MMN Editor

Kelani Jordan and Lola Vice’s feud will come to a head on Saturday when the two meet in an underground match at NXT Vengeance Day.In an underground match, WWE officials remove the ropes around the squared circle and the ring turns into an impromptu mixed martial arts-style match. The only way to win is to knock out your opponent or make them submit.CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COMFor Jordan, she may be considered the underdog as Vice has a legitimate MMA background that could provide the edge in the matchup. However, Jordan told Fox News Digital that she’s ever confident in what she’ll be able to bring to the ring.”I feel like I’ve been ready because I stay ready, but I reached out to Shayna Baszler to help me just learn the techniques of a martial artist,” Jordan said. “But also, she’s a former UFC fighter, so I’ve been training with her and I feel more than prepared for the match on Saturday.”Baszler had a brief stint in UFC before she tried her hand in pro wrestling. She was a two-time NXT women’s champion and WWE women’s tag team champion before she departed the company last year.But Baszler returned to NXT TV this week to give Jordan a helping hand.WWE SHARES HALL OF FAME DETAILS AS WRESTLEMANIA 42 NEARS”One, she’s taught me all the techniques and just being able to, like, how to get out of things that Lola goes for, submissions, Lola throws a lot of kicks because she’s based in taekwondo background,” Jordan said of the help Baszler gave her. “So, I was able to learn ways to counter that but also up my offense because I’m not a specialist in submissions and Shayna is known for being the ‘submission magician.’ She helped me learn actual submissions, things that I could go for or counter for Lola. But also, she made me realize and humbled me to make sure like, OK, she’s the real deal. She definitely taught me a lot in that aspect.”Jordan has already made Vice submit in recent weeks and suggested she could hone in on some of the frustration she’s felt with her colleague.”Two weeks ago, Lola was able to see a different side of Kelani Jordan. Me and Lola go way back. We were in the finals of the (NXT) Breakout Tournament together,” she said. “We also had many big (premium live event) moments together. But also she was my best friend in the locker room and she kicked me out.”I feel like when things like that happen, a different side of you comes out. I think Lola’s gonna be in for a rude awakening when she realizes, one, I’ve been training from one of the best, someone who paved the way in NXT. Also, I have a lot of vengeance to get out on her.”Vengeance Day is set to take place at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. The event will start at 7 p.m. ET and can be seen on Peacock.The rest of the card looks like this:Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

