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Enormous moose gets slammed to the pavement in viral video of a street brawl in Colorado
If you're going to witness a moose street brawl, doing so from the comfort of your own vehicle a decent distance from the action is a good way to do it.
A viral video posted this weekend by Colorado meteorologist Joe Ruch shows two enormous bull moose going at it in the middle of the street. The fight is recorded from the comfort of a vehicle.
It's peak rutting season for moose in Colorado and locking antlers is a regular occurrence. What likely isn't a regular occurrence is one of the moose being slammed on the pavement.
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That takes place during this back and forth battle in Steamboat Springs and it ends the fight. The moose who ended up on its back in the middle of the street had enough.
The beginning of the video actually shows the end of the fight. It then switches to earlier in the action with the two tangled up before the eventual winner of the fight is briefly pushed down in the street.
HIKER IN COLORADO TAKES TRIP TO THE HOSPITAL AFTER BEING KICKED IN THE BACK BY A MOOSE
As they go at, they end up on the side of a small hill. That's where the end of this fight begins. The two head back down towards the street and, as they pick up speed, one of them charges the other and that's when the slam takes place.
They continue to lock antlers until the downed moose gets back to its feet and runs off. It no longer wanted anymore of this fight. And, after being knocked to the street, you can't blame it.
The sounds captured in this video tell you all you need to know about a moose street brawl. You don’t want to find yourself in the middle of that.
Stay back and enjoy the show from the comfort of your vehicle.
Adam Copeland conquers Steve Maclin in highly anticipated match during Maple Leaf Pro's Northern Rising
Adam Copeland got one more chance to chase a dream on Saturday night as Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling (MLP) held Northern Rising at the venue known as Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.
Copeland had been open about his desire to perform at the facility. He previously spoke to OutKick Dropkick about it, noting that he watched his first pro wrestling match there when he was a kid. He didn’t get a chance to compete there when he was in WWE because the company had moved shows to a bigger arena as it grew in popularity.
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But Maple Leaf Wrestling and All Elite Wrestling (AEW) opened the door for Copeland to step foot inside an MLP ring. His opponent? Oh, just one of the hottest pro wrestling free agents on the market in Steve Maclin. The U.S. Marine-turned-wrestler had been champing at the bit to get to Copeland, even appearing on AEW "Dynamite" to blindside his opponent in the weeks leading up to Northern Rising.
There was nowhere to run Saturday night.
Any normal 52-year-old man or woman probably shouldn’t be doing the things Copeland did in his street fight against Maclin in the main event of Northern Rising. Copeland going above and beyond to put on a show for those in Toronto underscored his legendary status in pro wrestling.
Copeland suplexed Maclin from the ring apron in between a ladder that was propped upside down near the ropes. He also hit a big splash from the top turnbuckle onto Maclin, who was sent crashing through a table that was set up outside of the ring. Maclin doled out his fair share of punishment, too – suplexing Copeland onto a ladder.
There were plenty of "Oh s---!" moments during the match. Maclin’s wife, Ring of Honor pure women’s champion Deonna Purrazzo, interfered and sprayed Copeland and the referee in the face. Fellow pro wrestling legend Rhino evened the odds. He speared Maclin and Purrazzo, helping the fight reset.
Copeland would get back the upper hand. He stepped outside of the ring, onto the ramp and walked all the way up it before turning back around, sprinting down the aisle and spearing Maclin through the ropes. He hit one more spear before covering Maclin for the win.
The Canadian superstar gave Maclin his flowers after the match as he addressed the crowd and spoke about how special it was to compete at Maple Leaf Gardens.
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Josh Alexander and Stu Grayson battled for the Undisputed MLP Canadian Championship ahead of Copeland’s match with Maclin. It was one of the matches of the night.
Grayson came into the bout as the interim champion while Alexander considered himself to be the champion after never losing the title. He had only been out of MLP action because of a knee injury. When he returned, Alexander set his sights on Grayson.
