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The CEO of the Panama Canal has denied President-elect Donald Trump's allegation that the waterway built by the United States over a century ago is now under the control of China. 

"The accusations that China is running the Canal are unfounded," Panama Canal Authority leader Ricaurte Vásquez Morales told the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday. "China has no involvement whatsoever in our operations."

"Rules are rules and there are no exceptions," Vásquez Morales reportedly added. "We cannot discriminate for the Chinese, or the Americans, or anyone else. This will violate the neutrality treaty, international law, and it will lead to chaos."

In the 1970s, then-President Jimmy Carter negotiated what became known as the Torrijos-Carter Treaties, which agreed the United States could use military force to defend the waterway against any threat to its "neutrality." That aspect was considered crucial for the U.S. at the time amid the threat of Soviet-aligned states. Carter also agreed that the Panama Canal itself would be turned over to Panama on Dec. 31, 1999.

TRUMP: CARTER WAS A 'VERY FINE' PERSON BUT PANAMA CANAL MOVES WERE 'A BIG MISTAKE'

On Tuesday, a reporter asked Trump at Mar-a-Lago if he would assure the world he would not use "military or economic coercion" to gain control of the Panama Canal, as well as Greenland. 

"No, I can't assure you on either of those two. But, I can say this. We need them for economic security. The Panama Canal was built for our military," Trump said. "Look, the Panama Canal is vital to our country. It's being operated by China. China. And we gave the Panama Canal to Panama. We didn't give it to China. And they've abused it. They've abused that gift. It should have never been made." 

While former President Carter was lying in state at the Capitol, Trump said he liked the man but disagreed with the deal he struck regarding the canal.

"Giving the Panama Canal is why Jimmy Carter lost the election, in my opinion, more so maybe than the hostages. The hostages were a big deal. But if you remember, nobody wants to talk about the Panama Canal because, you know, it's inappropriate, I guess. But, because it's a bad part of the Carter legacy," Trump added later. "But, he was a good man. Look, he was a good man. I know him a little bit, and he was a very fine person. But that was a big mistake." 

This is not the first time the Panamanian government has denied China's influence. 

Last month, Trump posted on TRUTH Social, "Merry Christmas to all, including to the wonderful soldiers of China, who are lovingly, but illegally, operating the Panama Canal."

In response, Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino dismissed the claim as "nonsense," saying at a press conference, "There is not a single Chinese soldier in the canal." 

"The canal is Panamanian and belongs to Panamanians. There's no possibility of opening any kind of conversation around this reality," he added, according to the BBC. 

TRUMP FLOATS IDEA OF US RECLAIMING PANAMA CANAL: 'FOOLISHLY GAVE IT AWAY'

Trump's concerns echo those from the U.S. Department of Defense over growing Chinese investments in shipping ports around the world. 

Testifying before the House Armed Services Committee last March, Gen. Laura J. Richardson, the head of U.S. Southern Command, told lawmakers that the People's Republic of China (PRC) "messages its investments as peaceful, but in fact, many serve as points of future multi-domain access for the PLA and strategic naval chokepoints." 

"These investments include critical infrastructure such as deep-water ports, cyber facilities, and space facilities," Richardson warned. "In Panama, PRC-controlled State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) continue to bid on projects related to the Panama Canal – a global strategic chokepoint." 

Five percent of world commerce passes through the Panama Canal, Richardson said. 

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Two seaports on either side of the Panama Canal have been run for decades by the Hong-Kong-based company Hutchison Ports PPC, the New York Times reported, noting how the Chinese government has increasingly implemented its national security laws on the island of Hong Kong that can force companies to comply with intelligence-gathering and military operations. 

Roughly 40% of U.S. container traffic runs through the Panama Canal, according to the newspaper. 

In a new report by the Israeli Ministry of Health, recently submitted to the United Nations, hostages who were freed from Hamas captivity described how they were subjected to unimaginable suffering. Among the chilling testimonies, two children revealed they were bound and beaten throughout their captivity, with scars and marks of trauma evident on their bodies. Others reported deliberate burning with heated objects, leaving permanent injuries.

Women detailed horrifying sexual violence, including assaults at gunpoint and forced undressing in front of captors. Men also endured sexual abuse, prolonged starvation, severe beatings, and torture involving branding with hot metal.

Many hostages suffered significant weight loss, with children losing up to 18% of their body weight. Unsanitary conditions led to infections, gastrointestinal illnesses, and other severe health complications. These atrocities, coupled with the systematic use of physical and psychological abuse as tools of oppression, paint a grim picture of the hostages’ ordeal.

