Delegations from Russian and Ukraine on Tuesday agreed to a ceasefire in the Black Sea following talks with Trump administration officials this week in Saudi Arabia.

‘The United States and Russia have agreed to ensure safe navigation, eliminate the use of force, and prevent the use of commercial vessels for military purposes in the Black Sea,’ the White House said in a statement following talks in Jeddah.

Similarly, just moments later, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, who is leading the delegation confirmed that ‘All parties have agreed to ensure safe navigation, eliminate the use of force, and prevent the use of commercial vessels for military purposes in the Black Sea.’

Though he also emphasized that ‘all movement by Russia of its military vessels outside of [the] eastern part of the Black Sea will constitute violation of the spirit of this agreement, will be regarded as violation of the commitment to ensure safe navigation of the Black Sea and threat to the national security of Ukraine.’

‘In this case, Ukraine will have full right to exercise [the] right to self-defense,’ he added in a readout following talks in Riyadh.

Though the Kremlin also reportedly suggested on Tuesday it may not be willing to fully enforce the ceasefire until it is admitted back into the SWIFT international banking system – calling into question the actual success of the talks. 

This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates. 

President Donald Trump’s National Institute of Health on Friday quietly cut over $1 million in federally funded research evaluating if rats going through hormone therapy were more likely to overdose on a popular party drug. 

The DEI-funded NIH grant was first exposed in December 2024 by the White Coat Waste Project, a nonprofit organization that researches and reveals the misuse of taxpayer dollars for animal testing. The nonprofit last year revealed over $10 million in taxpayer money was spent on research creating ‘transgender animals.’

As Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) expose and cut mismanaged federal funds, the Trump administration has now cut ten ‘transgender animal’ research grants unveiled by the White Coat Waste Project. 

‘This is a great victory for taxpayers and animals,’ Anthony Bellotti, president and founder of White Coat Waste Project, said. ‘We’re proud that our blockbuster investigation has prompted the Trump administration to slash millions in DEI funds and other wasteful spending earmarked for creating transgender lab animals through sterilization, hormone therapies, and invasive surgeries and then subjecting them to drug overdoses, open wounds, electroshocks, and other painful and deadly experiments.’

‘Despite the mainstream media’s shameful misinformation campaign, transgender animal experiments are real – and really wasteful,’ Bellotti added. ‘The solution is simple: Stop the money. Stop the madness!’

The University of Pacific Stockton was granted over $1 million for the project, ‘GHB Toxicokinetics: Role of sex hormone dependent monocarboxylate transporter regulation and potential for altered overdose risk in transgender men and women,’ running from April 1, 2020, through March 31, 2025. DOGE cut the program early on March 21.

The grant was funded by the NIH’s Support of Competitive Research (SCORE) Program, which aims to increase research at institutions that have ‘an explicitly stated mission or historical track records in graduating students from groups nationally underrepresented in biomedical research.’

The White Coat Waste Project obtained the project’s grant application through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which revealed plans to castrate male rats and inject them with estrogen, remove female rats’ ovaries and inject them with testosterone, and then inject the rats with Gamma-Hydroxybutyrate (GHB). GHB is used as a recreational party drug and is associated with ‘chemsex’ for its euphoric and sedative effects.

The project set out to ‘characterize GHB toxicokinetics and toxicity in the absence of sex hormones and in response to sex and cross-sex hormone therapy in males and females’ to determine if hormone replacement increased overdose risk in transgender men and women.

The White Coat Waste Project has worked with legislators to inform the public and received recognition from the president in the process. The nonprofit testified before the House Oversight Committee last month during the hearing, ‘Transgender Lab Rats and Poisoned Puppies: Oversight of Taxpayer-Funded Animal Cruelty.’

While delivering opening remarks on the misuse of taxpayer money funding ‘gender-affirming care’ for animals, Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., mentioned the latest ‘transgender animal’ research funding cut by the Trump administration. 

‘We spent over $1 million to find out if female rats receiving testosterone therapy were more likely to overdose on a date rape drug,’ Mace said last month. 

‘At our House Oversight Committee hearing last month, we exposed cruel, taxpayer-funded transgender animal experiments,’ Mace told Fox News Digital in a statement. 

‘We uncovered how NIH wasted over a million dollars studying whether female rats – after having their ovaries removed and being injected with testosterone to mimic transgender men – were more likely to overdose on a date rape drug. President Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency are now shutting down these appalling and inhumane experiments the Biden administration chose to fund with your hard-earned tax dollars,’ Mace added. 

Senate DOGE Caucus Chair Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, celebrated the $1 million in federal funding cut for transgender research on animals, thanking Trump and DOGE for eliminating this ‘wacky pseudoscience.’

