Johnson says shutdown was ‘never’ about healthcare for Dems — but really about this
House Speaker Mike Johnson accused top Democrats of holding higher priority for their positions in office than hungry Americans after the House of Representatives voted to reopen the government Wednesday on Fox News.
The House of Representatives voted to end the 43-day government shutdown in a 222–209 vote Wednesday evening just after 8 p.m. ET.
huck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries are from New York. They needed to get political cover because the Marxists are taking over the Democratic Party, especially in their state,” Johnson told “Hannity.”
“They were more afraid of political retribution from the radicals that now run the Democratic Party than they were afraid about taking the food out of the mouths of hungry families,” he added.
CONGRESS SENDS BILL ENDING LONGEST GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN IN HISTORY TO TRUMP’S DESK
“The long national nightmare is finally over,” the speaker said. “The Democrat shutdown was finally put down by the Republicans tonight. We all stood together. We did exactly what we told the American people we would do.”
The bill heads to President Donald Trump’s desk. Johnson said he will present it for the commander-in-chief’s signing.
JOHNSON TAKES VICTORY LAP IN FIRST COMMENTS AFTER SENATE SHUTDOWN DEAL: ‘VINDICATED’
The fiscal showdown that gripped Washington, D.C., for weeks was centered in part on Democrats’ refusal to back a funding bill without renewed, enhanced Obamacare subsidies.
“It was a selfish political stunt,” Johnson said. “It yielded nothing but pain for the American people, and I think it’s going to be a long time before they forget this.”
The bill passed by the House only funds the government until Jan. 30. It will also reverse October’s federal layoffs carried out by the Trump administration.
Johnson said none of Democrats’ “radical” demands were met in the legislation.
“We didn’t give them anything — any of their radical, crazy demands,” Johnson added. “I think the good won out tonight, and it was long overdue.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
He said Trump “bent over backwards” to support Americans affected by the shutdown and expressed confidence the administration will continue those efforts.
“You’ll see that same level of fervor,” Johnson said. “The entire Cabinet, the entire administration is going to work around the clock to get the government open and operational again as quickly as possible.”
Flight grounded after passenger makes alarming discovery on crowded airplane
The FBI was called Sunday after a loaded gun magazine was found on a Frontier Airlines plane at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta.
Just after 4:30 p.m. Saturday, officers assigned to the airport responded to a call about a gun magazine found near Frontier Airlines Gate C-6 in Concourse C, according to a news release from the Atlanta Police Department (APD).
A passenger on the Airbus A320 aircraft discovered what appeared to be a loaded magazine containing ten hollow point rounds near seat 7A, according to the release.
Police said the magazine, marked with the initials “K H,” was found during boarding for a turnaround return flight to Cincinnati.
SMOKE FROM UNKNOWN PASSENGER DEVICE FORCES EMERGENCY LANDING OF AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT TO WASHINGTON-DULLES
Officers coordinated with TSA, DOA, Frontier Airlines, Homeland Security and Atlanta Police K-9 units, and the aircraft was evacuated, according to the release.
After a thorough search by officers, no additional items of concern were found.
TSA screened all passengers a second time, and the flight departed safely just before 8 p.m., according to officials.
CONVICTED FELON FEDERALLY CHARGED AFTER THREATENING ATLANTA AIRPORT WHILE ARMED WITH AR-15 RIFLE
The FBI was notified of the matter, according to APD.
“No active threats were indicated at this time,” the agency wrote in the release.
A Frontier Airlines spokesperson told affiliate FOX 5 Atlanta the ammunition belonged to a member of law enforcement who was on an earlier flight.
DC CRACKDOWN NETS ARREST OF SUSPECT LINKED TO GUN ABANDONED ON SCHOOL PROPERTY, TERRORIST WATCHLIST ILLEGAL
“Customers were asked to deplane while a security sweep of the aircraft was conducted, along with additional passenger screening prior to the flight’s departure,” the airline told the outlet. “A subsequent investigation confirmed that the ammunition belonged to a law enforcement officer who was on an earlier flight on the same aircraft. The ammunition and magazine were taken into the custody of the Atlanta Police Department, and the property owner was referred to Atlanta P.D. to retrieve his items.”
