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WATCH: Cory Booker unleashes fiery call for ‘foot soldiers’ at Michigan Dem conference
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Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., delivered a high-energy, revival sermon-style speech at the Michigan Democratic Convention, shouting and gesturing as he urged Democrats to become «foot soldiers for democracy» and warned that «darkness and wind» are sweeping the nation.
Booker was one of several out-of-state leaders, including former Vice President Kamala Harris and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, to participate in the Michigan Democratic Convention. All three have been floated as possible contenders for the 2028 presidential election.
Booker spoke for roughly 25 minutes and at several points bellowed at the crowd, adopting a poetic cadence and word choice.
«Ladies and gentlemen, there is a storm in our nation,» Booker exclaimed, finishing his speech. «There is darkness and wind. People are getting hurt. What we need is not from on high. We need foot soldiers of our democracy who in times of trial, are willing to stand up.»
MAJOR TRUMP CRITIC HAS ‘NOT DISMISSED’ ANOTHER PRESIDENTIAL RUN AHEAD OF 2028 ELECTION
Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., speaks during the news conference on Rep. LaMonica McIver outside the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Booker then announced that it was time for Democrats to «redeem the dream of America.»
«Will you stand for our democracy? Will you stand to get out the vote? Will you stand for our children? Will you stand up for our elders?» Booker said. «And will you stand together, unified, strong — be the hope that people need. We are Democrats. It’s time for a new deal. It’s time to redeem the dream of America.»
Booker, who unsuccessfully ran for president in 2020, used the speech as an opportunity to introduce himself to Michigan voters, sharing his career in politics and his family ties to the Great Lakes State.
CORY BOOKER ADMITS DEMOCRATS ‘FAILED IN MY GENERATION’ IN SCATHING ASSESSMENT OF HIS OWN PARTY
At one point, he expressed his dismay with voters who opted out of voting for presidential candidates Hillary Clinton or Vice President Kamala Harris because they disagreed «on ten percent of her views.»
«Well, you may disagree with her on 10% of her views, but you let someone get in office who you disagree with on everything,» Booker railed. «You let somebody get in office who is locking up our children. You let somebody in office who’s taking away our health care. You let somebody in office who’s taken away workers rights. You let somebody in office who got rid of the Department of Education.»
He then suggested that Democratic voters in Michigan turn the Michigan hand — a reference to the state’s shape — into the «Michigan fist.»
Former U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during her «107 Days» book tour at the Ziff Ballet Opera House at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025, in downtown Miami. (Matias J. Ocner/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
CORY BOOKER CONFRONTED WITH OLD CLIP OF HIMSELF SAYING HE LOVES DONALD TRUMP
«I don’t want the Michigan hand after your August primary, I want the Michigan fist,» Booker shouted. «I want you all to unite. I want you to punch a hole in the wall of resistance. I want you to grab a sledgehammer and knock some stuff down. I want you to reach up and grab somebody and get them off the couch and get him on the field. We got points to put on the board. I want that Michigan fist. I want some unity.»
However, former MSNBC commentator Medhi Hasan took issue with Booker’s assertion about Democratic voters who didn’t vote for Harris in 2024. Hasan said that Booker’s characterization places the blame on voters for a Democratic loss rather than the party platform.
Andy Beshear, governor of Kentucky, at the Semafor World Economy Summit during the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Spring meetings in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg)
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«I tried to tell people who didn’t vote Dem in 2024 ‘to teach Democrats a lesson’ that sadly Democrats will never learn that lesson,» Hasan said on X, sharing a video of Booker speaking. «Here’s Booker simply attacking and mocking people who didn’t show up to vote Dem. It’s always the voters’ fault, never the Dems or their candidates.»
Other critics poked fun at Booker’s emphatic deliverance.
«Calm down, Spartacus,» wrote America First Works, a non-profit group and the advocacy arm of the America First Policy Institute.
Fox News Digital reached out to Booker for comment.
democratic convention, democrats elections, kamala harris, gretchen whitmer, cory booker
INTERNACIONAL
Corrupción en Turquía: un tribunal dictó prisión preventiva para 19 detenidos por supuestos sobornos y manipulaciones de licitaciones
Un tribunal de Turquía ordenó la prisión preventiva de una veintena de personas, incluido el alcalde del distrito de Atasehir, en Estambul, en el marco de una investigación por presunta corrupción que involucra al principal partido opositor, el Partido Republicano del Pueblo (CHP). La justicia turca informó que el alcalde Onursal Adigüzel y otras 18 personas enfrentan cargos que incluyen soborno, manipulación de licitaciones y pertenencia a organización criminal.
