INTERNACIONAL
Whip watch: Dick Durbin gives tearful goodbye as Dem power play begins for No. 2 Senate spot
With the upcoming departure of longtime Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., in 2026, a battle will soon commence for his coveted role as Senate minority whip, the second-highest leadership role in the caucus next to Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer.
«There comes a point in your career when the torch must be passed, and I’ve reached that point,» Durbin said during a press conference in Springfield Thursday. «I will not be seeking re-election to this United States Senate seat.»
Several names have already been floated for the whip job, including some typically vocal senators and others whose quiet policy chops appear just as attractive.
One candidate mentioned has been Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz.
ZELDIN GRILLED BY DEMOCRATS ON CLIMATE CHANGE, TRUMP’S STANCE ON CARBON EMISSIONS DURING EPA HEARING
Senators Sheldon Whitehouse, Patty Murray and Brian Schatz are considered whip considerations. (Reuters)
Schatz, 52, is in his third term and is Durbin’s current chief deputy whip as well as deputy conference secretary, a job involving communication and strategy for Senate Democrats.
He is also the top Democrat on the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, given the Aloha State’s heavy native population.
Schatz has been active behind the scenes for liberals, placing holds on hundreds of Trump nominees for State Department positions in response to the president’s efforts to shutter USAID.
A former member of the Green Party in Hawaii, he is also considered a bridge between progressives and mainstream liberals.
A former top aide to previous Senate mainstays Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., told The Hill it’s hard to tell how leadership elections will go because they’re closed-door votes, but «as far as I can tell, Sen. Schatz seems to be in a pretty good position if he wants to take the leap.»
DICK DURBIN, NO 2 SENATE DEMOCRAT, WON’T SEEK RE-ELECTION
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., sits in a hearing. (Getty Images)
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., is rumored to be a possible successor to Durbin as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, according to Politico.
Whitehouse has raised his profile as another one of President Donald Trump’s loudest critics, regularly creating viral clips of combativeness with administration nominees in the various hearings he’s sat in on.
Another lawmaker mentioned is Washington Sen. Patty Murray, who had been third in line to the presidency until the GOP took back the Senate.
Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa., now holds that role, which is typically held by the longest-serving senator of the majority party.
Murray is also the top Democrat on the influential Senate Appropriations Committee.
Frequently called the «mom in tennis shoes» who ran for the Senate in 1992 as a relative political newcomer, Murray once said she and others «got into the U.S. Senate because we were mad.»
She lobbied officials in Olympia to save an education program from budget cuts when she was told «you can’t make a difference,» according to a biography from the Washington Secretary of State’s office.
That populist history, along with Murray’s long tenure and closeness with leadership, could also make her a lock to succeed Durbin.
Fox News Digital reached out to Schatz, Whitehouse and Murray for comment but did not immediately hear back.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Durbin spoke tearfully about his decision to retire during a press conference outside the same Springfield home where he announced his first Senate run nearly 30 years ago.
He hearkened back to his risky move to give up a «safe House seat.»
«So, for the last 29 years, I’ve been vindicated that that decision paid off,» said Durbin.
«I love this job. I think it’s a terrific job, but I also know reality.»
Politics,Senate Democrats,Illinois,Hawaii,Rhode Island,Elections
INTERNACIONAL
House conservatives skeptical as Senate deal sacrificing DHS spending reached: ‘Non-starter’
Deal talks intensify as shutdown risk grows
Fox News congressional correspondent Bill Melugin reports on the DHS bill and negotiations between the White House and Senate, as the risk of a partial government shutdown grows on ‘Special Report.’
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
House conservatives are expressing skepticism after Senate Democrats and the White House announced a deal had been reached to fund the government without a long-term Department of Homeland Security funding bill. One House member warned that Republicans should not give in to demands to «handcuff ICE.»
With any deal reached in the Senate needing approval in the House of Representatives, Rep. Mark Harris, R-N.C., told Fox News Digital, «[Senate Minority Leader Chuck] Schumer’s current demands, compounded by a lack of conservative priorities, are an absolute non-starter» in the lower chamber.