‘Since last year, I’ve exposed how the Biden administration got caught in the woke mousetrap and wasted millions of tax dollars on transgender animal experiments,’ Ernst said. ‘I’m grateful that President Trump and DOGE are eliminating this wacky pseudoscience. Together, we are ending the silly science and ensuring that all studies funded by tax dollars are squeaky clean.’

President Donald Trump revealed that a staffer with national security advisor Mike Waltz’s office included the editor-in-chief of the Atlantic in a Signal group chat with senior Trump officials who were discussing plans for an upcoming strike on Houthi rebels in Yemen.

‘It was one of Michael’s people on the phone.A staffer had his number on there,’ Trump told NBC in a phone interview when asked how Jeffrey Goldberg, the Atlantic’s editor-in-chief, was added to the high-profile chat.

The president added that Goldberg’s inclusion in the group chat had ‘no impact at all’ on the strike in Yemen. 

Goldberg published an article on Monday detailing how he was added to a Signal group chat on March 11, reportedly dubbed ‘Houthi PC Small Group,’ which included high-profile government officials, including Waltz, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Vice President JD Vance and others. 

Signal is an encrypted messaging app that operates similarly to texting or making phone calls, but with additional security measures that help ensure communications are kept private to those included in the correspondence. 

Those in the group reportedly discussed targeting the Iran-backed terrorist group, the Houthis, in Yemen, including timing. 

‘According to the lengthy Hegseth text, the first detonations in Yemen would be felt two hours hence, at 1:45 p.m. eastern time,’ Goldberg wrote in his first-hand account of the chat. ‘So I waited in my car in a supermarket parking lot. If this Signal chat was real, I reasoned, Houthi targets would soon be bombed. At about 1:55, I checked X and searched Yemen. Explosions were then being heard across Sanaa, the capital city.’

The inclusion of a journalist in the group chat has sparked outrage from Democrats, with some calling on Hegseth and Waltz to resign from their security roles, and others demanding they testify before Congress on the matter. 

Trump defended Waltz during his interview with NBC on Tuesday. 

‘Michael Waltz has learned a lesson, and he’s a good man,’ Trump said in the phone interview. 

Trump separately defended Waltz in comment to Fox News on Tuesday, saying the national security advisor will not be fired over the incident. 

‘He’s not getting fired,’ Trump told Fox News. The president said the incident was a ‘mistake,’ though there was ‘nothing important’ in the Signal text thread. 

White House Communications Director Steven Cheung summed up the Atlantic story in an X post as ‘nothing more than a section of the NatSec establishment community running the same, tired gameplay from years past.’

‘From the ‘Russia, Russia, Russia’ hoax of the first term to the fake documents case of the last four years… at every turn anti-Trump forces have tried to weaponize innocuous actions and turn them into faux outrage that Fake News outlets can use to peddle misinformation,’ he continued. 

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt added in a social media post on Tuesday that ‘No ‘war plans’ were discussed’ in the group chat, and that ‘no classified material was sent to the thread.’

‘Jeffrey Goldberg is well-known for his sensationalist spin. Here are the facts about his latest story,’ she posted to X. ‘The White House Counsel’s Office has provided guidance on a number of different platforms for President Trump’s top officials to communicate as safely and efficiently as possible.’

‘As the National Security Council stated, the White House is looking into how Goldberg’s number was inadvertently added to the thread. Thanks to the strong and decisive leadership of President Trump, and everyone in the group, the Houthi strikes were successful and effective. Terrorists were killed and that’s what matters most to President Trump,’ she added. 

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for additional comment on the matter, but did not immediately receive a reply. 

Fox News’ David Rutz, Danielle Wallace and Peter Doocy contributed to this report. 

There appears to be little appetite within the House GOP to pursue the impeachment of judges who have blocked President Donald Trump’s agenda.

Republican lawmakers are instead coalescing around a bill led by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., to limit the ability of U.S. district court judges to issue nationwide injunctions, which is due for a House floor vote next week.

One House GOP lawmaker at Tuesday morning’s closed-door Republican conference meeting said House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., signaled that Issa’s bill would be a more effective message against who they view as ‘activist’ judges.

‘There was some innuendo there that, you know, impeachment has been reserved for judges with high crimes and misdemeanors, not because you disagree with his decisions,’ the lawmaker said of Johnson’s message. 

House GOP Policy Conference Chair Kevin Hern, R-Okla., said, ‘I don’t think so,’ when asked if impeachment was a realistic effort. ‘I think it’s probably a mixed bag out there right now,’ he said, adding that Issa’s bill was the best option he could see.

