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President Donald Trump issued his ‘last warning’ to Hamas to accept his deal and release the remaining hostages or face the consequences.

‘Everyone wants the hostages HOME. Everyone wants this War to end,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social. ‘The Israelis have accepted my Terms. It is time for Hamas to accept as well.’

‘I have warned Hamas about the consequences of not accepting,’ he continued. ‘This is my last warning, there will not be another one! Thank you for your attention to this matter.’

Last month, Trump said the remaining hostages would only be returned when Hamas is ‘confronted and destroyed.’ At the time, Hamas was citing alleged progress in ceasefire talks.

In July, the U.S. and Israel pulled negotiators from Qatar after Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff said Hamas showed a ‘lack of desire to reach a ceasefire’ and was likely not negotiating in good faith.

On Aug. 26, Witkoff told Fox News’ Bret Baier on ‘Special Report’ that he and Trump wanted the hostages home that week. 

‘There’s been a deal on the table for the last six or seven weeks that would have released 10 of the hostages out of the 20 who we think are alive,’ he said, noting that he believes Hamas is ‘100%’ to blame for the hold-up.

Witkoff did not elaborate on what is delaying the hostages’ return, nearly two years after they were taken in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

Fifty hostages continue to be held by Hamas, only 20 of whom are assessed to still be alive. 

Trump previously predicted in late August that there would be a ‘conclusive’ end to the war in Gaza within the next ‘two to three weeks,’ though he did not say how this would be accomplished. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that only a comprehensive ceasefire — one that ensures the return of all hostages and ends the war on Israel’s terms — will be considered.

Israel is preparing a new offensive in Gaza targeting Hamas, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said, as it expanded ground operations under Operation Gideon’s Chariots II.

IDF spokesperson Col. Avichay Adraee warned Palestinians in parts of Gaza City to leave ahead of an expected escalation. The warning included a map marking the area and highlighting one building the IDF planned to strike, citing ‘the presence of Hamas terrorist infrastructure inside or nearby.’

Fox News Digital’s Rachel Wolf and Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.

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Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky strongly objected after Vice President JD Vance asserted in a Saturday post on X that ‘Killing cartel members who poison our fellow citizens is the highest and best use of our military.’

‘JD ‘I don’t give a s[—]’ Vance says killing people he accuses of a crime is the ‘highest and best use of the military.’ Did he ever read To Kill a Mockingbird? Did he ever wonder what might happen if the accused were immediately executed without trial or representation??’ Senator Paul wrote. ‘What a despicable and thoughtless sentiment it is to glorify killing someone without a trial.’ 

In a Truth Social post last week, President Donald Trump shared video footage of what he said was ‘a kinetic strike against positively identified Tren de Aragua Narcoterrorists’ who he said ‘were at sea in International waters transporting illegal narcotics, heading to the United States.’

Someone responded to Vance by writing that, ‘Killing the citizens of another nation who are civilians without any due process is called a war crime.’ 

But the vice president swiftly fired back.

‘I don’t give a s[—] what you call it,’ Vance declared.

GOP Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio pushed back against Paul.

‘What’s really despicable is defending foreign terrorist drug traffickers who are *directly* responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans in Kentucky and Ohio. JD understands that our first responsibility is to protect the life and liberty of American citizens,’ Moreno wrote on on X.

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A small group of Republican lawmakers who did not feel their leaders were pushing a conservative enough agenda first began meeting in secret a decade ago, huddling in small rooms both inside and outside the U.S. Capitol, while closely guarding their membership for fear of punishment by top House GOP leaders.

Fast-forward to Thursday morning, and the House Freedom Caucus (HFC) was welcoming its members, top GOP donors, Trump administration officials and even Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to an ornate room inside Washington, D.C.’s Willard Hotel to mark its decade anniversary and its first annual policy summit.

‘It’s a big celebration and an anniversary for them, and I want to be a part of it,’ Johnson told Fox News Digital just before addressing the group. ‘Some of my closest friends are in this room.’

