An explosion was heard and large plumes of smoke were seen rising in Beirut's southern suburbs on Friday after Israeli airstrikes pounded the capitals of Iran and Lebanon as the U.S. apparently struck an Iranian drone carrier at sea, intensifying its campaign targeting the Islamic Republic's fleet of warships. The Israeli military released a video that it said showed a strike on a bunker that allegedly belonged to Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei on Friday, days after his death. The U.S. military said early Friday that an Iranian drone carrier was attacked and set ablaze. Traffic was gridlocked in Lebanon's capital on Thursday as panicked residents tried to flee after Israel's military ordered people from all of Beirut's southern suburbs to evacuate, apparently signaling plans for a major bombardment of the area. Iranians attend Friday prayers in the courtyard of the Imam Khomeini Grand mosque in Tehran, Iran, Friday, March 6, 2026. Israeli soldiers work on tanks at a staging area in northern Israel near the border with Lebanon, Friday, March 6, 2026. Shiite Muslims shout slogans as they burn effigies of President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a protest against the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in Budgam, northeast of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Friday, March 6, 2026. Women hold Iranian flags and pictures of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei as government supporters march against the ongoing U.S.-Israeli military campaign after Friday prayers at the Imam Khomeini Grand mosque in Tehran, Iran, Friday, March 6, 2026. DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday appeared to rule out talks with Iran absent its “unconditional surrender.” Israeli warplanes bombed Beirut and Tehran as Iran launched more retaliatory strikes against Israel and Gulf countries on the seventh day of the war. More than 95,000 people have fled Beirut's suburbs and southern Lebanon after sweeping Israeli evacuation warnings. London police said Friday that four men have been arrested on suspicion of aiding Iran by spying on the Jewish community. Iran has been linked to previous attacks abroad on Iranian dissidents, Israelis and Jewish targets. Qatar's energy minister warned that the war could “bring down the economies of the world,” predicting a widespread shutdown of Gulf energy exports that could send oil to $150 a barrel. Saad al-Kaabi told the Financial Times newspaper that even if the war ended immediately it could take “weeks to months” to resume normal exports after an Iranian drone strike on Qatar's largest liquefied natural gas plant earlier in the war. AP correspondent Ben Thomas reports President Trump is weighing in on Iran's political future as the U.S. military continues pounding its forces. In a social media post on Friday, Trump said that after Iran's surrender, “and the selection of a GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader(s),” that the U.S. and its allies would help rebuild Iran, making it “economically bigger, better, and stronger than ever before.” Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on social media that “some countries” had begun mediation efforts in the conflict, without elaborating. On Thursday, Trump urged the Iranian people to “help take back your country,” promising the U.S. would grant them “immunity,” without elaborating. Trump also told media outlets that he should be involved in choosing a replacement for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the opening strikes of the war. Trump spoke dismissively of Khamenei's son, Mojtaba Khamenei — a front-runner to replace his father — calling him “a lightweight.” Iranian state television reported Friday that a leadership council had started discussing how to convene the country's Assembly of Experts, which will select the new supreme leader. Israel has said it would target the next supreme leader if he poses a threat. Israel's military said Friday it had launched “a broad-scale wave of strikes” on Tehran, Iran's capital, and that over the past week it has heavily bombed an extensive underground bunker that Iran's leaders had planned to use during the hostilities. Witnesses described Israeli airstrikes as particularly intense, shaking homes in the area and sending columns of smoke rising. Others reported explosions around the Iranian city of Kermanshah, an area that is home to multiple missile bases. Iran meanwhile launched missile and drone attacks at Israel, as well as Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, all countries that host U.S. forces. The drone carrier, the IRIS Shahid Bagheri, is a converted container ship with a 180-meter-long (197 yard) runway for drones. Sri Lanka's navy rescued 32 crew members and recovered 87 bodies. Countries across the Gulf said they intercepted Iranian missiles and drones on Friday, including attacks aimed at U.S. bases. Strikes have killed at least 15 civilians, including in Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. Qatar and Saudi Arabia said Friday they intercepted projectiles headed toward U.S. bases. Air raid sirens sounded in Bahrain, where the Interior Ministry said Iranian strikes hit two hotels and a residential building, though no casualties were reported. The United Arab Emirates and Kuwait — where six U.S. soldiers were killed Sunday — also reported missiles and drones breaching their airspace. In Israel, the sound of explosions could be heard in Tel Aviv throughout Friday after warnings about missiles incoming from Iran, as air defense systems worked to intercept the barrage. Five soldiers have been wounded in the fighting with Hezbollah, Israel's military said. Lebanon's Health Ministry said 217 people had been killed by Israeli strikes since Monday and 798 wounded. One Israeli strike hit near the Iranian embassy in Beirut, according to Lebanon's state-run National News Agency. Israel's military did not immediately respond to questions about the report. Hezbollah's military command on Friday urged its fighters not to relent and to “defend the nation,” casting the escalating war in religious terms and calling on them to “kill them wherever you find them.” Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam slammed both Israel and Hezbollah, saying the Lebanese state and people “did not choose this war.”

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by LSEG. JB Pritzker dismissed a call from former D.C. police officer Michael Fanone, who was injured during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, for Americans to use Second Amendment rights to protect themselves from ICE, who he said was "lawless." An appeals court struck down a local law in the District of Columbia that banned gun magazines containing more than 10 bullets, describing the measure as unconstitutional. The ruling Thursday from the District of Columbia Court of Appeals also reversed the conviction of Tyree Benson, who was taken into custody in 2022 for being in possession of a handgun with a magazine that could contain 30 bullets, according to The New York Times. "Magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition are ubiquitous in our country, numbering in the hundreds of millions, accounting for about half of the magazines in the hands of our citizenry, and they come standard with the most popular firearms sold in America today," Judge Joshua Deahl wrote on behalf of the two-judge majority in the three-judge panel. "Because these magazines are arms in common and ubiquitous use by law-abiding citizens across this country, we agree with Benson and the United States that the District's outright ban on them violates the Second Amendment," he added. "This appeal presents a Second Amendment challenge to the District's ban on firearm magazines capable of holding ‘more than 10 rounds of ammunition.' Appellant Tyree Benson argues that ban contravenes the Second Amendment so that his conviction for violating it should be vacated," Deahl also wrote. The District of Columbia, which is also a party to this appeal, continues to defend the constitutionality of its ban." "We therefore reverse Benson's conviction for violating the District's magazine capacity ban. And because Benson could not have registered, procured a license to carry, or lawfully possessed ammunition for his firearm given that it was equipped with a magazine capable of holding more than 10 rounds, we likewise reverse his convictions for possession of an unregistered firearm, carrying a pistol without a license, and unlawful possession of ammunition," Deahl said. Chief Judge Anna Blackburne-Rigsby, the judge who dissented, wrote that, "The majority bases its common usage analysis on ownership statistics that show only that magazines holding 11, 15, or 17 rounds of ammunition are in common use." (Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images) It simply is not," she added. High-capacity rifle magazines are removed from a display at Freddie Bear Sports in January 2023 in Tinley Park, Illinois. It's unclear how the two rulings will interact. Greg Norman is a reporter at Fox News Digital. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more Fox News politics content. By entering your email and clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Fox News Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and agree to receive content and promotional communications from Fox News. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by

Authorities say Britney Spears was pulled over, after reports that her BMW was driving fast and erratically, on a highway Wednesday night and jailed after taking a series of field sobriety tests. Britney Spears arrives at the Los Angeles premiere of “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” on July 22, 2019. LOS ANGELES (AP) — Britney Spears was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs near her Southern California home and released, authorities said. A statement from Spears' representative calls the arrest “inexcusable.” The California Highway Patrol said officers received a report shortly before 9 p.m. Wednesday that someone in a black BMW 430i was driving fast and erratically on U.S. 101 in Newbury Park, California in Ventura County near the Los Angeles County line. She appeared to be impaired, took a series of field sobriety tests, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of a combination of alcohol and drugs and was taken to a Ventura County jail, the CHP said. Chemical test results are pending and the case remains under investigation. Spears was booked early Thursday morning and released at about 6 a.m., according to jail records. “Britney is going to take the right steps and comply with the law and hopefully this can be the first step in long overdue change that needs to occur in Britney's life. Spears has a May 4 court date scheduled. The CHP listed her as living in nearby Westlake Village. Born in Mississippi and raised in Louisiana, Spears was a teen pop phenomenon who became a defining superstar of the '90s and 2000s. She rose to fame from Disney Channel's “The Mickey Mouse Club” to MTV and beyond, with such era-defining hits like “ … Baby One More Time,” “Oops! Most of her albums have been certified platinum, according to the Recording Industry Association of America, with two diamond titles: 1999's “ … Baby One More Time” and 2000s “Oops! … I Did It Again.” Her last full-length album, “Glory,” was released in 2016. Spears became a focus of tabloids in the early 2000s, and a source of public scrutiny, as she battled mental illness and paparazzi documented the details of her private life. In 2008, Spears was placed under a court-ordered conservatorship, run primarily by her father and his lawyers, that would control her personal and financial decisions for well over a decade. Two years later, she released a bestselling, tell-all memoir, “The Woman in Me.”

