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Trump celebrates after UN climate committee moves away from its most extreme global warming scenario
President Donald Trump on Saturday blasted Democratic climate policies after scientists moved away from one of the most extreme global warming scenarios previously used in United Nations-backed climate modeling.
"GOOD RIDDANCE! After 15 years of Dumocrats promising that 'Climate Change' is going to destroy the Planet, the United Nations TOP Climate Committee just admitted that its own projections (RCP8.5) were WRONG! WRONG! WRONG!" Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Trump accused Democrats of using climate fears to justify energy policies and government spending.
"For far too long Climate Activism has been used by Dumocrats to scare Americans, push horrible Energy Polices, and fund BILLIONS into their bogus research programs," he continued. "Unlike the Dumocrats, who use Climate Alarmism nonsense to push their GREEN NEW SCAM, my Administration will always be based on TRUTH, SCIENCE, and FACT!"
DAVID MARCUS: NEW YORK TIMES ANNOUNCES THE END OF THE CLIMATE CHANGE HOAX
Trump’s comments came after climate scientists moved away from using the most extreme emissions scenario developed under the United Nations-backed Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
The IPCC’s worst-case scenarios, which included significant global temperature increases and sea level rises, included global crop failures and even potential extinction events on the scale of the dinosaurs.
The scenario, known as RCP8.5 and later SSP5-8.5, projected severe global warming outcomes under extremely high emissions assumptions.
According to GB News, the scenario is being phased out after researchers concluded it no longer reflects the most plausible trajectory based on renewable energy growth, emissions trends and climate policies.
Researchers writing in the journal Geoscientific Model Development said future climate scenarios should continue to cover a wide range of outcomes, from severe warming to lower-emissions futures.
"For the 21st century, this range will be smaller than assessed before: on the high-end of the range, the high emission levels (quantified by SSP5-8.5) have become implausible, based on trends in the costs of renewables, the emergence of climate policy and recent emission trends."
TRUMP OFFICIALS URGED TO BOYCOTT UN CLIMATE SUMMIT AS TRUMP SEETHES CLIMATE CHANGE IS A ‘CON JOB’
Trump’s post follows remarks he made last September at the U.N. General Assembly in New York, where he called climate change a "con job."
"It's the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world, in my opinion," Trump said at the time. "All of these predictions made by the United Nations and many others, often for bad reasons, were wrong."
"They were made by stupid people that have cost their country's fortunes and given those same countries no chance for success," he continued.
EPA CHIEF ZELDIN DELIVERS DAGGER TO THE HEART OF OBAMA'S CLIMATE CHANGE AGENDA ON ‘RUTHLESS’ PODCAST
Trump’s comments drew criticism from Democrats, including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who called the remarks "total disinformation."
"You know yesterday at the U.N., President Trump said, ‘Climate change is a hoax,’ because it’s just total disinformation," Clinton said during the Clinton Global Initiative in New York. "It’s a statement that is just not true, and yet being propagated."
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin later defended Trump’s climate remarks in an interview with Fox News.
"The president is absolutely right and we've seen it in the name of climate change, these left wing policies willing to cause extreme economic pain for people who can at least afford it," he said.
Fox News Digital's Emma Colton contributed to this report.
Trump scores major Republican primary victory as Cassidy ousted in Louisiana
Five and a half years ago after he voted to convict President Donald Trump in his impeachment trial, GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana was sent packing by Republican voters as he ran for re-election.
Trump-backed Rep. Julia Letlow and Louisiana Treasurer John Fleming topped Cassidy in Saturday's GOP primary, according to The Associated Press.
With most results tabulated late in the evening, Letlow stood at 45% of the vote, Fleming at roughly 28% and Cassidy at just under 25%, Since no candidate cracked 50% of the vote, Letlow and Fleming will advance to next month's runoff for the Republican nomination. And Cassidy becomes the first elected Republican senator to lose renomination since Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana in 2012
While he wasn't on the ballot, Trump is a winner, as the primary in the solidly red state was the latest test of his endorsements in GOP nomination races and of the president's immense grip over the Republican Party.
