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NASA chief pulls back curtain on Trump UFO files after bizarre finds surface in buried fed records

Released files include infrared footage, Apollo-era astronaut accounts and military pilot testimony from combat zones

2026-05-27 12:20pm EDT / Fox News

By Ashley J. DiMella Fox News

Published May 27, 2026 12:20pm EDT

NASA chief Jared Isaacman says no alien bodies found but some sightings defy explanation

NASA administrator Jared Isaacman says declassified UAP files show real unexplained phenomena but no alien bodies or crashed ships have been found. (Credit: Nicholas Ballasy for Fox News Digital)

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NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said the Trump administration’s newly declassified UAP files are exposing years of strange aerial sightings that government agencies failed to seriously dig into — even if the records do not point to recovered alien remains or ships.

“What’s being surfaced isn’t crashed ships or alien bodies, but real unexplained phenomena,” Isaacman told Fox News Digital in an interview Friday.

The disclosures come after the Trump administration released two waves of declassified UAP files as part of a broader transparency effort directing agencies to search internal databases for decades-old reports involving unexplained aerial activity after years of public skepticism surrounding government secrecy and UFO investigations. Officials say additional file releases from agencies including the CIA could soon follow.

TRUMP ADMIN RELEASES HIGHLY ANTICIPATED FILES DOCUMENTING UFOS, ‘EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFE’

The ongoing release of declassified files is part of Trump’s Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters (PURSUE) program, which made a second batch of documents public on Friday.(Getty Images Creatives)

Isaacman framed the disclosures less as proof of extraterrestrial life than as a public test of unexplained evidence, saying modern cameras, military sensors and newly released government records are giving Americans more material to examine than ever before.

“Everybody’s got a camera phone, a doorbell camera. Every military aircraft flying has a million sensors,” Isaacman said. “You’re gonna pick up things. Pick up things that flew at a different angle, you know, across the lens that maybe if you had a better angle on, you’d be like, oh, that’s a balloon, or that might be a missile in a combat region. But because we caught it at an angle, it’s an unexplained phenomenon.”

Isaacman said the biggest surprise was not evidence of extraterrestrials, but how little attention federal agencies had historically given to unexplained aerial records, calling the renewed disclosure effort under the Trump administration “citizen science.”

UFO INSIDER CLAIMS US HAS BODIES OF 4 DIFFERENT ALIEN SPECIES FROM DOWNED SPACECRAFT IN GOVERNMENT CUSTODY

The newly surfaced material includes infrared footage from 2023 that appears to show a U.S. F-16 shooting down a diamond-shaped object over Lake Huron.(US Department of War via Getty Images)

“Government agencies really didn’t take this quite as seriously in the past until President Trump put out the tweet, basically giving an order to government agencies and going out and saying, look, this time you better go through the files, you better start searching your databases and bring things up,” said Isaacman.

“I think the president has really got government agencies now taking this seriously, to go look at the files and bring the data to light, and he’s putting it all out for everyone to analyze,” he added. “This is citizen science right now. Take a look at our files, tell us what you think.”

The newly surfaced material includes infrared footage from 2023 that appears to show a U.S. F-16 shooting down a diamond-shaped object over Lake Huron, along with reports documenting unexplained aerial objects spotted near military operations in Iran, Syria, Iraq, Greece and other parts of the Middle East. The records also include astronaut and NASA-related accounts from the Apollo and Gemini eras describing strange lights and unidentified objects observed in space.

UFO EXPERT SAYS TRUMP’S DECLASSIFICATION COULD EXPOSE POSSIBLE ‘COVER-UP’ SPANNING DECADES

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Trump administration is directing agencies to revisit long-buried UAP records in the name of transparency, while Isaacman said additional “big file tranches” from intelligence agencies could soon become public.

“I think the president has really got government agencies now taking this seriously, to go look at the files and bring the data to light, and he’s putting it all out for everyone to analyze,” said Isaacman.(Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images, Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

“There’s nothing I’m aware of in terms of alien bodies or spaceships,” Isaacman said. “But observations from decades past — from some of our adversaries and potentially some of our allies — essentially saying, ‘We saw something, we documented it, and we kept it buried in a file somewhere,’ are now being made public.”

