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Cruz warns conservatives ‘will regret’ FCC censorship push against ABC, other media outlets

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Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, in his podcast «Verdict with Ted Cruz» on Friday cautioned those advocating for Federal Communication Commission (FCC) action against adversaries, noting if a censorship precedent is set, «every conservative in America … will regret it.»

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ABC suspended late-night host Jimmy Kimmel «indefinitely» after he said the alleged assassin of Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk was a fellow MAGA supporter.

Kimmel failed to set the record straight after the indictment against suspect Tyler Robinson was made public on Tuesday, prompting a response from Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Brendan Carr, who told Fox News’ Sean Hannity the agency plans to reinvigorate enforcement of the public interest obligation.

DAVID MARCUS: FCC ISN’T ‘GOING AFTER’ ABC, IT’S PROTECTING PUBLIC AIRWAVES

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Sen. Ted Cruz said it would be a mistake for the FCC to ramp up action against television stations. (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)

The FCC grants broadcast licenses on the condition that stations serve the «public interest, convenience, and necessity.» 

Though the First Amendment protects free speech, the agency can revoke or deny license renewal if there is misrepresentation, fraud or lack of character or candor.

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In Cruz’s podcast on Friday, he questioned Carr’s decision to crack down on stations accused of misrepresentation or false statements, claiming «what he said there is dangerous as hell.»

«What he is saying is Jimmy Kimmel was lying. That’s true, he was lying, and lying to the American people is not in the public interest,» Cruz said. «He threatens explicitly—we’re going to cancel ABC News’ license. We’re going to take him off the air, so ABC cannot broadcast anymore. … He threatens it.»

Donald Trump on Jimmy Kimmel Live

Jimmy Kimmel was pulled off-air after making comments about late Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk. (Randy Holmes/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Image)

ABC INSIDER HOPES LIBERALS TAKE THIS LESSON AWAY FROM JIMMY KIMMEL SAGA

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Cruz compared Carr’s wording to something «right out of Goodfellas.»

«Jimmy Kimmel has mocked me so many times,» he said. «The corporate media—they are dishonest. They are liars. I hate what Jimmy Kimmel said. I am thrilled that he was fired. But let me tell you, if the government gets in the business of saying ‘we don’t like what you, the media, have said, we’re going to ban you from the airwaves’ … that will end up bad for conservatives.»

He added it may be «attractive» to conservatives to feel that they have the governmental power to ban the media, but going down that road, would hurt them when a Democrat takes back the White House.

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«The next Democrat FCC—they will silence us,» Cruz said. «They will use this power, and they will use it ruthlessly, and that is dangerous. … They’ve defined anything counter to the leftist narrative as misinformation.»

Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, noted he has faced media scrutiny of his own, but said issues can be resolved in civil court. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Cruz argued that if a station commits slander related to Kirk or his family, there is already a remedy.

He suggested suing stations for defamation and «let[ting] the process play out.»

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«I think it is unbelievably dangerous for [the] government to put itself in the position of saying, ‘We’re going to decide what speech we like and what we don’t, and we’re going to threaten to take you off-air if we don’t like what you’re saying,» Cruz said. «It might feel good right now to threaten Jimmy Kimmel, but when it is used to silence every conservative in America, we will regret it. 

«So again, I like Brendan Carr, but we should not be in this business. We should denounce it. It’s fine to say what Jimmy Kimmel said was deplorable. It was disgraceful, and he should be off-air, but we shouldn’t be threatening government power to force him off-air. That’s a real mistake.»

FCC CHAIR BRENDAN CARR DEFENDS ABC AFFILIATES PULLING JIMMY KIMMEL SHOW AFTER MONOLOGUE MOCKING CHARLIE KIRK

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During a news conference in the White House Oval Office on Friday, President Donald Trump said he did not agree with Cruz’s assertion, describing Carr as «courageous.»

