Israel’s military said Wednesday that one of its F-35I ‘Adir’ stealth fighter jets shot down an Iranian Air Force Yak-130, marking the first time the advanced aircraft has downed a manned fighter in combat. 

‘The historic shootdown over the Tehran skies is a testament to the strength of the Israeli Air Force and to your personal determination,’ said Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar, the commander of the Israeli air force. 

‘The war continues – return home safely. Get some rest,’ he told the pilots. ‘The next mission is already waiting for you.’

The F-35I is Israel’s customized version of the U.S.-made F-35 Lightning II, a fifth-generation stealth fighter that anchors the country’s air fleet.

According to the F-35 program’s official website, Israel became the first country to select the aircraft through the U.S. government’s Foreign Military Sales process, signing a letter of agreement in October 2010. 

The site says the Israeli air force gave the jet the Hebrew name ‘Adir,’ meaning ‘Mighty One,’ and received its first F-35 on June 22, 2016.

The Yak-130 is a Russian-made, two-seat combat training aircraft designed by the Yakovlev Design Bureau, according to United Aircraft Corporation, the state-owned Russian aerospace company that manufactures the jet.

It made its maiden flight in 1996 and is currently in active production.

Iran’s air force received its first Yak-130 training aircraft in September 2023, according to Press TV, Iran’s state-run English-language broadcaster.

In November 2023, Brig. Gen. Mahdi Farahi, Iran’s deputy defense minister, told Tasnim, a semi-official Iranian news agency, that plans had been finalized for Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets, Mil Mi-28 attack helicopters and Yak-130 trainers to join the country’s armed forces.

Tasnim reported that Iran previously acquired MiG-29 fighter jets from Russia in the 1990s.

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In proclaiming a ‘golden age of America’ in his State of the Union address, President Trump correctly focused on his initiatives to fix the problems perpetrated by the Bush, Obama, and Biden administrations that undermine the physical and economic security of the United States. One of those initiatives is Trump’s war on fraud, which, according to the president, is intended to root out and remedy the ‘corruption that shreds the fabric’ of our nation.

Under the leadership of Vice President JD Vance, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and Colin McDonald, Trump’s nominee for the newly created federal post of assistant attorney general for the National Fraud Enforcement Division, Trump’s war will get waged aggressively. As the president put it, ‘We are not playing games.’

But to win the war against fraud, the Trump administration must force the uniparty institutionalists at the Justice Department to change course and protect a key ally in the war on fraud: whistleblowers. Despite being treated as pariahs for decades by the Justice Department’s elitist careerists, whistleblowers are instrumental in enabling the recovery of taxpayer dollars from entities that defraud the government. Whistleblowers play a critical role under the False Claims Act, which has been used to recover $85 billion in taxpayer dollars since 1986. Just last year, the government recovered more than $6.8 billion under the False Claims Act – the highest single-year recovery in its history.

Unfortunately, parts of the Justice Department have not gotten Trump’s memo. This is particularly true of the career attorneys in the DOJ’s Civil Division, which is given investigatory and litigation responsibilities under the False Claims Act.

The Civil Division maintains policies that undermine Trump’s war on fraud. How? Those policies undermine whistleblowers—the foot soldiers in the trenches—who uncover and litigate fraud claims on behalf of the Justice Department. The Civil Division maintains it has the unfettered discretion to dismiss any anti-fraud lawsuit brought by a whistleblower under the False Claims Act merely by deciding the lawsuit will not vindicate the government’s interest—whatever that means. The Civil Division maintains it can make this decision without evidentiary support and without regard to the underlying facts. That’s hard to reconcile with the Supreme Court’s 2023 8-1 decision in U.S. ex rel. Polansky v. Exec. Health Res., Inc., which held that the Justice Department does not enjoy such unfettered dismissal discretion.

More problematically, the Civil Division’s continuation of the Bush, Obama and Biden anti-whistleblower policy undermines the Trump administration’s efforts to combat fraud. Indeed, despite years of hard work and lot of money invested by whistleblowers, the Civil Division maintains it can pull out the rug from under whistleblowers at any time, for any reason, or no reason. This arbitrary Civil Division policy makes it much less likely whistleblowers will enlist in Trump’s war on fraud.

Targets of fraud enforcement by the Trump administration properly include Somalian day care centers, university DEI programs, and other examples of corruption actively promoted by Democrats. A whistleblower exposing such fraudulent and illegal activities does so at considerable personal risk. But what whistleblower would knowingly take this risk if her action under the False Claims Act were subject to Civil Division policy it could dismiss any lawsuit, at any time, for any reason, or no reason?

