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YARDEN GONEN: Thank you, President Trump, for rescuing my sister from Hamas

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President Trump, because of you, I can hug my sister again. After 471 agonizing days, Romi is finally home, and I owe you my deepest gratitude for making this possible. Your unwavering commitment and decisive action helped secure this deal, giving me what I had dreamed of for 15 months – seeing my sister smile again.

Romi is the light of our family. She puts her family first and there’s nothing she won’t do for the ones she loves. That’s who she was before October 7th, and that’s who she remained even through the darkest moments of captivity.

I will never be able to forget the horrors of that day. Romi was just 23 when Hamas terrorists kidnapped her from the NOVA festival. In her terrifying final moments of freedom, she was on the phone with our mother as she tried to flee the site in a vehicle with her friends. Her last words still haunt us – she said the driver was dead, and that her best friend Gaya had been shot and wasn’t responding. She told us she was shot in her hand and would bleed to death if help didn’t arrive quickly. 

For 471 days, we lived in agony, not knowing what she was experiencing or what was happening to her there. For those 471 days, I lived in a nightmare that no sister should endure. Every passing hour was filled with thoughts of Romi in captivity, wondering if she was cold, hungry, or afraid. We didn’t know the extent of her injuries or if she had received any medical care. 

President Trump, we are a family of faith – throughout this horrific ordeal, we knew she would return to us alive, and you made that happen. Your strong and decisive statements gave us hope when we needed it most. When others might have given up, you didn’t. When the negotiations seemed impossible, you pushed harder. Your unwavering demand that all hostages must return home proved crucial in securing the deal that brought my Romi and others back to their families.

Thank you, President Trump, for being the catalyst that turned our hopes into reality. Your leadership showed that even the most difficult diplomatic challenges can be overcome with enough determination.

Watching you bring the families of hostages to the stage during your presidential parade demonstrated your genuine concern and made us feel, 15 months after October 7, that we are not forgotten. Watching the release of four more female hostages – Naama Levy, Daniella Gilboa, Karina Ariev, and Liri Albag – filled my heart with so much hope and love. Four more families were reunited. I know exactly how they feel, how much their families fought for this precious moment, and now 90 more families await their own reunion.

The moment I first hugged Romi after her release, I felt a joy I could barely put into words. That embrace would not have been possible without your intervention. Your ability to leverage diplomatic channels and your commitment to bringing all the hostages home, even before your inauguration, made the difference between continued captivity and freedom for my sister.

But my family’s work isn’t finished. There are still 90 hostages in Gaza – sons and daughters, fathers and mothers, grandparents and young children. Each one of them is someone’s Romi. Each one of them has a family waiting, hoping, praying just as we did. None of us who have been reunited with our loved ones can truly heal while others remain in captivity. We need your continued support and influence to bring them home too. 

President Trump, the deal you helped secure didn’t just bring my sister home – it gave us all hope that with strong leadership and determination, we can bring everyone back. Please help us complete what you’ve started and bring every last hostage home, as you so powerfully declared. We’re depending on you to ensure all phases of the deal are fulfilled. Dozens of families deserve what you’ve given mine – that precious moment of holding their loved ones again. 

Every time I look at Romi now, at her strength and her heart that remained unbroken even through this ordeal, I’m reminded of what your intervention made possible. With your help, we can turn more families’ prayers into reunions. Only when all 90 hostages are home can we truly begin to heal.

Thank you, President Trump, for bringing my sister back to me. Please help us bring everyone else home too. Our hope rests with you.

 

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Former Hamas hostage details horrors of captivity, credits kidnapped IDF soldier with saving her life

Former Hamas hostage Amit Soussana is sharing more details about her time in captivity, and she says there was another hostage who was instrumental in her survival. Liri Albag, one of the IDF soldiers who was kidnapped on Oct. 7, ‘saved’ Soussana.

Speaking on Israeli TV, Soussana recalled her captors tying her up and beating her, demanding that she admit to being in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Soussana says her hands and feet were bound, and she was beaten with a stick before one of the captors pointed a gun at her and said, ‘You have 40 minutes to tell us the truth, or else I kill you.’

Fellow hostage Albag was apparently able to convince their captors that Soussana was not in fact in the military. Soussana who calls Albag ‘something special, a force,’ believes this act saved her life.

