Violent terrorist gang pushed north in fresh threat to America’s border states
Since President Donald Trump’s January inauguration, dozens of suspected Venezuelan violent Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang members have been apprehended at key U.S.-Canada border crossings.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) confirmed to Fox News Digital that between Jan. 20, 2025 and March 21, 2025, there were 40 suspected TdA members apprehended by agents at the Ambassador Bridge, which connects Detroit to Canada.
The bridge has long been a pressure point for American and Canadian citizens alike who fail to navigate the confusing roadway signage, but the tricky turns have inadvertently become a capture point for violent gang members.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center and the ACLU of Michigan first sounded the alarm. She said, citing the CBP, that 90% of those detained had inadvertently driven onto the bridge, often due to confusing signage or GPS errors.
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The CBP noted that they do not have intelligence that supports the correlation of Trump’s border policies to the TdA bridge apprehensions, but a former DEA special agent said that TdA is shifting gears amid an intensified crackdown on narcotics rings.
Michael Brown, who is currently the global director of counter-narcotics technology at Rigaku Analytical Devices, attributed the shift of gang members being driven by the resurgence of Trump-era enforcement policies, which are sending shockwaves through gang networks.
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“As a TdA member, I don’t want to end up in El Centro,” Brown said, referencing the infamous maximum-security prison in El Salvador where gang members are now being deported. “So where do they go? Canada. They know they won’t face the same consequences there.”
Brown traced the rise of TdA in the U.S. back to what he calls the Biden administration’s “open-border policy,” which allowed criminal migrants to gain a foothold in cities across America.
“Sanctuary cities provided political top cover,” Brown said. “With mayors and governors unwilling to acknowledge the growing threat.”
Detroit, a longtime hub for drug distribution, became a logical launch point for the gang’s operations, he said. The group established ties to violent gang networks like the Crips, Bloods and Latin Kings.
Brown warned that Canada’s more progressive stance on narcotics — including safe injection sites and government-supplied HYDROmorphone pills in provinces like British Columbia — is making it a prime destination for cartels.
“Canada’s unofficial open-door policy for criminal organizations isn’t new,” he said, pointing to long-standing operations by the Hells Angels, Italian mafia, and Asian triads in cities like Montreal and Vancouver. “What you never hear about is them being taken down, because they’ve figured out how to operate within the system.”
“They’re underestimating what starts as a few individuals. But like a virus, it spreads quickly — and if not stopped early, it metastasizes into a national crisis.”
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Brown fears that the arrival of TdA will not only increase the already dangerous fentanyl and meth lab operations in Canada, but could draw more attention from U.S. authorities and potentially spark turf wars.
“This isn’t random,” he said. “TdA doesn’t send busloads to Canada. They’re deploying scouts, making alliances, securing territory. If they find a foothold, then comes the flood.”
What Trump told Zelenskyy during meeting at the Vatican that immediately went viral
President Donald Trump revealed Tuesday evening what he and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed during their viral meeting at the Vatican when both were in attendance for the late Pope Francis’ funeral.
“I was telling him that it’s a very good thing if we can produce a deal, that you sign it, because Russia is much bigger and much stronger,” Trump said Tuesday evening during a town hall hosted by NewsNation, which he participated in by phone.
The pair met face-to-face for the first time since their contentious Oval Office meeting in February, while both attended the papal funeral. Neither White House or Ukrainian officials gave many details on the nature or content of the talk, other than that it was “productive” and “symbolic.”
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“We discussed a lot one on one,” Zelenskyy posted on X following the viral meeting. “Hoping for results on everything we covered. Protecting lives of our people. Full and unconditional ceasefire. Reliable and lasting peace that will prevent another war from breaking out. Very symbolic meeting that has potential to become historic, if we achieve joint results.”
Despite few details being released about the meeting, Trump did tell reporters over the weekend that part of the pair’s discussion revolved around the U.S. sending more weapons to Ukraine.
“He told me that he needs more weapons, but he’s been saying that for three years,” Trump said. “We’re going to see what happens – I want to see what happens with respect to Russia. Because Russia, I’ve been surprised and disappointed – very disappointed – that they did the bombing of those places after discussions.”
