A local Namibian politician named Adolf Hitler Uunona is widely expected to retain his council seat in the country’s latest round of regional elections, drawing international attention for a name he says carries no ideological meaning.

A longtime member of Namibia’s ruling SWAPO party, he is running again in the Ompundja constituency in the northern Oshana region. 

While final tallies have not yet been released, several international outlets report he is projected to win by a wide margin, consistent with previous elections. SWAPO, which has governed Namibia since independence in 1990, has shifted from its socialist liberation roots toward a more centrist, market-oriented governing approach.

His German dictator-linked name — ‘Adolf Hitler’ — was given to him by his father, he told the German outlet Bild, who he claimed did not understand the historical weight the name carried.

‘It was a perfectly normal name for me when I was a kid,’ Uunona told Bild. ‘It wasn’t until I grew older that I realized this man wanted to subjugate the whole world and killed millions of Jews.’

He said his childhood name reflected no political intent and stressed that he has never held extremist beliefs. 

‘The fact I have this name does not mean I want to conquer Oshana,’ he said, adding in earlier interviews he generally goes by Adolf Uunona in daily life.

Namibia was a German colony from 1884 to 1915, and Germanic names and place names remain common in some communities. Historians note that this legacy sometimes results in unusual or jarring combinations by modern standards, though they carry no inherent ideological meaning.

According to official information from the Oshana regional government, the Ompundja constituency has 4,659 inhabitants, 19 administrative centers and covers 466 square kilometers.

A federal court ruled Wednesday that President Donald Trump and his former lawyer, Alina Habba, are still on the hook for a $1 million penalty for filing a ‘frivolous’ lawsuit against Hillary Clinton, former FBI director James Comey and others.

The ruling from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals relates to a now-dismissed lawsuit filed by Trump relating to Russian collusion claims. Trump was first ordered to pay the $1 million in the case in 2023, but he and Habba appealed the ruling.

In addition to Clinton and Comey, their lawsuit also named Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., former FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, and many more.

Trump and Habba, who now serves as U.S. attorney for New Jersey, will be forced to pay approximately $938,000 — split between the dozens of individuals named in the lawsuit.

In the original lawsuit, Trump accused the high-profile figures of conspiring to tank his successful 2016 presidential campaign.

‘Here we are confronted with a lawsuit that should never have been filed, which was completely frivolous, both factually and legally, and which was brought in bad faith for an improper purpose,’ wrote Judge Donald Middlebrooks in his 2023 ruling, which was upheld Wednesday.

‘Mr. Trump is a prolific and sophisticated litigant who is repeatedly using the courts to seek revenge on political adversaries. He is the mastermind of strategic abuse of the judicial process and he cannot be seen as a litigant blindly following the advice of a lawyer,’ he added.

Two defendants in the case also claimed that Trump’s appeal itself was frivolous and sought additional sanctions for it, but the court disagreed.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment, but they did not immediately respond.

Wednesday’s ruling comes just days after a separate federal court dismissed false statements charges leveled against Comey. Judge Cameron Currie ruled that the charges were brought by an unqualified U.S. attorney. That U.S. attorney is Lindsay Halligan, who Trump appointed to the position just weeks prior.

Currie, a Clinton appointee based in South Carolina, was brought in from out of state to preside over proceedings about the question of Halligan’s authority because it presented a conflict for the Virginia judges. Comey’s and James’ challenges to Halligan’s appointment were consolidated because of their similarity.

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Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee issued an order dismissing the 2020 election interference case against President Donald Trump and his co-defendants after the state of Georgia had moved to drop the matter.

‘The State having moved for an entry of nolle prosequi for all remaining defendants, the Court grants the motion,’ the order declares. ‘This case is hereby dismissed in its entirety.’

Trump’s lead Georgia defense counsel Steve Sadow described the case as ‘lawfare.’

‘The political persecution of President Trump by disqualified DA Fani Willis is finally over. This case should never have been brought. A fair and impartial prosecutor has put an end to this lawfare,’ Sadow said in the statement.

Peter J. Skandalakis, who took over prosecution after Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was disqualified from handling it, filed a motion to dismiss the case earlier Wednesday in order to ‘serve the interests of justice and promote judicial finality.’

‘This entire case, from the initiation of the District Attorney’s investigation in 2021 to the present, is without precedent,’ noted Skandalakis. ‘In my professional judgment, the citizens of Georgia are not served by pursuing this case in full for another five to ten years.’

