The State Department is so far refusing to comment on a growing corruption crisis engulfing the Balkan nation of Albania — a vital U.S. ally in the region. 

Following an Albanian court’s decision to remove Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku from her position on allegations she interfered in two construction bids, socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama took the issue to the country’s Constitutional Court, which on Friday reinstated her until a ‘final decision’ could be made, according to media reports.

The Special Anti-Corruption and Organized Crime Structure (SPAK) issued a criminal indictment against Balluku on Oct. 31, alleging that she had been improperly influenced in her decision to favor one company in a tender for the construction of a 3.7-mile tunnel in southern Albania, Reuters reported. SPAK delivered an additional charge for violating rules in a Tirana road construction project on Nov. 21, the date when Balluku was removed from office.

The day prior to her November court appearance, Balluku told the country’s parliament that the accusations against her constituted ‘mudslinging, insinuations, half-truths and lies.’

As the second member of Rama’s cabinet to face corruption accusations since 2023, her charges have drawn the ire of Rama opponents.

Agim Nesho, former Albanian ambassador to the U.S. and the United Nations, told Fox News Digital that Balluku’s case demonstrates ‘the Rama government shows no sign of assuming moral responsibility or allowing justice the space to act independently. Instead, it appears intent on shielding Ms. Balluku, portraying the judiciary’s actions as an attack on the executive.’

Tirana’s ex-ambassador to Washington argued that ‘influencing the Constitutional Court may be an attempt to set a protective precedent — one that could prove useful if investigators ever seek to involve Mr. Rama himself in their investigations.’

‘It’s becoming increasingly clear that the emperor has no clothes, Nesho said, adding that Rama’s rule has amounted to ‘state capture’ as the ‘lack of checks and balances has enabled a recurring system of corruption across multiple of his terms.’

Nesho also claimed that Balluku had pointed to broader involvement of the Rama government in decision-making. Former Deputy Prime Minister Arben Ahmetaj, who went on the run after coming under SPAK investigation, has likewise alleged that Rama ‘directed all key decisions on tenders, finances, and public assets,’ according to Nesho’s claims.

Ahmetaj’s accusations included allegations that Rama is involved with mafia bosses. Rama responded to these insinuations by saying Ahmetaj ‘should not be taken seriously. Albanian politics is not tainted by the mafia,’ Balkanweb reported.

The U.S. has funded efforts for judicial reforms in Albania to aid its efforts toward accession into the European Union by cutting down on corruption. However, those reforms have led to legal backlogs that have drawn frustration and violence from the public.

Nesho said that ‘it is hard to see how a government that behaves like a banana republic gains accession to the E.U.’ He said that ‘Albania is a living contradiction in terms of law and order.’ While Nesho says Rama’s opposition has been ‘decimated by ‘lawfare’ and the compromising of legal institutions,’ Rama remains in office despite ‘documented multi-billion-dollar corruption scandals, documented electoral thefts across multiple voting cycles, and, most concerning, documented links to international drug cartels like the Sinaloa Cartel.’

Allegations that Rama is linked to the Sinaloa Cartel emerged after the prime minister met with Sinaloa-connected Luftar Hysa, who is sanctioned by the U.S. Department of Treasury. Rama told an Albanian news outlet that he met with Hysa just once.

With Balluku’s removal, Nesho says that ‘public anger is directed not only at [her] but also at the irresponsible conduct of a regime that rules without accountability, abuses public property and finances, and faces no consequences despite society’s reaction.’ Nesho said many in the country have given the prime minister the nickname ‘Ramaduro,’ saying it’s ‘a direct comparison to the Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro.’

Rama’s press office told Fox News Digital that it declined to comment on Nesho’s allegations against him.

In May 2021, the State Department sanctioned former Prime Minister Sali Berisha over corruption allegations, which forbade him from traveling to the U.S. Fox News Digital asked the State Department whether it had plans to issue similar sanctions against Balluku.

A State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital, ‘We have no comment on ongoing legal matters.’

The U.S. Embassy in Tirana issued the same response to Fox News Digital when asked whether it would suspend Balluku’s visa as a result of her removal from office.

James Boasberg, the chief judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia and a Biden appointee, is a judicial disgrace. Boasberg’s recent rulings show he is unfit for the bench.

His repeated abuse of judicial power, whether undermining national security, releasing violent threats, or enabling unlawful surveillance, demonstrates a blatant disregard for the Constitution and a dangerous partisan agenda that disqualifies him from holding a lifetime appointment.

The time has come for the House of Representatives to do its job and impeach him.

