US embassy issues BIG warning for visa applicants: ‘You could be permanently banned if…’
The US embassy had issued a similar warning on Wednesday, saying that international students found in violation of the US law may be deported. Such students also risk getting their visas revoked and becoming ineligible for future applications, as per the embassy.
School Holiday January 9: Schools to remain closed in THESE states today due to…; Check state-wise list here
Severe cold wave and dense fog have forced several Indian states to extend winter holidays. Delhi schools remain closed till January 15, while Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and other states have announced closures or revised timings to ensure student safety amid harsh weather.
Delhi-NCR Weather Update: Air quality remains ‘ very poor’, AQI reaches…, IMD issues yellow alert for fog; flight operations disrupted
Delhi’s air quality remained in the ‘very poor’ category on Friday with an AQI of 318, as pollution levels rose across several areas. Cold wave conditions also continued, with temperatures dropping to 5°C and fog affecting visibility in the capital.
Texas GOP Rep. Monica De La Cruz joins Democrats in vote to pass three-year ACA subsidy extension
Edinburg Rep. Monica De La Cruz was the only Texas Republican to break with her party and vote with all Democrats and a handful of Republicans on a key healthcare bill.
Trump plans to meet with Venezuela opposition leader Maria Corina Machado next week
President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he plans to meet with Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado in Washington next week. During an appearance on Fox News’ “Hannity,” Trump was asked if he intends to meet with Machado after the U.S. struck Venezuela and captured its president, Nicolás Maduro. “Well, I understand she’s coming in next week sometime, and I look forward to saying hello to her,” Trump said. This will be Trump’s first meeting with Machado, who the U.S. president stated “doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country” to lead. According to reports, Trump’s refusal to support Machado was linked to her accepting the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, which Trump believed he deserved. But Trump later told NBC News that while he believed Machado should not have won the award, her acceptance of the prize had “nothing to do with my decision” about the prospect of her leading Venezuela.
FLASHBACK: Jill Biden visited Minnesota to tout billions in childcare spending during husband’s administration
Former first lady Jill Biden went to Minnesota in 2022 to highlight the billions of dollars in investments for childcare that were part of Democrats’ American Rescue Plan Act, where she stood next to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and praised him for his leadership helping families. “We helped states like Minnesota safely keep open childcare centers and family childcare providers and boost pay for their workers,” Biden said during a February 2022 visit to the University of Minnesota’s Child Development Laboratory School alongside Walz and then-Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra. “We supported high quality providers that enrich children’s lives, and we helped make them more affordable.” BESSENT SAYS MINNESOTA FRAUD RECOVERY COULD HELP FUND TRUMP’S $1.5T DEFENSE PLAN The 2021 American Rescue Plan Act, a $1.9 trillion COVID-era relief package, allocated nearly $40 billion for childcare after it was passed without any Republican support. Roughly 4 years after the first lady went to Minnesota to tout the Democrat-led investments in childcare, Walz and his state are facing immense blowback for allegedly failing to adequately monitor fraud within the state’s Medicaid program and its childcare sector. According to a local Fox affiliate, daycare centers in Minnesota received roughly $500 million in federal funds in 2021. “Tim, you understand that childcare is not only critical to families, it’s critical to businesses and our economy,” the first lady said as she turned to Walz standing behind her as she addressed people at the school. “And Joe and I are so grateful for your leadership and for the friendship that you and Gewn … that we’ve had for so many years. And I’m excited to hear more today about what you’ve done here in Minnesota to help families recover from the uncertainties and the losses from the pandemic.” Earlier this week, a major state audit in Minnesota conducted by the nonpartisan Office of the Legislative Auditor found widespread failures and internal control problems in the Minnesota Department of Human Services’ Behavioral Health Administration (BHA) grant program, reaffirming concerns about massive fraud issues in the state. VANCE CALLS WALZ ‘A JOKE,’ CLAIMS MINNESOTA GOVERNOR ENABLED MASSIVE FRAUD The report, released Monday, found that between July 1, 2022, and Dec. 31, 2024, DHS dished out more than $425 million in grants to 830 organizations, the majority being nongovernmental, and did not show proper oversight in watching over those taxpayer funds, which in many cases were meant to help those with addiction and mental health issues. The audit found missing progress reports and discovered BHA could not show it had completed all required monitoring visits and had no documentation at all for some of them. The audit also found that when employees were surveyed, 73% of them said they did not receive the necessary training to properly administer and manage grants, with one employee saying, “Executive leadership has repetitively shown staff that they won’t take the staff’s concerns or questions seriously until something serious happens or it makes the news.” The scathing report comes as Minnesota’s government agencies and leaders face immense scrutiny amid a fraud scandal that prosecutors say could total as much as $9 billion and has already prompted Gov. Tim Walz to drop his re-election bid. Some reports have indicated a handful of Minnesota’s Democrat leaders allegedly took donations from some of those accused of committing fraud in Minnesota, while others have suggested Walz retaliated against whistleblowers who tried to sound the alarm about the fraud. Fox News Digital reached out to representatives for Jill and Joe Biden but did not receive a response in time for publication.
