Russia narrowly avoided an armed skirmish with Romania, a member of the NATO alliance, after striking just a half mile from its border. 

Romanian defense officials believe the new law passed by parliament explicitly allowing its armed forces to shoot down Russian drones that fly over its territory prevented the Kremlin from incurring on its territory. 

Russia struck a gas distribution center in the Ismail Area of Ukraine with Shahed kamikaze drones on Tuesday and Wednesday, so close to Romania’s border that Bucharest deployed F-16 aircraft to monitor. No unauthorized intrusions were reported. 

‘They know we passed this law, and in the last two months they have avoided crossing into our airspace,’ one Romanian defense source told Fox News Digital. 

Ilie Bolojan, Romania’s then-acting president, signed the law, which Romanian parliament had passed in February in response to Russian drones spilling over into its territory during attacks on Ukraine. 

The law specifies that Romanian authorities must establish the drone’s position and identity, attempt contact, intercept and fire warning shots, before neutralizing it. 

Piloted vehicles can only be destroyed if they conduct an attack or respond aggressively. 

Romania shares a 380-mile-wide border with Ukraine, though at this time there is no evidence Moscow has deliberately targeted its territory. 

Ukraine typically receives gas through the Orlovka gas distribution center in Izmail from Greece, Turkey and Romania. 

If Russia had incurred into Romanian territory and Romania responded by shooting down its drones, a tit-for-tat escalation risks drawing a NATO member state directly into the war.

NATO allies agree to Article 5, a collective defense pact that states each would come to the aid of the other in the case of an attack. 

Earlier this week, drones believed to originate in Belarus, a client state of Russia, landed in Lithuanian territory. 

Other eastern European states have enacted new laws to fortify their borders from the threat of Russia: Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania pulled out of an international treaty banning the use of landmines over humanitarian concerns earlier this year. 

Lithuania this week asked NATO to help strengthen its air defenses after a Russian drone carrying explosives entered its territory. 

‘This is not just Lithuanian airspace, not just Lithuania’s security — it is NATO airspace, NATO security and also EU security,’ foreign minister Kęstutis Budrys said. 

A Senate Republican renewed his push to federalize Washington, D.C., following an attack on a former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffer and President Donald Trump’s threat to put the District under federal control.

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, has long called for control of Washington to fall under Congress, going so far as to introduce the Bringing Oversight to Washington and Safety to Every Resident (BOWSER) Act, named after D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, in an effort to combat crime in the District.

The bill, which Lee introduced alongside Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., has not made it out of committee since being dropped in February. But Trump’s highlight of an attack against former DOGE staffer Edward Coristine, also known as ‘Big Balls,’ has resurrected the discussion.

‘The Constitution already federalizes D.C.,’ Lee said on X. ‘We just need Congress to do its job — and reassert its lawmaking power over our nation’s capital city. My bill, the BOWSER Act, would do that.’

Fox News Digital reached out to Lee for further comment.

Lee’s bill would effectively repeal the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, a law passed in the 1970s that established a city council and mayor and reduced the amount of oversight that Congress has over the city and its affairs.

But calls have grown by lawmakers over the years to increase Congress’ oversight of the city, largely centered on concerns over increased crime and criticisms of attempts to rewrite the District’s criminal code.

And Trump jumped into the discourse, too, threatening that if ‘D.C. doesn’t get its act together, and quickly, we will have no choice but to take Federal control of the City.’

‘Perhaps it should have been done a long time ago, then this incredible young man, and so many others, would not have had to go through the horrors of Violent Crime,’ Trump said on his social media platform, Truth Social. ‘If this continues, I am going to exert my powers, and FEDERALIZE this City.’

Fox News reached out to Bowser’s office for comment but did not immediately hear back.

Zack Smith, a senior legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation and a former prosecutor, told Fox News Digital that in the past, the D.C. council has pushed ‘policies that have made it much more difficult for law enforcement, for prosecutors, to do their jobs and keep citizens safe.’

Bowser and the D.C. Council have, for several years, worked to update the District’s criminal code. However, changes to the code that would have severely lowered sentencing for a variety of crimes that were at first vetoed by Bowser were on the precipice of becoming law before Congress and former President Joe Biden overrode the reforms.

Smith noted that Congress still has the authority to legislate the District, meaning that lawmakers and the federal government are ‘still the backstop,’ and that both Trump and Lee were right to call for a ‘reevaluation of the District’s status.’

‘That’s why Congress was able to step in and overturn that proposed radical rewrite of the Criminal Code,’ he said. ‘And so what the BOWSER Act would actually do, if it repeals home rule, it would essentially change the way the local D.C. government functions. It might involve Congress and the Federal Government taking a more direct role.’

‘I think there is broad and in some ways bipartisan consensus that the current system in D.C. is not working as it should,’ he continued. 