«With Chuck Schumer’s demands to handcuff ICE and his Democrat colleagues threatening to shut down the government over it, this is yet another example of the radical left prioritizing criminals over American citizens,» said Harris.
Schumer, D-N.Y., and President Donald Trump labored over a deal from late night Wednesday into Thursday evening after the top Senate Democrat unleashed several funding demands and the White House accused Schumer of blocking a meeting with rank-and-file Democrats.
7 REPUBLICANS JOIN DEMS TO BLOCK MAJOR GOVERNMENT FUNDING PACKAGE AS SHUTDOWN LOOMS
The U.S. Capitol (Emma Woodhead/Fox News Digital)
«The separation of the five bipartisan bills the Democrats asked for, plus the two-week DHS [continuing resolution] has been agreed to,» Schumer said in a statement.
In response, one House conservative remarked to Fox News Digital, «We’re still looking at what is being discussed in the deal, but 14 days is awfully short.»
«We sure think we should be getting something out of this deal when it’s Democrats who are threatening a shutdown, not Republicans,» the House member said.
Not all House Republicans were against the compromise. Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind., reacted on X, «I stand with @POTUS, a shutdown will only hurt the American people. I will vote YES on this package should it make it through the Senate!»
In a Truth Social post on Thursday evening, Trump urged the GOP to agree to the deal, saying, «Hopefully, both Republicans and Democrats will give a very much-needed bipartisan ‘YES’ Vote.»
NEW DEM PROPOSAL WOULD RESTRICT ICE’S KEY TOOL TO DETAIN CRIMINAL ILLEGAL ALIENS
The White House and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., reached an agreement to fund the government on Thursday, sidelining the controversial DHS funding bill in the process. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images; Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters)
The president added that the «only thing that can slow our Country down is another long and damaging Government Shutdown.»
«I am working hard with Congress to ensure that we are able to fully fund the Government, without delay,» Trump said. «Republicans and Democrats in Congress have come together to get the vast majority of the Government funded until September, while at the same time providing an extension to the Department of Homeland Security (including the very important Coast Guard, which we are expanding and rebuilding like never before).»
The deal brokered between the two would see the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill stripped from the broader six-bill package. Schumer and Democrats have been adamant that if the bill is sidelined, they’d vote for the remaining five, which includes funding for the Pentagon.
Their agreement also tees up a short-term funding extension, known as a continuing resolution (CR), for two weeks to keep the agency funded while lawmakers negotiate restrictions on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
If passed in the Senate, the deal would still need to pass the House again. With lawmakers there not expected back in Washington until Feb. 2, three days after the Jan. 30 funding deadline, a brief partial government shutdown is all but certain.
HOUSE FREEDOM CAUCUS DRAWS LINE ON DHS, ICE FUNDING AS MINNEAPOLIS UNREST FUELS SHUTDOWN RISK
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., has yet to weigh in on the deal. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)
Tensions have been boiling over in the House over the prospect of the Senate’s compromise on DHS.
Caucus member Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., told Fox News Digital via text message on Thursday, «THE HOUSE DID OUR JOB BY PASSING THE REMAINING SIX APPROPRIATION BILLS TO THE SENATE AND THERE IS NO RATIONAL REASON TO REMOVE DHS FROM THE APPROVAL PROCESS.»
Norman accused Democrats of trying to «demonize» and «bludgeon» DHS, adding, «IF THE DEMOCRATS WANT TO SHUT THE GOVERNMENT DOWN, ‘DO IT’!!»
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Meanwhile, Mark Bednar, a GOP strategist and former spokesperson for then Speaker Kevin McCarthy, told Fox News Digital, «President Trump wants to ensure that our troops, air traffic controllers and DHS patriots are on the job and get paid, and this path will help ensure they do that.
«It’s now on Democrats to negotiate in good faith with President Trump so that the homeland is secured with a long-term funding bill — because that’s what the American people want and deserve.»
Fox News Digital’s Alex Miller contributed to this report.
government shutdown,senate,house of representatives politics,donald trump,chuck schumer,homeland security
INTERNACIONAL
Rubio revokes Iranian officials’ US travel privileges over deadly protest crackdown killing thousands
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently revoked Iranian senior officials and their family members’ privilege to travel to the U.S., citing ongoing oppression by the regime.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s regime is accused of killing more than 6,200 protesters since Dec. 28, with nearly 17,100 additional arrests as internet communications remain halted, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).
