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Quote:Violent crime declined nationwide in 2025, but a new survey shows several US cities moving in the opposite direction, reporting increases in homicides, rapes, robberies or aggravated assaults even as the national trend improved.
A survey from the Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA) covers violent crime reporting between January and September 2025 and the same period in 2024. The survey tracked four categories: homicide, rape or sexual assault, robbery and aggravated assault.
The survey found that total violent crime nationwide decreased compared with the same period in 2024 across all four key categories:
- Homicide: 4,143 (2025) vs. 5,126 (2024)
- Rape: 20,407 vs. 21,728
- Robbery: 66,501 vs. 81,860
- Aggravated assault: 194,804 vs. 216,466
The association cautioned that the numbers are preliminary and based on voluntary reporting by participating law enforcement agencies.
Here’s a list of cities and metropolitan areas where violent crime rose locally despite a nationwide decline.
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha reported increases in all four violent crime categories; homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault, according to MCCA data.
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta saw year-over-year increases in rape, robbery and aggravated assault, bucking national declines across those categories.
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus reported increases in robbery and aggravated assault, even as both crimes fell nationally.
Los Angeles County, California
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department reported increases in rape and aggravated assault from 2024 into 2025, according to preliminary data from the MCCA survey.
Tampa, Florida
Tampa recorded increases in rape and robbery, two categories that declined nationwide during the same period.
Suffolk County, New York
The suburban county east of New York City reported increases in homicide and robbery.
Wichita, Kansas
Wichita saw year-over-year increases in homicide and rape, reversing the national trend in both categories.
Quote:The FBI has deployed personnel and resources to Minnesota to “dismantle large-scale fraud schemes exploiting federal programs,” FBI Director Kash Patel said on Sunday.
Patel’s comments come after a video from independent journalist Nick Shirley that documented visits to multiple day care centers in Minnesota went viral on X, garnering more than 100 million views. One center visited by Shirley reportedly received millions of dollars in state funding but appears to be inactive. Newsweek could not locate the state records showing these payments or independently verify any of Shirley's claims.
Responding to the allegations and the video posted by Shirley, a spokesperson for Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, a Democrat, told Fox News the governor has spent years working to “crack down on fraud” and strengthen oversight of state programs, including launching investigations into the facilities.
Newsweek contacted Walz’s office via an email sent outside regular business hours for comment.
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What To Know
In a post on X, Patel said the FBI had increased personnel in Minnesota “even before the public conversation escalated online.”
The latest allegations follow a series of fraud cases involving government programs in the state. The firestorm over alleged mass fraud began earlier this year, intensifying in December after the state’s acting U.S. Attorney said $9 billion or more in federal funds allocated to 14 state-run programs since 2018 may have been stolen. AP, citing the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Minnesota, reported that Somali Americans made up 89 percent of those that had been charged in connection with the case as of December 19. Trump has repeatedly criticized the state's Somali community in recent weeks.
Investigations into large-scale fraud have already resulted in convictions and shed light on the scale of misappropriated funds. One prominent case involved Feeding Our Future, a federally funded nonprofit which the Department of Justice says stole $250 million during the pandemic. The case led to 78 indictments to date, according to Patel's post, as well as 57 convictions.
One day care center visited by Shirley, the Quality Learning Center in South Minneapolis, allegedly received millions of dollars in state funding but appeared to be inactive. The center also displayed a sign that misspelled “learning” as “learing.”
In the video, Shirley shows the day care abandoned in the middle of the day, despite it being licensed to serve up to 99 children, and displays what appears to be a receipt for $1.9 million in payments to the center from Minnesota’s Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP). Newsweek could not locate the records detailing these disbursements or independently verify any of Shirley’s claims.
Quote:Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz pushed back against the ever-growing fraud allegations levied against him in the disastrous aftermath of a viral video in which an independent journalist cracked open a crucial part of the alleged Somali aid scheme.
A spokesperson for Walz, a Democrat who frequently provokes President Trump’s ire, addressed a bombshell video posted by conservative YouTuber Nick Shirley.
“The governor has worked for years to crack down on fraud and ask the state legislature for more authority to take aggressive action. He has strengthened oversight — including launching investigations into these specific facilities, one of which was already closed,” the spokesperson told Fox News.