The Constitution fixes the term of service for a judge as ‘during good Behaviour.’ The Constitution also dictates that impeachment is proper for ‘high crimes and misdemeanors.’  House Democrats in 2020 argued an official can get impeached for an abuse of power even without a statutory crime, setting an important precedent. The Constitution draws no distinction between the requirements for impeaching Executive Branch and Judicial Branch officials. What is good for the Executive Branch goose is just as good for the Judicial Branch gander, so the House should not hesitate to pursue a judicial impeachment.

Boasberg’s first act of misconduct occurred during a judicial conference. During the earliest stages of President Trump’s second term, Boasberg expressed the view to Chief Justice John Roberts that President Trump would not follow court orders. The President has not violated a court order. Boasberg’s claim had no basis and was plainly partisan. Boasberg baselessly told Chief Justice Roberts that Trump wouldn’t follow court orders, an unfounded partisan claim that undermines any expectation of impartiality.

Tren de Aragua is a barbaric international state-sponsored terrorist organization from Venezuela. MS-13 is an animalistic gang based in El Salvador.  Thousands of these gang members have come to the United States and perpetrated horrific acts. In March, the Trump administration deported hundreds of these barbarians to El Salvador, where they were sent to a maximum security prison. Boasberg issued a highly illegal and dangerous order directing the government to turn around planes as they were in international airspace, flying over the Gulf of America. In doing so, Boasberg exposed an ongoing military operation and gave an order that could have endangered Americans.

Why would we have security in place in the United States to deal with an unexpected influx of hundreds of dangerous terrorist, because some rabidly partisan judge just illegally opened his courtroom and stunningly attempted to sabotage an ongoing military operation? Rather, the security footprint was in El Salvador—hundreds of military, intel, and law-enforcement officials—where the terrorists were expected to land. There was also a serious risk to the personnel on the planes, given that they had a limited fuel supply and were in the middle of the Gulf of America. Boasberg showed a blatant disregard for these serious risks in issuing a highly illegal and dangerous order that he lacked jurisdiction to give.

The planes landed in El Salvador, and Boasberg began contempt proceedings. Even after a D.C. Circuit panel rejected his reasoning, Boasberg pressed ahead, ordering the administration to detail its deliberations that March day. The Justice Department is objecting, asserting that Boasberg is violating the foundational principle of separation of powers by having executive branch officials illegally divulge privileged internal discussions.

Moreover, Boasberg played a key role in Operation Arctic Frost—one of the most dangerous spy scandals in our history. Biden Special Counsel Jack Smith, a political scud missile sent to take out President Trump via lawfare with the full blessing of Biden and his Justice Department, subpoenaed the phone records of nearly a dozen U.S. senators. Boasberg issued a gag order preventing the phone companies from disclosing the information for a year. With no basis, he reasoned that disclosure could lead to destruction of evidence and witness intimidation. The relevant statute, 2 U.S.C. § 6628, explicitly requires disclosure to the Senate when such spying occurs. Boasberg now is attempting to weasel his way out of this jam, claiming that he did not know that Smith was seeking the senators’ records. Either Boasberg is lying, or he was an illegal rubber stamp who signed whatever Smith put under his nose. It is disgraceful, and Boasberg, citing the same separation-of-powers claim that the Justice Department is using in the contempt proceeding, refused to testify before the House Judiciary Committee last week.

Finally, Boasberg has shown a flippant concern for the security of President Trump. Nathalie Rose Jones is a deeply disturbed woman. She made a social media post threatening to disembowel President Trump. She admitted to the post when the Secret Service visited her. Then, Jones attended a protest and was spotted near the White House carrying a knife. Authorities arrested her, and even Democrat-appointed U.S. Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadhyaya, exercising the most basic level of common sense, ordered her held without bail. Then, Boasberg stepped in and overruled Upadhyaya, releasing Jones to go home with an electronic monitor.

Boasberg has not simply issued a ruling with which conservatives disagree. Boasberg instead has engaged in a pattern of impeachment-worthy behavior—extremely lawless and dangerous partisan rulings—that shows no signs of ending. He is bolder than ever, refusing to testify before Congress and proceeding merrily along with his absurd contempt vendetta. The House disgraced itself with two impeachments of President Trump. It is time for the House to redeem itself by bringing reason back to the impeachment process. Boasberg is a more-than-worthy candidate, and the House should impeach him before they go home for the year.

The State Department is so far refusing to comment on a growing corruption crisis engulfing the Balkan nation of Albania, a vital U.S. ally in the region. 

