US used sonic weapon on Venezuelan troops, report shared by Leavitt claims
A viral story from a man claiming to have witnessed the U.S. operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro states that the U.S. used sonic weapons during the mission to incapacitate opposing forces. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt shared the eyewitness interview on X, encouraging her followers to read the statement. The witness in the interview claims to be a guard who was serving at the Caracas military base where the U.S. captured Maduro. “We were on guard, but suddenly all our radar systems shut down without any explanation,” the witness said. “The next thing we saw were drones, a lot of drones, flying over our positions. We didn’t know how to react.” The witness then described watching roughly 20 U.S. soldiers deploy out of roughly eight helicopters over the base. RUBIO DEFENDS VENEZUELA OPERATION AFTER NBC QUESTIONS LACK OF CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL FOR MADURO CAPTURE “They were technologically very advanced,” the guard said. “They didn’t look like anything we’ve fought against before.” “We were hundreds, but we had no chance,” he said. “They were shooting with such precision and speed; it felt like each soldier was firing 300 rounds per minute.” The witness then describes the U.S. deploying some sort of sonic weapon against Venezuelan forces. VANCE SAYS CROCKETT ‘DOESN’T KNOW WHAT SHE’S TALKING ABOUT’ ON VENEZUELA MADURO OPERATION “At one point, they launched something; I don’t know how to describe it,” he said. “It was like a very intense sound wave. Suddenly I felt like my head was exploding from the inside.” “We all started bleeding from the nose,” he added. “Some were vomiting blood. We fell to the ground, unable to move. We couldn’t even stand up after that sonic weapon — or whatever it was.” “Those twenty men, without a single casualty, killed hundreds of us,” the witness claimed. “We had no way to compete with their technology, with their weapons. I swear, I’ve never seen anything like it.” The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital when asked whether Leavitt’s sharing of the post constituted confirmation of its veracity. The Pentagon also did not immediately respond when asked if the U.S. deployed sonic or energy weapons in Venezuela.
DHS deploying hundreds more federal agents to Minneapolis, Noem announces
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem said Sunday the government is sending additional federal agents to Minnesota to protect immigration officers and continue enforcement operations amid rising tensions following the fatal shooting of a U.S. citizen. Noem told “Sunday Morning Futures” host Maria Bartiromo that DHS will be sending hundreds more agents on Sunday and Monday to Minneapolis to allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol agents to do their work “safely.” “If they conduct violent activities against law enforcement, if they impede our operations, that’s a crime, and we will hold them accountable to those consequences,” she said, referring to clashes between some protesters and federal agents outside an ICE facility and the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building over the weekend. The protests, which have spread to other cities, including Los Angeles, Portland and New York, come after an ICE officer fatally shot 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good, who DHS alleges “weaponized her vehicle” and “attempted to run a law enforcement officer over.” EXPERT WARNS PAINTING SLAIN ANTI-ICE ACTIVIST AS ‘GEORGE FLOYD 2.0’ WILL FAIL Video of the shooting has become a political flashpoint, with some saying it supports the government’s position that the agent acted in self-defense and others saying the footage calls into question DHS’ explanation and raises broader concerns about the use of force by ICE officers. The shooting remains under federal investigation. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey wrote in an op-ed in The New York Times that the Trump administration pushed a “false narrative” about the shooting and demonized Good. NEW VIDEO SHOWS MINUTES LEADING UP TO DEADLY MINNEAPOLIS ICE SHOOTING “The chaos that ICE and the Trump administration have brought to Minneapolis made this tragedy sadly predictable,” he wrote. “I’ve watched multiple videos, from multiple perspectives — it seems clear that Ms. Good, a mother of three, was trying to leave the scene, not attack an agent,” he added. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital on Thursday that since Operation Metro Surge began, DHS law enforcement has arrested more than 1,500 individuals, including alleged murderers, pedophiles, rapists, and gang members across Minnesota. “Every single day our law enforcement officers put their lives on the line to arrest the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens from American communities,” McLaughlin said. “We will not let rioters slow us down from making Minnesota safe again—something Governor Walz and Mayor Frey REFUSED to do.”
