‘Reflects entire tradition of spirituality and knowledge’: PM Modi inaugurates ISKCON temple in Mumbai
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the new International Society for Krishna Consciousness’ (ISKCON) temple at Khargar area of Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra on Wednesday.
Trump Energy Sec pick to share American ‘energy dominance’ vision at confirmation hearing: ‘Agent for change’
Chris Wright, President-elect Trump’s nominee to lead the U.S. Department of Energy, is planning to tell senators in charge of his confirmation that he will focus on restoring American “energy dominance” at home and abroad. Wright, a fossil fuel executive who in the past has been critical of the media blaming climate change for repeated wildfires, is expected to deliver his opening statement before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday morning. Fox News Digital obtained a copy of the statement in advance ahead of the hearing scheduled to start at 10 a.m. ET. “I am humbled by the great responsibility this position holds,” Wright is expected to say in his opening statement. “America has a historic opportunity to secure our energy systems, deliver leadership in scientific and technological innovation, steward our weapons stockpiles, and meet Cold War legacy waste commitments.” Describing himself as a “science geek, turned tech nerd, turned lifelong energy entrepreneur,” Wright will tell the committee how his “fascination with energy started at a young age in Denver, Colorado.” His opening statement discusses how he enrolled at MIT “specifically to work on fusion energy” and later started graduate school at the University of California at Berkeley where he worked “on solar energy as well as power electronics.” TRUMP EYES AN END TO NEW WINDMILL PRODUCTION UNDER SECOND TERM, SAYS THEY ARE ‘DRIVING THE WHALES CRAZY’ “Energy is the essential agent of change that enables everything that we do. A low energy society is poor. A highly energized society can bring health, wealth, and opportunity for all,” Wright will say. “The stated mission of the company that I founded – Liberty Energy – is to better human lives through energy. Liberty works directly in oil, natural gas, next generation geothermal and has partnerships in next-generation nuclear energy and new battery technology.” “Energy has been a lifelong passion of mine, and I have never been shy about that fact,” Wright plans to tell the committee. “Then again, I have never been shy about much. President Trump shares my passion for energy and, if confirmed, I will work tirelessly to implement his bold agenda as an unabashed steward for all sources of affordable, reliable and secure American energy.” On Tuesday, committee Democrats led by Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico called for Wright’s confirmation hearing to be delayed by at least a week, citing how they had not yet received “the standard financial disclosure report, ethics agreement, or the opinions from the designated agency ethics officer and the Office of Government Ethics stating that the nominee is in compliance with the ethics laws.” Chairman Mike Lee, R-Utah, has already pushed back the confirmation hearing for Doug Burgum, Trump’s pick for interior secretary, by two days until Thursday due to an OGE paperwork delay, but Wright’s remained on the schedule Wednesday. If approved as secretary, Wright would manage energy policy and production in the United States, as well as the nation’s nuclear weapon stockpile. He would also work with Burgum on the National Energy Council, where they would develop Trump’s energy dominance policy involving increased production of U.S. oil and gas. Wright has indicated that he plans to resign as CEO and chairman of his fracking company, Liberty Energy, if approved. DEMS BLAME LA FIRE ON ‘CLIMATE CHANGE’ DESPITE CITY CUTTING FIRE DEPARTMENT BUDGET In his opening statement, Wright identifies three “immediate” tasks that he would focus his attention on if confirmed. “The first is to unleash American energy at home and abroad to restore energy dominance,” Wright will say. “The security of our nation begins with energy. Previous administrations have viewed energy as a liability instead of the immense national asset that it is. To compete globally, we must expand energy production, including commercial nuclear and liquified natural gas, and cut the cost of energy.”