The spokesperson added that Walz has “hired an outside firm to audit payments to high-risk programs, shut down the Housing Stabilization Services program entirely, announced a new statewide program integrity director, and supported criminal prosecutions.”
In the 43-minute video published on Friday, Shirley and a Minnesotan named David travel around Minneapolis and visit multiple child care and learning sites allegedly owned by Somali immigrants.
Many were either shuttered entirely, despite signage indicating they were open, or helmed by staff who refused to participate in the video.
One of the buildings they visited displayed a misspelled sign reading “Quality Learing Center.” The “learning” center is supposed to account for at least 99 children and funneled roughly $4 million in state funds, according to the video.
Shirley appeared on Fox News’ “The Big Weekend Show” Sunday evening and boasted about his findings. He joked that the alleged scheme was “so obvious” that a “kindergartner could figure out there is fraud going on.”
“Fraud is fraud, and we work too hard simply just to be paying taxes and enabling fraud to be happening,” Shirley said.
Quote:Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz bragged about making it easier for people to get into the child care business during last year’s vice presidential debate with JD Vance, awkward resurfaced footage shows — as the state’s Somali immigrant community has been accused of bilking millions of dollars in aid meant for day care centers.
“We have to make it easier for folks to be able to get into [the child care] business and then to make sure that folks are able to pay for that. We were able to do it in Minnesota,” Walz said on stage as he proposed a federal paid family medical leave program.
The debate clip resurfaced following a mega-viral video from independent journalist Nick Shirley that exposed the vast scale of alleged fraud in the North Star State.
Many of the child care centers he visited had their doors shuttered despite receiving millions in aid from the state over the last several years, records reportedly show — including a day care with a misspelled sign that got $4 million in taxpayer money despite being empty.
The video prompted a response from FBI Director Kash Patel, who claimed yesterday the allegations were “just the tip of a very large iceberg” as he threatened convicted Somali scammers with denaturalization and deportation.
Critics were quick to drag Walz for the resurfaced debate comments.
“Yes Tim, you sure did make it easy for people to open childcare businesses. They don’t even need to provide childcare to get paid,” one person wrote on X, alongside the clip.
“Tim Walz was saying the quiet part out loud… If we only knew then what we know now,” another chimed in.
The alleged fraud schemes date back to 2015, when day care centers were accused of overcharging Minnesota’s Child Care Assistance Program.
More recent alleged scams have involved Medicaid-funded disability schemes, including a housing program that helps seniors and disabled people find and move into housing.
Quote:Gov. Kathy Hochul has her priorities twisted, according to Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who ripped the Democrat as more worried about helping illegal migrants than driving down costs for everyday New Yorkers.
“I want to make sure that we can bring down the cost of government so that people, taxpayers, don’t have to spend money on things that don’t benefit them — and, in fact, hurt them — like spending $4.5 billion on illegal migrants, which is what Gov. Hochul did,” the Republican candidate for governor told billionaire WABC-AM radio owner John Catsimatidis on his “Cats Roundtable” show Sunday.
“[This] is money that could have been spent on infrastructure, hospitals and, more important, schools and cutting taxes.”
“[NYC] spent about $8 billion [on migrants]. Between the [city and state], it’s over $12 billion on illegal migrants,” said Blakeman, who has the backing of President Trump.
”It’s a tremendous amount of money, and it’s for people who didn’t earn it. They’ve been here for 15 minutes. They’re here illegally.”
Blakeman has previously attacked Hochul over the state’s spending to provide migrants services and has positioned himself as a conservative candidate who staunchly opposes sanctuary policies.
“Bruce Blakeman is Donald Trump’s No.1 cheerleader for his attacks on New York families — after Trump gutted Medicaid and SNAP and jacked up costs with expensive tariffs, Blakeman said Trump was doing an ‘amazing job,’” claimed Hochul campaign spokesperson Sarafina Chitika.
“That’s exactly how Blakeman would govern: importing Trump’s cost-hiking agenda to New York and running our hospitals into the ground the same way he did on Long Island.”
Quote:A Utah judge ordered a secret hearing be made public in the criminal case against Tyler Robinson for allegedly assassinating conservative firebrand Charlie Kirk.
Judge Tony Graf announced during a roughly 20-minute hearing held over video that a transcript for an Oct. 24 closed-door hearing in Robinson’s case will be released with certain redactions by the end of the day Monday. He will also be releasing the audio of that hearing but said it could take two weeks for that to be made public.
