Bush teams up with notorious Trump foes to trash ‘colossal mistake’ shuttering USAID
Former President George W. Bush joined up with former President Barack Obama and U2 singer Bono to comfort United States Agency for International Development employees Monday, while also taking shots at President Donald Trump and his administration for shuttering the agency plagued by accusations of fraud and abuse. “Gutting USAID is a travesty, and it’s a tragedy,” Obama said in a video that was shown to departing USAID employees Monday, according to the Associated Press. “Because it’s some of the most important work happening anywhere in the world.” Obama summed up the decision to shutter the agency as “a colossal mistake,” and added that “sooner or later, leaders on both sides of the aisle will realize how much you are needed.” Bush, Obama and Bono spoke to departing USAID employees Monday in a videoconference as the agency officially was shuttered following the Trump administration’s reporting that it was overrun with alleged corruption and mismanagement. The videoconference did not include members of the media, with the Associated Press reviewing and reporting on clips of the conference later that day. RUBIO OFFICIALLY KILLS USAID, REVEALS FUTURE HOME FOR FOREIGN ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS USAID is an independent U.S. agency that was established under the Kennedy administration to administer economic aid to foreign nations. It was one of the first agencies investigated by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in early February for alleged mismanagement and government overspending, with DOGE’s then-leader Elon Musk slamming the agency as “a viper’s nest of radical-left marxists who hate America.” USAID officially was absorbed by the State Department Tuesday. Bush, who overwhelmingly has shied away from publicly criticizing Trump, lamented in his recorded message to the staffers that the end of USAID marks an end to his administration’s work rolling out an AIDS and HIV program that is credited with saving 25 million people nationwide. FOUR PLEAD GUILTY IN MASSIVE BRIBERY SCHEME AT AGENCY DEMOCRATS FOUGHT TO PROTECT FROM DOGE “You’ve showed the great strength of America through your work — and that is your good heart,’’ Bush told USAID staffers, according to the Associated Press. “Is it in our national interests that 25 million people who would have died now live? I think it is, and so do you.” Bono of U2 fame recited a poem he wrote reflecting on USAID’s closure and his claims that millions around the world will likely now die, according to the Associated Press. “They called you crooks. When you were the best of us,” Bono said. Fox News Digital reached out to Obama’s and Bush’s respective offices Wednesday morning for additional comment, but did not receive responses. Other longtime Trump foes, such as former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, thanked foreign service officers for their work before USAID’s closure. “In all my years of service, I found that foreign service officers and development professionals were among the most dedicated public servants I encountered,” Clinton posted to X Tuesday. “Their work saves lives and makes the world safer. Today, and every day, I stand with them.” Obama and Bush overwhelmingly have remained tight-lipped on their views of Trump under his second administration, with both former presidents attending Trump’s inauguration and not weighing in on the majority of Trump’s policies. Obama has taken issue with Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” which is clearing its final hurdles to passage and will fund Trump’s agenda on social media, while Bush has consistently shied away from public rebukes of Trump in recent history. Bono previously has claimed that cuts to USAID would kill hundreds of thousands of people, and had slammed Trump in 2016 as “potentially the worst idea that ever happened to America.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was serving as acting administrator of USAID, announced the State Department absorbed USAID’s foreign assistance programs Tuesday after decades of failing to ensure the programs it funded actually supported America’s interests. “Beyond creating a globe-spanning NGO industrial complex at taxpayer expense, USAID has little to show since the end of the Cold War,” Rubio wrote in his announcement. “Development objectives have rarely been met, instability has often worsened, and anti-American sentiment has only grown.” RISCH URGES ‘TOP TO BOTTOM’ USAID SPENDING REVIEW AFTER WASTE, FRAUD EXPOSED “This era of government-sanctioned inefficiency has officially come to an end,” he continued. “Under the Trump Administration, we will finally have a foreign funding mission