Russia, Ukraine take ‘significant first step toward peace’ after Rubio-led negotiations, White House insists
Initial discussions between Trump administration officials and Russia in Saudi Arabia Tuesday marked a “significant milestone” in securing peace between Russia and Ukraine, according to the White House press secretary. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, White House National Security Advisor Michael Waltz and Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff met in Riyadh with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and President Vladimir Putin’s foreign affairs advisor Yuri Ushakov to hash out ways to end the conflict. Ukraine was absent from the negotiations in Saudi Arabia. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt declined to provide specifics about the discussions, but she said the Trump administration was committed to brokering a peace deal to end the conflict between the two countries. “What I will tell you is that today, sitting down at the table was a significant first step toward peace,” Leavitt told reporters at the White House on Tuesday. ‘MAKE NATO GREAT AGAIN’: HEGSETH PUSHES EUROPEAN ALLIES TO STEP UP DEFENSE EFFORTS Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during a joint press conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Tuesday that an invitation to the talks wasn’t extended to Ukraine and that he was postponing a scheduled trip to Saudi Arabia until March. Zelenskyy has stressed that Ukraine must be involved in negotiations, and said Sunday that Ukraine wouldn’t accept a peace deal if his country were absent from negotiations. But Leavitt said that everyone would have a seat at the negotiating table — including other European allies — as the Trump administration seeks to advance a peace deal. “We’re ensuring that all parties are heard,” Leavitt said in an interview with Fox New’s “America Reports” Tuesday. “But you have to speak to both sides of the war in order to truly negotiate a deal and problem-solve. And this is a significant first step toward peace.” TOP RUSSIAN, US OFFICIALS MEET IN SAUDI ARABIA TO BEGIN TALKS ON UKRAINE WAR WITHOUT OFFICIALS FROM KYIV Leavitt said that President Donald Trump was in correspondence with Zelenskyy, and spoke with other European allies like French President Emmanuel Macron Monday. Additionally, she said that Trump will meet with the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the White House next week. Trump and Zelenskky also spoke over the phone Wednesday about the negotiations, and Zelenskyy said he relayed that he believes Putin isn’t interested in peace with Ukraine. “I said that [Putin] is a liar,” Zelenskyy said in an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” that aired Sunday. “And he said, ‘I think my feeling is that he’s ready for these negotiations.’ And I said to him, ‘No, he’s a liar. He doesn’t want any peace.’” While Zelenskyy voiced gratitude for U.S. support, he said there is no “leader in the world who can really make a deal with Putin without us, about us.” “I will never accept any decisions between the United States and Russia about Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said on “Meet the Press.” PUTIN’S A ‘LITTLE BIT SCARED’ OF TRUMP AS NATIONS BEGIN PEACE TALKS, ZELENSKYY SAYS But Trump has offered reassurances that Zelenskyy would be involved in peace conversations, and told reporters Sunday on the tarmac at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida, that Ukraine would get a seat at the negotiating table. The first action the U.S. plans to take following the meetings with Russian officials is to “reestablish the functionality of our respective missions in Washington and in Moscow,” Rubio told reporters from The Associated Press and CNN. “For us to be able to continue to move down this road, we need to have diplomatic facilities that are operating and functioning normally,” Rubio said, according to a State Department transcript. Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, and Trump vowed on the campaign trail in 2024 that he would work to end the conflict if elected again. Fox News’ Emma Colton and Andrea Margolis contributed to this report.
