FBI Director Wray warned of terror threat posed by open border days before 8 ISIS suspects arrested across US
FBI Director Christopher Wray sounded the alarm to Congress again about the terror threat posed by the open border, just days before eight people suspected of ISIS ties were arrested across the United States. Just a week ago, Wray appeared before the Senate Appropriations’ Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies to review President Biden’s fiscal year 2025 funding request for the FBI. Like he has done when appearing to Congress before, Wray again addressed concerns about border security, explaining in a line of questioning by Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Ks., the challenges U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) faces at the border in vetting the large influx of asylum seekers for potential threats – before law enforcement must release them into the U.S. “So certainly, we have seen over the last 5 to 6 years an increase in the number of known or suspected terrorists, in other words, watch-listed subjects attempting to cross the border. And that is of concern,” Wray said. “The bigger problem, in my view, is twofold. One, individuals who, when they come in, are either armed with fake documents or snuck in some way or – or, and this is very important, individuals for whom there’s not enough derogatory information in the intelligence community to watch list them yet.” “As we pull out of Afghanistan, for example,” Wray explained, “You get less and less information about whether somebody from Afghanistan is actually a threat. And so some of the cases that I have seen that concern me are situations where somebody comes into the United States – it’s not because there was a breakdown between CBP and the TSC [Homeland Security’s Threat Screening Center]. It’s because they weren’t watch-listed at the time. But in hindsight, they should have been watch-listed because information was later developed that says, this person is a problem.” AUTHORITIES NAB 8 SUSPECTED TERRORISTS WITH TIES TO ISIS IN MULTI-CITY STING OPERATION His testimony came just one week before it was revealed eight Tajikistan nationals with ties to ISIS were busted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in conjunction with the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force in three major cities. The arrests took place in New York City, Los Angeles and Philadelphia in recent days, a federal source confirmed to Fox News on Tuesday. All eight Tajikistanis crossed the southern border illegally and initially had no derogatory information that was flagged to CBP or the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) initially during processing, the source said. The source added that the eight individuals received “full vetting” before they were released into the U.S. It was afterward that new derogatory information flagged national security concerns – and ISIS ties. Last week, Wray told the Senate subcommittee that the 2024 fiscal budget dropped almost $500 million before what the FBI needs just to sustain the bureau’s efforts in 2023. TERROR FEARS MOUNT AFTER ARRESTS OF BORDER CROSSERS LINKED TO ISIS: ‘WE’RE HEADED FOR ANOTHER 9/11’ “And while I very much appreciate this subcommittee’s efforts to blunt any cuts, candidly, this could not come at a worse time,” Wray said. “When I sat here last year, I walked through how we were already in a heightened threat environment. And since then, we’ve seen the threat from foreign terrorists rise to a whole another level.” “As I sit here today, and while we have always found ways at the FBI to innovate and make the most with what we have, this is by no means a time to let up or dial back. This is a time when we need your support the most,” he continued. “There was already a heightened risk of violence in the United States before October 7th. And since then, we’ve seen a rogue’s gallery of foreign terrorist organizations call for attacks against American, U.S. and our allies. And given those calls for action, our most immediate concern has been that individuals or small groups will draw a twisted inspiration from the events in the Middle East to carry out attacks here at home. But now, on top of that, increasingly concerning is the potential for a coordinated attack here in the homeland, not unlike the ISIS K attack we saw at the Russian concert hall back in March.” On March 22, Moscow’s Crocus City concert hall was attacked by terrorists, leaving 137 people dead and over 180 wounded. The gunmen who conducted the attack were identified by Russian media as Tajikistan nationals. After walking in with automatic weapons, the terrorists indiscriminately opened fire on the 6,200-seat venue. The FBI and DHS confirmed the eight Tajikistan nationals in the U.S. are detained in ICE custody pending removal proceedings. However, it is unclear if the arrests will result in any terror-related charges. “As the FBI and DHS have recently described in public and partner bulletins, the U.S. has been in a heightened threat environment,” the FBI and DHS said in a Tuesday statement to Fox News. “The FBI and DHS will continue working around the clock with our partners to identify, investigate, and disrupt potential threats to national security.” Fox News’ Bill Melugin and Greg Wehner contributed to this report.
