Weather Update: IMD predicts extremely heavy rain in this state, light to moderate rain in these states; check forecast
Meanwhile, on September 9, a red alert was issued for Odisha for heavy to extremely heavy rainfall in several Odisha districts given the further intensification of the depression into a deep depression.
House honoring 13 US service members killed in 2021 Abbey Gate bombing during Afghanistan withdrawal
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. will host a Gold Medal ceremony for the 13 U.S. service members killed at Abbey Gate during the Afghanistan withdrawal. Johnson is expected to posthumously present the Gold Medal, Congress’ highest honor, to the 13 fallen Americans who were killed during the August 2021 ISIS-K suicide bombing at the Kabul Airport. The attack also left roughly 170 Afghans dead. Tuesday’s ceremony comes two days after Rep. Mike McCaul, the Republican chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, released a scathing 350-page report that took a fine-toothed comb to the military’s 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal and highlighted areas of serious mismanagement. The Republican-led report opens by harkening back to President Biden’s urgency to withdraw from the Vietnam War as a senator in the 1970s. That, along with the Afghanistan withdrawal, demonstrates a “pattern of callous foreign policy positions and readiness to abandon strategic partners,” according to the report. GOLD STAR FAMILIES SLAM KAMALA HARRIS FOR ‘PLAYING POLITICS’ OVER TRUMP’S VISIT TO ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY The report also disputed Biden’s assertion that his hands were tied to the Doha agreement former President Trump had made with the Taliban establishing a deadline for U.S. withdrawal for the summer of 2021, and it revealed how state officials had no plan for getting Americans and allies out while there were still troops there to protect them. On the three-year anniversary of the attack, Trump joined the families of the slain 13 U.S. service members at Arlington National Cemetery. Biden and Vice President Harris were absent, and though they released statements that day, did not publicly name the 13 fallen. Harris later accused Trump of playing politics with the visit, but in a series of short videos, eight families said they had invited Trump, and bitterly blasted the Biden-Harris administration over the pullout that left 13 U.S. service members dead three years ago. The vice president criticized Trump’s team for taking photographs and videos at a wreath-laying ceremony event. The Army said that an Arlington National Cemetery official was “abruptly pushed aside” while making sure that Trump’s team was “made aware of federal laws, Army regulations and DoD policies, which clearly prohibit political activities on cemetery grounds.” The Gold Star families who lost loved ones in the botched Afghanistan withdrawal blasted Harris over her attack on Trump’s visit paying respect to the fallen. Fox News’ Morgan Phillips, Nicholas Kalman and Andrea Vacchiano contributed to this report.
How a lone Nebraska district could decide the presidential election
A single congressional district in the state of Nebraska could wind up playing a critical role in deciding the outcome of this year’s presidential election. “It could decide who the eventual winner will be,” Jimmy Keady, president of JLK Political Strategies, a national Republican consulting firm, told Fox News Digital of Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District. That district, which encompasses Omaha and the Council Bluffs metropolitan area, could play an outsized role in determining the next president thanks to Nebraska’s unique way of dividing up its Electoral College votes. Unlike most states that have winner-take-all systems, Nebraska awards one Electoral College vote to the candidate who wins each of its three congressional districts, while the winner of the state overall receives the remaining two votes. Nebraska has long been forgotten about in presidential politics thanks to its longtime solidly red disposition, making it a rarely talked about location on a map full of critical swing states. TEXAS GOV. GREG ABBOTT’S DEBATE ADVICE FOR TRUMP: ‘LET HARRIS SPEAK’ However, that red reputation does not always hold true in the 2nd Congressional District, which has swung back and forth in recent elections. President Biden took the district and its one electoral vote in 2020, while former President Donald Trump emerged with a victory in the district in 2016. Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, won the district during his 2012 bid for president, but former President Barack Obama captured the electoral vote in 2008. The Second Congressional District’s lone vote has never been the deciding factor in an election, but in a year in which the presidential race looks as close as ever, it could end up playing a decisive role. TRUMP AND HARRIS ON COLLISION COURSE AS 2024 CAMPAIGN ENTERS FINAL STRETCH “With swing states like Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin continuing to be labeled as tossups and a potential 269-269 Electoral College, Republicans should prioritize securing this seat that could get them the necessary 270,” Keady said. Though such a scenario remains unlikely, a look at the election map shows a path to the Omaha area’s potential deciding role. If Vice President Kamala Harris were to win the “Blue Wall” swing states of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, while former President Donald Trump secures all the other swing states of Nevada, Arizona, Georgia and North Carolina, as well as a swing district in the similarly positioned state of Maine, the Electoral College vote would stand at 269-268 for Harris. A Harris win in the district gets her to the needed 270 and an election victory, while Trump taking the district would result in a 269-269 tie and send an already dramatic election to the House of Representatives. Playing such a role might just be fitting for the district, which is one of only seven in the country, the Cook Political Report gives a Partisan Voting Index Score of “EVEN,” meaning the district traditionally votes in line with the national electorate. That fact will not be lost on Republicans, Keady argued. “With the Democrats propping up a nominee that has not earned a single vote on the national stage, Republicans have the opportunity to make a play to win this seat for President Trump,” Keady said. “By staying focused on kitchen table issues that move voters to the right – the economy, illegal immigration, and public safety – Republicans have a good shot at picking up this seat and securing the presidency.”