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While Trump did not divulge any further details about the meeting to reporters, the president did add that he thinks Zelenskyy will be willing to give up Crimea in order to secure a peace deal. Russia’s annexation of the current Ukrainian territory has been a major sticking point amid negotiations between the two warring nations, with Zelenskyy indicating he would not be willing to sign a deal that includes giving up the territory.
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She lost her husband and points to Biden — her no-holds-barred message for Democrats
After losing her husband in a fatal crash allegedly caused by an illegal immigrant, Olivia Hayes is turning her grief into praise for President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration as a step toward preventing similar tragedies.
“Our previous administration’s broken policy broke my family and nothing will bring him [my husband] back,” she said Wednesday on “Fox & Friends.”
“However, in President Trump’s first 100 days in office, his firm action will prevent our tragedy from becoming someone else’s reality.”
Wesley Hayes was killed in October by an illegal immigrant accused of driving drunk.
YOUNG FATHER KILLED BY ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT HIGHLIGHTS ‘BETRAYAL’ OF SANCTUARY CITIES, SAYS REPUBLICAN
Speaking to co-host Lawrence Jones, the Louisiana mom spelled out the ways she believes Trump’s policies are curtailing the problem that exploded under the Biden administration – continuing construction on the southern border wall, negotiating with Mexico to ensure the country’s leaders are doing their part to secure the border and utilizing border czar Tom Homan’s tough expertise to enforce immigration laws and hold sanctuary cities accountable.
“Because of these actions, we’ve seen… over a 95% decrease in illegal border crossings. This statistic proves that all we needed was a president who cared and a qualified border czar to protect innocent American lives from an invasion of not only criminals but those who disregard the American policies and processes in place to be an American citizen,” she said.
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Data from the White House and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) indicate the administration has deported 65,000 illegal immigrants and migrant encounters have reached historic lows since Trump took office on Jan. 20.
The president has ranked it among the biggest accomplishments of the first 100 days of his second term.
On the contrary, complaints that such tough immigration policies separate families have swirled. Hayes responded to those arguments, telling Jones she believes that, if someone breaks the law – citizen or not – they should expect to suffer the consequences.
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“Whether that be deportation or incarceration, they will be separated from their family, and the alternative to separating families from breaking the law is involuntarily and permanently separating families from their loved ones due to unnecessary acts,” she continued.
“Like my four-month-old daughter being robbed of a life with her father because the Biden administration allowed for the man who killed Wesley to be here illegally. So… I would ask those who disagree with Trump’s policies, if their spouse or their loved one was killed by someone who was here illegally, would they not agree that change needs to happen?”
Rubio blows the lid off Biden admin’s secret file on key Trump official
Secretary of State Marco Rubio revealed during a Cabinet meeting that the Biden administration’s State Department kept dossiers on Americans accused of serving as “vectors of disinformation,” including a file on an unidentified Trump administration official.
“We had an office in the Department of State whose job it was to censor Americans,” Rubio said during Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting with President Donald Trump. “And, by the way, I’m not going to say who it is. I’ll leave it up to them. There’s at least one person at this table today who had a dossier in that building of social media posts to identify them as purveyors of disinformation. We have these dossiers. We are going to be turning those over to these individuals.”
Vice President JD Vance interjected, asking, “Was it me or Elon [Musk]? We can follow up when the media is gone,” and drawing laughter from the Cabinet.
“But just think about that. The Department of State of the United States had set up an office to monitor the social media posts and commentary of American citizens, to identify them as vectors of disinformation,” Rubio continued. “When we know that the best way to combat disinformation is freedom of speech and transparency.
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“We’re not going to have an office that does that.”
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Rubio appeared to be referring to an office within the State Department previously known as the Global Engagement Center, which he officially shuttered earlier this month.
When announcing a massive reorganization of the State Department, the Global Engagement Center engaged with media outlets and platforms to censor speech it disagreed with, Rubio said. The center has been accused by conservatives of censoring them.
Journalist Matt Taibbi, for example, previously reported that the center “funded a secret list of subcontractors and helped pioneer an insidious — and idiotic — new form of blacklisting” during the pandemic, Fox News Digital reported in 2024.