FIRST ON FOX: The Israeli military spokesman confirmed to Fox News Digital this week that multiple unmanned aerial vehicles, UAVs, have been launched into Israel from Iraqi territory since the start of the conflict with Iran to eradicate the Islamic Republic of Iran’s illicit nuclear weapons facilities, missile systems and terrorism infrastructure. Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, the Israeli military spokesman, said that the army has had a “near complete success” rate in stopping Iranian drones from hitting Israeli targets. The drones fired from Iraq are presumed to come from the Iranian regime-controlled Popular Mobilization Forces, or PMF. An umbrella organization of Shiite terrorists, that attacked Israel with drones in 2024 during Israel’s war against the Tehran-backed Hamas movement. TRUMP THREATENS TO END IRAQ SUPPORT OVER AL-MALIKI COMEBACK BID TIED TO IRAN INFLUENCEAn Iraqi Kurdish official told Fox News Digital, “Iraq has become a vessel for the Iranians. Is it so hard to see? I don’t see a distinction between the PMF and the state. They’re paid by the state, hold sovereign portfolios in this cabinet, go on foreign travel and now they’ve entered the federal legislature.”The official continued: “In the last two decades, Iran has systemically taken over the state, weaponizing what were supposed to be institutions into tools to protect the Shia regime in Baghdad and punish any threat to it, including the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Through Baghdad and state institutions, it has economically strangled the Kurdistan Region, torn strips from our autonomy and exposed us to more attacks.”An attack was reported on the country’s shrinking Christian community. The Chaldean Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil, Iraq, from the capital city of Iraqi Kurdistan, wrote on X on Thursday: “A miracle no one was injured when 2 drones struck our community, 150 meters from our Catechist Center that serves 1,000 Catholic children. Our university & schools are also closed so the young can be with their parents. Please pray for us & for all who suffer in this war.” Kurdistan Regional Government authorities confirmed the attack and ​said it was carried out by two ​drones.ISRAEL POUNDS HEZBOLLAH TARGETS, DARING LEBANON TO RECLAIM SOVEREIGNTY FROM IRAN-BACKED TERROR PROXYPhillip Smyth, an expert on Shiite militias in Iraq, told Fox News Digital about the strikes on the Chaldean Catholic school that “Kata’ib Hezbollah was first to talk about it and it was likely Kata’ib Hezbollah,  but it is possible it was another two pro-Iran militias because they all work together on drone launches.”A drone attack struck an oil field operated by U.S. firm HKN Energy in Iraq’s ​Kurdistan region on Thursday, causing a fire ‌and halting production, according to a Reuters report citing security sources and an oilfield engineer.No group claimed responsibility, but Kurdish officials accused Iran-allied Iraqi militias of carrying out the attack.If so, the attack would mean Iran‑aligned ​Iraqi militias, who have vowed to retaliate for the killing ‌of ⁠Iran’s supreme leader, have expanded targets from U.S. military bases in Iraqi Kurdistan to U.S. energy interests.Production at the field was halted as a precaution ​after an ​explosion at ⁠its power unit, the engineer told Reuters.Some ⁠energy companies operating in Iraqi Kurdistan shut oil and gas production at their fields as a precaution ⁠after ​the U.S. and Israel ​launched strikes on neighboring Iran.Entifadh Qanbar, a former spokesman for the deputy prime minister of Iraq, echoed the comments of the Iraqi Kurdish official in his statement to Fox News Digital: “The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) are fully funded by the Iraqi government. In fact, they are formally included as a line item in Iraq’s federal budget. Officially, more than $3 billion is allocated annually just for salaries, but when logistics, weapons, food, and other operational costs are included, the PMF’s budget likely exceeds $10 billion. That is the size of the budget of a small country in the Middle East,” he claimed.IRAQI STATE BANK ACCUSED OF PROCESSING PAYMENTS FOR HOUTHI TERRORISTS WHO DISRUPT RED SEA COMMERCEQanbar said there is a way to change Iraq’s behavior: “If the United States wants to stop this situation, there are clear tools available. Sanctions must be imposed on the Iraqi government for funding these militias. Another powerful mechanism involves Iraq’s oil revenues, which are deposited at the U.S. Federal Reserve. The United States could suspend transfers of those funds unless Baghdad halts the financing of the PMF. Make no mistake: every terrorist who launches drones or rockets against Kurdistan, U.S. interests, Gulf states or military bases is effectively being paid by the Iraqi government,” he claimed.When asked if the Islamic Republic of Iran urged Shiite militias from the PMF to fire drones at Israel, a spokesman for Iran’s U.N. mission said, “The Mission declined to comment.”On Tuesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said his government is “not tolerating any attempt aimed at dragging Iraq into war or threatening the country’s stability,” according to Kurdistan24. Salwan Sinjari, chief of staff to the Iraqi foreign minister, referred Fox News Digital to the Iraqi foreign ministry page for official statements by his minister and the government. He did not respond to follow-up messages and calls on whether Iraq’s government was failing to crack down on the PMF.Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein claimed the government was seeking to convince Iran-backed militias to disarm in January 2025, according to the Long War Journal.However, Iraq’s government has issued mixed messages about the PMF over the years. In May 2025 al-Sudani was quoted as saying, “Today, the Popular Mobilization Forces constitute a basic force in defending Iraq.”Iraq’s ambassador to the U.S. did not immediately respond to email, WhatsApp and telephone queries. A second Iraqi diplomat said he was unable to provide Fox News Digital a comment.The Times of Israel reported on Thursday, after military strikes eliminated a senior officer from Kataeb Hezbollah — Iraq’s largest pro-Iran militia — south of Baghdad that PMF militias pledged to strike the Middle East interests of European nations that joined in the “Zionist-American” strikes on the Islamic Republic and its proxies.Fox News Digital reached out to the U.S. State Department.