FORMER HAMAS HOSTAGE PLEADS FOR TRUMP TO SAVE HUSBAND, OTHERS FROM 'HELL' OF CAPTIVITY

While some have been freed, 99 remain in captivity, still enduring these unimaginable conditions 14 months after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack.

Among those still held is Or Levi, whose wife was murdered during the Oct. 7 attack. Or’s brother, Michael Levi, shared his anguish in an interview, describing the devastating impact of the Health Ministry’s report.

Levi expressed deep frustration with the international community, particularly the United Nations, and said he holds little hope for meaningful action after the report. "For some reason, the Israeli side is not counted as human," he told Fox News Digital. "The U.N. ignores the fact that Hamas is committing crimes against humanity." Levi represented the hostages’ families in a briefing to the U.N. Security Council last month. "When I addressed the Security Council, I wanted them to hear a personal story. They need to understand that there cannot be lives that are worth more than others."

"When you see how inhumane and horrible the conditions that the hostages are in, and knowing that my brother is one of them… it kills me," he said. "Thinking about my brother, who is almost six feet three, trying to stand up in dark, airless tunnels less than six feet tall – it’s unbearable."

Negotiations to free the hostages are ongoing, after President-elect Trump vowed that there would be "all hell to pay" if the hostages are not released before he enters office. However, Levi’s brother Or is reportedly not "on the lists" because he is a young man and therefore not considered a "humanitarian case." Michael explained that his brother has a 3-year-old son who, after losing his mother on Oct. 7, has only his father left. "If this is not a humanitarian case, I don’t know what is," he said.

REPORT EXPOSES HAMAS TERRORIST CRIMES AGAINST FAMILIES DURING OCT 7 MASSACRE: 'KINOCIDE'

Despite his frustration, Levi holds hope for a shift in approach under Trump. "I’m actually optimistic that someone will do something," he said. "Up until now, the pressure on Hamas and their financiers, like Qatar, Turkey, and Iran, has been inadequate. President Trump’s more aggressive stance could bring results."

"The report we are submitting to the U.N. is a harrowing testimony to the brutal experiences suffered by the hostages in Hamas captivity," said Israel’s Health Minister Uriel Busso. "These are actions that cannot be tolerated and demand that the world wake up and take action."

Israel's ambassador to the United Nations slammed the world body during a recent meeting of the U.N. Security Council for its treatment of the hostages issue. "The U.N. and the international community are trying to forget the torture and atrocities that took place on Oct. 7. We will never forget the horrors, and we will not stop until we return all the hostages."

Dr. Hagar Mizrahi, head of the Ministry’s Medical Directorate, added, "The severe physical and mental states of the returnees offer the world a glimpse into the widespread atrocities committed by Hamas. The condition of all hostages still held in Gaza is dire. It is imperative that all efforts be made to bring them back."

The Ministry of Health’s report is divided into two sections. The first outlines the physical and psychological abuse endured by hostages during their captivity, based on testimonies from medical teams who treated the returnees. The second section focuses on rehabilitation models designed to help returnees recover, informed by data from specialized clinics.

UN SILENT AS GUTERRES CALLS FOR HOSTAGE RELEASE, RECEIVES 'THUNDEROUS' APPLAUSE ON GAZA

Psychological abuse was equally devastating, according to the report. Hostages were isolated and forced to witness acts of violence. Survivors reported intense trauma, including dissociative episodes, severe nightmares, and an overwhelming sense of guilt for leaving loved ones behind. Many remain unable to adjust to normal life, haunted by the horrors they endured.

The report’s release has triggered mixed reactions. While it validates the survivors’ suffering, it also reopens emotional wounds for families and returnees. "The detailed documentation underscores the urgency for international intervention," said Dr. Hagai Levin, head of the Health Team for Hostages and Missing Families Forum.

Levin emphasized the complexity of treating released hostages. "They face profound psychological challenges, including PTSD, anxiety, depression, and difficulty reintegrating into daily life," he explained. "Children often experience developmental regression and heightened anxiety. Rehabilitation requires a multidisciplinary, long-term approach."

Minister Busso’s statement to the U.N. was unequivocal: "The testimonies presented in this report serve as a wake-up call for the international community to apply increased pressure on Hamas and its supporters to free all the hostages without delay. It is a moral and humanitarian imperative, and the time to act is running out."

As Donald Trump Jr. made a surprise visit to Greenland this week, President-elect Donald Trump's rhetoric is getting more serious about buying Denmark's Arctic territory.

