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普京与特朗普通话 提出迅速结束伊朗战争方案

发布/2026年3月10日 07:15

去年8月15日，普京和特朗普为俄乌问题在美国阿拉斯加州安克雷奇举行会晤。 （路透社）

俄罗斯总统普京星期一（3月9日）应约与美国总统特朗普通电话，重点讨论伊朗局势、乌克兰局势等国际问题，普京就通过政治外交途径尽快结束围绕伊朗的战事提出一些建议。

新华社报道，俄罗斯总统助理乌沙科夫9日晚表示，普京和特朗普通话持续约一小时。乌沙科夫说，就通过政治外交途径尽快解决“在伊朗的冲突”，普京“表达了若干想法”，包括考虑推动有海湾多国领导人、伊朗总统佩泽希齐扬及其他国家领导人参与的沟通。

特朗普向普京介绍了他“在美以行动持续的背景下对近期局势的评估”。“双方就这一主题进行了具体且有益的交流。”

乌沙科夫说，特朗普再次表示希望俄乌冲突尽早进入停火阶段，以达成乌克兰问题长期解决方案。

另外，俄美领导人还从全球原油市场角度讨论了委内瑞拉问题。

延伸阅读

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特朗普对伊朗战争态势发出前后矛盾信号 特朗普将在“适当时机”作出结束对伊朗军事行动决定

这是美国和以色列2月28日联手对伊朗发起大规模军事行动以来，俄美总统首次电话交谈。普京6日与佩泽希齐扬通电话时表示，俄方对于此次冲突的原则立场是必须立即停止军事行动，放弃以武力方式解决伊朗及中东地区问题，尽快回归政治和外交解决的轨道。

Capturing Iran’s highly enriched uranium would require a large US ground force, sources say

2026-03-09T22:36:37.507Z / CNN

By Natasha Bertrand, Zachary Cohen, Haley Britzky, Avery Schmitz
1 hr 6 min ago
PUBLISHED Mar 9, 2026, 6:36 PM ET

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Plumes of smoke seen in Isfahan, Iran, on March 4, 2026/

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Recovering Iran’s remaining highly enriched uranium stockpile believed to be sitting in a storage facility deep underground, an objective the Trump administration has been discussing, would require a significant number of US ground troops beyond a small special operations footprint, seven current and former officials familiar with the military planning told CNN.

The US bombing campaign that struck three Iranian nuclear facilities last June did not destroy all of that country’s highly enriched uranium stockpile, the material needed to create a nuclear weapon. Much of it is believed to be at Iran’s Isfahan nuclear site, said three of the sources. President Donald Trump has made complete elimination of Iran’s nuclear capability one of his stated aims of the war.

If the Trump administration went ahead with an operation to retrieve the uranium, it could mark the first major commitment of US ground forces as part of the campaign, an escalation that would put a large number of troops in harm’s way as part of a complex mission to move or render safe tons of highly radioactive material.

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The uranium at Isfahan is accessible to the Iranians, who had been working for months after the US military strikes last year to clear the rubble of the facility’s aboveground structures and access the underground tunnels where the uranium was hidden, two of the sources said. UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said on Monday that around 200 kilograms of Iran’s highly enriched uranium is probably still at Isfahan, with some also at Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility.

Highly enriched uranium is a dual-use material, and Iran has said it produces it only for peaceful energy purposes. But enriching it above a certain threshold — around 90% —means it can be used to create nuclear weapons. Iran’s uranium is currently enriched at around 60%, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

The White House and Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment ahead of publication.

Trump has repeatedly said that Iran can never be allowed to have a nuclear weapons program. “One thing is certain: I will never allow the world’s number one sponsor of terror, which they are by far, to have a nuclear weapon,” he said last month.

‘The logistics and risk involved would be prohibitive’

US military airstrikes alone can’t penetrate the Isfahan tunnels, primarily because the facility does not have ventilation shaft openings like some of Iran’s other nuclear sites, which serve as weak points for a storage structure. That has led to discussions within the Trump administration about deploying elite units within the US military’s Joint Special Operations Command, potentially in coordination with Israeli commando forces, to physically infiltrate the tunnels and secure or destroy the enriched uranium, the sources said.

