‘We will…’: Uddhav Thackeray makes big statement about BJP amid speculation of reconciliation
The former Maharashtra Chief Minister also criticised the BJP’s narrative following the Lok Sabha polls, where he claimed the national party was masking its shortcomings by suggesting Shiv Sena (UBT) might join the NDA.
Biden campaign manager dodges question on whether immigration executive order will get president more votes
President Biden’s campaign manager on Wednesday appeared to dodge questions about whether the president’s new executive order giving illegal immigrants a pathway to citizenship was a political move aimed at shoring up more votes before Election Day on Nov. 5. Julie Chavez Rodriguez appeared on CBS News’ “America Decides” for an interview with Fin Gomez that aired Wednesday evening. Gomez asked Rodriguez why the president’s new policy was implemented now “four and a half months out from the Nov. 5 election.” Rodriguez said immigration reform has been a major priority of the Biden administration since day 1. She also bashed former President Trump for encouraging Republicans to vote against a bipartisan immigration bill earlier this year. Gomez asked whether Rodriguez believed Biden’s new policy would encourage “mixed-status families” who benefit from this to vote for the president. Rodriguez said families who are eligible for Biden’s executive order “will be able to sleep better tonight knowing that they have an opportunity to help ensure that they are not separated by cruel policies.” VIDEO SHOWS NYPD DRAG ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT RAPE SUSPECT FROM HIDING UNDER CAR AFTER CITIZEN’S ARREST “They will be able to hug each other a little bit tighter knowing that they can remain together as a whole family in this country as a result of this executive order. Those are the things that matter most,” Rodriguez said. Gomez noted that many Latino voters are turning away from President Biden and asked Rodriguez to respond to critics who say the executive order is a “political move to maintain support among Latino voters.” Rodriguez again invoked the president’s track record on immigration since taking office, including expanding the Affordable Care Act for recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. At no point was the issue of border security brought up in the interview. Fox News Digital has reached out to Biden’s campaign team and the White House for additional comment. ACCUSED MIGRANT RAPIST PASSED THROUGH BORDER HOT SPOT AT CENTER OF TEXAS-BIDEN FEUD Biden announced Tuesday that his administration will allow U.S. citizens’ spouses without legal status to apply for permanent residency and eventually citizenship without having to first depart the country for up to 10 years. About 500,000 immigrants may benefit, according to senior administration officials. To qualify, an immigrant must have lived in the U.S. for 10 years and be married to a U.S. citizen, both as of Monday. The Obama-era DACA program, which has shielded from deportation hundreds of thousands of people who came to the United States as young children, required applicants to be in the U.S. on June 15, 2012, and continuously for the previous five years. More than 1 million illegal immigrants living in the U.S. are married to American citizens, according to advocacy group FWD.us, meaning hundreds of thousands won’t qualify because they were in the U.S. for fewer than 10 years. About 50,000 noncitizen children with parents who are married to a U.S. citizen could also potentially qualify, according to senior administration officials who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity. Biden also announced new regulations that will allow some DACA beneficiaries and other young immigrants to more easily qualify for long-established work visas.
SC to hear fresh petitions regarding NEET-UG 2024 exam cancellation today
Approximately 24 lakh candidates took the NEET-UG 2024 exam, which was held on May 5 across 4,750 centers.
PM Modi to visit J-K today, to lead International Yoga Day celebrations on June 21
The 10th International Day of Yoga will take place at SKICC in Srinagar on June 21 at around 6:30 a.m., and the prime minister will be attending.
