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Rubio designates Afghanistan as 'state sponsor of wrongful detention': 'Despicable tactics'
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio designated Afghanistan as a "state sponsor of wrongful detention," accusing the Taliban of "unjustly" detaining Americans and other foreign nationals.
In his announcement on Monday, Rubio said the Taliban continues to use "terrorist tactics" that he insisted "need to end."
"I am designating Afghanistan as a State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention," Rubio said in a statement. "The Taliban continues to use terrorist tactics, kidnapping individuals for ransom or to seek policy concessions. These despicable tactics need to end."
The secretary also called on the terror group to free a pair of Americans who are "unjustly detained" in Afghanistan.
IRAN REGIME CITED AS TRUMP ADMIN SET TO DESIGNATE SUDAN'S MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD A TERROR GROUP
"It is not safe for Americans to travel to Afghanistan because the Taliban continues to unjustly detain our fellow Americans and other foreign nationals," he said. "The Taliban needs to release Dennis Coyle, Mahmoud Habibi, and all Americans unjustly detained in Afghanistan now and commit to cease the practice of hostage diplomacy forever."
Coyle, 64, was detained more than a year ago without charges by the Taliban General Directorate of Intelligence, according to his family, noting that he still has not been charged. His family said he was legally working to support Afghan language communities as an academic researcher.
Habibi, a 38-year-old American citizen who was born in Afghanistan, was taken along with his driver from their vehicle in the capital of Kabul in August 2022 by the Taliban General Directorate of Intelligence, according to the State Department.
The FBI said Habibi was previously Afghanistan’s director of civil aviation and worked for the Kabul-based telecommunications company Asia Consultancy Group. The FBI said the Taliban detained 29 other employees of the company but has released most of them.
Habibi has not been heard from since his arrest, and the Taliban has not disclosed his whereabouts or condition, according to the State Department and FBI. The Taliban has previously denied it detained Habibi.
The U.S. is also calling for the return of the remains of Paul Overby, an author who was last seen close to Afghanistan's border with Pakistan in 2014, according to Reuters, citing two sources familiar with the situation.
The State Department could restrict the use of U.S. passports for travel to Afghanistan if the Taliban does not meet the U.S. government's demands, the sources told the outlet.
A passport restriction of this kind is currently only in place for North Korea.
The Taliban called the decision by Rubio to designate Afghanistan a "state sponsor of wrongful detention" regrettable, adding that it wanted to resolve the matter through dialogue.
STATE DEPARTMENT DEFENDS 'PROACTIVE' EVACUATION EFFORTS AGAINST DEMS' CLAIMS OF DIPLOMATIC CHAOS
The Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021 during the U.S. military’s chaotic withdrawal from the country that ended the 20-year war in the region.
Rubio gave the "state sponsor of wrongful detention" designation to Iran late last month, just one day before the U.S.-Israeli strikes on the country. He warned that the U.S. could restrict travel to Iran over its detention of U.S. citizens, but there have not been any restrictions yet.
"The Iranian regime must stop taking hostages and release all Americans unjustly detained in Iran, steps that could end this designation and associated actions," Rubio said at the time.
Reuters contributed to this report.
EXCLUSIVE: ICE says El Paso detention facility will stay open under new contractor after $1.2B deal scrapped
EXCLUSIVE: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas will remain open and is undergoing an operational upgrade, Fox News Digital has learned.
"Camp East Montana is NOT closing, quite the opposite," an ICE spokesperson exclusively told Fox News Digital Tuesday.
"Rather, ICE has contracted with a new provider following Secretary Noem’s termination of the old contract inherited from the Department of War. ICE is always looking at ways to improve our detention facilities to ensure we are providing the best care to illegal aliens in our custody."
BLUE-STATE GOVERNORS MOVE TO KEEP HEAT ON NOEM AS DHS FIRES BACK
The spokesperson said the new contract will allow the facility to maintain what the agency described as the "highest detention standards" while expanding oversight.
According to ICE, the new contractor will also provide increased on-site medical care, additional staffing and a "PRECISE quality assurance surveillance plan."
The agency said the updated agreement also strengthens ICE’s direct oversight of operations at the El Paso-area facility.
"Far from closing, Camp East Montana is upgrading," the spokesperson said.
The news that the facility will remain open comes after The Washington Post reported that the facility could face closure amid scrutiny over operations.
A document was distributed to ICE staff, the Post reports, indicated that the agency was drafting a letter to terminate the facility’s $1.2 billion contract at an unspecified date.
ICE officials, however, characterized the contract termination as a deliberate effort by Noem to raise standards and improve services.
