‘Only Punjab can stop BJP’s attempt to break democracy’: Harpal Singh Cheema ahead of AAP meet With President Murmu
Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema alleged the BJP is attempting to break and attack the country’s democracy, and stated that only Punjab can stop it.
Civil rights groups sue to stop Texas immigration law
Senate Bill 4, scheduled to take effect next week, lets Texas police arrest people suspected of illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.
“Classic unfunded mandate”: San Antonio school districts reveal costs of new seat belt requirements
Texas wants all school buses to have 3-point seat belts by 2029-30. But the price tag is high for local districts also facing budget challenges.
Nearly 96,000 students receiving Texas school voucher award notices
Families have until July 15 to opt in to the education savings accounts, or ESAs, which launches next school year.
Texas leads nation in utility shutoffs as electric bills rise, federal report finds
The state accounted for more than 3 million of the 13.4 million disconnections that occurred in the U.S. in 2024, the highest total in the country.
Civil rights groups file lawsuit seeking to block Texas law allowing cops to arrest illegal migrants
A coalition of civil rights groups filed a new lawsuit on Monday seeking to halt parts of a Texas law that would allow police officers in the Lone Star State to arrest migrants suspected of crossing into the U.S. across the U.S.-Mexico border illegally. The law is set to take effect next week after a federal appeals court vacated a lower court ruling last week that had prevented its enforcement since 2024. In that ruling, he appeals court vacated an injunction that had blocked the law, finding that the plaintiffs did not have standing to sue. Senate Bill 4 established a state-level crime for entering the country illegally and authorized state magistrates to order certain individuals to leave the country if they are convicted. Courts have long maintained that immigration enforcement has historically been treated as the responsibility of the federal government, but Texas Republicans attempted to challenge that precedent when they approved S.B. 4. TEXAS BILL REQUIRING SHERIFFS TO COLLABORATE WITH ICE GIVEN INITIAL APPROVAL BY STATE HOUSE The Texas Civil Rights Project, American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Texas argued that the law is unconstitutional, noting that immigration law is exclusively the responsibility of the federal government and that federal law should preempt the state law. The groups are attempting to block four provisions of S.B. 4 — the creation of a crime for re-entering the country illegally, even if a person has since obtained legal status such as a green card; granting state magistrates authority to issue deportation orders; the creation of a crime for failing to comply with a magistrate’s deportation orders; and the requirement that magistrates continue a prosecution even if a person has a pending immigration case under federal law, such as an asylum claim. “Our fight against S.B. 4 isn’t over until justice wins,” Kate Gibson Kumar, an attorney at the Texas Civil Rights Project, said in a statement. “S.B. 4 is not only unconstitutional, but a vile law that uses our Texas resources to harm communities across our state. The Texas Civil Rights Project will keep fighting to protect Texas communities from the wrath of S.B. 4.” Cody Wofsy, deputy director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, argued that S.B. 4 is “cruel and illegal,” adding that the groups “will keep fighting it until it is permanently struck down.” “Every court to have reached the merits of laws like S.B. 4 has found them to be unconstitutional,” he said. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. The law is scheduled to go into effect on May 15 unless another court takes action. “S.B. 4 would transform our police and judges into immigration agents — threatening neighbors who have families here, who have lived here for years, even those who have legal status,” said Adriana Piñon, legal director at the ACLU of Texas. “Immigration enforcement is exclusively the federal government’s arena, and no state has ever claimed the power Texas threatens to wield here. We are taking this back to court to defend our Texas communities.” TRUMP DOJ DROPS BIDEN-ERA CHALLENGE TO TEXAS BORDER SECURITY LAW Monday’s lawsuit is the latest legal challenge to the Texas law, which was passed by state lawmakers amid an uptick in migrant crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border during the Biden administration. Another lawsuit had been led by some of the same advocacy groups that filed Monday’s challenge. The Biden administration also initially sought to halt the law in 2024 before the Trump administration terminated the Department of Justice’s involvement in the lawsuit last year as part of the president’s mass deportation agenda.
