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Quote:Not even tiny indie film festivals are safe from the long-reaching arm of the Chinese Communist Party.
On Monday, The New York Times reported that Chinese director Zhu Rikun had to cancel the NYC-based IndieChina Film Festival after the CCP harassed participants and their families (particularly members in China) over the inclusion of films that Beijing had never approved.
The director himself was willing to take some heat over the festival, but when any other filmmakers, panel moderators and a volunteer pulled out, and a few admitted they or their families had been bullied by Chinese police, Zhu opted to shutter the event.
The jackboots won: There will be no unapproved speech about China on President Xi Jinping’s watch — not even on American soil.
It’s no surprise that Xi’s thought police moved against art the CCP hadn’t OK’d — Chinese authorities strong-armed Zhu’s previous project, the Beijing Independent Film Festival, into nonexistence in 2014.
But it’s beyond chilling that the CCP could so effectively squash speech in New York City, thuggishly controlling what US-based independent thinkers can say and watch.
The small festival was mostly funded by Zhu; he expected perhaps 70 people at each screening.
Alarm bells should be sounding from City Hall to Capitol Hill and the White House: Xi’s bullyboys are increasingly bold about meddling in American business.
In August, the Times broke a story about a ring of Chinese agents working through a network of at least 53 organizations fronting as “hometown associations” to sabotage the careers of politicians in New York who met with Taiwanese leaders or criticized the CCP.
Back in 2023, two Chinese foreign agents were arrested for running a “secret police station” in Manhattan to help the CPP track down and target dissidents living in the United States.
Chinese spies have been caught in the offices of Gov. Kathy Hochul, in pro-democracy activist circles and in a New Jersey sushi joint.
Suspected CCP agents have also targeted American students for grooming into spies.
The Red Dragon, it seems, has eyes and ears everywhere and demands complete and total obedience — not even shoestring-budget film festivals that will draw a few hundred attendees at most are spared.
Quote:The embattled former head of the Manhattan nonprofit that performed risky research out of China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology leading up to the COVID-19 outbreak claims to be “unemployed” and “poor” in a $3 million lawsuit filed against his former employer.
Ex-president of EcoHealth Alliance Dr. Peter Daszak was barred this year from receiving federal funding until 2029 for failing to disclose the potentially dangerous genetic enhancement of coronaviruses to the government.
The group’s board of directors ordered Daszak, 59, to fire all 26 of the nonprofit’s employees in December, and then gave him the boot as well, according to court papers filed against the board in Manhattan Supreme Court.
His severance was withheld and he “remains unemployed and is now poor” according to court documents.
Daszak made $443,590, according to EcoHealth’s 2024 tax filings.
The House Oversight Committee’s Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic uncovered evidence last year indicating that EcoHealth and Daszak, who worked there 24 years, “willingly” and “repeatedly” violated several requirements of a more than $4 million National Institutes of Health grant during his work in China.
“Given that a lab-related incident involving gain-of-function research is the most likely origin of COVID-19, EcoHealth and its former President should never again receive a single cent from the U.S. taxpayer,” House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) said at the time.
EcoHealth Alliance closed its doors in April but former staffers led by Daszak immediately launched a non-profit with a similar mission, Nature.Health.Global, through which he authored a paper in August on “widespread spillover risk of a group of coronaviruses” from Chinese pig farms.
The organization has yet to submit financials to the IRS and did not respond to request on their funding or how much they pay Daszak.
Daszak has also been petitioning to impeach Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., and recently organized a protest in Washington D.C against what he claims is the Trump administration’s “war on science.”
Quote:WASHINGTON — President Trump’s proposed $2,000 tariff dividend checks for American citizens are coming, he promised — but no date has been finalized yet.
The president gave an update on the timing of the potential payouts on Friday, saying they won’t come in time for the Christmas shopping season.
Instead, he said he’s planning to dole them out in 2026 as he grapples with a tough midterm election cycle.
“It will be next year. The tariffs allow us to give a dividend. We’re going to do a dividend and we’re also going to be reducing debt,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Mar-a-Lago.
Looming over the tariff dividends are concerns that the Supreme Court could strike down Trump’s “trafficking” and “reciprocal” tariffs following a tough oral argument for the administration.
When asked if Trump would still send out tariff dividend checks if the Supreme Court rolls back his tariffs, Trump said, “Then I’d have to do something else.”
Additionally, the tariff rebate would need approval from Congress, where several Republicans have previously expressed skepticism, and instead said Trump should be focusing on slashing the federal budget deficit.
Trump administration officials have given few specifics about how tariff rebate checks would work. Last week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent explained that the administration was still figuring out an income limit.
“Well, there are a lot of options here that the president’s talking about a $2,000 rebate and those — that would be for families making less than, say, $100,000,” Bessent told “Fox & Friends” last Wednesday.
Then he quickly clarified that “it’s in discussion” and “we haven’t” decided on that limit.
The president unveiled the proposal earlier this month and caveated that the plan is to exclude “high income people,” without specifying a specific income threshold.
Trump announced the plan shortly after a majority of justices on the Supreme Court sounded deeply skeptical of the tariffs he’s implemented under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
Since early on in his second term, Trump has used IEEPA, a statute that doesn’t mention the word tariffs at all and that no president prior to him has used to impose duties, to slap customized tariffs on virtually every country.
Quote:Two people have been killed, including a 10-year-old boy, and three others wounded in a mass shooting in Newark.
A 21-year-old woman died from her injuries while a boy, 11, and two men, ages 19 and 60, are in a stable condition following the shocking attack in Newark at around 7 p.m. Saturday, according to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office.
Residents reported hearing a series of quickfire shots, followed by screaming.
“It was a lot of screaming,” said one resident of a nearby apartment building, where police prevented people from going back in Saturday night.
“It was a lot [of gunshots]. More than six,” the woman, who asked not to give her name, told NJ.com.
Both of the fatally wounded victims were rushed to University Hospital after the shooting, as Newark’s Mayor Ras Baraka urged the gunman to surrender.
The Dem mayor issued a statement that addressed the shooting, as well as the death of a 2-year-old who fell out of a window in the city earlier in the day.
“Today was a dark and devastating day in Newark as a small child fell to his death from an apartment window this afternoon and two more innocent souls died in a shooting on Chancellor Avenue,” he said.
“Our city mourns the loss of the baby, and the depraved and senseless killing of a 21-year-old woman and a 10-year-old boy taken from their parents as their young lives were just blossoming,” Baraka said.
“We will not rest until there is justice for the parents and families left behind in unspeakable pain and grief. Newark will work tirelessly with the prosecutor’s office, state law enforcement, and federal agencies to ensure justice is served. We urge the killer to turn himself in, as there is no safe place to hide,” he said.
The gunman opened fire on the 300 block of Chancellor Avenue, unleashing a spray of bullets, with at least 17 evidence markers seen at the scene on Sunday morning, WABC reported.
Cops and plainclothes detectives were seen in the early morning with flashlights, examining what appeared to be a jacket on the ground, as they combed the largely residential area, NJ.com reported.
New Jersey’s largest city, with a population of over 300,000, Newark saw a 13% increase in violent crime in the year leading up to May 2024, according to the Newark Public Safety Collaborative (NPSC), based at Rutgers University.
