Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee Chairman hits back at Shankaracharya, asks him to prove 228 kg ‘gold scam’ claim
Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee Chairman Ajendra Ajay said that Swami Avimukteshwaranand’s statements regarding the disappearance of gold in Kedarnath Dham are very unfortunate. He urged the Shankaracharya to present the facts.
Former NY congressman lays out Dems’ years-long escalating rhetoric ahead of Trump assassination attempt
MILWAUKEE – Former New York Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin said he’s “tired” of seeing Republicans verbally and physically attacked, arguing that anti-Trump and anti-GOP rhetoric has reached new highs across the years. “The rhetoric has gotten so bad between, yes, the bullseye comment, remember Dan Goldman making a comment about how President Trump needs to be eliminated. Bennie Thompson wants to take away Secret Service protection. One of [Thompson’s] aides was just complaining that the shooter Saturday evening had missed President Trump. I’m tired of seeing Republicans attacked like this,” Zeldin told Fox News Digital during the Republican National Convention on Tuesday. Zeldin was responding to President Biden backtracking on his comment earlier this month that “it’s time to put Trump in a bullseye,” saying the remark was a “mistake” after a 20-year-old man in Pennsylvania attempted to assassinate Trump during a rally on Saturday evening. Zeldin reflected that verbal and physical attacks against Republicans have been ongoing and heightening for years before a shooter tried to kill the 45th president. “I saw it with Steve Scalise with the shooting a few years ago, the attack on Rand Paul, the targeting of Justice Kavanaugh, this very close, near-assassination of President Trump. Yes, we should settle our scores at the ballot box. I agree with that. It’s a truth. It’s something that everyone should preach and everyone should believe in,” he continued. FLORIDA REP. MILLS FLOATS ‘J13’-STYLE COMMITTEE FOR DEMOCRATS’ RHETORIC FOLLOWING TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT “Ultimately, we have to confront, head on, the fact that there is a very extensive effort basically throwing everything that they can against President Trump outside of the ballot box to try to prevent him from taking office … It’s gone too far. It’s sick and it needs to end,” he continued. BIDEN ADMITS ‘BULL’S-EYE’ COMMENT ABOUT TRUMP WAS A ‘MISTAKE’ AFTER ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT Zeldin said that three days after Trump announced his run for re-election in 2022, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Jack Smith as special counsel to prosecute Trump, while Georgia prosecutor Nathan Wade “was sitting inside the White House Counsel’s Office,” and DOJ official “Matthew Colangelo was putting in his papers to leave the Department of Justice” to take a job in the Manhattan District Attorney’s office ahead Trump’s indictment in the New York criminal case. TRUMP ANNOUNCES OHIO SEN JD VANCE AS HIS 2024 RUNNING MATE DEMS WATCHING THEIR VICTORIES ‘VANISH’ BEFORE THEM, MONTANA SENATE CANDIDATE SAYS AHEAD OF RNC SPEECH “That was all nine days after President Biden said that we would have to pursue ways outside of the ballot box to take down President Trump,” he said. “I’m not going to just sign up for the fact it’s all just a coincidence.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Every normal, commonsense, average everyday American is able to see through it. Let’s truly focus on settling the score at the ballot box. Let’s not have to focus on crazy criminal cases and trying to bankrupt the president and all these other attempts that threaten safety.”