Following an Albanian court’s decision to remove Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku from her position on allegations she interfered in two construction bids, socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama took the issue to the country’s Constitutional Court, which on Friday reinstated Balluku until a ‘final decision’ could be made, according to media reports.

The Special Anti-Corruption and Organized Crime Structure (SPAK) issued a criminal indictment against Balluku on Oct. 31, alleging she had been improperly influenced in her decision to favor one company in a tender for the construction of a 3.7-mile tunnel in southern Albania, Reuters reported. SPAK delivered an additional charge for violating rules in a Tirana road construction project on Nov. 21, the date when Balluku was removed from office.

The day before her November court appearance, Balluku told the country’s parliament the accusations against her amounted to ‘mudslinging, insinuations, half-truths and lies.’

As the second member of Rama’s cabinet to face corruption accusations since 2023, her charges have drawn the ire of Rama opponents.

Agim Nesho, former Albanian ambassador to the U.S. and the United Nations, told Fox News Digital that Balluku’s case demonstrates ‘the Rama government shows no sign of assuming moral responsibility or allowing justice the space to act independently. Instead, it appears intent on shielding Ms. Balluku, portraying the judiciary’s actions as an attack on the executive.’

Tirana’s ex-ambassador to Washington argued that ‘influencing the Constitutional Court may be an attempt to set a protective precedent — one that could prove useful if investigators ever seek to involve Mr. Rama himself in their investigations.’

‘It’s becoming increasingly clear that the emperor has no clothes,’ Nesho said, adding that Rama’s rule has amounted to ‘state capture’ as the ‘lack of checks and balances has enabled a recurring system of corruption across multiple of his terms.’

Nesho also claimed that Balluku had pointed to broader involvement of the Rama government in decision-making. Former Deputy Prime Minister Arben Ahmetaj, allegedly on the run after coming under SPAK investigation, has likewise alleged that Rama ‘directed all key decisions on tenders, finances and public assets,’ according to Nesho’s claims.

Ahmetaj’s accusations included allegations that Rama is involved with mafia bosses. Rama responded to these insinuations by saying Ahmetaj ‘should not be taken seriously. Albanian politics is not tainted by the mafia,’ Balkanweb reported.

The U.S. has funded efforts for judicial reforms in Albania to aid its efforts toward accession into the European Union by cutting down on corruption. However, those reforms have led to legal backlogs that have drawn frustration and violence from the public.

Nesho said ‘it is hard to see how a government that behaves like a banana republic gains accession to the EU.’ He said, ‘Albania is a living contradiction in terms of law and order.’ 

While Nesho says Rama’s opposition has been ‘decimated by ‘lawfare’ and the compromising of legal institutions,’ Rama remains in office despite ‘documented multibillion-dollar corruption scandals, documented electoral thefts across multiple voting cycles, and, most concerning, documented links to international drug cartels like the Sinaloa Cartel.’

Allegations that Rama is linked to the Sinaloa Cartel emerged after the prime minister met with Sinaloa-connected Luftar Hysa, who is sanctioned by the U.S. Department of Treasury. Rama told an Albanian news outlet he met with Hysa just once.

With Balluku’s removal, Nesho says ‘public anger is directed not only at [her] but also at the irresponsible conduct of a regime that rules without accountability, abuses public property and finances, and faces no consequences despite society’s reaction.’ 

Nesho said many in the country have given the prime minister the nickname ‘Ramaduro,’ saying it’s ‘a direct comparison to the Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro.’

Rama’s press office told Fox News Digital it declined to comment on Nesho’s allegations against him.

In May 2021, the State Department sanctioned former Prime Minister Sali Berisha over corruption allegations, which forbade him from traveling to the U.S. Fox News Digital asked the State Department whether it had plans to issue similar sanctions against Balluku.

A State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital, ‘We have no comment on ongoing legal matters.’

The U.S. Embassy in Tirana issued the same response to Fox News Digital when asked whether it would suspend Balluku’s visa as a result of her removal from office.

The Trump administration’s latest offensive move against Venezuela, the seizure of a tanker carrying U.S.-sanctioned oil, has triggered predictable outrage from Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s government. 

But behind the rhetorical fire, analysts say the regime has few practical ways to hit back without doing even more damage to itself.

Experts say that Maduro could target U.S. oil interests in Venezuela, but doing so would almost certainly inflict more pain on his own cash-starved regime than on the United States.

Maduro could also halt U.S.-chartered deportation flights but again would be harming his own interests, experts say. 

‘Venezuelans are just leaving the country because of the terrible conditions the regime has created,’ said Connor Pfeiffer, a Western Hemisphere analyst at FDD Action. ‘By having people come back, even if they’re on U.S. charter deportation flights, it kind of counters that narrative.’