The feud needed to come to an end. Alexander would do his best to avoid any major moves from Grayson early. When Grayson went to the top rope, Alexander pushed him off and caused his opponent to crash onto several security members.
In a high-stakes match, high-risk moves became common. Grayson was trying to get back his momentum and superplexed Alexander before nailing him with a knee to the face. Grayson couldn’t get the pin and it would be the theme for the rest of the match.
Alexander would get help from Don Callis in the latter moments of the match. Callis jumped onto the apron with a screwdriver, but the referee appeared to thwart an attempt to hand the screwdriver to Alexander. Still, somehow, Alexander got his hand on the weapon and used it against Grayson without the referee seeing it.
He then hit two C4 piledrivers and pinned Grayson for the win.
The Northern Rising card featured two more singles titles on the line. Priscilla Kelly defending her MLP Canadian Women’s Championship against Nikki Storm and Andrade El Idolo defending the AEW National Championship against Rohan Raja.
Kelly appeared to have no interest in letting Storm take over the match. She seemed to be in control from the get-go. She nailed a dropkick on Storm as Storm was on the mat and leaning on the bottom rope. Kelly then went to work with her own myriad of kicks to Storm that turned into a stomp on her back.
Storm had no answers for Kelly, who retained the title. Kelly has held the title for over 55 days as she won the belt in September on Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling "Mayhem" over Gisele Shaw.
Meanwhile, Andrade was looking to settle the score against Raja, who has taken out several Luchadores on "Mayhem" over the last few weeks. Andrade is considered to be one of the best pro wrestlers in the sport, but Raja gave him all he could handle.
Andrade’s prowess in the ring took over Raja’s innate abilities. Andrade, at one point, powerslammed Raja from the ring apron down to the floor. Raja put up a good fight, but it was Andrade who was still the national champion before the night was finished.
Andrade shook Raja’s hand after the match, signaling that Raja was someone to watch.
1st Faction was going to have a tough test at Northern Rising. Brent Banks and Sheldon Jean put the MLP Canadian Tag Team Championship on the line against Grizzled Young Veterans and Sinner & Saints.
James Drake and Zack Gibson, of Grizzled Young Veterans, made clear in pre-match promos they were going to come into the Northern Rising match and conquer. And they did exactly that. Drake and Gibson were off to a hot start taking out Judas Icarus and Travis Williams from the jump.
But just as it looked like Sinner & Saint was going to win the titles over 1st Faction, Bryce Hansen got to the referee before the pin could be counted. The small interference caused a distraction that had a ripple effect in the match.
Grizzled Young Veterans took over and did not look back. They become the third tag team champions since Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling returned to the forefront of the sport. 1st Faction’s reign ends at about 191 days.
JONATHAN TURLEY: Supreme Court protesters target Chief Justice Roberts’ vacation home
There are certain dates that have become a regular feature in American life. In February, the sandhill cranes return to the Platte River in Tennessee. In March, the swallows return to San Juan Capistrano. In October, the protesters returned to Hupper Island, the summer vacation home of Chief Justice John Roberts.
The last migratory pattern is more recent and certainly less welcomed. In past years, liberal protesters have descended on the homes of conservative Supreme Court justices to disrupt their lives, shout abuses and, in one case involving Justice Brett Kavanaugh, seek to kill a member of the court. Protesters outside the home of Justice Amy Coney Barrett left bloody dolls on the lawn, knowing that she had young children inside.
This week, protesters appeared at the vacation home of Roberts in Maine. Calling themselves "kayak-tivists," they formed flotillas facing his home to hold up signs and voice their displeasure at the jurist.
SUPREME COURT KICKS OFF NEW TERM WITH FRESH QUESTIONS OVER ITS LEGITIMACY AND ITS FUTURE
It is an ironic moment for a chief justice, who has been regularly attacked by President Donald Trump for voting against his position in major cases ranging from tariffs to birthright citizenship. However, this is about rage, not reason. Back in 2022, Becca Shaw Glaser wrote about how Mainers needed to harass Roberts whenever he ventured out of his home.
