INTERNACIONAL
Foster children’s autism therapy at risk as Georgia lawmakers step into funding fight
A fight over cuts to autism therapy for Georgia foster children is escalating at the state Capitol, with a Republican lawmaker and families now calling for the 30% reimbursement reduction to be reversed as advocates warn children could lose hard-earned progress.
State Sen. Brian Strickland, R-McDonough, joined parents and providers Thursday to demand action over a reduction in reimbursement rates for applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy that went into effect Sept. 1 through Amerigroup, which administers Medicaid coverage for children in Georgia’s foster care system.
«As a parent of a child with autism, I know what ABA therapy means for a family and Georgia’s foster children, which is why I stood at the Capitol to make clear that these cuts are indefensible,» Strickland told Digital.
Strickland, who is running for state attorney general, also pledged to hold companies accountable if elected.
AUTISM PROVIDERS WARN FOSTER KIDS AT RISK FROM UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF TRUMP’S MEDICAID FRAUD CRACKDOWN
The political pushback comes after Digital first reported earlier this month that autism advocates feared the reduction could force providers to stop treating foster children as an unintended consequence of the Trump administration’s Medicaid fraud crackdown.
Taylor Sanders of the Autism Families Alliance told Digital on Saturday that families and clinicians have increasingly begun speaking out since the cuts took effect, emphasizing that «time is crucial to these families.»
«Every moment where their child is not receiving services, we’re seeing a regression in possible communication, safety skills,» Sanders said. «Maybe we’re seeing an increase in some of those challenging behaviors.»
Sanders previously warned that as many as 75% of clinics could close or stop serving foster children because of the cuts.
AUTISM PROVIDERS CHEER TRUMP CRACKDOWN AFTER MILLIONS ALLEGEDLY STOLEN FROM CHILDREN THROUGH MEDICAID FRAUD
She described a family whose 3-year-old child had begun using words for the first time after receiving ABA therapy and whose mother now fears losing access to treatment.
«She was in absolute tears and so worried and frustrated,» Sanders said, recalling their recent conversation.
The mother, Sanders explained, fears losing the consistent one-on-one therapy that she said helped the child begin communicating.
Sanders said the child had not received enough therapy to ensure those newly learned communication skills could be maintained across different settings.
«For these children and their families, time matters,» Kelsey Bennett of the Autism Families Alliance told Digital. «Every day without critical care risks reversing hard-earned progress and limiting opportunities for continued development.»
HOUSE GOP BILL MOVES TO CLOSE WHISTLEBLOWER GAPS EXPOSED BY MINNESOTA MEDICAID FRAUD SCANDAL
Bennett added, «Reverse the cuts.»
Advocates are calling not only for the cuts to be reconsidered, but also for families, clinicians and other stakeholders to be involved in reviewing the policy rather than relying on a blanket approach.
In a statement to 5 Atlanta, Amerigroup said it rebalanced ABA reimbursement rates based on service complexity and clinical expertise, increasing rates for treatment planning and caregiver-engagement services while decreasing rates for some technician-delivered services. The company also said rates for licensed clinicians did not decrease and that medically necessary autism services remain covered.
In response, Sanders emphasized that the reductions affected technicians who provide much of the one-on-one care.
COALITION OF 25 STATES SUES TRUMP ADMIN OVER MEDICAID WORK RULE DESIGNED TO PREVENT FRAUD
«Just because we put something down on paper doesn’t mean that it’s gonna be clinically effective or that these children are gonna be able to access care because companies are now having to maybe close their doors to these individuals because they can’t afford the rate cut,» Sanders said.
Sanders reiterated her concerns about the potential long-term consequences for children whose therapy is interrupted.
«Progress lost is extremely hard to come back from, which is the biggest concern that we’re facing here,» Sanders said. «Reconsider before ripping the rug from families. Start to involve the clinicians, involve families before making major cuts.»
Digital has reached out to Amerigroup and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for additional comment.
Digital’s Landon Mion contributed to this report.
autism, georgia, childrens health, health care, parents, health care executive, politics
INTERNACIONAL
Who is Itamar Ben-Gvir, the Israeli firebrand rising with the populist right across the globe?