However, aggravated assaults, robberies, and homicides all decreased significantly between Jan 1, 2025, and Oct. 26, NPSC figures show.
Quote:Fred Goldman may be closer to finally receiving payment from OJ Simpson’s estate nearly three decades after winning a wrongful death judgment against the former football great who was acquitted of killing his son.
Malcolm LaVergne, the executor of the Simpson estate, has accepted Goldman’s creditor claim for $57,997,858.12 plus ongoing judgment interest, TMZ reported on Saturday.
The news site reports that the figure was agreed to following negotiations between the estate and Goldman, whose son Ron was killed alongside Simpson’s ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, in June 1994.
Goldman initially submitted a claim exceeding $117 million — a figure that represents the original $33 million judgment from the 1995 civil lawsuit plus interest that has accumulated over the course of the past three decades.
LaVergne disputed Goldman’s calculations and offered a number that was half of what the bereaved father was seeking. Goldman accepted, according to TMZ.
The executor told TMZ that the estate intends to pay as much of the approved amount as possible through ongoing auctions of Simpson’s possessions.
LaVergne said that some memorabilia was stolen and that he is working with attorneys to recover those items.
He also plans to request the court award Goldman administrative fees for guidance provided in managing the estate.
LaVergne has rejected most creditor claims, accepting only Goldman’s and a claim from the Internal Revenue Service.
The Simpson estate will prioritize payment to the IRS in order to meet federal tax obligations before tending to other debts, including an approximately $636,945 claim from California.
LaVergne told TMZ that the state would need to pursue legal action if it wants payment.
The agreement with Goldman marks a reversal from LaVergne’s initial stance following Simpson’s death last year, when he stated he would never pay the Goldman family.
He subsequently changed course and committed to accepting their claim.
Quote:They were doting sports moms who appeared to be living the suburban dream in some of New Jersey’s richest counties — showing off lives of apparent luxury on social media.
But beneath the surface, prosecutors said the wife and ex-wife of purported Lucchese crime family soldier Joseph “Little Joe” Perna were taking cash from a $2 million Mafia-linked illegal online sports betting ring managed by their sons, authorities said.
Perna’s wife, Kim Zito, acted like an open book on Facebook and Instagram, showing off her two small dogs, the homes and apartments she flips, and her frequent nights out on the town with her glammed up, Gucci-bag wielding gal squad.
On X, the 53-year-old follows “Real Housewives of New Jersey” veteran Dina Manzo and President Trump, supports the Second Amendment, and shares both her love for Lifetime movies as well as motivational quotes from the likes of Joel Osteen.
Her socials are also replete with pictures of her now 23-year-old son, Frank, playing football and baseball, or the two hugging inside their granite-countertopped kitchen.
Frank Zito oversaw the sportsbook operation along with Joseph Magno, 25, a former Ramapo High School wrestling standout, and his brother, Anthony Magno, 23, who played football for Bergen Catholic High School, authorities said.
The two are the sons of Joseph Perna’s ex-wife, 52-year-old insurance agent Rosanna Magno.
Kim Zito and Rosanna Magno were both charged with racketeering by federal authorities who claim they played a role in an online sportsbook racket Perna, 55, allegedly financed, according to court papers.
Ex-Rutgers wrestler Michael Cetta, 23 — Rosanna Magno’s nephew — also participated in the operation, prosecutors alleged in court documents, as did cousin Dominic Perna, 23.
Kim Zito and Rosanna both live in large, two-story homes in Fairfield and Oakland, NJ, respectively. Zito’s home’s value is estimated to be approximately, $800,000 and Magno’s has a market value of $700,000.
Quote:New York Jets cornerback Kris Boyd is in “good condition” after being shot twice in the gut outside a celeb hotspot in Midtown Manhattan, his best pal told The Post.
“He’s all good right now. He’s in good condition. He’s doing real good,” said Ernest Quander, one of Boyd’s closest friends from his days playing ball at the University of Texas.
“He’s a soldier, through tough times” Quander added. “He’s fine. He’s fine.”
Boyd was left in critical condition and clinging to life after being gunned down on the street outside a restaurant in the heart of Manhattan around 2 a.m. Sunday.
The 29-year-old was struck by two gunshots to the abdomen, while two luxury cars – one believed to be carrying the gunman – sped away from the scene.
No official updates on Boyd’s health have been given since he was listed as in critical but stable condition after being rushed to Bellevue Hospital while slipping in and out of consciousness, sources told The Post.
But Quander said he was on his way to NYC to be at his friend’s side.
The two first met while Quander was a 23-year-old coach, and Boyd was a freshman college player.
Despite their close age, Quander was described by KETK as a “father figure” to Boyd after the cornerback made it to the NFL.
Quote:WASHINGTON — Libertarian Rep. Thomas Massie on Sunday warned his Republican colleagues that President Trump can’t protect them for very long if they oppose the complete release of the Epstein files.
Massie of Kentucky and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) have garnered enough support to force the House to vote on their proposed legislation this week to compel the Justice Department to release all of its files regarding late powerful pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, with carve-outs to protect his victims’ identities.
“I would remind my Republican colleagues who are deciding how to vote: Donald Trump can protect you in red districts right now by giving you an endorsement, but by 2030, he’s not gonna be the president, and you will have voted to protect pedophiles if you don’t vote to release those files,” Massie warned on ABC’s “This Week.”
“The record of this vote will last longer than Donald Trump’s presidency.”
Trump faced a MAGA-world revolt during the summer over Epstein, after a controversial July FBI and DOJ memo concluded the heinous financier committed suicide and had not maintained an incriminating “client list,” contrary to speculation.
Massie, who has been in Trump’s crosshairs, particularly for his opposition to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, joined with Khanna in seeking to bypass GOP leadership and force a vote on releasing the Epstein files.
That effort, which was delayed by a government shutdown and August recess, has finally come to fruition.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has called the Massie and Khanna proposal a “moot” point because the GOP-led House Oversight Committee has been investigating the Epstein ordeal while releasing tens of thousands of pages worth of the documents.
But Massie said there must be a full accounting — and that the time is ripe to push for it.
“I think we could have a deluge of Republicans. There could be 100 or more. I’m hoping to get a veto-proof majority on this legislation when it comes up for a vote,” he said.
“This president’s been saying this is a hoax. He’s been saying that for months. Well, he’s just now decided to investigate a hoax, if it’s a hoax,” Massie said of the controversy surrounding the information in the files.
Last week, Trump announced that he asked the DOJ to investigate former President Bill Clinton, JP Morgan and Chase, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers and LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman in relation to the files.
Massie fretted that those probes could function as a “big smokescreen” to hamper the release of all of the Epstein files.
Quote:An apparently homeless man was stabbed twice in the middle of Times Square Saturday — yelling “save the children” while bleeding profusely after the attack, cops and witnesses said.
The 30-year-old victim was outside 1501 Broadway, which houses Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers and other restaurants, at West 44th Street in the Crossroads of the World when the attacker plunged a knife into his left ribs and arm around 11:40 a.m., cops said.
A vendor said the victim was shirtless, bleeding from his chest and yelling repeatedly after he was injured.
The victim, whose identity wasn’t released, was taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition, cops said. He was “highly uncooperative” and police weren’t sure what led up to the assault, cops said.
