Irish dancing groups in the hot seat after trans dancer qualifies for multiple female world championships
A women’s public policy group is calling on governing bodies in the Irish dancing world to amend their participation policies after a male dancer qualified for the world championships for a third year in a row after previously competing as a male. “I just happened to be at the competition where this boy won in the girls’ category for the very first time back in 2023,” Maggie McKneely, Director of Government Relations at Concerned Women for America, told Fox News Digital. “He has been Irish-dancing for a long time and had gone to the World Championships as a boy years before, but then in 2023, he suddenly started identifying as a girl and dancing in the girl’s category.” McKneely said that in 2023, while competing in the girl’s division, the male competitor won a regional title for the first time, and he has since gone on to win two more times, including this past December in Florida. Concerned Women for America (CWA) sent a letter to two major governing bodies for Irish dancing, An Coimisiún Le Rincí Gaelacha and the Irish Dance Teachers’ Association of North America, calling on them to remedy their participation policies allowing dancers to compete based on gender identity. The letter pointed to other major sports governing bodies, such as the International Olympic Committee and World Athletics, the governing body for track and field sports, which CWA said have announced or adopted plans to institute strictly sex-based eligibility requirements. PRIVACY CONCERNS, DISCRIMINATION, DOCTOR PUSHBACK: THE COMPLIANCE TRAPS LOOMING BEHIND SEX-SEPARATED SPORTS Speaking to Fox News Digital, McKneely lamented what she described as a “ripple-effect” caused by the male dancer being allowed to continue competing in the girls’ division. “Not only did a boy win the girl’s title for his age category, placing the girl who got in second who should have been in first, but that also means that the girl who got in 11th did not qualify for Worlds because the top 10 dancers qualify for worlds. It means the girl who got 26th did not qualify for nationals because the top 25 qualify for nationals,” she said. “You have a boy on top of the podium and all these girls who have dreamed and have set goals for different placements in their age category who were not able to make them because of this one boy disrupting the entire category.” CWA CEO and President Penny Nance also pointed to the chilling effect caused by male competition, arguing that the male’s ability to compete “undermines young women” and makes them less likely to compete. CALIFORNIA COLLEGE ATHLETICS ORGANIZATION FACES PROBE OVER TRANSGENDER POLICY “We strongly encourage our Young Women for America members to be involved in sports. We think it’s a great training proving ground,” Nance said. “We know that the majority of women who make it to the C-suite are women who competed athletically in some way. And so it’s good sociologically, it’s good for women’s identity, it is good for their bodies.” Meanwhile, when pressed on the importance of separating Irish dancing by sex, McKneely and Nance told Fox News Digital that Irish dancing is not just an art form, it is “an extremely athletic art form.” The ex-Irish dancer pointed out that the dancing requires a lot of consistent leaps and jumps that necessitates dancers to move very quickly and execute complicated rhythm patterns while maintaining endurance. She also pointed out that if you have stronger muscles, or even different lengths of your femur bone, dancers can get higher off the ground, which is an advantage in the competition. “At the elite level competitions that we’re talking about, like regionals and nationals, men and women don’t compete against each other. But at our local competitions, they do, just because it’s a smaller field,” McKneely shared. “And nine times out of 10, when boys are competing against girls in those local competitions, they win, purely because they do have greater endurance and greater capacity to do more of the tricks and complicated things in Irish dance than the girls do.” Fox News Digital reached out to An Coimisiún Le Rincí Gaelacha and the Irish Dance Teachers’ Association of North America for comment on the policy push and criticism from CWA, but did not receive a response. According to McKneely, a petition was sent to the governing bodies from dancers and parents who were unhappy with a male competing against females when the incident first happened in 2023, and their response was to vote on establishing a third category for people who are not biologically male or female, a sort of middle-road position. However, McKneely said that the motion to take this action was ultimately tabled, and it never moved forward. She added that the bodies have been embroiled in a cheating scandal making them “allergic to legal threats” and afraid of upsetting folks who might sue them even further over sex-separation policies.
