Weather Update: IMD predicts increase in rainfall in Maharashtra, heatwave to continue in these states, check forecast
In Mumbai and its suburbs, residents can expect a partly cloudy sky with the possibility of light rain and thunderstorms
Key Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting today; Rahul, Sonia Gandhi to discuss leadership roles
Rahul Gandhi held discussions with state party leaders and workers in Bengaluru on Friday, June 7.
New Jersey businessman testifies he promised up to $250,000 in bribes in exchange for Sen. Bob Menendez’s help
A New Jersey businessman took his star turn on the witness stand in the bribery case against Sen. Bob Menendez on Friday, telling a jury he believed he had a $200,000-to-$250,000 deal in 2018 for the Democrat to pressure the New Jersey attorney general’s office to stop investigating his friends and family. Jose Uribe testified in Manhattan federal court in the afternoon, providing key testimony against Menendez and two other businessmen charged in a conspiracy along with Menendez’s wife. Next week, Menendez’s lawyers will get to cross-examine the naturalized U.S. citizen. CONAWAY WINS DEM PRIMARY TO SUCCEED LAWMAKER CHALLENGING BOB MENENDEZ FOR SENATE “Next week we get the truth,” Menendez said just before stepping into a car that carried him away from Manhattan federal court, where he has been on trial for the last month. Although he generally speaks briefly in Spanish each day leaving court, he made the comment about truth in English. Uribe, 57, who pleaded guilty to charges in a March cooperation deal, was the star witness for the government in its bid to win a conviction against the senator, who once held the powerful post as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was forced out of it after charges were lodged last fall. Menendez, 70, has pleaded not guilty to charges that he accepted gold bars, cash and a luxury car in return for doing favors for the businessmen. Two businessmen and Menendez’s wife, Nadine Menendez, also have pleaded not guilty. Nadine Menendez’s trial has been postponed until at least July after she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Uribe testified that he was close friends with Wael Hana, who is on trial with Menendez, when Hana told him in early 2018 that New Jersey state criminal investigations swirling around the trucking business of a friend of his and his own insurance business could be largely put to rest if he was willing to spend $200,000 to $250,000. Uribe said Hana told him that he would go to Nadine Arslanian, who had begun dating Menendez that year, and then “Nadine would go to Senator Menendez,” although Uribe did not testify about how the couple could resolve multiple investigations. Uribe said he held a July 13, 2018, political fundraiser for Menendez, which the senator attended, raising $50,000. He said he attended an afterparty with Menendez and Arslanian that included cocktails, along with “some laughs, some jokes and some dancing,” but there was no mention of the work he expected Menendez to do on his behalf. “It was a crowded and loud place,” Uribe said. He said his confidence that the deal was working faded in the fall when an investigator from the attorney general’s office asked to interview his employee. “I was not happy,” he said. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Pomerantz showed jurors a series of text messages between Uribe and Hana in which Uribe pressed his friend to get the senator to stop the criminal probes. “Please be sure that your friend knows about this,” Uribe wrote to Hana in one text. Pomerantz asked who he was referring to as “your friend.” “Senator Menendez,” Uribe responded. Hana, according to the texts, responded: “I will.” Hana arranged for Uribe to have dinner with Menendez and Arslanian at a restaurant in October 2018, but Uribe testified there was no mention of the deal. “Nothing was discussed there of value I will say,” Uribe testified. “It was a pointless, a pointless meeting.” Uribe said he began communicating directly with Nadine Arslanian in March 2019 and promised that he would buy her a car if she delivered on the deal to get the senator to shut down New Jersey criminal probes. “She agreed to the terms,” he said. When the prosecutor asked Uribe what he understood the terms of the deal to mean, he said he understood that Nadine Arslanian would contact Menendez and get him to use his “influence and power to do anything possible to stop and kill” the investigations. On Thursday, former New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal testified that Menendez in an early 2019 telephone call and in a September 2019 office meeting tried to talk to him about a criminal probe. Grewal said he followed his policy and refused to do so, telling Menendez to contact defense lawyers so they could reach out to trial-level prosecutors or the judge. Uribe, of Clifton, New Jersey, pleaded guilty in March, saying during his plea that he gave Nadine Menendez a Mercedes-Benz in return for her husband “using his power and influence as a United States senator to get a favorable outcome and to stop all investigations related to one of my associates.” Uribe was accused of buying the luxury car for Nadine Menendez after her previous car was destroyed when she struck and killed a man crossing the street. She did not face criminal charges in connection with that crash. Menendez is also accused of helping another New Jersey business associate get a lucrative deal with the government of Egypt. Prosecutors allege that in exchange for bribes, Menendez did things that benefited Egypt, including ghostwriting a letter to fellow senators encouraging them to lift a hold on $300 million in aid. Menendez also has been charged with using his international clout to help a friend get a multimillion-dollar deal with a Qatari investment fund, including by taking actions favorable to Qatar’s government.
