‘Entire families’ killed in Syria fighting, UN says
Hundreds reported killed in violence in Syria’s coastal region, which is heavily populated by Alawites. Entire families including women and children have been killed in Syria’s coastal region as part of recent a series of sectarian killings by rival groups, the UN human rights office said. The wave of violence broke out last Thursday, when armed groups loyal to deposed former President Bashar al-Assad ambushed security forces in the province of Latakia, killing at least 16 members of the security forces, according to the Ministry of Defence. The attacks escalated into sectarian violence, with pro-government forces rampaging through coastal provinces heavily populated by Alawites, as well as the nearby provinces of Hama and Homs, killing people, sometimes entire families, on streets, in homes, on rooftops. Of the roughly 1,000 civilians killed, nearly 200 were in Baniyas, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor. Al Jazeera was not able to independently verify the death toll. “In a number of extremely disturbing instances, entire families – including women, children and individuals hors de combat – were killed, with predominantly Alawite cities and villages targeted in particular,” UN human rights office spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan said on Tuesday. Advertisement He said initial reports indicated that the perpetrators, who have not been identified, were both members of armed groups supporting Syria’s interim authorities and those associated with the former government. “They appear to have been carried out on a sectarian basis, in Tartous, Latakia and Hama governorates – reportedly by unidentified armed individuals, members of armed groups allegedly supporting the caretaker authorities’ security forces, and by elements associated with the former government.” On Sunday, the country’s new presidency led by interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa announced the formation of a fact-finding committee to “investigate the violations against civilians and identify those responsible for them”. It said it would present its findings within 30 days and that those found to be responsible for violations would be referred to the judiciary. “The new Syria is determined to enshrine justice and the rule of law, protect the rights and freedoms of its citizens, prevent unlawful revenge and guarantee that there is no impunity,” Yasser al-Farhan, the spokesperson of the new fact-finding committee, told a news conference in Damascus on Tuesday. Farhan added that the committee was working on “gathering and reviewing evidence” related to the wave of violence. When al-Assad fell last December, Syrian analysts feared there would be revenge attacks against the Alawite community – the second-largest religious group in Syria after Sunni Muslims. So far, the UN human rights office has documented the killing of 111 civilians and expects the toll to be significantly higher, Al-Kheetan said. Of those, 90 were men; 18 were women; and three were children, he added. Advertisement “Many of the cases documented were of summary executions. They appear to have been carried out on a sectarian basis,” Al-Kheetan told reporters. In some cases, men were shot dead in front of their families, he said, citing testimonies from survivors. Human Rights Watch on Tuesday also called on Syria’s new authorities to ensure accountability for the mass killings. “Syria’s new leaders promised to break with the horrors of the past, but grave abuses on a staggering scale are being reported against predominantly Alawite Syrians in the coastal region and elsewhere in Syria,” HRW’s Deputy Regional Director Adam Coogle said in a statement. “Government action to protect civilians and prosecute perpetrators of indiscriminate shootings, summary executions, and other grave crimes must be swift and unequivocal,” he added. Adblock test (Why?)
Ukraine ready to accept 30-day US-brokered ceasefire plan
The United States has agreed to resume military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine after Kyiv expressed “readiness” to accept a 30-day ceasefire in its conflict with Russia. The two countries issued a joint statement after officials met on Tuesday in Saudi Arabia, saying that Ukraine was open to the US proposal “to enact an immediate, interim 30-day ceasefire which can be extended by mutual agreement of the parties”. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Telegram that the ceasefire proposal would “establish a complete ceasefire for 30 days, not only regarding missiles, drones and bombs, not only in the Black Sea, but also along the entire front line”. US President Donald Trump said he hoped Russia would agree to the ceasefire plan, signalling that the US will hold a meeting with Russia later on Tuesday or Wednesday. Following the progress made in talks, the US said that it would “immediately lift the pause on intelligence sharing and resume security assistance” to Kyiv, which it had suspended last week, effectively hobbling Ukraine’s ability to track Russian troop movements, shield against missile strikes and carry out attacks. Advertisement The suspension came after a blow-up last month between Trump and Zelenskyy, who had travelled to Washington to discuss a rare earth minerals deal, which would see the US gain access to the lucrative resources in Ukraine. The joint statement indicated that the deal was back on the table, with the two countries set to “conclude as soon as possible a comprehensive agreement for developing Ukraine’s critical mineral resources to expand Ukraine’s economy and guarantee Ukraine’s long-term prosperity and security”. Reporting from