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White House says Walz, Frey incited chaos after anti-ICE mob storms Minneapolis church

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The White House slammed a mob of anti-ICE agitators who reportedly stormed into a Twin Cities church Sunday, accusing local left-wing leaders — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey — of inciting the chaos. 

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«There is no low these radical leftists won’t stoop to,» White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital Monday morning. «Jacob Frey and Tim Walz have whipped these rioters into a frenzy and turned them loose to wreak havoc on Minneapolis.» 

«Frey and Walz should be ashamed for inciting such chaos, but the Trump Administration will continue enforcing the law,» she added. 

Jackson was reacting to a mob comprised of dozens of agitators allegedly storming into the Cities Church sanctuary in St. Paul on Sunday midway through church services, throwing worship into chaos, Fox Digital previously reported. Protesters claimed the pastor was a local ICE official. 

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VIRAL VIDEO SHOWS ICE AGENT TELLING AGITATORS THEY’RE DISRUPTING ARREST OF CHILD SEX OFFENDER IN MINNESOTA

Minnesota has been rocked by a massive fraud scandal stretching back to the pandemic that prosecutors speculate could total billions of dollars.  (Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Department of Justice officials vowed Sunday to open an investigation into the disruption, specifically probing for federal civil rights violations «by these people desecrating a house of worship and interfering with Christian worshipers,» Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said. 

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Attorney General Pam Bondi added in a statement Sunday that «attacks against law enforcement and the intimidation of Christians are being met with the full force of federal law.»

Video footage of the church protests spreading on social media does not show local police on the scene deterring the chaos. 

Fox News Digital reached out to the Minneapolis Police Department Monday for comment on the matter, and was redirected to the St. Paul Police Department as the church is located within that department’s jurisdiction. Fox Digital reached out to the St. Paul police department Monday morning and has yet to receive a reply. 

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ICE SAYS 2 DEMONSTRATORS WERE ARRESTED IN MINNESOTA FOR ALLEGEDLY ASSAULTING OFFICERS

Community members, some kneeling with hands raised, shout at federal agents on a Minneapolis street amid heightened tensions.

Community members confront federal agents after an immigration raid that resulted in detentions and followed the fatal ICE shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, Jan. 13, 2026. (Tim Evans/Reuters)

Chaos has broken out in Minneapolis in recent weeks as agitators take to the streets to protest federal law enforcement officials. Federal officers converged on the state in early January as a sweeping fraud case came to light, which has led to dozens of arrests, mostly including members of Minneapolis’ large Somali population. 

Protests and criticisms against ICE heightened Jan. 7, when a federal officer fatally shot protester Renee Good. Federal officials say Good used her car as a weapon against the agent, arguing he acted in self-defense when he fired his weapon. 

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Democrats and administration officials have called the shooting a «murder» as they speak out against the administration’s deportation efforts of illegal immigrants. 

ACTING ICE DIRECTOR DEFENDS AGENCY’S FOCUS ON TARGETING CRIMINAL ILLEGAL ALIENS, DETAILS THREAT TO AGENTS

Tim Walz announces he won't seek reelection

Democratic Minnesota Governor Tim Walz speaks to reporters after he announced that he would not seek reelection, at the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul, Minnesota, Jan. 5, 2026.  (Reuters/Tim Evans)

Frey rejected the Trump administration’s characterization of the immigration crackdown in Minnesota during a Sunday appearance on CBS’ «Face the Nation,» claiming the surge of federal agents has made residents feel targeted rather than protected.

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«This is not about safety. What this is about is coming into our city by the thousands and terrorizing people simply because they’re Latino or Somali,» Frey said. «People in Minneapolis are speaking up. They’re speaking up peacefully. They’re standing up for their neighbors. And this is not just about resisting Trump. This is about loving and caring for the people that call this city home. And it’s been inspiring.» 

Fox News Digital reached out to the mayor’s office and governor’s office for comment Monday morning regarding the White House’s statement regarding the church disruption but did not immediately receive replies. 

