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Trump calls for Jordan, Egypt to accept more Palestinian refugees: ‘Clean out that whole thing’

President Donald Trump said Saturday he wants Jordan, Egypt and other Arab nations to accept more Palestinian refugees from the Gaza Strip, potentially moving out enough people to ‘just clean out’ the area destroyed in the Israel-Hamas war, which is now under a ceasefire.

Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he had a conversation earlier in the day with King Abdullah II of Jordan and would speak Sunday with President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt.

‘I’d like Egypt to take people,’ Trump said. ‘You’re talking about probably a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing and say, ‘You know, it’s over.”

Trump said he applauded Jordan for accepting Palestinian refugees but that he told the king: ‘I’d love for you to take on more, because I’m looking at the whole Gaza Strip right now, and it’s a mess. It’s a real mess.’

A drastic displacement like this would contradict Palestinian identity and deep connection to Gaza.

‘Palestinians in Gaza—like Palestinians in the West Bank and Israel—overwhelmingly trace their ancestry to cities and villages in the region that today comprises Israel and Palestine,’ former U.S. Rep. Justin Amash, who is Palestinian, wrote on X. ‘The idea that they are some kind of spillover from other countries in the so-called Arab world—that they are just interchangeable with other ‘Arabs’—is a false but routinely employed rhetorical device to erase their history on the land.’

‘They are the descendants of Canaanites, Israelites, Phoenicians, and other ancient Levantine peoples,’ Amash, a libertarian, said. ‘Their ancestry overlaps with that of their Jewish neighbors, but they are converts to Christianity, Islam, and other religions. Any effort to force them out or to pressure them to leave under threat of force is simply ethnic cleansing.’

But Trump said the part of the world that encompasses Gaza, has ‘had many, many conflicts’ over centuries and that resettling ‘could be temporary or long term.’

‘Something has to happen,’ Trump said. ‘But it’s literally a demolition site right now. Almost everything’s demolished, and people are dying there. So, I’d rather get involved with some of the Arab nations, and build housing in a different location, where they can maybe live in peace for a change.’

Senior Israeli officials said, according to Israel’s Channel 12, that ‘Trump’s statement about the migration of Gazans to Muslim countries is not a slip of the tongue but part of a much broader move than it seems, coordinated with Israel.’

On Monday, after he was inaugurated, Trump suggested that Gaza has ‘really got to be rebuilt in a different way.’

‘Gaza is interesting,’ he added. ‘It’s a phenomenal location, on the sea. The best weather, you know, everything is good. It’s like, some beautiful things could be done with it, but it’s very interesting.’

Trump also said Saturday that he ended former President Joe Biden’s hold on sending 2,000-pound bombs to Israel that was in place during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, which has been under a ceasefire for a week.

‘We released them today,’ Trump said of the bombs. ‘They’ve been waiting for them for a long time.’ Trump said he lifted the ban on the bombs ‘Because they bought them.’

Biden had halted the delivery of the bombs in May in an effort to prevent Israel from launching an all-out assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

The 15-month-long war in Gaza started when Hamas launched a surprise attack against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, prompting military retaliation from Israeli forces. Nearly 100 hostages remain captive in Gaza.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS
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Trump’s world leaders club: who’s in and who’s looking to salvage ties

President Donald Trump’s re-entrance into the White House has meant the complete overturning of Biden administration policies, the withdrawal of major international agreements and uncertainty that has left international partners waiting to see where they stand in the pecking order as some manage damage control while others vie for a seat at the table.

Trump’s actions came as no surprise this time around as the 47th president enters his second term. But what it means in terms of geopolitics remains unclear as adversaries and allies alike watch to see how these next four years will play out. 

WHO’S IN

Trump met with Meloni, leader of the conservative Brothers of Italy party, at his Mar-a-Lago residence earlier this month. The Italian leader, who has already voiced her support for Trump’s position on international issues like increasing NATO defense spending, attended Trump’s inauguration on Monday. According to reports this week, she has been deemed the ‘Trump whisperer’ and the ‘preferred interlocutor in the EU’ – a particularly important relationship amid concern that Trump could start a trade war with Europe.

A long-time ally of Trump, Orban championed his return to the Oval Office this month and reportedly declared that with Trump in office he could launch the ‘second phase of the offensive that aims to occupy Brussels,’ which he claimed is ‘occupied by a left-liberal oligarchy.’ Orban, though invited, did not attend the inauguration due to a scheduling conflict. 

Once hailed by Trump as the leader to ‘make Argentina great again,’ Milei is looking to expand relations with the U.S. On Wednesday during the Davos World Economic Forum, he told Bloomberg he may be willing to leave the more than 30-year-old Mercosur trade bloc founded by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay in 1991, if it means securing a new trade deal with the U.S.

 India is also scrambling to secure a trade deal with the U.S. amid concerns over international tariffs. Despite improved ties between India and China, and a meeting between Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Russia last year, Reuters reported on Wednesday that Modi is looking to back off its reliance on Beijing – its largest trading partner – and instead lean in on relations with Washington. Modi is looking to meet with Trump in February. 

