Fox News RSS Feed

In 1979, American indecision and the abandonment of a loyal ally helped pave the way for the rise of Islamist terrorism and the loss of pro-Western Iran to the Soviet camp. In 2026, the same reluctance to support Iran's pro-democracy opposition and its recognized leadership has once again strengthened Islamist forces, leaving America humiliated and strategically diminished while the struggle between radical Islamism and Iranian nationalism continues beneath the surface.

Many Iranians view 1979’s revolt as the beginning of a regime built on violence and terrorism. During the uprising, Trump voiced support for the Iranians while continuing to pursue a deal with Tehran. Yet many regime opponents later thanked Trump and Netanyahu for confronting Ali Khamenei, whom they regarded as the principal symbol of repression and bloodshed in Iran.

Reasonable people can support or oppose the agreement. Yet several realities should not be ignored. Throughout history, dictators and terrorist movements have not changed their nature simply because others chose to negotiate with them. A dictator does not become a friend of freedom overnight, and a terrorist organization does not suddenly begin handing flowers and chocolates to the very people it has oppressed and humiliated.

The belief that Iran's barbaric ruling system can fundamentally change without dismantling its destructive ideological foundations and propaganda machinery is unrealistic. The structure remains intact. The institutions that sustain the regime remain in place. Eliminating a few commanders or military assets does not dismantle a deeply entrenched junta and ideological system.

TRUMP IRAN FRAMEWORK GAMBLES ON DIPLOMACY DESPITE WARNING TEHRAN WILL 'LIE AND CHEAT'

The elimination of Qassem Soleimani and Ali Khamenei dealt a significant blow to the regime's prestige and morale. Yet because the broader structure survived, those who inherited power are now seeking survival and time. They offer promises that may appeal to Trump, but many Iranians do not believe them.

As a result, Trump, once viewed by many Iranians as a hero for confronting Tehran’s dictator, is now seen by many of those same people as having abandoned their cause in favor of another deal with the regime. Many opponents of the regime believe that another agreement has come at the expense of those who lost their lives during the uprising.

One of Trump's most significant achievements during his first term was the elimination of Soleimani, the architect of Iran's regional terror network. If the deaths of Imad Mughniyeh and Osama bin Laden were major milestones in the fight against Islamic terrorism, then the elimination of Soleimani was arguably even more consequential.

IRAN ADMITS EXTRAORDINARY NEW DETAIL IN KHAMENEI STRIKE, TRUMP 'OFFERED WAY OUT': EXPERT

Yet Soleimani's demise did not destroy the structure he helped build. Ahmad Vahidi, now one of the most influential figures in the post-Khamenei order, remained part of the system. The overseas terrorist apparatus of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Quds Force continues to exist.

Soleimani's end did not wreck the structure he built. The terrorist network survived. As a result, many fear that the agreement, much like previous diplomatic openings with Tehran, will encourage a renewed sense of impunity within the regime's security establishment.

Another important development was the weakening of Tehran's proxy network and the reduction of its regional influence. When Israel perceived an existential threat to its survival, Mossad — under the leadership of Yossi Cohen and later David Barnea — succeeded in significantly damaging the Islamic Republic's transnational terror network throughout the so-called Shiite Crescent.

WATCH: CRUZ SOUNDS ALARM ON TRUMP IRAN DEAL, WARNS AGAINST HANDING BILLIONS TO 'THEOCRATIC LUNATICS'

Yet the network has not disappeared. The regime's "4H" axis — Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and Iraq's Hashd al-Shaabi militias — remains intact, and Tehran continues to rely on these groups to create pressure on Israel whenever necessary.

A third important factor was Trump's support for Israel in the face of direct Iranian missile and drone attacks. The threats made by Khamenei against Israel and the Jewish people echoed rhetoric previously associated with some of the most notorious dictators of the modern era. Factually, Khamenei was one of the principal figures behind the forces responsible for the atrocities of October 7, 2023.

For decades, the regime relied on proxy groups to confront Israel. Yet it eventually crossed a historic threshold by launching direct missile and drone attacks against the Jewish state. In the eyes of many opponents of the regime, this demonstrated the true nature of Tehran's ambitions.

JD VANCE CLARIFIES FROZEN IRANIAN ASSETS, US STANCE ON RELEASE CONDITIONS

Many Iranians welcomed efforts by Israel and the United States to weaken the Islamic Republic and the IRGC, hoping that increased pressure on the regime would bring Iran closer to freedom and democracy. From that perspective, President Trump's support for Israel remains one of the most significant and commendable aspects of his Middle East policy.

Yet the greatest danger remains. If the regime is given an opportunity to rebuild, neither its terrorist infrastructure nor its ambitions of regional domination will disappear. Within the ideological framework established by Khomeini, hostility toward the United States and Israel remains a central principle. The regime may change its tactics for survival, but it does not abandon its long-term objectives.

If Tehran succeeds in buying time and recovering its strength, the same network of Islamist terrorism will reemerge. The regime's "4H" axis — Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and Hashd al-Shaabi — will remain in place alongside other terrorist organizations linked to Tehran's regional strategy. Many Iranians believe the previous Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) strengthened the regime's terrorist infrastructure rather than benefiting ordinary citizens. Critics fear new financial relief will produce the same result.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION

Ultimately, the issue is not whether an agreement is signed or rejected. The real issue is preventing the reconstruction of the transnational terrorist infrastructure that could once again threaten American interests, U.S. allies and regional stability.

Ironically and regrettably, President Trump's willingness to reach another agreement with Tehran demonstrates that there is no genuine desire in Washington to pursue regime change in Iran. Critics argue that peaceful coexistence with this cancerous regime in the heart of the Middle East is simply not possible. In actuality, the regime may change its tactics, but it cannot change its nature.

The regime also faces a growing internal crisis, and the forces that fueled the uprising have not disappeared. Many Iranians believe that the aspirations of the protest movement were ultimately ignored and that the current agreement has diverted attention from the central struggle inside Iran.

Iran’s future will ultimately be determined not by agreements signed abroad, but by the continuing struggle between a regime fighting for survival and a society demanding political change.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM ERFAN FARD

from Latest & Breaking News on Fox News https://ift.tt/2U3E4zW
via IFTTT

Fox News RSS Feed

Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced Monday that he will resign following a mounting revolt inside the Labour Party after devastating local election losses, the resignation of government ministers and growing pressure from senior members of his own cabinet.

Starmer said he would step down as prime minister and Labour leader after concluding he could no longer unite the party, but is expected to remain in office until a successor is chosen.

The resignation follows weeks of turmoil inside Britain’s ruling party after Labour lost roughly 1,500 council seats and control of more than 25 councils in local elections last month, according to reporting from U.K. outlets. The losses were fueled by major gains from Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party in Labour’s traditional strongholds and by Green Party advances in urban areas.

FARAGE'S REFORM UK BEATS OUT ESTABLISHMENT PARTIES IN 'EARTHQUAKE' ELECTIONS

Starmer’s domestic troubles deepened after a damaging dispute with President Donald Trump over the Iran conflict earlier this year. The British prime minister initially resisted U.S. requests to use British bases during military operations against Iran, prompting Trump to criticize him publicly, saying: "This is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with," on March 3.

But after initially drawing a hard line, Starmer later approved limited defensive cooperation with the U.S., angering anti-war lawmakers inside his own party while still failing to satisfy critics who accused him of indecision and weak leadership.

Public frustration over the episode surfaced in YouGov focus groups and polling commentary, where voters described Starmer as "weak," "indecisive" and overly reactive to Washington.

AS EPSTEIN-LINKED APPOINTMENT SPARKS BACKLASH, UK PM STARMER FACES PARTY REVOLT AMID RESIGNATION CALLS

The crisis escalated days after the local election results after two Labour ministers resigned publicly and called for a leadership transition.

Jess Phillips resigned from her government role after Starmer reportedly refused to step aside during a cabinet meeting. Phillips said Labour needed leadership with more "gusto" and warned the government was failing to deliver the change voters expected, according to The Guardian.