MINNEAPOLIS POSTS ANTI-ICE VIDEO PROMOTING ‘PEACEFUL PROTEST’ AND UNITY

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The mob converging on a church comes as the Department of Homeland Security has warned that violence targeting ICE personnel has spiked in recent months. In a late November Homeland Security release, the agency said it logged 238 assaults on ICE law enforcement officers from Jan. 21, 2025, through Nov. 21, 2025, compared with 19 assaults during the same span in 2024 — a 1,153% increase.

A firework explodes near fencing during a protest outside a Minneapolis federal building at night.

A firework explodes near fencing outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building during protests, Jan. 12, 2026, in Minneapolis. (Jen Golbeck/The Associated Press )

Fallout from Minnesota’s sprawling fraud scandal bled into the state’s political turmoil earlier in January, when Walz announced he would not seek re-election — a decision that came amid intensifying scrutiny of oversight failures during his tenure. Walz, who has served as governor since 2019, acknowledged the wrongdoing occurred on his watch and said state systems failed to catch it sooner, while arguing Republicans were inflating and «sensationalizing» 

Frey, when asked about the scandal earlier in January, said «everybody could have done more» to stop the fraud, but cautioned against blaming broader communities for the alleged crimes of individuals — a point he made while pushing back on rhetoric that has focused on the Somali American community.

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MINNESOTA NATIONAL GUARD PLACED ON STANDBY TO SUPPORT LAW ENFORCEMENT AS PROTESTS TURN VIOLENT

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt pinned blame on Democrats and their rhetoric for heightened threats against federal immigration law enforcement officers. 

«The Democrat Party has demeaned these individuals,» Leavitt said Thursday of federal immigration officers. «They’ve even referred to them as ‘Nazis’ and as ‘the Gestapo.’ And that is absolutely leading to the violence we’re seeing in the streets.

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«If you look at some of the images out of Minneapolis last night, look at this vehicle, look at what it says,» Leavitt added. «It says, ‘F ICE.’ You have these individuals who are putting their middle finger, proudly so, at the camera, another ICE individual, a vehicle that was vandalized last night by these left-wing agitators.»

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

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Cuba registró más de 1.000 protestas en marzo en medio de cortes de energía, represión y carencias

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Personas realizan un cacerolazo en medio de un apagón en La Habana, el pasado 7 de marzo (REUTERS/Norlys Pérez)

La ola de descontento social en Cuba alcanzó un nuevo pico durante marzo, mes en el que el Observatorio Cubano de Conflictos (OCC) reportó 1.245 protestas, denuncias y expresiones críticas en todo el país.

Según el informe de la ONG, al que tuvo acceso Infobae, los cortes de electricidad, la falta de agua, la escasez de combustible y el encarecimiento de los alimentos se combinaron con una respuesta represiva del Estado, generando una situación de máxima tensión en las calles.

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La Habana fue uno de los epicentros de la protesta. El OCC registró 54 manifestaciones presenciales contra la falta de servicios básicos, acompañadas por 70 grafitis antigubernamentales en diversas ciudades. El mes estuvo marcado por la persistencia de los apagones, que impulsaron a la ciudadanía a organizar cacerolazos y protestas nocturnas con lemas como “¡Libertad!”.

El punto más álgido ocurrió el 13 de marzo en Morón, Ciego de Ávila, donde manifestantes ingresaron a la sede local del Partido Comunista de Cuba (PCC). Una vez en el lugar, arrojaron mobiliario y documentos a la vía pública antes de prenderlos fuego.

El OCC catalogó el episodio como uno de los “556 desafíos al Estado policial” registrados en el mes, cifra que superó ampliamente los 432 de febrero y expuso el aumento de la confrontación directa con las autoridades.