She wrote:
SUPREME COURT CHIEF JUSTICE PINPOINTS WHAT AMERICANS MISUNDERSTAND ABOUT HIM AND HIS COLLEAGUES
AMY CONEY BARRETT RECALLS HEARTBREAKING QUESTION FROM 12-YEAR-OLD SON OVER BULLETPROOF VEST
Glaser, who was later dropped as a columnist, has pushed Mainers to hound Roberts wherever he goes in Maine:
In its recent discussion of these protesters, the New York Times features Glaser and reveals how last year Glaser was approached by Roberts’ daughter, Josephine, who sought to defend her father during one of Glaser’s harassing protests. The Times recounts how liberals have been pushed to the breaking point by Roberts, despite the fact that he has had to curtail his movement around the island.
One of the featured suffering locals is Wendy Schlotterbeck, who was outraged when Roberts was spotted celebrating the Fourth of July on the island. The Times sympathetically explains the outrage since "[Roberts] and his colleagues had just narrowed protections for transgender athletes and minors and allowed Trump’s immigration crackdown to proceed."
It recounts how Schlotterbeck has transgender relatives and "immigrant friends of hers [have] been arrested." Outraged, she left the picnic and, the next day, joined the "kayak-tivists" outside Roberts’ home.
Protesting outside the home of a Supreme Court justice is a crime, though some of us have questioned the constitutionality of such laws. Putting that debate aside, the protests should be condemned by all Americans as reckless and wrong.
JOHN YOO: BARRETT AND KAGAN’S SAFETY PLEA EXPOSES THE LEFT’S WAR ON THE SUPREME COURT
Justices may hold different views on the left or the right, but they are all people of good faith who are trying to protect what they consider the essential rights of our Republic. Liberal justices have largely been spared such protests at their homes, though occasional protests have occurred.
What is maddening is that this court has continued to show its independence in ruling with the law, rather than a partisan agenda. Unlike those on the left, who want to pack the court with an instant liberal majority in the name of fighting partisanship, the court continues to vote overwhelmingly on a unanimous or nearly unanimous basis.
The conservative majority also continues to rule against the Trump administration when the law requires it.
This term has many potential blockbuster decisions and the protesters are expected to return to the homes of justices around Washington. We have every right to debate, and indeed protest, such decisions. However, we should all unite around all of these justices — on the left and the right — in denouncing these protesters literally bobbing and floating on a sea of rage.
‘Phantom’ ObamaCare accounts spark new crackdown as Oz targets broker fraud
Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, is urging health insurers to work only with brokers who record their conversations with ObamaCare applicants, escalating the Trump administration's crackdown on unauthorized enrollments that officials say have cost taxpayers billions.
Vice President JD Vance announced Tuesday that the administration’s anti-fraud task force will be removing 750,000 fraudulent recipients enrolled in ObamaCare, saying the move will save American taxpayers $2.2 billion.
"These [ObamaCare enrollees] are phantom accounts," Oz told Fox News Digital. "There are no human beings involved in these accounts.
BOMBSHELL REPORT EXPOSES HEALTHCARE FRAUD SCHEMES AS TAXPAYERS LOSE UP TO $521 BILLION ANNUALLY
He continued, "Why do I think that? We reached out to them. We wanted to know, have you filed any claims? We don't see anything. Have you ever responded to any questions we've asked you? Do you have a Social Security number? Without that, I can't tell if you made enough money to be on Obamacare or maybe too much to be."
Oz told Fox News Digital that the administration is encouraging health insurance companies to get involved in the anti-fraud push.
"From now on, we're asking insurance companies to work with brokers who record the conversations," Oz said.
