Mocking him as 'Micron,' Russia warns Macron against making nuclear 'threats'

Russia warned French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday not to threaten it with nuclear rhetoric and, mocking his height by calling him "Micron," ruled out European proposals to send peacekeeping forces from NATO members to Ukraine.

Macron said in an address to the nation on Wednesday that Russia was a threat to Europe, Paris could discuss extending its nuclear umbrella to allies and that he would hold a meeting of army chiefs from European countries willing to send peacekeeping troops to Ukraine after a peace deal.

The Kremlin said the speech was extremely confrontational and that Macron wanted the war in Ukraine to continue.

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"This (speech) is, of course, a threat against Russia," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

"Unlike their predecessors, who also wanted to fight against Russia, Napoleon, Hitler, Mr. Macron does not act very gracefully, because at least they said it bluntly: ‘We must conquer Russia, we must defeat Russia.’"

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has led to the biggest confrontation between the West and Russia since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, and the Kremlin and White House have said missteps could trigger World War Three.

Russia and the United States are the world's biggest nuclear powers, with over 5,000 nuclear warheads each. China has about 500, France has 290 and Britain 225, according to the Federation of American Scientists.

Russian officials and lawmakers accused Macron of rhetoric that could push the world closer to the abyss. Russian cartoons cast him as Napoleon Bonaparte riding towards defeat in Russia in 1812.

"Micron himself poses no big threat though. He'll disappear forever no later than May 14, 2027. And he won't be missed," former President Dmitry Medvedev wrote on X, looking ahead to the end of Macron's term.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova suggested Macron might want help measuring his true military size, and her ministry said his speech contained "notes of nuclear blackmail" and amounted to a threat directed towards Russia.

"Paris' ambitions to become the nuclear 'patron' of all of Europe have burst out into the open, by providing it with its own 'nuclear umbrella', almost to replace the American one. Needless to say, this will not lead to strengthening the security of either France itself or its allies," it said.

Russian advances in Ukraine and U.S. President Donald Trump's upending of U.S. policy on the war have caused fears among European leaders that Washington is turning its back on Europe.

Russian officials say tough rhetoric from Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and other European powers is not backed up by hard military power and point to Russia's advances on the battlefield in Ukraine.

Lavrov and the Kremlin dismissed Macron's proposal to send peacekeepers to Ukraine and said Russia would not agree to it.

"We are talking about such a confrontational deployment of an ephemeral contingent," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Lavrov said Moscow would see such a deployment as NATO presence in Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed Western assertions that Russia could one day attack a NATO member.

He portrays the war as part of a historic struggle with the West following the collapse of the Soviet Union and NATO's encroachment on what he considers Moscow's sphere of influence.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio this week cast the conflict as a proxy war between Russia and the U.S., a position the Kremlin said was accurate.

"This is actually a conflict between Russia and the collective West. And the main country of the collective West is the United States of America," Peskov said. "We agree that it is time to stop this conflict and this war."

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Independents and Republicans went wild for Trump's declaration that 'America is back'

President Donald Trump’s declaration that "America is back" during his joint address to Congress was well-received by both Republicans and independents.

"Members of the United States Congress, thank you very much. And to my fellow citizens, America is back!" Trump said at the conclusion of his speech Tuesday.

The moment received an ovation from many of those in attendance and sparked a positive reaction among Republican and independent viewers, with Fox News voter dials showing those two groups, which were represented on the screen by red and yellow lines, immediately shooting up on the screen, indicating a positive response. Democrats, meanwhile, who were represented by the blue line, had a largely neutral reaction to the moment, with the line not deviating far from the middle of the screen.

CONSERVATIVES ERUPT WITH PRAISE ON SOCIAL MEDIA AFTER TRUMP'S SPEECH TO CONGRESS: 'RUN THROUGH A WALL' 

The moment was followed by chats of "USA" from those in attendance, with Trump as well as Vice President JD Vance and House Speaker Mike Johnson joining in. That moment continued to receive a positive reaction from Republican and independent viewers, while Democrats remained neutral throughout.

Tuesday night’s joint address to Congress was Trump’s second, coming eight years after his first speech in Congress in 2017. The speech is structured similarly to a State of the Union Address, though Trump will not give the first official State of the Union of his second term in office until next year.

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Tuesday’s speech saw Trump boast about the early accomplishments of his second administration and lay the groundwork on the agenda for the rest of his presidency.

"Six weeks ago, I stood beneath the dome of this Capitol and proclaimed the dawn of the golden Age of America," he said at the conclusion of his speech. "From that moment on, it has been nothing but swift and unrelenting action to usher in the greatest and most successful era in the history of our country. We have accomplished more in 43 days than most administrations accomplished in four years or eight years. And we are just getting started.