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La protesta en la sede del Partido Comunista en Morón, Ciego de Ávila (Social Media/vía REUTERS)
La protesta en la sede del Partido Comunista en Morón, Ciego de Ávila (Social Media/vía REUTERS)

Las fallas en los servicios públicos ocuparon el segundo lugar entre las causas de protesta, con 179 registros que reflejan el impacto de la escasez de combustible y los tres colapsos nacionales del sistema eléctrico. El transporte público y la gasolina resultaron cada vez más inaccesibles, mientras la distribución de agua potable sufrió interrupciones prolongadas, según constató el OCC.

La represión estatal se intensificó en respuesta a la movilización ciudadana. El observatorio documentó 159 actos represivos, que incluyeron la detención de más de 40 manifestantes. El caso de la influencer Ana Sofía Benítez Silvente cobró notoriedad: la joven de 21 años fue sometida a prisión domiciliaria y recibió amenazas de hasta cinco años de cárcel tras un operativo de la Seguridad del Estado dirigido a frenar su actividad en redes sociales. “El aparato estatal quedó en evidencia forcejeando con una valiente y menuda jovencita”, describió el informe.

La crisis alimentaria y la inflación también generaron 127 protestas y denuncias en marzo. El sistema de racionamiento estatal profundizó su deterioro, mientras la escasez de combustible elevó los costos de transporte y distribución, impulsando al alza los precios de los alimentos. Un reportaje de TV Azteca provocó un escándalo al revelar que parte de las donaciones humanitarias enviadas por México se vendían en dólares en tiendas operadas por el conglomerado militar GAESA.

En el ámbito social, el OCC identificó 91 incidentes relacionados con jóvenes y familias, afectados por el deterioro de la educación, la emigración forzada y la presión cotidiana sobre los hogares. Los estudiantes universitarios, por ejemplo, realizaron una sentada en la escalinata de la Universidad de La Habana para expresar su descontento.

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La sentada de estudiantes en la Universidad de La Habana (REUTERS/Norlys Pérez)
La sentada de estudiantes en la Universidad de La Habana (REUTERS/Norlys Pérez)

La inseguridad ciudadana generó 85 registros de protesta, con 27 muertes relacionadas con violencia social, criminal o de género, incluidas las de una adolescente de 14 años y una niña de 7, víctimas de agresiones sexuales y homicidio. El OCC también reportó un aumento en los asaltos perpetrados por grupos organizados y armados.

En salud pública, 29 reportes expusieron el colapso del sistema hospitalario, marcado por la falta de medicamentos, insumos y especialistas, así como prolongadas listas de espera y cortes de electricidad que pusieron en riesgo la vida de pacientes.

El problema de la vivienda sumó 19 denuncias. El informe mencionó la propuesta estatal de adaptar contenedores marítimos como hogares, la falta de respuesta a damnificados por huracanes y los precios prohibitivos de alquileres en ciudades como La Habana.

El petrolero ruso Anatoly Kolodkin llegó a aguas de Matanzas, en Cuba

A finales de marzo, la llegada del buque tanque ruso Anatoly Kolodkin coincidió con un anuncio del presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, quien flexibilizó la política de bloqueo petrolero al declarar: “Si un país quiere enviar algo de petróleo a Cuba en este momento, no tengo ningún problema con eso, ya sea Rusia o no”.

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Según el experto de la Universidad de Texas Jorge Piñón, el crudo recibido permitiría producir unos 250.000 barriles de diésel, cantidad suficiente para alrededor de 10 a 12 días de consumo nacional.

El Observatorio Cubano de Conflictos concluyó que, si bien este alivio podría reducir temporalmente la presión social, la persistencia de las causas estructurales mantiene la tensión en la isla.



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SCOTUS slated to weigh future birthright citizenship protections for millions — here’s what’s at stake

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The Supreme Court on Wednesday will weigh the legality of President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship in the U.S. — a landmark court fight that could profoundly impact the lives of millions of Americans and lawful U.S. residents.

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At issue in the case, Trump v. Barbara, is an executive order Trump signed on his first day back in office. The order in question seeks to end automatic citizenship — or «birthright citizenship» — for nearly all persons born in the U.S. to undocumented parents, or to parents with temporary non-immigrant visas in the U.S.

