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Former Trump lawyer Halligan defends US prosecutor status in wake of Comey, James dismissals
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FIRST ON FOX: Former Trump lawyer Lindsey Halligan argued in a new court filing Tuesday that a judge’s November ruling dismissing two criminal cases does not undermine her authority to serve as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia or to represent the federal government in ongoing cases.
The new filing, previewed exclusively to Fox News Digital, comes amid a swirl of leadership questions within the U.S. prosecutor’s office for the Eastern District of Virginia, dubbed the «rocket docket» due to the court’s swift handling of federal cases, including many high-profile national security cases, and just hours after the news that Halligan’s deputy, Robert McBride, longtime federal prosecutor and second-highest-ranking U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia, was dismissed from his role amid broader disagreements with DOJ.
U.S. District Judge James Currie in November ruled Halligan was unlawfully appointed to her role as interim U.S. attorney for the district, and ordered dismissed without prejudice the criminal cases she brought against former FBI director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. (The Justice Department has appealed both dismissals to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.)
The back-and-forth over Halligan’s status came under fresh scrutiny last week, after U.S. District Judge David Novak issued an unprompted court order for Halligan to explain to the court, in writing, her continued representation as the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and why that «does not constitute a false or misleading statement,» which Novak suggested could be grounds for disciplinary proceedings.
Novak further asserted that Currie’s determination on the unlawful nature of Halligan’s appointment represents «binding precedent in this district» and should not be ignored.
COMEY SEEKS TO TOSS CRIMINAL CASE CALLING TRUMP PROSECUTOR ‘UNLAWFUL’ APPOINTEE
Lindsey Halligan, special assistant to the president, speaks with a reporter outside the White House, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025, in Washington. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)
The response filed Tuesday by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, and Halligan, vehemently disputes those claims.
«To answer the Court’s inquisition directly: ‘the basis for Ms. Halligan’s identification of herself as the United States Attorney, notwithstanding Judge Currie’s contrary ruling’ is that, in the government’s view, Ms. Halligan is the United States Attorney, and Judge Currie’s ruling did not and could not require the United States to acquiesce to her contrary (and erroneous) legal reasoning outside of those cases,» the Justice Department told Novak on Tuesday.
They stated further that Halligan’s identification «is correct and consistent with the Department of Justice’s internal guidance, and at minimum reflects a contested legal position that the United States is entitled to maintain notwithstanding a single district judge’s contrary view.»
MAURENE COMEY SUES DOJ FOR ‘UNLAWFUL’ FIRING, DEMANDS REINSTATEMENT
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia is seen in Alexandria, Va. (Photo by Bonnie Cash/Getty Images) ((Bonnie Cash/Getty Images))
In addition, they said, Currie’s determination on the validity of Halligan’s appointment as it relates to Comey’s and James’s criminal cases is not binding – nor does it preclude the Justice Department from challenging that determination, or Halligan from legitimately heading up the U.S. attorney’s office on other cases and matters.
«A contested legal position does not become a factual misrepresentation simply because one district judge has rejected it,» the Justice Department said Tuesday. «In any event, this Court has no authority to strike Ms. Halligan’s title from the Government’s signature block.»
The new filing comes after months of back-and-forth over the decision to install Halligan, Trump’s former personal lawyer with no prosecutorial experience, as the interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia last fall.
The Justice Department, for its part, has doubled down on its defense of Halligan, and senior Trump officials have blasted the judges in question for engaging in what they described as a «campaign of bias and hostility» against Halligan.
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Attorney General Pam Bondi is pictured. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
«As Attorney General Bondi and President Trump know well, Lindsey Halligan is an effective U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting violent crime at the hands of illegal aliens, prosecuting the alleged distribution by a Democrat operative of child sexual abuse material, and even prosecuting alleged money laundering by a Venezuelan national, which is exactly why her opponents want to stop her,» a spokesperson for the Justice Department told Fox News Digital.
The Justice Department also confirmed news of McBride’s dismissal from EDVA, which they attributed to a refusal to take on significant litigation of importance to EDVA, specifically in regard to immigration-related cases, including as cases involving sanctuary city policies and drug enforcement cases, which have long been priorities of the Trump administration.
