GOP senator reveals why Trump’s ‘complete and total endorsement’ will be crucial for his midterm race
Ohio GOP Sen. Jon Husted, who was sworn in as a Senator less than three months ago, spoke to Fox News Digital about receiving the “complete and total” endorsement of President Donald Trump to run again next year. “When Governor DeWine appointed me to the U.S. Senate, I promised that if I took the job, that I would run to keep the job and then this week, President Trump really gave me a big boost when he announced on True Social that he was endorsing me, that I had his complete and total endorsement,” Husted, who was recently appointed to replace now-Vice President JD Vance in the U.S. Senate, told Fox News Digital. “He said a lot of really kind things about me,” Husted continued. “And that was a great boost to the work that we’re going to do, because President Trump has been the decisive factor in the last two U.S. Senate races in Ohio.” Husted must run again next year in a special election to earn the right to serve out the rest of Vance’s term, which runs through 2028. LAWMAKERS REVEAL WHETHER AMERICANS SHOULD PICK UP THE MEDICAID TAB FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS Trump’s endorsement of Vance was widely considered the moment that put him over the top when he won the Ohio Senate seat in 2022. Trump’s endorsement was also a key factor in GOP Sen. Bernie Moreno’s toppling of longtime Dem. Sen. Sherrod Brown in November. “President Trump has won Ohio three times, and I’ve been a candidate and won statewide four times,” Husted said. “So the combination of my work and President Trump’s endorsement is a big boost to my election prospects.” Husted told Fox News Digital that “a lot’s happened” since he was sworn into office. ‘BORN LEADER’: OHIO GOVERNOR NOMINATES FORMER LEGENDARY COLLEGE FOOTBALL COACH AS LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR “I’ve never worked in Washington, but this is really a record pace for the U.S. Senate in getting a president’s confirmations done,” Husted said. “We’ve also got the reconciliation package through both the House and the Senate, which is gonna set forth the process for getting President Trump’s agenda accomplished on preserving tax cuts for working families and small businesses, towards securing the border and deporting illegal immigrant criminals.” “All of those things are important priorities of the presidents, and we’ve leaned in hard. We’ve spent sometimes into the weekends working to get that agenda accomplished, so President Trump and the Republican team could be successful. And that’s my introduction to the U.S. Senate, and I look forward to continuing to serve.” It is unclear who Husted will be running against in next year’s election, although some have speculated that Brown, who was defeated by Moreno in November, could be interested. Husted told Fox News Digital he is not “worried” about who his opponent will be in a race that will be closely watched given the 53-47 GOP majority in the Senate. “I just take care of my own work and what that means is spending time with the people of the state of Ohio, going to Washington, getting my work done there, and delivering on the promise of the America first agenda which means securing our border, installing common sense values, making sure that men aren’t playing women’s sports, and invading their locker rooms,” Husted said. “It’s also focused on the economy, doing Made in America, because you can’t do Made in America without Made in Ohio, because we are the heart of it all. We make the things that people need to live and thrive. And if you can put all those things together, a great campaign, work hard, deliver on the policies, that’s good politics and that will result in an election victory.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Trump posted on Truth Social last week that Husted is a “wonderful man” that is “doing an incredible job.” “Jon Husted has my Complete and Total Endorsement — HE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN!” Husted spoke to Fox News Digital about what he hopes he and the GOP Senate will continue to accomplish in the next 100 days, which includes the president’s tax package, balancing the budget, restoring fiscal sanity and adding some “predictability” to the tax code. “I also want to bring my own game to the Senate by showing people the work that we did in regulatory reform in Ohio,” Husted said. “We eliminated 5 million of 17 million words in the Ohio regulatory code. I want to do that for America. I wanna use the AI tools that we used in Ohio to do regulatory reform at the nation’s capital. If you looked at the federal regulatory code, it would be 35 feet tall if it were a book, and it would take you over three years to read. I wanna cut that down. I wanna make the regulatory code make sense to people so that average Americans can actually use it and understand it. And that will unleash the American spirit of entrepreneurship, save people time and money.”
