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Egypt Independent
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Egypt Independent
Many Americans want a third party. But where would it fit?
A version of this story appeared in CNN's What Matters newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free here. CNN — Americans are entrenched into their partisan corners, but the party lines keep moving in weird new ways. Republicans who grew up in the Grand Old Party might not recognize a party overtaken by the Make America Great Again movement. Democrats who cheered when President Bill Clinton declared the era of big government to be over might wonder how it is that a democratic socialist is their party's candidate for mayor of New York City. Others have followed Democratic expat and scion of Camelot Robert F. Kennedy Jr., with his Make America Healthy Again mantra, to vote for Trump. Two options aren't enough for multitudes For a variety of structural reasons, two options is what most Americans get, even though poll after poll suggests few are happy with either party. Against that backdrop, it's interesting to consider Elon Musk's pledge to form an 'America Party,' an alternative to Republicans and Democrats, if President Donald Trump's megabill becomes law. 'Our country needs an alternative to the Democrat-Republican uniparty so that the people actually have a VOICE,' he wrote on his social media platform. Musk's primary concern is that the megabill adds to the national debt, he said – and not, as Trump alleges, that he's sore about the end of tax credits to encourage Americans to buy electric vehicles. The third-party pledge follows Musk's musings last month that the US needs a party 'that actually represents the 80% in the middle.' Which middle? It's an interesting thought experiment to consider what the political middle might look like to a space and computer nerd and technocrat like Musk. He cares deeply about climate change and wants desperately for humans to be interplanetary and to live on Mars, but he opposes the megabill for all its government spending. He has strong thoughts about encouraging more American women to have babies, but thinks the addition of people to the country through illegal immigration is an existential threat to the US. The same thought experiment crossed my mind last month when Karine Jean-Pierre, who was White House press secretary under former President Joe Biden, announced in the run-up to the publication of her memoir that she's leaving the Democratic Party. 'We need to be clear-eyed and questioning, rather than blindly loyal and obedient as we may have been in the past,' she said in a statement to CNN. But it doesn't seem like Jean-Pierre's version of independence will be in the same galaxy as Musk's. Three varieties of Democrat One of the more interesting political campaigns of the coming months is likely to be the New York City mayor's race, in which the upstart Democrat (and democratic socialist) Zohran Mamdani will take on Eric Adams, the sitting mayor who is also a Democrat but is running as an independent. Also on the ballot as a 'Fight and Deliver' independent will be former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, another Democrat, although it's not clear if he'll seriously campaign between now and November. That's a lot of different versions of Democrats New Yorkers will be able to sort through. Zohran Mamdani gestures as he speaks during a watch party for his primary election in New York on June 25. David Delgado/Reuters There are already multiple third parties There are, of course, existing third parties in the US. The Green and Libertarian parties appear on most ballots for president, which means they have dedicated followings across the country, but they lack the power to get anyone elected to either the House or Senate. Former Rep. Ron Paul of Texas mounted presidential campaigns as both a Libertarian and a Republican, but he got the most traction as a libertarian-minded Republican. His son, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, is one of the few Republicans now willing to cross Trump and oppose the megabill. Paul, like Musk, is worried about the national debt. 'You're roadkill in the middle' A senator closer to the middle, Alaska's Lisa Murkowski, did vote for the bill, but only after securing carveouts that will help her state – but could aggravate every other American. Murkowski is that rare moderate who can survive without party backing. She won a write-in reelection campaign – the triple lindy of politics – after losing the Republican primary in 2010. That was before her party veered even more toward Trump, but Murkowski recently told CNN's Audie Cornish there are more quiet centrist Americans than people realize. She's representing them, she said, even if Washington is a dangerous place to be a moderate. 'You're roadkill in the middle,' Murkowski told Cornish for her 'The Assignment' podcast. 'Endangered species' Another Republican who opposed the megabill is Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina. He said cuts to Medicaid would cost too many North Carolinians their health insurance. But prioritizing the people you represent rather than the national party is anathema in today's political environment. 'In Washington over the last few years, it's become increasingly evident that leaders who are willing to embrace bipartisanship, compromise, and demonstrate independent thinking are becoming an endangered species,' Tillis said in a statement Sunday. Fearing a primary and Trump's wrath, or maybe just tired of defending the shrinking middle ground in the Senate, Tillis also announced he would not seek reelection next year, which immediately made his North Carolina seat Democrats' top pickup priority. Democrats must hope that a moderate like former Gov. Roy Cooper will jump in the race and defy Democrats' national branding. Majority makers Perhaps Cooper would play the same kind of role as former Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia. Manchin voted with Democrats most of the time, but his tendency to buck the party leadership made him a thorn in the side of progressives. Coincidentally, when Manchin left office, Democrats lost their majority in the Senate. On his way out the door, Manchin said it was time for a third-party alternative, but he opted not to run for president. Middle fringes Kennedy did run for president after leaving the Democratic Party and his ultimate support for Trump likely brought in some new support for the president, who is now letting Kennedy rethink US vaccine policy to the consternation of the scientific community. Kennedy is also trying to take on the food industry. Help from Kennedy's independents probably helped Trump win, but maybe not as much as the nearly $300 million Musk is known to have spent, mostly on Trump's behalf. Musk's political ventures may have now turned off Tesla's natural climate-concerned consumer base as well as the MAGA faithful. Regardless of the wealth he could spend, what middle would his America party fit into?