Trump and Netanyahu maintained a strong relationship during the president’s first term, and a similar dynamic is expected to remain during Trump’s second term. Netanyahu on Monday released a video message congratulating Trump on his inauguration and said that ‘the best days of our alliance are yet to come.’ He also thanked Trump for the role his administration played in helping to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which initiated the return of the hostages still held in Gaza. 

WHO’S TOEING THE LINE

 The U.S.-U.K. partnership has often been described as a ‘special relationship,’ and London has long been one of Washington’s closest allies. But the ties between the U.S. and U.K. will be tested as Trump faces Labour leader Keir Starmer, who has previously been critical of Trump. 

Starmer, in 2023, condemned the U.K.’s Conservative party for ‘behave[ing] more and more like Donald Trump’ rather than embodying the values championed by Winston Churchill. 

‘They look at the politics of America and want to bring that here,’ he said. ‘Is there anybody in the government now who feels a sense of obligation to anything other than their own self-interest? To democracy, the rule of law, serving our country?’ 

‘It’s all woke, woke, woke. Wedge, wedge, wedge. Divide, divide, divide,’ he added.

Starmer has since pledged to work with Trump and to ensure the ‘special relationship’ endures, though he is expected to face a tough road.

 The leader of the U.S.’s oldest ally is the only remaining European leader on the United Nations Security Council who was in office alongside Trump during his first term. Trump and Macron often butted heads during Trump’s first term and, despite an invitation to the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral in December, reports indicate this time will likely be no different. 

While Macron was among the first to congratulate Trump on his second presidential victory, he also issued multiple statements of warning this week, first when he said that now is the time for a ‘European strategic wake-up call,’ emphasizing the need to lessen reliance on the U.S. for defense. 

The second warning came on Wednesday when it said ‘it is necessary more than ever for Europeans . . . to play their role of consolidating a united, strong and sovereign Europe’ as it stares down stiff tariffs vowed by Trump. 

 Scholz’s predecessor, Angela Merkel, often went head-to-head with Trump and reportedly believed that the U.S. president specifically had it out for Germany during his first term. Scholz, who leads the left-leaning Social Democrats, appears to be following in a similar no-nonsense approach when it comes to the second Trump administration and on Wednesday made it clear that Trump ‘will be, and so much is already clear, a challenge.’ 

Speaking alongside Macron on Wednesday, Scholz pledged to stand united with his European allies and said, ‘Our position is clear. Europe is a big economic power with around 450 million citizens. We are strong, we stand together. Europe will not duck and hide but will be a constructive and self-confident partner.’

Trump has made clear that the EU is in his crosshairs, telling reporters this week, ‘The European Union is very, very bad to us.’ But President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen made clear this week she is ready to work with the new U.S. president.

‘No other economies in the world are as integrated as we are,’ she said, noting that the trade volumes between the U.S. and Europe account for 30% of all trade globally, reported Reuters. ‘Our first priority will be to engage early, discuss common interests and be ready to negotiate.’

She made clear that the EU will not be bullied by Trump and said, ‘We will be pragmatic, but we will always stand by our principles. To protect our interests and uphold our values – that is the European way.’

EU feelings toward Trump appear fairly divided as the EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, has backed Trump’s push to increase defense spending across the board in Europe. Right-wing Danish member of the European Parliament Anders Vistisen addressed Trump’s stated desire to acquire Greenland and in a public message did not mince words.

‘Dear President Trump, listen very carefully: Greenland has been part of the Danish kingdom for 800 years. It is an integrated part of our country. It is not for sale,’ Vistisen said. ‘Let me put it in words you might understand. Mr. Trump, f*** off!’

 Following a series of dramatic reports and resignations relating to Trudeau’s handling of Trump after he was newly elected and claimed that Canada should be the U.S.’s 51st state, Trudeau resigned from the top job this month.

It remains unclear who will replace Trudeau in a March 9 election, within his Liberal Party ahead of the general election later this year, where the party is expected to lose to the country’s Conservatives.

Trudeau has said, ‘There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States,’ and government officials across the board are bracing for a trade war with the U.S. after Trump threatened to levy 25% tariffs on Canada, starting Feb. 1. 

Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said this week that Ottawa ‘will continue to work on preventing tariffs’ but said that officials are also ‘working on retaliation.’ 

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS
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Stocks

Six Dance Steps to Remember for an Extended Market

“An investment in Knowledge pays the best interest.” — Benjamin Franklin

It’s time to revisit a few timeless lessons regarding extended markets.

As I write this, the last correction of any significance was in 2022. The past two years have been one heck of a dance if you chose to accept an invitation. For those of you attending, I remind you to remember your appropriate dance steps and keep your shoes shiny and polished or you’ll be asked to leave.

There’s perhaps no better way to achieve these objectives than revisiting the two stock market classics pertaining to frothy markets. I recommend reviewing two books, both entertaining and insightful:

Charles Kindleberger’s book Manias, Panics and Crashes: A History of Financial Crises (7th edition)Charles MacKay’s book Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds

I have some personal observations I like to keep in mind on this topic.

