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Shutdown crushes small business owners as losses hit billions — industry leaders beg Congress for ‘clean CR’
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FIRST ON FOX: Small business owners are losing billions in funding due to the government shutdown, with industry leaders publishing a letter Monday demanding lawmakers pass a «clean CR» and reopen the federal government.
«On behalf of our organizations representing millions of entrepreneurs and small business owners, we are calling on U.S. Senators to put an end to the instability and hardship by passing a clean continuing resolution, which will allow negotiations to continue on spending measures moving through Congress, including the future of the COVID credits that will expire at year-end,» a letter addressed to U.S. senators across the board and first obtained by Fox News Digital states. «The viability of thousands of small businesses is at risk due to the shutdown, and it is unacceptable that the livelihoods of owners and their employees are being sacrificed for spending demands that can be resolved through regular order.»
The letter was signed by six industry groups, including the Family Business Coalition, International Franchise Association, Job Creators Network, National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors, National Restaurant Association and the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council.
The government shut down Oct. 1 after Senate lawmakers failed to reach a funding agreement before a midnight deadline. Leaders of both political parties have since cast blame for the shutdown on each other, with Republicans arguing Democrats sought taxpayer-funded medical benefits for illegal immigrants in their legislation, while Democrats have denied the accusation and claimed Republicans won’t join the negotiation table on healthcare for citizens.
GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN 101: WE’VE BEEN HERE BEFORE, HERE’S WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
A sign reading «The U.S. Capitol Visiting Center is closed due to a lapse in appropriations» is displayed at the entrance of the U.S. Capitol Visiting Center. (Probal Rashid/LightRocket via Getty Images)
The letter urged lawmakers to reopen the government while pointing to a handful of examples of how Americans are suffering due to the shutdown, including small business owners losing out on billions in funding.
«According to the (Small Business Administration), 4,800 small businesses have been blocked from receiving $2.5 billion in capital since the start of the shutdown,» the groups warned. «Every day the shutdown continues means another 320 small businesses will not have access to the SBA-backed commercial loans these businesses were counting on for expansion and growth. Hundreds of thousands of workers are impacted by the suspension through furloughs, reduced jobs and wages, along with missed opportunities for local economies.»
The Small Business Administration released data earlier in October showing 320 small business owners have lost $170 million in funding each day due to the shutdown, which has resulted in at least $2.5 billion in funding that cannot be delivered to business owners.
White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told Fox Digital that the «Democrat shutdown» has caused «chaos» that is gripping business owners no matter the size of the company.
SHUTDOWN IGNITES STRATEGIST DEBATE: WILL TRUMP AND GOP PAY THE POLITICAL PRICE IN 2026?
The White House slammed Democrats for the ongoing shutdown that will cause the National Nuclear Security Administration to furlough 80% of its staff. (Getty Images)
«From Wall Street to Main Street, the Democrat shutdown has generated unnecessary chaos and economic uncertainty. Millions of small businesses and entrepreneurs have made it very clear — it is time for Senate Democrats to pass the clean continuing resolution, reopen the government, and stop using Americans as ‘leverage’ for their radical policies,» Rogers said.
The letter added that disruptions to air travel and air traffic controller shortages have affected business owners and consumers, alike, and that small business owners are feeling the pinch of «ever-increasing costs and diminishing choices» as they relate to healthcare coverage.
SOCIAL SECURITY, AIRPORTS, FOOD STAMPS: HOW ARE YOU AFFECTED DURING A GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN?
A coalition of six business groups urged Senate lawmakers to reopen the government while pointing to a handful of examples of how Americans are suffering due to the shutdown, including small business owners losing out on billions in funding. (Liao Pan/China News Service via Getty Images)
«With respect to the rising cost of health insurance premiums, small businesses have been the hardest hit by years of ever-increasing costs and diminishing choices. Premium tax credit expiration represents only a fraction of the reason why many small businesses are seeing hefty premium increases for next year. Lowering costs and increasing affordable choices will be resolved through comprehensive reforms that need to be addressed by Congress and state legislatures. Congress must commit to this important task as well,» the letter stated.
