INTERNACIONAL
2 skiers killed in avalanche on popular Mont Blanc skiing route near French-Swiss border
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Two skiers were killed and another injured Sunday when an off-trail avalanche tore through a popular freeride route on the Italian side of the Mont Blanc massif near the French-Swiss border, officials said.
Three skiers were swept up in the Sunday morning slide along the Couloir Vesses, a well-known off-piste route in Courmayeur’s upper Val Veny, according to Italy’s Alpine Rescue, The Associated Press reported.
Search and rescue operations involved 15 rescuers, three canine units and two helicopters. One victim was transported to a hospital in serious condition but later died, the agency said.
Authorities said another person was partially buried in an avalanche in Trentino but was pulled to safety by companions.
LINDSEY VONN TRAINS WITH KNEE BRACE AFTER COMPLETELY RUPTURING ACL ONE WEEK BEFORE OLYMPIC RETURN
This handout image released by the Italian Alpine Rescue shows the avalanche that killed two men in the Couloir Vesses, a well-known freeride route in Courmayeur, in the upper Val Veny, northern Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (Italian Alpine Rescue via AP, HO)
The deadly slide comes amid a particularly dangerous stretch in the Italian Alps. Italy’s Alpine Rescue said last week that 13 backcountry skiers, climbers and hikers died in the Italian mountains in the week ending Feb. 8 – a record toll – with 10 of those deaths caused by avalanches linked to an unusually unstable snowpack.
Officials said recent storms have dumped fresh snow onto fragile underlying layers, while strong winds have created unstable drifts, producing hazardous conditions across the Alpine arc bordering France, Switzerland and Austria.
The main issue is caused by «persistent weak layers in the snowy cloak, often covered by fresh snow or wind, conditions that make detachments unpredictable and easily triggered even by the passing of a single skier or alpinist,» the National Alpine and Speleological Rescue Corps said. «The dangerous points are many and difficult to identify, even for an expert.»
LINDSEY VONN CRASHES IN WINTER OLYMPICS ALPINE SKI WOMEN’S DOWNHILL EVENT
Vigili del Fuoco crew members conducts a helicopter rescue over a snow-covered mountain area. (Vigili del Fuoco)
Federico Catania, a spokesperson for Italy’s Alpine Rescue Corps, said recent snowstorms have drawn visitors eager to take advantage of fresh slopes, «and as a result, the number of accidents, and therefore fatalities, has increased proportionally,» The AP reported.
Courmayeur, a town of roughly 2,900 residents, sits about 200 kilometers – or 124 miles – northwest of Milan, a host city for the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.
The incidents occurred as the Winter Olympics were kicking off in the region on Feb. 6.
AMERICAN SKIERS RESCUED AFTER GETTING LOST NEAR OLYMPIC VENUE IN THE ITALIAN ALPS
Two Vigili del Fuoco crew members stand inside a helicopter next to an open door during a snowy mountain operation. (Vigili del Fuoco)
Authorities stressed that competition sites – located in Lombardy near the Swiss border, Cortina d’Ampezzo in Veneto and Val di Fiemme in Trentino – remain safe, well-maintained and closely monitored.
«There is no danger for people skiing within managed ski resorts, and, in particular, no risks to the Olympic sites,» Catania said previously. «All of these areas are constantly monitored and are generally safe regardless of Olympic events.»
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Prior to the start of the Winter Olympics, Vigili del Fuoco said crews would maintain safety measures for all visitors to the sites.
Fox News Digital’s Bonny Chu and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
italy,avalanche,aftermath disasters,olympics
INTERNACIONAL
Entre los misiles de Irán y los ataques de Hezbollah: cómo se vive en el kibutz Hanita, el territorio israelí que limita con Líbano
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Russia has turned to its so-called «shadow fleet» to carry out a roughly $29.3 million «semi-dark» ship-to-ship oil transfer in the Gulf of Oman, deliberately sidestepping Western sanctions, according to reports.
Maritime intelligence firm Windward AI reported on March 8 that the Russian-flagged tanker M/V TRUST, a vessel already blacklisted by the U.S., European Union and United Kingdom, carried out a «high-probability» covert crude transfer in Omani territorial waters.
Based on an estimated price of about $90 per barrel on March 10, the cargo involved in the transfer was valued at roughly $29.3 million.
«The timing of the operation coincided with heightened military escalation in the Gulf following Operation Epic Fury, suggesting the vessel exploited regional instability to conduct the transfer under reduced scrutiny,» Windward said.