Major corrections are more a state of mind than a numeric calculation. It’s not all about the numbers.Alan Greenspan called it “irrational exuberance” that’s the sister of “FOMO”, which represents investors’ Fear of Missing Out. Smaller profits are better than big losses.When my grocery clerk and postal carrier corral me to talk about equities, my radar flashes.Sir John Templeton said, “The four most dangerous words in investing are: it’s different this time.” When the press is bursting with stories about the “New New Thing” — be it cryptocurrency or AI — my antenna stands tall. Hearing the cliche “it’s different this time” conjures up memories of the tech top in 2000, which many of us lived through.A good example is Nvidia (NVDA), on its towering popularity pedestal. I ask myself what might the unknown hazards and hidden future fractures be? Most certainly, the craters will reveal themselves over time. I’m paying attention. Will Nvidia profits truly grow for decades and competitors be kept at bay? As Carlos Slim Helu explained, “with a good perspective on history, we can have a better understanding of the past and present and thus a clear vision of the future.”Change is the DNA and indeed the lifeblood of the markets. New competitors will vault over established leaders, new technology will leapfrog existing technology, and today’s darlings will be passed by. Of the top twenty companies in the S&P 500 in the year 2000, only six remain. This change in leadership is to be expected. Fourteen have fallen out of the elite “Top 20” group. “It’s not whether you’re right or wrong that’s important, but how much money you make when you’re right and how much you lose when you’re wrong.” — George Soros.

Always remember the timeless advice of Bernard Baruch, “Don’t try to buy at the bottom and sell at the top; it can’t be done except by liars.” The bottom line is this. Keep your trading shoes shiny and remember your essential investing dance steps. By doing so, you’ll enjoy a tremendous party without a hangover.

Trade well; trade with discipline!

Gatis Roze, MBA, CMT

StockMarketMastery.com

Author, “Tensile Trading: The 10 Essential Stages of Stock Market Mastery” (Wiley, 2016)Developer of the “Stock Market Mastery” ChartPack for StockCharts membersPresenter of the best-selling “Tensile Trading” DVD seminarPresenter of the “How to Master Your Asset Allocation Profile DVD” seminar

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Unrivaled highlights: Napheesa Collier has record night in blowout win

MEDLEY, Fla. — Napheesa Collier has not just co-founded the new Unrivaled league. She’s dominating the competition.

Collier set single-game Unrivaled records with 37 points and 18 rebounds to lead the Lunar Owls to an 82-58 win in the second of two games on Saturday night at Wayfair Arena.

“We come in, wanting to win,” Collier said in a postgame interview.

Collier is Unrivaled’s leading scorer, averaging 31.7 points through her team’s first three games. She scored 27 in the opener and 31 points in the second game last weekend. She also averages 11.7 rebounds, trailing only fellow league co-founder Breanna Stewart (11.8).

“She’s an Olympian. She invokes her will,” Brittney Griner said after facing Collier, her Olympic 5-on-5 teammate in Tokyo and Paris.

“Wherever she’s playing, she’s one action to the next. She’s going to make her teammates better. She’s a pro. With somebody like that, you just want to try to make it tough for her, make it hard for her. Looking at the box score, I probably could have done a damn sure a better job at that tonight.”

Allisha Gray scored the game-deciding bucket to finish with 21 points, and Skylar Diggins-Smith finished with 16 points for the Lunar Owls, who improved to 3-0 after their first three games in league play.

The Lunar Owls will play again on Monday night against the Vinyl (2-1), while the Rose (1-2) will face the Laces (3-0) to end the 3-on-3 women’s basketball league’s second weekend.

Satou Sabally led the Phantom with 19 points, while Natisha Hiedeman finished with 18 points, and Griner had 10 points and five rebounds. The Phantom won their first game Friday, but fell to 1-3 on the season.

Lexie Hull scored 19 points, Kahleah Copper scored 18, and Chelsea Gray scored the game-winning bucket to help the Rose beat the Mist 71-66 in the first game Saturday night.

Azurá Stevens added 16 points and seven rebounds, while Gray also had seven rebounds and six assists in the Rose’s first win of the Unrivaled season.

“We needed a win. We needed to get it done,” Gray said after the game.

The Mist, however, are winless after the first two weeks of Unrivaled play. Stewart had 20 points and nine rebounds for the Mist, who fell to 0-4.

Heat star Jimmy Butler, U.S. Olympian Gabby Thomas, and former NBA star John Wall were in attendance for the games Saturday night.

Check out these highlights from Saturday’s Unrivaled games at Wayfair Arena:

Unrivaled highlights: Lunar Owls vs. Phantom

Unrivaled highlights: Mist vs. Rose

Unrivaled final score: Lunar Owls 82, Phantom 58

Napheesa Collier scored an Unrivaled-high 37 points with 18 rebounds, and Allisha Gray scored the game-deciding bucket to finish with 21 points as the Lunar Owls beat the Phantom 82-58 in the second game Saturday night.

“We come in, wanting to win,” Collier said after the game.

