Trump’s full-court press against ‘Orwellian’ European censorship intensifies amid US efforts to unleash AI
The Trump administration has been on a monthslong campaign railing against what it says are draconian censorship regulations in Europe that have not only stifled free speech, but have also served as another roadblock amid the artificial intelligence evolution. “In Europe, thousands are being convicted for the crime of criticizing their own governments,” the State Department recently posted to X, accompanied by a graphic slamming Europe’s Digital Services Act (DSA). “This Orwellian message won’t fool the United States. Censorship is not freedom.” The EU adopted the DSA in 2022 to regulate online platforms such as social networks, content-sharing platforms and app stores, and is intended to “prevent illegal and harmful activities online and the spread of disinformation.” The law has since faced opposition from the Trump administration amid its free speech promotion on the global stage. The State Department’s X post follows a monthslong campaign of Trump officials lambasting Europe for its strict rules that limit free speech – most notably online and in the world of AI and evolving tech. Fox News Digital spoke with Darren Beattie, acting under secretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs, who explained that as the Trump administration takes a hatchet to restrictions and censorship – most notably online and left over from the Biden era – Europe has moved to intensify its censorship with laws such as DSA. DETAILS OF TRUMP’S HIGHLY ANTICIPATED AI PLAN REVEALED BY WHITE HOUSE AHEAD OF MAJOR SPEECH “As we are rolling back the censorship industry in the United States by actions like what the State Department did, what we did at the State Department killing the (Global Engagement Center), but it’s happening all across the administration,” he said. “What’s happening is Europe, the European Union and the UK are moving to pick up the slack. That is to say, as we’re pushing back the censorship regime domestically, it’s intensifying in Europe.” The Global Engagement Center was an office established within the State Department during the Obama era that was plagued by accusations of censorship while positioning itself as focused on countering foreign propaganda and disinformation. The Trump administration State Department shuttered the office earlier in 2025. Beattie added that the U.S. is not taking a “holier than thou” approach to the issue, noting that censorship loomed large throughout the U.S. under the Biden administration. He pointed to cases such as social media user Douglass Mackey, who was convicted in 2023 of conspiring to suppress voter turnout in 2016 after posting phony voting messages. “We were, under Biden, moving in that direction in a very dangerous way,” he said. “The weaponization of government that occurred under Biden was severe.” President Donald Trump delivered his highly anticipated AI speech at the end of July, unveiling his administration’s plan of action, which included protecting AI systems from bias. The White House Office of Science and Technology policy director Michael Kratsios previewed the plan to the media, which included warning that the U.S. will not go down the same technology path as Europe, citing its strict regulations on the tech. “The action plan calls for freeing American AI innovation from unnecessary bureaucratic red tape, ensuring all Americans reap the benefits of AI technologies and leveraging AI to drive new scientific breakthroughs,” he said. “On deregulation, we cannot afford to go down Europe’s innovation-killing regulatory path. Federal agencies will now review their rules on the books and repeal those that hinder AI development and deployment across industries, from financial services and agriculture to health and transportation.” The AI plan is focused on three pillars, one of which is centered on ensuring bias is not included in U.S. systems. “The second is that we believe that AI systems should be free of ideological bias and not be designed to pursue socially engineered agendas,” AI and crypto czar David Sacks said in a press call July 23. “And so we have a number of proposals there on how to make sure that AI remains truth-seeking and trustworthy.” Vice President JD Vance has been at the forefront of admin leaders lambasting Europe’s restrictions on AI and free speech, including the EU’s Digital Services Act. FEDERAL AI POWER GRAB COULD END STATE PROTECTIONS FOR KIDS AND WORKERS “The U.S. innovators of all sizes already know what it’s like to deal with onerous international rules,” Vance said at the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris in February. “Many of our most productive tech companies are forced to deal with the EU’s Digital Services Act and the massive regulations it created about taking down content and