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Tag: Christina Santucci

  • Hillary Clinton testifies in House committee probe into Jeffrey Epstein

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    Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are both scheduled to give testimony to the House Oversight Committee this week as part of the congressional committee’s probe into the late, convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. 

    What You Need To Know

    • Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are both scheduled to give testimony to the House Oversight Committee this week as part of the committee’s probe into the late, convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein

    • Hillary Clinton is being deposed Thursday, with Bill Clinton’s testimony on the calendar for Friday. 

    • The former president had a well-documented relationship with Epstein in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and the Clintons have said they had no knowledge that Epstein was sexually abusing underage girls before his arrest

    • The Clintons had initially been scheduled to testify last year, but that was postponed, launching a months-long back-and-forth between the couple and committee Chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky.

    Hillary Clinton is meeting with the committee Thursday, with Bill Clinton’s testimony on the calendar for Friday. Both are taking place in Chappaqua, New York, according to a spokesperson for the committee.

    On Thursday morning, committee Chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., said he expected Hillary Clinton’s deposition to be “long” and Bill Clinton’s to be “even longer.”

    “No one’s accusing at this moment the Clintons of any wrongdoing,” Comer said. “They’re going to have due process. But we have a lot of questions.The purpose of the whole investigation is to try to understand many things about Epstein. How did he accumulate so much wealth?
How was he able to surround himself with some of the most powerful men in the world?”

    Several photographs of Bill Clinton were included in the trove of files made public in December by the Justice Department. The former president had a well-documented relationship with Epstein in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The Clintons have said they had no knowledge that Epstein was sexually abusing underage girls before his arrest.

    “We have a very clear record that we’ve been willing to talk about,” Hillary Clinton said in an interview with the BBC last week. “My husband has said, he took some rides on the airplane for his charitable work.
I don’t recall ever meeting (Epstein).”

    Epstein died by suicide in a New York City jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Officials believe that the disgraced financier abused more than 1,000 girls and young women. 

    The Clintons had initially been scheduled to testify last year, but that was postponed, launching a monthslong back-and-forth between the couple and committee Chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky. 

    Last month, the House Oversight Committee voted to recommend contempt of Congress charges for the Clintons, but less than two weeks later, Comer announced that the couple had “caved” and agreed to “appear for transcribed, filmed depositions.” The Kentucky Republican said that a recording of each deposition “would be made public” afterward.

    After that announcement, the Clintons called for their testimony to not take place behind closed doors. 

    “If they want answers, let’s stop the games & do this the right way: in a public hearing, where the American people can see for themselves what this is really about,” Bill Clinton said in a Feb. 6 post on X. 

    Comer accused the couple of “pushing a false narrative to play victim” in an interview the following day and indicated that the closed-door depositions would take place as planned.

    Clintons’ depositions follow testimony of others in House probe

    The Clintons’ deposition follows that of Victoria’s Secret co-founder Les Wexner, who spoke to lawmakers last week in New Albany, Ohio, as well as that of Epstein’s former girlfriend and longtime confidant Ghislaine Maxwell, who was deposed by video from the Texas prison camp where she is currently serving her 20-year prison sentence on sex trafficking charges

    Comer has also indicated that Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, who has denied any wrongdoing, may be asked to testify as well. 

    As part of its investigation, the House Oversight Committee has made more than 30,000 documents public. Democrats on the congressional body in recent months have shared additional files, including photos of powerful men in Epstein’s orbit without corresponding caption information or context. The records have served to illustrate Epstein’s ties to high-profile figures in business, government and entertainment.

    The Justice Department’s disclosure of records

    The committee’s probe into Epstein is separate from the Justice Department’s release of millions of files, as required by the Epstein Files Transparency Act. 

    Under the law passed overwhelmingly by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump in November, prosecutors were required to make public all of the files in its investigation into Epstein by Dec. 19 and then provide Congress with a report identifying the categories of records released and withheld, as well as summarizing redactions and their corresponding legal bases.  

    Several batches of documents were shared in December, and then last month, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Justice Department was releasing more than 3 million additional pages, 2,000 videos and 180,000 images in its final Epstein disclosure.

    In response to the release, prosecutors have faced criticism that the trove of records has contained unredacted identifying information and images of sex abuse victims and that other names and documents were improperly redacted or withheld from the disclosures. 

    Among files reportedly missing from the trove are ones pertaining to a woman’s unverified accusation that Trump assaulted her when she was a minor in the 1980s, journalist Roger Sollenberger –– and subsequently NPR and The New York Times –– reported. 

    California Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said in a post on Bluesky on Tuesday that Democrats on the committee are opening a “parallel investigation into why these documents are missing.”

