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Neighboring states invite disaffected NY, NJ, VA voters to move after Dems’ election sweep

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After Republicans suffered a bruising election night in Virginia, the governor of the state once part of the commonwealth issued a public invitation for disillusioned residents to head west.

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That and other invitations from other states came as the trend of people fleeing New York City and New Jersey following prior elections continues to change political dynamics, including in one of the biggest swing states.

«It’s about to get awful blue in the Commonwealth of Virginia,» West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey said after urban and suburban areas turned out en-masse Democrats and overwhelmed comparatively anemic GOP turnout.

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«Don’t wait for the high taxes and heavy regulations to come, now is your chance to escape to ‘Wild and Wonderful’ West Virginia,» Morrisey added Wednesday, citing the state’s famous tagline.

While it lost a congressional seat in the last census, West Virginia has since seen population expansion in its two panhandles – the eastern being 70-90 miles from Washington and the northern equally proximate to Pittsburgh. It was part of Virginia until 1863.

Also bordering Virginia, some officials in Kentucky also welcomed the prospect of right-leaning voters relocating to the other side of Pine Mountain – in Kentucky.

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«Kentucky is open for business,» Attorney General Russell Coleman told Fox News Digital on Thursday.

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«Any Virginia family or business who wants to trade one commonwealth for another and enjoy our safe streets, competitive utility rates and respect for the rule of law is welcome.»

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Coleman said that while political conditions in Richmond may appear cloudy to some, things are looking up for those eyeing Frankfort:

«It’s the beginning of college basketball season, and there’s no better time to be a Kentuckian,» Coleman quipped.

While not considered a true swing state, Kentucky has a Democratic governor, two Republican senators, and a similar dynamic to other swing states in that its rural areas are heavily red but sparsely populated compared to blue strongholds like Lexington and Louisville.

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Further north, Pennsylvania is making its own pitch — one that predates the Civil War but has newfound relevance.

A bipartisan bill introduced earlier this year would provide such assistance to new Pennsylvanians and any residents who have not yet purchased a home.

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«Buying a home is a significant milestone for many individuals and families that creates opportunities for growing families as well as the accrual of generational wealth,» state Reps. Nathan Davidson, D-Camp Hill, and Thomas Kutz, R-Mount Holly Springs, said in a statement on their bill.

Many people, including former New Yorkers, brave the two- to three-hour commute to the Big Apple to retain their jobs – in exchange for lower taxes and better quality of life.

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Bake Oven Knob, a famous lookout on the Appalachian Trail in Germansville, Pennsylvania. (Charlie Creitz)

That has resulted in a political purpling of northeastern Pennsylvania – as the once-Republican-friendly region has given way to narrow U.S. House races in the Lehigh Valley and Poconos.

As Billy Joel’s «Allentown» foretold, the region has been undergoing change for decades, shifting away from now-defunct Bethlehem Steel and other industry – and becoming a hub for warehousing and technology, as real estate costs both residential and commercial rise but not to the height of New Jersey and New York City.

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Nearly 50,000 New York residents moved to Pennsylvania in 2022 alone, while 40,000 New Jerseyans did the same that year.

During his race, Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli praised Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro for the state’s more favorable climate compared to his own.

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That ultimately led Shapiro to remind voters he was supporting Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill.

Fox News Digital reached out to Shapiro for comment on the continued westward exodus.

State Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Gettysburg, a top member of the majority’s caucus and potential 2026 gubernatorial candidate, told Fox News Digital he would welcome more Americans wishing to «escape the high taxes, soft-on-crime policies, and heavy-handed government mandates» that have made New Jersey and other blue states «unaffordable and unsafe.»

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«Pennsylvania is a beautiful, free, and opportunity-rich state. We know that many of the folks coming here share our values: faith, family, freedom, and fiscal sanity,» he said.

«They want safe neighborhoods, good schools, and leaders who put citizens first — not ideology. And we welcome them with open arms.»

