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Fears of a pneumonic plague outbreak following the death of a Siberian plague research institute employee don't bode well for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is facing a faltering economy and a stalled war in Ukraine that has claimed estimated hundreds of thousands of Russian lives, experts say.

Putin has for years maintained a tight grip on power, and while a single lab death isn't an immediate regime-killer, suppressed biological incidents—much like the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster or the Soviet-Afghan War—add to the compounding list of systemic failures in Moscow, retired CIA officer Dan Hoffman told Fox News Digital.

"The longer-term strategic question is, does this have an impact on Vladimir Putin and his hold on the Kremlin until his own people realize: 'This just isn't right for us. We don't like this. We don't like the war in Ukraine. This is just another thing,'" Hoffman told Fox News Digital.

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"The reason why the Soviet Union collapsed wasn't because of Chernobyl, but that was a part of it," he added. "It was it a failed economy? Well, they kind of got that going too. The failed war in Afghanistan? Well, that war in Ukraine doesn't look too good. So all these things just pile up on Putin."

The researcher who died has been identified as 28-year-old Darya Shipilova, who worked at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East.

There was no evidence that her illness was caused by pathogens linked to her work, Russian health authorities said. Shipilova died after being diagnosed with a pneumonia of "unknown" origin, authorities have said.

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On Monday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States was "watching and monitoring" the situation closely.

Anna Popova, the head of Russia's Federal Service for the Oversight of Consumer Protection and Welfare, or the Rospotrebnadzor, which handles infectious disease, arrived at the research lab.

"No micro-organisms associated with the employee’s professional duties were detected in samples taken from the patient," the agency said.

Even if Shipilova's death is an isolated incident, Russia's history of hiding information related to sensitive matters could leave many outside observers with doubts, Hoffman said.

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"Putin, you know, is a dictator and he's got pretty strict control over information, so they're obviously not going to release any truth to the public, and that means we have to rely on intelligence to understand what's going on behind the scenes," he said.

The Soviet Union tightly controlled news of its invasion of Afghanistan amid global condemnation and enforced a total media blackout when the Chernobyl nuclear reactor exploded on April 26, 1986, suppressing information both domestically and internationally.

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"Whatever Russia is saying publicly, that has nothing to do with the reality on the ground," said Hoffman. "What that is, is an influence operation for their own people."

Hoffman noted that China, one of Moscow's closest allies, also controls what information is disseminated to the outside world.

"China does the same thing. How much useful information did we get out of them with COVID?" Hoffman said. "That's the way dictatorships work."

A teenager had his hand blown off as high school protesters clashed with French police during chaotic riots, as students across the country continue to protest poor conditions and teacher shortages.

The 15-year-old had picked up a police dispersal grenade that detonated in the town of Lens as the wave of school protests entered its third week, losing his hand and part of his lower arm, officials said Monday, Reuters reported.

François-Xavier Lauch, prefect of Pas-de-Calais, said roughly 200 to 250 protesters had been hurling objects at police.

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Education Minister Edouard Geffray said the wave of protests had been declining in recent days and that the government would launch a platform for students to express their dissatisfaction.

The incident involving the teen happened on the eve of a national demonstration by the pupils' union against underfunding, overcrowding, and dilapidation.

AMERICAN SCHOOLS COST MORE THAN EVER BUT OUR STUDENTS STILL KEEP FAILING

The protests come months ahead of an election to replace outgoing President Emmanuel Macron. The demonstrations began in Paris, mostly focusing on poor suburbs, before spreading nationwide.

Government officials said the protests have evolved into violence, including some schools being ransacked.

TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FAR-LEFT PROTESTERS CLASH WITH POLICE IN ANTI-CONSERVATIVE PARTY RIOTS

"We’re going to keep blocking until the government hears us," Sami Karen, 18, told Reuters while demonstrating outside Charles de Foucauld high school in Paris. "As long as they don’t listen to us, we won’t stop this fight."

In total, more than 5,000 people have been arrested since the protests began, with 87% of them being minors. More than 1,800 people are facing prosecution, including 1,483 minors, France's Justice Ministry said.

The specific charges were not disclosed.

Russian authorities have quarantined a hospital and placed scores of people under medical observation after a 28-year-old employee at a Siberian plague research institute died from a mysterious case of pneumonia, fueling fears — still unconfirmed — that she may have contracted pneumonic plague.

Darya Shipilova worked at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East. Russian health authorities say extensive testing found no evidence that her illness was caused by pathogens linked to her work, but officials have yet to publicly identify what killed her.

The extraordinary precautions surrounding the case have fueled speculation inside and outside Russia. Reuters reported Oct. 5 that all known contacts had been traced and placed under medical supervision and that authorities said no new cases had been identified among employees of the institute.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday that the U.S. was "watching and monitoring it closely," adding, "I don’t think it’s cause for alarm, but it is cause for focus and a cause just to keep an eye on it."

US MONITORING SUSPECTED FATAL PNEUMONIC PLAGUE CASE IN RUSSIA, STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL SAYS

Rubio said information released by Russia appeared to show "there was a worker at the lab that was infected" and concern that the illness could have spread internally. He noted that travel between Russia and the U.S. is limited but warned that "something like that gets out, it just quickly spreads."

The comments follow a State Department statement to Fox News on Oct. 4 that Washington was monitoring the case alongside the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other federal agencies. The official stressed that many details remained unconfirmed and urged Moscow to provide accurate information quickly.

Additional reporting provided Monday by East2West news agency said more than 60 employees remained confined inside the Irkutsk institute and nearly 200 people who had contact with Shipilova had been placed under observation. Those precise figures have not been officially confirmed. The agency also reported that neighboring countries, including Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, had increased border health precautions following the case.

The hospital in Shelekhov, just outside Irkutsk, where Shipilova was treated, has been placed under quarantine and temporarily stopped admitting or discharging patients, according to The Associated Press. Irkutsk Gov. Igor Kobzev described the case as a suspected "particularly dangerous infection."

SCIENTISTS CRACK THE CODE ON NEW VACCINE FOR DEADLY PLAGUE BACTERIA

Adding to the unusual response, Anna Popova, the head of Russia’s public health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor, flew to Irkutsk for an emergency meeting after Shipilova’s death, Reuters reported. A nearby aluminum plant also ordered employees to wear masks as a precaution.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov urged the public to rely on official information rather than "rumors or speculation."

Rospotrebnadzor said Sunday that Shipilova was diagnosed with "pneumonia of unknown etiology" and that testing detected "no microorganisms associated with the patient’s professional activities." The agency also said an investigation found no laboratory incident involving pathogenic microorganisms.

Pneumonic plague is a severe form of plague caused by Yersinia pestis that can spread from person to person through respiratory droplets during close contact. It can be successfully treated with antibiotics when treatment begins early.

Russian officials continue to insist there is no evidence of a plague outbreak and say the epidemiological situation remains stable. For now, however, the central question remains unanswered: what caused Shipilova’s fatal pneumonia — and why authorities imposed such extensive containment measures if no dangerous pathogen has been detected.

As Israel marks three years since the Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attacks, stories of bravery and self-sacrifice continue to emerge from within a nation grappling with recovery and rehabilitation.

For Nil Kirsht-Levi, the three years since the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, massacre have been defined by devastating personal loss, an agonizing wait for her sister who was taken hostage and brought to Gaza and an unwavering commitment to caring for fellow survivors of the cross-border terror attack.

Kirsht-Levi, a nurse with Israel's largest healthcare provider, Clalit Southern District, who lives in Kibbutz Magen, spent the morning of Oct. 7 treating patients remotely from her safe room while trying to protect her three children as terrorists invaded the community and went from house to house. At the same time, she desperately texted her sister, Rimon Buchshtab-Kirsht, who lived with her husband in nearby Kibbutz Nirim.

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"I lost more than 30 patients that day, more than 200 people I knew, and around 100 people I knew were kidnapped," Kirsht-Levi told Fox News Digital. "I’m lucky to have a job that saves me, healthy children, a healthy husband. We work every day to recover and rehabilitate ourselves. Every day, we fall and get back up, but we are here — for ourselves, for others and we have won," she continued.

"We should never forget, but we must move forward, live every moment and keep going. It’s a privilege to be alive," she added.

On Oct. 7, Kirsht-Levi’s sister sent a message saying she could hear Arabic and that terrorists had entered her home. Weeks of agonizing uncertainty followed before Kirsht-Levi saw her sister alive in a Hamas video. She had campaigned for her release and ultimately welcomed her home 53 days later, emaciated and covered in scars, as part of a ceasefire deal in November 2023.