The Georgia case yielded the iconic 2023 mugshot of then-candidate Trump.

‘Never before, and hopefully never again, will our country face circumstances such as these. The case is now nearly five years removed from President Trump’s phone call with the Secretary of State, and two years have passed since the Grand Jury returned charges against President Trump and the eighteen other defendants,’ Skandalakis noted. ‘There is no realistic prospect that a sitting President will be compelled to appear in Georgia to stand trial on the allegations in this indictment. Donald J. Trump’s current term as President of the United States of America does not expire until January 20, 2029; by that point, eight years will have elapsed since the phone call at issue.’

The prosecutor explained why the other defendants in the criminal case would not be tried separately. 

‘Severing President Trump from the remaining defendants and conducting separate trials, while simultaneously waiting for the conclusion of his term and addressing all of the aforementioned legal issues, would be both illogical and unduly burdensome and costly for the State and for Fulton County,’ Skandalakis wrote. ‘The Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia lacks the resources to conduct multiple trials in this matter.’

Fox News’ Samantha Daigle and David Lewkowict contributed to this report

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he would not invite South Africa to the 2026 G-20 summit in Florida, citing alleged ‘horrific human rights abuses.’

‘To put it more bluntly, they are killing white people and randomly allowing their farms to be taken from them,’ Trump alleged in a Truth Social post. ‘At my direction, South Africa will NOT be receiving an invitation to the 2026 G-20, which will be hosted in the Great City of Miami, Florida next year,’ he added.

The Embassy of South Africa did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Clayson Monyela, head of diplomacy for the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, dismissed the notion that South Africa could be shut out.

‘South Africa is a founding member of the G-20. We don’t get invited to G-20 meetings and leaders summit. Those are gatherings of members. If other members allow this then the G-20 will die,’ Monyela told Fox News Digital.

‘Other countries have already told us that they too will boycott the U.S. G-20 if South Africa is excluded,’ Monyela added.

If carried out, the move would break with more than two decades of precedent and mark the first time a member has been formally excluded from the gathering of the world’s major economies.

The G-20, which brings together major advanced and emerging economies and accounts for roughly 80% of global GDP and two-thirds of the world’s population, has historically operated on the principle of inclusion.

That tradition already was strained after the U.S. boycott of the 2025 meeting held in Johannesburg earlier in November.

The Trump administration argued that the country’s government had failed to address violence and discrimination it claimed was occurring in rural farming communities. Additionally, the U.S. objected to the meeting’s focus on climate and development issues rather than core economic priorities.

The boycott marked a notable break from past U.S. engagement, leaving the world’s largest economy missing from a key forum for global economic policymaking.

Trump also said in the same Truth Social post that he would halt U.S. payments to South Africa.

‘South Africa has demonstrated to the world they are not a country worthy of membership anywhere and we are going to stop all payments and subsidies to them, effective immediately,’ Trump wrote.

The White House and State Department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for further details.

It remains unclear how the move will affect the country’s standing within the G-20 or broader U.S.–South Africa relations ahead of the 2026 summit in Florida.

Relations between Trump and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa have steadily deteriorated in recent months.

In February, Trump suspended U.S. aid to South Africa, alleging discrimination against White farmers. Tensions escalated again in March when the State Department expelled the South African ambassador, labeling him ‘persona non grata.’

In May, the two leaders clashed in the Oval Office when Trump pressed Ramaphosa over allegations that White Afrikaners were being targeted and killed in South Africa. 

Ramaphosa pushed back, telling Trump he had seen no evidence to support those claims.

Paul Tilsley contributed to this report from Johannesburg, South Africa.

President Donald Trump pardoned two turkeys Tuesday — Gobble and Waddle — as part of an annual tradition that has occurred at the White House for more than 35 years. 

The Thanksgiving Turkey Pardoning is a ceremony originating from the National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation dating back to the 1940s, when the National Turkey Federation would present the president with a live turkey for Thanksgiving. 

President John F. Kennedy is often credited with pardoning the first turkey in 1963, when he said that he would ‘let this one grow.’ Although Kennedy didn’t use the word ‘pardon,’ the L.A. Times reported on the matter with the headline, ‘Turkey gets presidential pardon,’ according to an NBC News archive. 