The horse race for the next open Senate seat in Tennessee is already kicking off after Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., announced a bid for the governorship earlier Wednesday.

Tennessee Republican Reps. Andy Ogles and Tim Burchett both told Fox News Digital they’re interested in Blackburn’s seat.

Ogles said, ‘Absolutely,’ when asked if he would consider a push for Congress’ upper chamber. Burchett noted that any such situation was a ‘long ways off’ but confirmed he was looking at it as well.

Blackburn just won re-election for her second term in the U.S. Senate in the November 2024 cycle.

If she ran for governor and won, Blackburn would have to vacate her seat – setting up a potential power vacuum in the Volunteer State.

Tennessee law grants the governor the ability to appoint someone to fill Senate vacancies until the next regularly scheduled election.

That means that if Blackburn leaves by 2026, her successor would be tapped to serve until 2031. 

Both Ogles and Burchett said they would be interested in running for the seat in the 2030 election cycle if appointed to the upper chamber.

But it could very well be up to Blackburn to choose her successor, depending on when she hypothetically resigned from the Senate.

Tennessee state law does not specify when she has to step down from the Senate, according to local outlet Knox News.

If the vacancy occurred before Blackburn stepped down, the decision would likely fall to term-limited Gov. Bill Lee. But Lee could leave the decision to Blackburn if she resigned after being sworn in to take his place.

‘Trump is back, America is blessed, and Tennessee – better than ever,’ Blackburn said in a video announcing her campaign launch on Wednesday. ‘I love Tennessee, I believe in Tennesseans, and I’m ready to deliver the kind of conservative leadership that will ensure our state is America’s conservative leader for this generation and the next.

Her candidacy sets up a high-stakes GOP primary against her congressional colleague, Rep. John Rose.

If she wins, Blackburn would be the first female governor of Tennessee.

In a win for Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) advocates, six more states have gotten waivers allowing them to ban soda, candy and other high-sugar junk foods from being purchased through the federally funded, but state-operated Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP. 

The waivers, which amend the statutory definition of eligible food for purchase under SNAP, were granted to West Virginia, Florida, Colorado, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas. The new restrictions on what can and cannot be purchased will go into effect in 2026.

The six new waivers bring the number of states that have sought to restrict SNAP purchases of junk food to 12. The other states who received waivers from the Trump administration earlier this year were Nebraska, Iowa, Indiana, Arkansas, Idaho and Utah.

‘For years, SNAP has used taxpayer dollars to fund soda and candy, products that fuel America’s diabetes and chronic disease epidemics,’ Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said

‘These waivers help put real food back at the center of the program and empower states to lead the charge in protecting public health.’

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has praised the historic efforts that states, mostly those with Republican leadership, have made to help improve the health and nutrition assistance provided through SNAP. 

On average, 42 million low-income Americans receive food stamp assistance each month, including one in five American children under 17, according to a report from the Trump administration released earlier this year.

‘It is incredible to see so many states take action at this critical moment in our nation’s history and do something to begin to address chronic health problems,’ Rollins said after the latest announcement of new waivers. ‘President Trump has changed the status quo, and the entire Cabinet is taking action to Make America Healthy Again. … These state waivers promote healthier options for families in need.’

Of the 12 states that have been granted SNAP waivers thus far, all of them will restrict SNAP funds from being used to purchase sugary drinks, including soda, while at least eight of the states have indicated plans to ban SNAP funds for candy purchases. Some states, such as Florida, Louisiana and Nebraska, will explicitly ban energy drinks as well, while others, like Arkansas, have indicated drinks with less than 50% natural juice will be banned. 

ABC News medical correspondent Darien Sutton argued the move, although pushed as an effort to improve health outcomes, lacks evidence.

‘There’s no evidence that taking away access to soda will actually fight these conditions,’ he said, according to ABC News. ‘Sugar is one of those culprits that you always have to be mindful of.’ 

Sutton pointed out that U.S. dietary guidelines recommend that men do not have more than 35 grams of sugar per day, while women are told to limit it to 25 grams per day. 

President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin appear to be on track to soon have their first meeting since Trump took office for his second term earlier this year.

‘As for Ukrainian affairs directly, at the suggestion of the American side, an agreement was agreed upon in principle to hold a bilateral meeting at the highest level in the coming days, that is, a meeting of Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump,’ aide to the Russian president Yuri Ushakov noted, according to a Russian to English translation by Google Translate of Ushakov’s comments.

‘As for the option of a trilateral meeting, which for some reason was discussed yesterday in Washington, this option was simply mentioned by the American representative during the meeting in the Kremlin. But this option was not specifically discussed. The Russian side left this option completely, without comment,’ Ushakov noted. ‘We propose first of all to focus on preparing a bilateral meeting with D. Trump and we believe that the main thing is for this meeting to be successful and productive.’