The caucus that former House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, once called ‘legislative terrorists’ are now at the center of key Republican policy fights in Washington. And while they’re still a source of frustration for many GOP lawmakers – who find the group to be disruptive to Republicans’ agenda – HFC is hiding no more and has the ear of some of the most powerful people in D.C.

‘This was never our goal, you know, but we wanted to have an impact,’ Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind., a founding member of HFC who left Congress and returned in 2025, told Fox News Digital of the event at the Willard. ‘There’s always a lot of agreement in the conference, like, ‘Oh yeah, we would like to get there,’ but…sometimes you kind of need the difficult people to help move it a little bit further to the right than what you thought you might be able to.’

And rather than being a thorn in the side of Republican leaders, HFC is trying to work hand-in-hand with President Donald Trump to push for conservative policies.

They are not going against the grain any longer, House Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris, R-Md., told Fox News Digital.

‘We’re driving the grain,’ he said. ‘We work with the president to advance his agenda in the most conservative way possible, and we’ve been successful.’

Border czar Tom Homan, who also addressed the event along with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought, told Fox News Digital that HFC was key to advancing Trump’s border agenda.

‘They’re on the right side,’ Homan said. ‘They want to secure the border because they know a secure border, a strong border, gives us strong national security…they want us to enforce the laws.’

In late 2023, a group of HFC members were key to successfully pushing out a House speaker mid-congressional term for the first time in U.S. history.

They’ve also played significant roles in pushing Republican spending bills and the recent One Big, Beautiful Bill Act to the right – at least in the House.

Even in the middle of their two-day event on Thursday, some HFC members threatened to sink a GOP-led spending bill as a warning shot to House leaders to keep on a conservative path.

The approach has been seen as divisive for years, and this year is no different.

‘They act as if they are the only principled conservatives in the conference. It’s almost as if they would rather be in the minority,’ one House Republican, granted anonymity to speak freely, told Fox News Digital. ‘They love the attention they get when they hold out, only to fold in the end. It’s why no one respects them.’

Another GOP lawmaker said, in the context of current talks to avert a government shutdown, ‘The Freedom Caucus is not what it was two years ago or even four years ago. I don’t know what you call them, but Andy Harris speaks for himself.’

‘What is the goal of the Freedom Caucus? Is it to win? Is it to fold?’ they asked. ‘I mean, have they lost their teeth? From an outside perspective, no, I still think they get heard.’

Current HFC members brushed off the criticism.

‘We’re willing to negotiate with Donald Trump and the Senate to beat Democrats with the most conservative bill possible, so please keep assuming that we’re dead, and please keep writing that obituary, because we’re winning,’ HFC Policy Chair Chip Roy, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital.

Harris said of the critics, ‘If winning is folding, then I’ll fold every time.’

Indeed, the group does have the ear of the White House.

Former HFC Chair Scott Perry, R-Pa., who gave opening remarks during a portion of the summit exclusively viewed by Fox News Digital, revealed that White House aides attended the group’s recent meeting with conservative senators.

‘Last night, with representatives from the White House, we were asked, ‘What is the plan?’ I’m not exaggerating, this is your Freedom Caucus, the ‘legislative terrorists’ in the room where it happened,’ Perry told the audience.

But the group is expected to see some high-profile departures in the next congressional term: Roy is running for Texas Attorney General, and Reps. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., and Byron Donalds, R-Fla., are both running for governor, among others.

Roy told Fox News Digital of the turnover, ‘We’ve had a conversation. We have things we want to do to help kind of make sure and ensure the longevity. Right now, we’ve got to make sure the good people are running. We have to make sure we continue to grow the ranks of the Freedom Caucus.’

And newer members have signaled they’re ready to fill the ranks of those left behind.