Western oil firms have significantly decreased their presence in Venezuela, home to world’s largest proven oil reserves, in recent years due to sanctions. 

But U.S.-owned Chevron does still maintain a license to operate there, on the condition that the Maduro regime does not financially benefit from its operations. Instead, Chevron hands over to Maduro half of its oil production as payment, according to multiple reports.

‘Chevron’s operations in Venezuela continue in full compliance with laws and regulations applicable to its business, as well as the sanctions frameworks provided for by the U.S. government,’ a Chevron spokesperson told Fox News Digital.  

Imports of Venezuelan crude have declined to roughly 130,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 150,000 bpd in recent months, below the nearly 300,000 bpd imported under the prior petroleum licensing regime under the Biden administration. Most of Venezuela’s exports are now routed to Asia, with the bulk landing in China through intermediaries, according to data from Kpler. 

Despite that flow of crude, analysts say the idea of Caracas striking back at Chevron is more potent as a talking point than as a viable policy option.

Shutting down or seizing the company’s operations would instantly cut off one of the few lifelines still feeding Venezuela’s collapsing oil sector. It also would risk triggering a swift and politically difficult American response, including a full reinstatement of the sanctions relief the regime has quietly relied on.

Pfeiffer noted that the Maduro government has been ‘very supportive of Chevron continuing to operate’ because the arrangement provides tens of thousands of barrels a day of oil with minimal investment from Venezuelan-owned Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. Other analysts say that reality sharply limits Maduro’s room to maneuver, and that any attack on Chevron would strike at his own revenue stream first.

Another theoretical lever — military or maritime escalation — is widely viewed as even less credible. Venezuela has taken delivery of small Iranian-built fast attack craft equipped with anti-ship missiles, a fact that has fueled speculation Maduro could threaten U.S. or allied vessels.

But Venezuela’s navy suffers from years of maintenance failures and lacks the ability to sustain operations against American forces deployed in the Caribbean. Any aggressive move at sea would almost certainly invite a U.S. military response the regime is in no position to absorb.

Diplomatically, Caracas could suspend remaining channels with Washington or file legal challenges in U.S. courts or international forums. Yet previous efforts to contest sanctions-related seizures have gone nowhere, and Venezuela’s relationships in the hemisphere offer limited leverage. 

Regional bodies have little sway over U.S. sanctions law, and even supportive governments in Russia, China or Iran are unlikely to intervene beyond issuing critical statements. Beijing, now the primary destination for Venezuelan crude, has economic interests at stake but few practical avenues to challenge U.S. enforcement actions.

Absent direct military strikes, cracking down on sanctioned oil exports is one of the most potent ways the U.S. can weaken the regime, according to Pfeiffer. 

‘This is one of his main sources of revenue keeping the regime afloat,’ he said. 

The Trump administration’s latest offensive move against Venezuela, the seizure of a tanker carrying U.S.-sanctioned oil, has triggered predictable outrage from Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s government. 

But behind the rhetorical fire, analysts say the regime has few practical ways to hit back without doing even more damage to itself.

Experts say that Maduro could target U.S. oil interests in Venezuela, but doing so would almost certainly inflict more pain on his own cash-starved regime than on the United States.

Maduro could also halt U.S.-chartered deportation flights, but again, would be harming his own interests, experts say. 

‘Venezuelans are just leaving the country because of the terrible conditions the regime has created,’ said Connor Pfeiffer, a Western Hemisphere analyst at FDD Action. ‘By having people come back, even if they’re on U.S. charter deportation flights, it kind of counters that narrative.’

Western oil firms have significantly decreased their presence in Venezuela, home to world’s largest proven oil reserves, in recent years due to sanctions. 

But U.S.-owned Chevron does still maintain a license to operate there, on the condition that the Maduro regime does not financially benefit from its operations. Instead, Chevron hands over to Maduro half of its oil production as payment, according to multiple reports.

‘Chevron’s operations in Venezuela continue in full compliance with laws and regulations applicable to its business, as well as the sanctions frameworks provided for by the U.S. government,’ a Chevron spokesperson told Fox News Digital.  

Imports of Venezuelan crude have declined to roughly 130,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 150,000 bpd in recent months, below the nearly 300,000 bpd seen under the prior petroleum licensing regime under the Biden administration. Most of Venezuela’s exports are now routed to Asia, with the bulk ultimately landing in China through intermediaries, according to data from Kplr. 

Despite that flow of crude, analysts say the idea of Caracas striking back at Chevron is more potent as a talking point than as a viable policy option.

