2025 – Page 662 – Texas Weekly Online

Democrat policies paved way for brutal Cincinnati attack, say Ohio Republicans: ‘Fear and chaos’

Republican members of Ohio’s congressional delegation say Democratic policies created societal conditions that led to a violent beating in downtown Cincinnati that went viral online. “Name one major city in America where you’d feel safe letting your kids walk alone. You can’t, and that should alarm every one of us,” Rep. Michael Rulli, R-Ohio, told Fox News Digital on Tuesday. “For too long, we’ve accepted fear and chaos as normal while left-wing politicians push sanctuary cities, slash police funding, and let violent criminals and the mentally ill roam the streets. This isn’t compassion. It’s failure.” Meanwhile, Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, called for Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval’s resignation over the incident. CINCINNATI MAYORAL CANDIDATE, VP VANCE’S HALF-BROTHER, SLAMS CITY LEADERSHIP AFTER BRUTAL BEATDOWN “It’s a heinous attack. The mayor of Cincinnati is a disgrace,” Moreno said. When asked what could be done to stop such incidents, he said, “Have the mayor resign. Have a congressman that actually cares about his district, and fund the police in Cincinnati.” Fox News Digital reached out to the mayor’s office for comment, as well as the office of Rep. Greg Landsman, D-Ohio, whose congressional district includes Cincinnati. It comes after a video lit up social media over the weekend that appeared to show a mob of people violently attacking one man, and a woman who tried to help him. CINCINNATI POLICE CHIEF SAYS OUT OF 100 PEOPLE WATCHING AND RECORDING VIOLENT ATTACK, ONLY 1 CALLED 911 Pureval issued a statement condemning the “vicious fight” and pledging that arrests were “forthcoming.” Fox 19 Cincinnati reported Monday that five people had been charged. But Rulli and Moreno are two of the latest Republican officials from Ohio to comment on the beating that took place on Saturday. Vice President JD Vance, who served in the Senate before being elected to the White House with President Donald Trump, said Monday that Moreno showed him a video of the violence. “It’s disgusting. I hope every single one of those people who engaged in violence is prosecuted to the full extent of the law,” Vance said during an event in Canton, Ohio. “When you have a grown man sucker-punching a middle-aged woman, that person ought to go to jail for a very long time. And frankly, he is lucky there weren’t some better people around because they would handle it themselves… We’ve had way too much lawlessness on the streets of great American cities.” The details of what started the fight, and who initiated the aggression, are still unclear.

Republican congressman kicked by horse, breaks rib during farm accident

A Tennessee congressman is recovering after he was “accidentally” kicked by a horse over the weekend, breaking one of his ribs. Sources said Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., is feeling “fine now,” and there will not be any changes to his schedule. “While working on his farm over the weekend, Congressman Burchett was accidently kicked by a horse,” according to a statement from spokesperson Will Garrett. “He suffered a broken rib and bruising but hasn’t missed a beat.” THE ‘TOUGH COOKIES’ OF BUTLER, PA., REMAIN UNITED, HOPEFUL ONE YEAR AFTER TRUMP RALLY SHOOTING Burchett told Fox News correspondent Chad Pergram that a horsefly landed on his horse’s tail, causing it to get spooked. The horse kicked Burchett in the chest “with both hooves,” leaving him with a unique battle scar. SUSPECT SHOOTS TROOPER, OPENS FIRE AT KENTUCKY CHURCH, LEAVING MULTIPLE PEOPLE INJURED “It’s a cool mark,” Burchett told Pergram. “I’ve been toying with the idea of getting a tattoo.” While the congressman made light of the situation, he added the doctor told him he was “lucky,” because it would have been a problem had the blow “been an inch-and-a-half higher.” The 60-year-old previously served as mayor of Knox County, Tennessee. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Burchett spoke in Maury County, Tennessee, on Monday night and has a full slate of district events throughout the week. Burchett’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. Fox News’ Chad Pergram contributed to this report.

