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Trump starts week in Middle East, overseeing historic peace agreement

Trump starts week in Middle East, overseeing historic peace agreement

President Donald Trump will spend the first part of the week in the Middle East to oversee a historic peace deal between Israel and Hamas, a landmark agreement expected to end the two-year war in Gaza and bring home the remaining hostages. Before boarding Air Force One, Trump told reporters that the hostages could be released earlier and said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did a “very good job” helping secure the deal. HAMAS ACCEPTS TRUMP PEACE PLAN ENDING 2 YEARS OF WAR IN GAZA, RETURNING HOSTAGES “The war is over,” Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews before boarding a nearly 12-hour flight to Israel. After landing in Tel Aviv, Trump is expected to meet with families of hostages and then give an address at the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, in Jerusalem. Trump will then travel to Egypt to attend an international summit in the seaside city of Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday to finalize an agreement aimed at ending the war in Gaza. More than 20 world leaders, including Trump, are expected to attend, an Egyptian presidential spokesperson said, according to Reuters. After a handful of hours in Israel and Egypt, Trump will board Air Force One and return to the White House in the early morning hours on Tuesday in order to honor the late Charlie Kirk with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award. TRUMP PLANS WHIRLWIND TRIP TO ISRAEL AND EGYPT BEFORE RUSHING BACK TO WHITE HOUSE FOR CHARLIE KIRK HONOR “It’s a very quick trip, but I’ll be making two major stops, and then I’ll be on the plane trying to get back in time for Charlie,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday. “They’re going to have a great celebration at the White House in the East Room,” he added. The award ceremony coincides with what would have been Kirk’s 32nd birthday on Oct. 14. Kirk, the charismatic founder of Turning Point USA (TPUSA), gained recognition for his signature political debates on college campuses. He was assassinated on Sept. 10, during an outdoor event at Utah Valley University. The gathering was the first stop on TPUSA’s planned “American Comeback Tour.” Kirk’s memorial service drew one of the largest public turnouts for a private citizen, with about 90,000 people in attendance at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona and nearby overflow venues. Trump previously announced last month that he would award Kirk the award posthumously.

Trump says Hamas may release 20 hostages ‘a little bit early’ as he heads to Middle East

Trump says Hamas may release 20 hostages ‘a little bit early’ as he heads to Middle East

President Donald Trump said Sunday that Hamas may release the 20 hostages it is holding “a little bit early.” Trump spoke with reporters aboard Air Force One en route to the Middle East, where he was asked about the latest on the hostages and when they might be released. “So, they have the hostages — I understand all 20 — and we may get them out a little bit early,” Trump said. “Getting them was amazing, actually, because we were involved, and they were in places you don’t want to know about.” The president’s comments come as Hamas faces a deadline to return all remaining hostages to Israel, following a peace deal that ended the two-year-long Israel-Hamas war. VANCE SAYS SOME DECEASED HOSTAGES MAY NEVER BE RECOVERED DESPITE TRUMP PEACE DEAL The peace agreement, brokered by President Trump, sparked celebrations across a region plagued by violence since the Hamas terror attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Trump described the peace agreement as historic, saying it was the first time in 3,000 years that Jews, Muslims, and Arab nations were “dancing in the streets.” He said the deal had unified countries that were once bitter enemies and that Egypt, Saudi Arabia and other regional powers were “all into this deal.” When asked about the fighting, Trump declared that the conflict had come to an end. “The war is over,” the president said. TRUMP’S WEEK IN REVIEW: PRESIDENT SECURES HISTORIC PEACE DEAL TO BRING HOSTAGES HOME AS SHUTDOWN CONTINUES He expressed confidence that the ceasefire would hold, saying people were “tired” of centuries of conflict. “Everybody knows their place,” Trump said, adding that peace “is going to be great for everybody.” The president said rebuilding Gaza would begin quickly, though he cautioned that the region resembled a “demolition site.” He said reconstruction would start with clearing unstable structures and restoring basic services before long-term redevelopment begins. Trump also said a new governing body known as the “Board of Peace” would be formed soon, with international leaders seeking to take part. He mentioned Tony Blair as a potential participant but said he wanted to ensure the former British prime minister would be an “acceptable choice.” Trump acknowledged that Hamas has begun forming a local police force and said the U.S. granted temporary approval for that effort to help maintain order. He estimated that Hamas had lost “probably 60,000 people” in the conflict and said ensuring safety as civilians return was now a priority. TRUMP PEACE DEAL TRIGGERS 72-HOUR COUNTDOWN FOR HAMAS TO RELEASE 48 HOSTAGES FROM GAZA He praised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “the right person at this time,” revealing that Netanyahu had nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize. Trump said Netanyahu “did a very good job” during the conflict and that their relationship remained strong. Trump also told reporters the peace deal between Israel and Hamas is the eighth war he has solved, adding that he heard there is a war going on between Pakistan and Afghanistan, now. “I said I’ll have to wait til I get back. I’m doing another one because I’m good at solving wars. I’m good at making peace. And, it’s an honor to do it,” he said. “I saved millions of lives – millions of lives.” Earlier on Sunday, Vice President JD Vance warned that some of the hostages who were killed while in captivity by Hamas may never be returned to their families. “The reality is that some of the hostages may never get back, but I do think, with some effort, we’ll be able to give them to their families so they at least have some closure,” Vance said on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.” He continued, noting that while rescuing living hostages remains the Trump administration’s top priority, returning the remains of those killed is also an important effort to give families closure. “We do want to give these people the ability to have a proper burial with their loved ones who were murdered by brutal terrorists, and that matters to us,” Vance said. “It matters to the families, and it will remain a focus, but it’s going to take some time.” The vice president stopped short of certainly, though, saying he believes most of the victims’ remains – but not all – will eventually be recovered. Fox News Digital’s Taylor Penley contributed to this report.

