Next-generation nuclear reactor airlifted to Utah as Trump order advances
The Department of War on Sunday transported a next-generation nuclear reactor aboard a C-17 from California to Utah, advancing President Donald Trump’s executive order to modernize America’s nuclear energy infrastructure and strengthen U.S. national security.
The reactor was flown from March Air Reserve Base in California to Hill Air Force Base in Utah and is expected to be transported to the Utah San Rafael Energy Lab in Orangeville for testing and evaluation – a key step in assessing how advanced nuclear systems could support military installations and remote defense operations.
The Department of War shared images on X showing the reactor loaded onto the C-17 aircraft.
“We’re advancing President Trump’s executive order on nuclear energy,” the post read. “Moments from now, we will airlift a next-generation nuclear reactor.”
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The Department of War said the successful delivery and installation of the reactor will open new possibilities for energy resilience and strategic independence for the nation’s defense, highlighting what officials described as an agile, innovative and commercial-first approach to addressing critical infrastructure challenges.
“By harnessing the power of advanced nuclear technology, we are not only enhancing our national security but championing a future of American energy dominance,” the agency said in a press release. “This event is a testament to the ingenuity of the American spirit and a critical advancement in securing our nation’s freedom and strength for generations to come.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Department of War for additional comment.
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In May, President Donald Trump signed several executive orders aimed at expanding domestic nuclear energy development. At the time, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said America led the postwar world on “all things nuclear” until it “stagnated” and was “choked with overregulation.”
War Secretary Pete Hegseth added that the U.S. was “going to have the lights on and AI operating when others are not because of our nuclear capabilities.”
One of Trump’s nuclear directives called for reforming Energy Department research and development, accelerating reactor testing at national laboratories and establishing a pilot program for new construction.
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Nuclear energy, the White House said in the order, “is necessary to power the next generation technologies that secure our global industrial, digital, and economic dominance, achieve energy independence, and protect our national security.”
The nuclear expansion effort is part of a broader administration push to reinforce domestic energy production and grid reliability across multiple sectors.
Days later, Trump signed another executive order directing the Department of War to work directly with coal-fired power plants on new long-term power purchasing agreements, arguing the move would ensure “more reliable power and stronger and more resilient grid power.”
The order, “Strengthening United States National Defense with America’s Beautiful Clean Coal Power Generation Fleet,” states, “The United States must ensure that our electric grid … remains resilient and reliable, and not reliant on intermittent energy sources,” calling the grid “the foundation of our national defense as well as our economic stability.”
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“It is the policy of the United States that coal is essential to our national and economic security,” the order adds.
California mom learns fate after child dies in hot car while mother got lip filler
A 20-year-old California mom was found guilty Wednesday in the death of her 1-year-old son, after reportedly leaving him in a sweltering car to receive lip and butt injections last June.
Maya Hernandez took a plea deal in the child endangerment case, ultimately dropping her first-degree murder charge in exchange for involuntary manslaughter.
On June 29, Bakersfield officers arrested and charged Hernandez after finding two young children left unattended in a vehicle for over two hours, according to a police report posted on a GoFundMe page. Authorities said the mother left the children unattended to undergo a cosmetic procedure inside a nearby medical spa.
While her youngest was pronounced dead, her two-year-old boy remained in stable condition and was placed in protective custody, police said.
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Officers noted that temperatures in Bakersfield at the time ranged from 99 to 101 degrees, suggesting that the inside of the vehicle could have quickly reached deadly levels.
According to the GoFundMe page organized by the father’s sister, the deceased child was identified as Amillio Guierrez. The aunt further noted that the father was incarcerated at the time of the incident, indicating that the surviving child was left without either parent during the tragedy.
Hernandez was originally charged with second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, child cruelty and child endangerment counts, Court TV reported.
During the trial in December, prosecutor Stephanie Taconi slammed Hernandez for choosing her “looks” above her children.
“Putting her vanity, her looks, her desire to feel beautiful above her children was wrong,” Taconi said. “Not only was it wrong, but it was criminal.”
The defense argued that Hernandez’s actions were not callously negligent, emphasizing that she had left the engine running specifically to keep the air conditioning on. However, Hernandez, who drove a Toyota Corolla Hybrid, was reportedly unaware of a safety feature designed to automatically shut off the engine after one hour.
The defense added that the mother left her children in their car seats with cookies and a bottle of milk each. She also gave her older son her phone so he could watch videos.
