EXCLUSIVE: Dr. Janette Nesheiwat has taken on a new role working at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center caring for members of the U.S. military and veterans, a job she says is a «profound honor.»

Nesheiwat, a former Fox News contributor who was previously nominated for U.S. surgeon general, told Fox News Digital she is specifically treating government and military personnel suffering with anomalous health incidents — also known as Havana Syndrome.

Nesheiwat told Fox News Digital she is helping to manage care for patients including intelligence officials, diplomats and military members and their families who are suffering with complex neurological and vestibular symptoms.

Havana Syndrome is often described as unexplained neurological symptoms suffered by U.S. officials and their families overseas. Officials have suggested the symptoms could be caused by a hostile foreign actor using weapons, but the direct cause is currently under investigation by U.S. intelligence agencies and congressional committees. A definitive conclusion has not yet been reached.

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«It’s a profound honor to care for our nation’s soldiers and veterans at Walter Reed and the VA; many returning from the front lines with traumatic brain injuries, blast exposures and complex neurological symptoms,» Nesheiwat told Fox News Digital.

Nesheiwat told Fox News Digital that it is the mission of Walter Reed and the VA to «provide comprehensive, compassionate, evidence-based care that helps patients heal, recover function, and return to the highest level of wellness possible.»

«It is an honor being part of a team dedicated to helping our brave service men and women heal and regain hope after sacrificing so much for our great country,» Nesheiwat told Fox News Digital.

Nesheiwat told Fox News Digital that «service and sacrifice run deep in my family.» 

«Several members of my family are veterans of the Korean War, the Afghanistan War and Iraq War,» she said. «Their example, along with many others, gave me a deep respect for our military and makes caring for soldiers and veterans at Walter Reed and in the emergency room especially meaningful this Memorial Day weekend.» 

Nesheiwat, a double-board certified physician in both family medicine and urgent care medicine, also volunteers in the emergency room at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Nesheiwat graduated from both the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine and the family medicine residency program at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, where she was selected to serve as chief resident. 

Part of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) in Washington, D.C., circa 1960. (Harvey Meston/Archive Photos/Getty Images)

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Nesheiwat, a daughter of Jordanian immigrants, led frontline medical teams during the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City, along with her past work managing public health responses during flu epidemics, the opioid crisis, the monkeypox outbreak and other major health challenges. 

She also was named the first female medical director for CityMD in Manhattan — one of America’s largest urgent care systems. 

Nesheiwat was previously nominated to serve as U.S. Surgeon General. Her nomination was withdrawn amid a difference in ideology on her pro-vaccine stance. 

President Trump nominated Dr. Janette Nesheiwat as U.S. Surgeon General. (White House Photographers Office)

A source familiar told Fox News Digital that Nesheiwat has initiated legal action against media outlets that have mischaracterized her background. 

Upon the withdrawal of her nomination, Nesheiwat said she was «looking forward» to continuing to support Trump while working closely with the Trump administration «in a senior policy role.» 

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«My focus continues to be on improving the health and well-being of all Americans, and that mission hasn’t changed,» Nesheiwat said at the time. 

She is the sister-in-law of U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Michael Waltz.

Casey Means was nominated to serve as U.S. Surgeon General after Nesheiwat’s nomination was withdrawn. Means’ nomination was recently withdrawn, and Trump instead nominated now-former Fox News contributor Dr. Nicole Saphier. 

El papa León XIV publicará este lunes su primera encíclica, Magnifica Humanitas (“Magnífica Humanidad”), un documento centrado en las cuestiones éticas que plantea la inteligencia artificial, en línea con una larga tradición de pontífices que fijaron posición ante transformaciones científicas, sociales y tecnológicas.

La encíclica será la primera de su pontificado, una suerte de manifiesto con el que los papas suelen pronunciarse sobre grandes temas de su tiempo.

Con este texto, León XIV se sumará a una tradición que atraviesa más de un siglo y en la que distintos pontífices intervinieron frente a cambios de gran impacto, desde la Revolución Industrial hasta la expansión de internet y las redes sociales.

La primera gran respuesta estructurada de la Iglesia ante una transformación tecnológica llegó a fines del siglo XIX. En 1891, en plena Revolución Industrial, León XIII publicó la encíclica Rerum Novarum (“De las cosas nuevas”).

Frente a la urbanización acelerada, el crecimiento de las fábricas y la precariedad creciente del proletariado, el papa buscó proponer un camino entre el capitalismo liberal y el socialismo revolucionario. El documento defendió tanto la propiedad privada como los derechos de los trabajadores, en particular su capacidad de organizarse colectivamente. La encíclica sentó además las bases de una doctrina social católica construida sobre principios como la dignidad de la persona, la solidaridad y el bien común.

Poco después de su elección en mayo de 2025, León XIV explicó que eligió su nombre en referencia a León XIII y a esa doctrina. Su nueva encíclica, además, fue firmada el 15 de mayo, exactamente 135 años después de Rerum Novarum.

En el siglo XX, la Iglesia enfrentó otra revolución: el auge de los medios de comunicación masivos. A mediados del siglo pasado, la expansión de la prensa, la radio, el cine y la televisión transformó profundamente la circulación de la información.

En ese contexto, el Concilio Vaticano II (1962-1965), una etapa de reformas y apertura dentro de la Iglesia, adoptó en 1963 el decreto Inter Mirifica (“Entre las cosas maravillosas”). Por primera vez, esos nuevos medios fueron considerados una cuestión central de la vida social y cultural. La Iglesia reconoció su papel en la formación de la opinión pública y reclamó un uso responsable, tanto por parte de quienes producen contenidos como de las audiencias.

El texto insistió además en la necesidad de contar con información confiable y completa, y pidió evitar cualquier “daño espiritual”.

