Los Angeles leaders introduce legislation to impede Trump mass deportations
Los Angeles city leaders on Tuesday introduced legislation to protect immigrant communities amid unrest due to President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigrants. Councilman Hugo Soto-Martinez introduced five proposals aimed at strengthening labor and immigration protections, which he said would address renewed threats of mass deportations, work-site raids and targeted enforcement actions, Fox Los Angeles reported. “We are here today because, unfortunately, we have a president who wants to scapegoat and attack our immigrant neighbors,” Martinez said during a news conference outside City Hall alongside council members Eunisses Hernandez, Imelda Padilla and Ysabel Jurado and several immigrant rights, labor, legal and community groups. “And we are not going to take that lightly. BORDER CZAR TOM HOMAN SENDS MESSAGE TO FAR-LEFT OFFICIALS PUSHING BACK AGAINST MASS DEPORTATIONS: ‘GAME ON’ “The legislation will make sure that we’re prepared and that we’re ready to fight back, which involves a comprehensive ‘know your rights’ campaign across the entire city so immigrants and employers understand their rights and don’t fall victim to ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) intimidation.” ‘DEPORTATION FLIGHTS HAVE BEGUN’ AS TRUMP SENDS ‘STRONG AND CLEAR MESSAGE,’ WHITE HOUSE SAYS The legislation will be heard by the council’s Civil Rights & Immigration Committee before a vote. If approved, it would reaffirm the city’s commitment to protecting its migrant community from possible deportation. In November, the council and Mayor Karen Bass formally established Los Angeles as a so-called sanctuary city. The move by Soto-Martinez came after two days of protests during which demonstrators took over the 101 freeway and local streets to oppose Trump’s mass deportation plans of illegal immigrant criminals.
Americans bullish on economy and stock market with Trump in office: poll
Americans have renewed optimism in the country’s economic outlook now that President Donald Trump is back in office. A majority of Americans, 53%, believe that the economy will grow in the next six months, while 61% believe that the stock market will also rise, according to the results of a Gallup poll released Monday. The poll’s release comes shortly after Trump returned to the White House, with the survey conducted between Jan. 2 and 15, shortly before he took office. RUBIO SAYS ‘NO CHOICE’ BUT TO BRING USAID ‘UNDER CONTROL’ AFTER AGENCY TAKEOVER: ‘RANK INSUBORDINATION’ While Americans are optimistic about economic growth, the survey found they were divided on unemployment, with 38% indicating they believe it will increase and 38% saying it will decrease. Meanwhile, 21% believe that unemployment will hold steady over the next six months. Americans are also less bullish on inflation, with 52% indicating they expect it to rise in the next six months, though that figure is down significantly from close to 80% in previous versions of the Gallup poll. Breaking the numbers down by partisan affiliation, Gallup found Republican respondents largely responsible for fueling the increase in economic optimism, with 78% of GOP respondents believing there will be economic growth over the next six months and 75% saying the stock market will rise. USAID CLOSES HQ TO STAFFERS MONDAY AS MUSK SAYS TRUMP SUPPORTS SHUTTING AGENCY DOWN Solid majorities of Independents felt the same, with 61% indicating they believe there will be economic growth over the next six months and 60% saying they believe the stock market will rise. Democrats are less bullish, with only 21% indicating they believe there will be growth over the next six months. But a slim majority of Democrats, 51%, do anticipate a bump to the stock market over the same time period. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Americans are generally hopeful about the economy in the next six months. Part of this optimism stems from Republicans expecting things to improve under a Republican rather than Democratic president,” Gallup said in a news release. “But the broader improvements in Americans’ outlook may also reflect their confidence in Trump’s ability to handle the economy. During his first term, he received some of his strongest issue approval ratings on the economy, which were typically higher than those Biden received on the issue during his term.” The poll, conducted Jan. 2-15, 2025, surveyed a random 1,005 adults living in the U.S. and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus four percentage points.
