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Lithuanian, Polish troops aid in ‘search and recovery’ for 4 missing US soldiers from Fort Stewart

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The Polish military has established a group to assist the Lithuanian Army and U.S. Army in a recovery operation for four U.S. Army soldiers who disappeared early Tuesday during a training exercise near Pabradė, Lithuania.

The soldiers, based in Fort Stewart in Georgia, were riding in an M88 Hercules armored recovery vehicle on a scheduled maintenance mission to recover another U.S. Army vehicle in the training area when they disappeared, U.S. Army Europe and Africa public affairs in Wiesbaden, Germany, confirmed.

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Hundreds of U.S. and Lithuanian soldiers and law enforcement, Lithuanian military helicopters and dive teams aided in the initial ground-based search through the thick forests and swampy terrain.

However, the soldiers have yet to be located, and the M88 Hercules was found submerged in a body of water inside the training area, located over a highly pressurized gas pipeline near Pabradė, a town north of the capital Vilnius.

Lithuanian engineers and U.S. Army soldiers pump water from a swamp to recover an Army M88 Hercules armored vehicle Thursday near Pabradė, Lithuania. (Lithuanian Armed Forces)

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BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS MISSING AND MURDERED UNIT INVESTIGATING ALLEGED MILITARY BASE KILLING

In an interview with Fox News Digital Thursday afternoon, Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovilė Šakalienė said from the moment the country learned of the incident, it had «given everything» it has, both from its armed forces and internal affairs ministry institutions, to find the soldiers.

«From helicopters with thermal vision to forces on the ground, we are continuing very intensely,» Šakalienė said.

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U.S. Army Europe and Africa public affairs noted water, thick mud and soft ground around the site «have complicated recovery efforts,» requiring specialized equipment to drain water from the side and stabilize the ground. 

Polish officials announced Thursday they were sending a group of troops with engineering equipment to assist.

As of Thursday afternoon, officials said land dredging equipment was on the way, and a dam was being reinforced to isolate the mud pumping area. 

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The pressurized gas has been removed, and it is now safe to work at the site, according to Šakalienė.

recovery efforts in lithuania

Recovery efforts continued Thursday for four missing U.S. soldiers near the spot where their Hercules armored vehicle was found submerged at a training range in Pabradė, Lithuania. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

The internal water waste agency will send out a water master dredger and more than 900 feet of bulk pipe on Friday morning, and they should reach the the location by midday. 

It will take several hours to install the pipeline and the dredgers. Then, they will begin making water influx with the excavator.

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«The dredger pump usually pumps 80% of water, while working with 20% of mud or sludge, and the goal is to start working with the pump until the evening, so that, finally, on Saturday morning, a diver and the hydrographic team can use a multi-beam echo founder to assess the position of the vehicle, because we don’t know yet if it has overturned or what position it is in,» Šakalienė said.

Recovery Efforts Continue at Site of Submerged Vehicle in Search for Missing Soldiers

Lithuanian military and law enforcement personnel observe recovery efforts as an excavator gathers soil Wednesday near Pabradė, Lithuania, where a search and recovery effort is underway for four missing U.S. Army soldiers. (Lithuanian Armed Forces)

A diver will attach cables, and workers will use pulleys to tow the vehicle to shore.

«Then we will be able to check if the missing soldiers are inside,» she said. 

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Šakalienė said it is unknown if the soldiers could have escaped the vehicle before it sank but reiterated there was «no evidence» confirming the deaths of the missing soldiers as of Thursday afternoon.

FOREIGN NATIONALS FLYING DRONES OVER US MILITARY SITES RAISES ‘ESPIONAGE’ CONCERN: EXPERT

The area surrounding the site is a forested area with swamps and bogs, similar to an environment found in Alaska. Weather conditions are also similar, making it a challenging training area for Army personnel.

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«Maybe they were lost, confused, hurt or in hypothermic condition, and we haven’t found them yet,» Šakalienė said. «But we are not losing hope until the very last moment. These are strong soldiers, strong, grown men. All scenarios are possible.»

Pabradė

Soldiers walk along a road near a training range in Pabradė, Lithuania, Thursday. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

She added Lithuania, a member of NATO, considers American soldiers their own and will not leave them behind.

