11th scientist death emerges in string of missing, dead officials with access to US secrets
Amy Eskridge, a Huntsville, Alabama–based researcher who died in 2022, is now being cited as the 11th case in a growing list of scientists who have died or disappeared under unusual circumstances. Her death has drawn renewed attention as at least 10 other recent cases involving individuals tied to U.S. military, nuclear and aerospace research have prompted questions about whether any pattern exists. President Donald Trump said Thursday he had “just left a meeting” on the issue and vowed answers within days, calling the situation “pretty serious.” “I hope it’s random, but we’re going to know in the next week and a half,” Trump told reporters. WHO WAS NUNO LOUREIRO? MIT PROFESSOR GUNNED DOWN IN APARTMENT NEAR UNIVERSITY While officials have not confirmed any connection between the cases, the overlap in timing and the individuals’ ties to advanced research fields has fueled growing public attention and speculation. Eskridge died June 11, 2022, in Huntsville, Alabama, at the age of 34, according to obituary records. Her death has been reported as a self-inflicted gunshot wound, though limited official details have been publicly released. Eskridge co-founded the Institute for Exotic Science and described her work as focused on experimental propulsion concepts, including what she referred to as “antigravity” research. “We discovered anti-gravity and our lives went to (expletive) and people started sabotaging us,” she said in a 2020 interview with Youtuber Jeremy Rys. “It’s harassment, threats. It’s awful.” “If you stick your neck out in public, at least someone notices if your head gets chopped off,” Eskridge said. “If you stick your neck out in private, they will bury you. They will burn down your house while you’re sleeping in your bed and it won’t even make the news.” In the same interview, she described what she characterized as escalating pressure surrounding her work. “I have to publish because it’s only going to get worse until I publish,” she said, adding that the situation was “getting more and more aggressive.” In presentations and interviews, Eskridge also suggested that researchers working on unconventional technologies could face pressure to move their work out of the public domain, describing what she saw as a pattern in which scientists who reported breakthroughs would “disappear” from public work or stop publishing. Eskridge’s death is being cited alongside cases involving retired Air Force Maj. Gen. William “Neil” McCasland, NASA scientist Monica Jacinto Reza, contractor Steven Garcia, astrophysicist Carl Grillmair, Massachusetts Institute of Technology physicist Nuno Loureiro, NASA engineer Frank Maiwald, Los Alamos–linked employees Melissa Casias and Anthony Chavez, NASA researcher Michael David Hicks and pharmaceutical scientist Jason Thomas. The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) told Fox News Digital it is investigating the deaths and disappearances. “NNSA is aware of reports related to employees of our labs, plants, and sites and is looking into the matter,” a statement from the department said. At the same time, there is no publicly available evidence linking Eskridge’s death to those cases, and authorities have not indicated any connection between her work and the circumstances of her death. Her case has also become the subject of speculation in online and alternative technology communities, where some commentators have raised questions about the circumstances surrounding her death. Those claims, however, remain unverified and are not supported by official findings.