Miatta Fahnbulleh also resigned and called for what she described as an "orderly transition," according to U.K. media reports Tuesday.

More than 80 Labour MPs publicly called for Starmer to resign, Steven Swinford, political editor at The Times, wrote on X, "What is striking is the fact that they hail from all wings of the party," adding that roughly a third were centrists, while others came from Labour’s soft-left and hard-left factions.

Senior cabinet ministers were also reportedly pressuring Starmer privately to establish a timetable for his departure. Senior Labour figures, including Yvette Cooper and Ed Miliband, had urged Starmer to consider stepping aside to avoid further political damage, The Guardian reported. 

John Healey defended Starmer publicly before the resignation announcement, saying, "More instability is not in Britain’s interest. Our full focus must be on security."

UK TO RELEASE FILES RELATED TO FORMER AMBASSADOR'S JEFFREY EPSTEIN TIES

The political crisis also intensified scrutiny over Starmer’s broader leadership and decision-making.

His government faced criticism over Britain’s handling of the ongoing U.S.-Iran crisis, with opponents accusing him of appearing indecisive after reports that the U.K. initially resisted some American military requests before partially backtracking. Public frustration over the issue has surfaced in recent polling and voter focus groups published by YouGov.

Starmer also faced criticism over his appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington, reviving media scrutiny surrounding Mandelson’s past association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. 

Attention now turns to a potentially divisive Labour leadership contest.

Wes Streeting is viewed as a leading contender from the party’s centrist wing, while Andy Burnham remains popular among Labour’s grassroots having recently won a seat in Parliament. Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner is also expected to play a major role in shaping the succession battle.

from Latest & Breaking News on Fox News https://ift.tt/IoePfjp
via IFTTT

Fox News RSS Feed

Donald Trump has had a falling out with the Italian prime minister. 

In fact, as you may have heard, the entire country is angry with the president. 

Giorgia Meloni hit back hard, accusing Trump of fabricating a story about her. 

Trump had said: "She begged me to take a picture with her. She wanted a picture with me so ​badly. I wouldn’t have taken it, but I felt sorry for her."

TRUMP SAYS MELONI 'WANTS TO BE FRIENDS AGAIN' AFTER ITALY REFUSED TO HELP US AMID IRAN WAR

"Donald Trump’s statements are completely made up," said the prime minister, who has been an ally. "I am frankly astonished. I don’t ‌know why ⁠the president of the United States behaves like this towards his allies: it is not the first time, moreover...

"There is one thing he should remember: Neither I nor Italy ever beg."

The flap, which prompted Italy's foreign minister to cancel a planned U.S. visit, underscores how Trump's policies, here and abroad, are driven by personal relationships.

TRUMP BLASTS CLOSE ALLY MELONI, SAYS SHE’S FAILING US ON IRAN

 What we might view as a harmless bit of embellishment managed to insult an entire country, and alienate one of the few European leaders who has backed the U.S.  

In the wake of Trump's memorandum of understanding with Iran, which has been fiercely criticized by Republicans as well as Democrats for making too many concessions, he is taking flak from another ally as well. 

Israel's top newspaper, owned by billionaire donor Miriam Adelson, denounced the president.

TRUMP DEFENDS WAR DEAL IN MARATHON PRESSER, USING SEMANTICS ON WHY IRAN IS GETTING $300 BILLION

The headline: "You could have been the greatest president of all, but you failed."

In Israel Hayom, Danny Zaken wrote that Trump "may be remembered forever as the president who brought about America’s humiliation."

He added: "You made a colossal mistake. You failed by signing a surrender agreement with a murderous and cruel terror regime...

ISRAEL FEARS TRUMP WEARY OF ‘HIGHLY SUSPICIOUS’ NETANYAHU AND COULD 'FLIP' AMID IRAN DEAL: ANALYST

"We feel betrayed, nothing less, because your heart was, it seemed, in the right place, with all your flaws."

Adelson, an Israeli-American doctor, is the widow of casino magnate Sheldon Adelson. Trump awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2018, and she has donated massive sums to pro-Trump groups and campaigns. 

Trump has been furious with Bibi Netanyahu for continuing to mount attacks in Lebanon, and made sure everyone knew it, with JD Vance joining in publicly scolding Israel. Netanyahu's continued assault on Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon prompted the mullahs to cancel Friday's planned agreement signing with the vice president in Switzerland.

CONSERVATIVES RALLY AROUND TRUMP AFTER MEETING WITH ZELENSKYY GOES OFF THE RAILS: 'ABSOLUTE DUMBA--'

Perhaps the most dramatic, live-action clash with another foreign leader came last year when Trump unloaded on Volodymyr Zelenskyy, canceled their planned lunch and booted him out of the White House. Zelenskyy, who was also lectured by Vance, didn't help things by taking the bait and responding back in prickly fashion.

The president was more resistant after that to aiding Ukraine in the war against the invading Russians, though his strong relationship with Vladimir Putin was likely a significant factor as well. Trump and Zelenskyy have since repaired their relationship, and met at the G-7 summit in France. 

By contrast, charming the president can also be effective. When Zohran Mamdani was running for New York mayor, Trump constantly attacked him, threatening to withhold federal funds and deploy federal troops if the Muslim socialist was elected.

DAVID MARCUS: MR. MAMDANI GOES TO WASHINGTON BETWEEN ROCK AND HARD PLACE

He called Mamdani a "communist lunatic" who hates the police and Jewish people, declaring "we're not going to ruin one of our great cities… We will clean up the crime in about 30 days."

But when Mamdani came to the White House after the election, the tone was strikingly positive.  

"I met with a man who's a very rational person. I met with a man who wants to see – really wants to see – New York be great again," Trump said. "I'll be cheering for him."

MAMDANI, PRESIDENT TRUMP HAVE BEEN TEXTING AT LEAST TWICE A WEEK — AS UNLIKELY BROMANCE BLOSSOMS: SOURCES

The president added: 

"We agree on a lot more than I would have thought I want him to do a great job, and we'll help him do a great job."

Mamdani, who had previously called Trump a "fascist" and "despot," also praised their conversation.

TOP DEMS WHO EXCHANGE TRASH-TALK WITH TRUMP PUBLICLY TURN SURPRISINGLY FRIENDLY IN PRIVATE MEETINGS

 At a second meeting, the mayor pitched the president on a massive housing project in Queens, where Trump grew up and which Mamdani represented as an assemblyman.  

Mamdani gave Trump a fake New York Daily News front page that depicted the president as a champion builder who could make a lasting difference in New York.

They have since clashed on several issues but have quietly been texting each other.

For Trump, there is no line between policy and personality. When vowing to use military force if necessary to seize Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory, he threatened to impose a 10% tariff on goods from Denmark and seven other European countries opposing the effort. This was partly a result of the Danish prime minister insisting she would not be blackmailed.

As for the feud between Trump and Giorgia Meloni, both sides escalated their rhetoric over the weekend: The president posted: 

"She wouldn’t even let us use Italy’s landing strips or runways, a great logistical inconvenience, and this despite the fact the U.S. contributes hundreds of Billions of Dollars a year to protect Italy, and other ‘so-called’ NATO Allies. Now, after the United States defeated Iran militarily, she wants to be friends again in order to get her ‘numbers up.’ No thanks!!!"

TRUMP ‘RIGHT TO BE OUTRAGED’ BY EUROPE’S BETRAYAL ON IRAN, SAYS FORMER THATCHER ADVISOR

 Meloni called the president’s attacks "senseless," saying: "As for my popularity, being your friend has certainly not helped it, nor does it depend on my relationship with you… I suggest you focus on yours."

It’s like a schoolyard fight in which both brawlers want the last word.

All politics, of course, turns on relationships to some degree. When a candidate is seeking an endorsement or a lawmaker is courting colleagues on a bill, a backslapping approach definitely helps.  

