'You saved my life:' Freed hostage Edan Alexander thanks Trump in emotional phone callNew Foto - 'You saved my life:' Freed hostage Edan Alexander thanks Trump in emotional phone call

In an emotional and widely shared moment,President Donald J. Trumpspoke directly with Edan Alexander, the 21-year-old American-Israeli soldier who was recently freed from Hamas captivity, during a phone call captured on camera and released by the White House."Mr. President," Alexander greeted Trump at the start of the call, visibly moved. "You're the only reason I'm here. You saved my life." The phone conversation, which took place while Alexander was recovering at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, came just days after his dramatic release from Gaza, where he was held hostage for over 580 days following his abduction by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023.Hamas Captivity Survivors Appeal To Netanyahu, Trump After Edan Alexander's Release President Trump greeted Edan with a bit of humor and humility, saying "I'm very nervous talking to you, Edan, because you're a much bigger celebrity than I am." Trump also expressed American solidarity and the administration's commitment to bringing all hostages home while on the call. "You're an American, and we love you," Trump told Alexander. "We're going to take good care of you. And your parents are incredible. I saw your mother. She was pushing me around a little bit—putting a lot of pressure on me." "Like a good mom!" exclaimed Edan's mother in the background. Read On The Fox News App American Hostage Edan Alexander Released By Hamas After More Than 580 Days In Captivity The heartfelt exchange was posted online by the official White House account and has quickly gone viral, drawing praise from across the political spectrum for its display of humanity and international unity. Alexander's release came amid intensified U.S. diplomatic pressure and quiet negotiations, coordinated in part by senior envoys Steve Witkoff and Adam Boehler. Trump had previously signaled his determination to secure the freedom of American citizens held abroad and made Alexander's case a top priority. The Alexander family issued a statement thanking President Trump directly, along with the negotiation team and theIsraeli Defense Forces, calling the outcome "a miracle rooted in strength, diplomacy, and prayer." Edan Alexander's homecoming has reignited calls to bring home the remaining hostages still held in Gaza. A coalition of 65 former hostages recently signed a letter urging both President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to "build on this breakthrough" and intensify efforts for a comprehensive agreement to ensure every hostage's safe return. Prime Minister Netanyahuacknowledged the success of this combined effort, stating, "This was achieved thanks to our military pressure and the diplomatic pressure applied by President Trump. This is a winning combination." The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. Original article source:'You saved my life:' Freed hostage Edan Alexander thanks Trump in emotional phone call

bySlavek Pynzarek
in
May 17, 2025

'You saved my life:' Freed hostage Edan Alexander thanks Trump in emotional phone call

'You saved my life:' Freed hostage Edan Alexander thanks Trump in emotional phone call In an emotional and widely shared moment,Pres...
Read More
Pope Leo XIV's inauguration Mass Sunday is filled with symbolism. Here's what you need to knowNew Foto - Pope Leo XIV's inauguration Mass Sunday is filled with symbolism. Here's what you need to know