Two Iranian sailors, carrying green bags, who were rescued from IRIS Dena warship by Sri Lanka's navy are escorted to a Judicial Medical Officer from the National Hospital, in Galle, Sri Lanka, Thursday, March 5, 2026. Two Iranian sailors, center, who were rescued from IRIS Dena warship by Sri Lanka's navy are escorted to a Judicial Medical Officer from the National Hospital, in Galle, Sri Lanka, Thursday, March 5, 2026. Iranian sailors, wearing t-shirts, who were rescued from IRIS Dena warship by Sri Lanka's navy, are escorted to a Judicial Medical Officer from the National Hospital, in Galle, Sri Lanka, Thursday, March 5, 2026. Iranian warship IRIS Dena is seen in the Bay of Bengal during International Fleet Review held at Visakhapatnam, India, Feb. 18, 2026. COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka transferred more than 200 sailors from an Iranian naval vessel to shore Friday after it sought assistance while anchored outside the country's waters, as tensions mounted in the Indian Ocean following the sinking of an Iranian warship by a U.S. submarine. Buddhika Sampath said 204 sailors of the IRIS Bushehr were brought to Welisara Naval Base near the capital, Colombo. They underwent border control procedures and medical tests, but none were found to have health issues. About 15 others have been left aboard the ship with Sri Lankan naval personnel for assistance because they had reported a fault with the ship. The Iranian sailors are interpreting operational instructions, manuals and logs for their Sri Lankan counterparts. He said the ship will be taken to the port of Trincomalee in eastern Sri Lanka, and remain in Sri Lankan custody until further notice. The Dena had participated in naval exercises hosted by India before heading into international waters on its way home. At least 74 countries had joined the events, according to India's Defense Ministry, including the U.S. Navy, which conducted reconnaissance aircraft and maritime patrol drills. The Sri Lankan navy rescued 32 sailors and recovered 87 bodies. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the Dena had been carrying “almost 130” crew. The normal crew size for a warship of that class is 140. Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said late Thursday that authorities decided to take control of the IRIS Bushehr after discussions with Iranian officials and the ship's captain, after one of its engines failed. “We have to understand that this is not an ordinary situation. The IRIS Bushehr had been described in previous Iranian media reports as a navy logistics ship equipped with a helicopter pad. Dissanayake said Sri Lanka was guided by neutrality while seeking to uphold humanitarian principles. “We have followed a very clear stance. We will not be biased to any state nor we will be submissive to any state,” he said. The broadening Middle East conflict is putting strategically located Sri Lanka in a delicate position as it tries to balance humanitarian obligations, international maritime law and its longstanding policy of non-alignment. Palihakkara, Sri Lanka's retired former foreign secretary who also served as its permanent representative to the United Nations, said the country had acted responsibly and impartially. “There has been a distress call from the ship. Palihakkara said parties to the conflict would understand that Sri Lanka was not taking sides. “You could not have ignored the distress call. Even the attacking powers cannot leave shipwrecked sailors dying. Katsuya Yamamoto, director of the Strategy and Deterrence Program at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation in Tokyo, said Sri Lanka, which is not at war with either the U.S. or Iran, is considered a neutral state. As such, the Bushehr can enter a Sri Lankan port if granted permission by the government, he said. Yamamoto said that once the vessel is docked, it falls under Iranian jurisdiction, leaving Sri Lankan authorities without legal grounds to inspect it unless Colombo decides to side with the U.S. The U.N. resident coordinator in Sri Lanka, Marc-André Franche, welcomed Sri Lanka's intervention, saying on X that it reflected its commitment to “multilateralism, maintaining neutrality, and underscoring its dedication to peace.” Australia's government confirmed on Friday that three Australians were aboard the submarine that sank the IRIS Dena. The Australian government has maintained it was not warned that the U.S and Israel planned to attack Iran. Neil James, executive director of the Australian Defense Association policy think tank, said it is “reasonably rare” for Australians embedded with another nation's military to go to war against a country such as Iran that Australia wasn't at war with.

