INTERNACIONAL
A weakened Hezbollah leads some in Lebanon to talk of peace with Israel as US pushes sides together

Since Israel’s near annihilation of Hezbollah’s terror leadership, and the backing of the Trump administration, whose special envoy to Lebanon has made clear the U.S. goal of limiting the power and influence of the Iran-terror proxy, the winds of change are slowly blowing over Beirut.
«Thanks to Hezbollah being weakened and defeated after the war with Israel, we are finally in a position to have this conversation about peace with Israel,» Rami Naim, Lebanon affairs journalist and analyst for Jusoor News, told Fox News Digital. «In the past the intelligence investigated me and took me to jail because I said we want peace with Israel, but now I say it openly, yes, we want normalization, and yes, we want peace with Israel without fear.» Naim was personally attacked by Hezbollah last year for his outspoken views.
The weakening of Hezbollah, Iran’s proxy, and the election of Joseph Aoun as Lebanon’s president in January 2025, represents a turning point in the country’s political trajectory. After more than two years of political deadlock, Aoun’s election was seen as a victory for the anti-Hezbollah camp, and has seemingly made the shift in public opinion regarding peace with Israel more palatable.
LEBANON’S NEW PRESIDENT STRIKES A NATIONALISTIC TONE AMID REGIONAL SHIFTS, FURTHER WEAKENING OF HEZBOLLAH
An IDF information chart showing how it decimated the Hezbollah chain of command in recent strikes. (IDF Spokesman’s Unit)
Touting the U.S. president, Naim said, «We believe Trump will put things back on track and work toward peace, aiming for a major peace deal between Lebanon and Israel, which will require increased pressure on Iran.»
Interviews conducted by Jussor, a pan-Arab media outlet, have highlighted that many Lebanese citizens are now willing to consider normalization with Israel. One Lebanese man, interviewed on camera with his face showing, shared his hope: «I believe a day will come when there will be normalization with Israel. It will take time, but it will happen eventually.»
Another interviewee echoed similar sentiments: «Israel wants peace. They don’t want war. They are cleaning things up so war doesn’t happen, and we want peace too. We’re exhausted.»

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun meets with Morgan Ortagus, U.S. deputy special envoy for Middle East Peace, in Beirut on Feb. 7, 2025. (Lebanese Presidency/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Morgan Ortagus, U.S. deputy special envoy for Middle East Peace, has emphasized the necessity of disarming Hezbollah to stabilize Lebanon and pave the way for peace in the region.
In an interview with Al Arabiya earlier this month, she described Hezbollah as a «cancer» within Lebanon that must be removed for the country to have any hope of recovery. She said, «When you have cancer, you don’t treat part of the cancer in your body and let the rest of it grow and fester; you cut the cancer out.» Ortagus also criticized Iran for fueling regional instability and dragging Lebanon into conflicts it did not seek. She noted, «The government of Lebanon didn’t want to go to war with Israel. It was on Oct. 8, 2023, that Hezbollah and Iran decided to get into the war… people were forced into a war that nobody wanted to be in.»

Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike targeting a Hezbollah stronghold in a southern suburb of Beirut on Oct. 22. (Fadel Itani/AFP via Getty Images)
«We are grateful to our ally Israel for defeating Hezbollah,» Ortagus said at a news conference in Beirut’s southeastern suburb of Baabda after a meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, the Associated Press reported.
Naim said that while the public may be ready for peace, it is the Lebanese political elite that must take action. «We need America to keep pressure on Lebanon’s corrupt politicians, who have enabled Hezbollah to rebuild its military capabilities… These politicians must publicly endorse peace. It’s not just activists and journalists who should be saying it. The decision-makers must step forward.»
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The IDF says its «soldiers are continuing to conduct limited, localized, targeted raids in southern Lebanon, eliminating Hezbollah terrorists and dismantling terror infrastructure and weapons stockpiles both above and below ground.» (IDF Spokesman’s Unit)
Naim’s call for international intervention underscores the continued importance of U.S. influence in Lebanon’s political direction. «We have suffered under the Biden and Obama administrations, as well as those who have made compromises and deals with Iran behind our backs, disregarding our interests,» Naim said.
«During Trump’s first term, there was significant pressure on Iran, which had posed aggression in the region. However, when Trump left the White House, Iran rebuilt its capabilities and grew stronger. Now, we have big hopes for Trump’s second term. His return to the White House would change the equation. What makes us optimistic about Trump is that he fulfills his promises and conducts negotiations from a position of strength, not weakness.»
While there is growing support for peace with Israel, the issue of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon remains a significant hurdle. One man interviewed by Jussor News pointed out, «I believe the whole region is heading toward peace. But we have our demands – you can’t have 500,000 Palestinians living here, then the Israelis come make peace and normalization, and leave them all here with us.»