Blue state’s billionaire exodus about to get much worse in 2026, insider warns
As Google co-founder Larry Page and Oracle founder Larry Ellison become some of the latest high-profile Californians to flee, an insider is warning that the “mass migration” of billionaire business leaders out of the state is only going to speed up in 2026. Silicon Valley tech entrepreneur Allison Huynh told Fox News Digital two “rage bait” tax proposals she believes Democrats are using to get voters to the polls in November could be the final nail in the coffin for California. Huynh is a startup founder, investor and former fundraiser for former presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden. According to Huynh, the two tax proposals, an annual wealth tax proposal and a 2026 Billionaire Tax Act, would cause a “mass migration,” starting with “not just the billionaires, but the people who are investing in new ideas, in new infrastructure, whether it’s AI, healthcare, tech, robotics.” EXTREME SPORTS STAR LASHES OUT AT NEWSOM FOR KILLING THE CALIFORNIA DREAM: ‘WHAT HAPPENED?’ Public filings reviewed by Fox News Digital from the California Secretary of State’s office show several business entities linked to the Google co-founder were moved out of the state in December, ahead of the Jan. 1, 2026 residency date tied to the proposed tax. Those filings indicate his family office, Koop LLC, and his influenza research fund, Flu Lab LLC, no longer list California, while a flying-car venture, One Aero, now lists its primary address in Florida. Ellison has taken steps that signal a potential pullback from California, though details of a reported $45 million off-market sale of his San Francisco home have not been independently confirmed by major outlets. The New York Post reported the sale and said it would mark the city’s largest real estate transaction of 2025. With these exits in mind, Huynh likened the proposed tax hikes to a restaurant about to go out of business. “Instead of lowering the price, they increase the price,” she said. “And then you go into the restaurant, and it’s like $50 for a bowl of really bad dumplings.” According to Huynh, the annual wealth tax would impose a one to 1.5% tax on anything over $50 million. “And that’s paper valuation,” she explained. “So, for example, if you have $1 million in liquid assets, that’s cash, and $49 million, say, in artwork or in a house that you inherited from your family. You would be responsible for the entire 50 million in terms of your cost basis for that 1%.” The second proposal, the 2026 Billionaire Tax Act, would impose a one-time 5% tax on any asset valued above $1 billion, including a business holding. “You could be a founder, you could be a tech star, and you could be worth a hundred billion dollars. But say you only have like $2 million in liquid assets because all that money is used to run your new AI company. Well, doesn’t matter. You’re going to be taxed entirely on that $100 billion. And, so, effectively, you owe the state of California one time, $5 billion.“ WASHINGTON POST CITES U-HAUL DATA IN CALIFORNIA EXODUS TO ‘PRO-GROWTH’ STATES, SAYS ‘DECLINE IS A CHOICE’ Though the impact of these proposals would be catastrophic, Huynh said she believes that California Democrats view them as “rage bait” to motivate voters to show up at ballot boxes during this year’s midterm elections. “It is the Democrats’ answer to MAGA,” she explained, saying it’s a type of “Eat the rich.” Though proposed in the California Assembly, the annual tax proposal is not on track to be added to the November ballot. Proponents of the billionaire tax, however, are gathering signatures for the proposal to be added to the ballot. According to Huynh, billionaires and business leaders are not waiting to see the final outcome. “So many people I know, including certain family members, have all of a sudden sold their house in two days in the state of California. And many of them went house shopping in Florida, in Texas and also in Puerto Rico,” she said. “These are founders, investors in robotics, in AI companies. They are controversial, but you have to admit they have created a lot of value — thousands and hundreds of thousands of jobs in California. CALIFORNIA LEGISLATION PUTS ECONOMIC PRESSURE ON BILLIONAIRES “We can’t sanction these billionaires to be in the California jurisdiction,” she said, exasperated. “So, why are we forcing bad legislation that will drive the vast majority of the investors in California businesses? And they will likely take their businesses with them, their multibillion-dollar businesses with them. We saw that with SpaceX. We saw that with Oracle. They’ll take it with them to Texas, to Tennessee, to Florida and all the thousands and thousands of jobs with it. And there’s nothing we can do, “They’re not going to want to be in California,” she said. “This is a very, very dangerous move.”