Federal judge blocks Biden administration move to expand Title IX protections for LGBTQ+ students
Judge Reed O’Connor said the Biden administration didn’t have the authority to make the changes, which would expand anti-discrimination protections.
Experts dismiss undercover Alito, Roberts recordings as ‘pretty unexceptional’
Legal experts are weighing in on recently released undercover audio recordings of two Supreme Court justices, calling the recordings not “much of anything.” Liberal filmmaker Lauren Windsor recorded Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito and his wife Martha-Ann Alito without their knowledge at a dinner event on June 3. The audio files were later published by Rolling Stone. Windsor presented herself as a conservative supporter and engaged Alito in conversation about ideological differences, and the justice claimed in one recording, “there are differences on fundamental things that really can’t be compromised.” Windsor prompted the justice further, saying to him, “People in this country who believe in God have got to keep fighting for that – to return our country to a place of godliness.” POTENTIAL SUPREME COURT CANDIDATES DURING A SECOND PRESIDENT BIDEN TERM Alito responded to Windsor, “I agree with you. I agree with you.” In response to an assertion from Windsor, Roberts pushed back at the undercover filmmaker, saying, “The idea that the court is in the middle of a lot of tumultuous stuff going on is nothing new.” In a post on X promoting the recordings and the Rolling Stone article, Windsor directed her followers to a link to donate to the Democrat PAC ActBlue, saying, “Unfortunately we can’t do this work for free. Please help support our reporting with a donation.” The recordings prompted an outcry from Democrats against the court on Capitol Hill, but legal experts say the records demonstrate nothing that “suggests a lack of impartiality.” “I don’t think this is much of anything,” Anthony Michael Kreis, a Georgia State law professor, posted on X. “Alito, cranky as usual, blames the media and says he wishes everyone could get along except for fundamental values, which he’s naturally going to see from a right wing perspective. It’s like an oral summary of his Obergefell dissent,” he said. SUPREME COURT HISTORICAL SOCIETY BLASTS ‘SURREPTITIOUS’ RECORDING AS DEMS TARGET JUSTICE ALITO Cassandra Robertson, a professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Law, called Alito’s comments “pretty unexceptional.” “I don’t see anything here that suggests a lack of impartiality,” she said. “I don’t often agree with Justice Alito’s opinions, but everything he says here seems pretty unexceptional. Pretty sure he would say (and has said) the same things publicly.” Carrie Severino, president of Judicial Crisis Network, called the recordings “pure clickbait.” “Nothing in this audio of Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito is remotely inappropriate. What’s most notable is how both Roberts and Alito said – while being secretly recorded – that it’s not the job of the court to make policy,” Severino noted. “And even in a gotcha conversation with a bad faith actor, they reiterated the limitations of the judicial role. Outside of that, the only other thing that stands out here is the timing of this release – right before the end of the term,” she said. “This is just a continuation of a desperate and coordinated campaign by the Left to delegitimize the Supreme Court because they don’t control it. Expect the baseless smears to continue as long as a majority of the court is faithful to the Constitution rather than to the Left’s political agenda,” she said. Alito recently came under fire for a New York Times report that the Alitos flew an upside-down American flag briefly at their home in 2021. An upside-down flag was a symbol during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Alito said the flag was his wife’s doing and unrelated to Jan. 6 but rather in response to a dispute with a tormenting next-door neighbor. ‘LOOSE CANNON’: SENATE DEM ESCALATES ATTACK ON JUSTICE ALITO AFTER SECRET RECORDING The Times later reported that the Alitos’ beach home was seen flying an “Appeal to Heaven” flag, which is a historic Navy flag that is still used for official purposes across the country. It was also flown during the Capitol riot. Senate Democrats have railed against conservative members of the Supreme Court in recent months, calling for recusal from key cases and leveling ethics violation allegations – all of which the justices have rejected or denied. In the wake of the audio leaks, Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said he will resurface a bill Wednesday to overhaul Supreme Court ethics, despite the high court having already clarified and updated its own code of conduct. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. said he will block Durbin’s effort to unanimously pass the bill. Fox News’ Julia Johnson contributed to this report.
