Military veterans of US’ ‘toxic soup’ Uzbekistan base fighting for proper care 20 years after its shutter
At the former Soviet base-turned-CIA black site and U.S. military base in Uzbekistan, researchers knew early on danger lingered not just from the enemy but from the ground itself. Karshi-Khanabad Air Base, known as K2, was a launchpad for U.S. operations into Afghanistan after 9/11. But for thousands of American troops who served there, it may have been a death sentence. Matthew “Nick” Nicholls, an Army environmental technician and preventive medicine specialist, was part of an early team that assessed the environmental hazards at K2. “It is probably the most toxic soup of chemicals that any service member has ever been exposed to,” Nicholls told Fox News Digital. Yellowcake uranium oozed from the ground. Jet fuel and volatile chemicals from decaying Soviet rocket bunkers polluted the soil and air. Dangerous fumes hung over the base like the fog of forgotten war. Nicholls and his team warned commanders, providing recommendations like laying down gravel to suppress toxic dust and restrictions on how long personnel could work in high-risk zones. Some precautions were taken, others weren’t. “People that I am friends with are actively dying from cancer right now,” Nicholls said. “These are weird ontologies that are striking down people who are very young, people in their 20s, 30s, 40s, in the prime of their life.” K2 veterans have reported a disturbing trend of rare and aggressive cancers, reproductive organ diseases, osteoarthritis and sudden, unexplained deaths. VICTIM SPEAKS OUT AFTER NAVY DENIES FUEL-CONTAMINATED WATER CAUSED INJURIES: ‘AFFECTED IN NEARLY EVERY WAY’ “These are not the cancers that young people normally get,” Nicholls said. “Their stories are not really able to be told. That’s the tragedy of it.” “These people went there right after 9/11 to avenge the deaths of those who were murdered,” Nicholls said. “Yet we had this launching pad in Uzbekistan that was left in such derelict condition by the Soviets.” Between 2001 and 2005, more than 15,000 U.S. service members passed through K2. Thousands more served as contractors. Many now find themselves struggling to get adequate medical care or recognition from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The VA recognizes such veterans “may have encountered several hazardous exposures,” and the Department of Defense conducted an initial study to look at cancer outcomes. But that study was based only on a few cases of each type of cancer and should not be viewed as “definitive evidence of an association with service at K-2,” the VA says. But a spokesperson for Rep. Mark Green said he does not believe these studies were enough, that they did not take the full extent of contamination into account and did not appropriately inform occupants of the base of their exposure risk or account for the full range of diseases that can result from toxic exposures. “That is why Rep. Green’s NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act) amendment calls for a new, fully rigorous epidemiological study to cover these blind spots,” the spokesperson said. “There are too many unknowns to call it a case closed.” Fox News Digital has reached out to the VA for comment. Green, R-Tenn., and Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., introduced a provision in the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act requiring the Pentagon to complete a study on K2 exposure within 180 days. Four years later, that study remains unfinished. “This is unjust,” Green told Fox News Digital. “There were repeated warnings that service members were being exposed to toxins, and yet their health and safety were ignored by Pentagon leadership of that day.” In a letter first obtained by Fox News Digital that went out late Friday, Green is pressing the Pentagon to complete the long-overdue study, a step he argues is essential to ensure K2 veterans receive the care they deserve. “Because this study has yet to be completed (as far as Congress is aware), many K2 veterans are still waiting to receive much needed care,” he wrote. “This is unjust. There were repeated warnings at Camp Stronghold Freedom that servicemembers (sic) were being exposed to toxins, and yet their health and safety were ignored by the Pentagon leadership of that day.” The Pentagon told Fox News Digital it would respond to Green privately. ‘LIKE A CAR CRASH’: NAVY FIGHTER PILOT DESCRIBES BRAIN INJURY PHENOMENON NOW AT CENTER OF CONGRESSIONAL PROBE In 2024, the VA moved to expand access to disability for K2 veterans and lower the burden of proof for the veterans to link their illnesses to their service. But advocates say it wasn’t enough. “The VA is dragging its feet,” Green said. “I think it really purely comes down to cost. I get that the VA wants to be judicious, but my God, the numbers here are so convincing. This is long past due.” Green has also introduced new legislation requiring the VA to formally recognize links between K2 toxic exposure and diseases like cancer, ensuring affected veterans qualify for care and benefits. Toxins at K2 included petrochemicals, volatile organic compounds, depleted uranium, burn pits and tetrachlorethylene, all chemicals associated with long-term health risks. But K2 veterans are not specifically named in the PACT Act, which expanded coverage for other toxic exposures like Agent Orange and burn pits. Green, a physician and Army veteran, sees disturbing echoes of past delays. “Bureaucrats come and go, and bureaucrats have their own agendas,” he said. “I want to make sure that it’s written in stone and that these guys are not forgotten.”