The documents also contain testimony from intelligence officers and military pilots who said they could not explain encounters they witnessed during operations and training exercises.

Isaacman said he personally believes life likely exists elsewhere in the universe and argued that searching for it remains central to NASA’s long-term mission.

“I think if we go and bring samples back from Mars, you’ve got better than a 90% chance of former microbial life,” he said.

DECLASSIFIED APOLLO MISSION UFO FILES CHALLENGE LONG-RUNNING MOON LANDING CONSPIRACY THEORIES

Isaacman also pointed to Saturn’s moon Titan and Jupiter’s moon Europa as locations scientists believe may contain conditions capable of supporting microbial life or biosignatures — chemical indicators associated with living organisms.

Officials say additional UFO and UAP files will continue to be released in future batches as part of the administration’s ongoing disclosure effort.(Guvendemir/Getty Images)

“Things that could indicate perhaps that there was microbial life there or some other form there of which it changes the whole equation from surely there is life out there somewhere to what if it’s everywhere,” said Isaacman.

Isaacman also argued that broader public disclosure could help reduce skepticism at a time when advances in artificial intelligence and digital manipulation are making it increasingly difficult for people to distinguish authentic footage from fabricated material.

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“I would say that some of the most interesting data that NASA has provided as part of the UAP disclosure was taken on the surface of the moon from Apollo 12 and 17,” he said. “You can’t be a moon landing denier and also believe that those photos captured unexplained phenomenon.”

Officials say additional UFO and UAP files will continue to be released in future batches as part of the administration’s ongoing disclosure effort.

Ashley J. DiMella reports on politics for Fox News Digital.

Trump’s domestic shipping waiver has not cut gasoline prices by much, data shows

2026-05-27T16:01:31.619Z / Reuters

Waiver’s limited use due to high freight rates and small volumes moved, data shows
California received most shipments, but overall effect on US gasoline prices likely minimal
Jones Act vessel could also reroute to international markets, limiting ship availability

HOUSTON, May 27(Reuters) – President Donald Trump’s waivers allowing foreign-flagged ships to move oil and fuel between U.S. ports have had little impact ​on high domestic gasoline prices due to elevated shipping rates and the relatively small fuel volumes transported so far, a Reuters analysis found.

In March, Trump issued a ‌waiver to the Jones Act, a century-old law that requires shippers to use vessels built, owned and crewed by Americans to transport commodities between U.S. ports.

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The policy, aimed at supporting the domestic maritime industry and national security, has also resulted in higher shipping costs within the U.S.

Trump waived the act to facilitate fuel transport around the U.S. coastline, primarily from Gulf Coast refiners to the East and West coasts, regions that rely on imports due to insufficient local ​refineries and pipeline connections to meet demand. The waiver represents the broadest suspension of the Jones Act in its history and offers a real-world test of whether easing the ​restrictions can reduce fuel transportation costs.

Gasoline prices have spiked higher since the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran began in late February, and the waiver is one of several ⁠measures Trump has taken to try to control fuel prices, which are feeding inflation. Pain at the pump could hurt Republicans campaigning to retain control of Congress in November’s midterm elections.

National gasoline prices averaged $4.49 ​per gallon on Tuesday, according to AAA, compared to under $3 before the war. California prices averaged $6.11 per gallon.

“This waiver is not delivering on what (Trump) was told it would do: lower prices at the ​pump, and materially increase the flow of product across the country,” said Jennifer Carpenter, president of the pro-Jones Act group American Maritime Partnership.

The White House said data compiled since the initial Jones Act waiver showed that significantly more supply was able to reach U.S. ports faster. Administration officials are pleased with the waiver’s results and have told the oil industry they are open to future extensions if conditions require it, two sources said.

During the first ​two months of the waiver, refiners including Valero
VLO.N
and Phillips 66
PSX.N
used the exemption about 50 times, moving 2.6 million barrels of crude and 7.5 million barrels of gasoline, diesel and jet ​fuel, federal data showed.