«We are working with them. We are friends with them, and all of our society is heartbroken watching every single moment of this rescue operation,» Šakalienė said. «I have a 24-year-old son. It’s difficult for me even to imagine what they are going through. … Let me assure you, we will do everything in our power to find them and to find the answers as soon as possible.»

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SEARCH ‘ONGOING’ FOR 4 AMERICAN SOLDIERS MISSING FROM TRAINING AREA IN LITHUANIA: NATO

Deputy Prime Minister of Poland Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz confirmed on X a task force of several dozen Polish soldiers with heavy equipment and frogmen were «urgently» heading to Lithuania to help.

«We are responding to a request from our allies #StrongerTogether,» Kosiniak-Kamysz wrote in the post.

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The country, also a member of NATO, has reportedly feared talks between Russia and Ukraine could end in a settlement that would allow Russian President Vladimir Putin to threaten the region.

u.s. soldiers in lithuania

U.S. soldiers gather near military and other vehicles parked at a training range in Pabradė, Lithuania, Thursday.  (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

Lithuanian officials said they are in touch with U.S. Ambassador Kara C. McDonald and U.S. Army personnel.

«We are leveraging every available U.S. and Lithuanian asset to coordinate and provide the required resources for this effort,» U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Curtis Taylor, the commanding general of 1st Armored Division, wrote in a statement.

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The rescue mission has now turned into «search and recovery efforts,» according to a statement from U.S. Army Europe and Africa.

«We are incredibly appreciative of the dedicated and professional efforts of our Lithuanian allies in ensuring the safety of U.S. personnel,» Taylor added. «They have worked tirelessly alongside us over the last 48 hours, and we continue to be grateful for their support.» 

search in Pabradė

Recovery efforts continued Thursday for four missing U.S. soldiers near the spot where their Hercules armored vehicle was found submerged at a training range in Pabradė, Lithuania. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

The U.S. Army’s 3rd Infantry Division is keeping the soliders’ families updated on the search.

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«This tragic situation weighs heavily on all of us, and we’re keeping the families, friends and teammates of our soldiers and recovery team in our thoughts and prayers,» Taylor wrote. «We want everyone to know we will not stop until our soldiers are found.»

President Donald Trump told reporters Wednesday he had not been briefed about the missing soldiers.

The training site is less than 6 miles from Belarus, a Russian ally since its independence from the Soviet Union in 1990.

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military equipment in Pabradė

Military road equipment at a training range in Pabradė, Lithuania, Thursday.  (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

Lithuania, a Catholic country, will be organizing a joint prayer Sunday at its main church, the capital cathedral, and will host a mass for the missing soldiers.

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The White House and Fort Stewart did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

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The Associated Press and Fox News Digital’s Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.


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Hunter Biden says father was on Ambien before disastrous debate, defends painting sales

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Former first son Hunter Biden disclosed his father was on an anti-insomnia prescription ahead of his disastrous 2024 debate that may have affected his command of the stage that evening.

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Biden said former President Joe Biden had taken Ambien, a gamma-aminobutyric acid enhancer similar to benzodiazepines, to help him sleep better amid his grueling schedule and advanced age.

He criticized several members of former President Barack Obama’s inner circle for continually doubting his father, saying that the 2024 State of the Union was a make-or-break moment that the elder Biden «knock[ed] out of the park.»

The debate, he said, was the next test his father was given by Democratic elders to see if he should run for reelection.

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HUNTER BIDEN RAGES AGAINST F—ING THUG TRUMP, INVOKES KKK IN IMMIGRATION RANT

Joe Biden, left, Hunter Biden, right (Getty)

«I know exactly what happened in that debate. He flew around the world, basically, the mileage that he could have flown around the world, three times. He’s 81 years old. He’s tired as s—. They give him Ambien to be able to sleep,» he said.

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«He gets up on the stage. And he looks like he’s a deer in the headlights. And it feeds into every f—ing story that anybody wants to tell,» Hunter went on, adding that CNN anchor Jake Tapper’s book relied on several anonymous sources for his related expose because in reality no one had spoken out against Joe.

«If this was a conspiracy… somehow the entirety of a White House in which you’re literally living on top of each other has kept their mouth shut about you now, like what? And what’s the conspiracy? Did Joe Biden get old? Yeah, he got old. He got old before our eyes. The people that came out against him were who — nobody — except Speaker Emerita Pelosi did not give a full-throated endorsement, which allowed everybody else to kind of go, ‘OK.’

