Amid row with Maldives, India plans new airport at Lakshadweep’s Minicoy for civilian, military aircraft
“The plan is to have a joint airfield that would be capable of operating fighter jets, military transport planes and commercial aircraft,” government sources told ANI.
Biden admin’s crackdown on dishwashers dealt blow by appeals court
A federal appeals court struck down Department of Energy (DOE) regulatory actions targeting dishwashers as part of the Biden administration’s aggressive climate and energy efficiency agenda. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a ruling late Monday overturning the DOE’s decision in 2022 to repeal a Trump-era regulation governing water use in dishwashers and clothes washers. The panel’s ruling is a victory for both Republican states which sued DOE over its actions and consumer advocacy groups which have argued against overly-burdensome standards for home appliances. “Even if DOE could consider dishwashers’ and clothes washers’ ‘efficiency’ in both ‘energy use’ and ‘water use,’ the 2020 Rules likely promoted greater efficiency in both categories than the Repeal Rule,” the court’s decision stated. “Assuming both energy conservation metrics are on the table, the States argue, and DOE does not appear to dispute, that one important aspect of that problem is whether appliance regulations actually reduce energy and water consumption.” “Yet the administrative record contains ample evidence that DOE’s efficiency standards likely do the opposite: They make Americans use more energy and more water for the simple reason that purportedly ‘energy efficient’ appliances do not work,” it continued. BIDEN ADMIN LAUNCHED AN AGGRESSIVE CAMPAIGN TARGETING HOME APPLIANCES WITH ECO REGULATIONS IN 2023 The Fifth Circuit ruling added that highly-efficient dishwashers which use less water often force consumers to run multiple cycles or to manually handwash dishes, leading to both more overall energy and water use. The case dates back to 2020 when the Trump administration adopted standards that the consumer group Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) crafted two years prior. Those standards, according to CEI, allowed for the sale of faster dishwashers and clothes washers that use slightly more water and energy. BIDEN ADMIN AIMS TO PUSH TOWNS, CITIES TO ADOPT GREEN ENERGY BUILDING CODES: ‘VERY SUSPICIOUS’ Then, shortly after President Biden took office in 2021, DOE moved to repeal the standards, an action it finalized in early 2022. Months later, a dozen Republican state attorneys general filed a legal challenge, asking the court to reinstate the 2020 regulations. “These arbitrary washing machine regulations are unlawful, ineffective, and absolutely ridiculous,” Mark Brnovich, the then-attorney general of Arizona, said at the time. “They should be hung out to dry as soon as possible.” DOE’s actions violated the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, and were “arbitrary and capricious,” the lawsuit argued. The Fifth Circuit appeared to agree with the states in its ruling Monday, even appearing to cast doubt on DOE’s authority to regulate dishwasher water use at all. WHITE HOUSE UNVEILS STRICT HYDROGEN REGULATIONS IN VICTORY FOR ENVIRONMENTALISTS “In this opinion, the court has forced DOE to follow the law and even noted that one of the positions DOE took in this suit ‘borders on frivolous.’ This decision allows manufacturers to build better dishwashers, not be encumbered by counterproductive federal regulations,” CEI attorney Devin Watkins said on Monday evening. The ruling, meanwhile, comes amid the Biden administration’s broad efforts to regulate appliances and decrease the energy consumption of the residential sector. According to federal data, the commercial and residential sector accounts for 30% of total end-use carbon emissions in the U.S., the largest share of any sector including industry, transportation and agriculture. Environmentalists have long argued in favor of appliance and energy efficiency regulations given their high use of electricity and natural gas. Green energy groups have called for the electrification of homes and businesses, reducing reliance on natural gas and simultaneously replacing current fossil fuel-fired power with alternatives like wind and solar. DOE has pursued regulations targeting gas stoves, water heaters, home furnaces, refrigerators and several other popular appliances. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm vowed in December to continue issuing such rulemakings in 2024. “This is a huge win for consumers, especially lower income consumers, allowing them the continued freedom to choose the washing machines and dishwashers that have proven to meet their needs,” Sterling Burnett, the Heartland Institute’s director of the Robinson Center on Climate And Environmental Policy, told Fox News Digital on Tuesday. “Water and energy use are just one factor when choosing an appliance to purchase, and the government should not be deciding for individuals that it’s the primary one,” he added. “This will keep less expensive models, effective models on the market allowing lower income Americans to purchase a new appliance when desired without necessarily having to make sacrifices elsewhere.”
