North Korea is warning Wednesday that its military will deliver ‘the most overwhelming and sustained response strategy’ to the U.S. after the Pentagon last week issued a report on weapons of mass destruction that called the country a ‘persistent’ threat. 

The Pentagon’s ‘2023 Strategy for Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction’ said that while China and Russia present the ‘principal WMD challenges, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), the Islamic Republic of Iran, and Violent Extremist Organizations remain persistent regional threats that must be addressed.’ 

North Korean state media quoted a defense ministry spokesman as saying Wednesday that ‘the U.S. has just revealed its dangerous intention for aggression to seriously violate the sovereignty and security of the DPRK and other independent sovereign states by threatening them with WMDs, and realize its wild ambition for seizing global military hegemony.’ 

The spokesman added that Kim Jong Un’s military ‘will counter the U.S. imperialist aggressors’ military strategy and provocations with the most overwhelming and sustained response strategy,’ according to a translation by the website KCNA Watch. 

NORTH KOREA ADDS ‘NUCLEAR FORCE-BUILDING’ MISSION TO ITS CONSTITUTION 

North Korea’s nuclear program has taken on new urgency since it enacted a law last year that authorizes preemptive use of nuclear weapons, which is referenced in the Pentagon report.  

‘The DPRK is developing and fielding mobile short-, intermediate-, and intercontinental-range nuclear capabilities that place the U.S. homeland and regional Allies and partners at risk,’ the Pentagon report said.  

US SOLDIER TRAVIS KING BACK ON AMERICAN SOIL AFTER BEING FREED BY NORTH KOREA 

‘The DPRK’s longstanding chemical and biological weapons capabilities remain a threat, as the DPRK may use such weapons during a conflict,’ it added. ‘The DPRK maintains up to several thousand metric tons of chemical warfare agents and the capability to produce nerve, blister, blood, and choking agents. The DPRK chemical employment methods include artillery, ballistic missiles, and unconventional forces.’ 

Since the beginning of 2022, North Korea has conducted more than 100 missile tests, many of them involving nuclear-capable weapons potentially able to target the U.S. and South Korea. 

Last week, North Korea’s parliament amended the country’s constitution to include the nuclear law, an indication that the North is further boosting its nuclear doctrine. During the parliament meeting, leader Kim Jong Un called for an exponential increase in production of nuclear weapons and for his country to play a larger role in a coalition of nations confronting the United States in a ‘new Cold War.’ 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is siding with members of the GOP who voted to oust House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Ramaswamy, who has never held elected office, said he understood McCarthy’s critics and supported the desire to inject ‘chaos’ into the legislature.

‘The point of removing the House Speaker was to sow chaos. That’s what the critics of Matt Gaetz and everybody else is saying,’ Ramaswamy said Tuesday in a video posted to social media. ‘And my advice to the people who voted to remove him is [to] own it.’

‘Admit it. There was no better plan of action of who’s going to fill that Speaker role. So was the point to sow chaos? Yes, it was,’ Ramaswamy said. ‘But the real question to ask, to get to the bottom of it, is whether chaos is really such a bad thing?’

Eight hard-line Republican lawmakers joined every present House Democrat in Tuesday’s historic vote to oust McCarthy from the top job.

‘We’re concerned about the future of the conservative agenda in the house,’ said Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla, who was the informal leader of McCarthy’s critics.’I would say that the conservative agenda was being paralyzed by Speaker McCarthy.’

McCarthy said Gaetz’s move was ‘personal’ and suggested it was done in retaliation for an ongoing Ethics Committee investigation into his conduct. 

McCarthy angered hardliners over the weekend when he passed a short-term spending bill known as a continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government open for 45 days in order to avert a government shutdown and give lawmakers more time to cobble together 12 individual spending bills.

Ninety House Republicans voted against the CR on Saturday, arguing that it was a ‘clean’ extension of the previous Democrat-held Congress’ policies. But the speaker’s previous attempts to put a CR on the table that would cut spending for its short duration were upended by several of those same conservatives who were opposed to any such measure on principle.

