UP’s Banda boils at 48 degree Celsius, becoming hottest place in India amid severe heatwave

Dr. Dinesh, meteorologist at the Banda University of Agriculture and Technology, said the region has recorded temperatures consistently above 45 degree Celsius for nearly a week, while night temperatures also remain above 30 degree Celsius.
Delhi-NCR 3-Day Cab, Auto Strike Starts Today: What’s affected, what’s not

Led by AIMTC and UFTA, the peaceful protest will hit auto-rickshaws, traditional taxis, and some Uber/Ola drivers who are union members from May 21, 2026, to May 23, 2026. What’s hit and what’s running?
Who is Zafar Riaz alias Rizvi? Kolkata man arrested for allegedly spying for Pakistan intelligence; accused shared OTPs, security inputs

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested a Pakistan-backed spy accused of clandestinely passing sensitive security-related information to Pakistan Intelligence Officers (PIOs) as part of an anti-India terror conspiracy.
Essel Group turns 100, reflecting on journey from 1926 Adampur venture to diversified conglomerate

Under the leadership of Shri Jagannath Goenka and driven forward by Group Chairman, visionary Dr. Subhash Chandra, alongside his brothers Jawahar Goel, Laxmi Narain Goel, and Ashok Goel, Essel Group stands among the rare Indian business conglomerates.
‘Ironic Pakistan raises India issues with genocidal record’: Indian envoy at UN slams Islamabad over civilian deaths in Afghanistan

India also raised the issue of cross-border terrorism and said states supporting terrorism must be held accountable.”As per UNAMA, over 94,000 people were assessed as displaced due to cross-border armed violence perpetrated against Afghan civilians.
PM Modi to chair ministers’ meeting today: Cabinet reshuffle on cards? Key agenda

Speculations are rife that PM Modi may announce a cabinet reshuffle in the meeting scheduled with Union ministers today at 5 pm in Delhi. Check likely agenda here.
500,000 fewer Texans are on SNAP as participation slips nationally

Advocates say the federal government’s new work requirements and immigration crackdown has limited food stamp participation. The state says the recent decline is part of normal fluctuations in enrollment.
Mock funeral mourns death of academic freedom as UT System weighs rule on cutting programs

College students and professors are protesting with mock funerals across Texas, saying universities are dying from political interference. School officials say they’re responding to shifting needs.
Former DOJ prosecutor charged with stealing confidential Jack Smith investigation documents about Trump

A former Justice Department prosecutor was charged Wednesday with allegedly emailing confidential records tied to former special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into President Donald Trump. Carmen Mercedes Lineberger, 62, of Port St. Lucie, Florida, faces four criminal charges stemming from her handling of Smith’s final report: one felony count of obstruction of justice, one felony count of concealing government records and two misdemeanor counts of theft of government property valued at less than $1,000. According to the indictment filed in the Southern District of Florida, Lineberger allegedly altered electronic file names of government records to conceal unauthorized transmissions of the documents to her personal email accounts. At the time, she was serving as the Managing Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Fort Pierce branch of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS RELEASE OF JACK SMITH REPORT’S SECOND VOLUME U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon previously blocked the public release of the volume of Smith’s report related to the classified documents investigation involving Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in January 2025. FBI Director Kash Patel announced the charges in a post on X. “This afternoon, a former managing assistant U.S. Attorney who supported Jack Smith’s politicized investigation of President Trump has been charged with stealing the confidential investigation documents,” Patel wrote. “Carmen Lineberger allegedly emailed the confidential material to her own personal email, disguising them as dessert recipes to conceal them from record searches.” JUSTICE DEPARTMENT MOVES TO DROP PROSECUTION OF MAR-A-LAGO STAFF IN TRUMP CLASSIFIED DOCS CASE Lineberger’s attorney declined to comment to Fox News Digital. Smith previously brought indictments against Trump alleging he illegally attempted to overturn the 2020 election and improperly retained classified national defense information. The classified documents case was later dismissed by Cannon, who ruled Smith had been unlawfully appointed as special counsel. FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS RELEASE OF SECOND VOLUME OF SPECIAL COUNSEL REPORT TO JUDICIARY COMMITTEE LEADERS Prosecutors alleged Lineberger concealed her actions by saving electronic copies of government records under misleading file names, including “chocolate cake recipe” and “bundt cake recipe,” before sending them to personal Hotmail accounts. According to the indictment, Lineberger received a copy of Smith’s report before Cannon ordered it sealed. Months later, she allegedly forwarded the report to her personal email account. The indictment further alleges Lineberger knew transmitting the volume outside the Department of Justice violated Cannon’s court order. Lineberger pleaded not guilty during a federal court appearance Wednesday. If convicted, she faces up to 20 years in prison on the obstruction charge, three years for concealment or removal of public records and up to one year on each theft count.
Trump owns the GOP. Could Republicans pay the price in the midterms?

