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NBC News chief being paid by Walmart, Pepsi 'clearly a problem' as network's ties to both companies go deep
The dust is still settling at NBC News following the debacle last month over its hiring and firing of former Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel, but scrutiny of the Comcast-owned network's leadership remains, particularly top boss Cesar Conde.
Conde, who apologized to NBC staff over the hiring of McDaniel as an analyst after network talent erupted in anger, has been the subject of multiple reports questioning whether he is best suited to remain the chair of NBCUniversal News Group, a job he has held since 2020 that oversees NBC News, CNBC and MSNBC.
However, that isn't his only role. Conde also sits on the board of directors for Walmart and PepsiCo.
"I think it's untoward, and I think it needs to be addressed," an NBC insider told Fox News Digital. "Clearly Cesar's bosses knew this because everybody knows it. And it didn't occur to anybody to do anything about it. And that's Cesar for you. He's an innocuous guy who, generally speaking, flies under that sort of radar … He's a young, up-and-coming, hotshot guy. Most of us have realized NBC is a stepping stone for him, right? He's not going to be CEO of Comcast, he wants to be the CEO of another one of these types of companies, a show or a politician or whatever the case is. So I guess the point is, what's the accountability here?"
The NBC insider said Conde could make the case that his financial ties to Walmart and Pepsi are "good conduct" for NBC's bottom line, but the ethical issues for the network still remain.
"At some point does somebody sit down and say, 'Dude, what's up?'" the insider said. "What should Cesar be doing? Should he be resigning from these boards? I mean, the kind of money he gets from this thing is quite something."
The insider continued, "Something doesn't smell right with this. The optics of it are wrong, and it does look like a guy whose focus is not on the journalistic integrity of one of the oldest and largest journalistic brands in the country, it's on something else. And knowing what I know about Cesar, he's a businessman. And by the way, his bosses are business people, right? That's part of the thing to understand. The guy who replaced [former NBCUniversal CEO] Jeff Shell is a business guy. The Roberts people [of Comcast] are cable providers … We're not owned by journalists. We're not controlled by journalists. We are a different enterprise."
Conde's financial ties to Walmart and PepsiCo have been public knowledge for years. According to a recent report from the Associated Press, which cites Salary.com, Conde "earned $275,018 from Walmart in 2022 and $320,000 from PepsiCo, in a combination of cash and stock."
An NBCUniversal spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal in 2021 that Conde would recuse himself from weighing in on stories involving the two companies.
"That Conde sits on the boards of these corporations is clearly a problem from a journalism ethics standpoint. And it would be true for any news executive who serves for corporations that are subjects in the news agenda," DePauw University journalism professor Jeffrey McCall says. "The optics look terrible for a major news executive who is being compensated for corporate board participation. News outlets just have to be totally insulated from the business side of the media world, and this is a blending of journalism and business corporatism that shouldn't be allowed to continue."
"Even if Conde plays no role in direct news coverage of these two companies, it still looks bad on its face," McCall told Fox News Digital, insisting NBC staffers reporting on Walmart and PepsiCo must keep their boss's additional roles in mind.
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NBCUniversal first hired Conde in 2013 and as he climbed the ranks at Rockefeller, he joined PepsiCo's board of directors in 2016 and Walmart's board of directors in 2019. The following year, he was tapped to lead NBC's entire news operation.
Under his tenure as NBC's news chief, NBC has aired several bubbly reports about Walmart and Pepsi, according to a review by Fox News Digital.
In July 2020, NBC News reported Walmart's decision to close on Thanksgiving Day and to give bonuses to employees. In September 2020, NBC News aired a lengthy report about Walmart's partnership with TikTok and how the retail giant would be featured on the app. In August 2022, NBC boasted about how Walmart was expanding its abortion coverage for employees. In July 2023, "NBC Nightly News" aired a report on how Walmart was benefiting from AI.
In November 2023, flagship morning show "Today" offered free airtime to a Walmart Black Friday ad that reunited the cast of "Mean Girls," showing viewers the commercial almost in its entirety. That month "Today" also aired an "exclusive" behind-the-scenes look at a Walmart warehouse.
NBC landed multiple "exclusive" interviews with Walmart CEO John Furner, one in February 2021 promoting Walmart's COVID vaccination efforts for customers and employees, and another in November 2021 with him arguing Walmart is the more affordable option during rising inflation.
NBC even went to great lengths in giving Walmart favorable treatment compared to its direct competitors. In September 2020, it reported how Walmart was "stepping up its Ecommerce game" with its delivery service subscription rivaling Amazon. In November 2022, "Today" gave Walmart's pre-Black Friday deals top billing ahead of Target, Amazon and Best Buy. Last month, NBC suggested Walmart had the superior subscription service over Target and Amazon since it had "a few bells and whistles."
And just last week, "Today" aired a positive segment about Walmart "upskilling" its employees in the AI era, though also mentioning Amazon making similar efforts.
NewsBusters managing editor Curtis Houck swiped "hobnobbing-obsessing" Conde, telling Fox News Digital it's "no surprise" that NBC offered such glowing coverage.
"This entire exercise is a reminder of what corporate news looks like in action with big corporations serving as public relations officials for other big corporations," Houck says. "It goes well beyond the old adage of ‘I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine.'"
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PepsiCo similarly benefited from NBC's on-air coverage. In March 2021, "Today" plugged the soda giant's limited edition Peeps-flavored Pepsi. In December 2021, NBC promoted Pepsi's Super Bowl Halftime Show app. In December 2022, "Today" put a spotlight on the viral "Pilk" trend inspired by a Pepsi ad featuring Lindsay Lohan drinking a glass of milk combined with Pepsi. In February 2023, "Today" offered a "sneak peek" into Pepsi's Super Bowl ad starring Steve Martin. Weeks later, "Today" plugged another Pepsi ad, this one featuring Ben Stiller reprising his "Zoolander" character.
"Today" offered heavy promotion of Pepsi just last month alone, showing a viral video of a 15-month-old boy who "really, really wanted to try a Pepsi" and hyping fast food chain Subway's "head-turning" decision to switch to Pepsi from Coca-Cola starting next year.
Pepsi's ties to NBCUniversal appear to go far beyond friendly reports on "Today." In 2021, Pepsi was a sponsor of NBCUniversal's Upfront, an annual industry event networks hold to promote their programming to advertisers.
In 2019, while Conde served as the chairman of NBCUniversal International Group and NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, PepsiCo provided "Pepsi Sparkling Rosé" for the company's "BravoCon." In 2015, one year before Conde joined its board, Pepsi partnered with Conde-led NBCUniversal International for a "Back to the Future" campaign to promote its brand. There's no evidence to show the two events were related, however.
Also notable is NBCUniversal's announced direct partnership with Walmart in November allowing Bravo viewers to shop online while watching the streaming service Peacock for merchandise seen in its programming.