Zelenskyy faces perilous re-election odds as US, Russia push Ukraine to go to the polls as part of peace deal
Nearly one year past the expiration of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s first five-year term, the U.S. and Russia are in agreement that Ukrainians must go to the polls and decide whether to keep their head of state. Russia has insisted it will not sign a peace agreement until Ukraine agrees to hold elections, and the U.S. is now “floating” the idea of a three-stage plan: ceasefire, then Ukrainian elections, then inking of a peace deal. Zelenskyy’s term in office was supposed to end last May, with elections originally slated for April 2024. But the president’s aides have said elections will not be held until six months after the end of martial law. The Ukrainian constitution prohibits holding elections under martial law. With his popularity having plummeted nearly 40% since the war’s outbreak, Zelenskyy’s future could be in jeopardy if peace is reached and elections are triggered. US, RUSSIAN OFFICIALS PROPOSE PEACE PLAN, LAY ‘GROUNDWORK FOR COOPERATION’ IN RIYADH Earlier this month, Trump’s envoy for Russia and Ukraine Keith Kellogg said Washington wants Kyiv to hold elections, possibly by the end of the year, as soon as a peace deal is brokered. Zelenskyy shot back that Ukrainians were alarmed by such statements. “It is very important for Kellogg to come to Ukraine. Then he would understand the people and all our circumstances,” Zelenskyy said, in comments to The Guardian. Other U.S. politicians called for Ukraine to have its elections on schedule last year. AMERICAN DETAINED IN RUSSIA RELEASED AS OFFICIALS WORK TO SET UP POTENTIAL TRUMP-PUTIN MEETING Ukraine advocates say post-war elections would be a far better option, but elections offer Russia an opportunity to sow chaos. “The only person that benefits from elections before there’s a durable peace deal is Putin,” said Andrew D’Anieri, fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center. “The Kremlin loves elections, not in their own country, but elsewhere, because it provides an opportunity to destabilize things.” Ukraine’s former President Petro Poroshenko also claimed that Ukrainian authorities would have an election before the end of the year. “Write it down – Oct. 26 this year,” he said in a recent interview. But Davyd Arakhamia, the parliamentary leader of Zelenskyy’s Servant of the People party, denied Poroshenko’s claim in a Telegram post. “During martial law, elections are impossible to hold […] The leaders of all parties have agreed that elections will not be held until at least six months after the end of martial law,” Arakhamia said. Poroshenko, Ukraine’s president from 2014 to 2019 who amassed his fortunes in the confectionary business, lost out to Zelenskyy in his bid for a second term. Seen as a possible contender for a rematch, Poroshenko previously opposed holding elections before the war’s conclusion, arguing Putin would use propaganda to undermine them. But some have begun to question whether Zelenskyy could survive a re-election campaign. Zelenskyy saw approval rates soar to 90% at the onset of the war in 2022, but took a dip to around 50%, according to a Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) poll of 2,000 respondents in December. “Zelenskyy’s prospects to win the elections are contingent upon the exact terms of the ceasefire, namely, the public perception of them as a ‘victory,’ ‘honorable draw’ or ‘defeat,’” said Ivan Gomza, public policy professor at the Kyiv School of Economics. “The cessation of hostilities are hardly plausible in 2025. Moreover, elections require preparations… elections are very unlikely until at least 2026. “Zelensky is unlikely to win the elections, if they were to be held in Ukraine, because his popularity dropped significantly at the end of 2024,” said Russian-born U.S. intelligence expert Rebekah Koffler. “Ukrainians are exhausted by the war and many have come to the realization that it’s unwinnable for Ukraine.” “The Russians, in turn, will almost certainly run clandestine operations to influence the elections in order to elect a pro-Russian candidate,” Koffler added. Zelenskyy has also lost his main benefactor from the first election, Ihor Kolomoyski, who was indicted in both the U.S. and Ukraine on charges of money laundering and bank fraud. Zelenskyy’s main opponent is expected to be Valerii Zaluzhnyi, a four-star general and the current ambassador to the United Kingdom. Zelenskyy fired Zaluzhnyi as head of the armed forces last year in a major – and politically unpopular – shakeup. Zaluzhny had claimed the war with Russia had reached a stalemate in late 2023. PUTIN VIEWED AS ‘GREAT COMPETITOR’ BUT STILL A US ‘ADVERSARY’ AS UKRAINE NEGOTIATIONS LOOM, LEAVITT SAYS Russia, though it insists on elections