Commuters drive past a newly-installed billboard bearing the image of a Lebanese flag and a statement that reads in Arabic «Lebanon a new era,» on the road leading to Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International airport on April 10, 2025. (Joseph Eid/AFP via Getty Images)
Another woman told Jussor: «We are for peace in Lebanon. Not fighting other people’s wars which are not in Lebanon’s interests. Neutrality, as our patriarch said: enough already. We shouldn’t be looking for excuses or saying, ‘We want to liberate Palestine’ while we keep destroying Lebanon. The Palestinians told us, ‘Relax, we don’t need anything from you.’»
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«The Lebanese people are divided, but not into two equal parts,» said Naim. «The majority of the Lebanese people today are supportive of normalization and peace with Israel. This is no longer a taboo in Lebanon. Lebanese citizens can say today, ‘I am supportive of peace and normalization because I have suffered from these failed wars. The Israelis want peace, and we want peace. We want to live in peace. So it’s a win-win situation.’»
INTERNACIONAL
‘Biden effect’ hits the Senate: Wave of retirements clears path for younger Dems
The so-called «Biden effect» appears to be a factor in congressional longevity after Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin announced he would not seek re-election after nearly four decades in Congress.
In 2024, President Joe Biden was politically pushed out after a disastrous debate performance against President Donald Trump in favor of his decades-younger deputy, Kamala Harris.
Since then, several senators – mostly Democrats – and many above private-sector retirement age, have announced their retirement.
«This is fallout from the ‘Biden Effect,’» said Rutgers University political scientist Ross Baker. «It contaminated old Democrats.»
Durbin, 80, Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., 78, Tina Smith, D-Wis., 67, Gary Peters, D-Mich., 66, as well as Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., 83, all announced their exit in 2025.
Prior to Biden’s infamous debate, several 2024-cycle Democrats – now-former Sens. Benjamin Cardin of Maryland, 81, Tom Carper of Delaware, 78, Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, 74, and Democrat-turned-independent Joe Manchin of West Virginia, 77 – all declared their exits.
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Sen. Chuck Schumer, President Joe Biden and Sen. Dick Durbin are all considered subject to the «Biden effect.» (Getty)
Durbin’s seat has already been targeted by up-and-coming Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, 20 years his junior – who announced a bid shortly after he announced his retirement.
Of the members still seated in Congress, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., 74, is potentially facing a heated primary in 2028 from the likes of progressive star Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 35.
After Schumer faced intense backlash from his own party for ultimately supporting the GOP’s government funding bill earlier this month, Ocasio-Cortez’s name returned to the discussion as a young upstart potentially taking out the old guard.
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Schumer saw his worst polling within the Empire State in 20 years, according to a Siena College survey, with the Brooklynite 10 points underwater following the funding bill debacle.
Meanwhile, Ocasio-Cortez’s favorables are 47-33 in New York, up about 10 points from 2021.

Sen. Dick Durbin won’t run for re-election in 2026. (Getty Images)
A renewed push for older Democrats to pass the torch came when DNC vice chair David Hogg launched a project to recruit and bankroll primary opponents for older Democratic incumbents.
«Today’s party politics has an unwritten rule – if you win a seat, it’s yours for life. No one serious in your party will challenge you. That is a culture that we have to break,» Hogg, 25, wrote on his political website, Leaders We Deserve.
The oldest member of Congress – Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, at 91 – is the rare example of a lawmaker who has not been in the retirement discussion due to the «Biden effect» or any other phenomenon.
On the left, the same appeared to be true for Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who – though older than Biden – was contrasted with him on an energy and cognitive level throughout the campaign season.
Sanders has signaled he may seek to serve a fourth term in 2030, when he will be 89, according to the Burlington Free Press. «Friends of Bernie Sanders» has already been listed on a Federal Election Commission filing for the 2030 sweeps.
McConnell, the former Republican leader, has stepped aside from leadership and was replaced by Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., nearly 20 years younger.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on Nov. 19, 2024. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
During a 2024 press availability, McConnell appeared to freeze up while speaking, though staffers later suggested he was fine. He has also announced his retirement after 40 years in the Senate.
Rep. Andy Barr, 51, and former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, 39, jumped into the fray to succeed the octogenarian Republican.
Of the oldest sitting senators not yet mentioned, Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, will be 82 by his 2026 potential re-election bid. Fox News Digital reached out for comment from the Gem State senator.
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On the flip side, even some of the youngest Senate Democrats are seeing their re-election prospects heavily challenged.
Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., is facing potential Republican challengers in what is now a swing state.
While none have declared their candidacy, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene – who would have the stated backing of President Donald Trump – as well as Rep. Earl «Buddy» Carter and Gov. Brian Kemp are all said to be formidable potential rivals, according to several reports.
Fox News Digital reached out to a representative for Biden for comment on the moniker «the Biden effect.»
Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser and Chad Pergram contributed to this report.
Politics,Senate Democrats,Elections,Chuck Schumer,Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez,Biden Pushed Out
INTERNACIONAL
Quién fue Urbano VII, el papa que duró apenas 13 días en el Vaticano

