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The family of Austin Tice, a former Marine turned journalist who was kidnapped by jihadist militants in 2012 while reporting in Syria say he is still alive, citing a “significant source” that they did not identify but said had been vetted by the U.S. government and treated as credible. Tice, 43, was a captain in the Marine Corps and journeyed to Syria as an independent journalist in May 2012, before his final year at Georgetown Law School. The Texas native was covering events in Syria for McClatchy, The Washington Post and other news organizations report, when he disappeared just days after turning 31. He was abducted while reporting in Damascus on the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. There has been no claim of responsibility for his abduction. AUSTIN TICE: WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT AMERICAN JOURNALIST MISSING IN SYRIA “We have from a significant source that has been vetted all over our government: Austin Tice is alive,” his mother Debra Tice told journalists at the National Press Club on Friday, before going to the White House for a meeting with other relatives.  “He is being cared for and he is well — we do know that,” Debra Tice said. A video released weeks after his abduction showed him blindfolded and held by armed men and saying, “Oh, Jesus.” The men in the video have Tice bound and blindfolded. They chanted “Allah-Akbar” throughout the clip and at one point, forced him to recite a prayer in broken Arabic. He has not been heard from since.  Syria has publicly denied that it was holding him. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met with Tice’s family Friday afternoon, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters. “Jake Sullivan did have a meeting with Austin Tice’s family this afternoon, and … Jake Sullivan has regularly met with the families of wrongfully detained Americans,” she said. “We’re going to continue to make sure that we get Americans who are wrongfully detained or Americans home to their families.” “Austin Tice’s family, I can’t even imagine what they’re going through,” she added. The meeting unfolded amid ongoing turmoil in Syria, as insurgent fighters who have already captured the northern city of Aleppo, the country’s largest, are pressing their march against President Bashar Assad’s forces. BIDEN SAYS US KNOWS ‘WITH CERTAINTY’ THAT AMERICAN JOURNALIST AUSTIN TICE IS BEING HELD BY SYRIA Austin Tice’s sister, Naomi, said she asked officials whether there was a way to leverage the unrest to help secure Austin’s freedom. “We were basically just told that we need to wait and see how it pans out” — a response she said may have been “understandable” but was “beyond frustrating.” Tice’s father, Marc, said they are confident that this information is fresh. He said it indicated as late as earlier this year that Austin is alive and being cared for.  “And we do hope to make as much of this public as we can,” he said. He was frustrated that state officials had secured the release of other U.S. hostages in recent months.  “We have seen what real commitment looks like. We’ve seen it in Russia. We’ve seen it in China, we’ve seen in Venezuela, we see it in Gaza,” he said, referring to places where hostages have been released in recent months. “And we’ve yet to see it for us.” In August 2020, President Biden called on Syria to release Tice, saying the U.S. government knows “with certainty” that he is being held by the Syrian regime.  In June 2017, the New York Times reported that then-CIA Director and current Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had reached out to a Syrian government official in an effort to secure Tice’s release. The backchannel shut down, however, after Syria launched a nerve gas attack on rebel-held territory in the northern part of the country. The Trump administration responded with a missile strike and negotiations fell through. In April 2018, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) offered a $1 million reward “for information leading directly to the safe location, recovery, and return of” the former Marine. Pompeo called upon the Syrian government to release Tice, and any other American hostages being held in Syria, back in September 2019 while addressing members of the media. In the final months of the Trump administration, two U.S. officials — the government’s top hostage negotiator, Roger Carstens, and Kash Patel, now Trump’s pick to lead the FBI — made a secret visit to Damascus to seek information on Tice and other Americans who had disappeared in Syria. Debra Tice said that when President-elect Trump was last in office, he had “an obsession” with her son and bringing him home.  “It’s already on his mind. He’s already ready to go get him home,” she said of Trump Friday, per the Washington Post.  “Whatever kinds of feelings you may have, this mama has a really good feeling for someone who’s going to take care of her child — I would take that from anyone.” Fox News’ Nick Givas, Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report.  Latest & Breaking News on Fox News Read More

