NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Senate Republicans say they’ve struggled to get out on the campaign trail ahead of the midterm elections — and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., argues Democrats are to blame.”Their whole goal, and everything is to, you know, force us to stay around, force us to try and get members to take hard votes and just to tie people down so that they can’t be back campaigning,” Thune told Fox News Digital.Thune had just left a local furniture store in Sioux Falls, S.D., where he touted the economic benefits of the bill, which largely extended Trump’s tax cuts from his original 2017 tax bill, along with making tweaks to the tax code that lawmakers believe would directly benefit small businesses.DHS SHUTDOWN DRAGS INTO 4TH DAY AS SENATE DEMOCRATS BLOCK FUNDING OVER ICE REFORMS There, he noted that the owners of Montgomery’s told him, “If people had discretionary income out here, they spend it.”That was the crux of the colossal bill Republicans rammed through Congress last year. In effect, it was a direct response to the pocketbook issues that largely drove the 2024 election cycle and propelled the GOP to a trifecta of…

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! The Los Angeles Angels are set to pay Mike Trout over $35 million this year, but that, combined with his injury history, has proven to be major hurdles for the World Baseball Classic.The three-time MVP, who was given the “Captain America” nickname for his stellar performance in the event three years ago, told reporters Monday that he was not able to get his contract insured for the tournament.Trout said he wanted to play again, but “insurance was the biggest hurdle I was trying to get through.”  “It’s disappointing, I wanted to run it back with all the guys,” Trout said.According to Yahoo Sports, a player does not necessarily forfeit his contract if he is injured in the event. Rather, it would be the team being owed the insurance coverage via National Financial Partners, which the WBC organization uses to take out insurance policies on the contracts of all 40-man-roster players competing in the event. Trout has a base salary of $35.45 million for 2026 and is making an additional $1.67 million from the $20 million signing bonus he agreed to as part of his $426.5 million contract.For example, the New York Mets were…

United States ruler Donald Trump said that kidnapping Cuba’s ruler, Miguel Diaz-Canel, “wouldn’t be very tough.” But Trump added that an operation to take out the Cuban leader won’t be necessary anyway, due to the worsening US-induced energy shortage. Trump made the comments while speaking on Tuesday to reporters aboard Air Force One. He praised his strategy of economically isolating the island nation, which has been under a US trade embargo since 1960, as a means of forcing Havana to make concessions. “In the meantime, there’s an embargo. There’s no oil. There’s no money. There’s no anything,” he said, taking credit for the destruction of Cuba’s economy. The U.S. is in an Ongoing WAR With Venezuela When asked whether he was considering an operation similar to the one that led to the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro last month, Trump replied: “I don’t want to answer that. Why would I answer that?” He then added: “If I was, it wouldn’t be a very tough operation as you can figure, but I don’t think that’ll be necessary.” –RT The US abducted Maduro and put him on trial on American soil last month, claiming he is the head of a drug cartel and not…

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Former President Barack Obama’s presidential center in Chicago is again coming under scrutiny for its architectural design — this time leaving locals scratching their heads over confusing text wrapped around the top of the building. “I’m outside the Obama Center museum tower right now,” Chicago Sun-Times architecture critic Lee Bay posted to X Monday, sparking a deluge of mockery from locals and conservatives. “The new letters — an excerpt from Obama’s Selma speech — are tough read to me, giving off the lorem ipsum vibes,” he added, referring to placeholder “dummy” text frequently used in graphic design templates to fill space with scrambled Latin.Obama’s presidential center — which includes a library, athletic facilities, a museum and more — is slated to open in June after years of delays that included lawsuits and federal reviews of opening the 20-acre campus on Chicago’s South Side. OBAMA PRESIDENTIAL CENTER SLAMMED FOR PROMOTING ‘FAR-LEFT’ AGENDA ON PUBLIC LAND The construction includes a 225-foot museum tower with the text of Obama’s 2015 speech in Selma, Alabama, marking the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, when civil rights demonstrators were met with violent resistance from local law enforcement in a watershed moment…

