EAM Jaishankar sends thinly veiled message to Pakistan, flags concerns over terrorism, extremism at SCO meet
In his address at a conclave of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), S Jaishankar also asserted that cooperation must be based on mutual respect and sovereign equality and that it should recognise the territorial integrity and sovereignty of nations.
Akasa Air flight to Bengaluru gets bomb threat, returns to Delhi
The aircraft, carrying 184 passengers, was en route to Bengaluru, however, it returned to Delhi after receiving a bomb threat
7th Pay Commission: Good news for central government employees, Cabinet approves 3% hike on…
More than one crore central government employees as well as pensioners will get benefit from this
Early voting begins in Iowa, Kansas, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island
Five states join the rest of the country on Wednesday as they start the early voting process for the 2024 election. Iowa, Kansas, Nevada, Oregon and Rhode Island make a total of 49 states and Washington, D.C., that have begun early voting. Here’s how to cast a ballot in each state. WORKING CLASS WILL COME HOME TO HARRIS, RALLYGOERS IN POSTINDUSTRIAL PENNSYLVANIANS SAY Forever a battleground, reliably Democrat: That’s the story of Nevada’s presidential politics. The state has voted for every Democrat who has run for president since 1992, except the two elections with President Bush on the ballot. But the average margin across those eight elections is just 4.1 points. There are only six electoral votes at stake, but they could be crucial for either candidate. If Harris wins two of the battleground Rust Belt states but loses Pennsylvania, for example, then a combination of Nevada and North Carolina would make up for the deficit. Nevada is home to the “Reid Machine,” a voter turnout operation named after late Senate leader Harry Reid, that activates voters favorable to Democrats, especially Hispanic and unionized hospitality workers in the Las Vegas area. Those groups aren’t as overwhelmingly Democrat as they used to be. The party has shed 10 points worth of the Hispanic vote since 2020 and seven points of the non-college-educated vote. Voters backed a Republican for governor in 2022; that election came two years after the COVID-19 pandemic decimated the tourism industry. They held on to their Democrat senator. Republicans do well in the vast rural areas led by Lincoln County, where Trump won by 71 points in 2020, and the state’s northeastern counties. The battleground is Washoe County, home to Reno. Biden won there by 4.5 points in 2020, making it the state’s closest county. Nevada is a Toss Up in the Fox News Power Rankings. The Silver State also has a senate race on the ballot. Democrat Sen. Jacky Rosen seeks a second term in office but faces Republican Army veteran Sam Brown. The Senate race is ranked Lean D. Finally, Iowa voters start heading to the polls today. Once a hotly competitive state, it voted for Trump by eight points in 2020. Iowa is one of several states dominated by White working-class voters who flipped to Trump in his first run for office and have not gone back. A recent Des Moines Register survey showing Harris four points behind Trump raised eyebrows, but it would take an extraordinary night for Harris to flip this one. Voting also begins today in four battleground House districts. For a full list of competitive races, see the latest Senate and House rankings. This is a guide to registration and early voting. For comprehensive and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes and deadlines, please go to Vote.gov and the election website for Iowa. Iowa began absentee voting on Wednesday. Residents do not need to provide an excuse to receive a ballot. State officials must receive a ballot request by Oct. 21, and that ballot must be delivered to state officials by Nov. 5. PA TOWN ROILED BY TALK OF MIGRANT HOUSING IN CIVIL-WAR-ERA ORPHANAGE BUILDING Iowa offers early in-person voting beginning Oct. 16 and running through Nov. 4. Iowa residents can register to vote in person at any point during early voting or on Election Day. The deadline for online or mail registration is Oct. 21. This is a guide to registration and early voting. For comprehensive and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes and deadlines, please go to Vote.gov and the election website for Kansas. Kansas began absentee voting on Wednesday. Residents do not need to provide an excuse to receive a ballot. State officials must receive a ballot request by Oct. 29, and that ballot must be delivered to state officials by Nov. 5. PENNSYLVANIA LEADERS IN BOTH PARTIES TALK GROUND GAME AS GOP SEEKS TO UNDO MASSIVE GAINS Some Kansas counties offer early in-person voting beginning Oct. 16, but other counties start later. Check the state’s website for more information. Kansas residents must have registered to vote by Oct. 15. This is a guide to registration and early voting. For comprehensive and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes and deadlines, please go to Vote.gov and the election website for Nevada. Nevada began absentee voting on Wednesday. Residents do not need to provide an excuse to receive a ballot. State officials began actively sending absentee ballots to eligible voters on Wednesday, and that ballot must be delivered to state officials by Nov. 5. Nevada will begin early in-person voting on Oct. 19, and it will continue through Nov. 1. Nevada residents can register online through Election Day, and they can register in person from Oct. 19 to Nov. 1 or in person on Election Day. This is a guide to registration and early voting. For comprehensive and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes and deadlines, please go to Vote.gov and the election website for Oregon. Oregon began absentee voting on Wednesday. Residents do not need to provide an excuse to receive a ballot. State officials began actively sending absentee ballots to eligible voters on Wednesday, and that ballot must be delivered to state officials by Nov. 5. Oregon does not offer in-person early voting. Oregon residents must have registered to vote by Oct. 15. This is a guide to registration and early voting. For comprehensive and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes and deadlines, please go to Vote.gov and the election website for Rhode Island. Rhode Island began absentee voting on Wednesday. Residents do not need to provide an excuse to receive a ballot. Residents must request a ballot by Oct. 15, and that ballot must be delivered to state officials by Nov. 5. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Rhode Island begins early in-person voting on Wednesday, and it will continue through Nov. 4. Rhode Island can register to vote in person on election day or during early voting. The deadline for online or by-mail registration was Oct. 6.