Burger King has a royal offer for loyal customers – and maybe even McDonald’s lovers, too. On the same day that McDonald’s revealed the return of its Snack Wrap, Burger King announced that customers can get a free Royal Crispy Wrap all weekend long with a purchase of $1 or more on its app. The announcement appeared to be in response to a McDonald’s X post on Thursday. MCDONALD’S CHICKEN NUGGETS COME IN THESE 4 SHAPES AND HERE’S WHY The post teased the return of its Snack Wrap in 2025. Within hours, Burger King’s X account shared a similar post. But this one had a specific date of 12.05.2024. Burger King’s Royal Crispy Wrap deal began on Friday. It runs through Sunday at participating locations. The Royal Crispy Wrap was introduced last year and comes in three flavors – classic, spicy and honey mustard.  It is made with crispy white meat chicken, lettuce and tomato in a soft tortilla. CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER Meanwhile, the Snack Wrap has been missing from McDonald’s menus since it was discontinued in 2016. The exact date of its return remains under wraps for now. For more Lifestyle articles, visit www.foxnews.com/lifestyle Burger King and McDonald’s did not immediately respond to inquiries from Fox News Digital seeking comment on the wrap battle. In other fast food news, McDonald’s USA President Joe Erlinger apologized earlier this week for the E. coli outbreak that killed one person and sickened more than 100 others in 14 states. Erlinger also said that McDonald’s is no longer working with the supplier of the raw slivered onions used in Quarter Pounders that led to the outbreak, according to comments he made to “Good Morning America.”  ARE ONIONS SAFE TO EAT AFTER THE E. COLI OUTBREAK? WHAT YOU MUST KNOW The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on Tuesday that the outbreak is over. Erlinger said that although the investigation has concluded, “the work’s not done at McDonald’s.” Latest & Breaking News on Fox News Read More

‘Tis the season to pull out all your holiday lights and brighten up your home for the holidays. There’s no better way to join in on the festivities than by illuminating your home with the warm, inviting glow of festive lights. Inside your house, the shimmer of twinkling string lights can brighten your mood and get you in the holiday spirit, while outside lights bring cheer to all your neighbors and passersby. These indoor and outdoor lighting options are sure to turn your whole home into a bright, colorful beacon of festive cheer. Indoor Outdoor Original price: $9.98 White string lights are the best lights for a classy Christmas display. Whether you’re turning your mantle into a beautiful Christmas village or just want to add some lights to your tree, this 100-count of warm white string lights can help you create a festive holiday scene. GET YOUR HOME HOLIDAY-READY WITH THESE 18 DECORATING DEALS Original price: $18.99 Bringing out the snowflakes means winter, and therefore, Christmas is almost here! This cute string of mini-snowflake lights are battery-operated, so you can put them anywhere. The included remote also lets you easily turn the lights on and off and change between the different lighting modes. Original price: $25.99 Looking to wrap your entire interior in Christmas lights? The extra-long 95-foot warm white lights roll from Amazon can help you do exactly that. Prefer the look of bright white lights? Walmart has an 82-foot roll of string lights. Most purchases can be delivered to your door in 24 hours if you’re an Amazon Prime member. You can join or start a 30-day free trial to start your holiday shopping today. Original price: $40.99 Wrap garland down your stairs, put it on your mantle or drape it over an archway when you want a festive display. This nine-foot garland has LED lights already wrapped in it, so you can light up all your Christmas scenes with ease. Original price: $45.99 Brighten up your holiday window displays with this four-pack of Christmas window lights. You’ll get a snowman, candy cane, a snowflake and a wreath. You’ll get everything you need to hang the lights, and a long cord so you can plug them in almost anywhere. Original price: $49.99 When you start seeing candles in every window, that means the holidays are here! Get your own set of 10 LED window candles from Amazon that are safe and long-lasting. You can also find flameless candles from Walmart. Celebrate Hanukkah by lighting up your home with these Hanukkah string lights. They’re battery-operated lights shaped like menorahs to give you the festive feel you’re looking for. Original price: $219.99 A giant light-up snowflake is the perfect centerpiece for your outdoor décor. This 60-inch white snowflake gently sparkles to imitate falling snow. You can hang it anywhere on your home with the help of the metal eyelet hooks on each of the branches. 