Shutting down or seizing the company’s operations would instantly cut off one of the few lifelines still feeding Venezuela’s collapsing oil sector. It also would risk triggering a swift and politically difficult American response, including a full reinstatement of the sanctions relief the regime has quietly relied on.

Pfeiffer noted that the Maduro government has been ‘very supportive of Chevron continuing to operate’ because the arrangement provides tens of thousands of barrels a day of oil with minimal investment from Venezuelan-owned Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. Other analysts say that reality sharply limits Maduro’s room to maneuver: any attack on Chevron would strike at his own revenue stream first.

Another theoretical lever — military or maritime escalation — is widely viewed as even less credible. Venezuela has taken delivery of small Iranian-built fast attack craft equipped with anti-ship missiles, a fact that has fueled speculation Maduro could threaten U.S. or allied vessels.

But Venezuela’s navy suffers from years of maintenance failures and lacks the ability to sustain operations against American forces deployed in the Caribbean. Any aggressive move at sea would almost certainly invite a U.S. military response the regime is in no position to absorb.

Diplomatically, Caracas could suspend remaining channels with Washington, or file legal challenges in U.S. courts or international forums. Yet previous efforts to contest sanctions-related seizures have gone nowhere, and Venezuela’s relationships in the hemisphere offer limited leverage. 

Regional bodies have little sway over U.S. sanctions law, and even supportive governments in Russia, China, or Iran are unlikely to intervene beyond issuing critical statements. Beijing, now the primary destination for Venezuelan crude, has economic interests at stake but few practical avenues to challenge U.S. enforcement actions.

Absent direct military strikes, cracking down on sanctioned oil exports is one of the most potent ways the U.S. can weaken the regime, according to Pfeiffer. 

‘This is one of his main sources of revenue keeping the regime afloat.’

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Republican John Nagel, who is running against Dem. Rep. Ilhan Omar in her Minneapolis district, spoke to Fox News Digital about the responsibility she holds in the unfolding massive fraud scandal that has garnered national headlines.

‘Where did this actually start?’ Nagel told Fox News Digital. ‘She passed legislation. Her legislation actually started and it allowed people to get into Feeding Our Future. If you look at where the fraud is, it’s primarily her [5th Congressional District], the district that I’m running in against her. And it’s really odd to think that you know all the fraud just happened in a particular area, and it was a bill that she, you know, particularly put together.’

Nagel is referring to allegations that the free meals at the center of the massive fraud scandal were made possible by the 2020 MEALS Act, introduced by Omar and passed with bipartisan support. He told Fox News Digital the public deserves to know who helped her craft that legislation.

Members of Omar’s inner circle personally profited from the $1 billion welfare fraud scandal in her district that has placed her Somali constituency under a White House microscope, Nagel said. He also said that Omar held events at one of the restaurants, Safari Land, which was named in the fraud case, knew one of its now-convicted owners and had a staffer who was also convicted.

‘If you look at the Safari Land restaurant, if you’re gonna be in politics, you need to go through the people at the Safari Land restaurant,’ Nagel said. ‘They kind of control the politics. She had all of her fundraising things. I mean, that was sort of her hangout. That’s where she spent money, got donations.’

Guhaad Hashi Said, sometimes referred to as an ‘enforcer’ for Omar’s campaign, is one of the over 70 people who have been indicted for his role in the Feeding Our Future scandal. Nagel told Fox News Digital the public deserves answers on that relationship and what Omar knew about the fraud.

‘There’s a lot of really deep, deep ties,’ Nagel said.

‘I think time will tell with the investigation. But again, there’s just too much circumstantial evidence to look at this and say, she had to have known something, or what staff member knew something?’

The Small Business Administration is investigating a network of Somali groups in Minnesota that it says is tied to the scandal, and a House Oversight Committee has opened an investigation into Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s role.

President Donald Trump last week criticized Omar and blamed the Somali community for the scope of fraud occurring in Minnesota. 

Nagel also asserted that there was a money trail potentially funneled to Omar from her associates tied to the Feeding Our Future fraud scandal, and he said that she has returned some of the money but not all of it.

‘A whole lot of people that were convicted donated a whole lot of money. Omar says that she gave the money back,’ Nagel said. ‘Well, if you go into public records, she gave some money back, but there’s a whole lot more money there that she didn’t report. And I think if people were just to go through the everyday records that are out there, you’ll find out that her involvement in the money that she has is questionable.’

