Author: Alex Smith

Tel Aviv — American-Israeli dual national Keith Siegel was among three hostages released by militants in the war-torn Gaza Strip on Saturday, more than 15 months after they were taken captive by Hamas. Siegel was freed in Gaza City about two hours after Israelis Yarden Bibas and Ofer Calderon were released in the southern city of Khan Younis. The Israeli military confirmed Siegel’s transfer from militants to Red Cross personnel.All three hostages were handed over first to the Red Cross in Gaza, before being transferred to Israeli forces. Siegel appeared to have lost weight during his captivity, but he waved and…

A senior Trump official meets with Venezuela’s Maduro A senior Trump official meets with Venezuela’s Maduro 00:28 Six Americans who had been detained in Venezuela in recent months were freed by the government of President Nicolás Maduro after he met Friday with a Trump administration official tasked with urging the authoritarian leader to take back deported migrants who have committed crimes in the United States.President Trump and his envoy for special missions, Richard Grenell, announced the release of the six men on social media. The visit by Grenell came as a shock to many Venezuelans who hoped that Mr. Trump…

President Trump, an avowed fan of tariffs, is set on Feb. 1 to unleash a wave of new import duties on America’s three closest trading partners — Mexico, Canada and China. Although tariffs are a bane to most economists, they are a widely used as a tool for regulating international trade and for shielding domestic industries from foreign competition. At the simplest level, tariffs are taxes placed on goods made overseas that are imported into the country. Notably, foreign companies aren’t responsible for paying the duties. Instead, U.S. businesses directly pay the tariffs on their imported goods to the federal government, according…

The Pentagon’s intelligence arm has issued a memo pausing any activities related to Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Juneteenth, Black History Month, LBGTQ+ Pride Month and Holocaust Remembrance Day, among other “special observances,” according to a defense official who confirmed the authenticity of the memo. The memo listed 11 such observances that employees are no longer supposed to recognize with office activities or events. The move by the Defense Intelligence Agency is meant to comply with President Trump’s executive actions to end federal programs related to diversity, equity and inclusion in the military. The contents of the memo were first posted on X…

Washington CNN  —  More than 1,100 employees at the Environmental Protection Agency received notice this week that they were deemed to be on probationary status and warning they could be fired immediately, according to an email obtained by CNN. Probationary employees receiving the email have been working at the agency for less than a year. The emails began to go out late on Wednesday afternoon, according to an EPA union official. The same message will be sent to other agency workforces, a White House official said. Across the US government, the latest data shows there are more than 220,000 employees…

CNN  —  President Donald Trump will move forward with aggressive new tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China on Saturday, the White House said, affirming he will stick to his February 1 deadline for the new duties that could have widespread effects on the economy. “I can confirm that, tomorrow, the February 1 deadline President Trump put into place with a statement several weeks ago continues,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during Friday’s briefing. Canadian officials are expected to meet with White House border czar Tom Homan on Friday in a bid to reach a deal that would stave…