Trump eyes lifting sanctions, potential sale of prized fighter jet to Turkey
FIRST ON FOX: President Donald Trump is considering lifting sanctions on and resuming the sale of fighter jets to Turkey after a conversation with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Trump expressed an intent to help finalize the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey and is open to the idea of selling Turkey its true prized goal, F-35 jets, if the two sides can come to an agreement that renders Turkey’s Russian S-400 system inoperable, two sources confirmed to Fox News Digital. That agreement could look like partially disassembling the machinery or moving it to a U.S.-controlled base in Turkey. Congress approved the $23 billion sale of 40 F-16s and modernization kits for 79 in its current fleet to Turkey last year, but there are ongoing negotiations between Turkey’s defense ministry and Lockheed Martin, which builds the jet. TURKISH AUTHORITIES ARREST KEY RIVAL OF ERDOGAN Trump’s team has asked for legal and technical analysis of how it could avoid finding Turkey in violation of Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) sanctions, according to one source familiar with the request. The State Department and National Security Council could not be reached for comment. The U.S. agreed to extend a waiver allowing Turkey to buy Russian natural gas until May, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. Trump and Erdogan spoke by phone on Sunday, and the Turkish government is looking to firm up plans to bring Erdogan to the U.S. to visit with Trump in the near future. The Turkish embassy pointed to a readout of the call from Erdogan’s office which said the president had expressed to Trump, “in order to develop cooperation between the two countries in the field of defense industry, it is necessary to end CAATSA sanctions, finalize the F-16 procurement process and finalize Türkiye’s re-participation in the F-35 program.” Erdogan asked the U.S. to lift sanctions on Syria, where a new governing force, HTS, overthrew Bashar al-Assad with Turkish backing. The U.S. side did not provide a readout of the call. Turkey was kicked out of the F-35 program following its purchase of a Russian S-400 mobile missile-to-air system due to spying concerns associated with having a Kremlin-operated system so close to a high-level U.S. technology like the F-35. “The F-35 cannot coexist with a Russian intelligence collection platform that will be used to learn about its advanced capabilities,” the White House said in 2019, adding that the purchase would have “detrimental impacts” on Turkey’s participation in NATO. Ankara, Turkey’s capital, had brokered the $2.5 billion deal with Russia for the S400s in 2017, despite U.S. warnings that there would be political and economic consequences. In an effort to deter Turkey, the U.S. offered to sell them the Patriot system, but Ankara wanted the system’s sensitive missile technology along with it, and the U.S. declined. The U.S. considerations come after the United Kingdom offered a price proposal to Turkey to purchase 40 of its Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets last week. A move to sell Turkey F-35s would prove controversial, and prompt concern from U.S. allies like Israel, where Turkey cut off all relations due to the Gaza war last year, and Greece due to disputes over Cyprus and the surrounding waters. Experts describe the F-35 as a “status symbol.” “The F-35 club is really for trusted allies,” said Jonathan Schanzer, executive director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “This is a Turkey that supports the Houthis, which President Trump is bombing and supports Hamas and supports Hezbollah,” said Endy Zemenides, executive director of the Hellenic American Leadership Council. “We know that they don’t want to be a customer, they want to be a competitor in the arms market.” TRUMP UNIQUELY PLACED TO ‘WHISPER’ IN ERDOGAN’S EAR OVER TURKISH REGIONAL AMBITIONS: GREEK DEFENSE MINISTER However, isolating Turkey, which has the second-largest standing military after the U.S. in NATO, could push them to go to Russia and China for weapons supplies. “Trump’s about making a business deal here, right? We don’t need Turkey with nearly one million soldiers on the other side and leaning more towards Russia and China, right?” said Jonathan Bass, Argent LNG CEO and international trade expert. “Turkey is an unresolved thorn in the side of the NATO alliance,” said Schanzer, “It certainly seems to be a priority right now for the Trump administration to try to bring them back into the fold.” However, he added, “There’s the democracy deficit and the autocratic tendencies of Erdogan. All of these things are creating a very cloudy picture for U.S. engagement. So it’s buyer beware.” “Turkey is a major economy. We need them to come down on the right side of the fence. We need them from a supply chain standpoint,” countered Bass. He added that the U.S. needs to partner with Turkey on mining for rare earths minerals. “Turkey has a lot more mining infrastructure,” he said. “They can help us with mining operations in Africa. We don’t have the people willing to do that.” “If you don’t give Erdogan a seat at the table, he’s going to make his own table,” Bass warned. “He wants to be respected as he should. He’s got 80 million people that he represents. But we need to give him clear lines of engagement.”