    In response to a request for comment about the files, the Justice Department directed Spectrum News to a post on its Rapid Response X account, which contended that “NOTHING has been deleted” and that “ALL responsive documents have been produced unless a document falls within one of the following categories: duplicates, privileged, or part of an ongoing federal investigation.”

    The White House referred any questions about the implementation of the Epstein Files Transparency Act to the DOJ, and pointed to a section of the department’s news release about its disclosure, which stated that “Some of the documents contain untrue and sensationalist claims against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election.”

    Fallout continues in U.S. and U.K.

    Revelations stemming from the trove of records has led to fallout both in the U.S. and abroad. Most recently, Harvard University announced Wednesday that former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers will resign from his teaching role at the school amid a campus review of his ties to Epstein. 

    Meanwhile, in the U.K., British police arrested Peter Mandelson, a former U.K. ambassador to the United States, on Monday in a misconduct probe 

    Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who was stripped of his princely title last year due to revelations about his relationship with Epstein, was arrested last week on suspicion of misconduct in public office amid allegations that he shared confidential documents with the late financier during his time as trade envoy.

    Summers, Mandelson and Mountbatten-Windsor have all denied wrongdoing. 

    The Associated Press contributed to this reporting.

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    Christina Santucci

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  • 8 takeaways from Trump’s State of the Union address

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    WASHINGTON — In his first State of the Union address of his second term, President Donald Trump on Tuesday night declared that “our nation is back — bigger, better, richer and stronger than ever before.” He also proclaimed that the state of the nation is “strong.”

    Trump’s speech to a joint session of Congress — at 108 minutes, a new record long for a State of the Union — touched on a wide range of topics, including the economy, immigration, foreign affairs and the country’s upcoming 250th anniversary. At times, he lashed out at congressional Democrats for not applauding his policies, while Republicans cheered on the president at every turn.

    Here are eight takeaways from the address. For an in-depth recap, visit Spectrum News’ live blog.

    Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., reacts as President Donald Trump gives his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times via AP, Pool)

    Trump defends immigration crackdown, clashes with Dems in attendance

    The president took several opportunities to highlight what his administration has done to reduce illegal immigration. He contended that “zero illegal aliens have been admitted to the United States” over the past nine months through the border.  

    Trump later asked attendees to stand if they believed “the first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens” and condemned Democrats for not showing their approval for the statement.  

    “You should be ashamed of yourselves for not standing up,” Trump said. “That is why I’m also asking you to end deadly sanctuary cities that protect the criminals and enact serious penalties for public officials who block the removal of criminal aliens — in many cases, drug lords, murderers all over our country.” 

    Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., was at one point shown pointing her finger back at Trump and appearing to say, “You should be ashamed” in response.  

    Trump blames Democrats for affordability concerns

    After blaming former President Joe Biden for inflation, Trump put the onus on Democrats for affordability concerns.

    “You caused that problem,” Trump said to Democrats, prompting Republican lawmakers to stand and applaud. 

     He called Democratic-led criticism about affordability a “dirty, rotten lie.” 

    The president touted his economic record over the last year. He said inflation has fallen to its lowest level in more than five years, dropping to 1.7% in the last quarter of 2025. He also said gas prices had fallen to below $2 per gallon in some parts of the country. 

     He took credit for declining mortgage rates and a rising stock market.  

    Trump calls Supreme Court tariff decision ‘very unfortunate,’ pledges to use alternatives to impose import duties

    Trump took a measured tone when talking about the Supreme Court ruling issued Friday that invalidated his use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose sweeping tariffs on most U.S. trading partners around the globe. 

     “Just four days ago, an unfortunate ruling from the United States Supreme Court. It just came down, very unfortunate ruling,” Trump said.  

    The language was strikingly different from how he described the decision, as well as the justices whom he had appointed and who ruled against his tariffs, in a news conference on the day the decision was announced. 

    Four justices were in attendance at the State of the Union: Chief Justice John Roberts, who authored Friday’s opinion, and Justices Brett Kavanaugh, Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett. Roberts and Barrett – along with Justice Neil Gorsuch – sided with liberal justices in ruling against Trump’s usage of IEEPA to levy the import duties.  

    Trump has said he plans to impose a 15% global tariff on top of existing import duties, and on Tuesday he contended that “congressional action will not be necessary.” One of the statutes that the Trump administration has said would be used to impose tariffs puts a 150-day cap on their implementation “unless extended by an Act of the Congress.” 

    President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times via AP, Pool)

    President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times via AP, Pool)

    Trump said tech companies will have to ‘provide for their own power needs’

    The president said his administration planned to address concerns over the amount of power used by data centers with a “unique strategy” to make tech companies construct their own electricity infrastructure.  

