Young Americans sour on congressional Democrats, new poll finds
Fewer than one in three young Americans approve of the job President Donald Trump and Congress are doing, according to a new national poll from the Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics. But while the approval ratings for Trump and congressional Republicans have mostly stayed consistent since the start of the president’s first administration eight years ago, the 50th Harvard Youth Poll indicates that approval ratings for Democrats in Congress among Americans aged 18-29 have nosedived. According to Harvard’s annual spring survey, which was conducted March 14-25 and released on Wednesday, the approval rating for congressional Democrats stands at 23%, down from 42% in the spring of 2017 at the start of Trump’s first term. HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLING “In that same period, approval of Congressional Republicans has held steady, inching up slightly from 28% to 29%,” the poll’s release notes. And the approval rating for Trump, who next week marks 100 days into his second tour of duty in the White House, stands at 31% in the new survey. AMERICANS WEIGH IN ON TRUMP’S TEASING OF A THIRD TERM The release highlights that Trump’s numbers are “virtually unchanged from the 32% reported in Spring 2017 and the 29% recorded in Fall 2020.” Harvard’s survey is the latest to indicate troubling numbers for the Democrats. The confidence rating for Democrat leadership in Congress stood at a record-low 25% in a Gallup poll conducted April 1-14 and released last week. That’s nine points below the previous low of 34%, which was recorded in 2023. Fueling the drop in confidence in the Democrat congressional leadership was a 41-point plunge among Democrats questioned in the Gallup survey. DEMOCRATS FAVORABLE RATINGS DROP TO RECORD LOWS National polls conducted in February by Quinnipiac University, and last month by CNN and by NBC News, indicated the favorable ratings for the Democratic Party sinking to all-time lows. The Democratic Party is in the political wilderness after November’s election setbacks, when Republicans won back control of the White House and the Senate and defended their fragile House majority. And Republicans made gains among Black and Hispanic voters as well as younger voters, all traditional members of the Democratic Party’s base. Democrats have become increasingly angry and energized in response to Trump’s aggressive and controversial moves in slashing the federal government and upending long-standing national since returning to the White House three months ago. That anger is directed not only at Trump and Republicans but also at Democrats. Many in the party’s base feel their leaders in Congress haven’t been effective or vocal enough in pushing back against the president. According to the Harvard poll, only 15% say the country is headed in the right direction, with just over half (51%) saying the country’s on the wrong track. And just one in four surveyed said the current state of the country is better now under Trump than it was during former President Joe Biden’s single four-year term in the White House. Forty-one percent said things were better off under Biden, with 14% saying they see no difference and 17% unsure.
Nikki Haley on Russia and Ukraine says US should ‘want to be on the right side of history’
Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley indicated in a post on X that amid the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, the U.S. should “want to be on the right side of history.” “Rewarding an aggressor will only lead to more aggressive actions. Failing to stand up for democracies who are invaded will lead to more invasions of free countries. To reward Russia for bad behavior and punish Ukraine for fighting to defend itself would be a terrible injustice, America should know the difference between right and wrong and want to be on the right side of history,” she declared in a Tuesday post on X. “Russia started this war and has been the aggressor and violator in the conflict. Ukraine deserves the right to defend itself,” she had previously declared in part of another tweet on Tuesday. RUSSIA REDUCES SENTENCE FOR AMERICAN ROBERT WOODLAND, WHO WAS CONVICTED ON DRUG CHARGES Haley, a former South Carolina governor, sought the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, but ultimately dropped out after failing to gain traction against then-former President Donald Trump, who she eventually endorsed. Trump has been aiming to help broker peace between Russia and Ukraine. REPUBLICAN USES GEORGE WASHINGTON, AMERICAN REVOLUTION TO REJECT NOTION UKRAINE SHOULD SURRENDER TO RUSSIA “HOPEFULLY RUSSIA AMD UKRAINE WILL MAKE A DEAL THIS WEEK. BOTH WILL THEN START TO DO BIG BUSINESS WITH THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, WHICH IS THRIVING, AND MAKE A FORTUNE!” he declared in a Sunday Truth Social post. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., recently visited Ukraine. PUTIN ANNOUNCES TEMPORARY EASTER CEASEFIRE IN UKRAINE WAR CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The lawmaker said in a tweet last week, “It was my profound honor to deliver a very ‘personal’ message to Vladimir Putin today, from the front lines of the war near the Russian border, on behalf of our PA-1 community. The only permissible details to share are that ‘the message was delivered on target.’” Fitzpatrick has noted that he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy while visiting the foreign nation.