Justice Clarence Thomas acknowledges he should have disclosed free trips from Texas billionaire
The trips include vacations in Indonesia and at the exclusive, men’s-only Bohemian Grove retreat, which were first reported by ProPublica last year.
Landmark bill targets hidden foreign funds in schools as officials warn of CCP influence
EXCLUSIVE: A new House bill introduced Friday seeks to mandate that parents be informed of any foreign-sourced or funded curricula as a stipulation of their child’s school receiving federal support. The subject has grown in significance in recent months as states like Oklahoma have sought to blunt the influence of programs purportedly connected to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) such as “Confucius Classrooms.” In Congress, members of the House Education & Workforce Committee put forward the bill Friday afternoon and expect to move it through the legislative process soon, lawmakers involved told Fox News Digital. The TRACE (Transparency in Reporting of Adversarial Contributions to Education) Act will require schools to allow parents the opportunity to review any curriculum that has been provided by or purchased with foreign funds. CHINESE INFLUENCE IN SCHOOLS LEADS TO GROWN CONCERNS, OKLAHOMA OFFICIAL SAYS It will also require that schools notify parents of any foreign contracts or financial transactions they partake in. The legislation is also intended as a compliment to the Parents Bill of Rights, legislation crafted by Rep. Julia Letlow, R-La. that passed the House in 2023. That legislation would give parents more than a dozen stipulated “rights” that provide more access to and transparency over their child’s daily learning. Friday’s bill also stipulated parents be notified of how many school employees, if any, are being compensated by another country or “foreign entity of concern” and whether foreign actors have donated to the institution. Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., chairs the House Education Committee, and said Friday the TRACE Act will keep parents better informed. “We know that significant investments from foreign nations are flowing into America’s K-12 schools, possibly impacting decisions regarding personnel or curriculum,” Foxx said. “As it stands, school administrators are not required to share where their funding comes from. That’s unacceptable.” Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., chief sponsor of the TRACE Act, said U.S. schools are for “education, not espionage” and that parents should be in control. “We cannot allow our students — the future of our great nation — to be corrupted by foreign adversaries who are systematically and aggressively attempting to influence our nation’s K-12 schools,” Bean said. POMPEO LABELS TEACHERS UNION BOSS ‘AMONG THE MOST DANGEROUS PEOPLE’ IN THE US “Yet this is what happens when our institutions of learning accept the Trojan Horse of foreign funding. My bill aims to solidify the rights of parents to know how foreign influence may be impacting their child’s classroom and deter the ability of foreign nations to reach America’s youth.” In 2023, Oklahoma’s top elected education official also called for congressional action to blunt foreign influence in schools and pledged to be on the front lines of pushing back against untoward interference in children’s education. Oklahoma Superintendent of Education Ryan Walters said at the time it is a national security risk to allow foreign influence in U.S. schools, particularly without public or parental knowledge. His comments came after his office investigated a school district that had been utilizing the “Confucius Classroom” programs. On Friday, Walters spoke to Fox News Digital on the broader subject of foreign interference in schools and referenced his probe into the Tulsa school system at the time, which he said has since been resolved. In a statement to Fox News at the time, Tulsa Public Schools said the district “has no Confucius classroom programs in its schools.” In a report from The Oklahoman, the district reportedly funded a professional development class for a Chinese language teacher at one high school, which was facilitated through a Confucius Classroom Coordination Office at an outside, Texas-based organization. Walters said the school was technically correct at the moment it claimed it did not host any such program because the timing followed the state’s announcement of a forthcoming ban. “What we found shocking was that the funding was hidden from parents, that it was actually the Chinese Communist Party that was funding a nonprofit that was working directly in the school,” he said Friday. