Mumbai monsoon countdown begins as IMD predicts rain in next 48-hour after delay
IMD has confirmed the monsoon has now entered additional regions of Maharashtra, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand, and Bihar, with further gradual progress expected over the next 48 hours.
SCOTUS orders Texas court to reconsider man’s 1997 murder conviction
The ruling came after Cooke County District Attorney John Warren told the U.S. Supreme Court that “the State no longer had confidence in the verdict.”
U.S. Supreme Court denies Texas death row inmate’s intellectual disability claim
Attorneys and experts for both the state and for death row inmate Victor Saldaño agree that he should be allowed to present evidence of his disability to a state criminal appeals court.
Austin-area hospitals denied miscarriage care despite clarification to Texas’ abortion ban, federal complaint alleges
Lynn Callaway says she was sent home from two hospitals, despite an infection, due to healthcare providers’ fear of the state’s abortion ban.
Court filings: Unsafe homes and a child death still dog Texas’ foster care system amid improvement
The reports note that in recent years, the troubled child welfare system improved caseworker training and caseloads, but unsafe conditions for children persisted.
Judge blocks feds from using immigration database to check voter eligibility
A federal judge cited Texas’ use of the SAVE database, which flagged several voters who were actually citizens, and said the checks violated privacy and voting rights.
Judge blocks Biden-era immigration rule hours after Texas AG and Stephen Miller’s group sued DOJ
On Monday, Ken Paxton’s office asked the judge to block the rule, a request the federal agency then agreed with. The suit echoes a similar move in 2025 that killed a 24-year-old state tuition law.
US official says JD Vance made ‘great progress’ in Iran talks, calls snub reports ‘foreign propaganda’
FIRST ON FOX: A U.S. official involved with the U.S.-Iran peace negotiations said that Vice President JD Vance made “great progress” in the talks, adding that “foreign propaganda” spread a falsehood that the prime minister of Qatar snubbed Vance. The U.S. official told Fox News Digital that Iranian state media originated reports of Vance being snubbed by the Qatari prime minister and Iranian leadership threatening to walk away from the negotiating table. “The vice president and the U.S. delegation departed Switzerland today after making great progress and engaging in historic talks that lasted well into the late hours over the weekend,” a U.S. official present at the talks told Fox News Digital. “The negotiations set the framework for continued talks so that the unmatched efforts of the president can lead to a deal that’s best for the American people.” “Those parroting foreign propaganda serve no one except the bad faith actors that want to derail negotiations,” the official added. IRAN’S UNPRECEDENTED ‘WHOLE-REGIME’ DELEGATION AT US DEAL TALKS SIGNALS ONE GOAL: EXPERT As Vance and White House officials deliberated a peace agreement at the Bürgenstock resort on Lake Lucerne in Switzerland, a CBS poll on Sunday showed that an overwhelming 78% of Americans say that the conflict between the U.S. and Iran should come to an end. Reports from Iranian state media created confusion about the progress of the peace talks in Switzerland, with critics alleging the Qataris snubbed Vance after Qatar’s prime minister and chief negotiator, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, walked past Vance and warmly greeted Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif instead. “The U.S. delegation had just spent hours with the Qataris and there was no need to re-greet someone having just spent hours with,” a U.S. official said. “The decision to give statements together before the meeting was done impromptu, which is why it wasn’t a staged greeting.” TRUMP AGAIN SAYS DEAL IS CLOSE, THEN CONFIRMS A LAST-MINUTE AGREEMENT WITH IRAN, BUT DETAILS STILL SECRET In an interview today with Qatar’s official media outlet, Al Jazeera, Al Thani denied snubbing Vance, saying he had just spent hours with Vance and hadn’t yet greeted Sharif. He blamed the media for misrepresenting the encounter. “And they just made the issue too big,” he said. Prospects of a peace agreement have already shown signs of life in the U.S., even without a final deal. The New York Times reported oil prices dipping on Monday amid expectations Vance would secure peace during the talks in Switzerland. Critics of Vance have been vocal in the media about the vice president’s handling of the talks, echoing a sentiment among protesters that have been supporting the Islamic Republic of Iran since the onset of hostilities earlier this year. Some critics allege that Vance is surrendering to the Iranians and that the Iranians are getting more out of the peace deal than the U.S. FAR-LEFT NETWORK ACTIVATES TO FLY IRAN’S FLAG OVER AMERICA IN VICTORY AND WAGE A ‘SMOKELESS WAR’ ON THE US A Fox News Digital investigation found that a network of pro-communist groups funded by Neville Roy Singham, an American-born tech tycoon living in China, supporting the Chinese Communist Party and allies, like the Islamic Republic of Iran, has been behind most of the protests that have taken place. In April, nonprofits in Singham’s network mobilized to protest President Donald