Chicago Tribune
27-06-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Daywatch: From political neophyte to governor — and potential presidential candidate
Good morning, Chicago. Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker this week set out to make history, launching his bid to become the first Illinois governor since the 1980s to be elected to more than two terms in office. A win next year also would make Pritzker, 60, the first Democrat ever in Illinois to win three terms. Republican James R. Thompson was Illinois' longest-serving governor, winning election four times straight and holding the office from 1977 to 1991. A century earlier, when the Grand Old Party was a new force in politics, Republican Richard Oglesby won three nonconsecutive elections, in 1864, '72 and '84, although he resigned 10 days after being sworn in for his second term to join the U.S. Senate. Two other Republicans, Dwight Green in 1948 and William Stratton in 1960, made unsuccessful third-term attempts, losing to Democrats Adlai Stevenson II and Otto Kerner, respectively. Pritzker is not expected to have significant competition for the Democratic primary in March and it remains to be seen whether any high-profile Republicans will mount a campaign to challenge him in November 2026. He's also publicly flirted with the idea of running for president in 2028. So as Pritzker embarks on another campaign, here's a look back at how the Hyatt Hotels heir went from political neophyte to 43rd governor of Illinois and potential Democratic presidential contender. And here are the top stories you need to know to start your day, including why transportation workers needed to lay new pavement along the NASCAR Chicago Street Race course, the latest dispatch from our reporting pair traveling Route 66 and what to do in Chicago this weekend. Today's eNewspaper edition | Subscribe to more newsletters | Asking Eric | Horoscopes | Puzzles & Games | Today in History The Senate parliamentarian has advised that a Medicaid provider tax overhaul central to President Donald Trump's tax cut and spending bill does not adhere to the chamber's procedural rules, delivering a crucial blow as Republicans rush to finish the package this week. After Juan Luna graduated from Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos Puerto Rican High School in early June, he stood in the lobby and cried. Juan came to Chicago alone from Mexico for his senior year, and the end of school meant the end of the community that had acted as his family. He decided to move in with his godfather, who lives in the Humboldt Park neighborhood, to finish high school and pursue a college degree in architecture. But since arriving in the United States, Juan has become disillusioned with the opportunities that are actually available to him. He's watched as President Donald Trump has threatened programs that could have helped him. Newly-appointed interim schools chief Macquline King addressed her first Chicago Board of Education meeting yesterday, affirming that the passage of the district's budget for the upcoming school year remains her top priority. Chicago Public Schools faces a $730 million shortfall for fiscal year 2026, King told board members — $201 million more than the district had previously stated. Though the budget is typically released in June, district officials have yet to finalize a spending plan — or say how they plan to address the deficit. Weeks after President Donald Trump commuted the federal life sentence of Gangster Disciples founder Larry Hoover, a letter arrived at the offices of Gov. JB Pritzker that purported to be Hoover's final push for freedom: asking for clemency in his state murder case. At first glance, the petition might seem to be a legitimate plea from Hoover himself, using similar language about atonement and redemption that the imprisoned gang leader has used in numerous previous requests for parole and clemency from the courts. But a closer inspection revealed some telltale signs that the document, first obtained by the Tribune through a public records request, is likely a fake. Two of the Chicago region's largest independent real estate firms announced yesterday that they will merge operations, forming what company leaders say will be the second largest brokerage in Chicagoland, based on 2024 sales volume. The NASCAR Chicago Street Race is still more than a week away, but Mother Nature is already burning up the track. The heat dome that descended on Chicago last weekend with unrelenting temperatures caused buckling pavement on a stretch of the pop-up race course, forcing the city to close some streets ahead of schedule to repair the damage. The Bulls made a swap Thursday morning with the Los Angeles Lakers, trading the No. 45 pick for the 55th pick and cash considerations. A native of Adelaide, Lachlan Olbrich started his professional career in the Australian National Basketball League in 2021 at age 17. He came to the U.S. and played one year of college basketball at UC Riverside, where he was named Big West Freshman of the Year after averaging 11.4 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists. Cardinals first baseman Willson Contreras told