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See the Biden-era ‘DEI’ coins Bessent scrapped as Trump team restores patriotic 250th designs

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FIRST ON FOX: Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent scrapped Biden-era coin designs intended to celebrate the 250th anniversary of America’s founding after the Trump administration discovered they did not feature a single Founding Father but instead emphasized diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) themes. 

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«The new Semiquincentennial Quarter designs will celebrate American history and the founding of our great nation,» U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach told Fox News Digital Thursday. «While the Biden administration and Secretary Yellen remained focused on DEI and Critical Race Theory policies, the Trump administration is dedicated to fostering prosperity and patriotism. We have no doubt these new designs will be wildly popular with the American people.»

The U.S. Mint did not publicly release designs of the Biden-era quarter coins ahead of Bessent axing their planned rollout, with Fox News Digital obtaining exclusive images of all the quarters. 

Trump signed a law at the end of his first term authorizing the creation of up to five new quarters and a dollar coin to honor the 250th anniversary of America’s founding in July 2026, wj was spearheaded by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee, The Wall Street Journal reported. 

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TRUMP REVEALS ARC DE TRIOMPHE-STYLE MONUMENT FOR AMERICA’S 250TH ANNIVERSARY

 The committee approved five themes for the coins, including the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, abolition, suffrage and civil rights, the Journal reported, which included some photos of the Biden-era coins, but not all five. 

The Treasury secretary has final sign-off on the coin designs. Former Secretary Janet Yellen approved the coins’ designs for 2026 before leaving office, according to the outlet. 

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AMERICAN HISTORY WON’T BE DISPLAYED ‘IN A WOKE MANNER’ AT SMITHSONIAN, TRUMP SAYS

Fox News Digital obtained images of the now-scrapped quarters, and found the one remembering the abolition of slavery showed arms locked in handcuffs while breaking the chains; while another quarter focused on women’s suffrage showed arms holding up a what appeared to be a concrete slab with the inscription «Liberty Equality Justice for Women» and «SUFFRAGE;» while the civil rights coin showed depictions of people linking arms with the inscription, «We shall overcome.» 

Scott Bessent, US Treasury secretary, speaks to members of the media outside the White House in Washington, D.C., Nov. 5, 2025.  (Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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The quarter aimed to honor the Declaration of Independence showed the Liberty Bell, while the quarter honoring the Constitution depicted an allegorical Lady Liberty. 

LIBERTY AND UNITY: WHAT AMERICA’S 250TH ANNIVERSARY ASKS OF US TODAY

None of the coins from the Biden-era depicted a Founding Father, though one side of the abolition coin depicted 19th century civil rights leader Frederick Douglass. 

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Fox News Digital reached out to Biden’s office for comment on the coin change on Thursday evening. 

«We’re trying to be very sensitive to how people will interpret the themes and designs of the coins,» one of the members of the coin advisory panel told the Wall Street Journal of the previous designs. «They’re much more than just money. They’re things that kids are going to be looking at and grown-ups are going to be looking at.»

The 2021 law establishing the creation of the coins noted that the designs «must be emblematic of a woman’s or women’s contribution to the birth of the nation or the Declaration of Independence or any other monumental moments in American history.»

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The Trump administration unveiled its version of the quarters Wednesday evening at the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia, which included a much more patriotic tone. 

One coin celebrated the Mayflower Compact showing a pilgrim couple embracing, one honoring the Revolutionary War with the depiction of a U.S. soldier, a coin celebrating the Declaration with a characterization of the Liberty Bell, and one honoring the U.S. Constitution with a depiction of Independence Hall in Philadelphia. The Treasury also created a coin remembering the end of slavery, focusing on Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address with the inscription «A new nation, conceived in liberty» over a depiction of a person pulling another person from the arm. 

The new designs come after Trump systematically moved to remove DEI programs across the federal government, signing executive orders that directed federal agencies to identify and shut down DEI offices. Trump and conservatives have argued DEI practices promote group-based preferences and ideological conformity over individual merit, free speech and equal treatment. 

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The coin change-up also comes as Democrat lawmakers work to thwart the Trump administration from rolling out $1 Trump coins depicting the president, which are also part of the administration widespread efforts to celebrate the nation’s semiquincentennial. 

DEMOCRATIC SENATORS MOVE TO BLOCK TRUMP $1 COINS FROM TREASURY DEPARTMENT MINT

Sens. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., introduced legislation earlier in December that would prohibit the federal government from minting currency that bears «the likeness of a living or sitting president.»

