5 likely choices for who really ran the disastrous Biden White House

January 25, 2025

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For years, conservative media, lawmakers and talking heads have been sounding the alarm about President Joe Biden’s cognitive free fall. And for years, left-wing media, lawmakers and their loyal mouthpieces waved it off with the same condescending dismissal — accusing us of lying, fear-mongering or worse. Some even went so far as to say they couldn’t keep up with Biden’s supposed brilliance and jam-packed schedule of what was mostly just one morning briefing and two mid-afternoon naps.

Fast-forward to the post-presidency. Now that Biden has shuffled out of office, left-wing media seems to be waking up to the glaringly obvious. The New York Times of all places — yes, the same paper that acted as Biden’s PR firm — has revealed that he relied on teleprompters during intimate fundraisers in private homes. At events where he was supposed to come across as casual and personable, he needed scripted prompts. Donors weren’t exactly brimming with confidence.

House Speaker Mike Johnson dropped a bombshell about a January 2024 meeting in which Biden was apparently stunned to learn he had signed an executive order halting liquefied natural gas exports just weeks earlier. He repeatedly denied even knowing about it. Johnson believed Biden didn’t know what he signed, leaving him with a terrifying question: “Who is running the country?”

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Spoiler alert: It wasn’t Biden. And to answer Johnson’s question, there are at least five shadowy figures who might have been behind the wheel — or rather, letting the car roll downhill with no one on the brakes.

Former U.S. President Barack Obama is one of the likely candidates for who was running the Biden White House behind the scenes. (REUTERS/Alyssa Pointer)

1. Former President Barack Obama

Remember when former President Barack Obama joked in a 2020 interview with Stephen Colbert that he’d love a third term where he could play puppet master while someone else carried out his orders? Well, guess what — he may as well have been describing the Biden presidency.

The continuity of Obama-era policies under Biden is glaring. Biden’s radical economic and climate boondoggles — like Build Back Better and The Inflation Reduction Act — weren’t just echoes of Obama’s agenda; they were carbon copies, with Biden playing the role of a less convincing understudy. Biden’s own “Obamacare” albatross was just as disastrous, except this time it was painted green, cost even more, and led to an inflation nightmare.

And let’s not forget the Afghanistan withdrawal fiasco, which had Obama’s fingerprints all over it. The same architects of Obama-era failures were in charge, bungling timelines and ignoring warnings. Meanwhile, Biden seemed to be caught off guard at every turn, surprised by how the plan unfolded — because he probably wasn’t the one pulling the strings. Who were Biden’s Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and CIA Director William Burns actually answering to?

Obama wasn’t exactly subtle about staying in the picture. He was offering Biden advice, headlining White House events, and reportedly holding closed-door meetings with key officials. By 2023, when Biden’s mental decline became increasingly difficult to camouflage, Politico openly wondered, “Is Barack Obama Ready To Reassert Himself?” He might have been asserting himself the entire time, or at least nudging the wheel while Biden tried to figure out where the car keys were.

2. First Lady Jill Biden

The first lady was Joe Biden’s handler, coach and babysitter. Jill Biden’s influence on Joe’s decision-making has been an open secret for years, starting with his decision to run for president in 2020, even though close advisers reportedly warned he didn’t have the stamina for a grueling campaign.

When Joe Biden’s promise to be a one-term president came up, and Democrats began eyeing the door for their next candidate, it was Jill who convinced him to run for re-election — despite what she had to know about his obvious decline. Was this about his legacy, or was it just a desperate power grab?

After Joe Biden’s disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump, where he looked more confused than commanding, Jill delivered the kind of praise that would make North Korean propagandists blush: “You answered every question! You knew all the facts!”

It was as believable as former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas telling us the border was secure while we watched videos showing illegal immigrants streaming across it. Mayorkas lied to protect an agenda; Jill lied to protect her husband’s image — and her own grip on influence.

First lady Jill Biden, third from left, speaks during a Biden administration Cabinet meeting. (AP/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Remember the infamous photo of her sitting in the president’s chair on Air Force One while “prepping for the G7 Summit”? Or how she led a cabinet meeting last September? Since when does the first lady run cabinet meetings? Jill was stepping in when her husband was disengaged, disoriented or otherwise absent — a role that feels more like acting president than loving partner.

3. Chief of Staff Jeff Zients

Biden’s Chief of Staff Jeff Zients, often called a “fixer,” quietly emerged as one of the most powerful figures in the administration. Zients’ influence was evident during the early stages of the pandemic, when he spearheaded the COVID-19 response team. Since then, his role has expanded, effectively making him the behind-the-scenes manager of the White House with a president who didn’t grasp what was really going on.

Zients played a crucial part in shaping and managing the administration’s day-to-day agenda, including overseeing staffing decisions and ensuring execution of Biden’s initiatives. He recruited a third deputy chief of staff, Natalie Quillian, to implement the administration’s initiatives, but the move was internally controversial, ruffling feathers of those who saw her as Zients’ enforcer as the “bad cop.”

Given Zients’ reputation as a detail-oriented manager with significant control over White House operations, it’s certainly plausible that he orchestrated the signing of the executive order halting liquefied natural gas exports, ensuring it aligned with his broader environmental or economic goals without requiring Biden’s deep engagement.

4. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan

His role as national security advisor positioned him as a key figure in the Biden administration, but given the president’s cognitive abilities, it may have been simply calling the shots. Too bad he wasn’t very successful.

Sullivan was instrumental in orchestrating major policies, such as the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, where he managed the planning process. Sullivan was so involved that it caught the attention of Congressman Mike McCaul, who demanded Sullivan testify in front of a House committee. He also played a significant role in shaping the administration’s industrial strategy, promoting policies to protect U.S. manufacturing and counter China’s technological advancements.

Given these substantial responsibilities and his central role in formulating and implementing policy, it’s plausible that Sullivan functioned as a de facto leader within the administration, especially given Biden’s capacity to govern.

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5. A purple-haired 24-year-old intern who moonlights as a TikTok influencer

The radical shift in gender and race policies under the Biden administration screams of a progressive activist completely out of touch with mainstream America.

Jeff Zients, former White House Chief of Staff, is another likely possibility for who was pulling the strings in the Biden White House. FILE: Zients attends an event in the East Room of the White House March 1, 2023. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Biden’s decision to let biological males compete in women’s sports — signed as an executive order on day one — showcases the extreme agenda of far-left influencers. Add to that the administration’s push for critical race theory training across federal agencies and its abandonment of meritocracy for race- and gender-conscious hiring.

These policies feel like they were dreamed up by a 24-year-old progressive fresh out of college, fresh off a “gap year” funded by their parents while they “roughed it” in luxury hotels across Europe.

Then there’s the White House’s reliance on TikTok and X influencers like Harry Sisson and Chris Mowrey. Watching influencers awkwardly dance while professing their love for an octogenarian president wasn’t just embarrassing — it was a window into who’s really shaping the administration’s messaging.

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The first lady was Joe Biden’s handler, coach and babysitter. Jill Biden’s influence on Joe’s decision-making has been an open secret for years, starting with his decision to run for president in 2020, even though close advisers reportedly warned he didn’t have the stamina for a grueling campaign.

What kind of adult turns to TikTok twerps for serious promotion? Probably another TikTok twerp with access to Biden’s social media accounts. This cringe-worthy reliance on influencers reflects a radicalized youth presence in the White House, wielding outsized influence over both policy and messaging.

The Rejects

Could Vice President Kamala Harris really have been running the show? Unlikely. She treated her VP title the same way she handled her border czar role — loving the prestige while doing next to nothing. As for Hunter Biden, he may have had influence, but running a shadow presidency while hawking finger paintings for Oval Office access? That’s a full-time job all on its own. And actor George Clooney? Sure, he ended Biden’s presidency with one editorial, but let’s be real — would someone who wields that kind of influence give up power so easily? Doubt it.

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What We Know About the Released Hostages

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January 25, 2025

Hamas released four female Israeli army soldiers on Saturday as part of a hostage-for-prisoner exchange, more than a year after the women were taken captive during the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that started the war.

In a choreographed release, the four hostages wore military-style fatigues as they walked onto a stage in Gaza City. They waved and smiled at a cheering crowd, grinning at one another as Hamas fighters in balaclavas surrounded them.

The hostage release is part of a 42-day cease-fire deal that went into effect on Sunday, pausing the fighting between Israel and Hamas. Hamas agreed to incrementally release 33 of the nearly 100 remaining hostages in exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinians jailed by Israel and a partial Israeli withdrawal.

The hostages had been recent recruits, working as “spotters” for Israel’s army, reporting on suspicious activity across the border. During the Hamas-led attack, militants stormed the Nahal Oz military base in Israel, killing more than 50 soldiers and abducting the women, who were teenagers at the time, and three other female soldiers.

In May, the Israel military released a three-minute edited collection of videos, verified by The New York Times, showing Palestinian fighters, some wearing Hamas headbands, binding the hands of five women, including the four who were released on Saturday. The footage was recorded by body cameras worn by the Hamas militants who abducted them, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents relatives of many of the captives.

Here is what else we know about the four released hostages.

Liri Albag

Liri Albag, a soldier who was seized from her army base in southern Israel during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack, in a photograph released by Bring Them Home Now.Credit…via Reuters

Ms. Albag, who has dreamed of becoming an architect and interior designer, joined the Israeli military soon after graduating from high school, according to a statement by the Hostage Families Forum.

Her family expressed relief and joy at seeing her being released. “Far from what I expected, she looks vibrant,” Ruhama Albag, her aunt, said on live television. “She is cheerful, waving her hand, her spirit unbroken.”

In January, Hamas’s military wing released an edited video of Ms. Albag, now 19, speaking for three and a half minutes, in which she said she had been held for more than 450 days.

In a statement at the time, Ms. Albag’s family said that “her severe psychological distress” was evident in the video and asked Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and other leaders to “make decisions as if your own children were there.”

“She is just dozens of kilometers away from us, yet for 456 days we have been unable to bring her home,” the family said.

Karina Ariev

Karina Ariev, a soldier who turned 20 in captivity, in a photograph released by Bring Them Home Now.Credit…via Reuters

Ms. Ariev, 20, is the daughter of immigrants from Ukraine, and her family described her as “the connecting force” among friends and family, the families forum said.