Robinson did not appear on screen during the video hearing, but was heard saying, “Yes, your honor,” when Graf asked him if he was present for the Monday hearing.
The Oct. 24 hearing was held in private to review whether Robinson would be allowed to appear in future hearings in civilian clothing and unshackled. Graf ruled that he could wear non-jail clothes but would have to remain restrained in court for safety reasons.
Earlier this month Robinson, 22, appeared in person in the case for the first time for his lawyers to argue that the press shouldn’t be allowed to film hearings in the case because it could prejudice potential jurors and lead to an unfair trial. However, several hours of the hearing was conducted in private outside of the presence of the press and the public.
Defense lawyer Staci Visser blasted media outlets, claiming they failed to follow Graf’s order when they allegedly captured Robinson on camera in his shackles.
“We don’t want the chaos that is out in the media in this courtroom,” Visser claimed at the time
Robinson is facing seven felony charges of aggravated murder, discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury, obstruction of justice, two counts of witness tampering and commission of a violent offense in the presence of a child.
Kirk, 31, was struck by a single bullet to the neck in front of a crowd of thousands at a speaking engagement at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10.
He was the co-founder of Turning Point USA and had been at the event as part of his American Comeback Tour. The rising MAGA star is survived by his wife, Erika, and two young kids.
Quote:Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi revealed Sunday that she didn’t intend to tear up President Donald Trump’s 2020 State of the Union address — the moment that went viral at the time when she was Speaker of the House.
During a conversation with ABC’s Jonathan Karl, Pelosi said her defining moments in her relationship with the president were “spontaneous.”
“People like the tearing up of the speech. I didn’t intend to go to the speech to tear it up. I just, the first part of it, I tore a page because he was lying. And then the next page, then the next page. I thought it was a manifesto of lies all throughout, so I better tear up the whole speech. Now, the speeches are on strong paper, so you have to do it a few times to get it done. But I had no intention of doing that. I thought my staff was going to die,” Pelosi said.
She also talked about an image of her pointing a finger at Trump during a 2019 meeting that included the cabinet.
The former House Speaker said she gets more requests to sign that image than anything.
“You know what I’m saying when I go out the door? I’m leaving here because I’ve had it with you, Mr. President. With you, all roads lead to Putin,” she told Karl, who noted that the White House put the picture out and called Pelosi “crazy.”
“They did me a favor,” she added.
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.
Pelosi announced in November that she would not seek re-election after completing her current term.
Karl also asked what she wanted to be remembered for.
“I’m very proud of the Affordable Care Act. I think it just made a big change in terms of what working families need for their health and their financial health. We will continue to have that fight. It’s not a value that is shared with the Republicans. The healthcare bill was a way of not only meeting health needs but the national needs of families. If I were to be remembered for one thing, it’s the Affordable Care Act,” she said.
Quote:Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, publicly criticized President Donald Trump on Sunday for scheduling meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "Zelensky today. Netanyahu tomorrow. Can we just do America?" Greene wrote on X.
Trump met with Zelensky on Sunday in Palm Beach, Florida, and is scheduled to meet with Netanyahu on Monday as part of his ongoing diplomatic efforts to address major international conflicts.
Newsweek reached out to the White House via email on Sunday for comment.
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What To Know
Throughout the beginning of his second term, Trump has heavily involved himself in conflicts affecting both Ukraine and Israel, pushing for an end to some of the most notable foreign conflicts in recent years.
Greene has consistently opposed military aid to both countries, breaking with traditional Republican foreign policy positions. Earlier this year, Greene criticized the Trump administration for signing a deal with Ukraine to provide additional funding for the war in exchange for critical minerals. She has referred to Zelensky as "a dictator who canceled elections" and became the first Republican to label the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza a "genocide."
Last month, Greene announced she would be stepping back from Congress, stating she did not want to be a "battered wife" following her fallout with Trump. In a lengthy statement, she said she had "too much self respect and dignity, love my family way too much, and do not want my sweet district to have to endure a hurtful and hateful primary against me by the President we all fought for, only to fight and win my election while Republicans will likely lose the midterms."
UKRAINE WAR
Quote:Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters Monday that the US is currently offering Ukraine a 15-year security guarantee in the latest draft plan to end Russia’s long-running invasion.
