Day: November 13, 2025
Israel Olympic team cancels annual awards amid global opposition and exclusion of country’s athletes
Multiple Israeli national teams being denied the ability to compete led the country’s Olympic Committee to cancel its 2025 awards for athletes and coaches.
Fox News Politics Newsletter: Party rebels speak on government shutdown end
Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content.
Kristi Noem awards $10K bonuses to TSA workers as trump praises ‘patriotic’ federal employees
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Thursday awarded $10,000 bonuses to TSA agents who stayed on duty during the 43-day government shutdown.
New claims emerge about Prince Harry, Meghan Markle mysteriously vanishing from Kardashian social media
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle photos mysteriously deleted from Kardashian social media after star-studded Los Angeles party appearance.
Man smuggles nearly 200 exotic animals stuffed in his luggage: See the wild photos
An Israeli man allegedly smuggled 186 exotic animals from Thailand through Ben Gurion Airport. Snakes, turtles and lizards worth thousands were seized by customs officials.
‘Disruptive’ woman causes flight with 4 congressmen to divert: ‘We live in a fascist state’
A Tuesday American Airlines flight carrying several members of Congress was abruptly diverted over a “disruptive passenger.”
‘Law enforcement met the flight and removed the customer, and the flight later re-departed for DCA, where it landed normally.’
The flight took off from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in Arizona and was en route to Washington, D.C. Roughly two hours and 41 minutes into the flight, the pilots diverted the plane to Kansas City International Airport.
U.S. Reps. from Arizona Greg Stanton (D), Eli Crane (R), Andy Biggs (R), and Paul Gosar (R) were passengers on the interrupted flight.
“Flying to DC rn to vote no on CR that fails to lower health care costs. @RepEliCrane, @RepAndyBiggsAZ & @RepGosar all on this flight,” Stanton wrote on X. “We’re making [an] emergency stop in Kansas City to remove [a] disruptive passenger. None of my colleagues is the disruptor. Freedom Caucus losing its mojo.”
Stanton thanked Kansas City police for “handling the situation professionally and without incident.”
RELATED: FAA cancels hundreds of flights, sparking holiday travel concerns amid ongoing Democrat shutdown
Rep. Greg Stanton. Photographer: Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Adam Burtner, a passenger on the flight, responded to Stanton’s X thread with a video showing an unidentified woman being escorted off the flight by a police officer. Right before exiting the plane, she stated, “Sorry, folks. We live in a fascist state.”
American Airlines confirmed that the flight was diverted due to a “disruptive passenger.” However, the details of the incident are unclear.
RELATED: Trump officially ends ‘pathetic’ Democrats’ record-breaking shutdown
Rep. Andy Biggs. Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images
“On Nov. 11, American Airlines flight 1218, with service from Phoenix (PHX) to Washington, D.C. (DCA) diverted to Kansas City (MCI) due to a disruptive customer,” the airline told KSHB. “Law enforcement met the flight and removed the customer, and the flight later re-departed for DCA, where it landed normally. We thank our customers for their patience and our crew members for their professionalism.”
Burtner claimed that the woman said she was removed for taking a photograph of one of the lawmakers.
“Since there is some confusion on what she said, it’s as follows: ‘I took a picture of someone and they didn’t want me to tweet it.’ (Picture of a congressman aboard the flight.),” Burtner wrote.
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FAKE NEWS: BBC caught splicing Trump’s Jan. 6 speech to make him sound violent
The BBC has been exposed for editing President Donald Trump’s January 6, 2021, speech — deceiving viewers into thinking that the president was cheering on violence.
The network played a clip of Trump that appeared to be him inciting an insurrection, saying, “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol, and I’ll be there with you, and we fight. We fight like hell.”
However, Trump didn’t say that at all.
According to a report from GBN News, the “BBC spliced together two clips that took place 54 minutes apart.”
Rather, Trump said, “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol, and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women,” before saying the second part of what the BBC played.
Tim Davie, director, and Deborah Turness, the chief executive in the news division, have now resigned following the revelation.
“Trump was on to something,” BlazeTV contributor Jeff Fisher tells BlazeTV host Pat Gray on “Pat Gray Unleashed,” referring to Trump calling the BBC “fake news” during a press conference.
“How about that?” Gray asks.
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Apple rolls out digital ID, says users get ‘privacy and security’
Digital identification is the latest frontier in privacy and data protection, according to its newest purveyor.