Trump’s “criminal war,” painting blood on their hands to symbolize what they called the “genocidal threats” the administration was making against Iran. The Party for Socialism and Liberation, a self-declared pro-China communist group, communicated to its followers through its propaganda platform, “Liberation News,” to “keep up the pressure” in combatting the war. VANCE SAYS US-IRAN TALKS END WITHOUT DEAL AFTER 21 HOURS OF NEGOTIATIONS In 2017, Singham married a co-founder of CodePink, Jodie Evans, and started pouring a documented $278 million into a network of groups that fuel anti-American protests in the United States, support the People’s Republic of China and now back the Islamic Republic of Iran, a strategic partner of China and a major source of its oil imports. Despite the coordinated propaganda defending Iran, the administration has maintained its intention to rid Iran of nuclear capabilities. For more than three months, U.S.-Israeli forces have been fighting Iranian forces, a conflict which Americans have expressed concerns about. Vance’s trip to Switzerland marks his second attempt to bring the conflict to an end. In April, he traveled to Islamabad, Pakistan, alongside Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Special Peace Envoy Jared Kushner to negotiate peace. The talks failed and Vance returned home, but he has remained a key figure in finalizing a ceasefire. His involvement with the negotiations has also led to a surge in bettors placing wagers on the vice president winning the presidency in 2028. In March, Kalshi showed Vance being beaten out for president in 2028 by both Secretary of State Marco Rubio and California Governor Gavin Newsom. Since Vance has been facilitating the peace deal this month, he surged to the top spot for the next presidential election cycle.
Chicago priest tells Trump to ‘shut up’ and restore gun violence prevention funding after deadly weekend
A Chicago priest told President Donald Trump to “shut up” following his social media post about a violent Juneteenth weekend that saw at least six people killed and more than 30 others wounded across the city. Father Michael Pfleger scolded Trump as Chicago community leaders on Monday called for a city agency to tackle gun violence prevention following the weekend’s bloodshed. From 6 p.m. Friday through 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Chicago had 24 shootings resulting in 39 victims, six of them fatal, according to the Chicago Police Department. On Sunday, Trump remarked on Chicago’s crime woes in a Truth Social post, suggesting that federal forces be sent into the city. 6 DEAD, 39 SHOT IN CHICAGO BLOODBATH AS TRUMP TOUTS DC-STYLE CLEANUP WHERE NATIONAL GUARD STEPPED IN “Lots of Killing going on in Chicago. 22 people shot, at least 4 Dead,” Trump wrote. “Why isn’t Governor Pritzker calling me for help. I could make Chicago a safe City in ONE MONTH, in ONE YEAR, it would be one of the safest!!! D.C. went from one of the worst, to one of the safest cities in the U.S. President DJT.” On Monday, Pfleger, a prominent South Side priest at St. Sabina Catholic Church, criticized Trump for highlighting the violence. “I hear this morning on the news that Donald Trump said he wants to send people,” he said. “He’ll solve the gun violence in a month. First of all, the man lies every day.” PRITZKER RAILS AGAINST ‘UN-AMERICAN’ POSSIBLE NATIONAL GUARD DEPLOYMENT BY TRUMP “The reflecting pool was good for 50 years,” Pfleger added. “And Iran was going to be solved in a month. Shut up, Donald. Just send money and restore the money you took away from gun violence prevention for the city of Chicago and across this country. Give the money back now.” In response to the violence, community groups, faith leaders, and city officials gathered Monday morning at City Hall to support creating a Department of Gun Violence Prevention. The proposed department would focus entirely on reducing gun violence and helping coordinate violence prevention programs across the city, FOX 32 reported. OUR LEADERS ABANDONED CHICAGO. TRUMP IS RIGHT: IT’S TIME TO CALL IN THE GUARD State and city leaders have opposed federal intervention, saying they prefer investments in community-level crime prevention programs. “President Trump’s bold actions in cities like D.C. and Memphis have dramatically reduced violent crime – local Democrat leaders in Chicago should see the President’s incredible results and be begging him to do the same in Chicago,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital. “Chicago residents and visitors would benefit tremendously from the President’s successful efforts to drive down crime and make American cities safe again.” Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson on Monday said he wished that Trump would “follow Chicago’s lead and invest in Black America,” saying the administration has made cuts to agencies and programs that make communities safer, including slashing funding for education, housing, and health care. “It’s unfortunate that this president has worked overtime to literally defund the efforts that create safer communities,” Johnson said. “If you look at Donald Trump’s Black agenda, he promises to do all the things that I’m doing, but he’s failed to do it,” the mayor added, referring to the hiring of more young people, expanded mental health support services, and investing in more affordable homes.
