S Jaishankar dismisses Donald Trump’s claims of ceasefire: ‘No linkage of trade with Operation Sindoor, no call between PM Modi, Trump’
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar asserted that at no stage in any conversation with the US was there any linkage of trade with Operation Sindoor, and the request for halting the military action came from the Pakistani side through the DGMO channel. He also said PM Modi-Trump had no call.
The guerilla campaign to save a Texas prairie from “silent extinction”
Students and naturalists have been sneaking onto private land to extricate threatened native plants: “This is a war between us and the developers, and nobody’s calling uncle.”
Texas A&M System’s new leader hints faculty senates in state leaders’ crosshairs will stay
In an interview with the Tribune, Chancellor Glenn Hegar also said he would prioritize student outcomes over big projects and skirted questions about diversity and academic freedom.
Texas buys land for new state parks that will be developed using $1 billion voter-approved fund
The fund opens a new era of public land acquisition and park development for Texas, which ranks 35th nationally in state park acreage per capita.
Thailand, Cambodia reach ceasefire deal to end conflict that displaced 260K, Trump says
Thailand and Cambodia reached a ceasefire deal “through trade,” President Donald Trump announced Monday, ending a burgeoning conflict that displaced 260,000 people. The declaration from Trump comes after he said over the weekend that he had spoken to the leaders of Cambodia and Thailand, urging a ceasefire, adding the U.S. would not get back to the “trading table” with the southeast Asian countries until fighting stops. The fighting began Thursday after a land mine explosion along the border wounded five Thai soldiers. Both sides blamed each other for starting the clashes that have killed at least 35 people and displaced more than 260,000 people on both sides. “Numerous people were killed and I was dealing with two countries that we get along with very well, very different countries from certain standpoints. They’ve been fighting for 500 years intermittently. And, we solved that war … we solved it through trade,” Trump told reporters during his trip to Scotland. MULTIPLE PEOPLE KILLED IN MASS SHOOTING INCIDENT AT BANGKOK MARKET: POLICE “I said, ‘I don’t want to trade with anybody that’s killing each other.’ So we just got that one solved. And I’m going to call the two prime ministers who I got along with very, very well and speak to them right after this meeting and congratulate them. But it was an honor to be involved in that. That was going to be a very nasty war. Those wars have been very, very nasty,” Trump also said. “By ending this War, we have saved thousands of lives. I have instructed my Trade Team to restart negotiations on Trade. I have now ended many Wars in just six months — I am proud to be the President of PEACE!” Trump added in a post on Truth Social. As part of the ceasefire deal, military commanders from both sides will begin to hold talks Tuesday to defuse tensions while Cambodia will host a border committee meeting on Aug. 4, according to Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. He added that the foreign and defense ministers of Malaysia, Cambodia and Thailand have also been instructed to “develop a detailed mechanism” to implement and monitor the ceasefire to ensure sustained peace. TRUMP CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE BETWEEN CAMBODIA AND THAILAND AMID ESCALATING VIOLENCE It is “time to start rebuilding trust, confidence and cooperation going forward between Thailand and Cambodia,” Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said during a press conference in Malaysia alongside Thai Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai. Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on X that the U.S. “applauds the ceasefire declaration between Cambodia and Thailand announced today in Kuala Lumpur.” “President Trump made this happen. Give him the Nobel Peace Prize!” added White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. Fox News’ Brie Stimson and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
Bad Brand: Democrats plunge to new lows in another national poll
Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Ken Martin isn’t sugar-coating his party’s problems. “We do have a brand problem,” the DNC chair said in a recent Fox News Digital interview. And in what’s starting to sound like a broken record, the Democratic Party hit another historic low in a national poll this past weekend. Only a third of those questioned in a Wall Street Journal survey said they held a favorable view of the party, with 63% holding an unfavorable opinion of the Democrats. WHAT THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY CHAIR TOLD FOX NEWS DIGITAL That’s the highest unfavorable rating for the party in a Wall Street Journal poll dating back 35 years. While the favorable ratings for President Donald Trump (45%-52%) and the Republican Party (43%-54%) in the poll were nothing to brag about, they weren’t as deeply underwater as the Democrats’ favorability. “The Democratic brand is so bad that they don’t have the credibility to be a critic of Trump or the Republican Party,” said longtime Democrat pollster John Anzalone, who conducts Wall Street Journal polling along with veteran Republican pollster Tony Fabrizio. POLL POSITION: DEMOCRATIC PARTY’S NUMBERS SINK TO NEW LOWS The Wall Street Journal survey, which was conducted July 16-20, is the latest this month to indicate the plunge in Democratic Party polling. Just 28% of Americans viewed the party favorably, according to a CNN poll