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MORNING GLORY: America is winning its battle with Iran. It’s only a matter of time
In the four months and three weeks since combat began with Iran, the United States has lost 17 or 18 of its warriors (with three or four killed over last weekend), with more than 420 others wounded.
Sixty Israelis have been killed. More than 100 Iraqis have died as a result of the conflict. Our allies in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have all suffered civilian deaths and every country in the region has taken significant damage to its infrastructure.
Iran has suffered military deaths in the thousands with many hundreds of civilians killed as well. The toll on the country’s infrastructure is massive — exponentially larger than that which it has inflicted on its neighbors in the region — with the highest estimates in the hundreds of billions of dollars. Iran’s conventional military has been shattered. Its missile and drone forces have been significantly damaged or expended. It is far, however, from being out of ordnance with which to threaten shipping in the Strait of Hormuz or its neighbors.
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Iran has avoided striking Israel during the most recent 10 days of combat as it fears the response of the Israeli Defense Forces. That is deterrence restored. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard is afraid to strike the Jewish State. Now it must be made afraid to shoot at Americans or at its Arab neighbors or international shipping.
The rump regime that remains appears to be a military dictatorship led by the 68-year-old Commander-in-Chief of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Ahmad Vahidi, who came out of retirement to lead the military dictatorship after the opening strike on Iranian leaders killed scores of leading officials in the country.
The "official" successor to the killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is his son Mostafa Khomeini, who has not been seen in public since the conflict began. Khamenei 2.0 is widely believed to have been seriously wounded in the opening strikes of the battle and has recently been reported to have been moved out of the country.
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The economy of Iran is in a shambles with the exchange rate of Iranian rials for U.S. dollars approaching 2 million to one. The United States Navy’s blockade of Iranian shipping is completely effective as to shipping, so Iran is again denied the most basic and essential revenue stream from the sale of oil via the oceans. Its imports must come from land or air.
The conflict could extend for months or even years as America’s blockade drives the Iranian economy deeper into the hole out of which it will take decades to climb once combat ends. The country’s nuclear program is indeed obliterated, and while the deep tunnels and caverns of Pickaxe Mountain remain a mystery to the U.S. the IRGC’s ability to "break out" to a nuclear weapon has been crushed. (The U.S. has not yet targeted Pickaxe, and may not be able to damage its deepest reaches.)
Once measured in weeks, Iran is now years and years away from a nuclear weapon even if oil exports resumed in the future and the rump regime dedicated all of that revenue from the sale of oil to again pursue nuclear weapons.
STEVE FORBES URGES TRUMP TO KEEP THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ OPEN AT ALL COSTS
The cost of oil hovers above $80 a barrel across the world, 30% higher than when the battle began but significantly lower than the $126 a barrel cost reached in April. Workarounds via pipelines and the use of the southern shipping route through the Strait near Oman have kept the cost of oil from skyrocketing, and production worldwide has also stepped up in response to the off-and-on closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Whether President Donald Trump decides to escalate the strikes on Iran to include destruction of power plants and bridges that serve dual uses that include the Iranian military and the IRGC (legitimate targets under the laws of war) will be revealed in the days ahead.
Every lethal attack on Americans elicits from the United States extraordinary punishment on Iran. The cost to the American families bearing those losses of family is immeasurable and the U.S. is extracting a price after every deadly blow delivered by the Iranians in the ongoing effort to deter the fanatics.
That may be an unrealistic goal given the martyrdom ideology of the theocracy, but the original dictator of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Khomeini, drank "from the cup of poison" in 1988 and accepted what was essentially a defeat in the Iran-Iraq War of 1980-1988.
Vahidi is a veteran of that war. Perhaps the dictator will follow the original supreme leader’s example, and the advice of his civilian advisers, and the public faces of Iran who are believed by some to have grasped the scale of the defeat inflicted on Iran. The President of Iran, Masoud Pezeshkian, and its Foreign Minister, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, have almost no power over the dictator and his legions with the guns who murdered tens of thousands of Iranian citizens in January. But the civilians have hinted at the reality of a shattered country, and the crushed proxy armies in Gaza and Lebanon should also weigh on Vahidi. Does he want the IRGC to go the way of Hamas and Hezbollah?
Iran can have a ceasefire in hours if it stops firing on shipping and agrees to minimal steps like comprehensive inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency of its known nuclear weapons development sites plus Pickaxe Mountain.