Trump-Harris debate: Sen Rick Scott identifies ‘biggest thing’ that can help former president
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., revealed the “biggest thing” he believes can help former President Donald Trump in his debate against Vice President Kamala Harris in Philadelphia. During Tuesday night’s debate in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, Scott said that “the best thing Trump can get her to do is if she could talk 99% of the time.” “It’ll be interesting to see which Kamala Harris shows up,” Scott told Fox News Digital. “The Harris that has been part of the Biden administration that has opened the border, ruined the economy and … stopped supporting Israel and allowed Iran to have all the weapons, or is it a new Harris that, you know, that believes the border ought to be secure, and we ought to get inflation under control by allowing free markets to work … allowing oil and gas production in this country so we can get the gas prices down. So it’ll be interesting to see which Harris shows up.” “I think the biggest thing is make sure that Harris talks,” Scott, a Trump 2024 campaign surrogate, said. “When she talks, no one, almost nobody agrees with her – maybe some socialists would. So I think the biggest thing is for her to talk about her ideas, whether it’s to talk about the border, talk about the economy, talk about foreign policy … there is no logic to her thought process.” “When she talks about price controls, that just means product shortages,” the senator said during a phone interview Monday morning. “When she talks about the border, people say, ‘Well, why didn’t she do it now?’ And because everything she says she’s going to do, I mean, I think the first reaction everybody has is ‘Well, why didn’t you do it?’” HARRIS AND TRUMP FACE OFF IN HISTORIC DEBATE, EXPERTS POINT TO ‘HIGH, HIGH STAKES’ Scott said ABC News moderators should ask Harris during the debate if she will apologize to the families of the 13 U.S. service members killed in the August 2021 suicide bombing at Abbey Gate during the Afghanistan withdrawal. He also said the moderators should ask what Harris has to say to the families in this country who “can’t afford grocery prices and gas prices and rent because of the inflation she and Joe Biden caused.” Scott, who sat next to Harris for two years on the Senate Homeland Security Committee, said he noticed during that time that she “wasn’t serious about any policy issues,” but “was serious about getting on television.” After plenty of debate over the debate, both camps agreed to adhere to the same rules that governed the Biden-Trump debate. The most contentious rule – the microphones will once again be muted during an opponent’s responses, which pundits see as a victory for Trump. As with the June debate hosted by CNN in Atlanta, there will be no studio audience. The moderators, ABC News’ David Muir and Linsey Davis, will be the only ones asking questions, according to the rules. When asked about how the Republican nominee should appeal to women during the debate amid recent polling indicating Harris has an advantage over Trump when it comes to female voters, Scott said Trump should talk about important issues like the economy, education and keeping people safe, which he argues “resonates with all men and all women.” HERE’S WHAT TRUMP ALLIES SAY THE FORMER PRESIDENT SHOULD DO IN HIS DEBATE WITH HARRIS “I think letting men playing women’s sports resonates to women, but I think it also resonates to men,” Scott said. “And I think – just make sure Harris talks about what she believes in, and I think it turns people off.” Fox News Digital also asked whether Trump should mention during the debate a piece of legislation called the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which aims to require states to obtain proof of citizenship – in person – when registering an individual to vote and require states to remove noncitizens from existing voter rolls. Some Republicans, including Scott, have pushed for the SAVE Act to be attached to a spending bill extension to avoid a government shutdown at the end of the fiscal year. “Do you think specifically Trump should mention the SAVE act and the concern about illegal immigrants, noncitizens voting in this upcoming election?” Fox News Digital asked. “Yes,” Scott said. “As I travel around Florida because I’m up this year, one of the things that comes up in every talk is, you know, are they going to steal the election. So I think it’s important to people.” “So I’m hopeful, hopefully it will pass the House,” Scott said of the bill. “And then, you know, unless Schumer wants to shut down government, he’ll pass it out of the Senate.” Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
Biden-Harris border crisis: Victims of illegal immigrant crime testify in House hearing
A House hearing on the Biden-Harris border crisis on Tuesday heard testimony from victims of crimes stemming from illegal immigration, including the mother of Jocelyn Nungaray, a 12-year-old girl found strangled to death in Texas in June allegedly by two Venezuelan illegal immigrants. House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, told Fox News that the hearing will highlight the “real cost” of illegal immigration in communities across America and the “untold numbers of families who suffered” due to the Biden-Harris administration’s border policies. “The cost to education systems, cost of health care systems, and the personal loss families have suffered because of the Biden administration, we just now have an open border,” Jordan said. “And under the Biden-Harris administration.” Jordan said “moms who lost a loved one because of some violent crime by an illegal migrant” will share their perspectives on the cost of an open border, adding that the Biden-Harris administration “let in 10 million people in three and a half years, 99 on the terrorist watch list.” This is a developing story; check back for updates.