ICE arrests under President Trump continue in migrant ‘sanctuary’ cities
President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration continues with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials making several criminal arrests over the last week in left-leaning “sanctuary” cities, including Philadelphia, Boston, Denver and Washington, D.C. ICE agents conducted a worksite enforcement operation at a car wash in Philadelphia that led to the arrest of seven illegal immigrants, six from Mexico and one from the Dominican Republic. The operation took place at a Complete Autowash in North Philadelphia Jan. 28. It was prompted by reports that employees at the car wash were being subjected to labor exploitation. After the arrests, Brian McShane, acting field office director for Philadelphia ICE Enforcement & Removal Operations, said “the successful execution of this worksite enforcement operation underscores our determined commitment to national security and public safety. BORDER CZAR TOM HOMAN SAYS HE WOULD ‘SEEK PROSECUTION’ IF NJ GOVERNOR SHELTERED ILLEGAL MIGRANT IN HOME “We were able to apprehend individuals who are unlawfully present in the United States. These operations highlight the dedication and diligence of our officers and agents in protecting our communities from potential threats by enforcing immigration laws in accordance with U.S. laws and Department of Homeland Security policies.” ICE Philadelphia also recently arrested Luis Gualdron-Gualdron, a suspected member of the Venezuelan migrant gang Tren de Aragua who has a criminal record that includes indecent assault of a person under 16 and harassment. ICE arrested Gualdron-Gualdron without incident despite the agency’s detainer against him being ignored by the Northampton County Prison. ICE Philadelphia also removed a Mexican illegal immigrant, Raymundo Rojas Bacilio, who is wanted for rape in his home country. The office also removed Dominican national Yermanny Suarez Laureano, who is wanted in his home country for homicide. Arrests have also continued in the Boston area, which has strong sanctuary policies in place limiting local law enforcement cooperation with ICE. ICE SNAGS CRIMINAL ALIEN PAROLED 17 YEARS INTO LIFE SENTENCE FOR PREGNANT WOMAN’S MURDER In the last week, ICE announced the arrests of several illegal immigrants, including criminals charged with rape of a Massachusetts resident, sex crimes, murder and gang involvement. One of the migrants, Salvadoran national Jose Garcia-Salmeron, 34, is charged with raping a Massachusetts resident. Despite being arraigned on rape charges by the Chelsea District Court, the court ignored an ICE detainer against Garcia-Salmeron and released him from custody in July 2024. Another migrant, 37-year-old Haitian national Jean Yves Ovilme, is charged with assault and battery and indecent assault of a person 14 years or older. Another, Cesar Augusto Polanco, 59, has been convicted in a Massachusetts court of murder. He was serving a life sentence and is now in ICE custody pending removal proceedings. Finally, another illegal immigrant, reputed Guatemalan MS-13 gang member Luis Adolfo Guerra-Perez, 19, was arrested by ICE Jan. 22. Guerra-Perez illegally entered the country and was released into the interior in 2021 and is charged with drug and weapons crimes. DEM GOVERNOR BACKS ICE ARRESTING ‘CRIMINALS’ DESPITE VOWING TO USE ‘EVERY TOOL’ AGAINST TRUMP DEPORTATIONS ICE officials in Washington, D.C., arrested a Salvadoran illegal alien named Nicolas Alberto Hernandez-Lopez, 46, who is charged with sexually assaulting a Virginia resident. Hernandez-Lopez was previously removed from the country in 2023, but he unlawfully reentered the country at an unknown date and location, according to an ICE statement. He is currently in ICE custody. Patrick Divver, acting field office director for Washington, D.C., ICE enforcement and removal operations, said Hernandez-Lopez “illegally reentered the United States, and then victimized a resident of our Virginia community. This is not something that the officers of ICE Washington, D.C. will tolerate. “We will continue our mission of arresting public safety threats and removing egregious alien offenders from our Washington, D.C., and Virginia neighborhoods.” VICTIMS IDENTIFIED IN DC PLANE CRASH INVOLVING AMERICAN AIRLINES JET AND MILITARY HELICOPTER ICE has also made several criminal arrests in Denver, whose Democratic mayor, Mike Johnston, has been among the most vocal opponents of Trump’s immigration crackdown in the country. One of the illegal migrants arrested, Luz Maria Ramirez-Monreal, a Mexican national, is charged with child abuse, burglary, strangulation and kidnapping. Another Mexican national arrested includes 48-year-old Juan Benitez-Ortega, who is charged with felony assault and kidnapping. A third illegal alien recently arrested by Denver ICE officials is Mexican national Luis Fernando Melendez-Rivera, 27, who is wanted for aggravated homicide in his home country. According to ICE, Melendez entered the country through the Denver International Airport in 2022. CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE ICE officials in Seattle also arrested four criminal illegal aliens who have been either convicted or charged with crimes related to sexual assault. Pedro Garcia-Lopez, 47, a Mexican citizen, has been charged with theft, lewd acts with a child under 14 and sexual battery. Rubi Jeronimo Cruz, 22, a citizen of Guatemala, was convicted of DUI with reckless driving and charged with rape of a child. Manuel De Jesus Zavala-Martinez, 40, a citizen of El Salvador, has several criminal convictions, including assault with sexual motivation and assault with a deadly weapon. Lastly, Jaspal Singh, 29, a citizen of India, was charged with assault with sexual motivation. “Protecting our communities and preventing further victimization is of paramount importance to ICE throughout the Pacific Northwest,” said Drew Bostock, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Seattle field office director. “These arrests reinforce the message that the presence of illegal criminal threats will not be tolerated.”