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP He said Oklahoma has led the nation in investigating foreign influence in domestic curricula, pointing out that Florida later followed his lead in issuing similar directives. “What we’ve done here in my agency is not allowed districts to partner with countries that are antagonistic towards the United States, as determined by our national security groups,” he said. Walters said Oklahoma requires parents to know “who is teaching my kids” and what they are being taught. He warned that, without such oversight, there remains the risk of foreign influence from malign nations in the same way that Mao Zedong’s “Little Red Book” manipulated and indoctrinated a generation of Chinese students. An order from Walters dated Aug. 29, 2023, provided to Fox News Digital demanded superintendents statewide provide his office with a list of foreign governments or organizations that provided funds or “in-kind services” to districts and their dollar amounts. Walters said he gave schools about two weeks to come into compliance in that regard.
NY v. Trump: Judge reveals Facebook post implying juror discussed guilty verdict with family ahead of time
The judge presiding over former President Trump’s New York criminal trial notified his defense team on Friday of a comment on the court’s public Facebook page that implies one of the jurors discussed the guilty verdict ahead of time. Fox News obtained the letter Judge Juan Merchan shared with Trump defense attorneys and Manhattan prosecutors. TRUMP ATTORNEYS REQUEST MERCHAN LIFT GAG ORDER AHEAD OF PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE, FOLLOWING END OF TRIAL “‘Today, the Court became aware of a comment that was posted on the Unified Court System’s public Facebook page and which I now bring to your attention. In the comment, the user, ‘Michael Anderson,’ states: “’My cousin is a juror and says Trump is getting convicted! Thank you folks for all your hard work!!!!’” TRUMP GUILTY ON ALL COUNTS IN NEW YORK CRIMINAL TRIAL The comment was posted on May 29 “regarding oral arguments in the Fourth Department of the Appellate Division unrelated to this proceeding.” The profile for “Michael Anderson” has little publicly available information, but the user identifies himself as a “Transabled & professional sh– poster.” TRUMP SAYS GUILTY VERDICT IS A ‘SCAR’ ON NEW YORK JUSTICE SYSTEM, VOWS TO ‘KEEP FIGHTING’ A Trump campaign official told Fox News Digital they are “investigating the matter.” Al Baker, state OCA spokesperson, said Friday that “as appropriate, the Court informed the parties once it learned of this online content.” The post came a day before Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. Trump had pleaded not guilty to all charges. The six-week-long trial stemmed from charges brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
UN adding Israel to ‘blacklist’ of countries harming children in conflict
The United Nations is adding Israel to its so-called “blacklist” of countries that have committed abuses against children in armed conflict, an Israeli diplomat has confirmed, as thousands of Palestinian children have been killed in the Israeli military’s continued assault on the Gaza Strip. In a social media post on Friday, Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan said he received official notification of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s decision. “This is simply outrageous and wrong,” Erdan wrote, alongside a video of him speaking into a telephone and condemning the move. “I responded to the shameful decision and said that our army is the most moral in the world. The only one being blacklisted is the Secretary-General who incentivizes and encourages terrorism and is motivated by hatred towards Israel.” Commenting on Erdan’s remarks later in the day, Guterres’s spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said a UN official had called the Israeli envoy as “a courtesy afforded to countries that are newly listed on the annexe” of the annual “Children in Armed Conflict” report. “It is done to give those countries a heads-up and avoid leaks,” Dujarric told reporters, adding that the report is set to be presented to the UN Security Council on