The president-elect did not rule out using military coercion to gain control of Greenland in a press conference at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday. "No, I can't assure you on either of those two," Trump said, when asked if he would rule out using military or economic coercion to gain control of Greenland. "We need it for national security. That's for the free world. I'm talking about protecting the free world," he continued.

Meanwhile, Denmark's leaders remain adamant the Arctic territory is not for sale. "We have a clear interest in that it is the U.S. that plays a large role and not Russia or other countries. But Greenland is for the Greenlandic people," Denmark Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told reporters on Tuesday.

DANISH PRIME MINISTER HAS BLUNT MESSAGE FOR TRUMP: GREENLAND IS NOT FOR SALE

Greenlanders will vote later this year if they want to stay a part of Denmark or not. The strategic island is at a territorial crossroads, as the U.S., China and Russia race to control the melting Arctic region.

Denmark and therefore Greenland are NATO allies. Article 5 of the NATO charter states that any military attack on a NATO ally requires a military response from the rest of the alliance.

"I don't think it is useful to talk about Article five implications because the United States is not actually going to use force on NATO ally. There are lots of reasons why that would never happen." Ian Bremmer, founder and president of the Eurasia Group, told Fox News.

"It’s not that you don't take what the president says seriously, because the fact that he's making these threats does change how much American allies feel like they can count on the United States going forward… it does undermine leverage that the U.S. has in terms of international rule of law. It brings us closer to the, to the law of the jungle," Bremmer continued.

Trump first began talk of buying Greenland in 2019 because it has about a quarter of the world's rare earth minerals, needed for all electronics, semiconductor manufacturing, the defense industry and the new clean energy economy.

Sherri Goodman, who served as the Pentagon’s first undersecretary of Defense for Environmental Security in the 1990s, recently wrote a book on the strategic and national security consequences of climate change titled, "Threat Multiplier: Climate, Military Leadership and the Fight for Global Security."

Goodman has seen firsthand how important Greenland is to the U.S. military.

TRUMP ESCALATES PLANS TO ACQUIRE GREENLAND AFTER RESIDENT PLEADS: ‘DENMARK’S USING US'

"We've long had a military base in the north of Greenland to track former Soviet, now Russian incoming missiles or satellites. And because of climate change, navigation around Greenland and travel to Greenland is becoming more accessible," Goodman said.

Then-President Harry Truman wanted to buy Greenland after WWII to box out the Soviets from the Arctic. During the Cold War, the Arctic region was the most direct route for a strategic nuclear exchange between the U.S. and the USSR using long-range bombers and ballistic missiles. The GIUK Gap to the east of Greenland is a huge access point for Russia's operations in the Atlantic Ocean. Greenland became a key location for early-warning networks and today is home to the northernmost U.S. military installation, Pituffik Space Force Base, which holds a substantial portion of the global network's missile warning sensors and space surveillance sensors.

China's ambitions in the Arctic have grown in recent years. In 2018, China laid out plans to build infrastructure and develop shipping lanes opened by climate change. State-owned businesses have put in bids to buy land in both Iceland and Greenland, so far with no luck.

Temperatures are rising in the Arctic four times faster than they are in the rest of the world, making access to the rare earth minerals it holds more accessible.

"In this rush for resources, the U.S., NATO, and NATO allies want to ensure that China and Russia don't access that. China has a history of using surrogate science and investigation as a way to gain access and learn about territories in the Arctic," Goodman said.

Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh was asked about Greenland at a Defense Department briefing on Wednesday. "I'm certainly not going to get into hypotheticals. I think that's for the incoming administration to speak to," Singh said. 

Secretary of State Antony Blinken responded to a question about Greenland at a press conference in Paris on Wednesday. "The idea expressed about Greenland is obviously not a good one. But maybe more important, it's obviously one that's not going to happen. So we probably shouldn't waste a lot of time talking about it," Blinken said.

A baby girl, who was born on a packed migrant dinghy headed for Spain's Lanzarote island in the Canaries, was being treated in hospital along with her mother and both were in good condition, medical and regional government authorities said on Thursday.

The pair were being treated with antibiotics and monitored by a pediatric team, Dr. Maria Sabalich, emergency coordinator of the Molina Orosa University Hospital in Lanzarote, told Reuters.

"The mother and child are safe," she said. "They are still in the hospital, but they are doing well."