Trump-backed housing overhaul targeting Wall Street investors clears Senate
The Senate advanced a massive, Trump-backed housing package that proponents say will prevent the U.S. from becoming a “nation of renters.” The upper chamber sent the 21st Century Road to Housing Act to the House on Monday after months of delay. After the heads of the House Financial Services Committee and Senate Banking Committee reached a deal last week, the package is on a glide path to President Donald Trump’s desk. It’s the first major push by Congress to address housing regulations in decades, and one Trump has been calling on lawmakers to complete as the midterm elections near. TRUMP-BACKED AFFORDABLE HOUSING OVERHAUL CLEARS SENATE, WHILE HOUSE GOP RAISES RED FLAGS Loaded with nearly 60 different provisions, the package broadly tackles rolling back some permitting regulations, launches several pilot grant programs to build, repair and push affordable housing construction, and blocks investors from buying up housing stock — a key provision pushed by Trump. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., one of the architects of the package, said the legislation was “not the federal government big footing local government,” but instead the federal government laying out tweaks to current programs and policies that “over time will make housing more affordable.” “This is a housing package that will help increase supply and bring down costs,” Warren said. “One way is by beating back private equity, so they won’t invade your neighborhood, buy up all the houses, and turn America into a nation of renters.” Warren said that among several things, the package increases access to manufactured housing by changing the federal definition to open up for more units to be constructed, pre-approved plan books for local governments to quickly approve new construction, and the waiving of some environmental review regulations for the construction of new homes. BIPARTISAN HOUSING PUSH ADVANCES, BUT TRUMP-BACKED INVESTOR BAN FACES RESISTANCE “It’s not just one piece that’s gonna solve a problem,” Warren said. ”It’s a whole lot of smaller pieces that push in the same direction that’s important.” The package also tries to turbocharge housing stock by tying federal grants and incentives sought by local governments to housing construction. And there are tweaks to mortgages, with a push for small-dollar mortgages at $100,000 and updates to lending standards for manufactured homes. Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, whose provision to establish pre-approved housing designs to speed up home construction made it into the package, said the legislation “sends a signal to state and local communities, to say, ‘Hey, guys, you really have to drive down the cost of housing, and you do that by not torturing homebuilders.’” TRUMP CAN SOLVE THE HOUSING CRISIS, BUT HE NEEDS TO GET TOUGH WITH STATES While there are several moving parts to the 21st Century Road to Housing Act, it does not tackle every facet of housing costs. For instance, it does not allocate fresh federal funding for the issue, as Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott, R-S.C., has lauded the package as being deficit neutral. Nor does it directly address rising costs of homeownership, given that much of the thrust is focused on building new homes and lowering the barrier of entry for Americans to get into a home. And for some, it does not go far enough to address permitting issues. Sen. Alan Armstrong, R-Okla., argued that the “legislation as drafted fails to meaningfully address” the issues of housing costs. “Instead, this legislation makes a half-hearted attempt to waive minor environmental laws while failing to address the need for permitting reform at large,” Armstrong said. “Our permitting process deserves its own committed effort, and attaching weak slivers of those reforms to unrelated legislation undermines the work currently being done to pass comprehensive, meaningful permitting reform,” he said.