Thomas Massie introduces bills to audit, abolish the Federal Reserve
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., has introduced legislation that seeks to end the Federal Reserve – which has operated as the nation’s central banking system since it was created more than 110 years ago. H.R. 8421, the Federal Reserve Board Abolition Act, abolishes the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve and its banks. It also repeals the Federal Reserve Act, the 1913 law that created the Federal Reserve System. In announcing the move, Massie said Americans would be better off without “the Fed” and blamed it for rapid inflation and devaluing the dollar. US EMPLOYERS SCALED BACK HIRING IN APRIL. HOW THAT COULD LET THE FED CUT INTEREST RATES “Americans are suffering under crippling inflation and the Federal Reserve is to blame,” Massie said in a Thursday statement announcing the bills being introduced. “During COVID, the Federal Reserve created trillions of dollars out of thin air and loaned it to the Treasury Department to enable unprecedented deficit spending. By monetizing the debt, the Federal Reserve devalued the dollar and enabled free money policies that caused the high inflation we see today.” Massie, considered a Libertarian Republican who opposes big government spending, had teased the idea of ending the fed on Wednesday when he asked his followers on X if he should introduce such a bill with the vast majority agreeing. SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN, PROGRESSIVES URGE FED CHAIR TO LOWER INTEREST RATES “Monetizing debt is a closely coordinated effort between the White House, Federal Reserve, Treasury Department, Congress, big banks, and Wall Street,” Massie added. “Through this process, retirees see their savings evaporate due to the actions of a central bank pursuing inflationary policies that benefit the wealthy and connected. If we really want to reduce inflation, the most effective policy is to end the Federal Reserve.” The bill is being co-sponsored by Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., Rep. Josh Brecheen, R-Okla., Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla., Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas, Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-S.C., Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas., Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., and Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wis. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP There have been several attempts to abolish the Federal Reserve throughout its history. The Federal Reserve Board Abolition Act was first introduced by former Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, in 1999 and hasn’t been reintroduced since 2013. Paul made the issue central to his previous presidential runs. In addition to introducing the “End the Fed” legislation, Massie has also introduced H.R. 24, the Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2023, which would audit the Federal Reserve. H.R. 24 was originally introduced by Paul in 2009.
‘Red-hot momentum’: GOP committee unleashes effort to win back White House with ‘game-changing’ tool
FIRST ON FOX: The Republican National Committee (RNC) is launching a “game-changing” new tool designed to help Republican candidates up and down the ballot communicate with voters ahead of the 2024 election. The GOP committee announced the launch of VotePro on Friday, a new “one-stop shop” for Republican committees and candidates to customize websites and develop easy-to-use resources for voters. The “fee-free” tool will allow Americans to complete various tasks that guarantee they are election day ready, including portals to “register to vote, check voter registration status, request a mail ballot, commit to vote early in person or on Election Day, find their Early Vote location, find their Election Day voting location,” according to a press release shared first with Fox News Digital. RNC Chairman Michael Whatley said that the new system will “turn out the vote like never before.” OHIO PURGES ‘NON-CITIZENS’ FROM STATE VOTER ROLLS, CALLS ON BIDEN ADMIN FOR DATA AHEAD OF 2024 ELECTION “As a grassroots leader and former State Chairman, I know that delivering vital resources across the Republican ecosystem will help us turn out the vote like never before in November,” Whatley said in a press release obtained by Fox News Digital. “No matter how Republicans decide to cast their ballot—in person, by mail, early, or on Election Day—we will urge Republicans to lock in their vote for President Trump.” FOX NEWS POLL: ABORTION, ECONOMY, AND BORDER SECURITY ARE TOP DEAL-BREAKERS IN 2024 ELECTIONS The RNC is hunkering down in their support for former President Trump, noting that the tool will be used to aid his third presidential bid. Susie Wiles, Trump campaign senior advisor, also said that the tool will play a major role in the former president’s 2024 campaign. “The Trump Campaign and RNC are partnering like never before to spread President Trump’s message far and wide,” Wiles said in a statement alongside the launch Friday. “President Trump has a proven track record of energizing voters and getting them to the polls. Tools like VotePro are a game-changing addition to our arsenal for translating this red-hot momentum into votes cast.”