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment early on Thursday morning.

The potential meeting would come as President Trump has been trying to help broker an end to the years-long Russia-Ukraine war.

‘My Special Envoy, Steve Witkoff, just had a highly productive meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Great progress was made!’ Trump declared in a Wednesday post on Truth Social. 

‘Afterwards, I updated some of our European Allies. Everyone agrees this War must come to a close, and we will work towards that in the days and weeks to come. Thank you for your attention to this matter!’

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt noted, ‘As President Trump said earlier today on TRUTH Social, great progress was made during Special Envoy Witkoff’s meeting with President Putin. The Russians expressed their desire to meet with President Trump, and the President is open to meeting with both President Putin and President Zelensky. President Trump wants this brutal war to end.’

Fox News Channel’s Peter Doocy contributed to this report

Veteran Democratic operative Anita Dunn will be on Capitol Hill on Thursday for a closed-door interview with House Oversight Committee investigators.

She is the tenth former White House official to appear before the panel’s lawyers, as Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., probes whether former President Joe Biden’s inner circle worked to cover up signs of mental decline in the elderly leader – and whether executive actions signed via autopen were done without his awareness.

Dunn is appearing voluntarily before the committee’s lawyers for a transcribed interview. It’s expected to begin around 10 a.m. and will likely last several hours into the afternoon.

Three of the 10 former Biden administration officials who have appeared so far have come under subpoena, and each pleaded the Fifth Amendment to avoid answering material questions.

Appearing voluntarily does not give people the ability to invoke the constitutional right against self-incrimination, but it’s possible Dunn will give House investigators little to work with.

The six former White House aides who appeared voluntarily before her have all defended Biden’s mental acuity and ability to serve as president, sources said, even as some, like ex-Chief of Staff Ron Klain, have conceded the 82-year-old’s age has worn on him over time.

Dunn, like those who appeared before her, has known Biden for years.

She’s been a key player in Democratic communications and public relations strategies for decades, and reportedly was a central figure in Biden’s messaging strategy both at the White House and during his short-lived 2024 campaign.

‘She’s running everything,’ one unnamed White House advisor told CNN in June 2023 while discussing Biden’s re-election bid.

A January 2023 report by NBC News described Dunn and her husband, former Obama administration White House counsel Robert Bauer, as central figures in Biden’s orbit. Bauer also reportedly served as Biden’s personal lawyer.

‘If it’s a room of five people, Anita and Bob are two of them,’ an unnamed former White House aide told the outlet.

Dunn was also a central figure amid the fallout after Biden’s disastrous June 2024 debate against then-candidate Donald Trump.

NBC News reported in July 2024 that Biden family members discussed whether he should fire Dunn and Bauer, though White House chief of staff Jeff Zients dismissed the reports as ‘unfounded and insulting rumors’ in a statement to the outlet at the time.

Dunn served as White House communications director under former President Barack Obama, and Biden brought her onto his 2020 campaign to help with his own communications strategy.

She also served as senior advisor to the president for communications in the Biden White House before playing a key role in his 2024 campaign.

Comer wrote in his letter summoning Dunn, ‘You served as former President Biden’s ‘most senior communications adviser.’ Former President Biden confided in you extensively over the past decade.’

‘The Committee seeks to understand your observations of former President Biden’s mental acuity and health as one of his closest advisors. If White House staff carried out a strategy lasting months or even years to hide the chief executive’s condition—or to perform his duties—Congress may need to consider a legislative response,’ Comer wrote.

The Supreme Court on Friday ordered additional arguments in a major case centered on whether race can factor into drawing congressional maps, a clear sign that redistricting remains top-of-mind for the justices ahead of the 2026 midterms.

Justices ordered both parties in Louisiana v. Callais to return for additional arguments next term. At issue is whether Louisiana’s latest congressional map — which includes the creation of a second, majority-Black district — should be considered an unconstitutional ‘illegal racial gerrymander.’ 

The Supreme Court order comes months after justices first heard oral arguments in the case in March. It requires both parties to file supplemental briefs by mid-September, outlining in further detail their view of whether Louisiana’s intentional creation of a second majority-minority congressional district ‘violates the Fourteenth or Fifteenth Amendments to the U. S. Constitution.’ 

Reply briefs should be filed no later than Oct. 3, the Supreme Court said in the unsigned, single-page order — just three days before the high court gavels in for the 2025-2026 session. 

The order comes after the Supreme Court in June said they would not decide the case this term as had been expected — punting it to the fall for further consideration. At the time, the justices said they needed more information before ruling on the case.

The issue underscores the challenges states face with congressional redistricting. 

