Scaler School of Technology and eGov Foundation collaborate to build the Next-Gen GovTech leaders
Both are joining hands in launching a specialized GovTech credit course focused on Digital Infrastructure for Governance and Inclusive Transformation (DIGIT).
Trump says US should spend ‘less time worrying about Putin,’ calls his former advisor an ‘ineffective loser’
U.S. President Donald Trump criticized his former national security advisor on Sunday and said the U.S. government should spend less time worrying about Russian President Vladimir Putin amid Moscow’s ongoing war against Ukraine. Trump made the comments Sunday night in a pair of posts on his social media platform Truth Social after Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, who served as Trump’s national security adviser during his first administration, criticized the president for “coddling Putin” while putting increased pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “H.R. MCMASTER IS A WEAK AND TOTALLY INEFFECTIVE LOSER!” Trump wrote. ZELENSKYY SAYS IRE WITH TRUMP BEGAN WITH PRO-TRUMP RHETORIC “We should spend less time worrying about Putin, and more time worrying about migrant rape gangs, drug lords, murderers, and people from mental institutions entering our Country – So that we don’t end up like Europe!” he said in a follow-up post. McMaster had criticized Trump and Vice President JD Vance after their meeting with Zelenskyy in the Oval Office. During the negotiations, Trump and Vance heavily criticized the Ukrainian president in a tense exchange between the two countries’ leaders before the U.S. president cut the meeting short and sent Zelenskyy on his way. RUSSIA REVELS IN OVAL OFFICE SPECTACLE AFTER ZELENSKYY SPARS WITH TRUMP, VANCE “It is impossible to understand why President Trump and Vice President Vance seem determined to put more pressure on President Zelensky while they seem to be coddling Putin – the person who inflicted this terrible war in Ukraine,” McMaster said Friday on X. The blowup in the Oval Office was sparked by Zelenskyy’s request for security guarantees as the war continues after Russia invaded Ukraine more than three years ago. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Russian leaders and Russian state media appeared joyous after the testy exchange. But several leaders from Europe and elsewhere came to Zelenskyy’s defense after the exchange, and the Ukrainian president thanked each of them for their support on social media.
Israeli-Palestinian film No Other Land wins Oscar for best documentary
The collaboration between Israeli and Palestinian filmmakers triumphed over Porcelain War, Sugarcane, Black Box Diaries and Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat. No Other Land, a film about Palestinians fighting to protect their homes from demolition by Israel’s military, has won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. The collaboration between Israeli and Palestinian filmmakers triumphed on Sunday over Porcelain War, Sugarcane, Black Box Diaries and Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat. The film, produced between 2019 and 2023, follows activist Basel Adra as he risks arrest to document the destruction of his hometown, Masafer Yatta, which Israeli soldiers are tearing down to use as a military training zone, at the southern edge of the West Bank. Adra’s pleas fall on deaf ears until he befriends a Jewish-Israeli journalist, Yuval Abraham, who helps him amplify his story. Accepting the award, Adra said No Other Land reflects the harsh reality Palestinians have been enduring for decades. “About two months ago, I became a father, and my hope to my daughter that she will not have to live the same life I’m living now, always fearing settlers, violence, home demolitions and forcible displacements that my community is living and tasting every day under Israeli occupation,” said Adra. Advertisement He also called on the world to “take serious actions to stop the injustice and to stop the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people”. #Oscars2025 🇵🇸 @basel_adra: “We call on the world to take serious actions to stop the injustice and to stop the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people.” #NoOtherLand pic.twitter.com/2yVfryoAWC — State of Palestine (@Palestine_UN) March 3, 2025 ‘Together, our voices are stronger’ Abraham said they made the film because together, their voices were stronger. “We see each other: The atrocious destruction of Gaza and its people which must end. Israeli hostages, brutally taken in the crime of October 7th, which must be freed,” he said. Abraham criticised the Israeli regime that destroys Adra’s life, and said there is a different path, a “political solution without ethnic supremacy, with national rights for both of our people”. But the United States’ foreign policy is helping block that path, he said. “Can’t you see that we’re intertwined – that my people can be truly safe if Basel’s people are truly free and safe? There is another way. It’s not too late for life for the living. There is no other way,” he added. The film has struggled to find a distributor in the US, so its makers arranged for it to have a one-week run at the Lincoln Center in November in order to qualify for tonight’s Oscars. The Oscar on Sunday is the latest high-profile honour that No Other Land has gained. It also won the audience award and documentary film award at the Berlin International Film Festival in February 2024, as well as the New York Film Critics Circle award for Best Non-Fiction Film. Advertisement The film is heavily reliant on camcorder footage from Adra’s personal archive. He captures Israeli soldiers bulldozing the village school and filling water wells with cement to prevent people from rebuilding. It shows residents banding together after Adra films an Israeli soldier shooting a local man who is protesting the demolition of his home. The man becomes paralysed, and his mother struggles to take care of him while living in a cave. .@yuval_abraham: When I look at @basel_adra I see my brother, but we are unequal. We live in a regime where I am free under civilian law and Basel is under military laws that destroy his life and he cannot control, there is a different path…the foreign policy in 🇺🇸 is helping… pic.twitter.com/iWSLN5bs27 — Assal Rad (@AssalRad) March 3, 2025 More than 500,000 settlers live in the occupied West Bank, which is home to about three million Palestinians. The settlers have Israeli citizenship while Palestinians live under military rule with the Palestinian Authority administering population centres. Major human rights groups have described the situation as apartheid, an allegation rejected by the Israeli government, which views the West Bank as the historical and biblical heartland of the Jewish people and is opposed to Palestinian statehood. Adblock test (Why?)
