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AOC-backed Dem connected to Twin Towers bombing terrorist faces congressional pressure after primary win

New Jersey Democratic House nominee tied to ‘Blind Sheikh’ terror trial
New Jersey Democratic congressional nominee Dr. Adam Hamawy is under scrutiny for his ties to convicted terrorist Omar Abdel-Rahman, known as the ‘Blind Sheikh.’ Hamawy testified as a defense witness in Abdel-Rahman’s 1995 World Trade Center bombing trial. Critics are questioning his past associations as he prepares for the general election in a deep-blue district.
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FIRST ON FOX: A top Republican confirmed he will seek a «full investigation» of a likely Democratic colleague whose ties to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing mastermind roiled the 2026 midterm landscape after New Jersey’s Tuesday primaries.
Dr. Adam Hisham Hamawy is a veteran combat plastic surgeon who operates his own practice near Princeton but has been heavily criticized for his ties to and service as a defense witness for terrorist Omar Abdel-Rahman — better known as the «Blind Sheikh» — who later died in a North Carolina federal prison.
Rep. Michael Lawler, R-N.Y., chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Middle East Subcommittee, expressed his concerns about Hamawy serving in Congress and later confirmed to Fox News Digital that he will indeed seek a probe of the controversial progressive.
Hamawy won a 12-way Democratic primary Tuesday for a Central Jersey seat that has not elected a Republican this century — and now faces perennial candidate Prof. Gregg Mele in November.
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Lawler told Fox News Digital that Hamawy’s resume is more than disqualifying for someone whose day job would give him access to the nation’s most sensitive national security information.
«Adam Hamawy was a defense witness for Omar Abdel-Rahman, the Blind Sheikh behind the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and a year earlier volunteered in Bosnia with an organization the U.S. Treasury designated a financier of terrorism and the 9/11 Commission tied to Osama bin Laden’s network,» Lawler said.
«He has never answered for any of it.»
Lawler questioned Hamawy’s «fit[ness] to serve» in Congress and to be privy to the same information he is on the Foreign Affairs panel.
«If he’s elected in November, I’ll push for a full investigation because the American people deserve the truth.»
Lawler notably represents Rockland County, N.Y. — an area just north of New York City with a sizable Orthodox Jewish population — and has been a steadfast defender of Israel and the Jewish people against threats from Iran and Hezbollah.
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Hamawy previously volunteered at a Gaza hospital amid the conflict.
Lawler’s district recently hosted President Donald Trump’s rally featuring New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart — and his visibility on counterterrorism and Israel issues was brought to the fore when Sen. Rand Paul’s, R-Ky., son drunkenly confronted Lawler at a Washington bar and «accused» him of being Jewish during a diatribe about Israel.
The «Trenton Makes» Bridge carries Old U.S. 1 into New Jersey and the 12th district. (Ron Antonelli/Getty Images)
Neighboring Congressman Josh Gottheimer, a Democrat from North Jersey, didn’t directly call for a probe but told Jewish Insider that he has «serious questions and deep concerns» about Hamawy’s «associations with terrorist organization and leaders who have attacked America.»
Like Lawler, Gottheimer said Hamawy must answer for these connections to the people of the Garden State.
Abdel-Rahman’s team called Hamawy as a witness, where he described traveling to Detroit for a conference at which the extremist cleric would appear.
Hamawy testified Abdel-Rahman regularly spoke of «jihad» and that at one point the Sheikh questioned Emad Salem — who later became a government informant — as to why Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak had not yet been assassinated.
Hamawy has blamed Islamophobia for some of the invective directed his way — and pushed back on similar characterizations, including from one of his own Democratic primary challengers, Plainfield Mayor Adrian Mapp.
«Any Muslim is going to be called a terrorist at some point, and these tropes are outdated and worn,» he told the New Jersey Monitor in response to Mapp.
Hamawy’s campaign previously told Fox News Digital that he was in the military when the events covered Abdel-Rahman’s trial took place, and pointed to allies like Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., who credited the surgeon with saving her life on the battlefield.
The prosecutor who led the U.S. government’s case against Abdel-Rahman, however, noted how Hamawy appeared voluntarily to defend the Blind Sheikh.
«He didn’t have to come unless he wanted to,» former U.S. Attorney Andrew McCarthy told «The Story» on Wednesday.

