Roughly 36,000 Heartwarming Hugs Bears, a stuffed animal manufactured by Build-A-Bear, are being recalled due to a zipper detaching from the bear’s pouch.
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On Thursday, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced that the stuffed animals pose a serious risk of injury or death, as the detached zipper can present a choking hazard.
The recall number is 034464. The recall number can be found on the product label located on the back of one of the bear’s legs.
The bear includes a stuffed heart that fits inside a pocket. The heart-shaped insert is filled with 2.5 pounds of ceramic beads and can be used as a heating pad or chilled for cooling comfort.
“The product is graded 3 years+ and carries a cautionary statement advising adult supervision due to the heated/cooled element,” the release stated.
The bear was sold between January 2026 and March 2026 for about $48.
Customers are advised to immediately stop using the Heartwarming Hugs Bear. Consumers who purchased the bear should return it to the nearest Build-A-Bear store or request a shipping label at www.buildabear.com/recalls. Once returned, Build-A-Bear will issue a refund to the original form of payment or provide a gift card.
There have been no reported injuries, although one consumer in the United Kingdom reported the zipper detaching.
For information on the recall visit Build-A-Bear online at www.buildabear.com/recalls according to the release.
With President Donald Trump “hired” by the American people for a second term, Amazon — which now owns production rights to NBC’s “The Apprentice” — is looking for a new host to potentially reboot the once No. 1-rated television program, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Trump leveraged decades of media coverage as a New York mogul amid the ups and downs of the 1980s and 1990s into a smash-hit program that premiered in 2004, following several wannabe business executives through a several-week “job interview” to work for the Trump Organization.
Fifteen seasons and a presidency-compelled hiatus later, Amazon is reportedly considering Trump Organization Executive Vice President Donald Trump Jr. for the role, as the eldest son has served as a frequent stand-in “boardroom adviser” for Trump executives Carolyn Kepcher and George Ross.
Trump addressed rumors of a reboot on Thursday, telling Fox News’ Peter Doocy that his son is a “good guy” and would “probably be good” in the role.
JIMMY KIMMEL JOKES TRUMP SHOULD LET HIM HOST WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS’ DINNER TO ‘THINK OF THE RATINGS’
“He’s got a little charisma going. You need a little charisma for that sucker. So, we’ll see what happens,” Trump said.
Several people familiar with the discussions told The Wall Street Journal that Amazon executives have internally discussed casting Trump Jr. as a host for an “Apprentice” reboot if they do indeed launch the project.
The Journal reported Amazon has not yet approached Trump Sr., Trump Jr. or any Trump family members, but that, instead of NBC, it would air the show on Amazon Prime.
A source close to Trump Jr. told Fox News Digital on Thursday that the Journal report was indeed the first time the 48-year-old father of five had heard his name was in the pot.
Fox News Digital also reached out to the Trump Organization for comment, as well as Amazon and Amazon’s production company.
An Amazon spokesperson told the Journal that the Jeff Bezos-led company previously acquired MGM, which itself bought a majority stake in reality-show impresario Mark Burnett’s company several years earlier.
TRUMP’S KENNEDY CENTER HONORS OVERHAUL DELIVERS STAR-STUDDED LINEUP, NEW MEDALLION AND HISTORIC HOSTING ROLE
Burnett has launched several reality shows, including “The Apprentice” and CBS-aired contests “The Amazing Race” and “Survivor,” with the latter now in its 50th season. The credits for “The Apprentice” list Trump Sr. as executive producer.
A reboot would be Amazon’s second foray into Trumpworld in recent months, as it recently debuted a $40 million biopic of first lady Melania Trump that drew praise from supporters and mockery from critics like ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel.
“Melania” was directed by Brett Ratner of “Rush Hour” fame, as Trump reportedly pressed Paramount Pictures to revive the Jackie Chan-Chris Tucker series and put Ratner back at the helm, according to CNBC, which further reported the original New Line Cinema films are now subject to a distribution pact between Paramount and New Line parent Warner Bros.
Trump Sr. regularly touted his “Apprentice” success throughout his political tenure, once telling the National Prayer Breakfast that attendees should “pray” for former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger after the “Terminator” took over the show and oversaw what the president called a ratings collapse.