President Ronald Reagan also made a joke about pardoning that year’s turkey, Charlie, in response to a question from a reporter, according to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum.

‘If they’d given me a different answer on Charlie and his future, I would have pardoned him,’ Reagan said in 1987. 

However, the tradition was codified during George H.W. Bush’s administration, according to the White House Historical Association. Bush used the word pardon, and the tradition continued each year afterward. 

‘But let me assure you, and this fine tom turkey, that he will not end up on anyone’s dinner table, not this guy — he’s presented a presidential pardon as of right now — and allow him to live out his days on a children’s farm not far from here,’ Bush said in 1989. 

Gobble and Waddle clocked in at 50 pounds and 52 pounds each, and traveled from North Carolina to the Washington’s Willard InterContinental Hotel for the annual tradition. Following the pardoning, they will head to North Carolina State University’s Prestage Department of Poultry Science.

During the ceremony in the Rose Garden, Trump also took aim at former President Joe Biden, and said Biden used the autopen to pardon the 2024 turkeys, and as a result those pardons were ‘totally invalid.’ 

As a result, Trump quipped that he had pardoned those turkeys too, and said he ‘saved them in the nick of time.’

The FBI and Department of Justice have contacted Capitol Police to schedule interviews with the six members of Congress who appeared in a controversial video urging service members to ignore orders they may deem illegal, Fox News has learned.

Last week, a group of Democratic lawmakers with military and intelligence backgrounds, including Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich.; Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz.; Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-Pa.; Rep. Maggie Goodlander, D-N.H.; Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa.; and Rep. Jason Crow released a video directed at service members and intelligence officers stating: ‘Our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders.’

In response to the video, President Donald Trump said the lawmakers should be arrested and tried for ‘seditious behavior.’ 

‘SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!’ he said. 

On Monday, the Department of War announced that it has opened a formal review into allegations of misconduct against Kelly over the video. 

The Pentagon said it may even call Kelly, a retired Navy captain, back to active duty to face court-martial proceedings or other administrative actions under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). Four of the other Democrats are former military, but not retired and therefore are not subject to the UCMJ, according to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, while Slotkin is a former CIA officer.

Hegseth on Tuesday posted on X that the video ‘may seem harmless to civilians — but it carries a different weight inside the military.’

He called the video a ‘politically-motivated influence operation’ and listed reasons for his conclusion, including how the lawmakers never named a specific ‘illegal order,’ which ‘created ambiguity rather than clarity.’ He added that the video used ‘carefully scripted, legal-sounding language’ and argued that the lawmakers ‘subtly reframed military obedience around partisan distrust instead of established legal processes.’

‘In the military, vague rhetoric and ambiguity undermines trust, creates hesitation in the chain of command, and erodes cohesion,’ Hegseth wrote. ‘The military already has clear procedures for handling unlawful orders. It does not need political actors injecting doubt into an already clear chain of command.’ 

He continued: ‘As veterans of various sorts, the Seditious Six knew exactly what they were doing — sowing doubt through a politically-motivated influence operation. The @DeptofWar won’t fall for it or stand for it.’

This is a developing story; check back for updates.

Fox News’ Digital’s Morgan Phillips and Taylor Penley contributed to this report.

The Trump-aligned lawfare group founded by White House aide Stephen Miller is petitioning two of the government’s top federal health agencies to immediately repeal a Biden-era regulation they claim promotes organ transplantation allocation based on race, not medical need. 

Initially, the proposed rule from the Health and Human Services Department (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) had an equity performance adjustment, but that part of the rule was scrapped before it was finalized.

The Increasing Organ Transplant Access (IOTA) Model in question scores selected hospitals, which are required to participate, across three domains as it relates to kidney organ transplantation: achievement, efficiency and quality. Based on the scores, hospitals will either get money for their efforts, owe money back to the federal government for not meeting expectations, or neither receive nor owe anything.  

Rather than an explicit score adjustment, the rule’s equity agenda was embedded more subtly through a ‘voluntary’ health equity plan that mandatory participating hospitals are encouraged to complete. The plan pushes hospitals to identify ‘health disparities’ and identify ‘equity goals to monitor and evaluate progress in reducing targeted health disparities,’ which will be measured by ‘one or more quantitative metrics that the IOTA participant uses to measure the reductions in target health disparities arising from the health equity plan interventions.’