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Donald Trump and Gianni Infantino

President Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino speak to members of the media during their arrival at the Kennedy Center in December.  (Evan Vucci/AP Photo)

«While monarchs put their faces on coins, America has never had and never will have a king,» Cortez Masto said in a press release of the legislation. «Our legislation would codify this country’s long-standing tradition of not putting living Presidents on American coins. Congress must pass it without delay.»

The Treasury Department pointed to a law, USC 31 § 5112(y), which grants authority to redesign circulating coins for the semiquincentennial during 2026. 

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«Senate Democrats are so triggered by the proposed coin celebrating our nation’s 250th anniversary that they are trying to recklessly change law to block it,» Beach said of the legislation. «The American people deserve a commemorative coin celebrating our great nation. While Senate Democrats continue to maintain self-serving motives, the Trump Administration is delivering prosperity and patriotism.»

Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report. 

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New terror group with reported Iran ties claims 4 attacks across Europe

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A new terrorist group with suspected links to the Iranian regime emerged in Europe last week. Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyya (The Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right) has claimed responsibility for four attacks on Jewish targets across the continent.

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A synagogue in Liège, Belgium, was the first target of an explosive attack on Monday. An arson attack on a Rotterdam synagogue followed overnight on Friday and an explosive device was set off at a Jewish school in Amsterdam the next evening.

Several sources have linked an additional attack at a Jewish site in Greece on Wednesday with the group, though no specifics were given about the target or method of attack.

BROTHER OF MICHIGAN SYNAGOGUE ATTACKER WAS HEZBOLLAH TERRORIST, ISRAEL ALLEGES

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The scene of an explosion at the synagogue in the rue Leon Fredericq, in Liege on March 9, 2026. The synagogue was hit at around 4am by a blast. A previously unknown terrorist group, Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyya, claimed responsibility.

Joe Truzman, senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and editor of the FDD’s Long War Journal, told Fox News Digital that when he saw the statement from the organization following their Monday attack, he «thought it was a little bit amateurish.» Truzman said that after videos from the group became to emerge, he «realized that there’s probably something more here to this organization.»

He said that the war in Iran has likely «compelled the group, for whoever is behind this, to start launching these attacks.» Truzman said he «suspect[s] this organization is being directed» and that there is «an entity behind it.» 

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Truzman says he suspects the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) itself, which he says «has been active in Europe» and has «attempted to eliminate or assassinate dissidents.» Though he does not discount them being entity of an Iraqi militia group.

Synagogue, Rotterdam

A pedestrian walks past a synagogue on ABN Davidsplein in Rotterdam, western Netherlands on March 13, 2026 after an arson attack. A formerly unknown terrorist group, Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyya, claimed responsibility. (Media TV via ANP / AFP via Getty Images)

In addition to anticipating further attacks from Ashab al-Yamin, Truzman said that he is concerned that «the dissemination of [terror] videos online may compel other people to commit antisemitic attacks» in Europe. According to Truzman, Ashab al-Yamin’s videos are «starting to gain traction. They’re starting to get the views, and people are seeing it. And maybe the ones that are radicalized already or are going to be radicalized, may be influenced by these videos, and may commit an antisemitic attack or an attack on a Jewish site.»

He said that the attacks «have been mostly unsophisticated, but things may change, and they may start targeting people, too, during the day, when it’s busy.» So far all attacks have come at night.

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TRUMP WARNS OF IRANIAN ‘SLEEPER CELLS’ AS CANADA IS ACCUSED OF HARBORING REGIME OPERATIVES

Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted on X that the group was tied to the regime in Tehran. «A jihadi group tied to an Iranian proxy» was responsible for the string of attacks. They noted that «the IRGC continues to sponsor and export terror across the globe.»

Onlookers are increasingly tying the attacks back to the war in Iran. The World Jewish Congress raised alarm bells about Ashab al-Yamin on X, stating that «security analysts believe the group may be part of Iran’s expanding network of proxy actors operating far beyond the Middle East.» The Congress called on governments to «treat this threat with the seriousness it deserves, dismantle the networks behind these attacks, and ensure Jewish communities can live and worship in safety.»

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Amichai Chikli, Israel’s Diaspora Affairs Minister, called the attacks «part of a troubling pattern.» He explained that «terror networks linked to the Iranian axis are trying to expand their arena of activity into European cities and Jewish communities.»

IRGC

Military members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in western Tehran, Iran (Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

The State Department did not respond to questions about whether it had previously been tracking Ashab al-Yamin, or if it planned to issue a warning to Americans traveling abroad to avoid Jewish institutions, but an alert from the U.S. embassy in the Netherlands on Monday warned, «Following recent targeted explosive incidents in the Netherlands and in other major European cities, the U.S. Mission to the Netherlands reminds U.S. citizens to maintain good personal security practices and exercise heightened situational awareness, consistent with the Department of State’s recent Worldwide Caution alert.»