Trump-backed primary candidates run the table, proving his power in the party: ‘With him 110%’
If there was any remaining doubt about former President Trump’s sway over the Republican Party, dismiss it. The presumptive GOP presidential nominee firmly remains his party’s ultimate kingmaker – candidates who landed the coveted Trump endorsement all won their primary battles on Tuesday as four states held intra-party contests. And in a couple of high-profile cases, Republican primaries that were supposed to be competitive contests ended up as blowouts with the Trump-backed candidates easily cruising to victory. “With all things equal, you want the president’s endorsement. End of story,” longtime Republican consultant Dave Carney told Fox News. “It’s not a guaranteed win, but it is really important. It sends a signal to primary voters of your credentials.” WHAT TRUMP-BACKED SAM BROWN TOLD FOX NEWS AFTER HIS LANDSLIDE GOP SENATE PRIMARY VICTORY And seasoned GOP strategist and communicator Lance Trover, spotlighting that the party remains firmly under Trump’s grip, said, “I don’t know that there’s really any question about where Republican voters are and who they’re aligned with.” TRUMP ENDORSEMENT IN KEY BATTLEGROUND STATE A VICTORY FOR SENATE GOP CAMPAIGN CHAIR A last-minute endorsement by Trump in Nevada likely boosted Army veteran Sam Brown to a more than 40-point victory in the GOP Senate primary in the key race in a crucial Western battleground that may determine if Republicans win back the chamber’s majority. Brown, a former Army captain who was severely burned and permanently scarred in 2008 when his vehicle ran over an explosive device in the war in Afghanistan, ended up crushing his main Republican rival – Jeff Gunter, a wealthy dermatologist who served as Trump’s ambassador to Iceland. Trump’s endorsement Sunday in Nevada was the latest example of the former president backing the candidate supported by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which is the Senate GOP’s campaign arm. In South Carolina, Republican Rep. Nancy Mace survived a serious primary challenge for a second straight election cycle. Mace won renomination in South Carolina’s competitive Low Country-based 1st Congressional District by easily defeating Catherine Templeton, a former director of South Carolina’s labor agency who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2018, and Marine Corps veteran Bill Young. MACE CRUSHES CHALLENGERS IN HIGH-PROFILE REPUBLICAN PRIMARY SHOWDOWN Templeton was backed by millions spent by outside groups aligned with former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Unlike two years ago, when he had her back, the former House speaker targeted Mace, who last year was one of eight House Republicans to break ranks and vote to oust McCarthy. The former speaker is seeking revenge as he works to defeat the eight Republican lawmakers, and McCarthy-aligned outside groups shelled out millions of dollars to run ads supporting Templeton and targeting Mace. In 2022, Trump targeted Mace after she blamed him for the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters aiming to upend congressional certification of President Biden’s 2020 election victory. Mace won a single-digit victory over a Trump-backed challenger. But fast-forward two years, and Mace now had Trump’s backing after she endorsed the former president and campaigned for him earlier this year in South Carolina’s crucial GOP presidential primary. Trump also had an impact on the GOP primary race in the 4th District in upstate South Carolina. That’s where three-term Rep. William Timmons narrowly fended off a challenge from state Rep. Adam Morgan, who ran to Timmons’ right. “There’s no doubt that Timmons would have lost without the Trump endorsement,” a Republican source who works on House races told Fox News. In Maine’s 2nd Congressional District – where Republicans are once again hoping to knock off moderate Democratic Rep. Jared Golden, who is running for a fourth term in a mostly rural district won by Trump in both 2016 and 2020 – the former president’s endorsement made a major impact. State Rep. Austin Theriault, a former NASCAR driver who had Trump’s backing, defeated state Rep. Mike Soboleski by more than 30 points. And in North Dakota, Trump’s endorsement