INTERNACIONAL
Family of American hostage tortured in Lebanon wins landmark case against Iran
After a nearly four-year search for justice, a U.S. court has found in favor of the family of a Lebanese American man held hostage in Lebanon, finding that the Islamic Republic of Iran, working through its proxy Hezbollah, should be held liable for their father’s kidnap and torture.
Two of Amer Fakhoury’s daughters, Guila and Zoya Fakhoury, told Fox News Digital that on May 1, a U.S. District Court judge found Iran responsible for Fakhoury’s imprisonment.
«This is the first lawsuit to prove Iran’s influence over Lebanon,» Guila said. «We were very happy about the judgment.»
‘HOSTAGE IN LEBANON:’ NEW HAMPSHIRE FAMILY RECOUNTS FATHER’S DETAINMENT, TORTURE IN NEW BOOK
During President Trump’s first term, his administration helped secure the release of New Hampshire businessman Amer Fakhoury. (Fakhoury Family)
Amer Fakhoury was arrested a week after traveling to Lebanon with his family in September 2019. After his arrest, a newspaper linked with Hezbollah alleged that Fakhoury, formerly a member of the South Lebanon Army, had been the «butcher» of Khiam, a detention center where grave human rights abuses were reported to have taken place.
Though he was released from a military prison in December 2019, it was only after the Lebanese Supreme Court dropped charges against Fakhoury in March 2020 that he was able to return to the U.S. By the time of his return, Fakhoury had lost 60 pounds and was suffering from late-stage lymphoma, along with rib fractures and other health complications. He died in September 2020 at the age of 57.
Proving Fakhoury’s suffering and torture was a battle for the family, though Guila said the State Department’s classification of her father as a hostage was instrumental in proving the nature of Fakhoury’s captivity.
SENS. CRUZ, SHAHEEN PROPOSE SANCTIONS AGAINST LEBANESE OFFIICALS OVER AMERICAN PRISONER
Proving that Iran was behind the imprisonment was more difficult. In fact, while Guila said some people «kind of laughed» that the family blamed Iran for their father’s mistreatment, Zoya said «Iran’s influence in Lebanon in recent years further proves our point.»
Because Iran never responded to the suit, Guila said the family was forced to provide evidence her father witnessed of Hezbollah’s control over «every government agency in Lebanon,» including the military hospital, military court, and the Lebanese General Directorate of General Security, the country’s intelligence apparatus that Guila said arrested and tortured Fakhoury.
In Beirut, an arch glorifying Hezbollah and Iran’s leader Ali Khamenei, and people gather outside a hospital after the arrival of several men wounded by exploding handheld pagers, in Beirut. (Anwar Amro/AFP via Getty Images | AP Photo/Bassam Masri)
Even when the Lebanese judicial system found Fakhoury innocent of multiple false charges that he was a killer, a terrorist and an Israeli agent, Guila said officials told Fakhoury that they had to keep him «because Hezbollah wants [him] in prison.»
Fakhoury’s family faced difficulties even before filing their case in May 2021. Zoya says Hezbollah officials in Lebanon have been issuing threats to the family since Fakhoury’s death. In addition to Iran failing to respond to the suit, Guila said Lebanese General Directorate of General Security officials interfered with the lawsuit by asking to have their names and agencies removed. She says the judge denied the request.
Long periods of silence from the court also made the wait for justice difficult, Zoya said. «The last four years, we were fearful,» she explained. «We were worried maybe nothing’s going to come out of this.»
While the family is grateful for the judgment they received, Guila says they believe the settlement awarded through the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act was «a bit of an unfair decision» and did not «take into account the pain and the suffering of the family.»
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Amer Fakhoury and his family during Christmas 2018. (Courtesy of the Fakhoury family)
Still, the landmark judgment paves the way for others to find justice, the family says. «We’re hoping, with this administration, to use the judgment that we have and the work that we’ve been doing in the [Amer] Foundation to continue the accountability efforts,» Guila said. «A lot of other Lebanese citizens [and] American citizens that have been targeted by the Lebanese government, by Hezbollah in Lebanon, can now use this case to get justice for what happened to them,» Zoya explained.
