Lawmakers advance bill to protect Texans from real estate fraudsters
Senate Bill 15 seeks to prevent the use of fraudulent deeds to sell someone else’s property or take out loans. Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed a previous version of the bill.
Federal judge halts Trump TPS policy, accuses DHS of making migrants ‘atone for their race’
A federal judge in California delayed the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) decision to terminate protections for immigrants from three countries, a move that adds to the legal hurdles for the Trump administration as it pushes to carry out its deportation agenda. Judge Trina Thompson said that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s terminations of temporary protected status, also known as TPS, for immigrants from Honduras, Nicaragua and Nepal were likely “preordained decisions” that violated the Administrative Procedure Act and were driven by racial animus. “The freedom to live fearlessly, the opportunity of liberty, and the American dream. That is all Plaintiffs seek,” Thompson, a Biden-appointee, wrote in an order. “Instead, they are told to atone for their race, leave because of their names, and purify their blood. The Court disagrees.” Thompson later added: “Color is neither a poison nor a crime.” DHS TERMINATES TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS FOR AROUND 76K HONDURAN, NICARAGUAN MIGRANTS The lawsuit was brought by a group representing TPS holders, including some who have lived in the country for more than two decades. Attorneys wrote in court papers on behalf of the immigrants that they were “laborers, health care workers, artists, and caretakers” who have “relied on TPS to provide the most basic forms of human security — a stable place to live and a chance to work for a living during a time of severe crisis in their home countries.” They argued that Noem declining to extend their TPS status was, by law, supposed to be reached based on an individualized analysis of each country. The judge found that Noem likely failed to condition TPS termination on factors specific to the immigrants’ countries of origin. They also said Noem had given the immigrants a historically short notice period of 60 days before they would lose their TPS status. And she and other Trump administration officials have normalized using “racist invective” to explain their TPS decisions, the attorneys said. FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS TRUMP’S IMMIGRATION POLICY IN SHOCKING DECISION ON HAITIAN PROTECTIONS The attorneys cited dozens of examples of Trump or Noem describing migrants as MS-13 gang members, murderers, terrorists and people who have it in their “genes” to commit crime. They pointed to Trump’s viral debate moment in which he made the unproven claim that Haitian immigrants were eating Ohioans’ house pets. The TPS program gives the DHS authority to permit immigrants who might otherwise have no legal status to temporarily reside in the United States because of extraordinary circumstances in their home countries, such as wars or natural disasters. The plaintiffs argued that roughly 61,000 people would lose their TPS as a result of Noem’s decision, which would end the immigrants’ legal status and work authorizations and make them eligible for deportation. The Trump administration has argued that the statute governing TPS gives DHS secretaries sole discretion over TPS designations and that Noem should be allowed to end the status using the same authority that past secretaries used to grant it. In May, the Supreme Court sided with the Trump administration in an emergency order related to a case involving TPS for Venezuelans. The order temporarily paused a lower court order, clearing the way for Noem to end TPS for about 350,000 immigrants. Thompson’s decision will stay in place until at least November, when the next hearing is scheduled. DHS told Fox News Digital it plans to appeal the decision.
Encounter breaks out between security forces, terrorists in J-K’s Kulgam
An encounter broke out on Friday, i.e., August 1, between security forces and terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam district, police said.
