A majority of Democrats, Independents and Republicans agree that ‘extremist political rhetoric’ contributed to the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, according to a new poll.

The survey from NBC News found that 54% of Democrats agree that extreme rhetoric from ‘some in the media and by political leaders’ was a major factor in Kirk’s killing. An overwhelming majority of Republicans, 73%, expressed the same sentiment, while 53% of Independents agreed.

Across all respondents, 61% of Americans said they believe rhetoric contributed to Kirk’s death.

Meanwhile, 28% said they believed Kirk’s killing was caused more by the lone actions of a disturbed individual than the broader political climate. Another 4% said it was a combination of the two.

The poll marks the first time in 15 years of NBC News polling that majorities of all major American political groups agree that extreme rhetoric was a major factor in causing a violent incident.

Polls going back to the 2011 shooting of former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., show a steady rise in Americans blaming political rhetoric for violence, rather than just a lone individual.

In Giffords’ case, 71% of respondents blamed the lone attacker, while 24% blamed rhetoric. By the time of President Donald Trump’s second assassination attempt, however, 37% blamed the attacker and 54% blamed rhetoric.

Kirk’s alleged killer, Tyler Robinson, faces a capital punishment trial in Utah. Members of his family say he became politically extreme and moved further and further to the left in the year leading up to Kirk’s assassination.

Robinson faces a slew of charges, including aggravated murder, which carries the potential the death penalty. He has not yet entered a plea.

Judge Tony Graf granted a defense motion to allow Robinson to wear civilian clothes in court, citing his constitutional presumption of innocence, but denied a motion to allow him to appear without shackles.

Robinson’s next hearing is scheduled for Jan. 16, 2026, when he is expected to make his first in-person appearance.

Fox News’ Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.

Oversight Committee Republicans are accusing their Democratic counterparts of using the House’s ongoing investigation into Jeffrey Epstein to attack President Donald Trump rather than find closure for the late pedophile’s victims.

Fox News Digital obtained a 10-page internal memo written by GOP committee staff for lawmakers on the panel that argued Democrats intentionally misrepresented information obtained by Republicans to create a narrative that was not there.

‘Unfortunately, during this investigation, Oversight Committee Democrats, led by Ranking Member Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), have intentionally mischaracterized witness testimony and selectively released information with targeted redactions in an effort to create another hoax involving President Trump,’ the memo said.

‘When the Majority released the full set of documents, Democrats claimed that this transparency was meant to ‘disorient’ and ‘distract’ from the false narrative they had been attempting to construct about President Trump.’

The committee’s months-long investigation was launched by a bipartisan push for transparency but has since devolved into partisan fighting as both sides blame the other for focusing on the wrong things.

Democrats have accused Republicans of using the probe to cover for Trump, who was known to have been an associate of Epstein’s but never tied to any wrongdoing.

But the committee’s GOP majority, which has released thousands of pages of documents obtained from both the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Epstein’s own estate, has contended that it is dedicated to transparency for the victims and has accused Democrats of politicizing the probe.

‘The Democrats have uncovered nothing new, have released no document not provided at the request of Republicans, and have only succeeded in reinforcing what the American people already knew: President Trump knew Jeffrey Epstein decades ago, President Trump ended the relationship with Epstein, and President Trump did not participate or know about the nature of Epstein’s evil,’ the memo said.

‘Committee Democrats have overpromised and underdelivered, and now they paw through every new document production looking for a single term: Trump.’

Documents released by the committee so far appear to neither concretely prove nor disprove that Trump was aware of Epstein’s crimes, but the president himself has consistently denied any improper links.

In their memo, Republicans pointed to former Attorney General Bill Barr’s deposition where he appeared to clear Trump of wrongdoing, at least in his knowledge of the probe.

But they accuse Garcia of intentionally twisting the facts by claiming Barr had ‘limited knowledge’ of the case.

The memo also accused Democrats of having ‘selectively leaked’ three emails earlier this month out of roughly 23,000 documents handed over by the Epstein estate in a bid to portray Trump in a negative light.

The GOP memo accused Democrats of having ‘made their own redactions to deceive the media and American people,’ including the name of late Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre, ‘who stated that she never witnessed wrongdoing by President Trump,’ the memo said.

