INTERNACIONAL
Edan Alexander’s release offers ‘window of opportunity’ for wider hostage deal amid Trump Middle East visit
American and Israeli officials believe the release of Edan Alexander, 21, presents a «window of opportunity» to free the remaining 58 hostages still held by Hamas after 585 days since their capture on Oct. 7, 2023.
Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and hostage envoy Adam Boehler will travel from Israel to Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday for further negotiations for the release of not only the 24 hostages still believed to be alive, but also the bodies of at least 34 individuals who have been held by the terrorist group including four Americans: Itay Chen, Omer Neutra, and Gadi Haggai and Judi Weinstein Haggai.
In a nearly two-hour meeting with Witkoff, Boehler and the Hostages Families Forum, both officials emphasized that they remain committed to returning all hostages and confirmed they would not be traveling to Doha if they did not believe there was a real chance in advancing negotiations.
Edan Alexander, center, speaks with loved ones following his release. (IDF)
AMERICAN HOSTAGE EDAN ALEXANDER RELEASED BY HAMAS AFTER MORE THAN 580 DAYS IN CAPTIVITY
While Alexander’s return has been championed as a major success story, and both President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were reported to have spoken with the Israeli American from a hospital in Tel Aviv, immense concern remains over the hostages still held in the Gaza Strip.
Though Israel ceased its military operations in the Gaza Strip to secure the safe transport of Alexander on Monday, it has not committed to any continued cessation of strikes.
In Witkoff’s comments to the families of the hostages, he said President Trump would not «tolerate anything other than everybody coming home, and he will be relentless in that pursuit.» He continued, «you saw what happened with the Houthis. You saw what happened when people don’t do well with the United States, we don’t do so well with them. So it’s a message of do what we ask you to do. And you know then things will be better.»
Israeli reports also suggested the envoy may be feeling frustrated with his Israeli counterparts.
«We want to bring the hostages home, but Israel is not willing to end the war. Israel is prolonging it despite the fact that we don’t see where else we can go and that an agreement must be reached,» Witkoff reportedly said during the meeting with the hostage families.
«There is currently a window of opportunity that we hope Israel and all the mediators will take advantage of,» he was reported to have added. «We are putting pressure on all the mediators and doing everything we can to bring the hostages home.»
The comments reportedly come following reports that Trump has also grown increasingly frustrated with his Israeli counterpart.
Edan Alexander thanks President Donald Trump in a handwritten message following his release from captivity in Gaza. (The White House)
TRUMP STRAINS RELATIONSHIP WITH NETANYAHU AS MIDDLE EAST POLICY INCREASINGLY ISOLATES ISRAEL
Israel said last week that Trump’s visit to the Middle East would be «the window of opportunity» to secure a ceasefire otherwise it would continue with its newly announced plans to capture all of Gaza, despite immense international pushback and concerns over human rights abuses and violations of U.N.-established borders.
The comments came after Netanyahu prompted immense outcry after he said his number one priority was destroying Hamas, not returning the hostages, despite opposition to the plan by the majority of Israelis.
On Monday, Netanyahu reiterated his intent to «destroy» Hamas while speaking with injured reservists and confirmed that even if Hamas agrees to return the hostages, Israel will continue with its military operations.
People hold posters of hostages during a rally to mark the first anniversary of the Oct. 7 terror attacks on Israel, on Oct. 6, 2024 in New York City. (Noam Galai/Getty Images)
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«In the coming days, we are going in with full force to complete the operation. Completing the operation means defeating Hamas. It means destroying Hamas,» he said.
«It’s possible that Hamas will say, ‘Time out — we want to release ten more [hostages].’ Fine, bring them. We’ll take them, and then we’ll go in. But there will not be a situation in which we stop the war. There may be a temporary ceasefire, but we’re going all the way,» he confirmed.
Witkoff’s team did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s questions.
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New York Attorney General Letitia James was arraigned at a federal court in Norfolk, Virginia, Friday, where she pleaded not guilty to two felony charges of bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution.
The charges against James stem from her 2020 purchase of a home in Norfolk, Virginia. Prosecutors allege that James misled a bank about the nature of the residence in order to obtain more favorable loan conditions.
The indictment states that James misrepresented the financial institution in claiming it would be her secondary residence, and instead rented it out to a family.
According to the indictment, the lower interest rate would allow James to save nearly $19,000 over the course of the 30-year loan.
LETITIA JAMES TO BE ARRAIGNED IN VIRGINIA ON FEDERAL BANK FRAUD CHARGES TIED TO 2020 HOME PURCHASE
NY AG Letitia James and President Donald Trump (Getty Images)
James entered the not guilty plea herself to U.S. District Judge Jamar K. Walker.
She is being represented in the case by defense attorney Abbe Lowell, and by Andrew Bosse, a former assistant U.S. attorney based in Norfolk who formerly headed up the office’s criminal division.
James’ arraignment is the latest in a string of prosecutions brought against the president’s perceived political foes, despite objections from career prosecutors — some of whom have since been fired or resigned.
James, a Democrat, has long-drawn Trump’s ire after she campaigned for attorney general in 2016 largely on vows to investigate Trump’s actions and businesses.
She also successfully secured a $450 million civil fraud case against him last year, though an appeals court later tossed the financial penalty portion of the case.
«This is nothing more than a continuation of the president’s desperate weaponization of our justice system,» James said in a statement after she was indicted.