She called her parents during the attack, describing militants firing guns and rockets, and told them she loved them, according to the Israeli news media. Her family later that day found a Hamas video posted on social media that showed Ms. Ariev and two other women in a jeep, her face bleeding, they said.

In August, Ms. Ariev’s older sister, Sasha Ariev, said at an event in Jerusalem spoke of moving home after the Oct. 7 attack to help her struggling parents who were feeling increasingly helpless.

Ms. Ariev’s sister said the hostage crisis was consuming her. “How can I sleep when we haven’t succeeded in bringing Karina and all the other hostages home?” she said. “How can I sleep when I’m in my bed and she’s a hostage?”

Daniella Gilboa

A photo released by Hostages Family Forum showing Daniella Gilboa.Credit…via Associated Press

Daniella Gilboa, 20, is from Petah Tikva, in central Israel. At the time of her abduction, Ms. Gilboa had been studying piano and hoped to perform professionally one day, the forum said.

In July, Ms. Gilboa’s family released a video made by Hamas that they had received months earlier, which showed her and Ms. Ariev in captivity.

In an interview with Maariv, an Israeli newspaper, the father of Ms. Gilboa’s boyfriend said the family was feeling mixed emotions over the video. “In her family, there is a feeling of relief alongside a feeling of disappointment,” he was quoted as saying.

Naama Levy

Naama Levy, a soldier who was seized from her army base in southern Israel, in a photograph released by Bring Them Home Now.Credit…via Reuters

Naama Levy, who is also now 20, is a triathlete who grew up in Raanana, a leafy town north of Tel Aviv, the forum said.

She texted her mother from a safe room on the day of the attack, according to a website focused on campaigning for her release. “I’ve never heard anything like this,” she wrote.

A Hamas video of her being taken to Gaza circulated on social media shortly after the attack.

In an interview for a documentary about sexual violence during the attack, Ayelet Levy Sachar, Naama’s mother, spoke of her daughter’s kidnapping. She was seen in a Hamas video in pajama bottoms, drenched in blood.

“They’re grabbing her by the hair, and she’s all, like, messed up,” she said, adding: “We would like to think that this couldn’t be possible, that nobody would harm a young girl. But then you just see it there.”

Biotech CEO predicts ‘revolutionary’ move toward curing cancer is on the horizon thanks to AI

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January 25, 2025

SELLAS Life Sciences CEO Angelos Stergiou says his company is already on the cusp of a finalized leukemia vaccine, but another game-changer – personalized cancer vaccines – could be on the horizon, thanks to artificial intelligence.

“I think it’s going to be a revolutionary decade in medicine and in clinical research,” he said Thursday on “Fox & Friends.”

“Where AI comes into play is where it’s going to allow us to do things expeditiously, and it’s going to be more personalized. In other words, if you have a patient with a cancer, we can then use AI to do a genomic sequencing and, with the results, we can then either create a specific vaccine or treatment, or we can say this specific treatment will work for the patient.”

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A.I. is expected to revolutionize treatments for cancer within the next few years. (iStock)

How long will the technology take to develop? Stergiou predicts the first of the specialized vaccines could come within the next three to four years.

“It’s very important to understand that if you put garbage into this algorithm, you’ll get garbage out, so it’s going to take a lot of effort by the medical community to really fit that data set appropriately, and it’s going to be an ongoing evolutionary thing.”

AI expert and “Some Future Day” author Mark Beckman, who also joined “Fox & Friends” on Thursday, calls the AI revolution the “age of imagination.”

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Speaking to the hosts on the curvy couch, he noted Google’s new AI research system, AMIE, which is designed to help find rare illnesses and serve as a co-pilot for physicians.

“They’ve done some research, and the ability to uncover these rare illnesses and diseases is at a very high level now, so doctors will be using that as a tool to help them diagnose.”

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Taylor Penley is an associate editor with Fox News.

Israel and Hamas Set to Exchange Prisoners and Hostages: Cease-Fire Latest Updates

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January 25, 2025

Hamas released four female soldiers on Saturday as part of a hostage-for-prisoner exchange, more than a year after the women were taken captive during the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, that started the war.

The hostage release is part of a 42-day cease-fire deal that went into effect on Sunday, pausing the fighting between Israel and Hamas. Hamas agreed to incrementally release 33 out of almost 100 remaining hostages in exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinians jailed by Israel and a partial Israeli withdrawal.

The young women were working as “spotters” for Israel’s army, reporting on suspicious activity across the border. During the Hamas-led attack, militants stormed the Nahal Oz military base in Israel, killing more than 50 soldiers and abducting the women, all of them teenagers at the time, and three other female soldiers.

In May, the Israel military released a three-minute edited collection of videos, verified by The New York Times, showing Palestinian fighters, some wearing Hamas headbands, binding the hands of five women, including the four being released on Saturday. The footage was recorded by body cameras worn by the Hamas militants who abducted them, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents relatives of many of the captives.

Here is what else we know about the four released hostages:

Liri Albag

Liri Albag, a soldier who was seized from her army base in southern Israel during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack, pictured in this photograph released by Bring Them Home Now.Credit…via Reuters

In January, Hamas’s military wing released an edited video of Ms. Albag, now 19, speaking for three and a half minutes, in which she said she had been held for more than 450 days.

