Key Bolsonaro lieutenant blasts Biden for silence on Brazil’s X ban: US has ‘responsibility’ to speak up
A foreign minister who served under former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro called on the Biden administration to condemn his country’s ban on social media platform X, saying the U.S. has a ‘responsibility’ to speak up. Ernesto Araújo, who served as foreign minister under Bolsonaro from 2019 to 2021, said the U.S. has a ‘responsibility to be the reference point for democracy, for rule of law, for freedom in the hemisphere.’ But the White House has been silent for too long, he said, and it’s hesitation to advocate for free speech predates the ban on X, he said. “The Biden administration is not living up to that – have not lived up to that for a long time – and about what is happening in Brazil, because the banning of X is not something out of the blue,” Araújo told Fox News Digital. “It’s one more step, after many steps, of curtailing basic rights and destroying the rule of law, destroying democracy in Brazil, something perpetrated by the Supreme Court, by a good portion of the political class, and the administration never did anything.” ELON MUSK GETS SURPRISING DEFENDER AFTER X WAS BANNED IN BRAZIL: THE WASHINGTON POST Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes last week banned X after the company failed to appoint a legal representative in the country, leading to the “immediate, complete and total suspension of X’s operations” in Brazil. The ban will remain in place “until all court orders . . . are complied with, fines are duly paid and a new legal representative for the company is appointed in the country,” according to The Guardian. X, under outspoken owner Elon Musk, has refused to comply following Moraes’s order to ban several accounts related to individuals involved in an alleged attempted coup last year. The powerful judge alleged that these accounts have spread misinformation and represent a threat. NFL DEBUT IN BRAZIL MARRED BY CONCERNS OVER SAFETY, STREAMING, SOCIAL MEDIA BAN AND THE COLOR GREEN Musk accused the judge, an ally of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, of attacking free speech and said the order violates the Brazilian constitution. He further alleged in a post on X that the judge had targeted his platform “for political reasons.” The White House has remained silent on the issue, and it declined a Fox News Digital request for comment. The U.S. State Department has also not issued any comments regarding the decision. “I think the U.S. has this kind of international responsibility in the world – in the hemisphere, for sure,” Araújo said. “It should be an ally of those who are trying to protect freedom and not those who are destroying freedom.” “So I see a lot of sympathy from the Biden administration, from the Democratic Party, for the wrong people in Latin America,” he added. “It’s not a question of right or left, it’s a question of those who just claim to be for democracy.” VENEZUELAN DICTATOR DEPLOYS BIZARRE DISTRACTION AS COUNTRY REMAINS IN TURMOIL AFTER ELECTION The order has not gone over well in Brazil, with the country heavily divided over the resulting ban. Many users have jumped ship to other platforms – mainly rivals Bluesky and Threads. The Brazilian user base for X is one-fifth and one-sixth that of Instagram and TikTok, respectively, but the platform has served as a major nexus for news agencies and political and thought leaders, giving it an outsized influence. Izabela Patriota, the director of development of the Ladies of Liberty Alliance and head of its Brazil section, told FOX Business that protests would materialize on Saturday, which coincides with Brazil’s Independence Day celebrations. While many Brazilians have found alternative social media outlets, former officials and allies of Bolsonaro argue that the ban sets the stage for further bans. Patriota fears that the courts could eventually take similar actions against the other platforms and services should the justices determine they also posed a threat. Musk also owns Starlink, a satellite internet service which has been targeted by de Moraes. ELON MUSK CALLS OUT VP HARRIS FOR OLD POST SAYING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS AREN’T CRIMINALS “Where X is just another platform, and so many Brazilians are already migrating to different platforms, Starlink is providing access to many, many, many communities in the Amazon areas that they wouldn’t have without Starlink,” Patriota said. Araújo also worried about the international trajectory for his country, noting that Brazil has continued to build ties with “the territorial block of China, Russia, Iran.” “It’s basically, playing a game,” Araújo said. “Lula wants to play this game . . . he’s really, for everything that matters, is allying Brazil with the enemies of freedom, with the enemies of the United States.” “I think it’s in the hands of some people in the State Department or Democratic Party who think that Lula is their friend who also – I don’t know if it’s for specific interest or they’re just not smart enough to know what’s happening – who think that Lula is the good guy, and the Right is the bad guys in Brazil.” The White House did not respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment by time of publication.