Trump repositions 2 nuclear submarines after ‘highly provocative’ Russian comments
President Donald Trump announced Friday that he has “ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions” following “highly provocative statements” made by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. Medvedev said earlier this week that Trump’s new deadline for Russia to end the conflict with Ukraine is an additional “step towards war.” “Based on the highly provocative statements of the Former President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, who is now the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, I have ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances,” he added. MEDVEDEV WARNS TRUMP’S NEW DEADLINE TO END RUSSIA-UKRAINE CONFLICT IS A ‘STEP TOWARDS WAR’ There was no immediate response to Trump’s comments from Russia. The Russian Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond Friday to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. Medvedev, now the deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia, cautioned that Trump’s announcement Monday that Russia must end the conflict with Ukraine in 10 to 12 days would not end well for the U.S. “Trump’s playing the ultimatum game with Russia: 50 days or 10… He should remember 2 things: 1. Russia isn’t Israel or even Iran. 2. Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country,” Medvedev said in a post on X on Monday. “Don’t go down the Sleepy Joe road!” While Trump announced on July 14 that he would sign off on “severe tariffs” against Russia if Moscow failed to agree to a peace deal within 50 days, Trump said Monday that waiting that period of time was futile amid stalled negotiations. “I’m going to make a new deadline, of about 10 — 10 or 12 days from today,” Trump told reporters from Scotland. “There’s no reason for waiting. It was 50 days. I wanted to be generous, but we just don’t see any progress being made.” Trump’s remarks come as his frustration with Putin has grown in recent weeks amid no progress toward peace between Russia and Ukraine, and just a day after Russia launched more than 300 drones, four cruise missiles and three ballistic missiles into Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian air force. Trump also wrote on Truth Social Friday that “I have just been informed that almost 20,000 Russian soldiers died this month in the ridiculous War with Ukraine. “Russia has lost 112,500 soldiers since the beginning of the year. That is a lot of unnecessary DEATH! Ukraine, however, has also suffered greatly. They have lost approximately 8,000 soldiers since January 1, 2025, and that number does not include their missing,” the president added. “Ukraine has also lost civilians, but in smaller numbers, as Russian rockets crash into Kyiv, and other Ukrainian locales. This is a War that should have never happened — This is Biden’s War, not ‘TRUMP’s.’ I’m just here to see if I can stop it!” Fox News’ Diana Stancy contributed to this report.
India acknowledges ties with US has ‘weathered several challenges’, expresses commitment to take relationship…
“I don’t care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care. We have done very little business with India, their tariffs are too high, among the highest in the world. Likewise, Russia and the USA do almost no business together. Let’s keep it that way”.
Biden slurs way through latest speech, touts nominating ‘demographically diverse’ judges
Former President Joe Biden touted appointing Supreme Court Justice Kentanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court, during a slur-filled speech at the National Bar Association’s 100th annual gala at the Hyatt in Chicago Thursday evening — just hours after one of his top aides testified before the Republican House Oversight Committee for their investigation into the former president’s fitness for office. Biden slurred on multiple occasions during the night, including while discussing serving as the vice president to the first Black president, former President Barack Obama, and selecting Kamala Harris as his vice president. Harris was the first woman of Black and South Asian heritage to serve in the role. Likewise, Biden said he also selected demographically diverse judges during his administration. KAMALA HARRIS TO PUBLISH BEHIND-THE-SCENES ACCOUNT OF FAILED 2024 CAMPAIGN “I promised to have an administration that looked like America and appoint a bench that looked like America,” Biden said. “And I kept my promise. I appointed the most demographically diverse … slate of judges ever in the history of the United States of America. The top of that list, one of the greatest lawyers I’ve ever met, Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman on the United States Supreme Court.” “Justice Jackson, as you witnessed earlier this week, has proven herself to have the wisdom and the character that I saw in her when I nominated her. Appointed 13 Black women to the Courts of Appeals of the United States Federal Court, more than every other president in American history combined,” he said. “For other historic firsts as well, for historic, for Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, Muslim Americans, by the way, I didn’t just appoint Ivy League judges.” DNC VICE CHAIR COMPARES TRUMP TO NOTORIOUS SEGREGATIONISTS DURING HEATED TOWN HALL EVENT WITH BETO O’ROURKE The National Bar Association originally formed in Iowa before Black attorneys were permitted to join the American Bar Association, and is now made up of 66,000 members working in law who advocate for civil rights and diversity. Those who attended the event included Jackson, as well as Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, MSNBC pundit Joy-Ann Reid and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Biden and his allies have faced allegations of concealing the truth about Biden’s mental fitness while in office, following his debate performance against President Donald Trump on June 27, 2024 in Atlanta, where Biden struggled to answer seemingly basic questions. LONGTIME BIDEN AIDE TESTIFIES HE STOOD TO EARN UP TO $8M HAD PRESIDENT WON RE-ELECTION Multiple books have been written in 2025 detailing Biden’s final days in office, his deteriorating mental faculties and challenges within the Democratic Party as a result of his decision to withdraw from the election. Additionally, several investigations are ongoing on Capitol Hill concerning Biden’s mental decline. For example, the House Oversight Committee is examining the cover-up of Biden’s cognitive decline and potentially unauthorized executive actions taken during his presidency. Earlier Thursday, longtime Biden aide Michael Donilon appeared before the House Oversight Committee and told lawmakers that he could have raked in a total of $8 million if Biden had won re-election in 2024, Axios first reported. Fox News Digital reached out to Biden’s spokesperson for comment and has not yet received a reply. Fox News’ Charlie Creitz and Alex Schemmel contributed to this report.