of Rep. Kelly Armstrong likely helped the three-term Republican representative top Lt. Gov. Tammy Miller in the race to succeed GOP Gov. Doug Burgum. Burgum, who is considered a top contender to serve as Trump’s running mate, had backed Miller in the primary. Carney, who stayed neutral in the GOP presidential primaries but is now steering a pro-Trump super PAC, noted that compared to two years ago, when a number of high-profile Trump endorsed candidates won primary battles but went down to defeat in the general election, “he’s being more judicious in who he’s endorsing. And Trover, a top aide on Burgum’s unsuccessful 2024 presidential primary campaign, emphasized, “I think you’re seeing more and more of a unified Republican Party as we inch forward toward the general election.” He argued that the GOP is “a unified party that’s going to be with him 110% of the way, no matter what happens.” Republicans did under perform in Tuesday’s one general election showdown – a special congressional election in red-state Ohio. Republican state Sen. Michael Rulli defeated Democrat Michael Kripchak, an Air Force veteran, by less than 10 points in the race to succeed former GOP Rep. Bill Johnson, who stepped down earlier this year to serve as president of Youngstown State University. Johnson overwhelmingly won the mostly rural and blue-collar district by 35 points in his 2022 re-election and Trump carried the district by 29 points in 2020. But the massive swing in the Democrats’ favor is the latest example of their party over performing in special elections. National Republican Congressional Committee communications director Jack Pandol argued that his party is “not sweating” the results in the special election and dismisses talk that the contest was a barometer for things to come in November, as the House GOP works to defend its razor-thin majority in the chamber. “It’s a special election. It’s off-calendar. Turnout is really low,” Pandol told Fox News. “I don’t think that it’s useful or instructive to try to read into this too much.” And he predicted that House Republicans “will eviscerate”
Biden takes heat from swing state Democrat over high gas prices plaguing his constituents: ‘Disappointing’
FIRST ON FOX: President Biden is facing heat from one swing state Democrat imploring him to take action on the high gas prices plaguing the people of this state. Rep. Ruben Gallego, the likely Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Arizona, sent a letter to Biden on Wednesday, requesting he specifically moves to provide relief for Western states, as he did for states in the Northeast last month. “Arizona families and business owners should not have to pay almost a dollar more than people in other states to get to work and move through their communities,” Gallego wrote. “I therefore request that your administration take similar actions to address gas prices in the Western United States.” EXCLUSIVE: WAR VETERAN SAM BROWN VOWS TO DELIVER FOR AMERICANS ‘CRUSHED’ BY BIDEN’S POLICIES AFTER MAJOR WIN Biden announced the release of more than 1 million barrels of gasoline from the Northeast Gasoline Supply Reserve in an attempt to lower prices, but his administration noted the relief was specifically to ensure “sufficient supply flows to the tri-state (area) and Northeast” between Memorial Day and July 4th. Arizona, meanwhile, is dealing with some of the highest gas prices in the country. The average price of gas across the state is $3.67 per gallon, according to AAA. The national average is $3.47. Gallego argued that although he supported the actions the administration had taken to lower costs, “it would be nearly impossible for Arizona entities to transport the gas to our state because of limited pipeline capacity and requirements in the Jones Act.” BIDEN FACES ‘MAJOR POLITICAL BLOWBACK’ IF HE FLIP FLOPS ON HUNTER PARDON: EXPERTS “This is tremendously disappointing, since the gas prices faced by Arizonans remain consistently higher than the national average,” he wrote. Gallego also requested Biden uphold parity between the states by maintaining whatever action he takes through the rest of the summer. “We cannot leave Arizonans to deal with steep gas prices alone while other regions see greater relief.” Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.
