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Alina Habba defiant after judges vote against her in New Jersey: ‘I don’t cower to pressure’

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Alina Habba signaled Thursday that she does not plan to leave her role as the temporary U.S. attorney of New Jersey, announcing she does «not cower» to pressure after federal judges voted against extending her term.

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Habba, a former personal defense attorney to President Donald Trump, wrote in a statement online that she has been appointed the «acting» U.S. attorney, a shift from her prior job title.

«Donald J. Trump is the 47th President. Pam Bondi is the Attorney General. And I am now the Acting United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey,» Habba wrote. «I don’t cower to pressure. I don’t answer to politics. This is a fight for justice. And I’m all in.»

A Department of Justice (DOJ) spokesman told Fox News Digital that Habba was now serving as the acting U.S. attorney, rather than the «interim» position that she previously held.

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DOJ SWIFTLY FIRES ALINA HABBA’S COURT-APPOINTED REPLACEMENT

President Donald Trump stands alongside Alina Habba during her swearing-in ceremony as interim U.S. attorney for New Jersey at the White House on March 28, 2025. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

The maneuvers by Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi to keep Habba as the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey are governed by a set of arcane federal vacancy laws.

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Those same laws also gave the New Jersey district court judges the authority to vote on whether to extend Habba’s 120-day term as interim U.S. attorney or to replace her. In a rare move, they chose to replace her with Habba’s No. 2, Desiree Grace, but Bondi promptly fired Grace, leaving open the question of who would take the role.

ALINA HABBA SAYS AMERICA WAS ‘OFF‑TRACK’ FOR A LONG TIME

Alina Habba at CPAC

Alina Habba speaks during a panel at the 2025 Conservative Political Action Conference in Oxon Hill, Maryland. Habba, a former personal attorney to President Trump, is now serving as acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

The DOJ has said Habba’s term as «interim» U.S. attorney expires Friday. Fox News Digital learned that Habba resigned before that expiration day and that she was re-appointed as acting U.S. attorney, which has a 210-day term limit.

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According to the judges’ appointment, Grace would take over come Saturday, but it is unclear if the judges’ vote is valid now given the changes to Habba’s job, and it is possible that the legal confusion could lead to a court fight.

Grace, a career prosecutor in the U.S. attorney’s office since 2016, wrote in a LinkedIn post after she was fired that it «has been the honor of a lifetime to represent the United States and to serve the people of New Jersey» and that she planned to be sworn in on Saturday.

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Alina Habba

Trump lawyer Alina Habba speaks at a campaign rally for former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at the PPL Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on October 29, 2024. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)

«Yesterday the District Judges for the District of New Jersey selected me to serve as the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey,» Grace wrote. «It will forever be the greatest honor that they selected me on merit, and I’m prepared to follow that Order and begin to serve in accordance with the law.»

Trump has also nominated Habba to serve the full, four-year role as the permanent U.S. attorney, but that position requires Senate approval and Habba has no clear path to confirmation.

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New Jersey’s two Democratic senators, Sens. Cory Booker and Andy Kim, are currently holding up her nomination through the Senate’s «blue slip» tradition, and a person familiar with the matter said the Trump administration has not submitted any material for the Senate to vet Habba’s nomination in any case.

Booker said in a statement after Grace’s firing that the Trump administration has violated the law.

«The firing of a career public servant, lawfully appointed by the court, is another blatant attempt to intimidate anyone that doesn’t agree with them and undermine judicial independence,» Booker wrote on social media. «This Administration may not like the law, but they are not above it.»

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Fox News’ David Spunt contributed to this report.

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El Reino Unido colaborará con Jordania para la entrega de ayuda humanitaria aérea en Gaza

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Miembros de las fuerzas armadas jordanas lanzan desde el aire paquetes de ayuda sobre Gaza (REUTERS/Alaa Al Sukhni/File Photo)

El Reino Unido colaborará con países como Jordania para lanzar ayuda humanitaria por vía aérea sobre Gaza y evacuar a niños que necesiten atención médica urgente, dijo este sábado el primer ministro británico, Keir Starmer.

Starmer hizo el anuncio tras mantener una conversación con el presidente francés, Emmanuel Macron, y el canciller alemán, Friedrich Merz -integrantes del grupo E3-, en la que subrayaron la necesidad de impulsar un alto el fuego inmediato en la Franja.