Bengaluru CEO Suchana Seth tried to commit suicide after killing son in Goa apartment: Police
“The blood stains that were found on a towel in the service apartment were due to the slashing of her wrist,” police said.
Top Trump prosecutor, Georgia DA alleged to be in ‘improper’ romantic relationship: court filing
A new Fulton County, Georgia court filing alleges an “improper” romantic relationship between the top prosecutor in Donald Trump’s election interference case and District Attorney Fani Willis, who brought the charges against the former president. According to the filing, Willis hired special prosecutor Nathan Wade, her alleged partner, to prosecute Trump, and benefited financially from the relationship in the form of lavish vacations the two took using funds his law firm received for working the case. County records show Wade has been paid nearly $654,000 in legal fees since January 2022, an amount authorized by the district attorney, or Willis in this case. FORMER COP TARGETS TRUMP, GOP OPPONENTS OVER ‘DISGRACEFUL’ LAW ENFORCEMENT RHETORIC 3 YEARS AFTER JAN 6 The motion was filed on behalf of former Trump campaign official Michael Roman, a co-defendant in the case, in a bid to have the charges against him dismissed. It cites “sources close to both the special prosecutor and the district attorney” as confirming “they had an ongoing, personal relationship.” The filing also calls for the entire district attorney’s office, including Willis and Wade, to be disqualified from prosecuting the case. Fox News Digital has reached out to Willis’ office and Trump for comment.
California Gov. Newsom to hold special election to replace former House Speaker McCarthy in March
California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday set a mid-March special election date to fill the U.S. House seat vacated by former Speaker Kevin McCarthy. In a statement, Newsom set the March 19 primary date for the 20th Congressional District contest. If no candidate wins a majority of the vote, the top two vote-getters would advance to a May 21 matchup to fill the seat. The solidly Republican district is anchored in Bakersfield, which cuts through parts of several counties in the state’s interior farm belt. The seat is expected to stay in GOP hands. GAVIN NEWSOM BLASTS EFFORT TO BLOCK TRUMP FROM CALIFORNIA BALLOT: ‘WE DEFEAT CANDIDATES AT THE POLLS’ McCarthy announced in early December that he would step down, two months after his historic ouster as House speaker. The announcement capped a stunning end to a House career for the onetime deli counter owner, who ascended through state and national politics to become second in line to the presidency, until a cluster of hard-right conservatives engineered his removal in October. McCarthy is the only speaker in history to be voted out of the job. Newsom scheduled the election two weeks after the state’s March 5 presidential primary, which will give candidates additional time to campaign for the vacant seat and reduce the chance for voter confusion with the primary election for the presidential race and other 2024 contests, including state legislative seats. HOUSE GOP MAJORITY OFFICIALLY WHITTLES DOWN TO 3 SEATS AFTER MCCARTHY RESIGNATION The term for the seat vacated by McCarthy runs through January 2025. McCarthy’s departure set off a scramble to replace him that is being sorted out in court. A state judge earlier ruled that a McCarthy protégé, Republican Assemblyman Vince Fong, could appear on the ballot as a candidate for the former speaker’s seat, even though he earlier filed for reelection for his Assembly seat. That decision is being appealed by the state.