‘I told her when she came back: ‘I don’t know if they would have killed me or not; as far as I’m concerned, you saved my life,’ Soussana said in the interview.

Hamas terrorists kidnapped Soussana from her home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza during the brutal Oct. 7 attacks. She was forced to walk barefoot in pajamas from her burning house to the Gaza border, being beaten along the way. Soussana fought her kidnappers in what was called ‘the battle of my life,’ trying to stall them in hopes that the IDF would rescue her before she was dragged into Gaza.

Soussana was released from Gaza in November 2023 after 55 days in captivity as part of Israel’s first hostage deal with Hamas.

In March 2024, Soussana became the first Israeli woman to speak publicly about being sexually assaulted while in Hamas captivity. She recalled the horrifying incident in an interview with The New York Times. Soussana later testified before the UN Security Council in October 2024 about her experience.

During her captivity, Soussana was chained by her ankle, unable to move. ‘I had to ask for permission to use the bathroom,’ she explained, detailing her experience. ‘In that house, I was sexually assaulted by the Hamas terrorist who had guarded me.’

She described the assault, saying, ‘He forced me to go to the shower and entered the room, pointed his gun at me. He was breathing heavily and had a monstrous beast-like face.’ She recalled his intrusive questioning while he sat next to her in his underwear, lifting her shirt and touching her. ‘I knew exactly what he was planning to do, and yet I couldn’t do anything to prevent it. I was utterly helpless.’

Soussana said that after the assault she was not ‘allowed to cry or to be sad.’ She recalled feeling isolated and being ‘forced to act nice to the person who had just sexually assaulted me.’

Israel and Hamas have been engaged in a deadly war for over 15 months following the terror group’s devastating surprise attacks on Oct. 7, 2023. Hamas is expected to release Agam Berger, Arbel Yehoud and 80-year-old Gadi Moses on Jan. 30 as part of the current ceasefire deal with Israel.

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Multiple outbursts erupt at RFK Jr hearing: ‘You are!’

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, was interrupted by multiple outbursts during his hearing before the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday morning. 

‘I want to make sure the committee is clear about a few things. News reports have claimed that I’m anti-vaccine or any industry. I am neither. I am pro safety,’ Kennedy said in his opening remarks before a protester shouted at him. 

‘You are,’ the female protester was heard shouting at Kennedy when he said he is not anti-vaccine. 

Minutes later, another outburst erupted in the hearing, sparking Senate Finance Committee Chair Mike Crapo to issue a warning to not disrupt the hearing. 

‘To the audience, comments from the audience are inappropriate and out of order. And if there are any further disruptions, the committee will recess until the police can restore order. Please follow the rules of the committee. Mr. Kennedy, you may proceed,’ Crapo said. 

Another protester was spotted in the audience holding a sign reading, ‘Vaccines Save Lives, Not RFK JR.’ 

Kennedy’s hearing on Wednesday before the Senate Finance Committee is just the first, with the nominee scheduled to again join lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Thursday to appear before theHealth, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

The nominee has come under fire for his critical stance on vaccines, which he defended in his opening statement.

‘I worked for years to raise awareness about the mercury and toxic chemicals in fish. And nobody called me anti-fish. And I believe that … that vaccines play a critical role in health care. All of my kids are vaccinated. I’ve read many books on vaccines. My first book in 2014, a first line of it is ‘I am not anti-vaccine’ and last line is ‘I am not anti-vaccine.’ Nor I’m the enemy of food producers, American farms and the bedrock of our culture, of our politics, of our national security,’ he said on Wednesday.

‘In my advocacy, I’ve often disturbed this status quo. I am asking uncomfortable questions. Well, I’m not going to apologize for that. We have massive health problems in this country that we must face,’ he added. 

Protesters disrupting Senate hearings for Trump’s administration picks has become a common theme, with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio also facing protesters in their respective hearings earlier this month. 

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Trump fires two Democratic commissioners on civil rights enforcement agency as White House targets DEI

President Donald Trump reportedly fired two of the three Democratic commissioners on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), as his administration continues its pledge to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) from government bureaucracy. 