The attacker took off in an unknown direction and was described as wearing a black jacket and dark pants, cops said.
Blood pooled on the sidewalk outside Raising Cane’s after the bloody stabbing.
Felony assaults are up 1% in the 14th Precinct so far this year to 476 from 471 at the same time last year, NYPD data show.
Felony assaults are down 0.2% citywide. Major crime is down 3% citywide so far this year over last, according to the data.
Quote:An atmospheric river has begun to slam California that is expected to bring days of heavy rain, strong wind gusts and potentially feet of mountain snow to the Golden State through early next week, ushering in the region’s rainy season.
The storm system is forecast to bring several months’ worth of rain to Southern California in the span of just a few days.
A dangerous situation will unfold on Saturday as the peak of the ongoing rain event takes center stage.
According to the FOX Weather Center, the peak will continue between the hours of 4am-12pm PT. During the peak, rain rates up to one inch per hour are possible, with a chance of thunderstorms and even a weak tornado.
As a result, a flash flood threat level 3 out of 4 now exists through Sunday morning across California.
Heavy rain remains as the real threat, which, when falling on top of the already saturated ground, could produce flash flooding anywhere.
The recent burn areas will be most vulnerable to flash flooding, landslides and debris flows. This includes the Pacific Palisades and Eaton fires from earlier this year. A Flash Flood Watch is in effect for more than 20 million people across California.
According to the National Weather Service, ash from wildfires creates burn scars – a water-repellent coating that prevents the ground from absorbing water and causes the area to be predisposed to flash flooding and debris flows.
Evacuation warnings have been issued for areas around the Palisades, Franklin, Easton and Canyon fires, amongst other locations.
By late Saturday night, the bulk of heavy rain will start to come to an end and start to move east across southern Nevada, including Las Vegas.
All told, parts of the California coast, including San Francisco and Los Angeles, could see 3–5 inches of rain through Monday. Typically, Los Angeles averages just over 6 inches of rain from November to January — meaning they could see over 2 months’ worth of rain in just a few days.
San Diego could see 2–3 inches of through Sunday. On average, the area only sees an average of just over 4″ of rain from November to January.
If this storm unfolds as forecast, this would be one of Los Angeles’ wettest Novembers in the past 50 years.
The upper-level low will start to weaken by Sunday, but another storm will brush Northern California, renewing flash flood potential.
Quote:Jon Voight is sounding the alarm about New York City’s political direction.
The Oscar-winning actor released a video message this week accusing Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani of posing a dire threat to the future of the nation’s largest city, and warning that only President Donald Trump could “stop this horror.”
In the video posted on X, Voight said that Mamdani will “take down the city that never sleeps,” warning that New York “will turn into a forbidden place of darkness.”
“This mayor will destroy this city,” he said.
“We are obligated to demand our rights for our private sanctuary, our businesses, our property that we all have worked so hard for — and this 35-year-old mayor has no right dictating the rules of socialism for a city built on our highest principles with brick and stone by hard-working Americans. This must be stopped, and his mayoralty should be terminated immediately.”
Throughout his statement, Voight urged residents to push back against the mayor-elect, whom he repeatedly characterized as a threat to the city’s foundational values.
“You, the people of the greatest city, New York, are in danger of losing your city to this communist fool. We, the people, must stand for the greatest nation’s purpose — the honor of our flag, the red, white and blue — and for which it stands, one nation under God, with liberty and justice for all,” he said.
“This country, the United States of America, is the land of our greatest achievement — the American dream.”
He went on to say that Americans “have put our trust in the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump. He, and only he, can stop this horror as this mayor, Mamdani, will try to destroy New York’s wealth and turn it into a socialist crap city.
“Let this be a warning to the people — and may God bless. May God bless.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Voight and Mamdani for comment.
Mamdani won the New York City mayoral election Nov. 4, defeating independent candidate Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa.
Voight made his comments with celebrities and political commentators divided over New York City’s political direction.
“Sex and the City” star Cynthia Nixon, who ran for New York governor in 2018, previously celebrated Mamdani’s victory on social media, sharing photos with him and writing, “I love this young man so, so much! He is a miracle of nature, and I would follow him to the ends of the earth.”
Quote:Federal immigration agents descended on North Carolina’s biggest city Saturday, unleashing a new wave of raids as President Trump continues his crackdown on illegal immigration.
US Border Patrol agents were spotted making multiple arrests in Charlotte during an operation targeting “violent criminal illegal aliens” in the Democratic-run city, a move widely condemned by local officials.
“Americans should be able to live without fear of violent criminal illegal aliens hurting them, their families, or their neighbors,” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.
“We are surging DHS law enforcement to Charlotte to ensure Americans are safe and public safety threats are removed.”
She did not disclose any details about the sweep, such as the number of officers or their duties.
While the exact number of arrests remains unclear, local officials blasted the operation for “causing unnecessary fear and uncertainty” in a city home to more than 150,000 immigrant residents.
“We want people in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County to know we stand with all residents who simply want to go about their lives,” Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles, Mecklenburg County Board Chair Mark Jerrell and Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board member Stephanie Sneed said in a joint statement.
“Each of our organizations have made commitments to the people we serve to protect their rights and dignity. We are committed to following the law and to protecting the rights of all people who call Charlotte and Mecklenburg County home. It is important for people to understand their rights.”
Officials went on to tout the city’s diversity, urged any protesters to remain peaceful, and reminded residents to call local police — who are not involved in the raids — if they need assistance.
As rumors swirled about federal agents flooding Charlotte this weekend, locals reported more Border Patrol and ICE traffic stops since Friday, prompting some businesses to shut their doors in fear.
Mecklenburg County Republican Party Chairman Kyle Kirby welcomed the federal sweep.
Quote:Four people died and four others were hospitalized after a wooden boat carrying suspected migrants overturned in turbulent waters off the San Diego coast late Friday night, authorities said.
The US Coast Guard said on Saturday that it was still searching for additional people who may have been aboard the panga-style vessel when it capsized in the waters off the coast of Imperial Beach Drive around 11:40 p.m. local time on Friday, according to an official press release.
The tragedy took place as a powerful storm system battered Southern California with heavy rain and dangerous surf conditions over the weekend, prompting flash flood and mudslide warnings across the region.
Imperial Beach Border Patrol agents had been monitoring the small vessel as it crossed out of Mexican waters before receiving reports that it had overturned, throwing passengers into the Pacific, Imperial Beach Fire Chief John French told NBC San Diego.
Within minutes of the capsizing, emergency responders found six people on the beach just before midnight, the Coast Guard said.
One person was pronounced dead at the scene, while another was pulled from beneath the overturned boat and rescued.
Roughly two hours later, at 1:45 a.m. local time, a Good Samaritan reported seeing someone in the water near Imperial Beach Pier.
A Coast Guard boat crew from Station San Diego responded and recovered three people from the ocean. All three were pronounced dead after being transferred to Ballast Point, according to the Coast Guard’s official timeline.
One body was discovered floating near homes on Seacoast Drive and Encanto Avenue, NBC San Diego reported.
Emergency medical services transported four survivors to a nearby hospital for treatment, according to multiple outlets.
