MEA issues advisories to Indians in Gulf, ‘avoid traveling to Iran’, lists countries, airlines operating flights
As the US and Iran are locked in fierce negotiations over ending the war, lifting blockades with both sides rejecting demands of each other, India has cautioned its citizens living in the Gulf region over their security.
Is there shortage of petrol, diesel in India? Here’s what govt says after PM Modi’s ‘save fuel’ appeal
On Sunday, while speaking at an event in Telangana, PM Modi appealed to citizens to use petroleum products cautiously in the wake of a global energy crisis sparked by the Iran war. “Today, the need of the hour is also to use petrol, gas, diesel and such things with great restraint,” he said.
U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar’s bipartisan immigration bill draws GOP support — and backlash
The latest version of the El Paso Democrat’s Dignity Act includes a key change to make it more palatable to Republicans. Some have gotten on board, but others are firmly opposed.
Teachers with national certification earn more, but Texas is questioning its worth
The National Board Certification is widely considered the most demanding for teachers. Texas leaders are examining whether it fits the state’s merit-based system.
Texas took their licenses. Now these immigrant truckers face lost livelihoods, sense of betrayal
Texas was among the first states to heed Trump administration directives to revoke commercial driver’s licenses from some immigrants as a safety measure.
Jeffries calls out Trump-era gas prices after telling Republicans not to politicize pump pain under Biden
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., is hammering President Donald Trump over surging gas prices tied to the war with Iran, arguing voter frustration could help Democrats win back the House in November. But four years ago, he urged Republicans not to “play politics” with record prices at the pump under former President Joe Biden. “The average gas price is now $4.55 per gallon,” Jeffries wrote on social media Friday. “Is this what the golden age in America looks like?” As the conflict drags on, disruptions to oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz have pushed fuel prices higher. The Trump administration’s effort to end the war appears to be stalling, even as a month-old ceasefire with Iran has largely held. GAS SURGE TIED TO IRAN CONFLICT HITS SWING STATES, TESTING TRUMP’S LOW-PRICE PITCH Jeffries’ attack on gas prices is part of Democrats’ strategy to focus on affordability, as the party looks to unseat a swath of vulnerable Republicans in battleground House districts this year. Gas prices have risen on average by more than $1.50 — a roughly 50% increase — since Operation Epic Fury began on Feb. 28, according to AAA. A recent Fox News Poll found that nearly 60% of voters said gas prices were a “major problem” for their household. Another 29% of respondents said price increases at the pump were a “minor problem.” Voter concern about persistent inflation has contributed to Democrats holding an eight-point lead over Republicans on the issue, according to the April Fox News survey. Nearly three-quarters of voters believe the U.S. economy is getting worse, matching a record high that Fox News also observed under Biden in April 2023. “The problem with this reckless war of choice is life has gotten more expensive,” Jeffries told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” in April. But Jeffries struck a markedly different tone in March 2022, when gas prices surged following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Average gas prices ultimately rose to more than $5 per gallon in June of that year. FROM BIDEN’S ‘WAR’ ON GAS PRICES TO ‘SMALL PRICE TO PAY’: GOP SHIFTS TONE AS IRAN CONFLICT HITS PUMPS “It’s certainly my hope that my Republican colleagues won’t continue to play politics with an existential crisis for Ukraine, for Europe, for the West and for democracy because that is what is at stake right now,” Jeffries said during a March 2022 news conference, referring to a spike in gas prices. “It may be some sacrifice that is required across the world.” “Certainly, we are seeing incredible sacrifice by the Ukrainian people,” he went on. Asked by a reporter whether the Biden administration should ask Americans to temporarily work from home to ease the gas crisis, Jeffries replied, “Everything should be on the table” and suggested the private sector consider the idea. “To the extent that corporate America, American businesses, as was the case during World War II, see themselves as part of the effort to ease the sacrifices that may be required here, I think that would be a positive development for the country,” he said. Fox News Digital reached out to a Jeffries spokesperson before publication. Energy Secretary Chris Wright has voiced optimism that gas prices will fall following the end of hostilities with Iran while conceding that Americans are experiencing “discomfort” in the short term. “I’m avoiding price predictions,” Wright told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday. “Gasoline and diesel prices are up, and they’ll remain up while this conflict is in place, and then they will come back down. And ultimately they’ll come back down lower than they were before.” “Ending Iran’s nuclear program, that is massively positive for the flow of energy,” Wright said. “Meaning more energy will flow in the future, meaning lower energy prices for Americans and the rest of the world.”