A mission like that, however, would require dozens if not hundreds of additional troops on the ground to help support the core special operations team tasked with finding the uranium, the sources said, particularly given the Iranian military’s continued control over the sites and surrounding area. That support could entail not just troops to secure the area, but also logistical support given the challenges of working with nuclear material deep underground.

Delta Force and Seal Team 6 operators receive training in countering weapons of mass destruction, and US Special Operations Command has been the lead group for the Pentagon’s counter-WMD mission for nearly a decade. Several elements of the US government also have teams that are designated “render safe units” that can handle radiological material, one of the sources said. JSOC also has contingency plans to either “render safe” the material underground and/or render the facility unusable.

One retired special forces officer not involved in the planning told CNN that in their experience, a mission like this would probably require a tier one special operations unit; specialized explosive ordnance disposal personnel attached to that team; outer security which could be either the 75th Ranger Regiment or the 82nd Airborne Division depending on how large the area is and how many people are needed; exfiltration and infiltration assets like MC-130J aircraft or MH-47 Chinook helicopters; and consistent air cover overhead throughout the mission.

“The logistics and risk involved would be prohibitive, to say the least,” said one person familiar with the discussions.

In a sign that the US could be keeping its options open, at least six MC-130Js are now flying out of RAF Mildenhall in the United Kingdom, according to flight data and satellite imagery reviewed by CNN, positioning them closer to Iran if called upon.

These variants of the C-130 cargo plane are specially equipped to support covert infiltration and exfiltration of US commandos into hostile environments.

A satellite image captured over the airbase on March 5 appears to show several MC-130Js parked on the tarmac.

A satellite image captured on March 5 shows several aircraft consistent with MC-130Js on the apron at RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk, England.

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Three of the six aircraft identified are newly arrived to RAF Mildenhall, having flown in from across Europe in recent weeks. Three others have been based out of RAF Mildenhall for months.

The same dataset suggests nearly every aircraft has participated in training missions over the United Kingdom and North Sea in recent weeks.

The Iranian regime, meanwhile, is proving resilient in the face of relentless US-Israeli airstrikes. Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, has been installed as Iran’s new ayatollah — a signal that Iran’s leadership has no intention of folding to American pressure.

Without the outright collapse of the regime, some level of diplomatic engagement rather than just sheer military power will likely be required to eliminate Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile, multiple sources said.

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Trump administration designates Afghanistan as a state sponsor of wrongful detention

March 9, 2026 / 7:03 PM EDT / CBS News

Secretary of State Marco Rubio formally designated Afghanistan as a state sponsor of wrongful detention on Monday, paving the way for the Trump administration to impose restrictions such as sanctions and export controls as punishment for the Taliban’s arbitrary imprisonment of Americans.

The designation allows for powers created by an executive order in September to be used by the Trump administration. As well as sanctions, there could be travel restrictions implemented for U.S. passport holders who otherwise want to travel to the country.

“The Taliban continues to use terrorist tactics, kidnapping individuals for ransom or to seek policy concessions. These despicable tactics need to end,” Rubio said in a statement announcing the decision.

“It is not safe for Americans to travel to Afghanistan because the Taliban continues to unjustly detain our fellow Americans and other foreign nationals,” the statement continued. “The Taliban needs to release Dennis Coyle, Mahmoud Habibi, and all Americans unjustly detained in Afghanistan now and commit to cease the practice of hostage diplomacy forever.”

Afghanistan is the second country to receive the designation after Iran was labelled on Feb. 27, the day before the U.S. and Israel launched joint attacks on the Islamic Republic.

“They view Americans as a commodity that they can grab onto and then trade in the future,” Rubio said at a Monday ceremony at the State Department. “That cycle has to stop, and that’s why this designation now exists.”

U.S. government officials, former American detainees and their families were hosted by the State Department on Monday to mark National Hostage and Wrongful Detainee Day, which happens annually on March 9. The national flag for wrongfully detained Americans and hostages was raised outside the State Department on Monday with the families of detainees looking on from the top floor of the building.