The alert added, «As noted in the Travel Advisory for the Netherlands, terrorist groups continue plotting possible attacks in the Netherlands. Terrorists may attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets/shopping malls, local government facilities, hotels, clubs, restaurants, places of worship, parks, major sporting and cultural events, educational institutions, airports, and other public areas.»

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Israel’s National Security Council recently warned its citizens traveling abroad to conceal items that might identify them as Israeli or Jewish and to «avoid visiting sites identified as Jewish or Israeli» following the first of three shootings at Toronto synagogues in early March.

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Far-left House Dem pushes land reparations for descendants of American slaves

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There’s a new push to give federal reparations to descendants of slaves among congressional Democrats, this time being led by progressive Rep. Shri Thanedar, D-Mich.

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Thanedar introduced a bill late last week that would set up a federal commission to «study and distribute land reparations» for the descendants of slaves in the U.S. The legislation has no formal backers and faces steep obstacles to advancing in the Republican-controlled House.

«The history of historical injustices against Black Americans by our federal government is nothing short of shameful,» Thanedar told Fox News Digital in a statement. «Formerly enslaved families were promised land as a means of securing freedom and self-sufficiency, but these promises were broken, and the devastating economic effects of this broken promise is still felt today.»

Thanedar’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding how the legislation would work in practice.

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Protesters in San Francisco march in support of slavery reparations. (Getty Images)

NO CLEAR CHAMPION OF CASH PAYMENT REPARATIONS AMONG DEMOCRATS IN CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL RACE

Reparations refer to financial compensation for Black Americans intended to address economic harms their ancestors experienced during slavery and the Jim Crow era. Republicans oppose the idea over eligibility concerns and their belief that present-day Americans should not be responsible for harms committed generations ago.

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The reparations push comes as Thanedar, a two-term lawmaker, is facing a serious challenge from the left ahead of Michigan’s August 2026 primary. State Rep. Donavan McKinney, D-Mich., is vying to unseat Thanedar in the deep-blue district with the backing of Sen. Bernie Sanders I-Vt., and the progressive group, Justice Democrats despite Thanedar’s own progressive credentials.

But Thanedar’s support for Israel has served to alienate him from the furthest-left flank of his party, including Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., a fellow member of his state’s delegation. He left the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), of which Tlaib is a member, after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel in 2023.

Tlaib is also supporting McKinney’s campaign.

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Thanedar, an Indian American, has supported slavery reparations since before his congressional tenure.

«Every other community has Japanese Americans got their [reparations], American Indians got their reparations,» the Michigan Democrat said in 2022 while running for Congress. «This is something that needs to be handled in a fair way.»

Rep. Shri Thanedar walks outside the U.S. Capitol.

Rep. Shri Thanedar argues reparations are necessary to correct a «broken promise» to descendants of slaves. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)

ILLINOIS CITY WAS THE FIRST TO PAY BLACKS RESIDENTS 25K IN REPARATIONS, BUT HOW WILL IT FIND MORE FUNDING?

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Thanedar is an original cosponsor of H.R. 40, also known as the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act, which aims to kickstart the reparations process for descendants of slaves. The Michigan Democrat is also a proud supporter of more expansive legislation that aims to transfer $14 trillion in estimated losses to reparations recipients.

The legislation was originally introduced by Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., in 2023, when it was similarly dead on arrival in the GOP-controlled House.

Progressive Democrats have long advocated for the passage of reparations legislation but have encountered resistance from members of the party’s moderate flank who view the idea as politically toxic.

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Gov. Wes Moore, D-Md., vetoed legislation in 2025 that would have enacted a reparations commission at the state level. Moore is notably one of the only Black Democratic governors in the country and is rumored to have presidential ambitions.

Gov. Wes Moore speaks on Meet the Press.

Gov. Wes Moore, D-Md., broke with progressive members of the Democratic Party in 2025 over slavery reparations. (Shannon Finney/NBC via Getty Images)

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Thanedar has also introduced articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump and other Trump administration figures, despite opposition from House Democratic leadership.

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Los israelíes, entre la desconfianza y la resiliencia: así se vive el último capítulo de la guerra en Oriente Medio

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Desconfianza. Agotamiento. Resiliencia. Resignación. En toda guerra anida una trama emocional que circula, subterránea, debajo de los escenarios en los que, en la superficie, se libran las batallas.

En los diecisiete días que lleva el actual conflicto en Oriente Medio de Israel y Estados Unidos contra Irán, los israelíes conviven con dosajes desparejos de estas emociones.