"This is a huge issue for NBC News and a clear conflict of interest on Cesar Conde's part," media columnist and Fox News contributor Joe Concha said.
Former NBC News executive vice president Bill Wheatley similarly told the AP, "It seemed to me that this was an additional instance of NBC management not understanding the rules by which news leaders are supposed to play."
Neither NBC nor its parent company Comcast responded to requests for comment.
Fox News' Brian Flood contributed to this report.
Utah mom fights for her daughter’s access to discontinued diabetes medication: ‘Life-saving'
A Utah mother is fighting for her teenage daughter’s access to diabetes medicine.
Ruby Smart, 15, has been taking Levemir (detemir) insulin since she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes more than two years ago.
"Levemir is uniquely suited to her situation," Alison Smart, the girl’s mother, told Fox News Digital in an interview.
The family was stunned when Novo Nordisk, the Denmark-based manufacturer of Levemir, announced in November 2023 that the drug was being discontinued.
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Smart has now made it her mission to convince Novo Nordisk to continue making Levemir — or to find a pharmaceutical company to create a biosimilar (generic) alternative.
Levemir is a long-acting basal insulin that's injected once or twice a day to control high blood sugar in adults and children with diabetes, according to Novo Nordisk's website.
For Smart’s daughter, an active athlete who plays on the tennis team at Woods Cross High School, Levemir has enabled her to continue with her regular activities while controlling her diabetes.
While there are a couple of other types of basal insulin on the market, Smart said Levemir is best suited to her daughter’s needs.
"Levemir is unique in that it is a relatively shorter-acting basal insulin, making it ideal for those with fluctuating basal insulin needs, including teenagers, menstruating women, pregnant women and athletes," she said.
"The two remaining insulins also have side effects we don't worry about when using Levemir."
They did try an insulin pump for a few weeks, which is a wearable device that provides a steady flow of insulin to the body. But Smart said it was not compatible with her daughter’s high activity levels.
"She's super active, and plays tennis almost every day," Smart said. "The pump was fine for daily activity, but for tennis tournament days, it didn't work."
Smart is advocating for people to be able to choose.
"The bottom line is that Levemir works for us," she said. "Our lives are much easier and less complex on a regimen of multiple daily injections using Levemir insulin."
Novo Nordisk provided three main reasons for why it's discontinuing Levenir.
"After careful consideration, we made this decision because of global manufacturing issues, decreasing patient coverage, and because we are confident that patients in the U.S. will be able to find alternative treatments," the company said in a press release.
When contacted by Fox News Digital, Novo Nordisk provided the following recommendation to doctors and patients.
"During this time, we strongly encourage that health care professionals and patients discuss transitioning to alternative treatment options prior to the discontinuation date. Novo Nordisk, along with other companies, provides a number of alternative treatment options for people living with diabetes who require basal insulin."
The company suggested that patients switch to other basal insulin options, including but not limited to Basaglar, Insulin Degludec, Insulin Glargine U-300, Lantus, Rezvoglar, Semglee, Toujeo and Tresiba.
Many parents, however, say these alternatives are not the same.
"The other options for basal insulin are not equal and are not sufficient — they have different side effects and different qualities," Smart told Fox News Digital.
"They're not as flexible, and not as easy to use with someone who has varying basal insulin needs, like a teenager."
Other parents are also concerned about being forced to switch medications.
Jaime Losinski, a mother in Tampa, Florida, has a 14-year-old son with type 1 diabetes. He's been taking Levemir for years.
"Levemir is a valuable insulin for children and teens, who have ever-changing insulin needs as they grow," she told Fox News Digital.
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"Levemir’s action profile makes it perfect for patients who need to make rapid and continual changes," she went on.
"An insulin such as Lantus or Tresiba, which the industry tells us to ‘just switch to,’ lasts far too long in the system for someone like him and would be dangerous overnight," she said. "They also come with side effects, all of which he experienced when we tried them both shortly after his diagnosis seven years ago."
Although Levemir is expected to be available until Dec. 2024, Smart said providers have warned her to "expect supply disruption" in the meantime.
Some insurance companies have already stopped coverage of the drug due to the discontinuation.
Smart received a letter from her insurance company in November saying Levemir would not be on her plan any longer. They later agreed to add it back on — but only if she paid a premium.
Erin Palinski-Wade, a certified diabetes educator in New Jersey, said the discontinuation of Levemir is "understandably surprising and frustrating" for patients who rely on this brand of insulin.
"Although there are other forms of long-acting insulin on the market, each has its own slight differences, such as peak times, which can have a significant impact on blood glucose management during the day," she told Fox News Digital.
"Transitioning from one brand of insulin to another is not as cut and dry as it might seem, and can lead to periods of high blood sugar or hypoglycemia episodes (dangerously low blood sugars) as the adjustment occurs," Palinski-Wade added.
For parents who rely on Levemir, the expert recommended working with a physician, endocrinologist and/or dietitian to create the "best transition plan possible" to minimize fluctuations in blood sugar while finding an alternative that works best.
When transitioning to a new insulin, increased testing of glucose levels is needed to prevent and correct highs and lows as they occur, Palinski-Wade noted.
"This is especially important for children and teens, as there may be greater fluctuations in blood sugar due to activity, growth and hormone fluctuations," she said.
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Tanya Freirich, a certified diabetes educator in New York City working as The Lupus Dietitian, agreed that the closest replacement in terms of duration of action is Lantus (insulin glargine).
"One of the differences is the peak time," she told Fox News Digital.
"Lantus peaks [or lowers the blood sugar the most] at six hours after administration, while Levemir peaks at eight to 10 hours after administration. This difference would affect the appropriate timing for the medication to prevent dangerous blood sugar lows."
Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center and a Fox News medical contributor, said he is also disappointed by the news of the discontinuation.
"It is based on supply chain and production issues rather than a problem with the product," he told Fox News Digital.
"We definitely need biosimilar versions to replace it," he said. "It can be life-saving."
"Some patients really need a version of insulin and Levemir may be their best option."
Although Levemir is "very similar" to Lantus, Siegel said, it has two important differences: "It causes less weight gain and less hypoglycemia (low glucose)."
After Novo Nordisk’s November announcement of the discontinuation, Smart sprung into action.
She set up an online petition and began contacting the Food and Drug Administration and the World Health Organization.
"This drug is on the World Health Organization’s list of essential medicines," she said. "I just couldn't wrap my head around the possibility of this happening and people not being as outraged as I was."
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Smart also teamed up with other parents to form the Alliance to Protect Insulin Choice. She has visited Washington, D.C., twice to meet with senators and congressional representatives.
"Our goal is to have Novo Nordisk slow down the discontinuation, and produce Levemir insulin for a few years until a biosimilar is widely available," she said.
"We would like to find a biosimilar manufacturer to make this insulin, so it stays available."