Her sister's husband, her brother-in-law, Yagev Buchshtab however, had been murdered by the terrorists.

During the 2023 Palestinian terror assault, launched on the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, Michaela Koretsky, a midwife with Clalit’s Southern District, improvised lifesaving treatments for wounded members of Kibbutz Alumim.

Like so many others, Koretsky was jolted awake by air raid sirens at 6:29 a.m. that fateful day, as Hamas launched thousands of rockets at Israel, providing cover for terrorists as they crossed the border in the ensuing invasion. She rushed with her husband and children to the shelter, where she received a message from Eran, a member of the kibbutz’s civil defense squad, asking if she was home. Eran then began bringing wounded kibbutz members to her for first aid.

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"When they entered the house carrying Amichai, he was covered in blood… I switched into nurse mode," she said.

Koretsky had Amichai placed on the floor as they continued to hear gunfire outside the kitchen window. She improvised bandages and prepared an IV while staying in contact with an emergency room doctor from Soroka Medical Center who was also in the kibbutz. He confirmed that Amichai was stable.

Then Eyal was brought in. He had been shot, with one of the bullets lodged in his lung. After Koretsky placed him on an IV and administered additional oxygen, it became clear that he needed to be evacuated.

"We needed to save lives, so I switched my brain into action mode and did what needed to be done. The whole time I did not think that the terrorists would enter my house. I knew one of my children was afraid they would figure out where the wounded were being taken and come after us, but I told myself, ‘I am protected. It will not happen,’" she told Fox News Digital.

Her husband, Tzviki, accompanied by members of the kibbutz’s civil defense squad, reached his car and alone he evacuated the wounded under fire to Netivot, where they were transferred to waiting ambulances. From there, both Amichai and Eyal were taken to Soroka Medical Center for further treatment.

Prof. Shlomi Codish, director of the hospital in Beersheba, said he made three lifesaving decisions early on Oct. 7 that shaped the response throughout the day.

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First, he and his team decided not to send the night shift home, allowing the hospital to begin the day with twice its normal staffing level. At 7:45 a.m., they declared a mass-casualty incident, despite not yet knowing how many wounded would arrive and alerted all available staff to report to the hospital. Finally, they ordered additional blood supplies in anticipation of the surge of casualties.

"We usually start the shift with 50 units of blood in our blood bank. By the end of the day, we had given 250 units. If we hadn’t ordered additional blood early that morning, we might have run out and people may have died," Codish told Fox News Digital.

Codish said the hospital faced several overwhelming challenges throughout the day, beginning with the sheer number of wounded being brought to the hospital.

"In the first 24 hours, we received 674 wounded people. At the peak, we received more than 80 in a single hour, with an average of just 40 seconds between wounded people arriving," he said.

"This was one of the largest mass-casualty events resulting from terror in human history. The hospital itself was also under fire, with dozens of incoming missile warnings from the Gaza Strip, while attacks were taking place simultaneously at a very large number of sites," he added.

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The second challenge was the immediate impact of the invasion on hospital staff themselves. "Everyone who came in left a family at home that was potentially under attack. They got into their cars and drove through air-raid sirens in areas that weren’t protected, at significant personal risk, to come in and save lives," he said.

Another major challenge was maintaining care inside the hospital as the number of casualties surged. The hospital began the day at full capacity, forcing staff to quickly free up intensive care beds and operating rooms for incoming patients. With roads around the hospital unsafe, transferring patients to other facilities was not an option in the first hours of the attack, while sending ambulances into the field risked exposing them to Hamas ambushes.

"When you see babies or children with direct injuries, that is not something you typically see on a battlefield. We saw elderly people with severe wounds inflicted directly, with no protection," Codish said, reflecting on the brutality he witnessed that day.

"As a medical professional, what we saw was beyond words. Two babies suffering from dehydration after their parents were killed, simply waiting to be rescued — I defy anyone to find a word other than ‘evil’ to describe it," he added.

The FlyDubai co-pilot accused of attacking his captain in an attempted terrorist act aboard an Israel-bound passenger jet allegedly planned to crash the aircraft into Ben Gurion Airport, according to new reports on the investigation.

Israeli broadcaster Channel 12 reported that Hamam al-Hammami told investigators he intended to continue FlyDubai Flight FZ1073 toward Israel as though nothing was wrong, obtain the necessary clearances to approach Ben Gurion Airport and then crash the aircraft into a building or another plane at the airport.

The information reportedly came from investigations by Saudi and Emirati authorities into the incident. Israeli investigators have not questioned al-Hammami directly, according to reporting from Channel 12 and Ynet.

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Fox News Digital reached out to the UAE Public Prosecution and FlyDubai seeking confirmation of the reported findings.

Reuters separately reported Monday that a source briefed on the UAE investigation said the Omani co-pilot had planned to crash the flight into Ben Gurion Airport. Two Israeli officials with knowledge of the investigation also told Reuters that al-Hammami said during questioning that he had planned the attack before he was hired by FlyDubai.

The latest details follow last week's dramatic incident aboard Flight FZ1073, which was traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv when the co-pilot allegedly attacked the captain inside the cockpit.

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UAE Attorney General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi said investigators determined that the co-pilot attempted to carry out a terrorist act by attacking the captain with a crash axe and attempting to take control of the aircraft.

Passengers and others aboard the flight ultimately intervened, and the aircraft was diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, where it landed safely.

Al Shamsi has said the UAE investigation remains underway to determine the full circumstances and motives behind the attack, as well as any potential links to others.

The UAE Public Prosecution has said the final results of the investigation will be announced after the necessary investigative procedures are completed.

Coast Guard personnel exchanged gunfire with people on the Mexican side of the border, an encounter the U.S. military later cited as an example of increased illegal activity as hundreds of U.S. troops and their equipment were repositioned to Texas’ Rio Grande Valley and 500 Mexican Army and National Guard personnel were deployed to its side of the border.

Coast Guard personnel were intercepting migrants crossing the Rio Grande River while working with other federal agencies when the initial gunshots came from the Mexican side of the border. Coast Guard personnel then returned fire, officials said on Friday, according to Stars and Stripes.

The exchange happened on Sept. 26 while federal agencies conducted joint operations near Garceno, a small town along the border in Starr County, Texas.

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The Coast Guard said it was investigating the incident alongside federal partners. It is unclear who fired the initial shots.

"No injuries to Coast Guard or other personnel were reported, and no damage to Coast Guard assets or equipment was reported," the Coast Guard said.

U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson said the embassy "is helping to coordinate with Mexican forces that are being deployed in the border area where shots were fired against elements of the United States Coast Guard."

"Mexican military commanders will communicate directly with the U.S. forces deployed. Together, we intend to patrol both sides of our shared border, protect our communities, and disrupt the operations of criminal and terrorist organizations. Any threat from criminal or terrorist elements on either side of the border will be addressed swiftly," he added.

The Coast Guard launched Operation River Wall in October 2025, deploying additional personnel, boats and other assets to patrol the river between the U.S. and Mexico. The Coast Guard said its forces would focus on approximately 260 miles of the Rio Grande along the U.S.-Mexico border.

It was working closely with Border Patrol, the Pentagon and the Texas Military Department "to secure the border, disrupt illicit activity and protect the American people," the Coast Guard said, according to Stars and Stripes.

"We will continue to leverage a layered, integrated approach to control, secure and defend the border that strengthens our collective ability to counter illicit activity and safeguard our personnel and the communities we serve," the Coast Guard said.

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The U.S. military said on Friday it had deployed hundreds of troops and their equipment to the Rio Grande Valley as part of planned preparations to address "historically observed seasonal increases in attempted illegal activity."

"The Sept. 26 Coast Guard encounter is an example of this uptick in illegal activity," the Joint Task Force-Southern Border said in a statement.

The U.S. military on Sunday announced a lethal strike on another vessel in the Caribbean carrying alleged narco-traffickers, killing four people on board.

The U.S. Southern Command said the vessel was traveling along "established narco-trafficking routes" in the Caribbean. The military shared a video that showed what appeared to be an explosion destroying a moving boat it described as a go-fast vessel.

"Under the direction of U.S. Southern Command, Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere executed a lethal, kinetic strike on a go-fast vessel operating along established narco-trafficking routes in the Caribbean," the military said in a statement.

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Southern Command claimed that intelligence revealed the vessel's "active involvement in narco-trafficking." The military did not provide evidence to back up this allegation.

"The operation killed four narco-terrorists," the statement added.

This is the latest attack that the Trump administration has argued was launched in an attempt to eliminate alleged narco-terrorists, with the death toll in these strikes carried out since September 2025 sitting at more than 235.

