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Trump Snubbed For Nobel Peace Prize

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The White House, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Better luck next time…

On Friday morning, the Nobel Committee awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to Venezuela’s opposition leader María Corina Machado, passing over President Donald Trump who has been openly vying for the award.

The chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Jørgen Watne Frydnes, pushed back against suggestions that this year’s Nobel Peace Prize decision was made to spite President Donald Trump’s public campaign for the award.

Frydnes was asked directly just moments after he announced this year’s prize would go to Venezuela’s opposition leader María Corina Machado, whether Trump’s repeated insistence that he “deserves” the prize had affected deliberations.

A reporter in the room asked: “During the past months, U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize and he’d like to have it. He even said it would be an insult to the United States if he doesn’t get it. What [do you], as chairman of the Nobel Peace Prize committee, think of this? And how has this campaign-like activity by the president and his supporters, domestically and internationally, affected the deliberation and thinking in the committee?”

He replied: “In the long history of the Nobel Peace Prize, I think this committee has seen many types of campaign, media attention. We receive thousands and thousands of letters every year of people wanting to say what, for them, leads to peace. This committee sits in a room filled with the portraits of all laureates and that room is filled with both courage and integrity. So we base only our decision on the work and the will of Alfred Nobel.”

Trump’s supporters had pressed the committee to recognise his 20-point Gaza peace plan and his claimed role in “ending seven wars.” But despite a flurry of last-minute lobbying, including from families of Israeli hostages, Trump’s campaign failed.

However, the committee also chose a figure who had previously praised the president in a nuance that could blunt some of the political backlash. In past public remarks, Machado thanked Trump for his “commitment to freedom and democracy in Venezuela.”

She also featured on this year’s TIME magazine list of the “100 Most Influential People” where Secretary of State Marco Rubio called her “the personification of resilience, tenacity, and patriotism.”

Watch via YouTube:

The Trump administration is being praised for its efforts in securing a landmark peace deal between Israel and Hamas that will see all remaining hostages brought home on Monday.

Under the first phase of the agreement, Israel will release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for all remaining hostages, both living and dead. Israel will also withdraw its troops from most of Gaza, removing themselves behind a “yellow line” during a 24-hour ceasefire that has already begun.

At the end of the ceasefire, a 72-hour clock will begin, during which Hamas must release all remaining hostages. Only 20 remaining hostages are believed to be alive, along with the 28 who are deceased and their bodies “scattered across Gaza” according to negotiators.

Jerusalem will also authorize the release of some 1,700 Gazans arrested after the October 2023 attacks, along with roughly 250 Palestinians serving life sentences, under the first phase of the plan presented by President Donald Trump late last month.

President Donald Trump announced the deal on Wednesday night, hailing assistance from Qatar, Egypt and Turkey.

New York Attorney General Letitia James Indicted By Federal Grand Jury

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On Thursday, a federal grand jury indicted New York Attorney General Letitia James in Virginia federal court with charges related to fraud.

Alec Perkins from Hoboken, USA, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Two sources confirmed to Fox News that the charges were related to potential mortgage fraud. 

This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

New York Times Says Trump Has Legitimate Nobel Peace Prize Claim If Peace Deal Holds

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By The White House - https://www.flickr.com/photos/202101414@N05/54325633746/, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=159707159

Following President Donald Trump’s announcement that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a peace plan, The New York Times’ veteran national security correspondent David E. Sanger suggested that the development could mark Trump’s “pathway to the Nobel Peace Prize.”

“For Mr. Trump, success in this venture is the ultimate test of his self-described goal as a deal maker and a peacemaker — and a pathway to the Nobel Peace Prize he has so openly coveted,” Sanger wrote Wednesday.

Sanger described the potential agreement as “the biggest diplomatic accomplishment of his second term,” though he warned that “peace in the region is still far from guaranteed.” He noted that Trump’s breakthrough, if it holds, could stand alongside the work of the four previous American presidents who have won the Nobel Peace Prize.