While Smart recognizes that the medication may not be available "forever," she aims to slow down the discontinuation and keep Levemir available for a few more years — "because it will take that long to get a biosimilar up and running."
Smart’s efforts have also caught the attention of billionaire Mark Cuban, who expressed his willingness to partner with Novo Nordisk to continue producing Levemir.
When contacted by Fox News Digital, Cuban said that his pharmaceutical company, CostPlus Drug Company, is "trying to figure out a way to source [Levemir]."
"We aren’t there yet, but we are trying," he said.
Michigan district defends teaching elementary kids grammar lesson on 'tree,' 'ze' pronouns
A Michigan elementary school district is doubling down on a lesson for students about using novel gender pronouns, including the phrase "tree," with the superintendent saying it promoted "inclusivity."
Schavey Road Elementary School, in DeWitt, Mich., sent out a letter on April 11 informing parents of the school’s plans to "help students share and explore pronouns" in a lesson using the book "They She He Me: Free to Be!" by Maya Gonzalez, which includes cartoon pictures of men and women using interchangeable pronouns. The letter also states parents are able to opt their children out of the curriculum.
"We would like to inform you of a lesson that will be taught in your child's classroom," the April 11 letter said. "The lesson goals are to help students share and explore pronouns through discussion and literature to embrace differences and promote acceptance."
The book teaches kids to embrace nonbinary gender terminology, including "zie" and "tree."
"On the inside, you may not feel like a he or she at all," the book states. "Maybe they feels most free or you may feel like both she and he."
Children are taught they can "claim" their pronouns outside "he and she" by creating the way they want to be addressed.
"You can use your own name as a pronoun," the book says. "You can change pronouns from he to she or she to he. You can use new ones like ze or create your own like tree! Some people use they, which is a perfect way. There are many more pronouns waiting to be discovered and used."
The book also instructs kids to use the pronoun they observe a playmate saying and if they do not hear a pronoun, the child can always use "they." Children are also instructed to "play with pronouns" by imagining how characters feel on the inside and changing their pronouns.
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Tom Barrett, the Republican House candidate for the district where the school is located, called it "outrageous gender politics."
"There are ample ways and countless books that encourage kids to respect one another that most importantly don’t involve teaching outrageous gender politics and preferred pronouns to 6-year-olds, especially when most adults can’t keep up with their evolving definitions," he told Fox News Digital. "This is another attempt at robbing our kids of their childhoods."
The letter was signed by Schavey Road Elementary Principal Liz Crouch and DeWitt Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Shanna Spickard.
The superintendent, Dr. Shanna Spickard, released a statement to Fox News Digital, which said, "The principal, and I informed families directly involved about an upcoming lesson for their students. This optional mini-lesson is not part of the core curriculum but is a supportive measure to promote inclusivity, a core value of our district."
"In line with our approach to personal health curriculum, families received a letter outlining the lesson and providing an option to opt their child out if they wish. The mini-lesson is not designed to challenge or alter family beliefs. Instead, it aims to ensure a safe and respectful learning environment where students feel valued," the statement continued. "We encourage any DPS parents with concerns to contact the building or district administration for accurate information."
Republicans accuse Biden, Schumer of emboldening Iran prior to attack on Israel
Republicans in the Senate are accusing the Democratic Party, including President Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., of emboldening Iran prior to the country's recent attack on U.S. ally Israel.
"Instead of standing with our ally, Israel, Democrats are focused on appealing to their radical left base, which hates Israel and is actively supporting Hamas and Iran," Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital.
"To appease his base, Joe Biden allowed over $100 billion to flow to Iran. Iran then used that money to make drones and cruise missiles to attack Israel," Cruz said. "In a very real sense, Joe Biden funded Iran’s attack on Israel. The Democrat position on Israel and Iran is as illogical as it is indefensible."
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Iran attacked Israel directly over the weekend, launching hundreds of drone strikes as well as a barrage of ballistic and cruise missiles. With the help of the U.S. military, Israel managed to intercept almost all the incoming drone and missile attacks.
Iran's previous involvement in attacks against Israel has been through proxies in countries such as Syria and Yemen. Launching an assault from within its own country marks a major escalation from a proxy fight to a direct attack.
"Since October 7, Joe Biden and Chuck Schumer have tried to undermine Israel at every turn," Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "Whether it’s on the battlefield, at the UN, or in Congress, they are more interested in pleasing the pro-Hamas wing of their party than they are in helping our greatest ally in the Middle East."
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., pointed to the Democratic Party's shift on Israel, saying in a statement Saturday, "Tehran and its proxies are emboldened when they see divisions between the US and Israel."
Prior to the attack, Biden hardened his posture toward Israel as it fights Hamas in Gaza. Biden warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a call this month "that U.S. policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel’s immediate action on these steps" to address civilian casualties and ensure safety for humanitarian aid workers, according to the White House. The call followed an Israeli strike that led to the deaths of seven aid workers from World Central Kitchen.
Last month, Schumer sparked outrage from Republicans after calling on Israel in a floor speech to hold elections to replace Netanyahu, who he said "has put himself in coalition with far-right extremists" and "has been too willing to tolerate the civilian toll in Gaza."
"If Prime Minister Netanyahu’s current coalition remains in power after the war begins to wind down and continues to pursue dangerous and inflammatory policies that test existing U.S. standards for assistance, then the United States will have no choice but to play a more active role in shaping Israeli policy by using our leverage to change the present course," Schumer said.
Prior to his floor speech, Schumer requested a classified intelligence briefing, which he routinely receives, on the status of hostage negotiations between Israel and Hamas. The briefing revealed that there would be no disruptions to ongoing hostage negotiations if Schumer gave his speech, according to a source familiar.
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However, the source was unable to say whether any implications regarding Iran were relayed during the briefing.
Schumer's office also hit back at the claims, with spokesperson Allison Biasotti saying in a statement, "Leader Schumer has been clear that the United States’ commitment to Israel’s security is ironclad, and that the best way to deter enemies of Israel, like Iran, is for the House to promptly pass the bipartisan supplemental bill, with over $17 billion urgently needed for Israel’s defense and U.S. operations against Iranian-backed aggression in the Red Sea, which Schumer already passed in the Senate."
The majority leader's office said the attack on Israel was a response to the recent Israeli strike on Iran's consulate in Damascus, Syria, adding that Iran and Israel have been engaged in a lengthy conflict for years.
But according to one Democrat aide, there are senators in the party who are concerned about a growing number of Democrats' posture on Israel potentially giving Iran the sense that American support is wavering for its ally.
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., accused Biden of trying to "walk a tightrope of appeasing an increasingly radical base of his party while upholding the mainstream American position of support for Israel."
"The problem is the president isn’t walking a tightrope. He’s trying to straddle the Grand Canyon," he said in a statement.
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White House spokesperson Andrew Bates pushed back on criticism of Biden's posture toward Israel, and he rejected claims he emboldened Iran to attack, in a statement to Fox News Digital.