‘Now that I’ve been here, and it’s my third year, and I get comfortable with this, it gives me a lot more confidence to know what is the right path or what’s the wrong path,’ said Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., whose profile in HFC has risen in his short time in Congress. ‘And I think there’s other members like me that are – as these guys step away, there’s plenty of really talented members to step in their shoes.’

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Shares of Kenvue fell more than 10% on Friday after a report that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will likely link autism to the use of the company’s pain medication Tylenol in pregnant women.

HHS will release the report that could draw that link this month, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

That report will also suggest a medicine derived from folate — a water-soluble vitamin — can be used to treat symptoms of the developmental disorder in some people, according to the Journal.

In a statement, an HHS spokesperson said, “We are using gold-standard science to get to the bottom of America’s unprecedented rise in autism rates.”

“Until we release the final report, any claims about its contents are nothing more than speculation,” they added.

Tylenol could be the latest widely used and accepted treatment that Kennedy has undermined at the helm of HHS, which oversees federal health agencies that regulate drugs and other therapies. Kennedy has also taken steps to change vaccine policy in the U.S., and has amplified false claims about safe and effective shots that use mRNA technology.

Kennedy has made the disorder a key focus of HHS, pledging in April that the agency will “know what has caused the autism epidemic” by September and eliminate exposures. He also said that month that the agency has launched a “massive testing and research effort” involving hundreds of scientists worldwide that will determine the cause.

In a statement, Kenvue said it has “continuously evaluated the science and [continues] to believe there is no causal link” between the use of acetaminophen, the generic name for Tylenol, during pregnancy and autism.

The company added that the Food and Drug Administration and leading medical organizations “agree on the safety” of the drug, its use during pregnancy and the information provided on the Tylenol label.

The FDA website says the agency has not found “clear evidence” that appropriate use of acetaminophen during pregnancy causes “adverse pregnancy, birth, neurobehavioral, or developmental outcomes.” But the FDA said it advises pregnant women to speak with their health-care providers before using over-the-counter drugs.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists maintains that acetaminophen is safe during pregnancy when taken as directed and after consulting a health-care provider.

Some previous studies have suggested the drug poses risks to fetal development, and some parents have brought lawsuits claiming that they gave birth to children with autism after using it.

But a federal judge in Manhattan ruled in 2023 that some of those lawsuits lacked scientific evidence and later ended the litigation in 2024. Some research has also found no association between acetaminophen use and autism.

In a note on Friday, BNP Paribas analyst Navann Ty said the firm believes the “hurdle to proving causation [between the drug and autism] is high, particularly given that the litigation previously concluded in Kenvue’s favor.”

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Vice President JD Vance stopped short of confirming a 2028 White House run during an appearance on My View with Lara Trump Saturday night, but he acknowledged the possibility—noting if he does his job well, ‘the politics will figure itself out.’

Vance, whose resilience amid an upbringing marked with family turmoil and economic hardship won over the nation, said he ‘doesn’t like thinking about’ a potential presidential bid and insisted his attention remains on his current role.

‘If we do a good job in 2025 and 2026, then we can talk about the politics in 2027,’ Vance said. ‘I really think the American people are so fed up with folks who are already running for the next job, seven months into the current one.’

The second-in-command added if he ends up running, he knows he will have to work for it.

‘There are a lot of great people,’ Vance said. ‘If I do end up running, it’s not going to be given to me—either on the Republican side or on the national side. I’m just going to keep on working hard. … [This] may be the most important job I ever had, outside of being a father to those three beautiful kids. So I’m going to try to do my best job, and I think if I do that, the politics will figure itself out.’

When asked specifically about potential 2028 Democratic candidates, he noted most of them ‘obviously have very bad records.’

Vance mainly focused on discussing his own ticket, praising President Donald Trump’s relentless work ethic and trusting leadership style and explaining the president ‘doesn’t have an off switch.’

