Trump’s key to Cabinet confirmations: Senator-turned-VP Vance’s gift of gab
Vice President JD Vance has emerged as a key player in President Donald Trump’s effort to close the deal with senators and move his Cabinet nominees through the at-times difficult confirmation process. Vance is becoming an increasingly trusted voice among Republican senators, sources familiar shared with Fox News Digital. Republicans in the upper chamber also view the vice president as an honest broker in their talks about how to push Trump’s agenda forward, sources added, noting that this had established trust in Vance. TRUMP, GOP SENATORS TO DINE AT MAR-A-LAGO BEFORE CAMPAIGN RETREAT When it came to getting two of Trump’s most controversial nominees past their respective committees, Vance stepped up to assist, sources said. Both Director of National Intelligence (DNI) nominee Tulsi Gabbard and Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced uncertainty ahead of key hurdles in the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the Senate Committee on Finance, respectively. Each committee housed potentially hesitant Republicans, who expressed initial uncertainty about the nominees. During the crucial committee-level votes, Gabbard and Kennedy could not afford to lose even one Republican’s support. INSIDE SEN. TOM COTTON’S CAMPAIGN TO SAVE TULSI GABBARD’S ENDANGERED DNI NOMINATION Ultimately, Gabbard earned the support of moderate Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, in addition to the last-minute backing of Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind. Similarly, Kennedy managed to snag Young’s support before the committee vote, and holdout Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., a doctor, announced his plan to vote for the nominee just minutes before it took place. To lock down these votes, a significant effort was underway behind closed doors — which included Vance’s crucial counsel to the senators. The vice president spoke to both Young and Cassidy several times in the days leading up to the recent committee votes that saw Gabbard and Kennedy advance to the Senate floor, the sources told Fox News Digital. In those conversations, Vance talked through any remaining concerns the senators had with the nominees. LEADER THUNE BACKS SENATE GOP BID TO SPEED PAST HOUSE ON TRUMP BUDGET PLAN A number of other administration officials had phone calls with Young and Cassidy, as well, also helping to parse through their lingering doubts. Vance’s conversations proved persuasive, in part because of his long-maintained relationships with both senators, whom he served with up until January, the sources detailed. “I think he’s been tasked with this role because of his preexisting relationship with us,” Young told reporters. According to the senator, Vance was respectful and actually “listened a lot more than he talked.” FORMER GOP LEADER MCCONNELL FALLS WHILE EXITING SENATE CHAMBER AFTER TURNER CONFIRMATION VOTE The vice president was also “effective” in getting the necessary concessions that Young, in particular, needed to get to a yes on the nominees. “He came through, he delivered for me, and I’m grateful for that,” Young said, noting he also delivered for Trump. The Indiana senator further explained he has “a certain affinity for Senator Vance,” adding, “He’s a Midwesterner. He is a U.S. Marine. And we share a lot of concerns about people who are left behind and overlooked and underprivileged.”
Here’s how Trump’s tariffs on China could impact drug pricing and other healthcare costs
President Donald Trump’s tariffs on China have raised significant concern over their potential impact on healthcare costs, but while the move could have a broad effect on the industry, it is likely they will not produce the devastating results that some may be expecting, health policy and trade experts say. A survey by market research group Black Book Research found that 84% of the healthcare consumers they questioned said they expect to see higher costs due to increased pricing on medical treatments and drugs as a result of Trump’s new tariffs. But health policy expert Chris Pope posited that healthcare is “not a very highly tradable sector” and that the sectors that do rely on trade relations, like pharmaceutical drugs or medical devices, will hinge on the magnitude of any Trump tariffs. “There’s not much international trade for most of healthcare. The biggest parts of healthcare – physician services, these are all provided domestically already, and hospitals are a domestic part of healthcare, so you take out those two things, and you’ve kind of ruled out almost three-quarters of all healthcare spending,” Pope said in an interview with Fox News Digital. “So, for the most part, we’re talking about drugs and devices, which are, at most, about a quarter of healthcare spending.” DEMS CLAIM TRUMP TARIFF COULD ‘DRIVE UP’ COSTS DESPITE DEFLECTING BLAME FROM BIDEN’S INFLATION “In terms of prices for the industry, whether it’s absorbed in their margins, or they do less research and development, or they pass it on to consumers … it’s not completely devastating, but it’s definitely annoying,” said Christine