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Patient in Canada waits over 12 hours in hospital emergency room: 'I'd rather pay’
A woman seeking emergency care for severe abdominal pain recently shared her frustration on social media with the long wait times at a Canadian hospital.
Amanda Gushue, 37, first visited her primary care physician — who sent her to the emergency department (ED) with a swollen appendix.
After waiting for two hours in triage, she was sent to the waiting room — where she was shocked to see that it could be anywhere from five to 15 hours before she could see a doctor or nurse.
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She ultimately waited another 10 to 12 hours before she was seen.
"There were probably about 150 seats, and they were all full," Gushue, a resident of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, told Fox News Digital. "This is what we deal with when we go to the hospital on a regular basis — you’re looking at spending a full day there."
Gushue shared that one elderly woman came in with a head wound, "bleeding profusely," and had to wait for two hours before she was seen.
Gushue said she attributes the long wait times to a scarcity of doctors. "We have tons of nurses, but no doctors."
Even after she was admitted, Gushue said she received sub-par care and was not given sufficient privacy.
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Canada has a universal healthcare system that is funded through taxes, according to the government’s website.
Eligible residents of a province or territory can apply for public health insurance to access free healthcare services, the website states.
"I would rather pay for my healthcare at this point and get treated fairly," Gushe said.
Part of the problem is that Canada is "overpopulated," she said, expressing her point of view.
"The healthcare system is overworked right now, and these doctors are probably exhausted," she said. "They're working around the clock, and then after a 16- or 17-hour shift, you get a cranky doctor."
Gushe was ultimately admitted. She had her appendix removed last week.
She is now recovering and said she "feels great."
In 2024-2025, there were more than 16.1 million unscheduled emergency department visits in Canada's hospitals, an increase from about 15.5 million the year before, according to the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI).
Among those patients who were admitted into the hospital from the emergency department, nine out of 10 of the ED visits were completed within 48.5 hours, the above source stated. For those who were not admitted, nine out of 10 were completed within around eight hours.
Median wait times vary widely by province, CIHI stated.
Some of the main factors contributing to the extended wait times include staff and bed shortages, hospital flow issues (due to lack of primary care access), and overcrowding that leads to system stress, according to the Canadian Medical Association.
Dr. Warren Thirsk, an emergency room doctor in Edmonton, recently shared with the Calgary Journal that he sometimes sees more than 100 people in the waiting room of his hospital, which only has 30 chairs.
"People who can stand, stand. Some are on the ground, and we’re hoping they’re alive," he said. "And you walk by this carnage, and then you start your day."
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The doctor added that some patients wait all night to receive care. "What used to be a mass casualty event is now the new norm," he said, per the report.
Another ED physician, Dr. Michael Howlett, who is president of the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians, also shared his concerns about the situation.
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"I’ve worked in emergency departments since 1987, and it’s by far the worst it’s ever been. It’s not even close," he told CityNews, a Canadian news outlet.
"We’ve got people dying in waiting rooms because we don’t have a place to put them," he went on. "People being resuscitated on an ambulance stretcher or a floor. Those things have happened."
In January, Alberta’s minister of hospitals announced an investigation into the death of a 44-year-old man who died after waiting nearly eight hours in an Edmonton emergency department with chest pain, according to local reports.
A system review has since been completed by Acute Care Alberta, identifying emergency department overcrowding and triage challenges. The review issued multiple recommendations to prevent similar incidents, though a formal investigation into the death remains ongoing.
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The government also announced new triage liaison physician roles in major hospitals, as physicians report continued overcrowding and capacity issues.
Fox News Digital reached out to Nova Scotia Health and Canada Health requesting comment.
Hawaii Dem reveals why she stayed seated during Trump's viral SOTU moment about prioritizing Americans
Rep. Jill Tokuda, D-Hawaii, said she had no hesitations about remaining in her seat at the 2026 State of the Union when President Donald Trump challenged lawmakers to stand if they agreed the U.S. government should prioritize its citizens' safety over that of illegal aliens.
Like every single one of her Democratic colleagues, Tokuda, a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, stayed put as Republicans stood for over a minute and a half, applauding in a show of support for the president’s statement.
A voter approached Tokuda about the moment two weeks later, pressing her on why she didn't stand.
"The statement was: ‘The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens.’ I noticed you did not stand," a voter who identified herself as Arline said.
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"I’d like to know your reasoning why you did not stand."
After a brief smattering of applause from the audience, Tokuda thanked Arline for the question, noting that lawmakers don’t always get easy questions at town hall events.
