President Donald Trump on Sunday night announced that American citizen Edan Alexander, the last American still alive held hostage by Hamas, is to be released and returned home, confirming reports earlier in the day that Hamas was set to turn over Alexander as a gesture of “good will” to the president.
“I am happy to announce that Edan Alexander, an American citizen who has been held hostage since October 2023, is coming home to his family,” Trump said in a Truth Social post. “I am grateful to all those involved in making this monumental news happen.”
Among those directly involved in securing that release was Trump envoy Steve Witkoff, whom the AP reported Sunday afternoon told the outlet that Hamas’s “goal in releasing Alexander was to restart talks on a ceasefire” and increase humanitarian aid in Gaza. Witkoff has been at the center of an internal firestorm
in MAGA politics, with Fox News host Mark Levin on Sunday expressing concerns
about exactly what sort of deal
might have been made.
In his post on Sunday evening, Trump said that the move by Hamas was taken “in good faith” toward reaching an end to the war that began when terror group Hamas committed the atrocities of October 7, 2023.
“This was a step taken in good faith towards the United States and the efforts of the mediators — Qatar and Egypt — to put an end to this very brutal war and return ALL living hostages and remains to their loved ones,” Trump wrote. “Hopefully this is the first of those final steps necessary to end this brutal conflict. I look very much forward to that day of celebration!”
The AP added in their report that Hamas was “advised” to “give a gift to President Trump and in return he will give back a better one.”
Khalil al-Hayyah, a Hamas leader in Gaza, said the group has been in contact with the U.S. administration over the past few days.
Al-Hayyah said in a statement Hamas is ready to “immediately start intensive negotiations” to reach a final deal for a long-term truce, which includes an end to the war, the exchange of Palestinian prisoners and hostages in Gaza and the handing over of power in Gaza to an independent body of technocrats.
Indirect talks between Hamas and the U.S. began five days ago, an Egyptian official and a senior Hamas official told the AP, with both describing the release of Alexander as a gesture of goodwill.
The senior Hamas official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said Alexander is expected to be released on Monday. Hamas was advised to “give a gift to President Trump and in return he will give back a better one,” the official said.
Edan Alexander is 21 years old Israeli soldier and American citizen who grew up in the United States. He’s been held hostage since 2023 by the terror group Hamas.
Ronny Chieng, a Malaysian-born correspondent and host for The Daily Show, recently became a United States citizen.
He described
the experience as akin to “joining an evil empire” on Friday’s Variety‘s Awards Circuit Podcast.
Chieng
said he moved to the US in 2015 to pursue his comedy career
and applied for citizenship while President Barack Obama was still in office.
Almost a decade later, now as an American citizen, the stand-up comedian said he routinely turns down international gigs – in part because he does not know if he could come back if he left.
“It’s kind of 30 years in the making, in the sense that I’ve been trying to come back to America since I left in ’93 when I was seven years old,” he said on the podcast. “I’ve been trying to come back to do stand-up comedy, and I finally got to come back in 2015, 10 years ago, and then citizenship nine years later.”
He added that “it’s a weird time to do it,” because it was America’s cultural exports that attracted him, not things like the Iraq War.
“So it’s weird to join,” he said. “It’s like you’re joining this evil empire, but that’s not why you joined it. It just so happened, the evil empire had some really nice TV shows, and they do stand and they do stand-up comedy in The Death Star.”
Listen:
The comic also said President Donald Trump has a big impact on what the show covers, but he does not know an America without Trumpism.
“I came [to Comedy Central] at the end of 2015, so this Trump thing is all I’ve known,” he said. “This isn’t that new, to be honest. Since I came to America, his shadow has been looming or in charge.”
He concluded Trump’s second term has been “outlandish” and likened covering it to being in a “car wreck every day.”
President Donald Trump announced Sunday that he will sign a sweeping executive order aimed at reducing prescription drug prices by up to 80 percent.
Trump said an executive order was coming to reduce domestic drug prices with a “favored nation” plan he said will raise prices everywhere else in the interest of “fairness.”
