Republicans win but Democrats also claim victory with ballot box surge in Trump territory
RINGGOLD, GA — Republican congressional candidate Clay Fuller credited President Donald Trump in his victory speech after keeping a solidly red district in GOP hands and boosting Republicans’ razor-thin House majority. “He was the difference maker,” Fuller, who was backed by Trump, emphasized in a Fox News Digital interview following his victory Tuesday night. “He was the key factor in us winning.” Fuller defeated Democrat Shawn Harris in a special election to fill the empty U.S. House seat in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District, in the northwest corner of the crucial southeastern battleground state. The seat was left vacant when MAGA firebrand Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene stepped down at the beginning of January. Greene quit Congress with a year left in her term, after a bitter falling out with Trump. TRUMP-BACKED REPUBLICAN PADS GOP’S FRAGILE HOUSE MAJORITY The special election came as Republicans clung to a fragile 218–214 majority in the House. The GOP was under the gun to make sure the Democrats didn’t pull off an upset in a district that Trump carried by a whopping 37 points in his 2024 presidential victory. Fuller, who was a local district attorney and a lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard, who’s served in the Air Force since 2009, called himself a “reinforcement” for House Speaker Mike Johnson and said his victory was “extremely crucial.” PRIMARY PAUSE, POLITICAL FIRESTORM: HIGH-STAKES ELECTIONS THIS MONTH TAKE CENTER STAGE But even in defeat, Democrats see cause for celebration. Harris, a cattle farmer who spent four decades in the military and retired as an Army brigadier general, lost to Fuller by roughly 12 points, according to the latest election results. That’s a significant improvement from the 29-point defeat he suffered to Greene in her 2024 re-election. Democrats touted the results in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District as their party’s latest ballot box overperformance in the nearly 15 months since Trump returned to the White House and say they have the wind at their backs as they aim to win back congressional majorities from the Republicans in this autumn’s midterm elections. “In the deepest-red congressional district in Georgia — and despite more than $1.5 million in spending by Republicans to defend this Trump +37 seat — Democrat Shawn Harris notched a jaw-dropping more than 20-point overperformance in Marjorie Taylor Greene’s backyard,” said Charlie Bailey, chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia, in a statement. HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL And Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Ken Martin highlighted that “Shawn Harris ran a fearless campaign in the reddest district in all of Georgia, delivering a double-digit overperformance.” Fuller pushed back on the Democrats’ messaging. “They lost. They’ve got to call me congressman, and they poured in millions of dollars, just lit millions of dollars on fire, and still got crushed,” he argued, in his Fox News Digital interview. And Georgia Republican Party Chair Josh McKoon said that “Democrats threw everything they had at this race… They made this the Super Bowl and they lost.” The runoff in Georgia wasn’t the only major election on Tuesday night. Liberals expanded their majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, strengthening control in a key battleground state, in a ballot box showdown that drew limited national attention but had plenty riding on the results. Wisconsin Appeals Court Judge Chris Taylor, a former Democratic state representative, defeated Appeals Court Judge Maria Lazar, a conservative. Taylor will succeed a retiring conservative justice and with the victory, liberals will expand their majority on the state Supreme Court to 5-2. While officially a non-partisan contest, state Supreme Court elections in Wisconsin have become extremely partisan in recent election cycles. Taylor ended up topping Lazar by roughly 20 points, a larger victory than expected. And national Democrats once again were quick to showcase the overperformance. “Wisconsin voters showed up and sent another big message to Republicans, securing a liberal majority until 2030!” the DNC’s Martin said in a social media post. It’s hard to deny that Democrats are on a roll in electoral showdowns since the start of Trump’s second term. The flipping of two GOP-controlled state Senate seats in Iowa last year denied Republicans their super majority in the chamber. Democrats also scored larger than expected victories in last November’s gubernatorial elections in blue-leaning Virginia and New Jersey, and over performed in last December’s special congressional election in a red-leaning district in Tennessee. Earlier this year, plenty of Republicans were calling their party’s double-digit shellacking in a state Senate election in a ruby red district in Texas in an early February special election a “wake-up call” for the party. And in special elections two weeks ago, Democrats in Florida flipped a state Senate seat and a state House district that includes Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s home turf in Palm Beach. Partially fueling the Democrats’ ballot box performances is their laser focus on affordability amid persistent inflation. Meanwhile, Republicans are battling stiff political headwinds as the party in power in the nation’s capital traditionally loses seats in the midterms, and a rough political climate fueled by economic concerns, an unpopular war with Iran, and Trump’s underwater approval ratings. “Enthusiasm for Democrats is growing everywhere. We’re closing the gap and Republicans are absolutely terrified,” Martin claimed. But Republicans say that Democrats are overemphasizing their ballot box performances, especially their special election successes in what are often low-turnout contests. “A low-turnout state House special election is a snapshot of local quirks, candidate dynamics, and turnout math — not some grand verdict,” RNC senior adviser Danielle Alvarez said after last month’s special election in Palm Beach, Florida. And veteran Republican strategist and communicator Jesse Hunt told Fox News Digital that “historically, special elections have been a poor barometer for what will occur during regularly scheduled midterm or presidential elections. Specials have unique dynamics that don’t play as much of a factor when the broader electorate feels the muscle memory of showing up to vote in November.”