On national security grounds, the regulation authorizes the censor to prohibit reporting or broadcasting any material that could reveal sensitive information or pose a threat to the country's security interests. This is particularly sensitive during wartime, where the military censor has made clear that broadcasting any images that reveal the location of interceptor missiles or military sites hit by enemy projectiles is forbidden, especially in live broadcasts. The general order of the Chief Censor from 1988 states that “every person who prints or publishes printed matter or a publication concerning state security… must submit it to the censor before printing or publishing it.” The order clarified a regulation that has existed since Israel's founding. Crucially, it does not give the censor any editorial control over CNN's coverage at all. It does allow them to make sure no sensitive information is unintentionally revealed. CNN has been transparent about this process when we go through it. Israel is not the only country that puts restrictions on news media in times of war. In Ukraine, a country under martial law since Russia's full-scale invasion four years ago, there are strict rules about reporting a withdrawal by Ukrainian troops, for instance, or details of any significant movement of armor or weapons towards the front-line. Reporting teams would shoot video and allow the censor to review the footage before it airs, a standard practice for embeds with other militaries as well. CNN has reached agreements with the US military before joining missions or seeing certain training exercises. However, the rules have tightened in this war. There's no doubt that the Israeli public has posted videos of missile intercepts and more during this war. After the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched thousands of rockets at Israel, there was no problem showing intercepts in the skies over southern and central Israel. To be clear, international news networks don't submit every piece of video to the military censor for review. CNN has not submitted any video to the censor for review since the war started on Saturday morning. But the censor does prohibit us from putting out live broadcasts of intercepts that could reveal the accuracy of Iranian ballistic missiles or the location of interceptor missile arrays. Israeli far-right Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir has turned the apolitical military censor into a talking point, vowing to “act with severity and zero tolerance” against international media that violate the censorship rules. In a joint statement with the Minister of Communications, Ben Gvir said police have been dispatched to several locations as “suspects have been detained, incidents investigated, and even arrests made in cases where suspicion arise of violating the guidelines.” “Anyone who endangers Israel's citizens in the name of ‘journalistic reporting' will face a determined and tough police force,” Ben Gvir said. Most stock quote data provided by BATS. US market indices are shown in real time, except for the S&P 500 which is refreshed every two minutes. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices Copyright S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and/or its affiliates. Market holidays and trading hours provided by Copp Clark Limited.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by LSEG. Country star Brantley Gilbert has built a life for himself on his South Georgia farm and does everything in his power not to leave it. During an interview with Fox News Digital, Gilbert — who recently became an investor and equity partner of Real American Beer to create a non-alcoholic beer called RAB ZERO – explained that living remotely on a farm allows him to disconnect from the online world. He also explained that checking social media takes "so much" from his kids. The country star revealed that his three are homeschooled and learn "what kids need to know and not so much what, you know, certain people in this world feel like they'd like them to know." Brantley Gilbert rarely leaves his South Georgia farm. "I'm kind of — when I come off the road, like, these shows and being out here on the road is my 'wild and crazy' now," Gilbert began, noting that he is 14 years sober. I'm not — and this is probably not a great thing to say for what I do for a living, but man, I don't live on social media. I actually barely ever look at it," he continued. "Just as a husband and a father of three, you know, between that and the music business, I don't really have enough time and enough effort to put into something that could take so much away from them." "Just as a husband and a father of three, you know, between that and the music business, I don't really have enough time and enough effort to put into something that could take so much away from them." "And outside of that, man, I don't really leave the farm much," he said. An average day on Gilbert's farm could have its own TV show, according to the country music star. The couple's kids, Barrett and Braylen, are enrolled at the school and attend three days a week. Amber shared some information about the academy on Instagram in 2023, explaining that she never considered homeschooling her kids until 2020. They wanted structure, socialization, and a Christian education for their kids, while also having concerns about public school exposure and strict attendance policies that wouldn't accommodate touring. After learning about hybrid homeschooling from friends at Turning Point USA, she visited Learn Upstate Hybrid Academy in Anderson, SC, and found it to be a refreshing solution she highly recommends. "She actually started a school three years ago. It's like a homeschool school – teaching kids what kids need to know and not so much what, you know, certain people in this world feel like they'd like them to know. I believe she's doing something extremely important there," Gilbert said. "So, they call Mondays and Fridays 'work days' and those are their two favorite days of the week," Gilbert said of his two oldest kids. Aside from country music and family, Gilbert decided to partner with Real American Beer to create a non-alcoholic beer called RAB ZERO. Gilbert told Fox News Digital that he was always a fan of Hulk Hogan (the founder of Real American Beer) and when the opportunity presented itself for the country star to become an investor, he couldn't pass it up. "Growing up, I thought Hulk Hogan was the second coming. A post shared by Amber Cochran Gilbert (@ambercochrangilbert) Gilbert told Fox News Digital that cutting out alcohol was absolutely essential for him to become a father. I definitely couldn't have been the kind of dad that I want to be and try to be on a daily basis. I wouldn't have been a husband," he explained. Gilbert continued, "That's the greatest, scariest, most important job I've ever had is being a dad. My wife coming back in the picture making that possible. The pair were off and on during their teen years and then broke up for about five years. They reconnected, tied the knot in 2015 and have three kids: son Barrett, daughter Braylen and son Abram. Brantley Gilbert, Multi-Platinum Country Rock Powerhouse, Becomes Investor and Equity Partner of Real American Beer and Launches RAB ZERO - Non-Alcoholic Beer That Still Hits. RAB ZERO delivers full-flavor American beer energy without the alcohol, with $1 per case supporting U.S. service members and their families through a new USO partnership. Janelle Ash is an entertainment writer for Fox News Digital. Get a daily look at the top news in music, movies, television and more in the entertainment industry. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by LSEG. Los Angeles Chargers QB Justin Herbert joins Colin Cowherd to discuss the Chargers' 3-0 start, working under Jim Harbaugh, and preview the matchup between Oregon and Penn State. Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert gushed over 27-year-old singer Madison Beer in a heartfelt birthday tribute on social media, offering fans a rare glimpse into the couple's relationship. The two-time Pro Bowl quarterback, who normally shies away from the public eye, posted a series of photos to his Instagram Stories on Thursday. Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers warms up prior to a game against the Philadelphia Eagles at SoFi Stadium on Dec. 8, 2025 in Inglewood, California. In another photo appearing to show the couple out to dinner, Herbert wrote, "I am the luckiest guy alive…" Herbert, who turns 28 later this month, shared another photo of the "Make You Mine" artist petting goats and captioned the photo, "My goats." The couple was first linked together in August when they were spotted together on the set of one of Beer's music videos in Los Angeles. Herbert and Beer were photographed in October on the sidelines of a Chargers game at SoFi Stadium, seemingly confirming the dating rumors. Quarterback Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers and singer Madison Beer attend an NBA game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Minnesota Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, on Oct. 24, 2025. The same month, Herbert went viral after blocking a rogue basketball from hitting Beer when the two sat courtside at a Los Angeles Lakers game. Herbert signed a five-year, $262.5 million extension with the Chargers in July 2023. Despite proving himself to be one of the elite young quarterbacks in the NFL, Los Angeles' offensive struggles have seen the team fall short in back-to-back playoff appearances. Quarterback Justin Herbert (10) of the Los Angeles Chargers blocks a basketball from hitting Madison Beer as they attend a basketball game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Minnesota Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, on Oct. 24, 2025. The team's offensive coordinator, Greg Roman, was fired in January and replaced with former Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel, who is regarded as one of the top offensive minds in football. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter. Paulina Dedaj is a Sports Editor for Fox News Digital. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Indiana restaurateur Ed Schwartzman shares the details about his newest menu item, revealing how smashed beef, melted cheese, grilled onions and an unconventional protein choice came together after hands-on testing with Fernando and Alberto Mendoza. Americans are getting saucy — and restaurants are taking notice of customers' latest condiment cravings, according to recent food industry reports. The trend taps into a deep love of dipping. Half of Americans say they always or often add condiments to their food — while 90% are open to trying new sauces and spreads, recent consumer surveys reveal. Many Americans are even bringing their own sauces into restaurants. One in five say they sometimes carry sauces from home when they go out — most commonly ketchup, hot sauce or mayonnaise — according to a February YouGov survey. Signature sauces are helping drive a 132% year-over-year increase in demand for elevated food experiences in the U.S., according to Griffith Foods' 2026 Food & Flavor Outlook. The report found that 90% of consumers are open to trying new condiments, as interest in bold, "maximalist" flavors continues to rise, including sweet, umami and smoky profiles. "Sauces are often the easiest way for people to explore new tastes without feeling like they're stepping too far outside their comfort zone," Eleni Louca, head chef of Hello Haloumi, a bakery café in New York City, told Fox News Digital. Half of Americans say they always add condiments as restaurants turn sauces into the main attraction. Some even bring their own sauces into restaurants. "People today want to interact with their food more and play with flavor instead of eating something just one way." Peanut butter, honey and salsa top the list of Americans' most-loved condiments, new research has found, with barbecue sauce, chocolate sauce, ketchup, maple syrup, jam or jelly, ranch dressing and mayonnaise also ranking among the favorites. Steak sauce and Thousand Island dressing garnered the most neutral feelings. Peanut butter, honey and salsa top the list of Americans' most-loved condiments, a new survey found. These offerings especially appeal to younger consumers seeking "adventure in flavors," while giving operators built-in opportunities for social media-friendly presentations and upselling. That's according to the 2026 Hospitality Trends Report from af&co., a San Francisco-based hospitality marketing and public relations agency, and Carbonate, a hospitality-focused creative agency in Ohio. Restaurants are also embracing flight-style formats beyond sauces, serving multiple variations of the same dish or drink, from pasta and martini flights to cinnamon roll trios, to meet diners' appetites for variety and customization, the report found. "Flights tap into a very real shift in diner behavior — people want discovery without commitment," Candace MacDonald, Cincinnati-based co-founder of Carbonate, told Fox News Digital. In the South, where Duke's Mayo has a devoted following and barbecue sauce debates are common, the focus on condiments is not surprising. Restaurants from Nashville to South Carolina and Texas are leaning into the trend, Southern Living recently reported. Americans stockpile sauces at home and even bring them out to eat, surveys have found. At Sho Pizza Bar in Nashville, diners can pair pies with a trio of dips, including miso ranch and Calabrian chili honey, according to the outlet. In Greenville, South Carolina, Keipi's Georgian fries come with a house-made condiment flight featuring exotic sauces such as adjika and satsebeli. And at Spare Birdie Public House in Texas, guests can choose a three-dip sampler ranging from guacamole to queso and hummus. Thanks to social media and global travel trends, Americans are becoming more adventurous about trying new flavors, said Sanwar Mal Khokhar, a mixologist and bar manager at Sanjh, a high-end Indian restaurant in Texas. In Indian cuisine, sauces and chutneys are an essential part of the meal, especially with appetizers, Khokar told Fox News Digital. "Mango chutney, tamarind sauce, mint-coriander chutney and yogurt-based sauces are all designed to balance spice, acidity, sweetness and freshness," he said. They also add a creative touch and some variety without complicating things in the kitchen, Khokar pointed out. "From a business perspective, sauces are very smart," Louca agreed. The appeal of condiment flights is not limited to restaurants. The concept is easy to recreate at home and is perfect for game day, brunch or a cookout or a cookout, with pairings such as waffles with multiple syrups, chicken wings served with a trio of sauces, or soft pretzels with everything from beer cheese to French onion dip, according to Southern Living. Deirdre Bardolf is a lifestyle writer with Fox News Digital. A look at the top-trending stories in food, relationships, great outdoors and more. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes.

Eva Mendes and Ryan Gosling made their first official appearance together in public in more than a decade on Thursday night, when the “Barbie” star surprised his partner for her 52nd birthday. Gosling had Mendes brought onstage during the filming of “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” so that the audience could sing “Happy Birthday,” led by a high school marching band. Gosling was on the show to promote his new film, “Project Hail Mary,” in which he plays a middle school teacher who wakes up on a spaceship and with no memory. Mendes had “no idea” this was going to happen, Fallon said. “We owe so much to you guys,” she said, “and you're so underpaid!” — prompting laughter from the audience. Earlier, Gosling revealed that Mendes “loves teachers” and even displays her Hall Monitor sash in their home. Hollywood Minute: Ryan Gosling sets out to save the world in his new film Fallon brought out New Jersey's North Bergen High School marching band, who carried a flag declaring “Happy Birthday, Eva!” Despite their status as Hollywood A-listers, the couple have mostly kept their relationship and family life out of the public eye. Earlier in the show, Gosling told Fallon about the influence of one of his teachers, who, he said, “really flipped things around for me.” She ran a reading competition for the students, and Gosling got second place. Eva Mendes opens up about her acting hiatus after having kids with Ryan Gosling “I've never read that many books in my life,” he said. My Captain!” scene from the 1989 film “Dead Poets Society.” '” he recounted, “and no one got the reference. I don't even think she got the reference.”

At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can't do it on our own. We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today? The Iran war shows yet again that US oil is still vulnerable to foreign shocks. President Donald Trump has put his own spin on the idea, pushing beyond independence to “energy dominance.” If you look just at oil extraction, the US seems to have succeeded. But as the US and Israel's attacks on Iran this week have revealed, being dominant in energy isn't the same thing as being independent. Even Trump was forced to awkwardly acknowledge the reality. “So if we have a little high oil prices for a little while, but as soon as this ends, those prices are going to drop, I believe lower than even before,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday. One sign of the rising danger is that Trump also said on his social media platform that the US would offer political risk insurance for shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and possibly naval escorts, particularly for oil tankers, after transits drastically slowed. It's now launching its own strikes on oil tankers. “This is the crisis that has kept people up at night.” For most Americans, gasoline is their single-highest energy expense, averaging $2,930 per household in 2024. Adjusting for inflation, the US has been blessed with fairly steady gasoline prices over the decades, so a big, sudden price spike will hit households hard. All of which raises the question: If the US is producing more oil than ever, how are we still vulnerable to supply shocks occurring half a world away? It sounds straightforward in its wording, but energy independence has always been an ill-defined, unachievable goal, no matter how many presidents invoke it. Depending on who you ask, it means reaching self-sufficiency in energy production or immunity from foreign turmoil. But even if the US sourced every drop of oil we use from within our borders, we would still be vulnerable to international price shocks for one simple fact: Oil is a globally traded commodity. Its price is set not by how much the US extracts at home, but by the international laws of supply and demand. ”A disruption in the flow of oil anywhere affects prices everywhere,” Ori said. “No matter how much oil you produce, no country is insulated from the volatility of the global oil market.” This is similarly vague, somewhere in between deregulating the domestic energy sector to encourage more oil and gas extraction and a strategic doctrine to wield energy exports, particularly natural gas, for diplomatic leverage. We can't drill our way to meaningfully cheaper gasoline and can't make up for what's lost when the Strait of Hormuz gets blocked. But markets are only one factor hobbling energy independence. For one thing, not all oil coming out of the ground is the same, and crude oil has to be refined before it's of any use. US refineries along the Gulf Coast are mostly set up to process heavier oils we import rather than the lighter oil we extract domestically, mainly through fracking. If a foreign oil supplier gets cut off, the US has more oil reserves it can tap, but it can take months to years to ramp up production. The Biden administration tapped it to keep gasoline prices down after Russia launched its full invasion of Ukraine. But the reserve is only meant to replace oil imports for 90 days, and it's currently at less than 60 percent capacity. “Every president gets crap when they use it because folks come out and say, ‘Oh, that was political, and he's just trying to lower gasoline prices.' “Although it is kind of odd to release SPR oil for a conflict we caused.” “Energy independence is not possible except in autarky,” an imagined scenario where the US is completely self-sufficient while also isolated from global trade. So is energy independence a worthwhile goal, even in theory? “I don't think ‘energy independence' is a useful concept at all.” It may not sound as good, but a better goalpost than “energy independence” is “energy security,” ensuring an uninterrupted flow of hydrocarbons and electrons at an affordable price. It also means reducing our dependence on all oil, mainly in the transportation sector. At the same time, the Trump administration is rolling back fuel economy regulations for cars and trucks and repealing incentives for electric vehicles that would have otherwise helped limit demand. But Trump is instead working to increase fossil fuel production and consumption on all fronts. Global oil markets are currently well supplied, so there's a lot of crude already on the move or in storage that's cushioning the blow. There are other shipping routes for oil and pipelines across countries like Saudi Arabia that could absorb some of the capacity. Kilian said that higher fuel prices could also have a muted effect on inflation. “The effect of a one-time energy price shock on U.S. headline inflation tends to be short-lived, even when the energy price remains elevated,” he wrote. But we're in an unprecedented situation, and we have yet to see the full economic and energy impacts of the war. It's clear that record oil production can't shield against supply disruption, and the next conflagration may not be on the US's terms. How scientists (and the rest of us) are finding 16,000 new species a month. Around the world, energy is becoming abundant — there's just one problem. New research reveals which food crops are razing the rainforest. One comes out way ahead — and it's an American favorite.