However, he offered a warning to any new residents bringing their home-state policies with them.

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«I gently urge those arriving from failed blue states to leave behind the politics that caused them to leave in the first place,» the retired Army colonel said.

«Pennsylvania doesn’t need to become the next New Jersey or Northern Virginia. What we have here is worth protecting,» he said.

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Manifestantes se movilizan hacia la Casa Blanca con críticas a Trump por los ataques a Irán

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Cientos de manifestantes de distintas organizaciones sociales se movilizan este sábado hacia la Casa Blanca con críticas al presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, por los ataques a Irán.

Mientras crece el conflicto en Medio Oriente y también el temor en Estados Unidos a una guerra prolongada, en las inmediaciones de la casa del gobierno estadounidense se concentran cientos de personas que, con banderas y carteles, protestan contra la decisión de Trump de atacar Irán.

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El mandatario estadounidense es blanco de críticas en Washington por haber ordenado la Operación Furia Épica (Operation Epic Fury) que, según un comunicado del Comando Central de Estados Unidos, es «la mayor concentración regional de poderío militar estadounidense en una generación».

Entre los manifestantes que gritan «no a la guerra en Irán» y sostienen carteles reclamándole a Trump que no arroje bombas a ese país también hay una buena cantidad de latinos que, en español, cantan «el pueblo unido jamás será vencido».

Mientras cada vez más manifestantes se suman a las protestas en la capital estadounidense, Trump sigue desde su residencia en Mar-a-Lago el minuto a minuto de la escalada de tensión tras el ataque a Irán.

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La portavoz de la Casa Blanca, Karoline Leavitt, informó que Trump ha estado toda la noche siguiendo la operación, bautizada por Estados Unidos como «Furia Épica», y que tuvo una llamada telefónica con el primer ministro israelí, Benjamín Netanyahu.

«El presidente y su equipo de seguridad nacional continuarán monitoreando de cerca la situación durante todo el día», declaró Leavitt.

El Gobierno distribuyó una primera fotografía que muestra una sala de crisis improvisada en Mar-a-Lago con cortinas negras y un mapa de Irán. Trump con saco y camisa pero sin corbata y una gorra con las siglas de USA (EE.UU., en inglés), estuvo acompañado por el secretario de Estado, Marco Rubio; el director de la CIA, John Ratcliffe, y la jefa de gabinete de la Casa Blanca, Susie Wiles, además de otros asesores.

Desde la Casa Blanca, en Washington, siguieron el operativo el vicepresidente, JD Vance, junto a la directora de Inteligencia Nacional, Tulsi Gabbard, y el secretario del Tesoro, Scott Bessent, entre otros.

Mar-a-Lago es la residencia donde Trump suele pasar los fines de semana y desde allí ofreció de madrugada el mensaje en video en el que anunció el lanzamiento del ataque contra Irán, cuyo objetivo último es la caída del régimen. Desde esa misma mansión, monitoreó el pasado 3 de enero el ataque estadounidense contra Venezuela que terminó con la captura de Nicolás Maduro.

Estados Unidos e Israel lanzaron este sábado un ataque contra objetivos en Teherán y otras ciudades en Irán, que respondió con el lanzamiento de misiles hacia territorio israelí y bases militares estadounidenses en toda la región.

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Según el primer ministro israelí, Benjamín Netanyahu, hay «señales» que apuntan a que el líder supremo iraní, Alí Jamenei, «dejó de existir» tras el ataque israelí a su residencia de este sábado.

El secretario de Estado, Marco Rubio, notificó del ataque con antelación a siete de los ocho congresistas del llamado Grupo de los Ocho, del que forman parte los líderes republicanos y demócratas de la Cámara de Representantes y del Senado.

Varios legisladores demócratas han denunciado no haber sido avisados del ataque y acusan al Gobierno de iniciar una guerra encubierta sin pasar por el Congreso, que tiene la potestad de autorizar un conflicto bélico en el exterior.