"But that decision was easy for me," Tokuda said.
She said her reaction was based on her interpretation of Trump’s challenge, stating that she believed the president had no intention of fielding the support for the statement.
"If it had been a genuine question, a true question — not a ploy to be able to put on some commercial later on to say ‘look at all those Democrats who don’t believe in protecting Americans’ — I absolutely would have stood," Tokuda said.
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Tokuda did not reference the moment in her immediate reactions to the State of the Union.
Instead, on her website, she focused on Trump’s tariffs.
"If you consider tariffs and the hundreds of billions of dollars that tariffs have taxed on everyday Americans … the hundreds of billions of dollars he’s collecting in tariffs have been a tax on everyday people," Tokuda said, highlighting comments made to a local outlet.
In the past, Tokuda has criticized Trump’s immigration crackdown efforts for hitting close to home.
"We’re all one degree of separation from knowing somebody who is right now living in fear, worried that they could be picked up off the streets, or they could be deported, even if they have no grounds to," Tokuda told the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) last year.
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"There [are] too many looking over their shoulder and fearing for their lives right now."
Tokuda’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Fox Nation documentary examines Chris Watts Colorado family murder case
A new Fox Nation special goes into the harrowing case of Chris Watts' plot to murder his pregnant wife and their two young daughters.
The new special will be available to watch on Fox One starting on March 16.
Watts was sentenced in November 2018 to life without parole for the murders of his wife, Shanann Watts, 34, and their daughters, Bella, 4, and Celeste, 3.
Watts, then 33, pleaded guilty to all charges against him in exchange for prosecutors not pursuing the death penalty, the Weld County District Attorney's office said.
Immediately after the crime, in August 2018, Watts told responding officers from the Frederick Police Department in Colorado that his wife and two young daughters had up and "vanished."
"My kids are my life," he told KMGH. "I mean, those smiles light up my life. When I came home and then walked in the house, nothing. Vanished. Nothing was here."
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Within days of the disappearance, Chris Watts was arrested and the bodies of his pregnant wife and children were found.
A break in the case came after a neighbor provided home security video showing Chris backing up his truck into the driveway early in the morning the day Shanann and the children disappeared. The video did not show Shanann or the children leaving.
Along with the video, authorities also tracked Watts' digital footprint, including his cell phone data and GPS tracking data.
After failing a polygraph on August 15, 2018, he confessed during an interview. He led investigators to an oil and gas site operated by Anadarko Petroleum near Roggen, Colorado, where the bodies were recovered.
Shanann Watts, who was approximately 15 weeks pregnant at the time, was found in a shallow grave.
Bella and Celeste were found, authorities said, inside separate crude oil storage tanks at the same site. Their bodies were recovered after the tanks were drained.
Watts confessed that he strangled Shanann in their bed after he told her their marriage was over, and she said he would never see their children again. Watts said his wife correctly suspected that he was having an affair, but he did not tell her about his ongoing relationship with a co-worker before killing Shanann.
Authorities have speculated that Watts wanted a chance to start over with the woman. Watts told investigators that the woman "never asked him to get rid of his family" but their relationship may have "contributed" to his actions.
After he strangled Shanann, Watts said Bella came into their bedroom clutching a blanket and asked what was wrong with her mother. Watts claimed his wife wasn’t feeling well. Their daughter continued watching as Watts wrapped the body in a bedsheet and began crying when he pulled it down the stairs of their home, he said.
Watts said he put her body on the floor of his truck’s back seat. When he went inside, Celeste was also awake.
According to Watts, he put the girls into the backseat of the truck, where they occasionally napped on each other’s laps as he drove.
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Watts claimed he had no plan for his daughters but drove to an oil work site about 40 miles east of the family’s home. He worked there as an operator for an oil and gas producer. He told police he pulled Shanann’s body from the truck as the girls asked, "What are you doing to mommy?"
Watts confessed he went back to the truck and used Celeste’s blanket to smother her as Bella watched from a seat beside her sister. He then put Celeste’s body inside an oil tank before returning to the truck and smothering Bella using the same blanket. Her last words were, "Daddy, no!" he told police, adding that Bella struggled under the blanket. He said he put her body inside another oil tank and buried Shanann’s body nearby.
Watts insisted that he did not plan to kill his wife or children.
The Associated Press and Fox News' Stephanie Nolasco contributed to this report.
California teachers cite discipline problems as survey shows at least 40% plan to quit in next decade
California teachers are warning about how the profession has changed over the past three decades, citing lack of support for teachers to address behavior issues and an overall decline in standards.
