INTERNACIONAL
Experts reveal Trump’s next move could be ‘nail in coffin’ for Biden-era regulations on nicotine

FIRST ON FOX: President Trump’s «nicotine freedom crusade» rolling back Biden-era policies related to nicotine and tobacco products could be primed to reverse a key rule that experts who spoke to Fox News Digital say would be a critical step forward.
Shortly before Trump was sworn into office, Biden’s FDA proposed a rule that it described at the time as «bold» that «would make cigarettes and certain other combusted tobacco products minimally or nonaddictive by limiting the level of nicotine in those products.»
Cigarettes and «certain other combusted tobacco products» would not be allowed to have more than 0.7 milligrams of nicotine per gram of tobacco under the proposed rule, according to the FDA. The agency said that lower nicotine levels would «be low enough to no longer create or sustain addiction.»
While the FDA insisted at the time that the rule «would not ban» cigarettes, critics disagree and are optimistic that Trump will continue his push for nicotine freedom and upend the rule.
TRUMP FDA NOMINEE TURNS VACCINE QUESTION ON DEM, RECALLING CONTROVERSIAL BIDEN DECISION
L- President Joe Biden; R- President Donald Trump (Left: Pete Marovich/Getty Images; Right: Oleg Nikishin/Getty Images)
«The Biden legacy on tobacco policy is one of hamfisted regulations, crippling bureaucracy, and prohibition fueling massive criminal markets — from cigarettes to Chinese vapes,» Rich Marianos, former assistant director of the ATF, executive director of the Tobacco Law Enforcement Network, told Fox News Digital.
«President Trump can put the nail in the coffin of that failed era by killing this insane ban on cigarettes and focusing resources on vigilant enforcement.»
Peter Brennan, Executive Director of the New England Convenience Store & Energy Marketers Association (NECSEM), told Fox News Digital that «prohibitionist tobacco policy» ends up punishing small businesses by «taking sales out of our stores and pushing them into the streets and the illicit market.»
FDA PHASING OUT SOME ANIMAL TESTING IN ‘WIN-WIN’ FOR ETHICS AND PUBLIC HEALTH: COMMISSIONER

Signage outside of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) headquarters in White Oak, Maryland. (REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo)
«Biden’s plan to ban all cigarettes is a real threat that is still hanging over our heads.» Brennan said. «We are hopeful that President Trump will help America’s convenience stores by putting a stop to this disastrous idea.»
Trump has taken several actions in the nicotine space since taking office, including withdrawing a proposed rule seeking to ban menthol cigarettes, after the Biden administration said it intended to make the ban become a reality after years of advocacy from anti-smoking groups.
Months later, FDA Tobacco Director Brian King, who critics believed was a key figure behind the administration’s efforts against banning menthols and the «war on nicotine» was removed from his post in a move that experts who spoke to Fox News Digital praised earlier this month.
«President Trump has succeeded in his nicotine freedom crusade since taking office, repealing Biden’s misguided menthol ban and firing the FDA architect behind it,» a Republican strategist who worked to elect Trump in 2024 told Fox News Digital this week. «The logical next step is to officially repeal a Biden-era rule on banning low nicotine products, which will be the final blow to Biden’s war on nicotine.»
Fox News Digital reached out to the FDA for comment.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Biden’s perceived «war on nicotine,» along with the surge in illicit Chinese vapes flooding the market over the last few years, is believed by some to have hurt his presidential campaign along with that of VP Kamala Harris, who eventually took his place on the ticket.
«If President Trump withdraws Biden’s disastrous rule that would effectively ban cigarettes, it would be a huge win for his working-class coalition,» a person close to the Trump administration told Fox News Digital.
Fox News Digital’s Alec Schemmel contributed to this report.
Politics,Joe Biden,Donald Trump
INTERNACIONAL
Amnistía Internacional denunció más de 1.000 ejecuciones en Irán en lo que va de 2025