HORMUZ ERUPTS: ATTACKS, GPS JAMMING, HOUTHI THREATS ROCK STRAIT AMID US-ISRAELI STRIKES
A crude oil tanker sits anchored in Muscat during the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran in Muscat, Oman, March 6, 2026. (Reuters/Benoit Tessier)
The tanker had previously loaded approximately 325,000 barrels of Russian crude oil at the Russian port of Ust-Luga, Windward said.
Windward described the operation as a «semi-dark» activity, meaning one of the vessels transmitted its automatic identification system (AIS) signal while the other did not.
According to the firm, the M/V TRUST had anchored and switched off its AIS transponder while holding what it called a «prolonged stationary meeting» with another tanker, likely producing an anonymous vessel to transfer cargo process.
TRUMP SAYS IT’S AN ‘HONOR’ TO KEEP STRAIT OF HORMUZ OPEN FOR CHINA AND OTHER COUNTRIES
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets the Russian delegation and some officials ahead of the Istanbul talks May 14, 2025, in Moscow, Russia. (Kremlin Press Office/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
A fully «dark» meeting, Windward said, typically involves two vessels not transmitting, but, in this case, only one ship appeared to be broadcasting, creating partial visibility that still complicates tracking efforts.
Such tactics are part of a broader strategy by Moscow to continue exporting crude despite sweeping Western sanctions imposed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The semi-dark oil transfer comes amid heightened volatility in global energy markets tied to the escalating conflict in the Middle East and limited traffic in the Strait of Hormuz given the joint U.S.-Israeli military action against Iran.
US SIGNALS READINESS TO ESCORT TANKERS THROUGH HORMUZ AS TRAFFIC THINS BUT NO MISSION LAUNCHED
A navy vessel sails in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway through which much of the world’s oil and gas passes, March 1, 2026. (Sahar Al Attar/AFP via Getty Images)
Oil topped $100 a barrel March 9 as traders priced in the risk that the conflict was disrupting flows through the Strait, which carries about a fifth of global supply, CNBC reported.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on March 9 that Russia, the world’s second-largest oil exporter and holder of the largest natural gas reserves, stands ready to resume long-term energy cooperation with European customers if they choose to return, Reuters reported.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Meanwhile, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said Tuesday that Russia «should not be involved» in the escalating conflict between the U.S., Israel and Iran.
His comments followed reports suggesting Moscow may be providing intelligence support to Tehran, though the Kremlin has not publicly confirmed the claims.
On Russia’s ship-to-ship semi-dark cargo transfer amid the ongoing conflict, Windward highlighted «operational blind spots that enable illicit maritime activity to proceed largely uninterrupted.»
russia,vladimir putin,sanctions,iran,war with iran,middle east
INTERNACIONAL
WATCH: Dem witness accuses Trump of ‘population purge,’ Kennedy fires back: ‘You trigger my gag reflex’
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
David Bier, a Democrat-called witness at a Senate Budget Committee hearing Tuesday, drew a sharp rebuke from GOP Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana after accusing the Trump administration of attempting a «population purge» in the U.S.
Earlier in the hearing, Bier, an immigration policy expert at the CATO Institute, argued that both legal and illegal aliens «are a benefit to this country» because they help to reduce the national deficit.
Kennedy ripped into Bier, asking, «What planet did you parachute in from? You trigger my gag reflex.»
Bier had just claimed that federal judges opposing President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement operations «are much braver» than U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.
FAMILY DEMANDS FAR-LEFT PROSECUTOR BE OUSTED FROM OFFICE AFTER SISTER KILLED BY REPEAT VIOLENT OFFENDER
«They are much braver. They put their names on their rulings, and they stand behind their constitutional rulings,» said Bier.
He accused the administration of attempting to carry out a «population purge,» saying, «They’re trying to deport U.S.-born citizens, people born here, they are trying to deport them as well. So, it’s not a mass deportation agenda, it is also an agenda intended to reduce the population of the United States, including U.S.-born people.»
Earlier in the hearing, Bier had called for «more» immigrants to help address the soaring national deficit.
While being questioned by Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., Bier said that there are «clear reasons for believing that they are reducing the deficits and debt, they are a benefit to this country, and we need more people who are going to contribute in the future as our population ages.»
Bier said «it’s easy to understand why» immigrants reduce the deficit «because they work at 12 percentage points higher than the national average, they use less benefits because they’re subject to constraints, unique barriers to applying for those benefits, in particular Social Security and Medicare. Those are by far our largest programs, and they’re not eligible for those at all if they’re here in the country illegally or if they came legally and they don’t have a sufficient work history to qualify.»