Federal judge blocks Trump administration from enforcing mail-in voting rules in executive order
A federal judge in Washington state on Friday blocked the Trump administration from enforcing key parts of an executive order that sought to change how states administer federal elections, ruling the president lacked authority to apply those provisions to Washington and Oregon. U.S. District Judge John Chun held that several provisions of Executive Order 14248 violated the separation of powers and exceeded the president’s authority. “As stated by the Supreme Court, although the Constitution vests the executive power in the President, ‘[i]n the framework of our Constitution, the President’s power to see that the laws are faithfully executed refutes the idea that he is to be a lawmaker,’” Chun wrote in his 75-page ruling. FEDERAL APPEALS COURT RULES AGAINST TRUMP’S BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP EXECUTIVE ORDER White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital in a statement: “President Trump cares deeply about the integrity of our elections and his executive order takes lawful actions to ensure election security. This is not the final say on the matter and the Administration expects ultimate victory on the issue.” Washington and Oregon filed a lawsuit in April contending the executive order signed by President Donald Trump in March violated the Constitution by attempting to set rules for how states conduct elections, including ballot counting, voter registration and voting equipment. DOJ TARGETS NONCITIZENS ON VOTER ROLLS AS PART OF TRUMP ELECTION INTEGRITY PUSH “Today’s ruling is a huge victory for voters in Washington and Oregon, and for the rule of law,” Washington Attorney General Nick Brown said in response to the Jan. 9 ruling, according to The Associated Press. “The court enforced the long-standing constitutional rule that only States and Congress can regulate elections, not the Election Denier-in-Chief.” Executive Order 14248 directed federal agencies to require documentary proof of citizenship on federal voter registration forms and sought to require that absentee and mail-in ballots be received by Election Day in order to be counted. The order also instructed the attorney general to take enforcement action against states that include such ballots in their final vote tallies if they arrive after that deadline. “We oppose requirements that suppress eligible voters and will continue to advocate for inclusive and equitable access to registration while protecting the integrity of the process. The U.S. Constitution guarantees that all qualified voters have a constitutionally protected right to vote and to have their votes counted,” said Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs in a statement issued when the lawsuit was filed last year. “We will work with the Washington Attorney General’s Office to defend our constitutional authority and ensure Washington’s elections remain secure, fair, and accessible,” Hobbs added. Chun noted in his ruling that Washington and Oregon do not certify election results on Election Day, a practice shared by every U.S. state and territory, which allows them to count mail-in ballots received after Election Day as long as the ballots were postmarked on or before that day and arrived before certification under state law.
Obama Presidential Center slammed for promoting ‘far-left’ agenda on public land
The Illinois Republican Party has blasted as “divisive” the hiring language the Obama Foundation is using for the Obama Presidential Center, arguing it shows the privately run project is using public land to advance a political agenda. The Obama Foundation, which is developing the hotly debated center on Chicago’s South Side, recently advertised roughly 150 jobs at the facility, stating that successful applicants are expected to align with the foundation’s “anti-racism” goals. “It’s an Illinois Democrat tradition to insert divisive, far-left policies into the lives of everyday Americans and to balk at the rule of law,” Illinois Republican Party Chair Kathy Salvi told Fox News Digital. OBAMA PRESIDENTIAL CENTER DEPOSITS JUST $1M INTO $470M RESERVE FUND AIMED TO PROTECT TAXPAYERS “The Obama Center is no different. It is a recipient of taxpayer funds built on public lands and flouts ‘anti-racism’ hiring goals,” Salvi said. “But such employment practices sound discriminatory and unmoored from any assessment of merit.” The Obama Foundation secured control of a 19.3-acre section of Jackson Park — often described as Chicago’s equivalent of Central Park — under a 99-year agreement for just $10, after city officials approved the project under the premise that the center would function as a civic institution serving the public interest. Opponents argued the land transfer violated the public trust doctrine, a legal principle requiring public land to serve a public purpose, and filed multiple lawsuits seeking to halt construction. The courts ultimately allowed the project to proceed without adjudicating the merits of those claims. While commonly referred to as a presidential “library,” the Obama Presidential Center is not operated by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and does not function as a traditional presidential library. Instead, it is run entirely by the Obama Foundation, the former president’s private nonprofit organization, which also oversees leadership and civic programs reflecting the values and priorities of former President Barack Obama. The foundation will operate from the center and oversee a 225-foot-tall museum, conference facilities, a gymnasium and a regulation-sized NBA court. There will also be a digital library, although it will not house original presidential records in the same manner as NARA-run libraries. Construction costs for the site have ballooned from an original estimate of $330 million to at least $850 million, and the project has also relied on publicly funded infrastructure work surrounding the site. OBAMA LIBRARY, BEGUN WITH LOFTY DEI GOALS, NOW PLAGUED BY $40M RACIALLY CHARGED SUIT, BALLOONING COSTS The foundation committed to creating a $470 million endowment — a reserve fund commonly used by nonprofits and universities to help cover long-term operating costs by generating investment income — but its latest tax filings show that only $1 million has ever been deposited. Salvi said the hiring language