‘Sometimes, the president will call you at 12:30 or 2 a.m., and then call you at 6 a.m. about a totally different topic,’ Vance said. ‘It’s like, ‘Mr. president, did you go to sleep last night.’ … What’s made this so much fun is the president, all the time, just saying, ‘JD you go and do this,’ or ‘JD you go and talk to these leaders about this particular issue.’ That ability to delegate and trust his people has been really amazing.’

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In 1947, the United States War Department became the Department of Defense, as our nation was entering what would be four decades of Cold War with the Soviet Union, and taking its place as a global superpower.

On Friday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order bringing the original name back to the department created by George Washington in 1789. It brings with it a change that would have earned the hearty approval of our first president.

In the 78 years in which the United States has had a ‘Department of Defense,’ we never declared war a single time, but that didn’t stop thousands upon thousands of American soldiers from sacrificing their lives in Korea, Vietnam, and later, the Middle East.

During this time, the United States widely became known as the world’s policeman. Without actually declaring wars, we played a violent game of Twister across the globe, our Defense Department dipping its toes into conflicts across continents.

Too often, the role of our soldiers was not to kill the enemy, but to maintain order, and just as a police force is restrained from using total force against criminals, our military was too often simply not allowed to bring its full force to bear.

There is a fundamental and important difference between war and policing. Wars can be won, policing cannot. Policing is a never-ending struggle, and that is exactly what America’s military interventions felt like under the reign of the Department of Defense.

‘I want offense too,’ Trump has quipped about the name change. But what he really means is that he wants wars we can win, not endless nation-building boondoggles meant to maintain balance in a world full of conflagrations from Ukraine to Gaza.

Secretary of War, as he is now known, Pete Hegseth has made clear his priority is lethality, not just being a stick for diplomats to use. He wants an army, not a police force.

It was Carl von Clausewitz, the early 19th Century father of modern war, who defined military victory as compelling the enemy to do your will by destroying their desire and means to resist. That is something our military has not done in some time.

But that may be changing.

It was no accident that this cabinet-level name change occurred in the wake of the Trump administration blowing an alleged speedboat full of drugs and drug smugglers from Venezuela to smithereens.

Under the old rubric, that boat might have been stopped, its crew given Miranda rights. In other words, it would have been policed.

But does this mere police work actually work, per Clausewitz, to destroy the Venezuelan gangs’ and government’s will and means to flood our country with deadly drugs? It does not, it just maintains the status quo from the border to the graveyard.

But now, the next guys in line to jump aboard a drug-laden boat headed for Florida aren’t looking at possible jail time, in facilities all but run by their gangs. No, they are looking at a quick exit to eternity under the sea.

Likewise, Trump’s direct attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities sent a new message to the Ayatollah that if he goes too far, we will destroy him and his nation.

The Department of Defense, may it rest in peace, was a noble idea. It was launched in the spirit of ending war, not winning wars. It was meant to prop up democracies around the planet until all nations found the right and just path of freedom and capitalism.

It may have been worth a shot, but it just didn’t work, and that is why the Trump administration is returning to the original premise, that armies don’t exist to protect and serve the world, they exist to kill our enemies.

Not long after President Washington established the War Department, he would give a farewell address in which warned against engaging in foreign entanglements, and yet under the name Department of Defense, our military seemed to do little else.

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President Trump is sending the message that the United States will no longer be defending itself through proportional half measures and never-ending peace missions. No, from here on out, the Department of War does not exist to contain or constrain our enemies, it exists, as it should, to destroy them.

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Following unrelenting criticism from the United Nations, the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) is once again being targeted by NGOs, even as it delivered its 155 millionth meal to Gazans on Saturday.

Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym MSF has launched ads criticizing GHFMeta’s Ad Library shows that in August it ran several Facebook ads targeting the foundation. One ad read ‘This is not aid. This is orchestrated killing.’ Another said, ‘In MSF’s 54 years, rarely have we seen such levels of systemized violence.’

