Delhi government boosts air monitoring system, CM Rekha Gupta launches 6 new CAAQMS, flags off 100 ‘Vayu Rakshak’ vehicles
Delhi government under Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has taken a big step towards controlling air pollution in the national capital. Under the initiative, six CAAQMS were inaugurated on Monday, and the 100 fleet ‘Vayu Rakshak’ was flagged off.
‘Shivam Mishra was not driver’: New twist in Lamborghini crash, lawyer’s statement contradicts police version
The Lamborghini crash incident has taken a new turn as Shivam Mishra’s lawyer gave a contradictory statement to the police version. He said that Mishra was not the driver but his driver.
Texans demand more from state legislators on the environment
Texas politicians like to talk about acting in the best interests of their constituents – but the numbers often tell a different story. Based on the Sierra Club Lone Star Chapter’s recent analysis, the Legislature is falling short of protecting the people, communities, and natural resources Texans depend on. If legislators don’t answer to Texans, who are they really accountable to?
“A disaster waiting to happen”: How the fracking boom put an oil field in the Guadalupe River floodplain
Lack of a state floodplain policy enabled oil companies to build in parts of Texas hit by an epic inundation less than 30 years ago.
Texas Railroad Commission primary: Who is running and what to know
The Railroad Commission regulates energy infrastructure across Texas. Here’s a look at who’s running in the 2026 Democratic and Republican primaries and where they stand.
New poll finds Jasmine Crockett, Ken Paxton leading in their primary bids for U.S. Senate
The survey findings released Monday come just eight days before the start of early voting.
Massie, top Oversight Democrat call for Secretary Lutnick to resign for ‘lying’ about alleged Epstein ties
The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee piled onto calls from Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., on Monday for Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to step down in light of alleged business ties to Jeffrey Epstein. Files released by the DOJ suggest that Lutnick and Epstein bought stakes together in a technology company called Adfin in 2012. Lutnick, who is listed among nine other investors, appears as a “signatory” alongside Epstein, who is named as a “preferred holder.” Notably, the purchase is dated four years after Epstein was convicted in 2008 for sexual abuse involving a 14-year-old girl. DOJ PUBLISHES TROVE OF EPSTEIN FILES, SAYS MORE TO COME AFTER FRIDAY DEADLINE Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., said the documents clearly contradicted previous statements from Lutnick about his relationship with Epstein. “It’s now clear that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has been lying about his relationship with Epstein. He said he had no interactions with Epstein after 2005, and we now know they were in business together,” Garcia said in a post to X. “Lutnick must resign or be fired. And he must answer our questions,” Garcia added. Garcia’s calls follow similar comments made by Massie on Sunday. When asked about Lutnick’s appearance in the files on CNN, Massie also said that Lutnick should step down. MASSIE, KHANNA TO VISIT DOJ TO REVIEW UNREDACTED EPSTEIN FILES “He should just resign. Prince [Andrew] lost his title for less than what we’ve seen Howard Lutnick lie about,” Massie said, referring to the member of the royal family who was stripped of his titles last year for his association with Epstein. “He was in business with Jeffrey Epstein — and this was many years after Epstein was convicted for sexual crimes. So, he’s got a lot to answer for.” LAWMAKERS ESCALATE EPSTEIN PROBE WITH POSSIBLE BILL GATES SUBPOENA Other documents in the Epstein files reveal communications between Lutnick and Epstein’s staff that suggest Lutnick may have met with Epstein in the Virgin Islands. “Jeffrey Epstein understands you will be down in St. Thomas some over the holidays. Jeffrey requested I please pass along some phone numbers to you so the two of you can possibly get together,” an assistant to Epstein wrote in an email dated November 2012. In response to an inquiry from Fox News Digital on the criticism from Garcia and Massie, a spokesperson for the Department of Commerce framed their demands as a distraction. “Mr. Lutnick met Jeffrey Epstein in 2005 and had very limited interactions with him over the next 14 years,” the spokesperson said. “This is nothing more than a failing attempt by the legacy media to distract from the administration’s accomplishments, including securing trillions of dollars in investment, delivering historic trade deals and fighting for the American worker.” House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., did not respond to a request for comment on whether the committee would consider questioning Lutnick as a part of the committee’s ongoing probe of Epstein and his crimes.