Trump denies seeking summit with Xi, says he ‘may’ visit China

US president says he will visit China only at the invitation of Chinese leader. United States President Donald Trump has denied seeking a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping while holding out the possibility of visiting China at his counterpart’s invitation. “The Fake News is reporting that I am SEEKING a ‘Summit’ with President Xi of China. This is not correct, I am not SEEKING anything!” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform on Monday. “I may go to China, but it would only be at the invitation of President Xi, which has been extended. Otherwise, no interest! Thank you for your attention to this matter.” Trump’s comments come after the Reuters news agency reported last week that aides to the two leaders have discussed a possible summit during a trip to Asia by the US president later this year. The report, which cited unnamed people familiar with the plans, said Trump and Xi could possibly meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit taking place in South Korea from October 30 to November 1. Trump and Xi last met face-to-face in 2019 on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan. The US and China are currently engaged in negotiations aimed at lowering trade tensions that have spiked since Trump rolled out his on-again, off-again tariffs on Chinese exports. On Monday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng met in Stockholm, Sweden, to kick off two days of talks focused on reaching a trade deal before the end of a 90-day tariff truce that ends on August 12. Bessent said in an interview with Bloomberg Television last week that the administration was in “a very good place with China now” and the August deadline could be extended in a “90-day increment”. Advertisement Adblock test (Why?)

US stopover by Taiwan’s president cancelled; Trump mulls China trip: Report

US President Donald Trump reportedly opposed a stopover in New York by Taiwan’s president, says China visit under consideration. Taiwanese President William Lai Ching-te has cancelled a trip to three allies in Central and South America after a planned stopover in the United States was reportedly nixed by his US counterpart, Donald Trump. Lai was preparing to visit Paraguay, Guatemala and Belize in early August, with stopovers planned in New York and Dallas on the first and last leg of the trip, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday. The Taiwanese leader’s trip was called off when US officials said they opposed his stop in New York, the newspaper said, citing three people close to the matter. Lai’s office had never formally announced his trip to Latin America, but on Monday, it said the president had cancelled all overseas travel to focus on tariff negotiations with the US and a cleanup operation following a typhoon in southern Taiwan. The president of Taiwan cannot officially visit the US, which does not recognise its government. But Taiwanese leaders have made use of “transit stops” in the US over the years to liaise with top administration officials outside Washington, DC. In 2023, then-Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen used a transit stop to visit New York and Los Angeles while Joe Biden was still the US president. Beijing, which claims democratic Taiwan as part of its territory, held military exercises in the Taiwan Strait after Tsai’s US stop-off to demonstrate its anger. Trump’s reported decision to block Lai’s stopover follows news that the US president is angling for a trip to China himself, although he said he does not want a “summit” with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. Advertisement “The Fake News is reporting that I am SEEKING a ‘Summit’ with President Xi of China. This is not correct, I am not SEEKING anything! I may go to China, but it would only be at the invitation of President Xi, which has been extended,” Trump wrote on Truth Social late Monday night. Reuters reported that Trump may be aiming to visit China around the time of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea, which runs from October 31 to November 1. Whether the meeting will take place will depend on the outcome of ongoing trade talks between the US and China to resolve Trump’s tariff war launched earlier this year. US and Chinese officials are in Stockholm this week to try to hammer out a tariff agreement before a “truce” expires on August 12, but they have many issues to discuss, including export controls, which could drag out talks. Adblock test (Why?)

Why Zelenskyy tried to curb autonomy of Ukraine’s anticorruption agencies?