The facility, located at Fort Bliss in Texas, has been used to house thousands of detainees as part of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts.
ICE did not immediately provide details on the identity of the new contractor or the timeline for full implementation.
WATCH: NYC terror suspect allegedly seen purchasing fireworks fuse days before attack
BUCKS COUNTY, Pa. — One of two Pennsylvania men accused of plotting an ISIS-inspired terror attack in New York City allegedly bought a fireworks fuse at a suburban Pennsylvania store just days before allegedly hurling explosive devices at protesters outside Gracie Mansion.
Emir Balat, 18, of Langhorne, appears to have purchased a 20-foot roll of consumer safety fuse from Phantom Fireworks in Penndel March 2, according to the retailer and surveillance footage obtained by Fox News Digital.
The purchase was made two days after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran.
Video appears to show Balat pulling into the store’s parking lot and walking inside. He briefly moves out of camera view before returning to the counter with the fuse, speaking with a retail associate and completing the $6.89 purchase in a checkout lane.
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"The single item purchased was a 20-foot length of consumer fireworks safety fuse," Phantom Fireworks Vice President and General Counsel William Weimer told Fox News Digital. "The total spend was $6.89 including tax."
Five days later, Balat and 19-year-old Ibrahim Kayumi of Newtown allegedly threw live explosive devices into a protest outside the official residence of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
The event, "Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City: Stop New York City Public Muslim Prayer," drew about 20 participants.
A counterprotest, "Run the Nazis out of New York City: Stand Against Hate," drew roughly 125 people at its peak.
Despite NYPD officers separating the groups into designated areas, tensions escalated shortly before noon, when a protester linked to Lang used pepper spray on counterprotesters, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. Officers investigated for "a period of time" before making an arrest.
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About 30 minutes later, Balat allegedly threw an "ignited device" that landed on the East 87th Street and East End Avenue crosswalk. Witnesses reported flames and smoke as it traveled through the air, struck a barrier and burned out feet from police officers.
Balat then allegedly ran south on East End Avenue, took a second device from Kayumi, lit it and fled before dropping it between East 86th and East 87th streets. Police took both men into custody.
The defendants now face five federal charges — attempted provision of material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, use of a weapon of mass destruction, transportation of explosive materials, interstate transportation and receipt of explosives and unlawful possession of destructive devices.
Fox News Digital’s Alexandra Koch and Ashley Carnahan contributed to this report.
Michigan man found guilty of killing wife whose body was discovered in fertilizer tank
A Michigan man was found guilty of killing his wife after her remains were discovered inside a farm fertilizer tank, bringing a yearslong, nationally watched case to a close.
Dale Warner was convicted by a jury on Tuesday of second-degree murder and tampering with evidence.
Warner was charged with murder in 2023, more than two years after his wife, Dee Warner, 52, went missing from her home in Franklin Township in April 2021.
Investigators did not find her body until 2024, when her remains were located in rural Michigan inside a fertilizer tank, which had a tag reading "out of service" and "do not fill."
During the trial, defense attorneys argued there was no physical evidence tying Warner to his wife's death.
An autopsy showed Dee Warner was strangled and suffered blunt force trauma.
Her disappearance and murder trial received widespread attention, including on true-crime podcasts and TV shows.
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"Justice for Dee" signs and banners were hung around Lenawee County, roughly 70 miles southwest of Detroit.
Prosecutors described a stressed marriage between Dee and Dale Warner, though the defense team argued that was irrelevant.
Prosecutor Jackie Wyse argued in court that Dale Warner could have called 911 and said, "I screwed up," after realizing what happened to his wife, but then taped her mouth and nose, preventing her from breathing.
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"Those were all conscious decisions," Wyse said.
Meanwhile, defense attorney Mary Chartier argued there was reasonable doubt in the case.
She said that Dale Warner denied hurting his wife and cooperated with investigators during the search.
"You are not here to judge Mr. Warner as a husband," Chartier said during the trial. "You may think he was a bad husband, a not-very-attentive husband, whatever you may think of him."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Hezbollah, Iran unleash coordinated cluster bomb strikes on Israel in major escalation
Hezbollah and Iran launched a coordinated strike strategy Tuesday, a national security expert claimed, as reports emerged that deadly cluster munitions were hitting Israel in synchronized attacks.
The developments unfolded on day 11 of Operations Epic Fury and Roaring Lion, the joint U.S.-Israeli campaign targeting Iran, marking a potential escalation in the widening regional conflict.
"Hezbollah has fully joined the war, and it looks like they are now very well coordinated with Iran," Kobi Michael, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies and the Misgav Institute, told Fox News Digital while speaking from his bomb shelter near Tel Aviv.