Senate stumped over COVID origins: What we know – and don’t know
Reel back to June 2021. House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., did not yet wield the committee gavel. But he had questions about COVID-19, which gripped the planet. “For most of the pandemic, anyone who raised questions about the origin of the virus was dismissed as a crazy conspiracy theorist,” opined Green on the House floor. Many were even reluctant to dip into the idea that COVID-19 could have come from a lab in China in 2021. FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP AND HOUSE SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON: WHO NEEDS WHO? Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Calif., is a doctor and the top Democrat on the House panel investigating the start of the pandemic. Some Republicans touted the lab leak theory. Yet Ruiz was careful to note that the concept was far from proven. The Department of Energy and FBI suggested a lab leak was the culprit. But most U.S. intelligence agencies suspected the virus emanated from nature. “They do not strongly with high confidence say that this was a lab leak,” said Ruiz at a July 2023 hearing. “But we heard that they do from the other side. That’s a lie.” Like Green, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., argued in 2023 that Democrats “accused everyone who believes that there was a lab leak to be a conspiracy theorist.” But the theory of a lab leak potentially sparking the pandemic no longer flits around the fringes. The House COVID committee unearthed a message last year from Dr. David Morens – an associate of Dr. Anthony Fauci. Fauci was the public face of the pandemic response. He just retired as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Morens wrote that “Tony doesn’t want his fingerprints on origin stories.” In an appearance on Fox in January 2023, Fauci declared that “the evidence points very strongly, very strongly to this being a natural jump from an animal species to a human.” But Fauci may have tempered those views. “I’ve also been very, very clear and said multiple times that I don’t think the concept of there being a (lab) leak is inherently a conspiracy theory,” said Fauci to the House coronavirus committee this month. “What is a conspiracy is the kind of distortions that it was a lab leak and I was parachuted into the CIA like Jason Bourne and told the CIA that they should really not be talking about a lab leak.” BIDEN’S ATTORNEY GENERAL IS FIGHTING BACK AS THE GOP-LED HOUSE CONTEMPLATES CONTEMPT In 2020, Fauci cited an article from the British scientific magazine Nature when talking about what caused the pandemic. The House COVID committee is scrutinizing communications between Fauci and the essay’s authors just before the item went to print. Some Republicans accuse Fauci of trying to use the article to shield criticism about a possible lab leak. The Senate probed the origins of the pandemic at a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing this week. “Today we are here to examine one of the most critical and debated questions of our time,” said Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who has long been suspect of what the government said about what fueled the pandemic. “Just like the Hunter Biden laptop story, the experts said this was disinformation,” snapped Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., about the lab leak concept. Tulane Medical School Dean Dr. Robert Garry co-authored the 2020 article in Nature. Garry argued it wasn’t plausible for a lab leak to trigger the pandemic. “So you’re saying that (idea) came to you overnight?” questioned Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo. “There was new data,” replied Garry. “Like a revelation from God? Overnight? ‘I’ve figured it out, and now I can definitely rule it out. It’s amazing!’ Is that what happened?” countered Hawley. “It’s just the scientific method,” responded Garry. Garry holds firm that he believes the pandemic started in nature. But he concedes some of the science evolved. That’s why Republican senators chided Garry about the article, leaning on a zoonotic origin of the pandemic. STATUESQUE REV GRAHAM TRIBUTE COMES TO THE CAPITOL, BUT SHIES AWAY FROM THE LIMELIGHT “That is scientific misconduct and fraud,” charged Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis. “The reason the American public legitimately don’t trust scientists and health agencies because people like you, you bear that responsibility for violating the public’s trust from your scientific misconduct. And fraud.” “It was not fraud,” countered Garry. “We didn’t put anything in that paper that we didn’t believe was true. The conclusions of that paper have held up very well. In fact, there’s been an abundance of scientific evidence that has come forward since then to support all the conclusions, everything we wrote in that paper. So, there’s no fraud.” But even other scientists upbraided Garry. “This is the most egregious form of scientific misconduct. Publishing a paper where you know the conclusions are untrue,” alleged Dr. Richard Ebright of Rutgers