President Donald Trump said he believes Venezuela is ‘feeling heat’ amid his administration’s war against alleged drug boats in the Caribbean, which has taken out at least two vessels in just the past week. 

Although Trump has said the strikes are intended to curb the influx of drugs into the United States, experts and some lawmakers contend that they serve another purpose: to exert pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro so he’s ousted from power. 

‘The Trump administration is likely attempting to force Maduro to voluntarily leave office through a series of diplomatic moves, and now military action and the threat thereof,’ Brandan Buck, a foreign policy analyst at the Cato Institute, said in an email to Fox News Digital Thursday. ‘Whether this constitutes a ‘regime change’ or something else is a question of semantics.’ 

The Trump administration repeatedly has said it does not recognize Maduro as a legitimate head of state, but instead, a leader of a drug cartel. In August, the Trump administration upped the reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest to $50 million, labeling him ‘one of the largest narco-traffickers in the world.’

So far, the Trump administration has been tight-lipped when asked about Maduro, and Trump declined to answer Wednesday when asked if the CIA had the authority to ‘take out’ Maduro. 

However, Trump confirmed that he authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela, after the New York Times reported Wednesday he signed off on the move. Trump told reporters he did so because Venezuela has released prisoners into the U.S., and that drugs were coming into the U.S. from Venezuela through sea routes. 

Additionally, Trump confirmed Friday that Maduro offered to grant the U.S. access to Venezuelan oil and other natural resources, claiming the Venezuelan leader didn’t want to ‘f*** around’ with the U.S. 

Still, these recent strikes are unlikely to majorly undermine drug flow into the U.S., according to Buck. 

‘It is more likely that those strikes are part of this incremental effort to dislodge Maduro than merely an effort to wage war on the cartels,’ Buck said. ‘Pacific and overland routes through Mexico are considerably more prolific, and Venezuela itself is a relatively minor player, especially when it comes to fentanyl.’ 

The Trump administration has employed maritime forces to address drug threats, and has bolstered naval assets in the Caribbean in recent months. For example, Trump has sent several U.S. Navy guided missile destroyers to enhance the administration’s counter-narcotics efforts in the region starting in August.

Geoff Ramsey, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council international affairs think tank, said that the Trump administration wants these additional forces to encourage the Venezuelan military to take matters into their own hands. 

‘What President Trump is hoping is that this deployment will signal to the Venezuelan military that they should rise up against Maduro themselves,’ Ramsey said in a Thursday email to Fox News Digital. ‘The problem is that we haven’t seen this approach bear fruit in twenty years of trying. Maduro is terrible at governing, but good at keeping his upper ranks fat and happy while the people starve.’

‘What is needed here is some kind of a road map, or a blueprint for a transition, that can be more attractive to the ruling party and those around Maduro who might secretly want change but need to see a future for themselves in a democratic Venezuela,’ Ramsey said. 

Meanwhile, the second Trump administration has adopted a hard-line approach to address the flow of drugs into the U.S., and designated drug cartel groups like Tren de Aragua, Sinaloa and others as foreign terrorist organizations in February.

Additionally, the White House sent lawmakers a memo Sept. 30 informing them that the U.S. is now participating in a ‘non-international armed conflict’ with drug smugglers, and has conducted at least six strikes against vessels off the coast of Venezuela. The U.S. seized survivors from the most recent strike Thursday — the first one involving survivors. At least 28 other individuals have died from previous strikes. 

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have voiced concerns over the legality of the strikes, and Sens. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Tim Kaine, D-Va., filed a war powers resolution in September to bar U.S. forces from engaging in ‘hostilities’ against certain non-state organizations.

The resolution failed in the Senate by a 51–48 margin on Oct. 8, but Republicans Rand Paul of Kentucky and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voted alongside their Democratic counterparts for the resolution.

On Friday, Schiff, Kaine and Paul introduced another narrower war powers resolution that would block U.S. armed forces from participating in ‘hostilities’ against Venezuela specifically. The lawmakers said the resolution came in response to Trump’s comments considering land operations in Venezuela. 

‘The Trump administration has made it clear they may launch military action inside Venezuela’s borders, and won’t stop at boat strikes in the Caribbean,’ Schiff said in a statement Friday. ‘In recent weeks we have seen increasingly concerning movements and reporting that undermine claims that this is merely about stopping drug smugglers. Congress has not authorized military force against Venezuela. And we must assert our authority to stop the United States from being dragged—intentionally or accidentally—into full-fledged war in South America.’