"Former Trump Administration officials and Fox News’ own reporting have debunked those lies," he said.
"President Biden is the only American President to have directly defended Israel, as he ordered the American military to do last weekend," Bates said. "He is also the only American President to have set foot in Israel during wartime, in support of our ironclad commitment to their security. Unlike others, he did not rail against Israel in the days after October 7th, nor has he ever praised Hezbollah."
Meanwhile, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., pointed to a recent effort to force votes on a stand-alone Israel aid bill in the Senate as she criticized her Democrat counterparts.
"This week, Senate Democrats again blocked immediate aid to Israel after Senator [Roger] Marshall and I demanded a vote to support our ally. The Left would rather play politics to appease their socialist base," she told Fox News Digital in a statement.
"It’s clear that the Biden administration and Leader Chuck Schumer refuse to back our most important ally in the Middle East," Blackburn continued.
Two Democrat congressional aides told Fox News Digital that the attack by Iran was expected. They said intelligence suggested it was in response to the consulate strike on April 1 that killed Iranian commanders.
Nevertheless, the scale of the Iranian attack and its direct targeting of Israel shocked many observers.
Democrats in the upper chamber objected to two requests for unanimous consent to vote on different versions of stand-alone Israel aid. However, most Democrats maintained support for a foreign aid package that ties Israel aid to Ukraine aid.
McConnell said last month that Schumer's call for new Israeli elections was both hypocritical and grotesque as well as "unprecedented."
"Make no mistake, the Democratic Party doesn’t have an anti-[Netanyahu] problem. It has an anti-Israel problem," the Republican leader said in floor remarks at the time.
Iranian academic at Princeton University accused of publicly supporting terror groups
FIRST ON FOX - A decades-old interview is adding to a widening scandal involving a former high-ranking Iranian official and controversial Princeton professor. Seyed Hossein Mousavian is accused of endorsing Hezbollah and Hamas in a 1997 German newspaper interview.
The new revelations about Mousavian’s pro-Hamas and pro-Hezbollah interview in a German paper, coupled with what some claim was an endorsement of an Iranian regime fatwa (religious order) ordering the assassination of British-American author Salman Rushdie, comes at a time when the Ivy League professor is the subject of a congressional probe. Mousavian is currently facing a U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce investigation for allegedly advancing the interests of Iran.
In November, Fox News Digital exclusively reported on the investigation into Mousavian’s ties to the world’s worst state-sponsor of terrorism, the Islamic Republic of Iran. The investigation is ongoing, and the congressional committee has not issued any findings.
In an interview back in 1997 with the left-wing German daily paper Taz, Mousavian, who was Iran’s Ambassador to Germany at the time, was asked if Iran supports groups like Hezbollah and Hamas. Mousavian seemed to put his support behind Hamas. "If by that you mean that we supply Hamas with weapons: No, we do not. But if you mean that we support the Palestinians in their struggle, yes, we do."
When asked by the paper if Iran provides Hezbollah support materially or financially, Mousavian said "We support Hezbollah morally and not by supplying weapons."
The U.S. Middle East Media Research Institute first translated Mousavian’s German language interview earlier this month on its website and provided background material on his alleged role in stoking terrorism in Europe, including the assassination of Kurdish dissidents in a Berlin restaurant named Mykonos in 1992.
Mousavian, a Middle East security and nuclear policy specialist at Princeton University, was hosted by the Obama administration, according to the Washington Free Beacon, at least three times at the White House, and invited to speak at an important U.S. STRATCOM military event in August 2023 during the Biden administration
According to the congressional letter, first obtained by Fox News Digital, Mousavian’s appearance at the STRATCOM symposium "concerned members of the Armed Services Committees of both the House and the Senate. Additionally, aspects of this issue trouble us as members of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce."
Mousavian told Fox News Digital in November that, "My talk at the U.S. Strategic Command was all about peace in the Middle East and why the U.S. should avoid wars and focus on peace and cooperation."
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When asked by Fox News Digital if he considers Hamas and Hezbollah terrorist organizations, Mousavian refused to answer numerous Fox News Digital press queries via email, telephone and WhatsApp. Fox News Digital approached Princeton University via telephone and email for comment. The Ivy League institution did not respond to Fox News Digital's questions.
Mousavian also seemed to defend the Iranian-led campaign to assassinate U.S. and British writer Salman Rushdie because the famous novelist depicted the Muslim prophet Muhammad irreverently.
In 2022, a 24-year-old man named Hadi Matar, who is fan of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization, allegedly stabbed Rushdie in the neck and liver during the author’s speech in Chautauqua, New York. After the attack, Rushdie lost sight in one eye and the use of one hand.
A Nov. 5, 1992 Reuters report, titled "German Opposition Wants Iranian Envoy Expelled," said that, " ...Hossein Mousavian was summoned to the German Foreign Ministry after remarking in a radio interview that Bonn would not act against its trade interests with Iran to back Rushdie's request for the death decree to be lifted."
The Reuters report continued "Social Democrat Freimut Duve told parliament in a special debate on what has become known as the ‘Rushdie Affair’ that Mousavian should leave Germany as he did not respect its laws."
In the radio interview after Rushdie's appearance, Mousavian defended the historic Islamic practice of imposing the death sentence for blasphemy.
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Mousavian declined to answer numerous Fox News Digital press queries about whether he continues to endorse the Iranian religious decree to murder Rushdie.
Mousavian denied his country’s role in the Iranian state-sponsored murders of the four Kurdish dissidents in the Mykonos restaurant. He termed the Berlin court verdict, which convicted Iranian and Hezbollah operatives of the assassinations, as "nonsense" in the German Taz interview. Mousavian refused to answer Fox News Digital press queries about his rejection of the Berlin court Mykonos verdict.
According to a 1997 article from the Berlin newspaper Der Tagesspiegel, Abolghasem Mesbahi, a former senior-level Iranian intelligence official, told a Berlin court during the Mykonos trial, "Mousavian participated in most of the [Iranian regime's] crimes that took place in Europe."
During Mousavian’s tenure as Iran’s ambassador to Germany, he was in charge of the embassy that the Berlin court found "served as the ‘headquarters" for the planning of the 1992 assassination of four Iranian dissidents at the Greek restaurant Mykonos in Berlin."
"This accusation is a big lie," Mousavian told Fox News Digital in November. "The 398-page verdict is published, and everyone can have access to it. The Berlin court verdict does not contain any direct or indirect allegations against me. German authorities never forced me to leave the country. … I have been a frequent visitor to Germany," added Mousavian.
The calls for Mousavian to be fired coincide with the scandal-plagued pro-Iran regime academic, Mohammad Jafar Mahallati, who taught at Oberlin College in Ohio.