Far-left network activates to fly Iran’s flag over America in victory and wage a ‘smokeless war’ on the US
Even as Department of War Secretary Pete Hegseth declares a “historic and decisive victory” against the Islamic Republic of Iran, the U.S. still faces foot soldiers on another front: on America’s streets. There, a network of pro-communist groups funded by Neville Roy Singham, an American-born tech tycoon living in China, supporting the Chinese Communist Party and allies, like Iran, are flying the Iranian flag and declaring “Trump failed in his criminal war against Iran.” The rapid mobilization and quick narrative pivot illustrate how an interconnected protest infrastructure, spanning pro-communist political groups, pro-Palestinian advocacy networks and far-left activist organizations tied to international propaganda ecosystems, can coordinate demonstrations in U.S. cities within hours in a dynamic that national security experts call cognitive warfare, or a “smokeless war.” In the nation’s capital Tuesday evening, activists from the professional network of well-funded far-left anti-American groups pulled up to the curb at the corner of 16th Street NW and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, unloading wagons with megaphones, pre-printed signs and protest-friendly arts-and-craft. Within minutes, they painted their hands blood-red and launched familiar chants, blurring one cause into the next, including a condemnation of “Trump’s war on Iran.” A few hours later, writers at the Party for Socialism and Liberation, a self-declared pro-China communist group in the Singham network, banged out a missive on their propaganda platform, “Liberation News,” headlined, “Why Trump failed in his criminal war against Iran – and why we need to keep up the pressure.” The next morning, as Hegseth declared victory over Iran, officials in the Party for Socialism and Liberation’s busy Atlanta chapter issued a call for members to meet at Marietta Street NW and Centennial Olympic Park Drive NW at 5:30 p.m. for a “National Day of Action” against the U.S., declaring the Trump administration “was compelled to temporarily step back from its genocidal threats,” but its members have to “KEEP THE PRESSURE UP!” SHANGHAI SABOTAGE: INSIDE SINGHAM’S SECRET STRATEGY TO DEMONIZE AMERICA “U.S. out of everywhere!” shouted Olivia DiNucci, a regular on the protest circuit and Washington, D.C., coordinator for CodePink, a theatrical protest group that just sent a “caravan” to Cuba to support the communist party there. DiNucci pressed her hands into the red paint and smeared them across a banner, then raised her paint-covered hands in the air as she stood beside a smiling Medea Benjamin, co-founder of CodePink. DiNucci moved through the crowd with a wagon, handing out stickers, chatting with demonstrators and pausing with Benjamin to pose for photos. Nearby, members of the Party for Socialism and Liberation handed out their trademark signs with the group’s brand along the bottom and messages in bold sans-serif font, this time reading, “STOP THE WAR ON IRAN!” “Free, free Palestine!” shouted members of the Palestinian Youth Movement, as flags of the Islamic Republic of Iran flew overhead, beside Palestinian flags. “Zionism will fall, brick by brick, wall by wall,” another chant began. POWER COUPLE OF CHAOS: HOW A TYCOON AND ACTIVIST BUILT A ‘REVOLUTIONARY BASE’ AT THE HOUSE OF SINGHAM Nearby, Nadine Seiler, a regular on the protest circuit who sometimes dresses in costumes, including as a pink frog, stood with her spray-painted banner, raising a question about U.S. “war crimes.” Recently, she acknowledged the performative nature of the protests. “It is political theater,” she told Fox News Digital, “and we need more of it!” Experts say scenes like this are not simple expressions of dissent, but part of a broader geopolitical contest played out in cognitive warfare, where adversaries use narratives, imagery and street theater to shape how Americans perceive conflicts unfolding far beyond their borders, even after bombs stop dropping. In cognitive warfare, experts note, the battlefield isn’t territory, like the Strait of Hormuz, but the public mind, where propaganda, protests, social media messaging and ideological narratives are used to influence how citizens