Judicial Watch litigation previously forced disclosure of more than $1 billion in NIH royalty payments marked for inventors; court will now examine whether NIH can keep secret how much individual government scientists received
(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today that a federal court has scheduled an evidentiary hearing in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit filed on behalf of Open the Books. The lawsuit seeks records about royalty payments made to scientists and employees at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It specifically asks for records concerning former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Director Dr. Anthony Fauci, whose institute participated extensively in the NIH royalty program.
The hearing will take place March 10, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. ET before U.S. District Court Judge Amit P. Mehta in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in the case American Transparency (OpenTheBooks.com) v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services(No. 1:21-cv-02821).
The evidentiary hearing will address a key dispute over whether the NIH improperly withheld records showing how much individual government scientists received through royalty payments tied to taxpayer-funded inventions.
Mehta ordered the hearing after finding a “genuine dispute of material fact” regarding the NIH’s claim that releasing the royalty payments made to individual employees would reveal confidential commercial information from third parties licensing government patents. The NIH argues that outsiders could allegedly “back-calculate” confidential royalty rates and payments made by licensees if the amounts paid to government inventors were disclosed.
Judicial Watch and Open the Books dispute that claim and argue that disclosing the amounts paid to government employees does not reveal confidential commercial information and is required under the Freedom of Information Act. The watchdog groups contend that the NIH’s theory is speculative and improperly used to conceal how much taxpayer-funded government employees received in royalty income.
In earlier rulings in the case, Mehta rejected the NIH’s effort to broadly shield the royalty program using employee privacy claims, writing that “federal government employees have a limited privacy interest in information concerning their compensation.”
The court also emphasized the strong public interest in disclosure, noting that transparency regarding royalty payments could help the public assess whether inventors’ financial interests in licensed technologies “could potentially bias the design, conduct, or reporting of clinical research.” Mehta further concluded that the public interest in understanding these financial arrangements is significant, particularly where government scientists involved in taxpayer-funded biomedical research may receive payments tied to the commercialization of those technologies.
The October 2021 lawsuit was filed after the NIH failed to adequately respond to FOIA requests seeking records about royalty payments and financial arrangements involving NIH personnel.
The FOIA requests sought records including:

Employment contracts for NIH employees
Financial disclosure and conflict-of-interest records
Confidentiality agreements
Job descriptions for senior officials, including Dr. Anthony Fauci
Records regarding royalty payments received by NIH scientists and employees

Over $2.685 billion was paid to NIH institutes or scientists – of which more than $1 billion was marked for inventors – between 2010-2023 from pharmaceutical companies and other private entities licensing government-owned patents. Those payments were obtained only after Judicial Watch and Open the Books forced the NIH to release previously hidden royalty payment records through FOIA litigation.
The disclosures include royalty payments connected to inventions developed across multiple NIH institutes, including the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), which was led for decades by Fauci and played a central role in federally funded biomedical research. 
“This upcoming hearing will determine whether the NIH can continue withholding records showing how much individual government scientists received in royalty payments,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “Judicial Watch and Open the Books already forced disclosure of more than $1 billion of dollars in NIH royalty payments marked to inventors, like Fauci. The court will now examine whether the agency can keep secret key details about the payment amounts tied to those taxpayer-funded inventions.”
Judicial Watch recently filed a separate FOIA lawsuit on behalf of Open the Books seeking records concerning whether statutory limits on royalty payments to federal employees are being effectively bypassed (American Transparency v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (No. 1:26-cv-00432)).
The new lawsuit seeks records including:

Emails referencing royalty payments that may exceed the statutory cap
Records concerning royalty payments placed in reserve when payments exceed statutory limits
Internal guidance and procedures governing the NIH Public Health Service Technology Transfer Policy Manual