In a statement, Ms. Albag’s family said that “her severe psychological distress is evident” in the video and asked leaders to “make decisions as if your own children were there.”

“She is just dozens of kilometers away from us, yet for 456 days we have been unable to bring her home,” the family said.

Karina Ariev

Karina Ariev, a soldier who turned 20 in captivity, pictured in this photograph released by Bring Them Home Now.Credit…via Reuters

Ms. Ariev, now 20, called her parents during the attack, describing militants firing guns and rockets, and told them she loved them, according to Israeli news media. Her family later that day found a Hamas video posted on social media that showed Ms. Ariev and two other women in a Jeep — her face was bleeding, they said.

In August, after Ms. Ariev turned 20 in captivity, Ms. Ariev’s older sister, Sasha Ariev, said at an event in Jerusalem that she had moved home after the Oct. 7 attack to help her struggling parents who were feeling increasingly helpless and struggling to keep up hope.

She said the hostage crisis was consuming her. “How can I sleep when we haven’t succeeded in bringing Karina and all the other hostages home?” she said. “How can I sleep when I’m in my bed and she’s a hostage?”

Daniella Gilboa

A photo released by Hostages Family Forum showing Daniella Gilboa.Credit…via Associated Press

Daniella Gilboa, 20, is from Petah Tikva, in central Israel. In July, Ms. Gilboa’s family released a video made by Hamas that they had received months earlier, which showed her and Ms. Ariev in captivity.

Naama Levy

Naama Levy, a soldier who was seized from her army base in southern Israel, pictured in this photograph released by Bring Them Home Now.Credit…via Reuters

Naama Levy, who is also now 20, texted her mother from a safe room on the day of the attack, according to a website focused on advocating her release. “I’ve never heard anything like this,” she wrote. A Hamas video of her being taken to Gaza circulated on social media shortly after the attack.

“They’re grabbing her by the hair, and she’s all, like, messed up,” she said, adding, “We would like to think that this couldn’t be possible. That nobody would harm a young girl. But then you just see it there.”

Republicans react to Pete Hegseth’s confirmation as defense secretary

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January 25, 2025

Republican lawmakers celebrated after the Senate narrowly confirmed Pete Hegseth as defense secretary on Friday.

The Senate was split 50-50, with three Republicans — Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. — joining the Democrats in opposing Hegseth’s confirmation, forcing Vice President JD Vance to cast the tie-breaking vote.

After Hegseth was confirmed, GOP lawmakers praised him as a “change agent” who has a “passion for the warfighter.”

“Pete has served in the Army National Guard as a front line officer, and he has a keen intellect and a passion for the warfighter,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., wrote on the social media platform X.

PETE HEGSETH CONFIRMED TO LEAD PENTAGON AFTER VP VANCE CASTS TIE-BREAKING VOTE

Pete Hegseth testifies during his Senate Armed Services confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill on Jan. 14, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

“He did an excellent job during a very contentious hearing and withstood all the attacks that came his way,” Graham added. “He is bullish on creating a larger, more lethal military and is clear-eyed about America’s enemies, including Iran. Israel will have no better friend than Pete Hegseth.”

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said he was “proud to vote to confirm Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense.”

“He is the change agent that the DOD desperately needs,” Cruz said.

Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin said: “We did it, America.”

“It was an honor to be in the fight with my friend, and your SecDef: @PeteHegseth,” he wrote. “The Hegseth family is the best!!”

“Heck yeah! @PeteHegseth is the man for the job,” Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said. “I’m honored to have voted for him. We just confirmed him as the next defense secretary.”

Sen. Roger Marshall wrote: “Congratulations to @PeteHegseth, our new Secretary of Defense! Pete will bring transformative change, refocusing our military on lethality and recruiting efforts. I can’t wait to see what a great job he will do.”

“Pete Hegseth is the perfect fit to make our military great again and achieve peace through strength,” Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., wrote. “It was an honor to support his nomination, and I look forward to seeing him restore trust in the Department of Defense by prioritizing war fighters over bureaucrats.”

MCCONNELL VOTED NO ON HEGSETH AS PENTAGON HEAD, FORCING VANCE TO CAST TIEBREAKER

Pete Hegseth at the completion of his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., congratulated Hegseth on his confirmation and said that “Every brave service member and every American is safer with you leading the Pentagon. American strength is BACK!”

“Congratulations to our NEW secretary of defense,” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., said.

Democrats, meanwhile, questioned Hegseth’s credentials to lead the Pentagon ahead of his confirmation.

“Is Pete Hegseth—who failed to manage the finances of veterans’ nonprofit groups, who drove his organizations into debt to the point where he could not even pay creditors—really the person Republicans want in charge of the Pentagon’s budget?” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., wrote on X before the vote.

Schumer also asked: “Is Pete Hegseth really the best Republicans have to lead the greatest military in the world?”

“Our troops deserve better than someone as erratic and unqualified as Pete Hegseth,” he added.

Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said: “We deserve a Secretary of Defense with solid experience, sound judgment, and good character. Pete Hegseth does not meet the test.”

Pete Hegseth during a Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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Hegseth, a former Fox News host, had faced questions ahead of his confirmation over his infidelity, allegations of sexual assault and excessive drinking, his previous comments opposing women serving in combat roles in the military and his leadership abilities.