conducted July 10-13. That’s the lowest mark for Democrats in the entire history of CNN polling, going back over 30 years. And just 19% of voters questioned in a Quinnipiac University national poll in the field July 10-14 gave Democrats in Congress a thumbs up on how they’re handling their duties, with 72% disapproving. That’s an all-time low since Quinnipiac University first began asking congressional approval questions in their surveys 16 years ago. The Democratic Party has been in the political wilderness since last year’s elections. Not only did the party lose control of the White House and Senate and failed to win back the House majority, but Republicans made gains among Black, Hispanic and younger voters, all traditional members of the Democratic Party’s base. Since Trump’s return to power earlier this year, an increasingly energized base of Democrats is urging party leaders to take a stronger stand in pushing back against the president’s sweeping and controversial second-term agenda. Their anger is directed not only at Republicans, but at Democrats they feel aren’t vocal enough in their opposition to Trump. RNC CHAIR SAYS ‘BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL’ KEY TO GOP’S MESSAGING EFFORT HEADED INTO MIDTERMS That has fueled a plunge in the Democratic Party’s favorable ratings, which have hit historic lows in several surveys this year. “When you hit rock bottom, there’s only one direction to go, and that’s up, and that’s what we’re doing,” Martin said last week in his Fox News Digital interview. Martin said “people have bought into this idea that Donald Trump and the Republicans best represent their interests for the future.” And that’s reflected in the Wall Street Journal poll. Even though Trump’s overall approval ratings and his numbers specifically on how he’s handling the economy are in negative territory, the survey indicates voters still trust Republicans over Democrats on the economy by 10 points. But there is a silver lining in the poll for Democrats. By a 46%-43% margin, voters questioned in the survey said they would back a Democrat for Congress over a Republican. Democrats are aiming to win back the House and Senate majorities in next year’s midterm elections. In Wall Street Journal polling eight years ago, Democrats held an eight-point advantage, a year ahead of a blue wave that swept the party back into power as they grabbed the House majority in the 2018 midterms during the first Trump administration.
Trump admin issues new guidance to protect religious expression across federal workforce
FIRST ON FOX: Federal agencies are now required to protect religious expression in the workplace, according to a new government-wide memo obtained by Fox News Digital on Monday—marking one of the most sweeping moves in decades to defend faith and freedoms in the civil service. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) on Monday sent guidance to federal agencies across the Trump administration, detailing the new requirements, which ensure federal workers can display Bibles, crucifixes, or mezuzahs on their desks; pray in groups while off-duty; invite colleagues to church; and speak about their religious beliefs, even to the public, without fear of reprisal. TRUMP GATHERS CEOS FOR UNPRECEDENTED FAITH, ECONOMY MEETING TO RENEW US ‘SPIRITUALLY AND FINANCIALLY’ The memo, titled “Protecting Religious Expression in the Federal Workplace,” was sent to agencies by OPM Director Scott Kupor on Monday, and obtained exclusively by Fox News Digital. “Federal employees should never have to choose between their faith and their career,” OPM Director Scott Kupor told Fox News Digital. “This guidance ensures the federal workplace is not just compliant with the law but welcoming to Americans of all faiths.” Kupor added: “Under President Trump’s leadership, we are restoring constitutional freedoms and making government a place where people of faith are respected, not sidelined.” In the memo, Kupor details that the federal workforce “should be a welcoming place for Federal employees who practice a religious faith.” “Allowing religious discrimination in the Federal workplace violates the law. It also threatens to adversely impact recruitment and retention of highly-qualified employees of faith,” the memo states. “The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution robustly protects expressions of religious faith by all Americans—including Federal employees.” Kupor noted that freedom of religious expression is also protected by federal statutes, which “prohibit the federal government from discriminating in employment based on religion or religious expression.” “This memorandum provides guidance to agencies on robustly protecting and enforcing each Federal employee’s right to engage in religious expression in the Federal workplace consistent with the U.S. Constitution, Title VII, and other applicable sources of law,” Kupor wrote in the memo. “Agencies should allow personal religious expression by Federal employees to the greatest extent possible unless such expression would impose an undue hardship on business operations. And they should review and (if necessary) revise their internal policies to ensure that they appropriately protect religious expression.” TRUMP TO SIGN EXECUTIVE ORDER ESTABLISHING WHITE HOUSE FAITH OFFICE Kupor details examples of religious expressions that are permissible—including employees keeping Bibles on their desk and reading it during breaks; keeping rosary beads or tefillin on their desks, and using those items to pray during breaks. Kupor notes that agencies “may restrict all posters, but an agency may not single out religious posters, such as those of a crucifix, a Bible