MEXICO DISPERSES MIGRANT CARAVANS HEADING TO US AHEAD OF TRUMP INAUGURATION

The Spanish coast guard said the boat carrying the pregnant mother had embarked from Tan-Tan, a province in Morocco about 135 nautical miles southeast of Lanzarote.

Upon discharge from the hospital, the mother and infant will be received at a humanitarian center for migrants, before likely being moved to a reception center for mothers and young children on another island, Cristina Ruiz, a spokesperson for the Spanish government in the Canaries capital, Las Palmas, told Reuters.

The latest arrivals add to the thousands of migrants that strike out for the Canaries from the western African coast each year on a perilous sea voyage that claims thousands of lives.

Thanks to good weather, the rescue operation was straightforward, Domingo Trujillo, captain of the Spanish coast guard ship that rescued the migrants - a total of 60 people including 14 women and four children - told Spanish wire service EFE.

"The baby was crying, which indicated to us that it was alive and there were no problems, and we asked the woman's permission to undress her and clean her," he said. "The umbilical cord had already been cut by one of her fellow passengers. The only thing we did was to check the child, give her to her mother and wrap them up for the trip."

Overnight, the Canary Islands' rescue services recovered two more boats, bearing a total of 144 people.

According to Spanish migration charity Walking Borders, 9,757 people died on the Atlantic Route to the Canary Islands from West Africa in 2024. The route from Morocco and Western Sahara are most commonly used by women who routinely suffer sexual violence, discrimination, racism and deportations while in transit.

Trujillo said the crews were exhausted but proud of their work.

"Almost every night we leave at dawn and arrive back late," he said. "This case is very positive, because it was with a newborn, but in all the services we do, even if we are tired, we know we are helping people in distress."

British lawmakers voted against launching a national inquiry into the U.K. grooming gang scandal on Wednesday, after objections to the way the vote was being put forward – and amid international scrutiny of the crisis spearheaded by Elon Musk.

The House of Commons voted on an amendment to hold a statutory inquiry into the scandal – where it was revealed that men of predominantly Pakistani heritage had sexually abused girls for years in towns in northern England.

The measure was an amendment to a children’s well-being and schools bill backed by the Labour government. U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer warned that a vote in favor of the amendment would kill the overall bill to which it was attached. The amendment was voted down by 364 votes to 111 in the Labour-controlled chamber, Sky News reported.

UK PM STARMER HITS BACK AGAINST MUSK ATTACKS ON CHILD GROOMING GANGS

"What we need now is action. What can't be tolerated is the idea that this afternoon members opposite will vote down a bill which protects children," Starmer said ahead of the vote, calling it a "wrecking amendment."

Conservative Party Leader Kemi Badenoch pushed back.

"Be a leader, not a lawyer," she told him, as she said that a new inquiry should investigate the connected issues between the towns. 

"The reason why a national inquiry is important is because this issue is systemic," she said, involving "local and national officials, the police, prosecutors and politicians."

"These interlinked issues cannot be covered by local inquiries alone," she said.

Previous reports had found evidence of "appalling" abuse, with more than 1,400 girls abused between 1997 and 2013 in Rotherham alone. Reports also found that authorities had been scared of fueling racism in their handling of the crimes given the ethnic makeup of the perpetrators. The scandal tapped into brewing concerns about multiculturalism and mass immigration.

The issue came back to the spotlight recently after local officials in Oldham called on the government to launch a national inquiry into the town’s handling of the crisis. A 2022 report had found that children had been failed by officials, but had found no cover-up despite concerns that it would be capitalized on by right-wing activists.

ELON MUSK DEMANDS UK ACT ON GROOMING GANG SCANDAL AMID GROWING CALLS FOR PROBE

The U.K. government rejected the request, saying that any inquiry should be organized locally. That, in turn, drew calls from Badenoch and Elon Musk for a national inquiry.

"Across the country, thousands of girls were tortured and sexually abused at the hands of men who treated them as things to be used and disposed of, destroying many lives forever. The prime minister has mentioned previous inquiries. He is right, there has been an inquiry into child sexual abuse. But it wasn't about the rape gang scandal," Badenoch said.

Musk, who has been hammering away at the issue on X – even calling for the prosecution of top U.K. government officials, including Starmer – appealed again to the British public before the vote.

"Please call your member of parliament and tell them that the hundreds of thousands of little girls in Britain who were, and are still are, being systematically, horrifically gang-raped deserve some justice in this world," Musk said on X on Wednesday.

"This is vitally important, or it will just keep happening," he said.