A survey from EdWeek's 2026 installment of its State of Teaching Report, found 40% of teachers in California plan to retire or quit in the next 10 years.
Fox News Digital spoke with six California teachers, many of whom have 30 years of teaching experience or on the cusp of retirement.
"I would like to see a shift in attitude toward teachers as an authority. Teachers have, since we are the professionals, the right to make decisions, education decisions, curriculum decisions, rules and consequences," Tera Fowler told Fox News Digital.
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Fowler, 63, plans to retire soon after teaching for over 30 years. Since she started her teaching career, she noticed students are being "coddled" more.
"The biggest change is the lack of discipline and consequences for the children and the increasing expectation of entitlement of the parents — that they are expecting more and more," she said.
In California, the share of teachers who say they plan to retire in the next 10 years is between 40% and 49% with an estimate of 45%, Holly Kurtz, director of the Education Week Research Center, previously told Fox News Digital.
Kurtz said that California teachers are on average older than teachers in many other states, according to the most recent federal data. The average age of a California teacher is 45.5, while the average teacher age in the U.S. is 42.9. Therefore, age is likely the major reason why California teachers are more likely to say they plan to retire in the next decade than teachers in other states, according to Kurtz.
"Age is probably the number one thing. You get to about my point in the career … it doesn't make sense to do anything else, so you stick with it until you're too old to do something else, and then you retire," California teacher Doug Kosak told Fox News Digital.
Kosak, 56, taught for 24 years in public school at Temecula Valley Unified School District and Mesa Unified School District. The 20-plus-year teaching veteran added that "progressive discipline" had emerged over the years, tying up his workdays.
"I can attribute this to the attitudes, the lack of discipline in the schools, inability to hold kids accountable. There are so many other factors that prevent me from doing my job effectively," he said.
Nick Pardue, who teaches economics to seniors, also cited the lack of discipline and support for teachers to enforce standards. Responding to EdWeek’s survey results, he said the "lack of support from administrative staff and behavior issues" could be another reason driving teachers to retire.
After teaching for over 30 years, the 54-year-old echoed what others have said that the profession has changed.
"This positive behavior support where they really didn't want any negative punishments for students who were acting out or misbehaving. So they were looking for positive interventions with the idea that students — every once in a while — they lose themselves," Pardue said.
According to the EdWeek report, 36% of teachers nationwide say they plan to retire in the next 10 years. Kurtz explained that there is evidence that indicates that teacher morale has been declining across the country and is at, by some measures, "the lowest point in recent memory."
Pardue, an Army veteran, believes teachers are encouraged to pass kids, regardless of what their skill levels are.
"They also like having a dashboard for certain kids and ethnicities. That became a huge priority. So there's a lot of politics that got infused into teaching that I think created a lot of problems," he said.
Steve Campos, who has been teaching for over 30 years, said student behavior has gotten worse.
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"Times have changed," Campos, 54, told Fox News Digital. "The lack of discipline sometimes — just student behavior. It's not like it used to be. There's been a big change and a big difference in what we're asked to do — what we are dealing with. Yeah, it's just kind of spiraling quickly."
Jennifer Stoeber, who is getting ready to retire soon after teaching for 30 years, told Fox News Digital that the curriculum has become more "inclusive" over the years.
"Our curriculum has changed and become more inclusive, in some ways good — putting more emphasis on areas instead of teaching the curriculum as it used to be," Stoeber said. "In our social studies books, we focus more on inclusive issues on other cultures and not so much on our history itself."
Gevin Harrison, who started teaching 14 years ago after a 24-year career in the Air Force, discussed how teachers would reinforce values that were being taught at home.
"I consider myself a newbie. So I'm not really sure if I would be able to track any change," Harrison said. "If I was going to mark the change, I would probably compare the years that I've been teaching with the years that I was in high school."
"Teachers used to reinforce the values that you would learn at home and chances are, if you got in trouble at school, your parents were going to be ticked because they were all on the same sheet of music," he added.
The California Department of Education did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Chinese spy tech is endangering US hospitals. Texas is trying to shut that down
Millions of Americans depend on medical devices — pacemakers, infusion pumps and patient monitors — to stay alive. But some of that equipment is made in China, and it may be spying on us – or worse.
In January 2025, the Food and Drug Administration and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued a stark joint warning: patient monitors made by Contec Medical Systems, a Chinese company based in Qinhuangdao, contain a hidden backdoor. These devices, used in hospitals across the United States, can transmit sensitive patient data to a hard-coded IP address in China. Even more troubling, the backdoor allows remote code execution, potentially letting an adversary manipulate displayed vital signs and trigger dangerous clinical decisions.