as part of negotiations, is not likely to win a more favorable, pro-Russia Ukrainian government in any outcome of an election. “All the frontrunners in the election will be pro-Western, pro-European candidates who want to defend the country against Russia and probably agree on most matters, including on foreign affairs and defense, but have their own kind of domestic political issues where they differ,” said D’Anieri. “The only people that come anywhere close to Zelenskyy in the polls are people like General Zaluzhnyi, with really established, patriotic credentials in Ukraine,” said Henry Hale, professor at George Washington University who specializes in public opinion in Ukraine. “Any of the pro-Russian forces don’t really have much standing there.” Zelenskyy banned 11 political parties over ties to Russia in 2022. Many of the nation’s pro-Russia lawmakers have fled over the border – and four MPs were stripped of their Ukrainian citizenship over ties to Russia in 2023. Some lawmakers who belonged to the outlawed political groups simply switched party affiliations. And faced with a dwindling coalition without elections to replace members of parliament who switch jobs or join the military, Zelenskyy has since been forced to rely on members of parliament who were previously part of the now-banned pro-Russia parties for votes. Hale predicted that if an election were held before a peace deal had been inked, it would boost Zelenskyy’s chances of re-election. “Even though there are a lot of people in Ukraine who don’t think that he’s done the best job managing the
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy stepping down amid US Postal Service financial turmoil
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy on Tuesday announced that he would be stepping down as the U.S. Postal Service tries to recover from hundreds of billions of dollars in predicted losses within the next decade. DeJoy, who was appointed during President Donald Trump‘s first term, notified the Postal Service Board of Governors that it was time to find a suitable successor. “While there remains much critical work to be done to ensure that the Postal Service can be financially viable as we continue to serve the nation in our essential public service mission, I have decided it is time to start the process of identifying my successor and of preparing the Postal Service for this change,” DeJoy said in a statement. CONGRESS ADDRESSES UPTICK IN POSTAL CARRIER ROBBERIES THROUGH NEW LEGISLATION TARGETING SAFETY “After four and half years leading one of America’s greatest public institutions through dramatic change during unusual times, it is time for me to start thinking about the next phase of my life, while also ensuring that the Postal Service is fully prepared for the future,” he added. DeJoy said a timely and methodic approach is needed to find someone to lead the organization, followed by a “period of dedicated focus” to position the Postal Service for financial success. “I am extremely proud of the 640,000 men and women of the United States Postal Service who live, work and serve in every American community,” he said. “Despite being victimized by a legislative and regulatory business model that produced almost two decades of devastation to their organization and workplaces, they have persevered and embraced the changes we are making in order to better serve their fellow citizens.” MASSACHUSETTS USPS LETTER CARRIER ROBBED WHILE DELIVERING MAIL IN NEIGHBORHOOD, TEENS ARRESTED DeJoy was tapped to lead the agency in 2020, during a time of “tremendous operational and financial crisis” for the Postal Service, a news release said. The USPS is implementing a 10-year restructuring plan intended to eliminate $200 billion in predicted losses over the next decade. In 2023, the USPS reported a $6.5 billion net loss for that fiscal year. At the time, operating revenue fell $321 million, or 0.4%, to $78.2 billion compared to the same period in 2022, as first-class mail fell to the lowest volume since 1968.
Judge denies Democrat-led effort to block DOGE access, citing lack of proven harm