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Polling ahead of Israel’s Oct. 27 election projects that National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit Party will win between seven and ten seats in the 120-member Knesset, potentially making any future government led by Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party contingent on his support and positioning him to secure senior ministerial portfolios.
His political rise mirrors a broader trend across Europe and the West, where parties such as Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella’s National Rally in France, Geert Wilders’ Party for Freedom in the Netherlands, Australia’s One Nation leader, Pauline Hanson, Italy’s Matteo Salvini and Germany’s Alice Weidel of the AfD have all gained ground on traditional conservative political parties.
The highly controversial Ben-Gvir, as national security minister, oversees the ministry responsible for internal security, including the Israel Police, Israel Prison Service and civilian firearms licensing.
«I always say that Minister Ben-Gvir, if he were in America, he would just be called a Texan,» Yishai Fleisher, international spokesman for the Jewish community of Hebron and a candidate ranked No. 12 on the Otzma Yehudit list, told Fox News Digital.
NETANYAHU PRAISES TRUMP’S ‘WICKED SENSE OF HUMOR,’ DEFENDS IRONCLAD ALLIANCE AHEAD OF HISTORIC ISRAEL VOTE
Israel’s Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir speaks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during a session at the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, before it dissolves ahead of the 2026 Israeli elections, in Jerusalem, July 16, 2026. (Ronen Zvulun/Reuters)
In a video interview with Fox News Digital, Fleisher continued, «Meaning law and order, the death penalty for murderers, tough conditions for jihadists in our prisons and gun rights for the average Jewish person to be able to defend themselves in our national state. That’s what Itamar Ben-Gvir stands for,» he added.
Fleisher said that mass immigration had fueled Islamist extremism and unrest in parts of Europe, saying Israelis want to avoid similar developments.
«There is a jihadist takeover that has come in through immigration, and now the streets of Paris are burning, and the people of Belgium and the U.K. want their countries back,» Fleisher said. «In Israel, we don’t want to see Tel Aviv burning,» prompting politicians to embrace what are known in the United States as «law-and-order» and «tough-on-crime» candidates.
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visits the Al-Aqsa compound, also known to Jews as the Temple Mount, during Jerusalem’s Day, in Jerusalem’s Old City May 26, 2025. (Ammar Awad/Reuters)
FORMER IDF CHIEF GADI EISENKOT EMERGES AS NETANYAHU’S LEADING ELECTION CHALLENGER
Former Israeli Ambassador to Washington Danny Ayalon said that Ben-Gvir had missed an opportunity to change course despite his lack of military service and past conviction, arguing that his tenure had instead had a damaging impact, including on Israel’s diplomatic standing.
«Ben-Gvir spoke in a way that turned the entire world against Israel, portraying it as a racist country by making statements that made Israel a pariah state,» Ayalon said.
«I always say that Minister Ben-Gvir, if he were in America, he would just be called a Texan…Meaning law and order, the death penalty for murderers.
Fleisher praised Ben-Gvir, who he said has cracked down on protection rackets in southern Israel and made significant progress toward what he described as greater equality for Jews on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, Judaism’s holiest site.
«Minister Ben-Gvir was an activist from a very young age. He saw the dangers and evils of the Oslo process with the Palestinians and tried to stop it. He was arrested and stopped many times because of that, and he faced the court many times. It was then-Chief Justice Aharon Barak who once told him, ‘Why don’t you go study to be a lawyer?’» Fleisher said.
Leader of the Party for Freedom (PVV) Geert Wilders speaks to the press after a meeting with Speaker of the House at the House of Representatives in The Hague, on November 24, 2023. After his shock election win, far-right Dutch firebrand Geert Wilders on Friday kicked off the formal process of building a government coalition, battling to convince reluctant rivals to serve under him as premier. (Sem van der Wal/ANP/AFP via Getty Images)
«Ben-Gvir spoke in a way that turned the entire world against Israel, portraying it as a racist country by making statements that made Israel a pariah state.»
Ben-Gvir, who studied law, became active in public and political affairs and was first elected to the Knesset in 2021. Following the 2022 elections, he was appointed minister of national security by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
His many critics have taken issue with his firebrand style and what many view as a lack of political correctness. Ambassador Ayalon, a former deputy foreign minister, told Fox News Digital that he also viewed Ben-Gvir’s performance as national security minister negatively.