Fallujah vet turns Medal of Heroism into a healing mission for fellow warriors with service dogs program
Marine veteran Anthony Longo is acutely aware of the inner battles many veterans face long after leaving the combat zone. He has also experienced the healing that can come from having “man’s best friend” as a companion. That is why Longo, who served in Fallujah, Iraq, and earned the Department of State’s Medal of Heroism in Afghanistan, founded the Warriors Choice Foundation in 2016 with the mission of helping fellow veterans heal. In an interview with Fox News Digital, Longo explained that rather than relying solely on medications or a one-size-fits-all approach to treatment, his foundation tailors care to individual veterans through counseling, wellness retreats and a truly unique treatment called “cognitive K9 rehabilitation.” Through Warriors Choice K9 rehabilitation program, the group matches veterans with Belgian Malinois breed service dogs specially bred and trained to help people suffering from PTSD and other combat-related mental health challenges. AMERICANS SHOULD HONOR MEMORIAL DAY IN THIS WAY, MILITARY SERVICE MEMBERS SUGGEST Since 2018, Warriors Choice has helped 72 veterans and matched 46 with their own service dog. The group has even bred a service dog named “Trump,” who Longo said was “the best” and the hardest one to let go.” “Trump,” the service dog, is now the companion to a 20-year special operations veteran, and Longo said he feels “blessed” to be a part of “what that dog has helped that man through.” “You’re seeing complete lives transferring 180 degrees into a new direction,” he said. “It’s man’s best friend for a reason. I can appreciate my dog sometimes a lot more than humans. And to have that connection and the ability to work through complicated issues together, it was a good fit.” While the K9 treatment program is not for everyone, Longo said that he has seen incredible results, transforming veterans’ lives. FLORIDA VETERAN NONPROFIT SEES BEST-IN-STATE SUICIDE REDUCTIONS Sitting by him during the interview was his own K9 companion, “Bourbon,” who he said has “set the tone” in his own healing journey as well as laid the foundation for Warriors Choice’s K9 program. “That dynamic between handler and canine, I think it adds just a sense of more responsibility beyond ourselves,” he explained. “There are times when I wanted to be just completely left alone and isolated and not have to do anything, but someone’s got to take the dog out. Someone’s got to put food on the table. There are things that have to be done, I have to go do the training, I have to go maintain a level or a standard that I’ve imposed on myself to essentially hold myself accountable for my actions and what I’m doing in my day-to-day.” Beyond that, Longo explained that Bourbon has helped him gain a “true understanding of what I needed to do for myself.” Though Longo said that fighting against issues like veteran PTSD and suicide can feel like “trying to move a mountain,” he explained that the need could not be more urgent. According to Warriors Choice, veterans are 1.5 times more likely to die by suicide. WHAT IS PTSD? SYMPTOMS THAT CAN EMERGE AFTER EXPERIENCING A TRAUMATIC EVENT “At the end of the day,” said Longo, “you’re here not for yourself, you’re here for your brother.” “You’re here to provide somebody with an opportunity and a chance who’s reaching out for help. And all you got to do is just grab on, hang on, and give your best effort in assisting them in a time of need because you’ve been there with them. You understand what it’s like to be in those situations. You know the – I hate to say it – the cognitive fog of what it’s like to be overseas and to be here and to be more comfortable overseas than you are at home.” “I wouldn’t be able to do it unless there was success involved with it. And that’s seeing guys staying out of the ground.” Longo urged any veteran struggling with PTSD to reach out, saying, “We’ll be happy to communicate with you and assist you in mapping out what is going to be the best path and direction forward.”