Day-to-day: A tragic death further stretches the GOP’s razor-thin House majority
It was 1991. The Chicago Cubs were in Chavez Ravine for a three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Legendary Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully was at the mic. Cubs outfielder and former National League MVP Andre Dawson was out of the lineup. “Andre Dawson has a bruised knee,” the golden-throated Scully declared to his radio congregation, tuning in from Pasadena to the San Fernando Valley. “He is listed as day-to-day.” Then Scully paused for a moment. It was as though Scully was in deep reflection. Perhaps seized by the spirit of the national pastime in one of baseball’s most hallowed cathedrals, Dodger Stadium. HOUSE GOP REP DOUG LAMALFA DEAD AT 65 “Then again, aren’t we all?” added Scully. Aren’t we all. You. Me. Andre Dawson and his knee. The late Vin Scully. Even late Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Calif. REP LAMALFA’S DEATH FURTHER SHRINKS REPUBLICAN HOUSE MAJORITY He died this week at age 65 during emergency surgery after an aortic aneurysm. “It really shook us,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., of LaMalfa’s sudden death. The speaker said Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., whose northern California district borders LaMalfa’s, called the late congressman “the kindest man I ever knew.” Johnson noted that McClintock didn’t say “one of the kindest.” But the kindest. Seven House members have died since April 2024. The previous six were Democrats. LaMalfa is the first Republican to die since then. In fact, there’s a runoff between two Democrats — Christian Menefee and Amanda Edwards — in a special election to succeed late Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Texas. Turner died in March after only two months in office. House Republicans have had a tenuous hold on their majority for a while now. LaMalfa’s death — coupled with Monday’s resignation of former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga. — squeezes the GOP even further. It’s about the math. Counting LaMalfa and Greene, the GOP margin shrivels to 218-213 with 431 members and four vacancies. The Republican majority thins again when either Menefee or Edwards wins the Texas special election later this month. It’s then 218-214 with 432 members and three vacancies. The margin is four. But, on the floor, Republicans can only lose one vote and still pass something on their own without Democratic assistance. Losing two votes produces a 216-216 tie. By rule, ties lose in the House. Word of LaMalfa’s death came as we learned that 80-year-old Rep. Jim Baird R-Ind., was in the hospital after a car accident. Baird is fine but not on Capitol Hill to vote this week. Just how fragile is the GOP’s grip on power in the House? “We are one flu season away from losing the majority,” said Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn. By the way, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say the U.S. is experiencing its worst flu season since 1997-98. The CDC just announced a new flu variant this week. GEORGIA CALLS SPECIAL ELECTION IN MARCH TO FILL MTG VACANCY AFTER TRUMP RUPTURE AND RESIGNATION A couple of points. The Constitution prohibits governors from appointing someone to the House. That only works in the Senate. Voters must elect House members. And control of the House of Representatives has never flipped in the middle of the Congress. The Senate has. But not the House. It’s about the math. “We’ve been working with a razor-thin majority since I became speaker. And, as you know, at many points in the last year, we had a one- or two-vote majority at any given moment,” said Johnson. “But this is the group that has demonstrated over and over and over and over that we defy expectations and make history.” Conjecture still abounds around the Capitol that a few disgruntled House Republicans could resign. I asked Johnson about Burchett’s remark. The speaker was philosophical. “None of us are guaranteed tomorrow. None of us. We don’t know what’s going to happen. The Bible says you don’t worry about tomorrow. You focus on today,” replied Johnson. “I’m not worried about the numbers. I don’t get