Nagel told Fox News Digital, ‘If she truly cared about the fraud, her name wouldn’t be attached all over to these other people. She came on and she made a statement about how terrible it is to basically steal food from children. Yeah, okay, that’s a really nice thing to say, but you have way too many people that you’re associated with that actually did that. Now she yells racism anytime somebody puts any pressure on her.’

Fox News Digital asked Nagel what can be done to fix the fraud issues. He said, first and foremost, Minnesota must elect a new governor.

‘The things that we can do to fix this is you get yourself a new competent, honest governor, you get yourself a new honest, competent AG,’ Nagel said. ‘We get rid of Ilhan Omar, and we put people in the state of Minnesota that actually want to do the right thing. They’re not in it for the money, they’re in it because they’re great state employees and they’re serving the public. That’s what we’re gonna have to do. You’re gonna have to entirely root the Democratic Party, and then anybody that’s been appointed to a position, we’re gonna have to root them out too, to find out if you know they’ve been letting things slide.’

Nagel described the fraud situation in Minnesota as a ‘cancer’ that will continue to ‘spread’ unless ‘you cut the entire cancer out.’

Fox News Digital reached out to Omar’s office for comment. 

‘I think what happened is that, you know, when you have these kind of new programs that are, um, designed to help people, you’re oftentimes relying on third parties to be able to facilitate. And I just think that a lot of the COVID programs that were set up — they were set up so quickly that a lot of the guardrails did not get created,’ Omar said last week.

Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano contributed to this report.

While the world’s attention has focused on Russia’s war in Ukraine and Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza, Sudan remains the world’s largest displacement crisis, with some 12 million people driven out of their homes.

‘Sudan is under the darkest of clouds, a catastrophe that has, for far too long, been met with paralysis by the international community,’ Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., chair of the House Foreign Affairs Africa subcommittee, said during his opening statements during a December 11 hearing on crimes against humanity in Sudan.

Smith said the hearing was a global call to action and that there must be an immediate cessation of hostilities between the warring factions.

‘Crimes against humanity — particularly by the Rapid Support Forces — including mass rape, ethnic targeting and systematic looting, must be investigated, and perpetrators held accountable,’ Smith added.

The conflict in Sudan has received renewed attention after President Donald Trump vowed to secure a peace deal in the African nation following his meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in November. 

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, recently said repeated drone strikes on Dec. 4 in Sudan’s South Kordofan region struck a kindergarten and nearby hospital, killing 114 people, including 63 children.

‘Disturbingly, paramedics and responders came under attack as they tried to move the injured from the kindergarten to the hospital,’ Tedros said in a statement.

Sudan Doctors Network, a medical organization, said the attacks were perpetrated by the Rapid Support Forces.

The conflict in Sudan has been raging since April 2023, when an uneasy alliance between Sudan’s two warring factions, the government-led Sudanese armed forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) collapsed following a tenuous power-sharing agreement struck in 2021. 

Sudan’s army and the RSF had collaborated for years under the previous regime of ousted dictator Omar al-Bashir.

The situation has only escalated since fighting first broke out in 2023 and has not garnered the same level of international effort or outrage that the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza have generated.

‘The war in Sudan has been one of the most gruesome humanitarian catastrophes in world history. However, there has been frequent paralysis by world leaders and international institutions to solve it, in addition to reduced, fluctuating media attention on the conflict,’ Caroline Rose, director of Military and National Security Priorities at New Lines Institute, told Fox News Digital.

‘This could be attributed to the fact that, unlike wars in Ukraine and Gaza, there is not a component of great-power competition or regional contestation,’ she added.

Rose and other observers of the conflict note that there is inhibited ground access, creating challenges not only for journalistic reporting, but also the documentation of war crimes and testimonies. 

The Sudanese armed forces have prevented access to aid workers in territories they control on the basis of sovereignty and have expelled humanitarian workers that had been in the country.

The RSF has also been accused of committing grave human rights violations and reportedly killed over 400 aid workers and patients in October at the Saudi Maternity Hospital in the North Darfur city of El Fasher. The RSF siege of El Fasher caused at least 28,000 people to flee to neighboring towns, and the U.N. Human Rights Office accused the RSF of ‘summary executions, mass killings, rapes, attacks against humanitarian workers, looting, abductions and forced displacement.’

Even as the Trump administration works for a ceasefire between the warring factions, the killings continue. 

Tom Perriello, the former U.S. special envoy for Sudan, said in a September New York Times interview that he believed up to 400,000 have been killed since the outbreak of violence in 2023. A recent article in Foreign Policy put the figure at 100,000 in what it called the ‘forgotten war.’

