Pakistan’s nefarious designs failed: ISI terror module unearthed, historic temple, eatery, military camp in Delhi were on target
The information surfaced during the interrogation of nine alleged module operatives arrested by the Delhi Police Special Cell from several states as part of ‘Gang Bust Operation 2.0’, according to sources.
BJP’s First Bengal CM: Suvendu Adhikari, Dilip Ghosh among top contenders, 2 deputy CMs on cards
BJP is expected to finalise the Chief Minister, cabinet ministers and two Deputy Chief Ministers ahead of a grand swearing-in ceremony in Kolkata.
In parched Texas, a state fund to boost water projects falls almost $3 billion short of demand
Ten water projects received initial approval to split $1.28 billion in state money this year, but 13 others didn’t make the cut — including one that may supply drought-stricken Corpus Christi.
Texas’ 35th Congressional District primary runoffs: Who is running and what to know
Two Democrats and two Republicans advanced to May runoffs for the open San Antonio-area seat, which was drawn to favor the GOP yet is considered winnable for Democrats in a wave year.
By threatening public safety grants, Greg Abbott exerts control over Texas cities
The governor’s threats have produced quick wins on hot-button issues important to the GOP base – immigration and perceived threats posed by Islam.
US intel community agreed before war ‘Iran wasn’t developing a nuclear weapon’: ex-counterterrorism chief
Former National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent asserted in a post on X that prior to the start of the Iran war, the U.S. intelligence community agreed that the Islamic Republic was not developing a nuclear weapon. “One of the many tragedies of this war is that before the war began the U.S. Intel Community, including CIA, was in agreement that Iran wasn’t developing a nuclear weapon & that Iran would target U.S. bases in the region & shut down the Strait of Hormuz if they were attacked by Israel & the U.S.,” Kent wrote in a post on Thursday. “The IC also properly assessed that targeting the Iranian leadership would strengthen the regime and embolden the hardliners. Despite the professionalism & accuracy of the IC, the narrative & agenda spun by a foreign government- Israel, won the argument & forced us into this war,” he continued. EX-COUNTERTERRORISM CHIEF SAYS TRUMP MUST RESTRAIN ISRAEL BEFORE HE CAN DECLARE VICTORY IN IRAN “We need to understand exactly how this happened to ensure we are never put in this position again,” he concluded. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House on Friday for a response to Kent’s comments. Kent resigned from the National Counterterrorism Center director role back in March. WHAT ISRAEL WANTS FROM AN IRAN PEACE DEAL: NO ENRICHMENT, MISSILE LIMITS AND STRICT ENFORCEMENT “I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran,” he wrote in his resignation letter. “Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.” In an April Truth Social post, President Donald Trump slapped down the notion that Israel convinced him to enter the war against Iran. TRUMP PUSHES BACK AGAINST PUNDITS, SAYS ISRAEL DID NOT TALK HIM INTO THE IRAN WAR “Israel never talked me into the war with Iran, the results of Oct. 7th, added to my lifelong opinion that IRAN CAN NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON, did,” the president wrote in part of the post, referring to the heinous Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack perpetrated against Israel.