But with Donald Trump, it's the driving force in how he does business, period, and those who anger or irritate him quickly learn there are negative consequences.  

from Latest & Breaking News on Fox News https://ift.tt/M9aRqnD
via IFTTT

Fox News RSS Feed

The American Culture Quiz is a weekly test of our unique national traits, trends, history and people — including current events and the sights and sounds of the United States.

This week's quiz highlights sunscreen shakeups, coastal curiosity — and much more.

Can you get all 8 questions right?

Give it a try and see how you do!

CLICK HERE FOR MORE LIFESTYLE STORIES

To try your hand at more quizzes from Fox News Digital, click here. 

Also, to take our latest News Quiz — published every Friday — click here.

from Latest & Breaking News on Fox News https://ift.tt/CLQXdI1
via IFTTT

Fox News RSS Feed

Vice President JD Vance landed in Switzerland early Sunday to help launch a new round of negotiations with Iran, as the Trump administration pushes for a lasting agreement following a recently signed ceasefire.

Vance arrived shortly before 6 a.m. local time and is expected to join White House envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law, for the talks.

Swiss officials confirmed Saturday that the Iranian delegation had arrived and was traveling to Bürgenstock, where the discussions are expected to take place.

The talks were initially scheduled for Friday, but Switzerland's foreign ministry announced that planned negotiations involving the U.S., Iran, Qatar and Pakistan had been postponed.

ISRAEL–HEZBOLLAH CEASEFIRE BECOMES FIRST TEST OF TRUMP IRAN FRAMEWORK AFTER TALKS DELAY

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is also expected to participate in the talks, according to Axios.

The negotiations come days after Trump signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Iran following the G7 summit at the Palace of Versailles. The agreement established a 60-day ceasefire and outlined a framework for broader negotiations between the two countries aimed at ending the conflict.

In a Truth Social post Saturday, Trump warned that the United States could impose tolls in the Strait of Hormuz if negotiations fail to produce a lasting agreement before the ceasefire expires.

TRUMP’S IRAN CEASEFIRE ROCKED WITHIN HOURS AMID REPORTED MISSILE, DRONE ATTACKS

Before departing from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, Vance said a successful trip would involve establishing the framework for future negotiations.

"I think number one, just getting things set up in the right way and getting the actual structure of the negotiations in place," he said.

"The way that we're going to do this, we're going to have a principal level of political leadership at the top," he continued. "And then obviously the technical team is going to stay on the ground."

JD VANCE REVEALS DETAILS OF US-IRAN DEAL, ADDRESSES WHETHER TAXPAYER MONEY WILL GO TO TEHRAN

Vance said he expected to remain in Switzerland for a day or two.

The vice president also previewed some of the issues expected to be discussed during the negotiations.

"I think we're hopefully making progress on the nuclear issue, make progress on the Lebanon ceasefire issue," he said.

VANCE TOUTS DESTRUCTION OF IRANIAN NUCLEAR PROGRAM AS TRUMP ANNOUNCES ISRAEL-IRAN CEASEFIRE

"Those are the two big things that I think we're going to be focused on," he continued. "I'm sure the Iranians are going to have issues they'd like to discuss as well."

Vance said conditions in Lebanon had improved despite renewed clashes between Israel and Hezbollah.

"Despite the headlines, things are actually getting better there," he said, while acknowledging that sporadic violence remains a challenge in the region.

NOT BLUFFING: STEPHEN MILLER SAYS TRUMP IS DIRECTLY INVOLVED, 'HOLDS ALL THE CARDS' IN IRAN NEGOTIATIONS

The vice president said the goal is to prevent further escalation and preserve the ceasefire.

"The big problem is that somebody will shoot and then somebody will respond," Vance said. "You've just got to stop the shooting for long enough to get the ceasefire to hold."

Pakistan also announced that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir would participate in technical-level discussions in Switzerland.

Fox News Digital's Brittany Miller contributed to this report.

from Latest & Breaking News on Fox News https://ift.tt/Eq1wZWG
via IFTTT

Fox News RSS Feed

Vice President JD Vance is pulling back the curtain back on President Donald Trump’s strict rules for Cabinet members, specifically the traditional dress code.

Speaking on the "Hang Out with Sean Hannity" podcast, Vance explained that Trump’s classic style rules — including a disdain for brown shoes — are rooted in the belief that public officials must honor the institutions they serve.

"The president has a certain sense that you ought to respect the place, you ought to respect the institution, respect the office. And one of the ways you do that is by dressing like a normal person," Vance said in the episode released Thursday. "And I think that's — it’s a very old-fashioned thing."

NO MORE CASUAL: STATE DEPARTMENT IMPOSES FIRST-EVER DRESS CODE ON DIPLOMATS

According to Vance, the president expects his team to always project professionalism, drawing a contrast with the style of many modern-day politicians. He laid out some of the rules, telling Hannity that Trump almost always wears a navy suit, black shoes and a solid tie.

VANCE ADMITS INFAMOUS 'CHILDLESS CAT LADIES' COMMENT DISTRACTED FROM HIS MESSAGE TO AMERICANS

"Well, I mean, he always has — it's always a navy suit. It's almost always a solid tie. It's always black shoes," Vance said. "Like, he'll bust the chops of some of the Cabinet members if they've got brown shoes on."

Earlier this year, Trump confirmed that he sometimes buys his officials new shoes during an interview on "The Brian Kilmeade Show."

"When they tell me they have a problem, I say, ‘Let me get you a pair of shoes,'" Trump told Kilmeade in March.

Vance noted he’s seen the president comment on the attire of other officials and even his own family members, including the "Zelensky moment." During a meeting in the Oval Office, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy was asked by a correspondent why he chose not to wear a suit.

At a follow-up White House meeting in August, Zelenskyy wore more formal attire than his usual military-style clothing. During that exchange, a reporter told Zelenskyy he looked "fabulous in that suit," before Trump added, "I said the same thing."

VANCE REJECTS CLAIMS TRUMP-IRAN DEAL ECHOES OBAMA-ERA LOGIC AS HAWKS RAISE ALARM

"That was not a good moment for him," Vance said of Zelenskyy, referring to the tense exchange between the Ukrainian president and U.S. officials. "And it's funny because things kind of worked out. I think, you know, we were able to repair that relationship."

He also recalled a time when Trump commented on his son Don Jr.’s attire at a 9/11 memorial during the 2024 campaign.

"They're reading out the names. But there's — at one point, the president turns around and looks at Don Jr. And Don has like, a spread collar on. And the president's like, ‘Oh, that's a pretty wide collar there, Don,’" Vance said.

"And you can tell, like, it just was absolutely a dig. So I've always — navy suit, black shoes and a conventional collar," he added.

from Latest & Breaking News on Fox News https://ift.tt/tLJ49dX
via IFTTT

Fox News RSS Feed

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are split on President Donald Trump’s Iran peace deal, with some concerned the deal entails little enforcement, with some praising it as progress toward preventing a nuclear-armed Iran while others warned it could provide Tehran with billions of dollars and insufficient safeguards.

Sen. Thomas Tuberville, R-Ala., told Fox News Digital he believes the deal shows progress from the beginning of the war, particularly in disbarring Iran’s nuclear program.

"They never can have nuclear weapons and we don't have troops on the ground and we made a lot of progress," Tuberville said.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION UNVEILS SWEEPING TERMS OF PROPOSED IRAN AGREEMENT

But many are skeptical on whether the deal is harsh enough in substantially ensuring Iran’s nuclear program will be destroyed throughout the 60-day negotiation period. It postpones nuclear conversations and lacks the authority to completely prohibit Iran from refusing compliance with the framework of the deal.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., shared that exact concern with Fox News Digital, as well as the potential for the $300 billion toward economic reconstruction included in the deal to be used to fund terrorist groups.

"I am deeply concerned that we are giving Iran the benefit of hundreds of billions of dollars that can be spent on Hezbollah and other maligned proxies, as well as rebuilding its nuclear program," Blumenthal said. "And the lack of any inspection or verification."

He continued, "I am deeply concerned that this deal looks like unconditional surrender for the United States, not for Iran."

