In the spring of 1918, as American soldiers prepared to go “over the top” for the first time during World War I, a handful of army physicians began noticing a strange sickness that began to grip service members. The virus, resulting in deadly pneumonia, struck down previously healthy young men within days, some within hours. Postmortem exams revealed soggy lungs with evidence of hemorrhaging, according to the National WWI Museum. Unbeknownst to them, influenza was about to ravage the U.S. military — and the world — in a way unseen since the likes of the bubonic plague in the 1350s.The origin of the virus is believed to have begun from Haskell County, Kansas. Young men from Haskell County were training at nearby Camp Funston, in what is now Fort Riley, Kansas, according to the Army. On March 4, 1918, the first influenza cases were identified at the Army base. Within three weeks, 1,100 of the 56,222 troops at the camp were sick. Then, as men boarded crowded transport ships and lived in close quarters —both behind the lines and at the front — influenza struck, killing more lives in just 18 months than the First World War claimed by bullets…

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! A former Mexican beauty queen was found shot to death in her Mexico City apartment, with investigators examining the possible involvement of her mother-in-law, according to local reports.Carolina Flores Gómez, 27, was found dead inside an apartment in the Polanco neighborhood, one of the city’s most affluent areas, Reporte Índigo, a Mexico-based news outlet, reported. Authorities said the death is being investigated as a homicide, after initial findings indicated she suffered a gunshot wound to the head. Emergency responders were called to the scene, where paramedics confirmed she showed no signs of life.Prosecutors are investigating whether Flores Gómez’s mother-in-law, Erika María, as well as a man described in reports as her partner or husband, may have been involved in her death.CALIFORNIA HIKER’S BODY FOUND NAKED IN BIG SUR BACKCOUNTRY The man, identified as Alejandro, accused his mother of killing Flores Gómez, Mexican news outlet Azteca Guerrero reported.The outlet also reported that the woman’s mother-in-law was present at the scene when the gun was fired and that authorities are looking into the timeline of when the incident was reported.WIDOW, SON OF LATE CHICAGO COMMISSIONER FOUND SHOT DEAD INSIDE HOME IN SUSPECTED HOMICIDE Preliminary reports…

John Phelan is out as the secretary of the Navy, the Pentagon announced Wednesday. Phelan, who this week attended the Navy League’s annual Sea-Air-Space symposium in Washington, is departing the role “effective immediately,” Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell announced. U.S. Navy Undersecretary Hung Cao, a former Virginia Senate candidate and special operations veteran, will assume the role of acting secretary of the Navy, Parnell added. “On behalf of the Secretary of War and Deputy Secretary of War, we are grateful to Secretary Phelan for his service to the Department and the United States Navy,” Parnell wrote. “We wish him well in his future endeavors.” While the Pentagon provided no reason for the move in their initial announcement, a senior administration official told Military Times that “President Trump and Secretary Hegseth agreed new leadership at the Navy is needed.” “Secretary Hegseth informed John Phelan of this news prior to it being made public,” the official said. Just yesterday, Phelan spoke with reporters at a media roundtable about the Navy’s prioritizing of ship building capacity as the service looks to double its vessel requests, according to the 2027 fiscal defense budget. He also delivered a lengthy keynote address at the conference.Phelan, who…

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! One of America’s neighbors is warning travelers about safety risks in a North African destination, highlighting red flags for U.S. citizens as well.Known for its historic cities, bustling markets and ancient sites, Morocco is the subject of an updated travel advisory from the Government of Canada.The country draws tourists across the world to Marrakech’s souks and Medina, camel treks in the Sahara Desert, historic cities like Fez and coastal destinations such as Essaouira — but new warnings highlight potential risks.5 DANGEROUS CRUISE PORTS THAT TRAVELERS SHOULD RESEARCH BEFORE BOOKING EXCURSIONSCanadian officials on Tuesday urged travelers to exercise a high degree of caution in an updated advisory.The notice warns of petty theft, armed robberies and credit and debit card fraud, as well as “terrorism and attacks that have targeted foreigners.” The travel alert also urges travelers to avoid areas near the Algerian-Moroccan border “due to the increased military presence, the unstable security situation and the difficulty of finding the border’s exact location.”The warning isn’t limited to remote areas.”Maintain a high level of vigilance at all times.” The advisory also notes that demonstrations, often near government buildings in major cities such as Rabat and…

