Mahakumbh Mela 2025: Traffic restrictions imposed in Prayagraj ahead of Maghi Purnima snan; check details
Prayagraj issues strict traffic restrictions for Maghi Purnima Snan during Maha Kumbh 2025 to ensure smooth movement and devotee safety.
Trump orders immediate end to Biden’s crackdown on household appliances, return to ‘common sense standards’
President Donald Trump is ordering the immediate reversal of Biden-era green energy regulations on household appliances and the reinstatement of environmental orders issued under his first term. During his term, former President Joe Biden issued more stringent climate standards for various household appliances, such as gas stoves, washing machines and dishwashers, which energy experts and manufacturers have warned could lead to more expensive alternatives that are far less effective than current models. Trump, in a Truth Social post early Tuesday morning, called on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), led by former Rep. Lee Zeldin, to immediately undo Biden’s climate mandates and return to “common sense standards.” “I am hereby instructing Secretary Lee Zeldin to immediately go back to my Environmental Orders, which were terminated by Crooked Joe Biden, on Water Standards and Flow pertaining to SINKS, SHOWERS, TOILETS, WASHING MACHINES, DISHWASHERS, etc., and to likewise go back to the common sense standards on LIGHTBULBS, that were put in place by the Trump Administration, but terminated by Crooked Joe,” Trump wrote. ENERGY EXPERTS BLAST FAILED BILLION-DOLLAR DOE PROJECT AS ‘FINANCIAL BOONDOGGLE,’ ‘DISASTER’ “I look forward to signing these Orders,” the president said. “THANK YOU!!!” PRESIDENT TRUMP’S PRO-ENERGY AGENDA WILL UNLEASH AMERICAN JOBS AND ENERGY SECURITY Republican lawmakers, who have the majority in both the House and the Senate, have also started taking actions in Congress to derail Biden’s green energy standards for appliances. Rep. Stephanie Bice, R-Oka., introduced a joint resolution of disapproval against the standards for coolers and freezers enacted by the Biden administration that were set to go into effect in February, reported first by Fox News Digital. Additionally, Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Ala., introduced a resolution to block Biden’s ban on water heaters, which was announced first by Fox News Digital. Also in January, the House passed the “Liberty in Laundry Act” to prevent the Energy secretary and Department of Energy from “implementing new or amended energy efficiency standards for clothes washers that are not technologically feasible and economically justified.”
Democrat lawmaker freezes on House floor after suffering adverse reaction to medication
Rep. John Larson, D-Ct., appeared to freeze mid-remarks on the House floor on Monday. In the middle of impassioned remarks aimed against President Donald Trump and his team, including Elon Musk, Larson took a long pause and when he resumed speaking his speed was noticeably slower. The lawmaker was also slurring his words. Following the incident, Larson’s D.C. office put out a statement expressing the congressman’s gratitude to those who reached out and clarifying a possible reason for the lawmaker’s long pause. “Congressman Larson appreciates the well wishes from everyone who has reached out. This afternoon, he had what was likely an adverse reaction to a new medication and is having tests administered by the House Attending Physician out of an abundance of caution,” Larson’s office wrote in a statement. “He later participated in multiple meetings in his office and was alert and engaged. The Congressman remains in touch with his staff and in good spirits.” HERE’S WHAT HAPPENED DURING TRUMP’S 3RD WEEK IN OFFICE The 76-year-old lawmaker’s office, however, did not provide details on what the medication was or why the congressman was purportedly taking it. Larson also reportedly skipped two House votes held on Monday night, according to Axios. American voters have grown increasingly concerned over lawmakers’ ages. The issue of age in politics is not new, as former President Ronald Regan combated questions about his age when running for re-election in 1984. Reagan famously joked about the issue in a debate against former Vice President Walter Mondale. “I want you to know that also I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and inexperience,” Reagan joked during the debate, eliciting laughs from the audience and Mondale. MEET THE YOUNG TEAM OF SOFTWARE ENGINEERS SLASHING GOVERNMENT WASTE AT DOGE: REPORT However, the 2024 election brought age back into the spotlight as many questioned then-President Joe Biden’s cognitive abilities. When the president dropped out of the race in July 2024, some