GOP, Trump continue notching wins despite unprecedented Dem weaponization of government: state election chief
MILWAUKEE – Former President Donald Trump and the Republican Party continue defeating attacks thrown at them by the Democratic Party as the election season comes down to its final months, Wyoming’s secretary of state told Fox News Digital from the Republican National Convention. Democrats during the “last 110 days of this election [will] do everything they can to try to blunt our momentum. I think they’re going to fail at that, because the American people see the record of this Biden administration and that it is just opposed to everything that the American people value,” Republican Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray told Fox News Digital on Tuesday. Gray is attending the RNC, where he is chairing the Cowboy State’s delegation. Months before Trump officially became the GOP’s nominee for president on Monday, Gray was battling Democrats on the legal frontlines as they worked to prevent the 45th president from even appearing on election ballots. Gray said that despite repeated efforts by Democrats to tie Trump up in court cases, and efforts to prevent his name from appearing on the ballot, and the overall “weaponization” of government against conservatives, the GOP and former president have come out victorious. WYOMING ELECTION CHIEF MOUNTS FULL-COURT PRESS AGAINST ‘RADICAL LEFT’S’ PUSH TO REMOVE TRUMP FROM BALLOT Trump’s classified documents case in Florida was dismissed on Monday, for example, while the Supreme Court ruled in March that Trump can’t be removed from ballots, as well as SCOTUS ruling in another decision this month that Trump has broad immunity from prosecution, which could unravel his guilty verdict in the Manhattan criminal case. FAILED EFFORT TO BOOT TRUMP FROM BALLOT EXPOSES ‘RADICAL’ LEFT’S ‘PURE LUNACY’: STATE ELECTION CHIEF “We just see time and time again, the left trying to weaponize government against conservatives, and I think people are seeing through it. One of the many achievements of Trump, and there are so many, is that he’s really shown the American people just how out of control the mainstream media is and their alliance with the Democrats … But he’s come through it, and we are going to continue to come through it here, as we’re about under 110 days, 115 days from the election,” Gray said. Gray argued that “the country is on the line,” and pointed to his home state, where he said the Biden administration is looking to “lock up the entire Southwestern section of Wyoming,” which he said would cripple energy initiatives in the state. FLORIDA REP. MILLS FLOATS ‘J13’-STYLE COMMITTEE FOR DEMOCRATS’ RHETORIC FOLLOWING TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT “He wants no mineral extraction, no grazing, no recreation. We’re talking about coal, oil and gas, [agriculture], recreation. Everything would be decimated if this — what’s called a resource management plan, quote, unquote – is allowed to go through. And that’s just one sort of slice of life of what is on the line in this election,” he said. On Monday, Trump officially announced his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, whom Gray described as an “inspired” pick who will “strike the right tone” for the ticket. BIDEN ADMITS ‘BULL’S-EYE’ COMMENT ABOUT TRUMP WAS A ‘MISTAKE’ AFTER ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT “I think JD Vance is just an inspired pick. Sen. Vance is America First through and through. The Ohio delegation was right in front of the Wyoming delegation, so we were right there as he was going up and being announced. And you can see his engagement. I think he has that grassroots conservatism, that background that is really important in continuing the America First movement,” Gray said. TRUMP ANNOUNCES OHIO SEN JD VANCE AS HIS 2024 RUNNING MATE The Wyoming secretary of state was in the convention center when Trump first joined the crowds Monday evening following his assassination attempt on Saturday during a rally in Pennsylvania. Gray said that the energy on the floor was “electric” and “historic.” “Last night was just electric across the floor and in the Wyoming delegation. Just having President Trump there, that was a historic moment, President Trump coming to the floor. And then also the VP nomination. … And I think we all see that our country is on the line in this 2024 election. The stakes of this election are enormous,” he said.