Ese documento marcó un cambio importante dentro del Vaticano: en lugar de mantenerse a distancia, la Iglesia optó por involucrarse en esos nuevos espacios y alentó, entre otras iniciativas, la creación de medios católicos.

Ese mismo año, otro escenario de crisis global llevó al papado a pronunciarse sobre la amenaza nuclear.

Publicada en abril de 1963, pocos meses después de la Crisis de los Misiles en Cuba de octubre de 1962, la encíclica Pacem in Terris (“Paz en la Tierra”), de Juan XXIII, apareció en un momento en que el mundo estaba al borde de una guerra nuclear.

En nombre de la “justicia… la recta razón y la consideración de la dignidad y de la vida humanas”, el pontífice pidió el fin de la carrera armamentista entre Estados Unidos y la Unión Soviética. El documento sostuvo además que “las armas nucleares deben ser prohibidas. Debe alcanzarse un acuerdo general sobre un programa adecuado de desarme, con un sistema eficaz de control mutuo”.

Décadas más tarde, la informática e internet abrieron una nueva etapa de transformación.

Desde la década de 1990, la digitalización de los intercambios y la aparición de una esfera pública global marcaron una nueva fase, en la que el Vaticano volvió a intervenir. Juan Pablo II consideró internet un medio inédito de comunicación y difusión. La Iglesia alentó una presencia activa en línea, aunque al mismo tiempo pidió un uso responsable.

Benedicto XVI profundizó esa reflexión y subrayó riesgos propios del mundo digital, como la fragmentación de las relaciones, el predominio de la inmediatez y la dificultad para distinguir información confiable.

Con el auge de las redes sociales, el Vaticano también advirtió sobre la polarización del debate y la difusión de contenidos engañosos, especialmente durante el pontificado de Francisco (2013-2025).

Con la encíclica Laudato Si’ (“Alabado seas”), publicada en 2015, el papa argentino también criticó los excesos de un modelo tecnocrático y económico considerado responsable de la crisis ecológica.

Con Magnifica Humanitas, León XIV volverá a fijar posición sobre una transformación tecnológica de alcance global, esta vez centrada en las cuestiones éticas que plantea la inteligencia artificial, en continuidad con una tradición papal de intervención ante los grandes cambios de cada época.

(Con información de AFP)

EXCLUSIVE: Bishop Robert Barron said he has been urging Catholics on the left to stop the «demonization» of the Trump administration, even when it comes to highly contentious issues such as immigration and border security.

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Barron, arguably the most prominent Catholic prelate in America, said that despite criticism within the church of the administration’s immigration policy, «there are darn good reasons, moral reasons, for being concerned about an open border.»

«I don’t think it’s fair to say to a conservative, to a Republican, you’re just being difficult and anti-humanitarian,» he said, adding that «at times, the Catholic left is great for calling for dialogue and bridge-building — until it comes to conservatives.»

He said that for many Catholics on the left, «when it comes to conservatives, just tell them what they should be doing and saying.»

«No, no, let’s build bridges of conversation. That’s a role the Church can play,» he said. «What I don’t want from the church is a kind of demonization of the Trump administration.»

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«If there are points of disagreement, whether it’s immigration or it’s the [Iran] war or whatever, let’s talk about it, let’s talk.»

Barron said he has been trying to encourage dialogue on both the immigration and Iran issues. Though he admitted he has «not always met with success, frankly, from the ecclesial side.»

Despite this, Barron said he «would like those conversations to continue.»

The bishop revealed he was deeply moved by a passionate appeal for stricter border security from border czar Tom Homan during a recent White House call. He said he was participating in it as part of his work on President Donald Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission.

Barron said Homan, who he noted is a Catholic, «spoke with great passion… and he said he’s come out of retirement twice to engage this issue.»

«Why? He said that because he’s seen the terrible destruction caused by an open border. And he was talking about, especially human trafficking, the human trafficking of children, the disappearance of children we’ve lost track of completely in this process.»

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White House border czar Tom Homan holds a press conference along the border wall between San Diego, Calif., and Tijuana, Mexico, on Dec. 13, 2025, to announce increased security on the southwest border. (Reuters/Mike Blake)

«He was saying, we can’t simply fall for the simplistic view that an open border is humanitarian, that an open border is kind to the stranger… an open border also produces enormous moral problems,» said Barron.

«You could tell that it was affecting him very deeply, very personally,» he said. «I found that very moving.»

«It’s not just, well, the bad guy, Republicans, who want to enforce immigration laws. It’s Republicans for very good moral reasons who want to enforce immigration law,» he said.

At the same time, Barron emphasized that there are «values on both sides» of the debate.

He said that even through Trump’s feud with Pope Leo XIV, he has encouraged real dialogue and conversation between the Vatican and Washington. He said he has met with «a lot of Catholics inside the Trump administration who are interested in bringing the church’s teaching to bear.»

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Pope Leo XIV met with Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Vatican City; Rubio has been lauded by President Donald Trump as someone who is able to bridge gaps in diplomatic relations unlike any other. (Vatican Media/Vatican Pool/Getty Images)

He posited that «part of the problem in the Trump-pope battle was that the president was treating the pope too much as a politician.»

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«Popes, I think, are supposed to use the moral structure of the church’s teaching to move prudential judgment in the right direction,» he explained. «Now what’s a president’s responsibility? His responsibility is to make those prudential judgments.«

«Now here’s what I recommend: I think the leading Catholics inside the Trump administration, I mean people like JD Vance, like Marco Rubio, like Brian Burch, the [Vatican] ambassador, should sit down with their counterparts in the Vatican and they should have a real conversation about this.

«The church provides a moral framework. Terrific. Now, let’s have a real conversation with those whose job it is to make that decision but have it conditioned by this moral framework, that would be more fruitful.»