Those volumes were only a fraction of daily U.S. consumption, and rates for available foreign-flagged tankers were high because many ships were trapped inside the Strait of Hormuz.

“Freight rates are much, much higher than they typically ‌would be,” ⁠said Ryan Kellogg, an energy policy professor at the University of Chicago. “International vessels were just really hard to get.”

Jones Act critics say the law creates inefficiencies and that the use of international ships under the waiver signals demand for more tankers.

“The fact that waivers have been used 50 times to move energy suggests that this was the best option, and if this didn’t exist, a more expensive, costlier option would have had to be used,” said Colin Grabow at the conservative think tank Cato Institute, which has long called for the law to be repealed.

California, the nation’s top oil ​and fuel importer, received over 60% of gasoline ​and blendstock cargoes moved under the waivers — about ⁠3 million barrels, or 2.1 million gallons a day. That is roughly just 6% of the 36 million gallons Californians consume daily.

Foreign vessels also carried gasoline to Alaska, Florida, South Carolina and Oregon, data showed. Combined, shipments totaled about 84,000 barrels per day, a fraction of the 8.75 million barrels consumed daily ​nationwide.

Shipping on an international vessel from the U.S. Gulf Coast to the West Coast would have saved about 6.6 cents a gallon, or ​1% of California’s current ⁠prices, compared with a Jones Act tanker, according to price reporting firm Argus. On the East Coast, high demand for foreign ships to Asia meant it was actually cheaper to ship on a Jones Act tanker.

As international tanker rates fall, companies are likely to use the waivers more in coming weeks, industry experts said.

The waiver also appeared to reshape shipping patterns, raising concerns about tight U.S. tanker markets. At least one U.S. ⁠tanker shipped ​Alaskan crude to South Korea in April, its first recorded international voyage since 2014. Valero recently sought a Jones Act ​tanker to move fuel to Mexico, two sources said.

Industry sources said that could be an unintended consequence of the waiver: If foreign vessels undercut domestic routes, more U.S. ships could pursue international business, straining domestic tanker availability. Tax uncertainty over waiver voyages ​also deterred companies from chartering foreign tankers for U.S. routes, a shipping source said.

Reporting by Arathy Somasekhar in Houston, Jarrett Renshaw, additional reporting by Shariq Khan in New York; Editing by David Gregorio

Breaking down Democrats’ chances to beat Ken Paxton in Texas

2026-05-27T17:45:54.004Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/27/politics/breaking-down-democrats-chances-to-beat-ken-paxton-in-texas

It’s a question that has been asked for a very long time now: Can Democrats finally end their decadeslong statewide losing streak in Texas?

And every few years, the answer comes back the same: No. Lucy has yanked the football away, yet again. Texas Democrats still haven’t won a statewide race since 1994 or a Senate race since 1988, the year before James Talarico was born.

But it’s a question that’s clearly legitimate in 2026. That’s because Democrats got their coveted opponent in the state’s US Senate race: the baggage-ridden Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton. (Paxton drubbed Sen. John Cornyn in a runoff Tuesday after a late endorsement from President Donald Trump.)

“I got a message to Republicans in Texas and nationwide: Do not take this general election for granted,” GOP Sen. Ted Cruz said on a new episode of his podcast. “It is easy to say it’s Texas, it’s red, we’re going to win — and I believe we are going to win — but I also think the Democrat nominee James Talarico is a dangerous candidate.”

Indeed, the data suggest Democrats’ chances are as good as — or better than — ever in the last three decades. History and logic suggest it’s still worth being circumspect.

First, the basics.

The case for Paxton being a problematic candidate for Republicans is self-evident, while the case for Talarico being a strong candidate for Democrats makes theoretical sense but is untested.