VATICAN CITY (AP) — PopeLeo XIV's inauguration Mass on Sunday morning in St. Peter's Squareand Basilicais a ritual filled with symbolism that connects back to Peter, Jesus' apostle, and his special mission as head of the Catholic Church. No new role is conferred — the pontiff is already the head of the Vatican and of the faith counting some 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide, tens of thousands of whom are expected to gather in the square alongside government representatives. But Leo will receive two crucial signs of his pontificate, the "pallium" andthe fisherman's ring, marking his role as successor of Peter. Here's what to know about them and more rituals in the solemn liturgy replete with ancient languages and Scriptural references – all after Leo takes a spin around the square in thepopemobile. What's the inauguration Mass? In most parts, it's a celebration of the Eucharist just like any Sunday Mass held in Catholic churches around the world. There will be prayers, music, readings from the New Testament, a homily and Communion, all in the usual order. Symbolism is interwoven even in some of the typical aspects, though. The Gospel passage, for instance, will focus on Jesus giving Peter responsibility as the shepherd of the church — a reference Leo made in his first public words the day he was elected. It will be proclaimed first in Latin and then in Greek. As the main languages of the nascent church 2,000 years ago, today they signify "the church's attempt to reach everyone" and be universal, said the Rev. Giuseppe Midili, a professor and consultant with the Vatican's liturgy office. In a more personal touch, the Vatican says that by the outdoor altar there will be an image of the Mother of Good Counsel — anicon of Maryfrom a sanctuary in a small village outside Rome served byAugustinians, Leo's religious order. The signs of Peter — a vestment and a ring Two of the most significant moments will be right before the homily, when cardinals will give Leo the pallium and his fisherman's ring. The pallium is a narrow stole-like vestment with two pendants to be worn across the shoulders, decorated with crosses representing Jesus' wounds. It's made of white wool in an elaborate procedure where the lambs traditionally were blessed before being sheared, just like for the similar vestments given to archbishops on their ordination. "It's the symbolism of the good shepherd who carries the sheep on his shoulders," Midili said. "Pastor" means shepherd in Latin and Scriptures often refer to the good shepherd who gives his life for his flock, a reference to the crucifixion of Jesus, and of Peter, who was martyred. Leo will receive it from Cardinal Dominique Mamberti, who told the world the new pope's name on May 8. The fisherman's ring recalls the Gospel passage where Jesus appeared to the apostles after his resurrection as they had spent a night fishing with no catch. He told Peter to cast in a specific spot— and the nets strained with lots of large fish, some of which the apostles then shared with Jesus in a lakeside breakfast. An image of Peter with the net, standing for the church's evangelization mission and its unity, is engraved on the ring alongside the pope's name. When a pope dies, the ring is crossed over so it can no longer be used as seal for papal documents. Cardinal Luis Tagle of the Philippines, who was widely regarded as apapal contender, will present Leo with the ring. At the beginning of the celebration, both ring and pallium are taken from the chapel of St. Peter's tomb, underneath the Basilica — where the pope prays accompanied by the patriarchs of eastern rite Catholic churches — out to the altar set up in St. Peter's Square. Meet and greet, from the faithful to world leaders Just after the giving of those two insignia, a delegation representing different roles in the church, from cardinals to the faithful, including a married couple, will greet Leo in the "rite of obedience" that symbolizes the church turning to the new pontiff to follow his guidance. After Mass, Leo will greet the government representatives, royalty and religious delegations. U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, both Catholics representing an administration that oftensparred with Pope Francis, are scheduled to attend Mass for the first U.S. pope. Also expected at Mass, according to the Vatican, are more than 20 heads of state including Italy's president, Sergio Mattarella, and Premier Giorgia Meloni, as well asDina Boluarte, the president of Peru, where Leo has citizenship and spent many years as missionary and bishop. The presidents of two countries involved in wars that Leo mentioned in hisfirst Sunday blessingare also on the list — Israel's Isaac Herzog and Ukraine'sVolodymyr Zelenskyy. Theking and queen of Spainare planning to attend alongside other royalty from Europe and as well as Gulf kingdoms including Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi of the United Arab Emirates. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP'scollaborationwith The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

bySlavek Pynzarek
in
May 17, 2025

Pope Leo XIV’s inauguration Mass Sunday is filled with symbolism. Here’s what you need to know

Pope Leo XIV's inauguration Mass Sunday is filled with symbolism. Here's what you need to know VATICAN CITY (AP) — PopeLeo XIV's...
Read More
Trump budget would cut ocean data and leave boaters, anglers and forecasters scrambling for infoNew Foto - Trump budget would cut ocean data and leave boaters, anglers and forecasters scrambling for info

