Cold Court is a brother-sister duo from Philly that seems to love nothing more than shoving all of their influences together in a messy soup that at least superficially resembles the hyperpop you've come to expect from acts like 100 Gecs. But, where songs like "Dumbest Girl Alive" goofily wink at pop punk and emo, Cold Court are a bit more self-serious, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. The opening track on the band's debut EP \ (^_^) / (aka Hands Up), "Nina", starts off sounding not unlike the dance punk bands that stormed the scene in the mid aughts like Franz Ferdinand or Test Icicles. But that all starts to change about a minute … Read the full story at The Verge. View the full article

Rod Stewart nearly suffered a medical emergency mid-show just weeks after canceling multiple gigs over health issues. On Friday, the 81-year-old musician — who was performing at the Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre in West Valley City — sparked concern after noticeably slowing down mid-concert. In a video obtained by TMZ, Stewart began to heavily lean on various pieces of equipment while still attempting to perform. At one point, he turned around and gave a nod to a team of people backstage who quickly tended to him. One woman brought out an oxygen tank, while another put a cold compress on his neck. ROD STEWART’S WIFE SAYS SHE WOULD HAVE LEFT HIM IF HE REFUSED TO HAVE CHILDREN "The show must go on," Stewart said in the microphone, before admitting he "nearly fainted." A representative for Stewart did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. Last month, Stewart canceled two shows in Las Vegas just hours before he was set to take the stage. ROD STEWART'S WIFE PENNY LANCASTER SAYS SHE 'DESERVES A MEDAL' FOR 26-YEAR RELATIONSHIP The rock legend was set to perform at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace on May 29 and 30, but before the doors opened, the event was scrapped. A representative for Stewart told the Las Vegas Review, "Following his doctor’s advice, Rod Stewart has regretfully canceled his performances at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on May 29 and 30, but is scheduled to return with shows beginning June 2."2 An additional statement from Stewart himself read, "My apologies to my family of fans. I am on vocal rest as I recover from a sinus infection. I look forward to seeing you at a future show at Caesars Palace or on tour this summer." ROD STEWART'S AI-GENERATED OZZY OSBOURNE TRIBUTE FEATURING DEAD MUSICIANS LEAVES FANS DIVIDED Earlier this month, Stweart canceled additional shows in California. "Well, here I am in beautiful Chula Vista as the stage is being taken down around me. Following treatment, I’m feeling much better, but my voice is not," he wrote on his Instagram Stories at the time, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. "I’m very disappointed and sincerely apologise for any inconvenience to my fans. I did everything I could to make the show happen tonight, but unfortunately it just wasn’t possible. I will do my utmost to reschedule," he said. One day later, Stewart shared a video in which he was seen on his private jet with his sons Liam, 31 and Alastair, 20. "Me and the boys off to Boston to see our Scotland in the World Cup! No Scotland no party," he wrote in the caption. After videos and photos surfaced of Stewart enjoying the soccer match, the musician sparked backlash with some fans venting their outrage in the comments section of his post. CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER "This feels rather disingenuous, especially after your cancellation last night. Too ill to perform but okay to fly across the country for soccer?" wrote one Instagram user. "So you blew off all the people in San Diego that wanted to see you in concert but able to go to the world cup I see! I'm a huge fan of yours but I don't think that's cool," added another. LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS While Stewart has yet to address the recent onstage hiccup, he has made it clear that he has no plans to give up music. In 2024, after announcing a farewell tour, he clarified that he was giving up big tours — not performing altogether. "This will be the end of large-scale world tours for me, but I have no desire to retire," he shared in a statement on social media. "I love what I do, and I do what I love." He continued, "I’m fit, have a full head of hair, and can run 100 meters in 18 seconds at the jolly old age of 79." View the full article

NBC News reports: A group of companies that specialize in tracking international shipments of sensitive technologies is backing a Capitol Hill bill that would require America's most powerful AI chips to incorporate stronger security mechanisms aimed at preventing the chips from reaching China and other adversaries. The letter, signed by six companies, says the Chip Security Act (CSA) would increase American chip companies' competitiveness and close key loopholes in the U.S. export control regime. The move clashes with claims from semiconductor lobbying groups that the requirements would constrain America's booming chip industry. Sent to congressional leadership Thursday morning and seen by NBC News, the dispatch instead argues that more robust security verification would assure chip customers and manufacturers that they are abiding by sensitive restrictions on chip sales. The companies argue that the boosted confidence will "lead to increased sales, faster export approvals, larger transactions, greater access to new markets, and more expansive chip deals." Despite U.S. export control laws banning sales of advanced AI chips to certain countries, including