BRITAIN HIT BY ANOTHER ASIAN GROOMING GANG SCANDAL AS REPORT EXPOSES CHILD SEX ABUSE IN MANCHESTER

Starmer had previously slammed "lies and misinformation" without naming Musk directly, and had accused U.K. politicians of jumping on a "bandwagon of the far-right."

On Wednesday, he again accused Badenoch of jumping on a bandwagon and urged lawmakers to make sure the broader bill passed.

"One of the provisions in the bill is to protect children vulnerable today who are out of school to prevent abuses ever taking those children out of school. I implore members opposite to defy the misleading leadership of the Leader of the Opposition and vote for a really important bill."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Two U.S. citizens have been arrested in Venezuela on charges that remain unclear, but which President Nicolas Maduro on Tuesday claimed were related to the intent to "practice terrorism."

Maduro said "very high level" Americans that he branded "mercenaries" were part of a group of seven who were arrested, though he did not provide any evidence or details of the arrests.

"Just today we've captured seven foreign mercenaries, including two important mercenaries from the United States," said Maduro, according to a Reuters report. 

VENEZUELA'S MADURO TO START THIRD TERM IN OFFICE AMID RIGGED ELECTION: 'BLATANT VIOLATION'

Maduro – who is set to once again take up the top office on Friday for a third term despite the widely contested results of the July election – said two Colombians and three Ukrainians were also arrested. 

He reportedly said his security forces had arrested 125 foreign mercenaries from 25 different countries who he claimed had entered the country with the intent "to practice terrorism against the Venezuelan people."

A spokesperson from the State Department flatly rejected Maduro’s claims and told Fox News Digital, "Any claims of U.S. involvement in a plot to overthrow Maduro are categorically false."  

"The United States continues to support a democratic solution to the political crisis in Venezuela. As Maduro and his associates have shown in the past, they may detain and jail, without justification or due process, U.S. citizens who enter Venezuela," the spokesperson added. 

The identities of the individuals arrested have not been released due to "privacy and other considerations."

Though the spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the department is "working to gather more information" and remains "concerned" for the Americans detained in Venezuela. 

VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION LEADER WHO CLAIMED VICTORY OVER MADURO MEETS WITH BIDEN

It remains unclear how many Americans are currently held in Venezuela following the significant prisoner swap in 2023 when Washington and Caracas negotiated the release of dozens of prisoners, including 10 Americans, in exchange for Colombian businessman Alex Saab, a close ally of Maduro.

His remarks coincided with a visit to D.C. from opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez, who Washington has ardently backed, and who has been declared the president-elect by several nations, including the U.S.

On Monday, President Biden re-emphasized the U.S.’s position on the results of the election – which the Maduro-aligned courts have declared as a victory for the soon-to-be three-term president – and called Gonzalez the "true winner" of the July race.

Venezuelan authorites have refused to release ballot-box results to support their victory claims, while Gonzalez’s team has reportedly published thousands of scanned copies of voting machine results that ballot box observers gathered in the days after the election – reportedly accounting for 80% of the votes cast that showed a win for the opposition leader. 

Maduro’s accusations regarding a U.S.-crafted coup plot escalated in the weeks following his internationally contested election and by September the Venezuelan leader was issuing claims that the CIA had orchestrated a plot to overthrow his government and said some 400 rifles had been seized and a Navy SEAL arrested. 

Isaias Medina, former Venezuelan diplomat to the United Nations, said Maduro’s latest arrests and comments "align with his patterns of ‘hostage diplomacy.'"

"These accusations, widely viewed as baseless, appear to be another ploy to shift attention away from Maduro's illegitimate inauguration and suppress dissent ahead of anticipated protests," Medina explained to Fox News Digital. "By tying foreign nationals to these allegations, Maduro seeks to stoke fear of external interference while creating convenient scapegoats for his failing leadership and attempting to legalize state terrorism.

"The timing of these charges raises concerns about Maduro's broader strategy," he added. "Moreover, the theatrical accusations serve to justify crackdowns on opposition protests, intimidating Venezuelans into silence as the country sinks deeper into economic and humanitarian crises. 

"These actions underline the lengths Maduro will go to maintain control, despite mounting domestic discontent and growing calls for accountability on the world stage," Medina said.

The State Department has listed Venezuela as a Level 4 "do not travel" location due to the security threats Americans face there.

A 23-year-old medical student who was missing in a remote Australian mountain range for two weeks has been located.

Hadi Nazari from Melbourne went missing on Dec. 26, 2024, when he separated from two hiking companions to take photos in the Kosciuszko National Park in the Snowy Mountains in New South Wales state, the Associated Press reports. 

