Fox News Latest Headlines
Iranian soccer club in Los Angeles reflects divided views on Team Melli during World Cup
LOS ANGELES — Iran opened its World Cup campaign with a 2-2 draw against New Zealand on Monday at Los Angeles Stadium, drawing a near-capacity crowd after pre-tournament concerns about ticket demand.
Inside the stadium, fans brought competing symbols of identity, with some waving the flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran and others displaying the pre-revolution Lion and Sun flag, a historical emblem used by some opponents of the government.
That difference in symbolism also appeared among some fans in how they described their support for the national soccer team and its separation from political views about Iran’s leadership.
That divide extends beyond the stadium into communities across Southern California, home to one of the largest Iranian populations outside Iran.
JUDGE UPHOLDS FIFA'S BAN ON IRAN'S OLD FLAG AT WORLD CUP GAMES AFTER EMERGENCY HEARING
The Sunday before Iran’s World Cup opener against New Zealand, members of Arya FC gathered in the San Fernando Valley for a playoff match in a recreational over-48 league.
Co-founder Nader Adeli, who also manages and coaches the team, said Arya FC was formed about a decade ago and fields two squads. He said most players are Iranian-born immigrants, and the team communicates largely in Persian on the field.
Adeli said players focus on soccer during matches.
"Football brings nations together," he said. "When we gather, we pray for peace and unity."
IRAN WORLD CUP TEAM FORCED TO LEAVE US AFTER TOURNAMENT OPENER IN APPARENT CHANGE OF PLANS
Speaking ahead of Iran’s World Cup opener against New Zealand, Vartan Golbodaghians, a longtime Arya FC player, said he supports the national team regardless of political differences.
"I support my country 100%. I support my country team 100%," he said. "Government is government. Team is team. I don’t care about politics. I support my country and my players."
Adeli said he still feels a strong emotional connection to Iran despite living most of his life outside the country and remains a supporter of the national team.
"I’ve lived 47 years outside of Iran, but I still get goosebumps when I think about Iran, and I support that team," he said.
Team Melli is commonly used to refer to Iran’s national soccer team.
He acknowledged that some in the Iranian community oppose supporting the team but said he expects reactions to shift once matches begin.
"There is a lot of Iranian people that are against it," he said. "But I have told all of them, when Iran scores the first goal against New Zealand, everybody will jump off your seat and start saying, ‘Hooray,’ and support the national team."
FIFA REPORTEDLY WILLING TO LET TRUMP HAND WORLD CUP TROPHY TO WINNING CAPTAIN AT METLIFE STADIUM
Adeli said he hopes Iran can advance further in the tournament than in past World Cup appearances.
"I’m hoping that Iran will have a successful journey in this tournament," he said. "This is probably the first time that we can go beyond the group stage."
Adeli said most Arya FC players support the national team despite differing political views.
"Most of the players that I have talked to are supporting Team Melli apart from any political or religious ideas," he said. "In my opinion, it is the national team and I will be supporting it."
Others in the community offered a different view.
Amin Jafari, a former soccer player in Iran who now lives in Southern California, said he believes the team should have done more to acknowledge people killed during anti-government protests.
"There is nothing more important than the people who lost their lives for Iran," Jafari said. "I was expecting those players to show some respect to people who died for the country."
Jafari said some fans no longer feel connected to the team.
"The connection between the players and the people is already gone," he said.
The differing views reflect a broader debate among Iranians over support for the national team.
Despite those political differences, soccer remains a shared activity for Arya FC players.
Adeli said players focus on the game during matches.
"For the 90 minutes, we all put everything aside in our life, and we play football," he said.
5 chilling details from the alleged White House attack plot tied to UFC event
Officials on Tuesday released new details about the five suspects accused of plotting a "mass casualty event" targeting President Donald Trump and other high-profile officials during the UFC Freedom 250 event held at the White House on Sunday.
Prosecutors allege the group, who were arrested in June during a multi-state sweep, coordinated an ambush involving explosive-laden drones intended to strike the north side of the White House.
The suspects were identified as Tycen C. Proper, 19, of Ohio; Bryan Omar Roa, 24, of California; Michael Alan Thomas, 32, of California; Daniel K. Eskridge, 32, of Kidder, Missouri; and Abraham Hermosillo Alvarez, 31, of Omaha, Nebraska.
Here are five chilling details investigators say they uncovered about the alleged plot.
FROM RALLY GUNFIRE TO WHITE HOUSE SHOOTING, THREATS AGAINST PRESIDENT TRUMP CONTINUE TO MOUNT
Officials said the group planned to target multiple high-profile officials through a coordinated ambush.
According to court documents, the suspects allegedly intended to launch explosive-laden drones over the UFC arena and detonate them above the crowd, forcing panicked attendees and "high-value targets" (HVTs) to flee to a "southern evacuation point"
In what effectively served as a pre-designated kill zone, authorities say the evacuation area was covered by five separate sniper teams positioned to ambush fleeing officials and security personnel.
FROM TRAINED ASSASSINS TO RALLY STAGE-RUSHERS, HERE'S EVERY KNOWN ATTEMPT ON TRUMP'S LIFE SINCE 2016
According to charging documents, the snipers were instructed to "initiate their part of the plan eliminating HVTs first then the retaliatory forces such as SS [Secret Service], NG [National Guard], and swat."
Investigators allege that Alvarez, whom prosecutors identified as the online ringleader, listed intended targets in an encrypted group chat using coded references, including "1" for Trump, "2" for Vice President JD Vance, "N" for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and "Musk" for Elon Musk.