The two now-former EEOC commissioners, Charlotte Burrows and Jocelyn Samuels, said in statements Tuesday that they were fired late Monday night. Both said they were exploring options to challenge their dismissals, calling their removal before the expiration of their five-year terms an unprecedented decision that undermines the agency’s independence.

Burrows, who has been an EEOC commissioner since 2015, said in her statement Tuesday that the dismissal of two Democratic commissioners before their terms ended ‘undermine the efforts of this independent agency to do the important work of protecting employees from discrimination, supporting employers’ compliance efforts, and expanding public awareness and understanding of federal employment laws.’

Samuels, who was appointed by Trump in 2020, and then was nominated by former President Joe Biden for a second term, said her removal ‘violates the law, and represents a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of the EEOC as an independent agency – one that is not controlled by a single Cabinet secretary but operates as a multi-member body whose varying views are baked into the Commission’s design.’

‘The President’s action undermines the stability and continuity of the EEOC’s critical work to advance equal opportunity and fair treatment,’ she said. 

In removing her, Samuels said, the White House ‘also critiqued my views on DEIA initiatives and sex discrimination, further misconstruing the basic principles of equal employment opportunity.’ 

The ex-commissioner argued that DEI initiatives ‘protect all people on the basis of race, sex, gender and religious belief, and other characteristics,’ but the Trump administration has contended the so-called protections ushered in by the Biden administration actually veer into discrimination. For example, the EEOC last April published guidance describing how an employer could be found liable for harassment if they mandate an employee use a bathroom that corresponds with their biological sex, prompting backlash. 

‘This Administration’s demonization of transgender individuals is both cruel and inconsistent with the law,’ Samuels wrote Tuesday. 

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment Wednesday. 

The EEOC was created by Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act as a bipartisan five-member panel to protect workers from discrimination on the basis of race, gender, disability and other protected characteristics. The U.S. president appoints the commissioners and the Senate confirms them, but their terms are staggered and are meant to overlap presidential terms to help ensure the agency’s independence.

The two firings leave the agency with one Republican commissioner, Andrea Lucas, who Trump appointed acting EEOC chair last week, one Democratic commissioner, Kalpana Kotagal, and three vacancies that Trump can fill. 

Another Republican commissioner, Keith Sonderling, resigned after Trump appointed him deputy secretary of labor.

Lucas, the new acting EEOC chair, issued a statement last week saying that she would prioritize ‘rooting out unlawful DEI-motivated race and sex discrimination; protecting American workers from anti-American national origin discrimination; defending the biological and binary reality of sex and related rights, including women’s rights to single‑sex spaces at work.’

In contrast, the three Democratic commissioners all issued statements last week condemning a slew of executive orders aimed at ending DEI practices in the federal workforce and private companies, along with ‘protections’ for transgender workers. Their statements also emphasized that U.S. anti-discrimination laws remained intact despite Trump’s orders and that the EEOC must continue enforcing them.

The EEOC panel investigates and imposes penalties on employers found to have violated laws that protect workers from racial, gender, disability and other forms of discrimination. The agency also writes influential rules and guidelines for how anti-discrimination laws should be implemented, and conducts workplace outreach and training.

In recent years, the agency’s Democratic and Republican commissioners have been sharply divided on many issues. Both Republican commissioners voted against new guidelines last year stating that ‘misgendering’ transgender employees, or denying access to a bathroom consistent with their gender identity, would violate anti-discrimination laws. The Republican commissioners also voted against regulations stating that employers must give workers time off and other accommodations for abortions under the new Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.

National Labor Relations Board member Gynne A. Wilcox and General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo were also fired late Monday night, the agency confirmed. 

Wilcox was the first Black woman to serve on the Board since its inception in 1935, according to the NLRB website.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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White House freeze on federal aid won’t affect student loans, Education Department says

The Department of Education said Tuesday that the pause on federal grants and loans will not affect student loans or financial aid for college.

The freeze, which could affect billions of dollars in aid, noted an exception for Social Security and Medicare. The pause “does not include assistance provided directly to individuals,” according to the White House memo that announced the pause on Monday.

The pause gives the White House time to review government funding for causes that don’t fit with President Donald Trump’s policy agenda, according to Matthew J. Vaeth, acting director of the White House Office of Management and Budget.