up in apprehension or anxiety in any day. I get up every day with hope.” We’re all day-to-day. So too is the House Republican majority. Things are day-to-day. As stated earlier, the House has never flipped in the middle of a Congress. Frankly, it’s a lot harder than the Senate. It has more people. For the House to switch control, the GOP must lose two more seats. But those seats must also be filled immediately. That doesn’t happen. Special elections take months, depending on the state. But even at a prospective nadir of 218-214, it takes a lot to change control of the House in the middle of a Congress. Even if Republicans lost three more members, they’d still hold a 215-214 majority. Things could become very interesting if the split went to 214-214. And don’t forget, these numbers will evolve in the coming months. There’s a special election to succeed Greene March 10. There will likely be a special election to succeed LaMalfa in the spring or summer. There’s also a special election in the spring to fulfill the term of Democratic New Jersey Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill, who resigned from the House last year. So, don’t count on the House switching any time soon. HEALTHCARE, ECONOMY AND THE ‘ONE BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’: WELCOME TO THE MIDTERMS But there is a historical anomaly. Lawmakers are sworn in to begin the new Congress Jan. 3 of odd years of the election in November of the prior even year. However, the ratification of the 20th Amendment to the Constitution moved the swearing-in of the President to Jan. 20. Previously it was March 4. In those days, new Congresses began Dec. 7. Not a month after the election. But an astonishing 13 MONTHS AFTER the election. In other words, you would have an election in November of an even year. But the institution wouldn’t seat the new Congress until December of the FOLLOWING ODD year. And they complain about a two-month lame duck Congress now. The 1930 midterms
Newsom lashes out at Trump over ‘carnival of chaos’ amid Minnesota ICE shooting furor
With the national spotlight firmly on a fatal shooting in Minnesota involving an ICE agent, Gov. Gavin Newsom of California used a high-profile speech to target President Donald Trump over “citizens shot” and what the likely Democratic presidential contender claimed was “using American cities as training grounds for the United States military.” Newsom’s comments Thursday in his final State of the State address as governor of the nation’s most populous state came in the wake of the shooting death of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good after she confronted ICE agents from inside her car in Minneapolis. Video of the incident has gone viral, and while Democrats have heavily criticized the shooting, the Trump administration is vocally defending the actions of the ICE agent. “The woman driving the car was very disorderly, obstructing and resisting, who then violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE Officer, who seems to have shot her in self-defense,” Trump said in a social media post. CLICK HERE FOR LIVE FOX NEWS UPDATES ON THE ICE SHOOTING IN MINNESOTA And the president argued “the reason these incidents are happening is because the Radical Left is threatening, assaulting, and targeting our Law Enforcement Officers and ICE Agents on a daily basis.” Vice President JD Vance at a White House briefing Thursday claimed Good was “brainwashed” and suggested she was connected to a “broader, left-wing network.” Hours after the incident, Newsom alleged it was “state-sponsored terrorism.” PHOTOS RELEASED OF RENEE NICOLE GOOD, THE US CITIZEN KILLED BY ICE IN MINNESOTA A day later, in his address to the California legislature, the governor took aim at the president and his unprecedented moves during his first year back in the White House. “The president believes that might makes right, that the courts are simply speed bumps, not stops. That democracy is a nuisance to be circumvented. Secret police, businesses being raided, windows smashed, citizens detained, citizens shot, masked men snatching, people in broad daylight, people disappearing,” Newsom charged. And the governor, arguably the most vocal and visible Democrat leading the resistance to Trump, accused the president of governing through fear by instigating “purposeful chaos emanating from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.” And he criticized what he called “a carnival of chaos” as he pointed to the Trump administration’s National Guard deployments to