Little is known of Wilhelm Smith’s background, save that he was born on April 10, 1870, in a German Empire that would formally unite in the following year. Since then, he emigrated to the United States and enlisted in the U.S. Navy. By January 1916, he was serving as a gunner’s mate third class aboard the battleship New York (BB-34), one of the most up-to-date and powerful warships of its kind. For all that, though, New York was served by a variety of seamen and engineers in an often claustrophobic labyrinth of chambers and passageways. On Jan. 24, 1916, one of New York’s crews within a crew were reminded of how dangerous even a routine procedure could be. The Great War in Europe was raging at that time, but the United States was still neutral, with the New York helping to maintain that neutrality. Amid all the maintenance activity, Coxswain W.L. Campbell, in charge of the 1st Division, ordered the sanitary tank in section A12 opened for cleaning by three crewmen. Of them, P. J. Walsh, J. Paone, and L. L. Nerling thought the tank sufficiently ventilated, but plumber R.M. Traynor, upon examining the train and suction valves, judged the…

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! After NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said last weekend that tanking is the worst it’s been “in recent memory,” Mark Cuban believes he and the league office should “embrace” it.The NBA recently fined the Utah Jazz and Indiana Pacers, who own a combined record of 33-78, $500,000 and $100,000, respectively, for sitting healthy players, and Silver said last weekend he is considering “every possible remedy” to combat it.But Cuban, who has admitted to tanking in the past, posted on X “Why the NBA should embrace” teams not putting their best foot forward for future gain.  “The NBA has…been misguided thinking that fans want to see their teams compete every night with a chance to win. It’s never been that way,” Cuban began in a lengthy X post.”When I got into the NBA, they thought they were in the basketball business. They aren’t. They are in the business of creating experiences for fans. Few can remember the score from the last game they saw or went to. They can’t remember the dunks or shots. What they remember is who they were with. Their family, friends, a date. That’s what makes the experience special. “Fans know…

The renowned M14 service rifle has a complex history: it was the U.S. military’s shortest-lived service rifle yet one of the longest in service. While its time as a standard-issue rifle for G.I.s was brief, its power and performance have ensured its continued use as a sniper and Designated Marksman Rifle (DMR), cementing its legacy. One well-known M21 setup during the Vietnam War included the addition of the PVS2 Starlight night optic. Image: DVIDS In fact, while the M14 initially served as the primary service rifle in the dense jungles of Vietnam, it was also there that it earned its place among the pantheon of American sniper rifles. Vietnam War Backdrop In Vietnam, the U.S. military quickly recognized the need for accurate long-range fire to engage distant targets and conduct counter-sniper operations. Early in the Vietnam conflict, marksmen relied on aging M1C and D Garands from World War II. Some fortunate snipers received accurized M14 rifles used in marksmanship competitions. The M14 was the standard infantry rifle during the early years of Vietnam. However, its use as an infantry rifle was short-lived. Its staying power, instead, was its use as a precision instrument. Image: DVIDS The Army was slow to develop sniper…

United States senator and war hawk, Lindsey Graham, has said that Israel is at the forefront of cutting-edge weapons development. He said that future wars are already “being planned in Israel,” as it surpasses the U.S.’s abilities. Israel is advancing down the road of new weaponry far beyond us,” he added. Graham added that Washington should invest in Israel’s defense industry rather than “just writing a check” for military aid.“ He made these comments in Tel Aviv after meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition leader Yair Lapid on Monday. “I like that idea. The wars of the future are being planned here in Israel. If you’re not one step ahead of the enemy, you suffer,” Graham said, according to a report by RT. He praised the Israel Defense Forces as the “most clever, creative military forces on the planet.” This news is interestingly timed, as the U.S. accused Iran of continuing to create nuclear weapons. These comments come ahead of the Omani-mediated US-Iran talks in Geneva. The talks are said to make an attempt at easing renewed tensions in the Middle East. The US has dispatched two aircraft carrier strike groups to the region as President Donald Trump seeks…

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! President Donald Trump says he’s not ready yet to take sides in the combustible Republican Senate primary in right-leaning Texas.”I just haven’t made a decision on that race yet,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Monday night as he returned to the nation’s capital from Florida. “I like all three of them.”Trump, whose comments came on the eve of the start of early voting in Texas ahead of the March 3 primary, was referring to longtime Republican Sen. John Cornyn, who’s seeking re-election, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and two-term Rep. Wesley Hunt, a West Point graduate who flew Apache helicopters during his Army service and who represents a solidly Republican district in the Houston area. Paxton and Hunt are challenging Cornyn in the state’s high-profile and divisive nomination race.”They’ve all supported me. They’re all good, and you’re supposed to pick one. So, we’ll see what happens, but I support all three,” Trump said.CORNYN TORCHES DEMOCRATIC FIELD AS HE SEEKS RE-ELECTION IN TEXAS  Cornyn, who is backed by Senate Majority Leader John Thune and the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), has been highlighting his Trump credentials, telling Fox News Digital late…

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