INTERNACIONAL
GOP reps, advocacy group to target competitive House districts in Trump tax-cut push

EXCLUSIVE: Americans for Prosperity (AFP) is hosting a day of action on Saturday in competitive congressional districts as House Republicans iron out the details of President Donald Trump’s «big, beautiful bill.»
AFP is teaming up with GOP Reps. David Schweikert and Juan Ciscomani of Arizona, Ashley Hinson of Iowa, Tom Barrett of Michigan and Ryan Mackenzie of Pennsylvania for door-knocking, phone banks and grassroots organizing in a show of support for extending Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA).
Canvassers will encourage constituents in Arizona, Iowa, Michigan and Pennsylvania to urge their senators and representatives to extend Trump’s tax cuts as a key component of his «big, beautiful bill.»
«Working families and small businesses throughout the country are counting on Congress to act as soon as possible to renew President Trump’s tax cuts,» AFP Managing Director Kent Strang said in a statement to Fox News Digital ahead of the day of action.
CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS TARGETING DOZENS OF HOUSE REPUBLICAN-HELD SEATS IN 2026 MIDTERM BATTLE FOR MAJORITY
From left: GOP Reps. David Schweikert of Arizona, Tom Barrett of Michigan and Ashley Hinson of Iowa are joining Americans for Prosperity in a day of action on Saturday. (Getty Images)
«With support from AFP’s activists bringing their unmatched energy and drive this weekend, we can ensure we extend pro-growth tax policy and help Republicans prevent the largest tax hike in history from crushing the middle class.»
REPUBLICANS TO TAKE AIM AT THESE 26 DEMOCRAT-HELD HOUSE SEATS IN 2026 MIDTERMS
AFP is launching their day of action in conjunction with their $20 million «Protect Prosperity» campaign, which the conservative advocacy group has called the single largest investment of any outside group dedicated to preserving the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
As House Republicans searched for alternative ways to offset an extension of the 2017 tax cuts and Trump’s ambitious goals to cut taxes on tips, overtime and Social Security, AFP urged Republicans to offset budget cuts by eliminating former President Joe Biden’s «Green New Deal giveaways.»

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., left, is leading House Republicans’ negotiations on President Donald Trump’s «big, beautiful bill.» (Andrew Harnik)
The House Energy and Commerce Committee debated green energy cuts during their lengthy markup on Capitol Hill this week as part of the House budget reconciliation process.
Meanwhile, House Republicans debated potentially raising taxes as Trump indicated his support for a small tax hike to fund his «big, beautiful bill.» While rumors swirled among House Republicans for weeks that the White House was floating a tax hike on millionaires, Trump confirmed on Friday he would be «OK if they do.»
However, House Republicans seemed to drop their plans for a new millionaire’s tax hike as the reconciliation began. The House Ways and Means Committee released nearly 400 pages of legislation on Monday that did not include a tax hike.

Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Pa., flipped his competitive House district from blue to red in 2024. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
It’s no coincidence that AFP is focusing its attention on competitive districts in Arizona, Iowa, Michigan and Pennsylvania, as contentious races are expected in 2026.
In Arizona’s sixth congressional district, Ciscomani won his House seat in 2022 with just over 50% of the vote. Schweikert narrowly won Arizona’s first congressional district by less than 2% of the vote in 2022 and 2024, as one of the most expensive House races in the country last year.
And while Hinson won by a much larger margin in Iowa’s second congressional district, Democrat Kevin Techau has already announced his campaign to unseat Hinson.
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Both Barrett in Michigan and Mackenzie in Pennsylvania managed to pick up Republican House seats in 2024, flipping their congressional districts from blue to red. Democrats will likely seek to win those seats back in 2026.
Politics,House of Representatives Elections,House Budget
INTERNACIONAL
Newsom knocked for ‘insane’ California gas prices after blaming Trump for rising costs