New GOP bill seeks to hold private universities to same tax standard as corporations: ‘On notice’
EXCLUSIVE: A GOP lawmaker is seeking to significantly raise taxes on endowment profits being banked by private universities to align their levy with the current corporate tax rate. Many private universities have invested funds for operational use that acquire interest each year, known as an endowment. In 2017, the Trump-era Tax Cuts and Jobs Act enacted a 1.4% tax on the interest private universities were receiving from these endowments. However, a new Republican bill would raise that tax to hold elite educational institutions to the same tax standard as corporations, which currently see a 21% corporate tax. Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, is expected to introduce legislation on Wednesday, the Endowment Tax Fairness Act, to raise the excise tax on annual private university endowment investment returns by nearly 20 percentage points, from 1.4% to 21%. SCHOOLS NATIONWIDE BRACE FOR TRUMP, INCLUDING MEASURES COMPELLING TEACHERS NOT TO COOPERATE WITH ICE The GOP-backed bill would then require the revenue to be deposited into the General Fund of the Treasury, a fund managing the government’s budget, to be used to reduce the national deficit. Nehls tells Fox News Digital he introduced the bill because elite universities should not have “far lower” taxes than working Americans. CONFIDENCE IN COLLEGES, UNIVERSITIES REACHES ALL-TIME LOW, NEW POLL INDICATES “Elite private universities have accumulated and sit on massive university endowments and pay a tax less than 2% on the investment earnings of their endowments, which is far lower than what most hardworking Americans pay in taxes. Meanwhile, these universities have significantly increased tuition for America’s youth, which has overwhelmingly surpassed the average annual inflation rate,” he said. The tax would apply to private colleges and universities that meet certain requirements, such as institutions that have 500 or more students. Additionally, universities that would be taxed are those that aggregate fair market value of assets of at least $500,000 per student and that have more than 50% of its student body located in the United States, according to the bill. Endowments subject to the tax, such as Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Columbia, reportedly hold a combined $270 billion of assets under management. “This is unacceptable,” Nehls told Fox. “My bill would put elite universities with massive endowments on notice by holding them to the same tax standard as corporations.” If passed, the tax would begin effective immediately after the date of the bill’s enactment.
Experts sound alarm on Biden’s offshore drilling ban having reverse effect on environment: ‘Disgraceful’
President Biden’s 11th-hour executive action banning new drilling and further oil and natural gas development in coastal waters in the name of protecting the environment could end up causing harm to the environment, according to experts who spoke to Fox News Digital. Earlier this month, Biden announced the ban will affect more than 625 million acres of U.S. coastal and offshore waters while invoking the 1953 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, which could mean President-elect Donald Trump will be limited in his ability to revoke the action without Congress. Biden released a statement defending his action, arguing that the “relatively minimal fossil fuel potential in the areas I am withdrawing do not justify the environmental, public health, and economic risks that would come from new leasing and drilling.” Experts who spoke to Fox News Digital suggested that the environment could ultimately end up being harmed, not helped, by Biden’s decision. TRUMP REPORTEDLY PLANS TO UNLEASH AROUND 100 EXECUTIVE ORDERS AFTER TAKING OFFICE “President Biden’s offshore oil and gas ban is not only harmful to our economy and national security, but also jeopardizes the future of conservation in America,” Gabriella Hoffman, Independent Women’s Forum Center for Energy & Conservation director, told Fox News Digital. Hoffman pointed to, among other concerns, the Land & Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), which is funded in large part by $900 million in royalties from oil and gas companies. “It was a simple idea: use revenues from the depletion of one natural resource – offshore oil and gas – to support the conservation of another precious resource – our land and water,” the fund’s website states. That fund will presumably lose out on those royalties as a result of Biden’s decision, Hoffman warned. ALASKA SUES BIDEN ADMINISTRATION FOR ‘IRRATIONAL’ RESTRICTIONS ON TRUMP-ERA OIL AND GAS DRILLING MANDATE “President Trump signed the Great American Outdoors Act into law in 2020 to permanently fund the LWCF,” Hoffman said. “Biden’s recent actions will weaken this law and set back true conservation efforts by decades.” The Western Energy Alliance, a nonprofit trade association, issued a press release earlier this month warning that conservation funding will take a hit as a result of Biden’s drilling ban. “By attempting to restrict offshore access before walking out the door, President Biden also threatens treasured outdoor spaces across the country. The president completely ignores the fact that the Land and Water Conservation Fund is exclusively funded by offshore oil and natural gas leasing and production,” Kathleen