Married three times, Hegseth has admitted he was a “serial cheater” before he became a Christian and married his current wife, Jenny. He also originally said he opposed women in combat, before later saying that he only opposes standards for women in combat that are different from those for men. Hegseth has additionally denied the sexual assault allegations and has said he would abstain from alcohol as defense secretary.

In Response to Trump Tariff Threat, Ontario Premier Calls an Early Election

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January 25, 2025

The leader of Canada’s most populous province and the heart of its vital auto industry said on Friday that he would call early elections because he needed a stronger hand to deal with President Trump’s plan to impose tariffs on Canadian exports.

“With a strong mandate, we will be able to fight with Donald Trump to make sure we stop the tariffs,” Doug Ford, the Conservative premier of the province, Ontario, said at a news conference on Friday.

Mr. Ford has emerged as one of the strongest political voices defending Canada against Mr. Trump, who argues that Canada has an unfair economic advantage over the United States.

“He’s going to try to devastate our country,” Mr. Ford recently told reporters of the U.S. president.

Ontario’s auto industry is deeply intertwined with that of the United States, with parts and components crossing back and forth numerous times before vehicles are fully assembled.

A blanket tariff of 25 percent that Mr. Trump said he would apply on Feb. 1 would decimate Canada’s economy, and the province could lose as many as 500,000 jobs, according to Mr. Ford.

Ontario is also a major producer of hydroelectric power that flows across the border and provides energy to New England, something Mr. Ford said the province could withhold as a form of retaliation.

“We will go to the extent of cutting off their energy,” he said recently.

At such a potentially perilous moment, Mr. Ford said Canada was hobbled by lacking a strong bargaining position at the federal level, in part because Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has decided to step down and make way for a new party leader and prime minister.

“You need a loud voice at the table,” Mr. Ford said, who has been wearing a cap that reads, “Canada is not for sale,” a reference to Mr. Trump’s musings about Canada becoming another U.S. state.

Mr. Ford’s party already holds a majority of seats in the Ontario legislature, but he signaled that increasing the Conservatives’ seats would bolster their ability to act aggressively in a turbulent political climate with the United States, Canada’s largest trading partner.

“The opposition treats you with a little more respect, as opposed to being vulnerable,” Mr. Ford said. Elections will now be held on Feb. 27, more than a year before the June 2026 fixed election date.

Opposition leaders have said that early elections are unnecessary because they would support Mr. Ford in defending the province and the country against tariffs.

Mr. Ford has been making the rounds on American cable programs, including Fox News, to criticize Mr. Trump on tariffs. He also launched a multimillion dollar advertising campaign reminding viewers of Ontario’s contributions of energy and minerals to the United States.

Mr. Trump reiterated his tariff threat on Thursday in remarks delivered to attendees of the Davos economic forum in Switzerland, saying that the United States does not need Canadian exports like lumber, oil and gas.

“We have our own,” said Mr. Trump.

President Trump reinstates Mexico City Policy, separates taxpayer dollars and abortions

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January 25, 2025

An executive order President Donald Trump signed Friday will overturn two Biden memorandums and reinstate the Mexico City Policy, which forbids using taxpayer dollars to fund nongovernmental organizations that perform or promote coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization.

The Mexico City Policy, initiated by the Reagan administration, has been rescinded by every Democratic president and reinstated by every Republican president since its creation.

During the Biden administration, the Pentagon paid for service members to travel over state lines for abortions, and Veterans Affairs medical centers were allowed to offer abortion counseling and abortion procedures for service members and their beneficiaries, Fox News Digital previously reported.

President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., Jan. 20. (Jim Watson/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

PRO-LIFE PROTESTERS PARDONED BY TRUMP, FOX CONFIRMS

The administration also provided abortion access to migrants detained at the border, offering transport of unaccompanied pregnant children to states without abortion restrictions.

The White House said that, for nearly five decades, Congress annually enacted the Hyde Amendment and similar laws that prevent federal funding of elective abortion, “reflecting a longstanding consensus that American taxpayers should not be forced to pay for that practice.”

Nuns arrive to participate in the annual March for Life Friday in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

BLUE STATE ‘RESISTANCE’ REPORTEDLY STOCKPILING ABORTION PILLS IN PREPARATION FOR ANOTHER TRUMP TERM

“However, the previous administration disregarded this established, commonsense policy by embedding forced taxpayer funding of elective abortions in a wide variety of Federal programs,” the White House wrote in a statement. “It is the policy of the United States, consistent with the Hyde Amendment, to end the forced use of Federal taxpayer dollars to fund or promote elective abortion.”

Biden’s Presidential Memorandum, Protecting Women’s Health at Home and Abroad, was signed Jan. 28, 2021, and alleged the policy’s restrictions negatively affected women’s reproductive health and undermined U.S. partnerships in global health efforts.

Demonstrators during the People's March,

Pro-choice supporters hold signs during a rally. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Trump’s order rescinds two Biden executive actions that promoted access to abortions and included abortion in the definition of “reproductive healthcare.”

The language in the new order clarified the memorandum is “not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.”

The Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) told Fox News Digital the policy “will decrease abortion access in countries around the world.”

