Who is Shrikant Pangarkar? Gauri Lankesh murder accused wins from Ward 13 of Jalna Municipal Corporation
?Shrikant defeated his nearest rival, Raosaheb Dhoble of the BJP, who received 2,477 votes. He is accused of the 2017 murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh that triggered nationwide outrage. The journalist was shot dead outside her home in Bengaluru, Karnataka, on September 5, 2017.
Toll Plaza Rules: Cash payments to be banned? All you need to know
According to reports, the ministry is preparing for a seamless transition from cash to FASTag and UPI payments only, from April 1. Hence, commuters will be required to be prepared for the digital shift and make necessary arrangements.
Delhi Pollution: GRAP 3 curbs enforced in Delhi-NCR as air quality likely to turn ‘severe’
GRAP 3 restrictions were revoked earlier this month after the air quality improved; however, several preventive and control measures under GRAP 1 and 2 continue across the NCR.
Delhi Metro commuters can now book bike taxis, cabs from these stations; details inside
According to the DMRC, the initiative is aimed at strengthening first- and last-mile access to the metro network and addressing the growing concern of air pollution in the city by promoting the use of environment-friendly and efficient modes of transport, as reported by PTI.
LGBTQ+ San Antonio residents criticize city’s plan to replace rainbow crosswalks with rainbow sidewalks
After a lawsuit failed to stop the crosswalk’s removal, caused by a threat to funding, some residents called its replacement a consolation that ignores a larger fight in the state.
How teaching middle school in one of Texas’ poorest neighborhoods spurred James Talarico’s U.S. Senate bid
Talarico’s two years as a public school teacher is central to his Democratic Senate campaign after shaping his policy goals and driving his political rise through the Texas House.
‘Sheepdog’ shines light on the war after war, as veterans continue to struggle with life back home
As the United States marks more than two decades since the start of the post-9/11 wars, a new film is turning its focus away from the battlefield and toward the long-term challenges many veterans face after returning home. “Sheepdog,” written, directed by and starring Steven Grayhm, centers on an Army combat veteran navigating life years after his last deployment. The film avoids depicting combat itself, instead focusing on mental health struggles, strained relationships and the difficulty of reintegrating into civilian communities. The film debuts in theaters Friday. Grayhm said the story remained a priority for him over more than a decade as he spent time speaking with veterans, families and mental health professionals about their experiences after military service. “When someone opens up to you about the most intimate details of their life that they may not have shared with their spouse, let alone a therapist, you carry great reverence, respect, but also responsibility,” Grayhm told Fox News Digital. ARMY VETERAN GOES FROM BRINK OF DEATH TO NEW HOPE AFTER SEEING FOX NEWS REPORT ON TREATMENT The filmmaker said the project began after a chance encounter in 2011 with a tow truck driver who shared his struggles tied to military service. That conversation, he said, led him to travel the country listening to veterans and families describe life after war. Grayhm said feedback from veterans who have seen the film largely has been positive, particularly from those who said they felt their experiences were accurately reflected. “Having Vietnam veterans stand up in front of a full auditorium, and in tears saying, ‘You guys nailed it,’” Grayhm said. “To have OIF and OEF veterans say, ‘I wish I had this film 10 years ago to show my family why I am the way I am,’” he said, referring to the Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan as part of the Global War on Terror. FALLUJAH VET TURNS MEDAL OF HEROISM INTO A HEALING MISSION FOR FELLOW WARRIORS WITH SERVICE DOGS PROGRAM Dominic Fumusa, who plays a police officer and former coach who remains involved in the veteran’s life, said the film addresses an issue that remains unresolved for many service members long after they return from deployment. “This film feels more important and more immediate and urgent than a lot of those did,” Fumusa said. “It deals directly with how our veterans are challenged upon their return from battle.” Fumusa said the story highlights the role families, first responders and local communities play in helping veterans adjust. “It really does take a team, it takes a village, it takes a community,” he said. Grayhm said one of the film’s goals is to move beyond common portrayals of trauma and focus on the possibility of recovery over time. “This film is not a post-traumatic stress movie,” Grayhm said. “It’s so important to highlight post-traumatic growth.” As “Sheepdog” opens nationwide, Grayhm said he hopes it prompts more direct conversations between civilians and veterans outside of formal settings. “Perhaps rather than ‘thank you for your service,’ simply, ‘How are you doing?’” he said.