Pennsylvania Gov. Shapiro says Trump called him about arson attack: ‘Very gracious’
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, said Tuesday that President Donald Trump called him over the weekend to discuss the arson attack on the governor’s mansion a week before. Shapiro said Trump called him Saturday morning and that the president was “very gracious.” The governor said he did not answer Trump’s call and let it go to voicemail because he did not recognize the number the president was calling from. “I appreciated that the president called me,” Shapiro told reporters at the annual Easter Egg Hunt at the governor’s residence in Harrisburg. “I actually didn’t take his call because it came from his cellphone and I didn’t have that number in my phone, so I didn’t know who it was. As soon as I heard his message, I called him right back.” SUSPECT’S 911 CALL RELEASED AFTER ARSON AT PA GOVERNOR’S MANSION THAT APPEARED TO BE FUELED BY WAR IN GAZA Shapiro said he spoke with Trump for about 15 minutes about various topics, including the arson attack and how his wife and children were doing following the fire incident. “He was very gracious,” Shapiro said. “He asked how Lori and the kids were doing. [We] talked for a couple of minutes about what transpired at the residence, and then we talked for maybe the next 15 minutes or so about a whole host of other topics.” “Obviously, I’m not going to get into our private conversation, but he’s attuned to the issues that are important to me,” the governor continued. “I, of course, know the issues that are important to him, and we agreed to stay in touch going forward.” Shapiro told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos in an interview recorded late last week and aired Sunday that Trump had not called him after the April 13 attack on his residence. The governor said at the time that he had heard from Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel. Trump said last week when asked if he knew of the attacker’s motive that he had not heard about one. He also said that the suspect “was not a fan of Trump.” SUSPECTED PENNSYLVANIA ARSONIST MAY HAVE BEEN MOTIVATED BY WAR IN GAZA: POLICE “He’s probably just a whack job. And certainly a thing like that cannot be allowed to happen,” Trump said at the time. Cody Balmer, 38, is charged with attempted murder, aggravated arson, burglary, terrorism and related offenses for allegedly setting fire to Shapiro’s residence last week. Balmer has reportedly admitted in multiple instances that he was motivated by the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and what Shapiro, who is Jewish, “wants to do to the Palestinian people.” “Governor Josh Shapiro needs to know that Cody Balmer will not take part in his plans for what he wants to do to the Palestinian people,” Balmer allegedly told a dispatcher in a 911 call after the attack. “He needs to leave my family alone. He needs to get his eyes off of my daughters. And he needs to stop having my friends killed.” “You all know where to find me. I’m not hiding, and I will confess to everything that I had done,” he added. A warrant details Balmer’s interview with state troopers in which he allegedly admitted to “harboring hatred towards” Shapiro. Balmer also reportedly admitted to a trooper that he was responsible for the arson attack and said he planned to attack Shapiro with his hammer if he were to find the governor in the mansion. Surveillance video described in a warrant allegedly shows Balmer breaking a window at the governor’s residence before throwing “an incendiary device” inside. According to the warrant, Balmer then broke another window, entered the residence and deployed another incendiary device before he “approached the dining room exit.” The warrant also says a woman — seemingly identified as Balmer’s “ex-paramour” — said he confessed to the attack and asked her to call police to turn him in.
Did Pakistan orchestrate Pahalgam massacre? Attack days after Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir’s provocation, he said…
To many commentators in India, Pakistan Army chief General Asim Munir’s comment is clear evidence of the fact that the Pahalgam terror attack was sponsored and orchestrated by the Pakistan Army.
Terrorists asked LIC officer to recite ‘Kalma’ before killing him, say kin Indore
Sushil Nathaniel (58), who had gone to Jammu and Kashmir with his wife, daughter and son to celebrate Easter, was among the 26 persons killed in the terror attack in Pahalgam on Tuesday.
Pahalgam terror attack: Sketches of three terrorists released by security agencies
Security agencies have released sketches of three suspected terrorists believed to be involved in the brutal Pahalgam attack that claimed the lives of at least 28 tourists.
Pahalgam terror attack: NIA joins probe as Union Home Minister Amit Shah reviews security situation
Tuesday’s incident is considered one of the most serious attacks in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019. The government is yet to release an official count of casualties.
Terror with global audience: Was Pahalgam massacre timed for massive publicity, maximum diplomatic disruption?
Analysts believe, the attack carried out by The Resistance Front (TRF), was planned in a way that it gets huge publicity with the Vice President of the US visiting the country.