in America that prioritizes our national interests. As of July 1st, USAID will officially cease to implement foreign assistance. Foreign assistance programs that align with administration policies—and which advance American interests—will be administered by the State Department, where they will be delivered with more accountability, strategy, and efficiency.” The shuttering comes after DOGE gutted USAID as part of Trump’s effort to remove waste, fraud and abuse from the federal government earlier in 2025. BONO’S ‘300,000 DEAD’ CLAIM OVER USAID CUTS GETS SMACKED DOWN BY ROGAN, MUSK: ‘LIAR/IDIOT’ Trump repeatedly had touted DOGE’s work uncovering fraud and mismanagement within the federal government, including in his March address before Congress celebrating that DOGE identified $22 billion in government “waste,” including at USAID. “Forty-five million dollars for diversity, equity and inclusion scholarships in Burma,” Trump said as he rattled off various examples of federal waste. “Forty million to improve the social and economic inclusion of sedentary migrants. Nobody knows what that is. Eight million to promote LGBTQI+ in the African nation of Lesotho, which nobody has ever heard of. Sixty million dollars for indigenous peoples and Afro-Colombian empowerment in Central America. Sixty million. Eight million for making mice transgender.”
Rev. Al Sharpton urges Cuomo to step aside in NYC mayoral race: ‘What is best for New York’
MSNBC host Rev. Al Sharpton has called on Andrew Cuomo to drop out of the New York City mayoral race, urging the former governor to consider what would be in the best interest of New York City residents. “I think Andrew Cuomo should look at what is best for the city and let them have a one-on-one race,” Sharpton said on MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe’ on Wednesday. SCANDAL-PLAGUED FORMER GOV ANDREW CUOMO AIMS TO PULL OFF POLITICAL COMEBACK IN THE NATION’S BIGGEST CITY Sharpton, adding that he had previously reached out to the Cuomo camp to encourage the former governor to drop out, said that Cuomo removing his name from the NYC mayoral ballot this fall would also be in “the best interest” of the legacy of the 56th Governor of New York. “He can endorse one or the other and let them have a battle over what is best for New York,” Sharpton said. In response to a question about Sharpton’s comments, a spokesperson for Cuomo’s campaign told Fox News Digital in an email that “everyone is entitled to their own political opinion.” CUOMO’S LEAD SHRINKS WITH UNDER ONE WEEK UNTIL NEW YORK CITY MAYORAL PRIMARY: POLL “We understand President Trump supports Eric Adams, and do not believe socialism is the answer,” the spokesperson said. “Most New Yorkers are not Trumpers, and most New Yorkers are not socialists — the majority lies in the middle. We will continue to assess the current situation in the best interest of the people of the City of New York.” Also on Wednesday, President Donald Trump vowed to “save New York City” from mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani. Mamdani has faced criticism from conservatives and even some Democrats over his socialist policies and refusal to condemn terrorism-linked rhetoric. CUOMO TEAM DENIES AOC’S CLAIM HE’S USING NYC MAYOR RUN AS A SPRINGBOARD TO THE WHITE HOUSE “As President of the United States, I’m not going to let this Communist Lunatic destroy New York,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Rest assured, I hold all the levers, and have all the cards. I’ll save New York City, and make it ‘Hot’ and ‘Great’ again, just like I did with the Good Ol’ USA!” In a victory over Cuomo and nine other candidates, Mamdani on Tuesday was officially declared the winner of New York City’s Democratic Party primary for mayor. The New York City Board of Elections posted the official results of three rounds of the ranked choice voting from last week’s mayoral primary, and Mamdani grabbed a majority in the third round, with 56% of the vote. Eric Adams and Zohran Mamdani did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
‘Crisis brewing’ in Trump Country as hospitals shutter at alarming rate, top ER doc warns