"Why wouldn't you?" he said. "What are you nervous about? What are you worried about? Why don't you want me to hear what you discussed?"
OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT UNCOVERS $500M IN FRAUD AND WASTE IN FEDERAL HEALTH BENEFITS PROGRAMS
The move would help create transparency among the recipients who are applying to receive aid through Obamacare, ideally showing that the customer authorizing the transaction is verifiable and actually qualifies for the program.
"I'm trying to make sure you had a real discussion to explain the policies and truly tried your best to get the right people in the right programs," Oz said about the administration’s proposal. "Otherwise, we have massive corporate fraud."
Oz also told Fox News Digital the administration discovered 1.1 million people receiving benefits from ObamaCare that did not have a social security number.
"The 760,000 accounts that we terminated, we took out because the American taxpayers should not be paying fraudulent brokers to lie about people who don't exist, collect premiums and run away with the money," Oz said.
VANCE TO HOST CONGRESS AT WHITE HOUSE TO DISCUSS LEGISLATIVE ACTION ON FRAUD
The Treasury Department has begun handing out refund checks of $500 to roughly 1 million Americans, along with a letter from President Donald Trump slamming the Biden administration for overcharging taxpayers "to fund the operation of HealthCare.gov."
"I don't know what's driving this desire to hurt our ability to regulate," Oz said.
"But I can tell you, for sure, we have other tricks up our sleeve to make sure we don't let the American people get taken advantage of."
Top Republican unloads on rise of 'anti-American' candidates heading into midterms: 'You got to be kidding'
LEWISTON, MAINE - Rep. Tom Emmer, on the first stop of a 56 district blitz across the country rallying Republican voters, spoke to Fox News Digital about what he describes as an "anti-American" sentiment in the Democratic Party and his party’s message on the economy.
"We're not talking about socialists, these are communists, Marxists, and anarchists," Emmer, the Republican House Majority Whip, told Fox News Digital this week about the rise of far-left candidates in the Democratic Party.
"You got to be kidding. They want us to call them democratic socialists, there's nothing democratic about these people."
Emmer, who was in Maine campaigning for Republican House candidate Paul LePage, specifically took issue with Democratic Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed.
EL-SAYED, MAMDANI BRANDED 'HAIR TONIC SALESMEN' IN BRUTAL JAB FROM TOP HOUSE REPUBLICAN
"This guy says ridiculous things like U.S. NFL football is an example of toxic masculinity, he supports a terrorist who believes that America deserved to lose 3,000 people on 9-11, and he's got this Piker guy who's just shooting his mouth off on everything anti-American," Emmer said. "These people are anti-American more than anything else. It's time that we have great candidates like Paul LePage, which is why I'm here, who loves his state, loves this country and believes in the promise of America. We should be out there celebrating it and defending it not tearing it down, that's why you vote for Paul."
With six weeks to go until Election Day and early voting already underway in a handful of states, the conventional wisdom is that Republicans may be in for some setbacks in the midterms.
HOUSE CONSERVATIVES UNLEASH MULTIMILLION-DOLLAR MIDTERM BLITZ AGAINST DEM 'SOCIALIST' INSURGENCY
As it defends its fragile House and Senate majorities, the GOP is fighting political history, which has traditionally seen the president's party lose congressional seats during the midterms. It's also battling high costs at the grocery stores and gas pumps tied to what polls show is an unpopular war with Iran, as well as President Donald Trump's underwater approval ratings.
But Democrats are saddled with their own issues, from an ideological civil war between the party's left wing and the establishment that has handed Republicans plenty of political ammunition, to a brand image that's nothing to brag about. Add to that the Democrats' major disadvantage as the GOP floods the airwaves with attack ads.
Fox News Digital asked Emmer what he would say to Republican voters in the current political climate in terms of defending the administration’s record.