China’s growing nuclear arsenal aims to break US alliances and dominate Asia, report warns
China is no longer building nuclear weapons solely for deterrence — it’s using them to fuel its ambitions as a dominant power in Asia, seeking to intimidate U.S. allies and undermine American influence across the region, according to a new report. The Hudson Institute warns that by the mid-2030s, China is expected to become a nuclear peer of the United States in both quantity and quality, fielding a modern, survivable and diverse arsenal that includes over 1,000 warheads, a fully developed nuclear triad and tactical nuclear capabilities. However, Beijing’s goal isn’t to win a nuclear war, the report argues. It’s to manipulate and degrade trust in America’s nuclear umbrella, particularly among U.S. allies in East and Southeast Asia. By sowing doubt that Washington would defend them in a crisis, China hopes to pressure countries like Japan, the Philippines and South Korea into strategic passivity, giving Beijing more room to act — including a potential move on Taiwan — without triggering a broader allied response. “The purpose of amplifying uncertainty is to manipulate notions of risk to China’s advantage,” the report states. “This is primarily about exacerbating hesitancy among U.S. allies by exploiting persistent fears of abandonment and doubts regarding America’s commitment.” JAPAN CALLS AXIS OF CHINA, RUSSIA, NORTH KOREA THE ‘GRAVEST THREAT’ TO GLOBAL ORDER SINCE WWII China’s military strategy blends rapid nuclear modernization with psychological operations and information warfare. The country is investing in advanced technologies such as hypersonic boost-glide vehicles and fractional orbital bombardment systems — space-based platforms that can deliver nuclear strikes from low-Earth orbit with little warning. Its warheads can now be launched from silos, submarines, road-mobile launchers and aircraft. The report urges the U.S. to “abandon the false hope of arms control” with China and instead embrace a doctrine of strategic ambiguity and instability, one that deters Beijing through strength and unpredictability rather than bilateral disarmament. President Donald Trump has expressed interest in future arms control talks with both China and Russia, but analysts say Beijing has shown little genuine interest in limiting its nuclear forces. The Hudson report devotes case studies to three key allies — the Philippines, Japan and South Korea — and how China uses nuclear intimidation differently in each case. While Manila is more concerned with gray-zone conflicts in the South China Sea, China may increasingly use implied nuclear threats to dissuade it from hosting U.S. missile systems like the Typhon launcher, which can strike deep into Chinese territory. China has already begun deploying messaging via state-linked outlets that hint at targeting Philippine-based assets. Heavily dependent on the U.S. nuclear umbrella but constrained by strong domestic anti-nuclear sentiment, Tokyo faces an information campaign from Beijing designed to shake confidence in U.S. commitments. China applies psychological pressure to prevent Japan from building counterstrike capabilities or assisting in a conflict over Taiwan. PENTAGON PRESSES JAPAN, AUSTRALIA ON ROLE IN POSSIBLE TAIWAN CONFLICT Seoul remains narrowly focused on North Korea’s nuclear threat, not China’s. It has been reluctant to fully align with U.S. efforts to deter Beijing, and it’s unclear whether South Korea would permit U.S. forces to use its bases in the event of a Taiwan contingency. China, the report says, is working to keep Seoul compartmentalized and disengaged from the broader East Asian conflict. The report outlines four core recommendations: “Washington and its allies must show that China’s buildup is backfiring — leading not to fear and passivity, but to renewed resolve and regional rearmament,” the report says. The report lands ahead of the Pentagon’s forthcoming global force posture review, expected later this year. The Department of Defense is widely expected to announce a shift in forces from Europe to the Indo-Pacific, reflecting the Biden administration’s—and potentially Trump’s — emphasis on great power competition with China.