Zelensky, answering questions via WhatsApp one day after his high-stakes meeting with President Trump at the latter’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla., said he had told Trump that Kyiv would like the guarantee to be extended for up to 50 years.
“I raised this issue with the president. I told him that our war is still going on, and it has been almost 15 years,” Zelensky said.
“Therefore, we would really like the guarantees to be longer. I told him that we would very much like to consider the possibility of 30, 40, 50 years. And that would then be a historic decision by President Trump.”
According to the Ukrainian president, Trump said he would “think about” the request.
The exact form of the security guarantees have not been made public, but Zelensky said Monday they would include monitoring for violations of any cease-fire as well as some sort of “presence” by the US and European nations.
“I believe that the presence of international troops is a real security guarantee, it is a strengthening of the security guarantees that our partners are already offering us,” the Ukrainian leader said Monday.
The Post reported last week that the 20-point outline calls for a coordinated military response by the US, NATO and other European countries in the event the Russian invasion restarts.
Russia has previously said it would not accept deployment of troops from NATO countries inside Ukraine, and Moscow’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, told the Tass news agency Sunday the Kremlin would view those forces as “a legitimate target.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump were expected to speak in the near future but there was no indication the Russian leader would speak to Zelensky anytime soon.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Kyiv’s allies will meet in Paris in early January to “finalize each country’s concrete contributions” to the security guarantees. It was not immediately clear whether the US would send a representative to that meeting.
Zelensky emphasized that the guarantees were required to lift the state of martial law that has been in effect since the Russian invasion began in February 2022. Under the Ukrainian constitution, elections cannot take place under martial law — meaning the presidential and parliamentary ballots scheduled for 2024 were postponed indefinitely.
“Without security guarantees, this war has not really ended,” he said Monday. “We cannot recognize that it has ended.”
Following Sunday’s meeting, Trump said he would be willing to travel to Ukraine to try and convince its legislators to support the eastern Donbas region becoming an internationally monitored, demilitarized “free economic zone.”
“I think the land — you’re talking about — some of that land has been taken [by Russia],” said the US president, adding: “Some of that land is maybe up for grabs, but it may be taken over the next period of a number of months — and you’re better off making a deal now.”
Russia has captured most of Luhansk and about 70% of Donetsk — the two areas that make up the Donbas.
Ukraine’s post-Soviet constitution requires changes to the country’s borders to be approved via a nationwide referendum — which cannot be held until a cease-fire is in effect for 60 days, a period that the Kremlin has not indicated it is willing to wait.
Quote:President Trump directed a public rebuke at Ukraine Monday after Russia claimed that Kyiv had attacked one of Vladimir Putin’s official residences with 91 long-range drones overnight — despite Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissing the report as “typical Russian lies.”
Ahead of a bilateral meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump initially told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort that “I don’t know about” the reported assault on the Kremlin tyrant’s home in the Novgorod region before adding “that would be too bad, that would not be good.”
The president then confirmed that his Russian counterpart had “told me about” the assault on a Monday morning phone call that White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt had described as “positive.”
“This is not the right time,” Trump said about the alleged drone incursion. “It’s one thing to be offensive, it’s another thing to attack his house. I was very angry about it.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed to reporters that all 91 drones had been shot down, and there were no immediate reports of other damage or casualties.
In a statement on social media, Zelensky charged that Moscow was laying the groundwork for strikes on Ukraine following Zelensky’s Sunday meeting with Trump at Mar-a-Lago.
“Russia is at it again, using dangerous statements to undermine all achievements of our shared diplomatic efforts with President Trump’s team. We keep working together to bring peace closer,” Zelensky wrote on X.
“This alleged ‘residence strike’ story is a complete fabrication intended to justify additional attacks against Ukraine, including Kyiv, as well as Russia’s own refusal to take necessary steps to end the war. Typical Russian lies.”
Lavrov claimed Russia would review its negotiating position in talks to end its nearly four-year-old invasion of Ukraine as a result of the overnight attack — but did not say the Kremlin was walking away from the table.
“Ukraine does not take steps that can undermine diplomacy. To the contrary, Russia always takes such steps. This is one of many differences between us,” Zelensky insisted.
“It is critical that the world doesn’t stay silent now. We cannot allow Russia to undermine the work on achieving a lasting peace.”