    “We’re telling the major tech companies that they have the obligation to provide for their own power needs,” he said. “They can build their own power plants as part of their factory so that no one’s prices will go up, and in many cases, prices of electricity will go down for the community.”  

    The president noted that many Americans have been growing increasingly concerned about the power demands of companies involved in artificial intelligence.  

    Trump did not provide details about the logistics of the plan other than calling it a “new rate payer protection pledge.” 

    Trump says Iran has yet to say they will never have a nuclear weapon

    On Iran, Trump noted that his administration is currently in negotiations with the country’s leadership but said they have yet to say “those secret words” that they “will never have a nuclear weapon.” 

    Trump went on to say that his “preference” is to solve the situation with Iran through diplomacy but suggested other options are on the table if that doesn’t work. 

    “But one thing is certain: I will never allow the world’s No. 1 sponsor of terror, which they are by far, to have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said. “Can’t let that happen.” 

    Trump has been urging Iran to make a nuclear deal with the U.S. and officials from both sides have been involved in talks in Geneva. The president responded to a reporter’s questions at an unrelated event last week by confirming that limited strikes against Iran were an option and has been sending U.S. resources to the area.  

    Trump’s comments on Iran came as he was talking about his efforts to end wars and usher in peace around the world. He started by touting his administration’s strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites this past summer. 

    Trump blames Democrats for partial shutdown of Department of Homeland Security

    As Democrats and Republicans continue to wrangle over immigration enforcement reform to restore funding to the Department of Homeland Security, Trump blamed Democrats for the partial government shutdown, which was in its 11th day. 

    “They have closed the agency responsible for protecting Americans from terrorists and murderers,” Trump said.  

    He demanded the “full and immediate restoration of all funding” for DHS, which oversees the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and “for helping people clean up their snow. We have no money because of the Democrats.” 

    The Northeast has been hit with blizzard conditions in recent days. FEMA helps reimburse local governments for snow removal costs during designated periods of record snowfall. 

    Shortly before the speech Tuesday, legislation to fund the department failed to advance in the Senate yet again as every Democrat present except Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania voted against it. There has been little sign of movement toward an agreement to reopen DHS since it shut down 10 days ago.

    Trump again expresses voter fraud claims, calls for new requirements

    The president used his address to reiterate his long-held and frequently mentioned qualms with elections in America while pressing lawmakers to pass a Republican bill seeking to implement new proof of citizenship and photo identification requirements to vote.  

    Without citing evidence, Trump claimed that “cheating is rampant” in U.S. elections before going on to call for all voters to show a photo ID and proof of citizenship to vote and an end to most voting by mail.  

    “Why would anybody not want voter ID? One reason: because they want to cheat,” Trump claimed, again without citing evidence.  

    He asserted such a prospect was widely popular, which comes as the White House has been sharing polling on the voter ID issue. 

    Republicans and Trump have been pushing a bill called the SAVE America Act that would require a person to provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote and “present an eligible photo identification document before voting.” It passed the House but faces a more difficult path in the Senate, where it would need some Democratic support to overcome the chamber’s filibuster rule.  

    Trump has long claimed there was fraud in the 2020 election despite audits, courts and the president’s former attorney general not finding evidence of widespread fraud. 

    President invokes America 250 to begin, conclude remarks

    In closing out his State of the Union, Trump returned to the theme that he focused on at the start of his remarks: the nation’s upcoming 250th anniversary.  

    “Less than five months from now, our country will celebrate an epic milestone in American history,” Trump said during the first few minutes of his speech.  

    The U.S. has planned a number of events this year to mark the anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. 

    “The revolution that began in 1776 has not ended,” Trump said in concluding his remarks. “It still continues because the flame of liberty and independence still burns in the heart of every American patriot, and our future will be bigger, better, brighter, bolder and more glorious than ever before.”

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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    Christina Santucci, Susan Carpenter, Maddie Gannon

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  • Trump says he’ll enact additional 10% tariff after Supreme Court decision

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    Hours after the Supreme Court struck down many of President Donald Trump’s far-reaching tariffs in a 6-3 decision, the president said Friday he plans to sign an excecutive order imposing 10% global import duties “over and above our normal tariffs already being charged,” citing a different statute. 

