Good News for Uttar Pradesh and Haryana residents: Construction of THIS bridge to cut short travel time between Aligarh-Palwal by…, here’s all you need to know
Residents of Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh and Palwal in Haryana are in for a treat as a new bridge is set to reduce the distance between the two cities by approximately 35 kilometers. The proposed bridge, which will connect Aligarh’s Hasanpur area to Palwal’s Malv village, is expected to make travel easier and save time and fuel for commuters.
BIG UPDATE! Kalaburagi-Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express timings revised, to start from THIS date; Check new schedule, route, stoppages, fare
Indian Railways has revised the Kalaburagi-SMVT Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express schedule from January 2026. The train gets a new stoppage at Sri Sathya Sai Prasanthi Nilayam, updated timings, earlier arrival at Kalaburagi, and improved connectivity across Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
Delhi-NCR AQI: Thick smog engulfs National Capital as air quality deteriorates to ‘severe’ category; Flight operations affected
The lowest AQI levels, still in the “very poor” range, were recorded at Shadipur (309), IHBAS-Dilshad Garden (336), Aya Nagar (367), Lodhi Road-IITM (368), Lodhi Road-IMD (374), and IGI Airport-T3 (379). Read here to know area-wise pollution levels
Texas comptroller questions whether some Islamic schools can be excluded from voucher program
Acting Texas Comptroller Kelly Hancock suggested schools that hosted events for the Council on American-Islamic Relations or are linked to China could be disqualified from the new program.
20% of NYC mayor-elect Mamdani transition appointees have anti-Zionist ties: ADL
At least 20 percent of New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s administrative appointees are connected to groups characterized as anti-Zionist, according to a Monday report by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). The report found that more than 80 individuals among Mamdani’s 400-plus transition and administrative appointees either have ties to such groups or a “documented history of making anti-Israel statements.” The organization said Mamdani’s Transition Committee appointees have been linked to groups including Students for Justice in Palestine, a pro-Palestinian college activism network; Jewish Voice for Peace, an American Jewish anti-Zionist organization; and Within Our Lifetime, a New York City-based anti-Zionist group “known for leading protests outside synagogues.” For example, the ADL said at least four appointees have ties to Louis Farrakhan, the antisemitic leader of the Nation of Islam. One appointee, Jacques Léandre, was cited for reportedly attending a conference at which Farrakhan denounced “the Jews and their power.” ADL CHIEF WARNS NYC MAYOR-ELECT ZOHRAN MAMDANI POSES A ‘CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER’ TO JEWISH COMMUNITY Several other appointees were also cited for statements that appear to support or justify violence against Israel and the Oct. 7 attacks. According to the ADL, Kazi Fouzia posted on Facebook hours after the attacks that “Resistance are [sic] Justified when people are occupied” with video footage from an anti-Israel protest happening that day in Manhattan. The report continued to identify other appointees who publicly expressed hostility toward Zionism. Examples included Fahd Ahmed, who allegedly stated “Zionism is racism“; Ruha Benjamin, who reportedly signed a statement saying Israel was “ideologically founded on Jewish supremacy”; Lisa Ohta, who was accused of referring to “Zionism’s genocidal ideology”; and Mohammed Karim Chowdhury, who shared a post allegedly claiming “Zionists are worse than … Nazis.” MAMDANI’S FATHER SAYS COLUMBIA ‘TARGETED’ ANTI-ISRAEL STUDENTS WITH ANTISEMITISM CRACKDOWN The organization also identified Zakiyah Shaakir-Ansari, who was cited for allegedly posting a photo of herself at an encampment in front of a banner displaying an inverted red triangle, a symbol associated with Hamas, alongside the text “LONG LIVE THE RESISTANCE.” The report also states that at least 12 appointees publicly expressed support for anti-Israel campus encampments during the spring of 2024, with at least five attending the protests in person. The ADL highlighted Gianpaolo Baiocchi, who was reportedly arrested at the NYU encampment and later asserted that no hate speech was present. The ADL disputes that claim, citing flyers distributed at the encampment that called for “Death to Israeli Real Estate” and “Death to America.” Mamdani, who takes office on Jan. 1, has previously and repeatedly emphasized that he stands against antisemitism. The ADL noted that many appointees did not raise concerns and emphasized that at least 25 individuals expressed support for the Jewish community, including Rabbi Joe Potasnik, Félix Matos Rodríguez, Wayne Ho, John King, and Jerry Goldfeder. However, the organization said it remains concerned about Mamdani’s team overall. “Many of Mayor-elect Mamdani’s Transition Committee appointments are inconsistent with his campaign commitments to prioritize the safety of New York’s Jewish community,” the ADL wrote in the report. Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani for more comment.