Giovanni Battista Castagna, elegido Papa con el nombre de Urbano VII, ocupa un lugar singular en los anales de la Iglesia Católica, principalmente por la extraordinaria brevedad de su pontificado, reconocido como el más corto en la historia. Nacido en Roma el 4 de agosto de 1521, su vida culminó el 27 de septiembre de 1590, apenas trece días después de su elección.
La causa de su prematura muerte fue la malaria, una enfermedad que truncó abruptamente un reinado que apenas comenzaba.
Su breve paso por el trono de San Pedro marcó un capítulo singular en la historia del Vaticano, no solo por la duración de su mandato, sino también por el contexto y los desafíos que enfrentaba la cristiandad en ese momento.
Su elección se produjo en un momento de transición, tras el fallecimiento del Papa Sixto V el 27 de agosto de 1590, un pontífice de gran influencia pero también de carácter severo. La elección de Castagna fue recibida con esperanza, anticipando un estilo de liderazgo diferente.
Castagna provenía de una familia noble, lo que le permitió acceder a una educación privilegiada. Desde joven, mostró un interés particular por el derecho civil y canónico, disciplinas en las que se doctoró en la Universidad de Bolonia. Este sólido trasfondo académico marcó el inicio de una carrera eclesiástica que lo llevaría a ocupar diversos cargos de relevancia antes de ser elegido papa.
Enrique García Hernán, de la Real Academia de la Historia y el Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), relató en su texto “Hispania Sacra” que el comienzo de Castagna fue notable. Su primer puesto importante fue como auditor para su tío, el cardenal Girolamo Verallo, lo que le permitió adquirir experiencia en la administración eclesiástica.
En 1553, fue nombrado arzobispo de Rossano, y dos años después asumió el cargo de gobernador de Fano. Posteriormente, ocupó posiciones similares en Perugia y Umbría, consolidando su reputación como un administrador competente y un hombre de fe. A lo largo de su carrera, desempeñó roles clave en diferentes regiones de Europa. Entre 1562 y 1563, actuó como legado pontificio de Pío IV, y en 1577 fue designado nuncio en Venecia.
En 1583, se convirtió en cardenal presbítero de San Marcelo, y un año después asumió el cargo de legado papal en Bolonia. Estas responsabilidades no solo le otorgaron reconocimiento dentro de la Iglesia, sino que también lo posicionaron como un candidato viable para el papado tras la muerte de Sixto V en 1590.
El cónclave que lo eligió como papa comenzó el 7 de septiembre de 1590 y contó con la participación de 54 cardenales. Siete días después, el 15 de septiembre, Castagna fue elegido como el nuevo pontífice, adoptando el nombre de Urbano VII. Sin embargo, su mandato se vio truncado por su fallecimiento el 27 de septiembre, debido a la malaria, una enfermedad que ya había debilitado su salud previamente.

La elección de Urbano VII ocurrió en un período de gran complejidad para la Iglesia Católica. A finales del siglo XVI, la Contrarreforma estaba en pleno apogeo, y el papado enfrentaba tensiones tanto internas como externas. Las disputas doctrinales y políticas derivadas de la Reforma Protestante habían generado divisiones significativas en Europa, y la Iglesia buscaba reafirmar su autoridad en medio de este panorama.
Durante los 13 días que ocupó el trono de San Pedro, Urbano VII intentó implementar algunas reformas, aunque su tiempo fue demasiado breve para lograr cambios significativos. Según sus biografías, su enfoque se centró en combatir la corrupción dentro de la Iglesia y en mejorar la moralidad del clero. Además, mostró un interés genuino por abordar los problemas sociales de Roma, como la pobreza y la falta de recursos, aunque las limitaciones de tiempo y salud impidieron que sus iniciativas avanzaran.
El legado de Urbano VII también se destaca por su carácter conciliador y su compromiso con la paz. Su elección como papa fue vista como un intento de los cardenales de encontrar un líder capaz de unir a la Iglesia en un momento de crisis. Aunque su mandato fue breve, su enfoque en la reforma y la reconciliación dejó una impresión duradera en la comunidad católica.
Su muerte, el 27 de septiembre de 1590, sorprendió tanto a los cardenales como a los ciudadanos de Roma dejando un vacío en la dirección de la Iglesia, lo que llevó a la convocatoria de un nuevo cónclave para elegir a su sucesor. A pesar de su corta duración como papa, su figura fue recordada como un símbolo de esperanza y renovación en un momento de gran incertidumbre.
La figura de Urbano VII presenta una notable paradoja histórica: una vasta y distinguida carrera eclesiástica que lo preparó exhaustivamente para el papado, en agudo contraste con el tiempo mínimo que ocupó el cargo.