«I think Brendan Carr is an incredible American patriot with courage,» Trump said. «I remember in the old days, networks would want to get re-licensed, it was always a big deal. They had to show honesty and integrity. … I think Brendan Carr doesn’t like to see the airwaves be used illegally and incorrectly—and purposely, horribly. [He] doesn’t like to see a person that won the election in a landslide get 97% bad publicity before the election. I mean, it’s amazing that I won the election … The people have given the networks no credibility.»

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During the Biden administration, a nonprofit called the Media and Democracy Project filed a 2023 petition with the FCC asking that the license renewal of a Fox-owned local station in Philadelphia be denied, citing Fox’s election-related coverage.

The FCC, under then-Chair Jessica Rosenworcel, rejected the petition on Jan. 16, four days before Trump assumed office for his second term, noting it would be «fundamentally at odds with the First Amendment» for the government to deny renewals based on protected speech and content, according to court documents.

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

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Fox News Digital’s Jasmine Baehr contributed to this report.

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Virginia slammed for ‘truly demonic’ election that excused political violence to spite Trump, critics say

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Many political observers nationwide equated an upset win by Virginia Attorney General-elect Jay Jones and the Democratic ticket as a «demonic» example of the left putting politics ahead of decency.

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A majority of Virginia voters ignored scandals that roiled Jones’ campaign, including his envision of murdering a top Republican lawmaker and their children, to put him in office and unseat more than a dozen GOP state delegates.

«They overlooked it because they hate Trump more than they care about what … the Virginia attorney general[-elect] said,» Outkick founder Clay Travis told Fox News on Wednesday.

«Miyares did an incredible job. This is an example of outrage at Trump motivating the turnout,» Travis said on «America’s Newsroom.»

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LIBERAL MEDIA DOWNPLAYS SCANDAL OF DEM VIRGINIA AG HOPEFUL JAY JONES’ TEXTS FANTASIZING MURDER OF GOP LAWMAKER

President Trump juxtaposed next to Jay Jones, Democratic nominee for Virginia Attorney General. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images; Mike Kropf/Richmond Times-Dispatch via AP, Pool)

Travis said Trump was clearly a driving force and that there were some Spanberger voters who split tickets in favor of outgoing Attorney General Jason Miyares, but that Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears’ losing margin was too much in an era of rare ticket-splitting.

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He said one key observation is that Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger received 600,000 fewer total votes than Trump himself did in the president’s losing battle in Virginia one year prior.

When Trump is off the ballot, Republicans also don’t appear to turn out to vote, he said – as figures from heavily conservative southwestern Virginia bore that out Tuesday night.

JAY JONES INVOKES TRUMP NEARLY 50 TIMES DURING VIRGINIA AG DEBATE, TIES MIYARES TO ‘MAGA’

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WTAR radio host Kerry Dougherty, who co-hosts an AM dial show in Hampton, wrote on X that Virginia needs to «buckle up.»

«Democrats last night installed a deranged sociopath in the attorney general’s office. A man who may find his law license suspended over chicanery with community service hours. Yep, they preferred him to a moderate, smart and successful Republican. We’re in deep trouble.»

Elsewhere, Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, argued that the political left shows little concern for victims of political violence, calling Jones’ victory the latest proof.

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«A deranged lib murders Charlie Kirk, and Democrats respond by electing a sociopath who – in his own words – wants his political opponents and their children dead. Truly demonic,» Gill, wrote on X.

«Truly evil,» added Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier.

VIRGINIA DEMOCRATS HAVE A VIOLENCE PROBLEM

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Jay Jones texted controversial things about Del. Todd Gilbert

A text message from Jay Jones to Del. Carrie Coyner. (Obtained by Fox News Digital)

Uthmeier tried to help Miyares in the closing days of the race, appearing with him, Earle-Sears and now-outgoing Dels. Geary Higgins, R-Lovettsville, and Ian Lovejoy, R-Warrenton, at a closing-days rally in New Baltimore.

Virginia Republican voters were also vocal the morning after – as one wrote that it’s clear his neighbors would be alright if he was dead.