St. Louis reporters he knows Chicago Cubs closer Daniel Palencia wasn't trying to throw a fastball at his face, but it wasn't long ago he broke a finger when hit by a pitch that ended his 2024 season. You're a kid. You catch a few seconds of something strange on TV. Those few seconds have a way, sometimes, of paying a call decades later, writes Tribune film critic Michael Phillips. It happened to author, critic and film curator Michael Koresky. His absorbing new book is 'Sick and Dirty: Hollywood's Gay Golden Age and the Making of Modern Queerness,' and just as he was writing its final chapter, he dredged up a fuzzy memory of seeing something on his grandmother Bertha's TV set when he was around 10. Our picks for events in and around Chicago this weekend, including Hot Wheels Monster Trucks, Volleyball Nations League and Jeff Goldblum in concert. There was no warning siren, only the sudden sound of what seemed at first like a locomotive speeding through her neighborhood a mile off Route 66. Lea Davis heard trees snapping. Glass shattering. The front door to her 122-year-old two-flat slammed open and shut. Open and shut. She thought to grab her partner, Reginald, who is blind, and run to the basement, but figured they might not make it in time. They could take shelter in the closet, she thought, or the bathtub. 'You didn't have much time to think,' Davis, 55 remembered of that May 16 afternoon. 'The only thing I could say was: Jesus, please save us. Please help us.' Read the series:
Chicago Tribune
27-06-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
JB Pritzker: From political neophyte to 43rd governor of Illinois — and potential US presidential candidate
Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker this week set out to make history, launching his bid to become the first Illinois governor since the 1980s to be elected to more than two terms in office. A win next year also would make Pritzker, 60, the first Democrat ever in Illinois to win three terms. Republican James R. Thompson was Illinois' longest-serving governor, winning election four times straight and holding the office from 1977 to 1991. A century earlier, when the Grand Old Party was a new force in politics, Republican Richard Oglesby won three nonconsecutive elections, in 1864, '72 and '84, although he resigned 10 days after being sworn in for his second term to join the U.S. Senate. Two other Republicans, Dwight Green in 1948 and William Stratton in 1960, made unsuccessful third-term attempts, losing to Democrats Adlai Stevenson II and Otto Kerner, respectively. Pritzker is not expected to have significant competition for the Democratic primary in March and it remains to be seen whether any high-profile Republicans will mount a campaign to challenge him in November 2026. He's also publicly flirted with the idea of running for president in 2028. So as Pritzker embarks on another campaign, here's a look back at how the Hyatt Hotels heir went from political neophyte to 43rd governor of Illinois and potential Democratic presidential contender. Pritzker's story begins when his great-grandfather Nicholas J. Pritzker came to Chicago from Kyiv in 1881 to escape the anti-Jewish Russian pogroms in present-day Ukraine. Nicholas Pritzker eventually founded a law firm, but the family's business empire got going in the next generation, when one of Nicholas' sons and JB's grandfather, A.N. Pritzker, and great-uncle began investing in real estate and other ventures. The family is best known for Hyatt, but other high-profile investments have included Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ticketmaster and credit bureau TransUnion. Today, the extended Pritzker clan is the sixth-richest family in America, with an estimated fortune of $41.6 billion, according to Forbes. (JB's share is estimated at $3.7 billion.) Born into affluence in California in 1965, Jay Robert Pritzker — named after his two uncles and called JB for short — didn't have an idyllic childhood. Both of his parents died before he turned 18. His father, Donald, died of a heart attack in 1972 at age 39, and his mother, Sue, struggled with alcoholism. She died a decade later, almost to the day, when she leaped out of a tow truck that was pulling her car, and she was run over. Despite her struggles, Sue Pritzker's philanthropy and involvement in the Democratic Party inspired JB's interest in politics and activism, particularly in the area of reproductive rights. While he was only first elected to public office in 2018, Pritzker has long nursed political ambitions. After graduating from Duke University in the 1980s, he worked on Capitol Hill as an aide to Democratic U.S. Sens. Terry Sanford of North Carolina and Alan Dixon of Illinois. Returning to the Chicago area to attend law school at Northwestern University in the early 1990s, he formed Democratic Leadership for the 21st Century. The group sought to bring more young voices into the party and helped spur the careers of several prominent Illinois officials and Democratic operatives, including Illinois Senate President Don Harmon, an Oak Park Democrat. In 1998, Pritzker made his first run for public office, finishing in a disappointing third place in a Democratic primary to replace 24-term U.S. Rep. Sidney Yates. The winner was Jan Schakowsky. She went on to win the general election and has held the seat since, although Schakowsky recently announced she isn't running for another term. 