Anti-ICE chaos erupts at blue state county board meeting after panel endorses detention center
A suburban Maryland board meeting was taken off the air after whistling and protests erupted moments after officials approved a resolution endorsing cooperation with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, including the purchase of a warehouse in Williamsport that sparked Democratic outrage. A few miles south of the Hagerstown meeting, DHS had completed the purchase of the $102 million property in Williamsport, just across the Potomac River from Falling Waters, West Virginia, and about 75 miles from Washington, D.C. The property soon became the site of protests, including a video posted by Total Wine billionaire David Trone, who is running for his former U.S. House seat, in which he stood by a snowbank behind the center and declared ICE was “executing people” and did not belong in Maryland. PHILLY DA’S ‘HUNT YOU DOWN’ WARNING TO ICE DRAWS CALLS FOR DOJ CRIMINAL PROBE Washington County Board President John Barr slammed his gavel Tuesday as outrage erupted over the resolution, declaring the “safety and security of our community is of utmost importance” and that “DHS [and] ICE play a crucial role in safeguarding our nation’s borders and is responsible for enforcing immigration laws, protecting the country from potential threats and maintaining the rule of law for public safety.” Barr’s voice vote appeared to reflect most if not all board members saying “aye” but elicited “nay!” and “no” from the audience, and people began loudly whistling, clapping and pointing at Barr. Barr calmly announced, “Clear the room,” and a broadcast producer could be heard saying, “Off air! Off air” before the TV feed was cut. DHS FIRES BACK AFTER DEM BILLIONAIRE DAVID TRONE CLAIMS ICE IS ‘EXECUTING PEOPLE’ Outside the building on Washington Street, a throng of anti-ICE protesters similarly whistled and waved signs that said “no concentration camps” and “No ICE Jail.” “These ICE facilities; they’re inhumane; I don’t want them here,” protester Richard Hartman told Baltimore’s NBC affiliate. Two counter-protesters waved signs saying “Trump is Your President” and “We Love ICE.” Maryland federal lawmakers urged the county not to pass the resolution. Rep. April McClain Delaney, who Trone is facing in the primary, called the plan “sweeping and dangerous” and forged in “darkness.” “[It] is yet another example of the Trump administration acting without transparency, accountability or regard for human life,” she said. Washington County sits in a transitional area. To the east, deep blue Washington suburbs reliably vote Democrat. To the west, “Mountain Maryland” and the Maryland panhandle form a Republican-friendly bastion, though they are grouped with some of the aforementioned suburbs in a congressional district that trends blue. ANTI-ICE LEGISLATION HEADS TO DESK OF RISING STAR DEMOCRAT GOVERNOR, TESTING HIS PRESIDENTIAL AMBITIONS Closer to the nation’s capital, officials in once-moderate Howard County blocked another ICE center in Elkridge, according to the Baltimore station. To the north in Pennsylvania, Democrats have opposed similar transactions, including a center just off US-22 in Shartlesville, a rural community recently home to the now-defunct Roadside America attraction. In a statement to Fox News Digital about the Williamsport center, Trone said ICE has “detained children as young as 5 years old, American citizens and military veterans.” “ICE only needs to expand its detention space because reprehensible legislation was passed by Congress — with the support of Rep. April McClain Delaney — that strips due process rights and expands this administration’s ability to carry out this cruel agenda.” Republicans running for the seat, including Robin Ficker and Chris Burnett, have signaled support for immigration enforcement, and state Del. Neil Parrott of Hagerstown, who has formed an exploratory committee but not formally declared, said as much in prior comments to Fox News Digital.
Reporter’s Notebook: Bondi’s binder strategy turns House hearing into political firestorm
The overstuffed white binders appeared a few moments before Attorney General Pam Bondi exited her motorcade, and strode through the horseshoe entrance of the Rayburn House Office Building. Roll Call photographer Tom Williams and I stood in the hallway, negotiating our positions for Bondi’s entrance. Williams would position himself on the far side. I slid to the wall nearest the horseshoe entrance. Ali Vitali of MS NOW and Jay O’Brien of ABC worked the sidewall. A coterie of Bondi’s aides appeared. One bogged down by the massive binders. BONDI HEARING DEVOLVES INTO CHAOS OF SHOUTS AS AG ACCUSES TOP DEMOCRATS OF ‘THEATRICS’ “Let her get into the room,” instructed the aide. I politely reminded the aide that the corridor was an open hallway on Capitol Hill. It wasn’t closed off by the U.S. Capitol Police. So, tossing questions at the Attorney General was fair game. And, thus began another dance between reporters, security details, the U.S. Capitol Police, aides and Cabinet members when they appear for major Congressional hearings. At the time, we had no clue what was in the binders. But you couldn’t ignore the sheer size of them. It’s not uncommon for aides to haul in briefing books for a principal when they testify. However, no one has seen binders like this since Kinko’s was still in business. The contents of what the binders contained was about to play a central role in Bondi’s testimony to the House Judiciary Committee. But the first charge of the morning was to query Bondi. There was so much going on. All of which were subjects that the Attorney General could address. Speaking of files… Bondi wasn’t there to testify about the Epstein files, per se. But Democrats – and one Republican – would make the Justice Department’s release of partially redacted documents the focus of the hearing. So there was plenty to ask Bondi about that. DOJ’S EPSTEIN DISCLOSURE DRAWS FIRE FOR WEBSITE GLITCHES, MISSING DOCUMENTS, REDACTIONS However, there were overnight developments from Arizona. Authorities detained a person near the Mexico border in connection with the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie. What Bondi might know about the FBI’s role in this was worth a question. Then, there was a cryptic alert that officials were shutting off the airport in El Paso to all air traffic for ten days. Was there