Skylar Diggins-Smith finished with 16 points for the Lunar Owls, who improved to 3-0 after their first three games in league play.

Satou Sabally led the Phantom with 19 points, while Natisha Hiedeman finished with 18 points, and Brittney Griner had 10 points and five rebounds. The Phantom won their first game Friday, but fell to 1-3 on the season.

Unrivaled score: Lunar Owls 71, Phantom 51 after third quarter

Target winning score: 82

Napheesa Collier has 29 points and 15 rebounds, and the Lunar Owls are 11 points away from a 3-0 start in Unrivaled. The target winning score is 82 points. Allisha Gray has 18 points, while Skylar Diggins-Smith has 16 points for the Lunar Owls, who lead by 20 points after the third quarter.  

Satou Sabally leads the Phantom with 19 points, while Natisha Hiedeman has 11 points, and Brittney Griner has 10 points and five rebounds.

Unrivaled halftime score: Lunar Owls 46, Phantom 37 after second quarter

Napheesa Collier, Skylar Diggins-Smith and Allisha Gray each have 14 points, and the Lunar Owls lead 46-37 at the end of the second quarter.

Collier also has 12 rebounds for the Lunar Owls, hoping to stay undefeated in their third game.

Satou Sabally has 12 points to lead the Phantom (1-2).

Unrivaled score: Lunar Owls 23, Phantom 11 after first quarter

Napheesa Collier has nine points and nine rebounds in the first quarter, while Skylar Diggins-Smith has eight points and Allisha Gray has six points for the Lunar Owls, up 23-11 after the first quarter.

Katie Lou Samuelson has seven points for the Phantom, while Brittney Griner and Natasha Cloud have started a combined 0-7 from the field.

Unrivaled final score: Rose 71, Mist 66

Lexie Hull scored 19 points, Kahleah Copper had 18, and Chelsea Gray scored the game-winning bucket to help the Rose beat the Mist 71-66 in the first game Saturday night.

Azurá Stevens added 16 points and seven rebounds, while Gray also had seven rebounds and six assists in the Rose’s first win of the Unrivaled season.

“We needed a win. We needed to get it done,” Gray said after the game.

The Mist, however, are winless after the first two weeks of Unrivaled play. League co-founder Breanna Stewart had 20 points and nine rebounds for the Mist, who fell to 0-4.

Unrivaled score: Rose 60, Mist 58 after third quarter

Target score: 71

The Rose or Mist are one quarter away from their first win of the season: The target winning score of 71 points must be reached to secure a victory.

Lexie Hull has 19 points and Kahleah Copper has 18 points for the Rose, while Breanna Stewart leads all scorers with 20 points for the Mist.

Unrivaled halftime score: Rose 40, Mist 34 after second quarter

Lexie Hull has 15 points, Kahleah Copper has 11 points, and Chelsea Gray has seven rebounds and five assists for the Rose, up 40-34 on the Mist after the first half.

Breanna Stewart has 14 points and five rebounds for the Mist, while Jewell Loyd and Aaliyah Edwards each have six points.

Unrivaled score: Rose 22, Mist 19 after first quarter

It’s a back-and-forth affair to start this game between the Rose and Mist.

Lexie Hull has eight points, and Kahleah Copper has seven points for the Rose, while Breanna Stewart has 10 points for the Mist in the first quarter.

How to watch Unrivaled games on TV Saturday night

Unrivaled is available on cable television on TruTV in the United States, and TSN+ in Canada.

How to live stream Unrivaled games on Saturday night

Unrivaled games are also available to live stream on Max, and internationally on YouTube.

Mist (0-3) vs. Rose (0-2) preview

Stewart had 27 points and 11 rebounds, Rickea Jackson added 24 points, but the Mist fell 74-69 to the Phantom on Friday night to fall to 0-3. They hope to avoid two winless weekends.

Kaleah Cooper (19.0) and Chelsea Gray (17.5) are the leading scorers for Rose, while Reese averages 10 rebounds through the first two games. The Vinyl and Lunar Owls beat Rose last weekend.

Lunar Owls (2-0) vs. Phantom (1-2) preview

Collier is Unrivaled’s leading scorer averaging 29.0 points from the Lunar Owls’ first two games, wins against the Mist and Rose last week.

Griner and Sabally each scored 29 points to help Phantom get its first win of the season against the Mist on Friday night. Griner was able to play through a hip pointer to score the game-winning basket. She’ll play on Saturday.

Alyssa Thomas has knee injury at Unrivaled Friday night

Alyssa Thomas, of the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun, has a right knee injury after leaving the Laces’ win in the second game Friday. The Laces return to action Monday.

Sabrina Ionescu not playing Unrivaled games in Week 2

WNBA champion Sabrina Ionescu won’t be available for Phantom, after participating in promotional activities during NBA Paris Games this week.

Unrivaled Week 2 games on Monday

The second weekend of Unrivaled games ends Monday on TNT:

Vinyl vs. Lunar Owls at 7:30 p.m.

Rose vs. Laces, 8:30 p.m.  

What is Unrivaled?