policing so-called misinformation.” “The AI future is not going to be won by hand-wringing about safety. It will be won by building – from reliable power plants to the manufacturing facilities that can produce the chips of the future,” he added. Vance traveled to the Munich Security Conference days after his Paris address and delivered another fiery speech chastising Europe for employing “Soviet-style” tactics that chill free speech. JONATHAN TURLEY: DEMOCRATS, CLINTONS AND GLOBALISTS WORK TOGETHER TO CENSOR AMERICANS … FOR ‘DEMOCRACY’ “To many of us on the other side of the Atlantic, it looks more and more like old, entrenched interests hiding behind ugly Soviet-era words like ‘misinformation’ and ‘disinformation,’ simply because they don’t like the idea that someone with an alternative viewpoint might express a different opinion, vote a different way, or even worse, win an election,” he said in the address. The speech set off criticisms in Europe and the U.S., including CBS host Margaret Brennan suggesting during an interview with Secretary of State Marco Rubio on “Face the Nation” in February that free speech had been “weaponized” to bring about the Holocaust in Nazi Germany. Rubio launched a fierce defense of Vance while noting his concern that Europe hold the same values as the U.S., such as protecting free speech and democracy. TRUMP PRAISED BY FAITH LEADERS FOR AI LEADERSHIP AS THEY WARN OF TECHNOLOGY’S ‘POTENTIAL PERIL’ “Why would our allies or anybody be
Trump’s global reset of trade relationships will remain in the spotlight this week
President Donald Trump’s global reset of trade relationships will remain in the spotlight this week as his administration moves forward with sweeping new taxes on imports. The White House said last week that the new tariff rates, originally slated to take effect Aug. 1, will come into force on Thursday in order to give U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials additional time to prepare to collect the duties. WHERE TRUMP’S TARIFFS STAND NOW AND THE WINDING ROAD THAT LED US HERE In the days leading up to the Aug. 1 deadline, Trump announced trade deals with Japan, the European Union, and South Korea. So far, 11 of the U.S.’s top 15 trading partners have agreed to broad trade deals. Last week, Trump raised import tariffs on goods from Canada to 35%, signaling a widening rift with America’s second-largest trading partner. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt previously singled out Ottawa during a July 17 press briefing, saying “our neighbors to the north have been pretty difficult to deal with” when asked about the ongoing trade talks. WHITE HOUSE SAYS CANADA HAS BEEN ‘DIFFICULT’ AS TRADE DEADLINE LOOMS Speaking to CBS News on Sunday, Dominic LeBlanc, Canada’s lead on U.S. trade relations, said Prime Minister Mark Carney is likely to hold talks with President Trump “over the next number of days.” Meanwhile, the U.S. struck temporary truces with China and Mexico as trade representatives continue negotiations. TRUMP ANNOUNCES TRADE DEAL WITH EUROPEAN UNION So far this year, the U.S. has collected over $150 billion in tariff revenues, according to Treasury data. In July alone, collections exceeded $29 billion, the highest monthly total to date in 2025. Trump administration officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, have previously said the tariffs could generate more than $300 billion in revenue for the federal government. American consumers often end up bearing the cost of tariffs, as U.S. businesses pass along higher prices to offset the economic burden. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
First on Fox: Republican firebrand Nancy Mace launches bid for South Carolina governor
EXCLUSIVE – Rep. Nancy Mace, the South Carolina Republican with a large national profile, on Monday declared her candidacy for Palmetto State governor. “I’m running to put South Carolina first,” Mace, a three-term House member who represents a coastal congressional district in the state’s Lowcountry, said in a statement shared first with Fox News Digital. Mace, as she launched her campaign, argued that “we can continue doing the things we’ve always done,” as she took aim at what she called “weak leadership” in the state. “Or we can chart a new course – one filled with common sense and bold policies to hold the line for South Carolina,” she emphasized. HOUSE FREEDOM CAUCUS MEMBER RALPH NORMAN JUMPS INTO SOUTH CAROLINA GOVERNOR’S RACE And Mace went up on a newly launched campaign website with a 10-point agenda that she called “a clear, conservative, common sense roadmap to rebuild South Carolina from the ground up:” Mace followed her announcement with a campaign policy event Monday morning in Charleston at the Citadel, which is South Carolina’s public military college and her alma mater. “This morning I’m making it