Kavanaugh cites 3 presidents in explaining Supreme Court’s ballooning emergency docket
As President Donald Trump has faced an onslaught of legal bids to block his agenda during his second term in office, Trump-nominated Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh spoke at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit judicial conference on Thursday, according to reports. “Executive branches of both parties over the last 20 years have been increasingly trying to issue executive orders and regulations that achieve the policy objectives of the president in power,” Kavanaugh said, according to the New York Times. “And I think presidents, whether it’s President Obama – I think the phrase was ‘pen and phone’ – or President Biden or President Trump, have really done more of that, and those get challenged pretty quickly in court,” he said, according to CNN. FOX NEWS POLL: APPROVAL OF SCOTUS AT 5-YEAR HIGH, REBOUNDING FROM RECORD LOW IN 2024 Unlike regular Supreme Court rulings that fully explain the rationale behind the decision, decisions on the high court’s emergency docket may go unexplained. “We’ve been doing certainly more written opinions on the interim orders docket than we’ve done in the past,” Kavanaugh said, according to CNN. SCOTUS TO DISCUSS GHISLAINE MAXWELL’S CASE PRIVATELY IN SEPTEMBER AT POST-SUMMER CONFERENCE Though he noted that issuing written opinions may pose the “risk” of “lock-in effect” in which that opinion does not “reflect the final view,” reports indicate. Kavanaugh described the court’s “collegiality” as “very strong,” noting that the nine members on the bench “look out for each other” and consider one another “patriots” and “good people,” according to reports. Trump nominated Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court during his first term in office. US JUDGE BLOCKS TRUMP EFFORT TO CUT PLANNED PARENTHOOD FUNDING He also nominated Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch, meaning he chose one third of the current justices.
Isak’s Liverpool link grows as Newcastle absence continues
Sweden striker Alexander Isak heavily linked to Liverpool move after reportedly telling Newcastle he wants to leave. Newcastle have rejected Liverpool’s opening bid to sign unsettled Sweden striker Alexander Isak, according to reports. Isak has been training at his old club Real Sociedad this week after reportedly telling Newcastle he wants to leave St James’ Park. The 25-year-old has been linked with Liverpool since the end of last season, and the Premier League champions are now believed to have formalised their interest with an offer of about 110 million pounds ($146m) plus potential add-ons. But Newcastle, who reportedly value Isak at 150 million pounds ($199m), remain eager to hold on to their prize asset and have rebuffed Liverpool’s initial bid. Isak, who joined Newcastle in a 60-million-pound ($80m) move from Real Sociedad in 2022, scored 23 Premier League goals last season to help Newcastle qualify for the Champions League. He has three years left on his Newcastle contract, but did not travel to Asia for the Magpies’ ongoing preseason tour, with the club saying he had a minor thigh injury. On Thursday, Real Sociedad confirmed he was at their Zubieta facility with his own trainers. It was reported on Friday that Newcastle had told Isak he could agree a new deal containing a get-out clause for next year, but he responded by insisting he wants to move now. Liverpool manager Arne Slot has already bolstered his attacking options by signing Eintracht Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike and Bayer Leverkusen playmaker Florian Wirtz during the current transfer window. But the Reds are eager to make their forward line even more formidable by adding Isak, as they look to win back-to-back English titles for the first time since the 1980s. Advertisement Newcastle boss Eddie Howe struck a defiant note earlier this week when he said: “He is still our player. He’s contracted to us. “We, to a degree, control what is next for him. I would love to believe all possibilities are still available to us. “My wish is that he stays, but that’s not in my full control.” Liverpool have spent more than 250 million pounds ($332m) so far in the summer window, with Milos Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong and Giorgi Mamardashvili joining Wirtz and Ekitike at Anfield. Adblock test (Why?)
What has triggered deadly clashes at Uganda’s border with South Sudan?