The memo specifically cited “financial assistance for foreign aid, non-governmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal.”

The Department of Education said the freeze also has no bearing on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid for the upcoming year.

“The temporary pause does not impact Title I, IDEA, or other formula grants, nor does it apply to Federal Pell Grants and Direct Loans under Title IV [of the Higher Education Act],” Education Department spokesperson Madi Biedermann said in a statement.

In addition to the federal financial aid programs that fall under Title IV, Title I provides financial assistance to school districts with children from low-income families. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, provides funding for students with disabilities.

The funding pause “only applies to discretionary grants at the Department of Education,” Biedermann said. “These will be reviewed by Department leadership for alignment with Trump Administration priorities.”

The pause could affect federal work-study programs and the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, which are provided in bulk to colleges to provide to students, according to higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz.

However, many colleges have already drawn down their funds for the spring term, so this might not affect even that aid, he said. It may still affect grants to researchers, which often include funding for graduate research assistantships, he added.

“While the memo says the funding pause does not include assistance ‘provided directly to individuals,’ it does not clarify whether that includes money sent first to institutions, states or organizations and then provided to students,” said Karen McCarthy, vice president of public policy and federal relations at the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.

Most federal financial aid programs are considered Title IV funds “labeled for individual students” and so would not be affected by the pause, McCarthy said, but all other aid outside Title IV is unclear. “We are also researching the impact on campus-based aid programs since they are funded differently,” she said.

“When you have programs that are serving 20 million students, there are a lot of questions, understandably,” said Jonathan Riskind, a vice president at the American Council on Education. “It is really, really damaging for students and institutions to have this level of uncertainty.”

Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education, called on the Trump administration to rescind the memo.

“This is bad public policy, and it will have a direct impact on the funds that support students and research,” he said. “The longer this goes on, the greater the damage will be.”

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Over 3 million on Social Security may wait more than a year for higher payments

More than 3.2 million people will see increased Social Security benefits, under a new law.

However, individuals who are affected may have to wait more than a year before they see the extra money that’s due to them from the Social Security Fairness Act, the Social Security Administration said in an update on its website.

“Though SSA is helping some affected beneficiaries now, under SSA’s current budget, SSA expects that it could take more than one year to adjust benefits and pay all retroactive benefits,” the agency states.

The Social Security Fairness Act eliminates two provisions — known as the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset — that previously reduced Social Security benefits for certain beneficiaries who also had pension income provided from employment where they did not contribute Social Security payroll taxes.

Those provisions reduced benefits for certain workers including state teachers, firefighters and police officers; federal employees who are covered by the Civil Service Retirement System; and individuals who worked under a foreign social security system.

The law affects benefits paid after December 2023. Consequently, affected beneficiaries will receive increases to their monthly benefit checks, as well as retroactive lump sum payments for benefits payable for January 2024 and after.

The benefit increases “may vary greatly,” depending on an individual’s type of Social Security benefits and the amount of pension income they receive, according to the Social Security Administration.

“Some people’s benefits will increase very little while others may be eligible for over $1,000 more each month,” the agency states.

The Social Security Administration said it cannot yet provide an estimated timeline for when the benefit adjustments will happen.

In the meantime, the agency is advising beneficiaries to update their mailing address and bank direct deposit information, if necessary. In addition, non-covered pension recipients may now want to apply for benefits, if they are newly eligible following the enacted changes.

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Restaurants are rebounding — but Starbucks and McDonald’s still have work to do

Starbucks is expected to report its quarterly earnings on Tuesday, kicking off several weeks of reports from restaurant companies as investors anticipate improving demand for dining out.

A handful of restaurants released preliminary results earlier in January ahead of presentations at the annual ICR Conference in Orlando. For many, like Red Robin and Noodles & Company, their early report showed sales trends improved during the fourth quarter, giving investors more confidence and pushing their shares higher. Only Shake Shack saw its stock fall; its outlook disappointed shareholders, who were hoping for higher targets.

But the largest restaurant companies have yet to announce any results. Starbucks paves the way with its announcement on Tuesday after the bell. Yum Brands and Chipotle won’t share their earnings until next week. McDonald’s, often considered a consumer bellwether, isn’t on deck until Feb. 10.