“If the peace plan moves forward, Mr. Trump may have as legitimate a claim to that Nobel as the four American presidents who have won the peace prize in the past, though with less bombast and lobbying,” Sanger observed.

Still, he cautioned, “Much could go wrong in coming days, and in the Middle East it often does. The ‘peace’ deal Mr. Trump heralded on Truth Social on Wednesday evening may look more like another temporary pause in a war that started with Israel’s founding in 1948, and has never ended.”

President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands during their joint press conference, Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2017, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C. (Official White House Photo by Leslie N. Emory)

Recognition Amid Reluctance

While maintaining his skepticism, Sanger acknowledged that if Trump manages to sustain the cease-fire and move the plan toward permanence, it would be “an extraordinary step toward the kind of peace plan Mr. Trump, and his predecessor, Joseph R. Biden Jr., have pressed to accomplish, despite many diversions down dark holes.”

He added that “if Mr. Trump can get Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to withdraw troops from Gaza City and give up on his plan to take control of the shattered remains of Gaza, if he can stop the carnage that has killed 1,200 people in Israel and more than 60,000 Palestinians, he will have done what many before him tried: outmaneuvered a difficult and now isolated ally.”

Sanger also recalled the Abraham Accords — which normalized relations between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and other Arab nations — as Trump’s “best international accomplishment” of his first term. Yet, he suggested, the current peace deal “is an even bigger accomplishment,” if it endures.

By The White House from Washington, DC – President Trump and The First Lady Participate in an Abraham Accords Signing Ceremony, Public Domain,

The piece credited Trump and his advisers for restraining Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the conflict’s civilian toll threatened Israel’s global standing — damage that Sanger argued “may take a generation or more to repair.”

Still, the veteran correspondent warned that “it is far from clear that the conflict is truly ending,” pointing to the challenge of persuading Hamas to disarm and relinquish control over Gaza.

A Rare Note of Praise from a Longtime Critic

Sanger’s cautiously admiring tone marks a departure from the broader editorial posture of The New York Times, which has maintained a long and often adversarial relationship with Donald Trump. During both his campaigns and presidencies, the paper has been a consistent skeptic of his policies and character — drawing frequent rebukes from Trump, who has derided it as “failing” and “fake news.”

Though Sanger’s reporting stops short of endorsement, it nonetheless represents one of the rare moments when The Times has acknowledged Trump’s potential for a historic diplomatic breakthrough — even as it hedges that recognition with doubt about the durability of peace in the Middle East.

Trump Secures Landmark Deal Between Israel And Hamas

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President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands during their joint press conference, Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2017, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C. (Official White House Photo by Leslie N. Emory)

The Trump administration is being praised for its efforts in securing a landmark peace deal between Israel and Hamas that will see all remaining hostages brought home on Monday.

Under the first phase of the agreement, Israel will release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for all remaining hostages, both living and dead. Israel will also withdraw its troops from most of Gaza, removing themselves behind a “yellow line” during a 24-hour ceasefire that has already begun.

At the end of the ceasefire, a 72-hour clock will begin, during which Hamas must release all remaining hostages. Only 20 remaining hostages are believed to be alive, along with the 28 who are deceased and their bodies “scattered across Gaza” according to negotiators.

Fox News noted it remains unclear if Hamas will be able to adhere to this timeframe after it flagged over the weekend the improbability that it will be able to quickly locate all deceased bodies, some of which are allegedly buried under rubble.

Jerusalem will also authorize the release of some 1,700 Gazans arrested after the October 2023 attacks, along with roughly 250 Palestinians serving life sentences, under the first phase of the plan presented by President Donald Trump late last month.

President Donald Trump announced the deal on Wednesday night, hailing assistance from Qatar, Egypt and Turkey.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Shosh Bedrosian said this is only the first phase of the peace agreement. Details of later phases have not been announced.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio handed President Donald Trump a note on Wednesday telling him that a Middle East peace deal was “very close” and was awaiting Trump’s approval for “a Truth Social post.”