The stakes in the case are high, putting on a collision course more than a century of executive branch action, Supreme Court precedent, and the text of the Constitution itself — or, more specifically, the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment. 

FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS TRUMP’S BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP BAN FOR ALL INFANTS, TESTING LOWER COURT POWERS

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President Donald Trump holds up an executive order after signing it during an indoor inauguration parade at Capital One Arena on Jan. 20, 2025 in Washington, D.C.  (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Trump administration officials view the order, and the high court’s consideration of the case, as a key component of his hard-line immigration agenda — an issue that has become a defining feature of his second White House term. 

Opponents argue the effort is unconstitutional and unprecedented, and could impact an estimated 150,000 children born in the U.S. annually to non-citizens. 

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A ruling in Trump’s favor would represent a seismic shift for immigration policy in the U.S., and would upend long-held notions of citizenship that Trump and his allies argue are misguided. It would also yield immediate, operational consequences for infants born in the U.S., putting the impetus on Congress and the Trump administration to immediately act to clarify their status. 

Here’s what to expect ahead of today’s oral arguments:

What’s at stake?

Justices will weigh Trump’s executive order 14160, or «Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship.» The order directs all U.S. government agencies to refuse to issue citizenship documents to children born in the U.S. to illegal immigrants, or children born to parents who are in the U.S. legally but with temporary, non-immigrant visas.

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The order would apply retroactively to all newborns born in the U.S. after Feb. 19, 2025. 

Trump’s executive order prompted a flurry of lawsuits in the days after its signing. Critics argued that, among other things, the order violated the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment, which grants citizenship to «all persons born … in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.»

Lawyers for the Trump administration, meanwhile, centered their case on the «subject to jurisdiction thereof» phrase, which they argue was intended at the time of its passage to narrowly «grant citizenship to newly freed slaves and their children» after the Civil War, and has been misinterpreted in the many years since.

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U.S. Solicitor General D. Sauer urged the high court to take up the case last October, arguing that a pair of lower court rulings were overly broad and relied on the «mistaken view» that «birth on U.S. territory confers citizenship on anyone subject to the regulatory reach of U.S. law became pervasive, with destructive consequences.»

«Those decisions confer, without lawful justification, the privilege of American citizenship on hundreds of thousands of unqualified people,» he said.

TRUMP TO BEGIN ENFORCING BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP ORDER AS EARLY AS THIS MONTH, DOJ SAYS

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Chief Supreme Court Justice John Roberts attends President Donald Trump's remarks to a joint session of Congress on March 4, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

(Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and other justices on the high court are seen during President Donald Trump’s 2026 State of the Union address. (Win McNamee/Getty Images))

He also argued that the lower court rulings overstepped, and «invalidated a policy of prime importance to the president and his administration in a manner that undermines our border security.»

Justices on the high court will have no shortage of strings to pull on in considering the executive order, or questioning lawyers during oral arguments. 

What’s changed?

The Supreme Court will use Wednesday’s arguments to weigh — to varying degrees — the text of the 14th Amendment, legal precedent, and text of the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act, among other issues cited by Sauer, the ACLU, and authors of the dozens of amicus briefs filed to the court since it agreed to review the case last fall. 

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Legal experts told Fox News Digital that they expect Sauer could be in for an uphill battle in convincing a five-justice majority to unwind more than 125 years of precedent and text at issue in the case.

Despite their consensus, however, the court’s conservative bloc will still face thorny issues in reconciling more than a century of court precedent with the narrower reading of the 14th Amendment embraced by the Trump administration.

Justices are likely to focus closely on precedent in the Supreme Court case, United States v. Wong Kim Ark — a 1898 ruling in which the Supreme Court ruled that the son of two Chinese immigrants born in the U.S. was indeed a U.S. citizen. 

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The case is widely considered to be the modern precedent for birthright citizenship, including related cases heard by the high court in the decades since. 