However, an APD source told FOX 5 investigators have not confirmed who the magazine belonged to.
“I’ve heard of a lot of delays, canceled flights, but I’ve never heard of this before,” passenger Terry Foster told the outlet. “This is brand new.”
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Another passenger, Janyia Davis, told FOX 5 she didn’t feel anyone was in danger, but “something bad could still happen.”
Frontier Airlines did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Actress reveals uncomfortable truth about filming intimate Hollywood scenes
Florence Pugh has no problem baring it all — at least when it comes to honesty.
The “Thunderbolts” star, 29, opened up on “The Louis Theroux Podcast” about her mixed experiences on set, praising some coordinators while calling out others for making things “weird” and “awkward.”
“I’m having fantastic experiences with intimacy coordinators,” Pugh said. “However, I’ve also had a s— example.”
Without naming names or projects, the British actress described one particularly uncomfortable situation.
JULIA ROBERTS REVEALS FELLOW HOLLYWOOD STAR SHE WAS ‘SCARED’ AND ‘INTIMIDATED’ TO MEET
“[They] just made it so weird and so awkward and really wasn’t helpful and kind of was just like wanting to be a part of the set in a way that wasn’t helpful,” she recalled. “I think it’s a job that’s still figuring itself out.”
Pugh — who’s filmed everything from indie dramas to blockbuster love scenes opposite Harry Styles in “Don’t Worry Darling” and Cillian Murphy in “Oppenheimer” — said her experiences span both before and after the rise of intimacy coordinators.
“I’m quite confident, I’m quite happy in my skin, I’ve always been able to make sure that I’m heard,” she said. “That being said, even though I know that I believe that, and even though I know that I felt that at the time, there are plenty of things that I remember where it was just completely inappropriate to have asked me to do that, to have directed me in that way.”
JENNIFER LAWRENCE WAS ‘AT PEACE’ WITH NEVER RETURNING TO HOLLYWOOD AFTER TAKING BREAKS
The “Lady Macbeth” star admitted that only in recent years has she come to understand how much a good coordinator can enhance a scene — and protect actors.
“I’ve been able to understand better meaning now through working with great ones in sex scenes,” she said.
Pugh explained that the goal is “finding the story of what it is — what kind of sex is it, how do you touch each other, how long have you been having sex for.”
LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
DEMI MOORE SAYS TOM CRUISE FELT ‘AWKWARD’ AND ‘EMBARRASSED’ ABOUT HER PREGNANCY ON SET OF ‘A FEW GOOD MEN’
The actress said that when intimacy is handled correctly, it feels like part of the storytelling — not just something to get through.
“[Everyone on set is] working away to chip away at the scene,” she said. “And I think when I worked with a fantastic coordinator, I was like, ‘Oh, this is what I’ve been missing — understanding the dance of intimacy as opposed to just shooting a sex scene.’”
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER
Pugh added, “There are good ones and bad ones, and it’s through the good ones that I have learned how effective it can really be.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to Pugh for comment.
Her comments come after fellow actor Andrew Garfield admitted that he and Pugh took their sex scene in the film, “We Live In Time,” “further” than needed.
Last year, Garfield explained that he and Pugh did not hear the directors yell “cut” while filming the intimate scene.
“We were getting into it, as it were, and we go a little bit further than we meant,” Garfield told Josh Horowitz in a fan-captured video uploaded to X at the time.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
“Just because we never heard ‘cut,’ and it was feeling safe,” he explained.
Toyota makes $14B investment in southern state — and pledges to spend billions more
Toyota announced Wednesday it has officially begun production at its new $13.9 billion battery manufacturing plant in North Carolina, while committing an additional $10 billion to bolster its U.S. manufacturing over the next five years.
The 1,850-acre facility in Liberty, North Carolina, marks the automaker’s first battery plant outside Japan and is expected to create up to 5,100 new American jobs, Toyota said.
