Home Minister Amit Shah to review J-K security situation today in wake of recent terror attacks
The home minister will also review the preparation for the annual Amarnath pilgrimage set to start on June 29.
Weather update: IMD issues heavy to very heavy rainfall in these states till this date, check forecast here
Gangetic West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Odisha are expected to have isolated to scattered light to moderate rainfall with thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds (30-40 kmph) for the next 4 days, increasing thereafter.
14 dead, several injured after vehicle falls into gorge in Uttarakhand’s Rudraprayag
Union Minister Ajay Tamta said that the state government, under the guidance of Uttarakhand Chief Minister Dhami has admitted them to Rishikesh AIIMS.
Detroit pastor thanks Trump for visiting the ‘hood’ as Biden, Obama who ‘never came’ attend LA fundraiser
Former President Trump attended a roundtable discussion at a church in Detroit on Saturday afternoon in an effort to reach out to Black voters. During the discussion, 180 Church Pastor Lorenzo Sewell told Trump that he was “humbled” by the former president’s visit. “President Obama never came to the ’hood, so-to-speak, right? President Joe Biden, he went to the big NAACP dinner, but he never came to the ’hood. So thank you,” Sewell said, eliciting applause from the audience. Later Saturday, Trump appeared at the “People’s Convention” of Turning Point Action. GEORGE CLOONEY RUBS ELBOWS WITH BIDEN AT STAR-STUDDED LA FUNDRAISER AFTER CALLING WHITE HOUSE WITH COMPLAINT Fox News Digital has reached out to the Biden campaign for a response to Sewell’s remarks. Sewell told “Fox & Friends First” on Friday that he couldn’t remember the last time a president laid out a plan for the Black community until Trump created the Platinum Plan, which included approximately $500 billion for Black businesses and churches. “Those metrics matter to us. So we’re going to hold him accountable to the Platinum Plan that he produced,” Sewell said. TRUMP SAYS SUPREME COURT’S DECISION STRIKING DOWN HIS ADMIN’S BUMP STOCK RULE ‘SHOULD BE RESPECTED’ Biden was in Detroit last month, where he spoke at the NAACP’s 69th Fight for Freedom Fund Dinner, repeating talking points about bringing people together and slamming Trump for being too divisive. Trump’s appearance comes as Biden is set to attend a glitzy fundraiser in Los Angeles later Saturday, headlined by Hollywood actors George Clooney and Julia Roberts, alongside former President Obama. The Biden campaign said Saturday night’s event is expected to raise at least $28 million. Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Heckman contributed to this report.
Paul Pressler, a former Southern Baptist leader accused of sexual abuse, dead at 94
One of the most influential evangelical figures of the last half-century, Pressler died about six months after he settled a high-profile lawsuit with a former member of his youth group.
Biden strikes gold in California, one week after Trump’s massive haul in the blue bastion
After former President Trump’s lucrative, three-day swing through California, President Biden has returned to the West Coast to tap into the Democrat-dominated state’s political ATM. With less than five months to go until the November election, late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel will interview Biden and former President Obama as they team up with Hollywood heavyweights George Clooney and Julia Roberts at a star-studded fundraiser the president’s campaign said is already breaking records. Biden’s campaign boasted “the event has already raised over $28 million and counting — making it the biggest fundraiser in Democratic Party history.” The haul tops a fundraiser with Biden, Obama and former President Clinton in March at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall, which raked in $26 million. TRUMP HAULS IN PLENTY OF GREEN DURING SWING THROUGH LONGTIME BLUE STATE But Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee, hauled in over $50 million in early April at a fundraiser at the Palm Beach, Florida, home of billionaire investor and hedge fund founder John Paulson. It was the most money ever brought in at a single fundraising event and shattered the record Biden set just a week and a half earlier at Radio City Music Hall. It’s the latest case of national politicians coming to California to pad their campaign coffers. According to figures from the Federal Election Commission, Biden and Trump have raked in more money in California this cycle than any other state. “When politicians look to the west, they see a field of green,” veteran California-based political scientist Jack Pitney at Claremont McKenna College told Fox News. Tickets for Saturday’s gala at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles, which an invitation describes as a “historic night,” ranged from $250 for a single person to get in the door to half a million dollars for special access, photos with Biden and Obama and invitations to an after-party. The president arrived in California one week after Trump left the Golden State. Trump’s team said when all the money is counted, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee was expected to haul in roughly $27.5 million from three fundraisers in California and one in Las Vegas, a senior campaign official told Fox News. WHY TRUMP’S SAN FRANCISCO FUNDRAISER WAS FRUITFUL IN MORE THAN ONE WAY And the Trump campaign said an additional $6 million was raised for outside groups supporting his 2024 election rematch with Biden. Trump has been aiming to close his fundraising gap with Biden. In April, his campaign and the Republican National Committee (RNC) for the first time raised more than the Biden campaign and the Democratic National Committee. Trump’s campaign announced a week ago it and the RNC hauled in a stunning $141 million in May, fueled in part by the former president’s guilty verdicts in his recently concluded criminal trial. Trump was found guilty