As Trump spoke to reporters, Rubio walked up to the president, whispered in his ear, and handed him a note

“Very close. We need you to approve a Truth Social post soon so you can announce deal first,” the note read.

Watch the moment:

After being handed the note, Trump told reporters, “I was just given a note by the Secretary of State saying that we’re very close to a deal in the Middle East and they’re gonna need me pretty quickly.”

Just over an hour later, Trump published a Truth Social post announcing “that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first Phase of our Peace Plan.”

“This means that ALL of the Hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace. All Parties will be treated fairly!” he wrote. “This is a GREAT Day for the Arab and Muslim World, Israel, all surrounding Nations, and the United States of America, and we thank the mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey, who worked with us to make this Historic and Unprecedented Event happen. BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!”

Earlier on Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that Trump was “considering going to the Middle East shortly” after his routine, annual medical checkup at Walter Reed Medical Center.

“I may go there sometime toward the end of the week, maybe on Sunday, actually, and we’ll see,” Trump told reporters. “But there’s a very good chance. Negotiations are going along very well. We’re dealing with Hamas and many of the countries. As you know, we have a Muslim, all of the Muslim countries are included. All of the Arab countries are included. Very rich countries and some that are not so rich, but just about everybody is included.”

Families of Israeli hostages erupted in cheers after President Donald Trump called to tell them their loved ones would return home in days after what he described as a “historic peace deal” between Israel and Hamas.

In a video released by the Hostage and Missing Families Forum, the president spoke to relatives by phone late Wednesday, promising all captives would be back by Monday.

The clip shows Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on a call with Trump and standing with hostage families before they chant: “Thank you!”

“This is amazing,” one said. Another added, “Mr. President, we believe in you, we know you’ve done so much for us in the past, since you became president, even before that. And we trust you’ll fulfill the mission until every hostage, until all 48 of the hostages are home. Thank you so much. Blessed be the peacemakers!”

Watch:

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar offered new details on Israel’s peace agreement with Hamas in an interview with Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin on Thursday.

Griffin pressed Sa’ar about Hamas’ role in Gaza moving forward as well as Israel’s plans for a military withdrawal.

Sa’ar said Israel is already moving to withdraw its troops behind the “yellow line,” ceding 53% of Gaza’s territory amid Thursday’s ceasefire. He said further withdrawals will be negotiated in later phases of the peace agreement.

He went on to say that, in the meantime, Gaza will be governed by a council of local Palestinians along with input from President Donald Trump. He said the existing Palestinian Authority may also play a role, but only if it adopts certain reforms.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for Trump to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in the peace deal.

Former FBI Director James Comey Pleads Not Guilty

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Gavel via Wikimedia Commons Image

Just in…

Former FBI Director James Comey has pleaded not guilty to charges linked to his 2020 congressional testimony about the bureau’s investigation into Russian ties to President Trump’s 2016 campaign. 

On Wednesday, Comey appeared before U.S. District Judge Michael Nachmanoff for his arraignment in federal court in Alexandria, Va., where no cameras or other electronics were allowed inside the courthouse to document the high-profile hearing. 

Comey’s plea was entered by his attorney, Patrick Fitzgerald.

Comey is accused of falsely claiming during a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee that he did not authorize a leak to news media about the FBI’s investigation into Hillary Clinton and the Trump-Russia probe.  

The brief exchange with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) centers on testimony Comey gave the committee years earlier, in 2017, when he said he never authorized anyone to be an anonymous source in news reports.  

This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

Gov. JB Pritzker Claims President Trump Deploying Troops To Chicago Due To ‘Dementia’

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Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

The gloves are off…

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker on Tuesday accused President Trump of deploying National Guard troops to the Democrat cities of Chicago and Portland based on fixations that stem in part from his being mentally impaired.

