House Freedom Caucus conservative to enter race for South Carolina governor
A House GOP lawmaker is entering the race to become South Carolina governor on Friday, his campaign confirmed to Fox News Digital. Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, is expected to kick off his campaign with an event in Rock Hill, South Carolina, on Friday. As of Friday morning, his non-congressional X account had been changed to say, “Ralph Norman for Governor.” He’s a fiscal hawk on the House GOP’s rightmost flank, where he’s joined other like-minded colleagues in upending leaders’ legislative agenda at times in the name of pushing for more conservative policy wins. COMER DISMISSES BIDEN DOCTOR’S BID FOR PAUSE IN COVER-UP PROBE: ‘THROWING OUT EVERY EXCUSE’ Norman is joining a crowded Republican primary field with his new gubernatorial bid. South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and state Sen. Josh Kimbrell are also in the race. Meanwhile, Norman’s House colleague, Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., is also said to be considering a campaign for governor. “We wish Congressman Ralph Norman the best of luck today as he announces his run for Governor,” Mace said in a statement on X. Norman previously ran the Warren Norman Company, a commercial real estate development business started by his father. Before being elected to Congress via special election in 2017, Norman served in the South Carolina state House from 2009 to 2017. A longtime ally of former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Norman was the only House Republican to formally endorse her before Haley dropped out of the race, after which Norman emphatically backed President Donald Trump. He told Fox News Digital of his endorsement in January 2024, “When I supported Nikki Haley, I had the respect of Donald Trump to call him, and I told him what I was gonna do, and I decided I was going to do it.” Norman has been a vocal supporter of Trump since Haley’s exit. He was most recently at the White House earlier this week with other House Republicans for a reception celebrating their legislative successes. THOM TILLIS ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT FROM SENATE AFTER CLASH WITH TRUMP Earlier this year, he was part of a group of conservatives in the House Freedom Caucus forcing last-minute changes to the president’s “big, beautiful bill” that they said fell more in line with what Trump actually wanted. Current South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, also a close Trump ally, is term-limited at the end of 2026. The president’s endorsement will likely play a decisive role in the Palmetto State’s GOP primary.
Trump drops Epstein-linked names that media ‘ought to be speaking about’ amid files firestorm
President Donald Trump said that those asking about the late financier Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking case should direct their attention to former President Bill Clinton and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers. Trump’s remarks come a day after U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche met with Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell in Florida, amid heightened scrutiny about the case after the Trump administration announced it would not unseal investigation materials concerning Epstein. JEFFREY EPSTEIN ACCOMPLICE GHISLAINE MAXWELL HAD ‘VERY PRODUCTIVE DAY MEETING’ WITH DEPUTY AG: ATTORNEY “You ought to be speaking about Larry Summers. You ought to be speaking about some of his friends that are hedge fund guys,” Trump told reporters Friday while departing for Scotland. “They’re all over the place. You ought to be speaking about Bill Clinton.” Trump then accused Clinton of visiting Epstein’s private island the financier used as a home base for his sex-trafficking operations. Trump said he’d never visited the island before. Meanwhile, Clinton has also said he’d never visited the island either. In his new memoir “Citizen,” released in 2024, Clinton said he’d never gone to the island and that he wished he’d never even met Epstein in the first place. Spokespeople for Summers and Clinton did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. Summers previously served as treasury secretary for Clinton, as well as the director of the National Economic Council for President Barack Obama. GHISLAINE MAXWELL SUBPOENAED BY HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE AMID EPSTEIN FILES PUSH Trump’s comments come amid outrage from some conservatives after the Department of Justice and the FBI announced in July the agencies will not release new documents from the Epstein sex trafficking case, and that their review into Epstein is closed. Additionally, the agencies said that they did not detect a list of sexual predators with ties to Epstein, and concluded there were no new people who could face charges. Trump has sought to quash curiosity into the Epstein case, and said that no credible information is left to share with the public. “He’s dead for a long time. He was never a big factor in terms of life. I don’t understand what the interest or what the fascination is. I really don’t, and the credible information’s been given,” Trump said July 14. FEDERAL JUDGE RULES ON TRUMP’S REQUEST TO UNSEAL EPSTEIN GRAND JURY TRANSCRIPTS
Lionel Messi, Jordi Alba avoid sanctions over MLS All-Star snub