There is no patch to fix it. For China, it’s a feature, not a bug.
China’s 2017 National Intelligence Law requires every Chinese company to assist state intelligence operations on demand. When Beijing says open the door, the company complies. The implications for any Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-linked device in America’s healthcare system are clear and unacceptable.
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President Donald Trump recognized the danger early. In September 2025, his administration launched a Section 232 national security investigation into medical equipment imports, citing the risk that foreign powers could weaponize supply chains. Investigators discovered CCP-linked devices even in U.S. government-funded research labs.
Dependence on an adversarial foreign supplier using state subsidies to dominate American competitors is bad enough. But add to that, the threat of sudden export cutoffs in a crisis as we saw during COVID-19 and the peril is heightened. If hospitals rely on compromised supply chains, patients could be left without lifesaving technology when it matters most.
Thankfully, Texas is not waiting on Washington for further needed action. While congressional gridlock has stalled federal progress, the Lone Star State acted.
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Republican Gov. Greg Abbott banned CCP-affiliated technologies from state government systems and, in June 2025, signed legislation creating the Texas Cyber Command to hunt down and eliminate threats from hostile foreign nations. Late last year, the governor expanded the state’s prohibited technology list to include 26 more China-linked companies — hardware makers and AI platforms with direct CCP ties. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed multiple lawsuits against these firms operating inside our borders.
The public supports this stand. Texans understand that national security doesn’t stop at the border or the battlefield — it extends to the devices monitoring our loved ones in the hospital.
Statutory tools already exist. What’s needed now is to extend those protections directly into state healthcare procurement. That’s exactly where Texas Republicans are stepping up.
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In recent days, the Texas Public Policy Foundation — where we work — sent a letter to state leaders urging further action. The letter, cosigned by 53 members of the legislature, calls for commonsense measures: direct state health agencies to adopt procurement standards barring medical devices from CCP-linked companies; establish a review process for existing contracts and equipment to root out vulnerabilities; and partner with lawmakers to offer grants and preferences that incentivize American-made medical devices.
In our Army careers, one of us was an intelligence officer and the other, a doctor. We spent years studying national security threats and this fight is personal. Critical infrastructure — including healthcare — must never become the soft underbelly of America’s defenses. No Texas patient should have their medical data transmitted to a server in China, or potentially their medical care disrupted or held hostage by the CCP. No Texas hospital should remain one firmware update away from undetected interference. And no state that has already confronted CCP aggression should leave its medical infrastructure as the last open door.
Texas is once again showing the nation how to lead. We have the framework. We have the public mandate. We have the resolve. Now we must finish the job — before a crisis forces our hand.
The rest of America is watching. Let’s show them what real action looks like.
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Dr. Clifford Porter, MD, PhD is a senior fellow, Healthcare Policy at the Texas Public Policy Foundation and a retired U.S. Army colonel.
'Dementia village' could push Americans to rethink how we treat memory loss
Some Americans who suffer from dementia will soon be able to walk into a grocery store and buy food. They'll be able to enjoy a meal out with friends — or schedule an appointment at a local spa.
The nation’s first "dementia village" is coming soon to Madison, Wisconsin. The $40 million project, to be spread across six acres, will feature a Main-Street feel with shops, a theater and an arts and crafts center, according to a news release. It is slated for a 2027 opening.
Spearheaded by Agrace, a nonprofit healthcare agency, the Dementia Village community is being modeled on a European arrangement of "microtowns" that have emerged across the globe, the agency told Fox News Digital.
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"All too often, when someone enters memory care, their life gets smaller, and the way each day unfolds is regimented and uniform," said Lynne Sexten, president and CEO of Agrace.
"We want to give those people back their autonomy," she said.
Agrace's Dementia Village could provide a blueprint for other communities across the United States as the country grapples with an estimated 7.2 million Americans age 65 and older who are living with significant memory loss, according to the Alzheimer's Association.
The upcoming Wisconsin village will feature eight households; each will have private bedrooms, en-suite bathrooms, shared kitchens and living spaces.
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The exteriors will even include front porches.
"We are building a Main Street that looks familiar to the type of downtown you see in so many Wisconsin communities, but also in towns throughout the country," Sexten told Fox News Digital.
The goal is to get away from an overly scheduled routine often associated with nursing homes.
A resident may think, "I was supposed to go to play Mahjong today, but instead I feel like just sitting around and reading the newspaper or working on a puzzle," Sexten said.
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The village is expected to house up to 65 full-time residents.
