INTERNACIONAL
New explosive allegation rocks Platner campaign still reeling from rape accusation
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Embattled U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner was hit with a second explosive allegation of sexual impropriety only about 24 hours after he was accused of rape — all while a major campaign decision deadline looms.
In a new report published by The Washington Post, the candidate from Maine was accused of removing condoms during sex with his ex-girlfriend Lyndsey Fifield after she explicitly directed him to wear them.
«He would pull condoms off,» she told The Washington Post. «He would do it in a sneaky way. He wouldn’t tell me.»
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner participated in a television interview May 1, 2026, in Portland, Maine, following a campaign event with the Maine AFL-CIO. (Graeme Sloan/Getty Images)
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Fifield, 41, previously accused Platner of physical misconduct during their relationship, saying that he sometimes grabbed her hard enough to leave marks on her body and that one time he twisted her arm around her back, pushed her into a bedroom and held the door shut until she «calmed down.»
Those concerns were largely dismissed by Platner’s supporters, who characterized Fifield, who used to work at The Heritage Foundation, as being a conservative operative.
«I confronted him both during and after [sex] because he knew that I was not on birth control and how dangerous that was,» she told the Post, which said Fifield made the allegations in a previous interview with the outlet but strictly off the record.
Graham Platner addresses the crowd at his watch party after winning the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate at a YMCA in Blue Hill, Maine, June 9, 2026. (Matthew Symons for Fox News Digital)
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«He would act, like, cute about it, like ‘Oh sneaky me,’» she said, according to the report.
In a statement to The Washington Post, the Platner campaign reportedly said that Fifield’s latest allegations were «categorically false and politically motivated.»
Platner is running to oust Republican Maine Sen. Susan Collins.
Monday, the oyster farmer, whose campaign has been dogged by scandal since last year, was accused of rape by another woman.
Graham Platner, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Maine, points to a covered tattoo that had previously been an image recognized as a Nazi symbol, during an interview on Wednesday in Portland, Me. (WGME via AP)
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Jenny Racicot, 41, told Politico that Platner drunkenly entered her home while they were on-again, off-again romantic partners in 2021 and raped her. She claimed that he ejaculated inside her after she told him to stop multiple times.
«I remember him grabbing my pelvis and being really forceful of me,» Racicot told the outlet, which she said took place while Platner was «almost blackout drunk» in Washington, D.C. «I remember the specific moment where I thought to myself, like, ‘This is no longer my choice.’»
Graham Platner, a U.S. Senate candidate from Maine , speaks during a campaign event at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6859 on May 17, 2026, in Portland, Maine. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Platner categorically denied those allegations, too, in a video released in the immediate aftermath of the publication of the Politico story.
He said his campaign was taking time to assess possible next steps as a major deadline in the race looms.
Platner must withdraw from the race by 5 p.m. July 13 if another Democratic candidate, who would be chosen by the party, is to replace him before the November general election.
Monday evening into Tuesday, a litany of previous supporters dropped their endorsements of Platner and called for him to drop out of the race, including progressive senators Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., two of his most ardent backers.
«Now more than ever we need leaders in Washington who reflect our values. There can be no tolerance for sexual assault,» Warren said in a statement Monday night.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and ranking member of Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, speaks during a hearing in Washington, D.C., Feb. 5, 2026. (Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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«Working families are counting on Democrats to win the Senate election in Maine to unrig our economy and hold Donald Trump accountable. With so much at stake, the best path forward is for Graham Platner to step aside as the Democratic nominee and address these serious allegations outside this Senate race.»
«I have spoken with Graham Platner about the best path forward for Maine,» Sanders said in a statement Tuesday. «In light of these very serious allegations, I have recommended that he step aside.»
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, arrives for a confirmation hearing in Washington, D.C., July 16, 2025. (Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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Fox News Digital reached out to Platner’s campaign for comment.
Fox News’ Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.
graham platner, politics, bernie sanders, elizabeth warren, maine
INTERNACIONAL
Abbott orders probe after Texas hospital advertises ‘birth packages’ in Mexico: ‘Citizenship is not for sale’
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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered an investigation into a Texas hospital Tuesday after it confirmed to Fox News that it advertised Spanish-language «Birth Packages in South Texas» on billboards in Mexico promoting childbirth services to pregnant foreign nationals near the U.S.-Mexico border.