Unearthed report reveals powerful Harris ally ‘willing to share’ resources from Black businesses with CCP
FIRST ON FOX: A powerful ally of Vice President Kamala Harris, who she has praised as an “extraordinary leader” who exhibits “courageous leadership,” met with multiple CCP officials during a business trip to China, where he vowed to “[spread] the voice of Black businesses,” Fox News Digital has learned. Ron Busby, who has visited the Biden-Harris White House dozens of times and is the longtime president of the U.S. Black Chambers, met with several CCP officials during a previously unreported trip to China, a Fox News Digital review found. Busby traveled to Beijing, Shanghai, and Xi’an for a 10-day trip as part of a delegation of New York government officials and business leaders, including then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s chief diversity officer Rose Rodriguez, who were dubbed the “New Majority Alliance.” The delegation’s trip in September 2017 was supported by the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in New York, a Chinese government entity in New York that serves as a mouthpiece for the CCP and was recently implicated in an unsealed indictment against a top former aide to New York’s Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul. The New York in China Center, which has offices in New York and Shanghai, was the official sponsor of the trip. HARRIS VP PICK SPENT YEARS PROMOTING RESEARCH FACILITY THAT COLLABORATED WITH ‘CHINESE MILITARY COMPANY’ John Wang, who was recently appointed in August by New York City’s Democrat Mayor Eric Adams and currently serves on the board of directors for the Empire State Development Board after being nominated in 2022 by Hochul, established the New York in China Center in 2008 to “handle [the Asian American Business Development’s] business in China, New York in China Center facilitates business, investment, technology and cultural exchanges between New York and China…,” the group’s website says. Busby’s Facebook profile is littered with photos from the trip, which included a “selfie” of him flying to China with the caption, “On the way to China. Spreading the voice of Black businesses around the globe.” Another photo shows Busby and the rest of the delegation sitting around a table with the CCP hammer and sickle emblem on a sign behind them on the wall. After the trip, Busby said in a Facebook post that the United States, Africa, and China “need each other for the new sustainability.” “Two weeks ago we were in China and we did a similar memorandum of understanding [MOU] with Chinese Chamber of Commerce,” Busby said during the 2017 Essence Festival Durban Business Conference. “[China understands] the importance of being on the continent obviously, but they also understand that there needs to be a relationship between the people on the continent, and they understand that African Americans have a natural relationship here, and so we [three] will work together to bring their resources that they have along with the ingenuity, creativity that we have in the United States, to bring that here. Collectively, all three continents can grow, and they’re very excited as well as we are.” A 2022 “BLACKprint” report released by Busby’s “U.S. Black Chambers” touted “Black entrepreneurs” getting access to “global business opportunities” and said they have “signed Memorandum of Understandings with business leaders in Durban, Morocco, and China.” HARRIS CAMPAIGN SILENT ON HOUSE BILL BANNING CONTRACTS WITH ‘CHINESE MILITARY COMPANY’ AMID WALZ TIES Archived pages on the New York in China Center’s website show dozens of photos from the trip, including 3 separate reports highlighting the delegation’s meetings with CCP officials. Busby told Chinese officials that the “[U.S. Black Chambers, Inc.] administered more than 100 chambers, and he is willing to share and communicate the resources with Xi’an in various fields,” according to the Xi’an report reviewed by Fox News Digital. Busby’s position as the president of the U.S. Black Chambers makes him an influential business leader not only in the Black community, but he has been able to leverage his position to participate in meetings with top U.S. government officials, including President Biden, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Vice President Harris, among others on behalf of his group. Harris “hosted an exclusive reception at her private residence” in July of this year to honor Black business leaders, according to a press release. The reception was in partnership with U.S. Black Chambers, Inc and featured Busby, who said the reception was a “powerful acknowledgment of the remarkable progress Black business leaders have achieved in shaping our nation’s economic landscape.” Months earlier, Harris and Busby were in Detroit, Michigan for an economic recovery event, where Harris called Busby an “extraordinary leader” who has exhibited “courageous leadership.” Harris, who called Busby her “Oakland brother” during another event in 2021, will likely face scrutiny over the China trip “The delegation will meet with government leaders and representatives of the business community in China to have discussions over the topics including Sino-US technological innovation, business development, friendship agreements and other projects,” a press release highlighting the 