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GOP senators air ‘deep concerns’ over NPR bias, urge CEO to ‘start a course correction’

GOP senators air ‘deep concerns’ over NPR bias, urge CEO to ‘start a course correction’

FIRST ON FOX: A group of Republican senators shared concerns over ideological bias at National Public Radio (NPR), with the organization’s controversial CEO Katherine Maher following high-profile criticism from former senior editor Uri Berliner, who recently resigned from his role citing her “divisive views.”  “We have deep concerns regarding the editorial direction under NPR’s national leadership,” wrote a group of Republicans in a letter on Monday led by Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D. In the letter, also signed by Republican conference Chairman John Barrasso, R-Wyo., and Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., Roger Marshall, R-Kan., Bill Cassidy, R-La., Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, and Eric Shmitt, R-Mo., they stressed that NPR’s “National leadership has allowed and cultivated an environment where ideological bias not only creeps in but takes center stage.” TIM SCOTT SAYS BIDEN IS ‘WILLING TO TANK’ ECONOMY BY GETTING RID OF TRUMP TAX CUTS Berliner first penned his essay for the Free Press on April 9, discussing why he believes the institution has lost public trust. He detailed his criticisms of the coverage of various events, including allegations of former President Trump’s collusion with Russia in the 2016 election, Hunter Biden’s laptop and the theory that COVID-19 actually began in a lab in China and was leaked.  The 25-year NPR veteran further revealed that his research found there were “87 registered Democrats” in editorial roles in NPR’s Washington, D.C., headquarters and no Republicans.  According to the senators, the ideological homogeneity at NPR is not just disappointing, but amounts to “an ethical failure.” DEM SENATE CANDIDATE ELISSA SLOTKIN’S ‘SMALL CONSULTING BUSINESS’ MAY HAVE NEVER BEEN ACTIVE The “decidedly left-leaning editorial stance” at the publication is a serious threat to “the integrity and diversity of thought,” they added.  “If NPR’s goal was to become an echo chamber, mission accomplished. But as a publicly funded entity, you are responsible for providing impartial coverage that accurately informs all Americans, regardless of political affiliation,” the letter continued.  TOP SENATE DEM CALLS FOR PROBE INTO MUSLIMS PROSECUTED BY DOJ FOR ILLEGAL BORDER CROSSINGS In closing, the Republicans called on Maher to begin a “course correction” to remedy the exposed lack of diversity at NPR.  Maher has come under particular scrutiny due to her lack of editorial background, as well as her opinionated and overwhelmingly Democratic personal views, which she has publicly shared on social media over time. In 2020, she criticized news outlets for their coverage of looting during the riots following the death of George Floyd. “I mean, sure, looting is counterproductive. But it’s hard to be mad about protests not prioritizing the private property of a system of oppression founded on treating people’s ancestors as private property,” she said at the time.  JEWISH DEMOCRAT CALLS OUT BERNIE SANDERS OVER OPPOSITION TO ISRAEL AID: ‘NOW DO ANTISEMITISM’ NPR did not immediately provide comment to Fox News Digital.  In the wake of Berliner’s public criticism of his then-employer, several Republican lawmakers have renewed calls to restrict funding of the organization that provides grants for NPR, giving the outlet federal money. Blackburn recently revealed she is looking at legislative options with the intent of introducing a bill to address funding for NPR, and there are multiple measures in the House already looking to do so. 

Utah GOP choose Trump-backed candidate as nominee to replace Sen. Romney, but primary still to come

Utah GOP choose Trump-backed candidate as nominee to replace Sen. Romney, but primary still to come