Apple rolled out support for digital ID in its Apple Wallet this week, boasting that users can provide a plethora of personal data in order to add their digital identifiers to their phones.
‘Biometric authentication using Face ID and Touch ID helps make sure that only you can view and use your Digital ID.’
In order to be eligible for the privilege of digital ID, Apple requires users to have the following:
- an iPhone 11 or newer or an Apple Watch Series 6 or newer.
- the latest software version.
- an Apple account with two-factor authentication turned on.
- a valid U.S. passport.
- a device with the region set to the United States.
If meeting the prerequisites, users must scan their passports into their phones, in addition to providing another live photo.
The photo and information must then be authenticated with Face ID or Touch ID.
Digital ID users can present their e-documents at TSA checkpoints for boarding domestic flights and at select businesses, Apple wrote in a blog post.
RELATED: UK government makes digital ID mandatory to get a job: ‘Safer, fairer and more secure’
TSA lists digital ID as being supported in at least 16 different states for domestic air travel, as well as Puerto Rico. Apple ID particularly is eligible in most participating states, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Maryland, Montana, New Mexico, and Ohio.
States like Arkansas, Louisiana, New York, and Virginia only support a state-sponsored digital ID.
“Digital ID in Apple Wallet takes advantage of the privacy and security features already built into iPhone and Apple Watch to help protect against tampering and theft,” Apple claimed.
“Your Digital ID data is encrypted. Apple can’t see when and where you use your Digital ID, and biometric authentication using Face ID and Touch ID helps make sure that only you can view and use your Digital ID,” the company added.
The justification for digital ID on the grounds of increased privacy and security mirrors reasoning used by the U.K. government during its recent introduction of mandatory digital ID for its citizens.
RELATED: Can anyone save America from European-style digital ID?
Photo Illustration by Thomas Trutschel/Photothek via Getty Images
“This government will make a new, free-of-charge digital ID mandatory for the right to work by the end of this parliament. Let me spell that out: You will not be able to work in the United Kingdom if you do not have digital ID,” U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced in September.
The leader stated that the digital ID would help crack down on illegal employment and immigration, before adding a moral justification to his argument.
“Because decent, pragmatic, fair-minded people, they want us to tackle the issues that they see around them. And, of course, the truth is we won’t solve our problems if we don’t also take on the root causes.”
As Blaze News previously reported, the digital ID movement seemingly started in the U.K. around 2004. At that time, the BBC published a report criticizing the government and the IDs as a “badly thought out” means of fighting organized crime and terrorism.
Since then, the idea has long been perpetuated by the World Economic Forum, the yearly gathering of government officials and international businessmen who discuss global policy and reform.
The WEF published “A Blueprint for Digital Identity” in 2016, citing the Aadhaar program, a government ID from India. The initiative was meant to “increase social and financial inclusion” for Indians. The Unique Identification Authority of India holds a database of user information “such as name, date of birth, and biometrics data that may include a photograph, fingerprint, iris scan, or other information.”
Over 1 billion Indians have enrolled in the program for the 12-digit identity number.
In 2023, the WEF promoted a report on reimagining digital ID.
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Europeans want US missiles to defend them, not America — and Rubio’s had enough of their hypocrisy
Secretary of State Marco Rubio called out European officials on Wednesday for criticizing America’s self-defense while expecting the U.S. to provide military support for their own.
The Trump administration has obliterated at least 19 alleged narco-terrorist drug boats since Sept. 2 with the stated aim of “protecting the homeland and killing these cartel terrorists who wish to harm our country and its people.”
‘I don’t think that the European Union gets to determine … how the United States defends its national security.’
President Donald Trump has suggested that each drug boat vaporized by U.S. fighter jets, AC-130J gunships, and drones amounts to 25,000 American lives saved.
A day after War Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that the U.S. had sunk an additional two boats in the Eastern Pacific, altogether killing six alleged narco-terrorists, French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot joined the chorus of foreign dignitaries who have been complaining about the strikes.
Barrot reportedly said at the G7 summit on Tuesday, “We have observed with concern the military operations in the Caribbean region, because they violate international law and because France has a presence in this region through its overseas territories, where more than a million of our compatriots reside.”
RELATED: ‘Begin repatriating’: German chancellor admits it’s time to give Syrian migrants the boot
Photo by Omar Zaghloul/Anadolu via Getty Images
When confronted with questions about the U.S. maritime strikes during a meeting with Latin American leaders last week, the European Union’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said that the EU upholds international law and “international law is very clear on that. You can use force for two reasons: one is self-defense, the other one is the U.N. Security Council resolution.”