The records requested cover the period January 2020 through December 2025.
Federal law limits the amount individual government employee-inventors may receive in royalty payments to $150,000 per year. NIH scientists may receive royalty payments when inventions developed with taxpayer funding are licensed to private companies. These payments originate from license fees paid by pharmaceutical companies and other entities seeking to commercialize government-developed biomedical technologies.
The disclosures already forced through Judicial Watch’s litigation have raised questions about whether government scientists receiving royalties may have financial interests connected to technologies or products they help develop, test, or promote using taxpayer funds. 
OpenTheBooks.com, operated by American Transparency, maintains one of the largest independent databases of public-sector spending in the United States, promoting transparency by putting government spending records online for public review.
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Tuesday’s Senate Republican primary election in Texas between incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton triggered a runoff after neither received at least 50% of the vote.Heading into the May 26 runoff election, both Cornyn and Paxton are hoping to secure President Donald Trump’s endorsement.’That is bad for him. So maybe, maybe that leads me to go the other direction.’Trump has stated he will endorse one of the candidates, but that he expects the one he does not select to withdraw his bid.Paxton appeared to stir up some drama with the president when he stated on Wednesday evening that he would continue in the race even if Trump decides to support Cornyn.Trump, who told Politico on Thursday that he will announce his support for one of the candidates “pretty soon,” seemed to scold Paxton, stating that it is “bad for him to say” that he would not leave the race.”That is bad for him. So maybe, maybe that leads me to go the other direction,” Trump told Politico, indicating that Paxton’s comments may prompt him to endorse Cornyn. RELATED: Trump to intervene in Texas’ Senate race, anoint his preferred candidate Ken Paxton. Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty ImagesLater that day, Paxton walked back his earlier statement, writing in a post on X that he would “consider” withdrawing from the race if Senate leadership passes the SAVE America Act. “The Save America Act is the most important bill the U.S. Senate could ever pass, and I’m committed to helping President Trump get it done,” Paxton said. “John Cornyn is a coward who has refused to support abolishing the filibuster to pass this bill. Now, Fake News reporters and the establishment are trying to destroy me with misinformation.””The truth is clear: No one has been more loyal to Donald Trump than me — fighting the stolen 2020 election, being in Mar-a-Lago when he announced his 2024 campaign, and standing with him in NY in the face of lawfare,” Paxton continued. “For the good of our country and for the good of passing President Trump’s agenda, I am determined to help him get this done.”RELATED: Jasmine Crockett claims voters were ‘disenfranchised’ following crushing defeat in key Texas primary John Cornyn. Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty ImagesIn his comments to Politico, Trump described the Democrat nominee, state Rep. James Talarico, as “a terribly weak candidate.”Talarico defeated his opponent, Rep. Jasmine Crockett, by over 7.5 points on Tuesday.Trump expressed confidence that a Republican candidate could defeat Talarico, concluding that he is “more woke than even the very highly untalented Jasmine Crockett.”Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

The employment situation report for February was released on Friday, showing a slowdown after an ostensibly strong start to the year. The United States lost 92,000 nonfarm jobs in February, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics report. The unemployment rate saw a slight uptick compared to January, rising 0.1% to 4.4% in February.The Hill reported that economists were confronted with an unexpected downturn in total jobs, saying they generally expected the United States to add 60,000.Additionally, The Hill marked a concerning trend, reporting that the BLS revised December 2025’s initial gain of 48,000 jobs to a loss of 17,000 jobs. However, consistent with previous trends in President Trump’s first year, the federal government accounted for 10,000 of those jobs losses. BLS reported that federal employment is down by 330,000, or 11% of the federal workforce.RELATED: ‘Golden Age of America is upon us!’ Delayed January jobs report exceeds expectations CentrallTAlliance/Getty ImagesThe unemployment rate saw a slight uptick compared to January, rising 0.1% to 4.4% in February.”Just as the January jobs report overstated any emerging strength in the labor market, the February employment data give a false impression of deteriorating labor market conditions,” Nancy Vanden Houten, lead economist at Oxford Economics, said in an email to CBS News on Friday.The employment situation report for March is scheduled to be released on April 3. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

President Donald Trump’s aggregate approval rating among Republican voters has climbed to 86 percent amid Operation Epic Fury, the highest own-party approval rating recorded for any 21st-century president at this point in a second term, CNN’s chief data analyst Harry Enten reported Thursday.
“Bush was at 77 percent, Obama was at 77 percent. Look at this: 86 percent of Republicans approve of the job that Donald Trump is doing at this point. That is higher than either Obama or Bush had within their own party at this point,” Enten said. “Trump’s magic touch has not seemed to wore off yet when it comes to the Republican base.”

Trump’s aggregate rating among those who strongly approve of the president is also higher than that of his predecessors. Fifty-three percent of Republican voters strongly approve of President Trump’s performance at this point in his second term.
“Trump is the only one who gets a majority at this point in their presidency,” Enten said. Forty-seven percent of Republicans strongly approved of former president George W. Bush, and 48 percent of Democrats strongly approved of former president Barack Obama at the same point in their second terms.
Enten noted that Trump is “still getting a majority of the Republican base, at least in the average of polls, to say that they still really, really, really, like him.”
The data corroborate other polling that shows Operation Epic Fury is overwhelmingly popular among Trump’s base. More than 9 in 10 self-described “MAGA or Trump Conservatives” approve of the campaign against the Iranian regime, according to a new poll from the Vandenberg Coalition and TargetPoint.
The poll categorized Trump’s 2024 voters into several ideological camps—including “Traditional Conservative,” “MAGA or Trump Conservative,” “Moderate Republican,” and “Libertarian.” Among those aligned with the MAGA movement, 83 percent said the early phases of Operation Epic Fury made the United States safer, while 92 percent agreed that Trump’s decision to use military force against Iran would deter future attacks from American adversaries.
Respondents also expressed overwhelming support for the U.S.-Israel security relationship. Ninety-three percent of self-described MAGA conservatives said they back the alliance, as well as four in five Trump voters between the ages of 18 and 29.
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More than 9 in 10 self-described “MAGA or Trump Conservatives” say they approve of the joint U.S.-Israeli campaign against the Iranian regime, according to a new poll from the Vandenberg Coalition and TargetPoint shared exclusively with the Washington Free Beacon.

