Missouri Senator Eric Schmidt said OPT students are working in restaurants, janitorial service companies.

Senator Eric Schmidt, who has been speaking out against the optional practical training program that foreign students receive at the end of their courses, just revealed some surprising facts from his state of Missouri as he once again demanded that the practice be ended as it is harming American students. This OPT has provided a legal pathway from colleges to chambers for centuries, and students on F1 visas can easily get their status changed to H-1B once they get on the right track. Missouri Senator Eric Schmidt said that ICE has given him the figure that there are 4430 OPT visas in Missouri alone and many of them are working in jobs they should not be working in. The senator said a local Ethiopian restaurant applied for a STEM OPT employee, another OPT employee works for a janitorial services company. “OPT jobs *must* be directly related to the student’s major field of study. And if you’re a STEM major, you get *3 years of work authorization.* Not only that, OPT holders are exempt from FICA taxes – a >15% tax subsidy for employers. Given this, and given that foreigners using the OPT may be desperate for work, it should be no surprise that the OPT is often Abuse is rampant. I found cases of foreign students working in restaurants, bars and as janitors providing services that have no connection to a student’s field of study,” Schmidt said. “Employers who clearly need, degree-related, high skills include: A local Ethiopian restaurant, which applied for a STEM OPT employee last year (three years long). It’s a highly reviewed restaurant but why does it need a recent graduate STEM major? And why not hire an American?”“Another OPT employee works for a small janitorial services company. This doesn’t seem like a natural fit. OPT often cuts white collar work, but it is also cutting blue collar workers by flooding the market with recent graduates looking for any type of employment.”“Not only that, but a cadre of shady consultants and vigilante NGOs are taking advantage of the OPT, teaching foreign students how to game the system. And some are even using foreign student labor to train the import of more foreign students and workers,” the senator said, citing the example of Vitendo4Africa, which offers classes on green card applications. “The bottom line: OPT is not a student training program. It is a backdoor job program for foreign nationals at the expense of Missouri families and American graduates who are still struggling to find work. USCIS, it’s time to shut it down. Missourians first. Americans first,” the senator wrote.

लखनऊ के कृष्णानगर इलाके में शुक्रवार सुबह पुलिस और इनामी बदमाशों के बीच मुठभेड़ हो गई. इस मुठभेड़ में एक बदमाश गोली लगने से घायल हो गया, जबकि उसका साथी मौके से फरार हो गया. घायल बदमाश को अस्पताल में भर्ती कराया गया है. पुलिस ने मौके से हथियार, कारतूस, सोने की चेन और वारदात में इस्तेमाल मोटरसाइकिल बरामद की है. यह अपराधी फरवरी 2026 में हुई चोरी की तीन घटनाओं में शामिल था और उसकी गिरफ्तारी के लिए इनाम घोषित किया गया था.

चोरी की तीन घटनाओं में शामिल था
पुलिस के मुताबिक, फरवरी 2026 में कृष्णानगर इलाके में तीन घरों में चोरी की घटनाएं हुई थीं. इन घटनाओं के बाद से पुलिस लगातार आरोपियों की तलाश कर रही थी. इस मामले में शिवम नाम के एक आरोपी को पहले ही गिरफ्तार किया जा चुका है, जबकि विपिन और कुलदीप यादव फरार थे.

विपिन 25 हजार रुपये का इनामी अपराधी निकला.
मुठभेड़ में घायल बदमाश की पहचान उन्नाव जिले के मौरावां थाना क्षेत्र निवासी विपिन के रूप में हुई है. अमित कुमार आनंद (पुलिस उपायुक्त दक्षिणी) के मुताबिक, विपिन पर 25 हजार रुपये का इनाम घोषित था और उसके खिलाफ चोरी, डकैती और गैंगस्टर एक्ट समेत करीब 20 मुकदमे दर्ज हैं.

चेकिंग के दौरान हुई मुठभेड़
शुक्रवार तड़के कृष्णानगर पुलिस डूडा कॉलोनी, मानस नगर रोड स्थित आशाराम बापू आश्रम के पास चेकिंग कर रही थी। तभी मोटरसाइकिल सवार दो युवक संदिग्ध हालत में दिखाई दिए। पुलिस को देख दोनों भागने लगे. पुलिस ने घेराबंदी की तो बदमाशों ने फायरिंग शुरू कर दी।

जवाबी कार्रवाई में बदमाश घायल हो गया
पुलिस की जवाबी कार्रवाई में एक बदमाश के पैर में गोली लगी, जिससे वह गिर गया और पकड़ा गया. जबकि उसका साथी कुलदीप यादव मौके का फायदा उठाकर भाग निकला. बताया जा रहा है कि कुलदीप लखनऊ के चिनहट इलाके का रहने वाला है।

हथियार और चोरी का सामान बरामद
पुलिस ने मौके से 315 बोर का पिस्तौल, कारतूस, खोखा, सोने की चेन और चोरी में प्रयुक्त मोटरसाइकिल बरामद की है। मुठभेड़ की जानकारी मिलते ही वरिष्ठ पुलिस अधिकारी भी मौके पर पहुंच गए.

