After 16 months in captivity, Israeli American hostage Keith Siegel is slated to be released Saturday.   Siegel is 65 and from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, but moved to Israel decades ago. On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas took Siegel and his wife Aviva Siegel from their home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza and drove them in their own vehicle into Gaza. Siegel was shot in the hand and his ribs were broken when he was taken captive. For 51 days, Aviva Siegel was held in Hamas tunnels with her husband until she was released in November 2023 during a brief ceasefire between Hamas and Israel.   “You be strong for me, and I’ll be strong for you,” Aviva Siegel, 63, recalls saying to her husband when she parted from him in the tunnels beneath Gaza. Since her release, Aviva Siegel has dedicated her time and energy to advocating for her husband’s freedom, and the freedom of all the hostages.   “My heart will explode,” Aviva Siegel told The Daily Signal during an interview in December when asked about her hope for her husband’s release. “I will scream. I will jump into the air, and it’s just going to be … I don’t know, I’ll dance. I’m sure that I’ll dance and scream.”   Keith Siegel is one of three Israeli hostages expected to be released Saturday, along with Ofer Kalderon, 53, and Yarden Bibas, 34. Kalderon and Bibas and were taken hostage from Kibbutz Nir Oz. Bibas’ wife Shiri Bibas and their two young children, now 5 and 2, were also taken hostage. The release of Yarden Bibas before his wife and children has increased fears over the status of his wife and their children. Last year, Hamas claimed that Shiri Bibas and her children were killed in an Israeli airstrike, but this was never confirmed.   The release of the three men comes about two weeks into a six-week ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. A total of 33 hostages are slated to be released during the six-week period, along with additional hostages during phase two of the ceasefire deal.   So far, 15 hostages have been released during the ceasefire, including: Romi Gonen, 24; Emily Damari, 28; Doron Steinbrecher, 31; Karina Ariev, 20; Daniella Gilboa, 20; Naama Levy, 20; Liri Albag, 19; Agam Berger, 20; Arbel Yehoud, 29; Gadi Moses, 80; and five Thai hostages, including: Pongsak Thanna, Sathian Suwannakham, Watchara Sriaoun, Bannawat Saethao, and Surasak Lamnao. After Keith Siegel’s release Saturday, two American Israeli hostages will still be Gaza—Edan Alexander, 21; Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36.   The post American Israeli Hostage on List to Be Released appeared first on The Daily Signal.

After Months of Using Them as Cannon Fodder, North Korean Troops Are Pulled From the Front Lines