Six teams with 36 of the best women’s basketball players in the world, including Sabrina Ionescu and Brittney Griner, will compete in 3-on-3, full court games for the next nine weeks.

Where is Unrivaled playing games?

Games will be played at Wayfair Arena in Medley, Fla., which is in the Miami metropolitan area, about 7 miles from Miami International Airport.

Unrivaled team names and rosters

Laces: Stefanie Dolson, Tiffany Hayes, Kate Martin, Kayla McBride, Alyssa Thomas, Jackie Young.
Lunar Owls: Shakira Austin, Napheesa Collier, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Allisha Gray, Courtney Williams, Cameron Brink (IR).
Mist: DiJonai Carrington, Aaliyah Edwards, Rickea Jackson, Jewell Loyd, NaLyssa Smith (relief player contract), Breanna Stewart, Courtney Vandersloot.
Phantom: Natasha Cloud, Brittney Griner, Natisha Hiedeman (relief player contract), Sabrina Ionescu, Marina Mabrey, Satou Sabally, Katie Lou Samuelson.
Rose: Kahleah Copper, Chelsea Gray, Lexie Hull, Angel Reese, Azura Stevens, Brittney Sykes.
Vinyl: Aliyah Boston, Rae Burrell, Jordin Canada, Dearica Hamby, Rhyne Howard, Arike Ogunbowale.

We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.

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Rubio demands answers with 2 more Americans reportedly held by Taliban

In the final hours of his term, President Joe Biden negotiated a prisoner exchange with the Taliban that released U.S. citizens Ryan Corbett and William Wallace McKenty from Taliban custody. 

Not included in the deal, however, were U.S. citizens George Glezmann and Mahmood Habibi.

On Saturday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted on X that he was ‘just hearing’ of the detentions of additional Americans by the Taliban. 

‘If this is true, we will have to immediately place a VERY BIG bounty on their top leaders, maybe even bigger than the one we had on Bin Laden,’ Rubio wrote.

Dennis Fitzpatrick, who is coordinating efforts outside the U.S. government for Glezmann’s release, claimed Glezmann was ‘never a serious priority for the Biden White House.’ 

‘President Biden and [former National Security Advisor] Jake Sullivan decided to leave George Glezmann in Kabul for no good reason,’ Fitzpatrick told Fox News Digital. ‘We are confident that President Trump’s clear-eyed leadership will secure George’s release to his family.’

Fitzpatrick added that 66-year-old Glezmann is ‘a totally innocent man’ who was ‘a hard-working, blue-collar airline mechanic before he was wrongfully detained. He doesn’t deserve to be used as a pawn.’

Glezmann has been in detention since Dec. 5, 2022, when he was traveling to Afghanistan to ‘explore the cultural landscape and rich history of the country’ according to a Senate resolution from July 2024 calling for his immediate release. 

The resolution states that Glezmann’s mental and physical condition were deteriorating as a result of his detention in a nine-foot square underground cell. He has only been allowed limited calls to family and has experienced ‘facial tumors, hypertension, severe malnutrition, and other medical conditions’ as a result of his detention.

While the Taliban admit to holding Glezmann in custody, they insist they do not hold Mahmood Habibi. 

Habibi’s brother Ahmad told Fox News Digital the family ‘know[s] that my brother is still in Taliban custody. I can’t share too much about that because we don’t want to put him or others at risk. But anyone accepting the Taliban’s hollow suggestions that they do not have him is falling for their lies.

‘We have multiple witnesses to his arrest by the [General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI)]. We have multiple witnesses who were held with him at GDI headquarters. The Taliban has always claimed they don’t have him and don’t know who he is. How do they explain the obvious contradictions to this?’

Ahmad also claimed the family ‘know[s] that the U.S. government has technical evidence that Mahmood was in GDI custody long after his arrest.’ 

He alleges the Biden National Security Council ‘micromanaged the State Department’s effort to secure my brother’s release’ and ‘blocked [the State Department] from using the data in their discussions with the Taliban, even though we told them that it would have directly confronted the Taliban’s claims that they never heard of my brother.’ 

Neither the State Department nor the National Security Council responded to Fox News Digital’s requests for confirmation of Ahmad’s claims.

Fox News Digital also reached out to Taliban spokespersons Zabihullah Mujahid and Suhail Shaheen about Habibi’s detention and asked Mujahid what happened to Habibi after he was arrested by the GDI. Mujahid did not respond. Shaheen directed Fox News Digital to reach out to the GDI and claimed no knowledge of the situation.  

The Taliban have long sought the release of Guantanamo Bay detainee and al Qaeda facilitator Muhammad Rahim in exchange for the Americans they admitted were in their prisons. Ahmad Habibi told CBS News President Biden assured him in a Jan. 12 phone call that the U.S. would not release Rahim unless the Taliban released Habibi.

Former Principal Deputy Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Hugh Dugan told Fox News Digital the Trump administration could pursue multiple ‘lines of effort’ to secure the release of Glezmann and Habibi. 

Dugan said this could involve ‘outright rescue by the military’ at one level or continued ‘subtle diplomacy in the background.’  