RFK Jr, noted vaccine sceptic, backs measles jab amid deadly US outbreak
US health secretary says he is ‘deeply concerned’ about outbreak in Texas. Robert F Kennedy Jr, the top health official in the United States who is known for his scepticism of vaccines, has backed the measles jab amid a deadly outbreak of the infectious disease in Texas. In an opinion piece published by Fox News on Sunday, Kennedy said he was “deeply concerned” about the spread of the disease despite earlier suggesting that it was “not unusual”. “Vaccines not only protect individual children from measles, but also contribute to community immunity, protecting those who are unable to be vaccinated due to medical reasons,” Kennedy wrote, though he said the decision to vaccinate is “a personal one”. The US secretary of health and human services said that before the introduction of the MMR vaccine, “virtually every child” in the US contracted measles. “For example, in the United States, from 1953 to 1962, on average there were 530,217 confirmed cases and 440 deaths, a case fatality rate of 1 in 1,205 cases,” he wrote. US authorities last month reported the first measles death in the country in a decade after an unvaccinated school-aged child was hospitalised with the disease in northwest Texas. Advertisement As of Friday, 146 cases had been identified in the state since late January, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. Health officials have said the cases have been concentrated in a community of Mennonites, a Christian sect that arose out of the radical factions of the 16th-century Reformation. Kennedy, who has promoted scientifically discredited research linking vaccines to autism, attracted criticism last month when he appeared to downplay the outbreak by pointing out there had been several outbreaks already this year. Measles can be highly dangerous for people who are not vaccinated, including young infants who are not typically eligible for immunisation. About one in five unvaccinated individuals in the US who gets measles is hospitalised, while about one out of every 20 children with the disease gets pneumonia, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Adblock test (Why?)
In post-war Lebanon, Hezbollah grapples with new relationship to the state
Beirut, Lebanon – Hezbollah rallied thousands of its supporters for the funeral of its longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli air strike in September. The funeral on February 23 was an opportunity for the Lebanese group to send a message: Despite the losses it has experienced in the past several months, it is still strong and should not be underestimated. But analysts told Al Jazeera the show of strength does not make up for the impact of Israel’s war against Hezbollah, which saw much of the group’s top leadership killed and a significant portion of its military arsenal reportedly destroyed. When a ceasefire was finally announced on November 27, Hezbollah was left battered and exhausted. Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem has ‘lent a hand’ to the new government, one analyst close to the group says [Manar TV via Reuters] The ceasefire stated that Hezbollah would retreat north of the Litani River and away from Lebanon’s border with Israel while Israeli forces would leave southern Lebanon and a newly empowered Lebanese military would control the south. Advertisement Days later, Hezbollah lost one of its most crucial allies, the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad, which fell in a lightning opposition offensive. It now finds itself at a crossroads. Hezbollah weakened “Hezbollah is in a difficult position,” Imad Salamey, a senior Middle East policy adviser and associate professor of political science and international affairs at Lebanese American University, told Al Jazeera, adding that the group is “facing its weakest moment in decades”. Before September, Hezbollah was the most influential political actor in Lebanon and reportedly one of the world’s most heavily armed nonstate actors. It was formed to repel an Israeli invasion in the 1980s, held out against a major confrontation with Israel in 2006 and built its arsenal and manpower up since then. It has often been described as a “state within a state” and also provides key services to its predominantly Shia Muslim supporters – a community historically overlooked and underserved by the Lebanese state. A day after Hamas’s attacks on southern Israel and Israel’s launch of a genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023, Hezbollah entered the fray, engaging Israel along the border to pressure it to stop attacking Gaza. Its intervention was much anticipated, given that Hezbollah’s position has long been in support of Palestine and against Israel. In January, Joseph Aoun, right, was elected president, and Nawaf Salam, left, was chosen to be prime minister of Lebanon [Handout/Lebanese Presidency Press Office via Reuters] The conflict escalated in September when Hezbollah pagers and walkie-talkies exploded in attacks blamed on Israel. Israel also launched a day of air strikes across Lebanon on September 23 that killed at least 558 people, mostly civilians. The air attacks continued, and four days later, Nasrallah was killed. Many of Hezbollah’s military and religious leaders have also been killed since, including Nasrallah’s successor Hashem Safieddine in early October. Advertisement Israel destroyed infrastructure and homes across Lebanon, targeting parts of the country where Shia Muslims – Hezbollah’s support base – live, such as southern and