President Donald Trump took to social media on Wednesday morning to showcase the power of his political endorsements, touting that the candidates he backed went 37-0 in Tuesday’s GOP primaries from coast to coast. “We won all races last night. Every one of them,” Trump told reporters. The brute force of the president’s endorsement power and the immense grip he has on the Republican Party were on full display in a number of high-profile ballot-box showdowns, including Trump-backed Ed Gallrein ousting Rep. Thomas Massie in the GOP primary in Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District, a race that grabbed outsized national attention. But Trump’s heavy hand in this year’s primaries could cause repercussions in the autumn, when Republicans will be defending their razor-thin House and slim Senate majorities in the midterm elections. TRUMP-BACKED FORMER NAVY SEAL DEALS KNOCKS OUT MASSIE IN HIGH-STAKES SHOWDOWN While those concerns will mount as the midterms creep closer, on Tuesday night the political headline was Trump once again successfully flexing his muscles to exert payback on Republicans who defied him. Two weeks after purging five state senators in Indiana’s primary who had opposed his push for congressional redistricting, and three days after helping to oust Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana — as the senator who, five and a half years ago, voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial lost his bid for renomination — Trump obliterated Massie. Massie, who for 14 years has represented Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District, in the northeastern part of the red-leaning state, has long been one of Trump’s most vocal GOP critics in Congress. The libertarian-minded lawmaker has repeatedly taken aim at the president over foreign policy, including the Iran war and unconditional U.S. military aid to Israel. And he’s also been a thorn in Trump’s side for successfully pushing for the release of government files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB Gallrein’s nearly ten-point victory over Massie in a race that was expected to be much closer represents a major win for Trump’s political operation and pro-Israel allied groups, who spent aggressively to unseat the sitting lawmaker. Speaking at his victory celebration, Gallrein thanked Trump for his support, saying, “My focus is on advancing the president’s and the party’s agenda to put America first and Kentucky always.” Taking to social media after Massie’s defeat, White House communications director and longtime Trump aide Steven Cheung warned, “Do not ever doubt President Trump and his political power. F–k around, find out.” Veteran Republican strategist and communicator Ryan Williams told Fox News Digital, “The Republican Party is Trump’s party, and if you cross him, he’ll hit back at you ten times as hard and defeat you. He’s getting better at this as time goes on. His grip on the party has increased, not decreased.” “Anybody at this point who doesn’t understand this will be out of a job if they cross the president,” Williams emphasized. Meanwhile, Rep. Andy Barr of Kentucky, backed by Trump in recent days, cruised to the Republican Senate nomination in the race to succeed retiring Sen. Mitch McConnell, a former longtime Senate GOP leader. And Sen. Tommy Tuberville, a top Trump ally in the Senate, easily captured the GOP gubernatorial nomination in solidly red Alabama. But some Trump-backed candidates will have to wait a little longer before securing a ticket to the general election. Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones of Georgia finished first in the GOP gubernatorial primary, but didn’t top 50%, forcing a runoff next month with billionaire businessman Rick Jackson. It was the same story in Alabama, where Trump-backed Rep. Barry Moore finished first but will need another victory in next month’s runoff to secure the Republican Senate nomination in the race to succeed Tuberville. And this past weekend, Trump-backed Rep. Julia Letlow was forced into a runoff with Louisiana Treasurer John Fleming as Cassidy was sent packing. Trump putting his hand on the scale in red states like Louisiana, Alabama and Kentucky shouldn’t be an issue in the general election, but it could be in battleground Georgia, and in red-leaning Texas, where Democrats are hoping to win a U.S. Senate election for the first time in nearly four decades. Democrats feel Trump gave them an early Christmas gift by endorsing MAGA firebrand and ally and supporter Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton over longtime GOP Sen. John Cornyn with one week to go until the runoff election for the Republican nomination. “Ken is a true MAGA Warrior who has ALWAYS delivered for Texas, and will continue to do so in the United States Senate,” Trump wrote in a social media post as he announced his backing of Paxton, which likely ends Cornyn’s hope of winning renomination. The winner of the GOP runoff will face off in the autumn with rising Democratic Party star state Rep. James Talarico, who has built a massive war chest this year while Cornyn and Paxton have traded fire in their combustible race. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, the National Republican Senatorial Committee and many GOP leaders in the nation’s capital saw Cornyn as the candidate better equipped to successfully defend the seat in Texas, which Democrats are trying to flip as they work to win back the chamber’s majority. That’s because Paxton has faced a slew of scandals and legal problems that have battered him over the past decade, as well as his ongoing messy divorce. Some Republicans are concerned this could be a flashback to 2022, when then-former President Trump flexed his muscles in the GOP primaries, with some of his picks, including Georgia’s Herschel Walker, falling short in the midterms, as Republicans failed to win back the Senate. “Trump got his way in most of the primaries in 2022 also. Didn’t portend great results in the general election,” vocal Trump critic and GOP consultant Sarah Longwell posted on social media Tuesday night. Williams said, “The president has shown that he puts personal loyalty over political considerations