University. Still, questions linger about what went down in Wuhan, China. That’s the site of the Wuhan Institute of Virology. It’s close to the Wuhan wet market. That’s the locale some identify as the geographic center of the pandemic. “It’s one jump from one animal to one human. The most likely place that happens is in a laboratory,” said Steven Quay of Atossa Therapeutics and a former Stanford University faculty member. “The Wuhan Institute (of) Virology. That’s where I’d look.” However, China is seemingly impenetrable when it comes to providing western investigators data about the pandemic. “The Chinese government may never fully disclose all the information they have about the initial COVID-19 outbreak,” said Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chair Gary Peters, D-Mich., who called the hearing. Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., is advocating a 9/11-style commission to investigate the origins of COVID. Marshall also raised the possibility of classifying COVID-19 as a bioweapon. The Kansas Republican framed this in the context of national security. “What did the U.S. do to contribute to (this) and how do we keep this from happening again?” asked Marshall. Some
U.S. lawmakers meet with Dalai Lama in India, sparking anger from China
A bipartisan United States congressional delegation met with the Dalai Lama Wednesday at his residence in India’s Dharamshala, sparking anger from China which views the exiled spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism as a dangerous separatist. This comes as Washington and Beijing have recently restarted talks after several years of turmoil that began after the imposition of tariffs on Chinese goods under the Trump administration. Relations at the time deteriorated even more following the COVID-19 pandemic and the rising military tensions in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait. DALAI LAMA SAYS HE WAS BEING ‘INNOCENT AND PLAYFUL’ WHEN ASKING YOUNG BOY TO ‘SUCK MY TONGUE’ The high-level delegation, led by Republican Rep. Michael McCaul and including Democratic former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, arrived Tuesday at the hillside town, which the Nobel Peace Prize laureate has made his headquarters since fleeing from Tibet after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959. There, they met with officials from the Tibetan government-in-exile, which wants more autonomy for Tibet. Beijing doesn’t recognize said administration and hasn’t held any dialogue with the representatives of the Dalai Lama since 2010. After meeting the spiritual leader on Wednesday, the seven U.S. lawmakers addressed hundreds who had gathered at a monastery just outside the 88-year-old Dalai Lama’s residence, waving American and Tibetan flags. They told the crowd that a key focus of their visit was to underscore the Resolve Tibet Act, passed by the U.S. Congress last week, and aims to encourage dialogue between the Dalai Lama and Chinese officials with the hopes of finding a peaceful resolution between Tibet and Beijing. The bill should now be sent to the White House for President Joe Biden to sign into a law. Pelosi said the bill is “a message to the Chinese government that we have clarity in our thinking and our understanding of this issue of the freedom of Tibet,” eliciting applause. McCaul, the Republican representative, said it reaffirmed American support for the Tibetan right to self-determination. “Just this week our delegation received a letter from the Chinese Communist Party, warning us not to come here… but we did not let the CCP intimidate us for we are here today,” he said as people cheered. However, the visit and newly passed bill have triggered swift backlash from Beijing. Lin Jian, a spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry, urged Washington on Tuesday not to support Tibetan independence and said the White House “must not sign the bill into law,” or China will take “resolute measures,” without elaborating on what they may be. “It’s known by all that the 14th Dalai Lama is not a purely religious figure, but a political exile engaged in anti-China separatist activities under the cloak of religion,” Lin added, urging the U.S. side to “have no contact with the Dalai group in any form, and stop sending the wrong signal to the world.” The Dalai Lama denies being a separatist and says he only advocates substantial autonomy and protection of Tibet’s native Buddhist culture. The Tibetan spiritual leader has a history of engaging with U.S. officials, including American presidents — from Jimmy Carter to Barack Obama — except for Donald Trump. He has yet to meet Biden since he took office in 2021. The Dalai Lama is expected to travel to the U.S. on Thursday for medical treatment for his knees, but it is unclear if he will meet any officials while there. Meanwhile, Beijing has repeatedly asked the U.S. not to interfere with Tibetan affairs and has argued that the people of Tibet have enjoyed social stability and economic growth under its rule. While India considers Tibet to be part of China, it hosts Tibetan exiles.