Meet Analilia Mejia, the Sanders-AOC backed progressive who just won election to Congress
Analilia Mejia, a one-time labor organizer backed by progressive champions Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, is headed to Congress. Mejia, running on a platform that emphasized Medicare for All, a $25 minimum wage with the first $40,000 tax-free, a wealth tax, abolishing ICE and holding President Donald Trump and his administration accountable, convincingly defeated Republican candidate Joe Hathaway in Thursday’s special election in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District. With her nearly 20-point victory, Mejia will fill the final eight months of the term of Gov. Mikie Sherrill, the more moderate Democratic representative who stepped down from Congress in November after winning New Jersey’s gubernatorial election. Mejia, who is likely to align herself with the so-called “Squad” of younger, diverse and progressive House Democrats, called herself the “sassy new member of Congress” in her victory speech. DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB The special election came as the GOP clings to a fragile House majority. Republicans would have relished the opportunity to pick up the seat, but they faced a steep uphill climb to flip the suburban district Sherrill won by 15 points in her 2024 re-election and carried by roughly the same margin in last year’s gubernatorial election. Hathaway, a former Randolph Township mayor and current council member who was unopposed for the GOP congressional nomination, aimed to paint Mejia as too far to the left for the district. He told Fox News Digital the choice for voters was “between a common sense, practical independent leader who’s gotten things done at the local level in New Jersey and knows the issues, contrasted with someone who’s running on pure ideology, far left-wing ideology, Squad-backed ideology.” “I think we have the right math, the right bipartisan coalition to come together to win this thing on April 16,” an optimistic Hathaway predicted. But Hathaway came up far short, given the rough political climate facing Republicans and the traditional headwinds for the party in power. THIS PROGRESSIVE ORGANIZER WINS SPECIAL ELECTION, EARNING TICKET TO CONGRESS Mejia, on Thursday night, pushed back against the claims she’s a radical. “My opponent has spent his whole campaign calling me names and saying my ideas are too radical. But we know, that is a mind trick, on brand for a spin doctor, but easily countered if you just open your eyes,” Mejia said. “It is not radical to say that one of the wealthiest nations in the world should do more to protect the health of its people.” Here’s a closer look at Mejia and where she stands on the issues. Mejia was born in New Jersey and is the daughter of Colombian and Dominican immigrants. After working as a union organizer, Mejia served as national political director on the 2020 Sanders presidential campaign. She later worked in the Department of Labor in former President Joe Biden’s administration. Mejia pulled off an upset in the February Democratic primary, narrowly edging out a more moderate rival, former Rep. Tom Malinowski, in a field of 11 candidates. While Mejia was the clear choice of the party’s left flank, the rest of the field divided the moderate and center-left vote. Besides the backing of Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez, Mejia was also endorsed by other top progressive leaders, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Reps. Ro Khanna of California, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Pramila Jayapal of Washington state, the former chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. PROGRESSIVES NOTCH ANOTHER WIN OVER DEMOCRATIC MODERATES AS SANDERS-AOC ALLY NEARS CONGRESS Mejia’s nomination victory was another big boost for the left against the establishment since now-New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, sent shock waves across the nation with his Democratic primary victory in June 2025. Mejia repeatedly took aim at Trump’s unprecedented crackdown on illegal immigration and called for scrapping Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the federal agency most visible in the aggressive tactics used in the administration’s massive deportation effort. REPUBLICAN SEEKS BLUE-STATE BREAKTHROUGH, DISTANCES FROM TRUMP WHILE TAKING AIM AT ‘SOCIALIST’ “I say abolish ICE now,” Mejia said on the campaign trail. “You can’t reform it. It’s not fixable. Get it out.” After her primary victory, Mejia gave credit to her stance on immigration in the wake of backlash against the Trump administration following the January fatal shootings in Minnesota by federal agents of two U.S. citizens protesting immigration operations. “I think the fact that I was bold and unafraid to speak the truth was incredibly important,” she told reporters. “I think voters feel that they want to have a representative that actually represents them, and they cannot watch what’s happening in Minnesota, what happened in Chicago, what happened in California, what happened in