DNI Tulsi Gabbard declassified Trump-Russia docs: Here’s what they say
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard declassified a slew of documents this month, revealing that Obama administration officials “manufactured” intelligence to push the Trump-Russia collusion narrative. Here’s a look at the newly declassified records: Documents revealed that in the months leading up to the November 2016 election, the intelligence community consistently assessed that Russia was “probably not trying … to influence the election by using cyber means.” One instance was on Dec. 7, 2016, weeks after the election. Then-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper’s talking points stated, “Foreign adversaries did not use cyberattacks on election infrastructure to alter the U.S. presidential election outcome.” Fox News Digital obtained a declassified copy of the Presidential Daily Brief, which was prepared by the Department of Homeland Security, with reporting from the CIA, Defense Intelligence Agency, FBI, National Security Agency, Department of Homeland Security, State Department and open sources, for Obama, dated Dec. 8, 2016. “We assess that Russian and criminal actors did not impact recent U.S. election results by conducting malicious cyber activities against election infrastructure,” the Presidential Daily Brief stated. “Russian Government-affiliated actors most likely compromised an Illinois voter registration database and unsuccessfully attempted the same in other states.” But the brief stated that it was “highly unlikely” the effort “would have resulted in altering any state’s official vote result.” “Criminal activity also failed to reach the scale and sophistication necessary to change election outcomes,” it stated. The brief noted that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence assessed that any Russian activities “probably were intended to cause psychological effects, such as undermining the credibility of the election process and candidates.” The brief stated that cyber criminals “tried to steal data and to interrupt election processes by targeting election infrastructure, but these actions did not achieve a notable disruptive effect.” Fox News Digital obtained declassified, but redacted, communications from the FBI in the Presidential Daily Brief, stating that it “should not go forward until the FBI” had shared its “concerns.” Those communications revealed that the FBI drafted a “dissent” to the original Presidential Daily Brief. OBAMA ADMIN ‘MANUFACTURED’ INTELLIGENCE TO CREATE 2016 RUSSIAN ELECTION INTERFERENCE NARRATIVE, DOCUMENTS SHOW The communications revealed that the brief was expected to be published Dec. 9, 2016, the following day, but later communications revealed the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, “based on some new guidance,” decided to “push back publication” of the Presidential Daily Brief. “It will not run tomorrow and is not likely to run until next week,” wrote the deputy director of the Presidential Daily Brief at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, whose name is redacted. The following day, Dec. 9, 2016, a meeting convened in the White House Situation Room, with the subject line starting: “Summary of Conclusions for PC Meeting on a Sensitive Topic (REDACTED.)” The meeting included top officials in the National Security Council, Clapper, then-CIA Director John Brennan, then-National Security Advisor Susan Rice, then-Secretary of State John Kerry, then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch, then-Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe, among others, to discuss Russia. The declassified meeting record, obtained by Fox News Digital, revealed that principals “agreed to recommend sanctioning of certain members of the Russian military intelligence and foreign intelligence chains of command responsible for cyber operations as a response to cyber activity that attempted to influence or interfere with U.S. elections, if such activity meets the requirements” from an executive order that demanded the blocking of property belonging to people engaged in cyber activities. After the meeting, according to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Clapper’s executive assistant emailed intelligence community leaders tasking them to create a new intelligence community assessment “per the president’s request” that detailed the “tools Moscow used and actions it took to influence the 2016 election.” “ODNI will lead this effort with participation from CIA, FBI, NSA, and DHS,” the record states. Later, Obama officials “leaked false statements to media outlets” claiming that “Russia has attempted through cyber means to interfere in, if not actively influence, the outcome of an election.” By Jan. 6, 2017, a new Intelligence Community Assessment was released that, according to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, “directly contradicted the IC assessments that were made throughout the previous six months.” Intelligence officials told Fox News Digital that the ICA was “politicized” because it “suppressed intelligence from before and after the election showing Russia lacked intent and capability to hack the 2016 election.” Officials also said it deceived the American public “by claiming the IC made no assessment on the ‘impact’ of Russian activities,” when the intelligence community “did, in fact, assess for impact.” “The unpublished December PDB stated clearly that Russia ‘did not impact’ the election through cyber hacks on the election,” an official told Fox News Digital. FBI LAUNCHES CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS OF JOHN BRENNAN, JAMES COMEY: DOJ SOURCES The official also said the ICA had assessed that “Russia was responsible for leaking data from the DNC and DCCC,” while “failing to mention that FBI and NSA previously expressed low confidence in this attribution.” Officials said the intelligence was “politicized” and then “used as the basis for countless smears seeking to delegitimize President Trump’s victory, the years-long Mueller investigation, two Congressional impeachments, high level officials being investigated, arrested, and thrown in jail, heightened US-Russia tensions, and more.” A report prepared by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence in 2020 said the intelligence community did not have any direct information that Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted to help elect Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential election, but, at the “unusual” direction of then-President Barack Obama, published “potentially biased” or “implausible” intelligence suggesting otherwise. The report, based on an investigation launched by former House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., was dated Sept. 18, 2020. At the time of the publication of the report, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., was the chairman of the committee. The report has never before been released to the public and instead has remained highly classified within the intelligence community. Fox News
Federal judge tosses Trump DOJ lawsuit against sanctuary policies in Chicago
The Trump administration’s battle with Democrat-controlled jurisdictions and their sanctuary polices suffered a blow on Friday when a federal judge in Chicago dismissed a case challenging their legality. Judge Lindsay Jenkins of the Northern District of Illinois, a President Biden appointee, granted the defendants’ motion for dismissal, ruling that the city’s ordinances are lawful protections not subject to federal enforcement mandates. The Trump Justice Department, in a February filing, accused the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago of unlawfully interfering with President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration as it aims to carry out mass deportations. TRUMP DOJ SUES NEW YORK CITY OVER LONG-STANDING SANCTUARY IMMIGRATION POLICIES Sanctuary cities or sanctuary policies limit co-operation between local officials and law enforcement and federal immigration authorities. The Trump administration has long railed against the measures, arguing they make such areas a haven for criminal illegal immigrants and contribute to increased crime. The Justice Department alleges these laws violate the U.S. Constitution’s “Supremacy Clause” under the Tenth Amendment, which states that federal law preempts state and local laws that may conflict with it. But Jenkins rejected the argument, ruling that states retain significant powers not explicitly granted to the federal government. “Finding that these same Policy provisions constitute discrimination or impermissible regulation would provide an end-run around the Tenth Amendment,” the judge wrote. “It would allow the federal government to commandeer States under the guise of intergovernmental immunity — the exact type of direct regulation of states barred by the Tenth Amendment.” MAYOR JOHNSON WARNS TRUMP AGAINST DEPLOYING FEDERAL TROOPS FOR IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN IN CHICAGO The Chicago City Council passed an ordinance in 2012 that stops city agencies and employees from getting involved in civil immigration enforcement or helping federal authorities with such efforts. The Illinois legislature passed a similar state law, known as the TRUST Act, in 2017. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said he was pleased with the decision and that the city is safer when police focus on the needs of Chicagoans. “This ruling affirms what we have long known: that Chicago’s Welcoming City Ordinance is lawful and supports public safety. The City cannot be compelled to cooperate with the Trump Administration’s reckless and inhumane immigration agenda,” he said in a statement. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The Trump administration has sued several jurisdictions over their sanctuary policies, including a filing this week against New York City. The administration has also sued several New Jersey cities, as well as Los Angeles. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the federal government was left with no choice but to protect New Yorkers by filing the suit. “If New York’s leaders won’t step up to protect their citizens, we will,” she wrote on X. The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Trump signs rescissions package, closes out week with trip to Scotland