"Every single day, we will stand up, and we will fight, fight, fight for the country our citizens believe in and for the country people deserve," Trump added. "My fellow Americans, get ready for an incredible future, because the golden age of America has only just begun. It will be like nothing that has ever been seen before. Thank you. God bless you and God bless America."

The Fox News Digital focus groups were conducted by maslansky + partners.

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Dolly Parton's late husband Carl Dean inspired one of her greatest hits

Dolly Parton's late husband served as inspiration for one of the country music star's biggest hits.

Carl Dean, who died March 3, caught the eye of a bank teller in the 1970s – leading Parton to write "Jolene." The song begs another woman not to take her man and is really "an innocent" song, according to the country crooner.

"She got this terrible crush on my husband," Parton told NPR in 2008.

"And he just loved going to the bank because she paid him so much attention," the "Islands in the Stream" singer recalled. "It was kind of like a running joke between us when I was saying, ‘Hell, you’re spending a lot of time at the bank. I don’t believe we’ve got that kind of money.’ So it’s really an innocent song all around, but sounds like a dreadful one."

DOLLY PARTON'S HUSBAND, CARL DEAN, DEAD AT 82

However, the title of the song came from a different real-life experience for Parton.

"One night I was on stage, and there was this beautiful little girl," the musician told NPR. "She was probably 8 years old at the time. And she had this beautiful red hair, this beautiful skin, and beautiful green eyes. And she was looking up at me, holding, you know, for an autograph. And I said, 'Well, you're just the prettiest little thing I've ever seen.' I said, ‘What is your name?’ And she said, ‘Jolene.’" 

"And I said, well, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene. I said, that is pretty, I said, that sounds like a song. I'm going to write a song about that."

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"Jolene" became one of Parton's first hit singles after being released in 1973. The song hit the top of Billboard's country music chart and other artists have covered the song, including her goddaughter, Miley Cyrus, and Beyoncé. Beyoncé's "Jolene" cover, which was featured on her Grammy-winning "Cowboy Carter" album, broke the top 10 of the Billboard chart last April.

"It's a great chord progression, people love that ‘Jolene’ lick," Parton told NPR at the time. "It's as much a part of the song almost as the song. And because it's just the same word over and over, even a first-grader or a baby can sing, ‘Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene.’ It's like, how hard can that be?"

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Parton announced Monday her 82-year-old husband had died in Nashville.

"Carl and I spent many wonderful years together," she wrote in a statement shared to Instagram. "Words can’t do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years. Thank you for your prayers and sympathy."

Dean will be laid to rest in a private ceremony with immediate family in attendance.

Parton first met Dean at a laundromat when she was 18 and he was 21. They married in 1966. He was rarely seen by Parton's side but always played a strong supporting role in his wife's life.

Fox News Digital's Tracy Wright contributed to this report.

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Kieran Culkin praised for 'pro-family' acceptance speech at Oscars

Actor Kieran Culkin's acceptance speech at the Oscars on Sunday was praised on social media after the actor suggested he and his wife would be celebrating the win by having more children. 

While accepting the best supporting actor award for his role in "A Real Pain," Culkin told a story about a bet he and his wife made regarding their family. Culkin gave a shout-out to his wife, Jazz Charton, who promised to give him a fourth child once he won an Oscar. The camera panned to his wife in the audience, who was laughing and covering her mouth while nodding in agreement that she did "shake his hand" on that.

"About a year ago, I was on a stage like this and I, very stupidly, publicly said that I want a third kid from her because she said if I won the award, I would, she would give me the kid. It turns out she said that because she didn’t think I was gonna win, but then people came up to her and were like, you know, really annoying her, I think, I think it got to her, but anyway," Culkin said. 

GENE HECKMAN REMEMBERED AT THE OSCARS, ‘ANORA’ DOMINATES WITH 5 WINS

He then detailed the rest of the bet, adding, "she goes, ‘Oh God, I did say that. I guess I owe you a third kid,’ and I turned to her and I said, ‘Really I want four.’ And she turned to me, I swear to God this happened, it was just over a year ago, she said, ‘I will give you four when you win an Oscar.’ I held my hand out, she shook it and I have not brought it up once until just now."

"I just have this to say to you, Jazz, love of my life, ye of little faith. No pressure. I love you. I’m really sorry I did this again. And let’s get crackin’ on those kids. What do you say? I love you!" Culkin concluded. 

The Daily Wire's Megan Basham praised the speech too, adding in a follow-up post, "If we return to a Hollywood where men use their acceptance speeches to joke w/ their wives about having more babies instead of women using theirs to praise abortion for their success Hollywood could be great again."

