The European Union is preparing a new round of sanctions against Russia in retaliation for its ongoing conflict in Ukraine, signaling continued resolve as the war drags past its three-and-a-half-year mark.The announcement of the upcoming sanctions package, the 19th such round, comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meets with President Donald Trump at the White House to discuss prospects for ending the war. Zelenskyy, who will be flanked by key European leaders during his visit, has consistently endorsed coordinated Western sanctions as a vital tool against Russias economic war chest.ZELENSKYY HEADS INTO CRUCIAL TRUMP MEETING AS US WEIGHS SECURITY GUARANTEES FOR KYIV"As long as the bloodshed in Ukraine continues, Europe will maintain diplomatic and, in particular, economic pressure on Russia. We will continue to strengthen sanctions," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Sunday during a joint press conference with Zelenskyy."This package will be forthcoming in early September. We know that sanctions are effective. We have already put Russia's immobilized assets to work for the benefit of Ukraine, and we will continue to put pressure on Russia's war economy to bring President Putin to the negotiation table," she added.Zelenskyy thanked von der Leyen for the additional sanction measures, adding that "sanctions show we are serious."EUROPEAN LEADERS WILL JOIN TRUMP-ZELENSKYY MEETING, SIGNALING SOLIDARITY WITH UKRAINEFollowing waves of coordinated Western sanctions over its war in Ukraine, Russia has become the worlds most sanctioned nationmore economically isolated than any country in modern history.In 2024, Russia was the primary target of U.S. financial sanctions, with 1,706 Russian persons placed on the Treasury Departments Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons list. In addition, Russia drove the bulk of U.S. sanctions activity, making up 70% of new names added to the Treasurys blacklist.The EU's most recent package, which was announced in July, targeted Russia's energy revenues, banking sector, military industrial base, and tightened loopholes for sanctions evasion.In this round, the EU also blacklisted 444 vessels tied to the Kremlins so-called "ghost ships" a covert network of tankers that transport Russian oil around the world in defiance of G7 price caps and EU sanctions. The measure also imposed sanctions on more than 2,500 people.

Just as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Washington, D.C. to meet President Donald Trump at the White House, Russia routed his nation with airstrikes on Monday, killing 10.Seven people, including a toddler and a 16-year-old, were killed by a Russian drone strike on the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, according to local authorities.Ukrainian officials took the strikes as a message from Russian President Vladimir Putin that he has no intention to end the war."Thats why Putin doesnt want to cease fire," Andriy Yermak, Zelenskyys chief of staff, wrote on Telegram. "He enjoys shelling peaceful cities while talking about his desire to end the war."ZELENSKYY TO MEET WITH TRUMP IN WASHINGTON, DC FOLLOWING US-RUSSIA TALKSVideo footage of the aftermath released by local authorities shows a residential building where the upper levels collapsed, with firefighters hosing it down as smoke rises from the rubble.A partially blurred photo released by Ukraines emergency services appeared to show a firefighter holding the limp body of a child.Ihor Terekhov, the mayor of Kharkiv, wrote on Telegraph that he believed the attack on the residential building was "deliberate.""Five enemy Shaheds approached it from different directions and targeted people who were peacefully sleeping at five in the morning," he said, referring to armed drones.At least three others were killed in an attack in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, and nearly 20 people injured, local authorities said.Zelenskyy addressed the Monday bombings at the start of his meeting with Trump, noting a one-and-a-half-year-old had been killed.AMERICAN CITIZEN KILLED IN RUSSIAN ATTACK ON KYIV, STATE DEPARTMENT CONFIRMS"We need to stop this war, to stop Russia. And we need support, American and European partners. We will do our best for this," Zelenskyy said.Russia had made gains in Ukraines easternDonetsk region ahead of Putins summit with Trump in Alaska, in a movement onlookers believed was designed to gain territorial leverage ahead of high-stakes negotiations.But since at least the start of this month, Russia has seemingly reduced the number of drones and missiles it fires towards Ukrainian cities each night.Trump, ahead of his meeting with Putin, had said he would be "unhappy" if the Russian leader did not agree to a ceasefire.And while Putin did not appear to agree to a ceasefire at that meeting, Trump touted the meeting as a win and said the pair had reached agreement on a number of issues.A United Nations report found that between December 2024 and May 2025 1,000 civilians in Ukraine, including Russian-occupied areas, had been killed.