It was not immediately clear whether Putin was at the residence at the time of the supposed drone attack.
The Novgorod region is located in northwestern Russia, roughly halfway between Moscow and St. Petersburg.
FAR EAST
Quote:China's foreign ministry spokesman has warned that anyone crossing a red line in Taiwan would be met with a forceful response, as Beijing forces conducted military exercises close to the island.
China Daily, an English-language daily newspaper owned by the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party, has also made it clear the war games were intended as a deterrent to anyone tempted to cross the line.
The drills, known as “Justice Mission 2025,” began Monday and involve the People’s Liberation Army Eastern Theater Command operating in the Taiwan Strait and in areas surrounding the island.
They were framed as a response to recent U.S. arms sales to Taiwan and as a signal to the administration of Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te. China Daily said the exercises underscore Beijing’s readiness to counter external interference and separatist moves related to Taiwan.
Newsweek reached out to the U.S. State Department, and Chinese and Taiwanese officials in the U.S. for comment via contact form email Monday afternoon.
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What To Know
In a clear warning to the U.S, China's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian said in a briefing Monday that when it comes to Taiwan, "anyone who crosses the line or makes provocations on the question will be met with China’s firm response."
He also warned the island's administration that it was "turning Taiwan into a powder keg." He added: "Their massive and desperate arms purchase further reveal their true nature as provocateurs, saboteurs of peace and war-mongers. Anyone who tries to arm Taiwan to contain China will only embolden the separatists and push the Taiwan Strait closer to the peril of armed conflict."
The China Daily report highlighted the U.S.' recent $11.1 billion arms sale to Taiwan, calling it a deep contradiction between the words and actions out of Washington, D.C. The article claimed that the U.S. does not back Taiwanese independence, but then has shown support for the island.
Under former President Joe Biden, the official line was that the U.S. backed a "One China" principal, with the State Department previously writing on its website that it did not support Taiwan independence. That was tweaked in February 2025, under President Trump, but the government did not appear to back any real change in status for either nation.
The Chinese outlet said that by carrying out the drills China was conducting its legitimate right to defend national sovereignty, because arms sent to Taiwan had increased the risk of conflict in the region.
This week's drills are the fourth such major exercise surrounding Taiwan since 2022, when then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei in a high-profile show of support, despite opposition from the White House at the time over concerns that it would give Beijing cause to ramp up military pressure against the island's leaders.
Quote:North Korea announced Monday it had fired a pair of long-range strategic cruise missiles into the sea the previous day.
Kim Jong Un, who oversaw the exercise, emphasized the need to test the country’s nuclear deterrent amid what he described as growing threats to its security, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Newsweek reached out to the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and the North Korean embassy in China via email for comment.
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What To Know
The cruise missiles followed their predetermined flight path over the Yellow Sea, known in the Koreas as the West Sea, for 10,199 and 10,203 seconds before striking their target.
"The respected Comrade Kim Jong Un expressed great satisfaction, saying that the result of the launching drill is a practical verification and clear demonstration of the absolute reliability and combat readiness of our strategic counterattack capability," KCNA wrote.
Kim reportedly stated that the government would devote all its efforts to the ongoing development of a “nuclear combat force.”
The KCNA report comes on the heels of the December 24 launch of a long-range missile, which was followed the next day by Kim’s visit to the construction site of the country’s first nuclear-powered submarine.
In recent years, Pyongyang has tested a range of increasingly advanced weapons, including solid-fueled missiles, highly maneuverable hypersonic reentry vehicles, nuclear-capable warheads, and intercontinental ballistic missiles with extended range.
While many analysts believe the regime still faces technical hurdles in some areas, such as guidance precision, they also note steady advances. U.S. intelligence officials believe Kim has prioritized modernizing his missile force and could pose a threat to U.S. and allied forces.
Analysts have also raised concerns that Pyongyang is receiving technological assistance on its missile programs from Russia, possibly in exchange for North Korean contributions of munitions and troops to Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Quote:President Donald Trump on Sunday touted the peacekeeping role the United States has played in the world since his return to office, calling it the "real United Nations" and pointed to the renewed deal between Thailand and Cambodia as proof of his administration's accomplishments.
"I am pleased to announce that the breakout fighting between Thailand and Cambodia will stop momentarily, and they will go back to living in PEACE, as per our recently agreed to original Treaty," the president wrote on Truth Social.