He added that the Global Engagement Center “flagged accounts as ‘Russian personas and proxies’ based on criteria like, ‘Describing the Coronavirus as an engineered bioweapon,’ blaming ‘research conducted at the Wuhan institute,’ and ‘attributing the appearance of the virus to the CIA.’”
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Though Rubio did not identify which Trump official the Biden administration kept a dossier on, Elon Musk has previously railed against the Global Engagement Center.
“The worst offender in US government censorship & media manipulation is an obscure agency called GEC,” Musk posted to X in January 2023. That was more than a year before Musk endorsed Trump in the 2024 presidential race and became a fixture of the administration in his temporary role with the Department of Government Efficiency.
“They are a threat to our democracy,” Musk added.
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for additional details on which Trump official was targeted but did not immediately receive a reply.
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Former President Barack Obama established the small office in 2016 through an executive order aimed at coordinating counterterrorism messaging to foreign nations before it expanded its scope to also include countering foreign propaganda and disinformation, State Department documents show.
In 2024, lawmakers did not approve new funding for the office in the National Defense Authorization Act, and it was scheduled to terminate on Dec. 23, 2024. The Biden administration, however, shuffled staffers and rebranded the office. It became the Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference Hub in the waning days before Trump’s inauguration, the New York Post reported in January.
“I am announcing the closure of the State Department’s Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (R/FIMI), formerly known as the Global Engagement Center (GEC),” Rubio said in an April 16 statement announcing the office’s closure.
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“Under the previous administration, this office, which cost taxpayers more than $50 million per year, spent millions of dollars to actively silence and censor the voices of Americans they were supposed to be serving,” he wrote. “This is antithetical to the very principles we should be upholding and inconceivable it was taking place in America. That ends today.”
China lashes out, levels accusation against the US over COVID-19 origins
China is blaming the United States for the origin of COVID-19, accusing Washington of “evading responsibility” for the virus amid multiple statements by President Donald Trump that it was leaked from a lab in Wuhan.
In a multipage paper, the Communist regime said the infectious disease was present in the U.S. earlier than what was officially determined.
“The US should cease from shifting blame and evading responsibility, stop finding external excuses for its internal malaise, and genuinely reflect on and overhaul its public health policies,” the paper states. “The US cannot continue to turn a deaf ear to the numerous questions over its conduct.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House.
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The paper came after the White House earlier this month revamped its COVID.gov website, showing the “true origins” of the disease.
The website, which previously focused on promoting the vaccine to Americans, walks readers through evidence supporting the lab leak theory, how former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci promoted the idea that COVID-19 originated naturally, former President Joe Biden pardoning Fauci for “any offenses against” the U.S. he may have committed, and providing details on the origin of the “social distancing” rules and mask mandates.
The new site outlines that a biological characteristic found in the virus was not found in nature, bolstering the lab-leak theory, while noting that Wuhan, China, where the first coronavirus case was found, is also home to China’s “foremost SARs research lab” and that “if there was evidence of a natural origin it would have already surfaced. But it hasn’t.”
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The Trump administration’s CIA reported earlier in 2025 that a lab leak was the likely origin of the COVID-19 virus, which had been passed off by media outlets and scientists as a likely conspiracy theory during the early days of the pandemic.
However, China said in its paper that a past joint study conducted with the World Health Organization (WHO) found that COVID-19 was most likely transmitted from bats to humans via another animal.
The report also accused the U.S. of not doing more to combat the virus.
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“The slow and ineffective US response during the early stages of the outbreak set an appalling example to the international community and made the US performance in handling the pandemic the worst of all countries,” Chinese officials wrote. “Instead of facing this issue squarely and reflecting on its shortcomings, the US government has tried to shift the blame and divert people’s attention by shamelessly politicizing SARS-CoV-2 origins tracing.”
“The US cannot continue to turn a deaf ear to the numerous questions over its conduct,” the report said.
Married women face REAL ID documentation hurdles: ‘I can’t accept this’
Some married women across the U.S. are sharing that they’ve been facing unexpected hurdles in obtaining their REAL ID as the May 7th deadline looms to have the documentation to fly domestically.
The common obstacle among them is proving their name change due to marriage without having in their possession their original marriage certificate needed to verify that change.