It will be available to 40 to 50 adults with dementia who live at home but who want to attend activities. Specially trained caregivers will also have private apartments in the village.
The development in Wisconsin is based on what is widely considered an extremely successful village for those with memory issues in Amsterdam, called the Hogeweyk.
Since opening in 2009, the Hogeweyk — spanning four acres in the Amsterdam suburb of Weesp — has worked to "emancipate people living with dementia and include them in society," according to its website.
Funded by the Dutch government, the community now serves 188 residents across 27 houses, representing a marked departure from traditional nursing homes.
Though other companies have tried to replicate the model in the U.S. — including a village proposed in Holmdel, N.J. — there are currently no close contenders.
"Residents [in Wisconsin] will pay monthly rates comparable to what they would otherwise pay at memory care facilities," according to Sexten.
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Agrace has an endowment to help offset costs for people who cannot cover the full expense.
Prospective residents will likely be able to apply in the first quarter of 2027, according to Agrace.
"Residents will be able to buy food from the store, take part in menu planning for their household and even participate in meal preparation," Sexten said.
The dementia village model is viewed by many as idyllic. Some skeptics worry about creating an alternate reality for residents.
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"Critics have drawn parallels with the deception depicted in the 1998 ‘social science fiction’ film ‘The Truman Show’; but many Alzheimer’s experts have praised [the Hogeweyk] for being the first to adjust ‘our’ reality to allow those with dementia to be in a safe and comforting environment," wrote Dr. Fay Niker, a member of the Neuroethics Collective in British Columbia.
Dementia villages in Amsterdam, Norway, France and Australia recreate familiar settings while removing friction points.
One friction point that's removed: money.
When residents go through the checkout line in the grocery store, no money will be exchanged.
Some villages incorporate "play money" to provide a sense of normalcy. As of now, Agrace does not plan to use any money.
Also, residents will be allowed to leave the village with family members, but most medical care will be provided by Agrace.
"When more specialized care is needed, our team will refer them as necessary," Sexten said.
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The desire to replace standard nursing homes with bustling communities is becoming more urgent.
Today, over 55 million people worldwide are living with dementia, a number that is projected to rise significantly, according to Alzheimer's Disease International (ADI).
ADI forecasts those numbers will nearly double every 20 years to reach 78 million by 2030 and 139 million by 2050.
"Residential care environments have increasingly been embracing a sense of 'household,'" Sheryl Zimmerman, director of the National Center for Excellence in Assisted Living, told Fox News Digital.
Prior to opening and without data, it can't be confirmed that the Wisconsin village will restore a sense of autonomy and spontaneity, said Zimmerman, who is based at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
"But they are very much the characteristics that people value throughout their lifespan."
Iran war success gives president a Trump card to play in China meeting
When President Donald Trump arrives in Beijing later this March for his summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the official agenda will read like every other U.S.–China meeting in recent memory: tariffs, trade balances, supply chains, Taiwan.
The real story walking through the door with him will be Iran.
On Feb. 28, the United States and Israel launched Operation Epic Fury, a sweeping joint campaign targeting Iran’s military, nuclear and command infrastructure. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the opening strikes — a seismic blow to a regime that had terrorized the region for nearly five decades. Within days, his son Mojtaba was elevated as successor, a dynastic transfer inside a theocracy that once claimed to reject hereditary rule.
The war grinds on — and its consequences are landing on Beijing harder than Xi Jinping ever planned.
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Both Moscow and Beijing are actively helping Iran fight this war. That needs to be said plainly, because the administration’s public messaging has been too cautious on this point.
Multiple U.S. officials have confirmed that Russia has been sharing satellite and targeting intelligence with Tehran — including the locations of American warships and aircraft across the Middle East. That information has a cost. Seven U.S. service members have now been killed in Iranian attacks. Iran’s own ISR capability has been largely degraded by our strikes. The precision of the missile and drone attacks that have gotten through owes something to Moscow’s overhead constellation.
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Retired four-star Gen. David Petraeus told Fox News that Russian intelligence support likely explains "some of the accuracy of the missiles and drone strikes." He called on Trump to push South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham’s Russia sanctions legislation, which has more than 90 senators behind it. Iran’s own foreign minister did not deny the arrangement, telling NBC’s "Meet the Press" that the Iran-Russia military partnership "is still there and will continue."
An adversary coalition actively helping kill American troops deserves discussion at the table in Beijing.
China’s role is less direct, but no less consequential.
For years, U.S. officials have warned that Chinese firms have funneled technology into Iran’s missile and weapons programs. The Treasury Department has sanctioned Chinese companies repeatedly for supplying missile-related materials to Tehran.