फरार आरोपियों की तलाश जारी है
पुलिस अब फरार आरोपी कुलदीप यादव की तलाश में जुटी है. उसके संभावित ठिकानों पर छापेमारी की जा रही है. पुलिस का कहना है कि जल्द ही उसे भी गिरफ्तार कर लिया जाएगा.

Kamala Harris said she is thinking about running for president again in 2028.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris confirmed on Friday that she is thinking about running for president again in 2028. The Rev. Al Sharpton asked the former vice president at the National Action Network conference in New York City if she would run for president in 2028. “Listen, I can hear,” Harris said. “I’m thinking about it.” Harris had kept her future plans in politics vague until writing the book, but it is being seen as her strongest claim on her political future. Chants of “run again” echoed through the Manhattan ballroom where Harris sat down to talk with Sharpton, the civil rights group founder.“Let me also say, I served for four years at a distance from the presidency of the United States… “I know what the job is and I know what it takes,” Harris said.“And part of the issue is the need to get rid of some of the bureaucracy in government and understand that people … don’t want process, they want progress,” he said. He said, “Look, the American people have a right to expect that whoever wants to run for office and be a leader can’t just be about them and what they want for themselves has to be about the American people.” “And that’s how I think about it and I’m thinking about it in context...Who, where and how can do the best work for the American people? I’ll keep you posted.”Soon after losing the 2024 presidential election, there was speculation that she would next run for Governor of California. But a year and a half later, Kamala Harris issued her first vocal statement that she might run for president again. “So he enters this war, a war of choice,” Harris said of war with Iran. “Remember, the guy said he got rid of their nuclear arsenal, wiped it out. He said – you know how he likes to use these kinds of words, wiped it out, which is not a vague word, meaning you took it out – well, obviously, he didn’t do that.

Immigration lawyer Emily Newman said that even if H-1B stamping slots open up in India, people who are in the US should not take the risk of traveling outside the US.

Amid reports of H-1B visa stamping slots becoming randomly available in India, immigration lawyer Emily Newman said that people who are currently in the US are not advised to book appointments in India as they must now travel out of India. Those who are already in India, stranded for months as all slots were halted due to a major rescheduling of dates in December 2025, should try their best to book a slot and get their passports stamped. But those who are in the US do not need a visa stamp for anything and should not travel outside. Newman said the US government is doing everything it can to stop immigrants from coming to the US, and getting an appointment is the easiest part of the process. There is no guarantee that the slot you booked will not be canceled, nor will your H-1B visa be discreetly canceled while you are out of the country. When thousands of Indians came to India for holidays last December, they were left stranded in their homes. Visa holders generally book a visa appointment upon arrival home, as stamping is now mandatory in visa holders’ home countries. In December, Consulates in India canceled and rescheduled all interviews and postponed them to May, June 2026. Without the stamp, they cannot re-enter the US, so they were forced to stay in India, biding their time. Some companies allowed them to work from India but there is still uncertainty about the future of these H-1B visa holders. There were no new dates available for the last three months, but some slots opened up in the last few weeks, leading to a huge rush for visa holders.

What is H-1B visa stamping? Why is it needed?

A visa stamp is the sticker on your passport that will allow you to enter the US. Its validity for Indians is generally three years. This is not work authorization and is not required for anything inside the US. Form I-797 controls how long you can live and work in the US on an H-1B visa. Your visa stamp may expire while you are in the US, but you can continue to work as long as your I-797 is valid. New stamping is required only for re-entering the country and also for entering the country for the first time.