Flashback: DA Harris’ plan to prosecute drug dealers starting on their 3rd offense shot down by police
Years before Vice President Kamala Harris ascended to the top of the Democratic presidential ticket, she promoted a third-strike crime policy for drug dealers as San Francisco’s district attorney that was promptly shut down by law enforcement for being too easy on narcotics peddlers. Harris served as San Francisco’s DA from 2004 to 2011, when she was then elected attorney general of California. In her second year in office as the Golden City’s district attorney, Harris proposed a drug enforcement policy that would have prosecuted drug dealers upon their third arrest. Under the proposal, dubbed “Operation Safe Streets,” police in the city would have detained and released drug dealers two times before finally charging them upon their third arrest. The San Francisco Police Department, however, refused to take part in the plan, detailing in a letter to Harris that such a proposal would likely allow criminals back on the streets to re-offend immediately after being detained. “This proposal asks us not to arrest, but instead detain and release observed narcotics sales suspects pursuant to Penal Code Section 849(b) P.C. When the same suspect is arrested the third time for narcotics sales, your office would then charge all three counts,” then-Police Chief Heather Fong wrote in a letter to Harris in 2005 which was obtained by Fox Digital. ‘SICKENING’: VP HARRIS SLAMMED BY SCHOOL SHOOTING VICTIMS’ FAMILIES OVER RECENTLY UNEARTHED COMMENTS “The proposal would result in a double standard, as adults would be released while juveniles would be booked. Additionally, narcotics dealers who sell drugs near a school would be released after only a brief detention,” Fong argued. “Undoubtedly, this would send the wrong message to observant children who unfortunately witness drug dealing activity on a regular basis.” KAMALA HARRIS CALLED FOR REMOVING COPS FROM SCHOOLS TO FIGHT RACIAL ‘INEQUITIES’ IN 2019 INTERVIEW Fong added in the letter to Harris that while the left-wing city was sympathetic to those suffering with drug addiction issues, the police department and community did not hold drug dealers in high regard. “The San Francisco Police Department fully supports treatment programs for users who desire to break their cycle of addiction. However, the community and the Police Department are not sympathetic to those who sell narcotics and exploit for profit the weakness of others,” Fong wrote. VOTERS REPORT KAMALA HARRIS IS MORE RADICAL THAN TRUMP: ‘TOO LIBERAL OR PROGRESSIVE’ “We believe drug dealers should be held accountable for their actions. Therefore, we believe the public would not view a ‘detain and release’ program favorably.” Fong capped off the letter by telling Harris that the department would not participate in such a proposal. “After carefully considering the pros and cons of this proposal, we decline to participate in such a program. We would prefer a program where a suspect has been arrested three times for narcotics sales without being rebooked, be bundled together for a District Attorney warrant. Under such a program, the evidence against a defendant would be tripled and the case(s) would certainly have more jury appeal.” A local outlet, The Daily Journal, reported in 2006 that Harris’ chief of the criminal division in the DA’s office responded to Fong that he was willing to risk potential negative media from the program and that the city should plow ahead with the plan. “It is true that San Francisco is home to some media outlets that may perceive of this program as being too tough on narcotics offenders, because more dealers will wind up behind bars as a result of this approach,” then-Criminal Division Chief Jeff Ross wrote, according to the outlet. HARRIS FLIPS ON ANOTHER POLICY POSITION: BANNING PLASTIC STRAWS “I’m sure you would agree that we must pursue effective enforcement approaches without regard to whether there might be critical media coverage.” The proposal ultimately failed and did not go into effect. Fast-forward to the current election cycle, Harris’ 2005 plan was resurrected by California critics who say the vice president’s bravado as a “tough” prosecutor is rewriting history. The Harris campaign has broadcast ads touting Harris’ record on law and order, focusing on her years as a prosecutor in Alameda County, San Francisco and as attorney general of the state. JD VANCE RIPS KAMALA HARRIS FOR ‘FLIP-FLOPPING’ DURING CNN INTERVIEW: ‘IMPORTANT FOR US NOT TO BUY THIS’ “As a tough prosecutor, Kamala Harris dealt with men like Trump all the time: Rapists, con men, frauds, criminals – she’s used to guys like Trump, used to putting them in their place,” a narrator for a pro-Harris ad released last month stated. Law enforcement and Republicans in the state hit back against such ads, the Daily Mail reported. “The