Washington, DC, Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher noted that the joint statement did not include any mention of the explicit security guarantees that Zelenskyy had been seeking during his contentious meeting with Trump at the Oval Office. “But those [security guarantees] appear to be missing at the moment. Perhaps that’s something that can be discussed, although we know that Donald Trump is really, really against that idea of explicit security guarantees for Ukraine,” he said. ‘Yes or no’ US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the ball was now in Russia’s court. “We’re going to tell them this is what’s on the table. Ukraine is ready to stop shooting and start talking. And now it’ll be up to them to say yes or no,” he said. “If they say no, then we’ll unfortunately know what the impediment is to peace here.” US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz added: “The Ukrainian delegation today made something very clear: that they share President Trump’s vision for peace.” Advertisement Waltz said negotiators “got into substantive details on how this war is going to permanently end”, including long-term security guarantees. Zelenskyy said on Telegram that Ukraine was “ready for peace” and that it now fell to the US to “convince” Russia. “Ukraine is ready for peace. Russia must show its readiness to end the war or continue the war. It is time for the full truth,” he said. Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine three years ago and now holds around a fifth of Ukraine’s territory, including Crimea, which it annexed in 2014. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he is open to discussing a peace deal. But he has ruled out territorial concessions, saying Ukraine must withdraw fully from four Ukrainian regions claimed and partly controlled by Russia. The talks in Saudi Arabia started only hours after Ukraine launched its biggest drone attack on Moscow and the surrounding region, claiming that it had struck an oil refinery near the Russian capital and a facility in Russia’s Oryol region. The attack, in which 337 drones were downed over Russia, killed at least three employees of a meat warehouse and caused a short shutdown at Moscow’s four airports, Russian officials said. Adblock test (Why?)
How will Mark Carney deal with Donald Trump?
Sharp words for the US president from Canada’s incoming prime minister. Canada’s incoming prime minister, Mark Carney, says he will confront the challenge his country is facing from the United States. US President Donald Trump has imposed tariffs on an array of goods coming from Canada. Carney has promised to push back with trade taxes of his own, and is seeking to unite Canadians against this challenge from the United States. With elections on the horizon in Canada, how will this play out politically? And can Canada’s close relationship with the US survive this turmoil? Presenter: James Bays Guests: Jen Hassum – Executive director of the Broadbent Institute, a progressive think tank Amy Koch – Republican strategist who served as majority leader of the Minnesota Senate John Kirton – Professor emeritus of political science at the University of Toronto Adblock test (Why?)
DOGE protesters rally outside key department after employees are told not to report to work Wednesday
Protesters against Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency rallied outside the Department of Education Tuesday and held a moment of appreciation and applause for the federal agency, which is rumored to be next on the chopping block. The protesters, many of them former Education Department officials, chanted, “This is what democracy looks like” and held signs saying, “Boycott Tesla!,” “Elon don’t rob kids” and “No DOGE no kings.” After the protest, FOX Business Senior Correspondent Charles Gasparino posted on X that he had reviewed an email from education department officials telling employees they would have to vacate the agency’s offices by 6 p.m. Tuesday and that the offices would remain closed Wednesday. He also reported that “employees have been receiving multiple emails alerting them of massive cuts in the workforce and opportunities to tap into buyouts and severance.” LAWSUIT TRACKER: NEW RESISTANCE BATTLING TRUMP’S SECOND TERM THROUGH ONSLAUGHT OF LAWSUITS TAKING AIM AT EOS Rally speakers railed against the Trump administration’s planned cuts to the department and instead called for more funding. At one point, organizers had attendees turn to face the department building and clap for the federal workers inside. President Donald Trump is expected to issue an executive order directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Education Department” based on “the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law,” according to a draft of the order reported by The Wall Street Journal. The draft order says the “the experiment of controlling American education through Federal programs and dollars — and the unaccountable bureaucrats those programs and dollars support — has failed our children, our teachers, and our families.” Trump has long talked about dismantling the Department of Education, saying it has failed America’s students. “It’s a big con job,” the president said in November. “They ranked the top countries in the world. We’re ranked No. 40, but we’re ranked No. 1 in one department, cost per pupil. So, we spend more per pupil than any other country in the world, but we’re ranked No. 40.” SC SUPERINTENDENT BACKS TRUMP EDUCATION PLAN: ‘FEDERAL SHACKLES FOR FAR TOO LONG’ However, the protesters, who stood outside the Education Department headquarters in Washington, D.C., claimed dismantling the agency “will lead to children and families being hurt.” “This cut in