However, a rollercoaster 2024 for restaurants might have ended on a high note — and that could bode well for the industry in the year ahead.

Industry data suggests that the fourth quarter was better for restaurants overall than the rest of the year. Same-store sales grew in both October and November, according to data from market research firm Black Box Intelligence. December was the only month same-store sales fell during the quarter, but Black Box attributed the swing to the calendar shift caused by a late Thanksgiving.

“We came out of [the fourth quarter] with a lot of momentum and started off really strong … That gives me a feeling that the consumer is still very resilient,” Shake Shack CEO Rob Lynch said. “Consumers are still out there spending money. There’s still a lot of jobs for people who want to go out and get great jobs. We’re kind of bullish on ’25.”

Most casual-dining chains have been in turnaround mode, hoping that revamped menus and new marketing plans will reinvigorate sales. For most of last year, only Chili’s, owned by Brinker International, won over customers with its strategy, helping the chain report double-digit same-store sales growth.

But some of Chili’s rivals saw an improvement in the fourth quarter.

For example, Red Robin said it expects to report a 3.4% increase in its fourth-quarter comparable restaurant revenue, excluding a change in deferred loyalty revenue.

“We’ve been doing a ton of work behind the scenes, and I believe that these stories take time, and you can’t skip the process,” Red Robin CEO G.J. Hart told CNBC earlier in January.

For two and a half years, the chain has implemented a broad comeback strategy, which included bringing back bussers and bartenders and overhauling its signature burgers. More recently, Red Robin has launched a loyalty program and unveiled promotions for certain days of the week, reintroducing customers to its revamped restaurant experience and helping it compete with Chili’s.

California Pizza Kitchen also had a strong fourth quarter, and the momentum hasn’t slowed, according to the chain’s President Michael Beacham.

“We had a great [fourth quarter], and we’re already starting out in 2025 with some really strong numbers, and that’s just with our in-dining guests,” Beacham said. CPK is privately owned and doesn’t publicly report its quarterly results, but its sales trends can offer clues about how other casual restaurants are performing.

It helps, too, that diners aren’t feeling as strapped for cash as they were earlier in 2024.

“It looks like the consumer is starting to feel a little bit better than they were in prior quarters,” Darden Restaurants CEO Rick Cardenas said on the company’s earnings conference call in December.

Before the holidays, Darden, which operates on a different fiscal calendar than most of its peers, reported stronger-than-expected demand for its food during the quarter ended Nov. 24. In particular, same-store sales at LongHorn Steakhouse and Olive Garden beat Wall Street’s estimates. Executives credited more frequent visits from diners with annual incomes of $50,000 to $100,000.

Some of the biggest restaurant names might have the most disappointing quarters.

Starbucks is still in turnaround mode. Now under the leadership of former Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol, the coffee giant is in the early innings of a turnaround.

″[Fiscal quarter one] is expected to be another challenging quarter as SBUX implements a host of operational changes. Margin pressure is expected to be similar to Q4, but we believe investors likely look through [near-term] headwinds while focusing on evidence of [long-term] turnaround potential,” Wells Fargo analyst Zachary Fadem wrote in a research note on Thursday.

While Niccol has already tweaked the company’s advertising and promotional strategy, it will take more time for Starbucks to implement larger changes, like a menu overhaul and faster service. The company also recently said it will lay off some of its corporate workforce, although it hasn’t shared how many jobs will be affected.

Wall Street is expecting the Starbucks to report quarterly same-store sales declines of 5.5%, according to StreetAccount estimates.

And then there’s McDonald’s, which spent much of its fourth quarter handling a foodborne illness crisis.

In October, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention connected a fatal E. coli outbreak to McDonald’s Quarter Pounder burgers. The chain reacted by temporarily pulling the menu item in affected areas and eventually switched suppliers for the slivered onions targeted as the likely culprit.

Traffic to McDonald’s restaurants across the U.S. fell as consumers reacted to the headlines, although analysts expect the company to report that trend reversed later in the quarter.

“We expect headwinds related to the E. coli outbreak likely weighed on 4Q US [same-store sales], with data indicating pressured trends in November, but our franchisee discussions and traffic trends highlighting recovering guest counts in December,” UBS analyst Dennis Geiger wrote in a note to clients on Wednesday.