China, loopholes in current requirements have allowed billions of dollars' worth of America's best AI chips to be sold to entities in third-party countries that can then forward them to China. In just one case in March, the Justice Department charged three people with conspiring to forward $2.5 billion of AI chips to China. The CSA aims to address those loopholes, mandating that chip exporters better track where advanced chips are sent, via either bespoke location-verification hardware or software that can run on existing hardware. That, bill proponents claim, would ensure that sensitive chips could be sold to countries like Malaysia or Indonesia without fear of further transfer to China... Experts say that because chips perform the advanced computations required for frontier AI systems, cutting off access to the chips is crucial to prevent geopolitical rivals from using AI systems for military or economic purposes. Read more of this story at Slashdot. View the full article

JERUSALEM, Israel: In a move being praised by many Christian leaders, the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently announced the appointment of a new position of envoy to the Christian world — with the goal of better and smoother relations with the Christian world. In an exclusive interview in Jerusalem, Ambassador George Deek, told Fox News Digital the importance the Netanyahu government has put on his position. "We see the ethnic cleansing of the region from its Christians, who have been diminished from 20% of the population of the Middle East to less than 2% of the population today," Deek said. "All those places that used to have thriving Christian communities today have been reduced to nothing." CHRISTIAN LEADERS HOLD EMERGENCY SUMMIT IN JERUSALEM TO CONFRONT GLOBAL RISE IN ANTISEMITISM Israel counts 300 churches, double the number in 1948, while its Christian population has grown from 34,000 in 1948 to more than 180,000 today. Deek said of his role. "My hope is to also be able to build strong bridges between the State of Israel and Christian leaders… by telling a fuller story of the State of Israel, which I think is missed in most of the narratives we hear today in the world," he said. According to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics, as of December 2025, Israel’s Christian population stood at approximately 184,200, representing 1.9% of the country’s total population. The community grew by 0.7% over the previous year. Deek, who served for six years as Israel’s ambassador to Azerbaijan before assuming his current role, said most people know Israel only through its Jewish identity and are unaware of the complexity and diversity of Israeli society. Deek said the decision announced by the Foreign Ministry in April to appoint him to the role stems from three factors: first, the special connection between Christians and the land of Israel as the birthplace of Christianity. Second is the deep historical bond reflected in the churches of the Holy Land and in Christians and Jews living under shared biblical values, from which they derive societal principles including democracy, individualism, and freedom of conscience and thought. Third is the importance Israel places on relations with people of all denominations and religions. CHRISTMAS RETURNS TO HOLY LAND CITIES AS BETHLEHEM’S CHRISTIAN POPULATION DWINDLES, NAZARETH REMAINS STRONG It has a special relationship with the Christian people abroad and the Christian community in Israel, which is the only Christian community in the entire Middle East that is actually growing in numbers and basically thriving as part of Israeli society," Deek said. "As the only nation to appoint a special envoy to the Christian world, Israel has indicated its deep appreciation for Christian support and its long-term interest in guarding Christian-Jewish relations. This is especially vital in this time of resurgent antisemitism spreading like wildfire in the poorly regulated digital sphere," International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ) ‘s President Dr. Jürgen Bühler told Fox News Digital. The organization has operated from Jerusalem for 46 years and maintains branch offices and representatives in 95 countries, with a presence spanning approximately 185 nations worldwide. It recently organized an emergency summit on antisemitism that brought together more than 200 theologians, pastors and ministry leaders from over 30 countries in person, alongside approximately 3,000 participants attending online. CHRISTIAN PASTORS, INFLUENCERS JOIN 1,000-STRONG ISRAEL MISSION BACKING JEWISH STATE, FIGHTING ANTISEMITISM He says Israel has the potential to serve as both an inspiration and a partner across the region and beyond, helping ensure that people can practice their faith freely and remain in the lands of their forefathers. Still, Deek noted that in recent months there have been several isolated incidents involving attacks on Christian symbols and, in one case, an assault on a Christian nun. "More than anything, this was an attack on the values on which this country is established—values of tolerance and acceptance — where no one has the right to attack anyone or use violence against anyone for any reason whatsoever especially not attack a symbol of Christianity, Islam or Judaism," he said. DISPUTED FIRE BY ANCIENT CHURCH IN HOLY LAND SPARKS DIPLOMATIC, RELIGIOUS FALLOUT "That is absolutely unacceptable and that is why the leadership of the State of Israel from the prime minister to the foreign minister and others have all condemned it unequivocally and unanimously," he added. The Israeli soldier who desecrated a cross in southern Lebanon is in prison, as