“This far-reaching policy defunds health organizations in other countries that provide abortion services or information, even for victims of sexual assault,” CRR said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital. “Many of these critical organizations will likely shutter as a result or be forced to stop providing or even talking about abortion services.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks after being sworn in by Vice President JD Vance in the Vice Presidential Ceremonial Office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus Tuesday in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

CRR representatives also referenced the administration’s Geneva Consensus Declaration Friday night, which is a joint initiative to “secure meaningful health and development gains for women; to protect life at all stages; to defend the family as the fundamental unit of society; and to work together across the UN system to realize these values,” according to a statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The CRR called the declaration “an anti-reproductive rights and anti-LGBTQ political statement” that “intentionally misrepresents itself as an official international agreement, and attempts to undermine the broad legal basis for reproductive rights as human rights.”

“The reinstatement of President Trump’s Global Gag Rule (GGR) and rejoining of the Geneva Consensus are direct assaults on the health and human rights of millions of people around the world,” said Rachana Desai Martin, CRR chief government and external relations officer.

Schumer at contraception press conference outside Capitol

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks during a news conference in front of the U.S. Capitol May 21, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

“We saw the devastating impact of the GGR during the last Trump administration when contraception and vital reproductive services were cut off,” Martin added. “There was a spike in pregnancy-related deaths, reproductive coercion and gender inequality worldwide. Many clinics and health programs shuttered, leaving vulnerable populations with nowhere to get birth control, pregnancy care and other vital health services.”

Live Action, a global human rights movement dedicated to ending abortion, posted on X after the order was signed.

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“The Mexico City policy which ensures American tax dollars do not fund killing children internationally through abortion has been reinstated by President Trump!” the post said.

Fox News Digital requested comment from Planned Parenthood and Physicians for Reproductive Health but did not immediately receive a response.

Alexandra Koch is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital. Prior to joining Fox News, Alexandra covered breaking news, crime, religion, and the military in the southeast.

MeToo Outrage Leaves Japanese Broadcaster Without a Single Advertiser

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January 25, 2025

It began as a scoop in a weekly tabloid: the allegation that a middle-aged former boy-band star turned top television host had paid hush money to a woman for unspecified wrongdoing.

Other articles followed, asserting that it was a case of sexual assault, and stirring a wave of public outrage not only toward the ex-singer but also his employer, a major TV broadcaster, for how it handled the situation.

On Thursday, the man at the center of the controversy, Masahiro Nakai, announced his retirement, but the episode had already turned into a moment of reckoning. An international investor has criticized the company, Tokyo-based Fuji Television, and Japan’s biggest corporate advertisers have lined up to boycott it. Some 75 companies, including Toyota, SoftBank and the local operator of McDonald’s, have pulled ads and sponsorships.

Not a single commercial now appears on the station’s programming; ad spots are now filled with unpaid public service announcements. Tens of millions of dollars in revenue is at stake as indignant C.E.O.s have called on Fuji TV to address the issue.

“We will cease placing advertisements with the company until a thorough investigation is conducted, the facts are clarified, and appropriate action is taken,” Takeshi Minakata, president of the drink maker Kirin, said in a statement, which added that the company was acting “based on our human rights policy.”

Experts say the anger reveals a new intolerance for sexual misconduct set in motion by an earlier scandal. Two years ago, it emerged that a top Japanese talent agency’s founder, Johnny Kitagawa, had sexually abused young men for decades. He died in 2019 without ever facing any charges, and corporate sponsors were accused of having ignored the wrongdoing at the agency, Johnny & Associates.

This time, big corporations are eager to show that things have changed.

“The Johnny scandal marked a turning point,” said Ryu Honma, who has written extensively about the advertising and media industries. “The sponsors were blamed for complicity due to their inaction.”

The current case came to light in mid-December, when a weekly tabloid called Josei Seven reported that Mr. Nakai, of the disbanded but still immensely popular group SMAP, had become embroiled in “serious trouble” with a woman.

The article said that Mr. Nakai, 52, had paid 90 million yen, or almost $600,000, to the woman, who has not been publicly identified. Subsequent stories by other local media more clearly characterized what happened as a sexual assault.

Earlier this month, Mr. Nakai admitted that an “incident” had taken place and that he had paid to settle it. He said that he had used no violence in the encounter, which took place in June 2023, and that he therefore felt justified in his decision to continue to appear on TV. There have been no official investigations into the case.

Unrelenting criticism and the ad boycott forced him to reverse that decision. On Thursday, Mr. Nakai announced that he was retiring from entertainment and dissolving his talent agency.

“I don’t think that this fulfills all my responsibilities,” he said in a statement, promising to “sincerely cooperate” in any investigation. “I apologize once again from my heart to the other party.”

Anger has also grown at Fuji TV, where Mr. Nakai was a popular show host. According to the tabloid article, it was a Fuji TV employee who set up the meeting in 2023 between Mr. Nakai and the woman in the case.

Fuji TV initially issued a vague denial of “reports in some weekly magazines.” But it later said it was creating an in-house committee to investigate the allegation involving Mr. Nakai, as well as other news media reports that it had long rewarded male talent by arranging encounters with female announcers.

Fuji TV has come under criticism for being slow to confront the situation more directly, and also for how it eventually did so: at a news conference open only to select media, at which no livestreaming or cameras were allowed.