    What You Need To Know

    • Hours after the Supreme Court struck down many of President Donald Trump’s far-reaching tariffs in a 6-3 decision, the president said he planned to impose a 10% global import duties through another statute

    • The country’s top court issued its long-awaited decision Friday, ruling the president does not have the authority to impose sweeping tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, passed in 1977

    • “We claim no special competence in matters of economics or foreign affairs. We claim only, as we must, the limited role assigned to us by Article III of the Constitution. Fulfilling that role, we hold that IEEPA does not authorize the President to impose tariffs,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion

    • Justices Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson all sided with Roberts in invalidating many of Trump’s import taxes levied on U.S. global trading partners; yhree justices –– Justices Brett Kavanaugh, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito –– dissented from the majority opinion

    During a news conference at the White House after the ruling, Trump quoted Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s dissenting opinion as the president justified pressing on with his tariffs. “Although I firmly disagree with the Court’s holding today, the decision might not substantially constrain a President’s ability to order tariffs going forward,” Kavanaugh wrote.

    The country’s top court issued its long-awaited decision Friday, ruling the president does not have the authority to impose sweeping tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, passed in 1977.

    “IEEPA’s grant of authority to ‘regulate . . . importation’ falls short. IEEPA contains no reference to tariffs or duties,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion. “The Government points to no statute in which Congress used the word ‘regulate’ to authorize taxation. And until now no President has read IEEPA to confer such power.” 

    Justices Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson sided with Roberts in invalidating many of Trump’s import taxes levied on U.S. global trading partners. Three justices –– Kavanaugh, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito –– dissented from the majority opinion.

    “We claim no special competence in matters of economics or foreign affairs. We claim only, as we must, the limited role assigned to us by Article III of the Constitution. Fulfilling that role, we hold that IEEPA does not authorize the President to impose tariffs,” the opinion concluded.

    In his news conference, Trump called the ruling “deeply disappointing” and condemned the Supreme Court majority who struck down the IEEPA duties, accusing the justices of being “swayed by foreign interests and a political movement that is far smaller than people would ever think.”

    Trump pledged to employ “very powerful alternatives.”

    “We’ll take in more money, and we’ll be a lot stronger for it,” he said. “We’re taking in hundreds of billions of dollars. We’ll continue to do so.”

    Separate tariffs that Trump had previously imposed, including ones on goods such as aluminum, steel, lumber and automobiles through Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, were not part of the case considered by the Supreme Court and still remain in place. During his remarks Friday, the president also highlighted several additional methods to levy tariffs, including Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, which permits import duties of up to 15% to be imposed for 150 days. 

    “I can do anything I want with IEEPA, anything. I just can’t charge anybody for it,” he said. “It’s ridiculous.”

    In November, the nation’s top court heard oral arguments for a consolidated challenge from several Democratic-led states and a handful of small businesses over the president’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, as well as ones he levied on China, Mexico and Canada over what his administration described as “the flow of contraband drugs like fentanyl to the United States.” 

    In both, Trump contended that the situations constituted national emergencies and relied on IEEPA as the justification for imposing tariffs. 

    During nearly three hours of oral arguments before the justices late last year, attorneys for the plaintiffs insisted that only Congress has the power to tax and argued that tariffs are not included in the scope of IEEPA. They were followed by U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer, who contended that tariffs fell under the president’s authority to “regulate foreign commerce.”

    Liberal and some conservative justices at the time seemed to express skepticism about the Trump administration’s arguments.

    One of the plaintiffs in the case –– Rick Woldenberg, CEO of Learning Resources and hand2mind –– praised the ruling in a statement Friday.

    “With today’s decision, we will continue to pursue our mission through innovation, investment, and hard work supporting educators, families, and children around the world, without the burden of unlawful tariffs,” Woldenberg wrote.

    What will happen with the tariffs that have been paid?

    Barrett had asked during oral arguments about logistics of giving refunds to importers if the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and remarked that the process may be “a mess.”

    During that exchange, Neal Katyal, who was representing small-business plaintiffs, contended that only the companies that were party to the suit would be entitled to receive their money back, and other businesses would have to individually seek repayment.

    To protect their right to request refunds, retail giant Costco and hundreds of other businesses have launched legal challenges. 

    It was not immediately clear from the ruling what would happen, regarding potential refunds.

    Kavanaugh in his dissent Friday echoed Barrett’s comments, writing that the U.S. “may be required to refund billions of dollars to importers who paid the IEEPA tariffs, even though some importers may have already passed on costs to consumers or others.” 

    “As was acknowledged at oral argument, the refund process is likely to be a ‘mess,’” Kavanaugh contended, adding that the Supreme Court’s ruling could also “generate uncertainty” about trade agreements Trump reached with other countries to lower the import duties. 

    On Friday, Trump criticized the Supreme Court majority for not addressing the issue in its opinion, suggesting that the refunds will be subject to a lengthy legal fight.

    “We’ll end up being in court for the next five years,” the president said.