June 14 and then officially published a few days later. “Ambassador Erdan’s video recording of that phone call, and the partial release of that recording on Twitter, is shocking and unacceptable – and frankly something I’ve never seen in my 24 years serving this organisation,” Dujarric said. I received the official notification about the Secretary-General’s decision to put the IDF on the “blacklist” of countries and organizations that harm children. This is simply outrageous and wrong because Hamas has been using children for terrorism and uses schools and hospitals… pic.twitter.com/o1civfJFAk — Ambassador Gilad Erdan גלעד ארדן (@giladerdan1) June 7, 2024 Palestinian Authority welcomes decision The annual report on children in armed conflict compiles “a list of parties engaging in violations against children”, including killing and maiming, sexual violence and attacks on schools and hospitals. Guterres faced criticism from Palestinian rights advocates for failing to place Israel on the so-called list of shame, which included Russia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, Syria and Haiti. The blacklist is meant to call out parties engaged in abuses against children. But other countries can use it to restrict arms sales to the offenders. Senior Palestinian official Riad Malki welcomed the UN’s decision on Friday, saying that the move is overdue. “Now, faced with the catastrophe in Gaza that the world sees with its naked eyes with the genocide that specifically targets children and women, the UN secretary general no longer has excuses not to place Israel on the blacklist,” Malki said in a statement. Rights groups have condemned the dire toll Israel’s bombardment and siege of Gaza has had on Palestinian children across the enclave. More than 36,700 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since early October, including 15,571 children, according to the Gaza government media office. UN experts have also said Israel’s restrictions on deliveries of food, water, medicine and other critical supplies have created a humanitarian crisis, with parts of the coastal territory facing the threat of famine. Earlier this week, the UN’s child rights agency UNICEF said nine in 10 Palestinian children in Gaza were living in “severe child food poverty, surviving on diets comprising two or fewer food groups per day – one of the highest percentages ever recorded”. By comparison, in 2020, only 13 percent of children in the Gaza Strip were living in severe child food poverty, UNICEF said. The World Health Organization also said last week that more than four in five Palestinian children in Gaza “did not eat for a whole day at least once in the three days” ahead of a food insecurity survey. Defense for Children International-Palestine (DCIP) has also reported on the dire consequences Israel’s continued military assault on Gaza is having on Palestinian children, including thousands that have been critically injured since October. The collapse of Gaza’s healthcare system has meant many patients, including children, are unable to get the care they require, the group said. “Palestinian children who survive Israeli attacks face a lifetime of recovery to heal from the physical and psychological trauma,” Ayed Abu Eqtaish, DCIP’s accountability programme director, said in a statement on Wednesday. In one testimonial gathered by DCIP, a 15-year-old Palestinian boy named Mohammad described his difficult journey to recovery after he was shot in the back by an Israeli quadcopter in March. He is now paralysed in the lower part of his body. “I spend most of my time on a mattress, lying on my back. Also, I suffer from ulcers due to prolonged sitting, and have not healed yet. The medicine for these wounds and painkillers are expensive and my father cannot always afford them,” Mohammad told DCIP. “I used to love playing football, as I always stood as a goalkeeper,” he said. “I also loved repairing watches and electrical appliances, but now I cannot do that due to my disability.” In January, Save the Children said more than 10 children in Gaza lose limbs daily. But Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz slammed the UN’s decision on Friday, calling it “shameful”. “The [Israeli military] is the most moral army in the world – and no fictitious report will change that. This step will have consequences for Israel’s relations with the UN,” Katz said in a social media post. Adblock test (Why?)