Morristown across this district.” Mejia, like many on the left, has railed against rulings by the conservative-dominated Supreme Court. “The Supreme Court has been captured by right-wing radicals who care more about doing Trump’s bidding than the rule of law,” Mejia charged on her campaign website. She supported “articles of impeachment against Justices Thomas and Alito” for what she says is “their corruption and conflicts of interest.” Mejia also backed “term limits for newly appointed Supreme Court justices, a binding code of ethics with real enforcement for all federal judges.” And Mejia said she would support “expanding the courts if necessary to restore balance.” On her campaign website, Mejia stated, “We’re going to cancel all student loan debt.” And she pledges that she’ll “fight to make college tuition free at community colleges and trade schools for everyone.” As part of her “economy for everyone agenda,” Mejia argued, “If you work 40 hours a week, you should make at least $40,000 a year, and you shouldn’t pay a dime in federal taxes on that first $40,000.” And she highlighted that she helped lead the fight in New Jersey to “win the $15 minimum wage.” “With the cost of living rising every day, it’s time to raise the minimum wage at the national
Senate temporarily extends nation’s controversial spying powers after House fumbles
The Senate quietly extended the nation’s spying powers Friday morning after the House failed to reauthorize the program before the fast-approaching deadline. The upper chamber’s unanimous vote to extend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) gives Congress a little more breathing room beyond the April 20 deadline but still leaves lawmakers in the same divided place they started. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., had positioned the Senate to swiftly receive and possibly pass a FISA reauthorization, but after progress on the legislation blew up in the House, he’s eying putting the upper chamber in the driver’s seat. HOUSE PUNTS TRUMP SPY POWERS EXTENSION AFTER CONSERVATIVES BLOCK DEAL, FORCING END-OF-MONTH SHOWDOWN “We can’t go dark,” Thune said. “We just can’t afford to go dark, so we’ve got to figure it out. Hopefully, we can move a 10-day extension, and we’ll try and set things up to try and do something over here.” The original plan was derailed because of the controversial Section 702 of FISA. On the surface, it allows the government to spy on foreign nationals abroad, but nothing stops that law from collecting data on Americans if they happen to be involved in those communications. While FISA as a whole is a vital tool for the government, particularly as uncertainty swirls about the true end of the war in Iran, Congress still isn’t on the same page as the White House. DOZENS OF DEMS FLIP ON ISRAEL, VOTE TO BAN ARMS SALES IN PROTEST OF IRAN WAR President Donald Trump and the White House pushed lawmakers to pass a clean reauthorization of the program, which both Republicans and Democrats in both chambers have pushed back against. It’s a rare horseshoe issue in Washington, D.C., that draws opposite ends of the political spectrum — conservatives and progressives — together on privacy rights. Opponents of Section 702 want warrant requirements for the government to parse communications involving Americans. Congressional Democrats similarly demanded warrant requirements for immigration agents to enter people’s homes as part of their list of demands to reopen the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). DHS SHUTDOWN ENTERS DAY 60 WITH ALL EYES ON HOUSE REPUBLICANS TO END IT Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., has strongly pushed back against a clean reauthorization, arguing in a letter to his Democratic colleagues that leaps and bounds in AI are “supercharging how the government can surveil Americans.” And Wyden nearly derailed chances for the extension to pass in the upper chamber, but later argued it was the “right decision for today,” and that tacking on another few days would give more leverage to lawmakers wanting reforms. Wyden told Fox News Digital that “the focus here needs to be what Ben Franklin talked about.” “Anybody who gives up their liberty to have security really doesn’t deserve either,” Wyden said. “And I don’t buy the idea that liberty and security are mutually exclusive, and that’s what the proponents, who just want a straight across the board approach are calling for.” “They say, basically, ‘The sky’s gonna fall, unless you pass our bill right away,‘” he continued. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., tried and failed with two options for FISA. One route was a clean, 18-month extension. Another was a five-year extension with modest reforms. Conservatives joined the bulk of House Democrats to tank the latter. Lawmakers will return next week with a bevy of issues on their plates, including reopening DHS and sprinting to craft the framework for a party-line budget reconciliation package to fund immigration enforcement for the next three years. The FISA issue will linger until the next deadline at the end of the month.