Key Trump voting bloc has concerns with MAHA report, as Trump officials give assurances
Despite assurances from Trump administration officials that farmers will not be impacted by its attempts to reduce environmental chemical exposure from foods, agricultural leaders have been expressing concern that the move will explode costs for farmers and more than double the cost of food. The administration’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission, made up of many of President Donald Trump’s political appointees and closest policy advisors, released an assessment strategizing how they will tackle childhood chronic diseases, such as obesity and mental health challenges. Part of the report’s focus is on children’s chemical exposure from our foods, which the report says is linked to developmental issues and chronic diseases. Amid the report’s release, farm groups have expressed concern over the MAHA agenda’s focus on pesticides. They have said that if the administration starts clamping down on widely used pesticides, crop yields would decline, input costs would surge and food costs would more than double. DOCTOR TAKES AIM AT ‘CANCER-CAUSING’ PESTICIDES IN RESPONSE TO MAHA REPORT “Farmers are already facing a host of challenges—uncertainty about their access to critical crop protection products shouldn’t be added to the list,” said Elizabeth Burns-Thompson, Executive Director of the Modern Ag Alliance. “Crop protection tools are not only safe, they are essential to food security, affordability, and the survival of family farms all across this country. Losing access to these critical inputs would be a devastating setback to American agriculture.” Officials from the MAHA Commission sought to reassure farmers at an event releasing their assessment on childhood chronic diseases on Thursday. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said that “at the center” of the MAHA agenda is “making American agriculture great again.” “We love our farmers, and we want to pay respect to our farmers. And we always will,” President Trump added at the Thursday event from the White House. “We won the farmers by a lot in the election, and every election, all three elections – and we won by a lot. I will never forget that. And they are foremost in our thought.” But some farmers are still expressing concern. MAHA REPORT LAYS OUT ‘CHRONIC DISEASE CRISIS’ FACING AMERICA “The Make America Healthy Again Report is filled with fear-based rather than science-based information about pesticides. We are deeply troubled that claims of this magnitude are being made without any scientific basis or regard for a long history of EPA expert evaluations of these products,” the National Corn Grower’s Alliance (NCGA) said. “We call on the administration to respect the existing body of science on pesticides and, moving forward, to include America’s farmers in discussion as this process evolves.” According to a statement put out by the Modern Ag Alliance, pesticides are “rigorously tested” by the federal government, noting that in the case of glyphosate – mentioned multiple times in the MAHA report – it is one of the most thoroughly studied pesticides of its kind. They said that if the MAHA report drives future policy decisions it would hurt farmers and more than double the cost of food. EX-YANKEES COACH RUNS FARM THAT VOWS TO ‘MAKE MEAT GREAT AGAIN’ “Without glyphosate—the most widely used weed-fighting tool by U.S. farmers—crop yields would decline, input costs would surge by 150%, and food inflation would more than double,” the group said. “When Sri Lanka prohibited the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers in 2021, crop yields fell by over 50%, forcing the government to import massive amounts of food just to meet basic needs. We should be focused on moving American agriculture—and the country—forward.” Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has been a vocal opponent against the dangerous health impacts of under-regulated pesticides even before he was the MAHA Commission’s leader, said last week in a Senate hearing that “we cannot take any step that will put a single farmer in this country out of business.” “There’s a million farmers who rely on glyphosate,” he said. “100% of corn in this country relies on glyphosate. We are not going to do anything to jeopardize that business model.” FARMERS COME FIRST AS INITIATIVE AIMS TO LOWER THEIR COSTS, GET FRESH FOOD TO AMERICANS MORE EFFICIENTLY The MAHA report reiterates the economic importance of protecting farmers, but it also lists glyphosate in an infographic of “Chemical Classes and Common Exposure Pathways” and says research studies have shown it can cause a range of health effects. It also lists atrazine and other chemicals as dangerous to childhood health. MAHA Commission officials have said that part of the administration’s focus will be a return to the gold standard of science, but the NCGA said the focus on certain widely-used pesticides, such as atrazine and glyphosate, goes against “decades of extensive research and testing.” “If the administration’s goal is to bring more efficiency to government, then why is the secretary of Health and Human Services duplicating efforts by raising questions about pesticides that have been answered repeatedly through research and reviews by federal regulatory bodies?” the group questioned. Jennifer Galardi, a senior policy analyst focused on health and wellness issues at the Heritage Foundation, took a more balanced view of the MAHA commission’s strategy towards pesticides like glyphosate, noting that it appeared to thread the needle between supporting farmers and trying to ensure America’s food supply is safe and free of chemicals that could impact child health. “The MAHA Commission Report seems to carefully examine competing issues in a very complex agricultural debate: the potential that crop protection tools as they’re referred to in the report may cause adverse health outcomes and the desire to protect the economic interests of farmers and the country,” Galardi said. “However, everyone should agree that the companies that manufacture products such as glyphosate and GMO’s shouldn’t have undue influence over the research upon which sound policy is based. The American public should demand transparency around these decisions.” Galardi posited that, due to the tension around the issue of pesticides, the MAHA Commission may decide to go after “low-hanging fruit,” such as improving children’s
Trump fires off Memorial Day message targeting ‘SCUM’ who sought to ‘DESTROY’ the US
President Donald Trump issued one of his signature spicy holiday greetings on Memorial Day. The president, who posted the all-caps tirade on Monday morning, called out the “SCUM” who he said had attempted to destroy the nation. “HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY TO ALL, INCLUDING THE SCUM THAT SPENT THE LAST FOUR YEARS TRYING TO DESTROY OUR COUNTRY THROUGH WARPED RADICAL LEFT MINDS, WHO ALLOWED 21,000,000 MILLION PEOPLE TO ILLEGALLY ENTER OUR COUNTRY, MANY OF THEM BEING CRIMINALS AND THE MENTALLY INSANE, THROUGH AN OPEN BORDER THAT ONLY AN INCOMPETENT PRESIDENT WOULD APPROVE, AND THROUGH JUDGES WHO ARE ON A MISSION TO KEEP MURDERERS, DRUG DEALERS, RAPISTS, GANG MEMBERS, AND RELEASED PRISONERS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD, IN OUR COUNTRY SO THEY CAN ROB, MURDER, AND RAPE AGAIN — ALL PROTECTED BY THESE USA HATING JUDGES WHO SUFFER FROM AN IDEOLOGY THAT IS SICK, AND VERY DANGEROUS FOR OUR COUNTRY,” he declared in the first portion of the post. TRUMP SAYS HE’S ‘NOT HAPPY’ WITH PUTIN AFTER MASSIVE UKRAINE STRIKE Trump, who took office a little more than four months ago, asserted that significant progress has been made. He also appeared to refer to some judges as “MONSTERS.” AMERICANS SHOULD HONOR MEMORIAL DAY IN THIS WAY, MILITARY SERVICE MEMBERS SUGGEST “HOPEFULLY THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT, AND OTHER GOOD AND COMPASSIONATE JUDGES THROUGHOUT THE LAND, WILL SAVE US FROM THE DECISIONS OF THE MONSTERS WHO WANT OUR COUNTRY TO GO TO HELL. BUT FEAR NOT, WE HAVE MADE GREAT PROGRESS OVER THE LAST 4 MONTHS, AND AMERICA WILL SOON BE SAFE AND GREAT AGAIN! AGAIN, HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY, AND GOD BLESS AMERICA!” he declared. The president has been frustrated as aspects of his agenda have been hampered amid legal wranglings. TRUMP TO BUILD NATIONAL CENTER FOR HOMELESS VETERANS WITH FUNDS PREVIOUSLY SPENT ON HOUSING FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS A little less than an hour before firing off the lengthy Memorial Day greeting on Monday morning, the president issued another post that simply read, “HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!”