Analysts have also flagged Iran’s interest in the Chinese CM-302 supersonic anti-ship cruise missile — a weapon designed to threaten major naval vessels — which has surfaced in Iranian procurement discussions. Chinese technology already runs through portions of Iran’s missile infrastructure, from electronics to propellant components.
Denial and innocence are not the same thing.
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For all of Beijing’s public posturing, the Iran war is costing China real money — and Xi knows it.
China built its manufacturing economy on reliable access to cheap energy, including deeply discounted crude from sanctioned states. Iran has been a critical piece of that equation. According to data from Kpler analytics and other tracking firms, China was importing approximately 1.38 million barrels per day of Iranian crude in 2025 — roughly 13% of its total seaborne oil imports, with nearly all of it routed through shadowy intermediaries to evade U.S. sanctions.
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That flow now runs directly through a war zone. The Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20% of the world’s seaborne oil passes, sits at the center of the conflict. As of this writing, the strait is effectively closed to tanker traffic. For Beijing, that means rising energy costs, supply chain disruption and the loss of one of its most important discounted suppliers — all at once.
Compounding the pressure on Beijing is Washington’s intensifying crackdown on the "shadow fleet" — the network of obscurely flagged tankers used to move sanctioned Iranian and Russian crude into Chinese refineries. The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has sanctioned dozens of shipping companies, vessels and intermediaries tied to Iranian oil smuggling. Much of that crude terminates in China.
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If sanctions enforcement continues tightening — and there is every reason to press harder right now — the gray market that has allowed Beijing to secure cheap energy from sanctioned regimes will shrink. The bill for China’s energy dependency will come due.
Xi publicly condemns the war. Privately, Chinese energy firms have been pressing Tehran not to strike Qatari liquid natural gas (LNG) facilities — because China sources roughly 28% of its LNG from Qatar. Defending Iran on the world stage while quietly begging it not to torch your fuel supply is not a position of strength.
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Xi cannot replace discounted Iranian oil overnight. He cannot rehabilitate a dead supreme leader. And he cannot absorb a prolonged energy shock while his GDP growth target sits at a humbling 4.5% — China’s lowest target in over three decades. Every one of those pressures is leverage Trump should use. This is not the time for diplomatic niceties.
The Beijing summit is not a trade negotiation. It is a strategic confrontation, and Trump should walk in knowing exactly what he wants.
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First, Xi must use his documented leverage over Moscow to halt Russian intelligence support for Iranian attacks on American forces. Gen. Petraeus is right that sanctions on Russia are long overdue. But China’s economic exposure to this war gives Washington a second lever — and Trump should pull it simultaneously.
Second, China must shut down the missile technology pipeline to Tehran. Treasury Secretary Bessent is already weighing pressing Beijing on sanctioned oil purchases in his pre-summit talks with Vice Premier He Lifeng in Paris. That pressure must extend explicitly to weapons transfers — the CM-302 deal, propellant shipments, dual-use components. Washington is tracking all of it.
Third, Beijing’s rare earth export restrictions — imposed in retaliation for U.S. tariffs and designed to complicate American weapons replenishment — need to be called what they are: economic warfare. The tightening energy markets created by this conflict give Washington leverage it has not held in years. Expanded U.S. LNG exports and Gulf energy cooperation are available — but only for real concessions, not diplomatic theater.
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For years, Beijing methodically cultivated an authoritarian axis with Iran, Russia and Venezuela as a hedge against American power. Iran is now destabilized. Venezuela is out of Beijing’s orbit. Russia is exposed. The axis that gathered in Beijing last September brimming with confidence looks considerably more fragile today.
Xi will arrive at this summit hoping to stabilize the relationship and project strength on his own soil. Trump should arrive knowing that the Iran war has handed Washington something genuinely rare in the long history of U.S.–China diplomacy.
Leverage.
The card is in Washington’s hand. The question is whether Trump plays it.
Foreigners are snapping up US homes and stealing the American dream out from under families
President Donald Trump is pushing hard for Congress to ban Wall Street firms from buying single-family homes. He’s rightly worried that financial tycoons are crowding out younger and middle-class homebuyers, especially in fast-growing Southern cities. But there’s another kind of homebuyer the president and Congress should cut off at the pass: foreigners who are blocking our own citizens from the American Dream.
In a new paper, I show that foreign homebuyers are far more common than most people realize. Between April 2024 and March 2025 alone, foreigners purchased more than 78,000 American homes. And foreign homebuying is becoming more common with every passing year. Between 2024 and 2025 alone, foreign buyers spent 33% more on U.S. homes than they did in the previous year.