Americans have learned the hard way that we have magnitudes more fraud than federal prosecutors and agents to root it out, so the Justice Department’s support of whistleblowers is more critical than ever. A successful war against fraud requires alignment across the government. Vance acknowledged as much, noting in a recent Fox News interview that his efforts will include a ‘full, whole government approach’ to investigating fraud concerns. But this approach necessitates that the Civil Division change its policies to support, rather than undermine, a critical ally in Trump’s war on fraud: whistleblowers.

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Former Major League Baseball star Mark Teixeira has clinched the Republican primary to succeed GOP Rep. Chip Roy in southwest Texas.

Teixeira secured more than 61% of the vote, avoiding a runoff in the 12-candidate primary field.

Teixeira announced his candidacy for the Lone Star State’s 21st Congressional District seat last August. The seat is currently held by Roy, who has said he is running for Texas attorney general.

The announcement of Teixeira’s campaign came days after Republican state lawmakers approved a redistricting map aimed at strengthening the GOP’s position in the 2026 election.

President Donald Trump endorsed Teixeira in the race, and Teixeira pledged to work with the president to secure the border and end what he described as ‘radical woke indoctrination.’

The Club for Growth PAC, which — along with affiliated super PACs — contributed more than $250,000 to Teixeira’s candidacy, applauded his primary victory. Club for Growth PAC President David McIntosh said the group was ‘proud to have supported Teixeira in the race.’

‘On the campaign trail, Mark Teixeira outlined his plan to lower taxes, cut red tape, and expand school freedom for every family in Texas. Voters believed in his vision, and rewarded him with the Republican nomination,’ McIntosh said.

Teixeira began his MLB career with the Texas Rangers after being selected fifth overall in the 2001 MLB Draft. His 14-season career included three All-Star selections, five Gold Gloves, three Silver Slugger Awards and a World Series title with the New York Yankees in 2009. Teixeira and his family moved back to Texas in 2021 after he retired from baseball.

Teixeira defeated fellow Republican candidate Daniel Betts, who ran unsuccessfully for Travis County district attorney last year.

The 21st Congressional District covers a heavily Republican area west of Austin and San Antonio.

On the Democratic side, Dr. Kristin Hook was leading the primary field with roughly 61% of the vote Tuesday night, setting up a general election matchup in November.

Teixeira described his primary win as a ‘huge victory.’

‘We’re going to run a strong race and win big in November, then hit the ground running to fight for Texas families,’ Teixeira said. ‘Thank you again, TX-21. God bless Texas, and God bless America.’

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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As Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison are set to testify before Congress on Wednesday morning, a Republican Minnesota lawmaker spoke to Fox News Digital about what they should be asked and what needs to happen next to get to the bottom of the problem. 

I’m hoping they’re asked directly, ‘Governor Walz, why haven’t you taken the corrective actions and why haven’t you brought your people back? Does that have an impact? Why have you not done that?” state Sen. Mark Koran said about Walz’s upcoming testimony, pointing to the large remote work force that likely contributed to the lack of oversight in the scandal that prosecutors say could cost taxpayers $9 billion or more. 

‘Because he knows — they need to position that question to him because he knows he can’t continue to pander and do what’s right, right? He just can’t.’

Ellison’s testimony is likely to include questions from members of Congress about a 2021 audio recording of him meeting with members of the Somali community who would soon be convicted of defrauding millions of dollars in taxpayer money.

According to Koran, Ellison has ‘real issues to deal with’ during his testimony on that issue and suggested the recording shows he was offering to ‘protect’ the eventual fraudsters. 

‘You know who the clients are of Attorney General Keith Ellison?’ Koran said. ‘All the state agencies. So their attorney is going to go work against what’s right from a statutory requirement to stop them from performing their job? If they were even going to do their job?’

Although Walz announced early this year that he would drop his bid for a third term amid mounting criticism of the fraud scandal, he is still serving as governor, which many of his detractors have said doesn’t show true accountability.

Koran agrees with those who have called on Walz to resign, saying that he would if he had ‘any morals’ but ‘he won’t,’ and pointed out that even if Republicans had the super majority needed to impeach Walz, his spot would be taken by Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, who Koran called ‘far more radical.’

New findings have continued to trickle out as investigations into the fraud become more prevalent, including a state audit conducted by the nonpartisan Office of the Legislative Auditor released in January that found widespread failures and internal control problems in the Department of Human Services’ Behavioral Health Administration (BHA) grant program.