Former Attorney General Bill Barr told House investigators on Monday that he never saw anything that could tie President Donald Trump to Jeffrey Epstein's sordid crimes, Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said."He said that he had never seen anything that would implicate President Trump in any of this, and that he believed if there had been anything pertaining to President Trump with respect to the Epstein list, that he felt like the Biden administration would probably have leaked it out," Comer told reporters partway through Barr's testimony.The ex-Trump administration official is the first person to appear in the House Oversight Committee's probe into the federal government's handling of Epstein's case.Like others subpoenaed to testify after him, Barr's deposition is being conducted behind closed doors.HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE VOTED IN FAVOR OF SUBPOENAING BILL AND HILLARY CLINTON OVER GHISLAINE MAXWELL CONNECTIONComer said Barr told investigators that he "didn't know anything about a client list," and did not have conversations with Trump about such a list."Barr said he's never seen any information that showed that he was in the files, and that he would be shocked if there was anything pertaining to President Trump that was negative that the Biden administration wouldn't have leaked out prior to the presidential election," Comer said.Democrats who were in the room for the first two hours of Barr's deposition were much more vague about what went on, but they accused Republicans of taking too soft an approach."I have more questions now than I did before going in," Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, D-Va., told reporters before Comer's remarks. "Just generally, though, I think the Democratic side is doing most of the heavy lifting. I don't think we're learning much from the questioning from the House Republicans."SCHUMER CLAIMS TRUMP ADMIN WITHHOLDING EPSTEIN FILES, THREATENS TO SUEComer said when asked about those comments, "I think it's unfortunate that the Democrats are trying to, seems to me, politicize this."Barr served as attorney general from Feb. 2019 through Dec. 2020, during Trump's first administration. It was his second stint leading the Department of Justice (DOJ) after first holding the job under former President George H.W. Bush.Barr notably led the DOJ when Epstein died by suicide in Aug. 2019 while awaiting trial in a New York City jail.He said days later at a Fraternal Order of Police event in New Orleans that he was "appalled" and "angry" at what he said was the facility's "failure to adequately secure this prisoner."Barr told the Associated Press later that year that he was personally involved in investigating Epstein's death, specifically that he reviewed security footage from that night that he said showed no one entering the cell the night the late pedophile died.He eventually concluded Epstein did die by suicide, Barr told the outlet, owing to "a perfect storm of screw-ups" at the jail.When asked if Barr told as much to House investigators on Monday, Comer declined to "speak for" the former attorney general but added he believed the "general consensus" was that Epstein killed himself with no external foul play.Barr's testimony is part of a wider bipartisan investigation into the handling of Epstein's case, which has also reached several former attorneys general, FBI directors, and former first couple Bill and Hillary Clinton.

Lawmakers are watching President Donald Trumps meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy closely and are ready to pounce with hard-hitting sanctions against Moscow if need be.Trump, Zelenskyy and a slew of European leaders are set to meet at the White House on Monday, just days after the presidents summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska.How that meeting went depends on what side of the aisle lawmakers are on, with Republicans lauding Trump for seeking a diplomatic end to the war, while Democrats accused the president of legitimizing Putin and giving him a grand stage.DEMOCRATS DOUBT TRUMP WILL SECURE UKRAINE CEASE-FIRE IN ALASKA SUMMIT WITH PUTINSenate Majority Whip John Barrasso, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told Fox News Digital in a statement that "America's strength and leadership" was on full display under Trump."European nations are also stepping up to join us in this show of strength to Vladimir Putin," the Wyoming Republican said. "The killing needs to stop. A longstanding, verifiable peace between Ukraine and Russia is going to be good for Ukraine, Russia, Europe, and the United States."But some lawmakers agree that, should a deal not be reached, crippling sanctions are the next best step.'GAME CHANGER': BIPARTISAN SENATORS GUNNING FOR RUSSIA SANCTIONS READY TO GIVE TRUMP RUNWAYSenate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., commended Trump for "dogged determination" to find a peaceful end to the war, and to engage with "all parties in a way his predecessor refused to do." But, he signaled that the Senate was standing by to hit Moscow with sanctions if needed."As peace talks continue today in Washington, the U.S. Senate stands ready to provide President Trump any economic leverage needed to keep Russia at the table to negotiate a just and lasting peace in Ukraine," Thune said on X.Last month, Trump declared that Putin would have a 50-day deadline to reach a ceasefire agreement, which the president recently shortened to "10 or 12" days. While no such immediate agreement appeared to be reached between the two leaders, the Trump administration said that the Russian leader agreed to security agreements for Ukraine.ZELENSKYY HEADS INTO CRUCIAL TRUMP MEETING AS US WEIGHS SECURITY GUARANTEES FOR KYIVStill, Senate Democrats were not satisfied with the end of the meeting and ahead of Trumps second high-stakes summit with Zelenskyy and demanded that Congress move ahead with a sanctions package.Sen. Jean Shaheen, the top ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said if Trump doesnt act, "Congress must do so decisively by passing crushing sanctions when we return in the coming weeks.""I will also continue to press for my bipartisan legislation to bolster Ukraines defense and negotiating position with additional security assistance and my bipartisan bill to go after Russias enablers in China," the New Hampshire Democrat said. "There is no appetite in Congress to entertain a relationship with Russia while Putin continues to kidnap Ukrainian children and murder innocent civilians."And as for the meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy, lawmakers wanted to see a path toward peace."The interests of the American people should come first, and that means finding a path to a negotiated peace," Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "Peace is also in the best interests of the Ukrainian people, who have been unjustly used as pawns in a proxy war even as they heroically resisted Russian aggression. One way or another, Americans should not send one dollar more to prolong this disastrous conflict."And Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said in a statement to Fox News Digital that he was "glad that President Trump is engaging directly with President Zelenskyy and European leaders at the White House today to discuss Russias war in Ukraine.""Any decisions regarding next steps must involve these key leaders they cant be dictated by Putins bloodthirsty regime," he said.

President Donald Trump said that his meeting at the White House Monday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy isnt a last attempt to help Ukraine secure a peace deal ending its war with Russia."I can never say that. It's never the end of the road," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office Monday. "People are being killed and we want to stop that. So I would not say it's the end of the road. No, I think we have a good chance of doing it now. It's been almost four years now that, a lot of people were killed last week, a lot of people last week. I mean, millions of people killed, but a lot of people last week, for whatever reason, a big number, a lot of soldiers, both on both sides. And, I know the president. I know myself, and I believe Vladimir Putin wants to see it ended."Trump's comments come days after he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, Friday.Zelenskyy, who hasn't visited the White House since February, is joined by other European leaders who have supported Ukraine. Leaders also in Washington include British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.This is a breaking news story and will be updated.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. On the heels of another fatal shooting in New York City, Mayor Eric Adams told Fox News Digital that he isn't worried about federal intervention in the New York City Police Department (NYPD).On Monday morning, Adams announced an expansion across Staten Island of the NYPD's Quality of Life Division, a program that aims to clean up homeless encampments, address outdoor drug use and respond to noise complaints, among other public safety-related issues.The announcement was made one day after a fatal shooting in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Adams confirmed on Monday that 14 victims have now been identified, including three fatalities.Adams told Fox News Digital that his announcement on Monday had no correlation to President Donald Trump's ongoing crime crackdown in Washington, D.C.NYC MAYOR WARNS PROTESTERS AGAINST SABOTAGING ICE RAIDS, VOWS NYPD WILL PROTECT FEDERAL AGENTSTrump moved to federalize the Metropolitan Police Department last week, sending hundreds of National Guard troops and federal agents to Washington, D.C., to fight crime and "beautify" the city."As we indicated over and over again, we got this," Adams said of New York City's ability to fight crime without the federal government's involvement. "Our numbers speak for themselves."BLUE CITY MAYOR VOWS 'NO TOLERANCE' FOR ANTI-ICE VIOLENCE AS LA RIOTS ERUPT: 'UNACCEPTABLE'The NYPD touted record-low shootings and murders during the first five months of the year, calling May the "safest in recorded history for shootings and murders."Despite those statistics, a Midtown Manhattan shooting shocked the city last month when four people were killed.Adams said on Monday that New York City does need "assistance on the federal level to deal with the flow of illegal guns onto our streets."And he lamented that when a "person who drives across the country and creates havoc with an illegal gun," like the suspect in the Midtown shooting, it "really hurts these inner cities."But Adams remained confident, telling Fox News Digital that, "Our numbers are clear. We're willing to share what we're doing successfully here with other cities, and we've done that before."The mayor, who is running for re-election as an independent candidate, said the city knows how to collaborate with federal authorities and "New Yorkers are handling the crime crisis.""We are an example of what all cities can do, but we're not responding to some of the things that we're reading about this," Adams said, referencing Trump's crime crackdown in the nation's capital.The NYPD launched its Quality of Life Division, or Q-Teams, on April 14. Adams and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said those teams have made "significant improvements to New Yorkers' quality-of-life concerns."Several Staten Islanders who attended Monday morning's announcement confronted Adams with complaints about their quality of life.One woman told Adams that the floors in her apartment building had not been mopped, the garbage had not been picked up, elevators did not work, and she did not have hot water in her building on Monday morning.Adams told the residents to form a tenants' association and promised to set up a meeting with them to discuss the issues impacting their community.