Alabama’s congressional map hinges on US Supreme Court
Alabama’s Republican Gov. Kay Ivey signed legislation Friday that would demand the governor call special primary elections for impacted U.S. House districts if the Supreme Court allows the state to utilize district lines its legislature approved in 2023 but has been blocked from using. The governor also signed similar legislation pertaining to state Senate districts approved in 2021. “With this special session successfully behind us, Alabama now stands ready to quickly act, should the courts issue favorable rulings in our ongoing redistricting cases,” Ivey said in a statement. “I thank the Legislature for answering my call to address the issue in fast order. I am grateful to Speaker Ledbetter and Pro Tem Gudger for their strong leadership and focus this week. Alabama knows our state, our people and our districts best.” GOP SPEAKER CLAPS BACK AFTER BOOKER STUMPS AGAINST BID TO ERADICATE RED STATE’S DEMOCRAT-HELD DISTRICTS A federal court on Friday denied an emergency motion for a stay in the congressional redistricting case. “Quite simply, we do not have the authority to issue an order that upends Alabama’s status quo, especially in the middle of an election, while our injunction establishing that status quo is well under review in the nation’s highest court,” the order declared. SEN TOMMY TUBERVILLE, MORGAN MURPHY: REPUBLICANS MUST WIN THE MAP WAR ONCE AND FOR ALL The state is pressing the U.S. Supreme Court to take action to allow it to utilize the 2023 congressional map. “I will continue to fight for Alabama to be able to use the congressional map the people’s elected representatives enacted,” state Attorney General Steve Marshall said Friday. TRUMP CRITICIZES 2 SUPREME COURT JUSTICES BY NAME OVER TARIFF RULING “Alabama drew a map based on lawful policy goals, not race, and the Supreme Court’s recent ruling vindicates that approach. We were punished for doing the right thing, and we are asking the Court to correct that now,” the official noted.
Trump accuses Schumer of trying to ‘interfere in our elections’ with latest strategy
The partisan battle over midterm elections is heating up in Washington, D.C., with accusations flying that both sides are trying to rig the outcome in November. Republicans are trying to hold on to their majority in both chambers, while Democrats are trying to pounce on sluggish legislating, infighting and rising costs in their quest to take over the House, Senate or both. And President Donald Trump is already accusing Democrats of election interference months before Election Day. SCHUMER, DEMS LAUNCH ‘FREE AND FAIR’ ELECTIONS TASK FORCE AS TRUMP’S SAVE AMERICA ACT STUMBLES “The Democrats are totally unhinged, and we will not allow them to threaten the integrity of our Elections,” Trump said on Truth Social. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Democrats recently launched a “free and fair elections task force” that would recruit the likes of former Attorney General Eric Holder and Marc Elias, who Trump charged was “a terrible lawyer with a horrible track record.” “Palestinian Chuck Schumer is hiring Eric Holder, famous for handing guns to Mexican cartels under the Barack Hussein Obama administration, as part of a Democrat-led ‘Election Integrity Group’ that will no doubt try to suppress Republican voters, and interfere in our Elections,” Trump said on Truth Social. Schumer and Senate Democrats debuted the elections task force as Republicans struggle to move forward on voter ID and citizenship verification legislation, and on the heels of the Supreme Court’s redistricting decision that is expected to further crank up the redistricting arms race across the country. REPUBLICANS FAIL TO ATTACH SAVE AMERICA ACT TO PARTY-LINE FUNDING PACKAGE “Donald Trump and the Republicans realize that if the election were held fairly, that the likelihood is that they would lose, and we would win, that we would take back the House, take back the Senate,” Schumer said. “So they are doing all kinds of nefarious things, some of them legal, some of them not so legal, to try and overturn a fair result in an election,” he continued. Schumer described the task force’s mission as seeking out “election threats,” including actions at the administrative level by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS), attacks on the First Amendment, foreign threats and militarization of law enforcement at the polls. Trump countered that in the 2024 election cycle, Republicans mounted an “Election Integrity Army in every single State to preserve the sanctity of each legal vote.” “We will be doing the same again in 2026, but it will be much bigger and stronger,” Trump said. “All Americans should have their voices be heard by casting a vote. Be assured this Election will be fair!” Its inception is in response to what Democrats say is a “comprehensive effort” by Trump and his administration to undermine the upcoming election, particularly through efforts to pass the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act. TWO DOZEN HOUSE REPUBLICANS GO TO WAR WITH SENATE GOP OVER SAVE AMERICA ACT Trump has strongly pushed Republicans to pass the SAVE America Act, which would create federal voter ID laws, require proof of citizenship to register to vote and share information on voter rolls with DHS. Democrats say the legislation would disenfranchise millions of Americans. But Republicans aren’t unified behind the legislation. The SAVE America Act, or a version of it pushed by Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., failed last month when four Republicans joined Democrats to kill it. He has also called on Republicans to nationalize elections, and DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin didn’t rule out sending federal immigration agents to polling places in the fall during his confirmation hearing earlier this year. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt earlier this year pushed back against whether Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents would head to the polls come November, and said “that’s not something I’ve ever heard the president consider.” “I haven’t heard the president discuss any formal plans to put ICE outside of polling locations,” Leavitt said. It’s part of what Democrats charge is a concerted effort to tip the scales in the upcoming elections. “Donald Trump doesn’t think he did too much in 2020 to steal the election,” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said. “He thinks he did too little, and so that’s why you are seeing, already, a comprehensive effort to try to rig and steal the fall election.”