verse, or a Star of David, for harsher treatment.” “An employee may wear a cross, as well as clothing displaying a religious message,” Kupor wrote. Kupor also detailed appropriate conversations between federal employees about religion. “During a break, an employee may engage another in polite discussion of why his faith is correct and why the non-adherent should re-think his religious beliefs. However, if the non-adherent requests such attempts to stop, the employee should honor the request,” Kupor wrote. “An employee may invite another to worship at her church despite being belonging to a different faith.” INSIDE THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S WHITE HOUSE FAITH OFFICE Kupor added: “On a bulletin board meant for personal announcements, a supervisor may post a hand-written note inviting each of his employees to attend an Easter service at his church.” As for expressions directed at members of the public, Kupor gave an example that “a park ranger leading a tour through a national park may join her tour group in prayer,” and “a doctor at a Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital may pray over his patient for her recovery.” The OPM memo comes following President Trump’s executive orders on eradicating anti-Christian bias and establishing a Religious Liberty Commission. The memo also builds on OPM’s guidance from earlier this month on reasonable accommodations for religious purposes. Trump signed an executive order establishing a White House Faith Office in February. The office empowers faith-based entities, community organizations and houses of worship “to better serve families and communities,” according to the White House. The office is housed under the Domestic Policy Council and consults with experts in the faith community on policy changes to “better align with American values.”
Bass, Newsom more interested in ‘sheltering’ illegal immigrants than rebuilding from fires: Stephen Miller
California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass could have used their efforts to safeguard illegal immigrants to rebuild areas of Los Angeles that were devastated by wildfires earlier this year, according to White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller. “For the amount of effort Bass and Newscum have put into sheltering criminal illegal aliens they could have fully rebuilt the Palisades by now with time and money to spare,” Miller said in a post on X on Sunday. REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS SEEK TO STRIP DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA OF ITS SANCTUARY CITY POLICIES Bass and Newsom attracted the ire of President Donald Trump in January after massive wildfires ravaged Los Angeles in January. Specifically, Trump accused Bass of “gross incompetence” and said Newsom should resign due to his state’s response to the natural disaster. Altogether, Los Angeles suffered roughly $28.0 billion and $53.8 billion in property damage due to the fires, according to the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation’s Institute for Applied Economics. Meanwhile, Trump and the California leaders have continued to spar – particularly after Trump chose to deploy and federalize thousands of National Guard troops along with hundreds of Marines in response to riots in LA that broke out in June, following Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests in the city. TRUMP SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDER CRACKING DOWN ON ‘SANCTUARY’ CITIES, THREATENS THEIR FEDERAL FUNDING In response, Newsom blasted the Trump administration for federalizing the National Guard, labeling the move an “unmistakable step toward authoritarianism.” The Los Angeles City Council voted in November to establish Los Angeles as a sanctuary city, barring city resources and personnel from assisting with federal immigration enforcement like ICE. YOUNGKIN TO DRAFT SANCTUARY CITY BAN, MAKING STATE FUNDING CONTINGENT ON ICE COOPERATION Miller also took aim at Bass in a separate post on X on Sunday, in response to an interview she conducted with the New Yorker, where she said that “no city should have to go through an unjustified federal seizure of power.” “According to the Mayor of Los Angeles, her city is not part of the federal union, and she is free to import and subsidize infinity illegals,” Miller said. Spokespeople for Newsom and Bass did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
Trump ally Mike Collins launch key battleground state bid to flip Democrat-held Senate seat
Republican Rep. Mike Collins on Monday announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate in Georgia, in a crucial race for the GOP as the party aims to expand its Senate majority in next year’s midterm elections. Collins is aiming to challenge Democrat Sen. Jon Ossoff, who is running for re-election in the key southeastern battleground state that President Donald Trump narrowly carried in last year’s election. And Republicans view Ossoff as the most vulnerable Senate Democrat incumbent on the ballot in 2026. “Jon Ossoff does not represent Georgia’s values and has attacked our state’s best interests at every opportunity. He’s voted to raise taxes on Georgia families, supercharge inflation, open our Southern Border, and allow men to play women’s sports,” Collins argued in a statement as he launched his campaign. Collins highlighted that “this is Georgia’s moment. This is the people’s time to take back control of this Senate seat, deliver on President Trump’s America First agenda, and kick Jon Ossoff to the curb—and together, that’s exactly what we will do next November.” FIRST ON FOX: TRUMP ALLY TO LAUNCH SENATE CAMPAIGN IN KEY BATTLEGROUND The