The Pentagon has refused to release the identities of those killed in the strikes since last year. It has also refused to provide evidence of drugs on board.

The administration has been scrutinized in the past year by Democrats and even some Republicans, including Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who has raised concerns about killing people without due process and the possibility of killing innocent people.

The attacks have also been denounced by human rights groups as "extrajudicial killings."

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The administration is pursuing deals with allied nations to extend its military attacks to land in multiple Latin American countries. Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said during a visit to Panama in August that Colombia, Guatemala and Honduras had agreed to allow the U.S. to carry out joint military operations against criminal groups on their soil, although Guatemala denied reaching a deal.

Ecuador launched similar operations with the U.S. in March.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, won the first round of the Brazilian presidential election tonight, turning in a surprisingly strong showing, and continuing a long run of wins for Latin American Trump-backed right-wing candidates.

Although the race had tightened considerably in the weeks leading up to the election, the vast majority of the polls showed incumbent President Inacio Lula da Silva with a single digit lead.

Bolsonaro will now face off against President Lula da Silva in an October 25 second round election. With 99% of the votes in, Bolsonaro led Lula 47.2% to 44.9%, in a race Lula had widely been expected to win.

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Tonight, the question on everyone's mind: how could the pollsters get the results so wrong?

The epic polling failure will serve to give further ammunition to the Brazilian right and the Bolsonaro camp, which have long alleged that the nation's leading pollsters turn in work biased in favor of Lula and his Workers Party.

The polling situation was similarly unfavorable to Jair Bolsonaro in the 2022 and 2018 elections, but relatively minor in comparison with the disparity in tonight's electoral results.

Bolsonaro put in an incredibly strong showing in his electoral strongholds in the south of Brazil, winning the country's three largest states by large margins: 

In Sao Paulo state, the nation's largest, Bolsonaro led Lula 52% to 38%.

In Minas Gerais, which is Brazil's historic "bellwether state", Bolsonaro led Lula 48% to 43%, while in his stronghold of Rio de Janeiro, he bested the incumbent president 53% to 39%.

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Lula racked up large margins in his traditional strongholds in the Northeast, where he won vote-rich Bahia, Pernambuco, and Ceara by large margins, but it was not enough to surmount Bolsonaro's unprecedented electoral strength in Brazil's south.

Bolsonaro enjoyed a close relationship with Donald Trump through the course of the campaign, who made no secret of his intent to unceremoniously eject longtime geopolitical adversary Lula from office.

Tonight's surprising result is merely the latest in a long string of right-wing victories across Latin America, which has recently ushered in a red wave of conservative candidates in Chile, Argentina, Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia.

The election will undoubtedly prompt a period of soul-searching for the Brazilian left, which may be asking, "Should Lula have run at all?"

At 80 years old, with three presidential terms under his belt, and aspiring to a fourth, Lula was widely viewed as the only contender who could unite the contentious and often-fractured Brazilian left.

Lula's political story marks one of the greatest comebacks in history. Once imprisoned on corruption charges, Lula was freed by the nation's Supreme Court, and then defeated incumbent Jair Bolsonaro in a heated 2022 election by a razor-thin margin.

Famously, he pledged to serve only one term as president in 2022, and then reneged on that promise. Now, the move seems likely to backfire on him, in what will almost certainly be his last electoral campaign.

Flavio Bolsonaro will now face off against incumbent Lula in a second round election on October 25. Bolsonaro begins the race with several structural advantages.

In addition to vastly outperforming across the country, and proving the pollsters wrong, he is likely to win the vast majority of the votes of the major third-party candidates: Augusto Cury, Renan Santos, Ronaldo Caiado, and Romeu Zema.

Together, these four candidates received nearly 8% of the vote. What remains to be seen is whether any of these candidates will make an endorsement. It is suspected that Caiado and Zema will back Bolsonaro, while Cury and Santos will likely not make an endorsement.

If elected, Flavio Bolsonaro is all but certain to free his father, and senior Brazilian military officers, who are currently jailed on charges of planning a coup to remain in power following the 2022 election.

The election also saw other members of the Bolsonaro family ushered into higher office: Jair Bolsonaro's wife, Michelly, was elected senator, as was his son Carlos, while another son, Renan, was elected federal deputy.

Bolsonaro's Liberal Party also turned in strong results in races for both chambers of Brazil's Congress, particularly in the Senate, where they are expected to hold 29 seats, compared to just 9 for Lula's Workers Party.

The State Department is monitoring reports of a suspected fatal pneumonic plague case in Russia and is urging Moscow to share accurate information quickly as details remain unconfirmed.

A State Department official told Fox News that the U.S. is aware of reports of a death in Irkutsk Oblast, a region in southeastern Siberia, and is watching the situation closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other federal agencies. The official stressed that many details have not been confirmed and called on Russian authorities to reveal what they know.

Former CIA officer Dan Hoffman told Fox News Digital that the U.S. intelligence community is likely to be collecting all-source intelligence on the incident.

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"I would also expect our embassy in Moscow to be engaging with their diplomatic counterparts at an official level because we might have people in Russia who might be at risk," Hoffman warned.

"Washington will be speaking to all of our allies and partners in the region and sharing what we know."

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Pneumonic plague can be treated with common antibiotics, especially when treatment begins early, the official said. Appropriate therapy should begin as soon as plague is suspected, and patients can be treated with intravenous or oral antimicrobials depending on the severity of illness and other factors, according to the CDC.

Cases of pneumonic plague occur naturally in many parts of the world, according to the State Department official.

The official said the safety and security of U.S. citizens remains the department’s top priority and encouraged Americans traveling overseas to enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program, or STEP, to receive updates.

Russia may be concealing signal repeaters inside Ukrainian cities to help its long-range drones evade air defenses and strike with greater precision, a weapons expert told Fox News Digital.

The Kyiv Post first reported the possible use of the small ground devices, or repeaters, which Draganfly CEO and co-founder Cameron Chell said form part of an expanding "mesh" network that allows Russian drones to relay encrypted signals across multiple connections, making drones and drone swarms far harder for Ukraine to disrupt and bring down through standard electronic jamming.

Chell’s warning also came amid escalating diplomatic notices for the region, with Moscow urging foreign nationals and embassy staff to leave the capital Kyiv immediately on Oct. 3, highlighting "mortal danger" as Russian forces threatened further "massive retaliatory strikes."

"Russia has come to the realization that innovation is going to have to win this war, to the point now where they are becoming the innovative leader in this war—not just in terms of tactics, strategy, and technology, but the entire mindset is shifting," Chell said.

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Mesh networks, Chell explained, allow drones and strategically placed ground-based repeaters to relay encrypted signals across multiple connections, making many Russian drone flights harder to disrupt.

"The use of mesh networking is now making it increasingly hard for a defensive position to bring down Russian drones in an effective manner."

"With real-time precision, Russia can also now take their drone device into a particular window," Chell warned.

"You can take the device onto a particular portion of a bridge because you can make that real-time, last-minute decision live because you've got all these additional network connections that increase not just your bandwidth, but also your resilience in terms of being jammed," he added.

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Moscow's rapid technological evolution on the battlefield comes alongside unusually precise strikes on critical infrastructure in Kyiv, including major river crossings.

Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat confirmed Sept. 29 that Russian forces are integrating mesh networking into their drone fleet while upgrading onboard optics.

"The enemy is using high-quality materials in its UAVs and increasing camera resolution, allowing the enemy to view the situation on the ground in detail and use these UAVs for various targets. And the use of mesh networks is indeed present. Of course, this is quite dangerous," Ihnat said, according to Ukrainska Pravda.

"They are using the principles of mesh networking to combat the counter-drone measures taken by Ukraine to ensure that drones can't get through or that those Russian communication links are broken," Chell said.

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"If Russia had multiple nodes that could communicate with a device and could use the device to communicate with other devices swarming the area, Ukraine would be faced with multiple, maybe even hundreds of connections to have to break simultaneously in order to bring that drone down," he said.

On Oct. 3, Serhii Beskrestnov, a defense technology adviser to the Ukrainian presidency, also warned that Russian forces may have hidden the small signal boosters, or these ground repeaters, inside Kyiv to extend drone control.

"Such repeaters are difficult to find, but we must search for them. As long as they exist, shielding the city with electronic warfare will not be effective," Beskrestnov warned.

Specifically, the repeaters are small concealed radio relay devices that receive and retransmit signals, extending the range of drone operators while helping maintain control in areas where direct communications or GPS signals may be disrupted.

"The size of these repeaters is really about the size of a large lunchbox. They're very easy to conceal, and they don't have to be turned on all the time, so they're hard to detect electronically," Chell said.

