Claudia Sheinbaum is projected to win Mexico’s presidential election and become the nation’s first female president in history.

‘I will become the first woman president of Mexico,’ Sheinbaum said at a downtown Mexico City hotel shortly after electoral authorities announced a statistical sample showed she held an irreversible lead, according to The Associated Press. ‘I don’t make it alone. We’ve all made it, with our heroines who gave us our homeland, with our mothers, our daughters and our granddaughters.’ 

The former Mexico City mayor said that her two competitors – Xóchitl Gálvez and Jorge Álvarez Máynez – had called her and conceded.  

The National Electoral Institute’s president said Sheinbaum had between 58.3% and 60.7% of the vote, according to a statistical sample. Opposition candidate Gálvez had between 26.6% and 28.6% of the vote, and Álvarez Máynez had between 9.9% and 10.8% of the vote. Sheinbaum’s Morena Party was also projected to hold majorities in both chambers of Congress. 

President Biden said Monday that ‘I congratulate Claudia Sheinbaum on her historic election as the first woman President of Mexico’ and that he looks forward ‘to working closely with President-elect Sheinbaum in the spirit of partnership and friendship that reflects the enduring bonds between our two countries.

‘I also congratulate the Mexican people for conducting a nationwide successful democratic electoral process involving races for more than 20,000 positions at the local, state, and federal levels,’ Biden added.

Sheinbaum, the AP reports, will also be the first Jewish leader of the overwhelmingly Catholic country. 

She will start her six-year term on Oct. 1. Mexico’s constitution does not allow re-election. 

The leftist has said she believes the government has a strong role to play in addressing economic inequality and providing a sturdy social safety net, much like her political mentor President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who is also a member of the Morena Party. 

‘Of course, I congratulate Claudia Sheinbaum with all my respect who ended up the winner by a wide margin,’ López Obrador said Monday. ‘She is going to be Mexico’s first (woman) president in 200 years.’ 

The main opposition candidate, Gálvez, a tech entrepreneur and former senator, had promised to take a more aggressive approach toward organized crime. 

In her concession speech, she said, ‘I want to stress that my recognition (of Sheinbaum’s victory) comes with a firm demand for results and solutions to the country’s serious problems.’ 

Julio García, a Mexico City office worker, had told the AP he was voting for the opposition in Mexico City’s central San Rafael neighborhood.  

‘They’ve robbed me twice at gunpoint. You have to change direction, change leadership,’ the 34-year-old was quoted as saying. ‘Continuing the same way, we’re going to become Venezuela.’ 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., on Sunday defended President Biden’s past comment that his son, Hunter Biden, ‘did nothing wrong.’ 

Jeffries’ remarks came a day before the scheduled beginning of jury selection in the federal gun case against Hunter – and just days after former President Trump, President Biden’s main election opponent, was convicted on 34 counts following the hush-money trial brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. 

‘President Biden commented as a loving father, as I would hope any loving father would do. Hunter Biden, of course, is entitled, as was Donald Trump, to the presumption of innocence and to a trial by a jury of his peers,’ Jeffries said during an appearance on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press.’ ‘And this Justice Department is going to proceed in that fashion, present the facts and the law and then we’ll all have to wait for a determination that is made by a jury as to Hunter Biden’s guilt or innocence.’ 

In an interview with MSNBC in May 2023, President Biden insisted, ‘First of all, my son has done nothing wrong,’ adding that ‘I trust him. I have faith in him.

That was before what Republicans dubbed a ‘sweetheart deal’ with prosecutors for Hunter to plead guilty on misdemeanor tax charges fell apart in Delaware during a dramatic hearing last summer before a Trump-appointed judge. In response, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed David Weiss, who had already been leading the investigation into Hunter’s gun case, as special counsel. 

Hunter Biden, who spent the weekend with his father, has been charged with three felonies stemming from a 2018 firearm purchase when he was, according to his memoir, in the throes of a crack addiction. He has been accused of lying to a federally licensed gun dealer, making a false claim on the application used to screen firearms applicants when he said he was not a drug user, and illegally having the gun for 11 days.

He has pleaded not guilty and has argued he’s being unfairly targeted by the Justice Department. 

Hunter Biden is also facing a separate trial in California in September on charges of failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes. He has also pleaded not guilty in that case. 

Jeffries, meanwhile, also addressed Trump’s conviction. The Democratic leader said the guilty verdict against the former president was a ‘validation of the American judicial system,’ when asked if the eight-year-old case would have been brought against anyone but the former president. 

‘Donald Trump was entitled to the presumption of innocence, he received it,’ he said. ‘This is America. This is not a system that is occupied by a monarch or a king or a dictator. We are a democracy. And in a democracy, no one is above the law.’ 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Hunter Biden’s criminal trial will begin with jury selection Monday morning in Delaware. The trial stems from federal gun charges brought against him by special counsel David Weiss. 

Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to federal gun charges in U.S. District Court for Delaware after Weiss charged him with making a false statement in the purchase of a firearm; making a false statement related to information required to be kept by a licensed firearm dealer; and one count of possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance. 

With all counts combined, the total maximum prison time for the charges could be up to 25 years. Each count carries a maximum fine of $250,000 and three years of supervised release. 

The trial begins nearly a year after presiding Judge Maryellen Noreika questioned a plea deal between prosecutors and Hunter Biden, which subsequently fell apart.

The agreement, blasted as a ‘sweetheart’ deal by congressional Republicans, appeared to convey broad immunity to the president’s son on a host of potential criminal charges.

According to an indictment, Hunter Biden bought a Colt Cobra revolver Oct. 12, 2018, and ‘knowingly made a false and fictitious written statement, intended and likely to deceive that dealer with respect to a fact material to the lawfulness of the sale of the firearm … certifying he was not an unlawful user of, and addicted to, any stimulant, narcotic drug, and any other controlled substance, when in fact, as he knew, that statement was false and fictitious.’ 

The indictment also charges Hunter Biden with possessing that gun, which was ‘shipped and transported in interstate commerce,’ for nearly a week despite being addicted to narcotics.

Fox News first reported in 2021 that police had responded to an incident in 2018, when a gun owned by Hunter was thrown into a trash can outside a market in Delaware.

A source with knowledge of the Oct. 23, 2018, police report told Fox News it indicated that Hallie Biden, who is the widow of President Biden’s late son, Beau, and who was in a relationship with Hunter at the time, threw a gun owned by Hunter in a dumpster behind a market near a school.

Hallie Biden may be required to testify during Hunter Biden’s trial. 

A firearm transaction report reviewed by Fox News indicated Hunter purchased a gun earlier that month.

On the firearm transaction report, Hunter answered in the negative when asked if he was ‘an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance.’

Hunter was discharged from the Navy in 2014 after testing positive for cocaine.

Judge Noreika ruled ahead of the trial that Weiss’s team cannot use some salacious evidence in the first son’s criminal trial, including references to the Navy discharge and his child support case for his out-of-wedlock daughter in Arkansas. 

Noreika also said Weiss must show Hunter Biden was addicted to drugs but not necessarily using drugs the day he purchased the gun. 

Noreika said the government may use part of Hunter Biden’s book in which he discusses his addiction to drugs. 

The prosecution does not plan to bring out the entire infamous laptop containing details of Hunter Biden’s life but will introduce certain portions. Noreika ruled that Hunter Biden’s team will be able to question aspects of the laptop in front of the jury. The laptop, which leaked in 2020 just before the presidential election, was decried as Russian disinformation by 51 former intelligence officials.

Noreika also ruled that the special counsel cannot mention Hunter Biden’s pending federal tax trial in California during the trial in Delaware, which is also part of Weiss’s investigation and scheduled for a September trial.

Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to those charges — specifically, three felonies and six misdemeanors concerning $1.4 million in owed taxes that have since been paid. Weiss alleged a ‘four-year scheme’ when the president’s son did not pay his federal income taxes from January 2017 to October 2020 while also filing false tax reports. 

Judge Mark Scarsi heard arguments during a pre-trial hearing in California last month. That criminal trial was scheduled for June 20, but Hunter Biden’s attorneys requested to delay the trial. 

Scarsi sided with Hunter Biden’s attorneys, and moved the tax trial to Sept. 5, when jury selection will begin. 

Despite what some Iranian leaders say to the gullible West, denying their intention to build nuclear weapons, Tehran’s pursuit of weapons-grade fissile material and the development of ballistic missiles to potentially deliver a nuclear warhead continues unimpeded.

Though it is obvious to anyone paying the least bit of attention, The Wall Street Journal reports the Biden administration is ‘pressing European allies to back off plans to rebuke Iran for advances in its nuclear program….’ And not just its nuclear program, but seemingly anything else Iran does on its own and through proxies to pursue its stated goal of destroying Israel and killing Jews.

What could possibly be the administration’s motive in urging Europe to do nothing about Iran? It doesn’t seem difficult to conclude this may be about the fall election. 

President Biden, who is losing his grip on the traditional Democratic voting bloc of Black voters and young people, apparently doesn’t want to make things worse by doing anything that could turn Muslim voters against him, especially in Michigan, which has a large Muslim population.