a threat of terrorism? Something about cartels? Finally, a story broke overnight that the Justice Department sought to indict six Democratic lawmakers for their video telling service members they didn’t have to comply with unlawful orders. A District of Columbia grand jury refused to indict any of them. So the press corps waited for Bondi and her security detail to breeze through the door. We’d have about a minute to pepper her with questions as she walked from the horseshoe entrance to a back anteroom. Reporters must be strategic with such brief “walk-and-talks.” Rapid, Gatling gun-like questions. Succinct. Straight to the point. And agile enough to skip to the next line of inquiry if the figure arriving on Capitol Hill doesn’t answer or gives a brief response. In another universe, I may have started with Epstein. But the Nancy Guthrie story has consumed the nation for weeks now. There was a development overnight. Nearly every story on the planet always occupies a lane somewhere on Capitol Hill. The Nancy Guthrie saga was no exception. I had positioned myself on the inside track as we walked down the hall. Able to sidle up close to Bondi as she moved through the building. “Madam Attorney General, any comment about the investigation of Guthrie? Any update on that right now?” I began, getting to Bondi first. “Yeah, I can’t talk about that now. Praying for Savannah and her family,” replied Bondi. Check. Moving on. “What happened in El Paso? Why did they close off El Paso? Is that something you don’t know about? Or you just can’t comment?” I asked. “I cant discuss it,” responded Bondi. EPSTEIN FILES EXPLODE OPEN AS DOJ DETAILS DISCOVERY OF POWERFUL FIGURES AND MORE THAN 1,200 VICTIMS Then, the main event. “And what about the Epstein files? A lot of members have been upset that some of these files have not been fully unredacted. What do you say to that?” I inquired. “We’re going to discuss that today,” answered Bondi. I backed off to allow my colleagues a chance to pose questions. “But why was certain information redacted that’s against the nature of the law? Why was certain information redacted that’s against the law?” asked Vitali. No response. So I tagged back in, returning to the initial lines of questioning. “Did you get any updates overnight on the Guthrie investigation? Were they keeping you informed overnight on that? And when did you first find out about the El Paso situation? When did you first hear about the El Paso situation, Madam Attorney General?” Bondi was silent. The scrum processed down the hall, camera operators and reporters bumping all over one another, edging backwards. A semi-blob of security personnel slightly shielded Bondi. But the end was near. The throng approached the backdoor to the Judiciary Committee. Bondi would soon turn right and disappear inside. Just enough time for one final topic. “What about the attempt to prosecute the six lawmakers? Any comment on that failed grand jury indictment?” I hollered. “I’ll refer that to U.S. Attorney Pirro,” replied Bondi, referring to U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeannine Pirro, who tried to indict the six. HOW PAM BONDI AND THE DEMOCRATS TURNED A HEARING INTO HYSTERIA, RIGHT IN FRONT OF JEFFREY EPSTEIN’S VICTIMS “Do you know why that went wrong?” I asked. But that was it. The shot clock expired. Bondi ignored the question, turning right with her security detail and retreating into the anteroom. When he hosted Meet the Press on NBC, late host Tim Russert would sometimes boast that they had the Vice President or Secretary of State “for the whole hour.” The exchanges with Bondi were
Noem backs SAVE America Act, slams ‘radical left’ opposition to voter IDs and proof of citizenship
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem made the case Friday for the passage of the SAVE America Act, accusing opponents of the bill of favoring access to the ballot box for illegal immigrants. Noem was in the Phoenix area, where she pushed the Trump administration’s efforts to shore up election integrity and voter security. She touched on the Save America Act, a bill that would require proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote, photo identification to vote in federal elections and that states remove noncitizens from their voter rolls. She noted that wide majorities of Republicans and Democrats approve of the legislation. MURKOWSKI BREAKS WITH GOP ON VOTER ID, SAYS PUSH ‘IS NOT HOW WE BUILD TRUST’ However, she criticized the bill’s opponents who say it will disenfranchise millions of voters. “Each of the arguments that have been laid out to criticize this bill are baseless speculation from the radical left because they want illegal aliens to vote in our elections,” Noem told reporters during a news conference. “They want to disenfranchise American citizens by telling them that their votes don’t matter. There’s only one reason that anyone would oppose this bill, and that’s because they would want to cheat. “They want illegal people and aliens in this country to be able to vote for them and to rob the United States citizens of their vote,” she added. “And that’s why they resist us at every single level.” REPUBLICANS, TRUMP RUN INTO SENATE ROADBLOCK ON VOTER ID BILL Congressional Democrats have characterized the bill as an effort to remove millions of Americans from voter rolls, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called it “Jim Crow 2.0,” a term used by some to describe modern so-called voter suppression laws. During her remarks, Noem mentioned a handful of illegal immigrants who were registered to vote in various states. “There is no room in our election system for people that aren’t Americans,” she said. “There is no room in our election system for fraudsters and foreign influence.” The secretary also called for Arizona to clean up its voter rolls, noting that DHS Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements can be used to do just that. The program helps local, state and federal agencies determine the citizenship and immigration status of individuals. “Maybe people who’ve passed away, people that aren’t citizens, people that don’t live here,” she said. “That would make sure that, in your next election, when people are casting their votes, they know they’re voting for the right decisions and that those votes are counted. And they’re counted appropriately. And someone else didn’t get to weigh in on their leadership.”