"Most of Hezbollah's rockets and drones are launched simultaneously with the Iranian missiles," he said.
IRAN'S SENIOR CLERICS ‘EXPOSED’ AFTER BUILDING STRIKE IN QOM, SUCCESSION CHOICE LOOMS
Israel confirmed Tuesday that Iran had been firing cluster munitions — adding a complicated and deadly challenge to Israel’s stretched air defenses, The Associated Press reported.
The warheads burst open at high altitudes, scattering dozens of smaller bomblets across a wide area. The smaller bombs, which at night can resemble orange fireballs, are difficult to intercept and have proven lethal.
Fox News correspondent Nate Foy also said despite Israel's strong air defense, half of the missiles are hard to defend against because half of the missiles are cluster munitions.
"The Iranian use of cluster missiles and the idea that they deliberately target civilians and civil facilities must be considered as a use of non-conventional weapons, and the American-Israeli response must be appropriate," Michael urged.
Banned by more than 120 nations under the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions, the weapons are widely condemned for their broad-area, indiscriminate effects that often result in catastrophic civilian harm.
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Michael spoke as Reuters reported Hezbollah was applying lessons from its last war with Israel as it prepares for a possible full-scale Israeli invasion and protracted conflict.
It said sources claimed the group was returning to its roots in guerrilla warfare in south Lebanon.
"Operating in small units, fighters from the Iran-backed group are avoiding the use of communication devices that could be at risk of Israeli tapping and are rationing the use of key anti-tank rockets as they engage Israeli troops," said the sources, familiar with Hezbollah military activities.
Michael also said that the "north of the country, toward the Haifa area, is under heavy bombing."
"Israeli citizens have to spend most of the time in the shelter rooms as Hezbollah and Iran deliberately target civilians and civilian facilities," he said.
"Tel Aviv is still under an emergency routine, with sirens continuing and many people spending a lot of time in the bomb shelter rooms," he added before highlighting that "Israel is a small country and will not be able to continue containing such asymmetry and this type of attrition war."
As of Tuesday night local time, the IDF said it had launched a wave of airstrikes against Hezbollah infrastructure in Beirut’s southern suburbs.
This came after the military reiterated its warning to evacuate the area, a Hezbollah stronghold known as the Dahiyeh.
In a post shared on X, the IDF said: "This is what we’re operating against."
Reuters sources also claimed much of Hezbollah's fighting on the ground had been focused so far near the town of Khiyam, near the intersection of Lebanon's border with Israel and Syria.
This is one area where Hezbollah believes any Israeli land invasion could begin. Hezbollah's elite Radwan fighters, who withdrew from the south following the 2024 ceasefire, had also returned to the area, it said.
TRUMP SAYS IRAN IS 'RUNNING OUT OF LAUNCHERS' AS REGIME IS 'BEING DECIMATED'
"Israel will no doubt take control over a wide territory in south Lebanon, from the international border to the Litani River, in order to establish a security buffer zone," Michael said.
"This will prevent Hezbollah from attacking the Israeli villages and towns in the north of the country and will intensify the attacks against Hezbollah all over Lebanon," Michael added.
"We hope that President Trump will not stop or use the formula he used with the Houthis, declaring victory and leaving the wounded lion incapable of revenge and/or reconstituting itself."
Meanwhile, an Israeli military official, speaking anonymously under army briefing rules, said Tuesday that roughly half of the projectiles Iran was launching toward Israel were now cluster bombs, The Associated Press said.
Melissa Joan Hart gets flooded with praise from fans after flaunting her body in oceanside bikini photo
Melissa Joan Hart has found her "new profile pic."
The 49-year-old actress took to Instagram to share a photo of herself posing on the shore in a strapless blue bikini with the ocean behind her.
She paired the look with a matching blue wrap tied around her waist and posed with one arm on her hip and the other over her head.
Fans in the comments section could not help but compliment the actress, one calling her a "Natural Beauty."
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"A true natural beautiful woman 😍," another fan wrote. A third chimed in with, "So far this is the best thing I've seen today."
Hart got her start in Hollywood at a young age, appearing in a number of commercials and in guest roles on TV before landing her breakout role in Nickelodeon's "Clarissa Explains It All" in 1991 when she was 15 years old.
After her time on Nickelodeon, Hart found major success in "Sabrina the Teenage Witch," which she starred in for seven seasons, from 1996 to 2003.
During an appearance on the "Pod Meets World" podcast in August 2023, Hart shared that she almost lost her job on "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" for posing in her underwear in Maxim magazine, saying she got the call while at the premiere of her movie "Drive Me Crazy."