Johnson himself did not directly comment on impeachment when asked during his weekly press conference on Tuesday, but he said the House Judiciary Committee was ‘looking at alternatives.’

‘One of the bills that I really like, that’s already been through committee, was authored by Representative Darrell Issa. And that would limit the scope of federal injunctions,’ Johnson said. ‘It would be, in my view, a dramatic improvement on that.’

Several conservatives have introduced resolutions to impeach various judges who have blocked Trump’s agenda. 

One such effort that has garnered significant attention is a resolution by Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, to impeach U.S. District Judge James Boasberg. Boasberg is currently locked in a legal showdown with the Department of Justice over the Trump administration’s deportation of suspected Tren De Aragua gang members under the Alien Enemies Act.

Trump previously called for Boasberg’s impeachment but has said little on the specific issue since then. 

He has been adamant that Republicans should take on activist judges, however, and Fox News Digital was told last week that he was in favor of Issa’s bill.

Conservatives could attempt to force House GOP leaders to act by classifying their impeachment legislation as a ‘privileged resolution,’ meaning the House must hold at least a chamber-wide procedural vote on the measure within two legislative days.

Gill told Fox News Digital on Tuesday morning that he had no current plans to make his resolution privileged, and he was supportive of Johnson and House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, in handling the matter.

‘I don’t think we should take anything off the table. But right now, we’re working with leadership. Johnson’s doing a great job, and so is [Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas] and Jim Jordan on the Judiciary Committee,’ Gill said.

Support for his resolution has continued to grow, however. Three Republicans signed on to formally support Gill’s push on Monday.

Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., who has introduced his own impeachment resolution, told Fox News Digital, ‘I think we should hold impeachment regardless of what the Senate does or doesn’t do…we should do the people’s work, which is impeach those bastards.’

However, even people who said they would back impeachment are skeptical it will pass.

‘It’s kind of a futile exercise, because we don’t have the votes in the Senate [to remove a judge],’ a conservative House GOP lawmaker said Monday night. ‘It’s more of a ‘Hey, stay in your lane, you’re not the president.’ And I think if anything, let’s put some pressure on the Supreme Court to take up one of these injunctions.’

That conservative added that they would ‘absolutely’ vote for impeachment if it came to the floor.

Rep. Abe Hamadeh, R-Ariz., who co-signed Gill’s resolution, told Fox News Digital on Monday night that he would support both impeachment and Issa’s bill moving to the House floor, but he was skeptical of the former succeeding.

‘I think impeachment obviously is unlikely because of the Senate…but it signals that, you know, these judges are out of control and not following the law,’ Hamadeh explained. ‘I think it’s the smart approach to do both right now, but it seems like the solution, [the No Rogue Rulings Act], that’s likely to get broad support.’

Additionally, with House Republicans’ razor-thin majority, it is not clear that an impeachment resolution would even succeed.

‘We shouldn’t lower the standard for impeachment, but we should – ‘we’ meaning Congress – should provide a remedy for district court judges who totally overreach,’ Rep. Nick LaLota, R-N.Y., said.

Another House Republican who declined to be named said they were ‘totally opposed’ to impeachment.

‘That’s what the appeals process is for,’ they said.

The House Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing early next week on activist judges, and that’s expected to be followed by a House-wide vote on Issa’s bill.

A federal judge from New Jersey temporarily blocked the Trump administration from separating two transgender service members from the Air Force. 

The ruling is the second instance when a federal judge has ruled against the Trump administration as it seeks to implement its ban against transgender people from serving in the military. 

U.S. District Judge Christine O’Hearn, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, issued a temporary, 14-day restraining order on Monday to prevent the Trump administration from executing its order and from ousting Master Sgt. Logan Ireland and Staff Sgt. Nicholas Bear Bade from the service. 

Specifically, O’Hearn said Ireland and Bade demonstrated that their separation from service would negatively impact their careers, as well as their reputations. 

O’Hearn also said that their ‘involuntary loss of decorated military status, military healthcare, and the ability to serve their country under a policy they have faithfully abided by for years cannot be repaired by monetary damages.’ 

‘The loss of military service under the stigma of a policy that targets gender identity is not merely a loss of employment; it is a profound disruption of personal dignity, medical continuity, and public service,’ O’Hearn said in the ruling Monday. 

The Pentagon referred Fox News Digital to the Justice Department for comment. The Justice Department told Fox News Digital that it has ‘vigorously defended’ Trump’s executive orders, including the Defending Women Executive order that stipulates there are only two sexes: male and female. 

‘This is the latest example of an activist judge attempting to seize power at the expense of the American people, who overwhelmingly voted to elect President Trump,’ a Justice Department spokesperson said. 

