Here’s what happened during Trump’s 14th week in office
President Donald Trump is closing in on the first 100 days of his administration this week, wrapping up three months marked by an unprecedented use of executive orders, and continued discussions surrounding a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. Trump met with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store at the White House Thursday, where he said that he and other allies are trying to wrap up a deal between Moscow and Kyiv in the near future. Still, he said he would stick to his own timeline. “I have my own deadline,” Trump told reporters Thursday. “And we wanted to be fast. And the Prime Minister’s helping us.” “He wants it to be fast, too,” he said. “And I think everybody in this, at this time in NATO, they want to see this thing happen.” The White House did not provide comment to Fox News Digital regarding details of the deadline. Trump’s team has signaled optimism about a deal this week, and Vice President JD Vance disclosed on Wednesday that a proposal is on the table. However, he said that time is limited and if neither party agrees, the U.S. will withdraw itself from advancing those discussions. The deal would require both Russia and Ukraine to give up some of their territory, but that the lines would remain “close to where they are today,” according to Vance. Here’s what also happened this week in the Trump administration: The White House went to bat for Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who has come under additional scrutiny following a New York Times report that Hegseth shared information about a March military airstrike against the Houthis in a Signal messaging app group chat that also included his wife, brother and personal lawyer. In March, the Atlantic reported about an initial Signal group chat that included Hegseth and Vance to discuss the same attack on the Houthis. In that chat, Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg was accidently included. HEGSETH FACES LATEST BATTLE DEFENDING HIS SECRETARY OF DEFENSE POST AT THE PENTAGON The most recent incident has prompted lawmakers to call for Hegseth’s resignation, even though Hegseth maintains no war plans were disclosed in the chats. Despite a report from NPR that said the White House was considering finding a new secretary of defense amid the controversy, the Trump administration has voiced support for Hegseth this week. “He is bringing monumental change to the Pentagon, and there’s a lot of people in the city who reject monumental change, and I think, frankly, that’s why we’ve seen a smear campaign against the Secretary of Defense since the moment that President Trump announced his nomination before the United States Senate,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Tuesday. “Let me reiterate: The president stands strongly behind Secretary Hegseth and the change that he is bringing to the Pentagon, and the results that he’s achieved thus far speak for themselves,” Leavitt said. Trump and first lady Melania Trump departed Washington Friday morning to attend Pope Francis’ funeral in Rome Saturday. The Vatican announced that Pope Francis died Monday at the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta. “Rest in Peace Pope Francis!” Trump said in a Monday post on Truth Social. “May God Bless him and all who loved him!” POPE FRANCIS AND US PRESIDENTS: A LOOK BACK AT HIS LEGACY WITH THE NATION’S LEADERS The pope’s death came a day after Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, met with him in one of the reception rooms of the Vatican hotel just hours before his death. Additionally, Trump signed an executive order Monday ordering all U.S. flags be flown at half-staff on all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels to remember Francis. The order also applies to all U.S. embassies, legations, consular offices and other facilities abroad, including military facilities and naval vessels and stations. Former President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, are also planning to attend the Rome funeral. Trump also signed seven executive orders pertaining to education, including several that would incorporate artificial intelligence into K-12 school curricula, modify school discipline and accreditation guidelines, and update requirements for the disclosure of foreign funding to schools. Meanwhile, Trump’s Education Department also announced Monday it would resume collections on defaulted federal student loans in May for the first time since 2020. EDUCATION DEPARTMENT TO RESUME COLLECTIONS ON DEFAULTED FEDERAL STUDENT LOANS FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 2020 The first Trump administration paused referring federal student loans to collections in March 2020 during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. But Trump administration officials are concerned that the pause has led the federal student loan portfolio to be “headed toward a fiscal cliff if we don’t start repayment in collections,” according to a senior department official. “The result has been that the federal government student loan portfolio has continued to grow, and we’ve got a record number of borrowers that are at risk of or in delinquency and default,” the senior department official told reporters Monday. Fox News’ Emma Colton contributed to this report.
How much time will it take for India to stop water flow to Pakistan after suspension of Indus water treaty?
One of the key decisions announced by India includes the suspension of Indus water treaty – a move being seen as a big jolt to Pakistan. But let us first understand what is Indus water treaty and why it is so significant to both the countries.