Capt. Ed Enos makes his living as a harbor pilot in Hawaii, clambering aboard arriving ships in the predawn hours and guiding them into port. His world revolves around wind speeds, current strength and wave swells. When Enos is bobbing in dangerous waters in the dark, his cellphone is his lifeline: with a few taps he can access the Integrated Ocean Observing System and pull up the data needed to guide what are essentially floating warehouses safely to the dock. But maybe not for much longer. PresidentDonald Trumpwants to eliminate all federal funding for the observing system's regional operations. Scientists say the cuts could mean the end of efforts to gather real-time data crucial to navigating treacherous harbors, plotting tsunami escape routes and predicting hurricane intensity. "It's the last thing you should be shutting down," Enos said. "There's no money wasted. Right at a time when we should be getting more money to do more work to benefit the public, they want to turn things off. That's the wrong strategy at the wrong time for the wrong reasons." Monitoring system tracks all things ocean The IOOS system launched about 20 years ago. It's made up of 11 regional associations in multiple states and territories, including the Virgin Islands, Alaska, Hawaii, Washington state, Michigan, South Carolina and Southern California. The regional groups are networks of university researchers, conservation groups, businesses and anyone else gathering or using maritime data. The associations are the Swiss army knife of oceanography, using buoys, submersible drones and radar installations to track water temperature, wind speed, atmospheric pressure, wave speeds, swell heights and current strength. The networks monitor the Great Lakes, U.S. coastlines, the Gulf of Mexico, which Trump renamed the Gulf of America, the Gulf of Alaska, the Caribbean and the South Pacific and upload member data to public websites in real time. Maritime community and military rely on system data Cruise ship, freighter and tanker pilots like Enos, as well as the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard, use the information directly to navigate harbors safely, plot courses around storms and conduct search-and-rescue operations. The associations' observations feed into National Weather Service forecasts. The Pacific Northwest association uses tsunami data to post real-time coastal escape routes on a public-facing app. And the Hawaii association not only posts data that is helpful to harbor pilots but tracks hurricane intensity and tiger sharks that have been tagged for research. The associations also track toxic algal blooms, which can force beach closures and kill fish. The maps help commercial anglers avoid those empty regions. Water temperature data can help identify heat layers within the ocean and, because it's harder for fish to survive in those layers, knowing hot zones helps anglers target better fishing grounds. The regional networks are not formal federal agencies but are almost entirely funded through federal grants through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The current federal budget allocates $43.5 million for the networks. A Republican bill in the House natural resources committee would actually send them more money, $56 million annually, from 2026 through 2030. Cuts catch network administrators by surprise A Trump administration memo leaked in April proposes a $2.5 billion cut to the Department of Commerce, which oversees NOAA, in the 2026 federal budget. Part of the proposal calls for eliminating federal funding for the regional monitoring networks, even though the memo says one of the activities the administration wants the commerce department to focus on is collecting ocean and weather data. The memo offered no other justifications for the cuts. The proposal stunned network users. "We've worked so hard to build an incredible system and it's running smoothly, providing data that's important to the economy. Why would you break it?" said Jack Barth, an Oregon State oceanographer who shares data with the Pacific Northwest association. "What we're providing is a window into the ocean and without those measures we frankly won't know what's coming at us. It's like turning off the headlights," Barth said. NOAA officials declined to comment on the cuts and potential impacts, saying in an email to The Associated Press that they do not do "speculative interviews." Network's future remains unclear Nothing is certain. The 2026 federal fiscal year starts Oct. 1. The budget must pass the House, the Senate and get the president's signature before it can take effect. Lawmakers could decide to fund the regional networks after all. Network directors are trying not to panic. If the cuts go through, some associations might survive by selling their data or soliciting grants from sources outside the federal government. But the funding hole would be so significant that just keeping the lights on would be an uphill battle, they said. If the associations fold, other entities might be able to continue gathering data, but there will be gaps. Partnerships developed over years would evaporate and data won't be available in a single place like now, they said. "People have come to us because we've been steady," Hawaii regional network director Melissa Iwamoto said. "We're a known entity, a trusted entity. No one saw this coming, the potential for us not to be here." ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find the AP'sstandardsfor working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas atAP.org.

bySlavek Pynzarek
in
May 17, 2025

Trump budget would cut ocean data and leave boaters, anglers and forecasters scrambling for info