The 2026 regular session of the Minnesota Legislature officially kicked off on Feb. 17, and Koran outlined what Republicans will be focused on in order to reign in the fraud concerns.

‘The game plan is really to put pressure on all of them. There are things we could start to do today, we truly do have an interest to do that,’ Koran said. ‘You know, we’ve seen what’s hit the headlines; an Independent Inspector General probably could put together the best plan for that. That doesn’t solve today’s problems, right? That doesn’t solve it. We’ve got to solve it on the front end.’

Instead, Koran says the top priority should be a professional services contract with an independent entity ‘to do eligibility determination’ and ‘use the best of all data available to ensure those eligible receive benefits.’ But, he argued, Democrats have ‘been resistant to do any of that.’

Speaking about why he thinks the fraud scandal was able to reach the level that it did, Koran said, ‘I think there’s some incompetency. They’re certainly willfully complicit.’

He continued, ‘But I think the third element today that is bigger than ever is, our state government is as ineffective in delivering for the citizens of Minnesota than we’ve ever been in the history of government.’

Walz and Ellison will testify at a hearing ‘Oversight of Fraud and Misuse of Federal Funds in Minnesota: Part II’ on Wednesday, March 4, 2026, at 10 a.m. EST.

‘Americans deserve answers about the rampant misuse of taxpayer dollars in Minnesota’s social services programs that occurred on Governor Walz’s and Attorney General Ellison’s watch. The House Oversight Committee recently heard sworn testimony from Minnesota state lawmakers who stated that Governor Walz and Attorney General Ellison failed to act to stop this widespread fraud and retaliated against whistleblowers who raised concerns,’ House Oversight Chair James Comer said in a press release.

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Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem heads into a second straight day of high-stakes Capitol Hill combat Wednesday, this time facing House Democrats eager to press her on ICE arrests, warrantless operations and the Trump administration’s mass deportation push — all as a partial shutdown clouds her agency.

After sparring with Senate Democrats over DACA arrests and Election Day enforcement, Noem now enters a House Judiciary hearing stacked with vocal critics, from Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md. to Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas., setting up another marathon session over immigration enforcement and executive power.

Noem caught heat from both sides during a Senate hearing Tuesday, when most Republicans praised her work correcting what they view as former President Joe Biden’s failed border policies. But Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and the entirety of the Democratic side of the dais emphatically confronted her during their questioning time.

In Wednesday’s hearing, Noem is expected to go up against House Judiciary Committee ranking member Raskin early, as the Maryland Democrat has previously pressed for more oversight of Noem and DHS, including rescission of policies allowing warrantless operations.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., who is likely the committee’s top progressive, has previously called for stricter oversight of DHS and has criticized Noem’s management of ICE as it carries out immigration enforcement operations in cities including Minneapolis and New Orleans.

Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Pa., will also have a turn to question Noem. Her district in Delaware County was once a reliable Republican stronghold that elected a former Pennsylvania House speaker and leaned toward Trump in 2016. But it has since shifted and sided consistently with Democrats in recent elections.

Scanlon’s district has also featured numerous anti-ICE protests in visible areas such as the major intersection of Baltimore Pike and PA-320 last year, where throngs amassed to wave signs in the county’s commercial hub.

Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, who is fighting a tough Senate primary Tuesday night, will question Noem near the end of Wednesday’s session.

Noem will also take questions from Rep. Henry ‘Hank’ Johnson, D-Ga., and Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., both of whom clashed with Attorney General Pam Bondi just days ago.

Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., and Rep. Jesus Garcia, D-Ill., have both been critical of ICE’s activities, as Garcia previously slammed Noem for her agency’s conduct during enforcement operations in his heavily Hispanic district in Chicago.

Noem is expected to have a less confrontational time answering questions from Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and his caucus, which includes border-state Reps. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., Kevin Kiley, Tom McClintock and Darrell Issa, R-Calif.

The wild card in committee hearings is typically Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who has been criticized by the ‘MAGA’ right for being insufficiently supportive of some of the administration’s policies.

Other members of note on the 44-member panel include Rep. Ben Cline, R-Va., Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., Rep. Brad Knott, R-N.C., and Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Wis.

On Tuesday, Noem clashed with ranking member Richard Durbin, D-Ill., over arrests of DACA recipients and questioned why Sens. Chris Coons, D-Del., and Alex Padilla, D-Calif., were concerned about ICE being dispatched near polling places on Election Day.

Noem appeared to ask both men whether their concern had anything to do with the idea of illegal immigrants voting in federal elections, which is illegal.