Fiscal hawks slam ‘worst’ 2024 earmarks from both parties totaling $22B in spending
Government watchdog group Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) released the fiscal year 2024 edition of their “Pig Book” on Wednesday, chronicling what they considered the worst pork barrel spending offenders of the year. At the announcement, held just off Capitol Hill, several anti-earmark lawmakers also offered reaction and analysis to CAGW President Tom Schatz’s proverbial lowlights of government spending. Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., a member of the House Budget Committee, characterized earmarks as lawmakers’ act of “robbing St. Petersburg to pay St. Paul – for projects that St. Petersburg doesn’t benefit from and St. Paul doesn’t seem worthy enough to spend its own money on.” “When a local government proposes an earmark, what does it say? It’s saying that the project is so low on its priority list it doesn’t dare spend their own taxpayers’ money — But, they’re perfectly happy to have taxpayers in other communities foot the bill for them,” McClintock said. FLASHBACK: TOP REPUBLICAN BLASTS SPENDING BILLS McClintock claimed that the current interest payments on the U.S. national debt now exceed the Pentagon’s defense spending for the first time in history. “And history warns us that countries that bankrupt themselves aren’t around very long,” he said. Schatz highlighted several findings by his team at CAGW, including a total of 8,222 earmarks in the past fiscal year, costing a combined $22.7 billion. That total was 11% more than FY 2023 but with a slightly lower “pork” price tag. He said interests in Alaska, Maine, Hawaii, the Northern Marianas Islands territory and West Virginia received the top five most earmarks in descending order. One of the largest earmarks criticized by Schatz and others at the conference was a $1.75 million appropriation for “public plaza security upgrades” at the MET – the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City – which CAGW found to have $5 billion in assets as of 2023. He called out New York Democratic Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand for spearheading the effort, awarding them the “You Cannot Be Serious Award.” OMNIBUS SPENDING BILL RIPPED AS ATTEMPT TO BRAND GOP AS CHRISTMAS ‘SCROOGE’ Fox News Digital reached out to both senators for response to the moniker. Evan Lukaske, a spokesman for Gillibrand, responded by defending the expenditure, as well as the MET, calling it a “jewel of New York and the globe.” “[G]iven its status as the most visited museum in the United States and fourth-most visited art museum in the world, Senator Gillibrand was proud to deliver funding to enhance its security for its more than five million annual visitors,” Lukaske said. At the conference, Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., another anti-earmark lawmaker, said every dollar spent by Congress has an advocate for it. “That’s why it’s so tough to deal with the dollars that are going out,” he said. “The good news is, I think people are waking up.” A $17.5 million earmark for the Eisenhower Presidential Library was criticized by Norman, who also called out $36 million in earmarks to combat “underwater pests.” Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., offered criticism of his own party, claiming 99% of Democrats and 60% of Republicans requested to receive earmarks in FY 2024. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Good questioned whether the GOP can therefore retain its nickname as the “Party of Fiscal Responsibility.” “We’re in an unprecedented era of debt to GDP [ratio] that we haven’t seen since World War II. We didn’t just defeat Nazi Germany or imperialist Japan to accumulate that debt. We have absolutely nothing to show for it: Nothing to celebrate and memorialize in terms of saving the world as that Greatest Generation did,” Good said. He added that, unlike at present, the federal government quickly paid off its war debt while the current leadership in both parties has failed to do so for much less net gain. “Make no mistake about it, earmarks are used to buy bad votes for bad bills. Earmarks are used to incentivize and reward bad folks for bad bills,” Good said. The Lynchburg lawmaker said it is therefore no wonder that Congress continues to flounder below 20% in its nationwide approval rating. Other earmarks shared by CAGW in their “Pig Book” included broadband internet-related appropriations by members of both parties. The organization argued there is “no reason to earmark a penny” of funding for broadband expansion because there are numerous extant federal programs that deploy access to the internet for underserved communities. Earmarks for the Sugarcane Research Unit in Louisiana – 97 earmarks totaling $140 million for funding NOAA operations and research, and several appropriations directed at collegiate studies and projects were among purported offenders listed in the “Pig Book.”
PM Modi holds high-level meet after 40 Indians killed in Kuwait fire
Officials stated that the six-story building included around 160 residents who worked for the same firm, and that the fire originated in the kitchen.
J-K: Fresh encounter breaks out in Gandoh area of Doda district, 1 jawan injured
The region has been witnessing a surge in violence since the last four days.