eastern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs. It invaded Lebanon in October, particularly devastating the south, where it wiped out entire villages. Hezbollah was left militarily weakened and unable to now fight back against Israel in the same way it used to. “[New Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim] Qassem has inherited a weaker Hezbollah from his predecessor Nasrallah, and it will be interesting to see if he’d be as smart of a navigator given that so much of Nasrallah’s success was based on the party’s ability to project power,” Elia Ayoub, a Lebanese researcher and author of the Hauntologies newsletter, told Al Jazeera. “Whether or not they decide to adopt a completely different methodology or not is what we’ll see in the coming months.” A new political system and leveraging anger The other sources of Hezbollah’s strength have been the support it receives from Iran, both material through Syria and financial, manifested in the social support systems it ran and in its political representation and influence. However, as international attention increased on Lebanon after the ceasefire, its parliament was encouraged to select a new president and prime minister in early January, ending two years of government paralysis. For the first time since 2008, Hezbollah and its sister Shia party, Amal, were not able to nominate every Shia granted a ministerial portfolio in the new cabinet. Advertisement “Hezbollah no longer has the financial means, open Iranian backing or clear military options to resist these changes,” Salamey said. To make the best of the situation, Hezbollah has tried to leverage what it can, Karim Safieddine, a Lebanese political writer and doctoral student in sociology at Pittsburgh University, told Al Jazeera. “Hezbollah’s goal today is multifold,” Safieddine said. “[They want to] develop the resentment of the Shia community in the pursuit of consolidating control over it, find a way to navigate the fact that it’s facing extreme financial challenges – using international support to the government is one way but also while locating credit – [and] continue to justify holding arms in the name of state weakness and continued Israeli violations.” Thousands of people attend the funerals for Nasrallah and Safieddine at the Sports City Stadium in Beirut [Hassan Ammar/AP] While many displaced Lebanese started to return to the south after the ceasefire, Israel used the cessation of Hezbollah attacks to continue occupying many villages and enter others for the first time. The Lebanese government accused Israel of violating the terms of the ceasefire by not withdrawing from southern Lebanon and not stopping its attacks on people and villages. On February 18, Israel announced it would continue occupying at least five key points in Lebanon, but now, the Lebanese army is responsible for security in the south, not Hezbollah – and some have criticised the army for failing to liberate the land and properly protect the people of the south. Advertisement Cash-strapped Hezbollah has promised to pay for reconstruction and has already begun
Hegseth directs DOD civilian workforce to comply with Musk’s DOGE productivity email
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth directed the Department of Defense (DOD)’s civilian workforce to comply with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) productivity email, listing five things they accomplished after initially telling them not to reply. On Sunday, Hegseth released a video message explaining the shift. “Our civilian patriots who dedicate themselves to defending this nation working for the Department of Defense are critical to our national security,” Hegseth said. “As we work to restore focus on DOD’s core warfighting mission under President Trump’s leadership, we recognize that we cannot accomplish that mission without the strong and important contributions of our civilian workforce.” Musk, who’s heading up DOGE, shared Hegseth’s video on X, writing, “Much appreciated @SecDef Hegseth!” He also included a saluting emoji and an American flag emoji. DOD TELLS CIVILIAN WORKFORCE TO IGNORE ELON MUSK’S REQUEST TO REPORT PRODUCTIVITY Hegseth signed a memorandum on Friday to all DOD civilian employees, ahead of an anticipated email expected to be sent from the DOD on Monday requesting the five bullet points of accomplishments. OPM’S SECOND EMAIL TO FEDERAL EMPLOYEES ASKS WHAT THEY DID LAST WEEK—AND ADDS A NEW REQUIREMENT: REPORT Hegseth told employees to reply to the email within 48 hours and include their accomplishments and add their supervisors as recipients. He said in the video that the responses would be collected within the department to satisfy the requirement sent out by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). OPM sent an email last weekend, seeking the same five bullets, though the DOD’s Office of Personnel and Readiness told its civilian workforce to ignore the request. ELON MUSK SAYS ‘BAR IS VERY LOW’ AFTER ORDERING FEDERAL EMPLOYEES TO FILL OUT PRODUCTIVITY REPORTS OR RESIGN The DOD is taking a different approach to the request this week after working with OPM to get better guidance on what is expected. “The Department of Defense initially paused this directive … but now requires all DOD civilian employees to submit five bullets on their previous week’s achievements,” Hegseth said in his memorandum. He told employees Monday’s email is something DOD employees should respond to, though responses should not include sensitive or classified information. Hegseth also said non-compliance may lead to further review.