‘A federal rule cannot invite or normalize discrimination—not even under the guise of improving ‘equity,” stated an America First Legal (AFL) press release accompanying the group’s petition. ‘Although CMS ultimately made Health Equity Plans ‘voluntary,’ the agency embedded them inside a mandatory federal model that encourages hospitals to integrate race and identity into transplant decision-making.’

The six-year mandatory payment program builds on earlier payment experiments, testing whether financial rewards and penalties can improve care and expand access for Medicare and Medicaid patients. The rule was published in the Federal Register on Dec. 4, and began operating on July 1, 

Meanwhile, according to AFL, 67 of the 103 hospitals mandated to participate in the IOTA Model are ‘still engaging’ in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts. The conservative lawfare group argues this is normalizing ‘identity-based preferences’ within the nation’s organ transplant system.

‘The IOTA Model is a leftover remnant of an unlawful equity agenda that encouraged hospitals to view lifesaving care through a DEI lens,’ said AFL attorney Megan Redshaw. ‘Federal law requires that organ allocation be based on established medical criteria, not race or identity, and no rule should push hospitals to pursue transplant volume while layering race-based pressures onto a system already plagued by ethical failures.’

Just days after Biden took office in 2021, he signed Executive Order 13985, directing all federal agencies to conduct ‘Equity Assessments’ to determine whether ‘underserved communities and their members’ faced systemic barriers to accessing federal programs. The order also required federal agencies to develop an action plan to address those barriers.

As part of this effort, in December 2021, CMS issued a request to the public for comments on how the agency could ‘Advance Equity and Reduce Disparities in Organ Transplantation.’

‘CMS is focused on identifying potential system-wide improvements that would increase organ donations, improve transplants, enhance the quality of care in dialysis facilities, increase access to dialysis services, and advance equity in organ donation and transplantation,’ the agency said at the time. ‘Black Americans are almost four times more likely, and Latinos are 1.3 times more likely, to have kidney failure compared to White Americans. Despite the higher risk, data shows that Black and Latino patients on dialysis are less likely to be placed on the transplant waitlist and have a lower likelihood of transplantation. Because of these stark inequities, CMS’ [Request For Information] asks the public for specific ideas on advancing equity within the organ transplantation system.’ 

Trump officials and allies, including AFL, have questioned the role outside groups played during the process of drafting the final IOTA Model rule, prompting AFL to file FOIA requests as part of a broader investigation into the new IOTA model and the Biden administration’s alleged push to infuse DEI into the nation’s organ transplant framework.

One example AFL has pointed to is a ‘modernization initiative’ for the national organ transplant system under the Biden administration, which included plans to strengthen ‘equity, and performance in the organ donation and transplantation system.’ The Biden admin also announced changes to the ‘labeling of race and ethnicity information for organ donors,’ on numerous data reports used by the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN). 

The nation’s organ transplant system has also recently been targeted for prematurely initiating organ retrievals while patients were still alive, or improving. In July, HHS released a statement announcing an initiative to reform the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN), following a federal investigation that found ‘disturbing practices by a major organ procurement organization.’

AFL argues that the IOTA Model final rule, specifically, violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, the equal protection clause, precedent established by the U.S. Supreme Court, and executive orders issued by President Donald Trump. 

The lawfare group added that the rule also exceeds CMS’ statutory authority under the Social Security Act, and is ‘arbitrary and capricious’ under the Administrative Procedure Act.  

‘The Biden Administration built this kidney transplant policy on the false premise that fairness requires discrimination,’ Redshaw said. ‘This rule treats race as a substitute for medical judgment, and it risks condemning patients to die on waitlists based on immutable traits instead of clinical need. Every American deserves equal treatment under the law, especially when life and death are at stake.’

HHS and CMS didn’t reply to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment on this story in time for publication.

Fox News Digital’s Breanne Deppisch, Melissa Rudy, and Angelica Stabile contributed to this report.

A pair of major North American solar companies, including one touted by Senate Democrats in 2023, could face scrutiny over their ties to China.

While the feds have created barriers to Chinese firms flooding the solar market, many have found ways to localize operations in the U.S. or North America in a manner that allows for public investment and even deferential press coverage at times.

After then-President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act, Senate Democrats praised the law for its substantive investments in ‘green’ energy, including solar. One company that received top billing was an Ontario-based firm that was founded by a Chinese entrepreneur and keeps much of its assets in China.