Dr. Adam Hisham Hamawy, left; Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., right. (Islam Dogru/Getty Images; Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
«It wasn’t like I subpoenaed him. It wasn’t like the government brought him in as a hostile witness. He volunteered to testify for this guy. He knew exactly who he was. And in fact, on cross-examination, his testimony that he didn’t recall a conversation about Mubarak was not very persuasive,» McCarthy said, referring to the cleric’s trip to Detroit.
Hamawy also greeted Abdel-Rahman from the stand with the Muslim greeting of Salaam Alaykum, suggesting personal familiarity, according to several critics.
When pressed by reporters earlier in the primary, Hamawy argued that Abdel-Rahman was a spiritual leader in the state’s Muslim community and «wasn’t preaching death and destruction all the time» while adding that he himself abhors all violence.
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Hamawy and Abdel-Rahman first met at a middle school forum in Matawan, New Jersey, in 1991, according to the former’s testimony in court.
The candidate did not respond to Fox News’ latest request for comment.
middle east, investigations, counter terrorism, fox news investigates, terrorism, politics
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Asian nation with 1,500-year-old imperial line insists only men can become emperor in policy revision

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Japan’s Parliament voted Friday to enshrine male-only succession for the imperial throne, part of a monarchy that traces its origins back roughly 1,500 years.
Lawmakers did so by revising an Imperial House Law dating back to the 1800s, despite warnings from experts that limiting succession to men in the paternal line will hasten the decline of Japan’s shrinking and aging imperial family, according to the Associated Press.
To address the dwindling number of eligible heirs, the revisions allow distant male relatives to be adopted into the imperial family to father future successors. However, strict rules remain in place limiting the throne to men with royal blood. The changes also allow princesses to retain their royal status after marrying commoners.
The new rules passed by Parliament come as many Japanese had been calling for Princess Aiko, Emperor Naruhito’s 24-year-old daughter, to be allowed to succeed him — now an impossibility.
Japan’s Princess Aiko, left, the daughter of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, arrives to mark the 110th anniversary of the death of the wife of former emperor Meiji at Meiji Shrine in Tokyo, on April 10, 2024. (Kazuhiro Nogi/Pool Photo via AP)
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«The emperor is a symbolic figure, and I don’t see why women cannot serve in the role,» Junichiro Tsujimaru, a 78-year-old sushi chain founder, told the AP.
Under current law, the 66-year-old emperor’s younger brother is next in line. After that, his 19-year-old nephew, Prince Hisahito, will inherit the throne, and then the emperor’s 90-year-old uncle.
Hisahito is the only boy to be born in four decades, and only five of the 16 adults in the imperial family are men.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and other conservatives say the male bloodline is the source of the emperor’s authority and legitimacy.

Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during a news conference at the prime minister’s office in Tokyo, Oct. 21, 2025. (Eugene Hoshiko)
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«It’s a declaration to prevent female monarchs … and to defend the male-lineage at all costs,» Hideya Kawanishi, a Nagoya University expert on monarchy, told the AP. «They cannot say it’s male chauvinism, so they call it tradition.»
Chizuko Ueno, a prominent feminist and sociologist, recently suggested it was ironic that Japan’s first female prime minister was the one to ensure male-only succession.
Ueno said the new rules «treat male royals as stallions and put female royals under pressure as ‘childbearing machines’ to produce male offspring.»
Japan has had eight empresses descended from the male line in its centuries-long history as a hereditary monarchy. The last woman to reign was Empress Go-Sakuramachi, who sat on the throne from 1762 until 1771, when she abdicated in favor of her nephew.

Japan’s Prince Hisahito, right, attends his coming-of-age rituals on his 19th birthday at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, on Sept. 6, 2025. (Japan Pool/Kyodo News via AP)
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Female eligibility for the throne was first eliminated in 1890 under the original Imperial House Law.
That change was carried over into the modern Imperial House Law, enacted in 1947, the same year Japan’s new constitution stripped the emperor of governing authority after the country’s defeat in World War II.
Like Britain’s royal family, Japan’s imperial family remains an important national symbol.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
japan, world, politics, british royals
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Búsqueda de vida más allá de la Tierra: astrónomos descubren un planeta con atmósfera a 49 años luz

La exploración de exoplanetas acaba de alcanzar un hito que transforma la búsqueda de vida más allá del sistema solar.
Un grupo internacional de científicos confirmó la existencia de una atmósfera alrededor de un planeta rocoso, LHS 1140b, que se encuentra en la zona habitable de su estrella y a solo 49 años luz de la Tierra.
Este resultado representa la primera vez que se detecta de manera inequívoca una atmósfera en un planeta de características similares a la Tierra y ubicado en una región donde podría existir agua líquida, la condición indispensable para la vida tal como la conocemos.
El descubrimiento, publicado en la revista Science y liderado por el doctor en astronomía Collin Cherubim, quien hasta hace poco trabajaba en la Universidad de Harvard, fue recibido con entusiasmo por la comunidad científica.

