A Democratic Senate candidate endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is being slammed for allegedly flip-flopping on one of his primary campaign issues.

Abdul El-Sayed, the progressive candidate who previously ran an unsuccessful bid for Michigan governor, has made Medicare for All a hallmark of his Senate campaign.

However, as the Michigan Senate primary race heats up, El-Sayed’s Democratic opponent, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, is accusing him of backing down from a full Medicare for all stance and of «rewriting definitions to have it both ways.»

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Roxie Richner, an El-Sayed campaign spokesperson, responded by telling Fox News Digital that «Dr. El-Sayed is and has always been for Medicare for All—guaranteed public health insurance for every American. Cradle to grave. No premiums, deductibles, or co-pays.» 

«Dr. El-Sayed would be the first Democratic doctor elected to the U.S. Senate since 1969, and he looks forward to passing Medicare for All into law,» added Richner.

El-Sayed’s campaign website page on «A Healthier America» cites a book he co-authored in 2021 in which he wrote that limiting private alternatives to Medicare for All would be important to ensuring providers accepted the insurance. The book advocates for Medicare for All as a type of «monopsony» in healthcare, in which there is only a single buyer of medical services, the government. 

«By insuring all Americans, M4A becomes a monopsony in healthcare. This is different from a monopoly, where there’s only one seller of a good; in a monopsony there’s only one buyer of a good. That gives the single buyer considerable negotiating leverage, which Medicare could use to rein in the cost of drugs, hospital stays, and physician services,» the book reads. 

In a November post on X, El-Sayed explained that this monopsony «would instantaneously create a disciplining feature against rising prices,» because it «takes out the profit motive on the payer end of the transaction.» 

The book further states that «because alternatives to M4A [Medicare for All] would be limited, participation of providers would be virtually guaranteed.» 

«Instead of spending time and money dealing with the arcane requirements of hundreds of different health plans […] providers could use one streamlined system that would free up resources to focus on clinical care,» the books reads. 

The latest version of the federal Medicare for All Act, introduced in the Senate by Sanders, includes language that would effectively ban most comprehensive private insurance plans and relegate private insurers to providing limited supplemental care. 

The legislation would make it unlawful for «a private health insurer to sell health insurance coverage that duplicates the benefits provided under this Act; or (2) an employer to provide benefits for an employee, former employee, or the dependents of an employee or former employee that duplicate the benefits provided under this Act.»

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Dr. Abdul El-Sayed speaks during a coronavirus public health roundtable with Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. (Erin Kirkland/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

El-Sayed testified before the Senate in support of the Medicare for All Act in 2022, calling it «the clearest pathway to universal, durable health care insurance, bar none» and saying that «cradle to grave coverage would do away with the premiums, co pays, deductibles that leave even privately insured Americans rationing their health care today.» 

The year before, in an interview with NerdWallet, El-Sayed said that under a Medicare for All plan, the government would be «buying you out» of your private insurance plan but that «a few insurance companies that offered a sort of concierge-level service for folks who wanted to pay for that.»

In a 2024 episode of the «America Dissected» podcast, El-Sayed emphasized that «we don’t really need private health insurance in this country.»

He said that «private health insurance is a system by which you have a middleman in our healthcare system making a tremendous amount of money that is leading to a number of the biggest problems in American healthcare whether that’s the fact that our costs continue to spiral upward, whether that’s the fact that nearly ten million people in our country don’t get health insurance at all, or it’s the fact that we are consistently in this country, unable to guarantee, even people who are insurance access to the health care they need.»

In October, El-Sayed knocked McMorrow for advocating for allowing a public option under universal healthcare, writing on X, «a public option can’t deliver healthcare to every Michigander. Medicare for All can.» Politico, in December, reported El-Sayed slamming McMorrow’s call for universal health care with a public option as «incoherent.»

«Now a public option is exactly that; it’s just an option. There is no reason why it would actually address any of the foundational problems in our system. It wouldn’t bring down the rising costs. It wouldn’t guarantee people health care, and we don’t really know how much it would cost,» he said. 

Yet, while speaking on the Brian Tyler Cohen Podcast in January, El-Sayed suggested that under Medicare for All, «if you like your insurance from your employer or from your union, that can still be there for you.»

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Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., introduced the Medicare for All Act. (Getty Images)

Days later, speaking on radio channel WDET, he again said, «Medicare for All is government health insurance guaranteed for everyone, regardless of what circumstances you’re in. If you like your insurance through your employer or through your union, I hope that’ll be there for you. But if you lose your job, if your factory shuts down, you shouldn’t be destitute without the health care that you need and deserve.» He also said, «If you have a public option, what happens is, the private health insurance system will try to dump all of the most expensive patients onto that public option, vastly increasing the cost of that public option and making it unsustainable.» 