Florida driver’s license tests now only given in English
English is now the only language in which people can take driver’s license tests in the Sunshine State. The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles announced last month that the change to English as the only language for the tests would start Feb. 6. “Previously, knowledge exams for most non-commercial driver license classifications were offered in multiple languages, while Commercial Learner’s Permit (CLP) and Commercial Driver License (CDL) knowledge exams were only available in English and Spanish,” the department explained in a Jan. 30 press release. “Under the updated policy, all driver license knowledge and skills testing will be conducted in English.” OVER 5,000 COLD-STUNNED IGUANAS REMOVED IN TWO DAYS DURING STATE’S RECORD FREEZE “To implement this change, FLHSMV has updated its driver license testing system statewide. Language translation services will no longer be permitted for knowledge or skills examinations, and any printed exams in languages other than English will be removed for use,” the department explained. Gov. Ron DeSantis hailed the move. DESANTIS CELEBRATES END OF ‘WITCH HUNT’ AFTER TRUMP DOJ REPORTEDLY DROPS HOPE FLORIDA FOUNDATION COMPLAINT “Good reform by @FLHSMV to require driver exams be conducted only in English. Need to be able to read the road signs!” the governor declared in a Jan. 31 post on X. Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, a Republican who launched a gubernatorial bid last month, also expressed support for the move. CONSERVATIVE FIREBRAND VOWS TO PURGE ‘RINOS’ IN BATTLE TO REPLACE RETIRING VERN BUCHANAN IN OPEN FLORIDA SEAT “Thank you to FLHSMV for taking a commonsense step to strengthen highway safety. Ensuring drivers can understand road signs, instructions, and safety commands in English helps keep everyone on our roads safer,” Collins wrote in a Jan. 30 post on X.
Labor Department orders lawyers to cut ties with ABA, slams group as ‘radical’ activist force
FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Labor’s top lawyer ordered staff on Monday to stop engaging with the American Bar Association in their official capacities, saying the organization partakes in liberal activism and that any federal participation would only boost its influence. Trump-appointed Solicitor Jonathan Berry wrote in an email that the hundreds of attorneys at the Department of Labor are not to use taxpayer funds to participate in any ABA events or use their government job titles at them, according to a copy of the email reviewed by Fox News Digital. “The ABA is strategically equivocal about its ideological stance,” Berry wrote. “Equivocal in that the ABA holds itself out as non-ideological at certain times, but takes decidedly radical ideological positions at others.” JUSTICE DEPARTMENT TELLS AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION IT WILL NO LONGER COMPLY WITH RATINGS FOR JUDICIAL NOMINEES His email marks the latest step in the Trump administration’s effort to weaken the ABA, the nation’s largest association of lawyers and other legal personnel. The Department of Justice implemented a similar policy last year and terminated more than $3 million in federal grants to ABA programs before a judge found that ending the funds was unconstitutional. The Federal Trade Commission likewise severed its ties with the ABA’s antitrust arm, saying it “promotes the business interests of Big Tech.” Republicans have long argued the ABA promotes Democrat-aligned viewpoints and that its institutional presence in the legal world is a disadvantage to conservatives. The ABA’s website touts that it is the “national voice of the legal profession” and showcases work that includes support for “LGBTQ+” initiatives, abortion access, stricter gun control measures, and diversity, equity and inclusion. The ABA has also taken a stance against President Donald Trump, condemning what its president described as the administration’s “wide-scale affronts to the rule of law.” The ABA wields enormous power, weighing in on nominations of federal judges, engaging in litigation and involving itself in the hiring processes across the legal industry. One arm of the ABA also handles law school accreditation. In a reversal of a decades-long practice, Attorney General Pam Bondi told the ABA last year that the DOJ would not give the association a heads up on judicial nominees before they are announced, stripping the ABA of the ability to rate the nominees in advance. DOJ OUTLINES 10 ‘WINS’ UNDER TRUMP, SAYS AGENCY RESTORED AFTER BIDEN ERA Berry wrote in his email to staff that the Labor Department lawyers’ participation in the ABA would only serve to endorse what he viewed as an institutional problem. “There is genuine benefit to our attorneys engaging with the employer bar in ABA programs, but the benefit genuinely feeds the problem too: Our participation in ‘neutral’ ABA events contributes to institutional stature the ABA leverages to advance radical goals as if they were ‘neutral,’” Berry wrote. “No more.” Fox News Digital reached out to the ABA for comment.
