INTERNACIONAL
DC statehood debate intensifies as Trump flexes authority over local police
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
President Donald Trump’s grip on the Washington, D.C., police force continued into a second week, spurring Democrats to reignite demands for the district to become a state.
Trump last week invoked a provision of the Home Rule Act, the law that gives the nation’s capital some autonomy from Congress, to effectively take over the Metropolitan Police Department in an effort to crack down on crime.
Since then, numerous federal law enforcement agencies and the National Guard, aided by reserves from states across the country, have patrolled the streets of D.C., and the White House has touted rapid decreases in crime and dozens of arrests.
CAPITOL HILL PREPARES FOR HIGH-STAKES BATTLE OVER TRUMP CRIME PACKAGE, DC POLICE AUTHORITY
President Donald Trump listens to a question from a reporter Aug. 11, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (AP/Mark Schiefelbein)
Because it’s not a state, Washington has no voting representation in Congress and, despite having a mayor and city council, is overseen by Congress.
But some lawmakers see the move as another attempt by the president to overextend his powers, and argue that it’s another reason that D.C. should be a state, a notion that Trump last week rebuked as «ridiculous.»
«If D.C. was a state, the president could not do what he is doing outside of the federal enclave,» Sen. Paul Strauss, the district’s shadow senator, told Fox News Digital.
Strauss, D-D.C., has long pushed for statehood in his role as shadow senator, Washington D.C.’s elected non-voting member of the Senate. He said the idea behind statehood is to give D.C. residents agency and self-determination, something he believed the crackdown was ignoring.
«It would be one thing if we actually had a crime emergency here, but we don’t,» Strauss said. «Violent crime in particular is down to 30-year lows. That’s not what’s happening here. He is using these national guardsmen and women as a stunt, and that’s wrong.»
TRUMP AUTHORIZED TO CONTROL DC POLICE INDEFINITELY UNDER HOUSE GOP PROPOSAL
Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton speaks at a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol March 10, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)
His colleague in the House, D.C. non-voting Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, also a Democrat, agreed.
«The president’s abuses are evidence of the urgent need for D.C. statehood so that more than 700,000 D.C. residents can finally have the full rights and privileges afforded to other Americans, including control of their own local resources and policies,» she said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers countered that violent crime in the district has «been spiraling out of control, and the Democrats are lying to the American people when they pretend there is no crime in our nation’s capital.
«If they needed some anecdotal evidence, they could ask their own Democrat colleague about the time he was carjacked outside of his D.C. apartment by three armed criminals,» she told Fox News Digital. «The Democrats’ case of Trump Derangement Syndrome is so severe, they won’t even support President Trump’s commonsense policies to remove dangerous criminals from the streets of our nation’s capital.»
Strauss and Norton were joined by lawmakers from neighboring Virginia and Maryland, the states that Washington, D.C., was carved out of over two centuries ago, who argued that Trump’s move to federalize the local police shined «a light on the urgent need for D.C. statehood.»
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., told Fox News Digital that the police takeover was «a prime example of why D.C. deserves the same rights as states.»
Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., charged that «Republicans in Congress have been all too willing to play political games with the district’s funding for public safety and critical services while backing an authoritarian overreach by a lawless president.»
Van Hollen announced plans earlier this month to reintroduce a bill alongside Norton to grant statehood to D.C.
Van Hollen, Norton and Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., introduced a joint resolution in the House to halt Trump’s takeover of the D.C. police, too.
REPUBLICANS READY TO SUPPORT TRUMP’S MOVE TO SKIRT CONGRESS IN DC CRIME CRACKDOWN
Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., speaks during a news conference upon his arrival from a meeting with Kilmar Abrego Garcia in El Salvador, at Washington Dulles International Airport, in Chantilly, Va., April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Raskin told Fox News Digital in a statement the district’s residents are «the only people who live in a capital city on earth who are disenfranchised in their national legislature.»
«The people of Washington have petitioned for statehood and should be admitted as a state rather than treated as a MAGA-colonized populace,» he said.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
But the reality of actually turning D.C. into a state, at least while Republicans have a trifecta in Washington, is slim at best.
«I think there’s probably not a pathway to get this done while Republicans control all three branches of the government,» Strauss said. «Because they have shown that they’re more interested in the partisan impact of controlling the legislative branch and not really interested in the principle of self-determination for Washington, D.C., residents.»
washington dc,donald trump,house of representatives politics,democrats senate,politics
INTERNACIONAL
Estados Unidos anunció acuerdos comerciales con Argentina, Guatemala, Ecuador y El Salvador
La Casa Blanca anunció el jueves una serie de acuerdos comerciales con Argentina, Guatemala, Ecuador y El Salvador, en una estrategia dirigida a modificar los aranceles generalizados que la administración del presidente Donald Trump había impuesto a nivel mundial. Según el comunicado oficial, estos pactos buscan tanto aliviar el impacto de los aranceles introducidos en los últimos meses como lograr un comercio más equilibrado y con mayor reciprocidad entre Estados Unidos y estos países latinoamericanos. Entre los productos que figuran en el centro de los acuerdos se encuentran el banano, el café y el cacao, que, podrían experimentar reducciones de precio para los consumidores estadounidenses, quienes atraviesan dificultades económicas en medio del descontento generado por el costo de vida durante el actual mandato presidencial.