Unity wins out as Republicans swallow $643M in funding for Trump-opposed media agency
Despite President Donald Trump’s past efforts to shut it down, Republicans passed a spending package that includes $643 million for the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), choosing legislative unity over a fight that could have derailed the must-pass spending bill. The move underscored the GOP’s ongoing struggle to pursue party objectives while also crafting legislation that can unite Republicans amid razor-thin margins in the House of Representatives. The funding goes toward radio, internet, television and broadcasting grants in the Middle East. The item passed both chambers of Congress this week as part of this year’s National Security, Department of State and Related Programs Act (NSRP). Rep. Mark Alford, R-Mo., one of the legislators who worked on the NSRP, said the final number came about from talks with Kari Lake, a senior advisor for the agency with close ties to the president. DHS AT CENTER OF PROGRESSIVE REVOLT AS HOUSE ADVANCES $80B SPENDING PACKAGE “She seemed to me like we’re on the same team on this,” Alford said when asked about those conversations. “I continue to communicate with her often and look forward to working with her as she tries to right this program and get it back to its original intent.” At the outset of his second term, Trump issued an executive order shuttering the USAGM, the parent organization of Voice of America, claiming that the organization had a clear bent against Republican principles and didn’t serve the country’s domestic interests. However, when courts ruled that the administration lacked the power needed to remove its congressionally approved funding, the agency remained in place. Despite the continuation of its funding, Alford believes Republicans took a step toward the president’s wishes, noting that the NSRP bill trims the agency’s budget. DEMOCRAT TAKEOVER FEARS RISE AS GOP CLINGS TO SLIM HOUSE MAJORITY “I think the cuts that we’re making, which is a 25% reduction, is a significant step forward to meeting what Kari Lake wants as well. I’m hoping that we can do even more in the 2027 appropriations bill,” Alford said. Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., who voted to advance the NSRP funding bill and its provision on USAGM, said he personally wants to see the funding eliminated. “I would prefer that the federal government funds zero,” Higgins said moments before Wednesday’s vote. “We support the president’s executive actions and his executive orders, and we endeavor to codify them. We just don’t have extra money to spend on things.” “But I’m not going to let something like that stop me from supporting the larger measure,” he added. Higgins, a member of the fiscally conservative House Freedom Caucus, said Republicans must pick their battles carefully amid a razor-thin, two-seat majority in the House, following the retirement of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and the sudden death of Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Calif., earlier this month. Republicans will continue to face questions about how to pursue party priorities in the coming weeks as they work through the year’s remaining spending legislation. “We don’t have the luxury of just casually opposing our own bills. It’s just so tight, man. So, our goal is to pass our legislation — especially when you’re faced with the alternative of a government shutdown,” Higgins said, noting the consequences that would follow if Congress were to fail to pass spending legislation. Currently, Republicans hold just a two-seat majority in the chamber. CONGRESS ROLLS OUT $80B SPENDING BILL AS DEMS THREATEN DHS FUNDING AMID SHUTDOWN FEARS When asked whether Democrats had pressed to include the USAGM funding in the NSRP package, Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Ill., did not describe the conversations but noted the package had resulted from bipartisan negotiations. “How things get into these appropriations bills in this climate — all we do is advocate and leverage whatever we have. Some days you’re the bug, some days you’re the windshield,” Quigley said. The NSRP, having cleared both chambers of Congress, now heads to Trump’s desk for his signature.