Supreme Court reverses lower court ruling, hands Chevron victory in environmental lawsuit
The Supreme Court ruled Friday in favor of Chevron in a case over whether a Louisiana environmental lawsuit can proceed in federal court. In Chevron USA Inc. v. Plaquemines Parish, the justices held that the case falls within the federal officer removal statute, allowing Chevron to move the lawsuit from state to federal court. The justices vacated a lower court decision that had kept the case in state court and remanded for further proceedings. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
School district’s trans policy blasted for fostering ‘deception’ under shadow of SCOTUS ruling
FIRST ON FOX: A conservative legal group called on the Trump administration on Friday to investigate an Alaska school district over a policy that withholds gender identity information from parents. America First Legal asked the Education and Justice departments to open inquiries into the school district, the latest to come under scrutiny for its transgender policies in the wake of a major Supreme Court ruling last month that sided with religious parents on the matter. The high court’s decision applied to California but has continued to affect school districts across the country. AFL’s complaint centers on a policy in Hoonah City School District, a small K-12 district in Alaska, that instructs school administrators to use a student’s legal name and pronouns when communicating with parents, even if the student is going by a different name and pronouns at school. VIRGINIA MOM PRAISES TRUMP FOR SHINING ‘A LIGHT’ ON DAUGHTER’S SCHOOL TRANSITION CASE DURING SOTU AFL argued that in practice, the policy “requires school staff to present one identity to parents while facilitating another at school, effectively directing them to deceive parents about their own children.” “Hoonah City School District’s nonsensical ‘gender identity’ policies strip parents of their rights, applaud deception, and brazenly violate federal law,” AFL senior counsel Ian Prior said in a statement. The DOJ Civil Rights Division has already signaled it is open to investigating such policies after recently opening a similar probe into Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation’s second-largest school district comprising more than half a million students. CALIFORNIA HIT WITH FRESH SETBACK IN FAILED GENDER SECRECY CASE COSTING TAXPAYERS MILLIONS AFL’s complaint mirrors a similar legal threat the conservative Thomas More Society made last month against the Westwood Regional School District in New Jersey. The legal group, which helped bring the California Supreme Court case, said it would initiate litigation if the school district did not rescind a policy that lets schools withhold students’ gender identity information from parents. The complaints and investigations come after the Supreme Court temporarily blocked California from enforcing a policy that prevents school staff from notifying parents if their child expresses a desire to engage in gender transitioning, unless the child consents to the parents finding out. The case, Mirabelli v. Bonta, was brought by parents who argued the policy encroached on their religious freedom. The California policy also required school staff to use students’ preferred names and pronouns regardless of the parents’ wishes. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit sided with the state in the case, but the high court temporarily vacated the 9th Circuit’s order 6-3, saying the state policy was likely unconstitutional. The three liberal justices dissented. SUPREME COURT RULING ON SECRETIVE CALIFORNIA GENDER POLICY COULD RESHAPE PARENT RIGHTS FIGHTS NATIONWIDE “The State argues that its policies advance a compelling interest in student safety and privacy,” the high court’s majority had written in the unsigned opinion. “But those policies cut out the primary protectors of children’s best interests: their parents.” California attorneys had argued that the state policy was designed to protect transgender children from allegedly abusive parents. Peter Breen, an executive vice president with the Thomas More Society, recently told Fox News Digital he had hoped the Supreme Court’s decision “would end the practice of secret gender transitions, but what’s becoming clear to us is this is just the beginning.” “We are already fielding requests from other parents across the country, and we anticipate sending a lot more demand letters, unfortunately,” Breen said. Fox News Digital reached out to the Hoonah City School District and the DOJ and Ed. Dept. for comment.
Air Force is ‘smallest,’ ‘least ready’ in history, National Guard leaders warn Congress in fighter jet plea