A federal judge on Tuesday declined to block Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from accessing government data or firing federal employees. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan ruled that plaintiffs – who represented more than a dozen Democratic-led states – failed to show the necessary evidence of harm caused by DOGE’s access in order to be granted a temporary restraining order. The decision from Chutkan, an Obama appointee, is a blow to the coalition of 14 attorneys general who sued last week to temporarily restrict DOGE’s access to federal data personnel information about government employees. Plaintiffs argued that the leadership role held by Musk, a private citizen, represents an “unlawful delegation of executive power” and threatened what they described as “widespread disruption” to employees working across various federal agencies and government contractors. DOGE SCORES BIG COURT WIN, ALLOWED ACCESS DATA ON 3 FEDERAL AGENCIES “There is no greater threat to democracy than the accumulation of state power in the hands of a single, unelected individual,” said the lawsuit, filed by New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez. Attorneys general from Arizona, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington also joined him in the request. While Judge Chutkan at times appeared sympathetic to the views brought by Torrez and other plaintiffs during Monday’s hearing, she also suggested she was not convinced that plaintiffs had adequately satisfied the high legal standard of “imminent harm” required for a temporary restraining order. “The things I’m hearing are troubling indeed, but I have to have a record and findings of fact before I issue something,” Chutkan said Monday. LAWSUIT TRACKER: NEW RESISTANCE BATTLING TRUMP’S SECOND TERM THROUGH ONSLAUGHT OF LAWSUITS TAKING AIM AT EOS The hearing is the latest in a growing flurry of emergency lawsuits filed across the country seeking to block or restrict DOGE’s access to sensitive government data. Similar legal challenges are playing out in federal courts across the country, from New York and Maryland to Virginia and D.C, with plaintiffs citing fears of privacy breaches, layoffs, and possible retaliation from DOGE. ‘WASTEFUL AND DANGEROUS’: DOGE’S TOP FIVE MOST SHOCKING REVELATIONS DOGE, the Musk-led agency, was created via executive order earlier this year. Its status as a temporary organization within the White House gives DOGE and its employees just 18 months to carry out its goals of optimizing the federal government, streamlining its operations, and of course, doing it all at a lower cost. DOGE’s wide-ranging mission, combined with its lack of specifics, have sparked fresh concerns from outside observers, who have questioned how, exactly, the group plans to deliver on its ambitious optimization goals in such a short amount of time. But Musk and his allies have wasted little time racing to do just that. They’ve spent the past month racing to deliver on what they see as one of President Donald Trump’s biggest campaign trail pledges: reducing bloated federal budgets, aggressively slashing government waste, and firing or putting on ice large swaths of federal employees. The Justice Department, for its part, argued on Monday that the DOGE personnel in question are “detailed” U.S. government employees who are entitled to access the government data under provisions of the Economy Act. Recent court victories have also buoyed DOGE’s operations – allowing them, at least for now, to continue carrying out their sprawling operation., As Judge Chutkan noted Monday, fears and speculation alone are not enough to curtail DOGE access: plaintiffs must prove clearly, and with evidence, that their workings have met the hard-to-satisfy test of permanent, or “irreparable” harm. Late last week, U.S. District Judge John Bates, a George W. Bush appointee, also rejected a request to block DOGE from accessing records of three government agencies, writing in his own opinion Friday that plaintiffs “have not shown a substantial likelihood that [DOGE] is not an agency.” TRUMP TEMPORARILY THWARTED IN DOGE MISSION TO END USAID For plaintiffs, the TRO defeats have made it increasingly unclear what, if any, hope they might have to secure near-term injunctive relief. Plaintiffs representing the 14 Democratic states argued Monday that DOGE’s broad agency access violates the Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution. That clause requires Cabinet and other high-level leaders in the U.S. government to be nominated by a president and confirmed by a Senate majority vote – a lengthy process designed to help vet an individual’s fitness to perform in the role to which they were appointed. They argued that the “expansive authority” granted to DOGE is not “merely academic.” Already, plaintiffs said, Musk has “cut billions of dollars from agency budgets, fired agency personnel, and that he has moved to, in his words, ‘delete’ entire agencies.” Trump “does not have the constitutional authority to unilaterally dismantle the government,” the attorneys general said. “Nor could he delegate such expansive authority to an unelected, unconfirmed individual.” And while Judge Chutkan appeared to share in plaintiffs’ assertion that at least some of DOGE’s actions appear to be “serious and troubling,” she maintained that a deliberate fear is not enough to grant the request to block their access immediately. “You’re talking about a generalized fear,” she said of their DOGE complaints. “I’m not seeing it so far.”