TRUMP DEFENDS WAR DEAL IN MARATHON PRESSER, USING SEMANTICS ON WHY IRAN IS GETTING $300 BILLION

The deal that was signed on Thursday would also provide immediate sanctions relief and access to frozen Iranian funds. 

Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said he believes the framework of the deal could position the U.S. to be successful — on the condition that negotiations with Iran are properly enforced. 

"From the beginning I said the key is going to be enforcement," Hoeven said. "So as we go through this negotiation, the key is going to be how do we enforce it?"

He called on American allies to take responsibility in helping with enforcement throughout the 60-day period.

"I think some of our allies need to step up and join us," Hoeven said.

"They have a big dog in this fight so they need to join with us because that enforcement mechanism is going be key, I believe, to getting the kind of outcome that we want," he said.

WHAT ISRAEL WANTS FROM AN IRAN PEACE DEAL: NO ENRICHMENT, MISSILE LIMITS AND STRICT ENFORCEMENT

Many senators claimed they had not read through the memorandum of understanding (MOU), declining to comment at all about their opinion on the deal.

"I'm going to disappoint you," Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said. "I'm about a half way through reading the actual MOU and I want to read it several times to try to digest it."

Many Democrats are arguing that the current deal seems worse and less effective than the Obama-era Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Trump withdrew this 2015 nuclear deal during his first term.

"I think it looks worse than the Obama deal right now," Blumenthal said. "More money goes to Iran, lifting of sanctions, no verification."

from Latest & Breaking News on Fox News https://ift.tt/6F9gx04
via IFTTT

Fox News RSS Feed

For decades, so-called top academic schools dominated the cultural conversation about higher education. But inflation and a tough economy have devastated many families’ savings, making affording four-year schools difficult, on top of the AI monster that seems to be eating white-collar jobs alive. 

This perfect storm has crushed trust in "elite" schools. But what’s bad news for Harvard and Yale is a fantastic opportunity for community colleges and certification programs across the country to position themselves as the best solution to young Americans’ financial and career concerns. 

Elite schools still command prestige, of course. They boast extensive professional networks and deep pockets that can drastically lower six-figure annual prices, and many government and private loans promise college access in exchange for higher incomes as one’s career progresses.

QUARTER OF US COLLEGES COULD CLOSE IN THE COMING YEARS, UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT WARNS OF MAJOR TRANSFORMATION

Here’s what education leaders and communicators told me that higher education institutions of all types can do to make their value crystal-clear to students and parents.

Comms needs a strong foundation for success

The first thing all higher ed institutions need to do is prove concrete value to prospective students and their parents. The easiest way to do this is to build relationships with high schools that influence student decisions. 

Indianapolis Public Schools Spokesman Marc Ransford told me that he’s had the "privilege of telling a story of real transformation" built on a $410 million "strategic redesign" of the entire school district.

"Rebuilding Stronger created infrastructure improvements from elementary school to graduation," said Ransford. "And it worked. Nearly two-thirds of our recent graduates pursue college or a trade program, and students earn 9,000 dual-credit hours annually that create real savings for them." 

Ransford also pointed to partnerships that make sure intent matches outcomes: "Any student with a 3.0 GPA" is automatically enrolled at IU Indianapolis, plus "internships and apprenticeships at Eli Lilly and IU Health," that "create seamless pathways from our classrooms into careers." Erin Parkhurst is former Vice President of Strategic Communications at Benedictine Schools of Richmond. She said the two single-sex Catholic high schools under its umbrella communicate to all stakeholders — parents, students, faculty and higher education institutions — that student needs come first. 

"A systematic, individualized approach to college counseling makes the difference for students and families," she said. "Starting in 9th grade, students explore their academic and career interests to find the right fit. This means that every student and their family makes decisions with a clear understanding of financial commitments and career opportunities."

Higher education institutions have to demonstrate concrete value customized to each student’s needs and goals, said Parkhurst. "With a 100% acceptance rate among the students applying to college, graduates can be selective" — which means colleges and universities are fighting to stand out to students. 

Remember that the comms strategy is downstream from the raw material. Without data proving that Indianapolis’ students are seeing more opportunity, Ransford couldn’t prove anything to stakeholders across the city and Indiana. Likewise, institutions that build partnerships with high schools like those Parkhurst previously worked at will have a far easier path to reach stakeholders. 

The AI threat triple-threat to four-year schools

THE AI REVOLUTION THREATENS OFFICE JOBS, BUT REVIVES DEMAND FOR SKILLED TRADES

Most students can’t attend the big school and coast into a job on "connections." We  make it on solid skills, which is why blue-collar jobs are having a rebound. AI can take white-collar jobs built on debt-filled education; it won’t take roofing, electrician, and plumber jobs anytime soon. 

But there are other AI threats, like the program Antonio Delgado, Vice President of Innovation and Technology Partnerships, oversees at Miami Dade College. The school has over 100,000 students, many of whom are there  to learn AI skills that can keep them in the modern workforce. 

"Most companies can’t afford AI engineers who have Master’s/Ph.D.s.," said Delgado. "They need someone with a middle level of AI skills. We developed this applied AI program before ChatGPT came on the market, so we had the right program at the right time. We are filling the gap by acting as an affordable, accessible workforce asset that is set up in a way that many four-year and other higher-level education programs are not."

CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION

TVP Communications Vice President Kristine Maloney said the AI threat to white-collar jobs is overstated. However, this leads to the third AI challenge: changing public perception. "Many families and students are particularly concerned about AI replacing entry-level jobs for new graduates. The reality is a lot more nuanced and in many cases, it’s not true at all." Maloney urged four-year schools to "do a better job correcting the record on the ROI they provide to their alumni. And the time to fight for their reputation and enrollment is now. The longer headlines about AI killing entry-level jobs go unanswered, the more ingrained this thinking becomes."

Communicating customization

Think Big Managing Director Aaron Walker is a crisis expert who has helped a lot of higher education institutions recover from self-inflicted damage. He says the entire industry ignored the growing affordability issue.

I’M A UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT. TRUMP IS RIGHT TO MAKE COLLEGES DELIVER FOR STUDENTS

"Students and families are waking up to a painful reality: Tuition costs have skyrocketed while job placement guarantees remain nonexistent. Unlike most industries, higher education has largely escaped accountability for its core promise. That’s changing, and institutions that don’t get ahead of this will find themselves in a trust crisis they’re not equipped to manage."

That’s why my alma mater is dialing into a single distinct message: "specific, applicable skills and experience" to be "career-ready upon graduation," said Plymouth State University Director of Development and Alumni Relations Rodney Ekstrom. No boiling the ocean here, because PSU isn’t just competing against New Hampshire schools. It’s also competing against students not going to school at all.

Can you reach an audience that finds you — and only you — as the solution to a financially successful launch into a validating career that will last? That’s the communications challenge facing four-year schools, and the opportunity facing institutions that have historically been demeaned.

If not, both have a rough road ahead.

from Latest & Breaking News on Fox News https://ift.tt/WG4rDUt
via IFTTT

Fox News RSS Feed

The Senate Banking Committee convened a hearing June 11 around a question that cuts to the core of American competitiveness and the American Dream: Can the United States ensure that rapid advances in artificial intelligence support "innovation, affordability, and American dominance?"

Those three goals are inseparable, and they all hinge on a single variable: ensuring that the world’s most advanced chips stay in American hands and out of China’s. President Ronald Reagan understood this logic during the Cold War, when his administration moved aggressively to deny the Soviet Union access to cutting-edge Western technology — not because the Soviets lacked talent, but because denying them the tools was itself a strategic weapon.

The same principle applies today. Indiana Republican Sen. Jim Banks and Florida Republican Rep. Brian Mast understand the stakes. The "AI Overwatch Act" they are advancing in the House and Senate is the right answer.