'Could I live a happy life without ever running for public office again?' Pritzker said in a Tribune profile after losing the race. 'I suppose that I can imagine not running, but I feel I have something important that I can do. And my skin is far thicker now.' It would be two decades before he'd put his name on the ballot again. But ambitions lingered. In a 2008 phone call secretly recorded by federal investigators, Pritzker spoke with then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich, whose campaigns he'd contributed to, as the Chicago Democratic governor schemed over who to appoint to the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by then-President-elect Barack Obama. On the call, first revealed by the Tribune during the 2018 governor's race, Pritzker expressed disinterest in the Senate appointment but suggested Blagojevich might make him state treasurer if the position became vacant. Blagojevich and Pritzker also were recorded discussing various Black officials who were potential Senate appointees in language that caused a stir during the 2018 campaign. Aside from his own aspirations, Pritzker was a major backer of Hillary Clinton in both her presidential bids, even as his older sister Penny served as finance chair for Illinois' favorite son, Obama, in 2008. Ahead of the 2016 election, JB Pritzker and his wife, MK, gave $15.6 million to pro-Clinton political action committee Priorities USA Action. Out of the political spotlight, Pritzker built up his resume as an investor and philanthropist. While his name and fortune are closely associated with Hyatt, Pritzker only worked for the family hotel business as a teenager. He made his mark in the business realm through New World Ventures, a tech-focused investment fund founded with his older brother, Anthony, and later renamed Pritzker Group Venture Capital. The brothers also started Pritzker Group, which, in addition to the venture fund, includes private equity and asset management components. In 2012, Pritzker founded the nonprofit tech incubator 1871 to help spur Chicago's tech sector, later collaborating closely with then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel. In a 2014 profile highlighting the project, Chicago magazine dubbed Pritzker 'The Other Mayor of Chicago.' In the philanthropic world, Pritzker helped found and fund the Illinois Holocaust Museum in Skokie, and he, along with MK, launched the Pritzker Family Foundation in 2001, which funds initiatives in early childhood education and other areas. Spurred by Clinton's loss to Republican Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election and the bruising budget battles in Springfield between then-Gov. and GOP multimillionaire Bruce Rauner and the Democratic-controlled legislature, Pritzker entered the 2018 campaign for Illinois governor. Defeating political scion Chris Kennedy and then-state Sen. Daniel Biss of Evanston in the Democratic primary, Pritzker ultimately poured more than $170 million of his own money into the campaign. Combined with $79 million for Rauner, including $50 million from the incumbent himself and $22.5 million from billionaire Citadel CEO Ken Griffin, it resulted in what's believed to be the most expensive governor's race in U.S. history, which Pritzker won by nearly 16 points. Four years later, Pritzker spent another $167 million to beat back a challenge from conservative southern Illinois state Sen. Darren Bailey, who got backing from billionaire ultraconservative Richard Uihlein, founder of the Uline packaging supplies firm. Pritzker's 2022 spending total included $27 million he gave to the Democratic Governors Association, which aired ads during the GOP primary labeling Bailey as too conservative. The move was a thinly veiled attempt to set up what Pritzker's team saw as an easier general election matchup, boosting Bailey among Republican primary voters over then-Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin, backed by $50 million from Pritzker nemesis Griffin. Pritzker beat Bailey by 13 points that fall. Through the end of 2022, Pritzker spent nearly $350 million on the two campaigns. Over the past two years, he's deposited another $25 million in his campaign account and had $3.4 million remaining at the end of April, state records show. A hallmark of Pritzker's two terms in office has been his handling of the state's chronically shaky finances. While he failed to convince voters in 2020 to amend the state constitution to create a graduated-rate income tax, an effort into which he sunk $58 million, Pritzker has received high marks from ratings agencies and other observers for his handling of the budget. After years of downgrades, the state has seen its credit rating raised by all the major agencies, though it still ranks near the bottom compared to the other 49 states. Spending has increased by nearly a third during his time in office, without adjusting for inflation. But the state