The survey—conducted between March 3 and March 5 with a sample size of 1,232 respondents who voted for President Donald Trump in 2024—broke down respondents into camps of “Traditional Conservative,” “MAGA or Trump Conservative,” “Moderate Republican,” and “Libertarian.”
Overall, 84 percent of the Trump voters surveyed said they approve of the military campaign against the Iranian regime, while just 14 percent disapprove.

Eighty-three percent of those who identify with the MAGA movement believe U.S.-Israeli strikes in the first few days of Operation Epic Fury have made the United States safer, the poll shows. On a wider scale, 92 percent of MAGA respondents said they agree with the statement that “President Trump’s use of force against Iran will help deter future attacks from our adversaries.” Libertarians, according to the poll, are the group on the right most likely to oppose the military engagement. Even so, 74 percent of libertarians surveyed reported approving of the campaign.
The Vandenberg-TargetPoint poll also includes a question about the military partnership between the United States and Israel. Ninety-three percent of self-described “MAGA or Trump Conservatives” reported supporting that alliance, while 80 percent of all Trump voters between the ages of 18 and 29 surveyed said the same.
The poll comes as certain figures like podcaster and former television personality Tucker Carlson seek to make the case that the campaign against the Islamic Republic is out of step with Trump’s MAGA base. Carlson has also pushed a conspiracy theory claiming the Chabad Hasidic movement, perhaps best known in the United States for hosting Shabbat dinners on college campuses, is behind Operation Epic Fury. Carlson, who described the operation as “Israel’s war” rather than the United States’, already earned a rebuke from Trump. The president told Jonathan Karl of ABC News that Carlson “has lost his way” and is “not MAGA.”
“MAGA is saving our country,” Trump continued. “MAGA is making our country great again. MAGA is America first, and Tucker is none of those things. And Tucker is really not smart enough to understand that.”
The podcasters who have attempted to make the case that the military operation is both opposed to U.S. interests and a product of Israeli influence do not seem to have pushed their audiences in that direction, the Vandenberg-TargetPoint poll shows. Among respondents who “receive information on foreign policy news” from podcasts, 78 percent approve of the campaign against the Iranian regime and 77 percent support the U.S.-Israeli military partnership.
Vandenberg Coalition executive director Carrie Filipetti told the Free Beacon that the survey results demonstrate that the MAGA movement remains unified.
“President Trump has reminded Americans that we get a say in the future world we live in, and that future no longer involves capitulation to Russia, China, Iran, or any of their junior partners,” Filipetti said. “Those chronically online may disagree—but those in the real world know that MAGA is united behind peace through strength.”
The Vandenberg-TargetPoint results align with other polling conducted since Trump’s second term began. Ninety percent of Trump voters supported the U.S. strikes against Iran’s nuclear program in June, and an August Vandenberg-TargetPoint survey found that another 90 percent of self-described “MAGA Conservatives” agreed with the idea that “the United States should continue its strong military support for Israel.”
The Free Beacon conducted its own poll in September, finding that young conservatives and Trump voters—even those who listen to Carlson and fellow podcasters Candace Owens and Nick Fuentes—have a largely positive view of the Jewish State.
The post EXCLUSIVE: More than 9 in 10 MAGA Voters Back Operation Epic Fury, Poll Finds appeared first on .

The ongoing conflict in Iran and closure of Strait of Hormuz has caused WTI and Brent crude oil prices to spike.

Globalization isn’t smooth integration but constant adjustment. History shows how merchants and companies adapt when conflict reshapes trade routes.

Does “Hoppers” have a post-credits scene? Here’s whether the new Pixar movie includes mid- or end-credits scenes and if it’s worth staying until the very end.