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El-Sayed’s campaign website states that he «believes in expanding Medicare to cover every single American from cradle to grave while sustaining the option for workers to keep supplemental private insurance their unions or employers may provide.» Amid criticism from McMorrow, El-Sayed doubled down on his Medicare for All messaging in a January fundraising message, in which he wrote that «private insurance could supplement or duplicate Medicare.»

Meanwhile, McMorrow has accused him of not being honest on Medicare for All. 

«On an issue as important as healthcare, you have to be honest about what you’re fighting for,» McMorrow wrote in a public reply to El-Sayed, adding, «The Medicare for All legislation that you’ve championed completely eliminates private health insurance as it exists today.»

Sanders’ office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

Una serie de avalanchas sacudió el norte de Italia este fin de semana, con un saldo de dos esquiadores muertos y al menos dos heridos en incidentes separados que se produjeron en condiciones de nieve excepcionalmente inestables a lo largo del arco alpino.

El episodio más grave ocurrió el domingo en el Couloir Vesses, una conocida ruta de esquí fuera de pista en la parte alta del Val Veny, en Courmayeur, localidad ubicada en el lado italiano del Mont Blanc, cerca de la frontera entre Francia y Suiza. La avalancha sepultó a varios integrantes de un grupo de esquiadores. Los rescatistas localizaron en un primer momento el cuerpo de una víctima y trasladaron de urgencia a dos heridos en estado crítico. Uno de ellos falleció poco después de llegar al hospital, mientras que el único superviviente fue derivado en condiciones muy graves al hospital Molinette de Turín.

Las labores de búsqueda y rescate, concluidas el mismo domingo, movilizaron a 15 rescatistas, tres unidades caninas, dos médicos, dos helicópteros y dos ambulancias. Medios locales estiman que el grupo original estaba integrado por entre tres y seis personas de nacionalidad francesa, aunque las autoridades no precisaron el número total de afectados.

El mismo domingo, en Trentino, también en el norte del país, una persona quedó parcialmente sepultada por otra avalancha en la zona de Tesino, pero fue rescatada por sus propios compañeros sin necesidad de asistencia médica.

Dos días después, el martes 17 de febrero, un testigo filmó en la misma zona de Val Veny, cerca del telesilla Zerotta en Courmayeur, cómo una enorme nube de nieve generada por una avalancha se extendió sobre una fila de esquiadores y snowboarders que esperaban para subir al remonte. Las imágenes muestran cómo la nube cubrió completamente el área, redujo la visibilidad a cero e impactó a quienes aguardaban en la fila. En ese caso no se registraron heridos.

Los expertos advierten que incluso las nubes de polvo generadas por avalanchas pueden derribar personas, crear condiciones de respiración peligrosas y causar pánico, aun cuando no arrastren escombros de nieve. En el momento del incidente del martes, el nivel de peligro de avalanchas en la zona estaba calificado en 4 sobre 5, considerado “alto” por los servicios de alerta alpinos.

Los fallecidos del domingo en Courmayeur se suman a un contexto de peligro extendido en toda la región. Según informó el Servicio de Rescate Alpino de Italia, un récord de 13 esquiadores de fondo, alpinistas y excursionistas murieron en las montañas italianas en los siete días previos al 8 de febrero, diez de ellos en avalanchas provocadas por un manto de nieve particularmente inestable.

Las nevadas recientes, combinadas con fuertes rachas de viento en cotas altas y la acumulación de nieve sobre capas débiles del manto nivoso, han creado condiciones especialmente peligrosas a lo largo de todo el arco alpino entre Italia, Francia, Suiza y Austria. Los servicios de alerta de los cuatro países han instado de forma reiterada a los esquiadores a consultar los boletines de avalanchas diariamente, respetar los cierres de pistas y evitar las zonas de terreno expuesto durante este período de alto riesgo. Los expertos advierten que, con los ciclos de tormentas que continúan afectando partes de los Alpes, el peligro elevado podría persistir en muchas regiones en el corto plazo.

Courmayeur, localidad de unos 2.900 habitantes, se encuentra a aproximadamente 200 kilómetros al noroeste de Milán, una de las sedes de los Juegos Olímpicos de Invierno de Milán-Cortina.

The U.S. is preparing to expand the deployment of advanced missile systems in the northern Philippines, placing additional long-range strike capability within range of key Chinese military assets and reinforcing Washington’s effort to counter Beijing’s growing assertiveness across the Indo-Pacific.

U.S. and Philippine officials announced plans to increase deployments of «cutting-edge missile and unmanned systems» to the treaty ally, as both governments condemned what they described as China’s «illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive activities» in the South China Sea.

The move comes as confrontations between Chinese and Philippine vessels have intensified in disputed waters and as Beijing continues to pressure Taiwan, raising the stakes across the region’s most sensitive flashpoints.

It builds on the deployment of the U.S. Army’s Typhon missile system in northern Luzon, Philippines, a ground-based launcher capable of firing Tomahawk cruise missiles that can travel more than 1,000 miles.

