the president’s initial White House victory in 20216. While the president repeatedly teases the possibility of running for re-election in 2028, the reality is that serving a third term is clearly prohibited by the Constitution under the 22nd Amendment. So what happens to Trump’s MAGA movement and America First agenda after he departs the White House? “The Republican Party will never go back to what it was. The old Republican Party of [former longtime Senate GOP leader] Mitch McConnell run by Washington elites died forever in 2024,” longtime Republican consultant Alex Castellanos told Fox News Digital. SCOOP: REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE SHOWCASES RECORD FUNDRAISING AS PARTY BUILDS 2026 WAR CHEST Castellanos, a veteran of numerous GOP presidential campaigns, emphasized that “the Republican Party of Donald Trump is alive and growing out in America.” And he made the case that “what happened in 2024 is that what was a man became a movement.” David Kochul, another longtime Republican strategist with plenty of experience on the presidential campaign trail, concurred that “we’re not going back to what the party looked like in 2012. That’s for sure. We’re going forward to something new and different.” Even a vocal Republican critic of Trump agrees. Former congressman and former two-term Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who launched an unsuccessful 2024 Republican presidential nomination bid, acknowledged that “those who want the GOP to go a different direction from the MAGA leadership of President Trump are now fighting an uphill battle.” “Trump has found his stride with his anti-immigrant message and it is overshadowing the chaos from his super-charged tariff war and its impact on the economy,” Hutchinson told Fox News Digital. Whoever succeeds Trump as GOP standardbearer – be it heir apparent Vice President JD Vance or someone else – won’t be Trump. “Trump is such a unique actor and figure. He can’t be replicated,” Kochul stressed. “Nobody can be the next Donald Trump. That’s not possible. He’s singular.” But his movement will have some staying power. “Just like the Reagan Revolution, Trump’s legacy and messaging will prevail beyond his last day in office,” Dave Carney, another longtime Republican consultant and presidential campaign trail veteran, told Fox News. But Carney argued that Trump’s legacy may “wane over years unless the next Republican president continues it.” TRUMP, MUSK FACE BLAME FOR SETBACKS, BUT ARE WISCONSIN, FLORIDA ELECTIONS CRYSTAL BALL FOR 2026 MIDTERMS? “Is it going to be as hot and heavy as it is now without his personality? Carney asked. Answering his own question, he said, “No. You need to have a messenger to carry that theme.” But Castellanos noted that Trump has “spawned a new younger generation of MAGA leaders who will carry on the MAGA movement long after Trump.” Pointing to Vance and others, Castellanos described “a fresh generation of MAGA.” “The players on the MAGA farm team are now playing major league ball,” he said. Kochul, looking to the future of the GOP, said that “it will be more populist, whomever emerges.” And as for those future leaders, he suggested that “we’ve got a lot of great leadership and a great bench.” Hutchinson, a former U.S. attorney under Ronald Reagan and high-ranking official in George W. Bush’s administration, also weighed in on the future of Trump’s MAGA movement. “Whether Trump’s dominance continues beyond the next few years depends upon the tolerance level of the GOP base on Trump’s view that ‘he is the law’ rather than respecting the separation of powers that have served our country well,” Hutchinson said.