Bernie Sanders, Josh Hawley team up on Trump pledge to slash credit card rates to 10%
An unlikely duo is working together in the Senate to make good on one of President Donald Trump’s campaign pledges. Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., introduced a new bill on Tuesday to cap credit card interest rates at 10%, which Trump had proposed doing temporarily during his 2024 presidential campaign. “During the campaign, President Trump pledged to cap credit card interest rates at ten percent,” Sanders said in a statement. “Today, I am proud to be introducing bipartisan legislation with Senator Hawley to do just that.” Sanders accused financial institutions that charge more than 25% interest on credit cards of “extortion” and “loan sharking.” TULSI GABBARD ADVANCES OUT OF INTEL COMMITTEE IN BOOST TO CONFIRMATION ODDS “We cannot continue to allow big banks to make huge profits ripping off the American people. This legislation will provide working families struggling to pay their bills with desperately needed financial relief,” his statement concluded. The bill would cap rates at 10% effective immediately and stay in effect for five years. ‘OVERDOSE EPIDEMIC’: BIPARTISAN SENATORS TARGET FENTANYL CLASSIFICATION AS LAPSE APPROACHES In his own statement, Hawley said, “Working Americans are drowning in record credit card debt while the biggest credit card issuers get richer and richer by hiking their interest rates to the moon.” “It’s not just wrong, it’s exploitative. And it needs to end. Capping credit card interest rates at 10%, just like President Trump campaigned on, is a simple way to provide meaningful relief to working people.” ELIZABETH WARREN GRILLED RFK JR ON DRUG COMPANY MONEY, BUT RECEIVED OVER $5M FROM HEALTH INDUSTRY Trump talked about capping rates during a September campaign rally during which he laid out his economic agenda. “While working Americans catch up, we’re going to put a temporary cap on credit card interest rates,” he said. “We’re going to cap it at around 10%. We can’t let them make 25 and 30%.” SEN TILLIS OPENS UP ABOUT ROLE IN PETE HEGSETH’S CONFIRMATION AFTER HEGSETH’S EX-SISTER-IN-LAW’S ALLEGATIONS After Trump was elected, Sanders promised to spearhead legislation to do that and followed through on Tuesday. The White House was asked whether Trump is still considering this action and if he supports the senators’ bill, but it did not provide comment to Fox News Digital in time for publication.
Teens spend more than a quarter of their time at school on phones, new study finds
A new study shows that more than a quarter of high school-aged students’ time spent on their smartphones occurs in school. It comes as state lawmakers across the country introduce and pass legislation aimed at cracking down on student cellphone usage in schools. The study, spearheaded by Seattle Children’s Hospital, found that among the more than 115 eighth- through 12th-grade students that it tracked, 25% of them spent more than two hours on their phones during a typical six-and-a-half hour school day. The study found that the average time spent among all the students they tracked was roughly 1.5 hours, which contributed to 27% of their average daily use. The study’s findings come just several days after the state of Colorado introduced House Bill 1135, which would require school districts in the state to adopt policies that limit the use of cellphones by students during school hours. If passed, Colorado would join 19 other states that have adopted some type of cellphone restrictions for students, according to Democratic state Rep. Meghan Lukens. DC COUNCIL PROPOSES BILL TO BAN CELL PHONES IN DISTRICT’S PUBLIC SCHOOLS “I’m not a big fan of government controlling people’s lives, but in this context, I’m all for it,” psychotherapist Thomas Kersting told Fox News Digital. Kersting is a former school counselor who has lectured for 16 years about the adolescent impact of increased screen time. He wrote a bestselling book called “Disconnected,” which posited that increased screen time for kids is re-wiring their brains. “I started seeing an incredible influx of kids diagnosed with attention deficit disorder (ADHD) from when I was working as a high school counselor. It did not add up,” Kersting said. “The chronic eight or nine hours a day of stimulation affects the executive functioning, executive functions of the brain, which is what you need to be able to concentrate, focus, retain, and all that stuff.” Kersting pointed out that schools and school districts are also taking the lead in implementing various ways to cut down on students using their cellphones during class time, but added that state and local legislation can have the power to push schools that may be afraid to act due to parental concerns. COULD SMARTPHONE USE CAUSE HALLUCINATIONS? “The phone has become the umbilical cord between parent and child,” said Kersting. “So, the idea of a parent nowadays sending their kid to school is more terrifying and schools, I believe, are probably concerned about litigation, violation of rights and things of that nature.” But while parents may be apprehensive, taking phones out of school can help improve students’ test scores, attention spans and socialization, while reducing the need for disciplinary intervention, Kersting said. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The study by Seattle Children’s Hospital found that, excluding web browsers, the top five apps or categories used by school-aged students were messaging, Instagram, video streaming, audio apps and email.