funding is the opposite of what we should be doing. We should be providing more federal funding for these services for these kids, not less,” one protester, a former Education Department employee, told Fox News Digital. She said her biggest worry was that DOGE cuts would make students “suffer” and also affect after-school programs such as special programs and English courses for immigrant children. “We’re going to be going back to the 1800s, the early 1900s, when special ed kids can’t get services, when English learners can’t learn English. This is an outrage,” she said. LOUISIANA SURGES 11 SPOTS ON NATION’S REPORT CARD FOR GAINS IN READING, MATH SCORES Another former federal employee at the rally told Fox News Digital that “seeing all these employees laid off right now breaks our heart,” and “we really have to speak up for what’s been done to the federal government.” One of the rally speakers, Rebecca Pringle, president of the National Education Association, pointed out that, on its own, the Trump administration does not have the authority to close the Education Department. Fully abolishing the department would require 60 votes in the Senate, requiring cooperation from Democrats. Pringle told Fox News Digital her group is organizing a series of national walk-in protests for March 19 to hold Congress members “accountable.” HOUSE EDUCATION CHAIR BACKS TRUMP MOVE TO ABOLISH FEDERAL AGENCY “Educators all over this country are rising up, and they’re saying, no. … We will not stand by while this administration focuses on giving tax cuts to billionaires who already have more, when we know our students need more,” said Pringle. Speaking directly to Trump and Musk, Katie Gates, an activist with the political activism group Voters of Tomorrow, told Fox News Digital her message to the administration is, “Please stop. Just don’t do it.” “You might think that you’re making government more efficient, or you’re getting rid of the deep state or whatever. But, like I said, this has far-ranging impacts on kids, on parents, on communities, on schools,” she said. “Sometimes efficiency isn’t the highest value. Sometimes it’s support. Sometimes it’s learning.” Fox News Digital reporter Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
‘Changes that actually help our veterans’: VA secretary defends proposed 15% workforce reduction
Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins has been steadfast in his commitment to shake up the department. And, despite firing at least 2,400 employees, Collins pledges to maintain the VA’s commitment to preserving and improving healthcare benefits for veterans. “VA’s biggest problem is that its bureaucracy and inefficiencies are getting in the way of customer convenience and service to veterans. As I have said before, we owe American veterans and hundreds of thousands of amazing employees solutions. And mark my words, that is what we will deliver,” Collins said in a video posted on X last week. Collins said the VA dismissals are part of President Donald Trump’s commitment to making government more efficient and effective, in conjunction with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The VA announced that last month’s personnel moves will save more than $83 million annually, and they will “redirect all of those resources back toward health care, benefits and services for VA beneficiaries.” Collins, who has faced criticism for his proposed 15% workforce reduction, confirmed the VA’s goal to cut 80,000 jobs during a “Fox & Friends” interview with Brian Kilmeade on Monday. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS CUTTING MORE THAN 1,400 EMPLOYEES IN ANOTHER ROUND OF DISMISSALS “Please, before Democrats or anybody else start on this path, this is going to be a deliberative process that’s going to take some time that’s going to include career VA employees. It’s going to include senior executives. It’s going to include all across, even bringing in people if need be, to take a look at: are we being efficient?” Collins told Kilmeade. MARK KELLY ACCUSES TRUMP OF ‘TRYING TO WEAKEN’ UKRAINE, FIRES BACK AT ELON MUSK FOR BRANDING HIM A ‘TRAITOR’ Collins has shut down criticism from the mainstream media and Democrats who have slammed VA cuts, reminding Kilmeade on Monday that operational issues have long plagued the VA. “Let’s all agree on something that for the past 10 years, the GAO has reported that the VA healthcare has been at a high-risk. In other words, they’re on the high-risk list for not only the possibility of fraud, waste and abuse, but also in patient quality, patient care. This has been going on for 10 years. It’s interesting to me that they’re looking at wait times. These are things that have preceded me coming in. I’ve been here for weeks, but it’s interesting that there’s no solutions being proposed,” Collins said. Veterans have reported poor healthcare conditions at the VA for decades, including long wait times, delayed care, slow processing times and corruption. While the Trump administration’s VA has only investigated 2% of their contracts so far, Collins said they have already identified 600 non-mission-critical or duplicate agreements to save almost $1 billion. Collins said that money can be re-invested into making “changes that actually help our veterans.” “The money we’re saving by eliminating non-mission critical and duplicative contracts is money we’re going to redirect to veterans facing healthcare benefits and services, resulting in massive improvements in customer service and convenience. Improving services to the veterans is exactly why the VA exists. That is what everyone – Congress, the media and VA employees – should be focused on,” Collins said. Collins has emphasized there will be no cuts to healthcare or benefits for veterans. “We’re going to accomplish this without making cuts to healthcare or benefits to veterans and VA beneficiaries. VA will always fulfill its duty to provide veterans, families, caregivers and survivors the healthcare and benefits they have earned. That’s a promise. And while we conduct our review, VA will continue to hire for more than 300,000 mission-critical positions to ensure healthcare and benefits for VA beneficiaries are not impacted,” Collins said. Despite Collins’ reassurances, Democrats have slammed the Trump administration and DOGE for VA cuts. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., led a press conference with fellow Democrats on the issue last week at the U.S. Capitol. “Why lay off veterans? I mean, 30% of the federal workforce is veterans, including a lot of people who’ve been laid off at the CFPB. Can you at least show some compassion to veterans?” Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., told Fox News Digital following a meeting with Consumer Financial Protection Bureau employees who were impacted by federal workforce reductions. “They’re going to gut the Department of Veterans Affairs, jeopardizing the health and well-being of millions of veterans,” Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said at a rally in Wisconsin on Friday. “Cutting the VA and some of the proposals I’ve seen are going to hurt service to veterans. So let’s agree that that’s a bad idea. Bipartisan. It’s a bad idea to do that,” Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday. “I go to the VA myself, so I see every day the waiting lists, the long lines to get care, how long it takes to get an appointment. All of that is going to get worse,” Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., told MSNBC on Saturday. Veterans have been speaking out against the proposed VA cuts as well. Veterans are organizing a protest against VA cuts and “Project 2025” on Friday, March 14, in Washington, D.C., and at state capitals across the country. VoteVets, a progressive political action committee, released a memo last week outlining the “extensive damage in the department’s ability to process and pay out benefits.” However, Collins said firing nonessential employees and reevaluating contracts is how the Trump administration is “finally going to give the veterans what they want.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “The VA has been a punching bag among veterans, Congress and the media for decades. Things need to change. We owe America’s veterans and the hundreds and thousands of excellent VA employees solutions. For many years, veterans have been asking for a more efficient, accountable and transparent VA. This administration is finally going to give the veterans what they want,” Collins said.
Nearly half of Department of Education staff will be eliminated imminently
Department of Education staff will receive “reduction in force” notices Tuesday before nearly half of the department’s workforce is terminated, Fox News Digital has learned. Earlier Tuesday, a memo was sent to all Education Department employees informing them that Department of Education offices will be closed Tuesday evening through Wednesday due to “security reasons.” Employees were instructed to leave the offices by 6 p.m. ET Tuesday. President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he would like to see the states control education. He campaigned on the issue ahead of the 2024 election. DRAFT OF TRUMP ORDER SEEKS TO ELIMINATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION: REPORT “I want to close up Department of Education, move education back to the states,” Trump said in August 2024, while noting left-wing states such as California could struggle if he does eliminate the Department of Education. “Of the 50 (states), I would bet that 35 would do great. And 15 of them, or, you know, 20 of them, will be as good as Norway. You know, Norway is considered great.” RANDI WEINGARTEN SAYS QUIET PART OUT LOUD: FEARS ED DEPT CLOSURE WILL BOOST SCHOOL CHOICE FUNDS The expected “reduction in force” notices come after reports spread in recent days that Trump was readying to sign an executive order to abolish the federal agency. The Wall Street Journal recently reported it had reviewed a copy of a draft executive order that would order Education Secretary Linda McMahon to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Education Department” based on “the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law.” “The experiment of controlling American education through Federal programs and dollars — and the unaccountable bureaucrats those programs and dollars support — has failed our children, our teachers, and our families,” the draft order said, according to the Journal. McMahon additionally sent a letter to all staff on her first day on the job in March saying she will lead a “momentous final mission” to send education back to the states. TRUMP ADMIN TACKLING BIDEN ‘BACKLOG’ OF CAMPUS ANTISEMITISM COMPLAINTS: ‘IMMEDIATE PRIORITY’ “Our job is to respect the will of the American people and the President they elected, who has tasked us with accomplishing the elimination of bureaucratic bloat here at the Department of Education — a momentous final mission — quickly and responsibly,” McMahon wrote to employees in a letter shared first with Fox News Digital. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The secretary said that the reconstruction of the department will “profoundly” alter staff, budgets and agency operations. Fox News Digital’s Aubrie Spady and Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
Who is Mahmoud Khalil, the anti-Israel Columbia University activist ICE arrested?