At the event, Special Envoy for Hostage Response Adam Boehler said that the administration has helped to bring home 175 individuals, including 100 Americans, wrongfully detained abroad since the start of President Trump’s second term.

Among the Americans currently detained in Afghanistan is 64-year old Dennis Coyle, an academic originally from Colorado, who was abducted just six days after Ryan Corbett, another American, was released at the start of President Trump’s second term. Coyle is being held by the Taliban General Directorate of Intelligence in near-solitary confinement and, according to his family, has had no charges filed against him.

Coyle’s sisters, Molly Long and Amy Sessions, met with Rubio on Monday in Washington, a family advocate told CBS News.

Two of Dennis Coyle’s sisters, Molly Long and Amy Sessions, at the State Department in Washington on Monday, March 9, 2026. Photo provided to CBS News

“We deeply appreciate Secretary Rubio’s leadership in holding the Taliban accountable for wrongfully detaining my brother, Dennis Coyle,” Long said in a statement shared with CBS News. “We have great confidence in this administration — particularly Secretary Rubio, Dr. Sebastian Gorka, and Adam Boehler — for prioritizing Dennis’s freedom and working tirelessly to bring him home safely. We remain hopeful and grateful.”

以军称空袭伊朗伊斯兰革命卫队无人机总部

发布时间 / 来源：2026年3月10日 07:30 / 联合早报

3月8日发布的视频截图，显示伊朗德黑兰库萨尔大道着火。 （路透社）

以色列国防军星期一（3月9日）晚间发表声明称，以军空袭了伊朗伊斯兰革命卫队一处“无人机总部”。

新华社报道，以色列国防军说，以军对伊朗境内多个地区的数十个基础设施目标进行新一轮空袭，其中包括一处伊朗伊斯兰革命卫队的无人机“中央总部”。以军称，伊方先前从那里向以色列发射无人机，并在那里储存了更多的无人机。

以军说，正加大力度打击伊朗境内的弹道导弹生产基础设施，进一步削弱伊方发射和防御能力。

伊朗方面尚未证实上述以军空袭消息。

US indicts two alleged ‘terrorists’ accused of trying to bomb NYC protest

By Reuters
March 9, 2026 5:16 PM UTC Updated 2 hours ago

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A view of the U.S. Department of Justice, after U.S. President Donald Trump and members of his family sued the IRS and the U.S. Treasury Department for $10 billion for disclosing their tax returns, in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 1, 2026. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

WASHINGTON, March 9 (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Justice has indicted two people accused of trying to bomb a protest in New York City, Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a post on X on Monday, calling them “ISIS-inspired terrorists.”

The Reuters Iran Briefing newsletter keeps you informed with the latest developments and analysis of the Iran war. Sign up here.

Reporting by Ryan Patrick Jones; writing by Susan Heavey, editing by Michelle Nichols

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US Supreme Court to hear Guam hazardous waste explosions case

March 9, 2026 5:30 PM UTC / Reuters

A view of the entrance of U.S. military Andersen Air Force base on the island of Guam, a U.S. Pacific Territory, August 11, 2017. REUTERS/Erik De Castro/File Photo [Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab]

• Summary

• Air Force detonates hazardous waste explosives at beach
• Environmentalists call for environmental impact assessment
• Appeals court had allowed environmental suit to proceed

March 9 (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Monday to hear a bid by President Donald Trump’s administration to dismiss a challenge by environmentalists to the U.S. Air ​Force’s practice of detonating hazardous waste explosives on a beach in Guam.

The justices agreed to hear the Justice Department’s appeal ‌of a lower court’s ruling allowing a lawsuit pursued by the environmental groups Prutehi Guahan and Earthjustice accusing the Air Force of ignoring a requirement under federal law to assess the environmental impact of a practice like this one.

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Since 1982, the Air Force has disposed of hazardous munitions such as tear gas and propellants on ​Tarague Beach, a restricted-access location in Guam, a U.S. territory roughly 3,800 miles (6,100 km) from Hawaii that acts as an anchor for ​military operations in the Western Pacific.