"First off, remember, the Biden administration put this economy in the ditch, literally," Emmer said. "Inflation we hadn't seen in 40 years. Donald Trump and Republicans in the House and the Senate have been putting this economy back on track. We can talk about all the investment and everything else, but we have to be very sensitive to the fact that $4 gas, $6 diesel is unacceptable, but I would argue it still isn't enough to vote for a communist."
Actor Luke Evans bucks political stereotype about being gay, says not everyone needs to be 'woke'
Hollywood actor Luke Evans rejected the assumption that gay people should hold "woke" political views in an interview published Friday, saying sexuality does not determine someone's broader beliefs while discussing the politics surrounding his upcoming ITV drama, "The Party."
When asked whether gay people are still expected to embrace left-wing politics, Evans rejected the idea that sexuality dictates a person's political or cultural views.
"Just because you are gay yourself doesn’t mean you have to be woke," Evans told The Telegraph. "Your sexuality is one part of who you are, but our opinions on society and life differ in every single person. I’ve got very woke gay friends and very unwoke gay friends. We don’t all agree on the same thing."
Evans' comments echoed those of other gay public figures who have previously spoken to Fox News Digital about political expectations tied to their sexuality.
Black, gay influencer Amir Odom said in 2024 that he once believed being gay meant he was expected to support Democrats and LGBTQ political causes.
Odom said he had previously followed what he described as a political "script" based in part on his race and sexuality.
"That, because I'm gay, I have to be [a] Democrat, I have to support all the LGBTQ causes because that's who was there for me," he said. "Until I realized that wasn't the truth."
DAVID MARCUS: WOKE 1.0 IS WHY ENTERTAINERS NEEDED OUR SECRET CONSERVATIVE CLUB
Actor and activist Yuval David similarly told Fox News Digital in 2025 that he became "politically homeless" after feeling increasingly disconnected from communities he once expected to represent him.
The self-described gay, progressive American-Israeli ultimately voted for President Donald Trump.
David said he believed ideological divisions had left some conservative LGBTQ voices feeling shut out.
"Ironically, I've found that conservatives are the ones who allow LGBTQ+ people to speak freely," David said. "I've had real conversations with moderates and even right-leaning individuals. Meanwhile, the progressive left tries to shut me down the moment I don't align with all of their talking points."
ISSA RAE SAYS DEI HAS BECOME A 'BAD WORD' IN HOLLYWOOD AS EXECUTIVES OF COLOR 'TIPTOE' TO KEEP JOBS
Evans, known for roles in "Beauty and the Beast," "Fast & Furious 6" and "The Hobbit" franchise, spent much of his career playing "straight macho" characters despite being openly gay. He said that experience reinforced his belief that an actor's sexuality should not define his work.
"I’ve played mostly straight macho roles my whole career, and I’ve loved it," Evans told The Telegraph. "In my own way, I’ve sent out a message that who you are and who you love has absolutely no relevance to your talent and that you can pull off playing a straight guy just as well as anyone."
Earlier this week, openly gay actor Billy Porter said that his career benefited from what he called an era of "performative wokeness."
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"As a Black, gay, out artist, I caught the wave of what we now know as performative wokeness," Porter said.
Evans also rejected the idea that gay actors should only play gay characters, saying such a standard would have drastically limited his own career, while arguing that Hollywood should provide more opportunities for gay and transgender performers.
"If gay people only played gay characters, then I’d have had no career," Evans said. "But I understand there’s also not enough opportunities for gay actors to play gay characters, or for trans actors to play trans characters."
Riley Green fills the freezer after scoring a massive bull elk with a bow in the Utah mountains
Riley Green has officially taken care of the grocery shopping for a while.
The country star traded the stage for the Utah mountains recently, and the trip ended with Green standing behind an absolute stud of a bull elk — one he took with a compound bow.
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"Freezer is full," Green wrote Friday on Instagram. "Not many things challenge you like bow hunting elk… thankful for a few days to chase em in the Utah mountains and that I was able to put it all together on an awesome bull."
