80th Independence Day: PM Modi’s Red Fort address, ‘Vande Mataram’, role of ‘Yuva Shakti’ | Key highlights
The flag hoisting will coincide with a 21-gun salute by the 1721 Field Battery (Ceremonial) using indigenous 105 mm Light Field Guns. The National Flag Guard will present the Rashtriya Salute.
CJP’s Instagram handle taken down and restored on Independence Day; Abhijeet Dipke reacts
The reason for the reported removal of the account was not immediately clear. Dipke did not provide details on whether the account had received any prior warning or notification from Instagram.
PM Modi picks maroon bandhani safa for 80th Independence Day; Here’s a look at iconic turbans through the years
PM Narendra Modi marked India’s 80th Independence Day in his trademark style, wearing a traditional Rajasthani bandhej chunari safa with a white kurta and brown vest. He delivered his 13th consecutive Red Fort address.
As the only Texas district to trigger potential state takeover, Austin ISD’s future now in TEA’s hands
Two middle schools received their fifth consecutive F grades from the Texas Education Agency.
Look up your Texas school’s A-F accountability grade, STAAR performance
Texas grades public schools largely on how well students perform on the STAAR tests.
Texas will audit up to 300 projects, mostly data centers, after Gov. Greg Abbott’s order
The state’s power grid operator had already planned on auditing several data center proposals, but Abbott’s directive reworks the timeline and adds new requirements.
Greg Abbott threatens Dallas, Houston airports’ grant funds over Islamic washing facilities
DFW said late Friday that plans to install the religious washing station had been canceled.
Fifth Circuit reaffirms death row inmate Brittany Holberg’s conviction
A three-judge panel of the court had reversed Holberg’s sentence in 2025, but Friday’s split decision will keep the district court’s decision to affirm her conviction.
DFW Airport scraps controversial Islamic foot-washing station plan as Texas Gov Abbott takes aim
FIRST ON FOX: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday directed a review of state grants to entities operating two major Texas airports over religious accommodations after Dallas Fort Worth International Airport said it would no longer move forward with a proposal to install Islamic washing stations. Abbott said the state will review grants to entities operating DFW and George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston for possible revocation and denial of future funding. He also referred both airports to the U.S. Department of Transportation for investigation. “Government-owned airports cannot favor one religion over all others,” Abbott wrote on X Friday. “DFW plans to install Islamic wudu washing facilities are illegal. I’ve directed a review of all state grants to both airports for possible revocation, and referred DFW & IAH to USDOT for investigation. “Texas will not allow illegal religious discrimination at taxpayer-funded facilities.” DALLAS-FORT WORTH AIRPORT TO INSTALL ISLAMIC FOOT WASH STATIONS INSIDE BATHROOMS DFW told Fox News Digital Friday it had been evaluating a proposal to add ablution washing stations on the pre-security side of Terminal D, its international terminal, but accelerated that review in response to increased public attention. “DFW was in the process of evaluating an internal proposal to add a set of ablution washing stations on the pre-security side of Terminal D, the international terminal. Like all proposed projects, the airport ultimately considers the operational benefits, customer service impacts, operational risks and costs before approving them,” the airport said. “While that evaluation was planned, the airport accelerated its review due to elevated public interest this week and has determined not to proceed with the project as it would not deliver the originally anticipated operational benefits.” The project was registered with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation July 31. The filing initially listed the project as privately funded, estimated its cost at $300,000 and indicated construction would be completed by the end of the year. DFW previously said those details resulted from administrative errors by the airport’s outside design firm and stressed that the project had not received final approval. CONNECTICUT BARS NATIVITY DISPLAY IN STATE CAPITOL BECAUSE IT’S ‘RELIGIOUS,’ LAWSUIT THREAT SAYS “While the estimate noted was $300,000, that was a preliminary high estimate, and we expect the project, if it were approved to proceed, would cost closer to $120,000,” a spokesperson for DFW previously told Fox News Digital. The airport said the design firm also mistakenly selected “privately funded” when submitting the regulatory filing. “That was an error, and it should have indicated that airport funds would be used to pay for the work like all our projects,” DFW said. DFW said it does not use taxpayer dollars for airport operations and instead relies on revenue streams, including parking and concessions. MYSTERY WI-FI NETWORK ABOARD FLIGHT RAISES ‘UNUSUAL’ ALARM ABOUT TRAVELERS’ INFORMATION Abbott’s office said Friday that George Bush Intercontinental Airport already has an ablution station and an adjoining prayer room. In a letter to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Abbott asked the U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Aviation Administration to review religious facilities and accommodations at both airports. “These ablution facilities appear designed to single out one subset of the population for special treatment based on religion. That is illegal,” Abbott said. “Both airports are government-owned facilities. The federal and state constitutions prohibit government from facilitating this sort of discrimination. Just as the government cannot favor the secular over the sacred, it also cannot favor one religious view over all others.” Abbott’s office said recipients of state grants must certify compliance with laws prohibiting discrimination. Similar low-level basins and interfaith spaces exist at other major U.S. airports, including Chicago O’Hare, Fox News Digital previously reported. Fox News Digital has reached out to Houston Airports and the U.S. Department of Transportation for comment. Fox News Digital’s Landon Mion contributed to this report.
Reagan National Airport makes drastic change following deadly 2025 midair collision
A new radar system has been installed at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in the Washington, D.C., area after a 2025 midair collision that killed 67 people due to multiple systemic failures. The airport has received the Surface Movement Radar, known as SMR-4, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Friday. The technology will help air traffic controllers identify aircraft and vehicles moving along runways and taxiways, even in bad weather and low-visibility conditions. “This new radar is our latest reinforcement tool to equip our controllers as they safeguard our air travel. We’re working at the speed of Trump to deliver the world-class air traffic control system America deserves,” Duffy said. AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL AUDIO CAPTURES TENSE MOMENT TWO PLANES NEARLY COLLIDED AT BOSTON LOGAN AIRPORT He said the new radar system will give air traffic controllers a “clearer portrait” of airport activity. Reagan Airport is the sixth airport to install the system. Newark Liberty International Airport received the technology earlier this week. Over the next three years, $30.5 million will be invested in safety and technology upgrades at Reagan National, the Transportation Department said. The new upgrades came after the Jan. 29, 2025, midair collision between American Airlines Flight 5342, a regional jet operated by PSA Airlines, and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River near the airport. FAA INVESTIGATES SOUTHWEST NEAR MISS AFTER AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL SENDS JETS ON COLLISION COURSE All 64 people aboard the American Eagle flight and three aboard the military helicopter were killed. The federal government admitted liability for the deadly collision. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said systemic failures in airspace design, safety oversight and risk management by the Federal Aviation Administration and the Army contributed to what happened. “This complex and comprehensive one-year investigation identified serious and long-standing safety gaps in the airspace over our nation’s capital,” Jennifer Homendy, chairwoman of the NTSB, said in a January 2026 report. “Sadly, the conditions for this tragedy were in place long before the night of Jan. 29.”