奇兵上阵立大功 西班牙主帅夸球队板凳深度

2026年7月11日 07:57 / 新明日报

西班牙主帅德拉富恩特（右）在上半场补水暂停时向边锋亚马尔转达指令。 （路透社）

（洛杉矶综合电）西班牙国家队主帅德拉富恩特（De la Fuente）新加坡时间星期六（7月11日）再次展现“点石成金”的判断力，在他大胆排兵布阵下获得重用的鲁伊斯（Ruiz）与梅里诺（Merino）各下一城，帮助球队在世界杯复赛中以2比1力克比利时挺进四强。

在本场决战中，顶替佩德里（Pedri）进入首发阵容的奇兵鲁伊斯率先在第30分钟为球队首开纪录；而梅里诺则在第86分钟才替补登场，仅仅两分钟后，他便逮到比利时替补门将拉门斯（Lammens）未能接稳库巴尔西（Cubarsi）低射的致命失误，门前补射破门完成绝杀。

梅里诺三度替补绝杀

这已经是梅里诺在德拉富恩特麾下，第三次以替补身份攻入淘汰赛的绝杀进球。此前他曾在2024年欧锦赛复赛对阵东道主德国时于加时赛攻入致胜球，并在本届世界杯16强赛对阵葡萄牙时贡献了绝杀。

德拉富恩特在赛后接受媒体采访时说：“让米克尔（梅里诺）坐板凳确实不公平，但如果让其他任何人落选首发，也同样不公平。”

“球场上只能上场11个人，球员们对此非常理解——他们清楚自己在任何特定时刻需要扮演的角色。当他们上场时，他们知道自己该做什么，这就是为什么担任他们的主教练是一件极其快乐的事。”

德拉富恩特强调，欧锦赛冠军西班牙队能够杀入世界杯四强，依靠的是集体责任感，而非个人的英雄主义，“最重要的是整个团队。谁首发出场并不重要，每一个人都至关重要，哪怕是那些还没有获得上场机会的球员。”

当被问及在主力位置竞争如此激烈的情况下，他是如何安抚并保持球员们的心态时，德拉富恩特赞扬了球员们的成熟与专业素养。他说：“作为一支团队，我们的强项之一不仅在于我们拥有世界上最优秀的球员——他们确实是——更在于我们拥有最好的人品，大家都让团队的融洽相处变得更加容易。”

“因此，他们能完美理解自己团队中的角色并不让人意外，因为我相信这在任何领域、任何职业中都是可以做到的。我们的一切都建立在相互尊重的基础之上，这支国家队也树立了优良的典范。”

西班牙下来将于星期三与夺冠大热门法国会师半决赛，争夺一个决赛席位，德拉富恩特深知这注定是一场硬仗。

他说：“法国已经展现出了非凡且惊人的潜能，我们同样也是。这场对决充满悬念，需要球员们保持充沛的体能和活力……但既然我们已经走到了这一步，我们一定会倾尽全力去拼。”

点击《联合早报》世界杯专页，获 知世界杯比分、赛程和最新新闻等资讯。

Former Afghan general arrested and charged with drug and firearm offenses in U.S.

July 10, 2026 / 4:38 PM EDT / CBS News

Washington— A former member of Afghanistan’s National Assembly was arrested and charged with conspiring to illegally import heroin and methamphetamine into the United States as well as firearm-related charges, according to court documents unsealed Friday.

Abdul Zahir Qadeer, a former general in Afghanistan’s paramilitary Border Force and a former deputy speaker in the National Assembly, faces federal charges in the Southern District of New York. The charges include one count of conspiracy to import narcotics and two counts of conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.

He made an initial appearance in a New York courtroom on Friday and was ordered to be detained pending trial, a U.S. official told CBS News.

According to an affidavit from a special agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration, Qadeer had been negotiating with a confidential source working with the DEA since November 2024. A month later, he allegedly sold a two-kilogram “test shipment” of methamphetamines to an associate of the DEA informant in South Africa.