Leaders of the Air National Guard argued that the Air Force’s readiness was woefully inadequate in a recent letter to Congress requesting more funding. “The United States Air Force is the oldest, the smallest, and the least ready in its 78-year history,” the letter, which was obtained by Air and Space Forces Magazine, read. To rectify the historic deficiency, military leaders are requesting between 72 and 100 new fighter jets across the Air Force’s active duty, reserve and guard corps. Specifically, the adjutants generals — the leader of the National Guard in their respective state — are requesting at least 48 new F-35s and 24 new F-15EXs. IRAN FUNDING EMERGES AS KEY TEST FOR JOHNSON’S RAZOR-THIN HOUSE MAJORITY The letter also states a desired goal of procuring 72 new F-35s and 36 new F-15EXs every year. It was signed by all 22 adjutant generals that lead Air National Guards in the states that have them, something Idaho’s assistant adjutant general, Brig. Gen. Shannon Smith, called “a pretty big deal.” “What we’re trying to do with this is send a strong message from the two-star generals that command the National Guards in these states,” he told Air and Space Forces. HERE COME THE BIG BOMBS AS US ESCALATES STRIKES ON IRAN’S HUGE MILITARY ARSENAL Smith pointed to Operation Epic Fury, the U.S.’s sprawling military campaign in Iran, as showcasing the need for more jets and resources. “We are burning these jets and the Airmen over time to support the joint force to accomplish the president’s goals with Epic Fury in this conflict with Iran,” he told the magazine. The procurement requests are a significant jump from recent Air Force asks. The Air Force asked Congress to procure 48 F-35s in 2024 and 42 in 2025. For F-15EXs, they asked for 24 in 2024 and 18 in 2025. “If we keep dabbling under 72, that isn’t winning, that is raising the water line,” Smith told the outlet. “If we don’t procure at a higher rate, all of these fighter squadrons will remain with ’70s-era fighters. Most of the money will go to keep them flying. In a few years, they’ll be struggling to be flyable, let alone be relevant.” The lofty ask comes amidst an equally audacious budget request for the Pentagon from President Trump. His proposed fiscal year 2027 budget asks for $1.5 trillion for the Pentagon, a near $700 billion jump from 2026. Fox News Digital contacted the Pentagon and the Air Force for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Minnesota Republicans reveal which far-left candidate they want to challenge in open Senate race
Republican strategists and lawmakers are hoping that when voters head to the polls in November to elect the next U.S. Senator of Minnesota, they’ll be forced to choose between either a Republican candidate — or Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan. In a Democratic primary that has yet to play out, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., believes Flanagan would give Republicans better odds than her opponent, Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn. “You’ve got the radical Left that is really upending the party. It’s that crazy Marxist anarchist group that is in Minneapolis, especially with a primary,” Emmer said in an interview with local media. “Think about this. You’ve got Angie Craig, who will have all the money. But she knows that her numbers are in the tank against this radical, wild, wild-eyed Peggy Flanagan, the current lieutenant governor. So, guess who shows up [to the primary]? All the crazies from Minneapolis.” EX-NFL REPORTER LAUNCHES GOP SENATE BID, REVEALS HOW SHE WILL FLIP SCRIPT ON STATE’S ‘CRISIS OF LEADERSHIP” “Peggy Flanagan is likely going to be their candidate, and that is good for us,” Emmer said. The assessment isn’t unique to Emmer. The Democratic race began in February of last year when Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., sparked a four-way Democratic primary with news that she would not pursue reelection in 2026. In addition to Craig and Flanagan, Billy Nord, an anti-establishment activist, and Melisa López Franzen, a former minority leader of the Minnesota Senate, announced bids for the seat. But it didn’t take long for Craig and Flanagan to emerge as the clear-cut frontrunners. Craig, a former journalist, businesswoman and a current four-term U.S. congresswoman, has $4.8 million in cash on hand, according to FEC records. Flanagan, Minnesota’s lieutenant governor for the past seven years, has $1.1 million cash on hand. Nord has not reported contributions with the FEC and López dropped out of the race in May of last year. DEMOCRAT IN KEY SENATE PRIMARY SAYS SHE ‘REGRETS’ VOTE ON LAKEN RILEY ACT, DRAWS GOP BACKLASH While Republican onlookers believe both frontrunners can be described as “far-left,” many have pointed out Flanagan shares platform similarities with more polarizing, high-profile Democrats — such as New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and has shared the same platform as Gov. Tim Walz, whom she has called an “incredible partner.” Walz was hammered during his failed 2024 vice presidential bid for all of his far-left proposals. In the view of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, that makes for a Republican advantage. “She, too, supports Medicare for All, wants to ‘re-imagine’ policing and attended anti-ICE protests where she called on people to “put their bodies on the line” to defend illegal immigrants from ICE,” the NRSC said in a press release. More notably, Republicans believe Flanagan’s greatest liability is a tenure that overlaps with recent revelations of up to $9 billion in fraud through government benefit programs. Through scores of schemes, fraudsters in Minnesota allegedly siphoned funding from government programs