One person was taken into custody by Imperial Beach Border Patrol and later transferred to a Department of Homeland Security agency, the Coast Guard said.
Several of those aboard claimed Mexican nationality, while others remained unidentified Saturday, authorities said.
Quote:An 18-year-old man who lived with his parents in their home daycare center was among the more than 50 people arrested last week in a child-porn sting in Massachusetts, authorities said.
Daniel Cruz was busted as part of Operation Firewall, a three-day sting developed by the state police’s Division of Investigative Services, which netted 56 busts of suspects ranging in age from 18 to 75.
Troopers executed 34 search warrants and seized 229 devices in the crackdown.
“These women and men did their jobs with excellence, with precision, and with professionalism and they delivered exactly what the public expects from us, which is strong police investigations conducted with integrity and a singular focus on protecting victims from further harm and, in this instance, our most vulnerable victims: our children,” Massachusetts State Police Supt. Col. Geoffrey Noble said in a statement.
Cruz, who along with many of his fellow arrestees was charged with possession of child pornography, lived in his family’s home, where they ran Yhandy’s Daycare, in Templeton, according to WFXT.
The facility was licensed to provide care for up to 10 children, the outlet said, adding that a source familiar with the investigation insisted there was no known link between the children at the daycare center and Cruz’s arrest.
The state Department of Early Education and Care said Cruz had been an “approved household member” according to their records. The daycare’s license is no longer active.
Others netted in the sting were arrested for everything from alleged possession, production and sharing of child sexual abuse material to child enticement, failure to register and rape and assault and battery of a child.
“The Massachusetts State Police are working hard every day to keep our communities safe, especially our children,” Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said in a statement.
“Thank you to Colonel Noble, all of the troopers involved and our partners for their hard work to take these predators off the street.”
Of those arrested, 55 were men, and one was a woman.
Authorities said there could be more arrests in the coming days.
Quote:WASHINGTON — Firebrand Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene insisted Sunday that she still supports President Trump despite his epic takedown of her — while simultaneously questioning his MAGA bona fides in a madcap interview.
While making overtures to end her red-hot feud with Trump, 79, Greene, 51, repeatedly slammed the president, accusing him of not being focused enough on the US and putting Americans first.
“I do support him and his administration, and I support them in delivering the campaign promises we made to the American people,” Greene (R-GA) told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday. “His remarks, of course, have been hurtful.”
“I certainly hope that we can make up,” she later said.
Greene had been one of Trump’s most outspoken backers in Congress.
But over recent months, she seemingly soured on him and periodically took swipes at Trump, pressing him to focus more on domestic issues.
On Friday, Trump went nuclear on her, yanking his endorsement of her for reelection and accusing her of going “far left.”
Greene claimed that the flap between her and the president stems from their disagreements over the files pertaining to notorious sex predator Jeffrey Epstein.
“Unfortunately, it has all come down to the Epstein files,” she said when asked about why she and Trump are fighting. “I stand with these women. I stand with rape victims, I stand with children who are in terrible sex abuse situations, and I stand with survivors of trafficking.”
“I will not apologize for that.”
However, throughout the interview, she knocked Trump on a range of issues, including his welcoming Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to the White House last week, his support of H-1B visas, and his overseas trips.
“I can disagree with the president at times, especially this past Monday, on the Marines’ 250th anniversary, when he honored the new Syrian president, who is an Al Qaeda terrorist and was wanted by our government for years.”
Quote:DALLAS (AP) — Federal prosecutors in Texas have charged six more people with a new terrorism-related charge in the July shooting outside an immigration detention center near Dallas, and said six others are scheduled to enter guilty pleas in the case.
The latest indictment in the case, issued Friday, expands on previous charges and relies on President Trump’s recent declaration that deems the decentralized movement known as antifa a domestic terrorist organization. Trump blames antifa for political violence.
The case stems from the July 4 shooting outside the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, southwest of Dallas, that injured a police officer. The charges also include rioting, attempted murder and weapons and explosives charges.
Prosecutors said the group threw fireworks at the facility, vandalized vehicles and then shot at responding police and correctional officers, striking an Alvarado officer in the neck. He was later released from a hospital.
The shooting took place as President Trump’s administration ramped up deportations.
Patrick McClain, a lawyer for defendant Zachary Evetts, said he has seen no evidence to support the government’s view of the case. He said his client would again plead not guilty at the Dec. 3 arraignment on the new charges.
“Mr. Evetts has never been a member of anything like a ‘North Texas Antifa Cell,’ and from the evidence provided to us by the government so far, there is no evidence that such an organization ever existed,” McClain said Saturday.
Short for “anti-fascists,” antifa is not a single organization but rather an umbrella term for far-left-leaning militant groups that confront or resist neo-Nazis and white supremacists at demonstrations.
Quote:The turkey population in the United States is lower than it has been in 40 years, sending wholesale turkey prices soaring 40%, according to officials.
Only 194.5 million gobblers were raised commercially in 2025, down 3% from 2024 — and the lowest mark since 1985 when 185 million turkeys were raised, according to the American Farm Bureau.
The short supply is resulting in the rise in wholesale turkey prices, which have shot up to $1.31 cents per pound from 2024’s $0.94, according to the USDA.
The declining numbers are attributed to the avian flu pandemic which broke out in September 2022, afflicting farms across the country who lost millions of birds to culling and illness.
Avian flu, after waning for most of 2025, came back strong in September, The New York Times reported.
Nearly seven million farmed turkeys were killed as a result of the avian flu in just the last two months, according to the outlet.
The National Turkey Federation touted the resilience of the industry.
“We don’t just prepare Thanksgiving a week before or the month of November. We’re planning for Thanksgiving a year in advance and [farmers] are working so that we can deliver the star of the table,” president Leslee Oden told The Post.
“While you’re looking at the wholesale prices of turkeys right now, and you will see an increase in that, retailers are still able to lock in those lower prices earlier in the year so that they can offer those discounted prices when Thanksgiving rolls around,” Oden said.
Despite the dearth of turkeys and the rise in wholesale prices, many stores offer frozen turkeys from brands like Butterball at less than $1 per pound.
Heidi Diestel, whose Diestel Family Turkey Ranch sells high-end birds that retail for nearly $9 per pound, told The Post the low prices were a strategy and not necessarily representative of the cost of raising a turkey.
Quote:Disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein gushed to a close associate that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was “great fun” and urged him to meet the now former prince in Davos, Switzerland, newly released emails show.
The January 2010 messages were between Epstein and Boris Nikolic, a former Bill Gates adviser who was later named as a back-up executor in Epstein’s will.
The pair corresponded six months after Epstein left a Florida jail on charges he procured a minor for prostitution.
The then-British royal was in Switzerland for the World Economic Forum while serving as the UK’s special representative for international trade and investment.
Epstein opened the chain by asking Nikolic if he’d had “any fun” at Davos so far.
Nikolic told him he’d met “your friend Bill Clinton,” then Nicolas Sarkozy and would later see “your other friend Prince Andrew as he has some questions re Microsoft.”
“You can tell Andrew we are friends,” Epstein replied.
When Nikolic said he didn’t need anything from the prince, Epstein pushed back.
“Yes you do. You need to laugh and have fun. He is good at that … He’s great fun.”