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Reino Unido colaborará en el
Reino Unido colaborará en el envío de ayuda humanitaria aérea sobre Gaza (UK MOD/Handout via REUTERS)

En ese sentido, los tres dirigentes se comprometieron a trabajar conjuntamente en un plan que convierta una tregua en una paz duradera y en una solución de dos Estados. Cuando lo tengan listo, involucrarán a otros aliados, indicó Downing Street en un comunicado.

En la misma conversación, los mandatarios trataron la guerra en Ucrania, concluyendo que hay que mantener la presión sobre el presidente ruso, Vladimir Putin, así como el apoyo militar a Kiev.

Con relación al programa nuclear iraní, coincidieron en que, si Irán no colabora con el Organismo Internacional de Energía Atómica (OIEA) ni regresa a la vía diplomática, se restablecerán las sanciones al final de agosto.

El primer ministro británico, Keir
El primer ministro británico, Keir Starmer, hizo el anuncio tras mantener una conversación con el presidente francés, Emmanuel Macron, y el canciller alemán, Friedrich Merz (Europa Press)

Este contacto trilateral se produce un día después de la publicación de un comunicado conjunto del grupo E3, en el que urgían a un alto el fuego en Gaza, pedían a Israel levantar las restricciones a la ayuda humanitaria y reiteraban su rechazo a cualquier posible anexión de territorios palestinos ocupados.

Tras ese comunicado, Starmer dejó claro que el Reino Unido no reconocerá aún el Estado palestino, en contraste con Francia, cuyo presidente anunció que lo hará en septiembre durante la Asamblea General de la ONU.

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Más de 200 diputados británicos instaron el viernes a Starmer a reconocer a Palestina en una conferencia de Naciones Unidas auspiciada por Francia y Arabia Saudita la próxima semana en Nueva York, pero el líder laborista cree que ese reconocimiento solo será útil “como parte de un plan de paz más amplio”.

Una mujer baña a dos
Una mujer baña a dos niños en Gaza (Europa Press)

La desnutrición mató a otras cinco personas, incluido un bebé, en las últimas 24 horas en Gaza, informó el hospital Al Shifa de la franja palestina.

El bebé Hood Arafat había nacido hacía apenas unos diez días y no tuvo acceso a leche de fórmula. Su madre, también con problemas de malnutrición, no pudo amamantarlo.

El número total de víctimas por desnutrición desde el inicio de la ofensiva israelí contra la Franja se eleva a 127, de los que 85 eran niños, según cifras del departamento de Sanidad de Gaza.

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Personas esperan por comida en
Personas esperan por comida en Gaza (REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa)

La agencia de la ONU para los Refugiados Palestinos (UNRWA, por sus siglas en inglés) ya había venido advirtiendo de que la desnutrición entre los niños menores de cinco años se había duplicado entre marzo y junio, como resultado del bloqueo israelí de la Franja de Gaza.

Según el COGAT, el organismo israelí encargado de los asuntos civiles en los territorios palestinos ocupados, agencias de la ONU y otras organizaciones distribuyeron ayer cerca de 100 camiones humanitarios en la Franja sin dar más detalles, recoge el periódico israelí The Times of Israel.

Durante esta madrugada, sin embargo, disparos del Ejército mataron a unas 24 personas y dejaron a más de 300 heridos cerca del puesto militar de Zikim, al noroeste de la urbe de Beit Lahia, mientras esperaban la llegada de camiones con ayuda, informó el hospital de Al Shifa.

La primera ministra de Italia,
La primera ministra de Italia, Giorgia Meloni (REUTERS/Remo Casilli)

Por su parte, la primera ministra italiana, Giorgia Meloni, afirmó que “el reconocimiento del Estado de Palestina, sin que exista un Estado de Palestina, puede ser incluso contraproducente”, tras el anuncio del presidente francés, Emmanuel Macron, de que Francia lo reconocerá ante la Asamblea General de la ONU en septiembre.

“Así se lo he dicho a la propia autoridad palestina y también se lo he dicho a Macron“, declaró la mandataria italiana, según publicó el diario La Repubblica.