President Donald Trump announced Monday that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested anti-Israel activist Mahmoud Khalil — and cautioned that other “terrorist sympathizers” would meet a similar fate. ICE agents arrested Khalil — who is a Palestinian raised in Syria and a permanent U.S. resident — from his university-owned apartment on the city’s Upper West Side Saturday and told him they were revoking his green card and student visa, according to Khalil’s attorney, Amy Greer. The Department of Homeland Security said in an X post that it conducted the arrest to protect U.S. national security, and claimed that Khalil “led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.” Khalil played a major role in the protests against Israel at Columbia University and met with university officials on behalf of Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a group of student groups urging the university to divest from Israel, according to CNN. ICE AGENTS ARREST ANTI-ISRAEL ACTIVIST WHO LED PROTESTS ON COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY FOR MONTHS The groups’ main goal is to “challenge the settler-colonial violence that Israel perpetrates with the support of the United States and its allies,” according to an op-ed published in the Columbia Spectator in Nov. 2023. “We reject the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency’s weaponizing of the United States’ racist immigration laws to prevent our international comrades and peers from speaking up,” the group wrote. “We reject the violence of the Israel Defense Forces-trained, police-industrial complex that chokes our communities and disproportionately enacts brutality against people of color.” Khalil’s LinkedIn profile says he studied computer science at the Lebanese American University in Beirut before starting his master’s degree at Columbia in public administration in January 2023. His profile says he graduated in December 2024, although Columbia’s media affairs would not confirm Khalil’s status at the university to Fox News Digital. Other work experience listed on Khalil’s LinkedIn profile includes completing an internship with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which assists Palestinian refugees and descendants. UNRWA has faced scrutiny after a U.N. investigation found that UNRWA employees may have been involved in Palestinian-militant group Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. The U.S. temporarily halted funding for UNRWA in January 2024 in response to the report. The Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice and State Department are investigating Khalil as a possible national security threat, according to White House officials. The investigation so far has unearthed “antisemitic and hateful” posts on Khalil’s social media, and determined he organized multiple antisemitic protests on Columbia’s campus, according to the officials. Even so, Khalil previously has made public statements backing the liberation of both the Palestinian and Jewish people, and spoke out against antisemitism. “There is, of course, no place for antisemitism,” Khalil told CNN in April 2024. “What we are witnessing is anti-Palestinian sentiment that’s taking different forms, and antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism (are) some of these forms.” Trump unveiled Khalil’s arrest Monday, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the administration would revoke the green cards of any Hamas supporters in the U.S. and deport them. FEDERAL AGENCIES TO REVIEW COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY’S CONTRACTS, GRANTS AFTER ‘FAILURE’ TO PROTECT JEWISH STUDENTS “Following my previously signed executive orders, ICE proudly apprehended and detained Mahmoud Khalil, a radical foreign pro-Hamas Student on the campus of Columbia University,” Trump posted Monday on Truth Social. “This is the first arrest of many to come.” “We will find, apprehend and deport these terrorist sympathizers from our country — never to return again,” Trump stated. “If you support terrorism, including the slaughtering of innocent men, women and children, your presence is contrary to our national and foreign policy interests and you are not welcome here.” In response, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee labeled the move as “straight up authoritarianism” in a post on X. Additionally, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., spearheaded a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem urging the Trump administration to release Khalil immediately. Tlaib is the first Palestinian–American woman to serve in Congress. “Khalil has not been charged or convicted of any crime,” Tlaib and other Democratic lawmakers wrote in a letter released Tuesday. “We must be extremely clear: this is an attempt to criminalize political protest and is a direct assault on the freedom of speech of everyone in this country.” Meanwhile, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the Trump administration’s decision to arrest Khalil and claimed that he distributed pro-Hamas propaganda fliers on campus. “This administration is not going to tolerate individuals having the privilege of studying in our country and then siding with pro-terrorist organizations that have killed Americans,” Leavitt told reporters Tuesday at a White House press briefing, noting that on her desk were the “pro-Hamas propaganda fliers with the logo of Hamas” on them that Khalil allegedly was distributing. “We have a zero tolerance policy for siding with terrorists period.” ANTISEMITIC RIOT AT COLUMBIA REACHES BOILING POINT AS AGITATORS TAKE OVER ACADEMIC BUILDING, BARRICADE DOORS She also defended Rubio’s right to revoke Khalil’s green card. “Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, the secretary of state has the right to revoke a green card or a visa for individuals who serve or are adversarial to the foreign policy and national security interests of the United States of America,” Leavitt said Tuesday. Khalil is being held at a detention facility in central Louisiana. However, a federal judge in New York blocked the Trump administration from deporting him while legal proceedings remain active. District Judge Jesse Furman from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York is slated to hear Khalil’s case Wednesday. His attorneys have filed motions asserting that ICE violated Khalil’s constitutional rights and are also requesting his return to New York. Khalil’s wife is currently eight months pregnant, according to his lawyer. “We will vigorously be pursuing Mahmoud’s rights in court, and will continue our efforts to right this terrible and inexcusable — and calculated — wrong committed against him,” Greer said.
