Sombre mood after a Kolkata rape and murder dampens Durga Puja celebrations
Kolkata, India: Tapas Pal has been making clay idols of various gods and goddesses for the past two decades at Kumartuli, a traditional potters’ hub in Kolkata in eastern India’s state of West Bengal. The 42-year-old, who makes six-metre (20ft) high idols from unfired clay, told Al Jazeera that he would not normally have any spare time in the two months leading up to Durga Puja, the biggest festival of the state, as he would be on deadline to deliver the idols to the festival organisers. But the situation this year is completely different, he says, with fewer orders and scaled-down budgets, as the residents of the city are in no mood for festivities after the brutal rape and murder of a 31-year-old woman doctor at the government-run RG Kar Hospital on August 9. “The festival offers [a] chunk of our annual business, and we expect high returns. But there is hardly any business this time due to the severe protests in the state,” and his business is down two-thirds, he said. Durga Puja is a 10-day worship of the Hindu goddess Durga to celebrate her victory over a shape-shifting demon and embodies joy. Durga is one of the most powerful goddesses in Hinduism. She represents woman power and her legend is centered around her ability to vanquish evil. In 2021, Durga Puja in Kolkata was added to UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list. In the lead-up to the festival, artisans spend months making idols of Durga – shown as a beautiful woman riding a lion or a tiger, with many arms each of which is carrying a weapon used to destroy evil. The idols, often depicting some of this battle, are intricately hand-painted, beautifully dressed in clothes, bejewelled and displayed at the pandals. The state comes to a standstill in the days leading up to the festivities, which are scheduled to start on October 9 this year. Schools and offices shut down and people pandal hop – a tradition in which people visit multiple venues where the idols are housed to offer prayers and eat prasad – as neighbourhoods compete for the biggest, fanciest idols and decorations. Last year, state Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee pegged the festival economy to be about 840 billion rupees ($10bn). Idol maker Tapas Pal in Kolkata, India, says organisers have scaled back orders [Gurvinder Singh/Al Jazeera] But it’s not clear if the numbers this year would come even close to that as people are still in shock after a trainee doctor’s dead body bearing multiple injuries was found at the government hospital. Hospital authorities initially told her parents that she had died by suicide. But an autopsy revealed she had been raped and murdered. The police have since arrested Sanjoy Roy, a civic volunteer at the hospital who had unrestricted access to the ward where the doctor worked, and four others including the former principal of the college, Dr Sandeep Ghosh, and a police officer. The brutality of the crime and allegations of apathy by the state administration have shocked citizens who have taken to the streets in protest especially as the city prided itself in being safe for women. Activists say the doctor’s rape and murder showed how women in India continue to face sexual violence despite tougher laws introduced after the 2012 gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a bus in New Delhi, the national capital. Crimes against women in India rose 4 percent in 2022 from the previous year, data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), released late last year, showed. So far, Banerjee’s request urging people to return to the festivities has failed to yield any results. On the contrary, the locals have emotionally united with the victim’s family after the father broke down in a TV interview, saying that no one would want to celebrate the festival this year, and that whoever does, will not celebrate with happiness. The sombre mood has affected several hundred artisans and entrepreneurs who depend on the festival for their livelihood. The brutality of the crime and allegations of apathy by the state administration have shocked citizens who have taken to the streets in protest [File: Sahiba Chawdhary/Reuters] Business ‘ruined’ Artisans say the incident could not have come at a worse time as several organisers place orders for idols in the second or third week of August every year and have either scaled those back or paused altogether. “The incident is unfortunate and condemnable. We demand strict punishment for the perpetrators of the crime and justice for the victim’s family. But the timing badly coincided with our peak season that has completely ruined our business, this year,” Subhendu Pal, 52, an idol maker at Kumartuli, told Al Jazeera. Subhendu Porel, 35, who makes decorative polystyrene items for pandals, said that business had more than halved. “There is hardly any enthusiasm among the people for the festival. We usually go to other states during this season to