Author: Rick Amato

Arkansas men’s basketball coach Eric Musselman showed off his muscles as he celebrated the team’s upset victory over the defending national champions, the Kansas Jayhawks.The No. 8 Razorbacks topped the Jayhawks 72-71 as Ricky Council IV made five free throws in the closing seconds of the game. The 58-year-old coach jumped onto the press table, ripped off his red polo shirt and waved it over his head.CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM Head coach Eric Musselman led Arkansas to a 72-71 win over Kansas. (AP Photo/Eric Olson) Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman reacts after a second-round college basketball game against Kansas in the NCAA Tournament Saturday, March 18, 2023, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)The crowd in Des Moines, Iowa, went crazy.”That’s such an unbelievable win for our program,” Musselman said. “I keep telling people that we’re getting better. Not many teams can get better this time of year. I’ve never been prouder of a team like tonight.”COACH OF FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON RIVAL INELIGIBLE FOR NCAA TOURNAMENT ON KNIGHTS’ SUCCESS: ‘I’M HAPPY FOR THEM’ Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman reacts on the press table with his shirt off. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)Arkansas knocked out No. 1 Gonzaga last year on its way to an Elite Eight appearance. This time, the team didn’t even lead for 2 minutes as they struggled on offense early and foul trouble late. According to OptaSTATS, Arkansas became the first team to beat a No. 1 seed with three players fouling out.”I would love to lie and say that I felt composed, but we only led for 1:43,” Council said after the game. “This has been as challenging and as up-and-down a season as I’ve ever been a part of.”For these guys to be rewarded for sticking with it and being able to go to Las Vegas and participate with only 16 teams still standing…. It’s really hard to make this tournament. It’s really hard to win a game in this tournament. It’s really hard to beat defending champions, No. 1 seed. We did it.” The crowd in Des Moines, Iowa, went crazy when the 58-year-old coach jumped onto the press table and ripped off his red polo shirt. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPArkansas, which beat Illinois in the Round of 64, awaits the winner of Saint Mary’s and UConn in the Sweet 16.The Associated Press contributed to this report.

One legal expert torched the possibility of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg arresting former President Donald Trump – calling it “Banana Republic sort of stuff” as he reportedly weighs an indictment. Trump revealed over the weekend he expects to be arrested on Tuesday in connection with the “hush money” payments to porn star Stormy Daniels back in 2016, citing “illegal leaks” from Bragg’s office and the Justice Department. But many legal experts have cast doubt on the potential indictment, often arguing there is little legal precedent, alongside political motivation, surrounding the case. TRUMP VOLUNTARILY DISMISSES SECOND LAWSUIT AGAINST NEW YORK ATTORNEY GENERAL LETITIA JAMES Former federal prosecutor Francey Hakes accused Bragg of weaponizing the law politically, and acting like a “king,” in order to indict the former president. “This is a really serious time because this is Banana Republic sort of stuff,” Francey said during “Fox & Friends Weekend.” “Using the law as a weapon against a political opponent is so wrong. It’s one of the main reasons that the United States of America formed and broke away from England because of all the injustice in the criminal justice system at the time from the king, and that’s what’s happening here.””You’ve got someone acting like a king in Alvin Bragg, who’s decided that because he doesn’t like a political opponent, he’s going to twist the law into a pretzel in order to get him,” she continued.  