Harris flips on another policy position: Banning plastic straws
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris has flipped on another policy — banning plastic straws. Harris’ campaign has abandoned the vice president’s previous position from the 2020 Democratic primary in which she stated unequivocally that plastic straws should be banned due to environmental considerations. “She doesn’t support banning plastic straws,” a campaign official told Axios on Wednesday. KAMALA HARRIS SAYS SHE SUPPORTS PLASTIC STRAW BAN DURING CNN CLIMATE CHANGE MARATHON Harris was asked whether she would support a ban on “single use plastics” during a CNN town hall marathon in 2019, and specifically whether she would ban plastic straws. “I think we should, yes,” Harris responded. “Look, I’m going to be honest… It’s really difficult to drink out of a paper straw,” she joked. “So we kinda have to perfect that a little bit more.” The campaign emphasized that the policy change does not lower the priority of environmental reforms for the vice president. JD VANCE RIPS KAMALA HARRIS FOR ‘FLIP-FLOPPING’ DURING CNN INTERVIEW: ‘IMPORTANT FOR US NOT TO BUY THIS’ “She cast the tie-breaking vote on the most consequential legislation to combat climate change and create clean energy jobs in history, and as President, she is going to be focused on expanding on that progress,” the campaign told Axios. It’s the latest in a long series of position flips the Harris campaign has undertaken as the vice president seeks to succeed President Biden in the November election. Harris has been accused by voters, political pundits and the Trump campaign of flip-flopping on key policies since emerging as the Democratic Party’s nominee after President Biden dropped out of the race last month. On fracking, for example, Harris’ campaign announced last month that the vice president did not support a ban on the oil extraction technique that enjoys broad support in battleground states like Pennsylvania. That position, however, is the opposite of her remarks as a primary candidate during a 2019 CNN town hall event, when Harris said there is “no question I’m in favor of banning fracking.” Harris has also distanced herself from “Medicare for All” and semiautomatic rifle buyback programs, after publicly touting both programs during her failed primary campaign during the 2020 cycle. Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.
Collin Allred responds to comparisons with Beto O’Rourke’s campaign, defends his strategy
Allred has run a more traditional campaign, focusing on targeted ads and moderate policy.
Stefanik files ethics complaint against Trump trial judge alleging Harris campaign paid his daughter’s company
Rep. Elise Stefanik has filed an ethics complaint against New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan “for his illegal conflict of interest in the sham Manhattan trial against President Trump,” alleging the Harris campaign has a “newly active financial relationship” with a company led in part by his daughter. The filing with the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct came on the same day that Merchan decided to postpone Trump’s sentencing in New York v. Trump until after the November presidential election. Trump was found guilty in an unprecedented criminal trial on all 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree, following a six-week trial stemming from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation. However, Stefanik, R-N.Y., is now asking the Commission to launch a “fresh inquiry concerning Justice Merchan’s conflict and take any appropriate action resulting from it.” JUDGE MERCHAN DELAYS TRUMP SENTENCING UNTIL AFTER ELECTION “On August 20, 2024, Vice President Harris’s campaign submitted its first Federal Election Commission (FEC) report that documented expenses and donations through July 31, 2024. In the report… a July 30, 2024, disbursement appears in the amount of $468.00 from Vice President Harris’s campaign to Authentic Campaigns Inc. (Authentic) for web hosting services,” Stefanik wrote in her complaint. “This indicates that one of the very first things that Harris did upon taking over the Biden campaign infrastructure is to hire this firm, Authentic. “Authentic is a digital consulting and marketing firm that services Democrat candidates. Loren Merchan, Justice Merchan’s daughter, is its president,” Stefanik added. “Vice President Harris changed web hosting companies from AWS to Authentic immediately after becoming the presumptive Democrat presidential nominee. “This is merely the beginning of a new contract with a new campaign, regardless of the amount reimbursed. Sure, there’s an immediate benefit, but this is a play at a potential larger benefit for Authentic and Merchan down the road,” Stefanik said in her complaint. JUDGE MERCHAN SUED FOR FINANCIAL DISCLOSURES AMID CONCERNS OF DAUGHTER’S DEMOCRAT WORK Stefanik continued by saying that the code of conduct “dictates that a judge must recuse from a case where a relative up to and including the sixth degree has a financial interest in the outcome of the case.” “Ms. Merchan is related to Justice Merchan in the first degree. Authentic has a newly active financial relationship with Vice President Harris’s campaign,” Stefanik concluded. The Harris campaign and the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct did not immediately respond Saturday to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
SOP released by Rajasthan police to safeguard threatened live-in couples, married couple
The SOP, issued by Additional Director General of Police (Civil Rights), Bhupendra Sahu, aims to ensure that couples under threat can quickly access police protection.