Key Trump agency facing ‘unprecedented backlog’ inherited from Biden admin
The Department of Transportation (DOT) is working through a backlog of roughly 3,200 grant awards that did not have signed agreements to go with them, which Secretary Sean Duffy said was inherited from when former Secretary Pete Buttigieg oversaw the department. “Since coming into office, my team has discovered an unprecedented backlog of grants leftover from the previous administration,” Duffy revealed a couple of weeks ago in a statement. Most recently, one of these backlogged grants was the Washington Bridge in Rhode Island, which has been closed since 2023 on its westbound side until proper repairs are made, according to the Rhode Island state government. DUFFY SLAMS MTA OVER ‘FACT CHECK’ ON ANTI-ISRAEL MOB’S GRAND CENTRAL TAKEOVER “This backlog, along with ridiculous DEI and Green New Deal requirements, prevented real infrastructure from being built and funded. Under the Trump Administration, we’ve ripped out this red tape and are getting back to what matters,” Duffy said. “As part of our work to deliver real results, we are pleased to announce $221 million in grants for Rhode Island’s Washington Bridge — a critical link that carries thousands of vehicles a day.” A DOT spokesperson told Fox News Digital on background that the backlog totals $43 billion and that 1,000 grant winners were selected by the Biden administration after Trump won but before then-President Joe Biden left office, which made up for $9 billion of the total needing to be made official. However, the department said that “nothing was done to actually get these grant agreements signed and sent to projects.” The DOT further noted that they are “quickly reviewing” the grants and looking at “executive grant agreements” when it comes to major infrastructure projects like roads and bridges. I USED TO LOVE AMTRAK, BUT NOW I REALIZE IT NEEDS DOGE When it comes to the grant awards for roads and bridges, Duffy noted in an April 10 Cabinet meeting with President Donald Trump that “most of them are good” but said that while the Biden administration announced the grants, many of those agreements did not end up getting signed and dealt with. Duffy also reiterated that the projects also had “green and social justice requirements.” “Take it out,” Trump said. “We’re pulling all that out and putting the money toward the infrastructure and not the social movement from the last administration,” the secretary responded. ZERO-EMISSIONS HYDROGEN-ELECTRIC JET DISRUPTS CONVENTIONAL FLIGHTS “Good steel, as opposed to green paper mache,” the president quipped to laughs in the room. The Trump administration has been adamant overall about scrutinizing federal funds that were doled out through grants, especially if they were believed to have ideological strings attached. Shortly after Duffy’s confirmation, he scrapped the DOT Equity Council and other “environmental justice” related measures. The DOT has also notably placed the California high-speed rail project under federal investigation for its funds, as the cost of the project continues to rise, as critics of the project say little results have emerged so far.
ICE using Social Security records to aid Trump push to deport illegal immigrants
The Social Security Administration (SSA) has become the latest government agency to join President Donald Trump’s deportation push, showing the president’s whole-of-government approach to keeping a key campaign promise. “This is the Trump administration using every tool it has in its toolbox to crack down on illegal immigration,” Tom Jones, the executive director of the American Accountability Foundation, told Fox News Digital. The comments come as the SSA sifts through the hundreds of thousands of immigrants who are in the country under “temporary parole” status that was granted during the Biden administration and allowed those migrants to have Social Security numbers in order to work. FLORIDA’S LARGEST VENEZUELAN STRONGHOLD POISED TO JOIN FORCES WITH ICE: REPORT Trump administration officials claim that more than 6,300 of those people are on the FBI terrorist watch list or have FBI criminal records, according to a report from Axios. The SSA began moving the names of those migrants on the terrorist watch list to its “Death Master File,” its current database of dead people, the report notes, adding that the agency has since moved those names to the “Ineligible Master File.” The move to tap the SSA comes as Trump has used every resource at his disposal to continue his deportation push, coming after the president used military forces to help secure the border and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to begin cross-checking information for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE). But not everyone has been fully on board with Trump’s aggressive push, with the IRS and ICE partnerships leading to the resignation of IRS Acting Commissioner Melanie Krause last week. BLUE STATE SHERIFFS COMBINE FORCES TO FIGHT BACK AGAINST SANCTUARY LAWS Similar scenarios could play out at the SSA, with some of the agency’s staff expressing concern over the data-sharing agreement. “Some agency staff have since checked the names and Social Security numbers of some of the youngest immigrants against data the agency typically uses to search for criminal history and found no evidence of crimes or law enforcement interactions,” some staffers told the Washington Post. Jones believes the defections are an example of why Trump’s shakeup of the federal workforce is long overdue. “The fact that IRS leadership resigned over cooperating with ICE shows exactly why there needs to be a concerned effort to ensure that the federal workforce is composed of leaders who are willing to implement the president’s agenda,” Jones said. “For every three senior officials who resign, there are dozens of civil servants below the radar screen who are in place and still able to obstruct the president’s agenda.” Nevertheless, Jones expects Trump to continue using whatever resources possible to make good on his immigration agenda. “The Social Security Administration is just one example. I suspect we will also see places like OSHA, which has staff on job sites, using their inspectors to target illegal alien workers and the businesses that employ them,” Jones said. “This administration has been waiting years to deploy an aggressive America First playbook they built during four years in the wilderness.”