KIMMEL FIRES BACK AT TRUMP’S DEMAND TO TAKE HIM OFF THE AIR, SAYS ‘I’LL GO WHEN YOU GO’
Schwarzenegger, the most recent Republican to serve as governor in Sacramento, occasionally spars with Trump, as he is seen as less bombastic and more politically moderate than the president.
“Hey Donald, I have a great idea,” Schwarzenegger shot back at Trump in an X video at the time.
“Why don’t we switch jobs — you take over TV — since you’re such an expert in ratings, and I take over your job so that people can finally sleep comfortable again — hmm?” the Austria native, who voted for then-Ohio Gov. John Kasich in 2016, quipped.
Fox News Digital reached out to NBCUniversal for additional comment on the potential resurrection of their onetime series. Neither Amazon nor the Trump Organization responded by publication time.
Fox News Digital’s Janelle Ash contributed to this report.
AUSTIN, Texas — The Onion’s plan to take over the Infowars platforms that Alex Jones built into a bullhorn of conspiracy theories and turn them into parody sites was in limbo again Thursday, after a Texas court paused a proposed deal involving the satirical news outlet.
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Austin-based Infowars is facing liquidation because of the more than $1 billion in defamation lawsuit judgments Jones owes relatives of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting for calling the Connecticut massacre a hoax. The proposed licensing deal would give The Onion temporary authority to use Infowars’ trademarks, copyrights and intellectual property while a state receiver in Texas works toward liquidation.
A state judge in Austin had scheduled a hearing Thursday on whether to approve The Onion deal with the receiver. But the proceeding fizzled into a status conference because the Texas Third Court of Appeals late Wednesday approved an emergency motion by Jones’ lawyers that temporarily blocked the transfer of any Infowars assets. The judge set another hearing for May 28.
Lawyers for the Sandy Hook families had asked the Texas Supreme Court to overturn the appeals court ruling, but the high court did not issue a decision before Thursday’s hearing.
“This newly insane, unprecedented legal stalling does nothing but delay our deal with the receiver to take control of InfoWars,” Ben Collins, The Onion’s CEO, said in a social media post ahead of the hearing. “We now expect new traps in Alex Jones’ amoral war to deny paying the Sandy Hook families, but we’re freshly surprised by the U.S. legal system’s appetite to put up with it.”
The Onion already has been selling Infowars merchandise on its own website, including T-shirts and tote bags with an Infowars logo that replaces the “o” with its trademark onion image. It wants to turn the Infowars platforms into comedy sites that would include spoofing Jones, conspiracy theories and right-wing talking points, while giving revenue to the Sandy Hook victims’ relatives.
Jones declared victory in videos posted on his social media sites after the appellate court ruling. He called The Onion’s plan illegal, citing pending appeals and his continuing personal bankruptcy case.
“I said days ago there’s no way the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Texas doesn’t overturn this — you know they’re all Democrats — because it’s so outrageous what you’ve done,” Jones said.
After Thursday’s hearing, Mark Bankston, a lawyer for some of the Sandy Hook victims’ relatives, accused Jones of delaying the liquidation of Infowars numerous times with court filings.
“As far as the world is concerned, Infowars is dead. Everybody knows that,” he said. “He’s trying to keep the bloated corpse of a media organization alive. It’s all a joke. Everybody knows where this is going.”
It’s not the first time The Onion has hit a legal setback in plans to take over Infowars.
In November 2024, the Chicago-based satirical outlet was named the winner of a bankruptcy court auction of the assets of Infowars’ parent company, Free Speech Systems, aimed at helping pay some of the defamation judgments. But a federal judge overturned the auction results, citing problems with process and The Onion’s bid.
Jones said on his show this week that he has a new studio nearing completion. He already has set up a new phone app and websites, including one that sells the dietary supplements, clothing and other merchandise he hawks on his shows. And his personal X account, where he posts videos of his shows and has 4.5 million followers, is not affected by any of the court cases.
On Thursday night, Jones toasted to his crew and viewers during a livestream on X as a clock ticked down to when he said his final moments in the building would hit.
“We’re not here anymore because they’re turning the power off at midnight,” he said.