It has become a logistical nightmare, for example, for Dorothy Ballone — formerly Hotchkiss — of Rochester, New York. She’s been on a mission to try to obtain her original marriage certificate from 67 years ago, she told Fox News Digital this week.
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The nonagenarian has been working since February to track down the authentic document since being turned down on her first trip to the Department of Motor Vehicles in New York.
“I found online all the documents that I would need, my Social Security [card], my birth certificate. A couple of things stating where you live, like your utility bill and your bank statement, stuff like that — and your marriage license,” said Ballone.
“I had even more documents than that with me.”
She arrived at the DMV with a copy of her marriage license from Aug. 19, 1958, along with certification stating that the document was an exact photocopy of the original with a notary public’s stamp and all applicable information.
“I put all my documents on the counter, and [a clerk] pulled out the marriage license and said, ‘I can’t accept this.’ And I said, ‘Why not?’ She said, ‘It’s a copy.’ And I said, ‘That’s all I have.’ And she said, ‘No, I need the original,’” Ballone told Fox News Digital.
She went on a wild goose chase to try to obtain her original marriage license.
Ballone said she was told to go to her church to obtain the original.
Ballone reached out to the church in East Rochester where she was married, and was told the church does not have marriage licenses dating back that far.
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She then went on a wild goose chase as she tried to obtain her original marriage license — reaching out to local clerks’ offices, government officials, even the Diocese of Rochester.
The city of Rochester eventually claimed to have the original marriage license — and mailed it.
The document she received was certified, yet Ballone was denied a REAL ID once again, she said.
She has been in contact with her local assemblywoman and the assistant commissioner of the New York Department of Motor Vehicles, she told Fox News Digital.
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Even though she’s lived under her married name for decades and has a driver’s license bearing her married name, the state has continued to deny her REAL ID application, Ballone said, until she provides her official marriage document.
They’ve heard from DMV officials that this has become an issue.
Ballone told Fox News Digital that two of her neighbors are having the same issue with tracking down their original marriage licenses.
They said they’ve heard from DMV officials that this has become an issue.
Fox News Digital reached out to the city of Rochester, New York.
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Fox News Digital spoke with travelers at the Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., this week to get their thoughts about the REAL ID process with May 7 just a week away.
Alicia from Minneapolis, Minnesota, told Fox News Digital that she, too, has been having issues obtaining her REAL ID due to her changed name.
“I’m a stay-at-home mom, so I don’t have a paycheck delivered. So it was a little harder to have all the forms of [identifications],” she told Fox News Digital.
“I went one time, and then I had to go back a second time because I was missing our marriage certificate because my name had changed, so it was a little more complicated for me,” said Alicia, who did not share her last name.
“I had a baby with me, so [this has been] annoying,” she added.
As the enforcement deadline of May 7 approaches, these women say they’re racing the clock.
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Fox News Digital reached out to the TSA for comment on the topic.
A spokesperson responded, “This would be a state documentation requirement, so please contact the [individual] states where this might be an issue.”
Fox News Digital reached out to New York State for comment.
Ranching family says Biden’s feds came for their land — but Trump had other plans
“Politically motivated” criminal charges have been dropped against a South Dakota ranching family whose lives were turned upside-down after the Biden administration prosecuted them over a 25-acre land dispute last year, federal officials said.
Charges against Charles and Heather Maude, who own the 400-acre Maude Hog and Cattle, were dropped Tuesday night by President Donald Trump’s Department of Agriculture (USDA). USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins held a press conference in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday morning with the Maudes, officially announcing the end of the ordeal.
“Thanks to the leadership and the unequivocal and bold leadership of President Trump and his directive to put Americans first, we have the pleasure to announce that the criminal prosecution of the Maudes is now over,” Rollins said during the news conference. “They will not be driven from their home. They will not be jailed. They will not be fined. And their children will grow up with the mother and the father they love and who love them.”
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The Maudes were charged with theft of federal property last year when the Biden administration’s U.S. Forest Service (USFS) said they were using federal grasslands adjacent to their property for grazing without permission, according to Tri-State Livestock News.