In a post on Truth Social that Trump had teased
hours earlier would be “one of the most important and impactful.”
For many years the World has wondered why Prescription Drugs and Pharmaceuticals in the United States States of America were SO MUCH HIGHER IN PRICE THAN THEY WERE IN ANY OTHER NATION, SOMETIMES BEING FIVE TO TEN TIMES MORE EXPENSIVE THAN THE SAME DRUG, MANUFACTURED IN THE EXACT SAME LABORATORY OR PLANT, BY THE SAME COMPANY??? It was always difficult to explain and very embarrassing because, in fact, there was no correct or rightful answer. The Pharmaceutical/Drug Companies would say, for years, that it was Research and Development Costs, and that all of these costs were, and would be, for no reason whatsoever, borne by the “suckers” of America, ALONE.
Campaign Contributions can do wonders, but not with me, and not with the Republican Party. We are going to do the right thing, something that the Democrats have fought for many years. Therefore, I am pleased to announce that Tomorrow morning, in the White House, at 9:00 A.M., I will be signing one of the most consequential Executive Orders in our Country’s history. Prescription Drug and Pharmaceutical prices will be REDUCED, almost immediately, by 30% to 80%. They will rise throughout the World in order to equalize and, for the first time in many years, bring FAIRNESS TO AMERICA! I will be instituting a MOST FAVORED NATION’S POLICY whereby the United States will pay the same price as the Nation that pays the lowest price anywhere in the World.
He concluded, “Our Country will finally be treated fairly, and our citizens Healthcare Costs will be reduced by numbers never even thought of before. Additionally, on top of everything else, the United States will save TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS. Thank you for your attention to this matter. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Trump posted three hours earlier, “My next TRUTH will be one of the most important and impactful I have ever issued. ENJOY!”
Trump made a similar pledge last week during a Tuesday bilateral meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
“A very, very big announcement to make, like as big as it gets, and I won’t tell you on what,” Trump said
from the Oval Office. “And it’s very positive. I would tell you if it’s negative or positive. I can’t keep that. It is really, really positive. And that announcement will be made either Thursday or Friday or Monday before we leave. But it will be one of the most important announcements that have been made in many years about a certain subject. Very important subject.”
Democrats pounced on the news President Donald Trump is to receive an enormous gift
from the nation of Qatar in the form of a “lavishly outfitted Boeing 787 Dreamliner,” described as a “flying palace” previously owned by the Qatari royal family; a “flying grift” according to one Democrat, who has formally demanded an investigation.
The DNC put out a press release
on Sunday with a slew of blistering quotes from various media on the story of what could be the most valuable gift offered to the United States by a foreign power. On social media, the party described it as “corruption in plain sight
.”
Conservatives, too, expressed dismay on social media, even hardcore supports like Laura Loomerjoining in
.
Democratic NY Rep. Ritchie Torres reacted on social media first, writing that “Air Force One will have something in common with Hamas. Paid for by Qatar.”
Air Force One will have something in common with Hamas.
He then went a step further, submitting a letter to Comptroller General Gene Dodaro at the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), acting Department of Defense Inspector General Steven Stebbins, and acting director Jamieson Greer of the Office of Government Ethics demanding an “immediate” review.
“The American people are witnessing, in real time, what can only be described as a ‘flying grift,’” Torres wrote.
He slammed the Attorney General and the DOJ for affixing a “seal of approval” to the gift, referring to the ABC News report that Justice has already drafted a finding for Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth “concluding that is legal for the Department of Defense to accept the aircraft as a gift and later turn it over to the Trump library.”
Torres said the gift “flagrantly violates both the letter and the spirit of the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause. That clause explicitly prohibits any person holding public office from accepting ‘any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.’”
“No one — not even President Trump — is above the law, let alone the Constitution,” said Torres.
He called for the addressed departments to take three immediate steps:
1.Conduct an immediate ethics review of the Qatari gift;
2. Issue a formal advisory opinion on whether the gift violates federal ethics regulations and the Emoluments Clause;
3. Recommend policy reforms to prevent the conversion of foreign gifts into private property by current or former presidents.
