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Quote:US. District Judge Kathleen M. Williams landed a legal blow to the Trump administration Thursday night in a ruling on Alligator Alcatraz, banning site expansion and new detainees at the immigration detention center at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport.
The judge is giving the administration 60 days, "once the population attrition allows for implementation of this order," to remove the fencing, gas, sewage, lighting, generators and "waste receptacles that were installed to support this project."
Newsweek reached out to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) via email for additional comment Thursday night.
Why It Matters
The detention center is a focal point of President Donald Trump's second-term immigration platform. Trump, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and other administration officials have touted the facility—built by repurposing the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in Ochopee, Florida—as representing the White House's hard-line stance on immigration enforcement and border security.
Critics—who include Democrats, civil rights groups and environmentalists—have said detainees at the facility are forced to endure unsafe, unsanitary and inhumane living conditions and that Alligator Alcatraz runs afoul of environmental laws.
The center was quickly created and holds an estimated 1,000 beds. The bunk beds are stacked together in wire-fenced cages. Alligator Alcatraz is expected to cost Florida about $450 million annually to operate.
What To Know
The judge's order comes on the heels of lawsuits challenging the facility's potential damage to the environment on the protected Florida Everglades.
The Miccosukee Tribe of Native Americans brought a lawsuit, with environmental groups, based on their ties to the land and potential disruptions to water and food supply, according to the court ruling reviewed by Newsweek.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis dismissed worries about the environmental effects of the facility.
The judge, in her ruling, prohibited "bringing any additional persons onto the … site who were not already being detained."
The ruling also prohibits the installation of "industrial-style" lighting, paving, filling, excavating, fencing or any other site expansion, including new building tents or dormitories. The order does not prohibit modifications or repairs to existing facilities for the purpose of increasing safety or mitigating environmental and other risks.
The state of Florida, which is partnering with the federal government to build the facility, filed a notice of appeal on Thursday night, shortly after the ruling was issued.
Quote:The California state legislature has passed a redistricting plan that favors Democrats on the same day that Texas looks to pass its own redistricting plan that would favor Republicans as the two parties eye the 2026 midterm elections and control of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Newsweek reached out to the offices of Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom and Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott as well as the White House via email on Thursday night.
Why It Matters
The Republican-led Texas legislature on Wednesday voted to advance its controversial congressional redistricting plan, with the Texas House of Representatives voting 88 to 52 along party lines. The Texas Senate considered the map on Thursday, voting to advance it to a full vote in the afternoon.
President Donald Trump has urged other Republican-led states to similarly redraw their voting maps ahead of the 2026 midterms in order to secure a majority. The GOP holds a slim majority in both houses of Congress, and historically, the first midterm for a president sees his party suffer at the polls, which Trump witnessed during his first term.
But Democratic governors have threatened to retaliate if Texas finalizes its map, spurring Newsom to pursue a new districting map for his state, promising to "fight fire with fire" and prevent Trump from trying to "rig" the midterms.
What To Know
California's redistricting plan adds five seats that favor Democrats in a direct counterweight to the five seats the Republicans could gain in Texas, but the California measure would only replace the current map and expire in 2030 on the original deadline.
The State Assembly passed the new map by 57 to 20, and the state Senate also approved the new map just hours later on a party-line vote of 30 to 8.
"Open your eyes to what is going on in the United States of America in 2025," Newsom said at a news conference following the vote. "That's what this is about. We're responding [to] what occurred in Texas."
"We're neutralizing what occurred, and we're giving the American people a fair chance, because when all things are equal, and we're all playing by the same rules, there's no question that the Republican Party will be the minority party in the House of Representatives next year," Newsom said.
The new map still requires California voters to approve it, which will occur at a special election November 4, giving both Republicans and Democrats around 75 days to rally voters.
Newsom's plan has faced fierce backlash from Republicans in California, including former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and ex-U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who will campaign against the new map in what is poised to become a bitter fight in the Golden State.
Quote:Several suspects are in custody after authorities recovered more than 800 vases stolen from cemeteries in Omaha, Nebraska, and Council Bluffs, Iowa, resulting in over $100,000 in losses.
The Council Bluffs Police Department said in a news release that Shane E. Jackson, 52, Kenneth Meyerott, 66, and Miranda M. Shamblin, 27, were arrested on Wednesday. All face charges of first-degree theft related to possession of stolen property and Jackson and Meyerott are also accused of solicitation of a felony.
Frankie S. Diaz-Lopez, 26, is also charged with theft and solicitation while currently jailed in Douglas County, Nebraska, on unrelated charges.
Four other people remain at large.
Why It Matters
The predominantly bronze vases are valued from $150 to $600 apiece, depending on the brand and type.
"Ripping these vases away from their memorials is a gut punch to the family members who visit a cemetery to mourn and remember their loved one," Council Bluffs Police Chief Matt Davis said at a news conference.
The investigation involved multiple agencies, including the Council Bluffs police, Carter Lake Police Department, Omaha Police Department and the Pottawattamie County Attorney's Office.
What To Know
The investigation began late last month after officials received a tip from a "concerned citizen." The individual saw a vehicle containing multiple memorial vases traveling near a scrap metal recycler, according to authorities.
The citizen thought the activity was "suspicious" and contacted a friend who is also a local funeral home director, police said. The director then contacted Council Bluffs police.
According to police, two former contract employees at Omaha's Westlawn-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery began stealing memorial vases from the graveyard and selling them as scrap metal in late June or early July, while conspiring with others to pilfer and scrap them.
Arrest warrants for the suspects were obtained on Tuesday. Kristin M. Davenport, Tracey L. Klahn, Patty M. Vance and Larry F. Trusler, all of Council Bluffs, remain at large, according to police.
Quote:The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the Trump administration can move forward with slashing hundreds of millions of dollars in federal research funding as part of its effort to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
In a narrow 5-4 decision, the justices lifted a lower court order that had blocked $783 million in cuts made by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The majority's unsigned order frees the administration to proceed with canceling grants already targeted for elimination, while leaving in place restrictions on the administration's guidance for future funding decisions.
Conservative Chief Justice John Roberts joined the court's three liberals in dissent, warning that the funding freeze should have remained in effect while litigation continues.
Why It Matters
The ruling is the latest legal victory for President Donald Trump, allowing his administration to accelerate its plan to cancel hundreds of existing grants while a broader lawsuit plays out in the lower courts.
Earlier this summer, U.S. District Judge William Young in Massachusetts sided with the challengers, calling the abrupt NIH cancellations arbitrary and discriminatory. Young, a Reagan appointee, expressed shock at the administration's approach. "I've never seen government racial discrimination like this," he said during a June hearing, later adding: "Have we no shame."
An appeals court left his order intact before the Trump administration appealed to the Supreme Court.
What To Know
Plaintiffs—including a coalition of 16 Democratic state attorneys general and public-health advocacy groups—warned that the cuts would inflict "incalculable losses in public health and human life." They argue that many of the canceled studies address urgent issues like cancer treatments, infectious diseases, and maternal health.
The Justice Department countered that research funding decisions fall squarely within the executive branch's discretion and should not be "subject to judicial second-guessing." Lawyers for the administration also claimed that programs marketed under the DEI label may "conceal insidious racial discrimination," echoing a broader push by Republicans to dismantle DEI programs across federal agencies, schools, and corporations.
At issue in the case is only a portion of the $12 billion in NIH research funding already cut under Trump's orders. In its emergency appeal to the Supreme Court, however, the administration also challenged nearly two dozen other judicial orders that have blocked similar funding cuts in related cases. Solicitor General D. John Sauer argued that federal judges should not be hearing these disputes at all, insisting that claims belong in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims under a previous Supreme Court ruling that allowed cuts to a teacher-training program.
