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National Guard shooting in DC leaves West Virginia reeling as top official slams Afghanistan withdrawal

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EXCLUSIVE: The Thanksgiving Eve shooting that has left one West Virginia National Guard member dead and another clinging to his life enraged top officials in Charleston, West Virginia — as one placed blame squarely on the disastrous 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and said his state is «one big small town» that is mourning together.

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The suspect, Rahmahullah Lakanwal, reportedly worked with a CIA-operated unit that fought the Taliban on America’s behalf, Fox News Digital confirmed, which helped evacuate people during the fall of Kabul under then-President Joe Biden.

West Virginia Republican Party Chairman Josh Holstein told Fox News Digital Friday the news angered him, and that anger turned to devastation when Sarah Beckstrom of Summersville, West Virginia, succumbed to her wounds, and as Andrew Wolfe of Inwood, West Virginia, remains in critical condition.

ALLEGED DC SHOOTER ENTERED US UNDER AFGHAN RESETTLEMENT PUSH MAYORKAS VOWED WOULD BE DONE ‘SWIFTLY AND SAFELY’

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National Guard are seen after reports of two National Guard soldiers shot near the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025. (Evan Vucci/AP)

«It’s just been a horrible tragedy here in West Virginia,» said Holstein, who is also a state delegate from Boone County, West Virginia. «This doesn’t happen for West Virginians very often, and it’s just such a deep tragedy.» 

«One of the things that I’ve … said from the beginning is West Virginia is just one big small town,» he said. «And folks come together in tragedy, in triumph, in everything. We come together and we celebrate, we mourn, always together.» 

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Holstein said that in times like this political parties don’t matter, and that Mountaineers came again together after the shooting. West Virginia Democratic Party Chair Mike Pushkin to Republican Sens. Jim Justice and Shelley Moore Capito all offered similar heartfelt reactions.

‘IT’S REALLY AN INVASION’: PROTESTERS SLAM TRUMP’S DC POLICE TAKEOVER AS CRIME TUMBLES

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Travelers are greeted by a West Virginia welcome sign after crossing the East River Mountain Tunnel on I-77 in Princeton, West Virginia.  (Charlie Creitz/Fox News Digital)

«West Virginians of all political sides of the aisle came together and just mourn(ed) and share a sense of deep grief, but not only grief, but gratitude for these folks, especially these these two young folks,» he said. «And then yesterday, of course, with it being Thanksgiving, it was a somber reminder that not all of us all of us get together with our families on Thanksgiving.»

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«These two were at the time, both fighting for their life, and now one has since passed away,» he said. «I, I just feel that West Virginians in particular have such a unique drive for service. You can see it in our numbers per capita on how many veterans we have compared to other states in the country. We’re always willing and always able to serve each other and . . . it’s a really a perfect description of who West Virginians are.»

As reports came out about Lakanwal’s origins and background, that sentiment turned to fury, Holstein said, remarking that the 29-year-old Afghan «was not even supposed to be here.»

TRUMP’S PLAN TO DEPLOY NATIONAL GUARD IN DC SPARKS BACKLASH FROM RESIDENTS—BUT SOME WELCOME IT

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WV Del Josh Holstein, state GOP chairman

West Virginia GOP Chairman Del. Josh Holstein’s official state portrait. (West Virginia House of Delegates)

Turning to the 2021 Afghan withdrawal during which Lakanwal found his way to the U.S., Holstein remarked that «when you create chaos, chaos follows.»

«That Afghanistan withdrawal was complete debacle; complete chaos,» he said. «And it led to people literally running and jumping on planes and coming to the United States as a result of it. It was complete chaos. There was not a deliberate system, irrespective and irregardless of what any of the administration officials of the past administration had said about it.»

«It’s really just an indictment on our country’s immigration system,» he said. «We have an immigration system that puts other people first. It doesn’t put American citizens first, it doesn’t put the good of the country first. It puts other people from random places throughout the country.»

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MAN IN DC SHOT AND KILLED HOURS AFTER TRUMP FEDERALIZES CITY’S POLICE DEPARTMENT

Holstein said President Donald Trump struck the right response when he pledged to crack down on third-world-country immigration and immigration from unstable governments.

«I think this is just yet again an example one thousand of our need to focus more on merit-based immigration and vetting who comes into our country at all times,» he said.

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Asked whether he wants to see the West Virginia National Guard continue to deploy to Washington as part of Trump’s and U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro’s efforts to clean up crime, Holstein was undeterred.

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«We can’t cower to people like this (Lakanwal). You can’t cower in tragedy,» he said, adding that there are about 150 other guardsmen from his state serving in Washington.

