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A 28-year-old man from Afghanistan has been arrested following a knife attack in a park in the German city of Aschaffenburg on Wednesday in which two people were killed, including a toddler, police said.

The suspect was detained at the scene in Schoental park, an English-style garden in the Bavarian city, where the attack occurred at around 11:45 a.m. local (5:45 a.m. ET).

A 41-year old man and a two-year old boy were fatally injured, police said in a post on the social media platform X. Two seriously injured people were receiving hospital treatment.

Police said there was no indication of further suspects and no danger to the public.

The stabbing adds to a string of violent attacks in Germany that have raised concerns over security and stirred up tensions over migration ahead of parliamentary elections on February 23.

A Saudi doctor was arrested after a car-ramming attack at a Christmas market in the city of Magdeburg on December 20, in which six people were killed and around 200 injured.

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Record ocean heat has taken a devastating toll on one of the world’s greatest natural wonders, with coral bleaching on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef reaching “catastrophic” levels, a new study has found.

More than 50% of affected corals monitored near an island in the reef’s south were killed last year during the most “severe and widespread bleaching” to ever hit the area, according to a team of Australian scientists.

In 2024, the reef experienced its worst summer on record. Soaring ocean temperatures smashed records, causing the reef’s seventh mass bleaching event. Corals are bleached white when marine heat waves put corals under stress, causing them to expel algae from their tissue, draining their color.

The culprit is the burning of planet-heating fossil fuels, which is driving up global temperatures. Coral damage was also accelerated last year by the El Niño weather pattern, which heats ocean temperatures in this part of the world.

Scientists from the University of Sydney tracked 462 coral colonies at the reef’s One Tree Island over the course of five months last year, beginning at the heat wave’s peak in early February.

By May, 370 of those colonies were bleached and, by July, 52% of the bleached corals were dead, according to the peer-reviewed study published in Limnology and Oceanography Letters.

Some coral species monitored had a mortality rate of 95%, with researchers observing the start of “colony collapse” where the dead skeleton detaches from the reef and turns to rubble.

Another species, the Goniopora, became infected by black band disease, which invades the coral’s tissue and can kill it.

“Our findings underscore the urgent need for action to protect coral reefs, which are not only biodiversity hotspots but also crucial for food security and coastal protection,” said lead author Maria Byrne, from the School of Life and Environmental Sciences at the university.

Byrne said the area studied is in a protected part of the reef, far from the coast and free from mining activities and tourism.

But the reef, “despite its protected status, was not immune to the extreme heat stress that triggered this catastrophic bleaching event,” she said.

Covering nearly 133,000 square miles (345,000 square kilometers), the Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef, home to more than 1,500 species of fish and 411 species of hard corals. It contributes billions of dollars to the Australian economy each year, mainly through tourism, and is promoted heavily to foreign visitors as one of the country’s – and the world’s – greatest natural wonders.

The authors said mass bleaching is becoming “a biennial event” and as such “reinforces the need for urgent global action now to adhere to ambitious climate and reduced emissions targets.”

The bleaching hit areas of the reef not impacted before, and disease and death were found in coral species considered resilient, the study found.

“Seeing the impacts on a reef that has largely avoided mass bleaching until now is devastating,” said Shawna Foo, a marine scientist and co-author of the study. “The high rates of mortality and disease, particularly in such a remote and pristine area, highlight the severity of the situation.”

Severe mass bleaching at the Great Barrier Reef had previously been observed in 1998, 2002, 2016, 2017, 2020 and 2022.

The 2022 bleaching was the first during a La Niña event, El Niño’s counterpart, which tends to have a cooling influence – raising serious concerns about the reef’s outlook.

The authors said their research was a “wake-up call for policymakers and conservationists” as its implications extend beyond ecology and conservation to communities that depend on the reef for fishing, tourism and coastal protection.

“The resilience of coral reefs is being tested like never before, and we must prioritize strategies that enhance their ability to withstand climate change,” said Ana Vila Concejo, co-author of the study from the university’s School of Geosciences.

“Our findings underscore the need for immediate and effective management interventions to safeguard these ecosystems.”