Former Dem gov in hot seat for ‘complete failure’ in ‘INSANE’ early release of thousands of inmates
Democratic Senate candidate and former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper is being ripped as a “complete failure” after hundreds of inmates released under his administration as part of a COVID-era agreement were rearrested on new charges within two years. This comes as Cooper is locked in a heated Senate race with Republican Michael Whatley that could help determine which party controls the chamber. A spokesperson for Cooper’s campaign dismissed the criticisms as “blatant lies from Republicans,” pointing to how the former governor fought the releases in court. The spokesperson also said thousands of prisoners were released during the first Trump administration due to COVID-19. A Fox News Digital review of data from the North Carolina Sentencing and Policy Advisory Commission found that more than 560 inmates released during the Cooper administration went on to be arrested on charges of new offenses within two years of their release. The agreement resulted in the release of 3,500 inmates over a 180-day period from February to August 2021. Among those released was Tyrell Brace, who was later charged with first-degree murder in the killing of young father Elante Thompson in Charlotte. Brace previously pleaded guilty to assault by strangulation and assault inflicting serious injury and also had felony larceny and breaking-and-entering convictions. North Carolina Department of Public Safety Adult Correction records indicate Brace was released months earlier than originally scheduled. CHARLOTTE RAIL MURDER SUSPECT LINKED TO INMATE RELEASE APPROVED UNDER EX-DEM GOVERNOR, GOP ALLEGES Another released inmate, Daron Owens, went on to be sentenced in federal court to 10 years in prison for possession of a firearm by a felon stemming from a drive-by shooting months after his release that left a victim with gunshot wounds. Owens was released a month early. Cooper’s Senate opponent, Republican Michael Whatley, ripped into him, posting on X that “Roy Cooper was a complete failure at keeping our communities safe.” “Victims’ families deserve answers,” he continued, adding, “Why did Roy Cooper allow these dangerous criminals back on our streets?” The mass release stemmed from a 2020 lawsuit filed by the North Carolina NAACP, ACLU and other groups, which argued that crowded prison conditions during the pandemic put inmates at unconstitutional risk. The plaintiffs initially pushed for the release of thousands more inmates. But the state ultimately settled the case in early 2021, agreeing to reduce the prison population through expanded early releases, parole reviews and other measures, resulting in about 3,500 inmates being released. The move has been criticized by Republicans as one of the largest mass prisoner releases in the country. At the time, Cooper’s administration emphasized that the releases would focus on nonviolent offenders, though officials later acknowledged that individuals convicted of violent crimes were also included. Court records show some inmates released during the period had extensive felony histories, including crimes involving assault, sexual offenses, kidnapping and offenses against children. Data reviewed by Fox News Digital found that from a sample group of 1,180 prisoners, 48%, 566, were later arrested on charges of new offenses. From the sample group, 20% have been convicted. Besides Brace and Owens, another individual released was Jimmie Speight, who was convicted of indecent liberty with a child and failure to register as a sex offender and was released just under nine months early. In 2023, he was sentenced to more than 32 years in prison for second-degree murder. Another, Kyshuan Norrell, who was convicted of manslaughter, was also released and has since been sentenced to life in prison for first-degree murder. TRUMP SAYS DEMOCRATS HAVE ‘BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS’ AFTER DEADLY CHARLOTTE TRAIN STABBING Whatley campaign spokesperson DJ Griffin drilled into the former governor over these releases, telling Fox News Digital that “Roy Cooper has blood on his hands.” Griffin posited that Cooper’s “dangerous decision to release thousands of convicted felons during COVID has resulted in the deaths of 19 North Carolinians.” “Now, victims’ families say he is solely to blame for these deaths. All while Cooper refuses to take any responsibility for his actions,” said Griffin. The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) also piled on Cooper, calling the releases “INSANE,” in an X post, adding, “Roy Cooper must answer for this.” Bernadette Breslin, a national press secretary for the NRSC, told Fox News Digital that the agreement amounted to the Democrat having “aided and abetted the release of thousands of violent criminals onto North Carolina’s streets,” adding, “Cooper’s soft-on-crime policies are too dangerous for North Carolina families.” In response, a spokesperson for Cooper’s campaign dismissed the criticisms, telling Fox News Digital that “these blatant lies from Republicans have been fact-checked for months and found to be false.” The spokesperson said that “after Roy fought against these releases in court, North Carolina law enforcement officials and parole officers looked to similar criteria President Trump used a year prior when his administration released thousands of federal