is the individual who pushed a nun to the ground and attacked her in Jerusalem. These cases, Deek said, demonstrate that the State of Israel takes such incidents very seriously and fully enforces the law. Amid a surge in antisemitic incidents in Europe and elsewhere following the Hamas-led Oct. 7 massacre Deek said hate that begins with Jews never ends with Jews, and that the same hate that drove out Jews from Arab countries in the 20th century has over the past two decades been directed against other minorities in the region. TURKEY DEPORTS PEACEFUL CHRISTIANS UNDER GUISE OF ‘NATIONAL SECURITY’ CLAIMS WATCHDOG "We see it even with Hamas pushing out the Christian population there, which has completely disappeared from Gaza," he added. Within this environment, Israel is the only place where such minorities have been able to live safely and practice their faith without fear. In fact, they do not merely survive in the State of Israel, they thrive, Deek said. He nevertheless pointed to a well-oiled campaign by forces on the woke left and right, along with extremist Islamist groups, that are manipulating the Christian faith and promoting claims of what he says is the so-called mistreatment of Christians in Israel. "I see it as a personal mission to bring as many Christians as possible to visit the land of Israel, not as a political campaign. ... I want them to come here to connect to their Bible. I want them to connect to their scripture, I want them to connect to the roots of their values by simply going to those places," Deek said. "And, under the protection of Israel as the guardian of the holy sites of Christianity… to reconnect to these values and to remember that these are the biblical values that connect Jews, Christians and all the people of the book in this world," he added. View the full article

President Donald Trump may have united Republicans behind military action against Iran, but his push to formalize peace is proving far more divisive. As details of a memorandum of understanding emerge, GOP hawks are questioning whether the administration gave up too much, while Trump allies argue the president achieved a historic objective that crippled Iran's military capabilities without dragging the U.S. into another prolonged war. The disagreement is about more than Iran. It has exposed a growing divide inside the GOP over what Trump's "America First" foreign policy should look like in practice — and what victory should mean once a military campaign ends. At its core, the debate centers on competing visions of American power. One camp views military success as leverage to extract maximum concessions from adversaries and secure lasting strategic gains. The other sees it as a tool to neutralize threats and end conflicts before they become another Iraq or Afghanistan. Trump's Iran agreement has forced those competing philosophies into a rare public collision. That divide is already playing out among some of the party's most prominent national security voices. TOP SENATE REPUBLICAN RIPS INTO TRUMP'S IRAN DEAL, SAYS $300 BILLION MAKES OBAMA DEAL LOOK LIKE 'A PITTANCE' The deal's fiercest Republican critics argue Trump is giving away leverage at the very moment Iran is most vulnerable. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., has blasted the agreement on X as the "worst foreign policy blunder in decades," while Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., has warned it appears "out of step" with the goals of the military campaign. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has questioned the concessions offered to Tehran and former U.N. Ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has criticized proposals that could help rebuild Iran. Former Vice President Mike Pence has gone even further, calling the agreement a potential "lifeline" for the regime and warning it "smacks of appeasement." VANCE SAYS 'UNITED STATES WINS EITHER WAY' AS HE DEFENDS TRUMP'S IRAN DEAL AGAINST GOP SKEPTICS Trump's allies, however, argue critics are overlooking the sweeping military campaign that preceded the agreement. Vice President JD Vance and other administration officials contend the president achieved his core objective after U.S. and allied forces struck key Iranian military and nuclear sites, eliminated senior commanders and inflicted significant damage on Tehran's military infrastructure. Supporters say those operations crippled Iran's ability to project power, restored deterrence and ultimately brought the regime to the negotiating table without requiring a large-scale deployment of American ground troops. They argue victory is defined by achieving U.S. objectives and ending the conflict on favorable terms — not by risking another prolonged war in the Middle East. The clash highlights a foreign policy debate that has been simmering inside the Republican Party for years. NEW SATELLITE IMAGES SHOW FIRES, NAVAL BASE DAMAGE ACROSS IRAN AFTER US-ISRAELI STRIKES While Republicans have largely rallied around Trump's use of military force against Iran, the disagreement over what comes next reflects a deeper tension inside the party. For traditional hawks, military victories create opportunities to reshape adversaries and secure lasting concessions. For many America First conservatives, the objective is narrower: neutralize threats, avoid nation-building and keep U.S. troops out of prolonged conflicts. As lawmakers and conservative leaders continue debating the memorandum of understanding's merits, the fight may ultimately be less about the details of the Iran deal than about the future direction of Republican foreign policy — and what victory should mean in the Middle East. View the full article