Americans are owed $39.2 billion by the federal government, according to a Treasury Department tabulation. These funds are in the form of mature, unredeemed savings bonds that individuals bought but have not claimed. Most of these bonds date to the 1980s, when investors eagerly snatched up bonds carrying annual interest rates topping out at 9%. Individuals do not claim bonds for a host of reasons. In some instances, they simply forget because the bond may not be redeemed for 10, 20, or even 30 years. In other cases, the bond owner may have misplaced their paper certificate and not realized they can still get their payout. United States savings bonds, notes Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA), are “not like a regular bond where you get quarterly interest payments. And at the end of however long of a bond you buy — say, 20 years — you get back your principal, plus interest.” More than six years ago, Rep. Ron Estes (R-KS), a former Kansas state treasurer, introduced legislation to help reconnect savings bond holders and other rightful claimants. The bill stalled, but Congress did appropriate $50 million over two years to fund the Treasury's effort to digitize its old bond records, which would help connect bonds and bondholders and their heirs. Undeterred, Estes reintroduced his bill in 2021, which garnered 36 cosponsors. Kennedy introduced companion legislation in the Senate, which 29 other senators supported. Republicans and Democrats alike supported the Unclaimed Savings Bond Act of 2021, but it was not voted on in either chamber. The law also stated that any state receiving this information was permitted to use it pursuant to its abandoned property, or “escheatment,” policies. The hopes of Estes, Kennedy, and other policymakers were dashed in October 2023. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA), who had taken an interest in the matter, was irate. The rule, he wrote in a letter to the Administration, “would frustrate congressional intent.” He fumed that “During World War II, the Korean and Vietnam Wars, the federal government aggressively marketed U.S. savings bond purchases as both an act of patriotism and a smart long-term savings opportunity.” An official from Nebraska's unclaimed property office complained, “The proposed rule, as it stands, may result in a cumbersome and convoluted procedure that could deter states and bond owners from active participation.” Maryland's comptroller agreed, “Under the proposed rule, it will be very challenging to promptly and accurately identify bond owners and facilitate the rightful return of funds.” Kennedy has expressed hope that the new crop of Treasury officials brought in by President Donald Trump will straighten things out. The lawmaking and regulatory wrangling have been long and difficult, Estes observed, but it has been worth it because the objective is good: “I want to see people get their money back.” Kevin R. Kosar (@kevinrkosar) is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and edits UnderstandingCongress.org.

Turnout in the Texas Democratic primary hit record levels for a midterm year, with more than 2.3 million ballots cast — second only to the 2008 cycle, when there was a presidential contest. In the North Carolina primary, Democratic former Gov. Those numbers align with CNN polling that shows Democrats are far more motivated to vote in the midterms than Republicans, despite having dismal views of their party leaders. Republicans are also grappling with other signs of a challenging political environment, with recent CNN polling showing President Donald Trump's approval rating hitting a new low with independents as the American public increasingly questions his priorities and signals doubt that his proposals will help the country. Trump's advisers are mindful of the political risks of a prolonged conflict, which has already sparked some backlash from voices in the MAGA universe. The GOP still has the Senate math and map in its favor, with Democrats needing to gain four seats to win the majority — and several of their best opportunities resting in deeply Republican turf. Here's a look at where the key Senate races stand eight months from Election Day: There weren't any surprises Tuesday in North Carolina, which is home to one of the marquee battleground Senate races of the cycle. From Texas to Capitol Hill, Republicans are waiting to see what Trump decides in the Senate runoff — and when — with a March 18 deadline for candidates to remove their names from the May ballot. While their matchup was formally set on Tuesday, Cooper and Whatley had been treating the North Carolina Senate race like a general election contest for some time. The results are what strategists had long expected. Whatley, who is running with Trump's endorsement, got about 65% of the vote on the Republican side — a potential sign of work to do with GOP voters heading into the fall campaign. Whatley, in turn, is leaning in to his ties to Trump, who won North Carolina during all three of his presidential bids. In his victory speech Tuesday, Whatley pitched himself as “a conservative champion for North Carolina who will be an ally for President Trump.” And Trump is poised to play a decisive role in steering the outcome. Top Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune, have urged Trump to back Cornyn, with some believing Paxton's long history of controversies could jeopardize their chances of holding the seat in November. If Trump throws his support behind Cornyn, there's no guarantee Paxton — a popular figure with the MAGA base — will drop his bid. “I owe it to the people of Texas.” In a later post on social media, Paxton said he “would consider dropping out” of the Senate race if GOP leaders in the chamber agreed to do away with the filibuster and pass the SAVE Act, an elections bill that would require proof of citizenship to register to vote, among other provisions. How the runoff plays out could have Texas-sized implications for the Senate map and allocation of resources, with Republicans believing it would require significant additional spending to boost Paxton in a general election. Talarico's primary victory and his “politics of love” message are lifting the Democratic Party's hopes of flipping Texas — where Democrats have not won statewide since 1994 — particularly in a potential matchup against Paxton. After her primary loss to Talarico, US Rep. Jasmine Crockett quickly urged her supporters to rally around her former rival, who performed well in parts of the state with large shares of Latino voters. Even as the GOP race remains unsettled, Republicans swiftly moved to try to define Talarico, circulating clips online they believe could resonate with voters in the conservative-leaning state come November. To win control of the chamber, Democrats almost certainly must flip Maine and North Carolina while also holding on to seats in Georgia and Michigan. A loss in any of those would make the party's path much more difficult. Sen. Jon Ossoff, the lone Democratic senator seeking reelection in a state Trump won in 2024, is sitting on a massive war chest as the GOP continues jockeying over the chance to run against him in November. While Trump has so far not endorsed in the contest, Gov. South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, who leads the National Republican Senatorial Committee, has urged Georgia leaders to coalesce around a single candidate. Sen. Susan Collins, the only GOP senator running in a state former Vice President Kamala Harris carried in 2024, unboxed a pair of New Balance sneakers as she made her reelection bid official last month. “This is perfect for 2026 because I'm running,” she said in the video. But which Democrat she will run against remains an open question. The Democratic primary between progressive oyster farmer Graham Platner and two-term Gov. Janet Mills