This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A major milestone was reached Monday in the campaign for peace in the Middle East, specifically between Israel and the terrorists of Hamas who attacked the democratic nation in 2023, slaughtering 1,200 and kidnapping hundreds more.
The last 20 living hostages were released by Hamas.
It came as part of a multi-point plan developed under the administration of President Donald Trump that called for the release of the hostages. Future points will set up a governing organization to make decisions for Gaza, where Hamas has ruled in recent years.
Trump, in addressing Israel's Knesset on the agreement between Israel and Hamas, pointed out that previous American administrations, under Barack Obama and Joe Biden, failed in pursuit of that very goal.
"All of the countries in the Middle East that could have what we're doing now, it could have happened a long time ago, but it was strangled and set back almost irretrievably by the administrations of Barack Obama and then Joe Biden," Trump said, citing the then-"hatred" toward Israel.
"We had a very weak [Biden] administration. Worst president in the history of our country by far, and Barack Obama was not far behind, by the way," Trump said.
The violence, however, may not be gone forever.
Previous peace pauses often have been broken up by violence of the Islamists, and some of those groups issued a warning even as the peace deal was beginning to take effect.
"Factions stressed that they have no intention of laying down their weapons, and that they plan to continue military activity to achieve their objectives," explained a report at the Middle East Media Research Institute.
The statement from various "factions" said, "At this decisive historic moment, we reiterate and emphasize our loyalty to the martyrs, to the prisoners, to the wounded, and to the resistance fighters, and our adherence to our people's rights to their land, homeland, holy sites, and dignity. [We also emphasize] our determination to continue with the resistance in all its forms until our rights are achieved – first and foremost the removal of the occupation, self determination, and the establishment of an independent state with full sovereignty with Jerusalem as its capital."
The statement was identified as coming from Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
They also rejected "foreign guardianship" of the Gaza Strip and demanded to be part of the region's administration.
That means, the report said, Hamas would be rejecting vital components of Trump's peace plan, even though they officially had agreed, and had released hostages as part of the bargain.
"Underlining that the factions' negotiating team was keeping in mind 'our people's demands to stop the war of extermination,' it called this first stage of the ceasefire 'an essential step towards the urgent demand of our people – a final cessation of the criminal war, an end to the aggression against Gaza, the withdrawal of the occupation, and the lifting of the siege,'" the report said.
The factions suggested that international oversight was only for reconstruction and development.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
The top leaders of the Jewish nation of Israel have been caught on video, in fact, multiple videos, actually cheering for President Donald Trump, who has been described by Democrats and other leftists as a "Hitler."
The cheers followed Monday the release of the last of the hostages taken and held by the terrorists of Hamas in their act of war against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
It was a plan assembled by Trump and his advisers, now being put into place, that at least for now halted the Israeli army's advance into Gaza against Hamas, and providwed the release of the last of the living hostages.
They had been taken by terrorists on that 2023 day when invaders also slaughtered about 1,200 Israeli citizens.
A headline at Not the Bee captured the sentiment, saying, "Man compared frequently to Hitler gets standing ovation from Israeli parliament for peace deal."
And it follows a years-long campaign by Democrats and others in the far left to deride Trump as a "Hitler."
They've often used that most-vile of epithets to complain that he's totalitarian, that he's dictatorial, that he's, in short, "Hitler."
In recent months they've expanded that to calling his supporters "Nazis."
One incident happened just weeks ago.
Trump was at a Washington, D.C., restaurant as pro-Palestine protesters from Code Pink called him "Hitler."
"Stepping out into the nation's capital since his crackdown on crime, Trump, along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, dined at Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab. While walking through the restaurant, a video obtained by CNN and posted on X by the outlet's White House reporter Samantha Waldenberg shows Vance approaching a table to greet customers.
"Enjoy your dinner," Vance said as protesters were heard in the background.
Trump was then seen walking straight toward the protesters as they yelled, "Free D.C., Free Palestine. Trump is the Hitler of our time!"
Those wild shouts now have been contrasted by the enthusiasm for Trump and his work that was revealed through the cheers of the Knesset, Israeli's lawmaking body, when Trump appeared after the release of the Israeli hostages.
