INTERNACIONAL
Cancer-stricken children urge Bernie Sanders to back life-saving pediatric healthcare bill
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Cancer-stricken patients are urging Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., to reverse course and support a bill that could lead to life-saving treatments.
Jacob Knudsen, who was diagnosed with osteosarcoma when he was 12 and has since endured nearly two dozen surgeries and multiple rounds of chemotherapy after tumors were discovered on his organs, is pushing for Sanders to support the Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act, the New York Post reported.
«There is something currently in my lung, and there’s a 50-50 chance that it’s cancer,» Knudsen, a California native and college student, told the newspaper. «I’m willing to bleed. I’m willing to lose limbs. I’m willing to lose organs. I’m willing to do anything just to survive.»
SANDERS BLASTED AFTER BLOCKING BIPARTISAN KIDS’ CANCER RESEARCH BILL: ‘GRINCH,’ ‘SELFISH’
The bipartisan bill, named after Knudsen’s friend, a fellow osteosarcoma patient who died late last year at 16, would allow pediatric cancer patients to participate in clinical trials and to ensure them access to key treatments.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., after attending a meeting of the House Republican Conference in the U.S. Capitol Nov. 19, 2024 (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
The legislation passed unanimously in the House. However, when it reached the Senate, Sanders, who has repeatedly called for better health care, objected. He demanded other stipulations be attached, such as funding of other efforts, such as community health centers, the Post said.
His opposition has slowed the bill’s advancement. Fox News Digital has reached out to Sanders.
At the time of the bill’s failure in December, Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., accused Sanders of playing politics with children’s lives before calling him a real-life Grinch.
«Everything their senator from Vermont just talked about was political,» said Mullin, who brought the bill to the Senate floor. «I’m talking about giving kids a chance to live an extra day or a lifetime. This has nothing to do with politics. This has to do with kids.»
SEN MURPHY WARNS ‘PEOPLE ARE GOING TO DIE’ AS CONGRESS PUNTS ON EXPIRING OBAMACARE SUBSIDIES
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., killed a bill that would have bolstered research for kids’ cancer drugs and is being pressured by cancer-stricken kids to support the legislation. (Getty Images)
«The Grinch is stealing kids’ lives,» he added. «And he’s stealing hope from the families.»
Sanders explained that he had no problem with the legislation, which would have incentivized the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and drug companies to encourage more relevant pediatric studies and invest in rare pediatric disease treatments. But he wanted to tack on an amendment to fund community health centers throughout the country.
«This is not a radical amendment,» Sanders said at the time. «I’m not coming here saying, ‘Let’s do something we’ve not talked about.’ I’m not talking about passing Medicare for all here. I am talking about doing what the Republicans and Democrats agreed to a year ago but was torpedoed by some tweets from Elon Musk.»
Nancy Goodman, executive director of Kids v Cancer, told the Post the bill’s failure to pass is an example of Washington’s crippling dysfunction.
«The bill would ensure the most innovative, promising pediatric cancer clinical studies are conducted, and it would incentivize companies to develop novel, potentially curative drugs for these kids,» she said.
«How can we say Congress is functioning if it can’t pass the easiest bill that one can ever imagine? This is a bill that has bipartisan support that saves the lives of children with cancer that costs taxpayers nothing, and yet they can’t pass it.»
Goodman and her husband, former U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman, lost their 10-year-old son, Jacob, in 2009 to medulloblastoma.
Other cancer patients feel the same as Knudsen.
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«I would probably tell [politicians] to talk to someone [diagnosed with cancer] just to see what they’re going through,» Anderson Coy, 21, told the Post.
«The sooner we pass acts like this, the more lives we save,» Knudsen said. «How many children have died from cancer? How many of those were the next Albert Einstein that never made it? These kids could solve the world’s problems.»
bernie sanders,cancer,politics,us
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Iran is rebuilding nuclear sites damaged in previous U.S. strikes and «preparing for war,» despite engaging in talks with the Trump administration, according to a prominent Iranian opposition figure.
Alireza Jafarzadeh, deputy director of the Washington office of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), said newly released satellite images also prove the regime has accelerated its efforts to restore its «$2 trillion» uranium enrichment capabilities.