    A coalition of roughly 800 small businesses, We Pay the Tariffs, called on the federal government to expeditiously refund tariff payments to U.S. companies. 

    “But a legal victory is meaningless without actual relief for the businesses that paid these tariffs,” the group wrote in a statement. “The administration’s only responsible course of action now is to establish a fast, efficient, and automatic refund process that returns tariff money to the businesses that paid it.” 

    Customs and Border Protection estimated in December it collected more than $200 billion from new tariffs last year. Of that figure, approximately $133.5 billion was brought in from IEEPA import duties through Dec. 14, 2025, but that number is believed to have ticked up in the weeks since. Reuters reported Friday that more than $175 billion in tariffs may need to be refunded if the Supreme Court rules against Trump, citing an estimate from Penn-Wharton Budget Model economists.

    Trump had previously speculated that the amount would be even higher.

    “The actual numbers that we would have to pay back if, for any reason, the Supreme Court were to rule against the United States of America on Tariffs, would be many Hundreds of Billions of Dollars,” he said Jan. 12 on social media. 

    In a statement, the Committee For a Responsible Federal Budget called on lawmakers to address the lost tariff revenue.

    “With the national debt already the size of the entire U.S. economy and interest on the debt costing more than $1 trillion this year, this is very bad news,” the nonpartisan think tank wrote. “Congress should work quickly to fill that hole.”

    Before Trump’s tariffs took effect last year, the U.S. saw a surge of imports of foreign goods in the first few months. The trade-gap then narrowed for most of the rest of the year, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. 

    But, while the overall trade deficit of goods and services fell to $901 billion last year, the gap between the amount of goods imported versus exported rose to a record-high $1.24 trillion in 2025, the report found, meaning the U.S. ultimately brought in more foreign products than American exporters sent overseas.

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    Christina Santucci

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  • Former President Joe Biden undergoing radiation therapy for prostate cancer

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    Former President Joe Biden is undergoing radiation therapy and hormone treatment as part of a treatment plan for prostate cancer, a spokesperson for the former president told Spectrum News on Saturday. 

    What You Need To Know

    • Former President Joe Biden is undergoing radiation therapy and hormone treatment as part of his treatment for prostate cancer, a spokesperson for the former president told Spectrum News on Saturday

    • Biden was diagnosed with an “aggressive” form of prostate cancer in May

    • Prostate cancers are given grades for aggressiveness on what’s called a Gleason score, which ranges from 6 to 10 with higher numbers indicating a higher level of aggressive behavior

    • Biden’s office said in May that his prostate cancer was a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone, suggesting it is among the most aggressive

    Biden was diagnosed with an “aggressive” form of prostate cancer in May. 

    “While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive, which allows for effective management,” his office said at the time. “The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.”

    Prostate cancers are given grades for aggressiveness on what’s called a Gleason score, which ranges from 6 to 10 with higher numbers indicating a higher level of aggressive behavior. 

    Biden’s office said in May that his prostate cancer was a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone, suggesting it is among the most aggressive.

    NBC News was the first to report that Biden is undergoing radiation, and that the treatment is expected to take five weeks. The former president has already been taking a pill form of hormone medication and is “doing well,” the outlet reported.

    Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer among men worldwide, according to the Mayo Clinic, and the risk of developing it increases with age. Treatments include radiation, hormone therapy, surgery and chemotherapy.

    In a post on social media announcing his diagnosis in May, Biden wrote, “Cancer touches us all. Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places. Thank you for lifting us up with love and support.”

    The 82-year-old former president had previously undergone surgery to remove skin cancer lesions last month on his forehead, and in 2023, Biden had a cancerous lesion removed from his chest. Testing confirmed that the lesion was basal cell carcinoma, a common form of skin cancer.

    Biden left the White House in January at the end of his four-year term. Months earlier he had suspended his campaign for reelection and endorsed then-Vice President Kamala Harris, who later lost to President Donald Trump.

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    Christina Santucci, Taylor Popielarz

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  • Netanyahu says Israel ‘must finish the job’ against Hamas during U.N. address

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    UNITED NATIONS –– In a speech Friday broadcast to the Gaza Strip via loudspeakers and through the takeover of Palestinians’ cellphones, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended his country’s efforts to destroy Hamas and told world leaders that Israel was “not done yet.” 

    What You Need To Know

    • In a speech Friday broadcast to Gaza via loudspeakers and through the takeover of Palestinians’ cell phones, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended his country’s efforts to destroy Hamas and told world leaders that Israel was “not done yet” 

    • As Netanyahu came to the podium to commence his remarks, dozens of delegates from multiple countries walked out, but others in the room applauded at the start of his speech and periodically throughout his address.