‘The Inflation Reduction Act is already paying huge dividends for the American people,’ blared a topline from Senate Democrats in 2023 after investments were being made in several companies.

The release cited a Reuters report that Canadian Solar – based in Guelph, Ontario, but founded by Qu Xiaohua and with its main operating arm listed on Shanghai’s SciTech board – committed to $250 million to a 5GW module facility in Texas after the IRA took effect.

Trina Solar North America president Steven Zhu boasted to China Daily, a Chinese state-run propaganda outlet, that the project represents ‘a significant investment in American manufacturing that will bolster the U.S. solar market in addition to positioning Texas as a leader in the transition to a sustainable future.’

Canadian Solar saw a 34% spike in its stock performance in the first half of 2022, according to a Benzinga analysis, which quoted company CEO Shawn Qu as saying he was ‘excited to see the [IRA] in the U.S. coming into effect.’ The report said ‘alternative energy companies’ like Canadian Solar stood to get a leg up thanks to about $370 billion in subsidies from the IRA.

A 2025 company filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) referenced that due to the company’s business in China, the CCP ‘may intervene or influence the operations of our PRC subsidies at any time’ and that the firm is ‘exposed to legal and operational risks associated with having a significant portion of our manufacturing operations in China.’

The Canadian-based company with a large Chinese manufacturing footprint – praised by Democrats – extends China’s state-backed dominance, yet can still qualify for IRA tax incentives meant for American allies – something that Congress has been focused on.

Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., chairman of the House Select Committee on the CCP, recently sounded the alarm on companies affiliated with China that receive or are qualified for federal subsidies – including through Biden’s IRA.

Moolenaar previously focused on another Chinese firm called Gotion, telling The Midwesterner there are ‘about 30 tax credits’ in the law ‘Biden calls his Inflation Reduction Act [that] will go to companies who are manufacturing, in some way, green energy.’

Moolenaar’s ‘No Gotion Act’ would ensure no subsidies go to firms based in officially designated politically-concerned countries like China, Russia, North Korea and Iran.

He also inserted language in the 2024 funding bill for the Department of Energy that would prohibit the agency from awarding contracts to companies tied to the CCP.

Fox News Digital reached out to Moolenaar for additional comment.

Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., chair of the House Homeland Security Transportation Subcommittee, said at the time that the U.S. cannot continue ‘ceding dominance over our critical supply chains to our greatest geopolitical rival.’

Gimenez, who was born in communist Cuba and fled to the U.S. as a child, said Western nations were too slow to recognize threats from Huawei and TikTok, and that doing business in China ensures the CCP will get a cut; ‘a steep cost.’

Canadian Solar had about 12,000 employees in China at the beginning of the year with less than 6,000 in the rest of the world combined.

The Coalition for a Prosperous America raised red flags in a report last year on Chinese dominance in the solar industry, and the fact that they’re largely kept afloat by ‘massive financial support’ from the Chinese government – with reports citing as much as Y1B ($140M) in subsidies in recent times.

Those subsidies, CPA argued, threaten all solar firms in the West.

In 2024, Trina Solar, then a subsidiary of a Chinese solar giant by the same name, forged an agreement to sell its Texas-based manufacturing assets to another U.S.-based but Chinese-tied company, which is now known as T1 Energy. Trina Founder Gao Jifan is also a Chinese National People’s Congress delegate.

Gao has several links to CCP-connected organizations, as a profile on the Chinese-controlled search giant Baidu lists several curriculum vitae, including a former vice president of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products – a semi-governmental trade association made up of representatives from several industrial and green-energy corporations like Huawei and Trina Solar.

More recently, in 2023, Gao was vice president of the China Association for the Promotion of Industry-Academic-Research Cooperation, a group under the auspices of the CCP’s Ministry of Science and Technology that connects research universities and manufacturing outfits in the fields of nanotechnology, material manufacturing and green energy.

On its homepage, T1 bills itself as ‘building domestic solar and battery supply chains to invigorate America with scalable, reliable, and low-cost energy,’ and saying that ‘America needs advanced manufacturing capacity to unlock our most scalable energy resources.’

Baidu noted Gao’s investment in a Texas solar module factory, saying he did so to ‘prevent the shipment of photovoltaic products from being blocked.’