MAGA activist Laura Loomer criticized President Donald Trump on Sunday over reports that his administration plans to accept a luxury jet from the government of Qatar, calling the move “a stain” on his presidency.
Loomer
, a longtime Trump loyalist with growing influence within the administration, posted a series of statements on X condemning the acceptance of the $400 million Boeing jet from the country, which she described as a “gift from jihadists in suits.”
“How are we supposed to ever see the US under the Trump admin designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization if the US is now going to accept a $400 million jet from Qatar to fly the US President and his staff around on?” she wrote in one post. “This is something we were promised would happen during the first admin, but it never happened.”
Loomer added:
It’s going to be hard for the admin to designate the Muslim Brotherhood and obliterate Iranian proxies in Hamas and Hezbollah when Qatar funds the Muslim Brotherhood, harbors HAMAS, and the US just accepted a $400 million jet from Qatar. It’s very disappointing.It’s also worth noting that President Trump just signed an executive order on April 23, 2025 requiring US educational institutions to disclose the source of their funding.
How are we supposed to ever see the US under the Trump admin designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization if the US is now going to accept a $400 million jet from Qatar to fly the US President and his staff around on?
Guess where most of that foreign funding is coming from? Qatar and Saudi Arabia. The biggest lobby in DC in the Qatar lobby. We are watching an Islamic takeover of our country in real time.
She shared an ABC News report
that claimed the Trump administration was poised
to acquire the aircraft from Qatar’s ruling family to replace the aging Air Force One fleet.
In a second post, Loomer wrote she was “disappointed” in Trump.
“I love President Trump,” she wrote. “I would take a bullet for him. But, I have to call a spade a spade. We cannot accept a $400 million “gift” from jihadists in suits. The Qataris fund the same Iranian proxies in Hamas and Hezbollah who have murdered US Service Members. The same proxies that have worked with the Mexican cartels to get jihadists across our border.”
I love President Trump.
I would take a bullet for him.
But, I have to call a spade a spade.
We cannot accept a $400 million “gift” from jihadists in suits.
Loomer concluded, “This is really going to be such a stain on the admin if this is true. And I say that as someone who would take a bullet for Trump. I’m so disappointed.”
CBS anchor Ed O’Keefe reported on the recent problems at Newark airport on Sunday’s episode of Face the Nation, including interviewing the CEO of United Airlines Scott Kirby and asking him point-blank if it was safe to fly in and out of Newark.
The latest outage at Newark Liberty International Airport happened overnight and caused a 45-minute ground stop.
According to CNN aviation and transportation correspondent Pete Muntean, it was an air traffic control equipment outage — and the third in the past few weeks, including prior issues regarding radar and radio equipment.
BREAKING: A *new air traffic control equipment outage* caused the FAA to implement a ground stop for Newark flights this morning.
FAA advisories show the ground stop lasted for about 45 minutes. This comes after 90-second-long radar and radio outages on 5/9 and 4/28. pic.twitter.com/fEFt1WMJq2
O’Keefe began the show by reporting on the new outage to introduce an interview with Kirby. The interview was pre-taped on Saturday, before the most recent outage but they were still able to discuss the previous two.
“Newark is a major hub for United Airlines,” said O’Keefe. “We spoke Saturday, before this latest incident, with the airline’s CEO Scott Kirby and asked him, is it safe to be flying in and out of Newark right now?”
“It is absolutely is safe at Newark and in the entire country,” replied Kirby, offering this explanation:
The reason is when these kind of outages happen, we train for them, we have backup procedures, we have backups to backups to backups, to keep the skies safe, which is always the number one priority.
In situations like this, when the [May 9] radar outage happened at Newark, what happens is, the pilots look for alternative frequencies, they go to alternative centers with alternative radars.
And they also have a system in the airplane where they can see — it’s the equivalent of radar — they see their position in the air, in the sky, and all the other aircraft around them. What we do is slow the whole system down, which is disruptive to customers but it is entirely safe.