Mahallati was Iran’s former ambassador to the U.N. from 1987-1989. Oberlin College ousted Mahallati in November 2023 after a mushrooming series of scandals, including Mahallati’s pro-Hamas teachings and calls for the destruction of the Jewish state. According to Amnesty International, Mahallati covered up the Iranian regime’s mass murder of 5,000 Iranian dissidents in 1988.
The California-based Alliance Against the Islamic Regime of Iran Apologists (AAIRIA) spearheaded the high-intensity campaign to fire Mahallati.
Iranian American human rights activist Lawdan Bazargan, the lead organizer on the AAIRIA campaign, told Fox News Digital about Mousavian "It is profoundly disheartening that Princeton University would appoint such an individual, allowing him to masquerade as a proponent of peace. To think that an agent of an oppressive Islamic regime, known for its flagrant disregard for religious freedom and its menacing slogans of ‘death to America’ and ‘death to Israel,’ could have the audacity to proclaim involvement in peace initiatives is nothing short of a cynical farce."
She added, "Princeton's endorsement of Mousavian tarnishes its reputation and undermines the principles of peace, tolerance, and academic integrity it purports to uphold."
AAIRIA urged Princeton to summarily fire Mousavian, who is not a tenured academic, and the NGO announced a protest at Princeton University next week against the controversial academic. Just last month, the National Association of Scholars issued a call to terminate Mousavian’s employment.
A leading antisemitism expert has claimed that Mousavian’s account contains antisemitic posts against Israel. Mousavian falsely claimed in an October X post that Israel bombed a hospital in Gaza and termed it "a crime similar to the Holocaust of Nazi Germany."
Rabbi Abraham Cooper, the associate dean of the Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Center, told Fox News Digital that "Cleary, this is a person who feels no matter what he does that his status will be protected at Princeton."
Regarding Mousavian comparing Israel with the crimes of Nazi Germany, Cooper said "that anyone who uses that language is proving his antisemitic credentials. He feels confident and is immune from any action against him."
A Fox News Digital examination of Mousavain’s X Posts since Oct. 7 shows the overwhelming number of posts are attacks on the Jewish state and support of many Hamas talking points, including that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
Cooper said "I think Princeton has a lot to answer for," and Mousavian should be disqualified as an academic in American higher education.
"To say this is a scandal would not give justice to the issues exposed. It might be time to call Princeton University forward at a congressional hearing because it covers issues of sensitive national security, "said Cooper, who has testified in Congress about antisemitism.
Oklahoma City bombing: FBI agent reflects on response to attack 29 years later
Nearly 30 years ago, Ret. FBI Special Agent Barry Black responded to the worst homegrown terrorist attack in U.S. history with just a year of experience as a bomb technician under his belt.
Black was one of two FBI bomb techs in the entire state of Oklahoma, including Jim Norman, when he arrived at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, which housed offices for approximately 500 government employees, around 9:30 on April 19, 1995. Nearly half an hour earlier, at 9:02, ex-Army soldier Timothy McVeigh ignited a bomb that took a third of the nine-floor building, killing 168 victims.
"It was horrific and chaotic. The scope and magnitude of the destruction was something like I had never seen before," Black told Fox News Digital of his memories of the attack 29 years later. "{I've] sadly seen similar since. But other than the first World Trade Center attack, the U.S. had not seen an attack like this."
Black's responsibility as a bomb tech was to "assess the scene," he said.
"We were told maybe it was an airplane crash or a gas main explosion. Clearly it was not. And … the scale was something that few had seen in this country," the former special agent said.
The explosion registered a 6.0 on the Richter scale and was felt an estimated 55 miles from the scene, according to the Justice Department. It left cars upturned and damaged more than 320 nearby buildings.
Among the 168 who perished in the attack, 19 were children, as the Murrah building housed a daycare on the second floor. The last of the deceased was a nurse who had been responding to the emergency when a piece of falling debris struck and killed her.
FBI JOINS SEARCH FOR MISSING KANSAS WOMEN IN OKLAHOMA
Black went into the building every week to pick up a paper paycheck. The tellers who handed him that paycheck every week "were all killed," Black recalled.
His wife, a federal probation officer, was also in the building that morning, but she drove out at 9 a.m., two minutes before the explosion.
"I have been to a number of these catastrophic events. What makes this a little different is: this was in my backyard. These were people I knew. My wife was in the building. At 9:00, she drove out — two minutes before the detonation — and it was about an hour and a half before I knew she was OK," Black recalled.
When he arrived, "the devastation was overwhelming," he said.
"But as I did what we call the initial survey — kind of a walkabout to try to assess the damage and get a handle on what may or may not have occurred — I asked some of the security people … if they'd seen my wife, and I recall one specifically said, 'Yep, I've seen her and she's fine.' Well, that sort of freed me up. He later told me that he had not. He just thought I needed to hear that she was OK. So, good, bad or indifferent, that's what he told me. And it took a little of the load off."
FBI DIRECTOR WARNS OF ‘ELEVATED' PUBLIC, NATIONAL SAFETY; PUSHES FOR INCREASED FUNDING
While sorting through rubble for evidence a day after the attack, investigators came across the rear axle of a Ryder rental truck used to detonate the bomb with an identification number on it.
"That morning, a reserve deputy called myself and the other bomb tech, Jim Norman, to that rear … axle, and he wiped away some grease, and we wrote down that CBI and then physically gave it to a runner who … took it to the command post," Black recalled.
From there, investigators were able to track down the fake name McVeigh used to rent the vehicle, and employees at the rental shop were able to help investigators put together a composite sketch of their suspect. Once the sketch was released to the public, a hotel employee in Junction City, Kansas, identified the suspect as 27-year-old McVeigh.
FBI DIRECTOR SAYS CHINESE HACKERS ARE 'POISED TO ATTACK' AS INFILTRATIONS REACH 'FEVER PITCH'
By April 21, authorities learned McVeigh was already in jail after a state trooper pulled him over about 80 miles north of Oklahoma City, just 90 minutes after the bombing, for a missing license plate, according to the FBI. He had a concealed weapon on him at the time and was detained.
Later on, federal agents found evidence of the chemicals used for the bomb on McVeigh's clothing and a business card on which he had written, "TNT @ $5/stick, need more," according to the FBI. Authorities also arrested Terry Nichols, who helped McVeigh make the deadly bomb.
Following 28,000 interviews that were conducted across the world, investigators were able to piece together McVeigh's and Nichols' motives for the horrific act: They were angry about the April 19, 1993, Waco siege, as well as the August 1992 siege at Ruby Ridge, according to the FBI and DOJ.
"I'm confident we know his motivation. It was intended to be the first blow in an upheaval and overthrow of the federal government," Black said. "Intent is one of those things that's intangible but required to prove. So there was a great deal of time spent looking into why he would do this. And the same is true whether it's domestic or international terrorism. But his motivation was proven clearly."
Black said lessons from the FBI's investigation into the Oklahoma City bombing are still relevant today, and those lessons are part of what he teaches as a professor at the University of Central Oklahoma Forensic Science Institute.