McDaniel, a senior economist at George Mason University’s Mercatus Institute. Experts told Fox News that drug prices are among the most vulnerable aspects of the healthcare system, largely due to the U.S.’ reliance on China for certain precursor chemicals and compounds that are essential for producing important medications. However, Pope said that the impact will likely only affect generic drugs and not branded drugs that are based on demand rather than supply. Generic drugs are already relatively cost-efficient, with many of them ranging under $10, he said. Monica de Bolle is an immunologist and a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. She painted a bleaker picture of how many drugs could be impacted by the tariffs. ‘MAKING AMERICA EXPENSIVE AGAIN’: DEMOCRATS FIND A TAX THEY DON’T LIKE IN TRUMP TARIFFS “If you go through a list of the kinds of things that we import from China when it comes to active drug ingredients, or anything else that goes into the making of over-the-counter drugs, everything is in there. If you look at the list, it basically spans the range of potential medications that anyone takes at any point in their lives,” said de Bolle. “It includes things like over-the-counter NSAIDS, so non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drugs, things like Motrin, ibuprofen, even Tylenol, because Acetaminophen is on that list.” She added that drugs that are more dependent on China include medications for anxiety and other psychiatric disorders, such as antidepressants, and following Trump’s tariffs, “those prices are going to go up, for sure,” she said. Experts say costs in healthcare could also rise due to disruptions in the supply chain for medical devices, but they noted that the impact will be a lot harder to generalize, compared to the impact on drug pricing. “Maybe before [the supply chain] was broken up into five stages. Well, now maybe they’ve broken it up into six or seven stages. So there are certain things that they have to stay in China for, or they have to source from China, but then they do the next step in India or another nearby country . . . which is going to be more expensive,” McDaniel said. ‘THIS IS ABOUT FENTANYL’: TARIFFS ARE CRUCIAL TO COMBATING ‘DRUG WAR,’ TRUMP AND CABINET OFFICIALS SAY However, Pope argued that prices could change, depending on the device and the magnitude of Trump’s tariffs. “It’s going to vary a lot, according to where the devices are manufactured, where the components are manufactured, what kind of subsidies are available from other countries and domestically, and the degree of retaliation,” he said. While Trump’s tariffs might be new, the experts say that getting out of China is not. Reducing the U.S.’ dependency on Chinese products tied to healthcare, particularly drugs like antibiotics, has been talked about among lawmakers for some time due to the potential national security risks. Parallel to these discussions, companies have been preparing for future tariffs in light of increased geopolitical tensions. “There has been a lot of discussion coming from both the Democratic camp, as well as the Republican one, about the necessity to bring some of the production of certain types of drugs back to the U.S. to reduce dependency on China,” said de Bolle. “This whole deal about drugs and medical equipment and all of that that was under discussion before Trump. So, it’s not even Trump-related.” “In essence, you know what’s happening now with the tariffs that Trump imposed isn’t any different from the sorts of things that these people were thinking of doing anyway.”
‘Free speech and transparency’: White House launches Rumble account as social media presence grows
FIRST ON FOX: The White House is launching a Rumble account as its presence on social media grows larger, Fox News Digital exclusively learned. A White House official told Fox Digital that it will launch a Rumble account on Monday morning similar to its YouTube account as part of President Donald Trump’s plan “to reach the American people where they are and provide unparalleled transparency and accountability in government.” Rumble is a video platform founded in 2013 as an alternative to YouTube, which has a long track record of accusations surrounding censoring and limiting conservative content. “We thank President Trump and his entire team for their commitment to free speech and transparency, and we are extremely proud that Rumble is now a small part of White House outreach to the people of America and the world. At Rumble, we fight every day for the innate human right of self-expression, and we connect people directly to the marketplace of ideas to avoid the screeners and censors of Big Tech, the corporate media and governments around the globe,” Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski told Fox News Digital. TRUMP WHITE HOUSE ROLLS OUT SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNT TO HOLD ‘FAKE NEWS ACCOUNTABLE’ Rumble is a publicly traded company that most recently reported hosting 67 million monthly users in the third quarter of 2024, which is roughly a 26% increase from 53 million users in its previous quarter. On election night