"Moving one or two or even three of these into a city the size of Kyiv can be hugely effective."

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Technical analysts also pointed to a Sept. 4 strike on the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) headquarters on Volodymyrska Street in central Kyiv as early evidence of the tactic.

Tracking data reportedly showed no relay drones airborne during the strike, fueling concerns that hidden ground-based repeaters may have been used to maintain communications with the attacking drone.

"They will be doing everything they can to move as many of these things not just into Kyiv, but at any location in the country, even operational battlefields," Chell said.

"The reality is every time you put another node on a mesh network, you exponentially increase the efficiency, resiliency, and capability of that network."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sept. 28 that while Ukraine intercepts about 70% of conventional Russian drones during mass attacks, interception rates fall to 57% against newer, faster jet-powered UAVs.

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"It is obvious that the Russians are not preparing to stop the war – at least not at the moment," Zelenskyy said.

"Next year Russia plans to spend US$12 billion just on producing jet-powered drones and loitering munitions. And that's only one category of weapons. Of course, this doesn't only relate to Ukraine," he added, according to Ukrainska Pravda.

"Russia probably has the intention of, if needed, expanding this war," Chell warned, arguing that drones themselves are becoming secondary to the communications architecture that guides them.

"The network is now the weapon, and the drone is what executes the desired result," he said.

"This is an unbelievable moment in the tactics of what's unfolding here with the future of warfare," Chell concluded.

North Korea fired what it described as an intermediate-range strategic missile Oct. 3, and an expert warned that such a missile could put Guam and parts of Alaska within range, raising the stakes for the U.S. and its allies as President Donald Trump seeks to revive diplomacy with Kim Jong Un.

Kim personally oversaw the drill, North Korean state media claimed, while former U.S. Forces Korea analyst Sydney Seiler told Fox News Digital that its range means the latest test has implications extending far beyond the Korean Peninsula.

According to Reuters, citing North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency, the missile was described as part of a "hypersonic strategic weapon system" and traveled about 1,000 kilometers, or 621 miles, away in waters off the country's east coast.

Guam holds strategic military importance as a U.S. territory in the western Pacific and hosts major military installations, including Andersen Air Force Base and Naval Base Guam.

NORTH KOREA EXPERT WARNS US CAN 'NEVER TAKE THEIR EYE OFF' KIM JONG UN FOLLOWING MISSILE TEST DURING IRAN WAR

"What is interesting about an IRBM launch — an intermediate-range ballistic missile that flies around 3,000 to 5,000 kilometers — is that it brings Guam, parts of Alaska, and Japan into range of North Korea," Seiler, a former National Intelligence Council officer focused on North Korea, said while cautioning against fully viewing the launch as a direct response to Trump.

"But when you consider the preparation required for an intermediate-range ballistic missile system, it is unlikely this was primarily a response to the president's comments or actions over the past few days," Seiler said.

Hours after the Oct. 3 missile launch, Trump had touted his relationship with Kim during a rally in Vandalia, Ohio.

"I get along great with Kim Jong Un. Isn't it nice to get along with the leaders of massive nuclear nations?" Trump said.

He also added: "When someone has 112 nuclear missiles, it is better to get along with them," pointing to North Korea's nuclear capabilities as a reason for maintaining open diplomatic communication.

"North Korea simply isn't interested in talking right now, so they have no incentive not to launch," Seiler said of the recent missile test and Trump's latest remarks.

"The fact that they're doing these missile launches amid a diplomatic effort by President Trump to try to re-engage the North, you have to see them only as somewhat related."

RUSSIA DEPLOYS NORTH KOREAN MISSILE UNIT TO UKRAINE; MOSCOW-PYONGYANG AXIS DEEPENS: REPORT

The test also followed North Korea's launch of two short-range ballistic missiles from the Wonsan area on Sept. 20, according to reports.

Officials from the U.S., South Korea and Japan said Oct. 3 that North Korea's ballistic missile tests violate U.N. Security Council resolutions and threaten regional and international security.

Seiler, now a nonresident senior adviser with the Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Pyongyang's posture extends beyond its relationship with the Trump administration.

The latest launch comes "within the larger context of a current absolute stand down on dialogue with South Korea and repeated rejections of overtures from the United States for dialogue," Seiler said.

"But North Korea has refrained from some more aggressive actions during the president’s term of office; we haven't seen an ICBM launch for almost two years now."

TRUMP ORDERS MAJOR CUT TO US-SOUTH KOREA DRILLS AS NORTH KOREA RAMPS UP MISSILE TESTS

Seiler warned that restraint should not, however, be mistaken for a willingness to abandon Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs.

"For North Korea, their overall diplomatic strategy is to condition the world to accept them for who they are: a non-denuclearizing, missile-launching, occasionally provoking, and rhetorically coercive state," Seiler said.

"As time goes on, their goal is for us to give up any hope of denuclearization or structural change, which is consistent with them establishing a baseline: whether diplomacy unfolds or not, they will continue to develop and demonstrate missile technology."

Meanwhile, Trump has continued to emphasize his relationship with Kim while signaling a wish to revive the personal diplomacy of his first term.

Trump and Kim held summits in Singapore in 2018 and Hanoi in 2019 before meeting at Panmunjom in the Korean Demilitarized Zone later that year, when Trump crossed into North Korea.

INSIDE THE TENSION THAT DROVE TRUMP’S SOUTH KOREA ALLIANCE FROM ‘HISTORIC NEW ERA’ TO MILITARY PULLBACK

"The president has shown persistent commitment to engaging North Korea in dialogue — most recently suggesting he is open to a phone call," Seiler said.

"While a call might not yield immediate progress on denuclearization, it contributes to tension reduction and helps establish a direct relationship necessary for future crisis management on the peninsula."

Complicating Washington's strategy, the expert said, is Kim's alignment with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

North Korea has provided troops and military equipment to support Russia's war in Ukraine, reducing Kim's incentive to engage with the U.S., according to Seiler.

"Right now, Kim Jong Un, particularly given his emerging relationship with Vladimir Putin and everything he's getting out of the relationship with Russia right now, simply doesn't need to talk to the United States," Seiler said.

Former NBA star Dennis Rodman's unusual relationship with Kim also perhaps offers Trump another potential connection to the North Korean leader. Rodman has also made multiple trips to North Korea and met personally with Kim.

Rodman joined Trump at a Peterbilt plant in Denton, Texas, on Oct. 1 before traveling with the president toward a rally in Durant, Oklahoma.

NORTH KOREA UPDATES CONSTITUTION TO REQUIRE AUTOMATIC NUCLEAR STRIKE IF KIM JONG UN IS ASSASSINATED: REPORT

Asked in Texas whether he was using Rodman, who has personally met Kim, to help broker peace with Pyongyang, Trump emphasized his own relationship with the North Korean leader.

"As long as I'm here, you're not gonna have any problems. Somebody else comes, you're gonna have some big problems," Trump said.

Trump also highlighted Rodman's personal connection to Kim, saying: "When I wanted to get to know Kim Jong Un when we were having a problem—Kim Jong Un and I get along—but the one who knew him best was Dennis Rodman."

"Dennis Rodman has a very interesting perspective in that he was able to interact with Kim Jong Un over a number of visits and get to know him personally, to develop some rapport without any diplomatic baggage," Seiler said.

"He may be offering President Trump insights into Kim Jong Un's personality, values, and potential approaches, but, you know, as I think Dennis Rodman's representatives have said, he is still a long way off from getting airplane tickets."

Across one of the coldest, most remote and strategically exposed corners of the United States, American forces are practicing how to fight on land, at sea and in the air — rapidly moving rocket systems into western Alaska, sending F-35s and F-16s toward simulated threats, and coordinating U.S. and Canadian warships in the Bering Sea.

The operations are part of Tundra Merlin, an enduring U.S. military campaign aimed at proving that even across Alaska’s vast distances and extreme Arctic conditions, American and allied forces can rapidly assemble combat power to defend the northern approaches to the homeland.

And behind that show of force is a changing security environment increasingly shaped by Russia and China.

TWO ICEBREAKERS HEADED TO ALASKA AS US COMBATS RUSSIAN, CHINESE INFLUENCE IN ARCTIC

"I think what’s changed is primarily two things," Lt. Gen. Robert Davis, commander of Alaskan Command, told Fox News Digital. "One is that the melting sea ice has made the Arctic more accessible. And we’re seeing increased activity both commercially and militarily in the Arctic, particularly during the summer months."

"The other factor is that China and Russia and others are continuing to advance their military capabilities and capacity with an interest in showing that they can use them in the Arctic as well," Davis said.