Salem: Two decades after dreaded forest robber Veerappan was killed in a police encounter in Tamil Nadu, his daughter and widow are attempting to rewrite his story – from a dreaded outlaw to a defender of Tamil rights – through electoral politics.Veerappan’s elder daughter Vidyarani, 35, an advocate, is contesting from the Mettur constituency as a Nam Tamilar Katchi candidate, while his widow Muthulakshmi is contesting from Krishnagiri on behalf of the Tamilaga Vazhvurimai Katchi. Both parties support ‘Tamil nationalism’.“Had my father been alive today, he too would have entered the democratic process,” says Vidyarani, who is contesting the election for the second time. He had earlier contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from Krishnagiri as an NTK candidate, in which he received more than one lakh votes.For Muthulakshmi too, it marks a comeback to politics after debuting as an independent candidate in the 2006 assembly elections.Instead of turning away from Veerappan’s controversial legacy, both women have embraced it and want to repaint it in their own colors. “He was not as dreaded a criminal as he was portrayed to be. He stood against exploitation and injustice,” Vidyarani said at a rally in Mettur. His campaign echoes NTK’s core plank of Tamil nationalism.NTK chief Seeman was vocal in his support for Veerappan. Campaigning for him, he said, “If Prabhakaran (LTTE chief) was the guardian of our caste, Veerappan was the guardian of our forests.”Vidyarani’s political journey began with Pattali Makkal Katchi, which draws support from Vanniyars, a numerically strong community spread across more than a dozen districts of Tamil Nadu. She joined the BJP in 2020, before switching to NTK in 2024.In Krishnagiri, Muthulakshmi focuses on the agrarian crisis in her campaigns. “I have been among farmers. My fight is for water, crops and respect,” she told TOI.Both say that they do not face any hostility because of their past. “On the contrary, people respect us,” Vidyarani said.Observers believe his entry could hurt AIADMK’s ally PMK, especially in the Vanniyar-dominated Mettur and Krishnagiri belts. Although no candidate has put forward a caste, he is expected to attract a part of the community’s votes, which is otherwise expected to go to the PMK.

चरथावल क्षेत्र के गांव घीसुखेड़ा में नहर का बांध टूटने से अचानक खेतों में पानी भर गया, जिससे किसानों की कई बीघे फसल जलमग्न हो गई। इस घटना ने क्षेत्र के किसानों को गहरी चिंता में डाल दिया है, क्योंकि गेहूं और गन्ने जैसी तैयार फसलें पानी में डूबकर खराब हो गईं। प्रभावित किसानों ने प्रशासन से तत्काल मदद और नुकसान का मुआवजा देने की मांग की है.

घटना के बाद गांव में अफरा-तफरी का माहौल हो गया और बड़ी संख्या में किसान अपने खेतों की हालत देखने के लिए मौके पर पहुंच गये. कई खेतों में लंबे समय तक पानी जमा रहने से फसल पूरी तरह बर्बाद होने की आशंका है.

कई बीघे खेतों में भरा पानी, मेहनत पर पानी फिर गया

स्थानीय किसानों के मुताबिक, नहर का बांध अचानक टूटने से पानी तेजी से खेतों की ओर फैल गया. देखते ही देखते गेहूं और गन्ने की खड़ी फसलें पानी में डूब गईं। कई किसानों ने बताया कि कटाई के लिए तैयार फसलें अब पूरी तरह बर्बाद हो चुकी हैं, जिससे उन्हें आर्थिक नुकसान हो रहा है.

ग्रामीणों का कहना है कि यदि समय रहते नहर की मरम्मत और निगरानी की जाती तो ऐसी स्थिति से बचा जा सकता था।

किसानों ने सिंचाई विभाग पर नाराजगी जताई

घटना के बाद किसानों ने सिंचाई विभाग की कार्यशैली पर सवाल उठाते हुए लापरवाही का आरोप लगाया है. उनका कहना है कि नहर की हालत पहले से ही कमजोर थी, लेकिन विभाग की ओर से समय रहते कोई ठोस कदम नहीं उठाया गया.

किसानों ने प्रशासन से मांग की है कि जल्द नुकसान का सर्वे कराया जाए और प्रभावित परिवारों को उचित मुआवजा दिया जाए ताकि वे आर्थिक संकट से उबर सकें.

सूचना मिलते ही विधायक पंकज मलिक मौके पर पहुंचे।

घटना की जानकारी मिलते ही चरथावल विधानसभा क्षेत्र के विधायक मो पंकज मलिक तत्काल ग्राम घीसूखेड़ा पहुंचे और प्रभावित किसानों से मुलाकात की। उन्होंने खेतों का निरीक्षण कर नुकसान का जायजा लिया और किसानों की समस्याएं सुनीं.

निरीक्षण के दौरान उन्होंने कहा कि क्षेत्र में गेहूं, गन्ना समेत कई फसलें पानी में डूबने से खराब हो गयी हैं, जिससे किसानों को भारी आर्थिक क्षति हो रही है.