The documents further allege that one of the members, Proper, had compiled a target list containing 46 individuals.
MISSOURI MAN SENTENCED IN ATTEMPTED WHITE HOUSE ATTACK WITH U-HAUL TRUCK
Officials said the group discussed a backup plan to steal military ordnance after determining that its members lacked the expertise needed to manufacture homemade explosives.
According to investigators, the group's drone builder proposed targeting a military-industrial facility to obtain the necessary explosive materials. One co-conspirator allegedly identified the Kansas Army Ammunition Plant in Parsons, Kansas, as the "most viable" target among several facilities under consideration.
Authorities said Eskridge responded enthusiastically to the proposal, claiming he had "a guy digging into Parsons assembly facility" to gather on-the-ground intelligence ahead of the planned theft.
SECRET SERVICE THWARTS POTENTIAL THREAT NEAR TRUMP'S WHITE HOUSE GROUNDS WITH RAPID RESPONSE
The conspirators allegedly anticipated an overwhelming law enforcement response following their planned "trigger event," with one member warning authorities would "send everything they have to hunt us."
To prepare, investigators said the suspects began identifying safe houses and constructing makeshift bunkers where ground operators could hide after the attack.
In late May, Eskridge allegedly told the group that his rural six-acre property in Missouri would be converted into a safe house, complete with a hidden bunker concealed beneath the floorboards of a shed. Authorities said Alvarez also identified an abandoned brick church in Nebraska as a secondary fallback location.
SUSPECTED NEW JERSEY JIHADI FANTASIZED ABOUT KILLING JEWS WITH SWORDS IN ALLEGED ISIS PLOT: FEDS
The suspects allegedly went even further, discussing contingency plans for operatives who might be captured.
"We will try to break them out of jail if we need to," Thomas said.
Investigators said the alleged plot was driven by a mix of extreme anti-government ideology, antisemitic beliefs and bizarre satanic conspiracy theories.
RISE IN ANTISEMITIC EXTREMISM FUELS WAVE OF TERROR PLOTS IN THE UNITED STATES SINCE 2020
According to court documents, Thomas told FBI agents he believed the U.S. government is controlled by a secret elite protected by the president that sacrifices and consumes infants.
Investigators also cited writings allegedly authored by Proper, the youngest member of the group at 19 years old. Authorities said Proper kept a journal outlining his belief that a larger group worships a demonic figure and engages in the ritual sacrifice of children.
Crucially, investigators noted this journal contained a target list of 46 individuals, including politicians and celebrities. Court records allege Proper and Eskridge actively researched targets using the website "TrackAIPAC.com," specifically focusing on lawmakers they believe accepted campaign funds from pro-Israel lobbies.
Prosecutors said a significant portion of the group's initial arsenal was acquired by 19-year-old Proper, who allegedly quit his job and spent roughly $3,000 of his graduation money to purchase thousands of rounds of ammunition, ballistic plates, an AR-style rifle and a bullpup rifle painted with an American flag.
According to court documents, the suspects initially attempted to crowdsource funding for the attack. Investigators said Eskridge and Thomas encouraged members of the group to pitch in to raise $1,300 to purchase the drones and explosive charges intended for the operation.
While Mexico defends ‘sovereignty,’ cartels import a flesh-eating parasite into Texas
As the New World screwworm returns to American soil for the first time since its eradication 60 years ago, Texas is now on the front line of Mexico's threat to U.S. sovereignty and national security.
The return of New World screwworm to the United States began with the collapse of the biological containment barrier in Central America that broke in 2021 when millions of illegal aliens were moved through the Darién Gap, overwhelming border controls and expanding the cartel-controlled smuggling corridors that later carried infested livestock northward. By the time Mexican authorities confirmed the first cases in November 2024, the parasite had already spread across Central America and deep into southern Mexico. Mexican officials’ complicity in cartel control over these routes turned mass migration into a gray-zone weapon that expanded smuggling infrastructure and increased pressure on the U.S.-Mexico border.
Mexican cartels function as de facto proxies for elements of the Mexican state in this gray-zone campaign. They move an estimated 800,000 cattle per year from Central America into Mexico through these same poorly governed corridors, using fake ear tags and falsified veterinary records to bypass government checkpoints, sanitary inspections, and taxes. The illicit trade is worth roughly $320 million annually. Once inside Mexico, the animals are laundered into the legal system, where they can enter feedlots or reach federally inspected Tipo Inspección Federal (TIF) slaughter plants used for domestic processing and exports. As of June 3, the New World screwworm has caused more than 171,700 cumulative animal cases and more than 2,070 human cases across Mexico and Central. Many infestations go undetected or unreported, so official figures likely understate the outbreak’s true scale.
US SHUTS SOUTHERN BORDER TO LIVESTOCK IMPORTS TO STOP SPREAD OF DEADLY FLIES
Elements of the Mexican state continue to protect cartel networks moving high-risk biological material toward the U.S. supply chain. In 2024, Mexico exported roughly 1.25 million head of live cattle to the United States at an estimated value of $1.3 billion. After the pause in the live cattle trade, Mexico rapidly expanded processed beef exports to the U.S., with exports rising 23 percent in the first four months of 2026 as cattle that would have been shipped live were instead finished and slaughtered domestically. NWS threatens more than a single agricultural market.
