New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mikie Sherrill, who is currently embroiled in a controversy involving a cheating scandal while she studied at the U.S. Naval Academy, is facing questions and accusations of nepotism over her children being admitted to that same academy earlier this year.

«I am so proud of all the young men and women from NJ-11 who are reporting to the military academies or academy preparatory programs this summer,» Sherrill said in a June press release highlighting 24 students from her district being appointed to various military academies including two of her children, Lincoln and Margaret Hedberg. 

The press release did not note that the two students with her husband’s last name were her children and the photo in the release showing Sherrill posing with the students does not include her children.

«From my time at the Naval Academy, I remember how challenging the academy’s programs are — both academically and physically,» the press release added. «Learning to work as a team and overcoming those challenges prepared me to lead servicemembers as a military officer. I am grateful for these young men and women who are willing to serve our nation in uniform and I wish them the best of luck as they start their careers as future military leaders.»

MIKIE SHERRILL STAYS SILENT AS NEW JERSEY POLITICIANS REACT TO CONVICTED COP KILLER’S DEATH

Members of Congress nominate students to the service academies while the actual academies make the appointments after the representatives submit a list of nominees by the end of January and the academies appoint qualified candidates. 

Some on social media have suggested nepotism was at play with their acceptance into the academy given that only 22 students from her district were admitted to the military academies, including just nine to the naval academy, according to the press release. 

College rankings show that admissions to the Naval Academy are very competitive with a 9% acceptance rate.

«Mikie Sherrill’s two kids are at the Naval Academy, one of the hardest schools to get into, because of her nepotism,» Rasmussen pollster Mark Mitchell posted on X. «Meanwhile, some hardworking, impoverished, and unconnected teenagers lose out on a life dream they earned.»

Journalist Jennifer Jean Miller posted on X, «Far left politicians like Mikie Sherrill like to virtue signal about privilege…yet have no problem exerting their own privilege. How did Mikie Sherrill’s two kids get into the Naval Academy? Did two other deserving students miss out because of her nepotism?»

While many on social media have claimed that Sherrill nominated one of her children, an aide for Democratic Sen. Cory Booker confirmed to Fox News Digital that Booker nominated one of Sherrill’s children for this year’s freshman class. 

«Each year, Senator Booker, as a member of Congress, has the honor of nominating qualified young people to serve in the United States military service academies,» Booker’s office told Fox News Digital. 

«Prospective candidates go through an extensive application and screening process with service members and academy volunteers to recommend the best candidates to the academy based on merit. The candidates put forth for each academy represent the best and brightest that New Jersey has to offer.»

Sherrill’s other child was nominated by now-former Democratic Sen. George Helmy, a Helmy spokesperson confirmed to Fox News Digital.

Sherrill told Fox News Digital in a statement that, in «order to remove even the appearance of a conflict of interest, my children did not compete in my office’s service academy nomination process.»

«Instead, they applied to the offices of the U.S. Senators from New Jersey, who also run academy nomination processes each year, and I am proud that they each earned nominations on their own,» Sherrill added.

«Every year, our office runs a competitive and nonpolitical process to select the best nominees to submit to the academies. I am honored to nominate the service academy appointees from our district who step up to serve our country.»

MIKIE SHERRILL REMAINS SILENT ON ISSUE OF TRANS ATHLETES IN WOMEN’S SPORTS AS TRUMP CALLS HER OUT FOR IT

Incoming plebes (freshmen) march into Bancroft Hall after taking part in their Oath of Office Ceremony during Induction Day at the U.S. Naval Academy. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

When asked by Fox News Digital why Sherrill’s press release did not include her children in the picture or mention their relationship to her, Sherrill’s office said that her child appointed by Booker attended that ceremony and that the press release listed all the students from NJ-11 who were appointed to academies, not just those she nominated, which is «routine for the office.»

Sherrill’s campaign called the nepotism questions a «depraved attack» in a statement to Fox News Digital. 

«The Trump administration, in concert with the Ciattarelli campaign, released Mikie Sherrill’s unredacted service records — including her Social Security number and parents’ address — and now is desperately doubling down by attacking Mikie’s husband and kids,» the statement said. «It’s despicable, wrong, and underscores just how unfit Jack Ciattarelli is to be governor.» 

Federal law (10 U.S.C. § 8454) states that members of Congress may nominate up to 15 candidates for each available vacancy at the U.S. Naval Academy. «Each member of Congress can have 5 constituents attending the Naval Academy at any time,» according to their admissions website.