On Nov. 8, 1942, the United States opened a new front against Germany, Italy and Vichy France when its forces landed in Morocco and Algeria. At the same time, the British First and Eighth armies advanced against the receding Axis forces from the east. On March 10, 1943, an ailing Field Marshal Erwin Rommel was evacuated to Germany, leaving Afrika Korps under the command of Generaloberst Hans-Jürgen von Arnim. Although the Axis was now cornered in Tunisia, its forces were still holding their remaining ground with the tenacity of a cornered badger. After suffering a humiliating defeat at Rommel’s hands at Kasserine Pass in Feb. 19-23, 1943, however, from March 23 to April 3 the Americans demonstrated their ability to learn under the tutelage of Lt. Gen. George S. Patton Jr. at El Guettar. Among those quick learners were Pvt. Robert Booker.Born in Callaway, Nebraska, on July 11, 1920, Booker joined the Army in June 1942 and after training he was assigned to B Company, 133rd Regiment, 34th Infantry Division. Arriving in Belfast on Jan. 26, 1942, the 34th was the first American division to reach UK soil and on Nov. 8, it landed at Algiers alongside elements of the…

Watch full video on YouTube

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! The union representing certain Illinois State University employees filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the college, alleging it hired temporary workers while staff remained on strike.AFSCME Council 31, which represents roughly 350 employees, says the move violates the state’s Employment of Strikebreakers Act, which classifies such conduct as a Class A misdemeanor.”To gain leverage to ‘win’ the strike, the University has contracted with companies that have hired temporary employees to cross picket lines and perform the work of the strikers,” a copy of the suit shared by local outlet WGLT said. “This action is illegal.” Plaintiffs argue that such hiring practices distort the balance of power between employer and employees and prolong the strike by easing the university’s operational strain from the loss of services.CHICAGO MAYOR LINKS RESTAURANT INDUSTRY TO ‘SLAVERY’ AS TIPPED WAGE FIGHT INTENSIFIES Consequently, the lawsuit is seeking declaratory and injunctive relief to halt the use of temporary replacement workers, arguing employees could suffer “irreparable” harm without court intervention.An Illinois State University spokesperson said Wednesday afternoon that the university has not received formal notification of the lawsuit, but that it follows a state procurement process designed to ensure compliance with the…

More than 80 years later, the remains of U.S. POWs buried as “unknowns,” or entombed in the holds of Japanese “hell ships” sunk by U.S. warplanes and submarines, have started coming home to families who kept their memories alive.In an extraordinary and ongoing effort, specialists from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, using new techniques including “next generation” DNA sequencing, have resumed the effort to recover and identify remains from the prison camps and ships used to transport POWs that the U.S. gave up on in 1951.One of the most recent identifications was that of Army Air Forces Pvt. Bennett H. Waters, who was serving on the Bataan peninsula with the 17th Bombardment Squadron, 27th Bombardment Group, when the forces of Imperial Japan invaded the Philippines on Dec. 8, 1941, the day after the Pearl Harbor attacks.He was among a group of at least 20 American POWs from the Pacific whose remains have been identified and returned to their families from the first of the year through April 21.Waters had survived the Bataan Death March; he survived more than three years of prison camp cruelty; and he would survive the sinking by U.S. aircraft on Dec. 14, 1944, of the unmarked…

Since the ceasefire on April 8 and Trump’s apparent capitulation to Iran, it appears the Iranians will levy a toll on all oil passing through the Strait of Hormuz. The details are still unclear, but according to The Hill, citing the Financial Times, the Iranian Republic will levy $1 per barrel of oil to be paid in bitcoin on all traffic out of the Persian Gulf. The Iranian government obviously benefits from this, but who actually pays the toll? This question, what is known as tax incidence, is one important point of difference between the Austrian school and mainstream economics that remains widely overlooked, and the Hormuz toll is a good opportunity to highlight this difference and the Austrian, especially Rothbardian, approach to tax incidence. It is also an interesting political and economic question in its own right. Toll Economics The Hormuz toll imposed by the Iranians is paid immediately by the owners of the ships and cargoes of oil passing through. By the time of the ceasefire, there were about 2,000 vessels stuck in the Persian Gulf, but by no means all were oil tankers. For these cargoes, there can be no question of shifting the incidence of the toll. It is…

Watch full video on YouTube