The Utah Republican Party on Saturday selected Trent Staggs as its nominee to replace Mitt Romney in the U.S. Senate, hours after the local official received former President Donald Trump’s endorsement. While the endorsement carried Staggs through convention with more than two-thirds of delegate votes, that support may not translate to success at the ballot box. The mayor from Riverton, just south of Salt Lake City, still must face other top contenders in the June 25 GOP primary, including U.S. Rep. John Curtis and former Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson. Republican Party nominations historically have had little bearing on the decisions of Utah voters. UTAH MOM FIGHTS FOR HER DAUGHTER’S ACCESS TO DISCONTINUED DIABETES MEDICATION: ‘LIFE-SAVING’ Curtis, who is more moderate, and Wilson, a Trump supporter, already qualified for the primary by gathering signatures. The winner will proceed to the November general election to face Democrat Caroline Gleich, a mountaineer and environmental activist who earned her party’s nomination earlier Saturday. Staggs, 49, built his base by calling delegates personally and courting the endorsements of Trump and many of his allies nationwide. The embattled former president wrote Saturday morning on his Truth Social platform that Staggs is a “100% MAGA” candidate who knows how to stop inflation, grow the economy and secure the U.S.-Mexico border. Staggs was the first candidate to enter the Senate race, even before Romney announced he was not seeking reelection. “Let’s replace Joe Biden’s favorite Republican with Donald Trump’s favorite Republican in Utah,” Staggs said Saturday, criticizing Romney for being a moderate who often has challenged Trump and other Republican leaders. Staggs’ strategy of aligning with the brash, far-right president does not guarantee victory in Utah, one of the few red states that has been reluctant to embrace Trump. Staggs supporter Eric Buckley said he is confident the endorsement will be well received by Utah voters. The Davis County delegate said that even before Trump’s recommendation he already had chosen to back Staggs for being the first to challenge Romney. “It was his stance on the corruption in D.C. that exists and his promise to stand up against the moderate Republicans and the Democrats pushing through their agenda without any type of resistance,” Buckley said. Curtis, 63, is expected to have broader appeal among primary voters. He has been compared to Romney for pushing back against hardliners in his party, particularly on climate change. Davis County delegate Jonathan Miller, who donned a “Team Mitt” baseball cap, said Curtis is his pick because he has proven his willingness to work across the aisle to get results in Congress. Although Wilson, 55, did not earn Trump’s backing, he has endorsed the president’s reelection bid and has promised to be a “conservative fighter” on Capitol Hill. His elaborate expo booth in the convention hall featured a tractor plowing through a pile of cinder blocks labeled the “Biden Agenda.” The nearly 4,000 delegates overwhelmingly supported “convention-only” candidates such as Staggs and state Rep. Phil Lyman, who was chosen as the party’s gubernatorial nominee over incumbent Gov. Spencer Cox, for opting not to collect signatures. The practice is viewed by many as circumventing the convention. “That’s a cheap way out,” Cache County delegate Tim Lindsay said. “I respect a candidate who respects the convention process.” Party picks also were among the farthest-right candidates in their contests. Delegates booed moderates such as Cox and Curtis as they took the stage. The governor laughed it off, noting that many great leaders before him were booed at past conventions but won at the polls. Cox, who has qualified for the primary with signatures, pushed back against criticisms of his initiative to reduce political polarization. “Maybe you hate that I don’t hate enough,” he said. Political observers say Cox remains the likely favorite in the primary. Lyman, his challenger, is a former county commissioner turned legislator best known for organizing an illegal ATV ride in protest of a federal land decision. The 2014 protest ride came after federal officials closed a southeast Utah canyon to motorized vehicles to protect Native American cliff dwellings, artifacts and burials. Lyman argued the closure constituted overreach by the federal government. A judge in 2015 sentenced him to 10 days in jail and three years of probation after a jury found him guilty of misdemeanor illegal use of ATVs and conspiracy. He reminded delegates of his short sentence just before the vote and pledged to continue fighting federal overreach if elected. The state party’s two major factions — the farther-right Trump supporters and the moderates who are losing their most prominent figure with Romney’s departure — are set to continue sparring at the polls this summer. The primary will test Trump’s popularity in the Beehive State as he tries to fight his way back to the White House during legal proceedings including an ongoing hush money trial.

White House silent if anti-Israel protesters will be barred from student loan forgiveness programs

White House silent if anti-Israel protesters will be barred from student loan forgiveness programs