Los detenidos aguardan ahora el inicio del juicio, en una causa que investiga el presunto cobro de sobornos a cambio de licencias de construcción y permisos de urbanismo, según la agencia estatal Anadolu.
Tras la detención, el Ministerio del Interior anunció la destitución temporal de Adigüzel como regidor de Atasehir, en aplicación de la Constitución y la Ley de Municipios de Turquía.
El alcalde destituido de Estambul, Ekrem Imamoglu, también miembro del CHP, fue enviado a prisión preventiva en marzo del año pasado, coincidiendo con su designación como candidato opositor a las elecciones presidenciales previstas para 2028. Imamoglu es investigado por supuestamente liderar una red criminal, por lo que la Fiscalía solicita una condena de más de 2.300 años de cárcel.
La oposición, encabezada por el CHP, denunció en reiteradas ocasiones que el gobierno del presidente Recep Tayyip Erdogan utiliza la justicia para acallar a sus críticos, en el contexto de las aspiraciones de Imamoglu de competir en las próximas elecciones presidenciales.
A su vez, Amnistía Internacional denunció el martes en su informe anual que Turquía mantuvo en 2025 una política de persecución judicial contra defensores de derechos humanos y amplió estas acciones a políticos de la oposición y sus simpatizantes. La organización señaló que se intensificaron las investigaciones infundadas, los procesamientos y las sentencias condenatorias contra defensores de derechos humanos, periodistas, miembros de la oposición política y otras personas, además de injerencias del Ejecutivo en el Poder Judicial.
Según el documento, esta política, habitual en los últimos años bajo el gobierno del partido islamista AKP, se extendió por primera vez a gran escala en 2025 al principal bloque opositor parlamentario, el Partido Republicano del Pueblo (CHP). Las autoridades abrieron investigaciones y procesos penales contra decenas de representantes electos y miembros del CHP en todo el país, en el marco de una represión generalizada.
El caso más destacado es el del alcalde de Estambul, Ekrem Imamoglu, candidato presidencial del CHP, quien permanece en prisión preventiva desde marzo de 2025 por cargos de corrupción. Su detención desató protestas ciudadanas, en parte reprimidas por la policía mediante el uso de fuerza ilícita y malos tratos, según detalló la organización.
Amnistía Internacional documentó también prohibiciones y restricciones a marchas y protestas cívicas, como el Día de la Mujer, el Día del Trabajo y la marcha del Orgullo. El informe incluye detenciones y encarcelamientos de activistas y periodistas vinculados a grupos legales de izquierda, así como de defensores de los derechos de los kurdos y otras minorías.
Permanecen en prisión los ex dirigentes del partido prokurdo HDP, Selahattin Demirtas y Figen Yüksekdag, encarcelados desde 2016, y el empresario cultural Osman Kavala, detenido en 2017, pese a sentencias del Tribunal Europeo de Derechos Humanos que ordenaron su liberación.
El informe también menciona el inicio de un proceso para destituir a la cúpula del Colegio de Abogados de Estambul, acusada de “propaganda terrorista” tras pedir investigar la muerte de dos periodistas turcos en un ataque aéreo en Siria en 2024. Amnistía Internacional resaltó además el caso de dos activistas turkmenos detenidos y posiblemente deportados, cuyo paradero se desconoce.
La violencia machista persiste como un problema grave en Turquía, con 294 mujeres asesinadas y otras 297 encontradas muertas en circunstancias sospechosas durante 2025.
(Con información de Europa Press y EFE)
Crime,Europe,Middle East,Government / Politics
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Hezbollah disarmament deadlock risks civil war, analysts say, as US prepares for Israel–Lebanon talks
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As Israel and Lebanon return to U.S.-brokered talks Thursday in Washington, the central question is the one that has derailed every previous attempt at a lasting deal: What happens to Hezbollah, an Iran-backed terror organization?
An Israeli official told Fox News Digital that the meeting, hosted by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, will include senior U.S. officials — U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa and Counselor Michael Needham — alongside Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter and Lebanese Ambassador Nada Hamadeh.
A State Department spokesperson called the initial April 14 meeting «productive.» «We will continue to facilitate direct, good-faith discussions between the two governments,» the spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
The meeting comes as a fragile U.S.-brokered ceasefire, reached in mid-April, is holding for now, offering what officials describe as a narrow window for diplomacy after weeks of cross-border fighting.