Kirby added that United had “proactively reduced flights” at Newark, and the FAA was working with other airlines to coordinate similar reductions. “Pruning the number of flights creates more space at the airport, allows the airport to operate effectively,” he said. “There is also runway construction going on over June 15. That will double the capacity when that happens.”
O’Keefe noted that pruning the schedule would mean less supply with demand usually increasing as summer starts. “Doesn’t that potentially mean the cost of a ticket is going up?”
Kirby said that was not happening because “there is less demand because there is concerns about safety,” and the airline had put bigger airplanes on Newark routes. “A larger airplane, fewer flights, bigger airplanes to maintain the number of seats that we have flying in and out of Newark.”
O’Keefe asked about passengers’ safety concerns, because United can control their aircraft, pilots, and schedule, “but you don’t control who is in the tower and how many people are in the tower,” so “how do you assure passengers, given the issues this year with the FAA?”
“We need to upgrade the system to make it world class,” Kirby acknowledged. “But the air traffic controllers are the best in the world. Incredible professionals. And they keep the skies safe. What happens when they are short staffed or there is a technology issue, they slow the airspace down. They put more miles between airplanes. That gives them the ability to manage and handle it. It leads to customer impacts, delay or cancel flights. But it keeps the system safe and that’s absolutely what they should do.”
O’Keefe pressed him further on passenger concerns. “There are still people out there who are genuinely just afraid to fly, especially given the incident here in Washington, the plane that flipped over on a runway up in Toronto, all of the near misses or the clipped wings. What do you say to that person who thinks, ‘okay, you say things are safe, but I see these other issues going on, why should I get on an airplane?’”
“I understand where they are coming from,” replied Kirby. “I read the same headlines they do. But it is the safest industry by far in the world. It’s the safest way to travel by far. The United States is the leader in safety of everyone around the globe. I know that. I am in it and I know it. I understand how people feel and empathize with that. I know that it’s safe because I spent my career, I know all the people in aviation, whether they work at united airlines, other airlines, the FAA. Safety is number one. It is in the core DNA of everyone.”
Texas Republican Rep. Michael McCaul said Sunday the possibility that some House Democrats could face arrest for their actions outside a New Jersey ICE facility is “obviously” a “very drastic” step in the situation. The Mayor of Newark was already arrested in connection with the protest, sparking outrage among other Democrats.
House Foreign Affairs Committee and House Homeland Security Committee member Rep. McCaul joined CBS News senior political correspondent and host Ed O’Keefe for Sunday’s edition of Face the Nation
, and talked mostly about President Donald Trump on the topics of Israel, Ukraine, and foreign affairs.
McCaul expressed somewhat the same view in his Sunday interview, but with the implicit caveats that he isn’t sure whether they actually did cross it.
“I’m just curious, should ICE be arresting or even threatening to arrest members of Congress?” O’Keefe asked.
“I mean, that’s obviously a very drastic move. I would only do that if they were complicit with a crime,” he said. “I don’t know all the facts behind this. If they were just visiting a detention center, that’s — I’ve done that many times. If they’re disrupting law enforcement, that’s another question.”
McCaul said that it will come down to whether the Democrats impeded law enforcement or were “complicit with gang violence against our law enforcement.”
O’Keefe, for his part, only asked whether ICE should be threatening arrests, but did not ask McCaul if the Democrats should have done what they were were doing.
O’KEEFE: There is one issue, though, back here at home, I want to talk to you about again, because you’re a member of the House Homeland Security Committee. Over the weekend, we saw Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrest the mayor of Newark, New Jersey outside a federal detention center, and they’re now threatening to arrest three Democratic members of Congress for allegedly assaulting or touching an ICE agent there on the scene. I’m just curious, should ICE be arresting or even threatening to arrest members of Congress?
MCCAUL: I mean, that’s obviously a very drastic move. I would only do that if they were complicit with a crime. I don’t know all the facts behind this. If they were just visiting a detention center, that’s — I’ve done that many times. If they’re disrupting law enforcement, that’s another question. So, you know, we can peacefully protest in this country, but you cannot be complicit with gang violence against our law enforcement. And I think perhaps that’s what it comes down to.