In addition to the deaths, it’s been estimated by various groups that more than 30 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance and around 21.2 million, or 45% of the population, are facing high levels of acute food insecurity.

The White House accused Democrats from the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of spreading a ‘cherry-picked’ and ‘false narrative’ Friday after they released another batch of photos from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate, this time featuring prominent figures including Donald Trump, Bill Clinton and Woody Allen.

The release comes about a week after the same group said it ‘received never-before-seen photos and videos of Jeffrey Epstein’s private island that are a harrowing look behind Epstein’s closed doors.’

‘Oversight Dems received 95,000 new photos from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate. These disturbing images raise even more questions about Epstein and his relationships with some of the most powerful men in the world. Time to end this White House cover-up. Release the files!’ Oversight Dems said Friday on X.

White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson accused Democrats of ‘selectively releasing cherry-picked photos with random redactions to try and create a false narrative.’

‘Here’s the reality: Democrats like Stacey Plaskett and Hakeem Jeffries were soliciting money and meetings from Epstein AFTER he was a convicted sex offender,’ she added. ‘The Democrat hoax against President Trump has been repeatedly debunked, and the Trump administration has done more for Epstein’s victims than Democrats ever have by repeatedly calling for transparency, releasing thousands of pages of documents and calling for further investigations into Epstein’s Democrat friends.

‘It’s time for the media to stop regurgitating Democrat talking points and start asking Democrats why they wanted to hang around Epstein after he was convicted.’

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., previously has fired back at accusations that he may have had dinner with Jeffrey Epstein or solicited donations from the disgraced financier. A House GOP effort to censure Plaskett also failed in mid-November.

A White House official also told Fox News Friday that the House Democrats selectively chose some of the photos to release, with random redactions intended for political purposes. None of the documents, the official added, have ever shown any wrongdoing by Trump.

Representatives for Clinton, Gates and Allen did not immediately respond Friday to requests for comment from Fox News Digital.

Other images released Friday included photos of sex toys. 

On Wednesday, a federal judge cleared the Justice Department to release secret grand jury transcripts from Epstein’s 2019 sex trafficking case.

U.S. District Judge Richard Berman reversed his earlier decision to keep the transcripts under wraps, citing Congress’ recent action on the Epstein files. Berman had previously warned that the contents of the roughly 70 pages of grand jury materials contain little new information.

That move came just one day after Judge Paul Engelmayer granted the DOJ’s motion to unseal separate grand jury transcripts and exhibits in Ghislaine Maxwell’s criminal case.

Fox News’ Kate Sprague, Anders Hagstrom, Diana Stancy, Emma Colton and Leo Briceno contributed to this report.

There is still a desire to solve the looming healthcare cliff after dueling votes in the Senate on partisan Obamacare fixes crashed and burned Thursday, but both sides of the aisle are still miles from finding a middle ground.

The enhanced Obamacare subsidies are set to expire by the end of the year, and Congress is gearing up to leave Washington, D.C., at the end of next week until the new year. There are several options on the table, including numerous Senate Republican proposals or just moving ahead with a short-term extension of the subsidies.

But lawmakers have to land on what exactly they want to do, and what could pass the 60-vote filibuster threshold, first.

‘I think the question is, ‘Do the Democrats, after they got their messaging vote done, actually want to engage in a real conversation about this?’’ Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said. ‘Because it didn’t seem like they had a real high level of interest in reforms, but there are some who do. I don’t know if there are enough, but I think we’re going to get a sense of that here very soon.’

Thune echoed what many Republicans in the upper chamber believed: Senate Democrats’ three-year extension of the subsidies was never meant to succeed, but only served as a political messaging exercise.

Still, four Senate Republicans crossed the aisle to vote for Democrats’ plan. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, argued that she voted for both proposals not because both were exactly what she wanted, but because she wanted to get the ball rolling toward a solution.

‘Sometimes around the Senate, we have to demonstrate what we can’t do first before we can get to what we need to do,’ she said. ‘Today was the first step in that process of demonstrating what we can’t do now. Let’s get on with it and fix it.’

Conversely, the GOP’s first attempt wasn’t going to pass muster with Senate Democrats, either. Some in the upper chamber are mulling a short-term extension to the subsidies, be it six months to a year, but that idea doesn’t tackle the several reforms Senate Republicans have demanded for their support.

‘Discussions will continue,’ Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., told Fox News Digital. ‘Both parties are going to find a solution to actually lower the cost of care and put patients in charge and get rid of the waste and the fraud and the abuse and the corruption that has run rampant in Obamacare.’