“This is a man who’s suffering dementia,” Pritzker said in a telephone interview with the Tribune. “This is a man who has something stuck in his head. He can’t get it out of his head. He doesn’t read. He doesn’t know anything that’s up to date. It’s just something in the recesses of his brain that is effectuating to have him call out these cities.

“And then, unfortunately, he has the power of the military, the power of the federal government to do his bidding, and that’s what he’s doing.”

During the interview, Pritzker — who has been one of Trump’s harshest critics and is a potential 2028 presidential Democrat candidate — said the courts will play an integral role in challenging Trump’s efforts in Illinois and across the nation.

“We’re not going to go to war between the state of Illinois and the federal government, not taking up arms against the federal government,” Pritzker said. “But we are monitoring everything they’re doing, and using that monitoring to win in court.”

The governor’s comments came as National Guard troops from Texas were assembling at a U.S. Army Reserve training center in far southwest suburban Elwood and Trump’s administration was moving forward with deploying 300 members of the Illinois National Guard for at least 60 days over the vocal and legal objections of Pritzker and other local elected leaders.

The Trump administration has said the troops are needed to protect federal agents and facilities involved in its ongoing deportation surge and has sought to do much the same in Portland, Oregon, though those efforts have been stymied so far by temporary court rulings.

Speaking in the Oval Office on Tuesday, the president reiterated that he was considering employing the two-century-old Insurrection Act to get around legal court orders that would deny him the ability to deploy National Guard troops to cities such as Chicago and Portland over governors’ objections.

“It’s been invoked before,” Trump said of the law, which the Brennan Center for Justice said has been used 30 times, starting with President George Washington, to quell the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794.

The last time the Insurrection Act was invoked was by President George H.W. Bush during the Los Angeles riots of 1992, with the support of California Gov. Pete Wilson. It also was used in Chicago in 1968 by President Lyndon Johnson to curb rioting over the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. with the backing of Mayor Richard J. Daley and acting Gov. Samuel Shapiro.

As Pritzker has sought to counter Trump on nearly every front, he has joined California Gov. Gavin Newsom in threatening to leave the bipartisan National Governors Association because the organization hasn’t spoken out against Trump’s National Guard mobilizations.

Federal Judge Blocks National Guard Deployment Amid Constitutional Challenge

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Competitors in the 2024 Army National Guard Best Warrior Competition run a 1-kilometer route as part of the competition’s biathlon event at Ethan Allen Firing Range, Vermont, Aug. 6, 2024. The Best Warrior Competition is a physically and mentally challenging five-day event that tests Soldiers on a variety of tactical and technical skills. Winners are named the Army Guard Soldier and Noncommissioned Officer of the Year and move on to compete in the Department of the Army Best Squad Competition, with other Soldiers from the Best Warrior Competition filling out the ranks of their squad. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Jon Soucy)

On pause…

On Sunday, a federal judge intervened in President Donald Trump’s plan to deploy National Guardsmen to Portland, Oregon handing a win to California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut ruled the action was unlawful and unconstitutional, issuing an emergency temporary restraining order to halt the deployment of California’s National Guard. The order also bars the use of troops from any other state or Washington, D.C. in Oregon.

Trump’s move came after a federal judge he appointed temporarily blocked him from deploying 200 Oregon National Guardsmen to Portland, which Newsom pointed out in a second post:

“After a federal court blocked his attempt to federalize the Oregon National Guard, Donald Trump is deploying 300 California National Guard personnel into Oregon. They are on their way there now. We are taking this fight back to court. The public cannot stay silent in the face of such reckless and authoritarian conduct by the President of the United States.”

Immergut’s ruling says that the Trump administration’s action violates federal statute 10 U.S.C. §12406 and the Tenth Amendment.

“It appears to violate both 10 U.S.C. §12406 and the Tenth Amendment,” Immergut said during the proceeding, according to reporting from Adam Klasfeld of AllRise News.

Immergut also pressed Justice Department attorney Eric Hamilton on why the DOJ continued to pursue troop movements, according to Fox News.