Democrats tried to flip the age question onto Trump, but this mostly fell flat. Additionally, just days before Larson’s incident, Senator Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who will turn 83 later this month, left the Capitol in a wheelchair as a precautionary issue after falling twice. “Senator McConnell is fine. The lingering effects of polio in his left leg will not disrupt his regular schedule of work,” a spokesperson for the senator said in a statement. FORMER GOP LEADER MCCONNELL FALLS WHILE EXITING SENATE CHAMBER AFTER TURNER CONFIRMATION VOTE The average age of America’s lawmakers is changing, according to a report from the Pew Research Center. In January, Pew reported that the average age of voting members in the House and the median age in the Senate had dropped. The House’s median age went from 57.9 years in the 118th Congress to 57.5 years in the 119th, while the median age in the Senate went from 65.3 to 64.7 years. Pew shows that the majority of the House in the 119th Congress is made up of Baby Boomers and Gen Xers, with the younger generation slowly outpacing the older one. Baby Boomers are no longer the largest generation in the House, now accounting for just 39% of the legislative body. Their numbers have also dropped in the Senate, despite Baby Boomers still making up a majority of the chamber. Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., is the only Gen Z lawmaker in Congress. Members of Frost’s generation are not yet eligible to run for Senate, where the minimum age to serve is 30 years old.
Trump has higher approval rating than at any point during first term: poll
President Donald Trump has the highest approval rating now compared to any point during his first term in office, according to a new poll. Forty-seven percent of Americans approve of Trump’s job performance in the less than a month since he was sworn in as the 47th president, the latest national survey by the Pew Research Center found. While that’s higher than at any point while he served as the 45th president, Trump’s inaugural approval rating sinks below that of most other presidents since Ronald Reagan. George W. Bush’s approval rating early in his second term, however, was about the same as that of Trump now. TRUMP PARDONS FORMER ILLINOIS GOV. ROD BLAGOJEVICH: ‘HE WAS SET UP BY A LOT OF BAD PEOPLE’ The poll, conducted Jan. 27 to Feb. 2 among 5,086 adults, found nearly three in ten adults, or 28%, view Trump’s actions as better than expected, while 36% said they have been what they expected. His actions are viewed as worse than expected by 35% of adults. Americans are fairly evenly split over how they believe Trump’s White House will affect the federal government. The survey found 41% of adults said they believe Trump’s administration will improve the way the federal government works, and 42% said they believe the state of the federal government will worsen with him in office. Public opinion on Trump’s agenda remains starkly divided along partisan lines. The poll found 67% of Republicans, including those who lean red, support all or most of Trump’s plans and policies. For Democrats and those who lean blue, 84% support few or none. Almost an identical share of Republicans, 76%, said Trump will improve the way the federal government operates, as Democrats, 78%, said Trump will make the federal government run worse. NOEM: ‘GET RID OF FEMA THE WAY IT EXISTS TODAY’ For Republicans, 53% viewed Trump’s recent actions as better than expected, while the poll found 60% of Democrats view the president’s accomplishments as worse than expected. As Trump enters his fourth week back in office, his efforts to slash wasteful federal government spending through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have caused a stir in Washington. His threat of tariffs against Canada and Mexico and levied against China over the flow of deadly fentanyl across American borders has similarly raised concerns. Trump’s angling for the Panama Canal and Greenland amid the increasing Chinese presence in the Western Hemisphere, as well as his administration overseeing a collapsing ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel in the Middle East have put the world on notice. Trump’s advisers are expected to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy this week in Munich as the war with Russia stretches into its third year. Raging wildfires in California, a deadly military helicopter-passenger jet collision in D.C., and the continuing aftermath of last year’s hurricane devastation in the southeast, particularly in North Carolina, are putting Trump’s new Cabinet chiefs to the test on the domestic front, as is Trump’s crackdown on criminal illegal immigration.