Boston’s Mayor Wu offers condolences to family of suspect shot after allegedly trying to stab people
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu raised eyebrows over the weekend after she expressed condolences to the family of a knife-wielding suspect who was shot and killed by an off-duty officer after he allegedly tried to stab two people on Saturday night. The suspect, whose identity was not released by police, brandished a knife near a Chick-fil-A on Boylston Street, a busy part of the Massachusetts capital. He was fatally shot by an off-duty police officer who saw him targeting the two victims, police said. During a Saturday night press conference, Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox said that the officer identified himself to the suspect and asked him to drop his weapon. “The individual was trying to stab the two individuals in the store, and the off-duty officer identified himself as a police officer, instructing them to drop the weapon, at which point the individual did not comply,” Cox explained. “The officer discharged his weapon to stop the threat, and the individual was struck. The armed individual was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.” BOSTON COUNCILWOMAN SOUNDS OFF AFTER TOM HOMAN’S CPAC PROMISE TO ‘BRING HELL’: ‘WE DON’T SCARE EASY’ Cox added that he was “proud of police officers who activate themselves, whether it’s on duty or off duty, to try to save lives.” After Cox and Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden both expressed some sadness over the loss of life during the incident, Wu notably did not express sympathy for the two people who were nearly stabbed by the suspect, just those “impacted” by the incident, which happened in “one of the busier parts” of Beantown. “My condolences, and all of our thoughts, are with the family of the individual whose life has been lost,” Wu said. “And I’m also thinking of all the people who were impacted here today in one of the busier parts of the city with this tragedy.” “I’m glad that the officer is safe and very grateful for a quick response from all of our first responders here again,” she said. Wu’s remarks were called out by critics across the country on social media shortly after she spoke. Journalist Jonathan Choe wrote that “[i]t’s all upside down in Boston.” BOSTON COUNCILWOMAN BACKS OFF AFTER RIDICULING TOM HOMAN’S EMPLOYMENT HISTORY IN FIERY POST: ‘I UNDERSTAND’ “When is the last time you heard of a mayor apologizing to the family of a knife wielding attacker who allegedly tried to kill multiple people?” Choe questioned. “What about the people who were nearly killed?” “Boston, I’m going to say this as simply as I can: You desperately need a new mayor. Trust me,” conservative commentator Charlie Kirk said in a different X post. Fox News contributor Joe Concha, a former Boston resident, also weighed in on the incident. “How exactly did Boston vote for this again?” Concha wrote. “I lived in the Back Bay area. It was one of the safest parts of the city. And she’s offering condolences????” “Condolences from the mayor of Boston – wait for it – to a knife-wielding man trying to kill people!” Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., said. “Thankfully this guy was stopped in his tracks by a brave law enforcement officer.” The incident came as Boston officials, including Wu and Cox, have attracted criticism from conservatives for implementing sanctuary city policies. Catherine Vitale, a former city council candidate, told “Fox and Friends” last week that she believes Wu “doesn’t care” about crime in Boston. “There’s tons of crime almost every single day. There’s a shooting. We don’t always hear about them, but we hear them because we’re there. I don’t think that most of the crime actually even gets reported on. People don’t get arrested. Charges don’t get pressed on people who are looting stores,” Vitale said. Wu is expected in Washington, D.C., this week as one of four Democratic mayors slated to testify before Congress on sanctuary policies. Fox News Digital reached out to Wu for additional comment but did not immediately hear back. Fox News Digital’s Taylor Penley contributed to this report.