"There are specific things we would look for on scene, like parts of the bomb, parts of the vehicle that carried the bomb. And that information needs to get relayed quickly to the command post so that the larger, broader external investigation can begin. And that's how we had McVeigh and Nichols in custody in about 54 hours after detonation," Black explained. "It was a massive undertaking with law enforcement work[ing] very, very well together."
McVeigh was executed in 2001 at age 33.
Meet the American who never flinched in the fight for independence, Abigail Adams
"These are the times that try men’s souls," Thomas Paine wrote near the end of the turbulent, fear-filled year of 1776.
It was the soul of a woman, however, that defiantly withstood the weight of the trial — the miraculous fight for American independence — with five children at her hip.
Abigail Adams never flinched, never wavered.
Neither the crown then nor fellow citizens today can mistake her gamble on a bold new nation called the United States.
"We are no ways dispirited here. We possess a spirit that will not be conquered," Adams wrote to her husband, John, on Sept. 20, 1776, days after George Washington’s colonial army was routed by the British in Brooklyn and Manhattan.
Adams was just 31 with five small children at her humble farmhouse, with her husband far from home for much of their marriage.
Running a wartime home without a husband by her side appeared to only fuel her defiant independence. She added in that same letter: "If all our men are drawn off and we should be attacked, you would find a race of Amazons in America."
The now-former first lady is remembered as a gifted writer, wife and confidante of a Founding Father and the first of just two women to be both wife and mother of U.S. presidents. She was joined in that distinction, nearly 200 years later, by Barbara Bush.
But as her combative words proved, the 5-foot-6-inch New England mother was harder than the granite in the hills of Massachusetts. She stands among the greatest patriots in American history.
The toughest times in American history tried Adams' soul. The toughest times lost.
"No woman in the history of our nation contributed more or sacrificed more for our country than Abigail Adams," said Tom Koch, mayor of Quincy, Massachusetts, where Abigail lived most of her life, and a devoted scholar of Adams history.
She rests today within the Church of the Presidents, across from his office at Quincy City Hall.
He added, "She was a revolutionary in every sense of the word."
Abigail Smith was born on Nov. 22, 1774 in Weymouth, Massachusetts.
Her father, William Smith, was a Congregational minister. Her mother, Elizabeth (Quincy) Smith, was born into a prominent political family in colonial Massachusetts.
Abigail Adams' first cousin, Dorothy Quincy, was born and raised in the community of Quincy that would later bear the family name.
The first lady-to-be married a man born in Quincy, John Adams, in 1764.
Cousin Dorothy Quincy, for her part, married another rebel born in Quincy just a few hundred yards away from her. She and John Hancock wed in Oct. 1775, only six months after the Battle of Lexingon and Concord.
Adams and Hancock had betrothed themselves to a family steeped in warrior spirit and tradition.
"The origins of the Quincy family lie in Cuincy in northwestern Normandy, France, where a knight named ‘de Cuincy’ joined the 1066 invasion of Britain," historian Harlow Giles Unger wrote in "John Quincy Adams," a biography of Abigail’s oldest son, the sixth U.S. president.
The name evolved to Quincy, he writes, noting that a nobleman, the Saer de Quincy, led a rebellion against John, King of England, and "appears at the signing of the Magna Carta at Runnymede."
The two women, Abigail and Dorothy, in other words, provided the genetic link between the Magna Carta and the Declaration of Independence.
Both women bore eyewitnesses to the bloody birth of American independence.
Quincy watched the Battle of Lexington – April 19, 1775 – as 700 British troops marched on the tiny town in a quest to capture rebel munitions and her rebel beau, Hancock.
Adams watched the rebellion intensify two months later. She climbed a hill near the humble family farmhouse, which doubled as her husband's law office, and watched the Battle of Bunker Hill erupt across Boston Harbor with her 7-year-old son, John Quincy.
"The day, perhaps the decisive day, is come on which the fate of America depends," she wrote afterward. "My bursting heart must find vent at my pen."
She knew a difficult life lay ahead, yet never wavered.
"While her husband was away serving the new nation, she was raising five children and running their farm in time of war," Massachusetts historian Alexander Cain told Fox News Digital.
"The Siege of Boston was essentially outside her front door. She had to deal with inflation and food shortages and a daughter [Nabby], who was gravely ill."
She remained devoted to American independence in its darkest hours despite enormous risk.
"She would have lost everything. Her husband would have been tried for treason, her property confiscated," said Cain.
"But she was devoted to the cause and knew she had to set an example for her fellow women and fellow patriots. She was tough. She was absolutely tough."
The voluminous correspondence of 1,100 letters between Abigail and John Adams provide perhaps the most important primary source of study of the American Revolution.
"Abigail (Smith) Adams did not have a formal education, but proved to be an extremely resourceful partner to John Adams," reports the website of the Massachusetts Historical Society, the repository today of the correspondence between the two.
"While he was away on numerous political assignments, she raised their children, managed their farm, and stayed abreast of current events during one of the country's most turbulent times."
The letters, the site observes, "demonstrate her perceptive comments about the Revolution and contain vivid depictions of the Boston area."
Adams proved her steel during the Second Continental Congress, where the delegation born in Quincy – her husband, Hancock and Samuel Adams – went to Philadelphia to convince the other colonies to join the revolt.
The rebellion was over in Massachusetts, the colony that effectively revolted against the British alone at first.
The Redcoats fled Boston in humiliation on March 17, 1776. They never returned.
The war moved elsewhere, to New York and the southern colonies.
But the stakes only grew higher. So did the fear.
But one rebellion wasn’t enough for Abigail.
MEET THE AMERICAN WHO WROTE ‘THE BATTLE HYMN OF THE REPUBLIC’
The Founding Fathers understood that they sat on the cusp of an unprecedented opportunity in history, to remake a more equitable society for mankind.
Adams saw the same unprecedented opportunity to remake a more equitable society for womankind.
"I desire you would remember the Ladies," Adams wrote to her husband in the days before the passage of the Declaration of Independence.
The two sentences that follow "remember the ladies" portray the fire of her revolutionary spirit and signature defiance.
"Remember all Men would be tyrants if they could," she wrote. "If particular care and attention is not paid to the Ladies, we are determined to foment a Rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any Laws in which we have no voice, or Representation."
The demand represented a conviction to independence displayed by American women not often chronicled in history books, according to Cain.
"Women played a significant role in the build-up of the war," he said. "They were the ones boycotting British goods and hosting spinning bees to make their own fabric so they didn't have to buy British fabric. They were the ones who had to protect the home front and care for the children."
Adams' cry to "remember the ladies" was a demand, Cain said, to recognize the role women played in American independence.
Abigail Adams died on Oct. 28, 1818. She was 73 years old.
John Adams lived six more years.
He died hauntingly on July 4, 1826 – the same exact day as Thomas Jefferson – the 50th anniversary of the American Independence both men famously helped forge.