The sisters said the next steps in their journey are to find justice for their father and will involve requesting the State Department to sanction «officials in Lebanon who were traitors and working with Hezbollah and Iran.»
¿Gaza sin palestinos?
Palestinos esperan recibir comida de un comedor social, en medio de una crisis de hambre, en la ciudad de Gaza. Foto Reuters
EPA, Mexico meet over Tijuana sewage crisis
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin joins ‘Fox News Live’ to discuss rolling back Biden-era environmental policies, the U.S.-Mexico sewage crisis in Tijuana, and his recent meeting with an Israeli diplomat killed just weeks later.
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A new deal between the United States and Mexico aimed at resolving the Tijuana River sewage crisis is «massive» win for Americans living in the San Diego area, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin announced this week.
The memorandum of understanding was signed Thursday as the EPA said «For many decades, untreated raw sewage has flowed into Southern California from Mexico, polluting the Tijuana River Valley, closing beaches, fouling the air, harming the region’s economy, and sickening people on both sides of the border.»
«The Trump Administration is proud to deliver this massive environmental and national security win for Americans in the San Diego area who have been living with this disgusting raw sewage flowing into their communities for far too long,» Zeldin said in a statement.
The EPA said the deal meets multiple «top Trump Administration priorities and milestones critical to ensuring a 100% solution to this issue» — including expediting already-existing critical infrastructure projects.
LIV GOLF STAR PHIL MICKELSON ADDS HIS REACTION TO DEEPENING SEWAGE CRISIS IN SAN DIEGO
A sign reads «Stop The Stink» near the Tijuana River Valley area by Border Field State Park along the U.S.-Mexico border between San Diego and Tijuana in San Diego County, Calif., on April 23, 2025. In recent years, the U.S.-Mexico border sewage pollution problem has closed beaches and raised concerns over public health issues. (Patrick Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)
«The United States — which has withheld sending more American dollars to projects until Mexico fulfilled their obligations toward other projects — agreed to release EPA Border Water Infrastructure Program funding to complete the rehabilitation of Pump Station 1 and the Tijuana River collection pipes. This is because Mexico agreed to fund and begin construction on two priority projects this year, the diversion of treated effluent from two wastewater treatment plants and the rehabilitation of the Parallel Gravity Line,» the EPA said, in reference to a wastewater collecting pipe in Mexico. «This increased the total number of projects planned for this year from two to six.»
«To that end, Mexico will immediately seek internal funding to initiate the construction process for the diversion, which will divert 10 million gallons per day of treated effluent entering the Tijuana River, and the rehabilitation of the Parallel Gravity Line. This will be completed no later than December 31, 2025,» the EPA added.
It also said «Several necessary Mexico side projects have been added to account for future population growth in Tijuana and operation and maintenance costs.»
DEAL STRUCK BETWEEN US AND MEXICO TO ENSURE TEXAS FARMERS GET MUCH-NEEDED WATER
The South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant operates to treat water and sewage flowing across the border from the Tijuana River behind a section of border wall fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border between San Diego and Tijuana on April 24, 2025. (Patrick Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)
The deal was reached after Zeldin traveled to San Diego in April to speak to those affected by the situation.
«I made a commitment to the residents that I would spearhead an effort to construct an all-encompassing plan to finally bring the sewage crisis to an end,» Zeldin said. «Since my visit, the Mexican and United States’ governments have been working collaboratively to urgently finalize a permanent 100% solution to this longstanding issue. Secretary Rubio and the whole State Department, and the National Security Council at the White House worked hand-in-hand with EPA, and other federal partners, to make this agreement a reality.»
An aerial view of sewage water spilling into Playa Blanca beach in the coast of Tijuana, Baja California state, Mexico on March 21, 2024. (Getty Images)
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«This is not just a solution for 2025,» he added. «We devised this agreement to factor in population growth, operation and maintenance costs, and other variables that would make this solution durable and long term. Grateful to President Claudia Sheinbaum, Secretary [of the Environment and National Resources of Mexico Alicia] Bárcena, and the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs for their partnership, cooperation, and commitment to work with us to clean up the Tijuana River Valley. This is a huge win for millions of Americans and Mexicans who have been calling on us to end this decades old crisis.»