US re-establishes Gaza aid pier damaged in bad weather
The United States military has announced it has reinstalled a temporary aid pier in Gaza that had been damaged in bad weather, saying humanitarian assistance will flow through the floating dock in the “coming days”. The US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Friday that the pier will enable the delivery of “much-needed humanitarian aid” to Gaza. The Palestinian territory has been brought to the verge of famine due to a suffocating blockade by Israel, a top US ally that receives billions of dollars in aid from Washington every year. “In coming days, CENTCOM will facilitate the movement of vital food and other emergency supplies, in support of the US Agency for International Development,” the US military said in a social media post. Jun 7, 2024 at 16:09At approximately 2:15 p.m. (local Gaza time) on June 7, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) successfully reestablished the temporary pier in Gaza, enabling the continued delivery of much-needed humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza. In coming days, CENTCOM will… pic.twitter.com/YMJiCVGvwP — U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) June 7, 2024 Aid groups have long warned that the US pier is an ineffective way to deliver aid and cannot be a substitute for opening land routes, which had been blocked or severely restricted by Israel. Late in May, 20 aid organisations, including Amnesty International and Doctors Without Borders, called the US-installed dock part of “cosmetic changes” that fail to address the crisis adequately. “As Israeli attacks intensify on Rafah, the unpredictable trickle of aid into Gaza has created a mirage of improved access while the humanitarian response is in reality on the verge of collapse,” the groups said in a statement. “The ability of aid groups and medical teams to respond has now all but crumbled, with temporary fixes such as a ‘floating dock’ and new crossing points having little impact.” To critics, the $230m pier has come to symbolise the failures and contradictions of US policy in Gaza. The administration of President Joe Biden denies that Israel is blocking aid to Gaza while regularly urging the US ally to allow more assistance into the territory. The US also provides Israel with billions of dollars in military aid, including heavy bombs and artillery shells that Biden has admitted have killed Palestinian civilians. US laws prohibit military aid to go to countries that block US-backed humanitarian assistance. Biden announced plans to build the pier in his State of the Union Address in March, saying the dock would be able to “receive large shipments carrying food, water, medicine and temporary shelter”. The project was completed in mid-May, but days later, waves swept away vessels supporting the pier, raising questions about the initiative’s viability. By the end of the month, the pier itself sustained damage and required repairs. The pier is set to be operational again as Israel continues to block the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, which previously served as a major artery for aid and humanitarian workers. Another major issue worsening the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is the inability to deliver aid to people once it reaches the territory. Israel has killed more than 200 humanitarian workers since the beginning of the war, according to Save the Children. An Israeli air raid in April killed seven World Central Kitchen workers delivering aid in the territory, sparking global outrage. Still, Biden has resisted calls to restrict or condition military aid to Israel, often reasserting his “ironclad” commitment to the US ally. In recent days, Israel has killed dozens of Palestinians at UN schools in Gaza serving as shelters for displaced people. An Al Jazeera visual analysis concluded this week that US weapons were used in an Israeli strike that killed at least 40 people at a school in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. On Friday, Hamas said the targeting of schools by Israel is part of the ongoing US-backed “genocide” against Palestinians. “The administration of US President Joe Biden bears full responsibility for these ongoing crimes by continuing to supply the fascist entity with weapons and munitions, as well as political and diplomatic support, and terrorizing and obstructing international justice from assuming its role in stopping this genocide and holding its perpetrators accountable,” the Palestinian group said in a statement. Adblock test (Why?)