The Biden administration is silent on whether students carrying out anti-Israel protests spiraling on college campuses nationwide will be barred from student loan forgiveness programs that have canceled billions of dollars in debt under the 46th president.  “We say justice, you say how. Burn Tel Aviv to the ground,” protesters have chanted on Columbia University’s campus in recent days. “Hamas we love you. We support your rockets, too,” other chants have included.  Colleges from coast to coast, including some of the nation’s most elite schools – including Harvard, Yale, Penn, Berkeley and others – have seen dayslong protests on campuses, where students demand their schools completely divest from Israel as the death toll in Gaza increases. The protests come following terrorist organization Hamas launching war in Israel on Oct. 7, which initially fanned the flames of antisemitism on campuses in the form of protests, menacing graffiti and students reporting that they felt as if it was “open season for Jews on our campuses.” The protests have now heightened to the point where Jewish students are warned to leave campus for their own safety.  Fox News Digital reached out to the White House on Sunday asking if the administration plans to bar student protesters from eligibility for student loan forgiveness programs but did not receive a response. Biden, in part, campaigned in 2020 on forgiving student loan debt, including pledging to cancel at least $10,000 per borrower back in 2020.  BIDEN ONCE RIPPED ‘ANTISEMITIC BILE’ BUT NOW FACES OWN ‘CHARLOTTESVILLE MOMENT’ IVY LEAGUE ANTI-ISRAEL AGITATORS’ PROTESTS SPIRAL INTO ‘ACTUAL TERROR ORGANIZATION,’ PROFESSOR WARNS Last year, the Supreme Court struck down the Biden administration’s plan to give up to $20,000 in debt relief per person, though the administration has remained committed to canceling debt through other avenues, including through established relief programs. As of this month, the administration has forgiven roughly $153 billion in debt among about 4.3 million Americans, the Department of Education detailed in a press release on April 12 after the administration announced $7.4 billion in additional student loan debt relief for more than 200,000 borrowers.  Fox News Digital asked the administration if they are weighing whether to bar anti-Israel protesters on campuses from such relief programs, but did not receive a response. Fox Digital also asked if the administration is weighing such an option, if students would be barred based on arrests or through college and law enforcement investigations.  UT AUSTIN SUSPENDS PRO-PALESTINIAN STUDENT GROUP AFTER ANTI-ISRAEL PROTEST The anti-Israel protests intensified this month, including when the NYPD arrested more than 100 protesters on Columbia’s campus, and a school rabbi warned students last week to leave campus “as soon as possible,” noting that “what we are witnessing in and around campus is terrible and tragic.” “The events of the last few days, especially last night, have made it clear that Columbia University’s Public Safety and the NYPD cannot guarantee Jewish students’ safety in the face of extreme antisemitism and anarchy,” Rabbi Elie Buechler wrote to students last weekend. “It deeply pains me to say that I would strongly recommend you return home as soon as possible and remain home until the reality in and around campus has dramatically improved.” COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY MOVES TO HYBRID LEARNING ON MAIN CAMPUS AMID ANTISEMITIC PROTESTS A Columbia professor argued in comments to Fox Digital last week that student groups supporting anti-Israel protests had “crossed the line” and morphed into becoming “actual terror” organizations. He specifically pointed to an incident on Columbia’s campus earlier this month when a protester was seen holding a sign reading, “Al-Qasam’s (sic)next targets,” while pointing at a group of Jewish students who were singing and waving Israel’s flag. Al-Qassam is the military wing of Hamas. Protesters across many of the campuses have established encampments on campus, dubbed titles like the “Gaza Solidarity encampment” or the “liberated zone,” which hearken back to 2020’s “cop free zones” in cities such as Portland, Oregon, and Seattle during the raging defund the police and BLM riots that year.  GREEN PARTY PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE JILL STEIN AMONG 100 ARRESTED PROTESTING AT WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY Arrests for the protests are mounting, with more than 100 protesters arrested at Boston’s Northeastern University on Saturday. The school said protesters were heard using antisemitic slurs, including “Kill the Jews.” Dozens more were arrested on Emory’s campus in Atlanta last week, including an economics professor, with police allegedly using tear gas and Tasers on the crowds.  All in, more than 200 protesters were arrested on Saturday alone on campuses stretching from Arizona State University to Northeastern, the New York Post reported.  As the protests intensify and video footage of the scenes spread on social media, critics have slammed debt bailouts under the Biden administration.  “Your tax dollars at work,” State Auditor of Mississippi Shad White posted on X last week. “No more DEI (which is feeding this antisemitism). No more student debt bailouts. Fix our universities.”  White’s comment came in response to the popular conservative X account “End Wokeness” posting footage of protests on Columbia’s campus last week, captioning the video, “This is the scene at Columbia University right now. A literal cult is occupying the campus. Remember: We all paid their student debt.”  “IDEA: If a student is arrested in an illegal protest or at least arrested for attacking police he is no longer eligible for student loan relief – he’s got to pay back his loans in full – no forgiveness,” conservative X account Amuse posted while tagging Republican Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz.  ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTS NATIONWIDE FUELED BY LEFT-WING GROUPS BACKED BY SOROS, DARK MONEY “Supposedly ‘peaceful’ pro-Palestinian protesters outside Columbia University calling for the end of Israel. Remember, your tax dollars are going to forgive the student debt for these people,” the publication Conservative Brief posted on X Friday. Former President Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee for the presidential election, has repeatedly slammed Biden as being responsible for the protests, calling the demonstrations and antisemtism a “disgrace.”  “What’s going on at the college level… Columbia, NYU