El régimen de Irán ha ejecutado a más de 1.000 personas en lo que va de 2025, según reportó Amnistía Internacional este viernes. Se trata de la cifra más alta de ejecuciones anuales registradas por la organización en al menos los últimos quince años. La cifra ya supera los 975 casos reportados durante todo 2024, según estadísticas difundidas por Naciones Unidas y diferentes entidades de derechos humanos internacionales.
De acuerdo con un informe de Amnistía Internacional, solo en los primeros nueve meses del año, el número de personas ejecutadas por el régimen iraní sobrepasó la totalidad de ejecuciones registradas durante 2024. Esta escalada se produce en un contexto de fuerte represión estatal tras las protestas del movimiento “Mujer, Vida, Libertad” en 2022, junto con un aumento sostenido de sentencias de muerte por delitos relacionados con drogas y, más recientemente, por acusaciones de colaboración con países considerados enemigos.
Heba Morayef, directora regional para Medio Oriente y Norte de África de Amnistía Internacional, señaló que “la continua escalada de ejecuciones en Irán ha alcanzado proporciones horribles, ya que las autoridades siguen utilizando sistemáticamente la pena de muerte como herramienta de represión para sofocar la disidencia, mostrando un ataque escalofriante contra el derecho a la vida”.
Morayef remarcó además que el uso masivo de la pena capital, especialmente tras juicios considerados rutinariamente injustos, agrava la injusticia, dado que las personas condenadas incluyen disidentes políticos, integrantes de minorías étnicas o procesados por delitos de drogas.
Amnistía Internacional llamó a las autoridades iraníes a instaurar una moratoria inmediata sobre las ejecuciones y a la comunidad internacional a ejercer presión para frenar las ejecuciones programadas. La organización denunció la impunidad sistemática frente a las ejecuciones arbitrarias y abogó por el uso de jurisdicción universal para que funcionarios iraníes sean responsables ante la ley internacional por posibles crímenes y graves violaciones de derechos humanos.
En cuanto a los grupos afectados, las ejecuciones impactaron de manera desproporcionada en minorías marginadas, como las comunidades afgana, baluchi y kurda.
Según Amnistía Internacional, el número de afganos ejecutados en Irán triplicó su cantidad en solo un año: de 25 en 2023 a 80 en 2024. Además, la organización subrayó que al menos dos mujeres kurdas, la trabajadora humanitaria Pakhshan Azizi y la disidente Verisheh Moradi, permanecen condenadas a muerte y en riesgo de ejecución.

La organización Iran Human Rights (IHR), con sede en Noruega, también confirmó que Irán ejecutó al menos a mil prisioneros en 2025, calificando la situación como una “campaña de asesinatos masivos” en las cárceles. Solo en la última semana se registraron al menos 64 ejecuciones, con un promedio mayor a nueve ahorcamientos diarios. IHR alertó que sus cifras constituyen un “mínimo absoluto”, pues el verdadero alcance se ve limitado por la falta de transparencia y las restricciones informativas. La mayoría de las ejecuciones se efectúa en prisiones mediante ahorcamiento, aunque algunas han ocurrido en público.
Datos recogidos por Amnistía Internacional señalan que, desde el 13 de junio, al menos diez hombres han sido ejecutados por cargos políticos, incluidos ocho acusados de espionaje para Israel. El Parlamento iraní aprobó una legislación que, de ser ratificada, expandiría aún más las posibilidades para imponer la pena capital por cargos vagamente definidos como “colaboración con gobiernos hostiles” o “espionaje”.
En Irán, todas las ejecuciones se realizan actualmente mediante ahorcamiento de acuerdo con la sharía, la ley islámica, si bien en teoría se permiten otros métodos. Las organizaciones de derechos humanos subrayan que Irán ocupa el segundo puesto mundial en número de ejecuciones, solo superado por China.
El incremento de la pena de muerte en el país se vincula también a la represión de las protestas contra el liderazgo religioso y político, sobre todo tras el estallido de movilizaciones contra el ayatollah Ali Khamenei en 2022 y la guerra de doce días contra Israel en junio de 2025. En ese contexto, la mayoría de las ejecuciones se atribuyen a sentencias por delitos de drogas y cargos de “enemistad contra Dios”, “corrupción en la tierra” y “rebelión armada contra el Estado”, tras juicios señalados por graves irregularidades y tortura, como en el caso de Babak Shahbazi, ejecutado el 17 de septiembre de 2025.
La tendencia creciente de ejecuciones durante los últimos años, en particular a partir de 2021, contraviene los estándares del derecho internacional, que prohíbe el uso de la pena de muerte para delitos vinculados a drogas. Varias entidades internacionales reclaman una transformación en la política penal iraní y la abolición definitiva de la pena capital.
(Con información de AFP)
INTERNACIONAL
Massive cheating scandal involving Democratic governor candidate also involved husband: Report