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President Donald Trump will depart for Scotland on Friday for a five-day trip where he will check in with his golf resorts in Turnberry and Aberdeen, as well as with British Prime Minister Kier Starmer and head of the Scottish government, First Minister John Swinney.
While it is unclear what dates he will be meeting with the British leaders, one topic of conversation expected to be top of the list is the U.S.-U.K. trade agreement.
The U.K. is one of the few countries with which the U.S. has advanced its trade agreements under relatively amicable terms, signing a deal dubbed the «Economic Prosperity Deal» last month, which agreed to slash tariffs.
Then-former President Donald Trump playing golf at his Trump Turnberry course in South Ayrshire during his visit to the U.K. on Wednesday, May 3, 2023. (Andrew Milligan/PA Images via Getty Images)
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It is unclear what details the pair will hash out, but according to Alan Mendoza, executive director of the Henry Jackson Society, an international affairs think tank based in London, the June deal was more of a «head of terms,» essentially stating both nations’ intent to move forward with new trade terms.
«Now we expect to see more detail to be hammered out and specific rates on various industries to be specified,» Mendoza explained to Fox News Digital.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also told reporters last week that Trump and Starmer will meet «to refine the great trade deal that was brokered,» though the White House did not answer Fox News Digital’s questions about what specifically will be discussed over the weekend.
«The U.K. is the only country to have secured this deal with the U.S., reducing car export tariffs from 27.5% to 10%, saving manufacturers hundreds of millions each year and protecting hundreds of thousands of jobs,» the British government said in a statement. «At the same time, the aerospace sector has seen the removal of 10% tariffs on goods such as engines and aircraft parts, helping make companies such as Rolls Royce more competitive and allow them to continue to be at the cutting edge of innovation.»
Starmer championed his relationship with Trump in a BBC interview earlier this month and said that it was «in the national interest» for the two men to get along.
U.K. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, middle left, meets with President Donald Trump, alongside Vice President JD Vance, right, and U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy, left, in the Oval Office at the White House on Feb. 27, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Carl Court – Pool/Getty Images)
«We are different people, and we’ve got different political backgrounds and leanings, but we do have a good relationship and that comes from a number of places,» Starmer told BBC podcast «Political Thinking.» «I think I do understand what anchors the president, what he really cares about.»
Apart from geopolitical talks, Trump is expected to get in a round of golf at one of his courses when visiting his clubs, like he did in 2018 when he visited the historic golf resort and hotel at Turnberry.
UK TO ROLL OUT RED CARPET IN ‘UNPRECEDENTED’ SECOND TRUMP VISIT HOSTED BY KING CHARLES
The British government did not respond to Fox News Digital’s questions whether Starmer is expected to play alongside Trump at any point during his trip.
Scotland appears to hold special significance for Trump as his mother, Mary Anne MacLeod Trump, was born and raised in Scotland before she moved to Queens, New York, and he dedicated his club in Aberdeen to her after breaking ground in 2023 and naming an 18-round course the MacLeod Course.
Then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is welcomed as he arrives at his Turnberry golf course, in Turnberry, Scotland, on June 24, 2016. (REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne/File Photo)
He is also reported to have created a memorial garden to his mother at the resort.
Though his strong affection for Scotland has not always been reciprocated and Trump has previously been met with protests during his trip.
Scotland Police confirmed with Fox New Digital that «significant» security precautions have been taken ahead of Trump’s visit, including pulling in additional forces from across the U.K. to help with the police effort.
«A policing plan will be in place to maintain public safety, balance rights to peaceful protest and minimize disruption,» Assistant Chief Constable Emma Bond said, confirming that protests are once again expected.
President Donald Trump plays a round of golf at the Trump Turnberry resort in South Ayrshire, where he and first lady Melania Trump are spending the weekend. (Andrew Milligan/PA Images via Getty Images)
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«The visit will require a significant police operation using local, national and specialist resources from across Police Scotland, supported by colleagues from other U.K. police forces as part of mutual aid arrangements,» she added.
Trump will return to the U.K. in September for an official state visit, where he will meet with King Charles III at Windsor Castle.
The visit will mark the first time the U.K. has invited a U.S. president for a second state visit.
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