campaign is trying to completely reinvent reality,” Republican California Rep. Kevin Kiley said. “Those of us who have actually lived in California – in particular in San Francisco where she was DA but Los Angeles as well – know all too well what the reality was.” “She was a champion of San Francisco’s sanctuary city policy, she wanted drug dealers to go without being prosecuted until the third attempt, and she herself said in her own book that she was a progressive prosecutor.” Kevin Cashman, who was deputy chief of the San Francisco Police Department when Harris proposed the drug dealer proposal in 2005, told the outlet that police officers were “shocked” by the proposals. “We immediately saw that it wouldn’t be effective for our mission of keeping San Francisco safe,” he told the Daily Mail. “The District Attorney called the strategy she recommended Operation Safe Streets. We in the police department called it Catch and Release, because we would have to catch them, identify them, and then release them back in the community without any action taken.” Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris campaign about the 2005 proposal but did not receive a response by the publication deadline. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Harris-Walz hit with blistering ad on China record ahead of presidential debate: ‘Time to fight back’
FIRST ON FOX: An anti-CCP group is launching a 6-figure ad in key battleground states during Tuesday’s debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris that accuses her of “doing damage” to the country through her position on China. “The Protecting America Initiative, a nonprofit organization focused on safeguarding the nation from Communist China’s growing influence in the states, today released a six-figure TV ad that will air during the Trump-Harris Presidential Debate on Tuesday,” the Protecting America Initiative said in a press release this week leading up to the first debate between Trump and Harris. In the 30-second ad, which will run in the battleground states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin during Tuesday’s debate, the group takes direct aim at the Harris-Walz record on China. HARRIS VP PICK SPENT YEARS PROMOTING RESEARCH FACILITY THAT COLLABORATED WITH ‘CHINESE MILITARY COMPANY’ “Joe Biden and Kamala Harris opened the door to Communist China, and they’re marching right through it,” the ad says. “A new Biden-Harris rule means China will hold our auto industry hostage. Harris even cast the tiebreaking vote that made it possible. And now that she’s running for president, she’s chosen a running mate under federal investigation for ‘close ties’ to the CCP,” the ad continued. “Harris has done enough damage. It’s time to fight back. To safeguard our manufacturing, our food supply, and our border…It’s time to stand up to China and Protect America.” WALZ’S HONEYMOON WITH CHINA GETS FRESH SCRUTINY AS HARRIS CAMP BLASTS ‘LYING’ CRITICS The Protecting America Initiative describes itself as a “conservative nonprofit organization that supports state lawmakers in their effort to crack down on the growing threat of the Communist Chinese Party” that is led by former Trump Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell and former GOP Congressman Lee Zeldin. The Harris-Walz campaign has faced scrutiny over its positions on China, specifically Walz, who is the subject of an investigation in the House over his “longstanding connections” to China. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer announced earlier this year he is seeking information about the Chinese entities and officials Walz has “engaged and partnered with,” as well as any “warnings or advice the FBI may have given to Governor Walz about U.S. political figures being targeted by or recruited for CCP influence operations.” Comer said Walz has “longstanding connections to CCP-connected entities and officials that make him susceptible” to the CCP’s strategy of “elite capture,” which seeks to co-opt influential figures in elite political, cultural and academic circles to “influence the United States to the benefit of the communist regime and the detriment of Americans.” Comer pointed to reports of Walz’s “extensive engagement with CCP officials and entities while serving in public office,” saying it raises questions about “possible CCP influence in his decision-making as governor — and, should he be elected, as vice president.” Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris-Walz campaign for comment but did not receive a response. Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
J&K terror funding case: Baramulla MP Engineer Rashid gets bail till October 2 due to…
Rashid Engineer had filed a bail application requesting interim bail for three months, while his regular bail application remains pending before the same court, with an order expected on September 11.