At the news conference, held last week, Fuji TV’s president said his company had learned about the episode right after it happened but did not disclose it.

“Our decision at the time was not to make the matter public, but to respect the woman’s wish to return to work and to prioritize her physical and mental recovery and the protection of her privacy,” said the president, Koichi Minato.

The news conference also came after an American shareholder, an investment company called Dalton Investments, sent a letter to Fuji TV’s management harshly criticizing the company’s failure to react to — much less fix — its problems.

The situation with Mr. Nakai “reflects not only a problem in the entertainment industry generally, but, specifically, it exposes serious flaws in your corporate governance,” the letter said. “The lack of consistency and, importantly, transparency in both reporting the facts and the subsequent unforgivable shortcomings in your response merit serious condemnation.”

The day after Fuji TV’s news conference, big Japanese companies began announcing that they were pulling their ads.

On Thursday, Fuji TV’s parent company, Fuji Media Holdings, weighed in. The president, Osamu Kanemitsu, said that it was “imperative that we regain the trust of our employees, sponsors and viewers.” He announced that the company’s board had decided in an emergency meeting to establish an independent committee to examine Fuji TV’s response.

“It took time for the realization to spread that they cannot look the other way,” said Mr. Honma, the advertising and media critic. “When big customers start to leave, it brings action.”

DEI programs; Donald Trump; Los Angeles wildfires : NPR

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January 25, 2025

Good morning. You’re reading the Up First newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox, and listen to the Up First podcast for all the news you need to start your day.

Today’s top stories

President Trump is capping off his first week in office with a trip to Asheville, N.C., today and then Los Angeles. Both communities were ravaged by disasters and are grappling with recovery efforts. Asheville was devastated by Hurricane Helene in September, during the middle of the presidential campaign. At that time, Trump posted online that the Biden administration wasn’t doing enough to help.

President Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office on Jan. 20, 2025 in Washington, D.C.

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

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Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

🎧 The Los Angeles wildfires, which started over two weeks ago, are set to be one of the most expensive natural disasters in the U.S. in a long time. Currently, FEMA has enough money, but there will be a lot of federal aid needed as the city recovers, NPR’s Deepa Shivaram tells Up First. Trump sees it as an opportunity to build support in Congress for some of his legislative priorities. He is asking California to change its water policies if it wants to receive any money.

The Trump administration has nixed diversity, equity and inclusion programs across the federal government. The president calls the programs, which were part of the Civil Rights Movement dating back decades, “dangerous, demeaning or immoral.” He’s also targeting efforts to investigate extremism in the military ranks.

🎧 The DEI programs have been seen as effective in bringing more women and minorities into the ranks at all levels, NPR’s Tom Bowman says. Trump and his defense secretary nominee, Pete Hegseth, have dismissed the programs as woke and divisive. As Trump aims to end investigations into military extremism, Pentagon officials now have insisted they don’t have a problem and that the numbers are small. However, the Pentagon can’t truly know about extremism levels because it doesn’t collect data on it, according to Bowman. He adds that it is important to note that about one in five of the people arrested for Jan. 6 activities had military backgrounds.
➡️ A 71-year-old woman who received one of Trump’s 1,500 pardons issued this week to Jan. 6 defendants turned down the offer. Here’s why.
➡️ As many U.S.-based corporations retreat from DEI initiatives, Costco’s shareholders have rejected an anti-DEI proposal.

The U.S. is trying to unravel a global hacking campaign that targeted prominent climate activists in the U.S. several years ago. The Justice Department is trying to extradite an Israeli private investigator named Amit Forlit from the United Kingdom for allegedly orchestrating the operation on behalf of an unnamed public affairs firm based in Washington, D.C.

🎧 The firm Forlit was allegedly working for was allegedly representing one of the world’s biggest oil and gas companies based in Texas, NPR’s Michael Copley says. Forlit’s lawyer claimed in a court filing that the operation he is accused of leading “is alleged to have been commissioned by DCI Group, a lobbying firm representing ExxonMobil, one of the world’s largest fossil fuel companies.” The Justice Department hasn’t accused Exxon or DCI of any wrongdoing. Both have informed NPR they haven’t been involved in hacking.

From our hosts

An aerial view of homes which burned in the Eaton Fire on Jan. 19, 2025 in Altadena, California.

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This essay is written by A Martinez, Up First and Morning Edition host.

The wildfires in Los Angeles are still burning with strong winds expected this week, which could slow down the already amazing work firefighters have done to try to contain them. Some people in evacuation areas have been allowed to go back to their homes while many have nothing to go back to.

It’s got me thinking about rebuilding. When will it start? How will it be done? Who will offer assistance?

I don’t know the answers to those three questions but I know that none of it can happen without cooperation. From neighbor helping neighbor to city, county, state and federal government working together on the next steps.

The one thing I hope is that assigning blame on what should have been done differently or better won’t get in the way of making recovery possible.

This week, one of Trump’s first trips of his second term will be to Los Angeles to survey the damage. He’ll be coming to a state that sued him over one hundred times during his first term and whose governor, Gavin Newsom, called a special legislative session last November to prepare for new potential lawsuits.