Each home bought by someone from outside the U.S. leaves one fewer home for Americans to buy. That fact alone raises prices for first-time homebuyers — it’s Economics 101. But the situation is even worse when you account for the fact that nearly half of foreigners paid all cash. Younger Americans and middle-class families simply can’t compete with all-cash offers — certainly not if they’re buying their first home. The playing field is tilted against them, and it’s tilted in favor of people who may have never set foot in America at all.
But who, exactly, are these foreign homebuyers?
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Shockingly, a huge number of them are from economic and strategic rival nations. The most foreign homebuyers come from communist China. They purchase about one out of every six foreign-bought homes, and in 2025 alone, they dropped $13.7 billion on American homes.
Tellingly, nearly half of these Chinese buyers intend to use their new home as a way to gain permanent residence in the United States, giving them preferential access to things like a college education for their children. In other words, not only are Chinese citizens crowding Americans out of homes — they’re pushing Americans out of other U.S. institutions, as well.
Whether they’re from China or anywhere else, it’s important to note that these foreigners aren’t simply buying condos or townhomes. They’re overwhelmingly buying the single-family detached homes that Americans want most. Nearly two out of every three foreign home purchases are in that category. So foreign homebuyers are dimming the heart of the American Dream itself.
No matter where they’re from or what kind of home they get, foreign homebuyers are standing in the way of American citizens. But other countries don’t make this mistake. They’ve enacted heavy restrictions on foreign homebuyers precisely because they want to put their own people first.
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Canada is a case in point. While Canadian citizens are some of the most common buyers of American property, their own country bans most foreign purchases of homes. Many foreign purchases that are still allowed are hit with heavy taxes in order to deter them.
Similarly, China severely limits foreign homebuying, even as many of its citizens buy homes in America. The double standard is clear — and so is the harm to America’s people and interests. Our citizens are waiting in line behind homebuyers from our country’s top strategic and economic rival. In what world does that make sense?
The problem is obvious — but so is the solution. Congress should restrict foreigners from buying American homes, either with an outright ban or heavy taxes that discourage purchases. The Republican Study Committee has already laid out a plan to significantly raise taxes on homebuyers from overseas. Such innovative ideas deserve attention and action in the coming months.
This isn’t a matter of sticking it to foreigners. It’s about standing up for our own citizens. The American Dream is for the American people, and young professionals and middle-class families urgently need it brought within their reach.
Team USA advances to World Baseball Classic final after win over Dominican Republic
Team USA is headed back to the World Baseball Classic (WBC) final, as they toppled the Dominican Republic, 2-1, in a thriller in Miami on Sunday night.
The U.S., who fell to Japan in the WBC final in 2023, will look for redemption against either Venezuela or Italy, who play their semifinal matchup on Monday night.
The hype and hysteria coming into this contest between two world baseball powerhouses lived up to it all despite what the box score said. Both teams came in clutch during key moments, while matching the raucous energy of the crowd.
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Of course, the Dominican Republic dugout and faithful went ballistic when Junior Caminero, the 22-year-old Tampa Bay Rays rising star, belted a hanging breaking ball from Skenes in the bottom of the second inning with two strikes. The ball was pelted to left field at over 400 feet, and their patented celebration ensued.
The DR got the first strike off Skenes, who had been looking forward to this start against a lineup littered with some of the best baseball players in MLB. But two innings later, it was Team USA’s own young stars who turned the game around in their favor.
Gunnar Henderson, who manager Mark DeRosa chose to play at third base, his secondary position as a shortstop for the Baltimore Orioles, over Alex Bregman, one of the best defensive players at the hot corner in MLB, due to how well he hit Luis Severino. The veteran right-hander was amped for his start for the DR, and his emotion showed it.
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However, DeRosa’s decision came down to how much success Henderson had against Severino. The decision paid off, as Henderson hit a moon shot over the right-center field fence to tie the game at one apiece.
Severino was pulled after one more batter for Gregory Soto, who was facing Boston Red Sox phenom Roman Anthony, the 21-year-old who has had a great first appearance in the WBC. After running the count full, Anthony took advantage of a fastball right down the middle, launching it over the center field wall to take a 2-1 lead.
The entire American dugout was on the field, as Anthony motioned across his chest, showing off his pride as he celebrated with teammates.
It was just what Team USA needed in the top of the fourth inning, especially after having runners at second and third with one out in the previous frame and not being able to get runs across. Aaron Judge and Kyle Schwarber both struck out to end the inning, which fired up Severino who screamed toward Team USA’s dugout.