Videos capture deadly attack in Indian-administered Kashmir
[unable to retrieve full-text content] Shots can be heard on videos that captured the deadly attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir
How Pope Francis redefined the Church’s ties with Africa
Thousands of miles from the Vatican, the death of Pope Francis is being mourned by millions of Catholics on the African continent. Francis, who was renowned for his liberal embrace of all groups of people and his vocal support for poor and marginalised communities, was a key figure on a continent sometimes referred to as the “future of the Catholic Church”, owing to the vast population of African Catholics: One in five Catholics is African. Throughout his papal leadership, Pope Francis solidified recently established Vatican conventions by visiting 10 African countries, reinforcing engagements made by his predecessors. Before the 1960s, popes hardly left the Vatican. Leaders across Africa, too, are mourning his death. Kenya’s President William Ruto referred to the late pope as someone who “exemplified servant leadership through his humility, his unwavering commitment to inclusivity and justice, and his deep compassion for the poor and the vulnerable”. Here’s how the late Pope Francis prioritised Africa during his tenure: A devotee reacts as residents and the faithful gather at N’Dolo Airport for a mass celebrated by Pope Francis, in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, February 1, 2023 [Luc Gnago/Reuters] Pope Francis’s many trips to Africa Pope Francis made five trips to Africa throughout his papacy, during which he visited 10 countries. Advertisement He opted to visit nations that were in strife and were facing war or low-level conflict. He also focused on those struggling with economic and climatic challenges. The pontiff did not shy away from holding mass in ghettos or kissing the feet of warring leaders in hopes of bringing peace. Those visits modelled those of Pope John Paul II (1980-2005), who visited more than 25 African countries in his 25 years of service, transforming the way the Vatican engaged with the continent. Pope Benedict XVI (2005-2013) visited three African countries over two visits. These are the countries Pope Francis visited and when: 2015: East Africa (Uganda, Kenya, Central African Republic – CAR) The pontiff’s six-day visit to three African countries in November 2015 was replete with colourful welcomes and huge mass events. In Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, the pope is still remembered and revered for holding mass in Kangemi, a low-income neighbourhood. There, he decried what he called “modern forms of colonialism” and pointed out that the country’s urban poor were excluded and underserved. He also criticised wealthy minorities who, he said, hoard resources meant for all. In a colourful welcome to Uganda, the pope enjoyed traditional dances from different ethnic groups. He blessed dozens of children thrust into his popemobile, the open-sided car, as he cruised through throngs of people gathered to catch a peep. He also visited a treatment centre for disabled children and spoke to more than 700 disabled people. A UN peacekeeping soldier patrols a street near Bangui’s Koudoukou mosque, Central African Republic, before the arrival of Pope Francis for a meeting with the Muslim community on November 30, 2015. CAR descended into civil war after rebel groups tried to overthrow then-President Francois Bozize in 2012 [Andrew Medichini/AP] Healing a fractured country Then, in the CAR, the pope did the unprecedented: He ventured into a Muslim neighbourhood amid religious tensions in the country that had lasted for months. Advertisement The PK5 neighbourhood in the capital, Bangui, had been off-limits to Christians before then, but as the pope made his way to a mosque there, crowds of Christians followed him in. People who had lost touch cried as they embraced each other. Pope Francis urged both sides to lay down their arms and called Africa “the continent of hope” in his speeches. The visit would eventually lead to a peace agreement between the warring factions, although true peace would take another five years. 2017-2019 North Africa (Egypt, Morocco) In April 2017, Pope Francis visited Cairo for two days to support the Coptic minority there, the largest Christian community in the Middle East. Coptic Christians have been subject to marginalisation and deadly attacks for years in Egypt. Francis also reached out to Muslim clerics in the country. On his March 2019 trip to Morocco at the invitation of King Mohammed VI, the pope also called for religious tolerance and inclusion. He urged Morocco to respect the rights of refugees and immigrants. Pope Francis steps off the plane as he arrives in Port Louis, Mauritius, from Madagascar, September 9, 2019 [Alessandra Tarantino/AP Photo] 2019 Indian Ocean (Mozambique, Madagascar, and Mauritius) The same year, in September, Pope Francis turned his attention to Southern Africa, particularly countries in the Indian Ocean. In Mozambique and Madagascar, he called for an end to poverty and better protection of the environment in a region where climate change has brought intensifying storms and destructive cyclones. A man holds flags next to the audience as they await the arrival of Pope Francis for a holy mass at the John Garang Mausoleum in Juba, South Sudan on February 5, 2023 [Ben Curtis/AP] 2023: Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and South Sudan Amid ongoing conflict and a humanitarian crisis brought on by armed factions looking to control the country, the pope’s visit to the DRC symbolically called for peace and reconciliation in the troubled central African nation. The DRC, which has the largest number of Catholics in Africa – an estimated 35 million people – was an important one for the pope, who’d had to postpone the trip because of ill health. Congolese showed up in the thousands to welcome him. Advertisement A show of humility for South Sudan In South Sudan, the pope called for continued peace between rivals President Salva Kiir and his deputy, Vice President Riek Machar. The country, Africa’s youngest, has been rocky since it gained independence from Sudan in 2011. Immediately after, and until 2013, a civil war broke out between factions loyal to the two leaders, leading to the deaths of hundreds of thousands and the displacement of millions of South Sudanese. Five years before he set foot in South Sudan, the pope had expressed an unusual