Trump: ‘We don’t run from anybody’ in blasting Biden over Afghanistan withdrawal
President Donald Trump Friday sharply criticized former President Joe Biden’s handling of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, calling it an “embarrassment” and arguing his administration would not have left military equipment behind. “You remember that where they left all the military equipment behind? We didn’t. We wouldn’t have left anything,” Trump said while speaking at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. “We were going to get out with dignity and strength, respect. We looked like we were running. We don’t run from anybody. That was a Biden embarrassment.” Trump also questioned why aircraft were not flown out of the country. “We don’t leave equipment behind. We don’t leave jets behind,” he said. “I said, why do you leave those jets behind, sir? I thought it was cheaper to leave it behind. You know, $150 million plane. All they had to do is put a little jet fuel in there and fly it to wherever they want to fly it.” He said the U.S. military had been rebuilt during his first term and is now stronger than ever. “So with the help of everyone in this room, America is the strongest military on the face of the earth. We rebuilt it. We really did,” Trump said. “We rebuilt it in my first term.” FOUR YEARS AFTER ABBEY GATE, VETERANS WHO SAVED CIVILIANS DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY TRUMP HAILS ‘GREAT AND VERY BRAVE’ UK SOLDIERS AFTER SLAMMING NATO ALLIES’ AFGHANISTAN SERVICE His remarks came during a visit that honored the special operators involved in the operation to capture former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, which he contrasted as an “extraordinary military operation.” The U.S. completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021 after nearly 20 years of war. The evacuation followed a February 2020 agreement negotiated during Trump’s first term that set a timeline for U.S. forces to leave the country. Biden oversaw the final withdrawal as Taliban forces rapidly seized control of Afghanistan, culminating in a suicide bombing at Kabul’s airport that killed 13 U.S. service members and roughly 170 Afghan civilians. Biden has argued that he was bound by the withdrawal agreement negotiated during Trump’s first term and faced the choice of completing the pullout or sending more U.S. troops back into combat. Trump has rejected that claim, saying his deal with the Taliban was “conditions-based” and that he would not have withdrawn if the Taliban failed to meet its commitments. Fox News Digital reached out to Biden Friday for comment and has yet to receive a reply.
‘Doubling down on stupid’: Newsom, AOC, trash Trump at European summit as they raise 2028 profiles
Two of President Donald Trump’s top Democratic critics are using appearances at a high-profile European gathering to blast the Republican president’s agenda and beef up their foreign policy chops on the world state ahead of possible 2028 White House runs. “Donald Trump is temporary,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday during a climate change discussion at the Munich Security Conference in Germany. “He’ll be gone in three years.” And Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, during a town hall at the prestigious conference, pointed to Trump and charged, “We are seeing our presidential administration tear apart the transatlantic partnership, rip up every democratic norm.” Newsom and Ocasio-Cortez are the most well known of a small group of potential Democratic presidential contenders using appearances in Munich to criticize Trump’s international agenda and offer a contrast to Vice President JD Vance, the perceived 2028 Republican front-runner, who delivered a scathing attack on Europe during his speech at the security forum last year. NEWSOM STOP IN KEY PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY STATE SPARKS MORE 2028 SPECULATION The other Democrats with likely national ambitions making the rounds at the confab and meeting with international leaders are Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Sens. Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly of Arizona and Chris Murphy of Connecticut, and former Commerce Secretary. Gina Raimondo. Ocasio-Cortez pointed to her fellow Democrats in Munich and said, “I think many of us are here to say we are here, and we are ready for the next chapter, not to have the world turn to isolation, but to deepen our partnership … and increase our commitment to integrity to our values.” At a second discussion later on Friday, Ocasio-Cortez argued that “the United States is very much in a compromised position compared to where we were five years ago. Our relationships with our allies are strained. Our commitment and demonstrated consistency on democratic values and human rights are also incredibly strained.” JD VANCE SAYS ‘DUMBEST’ DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE WILL WIN NOMINATION IN 2028 Newsom, who is speaking at his third major international conference in recent months, following appearances