The Pentagon has reached a similar conclusion. Its 2024 Arctic Strategy warned that growing Russia-China cooperation could "alter the Arctic’s stability and threat picture," and called for greater U.S. presence, exercises and military preparedness in a region becoming increasingly accessible. Defense officials have said forces operating there must be able not merely to train in extreme conditions, but survive them.

RUSSIA PULLED BACK FROM THE ARCTIC, FOR NOW. NATO MUST ACT BEFORE THOSE TROOPS RETURN

Few places illustrate the stakes better than Alaska.

The state sits at the intersection of the Arctic and Pacific and serves as a critical hub for homeland defense and a platform for projecting U.S. military power toward the Indo-Pacific and beyond. The Russian and American mainlands are only about 55 miles apart at their closest points across the Bering Strait, while Russia’s Big Diomede Island and Alaska’s Little Diomede Island are separated by roughly 2.5 miles.

Alaska also hosts major air bases, early-warning and missile-defense infrastructure, and tens of thousands of military personnel. U.S. Northern Command says Alaskan Command has more than 22,000 active-duty personnel from across the services, along with approximately 4,700 Guard and Reserve members.

Air Force officials have described Alaska as the "crossroads of the Arctic and the Pacific," providing U.S. forces with reach and domain awareness for both homeland defense and global power projection.

Davis put that geography in even starker terms.

Pointing to the fifth-generation fighters positioned in Alaska, he told Fox News Digital that U.S. forces can "project from the Arctic to almost anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere in about 10 hours of flight time."

RUSSIA’S QUIETER NUCLEAR SUBMARINES THREATEN NATO, FORMER COMMANDER WARNS

Tundra Merlin is designed to turn that geographic advantage into combat capability.

Davis described the operation as a collection of military options — essentially "plays in a playbook" — that can be activated either to deter an adversary or respond if one begins acting aggressively.

"Our hope is that we don’t have any adversarial activity because we’ve effectively deterred it," Davis said. "But if we do see it and we have kind of a play in the playbook ready to go. For a response."

One of the most striking demonstrations came recently, on Alaska’s western edge.

U.S. and Canadian forces rapidly moved a U.S. Army HIMARS mobile rocket system and an AN/TPQ-53 radar into western Alaska aboard a Royal Canadian Air Force C-17, then connected those ground forces with American F-35s, F-16s and a KC-135 tanker operating overhead.

CHINA, RUSSIA, IRAN AND NORTH KOREA FORM 'AXIS OF AGGRESSORS' THAT COULD OVERWHELM US, BOOK WARNS

The mission brought air defense and long-range offensive firepower together in a single operation. F-35s and HIMARS synchronized against a simulated ground target approximately 135 miles away, while F-16s simultaneously intercepted F-35s acting as simulated incoming aerial threats, according to U.S. Northern Command.

Davis said the point was not simply to prove the individual weapons worked, but to show how quickly forces could be moved into a remote part of Alaska and linked together.

The operation demonstrated that U.S. forces can rapidly move capabilities into Alaska "both to defend Alaska, but also, if necessary, to put other adversary targets at risk," he told Fox News Digital.

Tundra Merlin pushed that same concept out to sea in September.

From Sept. 18–22, U.S. and Canadian forces conducted a joint maritime strike scenario roughly 100 nautical miles north of Dutch Harbor, integrating U.S. Coast Guard and Royal Canadian Navy surface and subsurface vessels with Canadian maritime patrol aircraft and Alaska-based U.S. Air Force F-35 fighters and E-3 airborne warning and control aircraft.

The forces practiced multiple simulated maritime target engagements, testing whether information collected by different ships and aircraft could be rapidly passed across the force and used to identify, track and engage a potential threat.

"The most impressive part to me was seeing the high degree of cooperation and integration among units that day in and day out don't necessarily operate together," Davis said.

"To see the joint nature on the U.S. side integrated together with the inter-agency of the U.S. Coast Guard and with our allies, with Canada as an example, was just an amazing thing to see," he added.

That ability to operate at scale is complicated by Alaska itself.

Extreme cold can affect equipment and personnel, while the enormous distances and limited infrastructure of the North American Arctic make moving and sustaining forces unusually difficult. The Pentagon’s Arctic Strategy specifically identifies those distances and the region’s infrastructure limitations as obstacles to military operations and says maintaining infrastructure in Alaska is essential for missile defense, surveillance and rapid power projection.

Davis said military equipment brought into Alaska cannot simply be expected to function as it would elsewhere.

"It needs to be conditioned. It needs to be properly outfitted to operate in sub-zero temperatures for a long period of time," he said, adding that troops also require specialized clothing, training and procedures to avoid cold-weather injuries and continue fighting in Arctic conditions.

The pressure to master that environment comes as Russia and China increasingly demonstrate their own ability to operate near North America.

In July 2024, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, detected and intercepted two Russian Tu-95 bombers and two Chinese H-6 bombers flying together in the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone. It was the first time NORAD had intercepted Russian and Chinese military aircraft operating together in the zone. The aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter U.S. or Canadian sovereign territory, and NORAD said the flight itself was not considered a threat.

The episode nevertheless highlighted the very kind of cooperation U.S. defense planners are watching.

For now, Davis said Alaska is positioned to deal with the military threats commanders expect under normal conditions.

"We're postured very well for any of the anticipated threats that we think would come our way in the very near term," he said. But if commanders saw indications of a significant escalation, Davis said Alaskan Command would likely request additional forces and capabilities.

That, ultimately, is what Tundra Merlin is intended to prove: that in a theater defined by enormous distances, punishing weather and growing Russian and Chinese activity, the United States can move forces across Alaska, connect them across land, sea and air, and have combat power ready before a potential adversary decides to test the northern edge of the homeland.

A U.S. Marine stationed in Japan has been arrested on suspicion of robbing and killing a 39-year-old woman at a hotel in Okinawa, prompting Japanese officials to lodge a formal protest with the United States.

Lance Cpl. Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, is suspected of killing Anna Yagi at a hotel in Naha, the capital of Okinawa Prefecture, early Saturday and taking her wallet and backpack, according to Japanese police.

Ballard has denied the allegations, police said.

SERVICE MEMBER AMONG 2 ARRESTED AFTER MISSING MAN PROBE LEADS COPS TO BODY DUMP SITE ON ARMY BASE

Ballard is assigned to the III Marine Expeditionary Force and based at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa, according to the Marine Corps.

Surveillance footage showed Yagi entering the hotel with Ballard before he later left alone, Stars and Stripes reported, citing Okinawa police. A hotel employee later found Yagi unresponsive after she failed to check out.

Police subsequently located Ballard in Okinawa City and arrested him, according to the outlet.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Okinawa Prefectural Police for additional information.

THAI RESORT CITY CRACKS DOWN ON PROSTITUTION AHEAD OF USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN ARRIVAL

The Marine Corps said it was cooperating with Japanese authorities and that Ballard remained in Japanese custody.

"The Marine Corps takes these allegations very seriously and expects every Marine to adhere to the highest standards of behavior," the service said in a statement obtained by Reuters.

The arrest prompted swift condemnation from senior Japanese officials. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi offered condolences to Yagi's family and said her government had lodged a "strong protest" with the United States.

"The occurrence of such an extremely brutal and heinous incident is a matter of profound regret," Takaichi said in an English translation of her Japanese-language statement.

Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi also summoned U.S. Ambassador George Glass and called for full U.S. cooperation with the investigation, stricter discipline among American military personnel and measures to prevent similar incidents.

Glass expressed regret over the loss of life and pledged U.S. cooperation with Japanese authorities.

CHINA DEPLOYED OVER 100 VESSELS NEAR TAIWAN IN THE WAKE OF TRUMP-XI SUMMIT, TAIWAN SECURITY OFFICIAL CLAIMS

The case comes against a decades-long backdrop of tensions surrounding the large U.S. military presence in Okinawa.

Most of the roughly 18,000 Marines stationed in Japan are based on Okinawa, where crimes involving U.S. personnel, aircraft accidents and noise have periodically fueled local opposition to the American military presence.

Okinawa remains strategically important to the U.S.-Japan alliance because of its location in the western Pacific near Taiwan amid increased concern over China's military activity in the region.

Reuters contributed to this report.

JOHANNESBURG: The U.S. ambassador to South Africa has hit out at the country’s President, Cyril Ramaphosa, telling Fox News Digital, "You've got a president of South Africa who refuses to condemn an incitement to kill." 

Ambassador L. Brent Bozell III was responding strongly, in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, to being summoned this past week to South Africa’s foreign ministry and criticized for ‘undiplomatic conduct." 