2017 trip said. The press release went on to say that this trip was an opportunity “to build communication channels and networks for Chinese companies who are looking for development in the United States.” The Xi’an report also said the delegation met with “Li Yuan, the Vice Mayor of Xi’an. Huang Xiaohua-the Vice Secretary-General of Xi’an Provincial People’s Government, Xing Xin-Director of Xi’an Investment Cooperation Committee, Cai Lanfang-Vice President of Xi’an People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and other representatives.” Busby’s participation in a delegation meeting with a representative of People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries is likely to face scrutiny due to the U.S. government’s repeated warnings about the group over the years. In 2020, then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo released a press statement warning it is a “Beijing-based organization tasked with co-opting subnational governments” that “has sought to directly and malignly influence state and local leaders to promote the PRC’s global agenda.” A 2022 report from the Biden administration’s Director of National Intelligence (DNI) also warned about the group and highlighted how U.S.-based Chinese consulates like the one sponsoring Busby’s
J-K: New CM Omar Abdullah optimistic about early restoration of statehood, says ‘have commitments from…’
Omar Abdullah took over as the first chief minister of J-K post abrogation of Article 370 and bifurcation of the erstwhile state into two Union territories. He had earlier ruled the erstwhile state from 2008 to 2014.
Maharashtra Assembly Election 2024: BJP asks CM Shinde to be willing to make ‘sacrifices’, seeks bigger share of seats
Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Wednesday said Chief Minister Eknath Shinde should be willing to make “sacrifices”, in terms of seat-sharing for the assembly polls, like the BJP has done to keep the alliance intact.
DA hike news: BIG Diwali gift for government employees, 4% dearness allowance hike announced in THIS state
The announcement has come at a time when central government employees are expecting a 3% DA increase
VP Harris to sit down hours from now with Bret Baier for first Fox News interview
Facing off against former President Trump in a margin-of-error showdown with less than three weeks to go until Election Day, Vice President Kamala Harris is stepping up her conversations with the media during the final stretch on the campaign. That effort ramps up a notch on Wednesday, as the vice president is scheduled to sit down in battleground Pennsylvania with Fox News chief political anchor Bret Baier for an interview that will run on “Special Report” at 6 p.m. ET. Harris will speak with Fox News following an afternoon campaign event in Bucks County, a crucial swing county in Philadelphia’s northern suburbs. Baier said the Democratic presidential nominee is expected to sit for approximately 25-30 minutes at around 5 p.m. ET, about an hour before “Special Report” airs live. HARRIS RAMPS UP OUTREACH TO BLACK MEN AS TRUMP MAKES GAINS “We are going to run it uninterrupted, unedited, all the way,” Baier said on the eve of the interview. The vice president’s first formal interview on Fox News will give her a chance to speak directly to viewers across the ideological spectrum who normally don’t watch the rival cable news networks CNN and MSNBC. “Special Report” is regularly among the most-watched programs on cable news, and the show’s Common Ground segment features political leaders from across the aisle discussing the issues of the day with the goal of finding compromise. “We have a lot of eyeballs. We have Democrats, independents and Republicans,” Baier said. “We have the biggest cable news audience. And this is probably going to get a lot more eyeballs. I think tough but fair is what I pitched it as. And I think that’s what they’re going to see.” CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS IN THE 2024 ELECTION Harris largely avoided interviews after replacing President Biden atop the Democrats’ 2024 ticket in mid-July. Her first formal sitdown interview – with CNN – didn’t occur until late August. But she has ramped up her media appearances in recent weeks, including interviews with CBS News’ “60 Minutes,” ABC’s “The View,” late night talk show host Stephen Colbert, radio personality Howard Stern, and numerous podcasts. Most of those encounters were perceived as friendly interviews. But the interview with Baier on Fox News may feed the perception that the vice president in the closing stretch of the campaign is open to facing tough questions. “She knows there are going to be hard questions. She can handle those,” seasoned Democratic strategist and communicator Chris Moyer told Fox News. “Going through that process and handling that, you’re kind of going behind enemy lines a little bit.” Moyer, a veteran of multiple Democratic presidential campaigns, argued that “doing well in that is a good boost for the campaign, and voters like to know that they’re going to elect somebody who can handle not just the friendly interviews.” Harris becomes the first Democratic presidential nominee in eight years to sit for an interview on Fox News – 2016 standard-bearer Hillary Clinton spoke with Chris Wallace. But leading Harris surrogates – including Govs. Gavin