President Donald Trump arrived in Scotland late Friday for a working trip where he is expected to meet with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer amid ongoing trade negotiations between the U.S. and the U.K., as well as visit several of his properties there. “We’re meeting with the prime minister tonight,” Trump told reporters Friday before departing for Scotland. “We’re going to be talking about the trade deal that we made, and maybe even improve it.” “We want to talk about certain aspects, which is going to be good for both countries,” Trump said. “More fine-tuning. Also, we’re going to do a little celebrating together, because, you know, we got along very well. U.K.’s been trying to make a deal with us for like, 12 years, and haven’t been able to do it. We got it done, and he’s doing a very good job, this prime minister. Good guy.” TRUMP HEADS TO SCOTLAND TO TALK GOLF, POLITICS AND TRADE In May, the U.S. and the U.K. announced the two countries had agreed to a major trade deal, which marked the first historic trade negotiation signed following Liberation Day, when Trump announced widespread tariffs for multiple countries April 2 at a range of rates. Trump, who is slated to remain in Scotland until Tuesday, is also scheduled to visit his golf courses in Turnberry and Aberdeen while abroad. Here’s also what happened this week: Trump visited the Federal Reserve headquarters Thursday, as he has ramped up digs at Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Trump accompanied other administration officials for a tour of the headquarters, following $2.5 billion in renovations to the building. The massive project has attracted scrutiny from lawmakers and members of the Trump administration, including the president, who suggested the huge renovation could amount to a fireable offense. “I think he’s terrible … I didn’t see him as a guy that needed a palace to live in,” Trump said July 16. “But the one thing I would have never guessed is that he would be spending two and a half billion dollars to build a little extension onto the Fed.” FOUR KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM TRUMP’S VISIT TO THE FEDERAL RESERVE WITH POWELL On Thursday, the two briefly sparred over the cost of the renovation, but Trump told reporters afterward that the two had a “good meeting” and that there was “no tension.” Trump also shut down speculation he might oust Powell, claiming such a move would be unnecessary. The Federal Reserve, the United States central bank, oversees the nation’s monetary policy and regulates financial institutions. Trump historically has railed against Powell, calling him names like “numskull” and “too late.” Likewise, Trump has expressed ire toward Powell for ignoring requests to lower interest rates. “Well, I’d love him to lower interest rates, but other than that, what can I tell you?” Trump said Thursday. Rescissions package signing Trump signed into law Thursday his roughly $9 billion rescissions package to claw back already approved federal funds for foreign aid and public broadcasting. The rescissions measure revoked nearly $8 billion in funding Congress already approved for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), a formerly independent agency that provided impoverished countries aid and offered development assistance. The rescissions package also rescinds more than $1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which provides federal funding for NPR and PBS. TRUMP SIGNS $9B RESCISSIONS PACKAGE INTO LAW, REVOKING FUNDING FOR FOREIGN AID, NPR
Pro-life group ‘elated’ after Planned Parenthood shutters Houston facilities: ‘Tremendous victory’
EXCLUSIVE: A pro-life group is celebrating a “tremendous victory” after Planned Parenthood announced two of its facilities in Houston, Texas, will be shutting down this fall, as Republican lawmakers continue to target the organization. In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, 40 Days for Life CEO and founder Shawn Carney, a Houston resident, expressed “both personal and professional elation” at the shuttering of the facilities, including the 78,000-square-foot clinic that he said was the largest abortion facility in the Western Hemisphere. “This is massive news for the pro-life movement and shows the direction that Planned Parenthood is going, which is down,” Carney said. Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast — which runs six clinics in the Houston area and two in Louisiana — will close its Prevention Park and Southwest centers on Sept. 30, while the other Houston facilities will be acquired by the organization’s largest Texas affiliate. FEDERAL JUDGE PARTIALLY BLOCKS LAW BANNING ADULTS FROM HELPING MINORS GET OUT-OF-STATE ABORTIONS This comes amid several closures of Planned Parenthood facilities in various states, including New York, where the organization is selling its only Manhattan health center building for $39 million. Facilities in GOP-led states with abortion restrictions, including Texas, have also been forced to cease procedures following the 2022 Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe V. Wade and sent decisions regarding abortion back to the states. “Now they are closing the largest abortion facility in the world,” Carney said. “Their flagship. They’re very proud of it in Houston, Texas. They’re finally closing it, and it’s unbelievable.” The company cited rising costs, staffing shortages and low reimbursement rates as the reasons for closing the two Houston facilities. GOP officials in recent years have made repeated attempts to shut down Planned Parenthood, even after nearly all abortions were banned under Texas law. The Trump administration has sought to impose funding cuts to