alone, the platform saw a peak of 1.8 million concurrent viewers, Fox Digital learned. The Rumble initiative comes as the White House’s social media engagement has increased under the Trump administration compared to President Biden’s tenure. TRUMP ADMIN TOUTS PURGING ‘WORST’ ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CRIMINALS FROM US STREETS: ‘WORKING TIRELESSLY’ The Trump administration’s White House accounts on X and Instagram racked up 4,685,265 total engagements in the first two weeks, compared to the Biden administration’s 4,134,845 during its first two weeks, according to data provided to Fox Digital. The figures reflect a 13% increase in social media engagement in Trump’s first two weeks or a difference of 550,420 engagements. A White House official noted that when the Biden administration began in 2021, the White House account on X, which was at the time known as Twitter, began with a running start of 1.6 million followers. Under new X rules, however, the second Trump administration’s X account began with zero followers. “Despite this 1.6M follower advantage, our engagement still surpassed theirs,” the White House said of the difference. TOP 5 MOMENTS FROM TRUMP’S ‘HANNITY’ INTERVIEW Long before Trump jumped into politics ahead of the 2016 election, the real estate tycoon’s love of social media, specifically Twitter, had long been on display. Trump would frequently weigh in on pop culture, politics, the media and even Diet Coke on the social media platform ahead of taking office for his first administration. He remarked after his 2016 win that Twitter was crucial to speaking directly to voters. “Twitter is a wonderful thing for me, because I get the word out. … I might not be here talking to you right now as president if I didn’t have an honest way of getting the word out,” he said in 2017. TRUMP’S ‘SHOCK AND AWE’: FORGET FIRST 100 DAYS, NEW PRESIDENT SHOWS OFF FRENETIC PACE IN FIRST 100 HOURS In his second administration, the White House has further leaned into social media to reach voters, including launching a new social media account in January aimed to hold “fake news accountable.” “Welcome to the official Rapid Response account of the Trump 47 White House. We will be supporting President Donald J. Trump’s America First agenda and holding the Fake News accountable for their lies. Let’s Make America Great Again!” the X account, Rapid Response 47, posted in its first message on Jan. 27. The account has since posted dozens of interview clips highlighting what the White House describes as false rhetoric about the administration from Democrat lawmakers, “misleading” articles promoted by mainstream outlets, and touting work the administration has accomplished.
Raheja Developer’s 42-floor The Leela Sky Villas to bring ultra-luxury to Central West Delhi
Delhi’s tallest planned tower, The Leela Sky Villas – Navin Minar, by Raheja Developers, is a 42-floor luxury high-rise soaring 190 meters-twice the height of Qutub Minar. Located on Patel Road, it offers just 120 ultra-exclusive 3 to 8 BHK residences and penthouses.
‘Jahan Kaam, Wahan hum’: PM Modi pitches leadership mantra to students during Pariksha Pe Charcha
During the session, PM Modi highlighted the importance of nutrition and inquired about students’ food and lifestyle choices.
‘Our lifeline’: Kashmiris fear losing orchards, land to mega Modi projects
Srinagar, Indian-administered Kashmir – Malik Haroon crouches on the ground covered with white frost on an early winter morning in Dafferpora village in Indian-administered Kashmir’s Pulwama district. He traces his fingers on the bark of an almond tree – of which there are hundreds around – to check for signs of fungal disease. “It’s fine,” he says, beaming. With the scenic snow-clad Pir Panjal mountains in the backdrop, Haroon’s 1.25 acres (0.5 hectares) of orchard land, fed by the Rumshi Nallah River in southern Pulwama, are plush with groves that yield nearly 30 tonnes of apples, pears, plums and almonds every year. Labourers drink tea sitting on boxes of apples at a market in Jammu, Indian-administered Kashmir [File: Channi Anand/AP] However, the Indian government’s decision to construct an engineering college at the site in Pulwama – which includes almost all of Malik’s land – threatens to strip him and thousands of other cultivators in Kashmir of land, the source of economic livelihood for about 4 million people in the region. Advertisement “I earn $11,000 on average, annually, on account of their harvest,” Haroon, 27, tells Al Jazeera. The income has helped his family of four sidestep widespread economic instability and an unemployment crisis in Indian-administered Kashmir since 2019, when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu majoritarian government scrapped Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, which granted a special status to the Muslim-majority region. That status allowed the disputed region – also claimed by Pakistan – to make its own laws in all matters except finance, defence, foreign affairs and communications. The law protected the Indigenous rights of the region’s residents by barring outsiders from taking up government jobs or