Donald Trump has said that the latest batch of hostages to be released by Hamas “seem to be in good shape” but reminded the group of a deadline of midday on Saturday to have all hostages released.
“Hamas has just released three Hostages from GAZA, including an American Citizen… This differs from their statement last week that they would not release any Hostages,” he wrote on Truth Social on Saturday morning.
“Israel will now have to decide what they will do about the 12:00 O’CLOCK, TODAY, DEADLINE imposed on the release of ALL HOSTAGES. The United States will back the decision they make!”
It comes as the president and his “First Buddy” Elon Musk accelerated their purge of America’s federal bureaucracy.
The Department of Veterans Affairs said it had let go of more than 1,000 employees in their probationary period, while the U.S. Forest Service is set to terminate more than 3,000. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been instructed to fire 1,300 staffers.
Elsewhere, more than 300 staffers at the National Nuclear Security Administration were reportedly fired Thursday night, with officials seemingly unaware that the agency oversees the U.S. nuclear stockpile.
Feature: Fearing Trump’s deportations will break up her family, one woman is sending herself back to Mexico
Quebec Vasquez came to America when she was a kid. She built a life here and had a family.
Now, in response to the climate of fear caused by Donald Trump’s mass deportations, she has decided to return to the country of her birth, Richard Hall writes…
Fearful of Trump’s crackdown, one woman is deporting herself
Quebec Vasquez came to America when she was a kid. She built a life here and had a family. Now, in response to the climate of fear caused by Donald Trump’s mass deportations, she has decided to return to the country of her birth, Richard Hall writes
Mike Bedigan15 February 2025 15:00
UK PM on collision course with Trump over VAT and future of Ukraine
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is on a collision course with Donald Trump over the future of Ukraine and the president’s latest threat to impose tariffs on the UK, as the two leaders face their first major test since the Republican took office.
The policy published by the White House included VAT as a target – which analysts have suggested could knock around £24bn off UK GDP over the next two years.
Millie Cooke reports from London.
Oliver O’Connell15 February 2025 14:30
Two-thirds of Americans still believe climate change is impacting the Earth, despite what Trump contends
As the Trump administration works to dismantle and erase any mention of climate change on a federal level, a new report has found that the majority of Americans believe the Earth’s warming is affecting weather across the country.
Two-thirds of those recently surveyed by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication said they think global warming is impacting U.S. weather. Those who believe global warming is happening outnumber those who believe it is not by a ratio of more than five to one, the survey also found.
Oliver O’Connell15 February 2025 14:00
Watch: Trump confirms call with UK PM
Donald Trump confirms call with Keir Starmer to plan ‘friendly meeting next week’
US President Donald Trump has confirmed he received a call from UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to plan a “friendly meeting”. Mr Trump said he is expecting to meet with Sir Keir next week, adding the pair get along “very well”. The pair are expected to discuss tariffs implemented by the US president. Speaking at a signing of executive orders on Friday (14 February), Mr Trump told reporters: “I think he wants to come next week or the weekend.” Mr Trump told reporters it was Sir Keir’s request to meet, stating: “I met himtwice already. We get along very well. He’s a very nice guy.”
Oliver O’Connell15 February 2025 13:30
DOJ leader Emil Bove pushed other lawyers to drop Eric Adams case. Why didn’t he just do it himself?
Federal prosecutors faced an ultimatum on Friday, agree to dismiss the charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams’s criminal case – or else.
Emil Bove III, the No. 2 in the Justice Department and President Donald Trump’s former criminal defense attorney, issued the directive after being stonewalled a day earlier on the same request. He had pushed for dropping the bribery case, but Manhattan federal prosecutors resigned instead of signing it themselves. That led to the Friday showdown.
What is unclear is why Bove, a lawyer, didn’t just sign them himself.
While it is uncommon for the acting deputy attorney general to do so, nothing prevents him from taking action.
Ariana Baio has the story.
Oliver O’Connell15 February 2025 12:30
Judge orders Trump administration to temporarily lift funding freeze on US foreign aid
In another setback for President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, Judge Amir Ali issued the order Thursday in a lawsuit brought by companies that receive U.S. funding for the programs.
Oliver O’Connell15 February 2025 11:30
Vance says Germany should work with the far right AfD
Oliver O’Connell15 February 2025 10:30
After call with Putin, Trump says Russia should rejoin G7
A decade after Russia was expelled from the Group of Eight for invading and illegally annexing Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula, President Donald Trump says he wants to reverse the decision and permit Russia to rejoin the group of the world’s major industrialized democracies, while also slashing America’s defense budget by 50 percent.
Andrew Feinberg has the story.
Oliver O’Connell15 February 2025 09:30
Will DOGE being at the IRS delay your tax refund?
“My office is hearing that DOGE is now at the IRS. That means Musk’s henchmen are in a position to dig through a trove of data about every taxpayer in America,” the Democrat tweeted Thursday. “And if your refund is delayed, they could very well be the reason.”
Oliver O’Connell15 February 2025 08:30
Beef tallow — why RFK Jr wants America to use it
Robert F. Kennedy Jr stirred controversy last Thanksgiving with a social media video showcasing his preferred cooking method: deep-frying a turkey in beef tallow.
“This is how we cook the MAHA way,” Kennedy declared in the video, referencing his “Make America Healthy Again” slogan.
Kennedy, recently confirmed as head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has consistently promoted beef tallow, rendered beef fat, as a healthier alternative to canola and other seed oils.
This stance has resonated with some social media influencers, but beef tallow’s nutritional values remain contested.
Oliver O’Connell15 February 2025 07:30