President Donald Trump arrives to enter his presidential viewing stand Saturday, July 15, 2017, during the U.S. Women’s Open Golf tournament at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)”NOW ILLEGAL LEAKS FROM A CORRUPT & HIGHLY POLITICAL MANHATTAN DISTRICT ATTORNEYS OFFICE, WHICH HAS ALLOWED NEW RECORDS TO BE SET IN VIOLENT CRIME & WHOSE LEADER IS FUNDED BY GEORGE SOROS, INDICATE THAT, WITH NO CRIME BEING ABLE TO BE PROVEN, & BASED ON AN OLD & FULLY DEBUNKED (BY NUMEROUS OTHER PROSECUTORS!) FAIRYTALE, THE FAR & AWAY LEADING REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE & FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, WILL BE ARRESTED ON TUESDAY OF NEXT WEEK. PROTEST, TAKE OUR NATION BACK!,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, Saturday. The former president has been under investigation for years for the $130,000 payment made to Daniels at the end of the 2016 election cycle. His former lawyer, Michael Cohen, facilitated the exchange and was reimbursed for the payment over time. MANHATTAN DA’S OFFICE ‘ASKED FOR A MEETING’ WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT AHEAD OF POSSIBLE TRUMP INDICTMENTProsecutors could argue the money was a violation of campaign finance laws, but critics argue, including Trump’s attorney Joe Tacopina, that the funding was “personal” money and not related to the campaign.Tacopina and other legal experts have argued Bragg’s potential indictment hinges on unchartered legal waters, further indicating the political nature of the potential arrest. “It’s hard to say it’s anything but political when you look at a DA in Manhattan, who drops over 50% of felony charges in that crime-ridden city down to misdemeanors, and yet he’s managed to try to find a way outside the statute of limitations where cases would normally be barred, to bootstrap a felony into a misdemeanor that’s maybe a state crime, maybe a federal crime,” Hakes said. “The feds declined to prosecute, the Federal Election Commission declined to prosecute, yet Alvin Bragg thinks he has a crime here,” she continued. “I think it seems political to me.”Bragg’s office has not yet commented or confirmed the news of Trump’s potential arrest. NEW YORK PROSECUTORS SIGNAL TRUMP MAY FACE CRIMINAL CHARGES FROM STORMY DANIELS SCANDALFormer Whitewater deputy counsel Sol Wisenberg, who noted he is a critic of the 45th president, echoed Hakes’ sentiment that Bragg’s case is “obviously political” in nature. In a subsequent appearance on ‘Fox & Friends Weekend,’ Sunday, he called the potential arrest “preposterous.””The question to ask yourself in a case like this… would a case like this be brought against anybody else, whether he or she be president, former president or a regular citizen? The answer is… no,” Wisenberg said. “You can debate all day long whether or not President former President Trump should be indicted related to the records at Mar-a-Lago; whether or not he should be indicted with respect to January 6 incitement of lawless activity… Those are real crimes if they occurred, and he committed them,” he continued. “This, is preposterous.”CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPCritics have also been quick to note Bragg may be unable to indict the former president if the statute of limitations has run out. But Hakes explained that Bragg may be able to curtail that concern and proceed with an indictment if there are additional conspiracy charges, she argued. Regardless, Wisenberg called the potential charges targeting Trump a “weak sister case” while noting significant legitimacy concerns. “Number one, because it would never be prosecuted this late against anybody else,” Wisenberg said. “Number two, it is in most instances under New York state law, a misdemeanor… from what we’ve heard, this is about [the] falsification of records that can only be a felony if the records are falsified to conceal another felony.””So there are real questions here, whether or not it ultimately stands up because of statute of limitations… and other concerns,” he continued. “It is a weak sister case.”