“Today’s launch of Toyota’s first U.S. battery plant and additional U.S. investment up to $10 billion marks a pivotal moment in our company’s history,” said Ted Ogawa, CEO of Toyota Motor North America. “Toyota is a pioneer in electrified vehicles, and the company’s significant manufacturing investment in the U.S. and North Carolina further solidifies our commitment to team members, customers, dealers, communities, and suppliers.”
TOYOTA UNVEILS HYBRID-ONLY 2026 RAV4: SEE THE SUV INSIDE AND OUT
Alongside the plant’s launch, Toyota announced an additional $10 billion investment in its U.S. operations over the next five years to “support future mobility efforts.”
“This will bring the company’s total U.S. investment to nearly $60 billion since beginning operations here nearly 70 years ago,” the company said.
Once at full capacity, the North Carolina plant will produce 30 gigawatt-hours of lithium-ion batteries annually to power Toyota’s lineup of hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and fully electric vehicles.
TOYOTA SEES $1.3B PROFIT HIT FROM TRUMP TARIFFS IN 2 MONTHS
The facility features 14 production lines, which will create batteries to power the Camry HEV, Corolla Cross HEV, RAV4 HEV and an all-electric three-row battery electric vehicle (BEV) – the first of its kind for Toyota to be built in the U.S., according to Toyota.
Additional production lines are expected to launch by 2030.
Beyond manufacturing, Toyota said the facility will also be a “vibrant community,” offering childcare services, a medical clinic, pharmacy and fitness center for employees.
AUTOMAKERS THAT PUSHED BACK EV GOALS AND PLANS IN 2024
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy praised Toyota’s announcement, calling it another “show of confidence in this administration’s efforts to reshore manufacturing, generate new, great paying jobs, and inject billions of dollars into the economy.”
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
“Under President Donald Trump’s leadership, America is open for business,” Duffy said in a statement.
Christian university blocks students’ third attempt to form TPUSA chapter
A third attempt by students at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego to establish a school-supported Turning Point USA (TPUSA) chapter was denied by the university’s Associated Student Body (ASB) Board of Directors.
The decision was announced in an email sent to students by university President Kerry Fulcher Nov. 5.
“I felt silenced when I got that email,” said Luke Cole, the elected secretary of the chapter and a third-year student at the university. “I felt like I couldn’t speak anymore.”
The email, obtained by Fox News Digital, said the motion was brought to a vote by the ASB Board of Directors and failed to pass after a review process. The email expressed concerns over the organization’s Professor Watchlist. According to TPUSA’s website, the Professor Watchlist aims to “expose and document” professors who discriminate against conservative students.
CONSERVATIVE STUDENT EXPOSES MIDWESTERN COLLEGE FOR PREVENTING TURNING POINT USA CHAPTER
“While the applicants indicated they would not participate in the watchlist, their application included phrasing that mirrors language used on TPUSA’s website in connection with it,” Fulcher wrote in the email. “That practice is not aligned with ASB’s purpose of fostering constructive communication and interaction between students, faculty, and administration.”
The email also cited the club’s intent to affiliate with TPUSA Faith, an initiative that aims to “unite the Church” and “eliminate wokeism,” according to its website. Fulcher said that was a violation of the university’s church and parachurch policies.
“This policy is in place to ensure that outside churches or ministry organizations, however well-intentioned, do not duplicate efforts already being led by our campus ministry team and use university resources to advance their own programming,” Fulcher wrote in the email.
Fulcher said the authority to approve or deny student-initiated clubs rests solely with the ASB Board of Directors. According to PLNU’s website, the school hosts a “B.R.E.A.K.” club which “emphasizes the importance of gender equality on a school campus.” Hosts discuss issues such as “privilege” and “gender justice.”
The school also hosts a “Center for Justice and Reconciliation” group that focuses on “immigration and racial justice” and allows students to “process injustices in their communities,” according to the website.
UC BERKELEY CHAOS OUTSIDE TURNING POINT GATHERING ENDS IN MULTIPLE ARRESTS AS CONSERVATIVE EVENT RUNS SMOOTHLY
The decision has left students crestfallen. Ginger Friess, a first-year student at the university, told Fox News Digital that, after Charlie Kirk’s death, she felt called to serve her campus through founding a TPUSA chapter.