Presidential Policy Directive 21 defines critical infrastructure, which includes food and agriculture, as "systems and assets, whether physical or virtual, so vital to the United States that the incapacity or destruction of such systems and assets would have a debilitating impact on security, national economic security, national public health or safety, or any combination of those matters." The USDA warns that "this vital sector is a known target for terrorists and malicious actors." Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins has rightfully declared: "Food security is national security. If America cannot feed itself, it cannot fully defend itself — and that reality puts at risk the freedom and security that generations of Americans have fought and died to preserve over the last 250 years."
CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION
In that light, Mexico’s abetting of NWS’s spread should be seen as the security threat it is. However, Mexico’s leaders continue to invoke sovereignty while practicing selective cooperation. AMLO’s "abrazos, no balazos" doctrine provided political cover for limiting action against cartel power, while AMLO and President Biden together presided over the mass movement of illegal aliens through cartel-controlled corridors toward the United States. Sheinbaum’s "cooperación sin subordinación" offers the diplomatic version of the same posture. Mexico engages when cooperation is limited to selected enforcement actions.
The return of NWS couldn’t come at a worse time for the American beef industry. U.S. cattle inventory has fallen to a 75-year low — the smallest national herd since 1951 — while beef imports have reached record levels. By maintaining high levels of agricultural trade while cartels control significant portions of the supply chain, including the laundering of smuggled cattle, Mexico deepens U.S. dependence. In 2025, the United States exported $30.6 billion in agricultural goods to Mexico but imported $43.9 billion from Mexico, leaving a $13.3 billion agricultural trade deficit. That dependence and offshoring our food is precisely the national-security vulnerability USDA has warned about. Secretary Rollins put it plainly: "Our beef cattle, our citrus, so much of this we’re now importing from other countries like Mexico. If we can’t feed ourselves, this is a national security issue that has to be solved."
Texas counties are on the front line of this incursion. The United States must not decouple trade policy from national security. No policy, protocol, or quarantine can protect America while Mexico’s cartel-state alliance keeps those routes open.
Ammon S. Blair is a Senior Fellow with the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Secure & Sovereign Nation Initiative, where he develops state-led homeland defense strategies addressing transnational criminal organizations, foreign terrorist networks, hostile-state influence operations, weaponized mass migration, and emerging internal security threats. He is a former U.S. Border Patrol agent, a 22-year U.S. Army veteran, and a consultant to the Operation Lone Star Task Force.
DOUG SCHOEN: Far-left Democrats keep saving Republicans from themselves
With the nomination of Graham Platner in Maine on June 9, the Democratic Party’s record of advancing extreme, left-wing progressive candidates for Congress has begun to take full form.
Indeed, Democrats are set to enter the midterm general election cycle potentially with a slate of nominees whose positions and backgrounds may do more to help rescue the GOP than anything Republicans have done or will be able to do for themselves.
Despite an arguably favorable political environment for the Democrats – who lead the generic congressional vote by five points – a divided Republican majority in both chambers, and an extremely angry electorate who now give President Donald Trump a job approval rating of 40% – about four points below what it was at this point in the 2018 cycle – the Democratic Party has yet again taken steps to shoot itself in the foot before what may have been emerging as a 2018-style landslide.
Platner, who has been deeply embroiled in scandal after scandal, just became the new Democratic standard-bearer in Maine, securing slightly more than 70% of the vote – and in turn, risking Democrats’ chances of flipping a crucial seat needed to win control of the Senate come November.
TOP TAKEAWAYS FROM THE PRIMARY ELECTIONS IN MAINE AND SOUTH CAROLINA: 'MOVEMENT ABOUT US'
Indeed, Platner is both so extreme and so compromised that his support from Democratic leadership, along with other extremist candidates, could well become a deciding issue in the midterms.
Between allegations of abusive behavior in past relationships, reports that he engaged in inappropriate communication with women while married and fallout from a tattoo that at least one of his girlfriends said he acknowledged proudly was a Nazi symbol, Platner seems to possess every liability imaginable for a Democratic candidate in today’s climate. And he has support from the Democratic Socialists of America – the same organization that supports massive tax increases and transgender rights, attacks capitalism and calls for the complete abolition of ICE.
Yet, by primary night earlier this week, Platner had not only appeared to weather the controversies but had also secured the nomination – all while Democratic leaders in Maine and nationally offered little to no resistance, for reasons clearly related to taking back control of the upper chamber.
GRAHAM PLATNER FINALLY EMBRACED BY POWERFUL MAINSTREAM DEM LEADERS AFTER PRIMARY ELECTION VICTORY
Critically, the consequences of Platner’s win for the Democratic Party are likely to impact his Senate campaign and the campaign for governor of Maine, and will indeed reverberate throughout the whole country.
A Tavern Research poll completed two days before the primary showed a generic Democrat ahead of Republican incumbent Susan Collins by 10 points (55% to 45%), yet Platner’s actual lead over Collins was much lower (+2, 51% to 49%).
Further, as my firm, Schoen Cooperman Research, was involved in the Democratic gubernatorial primary, we have seen the impact Platner has had on the once-leading progressive Troy Dale Jackson, who currently sits in third with 21% of the vote, trailing Nirav Shah (27%) and Hannah Pingree (23%).
SCANDAL-PLAGUED PLATNER CAPTURES DEMOCRATIC SENATE NOMINATION
In other words, it’s clear that, while Platner’s scandals failed to derail his primary bid, they are more than capable of damaging Democratic electability up and down the ballot, as well as nationally in the fall, at precisely the moment the party should be expanding its appeal.
And, luckily for the Republicans, the Democrats’ candidate-quality problem extends well beyond Maine.