CNN’s Patrick Svitek recaps some of Paxton’s not-so-greatest hits:

• He was indicted on felony securities fraud charges a decade ago. Eventually in 2024 he reached a pretrial agreement involving community service and restitution.
• He also faced a civil case on similar allegations brought by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, though that case was thrown out in 2016.
• His own aides reported him to the FBI in 2020 for alleged corruption. No case was brought, but Paxton’s firing of the aides was ruled improper in a $6.6 million judgment.
• The GOP-controlled state House impeached him in 2023, though he was later acquitted by the state Senate.
• He has the kinds of mortgage problems that the Trump administration has repeatedly claimed could be serious crimes — at least when they involved Trump’s foes.
• He has faced allegations of infidelity, including when his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, filed for divorce last year, citing “biblical grounds.”

As for Talarico, it remains to be seen how he’ll play.

Democrats love that he speaks openly and comfortably about his Christian faith and hope he can make a play for conservative-leaning religious voters.

But he also has something of a Kamala Harris problem. That’s because, like Harris, he said some rather “woke” things in recent years when that was more en vogue on the left — things like that there are six biological sexes and that “God is nonbinary.” He has called the American flag a “complicated symbol.” And while Republicans have falsely accused Talarico of being a vegan, he did in 2022 talk about reducing meat consumption and said he was running a “non-meat” campaign for the state House.

Those kinds of comments shouldn’t be undersold in this race. They could be real hurdles with culturally conservative voters — signals to them that maybe Talarico, despite all his talk about his faith in God, is far from one of them.

But at least for now, there are some real reasons for Democrats to be optimistic.

That’s because the environment is increasingly good for their party, and the data back up the idea that Paxton could be a drag on Republicans.

The national “generic ballot” keeps trending toward Democrats, to the point that some recent polls show them with a double-digit lead. And with Trump’s approval rating falling lower than ever before, it’s increasingly conceivable the environment could be better for Democrats than in 2018, when Democrat Beto O’Rourke lost to GOP Sen. Ted Cruz by just 2.6 points.

And crucially for Texas, Trump has lost huge ground with Latino voters, who look like they’ll revert to a strong Democratic constituency after trending Republican in recent years.

The polls of this specific race are also quite good for Democrats right now.

An April University of Texas/Texas Politics Project poll actually showed Talarico leading Paxton by eight points among registered voters, 42%-34%. That’s even as GOP Gov. Greg Abbott led his race by 6 — a whopping 14-point gap between Paxton’s and Abbott’s performances.

A more recent Texas Southern University/YouGov poll showed a tied Senate race among registered voters, 45%-45%. But again, Paxton underperformed other statewide candidates like Abbott (who again led by 6).

These are the kinds of polls you basically never see in Texas. In fact, even O’Rourke — Democrats’ most successful Senate candidate in decades — polled consistently behind Cruz through all of 2018.

Paxton has also proved he underperforms other Republicans in actual elections, at least somewhat. In 2022, he notched the smallest margin of any statewide Texas Republican that cycle, winning by 9 points even as others won by between 11 and 15 points.

A deeper dive into the new polls also suggests Paxton has work to do in patching things up after a brutal GOP nominating contest.

For instance, while exit polls showed O’Rourke ran about even with Cruz among independent voters (50%-47%) in 2018, Talarico currently leads among them by more than 20 points with independent registered voters in both polls mentioned above.

Both polls also show Talarico’s image is significantly better than Paxton’s. While Talarico’s net favorable rating is 10-11 points positive, Paxton’s is between 6 and 9 points negative.

The University of Texas poll actually showed only 1 in 10 independents liked Paxton, while half disliked him. It also showed Paxton winning just 63% of Republicans, with 11% going for Talarico and 20% undecided.

Paxton did better with Republicans in the Texas Southern poll, taking 85% of them. But that was still less than Talarico’s 96% of Democrats.

But the other way to look at all that is that Paxton has plenty of upside right now.

One thing you’ll notice from these same polls is that Paxton wasn’t doing much worse than Cornyn was. He did maybe 1 or 2 points worse on average, even though Cornyn was supposedly the much more broadly acceptable candidate.