“For me, it was about finding truth and making space for that on this campus,” said Friess. “I watched students and faculty, who identified as Christian, celebrate human death on campus … and I was deeply troubled by that.
“[Kirk] invited all people, all students on campus to an open mic. We want to open up the conversation.”
Brooklyn Stratton, a third-year student at PLNU and elected vice president of TPUSA Point Loma, said she and other young conservatives felt targeted on college campuses after Kirk’s death.
“I just wanted to make a community for other students who [were] also feeling this way to get together,” said Stratton. “College is our formative years. … I feel like not giving people the opportunity to explore which side of politics they’re on doesn’t align with free speech at all.”
LOUISIANA GOP THROWS WEIGHT BEHIND TURNING POINT USA CHAPTER REJECTED BY NEW ORLEANS UNIVERSITY: ‘INJUSTICE’
The formation of a TPUSA chapter was also rejected twice in 2021, according to the campus’ student newspaper.
Associate Vice President for Communications and Public Affairs Lora Flemming shared in a statement with Fox News Digital that the university is a place where “students from a variety of backgrounds are welcomed into a community shaped by faith.”
“The outcome of this club application should not be misunderstood as a departure from our Christian mission or a rejection of conservative perspectives,” Flemming said in the statement. “Calling into question the university’s Christian identity or discrediting our ASB leaders because of disagreement over this club decision is not reflective of how Christians are called to engage with one another in truth and grace.”
Friess shared that her grandfather was one of Turning Point USA’s first donors in 2012, motivating her to begin a chapter herself.
“Ultimately, I hope to create loving people. People that are willing to have the boldness to advocate for the eternal goodness for others,” said Friess. “And also to equip conservative students with a heart for Christ.”
Despite the students’ efforts being denied, they made clear this was not the end for TPUSA in Point Loma. The students shared that they were looking into the appeal process and meeting off campus.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
“My school is really trying hard to stay neutral, but the way they’re staying neutral really isn’t neutral at all,” said Stratton. “I guess the question I’m wondering is, ‘Is my administration at Point Loma Nazarene University giving a space for not only diversity of being but diversity of thought?’”
Fox News Digital contacted PLNU ASB’s President Kenzie Lopez and Director of Student Relations Nathan Blanco. Blanco declined to comment and Lopez did not respond before the time of publication.
Grandmother allegedly kills young grandson in ‘very tragic situation’
A Louisiana grandmother was arrested Wednesday after allegedly running over and killing her 5-year-old grandson while driving impaired.
Kristen Anders, 55, of Slidell, was charged with vehicular homicide, according to the Slidell Police Department. She was granted a $50,000 cash surety bond.
Just after 7 a.m. Wednesday, Slidell Police Department officers responded to the 300 block of Spartan Loop for a car hitting a young child in a driveway.
Officers learned Carson Lawson, 5, was waiting for the school bus in the driveway, standing in front of Anders’ 2016 GMC Yukon that was backed into the driveway, when his grandmother allegedly ran him over.
MULTIPLE FATAL CRASHES LINKED TO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS SPARK ARRESTS ACROSS US IN RECENT DAYS
Anders was not aware Lawson was outside at the time of the crash and immediately stopped the car when she realized she hit something, Slidell Police Chief Daniel Seuzeneau said during a news conference.
It is unclear if Lawson was standing or sitting in front of the car before the incident.
Seuzeneau confirmed the 5-year-old had two siblings that went to the same school who were “in the vicinity” during the tragedy.
ILLEGAL MIGRANT WITH DUI RAP SHEET FACING VEHICULAR HOMICIDE CHARGES AFTER HEAD-ON CRASH KILLS MOM, DAUGHTER
Police noted she “exhibited signs of impairment” immediately after the crash, and officers determined she was under the influence of alcohol and central nervous system depressants.