China already has world-class AI talent fielding competitive models. However, it lacks reliable access to the highest-end chips, a gap that keeps Beijing behind. The AI Overwatch Act codifies the prohibition on exporting our most advanced chips to China — making permanent a policy the Trump administration has enforced and that must outlast any single administration.

TRUMP’S CHINA THAW LEAVES TAIWAN DECISION LOOMING AS EX-NBA STAR WARNS ISLAND HOLDS KEY TO US AI RACE

It would create a simple test, ensuring sales will not strengthen an adversary’s military, intelligence, surveillance or cyber capabilities and would not erode our technological lead. Importantly, it would also fast-track trusted exports to allies and partners, so that we could export the full American AI stack to friends who gain access to top-tier capability, while ownership and oversight would stay with the United States.

The measures are not just common sense — they are the precondition for every goal the Senate Banking Committee named.

Export controls on chips are vital but not sufficient given the scale of China’s effort to overtake the United States. China’s parallel path to closing the gap is building advanced chips domestically, which is why Sens. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., and Andy Kim, D-N.J., introduced the bipartisan and bicameral "Match Act."

HOW US CEOS QUIETLY TEAMED UP WITH TRUMP TO GAIN LEVERAGE OVER CHINA

The bill bars the sale and servicing of the most essential chipmaking tools to facilities in China, locks restrictions on Huawei, SMIC and other Chinese Communist Party-linked chipmakers into law and presses our allies to align their own export controls so that American toolmakers aren’t simply undercut by foreign competitors selling Beijing the same equipment. Together, the Overwatch and Match Acts close both doors: China can neither buy our best chips nor buy the tools to make them. 

Start with innovation. In April, the White House accused China of running industrial-scale campaigns to copy American frontier models, using tens of thousands of fraudulent accounts and jailbreaking techniques to siphon proprietary capabilities and release cheaper knockoffs stripped of the safeguards our companies build in.

Beijing is already pilfering our AI advantage because it cannot yet train frontier models at scale without our hardware. To hand Beijing our hardware advantage on top of that would be unilateral disarmament, allowing state-subsidized Chinese firms to match American products at a lower price and box our companies out of global markets just like they have done in solar, steel and electric vehicles. You do not protect an innovation lead by selling your rival the engine — or the factory that builds it.

CHINESE MONEY REPORTEDLY TIED TO AI DATA CENTER OPPOSITION

Then there is affordability. The dividend of AI leadership is supposed to land here at home, in new industries, good jobs and the broad prosperity that makes the American Dream attainable. That dividend disappears the moment we hand Beijing the tools to undercut us.

I have spoken with executives across multiple sectors who understand that the AI supply chain and compute infrastructure — chips, fabs, data centers and the energy to run them — have become the new industrial base. America’s technology advantage is the engine of that prosperity. Losing it is not an abstraction — it is lost jobs, lost leverage and a dimmer American Dream.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION

And there is dominance. The country that leads in the most capable models, the chips that train them, and the energy to run them will set global standards and decide whose values are embedded in the defining technology of this century. That is the line between AI that serves a free people and AI that powers a surveillance state.

President Donald Trump’s AI Action Plan names the stakes plainly, calling it imperative that America and its allies win this race, and the current administration has held the line by keeping our most capable chips out of China and tightening enforcement against those who try to route them there anyway.

There is no doubt China recognizes that compute power is the bottleneck in this race. In March, federal prosecutors in New York charged three people tied to the server maker Super Micro, including a co-founder, with diverting roughly $2.5 billion in Nvidia-powered servers to China through a front company in Southeast Asia, using falsified paperwork and dummy units to fool both internal compliance teams and federal inspectors. The Super Micro prosecution is only the most recent proof that Beijing will not stop trying.

China is running a long game — economic, cyber and intelligence operations aimed at closing the gap we have spent decades building. The United States must run a longer one. America’s chip advantage is not just a technology story; it is the foundation of the American Dream — the engine of the industries, the jobs and the national power that make self-governance worth defending. By passing the Overwatch and Match Acts, Congress can turn a fragile policy advantage into durable American law.

from Latest & Breaking News on Fox News https://ift.tt/qV8tWaI
via IFTTT

Fox News RSS Feed

A Florida couple who welcomed a child genetically unrelated to them after an alleged embryo mix-up at a fertility clinic they subsequently sued will raise the child as their own after reaching an agreement with the child's biological parents, according to the couple.

Tiffany Score and Steven Mills welcomed a daughter, Shea, in December of last year. Later, genetic testing revealed that the baby was related to another set of parents, according to a lawsuit filed earlier this year against the now-defunct fertility clinic IVF Life, Inc., which operated as Fertility Center of Orlando before shuttering last month.

Score and Mills said they have come to a "mutually devised custody agreement" with Shea's biological parents, and plan to develop "a relationship of friendship and trust" together, according to ABC News.

The pair will continue to raise Shea as their own and will remain her custodial parents, according to the custody agreement filed on June 12, the outlet reported.

ROBOTS POWER BREAKTHROUGH IN PREGNANCY RESEARCH, BOOSTING IVF SUCCESS RATES

Jack Scarola, an attorney for the couple, said Score and Mills appreciate how news of their mix-up helped connect them with Shea's biological parents.

"Tiffany and Steve recognize the public interest in the details of their IVF experience, and they appreciate the role the news media has played in bringing them and Shea to the point where Shea's genetic parents were able to be identified and fears about Shea's future have been settled," Scarola said in a statement to ABC News.

"Tiffany and Steve are committed to respect[ing] the privacy concerns of Shea's genetic parents with whom they have begun and intend to continue to foster a relationship of friendship and trust. They are also committed to protecting Shea from harmful intrusion on her privacy," Scarola added.

In their lawsuit against IVF Life, Inc. and Dr. Milton McNichol, who led the fertility clinic before its closure, Score and Mills said they solicited the services of the clinic to assist them in the IVF process and contracted with the clinic for "cryogenic storage of three viable embryos," according to ABC News.

The couple claimed that the clinic then implanted an embryo in Score's uterus in March of last year that "was not one of the embryos produced by" her and her partner.

When their daughter was born in December, Score and Mills — who are both White — said their daughter "displayed the physical appearance of a racially non-Caucasian child." They then used genetic testing and confirmed the baby was not biologically related to them.

They called on the clinic to bring the lawsuit to the attention of "all of its patients who had embryos in storage" to determine whether they may have received an embryo belonging to Score and Mills.

Score and Mills also demanded that the clinic cover the cost of "genetic testing for all patients and the children of all patients whose birth resulted from embryo implantation through [the clinic's] services during the past five years," which is the time span when the clinic had their embryos.

The pair also urged the clinic to disclose any discrepancies in parentage.

HOW AI IS MAKING IVF MORE PREDICTABLE

In last week's custody filing, Score and Mills said they learned about the "embryo history of Plaintiffs and other patients" that "revealed laboratory-clinic errors that would substantiate claims for damages against the present defendants and others without the need to satisfy medical malpractice lawsuit prerequisites."

They said they decided to store one of their embryos at a different facility.

IVF Life, Inc. previously said it was "actively cooperating with an investigation to support one of our patients in determining the source of an error that resulted in the birth of a child who is not genetically related to them."

"Multiple entities are involved in this process, and all parties are working diligently to help identify when and where the error may have occurred," the clinic said in January. "Our priority remains transparency and the well-being of the patient and child involved. We will continue to assist in any way that we can, regardless of the outcome of the investigation."

from Latest & Breaking News on Fox News https://ift.tt/9gwbsXl
via IFTTT

Fox News RSS Feed

A ceasefire agreement between the world’s greatest military power and its leading terrorist regime is a big blanking deal.

But ask yourself: If the "agreement," which runs a page and a half, is so great, why hasn’t it been released?

In a cascade of criticism, leading Republicans, joining the predictable Democrats, have expressed unhappiness with President Trump’s secret deal. Their attitude ranges from deep skepticism to outright opposition.

And the media coverage, even accounting for the usual anti-Trump hostility, has been relentlessly negative.

TRUMP'S IRAN AGREEMENT RAISES A BASIC QUESTION: IS IT ACTUALLY A DEAL?