This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).The San Jose Sharks used their Twitter account to give information and facts about LGBTQIA+ topics after goalie James Reimer declined to wear a Pride jersey in warmups on Saturday.The Sharks posted a message ahead of their game against the New York Islanders about how the team would use their social media account.”During tonight’s game, in lieu of our normal game content, we will be using this platform to offer information and facts about LGBTQIA+ topics,” the statement read. “Our hope is that this content will serve as a reminder that there are issues more important than goals, highlights and wins.CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM Goaltender James Reimer of the San Jose Sharks guards the net during the Jets game at Canada Life Centre on March 6, 2023, in Winnipeg, Canada. (Jonathan Kozub/NHLI via Getty Images)”Hockey is not for everyone until everyone is comfortable playing, working, or being a fan of this incredible game.”In its series of tweets, the Sharks talked about a “third gender” in “other cultures.””Worldwide, gender diversity is seen far differently than that in the Western World or as you may know it,” the Sharks tweeted. “Most of us are familiar with the male, female, and transgender labels. But in other cultures, the existence of ‘the third gender’ or even fourth and fifth genders is common:”The muxe gender is a respected third gender in Zapotec cultures in Oaxaca, Mexico, that has existed for centuries. Gunaa are those who were born as men but who identify as women & are attracted to men. The Nguii are those who were born as men and are attracted to other men.”The Ninauposkitzipxpe were honored as a third gender in the North Peigan tribe of the Blackfoot Confederacy in northern Montana and Southern Alberta, Canada.”SHARKS GOALIE OPTS NOT TO WEAR LGBTQ-THEMED WARMUP JERSEY ON TEAM’S PRIDE NIGHTThe Sharks also tweeted statistics about the violence against the LGBTQ community and stats about suicides or attempted suicides in the LGBTQ youth community.”Thank you all for a night of celebration & reflection about our Pride Community,” the team tweeted”We know that one organization can’t make all the changes we seek to make hockey (and the world) more welcoming to all, but it’s a start. James Reimer of the Sharks skates during warmups before the Nashville Predators game at SAP Center on Feb. 23, 2023, in San Jose, California. (Kavin Mistry/NHLI via Getty Images)”With all of you, we can make an impact.”Reimer created a stir when he refused to wear the Pride jersey, saying it ran counter to his religious beliefs. He said he made the decision based on his Christian beliefs, adding that he “always strived to treat everyone with respect” and that members of the LGBTQ community should be welcome in hockey.”In this specific instance, I am choosing not to endorse something that is counter to my personal convictions, which are based on the Bible, the highest authority in life,” Reimer said.The You Can Play Project, which works to promote inclusiveness in sports, released a statement on Reimer’s decision. San Jose Sharks goaltender James Reimer reacts after giving up a goal against the Islanders, Oct. 18, 2022, in Elmont, New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger, File)CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP”Religion and respect are not in conflict with each other, and we are certainly disappointed when religion is used as a reason to not support our community,” the organization said. “Wearing pride jerseys, like any celebration jersey worn, is not about the personal feelings of an athlete; rather the communication from the team that a community is welcome in the arena and the sport.”The Associated Press contributed to this report.

An Idaho hospital made the decision to axe its labor and delivery department, saying the “political climate” made it too difficult to keep it staffed.”Highly respected, talented physicians are leaving. Recruiting replacements will be extraordinarily difficult,” Bonner General Health, located in Sandpoint, Idaho, said in a social media post Friday. “The Idaho Legislature continues to introduce and pass bills that criminalize physicians for medical care nationally recognized as the standard of care. Consequences for Idaho Physicians providing the standard of care may include civil litigation and criminal prosecution, leading to jail time or fines.”The statement comes after Idaho enacted some of the strictest abortion restrictions in the country last year, including a provision that allows people the ability to sue a doctor who performs an abortion for up to five years.KIDS IN ‘GRAVE DANGER’ AFTER RED STATE JUDGE HALTS ABORTION PARENTAL CONSENT LAW: PRO-LIFE ACTIVIST A sign reading “My body, my Choice” hangs from a streetlight in front of the Idaho State Capitol on May 3, 2022. (Sarah A. Miller/Idaho Statesman via AP, File)That reality left Bonner General with little choice but to close their labor and delivery department, the hospital argued, with board president Ford Elsaesser saying they tried everything they could to avoid the outcome.”We have made every effort to avoid eliminating these services,” Elsaesser said in the post. “We hoped to be the exception, but our challenges are impossible to overcome now.”Patients who would have used Bonner General for labor and delivery will now have to drive to hospitals in Coeur d’Alene or Spokane, Washington, over 45 miles from Sandpoint. Idaho state Capitol building (Aaron P./Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)ND SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS INJUNCTION ON STATE’S PLAN TO OUTLAW MOST ABORTIONSBonner General also said the decision was made after the hospital struggled to maintain pediatrician coverage, which would have made it “unsafe and unethical to offer routine Labor and Delivery services.”The hospital also noted the changing demographics of the local area, pointing out that fewer babies are being born in the hospital every year.The hospital said it will attempt to continue labor and delivery services through May 19, though cautioned that meeting that goal would depend on their ability to staff the department. A group protests the Supreme Court’s decision in the Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health case on July 2, 2022, in Driggs, Idaho. (Natalie Behring/Getty Images)CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “The closure of obstetrics will not be an easy transition for our Bonner General Health teams or our community and surrounding area,” the hospital said.