Newsom of California and Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg – have made high-profile appearances on Fox News this summer and autumn. And Democratic vice presidential nominee, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, was interviewed on “Fox News Sunday” the past two weekends. WHAT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLS IN THE 2024 ELECTION SHOW Aides to the Harris running mate reached out to Fox News to schedule his second appearance. “Folks deserve to hear where we stand on this. Vice President Harris and I have an agenda for, you know, a new way forward, a manufacturing agenda. I was just in Michigan this week. And I think folks are still undecided out there. And I appreciate you. You ask good, hard questions and your viewers get a chance to hear,” Walz told “Fox News Sunday” host Shannon Bream this past weekend. The Harris sitdown with Baier comes the same day that Fox News will run a townhall with Trump, with the former president fielding questions on issues such as abortion and child care from an all-female audience. The program, recorded on Tuesday in battleground Georgia, will air Wednesday at 11 a.m. ET on “The Faulkner Focus.” Fox News’ Brian Flood contributed to this report Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Trump to join Fox News’ Harris Faulkner at all-women town hall in battleground state
Former President Trump, the 2024 Republican presidential nominee, is joining Fox News’ Harris Faulkner in the battleground state of Georgia to speak with an all-female audience about issues that affect them most in a town hall event that will air Wednesday. The town hall will be filmed at a venue called the Reid Barn in Cumming, Georgia, on Tuesday and air on Wednesday at 11 a.m. ET on “The Faulkner Focus.” Ahead of the event, Faulkner underscored the importance of the female vote and for presidential candidates to have the opportunity to explain their platforms to the demographic. “Women constitute the largest group of registered and active voters in the United States, so it is paramount that female voters understand where the presidential candidates stand on the issues that matter to them most. I am looking forward to providing our viewers with an opportunity to learn more about where former President Trump stands on these topics,” Faulkner said in a Fox News press release. Georgia is once again a battleground state where both parties are vying for votes to help determine the election. Trump won the state in 2016 against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The state flipped blue in 2020, with now-President Biden winning the state by 0.23% over Trump. TRUMP MAKES PLAY FOR WOMEN’S VOTE, VOWS TO ENSURE ‘POWERFUL EXCEPTIONS’ FOR ABORTION Fox News polling from late last month found that the Democrat nominee, Vice President Harris, had a three-point advantage over Trump. More Georgia voters reported that Harris is the candidate who will help the middle class and protect democracy by a three-point margin on each issue. She is also seen as more likely to fight “for people like you” by six points. JD VANCE VOWS TRUMP WOULD NOT IMPOSE FEDERAL ABORTION BAN, VETO IT IF COMES ACROSS DESK Harris’ largest lead is on handling the issue of abortion, where she is favored by 18 points over Trump. The VP notably received her best numbers from Black voters, urban voters, those under age 30 and women. The top issues affecting women this cycle, according to Fox polling, include abortion, the economy, immigration and health care. Trump is expected to discuss these issues at length during the town hall. Abortion has once again featured prominently in this election, with the Harris campaign repeatedly claiming that Trump would roll out a federal ban on abortion if he’s re-elected to the White House. NEW POLL REVEALS WHICH VOTER GROUP ARE FUELING TRUMP TO A NARROW EDGE OVER HARRIS IN BATTLEGROUND Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, have repeatedly pushed back and said there would be no federal abortion ban, noting that after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, abortion laws and rules are left up to individual states. Late last month, Trump vowed in a lengthy Truth Social post to “protect women at a level never seen before” if elected and to ensure that “powerful exceptions” for abortion are adopted across the nation. VP KAMALA HARRIS TO SIT DOWN WITH CHIEF POLITICAL ANCHOR BRET BAIER FOR FIRST FORMAL FOX NEWS INTERVIEW “Women are poorer than they were four years ago, are less healthy than they were four years ago, are less safe on the streets than they were four years ago, are more depressed and unhappy than they were four years ago, and are less optimistic and confident in the future than they were four years ago,” he wrote. “I will fix all of that, and fast, and at long last this national nightmare will be over,” he said. “Women will be happy, healthy, confident and free!” Fox News has repeatedly extended a standing town hall event invitation of the same stature to the Harris campaign since August, when she officially became the Democratic Party’s nominee. Harris did accept an invitation for a sit-down interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier early Wednesday evening. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub. Fox News’ Dana Blanton contributed to this report.