Newsweek reached out to the White House by email on Sunday morning outside of normal business hours for comment.
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What To Know
The new ceasefire agreement between Thailand and Cambodia stipulates that the two countries must observe a 72-hour period of peace before other provisions come into effect, including the repatriation of 18 Cambodian soldiers, "joint humanitarian demining operations," and eliminating propaganda and disinformation.
However, Trump has already started celebrating the deal, marking it as another conflict he ended since returning to office, although it's unclear if he's counting it as a separate conflict from the first one he claimed to end earlier this year.
"I want to congratulate both great leaders on their brilliance in coming to this rapid and very fair conclusion. It was FAST & DECISIVE, as all of these situations should be! The United States of America, as always, was proud to help!" Trump wrote.
He continued: "With all of the wars and conflicts I have settled and stopped over the last eleven months, EIGHT, perhaps the United States has become the REAL United Nations, which has been of very little assistance or help in any of them, including the disaster currently going on between Russia and Ukraine. The United Nations must start getting active and involved in WORLD PEACE!"
The president has helped push through several ceasefires and peace deals across the past 11 months, even though some of the parties involved dispute the degree to which the U.S. was actually involved in negotiations.
The Trump administration also helped broker deals between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Israel and Iran, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as Israel and Hamas in their two-year war.
Trump has claimed credit for helping broker a deal between India and Pakistan, however Indian leaders have disputed any involvement from the U.S. in the ceasefire mediations.
Trump will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday in Miami as he seeks to push a deal between Russia and Ukraine over the finish line in their near four-year war, with Zelensky indicating the new deal could see a vote in Ukraine after finding "new ideas" on how to reach a deal with U.S. negotiators.
MIDDLE EAST
Quote:Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to push back hard against any attempt by the Trump administration to move on to phase two of the cease-fire plan for the Gaza Strip when the two leaders sit down at Mar-a-Lago later Monday.
Reports from multiple Israeli media outlets indicate that Netanyahu is expected to ask President Trump and his point men in the Middle East — special envoy Steve Witkoff and first son-in-law Jared Kushner — to provide firm assurances that Hamas will be disarmed and Gaza demilitarized before any further steps are taken.
Another sticking point is the failure by Hamas to return the body of Israeli counter-terror police Master Sgt. Ran “Rani’’ Gvili, who was murdered during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack against the Jewish state and is believed to be the last victim of that atrocity whose remains are still in the Gaza Strip.
Gvili’s mother and brother have joined Netanyahu’s retinue in Florida, according to Ynet, which reported that Israeli officials are hopeful that Trump will meet the pair at some point.
The second phase of the cease-fire calls for the creation of a so-called International Stabilization Force (ISF) that would take over policing the Strip, and Netanyahu is expected to question Trump closely on details of how it will operate.
Earlier this month, officials from the US, Egypt, Qatar and Turkey met in Miami to discuss plans for the force — though Israel has said it would not accept Turkey taking part due to its president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, cultivating close ties to Hamas throughout his tenure.
The US and Israel want the ISF to have a “commanding role” in security duties, including disarming Hamas and other militant groups. But countries being courted to contribute troops fear that mandate will make it an “occupation force,” a Western diplomat told the Associated Press.
Hamas has said it is ready to discuss “freezing or storing” its arsenal of weapons, but insists it has a right to armed resistance as long as Israel occupies Palestinian territory. One US official told AP that a potential plan might be to offer cash incentives in exchange for weapons, echoing a “buy-back” program Witkoff has previously floated.
Governance of Gaza will initially be overseen by a so-called Board of Peace chaired by Trump, with the Palestinians later forming a “technocratic, apolitical” committee to run daily affairs under Board of Peace supervision.
The Board of Peace would oversee Gaza’s reconstruction under a two-year, renewable United Nations mandate. Its members had been expected to be named by the end of the year and might even be revealed following Monday’s meeting, but the announcement could be pushed into next month.
Trump and Netanyahu may also discuss next steps regarding Iran following a report over the weekend by independent outlet Iran International that the Islamic Republic is developing biological and chemical warheads that could be attached to ballistic missiles targeting Israel.
Quote:President Trump gave gushing praise to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Monday — denying reported friction with his counterpart and vowing to “knock the hell out of” Iran if it rebuilds its nuclear program.