WATCH: Trump-appointed judge chides colleagues’ ignorance on guns in unique video dissent
Judge Lawrence VanDyke of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, appointed by President Donald Trump during his first term, issued a unique dissenting-opinion video when his colleagues voted to uphold a California ban on magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition. In an 18-minute video uploaded to the Ninth Circuit’s YouTube channel, VanDyke argued that the other judges on the appellate court lacked “the basic familiarity with firearms to understand the inherent shortcomings and obvious inadmissibility of the test that California was proposing” when they voted by a 7-4 margin Thursday to uphold the ban. Dressed in his judicial robes, VanDyke went on to show the mechanics of his personal firearms for several minutes. SCHOOL CHOICE ACTIVISTS WARN PARENTS ABOUT BLUE STATE’S HOMESCHOOL BILL WITH JAIL-TIME PROVISION “As an appellate body, it’s obviously not our role to make factual determinations,” VanDyke said in the video. “So I share this not to supplement the factual record that we’re using to decide this case. Instead, I share this because a rudimentary understanding of how guns are made, sold, used and commonly modified makes obvious why California’s proposed tests and the one my colleagues are adopting today simply does not work.” VanDyke went on to say he could “explain all this in writing” but that it is “much more effective to simply show” what he means through demonstrating it. He also said he had “rendered inoperable all the guns and gun parts” for the video demonstration for safety purposes. In his discussion, VanDyke challenged California’s argument that a magazine holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition is merely an accessory, not an arm protected by the Second Amendment, saying this argument is inconsistent with the facts of how a gun works, as a magazine plays an essential role in the function of a firearm, just like the firearm itself. PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS IN THIS STATE COULD SOON BE REQUIRED TO TAKE GUN SAFETY COURSES VanDyke asked California’s counsel whether the reasoning that was used to justify banning these types of magazines could also be applied to semi-automatic firearms, which hold more rounds than older weapons, like muskets. He argued that the logic behind banning magazines could extend to banning semi-automatics altogether, which he suggested would be a broader and more extreme infringement of Second Amendment rights. “I don’t think that we could ban all semi-automatic weapons,” California’s attorney for the case said in the discussion. “The point I was just making is, with respect to accessories, I think we have a difference of opinion.” “That’s important, because your argument turns on whether you can characterize accessories,” Van Dyke responded. “So, you would say that the revolver versus semi-automatic is not an accessory, but that, but that a magazine is an accessory. So, what would you think about like a red dot sight? You know, electro optics, which are, which many, many firearms are going to, electronic optics nowadays? They’re obviously an accessory, because you could have iron sights. Could you ban those?” “Your Honor, I’m not intimately familiar with that,” the counsel responded. “And I do want to answer this question and make sure that I save time for rebuttal.” The state’s attorney went on to say that at issue is whether, as an accessory, it is essential to exercising the right to self-defense. TRUMP SURROGATE CORRIN RANKIN PICKED TO LEAD BLUE STATE’S GOP: ‘MAKE CALIFORNIA GREAT AGAIN’ In her majority opinion, Clinton appointee Judge Marsha Berzon wrote that VanDyke’s video was “wildly improper” and that he “in essence appointed himself as an expert witness in this case.” In 2016, the California legislature passed Senate Bill 1446, which banned the possession of so-called “large-capacity” magazines, or those that hold more than 10 rounds, starting July 1, 2017. The bill also imposed fines for those who failed to comply with this ban. Later in 2016, Proposition 63 was approved by California voters, which incorporated the provisions of Senate Bill 1446 but also added a criminal penalty for the unlawful possession of large-capacity magazines after the July 1, 2017, deadline.