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«So, I hope to see everybody stay there and maybe even have some more folks come in from different places,» he added.

Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman and Tessa Hoyos contributed to this report.

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Schumer nukes GOP push for ‘Jim Crow-era’ voter ID laws in Trump-backed shutdown package

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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., warned that if House Republicans try to jam voter ID legislation into the Trump-backed funding deal, it would be dead on arrival in the Senate.

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House Republicans want to walk away from the current spending fight with a victory of sorts, despite President Donald Trump taking the lead and negotiating a temporary funding truce with Schumer and Senate Democrats. 

They’re demanding that the five-bill funding package, which stripped out the controversial Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spending bill in favor of a two-week funding extension, also include the House Republicans’ updated Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility Act, dubbed the SAVE America Act. 

SENATE REPUBLICANS PUSH FOR HOUSE GOP REBELLION AGAINST FUNDING PACKAGE, VOTER ID LEGISLATION

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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., panned House Republicans’ demands that voter ID legislation be included in the Trump-backed funding deal.  (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

But doing so is a bridge too far for Schumer. The top Senate Democrat argued that the legislation, which has been sitting on the shelf in the House for months, is «reminiscent of Jim Crow-era laws,» and would act as a means to suppress voters rather than encourage more secure elections. 

«I have said it before, and I’ll say it again, the SAVE Act would impose Jim Crow-type laws to the entire country and is dead on arrival in the Senate,» Schumer said in a statement. 

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«It is a poison pill that will kill any legislation that it is attached to. If House Republicans add the SAVE Act to the bipartisan appropriations package it will lead to another prolonged Trump government shutdown,» he continued. 

HOUSE DEMOCRATS MUTINY SCHUMER’S DEAL WITH WHITE HOUSE, THREATENING LONGER SHUTDOWN

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., speaks to members of the media outside a House Republican Conference meeting at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Sept. 3, 2025.  (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The updated version of the SAVE Act would require that people present photo identification before voting, states obtain proof of citizenship in-person when people register to vote and remove non-citizens from voter rolls.

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Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., who is leading the push to attach the voter ID legislation to the funding package, countered Schumer’s accusation in a post on X.

«If you are a minority that wants a voter ID, apparently you are for racist policies according to [Schumer],» she said.

Schumer’s edict touches on the reality of the partisan divide in the Senate and the nature of passing any legislation in most cases. In order for the SAVE Act to become law, it would have to get at least 60 votes in the upper chamber. And given Senate Democrats’ disdain for the bill, that is unlikely. 

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HOUSE CONSERVATIVES THREATEN EXTENDED SHUTDOWN OVER ELECTION INTEGRITY MEASURE

House Republican leadership speak in Washington

Rep. Steve Scalise, House Speaker Mike Johnson and Rep. Tom Cole appear during a news conference in Washington, Oct. 8, 2025. (Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

And adding the bill would further disincentivize House Democrats, who are already leery of the deal. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., may need their support given the anger simmering in his conference. 

Further complicating matters is that if the modified package with the SAVE Act were to make it out of the House, it would have to go back to the Senate, creating a virtual ping-pong between the chambers as what was meant to be a short-term partial government shutdown drags on.

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Still, House Republicans aren’t backing off of their demands and have backup in the upper chamber from Sens. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and Mike Lee, R-Utah, and a co-sponsor of the updated SAVE Act.

«House Republicans shouldn’t let Schumer dictate the terms of government funding,» Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., said on X. «If Dems want to play games, no spending package should come out of the House without the SAVE Act attached — securing American elections must be a non-negotiable.»

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Miami bajo cero: la ola de frío que sorprende al sur de EE.UU. y dejó nieve en varias ciudades de Florida

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La Florida afronta por estas horas una ola de frío que dejó nieve en varias ciudades del estado y que alteró los planes de residentes y turistas en Miami. La sensación térmica llegó a ser bajo cero en el cierre del fin de semana, por un fenómeno que afecta al sudeste de los Estados Unidos.

El frío ocurre por un «ciclón costero de rápida intensificación» con «pesadas nevadas, altos vientos y condiciones de ventiscas», en particular para los estados Carolina del Sur y del Norte, además de nieve en Virginia y Georgia, todos estados del sur, según el Servicio Meteorológico estadounidense (NWS, su sigla en inglés). Y extiende sus efectos a Florida.

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Ocurre, además, cuando el país aún no sale de su asombro por la ola de frío que, hace una semana, golpeó al noreste de los Estados Unidos, con las calles de Nueva York sepultadas bajo varios centímetros de nieve, un fenómeno que dejó más de 100 muertos.