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Además de las críticas de legisladpres opositores y de las manifestaciones en las inmediaciones de la Casa Blanca, en las últimas horas se multiplicaron los cuestionamientos a Trump.

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La exvicepresidenta Kamala Harris dijo que Trump «está arrastrando a Estados Unidos a una guerra que el pueblo estadounidense no desea». Y cerró: «Seamos claros: me opongo a una guerra de cambio de régimen en Irán, y nuestras tropas están siendo puestas en peligro por la guerra predilecta de Trump».

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Tomahawks spearheaded US strike on Iran — why presidents reach for this missile first

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The first missile in the U.S. arsenal used against Iranian targets in Saturday’s pre-dawn strike was the Tomahawk, a long-range cruise missile launched from Navy ships and submarines.

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About half the length of a standard telephone pole, the Tomahawk flies at the speed of a commercial airliner and can carry a 1,000-pound warhead about the distance from Washington, D.C., to Miami.

Fired from destroyers or submarines positioned hundreds of miles away, the missiles allow a president to respond rapidly to a crisis without sending pilots into contested airspace or deploying ground forces. 

The Tomahawk has become a go-to option for limited military action, because it offers precision and flexibility while keeping the U.S. footprint small. The missiles can hit fixed targets with high accuracy, reducing the risk of broader escalation. 

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Presidents of both parties have used Tomahawks in the opening hours of military operations, from strikes in Iraq in the 1990s to more recent operations in Syria and elsewhere. 

Defense officials and military analysts say the weapon’s long range, reliability and relatively low risk to American personnel make it an attractive first-strike option when the White House wants to send a message quickly but stop short of a wider war.

That combination of speed, distance and precision has kept the Tomahawk at the center of U.S. military planning for decades.

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The Tomahawk missile is manufactured by U.S. defense contractor Raytheon, also known as RTX. (U.S. Navy via Getty Images)

Manufactured by defense titan Raytheon — now RTX — the Tomahawk has been a mainstay of the Navy’s arsenal since the 1980s. It was first used in combat during the 1991 Gulf War and has since become a go-to option for presidents seeking to strike from long range without putting U.S. service members in harm’s way.

«Year in and year out, administration in and administration out, it’s the long-range land attack cruise missile that presidents reach for first in a crisis,» Thomas Karako, director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Fox News Digital.

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But heavy use has taken a toll. «We’ve been using them far more frequently than we’ve been producing them,» Karako said.

Prior to Saturday’s operation, the missile was used in June 2025 during a U.S. strike on Iranian nuclear facilities.

Smoke rises after Iranian missile attacks in Bahrain

Smoke rises after reported Iranian missile attacks, following strikes by the United States and Israel against Iran, in Manama, Bahrain, Feb. 28, 2026. (Reuters)

Overall, the Tomahawk has been deployed more than 2,350 times.

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At roughly $1.4 million apiece, the Tomahawk missile has an intermediate range of 800 to 1,553 miles and can be launched from more than 140 U.S. Navy ships and submarines. 

The Tomahawk strike was just one piece of a broader U.S. military posture in the region.

Ahead of the strikes, the U.S. military amassed what Trump previously called an «armada» in Iran’s backyard. Mapped out across the Persian Gulf and beyond, the deployment tells its own story, one of calculated pressure backed by credible capability.

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THE ONLY MAP YOU NEED TO SEE TO UNDERSTAND HOW SERIOUS TRUMP IS ABOUT IRAN

The deployment coincided with indirect negotiations between Washington and Tehran over Iran’s disputed nuclear program. Trump has warned that the regime must fully dismantle its nuclear infrastructure or face consequences.

An F-35B jet is seen taking off from the flight deck of the USS America.