Tarague Beach serves as a nesting habitat for the endangered turtles and sits ⁠above an aquifer that provides more than 80% of the island’s population with drinking water.

The U.S. government, under both Trump and his predecessor ​Joe Biden, has sought to have the lawsuit thrown out. After a federal trial judge dismissed the lawsuit, the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court ​of Appeals reinstated it last year.

The government has said that the arguments made by the plaintiffs would burden the U.S. military and federal agencies with unnecessary environmental permitting requirements that Congress never contemplated when it passed the mandates at issue.

The Air Force did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“Now that the Supreme Court ​has decided to hear the case, we will continue to defend Guam residents’ ability to protect their health, their land and their resources,” Earthjustice ​lawyer David Henkin said.

The dispute concerns the National Environmental Policy Act, a law from 1970 requiring federal agencies to produce “environmental impact statements” – documents that assess the ‌environmental consequences ⁠of proposed major federal actions.

In 2021, the Air Force asked Guam regulators to renew a permit to conduct open burning and open detonation of hazardous waste at Tarague Beach, located near Andersen Air Force Base. Prutehi Guahan, an environmental protection nonprofit in Guam, challenged the legality of the move in court. It is represented in the case by lawyers at Earthjustice.

Prutehi Guahan argued that, before seeking the permit renewal, the Air Force was ​legally required to assess the environmental ​impact of its waste disposal practices ⁠and propose alternatives. The suit seeks a court order requiring the Air Force to produce an environmental impact statement.

A federal judge in Guam dismissed the case, saying Prutehi Guahan lacked standing to sue. But a 9th ​Circuit three-judge panel ruled 2-1 to revive the case, agreeing with Prutehi Guahan that the Air Force ​needed to conduct ⁠an environmental impact assessment before submitting a permit-renewal application.

In appealing to the Supreme Court, the Justice Department argued that the Air Force did not need to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act because it had followed steps mandated under a different law, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, ⁠which regulates ​the disposal of hazardous waste.

The 9th Circuit’s decision threatens to “inflict significant burdens on both federal ​courts and federal agencies in the form of premature and duplicative judicial and administrative proceedings, and to impede state and federal agencies’ performance of their permitting responsibilities,” the Justice ​Department wrote.

The Supreme Court is due to hear the case during its next term, which begins in October.

Reporting by Jan Wolfe; Editing by Will Dunham

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Virginia counties challenge April redistricting vote over timing rules | Fox News

By Charles Creitz | Fox News
Published March 9, 2026 12:17pm EDT

Virginia counties and several independent cities are pushing back against an April special election that could reshape nearly every Republican-held congressional district in the state before voters next head to the polls.

If approved, the referendum would trigger a mid-cycle redrawing of the state’s congressional map, potentially altering the balance of power in Virginia’s U.S. House delegation. If rejected, the existing map would remain in place and ongoing legal challenges surrounding the measure could be rendered moot.

In Patrick County — named for “Give me liberty or give me death,” Gov. Patrick Henry — local officials have mounted an early formal challenge to the vote, backed by lawmakers and attorneys from across the state. The county passed a resolution delaying early voting until just days before the April 21 election, as the redistricting amendment continues to be tested in court in Tazewell County.

Patrick County and others argue that the Virginia Constitution requires at least 90 days to pass before early voting can begin on a ballot measure. They claim Democrats improperly used a 2024 special legislative session — which was never formally closed — to fast-track the redistricting amendment onto the November ballot.

NEW DEM STAR’S QUICK HARD-LEFT TURN AFTER ‘MODERATE’ CAMPAIGN WON HER COVETED RESPONSE TO TRUMP: LAWMAKER

Following Patrick’s lead, officials in Campbell, Charlotte, Spotsylvania, Prince George, Scott, Washington, Floyd and Roanoke counties, along with the independent city of Lynchburg, are considering, pursuing or voting on similar measures, according to Del. Wren Williams, who is also an attorney and who told Fox News Digital he is both politically and legally laser-focused on the situation.