Swing state Republicans say Vance could broaden Trump’s appeal in blue stronghold
Former President Trump’s allies are looking at his selection of Sen. JD Vance as a key appeal to Midwestern voters – and some New York Republican lawmakers are hopeful it’ll give the GOP a boost in their own state as well. House GOP lawmakers representing the Democratic stronghold state held a media event on the sidelines of the Republican National Convention (RNC) on Tuesday, a day after Trump named Vance as his running mate in the November election. Reps. Nicole Malliotakis and Mike Lawler both pointed to Vance’s pro-union stances, which line up with policies that have won support in their districts as well. Malliotakis pointed out that Teamsters Union President Sean O’Brien, who spoke at the RNC on Monday night, gave shoutouts to a handful of Republican lawmakers including herself, Vance and Lawler “as people who have been working with labor.” TRUMP ANNOUNCES JD VANCE AS HIS 2024 RUNNING MATE “I think that’s an area where – in New York, I have one of the largest districts of labor union representation, in membership. And I think that’s where JD Vance is going to resonate with working men and women,” Malliotakis said. “Republicans are the ones creating jobs for these unions.” Lawler argued that Vance’s military service – he enlisted two years after the Sept. 11 attacks – and his background story would resonate with Americans across the country – including in New York. CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING FROM THE GOP CONVENTION “JD Vance enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps after 9/11. Obviously, coming from New York, all of our districts have been impacted by 9/11 and continue to be,” Lawler said. “This is a blue collar, working-class guy raised by his grandmother who was a blue dog Democrat, went, got his law degree, started his own business.” “I think he has strong appeal in the Rust Belt, yes, and states that are going to decide the election – Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania – but also across the country.” Rep. Claudia Tenney, who represents part of upstate New York, said her district was not much different from the traditional Rust Belt states where the Trump campaign hopes Vance will appeal most. “I think, obviously, upstate New York is a bit of a Rust Belt itself, and I think that’s why JD Vance is an inspiring choice,” Tenney said. “Only in America can you achieve and come from the most humble roots, and be so successful as JD Vance is. And I think that’s going to be inspiring for people in upstate New York.” BIDEN AIMS TO SHORE UP BLACK VOTER SUPPORT AS TRUMP TRIES TO MAKE INROADS She added, however, that House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, who was also at the press conference, would have been a “historic” choice. It comes after Politico reported last week that President Biden’s support may be slipping in New York in the wake of his disastrous performance at the CNN Presidential Debate late last month. “We’re still acting like this is a one-party state, which for pretty much 20, 25 years it has been,” Democratic Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine told the outlet. “I truly believe we’re a battleground state now.”
Ladla Bhai Yojana: Maharashtra CM Shinde’s big announcement, 12th pass students to receive Rs 6000 monthly, graduates..
Maharashtra CM Shinde said that this stipend will be provided for a year to help students gain work experience through apprenticeships, subsequently enhancing their employability.
Karnataka govt gives nod to key Bills to mandate 100% quota for Kannadigas in private firms
“We are a pro-Kannada government. Our priority is to look after the welfare of the Kannadigas,” he said.
Whacking the media: Trump, Vance, Biden, MSNBC host hit press from all sides
As if there was any last lingering doubt, everyone now hates the media. I know that may sound like familiar news. And that we are largely to blame for our plunging credibility, especially in the supercharged atmosphere surrounding Donald Trump and the campaign, and even more especially after the assassination attempt. For decades, of course, Republicans and conservatives have felt they can’t get a fair shake from the press, who many now see as an arm of the other party. But now it’s Democrats and liberals who hold the White House and are increasingly disgusted with the coverage. TRUMP SURVIVES SHOOTING, BUT THE POLITICALLY CHARGED BLAME GAME NEVER FADES And new technology enables both sides to circumvent the dreaded MSM and get their message directly to voters through social media and by posting their own video. That may get amplified by the tube and the web, without the annoyance of reporters asking questions. Take J.D. Vance, Trump’s new running mate, who was chosen in part because of his smooth television performances. Asked by Sean Hannity about the terrible things he said about the former president in 2016, including “cynical A-hole” and “America’s Hitler,” Vance owned it and then declared: “I bought into the media’s lies and distortions. I bought into this idea that somehow he was going to be so different, a terrible threat to democracy. It was a joke.” The Ohio senator then seamlessly pivoted to: “Joe Biden is the one who’s trying