It only matters what Iran does, not what it says for Western consumption. Some of its leaders say weapons of mass destruction are against the Koran, but then the Koran also gives permission to Muslims to lie to ‘infidels’ in pursuit of their goal of Islam dominating the world, by force if necessary,

Fereydoun Abbasi previously headed Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization. In a report last week by the website Iran International Newsroom, Abbasi said: ‘If a nation possesses superior air power and poses a threat to us, we will reciprocate with a corresponding threat. Our adversaries are well aware of our capability to launch satellites. This proficiency underscores the high standards of a nation capable of placing satellites into specific orbits.’ 

Abbasi claimed Iran does not believe in weapons of mass destruction, but can’t allow those who have weapons to ‘misuse their power.’

That is an Alice in Wonderland statement which could mean only what Iranian leaders want it to mean.

As mentioned by many sober and realistic leaders of the past and even present, wishful thinking gets you nothing except the likelihood of more terrorism and war. History has proven that weakness almost always invites aggression while strength deters it. Only fools believe otherwise and the world is full of fools.

In what appears to be a cynical ploy to save his presidency for a second term, Biden is again projecting weakness and asking our European allies to do the same. If any disgraceful behavior exists in Washington these days this would make a top five list.

European diplomats, reports the Journal, ‘have warned that failure to take action would undermine the authority of the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), which polices nonproliferation of nuclear weapons.’ 

Last September, The Associated Press reported that ‘Rafael Mariano Grossi, the head of the IAEA, said Iran had withdrawn the designation of ‘several experienced Agency inspectors,’ barring them from taking part in the monitoring of its program.’

Added to all of Iran’s other broken promises and lies about its nuclear program, this should convince everyone of Iran’s intentions, but apparently not the Biden administration. Unfortunately, 2024 politics appear more important than Iran’s almost certain pursuit of a nuclear bomb and the missile capability to deliver it by the world’s top promoter of terrorism.

Former President Donald Trump joins a growing list of world leaders convicted after leaving office, with many critics in the U.S. claiming that such measures hurt the country’s image as a global leader. 

A New York City court found Trump guilty of falsifying business documents related to payments made to Michael Cohen, who had paid porn actress Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election. World leaders largely offered restrained comment on the verdict, but some of Trump’s closest allies criticized the decision and urged him to ‘keep fighting.’ 

Many have argued that the former president was targeted for political reasons, citing the fact that other cases were opened against him around the same time – though the other three cases, such as the Georgia trial, were delayed – as well as Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg campaigning on his promise to go after Trump. 

Trump insisted that his trial, which included a gag order preventing him from discussing the case, occurred to keep him out of the upcoming election because Democrats ‘can’t win at the ballot box.’ Biden, meanwhile, has blasted any efforts to undermine the decision as ‘reckless’ and ‘irresponsible’ while quipping that he had ‘no idea I was that powerful’ in response to claims he had orchestrated the trial.

Here are some other countries where opposition leaders or candidates have faced prosecution, sometimes even ahead of elections. 

RUSSIA

No case in modern politics of opposition suppression stands as notorious as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ongoing saga to keep his chief political rival Alexei Navalny out of office: Russian courts determined Navalny had violated probationary terms by leaving the country, during which time he suffered an attempt on his life while in Germany.

The Russian court ultimately convicted Navalny on charges of extremism and sentenced him to 19 years in prison, where he ultimately died due to brutal conditions during his confinement. U.S. intelligence officials in April determined that Putin likely did not order Navalny’s death, even if they ultimately hold him responsible for the treatment that led to the politician’s death. 

HONG KONG

Trump’s verdict overshadowed news out of Hong Kong that 14 opposition figures had been convicted of ‘conspiring to subvert state power,’ drawing condemnation from watchdog groups such as Amnesty International, who called the decision ‘unprecedented’ and ‘the most ruthless illustration yet of how Hong Kong’s National Security Law is weaponized to silence dissent.’ 

Former lawmakers Leung Kwok-hung, Lam Cheuk-ting, Helena Wong and Raymond Chan are among the dozen defendants who could face life in prison when sentenced later this year, ABC News reported. 

Prosecutors went after 47 democracy advocates who took part in an unofficial primary election that would have undermined the government’s authority through a potential constitutional crisis. 

INDIA

Critics have accused Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi of using the courts to prevent his main political rival Arvind Kejriwal, chief minister of the capital Dehli, from running and campaigning for the upcoming elections.

Several leaders of an opposition alliance remain under investigation, and Kejriwal’s party has accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of ‘political conspiracy,’ according to Reuters. Kejriwal remains in pre-trial detention while awaiting a decision on his appeal against an arrest for alleged corruption related to Delhi’s liquor policy.  

India’s top court provisionally released Kejriwal from jail so he could campaign for the elections, which he has dramatically claimed will determine whether India ‘remains a democracy’ and accused Modi of targeting rivals with criminal probes. 

BRAZIL 

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won re-election in 2022 after leaving prison due to the country’s Supreme Court nullifying his conviction on money laundering and corruption charges, citing serious biases in the case against him. 