Spanberger quiet on twin controversies in final stretch of Virginia race

Spanberger quiet on twin controversies in final stretch of Virginia race

With just weeks left before Virginians head to the voting booth, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger has been rattled by twin controversies — a violent text message scandal involving a fellow Democrat and fresh criticism over her stance on transgender bathroom policies. In 2022, Virginia state attorney general candidate Jay Jones told a colleague via text that he wished violence against former Republican House Speaker Todd Gilbert and his children. The private messages, which recently came to light, have sparked outrage from Republicans and discomfort among Democrats, forcing Spanberger to navigate one of the most volatile moments of her campaign. ‘CONSUMED WITH HATE’: WINSOME SEARS, JASON MIYARES UNLOAD ON DEMOCRAT JAY JONES OVER VIOLENT TEXTS Spanberger’s cautious tone carried into last Thursday’s debate, where she faced off against GOP nominee Winsome Earle-Sears. “Jay Jones advocated the murder — Abigail — the murder of a man, a former speaker, as well as his children who were 2 years and 5 years old. You have little girls. Would it take him pulling the trigger? Is that what would do it?” Earle-Sears asked Thursday night. “Please ask him to get out of the race. Have some courage.”  She sidestepped several rounds of questions throughout the debate on whether she still endorsed Jones. Spanberger’s campaign did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. Meanwhile, fellow Democrats have rallied around Jones, emphasizing forgiveness and unity as the campaign enters its final stretch. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., was also unwilling to call on Jones’ to drop out. He told Fox News Digital he’s still a supporter of the embattled candidate for his state’s attorney general seat.  “I think those statements were not in character, and he has apologized — I wish other people in public life would sincerely apologize for stuff,” the 2016 Democratic vice presidential nominee said. “I’ve known Jay Jones for 25 years.” VIRGINIA DEMS BACK AG CANDIDATE JAY JONES, DESPITE TEXT MESSAGES Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., did not respond when Fox News Digital repeatedly asked whether Jay Jones should end his campaign. Warner was also pressed on whether he would seek the return of a $25,000 August donation from Jones or express regret over the show of support, but once again declined to respond. After the texts came to light, the Virginia Beach Democratic Committee moved quickly to defend Jones, urging Virginians to “line up behind” him. “We are lined up, ten toes down, ready to organize, mobilize and deliver voters for Jay and our entire Democratic ticket,” the statement read. “Recent press may have spotlighted past mistakes. We say, let those without sin cast the first stone. Jay Jones has taken responsibility, apologized and shown he is committed to serving with integrity and accountability that his public record already shows.” Jones has since apologized, calling the remarks “embarrassing and shameful,” and said he had reached out personally to Gilbert and his family. DEMOCRATS UNDER FIRE FOR STANDING BY VIRGINIA AG HOPEFUL WHO JOKED ABOUT SHOOTING GOP RIVAL Last week, President Donald Trump called for Jones to drop out of the race, calling the text messages “sick” and “demented.” “Democrat Jay Jones should drop out of the race immediately and the people of Virginia must continue to have a great attorney general in Jason Miyares who, by the way, has my complete and total endorsement,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Oct. 5. The latest revelation comes amid heightened political tensions and a growing number of incidents that have fueled concerns about violence in national politics. ‘NUDE MEN IN LOCKER ROOMS’: EARLE-SEARS BLASTS SPANBERGER OVER TRANSGENDER LOCKER ROOM STANCE IN HEATED DEBATE On a separate issue, Spanberger has also sidestepped her stance on transgender issues. Earlier this month, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin issued an executive directive ensuring bathrooms, locker rooms and other intimate spaces remain separated by sex assigned at birth. The directive also instructs the state Board of Health to bar biological males from competing on female athletic teams. When asked, point-blank, whether she would rescind that directive, Spanberger refused to give a definitive answer. “My answer is that in each local community decisions should be made between parents and educators, and teachers in each community. It shouldn’t be dictated by politicians,” Spanberger responded. “I’m a mother of three daughters in Virginia public schools, and nothing is more important to me than their safety and their experience in schools,” Spanberger added in response to questions about her stance on transgender issues.  Fox News Digital’s Alec Schemmel contributed to this report.