T1 formed after FREYR Battery, a Norwegian firm, sold off its Texas assets to Trina Solar, which then rebranded the operation as T1 Energy after a restructuring – while FREYR focused on a separate Georgia operation.

T1 positions itself as an ‘integrated U.S. supply chain for solar and batteries,’ but remains largely dependent on Trina.

Earlier this month, T1 tweeted a video of robots at its Texas factory, saying that it produced 14MW of solar panels in one day and calling it ‘the path to American power.’

Trina Solar, the Chinese company, owns between 16-25% of T1, according to reports, allowing it a minimum of two board members. One member is reportedly a businessman who previously held a deputy directorship at the Chinese Development Bank, a financial powerhouse that helps fund China’s infamous Belt-and-Road Initiative.

A Caribbean-domiciled firm tied to the wife of a Trina executive also holds a stake in T1, potentially offering more Eastern control.

With T1 being a U.S. company eligible for tax credits under the IRA, the company benefits – but also its dependence on Chinese subsidy translates to a CCP-tied firm benefiting from American money.

In Canadian Solar’s case, critics have considered the branding and international dynamic to be geopolitical camouflage, suggesting to Western governments the company is one of their own.

The overall dynamic is one that again depicts China’s persistence in circumventing or manipulating U.S. defenses in various situations, this time in business and investments.

Chinese companies often collaborate on joint transpacific ventures and keep their equity stakes just under the proportion that triggers federal restrictions as a ‘Foreign Entity of Concern’ (FEOC).

Fox News Digital reached out to Trina Solar and Canadian Solar for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Cameron Cawthorne contributed to this report.

The far-left push within the Democratic Party, highlighted by mayoral victories by socialist candidates in New York City and Seattle, is poised to be a major factor in several key battleground House races as several candidates carrying the progressive mantle hold strong positions in Democratic primaries.

Several of the most competitive House races in the country feature candidates putting to the test whether progressive policies can appeal to voters outside deep blue urban centers, including in California’s 22nd Congressional District, where Democrat Randy Villegas is running to unseat Republican Rep. David Valadao. 

‘Bernie and I share the same goal: to make life more affordable for working families,’ Villegas said in a statement after being endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., a self-described ‘democratic socialist.’

‘He has dedicated his life to putting power in the hands of ordinary Americans instead of the ultra-rich, and I’m excited to work together to fight for our communities here in the Central Valley and across the country.’

In addition to being endorsed by Sanders, who endorsed New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, Villegas has employed the Fight Agency advertising firm, among others, which is led by operatives who also helped Mamdani cruise to victory earlier this month.

Fox News Digital reported this week that Fight Agency is also working to defeat two vulnerable House Republicans in Pennsylvania, Reps. Rob Bresnahan and Ryan Mackenzie.

Villegas, endorsed by the progressive Working Families Party that endorsed Mamdani, is currently running in a Democratic primary against California state Assemblywoman Jasmeet Bains, who was recruited by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) and currently is sitting on less cash on hand than Villegas.

‘Here in the Central Valley, we couldn’t care less about political labels,’ Villegas said in a statement to Fox News Digital. ‘We care about being able to see a doctor without going bankrupt and being able to feed our families without needing a second job. We’re sick of politicians in both parties selling us out to billionaires and corporations. Any politician who isn’t fighting for working families like our lives depends on it needs to get out of the way.’

In Colorado’s 8th Congressional District, GOP Rep. Gabe Evans is being challenged by another progressive Democrat, Manny Rutinel, in what is expected to be one of the tightest House races next November.

Rutinel, who serves as a Colorado state representative, who was reportedly spotted alongside Mamdani and holds a large fundraising lead over his Democrat opponents, has associated himself with a variety of far-left groups and politicians, including Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., Townhall reported.

Rutinel has been endorsed by progressive groups like CHC Bold PAC and Latino Victory Fund.

The race to unseat GOP Rep. Darrell Issa in California’s redrawn 48th Congressional District features Democrat Ammar Campa-Najjar, who describes himself as a ‘working-class progressive’ and was endorsed by the Sanders-linked group Our Revolution. 

Campa-Najjar, who volunteered for Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign and appears to be the front-runner in the Democratic primary, was endorsed in 2020 by the Working Families Party as well as Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Courage to Change PAC. 

GOP Rep. Tom Barrett is up for re-election in Michigan’s 7th Congressional District, and one of the Democrats running to replace him is William Lawrence, who co-founded the progressive Sunrise Movement.