Though some chains are lagging behind, restaurant executives generally seem more positive about 2025, citing improving consumer sentiment and wage growth.

“I’m cautiously optimistic about where we’re headed, and it feels good — it really does,” Red Robin’s Hart said.

Restaurants will also be facing easier comparisons to last year’s sales slump, making their growth this year look more impressive.

But industry optimism doesn’t ensure smooth sailing for the year ahead. Investors will be listening carefully for executive commentary about how traffic and sales are faring so far in the first quarter.

For example, restaurants have had to contend with the wildfires that ravaged Los Angeles, displacing residents and temporarily shuttering some eateries, in addition to the usual seasonal snowstorms and frigid temperatures that keep diners at home.

“I think overall, if you take out weather, this tragic thing that’s happening in California, we see green shoots already for restaurants that aren’t impacted,” Fogo de Chao CEO Barry McGowan said. “We’re hopeful this year.”

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New O.J. Simpson docuseries: Did he confess to killing Nicole Brown?

Thirty years after “the trial of the century” began, Netflix presents a four-part docuseries (now streaming) that revisits the barbarous fatal stabbings of Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman. O.J. Simpson, who died last April, was acquitted of the June 12, 1994, killings at Brown Simpson’s Los Angeles home in a verdict that shocked the world.

“American Manhunt: O.J. Simpson” director Floyd Russ (“Untold,” “American Manhunt: The Boston Marathon Bombing”), who was just 11 at the time of the trial, doesn’t remember much of the televised proceedings, which drew an estimated 150 million viewers for the announcement of the verdict on October 3, 1995. But Brentwood, where Simpson and Brown Simpson lived, became a backdrop for Russ’ life when his mom moved to the ritzy neighborhood.

The trial has spurred several documentaries and scripted re-enactments, including Lifetime’s “The Life & Murder of Nicole Brown Simpson” docuseries (released in June), ESPN’s ‘O.J.: Made in America’ docuseries and the Emmy-winning FX series ‘The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story’ (both released in 2016). Russ says what sets his project apart is the perspective that comes with being three decades removed from the case and his presentation of ‘key evidence to the viewer so that they feel like the jury itself,’ he says, including evidence that was never presented at the trial.

Russ also aims to introduce the case to a new audience. When he polled a few people in their early- to mid-20s to see what they knew of Simpson, they mentioned the Heisman trophy winner’s pro football career and acting credits. “There’s a lot of people that don’t know who O.J. really is,” says Russ, “and who he became and what he should be remembered for.”

Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.

“American Manhunt” covers the events in chronological order, from the murders to the Ford Bronco police chase that drew around 95 million viewers and the trial. Russ shed tears during a sitdown with Goldman’s sister, Kim, who heartbreakingly reveals that when her then-boyfriend’s urged her to phone her dad, she thought her boyfriend was proposing. Instead, Kim’s father informed her of her brother’s death.

Russ also interviews investigators the from case; Carl E. Douglas, an animated member of Simpson’s defense; and prosecutor Christopher Darden, who famously asked Simpson to try on the pair of gloves recovered from their homes. “Christopher Darden and the glove, married together for all eternity,” Darden declares in the docuseries. “When I die, bury me with a pair of Isotoner gloves. It fit!”

Here are the must-know moments from the docuseries.

The evidence not collected or excluded from the trial

Unlike other recent projects, “American Manhunt” points out (explicitly, with text on screen) the evidence that builds an even stronger case against Simpson that the jury never heard. A bloody fingerprint recovered from a gate at Brown Simpson’s house was never collected as evidence, according to the docuseries.

Jill Shively, an eyewitness who claims to have seen an angry Simpson driving near Brown Simpson’s house around the time of the murders, never testified because prosecutor Marcia Clark believed she had lost credibility after being paid for an earlier interview.

Skip Junis tells filmmakers that while at the Los Angeles airport the night of the killings, he saw Simpson discard “something long that maybe was wrapped in a cloth” ahead of Simpson’s flight to Chicago that evening. Junis wasn’t called to the witness stand, either, and police never found the murder weapon.