buying property there. Apart from stripping the region of its special status, the Modi government also carved it into two federally governed union territories – Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. Since then, the government has announced dozens of infrastructure projects, claiming they will bring economic prosperity to the region and connect its people to the rest of India. But residents and critics fear the slew of projects are aimed at tightening New Delhi’s control over the region, changing its demography by settling in outsiders and boosting access to areas along India’s tense borders with its archrivals China and Pakistan. One of the projects that has triggered considerable anguish among residents in Pulwama is the establishment of a National Institute of Technology (NIT). The NITs are a government-run nationwide chain of engineering colleges, among the country’s most reputable tech schools. A whopping 600 acres (243 hectares) of land are being acquired for the college, according to a government notification issued on December 24, most of it prime agricultural and horticultural land and grazing grounds residents depend on for livelihoods. Advertisement “The proposed land transfer affects as many as 10 villages in Pulwama,” says Haroon.”This land is our lifeline.” He says that most people in these villages have no economic pursuits other than horticulture. “Some rear sheep for a living but even then, it is these grounds where the livestock come to graze,” he says. New railway lines It is not just a college the government has planned for the region. Since 2019, New Delhi has authorised a series of mega projects – roads, tunnels, railway lines and residential complexes – which critics say could destroy not just prime agricultural land and livelihoods, but also the Himalayan region’s fragile topography. Kashmiris accuse the government of sidelining them while making decisions about their lands – without consent or proper compensation. Ghulam Muhammad Tantray, 65, owns 1.25 acres (0.5 hectares) of orchard land at Dirhama, a small cluster of 150 homes amid a vast swath of green fields covered with thousands of apple trees in the Anantnag district. “The orchard fetches me about $13,000 every year,” Tantray says. But he fears losing his property after Indian railway officials arrived in Dirhama to conduct what they called a “survey” of lands in the area a year ago. “We had no idea what was coming until the Railway Ministry revealed that it had commissioned a final location survey to add five new railway tracks to the region. We panicked like anything. It’s like losing something very dear to you. We have groomed this land and these trees like our children,” Tantray tells Al Jazeera. The Vande Bharat Express train arrives at Srinagar railway station [File: Dar Yasin/AP] The valley area of Indian-administered Kashmir has long had just one railway line connecting the southern hill town of Banihal with the Baramulla district in the north. Advertisement But the government plans to add five more lines crisscrossing the valley, for which hundreds of acres of land will be acquired, thereby eliminating flourishing apple orchards and other plantations key to the region. The upgrade is part of the government’s ambitious project to link Kashmir with the rest of the country through an all-weather train track, making travel easy and affordable for millions of Indians who visit the region for tourism or religious pilgrimage. One of the five new railway lines will cross Dirhama, where a railway station will also be built. “At least 80 of 150 homes in Dirhama will lose their key sources of income after the completion of the railway project,” says Tantray. “As for me, of the 1.25 acres [0.5 hectares] that I own, 1 acre [0.4 hectares] will be used up for the new railway station. What will that leave me with?” Tantray says the villagers have held several protests, demanding the railway station be relocated and reasoning with government officials that they “never asked for it”. “The land is our family inheritance. It has ensured our livelihood for generations,” Tantray tells Al Jazeera. “In the face of a rising unemployment crisis, this land is the only option my three sons will have in case they are not able to get jobs.” Another resident, speaking on condition of anonymity, says: “Locals in Kashmir do not know how these projects will benefit them.” Al Jazeera reached out to
Sylvia Wynter: Beyond man
DigiDocs Sylvia Wynter was a radical philosopher from the Caribbean who explored modern history from the perspective of slavery, the Middle passage and plantation economics. In this animated documentary short, Wynter calls on us to rethink the very notion of what it is to be human. A film by Marcela Pizarro, Stefania Sottile and Pomona Pictures. Voices: scholar, Dr. Sophia Azeb and Greta Mendez, dancer. This film is part of a series, Race Historicised: Epistemologies of Colour, that delves into the archives of Black intellectual thought, to showcase the work of towering figures who have contributed to the anti-racist struggle, in both theory and action. Published On 10 Feb 202510 Feb 2025 Adblock test (Why?)