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Prosecutors further challenged the defense, characterizing Hernandez’s actions as a deliberate series of choices. Despite being told by medical spa staff that the children were welcome inside, she reportedly turned down the accommodation. In addition, prosecutors said Hernandez declined to reach out to relatives for assistance because she “didn’t want to irritate” her sister.
Hernandez “chose to leave them in the car. She chose a break. She chose time to herself. She chose time to socialize with other adults,” Taconi said. “And again, that choice cost Amillio his life.”
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Upon returning to her vehicle following the appointment, Hernandez reportedly noticed that Amillio appeared “off,” according to Law & Crime.
Witnesses reported that Hernandez carried her “limp” and “purple” 1-year-old into the medical spa, while another witness stated that the 2-year-old boy “looked like he was going to have a stroke,” the outlet said.
Amillio was then rushed to the hospital, where he was found “pale with blue lips, feet and hands, unconscious and with no pulse,” staff reportedly said, adding that the child was found to have a dangerously high temperature of 107.2 degrees.
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Despite lifesaving measures, Amillio was pronounced dead.
Hernandez will spend a maximum of 15 years in prison. Her sentencing is scheduled for March 5.
Belichick snags quarterback with 38-touchdown season after UNC struggles at position
Bill Belichick continued to make changes to his 2026 UNC roster after a disappointing start to his collegiate coaching career.
The North Carolina Tar Heels added ex-Western Carolina quarterback Taron Dickens out of the transfer portal, marking the third quarterback UNC has added this offseason, per On3.
The Tar Heels have also added former Wisconsin signal caller Billy Edwards Jr. and ex-Texas A&M quarterback Miles O’Neill.
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Dickens enjoyed a 3,508-yard 2025 season with 38 touchdowns to only two interceptions. And he has thrown for 5,063 yards with 51 touchdowns and five interceptions with a 74% completion rate in his three seasons at Western Carolina.
Now, Dickens joined a crowded quarterbacks room where there surely will be a strong competition this spring to determine who will be Belichick’s starter come Week 1.
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Last season, the Tar Heels went 4-8 under Belichick in a lackluster season that included off-field controversy involving his relationship with girlfriend, Jordon Hudson.
At the same time, with NFL teams firing their head coaches mid-season and right after the 2025 season came to an end, Belichick was rumored to be in the running for certain jobs. However, he released a statement about his commitment to the Tar Heels and how that won’t change if an NFL team came calling.
As a result, Belichick and his staff are focused on getting the right team in place for a better 2026 campaign, which includes a change at the most important position on the field.
Last season, Gio Lopez was the Tar Heels’ main quarterback, who threw for 1,747 yards with 10 touchdowns and five interceptions on 261 attempts. He also rushed for 133 yards on 86 carries.
Max Johnson and Au’Tori Newkirk also had limited attempts for UNC last season.
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Belichick and his staff have been at work other than quarterback this offseason, adding offensive lineman Andrew Threatt, tight end Jaxxon Warren, and defensive linemen Tarvorise Brown and Jaylen Harvey, among others.
Hillary Clinton clashes with European leader over Trump: ‘You really don’t like him’
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton clashed with a Czech political leader at the Munich Security Conference in Germany on Saturday.
Clinton was speaking during a panel on the state of the West where she heavily criticized President Donald Trump for his dealings with Europe. Petr Macinka, a Czech deputy prime minister, defended the Trump administration as Clinton repeatedly mocked his statements and tried to speak over him.
“First, I think you really don’t like him,” Macinka said as he began to respond to Clinton’s Trump-bashing.
“You know, that is absolutely true,” Clinton said. “But not only do I not like him, but I don’t like what he’s actually doing to the United States and the world, and I think you should take a hard look at it if you think there is something good that will come of it.”
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“Well, what Trump is doing in America, I think that it is a reaction. Reaction for some policies that really went too far, too far from the regular people,” Macinka said as Clinton interjected to ask for examples.
Macinka referenced “woke” ideologies, gender theories and cancel culture that ran rampant throughout the U.S. in recent years.
Clinton then mocked him, suggesting he was opposed to “women getting their rights.”
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Macinka then rebuffed her hostility, saying he can tell he was making her “nervous.”
The exchange came during the same panel where Clinton discussed immigration in the U.S., admitting that it had gone “too far.”
“It went too far, it’s been disruptive and destabilizing, and it needs to be fixed in a humane way with secure borders that don’t torture and kill people and how we’re going to have a strong family structure because it is at the base of civilization,” she added.
Clinton acknowledged that there are places where a physical barrier is appropriate but opposed large-scale expansion of a border wall during her 2016 presidential campaign.