last month at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland and late last year at a world climate conference in Brazil, hammered Trump over climate policy, arguing the president is “doubling down on stupid.” “Never in the history of the United States of America has there been a more destructive president than the current occupant of the White House in Washington, D.C.,” Newsom charged. “Donald Trump is trying to turn back the clock.” THE 2028 WHITE HOUSE RACE IS ALREADY UNDERWAY The White House, responding to the criticism from Newsom and Ocasio-Cortez, argued in a statement to Fox News Digital that “Gavin Newscum and AOC should be fixing California and New York’s many problems, but instead, they are frolicking in Europe, where no one knows or cares who they are.” Ocasio-Cortez, during the first of her two appearances at the conference, was asked by the town hall moderator, “When you run for president, are you going to impose a wealth tax or a billionaire’s tax?” Responding with a laugh, the four-term federal lawmaker who has long advocated for significant tax increases on the ultra-wealthy to fund progressive initiatives then said, “We don’t have to wait for any one president to impose a wealth tax… That needs to be done expeditiously.” Matthew Bartlett, who served at the State Department during the first Trump administration, told Fox News Digital that “the regular foreign policy crowd is turning into something of a cattle call for 2028 as numerous Democrats take Munich to articulate their vision and try to develop some sort of foreign policy credential as the next presidential race is on the horizon.” And Terry Shumaker, who served as U.S. ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago during the Clinton administration, noted that the appearances in Munich by the potential candidates “gives them experience, confidence, and something to refer back to on the campaign trail when they’re asked about their foreign policy experience.” And Shumaker, a longtime New Hampshire-based attorney and Democratic Party activist, said it also signals to the world “that Trump is not a monolith. That there’s another side of the story in the United States.”
Tom Cotton demands FDA probe into illegal Chinese ingredients in US weight loss drugs
FIRST ON FOX: A Senate Republican is demanding the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) investigate whether illegal Chinese ingredients are making their way into weight loss drugs in the United States. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., called on FDA Commissioner Martin Makary to probe how far unregulated and illegal Chinese active pharmaceutical ingredients have penetrated the U.S. supply chain — and whether they have ended up in popular weight loss drugs. “China’s access to America’s pharmaceutical supply chain presents national security risks as well as significant health risks to American patients,” Cotton wrote in a letter to Makary first obtained by Fox News Digital. JELLY ROLL’S WIFE SAYS WEIGHT LOSS DRUG SENT HER INTO ‘WORST SUICIDAL DEPRESSION’ Cotton’s concern follows recent reports from the FDA and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) that between September 2023 and January 2025, authorities intercepted 195 illegal shipments of active pharmaceutical ingredients. He noted that the ingredients were “likely used in compounded weight loss medications” that entered the U.S. market. Of those shipments, roughly 60 originated from China and Hong Kong. “It is estimated that as of January 2026, up to 1.5 million American patients could be using unregulated compounded weight loss medications that may contain potentially dangerous ingredients from Chinese manufacturers,” Cotton wrote. EXAMINING THE NEXT THREAT FROM COMMUNIST CHINA: OUR HEALTHCARE SYSTEM The ingredients are typically used in compounded versions of GLP-1 weight loss drugs that are marketed as alternatives to FDA-approved medications such as Ozempic and Wegovy. Earlier this month, the Department of Health and Human Services announced it would refer telehealth company Hims & Hers to the Justice Department for “potential violations of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act” over its planned sale of a compounded, non-FDA-approved weight loss drug. Makary similarly said the FDA would “take decisive steps to restrict GLP-1 active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) intended for use in non-FDA-approved compounded drugs that are being mass-marketed by companies — including Hims & Hers and other compounding pharmacies — as alternatives to FDA-approved drugs.” FETTERMAN BUCKS DEMOCRATS, SAYS PARTY PUT POLITICS OVER COUNTRY IN DHS SHUTDOWN STANDOFF The company announced last week that it would remove its weight loss pill, billed as a cheaper alternative to Wegovy, from the market following mounting pressure from federal agencies. Cotton acknowledged that move and called for similar investigations going forward. “I encourage further investigations into other entities that expose American patients to dangerous, unregulated Chinese APIs,” Cotton wrote.