Shelly Kittleson, the American journalist who was kidnapped last week in Iraq, has been released, according to Al-Monitor, the Middle East publication where she works as a freelance contributor.
Viral surveillance footage appeared to show Kittleson being forced into a car by two men at a busy intersection in Baghdad last Tuesday. The State Department previously said an individual with ties to the Iranian-aligned militia group Kataib Hizballah was believed to be involved in Kittleson’s capture.
Kataib Hizballah issued a statement that Kittleson was set free in “appreciation of the patriotic positions” of Iraq’s prime minister, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, who pushed for her release. The group said she would be set free “on the condition that she leaves the country immediately,” according to Al-Monitor.
AMERICAN JOURNALIST KIDNAPPED IN IRAQ, EMPLOYER SAYS
“This initiative will not be repeated in the future… we are in a state of war waged by the Zionist-American enemy against Islam and in such situations many considerations are disregarded,” Kataib Hizballah security commander Abu Mujahid Al-Asaf added, according to The New York Times.
A U.S. official confirmed her release to Fox News.
“There were U.S. efforts behind the scenes, I am told, to secure her release from Kataib Hezbollah,” Fox News chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst reported.
Former Pentagon official Alex Plitsas, a friend of the journalist who has called himself her designated U.S. point of contact, posted on X that he isn’t ready to celebrate.
“We are still awaiting Shelley to be transferred to US officials. We welcome the news of her pending release but will save celebratory statements until she is transferred…. we will have more to say when she is in US hands,” Plitsas wrote.
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Fox News Digital.
The 49-year-old freelance journalist, an American citizen and Wisconsin native based in Rome, reported from war zones for years, spending time in Afghanistan and Syria before Iraq. She “often worked without formal assignments from editors and on a shoestring budget, taking shared taxis to lawless corners of Iraq where militia rule outweighs government control,” the Associated Press reported after speaking to her friends, family and colleagues.
REPORTER KIDNAPPED IN BAGHDAD KNOWN FOR PURSUING GUTSY, LOW-BUDGET ASSIGNMENTS WHILE LIVING ‘FRUGAL EXISTENCE’
Recent headlines published by Kittleson include, “On eve of Iran’s Pezeshkian visit, Iraq jostles for Shiite space amid rivalries,” “Iraqis protest proposed ‘anti-women’ amendment to personal status law” and “Honor killings in Iraq rekindle efforts to criminalize domestic violence.”
“Hope she can return to do her job and tell the story of many who are not heard in region,” Al-Monitor top editor Joyce Karam posted when reporting her release.
The Associated Press, citing “an Iraqi official with direct knowledge of the situation,” reported that she was freed in exchange for “several members” of Kataib Hezbollah that had previously been detained by Iraqi authorities.
US STRIKES AGAINST IRAN-BACKED MILITIAS IN IRAQ REPORTEDLY CONTINUE AS BAGHDAD WARNS OF ‘RIGHT TO RESPOND’
Reporters Without Borders released the following statement: “We are overjoyed by reports that Shelly Kittleson has been released by her captors in Iraq. Shelly’s abduction underscored the very serious risks facing even the best-trained and experienced journalists. RSF is deeply grateful to all the parties involved from the American and Iraqi governments who were able to secure this positive outcome. RSF, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and the Foley Foundation wrote to Secretary of State Marco Rubio on April 3, urging him to do everything in his power to bring Shelly home. We are now waiting for reassurance that she is all right and that she will be able to reunite with her loved ones soon.”
Before she was abducted, Kittleson told friends that U.S. officials had told her a militia group intended to target her, but she didn’t believe the threat was credible.
This is a developing story, more to come…
The Associated Press and Fox News chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst contributed to this report.
Americans are getting smaller pay raises while tariffs and higher gas prices are threatening to make everything more expensive.
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Translation: The affordability problem isn’t improving.
New government data released Friday showed non-supervisory workers getting a 3.4% pay raise on average hourly earnings over the last year. That’s the slowest pace of wage gains since 2021, and a downshift from the last two years, when pay bumps were closer to 4%.