The people who have lost everything probably aren’t thinking about red versus blue politics right now. Hopefully, when it comes to figuring out those next steps, Trump and Newsom won’t be either.

Weekend picks

Keke Palmer and SZA in Tri-Star Pictures ONE OF THEM DAYS (Photo by Anne Marie Fox)

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Anne Marie Fox/Anne Marie Fox

Check out what NPR is watching, reading and listening to this weekend:

🍿 Movies: One of Them Days is a comedy about two best friends, played by Keke Palmer and SZA, who endure a wild series of misadventures as they try to make rent over an eventful day.

📺 TV: Severance‘s second season is now streaming on Apple TV+, and it’s even more gloriously weird and deftly assembled than the first one.

📚 Books: There is still time to catch up on some perspective-shifting titles from 2024 before throwing yourself into this year’s new reads. Check out these 12 books exploring the art world, life after death, life as a nun and more.

🎵 Music: Tina Turner’s lost song “Hot For You Baby” was re-introduced to the world yesterday morning. Check it out here.

❓ Quiz: Well… I didn’t do badly, but I could have done better. Please take some time to redeem me with your score.

3 things to know before you go

Boone Hogg (left) and Logan Jugler, who run the account @officialstickreviews, show off their sticks.

Jackson Hoget

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Jackson Hoget

Have you ever found a cool stick and wanted to show it off? If so, “Stick Nation,” a worldwide movement that thrives on wholesome descriptions of sticks and the people who rank them, is probably right up your alley. The internet community has millions of people so far.
Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic retired injured from his Australian Open semifinal. He was aiming for an all-time standalone record of 25 major titles.
New figures show college enrollment in the U.S. rose 4.5% across undergrad and graduate programs for the first time last fall to surpass pre-pandemic levels.

This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.

McConnell voted no on Hegseth as Pentagon head, forcing Vance to cast tiebreaker

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January 25, 2025

Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., was one of three Republicans to vote on Friday against Pete Hegseth, who was narrowly confirmed as defense secretary in the new Trump administration.

The other Republican “no” votes came from moderates Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, forcing Vice President JD Vance to break the 50-50 tie to confirm President Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Pentagon.

“The most consequential cabinet official in any Administration is the Secretary of Defense,” McConnell wrote, explaining his opposition to Hegseth. “In the face of the gravest threats to U.S. national security interests since World War II, this position is even more important today.”

“Major adversaries are working closer together to undermine U.S. interests around the world,” he said. “And America’s military capabilities and defense industrial capacity are increasingly insufficient to deter or prevail in major conflict with China or Russia, especially given the real risk of simultaneous challenges from other adversaries like Iran or North Korea.”

PETE HEGSETH CONFIRMED TO LEAD PENTAGON AFTER VP VANCE CASTS TIE-BREAKING VOTE

Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., takes a question from a reporter during a news conference following the weekly Senate Republican policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on Nov. 19, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

McConnell said “dust on boots” in reference to Hegseth’s military service “fails even to distinguish this nominee from multiple predecessors of the last decade. Nor is it a precondition for success. Secretaries with distinguished combat experience and time in the trenches have failed at the job.”

“Effective management of nearly 3 million military and civilian personnel, an annual budget of nearly $1 trillion, and alliances and partnerships around the world is a daily test with staggering consequences for the security of the American people and our global interests,” the senator said. “Mr. Hegseth has failed, as yet, to demonstrate that he will pass this test. But as he assumes office, the consequences of failure are as high as they have ever been.”

MODERATE REPUBLICAN MURKOWSKI WON’T BACK TRUMP PICK HEGSETH FOR DEFENSE SECRETARY

Pete Hegseth testifies during his Senate Armed Services confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill on Jan. 14, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

McConnell stressed that Hegseth, in his testimony before the Armed Services Committee, “did not reckon with this reality” that the U.S. “faces coordinated aggression from adversaries bent on shattering the order underpinning American security and prosperity.”

“President Trump has rightly called on NATO allies to spend more on our collective defense. But the nominee who would have been responsible for leading that effort wouldn’t even commit to growing America’s defense investment beyond the low bar set by the Biden Administration’s budget requests,” McConnell said.

The senator also said Hegseth’s testimony lacked “substantial observations on how to defend Taiwan or the Philippines against a Chinese attack, or even whether he believes the United States should do so.” McConnell said Hegseth failed “to articulate in any detail a strategic vision for dealing with the gravest long-term threat emanating” from China.

Pete Hegseth at the completion of his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

McConnell additionally noted a lack of “substantive discussion” of “countering our adversaries’ alignment with deeper alliance relationships and more extensive defense industrial cooperation of our own.”

“This, of course, is due to change,” McConnell said. “As the 29th Secretary of Defense, Mr. Hegseth will be immediately tested by ongoing conflicts caused by Russian aggression in Europe and Iranian-backed terror in the Middle East. He will have to grapple with an unfinished FY25 appropriations process that – without his intervention – risks further harming the readiness of our forces.”

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“By all accounts, brave young men and women join the military with the understanding that it is a meritocracy,” he added. “This precious trust endures only as long as lawful civilian leadership upholds what must be a firewall between servicemembers and politics. The Biden Administration failed at this fundamental task. But the restoration of ‘warrior culture’ will not come from trading one set of culture warriors for another.”

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