is still three months from being decided. Polling shows Platner currently holding an advantage — with a recent University of New Hampshire survey putting him up more than 30 points over Mills, who is favored by the party establishment, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. That suggests Democratic primary voters so far have not been swayed by the controversies surrounding Platner's candidacy, including past offensive online posts and a tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol. The dynamics of the Iran war could become a factor in this race, particularly if US military action extends for a prolonged period of time. Some divisions within the primary field are beginning to play out. El-Sayed and McMorrow each said their campaigns are not accepting contributions from corporate PACs. Stevens did not directly answer the question and instead focused on calling for an end to Citizens United, a US Supreme Court decision that opened a flood of outside money into electoral politics. McMorrow seized on Stevens' response, saying, “We need to know who our next senator is working for.” Beyond the four main battleground states, Democrats and Republicans are also eyeing targets in states where the opposing party holds an advantage at this stage. Former US Rep. Mary Peltola, a moderate running with a “fish, family, and freedom” message, was recruited into the race by Democratic leadership. Peltola will face steep competition as she challenges two-term GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan in a state where Trump won by double digits in his three presidential runs. Ohio has been trending toward Republicans in recent years, but Democrats believe a strong recruit can help them expand the map here. Former Sen. Sherrod Brown, who lost his seat to Sen. Bernie Moreno in 2024, is back for another round as he challenges Sen. Jon Husted, who was appointed to the seat vacated by Vice President JD Vance. Brown is no stranger to competitive races and has long been aligned with the economic populism that has taken a stronger hold within the Democratic Party today. US Rep. Ashley Hinson has Trump's endorsement in the GOP primary as she attempts to succeed retiring Sen. Joni Ernst. The Democratic field narrowed last month when Marine Corps veteran Nathan Sage dropped out of the race and backed state Rep. Josh Turek, a two-time Paralympic gold medalist. Turek is facing off against state Sen. Zach Wahls, a progressive who gained national attention in 2011 when he addressed the Iowa House of Representatives, speaking in defense of marriage equality and about being raised by his two mothers. Republicans are hoping a familiar name in New Hampshire will give them an opening in the race to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen. US Rep. Chris Pappas, who is the first gay person to represent New Hampshire in Congress, is considered the Democratic frontrunner and has won tough races for his House seat. But Republicans think a comeback bid by former Sen. John E. Sununu, who has been out of office since 2009 and whose family has been a fixture in Granite State politics for decades, could be successful. Sununu earned Trump's endorsement earlier this year in the primary against former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown. Republicans see Minnesota as trending in their direction long-term. But the political environment might make winning there in 2026 difficult. Democrats are confident they can defend home turf in Minnesota in the race to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Tina Smith, especially with Sen. Amy Klobuchar — a popular figure in the state — running for governor. The August primary features an ideological clash between moderate Rep. Angie Craig and progressive Lt. Gov.

Democrats haven't represented the state's 11th District in more than a decade, and President Donald Trump carried the seat by 10 points in 2024 under its current district lines. But Ager, a fourth-generation farmer who won the Democratic primary Tuesday, is hoping his deep ties to the community will help overcome his party's reputation. “Because I know so many people in the community, I've been a good business partner to a lot of folks, people see me less in the context of political partisanship, and more in the context of a friend, a neighbor, community member,” Ager said. In their bid to take back the House in November, national Democrats have sought to expand their map deeper into Republican territory, hoping that candidates like Ager can make the races more competitive. But before Democrats can contest control of the US House, they must first make their way through a monthslong primary season full of competitive primaries in blue, purple and red-leaning districts. Tuesday's primaries offered some clues as to how that process could go. Turnout figures suggest Democrats have high enthusiasm on their side heading into the midterms. Roughly 200,000 more votes were cast in North Carolina's Democratic contest for US Senate than on the Republican side. National Democrats got their preferred candidates in primaries for North Carolina's 11th District and Texas' 15th, where they hope Tejano music star Bobby Pulido can run a competitive race in a seat Trump carried by 18 points in 2024. Ager and Pulido's victories were a boon to the moderate wing of the party, which has backed candidates who fit their districts even if they buck some progressive ideas. National Democrats believe his socially conservative profile could help him in November against two-term GOP Rep. Monica De La Cruz. “We've been getting our butts kicked for a long time. And we have to find out why that is,” Pulido told CNN at his watch party in Pharr, Texas. “And there's a lot of people that we've got to go bring back.” Democrats are still facing at least half a dozen competitive primaries, including in key swing districts in Colorado, Nebraska, and California. “The primaries will work themselves out,” said Adam Bozzi, a longtime Democratic strategist. In two Texas districts drawn to favor the GOP, Trump ally and occasional MAGA antagonist Rep. Dan Crenshaw was defeated by state Rep. Steve Toth. And US Rep. Tony Gonzales, who on Wednesday acknowledged an affair with a staffer who later died by suicide, was also forced into a May 26 runoff against activist Brandon Herrera. After facing calls from House Republicans to drop out, Gonzalez ended his reelection bid on Thursday, paving the way for Herrera to become the party's nominee without a runoff. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, House Democrats' campaign arm, announced a second expansion of its House map last month, adding seats, including Montana's 1st Congressional District, where incumbent GOP Rep. Ryan Zinke announced this week he won't seek reelection, and Colorado's 5th District, where incumbent GOP Rep. Jeff Crank was outraised by a Democratic challenger last year. Republicans have argued that they're the party on offense. Mike Marinella, a spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee, House Republicans' campaign arm, called the efforts to reach into Trump territory “political hallucinations.” Before Democrats can compete in Republican districts, they have to contend with crowded primaries where moderates are being challenged by more progressive candidates, Republicans say. The nationwide mid-cycle redistricting battle is still being waged in courtrooms and state capitals. As of now, Republicans have gained an advantage in nine districts, after redrawing maps in Texas, Missouri, Ohio and North Carolina. Democrats could flip as many as six seats, after California voters passed new Democratic maps and a Utah court decision created a blue district in the state. But that balance could tilt in the coming months. Ron DeSantis has called for a special session in April to redraw his state's maps.