An F-35B takes off from the USS America flight deck. (Cpl. Isaac Cantrell/U.S. Marine Corps)

At the center of the U.S. presence are two aircraft carrier strike groups — the USS Abraham Lincoln and USS Gerald R. Ford — each supported by guided-missile destroyers and cruisers and capable of sustained air and missile operations.

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More than a dozen additional U.S. warships are also operating in the region in support roles, according to defense officials.

It was not immediately clear how or when Tehran might respond, though Iranian leaders have previously warned of retaliation in the event of direct U.S. military involvement.

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Iranian ‘top target’ hit in $10M precision strike; US kamikaze drones used to ‘overwhelm’

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Israel struck its key target in Tehran Saturday in what a defense expert has described as a multimillion-dollar precision-guided attack alongside a broader offensive involving U.S. waves of lower-cost kamikaze drones.

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Cameron Chell, CEO of drone manufacturer Draganfly, told Fox News Digital the campaign would have likely paired advanced and costly assets against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s compound, while U.S. forces used cheaper drones to «overwhelm» on land, air and sea.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) also confirmed that the drones were deployed for the first time in history.

«CENTCOM’s Task Force Scorpion Strike — for the first time in history — is using one-way attack drones in combat during Operation Epic Fury,» it said in an X post before adding that the «low-cost drones, modeled after Iran’s Shahed drones, are now delivering American-made retribution.»

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«Saturday saw an overwhelming daytime attack with incredible intelligence to target the leadership and a strike on the compound possibly costing tens of millions,» Chell said.

«That would likely have included expensive, precision-strike drones or manned aircraft in highly coordinated attacks to ensure success, not necessarily the lower-cost, one-way version of the suicide drones,» he explained.

«The U.S. has this lower-cost alternative to hit everything at once, but then the very expensive, high-precision assets would likely have gone directly after leadership on Saturday,» Chell added.

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A map of Western strikes against Iran (Fox News)

A senior U.S. official confirmed to Fox News that the compound strike was a «wildly bold daytime attack.»

«It caught the senior leadership off guard on a Saturday morning during Ramadan and on Shabbat in the daytime,» the official added. 

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«We hit the senior leaders right out of the gate,» the source told Fox national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin.

Iran’s military, government and intelligence sites were targeted, an official briefed on the operation also told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

A handful of top Iranian leaders were killed, including the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

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Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is seen on Iranian state television.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei addresses the public on the 47th anniversary of the Iranian Revolution, according to Iranian state television in Tehran, Iran, Feb. 9, 2026. (Iranian Leader Press Office/Anadolu/Getty Images)

President Donald Trump also announced Saturday that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had been killed in the strike.

«If drones were involved in that top target attack, it would have been the very sophisticated MQ-type or Global Hawk-type drones,» Chell said.

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Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said other attacks across the country were being done «to remove threats.»

As previously reported by Fox News Digital, those targets included Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) command and control centers, Iranian air defense capabilities, missile and drone launch sites and military airfields.

Chell described how those secondary targets would have been hit by the U.S. with the cheaper one-way «kamikaze» drones before adding that the strikes «seemed to be an excellent example of mass overwhelm at a new level.»

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U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine monitors U.S. military operations in Iran

U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine monitors U.S. military operations in Iran after an Israeli strike in Tehran alongside several Cabinet members Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (@WhiteHouse/X)

Chell suggested Iran’s defenses were likely degraded well before the strike began because of the coordination.

«I think likely the defense systems, communication systems, were overwhelmingly compromised,» he added. «And so I think they just overwhelmed them,» he said.

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«I’m sure there would have been days, if not even weeks, of work and preparation to take out those defense communication systems.

«They would have compromised those defense communications in some way through electronic warfare or cyberattack. 

«The battlefield now is so multidimensional,» Chell emphasized.

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«It’s about cyber warfare, misinformation and electronic warfare as well.

«This was seemingly so swift because it was incredibly well-planned and coordinated by the U.S. and Israel on a massive level that’s not been seen before.»

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