Lindsey Graham requests full Senate briefing on ISIS border threat after terrorist bust
FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., is asking Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to organize a full briefing for lawmakers in the chamber on the threat of ISIS terrorism presented by the vulnerable southern border. The senator requested the leaders’ “immediate assistance” to set up a classified briefing for senators on the issue in a letter sent Tuesday. “I have never been more worried than I am right now about an attack on our homeland due to the combination of the Biden Administration’s shameful withdrawal from Afghanistan and broken border policies. This is a lethal cocktail for America,” Graham said in a statement to Fox News Digital. BIDEN PUSHED TO REVOKE AL JAZEERA CREDENTIALS AFTER ISRAELI HOSTAGE REPORTEDLY FOUND IN JOURNALIST’S HOME His urgency on the matter was prompted by a recent revelation that eight Tajikistan nationals with ties to ISIS were busted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the FBI in New York City, Los Angeles and Philadelphia after entering the country illegally over the southern border. The sting was first reported by the New York Post’s Jennie Taer. A federal source told Fox News that the suspected terrorists had been fully vetted prior to being released into the country. “While members of the Intelligence Community have offered piecemeal briefings to Congress, I believe that the threat is urgent and that a briefing should be held with all members before the Senate’s scheduled departure from Washington, D.C. at the end of next week,” the South Carolina Republican wrote. DEMS CLAIM GOP ‘CONSPIRACY THEORIES CRUMBLED’ AFTER HUNTER BIDEN GUILTY VERDICT Neither Schumer’s nor McConnell’s offices immediately responded to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment. Following the reports of the ISIS-tied immigrants’ arrests, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the FBI said in a statement, “Over the last few days, ICE agents arrested several non-citizens pursuant to immigration authorities. The actions were carried out in close coordination with the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces. The individuals arrested are detained in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.” SUPREME COURT HISTORICAL SOCIETY BLASTS ‘SURREPTITIOUS’ RECORDING AS DEMS TARGET JUSTICE ALITO “As the FBI and DHS have recently described in public and partner bulletins, the U.S. has been in a heightened threat environment. The FBI and DHS will continue working around the clock with our partners to identify, investigate, and disrupt potential threats to national security.” ‘LOOSE CANNON’: SENATE DEM ESCALATES ATTACK ON JUSTICE ALITO AFTER SECRET RECORDING Graham’s request comes as fears of terrorism originating at the southern border continue to heighten. “The fact that these eight ISIS suspects got through the southern border really is a travesty,” retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Dana Pittard said on “Fox & Friends“ in response to the latest event. MIKE LEE PRAISES TRUMP FOR RESISTING CLINTON LAWFARE, WARNS BIDEN OF SLIPPERY SLOPE FBI Director Christopher Wray testified last year that foreign terrorists who are potentially among groups of individuals illegally crossing the border are a “source of great concern for us. That’s why we’re aggressively using all 56 of our joint terrorism task forces.” Wray further revealed at the time that they had observed an increase in known or suspected terrorists that have sought to cross the border over the last five years. Notably, encounters with individuals on the terror watchlist rose to a record sum in fiscal year 2023. Fox News’ Bill Melugin and Fox News Digital’s Stepheny Price contributed to this report.
From Bellingham to Mbappe: 10 top players to watch at UEFA Euro 2024
Euro 2024 kicks off in Germany when the hosts take on Scotland at Munich’s Allianz Arena in Group A on June 14, Friday. High-profile players and breakout stars from the best leagues in the world will compete in the month-long Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) championship. Here’s a look at our top 10 players to watch during the tournament: ⚽ Jude Bellingham (England) Jude Bellingham’s stunning debut season at Spanish mega club Real Madrid has rapidly turned the attacking English midfielder into one of the hottest commodities in European football. Bellingham took the Spanish giants by storm with 18 league goals in the 2023-24 season, helping Madrid win the La Liga title and reach the Champions League final. Apart from his impressive statistics, the 20-year-old’s leadership qualities and winning mentality have earned him the status of a hero among the Bernabeu faithful. Bellingham will be keen to build on his spectacular club performance and could be the X factor in England’s Euro 2024 campaign, as they look to claim a maiden European nations title. England’s chances at Euro 2024 may rest with how well