Sgamma, president of the Alliance, said in the press release. “Nearly every community nationwide has a park or outdoor recreation facility that has received funding from the LWCF. National parks that have struggled with dilapidation and damages from overcrowding similarly benefit from offshore revenues. These funds help protect water ways, support wildlife, and build trails and playgrounds. President Biden put the future of these projects at risk with his Executive Order.” In a statement to Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for the Department of the Interior, who oversees the LWCF, said, “There would be no effect to any existing leases (or royalties derived from them for the U.S. treasury), nor the LWCF.” The spokesperson added, “The Central and Western Gulf, where funding from LCWF comes from, is not impacted by the President’s withdrawal.” Hoffman told Fox News Digital that Biden’s directive, “won’t impact LWCF in the short-term, with Trump-era leasing grandfathered in, the long-term impact could put $2.8B of conservation funding- including $900M from offshore royalties – at risk.” Additionally, cutting oil drilling in the United States is likely to drive the United States to become more dependent on foreign sources of oil, often in countries with less environmental protections than those that exist in the United States. “Biden’s anti-oil and gas decree could undermine president-elect Trump’s ‘drill baby drill’ agenda and make us more dependent on imports from foreign countries that don’t respect the environment,” Hoffman told Fox News Digital. TRUMP CAN POWER THE US INTO THE FUTURE WITH A MUSCULAR NUCLEAR ENERGY POLICY Power The Future founder and Executive Director Daniel Turner echoed the concerns about the environment as well as human rights to Fox News Digital. “We are driving responsible, ethical, environmentally sensitive resource development out of America and into developing nations, often managed by communist China, where pollution and slave labor are unchecked and accepted,” Turner said. “In fact, oftentimes those conditions help with profit margins, and we say ‘these goods are cheaper made in China.’ They are cheaper because of what China does, and our standards must force us to choose.” Turner continued, “Saudi Arabia and Kuwait flare methane. In most of America, this is illegal. Coal is mined by children in China and Indonesia and across Southeast Asia. Rare Earths are mined by slaves in Africa, and green activists ensure this continues by preventing such mining to occur ethically and responsibly in America.” Turner questioned how the Biden administration can argue that “oil produced irresponsibly in foreign countries and landed on tankers burning millions of gallons of diesel” is considered “green.” “If we truly want to be green, we will do everything we can to produce all our energy and mine all our raw materials here in America,” Turner said. “It is not only greener, it is better for our economy and our national security.” Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment but did not receive a response. Trump has said he plans to immediately reverse the drilling ban along most of the U.S. coastline, but he faces major roadblocks under a 70-year, irrevocable law. “This is a disgraceful decision designed to exact political revenge on the American people who gave President Trump a mandate to increase drilling and lower gas prices. Rest assured, Joe Biden will fail, and we will drill, baby, drill,” Trump’s spokeswoman, Karoline Leavitt, said in a statement. Fox News Digital’s Aubrie Spady and Danielle Wallace contributed to this report
Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn eyes gubernatorial bid: report
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., has been placing calls and informing people that she is likely to mount a gubernatorial bid, Axios reported, citing D.C. and Tennessee sources. State and federal elected figures have been placing calls in support of Blackburn’s potential run, a source noted, according to the outlet. Fox News Digital emailed Blackburn’s campaign on Wednesday to request a comment from the lawmaker, but did not receive a response in time for publication. GOP SENATOR ANNOUNCES ‘DOGE ACTS’ TO BACK MUSK, RAMASWAMY GOVERNMENT COST-CUTTING OBJECTIVES Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs indicated in a post on X that he will back Blackburn for the role if she runs. “Senator Blackburn has done an outstanding job as a state senator, U.S. congresswoman, and U.S. Senator. She would do an equally outstanding job as Governor and would have my full support if that’s what she decides,” Jacobs noted. TENNESSEE MAYOR GLENN JACOBS, EX-WWE STAR, SAYS HE WOULD ADVISE DWAYNE JOHNSON AGAINST GOING INTO POLITICS Blackburn, who has served in the Senate since early 2019, just won re-election to another six-year term in 2024 — her current term ends in early 2031. “The 2025 Tennessee Legislative Session kicked off day ONE today!” Blackburn declared in a tweet on Tuesday. “It’s time to get to work, protect our state’s conservative values, and fight for all Tennesseans.” ‘WHEN THEY FAIL, AMERICANS DIE’: TRUMP SOURCE BLASTS FBI, URGES SWIFT CONFIRMATION OF KASH PATEL AS DIRECTOR Current Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican who has been in office since early 2019, cannot run in the 2026 contest, which leaves the field wide open for other GOP figures interested in vying for the job.
