Justice Alito says he spoke with Trump about former clerk before hush-money filing to high court
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito confirmed to Fox News Wednesday that he spoke with President-elect Donald Trump the day before Trump’s high court appearance but said they did not discuss an emergency application the former president’s legal team planned to file to delay the sentencing. Alito told Fox News’ Shannon Bream he was asked if he would accept a call from Trump regarding a position that his former clerk, William Levi, is being considered for, and praised Levi’s “outstanding resume.” “William Levi, one of my former law clerks, asked me to take a call from President-elect Trump regarding his qualifications to serve in a government position. I agreed to discuss this matter with President-elect Trump, and he called me yesterday afternoon,” said Alito. JUDGE DENIES TRUMP MOTION TO STOP NY CRIMINAL CASE SENTENCING Alito said he did not speak with Trump about the emergency application, nor was he “even aware at the time of our conversation that such an application would be filed.” “We also did not discuss any other matter that is pending or might in the future come before the Supreme Court or any past Supreme Court decisions involving the President-elect,” Alito said. Alito told Fox News that he is often asked to give recommendations to potential employers for former clerks and that it was common practice. Levi once served in the Justice Department during the President-elect’s first term and also clerked for Alito from 2011 to 2012. TRUMP SAYS NEWSOM IS TO ‘BLAME’ FOR ‘APOCALYPTIC’ WILDFIRES Alito, speaking to Trump the day before Trump’s appearance in high court regarding his New York hush-money case, is causing some to call him out, saying the conversation was an “unmistakable breach of protocol.” “No person, no matter who they are, should engage in out-of-court communication with a judge or justice who’s considering that person’s case,” Gabe Roth, executive director of the nonpartisan group Fix the Court, said in a statement. Alito said he was unaware there was an emergency request being readied by the Trump legal team with respect to the New York State case, and there was no discussion of it. He confirmed to Fox News that the call was solely about Levi, and that there was no discussion of any matter involving a Trump legal issue – past, present or future. He also said there was no discussion of any issue before the Court or potentially coming before the Court. ABC News was the first to report the Trump-Alito call.
Hyderabad gets its luxury sleeping pods at railway station, check facilities, expected prices
These pods are no ordinary sleeping beds, they are complete with features that we use and need on everyday basis like wifi, air-conditioning, charging ports, lights, and more.
Newsom calls Trump’s claims ‘pure fiction’ after president-elect points finger over California fire tragedy
Gov. Gavin Newsom is firing back at President-elect Donald Trump for comments he made Wednesday about the response to deadly wildfires currently devastating Southern California. Trump spoke with reporters after attending meetings Wednesday on Capitol Hill and accused Newsom of not “[doing] a good job,” but noted they “worked well together” and would again when he takes office later this month. “It’s very sad because I’ve been trying to get Gavin Newsom to allow water to come – you’d have tremendous water up there, they send it out from the Pacific – because they’re trying to protect a tiny little fish,” Trump said. “For the sake of a smelt, they have no water… It’s a mistake of the governor, and you could say, the administration.” Newsom’s press office released a statement on social media following Trump’s remarks saying there was a reason for not using the pumps. PALISADES FIRE: HEIDI MONTAG, SPENCER PRATT LOSE HOME; CELEBRITIES FLEE RITZY NEIGHBORHOOD “LADWP said that because of the high water demand, pump stations at lower elevations did not have enough pressure refill tanks at higher elevations, and the ongoing fire hampered the ability of crews to access the pumps,” Newsom’s press office wrote on X. His office added that the city used water tenders to supply water, which is a common tactic in wildland firefighting. Newsom’s office also dismissed claims there is a water shortage. “Broadly speaking, there is no water shortage in Southern California right now, despite Trump’s claims that he would open some imaginary spigot,” Newsom’s office said. The office posted a number of quotes from California officials saying water reliability and water supply are stable. One of the comments said there was enough water to supply 40 million people for a year. PACIFIC PALISADES INFERNO FORCES THOUSANDS TO FLEE CALIFORNIA HOMES; GOV. NEWSOM DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY Earlier in the afternoon, Trump accused Newsom of refusing to sign a water restoration declaration and criticized him for the low fire containment. “Let this serve, and be emblematic, of the gross incompetence and mismanagement of the Biden/Newscum Duo. January 20th cannot come fast enough!