Leftists even have accused conservatives and Republicans over and over of, when they raise their hands in any fashion, including to wave to the crowd, using the Nazi salute.
WND has reported calling someone "Hitler" means that they are the worst.
And that's a key mantra used by Democrats against Trump.
A report in the New York Post explained, "White House staffers and campaign aides first started using the term after Trump dined with rapper Kanye West and notorious Holocaust skeptic and white nationalist Nick Fuentes at his Mar-a-Lago estate two days before Thanksgiving in 2022," Politico reported.
The report noted the response often follows what some consider outlandish comments from Trump.
"Hey, did you see what Hitler Pig said?" Biden aides will say in those situations, the report said.
"Why do Biden and other top Democrats continually compare Donald Trump to Hitler, and not only that, but also slander his supporters as Nazis and fascists?" asks author and WND Vice President and Managing Editor David Kupelian. "They do it because, if Trump really were another Hitler, and if Christian conservatives really were Nazis and fascists, then all the normal rules of society – all laws, all moral standards, all boundaries – would vanish, which is exactly how the radical Left likes things: No rules.
"Of course," he adds, "their premise is insane: Adolf Hitler murdered 11 million people, Donald Trump murdered zero. Yet in their minds, they're in a war against Hitler. In which case it becomes not only morally permissible – but a moral imperative – for them to daily lie, bribe, steal, censor, rig elections and much more, if doing so enables them to get rid of Hitler and save millions of innocent lives."
"Trump campaign adviser Chris LaCivita argued that the nickname is more of a reflection of the White House staffers that use it," the Post reported.
"[Politico] thinks this is funny it's actually more a representation of what a rag they've become and the level of s–t that works in the White House 'Hitler Pig,'" he wrote on X.
A report in Politico said, "that moniker," is "one that aides to and allies of the president – generally younger, more digitally native individuals, not senior staffers, one person clarified – frequently use to describe Trump."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Calling the ideology of violence that permeates Islamic Shariah beliefs and law "incompatible" with American society, U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, has suggested a plan that would allow individuals who pursue that extremism to be deported.
And it would prevent foreign nationals who follow Shariah from entering the U.S.
A report at the Federalist explained the plan called, "Preserving A Shariah-Free America Act."
"Any alien in the United States found to be an adherent of Shariah law by the Secretary of State, Secretary of Homeland Security, or Attorney General shall have any immigration benefit, immigration relief, or visa revoked, be considered inadmissible or deportable, and shall be removed from the United States," explains Roy's plan.
Under the proposal, immigration benefits could be revoked for those found among those supporting Islamic religious law, which includes vicious punishments for offenses such as when women appear in public without their Islam-mandated head and face coverings.
"Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any determination made by the aforementioned Department heads under this Act shall be final and shall not be subject to review by any court," the law would require,
Roy told the Federalist, "America is facing an existential threat — the spread of Shariah Law. From Texas to every state in the union, instances of Shariah Law adherents have threatened the American way of life, seeking to replace our legal system and Constitution with an incompatible ideology that diminishes the rights of women, children, and individuals of different faiths."
He added, "America's immigration system must be fortified to counter the importation of Shariah adherents — the preservation of our constitutional republic and its people depend on it."
The plan comes just as Hamas terrorists were releasing, under President Donald Trump's brokered peace agreement, hostages they had taken during an act of war against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. That's when terrorists invaded and slaughter some 1,200 Israelis and took hundreds hostage.
Despite those atrocities, some Hamas elements said the violence was not enough.
"We did not act enough! We did not act enough. Repeat after me, 'We did not act enough.' If we acted enough, the headline behind me would read, 'Gaza has been liberated,'" yelled one terrorist sympathizer at a protest on the second anniversary of the attack. "So our work is not done. We will show up, stronger than we did the first Oct. 7. Louder than we did the first Oct. 7 to make it clear that we are not going anywhere."
Shariah adherents routinely chant "Death to America" as their slogan.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Amid a nation torn apart by leftist agendas of racism and sexism, even body-mutilating campaigns for transgenderism, where Democrats and other progressives protest when suspects in criminal cases are charged and law-enforcement efforts actually are blocked, where for years Democrat presidents have ridiculed and belittled the Christian faith, a huge event developed in Washington, D.C.