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Trump on Saturday morning took aim at Cassidy, arguing the senator is "a disloyal disaster" and "a sleazebag, a terrible guy, who is BAD FOR LOUISIANA."
And after Cassidy was defeated, Trump returned to social media to revel in the senator's ouster, saying "it’s nice to see that his political career is OVER!"
Cassidy, in a speech to supporters after conceding, said "when you participate in democracy, sometimes it doesn't turn out the way you want it to."
"But you don't pout, you don't whine. You don't claim the election was stolen… You don't manufacture some excuse," Cassidy said in an apparent jab at Trump. "You thank the voters for the privilege of representing the state or the country for as long as you've had that privilege. And that's what I'm doing right now."
The Louisiana primary was held a week and a half after Indiana's primary, where Trump-backed challengers ousted five sitting Republican state senators who last December teamed up with Democrats to defeat the president's push for congressional redistricting in the GOP-dominated Midwestern state.
Letlow, speaking to supporters at her primary night celebration, thanked Trump for his endorsement.
"Louisiana made it clear tonight: we are ready for strong conservative leadership that will stand with President Trump and never waver," she added in a post on X.
Letlow was backed by Trump even before she entered the race in January.
"Not only did he encourage me to get into this race, but also to have his complete and total endorsement has been, wow, the honor of a lifetime," Letlow told Fox News Digital on the eve of the primary.
Trump's endorsement in the nomination race weighed heavily in a state he carried by 22 points in his 2024 election victory.
"It's the most powerful endorsement in the world," Letlow said, adding that Louisiana Republicans "are huge fans of the president."
Letlow was also backed by Republican Gov. Jeff Landry of Louisiana, a top Trump ally.
After cruising to re-election six years ago, Cassidy was one of only seven Senate Republicans who voted in early 2021 to convict Trump after he was impeached by the House for his role in the violent Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters who aimed to upend congressional certification of former President Joe Biden's 2020 election victory. Trump was acquitted by the Senate.
But since the start of Trump's second term, Cassidy has been supportive of the president's agenda and his nominees, including voting to approve Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
But Kennedy and his Make America Healthy Again movement were out for revenge.
That's because Cassidy, a doctor, has been a skeptic of Kennedy's push to reform the nation's health policies, including Kennedy's efforts to cut back on vaccine recommendations.
And Kennedy allies blamed Cassidy, chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, for helping sink the surgeon general nomination of Casey Means, a close Kennedy ally and top MAHA advocate, after Cassidy did not bring it to a committee vote.
Meanwhile, Trump blasted the senator as a "very disloyal person" and on the eve of the primary, the president took to social media to praise Letlow as a "Highly Respected America First Congresswoman."
Cassidy highlighted his record over two terms in the Senate in delivering for Louisiana, which is one of the nation's poorest states. And he's showcased his support for Louisiana's large oil and gas industry, which accounts for roughly 15% of the state's workforce.
"When people ask things such as, can you work with President Trump, I point out that he has signed into law four bills that I wrote or negotiated," the senator said in a Fox News Digital interview on Friday. "We continue to work together, by the way."
And Cassidy touted that he's "a conservative senator who delivers."
Cassidy and an allied super PAC dished out more than $20 million on ads, according to AdImpact, a national ad tracking firm. That total was more than Letlow and Fleming, combined, spent.
Some of those ads knocked Letlow over her past support for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs during her tenure at the University of Louisiana at Monroe.
Cassidy argued that Republican voters are "concerned about her shifting position on DEI. She was all in for DEI."
Defending her record, Letlow told Fox News Digital that "back in 2020 whenever DEI was introduced to us, we had no idea what it was back then, and I quickly witnessed it. I was in higher education at the time. I quickly witnessed the left completely hijack it, turn it into this Marxist leftist indoctrination of our children. And so, when I got to Congress for the last five years, I've been fighting against it.
Letlow also faced scrutiny from her rivals over her failure to disclose over 200 personal stock and bond trades within the mandated 45-day reporting deadline for members of Congress.