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT VOTES TO CONFRONT MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD, ‘ISLAMIST ENTRYISM’ IN OVERWHELMING VOTE
Security attempted to prevent Knesset member Itamar Ben-Gvir from holding up signs reading «Shame’ during a session at the Israeli Parliament (Knesset), which had convened to vote on the country’s next government under Naftali Bennett, who became Israel’s new Prime Minister by leading a fragile coalition of eight parties. Jun. 13, 2021 (Ilia Yefimovich/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images)
«During his tenure, Israel has become less secure internally because crime is rising. Many young people believed in the last election that he would bring governability and authority to areas such as the Negev and the Galilee, on the outskirts of the country, where there is almost no law,» Ayalon said.
In 2007, Ben-Gvir was convicted of supporting a terrorist organization and inciting racism.
His campaign told Fox News Digital that the conviction stemmed from displaying a sticker of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane, whose Kach party was outlawed in 1994, and reflected his support for a Jewish nationalist movement.
«As a young man, Minister Ben-Gvir was an intense Jewish nationalist. He has said many times, publicly, that he has matured since then and moved on from those positions.»
ABBAS DELAYS PALESTINIAN ELECTIONS AGAIN, MAKING MORE THAN TWO DECADES WITHOUT VOTE
A demonstrator holds a sign with an image of Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and the words «The Bedouins against the murder, You failed» as members of Israel’s Arab minority protest, calling on the Israeli government to protect Arab communities of the Negev desert from crime and killings from within the community through effective law and order, outside the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem, January 11, 2026. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (Ammar Awad/Reuters)
Recent posts on Ben-Gvir’s social media accounts, along with statements issued through Netanyahu’s and Likud’s official channels, have raised questions about whether the two remain fully aligned.
On Oct. 15, Ben-Gvir shared a Hebrew-language media report quoting Netanyahu as saying that he would not serve again as national security minister. In response, Ben-Gvir wrote: «Dear Prime Minister, only the people will decide. Ben Gvir is strong, Israel is strong!»
TRUMP SAYS NETANYAHU NEEDS TO BE RE-ELECTED, OR ELSE US WILL HAVE TO ‘FINISH THE JOB’ AGAINST IRAN ALONE
Last Wednesday, Netanyahu’s Likud party appeared to reverse course, posting a message on its official WhatsApp channel stating: «Ben-Gvir is a senior minister in our government, and he will remain so in the next government — provided that the bloc consisting of the Left and Arab parties does not win.»
Despite the public statements, Ayalon said Netanyahu could opt not to include Ben-Gvir in the next government, even if it meant forming an alliance with opposition parties such as Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar.
«Netanyahu is brilliant. He kept Ben-Gvir because it suited him. If he could, he would get rid of him in a minute. Bibi is capable of changing his mind on a dime,» Ayalon said.
Election banners with images of Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, leader of Jewish Power (Otzma Yehudit) party, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, leader of Likud party, in Sderot, near Israel’s border with Gaza, in southern Israel, Oct.18, 2026. (Reuters/Amir Cohen)
Fleisher credited Ben-Gvir with tripling the number of personal firearms and firearms licenses issued to Israelis over four years, establishing 1,000 rapid-response teams, overhauling the prison system and demolishing 9,000 illegally built homes, particularly in the Negev.
In March, the Knesset approved a death-penalty law sponsored by Otzma Yehudit and other lawmakers, a measure Ben-Gvir has strongly championed.
«No more hotel-like conditions in our prisons. You’ll know you are being punished for your crime, and these simple policies ultimately deter jihadism,» Fleisher told Fox News Digital.
«They understand that he represents a full-throated pushback against the jihadist takeover of our land. Ben-Gvir also represents a strong Jewish identity, strong policies and strong laws to ensure that we don’t lose control of our country,» he said.
The latest polls show Netanyahu’s bloc slightly behind the opposition, led by Yashar party chief Gadi Eisenkot, but neither side has a clear path to the 61 seats needed for a governing majority.
israel, benjamin netanyahu, world elections, anti semitism, terrorism, elections
FIRST ON FOX — The Pentagon is preparing U.S. military bases to keep operating for at least 90 days without outside support as it prepares for the possibility of a major war that could cripple power grids, disrupt supply chains and threaten critical infrastructure on American soil.