official,” she told supporters. “I’m running for governor because South Carolina doesn’t need another empty suit.” Mace enters a crowded GOP primary field in the 2026 race to succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Henry McMaster, who is the Palmetto State’s longest-serving governor. South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and state Sen. Josh Kimbrell are all seeking the GOP nomination in the reliably red state. They were joined a week ago by Republican Rep. Ralph Norman, who declared his candidacy. SOUTH CAROLINA ATTORNEY GENERAL ALAN WILSON LAUNCHES BID FOR GOVERNOR Mace, in a recent interview with Fox News Digital ahead of her launch, said that “we’re starting out front, in the lead, and it’s a two-man race” between her and Wilson. And she pledged that “I will fight to the finish, and I will take out South Carolina’s Attorney General, because he’s turned a blind eye on women and on children and on the state for a lot of reasons. He might force me to do this.” Mace, in a bombshell speech on the U.S. House floor in February, alleged that Wilson ignored evidence of sexual assault against her and other women. In her hour-long speech, Mace accused four men, including her ex-fiance, of sexual crimes and said she was among the victims. Wilson vehemently denied Mace’s accusations, saying at the time “that allegation was never made to me — no one in my office.” Wilson, in a statement to Fox News a week ago, argued that “Nancy Mace is a liar who will do anything to get attention to distract from her liberal voting record. I’ve served our country and dedicated my civilian career to protecting children.” “Her attacks are, again, categorically false and are just a distraction from her liberal agenda,” he added. “South Carolina families need a Governor who will fight for our values, not someone who will compromise them for political gain and social media clicks.” And Wilson’s campaign highlighted that every sheriff in Mace’s congressional district has endorsed his campaign for governor. Mace, who dropped out of high school at age 17, and worked at a Waffle House before eventually becoming the first female graduate of the Citadel’s Corps of Cadets, won election to Congress in 2020. She defeated Democratic Rep. Joe Cunningham, to become the state’s first Republican woman elected to the House. Mace, who worked on President Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, strongly criticized his actions surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, when Trump supporters attempted to upend congressional certification of now-former President Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election. NANCY MACE ARGUES RUSSIAGATE A ‘POLITICAL HIT JOB’ Trump backed a primary challenger against Mace when she was up for re-election in 2022, but she successfully won re-nomination and re-election. Mace later came to Trump’s defense after the then-former president was indicted for mishandling classified documents. And she endorsed Trump in the 2024 Republican presidential primaries, as he topped a large field of rivals, including former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. Trump’s grip over the GOP, thanks to his 2024 victory to win back the White House, is stronger than ever, and his endorsements in GOP nomination races are extremely influential. Asked if she could land the president’s endorsement, Mace told Fox News Digital, “I’ll be working very hard if I get in to earn his support.” And in her campaign launch video, Mace uses a clip of Trump calling her a “fighter” in a speech, and adding that “when she sets her sight on something, she’s tough.” Mace has leaned hard into cultural issues in recent years, including leading the charge to prevent Democratic Rep. Sarah McBride of Delaware, the first openly transgender member of Congress, from using the women’s restrooms in the House. And Mace, in her campaign launch, vowed to defend what she called “biological reality and stop the radical gender agenda.” “No child is born in the wrong body. No boy belongs in a girls’ locker room. And no teenage girl should lose her scholarship to a boy in a skirt,” she argued. “I’ve already started shutting down this woke ideology at South Carolina schools, and will do significantly more to gut this abusive ideology and ship it out of state.” The Democratic Governors Association (DGA) criticized Mace as she launched her campaign. “Nancy Mace is an extreme, self-serving politician whose entrance into this race will only accelerate the Republican gubernatorial candidates’ race to the right. In Washington, Mace has worked to gut Medicaid and take away health care from millions, and she supports ending Social Security and Medicare as we know it. Now she wants to bring this extreme agenda to South Carolina,” DGA spokesperson Kevin Donohoe charged in a statement to Fox News.