USSS assistant director encouraged to retire over Butler assassination attempt on Trump, source reveals
A high-ranking leader within the United States Secret Service (USSS) has been encouraged to retire nearly two months after the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, a source involved at the highest levels of the internal investigation told Fox News. The official, Assistant Director Michael Plati of the agency’s Office of Protective Operations, led the section in control of planning for protection of Trump, President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Sen. JD Vance and others, and is ending his tenure there this Friday, his 27th anniversary at the agency. The Secret Service responded in a statement Tuesday that Plati “was not asked to resign or retire by anyone. This was a personal decision that he has made and we thank him for his 27 years of dedicated service to the federal government.” Still, others involved in the investigation have not disputed the underlying narrative that he was encouraged to resign following the July 13 security failure in Butler that has sent shock waves through all levels of the agency. TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT: WHISTLEBLOWERS CLAIM THAT THEY WERE ‘WOEFULLY UNPREPARED’ TO PROVIDE SECURITY The USSS is preparing to brief Congress in the coming days about lessons learned from the attempt on Trump’s life. The Secret Service added that it “respects the role of oversight. We have and will continue to make employees available for transcribed interviews and to date we’ve provided over 2,400 pages of responsive documentation to Congress. These efforts will continue as our desire to learn from this failure and ensure that it never happens again is unwavering.” Plati gave over a month’s notice to make time for a transition. Fox News is told it will come out in the days and weeks ahead when Congress is briefed that the retirement is indeed related to the shooting investigation, but his spokesman said that it was planned and that the timing was coincidental. “Mike has been discussing this for more than a year. He’s retiring on the date of his 27-year anniversary working for the Secret Service. He approached Acting Director [Ronald] Rowe about his retirement last month, before the DNC. He wasn’t asked to retire or resign, and anyone saying otherwise is lying,” said Greg Henning, the spokesman for Plati. An agent who asked to remain anonymous was not happy about Plati’s retirement. “Mike Plati is known for his integrity and honesty, qualities that are especially commendable at his level of leadership within the Secret Service,” the agent told Fox News. RFK JR LOSES SECRET SERVICE PROTECTION AFTER SUSPENDING CAMPAIGN USSS Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned under mounting pressure on July 23 following the assassination attempt on the former president, Fox News confirmed. The Department of Defense (DOD) has since offered the USSS “additional assistance” in protecting political figures that require personal security. Anthony Guglielmi, U.S. Secret Service chief of communications, announced last month that the DOD will provide “additional assistance including logistics, transportation, and communications, through the 2024 campaign season.”
USSS assistant director asked to retire over Butler assassination attempt on Trump
A high-ranking leader within the United States Secret Service (USSS) has been asked to retire, Fox News Digital has learned. Michael Plati, the office of protective operations assistant director, has been asked to retire from his position, and he is ending his tenure with the service in the coming days. The decision is reportedly linked with the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania — a security failure that has sent shock waves through all levels of the agency. TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT: WHISTLEBLOWERS CLAIM THAT THEY WERE ‘WOEFULLY UNPREPARED’ TO PROVIDE SECURITY The USSS is preparing to brief Congress in the coming days about lessons learned from the July 13 attempt on Trump’s life. Plati was asked to step down by senior leadership, including Acting Director Ronald Rowe. Fox News Digital has reached out to the USSS for comment and is awaiting its response. RFK JR LOSES SECRET SERVICE PROTECTION AFTER SUSPENDING CAMPAIGN USSS Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned under mounting pressure on July 23 following the assassination attempt on the former president, Fox News confirmed. The Department of Defense (DOD) has since offered the USSS “additional assistance” in protecting political figures that require personal security. Anthony Guglielmi, U.S. Secret Service chief of communications, announced last month that the DOD will provide “additional assistance including logistics, transportation, and communications, through the 2024 campaign season.” This is a developing story. Please check back soon for further updates.