interpret events and pressure governments to change policy. In this case, proxies for U.S. adversaries, including Iran and China, are pivoting to declare the ceasefire a “victory” for Iran. Many of the groups, including CodePink, are part of the broader protest network funded by Singham, who has financed a global constellation of activist groups and media projects promoting narratives sympathetic to the Chinese Communist Party, while depicting the United States as a “fascist” and “rogue” nation. In 2017, as reported in a Fox News Digital investigation, Singham married a co-founder of CodePink, Jodie Evans, and started pouring a documented $278 million into a network of groups that fuel anti-American protests in the United States, support the People’s Republic of China and now back the Islamic Republic of Iran, a strategic partner of China and a major source of its oil imports. Code Pink has waged a pro-China campaign for years under the slogan “China Is Not Our Enemy.” CHINA’S AMERICAN MAO: INSIDE SINGHAM’S BLUEPRINT TO ‘WAGE WAR’ FOR A ‘NEW WORLD ORDER’ U.S. Justice, State and Treasury officials, the House Ways and Means Committee and the House Oversight Committee are investigating several of these groups for possible violations of federal laws, including statutes that require individuals and groups acting on behalf of foreign interests to register as foreign agents with the Justice Department. Gordon Chang, an expert on China’s global influence, has warned about an expanding anti-American campaign emanating from China, writing, “Now, the Chinese regime has help funding propaganda and protests in America. After all, it has Singham’s cash and world-spanning network.” In their call to action, organizers criticized Trump‘s Tuesday night deadline for Iran, writing: “Trump has given a deadline for genocide — either Iran surrender by 8 p.m. ET or the country’s ‘whole civilization will die tonight.’” They added: “This is the criminal threat of a madman, but a madman who controls the deadly might of the Pentagon war machine.” Within hours, the same messaging began circulating across the network as additional organizations promoted similar protests nationwide. Soon afterward, another cluster of organizations, including CodePink, joined forces with the Chicago chapters of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, the Palestinian Youth Movement, American Muslims for Palestine and Students for Justice, to announce an emergency
Biden ally tells Spanberger to exit ‘bunker’ as ex-gov renews debate push
A former top official in the Biden administration slammed Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger as wrongly following Joe Biden’s playbook, squandering “goodwill” and allowing the GOP to define her, demanding she “come out of her Biden bunker.” The swipe comes as former Gov. George Allen offered to debate her virtually on the subject of redistricting if timing was an issue in her original rejection, and Spanberger briskly avoided a Fox News Digital reporter who confronted the tight-lipped governor in Richmond this week. Michael LaRosa, former first lady Jill Biden’s longtime top aide and spokesperson, slammed Spanberger on Tuesday, unfavorably comparing her to former President Joe Biden and calling a Washington Post poll showing her as the governor with the highest unfavorables dating back to Allen’s era “entirely self-inflicted and avoidable.” LaRosa called Spanberger’s fall from a landslide-winning candidate to a controversial chief executive “a classic, but all too familiar tale.” WHO IS ABIGAIL SPANBERGER, AND WHY DID DEMOCRATS CHOOSE HER FOR TO THEIR STATE OF THE UNION RESPONSE? “[She] came in with a mandate and genuine goodwill, and within months, the GOP succeeded in branding her a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” he said. “Instead of confronting it, the governor defaulted to the old 1990s ‘don’t give it oxygen’ playbook prescribed for Biden throughout his four years: duck and cover.” Biden remained out of public view during some controversial points in his tenure, leading pundits to claim he was hiding or stowed away in a “bunker.” LaRosa added on X that ignoring “attacks, smears and misinformation” doesn’t make them disappear but instead creates a vacuum for Spanberger and allows