California county finds nearly 600 unopened ballots months after Newsom-backed redistricting measure passed
Nearly 600 unopened ballots were discovered in a California county months after voters approved a statewide Democratic redistricting measure, with local election officials admitting they failed voters. The Humboldt County Office of Elections said in a Wednesday press release that the 596 sealed but uncounted ballots did not impact the outcome of the Nov. 4 statewide special election, which centered on Proposition 50, a redistricting ballot measure pushed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democrats. The ballots were found Monday inside a locked drop box, prompting county officials to say they had not been tampered with because the box was locked, and the ballots remained sealed. Officials said the error stemmed from a miscommunication over whether the drop box had been fully emptied before certification. “While the mistake occurred after an election worker did not follow proper procedures, the responsibility for what happened ultimately sits with me. I did not have strong enough controls in place to prevent this, but we do now,” Humboldt County Clerk-Recorder and Registrar of Voters Juan Pablo Cervantes said in the news release. “We have taken corrective action and already updated our protocols. A new lock out, tag out procedure has been implemented for every ballot drop box to ensure each box is physically verified as empty and secured before election results are finalized.” SUPREME COURT SHUTS DOWN CALIFORNIA GOP BID TO BLOCK NEWSOM’S NEW MAP While the ballots will not change the outcome of the November election, Humboldt County officials said they are still endeavoring to ensure all ballots get counted, apologizing to voters that they “fell short” of their duties. “I promise you that we are taking this seriously,” Cervantes added. “We will strengthen our processes and continue pushing toward the standard our community expects and deserves.” Proposition 50, championed by Newsom and California Democrats, allowed the state to temporarily use legislature-drawn congressional maps for the 2026, 2028 and 2030 elections instead of maps created by California’s independent redistricting commission. REDISTRICTING BATTLES BREWING ACROSS THE COUNTRY AS PARTIES COMPETE FOR POWER AHEAD OF 2026 MIDTERMS The measure came amid a national mid-decade redistricting fight, with Newsom and California Democrats arguing the state needed to counter GOP-led map changes in states such as Texas. California’s normal redistricting process is handled by an independent commission, but Prop 50 created a temporary voter-approved exception allowing the state to use legislature-drawn congressional maps through 2030. After the Supreme Court last week narrowed Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act in a Louisiana redistricting case, a ruling that could open the door for Republican-led states to pursue new maps that undercut Democratic redistricting gains in California and potential gains in states such as Virginia, California Democrats have faced pressure to consider going even further in response. However, The Los Angeles Times reported Thursday that despite this urging for additional action, even after voters approved Prop 50, California Democrats have no intention of making an attempt to redraw the maps again before the midterms. California Democratic Party Chair Rusty Hicks pointed out Democrats need to win the seats created under the state’s existing Prop 50 map they redrew last year. “We have yet to fully win the seats in the map that was drawn in 2025. It seems a step too far to say we’re going to go back to the drawing board and redraw the map,” Hicks said, according to The Los Angeles Times. “You all should pick up some seats. Let’s all do this together, because California cannot do it alone, it will take the rest of the country,” Hicks added, referring to pressure on Democratic-led states to counter Republican redistricting efforts nationwide.
Top Dem legal boogeymen tee up ‘battle royale’ in red state’s redistricting crusade
Democrat-aligned legal heavyweights moved swiftly this week to block Florida’s congressional map after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the redistricting plan into law on Monday, setting up new high-stakes court fights following the Supreme Court’s landmark Voting Rights Act decision clearing the way for red states to reconfigure their lines. Prominent election lawyer Marc Elias and vocal anti-Trump lawyer Norm Eisen were among those spearheading a trio of lawsuits challenging the map, designed to give Republicans four new seats on President Donald Trump’s home turf. Elias is best known for leading high-profile election lawsuits on behalf of Democrats, while Eisen led House Democrats’ first impeachment probe into Trump. One conservative election expert said their new lawsuits might be successful in state court. “If they can delay, even if they eventually get the injunction overturned, by then it’ll probably be too late for these new districts to be put in place,” Hans von Spakovsky, senior legal fellow at Advancing American Freedom, told Fox News Digital. DESANTIS SIGNS FLORIDA REDISTRICTING MAP TO POTENTIALLY FLIP 4 HOUSE SEATS RED The fast-moving litigation, brought in Leon County, alleges that the 24-4 map violated a unique provision of the state constitution called the Fair Districts Amendment, which bans partisan gerrymandering. The Supreme Court’s decision involving Louisiana’s map found that congressional lines should not typically be drawn based on