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While California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom blames President Donald Trump’s actions in Iran for the price of gas, critics are calling him out for «insane» climate policies as the state’s prices at the pump soar significantly above the national average.
On Tuesday, Newsom, who is widely considered a top contender for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, took to X to slam «Trump’s war with Iran» over gas prices.
Newsom wrote that «Americans will pay $1.5 BILLION MORE at the gas pump just this week because of Donald Trump’s war with Iran.» He added that California «will continue using the tools we’ve spent years developing to help fight price spikes and lessen the blow from Trump’s recklessness.»
In response, Steve Hilton, a Republican candidate for California governor, slammed Newsom, saying, «California has the highest gas taxes and fees in America.»
CALIFORNIA VOTER ID INITIATIVE CLEARS SIGNATURE THRESHOLD, SETTING UP NOVEMBER SHOWDOWN WITH NEWSOM
California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is taking criticism for the state’s soaring gas prices after blaming «Trump’s war with Iran» for the spike. (Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images; iStock)
«Gavin Newsom is trying to shift blame,» said Hilton, «and he’s blaming these insane gas prices in California, $5.49, $5.69, heading to $6, on the war in Iran. It’s not the war in Iran, because in the rest of the country, they don’t have $5.49, they have $3 gas.»
«It’s entirely because of Gavin Newsom’s insane climate dogma that we have the highest gas taxes in the country,» he continued.
Hilton called on Newsom to end his national book tour and to immediately «suspend the gas tax.»
At approximately $5.33 per gallon, California has by far the highest average gas prices in the U.S., according to AAA. California gas prices significantly exceed those in the next two highest-priced states, Washington and Hawaii, which have average prices of $4.72 and $4.69 per gallon, respectively. Meanwhile, the national average in the U.S. is $3.57 per gallon.
California has the highest gas tax, at roughly 70 cents per gallon, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
In a 2025 opinion piece on Fox News Digital, Hilton wrote that «California’s sky-high gas prices» are the «direct result of 15 years of one-party Democratic rule.»
He added that «Gavin Newsom, former Vice President Kamala Harris and every other leading Democrat in the state have been cheerleaders for this ‘war on fossil fuels,’ endlessly bragging about ‘leading the world’ on climate change.»
SUPREME COURT BLOCKS CALIFORNIA BAN ON NOTIFYING STUDENTS’ PARENTS ABOUT GENDER TRANSITIONS

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum speaks alongside Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodriguez (out of frame), after their meeting at the Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas on March 4, 2026. (Federico PARRA / AFP via Getty Images)
Hilton is not the only one criticizing Newsom’s oil and gas policies.
Roxanne Hoge, chair of the Los Angeles County GOP, called Newsom’s take «a textbook case of projection, pointing fingers at others while his own record is riddled with mismanagement and failure.»
«Californians have seen the cost of gas be higher than the rest of the USA for reasons having nothing to do with President Trump. He has driven supply down by banishing producers while not fixing infrastructure with gas tax money as promised,» Hoge told Fox News Digital, adding, «We all know that Gavin Newsom has moved on to campaigning for president in spite of his atrocious record at home.»
On Wednesday, Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum posted on X that «California is KILLING their economy!»
The secretary wrote that while Newsom «continues to close refineries & drive up gas prices for California,» the department approved over 6,000 drilling permits «to advance [Trump’s] American Energy Dominance Agenda & lower gas prices nationwide.»
Chevron President Andy Walz also recently sounded the alarm, warning California Gov. Gavin Newsom and state regulators that newly proposed «cap-and-invest» amendments are a death knell for California’s remaining refineries.
‘UTTERLY UNAFFORDABLE’: STUDY REVEALS HOW DEEP BLUE CITY’S MINIMUM WAGE LAW IS RAVAGING KEY INDUSTRY
The California Air Resources Board is aiming to make companies cleaner by aggressively lowering the cap on how much total pollution is allowed in the state. Specifically, the board is proposing to pull 118.3 million allowances out of the state’s market between 2027 and 2030 and has more recently increased its carbon reduction target to 90% by 2045.
The energy giant warns the move will kill more than half a million jobs, threaten national security and spike gas prices by more than a dollar per gallon — all to fuel a state-run «shakedown» of the energy sector — in a letter addressed to Newsom and obtained by The California Globe.
«The proposed regulation will cripple the survivability of the state’s remaining refineries, which will result in California losing the entire industry to this misguided program,» Chevron President Andy Walz wrote.
«This regulation will increase transportation and aviation fuel prices for consumers. It will risk significant job losses, including many high-paying union jobs, while reducing funding for essential public services,» he continued, adding that «it will upend California’s fuels market and threaten critical energy and national security assets.»
In the same vein, Tim Stewart, a spokesperson for the U.S. Oil & Gas Association, told Fox News Digital that «California’s energy malaise is beginning to infect the other western states’ economies and unless there is a course change immediately, we will all feel the pain of decades of horribly bad California energy policy led by Governor Newsom.»

