Three people were killed on Saturday at an upscale Italian restaurant in central Moscow following a massive explosion.

The explosion was caused by a homemade explosive device, Russia’s National Anti-Terrorism Committee claimed.

The dead included a woman who attempted to bring the explosive device into the Balzi Rossi Italian restaurant, a security guard and a patron, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported, adding that the security guard wouldn’t let her in. 

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At least 21 more people were injured in the explosion, which happened around 8 p.m. on a ground-floor terrace restaurant​ at Kudrinksaya Square, which includes seven skyscrapers built during the Stalin regime.

Balzi Rossi ‘s website said it was closed Saturday for a private event.

Police vehicles are at the site of an explosion at a restaurant in central Moscow, Russia, on Aug. 1, 2026. (REUTERS)

Russia’s FSB security service said earlier this year that it planned to increase security within the country for high-level officials after a series of assassinations as the war in Ukraine drags on. 

Law enforcement officers stand guard at the site of an explosion at a restaurant in central Moscow, Russia, on Aug. 1, 2026. (REUTERS)

Heavily armed law enforcement was seen at the scene.

Moscow Investigative Committee told the news agency the scene is still under active investigation. 

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump blasted Sens. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and John Cornyn, R-Texas, Saturday for opposing his nomination of acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to the permanent position, suggesting he could keep Blanche in the temporary Justice Department leadership role and ensure the anti-weaponization bill is passed.

While blasting the rogue GOP senators, Trump tied the Blanche nomination fight to the anti-weaponization bill, proposed legislation that would establish a congressionally authorized compensation program for alleged victims of political «weaponization,» replacing the controversial DOJ-created anti-weaponization fund.

The fund was formed through a settlement Blanche reached with the IRS and the Treasury Department to create a $1.8 billion fund to compensate alleged victims of political persecution. Amid criticism that the executive branch lacked authority to create such a program without congressional approval, the Justice Department later said it would not move forward with the fund, effectively shelving it.

«If Senators Cornyn and Tillis, both upset because I wouldn’t Endorse them (they lost, and quit, respectively!), aren’t going to approve Todd Blanche, one of the most respected professionals, according to everybody, in the Country, to be the United States Attorney General, then I will keep Todd as Acting A.G., and push hard to get the Anti-Weaponization Bill, which takes care of those who have been so badly treated by the Crooked Joe Biden (and Obuma!) Administration (I get nothing, although I was treated horribly!), PASSED. Todd Blanche was a voice of reason! It will immediately be back on the table, and I will get it done,» Trump wrote on Truth Social Saturday morning.

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Cornyn and Tillis, both of whom faced electoral opposition from Trump in some form, each indicated they would not vote to advance Blanche’s nomination out of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

«I think I am prepared to vote no, but I do think I owe it to my constituents and to Mr. Blanche to try to negotiate in good faith,» Cornyn told Capitol Hill reporters Wednesday. «And that’s what we’ve been doing. And, so, we’ll see where things are this morning and see where we go from here.»

Though both Blanche and Trump have previously said the anti-weaponization fund is «dead,» Cornyn and Tillis both indicated they want the fund’s demise to be formalized in writing before supporting Blanche’s confirmation.

Cornyn questioned Blanche about the fund during his mid-July confirmation hearing.

«Has there been a written agreement of the parties to modify the settlement fund?» Cornyn asked Blanche.

«No, the settlement fund is just not moving forward,» Blanche replied.

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Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is sworn in at his confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Tillis, who announced in 2025 that he would not be seeking re-election just one day after Trump threatened to back a primary challenger, also criticized the anti-weaponization fund, calling it a «payout pot for punks» in a response to Trump on X Saturday morning.

«Despite comments as late as yesterday that the fund is dead, President Trump clearly intends to resurrect the payout pot for punks either by inappropriately establishing another bogus fund or pushing Congress to vote for a bill that the majority of Republicans in the Senate would be against,» Tillis wrote.