She said it "was a reporting error on my financial advisor's part. And once I realized that that had happened, I quickly remedied it. It has never happened since."
And Letlow charged that the criticism of her from Cassidy and Fleming over DEI and stock trading was "all baseless attacks, desperate attacks."
Letlow won her congressional seat in 2021, after her husband, Luke Letlow, died six days after being sworn into the U.S. House after his 2020 election victory for the seat she now holds.
Fleming, who served as a White House deputy chief of staff during Trump’s first term, argued that he was the most conservative candidate in the GOP Senate primary.
'They see me clearly MAGA," Fleming told Fox News Digital, as he referred to Louisiana Republicans. "I served in his entire first administration at various capacities. I was one of the first congressmen that endorsed him in 2016."
Meanwhile, Fleming claimed that Letlow was "not the prototype for a Trump endorsement. She's much more like a Democrat."
The winner of the Republican runoff will be considered the clear favorite in the general election to keep the Senate seat in Republican hands.
Fox News' Luke Trevisan contributed to this story
Maduro's alleged 'bag man' Alex Saab arrested less than 3 years after Biden pardon: report
Alex Saab, a 54-year-old Colombian businessman and close ally of captured former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, was reportedly deported after his February arrest in a joint U.S.-Venezuelan operation.
The development comes less than three years after former President Joe Biden pardoned and released Saab in a controversial 2023 prisoner swap.
The high-profile arrest highlights a new level of cooperation between U.S. authorities and Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodríguez.
MADURO ALLY ALEX SAAB ARRESTED IN JOINT US-VENEZUELAN OPERATION, OFFICIAL SAYS
Following Maduro’s capture in a January U.S. military raid, Rodríguez stripped Saab of his cabinet position and his role as the main conduit for foreign investments, according to a report from The Associated Press.
If returned to U.S. custody, Saab could become a crucial star witness against Maduro, who is currently awaiting trial on drug charges in Manhattan.
Court hearings previously revealed that Saab held secret meetings with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for years, helping them identify corruption within Maduro’s camp.
VENEZUELA ORDERS NATIONWIDE MANHUNT FOR SUPPORTERS AFTER MADURO'S ARREST BY US FORCES
Described by U.S. officials as Maduro’s "bag man," Saab was previously detained in 2020 on bribery charges, with U.S. officials alleging he siphoned $350 million out of Venezuela, according to the AP.
While Biden's 2023 pardon was focused on a specific 2019 indictment over unbuilt low-income housing, Saab still faces active federal investigations over alleged bribery conspiracies involving Venezuelan food import contracts.
The Venezuelan immigration authority confirmed a "Colombian citizen" was being sent away due to U.S. criminal investigations, but avoided confirmation of his destination to bypass Venezuelan laws prohibiting the extradition of its own nationals, the AP reported.
The U.S. Department of Justice and Saab’s lawyer, Neil Schuster, did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's requests for comment.
Fox News Digital's Landon Mion and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Massachusetts governor asks US Navy to help retrieve bodies, evidence from sunken fishing vessel
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey has asked the U.S. Navy to help with the investigation into the sinking of a fishing vessel earlier this year that left seven crew members dead, the Navy and the governor's office confirmed to Fox News Digital.
Healey and State Sen. Bruce Tarr sent a letter to the Secretary of the Navy this week asking for help retrieving a video recorder and a hard drive from the wreck of the Lily Jean in January, which lies more than 300 feet down in the Atlantic about 25 miles off the coast of Massachusetts, that could determine the cause of the sinking.
"Governor Healey is requesting the Navy retrieve a piece of equipment on board that could provide critical information into what caused the ship to sink," Healey's office told Fox News Digital on Saturday. "She has also requested that the Navy assess the feasibility of recovering the remains of lost crew members, in keeping with the wishes of each family."
The governor's office added that Healey had "previously asked the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and U.S. Coast Guard to investigate the equipment on board, but unfortunately, the NTSB informed us that they do not intend to lead an effort to retrieve it."
A spokesperson from the Office of the Secretary of the Navy told Fox News Digital, "The Office of the Secretary of the Navy is in receipt of the correspondence. A response is being prepared and will be transmitted directly to the Governor's office."