India’s Modi set for third term as prime minister
NewsFeed India’s Narendra Modi will be sworn in for a third term as prime minister on Sunday after he was unanimously elected by members of the BJP and its National Democratic Alliance (NDA) as their leader. Published On 7 Jun 20247 Jun 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
Illegal immigrants are offered an array of taxpayer funded benefits, enticing more to come: ‘Pull factor’
Illegal immigrants who have entered the U.S. as part of the record-breaking migrant crisis are eligible for a range of services, assistance and benefits amid a complex network of federal, state and local programs and taxpayer-funded providers. There were 2.4 million migrant crossings in the U.S. in fiscal year 2023, a new record, and more than 7 million have entered since 2021. While some of those have been returned or deported, many others have instead been processed and released into the U.S. Overall, nearly 7.3 million migrants have crossed the southern border under President Biden’s watch, a Fox News analysis earlier this year found. When they arrive at the border, migrants who do not evade Border Patrol agents and who are taken into custody are processed and, if not removed, often released into the U.S. eventually with a notice to appear at an immigration court — typically years into the future due to the momentous backlog in the courts, which is now at nearly 3.6 million cases. Migrants who are released into the interior are currently unable to work legally until six months after they have filed a claim for asylum, which not all illegal immigrants do. Many have also spent thousands of dollars paying smugglers to guide them to the southern border and so will often have few resources. Some will be able to receive assistance from family members already living in the U.S., but others will not. As they move deeper into the country, there are a number of resources from which they can draw. Conservatives warn that providing such benefits to illegal immigrants acts as a pull factor for migrants, and hurts American taxpayers. “Illegal aliens coming to America want five things: to enter the U.S.; stay here; work; send money home; and bring or have family here. All these benefits help illegal aliens stay in the U.S., so, yes, the benefits are a pull factor,” Lora Ries, director of the Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Center, told Fox News Digital. “Another benefit to add is legal services for civil deportation hearings, a benefit that U.S. citizens do not receive. Given the millions coming to the U.S. under the Biden administration, American taxpayers will see significant tax increases to pay for all these services given to people who aren’t supposed to be here. That means Americans will have even less money to spend on gas, groceries, and rent,” she said. At the border itself, migrants who are taken into Customs and Border Protection (CBP) or Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody will be cared for and given treatment as needed. In addition to shelter and meals, they will also be offered and provided essential medical care. When an illegal immigrant in ICE detention anywhere in the country requires health care, they are typically treated on-site by medical professionals. However, if specialist or emergency care is required, they may be transported to an independent private provider. ICE’s Health Service Corps will reimburse providers at Medicare rates. If migrants are being released, they will often be turned over to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) at the border, who will care for migrants and help them make their way into the U.S. While services and assistance are being provided by NGOs, in many cases this is being done with the assistance of federal dollars. In addition to caring for migrants at CBP stations, the federal government is providing hundreds of millions of dollars in funding to NGOs and communities who are receiving migrants. According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), it is providing $640.9 million in FY 2024 via its Shelter and Services Program to allow “non-federal entities,” including city governments and NGOs, to off-set costs incurred by the migrant arrivals they are seeing. Recently, DHS expanded the cap for both hotels and airfare to 10 percent of the total funding requested, and allowed NGOs to apply for a waiver of that cap due to an operational need. “SSP grants have provided critical support to communities receiving migrants and the need for this support is ongoing,” DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement in September. NGOs will help migrants with hotel rooms and travel, which typically involves bus and train tickets, but can in some instances involve flights. Some migrants will book their own flights, while others will use bus travel coordinated by the office of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who has set up buses to take migrants to “sanctuary” cities across the U.S. free of charge. A 2023 Government Accountability Office report found that the Federal Emergency Management Agency had provided more than $282 million in humanitarian relief grant funding to NGOs in fiscal years 2019, 2021 and 2022. According to that report, services provided to migrants included food, clothing, transport to airports or bus stations, medical care, legal aid, translation assistance and assistance with booking travel. Those nonprofits said that typically the migrants pay for their own travel. The majority of the more than $10 million the report looked at was spent on food and shelter (about 58%). The next two categories were per capita spending (on individual food, shelter, health care) and transportation. Meanwhile, another DHS pilot program — the Case Management Pilot Program — provides case management and other services to those in immigration removal proceedings. Services include mental health services, school enrollment, legal aid, “cultural orientation programs” and connections to social services — as well as human trafficking screening and departure planning for those being deported. When migrants arrive at destinations across the country, what they can receive varies. Many “sanctuary” cities will provide shelter to migrants as part of their broader safety nets, and some have migrant-specific programs to help them build a life in the U.S. Some of those cities have still tried to limit the length at which they can stay, with New York City and Chicago limiting stays to 60 days for families earlier this year due to ongoing capacity issues. In Denver, migrants can be enrolled in a