Quote:A federal judge ruled Thursday that President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, Alina Habba, has been unlawfully serving as the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey, declaring that her continued role as U.S. attorney after July violated federal law.
The decision, handed down by U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann, a Republican, concluded that Habba's statutory term as interim U.S. attorney expired on July 26, 2025, and that subsequent efforts by the Trump administration to keep her in office without Senate confirmation did not comply with governing procedures.
"I conclude that she is not statutorily eligible to perform the functions and duties of the office of the United States Attorney and has therefore unlawfully held the role since July 24, 2025," Brann wrote.
Why It Matters
Habba's tenure has been marked by controversy since her appointment. Once a White House adviser and longtime defense attorney for Trump, she was named interim U.S. attorney for New Jersey in March.
At the time, she raised eyebrows by proclaiming that New Jersey could "turn red," an unusual political remark for a federal prosecutor. She also pledged to investigate the state's Democratic governor and attorney general, further fueling concerns that her office would pursue overtly partisan cases.
What to Know
While issuing the ruling, Brann, who was nominated to his post by former Democratic President Barack Obama in 2012, said he would put the order on hold pending an appeal. The Justice Department told the Associated Press it intends to appeal the ruling.
The ruling came in response to a filing brought on behalf of defendants in New Jersey, who argued that Habba lacked legal authority to prosecute them after her 120-day interim appointment lapsed in July. The defendants sought to block the charges against them entirely, contending that any case brought under her authority should not stand.
Concerns deepened when Habba's office brought a trespassing charge against Newark Mayor Ras Baraka over his visit to a federal immigration detention facility. Though the charge was ultimately dropped, Habba followed by indicting Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver on assault charges stemming from the same incident—an exceedingly rare instance of federal prosecutors bringing a criminal case against a sitting member of Congress outside of corruption allegations. McIver has denied the charges and entered a not guilty plea.
The instability surrounding Habba's role came to a head in late July, as her four-month appointment was about to expire. With no backing from New Jersey's Democratic Sens. Cory Booker and Andy Kim, her chances for Senate confirmation were effectively dead under the long-standing practice of "senatorial courtesy," in which home-state senators can block judicial and prosecutorial nominees. Trump formally nominated her on July 1, but opposition from Booker and Kim sealed her fate. The president subsequently withdrew her nomination.
At that point, federal judges in New Jersey exercised their statutory authority to name a career prosecutor to replace Habba after her temporary term expired. But Attorney General Pam Bondi quickly fired that appointee and reinstalled Habba as acting U.S. attorney, asserting that the executive branch retained authority over federal prosecutorial appointments. The Justice Department, backing Bondi's move, argued in court filings that the judges had acted prematurely and that the administration had the power to keep Habba in place.
Judge Brann's decision directly challenges that position, siding with the defendants who argued that Habba had overstayed her lawful authority. His ruling now casts doubt on cases she initiated during her disputed tenure and leaves open questions about how prosecutions handled by her office will proceed. Brann's stay of his order pending appeal means Habba can continue in the role temporarily, but the legal and political fight over her appointment is far from over.
Quote:Erik Menendez was denied parole by a two-member panel of California state parole commissioners after an all-day hearing Thursday.
Commissioners cited repeated prison rule violations—including allegations of cellphone use, alcohol and substance-related abuse, gang activity, fights, and a tax scam—as evidence he continued to pose an unreasonable risk to public safety, The Associated Press reported.
The decision marked the first parole denial for Erik since a judge in May reduced the brothers' original life-without-parole sentences to 50 years to life, a ruling that made both Erik and his brother Lyle immediately eligible for parole.
Commissioners framed their ruling around Menendez's conduct behind bars rather than the 1989 killings themselves, allowing him to seek reconsideration in three years.
Why It Matters
The Menendez case remains a high-profile legal and cultural touchstone more than three decades after Jose and Kitty Menendez were shot dead in their Beverly Hills home. The brothers' resentencing and subsequent parole hearings tested California's evolving approach to youthful offenders and the role of prison rehabilitation in parole decisions.
The hearings also reopened public debate about accountability, victim impact and the weight parole panels placed on in-custody behavior versus past crimes.
What To Know
The case dates back to 1989, when Erik and his brother Lyle fatally shot their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills home. They were convicted after two trials, with the second ending in 1996, and sentenced to life without parole.
Thursday's hearing took place over video, with Erik appearing remotely from the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego.
The parole commissioners denied Erik Menendez parole and barred him from reapplying for three years, meaning he will not be eligible again until that time has passed.
Prison Conduct
Much of the hearing focused on Menendez's conduct behind bars. Commissioners cited incidents involving alcohol use, alleged gang affiliation, and possession of a cellphone.
Asked why he risked using a phone, Menendez said, , "What I got in terms of the phone and my connection with the outside world was far greater than the consequences of me getting caught with the phone." On substance use, he said, "If I could numb my sadness with alcohol, I was going to do it...I would have taken other drugs to numb that pain...I was looking to ease that sadness within me."
Menendez said his life began to change in 2013 when he chose sobriety and turned to faith. "From 2013 on I was living for a different purpose. My purpose in life was to be a good person...I asked myself, 'Who do I want to be when I die?' I believe I'm going to face a different parole board when I die."
Quote:California’s parole board has deemed Lyle Menendez not suitable for parole, likely leaving both brothers in jail 36 years after executing their wealthy parents.
The California Board of Parole hearings denied Lyle’s petition for freedom on Friday after a grueling, nearly 12-hour hearing in which his family members insisted he had been reformed while prosecutors painted him as a menace to society.
The board’s decision came the day after they denied parole to Lyle’s brother Erik; it will be three years before either brother can make another parole bid.
It was a heartbreaking defeat for attorneys, families and fans of the high-profile criminals, who have spent most of two years pushing for Lyle and Erik’s freedom more than three decades after they purchased shotguns and killed Jose and Kitty Menendez, execution style, in the living room of their lavish Beverly Hills mansion.
“While we are, of course, disappointed by today’s decision as well, we are not discouraged,” the killer siblings’ family said in a statement. “The process for parole is exceptionally rigorous, but we are incredibly proud of how Erik and Lyle showed up — with honesty, accountability, and integrity.”
They vowed that the ruling “is not the end of the road.”
“Both will go before the Board again, and their habeas petition remains under review. In the meantime, we know they will take time to reflect on the Board’s recommendations and will continue to lead, mentor, and build programs that support rehabilitation and hope for others,” the family said.
“We know they are good men who have done the work to rehabilitate and are remorseful. We love them unconditionally and will continue to stand by them on the journey ahead.”
The brothers claimed they were acting in self-defense after years of sexual abuse by their father with their mother’s help; they feared their parents would murder them to shut them up.
At their parole hearings, prosecutor Habib Balian dismissed that claim and argued that sticking to the lie showed the brothers had no “insight” into their own crimes — a key component of parole eligibility in California.
Insight means taking full responsibility for a crime and understanding the factors that led you to commit the crime, such as anger, inability to handle stress, and substance abuse, said Michael Beckman, a lawyer specializing in parole hearings.
The pair had also been cited for several rule violations while in jail. Both brothers had been dinged for possessing contraband cell phones, and Erik had been cited for fights with other inmates in 1997 and 2011.
Quote:The Democratic governor has mobilized the troops as her party criticizes Trump’s decision to send the force to Washington
Since June, and without much fanfare, dozens of National Guard soldiers in Albuquerque, the capital and largest city of New Mexico, have been listening to police communications, monitoring traffic cameras, and helping secure crime scene perimeters. These are not the typical duties of a military force designed as a locally deployable contingent, usually used to support natural disasters or emergency situations, but they are responding to an explicit request from the local police.