When asked about lawmakers’ concerns about the legality of the strikes, Trump dismissed them and said that lawmakers were informed the vessels carried drugs. 

‘But they are given information that they were loaded up with drugs,’ Trump said on Tuesday. ‘And that’s the thing that matters. When they’re loaded up with drugs, they’re fair game. And every one of those ships were and they’re not ships, they’re they’re boats.’ 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

I went to England on a history vacation. It turned into an archaeological expedition, uncovering the bones of a once-great civilization. 

All the tourist sites are still there. You can still see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, recall the ‘V’ for victory in the Churchill War Rooms or be inspired to pray at Westminster Abbey. But those are mere historical artifacts, like the pyramids of Egypt or the Acropolis in Greece. The ideals and most of the people who believe in them are long gone.

I was in London less than 24 hours before a terror attack killed two people in a Manchester synagogue. Police also killed the terrorist, a Syrian-born, 35-year-old immigrant named Jihad Al-Shamie, who they said had pledged himself to ISIS. Two innocent Jewish people are dead and a walking, talking metaphor was the cause. Jewish citizens admitted the assault was shocking but not surprising, given the rise of antisemitism in England. 

Two days later, thousands of ‘pro-Palestinians’ held a protest around Trafalgar Square. I watched police arrest a few radicals, while the crowd chanted, ‘Free Palestine.’ British Prime Minister Keir Starmer urged everyone not to protest on the Oct. 7th anniversary of the attack on Israel because he said it was ‘un-British.’ Unfortunately, it’s all too British these days. Britain has imported millions of people who hold no allegiance to its nation or its beliefs. They brought with them both a hatred of Jewish people and Western civilization. 

On Oct. 11, hundreds of thousands of ‘pro-Palestine’ protesters marched in London, shutting down streets and businesses. Even the ceasefire in Gaza didn’t satisfy them. It’s Starmer’s fault. He recognized a Palestinian state, rewarding Hamas for its barbaric assault on Israel and emboldening the protesters. 

Now, the government has to try to look good. It told universities they must ‘take stronger action to protect Jewish students,’ according to Reuters. But, a new YouGov poll says one out of five Britons holds antisemitic views. The message to Jews in England seems disturbingly similar to what it was in 1930s Germany: get out while you still can.

That is only one aspect of the failed British state. Some British people understand they had their history and culture stolen from them, but fear their government enough that they are unwilling or unable to do anything about it. One resident I met was afraid to even wear the British flag for fear of arrest. The same individual referred to England as a ‘tinder box’ that could turn into a civil war.

Those feelings aren’t surprising. A Labour Party member of the British Parliament, Jeevun Sandler, came out on Oct. 12, urging England to take down its flag from lamp posts because it was seen as ‘unwelcoming’ to immigrants. A local politician was investigated by police after she said she was ‘born and bred here.’ And a recent study from the University of Leicester’s Centre for Hate Studies complains that rural England is ‘overwhelmingly White’ and needs ‘inclusion.’ 

It’s not just politics. Canterbury Cathedral, a truly majestic monument to Christianity and Western civilization, was turned into a site for a graffiti-like art demonstration of England’s decline and fall. Christianity Today explains it as an, ‘art exhibit titled ‘Hear Us,’ which features temporary graffiti stickers that were slapped on Canterbury’s stone pillars and aim to highlight minorities while posing challenging questions to God.’ Artist Alex Vellis self describes as ‘an agender goblin-thing.’ Just the person you’d pick to decorate one of the world’s most famous religious sites.

What Vellis did is not art. It’s desecration. Thank God, I saw the cathedral just before this betrayal.

Major institutions embraced the guilt complex that causes all this. It is common for tour guides, museum employees and docents to fill their talks with leftist talking points about climate change and immigration. Many historic sites I visited were quick to demonize British history. Explorer and privateer Sir Francis Drake, who heroically defended England against the Spanish armada, is slammed as an enslaver at the very maritime museum he helped inspire.

British media is worse. The BBC is almost laughably left wing. It layered discussions of the Manchester terror attack with the typical refrain, ‘but Israel.’ Other outlets weren’t as bad, but that’s not saying much. Even commercials show the built-in biases. I saw at least 13 Unicef UK Ads on my television. Nine were about providing aid to Gaza, one more was for Yemen. There were no ads about helping Christians being genocided In Africa. Or even aiding Muslims in China or Myanmar, where they are also being persecuted. Of course, they aren’t fighting Israel in those locations.