DOJ SEEKS REMOVAL OF COMEY’S DEFENSE LAWYER, CITING CONFLICT OF INTEREST
Trump denies B1 bombers flew toward Venezuela amid cartel threats. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
«These charges are baseless, and the president’s own public statements make clear that his only goal is political retribution at any cost,» she added.
Her indictment, like the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey, was presented to a grand jury by former White House aide Lindsey Halligan, whom President Donald Trump installed as the acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia last month.
Trump, in September, said he would install Halligan as the top prosecutor for the Eastern District of Virginia, replacing interim attorney Erik Siebert, who resigned under pressure to indict both Comey and James.
«No one is above the law. The charges as alleged in this case represent intentional, criminal acts and tremendous breaches of the public’s trust,» Halligan said in a statement. «The facts and the law in this case are clear, and we will continue following them to ensure that justice is served.»
After the arraignment, it is likely that she will file a motion to dismiss her case for vindictive and selective prosecution, following similar steps taken by Comey’s legal team in Alexandria earlier this week.
She will also file a motion to dismiss her case based on what her lawyers will argue was the unlawful appointment of Halligan in securing her indictment.
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Lowell, her attorney, has described the case against her as «improper political retribution,» and vowed they would «fight these charges in every process allowed in the law.»
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to Fox News’s request for comment on the case, or whether Halligan or Keller would be joined by any other federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia.
Speaking to reporters outside the court on Friday, James said the Justice Department is being used as a tool of «revenge,» and a «vehicle of retribution.»
«But my faith is strong,» she told the group that had massed outside the courthouse in Norfolk, Virginia, hours earlier. «I have a belief in the justice system.»
«Never cow down or break or bend. So there is no fear today,» she said. «I will not be deterred.»
Judge Walker set a trial date for Jan. 26, 2026, and ordered parties to appear back in court for motions hearings in early December.
politics,new york,federal courts,donald trump,crime world,virginia
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INTERNACIONAL
US kills 6 suspected narco-terrorists in overnight strike on alleged drug smuggling boat, Hegseth says
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President Donald Trump directed a nighttime U.S. strike on a suspected Tren de Aragua vessel in the Caribbean Sea, killing six alleged narco-terrorists, officials say.
«Overnight, at the direction of President Trump, the Department of War carried out a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Tren de Aragua (TdA), a Designated Terrorist Organization (DTO), trafficking narcotics in the Caribbean Sea,» War Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on X sharing an accompanying video of the strike. «The vessel was known by our intelligence to be involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, was transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics.»
«Six male narco-terrorists were aboard the vessel during the strike, which was conducted in international waters — and was the first strike at night,» he said. «All six terrorists were killed and no U.S. forces were harmed in this strike.»
HEGSETH SAYS US CONDUCTED ANOTHER STRIKE IN EASTERN PACIFIC TARGETING ALLEGED NARCO-TRAFFICKERS
This infrared image released by the Department of War shows a suspected Tren de Aragua vessel in international waters of the Caribbean Sea before a U.S. nighttime strike that killed six alleged narco-terrorists, officials said. (Department of War/Pete Hegseth)
Hegseth further warned, «If you are a narco-terrorist smuggling drugs in our hemisphere, we will treat you like we treat [al Qaeda]. Day or NIGHT, we will map your networks, track your people, hunt you down, and kill you.»
The strike marks the 10th operation targeting suspected drug traffickers since Trump returned to office. The president has made combating the nation’s drug crisis a central policy focus.
The first strike took place on Sept. 2, and since then, 43 suspected drug traffickers have been killed and two have survived, officials said. The pace of the strikes has increased from one every few weeks in September to three so far this week.
The operations have mostly targeted vessels linked to Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua network. The missions have ranged from attacks on smuggling boats to the destruction of a submersible, with footage of several operations released by Hegseth and Trump on social media.
TRUMP APPROVES MILITARY ACTION AGAINST LATIN AMERICAN CARTELS CLASSIFIED AS TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS
War Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the latest strike Friday morning. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images )
When reporters asked Trump on Thursday whether he would request Congress issue a declaration of war against the cartels, he said that wasn’t the plan.
«I think we’re just going to kill people that are bringing drugs into our country, OK? We’re going to kill them, you know? They’re going to be like, dead,» Trump said during a roundtable at the White House with homeland security officials.
Trump this month declared drug cartels to be unlawful combatants and said the U.S. was in an «armed conflict» with them.
Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle are questioning Trump’s decision to launch the operations without first consulting lawmakers. Several Democrats are warning that the strikes could breach international law.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has also raised concerns about killing people without due process and the possibility of killing innocent people.
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An infrared image released by the Department of War shows debris and smoke following a nighttime strike on a suspected Tren de Aragua vessel in international waters of the Caribbean Sea. Officials said six alleged narco-terrorists were killed in the operation. (Department of War)
In a recent interview, Paul cited Coast Guard statistics that show a significant percentage of boats boarded for suspicion of drug trafficking are innocent.
The senator has also argued that if the administration plans to engage in a war with Venezuela, as it has targeted boats in recent weeks it claims are transporting drugs for the Venezuela-linked Tren de Aragua gang, it must seek a declaration of war from Congress.
Fox News’ Landon Mion and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
narco terror,military,pete hegseth,donald trump,secretary of defense,world,drugs
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