After the first shipment was delivered in exchange for $14,000, Qadeer continued to negotiate into 2025 with the informant to sell “hundreds of kilograms” of heroin and methamphetamine, the affidavit said. He also allegedly arranged to sell “hundreds” of assault rifles, heavy machine guns, pistols, rocket-propelled grenades and grenades, as well as thousands of rounds of ammunition.

In February 2025, the affidavit said that the informant told Qadeer that they planned to buy 500 to 600 kilograms of heroin and methamphetamine to sell in the United States, along with the weapons. Qadeer, who provided the informant with quotes for the weapons requested of him, allegedly responded that he was prepared to deliver all of the requested weapons and ammunition within three days of being given a delivery location.

In April 2025, Qadeer attended a meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, which he thought was a meeting with the drug trafficking organization the informant said they were working for, when in reality the meeting was with multiple DEA confidential sources. He was arrested after the meeting by Kenyan authorities, and was extradited to the United States on Friday.

blob:https://www.cbsnews.com/8483bf7b-088f-4bb1-b978-c9deeca73ea2

“While purporting to be a political leader of Afghanistan, Abdul Zahir Qadeer was allegedly leading a criminal enterprise dealing in dangerous and addictive narcotics and heavy weapons,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement. “The Drug Enforcement Administration led an investigation that ended Qadeer’s audacious criminal activity, and now he will face justice in the United States.”

If convicted, Qadeer faces a minimum of 10 years in prison for the drug-related charge, and a minimum of 30 years in prison for the weapon-related charges, with a maximum of life in prison for both charges.

The Southern District of New York’s complaint against Qadeer comes more than a month after the indictment of Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, an Iraqi national who allegedly plotted to carry out terror attacks in the U.S., including at a Jewish institution in New York, federal prosecutors said.

Graham Platner formally withdraws from Maine Senate race

2026-07-10 5:00 PM EDT / CNN

By Kasie Hunt, CNN

Graham Platner formally withdraws from Maine Senate race

The arena

The Maine Secretary of State’s office announced Graham Platner formally withdrew from the Maine Senate race on Friday.

1:16 • Source: CNN

Iran privately told Trump advisers “they made a mistake” in shooting at ships in Strait of Hormuz

July 10, 2026 / 7:04 PM EDT / CBS News

By Jennifer Jacobs, Jennifer Jacobs Senior White House reporter

Jennifer Jacobs is a senior White House reporter at CBS News.

Jennifer Jacobs, Kristin Brown

Iranian officials privately told Trump advisers that they made a mistake in shooting at commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, that the attacks stemmed from an “errant” sect of hardliners who are trying to undermine negotiations, and that they want to keep talking, senior U.S. officials said on Friday.

The White House wants the regime to publicly acknowledge its mistake, which the Trump administration views as a violation of the ceasefire.

President Trump has directed his team — led by Vice President JD Vance, the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio — to continue negotiations.

The talks are to take place in Oman on Saturday.

The U.S. will respond, using military and economic leverage, if Iran continues to engage in hostile acts, the officials said.

“They came back to the table and said, ‘We screwed up. We made a mistake. Let’s keep talking,’” one official said.

After Saturday’s meeting in Oman, the administration expects Iran’s position to be that the strait will be open and managed in the same way it was before the conflict began.

If that is not their position, the official said, “it’s not going to be a great day for them.”

“We’re definitely in a wait-and-see moment,” another official said.

The Iranians have told the U.S. that the attacks on ships were initiated by an errant entity in their system who wants to undermine the deal.

The Trump administration, however, maintains that the ships were targeted for another reason. The U.S. believed that a southern lane in the Strait of Hormuz, the one along the Omani coast, would be open under the memorandum. But Iran was caught off guard by how rapidly traffic was moving — and how much of the oil and gas traffic was moving through the southern lane — and that is why they reneged, one of the officials said.

Mr. Trump is giving U.S. negotiators space and time to make a deal — but not a lot of time, one of the officials said.

