Following a forensic assessment of the bodies of Kfir and Ariel Bibas, the Israel Defense Forces announced on Friday that Hamas terrorists killed the young boys “with their bare hands.” Kfir was nine months old when he was kidnapped, and Ariel was 4. In a statement, Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Hamas’ claims that the brothers were killed in an IDF airstrike are false.  “Ariel and Kfir Bibas were murdered by terrorists in cold blood,” Hagari said. “The terrorists did not shoot the two young boys—they killed them with their bare hands.” He added that the terrorists “committed horrific acts to cover up these atrocities.” According to the IDF, Hamas attempted to make the bodies appear as if an airstrike had killed them. Hagari cited the forensic findings and intelligence to support his assessment.  The IDF confirmed the remains of the boys on Thursday after they underwent an identification process by the National Institute of Forensic Medicine in collaboration with the Israel Police.  The IDF concluded from intelligence and from the forensic findings that Ariel and Kfir were brutally murdered in captivity in November 2023. Hagari said the findings were shared with Israel’s global allies so “the entire world will know exactly how the Hamas terrorist organization operates.” The IDF also stated that the remains handed over by Hamas on Thursday that were purported to be Shiri Bibas, the boys’ mother, were not her or any other hostage. Israel received the anonymous body along with the Bibas brothers and Oded Lifshitz after the terror group paraded them on stage in front of cheering crowds in a propaganda spectacle. PRESIDENTS’ DAY SALE! 40% Off DailyWire+ Annual Memberships With Code DW40 “The abduction and murder in captivity of Oded, Ariel, and baby Kfir, all innocent civilians, are crimes against humanity,” Hagari said. “The whole world must condemn these barbaric acts of terror. We demand that Hamas release Shiri in accordance with the agreement.” The coffins each had a picture of the hostages with a sticker that said “date of arrest October 7 2023.” On the stage was a picture of the four fallen hostages with an image of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu depicted as a vampire with the text, “This War Criminal Netanyahu & His Nazi Army Killed Them with Missiles from Zionist Warplanes.” There was also a missile with a sign in English reading, “They were killed by USA bombs.” Four masked men carried the coffins, each wearing a headband symbolizing a different Palestinian terrorist organization, including Hamas, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Palestinian Mujahideen Movement’s Mujahideen Brigades, and Fatah’s Al-Aqsa Brigade. Fatah is chaired by Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the Palestinian Authority, which controls the Palestinian areas of Judea and Samaria, also known as the West Bank. Hamas threatened to keep the bodies after the Red Cross initially refused to take part in the handover ceremony, according to Israel’s Channel 12. Red Cross representatives eventually gave in and signed documents on stage to receive the bodies. The coffins were then transported to the Israel Defense Forces in the Gaza Strip, where they underwent an evaluation by a bomb squad to ensure the terrorists did not booby trap them, as they had done to other bodies of others who had been taken on October 7. The IDF wrapped the coffins in Israeli flags, and the Military Rabbinate chief, Brigadier-General Rabbi Eyal Krim, recited Psalm 83. The Lifshitz family received final confirmation that Oded’s body had been identified only hours after he arrived for identification. “503 agonizing days of uncertainty have come to an end,” the family said in a statement. “We had hoped and prayed so much for a different outcome. Now we can mourn the husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather who has been missing from us since October 7. Our family’s healing process will begin now and will not end until the last hostage is returned.” The news of the death of Ariel and Kfir has sparked international outrage and brought the total number of children from Israel who have died in the fallout of the October 7 attacks to 55.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said during a recent interview that bad faith negotiations were likely the driving force behind President Donald Trump’s obvious animus toward Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Rubio spoke with independent journalist Catherine Herridge about the president’s very public spat with Zelensky, and he argued that Trump may have good reason to be frustrated with the Ukrainian leader. WATCH: EXCLUSIVE: @SECRubio Trump, Putin meeting depends on progress to end Ukraine war “…when that meeting happens will largely depend on whether we can make any progress on ending the war in Ukraine, and if we can and that meeting is what seals the deal, I think everybody should… https://t.co/t5BReWwgtj pic.twitter.com/qLBV6a6Vgl — Catherine Herridge (@C__Herridge) February 21, 2025 Herridge began with Trump’s post labeling Zelensky “a dictator without elections,” asking Rubio what he made of that. “I think President Trump is very upset at President Zelensky in some cases, and rightfully so,” he replied. He referenced former President Joe Biden, saying that he too had been frustrated by Zelensky — first by his repeated requests for money and then by the fact that, once the United States gave him money or weapons, he went to the press to complain publicly about what he hadn’t been given. “There are newspaper articles out there about how he cursed at him in a phone call because Zelensky, instead of saying thank you for all your help, is immediately out there messaging what we’re not doing or what he’s not getting,” Rubio explained. PRESIDENTS’ DAY SALE! 40% Off DailyWire+ Annual Memberships With Code DW40 “I think the second thing is, personally, I was very upset because we had a conversation with President Zelensky, the vice president and I, the three of us, and we discussed this issue about the mineral rights,” Rubio continued. “We explained to them, look, we want to be in a joint venture with you, not because we want to steal from your country, but because we think that’s actually a security guarantee.” He went on to explain that if the United States partnered with Ukraine in a joint economic project, it would result in both the United States being able to eventually recoup some of the nearly $200 billion American taxpayers had already invested — and it would also give the United States a vested interest in ensuring Ukraine’s security. “[Zelensky] said, ‘Sure, we want to do this deal, it makes all the sense in the world. The only thing is, I need to run it through my legislative process. They have to approve it,'” Rubio said. “I read two days later that Zelensky’s out there saying, ‘I rejected the deal, I told him no way, that we’re not doing that’ — but that’s not what happened in that meeting.” Rubio explained that the anger and frustration came from the fact that the United States was trying to help Ukraine, but Zelensky was getting in his own way by saying one thing in private negotiations and another in public. “We care about [Ukraine] because it has implications for our allies and ultimately for the world,” he added. “But there should be some level of gratitude here about this, and when you don’t see it and you see him out there accusing the president of living in a world of disinformation, that’s highly — very counterproductive. I don’t need to explain to you or anybody else, Donald Trump — President Trump’s not the kind of person that’s going to sit there and take that, he was very transparent. He’s going to tell you exactly how he feels,  and he sent a message that he’s not going to get gamed here.”