10 TOYS THAT WILL BE HOT THIS HOLIDAY SEASON Original price: $59.99 While you’re waiting for the snow to fall, get a snowflake projector that projects onto your home or garage. It creates a bright, beautiful display of holiday spirit with just one light. You can find a snowflake projector on Amazon or at Walmart. Instead of classic white lights, add some whimsy to your holiday season with icicle lights. They hang nicely from your house to create a beautiful, sparkling icicle effect. Original price: $179.99 You can get a professional look from your lights with these outdoor dot string lights from Govee. Long enough to wrap around the entire edge of your house and durable enough to withstand harsh winter weather, you can use these lights year after year. There are millions of color combinations you can choose from, so you can leave the lights up all year and change the colors depending on the holiday. Original price: $262.20 Turn your front yard into your very own Christmas tree farm with this lighted outdoor Christmas tree. The faux Christmas tree is easy to stake into the ground and is controlled by a remote. Light up your driveway or walkway by lining them with candy cane LED lights like these from Home Depot. You get a set of eight lights spanning 14 feet, and you can connect multiple pairs for longer paths. Amazon also has a set of taller candy cane LED lights that are bright and easy to put up. For more deals, visit www.foxnews.com/category/deals Original price: $159 Reindeer are a staple of Christmas, so decorate your lawn with as many reindeer as you see fit. You can go with a single LED reindeer from Wayfair or get a whole family of reindeer from Walmart.  Latest & Breaking News on Fox News Read More

Though the case is nearly a decade old, the Clinton Correctional Facility escape is garnering interest once again thanks to a new audience giving it attention.   The fictionalized true-crime series “Escape at Dannemora,” starring Patricia Arquette, Benicio Del Toro and Paul Dano, originally aired on Showtime in 2018 before Netflix began streaming it in late October of this year. Since then, viewership of the show has spiked, and details about this real-life prison break have caused a stir once more.   Dannemora is a small town in upstate New York with a current population of a little over 3,000 people. In 2015, two inmates at the Clinton Correctional Facility, which borders Dannemora, concocted an alleged escape plan with the help of prison worker Joyce “Tilly” Mitchell.   TED BUNDY LAWYER REVEALS WHAT ‘TOTALLY FASCINATES’ HIM ABOUT BRYAN KOHBERGER CASE At the time, Richard Matt and David Sweat were both serving time at the maximum-security prison for murder.   Matt was convicted of second-degree murder of his former boss, William Rickerson, 11 years after Rickerson’s body parts washed ashore in North Tonawanda in New York state. Matt was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.  In a separate incident, Sweat pleaded guilty to the fatal shooting of Broome County Sheriff’s Deputy Kevin Tarsia in 2002 and was sentenced to life in prison.   Despite their criminal behavior, the inmates were housed in the “Honor Block” of the Clinton Correctional Facility, a tier reserved for inmates who demonstrated good behavior and were given additional privileges like cooking stations, televisions and phone accessibility.   Matt and Sweat also worked together in the prison’s tailor shop under the supervision of Mitchell, who allegedly had sexual entanglements with the two, despite her denial of any sexual relations with either of them. After “Escape at Dannemora” debuted, Mitchell openly criticized Ben Stiller, who directed all series episodes, as a “liar” who “doesn’t care about the truth.”  However, due to her involvement in the escape plan, Mitchell pleaded guilty and was charged with promoting prison contraband and criminal facilitation in 2015. Another prison worker, veteran corrections officer, Eugene Palmer, was also charged with promoting prison contraband and tampering with physical evidence due to his own alleged involvement with the inmates’ escape plan.  With the alleged aid of Mitchell and Palmer, on June 6, 2015, Matt and Sweat escaped Clinton Correctional Facility.  Leading up to the escape, Sweat left his cell every night for three months to chip away at the walls and pipes using hacksaw blades and other tools provided by Mitchell to provide a pathway out. Per the report filed by the State of New York Office of the Inspector General, and what was detailed in the television series, “[Sweat] and Matt cut every evening from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., while most other Honor Block inmates were at the mess hall or engaged in recreation on the first-floor ‘flats.’ Sweat said officers did not question why he and Matt remained in their cell during these hours because it had long been their habit to cook their own dinners and paint in their cells.”   While one cut for 15 or 20 minutes until he tired, the other stood by his cell door with a mirror watching for an officer making rounds. In the event an officer approached, the cutting ceased and they quickly turned to diversionary activities such as listening to a radio on headphones, watching television, painting, or pretending to be asleep.”  However, a key point left out from the show’s telling of the story is the institutional failure of the prison guards to perform routine checks which would have quashed Sweat’s efforts and likely prevented the escape from happening.  CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION The Inspector General’s investigation also revealed “that officers on the night shift in the Honor Block conducted night counts inadequately, or not at all, over a long period, failing to detect Sweat’s near-nightly absences from his cell as well as Sweat’s and Matt’s escape late on June 5. These failures are startling, given that night-shift officers have virtually no responsibility other than performing counts and rounds with no distraction from inmate activity or movement to programs. In addition, the investigation found that officers throughout the prison completed and certified night count forms before the counts were actually conducted.”  Twenty days after their escape, Matt was found alone, after separating from Sweat, approximately 30 miles west of the prison. Failing to surrender, he was shot and killed by police.   A couple of days later, New York State Police Sgt. Jay Cook spotted Sweat jogging down a road in a town only five miles south of the Canadian border. He was shot twice in the torso, and after being treated in the hospital for wounds, he was sent back to prison to resume his life sentence.   He never returns to Dannemora but instead first goes to Wende Correctional Facility in Buffalo, NY where he is under 24-hour surveillance in solitary confinement. However, state records show Sweat is currently incarcerated in Mid-State Correctional Facility in Marcy. He continues to serve a life sentence without the possibility of parole.  And, as of February 2020, Tilly Mitchell was released from prison after serving nearly five of her seven years.  CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM KELLY HYMAN Latest & Breaking News on Fox News Read More

Wealthy parents of children enrolled at an elite private school in New York City could still receive some form of financial aid despite their high income, according to a new report. According to The New York Times, a Léman Manhattan Preparatory School chart reveals that households making up to $600,000 may qualify for financial support if they have two children enrolled. Households with a whopping income of up to $800,000 could also receive some form of aid with three children attending the school. Léman, located in the Financial District of Manhattan, welcomes students from over 70 countries and educates K-12 children. The school charges approximately $67,300 a year for most grade levels. ‘THE VIEW’ CO-HOSTS CLASH OVER SCHOOL CHOICE: ‘SHE’S BEEN TALKING FOR THREE MINUTES!’ “One of the common misperceptions about financial aid at independent schools is that it is only for families who need the most significant amounts of aid,” Paige Murphy, a Léman spokeswoman, told The Times. Murphy noted that the tuition chart highlighted by The Times offers “transparency” to parents regarding the financial aid process—an aspect of education she suggested has “long been shrouded in mystery.” The Times noted that Léman is part of a growing trend among private schools in New York City with formidable enrollment costs. The Dalton School, a private preparatory institution on the Upper East Side, revealed that families earning $40,000 combined with a “low to moderate level of personal assets” may qualify to have their $64,300 tuition cut in half (with two children enrolled). HOW MOST SCHOOL CHOICE POLICIES WILL ALLOW GOVERNMENT TO ‘DESTROY’ PRIVATE SCHOOLS: NONPROFIT PRESIDENT The associate head of the Chapin all-girls school, Xiomara Hall, told The Times that number “reflects the fact that New York is one of the most expensive cities in the country.” Despite the high cost of living and goods, affluent parents in New York City are still willing to shell out for an education that boasts small class sizes, professional connections and a chance to attend some of America’s most coveted universities. “When these kids graduate from college, they will go to their friends’ parents for jobs,” Dana Haddad, a former admissions director, told The Times. “You can’t put a price on that.” Fox News Digital reached out to The Dalton School and Léman Manhattan Preparatory School but did not immediately receive responses. Latest & Breaking News on Fox News Read More

IN TODAY’S NEWSLETTER: – OpenAI CEO Sam Altman looking forward to working with Trump admin, says US must build best AI infrastructure– Meta to build $10 billion AI data center in Louisiana as Elon Musk expands his Tennessee AI facility– LA Times owner announces planned AI-powered ‘bias meter’ for stories, columns READY AND WILLING: Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, on Sunday said he is looking forward to working with the incoming Trump administration, adding that he thinks President-elect Trump will succeed at helping to make America a world-leading force in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. ‘NEW CHAPTER’: Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry praised Meta’s plans to build a new artificial intelligence data center in the Pelican State, calling it the “largest private capital announcement.”  