Johnnie Cochran’s shocking statement about domestic violence

There’s a moment during the trial that zings louder in 2025 than it likely did 30 years ago: when Johnnie Cochran (who coined “if it doesn’t fit, you must acquit”) asks, “Why did Mr. Darden spend all that time on domestic violence if this is a murder case?”

Cochran told the jury, “They’re trying to dredge up some theory to give you a motive, because they don’t have a motive.”

Those familiar with the case know Brown Simpson called police several times to report Simpson’s abuse, which she documented in photographs and in her diary. Detective John Edwards testified that when he responded to a call at the Simpsons on New Year’s Day 1989, Brown Simpson “collapsed and started yelling, ‘He’s going to kill me. He’s going to kill me!’”

The bloody evidence

Detective Tom Lange, citing the amount of evidence against Simpsons, says in the docuseries they “nicknamed this (case) the turkey on a platter,” as in, “It’s all there.”

Lange says Simpson’s blood was found at the crime scene, and that his blood, along with that of Brown Simpson and Goldman, was found in Simpson’s Bronco. Lange also says Simpson’s blood dripped from his vehicle to his door.

The defense refuted the evidence by accusing law enforcement of planting the blood and fumbling the DNA collection. Their argument was strong enough to convince juror Yolanda Crawford that the authorities mishandled the evidence.

O.J. Simpson’s alleged confession to the killings

Perhaps the most shocking interview in “American Manhunt” comes courtesy of Simpson’s former sports agent, Mike Gilbert.

Gilbert says in the docuseries’ finale that, one evening, he worked up the nerve to ask Simpson what happened and told his client that he’d always suspected he was guilty. According to Gilbert, Simpson responded: “If Nicole wouldn’t have opened the door with a knife, she would still be alive.” (Gilbert also made this claim in his 2008 book, “How I Helped O.J. Get Away with Murder: The Shocking Inside Story of Violence, Loyalty, Regret, and Remorse.”)

Russ, acknowledging that he couldn’t corroborate the conversation, says he was most surprised by Gilbert’s “realization many years later, looking back on it, it wasn’t that Nicole came to the door with the knife. It was O.J. still making an excuse for why he would have murdered her. In a way, it’s O.J. almost blaming Nicole for why it happened.”

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DeepSeek fallout: GOP Sen Josh Hawley seeks to cut off all US-China collaboration on AI development

This week the U.S. tech sector was routed by the Chinese launch of DeepSeek, and Sen. Josh Hawley is putting forth legislation to prevent that from happening again. 

Hawley’s bill, the Decoupling America’s Artifical Intelligence Capabilities from China Act, would cut off U.S.-China cooperation on AI. It would ban exports or imports of AI technology from China, ban American companies from conducting research there, and prohibit any U.S. investment in AI tech companies in China. 

‘Every dollar and gig of data that flows into Chinese AI are dollars and data that will ultimately be used against the United States,’ said Hawley, R-Mo., in a statement. ‘America cannot afford to empower our greatest adversary.’

His is one of the first bills introduced directly in response to the DeepSeek market shakeup of the past few days.

 

DeepSeek’s release of a new high-profile AI model that costs less to run than existing models like those of Meta and OpenAI sent a chill through U.S. markets, with chipmaker Nvidia stocks tanking on Monday before slowly gaining ground again on Tuesday. 

The surprise release displayed how China’s economic competitiveness has far outpaced the ability of U.S. business leaders and lawmakers to agree on what to do about it. 

Unlike other legislation to thwart China’s profiting off U.S. innovation, Hawley’s bill would cover any AI-related technology instead of specific entities, which has prompted the Chinese to seek out loopholes through other companies. 

Microsoft and OpenAI are now reportedly investigating whether DeepSeek could have accessed and used their data to train its own Chinese model, Bloomberg News reported. 

White House artificial intelligence czar David Sacks told Fox News there is ‘substantial evidence that what DeepSeek did here is they distilled the knowledge out of OpenAI’s models.’ 

President Donald Trump on Monday said DeepSeek’s arrival on the scene ‘should be a wakeup call’ for America’s tech companies after the new low-cost AI assistant soared to number one on the Apple app store over the weekend. 

‘The release of DeepSeek AI from a Chinese company should be a wake-up call for our industries that we need to be laser focused on competing,’ Trump said. 