Fox News Power Rankings: What each candidate must do to make the GOP primary competitive
The only safe bet in politics last year was that Donald Trump would lead the Republican presidential primary. The former president began 2023 with support from 43% of GOP primary voters, and ended it, after multiple well-known and well-funded challengers entered the race, with 69%. He held on to commanding positions in Iowa (recently 52%, a 34 point lead) and South Carolina (53%, a 31 point lead). His lead in New Hampshire is more questionable, with two polls out this morning showing Trump at 46% with a 19 point lead (Suffolk), and 39% with a 7 point lead (UNH). Most importantly, Trump’s criminal cases have only strengthened his support. ‘FEAR OF TRUMP’: BREAKING DOWN BIDEN’S CAMPAIGN MESSAGING If nothing changes between now and March, when voters across the country will award the bulk of delegates who select a GOP presidential nominee, Trump is very likely to secure the nomination. Three people could potentially stand in the way of that outcome: Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis, and Trump himself. To make this race competitive, each of these candidates has to make the kind of news that will get primary voters to look up and rethink their choice. For Haley and DeSantis, that means delivering a very strong performance in an early state. They switch places in these rankings, but both remain far behind Trump because of the difficulty in pulling that off. For Trump, it’s the even less likely prospect of offending his supporters or dropping out of the race. No votes have been cast. Any of these scenarios could still happen. But none of them are even close to a safe bet. 1. Trump: Would have to offend his supporters, lose in ballot battles, or drop out Trump’s big polling leads only tell half the story. The former president has a sophisticated turnout operation. In Iowa, that project will be led by 1,800 “caucus captains,” loyal Trump supporters who have each been instructed to recruit 10 first-time caucus-goers to turn out on caucus night. He continues to lead the field in small dollar donations, a key indicator of grassroots enthusiasm. Trump has also been endorsed by over 100 sitting U.S. House members and 19 U.S. Senators, adding up to nearly half of all Republicans in congress. All of these factors make a Trump nomination the most likely outcome. Trump has been the first place “frontrunner” in the power rankings since they began in August, and he stays there in this edition. For Trump to lose that status on his own, he would either have to deeply offend his supporters, or drop out of the race. The 45th president’s base has been standing by him for nine years, so “deeply offend” would have to be something that makes them doubt whether Trump respects them, or involve a personal scandal with smoking gun evidence. As one voter told a reporter at an Iowa rally last year, “it would have to be a video of Trump punting a baby for him not to be my guy.” Trump is fighting to stay on the primary and general election ballots in Colorado and Maine, after 14th amendment challenges in those states succeeded at the state level. Last week, the Supreme Court agreed to take up the case. A loss there, which would make it impossible for Trump to win in 2024, turns this race on its head. Alternatively, Trump could drop out of the primary. That is least likely of all. While the former president is in a powerful position, keep in mind the possibility that he will underperform relative to polling. For all the effort that the campaign is putting in to engage his most enthusiastic supporters, his lead is so big that it could depress turnout. That’s something the former president has acknowledged himself, telling supporters in Iowa last month “Don’t sit home and say, ‘I think we’ll take it easy…’ Crazy things can happen.” 2. Haley: Must win New Hampshire Haley has made modest polling gains and has deep-pocketed donors in her corner, but she must prove that she is seriously competitive with Trump before Super Tuesday. Her only chance to that is with a clear victory in New Hampshire. We knew going into this race that the Republican Party has three camps: Some of the last group never liked Trump or the “MAGA” movement; others may have supported his administration and agreed with some or even most of his policies, but want to move on in 2024. Haley was already well-positioned to capture these voters because of her longstanding establishment Republican credentials and matching policies. Her clashes at the debates with Ramaswamy, who exists at the other end of the establishment spectrum, cemented her relationship with this group. The good news for Haley is that New Hampshire is home to more of these non-Trump voters than the other early states. 34% of GOP voters there said they have an unfavorable view of him in a November survey, and he has a weaker lead here than the other early states. The Granite State also allows “undeclared” voters to participate in partisan primaries. In fact, they are the state’s largest voting bloc. That means at least some Democratic and independent anti-Trump voters will play a role in deciding the GOP winner. The former governor is already competitive in the state. A recent poll puts her 22 points behind Trump, at 42-20%. She carries an endorsement from the state’s popular center-right governor, Chris Sununu, who says he wants Haley to win in a “landslide.” Haley also has big money behind her. Her campaign has spent $26 million on ads in New Hampshire, and she picked up an endorsement from Americans for Prosperity Action, the advocacy group backed by billionaire Charles Koch. There are still roadblocks: Chris Christie is polling at double digits in the state, likely pulling at least some vote away from Haley. And it’s not yet clear whether her Civil War remarks will hurt her polling. In any case, a decisive win