Basham appeared to be referencing Michelle Williams' speech at the Golden Globes in 2020.

"I wouldn't have been able to do this without employing a woman's right to choose," Williams said at the time. "To choose when to have my children and with whom. When I felt supported and able to balance our lives, knowing as all mothers know that the scales must and will tilt towards our children."

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Colorado talk radio host Mandy Connell called Culkin's speech "charming and funny," adding that "you can feel the love."

Outkick's Clay Travis said the moment was "pretty great." 

"It's refreshingly sweet to see an actor unapologetically enthusiastic about having more kids with his wife," podcast host Allie Beth Stuckey wrote. 

Another said the speech would go down in history as "one of the best ever."

"This is the most pro-family acceptance speech you'll hear from Hollywood," Charlie Kirk, a conservative commentator and Turning Point USA co-founder, wrote on X.

Actor Gene Heckman was honored at the Oscars on Sunday by Morgan Freeman after Heckman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, were found dead in their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Wednesday, Feb. 26.

Freeman recalled Heckman saying he didn't want to be remembered for his legacy, but that he hoped people remembered him "as someone who tried to do good work."

"I think I speak for everyone when I say, Gene, you’ll be remembered for that and so much more. Rest in peace my friend," Freeman said.

Fox News' Janelle Ash contributed to this report.

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'Seen, heard, counted': New group aims to serve the 'hidden casualties' of war

Soldiers who return home from combat zones have veterans' support groups, a plethora of charities and an entire government agency intended to see to their needs for illness and injuries. But contractors who take jobs in those same areas have had no such institutional support – until now.

These workers face the same mental traumas associated with combat deployment, and thousands who have been exposed to burn pits face the same cancers that have claimed the lives of American service members. But before the Association of War Zone Contractors (AOWC) formed this week, they did not have any of the same support groups that take care of veterans, according to the group's organizers. 

"We’re looking to make sure contractors are seen, heard and counted, because those things haven’t been happening for a long time," Scott Dillard, co-founder of the new nonprofit, told Fox News Digital.

The American public often forgets that contractors make up much of the workforce on overseas bases. An estimated half of those employed in U.S. positions during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars were civilian contractors, not military members.  

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"Some contractors go outside the wire, but many of them are just changing light bulbs, slinging mashed potatoes, cleaning toilets, whatever the case may be. But they’re on these bases, they’re in a hostile environment that gets attacked," Dillard said. 

Known as "hidden casualties" during the Iraq War, many were convoy drivers who carted supplies across dangerous terrain. More than 8,000 contractors died over two decades in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, as did an additional 7,000 U.S. service members, according to a Brown University count. The U.S. government does not thoroughly report contractor deaths, and their families often struggle to receive any compensation. 

"A contractor's function is kind of an invisible army, and we don't want that," said Cory Archibald, another co-founder and former contractor. "The public deserves to know, policymakers need to know in order to make the right decisions, how integrated contractors are in everything that the military does, fully integrated in military operations, and that needs to be understood and acted on."

Like the veterans’ groups that for decades have advocated for better post-mission care for U.S. troops, AOWC hopes to educate contractors who return home with mental and physical injuries and illnesses associated with their work on the resources currently available to them, and to advocate for U.S. policymakers to streamline the arduous process that comes with filing a claim. 

Thanks to the PACT Act, the VA recognizes an automatic link between 23 different conditions and burn pits. But civilians, whose claims are managed by the U.S. Department of Labor, have to prove a connection between the same medical conditions and deployment. 

Through the Defense Base Act, contracting companies’ insurers are required to cover care for work-related injuries, like the cancers arising in many of those who served on bases in Iraq and Afghanistan in close proximity to burn pits. 

"It’s an adversarial process for contractors," said Dillard. "The insurer is almost certainly going to deny the claim." 

For claims that are successful, contractors wait years to see any form of payment. 

For unsuccessful claims, contractors have to retain a lawyer and wait for the litigation process to play out in court. 

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The research behind the PACT Act, which found a direct link to certain medical conditions and the pits used to burn medical waste, arms materials and other things near military bases, focused on service members whose deployments last between a few months and a year and a half. Little research has been done on the effects those pits had on contractors, who in many cases took work on overseas bases for years at a time. 

AOWC's first order of business is to get names on its burn pits registry to garner data and establish a direct connection between certain illnesses among contractors and exposure to burn pits. Then the group will take that data to policymakers and implore them to make it easier for contractors to get help with care. 

As the military's size has diminished over the years, U.S. forces have increasingly outsourced work to civilian contractors. And contractors are conveniently left out of the count when the nation’s leaders boast about reducing the footprint of the U.S. military on foreign bases. 