“I hear that Iran is trying to build up again, and if they are, we’re gonna have to knock them down. We’ll knock them down. We’ll knock the hell out of them,” Trump said while welcoming Netanyahu to his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Fla.
“But hopefully that’s not happening. I heard Iran wants to make a deal. They want to make a deal that’s much smarter. You know, they could have made a deal the last time before we went through a big attack on them, and they decided not to make a deal. They wish they made that deal.”
Trump said the men would focus on about five major issues, including the implementation of the Trump-brokered October peace deal in Gaza and Israeli relations with the new Syrian government.
The second phase of the peace deal should begin “as quickly as we can,” but “there has to be a disarming of Hamas,” said Trump, amid reported unease among US officials about Netanyahu’s commitment to keeping the deal intact.
Gaza is a “tough neighborhood,” but reconstruction would start “pretty soon,” added Trump, who said “we’re already starting certain things” such as sanitation.
The US president separately said in response to a reporter that he would endorse Israeli airstrikes if Iran continues to develop its ballistic missile technology in the aftermath of Israeli and US airstrikes on nuclear sites in June.
Trump said that his relationship with Netanyahu was strong.
“If they will continue with missiles? Yes. If nuclear, fast. Okay? One will be ‘yes, absolutely,’ the other was, ‘we’ll do it immediately,'” Trump replied.
Trump hailed Netanyahu’s leadership during a press availability and even claimed he had secured from Israeli President Isaac Herzog an agreement to pardon the longtime leader to head off corruption allegations.
“He’s a wartime prime minister who is a hero. How do you not give a pardon? … I spoke to the president, and he tells me it’s on its way,” Trump said.
Quote:Iran’s military has vowed to deliver a "far harsher, more crushing and more damaging" response to any hostile action, following remarks by the country’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, declaring Iran to be effectively at war with the United States.
In a statement issued Monday, the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces warned it would not tolerate threats to the nation’s security or its people, according to Iran's Tasnim News Agency.
Newsweek reached out to the White House for comment via email Monday morning.
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What To Know
Iranian commanders said the nation's armed forces remain on full readiness and cautioned that any future miscalculation by enemies would be met with overwhelming force.
Over the weekend, Pezeshkian said his country was also at war with Europe and Israel, referencing his country's previous, elongated war with Iraq in which he said it was clear what was happening, with missiles being fired. Now, he said, the situation had shifted to one involving sanctions and blockades.
The U.S. and many European countries have imposed extensive sanctions on Iran for years, including on its oil industry and financial sector, often in response to Iran's nuclear program. Earlier this month, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on 29 vessels allegedly engaged in the covert delivery of Iranian oil and petroleum worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
In June, both Israel and the U.S. struck sites connected with Tehran's nuclear industry and military during the 12-day war between Israel and Iran. An Iranian official said more than 1,000 people were killed in Iran and several thousands more injured. Twenty eight people were killed in attacks on Israel.
Following the June attacks, Trump insisted Iran's nuclear capabilities had been obliterated, but Israeli officials have expressed their concerns that Iran is rebuilding nuclear facilities.
Quote:Mohammad Reza Farzin, head of Iran’s Central Bank, resigned on Monday after the nation’s currency, the rial, plunged to an all-time low against the U.S. dollar, triggering widespread protests by traders and shopkeepers in several major cities, according to multiple media outlets.
Images show roads in Iran's capital city, Tehran, filled with protesters on Monday, disrupting traffic and clogging roadways.
The resignation came days after Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said that the country was in a "full-scale war" with the U.S., Europe and Israel.
The Context
The rapid decline of the rial—down from around 430,000 to the dollar when Farzin took office in 2022 to 1.38 million per dollar this week—has intensified economic hardships for average Iranians, increasing the cost of food, medicine and daily essentials, The Associated Press (AP) reported.
The currency crisis has pushed the inflation rate to 42.2 percent year-over-year, with food prices soaring by 72 percent and health and medical items by 50 percent, intensifying fears of approaching hyperinflation.
The simultaneous protests in traditional bazaar districts also invoke historical echoes of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, highlighting the potential for significant institutional change when economic grievances unite diverse segments of society.
What To Know
Iran’s state television reported Farzin's resignation after days of escalating speculation about his position, as per the AP.