Protester with Palestinian flag interrupts Lamar’s Super Bowl show
Demonstrator detained after unfurling flag with the words ‘Gaza’ and ‘Sudan’ at Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans. A protester carrying a Palestinian flag has been detained after interrupting rapper Kendrick Lamar’s half-time show at the NFL Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans, the United States. The man jumped onto a car that headline act Lamar had used during his performance at Caesars Superdome on Sunday. The New Orleans Police Department said in a statement quoted by the Associated Press that it was “working to determine applicable charges in this incident.” The game, which ended with a 42-20 win for the Philadelphia Eagles against the Kansas City Chiefs, continued as scheduled after the protester was escorted from the field immediately after the incident. The demonstrator, holding a Palestinian flag with the words “Gaza” and “Sudan” written across it, jumped from the car and ran in circles on the field after being spotted by security staff. The solitary protester holds a Palestinian flag with the words ‘Gaza’ and ‘Sudan’ as rapper Kendrick Lamar performs nearby [Chandan Khanna/AFP] The protester, believed to be a production cast member, was dressed in clothing similar to that of the numerous dancers and flag bearers who were part of Lamar’s much-anticipated performance. Advertisement Donald Trump was in attendance at the game, the first time a sitting US president attended the Super Bowl, and was flanked in the stand by his daughter Ivanka and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. Trump left the stadium slightly before the end of the game but was in attendance for the half-time show. US President Donald Trump and Ivanka Trump with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell before the game [Mike Segar/Reuters] Actor Samuel L Jackson, famed for his roles in Pulp Fiction and Star Wars, was also on stage with Lamar and fellow recording artist SZA when the protest took place. The production continued without interruption and the television broadcast quickly cut away from the protester, who was only briefly glimpsed in the background. Spectators were able to record the moment, which was then shared widely on social media. Security escorts out a protester holding a Palestinian flag at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana [Chandan Khanna/AFP] Adblock test (Why?)
Breakthrough in agricultural science: Shikhadri Mahanta on how atmospheric cold plasma technology is transforming…
Shikhadri Mahanta, an Indian doctoral student at Texas A&M University, is deeply involved in researching the application of ACP to improve the quality and safety of grains
Federal court blocks Trump admin from sending detained Venezuelan immigrants to Guantánamo Bay
A federal court on Sunday issued a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration from sending three Venezuelan immigrants held in New Mexico to the Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, detention camp as part of the president’s efforts to remove illegal immigrants from the U.S. Lawyers for the trio said in a legal filing that the detainees “fit the profile of those the administration has prioritized for detention in Guantánamo, i.e. Venezuelan men detained in the El Paso area with (false) charges of connections with the Tren de Aragua gang.” In the filing, the lawyers asked a U.S. District Court in New Mexico for a temporary restraining order to block the administration from flying them to the U.S. military base. The lawyers noted that “the mere uncertainty the government has created surrounding the availability of legal process and counsel access is sufficient to authorize the modest injunction.” TRUMP DEPORTING CRIMINAL ALIENS TO GUANTANAMO BAY: MEET THE HARDENED TERRORISTS THEY’LL JOIN Judge Kenneth J. Gonzales granted the temporary restraining order, according to attorney Jessica Vosburgh, who represents the three men. “It’s short term. This will get revisited and further fleshed out in the weeks to come,” Vosburgh told The Associated Press. The filing came as part of a lawsuit on behalf of the three men filed by the Center for Constitutional Rights, the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico and Las Americas Immigrant Advisory Center. FIRST 10 ‘HIGH THREAT’ ILLEGALS ARRIVE TO GUANTÁNAMO BAY ARE ALL TREN DE ARAGUA MEMBERS Last week, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt separately said that flights carrying detained illegal immigrants had been sent to Guantánamo. Immigrant rights groups sent a letter on Friday demanding access to people who are now being held at the U.S. naval station, arguing that the base should not be used as a “legal black hole.” Guantánamo has been criticized around the world for its inhumane abuse and torture of detainees, including interrogation tactics. The immigrants are being held in the Guantánamo detention camp that was set up for detainees in the aftermath of 9/11. The immigrants are separated from the 15 detainees who were already there, including planners in the 2001 terrorist attack. Trump has promised to expand the detention camp to hold up to 30,000 “criminal illegal aliens.” Leavitt said Wednesday that more than 8,000 immigrants have been arrested since Jan. 20 as part of Trump’s plan to detain and deport immigrants in the country illegally, although hundreds of those arrested have since been released back into the U.S. The Associated Press contributed to this report.