«As the people of Iran continue to fight for their basic rights, [Rubio] took action this week to revoke the privilege of Iranian senior officials and their family members to be in the United States,» the State Department wrote in an X post. «Those who profit from the Iranian regime’s brutal oppression are not welcome to benefit from our immigration system.»
In addition to the potential civil rights violations in Iran, tensions have flared between Khamenei and President Donald Trump, as the U.S. attempts to strike a nuclear deal.
Demonstrators in London burn pictures of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei outside the Iranian embassy during a rally in support of nationwide protests Jan. 12 in Iran. (Toby Melville/Reuters)
IRAN’S TOP PROSECUTOR CRITICIZES TRUMP’S ANNOUNCEMENT THAT 800+ EXECUTIONS WERE HALTED: ‘COMPLETELY FALSE’
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi warned on Wednesday the nation’s military is «prepared—with their fingers on the trigger—to immediately and powerfully respond to ANY aggression against our beloved land, air, and sea.»
Araghchi claimed that Iran has «always welcomed» a mutually beneficial, fair and equitable nuclear deal that would ensure Iran’s rights to peaceful nuclear technology, and guarantee no nuclear weapons.
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, sits next to a senior military official in Iran. (Getty Images)
TRUMP ANNOUNCES ‘FINAL’ 25% TARIFF ON COUNTRIES DOING BUSINESS WITH IRAN REGIME
Trump fired back on Truth Social, warning a «massive» armada was heading to Iran «with speed and violence, if necessary.»
«Time is running out, it is truly of the essence!» Trump wrote in a post. «As I told Iran once before, MAKE A DEAL! They didn’t, and there was ‘Operation Midnight Hammer,’ a major destruction of Iran. The next attack will be far worse! Don’t make that happen again.»
The president said Thursday night it would be «great» if the U.S. did not have to use the military fleet.
The state tax building burned during Iran’s protests on a street in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 19, 2026. (Majid Asgaripour/WANA via Reuters)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
The State Department on Wednesday also demanded Tehran overturn the death penalty for 19-year-old Saleh Mohammadi, a decorated Iranian wrestler who was arrested while peacefully protesting against the regime earlier this month.
Fox News Digital’s Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report.
world,iran,marco rubio,donald trump,state department
INTERNACIONAL
¿Cómo llegaron las piedras a Stonehenge? Un descubrimiento reciente cambiaría la historia del monumento
El misterio sobre el traslado de los megalitos de Stonehenge a la llanura de Salisbury experimentó un giro decisivo. Un grupo de investigadores de la Universidad Curtin (Australia) publicó un estudio que desecha la hipótesis glaciar y atribuye el transporte de estos enormes bloques de piedra exclusivamente a la acción humana. Esta resolución modifica décadas de debate arqueológico. Los resultados, divulgados en Communications Earth & Environment, emplean avanzados análisis geoquímicos y ofrecen nuevas evidencias sobre el origen y las rutas de estas piedras emblemáticas.
Stonehenge, situado en el sur de Inglaterra, es uno de los monumentos prehistóricos más reconocidos a nivel mundial. Fue construido en varias fases por comunidades del Neolítico y de la Edad del Bronce entre el 3000 a. C. y el 1500 a. C. El conjunto está compuesto por bloques de arenisca locales de unas 25 toneladas cada uno, piedras azules más pequeñas, de entre dos y cinco toneladas, y la Piedra del Altar, que alcanza seis toneladas.
La procedencia de estos materiales ha sido objeto de múltiples investigaciones, según detalla el equipo de Clarke y Kirkland en Communications Earth & Environment. Los bloques de arenisca provenían de Marlborough Downs, a unos 32 kilómetros de Stonehenge. Las piedras azules se extrajeron de las colinas de Preseli, al suroeste de Gales, a 290 kilómetros de distancia. La Piedra del Altar se atribuye actualmente a la cuenca Orcadiana, en el noreste de Escocia, a más de 700 kilómetros del monumento.