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At the time, she supported then-President Barack Obama’s executive actions that deferred immigration enforcement against millions of children and parents in the country illegally and wanted to end the practice of family detention.
Clinton also planned on continuing Obama’s policy of deporting violent criminals, but wanted to scale back immigration raids, which she said at the time produced “unnecessary fear and disruption in communities,” Fox News Digital previously reported.
DAVID MARCUS: Could Trump be welcoming an old rival into the White House fold?
A rather interesting foursome teed off for a round of golf in Florida this weekend: President Donald Trump was joined by college football coaching legends Urban Meyer and Nick Saban, and perhaps more importantly, a former rival by the name of Gov. Ron DeSantis.
It would go too far to say that Trump and DeSantis have had bad blood, but there has been a rift since the Florida governor’s 2023 primary challenge to Trump, which petered out in New Hampshire before primary votes had even been cast.
To see Trump and DeSantis spending a few hours engaged in what Mark Twain once called a “good walk spoiled” leads to an interesting question: After the ace Florida governor leaves office next year, could he be a hole in one for the Trump administration?
DeSantis is the kind of guy who Trump could put in charge of basically anything in the federal government and fully expect not just his signature competence, but his calm and no-nonsense manner.
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In recent weeks, calm is something the administration has been thirsting for.
After DeSantis dropped out in early 2024, the schism in the conservative commentariat more or less was cleaved, notwithstanding some fairly bitter vitriol that had consumed the previous year, and the governor can still be an important buttress to GOP unity.
There has been a frustration, especially from former DeSantis supporters, of late, that the White House has been too tolerant of extreme views from figures in its orbit. The best answer to that is not to cancel supposed cancers but to bolster the administration’s credibility.
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I don’t know what DeSantis’s middle name is, but I would not be surprised to find that it is “crediblity.” With the possible exception of Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, no leader in America, maybe the world, handled COVID better.
The knock on DeSantis is that, credible though he may be, he’s not particularly compelling. He does not, in the parlance of entertainment, chew up the scenery. I remember spending much of the spring of 2023 thinking, as he geared up for the presidential run, “Less talking, more throwing the baseball around.”
But, to be frank, the Trump administration has a sufficient current supply of colorful characters. It needs more competence, more Lee Zeldins and Scott Bessents.
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In a column for the Washington Examiner this week, Byron York asked whether it is time for Trump to shake up his Cabinet. Wherever one stands on that interesting political question, you do have to ask, who could the Senate confirm as a new member?
Let’s say Attorney General Pam Bondi, or Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who have been lightning rods for criticism, leave their positions. I’m not advocating for that, but should it happen, DeSantis is one of a few prominent Republicans who could sail through Senate confirmation.
The subtext to all of this, including the round of golf that I’m just going to go ahead and assume Trump won, is the 2028 presidential election, in which DeSantis is one of only a handful of figures who rate among the public.
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The polls, early though they are, show Vice President JD Vance with a big lead, especially given that Secretary of State Marco Rubio has all but endorsed him. But for now, DeSantis is the most viable GOP option who is not already in the administration or related to Trump.
While politically this may be a reason for the Florida governor to eschew an administration position, to remain the Republican who isn’t seen in the Oval Office day after day fawning over Trump, a national position could be great for him, and for the party.
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And honestly, where is DeSantis supposed to go after leaving office, if not Washington?
Whether the 19th hole of this golf outing with Trump and football royalty turns out to be a position in the administration or not, Republicans should rejoice to see these two conservative leaders hanging out.
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Unity must be the watchword for Republicans both in this year’s midterms and in the presidential race of 2028. In both cases, DeSantis can be a voice for common sense, competence and American values.
America needs all the good leadership it can get in Washington, and DeSantis is the poster child for it. Trump should seriously consider giving him a prominent national platform.
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Gwyneth Paltrow debuts sheer outfit at Santa Barbara International Film Festival
Gwyneth Paltrow chose a striking look for the 41st annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
The actress flashed her toned midriff in a sheer blouse layered over a light pink tube top.
She flaunted her legs in a matching thigh-length skirt that also included a train.
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Paltrow paired the see-through look with blush heels, with her blonde locks pulled back to showcase her diamond-drop earrings.
Paltrow presented pal Kate Hudson with the artist of the year award at the film festival for her work in “Song Sung Blue.”
While on stage, she said Hudson “absolutely took my breath away, she’s so raw and so real” in the movie.
Paltrow also called Hudson the “definition of light in this world.”