It is irrational for the regime to continue to take the pounding it is receiving, and the fact that Israel has not been targeted in these past 10 days suggests that Vahidi has grasped the reality of his situation. He has been deterred from ordering strikes on Israel. The nightly pummeling by the United States presents Vahidi with only terrible choices aimed at deterring him from his current course.
Whatever he calculated about the cost to the world in oil prices or to Trump in political damage in November, he was not just wrong, but very wrong. Does he have the ability to see that as clearly as Khomeini did in 1988?
About 7.5 million Americans saw Christopher Nolan’s "The Odyssey" this weekend. The monumental cinematic reflection on the cost of war — the retelling of a story that has resonated down more than 2,700 years — still has the power to remind every viewer of the infinite price of battle for those who lose loved ones in the conflict.
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No American should want this combat to continue a day longer than it must. Trump certainly does not. The destruction of Iran’s military capabilities and its military-industrial complex is near complete. Its nuclear program is in ruins. The Iranian people will face a much weaker regime when next they rise up to demand freedom from the fanatics.
But as every member of the military will tell you, the enemy gets a say in when the fighting ends. The decisive victory of the American military won’t be concluded until Iran stops its aggression on international shipping. It may not do so for a long while yet. The "cup of poison" isn’t anything Vahidi wants to accept or the regime mouthpieces want to acknowledge. But President Trump is pursuing the right strategy to make its sipping inevitable.
America must honor its fallen and care for their families as well as the wounded and their families. But we pray for this spring and summer of war to end before the fall arrives. It was a necessary battle, and further devastation of Iran is not something the president or any American should want, but that choice is with Vahidi.
Hugh Hewitt is a Fox News contributor and host of "The Hugh Hewitt Show" heard weekday afternoons from 3 PM to 6 PM ET on the Salem Radio Network, and simulcast on Salem News Channel. Hugh drives Americans home on the East Coast and to lunch on the West Coast on over 400 affiliates nationwide, and on all the streaming platforms where SNC can be seen. He is a frequent guest on the Fox News Channel’s news roundtable, hosted by Bret Baier weekdays at 6pm ET. A son of Ohio and a graduate of Harvard College and the University of Michigan Law School, Hewitt has been a Professor of Law at Chapman University’s Fowler School of Law since 1996 where he teaches Constitutional Law. Hewitt launched his eponymous radio show from Los Angeles in 1990. Hewitt has frequently appeared on every major national news television network, hosted television shows for PBS and MSNBC, written for every major American paper, has authored a dozen books and moderated a score of Republican candidate debates, most recently the November 2023 Republican presidential debate in Miami and four Republican presidential debates in the 2015-16 cycle. Hewitt focuses his radio show and his column on the Constitution, national security, American politics and the Cleveland Browns and Guardians. Hewitt has interviewed tens of thousands of guests from Democrats Hillary Clinton and John Kerry to Republican Presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump over his 40 years in broadcasting. This column previews the lead story that will drive his radio/ TV show today.
MIKE PENCE: Here's where we should look for the leadership America needs now more than ever
One year ago, America lost one of the architects of the modern conservative movement. But if the past 12 months have taught us anything, it is that America needs Ed Feulner’s example now more than ever.
Dr. Ed Feulner never confused winning momentary political battles with securing long-term victory. While others chased headlines, Ed built institutions. While others measured success by the next election, Ed invested in the next generation. While others sought influence, Ed cultivated leaders who would carry the cause of freedom long after he was gone.
He understood that political victories come and go, but a movement grounded in principle can shape history for generations. That conviction transformed the conservative movement and our country.
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As the founding president of the Heritage Foundation, Ed helped create an institution that brought conservative ideas out of the academy and into the halls of government. Years later, we were deeply honored when he joined the board of Advancing American Freedom to continue the principled fight for timeless conservative values. As always, Ed’s concern was preparing the next generation to stand up for freedom with courage and conviction.
One year later, his life offers a blueprint for the challenges we face today.
America stands at an extraordinary moment in history. As we celebrate our nation’s 250th anniversary, we also face profound challenges: restoring confidence in constitutional government, confronting the growing threat posed by Communist China, taming a runaway national debt, defending free enterprise from government encroachment and ensuring that America continues to lead the free world with confidence and strength.
These challenges require the same enduring truths that guided Ed throughout his remarkable life.