Stanford Law School protesters faced criticism after heckling Trump-appointed U.S. Circuit Court Judge Kyle Duncan during an event on campus and for plastering the names and faces of campus Federalist Society members all over the school last week.Now they are demanding their names be redacted from a Washington Free Beacon report covering the incident, arguing that keeping their names public could invite “abuse and harassment.”Aaron Sibarium, a reporter for the Free Beacon, said not so fast.STANFORD LAW PROTESTERS DEMAND TO HAVE NAMES REDACTED FROM NEWS REPORTS: ‘NOT HOW THE FIRST AMENDMENT WORKS’ Tirien Steinbach, the Stanford University Law School associate dean of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, slams U.S. Circuit Court Judge Kyle Duncan during his presentation at the school as an invited guest on March 9, 2023. (Screenshot/ Vimeo – Ethics and Public Policy Center)”[Our] reaction was ‘no way. We’re not going to do that,'” he told Fox News’ Will Cain on Sunday. “For one reason, they just have no reasonable right or expectation of anonymity given that they were caught on tape and protesting in a highly public forum…”The other thing too is that they didn’t just shout down a sitting federal judge, they also posted the names and faces of every member of the Stanford Federalist Society, every board member who helped invite him,” he said. “They posted those names and faces around the school in a concerted effort to shame their peers and pressure them out of hosting the event.”NEW AUDIO OFFERS INSIGHT INTO STANFORD STUDENTS’ WILD DISRUPTION OF FEDERAL JUDGE: ‘YOU DON’T RESPECT US!’ A general view of the buildings of the Main Quadrangle and Hoover Tower on the campus of Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. (David Madison/Getty Images)Sibarium said Stanford National Lawyers Guild board member Lily Bou’s request to remove her name and the names of others came shortly after the Free Beacon published a report publicizing them.”Those exact students [who plastered conservative students’ names on campus] emailed me to say, ‘Oh, by naming us in the story, you’re ginning up harassment, so it’s really quite hypocritical,” Sibarium told Cain.He also tweeted last Thursday that a request from a Mary Cate Hickman demanded the face of a student in a red hoodie be “anonymize[d]” because “California is a two-party consent state.”NEW VIDEO SHOWS STANFORD PROTESTERS HECKLING FEDERAL JUDGE AS DEI DEAN APPEARS TO SMIRKHickman alleged the Free Beacon had no right to publish the student’s identity without consent.”It’s quite concerning. A key precondition of the rule of law is that the law applies equally to everyone… and yet, these students seem to think that the rules don’t apply to them.”He blasted the “double standard” of protesters demanding their names being revoked from reports while they sought to publicly shame their conservative counterparts for engaging in free expression by hosting Duncan at the on-campus event.”It’s antithetical to the rule of law. Pretty soon, I think that double standard is going to be more mainstream among lawyers and judges,” he said.CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Sunday there are no indications the White House is preparing for violent protests by Donald Trump supporters after the former president said he expects to be arrested this week.Trump called for protests in a social media post Saturday, claiming that “illegal leaks” from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office have led him to believe he will be arrested.Kirby addressed the situation during an appearance on “Fox News Sunday,” saying he wasn’t aware of any potential violence related to the former president’s call for protests.”We’re always monitoring the situation here as best we can,” Kirby said. “And we obviously don’t want to see any activity grow violent, certainly nothing to the extent that we saw on January 6, but we’re watching this. We’ll watch it of course, closely.  National Security Council spokesman John Kirby speaks during a press briefing at the White House, March 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci))PELOSI, DEMS CALLS TRUMP’S ARREST WARNING ‘RECKLESS,’ ACCUSE HIM OF FOMENTING ‘UNREST'”We want to see if there are protests of any kind about any issue or quite frankly, let alone this, that they’re peaceful,” he added.Asked whether he was worried about security, Kirby responded: “I’m not aware of any indications that we’re preparing for that kind of activity, specifically, with respect to those comments. But obviously, we work hand in glove with local and state authorities all around the country, and we’ll continue to watch this as best we can.”The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office is reportedly preparing to issue an indictment for alleged hush money payments that Trump made as a presidential candidate in 2016. Former President Donald Trump greets supporters during a visit to East Palestine, Ohio, following the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern freight train derailment, on Feb. 22, 2023. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images) Former President Donald Trump speaks at the East Palestine Fire Department in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 22, 2023. (Rebecca Droke/AFP via Getty Images)CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPTrump said on his Truth Social site Saturday morning that he expected to be arrested on Tuesday, writing in part, “PROTEST, TAKE OUR NATION BACK!” Critics accused Trump of inciting violence and compared his call to action to the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob of his supporters stormed the Capitol building and temporarily halted the certification of President Biden’s election victory.