Durante décadas, la comunidad científica defendió dos posturas opuestas sobre cómo se movilizaron estos bloques. Una apoyaba el transporte humano mediante rodillos, trineos o rutas marítimas; la otra sugería que los glaciares podrían haber arrastrado y depositado las piedras en tiempos prehistóricos. La controversia persistió ante la falta de pruebas directas concluyentes.
La reciente investigación liderada por Anthony J. I. Clarke y Christopher L. Kirkland aplicó métodos de análisis geoquímico, en particular la datación U–Pb en minerales como circones y apatita, para reconstruir la historia del transporte de sedimentos en la región. El equipo recolectó muestras de sedimentos de varios arroyos alrededor de Stonehenge con el fin de identificar señales minerales que indicaran un posible paso glaciar por la zona.
Los resultados fueron contundentes, según los autores del estudio. El análisis de circones presentes en los sedimentos fluviales mostró correspondencia únicamente con rocas locales de Gran Bretaña, sin aportes relevantes desde regiones distantes, como cabría esperar si los glaciares hubieran arrastrado las piedras desde Gales o Escocia. Además, la apatita analizada no presentó indicios de un origen glacial externo y su composición coincidía con depósitos locales.
El equipo identificó una coincidencia aislada con minerales característicos de las piedras azules galesas, pero la evidencia resultó insuficiente para sostener la hipótesis glaciar. Communications Earth & Environment destaca que, si los glaciares hubieran desplazado cientos de toneladas de megalitos, la huella en el registro sedimentario local sería evidente. La ausencia de estas señales y la uniformidad de los minerales analizados permitieron descartar la intervención de procesos glaciales en el transporte.
La investigación excluye la llegada de megalitos por acción glaciar y sugiere una movilización manual, o al menos sin intervención de glaciares. El estudio refuerza la idea de que las poblaciones neolíticas poseían capacidades avanzadas de organización y transporte, suficientes para recorrer cientos de kilómetros con grandes bloques de piedra. Persisten grandes interrogantes: “Algunos sostienen que las piedras podrían haberse movido por mar o sobre troncos, pero quizá nunca sepamos cómo lo lograron”, afirmó el geólogo Clarke en declaraciones recogidas por Anne Doran.
El trabajo demuestra el potencial de la geoquímica avanzada para resolver cuestiones históricas y arqueológicas de larga data. El enfoque interdisciplinario de los autores aporta nuevas perspectivas para comprender la relación entre las sociedades antiguas y el entorno natural.
Aunque el método exacto de traslado de los enormes bloques sigue sin determinarse, el consenso científico es claro: las piedras de Stonehenge no llegaron hasta allí por acción del hielo.
Hytale quiere sacar la artillería pesada y prepara una "revolución industrial" para competirle a Minecraft
El tenso cruce entre Lospennato y Kreplak por la atención de extranjeros en hospitales: “Si Kicillof necesita un equipo, que avise”
Sigue la investigación sobre el venezolano que fue detenido en Corrientes: analizan sus vínculos con el Tren de Aragua
Coto, Carrefour y Jumbo liquidan electrodomésticos: heladeras, lavarrovas y más con 50% de descuento
Los árbitros para la fecha 3 del Torneo Apertura de la Liga Profesional
House conservatives skeptical as Senate deal sacrificing DHS spending reached: ‘Non-starter’
Javier Milei evalúa participar de un evento en Mar-a-Lago, la residencia de Donald Trump
Tras años fuera del radar, una cooperativa emblemática vuelve al negocio supermercadista
El mercado prevé más veranito en febrero, con riesgo país débil y un BCRA embuchándose de dólares
Milei intensificó su disputa con Techint y criticó a Paolo Rocca: “Don Chatarrín de los Tubitos Caros”
ECONOMIA2 días agoTras años fuera del radar, una cooperativa emblemática vuelve al negocio supermercadista
- POLITICA2 días ago
Milei intensificó su disputa con Techint y criticó a Paolo Rocca: “Don Chatarrín de los Tubitos Caros”
- CHIMENTOS7 horas ago
La escandalosa prohibición de María Susini: por qué no quiere que Facundo Arana se acerque a sus hijos