HERITAGE FOUNDATION FOUNDER EDWIN J. FEULNER DIES AT 83
In an age consumed by personalities, Ed reminded us that principles matter more. In a culture driven by instant gratification, he taught that lasting victories require patience and perseverance.
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The greatest tribute we can pay Ed Feulner is not merely to remember him, but to emulate him. Let us recommit ourselves to the principles he championed. Let us strengthen the institutions that defend liberty. Let us raise up a new generation of courageous conservative leaders. And let us never lose confidence in the goodness of America or the timeless truths that have sustained our nation from the beginning.
One year after his passing, America needs more leaders like Ed Feulner who believe that principles endure, institutions matter and freedom is always worth defending. If we carry that work forward with the same humility, courage and faith, then Ed’s greatest legacy will not simply be what he built in the past, but what we build tomorrow because of him.
AS AMERICA MARKS 250 YEARS, OUR GREATEST CHAPTERS ARE STILL AHEAD OF US
The Bible tells us, "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." Ed Feulner devoted his life to advancing that cause. One year after his passing, we honor his memory best not with our words alone, but with our resolve to continue the work to which he devoted his life, and which has helped preserve the liberty we so cherish.
Trump’s GOP clout faces Arizona test with House majority, governor’s race at stake
President Donald Trump's immense clout over the GOP and the power of his endorsements in Republican nomination races face their latest test Tuesday, as Arizona holds primary elections.
Trump's endorsements in a handful of key races, including in a top swing congressional district, could impact the midterm battles for the House majority and control of governors' offices.
Trump is backing Rep. Andy Biggs, a former House Freedom Caucus chairman, for the GOP gubernatorial nomination and the chance to challenge Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs in November.
Biggs, who is also backed by the political wing of the conservative powerhouse Turning Point USA, is considered the frontrunner in a race that also includes longtime Republican Rep. David Schweikert. Also on the ballot are concrete pumping contractor Scott Neely, who's making his second straight run for governor, and business owner Ken Miceli.
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The winner will face off in the general election with Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, a former Arizona Secretary of State who narrowly defeated then-GOP nominee Kari Lake four years ago. Hobbs was unopposed for re-nomination.
Down-ballot, the statewide race for the Republican attorney general nomination has become combustible as state Senate President Warren Petersen and military attorney Rodney Glassman have traded fire. The winner will challenge Democratic incumbent Kris Mayes in the general election.
In the race to succeed Schweikert in Arizona's 1st Congressional District, which is anchored in the northeastern Phoenix suburbs, Trump is backing former Arizona Cardinals professional football player and former CBS Sports NFL analyst Jay Feely.
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Former state lawmaker Joseph Chaplik and businessman John Trobough are also running for the GOP nomination in the key swing district.
Former TV anchor Marlene Galán-Woods and former state Rep. Amish Shah are facing off in a rematch for the Democratic congressional nomination. Shah, an emergency room physician, won the 2024 faceoff.
Galán-Woods, a former Republican, has the backing of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which has big bucks to support her, as well as top Democrats Sen. Mark Kelly and former Gov. Janet Napolitano.
Rick McCartney, president and CEO of InMedia Company, and Jonathan Treble, founder of WithMe, are also on the ballot.
The midterm race in Arizona's 1st District is one of two or three dozen across the country that will determine whether the GOP holds onto its razor-thin House majority.
In the race to replace Biggs in Arizona's 5th District, which is located in the southeastern Phoenix suburbs, including parts of Mesa, Trump is backing former Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, who is facing off with construction contractor Daniel Keenan for the GOP nomination.
Keenan has made the sexual misconduct and abuse-of-power allegations against Lamb a key part of his campaign. The Pinal County attorney last month cleared Lamb of criminal wrongdoing as it closed its investigation. And Trump, despite the controversy, reaffirmed his endorsement of Lamb earlier this month.
The winner of the Republican primary will be considered the clear favorite to succeed Biggs in the solidly red district.
The brute force of the president's endorsement power has been on display in GOP primaries this spring and summer, with his candidates ousting incumbents he targeted in showdowns in Indiana, Kentucky and Texas, as well as the Louisiana primary.
But Trump's endorsement streak in statewide and congressional Republican primaries was snapped in early June when his last-minute endorsement of Republican Rep. Randy Feenstra of Iowa in the race to succeed retiring GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds wasn't enough to propel the three-term congressman to victory.