At the same time, in Washington, D.C., the presence of National Guard troops ordered by President Donald Trump last week to address an alleged crime crisis has drawn strong criticism from the Democratic opposition as well as protests from the city’s residents.
The deployment of 60 to 70 personnel in Albuquerque was originally requested in April by the city police, who, in an emergency petition, cited the “fentanyl epidemic and rising youth violence” as critical problems requiring immediate intervention. Democratic Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham approved the request, and a week ago, just as the National Guard arrived in Washington, she signed a declaration of a state of emergency for the northern part of the state, allowing her to mobilize more troops there if necessary.
President Trump, on the other hand, ordered 800 National Guard troops to Washington, D.C. without any prior request from local authorities, citing the oft-repeated security crisis that is not backed by statistics. In response to this troop mobilization and the attempt to take direct control of the local Washington police, Democrats nationwide denounced what they consider an illegal and dangerous use of the troops. Similar criticism arose when Trump sent thousands of National Guard personnel to California in June during protests against his immigration agenda.
In a statement condemning the president’s unilateral action in Washington, Governor Grisham and the mayor of Albuquerque warned “Trump’s massive executive overreach in Washington sets a dangerous precedent and undermines safety in our nation’s capital.”
Foreseeing potential accusations of hypocrisy for taking the same action as Trump, they emphasized the differences between the two situations. “The contrast couldn’t be clearer: while President Trump uses the National Guard to trample local leadership, New Mexico brings together local and state governments to make our communities genuinely safer,” said the statement.
What would people say under such circumstances?
Oh right, same difference.
National Guard mobilizing in 19 states amid immigration, crime crackdown
President indicates Chicago and New York could be next targets for expanded operations
President indicates Chicago and New York could be next targets for expanded operations
Quote:Up to 1,700 National Guardsmen are set to mobilize in 19 states in the coming weeks to assist the Department of Homeland Security with President Trump’s nationwide crackdown on illegal immigration and crime, Pentagon officials confirmed to FOX News.
Documents obtained by FOX News show planning for activations in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wyoming – with status effective from August through mid-November. Texas is projected to host the most significant Guard presence.
The National Guard soldiers being mobilized will effectively serve as a support pillar to a sweeping federal interagency effort, while also serving as a visible deterrent force, a U.S. Defense official said. The service members supporting ICE will be preforming case management, transportation, logistical support, and clerical functions associated with the processing of illegal migrants at the facilities. "The in-and-out processing may include personal data collection, fingerprinting, DNA swabbing and photographing of personnel in ICE custody," the official said.
President Trump has indicated in recent days his administration aims to broaden the DC operation to other states, telling a group of federal agents and National Guard troops at a DC patrol center Thursday, "We're going to make it safe, and we're going to then go on to other places."
On Friday in the Oval Office, Trump said, "I think Chicago will be our next. And then we'll help with New York," Trump said.
A U.S. Defense official told FOX, "We won’t speculate on further operations, but can tell you that the department is a planning organization and continues to work and plan with other agency partners to protect federal assets and personnel."
Fewer than 2% of the authorized forces have mobilized so far, but missions coordinated under state governors are projected to expand in the coming weeks – including in Virginia, where approximately 60 soldiers and airmen will begin training August 25th to begin duty by early September, the Virginia National Guard confirmed.
"VNG personnel will not conduct law enforcement functions, and VNG support will not include making arrests," a spokesperson for the Virginia National Guard tells FOX. "VNG Soldiers and Airmen will report directly to ICE leadership at their assigned duty locations but remain under the control and direction of the Virginia Governor and Adjutant General of Virginia."
The deployment of National Guard troops — a state-controlled reserve force — will allow the U.S. military to provide a more direct role in supporting federal immigration enforcement amid as the Trump administration pushes forward with mass deportations of criminal illegal aliens.
Quote:A trade group representing the trucking industry has reacted to Secretary of State Marco Rubio's announcement that the U.S. will be pausing work visas for truckers "immediately" in the interests of Americans' safety.
In a statement released Thursday, Chris Spear, president and CEO of the American Trucking Associations (ATA), said his group supported the move, and that the issuance of non-domiciled commercial driver's licenses (CDLs) "needs serious scrutiny, including the enforcement of entry-level driver training standards."
Newsweek has contact the ATA via email for further comment.
Why It Matters
Rubio's announcement followed a fatal crash on a Florida highway earlier this month involving a trucker from India who, officials later confirmed, was in the country illegally. Preliminary findings of an investigation by the Department of Transportation (DOT) revealed that, when questioned following the accident, the driver failed assessments on his English language proficiency as well as his understanding of highway traffic rules. While Rubio's announcement did not mention the crash, and is focused on worker visas rather than CDLs, he said that the increasing number of foreign truckers was "endangering American lives."
Depending on the length of the pause, however, this could potentially exacerbate the persistent trucker shortage already facing the U.S. By some estimates, this shortfall is expected to grow to over 100,000 drivers by the end of the decade.
What To Know
Following Rubio's announcement, a State Department spokesperson told Newsweek that the pause would affect applicants hoping to operate commercial trucks with H-2B, E-2 and EB-3 visa classifications.
"The Department will take all necessary steps to protect public safety, including on America's roads," they added.
In April, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to tighten regulations surrounding English proficiency for commercial drivers and ensure understanding of "commonsense" highway rules. English language requirements are already included in federal regulations, but have been minimally enforced according to the president's order.
The ATA sent a letter to Trump thanking him for responding to its concerns around the "uneven application" of existing regulations concerning English proficiency for CDL holders.
As the ATA noted in its reaction to the latest announcement from Rubio, Secretary Duffy also launched a nationwide audit into states issuing non-domiciled CDLs—licenses given to individuals who are not permanent residents of the U.S.
"Our audit is about protecting the safety of families on the road and upholding the integrity of CDLs held by America's truckers," Duffy said. "Every state must follow federal regulations, and ensure only qualified, properly documented drivers are getting behind the wheel of a truck."
In October 2024, the National Association of Truck Stop Owners (NATSO), citing Labor Department data, said that the number of foreign-born truckers in the U.S. comprised around 18 percent of the total workforce.
Quote:The 2026 FIFA World Cup draw will take place at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., President Donald Trump announced on Friday.
The draw will be held on December 5, Trump said, adding: "Some people refer to it as the Trump-Kennedy Center, but we're not prepared to do that quite yet. Maybe in a week or so."
Why It Matters
The draw will determine the group-stage matchups for the expanded 48-team field. Speaking from the Oval Office alongside FIFA President Gianni Infantino, Vice President JD Vance and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Trump said the Kennedy Center "will give it a phenomenal kickoff."
The World Cup will be hosted jointly by the United States, Canada and Mexico, with games set across 16 stadiums between June 11 and July 19, 2026.
What To Know
Before Friday's announcement, Las Vegas had been considered the front-runner to host the draw. However, Washington remained a strong contender, in part because it allowed Trump to be more directly involved.
The draw is more than just a procedural event—it's a high-profile production featuring speeches, performances and global media attention. Trump is expected to play a leading role during the ceremony.
Trump's involvement with FIFA has intensified in recent months. He attended the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, where Chelsea lifted the championship trophy. At a separate White House event earlier this year, Trump held the new Club World Cup trophy, presented to him by Infantino.
During Friday's announcement, Trump turned to Infantino and asked whether he could also hold the World Cup trophy. Infantino obliged, handing it over with a grin and said "only winners" are allowed to hold it. Trump joked: "Can I keep it?" and said it would fit nicely in the Oval Office.
Concerns have been raised internationally about travel to the U.S. ahead of the tournament, particularly over visa delays, travel bans, and the potential for immigration raids during the games.