Task force to expose ‘federal secrets’ on JFK assassination, Epstein, UFOs packed with GOP rebels
Seven House Republicans have been named to a new task force dedicated to weighing the declassification of some of the U.S.’ most infamous “secrets.” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., as expected, will lead the explosive panel – formally known as the Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets. It will operate under the House Oversight Committee and its chairman, Rep. James Comer, R-Ky. The list, though short, signals House GOP leaders are letting the conference’s conservative wing take the wheel on this investigation. In addition to Luna, the task force will also include members of the often rebellious House Freedom Caucus such as Reps. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., Eli Crane, R-Ariz., and Eric Burlison, R-Mo. FBI UNCOVERS THOUSANDS OF UNDISCLOSED RECORDS CONNECTED TO JFK’S ASSASSINATION Also on the panel is Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., who has made headlines on several culture war issues over the last year. Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., who frequently collaborates with Luna on issues relating to unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs) in Congress, is on the panel as well, as is first-term Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas. “Bad day to be a classified government secret,” Mace wrote on X. SCOOP: KEY CONSERVATIVE CAUCUS DRAWS RED LINE ON HOUSE BUDGET PLAN Burlison wrote on the site, “A Government cloaked in secrecy has been a tool for control.” Luna pledged to seek “truth and transparency” in a written statement announcing the task force last week. She pledged to “give Americans the answers they deserve” on the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Jeffrey Epstein’s client list, COVID-19, UAPs, and the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. Luna said when announcing the list of members, “We have assembled a team of dedicated leaders who have consistently fought for transparency and full disclosure.” “Our mission is simple: to ensure these documents are released swiftly and in their entirety, giving the American people the truth they deserve,” Luna said. Comer said of the list, “Ensuring government transparency for the American people is a core mission of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.” “The Republicans on Rep. Luna’s task force are steadfast champions of transparency, and I am confident they will vigorously pursue and deliver the truth on critical issues,” Comer said.
Border arrests hit lowest mark since last time Trump was in office, White House says
Apprehensions at the U.S. southern border hit a low mark not seen since the last time President Donald Trump was in office. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) apprehended just 29,116 illegal immigrants along the southern border during the month of January, down from 47,000 in December and hitting a low mark not seen since May 2020, when 32,349 arrests were made at ports of entry, according to a White House press release. Overall, CBP apprehended 61,465 illegal immigrants at the southern border in January, down 36% from the prior month, the release notes, citing new CP data. NEW CARTEL THREATS AGAINST BORDER AGENTS: EXPLOSIVES, DRONES AND WIRELESS TRACKING The numbers, which were shared with ABC News, shifted even more dramatically after Trump took office, with apprehensions falling 85% between Jan. 21 and 31, an 85% reduction from the same time period in 2024. The numbers continue a string of news showing reductions in attempted border crossings under Trump, including a Fox News report last week that revealed the daily average of known gotaways – illegal immigrants who enter the U.S. while avoiding arrest – have fallen to just 132 per day since the beginning of February, at 93% reduction from the highs seen under former President Joe Biden. BORDER PATROL AGENTS TO STOP WEARING BODY CAMERAS AFTER SOCIAL MEDIA POST REVEALS ‘SECURITY RISK’ The improving numbers at the border seemingly began in the first few days of the Trump administration, including a 35% reduction in Border Patrol encounters during the first three days of the new administration compared to the final three days under Biden. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “During the previous administration, the average number of illegal aliens encountered at the southern border in January was 141,710 – the result of dangerous policies that ferried illegal aliens directly into our communities, where they were allowed to stay indefinitely,” reads the White House release. “Now, under President Trump, illegal border crossings are at record lows as illegal aliens are promptly arrested and sent home.”