Tips to increase your home loan eligibility on a Rs 45,000 salary
A home loan on Rs 45,000 salary requires careful planning and management of your finances. Using tools like a home loan eligibility calculator, reducing debts, and maintaining a good credit score could make you a more eligible candidate for lenders. Additionally, consider factors like co-applicants.
‘Roaming like a hirni’: BJP’s Ramesh Bidhuri triggers another controversy with jibe at Atishi, AAP responds
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from Delhi’s Kalkaji, Ramesh Bidhuri, triggered another controversy, stating that Delhi Chief Minister and his nearest rival Atishi is “roaming like a hirni” (deer).
Texas GOP chair denies church-state separation as lawmakers, pastors prep for ‘spiritual battle’
Abraham George’s comments are the latest sign of the state GOP’s embrace of fundamentalist ideologies that seek to center public life around their faith.
The air in 12 Texas counties exceeded federal soot standards. Only four may face consequences.
Critics say TCEQ is erroneously using a federal rule to exclude counties that are failing federal soot rules.
President Biden releases farewell letter, says it’s been ‘privilege of my life to serve this nation’
President Biden released a farewell letter Wednesday saying that “It has been the privilege of my life to serve this nation for over 50 years.” “Today, we have the strongest economy in the world and have created a record 16.6 million new jobs. Wages are up. Inflation continues to come down,” he added ahead of a speech tonight from the Oval Office. Biden began his letter by writing that four years ago when he took office, “We were in the grip of the worst pandemic in a century, the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, and the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War. “But we came together as Americans, and we braved through it. We emerged stronger, more prosperous, and more secure,” he said. BIDEN SAYS HE’S BEEN CARRYING OUT ‘MOST AGGRESSIVE CLIMATE AGENDA’ IN HISTORY AS HE DESIGNATES CALIFORNIA MONUMENTS While touting economic growth, Biden said “We’re rebuilding our entire nation — urban, suburban, rural, and Tribal communities. “Manufacturing is coming back to America. We’re leading the world again in science and innovation, including the semiconductor industry. And we finally beat Big Pharma to lower the cost of prescription drugs for seniors,” he continued. “More people have health insurance today in America than ever before.” Biden said he “ran for president because I believed that the soul of America was at stake. “The very nature of who we are was at stake. And, that’s still the case. America is an idea stronger than any army and larger than any ocean,” he declared. WHITE HOUSE REMOVE’S CUBA’S STATE SPONSOR OF TERRORISM DESIGNATION, REVERSING TRUMP ADMINISTRATION MOVE Biden is now set to leave office next week with President-elect Donald Trump returning to the White House for a second term. “It has been the privilege of my life to serve this nation for over 50 years. Nowhere else on Earth could a kid with a stutter from modest beginnings in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and Claymont, Delaware, one day sit behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office as President of the United States,” Biden wrote. “I have given my heart and my soul to our nation. And I have been blessed a million times in return with the love and support of the American people. Biden concluded his letter by saying that history, power and “the idea of America” is in the hands of its citizens. “We just have to keep the faith and remember who we are. We are the United States of America, and there is simply nothing beyond our capacity when we do it together,” he said.