Justice Department restarts legal aid programs for detained immigrants
The agency’s reversal comes after a federal judge told the Trump administration it must continue to pay for grants and other programs it abruptly froze last month.
Trump’s ‘rare’ price for US military aid to Ukraine called ‘fair’ by Zelenskyy
President Donald Trump suggested Ukraine begin offering critical minerals to the U.S. in exchange for military aid, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy seemingly welcomed the idea. “We’re putting in hundreds of billions of dollars. They have great rare earths. And I want security of the rare earth, and they’re willing to do (that),” Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday, in a sign that he may be open to continuing aid to the war-ravaged country. Zelenskyy told reporters Tuesday that Ukraine was open to an “investment” from “partners who help us defend our land and push the enemy back with their weapons, their presence, and sanctions packages.” “And this is absolutely fair,” he added. ZELENSKYY WARNS PEACE TALKS WITHOUT UKRAINE ‘DANGEROUS’ AFTER TRUMP CLAIMS MEETINGS WITH RUSSIA ‘GOING WELL’ Zelenskyy had been trying to develop the untapped resources, offering tax breaks and investment rights to outside entities looking to mine the minerals in 2021, before the start of the war. The Ukrainian leader pitched the mining of such minerals as part of the victory plan he drew up last year and pitched to U.S. lawmakers. Ukraine has strategic reserves of titanium, lithium, graphite and uranium, but much of its critical minerals are in areas currently under occupation by Russia. Donetsk, Luhansk and Dnipropetrovsk are all some of the most mineral-rich regions, meaning Ukraine would need to take back territory to get them out. Zelenskyy revealed Ukrainian leaders have had contact with U.S. officials, including Keith Kellogg, the U.S. special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, and are nailing down a time for them to visit. ZELENSKYY PRAISES TRUMP FOR ‘JUST AND FAIR’ RHETORIC TOWARD RUSSIA: ‘EXACTLY WHAT PUTIN IS AFRAID OF’ “We have working dates when the American team will come. The dates and composition are being coordinated right now. We are waiting for the team and will work together,” Zelenskyy said. Congress has approved around $175 billion in aid for Ukraine – consisting of military and economic assistance – since Russia’s invasion in February 2022. Russia framed the Trump idea as proof the U.S. no longer wanted to give free aid to Ukraine – but suggested they’d rather the U.S. did not offer any aid to Ukraine. “If we call things as they are, this is a proposal to buy help — in other words, not to give it unconditionally, or for some other reasons, but specifically to provide it on a commercial basis,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Tuesday. “It would be better, of course, for the assistance to not be provided at all, as that would contribute to the end of this conflict,” he added. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called Trump’s suggestion “very egotistic, very self-centered,” and said Ukraine would need its resources to finance postwar rebuilding. China is by far the biggest producer of rare earth minerals, used in smartphones, electric vehicles, household appliances and even cancer drugs. It accounts for around 70% of global production.