Regarding what the president refers to as the “nuclear dust,” the remnants of Iran’s nuclear program, the officials said the U.S. would prefer to excavate it, but if Iran refuses to act like a “normal country,” there are other options, including keeping it buried.

If Iran is not capable of honoring what the U.S. believes was the easiest part of the deal – opening up the strait to trade – negotiators will never get to address the thornier issue of Iran’s nuclear program, another official said.

The officials declined to comment on reports that Israeli intelligence revealed plots against Mr. Trump, but said the president doesn’t make decisions based on fear or threats.

Bipartisan senators announce agreement with Trump administration on Russia sanctions

2026-07-10T20:40:32.317Z / CNN

By Morgan Rimmer

3 hr ago

PUBLISHED Jul 10, 2026, 4:40 PM ET

Donald Trump Russia Congressional news War in Ukraine

See all topics

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, left, and Sen. Lindsey Graham speak at Mykhailivska Square in Kyiv, Ukraine, during a press conference in May 2025, amid the Russian invasion in Ukraine.

Tetiana Dzhafrova/AFP/Getty Images/File

Bipartisan senators announced an agreement with the Trump administration on Friday to move ahead with an updated Russia sanctions package, but it remains unclear if President Donald Trump will directly back the bill’s passage.

The package would allow Trump to place heavy tariffs on imports from nations that import Russian oil, uranium and natural gas, with possible exceptions for countries that contribute to the Ukrainian war effort. Last summer, GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham and Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal were pushing for the package. Trump signaled he was open to the idea and expressed disappointment in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s attitude toward negotiations, but the administration did not come out in support of the bill.

Graham and Blumenthal, who have been leading the push for this bill for years, released a statement on Friday alongside Senate Armed Services Chairman Roger Wicker and Senate Foreign Relations Ranking Member Jeanne Shaheen stating, “We are proud to announce that we have reached an agreement with the Trump Administration to move our updated Russia sanctions legislation forward. We are very pleased with this significant progress and expect to roll out the legislation very soon.”

CNN has reached out to the White House for comment.

Graham visited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday in Kyiv.

“Right now, it is important to strengthen our long-range sanction pressure on Russia with new sanction steps from our partners. Lindsey informed me about the work in Congress on the relevant bill,” Zelensky said in a social media post after the meeting.

Graham and Blumenthal have long had vast bipartisan support for Russia sanctions, including a package with over 80 Senate cosponsors from both parties. However, Senate Majority Leader John Thune has maintained the Senate will follow the White House’s lead on the issue and won’t bring the sanctions bill to the floor until they are certain of the administration’s backing, despite previous comments by Graham that the administration approves of the bill.

CNN has reached out to Thune’s office for comment.

The calendar is also a factor; the Senate is staring down several must-pass pieces of legislation, including the annual defense policy package and another government funding deadline, with only a handful of weeks in session between now and the midterm elections.

The deal for a sanctions package would come on the heels of an announcement by Trump allowing Ukraine to build Patriot defense missile batteries, something the country desperately needs as Russia continues its attacks.

The announcement came as a surprise on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Turkey this week, even though Ukraine has been working on the issue for years, and there were some indications a deal could be close. Sat next to Trump during the announcement, Zelensky at times looked like he almost couldn’t believe his luck. The two men share a rocky relationship and the flareup in the war in Iran appeared to have put Trump into a foul mood just before his meeting.

CNN’s Alison Main and Ivana Kottasová contributed to this report.

Israel signals readiness for another Iran strike as Trump declares ceasefire over

July 10, 2026 4:48pm EDT / Fox News

By Efrat Lachter Fox News

Israel’s leaders are publicly signaling that their country is prepared to strike Iran for a third time, while a U.S. official tells Fox News Digital that Washington remains closely coordinated with Jerusalem.

“The IDF is on high alert and prepared to resume the campaign, regain air superiority, and carry out an independent Israeli strike against Iran to eliminate threats — even for a third time,” Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Minister Israel Katz said Thursday at a graduation ceremony for the Israeli Air Force’s newest pilots.

“If we have to return, we will return with even greater force,” Katz added.