Rubio addressed the European pearl-clutching on Wednesday, politely suggesting to reporters that the continentals should pound sand.
“I don’t think that the European Union gets to determine what international law is, and what they certainly don’t get to determine is how the United States defends its national security,” said Rubio. “The United States is under attack from organized criminal narco-terrorists in our hemisphere, and the president is responding in the defense of our country.”
After indicating that the Europeans are out of their depth, Rubio hammered America’s allies across the Atlantic for their apparent hypocrisy.
“I do find it interesting that all these countries want us to send, you know, and supply, for example, nuclear-capable Tomahawk missiles to defend Europe, but when the United States positions aircraft carriers in our hemisphere where we live, somehow that’s a problem,” said the secretary of state.
Rubio added, “The president ordered it in defense of our country. It continues. It’s ongoing. It can stop tomorrow if [terrorist cartels] stop sending drug boats.”
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The railroad that could unite — and revive — America
When America completed its first nationwide railway in 1869, it did more than link two coasts. It united a nation. Railroads carried goods, materials, and people across vast distances at unprecedented speed, sparking an economic boom that forged a stronger, more unified country.
A century and a half later, the United States faces a new test. Globalization, supply-chain fragility, and inflation have exposed how dependent America has become on foreign systems and vulnerable networks. To meet these challenges, the nation must again invest in its own strength — beginning with its railroads.
Trucking currently dominates US freight, providing flexibility but at a steep cost in lives and highway damage. Railroads, by contrast, build and maintain their own infrastructure.
The proposed merger of Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern, announced in July, offers that opportunity. The combined company would create America’s first coast-to-coast rail network under a single U.S. carrier, spanning more than 50,000 route miles and linking 100 ports across 43 states.
A direct line to lower costs
A unified system means fewer handoffs between fragmented regional networks, faster delivery, and lower costs. Streamlined routes would eliminate the bureaucratic friction that slows commerce and adds uncertainty to shipping. For farmers, manufacturers, and consumers, that translates into stronger supply chains, lower prices, and renewed confidence in the American economy.
Trucking currently dominates U.S. freight, providing flexibility but at a steep cost. Federal data show that heavy trucks were involved in more than 150,000 crashes and 4,500 deaths in 2024. A single tractor-trailer inflicts the same highway damage as 9,600 cars — a massive public expense that taxpayers absorb.
Railroads, by contrast, build and maintain their own infrastructure. They reinvest billions each year without federal subsidies, move more goods with less fuel, and emit fewer pollutants. When uninterrupted by carrier transfers, rail shipping can be up to 60% more cost-efficient per ton than trucking.
A transcontinental system would amplify those advantages. Freight could move directly from origin to destination without costly delays. Lower transportation costs in agriculture, manufacturing, housing, and retail would ripple through the economy, easing inflation and boosting competitiveness for U.S. producers.
Strengthening American industry
The merger also complements the Trump administration’s effort to reshore manufacturing and rebuild domestic supply chains. With access to 100 ports and 10 international interchanges, a unified Union Pacific system would give U.S. manufacturers cheaper, more reliable routes for sourcing materials and delivering finished goods.
Expanded rail operations would also protect and grow good-paying union jobs in an industry that has powered America’s growth for more than a century. These are stable careers with benefits — the kind of work that anchors communities and sustains middle-class families.
Critics of rail mergers often warn of reduced competition or service quality. Those concerns deserve review. But in this case, the overlap between Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern is minimal. Rather than suppressing competition, the merger would strengthen it by enabling U.S. carriers to compete more effectively against trucking, air freight, and Canadian railroads — which have enjoyed uninterrupted transcontinental systems for decades.
RELATED: Trucks destroy roads, but railroads — yes, rail! — can save taxpayers billions
Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images
A historic chance to unite the nation again
When the first cross-country railroad opened in 1869, it helped knit together a divided nation, fueled commerce, and launched America into the industrial age. The proposed Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger represents a similar moment of promise.
By creating the first true coast-to-coast rail network in U.S. history, this partnership could help reshore manufacturing, fortify supply chains, and make American transportation safer and more efficient.
Rebuilding American prosperity begins with reconnecting America itself. The next great chapter of that story could once again be written on steel rails.
