2 Indian students found dead in US, had moved there just 2 weeks ago
Family members of the Telangana student are clueless about the cause of his death and also of his roommate’s.
Ram Temple trust shares details of ‘Pran Pratishtha’ ceremony, check here
The Temple Trust mentioned that the events will focus on diverse representation, historic tribal representation and being inclusive of traditions.
Gun rights supporters rally at Virginia Capitol on annual ‘Lobby Day’
Hundreds of gun-rights supporters held an annual rally at the Virginia Capitol on Monday, calling on the state’s Democratic legislative majority to back down from its push to send GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin bills further restricting firearms. Democratic legislators have filed a range of measures they say would promote public safety and reduce gun violence, including bills that would ban new assault-style weapons and enact strict new limits on concealed handguns in restaurants and clubs. The measures, which would build on the tightening of gun laws Virginia Democrats enacted in 2020 and 2021 when the party was in full control of state government, would infringe on civil liberties, speakers at Monday’s event on the Capitol grounds said. “The legislature is coming whole hog at us and proposing things that are so blatantly unconstitutional it’s not even funny,” John Pierce, an attorney whose practice is focused on gun laws, said at the Virginia Citizens Defense League’s rally. FEDERAL JUDGE RULES IT UNCONSTITUTIONAL TO BAN GUNS FROM POST OFFICES The showing is unlikely to sway Democrats, who have vowed to make the issue a top priority this session. They have sponsored other gun-related measures that range from a ban on auto sears, which convert semi-automatic handguns into automatic weapons, to measures dealing with safe gun storage. Speakers at the rally expressed optimism, tempered with a dash of concern, about how Youngkin might act on the gun-related measures that reach his desk. The governor positioned himself as a gun-rights supporter during his campaign, but he notably did not fill out a candidate questionnaire from the National Rifle Association. The group in turn did not endorse him. Gun-related bills have not been a top focus of his administration’s efforts in past legislative sessions, which also featured divided government. Philip Van Cleave, president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, said in an interview that he was heartened to see Youngkin reference the issue in his address on the session’s opening day. In those remarks, Youngkin told lawmakers Virginia has some of the nation’s “toughest” gun laws, and he asked them to consider bills that would hold accountable criminals who commit crimes with guns. Van Cleave said he felt “reasonably” confident that if the Democrats’ gun bills his organization opposes make it to Youngkin’s desk, the governor would veto them. “I mean, we don’t know for sure,” said Van Cleave, who confirmed that Youngkin, who did not attend the rally, had been invited to speak. Youngkin spokesman Christian Martinez said in a written statement that the governor will review “any legislation that comes to his desk” and reiterated the governor’s comments in his speech. Martinez did not address more specific questions about the governor’s position on specific pieces of legislation. In other action Monday, a Senate committee held a lengthy hearing on a measure that would legalize and tax so-called “skill games.” The machines, which have proliferated in gas stations, bars and convenience stores around the state, look and play like slot machines, though manufacturers say there is an element of skill involved. Lawmakers and the courts have been grappling with the machines for years. A ban went back into effect in October following a ruling from the Supreme Court of Virginia in litigation brought by the industry. The measure, sponsored by Democratic Sen. Aaron Rouse, is backed by a range of interests that stand to profit from the machines, including coalitions representing businesses that host them and receive a share of the profits. Casino interests have opposed the machines, which they say will remain too loosely regulated even under Rouse’s measure. The committee took the unusual step of advancing the bill to the chamber’s finance committee, which is chaired by a bill co-patron, rather than a different committee, general laws, that typically vets gambling-related bills. NORTHERN VIRGINIA COUNTY REPORTS 4,000-VOTE TALLYING ERROR IN 2020 PRESIDENTIAL RACE Sen. Adam Ebbin, who leads the general laws committee, called the move a disappointment. “I don’t know what the proponents are afraid of. They seem to have friends throughout the General Assembly,” he said. The same panel also advanced a Democrat-sponsored bill opposed by a range of business interests that would increase the minimum wage from the current rate, $12, to $15 by Jan. 1, 2026. Lawmakers also delivered speeches honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The MLK holiday — which Youngkin marked by participating in restoration work at a historic African American cemetery — is informally known at the Virginia Capitol as “Lobby Day.” Citizen groups often use the holiday to meet with elected officials on a range of issues. The Virginia Citizens Defense League, a well-organized grassroots group, often has the most visible presence. This year’s crowd of gun-rights activists was far smaller than the tens of thousands who amassed in 2020 to protest plans by the state’s Democratic leadership to pass gun-control legislation. While civilians are generally banned from carrying guns within the confines of Capitol Square, where the group’s rally took place, a handful of heavily armed individuals stood by on the sidewalk just outside of it Monday morning.