"President Trump Lost This War," the New York Times editorial page declared yesterday.

"Trump made a terrible mistake starting this war. He prosecuted it recklessly and in open defiance of the law. The United States is emerging weaker — militarily, diplomatically and economically — and will pay strategic costs for years to come.

The details of the deal are unclear, but the announced framework suggests that Mr. Trump has won few of the terms he insisted that he would. It is a humiliating comedown for him and the nation he leads."

That theme emerges throughout the coverage. Washington Post foreign policy columnist David Ignatius says: "Let’s be frank: In diplomatic terms, this agreement is an exit ramp from a costly and unpopular war, not a victory parade. The deal falls far short of President Donald Trump’s early talk of regime change and unconditional surrender. Even one of Trump’s close advisers concedes: ‘It’s inconclusive right now, in the sense that you can’t say it was a huge success, and you can’t say it was a failure.’"

But what’s most striking is the Republican pushback, with some demanding that Congress must approve any peace deal. 

TRUMP VOWS 'ULTIMATE CONSEQUENCES' IF IRAN VIOLATES AGREEMENT, RESUMES NUCLEAR AMBITIONS

Sen. Thom Tillis says the agreement is "doomed to fail" because of the lack of congressional oversight. He also criticized some remarks by Pete Hegseth. "Now we are talking about a posture where we may accept the nuclear material remaining in Iran? How does that make sense at all?"

"If you want a deal to last," said Sen. James Lankford, "it can’t be an executive agreement."

Sen. Lindsey Graham, a presidential pal, said the memorandum being described by Iran "sounds awful."

Speaking of uranium, the longtime hawk said: "If they can enrich it anywhere at all, then it’s the same as JCPOA," the 2015 Obama agreement that Trump canceled. Graham told Politico he is "skeptical that Iran will ever go there."

And conservative activist Erick Erickson, who has a popular radio show, says flatly: "Trump has surrendered to Iran."

TRUMP MAY HAVE WON A STRATEGIC PAUSE IN IRAN. NOW COMES THE HARD PART

Colby Hall, a Mediaite founding editor who has started a Substack site that includes the "morning frame," cited this example: 

"Marc Thiessen is not a Democrat. He is not even a Never Trumper. He is a Fox News contributor, a Washington Post columnist, and a foreign-policy voice close enough to Trump that his calls reportedly helped shape the president’s position on Ukraine. He has had dinner at the White House." 

Thiessen compared the $300 billion that the White House concedes Iran would receive for a reconstruction fund to "offering the Marshall Plan to rebuild Germany while the Nazis were still in power." The columnist "was applying the moral logic conservatives spent a decade constructing — that you don’t rebuild a hostile regime, you constrain it — to a deal signed by the president he helped elect."

He wasn’t alone. Fox anchor Bill Hemmer called the situation "precarious. It’s tough stuff because Iran’s history is to get to that table and just drag this thing out — month after month and eventually year after year." Hemmer asked, "about us getting suckered back into a long, stalemated negotiation."  

Many Fox critics conveniently forget the network has a large news division.

Here’s Politico: "President Donald Trump and his team are celebrating an Iran peace deal they say will end Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

"But the accord rests on commitments that Iran hasn’t actually made yet. And it may never."

Axios reports that CIA Director John Ratcliffe told Trump and other senior officials that "evidence gathered by U.S. intelligence agencies raises serious doubts about Iran’s willingness to make the nuclear concessions the U.S. is seeking in any final deal, according to three sources familiar with those discussions."

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth "both expressed concerns and raised questions about the memorandum of understanding."

"Ratcliffe and Rubio said that based on that intel, they doubted the Iranians would agree to take the nuclear steps the U.S. was seeking." 

NETANYAHU'S ISRAEL GRAPPLES WITH TRUMP-IRAN DEAL AS DETAILS REMAIN UNCLEAR

That’s pretty sobering.

National Review’s Jim Geraghty sees "a well-established pattern of an administration that habitually over promises and under delivers. Vice President Vance, who apparently never wanted to start a war, now gets the job of a deal with one of the world’s most untrustworthy and treacherous regimes."

The Dispatch says: "If the deal has in fact been finalized… the administration’s unwillingness to share the details suggests the terms are, as many have feared, tantamount to surrender. Why not transparently share something of which you are proud?"

All we really have here is an agreement to keep on talking. Maybe it will all work out in the end, but right now it seems like a distant desert mirage.

Trump is declaring the "deal" a success. But with the still-secret arrangement, it’s hard to argue that the 80-year-old president has handled this well.

Footnote: Trump over the weekend posted a picture of himself with Kim Jong Un. What did that North Korean visit and all those love letters get us last time? Yet Trump appears to be signaling he wants to try again.

from Latest & Breaking News on Fox News https://ift.tt/Ji8bVEW
via IFTTT

Fox News RSS Feed

A top Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) official has been accused of helping funnel more than $1.2 million in donor funds to a confidential informant who infiltrated a neo-Nazi organization — a source prosecutors say was also the official’s secret romantic partner.

The details were revealed in a superseding indictment filed June 2 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) against the SPLC, which has faced mounting scrutiny over allegations that it funded individuals tied to extremist groups it publicly opposed.

According to the document, the director of the SPLC’s Intelligence Project was in a secret romantic relationship with a paid field source who infiltrated a neo-Nazi organization known as the National Alliance at the direction of SPLC. 

The SPLC director reportedly shared a home with the source and allegedly used a fake company to funnel charitable funds to the partner. A significant portion of the money reportedly ended up in a shared bank account used to fund their life together.

NEO-NAZIS, ‘SADISTIC’ BIKERS AND CHARLOTTESVILLE ORGANIZER: 5 OF THE MOST SHOCKING SPLC INFORMANTS

Based on details laid out in the superseding indictment, the individual was identified only as the "person who would become Director of the SPLC's Intelligence Project." The official reportedly conducted the financial transactions between 2015 and 2021.

According to congressional and SPLC documents, the director at that time was Heidi L. Beirich, an extremism researcher who served in the role from 2012 to 2019.

The SPLC declined to comment to Fox News Digital.

DOJ SAYS SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER FUNNELED $3M+ TO WHITE SUPREMACIST AND EXTREMIST GROUPS

Prosecutors allege that a fake shell company created by the SPLC, known as "Tech Writers," was used to funnel donor money directly to the official's romantic partner.

"The SPLC actively led donors to believe that their donations would be used to ‘dismantle’ violent extremist groups," the indictment stated. "However, the SPLC hid from donors the fact that a portion of their donated funds was being secretly used to support extremist groups and to fund their violent, racist, and extremist activities."

Investigators reportedly traced roughly $140,000 in donor funds directly from the SPLC's main operating account through the Tech Writers shell company and ultimately into the couple's shared personal bank account.

Prosecutors said those funds accounted for roughly two-thirds of the money held in the couple's joint accounts and were used to pay everyday household and living expenses.  

from Latest & Breaking News on Fox News https://ift.tt/RnPB2Hv
via IFTTT

Fox News RSS Feed

"They were there for Norway…"

"They" are nine Norwegian commandos cross-country skiing through deeply wooded, mountainous terrain in 1943, then trudging through deep snow to reach the Vemork hydroelectric power plant in the town of Rjukan, high above a waterfall and as formidable an edifice as one can imagine from that era.

Vemork was also site of the world’s only plant for mass production of "heavy water," on which the Nazis had placed their primary bet to produce atomic weapons during World War II. After the invasion and occupation of Norway in April 1940, the Reich’s munitions research team soon figured out that Vemork was critical to their plans.

Physicist Werner Heisenberg was one of the key leaders of the Nazi nuclear program, and in 1942 he had promised all of the Nazi and Wehrmacht leadership a bomb "the size of a pineapple" that could destroy cities.