Who is Bibhav Kumar, Delhi CM Kejriwal’s aide accused of assaulting MP Swati Maliwal?
AAP MP Sanjay Singh admitted that Bibhav Kumar, Kejriwal’s aide, misbehaved with Maliwal when she went to meet the Chief Minister at his residence on Monday.
New occupancy limits in College Station highlight Texas A&M students’ housing woes
A new rule underscores the challenges college students face when looking for affordable housing — and how cities struggle to provide it.
How artificial intelligence is reshaping modern warfare
Modern warfare is changing rapidly, and harnessing artificial intelligence is key to staying ahead of America’s adversaries. Software companies including Govini and Palantir are behind the production and modernization of today’s most high-tech weapon systems. Both companies were at the second annual AI Expo for National Competitiveness in Washington to showcase their work to the nation’s top military brass. Fox News saw first-hand this cutting-edge technology and had an exclusive interview with Palantir’s CEO and co-founder Alex Karp, whose software is being used in Ukraine and the Middle East. “The way to prevent a war with China is to ramp up not just Palantir, but defense tech startups that produce software-defining weapons systems that scare the living F out of our adversaries,” Karp said. Karp emphasized either the U.S. will win the race for AI, or Russia and China will. FREAK ROBOT MADE IN CHINA CAN LEARN, THINK, WORK LIKE HUMANS Fear that AI could lead to killer robots and take humans out of the so-called “kill chain” has led to anxiety and threats of regulation that worries American innovators. But the U.S. has been ahead of its adversaries in artificial intelligence, and Karp said he wanted to keep it that way to deter any wrongdoing. “Our adversaries have a long tradition of being not interested in the rule of law, not interested in fairness, not interested in human rights and on the battlefield. It really is going to be us or them. … You do not want a world order where our adversaries try to define new norms. It would be very bad for the world, and it would be especially bad for America,” Karp explained. Fox News had the opportunity to look at some of the latest cutting-edge technology. Mixed Reality Command and Control goggles allow the war fighter to see the battlefield, available air assets, enemy targets and supply routes in 3D. Former intelligence analyst Shannon Clark, who has since led research and development for Palantir, said this targeting technology would have helped shorten the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, possibly leading to different outcomes. Clark guided Fox News through four different demonstrations showing how the different technology worked and how U.S. generals could use it to make critical decisions in real time. WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)? “It’s about speed. What was able to be done in days or weeks is now done in minutes,” Clark said. As drone swarms have become more prominent in modern warfare, knowing exactly what weapons the U.S. had in its stockpiles would be critical to defending U.S. interests across the globe. “I had a general say to me the other day, ‘It doesn’t matter if I have 50 targets. I need to know what ammo I have available,’” Clark said. Maverick is an AI-generated target effector. Clark explained how it worked: “Here’s your list of targets. Here’s the priority with which you want to action those targets. And, then, here’s the effect that you should use in order to take action on that target.” Software companies have been following Palantir’s lead. At the AI summit, software company Govini showed how its Ark software could map all the potential supply chain issues for the Defense Department, from forecasting demand to finding hidden dependence on adversary nations. Something like this will clearly be needed in the Pacific. “When we think about the Indo-Pacific in particular, we talk a lot about the scale, and analysts say it’s going to be all about scale. You are not going to be able to do this alone,” Clark added. FIRST AI TALKS BEGIN BETWEEN CHINESE AND US ENVOYS One demonstration showed an intelligence tip from South Korea and how Palantir software could be used to find a nefarious cargo ship hiding in busy sea lanes. The AI software would take an intelligence tip from a U.S. ally and then show the route of a certain ship flagged that may be carrying nefarious cargo. Thanks to AI, the intelligence tip could lead quickly to targeting an enemy ship in the Pacific. Clark said humans are still the key decision-makers with this new technology. “We’re just compressing everything up to that, to that point to do it faster, to do it more efficiently and to do it at a scale where they are going to be able to make those decisions,” Clark said. The Pentagon is seeing how this AI-enabled software is making even older weapons more lethal, accurate and efficient. Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. C.Q. Brown Jr. attended the summit and emphasized the importance of staying ahead of U.S. adversaries such as China and Russia in artificial intelligence. “I don’t play for second place. If I’m in, I’m putting my best foot forward to make sure we are going to win,” Brown said. Capitol Hill is catching on to how AI can help in more than just defense. A bipartisan group of senators, led by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., introduced a 33-page report Wednesday urging Congress to spend $32 billion over the next three years on AI. Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., emphasized AI could be used for more than just U.S. weapons systems, but also to improve technology to treat cancer and chronic illness. The bipartisan group of senators recommended that Congress draft emergency legislation for AI for new research, testing standards and to boost U.S. investment. This report was the first major road map for a long-term plan to harness artificial intelligence from Congress. Karp addressed the concerns of harnessing AI. “We have to dominate and then set a rule of law to contain development. But, first, you have to actually dominate, which is what we did, in the World War II period with nuclear warheads,” Karp said. “What we have to do as Americans is get these technologies into our DOD warfighting systems as quickly as possible … and then show on the battlefield things that no one else can do.”