Rudy Giuliani’s primary care provider gives update on his condition
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is breathing on his own after being taken off a ventilator, his doctor said, adding he has “9 lives” following a dramatic turnaround from a dire condition. Dr. Maria Ryan told Fox News correspondent Danamarie McNicholl that Giuliani began feeling ill after returning from a trip to Paris, with his breathing deteriorating to the point that he required hospitalization and was placed on a ventilator. Ryan said his condition turned critical, prompting a priest to be called to his bedside to perform last rites. By Tuesday, however, his condition had improved enough for doctors to remove him from the ventilator. He is now breathing independently and able to speak, though he remains in critical but stable condition. RUDY GIULIANI HELD IN CONTEMPT OF COURT IN 2020 ELECTION DEFAMATION CASE “He’s a fighter — the way he was yesterday in such a critical condition, he did have a priest come anoint him,” Ryan told Fox News. “And all the prayers from around — it’s like a miracle. This guy’s got 9 lives, today he’s doing much better.” Ryan said she expects Giuliani to make a full recovery. A spokesperson for Giuliani also pointed to his health history following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, when he was exposed to debris while responding at Ground Zero, later leading to a diagnosis of restrictive airway disease. BERNARD KERIK, FORMER NEW YORK POLICE COMMISSIONER AND 9/11 FIGURE, DIES AT 69 In a video shared on X, Ted Goodman said Giuliani is now “breathing on his own” and remains in “critical but stable condition.” “Mayor Rudy Giuliani is the ultimate fighter,” Goodman said. The update comes after Giuliani was hospitalized with severe breathing issues, prompting concern about his condition. His team had previously said he was in critical but stable condition. RUDY GIULIANI HOSPITALIZED IN CRITICAL BUT STABLE CONDITION: “HE’S FIGHTING” Giuliani, 81, has faced a number of health challenges in recent years but has remained active in public life. He previously made headlines after being seriously injured in a car crash in New Hampshire in August 2025. Authorities said the vehicle he was riding in was struck from behind on Interstate 93 in Manchester, leaving him with a fractured thoracic vertebrae, multiple lacerations and other injuries. Despite those setbacks, Giuliani returned to work and continued to appear publicly in the months that followed. Ryan said the latest improvement marks a turning point in his recovery, though doctors will continue to monitor his condition closely in the coming days. Fox News Digital’s Charles Creitz contributed to this report.
Video shows Dem candidate dodging Trump violence question as campaign issues response
New Jersey Democratic congressional candidate Rebecca Bennett walked away from questions about political violence against President Donald Trump in a video circulating online, as a person with her repeatedly told the questioner to “get a life.” The video was shared by the Libs of TikTok account and shows a man approaching Bennett and asking whether she condemns attempts to harm the president. Bennett does not respond and continues walking as a woman accompanying her addresses the questioner. “Excuse me, Mrs. Bennett, do you think that people should stop trying to kill the president?” the man is heard asking. As he continues, the woman accompanying Bennett can be heard attempting to drown him out by singing. REPUBLICANS CRITICIZE DEM CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE’S ’86 47′ POST AS CALL FOR ‘POLITICAL VIOLENCE’ “Oh my God. Dude, get a life. Get a life, dude,” the person says in the video. Bennett is then seen walking away and heading toward a vehicle, partially obscured at times by a blue sign, as the questioning continues. Bennett’s campaign told Fox News Digital that she “has and always will condemn political violence against President Trump.” PATRICIA HEATON URGES ‘FRIENDS ON THE LEFT’ TO TONE DOWN EXTREME RHETORIC AFTER WHCD SHOOTING The campaign also pointed to a post Bennett shared on X on April 26. “Last night’s attack at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner was an act of political violence, and I condemn it unequivocally,” Bennett wrote. “Political violence has no place in our democracy.” “I’m grateful to the Secret Service agents and law enforcement officers who responded with extraordinary courage, who acted immediately to neutralize the threat,” she added. “Their bravery kept hundreds of people safe last night, and I’m relieved that everyone went home to their families.” DEM IN TRUMP DISTRICT RACE SCRUBS SOCIAL MEDIA OF POSTS PRAISING PROGRESSIVES: ‘SCAM ARTIST’ “My thoughts are with everyone who was at the dinner last night.” The Navy veteran and current member of the Air National Guard made news last year as a Democrat running for Congress who positioned herself as a moderate in a bid to unseat sitting Republican Thomas Kean Jr. in a pro-Trump district. A Fox News Digital review of Bennett’s X account — created in July 2011 and converted from @BigRedBecks to @RebeccaForNJ07 — shows several deleted posts that appear to diverge from that “moderate” label, including praise for progressive Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren. “Love her,” Bennett wrote in a now-deleted post about Warren in 2019. Bennett also deleted posts praising former Vice President Kamala Harris after she was announced as then-former Vice President Joe Biden’s running mate in 2020. During the civil unrest that followed the death of George Floyd in 2020, Bennett wrote in a now-deleted post that she agreed with a comment from former Obama campaign strategist David Plouffe calling for investigations into law enforcement responses. Fox News Digital’s Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.