«The effects of the shutdown will only grow wider with each passing day unless the Senate acts. Passing a clean CR is a smart, responsible, and bipartisan course of action. It will provide certainty for small business owners, employees and workers who are counting on actions from their elected officials that produce certainty and stability. We urge every Senator to support a clean CR that allows the appropriations process to move forward to ensure the federal government remains open and operational,» the letter said.
The shutdown currently does not have an end in sight. Democrats such as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer are taking issue with Trump traveling to Asia this week to meet with foreign leaders.
«Americans deserve a government that works as hard as they do — not a leader that flies away from responsibility at the time they need one most,» Schumer said Friday.
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Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, when asked about Schumer’s remarks, told the media Monday that «President Trump has entrusted us to fix this because this is an Article I branch problem.»
«The president tried his best, he brought them in before all this madness started, and Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries effectively told him to jump in the Potomac,» Johnson said, CBS News reported. «So it’s up to the Democrats, everybody knows that. The president said he’ll meet with them on any issue under the sun. We’re delighted to talk about it, but they have to get the government reopened first.»
small business under siege,white house,government shutdown,democrats senate
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Chloe Cole Act aimed at blocking minors from undergoing life-altering transgender surgeries, GOP lawmaker says
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A Republican lawmaker is teaming up with outspoken detransitioner Chloe Cole to push federal legislation that would block gender-related medical procedures for minors, saying that children are being rushed into receiving treatments with life-altering results.
The Chloe Cole Act is being introduced on Monday as federal legislation aimed at protecting minors from gender-related medical procedures.
Rep. Bob Onder, R-Mo., who is behind the bill, has a medical degree and is sounding the alarm over the impact that gender-related treatments can have on minors. The congressman told Fox News Digital that his bill will not only protect minors from these treatments, but will also give children and parents the right to hold medical professionals accountable in court.
«We know that in the last 15 years, the transgender movement has convinced tens of thousands of boys and girls that they are born in the wrong body…. And then a chain of transgender clinics has exploited these kids for the ideology and for the profit and really done permanent damage to the health of those kids with wrong sex hormones, puberty blockers and even mutilating surgeries,» Onder told Fox News Digital.
Chloe Cole speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 20, 2022. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
The congressman said the Chloe Cole Act arises from President Donald Trump’s January 2025 order titled, «Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation.» The order encouraged lawmakers to «work to draft, propose, and promote legislation to enact a private right of action for children and the parents of children whose healthy body parts have been damaged by medical professionals practicing chemical and surgical mutilation.» The order noted that statutes of limitations for these cases should be «lengthy.»
Cole, who has become a prominent detransition advocate, told Fox News Digital that the legislation is «a vital step in our mission to ensure that no minor in America ever endures the kind of lasting, irreparable damage I experienced.»
«While we’ve made significant strides in raising awareness and enacting protections in recent years, the fight is far from over. Too many children remain at risk of irreversible harm from puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgical procedures pushed on them before they can fully understand the consequences,» Cole said in a statement provided exclusively to Fox News Digital.
«We must finish what we’ve started and safeguard the next generation from these experimental and barbaric treatments,» she added.
Chloe Cole, who detransitioned after medical procedures, warns others to wait and seek family support before transitioning, shared her story with Fox News Digital. (Fox News Digital)
TRUMP-SIGNED SHUTDOWN BILL SENDS $4M TO CHILDREN’S HOSPITALS UNDER FEDERAL PROBE FOR TRANSGENDER CARE
A recent legal judgment in New York has provided advocates like Cole some hope in holding medical providers accountable. Recently, a jury awarded 22-year-old Fox Varian $2 million in damages after she sued a plastic surgeon who performed a double mastectomy on her when she was a teenager. Varian’s lawsuit was also aimed at her psychologist. The New York Times noted that Varian claimed the 2019 double mastectomy left her disfigured. Varian, like Cole, was born female and at one point identified as a man. She is now undergoing the detransition process.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has previously expressed support for providing minors with gender-related medical treatment.
«The AAP and other major medical organizations — including the American Medical Association, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the World Health Organization — support giving transgender adolescents access to the health care they need,» a 2023 statement from the AAP read. «The AAP opposes any laws or regulations that discriminate against transgender and gender-diverse individuals, or that interfere in the doctor-patient relationship.»