‘Democrats also redacted ‘she was the one that accused prince andrew’ [sic] in another Epstein email. By making this redaction, Democrats took away important context in the email that named Virginia Guiffre [sic], who worked at Mar-a-Lago, made allegations against Prince Andrew, and was recruited by Ghislaine Maxwell in the parking lot,’ the memo said.

‘This changes the meaning in Epstein’s email where he states, ‘of course he knew about the girls as he asked Ghislaine to stop.’’

The GOP memo also pointed out that Democrats leaked pages of Epstein’s infamous ‘birthday book’ that included Trump but did not publish a message purportedly written by former President Bill Clinton.

It also accused Democrats of failing to help the committee bring in the Clintons for questioning, despite both being issued subpoenas earlier this year. The only figures who have testified so far have been tied to Trump.

‘Democrats are not concerned with transparency or justice,’ the memo said. ‘The evidence the Oversight Committee has gathered does not implicate President Trump in any way. Democrats must stop playing games in this investigation.’

The memo is dated Sunday, two days before the House is expected to vote on a bipartisan bill demanding the DOJ release all of its files related to Epstein.

House GOP leaders had previously been against the effort, arguing the bill as written could lead to the release of information that could harm Epstein’s victims, while also claiming it was unnecessary given the Oversight Committee’s investigation.

But a mechanism known as a discharge petition, led by Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif., is allowing the majority of House lawmakers to override leadership’s wishes and force a vote on the bill.

Trump encouraged Republicans to vote in favor of it in a Truth Social post Sunday night, telling the GOP, ‘We have nothing to hide, and it’s time to move on from this Democrat Hoax.’

Fox News Digital reached out to the committee’s Democratic minority for a response.

The War Department is narrowing its research and development strategy to six ‘Critical Technology Areas’ officials say will speed up innovation and strengthen America’s military edge.

Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering Emil Michael said the plan will deliver faster, more focused results to the warfighter by merging overlapping programs and steering funding toward technologies that will shape future conflicts.

‘As the Department of War’s Chief Technology Officer, I am statutorily charged with the mission of advancing technology and innovation for the armed forces,’ Michael wrote in a Nov. 13 memorandum to senior Pentagon and combatant command leadership. ‘The previous list of fourteen CTAs did not provide the focus that the threat environment of today requires.’

The six areas — Applied Artificial Intelligence, Biomanufacturing, Contested Logistics Technologies, Quantum and Battlefield Information Dominance, Scaled Directed Energy and Scaled Hypersonics — will be advanced through rapid ‘sprints’ designed to move emerging technologies from prototype to production.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said the streamlined approach will keep the United States ahead of its rivals.

‘Our nation’s military has always been the tip of the spear,’ Hegseth said. ‘Under Secretary Emil Michael’s six Critical Technology Areas will ensure that our warriors never enter a fair fight and have the best systems in their hands for maximum lethality.’

The initiative also aligns with President Donald Trump’s Artificial Intelligence Action Plan, which directs the War Department to become an ‘AI-First’ organization.

Officials say the shift will reshape how intelligence is processed, how logistics are managed and how weapons systems are deployed.

‘In alignment with President Trump’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Plan, the Department of War must become an ‘AI-First’ organization,’ Michael wrote. ‘When adopted rapidly, AI will fundamentally transform the Department from the enterprise-level, to intelligence synthesis and to warfighting.’

Michael’s plan emphasizes resilience and self-sufficiency on the battlefield. Biomanufacturing will create bio-based materials to reduce reliance on foreign suppliers, while Contested Logistics Technologies will help U.S. forces sustain operations in contested or denied environments.

The goal, he said, is to ensure troops can fight and resupply even when traditional lines are cut. Each new technology area is meant to reinforce that capability.

‘Future warfare will likely be characterized by contested environments in which the Joint Force is challenged to surge, operate into and within the operational theater, and resupply, reconstitute, and recover forces,’ Michael wrote. ‘This CTA will enable the demonstration, validation, and scaling of novel approaches and technologies.’

Other priorities include quantum computing for secure battlefield communications, scaled directed energy systems such as high-energy lasers and high-power microwave weapons, and the expansion of hypersonic capabilities for both offensive and defensive missions.

Each effort depends on close coordination between the Pentagon, private industry and allied militaries to ensure the technologies reach the field quickly.

‘Executing these sprints will require unprecedented coordination between the Office of the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering, military departments, combatant commands and other Office of the Secretary of War components,’ Michael said. ‘I am committed to working with you and our partners inside and outside of the Department on these efforts.’