THE RACE AGAINST TIME TO DESTROY IRAN’S ILLICIT NUCLEAR WEAPONS PROGRAM HEATS UP AMID FRESH STRIKES

The key to that bomb was the heavy water produced at Vemork, so the Nazis hardened the defenses around the plant and kept increasing them as the Allies’ interest in destroying the plant became obvious.

The tale of the race between the Nazis and the Allies for nuclear weapons and the specific drama surrounding Vemork is recounted in the bestseller of a decade ago: "The Winter Fortress: The Epic Mission to Sabotage Hitler's Atomic Bomb" by Neal Bascomb. Director and producer Michael Bay optioned the rights to make the movie based on the riveting account by Bascomb, but it has not yet been made.

It is a shame that Bay hasn’t made the movie yet, as such a film would be a short-cut for those who don’t understand why President Donald Trump is singularly focused on ensuring the Islamic Republic of Iran cannot make or buy a nuclear weapon.

MORNING GLORY: PRESIDENT TRUMP IS ON THE CUSP OF A HISTORIC ACHIEVEMENT

Trump is motivated by the same conviction that drove British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and American President Franklin Roosevelt to throw everything into the Manhattan Project while also doing everything to disrupt Hitler’s bid for nukes. The leaders of the United Kingdom and United States knew that German dictator Adolf Hitler would use any weapon he could obtain, even as Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu know the fanatics atop the rump regime in Iran would use any weapon they could build or buy.

The conviction that your enemy cannot be deterred by any ordinary means but is in fact a theocracy run by fanatics who believe they can usher in the end of times and the return of the "Twelfth Imam" focuses the mind. Or ought to.

"Twelver" beliefs — the anchor religious convictions of the regime established by the Ayatollah Khomeini when he led the Iranian Revolution of 1979 — astonish the secular West, especially its progressive activists. The left in the West dismiss the Iranian theocratic convictions as absurd fantasies that surely no government could embrace.

TRUMP RIPS OBAMA'S 'STUPID' IRAN DEAL, CLAIMS FORMER PRESIDENT THOUGHT 'HE COULD BRIBE THEM'

They ought to watch 16 minutes of the recent episode of "Life, Liberty and Levin" in which Mark quickly traces the core ideology of the remaining "leadership" in Iran with the help of the writings of late scholar of Islam Bernard Lewis and of the deceased Khomeini himself. 

Trump and Netanyahu have directed the destruction of the physical plant of Iran’s nuclear program though not the new facility under construction in the deep caverns being dug at Pickaxe Mountain in Iran. Fanatics don’t stop even when they are set back. The religious extremists of Iran are certain to try again to build — or buy — the nuclear weapons they will use.

The German National Socialists — the Nazis — were of course led by Hitler who had no scruples about burning everything down even as his Reich collapsed in on every front. The same is true of Iran’s religious fascists who have been led by Ayatollahs Khomeini and Khamenei from 1979 to February 28 of this year. These Islamist fascists murdered tens of thousands of their own people over two days in January. They have no limits when it comes to violence.

IRAN’S HIDDEN MOUNTAIN NUCLEAR SITE RAISES URGENT THREAT, MUST BE ‘NEUTRALIZED': REPORTS

It may be Khamenei’s son now calling the shots in the wounded and reeling Iran, or it may be the latest commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Ahmad Vahidi, profiled on June 13 in The Wall Street Journal.

Whoever is the new "Supreme Leader" may approve of a deal with the United States but the nature of the regime cannot change. The acquisition of nuclear weapons as a means to destroy Israel first and then the United States is a matter of deep theological conviction to the regime. (There are no "moderates" in the regime’s leadership, only extremists with camouflage and unapologetic Twelvers who are always the ones with guns.)

Base camp for understanding the current and future battles with Iran should be reading or listening to "The Winter Fortress." The Allies eventual and thrilling success at Vemork did not end the Nazi push for nukes. The third and successful operation against the plant — followed by intense bombing — only damaged and delayed Hitler’s plans and programs.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION

The courage and heroic success of the commandos did not end the war but did allow for time for victory in the European Theater. Another massive bombing mission was required the next year to force the Nazis to abandon their plans for Vemork.

Whether President Trump has achieved as much as is possible to end the Iranian regime’s nuclear program and destabilize the regime’s grip on the vast majority of Iranians who loathe their tyrants without the deployment of ground forces remains to be seen. The necessity of a president finally willing to take action to devastate the program has existed for two decades. Bravo to Trump for his orders.

But there is no destroying the knowledge about how to get to their bombs, knowledge the Iranians have steadily gained since 1979. There is no altering Twelver theology or Khomeinist ideology. The new radicals atop the ruins will try to start again, just as the Nazis did in 1943. Shattered and broke with a suffering population, the quarter million radicals ruling Iran with iron fists and terrorist tactics are not a group of Gorbachevs about to launch a "glasnost" and "perestroika."

That’s the reality. How America deals with it ought to be led by the example of FDR and Churchill when the threat was as real as it remains today.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM HUGH HEWITT

from Latest & Breaking News on Fox News https://ift.tt/DFoHsUR
via IFTTT

Fox News RSS Feed

This is about a game, about overcoming adversity, about beating the odds, and about a city that is at once great and glamorous, yet oppressively hard to live in.

But the Knicks, in winning their first championship in 53 years, are not just a New York story. Their teamwork, discipline and dedication became a national story, a Cinderella story. They touched hearts in a very cynical culture. 

Imagine if politicians acted like this. If they put aside their hyper-partisanship and ideological agendas for the good of the country. If their default setting was cooperation and compromise rather than grabbing credit and demonizing opponents. Okay, you’re right. It’s too hard to imagine. 

It’s not about how many points Jalen Brunson scored (45 in Game 5, when he single-handedly carried the Knicks to victory). It’s about how he was long dismissed as weak and undersized (by NBA standards). The 6-foot-2 Brunson, who wasn’t drafted until the second round, had something to prove. Think of all the folks who feel underrated or misunderstood at their job, and how deeply they want to be recognized for their value.

TAYLOR SWIFT DANCES, SHIMMIES AND STEALS HEADLINES AS KNICKS ERASE 29-POINT HOLE IN NBA FINALS STUNNER

It’s about the greatest city on earth, which is also the most frustrating city on earth. I once wrote that New Yorkers live under conditions that would cause riots in any other city, and I haven’t changed that view. Everybody is squeezed together. It’s absurdly overcrowded. 

As a guy from Brooklyn, who played in a league and in the asphalt jungle, where if you lost you had to sit on the sidelines for a good long time, I don’t pretend to be unbiased. We played touch football in the street and had to stop every time a car came. That was before we got on the grass field because someone cut a hole in the chain-link fence. Very Noo Yawk. 

Every day more than 4 million people pack themselves into subways, mostly at the bottom of deep tunnels, and at rush hours must stand through stop and go service. Homelessness is a problem both in the subways and on the streets.

CHAOS UNFOLDS IN NEW YORK CITY AFTER KNICKS WIN FIRST NBA CHAMPIONSHIP IN DECADES

Many folks live in tiny apartments, with small dens having to double as bedrooms, and pay mightily for the privilege.

And yet, as street crowds gathered across the five boroughs, they broke into a rendition of the Frank Sinatra song: "I want to be a part of it, New York, New York…"

Other cities, of course, have similar problems, so New York is just urban America writ large: Taller buildings, dirtier streets, piled-up garbage, more panhandlers, struggling schools, odious smells.

KNICKS FANS SEND NYC INTO CHAOS AFTER FRANCHISE REACHES FIRST NBA FINALS SINCE 1999

And the traffic is horrendous. Only Los Angeles is worse. Don’t show me any surveys, I know. Try getting into the Lincoln Tunnel.

That’s why authorities slapped a $9 entrance fee on anyone driving into Manhattan below 60th Street. And parking: Fugeddaboudit! 

Unfortunately, some thugs turned violent after the Knicks’ victory. There were 63 arrests, 10 cops injured, four people stabbed and a 17-year-old boy shot in the foot. That’s the dark side of New York, which coexists with places like Broadway and Fifth Avenue.