अधिकारियों को तत्काल क्षति का आकलन करने के निर्देश दिये गये

विधायक ने मौके पर मौजूद अधिकारियों को जल्द से जल्द क्षति का आकलन कर प्रभावित किसानों को राहत पहुंचाने का निर्देश दिया. उन्होंने साफ कहा कि किसानों के हितों से किसी भी स्तर पर समझौता नहीं किया जाएगा।

उन्होंने आश्वासन दिया कि प्रत्येक प्रभावित किसान को उचित मुआवजा सुनिश्चित करने के लिए प्रशासन से लगातार संपर्क बनाए रखा जाएगा।

किसानों के साथ खड़े रहने का भरोसा दिया

विधायक पंकज मलिक ने किसानों को आश्वासन दिया कि इस घटना को गंभीरता से लिया जा रहा है और जिम्मेदार अधिकारियों से जवाबदेही तय की जाएगी. उन्होंने कहा कि किसानों की मेहनत को नुकसान पहुंचाने वाली लापरवाही स्वीकार नहीं की जाएगी।

उन्होंने यह भी कहा कि भविष्य में ऐसी घटनाओं की पुनरावृत्ति को रोकने के लिए नहरों की नियमित निगरानी और मरम्मत सुनिश्चित की जाएगी।

इलाके में बढ़ी चिंता, राहत कार्य की उम्मीद

घटना के बाद पूरे इलाके के किसानों में चिंता का माहौल है. कई परिवारों की आजीविका प्रभावित होने की आशंका है. किसानों को उम्मीद है कि प्रशासन जल्द ही सर्वे और राहत पैकेज की घोषणा करेगा.

ग्रामीणों का कहना है कि समय पर सहायता मिलने से ही वे अगली फसल की तैयारी कर पाएंगे।

घिस्सुखेड़ा गांव में नहर टूटने से हुई फसल क्षति ने किसानों की मेहनत पर गहरा असर डाला है और इस घटना ने सिंचाई व्यवस्था की निगरानी को लेकर नई चिंताएं पैदा कर दी हैं. अब प्रशासन से अपेक्षा की जाती है कि वह भविष्य में ऐसी घटनाओं की रोकथाम सुनिश्चित करने के लिए प्रभावित किसानों को शीघ्र मुआवजा और स्थायी समाधान प्रदान करेगा।

New Delhi: Amid outrage over the latest Israeli attacks on Lebanon, India on Friday expressed deep concern over the large number of civilian casualties in air strikes following the two-week US-Iran ceasefire announced on Wednesday. According to reports from the area, more than 300 people were killed in the attacks. As a troop-contributing country to the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which is invested in the peace and security of Lebanon, the turn of events is deeply troubling, the Foreign Ministry said in response to media queries. The ministry did not take the name of Israel. The ceasefire has come under strain due to confusion over whether the agreement includes Lebanon. While Israel says this is not the case, Iran has called the attacks a flagrant violation of the agreement. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “India has always given importance to the security of civilians as the highest priority. It is essential to follow international law and respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states.” He said the Indian Embassy in Lebanon is in close touch with the Indian community for their safety. India welcomed the temporary ceasefire and expressed hope that it would facilitate freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and bring lasting peace in the region. Pakistan seemed ready to host talks between the US and Iran on Saturday to secure a ceasefire, which remains fragile at the moment. While visiting Pakistan, US Vice President JD Vance said he was looking forward to talks which he felt would be positive. However, he warned Tehran not to “play” the US. Vance said, “As the US President said, if the Iranians are willing to negotiate in good faith, we are certainly willing to extend an open hand. If they try to play along with us, they will find that the negotiating team is not as receptive.” Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that Israel is ready to start talks with Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah and establish peaceful relations.

A bus carrying British tourists in Spain’s Canary Islands has veered off a mountain road and crashed into a ravine, killing one person and injuring 27 others, authorities said.The accident occurred at about 1.15 pm local time on Friday on the GM-2 highway near San Sebastian de La Gomera on the island of La Gomera.According to officials, the bus lost control at a turn and slid down the slope into a ravine. The vehicle was reportedly taking a group of British tourists on a boat trip.

Casualties and Injuries

Emergency services confirmed that one person died in the accident, while 27 others, including the driver, were injured. Many of these passengers suffered serious injuries, with at least three of them said to be in critical condition.Most of the injured were initially taken to the local hospital in San Sebastián, with some later transferred to facilities on the neighboring island of Tenerife for advanced treatment.

Emergency response and rescue efforts

Rescue teams including fire brigade, police, ambulance and air rescue units rushed to the spot after receiving the alert shortly after 1 pm.Photos released by authorities show the bus lying in a steep ravine below the road, suggesting the impact of the accident was severe.

officials react

Canary Islands President Fernando Clavijo said he was monitoring the situation closely and expressed support for the victims and their families.The British Embassy in Madrid also said it was aware of the incident and stood ready to assist affected citizens.Spanish police have launched an investigation to determine the cause of the accident. Authorities have not yet confirmed whether factors such as road conditions, driver error or mechanical failure played a role.Serious accidents have been seen on GM-2 road in the past also. Last year, a woman had died and 10 people were injured in an accident on the same route.