«It’s unfortunate that Todd Blanche, who I consider qualified for the job, will not be confirmed because of this reversal. Hopefully, we can resolve this by Tuesday.»

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., makes his way to a vote in the U.S. Capitol April 30, 2026. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc)

Cornyn, who has been a senator since 2002, lost his GOP primary to Trump-backed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton during the state’s May 26 contest, losing by nearly 400,000 votes, according to the Texas Secretary of State’s Office.

Trump, during his Cabinet Friday meeting at Camp David, theorized that his backing of Paxton was Cornyn’s motivation for opposing Blanche.

«This is being done by a senator. And I don’t really blame him, to be honest with you. I endorsed his opponent. And as soon as I endorsed his opponent, his opponent went through the roof, and he won the primary election in Texas,» Trump said.

«And the man that lost, the man that I didn’t endorse has become very angry. And that’s OK. I understand that. I probably would do the same thing.»

President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth participate in a Cabinet meeting at Camp David in Thurmont, Md, July 31, 2026. (Daniel Heuer/Reuters)

Cornyn downplayed that possibility.

«That’s a convenient excuse, and it happens to be untrue,» Cornyn told reporters on Capitol Hill Wednesday, according to CBS News.

Trump also told reporters during the Cabinet meeting that, though he considers the anti-weaponization fund «dead,» he wishes it wasn’t.

«Well, it is dead. But, you know, I wish it weren’t to be honest with you. I think people were horribly treated, horribly abused. … And I’d like to see them compensated for the pain,» Trump said.

Blanche is scheduled to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday for a vote on whether to advance his nomination out of the committee and to the full Senate for confirmation.

Fox News Digital contacted the White House, the Justice Department, Cornyn and Tillis for further comment.

Fox News Digital’s Peter D’Abrosca contributed to this report.

Famous mountaineer Nirmal Purja, who was the subject of a 2021 Netflix documentary, was among 10 climbers confirmed dead on Saturday on the world’s 12th-tallest mountain in Pakistan.

The climbers were killed when they were hit by an avalanche on the 26,414-foot-tall Broad Peak Thursday in the Karakoram mountain range.

«The world has lost one of mountaineering’s greatest climbers,» Elite Exped, the company involved in the expedition, said in a statement, adding, «we mourn not only Nims, but every life lost in this tragedy.»

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The company added, «No words can ease the pain of this unimaginable loss.»

Purja had been leading the group up Broad Peak.

A Pakistani rescue team recovered three bodies on Friday, including American Sarah Mallory Geis, but had to temporarily halt the operation in the «remote and difficult» area due to weather conditions.

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The search resumed on Saturday and rescuers are attempting to recover the remaining seven bodies.

«The loss of these courageous climbers, who came from different nations united by their passion for the mountains, is an immeasurable loss to the global mountaineering fraternity,» Irfan Arshad Khan, the president of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, said.

The climbers were ascending Broad Peak, the world’s 12th tallest mountain in the Karakoram range of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. (AFP via Getty Images)

«The mountains inspire us with their beauty, but they also remind us of the immense risks faced by those who venture into the high Himalaya and Karakoram,» he added, thanking the military, Sherpas and civilians who took part in the rescue mission.

Along with Purja, who was British-Nepali, and Geis, the other climbers were from Pakistan, Nepal and China.

Purja was featured in the 2021 Netflix documentary «14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible» in which he attempted to summit the world’s 14 tallest mountains in seven months.

Nirmal Purja, one of the members of the all-Nepalese mountaineering team that became the first to scale Mount K2 in winter, gestures as the team arrives at Tribhuwan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Jan. 26, 2021. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

British Defense Minister Wes Streeting called Purja an «inspirational ​man who served in our Armed Forces for many years — and whose incredible mountaineering adventures are known the world over.»

The 43-year-old had served in the British army with the Gurkhas, Nepali soldiers recruited to serve with the U.K., and he later served in the British special forces.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.