Special Counsel Jack Smith targeted with ‘swatting’ call on Christmas: report
Special Counsel Jack Smith was reportedly the target of an attempted “swatting” attack at his Maryland home on Christmas Day. An unknown person called local police in Montgomery, Maryland, and claimed that Smith had shot his wife inside their home, according to law enforcement sources cited by NBC News. Officers were dispatched immediately, but the confusion was sorted out when they encountered the U.S. Marshals protecting Smith’s home. “Swatting” is the practice of making a false report by calling police to someone’s address, typically by claiming some violent crime has or is being committed. The practice has resulted in multiple deaths in recent years. No arrests have been made in relation to the swatting attempt against Smith. Police and the special counsel’s office declined to comment to NBC, and the U.S. Marshals Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. TRUMP CALLS CLAIMS HE’S A THREAT TO DEMOCRACY A ‘HOAX,’ SAYS BIDEN IS THE REAL THREAT: ‘I WILL SAVE DEMOCRACY’ Smith is handling two indictments against former President Trump, one for his alleged mishandling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago residence and another for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. JACK SMITH DISPUTES TRUMP’S PRESIDENTIAL IMMUNITY CLAIM IN APPEALS COURT Trump will appear in court in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday for debate over whether he is immune from election-related charges altogether. Trump’s lawyers argue that presidents enjoy “absolute immunity” for actions they take while in the White House. “Four-year service as Commander in Chief did not bestow on [Trump] the divine right of kings to evade the criminal accountability that governs his fellow citizens,” U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan said in a December ruling against Trump, adding that former presidents do not enjoy a “”lifelong ‘get-out-of-jail-free’ pass.” SUPREME COURT DECLINES TO ISSUE EXPEDITED RULING ON TRUMP IMMUNITY CASE Trump’s team appealed Chutkan’s decision to a three-judge appeals D.C. Circuit Court panel, which will hear arguments later Tuesday. Trump is charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding and conspiracy against rights. The U.S. Supreme Court recently rejected Smith’s appeal to expedite their assessment of the immunity claim before it went fully through a federal appeals court. Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report
Speaker Johnson fires back at White House in border policy standoff: ‘National security catastrophe’
EXCLUSIVE: Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is hitting back at the White House for trying to pin the migrant crisis at the border on House Republicans. Johnson’s office put together a new memo on Tuesday morning detailing 64 actions taken by the Biden administration and illegal immigration milestones that the GOP argues have made the border situation worse since President Biden took office. Many of the points mentioned are also linked to what reforms Republicans are seeking from the White House in the ongoing border negotiations, which appear to have slowed so far this week. “Since his first day in office, President Biden and his administration have worked to systematically undermine America’s border security,” Johnson told Fox News Digital. “On more than 60 occasions, he has manipulated the federal bureaucracy to open our borders to illegal immigrants, human trafficking, fentanyl, and potential terrorists. The result is a humanitarian and national security catastrophe.” EX-DHS OFFICIALS BACK JOHNSON’S AGGRESSIVE BORDER STANCE IN FUNDING FIGHT, SAY GOP MUST HAVE ‘CLEAR RESOLVE’ He urged Biden to take unilateral action on border security, a demand Johnson first made in a letter to the president in late December. “The President must use his executive authority to repair what he has broken. I am calling on him to do so,” Johnson said. His memo took issue with Biden rolling back key Trump administration policies, such as Remain In Mexico, which are now being pushed by the House GOP amid border talks between the Senate and White House. Among the actions Johnson’s memo highlighted are Biden’s termination of the national emergency at the border on his first day in office, and his order to halt construction of the Trump administration’s border wall. SPEAKER JOHNSON FLOATS MEETING WITH BIDEN ON BORDER CRISIS It also accused Biden of increasing barriers on agents seeking to take enforcement actions, and pointed to the Biden administration’s expanded use of catch-and-release to allow undocumented migrants to await their immigration proceedings within the U.S. Johnson argued that the Biden administration’s expansion of parole authorities and government assistance programs for undocumented migrants similarly encouraged the historic increase in border encounters. The document also included data on monthly border encounters, including unaccompanied children, as well as the amount of fentanyl seized at the border. It comes after White House spokesman Andrew Bates last week accused