ISRAEL DEFENSE CHIEF WARNS STRIKES ON IRAN COULD RESUME SOON, SIGNALS CAMPAIGN NOT OVER

U.S. Central Command shared this footage in a July 8, 2026, press release about strikes against Iran.(CENTCOM)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also warned Thursday that Israel’s campaign against Iran was not finished and said Tehran would not be permitted to obtain a nuclear weapon, regardless of any agreement reached with Washington.

“The war has not yet ended,” Netanyahu said at the air force ceremony. “Alongside the old challenges, new challenges are emerging. Axes are falling, and axes are rising. We are paying attention to this. We are prepared for every scenario.”

Two Israeli sources told CNN Friday that the Trump administration does not currently want Israel to participate in the latest U.S. strikes against Iran.

“Netanyahu would really want to join the U.S. strikes, but the U.S. doesn’t want Israel involved at the moment,” one of the sources told CNN.

A U.S. official denied the report, telling Fox News Digital, “This is fake news. The United States has a strong relationship with Israel, which contributed to the resounding success of Operation Midnight Hammer and Operation Epic Fury. We remain in close coordination with our Israeli partners.”

Israel first launched a major campaign against Iran in June 2025, with the United States later joining the fighting by striking the Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan nuclear facilities. On Feb. 28, the two allies launched a new, coordinated military campaign against Iran.

While Israeli leaders are openly presenting the military as ready for another campaign, some Israeli officials and analysts say there is little appetite for renewed fighting unless it produces a clear strategic result.

The public warnings may overstate Israel’s desire to reenter the fighting, said Israeli analyst and journalist for Israeli newspaper Yedioth Aharonoth, Nadav Eyal.

“On the record, Israel is signaling that it is prepared and even eager to strike Iran. But off the record, sources are saying that it is anything but that,” Eyal told Fox News Digital. “The reason is clear: Any Israeli strike in Iran will lead to Iranian ballistic missile attacks against Israel.”

US CLAWS BACK KEY CONCESSION TO IRAN AFTER FRESH ATTACKS ON COMMERCIAL SHIPS IN STRAIT OF HORMUZ

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, from left, US President Donald Trump and US Vice President JD Vance during a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025. Trump insisted Egypt and Jordan will take in Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, dismissing the countries’ refusal to accept people from the war-shattered territory. Photographer: Shawn Thew/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images(Getty Images)

Eyal said the domestic political consequences could make Netanyahu reluctant to begin another round of fighting, particularly as Israel approaches another election.

“If these strikes are meant to provide meaningful, strategic change, it is something the prime minister can sell to the public,” Eyal said. “But if the intention is only to use Israel as leverage, why should Israelis again experience a couple of weeks or more of sitting in safe rooms and losing their summer vacations, children’s day camps and summer camps? That could play out badly for the prime minister politically.”

“The truth is that Israel was not really enthusiastic about another strike,” he added. “That doesn’t mean it is not going to happen. If President Trump demands that Netanyahu join, it is very hard to see the Israelis saying no. But right now, I don’t see any passion for it.”

The diplomatic outreach continued even as Trump declared that the ceasefire with Iran was over.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has asked us to continue ‘talks.’ We have agreed to do so, but the United States has stated to them, in no uncertain terms, that the Cease Fire is OVER!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

A source with knowledge of the situation told Fox News that Qatari negotiators have traveled to Iran, in coordination with the United States, to meet with Iranian officials in an effort to de-escalate the situation and create the conditions for negotiations to resume.

On Thursday, Netanyahu and Trump spoke by phone, according to the Israeli prime minister’s office, which said the two agreed to continue coordinating across several regional fronts. Trump briefed Netanyahu on American operations in the Gulf, the statement said.

NETANYAHU REJECTS REPORTS OF A RIFT WITH PRESIDENT TRUMP, SAYS THE TWO REMAIN ALIGNED ON IRAN

A satellite image shows damage at the control tower in the port of Chabahar, Iran, July 9, 2026, after the U.S. military said July 8, 2026, it launched fresh strikes on Iran to keep the Strait of Hormuz open to shipping.(2026 PLANET LABS PBC/Handout via Reuters)

The military warnings came as the Wall Street Journal reported Friday that Israel had provided the United States with intelligence about what is described as a fresh Iranian plot to assassinate Trump.