Mission Regional Medical Center confirmed to Fox News that it was responsible for the advertising campaign, which promoted deliveries starting at $3,950 for a natural birth and $5,525 for a C-section, and directed viewers to a website, havemybabyinTEXAS.com, which has since been taken offline.
The billboards also displayed a telephone number beginning with «001,» the country code used to place calls to the United States from Mexico.
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Gov. Greg Abbott speaks during a bill signing in the State Capitol on April 23, 2025, in Austin, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
«The marketing materials regarding maternity services are no longer in use due to any unintended misunderstanding,» a hospital spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News. «We do not support or facilitate any unlawful activity and work to comply with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations.»
The spokesperson said the campaign included two billboards located within approximately 5 miles of the hospital near a U.S.-Mexico border crossing. The hospital said both billboards and the website were removed Monday after images began circulating on social media. The spokesperson also said the campaign began in 2021 but did not specify when the billboards were installed.
Abbott on Tuesday directed Texas Health and Human Services Commission Executive Commissioner Stephanie Muth to investigate Mission Regional Medical Center for potential violations of state law and contractual obligations.
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A Spanish-language billboard promotes birth packages at Mission Regional Medical Center, advertising pricing for natural deliveries and C-sections in South Texas. (Right Angle News)
Images of the billboard circulated on social media before the hospital said it removed the advertisements Monday.
«‘Birth tourism’ is an illegal practice that exploits the extraordinary hospitality that the United States and Texas offer to millions of foreign travelers each year,» Abbott wrote in a July 7 letter obtained by Fox News. «Unfortunately, thousands of foreign travelers come to the United States under false pretenses to give birth and secure citizenship for their children.»
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An English-language billboard promotes birth packages at Mission Regional Medical Center, advertising pricing for natural deliveries and C-sections in South Texas. (Right Angle News)
Abbott directed HHSC to «immediately and thoroughly investigate» the hospital and said any violations should be referred to the Texas Attorney General for civil enforcement and to the appropriate district or county attorney for potential criminal prosecution.
«American citizenship is not for sale and Texas will not permit our healthcare system to be used as a magnet for birth tourism,» Abbott wrote.
The governor also said he plans to work with the Texas Legislature during its next session «to strengthen state law and eliminate birth tourism in Texas.»
«Unfortunately, birth tourism operations are not a new phenomenon,» Kyle Brosnan, general counsel of the Oversight Project, told Fox News Digital in a statement. «The Supreme Court’s egregiously wrong decision in the birthright citizenship case is going to open the floodgates to the birth tourism industry. Our country is much more than a pile of magic dirt. The only answer to these type of practices are criminal investigations and the mass deportation of illegal aliens.»
Mission Regional Medical Center also said it intends to cooperate with state officials.
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«We intend to work cooperatively and transparently with local and state officials,» the hospital said in a statement obtained by Fox News. «Our focus remains on delivering safe, high-quality care to every patient who seeks our services.»
The investigation comes as President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to limit automatic birthright citizenship for some children born in the United States remains the subject of ongoing legal challenges.
immigration, texas, greg abbott, politics, health
INTERNACIONAL
El Ejército de EEUU completó una nueva ronda de ataques contra Irán y alcanzó más de 80 objetivos con municiones de precisión
Estados Unidos lanzó una nueva ofensiva militar contra Irán y alcanzó más de 80 objetivos con municiones de precisión, según informó el Comando Central de Estados Unidos (CENTCOM), en respuesta a los recientes ataques iraníes contra tres buques comerciales que transitaban por el estrecho de Ormuz, un episodio que elevó la tensión en el Golfo y volvió a poner en riesgo el acuerdo provisional entre ambos países.
El CENTCOM informó el martes por la noche que sus fuerzas completaron la operación después de una primera serie de bombardeos iniciada horas antes. En un comunicado publicado en la red social X, sostuvo que “las fuerzas del Comando Central de Estados Unidos (CENTCOM) completaron una nueva ronda de ataques ofensivos contra Irán el 7 de julio, alcanzando más de 80 objetivos con municiones de precisión como respuesta inmediata a los últimos ataques de Irán contra buques comerciales que transitaban por el estrecho de Ormuz”.