He survived on two muesli bars, foraged berries and creek water, police said on Wednesday.

His rescue came after he approached a group of hikers on Wednesday afternoon, telling them he was lost and thirsty, Police Inspector Josh Broadfoot said.

UTAH BROTHERS SURVIVE AVALANCHE AFTER ONE PULLS OTHER OUT OF SNOW BURIAL

"This is the fourteenth day we've been looking for him and for him to come out and be in such good spirits and in such great condition, it’s incredible," Broadfoot said, according to Reuters, adding that Nazari was in "really good spirits."

The hiker had traveled more than six miles across steep and densely wooded terrain from where he was last seen. More than 300 people had searched for him in the national park that is home to the 7,310-foot Mount Kosciuszko. 

2 DEAD AFTER SEARCH FOR SASQUATCH IN WASHINGTON NATIONAL FOREST

Nazari was reunited with his two hiking friends on Wednesday before he was flown to a hospital for a medical assessment, Broadfoot said. Video showed them in a deep embrace prior to his departure.

Weather conditions are mild during the current Southern Hemisphere summer.

Searchers had been optimistic that Nazari would be found alive. He was an experienced hiker equipped with a tent. Searchers had found his campfire, camera and hiking poles in recent days, suggesting that he was continuing to walk.

Ambulance Insp. Adam Mower said Nazari only needed treatment for dehydration.

"He’s in remarkable condition for a person who’s been missing for so long," Mower said.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report. 

The U.S. military on Wednesday said its forces struck weapons depots used by the Iran-backed Houthi terrorist group in Yemen to target naval warships and merchant vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. 

"U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces conducted multiple precision strikes against two Iranian-backed Houthi underground Advanced Conventional Weapon (ACW) storage facilities within Houthi-controlled territories of Yemen," CENTCOM said in a statement. 

The military command confirmed there were no injuries to U.S. personnel and no U.S. equipment was damaged in the strike. It did not confirm whether any Houthi terrorists were killed or injured in the attack. 

TRUMP REINFORCES 'ALL HELL WILL BREAK OUT' IF HOSTAGES NOT RETURNED BY INAUGURATION

"The strikes are part of CENTCOM's effort to degrade Iranian-backed Houthi attempts to threaten regional partners and military and merchant vessels in the region," CENTCOM added.

The U.S. military did not confirm where in Yemen the strikes were carried out, though local outlet Al-Masirah TV, which is owned and funded by the Houthis, reportedly claimed that five "raids" were carried out in the northwestern Amran province and two in the Sanaa province, where the capital city of Sanaa is located, reported Voice of America. 

The Houthis have long operated out of Sanaa and other coastal regions after taking the capital city in 2014 from the internationally recognized government. 

The Wednesday strike on the terrorist network is just the latest in an apparent increase by the outgoing Biden administration, which conducted at least three strikes last month on Houthi targets, including command and control facilities and weapons production and storage depots.

ISRAEL KILLS HAMAS COMMANDER WHO LED HEINOUS OCT. 7 ATTACK ON KIBBUTZ NIR OZ KILLED IN DRONE ATTACK: IDF

The U.S. also successfully countered at least two separate attempted strikes by the Houthi rebels on naval and merchant ships in December alone. 

Attacks by the Houthis have increased in recent years, but they ramped up following the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas on Israel, which the Houthis have also increasingly targeted over the last 15 months.

But as rocket fire from Gaza and Lebanon following more than a year of fighting with Israel has fallen drastically amid a cease-fire agreement with Hezbollah and the campaign against Hamas, the Houthis have escalated their attacks. 

Reports this month have suggested the Houthis continue to launch missile fire from over 1,200 miles away at Israel – not only posing a physical threat to Israelis but continuing to affect shipping lanes and air transport.

Israel has warned that if the attacks by the Yemeni terrorist group do not stop, Jerusalem will respond as it has against other Iran-backed forces.

"We will hunt down all of the Houthis’ leaders and we will strike them just as we have done in other places," Defense Minister Israel Katz said in late December, reported the Associated Press. 

Authorities in Mexico are offering state protection to famed regional Mexican singer Natanael Cano and other artists after a drug cartel in northern Mexico publicly threatened them, prosecutors confirmed to The Associated Press on Tuesday.

Photos of a banner threatening the lives of Cano, a singer of corridos, a musical genre often linked to drug cartel violence, and several other artists in the Sonora region circulated on social media over the weekend.