“The Valley matters to us”: Texas Democratic Party leader makes first pitch to reclaim South Texas
In 2024, President Donald Trump won all four counties in the Rio Grande Valley, once considered a reliable Democratic stronghold.
El Salvador’s Bukele after friendly White House meeting with Trump: ‘I miss you already, President T’
El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, who met with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday, tweeted on Monday night, “I miss you already, President T.” While seated next to Bukele in the Oval Office on Monday, Trump spoke highly of the foreign leader, saying that Salvadorans “have one hell of a president.” Bukele took note last week when Trump referred to him as “President B” in a Truth Social post. BUKELE SAYS TRUMP HAS 350 MILLION AMERICANS TO ‘LIBERATE’ BY ENDING CRIME, TERRORISM “President Bukele has graciously accepted into his Nation’s custody some of the most violent alien enemies of the World and, in particular, the United States,” Trump declared in that April 12 Truth Social post. “These barbarians are now in the sole custody of El Salvador, a proud and sovereign Nation, and their future is up to President B and his Government. They will never threaten or menace our Citizens again!” Bukele shared a screenshot of the post on X, drawing particular attention to Trump’s “President B” nickname for him. ‘UP TO EL SALVADOR’: TRUMP ADMIN PUNTS ON RETURN OF WRONGFULLY DEPORTED MARYLAND RESIDENT Trump noted on Monday that he would be interested in sending violent “homegrown criminals” to El Salvador, if that could be done legally. “Honored to join @POTUS in welcoming my friend President @nayibbukele to the United States,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a Monday post on X. TRUMP, OFFICIALS HAVE TENSE EXCHANGE WITH CNN REPORTER OVER DEPORTATION OF EL SALVADORAN NATIONAL CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Since my visit to El Salvador, the United States has deported dangerous MS13 and Tren de Aragua gang members to El Salvador’s prison. Because of this, our nation is safer and more secure. Our hemisphere is lucky to have two leaders who are totally aligned in their commitment to law and order,” Rubio noted.
First Mexico-born rep targets indictment-plagued Democrat in House GOP comeback bid
FIRST ON FOX: The first Mexico-born member of Congress is launching her comeback bid on Tuesday, setting her sights on a Democrat who Republicans view as one of the most vulnerable House incumbents of 2026. “Unfortunately, we don’t have that many voices in the Spanish-speaking community — in Telemundo, in television — talking to the Spanish-speaking community about the amazing work President Trump is doing, and his administration,” former Rep. Mayra Flores, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital in an interview prior to her announcement. “And that’s something that I feel I’m obligated to do, because there’s a lot of misinformation being spread from the left, and they’re trying to instill fear and hate in the Hispanic community.” Flores served in Congress for roughly six months, from late June 2022 until early January 2023, having flipped Texas’ 34th Congressional District from blue to red after winning a special election to replace ex-Rep. Filemon Vela Jr., D-Texas. WILL THIS BLUE STATE REPUBLICAN END THE GOP’S 20-YEAR LOSING STREAK IN HIS STATE? She lost re-election to Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas, twice, though their rematch saw Flores come within less than 3% of Gonzalez’s victory. Flores’ 2026 bid is aimed at challenging a different Democrat, however. The former GOP lawmaker told Fox News Digital that she intends to run in Texas’ Loredo-anchored 28th Congressional District, which is currently represented by Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas. Cuellar is a moderate known to break from his own party on issues like border security, crime and abortion. He’s served in Congress since 2005, with victories spanning from a few thousand votes to margins as high as 30%. LONGTIME HOUSE REPUBLICAN WEIGHS SENATE BID IN KEY BATTLEGROUND Cuellar most recently won last November by less than 6% – or roughly 13,000 votes – amid a federal indictment accusing him of an array of corruption charges. “It’s not about what Mayra Flores wants. It’s what this country needs me to do. And this country needs me to run in Texas 28 and win this seat,” Flores said. “This is a seat that can be flipped in 2026. Right now we need a much bigger majority. It makes it very difficult for President Trump to get anything across with such a small majority.” Flores said she was deeply familiar with the district and has familial ties to it. In addition to the seat being a viable opportunity for the GOP, she pointed to the criminal indictment as an argument for taking on Cuellar, and she noted he had been in office since she was a 1-year-old, having first served in the Texas State House in 1986. “At the end of the day, I don’t care what party he is, whether you’re a Republican or you’re a Democrat,” Flores said. “Being a member, it’s … a position where you can help so many people, and you are able to represent an entire district. And yet he threw it all away. And no amount of money is worth you doing that to your country.” Cuellar denied any wrongdoing on his or his wife’s part in a statement when the indictment was announced. “I want to be clear that both my wife and I are innocent of these allegations. Everything I have done in Congress has been to serve the people of South Texas,” Cuellar said in May 2024. “Before I took any action, I proactively sought legal advice from the House Ethics Committee, who gave me more than one written opinion, along with an additional opinion from a national law firm,” he said. “The actions I took in Congress were consistent with the actions of many of my colleagues and in the interest of the American people. Furthermore, we requested a meeting with the Washington D.C. prosecutors to explain the facts, and they refused to discuss the case with us or to hear our side.” Flores signaled she intended to focus heavily on the issues of agriculture and the economy when asked what she wanted to make another stint in Congress look like. “At the end of the day, you know, money’s important. Without money, you can’t have a shelter, you can’t have a car, you can’t provide for your children. So the economy is a top priority for me,” Flores said. “And of course, agriculture is a passion of mine. I was a farmworker. My parents were migrant workers. We traveled a lot. I believe our farmworkers need to be prioritized.” She compared her push on agriculture to the Republican stance on U.S. energy independence. “We talk about being independent, right, on oil and gas, which I agree, 100%. But we need to be food-independent as well,” Flores said.