This is the third time the ambassador has received a démarche — a diplomatic rebuke — from Pretoria in the nine months since he arrived here. The ambassador has been slammed by South Africa for relaying President Trump’s condemnation of South African policies and statements. Bozell is a former Fox News contributor and founder of the largest conservative media watchdog, the Media Research Center.

TRUMP ADMIN IMPOSES NEW VISA RESTRICTIONS OVER ALLEGED RACIAL DISCRIMINATION, LAND SEIZURES IN SOUTH AFRICA

He has repeatedly pushed for issues brought up by President Trump in a testy confrontation in the Oval Office with South Africa’s President Ramaphosa 16 months ago to be addressed. Among other points, these include alleged race-based discrimination, allegations of murder and torture of farmers, plans for uncompensated land seizures and the incitement of violence against minority groups.

The ambassador said three of the five specific ‘asks’ the Trump administration wants have been ignored by South Africa.

High up the list of ‘asks’ is President Trump’s demand that President Ramaphosa stops people in South Africa from shouting "Kill the Boer! Kill the farmer!" A Boer is a white man, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary. It defines it as "a South African of Dutch or Huguenot descent". Ramaphosa has claimed he can’t stop people chanting this slogan because it’s been cleared for use by the country’s supreme court.

Bozell told Fox News Digital, "You've got a president of South Africa who refuses to condemn an incitement to kill."

SOUTH AFRICA’S ILLEGAL MIGRATION BACKLASH MIRRORS POLITICAL BATTLES ACROSS THE WEST

He added, "You've got a government that has said it's not going to do any more for the Afrikaner rural community, and it's got a government that's saying no, your mining has to go through race-based programs. We're not going to allow your investments to go the way everyone else has been allowed to go".

"Those were three strikes and you're out as far as we were concerned," Bozell said.

"Ask 100% of the world if "kill the farmer!, kill the Boer" isn’t hate speech," he continued. "If that isn't hate speech, I don't know what hate speech is: inciting people to commit murder. So the answer we've gotten is, well, the court said it isn't. To which our response is look, in the United States, the president can disagree with the court and does about every five minutes because that's what you do in a democracy when you disagree with something."

TRUMP GETS MAJOR WIN AGAINST CHINA IN AFRICAN RARE EARTH MINERALS RACE

Bozell added, "So, to say, well, you can't do it because the court said it's not, you know, that's poppycock. If President Ramaphosa, if he wants to, he can do it. It's just as simple as that."

The ambassador pushed hard on the point, saying "How hard is it to say this chant, where some, where people do it, 50,000 people in the stadium jump up and down, pantomiming guns, shooting people, how hard is it to say, stop it? This is awful that anybody would be inciting people to kill."

South Africa, analysts say, is drawing ever closer to Iran, Russia, China even Cuba. The African National Congress, the ANC, the party which rules the country in the so-called ‘government of national unity’, has hosted the terror group Hamas.

This is very much on the administration’s radar. President Trump met with Bozell in Washington again recently, with the ambassador telling Fox News Digital the president’s thinking "perhaps most of all, he's concerned about how South Africa has been systematically leaving the non-alignment space and moving closer and closer to our adversaries."

Referring to South Africa, the ambassador added, "There are people who are living in the glory days of the Soviet Union, and they want to go back to the good old days of communism. Why are they still working with Cuba?"

Digging deeper, Bozell asked, "Why are they working with Iran and Hamas terror organizations? What's Russia doing for them? What's China doing for them? This is bad news when they're going in that direction. What we're saying is simply do what you've always done. Have a non-aligned with both sides. We'll live with that."

US COUNTERS CHINA AS BEIJING’S ‘SHOCK WAVE’ HITS AFRICAN ECONOMIES

The ambassador stressed that the U.S. wants to make dynamic business with South Africa on mining, particularly on critical or rare earth minerals. He stated, "We're not going to do what the Chinese do. They come in, they take the ore, they take it to China, they benefit [from] it and they make a pile of money. We're saying to South Africa, we'll come in, we'll do the mining, we'll do it right there in South Africa."

He continued,"South Africa gets the money, not the Chinese. We bring in the technology that they could never have. We've created hundreds of thousands of jobs. We're saying we could create more and more and more at a time when they desperately need it, but it will be good for us as well. This is the partnership we want."

Elon Musk and his Starlink satellite internet company are one of many U.S. companies which want to enter South Africa. But in the telecommunications and mining fields, the government insists that 30% of foreign company ownership must be given to black local entrepreneurs.

Bozell says this is problematical for the U.S. "There are literally billions of dollars from American firms and American government investments ready to go into mining, but it's not going to go there so long as you have these race-based avenues they must go through. In telecom, Elon Musk has said he will put Starlink in 500 schools and pay for it in perpetuity if he's allowed to go this way. And they said, "No, we want 30% of your company. So yeah, of course it's hurting."

On Friday, a senior official at South Africa’s Department of International Relations – the country’s foreign ministry – confirmed to Fox News Digital that they demarched Ambassador Bozell for a third time, adding, "This is a record. He was called in to explain his undiplomatic conduct. The issues related to the bilateral relations between the two countries are a subject of ongoing discussions. There is commitment from both sides to resolve the outstanding matters. South Africa values the relationship with the USA. It is a mutually beneficial partnership".

Also, Friday, a State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital, "We are not interested in diplomatic maneuvering, procedural delays, or dialogue for dialogue’s sake. The ball is now squarely in the Government of South Africa’s court to outline the relationship it wants with the United States and respond accordingly to President Trump’s executive order."

Still, Bozell looks to the future of the U.S. - South Africa relationship with guarded optimism. "Look, temperatures can go up, but I want their temperature to go down too. You know, we want this partnership. We want to figure this out. It's good for South Africa. It's good for the United States of America. Temperatures need to go down, and we got to figure it out."

SÃO PAULO: As Brazil goes to the polls Sunday, analysts are watching closely to see whether the continent’s most populous nation will be the latest domino to fall into the conservative column, following Colombia, Peru, Chile, and others in voting out the left-wing President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Known by his nickname Lula, the 80-year-old, who served time in jail for corruption in a massive payback bribery scandal, barely leads Brazilian senator Flavio Bolsonaro, the son of former president Jair.

Going into Sunday’s first round, neither candidate is expected to win outright. The latest Datafolha poll puts Lula at 42% and Bolsonaro at 38%, with a two-point margin of error. If the election goes to a runoff, it has Lula up by 3%. But the polls have been wrong before.

ANTI-CARTEL CANDIDATE 'THE TIGER' CHANNELS TRUMP AND BUKELE IN COLOMBIA ELECTION SHOCKER

"The problem with Datafolha, which is the largest polling institute in the country, is that it tends to underestimate the force and voting intention in candidates running against Lula or the Workers Party (PT). This has been consistent for at least over a decade, and it underestimated Jair Bolsonaro’s number on the runoff of 2018 by 7%," Roberto Reis, an electoral strategist working with several candidates across multiple electoral tiers and analyzing aggregator data, told Fox News Digital. "According to the latest aggregator data such as MRT News or Polling Data, we currently have Lula leading Bolsonaro 42% to 39% on the first runoff of the elections with Bolsonaro leading Lula 45% to 44% on the runoff," he added.

One Brazil analyst said that the election is about more than just another ideological contest between left and right in Latin America — It is the single major remaining stumbling block in the Western Hemisphere that still hasn’t shifted to conservativism and while there are other left-wing governments in the hemisphere, including Cuba, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua and Uruguay, Brazil is by far the largest and most important economy in this group with its status as the 11th largest world economy according to the IMF and the 10th largest world economy according to the World Bank.

‘WAVE OF FREEDOM’ SWEEPS LATIN AMERICA AS TRUMP ALLY TAKES FIGHT TO MARXIST TERROR GROUP

Bolsonaro has spent much of the campaign cultivating a relationship with President Donald Trump and presenting himself as a potential U.S. partner in the Western Hemisphere. He met Trump at the White House in May, where the two discussed organized crime, tariffs and Brazil's rare earth and critical mineral reserves — both critical prime-source materials Brazil has plenty of and which could significantly lower U.S. and European dependency on Russia and China.

Bolsonaro also said he had asked Washington to designate Brazil's two largest criminal organizations, the First Capital Command (PCC, in its Portuguese acronym) and Red Command (Comando Vermelho, in Portuguese), as terrorist groups. Both designations were accepted by the Department of State on May 28 and became effective in June under section 219 of the Immigration and Naturalization Code.