«Who came out full-throated? Progressives. AOC, Bernie, the entire progressive wing, [Silicon Valley Congressman] Ro Khanna. The entirety of the progressive side of the Democratic Party said Joe Biden has got more of our agenda accomplished in four years than any president in history. The largest investment into climate change in history, just that alone. And so he gets over the hump. He goes and does Stephanopoulos, and everybody said that’s not enough…»

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Earlier in the interview, with Delaware Valley podcaster Andrew Callaghan, Hunter savaged Obama’s inner circle, mocking the hosts of «Pod Save America» — made up of his then-youthful close aides — as «Saviors of the Democratic Party.»

DNC VICE CHAIR COMPARES TRUMP TO NOTORIOUS SEGREGATIONISTS DURING HEATED TOWN HALL EVENT WITH BETO O’ROURKE

«[They’re] White millionaires that are dining out on their association with Barack Obama from 16 years ago living in Beverly f—ing Hills telling the rest of the world what Black voters in South Carolina really want or what the waitress living outside of Green Bay, Wisconsin [want].

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«I hear Rahm Emanuel’s going to run for president,» he added incredulously. «I think David Axelrod is going to run his campaign for him… there’s a f—ing answer; geniuses all.»

Hunter also disputed claims his father had been the unanimous choice of Democrats in 2020.

«Bull—-. We lost Iowa. We lost New Hampshire. We came in second in Nevada. David Plouffe and David Axelrod went on TV. They said that there’s no way Joe Biden can get the nomination, not a chance in the world. Mike Bloomberg’s gonna crush him in California. Elizabeth Warren’s gonna beat him in Massachusetts… A lot of rural voters said, ‘F— you, we love Joe.’ A lot urban voters said, ‘F— you. We love Joe.’ And they voted for him overwhelmingly,» he said.

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He later defended himself against allegations about his decision to market paintings, saying they were a pastime that «saved him» from his vices.

«They accused me of crimes for painting. Not that I couldn’t sell my paintings, but that it was a clear conspiracy to launder money and to curry influence by selling acrylic on canvas — through this abstract painting by Hunter Biden,» he said.

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«All of a sudden, the Iranians are going to change their nuclear weapons program. It’s such f—ing insane bull—-. Meanwhile, these mother f—ers are selling gold telephones and sneakers and $2 billion investments in golf courses and selling tickets to the White House for investment into their memecoin.

«If you believe the worst possible thing that they’ve ever said about me [in terms of influence peddling] — what they are openly doing, they’re openly doing. And nobody’s batting an eye. Don Jr. is opening a club called the Executive Club in Georgetown in which it is promised that you will be able to rub shoulders at the cost of a $500,000 initiation fee with… people and decisionmakers in the cabinet of his father.»

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment, as well as a representative for former President Joe Biden in regard to the Ambien revelation.

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«Derrúmbela», le dijeron, pero él siguió construyendo

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La estructura se tambalea sobre campos de hierba que llegan hasta las rodillas, con el aspecto de una mezcla entre una tienda de campaña y un pastel de bodas gigante. Once pisos de habitaciones de madera roja oscura, que disminuyen de tamaño a medida que ascienden, se balancean unas sobre otras, aparentemente unidas únicamente por la maraña de cables que se extiende desde la cima hasta el suelo.

El interior no se siente menos precario. Los techos están apuntalados por postes de electricidad reutilizados. Regletas y cables cuelgan de vigas bajas. Baldes gigantes de agua de lluvia ayudan a soportar el peso de la estructura. Las escaleras caseras que conectan los pisos tienen ángulos pronunciados, a menudo sin pasamanos laterales.

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Chen Tianming, diseñador, constructor y residente de la torre de 43 años, no las necesita de todos modos. Subió con cuidado por las escaleras, pasando el rincón de lectura del quinto piso y el salón de té al aire libre del sexto.

Desde el noveno piso, observó a lo lejos los robustos y estandarizados edificios de apartamentos donde viven sus vecinos.

Chen Tianming y su destartalada casa de varios pisos en Xingyi, China. (Andrea Verdelli/The New York Times)

“Dicen que la casa está en ruinas, que el viento podría derribarla en cualquier momento”, comentó, una observación que no me pareció del todo descabellada cuando lo visité el mes pasado.