Nikolic then bragged he’d been “flirting with 22 years old hot blond blue eyes mexican chick,” only to find out she was with her husband.
“As we concluded, anything good is rented,” he wrote, adding a winking emoji.
After meeting Andrew, Nikolic emailed Epstein again.
“He is great … I think I would trade Davos for a good fashion week. Much more fun,” he wrote.
The emails were part of more than 20,000 documents released by the U.S. House Oversight Committee last week as part of its inquiry into why Epstein was never prosecuted at the federal level.
The release has renewed scrutiny of Epstein’s powerful network — including Andrew, who was stripped of his royal titles last month and is facing eviction from his Windsor estate over his long-running ties to the late sex offender.
UKRAINE WAR
Quote:Russia pounded Kyiv with 430 drones and 18 missiles early Friday in one of the biggest attacks on Ukraine’s capital in weeks, killing at least eight people and blowing holes through apartment buildings across the city.
The massive barrage killed six in Kyiv and two more in southern Ukraine, Ukrainian officials said.
At least 35 people were wounded in the capital, including a pregnant woman.
President Volodymyr Zelensky called it “a specially calculated attack to cause as much harm as possible to people and civilians.”
The overnight assault lit up the night sky with explosions and sparked fires at sites across the city of 3 million.
Drones and missiles smashed into high-rise apartment blocks in eight of Kyiv’s 10 districts, according to city officials.
The barrage marked the heaviest assault on Kyiv in nearly three weeks.
Russia has ramped up its aerial campaign against Ukraine ahead of the bitter winter months, regularly targeting the country’s power grid in an effort to leave millions without heat and electricity.
Mariia Kalchenko, a 46-year-old volunteer rescue dog handler, described the terrifying moment her building was hit.
“I didn’t hear anything, I just realized that my hair was on fire,” she said.
“I turned around and saw that there was no wall, and there was a neighbor’s apartment, the neighbor was screaming, there was no door, and the flames were going from the front door into the apartment.”
Oleh Hudyma, 59, said he tried to get to a bomb shelter but wasn’t fast enough.
“I got up, got dressed, went out, and there was an explosion,” he said.
“I couldn’t hear the (drone) engine running, just an explosion, flames, everything flew. I was in the kitchen and just fell to the floor.”
Iryna Synyavska, 62, lost three neighbors in the attack.
Quote:Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council and close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Medvedev, has criticized the United States for meddling in the affairs of other countries as President Donald Trump weighs potential military action against Venezuela.
Newsweek reached out to the White House by email and the U.S. State Department by submission form on Friday afternoon for comment.
Why It Matters
The USS Gerald Ford carrier strike group this week entered the region, and U.S. forces have intensified strikes on Venezuelan vessels. The U.S. has carried out 20 strikes on Venezuelan boats that the Trump administration has alleged are drug smugglers and related to cartels.
The strikes have killed at least 76 people in international waters since August, according to figures released by the Trump administration. The operations began in the southern Caribbean near Venezuela’s coast but have recently shifted to the eastern Pacific, where U.S. forces have targeted boats off Mexico.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday also received updated military options for potential operations in Venezuela, including possible land strikes, according to CBS News.
What To Know
Medvedev succeeded Vladimir Putin as Russian president in 2008, serving for one term before Putin returned to office in a then-unprecedented move. Medvedev instead moved to the office of the prime minister, which he held from 2012 to 2020 before moving to a new role again, this time as the deputy chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation.
Medvedev, also the chair of the political party United Russia, spoke at a meeting for the "Forum of Supporters of the Fight Against Modern Practices of Neocolonialism – For Freedom of Nations!" movement, according to Russian outlet TASS.
He said of the U.S.: "Former colonial powers continue to believe that the entire world is their 'backyard,' and they try to exert force and even military pressure, as is currently happening with Venezuela."
Medvedev said that representatives from Belarus and Venezuela had discussed ongoing U.S. interference in their countries, as he urged members of the Russian-led forum, which includes political movements from 20 countries, to work together to resist such pressure.
"These are outrageous things that we must speak about openly," he added.
Tensions between Russia and the U.S. have increased in recent months as the two nations failed to advance any peace deal between Russia and Ukraine—a major campaign promise that Trump said would occur shortly after returning to office, but that he subsequently found difficult and more complicated than he had anticipated.
European leaders have also faced seeming provocation from Russia, accusing Moscow of violating their sovereignty by launching drones and balloons into the airspace of NATO members, prompting a few of them to invoke NATO Article 4, which seeks dialogue among member states about potential provocation.
Quote:Ukraine is working to resume prisoner exchanges with Russia that could bring home 1,200 Ukrainian prisoners, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday, a day after his national security chief announced progress in negotiations.
“We are … counting on the resumption of POW exchanges,” Zelensky wrote on X. “Many meetings, negotiations and calls are currently taking place to ensure this.”
Rustem Umerov, Secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, said Saturday he held consultations mediated by Turkey and the United Arab Emirates on resuming exchanges.
He said the parties agreed to activate prisoner exchange agreements brokered in Istanbul to release 1,200 Ukrainians.
Moscow did not immediately comment on the claim.
The Istanbul agreements refer to prisoner-exchange protocols established with Turkish mediation in 2022 that set rules for large, coordinated swaps.
Since then, Russia and Ukraine have traded thousands of prisoners, though exchanges have been sporadic.
Umerov said technical consultations would be held soon to finalize procedural and organizational details, expressing hope that returning Ukrainians could “celebrate the New Year and Christmas holidays at home — at the family table and next to their relatives.”
In other developments, energy infrastructure was damaged by Russian drone strikes overnight into Sunday in Ukraine’s Odesa region, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said.
A solar power plant was among the damaged sites.
Ukraine is desperately trying to fend off relentless Russian aerial attacks that have brought rolling blackouts across Ukraine on the brink of winter.
Combined missile and drone strikes on the power grid have coincided with Ukraine’s efforts to hold back a Russian battlefield push aimed at capturing the eastern stronghold of Pokrovsk.
Russia fired a total of 176 drones and one missile overnight, Ukraine’s air force said Sunday, adding that Ukrainian forces shot down or neutralized 139 drones.
Russia’s defense ministry said Sunday that its forces shot down 57 Ukrainian drones overnight.
Quote:The U.S. successfully tested a tactical thermonuclear gravity bomb using inert warheads in August, according to a research and development arm of the Department of Energy's (DoE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA).
The exercise was part of a stockpile reliability assessment, according to an official press release.
Conducted August 19–21 at the Tonopah Test Range in Nevada with support from Hill Air Force Base in Utah, it involved fifth-generation F-35A fighter jets carrying and releasing the bombs under operational conditions.
Newsweek contacted the U.S. DoE and the NNSA via email outside of usual working hours for comment.
Why It Matters
Coming just weeks after President Donald Trump suggested the U.S. could resume nuclear tests “on an equal basis” with other nations, the timing of this announcement underscores Washington’s effort to reassure allies and signal readiness amid rising global tensions.
This latest trial signals major progress in the modernization and reliability testing of the United States’ nuclear arsenal.
The disclosure of these recent B61-12 nuclear gravity bomb tests seemingly highlights the U.S. commitment to maintaining a safe, reliable nuclear deterrent without breaking the decades-long ban on explosive nuclear testing.