ICE arrests 100+ illegal alien truckers in major sweep after deadly crashes across multiple states
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested more than 100 illegal alien truck drivers on California highways in Operation Highway Sentinel, launched after a string of deadly crashes linked to commercial driving licenses (CDLs) issued under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s policies. Federal authorities said the sweep was launched after multiple fatal crashes across several states involving illegal alien truck drivers licensed in California, underscoring growing concerns that the state’s commercial licensing policies are putting motorists nationwide at risk. Those arrested included illegal aliens from India, Mexico, Colombia, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Nicaragua, Russia, Georgia, Venezuela, El Salvador and Honduras. “Gavin Newsom’s sanctuary state policies are costing American lives,” ICE Deputy Director Madison Sheahan said. “His government knowingly issued thousands of CDLs to illegal aliens who had no business driving at all, let alone behind the wheel of a massive semi-truck. These drivers get their licenses, leave California, then terrorize roads all over the country.” ICE ARRESTS ILLEGAL-IMMIGRANT TRUCKER FROM UZBEKISTAN OVER ALLEGED TERROR TIES “ICE is stepping in where his state failed,” Sheahan added. “Just like our operations in Oklahoma and Indiana, we are taking these dangerous illegal alien truckers off the roads and making California streets safe again.” ICE said in a press release that Operation Highway Sentinel was launched in direct response to growing concerns that criminal illegal aliens driving commercial vehicles on U.S. roads cause multiple fatal accidents in states like California, Florida and Oregon, claiming “eight innocent lives.” The agency accused California, under Newsom’s leadership, of issuing thousands of CDLs to illegal aliens, some of whom could not read English or understand road signs. Fox News Digital has reached out to Newsom’s office for comment on the matter. ICE ARRESTS CRIMINAL ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ACCUSED OF FLEEING HEAD-ON CRASH THAT SEVERELY INJURED MARYLAND WOMAN Similar operations targeting illegal aliens have been executed in Indiana, New York and Oklahoma, and have resulted in the arrest of over 200 illegal immigrant truck drivers who were issued CDLs. “This week HSI, along with our partners, conducted enforcement operations targeting illegal alien commercial truck drivers across California’s Central Valley in the interest of public safety,” Tatum King, the special agent in charge at Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) San Francisco, said. “In the wake of multiple deadly motor vehicle accidents involving illegal aliens operating as commercial truck drivers, federal law enforcement is taking action to prevent further tragedy.” The latest operation in California targeted trucking companies in central and northern portions of the state that were suspected of engaging in criminal activity, ICE said. DUFFY VOWS ‘WE’RE NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS LYING DOWN’ AFTER COURT BLOCKS CDL RESTRICTIONS FOR ILLEGAL MIGRANTS ICE also said the trucking industry is known by law enforcement to involve criminal organizations engaged in human smuggling, labor trafficking, narcotics trafficking and cargo theft, among other things. Of the 101 illegal alien truck drivers arrested during the operation, all will be held by ICE pending immigration proceedings. Earlier this year, an Indian national who was issued a CDL by California allegedly killed a carload of people after attempting to make an illegal U-turn on a highway in Florida. MAJOR COUNTY SHERIFF REJECTS ICE DETAINER ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT WHO KILLED YOUNG BOY IN HIT-AND-RUN The Florida Attorney General’s Office said in October that the driver, Harjinder Singh, failed his CDL test 10 times in two months before finally receiving a license in 2023 in Washington State. The Washington company that trained Singh for his CDL attested that he could speak English, even though he struggled to speak it proficiently, the senior official said. Still, Washington issued Singh his first CDL, and California later granted him another. Officials investigating the wreck in Florida said Singh failed English and road sign tests. He’s accused of jackknifing his 18-wheeler during an illegal U-turn, causing a van to smash into the side of the semi, leaving three people dead. The Florida AG’s office has since sued California and Washington in a Supreme Court filing to prevent both states from issuing CDLs to illegal immigrants. The lawsuit accuses the states of failing to comply with federal safety and immigration status requirements.