The couple, who are both fifth-generation South Dakotan ranchers, reportedly held a USFS National Grasslands grazing allotment in good standing since USFS’ inception, which was well after the Maude family purchased the farm in 1910.
When Biden’s USDA notified them that fencing on their property blocked access to the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands, they agreed in good faith to a survey of the property lines, the USDA said.
Instead of settling the issue over the small patch of land, the Biden administration brought criminal charges against the family, claiming that they “did knowingly steal, purloin and convert to their own use National Grasslands managed by the United States Department of Agriculture, a department and agency of the United States, namely, approximately, 25 acres of National Grasslands for cultivation and approximately 25 acres of National Grasslands for grazing cattle, having a value in excess of $1,000 and did aid and abet each other, all in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 641 and 2.”
Charles and Heather Maude each faced up to 10 years in prison and millions of dollars in fines.
Rollins invited Heather Maude to the podium to speak on behalf of her family on Wednesday.
“We are incredibly grateful to the Trump administration and all of these great players that have done so much so quickly relative to what we were facing before to get us where we are today,” Maude said.
Maude, who also descends from five generations of farmers, spoke briefly about their families’ histories of fighting for freedom.
“We are both fifth-generation farmers and ranchers. Our families have a combined 250-plus years of production agriculture,” she said. “We paused briefly in that pursuit in our grandfathers’ generation, when both of my grandfathers fought in World War II. Charles’s great-grandmother is a four-star war mom, meaning that four of her sons went to war and all four went home.”
“But before and after fighting for the freedoms of this nation, we have pursued our primary passion that led Charles and I to meet each other, which is our production, agriculture,” she said.
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After thanking a host of local officials, activists and local media organizations who told their story, Maude became emotional.
“I want to thank my mom and dad, and thank Charlie’s parents, too, [and] our neighbors who stood up for us at the threat of retribution to their own operations that they still face until we get this completely resolved,” she said. “And we are so thankful for the efforts that are being rolled out today to help make progress in the right direction and everyone else to who wrote, contributed financially, and who prayed for us. May God bless you, and God bless America and God bless American agriculture.”
Rollins offered a message of support to all ranchers and farmers who faced government persecution under the last administration.
“For all American farmers, ranchers, and producers who are subject to the similar egregious lawfare from the Biden administration, we will work with our counterparts, including my great colleague Kristi Noem, and others across the Trump government, to address any other government overreach in situations like this. We must ensure that our farmers and ranchers have not and will not be targeted for living the American way of life.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi spoke out about the case in a Monday news release.
“The prior administration’s misguided agenda must be reversed in order to make America safe again,” she said. “This Department of Justice will spend our resources and efforts on prosecuting criminals, getting drugs off the streets, and identifying and dismantling the weaponization.”
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A Biden spokesperson did not return a request for comment.
Legendary NFL quarterback breaks silence on agent’s death after golf cart crash
Pro Football Hall of Famer John Elway broke his silence Wednesday night after his longtime agent, Jeff Sperbeck, died from injuries sustained in a golf cart crash in California.
“I am absolutely devastated and heartbroken by the passing of my close friend, business partner and agent Jeff Sperbeck,” Elway said in a statement, via ESPN.
“There are no words to truly express the profound sadness I feel with the sudden loss of someone who has meant so much to me.
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“My heart and deepest sympathies go out to Jeff’s wife, Cori; his children Carly, Sam and Jackson; and everyone who knew and loved him. Jeff will be deeply missed for the loyalty, wisdom, friendship and love he brought into my life and the lives of so many others.”
Sperbeck’s family also released a statement.
“We are deeply saddened to share the passing of our beloved Jeff Sperbeck. He was a wonderful father, husband, brother, son and friend to many and will be profoundly missed by all,” they said in a joint statement. We are grieving this unimaginable loss as a family alongside our dearest friends the Elway’s and the many other clients Jeff called friends.
“We are grateful for the overwhelming outpouring of support that we have received and ask for privacy for our family at this difficult time.”
Sperbeck died early Wednesday at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, days after Saturday’s accident in La Quinta, the Riverside County Coroner’s Office confirmed. Sperbeck was 62.