"They say, 'We're drawing down the troops.' Okay, great. But they don't say that on the backside there's contractors coming back in," said Dillard. 

"The fact that all these jobs have been outsourced to private contractors means that the public has less of an understanding of what is the cost of war, because they're not seeing that reflected in the casualty figures, not just deaths, but also injuries as well," said Archibald. 

He said he first recognized the "invisibility" of contractors after serving in the Army and then working as a contractor himself for six years, largely in Afghanistan. 

"I did not know what my rights were," he said. "I had no clue that there was that help available. And a vast majority of contractors have a similar lack of knowledge." 

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Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo launches NYC mayoral bid

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo launched his bid for New York City mayor with a video posted on his X account. This comes after much speculation that the governor would launch a comeback after leaving office in August 2021.

In the announcement, Cuomo acknowledged that "the greatest city in the world" is facing several challenges, touching on rampant homelessness, "random violence," and other issues he believes are harming the Big Apple.

This is a developing story, please check back for updates.

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Gene Hackman's 911 caller distraught over couple's mysterious death, says they treated people 'like gold'

Jesse Kesler, the man who made the urgent 911 call after finding the bodies of Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa, is still distraught over the couple's mysterious deaths.

Kesler, who knew the couple well, declined to describe what he saw when he arrived at the actor's home and made the grisly discovery on Feb. 26, but told Fox News Digital that he is "heartbroken." The owner of MudCity Builders in Santa Fe, he served as a personal contractor for Hackman and Arakawa for over 16 years.

Kesler issued an official statement on Saturday, sharing that he will "never" comment on the "tragic event" that led to the deaths of Gene and Betsy due to their privacy. However, he did want to share a few words about the couple. 

"Gene and Betsy, Thank you for the 16 plus years of opportunity, friendship and trust. Gene Hackman, thank you for lending a hand on projects over the years. I could not believe at the time I was actually working side by side with a legend. Thank you for treating my son’s and employees so well and as equals. When on the job you were just another one of the guy’s. Thank you for all the stories which I will always remember and will cherish forever," he began.

GENE HACKMAN AND WIFE'S DEATHS CALLED 'SUSPICIOUS,' BODIES SHOWED SIGNS OF ‘MUMMIFICATION’

"Betsy Hackman, thank you for the years of friendship, generosity, opportunity and trust. Thank you for your love for dog’s including my own. Thank you for all the advice and consoleing. Thank you for being such a beautiful person.  

"You both will always be near and dear to my heart and greatly missed. 
Love you Both!" Kesler concluded.

Authorities believe Hackman, who was 95, and Arakawa, who was 63, had been dead for more than a week, but have not yet determined the cause of either's death.

Audio of Kesler's 911 call was obtained by Fox News Channel on Wednesday. In it, Kesler frantically pleaded for police to immediately rush to the New Mexico residence. In the recording, he can be heard telling the operator that he "found two or one deceased person[s] inside a house."

"Please send somebody really quick," Kesler urged.

Kesler said Hackman and Arakawa treated people "like gold," and that he, his son and all of his employees remembered only pleasant encounters with the couple.

Leading up to the strange death, Kesler said he never noticed anything unusual and he want people to remember Hackman and Arakawa as "beautiful people, kind-hearted and generous."

A criminal investigation into the death of Hackman and his wife was launched Wednesday after New Mexico authorities deemed the deaths, and that of one of their dogs, suspicious. Officials confirmed no external trauma was seen on either Hackman or Arakawa, and the case remains open pending autopsy and toxicology results. 

The bodies of Hackman and Arakawa tested negative for carbon monoxide poisoning and the Oscar-winning actor likely died about nine days before his body was discovered by authorities, officials have revealed.

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During a news conference Friday, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza confirmed the last event noted on Hackman's pacemaker was Feb. 17. When asked if Feb. 17 — nine days before his body was found — could be the day Hackman died, Mendoza noted that was a logical conclusion.

"According to the pathologist, I think that is a very good assumption that that was his last day of life," Mendoza said. He also confirmed after a discussion with the medical examiner that Hackman and his wife "tested negative for carbon monoxide."

"The manner and cause of death has not been determined," Mendoza said.

LISTEN: Gene Hackman 911 call

Although Kesler declined to elaborate on what he saw, he was heard on audio crying and repeatedly saying, "Damn," as the dispatcher spoke to paramedics.

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"[The house] is closed. It’s locked. I can’t go in," he said. "But I see that she is lying down on the floor from the window."

The caller told the dispatcher that Hackman and his wife were not "awake" or "alert."

"No, dude, they’re not moving! Just send somebody out here really quick!" the man on the 911 call said with urgency. 

Fox News Digital's Stephanie Giang-Paunon contributed to this report.

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