The new requirement is part of FORTRESS, a broader military initiative aimed at ensuring American forces can continue fighting even if the civilian systems they depend on are disrupted, according to documents reviewed by Digital.
AMERICA’S NEXT WAR COULD REACH US SOIL, TOP ARMY GENERAL WARNS
«We don’t want to rely on standard civilian municipal infrastructure to run our national defense. We just simply can’t. It’s an intolerable risk,» Pentagon chief spokesperson Sean Parnell told Digital.
The Pentagon is also laying the groundwork for civilian factories to shift to defense production during a crisis, while preparing alternative supply chains and strategic reserves to keep weapons, fuel and other essential materials flowing.
«Power is combat now. Without electricity, you lose communications, water, logistics, assembly lines and just basic military command structures,» Parnell said.
Under FORTRESS, every major military installation in the continental United States would be expected to sustain essential operations independently for at least 90 days, including access to electricity, water, fuel and communications.
TRUMP PENTAGON LAUNCHES COMPETITION FOR AMERICA’S NEXT GREAT MILITARY BASE
The requirement reflects a broader shift in how the Pentagon is preparing for threats to the American homeland, including the possibility that a major conflict could disrupt the infrastructure supporting military operations inside the United States.
«I realized that a lot of the way we think about homeland defense was built around the antiquated assumption that two oceans would protect us,» Parnell said. «President Trump understands that world is gone, and he’s already paved the way for new thinking: Golden Dome, a renewed focus on the Western Hemisphere, Greenland, Panama.»
A central concern is the military’s reliance on civilian power grids, which support everything from communications and logistics to weapons manufacturing.
FORTRESS envisions portable nuclear reactors, large-scale battery storage and microgrids capable of disconnecting military installations from the civilian electrical grid, allowing them to continue operating during prolonged power disruptions.
«Mission-critical power must be independent, hardened, and redundant,» Parnell said.
The Pentagon has already announced plans to reduce major military installations’ dependence on civilian power grids. The 90-day self-sufficiency standard goes further, extending the requirement beyond electricity to other essential services needed to sustain military operations.
The strategy also anticipates major disruptions to the global supply chains that provide the military with weapons, equipment and critical materials.
«The next conflict will likely be fought on multiple fronts. Look at the geopolitics behind any major war. When that happens, global supply chains will break,» Parnell said.
To prepare, FORTRESS calls for strategic reserves of munitions, fuel, critical minerals, electronics, spare parts and medical supplies that could sustain military operations if international supply routes are disrupted or domestic manufacturers cannot keep pace with wartime demand.
Reserve targets would vary depending on how quickly supplies are consumed during a major conflict and how long manufacturers would need to replace them.
STARTUPS BRING INNOVATION TO DEFENSE INDUSTRIAL BASE
For the military’s most critical defense dependencies, the initiative also establishes a requirement for at least two qualified supply or production pathways, reducing the risk that the loss of a single factory, supplier or industrial capability could interrupt military operations.
Another major component involves preparing America’s civilian manufacturing sector to support a wartime mobilization.
Through the Civil Reserve Manufacturing Network, an existing initiative incorporated into FORTRESS, the Pentagon plans to identify commercial factories capable of shifting to defense production during a crisis.
The new details describe plans to assess manufacturers’ capabilities and establish technical specifications, cybersecurity protections, contracting arrangements and conversion procedures in advance, rather than waiting until a conflict begins.
FORTRESS also calls for recurring industrial stress tests and mobilization exercises to assess whether manufacturers could maintain production through prolonged disruptions.
Beyond energy and manufacturing, the initiative includes efforts to strengthen military communications, navigation and satellite capabilities against interference, including preparations to maintain operations when GPS signals are jammed or space-based assets are disrupted.
Together, the measures are intended to reduce the military’s dependence on civilian infrastructure and vulnerable supply networks during a prolonged conflict.
«You don’t want to be making these decisions in the middle of a global multi-front conflict. We have to have a plan,» Parnell said.