In Michigan, far-left Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed – who is supported by extreme radical and antisemite podcaster Hasan Piker – has emerged as the frontrunner in the race for the Democratic nomination against two incumbent members of the House, even as his uber-progressive record – including his support for abolishing ICE and halting all aid to Israel – threatens to become a liability come the general election.
DAVID MARCUS: THE AGE OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY BLOCKING FRINGE OUTSIDERS IS OFFICIALLY OVER
As for the House, in New Jersey’s 12th district, Adam Hamawy – a far-left extremist who testified in support of terrorist Omar Abdel-Rahman in the 1990s – adds to Democrats’ growing roster of candidates who will only push the party farther away from the center.
PROGRESSIVE FRONTRUNNER IN CRUCIAL SENATE RACE FACES BACKLASH OVER COMMENTS PRAISING HAMAS RAID
Likewise, in Pennsylvania’s 3rd district, Democratic nominee Chris Rabb also exemplifies the party’s leftward shift, gaining endorsements from both Piker and the DSA.
To be clear, though, the Democratic Party’s problems, while pronounced, cannot be solely attributed to its slate of far-left candidates.
Rather, the party’s structural dysfunction runs much deeper: Democrats remain polarized and divided, with ideological and personal fissures that have the taken the form of an intra-party struggle between progressive members of Congress, like Vermont Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and establishment Democratic leadership, like Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
DOUG SCHOEN: DEMOCRATIC BATTLE PITS MODERATES VS. PROGRESSIVES FOR SOUL OF THE PARTY
For one, a number of current senators – Elizabeth Warren, of Massachusetts, Tina Smith, of Minnesota, and Chris Murphy, of Connecticut , dubbed the "Fight Club" – have already signaled they will oppose Schumer’s reelection as either the Senate majority or minority leader, and several other congressional hopefuls have begun to follow suit.
Additionally, the return of the Bidens isn’t doing much to help Democrats’ case either.
Between the releases of former First Lady Jill Biden’s memoir– which highlights former President Joe Biden’s obvious disabilities, including the initial belief that he had a stroke during the June 2024 debate – and of the Democrats’ internal post-election audit – which revealed a party with no clear message or strategy – the left has managed to make 2024 a 2026 problem.
The advantage for Republicans is clear: they now have the choice to make the midterms a referendum on Biden vs. Trump, on middle-left vs. far-left, or on the Democrats’ extreme candidates, since none have yet to be disavowed.
And while it’s certainly the case that Democrats are still favored to win the House – with Senate control remaining very much in play – the GOP, given the negatives, has lines of attack that it arguably did not have back in 2018.
There are simple solutions, however unlikely the party may be to pursue them.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION
In Maine, if there are more revelations about Platner, he can and should step down by July 13 to allow someone like Gov. Janet Mills, who made clear her availability, to run in his place. Notably, Mills has a three-point lead over Collins in the above Tavern Research poll.
In Michigan, the Democrats have two otherwise qualified House candidates who are far stronger general election candidates than El-Sayed.
And nationwide, the party should develop a substantive, forward-looking agenda that offers a real alternative to Trump’s policies – like affordability, immigration reform and border security, and economic growth – that goes beyond investigations and impeachment proceedings.
In sum, there is still time for Democrats to get out of their own way – but if Tuesday night’s election is any indication, the will to do so remains an open question.
Apache helicopter gunships showed off their power cleaning up the Strait of Hormuz
Despite the combat loss of an Apache helicopter on June 8, these formidable helicopter gunships are playing a major role in reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
Oil tankers, container ships and bulkers are eager to get underway. President Donald Trump said on Monday, June 15, that "a lot of lanes" are open. "Pathways are available to all vessels not violating the blockade," according to U.S. Central Command, adding that, "U.S. forces are postured to defend against Iranian aggression."
But even as the Memorandum of Understanding between the United States and Iran is finalized, international shippers are still nervous. "We still consider it very risky for ships to commence transits," Jakob Larsen, chief safety and security officer at BIMCO, the world’s largest shipping association, said June 15. They worry about rogue drones, missiles and fast boats from Iran.
You can bet Adm. Brad Cooper, commander, U.S. Central Command, will have the Army’s AH-64E Apache helicopters fanned out to police the strait.
US NAVY UNMANNED SURFACE DRONE FINDS, RESCUES APACHE HELICOPTER CREW IN MILITARY FIRST
That’s what the Apache helicopters were doing last week, when one was struck on June 8 by an Iranian drone that burrowed into the cockpit. The two-man Army crew survived a nighttime ditching in the Strait of Hormuz – and a historic rescue by a 24-foot U.S. Navy sea drone.
"That bomb was lodged in the helicopter, it didn’t explode. It was on fire, but it didn’t explode," Trump marveled. "Those two guys, they knew how to fly, but they got very lucky."
How do you ditch an Apache helicopter in the dark waters of the Strait of Hormuz with a smoldering Iranian drone stuck in the cockpit? "Gently." That’s according to former U.S. Army helicopter pilot Capt. C.W. Gosnell, who flew two combat tours in Bell UH-1 "Hueys" during the Vietnam War.
‘GOD IS GOOD’: INSIDE THE HIGH-RISK US MISSION TO SAVE A WOUNDED AIRMAN SHOT DOWN IN IRAN
While official details are scant, one technique is to hover the Apache down to the sea surface, then roll the helicopter onto its side, tilting the 48-foot rotor into the water to stop the blades. Imagine scrambling out of the cockpit wearing your helmet, boots and body armor vest with your weapon, flares, radio and extra drinking water. And then boarding a 24-foot unmanned Navy rescue boat.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION
Fortunately, the Apaches are well-suited to ongoing patrols in the Strait of Hormuz. Here are three reasons why Iran – and China – fear the Apache.