racial demographics. DeSantis has signaled that the decision bolstered Florida’s mid-cycle redistricting plan. The Democrat-led lawsuits in Florida, meanwhile, were unable to make race-based claims because of the high court ruling, von Spakovsky said, noting the legal challenges all rested on claims that the newly drawn districts were unfairly crafted to suit Republicans’ political needs. “I think they’re going to have a battle royale in court,” von Spakovsky predicted. “All of the different groups that filed these Common Cause, the League of Women Voters, all of them talk to each other, and they don’t work in isolation, and I can tell you, the reason they filed three different lawsuits is that they’re hoping they’ll get at least one of the three judges to issue an injunction, even if they ultimately lose the case,” von Spakovsky said. “The whole point of these lawsuits is to impose delay.” Republicans are up against the clock to defend the map as Florida’s candidate qualifying period begins in early June, while the state’s congressional primaries are scheduled for Aug. 18. A spokesperson for Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd told Fox News Digital the office could not comment on pending litigation. MEDIA OUTRAGE OVER SUPREME COURT’S VOTING RIGHTS ACT DECISION COLLIDES WITH REALITY One of the lawsuits was brought by Eisen and others on behalf of voting rights groups including Common Cause and the League of Women Voters. Another was brought by Elias on behalf of the Equal Ground Education Fund and several individual Florida voters, and the third was brought by the Campaign Legal Center and the UCLA Voting Rights Project. Florida is among several red, southern states hoping to rework their maps in time for the midterms. The stakes in Florida, an increasingly red state where Trump lives when not in D.C., are highest with four seats up for grabs, while Tennessee is aiming to break up its one Memphis-based majority-Black district and Alabama has only two Democratic-leaning districts. When reached for comment, a spokesman for Elias pointed to his firm’s statement calling Florida’s map “one of the most extreme partisan gerrymanders ever recorded.” “This new map would have one of the largest pro-Republican skews ever recorded,” the statement read, noting that Florida voters “sent a clear message” when they approved the state constitutional amendment banning partisan gerrymandering in 2010. The lawsuits in Florida also come against the backdrop of a broader pre-existing war over mid-cycle redistricting that began with California and Texas. The Supreme Court has greenlit both states’ maps, which gave five new seats to Democrats and Republicans, respectively. In Virginia, Democrats secured a 10-1 advantage in a state that typically leans slightly blue. The state Supreme Court is now examining that map after Republicans alleged in multiple lawsuits that a ballot measure approving the map originated from an illegal special legislative session and that the ballot language was deceiving. BLOCKBUSTER SUPREME COURT VOTING RIGHTS RULING IGNITES REDISTRICTING WAR ACROSS SOUTHERN STATES Asked about his redistricting efforts and whether it was a coordinated effort to reverse DeSantis’ plan, Eisen told Fox News Digital DeSantis improperly leveraged the 6-3 Supreme Court decision. The high court’s decision came down on April 29, and DeSantis signed into law the state-legislature-approved map the following Monday, May 4. “Gov. DeSantis has used the excuse of [Louisiana v. Callais], really within hours of that decision coming down from the Roberts court, to do a plainly partisan redistricting in Florida,” Eisen said. “We and the coalition of civil rights and democracy groups and clients have filed a lawsuit to stop that. We cannot see the Callais decision, which itself is wrong, being further abused to drive additional illegal behavior.” DeSantis told Fox & Friends the Supreme Court ruling supported Florida’s new congressional lines both because they dismantled an illegal racial gerrymander and because they reflected population growth. “We actually had a racial gerrymander that the Supreme Court just said is unconstitutional,” DeSantis said. “I knew that was going to happen, so we called the special session back in January for April. … The other thing is, the Florida today is not the same Florida of 2020. We’ve netted two million people. … It does reflect that we have had explosive growth in parts of our state.” Fox News Digital reached out to DeSantis’ office for comment, as well as lawyers for the Campaign Legal Center.
Tennessee approves map dismantling majority-Black district
NewsFeed Tennessee has approved a new congressional map that breaks apart a majority-Black district centred on Memphis, triggering protests inside the state Capitol and accusations of racial gerrymandering. The move could help Republicans strengthen their narrow majority in the US House ahead of November’s midterm elections. Published On 8 May 20268 May 2026 Click here to share on social media share-nodes Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)
The Palestinian shot dead hours before his son was born
NewsFeed Nayef Samaro, 26, left work in Nablus to run errands for his wife, who was hours away from delivering their first son by C-section. He was excited, despite the Israeli army raiding his city. An Israeli soldier shot Nayef in the head, leaving him to bleed out in the street. He never saw his son. Published On 8 May 20268 May 2026 Click here to share on social media share-nodes Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)