The developments follow renewed attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, where U.S. naval officials said the maritime threat remained “severe.” U.S. Naval Forces Central Command reminded commercial vessels Friday that an expanded southern route through the strait remained open and that no controlling authority could require ships to pay a fee for passage.

A U.S. official told Fox News on background that Iran’s attacks against commercial vessels were “acts of terrorism” and constituted failed performance under the memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran.

“The United States is still committed to finding a resolution, and technical talks continue,” the official said. “Iran can never possess a nuclear weapon.”

Brig. Gen. Yossi Kuperwasser, a former senior Israeli military intelligence officer who now heads the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, said Israel had never regarded the memorandum as an adequate guarantee.

“From Israel’s perspective, the MOU was never a good deal,” Kuperwasser told Fox News Digital, speaking of the memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran.

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CENTCOM shared footage of strikes against airplanes amid Iran war(U.S. Central Command on X)

“Israel should be on high alert, ready to face an Iranian attack and prepared to strike back if necessary,” he added.

For now, Israel’s leaders appear to be leaving Iran — and Washington — with little doubt that they are prepared to act. Whether the United States allows Israel to join the renewed campaign, however, could determine whether the latest confrontation remains limited or develops into another full-scale regional war.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.

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.

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Graham Platner formally drops out of Maine Senate race

July 10, 2026 / 5:53 PM EDT / CBS News

Graham Platner has formally filed the paperwork to suspend his campaign for U.S. Senate in Maine, with little time to go before the deadline.

The Maine Secretary of State’s Office confirmed receipt of Platner’s official withdrawal on Friday.

“Because the candidate officially withdrew before 5 p.m. of the 2nd Monday in July (July 13, 2026), his name will not appear on the ballot, and his political party may replace him,” the office said in a statement, noting that the deadline for the party to name a replacement candidate is July 27.

In his letter to the Maine secretary of state, which Platner posted to X on Friday, he wrote that he was formally withdrawing his candidacy for U.S. Senate.

“My name may have been on the ballot, but that ballot line belongs to the people of Maine. As such, please consider this notice as my official withdrawal from consideration for this office,” he wrote.

Platner announced the suspension of his campaign in an 11-minute social media video on Wednesday, after a woman accused him of sexual assault and the Democrats who supported him said he should step aside.

He vehemently denied the sexual assault allegations, calling them “false” and “not real,” but said the pressure from state-level and national Democrats had made it impossible for his campaign to continue. He blamed the “political establishment” for the situation.

Platner’s 11th-hour exit from the race has prompted hurried efforts from Democrats looking to replace him. The Maine Democratic Party has until July 27 at 5 p.m. to select a replacement. The party said it would hold a nominating convention.

“Maine Statute does not address how a replacement candidate may be chosen by a party, only that the candidate filling the vacancy must be a ‘qualified person,’” the Maine Secretary of State’s Office said in its statement. “Announcements about how a replacement candidate will be chosen or when that candidate will be announced will come from the political party.”

The Senate race in Maine is one of the most closely watched races of this cycle, as Democrats seek to unseat Republican Sen. Susan Collins in a contest that could determine control of the Senate.

Platner had urged the Maine Democratic Party to use an “open, transparent and democratic” process to replace him, and said the decision shouldn’t be made by “party apparatchiks.”

A Maine woman, Jenny Racicot, told Politico and CNN that Platner entered her home without permission in late 2021 when he was drunk and forced himself on her, ignoring her demands for him to stop. Racicot said the two met on a dating app in 2019 and had a casual, consensual relationship before the night of the alleged assault.

Racicot told CNN’s Jake Tapper that Platner, “by dictionary definition, raped me.”

“He violated multiple layers of consent that night. By coming into my home when I asked him not to, and by advancing on me when I told him not to, and furthermore, another incident that I had told him not to do,” Racicot said, referring to his alleged refusal to use protection.