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"While I'm at the party, my lawyer shows up and goes, 'You did a photo shoot for Maxim magazine?'" Hart explained. "I'm like, 'Yes, I did.' They're like, 'Well, you're being sued and fired from your show, so don't talk to the press, don't do anything.'"
Hart was accused of breach of contract, which stated that the character of Sabrina would never appear nude or in a way that implied nudity, and the magazine cover featured Hart in her underwear with the headline, "Sabrina, your favorite witch without a stitch."
Hart was able to keep her job on the show after it was made clear that she had no knowledge that Maxim planned to use the popular character's name and had no control over the publication's editorial decisions.
Although she called getting the news the "worst day of my life" when speaking on the podcast, she reflected on the difficult period in her life in a September 2023 interview with Fox News Digital, saying she didn't regret doing the shoot.
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"Everything in retrospect is … in the rearview mirror. Everything looks a little more distant," she told Fox News Digital while reminiscing on the chaotic time.
"At the time, what felt like panic and, you know, my career ending and all these terrible things works out to turn into really good press around a movie I had launched. It ended up being kind of a bonus in a way."
Sen. Hyde-Smith set for November clash with Dem foe she once vanquished
The race for Mississippi’s Senate seat is set for November and will feature a clash of a sitting incumbent battling a foe she once blocked from a lifetime judicial appointment.
Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., cruised to a victory in her primary to earn the GOP nomination for Senate in Mississippi. She beat Sarah Adlakha, a political newcomer who challenged Hyde-Smith’s effectiveness in Washington, D.C., since being appointed to the position in 2018.
Hyde-Smith is running for a second term in the upper chamber and, in deep-red Mississippi, is expected to hold onto her job in the GOP’s sprawling battle to maintain control of the Senate.
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But she’ll face a Democratic opponent she’s dealt with before — just not on the election battlefield.
Mississippi District Attorney Scott Colom came out on top of his crowded primary to earn the Democratic nomination for Senate in the Magnolia State. He toppled U.S. Marine Corps veteran Albert Littell and Priscilla Till, the cousin of Emmett Till, who was abducted and lynched in Mississippi in the 1950s.
Hyde-Smith and Colom have a history dating back to the Biden administration, when the lawmaker blocked his nomination to serve as a district court judge in Mississippi.
TRUMP TEASES ENDORSEMENT COMING SOON IN CRUCIAL GOP CLASH
At the time, she used the veto power each home-state senator has, known as a blue slip in the upper chamber, to weigh in on a judicial nominee — it’s a tradition that President Donald Trump has demanded be done away with to nullify Democratic resistance to his own judicial nominees.
Hyde-Smith told the Magnolia Tribune at the time that while she recognized that Colom was "smart and well-liked in his district," she had concerns over his record.
Nathan Calvert, spokesperson for the Hyde-Smith campaign, told Fox News Digital in a statement that "Colom has never seen a Biden/Harris policy he didn't like."
"Senator Hyde-Smith is proud of opposing judicial nominations for extreme leftists who support a radical transgender agenda," Calvert said. "She opposes allowing men to participate in women's sports and believes we need judges who will take the same stance."
"Senator Hyde-Smith believes we need to cut government spending, fight inflation (driven by excessive government spending), and reduce (not increase) our soaring national debt, and she'll continue voting to do that," he continued.
CONTENTIOUS REPUBLICAN SENATE PRIMARY IN TEXAS HEADED INTO OVERTIME
"As someone with a strong interest in protecting the rights of girls and women, I am concerned about Scott Colom’s opposition to legislation to protect female athletes," Hyde-Smith said. "The significant support his campaign received from George Soros also weighs heavily against his nomination, in my view. I simply cannot support his nomination to serve on the federal bench in Mississippi for a lifetime."
Meanwhile, Colom has gone after Hyde-Smith for voting against federal funding coming into Mississippi, which has consistently ranked as the poorest state in the country.
His website accused Hyde-Smith of not "working for us anymore, voting against Mississippi jobs and investments because it serves her donors’ agenda."
Fox News Digital reached out for comment to Colom's campaign, but did not immediately hear back.
Lakers star Luka Dončić says he's in a custody battle with fiancée over daughters
Lakers superstar Luka Dončić revealed he is in a custody battle with fiancée Anamaria Goltes over his two daughters and that the couple has separated.
"I love my daughters more than anything, and I’ve been doing everything I can for them to be with me in the U.S. during the season, but that hasn’t been possible, so I recently made the tough decision to end my engagement," Doncic said in the statement released to ESPN.