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– James Talarico, a Democratic state lawmaker from Texas with a surging national profile, defeated Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a nationally known politician, progressive firebrand, and vocal critic and foil of President Donald Trump, to win the Democratic Senate primary in Texas, according to the Associated Press.

Talarico, 36, will now try to become the first Democrat in nearly four decades to win a Senate election in Texas, as he faces off against the winner of a bruising Republican primary runoff between longtime incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

This year’s Senate showdown in Texas is one of a handful across the country that could determine if Republicans hold their majority in the chamber in the midterm elections. The GOP currently controls the chamber 53-47.

In the final weeks leading up to Tuesday’s Democratic primary, race became a key factor in the showdown between Talarico, a former middle school teacher and Presbyterian seminarian who is considered a rising star among Democrats, and Crockett, a civil rights attorney first elected to Congress in 2022.

Talarico, who is White, was accused a month ago by an influencer of calling former Rep. Colin Allred, a former rival for the 2026 Senate nomination, a ‘mediocre Black man.’ 

Allred, the 2024 Democratic Senate nominee, was making a second straight run after losing two years ago to Republican Sen. Ted Cruz by eight points.

He ended his Senate campaign late last year, just before Crockett announced her candidacy. Allred, a former college football star who played professionally in the NFL and later became a civil rights attorney, is now running for his old House seat.

Morgan Thompson, the influencer who goes by the username @morga_tt on TikTok, in a social media post claimed Talarico told her in a private conversation that he had ‘signed up to run against a mediocre Black man, not a formidable, intelligent, Black woman.’

Pushing back against Thompson’s characterization of their conversation, Talarico said in a statement, ‘In my praise of Congresswoman Crockett, I described Congressman Allred’s method of campaigning as mediocre — but his life and service are not. I would never attack him on the basis of race.’

Allred, responding in a social media video on Monday, said: ‘James, if you want to compliment Black women, just do it. Just do it. Don’t do it while also tearing down a Black man.’

The 44-year-old Crockett, who is Black, said in a statement that Allred ‘drew a line in the sand.’

‘He made it clear that he did not take allegations of an attack on him as simply another day in the neighborhood, but more importantly, his post wasn’t about himself,’ Crockett, who was endorsed by Allred, said. ‘It was a moment that he decided to stand for all people who have been targeted and talked about in a demeaning way as our country continues to be divided.’

A couple of weeks later, Crockett claimed that a Talarico-aligned super PAC had darkened her skin tone in an ad and said it was ‘straight up racist.’

She also argued late last month that talk that she wasn’t electable statewide was a ‘dog whistle’ that was ‘tearing down a Black woman,’ and that she was the ‘most qualified’ candidate.

Talarico, who was first elected to the Texas House in 2018 by flipping a red district in northeast Austin and surrounding suburbs, highlighted his ability to win over Republican voters. And he questioned whether Crockett could run a competitive general election campaign.

While dramatically outraising and outspending Crockett the past two months, Talarico cast himself as the underdog in the primary battle against the better-known congresswoman.

Talarico, who speaks openly about his faith and how it shapes his progressive policy agenda, last year started garnering national attention through a slew of social media appearances that went viral. Also boosting his profile were his TikTok videos, which have grabbed millions of views, and his appearance last July on Joe Rogan’s top-rated podcast.

Rogan suggested during the interview that Talarico should run for president.

A month later, Talarico was a regular on the cable news networks, conducting dozens of national media interviews, as he and dozens of his fellow Democrats in the Texas House fled the state for weeks, to delay the eventual Trump-led redistricting push in Texas to create up to five more right-leaning congressional seats

Talarico launched his Senate campaign a month later, in September.

Last month, Talarcio grabbed even more national attention when his appearance on ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’ was bumped off broadcast TV and instead appeared on YouTube. Colbert accused his network, CBS, of blocking the interview by citing guidelines from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

The controversy appeared to boost Talarico, with his campaign saying they hauled in $2.5 million in fundraising in the 24 hours ‘following his censored’ interview.

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Senior Iranian clerics would have been left ‘exposed’ after an Israeli airstrike hit a meeting place where they were supposed to be convening Tuesday — days after a strike leveled the Tehran compound of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a defense analyst has claimed.

The clerics, members of the Assembly of Experts, had reportedly planned to meet at the location in Qom to deliberate succession plans for Khamenei, who was killed in the strikes, according to The Times of Israel.

‘This second strike would be another embarrassment to what has been left of the regime,’ Kobi Michael, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies and the Misgav Institute, told Fox News Digital.