Fighting between the armies of Uganda and neighbouring South Sudan, which are longtime allies, erupted this week over demarcations in disputed border regions, leading to the death of at least four soldiers, according to official reports from both sides. Thousands of civilians have since been displaced in affected areas as people fled to safety amid the rare outbreak of violence. A gunfight began on Monday and comes as South Sudan, one of the world’s youngest countries, is facing renewed violence due to fracturing within the government of President Salva Kiir that has led to fighting between South Sudanese troops and a rebel armed group. Uganda has been pivotal in keeping that issue contained by deploying troops to assist Kiir’s forces. However, the latest conflict between the two countries’ armies is raising questions regarding the state of that alliance. A truck enters a checkpoint at the Elegu border point between Uganda and South Sudan in May 2020 [Sally Hayden/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images] What has happened? There are conflicting accounts of the events that began at about 4:25pm local time (13:25 GMT) on Monday, making it hard to pinpoint which side struck first. The two agree on where the fighting took place, but each claims the site as being in its own territory. Ugandan military spokesperson Major-General Felix Kulayigye told reporters on Wednesday that the fighting broke out when South Sudanese soldiers crossed into Ugandan territory in the state of West Nile and set up camp there. The South Sudanese soldiers refused to leave after being told to do so, Kulayigye said, resulting in the Ugandan side having “to apply force”. Advertisement A Ugandan soldier was killed in the skirmish that ensued, Kulayigye added, after which the Ugandan side retaliated and opened fire, killing three South Sudanese soldiers. However, South Sudan military spokesperson Major-General Lul Ruai Koang said in a Facebook post earlier on Tuesday that armies of the “two sisterly republics” had exchanged fire on the South Sudanese side, in the Kajo Keji County of Central Equatoria state. Both sides suffered casualties, he said, without giving more details. Wani Jackson Mule, a local leader in Kajo-Keji County, backed up this account in a Facebook post on Wednesday and added that Ugandan forces had launched a “surprise attack” on South Sudanese territory. Mule said local officials had counted the bodies of five South Sudanese officers. Kajo-Keji County army commander Brigadier General Henry Buri, in the same statement as Mule, said the Ugandan forces had been “heavily armed with tanks and artillery”, and that they had targeted a joint security force unit stationed to protect civilians, who are often attacked by criminal groups in the area. The army general identified the deceased men as two South Sudanese soldiers, two police officers and one prison officer. The fighting affected border villages and caused panic as people fled from the area, packing their belongings hurriedly on their backs, according to residents speaking to the media. Children were lost in the chaos. Photos on social media showed crowds gathered as local priests supervised the collection and transport of remains. Map of Uganda and South Sudan [Al Jazeera] What is the border conflict about? Uganda and South Sudan have previously clashed over demarcations along their joint border, although those events have been few and far between. As with the Monday clash, the fighting is often characterised by tension and violence. However, heavy artillery fighting, which occurred on Monday, is rare. Problems at the border date back to the demarcations made during the British colonial era between Sudan, which South Sudan was once a part of, and Uganda. Despite setting up a joint demarcation committee (unknown when), the two countries have failed to agree on border points. In November 2010, just months before an anticipated South Sudanese referendum on independence from Sudan, clashes erupted after the Ugandan government accused the Sudanese army of attacking Dengolo village in the West Nile district of Moyo on the Ugandan side in multiple raids, and of arresting Ugandan villagers who were accused of crossing the border to cut down timber. Advertisement A South Sudanese army spokesperson denied the allegations and suggested that the assailants could have been from the forestry commission. Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni and South Sudan’s Kiir met a few days later and pledged to finalise the border issue, but that did not happen. Little was reported on the matter for several years after that, but in October 2020, two Ugandan soldiers and two South Sudanese soldiers were killed when the two sides attacked each other in Pogee, Magwi County of South Sudan, which connects to Gulu district of northern Uganda. The area includes disputed territory. Some reports claimed that three South Sudanese were killed. Each side blamed the other for starting the fight. In September 2024, the Ugandan parliament urged the government to expedite the demarcation process, adding that the lack of clear borders was fuelling insecurity in parts of rural Uganda, and Ugandan forces could not effectively pursue criminal cattle rustling groups operating in the border area as a result. Following the latest flare-up of violence this week, the countries have pledged to form a new joint committee to investigate the clashes, South Sudan military spokesperson, General Koang, said in a statement on Tuesday. The committee will also investigate any recurring issues along the border in a bid to resolve them, the statement read. South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir, right, and Vice President Riek Machar, left, attend a mass led by Pope Francis at the John Garang Mausoleum in Juba, South Sudan, on Sunday, February 5, 2023 [Ben Curtis/AP] Why does Uganda provide military support to South Sudan’s President Kiir? Uganda’s Museveni has been a staunch ally of South Sudan’s independence leader, Kiir, and his Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) party for many years. Museveni supported South Sudan’s liberation war against Sudan, especially following alleged collusion between the former Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir and the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a rebel group originally formed in Uganda but