Others cited the text of the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act statute passed by Congress, which essentially mirrors the text of the 14th Amendment in conferring legal status to persons born in the U.S., as yet another argument that could tip the scales in the migrants’ favor.

«I can think of at least five reasons off the top of my head why the Supreme Court should say that the citizenship clause means today what it has always meant,» Amanda Frost, a professor at the University of Virginia School of Law who specializes in immigration and citizenship issues, told Fox News Digital.

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 SUPREME COURT SIGNALS IT MAY LIMIT KEY VOTING RIGHTS ACT RULE

Demonstrators gather outside the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., in support of birthright citizenship. President Donald Trump's executive order seeks to narrow protections for children born to non-residents on U.S. soil. Photo taken May 15, 2025. (Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty)

(Protesters gather outside the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., in May 2025.)

«There is text. There is original public understanding, which certainly includes Wong Kim Ark, but also five or six Supreme Court cases after that,» Frost said. 

«There is executive branch practice for the last century,» she added, «which is relevant as well when you’re interpreting the Constitution, and weighing [the question of], ‘What is the longstanding understanding of a constitutional provision by every other actor?’»

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«I don’t see how they could easily count to five,» Akhil Amar, a professor at Yale Law School, told Fox News Digital in an interview, speaking of the majority votes needed.

«Even if I lose on one issue, I win on [many others],» Amar said, before ticking through a list of reasons why the Supreme Court, in his view, might swing in favor of the migrant class in question, and ACLU legal director Cecillia Wang, who is arguing the case Wednesday on behalf of the migrants.

Others agreed, albeit with a bit more reservation.

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«I don’t think history supports the Trump administration’s view,» John Yoo, a law professor at the University of California Berkeley and former lawyer during the Bush administration, told Fox News Digital on the strength of the administration’s case.

JUDGES V TRUMP: HERE ARE THE KEY COURT BATTLES HALTING THE WHITE HOUSE AGENDA

Supreme Court building

A woman under a purple umbrella walks past the Supreme Court. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Stateless newborns, enforcement issues

Another question will be one of enforcement. Trump’s executive order does not codify the legal status that should be conferred to children who are born in the U.S. to holders of temporary, long-term visas — including student visas and H1B visas, legal experts told Fox News Digital.

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Frost, the University of Virginia Law professor, noted that Congress has not provided a pathway to legal status for the class of children who would be born in the U.S. and not granted citizenship. This means that the government would essentially need to act at lightning speed to confer some sort of status — be it temporary or longer-term — to newborns, should the justices side with Trump.

«The parents may have applied for a green card,» Frost said of newborns born to illegal immigrants, should the court allow Trump’s order to take force. «They might get the green card the next day.»

«It would not matter,» she said. «The child would not be a citizen.»

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U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks alongside President Donald Trump at a White House press briefing in this 2025 photo. (Getty Images)

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks alongside President Donald Trump at a White House press briefing in this 2025 photo. Bondi’s remarks have at times landed her in hot water and diverged from the administration’s own messaging.  (Getty Images)

Yoo, Amar, and others cited similar concerns voiced by justices briefly during oral arguments in another birthright citizenship case, Trump v. CASA, last year. The administration asked the court to review the case not on the merits of the order, but as a means of challenging so-called «universal,» or nationwide injunctions issued by federal court judges.

Despite the focus on the lower court powers, some justices still used their time to question Sauer about the birthright citizenship order and its implementation.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh, for his part, pressed Sauer for details on what documentation newborns might need at birth should Trump’s executive order take force.

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«On the day after it goes into effect — it’s just a very practical question of how it’s going to work,» Kavanaugh noted, before asking Sauer: «What do hospitals do with a newborn? What do states do with a newborn?» he asked, in order to determine their citizenship on a birth certificate.

«I don’t think they do anything different,» Sauer said in response. «What the executive order says in Section Two is that federal officials do not accept documents that have the wrong designation of citizenship from people who are subject to the executive order.»

«How are they going to know that?» Kavanaugh pressed, shaking his head.  