Democrat lawmakers call on Trump to withdraw rule limiting green cards for people on welfare
More than 125 congressional Democrats are pushing the Trump administration to withdraw a proposed rule that would open the door to denying a person a green card if they use public assistance, including Medicaid or food stamps. “This proposal punishes families for caring for their children. It would scare parents away from health care, food assistance, and early education that U.S. citizen children are legally entitled to, putting kids at risk and destabilizing entire communities,” Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, said in a statement to The Hill. “Congress never intended public charge to be used this way, and we are demanding DHS withdraw this harmful proposal before it inflicts real and lasting damage on American families,” Espaillat added. The Department of Homeland Security‘s proposal would rescind a rule adopted in 2022 under the Biden administration that reinstated a long-standing but relatively narrow definition of “public charge.” OVERWEIGHT FOREIGNERS SEEKING VISAS MAY BE REJECTED TO SAVE HEALTHCARE COSTS, TAXPAYER EXPENSE The 2022 rule defined a “public charge” as someone “primarily dependent” on government assistance, particularly people receiving cash assistance for income maintenance or nursing home care at government expense. Most non-cash benefits such as Medicaid and food stamps did not count toward a public charge determination under that rule. DHS’ new proposal argues that the Biden-era policy is a “straitjacket” on immigration officers that prevents them from considering “all factors and information relevant to an alien’s likelihood at any time of becoming a public charge.” Opponents of the Trump administration’s proposed rule change fear it would open the door to widespread rejection of green cards for people who would otherwise qualify and that it would lead immigrants to not seek assistance they could qualify for over concerns that it could impact their green card applications. If the proposal is finalized, the Trump administration would not have a formal definition of what it means to be a public charge. This would give immigration officials broader discretion to consider a wider array of factors and potentially additional types of benefits in determining what constitutes a public charge, moving away from the narrow “primarily dependent” factor that was included in the 2022 rule. In urging the federal government to abandon the proposal, 127 Democrats said the rule would create “immediate and widespread uncertainty,” according to The Hill. The Democrat lawmakers argue in formal comments that immigration officers would be forced to make a public charge determination with little guidance. DHS TO IMPOSE $1K FEE FOR MIGRANTS GRANTED HUMANITARIAN PAROLE “Removing these definitions invites arbitrary decision-making and creates significant risk that adjudicators will rely on factors that Congress has not authorized,” the lawmakers wrote to DHS. “The proposed rule contains no assurance that adjudicators will refrain from considering benefits received during periods when the federal government expressly stated that such benefits had no immigration consequences,” they continued. The lawmakers also said the proposed rule opens the door to penalizing people who previously used assistance programs when there was no risk for accessing the benefits. “Families seeking adjustment of status — including refugees, survivors of domestic violence or trafficking, children who have been abused, neglected, or abandoned, and others whom Congress has long exempted from punitive public charge treatment — cannot navigate a system where the rules shift without warning and where past, lawful conduct that the federal government had stated was permissible could be reinterpreted as a negative factor,” they wrote. “To be very clear, the proposed rule will trigger a massive chilling effect, driving eligible families away from essential assistance in health care, nutrition, childcare, and education, with the heaviest harm falling on U.S. citizen children,” the lawmakers said. Another group of Democrats also submitted comments taking issue with the plan to change the longstanding definition of a public charge. “Since the term was first codified as an immigration restriction in 1882, it has been consistently interpreted to mean an individual who is, or is likely to become, primarily dependent on the government for his or her care (i.e., someone who is effectively a ‘charge’ or ward of the state),” Rep. Jaime Raskin, D-Md., and Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the top Democrat on their respective chambers’ Judiciary committees, said in comments signed by additional lawmakers, according to The Hill. “Over the years, the method for determining such ‘primary dependence’ has changed, but the principle itself has remained steadfast,” they added. Under the 2019 public charge rule issued during Trump’s first term, immigration officers were instructed to reject applicants who used public programs.