Both allegations are taken from an Aug. 6 article on MSF’s website in which General Director Raquel Ayora describes accounts received from patients reportedly injured around GHF sites. Ayora says aid seekers claimed to have witnessed ‘children shot in the chest while reaching for food. People crushed or suffocated in stampedes. Entire crowds gunned down at distribution points.’ 

GHF spokesperson Chapin Fay called MSF’s accusations, ‘false and disgraceful,’ saying that it is ‘amplifying a disinformation campaign orchestrated by the Hamas-linked Gaza Health Ministry. They know better. By repeating these lies, they’re not aiding civilians, they’re aiding Hamas.’

‘No civilians have ever been shot at any of our distribution sites,’ Fay told Fox News Digital.

Fay said that ‘Nearly every day, Nasser Hospital issues false reports to the media of civilians killed near our sites, based solely on testimony from others. Not a single MSF doctor has ever witnessed an incident near our sites. Any conflict between Israel and Hamas, sometimes several kilometers away, the Gaza Health Ministry falsely links to GHF.’

In response to questions about whether MSF employees have witnessed injuries or deaths at GHF sites firsthand, a spokesperson told Fox News Digital that, ‘MSF has documented the impacts of violence and chaos at GHF sites in Gaza, based on firsthand accounts of our personnel and patients at two clinical sites, as well as a body of medical data.’

MSF declined to respond to questions about how much money it has spent on ads targeting GHF, or whether it has advocated for medical care for Israeli hostages taken by Hamas. 

The MSF spokesperson added, ‘For the past 22 months, humanitarian organizations working in Gaza and the West Bank have consistently faced baseless and inaccuratesmear campaigns.’

Though there is growing outcry about purported violence near GHF sites, reporting from the United Nations indicates that there were twice as many deaths surrounding humanitarian aid convoys (576) as there were deaths around GHF sites (259) between July 21 and Aug. 18. 

A U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs update from August states there were 1,889 deaths near aid sites between May 27 and Aug. 18, 1,025 ‘near militarized distribution sites’ and 864 ‘along convoy supply routes.’ As of July 21, U.N. News reported there were 1,054 deaths at food distribution sites, with 766 near GHF sites, and 288 near U.N. and humanitarian aid convoys.

The U.N. Human Rights Office did not respond to a request for confirmation of these figures by press time. 

Amid tensions between GHF and humanitarian aid organizations, Fay said that GHF nonetheless provided support to MSF in early August after it requested help to ‘safeguard their medical aid from the elements.’ A GHF post on X from Aug. 7. showed what it said were pallets of MSF aid in GHF care. MSF did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request to confirm that they asked GHF for assistance with their supplies. 

When GHF staff were brought to Nasser Hospital after a Hamas attack in June that killed eight, they did not receive care from MSF staff, according to Fay.

A GHF employee’s written statement provided to Fox News Digital describes how wounded workers were taken to Nasser Hospital, where doctors refused to treat them. The witness said survivors were placed in a courtyard, where hospital staff incited others to beat them. One GHF employee was reportedly stabbed.

‘Three more GHF staff died due to their lack of treatment by Nasser Hospital. MSF doctors work there, yet claim they weren’t aware of the situation,’ Fay said.

In an Aug. 25 report following the Israeli bombing of Nasser Hospital, MSF said that it ‘has been operational in Nasser since before the conflict escalated in October 2023, providing trauma and burn care, physiotherapy, neonatal and pediatric services, and treatment for malnourished children, among other critical services.’

The Foundation for Defense of Democracies has reported multiple times since October 2023 that Hamas fighters have been operating out of Nasser Hospital. On Aug. 26, FDD senior research analyst Joe Truzman shared photos on X of two Hamas summonses that reportedly ordered individuals to come to Nasser Hospital for questioning.

MSF did not respond to questions about GHF employees failing to receive care or whether its staff at Nasser Hospital were aware of Hamas’ operations at the site.