Williams, who represents Patrick, Floyd and Carroll counties and the independent city of Galax in Virginia’s deep-red, mountainous southwest, said that from an apolitical perspective, the resolutions boil down to fiscal responsibility.

“Who would vote against ‘restoring fairness’? That is where I think [Democrats] have overstepped and overplayed their hand. When I was a young attorney, an older attorney told me one time, pigs get fat and hogs get slaughtered,” he said in an exclusive interview.

Patrick County will spend about $15,000 to hold a special election, and the ongoing legal uncertainty and political gamesmanship over the issue in Richmond do not create a stable environment for municipalities to expend such resources, he said.

Tazewell County Judge Jack Hurley Jr. ruled in favor of Senate Minority Leader Ryan McDougle, R-Hanover, in the GOP’s procedural challenge, declaring the redistricting amendment “void ab initio,” or invalid from the start.

The commonwealth appealed, and the Virginia Supreme Court ruled the referendum could stand while it reviews the case. Separately, the RNC has sued the Virginia Department of Elections again via Tazewell, and Hurley again blocked the election on grounds that Virginia Democrats’ ballot question language of “[vote yes to] restore fairness” is misleading.

RNC SUES TO STOP DEMOCRATS’ VIRGINIA REDISTRICTING PUSH

Senate President L. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, has repeatedly claimed the referendum’s mantle, responding in often profane ways to critics, including Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who took issue with the 10-1 Democratic bent of the new map.

“You all started it and we f[—]ing finished it,” Lucas said in response to Cruz calling it an abuse of power and affront to democracy.

Williams said that from both a fiscal and legal perspective, with all of the above going on, counties like his own are in the right.

The effort was publicly backed by Virginia Beach attorney Tim Anderson, a former state legislator, until the state Supreme Court threw a legal wrench in the works late last week.

Anderson has posted numerous video comments and documents on his social media, including a draft resolution for counties to use.

Rockingham County, which surrounds Harrisonburg, put forward a similarly crafted resolution last week wherein officials stated, “congressional redistricting has significant consequences for the ability of communities to elect representatives who understand and are familiar with their values, priorities and regional needs.”

However, after a Lynchburg judge reportedly ruled he could not intervene in the election process because the gears were already in motion, Anderson, who represented Lynchburg officials, told the Virginia Cardinal News he is not appealing and has pivoted to suggesting all critical counties move forward with the election.

In a video message on Thursday, Anderson warned that given the new ruling, all counties must now follow the Supreme Court.

THIS CRUCIAL STATE IS THE LATEST BATTLEGROUND IN REDISTRICTING WAR BETWEEN TRUMP AND DEMOCRATS

“If you are a local official… in a jurisdiction that entered a resolution that said you’re not going to do the elections, you need to reverse immediately. The Virginia Supreme Court has made its decision, you are bound by it,” he said.

“Go early vote. There’s nothing else to do other than to vote. If we lose, there are a ton of legal arguments that can be made [then],” Anderson added, further suggesting he will again be a part of any postmortem arguments.

Over just a few days, yards signs pleading with fellow Virginians to vote “NO” have cropped up all around, in places like Amherst, Stephenson, Buena Vista and beyond.

Rep. Ben Cline, R-Va., whose district runs from the West Virginia line at Roanoke to Botetourt County north of Roanoke, echoed those proponents’ concerns in comments to Fox News Digital.

Cline said his current district would be split into five pieces, many of which would originate in culturally disparate Arlington, saying it strips the singular voice in Washington from Virginia’s top agricultural region.

Another wrinkle was thrown in Wednesday when the Virginia Supreme Court stayed Hurley’s ruling regarding the election moving forward and said it will allow it to proceed while making clear it is not issuing a ruling on the merits of the case, which it maintains will come a few days after the election, according to the Virginia Scope.

“It is the process, not the outcome, of this effort that we may ultimately have to address. Issuing an injunction to keep Virginians from the polls is not the proper way to make this decision,” the court ruled, according to the Scope.