How Trump’s order to have the military buy coal would actually work
President Donald Trump says the military will start “buying a lot of coal” as part of a new push to boost domestic coal production and strengthen what he describes as the reliability of the U.S. power grid. Turning that pledge into reality, however, will require navigating Pentagon procurement rules, congressional funding limits and the physical constraints of the electric grid. A new executive order, signed Wednesday, directs the secretary of war to “seek to procure” power from coal-fired facilities through long-term power purchase agreements serving military installations and other mission-critical facilities. It also calls on the Department of Energy to help keep certain coal plants online. But executive orders set policy direction — they do not automatically create new funding or rewrite electricity market rules. The order itself states that implementation must be consistent with applicable law and “subject to the availability of appropriations.” “Executive orders can’t drive appropriations,” said Jerry McGinn, a former Pentagon official and now executive director of the Baroni Center for Government Contracting at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. LIZ PEEK: TRUMP WHITE HOUSE FIRED UP ABOUT KING COAL’S RETURN TO POWER What the War Department can do is direct its contracting offices to pursue agreements with coal-fired plants where feasible. The military routinely enters into long-term electricity supply agreements to power individual installations, including projects at bases such as Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada and Fort Cavazos in Texas, where on-site generation has been developed through third-party contracts. In theory, it could structure deals with nearby coal facilities if officials determine the contracts enhance grid reliability, fuel security or mission assurance — priorities outlined in the order. “They have a great amount of flexibility,” McGinn said, noting that energy sourcing decisions would depend on what is workable at individual installations. That flexibility, however, operates base by base — not nationwide. The War Department does not regulate regional electricity markets. It can sign contracts for power serving specific installations, but it does not set dispatch rules for grid operators or dictate fuel choices for civilian utilities. Most military bases are connected to regional grids, where electricity from multiple sources — natural gas, nuclear, renewables and coal — is pooled together and dispatched according to market rules. Even if the Pentagon signs a contract with a specific coal plant, the electricity physically delivered to a base would still come from the broader grid mix. In practice, such agreements would function primarily as financial commitments to particular facilities rather than a literal rerouting of coal-generated power. TRUMP’S ENERGY DOMINANCE REWRITES THE STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVE AFTER BIDEN DRAWDOWNS Scale presents another constraint. Coal plants are large generators, often producing far more electricity than a single installation consumes. While military bases use significant power, contracts would need to be sizable and long term to meaningfully sustain entire commercial facilities. If shifting energy sourcing at certain bases requires infrastructure changes or new contractual arrangements, that could require additional Defense or Energy Department investment, McGinn said. “It would sort of be a determination on where does this make sense, where can we do this easily, and where do we want to invest,” he said. Any significant expansion of contracts or infrastructure spending would likely involve Congress. Utility costs for bases are typically paid through operations and maintenance accounts approved by lawmakers. If implementing the policy requires new construction, transmission upgrades or higher long-term energy costs, additional appropriations could be required. The administration says the directive is meant to ensure uninterrupted, on-demand baseload power for military installations and critical defense facilities, grounded in the belief that coal provides reliable and resilient energy that intermittent sources do not, according to the White House fact sheet. The fact sheet also explicitly ties the policy to broader aims of energy security, economic stability and “energy dominance.” Trump and his team repeatedly have described the move as part of a broader push to revitalize coal production and protect coal jobs — including the $175 million in Department of Energy funding for coal plant upgrades and “beautiful, clean coal” rhetoric at the signing event. At that event, he said the military will be “buying a lot of coal” and framed the actions as support for hard-working miners and “reliable power.” The White House is pursuing a parallel strategy to revive certain coal plants that have shut down or face retirement. Trump said the Department of Energy would issue funds to facilities in West Virginia, Ohio, North Carolina and Kentucky to keep them operating or restart idled units. Recommissioning a coal plant can vary significantly depending on its status. Facilities that have been temporarily idled or “mothballed” may be able to return to service in months. Fully retired plants, however, can require extensive equipment repairs, environmental compliance reviews, workforce rehiring and transmission readiness upgrades — a process that can take considerably longer. The White House and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment on how the directive would be implemented. Ultimately, the impact of Trump’s directive will depend on execution. Targeted contracts near specific installations could provide limited support to certain facilities. A broader effort to use military purchasing power to sustain multiple commercial coal plants would likely require substantial funding, careful contract structuring and congressional backing.