DETRANSITIONER TOUTS $2-MILLION LANDMARK MALPRACTICE RULING AS GOOD START, BUT ‘NOT NEARLY ENOUGH’
Chloe Cole, who spoke about receiving medical transitioning care as a teen, is greeted by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene during a news conference outside the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 20, 2022. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Cole celebrated the judgment, and said in a Fox News Digital op-ed: «There are so many other young people like us. We were lied to by doctors, nurses and therapists when we were vulnerable and confused children. They did irreversible harm to our bodies and minds, making a mockery of the medical profession. They should absolutely be held accountable for sacrificing us in service to radical transgender ideology.»
In her op-ed, Cole brought up a subject that Onder also touched on during his interview with Fox News Digital: the prevalence of medical professionals warning parents that their child could harm themselves or even commit suicide if they are not allowed to undergo the procedures.
«Those parents are being lied to,» Onder said. «The words I hear quoted over and over again, by Chloe, by Luka Hein, by others, is that their parents were told, ‘Would you rather have a live son or a dead daughter?’ implying that the risk of suicide is approaching 100%, but nothing could be further from the truth. That is an utter lie,» Onder said.
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The congressman lambasted the industry behind gender-related medical procedures, wondering if children were being pushed into the surgeries because of «sick ideology» or a «desire for profit.»
«Parents are being lied to, the transgender clinics and the transgender doctors are making off with a lot of money. It’s really a despicable development in American medicine. And as a physician, I look forward to the day where it’s in our rearview mirror and no longer are kids being exploited,» the congressman added.
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politics,surgery,health
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Mexico violence sees dozens of military troops, criminals dead after cartel leader ‘El Mencho’ killed
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Cartel violence that erupted across Mexico left 25 Mexican National Guard troops and more than two dozen criminal suspects among the dead following the killing of Jalisco New Generation cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, officials said Monday.
Mexico Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch said the troops in Jalisco were killed in six separate attacks following the killing of Oseguera Cervantes during a shootout inside his home as the Mexican military attempted to capture him. He also said some 30 criminal suspects were killed in Jalisco and four others were killed in Michoacan.
García Harfuch added that a prison guard, an agent from the state prosecutor’s office and a woman whom he did not identify were also killed.
The U.S. provided intelligence support for the Mexican operation that resulted in the death of the cartel leader, who was known as «El Mencho.»
Mexican Security and Citizen Protection Minister Omar Garcia Harfuch speaks as President Claudia Sheinbaum looks on during a news conference in Mexico City, Monday, Feb. 23, 2026, the day after the Mexican army killed cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes. (AP Photo/Ginnette Riquelme)
Mexican Defense Minister Ricardo Trevilla said Monday that intelligence leading to the military operation came from a romantic partner of the crime boss, Reuters reported.
A soldier stands guard by a charred vehicle after it was set on fire in Cointzio, Mexico, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026, after the death of «El Mencho.» (AP Photo/Armando Solis)
The cartel reacted to its leader’s death with violence across Mexico, placing roadblocks and setting vehicles on fire throughout Sunday.
CARTELS OUTGUN POLICE: ROCKET LAUNCHERS SEIZED IN EL MENCHO RAID SPOTLIGHT CJNG FIREPOWER
President Claudia Sheinbaum urged calm Monday, and authorities said all the more than 250 cartel roadblocks across 20 states had been cleared.
The U.S. State Department said its personnel in cities across Mexico would shelter in place Monday, urging U.S. citizens in many parts of Mexico to do the same.
Oseguera Cervantes was the leader of one of the largest narco-terrorist cartels in the country.
«El Mencho» was killed during a shootout as the Mexican military attempted to capture him in an operation in Jalisco on Sunday, Feb. 22., 2026. (Drug Enforcement Administration)
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The criminal network was notorious for trafficking fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine to the United States, and staging brazen attacks against government officials who challenged it.
Fox News’ Anders Hagstrom and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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location mexico,mexican cartel violence,world
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El veto de Hungría y Eslovaquia bloquea el paquete de sanciones de la Unión Europea a Rusia
Los ministros de Exteriores de la Unión Europea fallaron este lunes en alcanzar la unanimidad necesaria para aprobar el vigésimo paquete de sanciones contra Rusia, debido al veto ejercido por Hungría y Eslovaquia. Esta decisión frustra el objetivo de la UE de presentar nuevas medidas restrictivas al cumplirse cuatro años de la invasión a gran escala de Ucrania. La alta representante para Asuntos Exteriores y Seguridad, Kaja Kallas, calificó el resultado como “un revés y un mensaje que no queríamos enviar hoy”, aunque subrayó que las negociaciones continúan.