Nikki Haley dodges question on whether a man can become a woman
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley chose not to answer a question about whether men can become women, instead saying that the government should allow such surgeries for adults, during a town hall Sunday. Haley, who previously served as United Nations ambassador and governor of South Carolina, appeared to dodge the question from an Iowa voter about transgenderism during the town hall. The Haley campaign held the town hall via teleconference which was held after a blizzard forced it to cancel a planned in-person event in Dubuque, Iowa. “We shouldn’t have them permanently change their body until they’re 18,” Haley told the voter, according to audio of the event first obtained by the Daily Caller. “After the age of 18, we want to make sure people can live any way they want to live. I don’t think government needs to be in control of anybody’s life. You go live the way you want to live, you should be free to live the way you want to live. And government and everybody else should stay out of your way.” “I think that, you know, you always have to believe in freedom and allowing people to live life the way they want to live, and if that’s how they choose then, you know, I don’t think government should have any say in that,” the former ambassador continued. LIVE BLOG: TRUMP, HALEY, DESANTIS FACE OFF AT IOWA CAUCUSES IN GOP 2024 PRESIDENTIAL RACE Haley added that she strongly believed children under the age of 18 years old should not be legally allowed to proceed with any gender surgeries. She noted tattoos are illegal for anyone younger than 18 years old. She failed, though, to ever say in her answer whether she believed a man could or could not become a woman. YOUR QUICK GUIDE TO THE IOWA CAUCUSES AND WHAT TO EXPECT THIS YEAR Haley’s comments were later highlighted by Never Back Down, a super PAC supporting Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. “Nikki Haley dodged the question when she was asked whether a man can become a woman,” Never Back Down said in an X post Monday. The group added that DeSantis simply answered “no” when asked during a radio interview last year if a man could become a woman. Haley’s comments, meanwhile, come ahead of the Iowa caucuses which are slated to take place Monday evening. NIKKI HALEY’S CAMPAIGN SPENT THOUSANDS ON LUXURY HOTELS DESPITE CLAIMS IT RUNS ‘A TIGHT SHIP’ The Haley campaign didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub Fox News Digital reporter Greg Wehner contributed to this report.
Sen. Paul says Fauci deserves prison for COVID-19 mishandling: ‘There was no science’
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said in an interview Monday that Dr. Anthony Fauci will not go down favorably in history over his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, and that the former presidential medical advisor should be behind bars for purportedly lying to Congress in previous hearings. “His actions in covering up the origins of the virus will go down in history as probably one of the most egregious and infamous public health decisions in our lifetime,” Paul told Fox News Digital in an interview Monday. “Every step of the way, Fauci has publicly protested and said ‘we never funded any gain function research in Wuhan,’ but if you look at his private emails, it tells a different story,” Paul said. Gain-of-function research involves manipulating the genes of microorganisms to give them new functions or characteristics. In the context of COVID-19, gain-of-function research found that the virus could have originated from a laboratory in Wuhan, China, and involved experiments that enhanced its transmissibility, or pathogenicity. DR FAUCI ADMITS SOCIAL DISTANCING WAS NOT SCIENCE BASED In previous congressional testimony, Fauci refuted claims that the National Institutes of Health had financed gain-of-function research at the Wuhan lab — the epicenter of the pandemic that originated in late 2019 and would soar to pandemic proportions in 2020. Fauci testified for the second time last week in private before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, which is investigating the origins of the virus. The committee’s chairman, Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, was reportedly perturbed that Fauci was unable to recall decisions or circumstances from the early stages of the outbreak, which claimed the lives of 1.1 million Americans, he wrote in a statement. “Lying to Congress is a felony punishable up to five years in prison. When he came and told me that he did not find gain-of-function research and move on — that was a bald-faced lie. I gave him a chance to correct the record a month later when he came back to the committee, and he refused to do so,” Paul said. “And to this day, he has been dissembling and really trying to point blame away from him, but that’s a felony,” he said. COVID-19 LOCKDOWNS: WHAT’S UP WITH NOSTALGIA FOR THE ‘OUTBREAK ERA’? Fauci also testified that the lab leak hypothesis — which was often suppressed — was not a conspiracy theory and that the policies and mandates he promoted may increase vaccine hesitancy in the future, Wenstrup wrote in a statement Wednesday. Wenstrup said Fauci played semantics with the definition of a “lab leak” while acknowledging that a lab leak was possible. Wenstrup said the admission came nearly four years after the publication of the “Proximal Origin” paper that attempted to vilify and disprove the lab leak hypothesis. Fauci also denied allegations that he visited the CIA during the pandemic or influenced the CIA’s investigation into the origins of COVID-19. “Dr. Fauci’s transcribed interview revealed systemic failures in our public health system and shed light on serious procedural concerns with our public health authority,” wrote Wenstrup, a physician of over 30 years. “It is clear that dissenting opinions were often not considered or suppressed completely. Should a future pandemic arise, America’s response must be guided by scientific facts and conclusive data.” COVID-19 PANDEMIC HAS CAUSED ‘COLLECTIVE TRAUMA’ AMONG US ADULTS, NEW POLL SAYS Paul, who is also an eye doctor, said the reason he “continues to dwell” on Fauci’s handling of the pandemic is because he aims “to pass legislation that creates an independent commission that will regulate gain-of-function research and try to prevent some of the more dangerous research from ever occurring.” “There was no science,” Paul said of the COVID-19 guidelines like social distancing and quarantine. “This was sort of medieval type of conclusions. And I think history will judge him harshly for doing this.” Fox News Digital has reached out to Fauci for comment. Fox News’ Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.