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
A massive cheating scandal that rocked the U.S. Naval Academy in 1994 and involved New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rep. Mikie Sherrill also involved her husband, Jason Hedberg, according to reporting by The New York Post.
This follows the improper release of bombshell private military records by the National Archives and Records Administration, which revealed that Sherrill was not allowed to walk with her graduating class at the Naval Academy and that her name was not included in the commencement program due to her involvement in the scandal.
Sherrill, a congresswoman representing New Jersey, has not been accused of cheating at the Naval Academy but rather of failing to report those who had cheated on an exam.
The Post reported that Hedberg was also caught up in the scandal. The outlet said Hedberg was one of nearly 50 midshipmen who sued the Naval Academy, the Navy and the Pentagon to block an honor board at the school from deciding whether they should be dismissed.
NJ GOVERNOR’S RACE ESCALATES AS GOP CONTENDER THREATENS LEGAL ACTION AMID DEM LEAK CLAIMS
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mikie Sherrill (in blue) and her husband Jason Hedberg (far left) and family on stage on June 10 after winning the New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial primary. (Deirdre Heavey/Fox News Digital)
The suit alleged that each named plaintiff was denied due process by the academy and ordered by their superiors to make incriminating statements, according to the outlet.
The complaint stated that «in compliance with the orders of their superior military officers, each named plaintiff was compelled to make inculpatory statements to Navy Inspector General investigators.»
While Sherrill did not walk in her commencement ceremony, Hedberg’s name is included in the 1994 commencement program, indicating he was cleared to take part in the ceremony, which took place three months after the suit was filed.
Sherrill is locked in a tight race against Republican Jack Ciattarelli to replace term-limited Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy.
Sean Higgins, a spokesperson for Sherrill’s campaign, responded to the development by telling Fox News Digital that «the fact Jack Ciattarelli and MAGA Republicans are going after Mikie’s family is sick and desperate.
«Jason graduated, served honorably as a Naval Officer and the illegal disclosure of Mikie’s unredacted personal military records, including her Social Security number and the unlawful dissemination of those records by the Ciattarelli campaign is a disgrace and must be investigated.»
While investigating Sherrill’s suspected involvement in the 1994 cheating scandal, Ciattarelli’s campaign also submitted its own FOIA request, which confirmed her name was not on the U.S. Naval Academy graduation program that year.
The revelations have rocked the already tight race in blue-leaning New Jersey.
CIATTARELLI DEMANDS SHERRILL ‘COME CLEAN’ AFTER NAVAL ACADEMY CHEATING SCANDAL RESURFACES

Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli, left, shakes hands with Democratic candidate for governor Mikie Sherrill, right, before a debate Sept. 21, 2025, in Lawrenceville, N.J. (Noah K. Murray/AP Photo)
The Ciattarelli campaign said Nicholas De Gregorio, a friend who is not directly involved in the campaign, «submitted a lawful FOIA request» about Sherrill’s military background of his own accord.
A spokesperson for the National Archives and Records Administration stated that the technician who responded to De Gregorio’s request about Sherrill’s military record «should NOT have released the entire record,» which included private information such as her Social Security number.
The National Archives apologized for the breach of privacy and has committed to holding its staff accountable for the blunder.
In response, Sherrill has accused Ciattarelli of illegally obtaining the records.
«To have a guy I’m running against, it will stop at nothing, it will stop at nothing, who will illegally obtain records. It’s just beyond the pale,» Sherrill charged Thursday night on the campaign trail in Plainfield, New Jersey.
REPUBLICAN AIMING TO FLIP BLUE STATE RIPS DEM RIVAL FOR BLAMING ‘EVERYTHING ON TRUMP’

According to records obtained by the New Jersey Globe, Sherrill’s name was not included on the commencement program during the May 25, 1994, ceremony. (Mikie Sherrill)
«I didn’t turn in some of my classmates, so I didn’t walk but graduated and was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Navy, serving for nearly ten years with the highest level of distinction and honor,» Sherrill told the Globe when confronted with the commencement program. She defended not releasing any disciplinary records from her time at the academy.
Sherrill has also accused the Trump administration of colluding with Ciattarelli’s campaign.
«This is an illegal and dangerous weaponization of the federal government,» Sherrill said in a statement Thursday as she criticized Ciattarelli and the Trump administration for «breaking the law and exposing private records for political gain.»
On Thursday, Higgins accused the Trump administration of «targeting political opponents with an absolute disregard for the law, this time in concert with the Ciattarelli campaign.»
NEW JERSEY DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNOR FACES NET WORTH QUESTIONS AS VIRAL CLIP RESURFACES

Republican Jack Ciattarelli (right) is demanding Rep. Mikie Sherrill (left) release her military records as New Jersey’s gubernatorial race heats up. (Noah K. Murray/AP Photos)
For his part, Ciattarelli is calling on Sherrill to release her records to prove why she was blocked from attending her graduation ceremony.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
In a letter sent to Sherrill’s lawyers, a lawyer representing the Ciattarelli campaign said that any claim that Ciattarelli for Governor (CFG) was «part of a conspiracy to smear [Sherrill] with ill-gotten documents is completely false. In fact, it is defamatory and if [Sherrill] and her campaign continue to push this false narrative and allege that CFG and/or [campaign strategist Chris] Russell acted illegally, we will pursue defamation claims.»
Sherrill’s campaign did not immediately provide a response to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on her husband’s involvement in the scandal.
Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
2025 2026 elections coverage,new jersey,governors
INTERNACIONAL
Sin final a la vista en la guerra en Gaza, Tony Blair ya piensa en ser la máxima autoridad de la Franja

Kosovo y Timor como Inspiración
Primero, Hamas debe liberar a todos los rehenes
Dubái, un plan pagado por los países árabes
Modelo Irlanda del Norte
- SOCIEDAD2 días ago
Quiénes son los cuatro detenidos por el triple femicidio de Florencio Varela
- ECONOMIA3 días ago
No más cepo para freelancers, que podrán cobrar dólares del exterior sin límites
- CHIMENTOS2 días ago
La decisión que en el hospital tomaron con Thiago Medina ante el agravamiento de su cuadro: “Ateneo clínico interdisciplinario”