The body of Lily Jean Captain Accursio "Gus" Sanfilippo is the only one that has been recovered.
The six others who died in the Jan. 30 sinking include crew member Paul Beal Jr.; crew member John Rousanidis; crew member Freeman Short; crew member Sean Therrien; and NOAA fisheries observer Jada Samitt.
"What caused it is not as important as retrieving the crew," Donna Short, the mother of Freeman Short, a 31-year-old who was planning a wedding, told WFXT.
She said she spoke to him a few days before he went out on the doomed trip.
"He told me, ‘Hey mom, you know I’m going to be going,’ and I told him I loved him," she said, adding that recovering his body is a "matter of laying him to rest where his legacy began next to both of his grandfathers, who are veterans."
DESPERATE SEARCH FOR TWO MEN AS FISHING BOAT FOUND EMPTY 70 MILES OFF FLORIDA COAST
The National Transportation Safety Board and the U.S. Coast Guard are involved in an ongoing investigation into the sinking.
The Coast Guard’s search for the missing crew members was suspended on Jan. 31, a day after the sinking, and the NTSB said it doesn’t do recoveries, according to WFXT.
When the Lily Jean sank, Coast Guard watchstanders received an emergency position indicating a radio beacon (EPIRB) alert at about 6:50 a.m. registered to the vessel.
USCG crews attempted to contact the boat, and after getting no response, issued an urgent marine information broadcast (UMIB), according to officials.
Multiple aircraft, cutters and small boats searched 1,047 square miles over 24 hours, finding debris near the location where the EPIRB was activated, along with the captain’s body and an unoccupied life raft that had been deployed.
Search and rescue mission coordinators, on-scene commanders and the Coast Guard determined on Jan. 31 all reasonable search efforts for the missing crew members had been exhausted.
"The purpose of a Coast Guard investigation is to identify measures that can improve the safety of life and property at sea, not to assign civil or criminal blame," the Coast Guard wrote in a statement at the time.
Fox News' Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.
Shaquille O'Neal trolls Charles Barkley during his LSU master's degree graduation ceremony
Shaquille O'Neal is already a multi-multi-multi-millionaire ex-NBA player who has dabbled in everything from broadcasting to business to even being a sheriff's deputy at one point, if I'm not mistaken.
Now, one of the few people on Earth who has gummy candies shaped like his head, now has his master's degree.
And what better time to troll his buddy and TV cohort Charles Barkley than right before he's accepting his degree during LSU's recent graduation ceremony?
Shaq, of course, played his college ball at LSU before going on to a very successful NBA career, and, according to the school's athletic website, he recently returned to complete his Master of Liberal Arts from the College of Humanities & Social Sciences.
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Like many schools, during graduation, they have someone there to read the names. Usually, you write it out phonetically so they don't butcher it in front of your friends and family, after taking thousands of dollars from you.
I feel like most people will know "Shaquille O'Neal" when they see it, but Big Diesel slipped in a little something extra.
That's Shaquille "I Hate Charles Barkley" O'Neal to you, pal!
I love how committed to the bit of giving each other grief at every possible turn, Shaq and Barkley are.
ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON'T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!
In fact, I feel like, if even for a passing second, Charles Barkley at least considered going back to school just so he could walk at graduation and fire a salvo of his own back at Shaq.
Imagine several years of writing papers just to hand some adjunct professor with an okay-ish announcer voice a card that says, "Charles 'Shaq Is A Tool' Bark-Lee."
It would be iconic.
Hell, maybe the folks at Auburn could fast-track this so the Round Mound of Rebound doesn't have to suffer through a bunch of prerequisites for a degree in "leadership" or whatever.
Julianne Moore slammed for saying she doesn't want to act in movies with 'explosions and guns'
Julianne Moore ruffled some feathers online after saying she doesn't like movies with "explosions and guns."
During a recent interview with Variety at the Kering Women in Motion Talk at the Cannes Film Festival, the 65-year-old actress sparked backlash when she shared the kinds of projects she is interested in acting in at this point in her career, saying she is "less and less interested in tragedy."