Florida GOP candidate reveals why ‘amazing’ fundraising haul and key Trump moves suggest midterm ‘optimism’
Scott Singer, the former Republican mayor of Boca Raton and a candidate for Congress in Florida, is touting a significant campaign fundraising haul while outlining to Fox News Digital the reasons why he believes there is reason for optimism for the GOP in November. Singer’s first-quarter fundraising numbers in the 2026 cycle showed him significantly outraising incumbent Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., by a nearly 3-to-1 margin, along with slightly more cash on hand, despite being a first-time candidate. As a result of Florida’s new redistricting push, Singer recently announced he will be running in the redrawn 25th congressional district, and it is unclear which district Moskowitz will decide to run in, but Singer tells Fox News Digital he is “very pleased” with the financial support he’s gotten from almost 3,600 contributors “We’re very pleased that we had an amazing fundraising quarter, one of the best of any Republican challenger in the nation,” Singer said. “I think it’s going well because people are really enthused about our candidacy. I think people are ready for change. They’re upset with the progress of Congress.” GOP LAWMAKER RALLIES AROUND TRUMP’S TAX-CUT CAMPAIGN AS COMPETITIVE 2026 HOUSE RACE LOOMS: ‘BIG ISSUE’ With most pundits predicting a tough time for Republicans in the upcoming midterms as they attempt to hold a razor-thin majority in the House and tight majority in the Senate along with historical headwinds, Singer says he sees “great reason for optimism” as he campaigns in his race. “We have a strong economy, the strongest we’ve had in years, record growth in GDP inflation before the latest blip, which is temporary because of the Iran conflict,” Singer explained. “Inflation was at the lowest level we had for years and voters understand that it was the one unchecked runaway inflation under President Biden that put us in this situation.” VOTERS SAY REPUBLICANS OUTDO DEMOCRATS ON THESE KEY ISSUES: FOX NEWS POLL Singer continued, “President Trump and the administration have done so much to bring prices down across the board, and cutting regulations will continue to do that. The biggest tax cut in American history is reaching American taxpayers right now, with huge refunds going to individuals and the average refund for 12 million small businesses of $7,000 and that was done with every Democrat in Congress voting against it.” Singer told Fox News Digital the GOP is now the “party of the middle” class thanks to tax-cutting policies for tips and overtime, and said he believes those “real benefits” will continue to take effect over the next year. “I think people are going to be more optimistic,” Singer said. “If you look at so many objective indicators and not the panic that some media outlets put out there, things are great and when you interview voters and ask them about policies, they lean more to the right. They support the Republican agenda. That’s why I feel very optimistic, and I think other candidates, if we focus on the agenda and less on what the media would have us buy into comments about personality, it really affects what we’re doing on paychecks and what we are doing on the border.” Republicans currently hold a razor-thin majority in the U.S. House of Representatives heading into the 2026 midterms, one of the narrowest controlling margins in nearly a century, with Democrats widely believed to be holding an edge, especially given the party in power historically sees losses in midterm elections. Aggressive redistricting by both parties in states across the country has complicated the situation even further. Democrats have been hammering President Trump and the Republican Party on high gas prices and the economy, and a spokesperson for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee pushed back on the Republican agenda in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Florida Republicans knew they couldn’t win on their cost-raising, billionaire-first, wildly unpopular agenda that’s crushing working families and small businesses, which is why they’re desperate to gerrymander the maps and rig the midterms,” DCCC spokesperson Nebeyatt Betre said. “Any Republican who claims the GOP’s price-spiking policies are popular only proves the fact they have no idea what voters are feeling right now.”