prisoners due to COVID-19.” CHARLOTTE TEEN ARRESTED 111 TIMES IN 2 YEARS STILL WALKING FREE IN SOFT-ON-CRIME BLUE CITY: POLICE “Keeping the public safe is Roy Cooper’s top priority, which is why he refused to commute sentences when outside groups asked him to during the pandemic,” the spokesperson continued. They added, “While Roy spent his career putting rapists and violent criminals behind bars, Michael Whatley spent his appointing a convicted child sex predator who served time in prison for multiple counts of felony child sex crimes to a powerful position within the North Carolina Republican Party.” Harvey West Jr., a registered sex offender who served prison time for child sex crimes, later held leadership and committee roles within the North Carolina GOP during Whatley’s tenure as chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party. Whatley has said that West “was elected on his own,” according to the Washington Examiner. This comes as North Carolina leaders have faced scrutiny for high-profile murders, such as the killing of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska. Republicans have alleged that the man charged with Zarutska’s murder, Decarlos Dejuan Brown Jr., may have been one of the inmates released under the COVID
House Freedom Caucus vows ‘gloves are coming off’ as FISA deadline looms
Conservative House Republicans are escalating a fight over government surveillance as Congress reopens debate this week on a controversial warrantless spying program. Members of the House Freedom Caucus are pledging to hold firm on adding a permanent ban on central bank digital currency (CBDC) to any legislation that reauthorizes Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). But the proposal faces widespread opposition from Senate Democrats and is viewed as dead on arrival in the upper chamber. The cross-chamber standoff threatens to complicate Congress’ ability to meet a mid-June deadline to renew the spy law, which the Trump administration argues is a critical national security tool. “If the Senate thinks they’re going to keep rolling over us, it’s just not going to happen,” Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said at a news conference in late April, referring to the Senate’s opposition to including a CBDC ban in a FISA renewal bill. SPEAKER JOHNSON ONE STEP CLOSER TO RENEWING CONTROVERSIAL SPY PROGRAM AFTER CONSERVATIVES FALL IN LINE Both chambers in April approved a 45-day FISA extension to allow for more time for negotiations. House GOP privacy hawks objected to the short-term measure, citing its omission of a CBDC ban. “CBDC can still make it across the finish line. Let’s just push on,” the Texas Republican added. “The Senate will respond to the people if they push hard enough. I’m positive on it.” GOP privacy hawks argue a CBDC ban is a critical privacy guardrail against the Federal Reserve issuing a digital currency that could be used to surveil and potentially cut access to Americans’ financial transactions. “They don’t want the government monitoring their bank accounts, telling them what they can buy, when they can buy it and when they’re not allowed to buy,” Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., said at a news conference, referring to his constituents’ concerns about a government-issued digital token. The group has repeatedly sought to add a CBDC ban to various legislation over the past year, but has not yet been able to get a permanent ban on President Donald Trump’s desk. During his confirmation hearing, Federal Reserve chair nominee Kevin Warsh said he would not issue a CBDC during his term, calling the proposal a “bad policy choice.” HOUSE GOP SLAMMED BY CONSERVATIVES FOR JOINING DEMS ON CONTROVERSIAL ‘KILL SWITCH’ AMENDMENT The push to ban CBDCs is part of a broader effort by conservative Republicans to ramp up their fight against government surveillance. “Americans don’t want Big Brother in their cars, their bank accounts, or their homes,” a spokesperson for the conservative House Freedom Caucus told Fox News Digital. “The gloves are coming off before FISA expires on June 12.” Roy, the HFC’s policy chief, is pushing to repeal a Biden-era provision requiring a federal agency to draft a rule mandating impaired driver technology in new cars that could shut off vehicles if drunk driving is detected. The federal government has not yet moved forward with drafting the “kill switch” regulation. “Do you really want to put that kind of data collection mandated inside every car? At what point is there just literally no privacy at all anywhere?” Roy said during a hearing in late April in support of adding a “kill switch” repeal amendment to FISA extension legislation. GOP privacy hawks have also advocated for language that would add a judicial warrant requirement to the FISA renewal bill. While the law targets foreigners overseas using U.S. platforms, their communications with Americans can also be swept up and reviewed. Privacy advocates in the Democratic Party have also long pushed for a warrant requirement to gather information on Americans. The Trump administration initially sought a clean 18-month extension of the spy law, but quickly ran into problems with a mix of conservative and progressive privacy hawks. “We’re not going to pass something that’s a long-term, clean reauthorization,” Roy said. “I think that’s been taken off the table. We’ve demonstrated that, and we’re going to get reforms.”