“I spoke with the victim’s mother several times today, and there isn’t anything that I can say to make her feel any better or make this situation better,” Seuzeneau said.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
“All we can do is pray for peace. I just want everybody to understand that this is a very tragic situation for this family, because not only do they lose their precious 5-year-old child, they’re also having to deal with the fact that the grandmother is now under arrest for this incident,” he added. “It makes a bad situation worse. We can all cast judgment and come to our own conclusions, but nobody, I mean nobody, wins in this case.”
The St. Tammany Parish Coroner’s Office did not immediately respond to additional inquiries from Fox News Digital.
Longtime Newsom critic puts UN summit on notice if Dem governor is allowed to speak
An annual United Nations climate summit being held in the Amazonian city of Belém in Brazil is slated to include talks and appearances by California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
However, California Republican gubernatorial candidate and former Fox News host Steve Hilton, a longtime critic of Newsom, is putting the summit on notice if they allow him to speak.
This week, Hilton sent a letter to the heads of the COP30 summit, requesting that they deny anymore speaking roles for the California governor or face risking the credibility of the conference, citing the Democratic governor’s “climate hypocrisy.” According to Hilton, California, under Newsom’s leadership, has imported nearly half of all the crude oil drilled from the Amazon rainforest.
“Governor Newsom has built his political image around climate virtue signaling while presiding over one of the most environmentally destructive hypocrisies in the world,” Hilton wrote. “This oil comes from one of the most sensitive ecosystems on Earth, contributing to deforestation and the displacement of Indigenous communities … Instead of addressing this exploitation, Governor Newsom continues to promote himself as a global climate leader—jetting to international conferences to pose for cameras while his policies bankroll rainforest destruction.”
BILL GATES DISCOVERS THE WAY TO FIGHT CLIMATE BATTLE ACTUALLY INVOLVES HELPING HUMANS
Hilton notes that earlier this year, even members of California’s Democratic-controlled state Senate unanimously called for an investigation into the state’s role in funding the Amazonian oil trade. Oil drilling in the Amazon is rapidly increasing deforestation and destroying the rainforest’s biodiversity, according to environmentalists, who argue California’s reputation as a climate leader is undermined by its actions drilling oil in the South American rainforest.
Hilton, meanwhile, described Newsom’s appearance at the summit as “political theater masquerading as leadership.”
CALIFORNIA USING BACK DOOR TO GET FEDERAL FUNDS FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT HEALTHCARE, GOP SAYS; DEMS SAY NONSENSE
“To have Gavin Newsom lecture the world on climate justice while his administration promotes the decimation of the Amazon would be an insult to the conference and its members,” Hilton wrote to the COP30 leaders. “The UNFCCC and COP 30 must not reward hypocrisy with a platform.”
Newsom spoke Tuesday at the conference, during which he slammed Donald Trump for his failure to protect the environment, calling him an “invasive species” and “a wrecking ball” when it comes to progress on climate change. Newsom is expected to make appearances across the roughly two-week period that the summit is being held, including a trip deep into the Amazon Rainforest to meet with local residents and leaders.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Fox News Digital reached out to Newsom’s office in response to Hilton’s petition calling on COP30 to deny the California governor public appearances at the summit, but only received a six-word response.
“I’m sorry – who is Steve Hilton?” questioned Newsom spokeswoman Izzy Gardon.
China moves into Venezuela as Maduro regime gets Beijing lifeline amid US tensions
As President Donald Trump warns of “zero tolerance” for narco-states in America’s backyard, China is tightening its grip on Venezuela — a high-risk economic and political bet that could soon collide with U.S. power.
U.S. defense officials confirmed to Reuters last month that a U.S. aircraft carrier strike group had entered the Southern Command region, which covers the Caribbean and the northern coast of South America, to monitor narcotrafficking routes linked to Venezuela’s military leadership.
The Pentagon said the arrival of USS Gerald R. Ford, carrying more than 4,000 sailors and dozens of tactical aircraft, would “bolster US capacity to detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors and activities.” It added that the mission aims to “degrade and dismantle transnational criminal organizations.”
CHINA CONDEMNS US MILITARY BUILDUP OFF VENEZUELA COAST AS FOREIGN INTERFERENCE IN REGIONAL AFFAIRS
Within weeks, Venezuelan officers were reportedly training for guerrilla-style defense against a possible U.S. strike — an acknowledgment, according to Reuters, of “rising anxiety inside Caracas.”