Vets groups torch Dems for holding up key VA picks, including memorials chief, on Memorial Day
FIRST ON FOX: A slew of veterans’ groups, along with Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins, are criticizing Senate Democrats for delaying key agency nominations over what some have called unserious or “DOGE-type” concerns. One top nominee currently facing the collective procedural roadblock ahead of Memorial Day is wounded warrior Sam Brown, a former Nevada senatorial candidate and Army captain who was burned over more than one-third of his body when the Humvee he was riding in in Helmand, Afghanistan, hit a roadside IED that incinerated its fuel tank. He was nominated by President Donald Trump as undersecretary for memorial affairs, which maintains cemeteries and facilitates veterans’ burial ceremonies – about 100,000 per year. A letter from about two dozen veterans’ groups addressed to Senate VA Committee Chairman Jerry Moran, R-Kan., ranking member Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and caucus leaders was obtained Friday by Fox News Digital. The groups note that they respect the Senate’s advise-and-consent role, but object to the current situation. They note that the VA has the fewest presidentially nominated positions and that other agency nominees receive overnight and weekend considerations at times. “We will be happy to bring the senators coffee and donuts during such late night and weekend sessions, of course in compliance with the Senate’s gift and ethics rules,” the groups wrote. Brown and all other nominees since April have been held up by Blumenthal and Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz. – but the lawmakers say their move is not personal and instead aimed to halt mass firings and other Trump-era actions. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, indicated that he would join the two Democrats, after a confirmation hearing for Brown, Marine Lt. Col. James Baehr for general counsel and Army veteran Richard Topping for VA CFO, was mooted in April by the procedural hold. “We’ve had 2,400 firings so far,” King said, according to Stars & Stripes. Vietnam Veterans of America, in a separate letter obtained by Fox News Digital, demanded Brown, Baehr and Topping be confirmed summarily. “All three of these veterans received favorable reports following the April 9th nominations process from the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee,” wrote VVA President Jack McManus. NEW GOP SENATOR TEARS INTO DEMS ‘SEEKING TO DELAY’ PETE HEGSETH DOD CONFIRMATION McManus said that many Vietnam Vets are concerned about the hold-up and agree that Brown and the others are eminently qualified, blaming “two members of the US Senate Veterans Affairs Committee” for “affecting services to our veterans.” Another letter from the Independence Fund, which provides resources, including trackchairs, to severely wounded veterans, said a fully staffed VA central office is crucial to its mission. Last week, when Moran again attempted to confirm Brown by unanimous consent – a voice vote that must have no audible objections – Blumenthal rose to block him. “The chairman and I share a bipartisan commitment to putting our veterans first. . . . I think we also share a respect for Sam Brown [and] his service to our nation as a decorated veteran,” said Blumenthal. Blumenthal, whose own service was criticized by Trump with the nickname “Da Nang Dick” after a Vietnamese province, said that Brown’s nomination lacked unanimous support in committee, citing a 10-9 vote. TRUMP VA PICK DOUG COLLINS ADVANCES TO FULL SENATE VOTE “This issue is bigger than Sam Brown. It is about information that has been denied to our committee and to us as senators. The secretary of the VA is actively working to undermine our bipartisan oversight efforts. Blumenthal told Fox News Digital he had a message for Collins: “Before you hire new top VA bureaucrats, you should be rehiring the dedicated veterans you fired.” “Secretary Doug Collins is denying us essential information that is necessary for our oversight, and we want accountability. All Americans, especially veterans, deserve votes by the full Senate on top nominees—not rubber stamp unanimous consents,” he said, adding Collins can ask the Senate to hold floor-debate on the nominees through regular order. In comments to Fox News Digital, Collins rejected Blumenthal’s claims and lambasted the delays. “Imagine how much better off America’s veterans would be if Senators Blumenthal and Gallego cared as much about fixing the department’s broken bureaucracy as they do about preventing wounded combat veterans from coming to work at VA,” he said. “Despite their obstruction, we will reform the department to make it work better for veterans, families, caregivers and survivors.” Gallego said he also does not object to Brown personally, and that he is instead seeking agency accountability – saying in a recent statement he wants to reverse “hack-job firings.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP In a statement to Fox News Digital, Gallego said Collins is “more concerned with three political appointees than the thousands of veterans who are going to lose their jobs and care.” “I served this country and received care at the VA. I know how important it is for veterans. Abandoning them, like Secretary Collins wants to do, is reckless and un-American. Show Congress the plan on how care won’t be impacted. Anything short of that is political posturing,” he said. In Gallego’s Arizona, the Phoenix VA hospital is letting go 800 employees, and a 2024 inspector general report found that the site already faced staffing shortages. Recent surveys of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans show an elevated concern that VA cuts could impact benefits and health care. Fox News reached out to King for comment for purposes of this story.