Researchers blame CA wildfires on climate change, pedal ‘alarmist’ non-peer reviewed studies: Experts
An international research group backed by billionaire Jeff Bezos and the progressive George Soros Foundation has made headlines in major news outlets recently for its study claiming that the LA wildfires were caused by “human-induced” climate change. The World Weather Attribution (WWA) group, founded in 2014 by Dr. Friederike Otto and Dr. Geert Jan van Oldenborgh, has published many scientific studies built on the presupposition that climate change may affect, and even cause, extreme weather events. The group also receives funds from the Grantham Institute and the European Climate Foundation. On Jan. 28, the research group published what it called a “rapid attribution” study titled, “Climate change increased the likelihood of wildfire disaster in highly exposed Los Angeles area,” and was subsequently picked up by several major media outlets. EDERAL AGENCIES SCRUB CLIMATE CHANGE FROM WEBSITES AMID TRUMP REBRANDING Some environmental critics are pushing back on the group’s rise to notoriety in the media and classified the group as “alarmist,” fueled by “leftist organizations that are driving the climate narrative.” “They’re just trying to manipulate people, and it’s effective. It works. I’ve talked to people that are saying that this is caused by climate change, and it’s frustrating,” Jason Isaac, founder and CEO of the American Energy Institute – a nonprofit think tank group platforming environmental policies that “promote economic freedom” – told Fox News Digital in an interview. “There’s no peer review that’s been done on this data,” he added. “They rush out a flash study that supposedly found that global warming boosted fire weather conditions in the area by 35% and intensity by 6%. Well, what about the fires that happened in 1895? Who’s to blame for those? This is just a geography that’s sort of right for this situation to happen from time to time.” Isaac added that California’s “poor management” is largely to blame and will “happen when they’re telling people they can’t clear their land.” Isaac criticized California’s spending priorities, noting that while the state allocates tens of billions of dollars to its climate commitment – originally over $50 billion, later reduced to around $45 billion – it spent roughly $4.2 billion on fire prevention in the 2024-2025 fiscal year. TRUMP ELIMINATING LNG PAUSE TO HAVE ‘QUICKEST EFFECT’ ON ENERGY INDUSTRY: RICK PERRY “You would think it would be a major priority for California, because of how susceptible they are to wildfires,” he said. Former Trump EPA Transition Team Member, Steve Malloy, also told Fox News Digital that the WWA’s recent study was problematic, and dubbed it “pal-reviewed.” “There’s no peer review going on. It’s not science,” Malloy said. “You know, this whole attribution thing is bogus. There’s no scientific foundation for it. It’s good propaganda, because they have the whole system organized where no one in the media asks any questions, they hide the origin and everything, and it makes for good headlines.” Both Malloy and Isaac agreed that there will likely be an uptick in climate change-driven initiatives after President Donald Trump signed an executive order last month to axe the Biden-era U.S. climate commitments, which aimed to reduce emissions 61-66% by 2035. The WWA co-founder, Otto, has previously claimed in a 2022 UK magazine article that “Who ‘does science’ is a hugely important issue,” and that if “climate change is worked on exclusively by white men, it means that the questions asked are those that are relevant to white men.” “But people most affected by climate change are not white men, so if all these other people are effectively excluded from the scientific process, the problems we have to face in climate change will not be properly addressed and you will not find solutions for how to best transform a society,” Otto wrote. CLIMATE ACTIVISTS HIT WITH FELONY CHARGES AFTER DEFACING US CONSTITUTION’S DISPLAY CASE According to the WWA’s FAQ page on its website, “rapid attribution studies are published before peer review in order to release the results soon after events have taken place” and adds that its studies are later published in peer-reviewed journals. “Scientific studies on extreme weather events, going through peer-review, are usually published months or even years after an event occurred, when the public has moved on and questions about responsibilities, rebuilding or relocating have been debated without taking scientific evidence on the influence of climate change into account,” the WWA website states. TRUMP MEETS WITH CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS, FIRE AND LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS TO SEE LA WILDFIRE DAMAGE FIRST HAND On its website, WWA lists several papers included in peer-reviewed journals including in the Weather and Climate Extremes, Environmental Research: Climate and Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, among others. WWA conducts its studies by analyzing real-world weather data from regional weather stations to determine how rare and intense an extreme weather event is, according to its website. Researchers then compare the likelihood of such events currently with their expected frequency before the widespread burning of fossil fuels in the late 1800s. WWA researchers occasionally face difficulties that prevent them from providing numerical results in their studies. These challenges may arise, its website states, if there isn’t enough reliable weather data available or if the computer models used for analysis are not well-suited to accurately simulate the specific weather event being studied. “If a study does not have a conclusive result because of these challenges, that does not necessarily mean that climate change played no role in the weather event,” the WWA website states. WWA did not respond to repeated requests for comment from Fox News Digital.