Democrat-governed cities, including Los Angeles, as well as cuts in key federal funding. “None of this is normal,” Newsom emphasized. Newsom said California must stand up to Trump’s “assault on our values,” while warning that democracy is at stake. Newsom and the president have repeatedly clashed in the first year of Trump’s second administration, from the National Guard deployment to Los Angeles to the federal government’s push to block California’s fuel standards and efforts to eventually ban new gas-powered cars. And the two politicians have also taken aim at each other over the devastating Los Angeles-area wildfires that killed over 30 people and destroyed neighborhoods. Wednesday was the one-year anniversary of the outbreak of those wildfires. Officially, Newsom’s State of the State address was designed to showcase his accomplishments as governor and lay out his agenda for his final year in office. “You’ve seen double-digit decreases in crime overall in the state of California,” the governor touted. California Republican Party Chairwoman Corrin Rankin, responding in a statement, claimed, “Governor Newsom told Californians that homelessness is down, crime is at record lows, schools are improving and Los Angeles is recovering after the Palisades fires. Governor Newsom painted a picture of a California that exists in his imagination.” Unofficially, the speech was an opportunity for Newsom to portray himself as a national leader of the Democratic Party ahead of what many expect will be a 2028 White House run. And the governor didn’t waste the opportunity. Newsom, who led the fight against Trump’s redistricting push ahead of November’s midterm elections, said, “We’re not retreating.” And he described California as “a beacon” that is “providing a different narrative and operational model of policy for others to follow.”
Duffy exposes 54% of North Carolina truck licenses issued illegally to ‘dangerous drivers’
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Thursday revealed that 54% of North Carolina’s non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) issued to foreign nationals reviewed by federal officials were issued illegally. The discovery came amid the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) ongoing nationwide audit of the state’s truck licensing systems. If North Carolina does not revoke all illegally issued licenses, the Department of Transportation (DOT) will withhold nearly $50 million in federal funding. “North Carolina’s failure to follow the rules isn’t just shameful — it’s dangerous. I’m calling on state leadership to immediately remove these dangerous drivers from our roads and clean up their system,” Duffy wrote in a statement. “President [Donald] Trump and I are committed to keeping you and your family safe on our roads.” ICE ARRESTS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT TRUCKER FROM UZBEKISTAN OVER ALLEGED TERROR TIES In a letter to North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein and state Department of Public Safety Commissioner Paul Tine, the FMCSA said the state illegally issued non-domiciled CDLs to drivers who were ineligible, those whose licenses were valid long after their lawful presence in the U.S. expired and those whose lawful status in the U.S. was not verified by North Carolina. FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs said the level of noncompliance in North Carolina is “egregious.” To retain its federal funding, North Carolina will be required to immediately pause issuance of non-domiciled CDLs, identify all unexpired non-domiciled CDLs that fail to comply with FMCSA regulations and revoke and reissue all noncompliant non-domiciled CDLs if they comply with the federal requirements. DUFFY THREATENS TO YANK NEW YORK FEDERAL FUNDS OVER ILLEGALLY ISSUED COMMERCIAL DRIVER’S LICENSES The state must also conduct a comprehensive internal audit to identify all procedural and programming errors, training and quality assurance problems, insufficient policies and practices and other issues that have resulted in the issuance of non-domiciled CDLs that did not meet federal rules. Duffy set his focus on CDL issues in early 2025 after an Indian national who held a California-issued CDL allegedly killed a car full of people on Florida’s turnpike. California has since revoked 17,000 problematic non-domiciled CDL licenses as DOT conducts a nationwide audit initiated by President Donald Trump’s executive order on truck driver roadway safety. Fox News Digital’s Charles Creitz contributed to this report.