But Judge clearly let that go from his head, as he had a crucial defensive play in the bottom of the third inning when he gunned down Fernando Tatis Jr. trying to go from first base to third. Tatis, who is a fast runner, was out by a mile, with Judge proving his elbow, which caused issues in 2025, is more than fine heading into the 2026 season.
The Dominicans ultimately chased Skenes from the game after 4.1 innings, as his final line read six hits, one earned run on the Caminero homer and two strikeouts. Severino lasted 3.1 innings, giving up five hits while striking out six Team USA hitters in an impressive outing that saw triple-digit fastballs on the radar gun.
The U.S. knew a 2-1 lead was not enough, but as the Dominican bullpen continued to stifle their bats, and Julio Rodriguez appeared to rob a home run from Judge, they needed their own relievers to come through. After Tyler Rogers and Griffin Jax did their jobs, David Bednar found himself in some trouble with runners on second and third with one out – the same situation Judge and Schwarber found themselves in – in the bottom of the seventh.
But Bednar, who escaped a similar situation against Canada in the quarterfinals, struck out Tatis and Ketel Marte to get out of the jam and keep the score the same.
Garrett Whitlock was solid in the eighth inning to keep the one-run lead alive, which led to the easiest decision for DeRosa on the night: Mason Miller to pitch the ninth.
The San Diego Padres All-Star closer got a strikeout to start the inning, but things got interesting when he walked Rodriguez and Will Smith couldn't handle a pitch from Miller that allowed a free pass to second base.
Oneil Cruz moved Rodriguez to third on a groundnut to Bobby Witt Jr., leaving Geraldo Perdomo as the DR's last hope. He had a clutch at-bat earlier in the game, one that could've tied it up if Wells read the line drive to center field better from second base.
But Miller got Perdomo looking on a 3-2 slider at the bottom of the zone to secure Team USA's spot in the WBC final.
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Former substitute teacher and boyfriend face 38 child sex charges as bond nears 9 million
A former Texas substitute teacher and her boyfriend are now facing a combined 38 child sex crime charges, with their bonds set at nearly $9 million.
Madison Paige Jones, a former substitute teacher in the Midlothian Independent School District, and her boyfriend Zackery Dondlinger were first arrested in December after Midlothian police launched an investigation into allegations involving a 5-year-old child who lived in Jones’ home.
Jones’ bond was initially set at $90,000 and Dondlinger’s initially reported at $250,000, but after the additional charges were filed earlier this month, their bonds increased dramatically.
Jones faces 13 counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child, one count of possession of child pornography, two counts of indecency with a child involving sexual contact and three counts of indecency with a child involving exposure.
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Dondlinger faces one count of sexual performance by a child under the age of 14, 13 counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child, two counts of indecency with a child involving sexual contact, three counts of indecency with a child involving exposure and one felony warrant.
Dondlinger’s bond is now set at $5 million, while Jones’ bond stands at $3.8 million.
NBC affiliate NewsChannel10 in Amarillo reported that court documents show Midlothian police were called to the home of a woman on Dec. 17 who identified herself as a friend of Jones.
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The woman told officers she was concerned about Dondlinger’s behavior toward a 5-year-old child who lived in Jones’ home. Jones and Dondlinger were in a relationship at the time.
According to the documents, Jones allegedly told investigators Dondlinger directed her to sexually assault the child and that she carried out the acts. The documents also state that Jones told authorities Dondlinger had sexual fantasies involving the child.
Affidavits obtained by the station say Jones described the sexual acts to investigators and told police she recorded videos of the abuse and sent them to Dondlinger through Snapchat.
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Investigators later seized Jones’ iPhone while executing a search warrant, and an affidavit reportedly states the phone contained a message from Dondlinger that supported Jones’ account of acting at his direction. Authorities also seized an iPad from Jones, while two iPhones were taken from Dondlinger at the time of his arrest.
Jones was first arrested Dec. 19 after police began investigating a report two days earlier of a potential child sexual assault.
Detectives later identified Dondlinger, 37, as a second suspect in the case, and he was arrested Dec. 23 and charged with sexual performance by a child, according to the Midlothian Police Department.
Midlothian police previously told Fox News Digital that Jones and Dondlinger had been in a dating relationship.
The Midlothian Independent School District said Jones is no longer employed by the district and confirmed she had worked as a substitute teacher on four occasions during the previous year. School officials also said they have no information suggesting the allegations are connected to Jones’ work or occurred on school property.