As early voting began Friday, Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones issued a legal opinion opposing the counties’ efforts.

REDISTRICTING FIGHT ERUPTS AS MARYLAND DEMOCRATS MOVE TO REDRAW LONE GOP HOUSE SEAT

“Local governing bodies cannot use their own independent constitutional interpretations to justify interfering with state-mandated elections,” Jones said, according to the Staunton News-Leader.

Jones claimed the counties don’t have any authority to prevent “election officials from performing their statutory duties,” alleging state supremacy and arguing that any disruptive resolutions would have “no legal effect.”

Prior to Jones’ opinion, Williams told Fox News Digital he understands the “lawfare” at play, saying he’s worked with election-law suits in the past and spoke of a “catch-me-if-you-can” dynamic of courts denying or delaying decisions until the situation is mooted so that they don’t actually have to issue a final ruling.

“If [the redistricting amendment] passes, they’re going to say, ‘the majority has spoken.’ And so that is my concern…” he said.

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Looking ahead, Williams noted many of the critical counties are holding their next board meetings in the coming days, and suggested the fight may not be over just yet.

A Republican source told Fox News Digital that Democrats “bet the farm” on the redistricting amendment and that “if it fails on the notice requirement, so do their other three amendments,” including the map redraw.

Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.

He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant.

Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.

Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to charles.creitz@fox.com.

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6390083836112
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6386444352112
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6388053301112

PALM BEACH, Fla. — National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) chair Sen. Tim Scott says he remains “incredibly optimistic” the GOP can not only hold but expand its current 53–47 majority in the fall 2026 midterm elections.

But as Republicans battle stiff political headwinds as the party in power in the nation’s capital traditionally loses seats in the midterms and as the GOP faces a rough political climate fueled by economic concerns amid persistent inflation and President Donald Trump’s underwater approval ratings, Scott isn’t sugar-coating things.

“There’s no doubt the climate has gotten more and more difficult by the day, it seems like at times,” Scott said in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital at an annual economic conference in Florida hosted by the Club for Growth, an influential and politically potent conservative political group that pushes for fiscal responsibility.

Scott in early February gave fellow GOP senators some straight talk about the party’s chances in the midterm elections, when he briefed his colleagues at a closed-door meeting, according to sources in the room.

STRATEGY SESSION: TRUMP TEAM HUDDLES ON MIDTERM MESSAGING

The NRSC chair told Fox News Digital in December 2025 that in the battle for the majority, “54 is clearly within our grasp right now, but with a little bit of luck, 55 is on our side.”

Asked again in his Fox News Digital interview Saturday, Scott said, “I think we have a possibility of more than 53 seats.”

MAJORITY AT RISK? — THESE SIX GOP HELD SENATE SEATS MOST AT JEAPARDY

“The good news is we have a president who made promises, he’s been keeping those promises, and we have been able to recruit the highest quality candidates anyone could want in every single battleground state,” Scott said.

Highlighting seats the GOP’s aiming to flip, Scott pointed to Georgia, where Republicans view first-term Sen. Jon Ossoff as the most vulnerable Democrat seeking re-election in 2026. He also spotlighted open Democratic-held seats in battleground Michigan, swing state New Hampshire, and blue-leaning Minnesota.

GOP CALLS TRUMP ITS ‘SECRET WEAPON’ — BUT POLLS SHOW WARNING SIGNS HEADING INTO MIDTERMS

Scott said he’s “incredibly optimistic, not only about holding the majority, but still expanding the majority through Georgia, Michigan, New Hampshire and even Minnesota, we have a strong candidate.”

The candidate he was referring to in Minnesota is former NBC Sports reporter turned conservative activist and commentator Michele Tafoya.

But Democrats are targeting Maine, where longtime GOP Sen. Susan Collins is running for re-election in the blue-leaning northern New England state, and battleground North Carolina, where Republicans are defending an open seat in the race to succeed retiring GOP Sen. Thom Tillis.

Democrats are also trying to flip GOP-held Senate seats in Texas, Ohio, Alaska and Iowa, which are all red states.