Trump Advocates For Putin
While discussing the World Cup and the U.S. role as host, Trump surprised the room by holding up a photo of himself with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"I'm going to sign this for him," Trump said. "That's a man named Vladimir Putin who I believe will be coming [to the 2026 FIFA World Cup], depending on what happens." The remark appeared to catch Infantino off guard.
The comment raised eyebrows, as Russia has been suspended from FIFA and UEFA competitions since its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. All Russian national and club teams remain barred from international play "until further notice," under a joint decision by the FIFA Council and UEFA Executive Committee.
Quote:The Pentagon has created a new medal for service members who’ve deployed to the southern border to assist federal law enforcement with President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration.
The Pentagon unveiled plans for a Mexican Border Defense Medal for US troops serving with Joint Task Force Southern Border, according to a new memo the Pentagon released Aug.13 that was shared on social media.
A US defense official confirmed the authenticity of the memo to Fox News Digital Wednesday.
Now, service members will receive the Mexican Border Defense Medal (MBDM) instead of the Armed Forces Service Medal (AFSM) like they previously earned for supporting Customs and Border Protection at the border, the memo said.
The Armed Forces Service Medal, created in 1996 by former President Bill Clinton, is awarded to troops who have participated in a military operation with “significant activity” but didn’t encounter foreign armed opposition or imminent hostile action, according to a US Army description of the medal.
The Pentagon said in July that approximately 8,500 military personnel are assigned to Joint Task Force Southern Border and have been tasked with responding to security threats there.
The task force got underway in March and completed approximately 3,500 patrols between then and July, according to the Pentagon.
Those eligible for the award must have deployed since Jan. 20 to support Customs and Border Protection and served within 100 nautical miles from the international border shared with Mexico in either Texas, New Mexico, Arizona or California.
Those who’ve also served in adjacent waters up to 24 nautical miles away from the border also are eligible.
Quote:The head of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) was fired Friday weeks after the agency drafted a preliminary bomb-damage assessment – that was leaked to the media – suggesting that US strikes on Iran only set back the rogue nation’s nuclear program by a few months.
Air Force Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse, who had led the military intelligence agency since February 2024, “will no longer serve as DIA Director,” a senior Defense Official told The Post.
DIA Deputy Director Christine Bordine is now listed as acting director on the agency’s website.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly fired Kruse over a “a loss of confidence” in the lieutenant general, two congressional officials told the New York Times.
The DIA’s classified, “low confidence” estimation of the effectiveness of the June 21 airstrikes on Iran’s Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz nuclear facilities was leaked to CNN three days after American B-2 stealth bombers and cruise missiles bombarded the sites.
The document, which an official described as being based only on limited intelligence gathered the day after the strike, reportedly indicated the Iranian regime could bring its nuclear program back online as quickly as one to two months.
The preliminary assessment also suggested that Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium was not destroyed by the airstrikes.
President Trump and several administration officials fumed over the leak.
Trump described it as “AN ATTEMPT TO DEMEAN ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL MILITARY STRIKES IN HISTORY,” in a Truth Social post.
“THE NUCLEAR SITES IN IRAN ARE COMPLETELY DESTROYED!” the president maintained.
Special envoy Steve Witkoff charged that any suggestion the US did not achieve its military objectives in Iran is “completely preposterous,” in an interview on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle” at the time.
Witkoff went on to slam the leaking of the DIA assessment as “outrageous” and “treasonous,” and called for an investigation to find the person responsible for it in order to hold them accountable.
Quote:Pentagon officials are enraged by a Washington Post report they say jeopardizes the safety of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and his family by disclosing sensitive security details.
The report, dubbed a Washington Post exclusive and headlined “Hegseth’s expansive security requirements tax Army protective unit,” cites unnamed “officials” who insist Hegseth is straining the agency tasked with protecting him because of “unusually large personal security requirements.”
“The sprawling, multimillion-dollar initiative has forced the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division, or CID, the agency that fields security for top Defense Department officials, to staff weeks-long assignments in each location and at times monitor residences belonging to Hegseth’s former spouses, the officials said,” the Post reported.
“Army CID has faced significant staffing and budgetary shortfalls for years, but new demands since Hegseth’s arrival in January have put added pressure on the agency.”
The article noted that Hegseth requires additional resources because of a “large blended family” with homes in several locations, “a rise in politically motivated violence as the nation has become more splintered” and a bomb threat “made against his home in Tennessee.”
The Washington Post report also revealed the state where Hegseth’s second wife currently resides, noted that “CID security assignments can entail accompanying the children to school and walking the perimeter of the homes,” and criticized the secretary of defense for taking his family to a Washington Nationals baseball game.
“We attempted to get the Washington Post to remove sensitive details about the security of Secretary Hegseth’s wife, children, and extended family, citing obvious security concerns and the potential for threats to increase after its publication. There is no justification for the Washington Post to publish this information about them,” Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson told Fox News Digital.
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell blasted the paper for putting “lives at risk.”
“In the wake of two assassination attempts against President Trump, ICE agents facing a 1,000% increase in assaults, and repeated threats of retaliation from Iran for striking their nuclear capabilities, it’s astonishing that the Washington Post is criticizing a high-ranking cabinet official for receiving appropriate security protection, especially after doxxing the DHS Secretary last week,” Parnell wrote on X, referring to a previous report that revealed the residence of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.
“Any action pertaining to the security of Secretary Hegseth and his family has been in response to the threat environment and at the full recommendation [of] the Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID),” Parnell continued.
“When left-wing blogs like the Washington Post continue to dox cabinet secretaries’ security protocols and movements, it puts lives at risk.”
Quote:Two seemingly normal Los Angeles hardware stores were actually elaborate fronts for a massive cargo theft operation that netted $4.5 million worth of stolen goods ripped off from trains, trucks and cargo ships, police said.
DJ General Tool & Wire’s Montebello and Huntington Park locations served as distribution centers for an organized crime ring that targeted valuable merchandise from across Southern California’s transportation network, according to the LAPD.
The stolen inventory included power tools, e-bikes and appliances from major brands including Dyson, Milwaukee, DeWalt and Makita, investigators told the Los Angeles Times.
Store owner Dojoon Park, 41, of Montebello, was arrested on suspicion of receiving stolen property as authorities prepare to file charges that could land him behind bars for years.
“We are in the process of fully evaluating the crimes that he has committed, and we anticipate charges being brought against him … that will involve maximum sentences of years of state prison time,” District Attorney Nathan Hochman said at a news conference on Wednesday.
The bust represents the latest strike in an ongoing battle against sophisticated cargo theft operations that have plagued Los Angeles transportation hubs in recent years.
Union Pacific Police and Los Angeles Port Police collaborated with LAPD investigators to connect specific cargo theft incidents to merchandise being sold at Park’s stores and through his online business platforms.
McDonnell emphasized the broader impact of cargo theft beyond the immediate financial losses.
“It’s also important to remember that cargo theft is not a victimless crime,” the police chief said.
“It affects retailers, distributors and ultimately all of us consumers. Protecting the integrity of our supply chain is vital to public safety as well as the economic stability of Los Angeles.”
Hochman warned others involved in similar crimes, promising aggressive prosecution for anyone participating in cargo theft or fencing operations — which are illegal businesses that sell stolen merchandise at a discount to a fence, who then resells it to unsuspecting buyers.
The term “fence” is used for someone who buys and sells stolen goods because the person acts as a barrier or middleman between the thief and the final buyer — helping hide the true origin of the goods.
Quote:A maniac threw gasoline on cops and set fire to a decommissioned police precinct in the Bronx early Friday morning using a gas-filled Coca-Cola bottle, according to sources and the NYPD.