‘Our Ram Lalla would…’: PM Modi makes big statement against Congress-SP in Uttar Pradesh’s Barabanki
Acharya Krishnam dropped a bombshell, claiming that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had planned to overturn the landmark judgment, settling the decades-old title dispute and paving the way for the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
Showdown: The blue states Trump aims to turn red in November
It’s been more than a half century since a Republican won Minnesota in a presidential election, but former President Donald Trump says he’s got “a really good shot” of breaking the losing streak this November in his 2024 rematch with President Biden. The former president heads to the reliably blue state on Friday, to headline the Minnesota GOP’s annual Lincoln Reagan fundraising dinner. Trump lost Minnesota by just 1.5 points in his 2016 presidential election victory over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. But four years ago he lost the state to President Biden by more than seven points in his unsuccessful re-election campaign. “We think we have a really good shot at Minnesota,” Trump emphasized in a Wednesday interview with KSTP, a local TV station in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. “We have great friendships up there.” FIRST ON FOX: TOP JEWISH GOP GROUP STEPS UP FUNDRAISING FOR TRUMP AMID ANTI-ISRAEL COLLEGE CAMPUS PROTESTS Trump added that he’s “worked hard on Minnesota” and that “Tom Emmer is very much involved,” as he pointed to the House majority whip. Emmer, who will join Trump at the state GOP gala, is chairing the Trump campaign in Minnesota even though the former president and his allies helped sink Emmer’s bid last autumn to become House speaker. As the Trump and Biden campaigns prepare for battle in seven crucial swing states that decided the 2020 election (Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, which were narrowly won by Biden, and North Carolina, which Trump carried by a razor-thin margin) and will likely once again in the 2024 rematch, both campaigns see opportunities to expand the map. WARNING SIGNS FOR TRUMP, BIDEN, AS THE CAREEN TOWARDS DEBATES Two weekends ago at a closed-door Republican National Committee retreat for top-dollar donors that was held at a resort in Palm Beach, Florida, senior Trump campaign advisers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita and veteran pollster Tony Fabrizio spotlighted internal surveys that suggested both “Minnesota & Virginia are clearly in play.” In both states, Donald Trump finds himself in positions to flip key electoral votes in his favor,” the survey, which was shared with Fox News, emphasizes. And both states have sizable populations of rural white voters without college degrees who disproportionately support the former president. Biden’s campaign disagrees that either Minnesota or Virginia are up for grabs. While noting that they are “not taking any state or any vote for granted,” Biden campaign battleground states director Dan Kanninen told reporters last week that “we don’t see polls that are six or seven months out from a general election, head-to-head numbers certainly, as any more predictive than a weather report is six or seven months out.” Kanninen highlighted that the campaign has teams on the ground in both states engaging voters. “We feel strongly the Biden-Harris coalition in both Minnesota and Virginia, which has been strong in the midterms and off-year elections, will continue to be strong for us in the fall of 2024,” he added. And Biden campaign spokesperson Lauren Hitt, pointing to the president’s current fundraising dominance and ground-game advantage in the key battlegrounds, argued that “Trump’s team has so little campaign or infrastructure to speak of they’re resorting to leaking memos that say ‘the polls we paid for show us winning.’” But Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota, who launched a longshot and unsuccessful