TRUMP ADMIN'S LIST OF US-DESIGNATED 'FOREIGN TERRORIST' GROUPS IN LATIN AMERICA EXPANDS TO 21

The designation by the U.S. government incensed Lula and his allies and was viewed as direct meddling in domestic affairs and a rubber stamp from the Trump administration that the left-wing, populist president has not been doing enough to combat organized crime in his country, directly favoring Bolsonaro’s contest in the elections.

Flávio Bolsonaro has also proposed a free-trade agreement between Brazil and the United States, potentially expanding it into a broader free-trade arrangement among countries in the Americas. And his campaign has emphasized cooperation with Washington on critical minerals, an increasingly strategic issue as the Trump administration tries to reduce U.S. dependence on China, as per a current report by Brazil’s leading newspaper, Folha de S. Paulo.

That would represent a significant change in emphasis from Lula's foreign policy.

China is Brazil's largest trading partner, and Brazilian agricultural exports to China totaled more than $55 billion in 2025, according to Reuters. Lula has defended maintaining strong relations with Beijing while pursuing what he describes as an independent foreign policy that oftentimes borders on aggressiveness towards both the United States and its closest allies, such as Israel.

Lula's relationship with Trump has been considerably more complicated. Washington imposed new 25% tariffs on a wide range of Brazilian goods in July, affecting about $7 billion of Brazilian exports, while Lula's government has challenged the measures and sought negotiations with Washington with very limited success so far. Washington has also imposed a ban on most new permanent visa requests coming from Brazil, and that could lead to green cards.

TANVI RATNA: LATIN AMERICA'S RIGHT TURN IS REDRAWING THE UNITED STATES' BACKYARD

A Bolsonaro presidency would come with stated plans for closer U.S. economic and security cooperation, greater alignment with Israel, a more confrontational posture toward China's influence in Brazil and reduced friction both within the hemisphere and in global affairs. Whether those policies can all be implemented depends on negotiations with Congress, Brazil's powerful bureaucracy, and the country's economic interests — especially the agribusiness and mining powerhouses in the country.

A Lula victory would mean continuity in a foreign policy trajectory that seeks strong commercial ties with China while maintaining strategic autonomy from Washington, alongside his government's current position on Israel and Gaza. Both attitudes are in direct defiance of Trump’s policies and could end up damaging U.S.-Brazilian relations even further.

With the presidential race effectively heading toward a second round, the stakes for a new version of the Americas for U.S. interests could very much hinge on its outcome.

France’s violent student protests are fueling fresh warnings about the consequences of open-border immigration policies, with the unrest being held up as a "cautionary tale" for the U.S.

"I would also say as we’re sitting here in beautiful New York City, this is a cautionary tale," "The Big Weekend Show" co-host Tomi Lahren said Saturday.

She continued: "This is something we’re learning from Europe, and we would be wise to learn from Europe. They decided they wanted to have open borders. They decided they wanted diversity as their strength, and of course, Joe Biden tried that for four years. We’re undoing that currently."

FRANCE'S TEEN RIOTS TAKE EXPLOSIVE NEW TURN AS GOVERNMENT POINTS FINGER AT HARD LEFT

Lahren posited that "when you let so many people come into your country, leech off of your system, then the people who are from there are going to at some point get upset."

She said that anger often becomes misplaced and, "they end up lighting things on fire, which I think is stupid no matter what you’re angry with, but it’s no doubt these countries that say we’re going to be a global home for everybody, they end up paying the price, and it’s usually the native Frenchmen, or whenever they are that end up paying the highest price."

Students in Paris began to protest late last month against what they deemed as overcrowded classrooms, teacher shortages, long school days and deteriorating conditions, blaming the government for not investing enough in education.

REPUBLICAN GLEE ERUPTS AS WHITE HOUSE BOASTS SHARP DECLINE IN IMMIGRATION FROM MUSLIM-MAJORITY NATIONS

The demonstrations started peacefully in Paris’ poorer suburbs but quickly spread to Paris itself, then went nationwide in cities like Marseille, Strasbourg, Tours, Nantes, Toulouse ​and Lille, becoming increasingly violent as they expanded.

The protests were also fueled by the government’s 2027 budget unveiling on Thursday, which showed education spending would rise by only 1.7%, excluding teacher pensions, an increase which is below the rate of inflation, Reuters reported.

Rioters have committed arson, vandalism, thrown objects at police and even assaulted people in some cases, prompting authorities to respond with tear gas and rubber bullets.

TENS OF THOUSANDS FLOOD STREETS TO PROTEST SPAIN BORDER CRISIS

More than 5,000 protesters were arrested this week across the country, according to Reuters, and more than 400 schools remained closed as of Friday.

Euronews reported Friday that at least 65 school staff members, including 40 principals, have been injured since the unrest began, along with roughly 170 students. 

More than 100 high schools have suffered what Education Minister Édouard Geffray described as "severe damage."

French intelligence agencies told a government crisis meeting Thursday that the protest movement had been initiated by politicians from the hard-left France Unbowed Party, known as LFI, Reuters reported Friday.

LIZ PEEK: ANGRY, AFFLUENT AND ADRIFT — WHAT'S DRIVING SOME YOUNG AMERICANS TO VIOLENCE

LFI has denied the allegations and accused President Emmanuel Macron's government of politicizing the protests ahead of France's 2027 presidential election.

Simone Rodan-Benzaquen, senior envoy to Europe at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital on Thursday that the unrest began with legitimate concerns but has since evolved into something far more serious.

"The students’ grievances about missing teachers and deteriorating schools were real at first," Rodan-Benzaquen said. "But dousing a principal in gasoline and attacking firefighters are acts of extreme violence. What makes this politically significant is the effort to turn frustration over schools into a much broader confrontation with the government."

Fox News' Efrat Lachter contributed to this report.

Eliran Almog, a former Israeli helicopter pilot turned aviation cybersecurity firm CEO, explained just how "crazy" it was that the near-hijacked FlyDubai flight 1073 managed to land safely after a violent midair attack.

"You can't imagine being in that position. You see the videos, you hear the kids screaming, and people don't necessarily understand what is happening," the former Israeli Air Force pilot told Fox News Digital.

After an Omani national copilot — who has since been identified as 29-year-old Hamam al-Hammami — allegedly stabbed FlyDubai flight 1073’s pilot Capt. Smit Machchhar mid-flight, the aircraft plummeted more than 14,000 feet in 30 seconds.

"The g-force on the plane was enormous, and you basically think you are going to die," Almog said, adding "it's crazy that the aircraft did not break up in the air, and landing it with the tail damage it sustained was remarkable."

FLYDUBAI PASSENGER SAYS CO-PILOT STABBED CAPTAIN BEFORE TERRIFYING PLUNGE, EMERGENCY LANDING

Despite sustaining serious injuries, Machchhar was able to hit a button to open the cockpit door, allowing Israeli passengers to rush into the cockpit and subdue al-Hammami, officials said. A second FlyDubai crew that happened to be aboard the craft then stabilized the plane and successfully completed an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.

FLYDUBAI PILOT SHOWED WORLD 'THE HIGHEST FORM OF COURAGE,' INDIA'S PM SAYS

"As a pilot, if I were in this situation, I'm not sure I could have landed the aircraft. Every commercial aircraft is different, requiring different setup, landing procedures and limitations," Almog explained.

Almog, who now advises airliners and adjacent businesses on how to shore up their cybersecurity, explained how crucial it was for carriers to ensure their pilots undergo thorough screening processes for both psychological and potential political risks.

FLYDUBAI CO-PILOT ACCUSED OF STABBING CAPTAIN IDENTIFIED AS 29-YEAR-OLD OMANI NATIONAL

"We give a lot of weight in the process to the characteristics of the pilot. The technical and cognitive skills are important, but we make sure that the pilot is balanced and resilient in extreme cases," he said.

"Because aviation is critical infrastructure, we must rethink how we screen pilots — not just initially, but continuously. Even for experienced pilots, we need the right tools in place to identify when someone is facing family issues, psychological distress, or developing extreme views that could impose risk. These are practices the industry needs to adopt, and I call on governments and regulators to step in," he continued.

PILOT’S SUDDEN DEATH DURING OVERNIGHT LAYOVER PUTS SPOTLIGHT ON FATIGUE CONCERNS

While numerous countries, including Israel and Saudi Arabia, are conducting their own investigations into al-Hammami and the FlyDubai incident, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox & Friends in a Thursday interview that the copilot had been exposed to "Islamist radical indoctrination."

President Donald Trump, meanwhile, suggested the pilot could have been trained or motivated by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

TRUMP’S IRAN CRACKDOWN COLLIDES WITH NATO ALLY SEEKING ACCESS TO AMERICA’S PRIZED FIGHTER JET

Almog told Fox News Digital that geopolitical concerns, such as the ones imposed by the ongoing wars in the Middle East, are increasingly becoming airlines' top risk factor for a number of reasons.