Fox News Voter Analysis reveals what Iowa Caucus voters think about their financial situation
On a personal level, what do Iowa Republicans think about their family’s financial situation? Like we’ve seen in national polling, Iowans say they’re in bad shape financially. Just about 1-in-10 say they’re getting ahead, while three times that say they are falling behind. A majority say they’re holding steady. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Iowa caucuses: Fox News Voter Analysis provides big insight into GOP race
It’s caucus night in Iowa and our Fox News Voter Analysis has been asking likely Republican caucusgoers in the state – more than 1,500 of them – whom they are supporting and why. Conducted along with our partners The Associated Press and NORC at the University of Chicago, Fox News will be using this innovative election survey approach throughout the 2024 primary season. On a personal level, what do Iowa Republicans think about their family’s financial situation? Like we’ve seen in national polling, Iowans say they’re in bad shape financially. Just about one in 10 say they’re getting ahead, while three times that say they are falling behind. A majority say they’re holding steady. In Iowa, we’ll also be looking at questions such as who was able to motivate first-time caucusgoers to head out into the cold weather and give up a few hours on their Monday evening? Are GOP caucus attendees interested in a candidate who has good policy ideas? One who is a strong leader? What about defeating President Biden in the fall – is that what Iowa Republicans care about most of all? HOW TO BE THE FIRST TO KNOW WHAT IOWA GOP CAUCUSGOERS ARE THINKING We’ll also be diving into the most important issues facing the country. Is it the economy? Abortion? Immigration? And will Republicans come together and support their nominee in November, or are we looking at a chance that the party will split? All that and more is on deck. The survey questionnaire and results will be posted on foxnews.com after 8:00 p.m. ET, and keep checking back here for more news and analysis of the results.
Israeli forces kill three Palestinians in occupied West Bank
Two people killed in Dura near Hebron, and one person killed near Tulkarem, according to Palestinian Health Ministry. At least three Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Ministry of Health says. Two Palestinians were shot on Monday during confrontations with the Israeli military in the town of Dura near Hebron in the southern West Bank, the official Palestinian news agency, Wafa, reported. Mohammed Hasan Abu Sabaa, 22, died after he was shot in the heart by Israeli forces, the ministry said. Ahed Mahmoud Mohammed, 23, died after she was shot in the head, the director of Dura Governmental Hospital told Wafa. Ten other people were transported to the hospital with gunshot wounds, the Health Ministry said. The Israeli military said its forces opened fire at a group of about 100 Palestinians taking part in a protest during which bricks and firebombs were thrown at soldiers. The military said the man who was shot had thrown a firebomb, but it did not provide evidence for the allegation. Relatives of Abu Sabaa were given the news of his death at Dura Governmental Hospital after Israeli soldiers shot him during a protest [Mussa Qawasma/Reuters] In a separate incident, Fares Khalifa, 37, was fatally shot by Israeli forces near Tulkarem in the northern West Bank, according to the Health Ministry. Since the war in the besieged Gaza Strip began on October 7, the West Bank has experienced surging violence and attacks by Israeli forces not seen since the second Intifada from 2000 to 2005. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Israeli forces have killed 30 Palestinians, including seven children, in the West Bank in the first 15 days of the year. Last year, 507 Palestinians were killed, the highest annual death toll since OCHA started recording casualties in 2005. Students arrested Separately, Israel arrested students at a university in the occupied West Bank during an early morning raid. The students attend An-Najah National University in Nablus, which called for their immediate release, describing the army raid as “blatant Israeli aggression”. The university and the Palestinian Prisoners Club, an advocacy group, said 25 students were arrested in the raid. The Israeli army said security forces arrested “nine wanted persons associated with a Hamas student cell”. Adblock test (Why?)