It followed an agenda that hit high points when Barack Obama ridiculed a group of people for "clinging" to their Bibles, then told the international community America no longer is a Christian nation, and when Hillary Clinton derided her "basket of deplorables" to include members of faith, and Joe Biden made among his highest priorities the LGBTQ agenda which sets itself in direct opposition to the basic teachings of Christianity.
The event, in fact, was a communion service with tables stretching more than a mile.
In the Christian church communion involves members of the faith taking a small token, often a wafer or cracker, and a bit of juice or wine as a representation of the body and blood of Jesus Christ, whose own sacrifice as the blameless lamb took on the sins of the world, providing forgiveness and an open door to salvation for eternity through acceptance of that gift.
A report at CBN said thousands of people gathered on the National Mall to "lift up the name of Jesus."
"The blowing of the Shofar symbolized the National Mall becoming Holy Ground for planting seeds of spiritual renewal. Thousands of believers came together, representing all 50 states, as well as Puerto Rico and Israel," the report said.
Speakers declared, "Jesus, we need your leadership. We repent!"
"Breaking up into small groups, some knelt, sat, or stood. All holding hands as they fervently prayed for God to have an impact on the nation," the report said.
CBN explained participant Andrea Lafferty said, "And when they sang about the blood of Jesus. You know bloodshed in America. They've taken it from beyond pro-life to meaning bloodshed in our schools, in our streets. This is a new opportunity for us to speak life into our awesome nation."
David Bradshaw organized the event, under the name of Communion America, and told CBN, "I believe that God is calling the Church outside the four walls. And so we're believing for tables of communion and outbreaks of worship and outreach on every university in America."
The communion table on the mall stretched for a mile or more between the Washington Monument and the U.S. Capitol.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
It is the next step in the war against InfoWars, the Alex Jones organization that was sued over his comments about the Sandy Hook school shooting and the families involved. And it's gone to the Supreme Court.
Jones, who was declared liable for more than a billion dollars in damages in default judgments from two different judges, is challenging those rulings.
Jones has submitted an appeal to the high court that centers on a judgment in Connecticut.
He charges the default judgment was improper because it presented an incomplete picture of his statements about Sandy Hook, it made too much of "trivial" discovery issues, and it undermined Supreme Court precedent on the First Amendment rights of media defendants, like him, according to a blog that focuses on the high court and its issues.
"Viewed in full context, Jones expressly affirmed that deaths occurred, while using the phrases 'staged' or 'hoax' to characterize media and governmental scripting. It is therefore contextually impossible to construe his remarks as denying deaths, as the Complaint did by selective editing. Precisely to guard against such distortions, this Court has required independent judicial review of the entire record in First Amendment cases," said the petition.
He is seeking emergency relief because he charges that allowing the collection of the full $1.4 billion judgment while his appeal is being reviewed would inflict "irreparable injury."
He warned that Sandy Hook families would take control of his InfoWars and turn it over to another company, the Onion.
"Without a stay now, when this case is reviewed and later reversed, InfoWars will have been acquired by its ideological nemesis and destroyed — which Jones believes is the Plaintiffs' intention. Hence, Jones will clearly experience irreparable injury if a stay is not granted," his application said.
The report explained Jones is a longtime talk-show host who had built a platform for comment and discussion.
He repeatedly has addressed "conspiratorial claims about major world events, such as that the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013 was staged or that the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 were an inside job," the report said.
In this case, after the 2012 shooting that left 20 children and six adults dead, Jones repeatedly criticized coverage and suggested parts of the events were staged to push for new gun limits.
Family members of victims sued, both in Connecticut and Texas.
Both judges ruled against Jones by default.
After the judgment, the companies filed bankruptcy petitions and that process has not yet yielded a final result.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
All of the remaining living hostages taken by Hamas terrorists in that horrifying act of war on Oct. 7, 2023, now have been released.
The Israel Defense Forces confirmed online their release under President Donald Trump's brokered peace deal for the Middle East shortly before Trump arrived in Tel Aviv.
All 20 hostages were released after being held by Hamas for more than two years. The final 13 remaining hostages released were Elkana Bohbot, Rom Braslavski, Nimrod Cohen, Ariel Cunio, David Cunio, Evyatar David, Maxim Herkin, Eitan Horn, Segev Kalfon, Bar Kupershtein, Yosef-Chaim Ohana, Avinatan Or, and Matan Zangauker, according to a report from the Washington Examiner.