Apaches are rugged. Designed in the 1980s to kill Soviet tanks, Apaches were built with a type of boron carbide armor protecting the cockpit and vital systems. Blast shields separate the tandem seats and can withstand .50-caliber rounds, 23 mm shells and small incendiaries.
The current model AH-64E is armed with Hellfire missiles, rockets and a 30 mm gun mounted on the helicopter’s chin and can destroy armored enemy targets at a range of five miles or more. Back on May 4, Cooper tasked AH-64 Apache and MH-60 Seahawk helicopters to "eliminate six Iranian small boats threatening commercial shipping." All were sunk. Cooper has been so impressed with the Apaches, that he himself took a flight in an AH-64 over the Strait of Hormuz.
The Apaches are also developing tactics to take on drones. On March 8, the United Arab Emirates released video footage of their AH-64E Apaches shooting down an Iranian Shahed drone with a gun kill. It’s a tactic also perfected by the U.S. Army. During a training exercise last November, Apache crews from the South Carolina Army National Guard achieved drone kills in 13 out of 14 engagements.
They proved "the Apache—using its current software and systems—is a lethal and adaptable solution to the drone threat," said Chief Warrant Officer 5 Daniel York, who was part of the Army’s new equipment team. The Apaches can also use a new Aviation Proximity Explosive, or APEX, a gun round for better kill rates against small drones and drone swarms.
You can see why Apaches will continue to play a big role over the Strait of Hormuz as shipping traffic gets underway. And combat lessons from Iran will prepare U.S. forces to deter China in the Pacific, too.
Trump wins two, loses one: Georgia billionaire delivers rare blow to endorsement machine
ATLANTA, GA. - He wasn't on the ballot, but President Donald Trump's immense clout over the GOP faced more key tests in high-stakes Republican runoffs in Georgia and in neighboring Alabama Tuesday.
While the power of a Trump endorsement in Republican primaries didn't escape unscathed, Trump-backed candidates won two of the three top races, with the one setback coming against a billionaire businessman who shelled out over $100 million of his own money to boost his campaign.
Rep. Barry Moore, a House Freedom Caucus member and longtime Trump supporter who was endorsed by the president, comfortably defeated rival Jared Hudson, a former Navy SEAL sniper who was supported by some top names on the right, in solidly red Alabama's GOP Senate runoff.
TRUMP NOTCHES ANOTHER ENDORSEMENT WIN
In battleground Georgia's Republican Senate runoff, an 11th hour endorsement by Trump this past weekend helped boost Rep. Mike Collins, a MAGA champion, to victory over former college football coach Derek Dooley, who was backed by popular conservative Gov. Brian Kemp.
Collins will face Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in the general election in a race that's among a handful that will likely decide if the GOP holds its slim majority in the chamber in the midterms.
TRUMP-BACKED CANDIDATE SURVIVES GRUELING REPUBLICAN RUNOFF
But in Georgia's GOP gubernatorial runoff, the candidate Trump backed, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who was also endorsed by Kemp this past weekend, was defeated by Rick Jackson, who ran as an outsider.
Jones regularly showcased his Trump endorsement, but Jackson, who launched his bid in February long after the president had endorsed Jones, repeatedly said that Trump had inspired him to run.
"I just thought, you know, if you had somebody doing business solutions for the state of Georgia, just like Trump is for the United States, I just felt like I would have a major impact on the state of Georgia, and so that was one of the reasons I wanted to get in. I was inspired by President Trump," Jackson told Fox News Digital recently.
And he continuously highlighted that, like Trump, he's an outsider and businessman. "I'm going to be Trump's favorite governor because we're just alike on the way that we handle business and handle problems, and I want to do exactly in Georgia what he's doing at the federal government," he reiterated in a Fox News Digital interview Sunday.
TRUMP ENDORSEMENT FAILS TO SAVE MAGA CANDIDATE
The brute force of the president's endorsement power has been on display in GOP primaries over the past six weeks, with his candidates ousting incumbents he targeted in showdowns in Indiana, Louisiana, Kentucky and Texas that grabbed plenty of national attention.
But Trump's endorsement streak in statewide and congressional Republican primaries was snapped two weeks ago when his 11th-hour endorsement of Republican Rep. Randy Feenstra of Iowa in the race to succeed retiring GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds wasn't enough to propel the three-term congressman to victory.
Feenstra was narrowly edged by Zach Lahn, a businessman, farmer and former political strategist who was backed by the political wings of MAHA — the acronym for the Make America Healthy Again movement aligned with Trump Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — and Turning Point USA, the powerful conservative organization co-founded by the late Charlie Kirk.
Trump rebounded last week, as the candidate he endorsed in the South Carolina GOP gubernatorial primary, Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, finished first in a crowded field and clinched one of the two tickets in the race for the nomination.
Meanwhile, longtime Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham did win a majority of the vote in the Republican Senate primary, and avoided a runoff.
Graham, who was endorsed by Trump, was facing primary challenges from five candidates, including conservative businessman Mark Lynch, who took aim at the senator over his support for the war in Iran. Lynch was backed by some MAGA leaders who have been critical of the president.
A Trump political operative, pointing to Tuesday loss by Trump-backed Jones, noted that "Rick Jackson set a record for spending in a statewide Republican primary. He spent Tom Steyer level money in a state a fraction of the size of California. That's going to have an impact."
And the operative, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely, also emphasized that "Rick bearhugged Trump. All of his ads and material was about how he's going to be Trump's favorite governor. So the race was not really a referendum on Trump."