Currie ruled in November that Halligan was unlawfully appointed to the role. Because Halligan was the sole prosecutor who secured the criminal indictments against Comey and James, Currie ruled that the indictments were invalid, dismissed Comey’s case and James’ case «without prejudice.»
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That detail leaves the door open for the government to secure new indictments, should it choose to do so.
This is a developing news story. Check back soon for updates.
politics,donald trump,federal courts,james comey,pam bondi,fbi
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Descubren que el centro de la hipófisis, la glándula bajo el cerebro, sería la vía más segura para cirugías
Un grupo de científicos de México, Chile y Argentina descubrió una zona con pocos vasos sanguíneos en el centro de la glándula pituitaria de las personas. La hipófisis, también llamada glándula pituitaria, se encuentra en la base del cerebro y regula funciones hormonales esenciales.
“Nuestro trabajo aporta una región hipovascular en la hipófisis a la cual denominamos zona de entrada pituitaria. Abordar esta lesión quirúrgicamente para remover tumores en la región disminuye la probabilidad de sangrado y, por ende, las complicaciones postoperatorias”, resaltó en diálogo con Infobae Gerardo Marín, el primer autor del estudio.
Marín integra el Departamento de Neurocirugía del Hospital Regional 1° de Octubre, que depende del Instituto de Seguridad y Servicios Sociales de los Trabajadores del Estado en México. El experto también forma parte de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM).
Según el estudio que los investigadores publicaron en la revista World Neurosurgery, la región central de la hipófisis tiene menos vasos sanguíneos que sus bordes.
La investigación también fue realizada por expertos de la Universidad Nacional de Tucumán y la Universidad de Buenos Aires de la Argentina, y la Universidad de Valparaíso de Chile.
La glándula pituitaria controla el funcionamiento de otras glándulas del cuerpo. Se divide en dos partes: la adenohipófisis (lóbulo anterior) y la neurohipófisis (lóbulo posterior), que tienen funciones y estructuras distintas.
En medicina, la vascularización significa la cantidad y disposición de vasos sanguíneos en un tejido. Aunque la hipófisis recibe mucha sangre, las incisiones en su línea media suelen no alterar la función hormonal.
Los neurocirujanos habían notado que operaciones como las realizadas para la enfermedad de Cushing o hemi-hipofisectomías (extracción parcial de la hipófisis) suelen proteger la producción hormonal cuando se hacen por el centro.
Sospecharon que eso ocurría porque el centro de la hipófisis tenía menos vasos sanguíneos que los bordes.
Quisieron estudiar esa diferencia y entender si explicaba la “resiliencia” de la hipófisis tras cortes centrales.
El análisis se hizo en el Laboratorio de Neuroanatomía Microquirúrgica de la Universidad de Buenos Aires. Para el estudio, se usaron glándulas de tres adultos fallecidos sin enfermedades previas en esa zona.
Las muestras se prepararon con técnicas histológicas, que consisten en cortar el tejido en partes finísimas y teñirlas para ver sus detalles.
Para identificar los vasos sanguíneos se utilizó el marcador CD34, una proteína que aparece en las células de las paredes de los vasos. Así, se pudo contar cuántos vasos había en cada zona. Se hicieron cortes en dos planos: el plano sagital, que divide el cuerpo de adelante hacia atrás, y el plano coronal, que lo divide de lado a lado.
De esta forma, los investigadores compararon la cantidad de vasos en el centro y los bordes de la hipófisis.
Los resultados fueron contundentes: en el plano sagital, la densidad microvascular fue significativamente menor en la región de la línea media en comparación con la región periférica.
En el plano coronal, la diferencia no se observó. Los investigadores explicaron que eso se debe a que los vasos del centro están alineados de arriba hacia abajo, y el corte coronal los atraviesa, lo que hace que parezcan más numerosos.
La zona identificada es un corredor anatómico donde los vasos se alinean de forma vertical, lo que permite hacer cortes quirúrgicos más seguros por el centro.