Samantha Calderon, 32, of the Bronx, was witnessed by two police officers allegedly pouring gasoline on a decommissioned stationhouse on Alexander Avenue at around 2:30 a.m., according to sources.
The alleged firebug then lit the gasoline on fire, which ignited on the structure briefly before it self-extinguished, cops said.
When confronted, Calderon became combative and threw gasoline from the bottle of Coke onto the officers, hitting them in the face.
Calderon was apprehended and taken to Lincoln Hospital for a psych evaluation.
Both officers refused medical attention at the scene, the NYPD said.
She was later charged with arson, criminal mischief, assault and resisting arrest.
Quote:A disgraced Big Apple teacher’s aide – once entrusted with caring for disabled students – was allegedly busted with a sickening stash of child porn, including thousands of vile videos, photos and files showing infants and toddlers being sexually abused, according to federal prosecutors.
Alejandro Santos, 47, was arraigned Friday in Brooklyn Federal Court on an indictment charging him with possessing and transporting the depraved cache of files on his cellphone, the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York said.
Prosecutors said the Bronx resident – who spent 23 years working for the city’s Department of Education – also possessed images of clothed children in classrooms and other settings, some of whom appeared to have physical disabilities.
“The details of Alejandro Santos’ alleged crimes are among every parent’s worst nightmare,” Ricky Patel, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations New York field.
“This defendant worked closely with young kids nearly every day over the course of 23 years. Protecting minors from individuals like this defendant is not only paramount, it’s personal. I implore any person who believes they have information related to crimes involving Santos to contact authorities.”
The alleged pervert – who worked at a Bronx school with mentally disabled children, some of them nonverbal – was cuffed at JFK Airport on July 15 after flying back from the Dominican Republic.
Prosecutors said border patrol agents flagged the twisted educator as a suspected “high-risk” carrier of child sex abuse materials, initially uncovering at least 100 videos and images of the disturbing content on his phone.
Quote:A 14-year-old girl and three other teens were shot by a gunman who opened fire during a chaotic broad-daylight brawl in the Bronx Friday, cops said.
The gunfire erupted around 4 p.m. on Overing Street in Westchester Square after a dispute between a large group of youths suddenly turned violent, police said.
A 13-year-old boy was struck in the left leg while a 14-year-old girl was also hit in the same spot by a lone shooter who approached the melee.
Another 14-year-old boy suffered a graze wound to his right foot and a 15-year-old boy was grazed in both legs, authorities said.
All four victims were rushed to Jacobi Hospital in stable condition.
The shooter fled the scene on foot, leaving the teens behind as bystanders called 911.
Police have not yet identified the suspect, and no arrests have been made.
Detectives are canvassing the area for witnesses and reviewing surveillance footage in hopes of identifying the gunman.
Investigators are also working to determine what sparked the clash that erupted into gunfire.
Murders in the Bronx are down nearly 15% so far this year — with 64 reported through mid-August compared to 75 during the same period in 2024.
Shootings have also plunged more than 30%, helping drive citywide reductions in gun violence to record lows.
Felony assaults declined nearly 8% in the latest 28-day period, though overall levels remain elevated compared to pre-pandemic years.
Quote:Officers raided an illegal marijuana farm last week, removing over 2,000 marijuana plants from Sequoia National Park in northern California.
The 13-acre site also contained around 2,000 pounds of trash and infrastructure that were removed by hand and by helicopter, the National Park Service said.
Other items found at the site included a semi-automatic pistol and a number of hazardous chemicals, such as a highly toxic insecticide that was banned in the U.S. over 15 years ago.
Authorities noted other hazards and damage the marijuana farm caused within the national park:
- Poaching activity was detected.
- A significant amount of natural vegetation was cleared.
- Trails covering an estimated two miles were illegally maintained.
- Campsites, kitchen areas and cultivation sites were developed in a wilderness area.
- Large pits were constructed to store diverted water, and terraces were dug into the hillside for planting marijuana.
- The natural flow of water from a nearby creek was redirected and channeled to water the marijuana plants, which can each use up to eight gallons of water per day. The diversion of water takes water away from wildlife and vegetation that rely on it, according to the NPS.
The agency added that water for personal use and crop irrigation within the mountainous Sequoia National Park can cause runoff contaminated with pesticides to reach the Central Valley.
“These cultivation sites cause major damage to the parks’ natural resources and are a threat to public and staff safety,” officials said.
The recently raided marijuana farm was initially spotted and raided in 2024 by authorities, but was not rehabilitated until this year because of the presence of dangerous chemicals, according to the NPS.
No arrests have been made, and the investigation is ongoing. The NPS asks anyone with tips on illegal cultivation on park land to please call the NPS-wide Tip Line at 888-653-0009.
Officials noted that well-organized drug-trafficking organizations have been operating large-scale cultivation operations in and around Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks for nearly 20 years.
Quote:A mob of rioters ambushed Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in San Francisco, with one knife-wielding, keffiyeh-clad agitator threatening to “stab” one of the feds and “go after” his family, according to a criminal complaint filed Thursday.
Adrian Guerrero was charged with assaulting an officer and destruction of property over the alleged Wednesday attack on ICE officers in the Enforcement Removal Operations division, federal prosecutors said.
“I’m going to f–k you up,” Guerrero seethed while allegedly wielding a black knife and wearing what appeared to be a black-and-white checkered keffiyeh headscarf and orange-tinted goggles, according to photos in the complaint filed by the Department of Homeland Security.
He also screamed that he was “going to go after your family” and “going to stab you,” during the melee on Montgomery Street in San Francisco.
Earlier that morning, Guerrero also allegedly slashed a tire on a white Chevrolet with DHS and official government markings. He was later arrested.
The knife-wielding menace was among a crowd of around 15 anti-ICE rioters who used pepper spray and socked officers in the ambush, DHS reps revealed Friday.
US Federal Protective Services and members of the San Francisco Police Department later appeared to clear the area of the mob, in coordination with ICE officers.
“Our brave ICE law enforcement are now facing a 1,000% increase in assaults against them as they risk their lives to arrest the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement.
These acts of violence are fueled by sanctuary politicians’ rhetoric vilifying our law enforcement,” he added. “We will not and have not let this violence stop us or slow us down.
“Everyday our law enforcement continues to enforce the law and arrest the most depraved criminals including pedophiles, terrorists, murderers, gang members, and sexual predators.”
Quote:A defiant Mayor Eric Adams on Friday refused to condemn his embattled cronies, including freshly indicted longtime adviser Ingrid Lewis-Martin — calling her his “sister” and saying she’s been a loyal friend for more than four decades.
Hizzoner convened a news conference as concerns about deep-rooted corruption at City Hall were re-invigorated Thursday when Manhattan prosecutors charged Lewis-Martin — the mayor’s former senior adviser — with a wide-ranging bribery and corruption scheme that also entangled a deputy commissioner.
“Ingrid is like a sister to me. I love Ingrid. She’s worked with me for over forty years. I served as a police officer with her husband. I know her son, and I know her, and I know her heart. And she and her attorney will deal with the case that’s in front of her. My prayers are with Ingrid, and I wish her the best,” Adams said.
“And throughout the number of years that I have known her, I found her to be a hardworking, dedicated member of city government for over 40 years.”
Adams also wished the best for Jesse Hamilton, his now-former deputy commissioner of real estate services, who was indicted alongside Lewis-Martin for allegedly trading favors for real estate developers in exchange for cash and other perks. Both have pleaded not guilty.
“The message that I am sending is due process, something we all believe in and makes our country, our country different than other places,” said Adams, who faced his own corruption indictment before federal prosecutors in Washington stepped in to scuttle the case earlier this year.