The couple's oldest son, John Quincy, was serving as secretary of state under President James Monroe at the time of Abigail Adams' death.
She never got to see her son, the scared little boy who watched the Battle of Bunker Hill at his mother's side, ascend to the White House — which he did in 1825.
John and Abigail Adams, plus John Quincy Adams and his wife, Louisa Catherine Adams, lie side by side today in granite tombs in the family crypt in the United First Parish Church in Quincy.
It's better known locally as the Church of the Presidents. The congregation dates back to 1639. The Rev. John Hancock, father of the patriot, was once its minister. He's buried across the street in a nearly 400-year-old cemetery alongside 69 veterans of the American Revolution.
John and Abigail Adams moved into an estate in Quincy after the war, which they dubbed Peacefield, the name reflecting their hopes after decades of turmoil.
It's now the centerpiece of the Adams National Historical Park, along with the nearby birthplaces of the two presidents.
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The site where mother and son watched the Battle of Bunker Hill on "that decisive day" is memorialized today with the Abigail Adams Cairn, a fieldstone monument with the inscription of her words.
Abigail Adams has been remembered in numerous dramatic accounts and biographies. The white Yorkist roses she brought back from England after the war in 1788 and planted at Peacefield still bloom every spring.
John and Abigail Adams passed their gift for words to John Quincy Adams, who spoke or read nine languages.
He penned a tribute to his parents, scripted on a white marble tablet above the altar of the Church of the Presidents.
It captures in poetic beauty the profound gift his parents gave to the world through times that try men’s and women’s souls.
"During a union of more than half a century they survived in harmony of sentiment, principle and affection the tempests of civil commotion; meeting undaunted and surmounting the terrors and trials of revolution which secured the freedom of their country, improved the condition of their times; and brightened the prospects of futurity to the race of man upon Earth."
To read more stories in this unique "Meet the American Who…" series from Fox News Digital, click here.
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Dem-linked political group blasted for meddling in key GOP primary to boost challenger: 'Lame attempt'
A California-based group linked to Democrats is getting involved in a Pennsylvania congressional primary by boosting a Republican against a Republican incumbent in the latest example of liberal funds being directed toward a GOP primary.
True Patriots PA, a liberal group linked to California Democrat Rep. Eric Swalwell, sent out mailers to Pennsylvania voters to slam GOP Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick and say he is not conservative enough, in essence boosting his primary opponent, Mark Houck, Politico first reported this week.
Fox News Digital obtained some of those mailers that framed Fitzpatrick as a "RINO" ("Republican in name only") and implied he wasn’t conservative enough for the base that supports former President Trump.
"MAGA is ready to bag the biggest RINO in Congress," reads one of the mailers along with a photo of Fitzpatrick photoshopped onto a rhinoceros body. "We sent Brian Fitzpatrick to D.C. to represent our values, instead, he became best friends with Kamala Harris and the Democrats," another mailer said.
FEC records show True Patriots PA spent roughly $26,000 on the mailer.
Meagan Olson is listed as treasurer for both True Patriots PA and the Swalwell campaign.
"I consider Brian a friend and someone who has bravely defied his party to help secure Ukraine aid," Rep. Swalwell told Fox News Digital in a statement. "I have never heard of his primary opponent and am not involved or support any effort to defeat Brian in the primary. My office uses a professional compliance firm that serves as treasurer for dozens of campaigns."
When reached for comment, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) directed Fox News Digital to a Washington Post article in January 2024 in which DCCC Chair Rep. Suzan DelBene said her group no longer supports the strategy of propping up "far-right" candidates in swing districts.
"It should come as no surprise that a group connected to Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat who is so dumb that he was tricked into sleeping with a Chinese spy, would be propping up self-described chronic masturbator Mark Houck in the Republican Primary against Brian Fitzpatrick," Defending America PAC’s Chris Pack told Fox News Digital.
"Even Democrats as intellectually challenged as Eric Swalwell know that their best chance at flipping the one seat needed to take back Democrat control of the House of Representatives is if Mark Houck beats Brian Fitzpatrick in the primary next Tuesday."
Houck, a pro-life activist, has made previous acknowledgments that he "had a pornography problem" as a young man and spoke openly at a church conference about talking to his son about masturbation and erections.
DEMOCRATS RIPPED FOR ADMITTING 'QUIET PART OUT LOUD' AFTER PANIC ABOUT KEY STRATEGY HELPING TRUMP
"I struggled with pornography, and of course that leads to sexual sin, masturbation and stuff. That was a chronic habit," Houck said in a 2010 interview, which Defending America PAC included in an ad titled "Beat it."
In a recent statement, Houck said he "fell victim to the dehumanizing effects of the pornography industry" over "two decades ago." He also defended the conversation about his son, saying the clips circulating online "seizes on de-contextualized comments I made with my son present in public pursuit of this transformative ministry" meant to steer people away from pornography.
The Democrat group boosting Houck is the latest example of a recent trend in which liberal funds have been used to back Republican challengers in an effort to sink candidates who support or are supported by former President Trump.
PACs linked to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer have spent millions meddling in GOP primaries this cycle, including in swing state Senate races in Ohio and Montana.
Duty and Country PAC, affiliated with Schumer, ran ads during the Ohio GOP Senate primary that accused Trump-backed businessman Bernie Moreno of being "too conservative for Ohio." That effort proved unsuccessful in the primary as Moreno won every county in the Buckeye State, beating his nearest challenger by almost 20 points.
In 2022, Democrats spent more than $40 million to boost six pro-Trump candidates in Republican primaries, and all six of those Republicans lost their general election races to Democrats.
Fitzpatrick, who has so far declined to say if he will endorse Trump, voted against impeaching Trump twice and won re-election in 2022 by almost 10 points, despite Biden carrying the 1st Congressional district.
"After years of brutal losses, the far-left has finally figured out they have no chance of beating Congressman Fitzpatrick, so they’ve now tagged California left-wing extremists to meddle in his primary using the same violent political rhetoric they claim to stand against," Fitzpatrick campaign spokesperson Ben Trundy told Fox News Digital in statement.
"This lame attempt to prop up Mark Houck, an admitted porn addict and serial grifter who believes in complete abortion bans with no exceptions, shows just how desperate they are to force their extreme policies on Bucks and Montgomery County voters."
Israel strikes site in Iran in retaliation for weekend assault: source
Israel carried out limited strikes in Iran early Friday in retaliation for Tehran firing a barrage of missiles and drones at Israel last Saturday.
A well-placed military source has told Fox News that the strike was "limited." Sources familiar said the U.S. was not involved and there was pre-notification to the U.S. from the Israelis.
Fox News Digital confirmed there have been explosions in Iran's Isfahan province, which is where Natanz, one of Iran's nuclear facilities, is located.
Though it was initially unclear if the facility was hit, state television described all sites in the area as "fully safe" and the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed on X Friday morning that there is no damage.