Whatever happens next will likely be the product of rank-and-file negotiations, not top-level decisions between Thune and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

But there is a growing sense that President Donald Trump should get more involved and dictate exactly what he wants to be done. Trump previously signaled that he wants to move ahead with health savings accounts (HSAs) but in recent weeks has largely stayed an arms’ length away from the Obamacare turmoil in the Senate.

When asked how lawmakers get out of the healthcare jam, Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., told Fox News Digital, ‘We don’t.’

‘Not until Donald Trump decides we get out of it,’ Murphy said. ‘He’s the President of the United States, his party controls the House and the Senate, so the only way we save people from healthcare disasters for Donald Trump, the leader of the Republican Party, is to decide to fix this.’

Republicans still have several options on the table, including a plan from Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., that marries an extension of the subsidies with HSAs and reforms, and a plan from Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, that would extend the credits for two years, among others.

There’s also the possibility that the healthcare fight continues on into the next year and goes through the partisan budget reconciliation process, which Republicans used earlier this year to ram through Trump’s agenda.

While that’s an option, many in the upper chamber acknowledge that the best way forward is working with the other side of the aisle.

‘I would rather do it on a bipartisan basis, because that’s the way that Congress is supposed to work,’ Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., told Fox News Digital. ‘But if Democrats are intent upon sticking people with either higher premiums and/or $6,000 deductible, we got to do something. So it’s not good for the American people.’

While there are lawmakers who hope the failed votes were the springboard forward, and not a dead end, toward tackling the Obamacare issue, Schumer signaled that it was Republicans’ fault that the subsidies would likely expire.

‘This is their crisis now, and they’re going to have to answer for it,’ he said.

Partisan fights played out publicly in high-profile votes in the Senate this week, but lawmakers are quietly finding common ground in their support of a push to have the unedited footage of Caribbean boat strikes released.

Tucked into the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is a provision that would require the Pentagon to release the full, unedited footage of boat strikes carried out in the Caribbean in exchange for Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s travel budget to be fully funded.

The Trump administration has come under scrutiny on Capitol Hill for repeated strikes on alleged drug boats from Venezuela over the last several months, which came to a head last week in the wake of the deadly Sept. 2 double-strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean Sea.

‘I think we need to see all of the video footage, particularly of the second strike from Sept. 2,’ Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., told Fox News Digital.

Lawmakers in the upper chamber don’t know who slipped the provision into the colossal legislative package, including Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker, R-Miss., who told reporters, ‘I would imagine that it got added at the leadership level.’

The massive legislative package sailed through the House on Thursday and is set for a series of procedural tests in the Senate beginning on Monday. And many lawmakers broadly support the release of the footage, particularly of the double-tap strike, to Congress.

Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., who is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told Fox News Digital that his committee, and ‘maybe the [Senate] Intel Committee,’ should have complete access to the unedited footage.

‘And then, based upon that, we can decide whether or not we would push further,’ Rounds said. ‘But let us look at the facts first.’

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., who also sits on the Armed Services Committee, told Fox News Digital that he fully supported the provision and noted that Hegseth and the Pentagon had already released partial footage, treating it like ‘almost a commercial.’

‘So you released part of the video, and you’re banging your chest about it,’ Kaine said. ‘You should release the whole thing.’

Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, agreed and told Fox News Digital that it shouldn’t be a roadblock to passage of the broader defense package, either.

‘There’s no excuse for not releasing it. It shouldn’t. If somebody is not releasing something, it usually tells me that they don’t want it to see the light of day,’ he said. ‘I just want the video of the rest of the strike. That’s not me. It’s the American people who need to see this. They need to know what’s being done in their name.’

During the week, the so-called ‘Gang of Eight,’ which includes Republican and Democratic leadership from the Senate and House along with the chairs and ranking members of the intelligence committees in both chambers, met with Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio for a briefing on the strikes.

Neither Thune nor Senate Intel Committee Chair Tom Cotton, R-Ark., commented on the briefing, but Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., characterized it as ‘very unsatisfying.’

‘I asked Secretary Hegseth, Secretary of Defense Hegseth, would he let every member of Congress see unedited videos of the Sept. 2 strike? His answer, ‘We have to study it well,’’ Schumer said. ‘In my view, they’ve studied it long enough. Congress ought to be able to see it.’

Some Republicans support more transparency on the matter, too, including Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., who told Fox News Digital that he didn’t ‘have any problem’ releasing the footage.

But he emphasized that the entire point of the strikes was to combat the flow of drugs into the country.

‘We’re losing sight of the most important narrative, and that is, more Americans have died of illegal drugs in the last seven years than World War I, World War II and Vietnam combined,’ Daines said.