Trump refuses to rule out striking Venezuela. What’s next for Trump’s war on drugs?

Trump refuses to rule out striking Venezuela. What’s next for Trump’s war on drugs?

President Donald Trump has launched an unprecedented war against cartels and has threatened narco-terrorists, saying he will “blow you out of existence” as his administration seeks to curb the influx of drugs into the U.S.  The White House sent lawmakers a memo Sept. 30 informing them that the U.S. is now participating in a “non-international armed conflict” with drug smugglers — on top of conducting four fatal strikes against alleged drug boats in the Caribbean since September.  The Department of War recently announced a new counter-narcotics Joint Task Force in the Southern Command area of responsibility, according to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.  The aim of the task force is to “crush the cartels, stop the poison, and keep America safe,” Hegseth wrote on X Friday. “The message is clear: if you traffic drugs toward our shores, we will stop you cold.” HOW TRUMP’S STRIKES AGAINST ALLEGED NARCO-TERRORISTS ARE RESHAPING THE CARTEL BATTLEFIELD: ‘ONE-WAY TICKET’ These recent developments suggest that Trump is eyeing targets within Venezuela, not just those within international waters, according to Geoff Ramsey, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council international affairs think tank. “This is a sign that President Trump is taking the US war on drugs in Latin America to the next level,” Ramsey said in a Monday email to Fox News Digital. “By involving the military, the president is going after drug cartels in a way that no previous US administration has dared to so far. I think it is likely that we will see the Pentagon evaluate targets inside Venezuela.” Additional strikes could target more drug shipments or drug flights, which often take off from covert airfields near the Colombian border, Ramsey said.  “It’s a bad time to be posted in a guerrilla camp on the Colombian border or operating a Tren de Aragua safe house along the Caribbean trafficking route,” Ramsey said.  Even so, Ramsey said it would be challenging to strike within Venezuela’s territory. Doing so would require the U.S. to dismantle Venezuela’s air defense system, which would escalate hostilities by openly engaging with Venezuela’s military, he said.  That’s a departure from the current approach, in which the U.S. has intentionally avoided targeting Venezuelan military assets, Ramsey said.  “When two Venezuelan F-16s flew over a US destroyer last month, the fact that those planes weren’t blown out of the sky suggests that the US is not interested in a shooting war with Venezuela’s military,” Ramsey said.  Trump himself has not ruled out conducting strikes within Venezuela though, and signaled such strikes could happen when he told military leaders in Quantico, Virginia, Sept. 30 that his administration would “look very seriously at cartels coming by land.” WAR ON CARTELS? WHITE HOUSE SAYS IT HAS AN IRON-CLAD CASE TO STRIKE NARCO-TERRORIST GROUPS So far, the Trump administration has utilized maritime forces to address drug threats, and has beefed up naval assets in the Caribbean in recent months. For example, Trump approved sending several U.S. Navy guided missile destroyers to bolster the administration’s counter-narcotics efforts in the region starting in August.  “I expect these deployments to continue for months or more than a year, with new ships rotating in to replace those that need to return home for maintenance or crew rest,” Bryan Clark, director of the Hudson Institute think tank’s Center for Defense Concepts and Technology, told Fox News Digital in September.  Nathan Jones, a nonresident scholar in drug policy and Mexico studies at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, predicted the strikes are unlikely to impact the flow of fentanyl into the U.S. That’s because fentanyl precursors originate in China, and are then produced in labs in Mexico before they head north without a pathway into the Caribbean.  “I wouldn’t expect your drug flow to be affected because of these strikes,” Jones told Fox News Digital Tuesday. “This could, though, leave transnational criminal organizations running a little scared in terms of what the administration is going to do.”  Still, Jones said that he predicted drug flow routes would adapt and that land or aerial drug routes would take precedence over sea routes in the Caribbean.  The strikes have prompted members of Congress to question their legality and senators Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Tim Kaine, D-Va., filed a war powers resolution in September that would block U.S. forces from engaging in “hostilities” against certain non-state organizations.  TRUMP UNLEASHES US MILITARY POWER ON CARTELS. IS A WIDER WAR LOOMING? “There has been no authorization to use force by Congress in this way,” Schiff told reporters Wednesday. “I feel it is plainly unconstitutional. The fact that the administration claims to have a list and has put organizations on a list does not somehow empower the administration to usurp Congress’s power of declaring war or refusing to declare war or refusing to authorize the use of force.”  However, the measure failed in the Senate by a 51–48 margin Wednesday. Even so, the measure attracted support from Republicans Rand Paul of Kentucky and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who voted alongside their Democratic counterparts for the resolution.  Other Republicans have defended the strikes though, and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, said that Trump’s actions were well within his rights and that the resolution was “unreasonable.”  “When he sees an attack like this coming — an attack of drugs or explosives or anything else that’s going to kill Americans — he not only has the authority to do something about it, he has the duty to do something about it,” Risch said Wednesday before the vote.