Russia says US relations ‘on the brink of a breakup,’ won’t confirm Trump-Putin talk
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime suggested relations between Washington, D.C., and Moscow are on “the brink” of collapse this week. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov made the announcement during a Monday press conference. Ryabkov reiterated Putin’s stance that there would be no peace in Ukraine unless the country dropped its ambitions to join NATO and ceded Russian-occupied regions. “We simply imperatively need to get … the new U.S. administration to understand and acknowledge that without resolving the problems that are the root causes of the crisis in Ukraine, it will not be possible to reach an agreement,” Ryabkov said. While President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he has spoken to Putin, a spokesman for the Russian leader declined to confirm the call this week. ZELENSKYY WANTS NUKES OR NATO; TRUMP SPECIAL ENVOY KELLOGG SAYS ‘SLIM AND NONE’ CHANCE Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday that he expects to have “many more conversations. We have to get that war ended.” “I hate to see all these young people being killed. The soldiers are being killed by the hundreds of thousands,” he added. TRUMP’S FOURTH WEEK IN OFFICE COULD INCLUDE MEETING WITH ZELENSKYY, IRONING OUT STEEL DEAL Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is preparing to meet with Vice President JD Vance at the Munich Security Conference later this week after confirming on Friday he is ready to “do a deal” with President Donald Trump. According to an interview with Reuters, Zelenskyy said he was ready to supply the U.S. with rare-earth minerals in exchange for Washington’s continued backing of its war effort. “If we are talking about a deal, then let’s do a deal, we are only for it,” Zelenskyy said. The Ukrainian president has made clear he is also open to engaging in peace talks with Russia to end the three-year-long war, though possible terms for securing a peace deal remain varied and unknown. Though Zelenskyy has said he is looking for “guarantees” when it comes to future security assurances for the war-torn country. These security assurances will likely need to be more than a formal handshake paired with a signed document, as Russia has twice violated its last agreement with Ukraine, known as the 1994 Budapest Memorandum. Zelenskyy apparently first floated the idea of trading Ukraine’s mineral resources – roughly 20% of which are located in now Russian-controlled territory, including half of the rare-earth variety – under his “victory plan” first presented to Western allies last fall, reported Reuters.
Louisiana resumes executions after 15-year pause, approves use of nitrogen gas method
The Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections has finalized and implemented a protocol allowing sentences for death row inmates to be carried out using the nitrogen hypoxia method, Gov. Jeff Landry announced Monday. The new protocol will allow for death sentences to be carried out again after a 15-year pause and builds on a constitutionally approved method already in place in Alabama. A summary of Alabama’s protocol allows for the condemned person to communicate with a spiritual adviser. It also allows for “designated victim relationship witnesses.” LOUISIANA GOV. LANDRY SIGNALS PUSH FOR STATE TO RESUME DEATH ROW EXECUTIONS The Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola will carry out the executions and is responsible for checking all aspects of the system. “Once escorted to the death chamber, medical monitors will be attached to the inmate to evaluate the relevant vital signs,” the summary says. “The inmate will be offered the opportunity to make a final statement, and then, the specialized mask for administration of the nitrogen will be fitted onto the inmate.” The statement says the coroner will confirm the death, then the warden will issue a statement confirming the death. Alabama executed a man using nitrogen gas last year, marking the first use of the method in the US since the introduction of lethal injection in 1982. The state has since executed three more people by that method. The Protocol for Executions of Death Sentences includes the procedures for the nitrogen hypoxia method recently approved by the Louisiana Legislature with bipartisan support. “For too long, Louisiana has failed to uphold the promises made to victims of our State’s most violent crimes; but