At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today? As baby boomers age, caregivers are often squeezed caring for parents and children at the same time. You walk into the room and a whole crowd of people is belting out an uneven but spirited version of “Ain't No Mountain High Enough” by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell. Another guy, long and lanky in a well-pressed suit, closes his eyes and quietly sings the chorus with real feeling: “Ain't no valley low enough / ain't no river wide enough / to keep me from gettin' to you, babe.” This is a day program for elders with dementia and Alzheimer's. There are over 3,100 programs with about 200,000 people nationally, and they are in constant threat of being shut down at precisely the moment when we need them most — as the largest generation of Americans that ever lived ages into retirement, and their children struggle to care for them while often raising children of their own. By 2030, the entire baby boom generation will be 65 and older — creating an unprecedented need for elder care at a moment when “sandwich generation” caregivers are outnumbered, and often already financially squeezed, including by their younger dependents. That unpaid care is valued at over $600 billion annually, placing tremendous strain on the 63 million family caregivers in America, many of whom are stressed to the point of burn out. According to AARP, half of working caregivers caring for a family member or friend report having to rearrange their work schedule, decrease their hours, or take an unpaid leave in order to meet their caregiving responsibilities. Add to this the reality that more people than ever work from home — the latest government statistics put it at about a quarter of us — and it's increasingly challenging to maintain professionalism on a Zoom call when your elderly dad is popping into the frame to ask when lunch is! So how can America meet this inflection point with real, viable solutions? These programs, like child care centers, not only make all the other work of our country possible — freeing up adult children and partners to stay in the workforce — but they also offer socialization for our elders and allow for wraparound services, like podiatry, physical therapy, and enrichment like arts and music, all of which are crucial for keeping their quality of life high and their hospital admission low. What's more, day programs are far less costly than the alternatives of home health care and assisted living. And as spending on the elderly is taking up larger and larger chunks of the federal budget, any savings could go a long way toward freeing space for other priorities. He would wander out of the house while my mom showered or I was taking a meeting and be found confused and dehydrated miles away. When we tried to bring a professional caregiver in, my mom and I would have to hide in our rooms so he wouldn't see us; people with dementia often develop shadowing behavior, where they follow their primary caregivers around wherever they go. His brief stint at Alzheimer's Services of the East Bay, a day program in California designed for elders with dementia, was a golden time for our whole family — my burned-out mom could get a nap, I could get my work done, and my kids could have friends over after school without worrying that the noise would cause my dad to become agitated. This program, beloved by so many local families for nearly three decades, was shut down because it couldn't sustain itself on Medi-Cal reimbursement rates — the states' Medicaid program — that hadn't budged since 2009. Leadership at the program was forced to turn Medicaid-qualifying seniors away, or put themselves in financial ruin; they chose the latter and it eventually bankrupted them. A few months later, we drove my dad to a memory care facility where he has lived ever since; an alternative that we are lucky enough to be able to pay for, despite the fact that it is three times what we were paying out-of-pocket for his day program. Many of the other families in that program have not been so lucky. “A year later, my mom still gets up every morning asking when the van will pick her up,” one adult daughter of a former client told me. She's yet to find a long-term alternative solution that can fit their needs and budget. Adult day care centers were originally designed with the kinds of issues facing families like ours in mind. William Zagorski's parents started Tennessee's first medical-model day program when he was just 11 years old in 1991 after his grandmother was discharged from a social model program because of her tendency to wander (she had dementia) and the fact that she needed medication assistance. Day programs, Zagorski says, cost a fraction of more intensive services like skilled nursing facilities and assisted living. “They really are the best-kept secret in America,” he said. But my own family experience struggling to find care options isn't unique. And precisely as the silver wave of boomers is cresting, the One Big Beautiful Bill will make it harder for centers to stay open. The bill dramatically reduces state funding and flexibility, which advocates warn will force decision makers into lose-lose decisions, such as which Medicaid services to pull back on. The vast majority of those in day programs depend on public benefits of some kind — whether Medicaid, Veterans Affairs, or Older Americans Act. This isn't the first time these programs have been in jeopardy. During the Great Recession, an economic-driven drop in government funding led states to reduce Medicaid's reach and impact. In California, where I live, the state proposed eliminating adult day health care entirely as a cost saving measure, even though adult day is unarguably cheaper than the alternatives. Advocacy and lawsuits were the only thing that kept it going. There was also a dramatic drop in day programs during the height of the Covid pandemic, which made it dangerous for elders to gather in person. An increasing number of elders in the United States fall into what some researchers call the “forgotten middle” — meaning their annual income and accumulated savings are too high for them to qualify for Medicaid and too low for them to afford in-home professional care, day programs, or assisted living. Families are often forced into an impossible choice — spend down their parents' hard-earned assets so they can be destitute enough to qualify for Medicaid, or let them hold onto what they've earned and go into debt in other ways trying to get them the care they need. There are currently 198 PACE programs operating in 33 states plus the District of Columbia. PACE is the epitome of a one-stop-shop for vulnerable elders — providing medical care, prescriptions, activities, home care, transportation, various kinds of therapies, meals, and even housing navigation. Its one-stop-shop nature also isn't for everyone; some elders would like more discretion about their health care providers. But, unfortunately, these kinds of colocated programs are still relatively rare in the United States; by most estimates there are only about 150 total. While advocates continue to fight for Medicaid reimbursement rates to be raised, and the pie-in-the-sky dream of Medicare coverage for day programs, all eyes are on Washington state, where the very first public mandatory long-term care insurance program — WaCares — is starting to make its first payouts. The program provides funding for Washingtonians to pay for, among a variety of things, professional care like that provided in adult day centers. If it works, many other states are poised to adopt this model. Nationally, only 4 percent Americans 50 and older have long-term care insurance despite the fact that seven out of 10 Americans will need long-term care at some point. Forward-thinking employers could include elder care as part of their benefits — most significantly, on-site care, or even just investing in local programs, reimbursing employees for the costs associated with sending their aging parents to programs, or at the very lightest touch, care navigation (whereas their employees can count on support finding local resources). Only 7 percent of employers are currently offering subsidies or on-site services for eldercare. One bright spot is Medicare's Guiding and Improved Dementia Experience (GUIDE) program, which officially began in 2024. It is a federal effort to support both people with dementia and their caregivers by providing care navigation, a 24/7 support line, caregiver training and education, and most importantly, respite services — short-term relief for caregivers — of up to $2,500 annually. This is the first time that Medicare funds are going directly to ongoing respite care, which is, in a sense, a policy gateway to arguing that adult day programs should be funded more broadly by Medicare dollars rather than Medicaid. Advocates are encouraged by these experiments, but they're still only a start. “These programs are a life raft in the caregiver space. The giant loophole that lets Big Dairy keep baby cows in solitary confinement Every detail matters in puzzles, and details are where AI art often falls short. How scientists (and the rest of us) are finding 16,000 new species a month.