Government’s advisory to media channels to refrain from live coverage of security operations: ‘During Kargil war, Mumbai attacks…’
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has issued an advisory to all media platforms to refrain from showing live coverage of defence operations and movement of security forces. The advisory has come days after the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed.
‘First they denied, then they..’: Omar Abdullah slams Pakistan’s ‘neutral’ probe offer into Pahalgam attack
Omar Abdullah condemned Pakistan’s initial denial and blamed India’s claims over the Pahalgam terror attack before Shehbaz Sharif later offered a “neutral” probe, exposing Islamabad’s flip-flop.
Trump’s MAGA imprint on GOP strong now, but will it last? Experts weigh in
President Donald Trump recently hyped a new national poll which indicates an increasing percentage of Republicans now identify as MAGA supporters. The president, in a social media post, pointed to what he said was “tremendous support” for MAGA, which is the acronym for Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement. “I am not, at all, surprised!!!” Trump wrote, days ahead of the 100-days milestone. The poll indicated that 71% of Republicans now identify as MAGA supporters, up from 55% in November. CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLING The NBC News survey is the latest piece of evidence of Trump’s extremely firm grip over the GOP, and his remaking of the Republican Party in his image, a transformation that started with the president’s initial White House victory in 20216. While the president repeatedly teases the possibility of running for re-election in 2028, the reality is that serving a third term is clearly prohibited by the Constitution under the 22nd Amendment. So what happens to Trump’s MAGA movement and America First agenda after he departs the White House? “The Republican Party will never go back to what it was. The old Republican Party of [former longtime Senate GOP leader] Mitch McConnell run by Washington elites died forever in 2024,” longtime Republican consultant Alex Castellanos told Fox News Digital. SCOOP: REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE SHOWCASES RECORD FUNDRAISING AS PARTY BUILDS 2026 WAR CHEST Castellanos, a veteran of numerous GOP presidential campaigns, emphasized that “the Republican Party of Donald Trump is alive and growing out in America.” And he made the case that “what happened in 2024 is that what was a man became a movement.” David Kochul, another longtime Republican strategist with plenty of experience on the presidential campaign trail, concurred that “we’re not going back to what the party looked like in 2012. That’s for sure. We’re going forward to something new and different.” Even a vocal Republican critic of Trump agrees. Former congressman and former two-term Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who launched an unsuccessful 2024 Republican presidential nomination bid, acknowledged that “those who want the GOP to go a different direction from the MAGA leadership of President Trump are now fighting an uphill battle.” “Trump has found his stride with his anti-immigrant message and it is overshadowing the chaos from his super-charged tariff war and its impact on the economy,” Hutchinson told Fox News Digital. Whoever succeeds Trump as GOP standardbearer – be it heir apparent Vice President JD Vance or someone else – won’t be Trump. “Trump is such a unique actor and figure. He can’t be replicated,” Kochul stressed. “Nobody can be the next Donald Trump. That’s not possible. He’s singular.” But his movement will have some staying power. “Just like the Reagan Revolution, Trump’s legacy and messaging will prevail beyond his last day in office,” Dave Carney, another longtime Republican consultant and presidential campaign trail veteran, told Fox News. But Carney argued that Trump’s legacy may “wane over years unless the next Republican president continues it.” TRUMP, MUSK FACE BLAME FOR SETBACKS, BUT ARE WISCONSIN, FLORIDA ELECTIONS CRYSTAL BALL FOR 2026 MIDTERMS? “Is it going to be as hot and heavy as it is now without his personality? Carney asked. Answering his own question, he said, “No. You need to have a messenger to carry that theme.” But Castellanos noted that Trump has “spawned a new younger generation of MAGA leaders who will carry on the MAGA movement long after Trump.” Pointing to Vance and others, Castellanos described “a fresh generation of MAGA.” “The players on the MAGA farm team are now playing major league ball,” he said. Kochul, looking to the future of the GOP, said that “it will be more populist, whomever emerges.” And as for those future leaders, he suggested that “we’ve got a lot of great leadership and a great bench.” Hutchinson, a former U.S. attorney under Ronald Reagan and high-ranking official in George W. Bush’s administration, also weighed in on the future of Trump’s MAGA movement. “Whether Trump’s dominance continues beyond the next few years depends upon the tolerance level of the GOP base on Trump’s view that ‘he is the law’ rather than respecting the separation of powers that have served our country well,” Hutchinson said.