President Donald Trump is set to host Saudi Arabia’s ambitious and influential Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House this week for high-level talks aimed at deepening economic and defense ties.

‘We’re more than meeting,’ Trump said on Friday en route to Florida for the weekend. ‘We’re honoring Saudi Arabia, the crown prince.’

While not formally a state visit, the plans include a welcome ceremony with military bands, a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office and a black-tie dinner in the evening.

Prince Mohammed bin Salman serves as the kingdom’s powerful understudy to his 89-year-old father, King Salman. Widely regarded as Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, he manages nearly all daily affairs of state and frequently represents the kingdom in international summits and diplomatic meetings.

Tuesday’s meetings will mark Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s first visit to the White House in more than seven years. Trump said last week that he plans to discuss strengthening ties with the Saudi leader and hopes the kingdom will move toward formally recognizing Israel.

‘The Abraham Accords will be a part we’re going to be discussing,’ Trump told reporters Friday. ‘I hope that Saudi Arabia will be joining the Abraham Accords fairly soon.’

Such a move would build on Trump’s signature foreign-policy initiative, the Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between Israel and several Arab nations during his presidency.

The crown prince last visited the White House in 2018, just months before Jamal Khashoggi, a dissident journalist and critic of the kingdom, was murdered at a Saudi consulate in Turkey. 

A subsequent CIA assessment concluded the prince had likely ordered the killing, though he has consistently denied involvement. Even so, Trump’s relationship with the crown prince appeared largely undeterred during his first term.

Trump last met the crown prince during his first state visit of his second term to Riyadh in May, where he was welcomed with a fighter jet escort, an honor guard wielding golden swords and a parade of Arabian horses flanking his limousine.

The Trump administration is also expected to finalize an agreement with bin Salman to allow Riyadh to purchase F-35 stealth fighter jets, Bloomberg reported Friday, citing a White House official.

The two leaders are expected to sign several other economic and defense agreements during the crown prince’s visit to the White House on Tuesday, the report added.

Americans have delivered the same message in the last two elections: make life affordable again. 

They are tired of working harder for less, while the cost of everything — from housing to education to insurance — keeps rising. The affordability crisis touches every household, and its biggest driver is the one Washington refuses to tackle seriously: healthcare. 

Healthcare now consumes nearly one-fifth of our economy. It is the largest single cost for employers, the fastest-growing burden on families, and the quietest drain on national growth. Every dollar businesses spend on bloated health costs is a dollar not available for higher wages, new jobs or investment. Every dollar families spend on premiums or out-of-pocket costs is a dollar they can’t use for savings, housing or opportunity. Until we fix healthcare, we can’t fix affordability. 

It’s not that Washington ignores healthcare — it’s that it thinks about it too narrowly. Politicians obsess over temporary subsidies, tax credits and program expansions that make insurance more expensive to subsidize but never make care itself more affordable. The current fight over extending COVID-era insurance subsidies is a perfect example. Even supporters of Obamacare now admit that the ‘Affordable’ Care Act turned out to be unaffordable. Their answer is to borrow more money to prop up a system that keeps getting worse. That is not reform — it’s surrender.

There are three truths both parties must face. 

First, the system is already too expensive and locked in a pattern that guarantees it will grow more unaffordable every year. 

Second, 60 years of bureaucratic control — public and private — have utterly failed to contain costs.

Third, we must build a new model that relies on patients, doctors and employers — not massive government and insurance-company bureaucracies — to achieve the change Americans want. 

That model is not theoretical — it already works in the rest of our economy. When people have access to clear prices and quality information before making decisions, competition drives innovation, choice and lower costs. Technology has made this possible in every industry, from travel to retail to manufacturing. If the same principles applied to healthcare, we could unleash that same power to lower costs and improve quality. 

Instead, our opaque, bureaucratic system hides prices and multiplies middlemen. The average family of four now spends roughly $27,000 a year on health insurance — about the cost of a new Chevrolet or Toyota every 12 months. Most families don’t see the full bill because their employer or the government pays much of it, but that just means their wages are smaller. Paying the equivalent of a new car every year just for coverage is why Americans list affordability as their top economic concern.