En el marco de estos convenios, los cuatro países latinoamericanos han aceptado abrir sus mercados a diversos productos estadounidenses a cambio del retiro o disminución de los aranceles aplicados por Washington sobre algunas de sus principales exportaciones. Un alto funcionario de la administración estadounidense afirmó a los medios que se espera que los acuerdos traigan efectos positivos en los precios de productos básicos y ayuden a reducir el déficit comercial a largo plazo de Estados Unidos.
Estos movimientos comerciales han sido interpretados, además, como una recompensa política a mandatarios de la región que mantienen relaciones alineadas con la administración Trump. El presidente argentino, Javier Milei, y el presidente salvadoreño, Nayib Bukele, son mencionados entre los principales aliados cuyos países resultan beneficiados. Bukele compartió en redes sociales el texto del acuerdo con Estados Unidos. Desde Guatemala, el presidente Bernardo Arévalo destacó la solidez de la relación bilateral tras meses de negociaciones, afirmando que su país es “uno de los primeros en alcanzar un acuerdo para reducir y eliminar los aranceles”.
En el caso de Guatemala, el presidente Bernardo Arévalo anunció lo que calificó como un “acuerdo histórico” con Estados Unidos, mediante el cual se reducirán y eliminarán los aranceles que habían sido impuestos de manera global en abril. Arévalo explicó en un mensaje oficial que “más del 70% de los productos que Guatemala exporta hacia Estados Unidos quedarán con el arancel cero”, mientras que gran parte del resto de productos mantendrán un arancel reducido del 10%. Este alivio arancelario representa un respiro para el sector exportador guatemalteco, que había experimentado el impacto directo de la medida estadounidense. Como parte del acuerdo marco, Guatemala también se comprometió a reducir barreras comerciales a productos estadounidenses, en especial en los sectores médico, farmacéutico y agrícola.
Según datos del Banco de Guatemala, entre enero y septiembre de 2025, el 30,7% de las exportaciones guatemaltecas tuvieron como destino el mercado estadounidense, con ventas que generaron 3.640,6 millones de dólares en ese periodo. El presidente Arévalo destacó que este pacto refuerza la competitividad de Guatemala y la convierte en un destino más atractivo para la inversión extranjera.
Respecto a El Salvador, Estados Unidos acordó eliminar aranceles recíprocos para determinadas exportaciones salvadoreñas que no pueden producirse dentro del territorio estadounidense en cantidades suficientes, de acuerdo con un documento compartido por Nayib Bukele. Como contrapartida, el Gobierno salvadoreño se comprometió a abordar barreras no arancelarias que afectan las exportaciones estadounidenses, a facilitar el acceso de productos farmacéuticos y dispositivos médicos y a aceptar la supervisión regulatoria y los certificados emitidos por las autoridades de Estados Unidos. Además, El Salvador reafirmó su voluntad de evitar gravámenes discriminatorios a los servicios digitales y prohibió la importación de bienes producidos mediante trabajo forzoso, comprometiéndose al mismo tiempo a altos estándares de protección ambiental.
En cuanto a Ecuador, el acuerdo anunciado contempla la eliminación de los aranceles estadounidenses —que desde abril eran del 10% y aumentaron al 15% en agosto— sobre exportaciones calificadas como el banano y el cacao, productos fundamentales para la economía ecuatoriana. A cambio, Ecuador eliminará o reducirá aranceles en sectores considerados prioritarios para Washington, como maquinaria, productos de salud, tecnologías de la información y la comunicación, químicos y componentes de automóviles.
Finalmente, Argentina acordó con Estados Unidos la eliminación de aranceles a ciertos recursos naturales y a artículos no patentados para uso farmacéutico. El acuerdo bilateral incluye el compromiso de ambas partes de mejorar sus condiciones de acceso en el sector de carne de vacuno. El comunicado conjunto subraya la facilitación del acceso bilateral y recíproco y el retiro parcial de aranceles del 10% aplicados desde abril sobre las importaciones argentinas, beneficiando en particular al sector agropecuario y farmacéutico de ese país.
(Con información de AFP y EFE)
Domestic,Politics,North America,Government / Politics
INTERNACIONAL
Former Rep. Louie Gohmert blasts Jack Smith for allegedly targeting his personal phone records in J6 probe
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
EXCLUSIVE: Former Rep. Louie Gohmert blasted ex-Special Counsel Jack Smith for allegedly targeting his personal phone records as part of his investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riots, telling Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview that his action «destroys the checks and balances that the founders counted on.»