Urbano VII enfermó gravemente de malaria pocos días después de su elección. Algunas informaciones sugieren que contrajo la enfermedad a los dos o tres días de ser elegido. Se organizaron oraciones públicas y procesiones rogando por su recuperación. Durante su enfermedad, se confesaba y recibía la comunión diariamente. Falleció en Roma el 27 de septiembre de 1590, a la edad de 69 años. Murió antes de que pudiera celebrarse su coronación papal. Inicialmente fue enterrado en la Basílica de San Pedro (Basílica Vaticana). Posteriormente, sus restos fueron trasladados a la iglesia de Santa Maria sopra Minerva el 21 o 22 de septiembre de 1606, donde se erigió un monumento en su honor.
La muerte de Urbano VII por malaria, al igual que la de su predecesor Sixto V , pone de relieve los significativos riesgos para la salud asociados al entorno de Roma en esa época. La malaria, conocida como “fiebre romana”, era endémica, especialmente en áreas más bajas y húmedas como la zona del Vaticano. El hecho de que dos papas consecutivos sucumbieran a la misma enfermedad subraya los peligros ambientales a los que se enfrentaban incluso las figuras más poderosas.
Es revelador que Urbano VII expresara su deseo de trasladarse al Palacio del Quirinal, situado en una colina con fama de tener un “aire más puro”, pero permaneciera en el Vaticano. Según se informa, se le indicó que no era costumbre que el Papa fuera visto en la ciudad antes de su coronación. Su adhesión a esta costumbre, manteniéndolo en un lugar potencialmente menos saludable, pudo haber influido en su fatal desenlace.
El récord, actualmente, lo tiene Urbano VII con sus efímeros 13 días de papado. Sin embargo, existieron otros líderes que tuvieron un breve paso por el trono de San Pedro, estos son:
- Bonifacio VI: 10 de abril de 896 – 25 de abril de 896 (16 días).
- Celestino IV: 25 de octubre de 1241 – 10 de noviembre de 1241 (17 días).
- Teodoro II: Diciembre de 897 (20 días aproximadamente).
- Sisínio: 15 de enero de 708 – 4 de febrero de 708 (21 días).
- Marcelo II: 9 de abril de 1555 – 1 de mayo de 1555 (22 días).
- Dámaso II: 17 de julio de 1048 – 9 de agosto de 1048 (24 días).
- Pío III: 22 de septiembre de 1503 – 18 de octubre de 1503 (26 días).
- León XI: 1 de abril de 1605 – 27 de abril de 1605 (27 días).
- Benedicto V: 22 de mayo de 964 – 23 de junio de 964 (32 días).
- Juan Pablo I: 26 de agosto de 1978 – 28 de septiembre de 1978 (33 días)
El 23 de marzo de 752, Esteban II fue elegido como sucesor del papa San Zacarías. Sin embargo, su pontificado nunca llegó a consolidarse oficialmente. Apenas dos días después de su elección, el 25 de marzo, falleció repentinamente a causa de una apoplejía, sin haber sido consagrado como papa. Este hecho marcó un caso único en la historia de la Iglesia Católica, ya que no pudo llegar al acto que formaliza el inicio de un pontificado.
Según explicó Brittanica, la falta de consagración de Esteban II tuvo implicaciones significativas en su reconocimiento oficial como papa. El Liber Pontificalis, conocido como el “Libro de los Papas”, no incluyó su nombre en la lista oficial de pontífices.
Aunque inicialmente no fue considerado un papa legítimo, en el siglo XVI la Iglesia Católica decidió reconocer a Esteban II como un pontífice oficial. Sin embargo, esta decisión fue revertida durante el pontificado de Juan XXIII, quien reafirmó que su elección no cumplió con los requisitos necesarios para ser considerado un pontífice consagrado.
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INTERNACIONAL
Israel pauses as the Jewish state honors and remembers victims of the Holocaust