Worse, nobody knows what anything costs — not patients, not families, not even the self-funded employers who pay the claims for their plan members. Bills arrive months after care, after passing through a maze of third-party administrators, repricers and billing vendors. That secrecy fuels waste, fraud and frustration. It’s estimated that 30% to 50% of all healthcare spending is administrative rather than medical. In short, America’s healthcare system has more middlemen than medicine. 

And who benefits? Powerful interest groups, insurers, consultants and bureaucracies that profit from complexity and confusion. As Tom Cruise shouted in ‘Jerry Maguire’: ‘Show me the money.’ Behind the speeches and lobbyists defending this broken system are people determined to protect their share of a bankrupting status quo. 

Second, 60 years of bureaucratic control — public and private — have utterly failed to contain costs.

Politicians can’t fight every entrenched interest group — but millions of patients and doctors armed with real price and quality information can. Transparency gives power back to those who actually deliver and receive care. When they can see what things cost, they can make smarter choices, reward efficiency and hold wasteful players accountable. Transparency doesn’t just lower prices — it changes who holds the power.

That’s why President Donald Trump’s price-transparency executive order in his first administration was a genuine breakthrough. It required hospitals and insurers to publish negotiated prices and, through the No Surprises Act, directed officials to create Advance Explanations of Benefits (AEOBs) so Americans could know their costs before receiving care. Trump started the transparency revolution. Under the Biden administration, enforcement stalled, and patients never saw the full benefit. 

Now Trump has the chance to finish what he began — and make transparency permanent. 

The administration has the authority to act right now under his ‘radical transparency’ executive order issued earlier this year, the No Surprises Act, and existing Employee Retirement Income Security Act authority. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services should immediately issue and enforce AEOB rules. The Department of Labor should guarantee employers access to complete claims and pricing data while protecting patient privacy. If the administration moves quickly, Americans could begin receiving AEOBs in 2026 — and Trump could rightfully claim a historic victory for transparency, competition and higher wages before the midterms. 

Congress should reinforce this effort by passing the bipartisan Patients Deserve Price Tags Act, led by Kansas Republican Sen. Roger Marshall and Colorado Democrat Sen. John Hickenlooper. The bill secures employer access to data and ensures no third-party administrator can hide prices from the people who pay the bills. The executive branch can act today; Congress should make it permanent.

When every patient and employer can see prices, markets will clean out waste on their own. Transparency gives employers the power to negotiate directly with providers and patients the ability to choose wisely. Prices in the open create competition that middlemen can’t survive and costs they can’t hide. The ripple effect — lower costs, higher wages, more investment — will strengthen every part of the economy. 

If America truly wants to make life affordable again, healthcare transparency is where we start.

It’s bold. It’s achievable. And it’s the single biggest step we can take to restore prosperity for working families.   

Disclaimer: Gingrich 360 has consulting clients in the healthcare industry which may be impacted by changes to healthcare laws. 

President Trump is calling on House Republicans to vote to release files related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, insisting he has ‘nothing to hide’ and accusing Democrats of using the case as a distraction from GOP accomplishments.

In a Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump urged House Republicans to vote in favor of releasing the documents, describing the controversy as a ‘Democrat hoax perpetrated by radical left lunatics.’

‘As I said on Friday night aboard Air Force One to the Fake News Media, House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide, and it’s time to move on from this Democrat Hoax perpetrated by Radical Left Lunatics in order to deflect from the Great Success of the Republican Party, including our recent Victory on the Democrat ‘Shutdown,” Trump wrote.

Trump pointed to the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) previous release of thousands of pages of Epstein-related documents. 

He also noted that the agency is investigating possible ties between Epstein and ‘Democrat operatives’ including former President Bill Clinton, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers.

‘The House Oversight Committee can have whatever they are legally entitled to, I DON’T CARE!’ Trump said.

He added, ‘All I do care about is that Republicans get BACK ON POINT, which is the Economy, ‘Affordability’ (where we are winning BIG!), our Victory on reducing Inflation from the highest level in History to practically nothing, bringing down prices for the American People, delivering Historic Tax Cuts, gaining Trillions of Dollars of Investment into America (A RECORD!), the rebuilding of our Military, securing our Border, deporting Criminal Illegal Aliens, ending Men in Women’s Sports, stopping Transgender for Everyone, and so much more!’

Trump also argued that if the Democrats ‘had anything,’ it would have surfaced prior to last year’s presidential election.