Into this standoff, Beijing unveiled a “zero-tariff” trade agreement with Caracas at the Shanghai Expo 2025, announced by Deputy Minister for Foreign Trade Coromoto Godoy. Venezuelan officials said the accord covers roughly 400 tariff categories, removing duties on Chinese and Venezuelan goods.
While final implementation details remain pending verification, the goal is clear: Beijing is moving fast into a sanctioned economy that Washington has sought to isolate.
“This really looks like China is going to completely take over the Venezuelan economy,” said Gordon Chang, an expert on China’s global trade strategy. “It’s going to decimate Venezuela’s local industry.”
“Venezuela basically sells petroleum to China and very little else,” he said. “China, of course, is a manufacturer of many, many items. Venezuelan manufacturing is not going to experience a renaissance anytime soon — it’s going the opposite direction.”
VENEZUELA MOBILIZES TROOPS, WEAPONS IN RESPONSE TO US WARSHIP BUILDUP IN CARIBBEAN
Chang added that Maduro’s sudden embrace of Beijing stems from fear of Trump’s next move.
“Maduro probably doesn’t have a choice,” he said. “He realizes he’s got a problem in the form of Donald J. Trump. There’s a U.S. aircraft carrier not far from his shores, and a lot of military assets bearing down on him. He needs a friend, and he’s desperate.”
“For Maduro, the zero-tariff pact may offer temporary relief — but it only deepens dependence,” Chang added. “I don’t see this trade deal as strengthening Venezuela. I see it strengthening China’s stranglehold over Venezuela.”
US MILITARY BUILDUP IN CARIBBEAN SEES BOMBERS, MARINES AND WARSHIPS CONVERGE NEAR VENEZUELA
From Beijing’s perspective, the tariff-free pact opens a commercial and strategic doorway into the Western Hemisphere just as Washington doubles down on sanctions.
The Council on Foreign Relations estimates that China has extended around $60 billion in loans to Venezuela over the past two decades, much of it repaid through oil shipments — a figure still cited by both Chinese and Venezuelan officials in 2025.
“China has leveraged multibillion-dollar loans and the establishment of satellite positioning and surveillance facilities to secure strategic control over Venezuela’s natural resources and critical infrastructure,” said Isaias Medina III, an Edward Mason Fellow at Harvard University and a former Venezuelan diplomat to the U.N. Security Council.
Medina was referring to the El Sombrero satellite ground station in Venezuela’s Guárico province — a joint China-Venezuela project that Western analysts, including a recent Associated Press report, describe as part of a wider space cooperation network giving Beijing an intelligence foothold in Latin America.
US BOLSTERS MILITARY PRESENCE IN CARIBBEAN NEAR VENEZUELA AMID TRUMP’S EFFORTS TO HALT DRUG TRAFFICKING
Medina said the new pact must be understood as one layer in a wider anti-Western alignment.
“Under the banner of so-called ‘21st Century Socialism,’ initiated by Hugo Chávez and expanded by Nicolás Maduro, the nation has evolved into a forward operating base for regimes openly hostile to the United States and its allies,” he said.
“Iran, Russia, China, and Cuba have entrenched themselves across Venezuelan territory, using the country as a platform for asymmetric warfare, intelligence operations, and ideological expansion throughout Latin America.”
He noted that “Russia’s military footprint includes more than $12 billion in arms sales and ongoing defense cooperation and Wagner Group presence in military exercises,” while Cuban military advisers remain embedded inside Venezuelan security institutions.
“Iran has exploited this environment to embed terrorist proxies such as Hezbollah and Hamas, using Venezuela as both a financial hub and a logistical corridor. These activities extend to former training camps in Syria, where Venezuelan operatives and mercenaries have been indoctrinated in hybrid warfare tactics,” he added. “Iranian interest includes potential drone manufacturing and uranium mining.”
“The Maduro government, shielded by the absence of the rule of law or legitimate governance, has replaced statecraft with criminal enterprise,” Medina said. “Grand corruption is not the exception; it is the system.”