Feenstra was narrowly edged by Zach Lahn, a businessman, farmer and former political strategist who was backed by the political wings of MAHA — the acronym for the Make America Healthy Again movement aligned with Trump's Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — and Turning Point USA, the powerful conservative organization co-founded by the late Charlie Kirk.
Trump-backed candidates won two of the three top races in key GOP primary runoff elections in Georgia and Alabama last month, with the one setback coming against a billionaire businessman who shelled out over $100 million of his own money to boost his campaign.
A week later, Trump-backed first-time candidate Anthony Constantino, a businessman and former boxer, defeated Robert Smullen, a retired Marine Corps colonel and New York assemblyman who had the backing of the state party, in the upstate New York race to succeed retiring GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik.
Meanwhile, in South Carolina's Republican gubernatorial runoff, Trump couldn't lose.
That's because, besides backing Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette a few weeks earlier, he also gave a last-minute endorsement to state Attorney General Alan Wilson, who ended up winning the late June showdown in a landslide.
The president also enjoyed victory in Louisiana, where Sen. Bill Cassidy, who voted to convict Trump in his 2021 impeachment trial, was ousted as he sought re-nomination. Trump-backed Rep. Julia Letlow ended up winning the nomination in last month's runoff election.
LIZ PEEK: The Trump economy is doing better than the media want to admit
President Donald Trump has a good story to tell on the economy; he should be telling it, because it’s a sure bet the liberal media will not.
Consider the big picture: unemployment is low, real wages are rising, the stock market is high, investment is booming and inflation, though above the Federal Reserve’s target, came down last month, and will recede again once oil prices stabilize. (Inflation, most recently at 3.5%, and at 2.6% excluding volatile food and energy, is also significantly below the 4.95% recorded on average under President Joe Biden.)
More good news: the conservative Committee to Unleash Prosperity reports that during the first 16 months of Trump’s current term, real incomes for the lowest 25% of earners increased almost $2,100, while they actually shrank under Biden.
Additionally, the Bank of America Institute writes that "total credit and debit card spending rising 6.3% year-over-year (YoY) in June - the strongest growth in over four years." Importantly, the Institute further reports that "gaps in wage and spending growth across income groups narrowed."
Wait! Income inequality is actually shrinking under Trump? Yes – but you sure won’t hear that from Bloomberg or CNBC – they’re too busy convincing voters that Republicans are hell-bent on pumping up the wealthy at the expense of, well, everybody else.
Sure, we have challenges, as always, and especially with the cost of living being too high and housing too expensive for many Americans. But, overall, the economy is in pretty good shape.
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That’s not what most people think. A new survey from CNBC shows "61% of the public is pessimistic about the current state of the economy and about the outlook for the future." A Washington Post-Ipsos poll puts the president’s approval rating on the economy at a dismal 33%.
Why the disconnect? I blame the incessant negativity of the Trump-hating media and also the inability of many Republicans to articulate the benefits of lower taxes and lighter regulations, the president’s signature agenda. If your own team can’t sell your successes, you’re in trouble.
For instance, GOP candidates should be talking up the Trump accounts. Over 6 million children have already signed up for these deferred investment accounts, of which 1.4 million qualify for a $1,000 contribution from the Treasury.
Dell CEO Michael Dell who, with his wife Susan, donated $6.25 billion to the program, said, "What the research shows us, pretty clearly, is that when a kid has even a small account in their name, they start to see themselves differently, and that shows up in graduation rates, in homeownership, in the businesses they start. That’s not just a financial outcome — it’s a mindset shift."
What could possibly be more transformational than giving millions of American children the opportunity to invest for the future and introducing them to the magic of compound interest? This is the best of Trump: inventive, inclusive and pragmatic.
The president signed an executive order in April also creating a new low-cost "TrumpIRA," which Trump described as offering every American worker "the same type of retirement accounts that federal employees enjoy." According to one analysis, some 40% of full-time workers and the vast majority of part-time workers lack access to retirement savings through their employers. As of next year, when the program begins, that should change.
This is a game changer; the more people who have skin in the American economy, the better for our country.
The midterm elections are just over three months away. They will decide whether the Trump agenda can move forward or be buried under a blitzkrieg of vindictive investigations and impeachment hearings. Nothing in these remaining weeks will matter more than the state of the economy and how voters regard their own financial circumstances.
The House and the Senate are both in session this week, and not due to reconvene until mid-September. This is the moment to not only talk up recent economic successes, but also to deliver a splashy final policy assault, to convince voters that the GOP has more to offer.