The slowdown comes as economists worry about rising inflation, with the Iran war choking off oil tankers and pushing gas prices up over $1 per gallon in just a month, to a national average of $4.09 on Friday.
As diesel costs break $5.50 a gallon (compared to just $3.89 a month ago), retailers and grocers are now contending with higher transportation costs. Amazon said Thursday it will begin charging sellers a 3.5% “fuel and logistics-related surcharge” beginning on April 17.
Airlines like United and JetBlue are raising bag fees in an effort to offset sky-high jet fuel costs. The International Air Transport Association says the price of jet fuel is up 104% in the past month.
“With the recent uptick in inflation driven by energy prices, real wage growth is likely to decelerate further, putting increased pressure on consumers,” said Thrivent’s chief financial and investment officer, David Royal.
For now, Americans are still seeing their earnings rise at a faster pace than the increase in price tags at the store. As pay rose by 3.4%, the most recent inflation data showed prices rising by 2.4% year-over-year.
Wage gains for non-supervisory employees — a category that includes roughly four out of every five non-farm workers — have been outpacing price increases since March 2023, when post-pandemic inflation finally began to cool.
But the concern is that the story could change soon. Because of the bump from oil prices, Navy Federal Credit Union Chief Economist Heather Long said it’s possible inflation could pace at 4% this month.
“Four percent is above that 3.5 percent annual wage gain, and that’s where you see a lot of squeeze on workers, particularly middle-class and moderate-income workers,” Long said.
Warning signs are flashing that slowing wage growth could ripple beyond the gas station and prices at the grocery store. Higher mortgage rates now have some worried about icing out even more potential homebuyers.
The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose from 5.99% at the start of the war to 6.45% on April 3, according to Mortgage News Daily. The rise is due in part to concerns that the Federal Reserve will have to raise interest rates to tamp down on war-driven inflation.
“With choppy job growth, weaker labor-force attachment and rising uncertainty, many households — especially renters and first-time buyers — could become more cautious as weaker inflation-adjusted wages erode recent affordability improvements,” said Zillow senior economist Orphe Divounguy.
If wages can’t keep up with rising costs across the board, it’s likely that affordability will become a larger issue than it already was prior to the war. An NBC News poll conducted during the first week of the war with Iran found that, for a plurality of respondents, inflation and the cost of living was the most important issue facing the country.
Economists feel the same way.
Responding to a question from NBC News at a March 18 news conference, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell noted that “real” wage gains — a measure of wages adjusted for inflation — need to be positive in order for Americans to feel better about affordability.
“it will take some years of positive real earning gains for people to feel good again, we think. But you’re right — when you talk to people, they do feel squeezed,” Powell said.
Savannah Guthrie returned to the “TODAY” anchor desk Monday, more than two months after her mother disappeared.
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“We are so glad you started your week with us, and it is good to be home,” Guthrie said at the start of the show. She wore a bright yellow dress, echoing the yellow ribbons and flowers left at her mother’s home.
“TODAY” co-anchor Craig Melvin, wearing a yellow tie, patted Guthrie’s hand and replied: “Yes, it is good to have you at home.”
The two anchors then turned to the morning’s top headlines, including an opening segment about the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. “Well, here we go, ready or not,” Guthrie said. “Let’s do the news.”
Savannah Guthrie on Monday’s “TODAY.”TODAY
Guthrie, who has co-anchored “TODAY” since 2012, stepped away from her role in early February after Nancy Guthrie, 84, went missing from her home near Tucson, Arizona. Authorities have described the case as a possible kidnapping or abduction.
Guthrie told Hoda Kotb last month that she believed returning to the “TODAY” anchor desk is “part of my purpose right now,” even though it was difficult to imagine going back to a workplace she associates with “joy and lightness.”
“I can’t come back and try to be something that I’m not. But I can’t not come back because it’s my family,” Guthrie said in the interview, her first since the start of the ordeal. “I don’t know if I can do it. I don’t know if I’ll belong anymore, but I would like to try.”
Savannah Guthrie greets fans Monday in Rockefeller Plaza.TODAY
In the second hour of Monday’s show, Guthrie greeted “TODAY” fans gathered outside on Rockefeller Plaza, some wearing yellow pins and holding signs with her mother’s photo. Guthrie fought back tears as she held co-host Jenna Bush Hager’s hand and thanked her supporters for their prayers and letters.