In an online statement about the incident, MSF said it ‘has seen no credible evidence that healthcare was refused by Ministry of Health or other medical staff.’ The group also said ‘MSF staff have not been present in the emergency department of Nasser Hospital since 2024.’
 

On Saturday, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation announced a new initiative to provide medical care to Gazans through a program with Samaritan’s Purse.

In a statement on X, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said that in addition to treating wounds, injuries and infections, it was also helping pregnant women.

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The deadly U.S. strike in the Caribbean this week is being cast by experts as the latest move in a broader campaign to dismantle Iran and Hezbollah’s growing narco empire in Venezuela.

U.S. officials say Tren de Aragua works closely with the Cartel of the Suns — a network of Venezuelan military elites long accused of moving cocaine in collaboration with Hezbollah.

White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told Fox News Digital that ‘President Trump has taken numerous actions to curtail Iran’s terrorist proxies like Hezbollah, such as sanctioning senior officials and financial facilitators. The President has proven that he will hold any terrorist group accountable that threatens the national security of our country by smuggling narcotics intended to kill Americans.’

Brian Townsend, a retired DEA special agent, told Fox News Digital, ‘This was a decisive blow against narco-terrorists,’ and said Hezbollah’s role is rarely visible but essential, ‘They don’t get their hands dirty. Instead, they launder and provide networks to help cartels send money through the Middle East. Simply, they take a cut from the drug trade, which then funds their operations in the Middle East.’

Townsend added that Hezbollah has become ‘a main finance and money launderer for narco-terrorism groups like Tren de Aragua,’ ensuring that when cocaine moves, Hezbollah-linked facilitators are often processing at least part of the proceeds.

Dani Citrinowicz, a senior fellow at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, said Hezbollah’s reach depends heavily on the region’s Lebanese diaspora. ‘Most of the Shia diaspora, at least in Central and South America, is Lebanese,’ he told Fox News Digital. ‘Hezbollah is the connector between the diaspora and Iran.’

Citrinowicz said the group uses family ties, language and community institutions to cement its influence across Latin America. ‘They appoint imams, fund religious centers and control educational programs … through these networks, Hezbollah can interact with local cartels, sell drugs, and channel the profits back to Lebanon through elaborate schemes.’

He said this role as a connector makes Hezbollah indispensable to Iran’s strategy in the Western Hemisphere. ‘The connection starts and ends with enmity towards the West in general, specifically to the United States,’ he said. ‘As long as Maduro is there, the Iranians will be there. But if Maduro goes, Iran will lose the most important stronghold of its activity in Latin America.’

Townsend stated the partnership works for both sides. ‘Iran’s partnership with Maduro enables Hezbollah to operate in Venezuela. Iran gets to safely operate, through Hezbollah, in the West without prosecution, and Maduro and his officials get paid well. Ultimately, Iran uses and exploits Maduro. Maduro doesn’t care — he and his friends benefit financially.’

Both experts pointed to state complicity as the key enabler. ‘Under Maduro and Chávez, Venezuela has become a major transshipment hub for Colombian cocaine,’ Townsend said. ‘There have been several indictments in the U.S. and Treasury OFAC designations that tie senior government officials directly to the use of state infrastructure — ports, air bases, even military convoys — to move massive shipments of cocaine. Cartel of the Suns, high-ranking military officers, run and protects these shipments. Who launders all of this drug money? Hezbollah.’

Citrinowicz emphasized Iran’s investment in Venezuelan power structures. ‘The enhancement is illustrated by several aspects: first and foremost, the military cooperation, especially Iranian factories building UAVs for the Venezuelan army, and constant Quds Force flights from Iran through Africa toward Venezuela,’ he said. ‘Iran is also teaching Venezuela how to bypass sanctions and has invested billions into the economy.’

Experts say Washington’s best leverage lies in choking the finances. ‘We need to aggressively target and choke these financial networks,’ Townsend said. ‘The priority is to attack the financial and logistical networks, indict everyone we can and pressure Maduro. If we can cut off the financial arteries, the cocaine won’t be as profitable.’