of all 34 felony counts in the first trial of a former or current president in the nation’s history. The former president’s campaign noted that, in the first 24 hours following the verdict, it and the RNC brought in nearly $53 million, which counted toward May’s total. The Biden campaign has also been raising money from the Trump verdict, and a source told Fox News “the 24 hours after the verdict were one of the best fundraising 24 hours of the Biden campaign since launch.” While Trump’s California fundraising haul was fueled by top-dollar GOP donors, including tech industry investors and hedge fund giants, Saturday’s fundraising for Biden is being orchestrated by the Democratic Hollywood machine. It’s no surprise. The entertainment industry, which showered presidents Clinton and Obama with campaign cash, has long been known for its Democratic leanings. And while the 81-year-old Biden doesn’t have the tight relationships with Hollywood that his Democratic predecessors enjoyed, he can still draw a crowd. “Any Democratic presidential candidate is going to be able to raise a lot of money in California, and an incumbent president has a big advantage. When the president enters a room, it fills up with cash,” Pitney said. Major strikes by two Hollywood labor unions representing film and television writers and actors from May through November of last year delayed Biden from raising money in Los Angeles entertainment circles. But the president started making up for lost time in December with a major fundraiser hosted by famed directors Steven Spielberg and Rob Reiner. Saturday’s mega-fundraiser was orchestrated by media mogul and Democratic rainmaker Jeffrey Katzenberg, who’s a Biden campaign co-chair. Katzenberg also put together the Radio City Music Hall fundraiser. The Biden campaign and the Democratic National Committee have enlisted the help of plenty of stars and well-known performers from the entertainment world as the president runs for a second term. Among those lending a hand is famed actor Robert De Niro, who headlined a Biden campaign news conference outside the New York City courthouse during the final days of Trump’s trial. The news conference went viral after De Niro, who portrayed mobsters in such cinematic masterpieces as “The Godfather Part II” and “Goodfellas,” screamed at nearby Trump supporters that “You are gangsters” as they yelled obscenities at the actor. Actor Mark Hamill, who portrayed Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars saga, made a recent unannounced appearance at the White House briefing room to praise the president and called Biden “Joe-Bi-Wan-Kenobi.” Spielberg has helped the DNC with its storytelling efforts, and Academy Award-winning actress Octavia Spencer campaigned with Vice President Kamala Harris on a recent swing through battleground Michigan. Trump, whose final California fundraiser took place last weekend at a tony gated community in upscale Newport Beach, California, and included veteran actor Jon Voight, will spend this weekend in Michigan, holding multiple events, including a roundtable discussion at a northwest Detroit church. The Trump campaign argued the former president will be meeting with “everyday Americans” while “Biden will be at a glitzy fundraiser in Hollywood with his elitist, out-of-touch celebrity benefactors that own him.” The Trump campaign and Republican allies also criticized the president for skipping a peace
George Clooney rubs elbows with Biden at star-studded LA fundraiser after calling White House with complaint
George Clooney will be rubbing elbows with President Biden at a star-studded fundraiser in Los Angeles on Saturday evening, after reportedly calling the White House earlier this month to complain about the president’s criticism of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Saturday night’s gala at the Peacock Theater, which will feature other Hollywood heavyweights like Julia Roberts, is expected to haul in millions. Tickets ranged from $250 for a single person to get in the door, to half a million dollars for special access, photos with Biden and former President Barack Obama, and invitations to an after-party. Biden will arrive directly from the G-7 summit in Italy, where he met with other world leaders this week. His attendance in Los Angeles on Saturday means he will be skipping a summit in Switzerland about ways to end Russia’s war in Ukraine. Vice President Kamala Harris will be there to represent the U.S. Clooney’s appearance comes after he was reported to have called the White House earlier this month, complaining about the president’s critique of the ICC seeking an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — a case his wife, human rights lawyer, Amal Clooney worked on. CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD SAYS BIDEN ‘DOING CORNY, GOOFY STUFF,’ BECAUSE HE DOESN’T ACTUALLY TALK TO HIS VOTERS As previously reported, the Academy Award-winning actor called Steve Ricchetti, counselor to the president, to push back on Biden’s dismissal of arrest warrants sought by the ICC targeting Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Clooney was particularly irked that the Biden administration was initially open to slapping the ICC with sanctions, given his wife could be potentially subjected to penalties, according to The Washington Post, which first reported on the call. Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House and representatives for Clooney for comment. Obama will join Clooney and Roberts for Saturday’s fundraiser, and late-night host Jimmy Kimmel will interview all of them onstage. In a text message to donors beforehand, Roberts called it “a crucial time in the election.” Kimmel wrote in his own text that presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump “will hate this, so let’s do it.” Luminaries from the entertainment world have increasingly lined up to help Biden’s campaign, hoping to provide a fundraising jolt and to energize would-be supporters to turn out ahead of Election Day against Trump.