Trump set to continue unprecedented level of actions, address Congress in 7th week back in office
President Donald Trump’s seventh week in office will spotlight his first joint session of Congress address since his return to the Oval Office in January. Trump is scheduled to speak before all members of Congress on Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET. The speech is not officially called the State of the Union, as Trump has not been in office for a full year, though it operates in a similar fashion. The yearly presidential address is intended to showcase the administration’s achievements and policies. Trump and his administration have been working at a breakneck pace to realign the federal government with the president’s Make America Great Again policies, including Department of Government Efficiency chair Elon Musk and his team poring through federal agencies in the search for overspending, fraud and mismanagement, and prioritizing border security. The 47th president has signed at least 76 executive orders since his inauguration in January, in addition to dozens of other executive actions and proclamations. HERE’S WHAT HAPPENED DURING PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP’S 6TH WEEK IN OFFICE The address comes after Trump and Vice President JD Vance had a fiery meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday, which was cut short when Trump asked the Ukraine leader to leave. The White House meeting grew tense in approximately its final 10 minutes after Vance said that peace would be reached between Russia and Ukraine through U.S. diplomacy efforts. “You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people,” Trump added at one point during the meeting. “You’re gambling with World War III. You’re gambling with World War III. And what you’re doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country.” TRUMP SAYS ZELENSKYY CAN ‘COME BACK WHEN HE IS READY FOR PEACE’ AFTER FIERY WHITE HOUSE EXCHANGE Vance interjected, asking Zelenskyy whether he had “said thank you once this entire meeting.” He also added that Zelenskyy “went to Pennsylvania and campaigned for the opposition in October” and that he should “offer some words of appreciation for the United States of America and the president who’s trying to save your country.” Trump said on social media after the meeting that Zelenskyy could return to the White House “when he is ready for peace.” Zelenskyy traveled to the U.K. over the weekend, joining European leaders to hash out a potential peace deal. WORLD LEADERS BACK ZELENSKYY FOLLOWING TRUMP, VANCE OVAL OFFICE SPAT U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer told local media that he had spoken with Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron regarding the U.K. and France taking the reins on crafting a plan for peace that will be presented to the U.S. “Let me be clear, we agree with Trump on the urgent need for a durable peace. Now we need to deliver together,” Starmer said at a press conference on Sunday. He added that the U.K. is willing to put “boots on the ground” in its support of Ukraine. “The U.K. is prepared to back this with boots on the ground and planes in the air. Together with others, Europe must do the heavy lifting. But to support peace in our continent and to succeed, this effort must have strong U.S. backing,” he added. TOP CANADIAN OFFICIAL SLAMS TRUMP FOR TARIFF PLAN AS TRUDEAU LEAVES OFFICE: ‘YOU LOSE PROSPERITY’ In addition to his address to Congress and the ongoing efforts related to the war in Ukraine this week, Trump is also expected to hit Canada and Mexico with tariffs on Tuesday. Trump signed an executive order last month authorizing tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China through the new International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The tariffs included 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico and a 10% tariff on imports from China. EUROPEAN LEADERS FLAMED FOR ‘CREEPY’ PRO-ZELENSKYY POSTS THAT READ EXACTLY THE SAME Both Canada and Mexico agreed to concessions with Trump the day before the tariffs were set to take effect, pledging to send additional security personnel to their respective borders with the U.S. Trump agreed to pause the tariffs on the two nations for one month in light of the border security concessions. The month’s pause ends this week, with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick saying on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” that tariffs will go into effect on Tuesday, but he did not elaborate on what the tariffs will entail. “That is a fluid situation,” Lutnick said. “There are going to be tariffs on Tuesday on Mexico and Canada. Exactly what they are, we’re going to leave that for the president and his team to negotiate,” he added.