He described FORTRESS as an insurance policy for the homeland, designed to ensure American forces can continue operating even if a major war disrupts the infrastructure and supply chains they rely on.
military tech, pentagon, pentagon defense, military
INTERNACIONAL
El regreso de María Corina Machado sacude a Venezuela: la pulseada con Delcy Rodríguez y el rol de Donald Trump
Venezuela empezó este domingo un nuevo período de transición, cuyas repercusiones políticas internas empezarán a verse en las próximas semanas.
La inesperada llegada al país de la líder opositora, María Corina Machado, aumentará la presión sobre la presidenta interina Delcy Rodríguez y la Casa Blanca.
La acción, de un fuerte contenido simbólico, podría mover el tablero de poder chavista y ya hay algunos exdirigentes que aventuran la salida del poderoso ministro del Interior y Justicia, Diosdado Cabello, el gran titiritero de enorme influencia en el ala militar del gobierno.
El arribo de Machado a Venezuela estuvo enmarcado por un hermetismo total. Ni su gente más cercana en el país estaba enterada. Desde Washington, el presidente estadounidense, Donald Trump, fue cauto y prefirió no confirmar si el viaje contó con su autorización. Esa es la gran clave de todo este asunto.
“Es una mujer muy agradable. Me dio su premio Nobel, así que ¿cómo puedo decir otra cosa? Y espero que esté a salvo. Nos está yendo muy bien en Venezuela”, afirmó.
Para Trump, los negocios son más importantes que cualquier proceso de transición y esta no parece ser una excepción, más allá del diálogo abierto entre un sector de la oposición y el chavismo bajo el ala de la embajada estadounidense.
“Es una oportunidad importante para dar una muestra significativa de los pasos hacia la reconfiguración del pluralismo político. Esto va a dar una nueva dinámica a lo que ya está encaminado y puede incidir en un aceleramiento de estos procesos de negociación que reconfiguren el sistema político venezolano”, dijo a TN el analista venezolano Piero Trepiccione, subdirector Del Centro Gumilla de Análisis.
¿Qué puede pasar ahora en Venezuela?
La vuelta de Machado sorprendió a todos.
“Creo que es una de las mejores noticias que he recibido últimamente. Su presencia representa un giro directo a la dinámica de transición del país. Jamás representa una desestabilizacion, muy al contrario, justamente da un piso muy fuerte a la esperanza. Se mueve el tablero político tanto nacional como internacional”, dijo a TN la excandidata presidencial opositora Corina Yoris.
Pero también fue un sacudón para la oposición interna que mantiene diferencias con el liderazgo de la premio Nobel de la paz 2025.
“Después del 3 de enero (cuando se produjo la acción militar estadounidense y la captura de Nicolás Maduro) las dos personas claves sobre cuya actuación se soporta la transición política venezolana son Delcy Rodríguez y Donald Trump, que afortunadamente tienen un buen nivel de comunicación y cooperación reciprocas”, dijo a TN desde Caracas el dirigente Agustín Berrios, presidente del opositor Partido de la Reconciliación Nacional.
Berríos dejó en evidencia que la figura de Machado genera cautela en el arco opositor interno, más allá de un claro respaldo popular: “Yo he tomado la determinación personal de no opinar sobre ella ni para bien ni para mal”.
“Todo el esfuerzo debemos concentrarlo en consolidar la estrategia de Estabilización, Recuperación Económica y Transición Política como vía de superacion de la crisis. Todo lo que abone a esa ruta es positivo, todo lo que lo perturbe o interrumpa es negativo”, alertó.
La gran pregunta ahora si la presencia de Machado en el país actuará como una olla a presión difícil de mantener en el corto plazo.
Desde su exilio en Europa, el exministro de Información del chavismo, Andrés Izarra, vaticinó la salida de Cabello. “Si entró Machado con apoyo de los gringos, Diosdado sale pronto”, aventuró.
El analista Andrés Cañizalez, investigador de la Universidad Católica Andrés Bello, de Caracas, dijo a TN que la llegada de Machado “dinamiza el momento político en Venezuela”.
“Me llama la atención poderosamente que el regreso de María Corina se haya aprobado” desde el chavismo, indicó.
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