Lula, arrested as part of ‘Operation Car Wash,’ allegedly had traded favors with a construction company in exchange for the promise of a beachfront apartment. His arrest and conviction deeply divided Brazil and led to heated legal back-and-forth over the following years. 

VENEZUELA

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has seen a number of his opponents jailed for various crimes, with opposition leader Nelson Pinero of the center-right Encuentro Ciudadano party recently jailed on charges of incitement to hatred, El País reported. 

The Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (Sebin) allegedly entered Pinero’s house without a search warrant. Another politician, presidential candidate Delsa Solorzano, denounced the arrest, saying that ‘Nelson is one more political prisoner of this dictatorship, which has taken 300 citizens to jail for thinking differently.’

Maduro also saw government opponents jailed in 2017 in a strong crackdown against a new government, jailing opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez and veteran politician Antonio Ledezma for planning to flee the country and violating house arrest terms by making political statements to the media, Reuters reported.

CAMBODIA

Kem Sokha, the Cambodian opposition leader, was convicted of treason and sentenced to 27 years in jail. He appealed his charges, which Amnesty International condemned as ‘baseless’ and urged the country’s authorities to ‘end their ongoing crackdown against opposition groups.’ 

‘Anyone who dares to speak out against the government is at risk,’ Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Research Montse Ferrer wrote ahead of the appeal hearing.

‘Cambodian authorities must respect, protect, promote and fulfill the human rights of everyone in the country including the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association, and end the increasing restriction of civic space,’ he added. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A senior ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin says Russia is not bluffing about using tactical nuclear weapons against Ukraine and warned that the conflict could spill over into other countries.

Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chair of the Security Council of Russia, made the comments after President Biden quietly authorized Kyiv to launch U.S.-supplied weapons at military targets just over the border in Russia that are supporting an offensive against the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.

‘This is, alas, neither intimidation nor bluffing,’ Medvedev said Friday, speaking on the potential to use strategic nuclear weapons, per Reuters.

Russia has been using staging locations just across the border to enable its attacks against Ukraine and Biden has given Ukraine the go-ahead to use American weaponry to hit back at Russian forces hitting them or preparing to hit them. Germany has also backed the move.

The White House says the policy is limited and prohibits the use of army tactical missile systems (ATACMS) or long-range strikes inside Russia. 

In March, the U.S. quietly delivered long-range ATACMS to Ukraine for the first time – which the Ukrainians have since deployed against Russian military forces inside Ukraine.

Medvedev said Friday that ‘Russia regards all long-range weapons used by Ukraine as already being directly controlled by servicemen from NATO countries.’

‘This is no military assistance, this is participation in a war against us. And such actions could well become a casus belli (an act that provokes a war),’ Medvedev said Friday, per Reuters. 

Medvedev, who served as Russian president from 2008 and 2012, said that the West’s ongoing support of Ukraine could lead to an escalation of the 27-month-old full-scale invasion.

‘The current military conflict with the West is developing according to the worst possible scenario. There is a constant escalation when it comes to the firepower of NATO weapons being used. Therefore, nobody today can rule out the conflict’s transition to its final stage,’ Medvedev said.

The comments come as depleted Ukrainian troops are losing ground in the war – and just weeks after the U.S. agreed to send an extra $60 billion in aid to the war-torn country. In the border region of Kharkiv, Ukraine has endured a Russian onslaught this month that has stretched Kyiv’s outgunned and outmanned forces.

The White House says that Russia’s forward progress has stalled and that Russia will not be able to capture Kharkiv. 

Russia has only moved forward by a few kilometers and its forces are under relentless barrage by the Ukrainians and suffering at an extraordinary cost, the White House tells Fox News. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that it’s only a matter of time before Ukraine utilizes the Western weaponry to strike Russian territory.

The developments and threats of escalation came just weeks after Gen. Charles Brown, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said NATO military trainers will eventually be sent to Ukraine, according to a report in the New York Times.

Ukrainian officials have asked their U.S. and NATO counterparts to help train 150,000 new recruits closer to the front line for faster deployment, per the report. 

Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., told Fox News Digital at the time that deploying military trainers would lead to a wider war in the region.

Friday’s comments by Medvedev are not the first time he has taken a hardline stance against the West. In January, he warned the U.K. that putting boots on the ground in Ukraine would amount to a declaration of war against Russia.

In January, he also raised the prospect of nuclear war, warning NATO allies that a defeat for Russia in Ukraine could provoke a nuclear war. 

‘The loss of a nuclear power in a conventional war can provoke the beginning of a nuclear war,’ he said in a Telegram post.

‘Nuclear powers have [never] lost major conflicts on which their fate depends,’ the Kremlin official added. 

Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin, as well as Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.