Millions displaced as Sudan war enters third year
As Sudan’s civil war enters its third year, the conflict between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has displaced approximately 13 million people, according to the United Nations. “The conflict has provoked the displacement of 13 million people, including 8.6 million internally displaced people and 3.8 million refugees,” said Abdourahouf Gnon-Konde of the UN Refugee Agency in an interview with AFP. Since the war erupted on April 15, 2023, it has killed tens of thousands, pushed parts of Sudan into famine, and fractured the country into territories controlled by rival factions. The stakes are particularly high in Darfur, where the RSF launched a new offensive last week to capture el-Fasher – the last key city in the vast western region still under army control. The assault began on Thursday and continued until Sunday morning, targeting el-Fasher and nearby displacement camps, including Zamzam and Abou Shouk, both of which have been severely affected by famine. The UN, quoting “credible sources”, reported that more than 400 people have been killed in the latest violence. Advertisement By Sunday, RSF forces claimed control over Zamzam. Since then, about 400,000 people have been displaced from the camp, according to the UN’s International Organization for Migration. Doctors Without Borders, known by its French initials MSF, reported that approximately 10,000 people fled to Tawila, nearly 70km (40 miles) west of el-Fasher, within 48 hours to escape shelling. The war has divided Sudan, with the army holding the north and east, while the RSF controls much of Darfur and, with its allies, parts of the south. Germany’s foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, described the conflict as “the greatest humanitarian catastrophe of our time”, highlighting the widespread destruction, starvation, and sexual violence. “Entire regions have been destroyed, hundreds of thousands of families are fleeing, millions of people are starving, and women and children are being subjected to the most horrific sexual violence,” she added. Baerbock’s remarks came before an international conference in London on Tuesday to discuss the war’s devastating effect. Mirjana Spoljaric, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, stated that civilians in Sudan are “trapped in a relentless nightmare of death and destruction” after two years of war. A UN fact-finding mission warned that “the darkest chapters of this conflict have yet to unfold,” amid rising ethnic violence and reprisals across the country. “As Sudan enters into its third year of conflict, we must reflect on the catastrophic situation in Sudan and honour the lives of all Sudanese who have been lost or changed forever,” said Mohamed Chande Othman, chair of the mission. Advertisement Adblock test (Why?)
Amnesty International launches Hong Kong office overseas
Amnesty International Hong Kong Overseas will be led by Hong Kong activists operating from different countries. Amnesty International has relaunched its Hong Kong office “in exile”, more than three years after the rights group shut its operation in the Chinese financial hub citing risks from sweeping national security legislation. The Chinese government has tightened its grip on Hong Kong after massive and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests in 2019, cracking down on political dissent with scores of activists, political opposition and journalists arrested, jailed or forced to flee. Amnesty said in a statement on Tuesday that the new office, Amnesty International Hong Kong Overseas (AIHKO), will be led by Hong Kong activists operating from several countries, including Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States. The AFP news agency reported that it is registered in Switzerland. Chi-man Luk, the AIHKO’s executive director, hailed the opening of the new office as “a new chapter” in Amnesty’s “commitment to human rights in Hong Kong” and its support for the Hong Kong diaspora. Amnesty had closed its two offices in Hong Kong in 2021, saying at the time that the security law “made it effectively impossible” for rights groups to work freely. Advertisement Chinese and Hong Kong authorities say the national security law – which punishes subversion, collusion with foreign forces and terrorism with up to life in prison – has brought stability to the Chinese-controlled territory since the 2019 protests. Officials also insist the legislation balances security with safeguarding the rights and freedoms of Hong Kong residents. Amnesty’s secretary-general, Agnes Callamard, said its new section demonstrates “our commitment to defending human rights no matter the challenges we face”. Fernando Cheung, a former Hong Kong lawmaker who joined as a board member, said top priorities include raising awareness on “prisoners of conscience” and transnational repression. “It is clear that Hong Kong’s human rights situation has continued to worsen,” said Cheung, citing the jailing of a social worker last week over a police-protester clash in 2019. As of April, Hong Kong has arrested 322 people and convicted 163 of them under two security laws – one imposed by Beijing, and another homegrown law enacted last year. Police have also issued rewards on 19 overseas pro-democracy activists. On Sunday, members of the city’s Democratic Party voted to dissolve the party that was once the city’s stalwart opposition force. Adblock test (Why?)