Attacks and rhetoric: Israel, Hezbollah could plunge Lebanon into war
A threat from Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah to strike Cyprus has ratcheted up tensions even further in the eastern Mediterranean, as the Lebanese Shia group’s conflict with Israel continues to threaten to turn into an all-out war. Nasrallah said on Wednesday that Hezbollah did not want an expanded war, but that it was ready – along with its regional allies – to match Israel’s increased aggression. The threat towards Cyprus is a result of what Nasrallah said was the Israeli use of bases on the eastern Mediterranean island. “The Cypriot government must be warned that opening Cypriot airports and bases for the Israeli enemy to target Lebanon means that the Cypriot government has become part of the war and the resistance [Hezbollah] will deal with it as part of the war,” Nasrallah said. Although the United Kingdom has two bases in Cyprus, there has been no officially acknowledged Israeli use of Cypriot land or airbases. Israel has used Cypriot airspace to conduct drills in the past. The heightened rhetoric from Nasrallah comes a day after Hezbollah published footage it said was taken by one of its drones above the Israeli city of Haifa. The footage, which Nasrallah said only showed a small part of the footage captured, appeared to be a warning to Israeli authorities of Hezbollah’s reach, should Israel continue to threaten an expansion of its attacks on Lebanon. Israel had announced on Tuesday that operational plans for a military offensive in its northern neighbour were “approved and validated”. More than 90,000 Israelis have fled their homes in the north of the country since hostilities began with Hezbollah on October 8, a day after the conflict between Israel and Hamas began in Gaza. At least 90,000 people have also fled their homes in southern Lebanon as a result of Israeli attacks. ‘No red lines crossed’ Israel has assassinated a number of Hezbollah commanders, including, most recently, Taleb Abdallah, a senior commander who was killed last week. Hezbollah responded to the attack by firing more than 200 rockets – the most it has fired in a single day towards Israel since October. Since then, Israel has continued its air strikes on southern Lebanon, including the city of Tyr. But despite that, and despite the rhetoric from both sides, there is a belief among observers that both sides are still largely sticking to the rules of engagement, with escalations occurring gradually. “The intensity of hostilities has increased but not their nature,” Eyal Lurie-Pardes of the Middle East Institute said. “No red line has been crossed. A rocket attack on Haifa, for instance, would signal greater capability, so would almost constitute a red line [for Israel].” “Hezbollah have said they’ll stop with a ceasefire in Gaza. Israel just needs to deal with the displaced people of the north. Both are one miscalculation away from conflict.” Diplomatic efforts continue. United States envoy Amos Hochstein, who previously helped mediate a maritime deal between Lebanon and Israel, was recently in Beirut to try and ease tensions at the border, which could still draw in other regional actors. “[Hochstein’s] mission is constrained by the need for a comprehensive agreement that would involve both Hamas and Hezbollah,” said Imad Salamey, a political scientist at the Lebanese American University. “This necessity has not been fully recognised or addressed by either the American or Israeli sides, limiting the effectiveness of Hochstein’s efforts to achieve lasting peace and stability.” Anxiety in Lebanon Although an all-out conflict between Hezbollah and Israel can still be avoided, many Lebanese are growing increasingly worried. “The feeling in Lebanon is one of growing worry and anxiety about the possible breakout of an all-out war,” said Salamey. “The Israeli military’s approval of a war plan is taken very seriously by the Lebanese people, leading to heightened fears of escalation. This approval has significantly undermined plans for tourism and investment in the country, as potential visitors and investors are reconsidering their decisions due to the increased threat of conflict.” Lebanon has had one of the century’s worst economic crises and has been stuck in a political deadlock without a president since October 2022. The country has lacked political and economic stability in recent years, even before the war. Infrastructure is stretched and an expanded war could have a devastating effect on the already struggling nation. Lebanon is not in a position to effectively respond to an Israeli invasion or a wider aerial war on its infrastructure,” Salamey said. “Any significant expansion of conflict would be devastating, as the destruction of infrastructure would be difficult to repair or replace. The Lebanese government lacks the resources for reconstruction, and there are few international donors willing to provide the necessary support, unlike the aftermath of the 2006 war.” The further dissolution of the Lebanese state could have serious repercussions for the region as well, Salamey said, adding that it “could exacerbate existing political and social tensions within Lebanon, making recovery even more challenging”. “The destruction of Lebanon would produce a state of chaos with armed groups pouring into its territory, hence creating a much more unstable situation [for the Israelis, too],” he said. Israelis want answers Should Israel decide to further engage with Lebanon, however, its military and civilian infrastructure