«At least I now know that all of my neighbors with Jay Jones signs up are okay with political violence,» the voter wrote on X.

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SOCIAL MEDIA ERUPTS AFTER DISGRACED DEM NOMINEE LEANS ON TRUMP ATTACKS IN VIRGINIA AG DEBATE

«I can no longer in good conscience be associated with them. They obviously want me dead too.»

Conservative commentator Benny Johnson played out the scenario such Jones voters may have thought through before voting:

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«Democrats in Virginia saw these texts from Jay Jones and decided ‘yup, he has my vote’,» Johnson said.

JAY JONES’ ‘TWO BULLETS’ SCANDAL OVER VIOLENT TEXTS EXPECTED TO DOMINATE VIRGINIA AG DEBATE

«Truly evil. You can’t live in a country with people that want you dead.»

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Jack Posobiec, a conservative commentator and editor at Human Events, responded to Jones’ post-scandal win with his own recollection of political violence:

«I saw a leftist murder Charlie Kirk and I saw them celebrate it,» Posobiec said.

«While conservatives have spent the last few weeks arguing with each other, Democrats just elected an Attorney General who openly fantasizes about murdering us and watching our children die in our arms,» added commentator Matt Walsh.

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«These people are the enemy. What more do you need to see? Seriously. What more do you need to see?»

«Ruthless» podcast producer Leigh Wolf wrote on X that the election results in Virginia are the «first empirical evidence» in the public sphere that proves Democrats writ-large support political violence as a tool to achieve power.

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«They saw with their own eyes this absolute psycho go into graphic detail about the need to murder children as a means of achieving political outcomes, and they voted yes,» Wolf said.

«You can’t hand wave away violence as the actions of a few fringe radicals when you affirmatively vote in favor of those tactics.»

In their responses to Jones’ victory, voices on the left steered clear of the question of condoning violence, including one of the attorney general-elect’s top backers, Senate President L. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth.

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Lucas posted a clip drawn from Fox News video of Jones greeting voters in Norfolk, which an official at the Republican Attorney General’s Assocation trimmed down to show the Democrat appearing to try to kick a dog in a potentially playful manner.

Lucas re-envisioned that clip as a GIF of Jones making the kicking motion toward the dog – but instead hitting Attorney General Jason Miyares, whose avatar went flying upward toward the sky.

Elsewhere, Democratic state Sen. Mamie Locke of Hampton commented that Democrats wins instead showed that her party won because «Republicans cannot govern, do their jobs and would rather shut the government down than feed people or provide them health care.»

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«And, Trump, you were on the ballot. Maybe not literally, but your failed policies were,» Locke said. «Voters told you how they felt about those failures. Your efforts to distract, distort, discourage, discredit, and destroy this country has Virginians and citizens all over America fighting back. This is just the beginning.»

Anti-Trump commentator Tim Miller also commented on X about those observers expressing fears as some conservatives have.

After conservative commentator Megyn Kelly said that «God save Republicans and their children in VA,» Miller called it «the first known case of Spanberger Derangement Syndrome.»

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Fox News Digital also reached out to Lt. Gov.-elect Ghazala Hashmi for her view on whether Jones’ election and that of Democrats writ large should be connected with a passivity toward political violence.

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Kristi Noem se reunió con el presidente Daniel Noboa para evaluar las capacidades de la antigua base militar de EEUU en Ecuador

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La secretaria de Seguridad Nacional de Estados Unidos, Kristi Noem, recorre la base aérea Eloy Alfaro acompañada por el presidente de Ecuador, Daniel Noboa (REUTERS)

La secretaria de Seguridad Nacional de Estados Unidos, Kristi Noem, se reunió este miércoles en la ciudad costera de Manta con el presidente de Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, para evaluar las capacidades de la antigua base militar local, utilizada por fuerzas estadounidenses entre 1999 y 2009, informó la ministra de Relaciones Exteriores ecuatoriana, Gabriela Sommerfeld.