There is a healthcare crisis brewing in the nation’s heartland, as evidenced by a landmark study conducted by the RAND Corporation in conjunction with top national emergency physicians. The study from the Arlington nonprofit research institute found that emergency rooms (ERs) are no longer the safety net but the proverbial “front door” to the U.S. healthcare system, particularly after a 1986 law passed requiring ERs to stabilize patients or deliver babies from women in labor regardless of their ability to pay. That has led to instability and hospital closures across the heartland, including in states where a dozen or more have closed, like Texas, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. States like West Virginia, Pennsylvania, the Carolinas and Alabama have also been affected. “This RAND study is the first ever that points to this crisis, which is that the emergency departments and the care that patients receive in them usually is so critical that, especially for time-sensitive conditions that patients can have, just the fact that you have to travel as far as you might have to, or that even in some cases if a hospital is close to you, but it still doesn’t have the resources to operate efficiently,” said Dr. Randy Pilgrim, an ER doctor and chief medical officer for emergency room services company SCP Health in Atlanta. BLISTERING REPORT CALLS FOR INVESTIGATION INTO 5 ‘WOKE’ HOSPITALS PUSHING ‘RADICAL’ AGENDA WITH TAXPAYER MONEY “[I]n emergency medicine, we do time-sensitive, high-quality care as long as we have the resources to do it. And this study shows that we really have a crisis brewing here.” Nearly $5.9 billion in emergency services go unpaid every year, the study found. Overcrowding and spates of violence towards staff have exacerbated the problem. EMTALA, the aforementioned law, is essentially an unfunded mandate in many cases, and lack of funding for hospitals that treat a large proportion of that uncompensated care — which tends to fall in rural areas or poor neighborhoods in cities — leads to the dual issue of higher patient volumes and more uninsured patients being seen. Many hospitals outside of cities cannot fully account for the funding gap, Pilgrim said. “The economics of reimbursement for physician care play a huge role. … We need more physicians generally in America, and we need physicians to feel like they can and will go to where they’re needed,” he said. “Physicians won’t go where they are needed if there’s not enough resources or reimbursement to attract them.” Rural hospitals characteristically pay less than higher-end urban hospitals and have fewer local resources. With hospital demand “higher than ever,” all of the above factors mean help is needed now. Pilgrim said he has met with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and other top officials at the agency, to discuss the issue — and hopes Washington can help. “Secretary Kennedy… did a beautiful job of listening to what we were saying about the impending crisis that would probably happen during this administration,” Pilgrim said. TEXAS HOSPITALS HIT WITH $122 MILLION BILL FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS’ CARE IN SINGLE MONTH “And he was concerned about it because he could tell that you can’t make patients healthy unless you have a healthy healthcare system for them to engage. So I’m very encouraged about what Secretary Kennedy and his staff are doing to try to make a difference on the pieces that they control.” He also said Congress must act, particularly as 10,000 Americans turn 65 every day and are therefore eligible for Medicare, which presents a different environment than separate Medicaid. “That’s where we see more volume of patients, more complexity, and much more clinical demand. But if the reimbursement in Medicare doesn’t keep pace with that demand, once again, you’re in this vicious cycle where emergency departments will be at greater risk, starting with the rural and underserved areas and moving forward from there.” Some in Congress have banded together to advocate for healthcare-related issues, including members of the bicameral “Doctors Caucus.” One member, Rep. Greg Murphy, R-N.C., is a urologist from Greenville who previously served as chief of staff at a Level-I trauma center. “Congress cannot leave rural America behind,” he said. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “The most important thing Congress can do is to fix dwindling Medicare reimbursements for rural providers and ensure health insurance companies don’t play games with denied care and denied payments,” he said, pinning the decrease at 33% since 2001 if adjusted for inflation,” Murphy told Fox News Digital. The lawmaker added that many hospitals in his area do not have commercial payers as part of their funding sources to help offset losses from Medicare and Medicaid disbursement amounts — and that all hospitals must root out waste as well. Pilgrim was also asked why Americans outside the heartland with more reliable emergency care should be supportive of added funding or resources miles away from them. “In a large city like Atlanta, if rural healthcare is not healthy and patients have to go somewhere else, they will eventually end up in your hospital… So spending a dollar somewhere else besides in your own hospital if you’re in a better place makes a lot of sense for you…” he said.