Dugan said he recognized that ‘to say we’re doing everything we can … is not satisfying to a family member, frankly, or anybody, and they want to hear that you’re continuing to identify what might have eluded us all along, or that there’s a crack in the horizon that’s opening. 

‘And we need to realize that that might be another step in our path to recovery and a line of effort has to be amended to accommodate new realities at any given moment.’

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Unrivaled highlights: What WNBA stars did Saturday

MEDLEY, Fla. – WNBA stars Angel Reese, Breanna Stewart, Napheesa Collier and Brittney Griner were in action as the second weekend of Unrivaled women’s basketball continued Saturday night.

Lexie Hull scored 19 points, Kahleah Copper had 18 points, and Chelsea Gray scored the game-winning bucket to help the Rose beat the Mist 71-66 in the first game Saturday night.

Collier scored an Unrivaled-high 33 points with 18 rebounds, and Allisha Gray scored the game-deciding bucket to finish with 21 points as the Lunar Owls beat the Phantom 82-58 in the second game.

Heat star Jimmy Butler, U.S. Olympian Gabby Thomas, and former NBA star John Wall were in attendance for the games Saturday night.

Check out these highlights from Saturday’s Unrivaled games at Wayfair Arena:

Unrivaled highlights: Mist vs. Rose

Unrivaled final score: Lunar Owls 82, Phantom 58

Napheesa Collier scored an Unrivaled-high 33 points with 18 rebounds, and Allisha Gray scored the game-deciding bucket to finish with 21 points as the Lunar Owls beat the Phantom 82-58 in the second game Saturday night.

“We come in, wanting to win,” Collier said after the game.

Skylar Diggins-Smith finished with 16 points for the Lunar Owls, who improved to 3-0 after their first three games in league play.

Satou Sabally led the Phantom with 19 points, while Natisha Hiedeman finished with 18 points, and Brittney Griner had 10 points and five rebounds. The Phantom won their first game Friday, but fell to 1-3 on the season.

Unrivaled score: Lunar Owls 71, Phantom 51 after third quarter

Target winning score: 82

Napheesa Collier has 29 points and 15 rebounds, and the Lunar Owls are 11 points away from a 3-0 start in Unrivaled. The target winning score is 82 points. Allisha Gray has 18 points, while Skylar Diggins-Smith has 16 points for the Lunar Owls, who lead by 20 points after the third quarter.  

Satou Sabally leads the Phantom with 19 points, while Natisha Hiedeman has 11 points, and Brittney Griner has 10 points and five rebounds.

Unrivaled halftime score: Lunar Owls 46, Phantom 37 after second quarter

Napheesa Collier, Skylar Diggins-Smith and Allisha Gray each have 14 points, and the Lunar Owls lead 46-37 at the end of the second quarter.

Collier also has 12 rebounds for the Lunar Owls, hoping to stay undefeated in their third game.

Satou Sabally has 12 points to lead the Phantom (1-2).

Unrivaled score: Lunar Owls 23, Phantom 11 after first quarter

Napheesa Collier has nine points and nine rebounds in the first quarter, while Skylar Diggins-Smith has eight points and Allisha Gray has six points for the Lunar Owls, up 23-11 after the first quarter.

Katie Lou Samuelson has seven points for the Phantom, while Brittney Griner and Natasha Cloud have started a combined 0-7 from the field.

Unrivaled final score: Rose 71, Mist 66

Lexie Hull scored 19 points, Kahleah Copper had 18, and Chelsea Gray scored the game-winning bucket to help the Rose beat the Mist 71-66 in the first game Saturday night.

Azurá Stevens added 16 points and seven rebounds, while Gray also had seven rebounds and six assists in the Rose’s first win of the Unrivaled season.

“We needed a win. We needed to get it done,” Gray said after the game.

The Mist, however, are winless after the first two weeks of Unrivaled play. League co-founder Breanna Stewart had 20 points and nine rebounds for the Mist, who fell to 0-4.

Unrivaled score: Rose 60, Mist 58 after third quarter

Target score: 71

The Rose or Mist are one quarter away from their first win of the season: The target winning score of 71 points must be reached to secure a victory.

Lexie Hull has 19 points and Kahleah Copper has 18 points for the Rose, while Breanna Stewart leads all scorers with 20 points for the Mist.

Unrivaled halftime score: Rose 40, Mist 34 after second quarter

Lexie Hull has 15 points, Kahleah Copper has 11 points, and Chelsea Gray has seven rebounds and five assists for the Rose, up 40-34 on the Mist after the first half.

Breanna Stewart has 14 points and five rebounds for the Mist, while Jewell Loyd and Aaliyah Edwards each have six points.

Unrivaled score: Rose 22, Mist 19 after first quarter

It’s a back-and-forth affair to start this game between the Rose and Mist.

Lexie Hull has eight points, and Kahleah Copper has seven points for the Rose, while Breanna Stewart has 10 points for the Mist in the first quarter.

How to watch Unrivaled games on TV Saturday night

Unrivaled is available on cable television on TruTV in the United States, and TSN+ in Canada.