star midfielder Jude Bellingham performs in Germany [Matthew Childs/Reuters] ⚽ Florian Wirtz (Germany) Florian Wirtz was named the Bundesliga’s Player of the Year for his key role in Xabi Alonso’s revolutionary 2023-24 title-winning team at Bayer Leverkusen, as the attacking midfielder racked up the joint second-most assists (11) and scored an equal number of goals. Wirtz is one of the brightest stars to emerge out of Germany in the last decade, with a rare talent to control and dominate the midfield in a way few other players in world football can. If host Euro 2024 nation Germany is to have any chance of winning the trophy on home soil, Wirtz will need to be at his impactful best in order for them to succeed. Germany’s hopes of securing a home Euros title rest on the 21-year-old shoulders of attacking midfield sensation Florian Wirtz [Thilo Schmuelgen/Reuters] ⚽ Xavi Simons (Netherlands) Xavi Simons is a product of Barcelona’s La Masia Academy and his game boasts admirable traits of ‘Total Football’ – a tactical system common in Dutch and Spanish football in which any outfield player can take over the role of any other player – allowing the 21-year-old to impact a game from a multitude of positions. At RB Leipzig, Simons operated on both wings and also as an attacking midfielder, carrying the ball around, maximising possession and creating goal-scoring opportunities for his teammates. If given the game time and attacking liberty by manager Ronald Koeman, Simons can be a standout player for the Netherlands, allowing the Dutch a puncher’s chance to defeat the main contenders at Euro 2024. Xavi Simons’ sublime talent on the Dutch national team elevates the Netherlands from pretenders to contenders at Euro 2024 [Piroschka Van De Wouw/Reuters] ⚽ Rasmus Hojlund (Denmark) Having joined Manchester United as their most expensive signing in the summer of 2023, Rasmus Hojlund fully justified his price tag, scoring 10 English Premier League goals and at just 21 years old, becoming the youngest player to reach double-figure goals in the 2023-24 EPL season. After overcoming injury issues and a form slump, Hojlund emerged as a promising attacking talent in the final months of the Premier League and will be keen to carry that form into Euro 2024. In the past year, Hojlund has also thrived at an international level, leading Denmark’s attack with a sizzling seven goals during the Euro 2024 qualifying campaign. Euro 2024 could be forward Rasmus Hojlund’s breakout party as Denmark dare to dream of their first European championship since their miraculous Euro 1992 title [Liselotte Sabroe/Reuters] ⚽ Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium) Playmaker Kevin De Bruyne was the midfield maestro behind Manchester City’s victorious 2023-24 English Premier League (EPL) title charge, orchestrating the Sky Blues’ charge to their fourth straight EPL title. The Belgian was almost unstoppable in the second half of the season for City and is on form at the right time with Euro 2024 beginning mid-June. Belgium will hope De Bruyne is fit and firing for the Euros, where they could benefit from his experience in a new-look squad that is hoping to improve on the team’s quarterfinal appearances at Euro 2016 and Euro 2020. Victorious Manchester City captain Kevin De Bruyne, in white, will be hoping to lead Belgium to Euro 2024 glory, as well [Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters] ⚽ Kenan Yildiz (Turkey) Eighteen-year-old Kenan Yildiz transformed Max Allegri’s dull Juventus side in Italy’s Serie A, helping the defensive-minded team score far more than expected. His presence improved not only his fellow striker Dusan Vlahovic’s form, but also Juve’s wingbacks, allowing them space between the lines. As one of Serie A’s most exciting attackers, Yildiz stands on the brink of stardom for Turkey, for whom he scored his first international goal against Germany in November last year. Euro 2024 will be a homecoming of sorts for the lanky forward: Yildiz was born in Regensburg, Germany to a Turkish father and a German mother. He will be hoping to elevate Turkey to at least the quarterfinals after the country was disappointingly knocked out at the group stage in the last two Euros. Talented Turkish forward Kenan Yildiz will return to his place of birth in Germany with one thing on his mind: winning his country’s first Euro title [Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters] ⚽ Lamine Yamal (Spain) At just 16 years old, Lamine Yamal already has set a list of extraordinary records in his young career: youngest scorer for Barcelona, youngest scorer in La Liga history and youngest scorer for the Spanish national team. This Spanish wonderkid’s explosive nature on the wings and unique ability to find the back of the net makes him one of the best options the national team will have in attack at Euro 2024 in Germany. Euro 2024 may turn out to be the global coming-out party for the player many believe is one of the greatest 16-year-old prospects to ever