Abbott threatens to remove House Dems from office following dramatic departure to avoid vote
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott threatened to arrest and expel the Texas House Democrats who fled the state to avoid a redistricting vote if they do not return by Monday afternoon. Dozens of Texas’ Democratic state representatives arrived in Chicago Sunday night to stall the vote. Shortly after Abbott released his statement, the Texas House Democratic Caucus issued a simple response, writing: “Come and take it.” The statement also described Republicans’ proposed districts, which would potentially secure five new GOP U.S. House seats in next year’s midterm elections, as a “racist mid-decade redistricting scheme.” Abbott criticized the Democrats’ dramatic departure, starting his call for them to return with, “real Texans don’t run from a fight.” TEXAS DEMOCRATS FLEE STATE TO BLOCK TRUMP-BACKED REDISTRICTING VOTE IN DRAMATIC LEGISLATIVE MOVE “Rather than doing their job and voting on urgent legislation affecting the lives of all Texans, they have fled Texas to deprive the House of the quorum necessary to meet and conduct business,” he wrote. At least 100 members of the 150-member Texas House must be present to conduct business, and approximately 50 of the Democrats have left. Abbott said their commitment to voting as elected state officials is a duty and is “not optional.” The Texas House is set to reconvene at 3 p.m. on Monday and Abbott said the “derelict Democrat House members must return” by then or face being removed from their positions by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. The Republican AG has already stated that the lawmakers “should be found and arrested no matter where they go.” TRUMP, REPUBLICANS RACE TO REDRAW TEXAS CONGRESSIONAL MAP AS DEMOCRATS THREATEN LEGAL WAR Abbott also said a legislator determined to have “forfeited his or her office due to abandonment” can be removed from office under the Texas Constitution, thereby creating a vacancy, which the governor can “swiftly fill” under Article III, Section 13. Removal from office is not the only threat facing the lawmakers on the run, as Abbott warned that “soliciting funds to evade the fines they will incur under House rules” is potentially a felony. “Any Democrat who ‘solicits, accepts or agrees to accept’ such funds to assist in the violation of legislative duties or for purposes of skipping a vote may have violated bribery laws,” he wrote, citing the Texas Penal Code. He added that anyone who “offers, confers or agrees to confer” money to the fleeing lawmakers could also face charges. Abbott concluded his statement by saying he will “use [his] full extradition authority to demand the return to Texas of any potential out-of-state felons.” The proposal’s current design, which is not final, would tilt traditionally blue cities like Dallas and Houston in favor of Republicans, and would move Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett out of her own district, according to a previous Fox News Digital report. During a news conference in Chicago on Sunday, House Democratic Caucus Chair Rep. Gene Wu said the lawmakers are “not here to play political games. We’re here to demand an end to this corrupt process.” Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker shared his support for the Texas Democrats during the news conference, describing their departure as a “righteous act of courage,” while claiming Republicans want to silence “millions of voices, especially Black and Latino voters.” “Texas Democrats were left with no choice but to leave their home state, block a vote from taking place and protect their constituents,” Pritzker said. The lawmakers have not stated a potential timeline for returning to Texas.
Republican Dooley jumps into Georgia’s Senate race while touting support for Trump and taking aim at Ossoff
There’s a new Republican candidate jumping into one of the most crucial Senate races in the 2026 midterm elections. Former longtime football coach Derek Dooley highlighted his outsider credentials, took aim at Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia, and showcased his support for President Donald Trump as he declared his candidacy on Monday. “I’m running because our state needs new leadership in Washington D.C., and professional politicians like Jon Ossoff are the problem,” Dooley said in a statement and video as he launched his campaign. Dooley argued that “our state doesn’t have a voice in the U.S. Senate who reflects Georgia values because Ossoff is more concerned with protecting his own political future, opposing everything the Trump administration is working