Trump admin warns of ‘widescale doxxing’ of ICE if House Dem’s new bill passes
EXCLUSIVE: The Trump administration is firing back at a Democratic Bronx congressman who offered a new-age way for civilians to identify immigration enforcement agents who obscure their identity with masks or lack of names on their uniforms amid civil unrest around the country. Rep. Ritchie Torres, a Democrat, said he is introducing the Quick Recognition Act next week, which would require ICE and CBP agents to wear uniforms that feature QR codes – the two-dimensional offshoot of barcodes that can link a concrete item to a website or information portal. At sporting events or in restaurants, they often use QR codes to draw customers to scan them and open webpages to enter contests or access menus. In Torres’ case, scanning the QR code on an officer’s uniform would return their name, badge number and agency that employs them. The White House said Torres’ bill would spur a “widescale doxxing campaign” and encourage protesters to “approach and interfere with law enforcement operations.” DEMOCRATIC THINK TANK URGES PARTY TO DROP ‘ABOLISH ICE’ SLOGAN IN NEW MEMO “This is all because Democrats want to defend criminal illegal aliens,” spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital. “Surely this cannot be a serious proposal,” she added. The administration cited DHS data showing ICE officers facing a 1,300% increase in assaults because of Democrats’ “dangerous and untrue smears.” WHITE HOUSE BLAMES DEMOCRATS FOR ICE VIOLENCE AS MINNEAPOLIS ERUPTS, INSURRECTION ACT THREAT LOOMS Torres’ office, by contrast, was defiant when asked about such concerns. “There is nothing the Trump administration fears more than transparency and accountability,” Torres spokesman Benny Stanislawski told Fox News Digital. Torres also told the Big Apple outlet AMNewYork that the need is “urgent” to “unmask ICE not only physically but digitally.” OMAR, DEMS DEMAND NOEM IMPEACHMENT, PAINT MINNESOTA WOMAN SHOT BY ICE AS ‘POET’ WHO CHOSE ‘LOVE’ While Torres told the paper he predicts some pushback from law enforcement, he said that scanning QR codes is safer than asking for an officer’s ID. He noted that most other agencies require officers to identify themselves in their line of duty, calling ICE a “systemically corrupt institution” and added he will oppose any future congressional appropriation that funds ICE more than $1. A Democratic congressman from Detroit who previously called for President Donald Trump’s impeachment upped the ante this week with his own effort to abolish ICE. HOCHUL CONFRONTED ICE AGENT, SAID HE WAS ‘TERRORIZING PEOPLE’ BY WEARING A MASK Rep. Shri Thanedar said that the death of Renee Good in an ICE-involved shooting proves the agency “cannot be reformed and must be abolished.” Thanedar said in a statement that since its inception in 2003, some legal experts have also argued its duties can be fulfilled more “justly” by other federal agencies. “When an agency’s structure consistently produces harm instead of justice, there is no way to reform it. We must fundamentally change the way we approach immigration,” Thanedar said. Fox News Digital reached out to DHS for comment.
US ambassador warns Iran at emergency UN meeting that Trump is ‘man of action,’ ‘all options are on the table’
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz warned Iran during an emergency meeting of the Security Council that President Donald Trump “is a man of action” who has “made it clear all options are on the table to stop the slaughter.” Waltz said Thursday that, “We all have a responsibility to support the Iranian people and to put an end to the regime’s neglect and oppression of the Iranian nation.” Iran has been plunged into turmoil amid recent anti-government protests, with the death toll from those being at least 2,677, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency told The Associated Press. “Colleagues, let me be clear. President Trump is a man of action, not endless talk like we see at the United Nations. He has made it clear all options are on the table to stop the slaughter. And no one should know that better than the leadership of the Iranian regime,” Waltz added. Waltz’s remarks came as Gholam Hossein Darzi, the deputy Iranian ambassador to the U.N., accused the U.S. of trying to destabilize the Islamic Republic. TOP IRANIAN GENERAL THREATENS TO ‘CUT OFF’ TRUMP’S HAND OVER POTENTIAL MILITARY STRIKES “Under the hollow pretext of concern for the Iranian people and claims of support for human rights, the United States regime is attempting to portray itself as a friend of the Iranian people, while simultaneously laying the groundwork for political destabilization and military intervention under a so-called humanitarian narrative,” Darzi said. Waltz dismissed the claim, telling diplomats at U.N. headquarters on Thursday that Iran’s leaders are “afraid of their own people.” “I would like to address the allegation put forward by the regime that these inspired protests are somehow a foreign plot to give a precursor to military action. Everyone in the world needs to know that the regime is weaker than ever before, and therefore is putting forward this lie because of the power of the Iranian people in the streets,” Waltz said. IRAN ALLEGEDLY AIRS 97 ‘COERCIVE CONFESSIONS’ AMID RECORD-BREAKING NORTH KOREA-STYLE INTERNET BLACKOUT “They are afraid. They’re afraid of their own people. Iran says it’s ready for dialogue, but its actions say otherwise. This is a regime that rules through oppression, through violence, and through intimidation, and has destabilized the Middle East for decades. Well, enough is enough,” he added. “The regime’s dereliction of duty to its own citizens is what has put the ayatollahs in the positions they are in today with hundreds of thousands, if not millions, protesting in the streets after decades of neglect and abuse. So everyone should ask themselves, everyone sitting here today, how many people are dead?” Waltz also said. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Thursday that Trump and his team “have communicated to the Iranian regime that if the killing continues, there will be grave consequences.” “And the president received a message as he revealed to all of you and the whole world yesterday, that the killing and the executions will stop. And the president understands today that 800 executions that were scheduled and supposed to take place yesterday were halted. And so the president and his team are closely monitoring this situation, and all options remain on the table for the president,” she added.