Obama marks 12 years since ‘Dreamers’ executive action, seeks ‘permanent’ solution for DACA recipients
Former President Obama on Saturday marked 12 years since his executive action on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or “DACA,” and called on Congress to codify the program into law before it expires. The Obama administration implemented DACA in 2012, so that those who entered the U.S. illegally as children were protected from deportation and had a pathway to citizenship. Recipients, called “Dreamers,” were able to request “consideration of deferred action” for a period of two years, which was subject to renewal. ICE SOUNDS ALARM ON WHAT MIGRANTS ARE FAILING TO BRING TO BORDER AS FEARS MOUNT AFTER ISIS ARRESTS “Today, most of the original Dreamers are grown. They’re serving their communities as teachers, doctors, lawyers, and having children of their own. But because the program that offered that protection remains temporary, they’re also living in fear of being sent back to a country many of them can’t even remember,” Obama said in a post on X. Obama praised the Biden administration for making it easier for Dreamers to access federal programs like health care. But he warned that Dreamers will “continue to live under a cloud of uncertainty” until Congress acts. “That’s why I’m calling on Congress once again to pass a permanent legislative solution for Dreamers — one that offers them a pathway to citizenship and makes our immigration system fairer, more efficient, and more just,” Obama said. President Biden will host a White House event next week celebrating the Obama-era initiative as his own administration prepares potential new benefits for other illegal immigrants who have long-standing ties in the U.S. Five people with knowledge of the plan told The Associated Press that White House officials are closing in on a plan that would tap the president’s executive powers to shield spouses of U.S. citizens without legal status from deportation, offer them work permits and ease their path toward permanent residency and eventually American citizenship. Still, the timeline for implementing that plan, if at all, remains unclear. To protect the spouses of Americans, the administration is expected to use a process called “parole-in-place.” It not only offers deportation protections and work permits to qualifying immigrants but also removes a legal obstacle that prevents them from getting on a path to a green card, and eventually, U.S. citizenship. That power has already been used by other groups of immigrants, such as members of the U.S. military or their family members who lack legal status.
House GOP launches investigation into federally funded news ratings group’s impact on free speech
The House Oversight Committee announced this week that it has launched an investigation into a news-rating system that purportedly ranks which news outlets are trustworthy, with the focus of the probe surrounding whether the ratings group’s contracts with federal agencies have an influence on what news it attempts to suppress. Oversight Chair James Comer, R-Ky., said Thursday his committee was investigating NewsGuard’s impact “on protected First Amendment speech and its potential to serve as a non-transparent agent of censorship campaigns.” In a letter to Steven Brill and Gordon Crovitz, NewsGuard’s chief executive officers, Comer requested documents on the group’s “business relationships with government entities, its adherence to its own policies intended to guard against appearances of bias, how it tries to avoid and manage potential conflicts of interest arising from its investors and other influences, and actions that may have the impact of delegitimizing factually accurate information.” “A primary concern for the Committee is the Department of Defense contract NewsGuard was awarded in 2021, which raises questions about the involvement of federal agencies in potential censorship campaigns,” Comer wrote in the letter. “One concerned journalist expressed fear that NewsGuard’s activities are an extension of federal efforts — since struck down by courts — to coerce social media companies and to ‘destroy the financial survival of disfavored outlets. . . . “ NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER LIST IS ‘POLITICALLY BIASED’ AGAINST CONSERVATIVES, ECONOMIST STUDY FINDS Comer told the duo that his committee is looking to “make an independent determination about whether NewsGuard’s intervention on protected speech has been in any way sponsored by a federal, state, local, or foreign government.” Comer also pointed out in his letter that NewsGuard “touts” how its editorial employees sign a pledge to “refrain from any political activities, such as participation in or donations to political campaigns, opinionated social media posting, involvement in protests, or other activities that could call into question my fairness or create the appearance of political bias.” “The social media accounts of several individuals listed as ‘editorial’ on NewsGuard’s online list of employees