House Republicans of worsening the border crisis by withholding approval for the president’s funding requests. But the Tuesday memo cited instances of Biden administration policy that Johnson suggested made the crisis worse, as Republicans continue to argue that funding increases are meaningless without policy changes. GOP lawmakers are seeking those policy changes in ongoing conversations with the White House. Republican leaders have made clear that they would not approve funding for Ukraine or other parts of Democrats’ $110 billion supplemental funding request without those changes. US-MEXICO MIGRATION TALKS INCLUDED BENEFITS OF ‘REGULARIZING’ ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS LIVING IN US Some hardliners in the House Republican Conference have gone further, insisting that all government funding be withheld unless changes are made. And while those conversations are going on with the Senate, the House GOP has signaled that they will likely seek more conservative reforms than whatever will come out of the talks. Johnson himself suggested he would not entertain anything less than H.R.2, the House GOP border bill that would reinstate many of the Trump administration policies that the Tuesday memo hits Biden for rolling back. Senate Democrats and the White House called that bill a nonstarter. But even the left has conceded that something has to change, as border communities and big cities around the country struggle with a surge of people seeking asylum in the U.S. While the final numbers have not been released, early reports have said that December is on pace to have seen more than 300,000 migrants encounters at the southern border – the highest monthly total in history. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House about Johnson’s new memo but did not immediately hear back.
PM Modi, UAE President hold roadshow in Ahmedabad ahead of Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit; watch here
The roadshow comes a day ahead of the inauguration of the 10th edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit (VGGS) at the Mahatma Mandir Convention Centre in Gandhinagar.
Russian national in California pleads guilty to funneling money to ‘jihad’ fundraiser supporting terror group
A Russian national living in California has pleaded guilty to funneling tens of thousands of dollars to a “jihad” fundraiser supporting a known terror group. The Justice Department announced that Murat Kurashev, 36, a Russian national who resided in Sacramento, pleaded guilty on Monday to attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization. The FBI arrested Kurashev after a federal grand jury handed down the single-count indictment on Feb. 18, 2021. According to court documents, Kurashev attempted to provide financial support to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is designated by the Secretary of State as a foreign terrorist organization that engages in terrorism in Syria. Between July 2020 and February 2021, Kurashev was accused of using money transfer services to send approximately $13,000 to two known couriers for an HTS fundraiser. Federal prosecutors say records obtained from the money transfer services documented multiple transactions from Kurashev to the couriers in Turkey, usually in increments of $1000. MCCARTHY CONCERNED OF TERROR ‘SLEEPER CELLS’ IN US AMID ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR, SAYS SPEAKER MUST PRIORITIZE BORDER The couriers retrieved the funds often within 24 hours of transfer, prosecutors said. Surveillance footage from money transfer businesses captured Kurashev during some of the transactions, according to the DOJ. Prosecutors said social media and encrypted mobile messaging discussions between Kurashev and the fundraiser made clear that Kurashev was fully aware of the fundraiser’s violent extremist ideology and participation and work on behalf of HTS. Kurashev stated that he wished he could join the fight in Syria as a mujahideen and regretted that he could only provide financial support. As their conversations showed, Kurashev and the fundraiser believed that providing money in support of the HTS fighters “was tantamount to being engaged in violent jihad,” U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert’s office said. US SHOULD ACT LIKE TERROR ‘SLEEPER CELLS’ ARE ‘ALREADY HERE,’ BORDER SECURITY EXPERT WARNS According to court documents, Kurashev followed the fundraiser’s online presence and various social media accounts, which included solicitations for money to purchase military equipment, boots, clothing, firearms, and, in one case, a motorcycle. Forensic analysis of Kurashev’s Apple iCloud account revealed it to be replete with violent extremist content, including a video depicting HTS fighters, according to the Justice Department. Kurashev is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller on March 18, 2024. He faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, an American think tank in Washington, D.C., Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, HTS or the “Organization for the Liberation of the Levant,” traces its beginnings to the outset of the Syrian civil war and has remained a dangerous opposition force throughout the duration of the conflict. In May 2018, HTS was added to the State Department’s existing designation of its predecessor, the al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. The think tank says that HTS retains a Salafi-jihadist ideology despite a public split from al-Qaeda in 2017.