Former Barcelona duo Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba could have been banned for one match after sitting out All-Star match. Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba have not been sanctioned for skipping Wednesday’s MLS All-Star Game in Austin, Texas, their coach confirms. Both players were voted into the showcase by fans and the media, but neither featured in the MLS squad’s 3-1 win against Mexico’s Liga MX All-Stars. League rules stipulate that players who choose to opt out of the All-Star Game without an approved medical reason can face a one-match suspension. Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano pointed out on Friday that his team had “played the most games so far this semester by far” and Messi “showed normal fatigue from the number of games and minutes he’s been playing”, according to ESPN. “Look, players always have discomfort, especially when they play every three days. But luckily, [Messi] is returning today,” Mascherano said on Friday. “Let’s hope he can train alongside the group so we can count on both of them for tomorrow’s game. We haven’t received any [sanction].” Inter Miami host FC Cincinnati on Saturday night at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Mascherano said Messi, 38, and Alba, 36, will be available for the match depending on their fitness levels. Messi shares the MLS top scorer honours with 18 goals and has 10 assists in 17 league matches this season. The Argentinian forward also made six starts in the CONCACAF Champions Cup and four in the FIFA Club World Cup. Alba has one goal and eight assists in 18 MLS matches. The Spanish defender made seven starts in the Champions Cup and one in the Club World Cup. Advertisement Adblock test (Why?)
Trump says Hamas will be ‘hunted down’ as Gaza ceasefire talks wane
Washington, DC – United States President Donald Trump has suggested that Hamas is refusing to agree to a Gaza truce because it fears what comes after all the Israeli captives are released. Trump’s comments at the White House on Friday appear to suggest that the US and Israel are not ready to guarantee a lasting end to the war but rather a short-term truce to get Israeli captives out of Gaza. “We’re down to the final hostages, and they know what happens after you get the final hostages,” the US president told reporters. “And basically because of that, they really didn’t want to make a deal.” Trump blamed the Palestinian group solely for the apparent collapse of the ceasefire talks, saying the group is going to be “hunted down”. “Hamas didn’t really want to make a deal. I think they want to die, and it’s very, very bad,” he said. On Thursday, Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said Washington was cutting short its involvement in the negotiations, accusing Hamas of showing “a lack of desire to reach a ceasefire”. Israel also said it withdrew its negotiators from Qatar, where the ceasefire talks were taking place. Hamas expressed bewilderment at the US position, saying it had made “a sincere commitment to the success of the mediators’ efforts” to reach a deal. The group also said the mediators — Qatar and Egypt — welcomed its “constructive and positive” position. Talks have been ongoing for months to secure a 60-day truce that would see the release of 10 Israeli captives and a pause in the Israeli bombardment of Palestinians in Gaza. Advertisement Hamas has insisted that it is seeking a permanent ceasefire. Witkoff previously said the truce “will lead to a lasting peace in Gaza”. However, Israeli officials repeatedly described plans to return to the fighting and remove all Palestinians from Gaza after the captives are released. In fact, Israeli Minister of Defence Israel Katz has said that the country would use the truce to move hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to an internment camp in southern Gaza, in preparation for their removal from the territory altogether. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a visit to Washington, DC, earlier this month that Israel “still has to finish the job in Gaza” despite the ceasefire talks. In February, Trump called for depopulating Gaza and turning the territory into a “Riviera of the Middle East” — a proposal that legal experts say would amount to ethnic cleansing, a crime against humanity. Israel has systematically flattened large parts of Gaza, using bombardment, explosives and bulldozers in what advocates say is an effort to make the territory unliveable. Netanyahu has argued, however, that the departure of Palestinians would be “voluntary”. But human rights experts warned that people do not actually have a choice when they are under the threat of bombardment and starvation. On Thursday, Trump suggested that Gaza is set to experience more violence, saying Israel is “going to have to fight”. “They’re going to have to clean it up. You’re going to have to get rid of it,” he said. Trump dismisses French recognition of Palestine The US president’s comments come as deadly hunger continues to spread in Gaza due to an Israeli blockade impeding the flow of aid and other essential supplies into the territory. The Israeli-imposed starvation in Gaza has garnered international condemnation, even from close allies of the US and Israel. On Thursday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney slammed the denial of humanitarian aid to Gaza as a “violation of international law”. French President Emmanuel Macron also said his country will recognise Palestine as a state at the United Nations General Assembly in September. Before leaving for the United Kingdom on Friday, Trump dismissed his French counterpart’s statement, saying it “doesn’t carry any weight”. “Here’s the good news: What he says doesn’t matter,” Trump said. “It’s not going to change anything.” Adblock test (Why?)