Seven were released in an initial transfer early Monday.
The IDF said the hostages were turned over to the Red Cross before being transferred to the IDF, to be brought to the Re'im base in southern Israel, the report said.
The events were livestreamed to watchers who gathered at Tel Aviv's Hostages Square, which has been the site of protests since Hamas terrorists launched the war, killing some 1,200 civilians often in horrific slaughters in addition to taking hundreds hostage.
"I share in the joy of the families and the joy of the people of Israel, following the recent transfer of seven of the hostages into the hands of the Red Cross. We only recently met with their parents," French President Emmanuel Macron said when the hostage releases started. "Their release, alongside the expected release this morning of 13 additional hostages, brings with it renewed hope for peace — for Israel, for Gaza, and for the entire region. France will take part in all stages of the plan led by the president of the United States, Donald Trump, alongside the Arab partners that France has rallied for this endeavor. But for now — let the joy fill the heart."
Israel also conducted a series of releases of Palestinians who had been taken into custody also.
A billboard expressing gratitude to the president for his work toward the peace agreement and hostage releases greeted Trump on his arrival.
Trump said, "We're so happy for them. They're going to be happy, and they're going to have a great life. They've been very brave."
A report from Fox said Trump hailed the events as a "new beginning."
He was to address Israel's lawmaking body, Knesset.
"This is my great honor — a great and beautiful day. A new beginning," the president said, in a guest book.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Most Americans, if asked to identify the single biggest problem currently wracking their nation, probably would point to the overwhelming and ongoing crime, corruption and chaos directly resulting from years of staggering levels of illegal immigration into their country.
After all, until the inauguration of Donald Trump as president last January, the Biden administration had perversely, some even say treasonously, not only allowed but essentially invited and enabled millions of illegal aliens, including tens of thousands of convicted murderers, rapists, gang-members and sex-traffickers – not to mention large hordes of surly, tight-lipped, military-age Chinese men – to freely cross the U.S.-Mexico border to spread their criminality and treachery throughout America. And don't forget the legions of cartel-linked drug-smugglers responsible for this nation's current epidemic of fentanyl poisoning, the No. 1 cause of death of Americans 18-45.
Fortunately, President Trump has taken mighty strides to stop the madness, virtually sealing the southern border and deporting many illegal-alien criminals. Meanwhile, his Department of Homeland Security is working to track down the "nearly 448,000 unaccompanied alien children who entered the United States illegally over the last four years," many of them victims of sex trafficking and other abuses, as Homeland Security Inspector General Joseph Cuffari recently testified before Congress.
So, illegal immigration – or to put it more candidly, the intentional, full-scale foreign invasion of America engineered and enabled by today's radicalized Democratic Party – remains a massive and ongoing problem for all decent, law-abiding Americans.
But then there is the other, largely invisible half of America's immigration problem, about which most Americans know virtually nothing.
And that is the focus of the latest Whistleblower Special Report just released by WorldNetDaily, and titled "OUTSOURCED AMERICA: How the India Lobby, corrupt immigration programs and rampant offshoring are decimating the U.S. workforce." The editors consider this special expanded Whistleblower edition so crucial that the digital edition of "OUTSOURCED AMERICA" is being made available FREE to everyone requesting it.
"OUTSOURCED AMERICA" does not focus merely on the few outrages that occasionally manage to make headlines, such as Microsoft's recent expulsion of THOUSANDS of American workers in favor of cheaper foreign techies. Rather, Whistleblower exposes in stunning detail, a result of months of original and painstaking investigative reporting, exactly how and why MILLIONS of qualified, educated and experienced American workers have been facing a silent but devastating crisis: being intentionally excluded from their own country's workforce.
Through a detailed analysis of public records, government data, insider case studies, firsthand testimonies and more, this exclusive and in-depth report presents indisputable evidence that America's workforce, enforcement systems and job protections have been systematically and intentionally undermined and transformed.