Professional golfer Phil Mickelson took a swipe at Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom this week, mocking the state’s inability to complete a high-speed rail project that has been talked about for years.
Newsom
announced Wednesday on his X page that California would be suing President Donald Trump over his decision to withhold billions of dollars in funding approved by Congress for electric vehicle infrastructure.
“California is filing a lawsuit against President Trump for withholding billions of dollars approved by Congress for electric vehicle infrastructure,” Newsom wrote. “This is yet another Trump gift to China — ceding American innovation and killing thousands of jobs. We are not letting up.”
California is filing a lawsuit against President Trump for withholding billions of dollars approved by Congress for electric vehicle infrastructure.
This is yet another Trump gift to China — ceding American innovation and killing thousands of jobs.
The California High-Speed Rail project was first approved by voters in 2008. It was originally supposed to offer a convenient land route stretching from Los Angeles and San Francisco.
The state has spent billions on the project so far, but not a single section of track has been completed. USA Today reported
last year:
The system was planned to cover 500 miles from San Francisco to Los Angeles for $33 billion and be operational by 2020. But the full buildout is now projected to cost as much as $128 billion, according to the authority. It is prioritizing getting an initial 171-mile stretch in central California operational in the early 2030s. And the project is significantly underfunded.
Yet those cost overruns and delays are far less than what is claimed in the post. It is impossible for the Fresno River Viaduct, the 1,600-foot-long structure pictured in the post, to cost $11 billion, based on publicly available information.
In Newsom’s Wednesday lawsuit announcement
, his office said he was working toward a “clean transportation future,” which Trump risked jeopardizing.
Border czar Tom Homan on Saturday warned Democrats that if they “cross that line” from protesting to impeding, they will be arrested, and said that their protesting isn’t really about due process anyway, but simply politics.
The man tasked with enforcing the border policies of President Donald Trump joined anchor Alicia Acuna on Fox News Live Saturday, where he defended the arrest of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, a Democrat, at a detention facility in New Jersey.
After Acuna showed footage of New Jersey Democrat Robert Menendez Jr. speaking at the protest outside the facility and describing their actions as “oversight,” Homan said that its one thing to oppose ICE and deportations, but if you cross the line, you’ll be arrested.
“There’s a proper way to conduct oversight,” Homan said. “You don’t break into the facility when a bus full of criminals are being, you know, brought into that facility.”
He also told Acuna that the politicians aren’t really there for the sake of due process anyway.
“This isn’t about due process, this isn’t about constitutional rights, this is about politics. They simply don’t want these people removed from this country,” he said. “They don’t want immigration enforcement in this country and that’s what it’s all about.”
And he warned that there is a point at which objection becomes obstruction, saying the government won’t be deterred.
“They can try to hide all they want with these protests around the facility but we’re gonna continue doing what we’re doing,” he said. “They can stand out and scream all they want. They can trespass, they’ll be arrested. If they impede, they will be arrested, if they knowingly harbor and conceal, they’ll be arrested. We’re going do this job for the American people.”
ACUNA: You know, you have members of Congress there as well, and they’re arguing that this was a matter of oversight. I want you to listen to what Congressman Robert Menendez Jr. Said yesterday.
MENENDEZ (CLIP): They were there to conduct oversight, it’s a newly opened facility. They want to spin people. This is exactly what they’ve done their entire administration. They talk about criminals, they’re separating families.
ACUNA: Conducting oversight in this manner. Tom?
HOMAN: This is not the proper way to do it, there’s a proper way to conduct oversight. There’s a way to make appointments, go in this facility. You don’t break into the facility when a bus full of criminals are being, you know, brought into that facility.
This is about the safety and security of the employees, this is about safety and the security of illegal aliens, and it’s about the security and safety of the public. You just don’t make an entry like that, you don’t make an unauthorized entry while they’re moving a bus of criminals in the facility. There’s the right way and wrong way to doing that.