The banner appeared to be signed by "Jalisco Matasalas" a group within a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel known as the "Chapitos," which sowed terror in northern Mexico in recent months in a bloody power struggle. The gang accused the singers of "financially helping" a rival gang known as "Salazares."

ICE REMOVES NOTORIOUS DRUG CARTEL LEADER FROM US

"This is the last time you will receive a warning, just in time for you to cut the crap. Mind your own business," the banner read. "If you don't heed this warning, you will be shot."

The Sonoran Prosecutor's Office on Tuesday told the AP that the threatening message was found hanging from a school and that they had opened an investigation.

Allan de la Rosa, a spokesperson for the prosecutors, said authorities offered state protection to the artists to "prevent any aggression related to the direct threat displayed on the banner." He did not elaborate on the nature of the protection.

Cano's communications team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Corridos, made up of ballads from northern Mexico, is a musical genre that has long been linked to drug violence, but they also depict the harsh realities many Mexicans face living under narco violence. The genre, along with Mexican regional music, is experiencing a resurgence with younger artists like Cano and Peso Pluma blending classic styles with other genres like trap music.

Over the past five years, streaming of Mexican music has grown 400% on Spotify and in 2023 Mexican artist Peso Pluma bested Taylor Swift as the most streamed artist on YouTube.

Such artists have long faced sharp criticisms from authorities and threats from drug gangs.

In 2023, Peso Pluma — who paid homage to drug kingpin Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán in songs – was forced to cancel a show in Tijuana after the 25-year-old received threats from a rival of the Sinaloa Cartel, warning that "it would be your last performance" if he proceeded with the concert.

Later, Tijuana banned the performance of narco ballads altogether to protect "the eyes and ears" of youths as it tries to contain violence. Local authorities in northern states previously banned musicians singing narcocorridos.

The threat against Cano follows a surge in violence in Sinaloa and other northern Mexican states,

The threats against Cano follow a surge of violence in Sinaloa and other northern Mexican states triggered by the kidnapping and capture of narco boss Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada and the ensuing all-out-war between rival factions of the Sinaloa Cartel, including the one that allegedly threatened Cano.

FIRST ON FOX - Senior Republican and Democratic representatives will introduce a bill today prohibiting recognition of a Georgian Dream government of the Black Sea nation that has been swept by massive anti-government demonstrations for more than 40 days now.

Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., chairman of the Helsinki Commission, and Democrat Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., are set to introduce the "Georgian Nightmare Non-Recognition Act" on Wednesday.

Fox News Digital has exclusively obtained the bill barring recognition or normalization of relations "with any Government of Georgia that is led by Bidzina Ivanishvili or any proxies due to the Ivanishvili regime’s ongoing crimes against the Georgian people," the bill reads.

According to the bill, "no federal official or employee may take any action, and no Federal funds may be made available, to recognize or otherwise imply, in any manner, United States recognition of Bidzina Ivanishvili or any government in Georgia."

REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN CALLS ON INCOMING ADMINISTRATION TO TARGET 'THE AXIS OF AGGRESSORS'

Rep. Cohen, who came up with the name of the bill, told Fox News Digital the Georgian Dream has become the Georgian nightmare.

"Sanctioned oligarch Ivanishvili’s Georgian Dream party has now become a tool of Putin. They falsified the October election and illegally picked a pliable president. The United States cannot and will not recognize this illegitimate government. The Georgian Nightmare Non-Recognition Act will ensure that the United States does not. Until it agrees to free and fair elections, the Ivanishvili regime must remain fully isolated by all democratic governments."

While the Georgian Dream government did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comments, the party’s political council released a statement on Wednesday saying the recently imposed sanctions are "anti-Georgian steps" orchestrated by the "Global War Party" and "deep state" networks, calling Rep. Wilson "one of the most serious manifestations of the deep state" and "a degraded politician." 

In its nature and goals, the "Georgian Nightmare Non-Recognition Act’’ resembles Rep. Wilson-led 2023 "Assad Regime Anti-Normalization Act," which passed last February. The bill was passed in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) 2025 and was signed into law by President Biden last month. 

"The Assad Regime Anti-Normalization Act" too prohibited recognition or normalization of relations with the Bashar al-Assad government. "It is the policy of the United States not to recognize or normalize relations with any government of Syria that is led by Bashar al-Assad due to the Assad regime’s ongoing crimes against the Syrian people", the NDAA passage reads.

Though it is up to the president to recognize a certain government or a leader, lawmakers refer to the existing precedents. The United States Congress has a long tradition of not recognizing illegitimate regimes. The Congress never recognized the Russian occupation of Ukrainian Crimea or Georgian South Ossetia and Abkhazia regions.