‘Nobody cared about Jeffrey Epstein when he was alive and, if the Democrats had anything, they would have released it before our Landslide Election Victory,’ Trump said. ‘Some ‘members’ of the Republican Party are being ‘used,’ and we can’t let that happen. Let’s start talking about the Republican Party’s Record Setting Achievements, and not fall into the Epstein ‘TRAP,’ which is actually a curse on the Democrats, not us. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!’

Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Friday the DOJ would probe prominent Democrats after new emails revealed ties to Epstein.

In an X post Friday afternoon, Bondi said Jay Clayton, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, would take the lead on the investigation.

‘Clayton is one of the most capable and trusted prosecutors in the country,’ Bondi wrote in the post. ‘As with all matters, the Department will pursue this with urgency and integrity to deliver answers to the American people.’

Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House, Bill Clinton, Reid Hoffman and Larry Summers for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Sunday that the Cartel de los Soles, a powerful criminal network tied to Venezuela’s top leadership, will be labeled as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). 

The move appears to be an escalation in Washington’s stance toward the Venezuelan government and could lead to military action against the Maduro regime. 

In a statement, Rubio confirmed the U.S. will formally designate the cartel as an FTO later this month.

The designation, which is to take effect Nov. 24, targets the criminal network allegedly led by Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro and senior members of his regime.

According to the State Department, ‘Based in Venezuela, the Cartel de los Soles is headed by Nicolás Maduro and other high-ranking individuals of the illegitimate Maduro regime who have corrupted Venezuela’s military, intelligence, legislature, and judiciary.’

‘Neither Maduro nor his cronies represent Venezuela’s legitimate government,’ the statement read.

‘The Cartel de los Soles, in coordination with other terrorist organizations including Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel, is responsible for terrorist violence across our hemisphere and for trafficking drugs into the United States and Europe.’

The announced action is being taken under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which authorizes the State Department to designate foreign entities engaged in terrorist activity. 

The designation will become official once it’s published in the Federal Register.

The Cartel de los Soles had previously been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department under Executive Order 13224, which targets terrorists and those providing support to terrorism.

In an accompanying post on X, Rubio said:

.@StateDept intends to designate Cartel de los Soles as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). Headed by the illegitimate Nicolás Maduro, the group has corrupted the institutions of government in Venezuela and is responsible for terrorist violence conducted by and with other designated FTOs as well as for trafficking drugs into the United States and Europe.

The statement came as President Trump reiterated that the U.S. was intent on stopping drug dealers and drugs filtering into the country.

‘We’re stopping drug dealers and drugs from coming into our country,’ Trump told reporters Sunday night.

‘And I actually told Marco and some of the people our secretary of state is doing a great job, by the way. I said, ‘Go to Congress and let them know we’re not letting drugs come through Mexico. We’re not letting them come through Venezuela,” he added.

Trump’s comments came just after he said that the government may be having discussions with Venezuela as well as confirming whether the new cartel designation would mean the U.S. government could now target Maduro’s assets or infrastructure.

‘It allows us to do that,’ Trump confirmed while mentioning talks with the Venezuelan leader.

‘We may be having some discussions with Maduro, and we’ll see how that turns out. They would like to talk,’ he said before adding, ‘We’ll see what happens.’

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Department of State for comment.

From new stealth bombers to AI-enabled drones, the U.S. and China are reshaping airpower for a Pacific showdown – each betting its technology can keep the other out of the skies.

The U.S. is charging ahead with its next-generation F-47 fighter, while China scrambles to catch up with jets designed to match the F-35 and F-22.

After a brief program pause in 2024, the Air Force awarded Boeing the contract in March for the F-47, a manned sixth-generation fighter meant to anchor America’s next air superiority fleet. The first flight is expected in 2028.

At the same time, the B-21 Raider, the stealth successor to the B-2, is deep into testing at Edwards Air Force Base. The Air Force plans to buy at least 100 Raiders – each built to survive inside heavily defended Chinese airspace.

The Pentagon is also betting on Collaborative Combat Aircraft, or CCAs – drones designed to fly alongside fighters as ‘loyal wingmen.’ Prototypes from Anduril and General Atomics are already in the air. Officials say CCAs will let one pilot control several drones at once.

China outpaces the rest of the world in the commercial drone market, but that doesn’t necessarily give it the advantage from a military perspective. 