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China’s navy has commissioned a new-generation frigate as competition rises with the US and other regional powers, saying the ship will “play a vital role in enhancing the overall combat effectiveness” of its forces.

China already has the world’s largest navy in terms of number of hulls, although its technology is sometimes seen as lagging. Its largest competitor, the US, has warned its Navy could be outnumbered and has called for a building program as well as reforms to put damaged ships into action sooner.

China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy operates mainly in waters off the Chinese east coast and in the huge and strategically crucial South China Sea, which China claims almost in its entirety. A key mission also remains backing up the army in any attack on Taiwan, the self-governing island democracy about 160 kilometers (100 miles) off the Chinese coast that Beijing has vowed to annex by force if necessary.

The first Type 054B frigate, christened the Luohe, was commissioned Wednesday in Qingdao, a port city in northern China where the PLAN’s northern fleet is based.

The ship has a displacement of approximately 5,000 tons and includes stealth technology, combat command systems and firepower integration, “significantly enhancing overall performance,” the navy said.

“With strong capabilities for comprehensive combat operations and diverse military missions, the warship will play a vital role in enhancing the overall combat effectiveness of naval task forces,” it added.

The Luohe’s armaments include a variety of machine guns for close combat and anti-air and anti-ship missiles, according to defense publications, some of which say the ship could become the backbone of the Chinese navy.

The statement said nothing about future 054Bs, but at least two more are believed to have been launched and another is under construction. China has around 234 warships compared to the US Navy’s 219, including around 50 frigates and the same number of destroyers. China has two operating aircraft carriers and another undergoing sea trials, along with a massive and powerful coast guard.

Recent wargames have shown China would lose many more vessels in a simulated clash with the US, but would be able to absorb the losses and continue fighting.

The PLAN has also sent ships further abroad including the Mediterranean Sea and the Caribbean in its attempts to use its navy as an extension of its growing economic and diplomatic clout. PLAN and Chinese coast guard ships have also patrolled in the East China Sea, where China claims a group of uninhabited islands controlled by Japan. While planes and ships from both sides have come into contact, no shots have been fired during such incidents.

The US and other nations have deliberately sailed close to islands, some of them human-made, to challenge China’s claim to them. Beijing has ignored a UN-backed court’s ruling that threw out most of China’s territorial claims.

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At least 12 train passengers were killed in western India Wednesday after being struck by another train on an adjacent track after they jumped from their coaches in panic to escape a rumored fire incident, the Press Trust of India reported.

At least six other people were injured, the news agency cited police officer Dattatraya Karale as saying.

The accident occurred in Jalgaon, one of the largest cities in Maharashtra, near the Pardhade railroad station, 410 kilometers (255 miles) northeast of Mumbai, India’s financial capital.

PTI said the victims jumped off the Pushpak Express train, which had stopped after some passengers pulled an emergency chain. Those who disembarked were hit by another express train on the adjacent railroad track, PTI quoted railway spokesman Swapnil Nila as saying.

“Our preliminary information is that there were sparks inside one of the coaches of the Pushpak Express due to either a ‘hot axle’ or ‘brake-binding’ (jamming), and some passengers panicked. They pulled the chain, and some of them jumped down on the tracks. At the same time, Karnataka Express was passing on the adjoining track,” a senior railway official told PTI.

Despite government efforts to improve rail safety, hundred of accidents occur every year on India’s railways, which is the largest train network under one management in the world.

In 2023, two passenger trains collided after derailing in eastern India, killing more than 280 people and injuring hundreds in one of the country’s deadliest rail crashes in decades.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is focusing on the modernization of the British colonial-era railroad network in India, which has become the world’s most populous country with 1.42 billion people.

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Trump formally nominated Sean Curran, the head of his personal Secret Service security detail, to serve as director of the U.S. Secret Service on Wednesday.

Curran, one of the several quick-thinking agents who rushed on stage to protect Trump during the July 13 assassination attempt, was already expected to be named to the position. In a Truth Social post on Wednesday, Trump wrote that it was an ‘honor’ to appoint Curran.