“The humanitarian toll is catastrophic,” he added. “Over 30% of Venezuela’s population has been forcibly displaced. Starvation has been weaponized as a tool of social control, amounting to a war crime under international law. Despite the enormity of these crimes, many United Nations member states continue to recognize and engage with this illegitimate regime, thereby perpetuating its impunity. The failure to confront this crisis decisively enables a coalition of adversaries, state and non-state actors alike, to project power dangerously close to U.S. territory.”
For now, Washington’s sanctions campaign still constrains Venezuela’s oil lifelines. In March 2025, Reuters reported that U.S. threats to impose tariffs on nations buying Venezuelan crude caused a temporary disruption in shipments to China. Beijing dismissed the measures as “illegal extraterritorial actions” and vowed to continue cooperation — but has not disclosed how it will enforce the new tariff-free pact.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Chang said the underlying reality hasn’t changed: China can’t protect Caracas from U.S. hard power.
“It can certainly launch a propaganda blitz,” he said, “but it can’t project military force in the region. It’s really up to what President Trump does. China does not have the military strength to oppose American intervention if that’s what Trump decides.”
Medina agreed that the stakes reach beyond economics. “Just three hours from U.S. shores, this narco-terrorist regime has become the operational convergence of organized crime, drug trafficking, money laundering, and human rights atrocities,” he said, urging a Western response combining “diplomatic isolation, targeted sanctions, and, when necessary, defensive deployments.”
Golf legend slams ‘sad’ California gas prices as expert warns $8 per gallon looms
Golf legend Phil Mickelson spoke out about the price of gas in California, while praising California GOP gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton for his plan to produce gas in the state to reduce prices.
Mickelson shared his opinions in a series of social media posts Wednesday.
In one post, the golfer reshared a photo showing prices at a gas station in California exceeding $5 per gallon.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
“This is sad and going to get worse,” Mickelson wrote.
In a subsequent post, Mickelson reshared an interview of Hilton on the Fox Business Network’s “The Bottom Line,” where the candidate shared his support for the White House’s plan to carry out off-shore oil drilling off the coast of California. Hilton said his plan and goal is to bring gas prices down to $3 per gallon.
“Finally, someone speaking common sense,” Mickelson wrote.
Earlier this year, an analysis by University of Southern California professor Michael Mische suggested Californians could end up paying as much as $8.43 per gallon of gas next year as two refineries in the state have plans to shutter.
TOMMY TUBERVILLE SLAMS DEMOCRATS FOR ‘DEMONIZING’ YOUNG MALE VOTERS AFTER AOC’S ‘MASCULINITY’ REMAKRS BACKFIRE
“Any disruptions to oil and foreign gasoline supplies will exacerbate California’s gasoline dilemma and drive-up prices. Any disruptions to maritime markets, routes, ports, operations, etc., will have a significant effect on California gasoline security and consumer prices, as well as prices in Nevada and Arizona,” Mische wrote in May.
Meanwhile, Valero Energy Corp. announced that it will likely close its Benicia refinery near San Francisco in April 2026, putting more than 400 jobs in jeopardy and potentially raising prices even more.
Hilton, who is a top GOP contender for governor in 2026, has made addressing gas prices a key promise of his campaign.
“Despite our state’s plentiful oil reserves, Californians are forced by Democrat ‘climate’ policies to pay the nation’s highest gas prices (now around $5.00 per gallon), surpassing even Hawaii, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean,” Hilton wrote in a Fox News Digital op-ed in June.
“California’s sky-high gas prices are the direct result of 15 years of one-party Democratic rule. Gavin Newsom, former Vice President Kamala Harris and every other leading Democrat in the state have been cheerleaders for this ‘war on fossil fuels,’ endlessly bragging about “leading the world” on climate change.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Meanwhile, Mickelson has been active on social media this year in bringing awareness to various socio-political issues pushed by leftist policies and lawmakers, while praising conservatives like President Donald Trump, the late Charlie Kirk and now Hilton.
Mickelson is a former California resident who was born in San Diego and moved to Florida to avoid paying California’s high taxes.