“If you condemn someone without that process, it’s a slap in the face of what our Constitution stands for,” Adams said. “Let the due process play out.”
But Adams’ lovefest didn’t extend to Winnie Greco, his ex-liaison for Asian community affairs and now-former volunteer on his re-election campaign who forced a cash-stuffed bag of chips on a reporter Wednesday.
Greco, who has not been charged with a crime, bafflingly contended the money-filled bag of sour cream and onion potato chips she handed THE CITY reporter Katie Honan this week was a “birthday gift.”
“I have no idea of the communication between Winnie and the reporter involved,” Adams said. “We don’t give money to reporters. I don’t know anything about what took place there.
Quote:Winnie Greco, the ex-adviser to Mayor Eric Adams who handed a reporter a cash-stuffed potato chip bag, bizarrely claimed Friday that the controversial packet was her “birthday gift” and implied that the journalist she slipped the money to wanted to “hurt her.”
Greco, when reached by The Post heading to her car in The Bronx, launched into the baffling explanation for giving the bag to THE CITY reporter Katie Honan on Wednesday.
“I don’t have purpose, and I treat people everyone is the same,” Greco said. “It’s angel, OK, but if somebody want to hurt me because I have love to my community, and I have love to the world, to my family, my people, and somebody try to hurt me, I cannot say nothing.”
Greco said she didn’t even know how much cash was in the red envelope found inside the Herr’s chips bag — which her attorney said contained $300 in cash — because it was “my birthday gift.”
“Before I didn’t know how much in my envelope because it’s my birthday gift that’s Chinese culture,” she said. “Somebody give me my birthday gift, I made big mistake I’m so sorry. Talk to my lawyer.”
She also double downed when The Post asked her to clarify if she really meant to say Honan wanted to “hurt” her.
“Yes. Talk to my lawyer,” she said.
The money-filled sour cream and onion ripple potato chip bag was widely seen as a failed bribe or payoff.
Greco and her attorney had previously defended the gift by contending it was part of Chinese culture to present cash to friends.
But Greco, who resigned from her City Hall position under a cloud of scrutiny, has apparently changed her tune to sound more like “Happy Birthday.” A source said Greco’s birthday is August 4, while Honan’s is in November.
“I can’t comment on the source of the money,” said Greco’s attorney Steven Brill, adding it was meant as a kind gesture, not as anything nefarious.
Quote:The Texas Senate gave final approval to a new, Republican-leaning congressional voting map early Saturday, sending it to Gov. Greg Abbott for his signature.
President Donald Trump has pushed for the map to help the GOP maintain its slim majority in Congress in the 2026 midterm elections. It has five new districts that would favor Republicans.
Abbott, a Republican, is expected to quickly sign it into law, but Democrats have vowed to challenge it in court.
The effort by Trump and Texas’ Republican-majority Legislature prompted state Democrats to hold a two-week walkout and kicked off a wave of redistricting efforts across the country.
Democrats had prepared for a final show of resistance, with plans to push the Senate vote into the early morning hours in a last-ditch attempt to delay passage.
State Sen. Carol Alvarado, leader of the Senate Democratic caucus, had announced on social media that she planned to filibuster the bill with a long speech and intended to speak for several hours in a last-ditch attempt to push off the final vote.
But just when she expected to start, the Senate broke for a long dinner break.
Alvarado’s delay tactics were the latest chapter in a weekslong showdown that has roiled the Texas Legislature, marked by a Democratic walkout and threats of arrest from Republicans. Much of the drama unfolded in the House, — where the map ultimately passed Wednesday.
“Republicans think they can walk all over us. Today I’m going to kick back,” Alvarado wrote on social media Friday. “I’ve submitted my intention to filibuster the new congressional maps. Going to be a long night.”
UKRAINE WAR
Special envoy Steve Witkoff says Russians made concessions 'almost immediately' in first Alaska meeting
Quote:Russia gave in quickly to concessions during President Donald Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, Friday, according to U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff.
The remarks come as the U.S. and European allies are sorting out various security guarantees to accompany a peace deal and after Witkoff said Sunday that Putin was on board with permitting the U.S. and its European allies to provide additional protection for Ukraine, akin to protections included in NATO’s Article 5 mutual defense clause.
"I don't want to delve into the specifics of what was discussed because we're in a negotiation, mediating, and I think we're going to be very successful because of the leadership of President Trump," Witkoff told Fox News Tuesday night.
"But there were concessions almost immediately made on the part of the Russians in the first meeting in Alaska," Witkoff said. "And, you know, part of getting those concessions was learning whether we were going to be able to see the Russians prepared to be more accommodating."
Historically, Russia has made demands that a peace deal include provisions to bar Ukraine from ever joining NATO, along with concessions on some of the borders that previously were Ukraine's.
Although Trump said Sunday that Ukraine could end the war by agreeing to certain land concessions to Russia and eliminating the possibility of NATO membership for Ukraine under a potential peace deal, the next step Trump and other European allies are working toward is hashing out security provisions for Ukraine under such a deal.
That was a huge focus Monday, when Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders at the White House to discuss various security measures to prevent Russian aggression against Ukraine in the future. After the meetings, Trump said Tuesday that sending U.S. troops to Ukraine to beef up security in the region was off the table.
"The president has definitively stated U.S. boots will not be on the ground in Ukraine, but we can certainly help in the coordination and perhaps provide other means of security guarantees to our European allies," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Tuesday.
"The president understands security guarantees are crucially important to ensure a lasting peace, and he has directed his national security team to coordinate with our friends in Europe and also to continue to cooperate and discuss these matters with Ukraine and Russia as well."
Quote:Ukrainian forces obliterated a critical part of Russia’s Druzhba oil pipeline overnight — as Kyiv fought back against Moscow’s ramped-up attacks despite ongoing peace deal talks.
Ukraine bombed the Unecha oil pumping station in the Bryansk region late Thursday, according to the commander of Ukraine’s unmanned systems forces, Robert Brovdy.
Footage posted on Telegram showed a huge inferno raging at a facility with multiple fuel tanks in the wake of the strikes.
Bryansk regional Gov. Alexander Bogomaz said Ukraine had fired HIMARS rockets and drones at the region in a combined attack, setting the energy facility ablaze.
The Unecha station, which is a critical part of Russia’s Europe-bound Druzhba oil pipeline, supplies oil to Hungary and Slovakia.
The Hungarian and Slovakian governments both said supplies to their countries could be cut for at least five days in the wake of the latest strike.
“The physical and geographical reality is that without this pipeline, the safe supply of our countries is simply not possible,” Foreign Ministers Peter Szijjarto and Juraj Blanar said in a letter to Europe’s Executive Commission on Friday.
Russia and Ukraine have stepped up attacks on each other’s energy infrastructure over the past few weeks — despite a push by President Trump to reach a deal to end the war.
Moscow has repeatedly targeted Ukraine’s gas infrastructure, while Kyiv has damaged several Russian refineries in a bid to disrupt Russian energy exports that are financing Russia’s invasion.
Quote:Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin is “just laughing” and laying “a trap” for the West to walk into if Ukraine ends up giving up land to Russia as part of a potential peace deal to end the war, the European Union’s top diplomat said Friday.
Putin has demanded, in part, that Ukraine cede the Donbas region in exchange for halting his army’s brutal, full-scale invasion.
But the EU’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, warned that caving in to those demands would only reward the country that started the bloodshed.
Kallas, who is on the Kremlin’s “wanted list,” told BBC News that handing territory to Russia was a “trap that Putin wants us to walk into.”
“Putin is just laughing, not stopping the killing but increasing the killing,” Kallas said.
“I mean, the discussion [is] all about what Ukraine should give up, what the concessions that Ukraine is willing to [make],” she continued.