Dominating ‘space economy’ a key priority for Trump’s FCC chief
The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Brendan Carr, delivered his first major speech in his new role with the Trump administration, announcing six priorities he plans to focus on during his tenure, including pushing the United States to dominate the “space economy.” “Continuing to move vertically from the ground to the airwaves. Next up is space,” Carr said during a speech in South Dakota Wednesday afternoon. “The Build America agenda will expand America’s space economy. The Final Frontier is home to an emerging constellation of satellites that have become an essential part of America’s economic and geopolitical strategy. So I want to see U.S. companies dominate in orbit. “Our efforts on this front will be driven by a few key guiding principles: speed, simplicity, security and satellite spectrum abundance,” Carr continued. Carr served as an FCC commissioner since 2017, before Trump tapped him to serve as the agency’s chair as of Trump’s inauguration in January. Carr traveled to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on Wednesday to deliver his speech at the headquarters of a telecommunications infrastructure construction company called VIKOR. TRUMP-APPOINTED FCC CHAIRMAN PROBES BIDEN CYBERSECURITY PROGRAM OVER CHINA CONCERNS The speech was dubbed the “Build America Agenda” and outlined six priorities the Federal Communications Commission will tackle under Carr’s leadership. On the topic of dominating the space economy, Carr said the FCC is already making progress. The FCC is “clearing backlogs of applications for satellite systems,” he said. “And this type of acceleration is certainly needed. In fact, if you look back over the past couple of years, it actually took a faster amount of time for America’s innovators and entrepreneurs to build and launch satellite constellations, than it would take for federal agencies in Washington to process the paperwork necessary to approve those launches. But that ends here.” TRUMP SIGNS NEW EXECUTIVE ORDERS INTENDED TO MAKE FLYING CARS A REALITY, SLASH FLIGHT TIMES “The Build America agenda will inject rocket fuel into our licensing process by standardizing our reviews through more objective metrics, protecting America’s orbital advantage for years to come,” he said. Carr outlined that the other five priorities include: unleashing high-speed infrastructure builds, restoring America’s leadership in wireless, cutting red tape and modernizing FCC operations, advancing national security and public safety and strengthening America’s workforce. The FCC chief remarked that the FCC still has rules on the books related to the use of telegraphs and “rabbit ear broadcast TV receivers” and that his leadership will clear the agency of outdated guidance and focus on the future. FCC COMMISSIONER SIMINGTON EXPECTED TO ABRUPTLY LEAVE AGENCY, POTENTIAL REPLACEMENT REVEALED “The FCC right now still has rules on the books regulating telegraph service, rabbit ear broadcast TV receivers and phone booths,” he said. “Starting next month, that will change, and doing so in eliminating those outdated rules, the FCC will move directly to delete 40 rules or requirements, and over 7,000 words from the Code of Federal Regulations. A good step forward.” Carr said that he and President Donald Trump are focused on keeping America as a tech leader, including broadening its 5G capabilities and beating China in the artificial intelligence race. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “One of the very first actions that I took when I became chairman of the FCC was to establish a new council on National Security within the agency,” he said. “Our Build Agenda will ensure that the U.S. extends its lead over China in the race for critical technologies. Whether it’s 5G, 6G or AI, we’re going to do so by making sure that U.S. businesses and the standards they set continue to be the gold standard for businesses all across the world.”
Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ stalls in House amid conservative mutiny threats
President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda temporarily ground to a halt in the House of Representatives Wednesday afternoon. Plans for an early afternoon vote to begin debate on Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” slipped away as both conservative concerns and weather delays led to issues in passing two procedural votes ahead of the critical measure. It’s not clear if the key vote will proceed today at this point. House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., one of the bill’s biggest critics, told reporters a vote was still “possible.” “No, not yet,” he said when asked if he was getting what he needed from the White House to support the measure. “But the evening is so young.” THOM TILLIS ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT FROM SENATE AFTER CLASH WITH TRUMP House GOP leaders had hoped to vote to begin debate on the vast tax and immigration bill, a maneuver known as a “rule vote,” with the goal of teeing up a vote on the legislation’s final passage by late Wednesday or early Thursday at the latest. The president has directed Republicans to get a bill to his desk for a signature by the Fourth of July, though he’s suggested in some recent comments he would not mind a delay of a few days. The rule vote was meant to be the third in an early afternoon series of three votes. As of early evening Wednesday, that vote is still being held open, and the House floor is effectively paralyzed. Lawmakers who expected a vote were told to return to their offices to await further instructions. Multiple House Freedom Caucus members who left a meeting next to the House floor declined to comment on what they discussed, but several have made clear in recent days that they have serious issues with the Senate’s version of Trump’s agenda bill. The mammoth piece of legislation includes Trump’s agenda on taxes, the border, energy, defense and the national debt. Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought was seen briefly entering and exiting the room where the fiscal hawks were gathered. He said little to reporters other than announcing they were “making good progress” on his way out of the room. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, suggested that conservatives were speaking with the Trump administration about how Republicans could make up for what they saw as deficiencies in the current version of the bill. Fiscal hawks were angered by last-minute moves made to placate Senate GOP moderates who were uneasy about the bill’s near-immediate phase-out of most green energy tax subsidies in former President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). SENATE PASSES TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ AFTER MARATHON VOTE-A-RAMA They’ve also argued the Senate’s bill would add more to the federal deficit than the House’s earlier version, though Senate Republicans have pushed back. “We were not happy with what the Senate produced. We thought there was a path forward as of late last week, even though I had concerns in public about them. But then they jammed it through at the last minute in a way that, you know, we’re not overly excited about,” Roy said. “So, now we’re trying to understand what our options are from this point.” Other representatives, like Keith Self, R-Texas, and Josh Brecheen, R-Okla., declined to comment about the meeting to reporters. Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., who is not a member of the Freedom Caucus but had some concerns about the bill, told reporters when leaving the meeting, “I’m just waiting to see what’s going on honestly. Everybody’s just discussing what’s going on and trying to get to some [resolution].” Burchett told reporters earlier he was leaning in favor of voting to debate the bill. But Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., can afford just three defections to still pass the bill along party lines. “We’re going to get there tonight,” Johnson told reporters.
Former FBI Director Comey’s daughter suffers high-profile loss as prosecutor in Diddy trial
Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey played a leading role on the eight-member team that prosecuted rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs in a sex trafficking and racketeering trial that came to a close Wednesday with mixed results. The daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, Maurene Comey faced a setback when the jury found the performer not guilty of some of the most serious charges, including racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. However, the jury did side with prosecutors on two counts, finding Combs guilty of violating the Mann Act of 1910 by transporting women across state lines for prostitution. MISSING KEY WITNESS CRIPPLES DIDDY PROSECUTION AS TRIAL HITS ROADBLOCKS BEFORE IT BEGINS: EXPERT Maurene Comey was a prosecutor in the Jeffrey Epstein trial prior to his death in prison and also had a lead role in Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial. She leads the violent and organized