“Hemos visitado la base de Manta junto al presidente y realizado un recorrido para conocer sus capacidades operativas, las condiciones de sus instalaciones, la ficha técnica de las pistas y el tipo de aeronaves que pueden operar allí”, detalló la funcionaria en un video difundido por la Cancillería.

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Por su parte, la portavoz Carolina Jaramillo calificó la visita como parte del proceso de fortalecimiento de la cooperación bilateral en seguridad, migración y desarrollo.

La funcionaria estadounidense Noem llegó este miércoles a la Base Aérea Eloy Alfaro de Manta, ciudad considerada estratégica y que podría albergar “bases potenciales” para operaciones conjuntas con agencias estadounidenses, según detalló Jaramillo, en conferencia de prensa en Quito.

Kristi Noem recorrió la base
Kristi Noem recorrió la base aérea ecuatoriana Eloy Alfaro y fue fotografiada junto a Daniel Noboa (Alex Brandon/REUTERS)

La visita se enmarca en el próximo referéndum nacional, programado para el 16 de noviembre, en el que los ecuatorianos decidirán, entre otras cuestiones, si permiten nuevamente la instalación de bases militares extranjeras en el país. Estados Unidos expresó su interés en este tema.

En la visita también participaron los ministros ecuatorianos del Interior, John Reimberg, y el de Defensa, Gian Carlo Loffredo. Este último destacó que la cooperación giró en torno a recursos y equipos tecnológicos: “Aunque las fuerzas de seguridad ejecutan las operaciones, son los recursos tecnológicos los que permiten identificar amenazas en zonas extensas como el territorio marítimo ecuatoriano”.

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Loffredo afirmó además que la lucha contra el narcotráfico trasciende fronteras y requiere estrategias integradas. Reimberg insistió en la prioridad del gobierno de Noboa de combatir el crimen organizado y consideró clave “escoger aliados en esta lucha” con las organizaciones criminales.

El jueves, Noem tiene programada una visita a una base militar en Salinas, en la costa suroeste de Ecuador. Durante una década, Manta funcionó como centro de operaciones de aeronaves estadounidenses para vuelos antidrogas, hasta que la constitución de 2008 prohibió las bases extranjeras en territorio ecuatoriano.

Salinas, por su parte, sirvió como base militar estadounidense durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Actualmente, ambas instalaciones están bajo control de las fuerzas armadas ecuatorianas.

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La jefa de Seguridad estadounidense recorrerá las bases militares en Ecuador antes del referéndum a votarse el 16 de noviembre (Alex Brandon/Pool via REUTERS)

El presidente Daniel Noboa anunció la semana pasada que Ecuador y Estados Unidos descartaron la instalación de una base militar estadounidense en Galápagos en el marco de la estrategia antidrogas de Washington.

Si el referéndum es aprobado por la ciudadanía, las agencias de seguridad y defensa de Estados Unidos podrán operar en conjunto con las fuerzas policiales y militares ecuatorianas en las bases habilitadas para combatir el crimen organizado, confirmó la vocera ecuatoriana Jaramillo.

La ola de violencia en Ecuador, agravada en 2025, se atribuye al avance de bandas criminales vinculadas al narcotráfico, la extorsión y la minería ilegal. El presidente Noboa, quien declaró un “conflicto armado interno” en enero de 2024, calificó a estas estructuras como “terroristas”. Solo en el primer semestre de 2025, el país registró 4.619 homicidios, un 47% más que en igual periodo de 2024.

(Con información de EFE y AFP)

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Siete montañistas desaparecidos y tres muertos en Nepal tras avalanchas en el Himalaya

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El saldo para los montañistas europeos en las altas cumbres de Asia continúa en negativo este año: en las últimas horas, las autoridades de Nepal comunicaron que siete escaladores italianos permanecen desaparecidos desde el lunes, mientras que otros tres resultaron fallecidos el viernes, debido a dos avalanchas en alta montaña, en un pico del Himalaya. Según informaron fuentes de ambas cancillerías (la de Nepal y la de Italia), la búsqueda se reanudará este jueves, en medio de condiciones climáticas adversas.