Within hours, Iran’s national currency tanked, with the rial dropping to 1.42 million against the dollar on Sunday before rebounding slightly to 1.38 million Monday.
In contrast, when Farzin assumed leadership in 2022, the exchange rate was 430,000 rials per dollar, demonstrating the extent of the current crisis.
Hundreds of traders and shopkeepers took to Saadi Street in central Tehran on Monday, along with other commercial districts such as Shush, near the city’s Grand Bazaar, a historic site of protest and political change.
Demonstrations quickly spread to Isfahan, Shiraz and Mashhad, with similar gatherings confirmed by Iran's official IRNA news agency. In several areas, police deployed tear gas to disperse crowds, while reports indicated widespread shop closures as business owners demanded economic reforms.
The depreciation of the rial has been exacerbated by ongoing international sanctions, the fallout from the shuttered 2015 nuclear deal and the threat of increased taxation and gasoline prices.
LATIN AMERICA
Quote:President Donald Trump briefly addressed the recent strike on a Venezuela facility during a joint press availability with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, saying in part, "There was a major explosion in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs."
The pair spoke to reporters ahead of their scheduled meeting at Mar-a-Lago in Florida.
The strike, which Trump described as the destruction of a key drug facility along the Venezuelan coast, marked an escalation in ongoing efforts by the United States to stem illegal narcotics shipments.
While the president said the facility "is no longer around,” he did not specify the location, level of destruction, or possible casualties.
Newsweek reached out to the White House, the Venezuela UN Mission and the Venezuela's Trinidad Embassy by email on Monday for comment.
...
What To Know
During a radio interview with WABC on Friday, the president said, "We just knocked out—I don't know if you read or you saw— they have a big plant or a big facility where...the ships come from. Two nights ago, we knocked that out."
The president, however, did not mention Venezuela by name.
On Monday, Trump said U.S. forces had recently struck a “major facility” used for loading drug shipments onto boats, which he called the “implementation area” when asked by a reporter about the "explosion in Venezuela."
The attack followed a four-month campaign involving at least 29 strikes by U.S. military vessels targeting boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific allegedly engaged in drug trafficking. According to defense sources, these operations have resulted in at least 105 deaths, the Associated Press reported.
The U.S. Coast Guard, with Navy support, has also pursued and seized oil tankers believed to be part of Venezuela’s so-called "shadow fleet," used to circumvent U.S. sanctions. Notable vessels, such as Centuries and Skipper, both Panama-flagged, have been taken under U.S. judicial order.
The administration justified these actions by saying they prevent drugs from reaching the U.S. and undermine the Maduro regime’s finances.
Quote:Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro said the country has spent weeks under threat from a "Goliath," as the United States ramps up military operations in the region and signals a more aggressive posture toward Caracas.
...
What To Know
"Venezuela has been under threat from Goliath for 27 weeks, and for 27 weeks our Military Force has been deployed with intelligence, wisdom, and strategic patience," Maduro said, addressing the Bolivarian National Armed Forces on Sunday.
Venezuela has deployed thousands of troops to its border and urged citizens to join its Bolivarian militia, with Maduro framing U.S. pressure in September as the greatest threat the continent has seen in 100 years, according to El País. The Venezuelan Army swore in 5,600 soldiers in December.
The White House has ordered U.S. forces to focus on a maritime "quarantine" of Venezuelan oil exports, interdicting tankers and tightening restrictions on sanctioned vessels in Caribbean waters.
United Nations experts denounced the U.S.'s partial maritime blockade on Venezuela as illegal, saying it violated international law and constituted armed aggression under the U.N. Charter. "As such, it is an armed attack under article 51 of the Charter—in principle giving the victim State a right of self-defense," the experts said in a news release.
The U.S. has seized at least two Venezuelan‑linked oil tankers carrying crude under sanction, which Maduro described as piracy.
Trump aides say military options remain even as the emphasis shifts toward economic pressure on Caracas.
In a Friday interview with New York's WABC radio, Trump said the U.S. had "knocked out" a "big facility where the ships come from" two nights earlier as part of its anti-drug campaign in Latin America. U.S. officials later said Trump was referring to a drug-related site in Venezuela, but gave no details. The move could be the operation's first known land strike in the country.
"For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ," 1 Thessalonians 5:9
Maranatha!
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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