crime unit in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY). DIDDY JURORS FACE ‘BATTLEGROUND’ AS DELIBERATIONS BEGIN IN RAPPER’S FEDERAL TRIAL: EXPERT SDNY is the same stepping stone her father, James Comey, used to catapult himself to national prominence. The ex-FBI director and prominent Trump foe worked similarly as a federal prosecutor there in the 1980s, when noted Trump ally Rudolph Giuliani was the Reagan-appointed U.S. attorney. He returned to Manhattan in the 2000s after former President George W. Bush appointed him to the role once held by “America’s Mayor.” Lately, the elder Comey received blowback for posting a photo of stones on a beach in the shape of “86 47,” which many observers considered to be a wish for President Donald Trump’s death – with “86” being a cipher for “kill” and “47” denoting Trump as the 47th president. DIDDY PROSECUTORS ARGUE RAPPER USED INNER CIRCLE, MONEY TO COVER UP ALLEGED SEX CRIMES IN CLOSING ARGUMENTS In court, Maurene Comey offered the prosecution’s rebuttal prior to the jury being sent off to deliberate the charges against Combs. Maurene Comey argued from the dais that Combs “never thought the women he abused would have the courage to speak out loud what he had done to them,” and suggested the rapper believed he was “untouchable.” She also offered arguments that Combs had been involved in firebombing a Porsche owned by rapper Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi, according to TMZ. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP At the close of the trial, Maurene Comey argued to Judge Arun Subramanian that Combs should be denied the bond requested by defense attorney Marc Agnifilo. “There is serious relevant conduct here that will merit a lengthy period of incarceration,” she said, according to the New York Post. While occupationally a proverbial chip off the old block, Maurene Comey has remained largely silent during James Comey’s recurring controversies, from his “86 47” post that drew demands for investigation by the Secret Service to his rhetorical battles with Trump.
Fox News Politics Newsletter: Inside Trump’s ‘Alligator Alcatraz’
Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content. Here’s what’s happening… – Trump to begin enforcing birthright citizenship order as early as this month, DOJ says – Trump could arm Israel with US’ most effective weapons against Iran’s nuclear threat under new proposal – Dems at a crossroads as establishment plans ‘Project 2029‘ while socialist candidate wins NYC mayoral primary President Donald Trump on Tuesday visited “Alligator Alcatraz” — the newest illegal immigrant detention facility in the nation that’s located in the Florida Everglades and surrounded by swamplands teeming with alligators and pythons. “It’s known as ‘Alligator Alcatraz,’ which is very appropriate because I looked outside, and that’s not a place I want to go hiking anytime soon,” Trump said Tuesday during his tour. “But very soon this facility will have some of the most menacing migrants, some of the most vicious people on the planet.” “We’re surrounded by miles of treacherous swampland, and the only way out is really deportation,” the president added. “And a lot of these people are self-deporting back to their country where they came from…” READ MORE. CLOCK STARTS NOW: Trump to begin enforcing birthright citizenship order as early as this month, DOJ says ‘LOT OF RESPECT’: Trump says his relationship with one-time rival DeSantis now a ‘9.9’ EXCEEDS AUTHORITY: Judge strikes down Trump order preventing asylum requests, protections for illegal immigrants ‘TRADECRAFT CONCERNS’: Ex-Obama intel boss wanted anti-Trump dossier included in ‘atypical’ 2016 assessment despite pushback ‘CREDIT IS DUE’: Elon takes a break from slamming BBB, doles out praise for Trump amid Israel ceasefire announcement NUCLEAR DETERRENCE: Trump could arm Israel with US’ most effective weapons against Iran’s nuclear threat under new proposal GREEN LIGHT: Pentagon’s weapons pause to Ukraine could ‘encourage’ and ‘escalate’ Putin’s war ambitions: security experts ‘DANGEROUS PRECEDENT’: Bernie Sanders blasts Paramount, says lawsuit settlement will further embolden Trump to attack media ‘ENCOURAGING’: Blue state GOP lawmaker says major sanctuary city lawsuit is ‘encouraging,’ but urges further crackdown ‘GO HOME’: ICE flips script on Los Angeles mayor after telling authorities to ‘go home’ $100M DECISION: Wisconsin Supreme Court decides abortion case that prompted most expensive judicial election in US history WHITE HOUSE APPROVED: Colorado Capitol replaces ‘distorted’ Trump portrait following monthslong backlash POTUS PROMISE: Trump vows to ‘save New York City’ from Zohran Mamdani: ‘I hold all the levers’ DEMOLITION PLAN: Dems at a crossroads as establishment plans ‘Project 2029’ while socialist candidate wins NYC mayoral primary POWER PLAY ESCALATES: New York Democrats unite in defense of socialist NYC mayoral nominee after Trump threatened his arrest ‘READY TO SWEEP?’: ‘Don’t Maryland my Virginia’: Youngkin, 2025 GOP ticket rallies together for first time ahead of key election Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.