Fox News Digital exclusively reported Thursday morning that Smith targeted then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s personal, private phone records, as well as Gohmert’s.
JACK SMITH SOUGHT THEN-HOUSE SPEAKER MCCARTHY’S PRIVATE PHONE RECORDS IN J6 PROBE, FBI DOCS REVEAL
Fox News Digital exclusively reviewed the document that FBI Director Kash Patel recently shared with Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and Sen. Ron Johnson containing the explosive revelations. Grassley and Johnson have been leading a joint investigation into Smith’s «Arctic Frost» probe.
UNITED STATES – JUNE 13: Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, leaves the House Republican Conference meeting at the Capitol Hill Club in Washington on Wednesday morning, June 13, 2018. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)
According to the document, Smith, on Jan. 24, 2023, allegedly sought the «toll records for the personal cell phones of U.S. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (AT&T) and U.S. Representative Louie Gohmert (Verizon.)»
The information was included as part of a «significant case notification» drafted by the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division May 25, 2023.
«It is astounding that Jack ‘Frost’ Smith went on this persecution,» Gohmert told Fox News Digital Thursday. «Apparently, this guy has never read the Fourth Amendment because you have to describe with particularity what it is you’re going after — there should be probable cause, and they had no probable cause. They were going on a witch hunt.»
Smith had sought Gohmert’s personal cellphone records from November 2020 through the end of January 2021.
«They don’t have any regard for the Fourth Amendment,» he said. «It makes Watergate look like school yard folly.»
But Gohmert said it is the «principle.»
Then-Special Counsel Jack Smith delivers remarks on an unsealed indictment including four felony counts against former President Donald Trump Aug. 1, 2023, in Washington. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
«It is the separation of powers that is the problem,» Gohmert explained. «People and whistleblowers contacted me regularly from within the DOJ and the FBI about overreach within the FBI and DOJ. By grabbing my records, they could stifle reporting of potential crimes by people within the agencies.»
JACK SMITH TRACKED PRIVATE COMMUNICATIONS, CALLS OF NEARLY A DOZEN GOP SENATORS DURING J6 PROBE, FBI SAYS
«You can’t just go seize members of Congress’ records even with a warrant because of that separation of powers,» Gohmert said. «There has to be a wall and that’s what troubles me more than anything.»
Gohmert told Fox News Digital that he didn’t remember who he spoke with during the time period Smith sought records, but said that «the last thing I want is for someone who trusted me to keep their name private to have some jack-booted thug like Jack ‘Frost’ Smith grab my records and find out who is tattle tailing on him.»
He added: «It violates and destroys the checks and balances that the founders counted on.»
Gohmert, though, told Fox News Digital that he trusts the current Justice Department and FBI leadership.
«I trust the DOJ and trust the people running the FBI,» he said. «We’ll see if there were any crimes committed and, if following the Constitution, they can be properly prosecuted.»
HAGERTY PRESSES VERIZON OVER FBI’S ACCESS TO HIS PHONE RECORDS DURING JACK SMITH PROBE
Meanwhile, McCarthy said he will take legal action against Smith.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., speaks during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Nov. 5, 2021, as the House is considering President Joe Biden’s $1.85 trillion-and-growing domestic policy package. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) (AP)
«Jack Smith’s radical and deranged investigation was never about finding the truth,» McCarthy told Fox News Digital. «It was a blatant weaponizing of the Justice Department to attack political opponents of the Biden administration. Perhaps no action underscores this point more than the illegal attempt to access the phone records of sitting members of the House and Senate — including the Speaker of the House.»
«His illegal targeting demands real accountability,» McCarthy continued. «And I am confident Congress will hold hearings and access documents in its investigation into Jack Smith’s own abuses.»
HAGERTY PRESSES VERIZON OVER FBI’S ACCESS TO HIS PHONE RECORDS DURING JACK SMITH PROBE
«At the same time, I will ask my own counsel to pursue all areas of redress so this does not happen to anyone else,» McCarthy said.
The revelations come after Fox News Digital exclusively reported in October that Smith and his «Arctic Frost» team investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots were tracking the private communications and phone calls of nearly a dozen Republican senators as part of the probe, including Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Tommy Tuberville of Alabama and GOP Rep. Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania.
An official told Fox News Digital that those records were collected in 2023 by Smith and his team after subpoenaing major telephone providers.
Smith has called his decision to subpoena and track Republican lawmakers’ phone records «entirely proper» and consistent with Justice Department policy.
«As described by various Senators, the toll data collection was narrowly tailored and limited to the four days from January 4, 2021 to January 7, 2021, with a focus on telephonic activity during the period immediately surrounding the January 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol,» Smith’s lawyers wrote in October to Grassley.