“Voters are sick and tired of Trump and Senate Republicans’ toxic agenda raising prices and threatening their health care,” the rival Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) emphasized in a social media post. “Voters across the country are ready to send Senate Republicans packing this November.”

PAXTON SAYS HE’S STAYING IN THE RACE EVEN IF TRUMP BACKS CORNYN

In Texas, the NRSC is backing longtime GOP Sen. John Cornyn, who is now facing off with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a MAGA firebrand, in a costly and combustible primary runoff.

Trump said in early March, following the primary election where no candidate in the crowded Republican field cracked 50% to win the nomination, that he would soon make an endorsement.

The NRSC and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who is also backing Cornyn, are concerned that a Paxton victory could give the Democrats a path to flipping the red seat, thanks to the state attorney general’s political baggage, including a plethora of past scandals and a current messy divorce.

“The one thing we know about John Cornyn is he will win Texas. If you want to have the clearest path of victory, John Cornyn is your guy,” Scott said. “President Trump is the only person that can make that a reality immediately through this runoff process.”

Scott said “we hope and pray” that Trump will endorse Cornyn. But he added: “The President is going to do what the President is going to do. I won’t pretend to influence his final decision, but I will say, I’m certainly praying for John Cornyn to be our our nominee.”

TRUMP ARGUES GAS PRICES SPIKE IS TEMPORARY

Oil prices have shot up in the week and a half since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran, instantly resulting in higher costs for gasoline across America. That’s a major concern for Republicans in a midterm election cycle where the economy, and specifically affordability, is the top concern of voters.

“I think the economy will continue to get better month over a month,” an optimist Scott predicted. “I think the rest of this year we’ll see unfolding good information, good facts about why the American people should focus on the Republican Party and keep us in the majority.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

And with the annual tax filing deadline just more than a month away, Scott touted the numerous tax cuts kicking in this year in the GOP’s sweeping “big, beautiful bill”, which Trump signed into law in summer 2025.

Scott touted “a bigger tax return for millions of Americans, that’s great news. The more they see more money in their pockets, and the more they attribute it to the Republican Party, the better we’re going to do this election season.”

Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in the swing state of New Hampshire. He covers the campaign trail from coast to coast.

The top Senate Democrat wants President Donald Trump to tap the nation’s oil stockpile as fuel prices skyrocket, years after blocking his attempt to replenish the supply when prices were low.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called on Trump to unleash reserve barrels of oil from America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) as oil prices spike amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

Schumer argued in a statement that the reserve “exists for moments exactly like this.”

[image_1]

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., during a news conference following Senate Democrat policy luncheons at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., March 3, 2026.(Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

[TRUMP’S ENERGY DOMINANCE REWRITES THE STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVE AFTER BIDEN DRAWDOWNS]

“When wars and global crises disrupt energy markets, the United States has the ability to act, but President Trump and his administration are refusing to do so,” Schumer said. “Trump should release oil from the SPR now to stabilize markets, bring prices down, and stop the price shock that American families are already feeling thanks to his reckless war.”

During his first term, Trump wanted to use about $3 billion from a colossal COVID-19 stimulus package making its way through Congress to fill the reserve, but the move was promptly rejected by Schumer and congressional Democrats, who panned it as a “bailout” for the oil industry.

The price per barrel at the time was roughly $29, according to WTI Crude Oil. Now, oil has eclipsed $110 per barrel over the weekend for the first time since 2022.

Though the SPR has capacity for over 700 million barrels of crude oil, the reserve currently has far less.

[TANKERS TO RESUME NORMAL MOVEMENT IN MIDDLE EAST IN ‘A FEW WEEKS’ AT WORST, ENERGY SEC SAYS, ENDING OIL SURGE]

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President Joe Biden speaks during the Greek Independence Day in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on April 4, 2024.(Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images)

That’s because under former President Joe Biden, it was tapped twice — once to relieve soaring fuel prices as the nation still grappled with the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, and another time to combat increased energy costs at the onset of the war between Russia and Ukraine.