Ghislaine Maxwell pleads Fifth Amendment, dodges questions in House Oversight Epstein probe
The House Oversight Committee’s deposition of Ghislaine Maxwell ended less than an hour after it began on Monday morning, when the convicted accomplice of the late Jeffrey Epstein pleaded the Fifth Amendment. Maxwell appeared before lawmakers virtually for a closed-door interview in the House bipartisan probe into the federal government’s handling of Epstein’s case. She is currently serving out a 20-year sentence at a Texas prison. “As expected, Ghislaine Maxwell took the fifth and refused to answer any questions. This is obviously very disappointing,” House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., told reporters afterward. “We had many questions to ask about the crime she and Epstein committed, as well as questions about potential co-conspirators. We sincerely want to get to the truth for the American people and justice for the survivors.” NEW GHISLAINE MAXWELL MUGSHOT INCLUDED IN DOJ’S LATEST EPSTEIN FILES RELEASE Comer said Maxwell’s lawyer told the committee that she would only answer questions if she was granted clemency by President Donald Trump. Democrats on the panel, who spoke after Comer, accused Maxwell of trying to lobby for a pardon and demanded that Trump publicly rule out the possibility. “What we did get was another episode in her long-running campaign for clemency from President Trump, and President Trump could end that today,” said Rep. James Walkinshaw, D-Va. “He could rule out clemency for Ghislaine Maxwell, the monster. The question for all of us today is why hasn’t he done that?” Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., another Republican committee member who attended the deposition, said Maxwell gave no indication that Trump nor former President Bill Clinton were implicated in any wrongdoing related to Epstein. DEMOCRATS SAY CLINTONS’ AGREEMENT TO TESTIFY UNDERCUTS SUBPOENA PUSH, WON’T BRING NEW EPSTEIN ANSWERS The former British socialite was found guilty in December 2021 of being an accomplice in Epstein’s scheme to sexually traffic and exploit female minors. The DOJ said at the time of her sentencing that Maxwell “enticed and groomed minor girls to be abused in multiple ways.” Comer announced lawmakers would hear from Maxwell late last month during a meeting on holding former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress for refusing to appear for his Epstein probe. “We’ve been trying to get her in for a deposition. Our lawyers have been saying that she’s going to plead the Fifth, but we have nailed down a date, Feb. 9, where Ghislaine Maxwell will be deposed by this committee,” Comer said at the time. Contempt proceedings against the Clintons stalled, however, after they agreed via their attorneys to appear in person on Capitol Hill just days before the full House of Representatives was expected to vote on referring the pair to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for criminal charges. Comer’s team had been in a back-and-forth with Maxwell’s attorney for months trying to nail down a date for her to speak to committee lawyers. He agreed to delay her previous planned deposition in August after her lawyer asked him to wait until after the Supreme Court decided whether it would hear her appeal. The Supreme Court turned down Maxwell’s case in October. She and the Clintons’ depositions are part of the House Oversight Committee’s months-long probe into how the government handled Epstein’s case. Comer told reporters on Monday that five more depositions would happen in the coming weeks including former Victoria’s Secret CEO Les Wexner on Feb. 18, Hillary Clinton on Feb. 26, Bill Clinton on Feb. 27, Epstein accountant Richard Khan on March 11, and Epstein attorney Darren Indyke on March 19.