primary challenge against the president, insists that “Minnesota’s in play. Phillips, in an interview this week on Fox News’ “Special Edition,” argued that Minnesota’s “like a lot of states that I think a lot of my fellow Democrats don’t want to confess is the reality… I’m telling my Democratic colleagues who are supporting President Biden, myself included, that there’s a lot of work to do.” This is the second straight election where Trump aims to flip Minnesota. At a late September 2020 rally in northern Minnesota, Trump boasted of the crowd size and insisted “this is not the crowd of somebody that’s going to finish second in this state to Sleepy Joe,” a derogatory term he used for Biden. While Trump’s campaign looks for opportunities to expand the map in Minnesota and Virginia, Biden’s campaign appears to be eyeing swing state North Carolina as well as Florida. Trump carried the Sunshine State by less than four points in 2020, but two years ago Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and GOP Sen. Marco Rubio each won re-election by nearly 20 points. LaCivita argued the Biden campaign was playing “a faux game” in both states, but insisted that Trump has a “real opportunity in expanding the map in Virginia and Minnesota.” Trump’s stop in Minnesota comes a week after he held a large rally in Wilwood, New Jersey, a red bastion in an overwhelming blue state where no Republican has carried the state in a presidential election in over three decades. Trump lost the state to Biden by 16 points four years ago. “We’re going to win New Jersey,” Trump vowed at the rally. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Trump to attend son’s high school graduation Friday
Former President Trump is attending youngest son Barron Trump’s high school graduation in Florida on Friday, a break from his criminal trial in New York City. Barron Trump, 18, will graduate from Oxbridge Academy in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Friday. The graduation ceremony is private. Barron Trump will go to college, but it is unclear which university he has selected. The former president has previously floated the possibility of his son attending his own alma mater, the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where Ivanka Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Tiffany Trump also graduated. Eric Trump attended Georgetown University. TRUMP PERMITTED TO ATTEND SON BARRON’S GRADUATION AFTER RIPPING TRIAL JUDGE FOR DELAYING DECISION The former president and presumptive Republican presidential nominee had been pushing for weeks to attend his son’s high school graduation. The judge presiding over his criminal trial in Manhattan, Judge Juan Merchan, had left the decision on whether to allow Trump to attend in limbo. Court meets every day, except on Wednesdays, and Trump has been required to attend each day of his criminal trial stemming from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case against him. Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. He maintains his innocence. Merchan ultimately granted Trump’s request to attend Barron’s graduation, but he denied Trump’s request to attend arguments at the Supreme Court on April 25 regarding the matter of presidential immunity. MELANIA TRUMP LAUNCHES JEWELRY LINE TO HONOR MOMS AHEAD OF MOTHER’S DAY, RAISE FUNDS FOR FOSTER KIDS “Barron’s a great student and he’s very proud of the fact he did so well and was looking forward for years to having his graduation with his mother and father there,” Trump said before Merchan granted his request to miss a day in court for the “scam trial.” Former first lady Melania Trump told Fox News Digital during an exclusive interview last month that nothing makes her prouder than the relationship she has built with Barron. Meanwhile, the trial is expected to resume on Monday with continued cross-examination of the prosecution’s star witness, former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen.