reinforces concerns that the Obama Presidential Center is operating as an ideological institution despite being built on public land under a civic justification. For instance, job postings state that the foundation is “deeply committed to creating an actively anti-racist organization, leveraging our global reach to combat systemic racism and inequity wherever it exists.” “Anti-racism” is the belief that people must not simply eschew racism, but must actively fight any perception of it. The term came into widespread use amid the rise of Black Lives Matter, and was touted by author Ibram X. Kendi in his 2019 book, “How to Be an Antiracist.” Critics say anti-racism stresses outcomes over opportunity and assigns collective guilt to people who may be unfairly viewed as “oppressors” based on their own skin color. The Obama Center’s postings link to the foundation’s anti-racism and equity statement, which describes a commitment to embedding anti-racism into hiring, leadership programs and organizational practices. It also shows two people of color marching and holding hands with their fists raised in the air. “In the United States, we are still grappling — in ways large and small — with the legacy of slavery and Jim Crow and the scourge of racism,” the statement reads. “That’s why our goal is to make sure every member of the Foundation team is committed to anti-racism, sets expectations for how we will engage, and makes space for the work,” the statement continues. “We’re focused on making sure our actions match our intent — removing barriers for diverse vendors, building anti-racism and equity into our hiring practices, and recruiting diverse cohorts for our leadership programs.” OBAMA LIBRARY, BEGUN WITH LOFTY DEI GOALS, NOW PLAGUED BY $40M RACIALLY CHARGED SUIT, BALLOONING COSTS Critics like Salvi have also pointed to the project’s long-standing emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives as evidence that ideological priorities were embedded into the center from its inception. Those initiatives have already given rise to real-world legal and financial disputes. As Fox News Digital previously reported, a Black-owned construction subcontractor filed a $40 million discrimination lawsuit tied to the project, alleging racially discriminatory treatment by an engineering firm involved in construction. The engineering firm has argued that diversity-driven contracting decisions resulted in less qualified subcontractors being selected, contributing to inferior workmanship, delays and cost overruns. WATCH: The Brian Kilmeade Show: Obama Presidential Center rocked by $40M racial bias lawsuit “The Illinois Republican Party stands with President Trump and the Justice Department to end the tyranny of DEI and woke, performative politics plaguing the federal government, our military and the private sector,” Salvi said. “As the Trump Administration investigates such employment practices at-large, we will continue to demand accountability and fairness from civic and educational sites like the Obama Center claims to be.” The Obama Foundation responded to criticism of its hiring language by pointing to its stated values. “Our values remain the same as the day we began; we will continue to actively work to combat racism as we strive to build a more perfect union,” Emily Bittner, the foundation’s vice president of communications, said in a statement to Fox News Digital. Supporters of the project have said the Obama Presidential Center will serve as a cultural and educational anchor on Chicago’s South Side and
Ilhan Omar kicked out of ICE facility after DHS requires week’s advance notice
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., says she and other Minnesota lawmakers were kicked out of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Minneapolis on Saturday. Omar visited ICE’s Whipple Building alongside fellow Minnesota Democrat Rep. Angie Craig, saying they were fulfilling their congressional oversight role. They were asked to leave the facility after being informed about a new Trump administration rule governing lawmaker visits. “We were initially invited in to do our congressional oversight and to exercise our Article I duties,” Omar told reporters after the incident. “When we made it in, it was with the authorization of someone who’s been here for a really long time, who understood that we had a congressional duty to enter the building and see the facility.” “Shortly after we were let in, two officials came in and said they received a message that we were no longer allowed to be in the building and that they were rescinding our invitation and denying any further access to the building,” she continued. JEFFRIES CALLS NOEM ‘STONE-COLD LIAR’ OVER MINNEAPOLIS SHOOTING RESPONSE, DEMAND INVESTIGATIONS President Donald Trump‘s administration imposed a new rule on Saturday requiring lawmakers to give at least one week’s notice before entering an ICE facility. The move is the administration’s second attempt at such an order. A federal judge previously struck down a similar requirement from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, finding that federal spending laws require that members of Congress receive unrestricted access to recipient facilities. LAWMAKERS PROBE SBA LOANS LINKED TO MINNESOTA’S $9B FRAUD SCANDAL: ‘RECKLESS DECISION MAKING’ Omar said her group was able to briefly question officials inside the facility regarding hygiene for detainees and other topics. She described the answers she received as “insane,” and argued officials were downplaying how long detainees remain at the facility. Federal officials say the new order complies with federal law because the funding for the facility is sourced from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act rather than congressional appropriations. DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin elaborated on Omar’s removal in a statement to reporters, arguing that the lawmakers entered the facility “with the explicit goal of ‘hunting down’ ICE officers who they believed may have been staying there.” “For the safety of detainees and staff, and in compliance with the agency’s mandate, the members of Congress were notified that their visit was improper and out of compliance with existing court orders and policies which mandate that members of Congress must notify ICE at least seven days in advance of congressional visits,” she said.