largely has avoided using gimmicks to balance the budget on Pritzker's watch and received its first credit upgrades in decades. Tighter financial times have returned, however, with the state budget that takes effect July 1 cutting funding for health insurance for noncitizen immigrants younger than 65 and pausing Pritzker's proposed expansion of state-funded preschool programs, among other trims. Rather than trying again to fix a state tax system he once described as 'unfair' and 'inadequate,' Pritzker has instead blamed Trump and his economic policies for the state's latest budget woes. Aided by overwhelming Democratic majorities in the state legislature, which he helped secure through his political largesse, Pritzker has built a resume almost any governor in the party would be happy to claim. His accomplishments in the legislature include raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour, enshrining abortion rights in state law, legalizing recreational marijuana while expunging prior convictions, and enacting a $45 billion infrastructure program, the largest in state history. And that was just his first year. He has also enacted an ambitious energy policy that aims to make Illinois' energy generation carbon-free by 2050, as well as an overhaul of the criminal justice system that has eliminated cash bail. In one of the first acts of his second term, Pritzker in early 2023 signed a sweeping gun ban that prohibits the sale or possession of a long list of high-powered semiautomatic firearms and high-capacity ammunition magazines, a response to the mass shooting at Highland Park's Fourth of July parade months earlier. While facing ongoing legal challenges, the law has remained in force. More recently, he's taken on what he describes as the predatory practices of health insurance companies and pharmacy benefit managers. He's also made moves, with mixed results, to position Illinois as a leader in emerging industries such as electric vehicles and quantum technology. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 tested Pritzker's leadership and, in some ways, ended a brief honeymoon period he had with some members of the legislature's Republican minority. Decisions to shut schools and issue a stay-at-home order brought the state government into people's lives in unprecedented ways. Aside from conservative criticism over Pritzker's use of executive power, the pandemic exposed problems at state agencies under his control, including an outbreak at a state-run veterans home in LaSalle that led to 36 deaths and an overwhelmed unemployment system that elicited some bipartisan criticism. His administration also has come under fire for continued problems at the beleaguered Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and the handling of resident mistreatment at homes for the developmentally disabled. And a state inspector general has found rampant fraud among state employees who abused the federal government's Paycheck Protection Program, a pandemic-era lifeline for businesses. Pritzker's administration also was forced to respond when Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas in 2022 began sending busloads of migrants from the southern border to Chicago, creating a crisis for the city and state and inflaming tensions with Mayors Lori Lightfoot and Brandon Johnson. The governor has also faced criticism for working with legislative Democrats to exclude Republicans from the process of allocating funds for local infrastructure projects and for not taking significant enough steps to strengthen government ethics laws, despite a sprawling federal corruption probe involving state lawmakers and local officials and a series of high-profile convictions during his tenure. A vociferous Trump critic, Pritzker has long been believed to harbor presidential ambitions, speculation he's done little to quell even as he has professed his dedication to Illinois. The governor lobbied hard to bring last year's Democratic National Convention to Chicago, serving as de facto host for an event widely seen as a success, at least until Trump emerged victorious in November. Pritzker, at least publicly, stood behind President Joe Biden until he dropped out, declining to mount a primary challenge to a sitting president or to enter the fray when Vice President Kamala Harris became the consensus pick of party leaders. He was vetted to join Harris on the ticket but was passed over in favor of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. In 2023, he launched Think Big America, a dark money group that has backed abortion rights ballot measures and pro-abortion rights candidates across the country. He's also poured money into two recent Wisconsin Supreme Court races, backing candidates that reclaimed and then maintained a liberal majority in the pivotal swing state. In addition to running his campaign for reelection next year, Pritzker is putting his force behind Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, his two-time running mate, in her Democratic primary bid for U.S. Senate. Heading into 2026, a big question is whether and how quickly Pritzker will pivot to a 2028 presidential bid if he wins a third term as governor.