Look, I’ve said it from day one. You can not support ICE. You can go ahead and support sanctuary cities, but you can’t cross that line. You can’t across the line of impediment. You can cross the line of knowingly harboring, concealing illegal aliens. And you certainly can’t trespass in a facility that’s contracted by the U.S. Government to house criminals. That’d be like breaking into, you know, a state prison, not going through the proper protocols.
This creates a huge safety crisis, and these elected politicians know that.
This isn’t about due process, this isn’t about constitutional rights, this is about politics. They simply don’t want these people removed from this country. They don’t want immigration enforcement in this country and that’s what it’s all about. They can try to hide all they want with these protests around the facility but we’re gonna continue doing what we’re doing.
That facility’s got some of the worst of the worst. We’re keeping President’s promise, President Trump’s promise to the American people that elected him for this sole reason of securing the border and removing these public safety threats from the communities. That’s exactly what they’re going to do.
They can stand out and scream all they want. They can trespass, they’ll be arrested. If they impede, they will be arrested, if they knowingly harbor and conceal, they’ll be arrested. We’re going do this job for the American people.
President Donald Trump reacted to comments from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin that they were willing to meet in person in Turkey on Thursday by issuing a rare rebuke of the Russian leader in urging a quick meeting to end Russia’s “BLOODBATH.”
Putin delivered a “rare, late-night televised address on Sunday” in which he proposed “direct talks” with Zelensky in Istanbul on Thursday, according to a report
by CNN, demanding that the meeting be conducted “without any preconditions.” However, both Zelensky and European allies have said that a 3o-day ceasefire starting on Monday would be a prerequisite for this in-person negotiation.
Several hours earlier, leaders of Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and Poland visited Zelensky in Kyiv, Ukraine and publicly called for Putin to agree to the ceasefire or face potential “massive sanctions.”
It is a positive sign that the Russians have finally begun to consider ending the war. The entire world has been waiting for this for a very long time. And the very first step in truly ending any war is a ceasefire.
There is no point in continuing the killing even for a single…
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 11, 2025
“It is a positive sign that the Russians have finally begun to consider ending the war,” tweeted Zelensky. “The entire world has been waiting for this for a very long time. And the very first step in truly ending any war is a ceasefire.”
“There is no point in continuing the killing even for a single day,” he added. “We expect Russia to confirm a ceasefire – full, lasting, and reliable – starting tomorrow, May 12th, and Ukraine is ready to meet.”
Zelensky followed up with a similar sentiment several hours later, Sunday evening Ukraine time.
We await a full and lasting ceasefire, starting from tomorrow, to provide the necessary basis for diplomacy. There is no point in prolonging the killings. And I will be waiting for Putin in Türkiye on Thursday. Personally. I hope that this time the Russians will not look for…
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 11, 2025
“We await a full and lasting ceasefire, starting from tomorrow, to provide the necessary basis for diplomacy” he wrote. “There is no point in prolonging the killings. And I will be waiting for Putin in Türkiye on Thursday. Personally. I hope that this time the Russians will not look for excuses.”
Trump commented on the coming peace talks by calling for the meeting to be moved up in a Sunday Truth Social post that was heavy in its use of the caps lock.
The president called on Putin to end what he described as the ongoing “BLOODBATH” in Ukraine.
“President Putin of Russia doesn’t want to have a Cease Fire Agreement with Ukraine, but rather wants to meet on Thursday, in Turkey, to negotiate a possible end to the BLOODBATH,” he wrote. “Ukraine should agree to this, IMMEDIATELY. At least they will be able to determine whether or not a deal is possible, and if it is not, European leaders, and the U.S., will know where everything stands, and can proceed accordingly! I’m starting to doubt that Ukraine will make a deal with Putin, who’s too busy celebrating the Victory of World War ll, which could not have been won (not even close!) without the United States of America.
He ended the post in all caps: “HAVE THE MEETING, NOW!!!”
Last Thursday was the 80th anniversary of the unconditional surrender of the German government to the Allies, which brought an end to the Second World War in Europe.
This article has been updated with additional information.