And awesome might be underselling it a bit.
The photos Green shared show a huge, mature bull with an impressive rack. He also showed what it looks like to lug all that meat out of the mountains, which is a monumental task in itself.
If you've followed Green outside of country music, none of this should come as much of a surprise.
He's a longtime hunter and particularly serious about doing it with a bow. In fact, Green is a regular guest host for "Major League Bowhunter," and the show previously followed him through a Montana elk hunt appropriately titled "3rd Times A Charm."
He's also talked about just how difficult it is to fit an archery elk hunt around life on the road.
During a previous appearance on "Bussin' With The Boys," Green explained that the short season and the time required to actually find and get on elk make bowhunting them especially tricky with a touring schedule. He recalled drawing elk tags in consecutive years but having only a few days available to hunt.
COUNTRY MUSIC STAR SAM BARBER BAGS A MONSTER CARIBOU ON HIS RECENT ALASKA HUNTING TRIP
That's part of what makes his latest Utah bull so impressive.
Unlike rifle hunting, bowhunting requires getting much closer to an elk before taking the shot. And we're talking about an animal that can weigh hundreds of pounds, cover a whole lot of mountainous country and has absolutely no interest in making your life easy.
Apparently Green managed to put all the pieces together this time.
Funny enough, Green isn't even the only country star to fill a freezer with Utah elk meat lately.
Luke Combs recently tagged a bull of his own during a Utah hunt with Jason Phelps — the same hunt Combs credited with helping motivate his recent 30-pound weight loss.
Combs had hoped to get his elk with a bow but ultimately switched to a rifle before getting it done.
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Green, meanwhile, stuck with the bow.
Not that we're keeping score here.
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Marcus Mariota suffers knee injury against Colts in London as Commanders lose another starting QB
The Washington Commanders have lost their starting quarterback in the United States and on Sunday lost their starting quarterback in the United Kingdom as Marcus Mariota injured his knee against the Indianapolis Colts.
Mariota was apparently injured on a sack by Colts defensive lineman Laiatu Latu, who landed on the quarterback in the pass pocket.
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The Commanders initially said Mariota was questionable to return with a right knee injury but he was ruled out after halftime.
OutKick medical expert Dr. David Chao, who served 17 years as the San Diego Chargers chief doctor, said the concern for Mariota is an MCL injury.
Chao, the founder of Sports Injury Central, originally held out hope for a Mariota return, but as the Commanders got multiple possessions that would have given the team plenty of time to bring the QB back with a brace, the concern became that Mariota was not returning.
The good doctor's concern about Mariota's availability was proven correct. Mariota previously had an MCL in 2022 that required surgery.
Mariota, you should know, started this game in London and last week, because starter Jayden Daniels dislocated his left elbow in a game against the Dallas Cowboys on Sept. 20.
Daniels has not played since but he returned to practice on a limited basis this last week and the Commanders are hopeful he can return to the starting lineup for their Week 5 game against the New York Giants.
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That obviously doesn't help in this game. Mariota was replaced by third-stringer Athan Kaliakmanis.
Kaliakmanis is a rookie quarterback whom Washington selected in the seventh round (223rd overall) of the 2026 NFL Draft after college stops at Minnesota and Rutgers.
The Commanders hope Kaliakmanis can complete as many passes in this game as there are letters in his full name.
America’s Arctic war machine roars to life as commander reveals chilling new reality on Russia’s doorstep
Across one of the coldest, most remote and strategically exposed corners of the United States, American forces are practicing how to fight on land, at sea and in the air — rapidly moving rocket systems into western Alaska, sending F-35s and F-16s toward simulated threats, and coordinating U.S. and Canadian warships in the Bering Sea.
The operations are part of Tundra Merlin, an enduring U.S. military campaign aimed at proving that even across Alaska’s vast distances and extreme Arctic conditions, American and allied forces can rapidly assemble combat power to defend the northern approaches to the homeland.