In January, Paltrow revealed that her son Moses Martin, whom she shares with ex-husband Chris Martin, had a brutal reaction to her intimate scenes in her film “Marty Supreme” with actor Timothee Chalamet.
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“Oh my God! My poor son,” she said to Demi Moore at a Q&A for the film, via People.
“Can you imagine when he came to the premiere in LA? He wanted to die.”
The movie star spoke about the effect her “conscious uncoupling” from Chris had on her acting career during a recent visit to the “Good Hang With Amy Poehler” podcast.
Paltrow and Chris announced their divorce in 2014 and used the term “conscious uncoupling.”
She also shares daughter Apple, 21, with her ex-husband.
“I was supposed to do a movie at one point, and it was right after the conscious uncoupling thing with Chris, and there was a lot of harsh stuff in the press. The distributor was like, this might be too hot to touch,” Paltrow said.
“That was great because I was getting a divorce, and then I got fired. That was so awesome,” she added.
“Say you had a really nasty divorce or your parents had a nasty divorce, and then you hear this idea that it doesn’t have to be done this way,” Paltrow noted. “I think the implicit learning is like, ‘Oh f—, they’re saying I did something wrong,’ which, of course, that wasn’t the intention.”
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Simple combo may outperform omega-3 supplements for reducing inflammation
A simple dietary pairing could offer broader immune benefits than omega-3s alone.
Researchers at the University of Nottingham found that pairing kefir with a prebiotic fiber mix led to greater reductions in inflammation markers than omega-3 supplements or fiber alone.
The findings, published in the Journal of Translational Medicine, suggest that supporting gut bacteria may play an important role in immune and metabolic function.
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Kefir is a fermented milk drink similar to yogurt that contains live bacteria and yeast.
When kefir was combined with prebiotic fiber, researchers observed a stronger effect. Prebiotic fiber feeds healthy bacteria in the gut, helping them grow and function more effectively, the study explained.
As those beneficial bacteria thrive, they produce natural substances that help calm inflammation in the body.
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In the six-week study, people who took the kefir-and-fiber combination showed the biggest drop in markers linked to whole-body inflammation.
Those who took omega-3 supplements or fiber alone also improved, but not to the same degree, the study suggested.
“Our study shows that while all three dietary approaches reduced inflammation, the synbiotic — combining fermented kefir with a diverse prebiotic fiber mix — had the most powerful and wide-ranging effects,” said Amrita Vijay, a gut microbiome scientist who led the research.
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The researchers measured systemic inflammatory markers, which indicate inflammation occurring throughout the body.
Inflammation is a normal immune response, but chronic, low-level inflammation that persists over time has been linked to conditions such as heart disease and metabolic conditions, according to Cleveland Clinic.
The findings suggest that combining probiotics and prebiotics may provide broader support than relying on a single supplement.
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“This suggests that the interaction between gut microbes and dietary fiber may be key to supporting immune balance and metabolic health,” Vijay said.
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The team plans to further investigate how synbiotic supplementation may affect individuals with chronic inflammatory disorders.
Obama asked point-blank whether aliens are real – and he gives direct answer
Did former President Barack Obama finally answer one of the world’s biggest mysteries?
During an appearance Saturday on Brian Tyler Cohen’s podcast, the former commander in chief was asked directly if aliens were real.
“They’re real, but I haven’t seen them,” Obama answered.
The 44th president also said aliens were not being kept at the Nevada Air Force base known as Area 51.
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“There’s no underground facility, unless there’s this enormous conspiracy and they hid it from the president of the United States,” Obama continued.
Cohen then asked what Obama’s first question was after becoming president — and it again involved aliens.
“Uh, where are the aliens?” he joked.
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Saturday’s interview was not the first time Obama talked about the possible existence of extraterrestrial life.
During a 2021 appearance on “The Late Late Show with James Corden,” Obama said that after taking office, he sought information on aliens and whether they were being studied in a secret lab. He was told the answer was “no.”
But Obama did note that officials are seriously investigating aircraft that behave in seemingly unexplainable ways.
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“There is footage and records of objects in the skies that we don’t know exactly what they are,” he said. “We can’t explain how they moved, their trajectory. They did not have an easily explainable pattern. I think people still take seriously trying to investigate and figure out what that is.”
Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy later asked President Joe Biden about Obama’s comments, referring to unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP).
“What do you think that it is?”
Biden replied, “I would ask (Obama) again.”
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UAPs have gained attention in recent years, including from the federal government.
Congress passed the Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Disclosure Act in 2023 and the Department of War has also created the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office.