her opponents to define her. “What started as silly right-wing noise is now a mainstream narrative, and it’s reflected in her first report card. She needs to channel the badass, confrontational Abby Spanberger from that Nov[ember] 2020 caucus call — spicy, direct and pragmatic.” ‘GIVE ME LIBERTY’ FOUNDING FATHER’S DESCENDANT BLASTS SPANBERGER’S REDISTRICTING PUSH He suggested she hold regular pressers, get combative with reporters and accept interviews with mainstream media. “She has to show and tell and climb out of the Biden bunker,” LaRosa said, before borrowing a line President Donald Trump used toward African American voters unsure of whether to break with Hillary Clinton and Democratic Party orthodoxy in 2016: “What the hell does she have to lose?” Spanberger’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and neither did representatives for Biden. After she declined Allen’s invitation to an in-person debate on the merits of the redistricting effort — what some call gerrymandering — being put in front of voters, the Republican said Monday he would re-up his offer with even more favorable terms for Spanberger. “All of this is a bit confusing; it’s unusual, and it helps the people to hear both sides of it,” Allen said of the redistricting referendum while speaking with Rich Herrera on Richmond’s WRVA radio. NEW DEM STAR’S QUICK HARD-LEFT TURN AFTER ‘MODERATE’ CAMPAIGN WON HER COVETED RESPONSE TO TRUMP: LAWMAKER Allen, son of Washington Redskins icon George H. Allen, said Spanberger declined his invitation, citing her busy schedule and a pile of bills to review. He told Herrera that he responded in a letter telling her he fully understands that experience and instead would like to debate virtually, but televised, for one hour, at a time and date and with a moderator of her choosing before the April 21 election. The last time Democrats held this much power in Virginia, the “Byrd Organization,” led by segregationist former Gov. Harry F. Byrd, maintained it for decades. The Post’s poll shows Spanberger similarly swept Republicans out of Richmond but has already lost much of her political capital just four months in. Forty-six percent of Virginians disapproved of her job performance, while 47% approved, only four months into her term. In contrast, predecessor Gov. Glenn Youngkin saw a 54-39 job approval at this point in his term, with the highest favorability going to Democrat Mark Warner – now Virginia’s senior senator — with a 78-20 rating. Fox News Digital reached out to Spanberger for comment.
Judge Boasberg weighs curbing Trump FTC demand for trans minors’ data after heated court clash
Lawyers for a coalition of medical groups on Tuesday urged a federal judge to block the Trump administration’s effort to access data on transgender procedures for minors, arguing the FTC demand is unconstitutional and retaliatory. The case marks a high-stakes legal clash over the Trump administration’s investigation into transgender treatments for minors, with the FTC arguing it is policing potential consumer harm while medical groups say the probe is politically motivated and unconstitutional. At issue in the lawsuits, filed by the Endocrine Society and the American Academy of Pediatrics, is the FTC’s demand for information from the groups regarding “pediatric gender dysphoria treatment[s]” they provided, according to the FTC, and whether the organizations engaged in false advertising or unfair practices as part of the process. FLORIDA EXECS SENTENCED IN $233M OBAMACARE FRAUD THAT TARGETED HOMELESS, HURRICANE VICTIMS The FTC in January launched an investigation into the medical groups, and issued the Civil Investigative Demand, or CID, that prompted the lawsuit. During back-to-back hearings Tuesday, lawyers for the medical groups urged U.S. District Judge James Boasberg to issue a preliminary injunction blocking the FTC’s wide-ranging demand for information. Plaintiffs argued the effort by the FTC was not a legitimate consumer protection effort, but rather a political effort to crack down on transgender procedures for minors and retaliate against the organizations for providing them. “Unable to prevail in the marketplace of ideas, the FTC has resorted to burdening AAP with an intrusive and expensive investigation that is unconstitutional and outside the scope of the FTC’s statutory authority,” lawyers for the pediatricians’ group told the court. Lawyers for the Trump administration sharply disputed that notion, however. They argued that the FTC has a mandate to ensure consumers are not misled — including in cases when medical procedures are provided to minors. Boasberg used the hearing to grapple with concerns about the scope of the FTC’s wide-ranging demand, broader constitutional concerns, as well as the administration’s assertion that the court lacked reviewability to consider the matter entirely. 