La disputa se centra en la reanudación del suministro de petróleo ruso por el oleoducto Druzhba, dañado por ataques rusos según Kiev. Hungría y Eslovaquia condicionan su apoyo a las sanciones a la restauración de dicho suministro, mientras el gobierno húngaro acusa a Ucrania de bloquear el flujo por motivos políticos, un argumento rechazado por las autoridades ucranianas, quienes insisten en que trabajan para reparar la infraestructura bajo condiciones extremas de frío. Kallas defendió la prioridad ucraniana de restablecer la energía para su población, tras denunciar que el 80 % de la infraestructura energética de Ucrania ha resultado dañada.
La Comisión Europea propuso el 6 de febrero vetar completamente los servicios marítimos a petroleros rusos y extender las sanciones a nuevas empresas energéticas y bancos, con el objetivo de impedir el acceso de productos sensibles a Rusia. Sin embargo, el doble veto húngaro también afecta el paquete de ayuda macrofinanciera y militar a Ucrania por valor de 90.000 millones de euros, cuya aprobación requiere la unanimidad del Consejo Europeo. De esa suma, 60.000 millones están previstos para apoyo militar y 30.000 millones para respaldo macroeconómico en los próximos dos años.
El presidente del Consejo Europeo, António Costa, envió una carta al primer ministro húngaro, Viktor Orbán, exigiendo respeto a las decisiones adoptadas en la cumbre de diciembre y recordando que incumplir compromisos supone “una violación del principio de cooperación sincera”. Costa urgió a Orbán a desbloquear el préstamo, asegurando que “no se puede permitir a ningún Estado miembro socavar la credibilidad de las decisiones tomadas colectivamente por el Consejo Europeo”.
El gobierno ucraniano, por su parte, condenó lo que calificó de “chantaje” y “ultimátum” por parte de Hungría y Eslovaquia, señalando que Kiev ha ofrecido rutas alternativas para suministrar petróleo no ruso. La tensión se incrementa ante la proximidad de las elecciones legislativas en Hungría, donde Orbán enfrenta su mayor desafío político desde 2010, con la oposición liderando las encuestas. El mandatario ha intensificado su retórica contra la UE y Ucrania, atribuyendo a ambos intentos de interferencia electoral y de desestabilización mediante el bloqueo energético.
Líderes europeos como el canciller alemán Friedrich Merz y el presidente francés Emmanuel Macron reiteraron en Berlín y París su compromiso de apoyo a Ucrania. Merz instó a mantener la presión económica sobre Moscú para forzar el fin del conflicto, subrayando que “debemos secar la financiación de guerra de Moscú”. Por su parte, el presidente finlandés Alexander Stubb calificó la guerra como un “fracaso estratégico y económico” para Rusia, aunque advirtió que Vladimir Putin no parece dispuesto a pactar la paz.
Desde el inicio de la invasión, la UE ha entregado a Ucrania 194.900 millones de euros en asistencia financiera, mientras la mayoría de los países ha reducido o eliminado las importaciones energéticas rusas. No obstante, Hungría y Eslovaquia han mantenido —e incluso aumentado— su dependencia, amparándose en exenciones temporales concedidas por Bruselas en el marco de las sanciones. El futuro del paquete de sanciones y del préstamo a Kiev depende ahora de las negociaciones directas con Budapest y Bratislava, en un contexto marcado por la fragmentación y las presiones electorales internas.
La alta representante Kallas compartió con los Estados miembros un documento detallando las condiciones que la UE consideraría exigibles a Rusia para el cese de la guerra, incluyendo la retirada de tropas de los territorios ocupados, en línea con los compromisos internacionales previos. Se prevé que la cuestión será planteada a Orbán por Costa y la presidenta de la Comisión Europea, Ursula von der Leyen, durante su visita a Kiev en el aniversario de la invasión.
(Con información de EFE, AP y Europa Press)
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