Kyiv, Ukraine – Last week, hundreds of Ukrainians rallied in several cities to protest the government’s attempt to curb the independence of anticorruption watchdogs. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on July 22 signed a bill into law, which would revoke the autonomy of key agencies – the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO). The rare protest in the war-torn country forced the Ukrainian president to introduce a new draft bill to restore the independence of NABU and SAPO, which have been established to investigate high-level corruption and are widely seen as a symbol of democratic reforms. So, why did Zelenskyy try to curb powers of the anticorruption agencies, and will his action dent public trust in the government crucial at a time of war against Russia? Ukrainians protest near the presidential office in Kyiv against a new law seen as undermining the independence of anticorruption institutions, amid Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine [Thomas Peter/Reuters] Why are Ukrainians protesting? The nationwide protests erupted in the wake of the July 22 vote in the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s lower house of parliament, to approve the bill that allows the prosecutor general to oversee the two anticorruption agencies. The prosecutor general is appointed by the president and approved by the Verkhovna Rada, where Zelenskyy’s Public Servant party holds a majority. It was seen as an attempt by the government to control the two agencies, which were created in the wake of the 2013-14 pro-democracy Euromaidan protests. Many believe it’s a setback from the years of reforms following the removal of pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych in 2014. Advertisement The protesters held banners with slogans reading “Sham!” “Don’t make a step back, there’s an abyss there,” and “Corruption applauds” the new bill. The rallies took place in Kyiv as well as in large cities such as the Black Sea port of Odesa and Lviv, known as Ukraine’s cultural capital. NABU has been probing a string of senior officials and lawmakers, including those within Zelenskyy’s Public Servant party. Oleksiy, who enlisted to join the army in 2022, wonders why he should keep fighting on the front lines of eastern Ukraine while officials engage in corruption. “What’s the point if I go back home and my family is surrounded by corruption everywhere,” the 42-year-old construction manager told Al Jazeera. “Judges, officials, even school teachers all say, ‘Give, give, give,’” he said, asking to withhold his last name and details of his military service, in accordance with the wartime protocol. Oleksiy, who is on a break from his service to visit his two children and ailing mother, took part in the largest antigovernment rallies in Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. Why Zelenskyy backed the bill? The new law envisaged executive control over NABU and SAPO as the prosecutor general’s office could access their information, give them binding directives, transfer cases and close down investigations. The bill “could finally destroy the independence of the anticorruption system in Ukraine”, NABU said. Rachel Denber, deputy Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said the new law “risks weakening Ukraine’s democratic foundations and its future integration with Europe”. She called for the repeal of the law. Zelenskyy, a former comedian and political rookie who came to power in 2019 on an anticorruption ticket, defended the law, claiming that the NABU and SAPO have to “get rid of Russian influence”. His allegation followed the arrest of two NABU staffers suspected of working for Russian intelligence, and charges against outspoken anticorruption campaigner Vitaly Shabunin. Shabunin was accused of “evading military service”, but his supporters called the charges trumped-up, and almost 60 anticorruption and nongovernmental groups signed a joint appeal in his defence. People rally in Kyiv against the implementation of the draft law that regulates the work of s Special Anti-corruption Prosecutor’s Office and the National; Anti-Corruption Bureau [Danylo Antoniuk/Anadolu] A Kyiv-based political analyst says there are two popular theories about why Zelenskyy initiated the bill. Advertisement “One is that NABU allegedly closed in on Zelenskyy’s inner circle,” Volodymyr Fesenko, head of the Penta think tank, told Al Jazeera. NABU accused Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov, Zelenskyy’s closest ally and lifelong friend, of taking kickbacks worth $346,000 from a real estate developer in a deal that cost the government $24m. Zelenskyy’s press office didn’t reply to Al Jazeera’s phone calls and text messages. “Or this is an attempt to control NABU’s actions in order not to overtly politicise them, not to provoke domestic political wars during the war with Russia,” Fesenko said. “But I think it has to do with the activisation of the NABU on political issues that may have caused suspicion in Zelenskyy’s inner circle. That it wasn’t a fight against corruption but more of a political attack on Zelenskyy,” he said. The protests, an anticorruption expert told Al Jazeera, have weakened Zelenskyy’s support within domestic political circles. “There was a belief in his high and stable rating,” Tetiana Shevchuk from the Anti-Corruption Action Center, a Kyiv-based group, said. But “he no longer can demand anything from the parliament,” she said. Zelenskyy is afraid of NABU as the only law enforcement agency that won’t open or close an investigation following a phone call from his administration, she said, referring to the centralisation of power under him. “NABU is the only body that doesn’t do that,” Shevchuk said. Fesenko from the Penta think tank says the politicians “underestimated” the bill’s “negative consequences”. They “didn’t think the public response would be that harsh”. Zelenskyy has promised to submit the new bill – a move applauded by the country’s top anti-corruption investigator. Semen Kryvonos, director of NABU, however, said that corrupt actors will step up a “dirty information campaign” against the anti-graft agencies. Meanwhile, protest leaders say they would stop rallies only after the bill has been passed – tentatively, later this week. Since the 2014 pro-democracy revolution or Revolution of Dignity, attempts have been made to root out endemic corruption. Many bureaucratic procedures have been simplified

Home Minister Amit Shah gives BIG update on Pahalgam attack terrorists, says, ‘Operation Mahadev…’

“Innocent civilians were killed in front of their families by asking their religion. I condemn this barbaric act. I express my sympathies to the families who lost their loved ones,” he said.

BIG tension for Pakistan, China, DRDO conducts flight tests of THIS missile, is capable of carrying…, its name is…

In an official statement from the Ministry of Defence (MoD), “Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) conducted two consecutive successful flight tests of the Pralay missile from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of Odisha on July 28 and 29, 2025.”

Year: 2025