But the president said it was ultimately a good thing if the world had access to cheaper, faster AI models. ‘​​Instead of spending billions and billions, you’ll spend less, and you’ll come up with, hopefully, the same solution,’ Trump said.

In his final week in office, President Joe Biden issued a rule slapping export controls on AI chips, with his national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, arguing that the U.S. was only six to 18 months ahead of China in the AI sector. 

U.S. officials are now looking at the national security implications of DeepSeek, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who added that the Trump administration was working to ‘ensure American AI dominance.’

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Trump AG pick Pam Bondi clears Judiciary Committee, will get confirmation vote in Senate

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted on Wednesday to favorably report Pam Bondi’s nomination for U.S. attorney general to the Senate, a widely expected vote that clears her for a vote in the full chamber later this week.

She secured the votes of the committee’s 12 Republicans, with all 10 Democrats voting against.

Bondi, the former Florida attorney general, made a name for herself in Florida by cracking down on drug trafficking, violent crime and the many ‘pill mills’ operating in the state. She also spent 18 years as a prosecutor for the Hillsborough County state attorney’s office, giving her the experience that many believe she will need to serve as the top U.S. attorney.

Bondi was expected to see a glide path to confirmation ahead of Wednesday’s vote. Her nomination to be President Donald Trump’s attorney general also earned the praise of more than 110 former senior Justice Department officials, including former attorneys general, and dozens of Democratic and Republican state attorneys general, who praised her experience and work across party and state lines.

Those backers described Bondi in interviews and letters previewed exclusively to Fox News Digital as an experienced and motivated prosecutor whose record has proved to be more consensus-builder than bridge-burner.

In her confirmation hearing earlier this month, Bondi stressed that, if confirmed to head up DOJ, the ‘partisanship, the weaponization will be gone. ‘America will have one tier of justice for all.’

Whether the approach will prove successful, however, remains to be seen.

The confirmation vote Wednesday was held against a strikingly different political backdrop than just two weeks ago, when Bondi testified days before Trump’s swearing-in.

In his first nine days in office, Trump has fired more than 15 inspectors general from top federal agencies, ousted more than a dozen special counsel members tasked with investigating him and reassigned or removed officials from top posts at the department.

He also froze new hiring at DOJ, issued a sweeping clemency grant for more than 1,500 criminal defendants charged in the Jan. 6, 2021 riots at the U.S. Capitol and installed as acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia a criminal defense attorney who represented several high-profile rioters.

Combined, Democrats have raised serious concerns about these actions— and about Bondi’s ability to steer the Justice Department in the face of a willful, and at times seemingly impulsive president-elect, and questioned her willingness to go after political ‘enemies’ and asked her to give credence to certain remarks made by Kash Patel, Trump’s FBI nominee.

However, Bondi appeared composed and largely unflappable during the course of her confirmation hearing, which stretched for more than five hours, save for a 30-minute lunch break.

She highlighted her record of fighting violent crime, drug trafficking and human trafficking as Florida’s top prosecutor, and outlined her broader vision for heading up the Justice Department, where she stressed her desire to lead a department free from political influence.

If confirmed, Bondi’s former colleagues have told Fox News Digital they expect her to bring the same playbook she used in Florida to Washington – this time with an eye to cracking down on drug trafficking, illicit fentanyl use and the cartels responsible for smuggling the drugs across the border.

Democrat Dave Aronberg, who challenged Bondi in her bid for Florida attorney general, told Fox News Digital in an interview that he was stunned when Bondi called him up after winning the race and asked him to be her drug czar.

He noted that she has stared down political challenges before. When she took office in Florida, Aaronberg said, Bondi ‘received a lot of pushback’ from members of the Republican Party for certain actions she took,’ including appointing a Democrat to a top office.

‘But she stood up to them and she did what she thought was right, regardless of political pressure,’ Aaronberg told Fox News Digital on the eve of her confirmation vote. ‘So that’s what gives me hope here, is that she’ll editorship and refocus the Department of Justice on policy and politics. You know, I’m hopeful she’ll focus on and I know that the border and the and human trafficking and the rise of anti-Semitism in our country and on college campuses, those won’t be popular positions.’

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