The United States also never recognized the Soviet annexation of the Baltic States in 1940 and maintained a policy of non-recognition, viewing the Baltic States as illegally occupied territories until they regained independence in 1991.

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"Similarly, my Assad Regime Anti-Normalization Act ensured the United States never recognized the murderous Assad regime. Now that regime is also gone. We will pursue the same policy with the Ivanishvili regime. Thanks to the strength of the freedom-loving Georgian people, I am positive that this regime will be gone soon too and Georgia will have free and fair elections," Rep. Wilson told Fox News Digital in a statement. 

Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute Luke Coffey, who has advocated for Georgia’s Western aspirations, including NATO membership, for over a decade, said the legislation is an indication that "U.S. lawmakers and policymakers are becoming increasingly frustrated" with the Georgian Dream and their actions in Georgia.

"It is also a reminder of how important the U.S. Congress is in American foreign policy development, and those Georgian Dream officials should pay close attention to what Congress is doing, especially those members of Congress who are close to Donald Trump. After January 20th, these members of Congress will have even more influence on U.S. foreign policymaking," Coffey said.

According to the bill, the United States shall recognize Salome Zourabichvili as "the incumbent President of Georgia prior to the fraudulent elections on October 26, 2024" and as the only legitimate leader in Georgia.

This policy may be declared void "in the case of the restoration of the Georgian constitution as demonstrated by the holding of free and fair elections," the bill reads.  

Despite the current low point in the U.S.- Georgian relationships, Coffey believes that with the best policies pursued, relationships can get back on track. "In the meantime, the United States needs to pursue policies that support the legitimate political opposition against an increasingly authoritarian, Belarusian-like government in Tbilisi," Coffey said.

An Italian journalist detained in Iran for three weeks, whose fate became intertwined with that of an Iranian engineer wanted by the United States, was freed Wednesday and is heading home, Italian officials said.

A plane carrying Cecilia Sala, 29, left Tehran after "intensive work on diplomatic and intelligence channels," Premier Giorgia Meloni’s office said, adding that the Italian premier had personally informed Sala's parents of the news.

Iranian media acknowledged the journalist’s release, citing only the foreign reports. Iranian officials offered no immediate comment.

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Sala, a reporter for the Il Foglio daily, was detained in Tehran on Dec. 19, three days after she arrived on a journalist visa. She was accused of violating the laws of the Islamic Republic, the official IRNA news agency said.

Italian commentators had speculated that Iran detained and held Sala as a bargaining chip to ensure the release of Mohammad Abedini, who was arrested at Milan’s Malpensa airport three days before, on Dec. 16, on a U.S. warrant.

The U.S. Justice Department accused Abedini and another Iranian of supplying the drone technology to Iran that was used in a January 2024 attack on a U.S. outpost in Jordan that killed three American troops. He remains in detention in Italy.

Sala’s release was met with cheers in Italy, where her plight had dominated headlines, as lawmakers hailed the successful negotiations to bring her home.

It came after Meloni made a surprise trip to Florida last weekend to meet with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

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Meloni tweeted Sala’s return in a statement on X in which she thanked "all those who helped make Cecilia’s return possible, allowing her to reembrace her family and colleagues."

Sala's fate became intertwined with that of Abedini as each country's foreign ministries summoned the other's ambassador to demand the prisoners' release and decent detention conditions. The diplomatic tangle was particularly complicated for Italy, which is a historic ally of Washington but maintains traditionally good relations with Tehran.

Members of Meloni's cabinet took personal interest in the case given the geopolitical implications. Foreign Minister Antonio Tanaji and Defense Minister Guido Crosetto hailed the diplomatic teamwork involved in securing Sala's release, which amounted to a significant victory for Meloni.

Since the 1979 U.S. Embassy crisis, which saw dozens of hostages released after 444 days in captivity, Iran has used prisoners with Western ties as bargaining chips in negotiations with the world.

In September 2023, five Americans detained for years in Iran were freed in exchange for five Iranians in U.S. custody and for $6 billion in frozen Iranian assets to be released by South Korea.

Western journalists have been held in the past as well. Roxana Saberi, an American journalist, was detained by Iran in 2009 for around 100 days before being released.

Also detained by Iran was Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian, who was held for more than 540 days before being released in 2016 in a prisoner swap between Iran and the U.S.

Both cases involved Iran making false espionage accusations in closed-door hearings.