to throw his political opposition in jail. Joe Biden is the one who’s trying to undermine American law and order.” And in taking shots at Kamala Harris, Vance said leading Democrats “all have gone on TV, on radio and newspapers and said for years that Joe Biden can do the job and he’s doing just fine. Well, now we know they were lying, and we should punish them for lying to our faces about it.” Punish them? How, exactly? JD VANCE, ONCE A NEVER TRUMPER, IS THE VP PICK TO SHAPE MAGA’S FUTURE This reminds me of the time that Trump said that NBC and CNN should have their licenses pulled or other action taken for blowing off his Iowa caucus victory speech. I asked him about this in our Mar-a-Lago interview, but he just dwelled on the unfairness of being denied the spotlight he was owed. Trump is in a special category because he constantly assailed the national media as the “enemy of the people” and attacked journalists by name, instantly downgrading them to “third-rate reporter” and their organizations to “failing.” On the other hand, the former president views himself as counterpunching against nine years of endless media attacks portraying him as a dictator and authoritarian, Hitler and Mussolini, and a man who would undo the fabric of democracy. Now let’s switch to the other side. In an often testy interview with NBC’s Lester Holt in which he defended his mental acuity, the president asked about what Trump said during Biden’s own very bad night: “Why doesn’t the press talk about all the lies he told? I didn’t hear anything about that.” “We have,” said Holt. “We have.We reported many of the issues that you had in that debate.” “No you haven’t.” “We will provide you with them,” Holt said. “Oh, God love you,” the president said, sounding exasperated. PRESSURE ON BIDEN BUILDS AS GEORGE CLOONEY SAYS HE’S UNFIT AND POLITICIANS PRIVATELY AGREE Biden naturally likes that story line, which suggests the press is falling down on the job because of a lesser standard applied to Trump. Some of the president’s allies on the left are also expressing disgust with the fourth estate. MSNBC host Joy Reid said there is “really a deep concern and lack of confidence in, not us at this table or us at MSNBC, but us as the media writ large.” Not us at MSNBC! I love that part. Her beef is that “the media will acquiesce to trying to convince people that the things they’ve been experiencing for the last five, six years didn’t happen. “And people are concerned and expressing concern that we won’t be the guardians of memory and that we will allow Donald Trump, as he is, you know, bathed in the glory and grandeur of his party, to rewrite himself, as both a hero and a victim…And that that will then happen without a guardian saying: ‘Wait, stop!’ and then the media will acquiesce to this rewrite.” On what planet are the media rolling over for the notion that the last half-dozen years “didn’t happen”? And in what galaxy are the media quietly going along with the idea that Trump is able to “rewrite” history? And the worst part was what the liberal host only alluded to: Reid uttered these words on Monday, her first show after the former president came within an inch of being murdered on live television. No sign of compassion there, just the righteous anger of whacking the media.
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 873
As the war enters its 873rd day, these are the main developments. This is where the war stands on Wednesday, July 17, 2024: Fighting: Ukrainian drone attacks on Russia’s Kursk region triggered a fire at a factory producing electrical devices and wounded at least six people, according to local governors. Russia’s Ministry of Defence said its forces destroyed 13 Ukrainian drones overnight, including one over the Kursk region, which borders Ukraine. Russian authorities announced plans to restrict civilian access to 14 villages in the southern Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, due to relentless Ukrainian shelling. The chief of Russia’s general staff, Valery Gerasimov, thanked Russian forces for capturing the village of Urozhaine in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region and “set new tasks for further activity”, according to the Russian Defence Ministry. Russian investigators said they were looking into the shooting of a wounded Russian soldier by Ukrainian forces in a video published online by Ukraine’s Azov Brigade. Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence said it is providing its under-resourced military with munitions that had been sent to be scrapped before the Russian invasion. The rounds would undergo thorough quality checks before they are distributed to Ukrainian forces on the front, it said. Politics and diplomacy The Kremlin responded cautiously to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s apparent invitation to a future peace summit, saying Moscow needs to understand what Kyiv means before attending talks. The Ukrainian president had said that Russia “should be” represented at a second summit on the war, following high-level talks last month in Switzerland that Moscow did not attend. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, a member of the country’s security council, said the accession of Ukraine to NATO would be a declaration of war against Moscow and only “prudence” on behalf of the alliance could prevent the planet from being shattered into pieces. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban sent a letter to leaders of the European Union, saying that US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is ready to act “immediately” as a peace broker in the Russia-Ukraine war if he is elected in November. The president of the European Council Charles Michel responded to Orban’s letter telling the Hungarian leader that he had no EU mandate for talks on the war. Michel also rejected Orban’s assertion that the EU had pursued a “pro-war” policy in Ukraine. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania formally notified Russia and Belarus that they would exit a 2001 agreement that kept the three Baltic countries connected to an electricity transmission system controlled by Moscow. The move is part of an effort to sever ties with Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. At the United Nations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused the US of demanding “unquestioning obedience” from allies and threatening multilateralism The Russian Orthodox Church in Kazakhstan has dismissed a priest who opposed Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Hieromonk Lakov had advocated for the creation of a breakaway Orthodox Church, free of Moscow’s influence. Japan meanwhile is making final arrangements to loan $3.3bn to Ukraine using interest from frozen Russian assets, about 6 percent of the G7’s total $50bn package, the Kyodo news agency reported, citing diplomatic sources. Economy Ukraine’s parliament voted to scrap taxes and duties on imports of energy equipment – including for wind and solar generation – as the country battles a severe energy crisis due to Russian bombardments. Ukraine’s state company Ukroboronservice and Czech ammunition maker, Sellier and Bellot, have signed an agreement to to build an ammunition factory in Ukraine, the two countries announced. Russia-based global cybersecurity firm Kaspersky announced it would wind down US operations after Washington sanctioned its senior officials and banned the sale of its popular antivirus software. Russia’s communications regulator meanwhile demanded Google reinstate more than 200 Russian YouTube channels that the US company blocked for spreading pro-Kremlin content, including over the conflict in Ukraine. Adblock test (Why?)
Trump’s former rivals Haley, DeSantis put on show of unity at RNC
Donald Trump has received emphatic endorsements from former rivals at the Republican National Convention (RNC), a display of party unity days after he narrowly escaped being killed by a would-be assassin’s bullet. On the second day of the convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Tuesday, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis feted their former rival as they urged Republicans to come together to defeat US President Joe Biden in November. Haley, who previously called Trump unelectable, unqualified and “unhinged”, said that Republicans should back Trump for the “sake of our nation”, taking aim at Biden’s handling of foreign policy and immigration, the key theme of the evening. “You don’t have to agree with Trump 100 percent of the time to vote for him,” Haley told delegates on the second day of the convention. “Take it from me. I haven’t always agreed with President Trump. But we agree more often than we disagree.” Stressing the need for Republicans and Americans alike to come together, Haley said the US’s enemies benefit when the country is divided. “No president can fix all of our problems alone. We have to do this together. America has an amazing ability to self-correct,” Haley said. “In this moment, we have a chance to put aside our differences and focus on what unites us and strengthens our country. Let us join together as a party, let us come together as a people, as one country strong and proud. Let us show our children and the world that even on our worst day, we are blessed to live in America.” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks on the second day of the RNC at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 16 [Mike Segar/Reuters] DeSantis, who finished a distant third to Trump in the primaries, struck a more combative tone, latching onto concerns about Biden’s mental acuity and calling on Republicans to send him “back to the basement”. “As a citizen, as husband and as a father, I am alarmed that the current president of the United States lacks the capability to discharge the duties of his office. Our enemies do not confine their designs to between 10am and 4pm,” DeSantis said. “We need a commander in chief who can lead 24 hours a day and seven days a week. America cannot afford four more years of a ‘Weekend at Bernie’s’ presidency,” DeSantis added, referring to the 1989 comedy film about two employees who spend a weekend passing off their dead boss as alive. DeSantis said Trump deserved Republicans’ support after being demonised, sued, prosecuted and nearly killed. “We cannot let him down. And we cannot let America down,” he said. In keeping with his reputation as a cultural conservative warrior, DeSantis blasted the Democrats on hot-button issues ranging from undocumented