“Whereas we are forgetting that Russia has not made one single concession and they are the ones who are the aggressor here, they are the ones who are brutally attacking another country and killing people.”
Kallas stressed that President Trump’s efforts to broker a deal, including his high-profile meeting with Putin in Alaska last week, was a propaganda jackpot for the Kremlin because it’s “clear that Russia does not want peace.”
“Any promises that Putin has given so far, he hasn’t kept,” Kallas said.
“This is what he [Putin] wanted,” she added, referring to the Alaska summit. “It was clear before the meeting that he wants the picture, but he got so much more. He got such a welcoming in America.”
In the wake of last week’s summit, Putin had said the meeting would hopefully open up the road to peace in Ukraine.
However, less than a week after the anticipated sit-down, Putin’s forces struck a US-owned electronics factory in Ukraine while some 800 civilians were working there.
Quote:Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded three conditions to achieving peace with Ukraine — he wants it to give up all of the eastern Donbas region, give up its NATO ambitions and remain neutral and keep Western forces out of the war-torn country, according to a report.
The Russian strongman outlined what it would take to end the more than three-year war during his high-stakes summit meeting in Alaska with President Trump last week, three sources familiar with top-level Kremlin thinking told Reuters.
Russian sources insisted to Reuters that Putin has cut down on his territorial demands from June 2024 that included four provinces that Moscow believes is part of their country: Donetsk and Luhansk, which encompasses the Donbas in eastern Ukraine, and Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in the south.
Now, Russia wants Ukraine to cede the parts of the Donbas it still controls and in return would stop fighting in the other two areas, the Russian sources said.
Currently, Russia controls about 88% of the Donbas and 73% of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, US estimates and open-source data indicate.
Moscow is also willing to give Ukraine a small part of the Kharkiv, Sumy, and Dnipropetrovsk regions controlled by Russia as part of a possible agreement, according to the sources.
Putin is still sticking by his demand that Ukraine stop its bid to join NATO and a legally binding pledge from the alliance that it won’t move more eastwards.
He also remains steadfast on limits on the Ukrainian army and no boots on the ground from Western nations will be used as a peacekeeping force, the sources said.
“Putin is ready for peace — for compromise,” one of the sources said. “That is the message that was conveyed to Trump.”
Zelensky has said his country would not hand over internationally recognized Ukrainian land to Russia while asserting the Donbas region acts as a fortress stopping Russia from invading deeper into Ukraine.
“If we’re talking about simply withdrawing from the east, we cannot do that,” he said Thursday. “It is a matter of our country’s survival, involving the strongest defensive lines.”
ASIA
Quote:President Donald Trump’s new deal in the South Caucasus has ended a decades-long conflict and handed Washington a rare strategic foothold on Iran’s northern border, experts say.
The agreement, signed earlier this month between Armenia and Azerbaijan, grants the U.S. a 99-year lease over the Zangezur Corridor – a narrow strip of land that will serve as a critical trade and energy route to Europe, bypassing Tehran entirely. Iranian American journalist and dissident Banafsheh Zand told Fox News Digital the move is “a wonderful gain for the U.S.” that also delivers a “slap in the face” to the regime in Tehran.
The corridor has long been at the center of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which displaced tens of thousands and fueled three decades of instability. Trump’s intervention brought both sides to the table and created what observers say is a new trade and security lifeline linking the Caspian Basin to Europe, bypassing Iran entirely.
Known as the Trump Route for Peace & Prosperity (TRIPP), economically, the agreement secures Washington a direct role in overseeing the flow of Caspian hydrocarbons to Europe. The U.S. will manage rail and road infrastructure, telecom networks and energy pipelines running through the corridor, giving American companies a dominant position in regional transit for oil, gas and goods. By controlling this artery, the U.S. not only generates billions in future trade and investment but also locks Europe into alternative supply routes that reduce reliance on both Russia and Iran.
For allies, the corridor offers cheaper and safer access to Caspian energy. For Tehran, it represents lost revenue, lost leverage, and the end of its ability to act as a mandatory gatekeeper for east-west commerce.
Zand said the deal is not only historic but also a direct win for Washington. “It’s a wonderful gain for the U.S.,” she said. “American contractors will be supervising oil and gas from the Caspian Basin, routed through Zangezur and Turkey to Europe. The profit margins are great, and it all happens under NATO’s blessing.”
Zand said the potential goes even further. “Nobody’s talking about it yet, but I don’t think it’s out of the question to see U.S. bases there,” she said. “If that happens, then checkmate the Khamenei regime and Russia.”
For Iran, the corridor represents what Zand called a nightmare scenario. Tehran has long used its geography to shape energy and trade flows. By inserting the U.S. into the region, the new deal effectively strips Iran of that leverage. Zand put it in stark terms: “Iran is shaped like a cat, a sitting cat. This corridor literally runs above the cat’s ears. It bypasses Iran, takes money away from the regime, and pushes them out into the cold.”
Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies Iran Program, said the corridor exposes how vulnerable Iran has become in the Caucasus. “Both the defeat of Armenia in the most recent war with Azerbaijan, as well as the political problems between Moscow and Yerevan today, have made it harder for the Islamic Republic to really benefit from its traditional economic and political relationship with Armenia,” he told Fox News Digital.
Quote:Saleh Abu Hussein, an Israeli citizen who was imprisoned in Lebanon for about a year, was returned to Israel on Thursday.
Lebanese authorities handed over Abu Hussein to Brig. Gen. (res.) Gal Hirsch, the Coordinator for the Hostages and the Missing in the Prime Minister’s Office, at the Rosh Hanikra/Ras Al Naqoura Crossing.
After questioning and an initial medical examination, the IDF transferred the civilian to a hospital for a comprehensive medical examination, after which he met with his family.
Abu Hussain is a mentally unstable resident of Rumana, near Nazareth in the Galilee, Ynet reported.
The circumstances of the incident are being investigated by the security forces. No information was given on why he was imprisoned in Lebanon.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “welcomed the return of the Israeli citizen who was repatriated from Lebanon,” according to a statement from Jerusalem.
“This is a positive step and a sign of things to come,” it added.
In May, Israel agreed to release five Lebanese detained during operations against Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorists in Southern Lebanon.
On Aug. 5, the Lebanese government ordered the army to prepare a plan to disarm all armed militias, including Hezbollah, by the end of the year. Hezbollah said it would not comply.
In November 2024, Israel and Lebanon agreed to a ceasefire. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the time that the Israel Defense Forces would respond “forcefully” to all violations of the agreement by Hezbollah.
Quote:Israel took out a terrorist during an airstrike earlier this month who was involved in the abduction of an Israeli man on Oct. 7, 2023, authorities said Tuesday.
The strike, which occurred in Gaza on Aug. 10, killed Jihad Kamal Salem Najjar, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security agency, announced.
“A small part of my closure happened today. Thank you to the IDF, the Shin Bet, and everyone who took part in the elimination of one of the terrorists who kidnapped me on October 7,” Yarden Bibas said in a statement provided by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. “Thanks to you, he will not be able to harm anyone else.”
“Please take care of yourselves, heroes. I am waiting for full closure with the return of my friends David and Ariel, and the remaining 48 hostages,” he added.
Najjar was involved in the invasion of the Kibbutz Nir Oz, one of the hardest hit during the deadly Oct. 7 attacks, where Bibas was kidnapped. Bibas’ family was kidnapped separately and was eventually murdered while in captivity.
He spent 480 days as a hostage before he was released in January. His wife, Shiri, and their two young children, Ariel and Kfir, were killed before their bodies were returned to Israel.
While in captivity, Bibas was forced to make a hostage film in which he was seen breaking down as Hamas claimed his wife and children had been killed.