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Algunos creen que, frente a la aparente minoría armamentística de Teherán, el régimen de los ayatollahs está apostando a una “guerra de desgaste”: bombardeos nocturnos y de madrugada que sacan de la cama, cada dos horas, a ciudades enteras de vecinos que, maldormidos, llegaron a pasar siete horas del día -con intervalos- en los refugios antimisiles.

Por otra parte, cuando los ataques provocan daños que el sistema de defensa israelí no puede atajar -la Cúpula de Hierro intercepta misiles pero no siempre logra evitar que caigan desprendimientos de bombas de racimo o esquirlas-, de inmediato se activa un operativo de reparación que tiende a minimizar los destrozos materiales. Para evitar que la gente quede anclada en el dolor de la pérdida.

Cuadrillas de jóvenes voluntarios entran en las casas para ayudar a las familias a juntar los vidrios de los ventanales estallados, a cargar escombros, a remover electrodomésticos irrecuperables. O lo que haga falta.

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“Somos chicos y chicas de 16, 17 y 18 años. Estamos siempre en las emergencias. Venimos a colaborar”, señala a Clarín Nadav Daniel, un estudiante del último año de secundaria.

“Esta guerra es así”

La resiliencia no se detiene. No hay margen para lamentarse.

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“Esta guerra es así. Debíamos librarla”, dice una vecina de Rishon Leziyyon, una ciudad ocho kilómetros al sur de Tel Aviv, mientras pasa la aspiradora sobre el sofá. El estallido de los vidrios que provocó la bomba de racimo que cayó debajo de su ventana desplegó un manto de astillas sobre el líving de su departamento de un primer piso.

“A pesar de que todo quedó destruido, los judíos nunca se irán, los judíos permanecerán aquí. Se lo hemos prometido a Dios”, aseguraba a Clarín Joseph Cohen, un rabino de 29 años que perdió su casa en un ataque iraní. Ocurrió cuando el edificio de departamentos de la calle Rehov Yehuda Halevi de Tel Aviv, donde Cohen vivía con su esposa y sus tres hijos chiquitos, fue blanco del primer misil iraní que logró esquivar el escudo protector de Israel.

Y cuando las bombas caen en la vía pública, en menos de una hora, casi no quedan rastros de lo que sucedió. Grúas con palas retiran los escombros, máquinas limpiadoras emprolijan la zona y operarios súper expeditivos colocan vallas o rellenan con material los cráteres de los proyectiles.

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Desconfianza

Otra variante de los sentimientos que atraviesan a una sociedad acorralada por la guerra es la desconfianza. Como ocurrió cuando una bomba iraní cayó en una obra en construcción en Yehud-Monosson, cerca del aeropuerto de Ben Gurion, y provocó la muerte a dos obreros.

Sus compañeros, enfurecidos con la prensa nacional e internacional que cubrían la noticia, se interponían delante de las cámaras y grababan con sus celulares a los periodistas, amenazado con que iban a llamar a la policía.

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Varias personas se refugian en un aparcamiento subterráneo mientras suenan las sirenas que alertan de la llegada de misiles balísticos en toda la ciudad, cerca de la playa de Tel Aviv. Foto EFE

“Si ustedes muestran imágenes de lo que pasó, los iraníes van a saber dónde atacaron y seguirán haciéndolo”, gritaba, hecho un manojo de nervios, un obrero con un casco de moto que nunca se quitó para no ser reconocido.

“La gente está muy estresada”, admite a Clarín Miguel Glastein, un médico argentino del Hospital Ichilov del centro de Tel Aviv.

“Llevamos tres años con esta guerra y hay un trauma muy importante -subraya-. Como toxicólogo, veo un aumento de intentos de suicidio por fármacos, por drogas.”

Temor de ir a clase

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Este lunes reabrieron las escuelas, después de dos semanas cerradas por el fuego cruzado. Pero menos de la mitad de los alumnos asistió a clase, lamentan desde el Ministerio de Educación israelí.

De los 365.000 estudiantes que viven en zonas en las que las escuelas tienen refugios para protegerlos de los ataques de Irán y de Hezbollah, sólo el 47 por ciento regresó a las aulas.

Este lunes, diez localidades de todo el país sufrieron daños causados por restos de misiles interceptados o por municiones en racimo, siete de los cuales cayeron en Rishon Lezion. También impactaron en la ruta 431, en Lod y en Shoham. Además, cinco misiles iraníes provocaron destrozos en el norte, el centro y el sur de Jerusalén.

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Desde Israel, las Fuerzas de Defensa aseguraron que lanzaron ataques masivos contra Irán. Según fuentes oficiales, destruyeron el jet privado de Ali Khamenei, el líder religioso supremo -asesinado el primer día de enfrentamientos, el 28 de febrero- y un centro de investigación espacial.

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