What To Know
The B61-12 is a modernized version of a Cold War-era bomb, designed to remain in service for at least 20 more years following a life-extension program finalized by the NNSA in late 2024.
These recent trials yielded a “significant milestone in evaluating the weapon’s performance”, according to Sandia National Laboratories, which is operated and managed by National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia, a subsidiary of Honeywell International.
Sandia officials noted that the series included the most comprehensive B61-12 flight testing in a single year and featured a first-of-its-kind thermal preconditioning of the bomb before carriage on the F-35.
These steps ensure the weapon meets environmental and operational requirements under real-world conditions. The effort involved coordination among Sandia, NNSA, the U.S. Air Force, and multiple agencies.
Sandia operates under the DoE and works closely with the NNSA, the agency responsible for maintaining the U.S. nuclear stockpile. Sandia’s role is to design and integrate the non-nuclear components of nuclear weapons and ensure they function safely and reliably.
It acts as the systems integrator, coordinating with other labs and contractors to certify complete weapon systems.
This partnership is central to U.S. nuclear modernization efforts, including programs like the B61-12 Life Extension Program, which extends the service life of aging bombs without explosive nuclear testing.
The B61-12 program is central to modernizing America’s aging arsenal, ensuring compatibility with advanced aircraft like the F-35 while reducing reliance on high-yield weapons—a critical factor in both strategic stability and arms control debates.
It is compatible with a range of U.S. and allied aircraft, including the F-35A, ensuring both continued deterrence and interoperability with NATO partners, per the Aviationist website.
Flight tests of inert nuclear bombs occur periodically as part of routine certification and modernization efforts.
A similar exercise involving an Air Force F-16 fighter jet was conducted in 2017, per Air Force Materiel Command, a Major Command of the United States Air Force.
Quote:German lawmakers have unveiled a new military service plan to boost troop numbers as Berlin seeks to create Europe's strongest conventional army.
The country's coalition government has proposed a plan that mandates all 18-year-old men to fill out a questionnaire on their suitability to serve.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz had pledged in May to turn his country's armed forces, the Bundeswehr, into the strongest conventional army in Europe.
Newsweek has contacted the Bundeswehr for further comment.
Why It Matters
Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine has raised the alarm among Germany and its European partners about the risks the Kremlin poses to the Continent.
Leaders and analysts have warned that Moscow could attack another country by the end of the decade, and Germany's push to boost its armed forces could reshape Europe's traditional military-political dynamics.
What To Know
According to the German government's new military service plan, beginning next year, all 18-year-old men must answer questions about whether they can serve. From 2027, they would have to undergo medical screening to assess their fitness.
The questionnaire would be mandatory for men and voluntary for women, and they would be taken into account if a war broke out.
The governing parties have said there will be no return to compulsory military service, and that enlistment would be voluntary, but there are concerns that this could change.
The Bundeswehr has about 182,000 troops, but under the plans, the government predicts the figure could rise to 260,000 over the next 10 years, backed by about 200,000 reservists.
By 2029, Germany is expected to spend 153 billion euros ($178 billion) a year on defense, or 3.5 percent of its gross domestic product—the most since reunification.
Lawmakers are expected to vote on the plan by the end of the year. Armin Papperger, the head of Germany's biggest defense firm, Rheinmetall, told the BBC that by the end of the decade, the country could achieve its goal to create the strongest army in Europe.
This time frame has been the focus of European policymakers concerned about the threat posed by Russia, amid its aggression in Ukraine, record military spending and accusations it is engaging in hybrid warfare toward NATO countries.
General Carsten Breuer, Germany's defense chief, warned earlier this year that NATO had to prepare for a possible Russian attack within four years, a sentiment reiterated by other European leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky this week.
Merz outlined Germany's military ambitions in May. Politico reported that it had seen internal procurement papers of plans for 83 billion euros in defense contracts—including tanks, frigates, drones, satellites and radar systems—to go before lawmakers before the end of next year.
[spoiler=EUROPE]
Quote:Former United Kingdom Prime Minister Liz Truss is backing President Donald Trump’s plan to sue the BBC, saying, “they’ve lied, they’ve cheated, they’ve fiddled with footage” as the network faces fallout from an editing scandal.
The BBC is accused of combining two different parts of Trump’s Jan. 6, 2021, speech. They removed his call to march “peacefully and patriotically” and instead inserted the phrase “fight like hell” from nearly an hour later in the address.
“There are lots of people in Britain who are cheering President Trump on and who want him to sue the BBC because they’re a huge problem,” said Truss on “Fox & Friends Weekend” Saturday.
Now, Trump said he feels “obligated” to sue the British broadcaster for tampering with the footage. He’s threatened to sue the BBC for $1 billion in damages.
The BBC apologized to Trump and said it has no plans to rebroadcast the Panorama documentary titled “Trump: A Second Chance?” with the edited clips. BBC Director-General Tim Davie and BBC News CEO Deborah Turness both resigned in the wake of the backlash.
A BBC spokesperson said the company’s chair, Samir Shah, has “separately sent a personal letter to the White House making clear to President Trump that he and the corporation are sorry for the edit of the president’s speech on 6 January 2021, which featured in the programme.”
The network, however, is rejecting Trump’s calls for compensation.
Despite the apology, Truss believes the president should still move forward with legal action.
“I want to see him progress with this legal suit because I don’t think they’ve been held to account,” Truss said.
“I bet they carry on printing and publishing and broadcasting fake news, not just about the president, but about the MAGA movement, about the changes that are going on in the world, which many of the British public want to see here in Britain.”
Truss accused the BBC of being politically biased against conservatives in both the United Kingdom and the United States. She also called for the network to be “defunded.”
“The BBC used to be the paragon of journalism across the world. It was respected. It’s now become a laughingstock, and it needs to be put out of its misery,” she said.
Fox News legal analyst Gregg Jarrett shared Truss’s view, saying an apology is not enough and calling for compensation from the BBC.
“This was clearly defamatory under British law. The BBC knows that, which is why the network apologized, removed the story,” said Jarrett.
“That does not, however, erase the past damages that Trump sustained, which are considerable.”
Trump said he plans to discuss the matter with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer this weekend before filing his lawsuit.
CHINA
Quote:China is reportedly crafting a plan to block the US military from getting shipments of rare earth magnets – even as it eases restrictions on shipments to US companies making electronics and other consumer goods.
Beijing has repeatedly used its near-monopoly over rare earth metals – crucial to make everything from iPhones to military hardware like F-35 fighter jets and drones – in tense tariff talks with the Trump administration.
Beijing is planning a “validated end-user” system that fast-track shipments for approved civilian firms in the US, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources familiar with the plan. It would allow China’s President Xi Jinping to keep his promise to President Trump about easing exports while cutting out military contractors.
If it is enacted, the plan could cause ongoing headaches for US companies that make “dual use” products or have both civilian and military clients, such as certain automakers and aerospace companies, according to the report.
The White House did not immediately return a request for comment.
The Chinese government has yet to specify which US companies will be considered eligible for general licenses that will allow them to receive shipments of rare earths.
The “validated end-user” system is said to be modeled on US export controls.
China, which controls about 70% of global rare earth mining and about 90% of processing capabilities, has steadily cut off access in recent years amid rising tensions with the West.