like daycare centers and health clinics while returning no benefits, greatly exaggerating their services and pocketing government funding. The fraud revelations made national news last year, raising questions about how state leadership could have missed the sheer size of the losses. DFL party Chair Mike Erlandson told the Minnesota Star Tribune he believes fraud will remain front-and-center in the minds of voters. “I don’t think there’s any way that this issue isn’t still being talked about in November. And anybody that was a party to it, whether you’re a legislator or Lt. Gov. Flanagan, if she’s the nominee, is going to have to answer questions around it,” Erlandson said. NRSC Chairman Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., echoed that sentiment. “From allowing billions of dollars in fraud to vilifying law enforcement, the Walz-Flanagan administration has failed Minnesotans,” Scott wrote in a post to X. For her own part, Flanagan’s campaign told Fox News Digital she likes her chances to win in a general election, pointing to Minnesota’s solidly-blue track record of sending Democrats to the U.S. Senate. “Minnesota hasn’t voted for a Republican statewide in over 20 years — with Trump in the White House and the chaos ICE inflicted on Minnesotans, this is not going to be Craig’s or the GOP’s year,” Alexandra Fetissoff, a Flanagan campaign spokeswoman, said. “Peggy Flanagan is the only candidate in this race who has won statewide, the only candidate not taking corporate money and the only candidate that hasn’t enabled Trump’s ICE. Minnesotans know Peggy and trust her leadership, and that’s why she’ll be the next Senator from Minnesota.” MICHELE TAFOYA SAYS MINNESOTA NEEDS POLITICAL OUTSIDER ‘WITH A SPINE’ IN REPUBLICAN SENATE BID When asked if he stood by his comments on the Minnesota primary, Emmer said he believes Republicans will run a competitive race, regardless of the Democratic nominee. “Minnesotans will reject both of these far-left, fraud-enabling radicals who would only dig our state into an even deeper hole than it’s already in. Good luck to Flanagan and Craig as they continue fighting tooth and nail to win over the cop hating, open-border extremist base while alienating commonsense Minnesotans,” Emmer said. Craig and Flanagan will face off in the primary on Aug. 11. Fox News Digital reached out to Craig for comment.
Trump taps former deputy surgeon general to helm CDC
President Donald Trump announced that he is nominating Dr. Erica Schwartz to helm the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “I am pleased to announce the new leadership of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It is my Honor to nominate the incredibly talented Dr. Erica Schwartz, MD, JD, MPH, as my Director of the CDC,” the president declared in a Thursday Truth Social post. “Erica graduated from Brown University for College and Medical School, and served a distinguished career as a Doctor of Medicine in the United States Military, the Greatest and Most Powerful Force in the World, and then served as my Deputy Surgeon General during my First Term. She is a STAR!” he continued. ANTIBIOTIC-RESISTANT BACTERIA LINKED TO SEVERE STOMACH ILLNESS ACROSS US Schwartz served in the role of deputy surgeon general during part of the first Trump administration until early in the Biden administration, according to material posted on the website of Butterfly Network Inc., which indicates that she is on its board of directors. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. thanked the president for tapping Schwartz for the CDC role. “Thank you, President Trump, for nominating Dr. Erica Schwartz to serve as CDC Director. I congratulate Dr. Schwartz and the new CDC leadership team. I look forward to working together to restore trust, accountability, and scientific integrity at the @CDCgov so we can return it to its core mission and Make America Healthy Again,” Kennedy declared in a post on X. SHOUTING MATCH ERUPTS BETWEEN RFK JR AND DEM LAWMAKER OVER HIS COMMENTS ABOUT BLACK CHILDREN The Senate will need to confirm Schwartz to serve in the role. Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama said in a post on X, “Dr. Erica Schwartz will be a great CDC Director. Under Joe Biden, the CDC was a disaster. I have no doubt that Dr. Schwartz will ensure the CDC is 100% focused on making Americans HEALTHY again. I look forward to voting to confirm her soon.” Trump also added in his Truth Social post, “I am also pleased to announce the appointment of Sean Slovenski as the CDC Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer, Dr. Jennifer Shuford, MD, MPH, as the CDC Deputy Director and Chief Medical Officer, and Dr. Sara Brenner, MD, MPH, as Senior Counselor for Public Health to Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.” PEPTIDES MAY SOON BE EASIER TO GET AMID RFK JR.’S PUSH, BUT EXPERTS WARN OF RISKS “These Highly Respected Doctors of Medicine have the knowledge, experience, and TOP degrees to restore the GOLD STANDARD OF SCIENCE at the CDC, which was an absolute disaster focused on “mandates” under Sleepy Joe. Together, they will do a TREMENDOUS job leading the CDC as we continue to MAKE AMERICA HEALTHY AND GREAT AGAIN!” he declared.