El equipo estudió a LHS 1140b, un planeta rocoso cuya masa es 5,6 veces mayor que la de la Tierra y cuyo radio supera en un 70 % al terrestre. El planeta orbita a una estrella enana roja en la constelación de Cetus, completando una vuelta en solo 24,7 días. Aunque la estrella es más pequeña y menos luminosa que el Sol, emite una fracción importante de su energía en forma de radiación ionizante.
La importancia del hallazgo radica en que, hasta este momento, solo se habían confirmado atmósferas en exoplanetas gigantes gaseosos o en subneptunos. Había existido evidencia indirecta de atmósferas en planetas rocosos, pero siempre fuera de la zona habitable o sin certeza suficiente.
“Esta es la primera atmósfera confirmada mediante observaciones en un planeta rocoso en la zona habitable fuera de nuestro sistema solar”, afirmó Cherubim. La novedad reside también en que “estos hallazgos representan la primera identificación directa de una especie atmosférica en un exoplaneta rocoso, ya sea que se encuentre en una zona habitable o no”.

La detección de la atmósfera de LHS 1140b fue posible gracias al uso de espectroscopía infrarroja, que permitió observar el planeta mientras transitaba frente a su estrella. El equipo utilizó el espectrógrafo instalado en el telescopio Magellan Clay del Observatorio Las Campanas en Chile para analizar la luz que atravesaba la atmósfera del planeta.
El análisis de los datos de 2024 reveló la presencia de helio escapando hacia el espacio, una señal que los científicos interpretaron como evidencia de una atmósfera superior dominada por helio y pobre en hidrógeno.
“Las observaciones de exoplanetas gigantes gaseosos altamente irradiados han mostrado la fuga de helio de sus atmósferas. Existe evidencia limitada de atmósferas en exoplanetas rocosos, quizás porque ya han escapado”, explicaron los investigadores.
En el caso de LHS 1140b, “presentamos observaciones espectroscópicas en el infrarrojo cercano de LHS 1140b, un exoplaneta rocoso que orbita en la zona habitable de una estrella cercana de baja masa. Los espectros de tránsito muestran absorción por helio que escapa de la atmósfera del planeta. Se detecta absorción de helio en 2024, pero no en 2025, lo que indica una fuga atmosférica variable en el tiempo”, detallaron.

Cherubim subrayó la trascendencia del resultado: “Este es un descubrimiento realmente emocionante porque creo que sitúa a LHS 1140b a la vanguardia como el mejor, más prometedor y fascinante laboratorio para estudiar la astrobiología y la habitabilidad fuera de nuestro sistema solar”.
El planeta, descubierto en 2017, reúne condiciones que lo convierten en un candidato privilegiado: su composición es mayormente rocosa, la temperatura superficial permite la presencia de agua líquida y la atmósfera detectada podría impedir que el agua se evapore, al tiempo que protege la superficie de la radiación estelar dañina. “Así que es un lugar realmente emocionante para seguir buscando, especialmente para buscar señales de vida”, sostuvo Cherubim.
Las observaciones de 2025 no mostraron helio en la atmósfera, lo que llevó al equipo a revisar los datos y descartar posibles errores de interpretación. “Hemos descartado con total seguridad todos los falsos positivos que pudimos haber imaginado”, afirmó Cherubim. Los científicos interpretan esta variabilidad como indicio de una atmósfera con capas diferenciadas: una superior, rica en helio y empobrecida en hidrógeno, y capas inferiores donde quedarían atrapadas otras especies químicas, incluida el agua.