make the decorative items as there is a huge demand for us. But this time, people from other states have not come to take us for their work fearing [the] deteriorating law and order situation here. It seems that the festival is just a formality this year and nothing else,” Porel said. Prabhakar Porel, 32, an artisan who designs the bamboo structures used to hold up the pandals, said: “We make tents that go up to the height of 60ft [18 metres], but the organisers are scaling down orders to 30ft [nine metres] and even less as budget constraints are an issue this time. Sponsors are not willing to spend whole-heartedly sensing the dull mood in the state,” he said. State grants declined In West Bengal, about 43,000 Durga Pujas are held by community clubs every year, 3,000 of which are held in Kolkata alone. The state government offers 70,000 rupees ($840) to the clubs to organise the festival every year, which was increased to 85,000 rupees ($1,013) this year. But several
‘Hypocrisy at its worst’: India hits back at Pakistan PM over Kashmir statement at UN General Assemby
The First Secretary, Permanent Mission of India to the UN, Bhavika Mangalanandan on Friday (local time) called out Pakistan’s ‘hypocrisy’ for raking up Kashmir and questioning the Jammu and Kashmir election in India’s Right to Replyat the ongoing 79th Session of the UNGA
NC gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson hospitalized following ‘incident’ at campaign event
North Carolina gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson was hospitalized following an “incident” at a campaign event on Friday evening, Fox News Digital has confirmed. It happened while Robinson was attending the Mayberry Truck Show in Mt. Airy, North Carolina. “Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson was treated at Northern Regional Hospital for second-degree burns. He is in good spirits, appreciates the outpouring of well wishes, and is excited to return to the campaign trail as scheduled first thing tomorrow morning,” Mike Lonergan, Robinson’s campaign communications director told Fox News Digital. It’s unclear exactly how Robinson was burned. NC GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE MARK ROBINSON HIRES TRUMP-FRIENDLY LAWYER TO INVESTIGATE PORN WEBSITE ALLEGATIONS Robinson, the current Republican lieutenant governor running against Democratic state Attorney General Josh Stein to replace Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper in the battleground state, was recently accused of making controversial comments on a porn website. Robinson denies the allegations. He hired an attorney who previously worked for former President Trump. The Binnall Law Group from northern Virginia is investigating claims raised in a CNN report published earlier this week. “Normally, something like this, an investigation, you know, run by the Department of Justice and the FBI would take months or years,” Binnall previously told Fox News Digital. “We can’t do that in this case because the voters need an answer before the election. And so we are going to move very quickly and still give them a very fulsome report.” “He absolutely denies saying any of the things that are in the CNN piece,” Binnall said of Robinson. “What my investigation is going to do is we are going to follow the facts. We are going to investigate this strenuously. We are going to leave no stone unturned. We’re going to be very, very aggressive. And the citizens of North Carolina deserve nothing less than a full investigation of this matter, which is what we are going to do.” BATTLEGROUND STATE REPUBLICAN DENIES INVOLVEMENT IN PORN SCANDAL, DISMISSES IT AS ‘TABLOID TRASH’ The CNN report surfaced comments Robinson allegedly made more than a decade ago on a porn site messaging board, including describing himself as a “black NAZI;” saying he enjoyed transgender pornography; saying that he preferred Hitler to then-President Barack Obama in 2012; and criticizing the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. as “worse than a maggot.” Robinson has denied saying those words, but Republicans have begun to distance themselves from the candidate, who, if elected, would be North Carolina’s first Black governor. Trump did not mention Robinson, who he endorsed before the March primary and has spoken at other Trump events, during the Republican presidential nominee’s campaign rally in Wilmington, North Carolina, Saturday. “The allegations against me are outright lies, fabricated to distract voters from Josh Stein’s disastrous record,” Robinson previously said in a statement to Fox News Digital regarding the investigation. “The great people of North Carolina deserve the truth, and I am fully committed to ensuring they get it with complete transparency.” Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.
J-K: Encounter breaks out between security forces, terrorists in Kulgam
An encounter has broken out between security forces and terrorists in the Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir.