‘Sean is a Great Patriot, who has protected my family over the past few years, and that is why I trust him to lead the Brave Men and Women of the United States Secret Service,’ the president wrote.

Trump went on to call Curran a ‘brilliant leader, who is capable of directing and leading operational security plans for some of the most complex Special Security Events in the History of our Country, and the World.’

‘He proved his fearless courage when he risked his own life to help save mine from an assassin’s bullet in Butler, Pennsylvania,’ Trump said. ‘I have complete and total confidence in Sean to make the United States Secret Service stronger than ever before.’

President Trump announced other nominees on Wednesday, including Andrew F. Puzder, who is the Republican leader’s pick for U.S. ambassador to the European Union.

Puzder is the former CEO of CKE Restaurants, which owns Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s. In a post, Trump called the nominee ‘a successful attorney, businessman, economic commentator, and author.’

‘During his 17-year tenure as CEO, Andy led the company out of serious financial difficulty, allowing it to survive, become financially secure, and grow,’ Trump said. ‘Andy will do an excellent job representing our Nation’s interests in this important region.’

In a separate statement on Wednesday, Trump announced that conservative writer L. Brent Bozell III has been named to run the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM). Trump said that ‘few understand the Global Media landscape in print, television, and online’ better than Bozell.

‘He and his family have fought for the American principles of Liberty, Freedom, Equality, and Justice for generations, and he will ensure that message is heard by Freedom-loving people around the World,’ Trump wrote. ‘Brent will bring some much needed change to the U.S. Agency for Global Media.’

Bozell has worked in conservative media for decades. The nephew of National Review founder William F. Buckley, Jr., Bozell founded the Media Research Center in 1987. Last fall, Bozell penned a supportive Fox News Digital op-ed about Trump’s chances against then-Vice President Kamala Harris.

‘Trump has something Harris doesn’t: a winning record, a winning agenda and a winning vision,’ Bozell wrote. ‘She avoids her record because it’s not only radioactive politically, but socialism has a rich history of utter failure everywhere.’

‘All Donald Trump needs to do is tell his story, remind people what was accomplished during his presidency. State simply he will do it again, both at home where so many are suffering, but also abroad where the world nears a boiling point. Lay out his vision of his city on the hill. ‘

The USAGM, which was previously known as the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) until 2018, controls Voice of America as well as other state-funded media outlets. According to the agency’s website, USAGM’s purpose is to ‘to inform, engage and connect people around the world in support of freedom and democracy.’

Fox News Digital’s Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.

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A Danish Member of European Parliament (MEP) seethed at U.S. President Donald Trump amid his bid to have Greenland sold or ceded to the United States.

MEP Anders Vistisen, a member of the right-wing Danish People’s Party, addressed Trump’s efforts at an EU session in Strasburg, France.

‘Dear President Trump, listen very carefully: Greenland has been part of the Danish kingdom for 800 years. It is an integrated part of our country. It is not for sale,’ Vistisen said.

Appearing to cue into the American president’s occasional salty language, Vistisen said he would put his remarks in ‘words you might understand.’

‘Mr. Trump, f— off,’ said Vistisen. The remark drew a formal reprimand from European Parliament Vice President Nicolae Ștefănuță, who, however, suggested he too has reservations about Trump.

‘If the translation was correct, the term you used is not allowed in this House, and there will be consequences to the message you have used,’ said Ștefănuță, who represents Romania.

‘It is not OK in this House of Democracy. Regardless of what we think of Mr. Trump, it is not possible to use such language.’

First son Donald Trump Jr. led a small delegation to Nuuk — the Greenlandic capital — prior to the inauguration and met with members of the public and reportedly held a luncheon.

Both Greenlandic Prime Minister Mute Egede and Danish PM Mette Frederiksen have said the landmass is not for sale.

The island enjoys relative autonomy in domestic affairs and relies on Copenhagen for foreign policy and support.

The U.S. does, however, retain a U.S. Space Force presence on Greenland — at Pituffik (formerly Thule) Air Base near Savissivik.

Just over 100 years ago, the U.S. did successfully purchase Danish lands from Copenhagen.