(Imagen Ilustrativa Infobae)
El método empleado para la detección, la espectroscopía de tránsito, aprovecha la interacción de la luz de la estrella con la atmósfera planetaria. Así, cuando el planeta cruza por delante de su estrella, parte de la luz estelar atraviesa su atmósfera y permite identificar los elementos presentes a través de las huellas que dejan en el espectro.
“El helio fue una prueba clara de la existencia de una atmósfera en un exoplaneta situado en la zona habitable. Fue absolutamente emocionante ver los espectros de tránsito y darme cuenta poco a poco de las implicaciones de lo que estábamos observando», relató Shreyas Vissapragada, del Observatorio Carnegie en California.
La confirmación de una atmósfera en LHS 1140b marca un punto de inflexión en la astrobiología. El planeta se encuentra en una órbita que le permite recibir el 42 % de la radiación estelar que llega a la Tierra, lo que mantiene su temperatura en el rango adecuado para la existencia de agua líquida. A pesar de que todavía no se sabe si posee una superficie sólida semejante a la terrestre, los modelos sugieren que podría ser un mundo intermedio entre un planeta oceánico, con enormes masas de agua, y un gigante helado similar a Urano o Neptuno.
El hecho de que el planeta conserve una atmósfera, pese a la radiación constante de su estrella, sorprendió a los expertos. Jayne Birkby, profesora de astrofísica en la Universidad de Oxford, remarcó la importancia del hallazgo: “Eso convierte el descubrimiento de una atmósfera alrededor de LHS 1140b en un paso crucial para comprender cómo es vivir con una enana roja”.
– NASA, ESA, CSA, Ralf Crawford
Las enanas rojas suelen ser muy activas y su radiación tiende a eliminar las atmósferas de los planetas cercanos, por lo que encontrar una atmósfera estable en LHS 1140b desafía las expectativas previas y amplía la lista de posibles planetas habitables.
“Es fascinante que la señal también varíe; esto muestra cómo reacciona la atmósfera del exoplaneta a la alta radiación ultravioleta extrema de su estrella anfitriona, e incluso podría revelarnos cómo esto modifica las condiciones de la superficie del planeta”, añadió Birkby. «Naturalmente, esto nos lleva a preguntarnos si la vida podría prosperar aquí y, de ser así, qué tipo de mecanismos de protección habría tenido que desarrollar».
La doctora Yamila Miguel, del Observatorio de Leiden, destacó que la detección del helio corresponde a la atmósfera superior, no a la región más cercana a la superficie, donde potencialmente podría evolucionar la vida. “Lo que hace que este planeta sea tan interesante es que está perdiendo suficiente atmósfera como para que podamos detectarla desde aquí, lo cual no es fácil para un planeta pequeño y rocoso”, explicó. “Por lo tanto, no creo que estos resultados tengan implicaciones directas para la detección de vida en otros planetas”, opinó.
La comparación con otros planetas del mismo sistema refuerza la singularidad de LHS 1140b. Otro exoplaneta, LHS 1140c, más pequeño y sometido a mayor irradiación, no muestra rastros de atmósfera detectable, lo que sugiere que solo aquellos mundos que conservan ciertos equilibrios pueden mantener las envolturas protectoras necesarias para la habitabilidad.

(Crédito: ESO/S. Brunie)
El astrobiólogo José Antonio Caballero, del Centro de Astrobiología español, celebró el avance: “¡Por fin! Ya era hora de detectar señales de atmósfera en un planeta parecido a la Tierra. La verdad es que LHS 1140 b tenía todas las papeletas para ser el primero, pero los astrónomos lo habían intentado antes muchas veces, aunque sin éxito”. Caballero comparó la hazaña con una histórica remontada deportiva: “Como en el famoso partido España-Malta de 1983, tardamos 15 minutos en marcar el primer gol, pero luego vinieron 11 goles más. Con LHS 1140 b ocurrirá parecido: esta es la primera detección, pero luego vendrán muchas más”.
La interpretación de los datos sugiere que LHS 1140b podría estar a medio camino entre un mundo completamente cubierto de agua y un gigante helado, con una atmósfera multicapas que mantiene atrapadas moléculas volátiles en las capas bajas, cerca de la superficie. La variabilidad observada en la presencia de helio también plantea interrogantes sobre la evolución de las atmósferas en estos planetas y su capacidad para retener los elementos necesarios para la vida.
Con la confirmación de una atmósfera en un planeta rocoso dentro de la zona habitable, los astrónomos cuentan ahora con un laboratorio único para investigar la historia evolutiva de los exoplanetas similares a la Tierra y sus posibilidades de albergar vida. Los próximos estudios buscarán identificar otros componentes atmosféricos, como vapor de agua o moléculas orgánicas, y profundizar en la comprensión de los mecanismos que permiten la conservación de atmósferas bajo condiciones extremas.
El hallazgo de LHS 1140b no solo abre una nueva era en la astrobiología, sino que también invita a replantear las estrategias de búsqueda de vida fuera del sistema solar. Por primera vez, la humanidad observa cómo un planeta rocoso, parecido a la Tierra y situado en la zona habitable de su estrella, mantiene una atmósfera capaz de protegerlo y de permitir las condiciones necesarias para la vida.
El universo amplía sus fronteras y, con ellas, la expectativa de encontrar otros mundos donde la vida sea posible.
LHS 1140b,atmósfera,zona habitable,planeta rocoso,astrobiología,espectroscopía
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Controversial ICE tactic actually reduces unintended ‘collateral’ arrests: federal agent