migration across the southern border, to COVID-19 vaccine mandates and “gender ideology”. “They can’t even define what a woman is. Now Donald Trump stands in their way, and he stands up for America,” he said. Our enemies do not confine their designs to between 10AM and 4PM. We need a commander-in-chief who can lead 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. America cannot afford four more years of a Weekend at Bernie’s presidency. Let’s send Joe Biden back to his basement, and let’s send… pic.twitter.com/Px7h0YE5Pv — Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) July 17, 2024 US Senator Ted Cruz, who ran unsuccessfully against Trump in 2016, also hailed Trump’s candidacy, telling the crowd: “God bless Donald J Trump!” As he did on the first day of the convention, Trump again received a hero’s welcome as he entered the Fiserv Forum, receiving a standing ovation from a jubilant party faithful. Trump did not address the convention but is scheduled to deliver his keynote speech on Thursday. Trump has indicated unity will be a key theme of his address, saying that the attempt on his life inspired him to rewrite the speech he had originally planned. Republican presidential candidate and former US president, Donald Trump, arrives during the second day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on Tuesday [Evan Vucci/AP Photo] Donald Trump Jr, Donald Trump’s eldest son, told Axios on Tuesday that his father intends to tone down his rhetoric, saying there are “events that change you for a couple of minutes and there are events that change you permanently”. While it is not yet clear how Trump’s close brush with death will affect the presidential race, some political analysts have suggested that it increases his chances of victory, especially as it happened in Pennsylvania, a key battleground state that is considered crucial to Biden’s re-election chances. Trump has for months been ahead of Biden in most opinion polls, both nationwide and in swing states such as Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan – all three of which flipped from Trump to Biden in 2020. An average of polls on the FiveThirtyEight website shows Trump ahead by 2.2 percent nationally. Adblock test (Why?)
Three Syrian children killed in ‘horrific’ Israeli attack on Lebanon
UN condemns Israeli attack that killed children who were reportedly playing outside their home in south Lebanon. Israeli air attacks in southern Lebanon have killed at least five Syrians, including three children, Lebanese media reported, as Israel’s military and the Hezbollah armed group continued to trade fire across the border. Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) said on Tuesday that the three children were killed in an Israeli air raid “that targeted farmland in the village of Umm Toot”, while two others were killed in an Israeli drone attack on the Kfar Tebnit road, which is also in south Lebanon. The UN children’s agency (UNICEF) condemned the deadly attacks. “The killing of 3 more children by an airstrike today as they were reportedly playing in front of their home in South Lebanon is horrific,” the agency said in a post on X. It added that “more children are at risk as long as the violence continues”. The AFP news agency, citing a Lebanese security source, reported that the other two Syrians killed on Tuesday were “civilians” who worked in the area and had been swimming there. The NNA said that “eyewitnesses reported that the motorbike was carrying two people and that when a number of citizens tried to approach the bike … it was subjected to a second strike”. The killings come as Israeli forces continued to trade fire with Hezbollah, which launched attacks on Israel in support of Palestinians in the war-torn Gaza Strip. The Lebanese armed group has said it will cease hostilities as soon as Israeli authorities and Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip, agree on a ceasefire deal to end the brutal war which has killed at least 38,713 Palestinians in Gaza and 1,139 people in Israel. Data from the the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), show that Israel, Hezbollah and other armed groups in Lebanon have carried out at least 7,400 attacks across the border since the war on Gaza began in October last year. Israel conducted about 83 percent of these attacks, totalling 6,142 incidents, and killing at least 543 people in Lebanon. Hezbollah and other armed groups were responsible for 1,258 attacks that killed at least 21 Israelis. Israel’s military said on Tuesday that its air force launched attacks on parts of south Lebanon after detecting more than 50 projectiles from the neighbouring country. The military said it attacked Hezbollah sites, including a “terrorist cell” in the Yarin area, which is close to Umm Toot. The Lebanese armed group issued a statement afterwards saying that it launched rounds of “Katyusha rockets” at northern Israel in response. The group in separate statements mentioned both “the death of two civilians” in Kfar Tebnit and “the horrible massacre in Umm Toot village” as reasons for the retaliatory fire. The violence, largely restricted to the border area, has raised fears of all-out conflict between the foes, who last went to war in the summer of 2006. Adblock test (Why?)