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. Newsom’s office said there was no such thing as a water restoration declaration. They also noted that the supply and transport of water are unrelated. “Trump is conflating two entirely unrelated things: the conveyance of water to Southern California and supply from local storage,” according to the post. “And again, there is no such document as the water restoration declaration – this is pure fiction.” Still, Trump was not done with his criticism of Newsom. In a scathing late-night post on Truth Social, Trump said the wildfires were “all his fault!!!” Trump also called on Newsom to resign. “One of the best and most beautiful parts of the United States of America is burning down to the ground,” Trump wrote. “It’s ashes, and Gavin Newscum should resign. This is all his fault!!!” In an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper earlier on Wednesday, Newsom was asked in general about Trump blaming him for the wildfire disaster. “One can’t even respond to it. I mean… you know, people are literally fleeing. People have lost their lives. Kids lost their schools. Families completely torn apart. Churches burned down,” Newsom told Cooper. “This guy wanted to politicize it. I have a lot of thoughts, and I know what I want to say – I won‘t.” Newsom went on to praise President Biden, saying he “didn‘t play politics.” Biden visited a fire station Wednesday in Los Angeles alongside Newsom for a briefing from authorities on the raging wildfires. The California wildfires, which ignited Tuesday afternoon, have already forced more than 100,000 people to flee their homes. The Los Angeles area fires are threatening at least 28,000 structures. At least five people were killed. Newsom declared a state of emergency Tuesday after the Palisades fire grew to an unmanageable level.
This is one of India’s most expensive roads, also fastest and busiest, toll is Rs…
Constructed by the MSRDC, the Mumbai-Pune Expressway was the country’s first access-controlled road, and the travel time between two cities has been reduced from 3 hours to just 1 hour.
THIS train earns most for Indian Railways, not Shatabdi Express, Vande Bharat, it is…
The Indian Railway system collectively caters to millions of travelers throughout the year.
‘Stranger to child’: SC denies Atul Subhash’s mother custody of his minor son
A bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and N Kotiswar Singh said the issue of the child’s custody could be raised before the court conducting the trial.
Trump details strategy to get necessary votes with one-bill approach to border, taxes
President-elect Trump pointed to a strategic benefit of the one-bill approach to budget reconciliation that he’s said he prefers during a closed-door meeting with Republican senators on Wednesday evening at the Capitol. By combining legislation relating to both the southern border crisis and taxes into one reconciliation bill, Trump suggested that one issue could potentially force some lawmakers to make a difficult decision. For example, if a Republican doesn’t support a piece of the tax component, they would also have to vote against the border provisions because they are in one measure. SENATE DEMS TO JOIN REPUBLICANS TO ADVANCE ANTI-ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION BILL NAMED AFTER LAKEN RILEY With portions of Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act expiring this year, the party is looking to act quickly. But the tax debate in 2025 is expected to be more divided among Republicans than that regarding the border. In particular, there is some disagreement in the party on state and local tax (SALT) deductions, which can benefit some states more than others and have been hit by some Republicans as inefficient. “If somebody, for example, in the House is balking because there’s not SALT in the tax agreement or some other provision they want, if that also means they’d be holding out and voting against the border, it might make it harder for them to do so,” Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., told Fox News Digital. “That’s a very valid point.” While SALT was not posed as an example of this by Trump himself, it was mentioned by a GOP senator in a side conversation among other attendees as they went over the advantages of a one-bill approach, Hoeven said. BORDER STATE DEMOCRAT RUBEN GALLEGO BACKS GOP’S LAKEN RILEY ACT AHEAD OF SENATE VOTE A source familiar told Fox News that Republicans are preparing to go with Trump’s one-bill preference, but they are also keeping the potential for two bills, one on the border and another to address taxes, in their back pocket in the case of any significant obstacles. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told Trump that if one bill is what he wanted, that is what they are going to try first, the source said. A number of senators have their own preferences for two separate reconciliation bills instead, and some made their cases to Trump during the meeting. However, the conference is set to move forward with Trump’s one-bill approach. RFK JR. TO MEET WITH SLEW OF DEMS INCLUDING ELIZABETH WARREN, BERNIE SANDERS Greenland, Canada and the Panama Canal came up during the discussion following Trump’s remarks about each. Trump has recently said he wants U.S. to take back control of critical trade medium the Panama Canal, while also expressing interest in making Greenland and Canada part of the U.S. Sources familiar told Fox News that Trump brought these up himself during the meeting, telling senators at one point that these countries “were screwing with” the U.S. TRUMP, GOP SENATORS TO HUDDLE AT CAPITOL, WEIGH STRATEGY ON BUDGET, TAXES AND BORDER The senators believe his approach to Canada is already managing to change the country’s “behavior” and could have even contributed to the recent resignation of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the sources added.