Euro leaders offended by Vance should ‘have a beer with’ their people to understand concerns: US conservatives
European leaders upset by Vice President JD Vance’s recent remarks in Munich should consider listening to their own citizens’ concerns instead of worrying about fellow elites, say U.S. conservatives who attended a global conference in London. Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., and Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts spoke to a group of reporters after the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship conference in London on Tuesday evening GMT. The conference is intended to bring together those with a vision of citizen empowerment throughout the world and is associated with Canadian psychologist and media commentator Jordan Peterson. Vance had previously told the Bavarian confab of world leaders that “the threat that I worry the most about vis-à-vis Europe is not Russia; it’s not China. It’s not any other external actor – What I worry about is the threat from within the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values, values shared with the United States of America.” TRUMP’S UKRAINE ENVOY PULLS NO PUNCHES WITH EUROPE, SAYS EU MIGHT NOT HAVE PLACE IN RUSSIA PEACE TALKS Vance also criticized what he called “cavalier” and “shocking” fearmongering about a right-wing German party in the upcoming chancellor elections. “What JD Vance was saying to Munich just the other day was a recognition that it is not for our governments to control our lives and in order to make sure that we have the freedom and liberties that we need to order our own lives and make our own decisions,” Hageman said. The Wyoming lawmaker, who unseated Liz Cheney in what was similarly seen as a populist win over the political establishment, spoke of what she called a “new hope” for global conservatism to prevail against “backsliding” governments that put in place onerous regulations instead of listening to the people. GREEN GOVERNANCE IS THE NEW GUISE FOR MERCANTILISM: KEVIN ROBERTS Roberts, meanwhile, offered advice to world leaders like German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who expressed outrage at Vance’s speech – in which the vice president warned of such proverbial backsliding from the West’s “most fundamental values,” like free speech and government responsiveness to the populace. Roberts said the reaction appears limited to a “small number of very vocal European leaders like [Scholz] and unfortunately, is emblematic of what we’ve seen the last few years.” “[Scholz] and particularly [France’s Emmanuel Macron] and a couple of other leaders like to wag their finger at Americans and say we must do more to defend their interests when they themselves don’t make enough sacrifices to spend the requisite spending for defense as part of their annual budgets,” Roberts said. “And that’s the kind of commonsense revolution that [Vance and President Donald Trump] are bringing to both domestic politics and foreign policy.” VANCE SPEAKS AT CPAC Referencing conversations he’s had while in London and at the conference, Roberts said he and Hageman are “translating” American conservative policies outlined by people like Vance to the Europeans – and they are being receptive. “The translation would be easier if more of these European leaders were more engaged in common sense,” he said. “Maybe having a beer with everyday Germans rather than spending so much time in Brussels (at the EU).” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Scholz had expressed outrage at Vance’s nod to the right-wing Alternativ für Deutschland (AfD) party in Berlin’s upcoming elections. The party, while aligning with some of the global right’s economic principles, also has what critics consider select callbacks to the Nazi Party, which was banned in Germany post-World War II. “Today’s democracies in Germany and Europe are founded on the historic awareness and realization that democracies can be destroyed by radical anti-democrats,” Scholz said this week. “And this is why we’ve created institutions that ensure that our democracies can defend themselves against their enemies and rules that do not restrict or limit freedom but protect it.”
Louisiana surgeon general wants to ‘depoliticize medicine’ by ending statewide mass vaccinations
Louisiana’s surgeon general, Dr. Ralph Abraham, said his goal was to get politics out of medicine and improve patients’ informed consent when he decided to issue a directive ending mass vaccination programs in his state. Critics have decried Abraham’s directive as anti-science and hyper-political, while also arguing it could further hamper an already overburdened health sector. Others have suggested the move will actually serve to decrease confidence in public health rather than improve it, as Abraham foresees. But, he argues, the move is a critical step toward keeping patients in control of their healthcare, and serves to “depoliticize medicine” rather than further politicize it. TRUMP SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDER TO BLOCK FEDERAL MONEY FOR SCHOOLS, UNIVERSITIES WITH COVID VACCINE MANDATES “In my opinion, it is probably not the best thing to just simply go into a herd mentality – just line up – and get a shot,” Abraham said during an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital. “Why would somebody want to do that when they can have that conversation? If you have these mass vaccination events, it takes away that patient-doctor relationship because that conversation then never happens.” Following the announcement of the new directive, a group of Louisiana medical associations accused Abraham of politicizing vaccines. However, Abraham countered that these criticisms were unfounded. “People say, ‘Well, you’re putting politics into medicine.’ No. Politics was in medicine from the get-go, starting with COVID,” Abraham said. “My job and my role and my desire is to depoliticize medicine. And the way you do that is to get that patient and that doctor on a one-on-one.” RFK JR’S HEALTH AGENDA GAINS POPULARITY AMONG STATE LAWMAKERS Abraham, the state’s first surgeon general, ordered his staff last week to stop engaging in media campaigns, community health fairs and other mass vaccination efforts that encourage people to get vaccinated without any prior consultation with a doctor. The move garnered backlash, including from GOP Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, a physician himself. Cassidy said that Abraham’s order was ignoring “the reality of people’s lives,” arguing events like vaccine fairs “keep a child from having to miss school and a mother from having to miss work.” “To say that cannot occur and that someone must wait for the next available appointment ignores that reality,” Cassidy argued. RFK JR. SAYS HEALTH CRISIS ISN’T JUST PHYSICAL, BUT SPIRITUAL Other critics who spoke to ABC News suggested Abraham’s directive aimed, in part, at restoring confidence that has been lost in public health, will serve to continue to diminish it. They also argue that in an industry that has a shortage of healthcare workers, getting rid of mass vaccination programs could actually serve to overburden the industry even more, and potentially cost lives. But Abraham said his critics were “cherry-picking what they want to fuss about.” “If you look at the overall picture that we presented – if they argue with just good common sense, and if they argue with wanting to get that patient-doctor relationship back to where it’s supposed to be, then, you know, they’re just not debating in a very fair and logical manner.” A former member of Congress and supporter of newly confirmed Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Abraham said he was “in no form or fashion” anti-vaccine. He added that as a family medicine physician he “always” recommends childhood immunizations, and called the Tetanus vaccine “life-saving.” BIRD FLU VACCINE GETS ‘CONDITIONAL LICENSE’ FROM USDA, COMPANY ANNOUNCES “There are some vaccines that are good for most people. There are some vaccines that are good for some people. There are some vaccines that are good for a few people. And there are some vaccines that are good for no one,” Abraham said. When asked about how he would respond to critics who would call his and Kennedy’s skeptical views on vaccines anti-science, Abraham said, “I would love to debate them.” “I have science on my side that shows that these things that they are saying work certainly do not work [the way they claim],” Abraham said. “This statement we came out with – that LDH has done – it has certainly promoted conversation about these issues. That’s a good thing.” Abraham told Fox News Digital that the move will not impact vaccine distribution in the state and the Louisiana Department of Health will still provide them as they have in the past. He also said the move will help clear up limited resources.
DHS helicopter patrolling border struck three times by laser from Mexico
A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) helicopter that was patrolling the southern U.S. border was targeted by a laser from the Mexican side of the boundary. An AS-350 helicopter patrolling about 13 miles west of McAllen International Airport in Texas was struck three times by a laser that was pointed at the aircraft from a vehicle on the Mexican riverbank last week, according to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) release. The incident marked the sixth time in the last four months that Air Interdiction Agents have been forced to take evasive maneuvers after being targeted by lasers, the release notes. NEW CARTEL THREATS AGAINST BORDER AGENTS: EXPLOSIVES, DRONES AND WIRELESS TRACKING Another recent incident, also involving an AS-350 helicopter, occurred in Jacksonville, Florida, last month, which resulted in the arrest of an individual who now faces felony charges in the state. “No pilots or crew were injured in these cases, and the laser sightings are being investigated,” the release said. Owning handheld lasers isn’t illegal, but shining the laser into the cockpit of an aircraft is a federal crime that can result in 20 years of prison time and a $250,000 fine, the release notes. BORDER PATROL AGENTS TO STOP WEARING BODY CAMERAS AFTER SOCIAL MEDIA POST REVEALS ‘SECURITY RISK’ “When laser beams are aimed at any piloted aircraft, whether military or commercial, what might seem like a tiny beam on the ground can blind aircrew, potentially causing a midair collision or other incident,” the release warned. Border Patrol personnel have come under continued threats in recent months, including a report earlier this week that revealed agents in the field will no longer wear body cameras after a social media post revealed how to exploit the cameras to track and potentially threaten agents by using a Bluetooth application that can be downloaded to a cellphone. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Pending completion of investigation and risk mitigation, all Agents will stand down the use of their BWCs [body worn cameras] until further notice. Additional guidance and information will be disseminated as it is received,” a CBP directive on that issue read. CBP did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.
Are more airplanes crashing now in Trump’s presidency than under Biden?