After the hearing, Bier later told Fox News Digital that «this exchange had nothing to do with illegal immigration» and that «the question was about immigration generally.»
ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CHARGED FOR ALLEGEDLY VOTING IN EVERY PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION SINCE 2008
ICE officers participating in a week-long immigration enforcement operation in the Houston, Texas area, which resulted in the arrests of 646 illegal immigrants. (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement)
Despite testifying in a hearing titled «Sanctuary Cities: The Cost of Undermining Law and Order,» during which members criticized the mass migration under the Biden administration, Bier posited that more immigration is a positive step for the country.
«According to the Social Security Administration, we need about 35 million more workers in order to keep revenues equal to expenses by the middle of the 2030s,» he said. «So, we are at a position right now where immigration is not going to solve it. Obviously, it’s not going to solve it, but it is moving us in the right direction.»
He praised immigrants, saying, «These are people who are showing up, they’re ready to work, they’re often prime age individuals who are ready to enter the labor force.»
«So, it’s a huge benefit fiscally to the United States to have these people who want to contribute to our country,» he added.
Bier was not the only one arguing in the hearing that illegal immigrants can improve communities. Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., one of the Trump administration’s most outspoken critics, took a similar line, arguing that sanctuary policies actually lower crime, poverty and unemployment.
«Data shows that sanctuary policies actually make communities safer, healthier and more prosperous. That’s right, the evidence shows, the research shows sanctuary jurisdictions have lower crime rates, higher median household income, less poverty, less reliance on public assistance, higher labor force participation, and lower unemployment,» said Padilla.
«That’s right. It seems like sanctuary cities are helping to make America great, I said it,» he added.
FOUR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS LINKED TO MS-13 INDICTED FOR ALLEGEDLY MURDERING 14-YEAR-OLD BOY IN MARYLAND PARK
Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio. (Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Likewise, Kennedy was not the only Republican who took issue with Bier. After arguing over whether it was a mistake for Congress to ban people from entering the country illegally, Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, slammed Bier as a «smug guy.»
«You haven’t answered my question, but that’s okay. You’re a smug guy, and that’s part of your shtick,» said Moreno.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
After another Democrat-called witness declined to answer the same question, Moreno criticized both, saying, «This is the best that Democrats can come up with.»
«This is the best witnesses you’ve got? A guy who can’t distinguish whether it’s okay to have people enter our country illegally. Of all the millions of people that you could have chosen to testify … the best you have is a guy who has no idea what our immigration law is, and isn’t sure if somebody should enter the country illegally [and] another guy is a smug guy who obviously has an agenda,» said Moreno.
hearings,immigration,illegal immigrants,sanctuary cities,democratic party,woke
El baile de Javier Milei en una gala de la comunidad judía durante su visita a Estados Unidos
Pese a las críticas de Milei, los empresarios de la «Argentina Week» destacaron la alianza con EE.UU. para impulsar inversiones
Morena Rial dejará la cárcel tras cinco meses: cómo reaccionó al recibir la noticia
Jornada financiera: las acciones argentinas subieron hasta 7% y el riesgo país anotó una fuerte baja
Canales para ver el Tigre vs. Vélez Sarsfield por el Torneo Apertura
Entre los misiles de Irán y los ataques de Hezbollah: cómo se vive en el kibutz Hanita, el territorio israelí que limita con Líbano
La cruda confesión de Amalia Granata por el trastorno que sufre su hijo Roque: “Le hicimos estudios y salió que tiene TDAH, dislexia y disgrafia”
Wanda Nara involucrada en la separación de su hijo Valentino: su ex nuera contó toda la verdad
«Crisis industrial masiva»: alarmante informe de la UBA se mete en la pelea de Milei con la UIA
El mercado le está corriendo el arco a Caputo y el riesgo país no baja: en la City palpitan medidas
CHIMENTOS2 días agoLa cruda confesión de Amalia Granata por el trastorno que sufre su hijo Roque: “Le hicimos estudios y salió que tiene TDAH, dislexia y disgrafia”
- ECONOMIA2 días ago
El mercado le está corriendo el arco a Caputo y el riesgo país no baja: en la City palpitan medidas
- CHIMENTOS1 día ago
Jenny Mavinga angustiada tras una quemadura en Gran Hermano 2026: “¡Ay, me quemó!