Veteran Republican strategist Matt Gorman told Fox News Digital that "Rick was a great candidate. Trump's endorsement can't do all the work. It's a massive value add but it's not a panacea. Now the focus is on coming together for the fall."
Jackson was endorsed at the last minute by Sen. Ted Cruz, and the conservative firebrand from Texas joined Jackson on the campaign trail for a runoff eve rally.
DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB
"Rick has an extraordinary record, an extraordinary life story. And I also think he's positioned to win. And the stakes are too high. This election is a battleground all across the country. We can't afford to lose Georgia," Cruz told Fox News Digital.
When Cruz endorsed Jackson on Friday, he also supported South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, who is facing off in a week against Trump-backed Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette.
Asked if he's trying to put some daylight between himself and the president on the campaign trail, Cruz quickly responded, "No. Not remotely....The president and I agree on the vast majority of races. What I try to do in every race is endorse the strongest conservative who can win. And typically I get in races late in the race at a time where my support might be able to make a difference and be helpful."
Nearly 200 injured service members compete in 2026 Warrior Games
SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Army Maj. Jonathan Turnbull was given 12 hours to live after an ISIS suicide bomber attacked his team in Manbij, Syria in 2019. After seven years and 23 life-saving surgeries, he competed in the 2026 Warrior Games in San Antonio, Texas.
Nearly 200 service members competed in 12 adaptive sports during the 2026 Warrior Games. All athletes have some form of service-related ailments like physical injuries, traumatic brain injuries, visual impairments or PTSD.
The 9/11 attacks inspired Maj. Turnbull to enlist in the U.S. Army in 2004.
"On 9/11, I remember the day. Everybody's got their 9/11 stories, and mine's just like everybody else's," Maj. Turnbull said. "I was shocked, appalled, horrified, and motivated after the attacks. I wanted to do something to prevent it from ever happening again."
AMERICA'S WOUNDED, STRUGGLING VETERANS GET BRAND-NEW HOMES BUILT BY FLORIDA TEENS
For the next 15 years, Maj. Turnbull was involved in several missions to enhance the lives of people living in war-torn areas as a civil affairs officer for the U.S. Special Operations Command.
On Jan. 15, 2019, Maj. Turnbull was supposed to return from deployment in Syria. He decided to stay.
"The Special Operations Task Force commander called me up a couple of weeks prior and said, 'John, you guys are getting after it. You're doing a great job. Would you consider sticking around a little longer, just continuing to work to defeat ISIS?'," Maj. Turnbull said. "Without hesitation, it was, 'Yes sir, absolutely. Put me in. Count me in. Let's do this, you know, for freedom, for justice, for America, let's go.'"
An ISIS suicide bomber attacked his team in Manbij, Syria the day after he was supposed to go home.
"It started with a suicide vest. They had further plans after that, but after the suicide vest, it was catastrophic," Maj. Turnbull said. "I could have been home, but... In the defense of freedom, in defense of America, especially our Constitution, like I wouldn't have had it any other way."
"There was video footage that had gone off of a security camera. And when I saw it, I had actually seen his truck in the video," Samantha Turnbull, Maj. Turnbull's wife, said. "I thought, 'okay, John's not here anymore.'"
The blast killed four Americans and injured two others, including Maj. Turnbull, who lost his right eye and punctured his left eye.
Doctors gave Maj. Turnbull only 12 hours to live and said that if he survived, he wouldn't be able to walk, talk or remember things again.
Nine months after the explosion, Maj. Turnbull ran the Army 10-miler.
"The doctors had told me that it's not possible… They took my left thigh muscle up and put it over my right eye socket," Maj. Turnbull said, "Don't tell me what I can't do. Let me show you what I can."
MILITARY SISTER SURPRISES GRADUATING BOTHER BY DELIVERING HIS DIPLOMA AFTER OVERSEAS DEPLOYMENT
"It was really such a cool moment to see. It was definitely a part of his recovery, where I said, 'You know what? It's going to be all right,'" Samantha Turnbull said. "There was a lot of emotion at that finish line."
Maj. Turnbull is competing in the 2026 ‘Warrior Games’ as a completely blind man. He was team SOCOM's ‘Ultimate Champion,’ competing in archery, cycling, field, indoor rowing, powerlifting, precision air, swimming and track.
"Being here and seeing him competing and doing things he has not done before, it's really a cool thing to see," Samantha Turnbull said. "I'm, for once, getting to just sit back and take it all in, because it's kind of like that hug at the end of the finish line where you know what, we've done it."
Before the games, Maj. Turnbull worked with coaches to learn how to overcome his blindness to compete with the rest of the competitors.
"I can turn a 25-meter pool to a 100-meter pool with these little zigzags going down. I say it in jest, it's funny, but we talked with the coaches. How do I start swimming straight? Is there a way? How do other blind swimmers do this? And we found a way," Maj. Turnbull said.
The ‘Warrior Games’ is an eight-day competition for service members in the Army, Marine Corps, Navy/Coast Guard, Air Force/Space Force and SOCOM.
"So I view the ‘Warrior Games’ really as a springboard to what's next in your life. Ideally, it could be a return to active duty," 'Warrior Games' Director, David Paschal, said.
Prince Harry visited with athletes on Sunday. He first attended the ‘Warrior Games’ in 2013 when he was serving in the British Army as a helicopter pilot. That visit inspired Harry to create the 'Invictus Games,' a similar competition for service members from 25 countries.