"Everything I do is for my daughters’ happiness, and I will always fight to be with them and give them the best life I can."
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Goltes filed a petition for child support and attorneys’ fees in California, TMZ reported Tuesday.
Dončić then said in a statement he had recently ended his engagement to Goltes because he was unable to have his daughters with him in the U.S. during the season.
The 27-year-old Dončić and Goltes had been dating for a decade after meeting as teenagers in Slovenia. They became engaged in July 2023, and their daughters were born in November 2023 and December 2025, when Dončić left the Lakers to travel to Slovenia when younger daughter Olivia was born.
Dončić moved from Dallas to Los Angeles in a trade for Anthony Davis in February 2025. He agreed to a three-year, $165 million contract extension with the Lakers last summer, cementing his near future in Los Angeles.
Dončić is the NBA’s leading scorer this season at 32.5 points per game, and he ranks third with 8.4 assists while grabbing 7.8 rebounds.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Maggie Gyllenhaal reveals Trump election inspired her to direct films like feminist horror 'The Bride'
Actress Maggie Gyllenhaal said President Donald Trump's first election in 2016 is what inspired her to take up directing films like "The Bride!" ahead of the film's lackluster release.
In a resurfaced interview last month, Gyllenhaal spoke with the New York Times' "The Interview" podcast to promote her feminist horror take on the "Bride of Frankenstein" character where she discussed the shrinking number of female directors working on major projects.
Despite the low number, Gyllenhaal described the "impact" female directors like Chloé Zhao have made and argued that there could still be a huge cultural pushback from the lack of female voices, using Trump's election as an example.
"I will say, and I don't know if I've said this out loud before," Gyllenhaal said. "Again, maybe I'll get in trouble, but I actually think that when I really became a director was actually I think the first time that the morning that Trump was first elected, I think I was like, I have a lot more to say than I've been saying."
Gyllenhaal added that the industry seems fine with women making "little movies" but warned that things can "get dangerous when women have their hands on a lot of money."
"Like, if you've had your mouth shut for so long, almost like a geyser, like having your hand on something, well, when it bursts, it's going to come out really powerfully and with a lot of energy... I will say one thing about this. It's going to bring like an unstoppable response maybe, especially from women," Gyllenhaal said.
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Fox News Digital reached out to Gyllenhaal's representatives for comment.
Though Gyllenhaal has not previously cited Trump as a reason she began directing, she has criticized the president in past interviews. In 2017, Gyllenhaal told Stephen Colbert that Trump's election opened her eyes to misogyny still present in the modern world.
"I think before he was elected, I – sexist things would happen all the time in my life, I’d kind of go, ‘you know what? I'm fine. I don't need to unpack that. I don't need to take that apart. I'm lucky. I'm doing fine. I'm just going to take that.’ And after he was elected, I went, ‘I’m not going to take that anymore,’" Gyllenhaal said on "The Late Show."
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Gyllenhaal made her directorial debut with the 2021 film "The Lost Daughter" and also directed an episode of the 2020 TV miniseries "Homemade."
Gyllenhaal's latest film "The Bride!" failed to land with audiences, grossing only $13.6 million globally in its opening weekend against a $90 million budget with an extra $65 million reportedly spent on marketing.
"The Bride!" also only received mixed reviews from critics, according to the movie review site Rotten Tomatoes.
San Jose police investigate violent altercation caught on camera as potential antisemitic hate crime
A violent altercation erupted in San Jose over the weekend when multiple men were caught on camera ganging up on an individual and restraining him to the floor, an incident police say is being investigated as a potential antisemitic hate crime.
The fight occurred Sunday afternoon in popular shopping district Santana Row and reportedly escalated from a verbal altercation that may have involved suspects hurling antisemitic language, the San Jose Police Department (SJPD) said.
"The victims alleged that the suspects used antisemitic language during the altercation," police said. "The incident is currently being investigated by the Assaults Unit as a possible hate crime."
Officials said the incident began when a group of three men approached two male individuals, both of whom later sustained minor injuries.
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Footage captured part of the altercation unfolding in an outdoor dining area. In the video, one young man can be seen repeatedly beating an individual lying on the ground while another suspect gripped the victim’s foot, restraining him in place.
As onlookers watched, voices were heard in the background yelling, "Knock it off! Stop!" before the suspects were seen fleeing the scene.
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Police confirmed that the suspects fled the scene before their arrival.
Both victims were also evaluated on site by medical personnel for minor injuries.
According to an X account @TheJewishAlly, the victims were attacked after they were heard speaking Hebrew.
Police said the investigation is active and ongoing.