Russia’s Putin open to Ukraine peace deal: US envoy
Russian President Vladimir Putin is open to a “permanent peace” deal with Ukraine, United States special envoy Steve Witkoff has said. President Donald Trump’s envoy made the claim in a TV interview late on Monday, following “compelling” talks with Putin in Saint Petersburg last week. However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that agreeing terms on a deal is “not easy”, while Ukraine and its European allies have called on Washington not to be deceived by Moscow’s delay tactics regarding a ceasefire. “I think we might be on the verge of something that would be very, very important for the world at large,” Witkoff told Fox News in an interview following his meeting with the Russian leader on Friday, acknowledging that “it took a while for us to get to this place” but that he saw a deal “emerging” after five hours of talks. He also noted a potential to “reshape” the Russian-United States relationship through “commercial opportunities” that would bring stability to the region. Advertisement Friday’s meeting was the third between Russia and the US since Trump returned to the White House in January, claiming he could solve the conflict within 24 hours. Despite the flurry of diplomacy, there has been little meaningful progress on achieving a ceasefire, despite Ukraine agreeing to US proposals. Russia, however, has offered no key concessions, while continuing to bombard its neighbour. On Sunday, it launched one of the deadliest attacks of the war on the Ukrainian city of Sumy – a move Trump called a “mistake”, without elaborating. Both sides have accused each other of breaching a US-brokered agreement to pause attacks on each other’s energy facilities. Blame game Despite Witkoff’s optimistic report, Lavrov said in an interview with the Kommersant newspaper published on Monday that it is “not easy” to agree on “key components” of a peace deal. He did, however, concede that the Trump administration is trying to understand the “root cause” of the conflict, which he said was triggered by “the actions of Washington and Brussels” in having “brought the current regime to power in Ukraine”. Trump, who has alarmed Ukraine by taking on many points of Russia’s agenda regarding the war, supported that viewpoint on Monday as he told reporters that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and former US President Joe Biden were responsible for starting the conflict, alongside Putin, whose forces invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Trump said there were “millions of people dead because of three people”. Advertisement “Let’s say Putin number one, but let’s say Biden, who had no idea what the hell he was doing, number two, and Zelenskyy,” he said, going on to dismiss the Ukrainian leader’s attempts to defend his country by obtaining missiles. “When you start a war, you got to know that you can win the war,” Trump said. “You don’t start a war against somebody that’s 20 times your size, and then hope that people give you some missiles.” ‘Mocking your goodwill’ Relations between Trump and Zelenskyy have been tense since the US president stunned the world by opening talks with Russia in February – a move critics say gave the Kremlin an edge on terms. Negotiations on a deal that would give the US priority access to lucrative minerals in Ukraine got off to a rocky start after Trump and Zelenskyy had a blazing argument in the Oval Office six weeks ago. Ukraine has been alarmed by its omission from the talks between the US and Russia. “Please, before any kind of decisions, any kind of forms of negotiations, come to see people, civilians, warriors, hospitals, churches, children destroyed or dead,” Zelenskyy said in an interview for CBS’s 60 Minutes programme broadcast on Sunday. Meanwhile, Kyiv’s European allies have urged Trump and his team not to be taken in by Russia’s delay tactics in the ceasefire talks. Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said on Monday that he hoped that, following the attack on Sumy, Trump and his administration would see that Putin was “mocking their goodwill”. Adblock test (Why?)
Kerala Lottery Results 2025 LIVE UPDATES: Sthree Sakthi SS 463 Tuesday April 15 TODAY; first prize winner is…
The department of Kerala State Lotteries publishes the lottery in 12 series, and the series can change. Every week, 108 lakh tickets were made available for purchase.