She said: “In that moment, I evaluated my safety. … I basically felt safest just complying.”

Platner called the allegations “categorically false” in a video shortly after Politico broke the story Monday, before Racicot’s CNN interview. In a statement, his campaign called the allegations “desperate smears” that were “coached and coordinated by out of state establishment operatives.”

In his video announcing the end of his campaign, Platner said he learned about the allegations through press inquiries “with no time to truly respond, no time for investigations before a corporate media system and the political establishment got to act as judge, jury and executioner.”

“Accusations are supposed to be the beginning of things, not the end,” he said.

“This was the last week to try to get me off of the ballot, and that’s why this is occurring,” he added.

The allegations led the Maine Democratic Party, along with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, who chairs Senate Democrats’ campaign arm, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, to call on Platner to withdraw earlier this week. The DSCC said it would not invest in the race if Platner remained on the ballot, and the Senate Majority PAC said in light of the allegations, it was redirecting resources away from the Maine Senate race, severely limiting his campaign’s viability going forward.

And a number of Platner’s highest-profile supporters in Congress — like Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California and Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona — also took back their endorsements shortly after the story became public.

On Tuesday, independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont said he spoke with Platner and “recommended that he step aside.” The statement carried significant weight, with Sanders having been a key supporter of Platner’s.

Caitlin Yilek and Kaia Hubbard contributed to this report.

美官员：霍尔木兹海峡将全面恢复通航

2026年7月11日 07:22 / 联合早报

国际市场服务机构克普勒公司7月10日数据显示，7月9日通过霍尔木兹海峡的船舶数量从前一天的30艘降至22艘，连续两天通航量下降。 （法新社）

美国官员称，霍尔木兹海峡将很快全面恢复通航，并指伊朗谈判代表将近期船只遇袭事件归咎于擅自行动的军事单位。

综合《纽约时报》和彭博社报道，三名要求匿名的美国高级官员星期五（7月10日）说，他们预计伊朗将在未来几天发表公开声明，确认霍尔木兹海峡所有航道保持开放，伊朗军队将停止向通过这条狭窄水道的船只开火。

美国官员还说，如果伊朗不发表这项声明并予以遵守，“他们不会有好的下场。”

在约30分钟谈话中，三名美国官员透露，伊朗谈判代表告诉他们，针对船只的无人机袭击是由伊朗伊斯兰革命卫队中擅自行动的单位发动的。目的是企图破坏美伊于6月签署、一项措辞含糊的核协议。

他们也说，特朗普政府计划继续就伊朗核计划达成一项更广泛的永久性协议进行谈判，并将对任何进一步袭击船只的行为做出军事回击。

延伸阅读

霍尔木兹海峡遇袭船员索赔 泰国法院受理
霍尔木兹海峡航运锐减 油轮关闭应答器避袭

当天早些时候，美国总统特朗普在社媒平台Truth Social贴文称，谈判将继续进行，但伊朗和美国6月达成的14项条款停火协议已失效。

其中一名美国官员说，伊朗若要与美国敲定最终版核协议，就必须向美国移交“核尘埃”（nuclear dust）。这些核尘埃必须稀释至无法用于制造核武器。所谓“核尘埃”是指接近武器级的浓缩铀，主要埋藏在伊斯法罕（Isfahan）铀浓缩与转化中心。

但美国与伊朗6月18日签署包含14项条款的谅解备忘录并未明确规定这批铀燃料的归属，而且伊朗官员过后对外宣布，这批铀燃料绝对不能运出伊朗。

此外，目前也不清楚铀燃料的回收和稀释工作是否由伊朗进行，还是由美国与联合国核查机构——国际原子能机构（IAEA）合作进行。

三名美国官员并未透露美伊就一项更广泛的协议进行后续谈判的计划。若要赶在协议规定的60天期限届满前，双方必须在8月中旬前达成最终协议。

Secretary Brooke Rollins says the label helps family farmers and independent ranchers gain market share and recognition

By James Cirrone, Fox News

FIRST ON FOX — The Trump administration announced on Friday that 10 additional companies will put a “Product of USA” label on their meat and poultry products that originate from farms and ranches in the United States.