"Particularly now at a time when things are really rough globally, it’s very difficult for me to invest in a story that I think is pretend, where I feel like the depth of the emotion, the measure of it, doesn’t measure up to what’s happening in the world. And I don't feel like I want to engage in it," she said.
She detailed reading scripts or watching other films and noticing "when something is there for stakes," adding, "I don't like easy stakes."
"I don’t like someone being murdered. I don’t like explosions and guns. I don’t like histrionics. I don’t like things that raise the stakes without real feeling underneath," she said. "I mean, that actually bothers me because that’s like noise. I don’t know how to play it. I don’t want to watch it."
After a clip of the interview was shared on X, many fans took issue with Moore's statement in the comments section, with many pointing out she has starred in multiple movies with guns and violence.
"I’ve lost count how many movies she’s done with guns," one fan wrote. Another added, "Funny how artists forget their own catalog until it’s time to virtue signal."
Another fan shared, "That’s great! Now playback all the degenerate, violent entertainment Julianne has happily participated in throughout her career."
A fourth fan wrote, referencing the sequel to "Silence of the Lambs," which tells the story of serial killer Hannibal Lecter, writing, "A man had his skull removed in Hannibal, and brain eaten."
While many took issue with her comments, others came to her defense, with one writing, "Julianne Moore choosing emotion over chaos is exactly why she’s respected worldwide."
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"I actually agree with her! We already have enough violence in the world! We need good family values in movies back!! Good family fun!! And the movie theaters will be full again! We want to go to the theaters but there’s not enough quality movies going out! That’s why The Devil Wears Prada was great," another said.
This isn't the first time Moore has faced backlash, as Vili Fualaau, who gained national attention for his illicit relationship and marriage with his sixth-grade teacher in the late 1990s, took issue with her film, "May December," which told a similar story, calling the project a "ripoff" of his life.
Despite the backlash, Moore maintained when speaking to Entertainment Tonight in January 2024, that throughout filming the movie, director Todd Haynes was "always very clear when we were working on this movie that this was an original story … a story about these characters."
"So that's how we looked at it too," Moore said. "This was our document. We created these characters from the page and together."
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Moore won an Academy Award in 2015 for her leading role in "Still Alice," in which she played a woman dealing with her early onset Alzheimer's diagnosis. She was previously nominated for her roles in "Boogie Nights," "The End of the Affair," "The Hours" and "Far From Heaven."
The actress was at the Cannes Film Festival as the recipient of the Kering’s Women in Motion Award, an award which is presented to an actress who has helped advance the role of women in society and film.
Aaron Rodgers set to begin his 22nd NFL season after agreeing to a Pittsburgh Steelers contract
Aaron Rodgers is returning to the Pittsburgh Steelers — again. Finally.
The four-time NFL MVP agreed to a one-year contract worth $22 million guaranteed with the Steelers on Saturday, a source confirmed. The deal can climb to $25 million with incentives.
The Steelers had expected this to be the case perhaps weeks or even months ago, but Rodgers took his methodical, sweet time before committing. Now, it's happening.
So, we are about to witness Rodgers in his 22nd NFL season at age 42 (and 43 when that comes along in December). And it all begins on Monday when Rodgers joins the team on the field for OTA practices.
This is all a good thing.
AARON RODGERS' CHANCES OF RETURNING TO STEELERS 'INCREASING' AMID MIKE MCCARTHY HIRE: REPORT
It's good for the Steelers, who have no other plausible starting quarterback with enough experience and accomplishments to make them a contender.
It's good for Rodgers, who gets at least one more chance to go out on top as the Hollywood scriptwriters might imagine.
And it's good for the NFL because this adds another entertaining storyline and a still fine player to the 2026 season.
STEELERS USHER IN NEW COACHING ERA; MIKE MCCARTHY-AARON RODGERS REUNION TALK BUILDS
Rodgers returning to the Steelers will reunite him with coach Mike McCarthy, who coached him in Green Bay where the two won a Super Bowl together in February 2011. And while Rodgers isn't that long-ago player anymore, he still transforms the franchise from a club with a quarterback vacancy to a solid playoff-caliber operation.