Elway was driving the golf cart, and Sperbeck fell off and struck his head on asphalt, TMZ reported earlier Wednesday. Sperbeck was put on life support after the accident.
Sperbeck was sitting in the passenger seat of the golf cart, according to ESPN.
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The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office launched an investigation, and there was no indication Elway was driving the golf cart recklessly, TMZ reported.
Sperbeck first became Elway’s manager in 1990 and represented hundreds of NFL players through multiple agencies.
Some of his other clients included Hall of Famers Ronnie Lott and Jim Plunkett.
In 2015, Elway and Sperbeck founded 7Cellars, which produces premium wines from central California and Napa Valley.
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Elway spent his entire 16-year career with the Broncos, winning two Super Bowls. He also spent time in the Broncos’ front office.
New caffeine trend that’s replacing your morning coffee is gaining traction
Mushroom coffee is gaining ground as a substitute for the morning caffeine fix.
While drinking mushrooms might not sound like the most appealing thing in the world, the trend has attracted attention for its array of health benefits and added energy boost.
Mushroom coffee proponents have said it promotes better sleep — plus provides more energy, improves focus, boosts the immune system and reduces inflammation, according to a Harvard Health publication.
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Some mushroom coffee makers also claim the drink can boost mood and gut health.
Most mushroom coffees do include caffeine but contain about half the amount of a regular cup of coffee.
The brew is typically made with medicinal mushrooms, including common varieties such as chaga, lion’s mane, reishi, cordyceps, king trumpet and turkey tail, Harvard Health noted.
These are considered adaptogens as part of the “adaptogenic mushroom coffee” infusion that’s meant to provide health benefits.
In a video posted to Instagram over the weekend, Fox News co-anchor Dana Perino of “America’s Newsroom” and “The Five” shared her love of mushroom coffee with “Fox & Friends” co-hosts Rachel Campos-Duffy and Charlie Hurt.
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“I’m a big proponent and I love amazing coffee,” Perino said as her colleagues took a sip.
“It’s like mushroom soup,” Hurt reacted with disapproval.
“You’ve just ruined it for me,” Campos-Duffy responded. “I was about to say ‘great.'”
Perino rated her mushroom coffee a 10 out of 10 — while Campos-Duffy gave it a four and Hurt gave it a one.
“Ask Martha McCallum, she likes it, too,” said Perino.
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“It kind of does grow on you,” Campos-Duffy said.
In a conversation with Fox News Digital, Perino detailed how she started drinking mushroom coffee about a year ago to replace English breakfast tea that she used to drink with honey.
“I don’t like how coffee tastes, but I love the scent of it brewing,” she said.
“I’ve cut out most sugar – and so I tried the Amazing Coffee brand. I used to use the collagen creamer when it was not sweetened, but they’ve changed that, so now I just include it with a splash of almond milk.”
Perino said her mushroom coffee mix gives her a bit of “get-up-and-go” energy in the morning.
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“Let the record show that, after the video, Charlie said the taste had grown on him,” she added.
Nutritionists also back the benefits of mushroom coffee.
Los Angeles-based registered dietitian nutritionist Ilana Muhlstein told Fox News Digital that many of these mushrooms are grown in “cold, harsh climates.”
Chaga mushrooms that are grown in Siberia or northern Canada must survive in 40-degree Fahrenheit conditions, she said.
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The intense cold forces the mushroom to produce more antioxidants for protection, the nutritionist stated.
“This not only increases the nutrient density of the mushroom, but it takes on a powerful sense of adaptability,” she said.
“The reason it can be helpful to consume adaptogen mushrooms is that you are getting more powerful antioxidants in your system and perhaps a heightened ability to adapt to stressors in your life as well.”
For people who drink coffee every day or are chronically stressed, Muhlstein suggested that adding a mushroom complex can be “greatly beneficial.”
“Even if it’s just a placebo effect, which works for me,” she said.
“When I consume adaptogens, I try to envision myself taking on their powerful survival skills and ability to handle challenges.”
Recent studies have proven the immune-boosting and metabolism-regulating properties of medicinal mushrooms, according to Harvard Health.
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The mushrooms’ high antioxidant levels can also help slow down the aging process, though there has been no clinical research conducted on the impact of mushroom coffee.