This push began earlier this year as a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) initiative aimed at making it easier for consumers to know whether they are supporting American meat producers at the grocery store.

“President Trump has made it clear that when American families buy American products, they should know exactly what they’re getting,” Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said in a statement first obtained by Fox News Digital. “The Product of USA label gives consumers confidence that the meat, poultry, and egg products they purchase come from animals born, raised, harvested, and processed right here in the United States.”

STEVE MOORE: POLITICIANS ARE BLAMING THE WRONG VILLAIN FOR AMERICA’S RISING FOOD PRICES

Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins speaks with guests outside the White House in Washington, D.C., on July 3, 2026.(Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The USDA finalized the updated standard of what qualifies as American meat in 2024, marking a shift from past labeling rules that critics said allowed some imported meat to say it was U.S.-made as long as it was merely processed domestically.

Rollins added that as more companies adopt the voluntary label, independent ranchers, family farmers, and small- and mid-sized meat processors will begin to reap the benefits.

“USDA will continue working every day to strengthen domestic food production and ensure American agriculture remains the strongest in the world,” Rollins added.

The 10 new companies adopting the “Product of USA” label include Harris Ranch and One World Beef, both based in California; Upper Iowa Beef; American Foods Group; Agri Beef in Idaho; FPL Food in Georgia; Hadrick Farms in South Dakota; Fort Worth Meat Packers in Texas; Wholestone Farms in Nebraska; and Harrison’s Poultry in Illinois.

USDA choice grade stickers are displayed on packages of meat at a Costco store on Nov. 11, 2025, in Novato, California.(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

STEVE FORBES: CHUCK SCHUMER HAS A BEEF WITH BEEF, BUT DOESN’T EVEN KNOW HOW TO GRILL IT

Juan Ramos,founder and CEO of Fort Worth Meats, said in a statement that the origin of food “should never be a mystery.”

“Consumers deserve labels they can trust,U.S. producers deserve recognition for what they produce, and every meat product should be represented honestly for what it is,” Ramos said.

Eric Brandt, the president of One World Beef, thanked the USDA for strengthening transparency and “helping preserve the future of independent ranching for generations to come.”

Cattle rest in a field on June 5, 2026, in Hamilton, Texas.(Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

SECRETARY ROLLINS DISCUSSES US AGRICULTURE’S ROLE IN IRAN PLAN

“Working from pasture to package gives us a unique appreciation for the responsibility behind every label. Honest representation honors the work of producers and gives consumers the confidence to know exactly what they’re buying,” Kyle Zimmerman, co-president and co-owner of Harrisons Poultry, said.

According to the USDA website, thousands of American producers already display the “Product of USA” label.

Last month, the USDA announced another new initiative called the Strengthening Processing for U.S. Ranchers Program.

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The program will provide up to $500 million to help eligible small- and mid-sized beef processors to expand their domestic operations.

To be eligible, companies need to be U.S.-owned firms under federal inspection, according to the USDA. They also cannot hold a dominant position in the beef processing market.

Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.

James Cirrone is a writer on the Breaking/Trending News team at Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to james.cirrone@fox.com.

CEO under fire for mass layoffs amid foreign worker hiring spree now appointed to Fed’s task force on jobs

July 10, 2026 12:22pm EDT / Fox News

Microsoft is cutting 4,800 jobs after getting approved to hire 2,273 foreign H-1B visa workers this year

By Peter D’Abrosca, Fox News

There’s an ‘abundance of evidence’ on relationship between immigration and home prices, Fed Governor says

Federal Reserve Board of Governors member Stephen Miran discusses the correlation between housing prices and immigration, possible future rate cuts and more on ‘The Story.’

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The CEO of a popular U.S. gaming brand on Thursday was appointed to a high-level Federal Reserve task force despite ongoing fury over her company’s recent firing of 1,600 workers while being approved to hire thousands of foreign visa workers.