If you’re a Republican, you look at that and think maybe the current polls are just a temporary reflection of the brutal GOP nominating contest. It was one of the most expensive in history, after all, and the runoff lasted more than two months.

We do tend to overestimate how much brutal primaries actually matter by the time the general election rolls around. And the polls suggest many of the undecided voters in this race lean to the right — and thus they could ultimately come home to Paxton and the GOP.

History also suggests voters tend to behave in a more partisan fashion in Senate races than governor’s races because a senator is a vote for one side or the other. So even if a significant chunk of conservative-leaning Texans don’t like Paxton, they might vote for him to foreclose a Democratic-majority Senate.

And to be clear, this race could matter significantly in that majority math. Democrats need to win at least two states that Trump carried by double digits in 2024 in order to flip the Senate.

Alaska and Ohio might be the better opportunities, given the proven candidates they have running in those races.

But Texas is now pretty clearly on the map, at least.

U.S. setting up Ebola quarantine facility in Kenya, officials say

May 27, 2026 1:31 PM EDT / CBS News

By Michael Kaplan Reporter and Producer

Michael Kaplan is an award-winning reporter and producer for the CBS News Investigative Unit. He specializes in securing scoops and crafting long-form television investigations. His work has appeared on “60 Minutes,” CNN and in The New York Times.

Read Full Bio

Kristin Brown

The U.S. is in the process of setting up a quarantine facility in Kenya for Americans who were exposed to Ebola or infected with the deadly illness, multiple officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed to CBS News on Wednesday.

A Trump administration official told CBS News the facility is designed to provide access to high-quality care for Americans who would need to quickly get out of Congo and quarantine without the risks of a lengthy trip back to the U.S.

The effort to set up the Kenya facility was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

The move will potentially lead to U.S. citizens being kept from reentering the U.S. A former CDC official who previously worked on the Ebola response told CBS News, “It would be unbelievably unethical and irresponsible to maroon Americans given Kenya doesn’t have a proper Level 4 containment facility or much experience” dealing with Ebola.

Over 230 people in Congo are believed to have died from Ebola in the latest outbreak of the disease.

At the White House on Wednesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said during a meeting of President Trump’s Cabinet that multiple government agencies were working hard to contain the outbreak to where it’s currently located.

“We cannot and will not allow any cases of Ebola to enter the United States,” Rubio said.

The Trump administration official said the Kenya facility will enable Americans in the region who contract Ebola to receive lifesaving care as quickly as possible without having to spend over 12 hours on a medevac flight.

Treatment capabilities at the facility are expected to be able to care for the full spectrum of the disease, including critical care needs, though each case will be evaluated for forward transport for more advanced care as appropriate in order to maximize patient outcomes, the Trump administration official said.

An American doctor was infected with Ebola while working with a medical missionary organization in Democratic Republic of Congo. After being evacuated, he said last week he’s feeling “cautiously optimistic” as he fights the virus at a hospital in Germany.

Mark Osborne contributed to this report.

FAA orders SpaceX to investigate Starship booster mishap

2026-05-27 16:31:39 UTC / Reuters

By David Shepardson

May 27, 2026 4:31 PM UTC Updated 2 hours ago

The SpaceX Starship and Super Heavy Booster lifts off on its 12th test flight from the SpaceX launch complex in Starbase, Texas, U.S., May 22, 2026. REUTERS/Steve Nesius Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

WASHINGTON, May 27 (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration ordered SpaceX to investigate ​why its Starship booster suffered a mishap and crashed into the Gulf ‌of Mexico during a test flight last week, the agency said on Wednesday.

The FAA said it determined the SpaceX Starship Flight 12 launch on May 22 resulted in a mishap that ​involved its Super Heavy booster as it flew back to the Gulf ​of Mexico after stage separation.

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SpaceX did not immediately respond to a ⁠request for comment.

The FAA added there were no reports of injuries to members ​of the public or damage to public property. The FAA said it will oversee ​the SpaceX-led investigation, be involved in every step of the process, and approve the company’s final report, including any corrective actions.