VP Harris outlines ‘orderly and secure’ immigration plan, rips Trump in first border stop since nomination
DOUGLAS, Ariz. — Vice President Harris made her first appearance Friday at the southern border since becoming the Democratic nominee for president, and delivered a speech pledging to crack down on illegal immigration while blasting former President Trump. “Those who cross our borders unlawfully will be apprehended and removed and barred from reentering for five years,” Harris told an enthusiastic crowd inside the gymnasium of the Cochise County College Douglas Campus located roughly two miles from the southern border. “We will pursue more severe criminal charges against repeat violators and if someone does not make an asylum request at a legal point of entry and instead crosses our border unlawfully, they will be barred from receiving asylum. While we understand that many people are desperate to migrate to the United States. Our system must be orderly and secure.” HARRIS VISITS CRUCIAL BORDER STATE AS IMMIGRATION RECORD SPARKS SCRUTINY: A TIMELINE Harris, who touted her record as a border state attorney general, claimed that Trump “tanked” the “strongest border security bill we have seen in decades” earlier this year and argued that if it were law today, it would be producing “results” for the country. “It is my pledge to you that as President of the United States I will bring it back up and proudly sign it into law,” she said. Harris also pledged to “understand how solutions get formed” and to “reach across the aisle and I will embrace common sense approaches and new techniques to get the job done.” “Because I know transnational gangs coming across the border, trafficking in guns, drugs and human beings could[n’t] care less who somebody voted for in the last election,” she said. Harris added, “I will surge support to law enforcement agencies on the front lines, more personnel, more training and more technology, including 100 new inspection systems that can detect fentanyl hidden in vehicles.” Fentanyl was a common message in Harris’ speech, which she delivered after being introduced by Theresa Guerrero, whose son, Jacob, was killed by fentanyl poisoning at age 31. “We will make sure that our ports of entry, including airports and seaports, have additional state-of-the-art technology to detect fentanyl and the chemical tools used to make it,” Harris said. “I will also double the resources for the Department of Justice to extradite and prosecute transnational criminal organizations and the cartels.” Harris added, “The United States is a sovereign nation, and I believe we have a duty to set rules at our border and to enforce them. And I take that responsibility very seriously. We are also a nation of immigrants. The United States has been enriched by generations of people who have come from every corner of the world to contribute to our country and to become part of the American story.” MARK CUBAN SPARS WITH RILEY GAINES OVER HARRIS’ HANDLING OF THE BORDER CRISIS Harris claimed during her speech that Trump did “nothing” to fix our “broken immigration” system during his four years as president. “He did not solve the shortage of immigration judges,” Harris said. “He did not solve the shortage of border agents. He did not create lawful pathways into our nation. He did nothing to address an outdated asylum system and did not work with other governments in our hemisphere to deal with what clearly is also a regional challenge. “He separated families. He ripped toddlers out of their mothers arms, put children in cages, and tried to end protections for Dreamers. He made the challenges at the border worse. And he is still. And he is still fanning the flames of fear and division. And let me be clear, that is not the work of a leader. That is not the work of a leader. And that is, in fact, I think we all believe an abdication of leadership.” Harris signaled that she will find a pathway to citizenship for “Dreamers” who she said are “American in every way.” Harris told the crowd she will work with Democrats and Republicans to fix the border issue and said she rejects the “false choice” between securing the border and “creating a system of immigration that is safe, orderly, and humane.” “We can, and we must do both. We must do both.” Shortly before the speech, Harris walked the southern border with two border patrol officials who the White House says briefed her on “their efforts to combat traffickers and transnational criminal organizations.” Following that briefing, Harris traveled by motorcade to the Raul H. Castro Port of Entry in Douglas where she was briefed on efforts to stem the flow of fentanyl at the border. Harris’ speech outlining how she will tackle illegal immigration comes under the backdrop of millions of illegal immigrants overwhelming the southern border during her tenure as vice president, which has sparked frequent criticism from Trump, Republicans, and the Border Patrol union. “After years of not just ignoring the problem, but helping create