Todo comenzó el viernes en el pico Panbari Himal, de 6.887 metros de altitud, en el Himalaya nepalí. Una avalancha repentina comprometió gravemente la travesía de dos montañistas italianos, que quedaron sepultados bajo la nieve y este martes fueron decretaros fallecidos. Se trata de Alessandro Caputo, de 28 años, milanés e instructor de ski; y de Stefano Farronato, de 50 años, un horticultor de Bassano del Grappa (un pueblo cercano a Venecia).

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El lunes por la mañana, en otro pico del Himalaya, el Yalung Ri (5.630 mts), otra avalancha sepultó el campamento de otro italiano, Paolo Cocco, un fotógrafo oriundo de Fara San Martino (Chieti, centro de Italia). También fue declarado fallecido por las autoridades nepalíes y las italianas, junto con Caputo y Farronato, dado que sus cuerpos fueron recuperados: el de Cocco ya fue trasladado hacia un hospital para extranjeros, mientras que los de los dos primeros fueron recuperados en el pico Manaslu, la octava montaña más alta del mundo, de la que el Panbari Himal es parte, y ya se encuentran en Katmandú, la capital de Nepal, para luego ser repatriados.

Un tercer miembro del equipo de Caputo y Farronaro, Valter Perlino, de 64 años y veterinario de profesión, oriundo de Pinerolo (un suburbio de Turín), sobrevivió a la avalancha del viernes y permaneció en el campamento, debido a que se encontraba lesionado en un pie. Fue él quien pudo dar aviso a los rescatistas. «Aquí, cada metro ganado es fruto de la fuerza, la experiencia y el respeto por la montaña», fue el último mensaje que había podido transmitir el grupo.

Otra fue la suerte de quienes acompañaban a Cocco el lunes, cuando la avalancha en el Yalung Ri los sorprendió. Desde entonces se busca a Marco Di Marcello, biólogo y guía de montaña de 37 años originario de la región de los Abruzos, y a Markus Kirchler, otro italiano del grupo.

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Este miércoles, las autoridades deslizaron que ambos tienen pocas posibilidades de sobrevivir, debido a las difíciles condiciones climáticas en la zona de alta montaña donde la avalancha los afectó. La luz de esperanza es que, según trascendió de fuentes oficiales, el GPS de Di Marcello continúa emitiendo señal cada cuatro horas.

A su vez, hay otros cinco italianos a quienes la Farnesina (la casa de Asuntos Exteriores de Italia) no considera desaparecidos pero son intensamente buscados. Se trata de un grupo que perdió el contacto por radio con el operador que les prestaba asistencia, pero este miércoles la Farnesina aseguró, mediante el cónsul italiano en Calcuta (India, pero con competencia en Nepal), Riccardo Dalla Costa, que se retomarán el jueves los esfuerzos por encontrarlos.

Se trata de cinco italianos de la provincia de Como (Lombardía, norte de Italia), que viajaron a Nepal con una agencia con sede en Milán. Entre sus planes declarados se incluía una excursión al Campo Base del Makalu, al oeste del valle del Khumbu, una zona distinta a donde se produjeron los accidentes causados ​​por avalanchas y fuertes nevadas que costaron la vida a sus compatriotas. Se estima que están a 4.800 metros de altitud, aproximadamente.

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Mientras tanto, las condiciones climáticas arrecian en el Himalaya nepalí, situación a la que se vinculan las avalanchas. Las labores de rescate se ven extremadamente dificultadas por el mal tiempo, que ha anegado las zonas donde deben realizarse los rescates.

En tanto, el martes por la mañana, cuatro personas heridas —dos alpinistas franceses y dos sherpas nepaleses— fueron evacuadas y trasladadas a Katmandú para recibir tratamiento médico. Entre ellas se encuentran Carole Fuchs, maratonista francesa; Chhulthim Dolma Gurung, actriz y modelo nepalesa; y Raj Gurung, empresario local.

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