PRESS FOR FAIRNESS: LA Times owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong announced the upcoming AI feature on Wednesday in an interview with conservative commentator and newly appointed Times editorial board member Scott Jennings on “The Mike Gallagher Show,” which Jennings was guest-hosting. ‘NOT THAT WORRIED’: Elon Musk’s possible political influence under the incoming Trump administration is not a concern for OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who dismissed claims that the X owner would use lawfare to stifle competition. NO TENNIS PARTNER?: Imagine having a personal tennis coach who never gets tired, always hits the perfect shot, adapts to your skill level and is available 24/7. Enter the PongBot, a groundbreaking artificial intelligence-powered tennis robot that’s turning heads in the tennis world.  FOLLOW FOX NEWS ON SOCIAL MEDIA FacebookInstagramYouTubeTwitterLinkedIn SIGN UP FOR OUR OTHER NEWSLETTERS Fox News FirstFox News OpinionFox News LifestyleFox News Health DOWNLOAD OUR APPS WATCH FOX NEWS ONLINE Fox News Go STREAM FOX NATION Fox Nation Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future with Fox News here. Latest & Breaking News on Fox News Read More

Walter Wanger, who suspected that his movie star wife was having an affair, had enough. On Dec. 13, 1951, the once hotshot film producer, who had fallen on hard times, grabbed his gun, determined to teach Joan Bennett and her Hollywood agent, Jennings Lang, a lesson. Wanger headed to MCA, Lang’s agency, where he saw his spouse’s Cadillac convertible parked outside. Hours later, after the sun had set, the couple arrived in Lang’s car. Wanger, who was “gripped by a jealous rage,” leaped out of his vehicle and confronted the pair. Following a war of words, Wanger shot Lang twice. One bullet grazed the agent’s thigh, while the other struck him in the groin. FRANK SINATRA, DEAN MARTIN’S BEVERLY HILLS BRAWL ALMOST LEFT PROMINENT MILLIONAIRE DEAD: AUTHOR The shooting that rocked Hollywood during its golden era is featured in a new book, “Beverly Hills Noir: Crime, Sin, & Scandal in 90210,” by author and longtime People magazine contributor Scott Huver. It explores some of the most outrageous incidents to occur in the star-studded city. “When [Wanger] made the decision to physically confront his wife and her agent, he was in a bad place financially and emotionally,” Huver told Fox News Digital. “He was on top of the world in Hollywood,” Huver shared. “He was a very influential, respected producer. And when things started to go badly, his whole self-image was beginning to crumble. “He’d certainly made insinuations that he was willing to take some kind of action when he realized that his wife was involved with her representative. But I think what pushed him over the edge was the actual receiving of the reports from the private detective that confirmed all his suspicions.” “Once he knew, it just gnawed at him,” Huver continued. “It was a compulsion. He had to get in their faces. Look at how sloppily he did it — he did it outside the talent agency in the parking lot, which happened to be directly across the street from the Beverly Hills City Hall and police station. It wasn’t some stealth operation. It was the act of a desperate man.” At the time, Wanger had declared bankruptcy, although creditors didn’t believe him, The Hollywood Reporter revealed. Huver pointed out that Wanger became dependent on Bennett to pay their bills. CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER Meanwhile, he hired a private eye to follow her, who later shared that she and Lang were spending time together in New Orleans, in the Caribbean and in the Beverly Hills apartment of agent Jay Kanter, one of Wanger’s friends. “Joan Bennett and Jennings Lang grew close when Walter Wanger’s fortune hit the skids,” Huver explained. “She became the breadwinner when they were in danger of losing their house… which was initially her house built on her fortune from making movies. So, as she was trying to support their family, their children, she became more and more reliant on Jennings Lang, who was truly a terrific agent… and he was a great-looking guy. “They became so enmeshed that, yes, there was a heat between them, but I think she became pretty dependent on [Lang] emotionally when her husband wasn’t there for her as he was dealing with his own struggles in the business.” WATCH: ‘50S FILM PRODUCER SHOT MOVIE STAR WIFE’S AGENT: BOOK Wanger and Bennett married in 1940. While he was a well-known womanizer, she yearned for a conventional home life. “He was a powerful man in Hollywood, and he expected that everything was going to be his way,” Huver explained. “Now, he had previously been married, and in that marriage, it was reportedly an open marriage, and neither he nor his wife had any issues with any relationships that happened outside. “But Joan was pretty insistent on a traditional marriage, even though she’d been married a couple of times… She wanted a traditional family. She wanted stability.” LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS Wanger and Bennett seemingly had a “picture-perfect marriage” and were a