SpaceX’s 12th test flight of a Starship prototype since 2023, and the first ​of its V3 iteration, was successful on most counts on Friday. It deployed ​a clutch of mock satellites and executed a controlled splashdown of the spacecraft in the Indian ‌Ocean. ⁠But it failed to achieve a controlled landing of the Super Heavy booster, which tumbled into the Gulf.

The probe is designed to boost public safety, determine the cause of the mishap, and identify actions to prevent it from happening again, the FAA ​said.

The FAA will ​approve a return ⁠to flight of the Starship-Super Heavy vehicle after ensuring any system, process, or procedure related to the mishap does not affect ​public safety.

Starship is critical to lowering SpaceX’s launch costs, expanding ​its Starlink ⁠satellite business – its cash engine – and supporting future undertakings such as space-based computing, deployment of orbital AI data-center satellites and human missions to the moon and potentially Mars.

The company ⁠has ​spent more than $15 billion developing what it hopes ​will become a fully reusable rocket capable of carrying far larger payloads than existing launch systems.

Reporting by David ​Shepardson and Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar, Paul Simao, Rod Nickel

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Justice Department to start fast-tracking benefits fraud enforcement

May 27, 2026 3:09 PM EDT / CBS News

The federal government plans to speed up the review of certain whistleblower complaints related to fraud against benefit programs like Medicare, federal officials told CBS News exclusively Wednesday.

The officials said the move will help to fast-track fraud enforcement, a Trump administration priority.

The U.S. Department of Justice reviews whistleblower complaints made under the False Claims Act, which is the main federal statute used to fight cases of alleged fraud against government programs, including Medicare and grants. These programs are federally funded and administered by states.

Now, the DOJ Civil Division says it will prioritize these complaints to decide if it will continue with litigation, investigate further or dismiss within a 60- to 120-day window.

Sources said it is unusual to make a decision to decline a claim in less than 120 days. DOJ says it is working to provide CBS News with more information on the current timeline for decisions on cases that move forward.

Many of these cases start as complaints, known as qui tam actions, made by private individuals, who are also called relators. After the initial review, the Department of Justice will either allow the relator to continue with the litigation, investigate further or decide the complaint should be dismissed.

“These reforms will empower the Department to move quickly on meritorious qui tam cases, maximize finite enforcement resources, and focus on dismantling sophisticated fraud schemes that exploit taxpayer-funded programs,” DOJ said in a release shared with CBS News.

If a claim is successful, the person who reported it can receive a significant share of the government’s recovery of the fraudulently obtained benefits.

“By accelerating review of qui tam complaints alleging benefits fraud, we can more rapidly identify and disrupt emerging schemes, strategically deploy enforcement resources to recover taxpayer money, and strengthen the government’s broader fight against fraud,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.

The Trump administration has named targeting fraud one of its key priorities, leading to several press conferences and announcements on the issue. Republicans and Democrats have traded barbs about who is responsible for creating circumstances that allow for fraud and who is doing more to fix it.

In April, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the Fraud Division. Mr. Trump has also established a task force, chaired by Vice President JD Vance, focused on eliminating fraud. Healthcare fraud, particularly in the hospice and home healthcare space, has been a particular target for the administration.

The state of California has also established a fraud task force, where multiple agencies focus specifically on hospice fraud schemes.

CBS News has been investigating hospice fraud for months. One investigation examined the business and financial records of every hospice currently operating in Los Angeles County, applying the same indicators identified by state auditors as potential red flags for fraud. The analysis revealed that over 700 of the roughly 1,800 hospices in L.A. County trigger multiple red flagshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RZYtfX9IYA for fraud as defined by the state.

California attorney general Rob Bonta says his office has brought criminal fraud cases against more than 100 defendants in the hospice industry and about two dozen civil cases.

Also in April, Republicans in Congress held a hearing on Capitol Hill, during which two of the people featured in the CBS News reporting were called to testify.

Adam Yamaguchi and Rachel Gold contributed to this report.