could also sustain serious damage. Hezbollah is significantly stronger and better equipped than Hamas and the group has recently unveiled new weapons, including anti-aircraft missiles that have driven Israeli military aircraft out of Lebanese airspace for the first time. “What is particularly worrisome and significant is that the Israelis seem to have learned absolutely nothing after their past experiences in Lebanon,” Karim Emile Bitar, professor of international relations at University Saint Joseph in Beirut, told Al Jazeera. “The announcement they made yesterday that they are about to wage a total war that would annihilate Hezbollah is at best extraordinarily naive and at worst, it shows amateurism.” “Hezbollah could inflict serious and significant and even unprecedented damage on Israel,” he added. Israel invaded Lebanon in 1978 and 1982, where it
Canada lists Iran Revolutionary Guards as ‘terrorist’ group
Ottawa cites the IRGC’s ties to Hamas and Hezbollah, accusing Iran of ‘complete disregard for human rights’. Canada has listed Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a “terrorist” entity and urged its citizens in Iran to leave. The Canadian government made the announcement on Wednesday, saying that the move will help Ottawa with “countering terrorist financing”. “The decision to list the IRGC through the Criminal Code listing regime sends a strong message that Canada will use all tools at its disposal to combat the terrorist activity of the IRGC, conducted both unilaterally and in knowing association with listed terrorist entities such as Hezbollah and Hamas,” the Canadian government said in a statement. There was no immediate comment from Tehran. For years, the opposition Conservatives in Canada have urged Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to blacklist the IRGC. On Wednesday, Dominic LeBlanc, Canada’s minister of public safety, cited Iran’s human rights record as one of the reasons behind the decision. “The Iranian regime has consistently displayed a complete disregard for human rights, both inside and outside Iran, as well as a willingness to destabilise the international rules-based order,” LeBlanc said in a statement. “Listing the IRGC builds on the Government of Canada’s broader efforts to ensure that there is no impunity for Iran’s unlawful actions and its support of terrorism.” Foreign Minister Melanie Joly urged Canadians not to travel to Iran, citing a heightened risk of “arbitrary detention”. “For those in Iran right now, it’s time to come back home. For those planning to go to Iran, don’t go,” she told a news conference. The listing requires Canadian financial institutions to freeze any IRGC assets and prohibits Canadian citizens from engaging in financial dealings with the group. The United States designated the IRGC as a “terrorist” group in 2019. The IRGC, an elite force that operates with some autonomy and answers directly to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, is an official branch of the Iranian military. Relations between Iran and Canada have been rocky for decades. Ottawa cut diplomatic ties with Tehran in 2012, citing its nuclear programme and support for the embattled Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad. The relationship soured further in 2020 after Iran shot down a plane with dozens of Canadian citizens and permanent residents on board. The Ukraine International Airlines flight was bound for Kyiv when it was hit with two missiles shortly after takeoff from Tehran on January 8, 2020. The missile strike came at a time of heightened tensions between Iran and the US. Hours earlier, the IRGC had targeted US forces in Iraq after the assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad. Iranian officials have said the downing of the Boeing 737 was an accident caused by human error in operating an air defence system. Last year, an Iranian court issued initial sentences for 10 unnamed people accused of playing a role in the incident. They included the operator of the defence system. Iran has also set compensation at $150,000 for each of the victims’ families, and it said last year that it had begun the payments. But in a case at the International Court of Justice, Canada accused Iran of failing “to conduct an impartial, transparent and fair criminal investigation and prosecution consistent with international law”. The listing of the IRGC comes as the Canadian government faces questions over its own commitment to human rights in relation to its close ties with Israel, which has been accused of rampant abuses in Gaza. Adblock test (Why?)
Are Israel and Hezbollah on the verge of full-blown war?
Tensions between the Israeli military and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah are at an all-time high. They have been engaged in low-level hostilities for more than eight months. Israel’s assassination of one of Hezbollah’s most senior commanders last week, however, has led to an escalation. United States President Joe Biden sent a special envoy to the region, hoping to defuse tensions and prevent a wider conflict. But has it worked? And with no sign the Israeli military is close to ending its war on Gaza, is it on the brink of opening up a second front in the north? Presenter: Neave Barker Guests: Nicholas Noe – Editor-in-chief of the Beirut-based Mideastwire.com Robert Geist Pinfold – Lecturer in peace and security at Durham University Mohanad Hage Ali – Deputy research director at the Malcolm H Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center Adblock test (Why?)