Planned Parenthood that could lead to the closure of additional facilities. A provision in a GOP-backed bill would end Medicaid payments for one year to abortion providers that received more than $800,000 from the program in 2023. A judge granted a preliminary injunction earlier this week blocking the government from cutting Medicaid payments to Planned Parenthood member organizations that either do not provide abortions or did not meet a threshold of at least $800,000 in Medicaid reimbursements in a given year. Carney said 40 Days for Life has prayed and held vigils outside the Houston mega-facility since 2006. “Countless people have gone out, offered alternatives. We’ve had pro-life buses outside to do free ultrasounds. There have been so many lives saved, but to be honest, it just seemed like they were Goliath and it didn’t matter if we were David,” he said, adding that the “behemoth” facility even provided late-term abortions at one point. “They were just going to always be open and always be victorious.” FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION FROM DEFUNDING SOME PLANNED PARENTHOOD FACILITIES Carney described the closing of the facilities as a “tremendous victory” for the pro-life movement and said it represents “one of the biggest victories that we’ve had” following the overturning of Roe v. Wade. “Planned Parenthood has always been very top-heavy in D.C., and that’s been a weakness for the pro-life movement. But once [the court] sent it back to the states, it was sending it back to the place where the pro-life movement was the strongest, which was the grassroots,” he said. The closure of the two Houston facilities shows “more than anything else” that “the pro-life movement is built for a post-Roe America,” Carney said, adding that Planned Parenthood is not a “monster that can’t go away.” “They are very, very vulnerable. When you look at the New York closing and the Houston closing, this is what that represents. All the nonsense about other services and serving women and helping low-income women. Because when you take away abortions or you offer alternatives, they close, and they close their most prosperous locations,” he said.
Big Boost for Ghaziabad: DMRC plans 4 metro corridors, Gokulpuri-Hindon Airport link proposed
The metro corridor, which would also act as an extension of the Namo Bharat corridor that runs through Sahibabad, is expected to assist more than 5 lakh people, particularly in areas of Indirapuram, Vasundhara, and Vaishali townships.
Two teens jailed over machete murder of 14-year-old on London bus
Deadly attack on teen reignited concern around the problem of knife crime that has plagued the British capital for years. Two British teenagers have been sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum term of 15 years, for stabbing to death a 14-year-old boy on a London bus in broad daylight earlier this year. Judge Mark Lucraft at London’s Old Bailey court sentenced the pair, who cannot be named due to their age, to life in prison on Friday. He ordered that they be considered for parole after 15 years and 110 days in detention. The teenagers stabbed 14-year-old Kelyan Bokassa 27 times with machetes on the bus in the Woolwich area of southeast London on January 7. He later died from his injuries. The attackers – aged 16 and 15 at the time of the time of murder – were arrested later that month. The pair pleaded guilty to murder in May. The attack has reignited concern around youth gang violence and the ongoing problem of knife crime that has plagued the British capital and other cities in the United Kingdom for years. Across Britain, knife crime is up by nearly 80 percent since 2015. Last year, 10 teenagers were fatally stabbed in London alone, after 18 were killed in 2023, according to London’s Metropolitan Police. In September last year, a 15-year-old boy – reportedly a close friend of Bokassa – was also stabbed to death in Woolwich, in what a prosecutor described as gang retaliation. In August last year, in another incident that sent shockwaves across Britain, a teenager carried out a deadly stabbing spree in the seaside town of Southport, which killed three young girls. Detective Chief Inspector Sarah Lee, whose team led the Met investigation into Bokassa’s murder, said the “harsh reality in London is that violence disproportionately affects young Black men and boys”. Advertisement “The fact we’re seeing so many teenagers like Kelyan die should be at the forefront of the minds of every politician, every policymaker and everyone who wants better for children growing up in London,” she said. Judge Lucraft said one of the perpetrators was himself a “victim of child criminal exploitation” by gangs, adding that he had faced “a history of trauma”. He added that the second boy was also exploited by gangs from the age of 12 and experienced “undiagnosed developmental needs”. “It is sadly an all too frequent senseless loss of yet another young life to the horrors of knife crime”, which “no sentence of a court can ever truly reflect”, Lucraft said. Shortly after the murder, Bokassa’s mother, Marie Bokassa, told the press her son was also exploited by gangs in the Woolwich area of southeast London. Addressing the court on Friday, she asked: “How can children behave like this?” “What have the children been exposed to, to show such behaviour as this?” Adblock test (Why?)