TEEN PUNCHED AND KICKED INTO A COMA AFTER KNICKS-SPURS ALTERCATION NEAR MADISON SQUARE GARDEN: POLICE

When I was based in New York, the biggest stories involved crime. Race riots. Murders. The Central Park Five. The Zodiac Killer. Al Sharpton got stabbed. 

Things are nowhere near as bad these days in the Apple and other cities, but there are still plenty of neighborhoods where you cross the street to avoid trouble. 

When I was leaving in 1990 to return to Washington, I wrote a magazine piece with Donald Trump on the cover. The hotel-builder’s tabloid exploits, breathlessly chronicled by the New York Post — this was even before "The Apprentice" – symbolized a culture in which readers thrive on celebrity gossip to distract them from the daily dreariness of their lives. He always called me back. I figured, well, I’ll never have to deal with this guy again.

STEPHEN A SMITH ELECTS NOT TO DUNK ON TRUMP FOLLOWING KNICKS NBA FINALS VICTORY

I was at Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals when Willis Reed limped onto the court for their first championship. I watched on TV in 1973 when the team, now with Earl the Pearl, won again. Little did I know there would be a half-century wait till the next one, so many years of so many awful teams.  

There’s also a heartwarming father-son tale, with Jalen’s dad, a journeyman player with the 1999 Knicks who lost the Finals to the San Antonio Spurs, being avenged — and the normally stoic younger Brunson dissolving into tears as they hugged. 

If you look at the history of movies and television shows, everyone loves a good comeback. And the Knickerbockers provided just that in this series.

WNBA COACH DOUBLES DOWN ON JALEN BRUNSON DOUBTS DESPITE KNICKS REACHING NBA FINALS

In every win, the team fell behind by double digits and clawed their way back — especially in Game 4, when the New Yorkers, despite a record-breaking 29-point deficit, won it in the final second with that now-famous tip-in by OG Anunoby. Saturday night’s clincher was also won in the final seconds.

Doesn’t that stir every youngster or former youngster who dreamed of hitting the last-inning homer or catching the winning touchdown pass?

It was also nice to see the immature, 7-foot-5 Victor Wembanyama, who acted like a creepy villain, miss the last shot in each of the last two contests.

KNICKS SURVIVE TO TAKE 2-0 NBA FINALS LEAD AFTER JALEN BRUNSON'S CLUTCH SHOT SINKS SPURS

I know, it’s only a game. There will be other games, other sports, other heroes. 

But this one touched a raw nerve because the Knicks, who won 13 straight, were always coming from behind, fueled by a beautiful passing offense, and were written off as lucky overachievers who would wilt like fading flowers when facing a "real" tough team.

Haven’t all of us, at some time or another, felt disrespected and disregarded by clueless bosses? 

Start spreading the news…

from Latest & Breaking News on Fox News https://ift.tt/h5YUgRd
via IFTTT

Fox News RSS Feed

I was born into a family that believed in God, loved America and taught that every human being possesses human dignity. Long before prejudice and identity-based politics became fixtures of American life, I learned a simple truth that guided my family’s work and shaped the civil rights movement itself: we are one blood, one human race.

My family background is very diverse. My grandmother’s family came from the west coast of Africa. My grandfather’s family came from Ireland. My mother’s family included Cherokee roots. I have spent my entire life living the reality that America is not a collection of competing tribes. America is one people under God.

My uncle, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., did not dedicate his life to teaching Americans to see one another as permanent enemies. He did not divide people into categories of oppressors and oppressed. He called us to a higher standard — to judge one another by character, to pursue justice without hatred and to recognize our shared humanity under God.

That is why I am deeply concerned by the growing industry of division that has taken root in America — and by the role the Southern Poverty Law Center has played in fueling it.

DR. BEN CARSON: I KNOW HOW BAD THE SPLC WAS, IT CAME AFTER ME AND PUT ME AT RISK

For decades, the SPLC has positioned itself as a leading authority in the fight against hatred and extremism. Yet recent allegations detailed in a federal superseding indictment raise serious questions about whether the organization has lived up to the principles it claims to defend.

According to those allegations, individuals associated with organizations that the SPLC itself labeled as extremist or hate groups allegedly received substantial payments over many years. The indictment describes hundreds of thousands, and, in at least one case, more than a million dollars, in payments to sources connected to White supremacist, neo-Nazi and Ku Klux Klan organizations.

These allegations deserve careful scrutiny.

SPLC SCANDAL UNDERSCORES HOW THE DEMAND FOR RACISM OUTSTRIPS THE SUPPLY | BOBBY BURACK

Americans who faithfully donate their hard-earned money to combat racism and hatred deserve transparency and accountability. Many of those donors are sincere people who believe they are supporting a noble cause. They have the right to know how their donations have been used and whether the organizations they support are practicing the values they publicly preach.

The concerns extend beyond financial questions. For years the SPLC and similar organizations have helped cultivate a worldview that teaches — especially young people — to see our nation through the lens of permanent racial conflict. Rather than emphasizing reconciliation, shared citizenship and common humanity, they too often reinforce the idea that Americans are defined primarily by their differences.

This is not the vision that inspired the civil rights movement. It is certainly not the vision that inspired Uncle M.L.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION

As my uncle taught, "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."

I know something about being labeled. For years, I have been characterized in ways that bear little resemblance to who I am or what I believe — I have even been labeled by the SPLC itself! So let me be clear: I reject racism. I reject hatred. I reject White supremacy. I reject any ideology that seeks to elevate one group above another.

The answer to racism is not more division. The answer is truth and love.

Today, I still have a dream that Americans will see one another not as enemies, but as neighbors. Acts 17:26 tells us that we are one blood. Science testifies that we are one human race. If we remember this core truth, we can build a future worthy of the sacrifices made by those who came before us.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM ALVEDA KING

from Latest & Breaking News on Fox News https://ift.tt/2S4BX0r
via IFTTT

Fox News RSS Feed

Two Detroit sisters, including one who was nine months pregnant at the time, are accused of stabbing a worker at a Detroit chicken restaurant during a wrong-order dispute, with prosecutors alleging one sister stabbed the employee and that the women attempted to throw hot grease, pans and other items at her.

Brianna and Kierianna Long now face several charges in connection with the May 30 incident, including assault with intent to murder, assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder and assault with a dangerous weapon, according to local reports. Both women have pleaded not guilty.

The two sisters entered the restaurant, ran behind the counter and attacked the 23-year-old employee after they were given a wrong order, prosecutors said, according to the outlet.

MICHIGAN ATHLETE LURED BY SNAPCHAT MESSAGE BEFORE BEING SHOT, DUMPED IN LAKE WHILE STILL ALIVE

The sisters threw items at the employee, chased her through the restaurant, hit her with pots and pans, attempted to throw hot grease on her head and threatened to kill her, according to prosecutors.

"I'm going to kill you," one of the sisters allegedly said during the encounter, WDIV reported.

The employee was then stabbed in the stomach with a knife by Kierianna, prosecutors said.

The injured employee had to be taken to the hospital for surgery after she ran out of the restaurant and hid inside a stranger’s vehicle while calling for help.

Brianna, 29, and Kierianna, 26, fled the scene after the attack but were eventually arrested by police.

Defense attorneys attempted to dispute the allegations in court, arguing that the employee triggered the assault by saying that she did not "give a f---" about the food order error before throwing items including knives first during the incident.

ARMY VETERAN DIES MONTHS AFTER DOORDASH DRIVER ALLEGEDLY SUCKER PUNCHED HIM OVER SPEEDING COMPLAINT

Brianna, who was 9 months pregnant at the time of the incident, gave birth four days before her arraignment, her attorney said, ClickonDetroit reported. She pleaded with the judge by saying that she was innocent and had a 4-day-old baby at home.

Both sisters pleaded not guilty to the charges. Brianna was held on a $25,000 cash bond and Kierianna was held on a $100,000 cash bond.

from Latest & Breaking News on Fox News https://ift.tt/2K5jsen
via IFTTT