Starmer’s many failures make him wildly unpopular and the Reform Party is polling high, looking like it could sweep future elections. The British response is to crack down even more. Rather than defend its own history and culture, the government wars against them. Already, 12,000 people are arrested each year for what they say online. 

British politician and journalist Daniel Hannan summarized these problems with the question, ‘Why are so many British leaders anti-British?’

Those problems are already here in America, they simply haven’t taken root as strongly yet. England is perhaps 10 or 20 years ahead of us. It can serve as a warning or a peek at our inevitable decline. Our campuses are filled with indoctrinated young people, ignorant of history and eager to carry whatever banner will tear down America and the West. It doesn’t matter if it’s the flag of communism or Hamas.

There are some in England who haven’t given up. But the fear is that it is too late. And looking around England, it’s hard to feel otherwise. For America, it’s not too late… yet.

Senate Republicans are worried about the precedent that Senate Democrats have set for future funding fights as the shutdown continues into its 20th day.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and the Democratic caucus have dug in deep on their demand for an extension to expiring Obamacare subsidies and have worked to spin the narrative from a battle to fund the government to a fistfight for healthcare.

But it’s been over three weeks since Schumer and Democrats blocked Republicans’ first attempt to pass the House GOP’s continuing resolution (CR). And since then, there are no signs that Democrats are willing to back down from their demands.

‘I think Schumer has basically sort of destroyed the institution of the Senate,’ Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital. ‘He has, you know, whether it’s what he’s done on the nominees or with this shutdown. I think he’s made government unmanageable. So, hopefully, this is not the way we continue to operate.’

Informal talks between the parties have ebbed and flowed over the course of the shutdown, but neither side is any closer to an off-ramp than they were when the first vote failed late last month.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., has been involved in those talks but noted that this week they have been fading. When asked if he was worried that Democrats’ shutdown posture might be replicated in the future, he told Fox News Digital, ‘I can’t worry about their position.’

‘It doesn’t make sense,’ he said. ‘If there was a strategy behind it, OK, we get out, we can figure out how to move them. But there is no strategy. It’s just like, burn it all down.’

Senate Republicans now view Democrats’ shutdown position as a hostage-taking exercise, with no real ground for negotiations until after the government reopens.

‘We can’t negotiate with them until we come out of shutdown,’ Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., told Fox News Digital. ‘You can’t hold the government hostage. And that’s why it’s very important — we’ve said we’ll work on all these different issues they want to bring up. But you can’t shut down the government, hold the government hostage as part of negotiation.’

The informal talks, which Republicans quickly note aren’t full-blown negotiations, have produced an olive branch of sorts from Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., who signaled to Senate Democrats that he would offer them a vote on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium tax credits if they voted to reopen the government.

But for a 10th time on Thursday, they blocked his effort to turn the lights back on and then hours later blocked a procedural move to allow lawmakers to consider the annual defense spending bill.

In both instances, Democrats wanted guarantees that Thune and Republicans could not provide.

‘The Dems, someday, they’re going to rue the day they did this, because we have offered up an open appropriations process, regular order, doing things that way,’ Thune told Fox News Digital.

‘I think it’s unfortunate, but it’s a reality that we’re dealing with,’ he continued. ‘And I hope they change their mind and realize that it’s in everybody’s best interest to try and at least get the government open and then start going to work and funding the government the old-fashioned way.’

Many Republicans hope that after the ‘No Kings’ rally in Washington, D.C., over the weekend that Senate Democrats may have a change of heart.

But others see it as a performative opportunity for congressional Democrats to show they are fighting back against President Donald Trump and the GOP.

‘Typically, if you reward bad behavior, you get more bad behavior,’ Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, told Fox News Digital. ‘That’s what the Democrats are basically doing. They’re pretending that President Trump didn’t get elected last November. That’s basically the whole fight, because they have the goofballs that are going to be here Saturday, so they have to show the goofballs they’re fighting.’

President Donald Trump kicked off the week with a major breakthrough brokering a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, and closed out the week seeking to make progress on the next global conflict: Ukraine. 

Trump met with Israeli lawmakers in the Knesset on Monday, before heading to Egypt where he met with leaders there as well as Qatar, Turkey and other regional powers. The president urged countries in the region to ‘put the old feuds and bitter hatreds behind us.’