casts doubt on NewsGuard’s commitment to enforcing this pledge and anti-bias efforts,” Comer said. NewsGuard has reportedly received nearly a million dollars from the federal government, most of which came from the Department of Defense. NewsGuard was also awarded a prize after participating in a State Department co-sponsored “COVID-19 misinformation and disinformation” tech challenge. REPUBLICANS KEEP PRESSURE ON NPR AND CONTROVERSIAL CEO AMID POLITICAL BIAS SCANDAL Several advertisers use the service as a way to find niche audiences for a product or service. Other advertisers, however, reportedly use the service to prevent doing business with networks or outlets that peddle “misinformation.” “The Committee does not take issue with a business entity providing other businesses and customers with data-based analysis to protect their brands. Rather, we are concerned with the potential involvement of government entities in interfering with free expression. Truthfulness and transparency about the purpose and origin of inquiries and managing conflicts of interest that may impact the public good are also relevant,” Comer added. “This appears to be a very biased, very unfair service that’s getting federal funds. It could be another backdoor attempt at censoring conservative media outlets,” Comer said during a recent appearance on One America News. “What’s their criteria that just happen to give networks like MSNBC and CNN tremendous grades, and then networks like OAN, Newsmax and Fox very poor grades?” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP NewsGuard is a web extension that “employs a team of journalists and experienced editors to produce reliability ratings and scores for news and information websites based on nine journalistic criteria,” according to the group’s website. News sources that are ranked by NewsGuard receive scores from certain journalists and “experienced editors” who are tasked with rating publishers on a scale of 0 to 100, based on “a set of apolitical criteria of journalistic practice.” Comer requested a number of documents from NewsGuard — including complete versions of “current and past contracts with government entities” and “records of all disciplinary or corrective actions taken by NewsGuard over the past five years related to violations” of its editorial employee pledge — that are due on or before June 27, 2024.
UK royal Kate Middleton makes first public appearance since cancer revealed
Princess of Wales says she’s making progress as she undergoes preventive chemotherapy treatment. United Kingdom royal Kate Middleton made her first public appearance since announcing in March she is battling cancer. The princess of Wales, as she is officially known, appeared at the “Trooping the Colour” on Saturday, an annual military parade held in central London to mark King Charles’s birthday. The princess, whose husband Prince William is the heir apparent to the throne, was dressed in all white and stood on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during the proceedings. She also joined her children – Princes George and Louis and Princess Charlotte – in a carriage during the parade portion of the event. In a message released on Friday, the royal said she was making “good progress, but as anyone going through chemotherapy will know, there are good days and bad days”. Catherine arrives for the ‘Trooping the Colour’ parade that honours King Charles [Chris J Ratcliffe/Reuters] “On those bad days, you feel weak, tired and you have to give in to your body resting. But on the good days, when you feel stronger, you want to make the most of feeling well.” She added that she’s “not out of the woods yet”. Cancer diagnosis The 42-year-old last appeared in public in December when she joined other senior royals for an annual Christmas Day church service. Three months later, as speculation grew over her absence from public view, Kate announced she had been diagnosed with cancer following abdominal surgery and had begun preventive chemotherapy. Kensington Palace declined to give further details about the type of cancer or her treatment. Speaking to Al Jazeera, royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams said the public appearance was “tremendously significant” as Kate and her children represent “the future of the monarchy”. The UK’s Anne, princess royal, William, prince of Wales, and Prince Edward, duke of Edinburgh, salute at the ‘Trooping the Colour’ parade [Chris J Ratcliffe/Reuters] He noted King Charles, 75, also present at Saturday’s event, has also been battling his own cancer diagnosis. “Charles is himself fighting cancer,” Fitzwilliams said. “He’s done remarkably well recently and appeared at a large number of engagements.” Saturday’s event represented a bright spot for the royal family, which has contended with turmoil in recent years. That included the 2022 death of Queen Elizabeth II and a deep family rift surrounding the 2020 decision by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to abandon their royal duties. Adblock test (Why?)