The Steelers believe they already had the infrastructure Rodgers has traditionally thrived in: a respected head coach, a physical defense, a stable organization and a fan base that embraces hard-nosed football. What the Steelers have lacked as they looked into their 2026 prospects was, well, Rodgers.
So Rodgers gets another shot at writing his legacy. His time with the Jets became defined more by injury, frustration and unmet expectations than revival. Joining the Steelers last season offered inconsistency and a first-round elimination from the playoffs.
RAVENS' SEASON ENDS IN HEARTBREAK AS MISSED WALK-OFF FIELD GOAL GIVES STEELERS FINAL PLAYOFF SPOT
The AFC North race once again becomes of the league’s premier weekly storylines. The Ravens and Bengals and now the Steelers have legitimate quarterback play to lead them to the division title. Sorry, Cleveland Browns, you're running fourth in a four-team race on this front.
The NFL league office no doubt welcomes this news.
On Thursday it released the 2026 schedule. And although league officials say they were not certain one way or another whether Rodgers was returning, they nonetheless gave the Steelers four primetime games.
That wouldn't have made sense if Rodgers weren't on the team.
It makes sense now.
Trump shares stunning photos of Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool renovation, says project is ahead of schedule
President Donald Trump on Saturday shared photos of a sample test at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, which is undergoing renovations ahead of America's 250th anniversary and expected to be completed by July Fourth.
The images showed the basin with the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument in the background at each end.
Blue skies and white fluffy clouds could be seen in the water's reflection.
"Looking really good! Should be completed before the Fourth of July, our target date," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post Saturday afternoon.
Trump added the administration has "substantially upgraded construction materials, including surface qualities, sandblasting granite, and exterior stone and walkways."
"I’ve made this a much larger job than originally contemplated for purposes of Beauty, and a much longer life," Trump wrote in the post. "Also, went to a higher quality sealer with more reflectivity. Check it out before the Opening — It’s a very exciting project!"
Critics have voiced concerns over the pool resurfacing with "industrial-grade" material in the color "American flag blue," with a nonprofit called the Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF) going so far as to file a lawsuit against the National Park Service (NPS) to halt the project.
TRUMP TAKES MOTORCADE INTO REFLECTING POOL, BLASTS PAST ‘$38M DISASTER’ FIX UNDER OBAMA
"The vivid blue coating will fundamentally alter the visual and experiential character of the pool and the broader Lincoln Memorial Grounds landscape," the group wrote in a complaint obtained by Politico. "The new coloration will cause the pool to resemble a large swimming pool rather than the reflective civic landscape it was designed to be, distorting the experience of the site for the millions of visitors who come to it each year."
When asked Saturday about the new photos shared by the president, TCLF president and CEO Charles A. Birnbaum told Fox News Digital "the primary issue is whether the law was followed before the painting began."
"Since the Reflecting Pool is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, reviews of work that would alter a key character-defining feature of this important national symbol should be subject to reviews under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act; and this project should have been reviewed by the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, as other work on the Reflecting Pool has been reviewed over the past century," Birnbaum said.
The TCLF is a national, D.C.-based education and advocacy organization, not a preservation organization.
TRUMP LAUNCHES MASSIVE ‘FREEDOM 250’ PUSH TO IGNITE AMERICA’S 250TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION
In a separate Truth Social post earlier Saturday, Trump noted he has "decided to go to a much higher level of repair, using industrial strength materials, which will give a longer life, and a better look," adding the job is "ahead of schedule."
The president's repeated references to the materials used and expected completion date follow the publication of a New York Times article on Tuesday that alleged U.S. Department of the Interior staff highlighted concerns about the presence of bubbles, small holes and color inconsistencies in the partially refinished surface.
Further, the outlet claimed to have documents showing that as of Sunday, only 35% of the pool surface had been fully coated and crucial joints had not yet been replaced — insinuating the job may not be completed in time for Independence Day.