At least eight people die in record-breaking heatwave across Europe
Scientists say heatwaves and storms are becoming more intense due to human-driven climate change. At least eight people have died across Europe as an early summer heatwave grips much of the continent, triggering health alerts and forest fires and forcing the closure of a nuclear reactor at a Swiss power plant. Authorities in Spain’s Catalonia region said about 14,000 people were ordered to stay indoors due to two wildfires that broke out almost simultaneously in the province of Lleida. In one of the blazes near the city of Cosco, “two people were found lifeless by firefighters,” the fire and emergency service said in a statement on Wednesday. The exact cause of the fire was unclear, but the service said the recent heat, dry conditions and strong winds increased the intensity of the flames. Tuesday’s fire in the Catalonia region burned several farms and affected an area stretching about 40km (25 miles) before being contained, officials said. On Wednesday, Spanish officials reported two more people died due to the heatwave in Extremadura and Cordoba. Spain is in the midst of an intense heatwave with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in many places, and several heat records were set for the month of June. France also experienced its hottest June since 2003. Its energy minister reported two deaths linked to the heat with 300 others taken to hospital on Wednesday. Weather forecaster Meteo France said red alerts remained for several areas of central France, and Catherine Vautrin, the health and families minister, said authorities should remain vigilant. Advertisement “In the coming days, we’ll see the consequences, particularly on the most vulnerable, and I’m thinking particularly of the elderly,” she said. Two men over the age of 60 also died from the heat on beaches in Sardinia in Italy, the ANSA news agency reported. In Germany, temperatures were forecast to peak at 40C (104F) in some areas, making it the hottest day of the year. Fire brigades were also tackling several forest fires in the eastern states of Brandenburg and Saxony on Wednesday. Storm warnings issued Italy, France and Germany have also warned of the risk of powerful storms due to excessive warming in unstable atmospheres. Violent storms in the French Alps late on Monday triggered mudslides, disrupting rail traffic between Paris and Milan. The Swiss utility Axpo shut down one reactor at the Beznau Nuclear Power Plant and halved output at another on Tuesday because of the high temperature of river water. Water is used for cooling and other purposes at nuclear power plants, and restrictions were expected to continue as temperatures are monitored. Scientists said heatwaves have arrived earlier this year, spiking temperatures by up to 10C (50F) in some regions as warming seas encouraged the formation of a heat dome over much of Europe, trapping hot air masses. Greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels are a cause of climate change, they said, with deforestation and industrial practices being other contributing factors. Last year was the planet’s hottest on record. “Extreme heat is testing our resilience and putting the health and lives of millions at risk,” Inger Andersen, executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme, told the Reuters news agency. “Our new climate reality means we can no longer be surprised when temperatures reach record highs each year,” she added. Adblock test (Why?)
Who is Siddharth Kaushal? Senior IPS officer quits after 13-year service due to…
Siddharth Kaushal, a senior officer in the Indian Police Service, has announced that he is taking voluntary retirement, ending a career of over 13 years in law enforcement across Andhra Pradesh. Read on to know more about him.