    • Netanyahu denounced calls for a Palestinian state, saying that his country would not let other nations “shove a terror state down our throats”

    • The Israeli leader also vociferously rejected allegations that his country was committing genocide in Gaza and weaponizing hunger, during his address to the United Nations General Assembly

    “Thanks to the resolve of our people, the courage of our soldiers and the bold decisions we took, Israel rebounded from its darkest day to deliver one of the most stunning military comebacks in history,” Netanyahu said during his United Nations General Assembly address. “But we are not done yet. The final elements, the final remnants of Hamas are holed up in Gaza City.

    “That is why Israel must finish the job,” he said.

    As Netanyahu came to the podium to begin his remarks, dozens of delegates from multiple countries walked out. Others in the room applauded at the start of his speech and periodically throughout the address.

    Netanyahu has faced growing international calls for an end to the war in Gaza, which began when Hamas-led militants killed roughly 1,200 people and took 251 others hostage. The Gaza Health Ministry recently estimated that 65,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 167,000 injured since October 2023.

    During his address Friday, Netanyahu said that “special efforts” by Israeli intelligence had taken over the cellphones of Gazans to broadcast his remarks live. He called on remaining Hamas leaders to free the hostages and lay down their weapons or Israel would “hunt you down.”

    Netanyahu said that Israel has brought back 207 hostages, and about 20 of the 48 remaining in Gaza are still believed to be alive.

    He then read the names of the 20 hostages aloud, saying he wanted to speak directly to them by way of speakers pointing into the territory for his remarks, speaking first in Hebrew and then in English.

    “We will not rest until we bring all of you home,” he said.

    Shortly after Netanyahu concluded his remarks, President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House that an agreement on Gaza may be “very close.”

    “I think it’s a deal that will get the hostages back,” Trump said, without providing additional details. “It’s going to be a deal that will end the war. It’s going to be a dea l— it’s going to be peace.” 

    Allowing a Palestinian state would be ‘sheer madness,’ Netanyahu says

    Netanyahu denounced calls for a Palestinian state, saying that his country would not let other nations “shove a terror state down our throats.”

    “Giving the Palestinians a state one mile from Jerusalem after Oct. 7 is like giving al-Qaida a state one mile from New York City after Sept. 11,” he said. “This is sheer madness, and we won’t do it.”

    In the last few weeks, several countries –– including France, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia –– joined some 150 others around the world in formally recognizing a Palestinian state. The U.N. General Assembly also voted overwhelmingly this month to pass a nonbinding resolution, supporting a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict and urging Israel to commit to a Palestinian state.

    The Israeli leader said Friday that these nations sent a message that “murdering Jews pays off.”

    The Israeli prime minister’s address came a day after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas gave a virtual address to the U.N., during which he thanked countries for recognizing a Palestinian state. Abbas said that the Palestinian Authority, which oversees the West Bank, was prepared to take over governance of Gaza and that Hamas would have no future role in leading the territory. 

    The Palestinian leader also condemned the planned expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Israel announced in August that it approved an expansion of settlements to divide the West Bank –– a move that Palestinians and rights groups say would divide much of the West Bank and destroy hopes for a future Palestinian state.

    Later Thursday, Trump told reporters gathered at the Oval Office that he wouldn’t allow Israel to annex the occupied West Bank. Possible annexation has been floated in Israel in response to U.S. allies moving to recognize a Palestinian state. 

    Netanyahu refutes accusations of genocide in Gaza

    The Israeli leader vociferously rejected allegations Friday that his country was committing genocide in Gaza and weaponizing hunger.

    A United Nations Human Rights Council report earlier this month contended that Israel was committing genocide, and the world’s leading authority on food crisis declared last month that famine was occurring in Gaza City –– both charges that Israel refutes.

    Netanyahu called the allegations of genocide “antisemitic lies,” saying efforts by his country to encourage Gazans to leave the largest city in the territory disproved the charge.

    “Would a country committing genocide plead with a civilian population it is supposedly targeting to get out of harm’s way?” he said. He also blamed Hamas for stealing food intended for Gazans. 

    Many Palestinians are unwilling to be uprooted, while others are too weak or can’t afford to leave, international aid groups say.

    Netanyahu calls for ‘snapback’ sanctions on Iran

    Netanyahu praised Trump for “his bold and decisive action” in bombing Iran’s nuclear enrichment sites earlier this year. 

    “President Trump and I promised to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, and we delivered on that promise,” Netanyahu said, later adding, “We lifted a dark cloud that could have claimed millions and millions of lives.”

    Netanyahu called Iran’s stockpiles of enriched uranium to be “eliminated” and for “snapback” sanctions to be reinstated over its failure to comply with conditions of the 2015 nuclear deal. 