announcement by Collins came as no surprise. Fox News Digital learned on Friday that the congressman would launch his Senate campaign early this week. Collins, a businessman who founded a trucking company, is in his second term representing Georgia’s 10th Congressional District, which includes a large swath of urban, suburban, and rural areas between Atlanta and Augusta. The conservative lawmaker, who’s the son of the late Republican Rep. Mac Collins of Georgia, has been moving closer to launching a Senate campaign for weeks. TRUMP TEAM ‘PISSED OFF’ WITH REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR IN KEY BATTLEGROUND STATE SENATE NOMINATION RACE “Tires kicked. Fueling up,” Collis wrote Monday in a social media post that was accompanied by a video where he showcased his ties to President Donald Trump. “Congressman Mike Collins, he loves this state,” Trump said in a clip in the video. And Collins’ launch video, which he posted on social media on Monday morning, also includes a clip of the president praising the congressman, as well as visuals of Collins and Trump standing together. Democratic Party of Georgia Chair Charlie Bailey took aim at Collins, charging he “is a MAGA extremist who wants to raise the retirement age, voted against full Social Security benefits for first responders, propped up dangerous antisemetic rhetoric, and supports a federal abortion ban with no exceptions.” Bailey added in a statement that “this already messy primary will expose just how out of step Collins is with Georgia voters as Republicans duke it out to prove who is more in line with Trump’s toxic agenda, deep Medicaid cuts, and economic chaos.” Collins was an early backer of the president, supporting him as Trump first ran for the Republican presidential nomination in the 2016 cycle. In the 2024 presidential campaign, when Trump won back the White House, Collins traveled on behalf of Trump to the crucial early-voting primary and caucus states of Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. He also appeared at multiple Trump rallies during the 2024 cycle and opened three Trump campaign offices in Georgia. POPULAR GOP GOVERNOR PASSES ON SENATE BID IN 2026 And Collins, not facing a difficult re-election in his solidly red House seat, campaigned in ten congressional districts across the country to help elect Trump-aligned candidates as the GOP defended its razor-thin majority in the chamber. Collins at the beginning of this year reintroduced the Laken Riley Act, which mandates that undocumented immigrants charged with burglary or theft be detained. It’s named after a Georgia nursing student killed by a man who had illegally entered the U.S. The case grabbed national attention. The bill, which quickly passed the Republican-controlled House and Senate, became the first legislation signed into law by Trump as he started his second tour of duty in the White House. A Republican source said that Collins has a “great relationship” with the president and his political team. And a Georgia-based Republican consultant told Fox News that “the lane that Mike is going to run in is the America First fighter who’s been with President Trump.” Trump, who is the ultimate kingmaker in GOP politics and whose endorsements in Republican primaries are extremely powerful, has yet to weigh in on whom he may back in Georgia’s burgeoning Senate race. National Republicans were hoping to recruit popular two-term GOP Gov. Brian Kemp to take on Ossoff. But Kemp, who is term-limited, announced earlier this year that he would pass on a 2026 Senate run. Republican Rep. Buddy Carter, who for a decade has represented a district in coastal Georgia, launched a Senate campaign in the spring. Carter is also courting a Trump endorsement in the GOP primary. Georgia Insurance Commissioner John King was also running for the Republican nomination, but ended his bid on Thursday. Former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley, who is the son of former longtime University of Georgia football coach Vince Dooley, is also considering a Senate bid. The younger Dooley is close with Kemp, who’s a longtime friend. Sources in Trump’s political orbit and Republican sources in Georgia confirmed to Fox News on Friday that there was an agreement between the president’s political operation and Kemp’s political team that they would work together to find a candidate that they could all unify behind to take on Ossoff in the Senate race. Those sources also confirmed that Kemp and Trump met a couple of weeks ago to discuss the Senate race in Georgia. But when the governor floated Dooley’s name, a source close to the president’s political team said “they were told to stand down.” And when Kemp and his team did move forward with Dooley, it upset Trump’s advisers, who, according to sources, were “already pretty annoyed” that Kemp had passed earlier this year on taking on Ossoff in the Senate race. “We had a deal to work together,” a top political source in the Trump orbit told Fox News
GOP lawmakers clash over strategy to avert government shutdown crisis