it, Vice President Kamala is finally headed down to the border,” the National Border Patrol Council said in a statement leading up to Harris’ visit. “This is nothing more than for her to check the box, but what it is in reality, is a slap in the face towards the men and women that put their lives on the line every day, and also a slap in the face to the American public. Where has she been?” BORDER-DISTRICT REPUBLICANS HAMMER HARRIS, DEMAND ‘AN APOLOGY’ OVER ‘PHOTO OP’ CAMPAIGN STOP IN ARIZONA Fox News Digital reported earlier this year that at least 7.2 million illegal immigrants entered the United States under President Biden, an amount greater than the populations of 36 states. Harris faced criticism just hours before her speech after Immigration and Customs Enforcement released data showing that tens of thousands of illegal immigrants with sex offenses and homicide convictions are currently loose on the streets in the U.S. Fox News polling released this week showed Trump with a 3 point lead in Arizona after Harris was in
White House mum amid outrage over data showing how many illegal immigrant criminals are free in US
The White House has yet to comment on new data released to lawmakers showing the number of illegal immigrants with convictions for sex offenses and homicide convictions and who are not in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention. The agency provided data to Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, about national data for illegal immigrants with criminal charges or convictions. The data, as of July 2024, is broken down by those in detention, and those who are not in detention — known as the non-detained docket. The non-detained docket includes noncitizens who have final orders of removal or are going through removal proceedings, but are not detained in ICE custody. There are currently more than 7.4 million people on that docket, up from around 3.7 million when former President Trump left office. TENS OF THOUSANDS OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS WITH SEXUAL ASSAULT, MURDER CONVICTIONS ROAMING US STREETS: ICE DATA The data says that, among those not in detention, there are currently 425,431 convicted criminals and 222,141 with pending criminal charges. The data does not reveal how many of those criminals are recent arrivals. For comparison, in August 2016, towards the end of the Obama administration, ICE said there were about 2.2 million noncitizens on the non-detained docket and about 368,574 were convicted criminals. In the latest data, the convicted criminals include 62,231 convicted of assault, 14,301 convicted of burglary, 56,533 with drug convictions and 13,099 convicted of homicide. An additional 2,521 have kidnapping convictions and 15,811 have sexual assault convictions. There are an additional 1,845 with pending homicide charges, 42,915 with assault charges, 3,266 with burglary charges and 4,250 with assault charges. The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the data and whether it had been aware of the numbers. Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign also did not comment — Harris is currently at the southern border in Arizona. Fox News Digital has also reached out to the Department of Homeland Security. The news sparked outrage from Republicans, who tied the numbers to the policies of the Biden administration and those sanctuary jurisdictions who refuse to co-operate with ICE. ‘POLITICAL STUNT’: CRITICS DISMISS HARRIS’ EXPECTED ARIZONA BORDER VISIT AS IMMIGRATION REMAINS TOP ISSUE Rep. Tony Gonzalez, R-Texas, called the data “beyond disturbing” and said “it should be a wake-up call for the Biden-Harris administration and cities across the country that hide behind sanctuary policies.” “It’s time for Washington to move past rhetoric and toward results. Americans deserve to feel safe in their communities. As an Appropriator, I will do everything in my power to ensure ICE has the resources necessary to deport noncitizens with a criminal record—this must be a priority,” he said in a statement. “The Biden-Harris administration also plays a part in cleaning up the mess their failed policies have created. They have the ear of sanctuary city mayors—it’s time to encourage them to reverse course and put the safety of American citizens first.” Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green said the release of illegal immigrants into the U.S. “defies all common sense.” “This is madness. It is something no civilized, well-functioning society should tolerate,” he said. In the letter to Gonzalez, ICE took aim at so-called “sanctuary” cities, which refuse to cooperate with federal law enforcement in deporting illegal immigrant criminals. “ICE recognizes that some jurisdictions are concerned that cooperating with federal immigration officials will erode trust with immigrant communities and make it harder for local law enforcement to serve those populations. However, ‘sanctuary’ policies can end up shielding dangerous criminals, who often victimize those same communities,” it said. It also stressed DHS’ efforts to remove illegal immigrants: “From mid-May 2023 through the end of July 2024, DHS removed or returned more than 893,600 individuals, including more than 138,300 individuals in family units. The majority of all individuals encountered at the Southwest Border over the past three years have been removed, returned, or expelled.” CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS The Biden administration has prioritized the removal of public safety and national security threats in narrowed priorities it released in 2021, but critics have linked those priorities with a drop in ICE removals. Republicans have blamed the border crisis on the policies of the administration, including rolling back Trump policies that limited “catch and release.” The administration has said it needs more funding and reforms from Congress, including via a bipartisan Senate bill introduced this year. That bill would increase the number of ICE detention beds, but critics of the administration have pointed to numbers showing not all beds are being filled currently. Asked about the increase in the non-detained docket this summer, a White House spokesperson pointed to that bill. “Congressional Republicans had an opportunity to support the fairest and toughest set of reforms in decades, and they chose to put partisan political interests ahead of fixing our immigration system and securing our borders,” the spokesperson said. “Congressional Republicans have proven that they do not care about securing our border because, frankly, if they did, they would have supported the bipartisan agreement.” The data’s release comes as Harris visits the southern border in Arizona, as she seeks to present herself as tougher on the border than former President Trump, who she blames for the border bill not passing. “Donald Trump tanked a bill to improve border security—just so he can win this election,” she said on Friday. “As I have shown throughout my career, I won’t back down from my plan to make our border more secure.” Fox News’ Bill Melugin contributed to this report.
Trump blames Harris amid data showing tens of thousands criminal migrants in US: ‘Deliberately erased’ border
Former President Trump called the U.S. a “dumping ground” Friday, hours after newly released data revealed that tens of thousands of illegal immigrants with sex offenses and homicide convictions are roaming American streets. The data from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) says that, among those not in detention, there are 425,431 convicted criminals and 222,141 with pending criminal charges. The figures include 62,231 people convicted of assault, 14,301 convicted of burglary, 56,533 with drug convictions and 13,099 convicted of homicide. An additional 2,521 have kidnapping convictions and 15,811 have sexual assault convictions. ICE NON-DETAINED DOCKET EXPLODES TO 7.4M CASES “We’re like a dumping ground,” Trump told supporters during a campaign event in Walker, Michigan, on the same day Vice President Harris was scheduled to visit the southern border. “Non-citizens, convicted criminals from all over the world are right now at-large in the United States of America.” ICE blamed the figures on “sanctuary” cities, which refuse to cooperate with federal law enforcement in deporting illegal immigrant criminals. “ICE recognizes that some jurisdictions are concerned that cooperating with federal immigration officials will erode trust with immigrant communities and make it harder for local law enforcement to serve those populations. However, ‘sanctuary’ policies can end up shielding dangerous criminals, who often victimize those same communities,” the agency said. ‘POLITICAL STUNT’: CRITICS DISMISS HARRIS’ EXPECTED ARIZONA BORDER VISIT AS IMMIGRATION REMAINS TOP ISSUE The Biden administration has come under fire for releasing many migrants into the U.S. interior, resulting in a sharp drop in deportations. Trump blamed Harris, who Republicans argue is weak on border security and who was slated to visit the southern border in Arizona on Friday, saying she ignored the problem despite migrant crime becoming a top issue among voters. “It’s a killing machine, and they’re killing people all over our country. And Kamala said, she said, ‘oh, well, those people really don’t kill like our criminals,’” Trump said. “No, no. These people make our criminals look like nice people. And I’ve been saying this from the beginning of the Harris Biden disaster.” “Four years ago, Kamala Harris inherited the most secure border in U.S. history,” he added. “And as borders are, she then set the all-time record for illegal immigration into our country. Every single year. And many of these people were stone-cold criminals and murderers. She willfully and deliberately erased her own nation’s borders.” The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
The Man In Black: Johnny Cash statue unveiled in the Capitol