Citrinowicz agreed that the strike fits into a broader effort. ‘By weakening Maduro, the U.S. weakens the Iranian presence in Latin America and weakens Iran’s ability to threaten U.S. soil,’ he said. ‘The best way to weaken Venezuela is also to aim against the Iranian presence over there.’

For Washington, experts say Hezbollah’s narcotics empire in Venezuela is no longer just a regional problem. It is increasingly being treated as a direct threat to America’s security at home.

 

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Senate Republicans are getting closer to changing the upper chamber’s rules to allow for a slew of President Donald Trump’s lower-level nominees to be confirmed, and they’re closing in on a revived proposal from Democrats to do it.

The hope among Republicans is that using a tool that Senate Democrats once considered would allow them to avoid turning to the ‘nuclear option,’ meaning a rule change with a simple majority vote.

‘The Democrats should support it, because it was their original proposal that we’re continuing on,’ Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., told Fox News Digital. ‘And I wouldn’t be surprised if they won’t. This historic obstruction by the Democrats is all playing to their far-left liberal base, who hate President Trump.’

Republicans met throughout the week behind closed doors to discuss their options and have begun to coalesce around a proposal that would allow them to take one vote to confirm a group of nominees, also known as ‘en bloc,’ for sub-Cabinet level positions.

So far, the only nominee to make it through the Senate with ease was Secretary of State Marco Rubio in January. Since then, various positions throughout the bureaucracy have stacked up and have not received a voice vote or gone through unanimous consent — two commonly-used fast-track procedures for lower-level positions in the administration.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said that before Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., was in charge of the Democrats, ‘this was always done in a way where, if you had some of the lower-level nominees in the administration, those were all voted en bloc, they were packaged, they were grouped, they were stacked.’

‘This is the first president in history who, at this point in his presidency, hasn’t had at least one nominee clear by unanimous consent or voice vote,’ he said. ‘It is unprecedented what they’re doing. It’s got to be stopped.’

And the number of nominees on the Senate’s calendar continues to grow, reaching 149 picks awaiting confirmation this week. The goal would be to make that rule change before lawmakers leave town for a week starting Sept. 22.

The idea comes from legislation proposed in 2023 by Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Angus King, I-Maine, and former Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md. Republicans are eyeing their own spin on it, such as possibly not limiting the number of en bloc nominees in a group or excluding judicial nominees.

Republicans would prefer to avoid going nuclear — the last time the nuclear option was used was in 2019, when then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., lowered debate time on nominees to two hours — but they are willing to do so, given that Democrats haven’t budged on their blockade.

They may only be making a public display of resistance, however.

‘Democrats privately support what Republicans are talking about,’ a senior GOP aide familiar with negotiations told Fox News Digital. ‘They’re just too afraid to admit it.’

Sen. James Lankford, who worked with Thune and Barrasso over the recess to build a consensus on a rule change proposal, told Fox News Digital that his Democratic colleagues acknowledged that they’ve ‘created a precedent that is not sustainable.’

‘But then they’ll say, ‘but my progressive base is screaming at me to fight however I want to. I know I’m damaging the Senate, but I got to show that I’m fighting,’’ the Oklahoma Republican said.

‘We feel stuck, I mean, literally,’ Lankford continued. ‘Some of my colleagues have said, ‘We’re not the ones going nuclear. They’re the ones that are going nuclear.’’

Klobuchar told Fox News Digital that she appreciated the prior work she’s done with Lankford on ‘ways to make the Senate better’ but wasn’t ready to get behind the GOP’s version of her legislation.

‘When I proposed that, it was meant to pass as legislation, which means you would have needed bipartisan votes, and the reason that’s not happening right now is because the president keeps flaunting the law,’ she said.

Not every Senate Democrat is on board with the wholesale blockade, however.