NYT: Trump's War on NPR/PBS Is Real, and It's Spectacular

Following the tragic mid-air collision at Reagan Washington National Airport, MSNBC seemed mostly concerned with its potential as fuel for demonizing President Trump. On Thursday’s episode of Chris Jansing Reports, Jansing dove directly into President Trump’s comments on the tragedy and took issue with him calling out the possible role DEI programs played, particularly their effort to hire people with “severe intellectual” and “psychiatric” disabilities. She even invited a former acting FAA administrator to shoot down Trump’s assertions, but he didn’t; because he oversaw them. Standing near the accident scene, on the bank of the Potomac, Jansing huffed that “without evidence” Trump suggested “DEI policies from the previous Biden administration somehow played a role in the crash.”     She then cut to a video from the conference, in which Trump seemed to read from a New York Post article about how, “The FAA is actively recruiting workers who suffer severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems and other mental and physical conditions under a diversity and inclusion hiring initiative spelled out on the agency's website.”  That policy was indeed spelled out on the agency’s website, and, regardless of whether it was responsible for this particular accident, it was not exactly a policy to instill confidence in the current state of air travel in America. Anyone who has actually flown a plane is acutely aware that when you take off or land, your life is in the hands of whoever is in that control tower. If there is reason to believe that the air traffic controller guiding your flight has a severe mental illness, or some sort of other severe impairment, that is, to say the least, not a comforting thought. To address Trump’s point, Jansing interviewed former acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen, a Biden appointee who actually bore some responsibility for the aforementioned DEI initiative. Jansing asked him directly for his response to Trump’s statement that “the FAA is actively recruiting workers who suffer mental or physical conditions, under a diversity hiring initiative.” Nolen was then allowed to ramble on about his career-long devotion to safety, his approval of the leadership of the FAA and faith in the International Transportation Safety Board, and some words of condolence to those affected: Look- let me just say, you know, my focus has been, across the arc of my career, about how to improve safety, how to improve, you know, the work that we do. And that's what I did during my time as acting FAA administrator. I was very proud and honored to do that. (…) We've had this incredible 16 year run of a really good safety record, worked very hard to drive down the number of close calls. But he never actually answered the question, and Jansing just let that slide. Whether or not it was the best move for Trump to make those comments in that way at that time, it is hard to rationally argue with the point. What happened Wednesday was a terrible thing for a great many innocent people, and whatever caused it in this case, if we don’t want it to happen again, a serious reevaluation of FAA hiring policies would seem a very good idea. There are lots of great things that people with severe disabilities can do in this world, but in a reality where we all have our own strengths and weaknesses, responsibility for the safe operation of an airliner is not at the top of the list. The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read: MSNBC’s CHRIS JANSING REPORTS 01/30/2025 01:51 PM [ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: TRUMP BASELESSLY BLAMES DEI POLICIES FOR DEADLY CRASH]  CHRIS JANSING: Today, just moments after President Trump offered his condolences and a moment of silence for the victims of the Potomac collision, he suggested, without evidence, that DEI policies from the previous Biden administration somehow played a role in the crash. [Cuts to video] DONALD TRUMP: The FAA is actively recruiting workers who suffer severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems and other mental and physical conditions under a diversity and inclusion hiring initiative spelled out on the agency's website. Can you imagine? (...) 01:54 PM [ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: TRUMP BASELESSLY CLAIMS DEI POLICIES TO BLAME FOR DEADLY MIDAIR COLLISION OVER POTOMAC] JANSING: And joining us now is former acting director of the FAA, Billy Nolen.  Thank you for being here. And I wonder what your response is to President Trump suggesting that somehow they are active re-, the FAA is actively recruiting workers who suffer mental or physical conditions, under a diversity hiring initiative. BILLY NOLEN (former acting FAA director): Well, thanks for having me. Look- let me just say, you know, my focus has been, across the arc of my career, about how to improve safety, how to improve, you know, the work that we do. And that's what I did during my time as acting FAA administrator. I was very proud and honored to do that.  I had some- some strong quality people. I commend the President for the announcement today of Chris Rocheleau who I've worked closely with- is a- is a wonderful leader- as the new acting administrator, which then gives the administration time to think about who will be that next leader, so-  But where we are, I want to just stop and take a moment to say I- you know- I offer my sincere sympathies. I spent a career at American Airlines so- you know my heart breaks- for American, and for- the PSA team. And our- our collective focus now- is to work very closely together.   And you now have the International Transportation Safety Board on point, and we will get the answer- answers that all of us are so desperately seeking, so I would say, let's let that process play itself out. And then, in due time, and I don't think it will take that long, to be quite honest- but right now we are in that recovery phase of recovering the bodies of the victims and getting- you know- securing the- in- this airplane and this helicopter, and then really digging into what the- the root cause is.  The NTSB is an exceptional organization, and they are very good. In fact, they're the best. In the world, by Billy Nolen's estimation, at what they do. And they will get to the bottom of this. And you've got all the stakeholders around the table you heard from. See, from Robert Isom at American, all of us. It's all about coming together. We've had this incredible 16 year run of a really good safety record, worked very hard to drive down the number of close calls. So, when something like this happens, we, you know, we step back and say, look, we're not going to rest on our record. We're going to continue to dive in, figure out what happened, why it went wrong, and how do we prevent that going forward. That's what we owe certainly to the families, and that's what we owe to the American people. (…)

After President Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 election and his long-awaited inauguration this month, America seems to be set firmly on a path of pure unadulterated winning. And one of those major wins comes after Trump signed an executive order to end transition surgeries for minors in America — and Sara Gonzales of “Sara Gonzales Unfiltered” couldn’t be more hopeful. “It was my great honor to sign an executive order banning the chemical castration and medical mutilation of innocent children in the United States of America. Our nation will no longer fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support so-called gender affirming care, which has already ruined far too many precious lives,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “My order directs agencies to use every available means to cut off federal financial participation in institutions which seek to provide these barbaric medical procedures that should have never been allowed to take place,” he added. “There is light again in this country,” Gonzales comments, thrilled. “There’s no middle ground. We can’t sterilize an entire generation. We can’t chop healthy body parts off of children. We can’t do that. And so the idea, obviously, is that the federal government was participating in this in such a way and instructing insurance companies and all of this to cover it.” And she thinks it’s time for Congress to step up and help Trump permanently put this order into law. “I would like to see Congress go ahead and act on this, because we need them to actually do the jobs that they signed up to do, rather than allow Donald Trump to just rule by executive order. Back him up a little bit here,” she says. “Let’s go ahead and make it resoundingly clear that this country will no longer tolerate ruining and sterilizing an entire generation,” she continues, adding, “I would love to see RFK Jr. get confirmed and then start putting these demons in their place. Cut them off from the medical system, disbar them, whatever the hell you have to do.” Want more from Sara Gonzales?To enjoy more of Sara's no-holds-barred take to news and culture, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