Justice Yashwant Varma transfer: Delhi High Court to submit report over allegations issue, SC says, ‘his transfer is…’
The Supreme Court on Friday issued a statement saying on receiving the information, Chief Justice of Delhi High Court commenced the in-house enquiry procedure collecting evidence and information regarding allegations against Justice Yashwant Varma and a report will be submitted to the CJI.
MEA on invitation to Iftar hosted by Pak High Commission: ‘Rishton par nirbhar karta hai’
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday stated that invitations depend on the state of relations between the two countries regarding whether any Indian government officials were invited to the Iftar dinner hosted by the Pakistan High Commission to mark Pakistan’s National Day.
How Texas Republicans plan to keep cracking down on abortion
A flurry of bills aims to restrict the flow of abortion pills into the state and abortion seekers traveling out of the state.
Musk has ‘no business’ in Pentagon, Dems say amid report he’d get top secret China briefing
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., said SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has “no business” conducting affairs at the Pentagon, amid reports Musk would receive secret information from top military officials Friday about military contingency plans should a war break out with China. While The New York Times reported that Musk was set to receive military plans about any potential China conflict, the Pentagon and White House pushed back and said Musk’s briefing wouldn’t cover China. “Elon Musk is an unelected, self-interested billionaire with no business anywhere near the Pentagon,” Gillibrand said in an X post Friday morning with a photo of the Times story, just after Musk arrived at the Pentagon. Gillibrand is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. The possibility of Musk receiving information on China raises a possible conflict of interest, given the fact that Musk has financial interests in China stemming from Tesla, and SpaceX is working with the U.S. federal government on military space capabilities. However, the Trump administration swiftly pushed back on the Times’ reporting, and Trump issued a post on social media discrediting the story as “completely untrue.” “They said, incorrectly, that Elon Musk is going to the Pentagon tomorrow to be briefed on any potential ‘war with China.’ How ridiculous?” China will not even be mentioned or discussed,” President Donald Trump said in a Thursday night Truth Social post. A former Obama administration official also sounded the alarm about Musk’s visit to the Pentagon. Xochitl Hinojosa, who previously served as a spokesperson for former Attorney General Eric Holder and communications director for the Democratic National Committee, said that career officials must have disclosed the information about the meeting to the press because they were concerned about what would be shared with Musk. “What is happening here, and everyone needs to be scared, is Pentagon officials are sounding the alarm,” Hinojosa said in an interview with CNN Thursday night. “This doesn’t just happen on its own. This has happened because career officials in the Pentagon are terrified. And they believe there is a conflict of interest. That is why it is in the New York Times. Because I am sure they took it to the senior most people within the White House and within the Pentagon and they didn’t do anything about it.” PENTAGON TO CUT UP TO 60K CIVILIAN JOBS, BUT FEWER THAN 21K HAVE RESIGNED VOLUNTARILY Hinojosa said that during her time at the Justice Department, career officials would sound the alarm if they became aware of any unethical behavior at the agency. “That is exactly what is happening here,” Hinojosa said. Hinojosa could not be reached for comment by Fox News Digital. The New York Times published a story Thursday evening claiming that Musk’s visit to the Pentagon would involve discussing plans in the event of a potential war with China. Specifically, the Times reported that the briefing involved a presentation with 20 to 30 slides on how the U.S. would combat China, various Chinese targets to strike and how the Pentagon would share these plans with Trump. The Times also reported the meeting would occur in the so-called Tank, a secure conference room that the Joint Chiefs utilize for meetings, along with other senior staff and visiting combatant commanders. Meanwhile, the Times report also noted that Musk may have needed to know information about plans for China as he eyes cutting the Pentagon’s budget amid his efforts leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). TRUMP GOES ON ‘UNPRECEDENTED’ PENTAGON FIRING SPREE: REPORT Pentagon war plans are highly confidential for operational security purposes. Should details regarding the U.S. military’s strategy to combat an enemy be shared or leaked in any way, it would jeopardize U.S. forces and undermine the success of the military campaign. Hegseth also weighed in on the matter, and said the meeting with Musk would primarily center around innovation. “But the fake news delivers again — this is NOT a meeting about ‘top secret China war plans.’ It’s an informal meeting about innovation, efficiencies & smarter production. Gonna be great!” Hegseth said in a post on X late Thursday evening. In response to Hegseth’s post, Musk responded: “Exactly. Also, I’ve been to the Pentagon many times over many years. Not my first time in the building.” Musk also said in a separate post he looks “forward to the prosecutions of those at the Pentagon who are leaking maliciously false information to NYT. “They will be found,” he said. The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Fetterman takes swipe at AOC: ‘We kept our government open. Deal with it’
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., took a swipe at Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., in a tweet on Friday. “We need a Democratic Party that fights harder for us too,” the congresswoman said during speeches on Thursday. “Fight ‘harder’—a stunt that would have harmed millions and plunged us into chaos,” Fetterman wrote when sharing a screenshot featuring a quotation of Ocasio-Cortez’s comment. “We kept our government open. Deal with it.” NETANYAHU GIFTS FETTERMAN A SILVER-PLATED BEEPER AFTER HE PRAISED ISRAEL’S LEBANON PAGER OPERATION Fox News Digital reached out to Ocasio-Cortez’s office on Friday to request a comment from the congresswoman, but did not receive a response by the time of publication. Fetterman and other Democrats — including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer — voted last week to overcome a procedural hurdle, which cleared the way for the chamber to vote on a government funding measure to avoid a partial government shutdown. FETTERMAN CALLS OUT DEMS’ ‘UNHINGED PETULANCE’ AFTER TRUMP SPEECH: ‘WE’RE BECOMING THE METAPHORICAL CAR ALARM’ But after that cloture vote, Fetterman, Schumer, and most other Democrats voted against passing the actual funding measure, which ultimately passed anyway. Ocasio-Cortez had urged senators to vote against cloture and against the measure. AOC FIRES BACK AT FETTERMAN, ACCUSES HIM OF ‘BLEAK DUNK ATTEMPT’ CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “It should be very clear to every Senate Democrat that any vote for Cloture will also be considered a vote for the bill. People aren’t going to be tricked with procedural games. They know exactly what is going on. Defend Medicaid. Vote NO on Cloture. NO on bill,” she had declared in a tweet.
Trying to heal the trauma of Israeli raids in the occupied West Bank
Jenin and Tulkarem, occupied West Bank – Omaima Faraj bows her head in silence for a moment – she’s tired, but the work does not stop. She arrives at a school-turned-shelter near Tulkarem where her first patient, an elderly displaced woman who greets her tenderly, is waiting for her to measure her glucose and blood pressure. Then she moves to the next classroom, the next patient, walking down an open passage drenched in late-February sunshine. Faraj, 25, has been volunteering to help residents devastated by the Israeli raids for weeks. She is one of the young Palestinians working to address the emergency Israel is creating across the occupied West Bank as it raids refugee camps and displaces thousands. Rushing into danger When Israel’s military occupation and displacement of the camp began in what the Israelis have called operation “Iron Wall”, on January 21, Faraj rushed into the camp instead of running away from the violence. The volunteers prioritise visits to patients with chronic diseases [Al Jazeera] She stayed there with her fellow volunteers for more than 12 critical days, when the attacks were at their fiercest and people were still trying to organise to flee the camp. Advertisement They focused on delivering aid to people in need – the injured, the elderly, and people with limited mobility. Nobody could get to a hospital because the Israeli soldiers wouldn’t let them. Israeli soldiers harassed the volunteers, Faraj recounts, describing how they would threaten her and her colleagues, telling them to leave and never return or they’d be shot. One incident particularly haunts her, of an elderly man who was trapped in his house for four days. The team kept trying to reach him, but Israeli soldiers blocked their path. Finally, the International Committee of the Red Cross intervened, coordinating with the Israelis to allow safe