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“Pero la ventaja es que es llamativa, un poco llamativa. La gente la admira”, añadió. “Otros gastan millones y nadie va a ver sus casas”.

La casa de Chen es tan inusual que ha atraído a curiosos e incluso turistas a su rincón rural de la provincia de Guizhou, en el suroeste de China. Evoca un dibujo del Dr. Seuss o la Madriguera de “Harry Potter”. Muchas personas en las redes sociales chinas la han comparado con “El castillo ambulante”.

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Para el observador casual, la casa puede ser un mero espectáculo, una rareza frankensteiniana.

Para Chen, es un monumento a su determinación de vivir donde y como quiere, desafiando al gobierno local, a los vecinos chismosos e incluso, aparentemente, al sentido común.

Comenzó a reformar la casa familiar en 2018, cuando las autoridades de la ciudad de Xingyi ordenaron la demolición de su pueblo para construir un complejo turístico. Los padres de Chen, agricultores que construyeron la casa en la década de 1980, consideraron que la compensación que ofrecían los funcionarios era demasiado baja y se negaron a irse.

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La madre de Chen Tianming ve la televisión en el primer piso de su casa en Xingyi. Foto: Andrea Verdelli/The New York TimesLa madre de Chen Tianming ve la televisión en el primer piso de su casa en Xingyi. Foto: Andrea Verdelli/The New York Times

Cuando las excavadoras empezaron a arrasar sus granados, Chen se apresuró a regresar a casa desde Hangzhou, la ciudad oriental donde trabajaba como mensajero.

Junto con su hermano, Chen Tianliang, comenzó a construir una tercera planta. Al principio, la motivación fue en parte práctica: la compensación se determinaba por metros cuadrados, y si la casa tenía más plantas, tendrían derecho a más dinero.

Visitaron un mercado de materiales de construcción de segunda mano y compraron viejos postes de electricidad y tableros compuestos rojos (más baratos que los negros) y los ensamblaron con martillos, tornillos y muescas para formar tablas de suelo, paredes y columnas de soporte.

Entonces, Chen, quien desde hacía tiempo tenía un interés amateur por la arquitectura, se preguntó cómo sería añadir un cuarto piso. Su hermano y sus padres pensaron que no era necesario, así que Chen lo hizo solo. Luego, se planteó la posibilidad de un quinto. Y un sexto.

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«De repente, quise desafiarme a mí mismo», dijo. «Y cada vez que completaba mi pequeña tarea o sueño, sentía que tenía sentido».

También lo alimentaba el resentimiento hacia el gobierno, que no dejaba de enviarle órdenes de demolición y funcionarios para presionar a su familia. Para entonces, su casa era prácticamente la única que quedaba en los alrededores; sus vecinos se habían mudado a los nuevos edificios de apartamentos a unos 5 kilómetros de distancia. (Las autoridades locales han afirmado a los medios chinos que la construcción es ilegal).

Las expropiaciones masivas de tierras, a veces por la fuerza, han sido un fenómeno generalizado en China durante décadas en medio del impulso de modernización del país. Las casas de quienes logran resistir a veces se llaman «casas clavo», por cómo sobresalen como clavos después de que se ha desalojado el área circundante.

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Aun así, pocos destacan tanto como el de Chen.

Chen, quien había estudiado matemáticas y abandonó la universidad porque consideraba que la educación superior no tenía sentido, pasó años yendo y viniendo de una ciudad a otra, trabajando como vendedor de caligrafía, agente de seguros y mensajero. Pero anhelaba un estilo de vida más rural, comentó. Cuando regresó al pueblo en 2018 para ayudar a sus padres a defenderse de los promotores inmobiliarios, decidió quedarse.

Un mercado de productos agrícolas entre los rascacielos residenciales a los que se mudaron los vecinos de Chen. Foto: Andrea Verdelli/The New York TimesUn mercado de productos agrícolas entre los rascacielos residenciales a los que se mudaron los vecinos de Chen. Foto: Andrea Verdelli/The New York Times

«No quiero que mi casa se convierta en una ciudad. Me siento como el guardián del pueblo«, dijo mientras comía fideos con verduras de la huerta que su madre había salteado en su tradicional horno de ladrillo.