Have scientists discovered a new colour called ‘olo’?
A team of scientists claims to have discovered a new colour that humans cannot see without the help of technology. The researchers based in the United States said they were able to “experience” the colour, which they named “olo”, by firing laser pulses into their eyes using a device named after the Wizard of Oz. Olo cannot be seen with the naked eye, but the five people who have seen it describe it as being similar to teal. What has the study found? Professors from the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Washington School of Medicine published an article in the journal, Science Advances, on April 18 in which they put forth their discovery of a hue beyond the gamut of human vision. They explained that they had devised a technique called Oz, which can “trick” the human eye into seeing olo. The technique is named after the Wizard of Oz. In the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, published in 1900, Frank Baum wrote about a man who uses tricks to fool the residents of the fictional land of Oz into thinking he’s a wizard. For instance, it is believed that the Emerald City, the capital of Oz, is so bright and vibrant that visitors have to wear special glasses to protect their eyes. The glasses are one of the wizard’s tricks, since they make the city appear greener and grander. Advertisement How do humans perceive colour? The human eye perceives colour via three types of photoreceptor or “cone cells” in the retina. S cones pick up shorter, blue wavelengths of light; M cones detect medium, green wavelengths; and L cones detect longer, red wavelengths. “The signals from these cones are then sent through a complex series of cells in the retina that act to clean up and integrate the signal before passing it down the optic nerve through parts of the brain,” Francis Windram, a research associate at the department of life sciences at Imperial College London, told Al Jazeera. The part of the brain that the visual information is passed to is the visual cortex. A doctor demonstrates a model of the human eye [Shutterstock] How did scientists find the ‘new’ colour? In normal vision, the function of M cones overlaps with the neighbouring S and L cones, so any light that stimulates M cones also activates the other two cones. The M cones don’t function alone. “There’s no wavelength in the world that can stimulate only the M cone,” Ren Ng, a professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences at UC Berkeley, explained in an article published on its website. “I began wondering what it would look like if you could just stimulate all the M cone cells. Would it be like the greenest green you’ve ever seen?” So Ng teamed up with Austin Roorda, one of the creators of the Oz technology and a professor of optometry and vision science at UC Berkeley. Oz, which Roorda described as “a microscope for looking at the retina”, uses tiny microdoses of laser light to target individual photoreceptors in the eye. The equipment, which must be highly stabilised during use, is already being used to study eye disease. Advertisement The work using Oz began in 2018 by James Carl Fong, a doctoral student in electrical engineering and computer sciences at UC Berkeley. Hannah Doyle, another doctoral student at Berkeley, ran the experiments through which human subjects were able to see the new colour, olo. Is olo really a new colour? The shade of olo has always existed, it just falls beyond the spectrum of shades visible to the human eye. There are other such shades that we cannot see. Hence, olo is not a new colour that has come into existence, from a physical or scientific perspective. However, “from a sociolinguistic perspective, if people give new names to colours which previously were indistinguishable thanks to this technology, then maybe! It all depends on how you say it,” Windram said. A palette shows some of the colours humans can normally see [Shutterstock] How many people have seen olo? Five people have seen the “new” colour – four men and one woman. All had normal colour vision. Three of the subjects, including Roorda and Ng, are the co-authors of the research paper while the other two are members of the participating lab at the University of Washington and were unaware of the purpose of the study before they took part. What does olo look like? Those who have seen olo describe it as a teal or green-blue colour – but one they had never seen before. In the article by UC Berkeley, it is described as a “blue-green colour of unparalleled saturation”. “It was like a profoundly saturated teal … the most saturated natural colour was just pale by comparison,” Roorda said. Advertisement “I wasn’t a subject for this paper, but I’ve seen olo since, and it’s very striking. You know you’re looking at something very blue-green,” Doyle said. The researchers said an image of a teal square is the closest colour match to olo. However, this square is not an olo-coloured square. The naked human eye simply cannot see the shade. “We’re not going to see olo on any smartphone displays or any TVs any time soon. And this is very, very far beyond VR headset technology,” Ng said, according to a report in the UK’s Guardian newspaper. What if some colors are invisible not because they’re rare, but because we physically can’t see them? UC Berkeley scientists discovered Olo – a hue that can’t be rendered, only experienced. Olo may never join the Pantone Color System… or will it?https://t.co/sBRGVhw85g pic.twitter.com/rxmbutd7y2 — PANTONE (@pantone) April 23, 2025 Could this technology help people with colour blindness? Berkeley researchers are exploring whether the Oz technology could help people with colour blindness. Windram said success would depend on the cause of colourblindness in individuals. Deuteranomaly, which causes decreased sensitivity to green light, is the most common form of colour blindness. “In
How technocracy has become our reality
As tech billionaires infiltrate the White House, the question looms, “Who really rules us, the government or Silicon Valley?” This film examines the influence and ideology of technocrats over the last century, and asks whether they pose a threat to democracy. Contributors: Gil Duran – Tech journalistSiva Vaidhyanathan – Professor of Media Studies, University of VirginiaPayal Arora – Digital anthropologistCori Crider – Senior Fellow, Open Markets and the Future of Tech Institute Adblock test (Why?)