Before striking a trade truce with Trump, China briefly sparked chaos in global supply chains last month by announcing foreign entities would need to obtain special licenses beginning Dec. 1 to export products containing more than 0.1% of rare earth metals and magnets originating in China.
After Trump and Xi reached a deal, China said it would delay those measures by one year.
The White House that China’s pledge to issue general licenses for exports marked the de facto end of its previous restrictions. However, Reuters reported last week that industry insiders were skeptical that China would back off as much as the administration hoped.
INDIA
Quote:Nov 16 — India’s federal anti-terror agency said on Sunday it had arrested a resident of Kashmir who it accused of conspiring with the driver of a car that exploded in Delhi last week, killing eight people and wounding at least 20 others.
The National Investigation Agency said it had arrested Amir Rashid Ali in Delhi, adding the car used in the attack was registered in his name. It accused Ali of conspiring with the alleged suicide bomber, who it identified as Umar Un Nabi, a resident of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district.
It said Ali came to Delhi to facilitate the purchase of the car which was used as a “vehicle-borne Improvised Explosive Device to trigger the blast.”
The agency said it had seized another vehicle belonging to Nabi for examination. So far, it has interrogated 73 witnesses including those injured in the blast.
Last week, the Indian government said it was treating the car blast as a “terror incident” and vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice as swiftly as possible.
The blast outside Delhi’s historic Red Fort was the first such explosion in the heavily guarded city since 2011.
But one terrorist attack wasn't enough for those guys.
Quote:A powerful explosion at a police station in Indian Kashmir killed nine people, incinerating their bodies and tossing some more than 650 feet away — just days after a terrorist attack in New Delhi killed eight.
Srinagar police and forensic experts were examining a slew of confiscated explosives at the Nowgam police station on Friday night when the bombs detonated, ripping the building apart, said Nalin Prabhat, director general of police for the region.
As investigators work to uncover why the bombs went off, identifying the bodies will likely take some time as several of the corpses have been completely burnt, one police source told Reuters.
“The intensity of the blast was such that some body parts were recovered from nearby houses, around 100-200 meters (328-656 feet) away from the police station,” the source added.
Most of the people killed were the police officers and forensic officials who were examining the explosives, along with two local officials who were at the station at the time, according to local reports.
The blast ripped through the police station, injuring another 27 people and causing cars parked near the building to ignite as the flames spread.
Police labeled the incident “an accidental explosion” as they tried to reassure the public that it was unrelated to last week’s terrorist attack in the Indian capital.
A car bomb had exploded near New Delhi’s Red Fort landmark on Monday, killing eight people and injuring another 20 as chaos descended upon the historic tourist site.
At least five people were arrested following the New Delhi attack, which triggered a crackdown across multiple regions, including in Kashmir.
It remains unclear if the bombs that police had at the Nowgam police station were explosives that were confiscated during last week’s crackdown.
Kashmir lies at the heart of a decades-old conflict between nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan, who have fought periodic wars over their claim to the land, which both nations occupy.
MIDDLE EAST
Quote:Iranian forces seized a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, the first confirmed capture of a commercial vessel by Tehran since its June clashes with Israel and the United States, according to multiple governments and maritime agencies.
The Talara, sailing from the United Arab Emirates toward Singapore, broke from its course in the Gulf of Oman Friday after several small craft converged on the vessel, maritime security firms reported.
A US defense official who spoke on condition of anonymity said an American military drone tracked the takeover from overhead.
Flight-tracking data showed that a US Navy MQ-4C Triton drone had been circling above the area where the Talara was for hours on Friday, observing the seizure.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps acknowledged responsibility a day later.
State media carried an IRGC statement saying “the tanker was in violation for carrying unauthorized cargo.”
The reports from state media did not elaborate on the “illegal consignment” nor divulge any information about the state of the crew or where the ship was headed.
Cyprus-based Columbia Shipmanagement, which operates the Talara, said it lost contact with the tanker Friday morning near Khor Fakkan on the UAE coast.
The US Navy’s Bahrain-based 5th Fleet said it was “actively monitoring the situation.”
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center, which tracks incidents across Gulf shipping lanes, later urged nearby vessels “to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity.”
Tracking data showed the Talara carrying high-sulfur gasoil loaded at a UAE port before entering the strait, one of the world’s busiest energy corridors.
Roughly one-fifth of global oil shipments transit the narrow channel, giving Iran significant leverage during periods of confrontation.
Tehran has repeatedly warned it may respond to Western pressure by targeting commercial shipping, a tactic it used intermittently during past disputes.
Its last publicly acknowledged a seizure occurred in April 2024, when Iranian forces boarded a vessel linked to Israel during a separate regional flare-up.
Quote:Israel is not opposed to the US sale of F-35s to Saudi Arabia — but is insisting Washington condition it on whether Riyadh and Jerusalem make diplomatic progress.
“We told the Trump administration that the supply of F-35s to Saudi Arabia needs to be subject to Saudi normalization with Israel,” an unnamed Israeli official told Axios.
Unlike the supply of F-35s to Turkey, which Israel strongly opposes, “we are less concerned about such weapons system in Saudi Arabia if its part of a regional security cooperation as part of the Abraham Accords, like we have with the United Arab Emirates,” one of the officials told the outlet.
The report comes as President Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman are scheduled to meet Tuesday at the White House and discuss a US-Saudi mutual defense agreement that could include a sale of the supersonic F-35s.
“It takes minutes for an F-35 to fly from Saudi Arabia to Israel,” one of the officials told Axios, adding that Jerusalem is insisting that Saudi jets not be allowed to station in the western part of the country.
Not conditioning the sale on normalized relations would be “counterproductive,” an official told the outlet.
The stealth F-35, which can reach a top speed of Mach 1.6, roughly 1,200 miles per hour, comes in several advanced variants — F-35A which is for conventional takeoffs and landings, F-35B which can land vertically, and F-35C which is designed to land on aircraft carriers. Each jet costs at least $101.5 million.
Israel is the only country in the Middle East with F-35s, with 45 in its arsenal and 30 more on order, the Times of Israel reported.
Trump told reporters Friday that Saudi Arabia wants “a lot” of fighter jets, with one estimate suggesting the kingdom could shell out billions for 48 planes.
In May, President Trump signed the largest defense sales agreement in history with Saudi Arabia, worth $142 billion dollars.
That agreement called for the US to provide Saudi with “state-of-the-art warfighting equipment and services from over a dozen US defense firms,” the White House said.
Trump said at the time it was his “fervent hope, wish, and even my dream that Saudi Arabia” would join the Abraham Accords, which have normalized relations between Israel and Muslim-majority nations in the region.
Saudi Arabia has said it wants Israel to agree to securing Palestinian statehood before signing on to the Abraham Accords.
Bin Salman will be part of a US-Saudi Business Council meeting at the Kennedy Center on Wednesday where he will meet with dozens of CEOs from around the country.
The trip is the crown prince’s first to the United States since he approved the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in 2018.
Quote:Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Sunday that Hamas will be disarmed no matter what following reports that the US would no longer be imposing the condition as part of President Trump’s 20-point peace deal.