An elementary school principal and a teacher were charged with child neglect over booze-filled parties they allegedly hosted with dozens of underage people, according to Florida police. The Cocoa Beach Police Department said police were called several times to a residence on Jan. 19 by neighbors who said children were trampling over their property. When they investigated, they found several teenagers inebriated, with one vomiting and so drunk that paramedics were called. She was wearing a shirt with the phrase 'white lie,' which was found on other attendees of the party.Affidavits said that there was violence at the party along with marijuana use and that one teenager pointed a 9mm handgun at another who was recording video. Another girl was arrested for driving nearby with a blood alcohol level far beyond that allowed for people under 21 years old. She was wearing a shirt with the phrase "white lie," which was seen on other attendees of the party on social media. Teens later interviewed by investigators told them that Roosevelt Elementary School Principal Elizabeth Hill-Brodigan had the party events about twice a month and that they were promoted on Snapchat. "Elizabeth made no attempt to stop the party at any point and advised that she seemed okay with what was happening," according to police who spoke to the teenagers. Karly Anderson was also allegedly present at the party as a guest. At one point, police said they were called away from investigating the party when they got a call about someone being held at gunpoint at Sidney Fischer Park, four miles away from the house party. They suspect that this call and another about satanic activity were made to distract officers. Making a false police report can result in one year's jail time in Florida. After finding the reports to be false, police returned to the house party to find that everyone had fled. Brevard Public Schools said the accusations were "disturbing" and put both the teacher and the principal on administrative leave. Both Hill-Brodigan and Anderson were booked into the Brevard County Jail on charges of child neglect and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, while Hill-Brodigan faces an additional charge of hosting a party with alcohol that was accessible to minors. Jail records showed that Hill-Brodigan was released on a $3,500 bond and Anderson was released on a $3,000 bond. Both pleaded not guilty to the charges on Tuesday. Parents of students at the school said they were "disgusted" and "upset" at the reports. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada is ready with a "forceful and immediate" response to tariffs that will be enforced as early as Saturday. President Donald Trump followed through on a threat to impose debilitating tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico, and China. Trudeau signaled that he will respond with tariffs on U.S. products, likely sparking a trade war. 'It's not what we want, but if he moves forward, we will also act.' "We are in a critical moment. As President Trump stated yesterday, he's still committed to placing tariffs on Canada starting on early as tomorrow possibly," said Trudeau in an address from Toronto. "Now we don't know precisely what that could look like, but I do know two things. First, if the president does choose to implement any tariffs against Canada, we're ready with a response. A purposeful, forceful, but reasonable, immediate, response," he added. "It's not what we want, but if he moves forward, we will also act." Trump said imports from Canada and Mexico would face a 25% tariff, while imports from China would be hit with a 10% tariff. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has already threatened to raise Mexican tariffs in response. Trudeau reiterated his point in a message on social media. "No one — on either side of the border — wants to see American tariffs on Canadian goods," he wrote. "I met with our Canada-U.S. Council today. We’re working hard to prevent these tariffs, but if the United States moves ahead, Canada’s ready with a forceful and immediate response."Free trade critics of Trump's tariff plan say that retaliatory tariffs will only lead to a trade war, with higher prices hurting the consumer and resulting in market inefficiencies. "Among Mexico's main exporters to the United States are General Motors, Stellantis, and Ford Motor Company, which arrived in Mexico 80 years ago," said Sheinbaum in her response to Trump. "Why impose a tariff that would jeopardize them? Such a measure would be unacceptable and would lead to inflation and job losses in both the United States and Mexico."Trump has said that he might relent on tariffs on oil imports. ″I’m probably going to reduce the tariff a little bit on that,” he said in reference to oil. “We think we’re going to bring it down to 10%.”Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Titled Elimar, this rediscovered study of a fisherman is believed to have been created during Vincent van Gogh's one-year stay at a French asylum in 1889. The post Researchers Just Concluded That A Painting Bought For $50 At A Minnesota Garage Sale Is A Lost Van Gogh Worth $15 Million appeared first on All That's Interesting.

The trove of original sketches, drafts, and correspondence that once belonged to Winnie-the-Pooh creator A.A. Milne just sold for $118,000 at auction. The post British Man Discovers Rare Collection Of Original ‘Winnie-The-Pooh’ Drawings And Manuscripts In His Late Father’s Attic appeared first on All That's Interesting.

A bill that would allow state residents to sue private companies for restitution is only the latest front in California’s ongoing war on oil producers.