Iran, US resume talks in Oman to hammer out deal on nuclear programme
Negotiations expected to centre on uranium enrichment begin in Oman as Trump expresses cautious optimism. Iran and the United States have opened a third round of talks in Oman aimed at curbing Tehran’s nuclear activities, with discussions expected to centre on uranium enrichment. Iranian state television confirmed the negotiations were under way in Muscat on Saturday, though neither Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi nor US envoy Steve Witkoff disclosed any details on the talks they will lead. The talks seek to limit Iran’s nuclear programme in exchange for the lifting of some of the crushing economic sanctions the US has imposed on the Islamic republic for decades. Iran, for its part, has signalled it is eager to get sanctions relief as its economy continues to suffer. US President Donald Trump was confident of clinching a new agreement that would block Iran’s path to a nuclear bomb. Speaking on board Air Force One, en route to Rome for the funeral of Pope Francis, Trump expressed cautious optimism. “The Iran situation is coming out very well,” he said. “We have had a lot of talks with them and I think we are going to have a deal. I would much rather have a deal than the other alternative. That would be good for humanity.” Advertisement But Trump repeated threats stressing that military options remained on the table if diplomacy failed, saying: “There are some people that want to make a different kind of a deal – a much nastier deal – and I don’t want that to happen to Iran if we can avoid it.” Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson told state TV that the country’s defence and missile programmes were not being discussed during the negotiations in Oman. “The question of defence capacities and the country’s missiles is not [on the agenda] and has not been raised in the indirect talks with the United States,” Esmaeil Baghaei said on Saturday. The talks come a week after a second round of negotiations in Rome were described by both sides as constructive. Tensions have remained high since Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear agreement in 2018, prompting a series of escalations. Iran has since abandoned all limits on its nuclear programme, and enriches uranium to up to 60 percent purity – near weapons-grade levels of 90 percent. Western countries, including the US, have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, an allegation Tehran has consistently denied, insisting that its programme is for peaceful civilian purposes. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said this week Iran would have to entirely stop enriching uranium under a deal, and import any enriched uranium it needed to fuel its sole functioning atomic energy plant, Bushehr. But Tehran says ending its enrichment programme or surrendering its enriched uranium stockpile are among “Iran’s red lines that could not be compromised” in the talks. Advertisement Adblock test (Why?)
Attempt to grope breasts is ‘aggravated sex assault’ but ‘not rape,’ says Calcutta High Court
The trial court had found the accused guilty of both “aggravated sexual assault” and “attempt to rape,” handing him 12 years of rigorous imprisonment.