The combustible ballot box battle in New Jersey, which is one of only two elections for governor across the country this year, was rocked last week after a report revealed that the United States Naval Academy blocked Sherrill from taking part in her 1994 graduation amid a cheating scandal.

Ciattarelli and his campaign are calling on Sherrill, who went on to pilot helicopters during her military career after graduating from the Naval Academy, to release her military records to explain why she was blocked from attending her graduation ceremony.

«What we learned today is that she was part of it in some way, shape or form. Come clean, release the records. Tell us what’s in your disciplinary records. I think the people of New Jersey deserve that,» Ciattarelli said Thursday night in an interview on Fox News’ «Hannity.»

But a second report revealed that the National Personnel Records Center, which is a branch of the National Archives and Records Administration, errantly released Sherrill’s improperly redacted military personnel files, which included private information including her social security number, to a Ciattarelli ally. 

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New Jersey GOP gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli (Getty Images)

The news spurred calls by top Democrats across the country for an investigation.

«To have a guy I’m running against, it will stop at nothing, it will stop at nothing, who will illegally obtain records. It’s just beyond the pale,» Sherrill, who served as a federal prosecutor before winning election to Congress, charged Thursday night on the campaign trail in Plainfield, New Jersey.

The two candidates face off next week in the second and final debate in the race to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy.
 

El hallazgo de un núcleo interno sólido en Marte transformó el panorama científico acerca de la evolución del planeta rojo. Investigadores internacionales, basándose en datos sísmicos recogidos por la misión InSight de la NASA, determinaron que el núcleo marciano contiene una esfera sólida en su interior, descartando la creencia anterior de que era completamente líquido.

Este descubrimiento revela que el núcleo interno sólido representa cerca de una quinta parte del radio de Marte, cifra similar a la del núcleo terrestre, aunque los científicos advierten que la coincidencia podría ser fortuita, según reportó Smithsonian Magazine.

El análisis exhaustivo de los registros sísmicos de InSight, obtenidos entre 2018 y 2022, permitió a los equipos dirigidos por Daoyuan Sun (Universidad de Ciencia y Tecnología de China) y Constantinos Charalambous (Imperial College London) detectar la existencia de este núcleo sólido. Durante su período de operación, el módulo registró 1.319 eventos sísmicos en la superficie marciana.

Los científicos estudiaron el comportamiento de las ondas sísmicas generadas por “marsquakes” y por impactos de meteoritos, y observaron que, al atravesar ciertas zonas del manto, algunas ondas desaceleraban, lo que permitió identificar heterogeneidades a pequeña escala atribuidas a restos de grandes impactos sufridos por el planeta en su juventud.

Charalambous explicó a Smithsonian Magazine que el manto de Marte conserva vestigios antiguos: “Lo que estamos viendo es un manto salpicado de fragmentos antiguos. Su supervivencia hasta hoy nos indica que el manto de Marte ha evolucionado de forma muy lenta durante miles de millones de años. En la Tierra, características como estas probablemente habrían sido borradas en su mayor parte”, afirmó el investigador. La ausencia de placas tectónicas permitió que la estructura interna de Marte permanezca casi inalterada desde su formación, lo que convierte al planeta en una cápsula del tiempo geológica.

El estudio publicado en Nature y encabezado por Sun detalló la composición y proporción del núcleo sólido. “Nuestros resultados sugieren que Marte tiene un núcleo interno sólido que constituye aproximadamente una quinta parte del radio del planeta, una proporción similar a la del núcleo interno de la Tierra. Sin embargo, esta similitud puede ser solo una coincidencia”, afirmó Sun, según Smithsonian Magazine. Los investigadores sostienen que este núcleo estaría compuesto principalmente por hierro y níquel, junto con elementos más ligeros como oxígeno.

La presencia de un núcleo sólido en Marte tiene consecuencias notables para la historia del planeta, en especial respecto a su campo magnético. En la Tierra, este se genera por la convección en la parte líquida del núcleo, lo que protege la atmósfera de la radiación solar.

En Marte, la existencia de magnetización residual en la corteza indica que también contó con un campo magnético en el pasado, probablemente generado de forma similar a la terrestre. Sin embargo, como detallaron Kevin Olsen y Mhairi Reid en Smithsonian Magazine, se estima que el núcleo marciano perdió movilidad tras enfriarse, lo que provocó la desaparición de dicho campo.