Europe steps up to fund its own defense, provide security for Ukraine after Trump threats
European defense leaders are meeting in Paris this week to discuss their plans to provide Ukraine with security guarantees as the continent steps up after decades of relying on the U.S. French President Emmanuel Macron led with an address to the Tuesday gathering of defense chiefs from 30 European and NATO countries after the U.S.’ new “America first” policy direction jolted the Europeans into action. Macron said it was time to “move from concept to plan,” and told French newspaper Le Figaro that France would boost its defense spending from 2% to 3.5% of GDP, amounting to around €30 billion annually. Details of any peacekeeping force are still widely in flux, but some officials said to expect a targeted deterrence force aimed at protecting key infrastructure rather than a wide blockade of the front lines. LITHUANIAN DEFENSE MINISTER: ONLY WAY TO NEGOTIATE WITH RUSSIA IS WITH A ‘GUN ON THE TABLE’ Europeans were dismayed last week when the U.S. announced it would pause all aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine, but that pause was lifted Tuesday after Ukraine agreed to a 30-day ceasefire. All eyes are now on Russia to see if Russian President Vladimir Putin accepts the deal, which came after U.S.-brokered talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday. The U.S. has insisted that it is Europe’s responsibility to offer military resources to help Ukraine deter Russia from invading again once a ceasefire is reached. President Donald Trump has flirted with the idea of not protecting European nations under NATO’s Article 5 if they refuse to meet their defense spending obligations under the treaty. The new call for Europe’s defense was a welcome development for NATO’s eastern flank, where tiny nations have for years beaten out their larger European counterparts in defense spending as a percentage of their GDP. “We should not be panicking about [Trump statements],” said Giedrimas Jeglinskas, chairman of the Lithuanian parliament’s national security committee. “Europeans need to think about what sort of troops to put in Ukraine,” he told Fox News Digital. “Europeans need to hold most of [our security] now. We need to show good will. Next to good will, you need to show numbers. How many troops can we generate, what sort of troops can we generate, what support we’re going to need from the U.S.” “I’m not going to provide security guarantees beyond very much,” Trump had said at his first Cabinet meeting on Feb. 26. “We’re going to have Europe do that.” The United States – NATO’s most militarily powerful member – wasn’t invited to the Paris talks because European nations wanted to show that they are able to shoulder a large part of the job of safeguarding Ukraine once a truce is in effect, a French military official told the Associated Press. But Jeglinskas said Europe should acquiesce to U.S. demands to pour more into its own defenses as it needs the U.S. for air defenses like the Patriot missile. “People who are complaining about the U.S. – there’s an abundance of that in Europe – yeah, show me the alternative. There’s nothing.” Over the weekend, top Trump advisor Elon Musk posted on X that the U.S. “really should” leave NATO. “Doesn’t make sense for America to pay for the defense of Europe,” he wrote. TRUMP SAYS INTEL PAUSE ON UKRAINE HAS BEEN ‘JUST ABOUT’ LIFTED; SAYS TARIFFS WILL MAKE AMERICA RICH “It’s common sense, right,” Trump told reporters of the NATO alliance last week. “If they don’t pay, I’m not going to defend them. No, I’m not going to defend them.” Jeglinskas said that in his meetings behind closed doors, U.S. officials have expressed America’s commitment to Article 5 is “as strong as ever.” “Sometimes Trump goes way over to get people to come to a position of reality,” said Jonathan Bass, foreign affairs expert and Argent LNG CEO. “The fact that he went so far to what they considered crazy, [the Europeans] actually took him seriously and did what they needed to do.” Lithuania is currently spending 4% on defense and plans to bump that figure to 5-6% next year, which is why Defense Minister Dovile Šakalienė told reporters her nation plans to pay U.S. defense manufacturers “at least $8 billion” more in “the coming years” to boost defenses. Russian aggression that could extend beyond Ukraine, including potentially into Baltic States like Lithuania, “worries us,” she said. “That’s why we are really pushing forward with our military capability plans, with our defense capacity-building, infrastructure and personnel and acquisitions, from weapons to ammo, building factories, defense industries.” Europe has offered Ukraine around $139 billion in aid since the start of the war, while the U.S. has offered around $128 billion. But the European Union last week proposed an $841 billion plan to “rearm Europe,” which included a $158 billion emergency loan proposal to arm European capacities in vulnerable areas like air defense and ammunition. The plan also calls for relaxing strict debt ceilings agreed to by the bloc for defense spending. “This is a moment for Europe, and we are ready to step up,” said European Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen last week. Šakalienė said “strengthening the northeastern flank” of Europe was the “joint goal,” which could mean stationing hypersonic missiles aimed at Russia in Baltic states like Lithuania. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Social media explodes after Dem senator makes ‘insulting’ remark about brains of Trump voters
Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin was ripped by conservatives on social media on Tuesday after an interview where she likened President Donald Trump‘s election to the “angry teenage years” of the United States where voter brains are still being formed. “Representing a state here, people voted for Trump and voted for me, I have a responsibility to represent my entire state,” Slotkin said on ABC’s “The View.” “But I don’t think there’s anyone who feels like what’s going on right now is normal. Even if you voted for Trump, right?” “I think there is a feeling in the country, and I often say this, you know, we’re about to turn 250 years old, right? We’re still pretty young for a country. These are, like, our angry teenage years. We are going through this push and pull where we’re happy, we’re sad. We want this, we want that, and what do you do when you have a teenager threatening themselves and others? You just try to get them through this period alive so that their brain can fully form and you can come back to kind of what,” Slotkin said before being cut off by Joy Behar. “Are you talking about Trump?” Behar asked. ‘MODERATE’ DEM GIVING REBUTTAL TO TRUMP’S JOINT ADDRESS PROMOTED STAFFER WHO BOOSTED FARRAKHAN “No, I’m talking about our country,” Slotkin said. “We’re a pendulum swinging. We are a pendulum swinging. I don’t think there is an American that thinks this is normal.” Slotkin’s comments were widely interpreted by conservatives on social media as a slight to Trump voters. “Ah yes, we’ve reached the point post-election loss where Democrats just revert to calling Americans stupid for voting against them,” Abigail Jackson, communications director for Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., posted on X. “Not a single ounce of self-awareness to be found.” “Slotkin says this while literally sounding like a teenager…” Fox News contributor Joe Concha posted on X. DEMOCRATIC SENATOR SAYS PARTY IS LACKING LEADERSHIP, STRATEGY FOLLOWING DEFEAT TO TRUMP “This is supposedly their smart, reasonable messenger?” Fox News contributor Guy Benson posted on X. “Interesting to compare this to their arguments on transitioning teenagers,” Spectator contributing editor Stephen L. Miller posted on X. “Wow!” Red State writer Bonchie posted on X. “What a fresh, novel take. No one has ever said this before. Elissa Slotkin is truly the future of the Democratic Party.” “This is monumentally insulting to the millions of Americans that voted for a change last November,” Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., posted on X. Slotkin, elected as a Democrat to the Senate in Michigan in November despite Trump carrying the state, was selected to give the party’s response to Trump’s recent joint address to Congress. In a Sunday interview with “Meet the Press,” Slotkin acknowledged that the Democratic Party has been “on their heels” since Trump’s election. “I don’t think that’s something hidden,” she said of the Democratic Party’s loss of confidence following its defeat to Trump. “I think it’s on us to be clear about not only leadership – and there’s lots of leaders in both parties – but also a strategy. I think that’s something that, as Trump has been successful in flooding the zone and, like every day, 15 things happening, we are still finding our footing, and I think you can’t get better until you admit you have a problem.” Slotkin’s office pointed to her full remarks when Fox News Digital reached out for comment. Fox News Digital’s Jeffrey Clark contributed to this report
Trans inmate in prison for killing baby must get gender surgery at ‘earliest opportunity’: judge