Trump claims no ‘lifts’ or ‘stands’ will be allowed at debate with Kamala Harris
Former President Donald Trump claims that the upcoming presidential debate will not allow for adjustments to the nominees’ height behind the podium. Trump made the comment in a Saturday post on his proprietary social media platform Truth Social. “No boxes or artificial lifts will be allowed to stand on [sic] during my upcoming debate with Comrade Kamala Harris,” Trump wrote. “We had this out previously with former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg when he was in a debate, and he was not allowed a “lift.” HARRIS CAMPAIGN AGREES TO ABC PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE RULES WITH SOME ‘ASSURANCES’: REPORT “It would be a form of cheating, and the Democrats cheat enough,” the former president added. “‘You are who you are,’ it was determined!” It is not immediately clear if Trump was relaying the outcome of discussions with ABC ahead of the debate or was speculating. The post references Trump’s past feud with the former New York City mayor, who the former president taunted as “Mini Mike Bloomberg” during his 2020 Democratic nomination bid. TRUMP SLAMS ABC AHEAD OF PIVOTAL NETWORK-HOSTED DEBATE: ‘THEY’RE THE WORST, THEY’RE THE NASTIEST’ Trump repeatedly claimed Bloomberg requested to stand on a box behind his podium during his Democratic primary debate — but this claim was never substantiated that the former mayor ever made such a request. “The president is lying,” a spokesperson for Bloomberg’s 2020 campaign fired back at the time. “He is a pathological liar who lies about everything: his fake hair, his obesity, and his spray-on tan.” Harris clarified her own height during an interview with “Today” host Katie Couric earlier this year, correcting the interviewer when she claimed the vice president is 5’2″. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “I am 5’4″ and a quarter — sometimes 5’4″ and a half,” Harris told Couric. “And with heels — which I always wear — I’m 5’7’ and a half, thank you very much.” Trump’ own height has been variously reported as 6’2″ and 6’3″.
UP: 5 dead, several injured after 3-storey building collapses in Lucknow
Five people were killed and 24 others were injured when a three-storey building collapsed in the Transport Nagar area here on Saturday evening, officials said.
At least five killed as ethnic violence flares in India’s Manipur
State government orders all schools in the state to remain shut citing security concerns after latest spurt of violence. At least five people, including one civilian, have been killed as violence flared between two warring ethnic communities in the restive northeastern Indian state of Manipur, according to authorities. Manipur has been rocked by periodic violence for more than a year between the predominantly Hindu-majority Meitei and the mainly Christian Kukis over economic benefits, and government jobs and education quotas. A court had ordered the state government to share the benefits enjoyed by the Kukis to the Meitis, fuelling the tension. A new round of clashes and exchange of gunfire took place on Saturday in the district of Jiribam, located on India’s border with Myanmar. “Fighting has been going on between armed groups of both the communities since the morning,” said Krishna Kumar, deputy commissioner of Jiribam. One person, a civilian, was shot dead while sleeping and another four “armed persons” were killed in a “subsequent exchange of fire”, the Press Trust of India news agency reported. Officers responding to the attack “were fired upon by suspected Kuki militants but the police team retaliated robustly and repelled the attack”, a police statement said. A state of 3.2 million people, Manipur has been divided into two enclaves since an ethnic conflict began in May 2023 – a valley controlled by the majority Meiteis and the Kuki-dominated hills. The areas controlled by the Meitei and Kuki tribes are separated by a stretch of no-man’s land monitored by federal paramilitary forces. Amid the violence, the state government ordered all schools in the state to remain shut on Saturday “to protect the safety of the students and teachers”. Attacks that began earlier this week have seen the use of drones to drop explosive devices in what authorities have called a significant escalation. The Indian Express newspaper, citing an unnamed security source, said the rockets appeared to be “improvised projectiles” made using “galvanised iron pipes attached to explosives”. Police say they suspect that the drones were used by Kuki armed groups, a claim the group denied. More than 225 people have been killed and some 60,000 have been displaced since the tensions erupted last year. Adblock test (Why?)