El análisis detalló que la parte anterosuperior de la hipófisis tiene la mayor densidad de vasos, mientras que la posteroinferior tiene la menor.
“Esta información resulta clave para planificar operaciones sin poner en riesgo funciones hormonales”, aclaró Marín a Infobae.
“Necesitamos continuar diseccionando esta zona de entrada pituitaria con un mayor número de personas para saber qué tanto disminuyen los riesgos de las complicaciones neuroquirurgicas”, reconoció el doctor Marín en la entrevista con Infobae.
Además, “es fundamental confirmar que este hallazgo no sea exclusivo de pacientes con patología tumoral, sino que esté presente también en personas sin enfermedad hipofisaria, lo que garantizaría su aplicabilidad clínica general”, afirmó.
Aclaró que “los próximos estudios estarán dirigidos a revelar esas preguntas”.
Los investigadores sugirieron que los neurocirujanos tengan en cuenta la zona de entrada hipofisaria al planificar cirugías del centro de la glándula, sobre todo en operaciones para la enfermedad de Cushing y hemi-hipofisectomías.
“Si bien está limitado por un tamaño de muestra pequeño, estos resultados resaltan un aspecto previamente poco caracterizado de la angioarquitectura hipofisaria que puede representar un corredor más seguro para la intervención quirúrgica”, señalaron.
El equipo quiere ampliar el estudio con más muestras y sumar técnicas de imagen en pacientes vivos para confirmar la importancia clínica de la zona identificada.
Además, propusieron analizar otros aspectos, como la actividad metabólica de la hipófisis, para comprender mejor su funcionamiento.
El hallazgo de la zona hipovascular central en la glándula pituitaria redefine el mapa de la cirugía cerebral y abre nuevas rutas para proteger la función endocrina.
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Rand Paul says GOP colleagues ‘don’t give a s‑‑t about these people in the boats’: They ‘say they’re pro-life’
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Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., accused his «pro-life» Republican colleagues of not caring about the people killed in boat strikes near Venezuela who the Trump administration, without providing evidence, claims were trafficking fentanyl.
During an appearance on «The Joe Rogan Experience» released on Tuesday. Paul said GOP lawmakers «don’t give a s‑‑-» about the people who died on the vessels, blasting his colleagues for not granting the presumption of innocence.
«I look at my colleagues who say they’re pro-life, and they value God’s inspiration in life, but they don’t give a s‑‑- about these people in the boats,» Paul said. «Are they terrible people in the boats? I don’t know. They’re probably poor people in Venezuela and Colombia.»
«I guess what I don’t feel connected to my Republican colleagues is that those lives don’t matter at all, and we just blow them up. And against all justice, and against all laws of war, all laws of just war, we have never blown up people who were shipwrecked,» he added, referring to the administration’s reported targeting and killing of survivors of initial strikes who were clinging to wreckage.
RAND PAUL SAYS TRUMP’S THREAT TO BOMB IRAN ‘IS NOT THE ANSWER’: NOT THE ‘JOB OF THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT’
Sen. Rand Paul accused his Republican colleagues of not caring about the people killed in boat strikes near Venezuela. (Getty Images)
The liberty-minded Republican said it is «against the military code of justice to do that.»
«We’re doing it and everybody just says, ‘Oh, well, they’re drug dealers,’» he said.
Paul criticized his fellow GOP lawmakers who have repeated the administration’s claims about the boats carrying fentanyl. He also took issue with colleagues who hold the position of, «Well, we’re at war with them. They’re committing war by bringing drugs into America.»
«They’re not even coming here,» Paul explained. «They’re going to these islands in the south part of the Caribbean. The cocaine — and it’s not fentanyl at all — the cocaine’s going to Europe.»
He emphasized that «those little boats can’t get here.»
«No one’s even asked this common question: Those boats have these four engines on them. They’re outboard boats. You can probably go about 100 miles before you have to refuel. Two thousand miles from us, they’d have to refuel 20 times to get here,» Paul said.
Sen. Rand Paul said GOP lawmakers «don’t give a s‑‑t» about the people who died on the vessels. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc )
The senator accused the administration of conducting the boat strikes to create «a pretense and a false argument» ahead of the operation to attack Venezuela and arrest its president, Nicolás Maduro.