JERUSALEM—Two of the world’s most authoritarian leaders – Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Syria’s Bashar Al-Assad, who are responsible for the 21st century’s bloodiest wars – met in the Kremlin Thursday to discuss an expansion of Moscow’s military presence in Syria. The pact between two of America’s top foes raises new questions about whether the Biden administration is in a defensive posture and rapidly losing its influence in a critical region of the world.”We think that expanding the Russian presence in Syria is a good thing,” Assad told Russia’s state-controlled news agency RIA in an interview. “Russia’s military presence in any country should not be based on anything temporary.” Russian President Vladimir Putin and Syrian President Bashar Assad meet at the Kremlin in Moscow, Wednesday, March 15, 2023. (Vladimir Gerdo, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)JOHN BOLTON WARNS US ‘SITTING STILL’ AS CHINA, RUSSIA ‘SHORE UP THEIR RELATIONS’When Putin intervened in the Syrian civil war in 2015, it helped tip the balance in Assad’s favor, ensuring the survival of the Syrian strongman despite Western demands that he be toppled. Assad has waged a war against his population, resulting in the killing of over 500,000 people, including the murder of Syrians with the use of chemical warfare.The prospective beefed up presence of Russian troops and military bases in Syria would present another challenge to the Biden administration’s Middle East policy. U.S. national security experts see China and Russia outmaneuvering the United States in a region where Washington has historically wielded great influence. Rebekah Koffler, a former analyst at the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, told Fox News Digital that Putin started to outmaneuver the U.S. in the Middle East with President Obama, when Biden was his vice president. “Putin tricked Obama and by proxy Biden into letting the Russians transfer chemical weapons out of Syria, back in 2013. Instead, the Russians saw an opening and seized the opportunity to build up its military presence, trying to tip the balance in the Middle East in Russia’s favor. Putin is building an anti-U.S. coalition: Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, Syria,” she noted.Koffler, who authored the book “Putin’s Playbook,” added that the Russian leader “wants the Biden administration to think that he can help with the Iran nuclear deal, a peace settlement in Syria, but in reality, Putin will not do anything that aligns with U.S. strategic interests, especially now that U.S. is backing Ukraine. U.S. and Russia’s security interests are diametrically opposed.”Fox News Digital reported this week that America’s three main adversaries – Russia, China and Iran – plan to hold combined naval military drills in the Gulf of Oman. Just over a week ago, China brokered a rapprochement deal between archenemies Saudi Arabia and the Iranians. Syrian President Bashar Assad reviews an honor guard during a welcome ceremony in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, March 14, 2023. (Sana via AP)CHINA DENIES HIDDEN MOTIVES AFTER BROKERING TALKS BETWEEN SAUDI ARABIA, IRANA spokesperson for the U.S. State Department told Fox News Digital, “The evidence on Russia is clear. No matter where they are involved militarily, local civilians pay the price for the Kremlin’s destructive playbook that kills civilians to the benefit of Putin. This is clear in Russia’s military campaigns in Syria, Libya and Ukraine, where they use military and paramilitary forces to exploit civilians in conflict zones to advance Moscow’s own selfish interests.”The spokesperson added, “Russia’s military campaign in Syria in support of the Assad regime has led to massive destruction, as well as the death or displacement of hundreds of thousands of civilians. These military operations undermine conditions for a political resolution to the Syrian conflict, and Russia has not exerted any real effort to induce meaningful changes in the Syrian government’s appalling behavior toward its own people. ” The State Department spokesperson stressed that “Russia’s focus should be on advancing a political resolution in Syria as outlined by U.N. Security Council Resolution 2254, rather than bringing more