How to live stream Unrivaled games on Saturday night

Unrivaled games are also available to live stream on Max, and internationally on YouTube.

Mist (0-3) vs. Rose (0-2) preview

Stewart had 27 points and 11 rebounds, Rickea Jackson added 24 points, but the Mist fell 74-69 to the Phantom on Friday night to fall to 0-3. They hope to avoid two winless weekends.

Kaleah Cooper (19.0) and Chelsea Gray (17.5) are the leading scorers for Rose, while Reese averages 10 rebounds through the first two games. The Vinyl and Lunar Owls beat Rose last weekend.

Lunar Owls (2-0) vs. Phantom (1-2) preview

Collier is Unrivaled’s leading scorer averaging 29.0 points from the Lunar Owls’ first two games, wins against the Mist and Rose last week.

Griner and Sabally each scored 29 points to help Phantom get its first win of the season against the Mist on Friday night. Griner was able to play through a hip pointer to score the game-winning basket. She’ll play on Saturday.

Alyssa Thomas has knee injury at Unrivaled Friday night

Alyssa Thomas, of the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun, has a right knee injury after leaving the Laces’ win in the second game Friday. The Laces return to action Monday.

Sabrina Ionescu not playing Unrivaled games in Week 2

WNBA champion Sabrina Ionescu won’t be available for Phantom, after participating in promotional activities during NBA Paris Games this week.

Unrivaled Week 2 games on Monday

The second weekend of Unrivaled games ends Monday on TNT:

Vinyl vs. Lunar Owls at 7:30 p.m.

Rose vs. Laces, 8:30 p.m.  

What is Unrivaled?

Six teams with 36 of the best women’s basketball players in the world, including Sabrina Ionescu and Brittney Griner, will compete in 3-on-3, full court games for the next nine weeks.

Where is Unrivaled playing games?

Games will be played at Wayfair Arena in Medley, Fla., which is in the Miami metropolitan area, about 7 miles from Miami International Airport.

Unrivaled team names and rosters

Laces: Stefanie Dolson, Tiffany Hayes, Kate Martin, Kayla McBride, Alyssa Thomas, Jackie Young.
Lunar Owls: Shakira Austin, Napheesa Collier, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Allisha Gray, Courtney Williams, Cameron Brink (IR).
Mist: DiJonai Carrington, Aaliyah Edwards, Rickea Jackson, Jewell Loyd, NaLyssa Smith (relief player contract), Breanna Stewart, Courtney Vandersloot.
Phantom: Natasha Cloud, Brittney Griner, Natisha Hiedeman (relief player contract), Sabrina Ionescu, Marina Mabrey, Satou Sabally, Katie Lou Samuelson.
Rose: Kahleah Copper, Chelsea Gray, Lexie Hull, Angel Reese, Azura Stevens, Brittney Sykes.
Vinyl: Aliyah Boston, Rae Burrell, Jordin Canada, Dearica Hamby, Rhyne Howard, Arike Ogunbowale.

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Everything to know about Jets’ new GM, Darren Mougey

The New York Jets are no longer hiring for head coach and general manager.

Another job came off the market on Saturday, reducing the NFL’s unemployment rate, as the Jets hired Darren Mougey to be their next general manager, the team announced.

The 39-year-old Mougey departs the Denver Broncos as a man on a meteoric rise, having earned three promotions in the Mile High City since 2020. His 12-year run there comes to an end with promotion No. 4. The Broncos’ assistant general manager now slides into the big chair in Florham Park, N.J.

The hiring cycle has been a long process for the Jets after firing head coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas during the season. New York interviewed over 30 candidates in total between their two big openings before finally settling on Mougey and Aaron Glenn.

It leaves the Jacksonville Jaguars as the only NFL team with a general manager position available.

NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.

Here’s what to know about Mougey.

Who is Darren Mougey?

Mougey played college football at San Diego State University, where he overlapped with Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell. The two have been closely connected over the years, but Mougey settled into a front office role a couple years after college.

He joined the Broncos as a scouting intern in 2012, remaining with the organization until being hired by the Jets this offseason. Mougey was promoted to personnel and scouting assistant in 2013, before becoming a college and pro personnel scout in 2014.

Mougey’s career began to take off in 2015 when he assumed the role of area scout, remaining in that job through the 2019 season.

After that, the rise only continued. He was the assistant director of college scouting in 2020, director of player personnel in 2021 and received the assistant general manager title in 2022.

Mougey has stuck around through six head coaches and two general managers during his time in Denver, becoming a mainstay in the organization.

He was described as a ‘sounding board’ for Sean Payton, according to NFL Network’s Peter Schrager. Payton is also notoriously close with the Jets’ new coach, which provides some insight into who the team’s new regime is influenced by.

Darren Mougey pronunciation

Mougey isn’t among the self-explanatory names out there. If you want to get the Jets’ new general manager’s name right in conversation, it’s pronounced, ‘MOO-GEE.’

This story was updated with new information.