European leaders on edge as prospect looms of Trump pulling 20K troops from continent
European leaders are grappling with how to handle icier relations with the U.S. since President Donald Trump regained control of the White House this year. “The Europeans have a serious problem of readiness … that they’re trying to fix, but it takes time,” Camille Grand, a former NATO official who is now with the European Council on Foreign Relations, said in a Washington Post report Sunday. “If Trump decides ‘I’m going to pull out U.S. troops from Germany because I’m upset with the trade imbalance,’ that’s much more complicated to manage than to say we have a plan to do this within X years.” The comments come as European leaders have become increasingly anxious about the future of the security of the continent in the second era of Trump, with the Washington Post reporting that leaders are wary that the American president is too friendly with Moscow and that they widely expect him to pull back roughly 20,000 U.S. troops that were deployed to the continent by former President Joe Biden in the aftermath of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. “I would not be surprised if at some point [those troops] go back to their home base in America,” a NATO diplomat told the outlet while noting that those troops were sent to Europe at the height of an emergency and that their exit “would be, so to speak, a return to normalcy.” WORLD LEADERS BACK ZELENSKYY FOLLOWING TRUMP, VANCE OVAL OFFICE SPAT The current number of U.S. troops in Europe has fluctuated between 75,000 and 105,000 since 2022, according to data from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), with the higher end of that number being a result of the surge of forces into the region ordered by Biden. But fears persist that those numbers could fall even more rapidly than expected under Trump, despite assurances from Trump administration officials that there are no imminent plans for a large reduction of forces on the continent. Those fears have been buoyed by recent events, including Vice President JD Vance’s remarks at a security conference in Munich in which the American leader scolded European leaders for their alleged break from shared values such as freedom of speech and Trump’s widening rift with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. However, American presidents from both parties have been warning European leaders for more than a decade of the potential shift of troops away from the continent as the U.S. seeks to focus more effort on confronting the emerging threat of China in the Indo-Pacific, leaving Europe in charge of a greater share of its own security. JD VANCE STEPS INTO SPOTLIGHT DEFENDING TRUMP’S FOREIGN POLICY IN OVAL OFFICE DUSTUP WITH ZELENSKYY Indeed, the U.S. military footprint in Europe has already fallen drastically since the end of the Cold War, the CSIS data shows. At the height of hostilities between the U.S. and the Soviet Union in the 1950s and 1960s, the U.S. had nearly 500,000 troops deployed to the continent. There were still roughly 350,000 U.S. troops in Europe at the start of the 1990s and the end of the Cold War, a number that fell further to more than 100,000 at the turn of the century. Despite the consistent warnings, European leaders now fear that the timeline to move troops from the continent could accelerate further under Trump, leaving holes in European security countries they are not yet able to fill. “I just worry that, given, frankly, President Trump’s mercurial nature … how much confidence really can Europe have in any degree of American protection and defense,” Nigel Gould-Davies, a former British diplomat and senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, told the Washington Post.
Founder of Catholic ministry Word on Fire to attend Trump address to Congress
EXCLUSIVE: A well-known Catholic bishop will be in the audience for President Donald Trump’s joint address to Congress, Fox News Digital has learned. Bishop Robert Barron, founder of Catholic media organization Word On Fire, is coming to the Tuesday night speech as a guest of first-term Rep. Riley Moore, R-W.Va. Moore also invited Barron to participate in a Catholic Mass with lawmakers before the address. DEM GOVERNOR THREATENS TO USE ‘EVERY TOOL’ TO FIGHT BACK AGAINST TRUMP-ERA DEPORTATIONS “Through Word on Fire, Bishop Barron has helped countless souls discover, strengthen, or return to the Catholic Church by proclaiming the Gospel ‘through the culture.’ His use of contemporary media to reach people is innovative and highly effective,” Moore said in a statement first shared with Fox News Digital. “I am honored to host him as my guest for President Trump’s joint address to Congress, and am equally thrilled to have him celebrate the Mass for my colleagues and me prior to the speech.” Barron called himself a “student of history” in his own statement shared with Fox News Digital accepting the invitation. JD VANCE STEPS INTO SPOTLIGHT DEFENDING TRUMP’S FOREIGN POLICY IN OVAL OFFICE DUSTUP WITH ZELENSKYY “I want to express my sincere gratitude to Representative Riley Moore for his kind invitation to celebrate Mass for Catholic members of Congress and to attend, as his guest, the State of the Union Address,” Barron said. Barron is bishop of the Diocese of Winona–Rochester in Minnesota. His name has traveled further, however, as a leader in bringing Catholic teachings to more people using digital media. Trump is making his first speech to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night since returning to the White House for his second term. Senior Trump adviser Jason Miller previewed the speech during “Fox & Friends Weekend” on Sunday morning. Miller said Trump will discuss getting his 2017 tax cuts extended, “Making sure we get to Mars,” our artificial intelligence competition against China, and reversing the high cost of living seen under the previous Democratic administration. “We need more money for the border to keep it secure,” Miller continued, adding Trump would also discuss “making sure we keep peace and stability around the world, but we have to do it with respect and strength.”