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Meloni expuso que “si se reconoce sobre el papel algo que no existe, se corre el riesgo de que el problema parezca resuelto, cuando no lo está”, y agregó: “Aunque soy muy favorable al Estado de Palestina, no estoy a favor de su reconocimiento antes de que se haya iniciado un proceso para su constitución”.

En tanto, el ministro de Exteriores italiano, Antonio Tajani, señaló que “Italia apoya la solución de dos pueblos y dos Estados, pero el reconocimiento del nuevo Estado palestino debe producirse simultáneamente con el reconocimiento por parte de Italia del Estado de Israel”.

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Texas man sues California doctor in unprecedented abortion pill case over unborn child’s alleged ‘murder’

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A Texas man has filed a landmark federal wrongful death lawsuit against a California abortion provider, alleging the physician «murdered» his unborn children by mailing abortion pills across state lines. 

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The case, Rodriguez v. Coeytaux, marks the first of its kind to test how far pro-life litigants can go to sidestep blue state abortion shield laws using century-old federal statutes and Texas civil code.

Filed July 20 in the Southern District of Texas, the lawsuit accuses Dr. Remy Coeytaux of aiding illegal self-managed abortions in 2024, by mailing abortion-inducing drugs to Galveston County, Texas, where they were allegedly used to end two pregnancies. 

Plaintiff Jerry Rodriguez claims his girlfriend’s estranged husband purchased the pills from Coeytaux through a Venmo transaction and pressured her to take them, ending two pregnancies Rodriguez says were his.

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FEDERAL JUDGE PARTIALLY BLOCKS LAW BANNING ADULTS FROM HELPING MINORS GET OUT-OF-STATE ABORTIONS

An ultrasound image from Jan. 18, 2025, allegedly shows Jerry Rodriguez’s unborn son. Filed as Exhibit 2 in Rodriguez v. Coeytaux in the Southern District of Texas. (Image filed in U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas)

At the heart of the suit is an alleged $150 Venmo payment to «Remy Coeytaux MD PC» labeled «Aed axes,» followed by his girlfriend’s name. The lawsuit states Rodriguez interprets «Aed axes» to be a phonetic spelling of «Aid Access,» a network that helps women obtain abortion pills. 

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Rodriguez alleges the first abortion occurred in September 2024, at the home of his girlfriend’s mother, and the second in January 2025, at the home of her estranged husband. Ultrasound images from January, attached as Exhibit 2, are offered as proof of a second pregnancy. According to the complaint, the baby was a boy.

Rodriguez is seeking over $75,000 in damages, certification of a national class of «fathers of unborn children,» and a permanent injunction barring Coeytaux from mailing abortion drugs in violation of state or federal law.

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Mifepristone and Misoprostol

Mifepristone (Mifeprex) and Misoprostol, are two drugs used in a medication abortion. (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images)

The complaint’s legal foundation has drawn attention. The lawsuit revives the long-dormant Comstock Act, an 1873 federal anti-obscenity law banning the mailing of abortion-related materials. Though unenforced for over a century, the Comstock Act remains on the books. 

Jonathan Mitchell, the attorney behind Texas’s heartbeat law (SB8), represents Rodriguez in the case. He argues that Dr. Remy Coeytaux violated 18 U.S.C. §§ 1461 and 1462, the federal Comstock Act, by knowingly using the mail to send abortion-inducing drugs from California to Texas.

The suit also alleges Coeytaux committed felony murder under Texas Penal Code § 19.02 by knowingly aiding an illegal abortion. It cites multiple violations of Texas law, including statutes that require abortion drugs to be administered only by in-state physicians, after informed consent and a mandatory ultrasound, and only at licensed abortion facilities. Coeytaux, who is not licensed in Texas, allegedly met none of those requirements.

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PRO-LIFE MOVEMENT CONFRONTS HIGH ABORTION RATES THREE YEARS LATER AFTER DOBBS

Pro-life and pro-choice protesters demonstrate outside the Supreme Court building

People for and against abortion demonstrate before the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. (Allison Robbert/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

The case is already being seen as a strategic test of blue state abortion shield laws. States like California, New York, and Washington have passed measures to protect their abortion providers from legal risks when treating out-of-state patients.

