Mangaluru cooker blast: ED conducts searches in Karnataka
New Delhi (PTI): The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday conducted searches at some locations in Karnataka's Mangaluru as part of a money laundering probe linked to a cooker bomb blast that took place in the city last year, official sources said.
The money laundering case of the federal probe agency is based on an FIR of the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
The ED officials conducted raids at a building in Mangaluru, where a Congress party office is also located, apart from some other locations as part of gathering documents and evidences in the case filed under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they said.
Sources said the agency searched an office in that building and no raids were conducted in the premises of any political party. Searches were also undertaken at some other places, they said.
A bomb blast took place in an auto rickshaw in the outskirts of Mangaluru on November 19 last year and the man who was allegedly handling the explosives in the three-wheeler, Mohammed Shariq, is the main suspect in the case.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
President Donald Trump to feature on limited edition US passports
Washington (PTI): The State Department is all set to unveil a limited-edition US passport with pictures of President Donald Trump and the Founding Fathers to commemorate the 250th anniversary of American independence in July.
The special passports will be available only to those who show up in person at the Washington Passport Agency and not anywhere else across the country.
The Department of State shared images of the limited edition passports on its social media accounts.
One page of the passport carries Trump's image surrounded by the text of the Declaration of Independence and the American flag along with the president's signature in gold.
Another page features the famous painting of the founding fathers at the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
The passports, which are set to be released this summer, are part of the Trump administration’s broader "America250" celebration, which also includes a Grand Prix race on the National Mall in August and a UFC fight on the White House South Lawn in June.
"As the United States celebrates America's 250th anniversary in July, @StateDept is preparing to release a limited number of specially designed US Passports to commemorate this historic occasion,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said in a post on X.
A State Department official told Fox News Digital that the new designs will be available for "any American citizen" who applies for a passport when the rollout happens and will continue for as long as there is availability.
“These passports will feature customised artwork and enhanced imagery while maintaining the same security features that make the US Passport the most secure documents in the world,” Pigott said in a statement.
In October, the Department of Treasury proposed minting a one dollar coin featuring Trump’s image on it, to mark the 250th anniversary of American Independence.
According to draft images confirmed as real by US Treasurer Brandon Beach, one side of the coin would feature Trump’s profile, along with the words “LIBERTY,” “IN GOD WE TRUST,” and “1776-2026.”
The other side of the coin would feature Trump standing with a clenched right fist in front of an American flag and the words “FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT” — a reference to his chant after the 2024 assassination attempt at his campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