“You guys have been so beautiful,” she said. “I’ve received so many letters, so much kindness to me and my whole family. We feel it. We feel your prayers.”
Savannah Guthrie walks with Jenna Bush Hager outside the “TODAY” studios.TODAY
Nancy Guthrie’s family reported her missing around noon Feb. 1 after she did not show up at a friend’s house for virtual church services, according to the Pima County Sheriff’s Office. She was last seen the previous night around 9:45 p.m. after having dinner at her daughter Annie Guthrie’s home, according to authorities.
The investigation into her disappearance gripped the nation and put an intense spotlight on the quiet Catalina Foothills area of Tucson. Authorities have not identified a suspect or motive, though the FBI released chilling doorbell camera video of an armed and masked man outside Nancy Guthrie’s home on the morning she was reported missing.
The bureau described him as a man of average build, 5 feet, 9 inches to 5 feet, 10 inches tall, wearing a black Ozark Trail Hiker Pack 25-liter backpack.
Guthrie and her siblings, Camron Guthrie and Annie Guthrie, have provided updates on the case via social media. In emotionally wrenching videos on Instagram, they have thanked members of the public for their prayers and made direct appeals to Nancy Guthrie’s possible abductor.
“Someone knows how to find our mom and bring her home,” Guthrie wrote in the caption to a Feb. 24 video post.
The family is offering up to $1 million for information that leads to the 84-year-old’s recovery. The FBI is offering a reward of up to $100,000 for “information leading to the recovery of Nancy Guthrie and/or the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in her disappearance.”
Kotb, a “TODAY” contributor, substituted for Guthrie. In that period, Guthrie withdrew from NBC’s coverage of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics; Mary Carillo stepped in to co-host the opening ceremony alongside NBC Sports’ Terry Gannon.
Guthrie visited the “TODAY” set March 5. In photos taken from outside the studio by a photographer for The Associated Press, Guthrie could be seen wiping tears and embracing her colleagues. The visit was not televised.
Savannah Guthrie hugs Al Roker during a visit to “TODAY” on March 5.Charles Sykes / Invision / AP
“I really wanted to come and see everybody. I just love this beautiful place that we call home, where we get to come and be every day,” Guthrie told Kotb, adding: “When times are hard, you want to be with your family.”
President Donald Trump touted the “historic” rescue of the downed F-15E airmen behind enemy lines and issued a warning to Iran to make a deal before Tuesday night’s 8 p.m. ET deadline or face being “taken out.”
“This is a rescue that’s very historic,” Trump told the White House press corps in a Monday news conference. “It’ll go down to the books.”
“Late Thursday night, an American F-15 fighter jet went down deep inside enemy territory in Iran while participating in Operation Epic Fury, where we’re doing unbelievably well. Well, at a level that nobody’s ever seen before.”
Trump quickly paused his hailing of the rescue to add a warning for Iran to come to peace.
TRUMP REVEALS IRAN MADE ‘SIGNIFICANT PROPOSAL’ AFTER ULTIMATUM, BUT ‘NOT GOOD ENOUGH’
“The entire country can be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night,” Trump said.
Trump continued to press Iran to come to a peace deal, hours after saying the offers thus far are “not enough,” and War Secretary Pete Hegseth vowed the heaviest bombing of Iran to date.
TRUMP SAYS IRAN ‘NO LONGER A THREAT’ AFTER 32 DAYS — OUTLINES NEXT PHASE OF US WAR
“By the way, per the president’s direction, [Monday] will be the largest volume of strikes since day one of this operation,” Hegseth vowed, taking the mic just before Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan “Raizin’” Caine.
“Tomorrow, even more than today. And then Iran has a choice,” Hegseth added. “Choose wisely, because this president does not play around. You can ask Soleimani, you can ask Maduro. You can ask Khamenei.”
Trump, responding to a question from Fox News, noted there were military leaders warning against the dangerous exfiltration of the two airmen, citing the risks to a multitude of troops.
“There were military people, very professional, that preferred not doing it: These two were totally on board, which was very important,” Trump said, noting Hegseth and Gen. Caine.