‘It indicates intelligence dominance and superiority because any movement is detected, meaning they would feel exposed,’ Michael added.

‘As of now, the leadership would feel insecure and hunted, with all of their plans collapsing one after another.’

‘They would feel totally isolated and understand that the biggest risk might come from home — from a potential uprising next,’ he added.

Israel Defense Forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin confirmed that the Israeli Air Force struck the building where senior clerics had planned to assemble, The Times of Israel reported.

It remains unclear how many of the 88 members were present at the time of the strike, according to an Israeli defense source cited by the outlet. The second strike on Iran’s leadership comes amid a broader military campaign.

As previously reported by Fox News Digital, U.S. forces have struck more than 1,700 targets across Iran in the first 72 hours of Operation Epic Fury, according to a U.S. Central Command fact sheet.

The campaign is aimed at dismantling Iran’s security apparatus and neutralizing what officials describe as imminent threats.

According to U.S. Central Command, targets have included command-and-control centers, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Joint Headquarters, the IRGC Aerospace Forces headquarters, integrated air defense systems and ballistic missile sites.

‘We need strategic patience and determination, and in several weeks most of the job will be accomplished,’ Michael added. ‘Even if the regime does not collapse, Iran will not be like we used to know.

‘I assume that the U.S. and Israel will establish a very robust monitoring mechanism that will enable them to react whenever the regime tries to reconstitute its military capacities again.’

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Iran is waging a mass drone campaign across the Middle East, unleashing waves of low-cost, one-way attack drones also known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), against Western-linked targets to impose ‘exponential cost on the U.S.,’ a defense expert has warned.

As Tehran reportedly launched thousands of Shahed drones across the region and Iranian state media shared footage of underground stockpiles, Cameron Chell, CEO of drone maker and tech company Draganfly, said Iran’s strategy is designed to force high-end defenses to counter cheap aerial threats.

‘Even a hundred of these drones in the hands of a decentralized unit can cause terror in a neighboring state like never before imagined,’ Chell told Fox News Digital. ‘The Iranians cannot win the war with these drones, but like the [communist] Viet Cong [during the Vietnam War], they have an asymmetric capability that can prolong this war and create political pressure.’

‘Iran can drive terror in unimaginable ways and drive exponential costs on the U.S. side, having to target these small, very hard-to-detect drone units,’ he added.

Chell’s warning comes as tensions spiraled following Saturday’s joint U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran targeting nuclear sites, missile facilities and leadership that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several commanders.

The Iranian drones have proved deadly, having killed six U.S. service members in an attack on a tactical center in Kuwait earlier this week.

A CIA station in the U.S. Embassy in the Saudi capital of Riyadh was struck in an Iranian drone attack Tuesday, causing a limited fire but no reported injuries.

In Bahrain, drones reportedly identified as Iranian Shahed models smashed into the upper floors of the Era View Tower in Manama, about one mile from a U.S. Navy base.

An Iranian drone also struck a parking lot outside the U.S. Consulate in Dubai, while the United Arab Emirates said it intercepted Iranian missiles and drone attacks targeting the country.

‘Based on the engine sound, the apparent attack angle and the implied speed, to the best of my knowledge, this was a Shahed-class one-way attack drone,’ Chell said of the Dubai consulate attack video before suggesting the drone footage showed ‘a Shahed 191.’

Fars News Agency also released footage purporting to show scores of attack drones stockpiled in vast underground tunnels in Iran.

The video appeared to show rows of triangular-shaped drones on rocket launchers, missiles lined up, four to a launcher vehicle and walls adorned with Iranian flags and photographs of Khamenei. Outlets noted that the video’s timing and location remain unverified.

‘It is hard to confirm that Iran has the capability now to produce these drones in these volumes during wartime,’ Chell said of the stockpiling footage.

‘To the extent they were producing these in those numbers, a more-than-significant portion would have been for delivery to Russia — which does not seem impossible. That said, the drones in the underground propaganda video are Shahed 191 drones.’

A new report from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace also underscored Chell’s comments on expense and range.

‘Right now, Iran is using a mixture of ballistic missiles and attack drones,’ said senior fellow Dara Massicot. ‘The methods are effective, but targeting drones in this way is resource-intensive and expensive, and it will drain certain types of interceptors quickly.’

‘Ground-based air defense interceptor missiles are not infinite, and the United States and its partners and allies have had stockpile challenges in this area for years,’ she added.

Another senior fellow, Steve Feldstein, added, ‘An important point is that the world is entering a new age of drone war as unmanned aircraft are proliferating on the battlefield in major conflicts and smaller ones.’

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