suffering to the Syrian people.” Resolution 2254, from eight years ago, outlines a peace process to stop the bloodshed in Syria.Michael Rubin, a senior fellow and Mideast expert at the American Enterprise Institute, told Fox News Digital, “Standing by allies matters. Russia stood by its ally without qualms. Not only will Assad reward Putin, but this move sends a signal to every other leader in the region. This isn’t just about Russia’s embrace of Syria. It’s about Russia’s courtship of Egypt and Saudi Arabia.”Rubin added, “We have to calibrate policy to that reality. The Syrian Kurds are allies and friends. If Turkey is backing Islamists proxies, and Russia is doubling down on Assad, we should double down on the Kurds. They are more progressive, able fighters, and want a pro-Western orientation. The question isn’t only what the United States should do but what it should not do.”Syria is a fragmented country, with territory controlled by Turkey, Syrian Kurds, Russia and Assad.Rubin said, “This confirms that Syria will not be unified. At best, with Turkey occupying a zone and now Russia doubling down, Syria will be the new 1990s-era Somalia, divided into zones of influence and governed by different local warlords.” Syrian refugees pose for a photograph after their tents flooded from the rain at a temporary refugee camp in the eastern Lebanese town of Al-Faour near the border with Syria. (AP)BLINKEN TRAVELS TO AFRICA AS NEW REPORT SHOWS CHINA, RUSSIA ECLIPSING US ARMS SALES TO CONTINENTRubin warned about the dangers of sending aid to Syria’s regime. “Any funding we give to international organizations under the guise of reconstruction aid to Syria will essentially reward a Russian proxy for mass murder. Money is fungible. What we give in the name of reconstruction essentially helps Assad and Putin build a base. The fact that Assad offers this shows where his priorities are. Let’s not be naïve,” he said.Assad delivered to Moscow a series of tangible rewards during his visit. Assad told Putin, “We believe that if Russia has the desire to expand bases or increase their number, it is a technical or logistical issue.””Having more bases in Syria is beneficial for Russia and Putin will likely accept the offer,” Koffler warned. “Since Russian and U.S.forces operate in proximity in Syria already, expanding Russia’s foothold in the region is giving Putin more leverage and the Russian forces more opportunities to collect intelligence on U.S. war fighting tactics, military hardware, etc. The Russians study U.S. ways of war thoroughly, in order to find vulnerabilities and develop counter-strategies.”Syria stood beside Russia on the issue of Ukraine, Assad said. “Because this is my first visit since the start of the special military operation in Ukraine, I would like to repeat the Syrian position in support of this special operation,” Assad told Putin, according to a Kremlin transcript.Syria recognizes the territories of Ukraine that Russia has seized as Russian, Assad said. “I say that these are Russian territories, and even if the war had not happened, these are historically Russian territories,” Assad told RIA. Syrian men walk between buildings destroyed by bombs in Aleppo, Syria, on Oct. 3, 2012. (AP Photo/Sana, File)CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Assad’s years as president have been defined by the conflict that began in 2011 with peaceful protests before spiraling into a multi-sided conflict that has fractured the Middle Eastern country and drawn in foreign friends and enemies.He has stitched much of his state back together with the help of Russia and Iran, aided by the fact that his allies were always more committed to his survival than his enemies were to his defeat.Alongside the Hmeimim air base, from which Russia launches air strikes in support of Assad, Moscow also controls the Tartus naval facility in Syria, its only naval foothold in the Mediterranean, in use since the days of the Soviet Union.Russia’s defense ministry said in January that Russia and Syria had restored the al-Jarrah military air base in Syria’s north to be jointly used. The small base east of Aleppo was recaptured from Islamic State fighters in 2017. Press queries sent to the Russian government were not returned.Reuters contributed to this report.