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Tomahawks can travel more than 1,000 miles — a range that, from northern Luzon, Philippines, places portions of southern China and major People’s Liberation Army (PLA) facilities within reach. The positioning also allows the U.S. and Philippine militaries to cover large swaths of the South China Sea and key maritime corridors connecting it to the broader Pacific.

The U.S. first deployed the Typhon system to Luzon, Philippines, in April 2024. An anti-ship missile launcher known as the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System was deployed in 2025 to Batan Island in the northernmost Philippine province of Batanes.

That island faces the Bashi Channel, a strategic waterway just south of Taiwan that serves as a critical transit route for commercial shipping and military vessels moving between the South China Sea and the Western Pacific. Control of that channel would be vital in any potential Taiwan contingency.

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U.S. and Philippine officials announced plans to increase deployments of «cutting-edge missile and unmanned systems» to the treaty ally, as both governments condemned what they described as China’s «illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive activities» in the South China Sea. (Eloisa Lopez/Reuters)

Beijing has urged Manila to withdraw the U.S. systems from its territory, but officials under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. have rejected those demands.

«China has consistently stated its firm opposition to the United States’ deployment of advanced weapons systems in the Philippines. The introduction of strategic and offensive weapons that heighten regional tensions, fuel geopolitical confrontation, and risk triggering an arms race is extremely dangerous. Such actions are irresponsible to the people of the Philippines, to Southeast Asian nations, and to regional security as a whole,» Chinese embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu told Fox News Digital.  «The United States is not a party to disputes in the South China Sea and has no standing to intervene in maritime issues between China and the Philippines.»

«The Taiwan question lies at the very heart of China’s core interests. China’s determination to defend its national sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity is unwavering. Any provocation that crosses red lines on Taiwan will be met with resolute countermeasures, and any attempt to obstruct China’s reunification is doomed to fail,» Liu continued. 

Neither side detailed how many additional systems would be sent or whether the deployments would be permanent, but Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Manuel Romualdez said U.S. and Filipino defense officials discussed deploying upgraded missile launchers that Manila may eventually seek to purchase.

«It’s a kind of system that’s really very sophisticated and will be deployed here in the hope that, down the road, we will be able to get our own,» Romualdez told The Associated Press.

Romualdez stressed that the deployments are intended as a deterrent.

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«It’s purely for deterrence,» he said. «Every time the Chinese show any kind of aggression, it only strengthens our resolve to have these types.»

China repeatedly has objected to the missile deployments, warning they threaten regional stability and accusing Washington of trying to contain its rise.

In a joint statement following annual bilateral talks in Manila, the U.S. and the Philippines underscored their support for freedom of navigation and unimpeded commerce in the South China Sea — a vital global trade artery through which trillions of dollars in goods pass each year.

Members of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy march during the rehearsal ahead of a military parade to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two, in Beijing, Sept. 3, 2025. (Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)

«Both sides condemned China’s illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive activities in the South China Sea, recognizing their adverse effects on regional peace and stability and the economies of the Indo-Pacific and beyond,» the statement said.

China claims virtually the entire South China Sea despite an international tribunal ruling in 2016 that invalidated many of its sweeping claims. In recent years, Chinese coast guard and maritime militia vessels have clashed repeatedly with Philippine ships near disputed shoals, including Second Thomas Shoal.

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The expanded missile deployments also come as the Pentagon balances rising tensions in multiple theaters. In recent weeks, the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group — which had been operating in the Indo-Pacific — was redirected toward the Middle East as the U.S. moved to bolster its posture amid escalating tensions with Iran. 

The deployments also reflect a broader U.S. effort to strengthen its military posture along the so-called «first island chain» — a string of territories stretching from Japan through Taiwan and the Philippines that forms a natural barrier to Chinese naval expansion into the Pacific.

Washington has deepened defense cooperation with Manila under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, expanding U.S. access to Philippine bases, including sites in northern Luzon close to Taiwan.

China in May released a national security white paper criticizing the deployment of an «intermediate-range missile system» in the region — widely viewed as a reference to the U.S. Typhon launcher in the Philippines. The document accused unnamed countries of reviving a «Cold War mentality» and forming military «small groups» that aggravate regional tensions.

For U.S. planners, dispersing mobile, land-based missile systems across allied territory complicates Beijing’s military calculus. Instead of relying solely on ships and aircraft, the U.S. can field ground-based systems that are harder to track and capable of holding Chinese naval and air assets at risk.

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For Beijing, however, such deployments reinforce its long-standing claim that the United States is encircling China militarily.

As tensions simmer in both the South China Sea and around Taiwan, the positioning of long-range U.S. missile systems on Philippine soil underscores how the strategic competition between Washington and Beijing is increasingly being defined by geography — and by which side can project credible deterrent power across it.