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Following a week of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) vehicle stops making national headlines, a federal special agent working in deportations revealed why vehicle stops are a «very important» part of the agency’s operations.
After the second ICE officer-involved shooting in a week took place in Maine on Monday, agents nationwide were given guidance to pause vehicle stops until further notice. That guidance, however, was overruled by President Donald Trump on Wednesday, who called vehicle stops «one of ICE’s most important and effective Crime Fighting tools.»
Though controversial, the agent, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said vehicle stops are actually the preferred tactic for many officers, because they are safer for both law enforcement and the subject than home apprehensions, and they allow more time to identify the target than street apprehensions.
Perhaps most notably, while vehicle stops have been widely criticized, the agent explained that they decrease «collateral» arrests, which they said are the apprehension of illegal immigrants who were not the target of the operation but were «at the wrong place at the right time.»
«[Vehicle stops] lead to a higher success rate in apprehending the target that they [ICE officers] are looking for and not getting the collateral. The collateral is the person that we’re not looking for, but we encounter, and they deem them as having no legal presence and/or illegal; therefore, they are going to have an admin arrest done on them.»
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ICE agents stand guard in front of protesters outside the federal immigration center at Delaney Hall, where ICE is housing detained immigrants on May 26, 2026, in Newark, New Jersey. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
The agent said vehicle stops are a «daily» part of ICE’s operations. They described the stops as a critical «tool in the toolbox» for federal officers working on deportation operations.
Simon Hankinson, a senior research fellow on border security and immigration at the Heritage Foundation, explained that vehicle stops have become increasingly «crucial» due to growing operational risks.
«When you have to go to someone’s house, we’ve seen how difficult that can be if they don’t want you in. You need warrants, and if you’re breaking down doors, chances of somebody getting hurt are significantly higher,» he said.
«What they’re trying to do is find people and take them into custody in the calmest, quietest, safest manner possible,» Hankinson continued. «So, ideal is when local law enforcement and police presence will honor ICE detainers, and they’ll hand them over at prisons when they’re finished their sentence or their hearing or whatever it is. But when they release particularly violent criminals into the city, they will go to ground, they’ll hide, they’ll hide in places where they’re hard to find. And so, it is easier to stop them in their vehicle when they are going from A to B than it is to try to pick them up in a building with doors that are locked.»
At the same time, Hankinson called out groups using the possibility of danger in these operations to push for an end to all enforcement operations.
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The victim of a fatal shooting that involved U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents is visible at the scene near the car he was driving when agents shot through the windshield, in Biddeford, Maine, July 13, 2026. (Gregory Rec/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images)
«They will pretend that what they really want is safety and that they just don’t want anybody getting hurt. But if you scratch the surface, you realize that’s not actually their goal. If we were able to carry out deportations in 100% perfect safety and security, they would still oppose it.»
In a social media post this week, Trump wrote, «We CANNOT give up one of ICE’s most important and effective Crime fighting tools, THE TRAFFIC STOP!»
The president reasoned that the announced DHS policy shift would be «playing right into the criminal’s [sic] hands.»
Addressing federal agents directly, he then said, «ICE, be judicious, fair and smart, and go back and do your very important job.»
The agent said that Trump’s reversal was a «huge» boost for ICE officers. The agent also noted that despite the reversal, new training on vehicle stops and how to respond to dangerous situations is already being administered to many officers operating in the field. They said that, especially given the increase in often adversarial public attention, they would «welcome» even more training for officers on vehicle stops.
«Any time you take a tool out of the toolbox, it is going to create challenges for [agents] to do their job in a more efficient way,» the agent said.
HARRIS CALLS FOR ICE PROBE AFTER MAINE SHOOTING AMID RENEWED ‘BORDER CZAR’ CRITICISM

The day after the Department of Homeland Security announced a pause on ICE vehicle stops, President Donald Trump has instructed the Department of Homeland Security to reverse course. (Adam Gray/Getty Images; Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
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«In other words, if I’m encountering them on a sidewalk, and they see me, and they can get in the car and leave, that’s what they’re going to do. And I don’t have any recourse, or our team will not have a recourse to go after him and stop him,» the agent said. «We’d have to hope he stops or, God forbid, he crashes into something and causes property and/or bodily harm to someone else, a third party.»
«I don’t want to hurt anyone; I really don’t,» they said. «I think any sane person would be in agreement with me to say, ‘Hey, let’s look at how we can do this safer for everybody.’»
deportation, illegal immigrants, police and law enforcement, enforcement, homeland security
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