Deep dive into alleged L.A. hospice fraud

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/deep-dive-alleged-hospice-fraud-california/

A deep dive into alleged hospice fraud in California

(16:47)

US ally pledges support for Trump’s push to break Iran’s grip on Hormuz: ‘We are ready to contribute’

2026-05-27T13:35:05-04:00 / Fox News

Prague has ‘unique passive surveillance capabilities’ it can contribute to securing the critical oil choke point

By Efrat Lachter Fox News

Published May 27, 2026 1:35pm EDT

EXCLUSIVE: Czech Republic’s foreign minister warns Iran using Strait of Hormuz as ‘war tool’

Speaking at the United Nations, Petr Macinka says Prague is prepared to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, backs President Donald Trump’s push for stronger NATO defense spending and rejects European efforts to sanction Israel.

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UNITED NATIONS — The Czech Republic is prepared to help protect freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and is aligning closely with the Trump administration on security, NATO and Israel, Czech Foreign Minister Petr Macinka told Fox News Digital during an exclusive interview at the United Nations in New York.

Prague already had begun discussions about contributing specialized capabilities to help secure the strategically vital waterway amid growing tensions with Iran, Macinka said while speaking at Security Council-related meetings at the U.N.

“We are ready to contribute to freedom of passage and the Hormuz trade,” Macinka said.

“We were among the first countries that were ready to contribute … We have no navy, as we are in the middle of Europe,” he explained, “But we have some unique passive surveillance capabilities.”

TRUMP SEEKS WARSHIPS FROM OTHER COUNTRIES TO HELP SECURE STRAIT OF HORMUZ

Czech Republic Foreign Minister Petr Macinka arrives at the 135th Session of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe at the Palace of the Republic in Chisinau, Moldova, May 15, 2026.(Vladislav Culiomza/Reuters)

Macinka warned that Iran posed a global threat through what he described as four main “war tools”: nuclear proliferation, drones and ballistic missiles, international terrorism and threats to the Strait of Hormuz.

“Their nuclear military program must be stopped,” he said. “It’s a global risk and global threat.”

The comments come as the Trump administration has increased pressure on European allies to take a larger role in protecting international shipping routes amid Iranian threats tied to the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical oil transit choke points. Roughly one-fifth of global oil consumption passes through the narrow waterway connecting the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea.

Speaking after a meeting with foreign ministers in Sweden Friday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio questioned the value of hosting U.S. military bases in allied countries that later restrict American military operations during wartime.

“One of the arguments I always made was that these bases in the region provided us with logistical options that we wouldn’t otherwise have,” Rubio told reporters. “And when some of those bases are denied to you during a conflict that we’re involved in, then you question whether that value is still there.”

President Donald Trump also has sharply criticized NATO allies over a reluctance to participate in military operations tied to the Iran conflict and securing the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump said he was “strongly considering” pulling the United States out of NATO after allies failed to join the U.S. campaign against Iran, according to an April 1 interview with Britain’s Daily Telegraph, calling the alliance a “paper tiger.”

Vessels of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps are seen during a ceremony marking the National Persian Gulf Day at the Persian Gulf near Bushehr, Iran, April 29, 2024. The National Persian Gulf Day marks the anniversary of the expulsion of Portuguese military forces from the Strait of Hormuz in 1622.(Shadati/Xinhua via Getty Images)

The Czech Republic, a NATO member since 1999, reached NATO’s benchmark of spending 2% of GDP on defense and has supported calls for Europe to increase military readiness amid Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Macinka strongly defended the administration’s calls for Europe to increase defense spending and reduce dependence on Washington for long-term security guarantees.

“We should do our homework and build our defense to become stronger,” he said, arguing that Europe had delayed necessary military investments for too long.

He also tied Europe’s defense spending challenges to the European Union’s Green Deal policies, the bloc’s sweeping climate agenda aimed at reducing carbon emissions, calling them ideological and financially destructive.

“If we get rid of this green, crazy alarmism, then we have enough money to build our defense,” he said.

The Czech foreign minister also voiced unusually direct support for Trump and his administration, praising what he described as a global “common sense” shift following Trump’s election victory.