A federal judge is set to decide this week if President Donald Trump's appointee Alina Habba is the rightful acting U.S. attorney in New Jersey after the president sidestepped the Senate confirmation process to keep Habba in the job.Judge Matthew Brann did not indicate how he would rule during a hearing on Friday, but he said he would make his decision by the middle of this week.Brann, an Obama appointee serving in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, is presiding over the matter after the chief judge of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers New Jersey and Pennsylvania, decided the case presented too much of a conflict for the New Jersey judges.TRUMP EXPLOITS LOOPHOLES TO KEEP HABBA IN US ATTORNEY ROLE, TRIGGERING COURT CLASHThe fight over Habba's authority was brought by a criminal defendant named Julien Giraud Jr., who is facing routine drug and gun charges in New Jersey.After Trump appointed Habba, the president's former personal defense attorney, as acting U.S. attorney, Giraud's attorney alleged that the move violated his client's constitutional rights because of the string of unusual moves it took to attempt to re-install Habba to the role.Habba, who does not have a clear path to Senate confirmation, was serving in the meantime as the interim U.S. attorney, which carries a 120-day tenure.New Jersey's federal judges, in an unusual move, decided against extending her term and instead appointed career attorney Desiree Grace to the job. Trump fired Grace, withdrew Habba's nomination as permanent U.S. attorney and then reinstated Habba as acting U.S. attorney, which keeps Habba in charge for at least another 210 days under federal statute.TRUMP STANDS BY ALINA HABBA AS DOJ CLASHES WITH JUDGES OVER HER REPLACEMENT"It goes completely against what the statute is meant to protect," Giraud's attorney argued in court on Friday, according to the New Jersey Monitor.The DOJ argued that the president and Attorney General Pam Bondi followed all the proper protocols under federal vacancy laws to keep Habba in charge."The Girauds invent a requirement that, to serve as an Acting officer one must already be the first assistant to that office when the vacancy arises," DOJ attorneys wrote in court papers. "That is dead wrong textually; it makes no sense practically; and it relies on a mistaken premise."The case comes as Trump has also made similar unconventional maneuvers in other blue states, including California and New York, because, like Habba, his appointees for those states have no clear path to Senate confirmation.Lawmakers and outside groups have also weighed in on Habba's appointment. The Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of New Jersey said in an amicus brief ahead of the hearing that Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi violated the Appointments Clause of the Constitution with their "novel" orders on Habba."To circumvent the laws that Congress passed to govern the appointment of U.S. Attorneys, the Attorney General did something unprecedented," the group wrote.They laid out how Bondi made Habba a "special attorney" before designating her as the office's "first assistant," the position previously held by Grace, which Bondi maintains allows her to deem Habba the acting U.S. attorney under the federal vacancy laws."To our knowledge, no prior Attorney General has ever attempted this," the group said.