Israeli media outlets claimed that the White House was thinking about dropping the calls for Hamas to disarm after allegedly finding it too difficult to get other nations to commit peacekeeping troops to oversee the demilitarization of Gaza, the Times of Israel reported.
“In the 20-point plan, and in any other case, this area will be demilitarized and Hamas will be disarmed — either the easy way or the hard way,” Netanyahu said in his weekly cabinet address.
“That is what I have said, and that is what President Trump has also said.”
The White House did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
Netanyahu’s warning comes as the uncertainty of the Gaza cease-fire looms with the bodies of just three hostages still under Hamas captivity.
Once all the hostages are freed, the deal is supposed to set the groundwork for permanent peace, but there is still no clear path forward over Israel and Hamas’ disagreements — which caused the previous cease-fires to collapse.
The terrorist group has long-maintained that they will neither cede their weapons nor power in Gaza until a pathway is set for Palestinian statehood, a condition Netanyahu has said he will never agree to.
Trump has repeatedly warned Hamas to disarm or face severe consequences, with the president insisting that an international coalition of troops would be deployed to demilitarize the Gaza Strip.
Allies, however, remain hesitant to commit their soldiers to fight in Gaza, with Indonesia being the only nation willing to send as many as 20,000 soldiers.
All eyes are now on Monday’s vote at the United Nations Security Council, where members are set to enshrine Trump’s peace deal, which states “the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway” to Palestinian statehood once an end to the war is established.
LATIN AMERICA
Quote:A few thousand people took to the streets of Mexico City on Saturday to protest growing crime, corruption and impunity in a protest organized by members of Generation Z, but which ended with strong backing from older supporters of opposition parties.
In several countries this year, members of the demographic group born between the late 90s and early 2010s have organized protests against inequality, democratic backsliding and corruption.
The largest “Gen Z” protests took place in Nepal in September, following a ban on social media, and led to the resignation of that nation’s prime minister. In Mexico, many young people say they are frustrated with systemic problems like corruption and impunity for violent crimes.
“We need more security” said Andres Massa, a 29-year-old business consultant who carried the pirate skull flag that has become a global symbol of Gen Z protests.
Arizbeth Garcia, a 43-year-old physician who joined the protests said she was marching for more funding for the public health system, and for better security because doctors “are also exposed to the insecurity gripping the country, where you can be murdered and nothing happens.”
“We need more security” said Andres Massa, a 29-year-old business consultant who carried the pirate skull flag that has become a global symbol of Gen Z protests.
Arizbeth Garcia, a 43-year-old physician who joined the protests said she was marching for more funding for the public health system, and for better security because doctors “are also exposed to the insecurity gripping the country, where you can be murdered and nothing happens.”
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum still has high approval ratings despite a recent spate of high profile murders that includes the assassination of a popular mayor in the western state of Michoacan.
In the days leading up to Saturday’s protest, Sheinbaum accused right-wing parties of trying to infiltrate the Gen Z movement, and of using bots on social media to try to increase attendance.
This week some “Gen Z” social media influencers said they no longer backed Saturday’s protests.
While elderly figures like former President Vicente Fox, and Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego published messages in support of the protests.
Saturday’s march was attended by people from several age groups, with supporters of the recently killed Michoacan Mayor Carlos Manzo, attending the protest wearing the straw hats that symbolize his political movement.
“The state is dying,” said Rosa Maria Avila, a 65-year-old real estate agent who traveled from the town of Patzcuaro in Michoacan state.
“He was killed because he was a man who was sending officers into the mountains to fight delinquents. He had the guts to confront them,” she said of Manzo.
Quote:PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti— A group of suspected Haitian gang members fired this week on American forces protecting the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince, a spokesman said Saturday, in an incident that highlighted the tense security situation in the Caribbean nation.
Capt. Steven J. Keenan, a spokesman for the U.S. Marines, wrote in an email that the shooting, which came to light this weekend, happened Thursday, adding that the Marines returned fire. No Marines were hurt in the attack.
Haitian police were not immediately available to comment on the exchange of fire.
Gangs control 90% of Haiti’s capital, where they extort businesses and fight for territory, using heavy weaponry.
The United States continues to operate an embassy in Haiti, but in recent years the State Department has issued numerous warnings telling Americans not to travel there, due to the risk of kidnappings, crimes, terrorist activity and civil unrest.
According to the United Nations, gang violence has displaced more than 1.3 million Haitians from their homes in recent years.
Security in the nation of nearly 12 million people has deteriorated rapidly since 2021, when President Jovenel Moise was assassinated in his home by mercenaries.
The president’s murder has generated a power vacuum that politicians in the nation have struggled to fill, and no elections have been held to replace Moise.
In late September, the United Nations Security Council voted to create a gang suppression force of about 5,500 troops that will be deployed to Haiti to fight the nation’s heavily armed criminal groups.
A smaller force of police officers from Kenya has struggled to contain gangs, which killed 5,600 people last year, according to the U.N. Human Rights Office.
"For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ," 1 Thessalonians 5:9
Maranatha!
The Internet might be either your friend or enemy. It just depends on whether or not she has a bad hair day.
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My Original Stories (available in English and Spanish)
List of Compiled Binary Executables I have published...
HiddenChest & Roole
Give me a free copy of your completed game if you include at least 3 of my scripts!
Just some scripts I've already published on the board...
KyoGemBoost XP VX & ACE, RandomEnkounters XP, KSkillShop XP, Kolloseum States XP, KEvents XP, KScenario XP & Gosu, KyoPrizeShop XP Mangostan, Kuests XP, KyoDiscounts XP VX, ACE & MV, KChest XP VX & ACE 2016, KTelePort XP, KSkillMax XP & VX & ACE, Gem Roulette XP VX & VX Ace, KRespawnPoint XP, VX & VX Ace, GiveAway XP VX & ACE, Klearance XP VX & ACE, KUnits XP VX, ACE & Gosu 2017, KLevel XP, KRumors XP & ACE, KMonsterPals XP VX & ACE, KStatsRefill XP VX & ACE, KLotto XP VX & ACE, KItemDesc XP & VX, KPocket XP & VX, OpenChest XP VX & ACE
Maranatha!
The Internet might be either your friend or enemy. It just depends on whether or not she has a bad hair day.
My Original Stories (available in English and Spanish)
List of Compiled Binary Executables I have published...
HiddenChest & Roole
Give me a free copy of your completed game if you include at least 3 of my scripts!
Just some scripts I've already published on the board...
KyoGemBoost XP VX & ACE, RandomEnkounters XP, KSkillShop XP, Kolloseum States XP, KEvents XP, KScenario XP & Gosu, KyoPrizeShop XP Mangostan, Kuests XP, KyoDiscounts XP VX, ACE & MV, KChest XP VX & ACE 2016, KTelePort XP, KSkillMax XP & VX & ACE, Gem Roulette XP VX & VX Ace, KRespawnPoint XP, VX & VX Ace, GiveAway XP VX & ACE, Klearance XP VX & ACE, KUnits XP VX, ACE & Gosu 2017, KLevel XP, KRumors XP & ACE, KMonsterPals XP VX & ACE, KStatsRefill XP VX & ACE, KLotto XP VX & ACE, KItemDesc XP & VX, KPocket XP & VX, OpenChest XP VX & ACE