TEL AVIV – Israel came to a standstill as the entire country ground to a halt in memory of the 6 million Jews murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust.
Israel’s official state ceremony, held under the banner «Out of the Depths: The Pain of Liberation and Growth,» took place on Wednesday night, with a shadow still cast over the nation by the Oct. 7 massacre, the ongoing war against Hamas, and the 59 people, including Americans, still being held by Palestinian terrorists in Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu drew a connection between the Holocaust and the current threats facing Israel: «Eighty years ago, the Jewish people were defenseless. Today, we are no longer helpless. The State of Israel is strong, the IDF is strong, and we will do whatever is necessary to return our hostages and defeat our enemies,» he said.
«No decision, no resolution can prevent us from settling the score with these despicable, terrible barbarians, who are as bad as the Nazis, who kidnapped, murdered and raped our loved ones,» added Netanyahu, in reference to Hamas.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a ceremony marking Holocaust Remembrance Day at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem on April 23, 2025. (Menahem Kahana/AFP via Getty)
President Donald Trump issued a proclamation to mark the solemn occasion. «The price to humanity of the lives lost during the Shoah can never be fully grasped or understood. Yet, even in the wake of the Holocaust, a self-determined Jewish homeland rose from the ashes as the modern State of Israel,» he noted.
«Sadly, our nation has borne witness to the worst outbreak of antisemitism on American soil in generations. Nearly every day following the deadly October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, Jewish Americans were threatened on our streets and in our public square – a reminder that the poison of antisemitism tragically still exists,» he added.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog vowed during the country’s main remembrance event to never allow another genocide to be perpetrated against the Jewish people.

A group of Oct. 7 survivors and relatives of survivors and victims visits Auschwitz, ahead of Holocaust Remembrance Day on April 23, 2025, in Oswiecim, Poland. (Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images)
«From this mountain of memory, Yad Vashem, we declare: We will not forget, we will not forgive and we will not remain silent. Not in the face of Hamas, not in the face of Iran, and not in the face of those who wish us harm – whether with missiles, machetes, or lies,» he said.
During the event, Holocaust survivor Gad Fartouk, 93, lit one of six memorial torches, before reciting a prayer: «May all the hostages come home soon. Amen.»
Herzog on Thursday traveled to Poland to lead the March of the Living at the former Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp. This year, 80 survivors aged 80 to 97, many of whom were liberated from Nazi death camps, were joined by an Israeli delegation of 10 freed hostages.
«We will never forget or forgive the horrors of the Holocaust. Yet every representative who has come here from the Oct. 7 delegation is a triumph of light for the Jewish people, and a reminder that the Jewish people will exist for eternity,» said former captive Eli Sharabi, who is marching in memory of his brother Yossi, whose body is still being held in Gaza.
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The gates of the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz, Poland, circa 1965. The sign above, «Arbeit Macht Frei,» means «Work Makes You Free.» (Keystone/GettyImages)
«The Jewish people sanctify life, not death. We come here with the hope that the covenant between the state and its citizens will be honored – that all the hostages will return, both the living to their homes and the fallen to a proper burial,» he added.
Also participating were family members of those murdered or still held captive, as well as relatives who have lost loved ones during the 18-month-long war.
Among the other participants was Merrill Eisenhower Atwater, great-grandson of Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, who led the Allied push to liberate Europe. This year’s March paid special tribute to the Allied forces who liberated the Nazi camps 80 years ago.
Approximately 120,000 Holocaust survivors who immigrated to Israel remain alive, according to official data, with around 13,000 others having died in the past year. Some 2,500 survivors were impacted by Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks, with most having been evacuated to safety from their homes.
An estimated 220,800 Holocaust survivors are still living in 90 countries across the globe.
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Holocaust survivor George Shefi, from Berlin, and his granddaughter, Dana Elan, point to his mother’s name in the Book of Names, listing victims of the Holocaust, at Auschwitz on April 23, 2025 in Oswiecim, Poland. (Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images)
A recent report titled «Vanishing Witnesses: An Urgent Analysis of the Declining Population of Holocaust Survivors,» projects that just half of these survivors will be living in six years, with just 30%, or about 66,250, remaining in 2035. By 2040, just 22,080 survivors will remain.
Established in 1951, Yom Hashoah is observed annually in Israel on the 27th day of the Hebrew calendar month of Nissan, falling some time in April or May, with ceremonies, programs and survivor testimonies taking place across Jewish communities worldwide.
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