IDF CONFIRMS IRGC INTEL CHIEF KILLED; QUDS FORCE COMMANDER ALSO ELIMINATED IN STRIKE
“But, no, there were military people that said, ‘You just don’t do this; you don’t go into the heart of a very powerful military.”
Trump noted that “half the people are wearing uniforms” in Iran, exacerbating the challenges of extracting the American airmen.
“I was surprised somebody said it’s the only time it’s ever been done,” Trump continued. “I said, that’s not possible, but it is possible because you’re going into hundreds of thousands of soldiers along the path. I mean, look at some of the helicopters, how they got hit.”
Trump, in a moment that went from serious to lighter, asked Caine “how many” people conducted the rescue.
INSIDE THE DARING RESCUE OF AIRMAN BEHIND ENEMY LINES: HOW CIA ASSISTED WITH ‘DECEPTION CAMPAIGN’
“I’d love to keep that a secret,” Caine shot back.
“I’ll keep it a secret, but it was hundreds and hundreds of these people,” Trump said.
“Hundreds of people went into this journey. Hundreds of people could have been killed. Forget about the equipment. A lot of equipment. Nobody cares of it. Hundreds of people could have been killed,” Trump added.
“So we had people that were within the military that said, ‘This is not a wise move,’” Trump said.
The White House on Friday requested $152 million to begin reopening Alcatraz as an operational prison.
The funding proposal, included in the Trump administration’s fiscal year 2027 budget request, would cover the initial phase of rebuilding the long-closed facility into what officials describe as a “state-of-the-art secure prison facility.”
Congress will ultimately decide whether to approve the funding.
NEW ICE DETENTION FACILITY ‘LOUISIANA LOCKUP’ OPENS AT NOTORIOUS PRISON
President Donald Trump first pushed the idea last year, directing the Bureau of Prisons, the Department of Justice and other federal agencies to reopen and expand Alcatraz to detain what he called America’s “most ruthless and violent offenders.”
“REBUILD, AND OPEN ALCATRAZ!” the president said in a Truth Social post last May. “For too long, America has been plagued by vicious, violent, and repeat Criminal Offenders, the dregs of society, who will never contribute anything other than Misery and Suffering.
Located in San Francisco Bay, Alcatraz has been closed since 1963 and currently operates as a popular tourist destination under the National Park Service.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., slammed the proposal in a post on X on Friday.
TRUMP 2027 BUDGET PREVIEW HINTS AT SWEEPING SCALE-UP IN CORE AGENDA
“Rebuilding Alcatraz into a modern prison is a stupid notion that would be nothing more than a waste of taxpayer dollars and an insult to the intelligence of the American people,” Pelosi wrote. “Alcatraz is a historic museum that belongs to the public, and San Franciscans will not stand for Washington turning one of our most iconic landmarks into a political prop.”
Originally opened as a federal prison in 1934, Alcatraz was widely considered one of the most secure facilities in the country.
The prison once housed notorious criminals including mob boss Al Capone.
EXCLUSIVE: TRUMP ADMINISTRATION EYES ALCATRAZ REOPENING TO HOUSE NATION’S ‘WORST OF THE WORST’
Alcatraz first served as a military prison in the 1850s. At its peak, the facility held more than 300 inmates, along with staff and their families.
Despite its reputation, Alcatraz was ultimately shut down because of high operating costs.
According to the Bureau of Prisons, it was nearly three times more expensive to run than other federal prisons at the time.
The White House and the Bureau of Prisons did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
FIRST ON FOX: The State Department has added business formal dress code guidance to its internal policy manual for the first time, establishing department-wide standards for employee attire.
The changes, implemented in recent days in the Foreign Affairs Manual — the department’s central repository for policies — mark the first time the agency has formally codified expectations for how diplomats and staff should dress in official settings.
“Representing the United States of America is an honor — and this new policy ensures our diplomats project credibility, respect, and the dignity of the nation we serve,” Assistant Secretary Dylan Johnson told Fox News Digital.
The updated policy applies broadly across the department for both civil service and foreign service employees.