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At the end of Biden’s term, the reserve had about 415 million barrels of crude on hand, according to data from the Department of Energy. Schumer supported both instances when Biden opened the nation’s oil reserves but, years prior, blocked Trump from building up the stockpile toward the end of his first term.

“Senator Schumer championed Joe Biden’s Green New Scam, which raised energy costs, threatened our national security, and stifled American energy independence,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told Fox News Digital in a statement. “President Trump has been unleashing American energy dominance since day one, and now, American oil and gas production is at record highs.”

[GAS PRICES COULD JUMP AS MIDDLE EAST TENSIONS THREATEN GLOBAL OIL SUPPLY]

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A timelapse video shows marine traffic moving through the Strait of Hormuz.(Kpler/Marine Traffic)

Schumer lauded Biden’s first move to tap into the SPR in 2021, arguing that it provided “much-needed temporary relief at the pump.”

“Of course, the only long-term solution to rising gas prices is to continue our march to eliminate our dependence on fossil fuels and create a robust green energy economy,” he said at the time.

And toward the end of Biden’s presidency, his administration did buy back barrels of oil to refill the reserves, which Schumer did not object to.

Fast-forward, and the price per barrel of oil has launched into the stratosphere since Trump’s Operation Epic Fury and Iran’s response to put the Strait of Hormuz — a key route ferrying barrels around the globe — into a chokehold.

For now, the administration has no public plans to tap into the reserve as Americans undergo sticker shock at the pump.

[CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP]

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Energy Secretary Chris Wright argued that the best way to lower prices was to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by neutralizing Iran’s ability to target oil tankers.

Wright told Fox News over the weekend that the disruption would last for “weeks, certainly not months.”

“We believe this is a small price to pay to get to a world where energy prices will return back to where they were,” Wright said. “Iran will finally be defanged, and now you can see more investment, more free flow of trade, and less ability to threaten energy supplies.”

Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.

US kidney transplant inequity narrows for Black patients

March 9, 2026 6:07 PM UTC / Reuters

March 9 (Reuters) – Black patients with failing kidneys are receiving more transplants and spending less time on transplant waiting lists, after decades in which race-based medical guidelines led ​to under-diagnosis of kidney disease and fewer transplants in those patients, according to ‌a report published on Monday.

New U.S. policies are having a noticeably positive impact on outcomes of Black kidney patients, researchers said in a report published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

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“Our findings indicate that reparative approaches to ​address the harms caused by race-based clinical algorithms can help move the needle ​toward health equity,” study leader Dr. Rohan Khazanchi of Brigham and Women’s ⁠Hospital and Boston Medical Center said in a statement.

In some cases, Black patients who ​had been kept alive by dialysis for years while awaiting a new kidney received a ​transplant within months after the severity of their disease was reassessed using a race-neutral formula, surgeons not involved in the new study told Reuters. These patients were likely still years from reaching the top ​of the transplant list under the old system, they said.

Historically, to receive a diagnosis ​of kidney disease, Black patients needed worse renal function than white patients.

In 2021, to address this inequity, ‌race ⁠was removed from equations for estimating renal function. Two years later, U.S. hospitals were ordered to reassess their kidney transplant waiting lists and correct the status of Black patients whose kidney disease severity had been assessed by the old formula.

As of June 2025, 21,119 Black ​patients waiting for transplants ​had been moved ⁠up on waiting lists, resulting in an increase of 5.3 transplants per 1,000 Black candidate listings, without significant changes in transplant rates ​among non-Black and/or Hispanic candidates, according to the report.

“Black patients and ​other marginalized ⁠groups are still not transplanted equitably despite being diagnosed with end-stage kidney disease at much higher rates, so there remains a continued need for accountability and intervention to ensure that all ⁠communities are ​equitably prioritized,” Khazanchi said.

Recent efforts to end collection ​of race and ethnicity data in the U.S. Renal Data System risk erasing decades of progress in monitoring and ​intervening on kidney transplant inequities, the researchers said.

Reporting by Nancy Lapid; Editing by Bill Berkrot

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.