A U.S. District judge has rebuffed an effort by labor unions representing federal workers to block President Donald Trump’s layoffs of federal employees. The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), the National Federation of Federal Employees, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, and the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agriculture Implement Workers of America employees sued Trump on February 12, claiming that Trump’s executive actions laying off workers violated constitutional separation-of-powers principles “because they undermine Congress’ authority to set and fund the missions of federal agencies.” They demanded a temporary restraining order. U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled that his court would deny the unions the relief they sought because it “likely lacks subject matter jurisdiction to hear their claims.” He added, “The claims must instead be brought before the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) under the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute.” The FLRA is a three-member agency responsible for handling federal labor disputes. “The FLRA is an independent administrative federal agency that administers the labor-management relations program for 2.1 million non-postal federal employees worldwide,” the agency notes on its website. PRESIDENTS’ DAY SALE! 40% Off DailyWire+ Annual Memberships With Code DW40 “NTEU contends that no meaningful judicial review is available to it because it will suffer irremediable financial harm and loss of bargaining power in the interim,” Cooper noted. “But NTEU will be able to seek ‘meaningful review,’ as the D.C. Circuit has interpreted it, via the statutory scheme.” “NTEU appears to suggest that the constitutional challenges it brings are not of the type appropriately resolved under the statutory scheme,” he continued. “But absent any challenge to the very FLRA procedures it wishes to circumvent, NTEU’s constitutional claims do not defeat preclusion.” “NTEU argues that the firings at issue are so numerous that they will overwhelm the FLRA, thereby foreclosing, or at least forestalling, any meaningful review,” he wrote. “But NTEU provides no reason why it could not seek relief from the FLRA on behalf of a class of plaintiffs and admits that it would ask other agencies to follow an administrative judge’s ruling in its favor.” “Plaintiffs’ motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction is denied,” he concluded.

He left behind a legacy of memorable hits

'Attempted to tie the hands'

A post shared on Facebook claims the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has purportedly forwarded the names of 163 members of Congress to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for “immediate audit.” Verdict: False The claim is false and originally stems from a Feb. 16 post shared by a satirical Facebook page. Fact Check: A new […]

'We’re working with the Department of Government Efficiency