‘I’m not sure that’s really true. In terms of high-end military drones that are really important to this fight, the U.S. still has a pretty significant edge.’ said Eric Heginbotham, a research scientist at MIT’s Center for International Studies. 

He pointed to the Air Force’s stealth reconnaissance platforms – the RQ-170 and RQ-180 – and upcoming ‘loyal wingman’ drones designed to fly with fighters as proof that the U.S. still leads in advanced integration and stealth technology.

China’s leap forward

China’s airpower modernization has accelerated as the U.S. reshapes its force. Beijing has zeroed in on three priorities – stealth, engines and carriers – the areas that long held its military back.

The Chengdu J-20, China’s flagship stealth fighter, is being fitted with the new WS-15 engine, a home-built powerplant meant to rival U.S. engines.

‘It took them a while to get out of the blocks on fifth generation, especially to get performance anywhere near where U.S. fifth gen was,’ Heginbotham said. ‘The J-20 really does not have a lot of the performance features that even the F-22 does, and we’ve had the F-22 for a long time.’

Meanwhile, China’s third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, was commissioned this fall – the first with electromagnetic catapults similar to U.S. Ford-class carriers. The move signals Beijing’s ambition to launch stealth jets from sea and project power well beyond its coast.

Together, the J-20, the carrier-based J-35, and the Fujian give China a layered airpower network – stealth jets on land and at sea backed by growing missile coverage.

Chinese military writings identify airfields as critical vulnerabilities. PLA campaign manuals call for striking runways early in a conflict to paralyze enemy air operations before they can begin. Analysts believe a few days of concentrated missile fire could cripple U.S. bases across Japan, Okinawa and Guam.

‘The U.S. bases that are forward deployed – particularly on Okinawa, but also on the Japanese mainland and on Guam – are exposed to Chinese missile attack,’ said Mark Cancian, a retired Marine colonel and senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. ‘In our war games, the Chinese would periodically sweep these air bases with missiles and destroy dozens, in some cases even hundreds, of U.S. aircraft.’

Heginbotham said that missile-heavy strategy grew directly out of China’s early airpower weakness.

‘They didn’t think that they could gain air superiority in a straight-up air-to-air fight,’ he said. ‘So you need another way to get missiles out – and that another way is by building a lot of ground launchers.’

Different strategies, same goal

The two militaries are taking different paths to the same target: air dominance over the Pacific.

The U.S. approach relies on smaller numbers of highly advanced aircraft linked by sensors and artificial intelligence. The goal: strike first, from long range, and survive in contested skies.

China’s model depends on volume – mass-producing fighters, missiles, and carrier sorties to overwhelm U.S. defenses and logistics.

‘U.S. fighter aircraft – F-35s, F-15s, F-22s – are relatively short-legged, so they have to get close to Taiwan if they’re going to be part of the fight,’ Cancian said. ‘They can’t fight from Guam, and they certainly can’t fight from further away. So if they’re going to fight, they have to be inside that Chinese defensive bubble.’

Both sides face the same challenge: surviving inside that bubble. China’s expanding missile range is pushing U.S. aircraft farther from the fight, while American bombers and drones are designed to break back in.

The fight to survive

Heginbotham said survivability – not dogfighting – will define the next decade of air competition.

‘We keep talking about aircraft as if it’s going to be like World War II – they go up, they fight each other. That’s not really our problem,’ he said. ‘Our problem is the air bases themselves and the fact that aircraft can be destroyed on the air base.’

China, he warned, is preparing for that reality while the U.S. is not.

‘They practice runway strikes in exercises, they’re modeling this stuff constantly,’ Heginbotham said. ‘Unlike the United States, China is hardening its air bases. The U.S. is criminally negligent in its refusal to harden its air bases.’

Cancian’s war-game findings echo that vulnerability. He said U.S. surface ships and aircraft would likely have to fall back under missile fire in the opening days of a conflict.

‘At the initial stages of a conflict, China would have a distinct advantage,’ Cancian said. ‘Now, over time, the U.S. would be able to reinforce its forces, and that would change.’

Looking ahead

The Pentagon’s fiscal 2026–27 budget will determine how fast the U.S. can build out its F-47s, B-21s and CCAs – systems that will shape American airpower through the 2030s.