100 DAYS OF INJUNCTIONS, TRIALS AND ‘TEFLON DON’: TRUMP SECOND TERM MEETS ITS BIGGEST TESTS IN COURT Justice Department lawyer John Bailey said any concerns about the scope or limitations of the FTC action should play out via the typical “agency administrative agency process” recognized by the Supreme Court. “So the answer is no, that I must quash it or let it proceed — that I have no power to narrow?” Boasberg asked, clarifying. “My answer, respectfully, would be that you have to let this proceed within the typical agency administrative process,” Bailey responded. Boasberg ultimately adjourned court without ruling from the bench, though he indicated he would move quickly on the matter. APPEALS COURT BLOCKS TRUMP ADMIN’S DEPORTATION FLIGHTS IN ALIEN ENEMIES ACT IMMIGRATION SUIT The hearings come as Trump takes steps to limit gender transition procedures for minors in his second term. Shortly after taking office, Trump signed an executive order, “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation,” which cut off federal support for transgender procedures for minors. Last year, the Health and Human Services Department proposed a new rule to strip federal Medicare and Medicaid funding for hospitals that provide “sex‑rejecting procedures” for children under the age of 18. Concerns over the regulations have prompted dozens of hospitals to shutter their transgender treatment programs in fear of losing federal funding.
5 US House races shift toward Democrats: Cook Political Report
As the GOP and Democratic Party vie for control of the House chamber during the 2026 midterm election cycle, The Cook Political Report has shifted five districts toward Democrats, and one toward Republicans. The analysis shifts two districts in Ohio in the Democrats’ favor. Ohio’s 1st Congressional District, represented by incumbent Democratic Rep. Greg Landsman, has been shifted from toss-up to lean Democrat, according to the report. The district was redrawn last year, “turning it into a district that would have voted for Donald Trump by 2.5 points in 2024,” according to the report. The Buckeye State’s 13th Congressional District, where incumbent Democratic Rep. Emilia Sykes is seeking re-election, has been switched from lean Democrat to likely Democrat, according to the election analysis. FOX NEWS POLL: SOUR VOTERS SAY WASHINGTON IS OUT OF TOUCH “In the redistricting deal negotiated by Ohio Republicans and Democrats last year, Democratic Rep. Emilia Sykes was a clear winner. Her current Akron-based district, which narrowly voted for Kamala Harris in 2024, was redrawn to shift three points to the left,” according to The Cook Political Report. New Jersey’s 9th Congressional District, represented by Democratic Rep. Nellie Pou, has been shifted from lean Democrat to likely Democrat, according to the report. Pou is a member of the left-wing Congressional Progressive Caucus. The Cook Political Report noted that 2025 Garden State gubernatorial candidate Mikie Sherrill, a Democrat who won the race, won the “district by nearly 20 points” last year after President Donald Trump “carried it by 1.5 points” in 2024. “Although Pou won’t be able to replicate Sherrill’s landslide victory, it’s hard not to see her as the obvious favorite after the district snapped back to Democrats in 2025 — and as an unsettled primary has kept Republicans from turning their full attention to the general election,” the report states. MIDTERM ALARM BELLS: DEMOCRATS FACE STEEP FAVORABILITY DEFICIT DESPITE ELECTION GAINS The Cook Political Report has shifted Florida’s 27th Congressional District from solid Republican to likely Republican. Trump has endorsed incumbent GOP Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, who