Kosovo closes two of four border crossings with Serbia after protests
Kosovo’s Interior Ministry blamed the closures on ‘masked extremists’ blocking traffic into Serbia. Kosovo has closed two of its four border crossings with Serbia, the government said, after protesters on the Serbian side blocked roads and turned away passengers carrying Kosovo documents. The closures at the Brnjak and Merdare crossings – both located in Kosovo’s northern region with a majority ethnic Serb population – came into effect overnight from Friday to Saturday. Kosovar Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla said the move was due to “masked extremist groups in Serbia” selectively blocking transit for travelers. “And all this in plain sight of the Serbian authorities,” he said. At least two other crossings between Serbia and Kosovo remain open. What prompted the Serbian protests? On Friday, dozens of demonstrators in Serbia blockaded the crossings to prevent traffic entering Serbia from Kosovo. They said they were protesting against the closure of parallel administrations that ethnic Serbs in northern Kosovo had set up to rival the official ones. The Serbian government in Belgrade – which has never recognised the independence of Kosovo, its former southern province – finances a parallel health, education and social security system in Kosovo for the latter’s ethnic Serb population. The Serbian demonstrators told media their border blockade would last until Kosovo police were “withdrawn from the north of Kosovo and the usurped institutions are returned to the Serbs”. They also demanded that the NATO-led peacekeeping force in Kosovo (KFOR) “take over control in the north of Kosovo”. The border blockade began a few days after police in northern Kosovo raided and then closed five administrative offices linked to the Belgrade government. Protesters gather to partially block the road near the main Kosovo-Serbia border crossing in Merdare, Serbia, on September 6 [Valdrin Xhemaj/Reuters] Longstanding tensions Kosovo’s Foreign Minister Donika Gervalla-Schwarz told reporters on Friday the Serbian protests were “yet more proof” that Belgrade was trying to provoke and destabilise its southern neighbour. Animosity has persisted between Serbia and Kosovo since a war in the 1990s between Serbian armed forces and Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian secessionists. Kosovo declared independence in 2008. But Serbia has refused to recognise the move and has encouraged ethnic Serbs living in Kosovo to remain loyal to Belgrade. Tensions ratcheted up a notch earlier this year, when Kosovo made the euro the only legal currency, effectively outlawing the use of the Serbian dinar. Adblock test (Why?)
Mexico arrests alleged cartel kingpin tied to 43 missing students
Gildardo Lopez Astudillo’s arrest comes weeks before the 10th anniversary of the students’ disappearance. Authorities in Mexico say they have arrested an alleged cartel chief linked to the decade-old disappearance of dozens of students. Gildardo Lopez Astudillo, the suspected cartel leader, was detained on charges of “organised crime” and taken to the Altiplano maximum security prison in south-central Mexico, Reuters news agency reported, citing a federal security source. This is the second time Lopez Astudillo, known as “El Gil”, has been jailed since the cartel he allegedly leads was accused of orchestrating the disappearance and suspected murder in 2014 of 43 students in Iguala, a case that rocked the nation and ignited years of protests. The arrest of Lopez Astudillo comes as relatives prepare demonstrations to mark the 10th anniversary of the students’ disappearance. He was first arrested in 2015 before being released in 2019 after a judge found the evidence against him was obtained illegally. Lopez Astudillo later served as a protected witness for the prosecution’s office, offering alleged details about the criminal group’s involvement in the students’ disappearance, according to the El Pais newspaper. What happened to the missing students? In September 2014, the 43 students who had been travelling to a political demonstration in Mexico City were, investigators believe, kidnapped by the Guerreros Unido drug cartel, in collusion with corrupt police. The exact circumstances of their disappearance are still unknown, but a truth commission set up by the government has branded the case a “state crime”, saying the military shared responsibility, either directly or through negligence. Arrests have been made or ordered for dozens of suspects, including military personnel and a former attorney general who led a controversial investigation into the mass disappearance. The remains of only a few of the victims have been identified. [embedded content] Adblock test (Why?)