"If you ask the airlines today what are the main risks that they are looking forward on, it is geopolitical risk," he said. "... We are tracking GNSS and GPS jamming and spoofing activities, and I can show you the map and you can understand exactly where the conflicts are."

AMERICANS WARNED AGAIN TO RETHINK TRAVEL AS MISSILE ATTACK RATTLES HISTORIC REGION

Almog also explained how pilots are not the only people airlines need to screen or keep an eye on.

"Pilots aren't the only ones who can crash a plane. Over 80% of cybersecurity threats come from insiders — many of whom may not even realize they are posing a risk," he said. "It isn't just pilots; it's cabin crew and maintenance personnel. A plane can crash without the right fuel balance or proper maintenance parameters. Aviation relies on a complex supply chain. It would be a mistake to limit psychological screening and background monitoring to pilots alone — it needs to expand to every person who impacts flight operations."

Almog also praised both the resiliency of the flight's passengers and the heroism of Capt. Machchhar.

FATAL AIR AMBULANCE CRASH EXPOSES GROWING GPS DANGER FACING US FLIGHTS

"Ultimately, this was a chain of circumstances that prevented a total disaster," he said. "Beyond personal resilience, it took the courage of the off-duty Indian pilot who opened the door, and the fact that FlyDubai had two other pilots on board who landed the aircraft safely."

"As a pilot, I can tell you that isn't easy. Landing an unfamiliar commercial aircraft type under extreme stress requires specialized training, which is why rigorous screening and continuous support for flight crews are so vital," he added.

The FlyDubai co-pilot accused of attacking a captain on a Tel Aviv-bound flight earlier this week allegedly used the cockpit's "crash axe" in the attack and has been identified as a 29-year-old Omani national.

The co-pilot has been identified as Hamam al-Hammami, a Middle Eastern source told Fox News, adding that he was barred from flying with Oman Air — his country's airline — in 2024 due to concerns about extremist views.

The source also said authorities believe the co-pilot moved to Dubai later that year.

The United Arab Emirates, which is leading the investigation into the attack on FlyDubai Flight 1073, said the co-pilot attacked Capt. Smit Machchhar with the cockpit's crash axe, incapacitating him and causing the aircraft to plummet before passengers on board seized control of the plane.

FLYDUBAI PASSENGER SAYS CO-PILOT STABBED CAPTAIN BEFORE TERRIFYING PLUNGE, EMERGENCY LANDING

The source said al-Hammami spent a significant part of his life outside Oman, including time living with his mother, who is from Syria.

According to the source, FlyDubai did not check with Oman Air about al-Hammami before hiring him.

A Gulf diplomat told The Associated Press that investigators are working to determine whether al-Hammami acted as a "lone wolf or has any connection with any extremist groups."

The AP separately reported that Oman had barred al-Hammami from flying over concerns that he had adopted extremist views.

HERO FLYDUBAI PILOT SAYS HE WAS 'FIGHTING FOR MY LIFE' AS PLANE PLUNGED AFTER COPILOT ATTACK

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday described the incident as an act of terrorism, saying the attacker had undergone "Islamic radicalization."

"He came to crash the passengers on board," Netanyahu said, according to The Wall Street Journal.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Fox News Digital's Brittany Miller contributed to this report.

The FlyDubai co-pilot accused of stabbing the captain of a passenger jet mid-flight and nearly causing a catastrophic crash was grounded by Oman Air in 2024 after the airline discovered he had been visiting radical Islamic websites, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Authorities believe the co-pilot moved to Dubai later that same year, according to the source, who also told Fox News the co-pilot spent a significant part of his life outside Oman, including with his mother, who is from Syria.

According to the source, FlyDubai did not check with Oman Air about the co-pilot before hiring him.

FLYDUBAI PILOT SHOWED WORLD 'THE HIGHEST FORM OF COURAGE,' INDIA'S PM SAYS

The new details come as The Wall Street Journal reported Friday, citing people familiar with the matter, that the Omani national had previously been banned from flying over concerns he had adopted radical ideological views before later being hired by FlyDubai. The newspaper reported it was unclear whether Omani officials shared those concerns with other countries or airlines.

Fox News has not independently verified the reason the co-pilot was grounded by Oman Air.

The alleged attack unfolded Wednesday aboard FlyDubai Flight 1073 as the aircraft traveled from Dubai to Tel Aviv.

UNITED FLIGHT FROM CHICAGO MAKES EMERGENCY LANDING AFTER PASSENGER'S 'MULTIPLE ATTEMPTS' TO BREACH COCKPIT

According to passengers and officials, the co-pilot allegedly stabbed the captain inside the cockpit, sending the aircraft into a steep dive that nearly tore it apart before two reserve pilots aboard the flight regained control and safely diverted the aircraft to Saudi Arabia. Passengers and crew members then helped overpower the suspect, according to accounts of the incident.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday described the incident as terrorism, saying the attacker had undergone "Islamic radicalization."

"He came to crash the passengers on board," Netanyahu said, according to the Wall Street Journal.

UK AIRBASE TERROR SUSPECTS BEING RELEASED ON BAIL AS IRAN DENIES CONNECTION

Netanyahu also said Israeli authorities are investigating whether the suspect acted alone or had assistance from others.

The United Arab Emirates is leading the investigation into the incident. A UAE spokesperson declined to comment to the Journal on the suspect's background, saying officials did not want to prejudice the outcome of the investigation or interfere with its course.

The incident has prompted renewed scrutiny of airline pilot vetting procedures and aviation security on flights serving Israel. Aviation security analysts told the Journal the episode represented a significant security failure and raised questions about how warning signs may have gone undetected before the co-pilot entered the cockpit.

FlyDubai has suspended flights between Dubai and Tel Aviv following the attack.

FlyDubai did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

British prosecutors announced terrorism charges Friday against a 28-year-old man already in custody for the alleged murder of a conservative politician.

The Crown Prosecution Service charged Joshua Kerry of South Yorkshire with one count of preparation of terrorist acts, accusing him of "engaging in conduct in preparation of acts of terrorism, including against [Reform UK leader] Nigel Farage MP." 

Kerry has been in the custody of His Majesty's government since late July, after he was arrested and accused of murdering former Reform UK and Conservative politician Ann Widdecombe.

Prosecutors say Widdecombe was eating lunch in her Devon home July 8, when Kerry allegedly walked through the front door, beat her 21 times in the head with a hammer, took her wallet and was gone in an attack that lasted only two minutes.

IRAN PROBED IN ALLEGED TERRORISM PLOT AT UK BASE

Authorities say the latest charges against Kerry are related to events between May 31 and July 8. 

In a statement, Senior National Coordinator for Counterterrorism Policing, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans, said, "The charge announced today is a result of the tireless work of investigators across the Counterterrorism Policing network. This investigation has been led by a dedicated team of detectives, analysts and forensic experts, working on multiple lines of inquiry, which has resulted in this very serious charge."

U.K. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, posting on X, called the new charges against Kerry "extremely concerning" and sent her "profound sympathies" to the Farage family. She added that "an attack on anyone in politics is an attack on us all. This case raises serious questions about the security of those in public life." 

The Jo Cox Foundation, set up in honor of the Labour MP who was murdered in 2016, said in a statement, "No one in public life should have to fear for their safety. Violence, abuse and intimidation not only endangered individuals and their families, but threaten our democracy and have no place in public life. We must do more to prevent the rising levels of abuse and intimidation in politics."

Kerry is due back at Westminster Magistrates’ Court Wednesday.

Separately on Friday, Counterterrorism Policing announced charges against two Iranian men accused of plotting "to target the Jewish community in the Manchester area." 

The Crown Prosecution Service charged 36-year-old Salam Ahmadyan and 34-year-old Rahman Salehi with "engaging in conduct in preparation for terrorist acts, contrary to Section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006," alleging that two men were "in contact with an overseas third-party who may be in Iran in relation to the plot."  

SUSPECT CHARGED IN MURDER OF UK POLITICIAN ANNE WIDDECOMBE

Evans called the charges "extremely serious" while reiterating that "we do not believe there to be any ongoing threat to the public in relation to this matter." 

Evans noted the alleged plot comes during the High Holy Day period and "coincides with the anniversary of the devastating terrorist attack last year at Heaton Park synagogue and comes in a wider context of increasing antisemitic incidents across the U.K."

Ahmadyan and Salehi have been remanded and are scheduled to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court Saturday.

Fox News’ Thomas Ferraro and Stephanie Bennett and The Associated Press contributed to this report.