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., told Fox News Digital that lawmakers should all behave in a way in which administrations, either Republican or Democratic, get ‘those basic kinds of considerations’ for nominees.

‘That’s not the resistance,’ he said. ‘I just think that’s kind of unhelpful to just move forward. I mean, you can oppose people like the big ones, whether it’s [Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F.] Kennedy or others.’

Fox News Digital reached out to Schumer’s office for comment but did not immediately hear back. 

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Residents in five Western Québec municipalities of have overwhelmingly rejected a proposed open-pit graphite mine, with 95 percent voting against the La Loutre project in a referendum.

Nearly 3,000 ballots were cast on Sunday (August 31) across Duhamel, Lac-des-Plages, Lac-Simon, Chénéville and Saint-Émile-de-Suffolk. Of those, 2,754 citizens voted against the asset, while only 115 were in favor.

The organizers say the result leaves no room for ambiguity about local opposition.

Located near Lac Bélanger, roughly 80 kilometers northeast of Gatineau, La Loutre is owned by Lomiko Metals (TSXV:LMR,OTCQB:LMRMF), which says it is a potential source of graphite for electric vehicle batteries.

China is the world’s largest producer of graphite by far, and countries around the world are looking to lock down supply of the material. In 2024, Lomiko received a US$8.35 million grant from the US Department of Defense, as well as C$4.9 million from Natural Resources Canada, as the countries looked to strengthen North America’s supply chain.

But for many locals, the referendum on La Loutre was not about global supply chains, but about protecting the lakes, forests and tourism-driven economy that sustain the Petite-Nation region.

Duhamel Mayor David Pharand, long opposed to the mine, said the scale of the rejection will shape what comes next.

“I can assure the population that the percentage of the results of this referendum will have a major impact on the decision of the government and the action that will be taken,” Pharand told CBC. “We will work based on those numbers with our political, federal, and provincial members of parliament to see that this project is not funded.”

Provincial officials struck a similar tone. Papineau MRC prefect Paul-André David said in a statement that the results reflect widespread environmental concerns and will guide the region’s stance in discussions with Québec City:

“The MRC will have to take the necessary measures to protect the interests of the community, by demanding that governments ensure that the sustainable management of water, air and landscapes is at the heart of discussions.’

Mathieu Lacombe, the Coalition Avenir Québec member of Québec’s National Assembly for Papineau, called the outcome “unequivocal” and pledged in a Facebook post to “ensure that the will of citizens is respected.”

Premier François Legault has repeatedly said in recent years that “if there is no social acceptability, there will be no mining activity,” a promise the Coalition du NON is now urging him to uphold.

Coalition presses for government action

The referendum was organized with support from the Alliance des municipalités Petite-Nation Nord and spearheaded by local business and land-use groups under the banner of the Coalition du NON.

The coalition is demanding that both provincial and federal governments move quickly to halt the project and declare the territory incompatible with mining activity. Louis St-Hilaire, president of the Petite-Nation Lake Protection Group and co-spokesperson for the coalition, said the result represents a clear directive.

“Through this referendum, citizens have shown that mining is clearly not what they want for their region and that they will continue to oppose it. Mr. Legault, the public is now asking you, in the public interest, to revoke Lomiko Metals’ mining rights in this area,” St-Hilaire said.

Lomiko acknowledges challenge of social license

Lomiko received permits from the Québec government to begin a 250 metric ton bulk sample at La Loutre on July 1, also saying in the update that it was in a permitting phase to start geotechnical site investigations.

In a statement to CBC on Tuesday (September 2), the company acknowledged the referendum outcome, while stressing that “the many outstanding questions will become clearer as it carries out additional studies.”

Last year, Lomiko expressed disappointment after Québec’s government declined to fund the project, saying the province appeared to be drawing “pre-emptive conclusions” before technical assessments were completed.

Local leaders say the onus is now squarely on provincial and federal authorities to respect the verdict.

Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

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