Asha Sharma, who heads Microsoft’s Xbox division, announced the layoffs earlier this week. Microsoft said that it will lay off 4,800 people in total, while it had been approved earlier this year to hire 2,273 foreign H-1B visa employees, according to data from U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS).

At the height of the wrath over the layoffs this week, the Federal Reserve moved forward with appointing Sharma to a newly-created advisory role within the central bank.

FURY ERUPTS AS US BRAND FIRES 1,600 EMPLOYEES AFTER SECURING THOUSANDS OF FOREIGN WORKER VISAS

Asha Sharma, chief executive officer of Xbox, during the Bloomberg Tech conference in San Francisco, California, on Thursday, June 4, 2026. The event brings together the leading CEOs, investors and innovators who are harnessing technology to change the world around us.(David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Sharma will serve on a task force on “Productivity and Jobs” alongside Andreessen Horowitz co-founder Marc Andreessen and Stanford University economics professor Charles I. Jones.

“The Federal Reserve’s commitment to price stability and maximum employment is unwavering. As is our resolve to pursue our mandate with rigor,” said new Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh in a statement on the appointments.

“Each task force will carefully consider whether policymakers’ means and methods, analytical tools and policy approaches can be improved upon,” he continued. “I am honored that the best minds from a range of disciplines have agreed to work with us to sharpen our performance as an institution.”

Many of the same critics who raged at Sharma, Xbox and Microsoft over the perceived replacement of American employees with foreign visa workers continued their tirades after the announcement.

Microsoft said that 740 of this year’s visas were to hire employees already in the U.S. from other companies, while the other 1,533 were renewals of existing visas.

TRUMP TAPS ACTING LABOR SECRETARY KEITH SONDERLING FOR PERMANENT ROLE PENDING SENATE CONFIRMATION

U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh speaks during his first news conference since taking the helm at the central bank on June 17, 2026, in Washington, D.C. Warsh was appointed by President Donald Trump after former chair Jerome Powell’s tenure ended in May.(Chen Mengtong/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images)

“It’s like asking El Chapo to lead the DEA,” one person said online.

Another critic said the Federal Reserve is trying to “incentivize” mass layoff of American workers in favor of foreign ones with their hiring of the XBOX executive.

“The Federal Reserve needs help firing Americans,” another person quipped.

A fourth person called the move “totally unexplainable”

FTC CHIEF ACCUSES DEMOCRATS OF ‘TRYING TO PROTECT THE FRAUDSTERS’ BY WITHHOLDING DATA FROM TRUMP ADMIN

Some have claimed a racial component to the importation of H-1B visa workers, the vast majority of whom come from India. Sharma has Indian heritage but was born in Wisconsin.

“Reminder that she had zero gaming experience when she was promoted to run Xbox, and she has zero finance or economic experience now that she’s promoted to advise the Federal Reserve, said one X user. “Her one function is to purge white Americans and replace them with Indian cheap foreign labor.”

The Federal Reserve did not return Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.

Pontiac, Michigan, A rally outside the Oakland County government complex supports a proposal to require government contractors to use the federal E-Verify database to check the immigration status of job applicants.(Jim West/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance announced on Tuesday a large-scale investigation into H-1B visa fraud.

“Today, I’m proud to announce that the federal Department of Labor has started dozens of subpoenas and investigations into foreign fraudsters who are trying to take advantage of the H-1B visa program,” he said during a press conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

“American jobs ought to go to American workers and not foreign fraudsters and the Department of Labor is fighting back against it.”

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In response to a request for comment, Microsoft directed Fox News Digital to a post on X by a company spokesperson.

“The H-1B figures being referenced are Microsoft-wide visa renewals and new hire applications. They are not specific to XBOX and represent a small percentage of Microsoft’s overall workforce. And the majority of roles impacted were not American roles,” Frank Shaw said on X, adding that XBOX is the largest employer of American workers in the gaming industry.

Peter D’Abrosca is a politics reporter at Fox News Digital.