Groww MF to Roll Out India’s First Nifty Non-Cyclical Consumer Index Fund

Groww MF to Roll Out India’s First Nifty Non-Cyclical Consumer Index Fund

Non-cyclical businesses are the ones that manufacture necessities with steady demand throughout the economic cycle. Therefore, the Nifty Non-Cyclical Consumer Index tracks stocks that represent the non-cyclical consumer sectors like Consumer Goods & Services, Telecom, Media & Entertainment, Textile,

House Republicans brace for spring legislative sprint with one less GOP vote

House Republicans brace for spring legislative sprint with one less GOP vote

The House of Representatives is back in session for four weeks straight on Monday after a brief recess — and for House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., it will be the start of a legislative sprint with one less reliable House GOP vote. Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., who was regarded as a rising Republican star, shocked even some of his colleagues when he announced last month that he would leave Congress before the end of his term. The House announced his official departure on Friday. Due to the timing of his retirement, his seat will not be filled until the next congressional term in January 2025. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE CALLS JOHNSON’S FOREIGN AID PACKAGE HIS ‘3RD BETRAYAL’ OF AMERICAN PEOPLE Johnson’s public remarks and even leadership decisions have reflected that he’s keenly aware of the historically slim two-seat margin he’s been dealing with.  It’s likely to get even smaller sometime over the next several weeks — at least for a time.  The special election to replace retired Rep. Brian Higgins, D-N.Y., in New York’s 26th Congressional District is Tuesday. The heavily urban seat skews in favor of Democrats; President Biden won the Buffalo-area district by nearly 30 points in 2020. House GOP leaders are expected to get some relief in late May, when two Republicans running to replace ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., face-off in a special runoff election. McCarthy left the House at the end of last year, but no candidate was able to secure a majority vote in the March race to replace him — by California state law, it triggers a runoff. 3RD REPUBLICAN CALLS FOR SPEAKER JOHNSON’S OUSTER OVER $95B FOREIGN AID PLAN But if Higgins’ old seat stays in Democratic hands, it’s likely Johnson will have to navigate at least part of this four-week stint with just a one-vote majority. That means he’d only be able to lose one Republican lawmaker on any party-line vote. A House GOP aide who spoke with Fox News Digital, however, downplayed potential concerns. They argued that Johnson has already successfully ushered through most critical legislation coming in the near future, save for the reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the deadline for which is May 10. “Absent the FAA reauthorization, which will pass later this year, Speaker Johnson has done the job entrusted to him,” the House GOP aide argued.  TENSIONS ERUPT ON HOUSE FLOOR AS CONSERVATIVES CONFRONT JOHNSON ON $95B FOREIGN AID PLAN “While his majority may shrink with another GOP resignation, he’s already won the tough legislative battles. Any dysfunction moving forward falls squarely on those who refuse to govern and prefer to complain.” The aide was referencing members of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus and their allies, who have wielded outsized influence over the House GOP’s thin majority by voting in small blocs to kill or block Republican leaders’ legislation in protest of their handling of critical matters like government spending and foreign aid. The group has already signaled that they’re putting up a fight over another coming legislative battle — funding the reconstruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.  The Freedom Caucus put out a statement earlier this month demanding that any funding allocated by Congress be offset by spending cuts elsewhere, and that the funds would solely focus on bridge reconstruction. It’s not immediately clear when a funding bill could take shape or how much leverage conservatives have, given the strong bipartisan support it’s expected to receive. But GOP rebels are expected to give Johnson a hard time if he tries to pass it through traditional mechanisms that rely solely on party-line votes.