Ramaswamy listed a series of issues facing the US that he feels do not yet have a solution in motion — the national debt, border crisis, lawlessness in cities, and more — and said a comprehensive plan was more important than a ‘babysitter’ to ‘shepherd’ votes.

‘For everybody out there who’s asking the question, ‘What’s the plan to get a new speaker?’ — you’re asking the wrong question,’ Ramaswamy said. ‘What’s the plan to actually revive this country?’

Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind , Brandon Gillespie, and Jamie Joseph contributed to this report.

COVID exposed the danger of being heavily reliant on a foreign country for medications and medical supplies when China and other countries put a halt on PPE and other exports. As a result of inaction, we are seeing headlines announcing medication shortages of life-saving drugs, like chemotherapeutics, and generics like amoxicillin are higher than ever.

All Americans, not only those in medical professions, should share the same grave concerns expressed by former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley at the recent presidential primary debate. For decades, administrations from both political parties have sat idly by while America’s pharmaceutical manufacturing moved overseas, primarily to China and India. 

Haley is right when she said, ‘We need to be focusing on companies that produce in America and supporting those companies that produce in America; not companies that are helping China.’

It is a national security and public health crisis that nearly 90% of the chemical ingredients needed to make antibiotics and other medications are sourced from China. And it’s not just the ingredients. Our government is purchasing final products from China too. 

Our troops and our entire population are at risk when an adversary has the ability to provide tainted or ineffective products, if they provide them at all. Until we control our medication supply chain, we are at risk.

In 2015, China’s government released a 10-year plan to dominate 10 high-tech industries, especially geopolitically important sectors like bio-medicine. They directed enormous subsidies into these industries and implemented policies that favored their domestic companies while punishing any foreign competition. Since 2016, U.S. pharmaceutical imports from China have climbed 655%. This reliance is worst when it comes to antibiotics.

A pharmaceutical plant in Bristol, Tennessee, USAntibiotics, is the only remaining American manufacturer of amoxicillin finished doses. At its peak, the plant employed more than 500 American workers and manufactured ‘billions of pills,’ but as is the case of many American pharmaceutical manufacturing plants, has faced challenges in its over 30-year history.

The federal government is supporting Chinese manufacturers while plants like the one in Tennessee, are overlooked. Opportunities to strengthen our domestic supply chain are missed. This is in stark contrast to governments around the world, including Austria and France who have committed $53 million and $168 million to support their domestic antibiotics operations. 

If our federal government would redirect these contracts to domestic companies, then they would be able to expand operations, create stable jobs and improve national security.

As China aims to achieve dominance in these industries by 2049 – the hundredth anniversary of the People’s Republic of China – our vulnerability is only likely to get worse. With our health industrial base on life support, we are already facing shortages of key drugs and costly disruptions that inevitably occur when you are relying on a supplier like China.

As China continues to attack one of our most vital industries, federal leaders have a choice to make. Purchasing from American manufacturers should be the easy part of this challenge. Politicians love to talk buy American on the campaign trail because voters overwhelmingly recognize why it’s important. 

We must put those campaign promises into action. When the stakes are this high, the least the federal government can do is the bare minimum.

President Biden didn’t create this problem, but he has the opportunity to do something about it. All Americans benefit when critical medications and their ingredients are manufactured in America. This bipartisan issue deserves action now before we have another crisis and the most vulnerable Americans suffer due to a lack of this life-saving medication. 

It’s time to prioritize domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing to enhance our national and public health security.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell spoke out in support of ousted House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday, applauding his service in a ‘thankless role.’ 

McConnell, R-Ky., released the statement thanking McCarthy, R-Calif., for his short tenure following the successful rebellion of eight GOP lawmakers culminating in his removal as speaker.

‘Speaker McCarthy has my sincere thanks for his service to our nation in what is often a thankless role,’ McConnell wrote. ‘The Speaker’s tenure was bookended by historic fights, but as he reminded his colleagues when he took the gavel, ‘our nation is worth fighting for.”

Eight hard-line Republican lawmakers joined every present House Democrat in Tuesday’s historic vote to oust McCarthy from the top job.

The Senate minority leader’s comments on the former speaker struck a gushing tone, saying McCarthy ‘brought the hopes, dreams, and concerns of the people’ to Congress.