Trump endorses House Republican who failed to vote on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act
President Donald Trump backed several House Republicans for reelection in Truth Social posts on Sunday, expressing support for Reps. Andrew Garbarino of New York, Troy Downing of Montana, Guy Reschenthaler of Pennsylvania, and Bryan Steil of Wisconsin. Each lawmaker received an individual post from Trump, and each post declared that the given lawmaker has Trump’s endorsement. Republicans currently hold the majority in the House, but the 2026 midterms will determine whether the GOP maintains control of the chamber during the tail end of Trump’s second term in office. TRUMP ENDORSES JACK CIATTARELLI FOR NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR: ‘A WINNER’ Trump’s show of support for Garbarino comes after the congressman failed to cast a vote on the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” that passed the House last week. House Speaker Mike Johnson said that “Garbarino did not make it in time,” but had fallen asleep. “I am proud to have been the leading voice on Long Island during negotiations on this key reconciliation bill. I fought to lift the cap on SALT and ensure hardworking Long Island families see the benefits of this important legislation. I was moments away from the House floor, to vote ‘yes,’ when the vote was closed,” Garbarino said in a statement, according to reports. HOUSE GOP LEADERSHIP TAKES VICTORY LAP AFTER PASSING TRUMP’S ‘ONE BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ “While I am frustrated that the vote was closed before I was able to cast my vote, I am proud of the work we accomplished to deliver huge results for Long Island. I congratulate President Trump on getting this bill passed and look forward to voting ‘yes’ when it comes back to the House floor from the Senate,” Garbarino noted. Fox News Digital reached out to Garbarino’s office on Monday morning but did not receive a response by the time of publication. BY DAWN’S EARLY LIGHT: BATTLES TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ WILL FACE IN THE SENATE “Thank you, Mr. President, it’s an honor to serve NY-02,” Garbarino said in a Sunday night post on X in response to the president’s endorsment.
Homeland Security chief Noem visits Netanyahu ahead of Jerusalem Day
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday evening. Noem met the Israeli leader in Jerusalem, where she voiced “strong appreciation for the Prime Minister’s policies, particularly the construction of the border fence with Egypt and the conduct of the ongoing war,” Netanyahu’s office said. Others who attended the meeting were Israeli Military Secretary Maj. Gen. Roman Gofman; Foreign Policy Advisor Dr. Ophir Falk; Prime Minister’s Spokesperson Dr. Omer Dostri; and U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee. NETANYAHU ACCUSES THE UK, FRANCE AND CANADA OF ‘ENABLING HAMAS’ Earlier in the day, Netanyahu met with Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nv. “The U.S.-Israel alliance is strong and steadfast. The United States stands with the people of Israel!” Huckabee wrote on X. The visit came on the eve of Jerusalem Day, which celebrates the reunification of East Jerusalem, which includes the Old City, with West Jerusalem. It also came days after a Chicago man shot and killed two Israeli Embassy staffers in Washington D.C., last week. Yaron Lischinsky, 31, was an Israeli citizen who had been granted “official guest” status by the U.S. State Department. The other victim, Sarah Milgrim, 26, was also employed by the Israeli Embassy. The young couple was set to be engaged. TRUMP EYES ABRAHAM ACCORDS EXPANSION, GAZA REBUILD WITH NETANYAHU MEETING ON DECK Netanyahu has vowed to continue to go after Hamas and its leadership amid the terror group‘s failure to agree to a ceasefire and return its hostages. In a video statement released Thursday, he criticized U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney after all three countries issued a joint statement demanding that Israel end its military campaign in Gaza. Netanyahu said Hamas does not want a Palestinian state; rather, the terror group wants the destruction of the state of Israel. He questioned how this “simple truth evades the leaders of France, Britain, Canada and others.”