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The government’s position «makes no sense whatsoever,» Justice Sonia Sotomayor said at the time, before noting that it appeared to violate «four Supreme Court precedents,» and risked leaving some children stateless.

Supreme Court building

The Supreme Court building is seen in Washington, D.C.  (AP/Jon Elswick)

Who to watch

While it’s difficult to speculate how justices on the high court might position themselves in considering a case, there are some conservative justices that have signaled early skepticism about the Trump administration’s arguments. Their votes could prove to be decisive, experts said.

«In terms of oral arguments, I think what you’re going to see is a lot of attention paid to how Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Kavanaugh view the issue in particular,» Yoo said. «I think it will be up to them» to determine the majority ruling, he said.

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Roberts, in particular, often relies heavily on Supreme Court precedent, Yoo noted, and has been wary of overturning decisions made under previous courts — pointing to the «sort of anguished dissent» he authored in Roe v. Wade

«I think that’s really the question: whether there’s going to be enough historical evidence to change Robert’s mind about how to treat precedent,» he said, noting the chief justice tends to view questions of institutional importance and consistency as top-of-mind.

When it comes to birthright citizenship, Yoo said, there is a much longer history and court precedent that is older and «more well-followed» than Roe ever was, he noted, which could swing the conservatives in the ACLU’s favor.

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«We never know why the Supreme Court decides to hear a case,» Amar told Fox News Digital. «But I’m hoping that they heard the case because America deserves an answer.»

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A decision from the high court is expected by late June. 

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Ser hipocondríaco en la era de Internet: el libro que analiza desde una perspectiva tanto médica como literaria una condición considerada como real

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‘Hipocondría’, de Will Rees (Alpha Decay)

La inquietud persistente en torno a la salud y el incesante escrutinio de los síntomas han cobrado un protagonismo renovado con la publicación de Hipocondría (Alpha Decay), el libro de Will Rees, cuya aparición coincide con un auge de la ansiedad médica amplificada por el acceso a información digital. El libro no solo propone una revisión personal, sino que recorre el trayecto histórico, filosófico y cultural de un trastorno tantas veces relegado a la incomprensión.

En los últimos años, la hipocondría ha sido reconocida por la investigación médica como una condición tan real como la depresión o el trastorno de estrés postraumático. Este diagnóstico implica que no se trata de un fallo de carácter (como hasta el momento se había hecho creer al paciente), sino de una afección legítima que afecta el modo en que las personas perciben y gestionan la incertidumbre respecto a su propio cuerpo.

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De hecho, la Asociación Estadounidense de Psiquiatría ha determinado que tres cuartas partes de los identificados como hipocondríacos presentan un trastorno de síntomas somáticos, mientras que el resto padece trastorno de ansiedad por enfermedad. El auge de herramientas de ‘autodiagnóstico’ online ha introducido el término “cibercondría”, reflejando una nueva modalidad donde la búsqueda de información multiplica la ansiedad en lugar de apaciguarla.

Una experiencia en primera persona

Will Rees, tanto editor como académico británico, describe en primera persona su recorrido a través de la hipocondría, iniciándose en 2010 con un dolor de cabeza crónico. La negativa de Rees a paliar el síntoma recurriendo a analgésicos actúa como punto de partida de una introspección que adopta tintes kafkianos: antes que silenciar la alarma, decide “comprender el dolor”, abordando un periplo de observación minuciosa y creciente acumulación de síntomas percibidos. Olvidos cotidianos, tics, cambios en el gusto del café, e incluso una secuencia de hipo entre una y tres veces al día, configuran ese estado de vigilancia perpetua. Ante una búsqueda reveladora en internet (“¿puede el cáncer cerebral causar hipo?”), Rees se topa con una inquietante afirmación: sí, si la enfermedad está avanzada. A pesar de repetidas consultas médicas y de la falta de hallazgos patológicos, la duda persiste y se expande junto con nuevos indicios.