“How could bringing in federalized National Guard from California not be in direct contravention of the TRO that I issued yesterday?” she asked.
“You’re an officer of the court. Aren’t defendants circumventing my order?”

Hamilton went on to deny any wrongdoing but did offer a defense to which Immergut pushed back.

“You have to have a colorable claim that Oregon conditions warrant deploying the National Guard — you don’t.”

Oregon’s Scott Kennedy said it felt like “a game of rhetorical Whac-A-Mole” and referenced reports that Trump may be considering sending Texas National Guard troops to Chicago.

DOJ representatives requested a stay, but Immergut denied both the stay and the administrative delay, saying it was an “emergency” and there were no new facts to justify the request to change her previous ruling.

“I’m handling this on an emergency basis with limited briefing,” she said. “No new information has been provided about any new issues in Portland.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) immediately took to X to boast.

“BREAKING: We just won in court — again. A federal judge BLOCKED Donald Trump’s unlawful attempt to DEPLOY 300 OF OUR NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS TO PORTLAND. The court granted our request for a Temporary Restraining Order — HALTING ANY FEDERALIZATION, RELOCATION, OR DEPLOYMENT of ANY GUARD MEMBERS TO OREGON FROM ANY STATE. Trump’s abuse of power won’t stand,” the post stated.

The Justice Department has made indications that it will be appealing the ruling.

YouTube Agrees To Pay Over 20 Million To Settle Trump Lawsuit

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YouTube has agreed to pay Donald Trump $24.5 million after preventing him from posting new videos to his channel after the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riots.

According to the filing, $22 million will be used to support Trump’s construction of a White House State Ballroom and will be held in a tax-exempt entity called the Trust for the National Mall.

Tyler Merbler, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Another $2.5 million will go to the other plaintiffs in the lawsuit — including the American Conservative Union, Andrew Baggiani, Austen Fletcher, Maryse Veronica Jean-Louis, Frank Valentine, Kelly Victory and Naomi Wolf — according to the filing.

“This Notice of Settlement and Stipulation of Dismissal shall not constitute an admission of liability or fault on the part of the Defendants or their agents, servants, or employees, and is entered into by all Parties for the sole purpose of compromising disputed claims and avoiding the expenses and risks of further litigation,” the filing stated.

YouTube suspended Trump’s account following the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, saying at the time that an uploaded video violated its policy for inciting violence. It restored Trump’s channel more than two years later, citing that voters could “hear equally from major national candidates in the run-up to an election.”

Trump’s lawsuit alleged that YouTube prevented him from “exercising his constitutional right of free speech” by banning him indefinitely from the platform.

YouTube, which is owned by Google parent company Alphabet, is the latest social media company to agree to settle with Trump this year over the suspension of his accounts following the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

Meta agreed to settle with Trump by making a donation of $22 million to his presidential library and paying $3 million in legal fees in January.

The Wall Street Journal quotes Trump lawyer John P. Coale, who brought the suits with lead litigation attorney John Q. Kelly.

“If he had not been re-elected, we would have been in court for 1,000 years,” Coale said, suggesting that Trump’s return to power motivated the social media companies to settle. “It was his re-election that made the difference.”

The report said the settlement comes as Google is “under pressure from the Justice Department to break up its ad businesses after a federal judge ruled this spring that the company had created a monopoly in advertising.”

Trump Announces Benjamin Netanyahu Has Agreed to His Plan to End War in Gaza

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President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands during their joint press conference, Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2017, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C. (Official White House Photo by Leslie N. Emory)

President Donald Trump announced that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to his plan to end Israel’s war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip during a press conference at the White House that followed a meeting between the two leaders on Monday.

The United States released Trump’s 20-point plan in full moments before Trump and Netanyahu stepped out in front of reporters for the press conference.

“I also want to thank Prime Minister Netanyahu for agreeing to the plan, and for trusting that if we work together, we can bring an end to the death and destruction that we’ve seen for so many years decades, even centuries. And begin a new chapter of security, peace, and prosperity for the entire region,” said Trump in his opening remarks.