Greenland talks on ‘good trajectory,’ White House says amid Trump takeover push
Talks among the U.S., Denmark and Greenland are on a “good trajectory,” a White House official said, despite a public dispute over President Donald Trump’s insistence that the United States should take control of the island. Technical talks are ongoing, the official told Fox News Digital Wednesday, “to address United States’ national security interests in Greenland.” “We are not going to participate in a back and forth through the media, but we are very optimistic that we’re on a good trajectory,” the official said. WATCH: EX-NATO CHIEF DRAWS RED LINE AS TRUMP FUMES ALLIANCE ABANDONED US DURING IRAN WAR The optimism comes after Trump said recently that Denmark and Greenland have resisted his proposal. “We want Greenland. They don’t want to give it to us,” he said. The dispute centers on Greenland’s growing strategic importance, as the island sits along the shortest route between North America and Europe and plays a key role in U.S. missile warning systems and Arctic defense. Trump has argued greater U.S. control is necessary to counter Russia and China’s expanding presence in the region. The United States already maintains a military presence in Greenland under a 1951 defense agreement with Denmark, which allows U.S. forces to operate bases on the island as part of NATO’s collective defense framework. The U.S. operates Pituffik Space Base in Greenland — a key installation for missile warning and space surveillance — and retains broad rights to expand its military footprint in coordination with Danish authorities. U.S. officials have recently explored expanding that presence further, including seeking access to additional sites and increasing operational capabilities in the Arctic, with discussions underway as tensions over Greenland have grown. Representatives for Denmark’s and Greenland’s governments did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Greenland is a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, which retains responsibility for defense and foreign policy — exposing a rift within the NATO alliance. European leaders have rejected any change to Greenland’s status, emphasizing that the island’s sovereignty is not up for negotiation and backing Denmark’s authority over the territory. Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen told NBC News in an interview published Wednesday the island’s residents “don’t feel safe” amid Trump’s repeated push for ownership. The dispute already has moved beyond rhetoric. Denmark has expanded its military presence in Greenland, while European allies have stepped up Arctic exercises and coordination following the president’s push to take control of the island. “Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders and the U.S. shall not take over Greenland,” Danish and Greenlandic leaders said in a joint statement in December 2025. Former NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance remains prepared to defend Greenland under its collective defense framework. NATO HEAVYWEIGHTS BALK AT HORMUZ MISSION AS TRUMP WARNS ALLIANCE AT RISK “NATO is there to protect all allied territory, including Greenland,” Stoltenberg, now Norway’s finance minister, told Fox News Digital. Trump has justified his push by pointing to growing activity in the Arctic, arguing the United States needs greater control over Greenland to counter Russia and China. Russia has expanded its military footprint across the region, reopening and modernizing Cold War-era bases along its northern coast and increasing air and naval patrols. China, which has declared itself a “near-Arctic state,” has expanded its presence through research stations, icebreaker fleets and joint projects with Moscow, including cooperation on energy and shipping routes. The two countries also have deepened coordination in the region, including joint military exercises and broader cooperation in Arctic development and infrastructure. Stoltenberg pushed back on suggestions that the West is losing its strategic edge in the Arctic to Russia and China. “We are scaling up our presence and our capabilities in the Arctic to make sure there is no room for misunderstanding,” he said. The broader challenge for NATO is responding to growing Russian and Chinese activity in the Arctic while also managing a rift within the alliance itself over Greenland’s sovereignty. Greenland’s location along the shortest path between North America and Europe makes it central to U.S. and NATO missile defense systems, with early-warning radar installations helping detect incoming ballistic missiles traveling over the Arctic. At the same time, melting Arctic ice is opening new shipping lanes and access to natural resources, increasing the region’s economic and strategic value and drawing greater attention from both Russia and China. The tensions over Greenland come as broader strains within NATO have been exposed by the Iran conflict, where Trump accused European allies of failing to support U.S. operations. “NATO wasn’t there for us, and they won’t be there for us in the future!” Trump wrote on Truth Social Tuesday.