Battle for the House runs through Virginia as court OKs high-stakes redistricting vote
In a crucial decision on Friday, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled that a high-stakes referendum scheduled for April 21 on congressional redistricting can go forward. It’s a victory for Democrats in Virginia, who are fast-tracking a proposed new congressional map that would give the competitive state up to four more left-leaning U.S. House districts in time for this year’s midterm elections. Virginia is the latest battleground, with Florida on deck, in the ongoing crucial battle between President Donald Trump and Republicans versus Democrats to alter congressional maps ahead of November’s elections. Republicans are defending their razor-thin House majority in the midterms, and Democrats need a net gain of just three seats to win back control of the chamber. That means the redistricting efforts in Virginia and other states may very well decide which party controls the House next year. VIRGINIA JUDGE STRIKES BLOW TO DEMOCRATS REDISTRICTING PUSH But the proposed map in Virginia, which the Democrat-controlled legislature is expected to give final approval in the coming days, followed by Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger signing it, still needs the approval of voters in the Commonwealth. Republicans had challenged the validity of the referendum, arguing that Democrats had erred procedurally when the legislature approved amendments to the state Constitution. And last month, a lower court ruled in the GOP’s favor. But the ruling by the state Supreme Court greenlights the ballot measure, which asks voters to give the legislature, rather than Virginia’s current non-partisan commission, redistricting power through the 2030 election. “Today’s order is a huge win for Virginia voters,” Dan Gottlieb, spokesperson for Democrat-aligned Virginians for Fair Elections, said in a statement. “The Court made it clear that nothing in this case stops the April 21 referendum from moving forward and that Virginians will have the final say.” Early voting on the referendum is scheduled to start on March 6. Friday’s ruling on the referendum doesn’t mean the legal challenges are over. Democrats are still defending their ability to redraw the maps, and the state Supreme Court may schedule arguments in that case. Republicans charge that the Democrats’ redistricting effort is an “unconstitutional power grab.” Virginians for Fair Maps, a Republican-aligned group that opposes the redistricting push, has highlighted that “Virginians came together to pass bipartisan redistricting reform — a process that took the power to draw maps out of politicians’ hands. Now, politicians in Richmond want to undo that progress.” And the Republican National Committee has called the Democrats’ push in Virginia a “power grab.” But Democrats have countered that it’s a necessary step to balance out partisan gerrymandering already implemented in other states by the GOP. Aiming to prevent what happened during his first term in the White House when Democrats reclaimed the House majority in the 2018 midterms, Trump last spring first floated the idea of rare, but not unheard of, mid-decade congressional redistricting. The mission was simple: redraw congressional district maps in red states to pad the GOP’s razor-thin House majority to keep control of the chamber in the midterms, when the party in power traditionally faces political headwinds and loses seats. Trump’s first target was Texas. BIG WIN FOR TRUMP AS SUPREME COURT GREENLIGHTS TEXAS’ NEW CONGRESSIONAL MAP When asked by reporters last summer about his plan to add Republican-leaning House seats across the country, the president said, “Texas will be the biggest one. And that’ll be five.” Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas called a special session of the GOP-dominated state legislature to pass the new map. But Democratic state lawmakers, who broke quorum for two weeks as they fled Texas in a bid to delay the passage of the redistricting bill, energized Democrats across the country. Among those leading the fight against Trump’s redistricting was Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California. California voters in November overwhelmingly passed Proposition 50, a ballot initiative that temporarily sidetracked the left-leaning state’s nonpartisan redistricting commission and returned the power to draw the congressional maps to the Democratic-dominated legislature. That is expected to result in five more Democratic-leaning congressional districts in California, which aimed to counter the move by Texas to redraw their maps. The fight quickly spread beyond Texas and California. Republican-controlled Missouri and Ohio, and swing state North Carolina, where the GOP dominates the legislature, have drawn new maps as part of the president’s push. In blows to Republicans, a Utah district judge late last year rejected a congressional district map drawn up by the state’s GOP-dominated legislature and instead approved an alternate that will create a Democratic-leaning district ahead of the midterms. But Utah Republicans have appealed to the state Supreme Court to block a new court-ordered map for this year’s elections. Meanwhile, Republicans in Indiana’s Senate in December defied Trump, shooting down a redistricting bill that had passed the state House. The showdown in the Indiana statehouse grabbed plenty of national attention. Florida’s next up. Two-term Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and state lawmakers in the GOP-dominated legislature are hoping to pick up an additional three to five right-leaning seats through a redistricting push during a special legislative session in April. But the bid by DeSantis and Republicans in Tallahassee last week drew its first lawsuit, from a group aligned with Florida Democrats. The lawsuit contends that the governor and Secretary of State Cordy Byrd don’t have the legal authority to reshape election laws, after Byrd pushed back congressional qualifying dates from April to June. Democrats in solidly blue Maryland are also pushing redistricting, which could result in one extra left-leaning congressional seat. But the effort, pushed by Democratic Gov. Wes Moore and green-lighted by state House Democrats, is facing opposition from Senate President Bill Ferguson, a fellow Democrat. Lastly, Republicans in South Carolina, Nebraska, Kansas and New Hampshire, and Democrats in Illinois and Washington State are also exploring possible bids to redraw the maps. Hovering over the redistricting wars is the Supreme Court, which is expected to rule in Louisiana v. Callais, a crucial case that may lead to the overturning of a key provision