«The regime has clearly stepped up efforts to rebuild its uranium enrichment capabilities,» Jafarzadeh told Fox News Digital. «It is preparing itself for a possible war by trying to preserve its nuclear weapons program and ensure its protection.»
IRAN SAYS US MUST ‘PROVE THEY WANT TO DO A DEAL’ ON NUCLEAR TALKS IN GENEVA
Reconstruction activity appears to be underway at Iran’s Isfahan nuclear complex. (Planet Labs PBC/Handout via Reuters)
«That said, the ongoing rebuilding of Iran’s uranium enrichment capabilities is particularly alarming as the regime is now engaged in nuclear talks with the United States,» he added.
New satellite images released by Earth intelligence monitor, Planet Labs, show reconstruction activity appears to be underway at the Isfahan complex.
Isfahan is one of three Iranian uranium enrichment plants targeted in the U.S. military operation known as «Midnight Hammer.»
The June 22 operation involved coordinated Air Force and Navy strikes on the Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan facilities.
US POSITIONS AIRCRAFT CARRIERS, STRIKE PLATFORMS ACROSS MIDDLE EAST AS IRAN TALKS SHIFT TO OMAN
A satellite image shows tunnel entrances covered with soil at Isfahan nuclear complex. (Vantor/Handout via Reuters)
Despite the damage, the satellite images show Iran has buried entrances to a tunnel complex at the site, according to Reuters.
Similar steps were reportedly taken at the Natanz facility, which houses two additional enrichment plants.
«These efforts in Isfahan involve rebuilding its centrifuge program and other activities related to uranium enrichment,» Jafarzadeh said.
The renewed movements come as Iran participated in talks with the U.S. in Geneva.
On Thursday, President Donald Trump warned that «bad things» would happen if Iran did not make a deal.
While the talks were aimed at curbing Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief, Jafarzadeh argues that for the regime, talks would be nothing more than a tactical delay.
TRUMP SAYS IRAN ALREADY HAS US TERMS AS MILITARY STRIKE CLOCK TICKS
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei «agreed to the nuclear talks as it would give the regime crucial time to avoid or limit the consequences of confrontation with the West,» according to Jafarzadeh. ( Office of the Supreme Leader of Iran via Getty Images)
«Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei agreed to the nuclear talks as it would give the regime crucial time to avoid or limit the consequences of confrontation with the West,» he said.
Jafarzadeh also described the regime spending at least «$2 trillion» on nuclear capabilities, which he said «is higher than the entire oil revenue generated since the regime came to power in Iran in 1979.»
«Tehran is trying to salvage whatever has remained of its nuclear weapons program and quickly rebuild it,» he said. «It has heavily invested in the nuclear weapons program as a key tool for the survival of the regime.»
IRANIAN OFFICIAL SAYS NUCLEAR TALKS WILL CONTINUE AFTER US, TEHRAN NEGOTIATIONS HAD ‘A GOOD START’ IN OMAN
Satellite imagery taken on January 30, 2026, shows a new roof over a previously destroyed building at Natanz nuclear site. (2026 PLANET LABS PBC/Handout via Reuters)
Jafarzadeh is best known for publicly revealing the existence of Iran’s Natanz nuclear site in 2002, which led to inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency and intensified global scrutiny of Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
«The insistence of the Iranian regime during the nuclear talks on maintaining its uranium enrichment capabilities, while rebuilding its damaged sites, is a clear indication that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has no plans to abandon its nuclear weapons program,» he said.
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The National Council of Resistance of Iran, led by Maryam Rajavi, exposed for the first time the nuclear sites in Natanz, Arak, Fordow and more than 100 other sites and projects, Jafarzadeh said, «despite a massive crackdown by the regime on this movement.»
iran,nuclear proliferation,middle east,ali khamenei,sanctions,nuclear terror
INTERNACIONAL
El sector privado en Cuba empieza a importar combustible para uso particular, pese al asedio petrolero de Estados Unidos
Pequeñas empresas privadas cubanas han empezado a importar directamente combustible en pleno asedio petrolero de EE.UU., mientras firmas internacionales asentadas en la isla exploran esta vía.
