While serving as an infantry battalion and brigade operations officer in Alaska , I learned that the Arctic is among the most unforgiving battlefields on earth. Aircraft can deliver soldiers to remote areas, but they cannot improvise roads, fuel or supply units once the fighting begins. In extreme cold, poor preparation kills soldiers as surely as enemy fire. That lesson returned as I studied recent satellite imagery from Russia's far north. Advanced air-defense systems are disappearing from established Arctic positions even as Russia pours concrete for barracks and depots closer to Finland and Norway. The two trends look contradictory. They are not. Russian President Vladimir Putin is operating on two clocks: sustaining today’s war effort while building options for a confrontation on NATO's northern flank once the Ukraine conflict slows. TWO ICEBREAKERS HEADED TO ALASKA AS US COMBATS RUSSIAN, CHINESE INFLUENCE IN ARCTIC Start with what Moscow is giving up. Near the Rogachevo...

An Oregon man is facing charges for allegedly illegally catching and "wrestling" protected bluntnose sixgill and broadnose sevengill sharks in Puget Sound. The Washington state Department of Fish and Wildlife recently shared body camera footage of an officer confronting Connor Seifert, 27, in June in Pierce County, Washington. "You know your shark rules," the officer could be heard on the video telling Seifert. "You can’t fully or partially remove sixgill from the water.  SHARK SIGHTINGS SPIKE NEAR AMERICA'S BEACHES AS JULY 4 CROWDS HEAD TO SHORE FOR WEEKEND "When you wrestle a sixgill to shore like that, you hop on its back, you expose its gills to the air," the officer continued. "You know as well as anybody else does that Puget Sound is a nursery for these sharks. There has been a direct correlation between catching these sharks in this stage in their lives and the mortality of the pups inside the moms." He added, "Once they e...

Lawmakers offered strikingly divided reactions to the White House’s announcement of a new nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia , with Democrats concerned about accelerating a nuclear program in the Middle East and Republicans emphasizing the need for partnership in the region. "I don't trust anybody as far as I can throw them, but we've got to develop allies," Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., told Fox News Digital. "And as long as we can verify them, we have the people there that can verify that they're using them for the proper uses, then we’re okay." The Department of Energy released details Wednesday on the agreement, which would support the development of a civilian nuclear energy program in Saudi Arabia by providing U.S. technology and expertise. The agreement also includes safeguards intended to ensure nuclear materials are not diverted for weapons development. IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL HINGES ON IAEA ACCESS TO LONG-BLOCKED ATOMIC WEAPON SITES, EXPERTS SAY Rep....

The WNBA continued its 30th-season celebration Saturday night, bringing the All-Star Game back to Chicago for the first time since 2022. The game itself had plenty of scoring, but Jonquel Jones supplied the all-around performance that helped Caitlin Clark and Team Spoon outlast Marina Mabrey and Team Coop. Jones finished with 22 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists in a 129-122 win and was named the most valuable player of the game. CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM Eight Team Spoon players scored in double figures in a defense-light All-Star Game that featured 127 3-point attempts, with Allisha Gray adding 19 points and Clark finishing with 17. The annual summer showcase was played before a record crowd of 19,783 at the United Center, the longtime home of the Chicago Bulls. Friday night’s 3-point contest and Shooting Stars competition were held at the smaller Wintrust Arena a few miles away. In the second quarter on Saturday night, Dominique Malonga caught a pas...

BANGOR, Maine - The sprint to replace ex-candidate Graham Platner will come to an end on Saturday as Maine Democrats are expected to quickly elevate Troy Jackson as their party's nominee in the high-stakes Senate showdown with longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins. Jackson, a former state Senate president, is on a glide path to replace Platner at the Maine Democratic Party nominating convention in Bangor, after winning the vast majority of the voting delegates chosen last weekend by Democrats in the northern New England state's 16 counties. And Jackson's top rivals in the race to replace Platner backed him after dropping out of the race the past few days, leaving only one long-shot candidate for delegates to also consider at the convention. The Senate race in Maine, where Collins is the only GOP incumbent running for re-election in a state President Donald Trump lost in the 2024 election, is one of roughly a dozen midterm showdowns across the country that will determine...

Democratic lawmakers told Fox News Digital they agree New Jersey's voter registration error demands accountability but say it doesn't justify claims of widespread election fraud. New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill on Tuesday said a "serious software error" led to the mistaken registration of roughly 6,600 noncitizens through the state's Motor Vehicle System, while the company that provides the identity-related security services denied any wrongdoing. "In New Jersey, we absolutely need to have accountability for what happened," Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., said. "It was just horrible. There was a big problem with that computer problem that they had. We need to try to address that going forward." NEW JERSEY REMOVES 6,600 PEOPLE FROM VOTER ROLLS WHO WERE ELIGIBLE TO CAST A BALLOT FOR 2024 ELECTION Kim said states should be given the tools to keep voter rolls accurate instead of relying on the Department of Homeland Security's findings after the agency...