Instead, Republicans appear on the cusp of passing a meager $95 billion reconciliation bill that mostly funds defense needs and helps farmers. So narrow is that legislation that some GOP House members are talking about a possible fourth reconciliation bill, to include other unaddressed priorities.
Why are Republicans playing defense? Why aren’t they taking what may be their last chance to create a bill that offers much-needed relief on housing, for instance? Many have proposed indexing the capital gains tax on home sales to inflation, to loosen up supply. Many older people, especially, cannot afford to sell their long-held homes because of the taxes they would owe. Why not fix that?
Why, in short, are Republicans in a defensive crouch?
Democrats, in charge of the most expensive cities and states in the U.S., are laughably telling voters they are the party concerned with "affordability." They also have, despite four years under Biden when inflation soared to 40-year highs, convinced voters that Republicans cannot be trusted to produce an economy that makes their lives easier.
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Democrats argue that the GOP’s tax cuts have benefited only the wealthy. That is not true. The Big Beautiful Bill’s features like an expanded child tax credit and standard deduction, "No Tax on Tips" and "No Tax on Overtime" benefited millions of working-class Americans. Families making between $15,000 and $30,000 saw tax cuts of 21%, the most of any income group, while the share of revenues coming from the top 10% actually rose.
That is a solid win for working people in the U.S. Republicans need to hit the campaign trail armed with those facts, and also with proposals that build on those gains.
To paraphrase James Carville, it is always – always – the economy, stupid.
DOJ opens probe into Harvard's financial aid for alleged discrimination against American students
The Justice Department is reviewing whether Harvard University accepted foreign donations that improperly favored students from China and other countries over American students.
The department said Monday that Harvard’s foreign-funding disclosures raised concerns that some donors imposed nationality-based restrictions on financial aid. Officials are examining whether those arrangements violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which bars federally funded institutions from discriminating based on national origin.
"Every American student should have an equal opportunity to compete for college scholarships, grants, and other kinds of financial aid and benefits," Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon said in a statement.
"Schools cannot take federal dollars and then turn around and accept money from foreign sources to give financial aid that deliberately excludes American citizens — doing so is illegal, and we will stop it wherever we find it," she continued.
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The DOJ said some China-based donors directed Harvard to use their money for aid programs benefiting students from particular countries. The department alleged that complying with those restrictions could disadvantage students of other nationalities, including Americans.
Officials stressed that the review remains ongoing and that the department has not reached any conclusions. The DOJ also did not identify the specific scholarships or donors under examination.
Harvard denied that its financial aid policies violate federal civil rights law.
"Harvard follows the law for required reporting of donations and, consistent with our legal obligations under Title VI, does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, or national origin in allocating financial aid," the university said in a statement.
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Federal law requires colleges and universities to report foreign gifts and contracts worth at least $250,000. The DOJ said a Civil Rights Division audit of those disclosures found that Harvard had reported nearly $4.5 billion in foreign funding — more than any other American university — including over $630 million from China, its largest foreign source.
The university provides need-based institutional aid to international students, while federal grants and other government assistance are generally limited to eligible US students. Harvard also uses private scholarship and employment funds to support students from outside the country.
Some private gifts have been designated for students from specific nations. In 2014, SOHO China co-founders Pan Shiyi and Zhang Xin donated $15 million to support Chinese students at Harvard. The DOJ has not said whether that gift is part of its review.
The inquiry adds another front to the Trump administration’s broader conflict with Harvard. Federal officials have also scrutinized the university over alleged antisemitism, admissions practices and its treatment of foreign students.
A federal judge previously blocked the administration from cutting billions of dollars in research funding from Harvard as related litigation continues.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Nicaragua's Ortega says country will 'never again' hold elections, shutting out opposition
Nicaraguan leader Daniel Ortega said the Central American country would no longer hold elections, further closing off any potential path for the opposition to challenge the government he leads with his wife, Rosario Murillo.
Ortega, Nicaragua’s longest-serving leader, has remained in power since 2007 after previously governing during the 1980s. His current presidential term is scheduled to run through 2027.
"There won't be any more elections here for them to try to seize the government and seize power," Ortega said.
He delivered the remarks Sunday during a speech commemorating the 1979 Sandinista revolution, in which Ortega participated in the overthrow of the US-backed dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza.