China’s rapid modernization is closing what was once a wide gap, but the U.S. still holds advantages in stealth integration, combat experience and autonomous systems.

‘The ability to protect our aircraft, whatever form those aircraft take, on the ground is going to be central to our ability to fight in the Asia theater,’ Heginbotham said.

‘Survivability is going to be key… The ability to protect and disperse your firepower is going to be central to whether we can really stay in this game.’

For decades, U.S. air dominance was taken for granted. In the Pacific, that advantage is no longer guaranteed. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced new efforts to ‘clean up’ the nation’s energy sector amid a corruption scandal and near-constant attacks from Russia.

Zelenskyy met with Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko on Sunday morning, saying he called on lawmakers to revamp the leadership at the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate and the State Energy Supervision Inspectorate, in addition to other efforts to expunge Russian influence in the sector.

‘In full coordination with law enforcement and anti-corruption bodies, ensure the renewal of the Asset Recovery and Management Agency and to promptly complete the competition for the position of Head of ARMA so that the new Head of the Agency can be selected by the end of this year,’ Zelenskyy wrote on X.

He further called on lawmakers to ‘promptly conduct an audit and prepare for sale the assets and shares in assets that belonged to Russian entities and to collaborators who fled to Russia. All such assets must operate one hundred percent in Ukraine’s interests – to support our defense and to contribute to Ukraine’s budget.’

The new energy initiative also comes after a former associate of Zelenskyy’s was accused of being the mastermind behind a $100 million embezzlement scheme involving nuclear energy.

Tymur Mindich, who was once Zelenskyy’s business partner, was identified by Ukraine’s anti-corruption watchdogs as being the orchestrator of a scheme involving top officials and Ukraine’s state nuclear power company. Prior to the scandal, some feared Mindich’s growing influence over Ukraine’s lucrative industries that he had access to because of his ties to Zelenskyy.

Mindich allegedly exerted control over loyalists who then pressured contractors for Energoatom, Ukraine’s state-owned nuclear power company, demanding kickbacks to bypass bureaucratic obstacles. The requested kickbacks were reportedly as high as 15%.

Zelenskyy himself was not implicated in the investigation.

The new effort comes as Zelenskyy says that his team is ‘working to ensure another start to negotiations’ on ending the war with Russia.

‘We are also counting on the resumption of POW exchanges – many meetings, negotiations, and calls are currently taking place to ensure this. I thank everyone who is helping. Thank you to everybody who stands with Ukraine,’ Zelenskyy wrote.

Ukraine’s president further said that he is preparing for a full week of diplomacy with Greece, France and Spain, as well as renewed negotiations over prisoner of war exchanges with Russia.

Zelenskyy will meet with officials in Greece on Sunday to discuss natural gas imports, while talks with France on Monday and Spain on Tuesday will center on bolstering Ukrainian air defenses.

Fox News’ Rachel Wolf contributed to this report.

From new stealth bombers to AI-enabled drones, the U.S. and China are reshaping airpower for a Pacific showdown — each betting its technology can keep the other out of the skies.

The U.S. is charging ahead with its next-generation F-47 fighter, while China scrambles to catch up with jets designed to match the F-35 and F-22.

After a brief program pause in 2024, the Air Force awarded Boeing the contract in March for the F-47, a manned sixth-generation fighter meant to anchor America’s next air superiority fleet. The first flight is expected in 2028.

At the same time, the B-21 Raider, the stealth successor to the B-2, is deep into testing at Edwards Air Force Base. The Air Force plans to buy at least 100 Raiders — each built to survive inside heavily defended Chinese airspace.

The Pentagon is also betting on Collaborative Combat Aircraft, or CCAs — drones designed to fly alongside fighters as ‘loyal wingmen.’ Prototypes from Anduril and General Atomics are already in the air. Officials say CCAs will let one pilot control several drones at once.

China outpaces the rest of the world in the commercial drone market, but that doesn’t necessarily give it the advantage from a military perspective. 

‘I’m not sure that’s really true. In terms of high-end military drones that are really important to this fight, the U.S. still has a pretty significant edge.’ said Eric Heginbotham, a research scientist at MIT’s Center for International Studies. 

He pointed to the Air Force’s stealth reconnaissance platforms — the RQ-170 and RQ-180 — and upcoming ‘loyal wingman’ drones designed to fly with fighters as proof that the U.S. still leads in advanced integration and stealth technology.