One expert predicted «we will all feel the pain of decades of horribly bad California energy policy led by Governor Newsom.» (Getty Images)
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«California’s gross mismanagement of its energy production and distribution economy is becoming a national security issue, and it now impacts all of us,» Stewart continued, adding that in addition to this, «agriculture, manufacturing, housing, the financial system is all impacted.»
«It doesn’t have to be this way, and Governor Newsom knows it,» said Stewart. «He also knows that no matter how hard he tries – he can’t pin this on Trump or our industry. The public isn’t buying it anymore.»
Fox Business’ Kristen Altus contributed to this report.
gavin newsom,energy,energy in america,california,democratic party,donald trump
INTERNACIONAL
La Unión Europea advirtió que la guerra en Medio Oriente podría impulsar su tasa de inflación por encima del 3%

La Unión Europea advirtió que su tasa de inflación podría superar el 3% este año si la guerra en Medio Oriente mantiene el precio del petróleo Brent cerca de 100 dólares por barril y los precios del gas permanecen elevados durante un período prolongado. El escenario también implicaría un menor crecimiento económico en 2026, según explicó el comisario europeo de Economía, Valdis Dombrovskis, durante una reunión con los ministros de Finanzas del bloque.
De acuerdo con personas familiarizadas con las conversaciones consultadas por Bloomberg, bajo ese escenario el crecimiento económico de la Unión Europea en 2026 sería hasta 0,4 puntos porcentuales inferior al ritmo de 1,4% que el bloque había previsto a finales del año pasado.
El escenario que analizó la Comisión Europea también contempla que los precios del gas en Europa se sitúen en torno a 75 euros por megavatio hora durante el resto del año. Con esas condiciones, la inflación sería entre 0,7 y 1 punto porcentual superior al 2,1% que se había proyectado previamente para 2026.
Un aumento significativo de la inflación podría llevar al Banco Central Europeo (BCE) a elevar las tasas de interés. Los operadores del mercado incrementaron sus apuestas sobre una posible subida de tasas durante este año. La próxima decisión de política monetaria del BCE está prevista para el 19 de marzo, aunque no se espera un aumento de tasas en esa reunión.
Según las personas informadas sobre las conversaciones, Dombrovskis también advirtió que el conflicto podría provocar efectos negativos adicionales en la economía europea debido a su impacto sobre los mercados financieros, el comercio y las cadenas de suministro.
Durante la reunión con los ministros de Finanzas, el comisario europeo explicó que los indicadores económicos recientes mostraban señales de mejora antes de la escalada del conflicto.
De acuerdo con las personas familiarizadas con el encuentro consultadas por Bloomberg, Dombrovskis indicó que las perspectivas económicas del bloque resultaban ligeramente mejores en comparación con el otoño, con un crecimiento esperado de alrededor de 1,5% este año y 1,6% el próximo. Sin embargo, ese panorama se vio afectado por la expansión del conflicto regional vinculado a la guerra en Irán.
Misiles y drones impactaron instalaciones energéticas en países como Arabia Saudita y Qatar, lo que afectó la producción de petróleo y gas natural licuado (GNL). Además, el tránsito de petroleros y otras mercancías a través del estrecho de Ormuz, una de las rutas energéticas más importantes del mundo, se redujo casi por completo.
En declaraciones a periodistas el lunes, Dombrovskis afirmó que “el impacto en la economía europea dependerá de la duración, alcance e intensidad del conflicto”. El comisario europeo también advirtió sobre los riesgos que implican los ataques contra infraestructuras energéticas y rutas comerciales.
“Una persistente ofensiva contra el transporte marítimo y la infraestructura energética expone a la economía mundial a un shock estanflacionario a más largo plazo”, dijo.
Los precios de la energía registraron fuertes movimientos desde el inicio de la guerra. El gas europeo subió con fuerza y el miércoles cotizó cerca de 50 euros por megavatio hora, después de haber alcanzado 70 euros a comienzos de la semana. El petróleo Brent se situó por encima de 90 dólares por barril.
En respuesta a las tensiones en el mercado energético, la Agencia Internacional de Energía acordó el miércoles liberar 400 millones de barriles de reservas estratégicas de petróleo, en lo que constituye la mayor liberación de este tipo realizada por el organismo.
Las autoridades del Banco Central Europeo siguen de cerca el impacto del conflicto sobre la inflación. La responsable de política monetaria del BCE Isabel Schnabel afirmó el miércoles que, aunque se espera que la inflación de la zona euro se sitúe en el objetivo del 2% en el mediano plazo, la nueva proyección que el banco central publicará en marzo reflejará parte del impacto de la guerra.
Schnabel señaló que la proyección “al menos reflejará parcialmente” el efecto del conflicto.
(Con información de Bloomberg)
Corporate Events,Diplomacy / Foreign Policy,Europe
INTERNACIONAL
Histórica liberación de reservas de petróleo: 32 países vuelcan 400 millones de barriles para frenar el precio del crudo

Alemania y Japón se adelantan
La mayor liberación de reservas
¿Qué pasa con China e India?
El efecto Ormuz
Reuniones preparatorias
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