Statues of Presidents – ranging from George Washington to Ronald Reagan – stand in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda. The walls of the Capitol complex are lined with inventors such as Thomas Edison of Ohio and Utah’s Philo Farnsworth – who is credited with helping create television. There are statues of American heroes, ranging from Helen Keller to Amelia Earhart to astronaut Jack Swigart. IN CONGRESS – LIKE BASEBALL – THERE’S ALWAYS NEXT YEAR Religious figures pop up, including Junipero Sera from California and Father Damien of Hawaii. Civil rights figures such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks are well represented. There are even writers. Will Rogers of Oklahoma and Willa Cather of Nebraska. But there were no musicians. Until now. He’s known simply as the Man in Black. “Johnny Cash walked the line. It wasn’t a straight line. Much more like the Arkansas River. Jagged. But always moving forward,” said Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, R-Ark., at a recent dedication ceremony. Perhaps this is an example of Congress moving forward, stretching out into the arts and pop culture. “Some may ask the question, ‘Why would a musician have a statue here in the halls of the great American republic?’” queried House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. “And the answer is actually pretty simple. America is about more than law and politics.” Cash’s statue is the latest addition to the Capitol collection. Each state receives two statutes on Capitol Hill. Individual states determine who should represent them. The Arkansas state legislature voted in 2019 to swap out both of its statues. Earlier this year, officials removed the statue of Uriah Rose. He was a Confederate sympathizer and founder of the Rose Law Firm in Little Rock – associated with Hillary Clinton and other Clinton Administration figures. In exchange, they installed a statue of civil rights activist Daisy Bates. Johnny Cash’s statue takes the place of the late Sen. James Clarke, D-Ark., a segregationist. The bronze statue practically greets you with the singer’s golden-throated, signature introduction: “Hello. I’m Johnny Cash.” The statue features the singer clasping a Bible in his left hand. A Martin D-35 acoustic guitar is slung across Cash’s back, the neck pointed downward. He’s attired in a tuxedo shirt with ruffles. A box-back coat hangs around him like a cape. And, of course, there are cowboy boots. Moments after they yanked the cloth off the statue to reveal Cash, his sister, Joanne Cash, approached it. Now blind, Joanne spent several moments touching and feeling the contours of the bronzed version of her brother – now memorialized for the ages. SHOW VOTE: REPUBLICANS MAKE POLITICAL STATEMENT IN GOING AGAINST SPEAKER JOHNSON The statue epitomized the dichotomy of Cash. A Zen-like quality. Yin and yang. Light and dark. “He was open about straddling the border between clean cut Johnny and beaten down Cash,” said Sanders. “Johnny is the nice one. Cash causes all the trouble.” The governor referenced Cash recording his albums at Folsom State Prison and San Quentin. “It’s not hard to imagine that he, too, looked out at that prison crowd and saw a version of himself staring back,” said Sanders. She added that Cash “wrote that he felt like a walking vision of death.” Johnson observed that besides Cash, “no one else would be singing at Folsom Prison.” Johnny Cash sang about farmers washed out by floodwaters in “Five Feet High and Rising.” Those songs seemed to be the most important in his repertoire, as he focused on the “forgotten men and women,” said Johnson. Those were some of the most important songs in Cash’s repertoire. Besides his “Man in Black” stage persona, darkness perpetually cloaked Johnny Cash. That rendered ruinous lyrics which would have bordered on hyperbole had they not been so resonant. “I taught the weeping willow how to cry,” wrote Cash in Big River. “I will let you down. I will make you hurt,” concedes Cash in Hurt. “I fell into a burning ring of fire,” sings Cash in one of his best-known songs. “And it burns, burns, burns.” SENATE TO SWEAR IN MENENDEZ SUCCESSOR FOLLOWING NJ LAWMAKER’S CONVICTION, RESIGNATION Simple. Yet mercilessly true. “He was a Shakespeare of the South,” said Cash’s daughter and singer Rosanne Cash. “Reams and reams of poetry spilled from him. He was a flawed but profoundly humble, kind and compassionate man with a magnificent generosity of spirit.” His daughter said that Cash “loved those who failed and made terrible mistakes, but who admitted to their God and themselves their failings because he himself knew the darkness he wrestled with his whole life.” But despite his internal demons, Cash’s daughter said she learned a special lesson from her father. “He said to us children many times in moments of conflict or anger, ‘Children, you can choose love or hate. I choose love,’” said Rosanne. In fact, those words are inscribed on the concrete base of the statue for all to read. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said Cash inspired generations of artists. He said that long before Jay-Z dropped the Black Album or Black Sabbath practically created the heavy metal genre, the Man in Black seized ownership of the hue for his own. “Snoop Doggy Dogg put it a different way. He called Johnny Cash ‘a real American gangster,’” said Jeffries, drawing laughter. “That’s a compliment from Snoop Doggy Dogg.” Even lawmakers recite Cash’s lyrics. “’I can actually see the gravel in his gut and the spit in his eye,’” said Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark., referencing Cash’s country hit A Boy Named Sue. “I loved that song. I loved it so much that I committed to memory its lyrics.” And while many people who visit Congress have never heard of some of the people honored with Capitol statues, everyone has heard Johnny Cash. “You’ll hear Johnny Cash on classic country. You’ll hear Johnny Cash on classic rock. You’ll hear Johnny Cash on gospel,” said Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Ark. “It’s just a testament to his ability to transcend those
Harris-Trump showdown: New poll indicates who has edge in battle for crucial electoral vote
A new poll in the race for a crucial electoral vote that could potentially determine whether Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Trump wins the 2024 White House race suggests that Harris holds a sizable lead. Harris stands at 53% support, and Trump at 42% among likely voters in Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District, according to a new CNN poll conducted Sept. 20 to 25 and released on Friday. Nebraska and Maine are the only two states in the nation that divide their electoral votes by congressional district. A competitive district in each of the states could help decide whether Harris or Trump succeeds President Biden in the White House. CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLING IN THE 2024 ELECTION Nebraska is solidly red in presidential elections. Trump carried the state by 25 points in his 2016 White House victory and by 19 points in his 2020 re-election defeat. But Nebraska’s 2nd District, an urban-suburban area anchored by the city of Omaha, has a history of being competitive. WHAT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS SHOW In 2008, then-Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama narrowly won the district, capturing its single electoral vote. In 2012, GOP nominee Mitt Romney won the district by single digits. Trump narrowly carried the district in 2016, but Biden won it four years ago. The poll indicates Harris grabbing the support of 96% of Democrats, 61% of independents and even 10% support among Republicans. According to the survey, Harris also holds a 24-point lead among female voters, while Trump’s advantage among men is just five points. Six in ten of those questioned in the poll said that Nebraska should keep its current system of rewarding electoral votes in a presidential election, with 40% saying it should switch to the system employed in 48 states, where the statewide winner grabs all the electoral votes. Trump and national Republicans made a full-court press in recent weeks to urge Nebraska Republican lawmakers to change the law and switch to a winner-take-all system, but their lobbying effort fell short. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Supreme Court rejects RFK Jr’s appeal to be put back on the New York election ballot
The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a bid by independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to restore his name to New York’s election ballot. The appeal was denied by the country’s highest court without comment and without any noted dissents. Kennedy has been trying to get his name off ballots in key battleground states since he suspended his campaign in August and endorsed former President Trump. The candidate has simultaneously tried to stay on the ballot in states like New York, where his presence is unlikely to make a difference in the battle between Trump and Vice President Harris. NEW YORK MAG PUTS REPORTER OLIVIA NUZZI ON LEAVE FOR ALLEGED ‘PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP’ WITH RFK JR. When he suspended his campaign, Kennedy said he planned to keep his name on the ballot in safe Democratic and Republican states, but didn’t want to be a spoiler in the battleground states. RFK, JR.: WE’RE TRYING TO GET OFF THE BALLOT IN ALL THE STATES I MIGHT BE A SPOILER “In about 10 battleground states where my presence would be a spoiler, I’m going to remove my name, and I’ve already started that process and urge voters not to vote for me,” Kennedy said. “Our polling consistently showed by staying on the ballot in the battleground states, I would likely hand the election over to the Democrats, with whom I disagree on the most existential issues.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Since suspending his campaign, Kennedy backed former Trump’s White House bid. And since Kennedy’s endorsement, Trump added him and former Democrat Tulsi Gabbard to his transition team.