Pentagon taps Musk’s xAI to boost sensitive government workflows, support military operations
The Department of War announced Monday that the Pentagon is partnering with Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem to deploy Grok across its government systems. The agency said the “frontier‑grade” capabilities of xAI’s Grok family of models will be integrated into the department’s recently launched AI platform, GenAI.mil. As soon as early 2026, the partnership will allow the Department’s 3 million military and civilian personnel to safely access more advanced AI tools for everyday tasks, including handling sensitive government information. According to xAI, its tools can support administrative tasks at the federal, state and local levels, as well as ‘critical mission use cases’ at the front line of military operations. DOGE STAFFING SHAKEUP AS ELON MUSK HANGS UP HIS HAT, WHITE HOUSE CONFIRMS “Today, the War Department officially entered into an agreement with xAI, paving the way for the deployment of its advanced capabilities on GenAI.mil,” the department said. “This move builds on the rapid deployment of cutting‑edge AI across the Department’s 3 million military and civilian personnel.” The tools will allow employees to use xAI safely on secure government systems for routine work, including tasks involving sensitive but unclassified information, without violating security protocols. With xAI designed to analyze real-time data, the War Department said the partnership would give personnel “a decisive information advantage.” Grok will give personnel access to live information from X, providing the War Department with faster situational awareness around the globe, the department said. TRUMP LAYS OUT WHERE HE STANDS WITH ELON MUSK AFTER BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL BLOWUP xAI added that the partnership could lead to potential future classified workloads. “Through an ongoing, long-term partnership with the DoW and other mission partners, xAI will make available a family of government-optimized foundation models to support classified operational workloads,” the company said. The War Department said that it will continue to scale its AI ecosystem for speed, security and decision superiority. “This announcement marks another milestone in America’s AI revolution, and the War Department is driving that momentum forward,” the department said. “These two new partnerships are part of our longstanding support of the United States Government and xAI’s mission to bring the best tools and technologies available in industry to benefit our nation,” xAI added. The collaboration marks another chapter in Elon Musk’s long-running relationship with government initiatives. Musk previously helped lead the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, where he briefly reformed operations and cut excess spending within the federal government.