"Next year, for Birmingham, we're going to bring 48 athletes to the Invictus games," Paschal said. "We'll leave right from training camp downrange to Birmingham to participate in the games and represent the USA."
In 2024, the Department of Veterans Affairs reported about 17 veterans die by suicide every day. Paschal said the ‘Warrior Games’ is literally saving lives because it shows service members what they are still capable of despite their injuries.
Texas plane crash leaves one dead, more injured after business jet catches fire on highway
A business jet crashed on a highway in Texas and caught fire on Tuesday night, killing one person, according to police.
The plane was carrying six people when it crashed on Loop 20 in Laredo, Texas, shortly after 10 p.m., according to Jose Baeza, an investigator with the Laredo Police Department.
Baeza also said a vehicle was struck by the aircraft. It was not immediately clear if the person killed was in the aircraft or on the ground.
SMALL PLANE CRASHES NEAR HICKS AIRFIELD IN TEXAS, REPORTEDLY CAUSING MULTIPLE SEMI-TRUCK FIRES
The conditions of those aboard the plane were not immediately known.
Authorities initially did not report serious injuries on the ground, though five responding officers were transported to the hospital for smoke inhalation according to Baeza.
Loop 20 was closed after the crash and was expected to remain closed into Wednesday morning, Baeza said.
The plane involved in the incident was a Cessna Citation Latitude twin jet, according to data from FlightAware. The plane departed from Los Cabos International Airport in Mexico at 6:19 p.m.
NetJets said in a statement that the crash involved one of its planes. The company said it is working with authorities.
MISSOURI SKYDIVING PLANE CRASH THAT KILLED ALL 12 ABOARD IS A 'DEVASTATING LOSS,' COMPANY SAYS
It was unclear what caused the crash as it reached Laredo, which is located about 140 miles southwest of San Antonio.
Video posted to social media showed the plane on its side and smashed into a highway barrier as the tail was ripped from the fuselage.
Republicans, media rip Trump’s secret Iran deal, with the harshest critics calling it a surrender
A ceasefire agreement between the world’s greatest military power and its leading terrorist regime is a big blanking deal.
But ask yourself: If the "agreement," which runs a page and a half, is so great, why hasn’t it been released?
In a cascade of criticism, leading Republicans, joining the predictable Democrats, have expressed unhappiness with President Trump’s secret deal. Their attitude ranges from deep skepticism to outright opposition.
And the media coverage, even accounting for the usual anti-Trump hostility, has been relentlessly negative.
TRUMP'S IRAN AGREEMENT RAISES A BASIC QUESTION: IS IT ACTUALLY A DEAL?
"President Trump Lost This War," the New York Times editorial page declared yesterday.
"Trump made a terrible mistake starting this war. He prosecuted it recklessly and in open defiance of the law. The United States is emerging weaker — militarily, diplomatically and economically — and will pay strategic costs for years to come.
The details of the deal are unclear, but the announced framework suggests that Mr. Trump has won few of the terms he insisted that he would. It is a humiliating comedown for him and the nation he leads."
That theme emerges throughout the coverage. Washington Post foreign policy columnist David Ignatius says: "Let’s be frank: In diplomatic terms, this agreement is an exit ramp from a costly and unpopular war, not a victory parade. The deal falls far short of President Donald Trump’s early talk of regime change and unconditional surrender. Even one of Trump’s close advisers concedes: ‘It’s inconclusive right now, in the sense that you can’t say it was a huge success, and you can’t say it was a failure.’"
But what’s most striking is the Republican pushback, with some demanding that Congress must approve any peace deal.
TRUMP VOWS 'ULTIMATE CONSEQUENCES' IF IRAN VIOLATES AGREEMENT, RESUMES NUCLEAR AMBITIONS
Sen. Thom Tillis says the agreement is "doomed to fail" because of the lack of congressional oversight. He also criticized some remarks by Pete Hegseth. "Now we are talking about a posture where we may accept the nuclear material remaining in Iran? How does that make sense at all?"
"If you want a deal to last," said Sen. James Lankford, "it can’t be an executive agreement."
Sen. Lindsey Graham, a presidential pal, said the memorandum being described by Iran "sounds awful."
Speaking of uranium, the longtime hawk said: "If they can enrich it anywhere at all, then it’s the same as JCPOA," the 2015 Obama agreement that Trump canceled. Graham told Politico he is "skeptical that Iran will ever go there."
And conservative activist Erick Erickson, who has a popular radio show, says flatly: "Trump has surrendered to Iran."
TRUMP MAY HAVE WON A STRATEGIC PAUSE IN IRAN. NOW COMES THE HARD PART
Colby Hall, a Mediaite founding editor who has started a Substack site that includes the "morning frame," cited this example:
"Marc Thiessen is not a Democrat. He is not even a Never Trumper. He is a Fox News contributor, a Washington Post columnist, and a foreign-policy voice close enough to Trump that his calls reportedly helped shape the president’s position on Ukraine. He has had dinner at the White House."
Thiessen compared the $300 billion that the White House concedes Iran would receive for a reconstruction fund to "offering the Marshall Plan to rebuild Germany while the Nazis were still in power." The columnist "was applying the moral logic conservatives spent a decade constructing — that you don’t rebuild a hostile regime, you constrain it — to a deal signed by the president he helped elect."
He wasn’t alone. Fox anchor Bill Hemmer called the situation "precarious. It’s tough stuff because Iran’s history is to get to that table and just drag this thing out — month after month and eventually year after year." Hemmer asked, "about us getting suckered back into a long, stalemated negotiation."