China’s leap forward

China’s airpower modernization has accelerated as the U.S. reshapes its force. Beijing has zeroed in on three priorities — stealth, engines, and carriers — the areas that long held its military back.

The Chengdu J-20, China’s flagship stealth fighter, is being fitted with the new WS-15 engine, a home-built powerplant meant to rival U.S. engines.

‘It took them a while to get out of the blocks on fifth generation, especially to get performance anywhere near where U.S. fifth gen was,’ Heginbotham said. ‘The J-20 really does not have a lot of the performance features that even the F-22 does, and we’ve had the F-22 for a long time.’

Meanwhile, China’s third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, was commissioned this fall — the first with electromagnetic catapults similar to U.S. Ford-class carriers. The move signals Beijing’s ambition to launch stealth jets from sea and project power well beyond its coast.

Together, the J-20, the carrier-based J-35, and the Fujian give China a layered airpower network — stealth jets on land and at sea backed by growing missile coverage.

Chinese military writings identify airfields as critical vulnerabilities. PLA campaign manuals call for striking runways early in a conflict to paralyze enemy air operations before they can begin. Analysts believe a few days of concentrated missile fire could cripple U.S. bases across Japan, Okinawa, and Guam.

‘The U.S. bases that are forward deployed—particularly on Okinawa, but also on the Japanese mainland and on Guam—are exposed to Chinese missile attack,’ said Mark Cancian, a retired Marine colonel and senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. ‘In our war games, the Chinese would periodically sweep these air bases with missiles and destroy dozens, in some cases even hundreds, of U.S. aircraft.’

Heginbotham said that missile-heavy strategy grew directly out of China’s early airpower weakness.

‘They didn’t think that they could gain air superiority in a straight-up air-to-air fight,’ he said. ‘So you need another way to get missiles out — and that another way is by building a lot of ground launchers.’

Different strategies, same goal

The two militaries are taking different paths to the same target: air dominance over the Pacific.

The U.S. approach relies on smaller numbers of highly advanced aircraft linked by sensors and artificial intelligence. The goal: strike first, from long range, and survive in contested skies.

China’s model depends on volume — mass-producing fighters, missiles, and carrier sorties to overwhelm U.S. defenses and logistics.

‘U.S. fighter aircraft—F-35s, F-15s, F-22s—are relatively short-legged, so they have to get close to Taiwan if they’re going to be part of the fight,’ Cancian said. ‘They can’t fight from Guam, and they certainly can’t fight from further away. So if they’re going to fight, they have to be inside that Chinese defensive bubble.’

Both sides face the same challenge: surviving inside that bubble. China’s expanding missile range is pushing U.S. aircraft farther from the fight, while American bombers and drones are designed to break back in.

The fight to survive

Heginbotham said survivability — not dogfighting — will define the next decade of air competition.

‘We keep talking about aircraft as if it’s going to be like World War II — they go up, they fight each other. That’s not really our problem,’ he said. ‘Our problem is the air bases themselves and the fact that aircraft can be destroyed on the air base.’

China, he warned, is preparing for that reality while the U.S. is not.

‘They practice runway strikes in exercises, they’re modeling this stuff constantly,’ Heginbotham said. ‘Unlike the United States, China is hardening its air bases. The U.S. is criminally negligent in its refusal to harden its air bases.’

Cancian’s war-game findings echo that vulnerability. He said U.S. surface ships and aircraft would likely have to fall back under missile fire in the opening days of a conflict.

‘At the initial stages of a conflict, China would have a distinct advantage,’ Cancian said. ‘Now, over time, the U.S. would be able to reinforce its forces, and that would change.’

Looking ahead

The Pentagon’s fiscal 2026–27 budget will determine how fast the U.S. can build out its F-47s, B-21s, and CCAs — systems that will shape American airpower through the 2030s.

China’s rapid modernization is closing what was once a wide gap, but the U.S. still holds advantages in stealth integration, combat experience, and autonomous systems.

‘The ability to protect our aircraft, whatever form those aircraft take, on the ground is going to be central to our ability to fight in the Asia theater,’ Heginbotham said.

‘Survivability is going to be key … The ability to protect and disperse your firepower is going to be central to whether we can really stay in this game.’

For decades, U.S. air dominance was taken for granted. In the Pacific, that advantage is no longer guaranteed.