Interior Department spokesperson Katie Martin told The Times that sections of the basin were in various stages of repair.
"The final product will be uniform, as the plan depicts," Martin said. "As with any project, there will be revisions to the process to ensure the most efficient tools are used to get to the end goal."
White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told Fox News Digital "the restoration effort will be completed ahead of America’s 250th celebrations and for a fraction of the cost that the former Presidents Obama and Biden squandered only to worsen its condition. Thanks to President Trump, the Reflecting Pool will be restored to all its glory!"
The Interior Department and New York Times did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's requests for comment.
California championship track meet forces trans athlete to share top podium spot with female
A division championship track and field meet in California saw a trans athlete share first place in three events with female competitors, despite winning each event by large margins.
Trans athlete AB Hernandez of Jurupa Valley High School took first place in long jump, high jump and triple jump at the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Southern Section finals in Division 3.
Then, during podium ceremonies, announcers declared that each event had two co-champions, including Hernandez. This was based on a rule enacted last year.
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Hernandez was absent for the first medal ceremony in long jump, as Moorpark High School's Gianna Gonzalez stood alone on the first-place podium despite finishing more than a foot behind Hernandez. Hernandez appeared to be warming up for the next event.
Hernandez later shared the top podium spot in high jump with Oak Park High School's Gwynneth Mureika, despite winning first place by two inches.
Then, after winning triple jump by nearly two feet over Malia Strange of Shadow Hills, Hernandez stood alone on the top spot, as Strange was absent.
Hernandez, now a Southern Section champion again, along with all the other winners will move onto the CIF preliminaries next Saturday to face the rest of the state's top female jumpers, with a chance to get back to the state finals. The two-day state finals begin on May 29 in Clovis, California.
The CIF enacted a pilot program for the state finals last May that awarded any female athlete that finished behind a trans athlete one higher spot, which resulted in girls sharing podium spots with Hernandez for the championship. The program also ensured any female athlete who finished one spot out of qualifying for the state finals in events that included a trans competitor, to compete for the title as well.
The parent of a female athlete at Saturday's meet told Fox News Digital that a coach informed them that the same pilot program would be implemented for the remainder of the state postseason, starting with the section final on Saturday.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the CIF for a response.
The pilot program was put in place after Hernandez advanced to the state final, which prompted President Donald Trump to speak out against California and Gov. Gavin Newsom in a Truth Social post in the days leading up to the final.
"California, under the leadership of Radical Left Democrat Gavin Newscum, continues to ILLEGALLY allow 'MEN TO PLAY IN WOMEN'S SPORTS.' This week a transitioned Male athlete, at a major event, won 'everything' and is now qualified to compete in the 'State Finals' next weekend. As a male, he was a less than average competitor. As a female, this transitioned person is practically unbeatable. THIS IS NOT FAIR, AND TOTALLY DEMEANING TO WOMEN AND GIRLS," Trump wrote.
"Please be hereby advised that large scale Federal Funding will be held back, maybe permanently, if the Executive Order on this subject matter is not adhered to. The Governor, himself, said it is 'UNFAIR.' I will speak to him today to find out which way he wants to go??? In the meantime I am ordering local authorities, if necessary, to not allow the transitioned person to compete in the State Finals. This is a totally ridiculous situation!!!"
Trump's Department of Justice then filed a Title IX lawsuit against the state's education agencies in July of last year, after Hernandez won two state titles and finished in second place in another.
Hernandez then competed for Jurupa Valley's girls' volleyball team in the fall, as several teams forfeited to Jurupa Valley and two other players on the same team filed a Title IX lawsuit against the Jurupa Unified School District (JUSD) for putting the trans athlete on the girls' team and locker room.
The controversy around Jurupa Valley's track and field season was renewed last Saturday when "Save Girls Sports" protesters held a rally at the sectional preliminary round.
A source within Newsom's office provided a statement to Fox News Digital in the days before that meet, addressing the rally.