to accomplish, and repeatedly voting with the extreme left.” TRUMP HOUSE ALLY REP. MIKE COLLINS JUMPS INTO BATTLEGROUND GEORGIA’S SENATE RACE And he pledged that if elected to the Senate, “I’ll work with President Trump to implement his agenda, support his Administration, and move our country forward.” POPULAR GOP GOVERNOR PASSES ON SENATE BID IN 2026 The Senate race in Georgia is crucial for Republicans aiming to expand their current 53-47 Senate majority, as they view Ossoff, who is running for re-election in a battleground state that Trump narrowly carried in last year’s presidential contest, as the most vulnerable Democrat on the ballot in next year’s midterms. Dooley, who is the son of the late, legendary University of Georgia football coach Vince Dooley, was a college football player who later served as a head coach at Louisiana Tech University and the University of Tennessee as well as an assistant coach in the National Football League. While this is his first run for public office, Republican sources confirm to Fox News that he’s expected to have the endorsement of Gov. Brian Kemp, Georgia’s popular two-term conservative Republican governor. Dooley becomes the third major Republican candidate currently in Georgia’s Senate race. Two-term Rep. Mike Collins, a businessman who founded a trucking company who represents a large swath of urban, suburban, and rural areas between Atlanta and Augusta, announced his candidacy a week ago. Collins, a Trump ally and supporter in the House, showcased his support for the president in his campaign launch. And Rep. Buddy Carter, who for a decade has represented a district in coastal Georgia, launched a Senate campaign in the spring. He is also courting the president’s support. Dooley appeared to take a jab at his two rivals for the nomination, saying “I’m not part of the political establishment, and I haven’t spent my life climbing the D.C. political ladder.” He pledged that he’s “running to put Georgia First and bring common sense to D.C. Georgians know biological men shouldn’t be playing in women’s sports, hardworking people should keep more of their money, and opening our borders makes us less safe.” The Collins campaign, in a video posted to social media Monday morning, questioned Dooley’s support for Trump. The Democratic Senate Campaign Committee (DSCC), in a statement, argued that “the latest addition to Georgia’s messy and chaotic GOP primary is a failed football coach who has only ever spoken out to cheerlead Medicaid cuts that hurt Georgians.” “As this primary gets even more crowded and devolves into a proxy war between President Trump and Governor Kemp, Senator Ossoff is fighting for working families in Georgia and will hold his seat in 2026,” DSCC spokesperson Maeve Coyle added. Dooley is a longtime friend of Kemp, and two of the governor’s top political advisers are helping Dooley with his Senate run. The term-limited Kemp, who was heavily recruited by national Republicans to take on Ossoff but who earlier this year passed on launching his own Senate campaign in 2026, has made it clear in recent days that he would be backing Dooley, sources familiar confirmed to Fox News. Meanwhile, sources in Trump’s political orbit and Republican sources in Georgia confirmed to Fox News that there was an agreement between the president’s political operation and Kemp’s political team that they would work together to find a candidate that they could all unify behind to take on Ossoff in the Senate race. Those sources also confirmed that Kemp and Trump – the ultimate kingmaker in GOP politics – met last month to discuss the Senate race in Georgia. TRUMP TEAM ‘PISSED OFF’ WITH REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR IN KEY BATTLEGROUND STATE SENATE NOMINATION RACE But when the governor floated the name of former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley, a source close to the president’s political team said “they were told to stand down, because Trump’s team wasn’t ready to move forward on anybody.” And when Kemp and his team did move forward with Dooley, it upset Trump’s advisers, who, according to sources, were “already pretty annoyed” that Kemp had passed earlier this year on taking on Ossoff in the Senate race. “We had a deal to work together,” a top political source in the Trump orbit told Fox News recently. “Kemp went out on his own – which has frustrated and pissed off Trump orbit.” But a source close to the governor told Fox News that it’s factually not true that they were told to stand down on Dooley. And the source added that Kemp meant what he said that he wants to work with the president and his team and remains that way.