represents that district in the Sunshine State, for re-election. The analysis shifted Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District, represented by GOP Rep. Rob Bresnahan, from lean Republican to toss up, saying that his “stock trades have dogged him all cycle, giving Democrats a potent line of attack in a district that has been trending Republicans’ way but is very much in play this cycle.” In a statement provided to Fox News Digital on Wednesday, Bresnahan campaign spokesman Chris Pack said, “We’re not focused on Washington, D.C. political race handicappers whose business model depends on creating the perception of a close race to drive paid subscriptions.” “The reality on the ground in Northeastern Pennsylvania tells a very different story,” Pack said. “Rob continues to rapidly consolidate labor union support and post strong fundraising numbers, while Mayor Cognetti is defined by an extreme record that includes supporting mass amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants, eliminating maternity leave for new mothers, and personally calling for disarming the police.” Trump has endorsed Bresnahan for re-election. TRUMP COMMANDEERS CABINET MEMBERS TO CAMPAIGN IN MIDTERMS, ORDERING THEM TO DROP OR MUTE CONTROVERSIAL STANCES The report highlighted one bright spot for the GOP: Colorado’s 3rd District has been shifted from likely Republican to solid Republican. Trump endorsed incumbent GOP Rep. Jeff Hurd, then withdrew the endorsement, then endorsed Hurd again. “We’re shifting this district from Likely Republican to Solid Republican for now, though if either Democratic candidate picks up momentum it could move back onto the board later this cycle,” The Cook Political Report analysis stated. Trump is facing underwater job approval polling, which could potentially serve as a drag for the Republican Party during the elections this year.
Trump, Rubio face NATO chief as US moves to ‘reexamine’ alliance after Iran clash
President Donald Trump will meet with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte Wednesday at the White House, just as transatlantic relations within the alliance have frayed during U.S. operations in Iran. Trump has repeatedly threatened to withdraw the U.S. from NATO and slammed European nations for blocking base access and providing limited help to the Iran offensive known as Operation Epic Fury. Despite a good relationship with the head of NATO, who once called him “daddy” of the alliance, Trump has said he views NATO as a “one-way street.” “You’ll have to start learning how to fight for yourself, the U.S.A. won’t be there to help you anymore, just like you weren’t there for us,” he said to the alliance in a Truth Social post March 31. TRUMP PRESSES NATO PARTNERS ON SUPPORT AS HEGSETH BLASTS HESITATION Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who also meets with Rutte on Wednesday, told Fox News recently: “After this conflict is concluded, we are going to have to reexamine that relationship. We’re going to have reexamined the value of NATO in that alliance for our country.” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez closed Spanish airspace to any aircraft — including U.S. bombers departing from the U.K. — involved in strikes against Iran and denied the U.S. use of its in-country bases, the Rota Naval Station and Morón Air Base for any combat, refueling or staging missions related to the Iran conflict. EX-NATO AMBASSADOR WARNS US AND ALLIES MUST ‘STOP THE SNIPING’ AND UNITE TO END IRAN CONFLICT President Emmanuel Macron blocked Israeli aircraft from using French airspace to transport U.S.-made munitions intended for the war in Iran, Fox News Digital previously reported. Meanwhile, Finnish President Alexander Stubb told Trump in a phone call a “more European NATO” is taking shape. European nations have felt the brunt of the closing of the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for its natural gas supply and expressed frustration that they were not consulted prior to the start of the Iranian conflict. “I am not the commentator on an operation that the Americans decided on with the Israelis alone. They can later regret not being supported in an operation they decided on by themselves. This is not our operation,” Macron told reporters April 2.