‘At long last, we have peace in the Middle East, and it’s a very simple expression, peace in the Middle East,’ Trump told reporters in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

‘We’ve heard it for many years, but nobody thought it could ever get there. And now we’re there,’ Trump said. 

The peace deal in the Middle East includes a provision to return the hostages that were still in captivity within 72 hours of Hamas signing off on the deal. It also called for Israeli forces to withdraw its troops and a complete disarmament of Hamas.

Now, Trump has said that he will set his sights on resolving the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, and met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Friday at the White House. 

While Trump said that there is momentum to solve the conflict on the heels of the peace deal in the Middle East, there is ‘tremendous bad blood’ between Putin and Zelenskyy that is stalling a resolution. 

‘They have tremendous bad blood,’ Trump told reporters. ‘It’s really is what is holding up I think a settlement. I think we are going to get it done, and we have to make it long-lasting, as I said in the Middle East, everlasting.’ 

‘The Middle East is a much more complicated situation. You know, we had 59 countries involved, and every one of them agreed. And it’s, you know, it’s sort of amazing. Most people didn’t think that was doable. This is going to be something I really believe that’s going to get done. I had a very good talk yesterday with President Putin. I think he wants to get it done,’ Trump said. 

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy said that Trump has a big opportunity to make headway on mediating an end to the conflict. 

‘President Trump has really showed for the world that he can manage a ceasefire in the Middle East. And that’s why I hope that he will do this. And we will also have such big success. For Ukraine, it’s a big chance, and I hope that President Trump can manage it,’ Zelenskyy said Friday. 

President Donald Trump recently awarded late Turning Point USA founder and CEO Charlie Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom just over one month after the activist was assassinated. Kirk was outspoken about his conservative and pro-life views, and his legacy has inspired a new wave of activism.

Shawn Carney, the president and CEO of 40 Days for Life, praised President Donald Trump as ‘the most pro-life president we’ve ever had,’ telling Fox News Digital that pro-life Americans were delighted to see the president honor Kirk.

‘It was so beautiful to see him honor Charlie,’ Carney said. ‘He represented freedom, and there would be no pro-life movement without free speech. Free speech is what 40 Days for Life is built on, it’s what the pro-Life dialogue is built upon. It’s [what] Charlie gave his life for, and it was really, really beautiful for all pro-life Americans to see him honored with the highest honor we have in our nation.’

Kirk was known for participating in debates across the country and the globe, often confronting his harshest critics. Carney believes that Kirk’s willingness to go into tough arenas as well as his approachable and ‘authentic’ nature drew young people to him and the pro-life movement.

‘Charlie was open and was honest, and he was also humble and willing to talk to you,’ Carney told Fox News Digital, adding that being approachable, as Kirk was, is crucial in pro-life activism.

‘So many people have been hurt by abortion. So many people feel strongly in support of reproductive rights. And you just can’t go in and yell or say you’re going to burn in hell. You have to approachable, you have to use reason, you can’t be afraid to share your faith, as Charlie wasn’t,’ he added.

Carney said that 40 Days for Life has seen an uptick in interest, particularly among young activists, in the wake of Kirk’s assassination.

‘His tragic assassination was just two weeks before we kicked off one of our largest fall 40 Days for Life campaigns around the world,’ Carney said. ‘Over 700 cities participating, and we saw a huge uptick, a 36% increase in participation. We had so many young people come out… who knew who Charlie Kirk was, and were inspired by him to participate in 40 Days for Life, who then brought their parents out to pray at our vigils.’

He recalled one young woman — who he did not name — who said she was ‘so afraid’ to participate in pro-life activism prior to Kirk’s death. Carney noted that despite the ‘horrible images’ of the assassination, many felt empowered and compelled to speak up about their beliefs.

‘You thought the opposite would happen, that she’d be more afraid and others would be more afraid, but that didn’t happen,’ he said. ‘It literally inspired her to overcome years of fear.’

Carney also spoke about a TPUSA chapter leader whose mother tried to talk her son out of participating in either TPUSA or 40 Days for Life. The young man apparently told his mother that Charlie would have wanted him to speak out and not to run from culture wars.

When asked what Kirk’s message to pro-life activists would be if he were still alive, Carney said it would be to not give up. Carney added that he has heard newcomers inspired by Kirk say they believe that the TPUSA founder would want them to be outspoken and not to ‘cower.’

‘Right now in our culture, there’s a lot of reasons to be afraid, we can’t give in to them, we have to go out, we have to speak the truth and love, and that is what changes hearts and minds, and that’s the best way we can honor Charlie,’ Carney told Fox News Digital.