Lawrence’s policies have drawn comparisons to Mamdani, including from the Lansing City Pulse, who wrote that his ‘campaign is built on a community movement, a message of ‘real representation’ that takes ‘political control away from the establishment and puts it back in the hands of the people.’ It’s like how Zohran Mamdani won in New York City.’

Peter Chatzky is running as a Democrat challenging GOP Rep. Mike Lawler in New York’s 17th Congressional District, and although he is running in a crowded primary, he has the ability to self-fund and is viewed as a formidable contender in a district ranked by Cook Political Report as ‘Lean Republican.’

Chatzky has defended Mamdani’s agenda on social media and praised the young socialist for running ‘an effective campaign that consistently focused on affordability, fairness, and opportunity in New York City.’

Chatzky, the only Democrat in the field who has called for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to step down, has expressed support for ‘universal healthcare.’

Like Mamdani, Chatzky has also faced criticism for his positions on Israel and defended Mamdani against allegations of antisemitism. 

In Nebraska, John Cavanaugh, a state senator, is running as a Democrat to replace retiring GOP Rep. Don Bacon in the 2nd Congressional District with the endorsement of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, which he said he is ‘grateful’ for and that he plans to join them on the ‘front lines.’

As Democratic leadership in Washington, D.C. begins to face calls for new faces, Republicans across the country have made the argument that the socialist push in recent months is reshaping key House races and changing the landscape of the way the Democratic Party operates going forward. 

Mike Marinella, national spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), told Fox News Digital the rise of progressive candidates is a ‘full-blown battle for the soul of the Democrat Party’ and concluded that the ‘socialist stampede is winning.’

‘Democrats aren’t focused on helping working families, they’re too busy tearing each other apart.’ 

In a statement to Fox News Digital, DCCC spokesperson Viet Shelton touted the Democrats across the country who are focusing on affordability. 

‘Because of House Republicans, everything is too damn expensive and working families are struggling. Republican operatives in D.C. know they can’t win on the issues, so we’re seeing them melt down in real time,’ Shelton said.

‘Even President Trump is in the Oval Office desperately bear hugging the Mayor-elect. It’s embarrassing. While they waste their time, Democrats across the country are laser focused on lowering prices and fighting for everyday Americans, which is why we will re-take the majority.’

In one corner of the world, the U.S. is trying to end a war. In another, it may be preparing to start one.

While Washington pushes proposals aimed at easing Russia’s terms for a cease-fire with Ukraine in Europe, it’s taking a far tougher stance in the Western Hemisphere — moving to label Venezuela’s military-linked Cartel de los Soles a terrorist organization and quietly expanding its military footprint in the Caribbean.

Sporadic strikes on alleged cartel boats off Venezuela’s coast have grown into the largest U.S. military presence in Southern Command’s area in a generation, with the world’s biggest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, steaming toward the Caribbean Sea. President Donald Trump has reportedly approved CIA covert measures inside Venezuela — operations that often precede military force — and U.S. planners have already drawn up target lists for cartel sites, according to The New York Times.

Many believe the U.S. could soon launch direct strikes on Venezuelan territory aimed at pushing Nicolás Maduro out of power. 

At the same time, a top Russian commander, Colonel General Oleg Makarevich, has been reassigned from the Ukrainian front to head Russia’s Equator Task Force in Venezuela, overseeing roughly 120 troops training Venezuelan forces, Ukrainian intelligence chief Lt. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov told The War Zone. Fox News Digital has not independently verified Budanov’s claim.

Seth Krummrich, a retired U.S. Army colonel and vice president at Global Guardian, said Russian military advisers are indeed operating inside Venezuela but doubted Moscow would back Maduro militarily. ‘They’re there, full stop,’ Krummrich said. ‘But Russia needs to stop the massive blood-letting of its young men in Ukraine. They’re not going to go toe-to-toe with us militarily.’ He added that the relationship is long-standing: ‘There is a long history of Russian military advisers in Cuba and in Venezuela that goes on for decades.’

Many in Washington see a strategic payoff in forcing out Maduro: it would strip Russia of its last firm foothold in the Western Hemisphere — a loss comparable, in some analysts’ view, to Moscow’s waning influence in Syria. ‘Venezuela, for the longest time, has been a launch pad for Chinese, Russian, and Iranian influence in the Western Hemisphere,’ Krummrich said. ‘These chess pieces are all tied together when you arch your great-power competition.’