As this special report explains at its outset: "Whistleblower's investigation exposes a coordinated, systemic restructuring of the U.S. labor market, engineered through legal immigration loopholes, offshoring strategies, corporate lobbying and foreign government influence, especially on the part of India and its affiliated actors. It documents how this system is not accidental or organic, but deliberately built, maintained and expanded to benefit foreign interests while massively displacing U.S. workers, hollowing out domestic opportunity and compromising America's national security."
The predictable result of this betrayal? A literal epidemic of broken American workers and their families, characterized by deprivation, suffering – and sometimes worse.
The whole massive yet vexingly underreported issue is laid bare and documented in Whistleblower as never before, in the sincere hope the Trump administration will act to end this huge and ever-growing injustice – the invisible other half of America's immigration crisis.
Highlights of "OUTSOURCED AMERICA" include:
* "India is China 2.0" by Elizabeth Farah
* "How the India Lobby, corrupt immigration programs and rampant offshoring are decimating the U.S. workforce" by Amanda Bartolotta
* "IT engineer fired by Disney and required to train foreign replacement breaks down during Senate testimony"
* "How India uses trade deals and corporate lobbying to funnel its workforce into America"
* "How America's Judeo-Christian culture is rapidly being replaced" by David Kupelian
* "Prominent mathematician/economist Eric Weinstein unearths plot to 'orchestrate lower wages' for American scientists. 'As the study makes clear, the problem being solved was not a problem of talent, but one of price: Scientific employers had become alarmed that they would have to pay competitive market wages to U.S. Ph.Ds'"
* "Clinton, Bush, Obama, Biden: How U.S. administrations enabled India's rise through American systems: A decades-long policy arc that sabotaged America's workforce while advancing India's global economic strategy"
* "U.S. President Joe Biden: India is 'the most important country in the world to me'"
* "Key U.S. officials advocating pro-India policies"
* "Trump aide Stephen Miller vents on India: 'They engage in a lot of cheating on immigration policy that is very harmful to American workers'"
* "Immigration policy plus DEI: A toxic combination that's ruining American lives"
* "'Indentured servitude': Gov. Ron DeSantis attacks H-1B visa program as 'total scam': 'A lot of these Republicans say, You can have a million people plow in. As long as it's legal, that's good. Is that REALLY good?'"
* "It's not just about jobs. It's a national security risk"
* "Cybercrime is rampant in India"
* "Why Clorox is suing an Indian company for $380 million"
* "India is also a leader in illegal immigration to America"
* "Trump: The 'disruption' that gave American workers hope."
* … and MUCH more in this special expanded Whistleblower special report.
"This is truly one of the most important Whistleblower issues we've ever published," says bestselling author and longtime Whistleblower Editor David Kupelian. "Visa abuse has grown into a genuine monster, upending and destroying American lives in numbers that are hard to contemplate.
"For the American worker who has played by the rules, worked hard, gotten educated, paid his dues and landed a good-paying STEM job (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) with a U.S. company, being fired so he or she can be replaced with a less-qualified but cheaper and more controllable foreign replacement is humiliating enough. But often the fired U.S. worker is also required by the company to train his or her foreign replacement, which can take months.
"Sometimes," adds Kupelian, "it's worse than humiliating, as when 41-year-old software developer Kevin Flanagan committed suicide after being fired from his job at Bank of America and told he had to train his foreign replacement. This so distressed Kevin that, after clearing out his desk, he walked out to his truck in the BofA parking lot, pointed a Remington 12-gauge shotgun to his head and pulled the trigger.
"For most U.S. workers so ignominiously kicked out of their job," concludes Kupelian, "the result is less horrific – but still devastating for their livelihood and their family's wellbeing, and profoundly destructive of the American Dream. This injustice is being repeated hundreds of thousands of times, all across America. Yet precious few people know of its extent, its cause – and its solutions. The dedicated journalists putting together this edition of Whistleblower hope to change all that."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Forfeiture schemes abound across America. Government agents have been known to see money in a traveler's luggage, take it and keep it.
But it could be that the tide is turning, with the latest ruling from the Texas First Court of Appeals that reversed a civil-forfeiture judgment in Harris County.
The decision ordered the state to return to Ameal and Jordan Davis a total of $41,680.