«It’s all been a pretense for arresting Maduro,» he said. «So, we have to set up the predicate. We got to show you we care about drugs.»
Paul helped the Senate advance a resolution last week that would limit Trump’s ability to conduct further attacks against Venezuela after the U.S. military’s recent move to strike the country and capture Maduro, which the Kentucky Republican said amounts to war. The Upper Chamber could pass the measure later this week, although it faces an uphill battle in the House despite some support from Republicans.
«I think bombing a capital and removing the head of state is, by all definitions, war,» Paul told reporters before the procedural vote last week. «Does this mean we have carte blanche that the president can make the decision any time, anywhere, to invade a foreign country and remove people that we’ve accused of a crime?»
SENATE REPUBLICANS BLOCK SCHIFF EFFORT TO FORCE RELEASE OF CARIBBEAN STRIKE FOOTAGE
Sen. Rand Paul accused the Trump administration of conducting the boat strikes to create «a pretense and a false argument» ahead of the move to attack Venezuela and arrest its president. (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP via Getty Images)
The lawmaker has repeatedly criticized the administration’s boat strikes on alleged narco-terrorists in recent months, often raising concerns about killing people without due process and the possibility of killing innocent people. The senator previously cited Coast Guard statistics that show a significant percentage of boats boarded on suspicion of drug trafficking are innocent.
Paul said on «The Joe Rogan Experience» that he believes the administration might attack Mexico next, which Trump has signaled could be a future target.
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«They want to do that next. They want to bomb Mexico,» Paul said.
Trump has said cartels are «running Mexico» and that «something’s going to have to be done» because Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum is «very frightened» of the cartels.
rand paul,politics,donald trump,pete hegseth,venezuelan political crisis,republicans,pentagon
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Passengers baffled and confused after screams burst from beneath taxiing Air Canada plane
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Passengers aboard a taxiing aircraft were reportedly left horrified last month when chilling screams suddenly echoed from beneath the cabin just moments before takeoff.
According to the officials, a ground crew member became trapped inside the plane’s cargo hold when doors «inadvertently closed» behind him, according to local station CBC.
The incident happened on Dec. 13 when Air Canada Flight 1502 was preparing to depart Toronto Pearson Airport for Moncton, New Brunswick, the outlet said.
The Airbus flight, which was carrying 184 passengers, was ultimately canceled following the incident.
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An Air Canada plane is seen at Pearson International Airport in Toronto, Canada, on Aug. 14, 2025. (Arrush Chopra/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Passengers told CBC that distressing sounds of muffled banging and desperate screams quickly filled the rear of the aircraft as it began taxiing toward the runway, prompting flight attendants to sprint down the aisle in alarm.
«Some of the people that were sitting towards the back of the plane heard the person screaming and banging, trying to get their attention,» passenger Gabrielle Caron said.
«We could see the crew gathering around the plane, so we knew something was happening,» she added. «Then, the pilot tells us that there is someone from the crew in the luggage hold.»
PASSENGER ALLEGEDLY OPENS EMERGENCY EXIT DOOR ON TAXIING PLANE, DEPLOYS SLIDE AT ATLANTA AIRPORT: POLICE
An employee loads suitcases onto an aircraft. (Christophe Gateau/picture alliance via Getty Images)
The aircraft reportedly halted before reaching the runway. Moments later, the trapped ground crew member emerged safely from the cargo and entered the cabin, reassuring shaken passengers that he was unharmed, Caron reported.
Air Canada confirmed to CBC that no injuries were reported in the incident.
Caron added that the crew member involved was reportedly assisting ground staff by loading items as an extra set of hands and may have been left unaccounted for when the doors closed.
Air Canada flights are stationed outside Toronto Pearson Airport. (Nick Lachance/Toronto Star via Getty Images)
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The plane eventually returned to the terminal, where passengers were asked to disembark while the flight crew completed necessary paperwork, CBC reported.
The flight was ultimately canceled after several delays, the outlet said.
Fox News Digital reached out to Air Canada for more information.
canada,airlines,airports,travel
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