passage for the volunteers. When they reached the man, he was in dire straits – lacking food, water and hygiene for four days, but they were finally able to evacuate him. As they were leaving, they were goaded, warned not to return – or risk being shot. Backpack medics “We didn’t have an emergency plan for this,” says Alaa Srouji, director of the Al-Awda Center in Tulkarem. Two volunteers visit an elderly displaced woman to help her and check her health [Al Jazeera] Al-Awda and the Lajee Center of Aida Camp in Bethlehem are training volunteers to document the expulsions of people and camp conditions so they can assess the aid needed. The volunteers are about 15 mostly female nurses and medics who came together when the Israeli raids began, to provide medical aid and distribute essentials to the thousands who were harmed. Their young faces show the toll of nearly two months of working nonstop with people displaced by the Israeli attack on the Nur Shams and Tulkarem camps. Advertisement They are struggling to fill a huge gap left when Israel banned the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) from helping people in the occupied West Bank. These volunteers don’t have headquarters, they spend all day walking around to serve people with nothing more than their backpacks and determination. They go to one of the 11 temporary, hurriedly set up shelters or wherever their patients have managed to find a place to live. They bring medical and psychological support and also clothes, food, and other necessities to those who have lost everything to Israel’s raiding soldiers. Ismael, 23, risked returning to Tulkarem camp, where his home was. He stands in awe of the destruction Israel has inflicted [Al Jazeera] In their backpacks are gauze, portable glucose monitors, gloves, bandages, tourniquets, manual blood pressure monitors, notebooks and pens. “Our role as a local community is so important,” says Alaa. The volunteers must also support each other emotionally, holding group sessions to cope with the toll of working within their devastated communities. Many of them are from the camp, so they are also displaced, targeted, and have seen their neighbourhoods levelled by Israeli bulldozers. Faraj is no different. Like many Palestinians, she is marked by loss and violence after her 18-year-old brother was killed by an Israeli drone in January 2024. The camp is a no-go zone. Some displaced residents take the risk of returning to their homes to try to retrieve some of their belongings. They navigate rubble-filled streets, the stench of rotting food left behind in now-abandoned houses, and sewers torn open by bulldozers, while Israeli soldiers patrol and drones hover overhead, searching for movement inside the camp. Advertisement Laughing, crying, screaming the trauma An hour’s drive from Tulkarem is Jenin, and 10 minutes from Jenin is a village called Kafr Dan where an unusual sound filters in the air – children’s laughter. Children shout, jump, and scream during a Freedom Theater programme to allow them to discuss their trauma and give them a space for play and laughter [Al Jazeera] About 20 children roam around the garden of a large house. They’re gathered into a rough circle by trainers who encourage them to speak – loudly – to let out their fear and anger. The activity is organised by the Freedom Theater of Jenin, which came to Kafr Dan to provide this moment of respite for displaced children to simply be, at least for a moment. They started up inside Jenin camp as a space where children and youth could participate in cultural activities but have been blocked by the Israeli army from being there. So, “We bring the theatre to the children,” says Shatha Jarrar, one of the three activity coordinators. The children are encouraged to be as loud as they like, to scream out the fear and anger they hold inside after the violence they have been exposed to. A game involving a small ball balanced on a spoon is next, making the children laugh again and their watching mothers smile, happy to see their children happy. Sitting by the side is a smiling Um Muhammed, 67, who has brought some of
Meerut murder accused Muskaan Rastogi’s mother’s appeal to all children: ‘Never hide anything…’
The gruesome killing of Meerut’s former Merchant Navy Officer, Saurabh Rajput, has sent shockwaves through the nation, with chilling details getiing revealed day by day. His wife Muskaan Rastogi and her lover Sahil Shukla conspired his murder.
Meerut murder case: Viral audio reveals wife ordering birthday cake post-Saurabh Rajput’s murder, check here
New videos and an audio clip surface in the Saurabh Kumar Singh murder case, showing accused Muskan and lover Sahil celebrating Holi and ordering a birthday cake after the murder.