DEPARTMENT TO ASK FOR BONDS OF UP TO $15,000 FOR VISA APPLICATIONS FROM A DOZEN MORE COUNTRIES
The move underscores a broader recalibration at the State Department, where Trump administration officials have sought to impose clearer standards around discipline, appearance and adherence to policy.
A State Department official said the change was driven in part by concerns that some diplomats had been dressing “pretty informally” in recent years.
“This should have happened a long time ago,” the official said.
The formal dress code represents a shift away from Biden-era personnel policies that prioritized flexibility and cultural inclusivity, toward a more uniform and prescriptive standard for how U.S. diplomats present themselves.
“Appropriate attire and appearance will depend on the duties performed, the work environment, and the level of interaction with foreign interlocutors and other external stakeholders,” reads the manual, viewed by Fox News Digital. “For staff participating in meetings or other official engagements with foreign interlocutors, dress is Business Formal and personal appearance is polished and professional unless otherwise specified.”
The dress code update follows other recent changes to how the State Department evaluates and manages its workforce, including revisions to hiring and promotion criteria for Foreign Service officers.
Earlier in 2026, the department replaced diversity, equity and inclusion-related benchmarks with a new core precept focused on “fidelity,” emphasizing adherence to U.S. government policy and chain-of-command authority.
Under the updated guidance, mid- and senior-level diplomats are expected to demonstrate loyalty by “zealously executing U.S. government policy” and resolving ambiguity in favor of leadership direction, according to internal documents previously reported by Fox News Digital.
Those changes came alongside broader efforts to restructure the department’s workforce, including plans to reduce staffing and consolidate offices, signaling a shift toward more standardized expectations for diplomatic personnel. The addition of a formal dress code marks the latest step in that direction.
WASHINGTON — House and Senate Republican leaders jointly announced a plan Wednesday that they said would end the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security that caused major airport delays.
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“In the coming days, Republicans in the Senate and House will be following through on the President’s directive by fully funding the entire Department of Homeland Security on two parallel tracks: through the appropriations process and through the reconciliation process,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said in a statement.
The two leaders were vague about the exact plan, but it appears to closely resemble the Senate’s preferred path from Friday.
Johnson and Thune heavily implied that it would be for the Senate to, once again, pass a bill it approved unanimously last week, which it could try to do as early as Thursday.
It would fund all of DHS except ICE and Customs and Border Protection, which Democrats won’t agree to fund without reforms to immigration enforcement operations. Those two agencies already have separate funding.
House Republican leaders trashed that bill and rejected it Friday, but they now appear ready to back down and accept the Senate plan. They would have to vote to pass it through the House.
GOP leadership had no immediate comment on the timing for a vote. Both chambers are scheduled to be on recess until April 13.
Then Republicans would fund ICE and CBP in a separate party-line “budget reconciliation” bill that could bypass a filibuster and get approved without any Democratic votes. The timing for that is even less clear.
Johnson and Thune said the “two-track” plan would “fully reopen the Department, make sure all federal workers are paid, and specifically fund immigration enforcement and border security for the next three years so that those law-enforcement activities can continue uninhibited.”
A White House official told NBC News that the administration supports the Johnson-Thune plan.
Earlier Wednesday, President Donald Trump called on Republicans to pass the party-line bill “no later than June 1st.” He threw the earlier plans to reopen DHS into chaos last week when he declined to comment on the Senate bill, which led House Republicans to reject it.
DHS has been shut down for more than a month, with employees for the TSA, FEMA and other agencies going for weeks without pay. Trump signed an executive order last week to pay TSA employees, but the legality and length of that plan are murky. Thousands of civilian Coast Guard employees and other DHS workers are still not being paid.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., slammed Republicans for having “derailed a bipartisan agreement” for days, “making American families pay the price for their dysfunction.”
“Throughout this fight, Senate Democrats never wavered. We were clear from the start: fund critical security, protect Americans, and no blank check for reckless ICE and Border Patrol enforcement,” he said Wednesday. “We were united, held the line, and refused to let Republican chaos win.”
On Friday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said, “House Democrats are prepared to support the bill to end the Trump-Republican shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, make sure TSA agents are paid, stand up for FEMA and for the Coast Guard, for our cyber security professionals, and stop inconveniencing Americans.”