Read Trump’s peace plan, in full, below:

1. Gaza will be a deradicalized terror-free zone that does not pose a threat to its neighbors.

2. Gaza will be redeveloped for the benefit of the people of Gaza, who have suffered more than enough.

3. If both sides agree to this proposal, the war will immediately end. Israeli forces will withdraw to the agreed upon line to prepare for a hostage release. During this time, all military operations, including aerial and artillery bombardment, will be suspended, and battle lines will remain frozen until conditions are met for the complete staged withdrawal.

4. Within 72 hours of Israel publicly accepting this agreement, all hostages, alive and deceased, will be returned.

5. Once all hostages are released, Israel will release 250 life sentence prisoners plus 1700 Gazans who were detained after October 7th 2023, including all women and children detained in that context. For every Israeli hostage whose remains are released, Israel will release the remains of 15 deceased Gazans.

6. Once all hostages are returned, Hamas members who commit to peaceful co-existence and to decommission their weapons will be given amnesty. Members of Hamas who wish to leave Gaza will be provided safe passage to receiving countries.

7. Upon acceptance of this agreement, full aid will be immediately sent into the Gaza Strip. At a minimum, aid quantities will be consistent with what was included in the January 19, 2025, agreement regarding humanitarian aid, including rehabilitation of infrastructure (water, electricity, sewage), rehabilitation of hospitals and bakeries, and entry of necessary equipment to remove rubble and open roads.

8. Entry of distribution and aid in the Gaza Strip will proceed without interference from the two parties through the United Nations and its agencies, and the Red Crescent, in addition to other international institutions not associated in any manner with either party. Opening the Rafah crossing in both directions will be subject to the same mechanism implemented under the January 19, 2025 agreement.

9. Gaza will be governed under the temporary transitional governance of a technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee, responsible for delivering the day-to-day running of public services and municipalities for the people in Gaza. This committee will be made up of qualified Palestinians and international experts, with oversight and supervision by a new international transitional body, the “Board of Peace,” which will be headed and chaired by President Donald J. Trump, with other members and heads of State to be announced, including Former Prime Minister Tony Blair. This body will set the framework and handle the funding for the redevelopment of Gaza until such time as the Palestinian Authority has completed its reform program, as outlined in various proposals, including President Trump’s peace plan in 2020 and the Saudi-French proposal, and can securely and effectively take back control of Gaza. This body will call on best international standards to create modern and efficient governance that serves the people of Gaza and is conducive to attracting investment.

10. A Trump economic development plan to rebuild and energize Gaza will be created by convening a panel of experts who have helped birth some of the thriving modern miracle cities in the Middle East. Many thoughtful investment proposals and exciting development ideas have been crafted by well-meaning international groups, and will be considered to synthesize the security and governance frameworks to attract and facilitate these investments that will create jobs, opportunity, and hope for future Gaza.

11. A special economic zone will be established with preferred tariff and access rates to be negotiated with participating countries.

12. No one will be forced to leave Gaza, and those who wish to leave will be free to do so and free to return. We will encourage people to stay and offer them the opportunity to build a better Gaza.

13. Hamas and other factions agree to not have any role in the governance of Gaza, directly, indirectly, or in any form. All military, terror, and offensive infrastructure, including tunnels and weapon production facilities, will be destroyed and not rebuilt. There will be a process of demilitarization of Gaza under the supervision of independent monitors, which will include placing weapons permanently beyond use through an agreed process of decommissioning, and supported by an internationally funded buy back and reintegration program all verified by the independent monitors. New Gaza will be fully committed to building a prosperous economy and to peaceful coexistence with their neighbors.

14. A guarantee will be provided by regional partners to ensure that Hamas, and the factions, comply with their obligations and that New Gaza poses no threat to its neighbors or its people.