President Donald Trump said Monday that the remaining Israeli hostages will only be returned once Hamas is "confronted and destroyed," as the Gaza-based terrorist group cited alleged progress in ongoing ceasefire talks.The U.S. and Israel pulled their negotiators from Qatar last month, with Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff saying at the time that Hamas demonstrated a "lack of desire to reach a ceasefire in Gaza" and were likely not negotiating in good faith."We will only see the return of the remaining hostages when Hamas is confronted and destroyed!!!" Trump wrote on TRUTH Social on Monday morning."The sooner this takes place, the better the chances of success will be," Trump wrote. "Remember, I was the one who negotiated and got hundreds of hostages freed and released into Israel (and America!). I was the one who ended 6 wars, in just 6 months. I was the one who OBLITERATED Irans Nuclear facilities. Play to WIN, or dont play at all! Thank you for your attention to this matter!"US-BACKED GAZA AID GROUP LAUNCHES RESERVATION SYSTEM AFTER TRUMP CALLS FOR INNOVATION IN WARZONE DELIVERIESThe message came ahead of Trump's meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders at the White House on Monday as they try to iron out a separate peace deal with Russia.Meanwhile, in the Middle East, the Iran-backed Hamas said Monday it has accepted a new proposal from Arab mediators for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip that would still need Israels approval.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in response that Hamas is under "enormous pressure" after Israel announced plans to reoccupy Gaza City and other heavily populated areas after ceasefire negotiations again stalled in Qatar last month."I hear the media reports and from them, you can draw one conclusion: Hamas is under enormous pressure," Netanyahu said in a Hebrew video statement translated by Fox News.Netanyahu also said on Monday he visited the Gaza Division, where he met with the senior Israeli Defense Forces command staff, and expressed "tremendous appreciation for thegreatachievements of the IDF in the War of Rebirth the war on seven fronts." The prime minister said he was "deeply impressed by the fighting spirit and determination to complete the defeat of Hamas and to bring about the release of all our hostages."He said he also spoke to the defense minister and chief of staff "about our plans regarding Gaza City and the completion of our missions."US ENVOY NEARS LEBANON-ISRAEL CEASEFIRE THAT WOULD DISARM HEZBOLLAH TERROR GROUPA diplomat briefed on the negotiations with Hamas told Fox News that "through pressure on Hamas to accept, Qatari and Egyptian mediators secured a breakthrough that preserves 98% of the Witkoff proposal, which the Israeli side had previously agreed to.""The mediators were able to secure this outcome despite recent events and developments moving toward further escalation," the diplomat said. "This step marks the beginning of the road to a comprehensive solution."Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said mediators are "exerting extensive efforts" to revive a U.S. proposal for a 60-day ceasefire, during which some hostages would be released and the sides would negotiate a lasting ceasefire and the return of the rest. He spoke during a visit to Egypts Rafah crossing with Gaza, which has not functioned since Israel seized the Palestinian side in May 2024. He was accompanied by Mohammad Mustafa, the prime minister of the Palestinian Authority.Abdelatty said Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani had joined the talks, which include senior Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya, who arrived in Cairo last week. He said they are open to other ideas, including a comprehensive deal that would release all the hostages at once.Bassem Naim, a senior Hamas official, later told the Associated Press that the terrorist group had accepted the proposal introduced by the mediators, without elaborating.An Egyptian official, speaking to the AP on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive talks, said the proposal includes changes to Israels pullback of its forces and guarantees for negotiations on a lasting ceasefire during the initial truce. The official said it is almost identical to an earlier proposal accepted by Israel, which has not yet joined the latest talks.Netanyahu has vowed to continue the war until all the hostages are returned and Hamas has been disarmed, and to maintain lasting security control over Gaza.Hamas has said it will only release the remaining hostages in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal.Fox News' Yonat Friling and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Judges for the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Louisiana's request to allow it to enforce its long-stalled congressional redistricting map, delivering a near-term blow to Republicans in the state by ruling that it amounts to an unconstitutional racial gerrymander.All three judges on the bench voted to uphold a lower court's ruling that the map in question originally passed by Louisiana's Republican-majority legislature in 2022 violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by diluting the votes of Black residents in the state.They also affirmed the district court's ruling that the map in question violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by, "'packing' Black voters into a small number of majority-Black districts, and cracking other Black communities across multiple districts, thereby depriving them of the opportunity to form effective voting blocs."Judges on the panel also rejected the state's contention that conditions in Louisiana have changed enough to render race-conscious remedies obsolete.SUPREME COURT HEARS PIVOTAL LOUISIANA ELECTION MAP