Winning the lottery can be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, except for one Virginia man who won hundreds of thousands of dollars in the Powerball twice in the same drawing this month.Ben Baker, of Covington, bought a total of 10 tickets for the March 4 Powerball drawing at his local Food Lion grocery store, according to the Virginia Lottery.Baker managed to match four of the winning numbers plus the Powerball number on two of his tickets for what normally would have been a $50,000 prize for each winning ticket.The winning numbers in that drawing were 10-16-18-40-66, and the Powerball number was 16, according to a press release issued by the Virginia Lottery on Friday.POWERBALL LOTTERY DRAWING: WINNERS CAN REMAIN ANONYMOUS IN THESE STATES Benjamin Baker, of Covington, Virginia, won $300,000 after matching four number plus the Powerball number on two tickets in the same drawing earlier this month. Baker, left, is pictured with Virginia Lottery Executive Director Kelly T. Gee. (Virginia Lottery)However, Baker had a little more luck on his side.Baker spent an extra dollar on each ticket for the Power Play, which tripled the winning prizes to $150,000 each, the lottery said. From the two winning tickets, Baker won a total of $300,000.Baker put it simply: “I was really lucky!”  Baker paid an extra dollar on each of his ten tickets for the Power Play, which tripled his winnings on each ticket. (iStock)He told the lottery that he intends to use some of his winnings to improve his home and save the rest. Powerball drawings are held at 10:59 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.  The winning numbers in that drawing were 10-16-18-40-66, and the Powerball number was 16,  (AP Photo/Ben Margot)The odds of matching all six numbers to win the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million, according to the lottery. The overall odds of winning any Powerball prize are 1 in 25. HOW TO UP YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING THE LOTTERY Earlier this month, a Michigan woman almost missed out on winning a $1 million Powerball prize.Ana Elizalde, 51, of Lansing, bought the ticket in February and gave it to her husband for safekeeping, she told the Michigan Lottery.”A week after the drawing my husband found the ticket in his coat pocket and realized we had never checked it,” Elizalde said. “We went to the store to scan it and got a message to file a claim. When we checked the numbers online and realized we’d won $1 million.”CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPElizalde told the lottery board she plans to use her Powerball Prize to pay bills, her children’s education and savings. Fox News’ Cortney Moore contributed to this report.

Women who choose to stay at home to care for their families and households are hardly unique to American society, but social media users today appear fascinated with “tradwives” (short for traditional wives) and the lifestyle content they’re creating for others.That fascination has shown itself largely through negative commentary.”Many [people have] questioned the tradwife philosophy and why any sentient being would adhere to it,” said Deborah Etienne, a content specialist from Boston. “Many others [have] deemed the trend alarming, frightening, creepy, a too-good-to-be-true alternative to life, a way to cheat your way out of hard work, a form of anti-worker activity similar to union busting and a ‘White supremacy’ concept,” Etienne also told Fox News Digital in an interview.MOM OF 12 KIDS, PREGNANT FOR 16 YEARS IN A ROW, SHARES STRONG MESSAGE OF FAITH: ‘CHILDREN ARE A BLESSING’But those who practice the tradwife lifestyle are pushing back on the critics. Said one tradwife from Virginia to Fox News Digital, “Honestly, I love this lifestyle. And I feel like I always wanted it.”Read on for more revelations about — and controversy connected to — today’s “tradwife” lifestyle.What is a ‘tradwife’?Tradwives, a newly coined term for traditional wives, is a subculture of housewives who believe in clear gender roles, the importance of homemaking and a patriarchal marriage, according to many women who self-identify as tradwives.Tradwives are women who honor femininity, care for their husbands, children and family, and value the state of their home more than they do a salary, yet are not subservient, according to the Darling Academy, a British website.”Though a traditional housewife may submit to her husband, she is not considered