ISRAEL-HEZBOLLAH TRUCE IN JEOPARDY AFTER ROCKET BARRAGE KILLS 6
From left, Michael Needham, counselor for the U.S. Dept. of State, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, Lebanese Ambassador to the U.S. Nada Hamadeh Moawad, and Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter pose for a photo before a meeting at the State Department in Washington, April 14, 2026. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo)
But the truce has not resolved the underlying conflict — only paused it.
The latest escalation began March 2, when Hezbollah launched attacks on Israel’s northern border, opening a new front in the regional war days after U.S.–Israeli strikes on Iran Feb. 28, according to prior reporting.
Israel responded with sustained air and ground operations across southern Lebanon aimed at pushing Hezbollah forces away from the border, while Hezbollah continued firing rockets and drones into northern Israel.
The fighting displaced more than a million people in Lebanon and forced Israeli civilians into shelters, underscoring the scale of the escalation.
MACRON UNDER FIRE OVER IRAN, HEZBOLLAH POLICY AS TRUMP ADMIN HOSTS ISRAEL-LEBANON TALKS
The truce has not resolved the underlying conflict — only paused it. (Ammar Awad/Reuters)
Now, even as the guns have temporarily quieted, the core conditions that led to the war remain unchanged — leaving negotiators to grapple with the same unresolved question at the heart of the conflict.
A senior U.S. official familiar with the negotiations described the core dilemma: Hezbollah will not agree to disarm without a full Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, while Israel will not withdraw without Hezbollah disarming.
International mechanisms — including the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and a multilateral coordination group — have been working to bridge that gap since late 2024, without success.
The same official also indicated that Lebanon’s president, Joseph Aoun, is not necessarily the decisive factor in these discussions, but Nabih Berri, speaker of the nation’s House, is the one with true authority, not Aoun.
At the same time, Hezbollah has remained opposed to any contact with Israel and continues to exert significant influence over Lebanon’s political and security decisions, complicating U.S. efforts to advance talks.
Inside Lebanon, however, frustration with Hezbollah appears to be growing.
ISRAEL ‘MOVING FORWARD’ ON POSSIBLE HEZBOLLAH CEASE-FIRE, OFFICIAL SAYS
An explosion erupts from a building following an Israeli strike in central Beirut, Lebanon, March 18, 2026. (Hussein Malla/AP Photo)
«There is a growing sense across Lebanon that any U.S.-brokered negotiation track could be a rare opportunity to restore balance to the state,» said Rami Naeem, a Lebanese journalist and analyst with Jusoor News.
«Hezbollah’s continued military and political dominance is widely seen as a central driver of the collapse, and even a gradual or indirect opening with Israel could help rebuild state institutions and their role.»
Mariam Kasrawani, a Lebanese analyst at Jusoor News, said criticism is becoming more explicit.
«It is becoming harder to ignore the depth of the crisis,» she said. «Some are now saying it plainly: Hezbollah has taken Lebanon as a whole — and Shia in particular — to a very bad place.»
«I’m not at all optimistic,» said Barak Seener of the Henry Jackson Society think tank.
«Lebanon is far too weak and divided to force Hezbollah to disarm. And Hezbollah … is so enmeshed in Lebanon’s political system. Any attempt to disarm Hezbollah risks civil war.»
CARTEL CONNECTION: HEZBOLLAH AND IRAN EXPLOIT MADURO’S VENEZUELA FOR COCAINE CASH
As Israel and Lebanon return to U.S.-brokered talks Thursday in Washington, the central question is the one that has derailed every previous attempt at a lasting deal: What happens to Hezbollah, an Iran-backed terror organization? (Fadel Itani/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Instead, Seener said, the talks are focused on limited, tactical goals.
«Talks are focused on ceasefire expansion, Hezbollah withdrawal from border zones, and an expanded presence of the Lebanese army … talks are not at all focused on disarmament.»
That gap underscores what he described as the real nature of the process.
«I think that these talks are doomed to failure,» Seener said. «I think Israel is currently engaged in conflict management.»
Adding to the uncertainty are reports from the Saudi daily Asharq Al-Awsat that the U.S. may press Lebanon to repeal its 1955 Israel Boycott Law, which bans contact with Israelis.
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The meeting comes as a fragile U.S.-brokered ceasefire, reached in mid-April, is holding for now, offering what officials describe as a narrow window for diplomacy after weeks of cross-border fighting. (Adri Salido/Getty Images)
The report frames such a move as a step toward normalization but provides no details and has not been confirmed by U.S. or Lebanese officials.