But Rodriguez’s legal team avoided those roadblocks by filing a civil wrongful death suit directly in federal court, a move some legal scholars say could offer a new route for anti-abortion plaintiffs to reach providers beyond their own state’s borders.

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As of Friday, court records show Coeytaux had not filed a response to the complaint, and he has not made any public statements about the case. 

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Pro-abortion groups are expected to contest both the interpretation of the Comstock Act and the standing of private citizens to bring wrongful death claims tied to out-of-state telehealth prescriptions.

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If the case survives early procedural hurdles, it may offer a new template for pro-life litigants to target the supply chain of abortion pills three years after Dobbs was decided at the Supreme Court.

Coeytaux did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

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Hamas pushes back on Trump and Witkoff’s criticisms, demands US pressure Israel

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Hamas rejected criticism from top U.S. officials after ceasefire talks with Israel broke down earlier in the week.

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«We are appalled by the statements of U.S. President Trump and earlier by U.S. special envoy Witkoff, which contradict the mediators’ assessment of Hamas’ position and are inconsistent with the actual progress of negotiations that had been acknowledged by mediators, particularly Qatar and Egypt, as they expressed satisfaction and appreciation for our serious and constructive stance,» Izzat Al-Rishq, member of Hamas Movement’s Political Bureau, said in a statement.

Al-Rishq went on to claim that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government was «the real obstructionist to all agreements,» accusing Israeli officials of continuing to «put up obstacles, deceive, and evade commitments.» He then demanded that the U.S. put more pressure on Israel «to seriously engage in ending the aggression and achieving a prisoner exchange deal,» presumably referring to the remaining hostages in Gaza and Palestinians in Israeli prisons.

U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff delivers remarks alongside President Donald Trump during the swearing-in ceremony for interim U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C. Jeanine Pirro in the Oval Office of the White House on May 28, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

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US PULLS TEAM FROM CEASEFIRE TALKS IN QATAR AFTER ISRAEL DOES THE SAME, CLAIMING HAMAS IS ACTING IN BAD FAITH

The Trump administration has spent months trying to end the war between Israel and Hamas, with no resolution in sight.

Hopes for a ceasefire in Gaza dimmed further after the U.S. pulled its delegation out of Qatar. U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff said in a statement that this was because Hamas’ response to negotiations showed «a lack of desire to reach a ceasefire in Gaza.»

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«While the mediators have made a great effort, Hamas does not appear to be coordinated or acting in good faith. We will now consider alternative options to bring the hostages home and try to create a more stable environment for the people of Gaza,» Witkoff said in a statement Thursday.

Witkoff added that it was a «shame» Hamas has acted in such a «selfish way» and that the U.S. stands resolute in its efforts to bring permanent peace to the region.

Palestinians walk through rubble in Gaza

Palestinians walk near the rubble of buildings during the Eid al-Adha holiday, in Gaza City, June 6, 2025.  (REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa)

HAMAS ‘HARDENS’ STANCE IN CEASEFIRE TALKS AS NETANYAHU RECALLS NEGOTIATION TEAM

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On the same day the U.S. announced its negotiators would leave Qatar, Netanyahu’s office said the Israeli team would also withdraw, citing Hamas’ response.

President Donald Trump expressed his disappointment in Hamas’ handling of the negotiations while speaking with press outside the White House on Friday. He speculated that Hamas did not want to make a deal because «they know what happens after you get the final hostages» out of Gaza.

«Hamas didn’t really want to make a deal. I think they want to die, and it’s very, very bad,» Trump said. «It got to be to a point where you’re going to have to finish the job.» 

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Netanyahu nominates Trump for Nobel Peace Prize

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, hands President Donald Trump a folder during a meeting in the Blue Room of the White House, Monday, July 7, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

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Qatar and Egypt, which have acted as mediators in the talks, issued a joint statement on Friday in which the countries confirmed they would continue to work on securing a ceasefire.

«The two countries, in partnership with the United States of America, reaffirm their commitment to continuing efforts toward reaching a comprehensive agreement for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip,» Qatar and Egypt’s joint statement read.

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While the breakdown of negotiations is a clear setback, talks are expected to resume next week, according to Reuters, which cited Egyptian state-affiliated Al Qahera News TV.

Fox News Digital’s Alec Schemmel contributed to this report.

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