    A 30-day deadline triggered by France, Germany and the United Kingdom is set to end Sunday. However, the U.N. Security Council is expected to vote Friday on whether to delay the reimposition of sanctions by six months.

    During his own address to the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian blamed the United States and Israeli attacks for “dealing a grievous blow upon international trust.” 

    The Associated Press contributed to this reporting.

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    Christina Santucci

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  • Netanyahu says Israel ‘must finish the job’ against Hamas during U.N. address

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    UNITED NATIONS –– In a speech Friday broadcast to the Gaza Strip via loudspeakers and through the takeover of Palestinians’ cellphones, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended his country’s efforts to destroy Hamas and told world leaders that Israel was “not done yet.” 

    What You Need To Know

    • In a speech Friday broadcast to Gaza via loudspeakers and through the takeover of Palestinians’ cell phones, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended his country’s efforts to destroy Hamas and told world leaders that Israel was “not done yet” 

    • As Netanyahu came to the podium to commence his remarks, dozens of delegates from multiple countries walked out, but others in the room applauded at the start of his speech and periodically throughout his address.

    • Netanyahu denounced calls for a Palestinian state, saying that his country would not let other nations “shove a terror state down our throats”

    • The Israeli leader also vociferously rejected allegations that his country was committing genocide in Gaza and weaponizing hunger, during his address to the United Nations General Assembly

    “Thanks to the resolve of our people, the courage of our soldiers and the bold decisions we took, Israel rebounded from its darkest day to deliver one of the most stunning military comebacks in history,” Netanyahu said during his United Nations General Assembly address. “But we are not done yet. The final elements, the final remnants of Hamas are holed up in Gaza City.

    “That is why Israel must finish the job,” he said.

    As Netanyahu came to the podium to begin his remarks, dozens of delegates from multiple countries walked out. Others in the room applauded at the start of his speech and periodically throughout the address.

    Netanyahu has faced growing international calls for an end to the war in Gaza, which began when Hamas-led militants killed roughly 1,200 people and took 251 others hostage. The Gaza Health Ministry recently estimated that 65,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 167,000 injured since October 2023.

    During his address Friday, Netanyahu said that “special efforts” by Israeli intelligence had taken over the cellphones of Gazans to broadcast his remarks live. He called on remaining Hamas leaders to free the hostages and lay down their weapons or Israel would “hunt you down.”

    Netanyahu said that Israel has brought back 207 hostages, and about 20 of the 48 remaining in Gaza are still believed to be alive.

    He then read the names of the 20 hostages aloud, saying he wanted to speak directly to them by way of speakers pointing into the territory for his remarks, speaking first in Hebrew and then in English.

    “We will not rest until we bring all of you home,” he said.

    Shortly after Netanyahu concluded his remarks, President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House that an agreement on Gaza may be “very close.”

    “I think it’s a deal that will get the hostages back,” Trump said, without providing additional details. “It’s going to be a deal that will end the war. It’s going to be a dea l— it’s going to be peace.” 

    Allowing a Palestinian state would be ‘sheer madness,’ Netanyahu says

    Netanyahu denounced calls for a Palestinian state, saying that his country would not let other nations “shove a terror state down our throats.”

    “Giving the Palestinians a state one mile from Jerusalem after Oct. 7 is like giving al-Qaida a state one mile from New York City after Sept. 11,” he said. “This is sheer madness, and we won’t do it.”

    In the last few weeks, several countries –– including France, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia –– joined some 150 others around the world in formally recognizing a Palestinian state. The U.N. General Assembly also voted overwhelmingly this month to pass a nonbinding resolution, supporting a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict and urging Israel to commit to a Palestinian state.

    The Israeli leader said Friday that these nations sent a message that “murdering Jews pays off.”

    The Israeli prime minister’s address came a day after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas gave a virtual address to the U.N., during which he thanked countries for recognizing a Palestinian state. Abbas said that the Palestinian Authority, which oversees the West Bank, was prepared to take over governance of Gaza and that Hamas would have no future role in leading the territory. 

    The Palestinian leader also condemned the planned expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Israel announced in August that it approved an expansion of settlements to divide the West Bank –– a move that Palestinians and rights groups say would divide much of the West Bank and destroy hopes for a future Palestinian state.

    Later Thursday, Trump told reporters gathered at the Oval Office that he wouldn’t allow Israel to annex the occupied West Bank. Possible annexation has been floated in Israel in response to U.S. allies moving to recognize a Palestinian state. 