Según el mando estadounidense, los blancos incluyeron sistemas de defensa aérea iraníes, redes de mando y control, estaciones de radar costeras, capacidades de misiles antibuque y más de 60 pequeñas embarcaciones pertenecientes al Cuerpo de la Guardia Revolucionaria Islámica desplegadas en el estrecho de Ormuz y sus alrededores.
El organismo militar identificó como objetivos de los ataques iraníes a tres embarcaciones mercantes: el M/T Al Rekayyat, con bandera de las Islas Marshall; el M/T Wedyan, con bandera de Arabia Saudita; y el M/T Cyprus Prosperity, con bandera de Liberia.
El comunicado añadió que “esta agresión injustificada por parte de las fuerzas iraníes constituye una clara y peligrosa violación del alto el fuego y socava la libertad de navegación”. Además, el CENTCOM afirmó que “las fuerzas del CENTCOM permanecen en posición de alerta y preparadas para exigir responsabilidades a Irán cuando no se cumpla o se acate el acuerdo”.
Horas antes de confirmar la nueva ronda de bombardeos, el mando estadounidense anunció el inicio de la ofensiva con otro mensaje difundido en X. En esa comunicación señaló: “Las fuerzas del Mando Central de Estados Unidos han comenzado a lanzar una serie de fuertes ataques contra Irán para imponer un alto coste por atacar y poner en peligro a buques comerciales tripulados por civiles inocentes en una vía marítima internacional”.
De acuerdo con autoridades estadounidenses, los ataques iraníes contra las embarcaciones ocasionaron daños materiales, aunque no dejaron víctimas entre las tripulaciones. Entre los buques afectados figuró un gasero vinculado a Qatar y un petrolero saudí.
Qatar responsabilizó directamente a Teherán por el ataque contra el Al Rekayyat y calificó el episodio como un “ataque inaceptable contra la seguridad de la navegación marítima internacional, la seguridad del suministro energético mundial y una grave y manifiesta violación del Derecho Internacional”. Arabia Saudita también atribuyó a Irán el ataque contra el buque que navegaba bajo su bandera.
Mientras tanto, medios iraníes informaron explosiones en distintos puntos del sur del país. Según la televisión estatal IRIB, seis proyectiles impactaron en la zona del muelle de Taheroui, en Sirik. Además, reportó seis explosiones en la isla de Qeshm, siete en la ciudad de Sirik y otras detonaciones en Bandar Abbas, uno de los principales puertos iraníes. El CENTCOM no identificó públicamente los blancos específicos alcanzados durante la operación.
En paralelo a la respuesta militar, Washington adoptó medidas económicas contra Teherán. El Gobierno estadounidense revocó la Licencia General X, emitida el 21 de junio por el Departamento del Tesoro, que autorizaba determinadas operaciones relacionadas con el petróleo iraní dentro del entendimiento alcanzado entre ambos países.
En su reemplazo, la administración estadounidense emitió la Licencia X1, que elimina las autorizaciones previas y establece un proceso de cierre ordenado para las actividades que permanecían habilitadas.
Un funcionario estadounidense, que habló con The Associated Press bajo condición de anonimato, explicó que la decisión respondió a que las acciones iraníes en el estrecho de Ormuz “eran inaceptables y debían tener consecuencias”.
Tanto Washington como Teherán sostienen que la otra parte incumplió el acuerdo provisional. Los bombardeos de este martes constituyen la primera operación militar estadounidense contra territorio iraní desde los ataques registrados a finales del mes pasado, que Estados Unidos también justificó como respuesta a acciones iraníes contra la navegación comercial.
El alto el fuego entre ambos países entró en vigor el 8 de abril, aunque desde entonces persistieron incidentes esporádicos en el Golfo. La Organización Marítima Internacional señaló que los ataques registrados contra embarcaciones en el estrecho de Ormuz representaron la mayor cantidad en una sola jornada desde finales de abril.
El conflicto, iniciado el 28 de febrero, mantiene abiertas las tensiones sobre la seguridad de una de las rutas marítimas más importantes para el transporte mundial de petróleo y combustible, mientras continúan las negociaciones orientadas a reabrir plenamente el estrecho, resolver las diferencias sobre el programa nuclear iraní y alcanzar un cese definitivo de las hostilidades.
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