Exclusive Photos: JD Vance joins Navy SEAL training, pushes limits in grueling workout
EXCLUSIVE: New photos obtained by Fox News Digital show Vice President JD Vance training with U.S. Navy SEALs in California — a 90-minute workout the vice president later said left him feeling like he’d been “hit by a freight train.” Images show Vance carrying logs, rowing in the ocean, running on the beach and climbing a rope obstacle course alongside a group of SEALs. “Just finished PT with the Navy SEALs for 90 minutes,” Vance wrote in an X post Monday. “They took it easy on me and I still feel like I got hit by a freight train.” Vance used the moment to praise the military’s special operations forces, writing that he is “so grateful to all of our warriors who keep us safe and keep the highest standards anywhere in the world.” HEGSETH WORKS OUT WITH US TROOPS IN MALAYSIA AS WAR DEPARTMENT VOWS ‘WE WILL BE FIT, NOT FAT’ The vice president participated in multiple stages of SEALs training at a facility in Coronado, California, per a source familiar. Many of the SEALs’ faces have been blurred to protect their identities. Vance is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served in the Iraq War. He enlisted in 2003 and deployed to Iraq in 2005 with the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, where he worked in public affairs. TRUMP UNVEILS ‘GOLDEN FLEET’ OF NAVY BATTLESHIPS, TOUTS THEM AS ‘MORE POWERFUL THAN ANY’ EVER BUILT The vice president previously has said his time in uniform shaped his views on national security, the costs of war and the responsibility leaders bear when sending troops into harm’s way. Navy SEALs are among the U.S. military’s most elite special operations forces, known for grueling physical standards and missions ranging from counterterrorism to maritime operations. The post aligns with broader messaging from Trump administration officials emphasizing physical readiness across the armed forces. War Secretary Pete Hegseth has emphasized U.S. troops need to be “fit, not fat,” even up to the general and flag-officer level. He has frequently highlighted physical readiness in public remarks and has taken part in workouts with service members during visits to military units around the world.
98 Minnesota mayors warn state fiscal policies are hurting cities, residents and local budgets
A group of 98 Minnesota mayors raised concerns with state leaders in a letter about their state’s fiscal policies, saying they have impacted their cities and residents, noting a disappearing $18 billion surplus and a projected $2.9 billion to $3 billion deficit for the 2028-29 biennium. In a letter to state lawmakers and Gov. Tim Walz, the 98 mayors expressed concern and frustration, said the state was slipping in national economic rankings. “Fraud, unchecked spending, and inconsistent fiscal management in St. Paul have trickled down to our cities—reducing our capacity to plan responsibly, maintain infrastructure, hire and retain employees, and sustain core services without overburdening local taxpayers,” the letter states. ‘EPICENTER OF FRAUD’: MINNESOTA’S EMPTY STOMACHS, FAKE AUTISM THERAPY AND A SCANDAL THAT COULD TOP $2 BILLION Cities across the state now face workforce shortages, slowed business investment, rising operational and construction costs, and families choosing to leave Minnesota altogether, the letter states. In addition, the mayors noted potential property tax increases as a result of unfunded state mandates and costs that force cities to shift the burden to residents and businesses. “There is a growing disconnect between state-level fiscal decisions and the strain they place on the cities we lead, the letter said. “When the state expands programs or shifts responsibilities without stable funding, it is our residents—families, seniors, businesses, and workers—who ultimately bear the cost.” Unfunded mandates include requests for schools, health and human services, and public safety. Minnesota Republican lawmakers put the blame on Walz and Democrats. MINNESOTA’S ANTI-FRAUD SPENDING HAS QUIETLY BALLOONED, LEAVING TAXPAYERS TO PAY FOR FAILURE TWICE “Governor Walz and Democrats passed unaffordable spending and tax increases along with unfunded mandates on the promise it would make life more affordable,” state Republican Sen. Andrew Lang, who serves as the Lead on the Senate State and Local Government Committee, said in a statement. “In reality they just passed down the costs to local governments, schools, and small businesses, who in turn pass down costs to local taxpayers and consumers. “Minnesota Counties sounded the alarm early last session about the proposals to shift costs onto their budgets, so I’m not surprised that nearly 100 mayors across the state are raising their own concerns. This letter is a warning that we must reduce state spending, stop the massive fraud plaguing our state, and remove unnecessary mandates to keep life affordable for everyone.” Fox News Digital has reached out to Walz’s office. The mayors noted that a state statute requires a balanced budget but that relying on one-time surplus dollars has created structural strain. “Our state owes it to our citizens to practice responsible fiscal management and to stop taxing our families, seniors, and businesses out of Minnesota,” they said. “We urge the Legislature to course-correct and to remember that every dollar you manage belongs not to the Capitol, but to the people of Minnesota.”