The United States saw double the number of fatal plane crashes under President Joe Biden’s first four weeks in office compared to the same time period under President Donald Trump’s second administration, federal data reviewed by Fox News Digital shows. There were 10 fatal plane crashes in the United States between Jan. 20, 2021, and Feb. 18, 2021, according to the National Transportation Safety Board’s Case Analysis and Reporting Online, or CAROL, which has recorded aviation accidents since 1962. There were four fatal plane crashes recorded during the same time period under the second Trump administration — from inauguration day to Feb. 18 — the data shows. A fifth fatal plane crash unfolded in Georgia on Saturday evening, which has not yet been added to the database but is included in Fox Digital’s final tally of five fatal plane crashes in the U.S. since Jan. 20. Though the second Trump administration has seen fewer plane crashes than the first month of the Biden administration, the Washington, D.C., crash in January provided greater national visibility to concern over aviation crashes as it was the deadliest in U.S. history since November 2001, when an American Airlines flight crashed into a residential area of New York City, killing 260 people on board and five on the ground. A total of 67 people were killed in January when an Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines passenger plane collided near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Fox News Digital found that during the Biden administration’s approximate first month in office, there were U.S.-based fatal plane crashes in Janesville, Wisconsin; St. Thomas, Caribbean Sea; Tehachapi, California; Galt, Missouri; Belvidere, Tennessee; Chitina, Alaska; Hackberry, Louisiana; Port Angeles, Washington; Boynton Beach, Florida; Rio Rancho, New Mexico. A total of 18 individuals died in the 10 crashes. TORONTO PLANE CRASH: HARROWING VIDEO SHOWS DELTA PLANE ERUPTING INTO FIREBALL, FLIPPING UPSIDE-DOWN The five fatal plane crashes in the first month of the Trump administration occurred in Nome, Alaska; Philadelphia; Washington, D.C.; Charlottesville, Virginia; and Covington, Georgia. A total of 96 people died in the plane crashes. When comparing the two Trump administrations, Fox News Digital found there were 11 recorded fatal plane crashes between Jan. 20, 2017, to Feb. 18, 2017. TORONTO PLANE CRASH TIMELINE: DELTA FLIGHT FROM MINNEAPOLIS FLIPS UPSIDE DOWN WHILE ATTEMPTING TO LAND Fox News Digital also found that the Biden administration saw seven serious — not fatal — plane crashes between Jan. 20, 2021, and Feb. 18, 2021, compared to six serious plane crashes under the same time period for the Trump administration, according to the CAROL database. As for crashes that resulted in “minor” injuries for passengers, the CAROL database recorded seven under the Biden administration’s first month and two under the second Trump administration’s first month, Fox Digital found. SWALWELL DECLARES ‘ALL CRASHES ARE TRUMP’S FAULT’ AS HE DOUBLES DOWN ON PLANE DISASTER BLAME GAME Another plane crash unfolded on Monday in Canada, when a Delta Air Lines CRJ-900 jet originating from Minnesota crashed at Toronto Pearson International Airport. None of the 80 passengers or crew were killed, but at least 18 were treated for injuries after the plane crashed, caught on fire and flipped upside down. The Toronto crash unfolded as news mounted that the Trump administration is in the midst of firing a bevy of federal employees across various agencies as part of his administration’s effort to cut government spending fat and weed out corruption and mismanagement, including terminating Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employees who have been hired in the past year, according to a union representing the employees. A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Transportation told Fox News Digital Monday that the agency continues to hire air traffic controllers and those focused on air safety. PLANE CRASHES SPARK RENEWED FEAR OF FLYING: 10 CAUSES OF AVIATION DISASTERS “The FAA continues to hire and onboard air traffic controllers and safety professionals, including mechanics and others who support them,” the spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “The agency has retained employees who perform safety critical functions.” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy added on X that his predecessor, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, had “failed for four years to address the air traffic controller shortage and upgrade our outdated, World War II-era air traffic control system.” “Here’s the truth: the FAA alone has a staggering 45,000 employees,” he said. “Less than 400 were let go, and they were all probationary, meaning they had been hired less than a year ago. Zero air traffic controllers and critical safety personnel were let go.” The crash, however, has opened the floodgates of criticism from Democrats and liberal media outlets who have laid blame for the crash at Trump’s feet. “I’m thankful that everyone in the flight incident in Toronto that took off from Minneapolis is safe, but we keep seeing these incidents day after day,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer posted to X after the Monday crash. “Meanwhile, Trump’s doing massive layoffs at the FAA—including safety specialists—and making our skies less and less safe. Democrats are fighting to protect the flying public.”