Hegseth declares ‘decisive military victory’ over Iran
War Secretary Pete Hegseth declared a “decisive military victory” in Iran on Wednesday after President Donald Trump agreed to a two-week truce. Hegseth made the comments during a press conference at the Pentagon, telling reporters that the War Department had succeeded in decimating Iran’s military capabilities. “This morning, a big day for world peace. Iran wants it to happen. They’ve had enough. Operation Epic Fury was a historic and overwhelming victory on the battlefield. A capital V,” Hegseth said. “In less than 40 days, one of our combatant commands…CENTCOM, using less than 10% of America’s total combat power, dismantled one of the world’s largest militaries,” he continued. “The world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism proved utterly incapable of defending itself, its people or its territory. IRAN’S TALLEST BRIDGE COLLAPSES AFTER REPORTED US AIRSTRIKES, IRAN THREATENS AMERICAN ALLIES IN RETALIATION “We utilized just a fraction of our strength, and Iran suffered a devastating military defeat. Together with our Israeli partners. America’s military achieved every single objective on plan, on schedule, exactly as laid out from day one,” he said. Hegseth went on to say that Iran had been “obsessed” with attacks on the USS Abraham Lincoln, firing hundreds of missiles and drones as the vessel. “Every single one of those shots easily shot down, miles and miles away from the Abe Lincoln. They were blowing ammo into Fantasy land,” Hegseth said. Trump agreed to a two-week truce with Iran on Tuesday night, saying Iran had agreed to open the Strait of Hormuz while wider negotiations continue. U.S. troops will remain in the region to enforce the ceasefire as talks are ongoing. TRUMP REVEALS IRAN MADE ‘SIGNIFICANT PROPOSAL’ AFTER ULTIMATUM, BUT ‘NOT GOOD ENOUGH’ In a Truth Social post early Wednesday, Trump suggested Iran was ready to reach a peace agreement and said the U.S. would help manage traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. “A big day for World Peace! Iran wants it to happen, they’ve had enough! Likewise, so has everyone else! The United States of America will be helping with the traffic buildup in the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump wrote. “There will be lots of positive action! Big money will be made. Iran can start the reconstruction process.” Trump said the U.S. will be “loading up with supplies of all kinds, and just ‘hangin’ around’ in order to make sure that everything goes well.” He added, “I feel confident that it will.” “Just like we are experiencing in the U.S., this could be the Golden Age of the Middle East!!!” Trump added. Trump later referenced a 15-point peace agreement the U.S. is negotiating for. Iran has previously proposed a 10-point plan. Fox News’ Michael Sinkewicz contributed to this report.
Iraqis celebrates US-Iran ceasefire as two-week halt in war begins
NewsFeed Celebrations have erupted in Iraq’s capital, Baghdad, following the announcement of a two-week ceasefire between Iran and the United States. Iraq had been pulled into the war with pro-Iran armed groups and US forces carrying out attacks on each other. Published On 8 Apr 20268 Apr 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)
Is Arteta’s intensity Arsenal’s Premier and Champions League hope, or fear?
Arsenal’s quadruple hunt was halved in the space of a week, and their UEFA Champions League hopes were given a stern test by a Sporting Lisbon side that only just squeezed past Bodo/Glimt to reach the competition’s quarterfinals. Sporting, who had to come from 3-0 down following the first leg against Norway’s Bodo, are seven points off leaders Porto in the Portuguese top flight, but were more than a match for the English Premier League leaders in Lisbon on Tuesday, with only a late Kai Havertz strike separating the sides. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list The 1-0 win favours Mikel Arteta’s side ahead of the second leg in London next week, but it was another game that left the Gunners with as many questions as answers. Back-to-back defeats leading into the game – in the League Cup final against Manchester City and the FA Cup quarterfinals against second-tier Southampton – have left Arteta’s team in danger of a late-season slump. Having finished third in the Premier League for the last three seasons, their chances of dropping the “nearly men” tag look good this year. They hold a nine-point lead at the top of the English table, with seven games to play, although Pep Guardiola’s City in second do have a game in hand. Even substitute Havertz’s injury-time winner in Lisbon, however, could not paper over the cracks of another troubled performance for the Gunners, and against a side that have never made it beyond the quarterfinals of the competition. Sporting had 10 shots on goal compared with Arsenal’s seven, while five were on target compared with the Gunners’ four. Advertisement Arteta said going into the match in Lisbon that the questions about his team are to be expected, despite their Premier League lead and having won all but one of its games in the Champions League this season. “It’s been like this for the last nine months, and that’s going to continue; that’s never going to change when you play at this level for this club,” he said ahead of the match at Estadio Jose Alvalade. “There’s always going to be a question mark, and that’s it. You have to live the