of lesser importance to him, or allows herself to be in a position that threatens her right,” says the group’s “What is a Trad Wife?” guide. “A traditional woman’s place is not under a man’s feet, but under his wing, by his side.”Over 152,000 mentions of ‘tradwife’ Etienne of Boston has been examining the rise of tradwife mentions on social media since 2022 for Brandwatch, a MarTech company that analyzes online public conversations.”Over the past year, there were more than 152,000 mentions of the term ‘tradwife’ on social media,” she told Fox News Digital.MORE COLLEGE-EDUCATED WOMEN ARE HAVING BABIES BEFORE MARRIAGE: STUDY The term tradwife grew in the last year and reportedly had its “largest conversation spike of more than 25,000 mentions” — a 128% increase in monthly conversation volume surrounding tradwives, said Etienne of Brandwatch data. From December 2021 to December 2022, the social media hashtag #tradwife reportedly received over 4.6 million impressions, according to Brandwatch.  (iStock)From December 2021 to December 2022, the social media hashtag #tradwife received over 4.6 million impressions, Brandwatch found.Yet 92.73% of searchers had a negative view of tradwives — while just 7.26% of searchers had a positive sentiment, according to Brandwatch data.Tradwives have been “pushing back” on this, said Etienne. They believe society could benefit from adopting elements of the tradwife lifestyle because “the most important duty is taking care of one’s children.” Tradwives view themselves as homemakers, with a family-first focus. (iStock)Online content about tradwives apparently “skyrocketed” after the COVID-19 pandemic as people used social media differently than before, according to Brandwatch.”Some social users expressed that platform algorithms are boosting both tradwives and sex work … instead of women workers fighting back for better rights,” Etienne said. “Many users questioned the tradwife philosophy and questioned why any sentient being would adhere to it.”

A California school board is suing Google, TikTok and Snapchat for causing unprecedented mental health consequences among young people.TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube – which is owned by Google – are purposefully designed to be addictive platforms that have “carefully cultivated” a mental health crisis among U.S. students, a Silicon Valley school board alleged in a recent lawsuit.Thus, the San Mateo County school board maintains, schools are left to handle the mental health implications.Psychotherapist and author Thomas Kersting told “Fox & Friends Weekend,” Sunday, that schools are now part-academic and part-mental health institutions because of an “overload” of students with mental health conditions — some likely caused or exacerbated by social media.YOUTUBE, TIKTOK AND SNAPCHAT SUED BY SILICON VALLEY SCHOOL BOARD FOR ‘MONETIZING MISERY’Public safety policy attorney Donte Mills joined the segment, telling co-host Joey Jones that, despite the dangerous stigma that has become synonymous with social media, the lawsuit will “be difficult to hold up in court.” It will be hard to prove that the companies knew their technology would be harmful upon release, Mills stressed. Person using TikTok. (CyberGuy.com)”These tech companies are definitely capitalizing off of it; they’re making a lot of money off of it,” said Mills. But, he said, “I don’t know if anybody truly understood what the impact of social media would be.”Mills said the Silicon Valley lawsuit would investigate social media companies’ internal documents and studies to prove they knew their products were harmful. The lawsuit also alleges that the tech companies acted with negligence, racketeering, public nuisance and violation of unfair competition law. CHINA CAN USE TIKTOK AS ‘PROPAGANDA’ TOOL, ‘ABSOLUTELY’ SHOULD BE BANNED, SEN. WARNER SAYS”Did they intentionally addict people even though they knew it would be harmful?” Mills posited. “That’s going to be hard to prove.” Nonetheless, Kersting said the move to file suit may be “one of the greatest messages” to take place that will “that will help households, schools and kids.”CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPKersting said school districts making moves like San Mateo County’s – including one in Seattle, which filed a similar lawsuit against the same three companies in January – are “exactly the type of actions that need to take place.” Fox News’ Jon Michael Raasch contributed to this report.