Hollywood power couple, Huver pointed out. But when Wanger began to lose his grip on his star status and finances, it “pushed him to the brink.” “They used the defense of a bluish flash going off in his brain that pushed him to this,” said Huver. “And… in a way, that’s… what happened. He finally just snapped… And even though what was good for him wasn’t good for her on paper, he just decided that he could no longer tolerate it.” While Bennett had sought comfort in Lang, Huver said he wouldn’t call the relationship “a full-on love affair.” “It seemed to be something they were both invested in,” he explained. “It went on for quite some time. But as soon as the jig was up, they didn’t try to resume it. They didn’t spend time together after that. There [weren’t] any love letters that anybody knows about being passed back and forth.” Police were just “steps away” when a bleeding Lang was raced to the hospital. Bennett, who was “wide-eyed with horror,” quickly regained her composure and got to business. “She made sure that Jennings… was going to be taken care of, and then showed up at the police station to face… whatever music she needed to face,” said Huver. “The police chief of Beverly Hills was a very tough character, and she went toe-to-toe with him and held her own. She both impressed him and earned his grudging respect.” “Then she faced the press,” said Huver. “She knew that to hide from it and try to dodge it was not going to be an effective strategy. She was going to be hunted and stalked. So, she welcomed the press into her own home to have a press conference. While kind of dismissing the idea that Walter had any reason to act, she also told the public she hoped they wouldn’t think badly of Hollywood people because of this incident.” “That’s how the old Hollywood system worked,

As a Florida community mourns the loss of three law enforcement officers killed in a tragic crash last month, one local boy is stepping up to help with a timeless childhood venture — a lemonade stand. “I saw a need and I just thought that’s what Jesus would do,” 9-year-old Charlie Allsup said during an interview on “Fox & Friends First,” Thursday. “I do what Jesus would do, so I just thought I could help.” Charlie’s little sister attends the same daycare as the son of fallen Palm Beach Deputy Sheriff Ignacio “Dan” Diaz, which inspired Charlie to set up his lemonade stand to raise funds for the family’s tuition costs. TRUMP, DESANTIS JOIN THOUSANDS TO MOURN 3 FLORIDA DEPUTIES KILLED IN ROADSIDE CRASH Diaz, Deputy Sheriff Ralph “Butch” Waller and Corporal Luis Paez were struck by and killed by a Jeep SUV on Nov. 21 while stopped with their motorcycles on the shoulder of Southern Boulevard. Waller and Paez were pronounced dead at the hospital shortly after the crash, while Diaz was in critical condition and underwent surgery at the hospital, but later succumbed to his injuries.  Thousands attended a memorial Tuesday morning in West Palm Beach, including President-elect Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. So far, Charlie’s lemonade stand has raised nearly $4,000 — enough to cover several months of daycare tuition for the Diaz family. “When families go through tragedies like this, they don’t always know what they need,” said Charlie’s mother, Christina. “What Charlie really did was give the families the ability to focus on the next minute, the next hour, the next day and not have to think of all those other burdens. And he gave our community the ability to contribute as well.” The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office described Diaz as someone who “bravely fought but ultimately lost his battle due to injuries sustained in the tragic crash.” Diaz had served with the department since 2004, spending more than a decade in the motor unit. Christina, who is married to a law enforcement officer, says watching her son take on this project has been emotional.  “Parenting is hard, and I think as parents a lot of times we question whether the choices we are making are the right ones for our kids,” she said. “Then when you see something like this it really makes you feel good, like I must be doing something right.”  Latest & Breaking News on Fox News Read More

LUANDA, Angola — It could have been the symbol of President Biden’s seemingly jinxed trip to Angola.   Postponed in 2023 due to the wars in the Middle East.    Postponed again in 2024 due to the catastrophic hurricanes in the south. And on the only full day of the first-ever trip to Africa for Biden as president, the skies opened up, sending torrential rain down and flooding poorly drained streets. It almost halted the presidential and press convoy’s one-hour ride out of the capital Luanda for Biden to make a speech at the National Slavery Museum of Angola. BIDEN PLEDGES $1B IN AID TO AFRICA AS NORTH CAROLINA RESIDENTS CONTINUE TO STRUGGLE AFTER HELENE Of course, all this came in a week when other news was pounding down as hard as that rain. First, Biden’s self-inflicted pardoning of son Hunter. A Manhattan murder of a top executive. The collapse of two governments of our most important allies. And the ongoing dramas surrounding