Other experts caution against assuming the U.S. escalation in Venezuela and its peace overtures in Europe are part of a single coordinated plan. Ryan Berg, director of the Americas Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), spoke with Fox News Digital and said any overlap may be more coincidence than strategy.

‘We’ve been zigging and zagging in Venezuela,’ Berg said. ‘Trump has gone back and forth between build-ups and calls for dialogue, while the Russia timeline has only recently become parallel to these events. Anything that looks coordinated is likely coincidence.’

Berg recalled that during Trump’s first administration, some advisers floated an ‘Ukraine-for-Venezuela’ concept — asking Russia to relinquish its stake in Caracas in exchange for U.S. concessions in Eastern Europe — but the idea was quickly abandoned. ‘Russian power in Venezuela is important,’ Berg said, ‘but it’s not so overwhelming that it’s the reason Maduro survives.’

Russia’s footprint in Latin America has grown only modestly since the early 2000s, dwarfed by China’s economic expansion. Moscow’s closest partners remain Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua. Beyond them, its influence is exercised mainly through media and selective economic pressure.

‘If you look at Russia’s trade profile with the region, it’s small,’ Berg said. ‘But Moscow is very good at using those few trade points for leverage.’

He cited examples: when Ecuador considered sending old Russian-made equipment to Ukraine in exchange for U.S. military aid, Russia threatened to block Ecuadorian banana exports — nearly $1 billion annually — by imposing new phytosanitary checks. The deal collapsed within a week.

Similarly, Moscow has kept Brazil and Argentina largely muted on the Ukraine invasion by leveraging its control over nitrate fertilizer exports, crucial to both agricultural giants. ‘They use whatever levers they have — bananas, fertilizer, spare parts — to coerce quietly,’ Berg said.

Russia also continues to service aging equipment across the region. ‘They sell a lot of kit here,’ Berg added. ‘Many countries still operate Russian-origin systems that need maintenance and parts. That creates dependency.’

If U.S. forces strike Venezuelan targets, most observers expect Russia to limit its response to intelligence sharing and disinformation, not combat support. ‘The Russians are pretty tied down in Ukraine,’ Berg said. ‘We saw during the 12-day war, when Iran appealed for help, Moscow stayed silent. They simply don’t have the capacity.’

Berg described a recent episode in which a sanctioned Ilyushin cargo plane landed in Caracas. Russian lawmakers briefly claimed it carried air-defense systems and technicians to assist Maduro, but Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov later denied it. ‘He essentially said, ‘We have no mutual-defense treaty,’’ Berg noted. ‘That was widely read as: we’re not coming to Venezuela.’

John Hardie, deputy director of the Russia Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, also spoke with Fox News Digital and said there is little evidence of a coordinated link between the U.S. buildup in the Caribbean and Washington’s peace overtures in Europe. ‘I don’t see any immediate connection,’ Hardie said. ‘Russia’s ability to influence events in Venezuela is pretty limited.’

He said Moscow’s power-projection capacity in the Western Hemisphere remains constrained. ‘They can take limited action — fly some bombers into the region, sail submarines to Cuba — but major operations in Latin America are beyond their capacity,’ Hardie said.

Hardie also noted reports of the Russian Ilyushin transport aircraft visiting Venezuela and suggestions it could have carried air-defense systems, but said any such transfer would have little strategic effect. ‘Even if Russia slipped in some air defenses, it wouldn’t make much difference,’ he said. ‘The Venezuelan military would still be heavily overmatched by the United States.’

Both Krummrich and Berg agree that momentum is building toward U.S. kinetic action. Berg said indications point to possible strikes between Thanksgiving and Christmas, as U.S. naval and intelligence assets align and Trump signals impatience with Maduro’s attempts to stall.

‘Maduro’s instinct is to buy time — that’s what’s kept him afloat through multiple administrations,’ Berg said. ‘But Trump wants results, not a two-year transition or vague promises about U.S. oil access. The question is what Maduro can offer that will actually satisfy him.’

Whether this two-track moment represents coincidence or coordination, the stakes are high. A peace framework in Europe could stabilize one front while a new flashpoint ignites closer to home — underscoring the paradox of Washington’s posture in late 2025: seeking de-escalation abroad while bracing for confrontation in its own hemisphere.