GOP challenger Joe Kaufman to run in Florida’s 25th district; will face either Moskowitz or Wasserman Schultz
Joe Kaufman knows what it’s like to lose a close race in a historically Democratic District. In fact, in the 2024 election cycle, Kaufman ran in the closest congressional race in the state, narrowly losing in the 23rd district to incumbent Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., a two-term congressman who has sought to build a moderate profile. Florida has just completed its redistricting process, and this time around, Kaufman is confident that he can win, despite the Republicans facing headwinds. Kaufman confirmed to Fox News Digital that in 2026, he will be running in the new 25th district. Former Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer will also be running in the 25th district in the GOP primary. Moskowitz said on Monday that if he runs, it will be in the 25th District, while it appears that incumbent Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., who would be seeking her 12th term in Congress, is also weighing running in the same district. DEMOCRAT PRAISES STEVE SCALISE FOR QUICK ACTION DURING WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS’ DINNER SHOOTING Kaufman brings a battle-tested strategy and message to the race, on the heels of his near-victory in 2024: “Yes, we had 48% of the vote. It was the closest race in all of Florida and the highest percentage of any Republican to ever run for that seat. But back then, I got in very late in the game and this time around our numbers are much better, and we’ve been able to form those coalitions that we needed to last time. We’ve done that now, and I will win this seat this time.” Kaufman bills himself as a “terrorist hunter” and brings strong foreign policy credentials to the table. “I do counter-terrorism research, writing and lectures.” He says he’s been involved in “the shutdown of terrorist charities and the imprisonment of terror-related individuals. Recently, I led the shutdown of a pro-Hamas conference that was to take place in Coral Springs, and the organizers, including CAIR and the South Florida Muslim Federation, they were upset, so they sued me and the Marriott Corporation in federal court. They sued us not once, but twice and I’m proud to say that we won not once, but twice.” “He says in regard to foreign policy, “I’ve been very involved these past few years in what’s been taking place. 17 years ago, I was honored to co-found a group called Cyrus Force with his majesty, Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, who we believe is going to be soon to be a future leader of Iran.” Despite being a foreign policy hawk, Kaufman is opposed to putting troops on the ground in Iran. “No, I don’t support ground troops, at least not from the United States. I don’t want to see what took place in wars past happen here with seeing Americans come back in body bags. I feel the same way about our friends in Israel. “But there are third parties that want to get involved, and I say, give them the green light to do so. So, if there’s any ground troops…they shouldn’t be from America or Israel. It should be from these third parties.” Kaufman is a strong advocate for vocational training in high school, and a critic of the Affordable Care Act. “Well, for one thing, I support putting vocational training in all of the high schools in America. And it’s a project I want to initiate as a congressman. Too many kids today are staying home with their parents after they graduate high school. They need to have real job skills so they could make money, get out of their parents’ homes, be able to have their own families, and eventually, purchase their own house of their own. “Also, I don’t like the Affordable Care Act. It was never affordable. It’s been taking hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies, thanks to the Democrats. And I think we need a new health care system that costs the American government less and costs the American taxpayer less and better quality. And I think we could have that without Obamacare.” OBAMACARE PREMIUMS SET TO SPIKE AGAIN AS BIDEN ADMINISTRATION FACES 2026 RATE HIKE PRESSURE Historically, the party of the incumbent president loses seats in midterm elections the vast majority of the time. In what is widely believed to be a difficult year ahead for Republicans, Kaufman acknowledges the current engagement in Iran and the lingering effects of Biden-era inflation as challenges. “Well, a lot of it has to do with the war overseas, but I believe that that’s going to be short term. I think that’s, that’s going to end soon. Also, with regards to inflation, we’re still dealing with the Biden years where Joe Biden initiated very heavy inflation for our country. “And thank you, President Trump, for doing the things that would bring inflation down. So I’m looking forward to low inflation, better affordability and very soon an end to the war, and results overseas that allow us to have peace in the Middle East and more peace in world.” Kaufman says the Democratic Party is fundamentally broken, and Republicans can win on messaging in 2026. “Well, the Democrats, they’ve allowed people, an untold amount of people, to cross our borders, some of which have been terrorists and members of terror cells. They’ve hurt the values in the United States. They’ve destroyed our healthcare system with an Affordable Care Act that was never affordable. They’ve done everything possible to destroy our nation, and we need to make that change.”