Labor Secretary Lori Chavez DeRemer faces an internal investigation following accusations that she used public funds for personal travel, engaged in politically motivated grantmaking, created a hostile work environment, and engaged in an affair with a subordinate. Two of DeRemer's top aides recently resigned from the department, the New York Post reported, citing sources that said departmental investigators had gathered sufficient evidence to tie them to some of the aforementioned ethics violations. Some of the left-of-center groups funded under DeRemer's leadership have publicly opposed President Donald Trump's agenda. Chicanos por la Causa, a Hispanic advocacy organization that accepted seed funding from the National Council of La Raza, has received a consistent stream of cash from the Labor Department under DeRemer's watch. It also funds scholarships for DACA recipients and runs voter registration events for Latinos, a demographic that tends to favor the Democratic Party. “This is not immigration policy, this is racial profiling against Latinos, Asians, and other people of color that runs counter to long-held American values,” Chicanos Por La Causa posted to its social media accounts in September 2025, criticizing the Trump administration's enforcement of immigration laws. Some conservatives blame what they view as a failure of leadership at the department for the deluge of grants to left-of-center groups. Mike Watson, director of research at the Capital Research Center, said there “certainly is an institutional bureaucracy” at DOL that seeks to push liberal policies. “The bureaucrats will do what the bureaucrats have been doing for as long as these agencies have existed, which is trying to use big government to advance the progressive agenda.” “Bureaucrats who aren't being supervised, who aren't being closely watched, they'll do what they want to do, they'll do what they have been doing, they'll do what they got into government to do, which is to make government bigger, which is to make government more intrusive, and which is to make government carry out the progressive agenda,” Watson added. Indeed, left-of-center groups that have long enjoyed the Labor Department's patronage have continued to do so during DeRemer's tenure. Primarily an African American civil rights organization, the league advocates of left-of-center policy priorities such as race-based affirmative action and the Affordable Care Act. The Soros family's Open Society Foundations and other left-of-center philanthropies have also provided funding to the National Urban League. Job training programs affiliated with organized labor also continued to win millions of dollars in grants from the DOL. An electrician training organization affiliated with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, which overwhelmingly supports the Democratic Party, has been granted nearly $2 million under DeRemer. It is just one of many such programs. Watson, an expert on organized labor, conceded that reining in these union-related expenditures could be beyond the abilities of even a competent labor secretary, given the desire of northeastern Republican congressmen to keep unions placated. “We remain committed to ensuring that funding decisions align with the Administration's priorities, which is why we've made historic investments in expanding Registered Apprenticeships and bolstering workforce development programs to help President Trump usher in a Golden Age for American Workers.” In May, the Labor Department claimed it had saved $400 million by cutting wasteful spending, primarily by pruning Biden-era programs. DeRemer has also taken deregulatory actions and has been a vocal critic of DEI, both of which are consistent with Trump's broader platform. A source at DOL, who requested anonymity, claimed that none of the grantees identified by the Washington Examiner “were selected by this administration” and that many of the steps the department has tried to take to rein in purportedly wasteful spending have been thwarted by legal challenges. Staffers have reportedly described DeRemer as an “absentee secretary” who has left employees “deeply demoralized.” “Her utmost priority remains to advance President Trump's agenda by continuing her hard and successful work for the betterment of the American people.” Additionally, the coalition opposes the Trump administration's deportation efforts, supports DACA, and generally advocates in support of looser immigration laws. The grants disbursed by the Labor Department to these nonprofit organizations generally funded their efforts to recruit and train individuals for workforce participation. “As such, the administration has made clear that federal programs and grant funding should reflect priorities rooted in merit, measurable outcomes, and service to the American people.

People attend a student-led march on National Youth Day to call for the release of detainees, considered to be political prisoners by their relatives and human rights groups, in Valencia, Venezuela, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. A demonstrator holds a Venezuelan flag during a student-led march calling for the release of people whose relatives and human rights groups consider political prisoners on National Youth Day in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum shake hands after a meeting at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, March 4, 2026. CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The United States and Venezuela agreed to reestablish diplomatic relations in a major shift in a historically adversarial relationship, the State Department said on Thursday. The move comes after rounds of Trump administration officials have visited the South American nation following a U.S. military operation that deposed former President Nicolás Maduro in January. Since then, the Trump administration has been stepping up pressure on Maduro loyalists now in power to accept its vision for the oil-rich nation. Relations between the two countries were cut off in 2019, during the first Trump administration, in a decision by Maduro. They closed their embassies mutually after U.S. President Donald Trump gave public support to Venezuelan opposition lawmaker Juan Guaidó, who claimed to be the nation's interim president in January that year. The State Department in a statement on Thursday said that talks between the countries were “focused on helping the Venezuelan people move forward through a phased process that creates the conditions for a peaceful transition to a democratically elected government.” It followed a February visit by Energy Secretary Chris Wright that centered on Venezuela's oil potential. Acting President Delcy Rodríguez, formerly Maduro's vice president, said on state televisions that such steps “will strengthen relations between our two countries.” Rodríguez's government in a statement later expressed confidence that reestablishing diplomatic relations “will contribute to strengthening understanding and opening opportunities for a positive and mutually beneficial relationship.” Rodríguez's government also approved an amnesty law that has enabled the release of politicians, activists, lawyers and many others, effectively acknowledging that the government has held hundreds of people in prison for political motivations. Trump stunned Venezuelans in and outside their home country with his decision to work with Rodríguez, instead of the political opposition, following Maduro's ouster. On Sunday, Venezuela's top opposition leader and winner of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize María Corina Machado said that she will return to Venezuela in the coming weeks and that elections will be held in Venezuela. Such seismic shifts would have been unthinkable just months before in the South American nation. Venezuela's main political current, known as Chavismo, has been able to dodge curve balls thrown at it for years, from U.S. sanctions to spiraling economic crisis.

U.S. Central Command released a video on Thursday of the military successfully striking an Iranian drone ship similar in size to an aircraft carrier during World War II. U.S. forces aren't holding back on the mission to sink the entire Iranian Navy. Today, an Iranian drone carrier, roughly the size of a WWII aircraft carrier, was struck and is now on fire. Hours earlier, the commander of CENTCOM, Adm. Brad Cooper, said the drone carrier was one of more than 30 Iranian navy vessels that the United States has sunk so far. “In just the last few hours, we hit an Iranian drone carrier ship roughly the size of a World War II aircraft carrier, and as we speak, it's on fire,” Cooper said at a Thursday afternoon press conference. War Secretary Pete Hegseth signaled that the conflict will escalate further, noting Operation Epic Fury has “only just begun.” It's expected to last up to four or five weeks, but the timing could change. Iran's military capabilities have been significantly destroyed in the past week, according to Cooper, who said that in addition to the naval losses, Iran's ability to launch retaliatory airstrikes has been dramatically reduced. “Ballistic missile attacks have decreased by 90% since Day One. Drone attacks have decreased by 83% since Day One,” Cooper said. At a previous press conference on Wednesday, Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine revealed that a U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka in the first successful torpedo attack made by the U.S. since the end of World War II in 1945.

President Donald Trump suggested there could be an Iranian attack on American soil as the U.S. military continues to attack Iran. When asked by Time magazine whether Americans should be worried about retaliatory attacks within the nation, Trump replied, “I guess.” “But I think they're worried about that all the time. We plan for it,” he said in the interview published Thursday. When you go to war, some people will die.” Diagne was a naturalized American citizen from Senegal. At least six U.S. service members have been killed since Trump launched “Operation Epic Fury” against Iran last Saturday. There have been hundreds more deaths across the Middle East. In his latest interview with Time, Trump recounted concerns that Iran would strike first amid a stalled nuclear deal, which is why he accelerated the timeline for the joint U.S.-Israel strikes. “America First is really about keeping America healthy and well, and not having other countries, you know, hit us,” he said. “There are occasions when you have no choice. Trump also stated his top objectives for the international conflict are to prevent Iran from firing a nuclear weapon or ballistic missiles toward the U.S. and to install a “rational and sane” successor. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the initial airstrikes. “I'm not going through this to end up with another Khamenei. Meanwhile, exiled Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi wants to lead his native country into the future. His bid, however, is not backed by Trump.