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The IMD has predicted a “dense fog” for the city on Thursday, however, contrary visuals have emerged from the different parts of the city.
Tirupati stampede: Death toll rises to six; CM Naidu closely monitoring the situation
The incident occurred near Vishnu Niwasam close to the Tirumala Srivari Vaikuntha Dwara ticketing counter, during the distribution of ‘darshan’ tokens.
US Fed officials expected slower rate cuts in 2025, say December minutes
Minutes of the December meeting show a division on decision to cut rates and the 0.25 percent cut was a ‘close call’. United States Federal Reserve officials at their meeting December 17-18 expected to dial back the pace of interest rate cuts this year in the face of persistently elevated inflation and the threat of widespread tariffs and other potential policy changes. Minutes from the meeting, released on Wednesday after the typical three-week lag, also showed clear division among the Fed’s 19 policymakers. Some expressed support for keeping the central bank’s key rate unchanged, the minutes said. And a majority of the officials said the decision to cut rates was a close call. Ultimately, the Fed chose to cut its key rate by a quarter-point to about 4.3 percent. One official, Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack, dissented in favour of keeping rates unchanged. Still, there was widespread agreement that after reducing rates for three straight meetings, it was time to undertake a more deliberate approach to their key rate. Fewer rate cuts will likely mean that borrowing costs for consumers and businesses – including for homes, cars and credit cards – will remain elevated this year. Advertisement Policymakers said the Fed “was at or near the point at which it would be appropriate to slow the pace of policy easing”, the minutes said. In projections released after the meeting, Fed officials said they expect just two cuts next year, down from an earlier projection of four. Trump tariffs The minutes also showed that “almost all” Fed policymakers see a greater risk than before that inflation could stay higher than they expect, in part because inflation has lingered in several recent readings and because of “the likely effects of potential changes in trade and immigration policy”. The Fed’s staff economists considered the economy’s future path particularly uncertain at the December meeting, in part because of incoming President-elect Donald Trump’s administration’s “potential changes to trade, immigration, fiscal, and regulatory policies”, which the staff said are difficult to assess in terms of how they will impact the economy. As a result, they included several different scenarios for the economy’s future path in their presentation to policymakers. The staff projected that inflation this year would be about the same as in 2024 because they expected Trump’s proposed tariffs would keep inflation elevated. Stock markets plummeted after the Fed officials reduced their outlook for rate cuts last month. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said at a news conference after the meeting that the decision to reduce rates had been a “close call”. Powell also said that recent signs of stubborn inflation have caused many Fed officials to pare back their expectations for rate cuts. According to the Fed’s preferred measure, inflation ticked up to 2.4 percent in November, compared with a year ago, above the Fed’s 2 percent target. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, it was 2.8 percent. Advertisement In addition, some officials have started to consider the potential impact of Trump’s proposals, such as widespread tariffs, on the economy and inflation next year, the minutes said. Economists at Goldman Sachs, for example, have estimated that Trump’s tariff proposals could push inflation up by nearly a half-percentage point later this year. Earlier Wednesday, Fed governor Christopher Waller said that he still supported rate reductions this year, partly because he expects inflation to steadily head down to the Fed target. He also said he did not expect tariffs would worsen inflation and wouldn’t change his preference for lowering borrowing costs. In a question-and-answer session, Waller also said that he didn’t think Trump would ultimately impose the universal tariffs he promised in the campaign. Adblock test (Why?)