Fox News Digital reached out for comment from the State Department and the Lebanese Embassy in D.C. but did not receive a response in time for publication.
middle east foreign policy, lebanon, counter terrorism, israel, state department
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The Southern Poverty Law Center more than doubled its revenue in the months following the deadly 2017 Charlottesville «Unite the Right» rally — a surge now drawing renewed scrutiny after a Department of Justice indictment alleged the group paid an informant tied to the event’s organizers.
The 2017 rally, which left one woman dead, became a cultural flashpoint over white nationalism and political violence, driving widespread condemnation and a surge in donations to civil rights groups, including the SPLC. The fallout also shaped the 2020 presidential election, as President Donald Trump’s response — including his remarks about «very fine people» on both sides — was hammered by the left, with former President Joe Biden later citing Charlottesville as a reason he entered the race.
«For years, the Left used the ‘Jews will not replace us’ 2017 Unite the Right rally as proof of rampant antisemitism on the Right. Turns out, it was underwritten by the Leftist SPLC, which allegedly funded organizers, supervised racist posts, and coordinated transportation. Wild,» journalist Batya Ungar-Sargon wrote on X, one of many conservatives who argue the allegations raise questions about whether the SPLC’s use of paid informants may have played a role in amplifying or facilitating extremist activity.
According to the indictment from the Department of Justice, the SPLC paid an informant network dating back to the 1980s, including a «covert network» that was associated with or infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan and other groups at the organization’s direction.
THE NEW MAFIA: TRUMP, CIVIL RICO AND THE GLOBAL INTIFADA
Neo Nazis, alt-right members, and white supremacists march with tiki torches through the University of Virginia campus in Charlottesville, Va., the night before the Unite the Right rally. (Zach D Roberts/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
One source, identified as «F-37,» was part of an «online leadership chat group that planned the 2017 ‘Unite the Right’ event.»
«[F-37] attended the event at the direction of the SPLC. F-37 made racist postings under the supervision of the SPLC and helped coordinate transportation to the event for several attendees. Between 2015 and 2023, the SPLC secretly paid F-37 more than $270,000.00.»
A spokesperson for the Southern Poverty Law Center told Fox News Digital the organization is reviewing the charges and called the allegations «false,» defending its work monitoring extremist groups and saying its use of informants «saved lives.» The group said it plans to vigorously defend itself and continue its mission of combating hate.
While the indictment alleges the SPLC paid informants tied to individuals involved in white supremacist groups, including organizers of the Unite the Right rally, Fox News found the organization’s revenue surged in the immediate aftermath of the Charlottesville violence.
VIRGINIA SLAMMED FOR ‘TRULY DEMONIC’ ELECTION THAT EXCUSED POLITICAL VIOLENCE TO SPITE TRUMP, CRITICS SAY
Clashes occurred at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va., on Aug. 12, 2017. (Evelyn Hockstein/For The Washington Post via Getty Images)
In 2016, total public support and net assets topped $51 million, while by October 2017, that figure had grown to $133 million, a surge that followed the Unite the Right rally and was driven in part by donations from prominent public figures, including George Clooney and Apple CEO Tim Cook.
Clooney said at the time that he and wife Amal «wanted to add our voice and financial assistance to the ongoing fight for equality… there are no two sides to bigotry and hate.»
Cook, who also donated to the Anti-Defamation League after the rally, said that what «occurred in Charlottesville has no place in our country. Hate is a cancer, and left unchecked it destroys everything in its path; its scars last generations.»
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) Resorts also donated $1 million at the time, according to records uncovered by Fox News Digital.
Following the 2017 rally, national Democrats latched on to anti-hate messaging proliferated by the SPLC and others.
Many critics lambasted Trump’s initial reaction, in which he observed that some people present before the rally turned violent were opposing the removal of a Robert E. Lee statue.
«I was talking about people that went because they felt very strongly about the monument to Robert E. Lee, a great general. Whether you like it or not, he was one of the great generals,» Trump said.
Former President Joe Biden said at the 2024 Democratic National Convention that he «ran for president in 2020 because of what I saw in Charlottesville.»
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«Extremists coming out of the woods carrying torches, their veins bulging from their necks, carrying Nazi swastikas and chanting the same exact antisemitic bile that was heard in Germany in the early ’30s,» Biden said, before characterizing Trump’s comments as an endorsement of white supremacy and violence.
Trump has since referred to criticism of his remarks as the «‘very fine people’ hoax.»
The 11-count indictment charges the SPLC with wire fraud, bank fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, offenses that could carry significant financial penalties, restitution and forfeiture if proven in court.
Fox News Digital’s Alexandra Koch, David Spunt, Jake Gibson and Alec Schemmel contributed to this report.
us protests, democratic convention, hate crime, investigations, fox news investigates
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