‘The Speaker’s appetite for worthy causes steered a narrow majority to seize historic opportunities for the American people and for conservative principles,’ McConnell wrote. ‘His willingness to face the biggest challenges head-on helped preserve the full faith and credit of the United States and showed colleagues how to handle every outcome with grace.’

McCarthy angered hardliners over the weekend when he passed a short-term spending bill known as a continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government open for 45 days in order to avert a government shutdown and give lawmakers more time to cobble together 12 individual spending bills.

Ninety House Republicans voted against the CR on Saturday, arguing that it was a ‘clean’ extension of the previous Democrat-held Congress’ policies. But the speaker’s previous attempts to put a CR on the table that would cut spending for its short duration were upended by several of those same conservatives who were opposed to any such measure on principle.

‘We’re concerned about the future of the conservative agenda in the House,’ said Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla, who was the informal leader of McCarthy’s critics. ‘I would say that the conservative agenda was being paralyzed by Speaker McCarthy.’ 

McCarthy said Gaetz’s move was ‘personal’ and suggested it was done in retaliation for an ongoing Ethics Committee investigation into his conduct. 

Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind , Brandon Gillespie and Jamie Joseph contributed to this report.

House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, announced he is running for speaker — the first GOP lawmaker to put his hat in the ring for what’s sure to be a competitive race.

The House of Representatives is without an elected leader after former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., was ousted by a small group of rebels within his own party.

Jordan said Wednesday morning that he would step up to run for the job. House Republicans plan to hold a candidate forum next Tuesday and an election the following day.

He’ll likely have the support of conservatives and others in the right wing of the GOP conference, but it’s unclear if he can win the support of enough moderates.

To help broaden his support, Jordan will have the help of Rep. Mike Carey, R-Ohio, who Fox News Digital was told is whipping votes for Jordan among moderate Republicans and more mainstream conservatives. 

Carey, like Jordan, is an ally of former President Donald Trump. But Carey is known much more for working with moderates and Democrats, particularly in the Ohio delegation.

Other names that have been floated for the speaker’s gavel are Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La.; Republican Study Committee Chair Kevin Hern, R-Okla.; and Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla.

Jordan is the leader of one of three House committees investigating President Biden and his family. That investigation culminated into an impeachment inquiry being led by the House Oversight Committee.

A faction of Republicans immediately jumped to support him, including Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., a McCarthy ally.

‘We face difficult challenges, but the choice is clear: We need Jim Jordan as our next speaker of the House,’ Issa said. 

He also appears to have the support of Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., who moved to oust McCarthy in the first place.

‘My mentor Jim Jordan would be great!’ Gaetz posted on X, formerly Twitter, in response to a conservative who voted to keep McCarthy, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., calling Jordan his ‘first choice if he will run.’ 

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., on Wednesday announced his intent to run for speaker.

In a letter sent to Republican colleagues, Scalise referenced the 2017 congressional baseball game practice where he was shot and critically wounded, crediting the members of his conference for helping him get through.

‘I firmly believe this Conference is a family. When I was shot in 2017, it was Members of this Conference who saved my life on that field. When I made it to the hospital and my family was told my chances of surviving were low, it was the prayers from all of you that carried us through,’ Scalise wrote. 

‘God already gave me another chance at life. I believe we were all put here for a purpose. This next chapter won’t be easy, but I know what it takes to fight and I am prepared for the battles that lie ahead. I humbly ask you for your support on this mission to be your Speaker of the House.’

It comes after former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., was ousted from the top job on Tuesday by a small number of GOP hardliners and all House Democrats.

A senior GOP aide told Fox News Digital on Tuesday night that Scalise could be a viable ‘frontrunner’ and much of the conference would be ‘open’ to his candidacy for speaker.

Scalise is McCarthy’s longtime No. 2, a partnership that has caused public friction between the two at times. In June, the two leaders publicly blamed each other when conservative hardliners protesting McCarthy’s debt limit deal with President Biden derailed legislative proceedings on the House floor.

But he’s already managed to snag support of key Republicans, including House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn. 