Why is Namibia furious at Germany’s ICJ intervention supporting Israel?
Namibia criticises Germany for seeking to appear at court against South Africa’s genocide allegations. Namibia has condemned Germany’s backing of Israel against genocide allegations at the International Court of Justice. It says, given Germany’s colonial past, that it should not support Israel. So, what’s behind this diplomatic dispute – and why now? Presenter: Adrian Finighan Guests: Mutjinde Katjiua – Paramount chief of the Ovaherero Traditional Authority Henning Melber – Associate at the Nordic Africa Institute Matthias Goldmann – Senior Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute Adblock test (Why?)
Fauci’s ex-boss now says COVID-19 lab leak theory was credible, despite previous claims it was a distraction
Former National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Dr. Francis Collins admitted to members of Congress last week that the coronavirus lab leak theory was in fact credible, despite his claims in 2021, in which he called it a “distraction.” Collins made the admission during a closed-door, 7-hour interview on Friday with the House Select Committee on Coronavirus Pandemic, echoing testimony from Dr. Anthony Fauci, who was the public face of the U.S. coronavirus pandemic response. The subcommittee’s chairman, Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, released the key takeaways from the interview with Collins, saying he served as Fauci’s “boss.” FAUCI ADMITS SOCIAL DISTANCING NOT BASED ON SCIENCE, ‘SORT OF JUST APPEARED’ Fauci met with the subcommittee earlier in the week, testifying that the lab leak hypothesis – which was often suppressed – was not a conspiracy theory and that the policies and mandates he promoted may increase vaccine hesitancy in the future, Wenstrup wrote last Wednesday. “Dr. Collins agreed with Dr. Fauci’s concession that the COVID-19 lab leak hypothesis is not a conspiracy,” Wenstrup wrote after interviewing Collins on Friday. The congressman also said Collins “minced words” when it came to defining gain-of-function research in an effort to hide NIH’s involvement in funding the research in Wuhan. “This wordplay mimics Dr. Fauci’s profuse defense of his previous Congressional testimony, where he claimed the NIH did not fund gain-of-function research in Wuhan,” Wenstrup wrote. ‘PANDEMIC SKIP,’ A COVID MENTAL HEALTH PHENOMENON, COULD DELAY MAJOR MILESTONES, EXPERTS SAY Collins reportedly told the subcommittee that Fauci invited him to attend a conference call on Feb. 1, 2020, which prompted the “Proximal Origin” publication, which attempted to vilify and disprove the lab leak hypothesis. “This testimony directly contradicts Dr. Fauci’s previous statements and raises further concerns about the U.S. government’s role in suppressing and vilifying the lab-leak hypothesis,” Wenstrup said. In addition to going back on previous statements regarding the lab leak hypothesis, Collins agreed with Fauci that social distancing six feet apart was likely not based on scientific data. COVID-19 LOCKDOWNS: WHAT’S UP WITH NOSTALGIA FOR THE ‘OUTBREAK ERA’? Collins also reaffirmed previous statements attacking the Great Barrington Declaration, which encouraged the protection of the vulnerable and limited restriction of young and healthy Americans. Collins made headlines in December 2021 after the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis released an email where he expressed deep concerns about the herd immunity strategy being advocated by “fringe epidemiologists,” and called for “a quick and devastating published takedown” of the three experts promoting the herd immunity strategy known as “The Great Barrington Declaration.” He told Fox News’ Bret Baier at the time that he was not going to apologize for his words and argued that hundreds of thousands of people would have died had the U.S. followed the strategy. “I did write that, and I will stand by that,” Collins said at the time. “Basically, these fringe epidemiologists who really did not have the credentials to be making such a grand sweeping statement, were saying just let the virus run through the population and, eventually, then everybody would have had it, and everything will be okay.” The interview with Collins came after the House subcommittee met with Fauci on Jan. 8 and Jan. 9 during a 14-hour interview, to discuss his influential role during the pandemic. Wenstrup’s committee has been investigating whether government officials at the time, including Fauci, worked to suppress questions about whether the pandemic was the result of a lab leak in Wuhan, China. Republicans have accused those officials of pushing the natural origin theory in a bid to protect China. Michael Dorgan of Fox News contributed to this report.