The U.S. Department of State on Saturday warned there are ‘credible reports’ that Hamas may break the peace agreement with a ‘planned attack’ on Palestinian civilians. 

‘This planned attack against Palestinian civilians would constitute a direct and grave violation of the ceasefire agreement and undermine the significant progress achieved through mediation efforts,’ the department said in a statement on social media. ‘The guarantors demand Hamas uphold its obligations under the ceasefire terms.’

The statement concluded, ‘The United States and the other guarantors remain resolute in our commitment to ensuring the safety of civilians, maintaining calm on the ground, and advancing peace and prosperity for the people of Gaza and the region as a whole.’

A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas went into effect last weekend after two years of war in the region following the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks in southern Israel. 

On Monday, the 20 remaining surviving Israeli hostages were returned to Israel per the agreement, but more than a dozen remains of hostages who were killed are still under Hamas control. 

The State Department added that ‘measures will be taken to protect the people of Gaza and preserve the integrity of the ceasefire’ if Hamas proceeds with the attack. 

On Thursday, President Donald Trump issued a warning on Truth Social after footage circulated online showing Hamas fighters executing Palestinians in Gaza City’s main square. 

‘If Hamas continues to kill people in Gaza, which was not the deal, we will have no choice but to go in and kill them,’ he wrote.

According to Reuters, at least 33 people were executed by Hamas in recent days in what officials described as a campaign to ‘show strength’ after the ceasefire. Israeli sources say most of those killed belonged to families accused of collaborating with Israel or supporting rival militias.

Trump later clarified that U.S. troops would not go into Gaza. 

‘It’s not going to be us,’ he told reporters. ‘We won’t have to. There are people very close, very nearby that will go in and they’ll do the trick very easily, but under our auspices.’

Fox News’ Efrat Lachter and the Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Former Vice President Kamala Harris said her onetime boss, former President Joe Biden, made a ‘big mistake’ by not inviting Tesla CEO Elon Musk to a 2021 White House event on electric vehicles. 

In August 2021, Biden hosted an EV event at the White House with executives from General Motors, Ford and Stellantis, but Musk was not invited, despite Tesla being the nation’s leading EV manufacturer. 

‘I write in the book that I thought it was a big mistake to not invite Elon Musk when we did a big EV event,’ Harris told Fortune Editor-in-Chief Alyson Shontell on Tuesday at the news outlet’s Most Powerful Women Summit in Washington, D.C., referring to her memoir, ‘107 Days,’ in which she criticized Biden for initially running for re-election despite his health struggles.

‘I mean, here he is, the major American manufacturer of extraordinary innovation in this space,’ Harris said of Musk, who is also the CEO of SpaceX.

Musk’s snub was widely viewed as an effort to support the United Auto Workers and organized labor overall, since Tesla plants are not unionized. Harris wrote in her book that she believed Biden was ‘sending a message about Musk’s anti-union stance’ but that she thought excluding him as the top player in the field ‘simply doesn’t make sense.’

Then–White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the event featured ‘the three largest employers of the United Auto Workers,’ emphasizing that Tesla’s workers are not unionized.

Pressed on whether Musk’s snub was punishment for his workers not being unionized, Psaki told reporters: ‘I’ll let you draw your own conclusion.’

The Biden administration defended inviting only those automakers, calling them key partners in the president’s push for union jobs.

Harris said that presidents should ‘put aside political loyalties’ when it comes to recognizing technological innovation.

‘So, I thought that was a mistake, and I don’t know Elon Musk, but I have to assume that that was something that hit him hard and had an impact on his perspective,’ she said.

Musk did appear to take offense after he was not invited to the event, taking numerous jabs at Biden.

‘Yeah, seems odd that Tesla wasn’t invited,’ Musk wrote at the time on social media.

A month later, he said the Biden administration appeared to be ‘controlled by unions’ and was ‘not the friendliest administration.’

After Musk learned Tesla would not be invited, administration officials offered an apology, according to The Wall Street Journal. Biden aides later attempted to soothe things over, but tensions remained.

Harris’ comments on Tuesday mirrored a passage from her new book in which she wrote that the Biden administration’s move not to include Tesla was a mistake and that it appeared to alienate Musk, who later became one of current President Donald Trump’s top financial backers.

‘Musk never forgave it,’ she wrote.

Musk later endorsed Trump in the 2024 election and contributed roughly $300 million toward Republican campaign efforts.