Trump’s Cabinet picks. But as Biden does, he made it, not daring to walk up the slick marble steps to the museum itself, but standing at a podium dramatically located along the Atlantic coast with shafts of sunlight piercing through the dark clouds. He spoke of the role the colonial masters played in shipping out thousands to a life of servitude, including to the United States. Angola was a major player in the Atlantic slave trade. “It’s our duty to face our history,” Biden noted, “the good, the bad and the ugly. But he also dealt with the real reason for the trip — helping the strategically-located southwestern African country of Angola steady itself to prepare for the future. By 2050, just 25 years from now. Africa will be the most populous continent in the world. “In many ways, Africa’s success will be the world’s success. And I said at the U.S.-Africa Summit in 2022, the United States is all in on Africa’s future,” Biden said. BIDEN TRAVELS TO AFRICA WHERE POLICIES WERE ‘OVER-PROMISED AND UNDER-DELIVERED,’ AMID MASSIVE CHINA EXPANSION To deal with the present, Biden made a surprise announcement of $1 billion in U.S. humanitarian aid to help those displaced in Africa by droughts and extreme weather. Earlier in the day, in a one-on-one meeting with Angolan President João Lourenco, Biden dealt with the future. There was a big focus on the Lobito Corridor, a rail and infrastructure project backed with $4 billion from the U.S. It is aimed at bringing to an Angolan port critical minerals from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia and agricultural products and other industrial goods from Angola. “We work together to mobilize more capital,” Biden declared, “to build more infrastructure, to help make these solutions real, to help Africa lead the way.” Critics scoffed that this was just a “too little, too late” attempt to catch up with China, which for years has been busy with infrastructure and other projects all across Africa. In an interview with Fox News, White House National Security communications director John Kirby pushed back, saying. “It’s about them (the Angolans) catching up and keeping up and be more involved … in terms of bringing product to market.”  BIDEN APPEARS TO REST HIS EYES AT AFRICAN SUMMIT IN ANGOLA An anticipated mention of an expanded U.S. military role in Angola did not materialize. The U.S. already sends hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid to the country. There’s new talk of a U.S. base there to counter the Russian military’s increasingly active presence on the continent. But the “elephant” that did lurk at every meeting and gathering was the fact that Biden is now a very lame-duck president and how incoming President-elect Trump, who never made a trip to Africa during his first term in office, who even made derisory comments about certain countries there, would handle it all. In a recent interview, the Angolan president said he would work with whoever is president.    And, actually, in an interview with Fox News, former Trump Africa envoy J. Peter Pham told us he thought many of the projects could survive, especially if China feels a sting.  He added, however, “I do think the new administration will ask some very tough questions about our investments on the continent, where they go and whether it’s the best return on capital.” On the last day of his trip, Biden inspected the Lobito rail hub, where the huge project converges. In a roundtable with other regional leaders, after he noted he was an Amtrak rail fan, he was seen closing his eyes and holding his head in his hands as if he were sleeping, much like he probably dozed on those commuter rides for decades as a senator between Washington and Delaware. Most in Angola seemed to think, however, the 82-year-old president played his role fairly well in what was called his “global finale.” The test will come when it is seen if any of the benefits from these projects trickle down beyond the super-rich in oil-rich Angola, to the mostly young Angolans who are desperate for a life and living. “Just the fact that an American is coming to Angola is a good thing,” one Luanda resident told us. Despite bad timing and bad news elsewhere … a lot of people here have hopes. Latest & Breaking News on Fox News Read More

President Biden’s decision to go back on his pledge not to pardon his son Hunter dominated media headlines this week and opened him up to severe bipartisan criticism in the final weeks of his presidency. The pardon spares Hunter Biden from his sentencing in two federal cases involving federal tax charges and felony gun charges, but also covers all potential crimes he “has committed or may have committed” from Jan. 1, 2014 to Dec. 1, 2024.   