A federal district judge in Indiana has once again ordered the state Department of Correction (IDOC) to arrange a sex reassignment surgery for a transgender inmate convicted of reckless homicide of a baby, marking the latest development in the ongoing legal saga challenging an Indiana law banning the procedure. The case, now in its second year, involves inmate Autumn Cordellioné’s request for sex reassignment surgery. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) first filed the lawsuit against the Indiana Department of Corrections in 2023 on behalf of Cordellioné, challenging an Indiana law that prohibits the Department of Corrections from using taxpayer funds to cover sex reassignment surgeries for inmates. The ACLU argues the law is a violation of the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition of “cruel and unusual punishment.” “The court ordered that the Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Correction should be preliminarily enjoined to take all reasonable actions to secure Ms. Cordellioné gender-affirming surgery at the earliest opportunity,” Judge Richard Young, a Clinton appointee, wrote in a March 5 filing. “Ms. Cordellioné seeks to extend the injunction for the second time. For the reasons that follow, her motion to renew or extend preliminary injunction… is granted.” INDIANA JUDGE RULES PRISON MUST PROVIDE TRANSGENDER SURGERY FOR INMATE WHO KILLED BABY Cordellioné, born Jonathan Richardson, sought out another injunction as the one issued in December last year expired on March 6, court documents show. “In its Order granting the motion for preliminary injunction, the court acknowledged that ‘surgery may take time as it will be provided by a surgeon who is not affiliated with either IDOC or its contracted medical provider. It is therefore the court’s intention… to renew this preliminary injunction every 90 days until the surgery is provided,’” the document states. Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita has been defending the state’s law and submitted a brief in January to a court of appeals defending Indiana’s law barring sex-change operations for inmates. The attorney general argued that the Eighth Amendment doesn’t require the state “to provide experimental treatments generally, and it certainly doesn’t here, when multiple doctors have said this inmate is a poor candidate for surgery,” a spokesperson told Fox News Digital. The brief also contends that the Indiana law, which went into effect in 2023, is not “sex discrimination” under the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause because it bans sexual reassignment surgeries across the board. “Convicted murderers don’t get to demand that taxpayers foot the bill for expensive and controversial sex-change operations,” Rokita told Fox News Digital. “It lacks all common sense. We won’t stop defending our state’s ban on using taxpayer funds to provide sex-change surgeries to prisoners.” ACLU SUES INDIANA OVER DENIAL OF SEX REASSIGNMENT SURGERY FOR INMATE WHO STRANGLED 11-MONTH-OLD TO DEATH In the ongoing case, a key issue was the evaluation by psychologist Kelsey Beers, who was tasked with assessing Cordellioné’s eligibility for sex-change surgery. Beers concluded that Cordellioné was not a suitable candidate for the surgery, stating that Cordellioné’s distress was not due to gender dysphoria but rather stemmed from her diagnoses of antisocial personality disorder and borderline personality disorder. Beers further noted that Cordellioné “displays an established pattern of attention-seeking behavior.” Despite Beers’ conclusions, the court ruled that her report did not justify reconsidering its decision and questioned Beers’ qualifications. “In summary, the court finds that Dr. Beers’ report does not present a significant factual development that would cause it to reconsider its grant of injunctive relief as to Ms. Cordellioné’s Eighth Amendment claim,” Young wrote. TRANS INMATE WHO KILLED BABY AND IDENTIFIES AS MUSLIM WOMAN SUES CHAPLAIN FOR ALLEGEDLY NOT ALLOWING HIJAB The ACLU’s original lawsuit on behalf of Cordellioné asserts that the inmate was diagnosed with gender dysphoria in 2020, and has been prescribed female hormones and testosterone blockers, which Cordellioné has “consistently taken since that time.” The lawsuit further claims that Cordellioné has been provided with accommodations such as “panties, makeup, and form-fitting clothing” while incarcerated. The lawsuit states that gender-affirming surgery is now necessary for Cordellioné to alleviate the gender dysphoria. “She believes that the only remedy for her persistent gender dysphoria, and the serious harm it causes her, is to receive gender-affirming surgery, specifically an orchiectomy and vaginoplasty,” the filing explains. According to the ACLU, Cordellioné, who has identified as a woman since age 6, is “a woman trapped in a man’s body.” In 2001, Cordellioné was convicted of strangling his then-wife’s 11-month-old daughter to death while she was at work. During an initial interview with police, Cordellioné was described as “calm and unemotional” while recounting the incident, according to court documents from Indiana’s Court of Appeals. Fox News Digital has reached out to IDOC for comment.