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Politics

CIA releases new analysis on COVID origins favoring lab leak theory

The CIA has changed its assessment on the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, now favoring the lab leak theory. Under its new director, John Ratcliffe, the agency released an assessment on the origins of COVID-19.

The review was ordered by former President Joe Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan toward the end of Biden’s time in office. 

Analysts made the assessment with ‘low confidence’ despite former CIA director Bill Burns, who remained agnostic on the origins, telling the agency it needed to look at the existing evidence again and come down on one side or the other.

The agency has maintained for years it did not have enough intelligence to conclude whether COVID originated in a lab or a wet market in Wuhan, China. Despite the new assessment favoring a lab leak, there was no indication of new evidence.

‘CIA assesses with low confidence that a research-related origin of the COVID-19 pandemic is more likely than a natural origin based on the available body of reporting. CIA continues to assess that both research-related and natural origin scenarios of the COVID-19 pandemic remain plausible,’ a CIA spokesperson told Fox News.

‘We have low confidence in this judgment and will continue to evaluate any available credible new intelligence reporting or open-source information that could change CIA’s assessment.’

Ratcliffe, who was confirmed Thursday, has long been a proponent of the lab leak theory. In an interview with Breitbart, Ratcliffe framed the assessment of COVID’s origins as part of a broader strategy ‘addressing the threat from China.’ 

He also said he wants the CIA to ‘get off the sidelines’ and take a stand.

In a March 2023 Fox News piece co-written with Cliff Sims, Ratcliffe accused the Biden administration of trying to keep a growing consensus around the lab leak theory quiet by suppressing ‘what can clearly be assessed from the intelligence they possess.’ 

He also cast doubt on the notion that the CIA did not have enough evidence to come to a conclusion about the virus’ origins.

‘The CIA is the world’s premier spy agency. Its reach is unmatched, its ability to acquire information unrivaled. And yet here we are three-and-a-half years later and there is ample public reporting that the CIA just doesn’t have enough information to make an assessment. This is utter nonsense,’ the March 2023 piece says.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS
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Sports

Everything to know about Jets’ reported new GM, Darren Mougey

The New York Jets are no longer hiring for head coach and general manager.

Another job came off the market on Saturday, reducing the NFL’s unemployment rate as the team hired Darren Mougey to be their next general manager, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

The 39-year-old Mougey departs the Denver Broncos as a man on a meteoric rise, having earned three promotions in the Mile High City since 2020. His 12-year run there comes to an end with promotion No. 4. The Broncos’ assistant general manager now slides into the big chair in Florham Park, N.J.

The hiring cycle has been a long process for the Jets after firing head coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas during the season. New York interviewed over 30 candidates in total between their two big openings before finally settling on Mougey and Aaron Glenn.

It leaves the Jacksonville Jaguars as the only NFL team with a general manager position available.

NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.

Here’s what to know about Mougey.

Who is Darren Mougey?

Mougey played college football at San Diego State University, where he overlapped with current Vikings’ coach, Kevin O’Connell. The two have been closely connected over the years, but Mougey settled into a front office role a couple years after college.

He joined the Broncos as a scouting intern in 2012, remaining with the organization until being hired by the Jets this offseason. Mougey was then promoted to personnel and scouting assistant in 2013, before becoming the college and pro personnel scout in 2014.

Mougey’s career began to take off in 2015 when he assumed the role of area scout, remaining in that job through the 2019 season.

After that, the rise only continued. He was the assistant director of college scouting in 2020, director of player personnel in 2021 and received the assistant general manager title in 2022.

Mougey has stuck around through six head coaches and two general managers during his time in Denver, becoming a mainstay in the organization.

He was described as a ‘sounding board’ for Sean Payton, according to NFL Network’s Peter Schrager. Payton is also notoriously close with the Jets’ new coach, which provides some insight into who the team’s new regime is influenced by.

Darren Mougey pronunciation

Mougey isn’t among the self-explanatory names out there. If you want to get the Jets’ new general manager’s name right in conversation, it’s pronounced, ‘MOO-GEE.’

This post appeared first on USA TODAY
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Sports

Astros GM: Door to bring back free agent Alex Bregman ‘cracked’ open

‘When we made some trades and moves this offseason, we never realized that Bregman would still be on the market at this point,’ Brown said at the team’s fan fest on Saturday. ‘We’ve had some conversations, and the interesting thing is that he is still available, so it’s not as if we are not talking about him.’

Houston has already traded All-Star outfielder Kyle Tucker to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for third baseman Isaac Paredes, right-hander Hayden Wesneski and third baseman prospect Cam Smith. They also signed free agent first baseman Christian Walker to a three-year deal worth $60 million this offseason.

“I would say [the door is] cracked,” Brown said of Bregman.  “The fact that he’s still available, it just makes it interesting.  Like ’man, this guy is such a good player, he’s done so many wonderful things here.’  We’ll stick with the cracked door and see where our conversations lead.”

Bregman, 30, hit .260 with 26 home runs and 75 RBI in 2024. Drafted second overall by the Astros in 2015, Bregman helped the team win World Series titles in 2017 and 2022.

All things Astros: Latest Houston Astros news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

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