‘They were spying’: Sullivan sounds alarm on joint Russia-China moves in US Arctic zone
Joint Russian and Chinese military aircraft and vessels have entered the U.S. Arctic air defense identification zone (ADIZ) near Alaska dozens of times in recent months, Sen. Dan Sullivan said in an interview with Fox News Digital, warning the activity amounts to coordinated pressure on America’s northern defenses. Sullivan, R-Alaska, said data compiled by his office shows mostly airborne incursions — and at times joint patrols — along with several naval and “research” vessels operating inside the ADIZ, a buffer zone where aircraft must identify themselves but are not automatically denied access. “They were spying on us,” Sullivan said, arguing the missions amount to strategic surveillance and have accelerated efforts to reopen the Navy base at Adak and expand Arctic infrastructure. Sullivan led a Senate Commerce subcommittee hearing last month that secured $25 billion in new Coast Guard funding, including $4.5 billion for infrastructure upgrades such as a deepwater port in Nome — one of the closest U.S. cities to Russia — and additional Arctic icebreakers. The U.S. currently operates two icebreakers, one of which is out of service, compared with Russia’s reported 54. RUSSIA, CHINA SQUEEZE US ARCTIC DEFENSE ZONE AS TRUMP EYES GREENLAND Among the projects is a plan to reopen the military base on Adak Island near the end of the Aleutian chain, roughly 6,000 miles from Washington but on Russia’s doorstep. Adak played a key role during World War II, when Japanese forces attacked parts of the Aleutians, and it later served as a Cold War outpost monitoring Soviet activity in the North Pacific. “We have Adak Navy Base being reopened. We have this strategic deepwater port of Nome that’s finally being built [where] every essential Navy or Coast Guard asset with the exception of an aircraft carrier can port, and the icebreaker Storis being homeported in Juneau. There’s a lot going on,” Sullivan said. “We’re continuing to press it, and you know what I like to do with all the military services is press, press, press, press.” TRUMP SAYS GREENLAND’S DEFENSE IS ‘TWO DOG SLEDS’ AS HE PUSHES FOR US ACQUISITION OF TERRITORY Adak also hosts a 20-million-gallon fuel repository, Sullivan said, adding that revitalizing the compound would give U.S. destroyers and other vessels a crucial waypoint as malign activity heats up. Sullivan said the incursions should concern all Americans, dismissing any suggestion the vessels were conducting benign research or trying to “save the whales.” “They were there spying on us and looking at submarine routes, looking at cables,” he said, pointing to trans-Pacific communication lines that pass through Alaska. “That’s really, really strategic.” He added that joint Russian-Chinese naval task forces operating in the U.S. ADIZ — alongside coordinated bomber patrols with armed fighters — is “unprecedented” in American territory. NATO AMBASSADOR SAYS EUROPE ‘HAS A TENDENCY TO OVERREACT’ OVER GREENLAND DISPUTE When incursions occur, U.S. aircraft are dispatched from bases as far as 1,000 miles away, including Eielson Air Force Base near Fairbanks, a logistical stretch similar to sending New York City responders to a fire in Chicago. The Nome port, Adak base and other new infrastructure will slash response times, increase defensive presence and keep America safer, he said. “We are the Arctic part of America, but we’re America. And when our adversaries are pressing into us, we need to respond with force and infrastructure and capabilities. Our military’s doing it. We’re building that up with the Coast Guard, with the Air Force, with the Army,” he said. TRUMP EYES ACTION ON GREENLAND, SETTING UP WHITE HOUSE FACE-OFF WITH DENMARK A recent report from The Wall Street Journal detailing a Chinese vessel that transited the Bering Strait, icebreaking along Russia’s Arctic coast before docking in Poland, as further evidence of Beijing’s expanding Arctic reach. Sullivan called the merchant vessel’s junket a prime example of why action is needed now to bolster America’s Arctic. USAF Gen. Alexus Grynkewich — NATO’s top military official — told The Wall Street Journal the alliance sees China “being more and more aggressive” across the Arctic. “It’s our territory, right? And we just need to be ready to defend it and have assets that can monitor whether that’s a merchant ship or a spy ship,” Sullivan added. “The good news is with the Trump administration, with the Budget Reconciliation Bill, the Working Families Tax Cuts Act, and you saw the president before, and he wants a top line number for our military of about $1.5 trillion, that’s sending a message to China, Russia and all of our adversaries that we’re not going to let incursions into our airspace and our waters happen on a regular basis without forceful responses from the U.S. military.” Sullivan said another development is expanding capacity at Point Barrow — at the “top of North America” — which, along with Adak, would allow the U.S. to intercept malign aircraft more quickly. The dynamic is also shaping global geopolitics, he said, as NATO shifts toward an “Arctic-capable alliance” — with allies Finland, Sweden and Norway similarly cognizant of the threats. Finland and Sweden recently joined NATO, he noted, which has been key to this situation. Looking at the globe from above — rather than straight on — places the U.S., Canada and Scandinavia directly across from Russia and, increasingly, China, which has declared itself a “Near-Arctic power.” Fox News Digital’s Kiera McDonald contributed to this report.