Louisiana has revised its congressional map twice since the 2020 census. The first version, which included only one majority-Black district, was blocked by a federal court in 2022. The court sided with the Louisiana State Conference of the NAACP and other plaintiffs, ruling the map diluted Black voting power and ordering the state to redraw it by January 2024.

The new map, S.B. 8, created the second Black-majority district at the center of the Supreme Court case. However, S.B. 8 was almost immediately challenged by a group of non-Black plaintiffs in court, who took issue with a new district that stretched some 250 miles from Louisiana’s northwest corner of Shreveport to Baton Rouge, in the state’s southeast. 

They argued in the lawsuit that the state violated the equal protection clause by relying too heavily on race to draw the maps, and created a ‘sinuous and jagged second majority-Black district.’

That map remains in place for now, until the Supreme Court can hear the additional information submitted to the court this fall.  

Oral arguments in March focused heavily on whether Louisiana’s redistricting efforts were narrowly tailored enough to meet constitutional requirements and whether race was used in a way that violated the law, as appellees had alleged.

The high court’s request for additional information comes at a pivotal time for the U.S., as new and politically charged redistricting fights have popped up in other U.S. states ahead of next year’s midterm elections. 

In Texas, tensions reached a fever pitch this week after Democratic state legislators fled the Lone Star State to block Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s ability to convene a legislative quorum needed to pass the state’s aggressive new redistricting map, which would create five additional Republican-leaning districts. 

Under the state’s constitution, two-thirds of the House legislators must be present for the body to conduct business. With an eye to this rule, Democratic lawmakers fled the state to Chicago, New York and Boston — beyond the reach of Texas authorities and of Abbott, who has little power in the near-term to compel their returns.

The governor has, however, threatened to take them to court to have them removed from office altogether.

In a press conference Monday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul stressed the magnitude of the redistricting efforts, and vowed to explore ‘every option’ in redrawing state lines.

‘We are at war,’ Hochul said, speaking alongside the six Texas Democrats who fled to her state.

 ‘And that’s why the gloves are off — and I say, bring it on,’ she added.

The move is part of a broader redistricting push aimed at helping Republicans defend their slim House majority. As with most midterms following a new president’s election, 2026 is expected to serve as a referendum on the White House — raising GOP concerns that they could lose control of the chamber.

Former first lady Michelle Obama praised former President Barack Obama as her ‘everything’ and the ‘coolest guy I know’ on his 64th birthday after the longtime couple joked about divorce rumors that have been swirling for months. 

‘Happy birthday to my love, my best friend, my everything! @BarackObama, even after all these years, you’re still the coolest guy I know,’ the former first lady posted to Instagram Monday afternoon, accompanied by a photo of the pair. 

The former president turned 64 Monday, with the former first lady sharing the birthday post on both Instagram and Facebook. Michelle Obama’s birthday message followed months of speculation that the couple’s more than 30-year marriage was on the rocks before the couple joked about the rumors during a July podcast. 

‘It’s my husband, ya’ll!’ Michelle Obama said jokingly at the start of a podcast of ‘IMO’ in July when the former president first joined the set. ‘When we aren’t (in the same room), folks think we’re divorced.’ 

The former first lady hosts ‘IMO’ with her brother Craig Robinson. 

‘She took me back!’ Barack Obama quipped during his appearance, joking, ‘It was touch and go for a while.’ 

Speculation had mounted for months that the presidential couple was headed to divorce, which heightened in January when the former first lady did not attend high-profile events such as President Donald Trump’s inauguration or President Jimmy Carter’s funeral. 

‘There hasn’t been one moment in our marriage where I’ve thought about quitting my man,’ Michelle Obama said during an ‘IMO’ podcast in July. ‘We’ve had some really hard times. We’ve had a lot of fun times, a lot of adventures, and I have become a better person because of the man I’m married to.’

‘Don’t make me cry now,’ Barack said. ‘Don’t let me start tearing up now.’

Michelle previously had dismissed divorce rumors, including in April when she addressed questions as to why she did not join the 44th president at Trump’s inauguration or Carter’s funeral. 

‘But the interesting thing is that when I say no, for the most part, people are like, ‘I get it, and I’m OK,’ right?’ she told podcast host Sophia Bush in April about how she spends her time. ‘And that’s the thing that we as women, I think we struggle with, like disappointing people. I mean so much so that this year people were, they couldn’t even fathom that I was making a choice for myself, that they had to assume that my husband and I are divorcing, you know? This couldn’t be a grown woman just making a set of decisions herself, right? But that’s what society does to us.’

‘If it doesn’t fit into the sort of stereotype of what people think we should do, then it gets labeled as something negative and horrible,’ Obama continued.

Fox News Digital reached out to Michelle Obama’s office for any additional comment Tuesday morning but did not immediately receive a reply. 

Fox News Digital’s David Rutz and Hannah Panreck contributed to this report.