15. The United States will work with Arab and international partners to develop a temporary International Stabilization Force (ISF) to immediately deploy in Gaza. The ISF will train and provide support to vetted Palestinian police forces in Gaza, and will consult with Jordan and Egypt who have extensive experience in this field. This force will be the long-term internal security solution. The ISF will work with Israel and Egypt to help secure border areas, along with newly trained Palestinian police forces. It is critical to prevent munitions from entering Gaza and to facilitate the rapid and secure flow of goods to rebuild and revitalize Gaza. A deconfliction mechanism will be agreed upon by the parties.

16. Israel will not occupy or annex Gaza. As the ISF establishes control and stability, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will withdraw based on standards, milestones, and timeframes linked to demilitarization that will be agreed upon between the IDF, ISF, the guarantors, and the Unites States, with the objective of a secure Gaza that no longer poses a threat to Israel, Egypt, or its citizens. Practically, the IDF will progressively hand over the Gaza territory it occupies to the ISF according to an agreement they will make with the transitional authority until they are withdrawn completely from Gaza, save for a security perimeter presence that will remain until Gaza is properly secure from any resurgent terror threat.

17. In the event Hamas delays or rejects this proposal, the above, including the scaled-up aid operation, will proceed in the terror-free areas handed over from the IDF to the ISF.

18. An interfaith dialogue process will be established based on the values of tolerance and peaceful co-existence to try and change mindsets and narratives of Palestinians and Israelis by emphasizing the benefits that can be derived from peace.

19. While Gaza re-development advances and when the PA reform program is faithfully carried out, the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood, which we recognize as the aspiration of the Palestinian people.

20. The United States will establish a dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians to agree on a political horizon for peaceful and prosperous co-existence.

This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

Trump Secures Release Of American Citizen Held By Taliban

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Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

The Trump administration announced Sunday it had successfully secured the release of Amir Amiry, an American wrongfully held by the Taliban in Afghanistan — a move underscoring President Donald Trump’s ongoing push to bring home every U.S. citizen detained abroad.

Officials credited Qatar with helping facilitate the release alongside the State Department’s Bureau for Hostage Affairs and the National Security Council’s counterterrorism directorate.

“While this marks an important step forward, additional Americans remain unjustly detained in Afghanistan. President Trump will not rest until all our captive citizens are back home,” said Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a statement.

Rubio, who also serves as National Security Advisor, said the release showed “a significant step by the administration in Kabul” to advance efforts to free other Americans unjustly held.

Amiry was reportedly detained by the Taliban in December 2024, though details surrounding his imprisonment remain limited.

The development highlights a rare but meaningful diplomatic opening between the United States and the Taliban, who took control of Afghanistan in August 2021 following the Biden administration’s chaotic U.S. troop withdrawal.

The Trump White House has not released specifics about what, if anything, the U.S. provided in exchange for Amiry’s freedom — but officials stressed the President’s priority is the safe return of all Americans.

According to CNN, at least three Americans remain detained in Afghanistan, including Paul Overby, believed to be deceased.

For families of those still missing, the breakthrough offers hope. Ahmad Habibi, brother of Mahmood Habibi — a U.S. citizen held by the Taliban for more than three years — told the Associated Press his family was “grateful” to see progress.

“We are grateful that senior officials at the State Department and National Security Council have repeatedly assured us that any deal they do with the Taliban will be ‘all or nothing’ and they have explicitly assured us that they will not leave my brother behind,” Ahmad Habibi said.

Mahmood Habibi, an Afghan-American business owner and Kabul-based contractor, disappeared in 2022. His family and the FBI believe the Taliban is holding him, though the group has denied it.

President Trump has prioritized returning Americans detained overseas and recently signed an executive order to increase pressure on regimes and groups who wrongfully detain U.S. citizens. The order expands the administration’s ability to label governments and actors as “state sponsors of wrongful detention,” triggering sanctions and other consequences.

The release of Amiry underscores the Trump administration’s focus on protecting American lives abroad and standing up to hostile regimes — with clear signals that the White House won’t stop until every detained U.S. citizen comes home.