An intra-GOP battle is already brewing over how to avert a government shutdown before the next fiscal year begins on Oct. 1. House and Senate lawmakers will need to strike a deal on funding the federal government by then – and while that deadline is still weeks away, Congress’ August recess means that they have just 14 legislative days with both chambers in session to come to an agreement. That will be no easy feat, considering both House and Senate Republicans are working with three-seat majorities. Meanwhile, there’s already divisions being sown over the viability of a short-term extension of fiscal year 2025 (FY2025) government funding levels, known as a continuing resolution (CR). 148 DEMOCRATS BACK NONCITIZEN VOTING IN DC AS GOP RAISES ALARM ABOUT FOREIGN AGENTS Some fiscal conservatives in the House have suggested they could get behind a full-year CR, an idea that mainstream Republicans and defense hawks have balked at. “I think we ought to start planning for a full-year CR,” House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., told reporters last week. “A funding freeze in a setting of 2.7% inflation actually is a real cut in the size of the scope of government.” Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., a member of the conservative group, told Fox News Digital, “I would be open to that.” He added, however, “But really, a CR is kind of a surrender.” Others, like Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., said, “I never like CRs, but we’ll see how it plays out.” But one House GOP lawmaker who spoke with Fox News Digital under the condition of anonymity argued it could have dangerous effects on military funding. “It’s absolutely ridiculous,” the lawmaker said. “That destroys our defense. I mean, if it’s a CR encompassing everything, that’s…contrary to everything they’ve ever said before. But when has that stopped the Freedom Caucus?” The idea of extending the previous year’s government funding levels has traditionally been anathema to Republicans, particularly in the House, where lawmakers have tried for several years to pass 12 individual, single-subject spending bills. It’s not something that’s been accomplished in years, however. And with Republicans having spent months working on President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful” policy bill, GOP lawmakers have acknowledged they’ve been left with precious little time. Many of those lawmakers suggested some sort of short-term CR could be likely to give appropriators more time to reach a deal while avoiding a temporary shutdown. “I mean, we seem to be having trouble getting the appropriations bills moved through, and so we’re going to have to do something,” Rep. Lloyd Smucker, R-Pa., told Fox News Digital. “And I think if we’re doing a CR that keeps funding levels close to where they are now, a lot of members of the conference would support that.” THOM TILLIS ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT FROM SENATE AFTER CLASH WITH TRUMP One source close to the House Appropriations Committee told Fox News Digital they believe a short-term CR is a likely scenario, but did not mention the prospects of a year. “I don’t know that we’re there yet, but if that’s the option available, we certainly can’t afford any type of government shutdown – especially under full control by Republicans,” another member, Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Wis., told Fox News Digital. Meanwhile, a small group of conservatives is warning they’re dedicated to opposing any form of CR. “I’m not voting for a September 30th CR. That is totally unacceptable,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., wrote on X last week. “I’m giving everyone adequate notice.” Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., pointed out FY2025 levels were set under the Biden administration. “Why would we want to do the Biden policies and budget?” Biggs asked. And many Senate Republicans scoffed at the idea of doing another government funding extension, let alone a year-long CR. Most want to actually give the appropriations process a shot rather than continue the status quo of last-minute government funding. “I have no interest in a year-long CR,” Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., told Fox News Digital. “I think Congress needs to actually take the responsibility for looking at spending. I don’t think having a CR, which is basically a continuation of a Biden era, is appropriate.” Rounds and other appropriators want to see the process through, something that hasn’t been accomplished since the late 1990s. But time is running thin for lawmakers, given that the House is already on recess and the upper chamber may stick around for a portion of August. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, argued that the appropriations process, which has been largely sidelined for years because of CRs, could still work, but warned that it could be undermined by another government funding extension or more rescissions packages from the White House. “We’re going to have an opportunity to be on the floor with an appropriations bill before we go on break for August,” she said. “So I refuse to say appropriations is ‘pretty broken.’” So far, the Senate Appropriations Committee has finished work on six funding bills, and moved through a key hurdle for the House’s funding bill for military construction and the VA last week. The House of Representatives has passed two of 12 individual appropriations bills, though the two already make up roughly half the discretionary funding Congress must lay out. Other Republicans similarly do not want to see another funding extension, and would rather focus on passing Trump’s roughly $1.7 trillion budget that he submitted to lawmakers earlier this year. “Hopefully we don’t have to go get to a CR, but if we get to a CR, what I don’t want is, I don’t want some blowout spending bill, which is what we have done since I’ve been here,” Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fl., told Fox News Digital. Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., also preferred to tackle Trump’s budget, but believed that lawmakers were already “late to the ball.” “I would like to go through a regular order where we consider all 12 of these buckets within the appropriations bill, all 2,400 line items, piece by piece