Para Florida se esperaban temperaturas récord en los últimos 15 años. Y el domingo Miami registró valores de temperatura cercanos a los 0 grados centígrados: los 1.6°C del domingo fueron la marca más baja desde 2010, según NBC.

La sensación térmica llegó a ubicarse, de manera puntual, por debajo de ese umbral (-1.1 el domingo por la mañana, según las observaciones en el aeropuerto internacional de Miami).

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El frío, que afectó al lanzamiento de la misión Artemis II, también obligó a demorar y cancelar vuelos. Dejó también el extraño fenómeno de las iguanas congeladas: esos reptiles caen desde los árboles o aparecen inmóviles en la calle.

Incluso los medios locales se preguntan si las compañías de seguros cubren posibles daños a los autos estacionados debajo de los árboles.

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Por lo pronto, la Comisión de Conservación de Pesca y Vida Silvestre de Florida (FWC) lanzó un operativo para que los ciudadanos las recojan y las lleven a lugares designados por las autoridades para tratarlas y, en caso de ser necesario, sacrificarlas.

Miami, por ahora, quedó exenta de la caída de nieve, a pesar de que los pronósticos mantenían algunas probabilidades de que ocurriera ese fenómeno.

Este lunes a la mañana, en tanto, la temperatura se ubicaba en torno a los 2 grados centígrados en Miami. Pero en la madrugada había alcanzado marcas de -2°C en Palmdale y de -1°C en la zona metropolitana en los primeros minutos del día.

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En esa zona se anticipaba una caída más notoria de la temperatura para la noche.

Para hoy regía una advertencia por frío extremo para los condados de Volusia, Lake, Seminole, Orange, Asceola, Brevard, Indian River, St Lucie, Martin y Okeechobee. «Se esperan temperaturas peligrosamente frías», indicaron los pronosticadores, con temperaturas de entre -5 y 0 grados centígrados.

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Pidieron limitar el tiempo fuera de las casas, no exponer a las mascotas, utilizar ropa de abrigo y tener cuidado con los calentadores.

Si bien no hubo nieve en Miami, otras localidades de Florida sí tuvieron la visita de los copos blancos.

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Una de ellas fue Tampa Bay. «Se reportaron nevadas en las zonas costeras del centro-oeste y suroeste de Florida, desde el condado de Levy hasta el condado de Lee», informó este domingo la oficina del servicio meteorológico de esa región. Otra de las localidades afectadas fue Naples, ene l condado de Collier.

En tanto, se espera que el martes continúen las bajas temperaturas en Florida, aunque ese día a la tarde y el miércoles habrá una suba de los registros. El jueves llegaría otro frente frío que devolvería al estado a un período de frío polar.

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Tourist trampled to death by elephant in Thai national park

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A wild bull elephant trampled and killed a 65-year-old tourist at a national park in Thailand on Monday, according to park officials.

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The tourist was taking a morning walk with his wife when an elephant named Oyewan trampled him at Khao Yai National Park, national park chief Chaiya Huayhongthong told AFP.

Park rangers managed to scare the animal away, which allowed the tourist’s wife to escape, Chaiya said.

«He was the third person killed by Oyewan,» he said, adding that authorities will meet on Friday to decide on how to deal with the elephant.

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ARKANSAS MAN, 72, MAULED BY 70-POUND BEAR, HOSPITALIZED WITH ‘EXTENSIVE’ INJURIES

The entrance to Khao Yai National Park in central Thailand is seen in December 2021. (Carola Frentzen/picture alliance via Getty Images)

«We will probably decide to relocate him or change his behavior,» he told the outlet, without elaborating.

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The tourist killed was identified as Jirathachai Jiraphatboonyathorn from Lopburi province, the Bangkok Post reported.

boy washes an elephant

A Thai boy washes an elephant near the Khao Yai national park on March 19, 2017, in Pak Chong, Thailand. (Isa Foltin/Getty Images)

MASSIVE GREAT WHITE SHARK DETECTED BY RESEARCHERS OFF MISSISSIPPI COAST IN RARE GULF MIGRATION

Fox News Digital reached out to Khao Yai National Park but did not immediately hear back.

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An elephant bull stands in the Ban Ta Klang elephant village in Surin, Thailand, on Nov. 14, 2015. (Ian Robert Knight/picture alliance via Getty Images)

Wild elephants have caused an estimated 227 human fatalities between 2012 and 2024 in Thailand, The Nation reported, citing a report from the Department of National Parks, Wildlife, and Plant Conservation.

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The elephant population in Thailand has ballooned since 2015, rising from 334 to nearly 800 last year, AFP reported. Authorities have been trying to manage the population by giving female elephants contraceptive vaccines.

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