Hamas often uses hostage videos as part of what the IDF calls “psychological terror.”
Upon his release, Bibas’ family said that “a quarter of our heart has returned to us after 15 long months… Yarden has returned home, but the home remains incomplete.”
In the aftermath of Hamas’ attack, the Bibas family became a symbol of the terror group’s cruelty. Video footage of Shiri Bibas holding her two red-headed children in her arms went viral across the globe.
In April, Israel said it had killed Mohammed Hassan Mohammed Awad, a senior commander in the Palestinian Mujahideen terrorist organization and who helped lead “several” attacks on the Nir Oz kibbutz.
Quote:Palestinians fled parts of Gaza City on Thursday as Israel’s military began the first stages of its planned offensive and vowed to completely obliterate the “battered and bruised” Hamas terror stronghold.
Israel’s troops have already established a foothold on the outskirts of the Palestinian enclave’s largest city and called up an additional 60,000 reservists to serve in the next phase of the war.
“We will deepen the blows to Hamas in Gaza City, a terror stronghold … We will deepen the blows to the terror infrastructure above and below ground — and disconnect the reliance of the population on Hamas,” Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said Wednesday.
The IDF “is not waiting” and has already begun initial operations in Gaza City ahead of the planned offensive to seize full control, he said.
“IDF troops are already taking control of the outskirts of Gaza City,” he said, adding that Hamas is a “battered and bruised guerrilla organization.”
The movement comes as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet with his cabinet ministers later Thursday to discuss his plan to seize Gaza City.
The timeline for the offensive wasn’t immediately clear.
Still, thousands of Palestinians were fleeing their homes as Israeli forces escalated shelling on the Sabra and Tuffah neighborhoods.
“We are facing a bitter-bitter situation, to die at home or leave and die somewhere else, as long as this war continues, survival is uncertain,” said Rabah Abu Elias, 67, a father of seven.
“In the news, they speak about a possible truce, on the ground, we only hear explosions and see deaths.
“To leave Gaza City or not isn’t an easy decision to make.”
Israeli tanks have been edging closer to densely populated Gaza City over the past week.
The tens of thousands of newly called-up reservists are likely to operate in parts of Gaza City where they haven’t been deployed yet and where Israel believes Hamas is still active, an Israeli official said.
Although Israel has already targeted and wiped out much of Hamas’ senior leadership, parts of Hamas are actively regrouping and carrying out attacks — including launching rockets toward Israel, the official added.
Quote:Israel’s defense minister warned Friday that the “gates of hell” will soon open up to destroy Gaza City if Hamas doesn’t agree to Israel’s terms for a cease-fire.
The ominous threat came a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would authorize Israeli troops to mount a major operation to seize the Palestinian enclave’s largest city — while denying a global hunger monitor’s declaration that the region is already suffering a famine.
“Soon, the gates of hell will open upon the heads of Hamas’s murderers and rapists in Gaza – until they agree to Israel’s conditions for ending the war, primarily the release of all hostages and their disarmament,” Defense Minister Israel Katz wrote in a post on X.
“If they do not agree – Gaza, the capital of Hamas, will become Rafah and Beit Hanoun. Exactly as I promised – so it shall be,” he added, referring to two areas reduced to rubble early in the war.
Israel is demanding the release of all hostages and Hamas’ complete disarmament to bring an end to the bloodshed.
Hamas, however, has said it would release captives in exchange for ending the nearly two-year-old war, but rejects disarmament without the creation of a Palestinian state.
The wide-scale operation in Gaza City could start within days after the Israel Defense Forces called up an additional 60,000 reservists this week.
Netanyahu has insisted his offensive plan is the surest way to free captives and crush Hamas.
“These two things — defeating Hamas and releasing all our hostages — go hand in hand,” Netanyahu said Thursday.
Thousands of Palestinians have already fled their homes as Israeli tanks have edged closer to Gaza City over the last 10 days.
It comes as the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a global hunger monitor, said Friday that roughly 514,000 people — nearly a quarter of Palestinians in Gaza — are experiencing famine.
The number is due to rise to 641,000 by the end of September, the assessment warned.
Quote:Japanese authorities arrested the son of an elderly man on murder charges after originally believing he was fatally mauled during a bear attack, according to reports and authorities.
Fujiyosh Shindo, 93, was discovered collapsed and bleeding by his wife inside their home in the northern Akita prefecture on Monday — originally alarming police into thinking a bear had wounded him, BBC reported.
In a twist, cops arrested Fujiyuki Shindo, 51, on Wednesday for allegedly murdering his father, the outlet reported.
The bear attack theory was withdrawn when authorities recognized Fujiyosh Shindo’s wounds were more consistent with knife injuries, the outlet said.
Cops had immediately sent out bear attack warning mail to residents in the northern Japan area, where shrinking farmland and an aging population have allowed bears to encroach into areas populated by humans, local outlets reported.
A whopping 219 people were attacked by bears in the year before March 2024, resulting in six deaths, according to Japan’s Environment Ministry.
Shindo initially told police that he did not notice anything unusual at the family home, where he also resided, during the time of the “bear attack” on his father, Kyodo News reported.
He is believed to have used a knife to slash his father’s face and back, the outlet said.
The nonagenarian was taken to a hospital and was later confirmed to be deceased.
Investigators seized multiple knives from the home as they tried to identify a murder weapon, local outlets said.
No motive has been identified in the alleged murder, police added.
The incident remains under investigation.
"For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ," 1 Thessalonians 5:9
Maranatha!
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My Original Stories (available in English and Spanish)
List of Compiled Binary Executables I have published...
HiddenChest & Roole
Give me a free copy of your completed game if you include at least 3 of my scripts!
Just some scripts I've already published on the board...
KyoGemBoost XP VX & ACE, RandomEnkounters XP, KSkillShop XP, Kolloseum States XP, KEvents XP, KScenario XP & Gosu, KyoPrizeShop XP Mangostan, Kuests XP, KyoDiscounts XP VX, ACE & MV, KChest XP VX & ACE 2016, KTelePort XP, KSkillMax XP & VX & ACE, Gem Roulette XP VX & VX Ace, KRespawnPoint XP, VX & VX Ace, GiveAway XP VX & ACE, Klearance XP VX & ACE, KUnits XP VX, ACE & Gosu 2017, KLevel XP, KRumors XP & ACE, KMonsterPals XP VX & ACE, KStatsRefill XP VX & ACE, KLotto XP VX & ACE, KItemDesc XP & VX, KPocket XP & VX, OpenChest XP VX & ACE
Maranatha!
The Internet might be either your friend or enemy. It just depends on whether or not she has a bad hair day.
My Original Stories (available in English and Spanish)
List of Compiled Binary Executables I have published...
HiddenChest & Roole
Give me a free copy of your completed game if you include at least 3 of my scripts!
Just some scripts I've already published on the board...
KyoGemBoost XP VX & ACE, RandomEnkounters XP, KSkillShop XP, Kolloseum States XP, KEvents XP, KScenario XP & Gosu, KyoPrizeShop XP Mangostan, Kuests XP, KyoDiscounts XP VX, ACE & MV, KChest XP VX & ACE 2016, KTelePort XP, KSkillMax XP & VX & ACE, Gem Roulette XP VX & VX Ace, KRespawnPoint XP, VX & VX Ace, GiveAway XP VX & ACE, Klearance XP VX & ACE, KUnits XP VX, ACE & Gosu 2017, KLevel XP, KRumors XP & ACE, KMonsterPals XP VX & ACE, KStatsRefill XP VX & ACE, KLotto XP VX & ACE, KItemDesc XP & VX, KPocket XP & VX, OpenChest XP VX & ACE