India’s Modi pledges $565m to Maldives to boost infrastructure
Prime Minister Narendra Modi says India will also support the Maldives in ‘strengthening its defence capabilities’. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced a $565m credit line and launched free trade talks with the Maldives during a visit to the Indian Ocean archipelago. Modi’s two-day trip, which began on Friday, is aimed at boosting India’s development partnership with the Maldives, where India competes with China for influence. The Indian prime minister said the credit line was central to that goal. “This will be used for projects linked to infrastructure development in line with the priorities of the Maldivian people,” he said, adding that the two countries would also finalise a bilateral investment agreement. Modi, who is making his first official visit to the Maldives since winning a third term last year, also stressed that India will remain the “first responder” for the country, which has a population of approximately 525,000 people. “India will continue to support the Maldives in strengthening its defence capabilities,” he said. “Peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indian Ocean region are our shared goals.” India had been concerned that the Maldives was drifting towards the orbit of its rival China following the 2023 election of President Mohamed Muizzu on an anti-India platform. Since coming to power, Muizzu broke tradition by choosing to travel to China before visiting India. He also secured the withdrawal of a small contingent of Indian military personnel, who operated two search-and-rescue helicopters and a fixed-wing reconnaissance aircraft based in the archipelago. Advertisement Muizzu’s moves briefly soured relations with New Delhi, before India helped to prevent the $7.5bn economy from defaulting on its debt as the Maldives struggled to get tourists to its white-sand beaches and luxury resorts. Muizzu has since visited India and toned down his anti-India rhetoric. He also met Modi twice last year in New Delhi, with both leaders pledging to begin a “new chapter” in bilateral ties. On Friday, Muizzu said the credit line from India would be used to strengthen the Maldives’ security forces, as well as improve healthcare, housing, and education. “India’s continued assistance to the Maldives through the export of essential commodities is a key facet of our bilateral cooperation,” he said. Modi is due to leave the archipelago on Saturday after attending the country’s 60th Independence Day celebrations in the capital, Male. The Indian prime minister will also remotely inaugurate an expansion of the international airport on the island of Hanimaadhoo, which India is helping to finance. Adblock test (Why?)