Trump says he’s ‘not happy’ with Putin after massive Ukraine strike
President Donald Trump told journalists that he was “not happy” with Russia’s recent large-scale strike against Ukraine while speaking to the press on Sunday. Speaking to reporters at Morristown Municipal Airport in New Jersey, Trump accused Putin of “killing a lot of people” in the attack, which was launched on Sunday afternoon. “I’m not happy with what Putin is doing,” Trump explained. “He’s killing a lot of people, and I don’t know what the hell happened to Putin.” “I’ve known him a long time, always gotten along with him, but he’s sending rockets into cities and killing people, and I don’t like it at all,” he added. FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION FROM TERMINATING INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS’ LEGAL STATUS Trump said that Putin was “shooting rockets into Kyiv and other cities” in the middle of negotiations. “I don’t like what Putin is doing. Not even a little bit,” the president emphasized. “He’s killing people. And something happened to this guy.” Trump’s comments came after Russian forces launched hundreds of drones and missiles at Ukrainian cities overnight. The attack, which has been called the largest aerial attack of the war so far, targeted the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. TRUMP ADMINISTRATION BEGINS NEW WAVE OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENT VISA REVOCATIONS: ‘NO ONE HAS A RIGHT TO A VISA’ Ukrainian officials said that at least 12 people were killed and dozens more were injured. Though past strikes have proven more deadly, the attack is the largest-scale aerial assault of the war in terms of the number of weapons: 298 drones and 69 missiles were launched. In a post on Telegram, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for an international response to the attack. “The silence of America, the silence of others in the world only encourages Putin,” he wrote on Telegram. “Every such terrorist Russian strike is reason enough for new sanctions against Russia.” Reuters and Fox News Digital’s Brooke Curto and Kyle Schmidbauer contributed to this report.
Speaker Johnson clashes with Rand Paul over ‘wimpy’ spending cuts in Trump’s bill
House Speaker Mike Johnson went to battle with Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., over spending cuts and the national debt in President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” this weekend. Johnson made the comments during an appearance on “Fox News Sunday” with host Shannon Bream, after Paul had called the spending cuts in the current version of the bill “wimpy.” “It sounds like his biggest objection is the fact that we are extending the debt ceiling. That’s a critically important thing to do. We have to do it. We’re not going to get any Democrats to assist on that,” Johnson said Sunday. “So to get it through the Senate and make sure we don’t crash the U.S. economy and default on our debts for the first time in history, it has to be part of the reconciliation package. And that’s why President Trump and all the other Republicans in Congress, House and Senate understand the necessity of this,” he added. MIKE JOHNSON, DONALD TRUMP GET ‘BIG, ‘BEAUTIFUL’ WIN AS BUDGET PASSES HOUSE Paul himself also appeared on “Fox News Sunday” later in the show, and he continued to blast what he said was a lack of real spending cuts. GOP HOLDOUTS SOUND ALARM ON $36T DEBT CRISIS AS TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ PASSES HOUSE VOTE “I supported the tax cuts in 2017. I support making them permanent, so I support that part of the bill. I support spending cuts. I think the cuts currently in the bill are wimpy and anemic, but I still would support the bill, even with wimpy and anemia cuts, if they weren’t going to explode the debt. The problem is the math doesn’t add up. They’re going to explode the debt. The House’s is $4 trillion. The Senate’s actually been talking about exploding the debt by $5 trillion,” Paul said. He went on to say that there is no way he can vote for a version of the bill that raises the debt ceiling by $5 trillion. “There’s got to be someone left in Washington who thinks debt is wrong and deficits are wrong and wants to go in the other direction,” he said. Paul instead proposed raising the debt ceiling for a period of three months, or $500 billion, on a rolling basis. He argued that voting on the issue every three months would force leadership to take the issue seriously by placing the lack of progress center stage in U.S. politics. “The deficit is a threat to our country. I think it’s the greatest threat to national security. And so I think you can’t do this,” Paul said.