La opción, una bocanada de aire frente a la asfixia energética inducida por Washington, está sin embargo amenazada tanto por la farragosa burocracia cubana, con sus múltiples condiciones y retrasos, como por la sombra ambigua de las sanciones estadounidenses.
Además, los volúmenes que se están contratando son en todo caso para necesidades empresariales concretas y no servirían de ninguna forma para atender las necesidades energéticas del país, de unos 110.000 barriles diarios (de los que 40.000 proceden de pozos propios).
Según confirmaron varias fuentes, el Gobierno cubano ha celebrado encuentros en los últimos días con empresarios extranjeros y emprendedores locales para explicarles cómo podría realizarse esa gestión, mientras la parálisis económica y social que atenaza progresivamente la isla.
Se trata de concretar el anuncio que hizo en noviembre pasado el ministro de Comercio Exterior e Inversión Extranjera, Oscar Pérez-Oliva, de que «en breve» iba a permitirse a empresas extranjeras y mixtas importar su propio combustible, «cuando sea necesario».
Hasta el momento el Estado cubano detentaba el monopolio de la importación de petróleo y combustibles -principalmente mediante tanqueros propios y rentados- y de la venta minorista de productos refinados dentro de la isla.
Varios participantes en estas reuniones con responsables del Gobierno explicaron que la importación de depósitos de combustible dentro de buques cargueros sería similar a la de cualquier otro producto en el exterior (a través de una importadora estatal), un proceso habitualmente lento.
Sin embargo, añadieron, habría que cumplir algunos requisitos extra de seguridad, por tratarse de material peligroso, y contar en destino con una localización segura también certificable o almacenarlos en empresas estatales ya acondicionadas para este uso.
Las autoridades cubanas recalcaron a los empresarios que el combustible que puedan importar particulares es exclusivamente para autoconsumo y no está permitida la reventa.
Según explicaron algunos interesados, la importación se realizaría en depósitos cilíndricos de acero inoxidable del tipo isotanque T11, que tienen capacidad para entre 21.000 y 26.000 litros. Estos dispositivos pueden instalarse en cualquier carguero porque se insertan en una estructura metálica de medidas estándar.
Varias empresas con sede en Estados Unidos tienen licencias específicas para exportar diésel en isotanques a Cuba, pero exclusivamente para clientes privados. No obstante, algunos empresarios en Cuba apuntan que están explorando opciones de compra en otros países de la región.
No es evidente que la importación de combustible por el sector privado en Cuba esté incluida dentro de la orden ejecutiva que firmó el pasado 29 de enero el presidente de EE.UU., Donald Trump.
El texto, específicamente, prevé aranceles «a los bienes importados a Estados Unidos que son productos de cualquier otro país que directa o indirectamente venda o provea de alguna forma petróleo a Cuba».
EFE solicitó a la Embajada de Estados Unidos en Cuba una aclaración formal, para confirmar si la expresión «a Cuba» incluía también a empresas privadas -locales o internacionales establecidas en la isla- que no estén controladas por el Estado cubano o su red de empresas.
La legación diplomática respondió escuetamente remitiendo al texto original de la orden ejecutiva.
Fuentes involucradas en este comercio indican a EFE a este respecto que han recibido «señales» de que la administración estadounidense está dispuesta a tolerar estos envíos.
En este mismo contexto, el semanario británico The Economist publicaba en su último número que la administración estadounidense contempla permitir la entrada a la isla de un cierto volumen de combustibles para atender necesidades básicas.
La presión de EE.UU. está paralizando progresivamente la economía cubana, que se encontraba ya en su peor crisis en décadas. Tan solo en los últimos cinco años, la isla ha perdido un 15 % de su producto interno bruto (PIB) y más de un 20 % de su población. La desigualdad y la pobreza se han disparado.
El Gobierno cubano ha puesto en marcha un duro plan de contingencia para tratar de subsistir sin petróleo importado, algo insostenible a medio plazo. Los hospitales están en servicios mínimos, el transporte público prácticamente desaparecido y el combustible severamente racionado.
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MANCHESTER, N.H. – Former Transportation Secy. Pete Buttigieg tops the list of potential 2028 Democratic presidential contenders in a new poll conducted in New Hampshire, which has traditionally held the first primary in the race for the White House for over a century.