Wisconsin Dem fighting re-election battle under fire for blasting same tax loopholes exploited by her partner
Wisconsin Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin has a long history of criticizing tax loopholes for the rich, despite her partner’s career reportedly helping ultra-high-net-worth clients pay less in taxes. Labeled by Morgan Stanley as one of its “private wealth advisors,” Maria Brisbane, Baldwin’s partner since 2018, works to deliver “tax minimization strategies” for her clients at the firm. Brisbane’s work, as well as how it stands in contrast to Baldwin’s own preaching about wealthy Americans using tax loopholes to avoid paying their fair share in taxes, was first highlighted in a report by the Washington Examiner on Tuesday. On Tax Day this year, Baldwin and two other Democrats in the upper chamber introduced the Carried Interest Fairness Act in an effort to eliminate the “carried interest tax loophole and make wealthy fund managers pay what other American workers do,” according to an April press release. TRUMP THROWS SUPPORT BEHIND REPUBLICAN BUSINESSMAN LOOKING TO FLIP WISCONSIN SENATE SEAT: ‘GO OUT AND WIN’ “Hardworking Wisconsin families should not be paying more in taxes than the wealthiest Americans. But right now, our tax code has loopholes that allow super wealthy hedge fund managers to avoid paying their fair share,” Baldwin said at the time. “By closing the carried interest loophole, we’ll make our tax code fairer for working families, cut the deficit, and ensure that those at the top of the food chain aren’t exploiting the system to further enrich themselves.” Brisbane, who was named to Forbes’ “America’s Top Women Wealth Advisors” list in February, has worked alongside private wealth adviser Alex Zachary at Morgan Stanley since early 2024. Their practice, the Brisbane Group, previously operated under Merrill Lynch’s “private wealth management unit focused on ultra-wealthy clients,” according to a January report by Advisor Hub. “The Brisbane Group is focused on helping Ultra High Net Worth individuals, families, and not-for-profit organizations create customized investment strategies with a focus on custom tailored equity portfolios,” Morgan Stanley states on its website. Additionally, Morgan Stanley touts the firm’s private wealth management division, which is “dedicated to serving the firm’s most affluent clients, including some of the world’s most accomplished entrepreneurs, executives and stewards of multigenerational wealth.” Based in New York, the multinational investment bank and financial services company touts its wealth management division’s offering of “investment opportunities spanning private equity, private credit, real assets, hedge funds and more.” SEN. TAMMY BALDWIN REPAYS TAXPAYER-FUNDED NOVEMBER 2020 NYC TRIP TO SEE PARTNER In February 2022, Baldwin targeted “activist hedge funds,” saying they “promote short-term gains at the expense of workers, taxpayers and local communities.” The Tuesday report from the Examiner also included a comment from the Wisconsin Republican Party, which took aim at Baldwin and Brisbane: “Baldwin and Brisbane are enriching themselves by helping out-of-state clients avoid paying their taxes,” Matt Fisher, a Wisconsin Republican Party spokesman, told the outlet. Regarding Baldwin’s past comments and Brisbane’s work at Morgan Stanley, Baldwin’s campaign insisted the senator’s record “speaks for itself.” “Tammy Baldwin has been a leader in the fight to ensure the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share for years … Attacking Tammy Baldwin for her partner’s work is baseless and wrong,” Andrew Mamo, a spokesperson for Baldwin’s Senate campaign, told Fox News Digital. Baldwin’s campaign also pointed to legislation the senator has introduced or supported in recent years to address certain loopholes, including the Carried Interest Fairness Act, Paying a Fair Share Act, and the Billionaires Income Tax Act. The report comes as Baldwin, who has represented Wisconsin in the Senate since 2013, seeks re-election to a third term in office. She is expected to face off in the state’s Nov. 5 general election against Eric Hovde, her leading Republican challenger in the race. Baldwin’s campaign accused Hovde of refusing “to disclose his finances” and claimed he “worked to avoid taxes.” Additionally, the campaign highlighted Hovde’s efforts to self-finance his campaign and his investment in a hedge fund based in the Cayman Islands.