In January, Trump signed an executive order barring transgender individuals from serving in the military, prompting Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to follow up in February with orders directing each service branch to begin separating transgender troops within 30 days.

O’Hearn’s ruling comes after U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes of Washington, D.C., blocked the Trump administration from implementing its ban on March 19. Reyes said in her opinion that the Trump administration’s order was ‘soaked in animus’ and discriminated based on a person’s transgender status. 

‘Indeed, the cruel irony is that thousands of transgender servicemembers have sacrificed — some risking their lives – to ensure for others the very equal protection rights the Military Ban seeks to deny them,’ Reyes wrote in the decision. 

Trump has signed more than 90 executive orders since returning to the White House in January, spurring more than 125 lawsuits against his administration.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., called for national security advisor Mike Waltz and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to resign Tuesday following an apparent national security breach. 

The demand came after Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard vowed during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing that there was ‘no classified material’ shared in a Signal text chat that an editor from The Atlantic said he had access to. The U.S. operation against the Houthis in Yemen was reportedly discussed in the chat between senior Cabinet officials. 

‘Obviously, my colleagues and I feel very strongly about the war planning meeting over unclassified phones. Obviously reckless, obviously dangerous, both the mishandling of classified information and the deliberate destruction of federal records or potential crimes that ought to be investigated immediately,’ Wyden said. ‘And I want to make clear that I’m of the view that there ought to be resignation starting with the National Security Advisor and the Secretary of Defense.’

Earlier, Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., grilled Gabbard over the nature of the texts.

‘Director Gabbard, did you participate in the group chat with Secretary of Defense and other Trump senior officials discussing the Yemen war plans?’ the committee vice chairman asked her.

‘I don’t want to get into the specifics,’ she responded, noting that the matter is ‘currently under review by the National Security Council.’

‘There was no classified material that was shared in that,’ Gabbard also said.

‘So then if there [was] no classified material, share it with the committee,’ Warner shot back. ‘You can’t have it both ways. These are important jobs. This is our national security. Bobbing and weaving and trying to, you know, filibuster your answer. So please answer the question. Director Gabbard, if this was a rank-and-file intelligence officer who did this kind of careless behavior, what would you do with them?’

‘Senator, I’ll reiterate that there was no classified material that was shared in that,’ she said.

Earlier, Warner said ‘If this was the case of a military officer, or an intelligence officer, and they had this kind of behavior, they would be fired.’

CIA Director John Ratcliffe and FBI Director Kash Patel appeared alongside Gabbard on Tuesday.

Ratcliffe confirmed he was the person bearing his name in the group chat.

‘To be clear, the use of Signal message, and end to end encryption applications is permissible and was in this case, used permissibly, at least to my understanding, and in [a] lawful manner,’ he told Wyden.

Patel, when asked by Warner if the FBI has launched an investigation into the chat, said he was briefed on the matter ‘late last night’ and ‘this morning, I don’t have an update.’ 

Fox News’ Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.

The Senate Committee on Finance is set to vote later Tuesday afternoon on whether to advance President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Dr. Mehmet Oz, to a full Senate confirmation vote. 

The vote follows two hearings by the committee that probed Oz over his plans for the federal healthcare programs, his views on abortion, potential conflicts of interest in the healthcare industry and more.   

If confirmed, Oz would be in charge of nearly $1.5 trillion in federal healthcare spending. Medicare, a federal healthcare program for seniors aged 65 and up, currently provides coverage for about 65 million Americans, according to the Center for Medicare Advocacy. Medicaid, which assists people with low incomes, covers roughly 72 million Americans, according to Medicaid.gov.

A former heart surgeon who saw his fame rise through his appearances on daytime TV and 13 seasons of ‘The Dr Oz Show,’ Oz later transitioned into politics, launching an unsuccessful bid for Pennsylvania’s open Senate seat in 2022. He ultimately lost to John Fetterman, then the state’s lieutenant governor. 

Oz graduated from Harvard and received medical and business degrees from the University of Pennsylvania.

As the administrator of CMS, Oz would make decisions related to how the government covers procedures, hospital stays and medication within the federal healthcare programs, as well as the reimbursement rates at which healthcare providers get paid for their services.

Earlier this month, Trump’s pick to lead the NIH and FDA, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya and Dr. Marty Makary, respectively, were also approved in committee and are awaiting full confirmation votes in the Senate. 

Around the same time that Bhattacharya and Makary won committee approval, Trump withdrew his nomination of former Florida Rep. David Weldon to run the CDC, over fears he did not have the GOP support to clear full confirmation. 

On Monday, the Trump administration named Susan Monarez, acting director of the CDC, as its new nominee.