Portada del libro 'Hipocondría', de Will Rees, editado por Alpha Decay
Portada del libro ‘Hipocondría’, de Will Rees, editado por Alpha Decay

La comunidad médica ha establecido que la hipocondría no responde a una única definición ni a criterios infalibles, lo cual arroja una sombra de incertidumbre tanto sobre profesionales como pacientes. La mayor parte de los afectados se identifican con la sintomatología somática, mientras otros viven con una inquietud recurrente sin signos físicos manifiestos.

Entender qué es la hipocondría

El término incluso desapareció en 2013 del manual diagnóstico D.S.M.-5, lo que evidencia su carácter ambiguo y evanescente en la tradición clínica. La ‘cibercondría’, por su parte, ha extendido la posibilidad de autoexamen y diagnóstico erróneo a gran escala, con numerosos portales prometiendo identificar los “cinco signos para reconocer la cibercondría” o listados de advertencias que, lejos de tranquilizar, intensifican la preocupación.

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El texto de Rees ahonda precisamente en este terreno movedizo: “La hipocondría es un diagnóstico que pone en cuestión cuán seguros podemos estar jamás de cualquier diagnóstico”, escribe el autor, desplazando el interés desde las etiquetas hacia la incertidumbre inherente a cualquier juicio médico. La obra se convierte, así, en una indagación sobre los límites del conocimiento y la imposibilidad de alcanzar una certidumbre absoluta respecto a la salud personal.

A lo largo del libro, Rees confronta la tradición literaria y filosófica en torno a la enfermedad, remitiéndose a autores como Virginia Woolf, Kafka, Immanuel Kant o Samuel Johnson, todos ellos sensibles al sufrimiento físico y a la dificultad de traducirlo al lenguaje.

El escritor Will Rees autor del libro 'Hipocondría'
El escritor Will Rees

Woolf, en su ensayo Sobre la enfermedad, subraya: “El inglés, capaz de expresar los pensamientos de Hamlet, carece de palabras para describir el escalofrío y el dolor de cabeza… Quien trata de explicar un dolor a un médico ve cómo el idioma se le agota.” La propia estructura del libro refleja esos desdoblamientos temporales y la superposición de relatos personales y ajenos, incluidas referencias puntuales a ensayos de otros autores y a episodios recientes del propio Rees en los que la sospecha de enfermedad nunca se resuelve del todo.

Cinco años para “entender” su enfermedad

El testimonio de Rees articula una experiencia que se extiende hasta su juventud, marcando casi una década de vaivén entre el alivio transitorio y la reaparición del temor. La lectura sobre síntomas y enfermedades, comparada por algunos médicos victorianos con la causa misma de la hipocondría, ahora encuentra eco en la economía digital de la salud, donde buscadores y plataformas especializadas han multiplicado las oportunidades para la inquietud. Rees llega a someterse a pruebas oftalmológicas, resonancias y variados estudios, recibiendo diagnósticos que a menudo solo refuerzan su inseguridad. Un episodio significativo se produce cuando, tras la publicación de un ensayo sobre el tema, un desconocido se le acerca para advertirle que debe realizarse otra revisión, reabriendo la espiral del cuestionamiento y la incertidumbre.

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La cantante actúa por primera vez en Madrid con la gira de ‘LUX’ ante un público que clama por ella. / Grabación de pantalla de @rafacasah

La reflexión final de Rees (que, llegada la treintena, ha logrado dejar de pensar de forma compulsiva en su salud) no implica la consecución de una certeza, sino una suerte de aprendizaje en torno a la aceptación de la duda. En palabras del propio autor, escritas en su libro: “Mi libro cubre cinco años de mi vida, que comenzaron cuando creía tener un tumor cerebral y concluyeron, ya en la veintena, al convencerme de que tenía un linfoma. Estos dos momentos, estas dos crisis en que la cuestión de la salud se cernía sobre mi rutina diaria, enmarcan Hipocondría, que también analiza la historia de esta dolencia y a quienes intentaron comprenderla”.

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