The Print
25-06-2025
- Politics
- The Print
Congress must accept that Emergency was huge mistake and move on: Akbar
Asked whether the Grand Old Party of Indian politics should still live with 'the guilt', Akbar said, 'I think the Congress must find a way to accept that it was a huge mistake, an assault on the nation, and move on. Panaji, Jun 25 (PTI) Former Union minister M J Akbar on Wednesday said the Congress must 'find a way to accept' that Emergency was a huge mistake, and move on. 'After all, many political parties in India have found ways to correct themselves. Why can't the Congress?' the veteran journalist said, talking to PTI in Goa. He also underlined the 'maturity' of the Indian voters who brought Indira Gandhi back to power in 1980 after inflicting a rout on her in 1977. 'When they were given the chance in 1980 to vote again because the Janata Party experiment had collapsed, they brought back a stable government. They did not want instability. History is often a story of mistakes as much as it is of successes. So, the Congress must accept it and move forward,' said Akbar. Emergency was a period when arbitrary political power and dictatorship massacred the values and principles of Indian democracy, he said, adding, 'But within that dark experience, India also found inspiration to rediscover itself.' Recalling those days when he was a 24-year-old journalist, Akbar said Emergency, to begin with, was an unprecedented shock on an individual, institutional and the national level. 'We took democracy for granted. We could not believe that anyone could possibly interfere with the fulcrum as well as the foundational ideology of our nation. I think the shock took time to register,' he said. The first reactions from newspapers were of leaving blank spaces where the editorial was meant to be, Akbar said. 'Perhaps the most dangerous aspect of the Emergency was that after two or three weeks, there was a normalization of behavior, as if this would continue, and this was what India was going to become,' the former minister of state for External Affairs said. The 'perpetrators of the Emergency', prime minister Indira Gandhi and her younger son Sanjay Gandhi, began to talk of the next 20 years as if this was the new normal, he said. 'But we discovered that India may have become silent, but India was never supine. It was the people of India who actually fought against the Emergency.' Asked about the Emergency from current perspective, he said, 'Now, from the current perspective, if anyone were to try to repeat the Emergency today, it wouldn't be possible….No one could get away with it. That is the key lesson from 1975 to 77. 'Everyone now understands that the strength of India lies in its commitment to democratic principles,' he said, adding that anyone who tries to challenge India's freedom for personal power will be discarded by history. PTI RPS KRK This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
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First Post
31-05-2025
- Politics
- First Post
This Week in Explainers: Why did monsoon arrive in May in India?
India has reported an early onset of monsoon this year. Kerala and Mumbai were lashed by heavy rainfall that brought life to a standstill. But what is behind these monsoon rains in May? All this and more in our weekly wrap read more Monsoon has arrived in India. Heavy rains lashed Kerala and Maharashtra, which have witnessed the early arrival of monsoon. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor and his party are at loggerheads. His recent remarks abroad have further put a spotlight on the divide between him and the Grand Old Party, sparking speculations about whether he will finally call it quits. Language has become an emotive topic in India. Actor Kamal Haasan is facing flak for saying that Kannada 'was born out of Tamil'. His comments have also generated interest in the language's origin. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Here's all this and more in our weekly roundup from India. 1. Many parts of India have reported an early arrival of the southwest monsoon. Heavy showers hit Maharashtra, Kerala and other parts of the country this week. Incessant rains brought Mumbai to a standstill, affecting flight operations and leading to waterlogging at railway tracks and multiple low-lying areas. This is the earliest onset of monsoon in Mumbai in 35 years, with the city recording its wettest May. The monsoon rains also covered Lakshadweep, the south Arabian Sea, parts of the west-central and east-central Arabian Sea, and Karnataka. The southwest monsoon has also advanced to Goa and areas in the west-central and northern Bay of Bengal. It also reached parts of Mizoram, Manipur, and Nagaland. But what is behind the early onset of monsoon this time? We explain here . 2. A 'rift' between Shashi Tharoor and the Congress is out in the open. The Thiruvananthapuram MP has irked his party with his recent remarks abroad. Tharoor is heading one of the seven multi-party delegations that is keeping India's stand on terrorism on the global stage. Shashi Tharoor's rift with the Congress has come out in public. File Photo/PTI Tharoor's recent comments that India crossed the Line of Control (LoC) for the first time in September 2016 under the BJP-led Centre have angered the Grand Old Party, which has countered his statements. But the friction between the former diplomat and the Congress is not new. Will the party's public reprisal of Tharoor finally push him to leave? Read our report to find out. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 3. India is carrying out trials of the indigenous Kaveri jet engine in Russia. Developed by Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE), under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the engine could be used to power the long-range Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV). The Kaveri engine was initially developed to power the Tejas fighter aircraft. Image Courtesy: DRDO The Kaveri engine is a low-bypass, twin-spool turbofan engine with 80 kilonewtons (kN) thrust. It was originally developed for the fighter aircraft Tejas. Here's why the engine is a big boost for India's defence. 4. A huge drama has engulfed RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav's family ahead of the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections. His son Tej Pratap's alleged relationship has come to light, prompting the former Bihar chief minister to take action against his son. It all began when a post from Tej Pratap's social media account was uploaded claiming that he had been in a relationship with Anushka Yadav for 12 years. Soon after, Lalu Prasad expelled him from the RJD for six years for 'irresponsible behaviour'. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD निजी जीवन में नैतिक मूल्यों की अवहेलना करना हमारे सामाजिक न्याय के लिए सामूहिक संघर्ष को कमज़ोर करता है। ज्येष्ठ पुत्र की गतिविधि, लोक आचरण तथा गैर जिम्मेदाराना व्यवहार हमारे पारिवारिक मूल्यों और संस्कारों के अनुरूप नहीं है। अतएव उपरोक्त परिस्थितियों के चलते उसे पार्टी और परिवार… — Lalu Prasad Yadav (@laluprasadrjd) May 25, 2025 Tej Pratap's estranged wife, Aishwarya Rai , also reacted to the development, calling it 'drama'. Tej Pratap has responded to the controversy. But who is Anushka Yadav, his alleged partner? Read our story to find out. 5. Actor and politician Kamal Haasan sparked a major row after claiming that Kannada 'was born out of Tamil' during a public event in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. His comments drew criticism from pro-Kannada groups and politicians in Karnataka. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Kamal Haasan's remarks on Kannada's origin have sparked a major row. File Photo/PTI Karnataka BJP president BY Vijayendra dubbed the actor's remarks as 'uncultured' and 'insulting' to Kannada and its 6.5 crore speakers. He also called for an apology from Haasan. Some pro-Kannada groups resorted to violence, tearing down posters of his upcoming movie Thug Life in Bengaluru and threatening a statewide ban on the film. But what exactly did Haasan say and is his claim true? We take a look here . 6. Did Akbar not marry Jodha Bai? Rajasthan Governor Haribhau Bagade has claimed that the Mughal ruler was not married to the Rajput princess but a daughter of a maid of King Bharmal. 'The British changed the history of our heroes. They did not write it properly and their version of history was initially accepted. Later, some Indians wrote history, but it was still influenced by the British,' he said. A modified version of Persian painting named 'Glory of Faith' having inscription 'Jalaluddin Mohammad Akbar with Mariam-uz-Zamani begum' dated to be of Akbar's era. Wikimedia Commons Movies and TV shows have romanticised the marriage of Akbar and Jodha Bai. Historians say that the Rajput princess' name was not Jodha but Harkha Bai. She was the third wife of Akbar, who lived as a queen inside the Agra Fort. However, there are contrasting accounts about Akbar's Rajput wife and their love story. We delve into the history here . STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 7. Seven years after an English professor killed the relatives of his colleague in Odisha, he has been sentenced to a life term. Justice has finally been delivered in the 'wedding bomb' case. Punjilal Meher, 56, sent a parcel bomb, disguised as a wedding gift, to Soumya Sekhar Sahu, a 26-year-old software engineer, and his 22-year-old wife, Reema, on February 23, 2018. The parcel exploded as soon as Soumya opened it, killing him and his 85-year-old great-aunt Jemamani Sahu. But why did Meher murder them? And how did the police crack the case? Read our story to find out. 8. India and Pakistan tensions have led to some sweet shops in Rajasthan's Jaipur changing the names of their popular sweets — dropping the word 'Pak' to replace it with 'Shree'. If you ask for Mysore Pak and Moti Shree in Jaipur, you might find Mysore Shree and Moti Pak instead. This comes after several men vandalised Karachi Bakery in Hyderabad and raised 'anti-Pakistan' slogans. However, the name change of the sweets has not been received well in several quarters. So, does Mysore Pak have any connection to the neighbouring nation? We explain here . STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD This is all we have for you this week. If you like how we explain news, you can bookmark this page .