Medical staff face charges after allegedly interfering with California ICE arrest
EXCLUSIVE: Federal authorities arrested a staff member of a clinic in Ontario, California, for allegedly interfering with an Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrest, while another remains at large. Earlier this month, Honduran national Denis Guillen-Solis, a landscaper, allegedly left on foot to evade law enforcement and went inside the Ontario Advanced Surgical Center, where he was not a patient. “This story is another example of a false narrative peddled by irresponsible members of the media in furtherance of a political agenda to delegitimize federal agents. The illegal alien arrested inside the medical center was not a patient and was not in any way affiliated with that location. He ran inside for cover and these medical workers attempted to block his apprehension by assaulting our agents,” U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli told Fox News in a statement. CALIFORNIA CLINIC STAFFERS SEEK TO SHIELD ICE AGENTS FROM DETAINING HONDURAN LANDSCAPER “To be very clear, it doesn’t matter who you are or where you work, if you assault our agents or otherwise interfere with our operations, you will be arrested and charged with a federal crime,” Essayli continued. The criminal warrants were signed off by U.S. Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym for two of the staffers, Jose De Jesus Ortega and Danielle Nadine Davila, for allegedly “forcibility assaulting, impeding, and interfering with a federal officer involving physical contact” and “conspiring to prevent, by force and intimidation, a federal officer from discharging his duties.” Ortega was arrested on Friday morning, and Davila remains at large and is currently being sought by law enforcement. On LinkedIn, Davilla is listed as a certified surgical technologist at the center, and is specifically said in the criminal complaint to have allegedly put her hands on the ICE officer and wedged herself between him and Guillen-Solis. “ICE officers conducted a targeted enforcement operation to arrest two illegal aliens. Officers in clearly marked ICE bulletproof vests approached the illegal alien targets as they exited a vehicle,” the Department of Homeland Security posted to X on July 9. ANTI-ICE ACTIVISTS HELP MIGRANT CHILD RAPIST ESCAPE ARREST IN COLORADO: OFFICIALS “One of the illegal aliens, Denis Guillen-Solis who is from Honduras, fled on foot to evade law enforcement. He ended up near the Ontario Advanced Surgical Center where hospital staff assaulted law enforcement and drug the officer and illegal alien into the facility. Then, the staff attempted to obstruct the arrest by locking the door, blocking law enforcement vehicles from moving, and even called the cops claiming there was a ‘kidnapping,’” the post added. CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE “This is a private property,” one staffer in a video of the incident said, asking the ICE agent to leave. “Get your hands off of him,” another staffer said. ICE RAMPS UP ARRESTS OF CONVICTED CRIMINALS AS RIOTS RAGE IN BLUE CITY: ‘YOU WILL NOT STOP US’ California Democratic Assemblymember Michelle Rodriguez, who represents Ontario, spoke out against ICE after the incident. “It is devastating to watch the impact of ICE on our communities. This past Tuesday, Immigration Enforcement officers kidnapped constituents from a surgical center as they were doing their jobs,” Rodriguez said in a statement. “While I support law enforcement officers who act with integrity and uphold the law, I will never condone these cruel and lawless actions. Without accountability, we are left with armed men in masks dragging people off the street – this is not safety, not justice, and this is not who we should be,” she continued.
Fact check: Did US go from ice cream trade surplus to deficit under Biden?
President Donald Trump’s administration dished out a cold burn to Trump’s ice-cream-loving predecessor, Joe Biden, saying he led the US ice cream industry down an economic rocky road. “America had a trade surplus in ice cream in 2020 under President Trump’s leadership, but that surplus turned into a trade deficit of $40.6 million under President Biden’s watch,” the Office of the US Trade Representative wrote July 20 on X. The post included a chart that shows the US ice cream trade deficit with Japan, South Africa, the European Union, Brazil, Canada and Turkiye. The US ice cream trade balance did change dramatically in 2021, the year Biden took office. The trade balance officially flipped negative – which means imports outnumber exports – in 2022 and has remained so since then. But industry experts caution that US ice cream imports account for a minuscule fraction of all the US ice cream consumed in the US, and exports account for a tiny fraction of all US ice cream produced. The trade change was driven mostly by a jump in imports. Exports have remained largely unchanged since 2020. And the cherry on top? Disagreement over which products to classify as “ice cream” also affects data, experts say. For example, the data referenced by the office of the US Trade Representative also includes “edible ice”, which some experts (and dairy defenders) say doesn’t qualify as ice cream. Removing edible ice shows that “the US is a net exporter by a significant margin of ($193 million) or +85% larger by value,” International Dairy Foods Association Executive