"The Governor has said discussions on this issue should be guided by fairness, dignity, and respect. He rejects the right wing’s cynical attempt to weaponize this debate as an excuse to vilify individual kids. The Governor’s position is simple: stand with all kids and stand up to bullies," the statement read.
"California is one of 22 states that have laws requiring students be permitted to participate in sex-segregated school sports consistent with their gender identity. California passed this law in 2013 (AB 1266) and it was signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown."
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Ancient Chinese movement shows promise for reducing blood pressure at home, study says
Researchers have shed fresh light on how a simple, centuries-old Chinese practice could be almost as effective as some medications in lowering blood pressure.
Baduanjin is a form of exercise that’s been widely practiced in China for at least 800 years. It involves a series of eight slow movements, gentle breathing and meditation — and typically takes only about 10 minutes to complete.
In a clinical trial, researchers studied 216 adults age 40 and older with Stage 1 hypertension. Over the course of a year, participants performed either baduanjin, self-directed exercise or brisk walking.
SIMPLE NIGHTLY HABIT LINKED TO HEALTHIER BLOOD PRESSURE, STUDY SUGGESTS
Researchers found that participants who practiced baduanjin five times per week experienced lower blood pressure within three months.
The results were "comparable to reductions seen with some first-line medications," they wrote in their report published by the American College of Cardiology.
Baduanjin also showed "comparable results and safety profile to brisk walking at one year," the researchers further reported.
"Given its simplicity, safety and ease at which one can maintain long-term adherence, baduanjin can be implemented as an effective, accessible and scalable lifestyle intervention for individuals trying to reduce their [blood pressure]," said the senior author of the study, Jing Li, M.D., Ph.D.
Dr. Matthew Saybolt, medical director of the Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center’s Structural Heart Disease Program, said he was surprised by an aspect of the study’s results.
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"I was biased and expected that higher intensity exercise like brisk walking would have resulted in greater improvement in blood pressure than baduanjin, but the effects were the same," Saybolt told Fox News Digital. (He was not affiliated with the study.)
Dr. Antony Chu, clinical assistant professor at Brown University’s Warren Alpert School of Medicine, was born and raised in the U.S. to immigrant parents — his mother is from Hong Kong and his father is from Taiwan.
Having spent a lot of summers in Asia, Chu told Fox News he experienced "the best of both worlds" concerning Eastern and Western medicine, including exposure to the benefits of baduanjin.
"[These researchers] are taking a lot of things that have been commonplace for many, many centuries or millennia and then just applying mathematical modeling and statistical analysis to sort of give [them] some credibility," Chu said.
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"Western medicine is reactionary," Chu also said.
He compared the philosophies to a house on fire: Eastern medicine practitioners are more invested in preventing the fire, whereas Western medicine is more focused on "all those things that it would need to do to try to put that fire out," he said, sharing his opinion.
Left untreated, high blood pressure has dangers that are "too numerous to count," Saybolt said. The risks include increased risks of stroke, heart attack, atrial fibrillation and congestive heart failure.
Baduanjin, Chu said, is effective at reducing blood pressure, which he likened to "the water pressure and the pipes of your house," by calming the nervous system and reducing stress.
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"People are totally stressed out," Chu said. "And stress reduction is huge."
Saybolt said the study offers hope for people with hypertension — "and that hope doesn’t immediately have to include pharmaceuticals."
Saybolt added that he’s always advocated for lifestyle modifications, including healthy diet and exercise, "as key therapies for treatment of diseases and to improve longevity."
With the baduanjin data, Saybold said he is now "more optimistic than ever," as "we have evidence that a very low impact exercise with mindfulness can yield a benefit."
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Chu said that translating overwhelming medical guidelines is a big part of his job.
"It’s not to just tell somebody, ‘Hey, your blood pressure's too high, pick a pill," he said.
"Lifestyle changes" can be daunting for many people, he added.
"They always make it sound like you have to live for seven years in Tibet on a mountain somewhere, and it’s really not that."
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His simple translation for the baduanjin study is this: "Close the door in your office and just say, ‘I can't be bothered for 10 minutes,’ and just focus on breathing slowly and moving your arms or legs around."