that failure of leadership by previous administrations is over,” Landry said. “The time for broken promises has ended; we will carry out these sentences and justice will be dispensed.” “These capital punishment cases have been reviewed at every judicial level, have had decades of unsuccessful appeals, and the death sentences affirmed by the courts,” Landry continued. “I expect our DA’s to finalize these cases and the courts to move swiftly to bring justice to the crime victims who have waited for too long.” BIDEN COMMUTES SENTENCES OF 37 FEDERAL DEATH ROW INMATES IN FINAL MONTH OF PRESIDENCY Approximately 60 inmates are on death row in Louisiana, but executions have stalled due to legal challenges and drug shortages. Also on the list of state sanctioned execution methods is electrocution – sponsored by State Rep. Nicholas Muscarello. Louisiana last carried out a death by electrocution 34 years ago. That method was abandoned after legal challenges became an issue, forcing the state to retire it. As of now, there is no set date or plan for when the state will carry out the first execution as death penalty cases often are tied up in litigation for years. State Attorney General Liz Murrill has sided with Landry and praised the state’s move toward resuming executions. “Those sentenced to death have been convicted by a jury of their peers for the most heinous and barbaric crimes imaginable. These are the worst of the worst,” she said in a statement. “Governor Landry and I are committed to moving this process forward to finally get justice for victims.” State Rep. Debbie Villio, R-Kenner, also released a statement supporting Landry. “Justice for the victims is long overdue. I fully support Landry in his efforts and his administration in following the law as overwhelmingly approved by the Legislature,” she said.
‘Need global standards’: PM Modi pushes for AI governance at Paris AI Summit
Talking about AI governance, PM Modi stressed on concerns related to the whole ecosystem of AI and cybersecurity. There is a need for collective global efforts to establish governance and standards, he said.
With vouchers fast-tracked, other Texas public education issues to watch this session
From teacher pay and preparation to special education and DEI, here are issues Texas lawmakers are prioritizing this legislative session.
As Texas gets redder, John Cornyn could face toughest primary season of his career
Attorney General Ken Paxton, who has hinted at a possible run, has more support than the four-term senator among Republicans, polling shows.
Murkowski and Cassidy announce they’ll vote to confirm Tulsi Gabbard to Trump cabinet post
Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Bill Cassidy, R-La., both announced that they would vote to confirm former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard to serve as Director of National Intelligence. In a party-line vote on Monday, Murkowski, Cassidy, and the other Republican senators who voted opted to move forward with the confirmation process by supporting cloture, while the members of the Senate Democratic caucus who voted opposed cloture. “I will vote to confirm Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence,” Murkowski declared in a post on X. TRUMP NOMINEE TULSI GABBARD CLEARS LAST HURDLE, HEADS FOR FINAL CONFIRMATION VOTE “While I continue to have concerns about certain positions she has previously taken, I appreciate her commitment to rein in the outsized scope of the agency, while still enabling the ODNI to continue its essential function in upholding national security,” the senator continued. “As she brings independent thinking and necessary oversight to her new role, I am counting on her to ensure the safety and civil liberties of American citizens remain rigorously protected.” Murkowski voted against confirming Pete Hegseth to serve as Defense Secretary last month. JOHN FETTERMAN REVEALS HOW HE’LL VOTE ON TRUMP’S TULSI GABBARD AND RFK JR. NOMINATIONS “President Trump chose Tulsi Gabbard to be his point person on foreign intelligence,” Cassidy said in a statement. “I will trust President Trump on this decision and vote for her confirmation.” Gabbard, who served in Congress from early 2013 to early 2021, announced in 2022 that she was leaving the Democratic Party. THE CONFIRMATION JUGGERNAUT: HOW TRUMP IS GETTING EVERYTHING HE WANTS IN BUILDING HIS CABINET Last year she backed Trump in the 2024 presidential contest and announced she was joining the Republican Party.