CASE AHEAD OF 2026 MIDTERMS"There is no legal basis for this proposition, and the state offers no evidence that conditions in Louisiana have changed" enough to negate that need, the court said in its ruling.One judge on the panel issued a stay before the courts ruling could take force, though the issue is something of a moot point, since the Supreme Court, which is also reviewing the map, had already done so earlier this year.The ruling from the Fifth Circuit, which has a reputation as one of the more conservative appeals courts, is a victory in the near term for the ACLU and other plaintiffs who sued to block the state's map from taking force.Still, any relief for plaintiffs from the appeals court ruling is likely to be short-lived.The Supreme Court in March heard oral arguments in Louisiana v. Callais, which also centers on the legality of Louisiana's redistricting map and whether race should be considered a factor in drawing new congressional districts.Oral arguments then 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 the appellees alleged.The Supreme Court in June said it would hear additional arguments in the case in the fall term, citing the need for more information before it could issue a ruling.SUPREME COURT DECLINES TO BLOCK MISSISSIPPI SOCIAL MEDIA AGE-RESTRICTION LAW, FOR NOWEarlier this month, justices ordered both parties to file supplemental briefs by mid-September, outlining in further detail arguments for and against Louisiana's proposed map and whether the intentional creation of a second majority-Black congressional district "violates the Fourteenth or Fifteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution."The careful consideration from the Supreme Court is the clearest sign yet that redistricting issues remain top of mind in the run-up to the 2026 midterm elections and beyond.It also comes at a pivotal time in the U.S., as new and politically charged redistricting fights have popped up in other states ahead of next year's midterm elections.Louisiana, for its part, has revised its congressional map twice since the 2020 census.BRAZENLY UNLAWFUL: DC OFFICIALS ESCALATE FIGHT WITH TRUMP OVER POLICE TAKEOVERThe 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. But it 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 their 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."The intense court fights in Louisiana underscore the broader redistricting battles playing out in Republican- and Democrat-led states across the country, as they spar over new congressional maps with an eye to the looming midterm elections.In Texas, tensions reached a fever pitch after Democratic state legislators fled the Lone Star State to block Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's ability to convene a legislative quorum to pass the state's aggressive new redistricting map, which would create five additional Republican-leaning districts.In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom responded by introducing a new map of his own that favors Democrats.The move highlights how both parties are engaged in aggressive redistricting battles, with Republican-led states pushing maps to defend the GOPs slim House majority and Democrats seeking to expand their own advantages. As with most midterms following a new presidents election, 2026 is expected to serve as a referendum on the White House raising GOP concerns that they could lose control of the chamber.AFTER STINGING ELECTION DEFEATS, DNC EYES RURAL VOTERS AS KEY TO 2026 MIDTERM SUCCESSNew York Gov. Kathy Hochul, for her part, vowed at a press conference earlier this month to explore "every option" in redrawing state lines."We are at war," Hochul said, speaking alongside the Texas Democrats who fled to her state.

An American tourist was seriously injured after being attacked by a shark during a spearfishing trip in the Bahamas over the weekend, according to local reports.The Royal Bahamas Police Force said in a Facebook post that the incident occurred shortly after 1 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 17, near Big Grand Cay, located on the island of Abaco.The 63-year-old victim was initially treated at a nearby clinic before being airlifted to the United States for further medical care. Authorities have not released additional details.While shark attacks in the Bahamas are rare, the country has one of the worlds highest rates relative to its population.'SHARKS WONT DO ANYTHING TO YOU': FLORIDA SPEARFISHERMAN ATTACKED BY SHARK MINUTES AFTER REASSURING FAMILYThe International Shark Attack File, a global database tracking shark-related incidents, reports that there have been only 34 confirmed unprovoked attacks in the Bahamas over the past four centuries, ranking it ninth among nations monitored.This latest incident follows several recent attacks on U.S. tourists.SHARK BITES BEACH FISHERMAN WHO DRAGGED THRASHING PREDATOR BACK TO WATER AFTER CATCHEarlier this year, two Americans were hurt in a suspected shark attack while swimming at Bimini Bay, a well-known resort area about 50 miles from Miami.In December 2023, 44-year-old newlywed Lauren Erickson Van Wart of Massachusetts was fatally bitten while paddleboarding near the western end of New Providence Island in the Bahamas.TWO SHARK ATTACKS REPORTED IN SEPARATE VACATION HOTSPOTS AS SUMMER BEACH SEASON STARTSA month later, a 10-year-old boy from Maryland was bitten in the leg during a shark tank experience at a Paradise Island resort. The boy was taken to hospital and survived the attack.The U.S. State Department has also warned travelers of shark-related risks in the region.In March, it issued a Level 2 travel advisory for the Bahamas, urging Americans to "exercise increased caution," particularly due to shark-related risks."Stay alert for sharks. Shark attacks have led to serious injuries and death," the advisory warned.