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The declaration appeared to eliminate the possibility of a future electoral challenge as Ortega and Murillo continue consolidating control over the country’s political institutions.
"The days when parties backed by the Yankees (United States) and the Somocistas would return to power are over — never again," Ortega declared.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the U.S. State Department for comment.
The Trump administration has described the Ortega-Murillo government as a dictatorship and imposed sanctions on members of the government and their allies. The State Department has also enacted visa restrictions targeting more than 2,350 Nicaraguan officials and their family members.
"The United States stands with the Nicaraguan people who, like Rivera, aspire to see a free Nicaragua," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in June.
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The Biden administration previously said Ortega illegitimately awarded himself another term following Nicaragua’s disputed 2021 presidential election.
Authorities arrested presidential candidates, opposition figures, business leaders and journalists ahead of that vote as the government intensified its criminalization of dissent.
Ortega and Murillo further expanded their authority through sweeping constitutional changes that took effect in 2025. The reforms extended the presidential term from five years to six and elevated Murillo from vice president to "co-president."
The changes also placed Nicaragua’s legislative, judicial and electoral institutions under the authority of the presidency, according to United Nations experts.
Ortega and Murillo now exercise control over nearly every branch of the government, including the armed forces, police and judiciary.
Ortega had already effectively eliminated meaningful electoral competition during elections in 2011, 2016 and 2021, Salvador Marenco, coordinator of the Costa Rica-based Nicaragua Nunca Más Human Rights Collective, told Reuters.
Many prominent opposition leaders have been imprisoned, forced into exile or stripped of their Nicaraguan citizenship, while opposition parties and independent civic organizations have lost their legal status.
A United Nations group of experts has accused the Ortega-Murillo government of systematically violating human rights as part of a campaign to eliminate criticism and preserve its hold on power. The experts said some alleged violations may amount to crimes against humanity.
The government launched a violent crackdown on anti-government protests in 2018. More than 300 people were killed during the unrest, according to international human rights groups.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Darline Graham focuses on kitchen-table issues as she announces full-term Senate bid
Sen. Darline Graham, R-S.C., the sister of late Sen. Lindsey Graham, outlined her political priorities in an exclusive interview with "Hannity" on Monday as she announced she would run for a full Senate term in November.
"He's worked so hard for so long. I can’t just let that die. I've got to step in and carry on his legacy," she said during her first interview since Lindsey’s death.
"I know he cared about the people of South Carolina so deeply. He worked so hard for them. And I feel like I can do that, too. He taught me well," she added.
SEN DARLINE GRAHAM REVEALS WHETHER SHE WILL RUN FOR A FULL-TERM DURING ‘HANNITY’ EXCLUSIVE
After being appointed by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster last week to serve out the rest of her late brother’s Senate term until January 2027, Graham announced Monday that she will run for a full, six-year term.
Graham, South Carolina’s first female U.S. Senator, told Fox News she feels an "inner peace" about succeeding her brother in representing The Palmetto State.
"It is a tremendous amount of pressure," she said.
"I feel like I can do it. I feel an inner peace about it."
Graham said that unlike Lindsey, who was passionate about ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict, she plans to focus primarily on domestic issues rather than foreign policy and place greater emphasis on day-to-day concerns of South Carolinians.
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"I used to see him on the talk shows. I would watch him and I'd be like, ‘Lindsey, are you just talking about national security all the time?'," she explained. "And I understand that's important. Protecting our borders, national security, absolutely."
"I said, ‘But talk about also what matters to the average person. The price of groceries, the price of gas, health care. Insurance, those kind of things.’ That's what I'm worried about."
Lindsey Graham died suddenly on July 11 at age 71. His cause of death was later identified as an aortic dissection due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
"It's been tough, extremely tough," Darline Graham told host Sean Hannity.
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"He was everything, he was my rock. He was my brother, my mother, and my father," she added.
Since 2019, Graham has served as a commissioner for South Carolina’s Commission for the Blind, overseeing a $90 million budget. The organization helps people who are blind or visually impaired people find employment.
"It was a passion of mine, but I have a servant's heart," she said. "You have to have a servant's heart for a job like that."
Bodycam catches Sunny Hostin invoking her legal chops as cops cite Harvard-grad son for trespassing
"The View" co-host Sunny Hostin repeatedly reminded police she was a "former federal prosecutor" after officers stopped her Harvard-educated son for trespassing on Metro-North railroad property, as newly released body camera video captured the TV host urging officers to cut him a break.