Trump accuses Senate Democrats of using nominee confirmations as leverage for funding deals
President Donald Trump alleged that Senate Democrats are possibly delaying his nominees in exchange for money in a heated post on Truth Social Sunday night. In the post, Trump accused Senate Democrats, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., of slowing down the confirmations of more than 150 executive nominees. “Democrats, lead[sic] by Cryin’ Chuck Schumer, are slow walking my Nominees, more than 150 of them. They wanted us to pay, originally, two billion dollars for approvals. The Dems are CRAZED LUNATICS!!!” the post read. He implied that Democrats were leveraging the process to extract funding agreements — a tactic his associates have described as “political extortion.” DEMS DIG IN, TRUMP DEMANDS ALL: NOMINEE FIGHT BOILS OVER IN SENATE AS GOP LOOKS FOR A DEAL Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., met with Schumer recently to discuss an offer during ongoing negotiations, but they have not readdressed it directly since choosing to communicate through intermediaries, according to Thune. While Trump has urged the Senate to make quick moves, Democrats continue to block more nominees than normal. “I think they’re desperately in need of change,” Thune said of Senate rules Saturday after negotiations with Schumer and Trump broke down. “I think that the last six months have demonstrated that this process, nominations is broken. And so I expect there will be some good robust conversations about that.” Historically, nominees have been confirmed unanimously or by voice vote quickly, but Senate Dems have been reportedly forcing roll-call votes on many of the current nominees. SENATE GOP EYES RULES REVOLT AS DEMS STONEWALL TRUMP NOMINEES Thune told Fox News Digital that not much headway was being made as “the Dems are dug in on a position that’s just not working.” Senate Republicans want to strike a deal that would send nominees with bipartisan support through committee to lightning-fast votes on the floor, but Schumer has not relented. Trump’s claims come after the Senate left Saturday for a month-long August recess without coming to a deal on advancing dozens of nominees, which prompted him to post on Truth Social that Schumer could “GO TO HELL.” Fox News Digital’s Alex Miller contributed to this report.
All five miners trapped after copper mine collapse in Chile found dead
More than 100 people had been involved in the search for workers at the El Teniente copper mine, the world’s largest underground mine. All five workers trapped at a copper mine in Chile have been found dead, according to a regional prosecutor, after rescue teams cleared more than 24 metres (78 feet) of underground passages that collapsed in a strong earthquake last week. Prosecutor Aquiles Cubillo of the O’Higgins region said on Sunday that the body of the fifth trapped worker had been found at the El Teniente copper mine. More than 100 people had been involved in the search for workers at the El Teniente copper mine, the world’s largest underground mine, in Rancagua, about 100km (62 miles) south of Santiago. “We deeply regret this outcome,” Cubillos said. The latest death brings the total toll from the accident to six, including one person who died at the time of the incident on Thursday evening. Chile’s state-owned mining company Codelco discovered the first trapped worker on Saturday and another three on Sunday. It has not yet commented on the final worker. The miners had been working at a depth of more than 900 metres when the collapse happened, killing one colleague and halting operations at the site. Their exact location had been pinpointed with specialised equipment. Minister for Mining Aurora Williams announced the temporary cessation of activity at the mine on Saturday. The mine began operating in the early 1900s and boasts more than 4,500km (some 2,800 miles) of underground tunnels. Last year, El Teniente produced 356,000 tonnes of copper – nearly 7 percent of the total for Chile. The cave-in happened after a “seismic event” on Thursday afternoon, of which the origin – natural or caused by drilling – was not yet known, the authorities said on Saturday. The tremor registered a magnitude of 4.2. Advertisement “It is one of the biggest events, if not the biggest, that the El Teniente deposit has experienced in decades,” Andres Music, the mine’s general manager, said in a statement. The search team included several of the rescuers who participated in successfully surfacing 33 miners trapped in a mine for more than two months in the Atacama Desert in 2010, attracting a whirlwind of global media attention. Chile is the world’s largest copper producer, responsible for nearly a quarter of global supply, with about 5.3 million tonnes in 2024. Its mining industry is one of the safest on the planet, with a death rate of 0.02 percent last year, according to the National Geology and Mining Service of Chile. It also lies in the seismically active “Ring of Fire” that surrounds the shores of the Pacific Ocean. Aerial view of El Teniente copper mine, where a collapse killed five trapped workers underground [Esteban Felix/AP] Adblock test (Why?)