Grassley, R-Iowa, and Johnson, R-Wis., have been investigating the matter.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, a Republican from Iowa and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., have been investigating the matter. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
An FBI official told Fox News Digital that «Arctic Frost» is a «prohibited case,» and that the review required FBI officials to go «above and beyond in order to deliver on this promise of transparency.» The discovery is part of a broader ongoing review, Fox News Digital has learned.
Smith, after months of investigating, charged President Donald Trump in the U.S. District Court for Washington, D.C., in his 2020 election case, but after Trump was elected president, Smith sought to dismiss the case. Judge Tanya Chutkan granted that request.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Smith’s case cost taxpayers more than $50 million.
Smith did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
house of representatives politics,justice department,fbi
INTERNACIONAL
State Department warns Americans in Japan as deadly bear attacks kill 13 people since April: ‘Be diligent’
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
The State Department is warning Americans in Japan to be aware of their surroundings amid an increase in bear sightings after 13 people have been killed by the wild animal in the country since April.
Japanese officials have closed Maruyama Park in Sapporo, which is adjacent to the U.S. Consulate General, for two weeks following a bear sighting in the park, read a State Department alert Wednesday.
HIKER’S FRIEND WATCHES IN HORROR AS BROWN BEAR DRAGS MAN INTO BUSHES ON MOUNTAIN: REPORT
A warning sign is seen at the closed walking trail to the observatory in the Shirakawago district, a UNESCO World Heritage site, on October 7, 2025 in Hida, Gifu Prefecture of Japan. The State Department issued a warning Wednesday to Americans about bear sightings in Japan. (VCG/VCG via Getty Images)
JAPAN DEPLOYS MILITARY AFTER RECORD BEAR ATTACKS ACROSS COUNTRY
«Bear sightings and attacks have increased in parts of Japan, especially in municipalities close to or adjacent to populated zones,» the alert states. «Although the Consulate is located outside of the park, we encourage all visitors for routine or other services to be diligent and aware of your surroundings.»
Since April, 13 people have been killed by bears in Japan, AFP reported.
In response, Japan has deployed troops to the northern Akita region on Nov. 8, following the most recent attack there.
TRAGEDY STRIKES AT POPULAR NATIONAL PARK AS CLIMBER MEETS FATAL END ON MOUNTAIN
A hiker was found dead in August in Japan after a brown bear allegedly attacked and dragged him into the bushes, authorities said. (iStock)
The troops didn’t carry firearms and did not harm any bears, AFP reported.
Instead, they carried bear sprays, sticks, shields, goggles, bullet-proof jackets and net launchers in an attempt to restore a sense of safety in the area.
A poor acorn harvest resulted in a boom to Japan’s bear population, as they move closer to residential areas to seek out food.
A member of Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) stands next to military vehicles during a practice setting up a bear trap in Kazuno, Akita Prefecture, Japan, November 5, 2025. (Tom Bateman/Reuters)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Residential areas in Hokkaido and Akita have also reported bear sightings, which could lead to more park closures, the alert said.
The U.S. Embassy in Tokyo urged Americans to avoid areas where bears have been sighted and to report sightings to authorities.
state department,japan,wild nature,us
Detrás de escena en la Conferencia de la UIA: qué les dijo en privado el Gobierno a los empresarios antes del acuerdo con EEUU
Arrasó el oficialismo en la elección de la Asociación de Magistrados
Yanina Latorre lanzó una explosiva revelación sobre la China Suárez: “Muy caliente”
Javier Milei celebró el acuerdo comercial con Estados Unidos: “Estamos comprometidos en hacer a la Argentina grande nuevamente”
Fechas y sedes confirmadas para la final del Torneo Clausura y el Trofeo de Campeones
Los puntos claves del acuerdo comercial entre la Estados Unidos y Argentina
Promociones en YPF, Shell, Axion y Puma: cómo aprovechar los descuentos en combustible
Wada Nara se despidió de sus hijas con un desgarrador mensaje al entregárselas a Mauro Icardi: «Que la pasen hermoso»
Viene un nuevo esquema para el dólar: qué anticipa el mercado tras sorpresiva «confesión» de Caputo
Axel Kicillof prometió no subir impuestos, pero montó un mecanismo de recaudación con Ingresos Brutos
CHIMENTOS2 días agoWada Nara se despidió de sus hijas con un desgarrador mensaje al entregárselas a Mauro Icardi: «Que la pasen hermoso»
- POLITICA3 días ago
Axel Kicillof prometió no subir impuestos, pero montó un mecanismo de recaudación con Ingresos Brutos
- ECONOMIA2 días ago
Guiño al crédito fintech: el BCRA autorizará el débito directo de cuotas, prohibido durante el Gobierno anterior