"My name is Sunny Hostin and I'm one of the co-hosts of 'The View' and I'm a former federal prosecutor," Hostin tells an officer over the phone in bodycam video obtained by Fox News Digital.
After arriving at the scene, Hostin continued making her case.
"That's my son. He's a Harvard graduate. He doesn't have a criminal record," she says. "He's not a kid who's ever in trouble. It's an innocent mistake."
According to records obtained by Fox News Digital, Gabriel Hostin was stopped by Metropolitan Transportation Authority police shortly before 8 p.m. June 16 after officers observed him on the Metro-North railroad right-of-way at the New Rochelle station.
Police alleged he was trespassing in an area marked with "NO TRESPASSING" signs.
An MTA Police spokesperson told Fox News Digital the 23-year-old was observed running near an electrified third rail before officers stopped him near Commerce Drive, conducted a criminal background check and escorted him from the area.
Because Hostin had no criminal history and cooperated with officers, police said he was issued a summons for trespass and released.
The bodycam video shows Gabriel Hostin asking officers whether issuing the summons was necessary.
"Because it is an arrestable offense. I want to make that clear," one officer tells him.
"We're dimming it down to a trespass violation because you were in the right-of-way."
The officer goes on to explain that police were taking his lack of criminal history into account.
"We know you're not a criminal or anything like that, but our hands are tied with cameras everywhere," the officer says.
Hostin again urged officers to exercise discretion.
"He's a Harvard grad who teaches fourth-grade geometry to South Bronx kids," she says. "He's not a kid who's ever in trouble. It's an innocent mistake."
According to charging documents obtained by Fox News Digital, an officer alleged he observed Gabriel Hostin on the active railroad right-of-way at the New Rochelle station "in violation of the posted NO TRESPASSING signs."
The citation narrative similarly states officers observed him on the railroad right-of-way before conducting a warrant check that came back negative and issuing him an appearance ticket for trespass.
The records also include photographs of warning signs reading, "NO TRESPASSING – PRIVATE PROPERTY – VIOLATORS WILL BE PROSECUTED," posted near the entrance to the property, along with photos of the gated access point.
According to court records, Gabriel Hostin is scheduled to appear in New Rochelle City Court on July 31.
BC: 6401685300112
In a letter obtained by TMZ, Hostin argued her son mistakenly entered the property while jogging after spotting what appeared to be a gravel incline suitable for hill training.
She said the entrance gate was open and that the only "No Trespassing" sign was attached to the left gate and was not visible when he entered.
The bodycam video also sparked reaction online, with several conservative accounts criticizing Hostin for invoking her legal background during the encounter.
Libs of TikTok contrasted Hostin's past remarks that "no one is above the law" with her comments to officers that she was "a former federal prosecutor" and that her son was a Harvard graduate with no criminal record.
End Wokeness posted a similar critique, arguing the footage conflicted with Hostin's previous public comments about equal treatment under the law.
Fox News Digital reached out to Hostin's representatives for comment.
New York far-left group claims reparations 'owed' as Blacks' median wealth 'nearly 15 times less' than Whites
A prominent civil rights organization is pushing for statewide reparations, arguing that a historical debt is owed to Black New Yorkers due to deep wealth disparities rooted in the state's ties to slavery and decades of systemic discrimination.
"Reparations are a debt that is owed. Enslaved Black people built the foundation of New York’s economy, but Black families in our state still face racism that has been codified into our laws and budgets," said Lanessa Owens-Chaplin, Director of the Racial Justice Center at the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU). "New York State was not a bystander to slavery — it created, enacted, and protected the institution. Reparations must be extended to all Black New Yorkers descended from those enslaved by New York State, and to all Black New Yorkers still living under the systems slavery built."
In a joint report released last week titled "The Other New York: The Legacy of Slavery and the Case for Reparations Now," the NYCLU and the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) detailed the lasting economic impacts of slavery and Jim Crow–era policies on Black communities across the state.
According to the report, the median wealth of Black New Yorkers stands at $18,870 — nearly 15 times less than the median wealth of White New Yorkers, which sits at $276,900. The groups noted that New York state exhibits a wider racial wealth gap than the national average.
The report points to government-backed practices like redlining as major catalysts for today's wealth inequality, noting that the exclusion and displacement of Black communities denied them "the stability and generational wealth that homeownership provides."