Inside Donald Trump and Speaker Johnson’s mutually beneficial relationship
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., was in New York for various events when he reached out to former President Trump to inform him he would be at the Manhattan courthouse, where Trump’s criminal trial was taking place the very next morning. Johnson made the decision himself and contacted Trump directly, a source close to the speaker told Fox News Digital. Multiple people said he rode with Trump in his motorcade on Tuesday morning. “I came here… today on my own to support President Trump because I am one of hundreds of millions of people and one citizen who is deeply concerned about this, so I’m glad to be here,” he told reporters afterward. Johnson was the highest-ranking federal lawmaker to show up at Trump’s criminal proceedings so far – a public symbol of the staunch alliance the two have built since Johnson became speaker after a tumultuous series of events in October. SPEAKER JOHNSON RIPS ‘ATROCITIES’ AGAINST TRUMP AT MANHATTAN HUSH MONEY TRIAL Multiple people close to Trump and Johnson told Fox News Digital that they speak frequently, with one GOP lawmaker estimating they talk “at least weekly” but added “it depends on the issue.” The source close to Johnson told Fox News Digital that the speaker keeps Trump in the loop on the major moves being made in the House of Representatives. Those same allies stressed that the relationship, a close one for an elected congressional leader and their party’s presumptive presidential nominee, is positive for both the House and the GOP as a whole. “It helps both sides. It helps the House, but it also helps the party, because you’re coming in from two different directions at the same general goal,” Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., who previously served in Trump’s Cabinet, told Fox News Digital. Zinke said Trump and Johnson have a very good working relationship, arguing their “uniquely different” personalities make for a good match. SPEAKER JOHNSON TO ATTEND TRUMP TRIAL IN MANHATTAN IN SHOW OF SUPPORT “I think they both understand that unity of effort is required, and it has to be a cordial relationship… I think there’s a realization that if we hold the House, that would be an imperative for the America First agenda,” Zinke said. “You have a 100% New Yorker with high elbows and a lot of bravado. And then you have a Louisiana son of a firefighter that is kind and low-key. So maybe it’s a good match.” Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Pa., told Fox News Digital, “President Trump, behind the scenes and in public, speaks well of [Johnson]. I think, like a lot of people, he trusts him.” Meuser added, “[Trump] thinks he could probably improve in certain areas. As I’ve said, some of those bills, I just think we should have fought harder for. But I think they really have a special relationship.” Indeed, Trump has exercised his powerful influence to help Johnson out of legislative jams before – like expressing public support against GOP rebels’ threats to oust the speaker from leadership, and showing tacit support for Johnson’s plan on foreign aid. Johnson, for his part, has vehemently defended Trump amid his criminal trials and even recently floated defunding Special Counsel Jack Smith. TRUMP REBUKES MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE’S FAILED ATTEMPT TO OUST SPEAKER: ‘NOT THE TIME’ That support extends behind closed doors as well – Johnson touted Trump’s poll numbers in critical swing states during a members-only House GOP Conference meeting on Wednesday morning, multiple people said. And while he was not the first House GOP leader to endorse Trump’s re-election, his decision to do so was swift and, like much of Johnson’s political calculus surrounding the ex-president, appears to have been a unilateral decision. Ahead of his November CNBC interview when Johnson made news by endorsing Trump, the source close to him recalled it was suggested that the speaker wait until his political team could put together a formal rollout. But Johnson argued that it made no sense to wait because he already supported the ex-president’s re-election, the source said, and then caught staff off guard when he told “Squawk Box,” “I’m all in for President Trump.” Multiple lawmakers categorized Trump and Johnson’s relationship as a productive but working one – the GOP lawmaker who spoke with Fox News Digital said they started out at “nearly zero” – but the source pushed back, citing a recent interview in The Atlantic where Johnson said Trump called him the day after Johnson had to abruptly leave a meeting because his sons had almost drowned. JOHNSON WARNED AGAINST MAKING ‘SIDE DEALS’ WITH GOP REBELS: DON’T ‘GREASE A SQUEAKY WHEEL’ “President Trump heard about it somehow – miraculously, this never made the news,” Johnson had said. “He was just so moved by the idea that we almost lost them… and we talked about the faith aspect of that, because he knows that I believe that, you know – that God spared the lives of my sons. That’s how I understand those events, and we talked about that.” Trump also had a good relationship with Johnson when the latter was part of Trump’s impeachment defense team in 2020, the source said. Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, another staunch Trump ally, told Fox News Digital, “I think it’s a healthy relationship. I think they both respect each other. And they don’t always agree, but who does? But you know, I think that they’ve got a relationship where they can get together in person or get on the phone and talk about stuff and come up with a common plan, a common strategy.” Rep. Andy Barr, of Kentucky, another Republican close to both, said their relationship was “very beneficial” to both sides. “A lot of credit [goes] to both gentlemen for recognizing that they need each other. We need to collaborate and not just politically, but we want to have an effective first 100 days. We want to grow our majority, take back the White House and flip the Senate, and we want to be ready day one,”
Pankaj Tripathi returns as lawyer Madhav Mishra in season 4 of Criminal Justice, says ‘court jaari hai aur…’
Pankaj Tripathi is set to return with another case as Madhav Mishra in the new season of Criminal Justice.