King Christian X of Denmark and the U.S. Senate both ratified a 1916 treaty that led to the purchase of what are now the United States Virgin Islands (USVI) — St. Thomas, St. John and St. Croix. Then-President Woodrow Wilson, a Democrat, approved the treaty.

Wilson’s Secretary of State Frank Polk said the island chain’s people would have American nationality but not the ‘political status of citizens,’ according to the State Department’s archives.

Residents were, however, later given full citizenship through a 1932 act of Congress.

With its roots as the Danish West Indies and originally home to British expatriates, it is also the only U.S. territory where driving on the left side of the road is the law.

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President Trump re-designated the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO) on Wednesday, four years after his first administration made an identical move.

In an executive order signed on Wednesday, Trump said that the terrorist group ‘threaten[s] the security of American civilians and personnel in the Middle East, the safety of our closest regional partners, and the stability of global maritime trade.’

‘Supported by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force (IRGC-QF), which arms and trains terrorist organizations worldwide, the Houthis have fired at U.S. Navy warships dozens of times since 2023, endangering American men and women in uniform,’ the order noted.

Trump also documented that ‘numerous’ attacks that the terrorist group has conducted over the years, including ‘multiple attacks on civilian airports in Saudi Arabia, the deadly January 2022 attacks on the United Arab Emirates, and more than 300 projectiles fired at Israel since October 2023.’

‘The Houthis have also attacked commercial vessels transiting Bab al-Mandeb more than 100 times, killing at least four civilian sailors and forcing some Red Sea maritime commercial traffic to reroute, which has contributed to global inflation,’ the order added.

Trump administration designated the Houthis as an FTO in January 2021. In a Wednesday press release, the White House noted that the Biden administration immediately reversed it.

‘As a result of the Biden administration’s weak policy, the Houthis have fired at U.S. Navy warships dozens of times, launched numerous attacks on civilian infrastructure in partner nations, and attacked commercial vessels transiting Bab al-Mandeb more than 100 times,’ the White House said on Wednesday.

‘The Executive Order directs the Secretary of State, in consultation with others, to recommend the re-designation of the Houthis within 30 days.’

Though the Biden White House removed the FTO designation in January 2021, Biden did name the Houthis as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) entity last week. That designation is considered a lower grade than an FTO.

Then-State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller defended the move in a press conference, claiming that the Houthis recently launched attacks on cargo ships in the Middle East – though the group has targeted commercial ships for years.

‘The Houthis were procuring military equipment long before that designation and they continued to procure it in the year since,’ Miller explained. ‘What’s changed as we have seen them launching attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea, something that wasn’t the case in 2021. And that’s why we decided it was important to take this step. ‘

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Gavin DeGraw shared photos of himself performing at the Starlight Ball Monday night after the inauguration of President Donald Trump. 

‘Proud to support free speech, healthy food, and ending ‘forever wars,’’ he wrote on X. ‘Nice to have a businessman running the largest economy in the world again. I love a good party, Mr. President @realDonaldTrump.

‘Let’s do the next one on Mars @elonmusk. God Bless America,’ DeGraw wrote with an American flag emoji, adding, ‘Don’t tread on me.’

‘Nice to have a businessman running the largest economy in the world again.’

— Gavin DeGraw

The Starlight Ball was the third of three balls that Trump attended after his inauguration Monday. 

Rascal Flatts, Parker McCollum, Kid Rock and Billy Ray Cyrus performed at the Commander in Chief Ball the same night, and Jason Aldean, the Village People and Nelly entertained at the Liberty Ball. 

DeGraw is probably best known for his 2003 hit ‘I Don’t Want to Be,’ which became the theme song for the millennial teen show ‘One Tree Hill.’

DeGraw generally stays away from politics on social media, mostly posting about his music. 

He also performed at ‘The Fourth in America’ concert in July, saying he was ‘honored’ to entertain for the patriotic show. 

Other stars who performed at Trump’s inaugural events included Carrie Underwood and Lee Greenwood. 

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The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) sent a memo to its civil rights division, ordering a freeze to all ongoing litigation originating from the Biden administration and halting the pursuit of any new cases or settlements, according to reports.