Twenty percent of Democratic primary voters in New Hampshire said they would vote for Buttigieg if the 2028 presidential nomination contest was held today. California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York were tied for second at 15%, with former Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democrats’ 2024 nominee, and Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona each at 10%, with everyone else in single digits.
The University of New Hampshire Survey Center poll was released Thursday, a couple of hours before Buttigieg arrived in New Hampshire to campaign with Democrats running in this year’s midterm elections.
Asked about the survey by Fox News Digital, Buttigieg noted,» I’m not on any ballot right now.»
EARLY MOVES ALREADY WELL UNDERWAY IN 2028 WHITE HOUSE RACE
Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg greets patrons during a stop at a restaurant in Manchester, New Hampshire, on Feb. 19, 2026 (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News )
«Obviously it feels good to be well received,» added Buttigieg, who made plenty of friends in the Granite State as he came in close second in the 2020 New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary, slightly behind Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
Buttigieg’s stop in New Hampshire was his third in an early voting state in the Democratic nominating calendar since stepping down as Transportation secretary following the end of former President Biden’s administration, following trips last year to South Carolina and Iowa. While he mostly avoids 2028 talk, Buttigieg has said he would consider what he brings «to the table» in regards to another White House run.
As he kicked off a three-day swing in key New England swing state, Buttigieg teamed up with Rep. Chris Pappas, the clear frontrunner for the Democratic Senate nomination in the race to succeed retiring Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a fellow Democrat. Shaheen’s seat is a top GOP target in the midterms.
Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, center, and Rep. Chris Pappas of New Hampshire, a Democratic Senate candidate, campaign in Manchester, N.H. on Feb. 19, 2026 (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)
Later Thursday, Buttigieg joined the state’s other Democratic House member, Rep. Maggie Goodlander. And he was scheduled to hold more events on Friday and Saturday, including a grassroots mobilization event that was expected to draw some top New Hampshire supporters from his 2020 presidential campaign.
Buttigieg is heading next week to battleground Nevada, and a source familiar told Fox News Digital Buttigieg has plans to campaign for candidates in Ohio, Georgia and Pennsylvania in the weeks ahead.
«I’m a big believer in going everywhere across the media landscape and geographically. Some are well known places on the political map. Some are a little bit off the beaten path. All of them deserve attention,» Buttigieg told Fox News Digital.
NEWSOM’S UPCOMING STOP IN KEY PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY STATE SPARKS MORE 2028 BUZZ
He added that he’ll «continue to go wherever I think I can be useful in elevating attention to issues and working with candidates I believe in and Chris Pappas is a great example of a candidate I am proud to be supporting and speaking up for.»
Newsom will be next up in New Hampshire.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during an election night press conference at a California Democratic Party office Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in Sacramento, Calif. (Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP Photo)
The California governor’s tour for his new book, «Young Man in a Hurry,» will bring him to Portsmouth, New Hampshire on March 5. It will be his first stop in the state in two years.
Newsom grabbed headlines this past weekend, as he was one of a handful of potential Democratic presidential contenders to speak at the high-profile Munich Security Conference in Germany.
TRUMP HAMMERS AOC MUNICH STUMBLES AS ‘NOT A GOOD LOOK FOR THE UNITED STATES’
Ocasio-Cortez was among the other Democrats in Munich. But the progressive champion, who has long been laser focused on affordability and other domestic issues, has faced intense criticism for nearly a week over a gaffe in Munich, when she asked during a panel discussion whether the U.S. should send troops to defend Taiwan from a possible invasion by China.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., attends the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (Liesa Johannssen/Reuters)
The four-term lawmaker appeared to stall for nearly 20 seconds before offering that the U.S. should try to avoid reaching a clash with China over Taiwan.
Social media posts on the right slammed her for offering up a world salad.
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But it wasn’t just Republicans who critiqued Ocasio-Cortez.
A veteran Democratic strategist who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely told Fox News Digital, «It is abundantly clear that AOC is not ready for prime time given her remarks in Europe.»
pete buttigieg,gavin newsom,alexandria ocasio cortez,democrats elections,presidential primaries,new hampshire
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