And behind that show of force is a changing security environment increasingly shaped by Russia and China.
TWO ICEBREAKERS HEADED TO ALASKA AS US COMBATS RUSSIAN, CHINESE INFLUENCE IN ARCTIC
"I think what’s changed is primarily two things," Lt. Gen. Robert Davis, commander of Alaskan Command, told Fox News Digital. "One is that the melting sea ice has made the Arctic more accessible. And we’re seeing increased activity both commercially and militarily in the Arctic, particularly during the summer months."
"The other factor is that China and Russia and others are continuing to advance their military capabilities and capacity with an interest in showing that they can use them in the Arctic as well," Davis said.
The Pentagon has reached a similar conclusion. Its 2024 Arctic Strategy warned that growing Russia-China cooperation could "alter the Arctic’s stability and threat picture," and called for greater U.S. presence, exercises and military preparedness in a region becoming increasingly accessible. Defense officials have said forces operating there must be able not merely to train in extreme conditions, but survive them.
RUSSIA PULLED BACK FROM THE ARCTIC, FOR NOW. NATO MUST ACT BEFORE THOSE TROOPS RETURN
Few places illustrate the stakes better than Alaska.
The state sits at the intersection of the Arctic and Pacific and serves as a critical hub for homeland defense and a platform for projecting U.S. military power toward the Indo-Pacific and beyond. The Russian and American mainlands are only about 55 miles apart at their closest points across the Bering Strait, while Russia’s Big Diomede Island and Alaska’s Little Diomede Island are separated by roughly 2.5 miles.
Alaska also hosts major air bases, early-warning and missile-defense infrastructure, and tens of thousands of military personnel. U.S. Northern Command says Alaskan Command has more than 22,000 active-duty personnel from across the services, along with approximately 4,700 Guard and Reserve members.
Air Force officials have described Alaska as the "crossroads of the Arctic and the Pacific," providing U.S. forces with reach and domain awareness for both homeland defense and global power projection.
Davis put that geography in even starker terms.
Pointing to the fifth-generation fighters positioned in Alaska, he told Fox News Digital that U.S. forces can "project from the Arctic to almost anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere in about 10 hours of flight time."
RUSSIA’S QUIETER NUCLEAR SUBMARINES THREATEN NATO, FORMER COMMANDER WARNS
Tundra Merlin is designed to turn that geographic advantage into combat capability.
Davis described the operation as a collection of military options — essentially "plays in a playbook" — that can be activated either to deter an adversary or respond if one begins acting aggressively.
"Our hope is that we don’t have any adversarial activity because we’ve effectively deterred it," Davis said. "But if we do see it and we have kind of a play in the playbook ready to go. For a response."
One of the most striking demonstrations came recently, on Alaska’s western edge.
U.S. and Canadian forces rapidly moved a U.S. Army HIMARS mobile rocket system and an AN/TPQ-53 radar into western Alaska aboard a Royal Canadian Air Force C-17, then connected those ground forces with American F-35s, F-16s and a KC-135 tanker operating overhead.
CHINA, RUSSIA, IRAN AND NORTH KOREA FORM 'AXIS OF AGGRESSORS' THAT COULD OVERWHELM US, BOOK WARNS
The mission brought air defense and long-range offensive firepower together in a single operation. F-35s and HIMARS synchronized against a simulated ground target approximately 135 miles away, while F-16s simultaneously intercepted F-35s acting as simulated incoming aerial threats, according to U.S. Northern Command.
Davis said the point was not simply to prove the individual weapons worked, but to show how quickly forces could be moved into a remote part of Alaska and linked together.
The operation demonstrated that U.S. forces can rapidly move capabilities into Alaska "both to defend Alaska, but also, if necessary, to put other adversary targets at risk," he told Fox News Digital.
Tundra Merlin pushed that same concept out to sea in September.