La pérdida del escudo magnético marciano habría provocado la fuga de la atmósfera, en otro tiempo más densa y capaz de permitir la presencia de agua líquida en la superficie. Al quedar Marte sin protección magnética, la atmósfera se fue disipando, hasta convertirlo en el planeta frío y seco que se observa hoy.

Por ello, el descubrimiento del núcleo interno sólido no solo aporta información sobre la estructura presente del planeta, sino que también permite reconstruir su evolución y las condiciones que favorecieron, en algún momento, la presencia de vida.

El legado de InSight fue decisivo: gracias al sismómetro de la misión, los científicos accedieron al interior de Marte con un nivel de detalle inédito.

Dirigida por el Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) de la NASA, la labor de InSight proporcionó datos que transforman la comprensión sobre la formación de los planetas rocosos.

A medida que se exploran los registros sísmicos, los datos de InSight continúan impulsando descubrimientos que desafían las teorías existentes y abren interrogantes sobre la evolución de los mundos rocosos en el sistema solar.

FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, the number three Republican in Senate leadership, is turning up the volume on his effort to protect and strengthen the GOP’s majority in the chamber in next year’s elections.

A non-profit public advocacy group aligned with the senator on Tuesday launched an ad highlighting GOP Rep. Ashley Hinson of Iowa, who’s running in the 2026 race to succeed retiring Republican Sen. Joni Ernst.

The ad is the latest effort by Cotton, the Army veteran who served in combat in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars before becoming a rising GOP star, to support Republicans in key Senate races in next year’s midterm elections when the party will be defending its 53-47 majority in the chamber.

«Iowa has a fighter in Washington. Her name is Ashley Hinson,» says the narrator in the spot by America One Policies, which was first shared with Fox News Digital.

HINSON LAUNCHES SENATE BID IN RACE TO SUCCEED IOWA’S ERNST

Hinson, a former local TV anchor, has been endorsed by President Donald Trump, Senate Majority Leader John Thune and by the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) as she runs to keep Iowa’s open Senate seat in the party’s hands.

The narrator highlights that Hinson «is tough on crime, and she’s tough on China. Ashley fought to stop China from buying our farmland, and she voted for President Trump’s tax cuts.»

TRUMP NOT ON BALLOT BUT FRONT-AND-CENTER IN 2025 ELECTIONS

«Ashley Hinson is putting more money in your pocket. Tell her to keep fighting for Iowa,» the narrator adds.

The Cotton-aligned group tells Fox News that it will spend six-figures to run the ad on broadcast TV and digital in the Des Moines market.

It’s the second spot this cycle by America One Policies following an ad that targets Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia, whom Republicans consider the most vulnerable Democratic senator running for re-election in 2026.

And earlier this month, Cotton’s leadership PAC went up with an ad that takes aim at North Carolina’s former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who’s running against former Republican National Committee chair Michael Whately in the race to succeed retiring GOP Sen. Thom Tillis.

An America One Polices spokesperson told Fox News that «Senator Cotton plans to fight for his colleagues in the US Senate, to ensure that we grow our majority in the senate, to fundraise and advertise for our candidates and to make sure that the American people know the records of their Democrat opponents. American One Policies will be assisting our candidates across the United States throughout this election cycle.»  

TRUMP NOT ON BALLOT BUT FRONT-AND-CENTER IN 2025 ELECTIONS

Cotton, who didn’t face a Democratic Party opponent as he cruised to re-election in 2020 and who isn’t expected to face a difficult re-election next year in red state Arkansas, has crisscrossed the country in recent election cycles to campaign on behalf of fellow Republicans.

«As Tom Cotton has done since the first day he was elected to office, he will continue to help support Republicans around the country who are running for office at any level, to win,» a source in the senator’s political orbit told Fox News Digital.

Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas was interviewed by Fox News Digital at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on July 20, 2024. (Paul Steinhauser – Fox News)

The 48-year-old Cotton took a hard look at running for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination as he made numerous trips to Iowa and New Hampshire, the two states that have long kicked off the GOP’s presidential primary calendar.

But days before the 2022 midterms, Cotton announced he wouldn’t run for the White House in 2024. 

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And last year, Cotton was considered to be on now-President Donald Trump’s larger list of potential running mates.

Cotton’s support for Hinson in Iowa may spark speculation about a potential future run by the senator for the White House.