Details surrounding the intended target of the strike – if there was one – were not immediately available, but Fox News was able to confirm the target was "not nuclear or civilian."
As of early Friday morning, Pentagon officials have not confirmed the strike and the White House and the National Security Council (NSC) have declined to comment on the unfolding situation.
The semiofficial Fars news agency reported on the sound of explosions over Isfahan near its international airport. It offered no explanation for the blast. However, Isfahan is home to a major airbase for the Iranian military, as well as sites associated with its nuclear program.
A senior Iranian official allegedly told Reuters that Iran has no plans to immediately respond to the Israeli strike, which was described differently on Iranian state media. The explosions heard in Isfahan were allegedly a result of the country's air defense systems activating and not a missile attack, the official told Reuters.
Iran temporarily grounded commercial flights in Tehran and across areas of its western and central regions in response to the attack. Restrictions have since been lifted on flights to and from Khomeini and Mehrabad international airports in Tehran, according to Iranian news agency Tasnim.
Dubai-based carriers Emirates and FlyDubai began diverting around western Iran at 4:30 a.m. local time.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, FlyDubai said flight FZ 1929 from Dubai to Tehran on Friday morning returned to Dubai because the Imam Khomeini International Airport was closed. The airline also said all of its flights to Iran on Friday have been canceled.
"The safety of our passengers and crew is our priority. We are monitoring the situation closely and will make changes to our flight paths in consultation with the relevant authorities," a FlyDubai spokesperson said. "We will share any further updates once more information becomes available."
ISRAEL'S ADVANCED MILITARY TECHNOLOGY ON FULL DISPLAY DURING IRAN'S ATTACK
In response to Israel's reported strike on Iran, the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem issued a security notice Friday morning "out of an abundance of caution" restricting U.S. government employees and their family members from personal travel outside the greater Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Be'er Sheva areas until further notice.
Iran attacked Israel over the weekend in retaliation for a deadly strike on Iran's consulate in Syria earlier this month that killed a dozen people, including a top general. Israel has not publicly claimed responsibility for the attack.
The weekend attack by Iran marked a major escalation of violence. Despite decades of hostilities between the two nations, Iran has never directly attacked Israel, instead relying on proxy forces in Iraq, Lebanon and elsewhere.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Explore Virginia: What to do, tour and see on your next vacation
Virginia's motto, "Virginia is for lovers," captures only a fraction of its allure.
The state boasts a wide range of activities that cater to solo travelers, groups of friends and families alike.
Virginia has historical treasures like Colonial Williamsburg, Thomas Jefferson's Monticello and George Washington's Mount Vernon.
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The state’s landscapes and family-friendly theme parks offer ample entertainment for those looking for fun and outdoor adventures.
Here's much more.
Virginia offers a view into America's past; visitors can journey through the nation's historical narrative. The state encapsulates a significant part of Civil War history because the Confederacy moved its capital to Richmond, and the state witnessed more battles than any other.
This rich historical landscape of Virginia offers abundant learning experiences for families and history buffs.
Among the notable destinations is the district of Jackson Ward in Richmond, once heralded as the "Harlem of the South" and celebrated as a cradle of Black entrepreneurship. It stands as a monument to African American communities' vital contributions and vibrant culture.
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Colonial Williamsburg is an immersive experience that allows visitors to travel back to the Colonial era. The historic park includes a living rendition of this period as actors re-enact Colonial life on a 301-acre backdrop of reconstructed shops, homes and other structures modeled after their original forms.
Arlington National Cemetery, renowned as a final resting place for many of the nation's esteemed heroes, is the most famous cemetery in the world. Hosting more than 300,000 veterans who served in American conflicts spanning from the Revolutionary War to recent engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan, the cemetery has been a solemn sanctuary since 1864.
It allows visitors to pay respect to the sacrifices of the United States' servicemen and women.
Arlington National Cemetery is accessible every day of the year without charge and welcomes guests to tour the grounds. The changing of the guard ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, occurring hourly from October to March and at 30-minute intervals from April to September, is an intricate observance many enjoy.
The grave of President John F. Kennedy stands among a host of other significant tombs available to visit.
Virginia houses many prominent American landmarks, including Historic Jamestowne, which was recognized as North America's initial permanent English settlement. Sent by the Virginia Company, explorers reached Virginia's shores in quest of precious metals and to found an English colony in the New World.
A visit to this historic island typically lasts several hours to half a day, during which guests can explore the various historical landmarks. Historic Jamestowne offers a range of educational activities that family members of all ages can enjoy.
Virginia offers much more than historical monuments. Virginia's thrilling theme parks, including Massanutten WaterPark, Ocean Breeze Waterpark and Water Country USA, offer an array of adventures for travelers seeking fun and excitement.
Families, friends and lovers can experience world-class rides at Kings Dominion, a 400-acre combination theme and water park. The park features over 60 rides and attractions, boasting some of the largest on the East Coast. Admission includes access to Soak City, the park's expansive 20-acre waterpark.
Busch Gardens, acclaimed by visitors as the world's most beautiful theme park, indulges visitors with a European-themed experience. As guests travel through the park, they witness the cultural highlights of England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Germany and Italy through cuisine, roller coasters, live shows and other attractions.
The Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg spans 55,000 square feet and is a premier indoor and outdoor family fun attraction. It features a lazy river, a children's pool, and tube slides suitable for the young and the young at heart.
Virginia is a mecca for those who enjoy living life outdoors. From hiking in Shenandoah National Park to exploring the Grand Caverns, the state has an outdoor adventure for everyone.
MAKING CAMPING FUN FOR EVERYONE WITH S'MORES, GAMES AND MORE
Adventurers of all ages will enjoy traveling down the Potomac River, which George Washington called the "Great Avenue into the Western Country." With more than 300 miles designated as a National Recreation Trail, many sections exist for day or weekend trips. The Potomac River connects four states and the District of Columbia.
Shenandoah, the first of Virginia’s national parks, offers visitors sights of all varieties. With cascading waterfalls, scenic vistas and majestic fields of wildflowers, the nature enthusiast will have no unsatiated appetite for exploration.
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Shenandoah National Park offers hikes for all levels, starting at 2.5 miles. Visitors can take advantage of these walking paths and hiking trails to see all that the Shenandoah Valley has to offer.
One sight that can’t be missed is Natural Bridge State Park, located in the Shenandoah Valley. The Natural Bridge is a natural geological formation that has been designated as a National Historic Landmark and Virginia Historic Landmark. Visitors can traverse under the bridge and then travel down 34 stories to explore the deepest caves on the East Coast.
Discovered in 1804 by Bernard Weyer, the Grand Caverns are the United States' oldest show cave in continuous operation, as stated on the park's official website.
Visitors can explore rock formations, Civil War-era treasures and above-ground adventures like a fitness trail and miniature golf course.
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