From Sept. 18–22, U.S. and Canadian forces conducted a joint maritime strike scenario roughly 100 nautical miles north of Dutch Harbor, integrating U.S. Coast Guard and Royal Canadian Navy surface and subsurface vessels with Canadian maritime patrol aircraft and Alaska-based U.S. Air Force F-35 fighters and E-3 airborne warning and control aircraft.
The forces practiced multiple simulated maritime target engagements, testing whether information collected by different ships and aircraft could be rapidly passed across the force and used to identify, track and engage a potential threat.
"The most impressive part to me was seeing the high degree of cooperation and integration among units that day in and day out don't necessarily operate together," Davis said.
"To see the joint nature on the U.S. side integrated together with the inter-agency of the U.S. Coast Guard and with our allies, with Canada as an example, was just an amazing thing to see," he added.
That ability to operate at scale is complicated by Alaska itself.
Extreme cold can affect equipment and personnel, while the enormous distances and limited infrastructure of the North American Arctic make moving and sustaining forces unusually difficult. The Pentagon’s Arctic Strategy specifically identifies those distances and the region’s infrastructure limitations as obstacles to military operations and says maintaining infrastructure in Alaska is essential for missile defense, surveillance and rapid power projection.
Davis said military equipment brought into Alaska cannot simply be expected to function as it would elsewhere.
"It needs to be conditioned. It needs to be properly outfitted to operate in sub-zero temperatures for a long period of time," he said, adding that troops also require specialized clothing, training and procedures to avoid cold-weather injuries and continue fighting in Arctic conditions.
The pressure to master that environment comes as Russia and China increasingly demonstrate their own ability to operate near North America.
In July 2024, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, detected and intercepted two Russian Tu-95 bombers and two Chinese H-6 bombers flying together in the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone. It was the first time NORAD had intercepted Russian and Chinese military aircraft operating together in the zone. The aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter U.S. or Canadian sovereign territory, and NORAD said the flight itself was not considered a threat.
The episode nevertheless highlighted the very kind of cooperation U.S. defense planners are watching.
For now, Davis said Alaska is positioned to deal with the military threats commanders expect under normal conditions.
"We're postured very well for any of the anticipated threats that we think would come our way in the very near term," he said. But if commanders saw indications of a significant escalation, Davis said Alaskan Command would likely request additional forces and capabilities.
That, ultimately, is what Tundra Merlin is intended to prove: that in a theater defined by enormous distances, punishing weather and growing Russian and Chinese activity, the United States can move forces across Alaska, connect them across land, sea and air, and have combat power ready before a potential adversary decides to test the northern edge of the homeland.
Irish soccer official clashes with Israeli journalist before Ireland meets Israel in Nations League match
Irish soccer officials and Israeli journalists clashed on Saturday amid the heightened tension between the two teams ahead of their Nations League match in Serbia.
The press conference started with one journalist asking about Irish players’ support of Palestinians after the Flydubai incident earlier in the week. Football Association of Ireland (FAI) communications manager Kieran Crowley tried to shut down the question, saying they only wanted "football questions."
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Then, another Israeli journalist asked about allegations that Irish players made racist comments toward Israeli players, which Crowley vehemently denied.
"That’s completely untrue," Crowley shouted back.
The press conference ended shortly afterward.
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Ireland defeated Israel 3-0 in their first meeting in the Nations League. The match occurred only after Irish players took a vote on whether to go ahead with the game. Irish players wore black armbands and refused to shake Israeli players’ hands in protest.
Ireland has put pressure on the soccer team to boycott the match over Israel’s response to Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks, which left more than 1,000 Israelis dead.
The FAI moved the match to a neutral venue for "operational reasons" in June. The first match was placed in Hungary and Sunday’s match will take place in Serbia.
In November, the FAI put forth a motion calling on UEFA to ban Israel from club and international competition. The FAI, however, has resisted calls for a boycott, arguing the team could be hit with UEFA sanctions.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.