"Nearly 90 years after redlining and urban renewal, formerly redlined communities remain some of the highest-poverty neighborhoods in New York," the report states. "Zoning laws reinforced the racial hierarchy established under slavery, forcing Black people to live in industrial areas with increased pollution — leading to disproportionately high asthma, cardiovascular disease, premature delivery, and premature death. Schools serving predominantly Black students have been severely underfunded and disproportionately affected by environmental hazards, crumbling infrastructure, and lead poisoning."
The groups argue that reparations must go beyond symbolic gestures, advocating for both direct compensation for financial losses and broad institutional policy changes.
"Supporting reparations is about more than compensation; it is about acknowledging harm, restoring dignity, and creating pathways for communities to thrive," the authors wrote. The report outlines proposed remedies to "compensate for the harm by addressing tangible losses, such as loss of wealth, wages, and other damages caused by wrongdoing," while also targeting broader structural changes in criminal justice, environmental policy, and public school funding.
"In order to build a thriving economy and a resilient multi-racial democracy, New York must repair past harm and break down barriers to opportunity for Black communities. Reparations benefit all New Yorkers," the report urged.
The NYCLU did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
KEY TRUMP AGENCY PUTS TOP UNIVERSITIES IN CROSSHAIRS OVER ALLEGED RACE-BASED DORM PROGRAMS
These localized efforts come as state and municipal racial redress initiatives face growing legal and political scrutiny nationwide. In Evanston, Illinois — the first U.S. municipality to distribute cash and housing grants as reparations — the program is facing a high-profile federal lawsuit. The U.S. Department of Justice intervened in the suit, arguing that race-based benefit distributions violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Meanwhile, in New York, progress on state-level recommendations has stalled.
The New York State Community Commission on Reparations Remedies was created under legislation signed by Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul in late 2023. The panel was tasked with examining the state's historical ties to slavery, subsequent Jim Crow practices, and modern economic disparities to formulate recommendations for policy changes and financial remedies.
However, the NYCLU slammed state officials after a provision quietly embedded in the state budget pushed the commission’s final report deadline back two years — from its original 2025 date to 2029.
Trump says first call with new UK PM Burnham went 'very well,' pledges US support
President Donald Trump said Monday that he spoke with Britain's new prime minister, Andy Burnham, shortly after he took office, calling the conversation "very good."
Trump added that he and Burnham plan to meet in the "not too distant future" to discuss issues of mutual interest.
During the call, the leaders touched on the longstanding U.S.-U.K. relationship and the challenges facing Burnham as he begins his time in office, with Trump pledging American support.
"We discussed many subjects, including the outstanding relationship we have had with the UK," Trump said.
ANDY BURNHAM TAKES OVER AS UK PRIME MINISTER, CALLS FOR 'NEW POLITICAL MODEL'
"The Prime Minister has got a big job ahead of him, but he will be able to do it and, of course, the U.S.A. will be there to help!"
The pair also discussed North Sea oil, trade, the U.S.-U.K. military alliance and efforts to clear mines from the Strait of Hormuz, Trump said.
Burnham's office released a statement following the call, saying the prime minister looked forward to welcoming Trump to Manchester during a future visit.
According to Downing Street, Trump updated Burnham on the situation in the Middle East, while Burnham reaffirmed the United Kingdom's commitment to reopening the Strait of Hormuz safely.
"The Prime Minister outlined the UK’s commitment to securing the movement of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz to support global supply chains and drive down costs for businesses and families across the country," the British office said.
Burnham further emphasized that defense and security would remain the U.K.'s top priority alongside its allies.
KEIR STARMER REPORTEDLY CONSIDERING STEPPING DOWN AS PM AND COULD ANNOUNCE TIMETABLE FOR DEPARTURE
On the domestic front, Burnham emphasized that he will pursue reindustrialization efforts to drive economic growth across the country.
Trump ultimately described the conversation as a major success.
"The call was interesting, and went very well. I wished Prime Minister Burnham, GOOD LUCK AND GODSPEED!" Trump said.
Burnham became Britain's seventh prime minister in a decade on Monday, vowing to reshape a country that has cycled through a series of leaders in recent years. He succeeds Keir Starmer, who served as prime minister for just over two years after taking office in the summer of 2024.
The two leaders have previously traded criticism. Before Burnham took office, Trump labeled him "extremely liberal," while Burnham has been openly critical of the American president.