2028 auditions for Democratic presidential nomination kick off as blue-state governor visits key early state
It’s 2025, but it’s starting to feel a little bit like 2028 in New Hampshire, the state that traditionally holds the first presidential primary in the race for the White House. That’s because Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, the billionaire two-term Democrat from the solidly blue Midwestern state, is coming to New Hampshire this weekend to headline the state party’s largest annual fundraising gala. Pritzker, who has become one of his party’s most vocal critics of the sweeping and controversial moves by President Donald Trump during the first three months of his second tour in the White House, is seen as a potential contender for the Democrats’ 2028 presidential nomination. And trips to New Hampshire — which for over a century has held the first primary in the race for the White House — are seen as an early indicator of a politician’s interest in running for the presidency in the next election. HERE ARE THE DEMOCRATS WHO MAY EVENTUALLY RUN FOR THE WHITE HOUSE IN 2028 “We’ve got to be ready for the fight,” Pritzker said when asked by Fox News Digital what his message will be when he delivers the keynote address at the New Hampshire Democratic Party’s annual McIntyre-Shaheen 100 Club dinner. The governor, a member of the Pritzker family that owns the Hyatt hotel chain and who has started several of his own venture capital and investment startups, argued that the nation is “in a constitutional crisis” and that “we have too many people who are ill affected by the policies of the Trump administration.” “This is the moment for people to stand up and fight,” he added. Pritzker, 60, is the first potential Democratic presidential hopeful to visit New Hampshire, or any other early primary state, since Democrats lost the White House and their Senate majority and failed to retake the House in November. And Trump and Republicans down-ballot made gains with key parts of the Democrats’ base, including with Black, Hispanic and younger voters. HEATING UP: PRESEASON MOVES IN 2028 PRESIDENTIAL RACE GETTING UNDERWAY In the wake of those setbacks, Democrats have experienced increased intra-party tensions with an angry and energized base itching to fight back against Trump. That anger is directed not only at Trump and Republicans, but also at Democrats, with many in the party’s base upset that leaders haven’t been effective or vocal enough in pushing back against the president. It’s also led to reflection about what the Democratic Party stands for and its direction moving forward amid flagging favorable ratings in national polling. Two-term California Gov. Gavin Newsom, another high-profile Democrat who likely also has national ambitions in 2028, said earlier this week in an interview with “The Hill” that he wasn’t sure what the party truly represents. “I don’t know what the party is,” Newsom said. “I’m still struggling with that.” Asked if he’s also struggling, Pritzker responded, “I’ve been clear my whole life. The Democratic Party stands up for working people. Stands up for working families. We’re the party of civil rights. We’re the party of human rights. No doubt about that, in my mind.” Pritzker, who is not prevented by term limits from running for re-election in 2026, has yet to say if he’ll make a bid for a third term steering Illinois. But the clock is ticking, with the filing period opening up later this year and the state’s primary just 11 months away. HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING AND OPINION ON JB PRITZKER “Given the circumstances of getting on the ballot for people, I would need to make a decision and announce it by, you know, by latest July,” Pritzker said when asked about his timetable for making a decision. But it’s a possible presidential run by Pritzker that is grabbing headlines. Chicagoan Bill Daley, who served as former President Bill Clinton’s commerce secretary and former President Barack Obama’s chief of staff, told The Wall Street Journal last week that “there is no doubt that he [Pritzker] is going to run.” Pritzker, asked about Daley’s prediction, said, “I’d guess I’d remind you that he didn’t support me when I ran for governor the first time… I don’t know where he gets his information.” And on the possibility of launching a national campaign in the 2028 election cycle, Pritzker said, “All I can tell you is, I’m focused on the question of whether I will run for re-election as governor, and on defeating the policies of Donald Trump.” DEMOCRATS’ VICE CHAIR GETS ULTIMATUM: STAY NEUTRAL IN PRIMARIES OR STEP DOWN The governor is no stranger to New Hampshire. He headlined the 2022 New Hampshire Democratic Party convention, and he returned last September to campaign on behalf of then-Vice President Kamala Harris, who replaced then-President Joe Biden as the party’s presidential nominee in July. Pritzker made multiple stops, including addressing union members at the New Hampshire AFL-CIO’s annual Labor Day breakfast. Pritzker was among those vetted by the Harris presidential campaign as a possible running mate. The governor, who led a successful effort to host the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, was also among the potential 2028 White House contenders to speak during the convention week at the New Hampshire Democratic Party delegation’s daily breakfasts. Veteran New Hampshire-based Democratic consultant Jim Demers noted that “for many New Hampshire Democrats, his [Pritzker’s] visit is an early audition for 2028.” “It comes at a time when voters are really looking for leadership, someone who will challenge what Donald Trump is doing. So, what he says will be weighed very heavily,” he added. Demers, pointing to Pritzker’s handful of trips to the Granite State over the past couple of years, said that “every time he has visited with New Hampshire voters, he has delivered a message that has resonated very well.” Neil Levesque, the longtime director of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College, said that “Pritzker is coming into a highly political state at an opportune time because of how fired up