A source familiar with Emmer’s thinking confirmed to Fox News Digital that he is supporting Scalise for speaker while making his own calls to gauge interest in a possible run for majority leader himself.

Others have also jumped behind Scalise, like Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, who said, ‘For a time such as this… Steve is the right man to lead our country.’

Conservative Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., also said she would be supporting Scalise. 

‘Our next speaker should be someone with top-notch leadership skills and great experience. That someone is [Scalise], and I am proud to support him for speaker,’ McClain said.

Scalise is a member of the Republican Study Committee, whose chair, Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., is also giving the speakership serious thought. 

House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, was the first to announce his bid for the speaker’s gavel.

The Russian government is tightening restrictions on access to abortion-inducing drugs.

Russia’s Ministry of Health announced Tuesday new limits on abortion drug distribution and sales at pharmacies. 

Misoprostol and mifepristone are specifically being targeted with the restrictions. The two drugs are now limited by subject-quantitative registration, according to translations from the Moscow Times. 

The restrictions will go into effect on Sep. 1, 2024 and last for exactly six years.

Health Minister Mikhail Murashko first suggested adding the two abortion drugs to the registry in July, saying they pose both medical and ethical risks for Russian women. 

Russia is currently experiencing a cultural shift in its attitudes toward abortion. Previously rather liberal on the issue, the country’s leadership and conservative communities have seized the current climate to propagate anti-abortion regulations. 

The Russian Orthodox Church — which enjoys a historically significant relationship with the nation’s politics — is also vehemently opposed to abortion on the basis of Christian morals.

Under the new restrictions, individuals seeking the drug will need to obtain a prescription from a doctor before purchasing. 

Additionally, medical providers will require a special license to provide the abortion-inducing medication to patients. 

Providers will also have to track and report their distribution of the drugs.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday that Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s ouster Tuesday from his role as House speaker ‘is like shambolic behavior that we’re seeing from House Republicans.’ 

Jean-Pierre delivered the criticism after being asked by a reporter if the White House is concerned about getting along with the next House speaker — whomever it may be. 

‘Again, not going to get into who’s running or who’s not running. That is, again, something for them to figure out,’ she responded. ‘The important fact is Republicans in the House, they have the majority. This is for them to figure out. This is for them to figure out how they are going to move forward. This is a situation that they have created.’ 

‘I don’t want to speak for every American across the country, but I would say a majority of Americans are sick and tired of the infighting that they’re seeing in the House right now. They want to see us work in a bipartisan way,’ she continued. ‘The president is willing to do that.’ 

TRUMP WEIGHS IN ON POSSIBLE NOMINATION FOR HOUSE SPEAKER AFTER MCCARTHY OUSTER 

‘And so that’s kind of where we are. The Republican conference that we see currently in the House, we’ve never seen that type of behavior. They stand apart from any other conference that we have seen before, whether you’re talking about the Senate or the House,’ Jean-Pierre said. ‘And so this is their creation, this chaos. If you think about it, this is like shambolic behavior that we’re seeing from House Republicans. And so they need to figure it out.’ 

Eight Republicans voted with every present Democrat on Tuesday to vacate the speaker’s chair. The final vote was 216 to 210 in favor of McCarthy’s ouster. 

MCCONNELL PRAISES OUSTED SPEAKER MCCARTHY FOR ‘THANKLESS ROLE’ IN HOUSE 

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., introduced a measure against McCarthy known as a motion to vacate on Monday night, accusing him of breaking promises he made to win the speaker’s gavel in January. 

House Republicans plan to hold a candidate forum next Tuesday and an election the following day. 

Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report. 

President Biden addressed the ongoing civil war taking place in the House of Representatives during his address on student debt Wednesday.

Biden opened his press event with comments on eight Republicans’ decision to oust House Speaker Kevin McCarthy with the support of House Democrats.

‘The House will now reorganize and select a new speaker,’ Biden said of the development in Congress. ‘I know it’s going to take some time, but I remind everyone we have a lot of work to do. And the American people expect us to get it done.’

McCarthy angered hardliners over the weekend when he passed a short-term spending bill known as a continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government open for 45 days in order to avert a government shutdown and give lawmakers more time to cobble together 12 individual spending bills.