The Washington Post first reported that a memo sent to Kathleen Wolfe, the temporary head of the division appointed by the Trump administration, instructed her to make sure attorneys do not file ‘any new complaints, motions to intervene, agree-upon remands, amicus briefs, or statements of interest.’

As to how long the freeze will last, the memo does not say, though it practically ceases the division until President Donald Trump’s nomination to lead the department, Harmeet Dhillon, is confirmed by the Senate.

The publication also reported the freeze was ‘consistent with the Department’s goal of ensuring that the Federal Government speaks with one voice in its view of the law and to ensure that the President’s appointees or designees have the opportunity to decide whether to initiate any new cases.’

A source familiar with the memo confirmed its contents to Fox News.

The DOJ had no comment on the matter.

Wolfe was also told in another memo that the division must tell the chief of staff of the DOJ about any consent decrees finalized by the division over the past 90 days.

Earlier this month, a Kentucky judge declined to immediately sign a police reform consent decree forged by the DOJ and the city of Louisville during a hearing one courtroom participant described as a hasty attempt by the Biden administration to hamstring incoming President Trump.

But federal Judge Benjamin Beaton refused to be a ‘rubber stamp’ for a 240-page reform plan prompted by the 2020 police-involved shooting of Breonna Taylor, according to Oversight Project counsel Kyle Brosnan.

Taylor was killed in a hail of police gunfire after Louisville officers sought to serve a drug warrant at her boyfriend Kenneth Walker’s house. Walker fired a ‘warning shot’ through the door and struck Officer Jonathan Mattingly in the leg.

A consent decree, Brosnan noted, is different from other legal agreements in that it cannot simply be reversed by presidential order or a change of heart by one of the parties involved.

The consent decree alleged a pattern or practice of racial bias in Louisville policing, including in traffic stops, sexual assault probes or use of force.

There are at least two other police reform consent decrees going through the legal process, one in Maryland and one in Minnesota.

On Jan. 6, the DOJ reached an agreement with Minneapolis, which still requires court approval, to reform the department’s ‘unconstitutional and unlawful practices’ allegedly counter to the Americans With Disabilities Act and 14th Amendment.

In October 2024, the feds sued the Maryland Department of State Police alleging Civil Rights Act violations.

‘The United States claims MDSP violated Title VII when it used a certain physical fitness test and a certain written test to hire entry-level Troopers because the tests disqualified more female and African-American applicants than others and were not job related,’ a court document states. 

Maryland police dispute the allegations.

Fox News Digital’s Charles Creitz contributed to this report.

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Fox News host Sean Hannity revealed he told President Donald Trump after the 2020 election loss that a return to the White House four years after the Biden administration would be ‘bigger’ than a consecutive win, comparing it to Winston Churchill’s return as prime minister following World War II.

‘Maybe I shouldn’t disclose this, but I will, and it was after the 2020 election, and you asked me a question. And we’ve known each other for 30 years, so we have a friendship and we have a professional relationship,’ Hannity said in his exclusive interview with Trump on Wednesday. 

‘And the question you asked me, ‘maybe in the end, it will be better that if I came back in four years.’ And we talked about history. After World War Two, Winston Churchill was thrown out, but they brought him back. Grover Cleveland, the only other American president that did not serve consecutive terms,’ he continued. 

Churchill served as prime minister twice, from 1940-1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. Trump is the second U.S. president to serve two, non-consecutive terms behind President Grover Cleveland, the nation’s 22nd and 24th president. 

Hannity explained that he believed ‘it would be bigger if you came back.’ Trump agreed that it’s already shaping up that way after three days in office. 

‘It’s turning out to be bigger. And I think one thing is happening is people are learning that they can’t govern and that their policies are terrible. I mean, they don’t want to see a woman get pummeled by a man in a boxing ring?’ he said. 

Trump sat down for his first interview in the White House on Wednesday after he was sworn in as the 47th president on Monday. 

‘They don’t want to see men in women’s sports … They don’t want to have transgender for everyone. They don’t want a child leave home as a boy and come back two days later as a girl. A parent doesn’t want to see that, and there are states where that can happen. They don’t want to see taxes go through the roof like this,’ he continued. 

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