Texas Democrats leave state to block vote on new House map backed by Trump
US president has urged Republicans to redraw map to help the party net a handful of seats in the midterms next year. Texas Democrats are leaving the state en masse in an attempt to prevent the state’s House of Representatives from holding a vote on Monday on new congressional maps that Republicans hope will win them several additional US House seats in the 2026 midterm elections to buttress their narrow majority. The dramatic move on Sunday could expose Democrats to fines and other penalties, with the state’s attorney general having previously threatened to arrest them if they took such an action. Refusing to attend legislative sessions is a civil violation, so Democrats legally could not be jailed, and it is unclear who has the power to carry out the warrants. Democrats have cast the decision to leave the state as a last-ditch effort to stop Republicans who hold full control of the Texas government from pushing through a rare mid-decade redrawing of the congressional map at the direction of President Donald Trump. Trump is eager to avoid a repeat of his first term, when Democrats flipped the House just two years into his presidency, stymying his legislative plans, and hopes the new Texas map will aid that effort. “This is not a decision we make lightly, but it is one we make with absolute moral clarity,” said Gene Wu, chair of the House Democratic Caucus, in a statement. To conduct official business, at least 100 members of the 150-member Texas House must be present. Democrats hold 62 of the seats in the majority-Republican chamber. At least 51 Democratic members are leaving the state, said Josh Rush Nisenson, spokesperson for the House Democratic Caucus. Advertisement “Apathy is complicity, and we will not be complicit in the silencing of hard-working communities who have spent decades fighting for the power that Trump wants to steal,” he said. Standoff in 2021 The move marks the second time in four years that Texas Democrats have fled the state to block a vote. In 2021, a 38-day standoff took place when Democrats left for Washington, DC, in opposition to new voting restrictions. Republican Governor Greg Abbott called a special session of the legislature that started last month to take up the redistricting effort, as well as to respond to flooding in Texas Hill Country, which killed at least 135 people in July. Texas Republicans last week unveiled their planned new United States House map that would create five new Republican-leaning seats. Republicans currently hold 25 of the state’s 38 seats. Adblock test (Why?)
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,257
Here is how things stand on Monday, August 4: Fighting A Russian attack killed three people in Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhia region on Sunday, Governor Ivan Fedorov wrote on Telegram. A Ukrainian drone attack sparked a major fire at an oil depot in Sochi in southern Russia, the governor of Russia’s Krasnodar region, Veniamin Kondratiev, said on Sunday. The fire was extinguished hours later after 120 firefighters were deployed, officials said. Russia’s civil aviation authority, Rosaviatsia, briefly halted flights at Sochi’s airport during the fire. Ukraine’s military says it used drones to target several sites inside Russia, including refineries, an airfield and an electronics plant. The governor of the Voronezh region in southern Russia said four people were injured in a Ukrainian drone attack that caused several fires, A Russian attack injured seven people and destroyed dozens of houses and apartments in the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv, Mayor Oleksandr Senkevych said on Telegram early on Sunday. The Ukrainian air force said on Sunday that Russia launched 76 drones and seven missiles against Ukraine. It said 60 drones and one missile were intercepted, but 16 drones and six missiles hit eight different locations across Ukraine. The Russian Ministry of Defence said its air defence units destroyed 93 Ukrainian drones overnight, including one over the Krasnodar region and 60 over the waters of the Black Sea. It did not specify how many drones were fired in total. Advertisement Politics and Diplomacy Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine and Russia have agreed to exchange 1,200 prisoners following negotiations in Istanbul, adding that “work on the lists [of prisoners to be released] is ongoing”. There was no immediate comment from Russia. Zelenskyy announced he had appointed Anatolii Kryvonozhko as Commander of Ukraine’s air force, a role Kryvonozhko has been serving in as Acting Commander for nearly a year. Zelenskyy also said that Ukraine has prepared three new sanctions packages, including sanctions against the captains of Russia’s shadow fleet of oil tankers. China and Russia began joint naval drills in the Sea of Japan in waters near the Russian port of Vladivostok, China’s Ministry of National Defence said in a statement on Sunday. The drills will last for three days. Speaking to a crowd of one million young Catholics on the outskirts of Rome, Pope Leo said: “We are with the young people of Gaza; we are with the young people of Ukraine.” Adblock test (Why?)
Indian Army’s BIG statement after officer caught assaulting SpiceJet staffer on camera, says, ‘Committed to…’
The Indian Army on Saturday, i.e., August 2, stated that it is awaiting the outcome of an investigation into an alleged assault by one of its personnel on SpiceJet employees at Srinagar Airport last week.