Ex-Obama intel boss wanted anti-Trump dossier included in ‘atypical’ 2016 assessment despite pushback
Former CIA Director John Brennan, who served under former President Barack Obama, pushed for the so-called “Steele dossier,” which featured salacious material and unfounded allegations about President Donald Trump’s connections to Russia, to be included in an assessment evaluating Russian interference in the 2016 election, according to a review declassified Wednesday. The CIA, FBI and National Security Agency’s Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) evaluating Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election diverted from intelligence standards and featured some “procedural anomalies,” according to a new lessons-learned review of the assessment that CIA Director John Ratcliffe ordered for declassification Wednesday. The lessons-learned review determined that the “decision by agency heads to include the Steele Dossier in the ICA ran counter to fundamental tradecraft principles and ultimately undermined the credibility of a key judgment.” TRUMP ‘MISREPRESENTED’ HUNTER BIDEN LAPTOP LETTER, JOHN BRENNAN COMPLAINS AFTER LOSING SECURITY CLEARANCE Specifically, the new review found that the CIA’s deputy director for analysis said in a December 2016 email to Brennan that including the dossier in any capacity jeopardized “the credibility of the entire paper.” “Despite these objections, Brennan showed a preference for narrative consistency over analytical soundness,” the new review stated. “When confronted with specific flaws in the Dossier by the two mission center leaders—one with extensive operational experience and the other with a strong analytic background—he appeared more swayed by the Dossier’s general conformity with existing theories than by legitimate tradecraft concerns. Brennan ultimately formalized his position in writing, stating that ‘my bottomline is that I believe that the information warrants inclusion in the report.’” Brennan served as director of the CIA from March 2013 to January 2017 under the Obama administration. The dossier originated after law firm Perkins Coie hired opposition research firm Fusion GPS to conduct opposition research into then-presidential candidate Trump in April 2016 on behalf of Trump’s opponent, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and the Democratic National Committee. Fusion GPS hired former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele, who composed the so-called “Steele dossier.” The document included scandalous and mostly unverified allegations, including details that Trump engaged in sex acts with Russian prostitutes. Trump has denied the allegations included in the dossier. DNI DECLASSIFIES BRENNAN NOTES, CIA MEMO ON HILLARY CLINTON ‘STIRRING UP’ SCANDAL BETWEEN TRUMP, RUSSIA Brennan could not be reached for comment by Fox News Digital. The lessons-learned review also found fault with other tradecraft employed while drafting the ICA, including a rushed timeline and atypical involvement of agency heads while compiling the assessment. “While agency heads sometimes review controversial analytic assessments before publication, their direct engagement in the ICA’s development was highly unusual in both scope and intensity,” the review said. “This exceptional level of senior involvement likely influenced participants, altered normal review processes, and ultimately compromised analytic rigor.” Additionally, the review said that Brennan sent a note to intelligence community analysts one day before their only session coordinating on the ICA that he had met with then-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and then-FBI Director James Comey. The review said that Brennan told the CIA workforce that “there is strong consensus among us on the scope, nature, and intent of Russian interference in our recent Presidential election.” COMEY SAYS NEW INFORMATION THAT HILLARY CLINTON DRUMMED UP RUSSIA CONTROVERSY TO VILIFY TRUMP ‘DOESN’T RING A BELL’ “While officers involved in drafting the ICA consistently said they did not feel pressured to reach specific conclusions, Brennan’s premature signaling that agency heads had already reached consensus before the ICA was even coordinated risked stifling analytic debate,” the review said. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Ratcliffe ordered the “lessons-learned” review of the ICA earlier in 2025 specifically focused on the ICA’s assessment that Russian President Vladimir Putin “aspired” to assist Trump win the 2016 election, and declassified the results Wednesday in an attempt to promote transparency, according to a CIA news release. “Agency heads at the time created a politically charged environment that triggered an atypical analytic process around an issue essential to our democracy,” Ratcliffe said in a Wednesday statement. “Under my watch, I am committed to ensuring that our analysts have the ability to deliver unvarnished assessments that are free from political influence.”