Hunger strike for 70 days: How the body breaks down without food
Medical estimates put survival without food at 45 to 61 days. Three Palestine Action activists in the UK are now pushing beyond that boundary. Three British activists from the proscribed Palestine Action group are on hunger strike seeking bail and a fair trial, with friends and relatives warning they are close to death but determined to continue until their demands are met. Heba Muraisi and Kamran Ahmed have refused food for 70 and 63 days respectively as part of a rolling hunger strike that began in November. A third prisoner, Lewie Chiaramello, is also refusing food on alternating days due to type 1 diabetes. Five of the eight people who took part in the protest have ended their hunger strikes due to health concerns. They are held in different jails over their alleged involvement in break-ins at the United Kingdom subsidiary of Israeli defence firm Elbit Systems in Bristol, where equipment was damaged, and at a Royal Air Force base in Oxfordshire, where two military aircraft were sprayed with red paint. They deny all charges. The group is demanding: Bail and the right to a fair trial, and the reversal of the UK government’s July designation of Palestine Action as a “terrorist organisation”, placing it alongside ISIL (ISIS) and al-Qaeda. Closure in the UK of all Elbit sites, which are facilities operated by Israel’s largest defence company, manufacturing military technology used by the Israeli armed forces and other governments. An end to what they describe as censorship inside prison, including the withholding of mail, phone calls and books. All eight will have spent more than a year in custody without trials, exceeding the UK’s usual six-month pre-trial detention limit. Advertisement What does prolonged hunger do to the body? In the early stages of starvation, after several days without food, the body begins breaking down muscle to produce energy. As the fast continues, metabolism slows down. The body loses its ability to regulate temperature, kidney function deteriorates, and the immune system weakens, reducing the body’s ability to heal from injury. Once the body’s reserves are depleted, it can no longer prioritise nutrients for vital organs. The heart and lungs become less efficient, muscles shrink and profound weakness sets in. Eventually, as protein stores are depleted, and the body begins to break down its own tissues. At this stage, death may be imminent. Scientific research on prolonged starvation is limited due to ethical reasons; however, estimates suggest that a healthy, well-nourished adult could survive without food for between 45 and 61 days, which means the three activists have now reached, or exceeded, that threshold, placing them in extreme, life-threatening danger. International concern Hunger strikes have long been used as an extreme, non-violent form of protest, relying on moral pressure to compel those in power to act. Historical records trace the practice to ancient India and Ireland, where people would fast at the doorstep of someone who had wronged them as a form of public shaming. In modern times, hunger strikes remain powerful political statements, often drawing international attention to cases of imprisonment, injustice or repression, even at the cost of the striker’s life. Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners incarcerated without any charges by Israel have resorted to hunger strikes to bring attention to their cases. United Nations experts said hunger strikes are “often a measure of last resort by people who believe their rights to protest and effective remedy have been exhausted”. They added that the state’s duty of care towards hunger strikers is heightened, not diminished, and that authorities must ensure timely access to emergency and hospital care, refrain from pressure or retaliation, and respect medical ethics. Kerry Moscogiuri, director of campaigns and communications at Amnesty International UK, called the situation alarming. She said it was “shocking that these activists have been forced to resort to such desperate measures to bring attention to their plight”, adding that the crisis reflects a “gross misuse of counterterrorism powers”. Adblock test (Why?)
Germany’s double standard on peaceful protests
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LIVE: Barcelona vs Real Madrid: El Clasico Supercopa final 2026
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PM Modi in Gujarat: Attends Shaurya Yatra , offers prayers at Somnath Temple to mark 1,000 years since Mahmud of Ghazni’s attack, Check full schedule
PM Modi offered prayers at the Somnath Temple in Gujarat after concluding ‘Shaurya yatra’ on Sunday as part of the ‘Somnath Swabhiman Parv’ celebrations. He also performed ‘Abhishek’ and ‘Aarti’ at the historic temple and sought the blessings of Lord Somnath amid vedic chants. Moreover, he paid floral tributes to the statues of Veer Hamirji Gohil and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. He also interacted with the priests and administration of the sacred shrine. He also met the children from Gurukuls.
Rahul Mamkootathil rape case: Victim shares emotional message after arrest of expelled MLA, says ‘You saw what was done…’
After expelled Congress MLA Rahul Mamkootathil’s arrest in a fresh sexual assault case, the first survivor shared an emotional post recalling pain, betrayal, and forced abortion allegations. She said faith gave her strength as multiple cases against Mamkootathil continue under legal scrutiny.