    Netanyahu refutes accusations of genocide in Gaza

    The Israeli leader vociferously rejected allegations Friday that his country was committing genocide in Gaza and weaponizing hunger.

    A United Nations Human Rights Council report earlier this month contended that Israel was committing genocide, and the world’s leading authority on food crisis declared last month that famine was occurring in Gaza City –– both charges that Israel refutes.

    Netanyahu called the allegations of genocide “antisemitic lies,” saying efforts by his country to encourage Gazans to leave the largest city in the territory disproved the charge.

    “Would a country committing genocide plead with a civilian population it is supposedly targeting to get out of harm’s way?” he said. He also blamed Hamas for stealing food intended for Gazans. 

    Many Palestinians are unwilling to be uprooted, while others are too weak or can’t afford to leave, international aid groups say.

    Netanyahu calls for ‘snapback’ sanctions on Iran

    Netanyahu praised Trump for “his bold and decisive action” in bombing Iran’s nuclear enrichment sites earlier this year. 

    “President Trump and I promised to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, and we delivered on that promise,” Netanyahu said, later adding, “We lifted a dark cloud that could have claimed millions and millions of lives.”

    Netanyahu called Iran’s stockpiles of enriched uranium to be “eliminated” and for “snapback” sanctions to be reinstated over its failure to comply with conditions of the 2015 nuclear deal. 

    A 30-day deadline triggered by France, Germany and the United Kingdom is set to end Sunday. However, the U.N. Security Council is expected to vote Friday on whether to delay the reimposition of sanctions by six months.

    During his own address to the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian blamed the United States and Israeli attacks for “dealing a grievous blow upon international trust.” 

    The Associated Press contributed to this reporting.

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    Christina Santucci

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  • Fired CDC director testifies about ultimatum over vaccine recommendations

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    WASHINGTON –– Former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez has begun her testimony before a congressional committee Wednesday morning — three weeks after she was fired by the Trump administration.

    What You Need To Know

    • Former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez has begun her testimony before a congressional committee Wednesday morning — three weeks after she was fired by the Trump administration

    • Monarez told lawmakers that she was given an ultimatum by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to resign or be terminated after she refused to “preapprove” vaccine recommendations of an advisory panel

    • That panel — the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices — is expected to vote on new vaccine recommendations this week

    • Former Chief Medical Officer Debra Houry, who later resigned after Monarez was fired, joined the former CDC director on Capitol Hill for the hearing

    Monarez told lawmakers on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions that she was given an ultimatum by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. if she refused to “commit in advance to approving” vaccine recommendations and “dismiss career officials responsible for vaccine policy without cause.”

    “On the morning of Aug. 25, Secretary Kennedy demanded two things of me that were inconsistent with my oath of office and the ethics required of a public official,” she told the committee.

    Her remarks Wednesday echoed a chain of events she described in a Wall Street Journal op-ed — that she “was told to preapprove the recommendations of a vaccine advisory panel newly filled with people who have publicly expressed antivaccine rhetoric.”

    That panel — the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices –– is expected to vote on new vaccine recommendations this week.

    In the wake of Monarez’s ouster, several other agency leaders resigned in protest, and President Donald Trump picked Jim O’Neill, who had been serving as Kennedy’s deputy, to step in as interim CDC director. 

    Former CDC Chief Medical Officer Debra Houry, who quit after Monarez was fired, joined the former CDC director on Capitol Hill for the hearing, which was given the title “Reviewing Recent Events at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Implications for Children’s Health.”

    “I resigned because CDC leaders were reduced to rubber stamps, supporting policies not based in science and putting American lives at risk,” Houry told the committee.

    In a hearing earlier this month, Kennedy acknowledged that he had told Monarez to fire scientists at the agency. During his testimony, Kennedy had also addressed what he called “the recent shakeup” at the CDC.

    “We are the sickest country in the world,” Kennedy told lawmakers.
”That’s why we have to fire people at CDC. They did not do their job. This was their job to keep us healthy.”

    When asked about Monarez, Kennedy said, “I told her that she had to resign because I asked her, ‘Are you a trustworthy person?’ And she said, ‘No.’” 

    Monarez refuted Kennedy’s comments calling her “untrustworthy” during her opening statement Wednesday.

    Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, a physician who represents Louisiana and chairs the powerful Senate health committee, said during his opening remarks Wednesday that lawmakers were looking to find “all the facts, not a version of the facts that fits a certain narrative agenda.”

    “It may be impossible to learn who’s telling the truth, but this hearing is an initial step in trying to answer why the top leadership of the CDC was fired or resigned before they could be fired,” he said, adding, “Turmoil at the top of the nation’s top public health agency is not good for the health of the American people.”

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    Christina Santucci

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