While many liberals defended Biden after the news broke last Sunday, some Democratic Party figures, including former top aides to President Obama, accused the president of making his defenders look “stupid” and complicit in his lie. Several journalists and media commentators also predicted that the decision would tarnish Biden’s legacy, particularly after he had been praised effusively for his initial promise not to pardon his son. Here are ten of the top media reactions to the Hunter pardon. ‘MOST DAMNING EVIDENCE’: HUNTER BIDEN’S FULL PARDON RESURFACES DECADE OF CONTROVERSIES, ‘INFLUENCE-PEDDLING’ NBC News chief political analyst Chuck Todd blasted Biden in comments on “Meet the Press NOW” on Wednesday, saying that Biden had undermined faith in U.S. institutions by claiming his son had been “unfairly” targeted. “You have the leading Democrat in America and the leading Republican in America both agreeing on one thing: the Justice Department has been politicized. That is absolutely – that is long-term damaging,” Todd told host Ali Vitali. Todd claimed the move would give President-elect Donald Trump a “permission slip” for future pardons and, in particular, blanket pardons. “Unprecedented acts – any presidential act becomes a permission slip for the next president. And we have seen this through history, through our own history and how the presidency has worked: once one thing has happened, suddenly it becomes, ‘Well, we’ve done it before. So we can do it again’ type of thing,” he lamented. “So now we’re in a situation where every party is going to come in, and as they leave, everybody gets their security blanket pardon. ‘OK, how long do you want it? You want a 10-year window?’” Todd continued. CNN anchor Jake Tapper argued that President Biden’s decision to pardon his son after the White House had denied he would do so is an indictment of his administration. MSNBC POSTS ANOTHER CRITICAL RATINGS LOW AMONG CRITICAL DEMO  “President Biden lying about this, of course, makes others in his administration and allies either credulous or complicit, including White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who‘s been saying this for months to the American people,” Tapper said, before showing Jean-Pierre denying plans to pardon Hunter multiple times.  Tapper said there was a “political benefit” to Biden and his allies telling this lie. “In June, when Hunter Biden was found guilty on three felony gun charges, his father, the president, was still running for re-election against former President Donald Trump and Democrats and progressives saw this as an opportunity to contrast the current and former president,” he continued. Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett and Tommy Vietor, often referred to as the “Obama bros” due to their tenure in the White House, discussed the ramifications of Biden’s pardon on their “Pod Save America” podcast on Tuesday. The former Obama aides accused Biden of “lying” and making his supporters “look like they’re full of s—” by pardoning Hunter after saying he would not do so. “Now everyone looks stupid. Everyone looks like they are full of s—,” Vietor said. “And Republicans are going to use this to argue it was politics as usual when Democrats warned of Trump’s corruption or threat to the rule or the threat to democracy. And I think that’s the piece of this I am most frustrated with, which is Joe Biden looking like a typical, lying politician. And I think that leads to a cynical feeling that all politicians are bad. They are all the same and that this is just par for the course.” “I believed him. I feel like a f—ing fool, that’s what makes me mad about it,” Favreau admitted. Popular radio host Charlamagne Tha God criticized Biden for going back on his word, leading to a clash between him and co-host Whoopi Goldberg on “The View.” “He could have said [to reporters’ past questions about a Hunter pardon], ‘Hey, man, I’m not focused on that right now.’ But since they were calling Trump a threat to democracy and saying nobody is above the law, but they were speaking about him, that’s what they were running on, so when he kept saying things like… ‘Nobody is above the law, I respect the jury’s decision, in regards to my son.’ He didn’t believe that. But he didn’t have to volunteer that lie to begin with,” Charlamagne said. “I’m going to stop you for a second, only because you don’t know that it was a lie,” Goldberg said. “You really think he just changed his mind over Thanksgiving weekend, all of the sudden?” Charlamagne shot back. “I think he changed his mind because he got sick of watching everybody else get over,” Goldberg insisted. “At some point you get to the place where you just go, ‘So I’m just going to follow the straight and narrow always,’ because that’s what’s expected of Democrats.” HUNTER BIDEN PARDON: MEDIA TAKES LATEST BLOW TO CREDIBILITY WITH BOTCHED COVERAGE OF BROKEN PROMISE Charlamagne pushed back and said, “That’s their fault,” referring to Democratic rhetoric about protecting U.S. institutions. NBC News’ Todd offered another, more personal critique of President Biden over the pardon, saying that Biden clearly “needs therapy.” “Joe Biden’s got—needs therapy and I say this with respect. He has not processed Beau’s death. He has an issue—he cannot, he has this issue with Hunter. He second-guesses everything he’s done with raising Hunter versus raising Beau. He, I think, blames himself for Hunter’s inability to conduct himself as an adult for a period of time,” Todd said. The NBC analyst, who said he had somewhat of a personal relationship with Biden’s sons