Ohio governor orders government employees to return to office, following Trump’s lead
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed an executive order Tuesday directing state employees to return to offices by Monday, March 17. DeWine’s executive order requires state employees to stop routinely working from home and return to work in their designated offices, with few exceptions. “State agencies, boards, and commissions under the authority of the Governor (collectively referred to as agency or agencies) shall require all permanent employees to routinely perform their duties in the physical office or facility assigned by their appointing authority, and not routinely from a remote location,” Gov. DeWine said in the executive order. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on his first day back in office terminating all remote work in the federal government. DONALD TRUMP WHITE HOUSE EXPECTING ‘SPIKE’ IN FEDERAL RESIGNATIONS AS AT LEAST 20K TAKE BUYOUTS “Heads of all departments and agencies in the executive branch of Government shall, as soon as practicable, take all necessary steps to terminate remote work arrangements and require employees to return to work in-person at their respective duty stations on a full-time basis, provided that the department and agency heads shall make exemptions they deem necessary,” Trump said in his executive order. DEM AGS WARN FEDERAL WORKERS ABOUT TRUMP BUYOUT OFFER: ‘AIMED AT DISMANTLING OUR FEDERAL WORKFORCE’ DeWine permitted state employees to work from home beginning March 9, 2020, declaring a state of emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, with the state of emergency lifted, DeWine permitted some Ohio employees to continue working on a hybrid basis. “It is now in the best interest of the citizens of Ohio for State of Ohio employees to complete a return to a physical office or facility to best serve the public and maximize the use of state-owned assets and facilities,” DeWine said in the executive order. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Fox News Digital has requested comment from Gov. DeWine’s office on his executive action.
Trump reinstates ‘maximum pressure’ campaign against Iran
President Donald Trump unveiled an executive order reinstating a “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran on Tuesday, coinciding with a visit from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House. Trump voiced that he was “torn” on signing the order and admitted he was “unhappy to do it,” noting that that the executive order was very tough on Iran. “Hopefully, we’re not going to have to use it very much,” Trump told reporters Tuesday. The order instructs the Treasury Department to execute “maximum economic pressure” upon Iran through a series of sanctions aimed at sinking Iran’s oil exports. His first administration also adopted a “maximum pressure” initiative against Tehran, issuing greater sanctions and harsher enforcement for violations. TRUMP’S LATEST HIRES AND FIRES RANKLE IRAN HAWKS AS NEW PRESIDENT SUGGESTS NUCLEAR DEAL Lawmakers are also interested in exerting more pressure on Iran. For example, Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and John Fetterman, D-Penn., along with lawmakers in the House, introduced a resolution on Thursday that affirms that all options should remain on the table in dealing with Iran’s nuclear threat. Graham said in a statement Thursday that should Iran obtain a nuclear weapon, it would prove “one of the most destabilizing and dangerous events in world history.” Additionally, Graham said ahead of Netanyahu’s visit that the moment is right to eliminate Iran’s nuclear threat now, and that the U.S. should back Israel if it chooses to “decimate” Iran’s nuclear program. IRAN’S WEAKENED POSITION COULD LEAD IT TO PURSUE NUCLEAR WEAPON, BIDEN NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER WARNS “Israel is strong. Iran is weak. Hezbollah, Hamas have been decimated,” Graham said in an interview with Fox News Sunday. “They’re not finished off, but they’ve been weakened. And there’s an opportunity to hit the Iran nuclear program in a fashion I haven’t seen in decades. And I think it would be in the world’s interest for us to decimate the Iranian nuclear threat while we can. If we don’t, we will regret it later.” Strict sanctions were reimposed upon Iran after Trump withdrew from the Iran deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, in May 2018. The 2015 agreement brokered under the Obama administration had lifted sanctions on Iran, in exchange for limits on Iran’s nuclear program. Meanwhile, Trump signaled in January some optimism about securing a nuclear deal with Iran, when asked if he backed Israel striking Iran’s nuclear facilities. TRUMP’S NEW UKRAINE ENVOY ISSUES WARNING TO IRAN, SAYS ‘MAXIMUM PRESSURE MUST BE REINSTATED’ “We’ll have to see. I’m going to be meeting with various people over the next couple of days,” Trump told reporters on Jan. 24. “We’ll see, but hopefully that could be worked out without having to worry about it.” “Iran hopefully will make a deal. I mean, they don’t make a deal, I guess that’s OK, too,” Trump said. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Other executive orders that Trump signed on Tuesday include pulling the U.S. out of the United Nations Human Rights Council and cutting funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). Fox News’ Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.