Biden acknowledged this agreement and subsequent breakdown, urging Republicans and Democrats not to let Congress force an ‘eleventh-hour decision.’

‘The argument we reached was about what comes next. But we had an agreement. We reached an agreement over the weekend. Funds for government, only another forty days,’ Biden continued. ‘We cannot and should not again be faced with an eleventh-hour decision. Brinksmanship threatens to shut down the government. And we know what we have to do. We have to get it done in a timely fashion.’

Biden expanded the scope of his critique to all of Washington — saying that US lawmakers and officials must come together despite increased tensions.

‘I join with Minority Leader Jeffries in saying that our Republican colleagues remain committed to working in a bipartisan fashion. We are prepared to do it as well — for the good of the American people,’ Biden said. ‘Twice in the last six months, both houses came together on a bipartisan basis — once to avoid default, wants to keep the government open.’

The president ended with an explicit note of gratitude towards the former speaker, saying, ‘And while we should never have been in the situation in the first place, I’m grateful that leaders on both sides came together, including former Speaker McCarthy, to do the right thing.’

Nadine Arslanian Menendez, wife of recently indicted Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., struck and killed a man while driving her Mercedes-Benz in New Jersey in December 2018, according to police reports obtained by local media.

She was found not at fault for the incident because the man, identified as Richard Koop, was jaywalking when he was hit, according to the New York Times and The Record. She was not given a DUI test at the scene and was immediately allowed to leave after providing a brief statement, according to dashcam footage of her interaction with Bogota police.

Arslanian — who was alone in the vehicle — was dating Menendez at the time of the fatal crash, which reportedly left Koop’s body severely mutilated, according to the Bergen County medical examiner.

Menendez commented on the incident to reporters Wednesday.

‘It was a tragic accident, and obviously we think of the family,’ he said.

A federal indictment brought by the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, which charges Arslanian and Menendez in a federal bribery scheme, revealed that in January 2019, approximately a month after the crash, Arslanian informed Wael Hana and Jose Uribe, two Egyptian-American businessmen also implicated in the alleged bribery scheme, that she no longer had a vehicle. Hana then provided her with a 2019 Mercedes-Benz — worth more than $60,000 — as detailed in the indictment.

‘In exchange, MENENDEZ agreed and sought to interfere in the NJAG’s criminal insurance fraud prosecution of an associate of URIBE and a related investigation involving an employee of URIBE,’ the indictment states.

Audio recordings from the police dashcam footage featured a man self-identifying as a retired officer from a neighboring department who mentioned that he had come to the scene as a ‘favor’ for a friend whose wife was acquainted with Arslanian.

Koop’s sister, Rosemarie Koop-Angelicola, told the Times that their family ‘has had serious concerns over what we felt was a very sparse, one-sided investigation.’

‘Definitely a lack of legal enthusiasm to take this case, definite lack of media coverage, and a lack of communication by the authorities of Bergen County. We felt that the whole thing was very silently swept under the rug,’ she said.

It’s not the first time Arslanian has been involved in a traffic incident. According to public court records, Arslanian reportedly racked up several penalties between 2007 and 2021, including using a mobile phone while driving, ignoring traffic signals and unsafe passing, adding up to about $410 total. 

Both Menendez and Arslanian have pleaded not guilty to the federal bribery charges. Fox News Digital reached out to the couple’s representatives but did not hear back by press deadline.

In June 2022, the FBI executed a search warrant at Menendez’s and his wife’s New Jersey home where federal agents discovered many of the fruits of the alleged bribery scheme, including cash, gold, a luxury convertible and home furnishings. Prosecutors say $480,000 in cash, much of it stuffed into envelopes and hidden in clothing, closets and a safe, was discovered in the home, as well as more than $70,000 in cash in Nadine’s safe-deposit box. Some of the envelopes contained the fingerprints and/or DNA of Fred Daibes, another figure in the alleged bribery scheme, or his driver, according to the indictment.

Some of the envelopes were found inside jackets bearing Menendez’s name and hanging in his closet.

The Bogota Police Department and Menendez’s office did not respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.