Vice President Matt Herrick told PolitiFact via email. Advertisement Ice cream imports increase causes US trade deficit From 1995 to 2020, the US had an ice cream trade surplus, ranging from about $20m to about $160m, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity, an online economic data platform. Longtime customers include Mexico, followed by Saudi Arabia and Canada. In 2021, that surplus nearly vanished, and in 2022 and 2023, the US notched up an ice cream trade deficit of $92m and $33m, respectively. At first glance, importing frozen foods doesn’t seem practical. “Shipping refrigerated and frozen products overseas is expensive,” dairy economist Betty Berningat of HighGround Dairy said. “Mexico is the top destination for US dairy exports.” But many US and European companies have tapped into global markets. “Consumers may also want a specific treat that is styled after or known to be from another country,” Herrick said. Italy, the birthplace of gelato, is now the United States’ largest single source of imported ice cream. Italian ice cream imports more than quintupled from about $12m to almost $65m between 2020 and 2021 alone, before decreasing somewhat in 2023, the last year for which data is available. Some of this stems from increased consumer demand for specialty pints. A report by Mordor Intelligence, a global market research firm, said “product innovation and premiumisation” have become key in the US ice cream industry. “This trend is particularly evident in the growth of premium pint offerings and individually wrapped novelties that cater to both indulgence and portion control preferences,” the report said. The US produces far more ice cream than it imports or exports To get to the pint: The vast majority of ice cream consumed in the United States is made there, not overseas. The Trump administration is cherry-picking stats from a fraction of a sliver of the US ice cream industry. According to US Agriculture Department data, US ice cream makers churned out 1.31 billion gallons of ice cream in 2024. This includes regular ice cream, low-fat and nonfat ice cream, sherbet and frozen yoghurt. By comparison, the US imported 2.35 million gallons of traditional ice cream in 2024 – that’s 0.18 percent of the amount produced domestically, Herrick said. The US exported 16.4 million gallons of that domestic production, which is also a tiny fraction of 1.31 billion gallons of ice cream – a little more than 1 percent. Factoring in ice cream mixes, excluding ‘edible ice’ products Another caveat about the international trade data: It does not include “mixes”, which skews the totals, said Herrick of the International Dairy Foods Association. Advertisement Mixes are used to make ice cream shakes and soft-serve products, and they account for a significant portion of US ice cream exports. “Inclusion of such data points would change the picture quite significantly,” said Herrick. “While it is true that traditional ice cream and edible ice exports have seen decreased exports, the same cannot be said for exports of mixes.” US milk-based drink exports increased 621 percent over the past five years, he said. In 2024, the US exported nearly $35m in mixes to the European Union. Americans and dairy-based ice cream: A centuries-old love affair melting away? The White House has churned out plenty of ice cream devotees. George Washington stocked the capital with ice cream-making equipment. Thomas Jefferson is credited as being the first American to record an ice cream recipe. Ronald Reagan declared July National Ice Cream Month in 1984. Barack Obama even slung scoops back in the day. Biden, who was often sighted with a cone in hand, proclaimed while visiting Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream headquarters in 2016: “My name is Joe Biden, and I love ice cream.” But consumption of regular dairy ice cream – a category that does not include frozen yoghurt, sherbet or nonfat and low-fat ice creams – has been trending down for years. In 1975, Americans ate an average of 18.2 pounds each of ice cream per year. That figure fell to 11.7 pounds by 2023. Our ruling The office of the US Trade Representative purported a summertime scoop: “America had a trade surplus in ice cream in 2020 under President Trump’s leadership, but that surplus turned into a trade deficit of $40.6 million under President Biden’s watch.” It’s accurate that the US ice cream trade balance had a surplus for a quarter of a century before turning negative while Biden was president. But the US Trade Representative’s statement makes the US
Why is India’s Dharmasthala temple at the centre of a mass murder case?
NewsFeed A former cleaner claims he was forced to bury the bodies of hundreds of women and girls, on the orders of supervisors at one of southern India’s most revered temples. As Soraya Lennie explains, the case has shocked the country and sparked accusations of a three-decade old cover up. Published On 25 Jul 202525 Jul 2025 Adblock test (Why?)
Deadly typhoon causes flooding across Philippines
[unable to retrieve full-text content] A powerful typhoon has caused extreme flooding across the Philippines, affecting millions of people.
Delhi govt orders audit as 32000 CCTV cameras fail, 15000 missing in national capital
The Chief Minister Rekha Gupta-led Delhi government has announced a comprehensive technical audit of the entire project to pinpoint deficiencies and establish accountability.