En los últimos años, la amenaza de demolición se ha vuelto menos inmediata. Chen presentó una demanda contra el gobierno local y los promotores, que aún está pendiente. En cualquier caso, el proyecto turístico propuesto se estancó después de que el gobierno local se quedara sin fondos. (Guizhou, una de las provincias más pobres y endeudadas de China, está plagada de proyectos turísticos extravagantes e inacabados).

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Pero Chen ha seguido construyendo. La casa es ahora una muestra en constante evolución de sus intereses y aficiones.

c.2025 The New York Times Company

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Federal judge blocks Trump administration from defunding some Planned Parenthood facilities

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A judge on Monday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from stripping some Medicaid funds from Planned Parenthood after Congress and President Donald Trump agreed to partially defund the nonprofit through passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

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Judge Indira Talwani of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts said in her order partially granting a preliminary injunction that the bill unconstitutionally punishes Planned Parenthood member organizations that do not provide abortions. 

The injunction will risk «at most minimal harm—financial or otherwise» to the Trump administration while the lawsuit proceeds, Talwani, an Obama appointee, wrote.

The judge’s order appears to apply to some but not all Planned Parenthood facilities. The nonprofit said in a statement that it viewed Talwani’s order as a partial win and remained «hopeful» that the judge would take further judicial action down the line.

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«This isn’t over,» the organization said. «While we’re grateful that the court recognized the harm caused by this law, we’re disappointed that not all members were granted the necessary relief today.»

SENATE PARLIAMENTARIAN OKS BAN ON PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERAL FUNDING IN TRUMP MEGABILL

Pro-life demonstrators gather in front of the Supreme Court building as the Court hears oral arguments over Medina vs Planned Parenthood in Washington D.C. (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)

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Talwani’s order arose from a lawsuit brought by Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider, over the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a massive budget bill that passed Congress this month with no Democrat support. Trump signed the bill into law on July 4.

A provision in the bill stripped Medicaid funding from Planned Parenthood, which the nonprofit said could force it to close about 200 of its 600 facilities and deprive about half of its customers, more than one million people, of services that do not include abortion.

Planned Parenthood attorneys noted in court filings that Medicaid typically does not cover abortion.

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JUDGE TORCHED FOR PLANNED PARENTHOOD ORDER: HER COURT LOOKS ‘LIKE A FAST FOOD DRIVE-THRU’

Planned Parenthood sign

A Planned Parenthood sign (ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)

The attorneys argued that the bill would cause cancer and sexually transmitted infections to go undetected, especially for low-income people, and that more unplanned pregnancies would occur because of a lack of contraception access. They said the consequences of losing Medicaid funding «will be grave.»

Department of Justice (DOJ) attorneys had previously argued in court filings that the purpose of the budget provision was to stop «federal subsidies for Big Abortion» by freezing federal funds for certain Medicaid recipients who provide abortions. Weakening Planned Parenthood has been one of the pro-life movement’s leading priorities since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

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Talwani granted a temporary restraining order two weeks ago in favor of Planned Parenthood. The judge initially offered no explanation for her decision, a move that led to widespread backlash among Republicans who described it as judicial overreach. Days later, Talwani offered more context in a subsequent order.

PLANNED PARENTHOOD USING ‘LOOPHOLE’ TO GET MINORS GENDER TRANSITIONS WITHOUT PARENTS’ OK: WATCHDOG

March for Life in 2023

Anti-abortion activists march across the National Mall near the U.S. Capitol during the 50th annual March for Life rally on January 20, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The preliminary injunction will partially leave in place the pause on defunding Planned Parenthood indefinitely, but the Trump administration is likely to appeal the order to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

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The judge noted that her injunction applied to Planned Parenthood entities that do not provide abortion services or receive less than $800,000 in annual Medicaid reimbursements.

DOJ attorneys had previously argued to the court that blocking a measure that was passed by Congress and signed by the president was an extraordinary move and unjustified.

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«Beyond the futility of the claims on the merits, Planned Parenthood fails to demonstrate imminent irreparable harm to justify an injunction, asserting only classically reparable economic injury and irrelevant potential harm to patients, who are third parties not before this Court,» DOJ attorneys wrote.

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