“We are friends of Israel, and we are friends of America,” Macinka said. “Especially me as a politician, I’m a friend of the ideology of the current American administration.”

Macinka also referenced a clash earlier in 2026 with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the Munich Security Conference, where he criticized Europe’s liberal political establishment and defended the populist wave reshaping parts of Europe and the United States.

EUROPE MUST LEAD ON UKRAINIAN SECURITY GUARANTEES, GREEK FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS: ‘WE ARE THE NEIGHBORS’

A tanker sits at the Port of Fujairah, as the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran limits marine traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.(REUTERS / Amr Alfiky / File Photo)

Macinka linked Prague’s strong support for Ukraine to the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, when hundreds of thousands of Warsaw Pact troops occupied the country for more than two decades.

He said that historical experience continues to shape Czech public opinion and support for Kyiv.

“The Czech society feels a big solidarity with Ukraine,” Macinka said, describing the war as a “symmetric war” between a powerful Russian military and a Ukrainian army backed by the West.

Macinka highlighted Prague’s leading role in a Czech-backed ammunition initiative supplying Ukraine with artillery rounds collected through international donor efforts.

Recalling a visit to Kyiv earlier in 2026, he said he received intelligence briefings on battlefield ammunition consumption from Ukrainian military officials.

TRUMP, ZELENSKYY TO MEET FOR KEY DEAL AS NATO ALLIES, RUSSIA WAIT, WATCH

Naval units from Iran and Russia simulate the rescue of a hijacked vessel during joint drills at the Port of Bandar Abbas in Hormozgan, Iran, on Feb. 19, 2026.(Iranian Army/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The Czech initiative delivered more than half a million rounds of ammunition in 2026 alone, according to Macinka, helping stabilize the battlefield ahead of possible peace negotiations.

Macinka argued that maintaining a stable front is essential for meaningful negotiations, warning that shifting battle lines will only harden demands on both sides.

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Newly recruited soldiers of Ukraine’s 159th Separate Mechanized Brigade participate in integration and advanced training exercises in Kharkiv Oblast on May 14, 2026, after completing basic military training.(Yevhen Titov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

With Washington increasingly focused on the Middle East, Macinka also said Europe must begin taking a larger diplomatic role in future negotiations over Ukraine.

“America is quite busy with the Middle East,” he said. “Europe should wake up and ask for a place at the table.”

Efrat Lachter is a reporter for Fox News Digital covering international affairs and the United Nations. Follow her on X @efratlachter. Stories can be sent to efrat.lachter@fox.com.

Jill Biden says she was “frightened” by Joe Biden’s 2024 debate performance, thought he was having a stroke

2026-05-27 15:33:28 EDT / CBS News

Former first lady Jill Biden said she was “frightened” by her husband Joe Biden’s 2024 debate performance and thought he was having a stroke.

“I was frightened, because I had never ever seen Joe like that before or since. Never,” Jill Biden told CBS News Sunday Morning’s Rita Braver in an interview airing Sunday on CBS.

“I don’t know what happened,” she said. “As I watched it, I thought, ‘Oh, my God, he’s having a stroke.’ And it scared me to death.”

Biden was running for a second term when he stumbled through the June 2024 presidential debate against Donald Trump, prompting widespread calls for him to drop out of the race. He dropped out a month later, with 107 days to go until the general election, endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee. He became the first sitting president to pull out of a presidential race since President Lyndon B. Johnson stepped aside in March of 1968.

Watch more of Jill Biden’s interview on “Sunday Morning” on May 31 at 9 a.m. on CBS stations and streaming on Paramount+.

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/jill-biden-frightened-biden-debate-performance-thought-he-was-having-a-stroke/

‘Most corrupt’ vs ‘most extreme

https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/27/politics/video/inside-politics-texas-senate-talarico-paxton-panel

‘We have to stop this behavior from happening

https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/27/politics/video/cnn-sitroom-pamela-brown-kat-cammack-teresa-leger-fernandez-sexual-misconduct-bipartisan-congress