House punts Trump spy powers extension after conservatives block deal, forcing end-of-month showdown
President Donald Trump’s push to extend the government’s controversial warrantless surveillance powers suffered a minor setback early Friday morning after a group of conservative lawmakers rejected a compromise deal that would have extended the program for five years while incorporating some minor reforms intended to appease GOP privacy hawks. Shortly before 2 a.m. Friday, the House of Representatives approved a two-week extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), giving lawmakers until April 30 to reach a deal. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., voiced confidence that his conference can come to an agreement by the end of the month. “We were very close tonight. There’s some nuances with the language and some questions that need to be answered and we’ll get it done. The extension allows us the time to do that,” he said. JOHNSON FACES GOP REVOLT OVER WARRANTLESS SURVEILLANCE POWERS AHEAD OF KEY VOTE The short-term FISA extension came together after House GOP leadership was forced to scrap an initial 18-month extension of the program due to opposition from conservatives, who want more privacy guardrails added to the program. GOP privacy hawks also shot down a compromise agreement that would have extended the surveillance law until 2031 while adding more stringent criminal penalties for violations of FISA searches. The Section 702 authority allows the government to spy on foreign nationals abroad even when those communications involve Americans. Both conservatives and progressives have pushed for a requirement that would force officials to obtain a warrant before reviewing Americans’ data. House GOP leadership had been racing this week to renew the surveillance law before the April 20 deadline. When their desired approach ran into conservative opposition on the House floor, they settled for a two-week extension. The Senate could pass the short-term extension by unanimous consent as early as Friday. “What we’re trying to do is thread the needle of ensuring that we have this essential tool to keep Americans safe but also safeguard constitutional rights and making sure that the abuses of FISA in the past are no longer possible,” Johnson said early Friday morning. The speaker could spare just two GOP defections during the test votes assuming all members are present and voting. Though many Democrats were supportive of a clean FISA reauthorization bill, Johnson could not count on their support during the procedural votes because they typically vote along party lines. The Trump administration has argued the spying authority must be renewed to prevent potential terrorist attacks on the homeland and that it would be reckless to let the program lapse amid conflict with Iran. “There’s a lot at stake,” CIA Director John Ratcliffe told Fox News during a visit to Capitol Hill in an effort to sell GOP holdouts on a clean extension. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine sent a letter, obtained by Fox News Digital, to Capitol Hill offices touting the surveillance tool’s importance for national security. Trump also publicly urged Republicans to “UNIFY” behind his desired approach of a clean extension on Truth Social. ODNI SENDS CRIMINAL REFERRALS TO DOJ FOR EX-IG, WHISTLEBLOWER TIED TO TRUMP IMPEACHMENT House GOP leadership’s and the Trump administration’s lobbying for a clean FISA extension absent reforms proved to be a tough sell among some conservatives. Despite the high-profile pressure campaign, GOP privacy hawks remained insistent on including a warrant requirement, which they argued would better protect Americans’ data. “We understand and agree with the president that we need 702 authority to go after bad guys abroad,” Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, told reporters. “We’re fighting for greater protections, whether it’s this administration or future administrations to ensure citizens have protections.” “The folks who are saying we want these reforms within FISA, we mean what we say, and that’s not something that we’re going to sidestep,” Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., said Thursday. “We’re always threatened … that something very bad is going to happen, people will die if we don’t reauthorize 702,” Boebert continued. “But many men and women, thousands have died for the Fourth Amendment, and I’m going to continue to stand up and protect that Fourth Amendment right for all American citizens.” Democrats also slammed the compromise deal early Friday morning for being drafted at the eleventh hour and argued the warrant requirement included in the since-rejected FISA deal is effectively toothless. “This simply says they may seek a warrant. They don’t have to. They may seek a warrant,” Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said, referring to the FBI. “In other words, this provision is meaningless. It just returns us to exactly where we were.” Despite a swath of GOP holdouts, fewer Republicans opposed a clean extension of the 702 program than during previous legislative fights over the spying law. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, a FISA skeptic, backed a straight reauthorization, citing more than five dozen reforms that Congress made to the program in 2024. “2026 is not 2024 and a short-term clean extension of the 702 part of FISA law is an acceptable outcome for the situation that we find ourselves in,” Jordan said Tuesday. House GOP leadership argued that failure is not an option in preventing a reauthorization lapse for the FISA program. “This is an essential tool for national security,” Johnson told Fox News on Wednesday. “We cannot allow it to expire, and we won’t.” Fox News’ Kelly Phares contributed to this report.