Palestinian lives are “not seen as equivalent” to others
[unable to retrieve full-text content] EU MP Lynn Boylan says the EU’s inaction on Gaza shows it doesn’t see Palestinian lives as equal to Ukrainian ones.
Death toll in Thailand-Cambodia border clashes hits 32, over 130 injured
The death toll on both sides now stands at 32, as fears grow of a larger conflict breaking out between the neighbours. Cambodian officials have reported another 12 people killed as a result of the ongoing border dispute with Thailand, with the death toll on both sides now standing at 32, as fears grow that the Southeast Asian neighbours may become engulfed in an extended conflict. Cambodian Ministry of National Defence spokesperson Maly Socheata told reporters on Saturday that seven more civilians and five soldiers were confirmed dead. One other Cambodian man was earlier reported killed when Thai rockets hit the Buddhist pagoda he was hiding in on Thursday. At least 50 Cambodian civilians and more than 20 soldiers have also been injured, the spokesperson said. Thailand has reported 13 civilians – including children – as well as six soldiers killed over the past two days of fighting. An additional 29 Thai soldiers and 30 civilians have also been wounded in Cambodian attacks. Cambodian newspaper The Khmer Times, quoting officials in Cambodia’s Preah Vihear province, said about 20,000 residents have so far been evacuated from the country’s northern border with Thailand. More than 138,000 people have also been evacuated from Thailand’s border regions, with about 300 evacuation centres opened, according to Thai officials. On Friday, Thailand declared martial law in eight districts along the border with Cambodia. The decades-old conflict – centred around a contested section of the Thai-Cambodian border – re-erupted on Thursday after a landmine explosion along the border wounded five Thai soldiers. Advertisement Tensions spilled over on Thursday with Thailand and Cambodia carrying out direct attacks on one another’s territory, with both sides accusing the other of opening fire first. Thailand said the Cambodian military launched long-range rockets at civilian targets in the country, including a strike on a petrol station that killed at least six people. The Thai military then scrambled an F-16 fighter jet to bomb targets in Cambodia, including the reported strike on the Buddhist pagoda, which resulted in one civilian casualty. Cambodia has accused Thailand of using a large number of cluster munitions – a controversial and widely condemned weapon – calling it a clear violation of international law. Phumtham Wechayachai, Thailand’s acting prime minister, said on Friday that Cambodia may be guilty of war crimes due to the deaths of civilians, as well as damage caused to a hospital. The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) held an emergency meeting focused on the clashes behind closed doors late on Friday in New York, but did not issue an official public statement after the meeting. The Associated Press news agency, citing an unnamed council diplomat, reported that all 15 UNSC members called on the parties to de-escalate fighting, show restraint and resolve the dispute peacefully. Adblock test (Why?)
‘Timely and productive visit helped review and build India-Maldives cooperation’: Foreign Secy Misri on PM Modi’s Maldives visit
In a special press briefing on Friday, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri highlighted the importance of the visit, describing it as productive and timely. Accompanied by High Commissioner to Maldives G. Balasubramanian and Additional Secretary Puneet Agrawal, Misri provided a detailed account of the day
Maharashtra monsoon: IMD issues red alert in six districts, traffic chaos in Mumbai amid heavy rain; school, colleges shut in…
Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued Red alert and orange alerts for multiple districts in Maharashtra amid intense monsoon, drenching the state in heavy rains.