The ruling confirmed, "Harris County's evidence was legally insufficient to prove the cash was intended to be used to purchase a controlled substance—confirming that private property, including cash, cannot be taken on mere suspicion."
"Cash is not a crime," said Arif Panju, managing attorney of the Institute for Justice's Texas office. "Today the First Court of Appeals entered judgment for Ameal and Jordan and ordered their life savings returned. That's a decisive win for due process and a sharp rebuke to civil forfeiture based on hunches."
The fight dates to 2019 when the Davises decided to pursue the dream of owning their own trucking business. They saved money from jobs, tax refunds, and by keeping expenses low—eventually accumulating more than $40,000, enough for Ameal to rise from truck driver to truck owner, the IJ said.
When Ameal was ready to buy his truck, driving from Natchez, Mississippi, toward Houston, he was stopped by police officers in Harris County. They took his cash and released him.
"Although the government's forfeiture case involved no drugs or drug dealers whatsoever, and Ameal was never charged with any crime, the county nevertheless pursued civil forfeiture. After a six-day trial, a jury found the money was intended to be used to possess a controlled substance at some point in the future; the trial court entered judgment for forfeiture," the IJ said.
However, the appeals ruling said the state's evidence failed.
There was no evidence of any "substantial connection" between the money and the alleged and undefined "drug offense."
"This ruling makes clear that the government can't take people's property without evidence of a crime," said James Knight, attorney at the Institute for Justice. "Ameal and Jordan fought back, and today's decision restores what was theirs and strengthens protections for everyone who carries cash."
A class action lawsuit over Harris County's practices of taking citizens' money remains pending.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
President Trump Saturday vowed to get members of the military paid Oct. 15 despite the ongoing government shutdown that has prevented nearly all federal employees from being paid.
In a Truth Social post, Trump said he directed Secretary of War Pet Hegseth to find the funds to make good on payday Wednesday, saying, "we have identified funds to do this."
Insisted Trump, " I will not allow the Democrats to hold our Military, and the entire Security of our Nation, HOSTAGE, with their dangerous Government Shutdown."
The federal government has been partially shuttered since Oct. 1 due to a lack of a law funding its various agencies.
Here is Trump's post:
Chuck Schumer recently said, "Every day gets better" during their Radical Left Shutdown. I DISAGREE! If nothing is done, because of "Leader" Chuck Schumer and the Democrats, our Brave Troops will miss the paychecks they are rightfully due on October 15th. That is why I am using my authority, as Commander in Chief, to direct our Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to use all available funds to get our Troops PAID on October 15th. We have identified funds to do this, and Secretary Hegseth will use them to PAY OUR TROOPS.
I will not allow the Democrats to hold our Military, and the entire Security of our Nation, HOSTAGE, with their dangerous Government Shutdown. The Radical Left Democrats should OPEN THE GOVERNMENT, and then we can work together to address Healthcare, and many other things that they want to destroy. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
DONALD J. TRUMP
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
After two years in brutal captivity under Hamas, Israeli hostages are expected to begin to get released today. But when, specifically, will that release begin?
Appearing on "Sunday Morning Futures" with Maria Bartiromo on the Fox News Channel, Vice President JD Vance gave the latest update. "It's hard to say [when the release will begin] because obviously this is a war zone," he said. "They have to locate the hostages, they have to gather them up, they have to take them to a safe place and then transport them, so it's a little bit unpredictable. But we've been told to expect them by tomorrow, Israel time, which of course will be early morning here in the United States. We'll see what happens, but the president is extremely confident these hostages are going to come home. He's actually flying to the Middle East later today so he can welcome them in person."
Vance pointed out how the corporate media continuously criticizes the president's leadership and diplomatic style. However, whatever the criticism, the president actually gets results. "It's an amazing thing, but I think that it shows the power of President Trump's non-conventional leadership style, and that's why we're here," said Vance. "I think the whole country — we should just be proud. We should be proud of this negotiating team, we should be proud of our country, because these hostages are going to live their lives thanks to what the United States of America did."
Speaking with reporters aboard Air Force One en route to the Middle East, Trump said the 20 hostages may be released "a little bit early."
"So, they have the hostages — I understand all 20 — and we may get them out a little bit early," Trump said. "Getting them was amazing, actually, because we were involved, and they were in places you don't want to know about."