Hegseth denies China’s claim that Golden Dome is ‘offensive’: ‘Protecting the homeland’
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth denied China’s claim the Golden Dome would turn space into a “war zone.” “All we care about is protecting the homeland,” Hegseth told Fox News Digital while departing from a trip to Fort Bragg, North Carolina. President Donald Trump has said for a long time defense of the homeland is critical to his “America First” policy, and the Golden Dome is a generational investment. Chinese Foreign Minister Mao Ning claimed this week the Golden Dome has a “strong offensive nature and violates the principle of peaceful use in the Outer Space Treaty.” CHINA ACCUSES US OF ‘TURNING SPACE INTO A WARZONE’ WITH TRUMP’S GOLDEN DOME MISSILE DEFENSE PROJECT “The project will heighten the risk of turning space into a war zone and creating a space arms race and shake the international security and arms control system,” Mao said. “We urge the U.S. to give up developing and deploying global anti-missile system.” Trump, alongside Hegseth, released some details about the project earlier in the week, explaining there’s an ambitious plan to complete the missile defense shield in three years for $125 billion. Hegseth also responded to pushback over his decision to kick off a monthly Christian prayer service at the Pentagon, which sparked a debate over religious freedom and the separation of church and state. “We’ve said it very publicly, and we’ve said it very proudly. Appealing to heaven, to God, is a longstanding tradition in our military,” Hegseth said, adding that George Washington got on bended knee alongside his continental Army forces. “I appeal to Jesus Christ for that protection, to speak that word and be open and willing to talk about it at the Pentagon. If they want to criticize that, they’re on the wrong side,” he said. His remarks came after he addressed the 82nd Airborne Division of Army paratroopers during “All-American Week.” There, he celebrated the name change of the North Carolina base from Fort Liberty back to Fort Bragg. “It is Fort Bragg again,” Hegseth said to cheers from the crowd. “Nothing wrong with Fort Liberty. Give me liberty or give me death. I love it,” Hegseth said. “But give me Fort Bragg every day of the week.” He also addressed critics who said he didn’t have the strategic experience to serve as secretary of defense, and took a shot at the media. “Our friends in the fake news media are here,” Hegseth said. “Some of them said, ‘Critics might say you can’t choose an Army major to be the secretary of defense. It has to be, well, one of our many distinguished generals or congressmen or business leaders or corporate leaders.’ TRUMP, HEGSETH ANNOUNCE ‘GOLDEN DOME,’ A ‘GAME CHANGER’ TO PROTECT AMERICAN HOMELAND “One of the critiques was we need somebody that can think strategically, big picture. We can’t have a guy who thinks like the troops, to which I say ‘Hell, yeah, we can have a guy that thinks like the troops.’” He told a crowd of Army paratroopers, “I’ve been in that formation, loosening my knees, taking a deep breath, gazing over the horizon, sweating and wondering what time it is, but I can’t move my arm. I’ve been in your boots — not yours. The 101st is not the 82nd. I’ll admit that on a day like today. Not quite your boots or your beret, but close.” Hegseth announced an increase in jump pay for paratroopers to more cheers from the crowd. Hazardous duty incentive pay, known as “jump pay” for Army troopers who jump out of airplanes, will increase from $150 a month to $200. Jump masters, the senior paratroopers who train and lead jump operations, will see their pay increase from $150 to $300. “Here’s to our paratroopers, our jumpmasters, who do the difficult things in difficult places that most Americans can never imagine,” Hegseth said. Since 2006, the Army has maintained 56,756 paid parachutist positions, according to Gen. Gregory Anderson, head of the 18th Airborne Corps. That number will decrease by 20,000, allowing for the increase in pay for those who do maintain their jump status. Limited aircraft ability and resources has meant a “degradation in proficiency,” Anderson told reporters. “The goal has to be really good quality over quantity.”