present; you have to deliver it every day.” Arteta’s intensity in full focus as Arsenal wobble again The question mark is not only over his side, though. The Spaniard struggles to hide his emotions, particularly in defeat, and Al Jazeera understands that this is an area of concern for certain members of Arsenal’s hierarchy, who believe the former midfielder’s intensity at crucial moments could be holding his side back. The slump, marked by the first time they have been beaten in successive games in this campaign, has plunged the club’s long-suffering fans into a bout of soul-searching. The north Londoners have not won a trophy since the 2020 FA Cup, and their “nearly men” tag has raised doubts about their ability to finally land silverware. Arteta, however, is convinced they can handle the mounting pressure of bidding to win the Champions League for the first time, while aiming to finally lift the Premier League trophy after a 22-year wait. “In the season, you always have moments, normally two or three. This is the first moment that we have with a certain level of difficulty,” Arteta said in the build-up to the match in Lisbon. “I love my players; what they have done for nine months. I’m not going to criticise them because we lost a game in the manner that they are putting their bodies through everything. “I’m going to defend them more than ever. Someone has to take responsibility. That’s me, and we have the most beautiful period of the season ahead of us,” Arteta added. Arsenal’s pain could provide Champions League gain Arsenal routed Sporting 5-1 in Lisbon in the league phase of the Champions League, a far cry from the continued nervy display by the Gunners on Tuesday. The soundbites from Christian Norgaard, which struck an upbeat note in the face of adversity heading into the Sporting match, would have been something that those doubting Arteta’s temperament were relieved to hear in the halls of power at Emirates Stadium. “The message is to have a positive body language, to talk with your teammates, with the coaching staff. Now is not the time to go with our heads down for too long,” the Arsenal midfielder said on Monday. Advertisement “It’s fine to be frustrated and also to analyse what went wrong, but then we also have to look forward, because there are so many big games coming up for this club.” Arteta did talk about his side turning the pain of the last two results into gain, drumming into his players to embrace the defeats, while fighting off outside noise about yet another late-season swoon. “What you have to be is clear,” he said on Monday. “Instead of panic, understand if that happens, why it happened, and bring clarity. And when you analyse that and you accept that, you will be better. That’s it, and that’s the thing that we have to do. “Have some perspective on how difficult it is. Feel that pain, feel that emotion, and use it to be better and to improve. There are a few things that we have discussed internally, and I’m very convinced that we’re going to see that.” The players were filmed partaking in team-building exercises in training on Monday, alongside their usual footballing drills ahead of the match in an attempt to shake off the blip. “We have full belief,” Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya told Prime after the game, in which his ability was hailed as the key performance on the night. “We absolutely believe [we can win the Champions League]. If you don’t believe, you are never going to win it, no matter what you go through. “We need to go back to what we are, be ourselves, learn from losing two competitions straight away, and learn from the pain in the belly.
Netanyahu says US-Iran ceasefire ‘does not include Lebanon’
DEVELOPING STORYDEVELOPING STORY, Israeli prime minister’s office welcomes US decision to suspend attacks on Iran, but says the two-week truce does not apply to Lebanon. Published On 8 Apr 20268 Apr 2026 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has announced that Israel backs the United States’s decision to suspend strikes against Iran for two weeks, but said the truce “does not include Lebanon”. In a statement on X on Wednesday, Netanyahu said Israel supported US President Donald Trump’s efforts to ensure “Iran no longer poses a nuclear, missile and terror threat to America, Israel, Iran’s Arab neighbors and the world”. He said the US has told Israel that it is committed to achieving these goals in the upcoming negotiations in Pakistan’s Islamabad on Friday. But the two-week ceasefire “does not include Lebanon”, he added. Netanyahu’s statement comes after Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced that the US, Iran and their allies “have agreed to an immediate ceasefire everywhere including Lebanon and elsewhere”. Sharif said the move was “effective immediately”. Lebanon was drawn into the war on March 2 after Iran-aligned Hezbollah launched attacks on Israel. Hezbollah said the attacks were in retaliation for Israel’s killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on February 28 as well as its near-daily violations of a ceasefire it agreed in Lebanon in November of 2024. Israeli attacks on Lebanon have since killed more than 1,500 people and displaced more than 1 million people. The Israeli military has also launched an invasion of southern Lebanon and said it aims to seize more territory for what it calls a buffer zone. There’s been no immediate comment from Hezbollah or Lebanon. Adblock test (Why?)