Many Fox critics conveniently forget the network has a large news division.
Here’s Politico: "President Donald Trump and his team are celebrating an Iran peace deal they say will end Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
"But the accord rests on commitments that Iran hasn’t actually made yet. And it may never."
Axios reports that CIA Director John Ratcliffe told Trump and other senior officials that "evidence gathered by U.S. intelligence agencies raises serious doubts about Iran’s willingness to make the nuclear concessions the U.S. is seeking in any final deal, according to three sources familiar with those discussions."
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth "both expressed concerns and raised questions about the memorandum of understanding."
"Ratcliffe and Rubio said that based on that intel, they doubted the Iranians would agree to take the nuclear steps the U.S. was seeking."
NETANYAHU'S ISRAEL GRAPPLES WITH TRUMP-IRAN DEAL AS DETAILS REMAIN UNCLEAR
That’s pretty sobering.
National Review’s Jim Geraghty sees "a well-established pattern of an administration that habitually over promises and under delivers. Vice President Vance, who apparently never wanted to start a war, now gets the job of a deal with one of the world’s most untrustworthy and treacherous regimes."
The Dispatch says: "If the deal has in fact been finalized… the administration’s unwillingness to share the details suggests the terms are, as many have feared, tantamount to surrender. Why not transparently share something of which you are proud?"
All we really have here is an agreement to keep on talking. Maybe it will all work out in the end, but right now it seems like a distant desert mirage.
Trump is declaring the "deal" a success. But with the still-secret arrangement, it’s hard to argue that the 80-year-old president has handled this well.
Footnote: Trump over the weekend posted a picture of himself with Kim Jong Un. What did that North Korean visit and all those love letters get us last time? Yet Trump appears to be signaling he wants to try again.
GOP Gov DeWine urges Ohio to abolish the death penalty, says it is no longer a deterrent
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, on Tuesday announced support for abolishing capital punishment in his state, reaffirming his change of heart on the policy he helped write as a legislator 45 years ago to reinstate the death penalty in Ohio.
DeWine, who has repeatedly postponed executions during his time as governor, pointed to data showing that the death penalty does not serve as a deterrent to violent crime.
"For the state to take a human life, there must, in my opinion, there must be evidence that in doing so it will help protect the public, that the threat of that action will deter someone from committing murder," DeWine said at a news conference.
"I do not believe that argument today can be successfully made, nor do I believe that there’s any chance in the future the facts that I’ve cited to support that belief will change," he said. "Therefore, I believe Ohio should abolish the death penalty."
As he made his case, DeWine brought out charts and graphs showing the decline in both the number of death sentences handed down by courts and the quantity of executions being carried out. The data also showed the exceedingly long wait times as legal appeals play out for inmates on death row.
The governor said condemned murderers are increasingly unlikely to be executed, as they sometimes die by natural causes or by suicide before they can be executed.
"Even if the murderer is caught, indicted, convicted and sentenced to death, the odds are still pretty good they’re not going to be executed," he said.
"In summary, each decade that the death penalty has been in effect, the chances of a murderer getting executed get more and more and more remote," he added.
The last 10 people to be executed in Ohio had been on death row between 14 and 32 years, he said. Since the state reinstated capital punishment in 1981 under a law co-written by DeWine, 56 people who received the death sentence have been executed and 41 died by natural causes or suicide while on death row. Another 89 death sentences were overturned due to "judicial action" such as legal errors.
DeWine emphasized the years of pain for victims' loved ones due to the delays and the impact on the mental health of state employees who work on execution teams.
UTAH DEATH ROW INMATE WITH DEMENTIA DIES OF NATURAL CAUSES 3 MONTHS AFTER EXECUTION WAS HALTED
"I no longer believe the death penalty is a deterrent to murder," DeWine said. "The moral justification I had for voting for the death penalty simply no longer exists."
The governor, who is term-limited and cannot seek another term in the 2026 election, said he felt compelled to share his thoughts now after 50 years of experience with the death penalty issue, including as a Greene County prosecutor, a member of the U.S. House and Senate and as Ohio's attorney general.
However, he said his outright opposition to the death penalty has become solidified in the past year.
DeWine urged the legislature to abolish the death penalty or to leave it up to state residents to vote on the issue, although Republican House Speaker Matt Huffman has said he would oppose such an effort. Other supporters of capital punishment have argued that Ohio’s yearslong execution pause has denied justice to victims’ families and weakened the deterrent effect of death sentences.
DeWine has not authorized an execution since taking office seven years ago, citing, on numerous occasions, pharmaceutical suppliers’ unwillingness to provide the drugs used in lethal injections. Last year, President Donald Trump ordered the U.S. Justice Department to help states to resolve that issue. In January 2025, President Donald Trump ordered the U.S. Justice Department to help states resolve that issue.
The governor has said he expects no more executions during the remainder of his term. Delaying executions has left Ohio with 30 scheduled over the next four years, according to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. The state has not put an inmate to death since July 18, 2018, before DeWine took office.
"The most important way to protect the public is to lock up violent criminals and to keep them out of society," DeWine said. "That is a proven way of saving lives and protecting our citizens. Our money and energies are much better spent focusing on keeping these repeat violent offenders out of society."
Currently, 27 states allow the death penalty while 23 states and Washington, D.C., do not, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
Since 2019, including that year, three states have abolished capital punishment, while five states now authorize nitrogen hypoxia as an execution method amid ongoing controversy over lethal injection protocols.
At the federal level, Trump has pushed to expand executions. During his first term, 13 federal executions were carried out, which was more than any president in modern history.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.