Trump budget would cut ocean data and leave boaters, anglers and forecasters scrambling for info Capt. Ed Enos makes his living as a harbor ...
Read More
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino: James Comey 'brought shame to the FBI again' with '86 47' postNew Foto - FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino: James Comey 'brought shame to the FBI again' with '86 47' post

FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino issued a sharp and public condemnation of the bureau's former director, James Comey, Saturday, accusing Comey of disgracing the agency as authorities investigateComey's controversial "86 47" Instagram post. In a statement posted to X,Bongino saidComey's actions are another example of failed leadership that continues to haunt the agency. "Former FBI Director James Comey brought shame to the FBI badge, yet again, this past week," Bongino wrote. "The Director and I spend an inordinate amount of time cleaning up messes left behind by former Director Comey. And his latest actions are no exception." Trump Says Comey Knew 'Assassination' Meaning Behind Deleted Social Media Post Comey, dismissed by PresidentDonald Trumpin 2017, sparked outrage after posting a photo to social media Thursday showing seashells arranged to say "86 47," a phrase widely understood to mean to "get rid of" the 47th president. Though Comey later deleted the post and claimed it was misunderstood, many, including Trump, say the meaning was clear. "He knew exactly what that meant. A child knows what that meant," Trump said Friday on Fox News. "If you're the FBI director, and you don't know what that meant,that meant 'assassination,'and it says it loud and clear." Read On The Fox News App Comey offered a follow-up statement online, saying he "didn't realize some folks associate those numbers with violence" and that it "never occurred to me." Bongino strongly rejectedthat explanation, describing it as part of a larger pattern of misconduct. In his post, Bongino wrote: Former Fbi Director James Comey Meets With Secret Service After Controversial '86 47' Post "As the Deputy Director of the FBI, I am charged, standing with Director Patel, with managing the most powerful law enforcement agency in the world. The Director and I are also responsible for looking at grave mistakes made by people within the FBI in the past, and ensuring they never happen again." He stressed the FBI's continuing commitment to supporting federal law enforcement partners investigating any threats involving public officials, past or present. "While the FBI does not have primary investigative responsibility for investigating threats against the POTUS, and we do not make prosecutorial decisions, we do have the ability and authority to support other federal agencies for violations of federal law," Bongino said. "And we certainly have a responsibility to comment on matters involving former FBI officials, and allegations of law-breaking." The U.S. Secret Service has already interviewed Comey about the incident.FBI Director Kash Patelsaid in a separate statement that the bureau is "in communication with the Secret Service and Director Curran." Bongino noted that this latest controversy is part of a general legacy of dysfunction inherited from Comey's leadership, which he and Patel are working to fix from the inside out. "As I've stated in the past, I cannot post openly about all the things the Director and I are doing to reform the enterprise, but I assure you, they are happening," Bongino wrote. "Sadly, many of those agenda items are the result of former Director Comey's poor decision-making and atrocious leadership. "And to those who doubt me, I assure you, when you see what the Director and I see from the inside, it's even worse." Bongino said he chose to post his statement now because his scheduled interview with FOX Business anchorMaria Bartiromo, which will air Sunday on"Sunday Morning Futures,"was recorded earlier in the week, before the Comey post was made public. "I'm addressing this now, rather than on our interview with Maria Bartiromo [Sunday], because we recorded that interview earlier in the week prior to the incident with Comey," he explained. He closed with a message to the country that echoed his support for the law enforcement community and the reforms underway at the FBI. "God bless America, and all those who defend Her," he said. Bongino, a former NYPD officer and longtime Secret Service agent, was appointed deputy director of the FBI earlier this year. His leadership under Director Kash Patel reflects a broader effort by the Trump administration to restore accountability and integrity to the FBI after years of what many see as politically motivated misconduct. The FBI did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for further comment. Original article source:FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino: James Comey 'brought shame to the FBI again' with '86 47' post

bySlavek Pynzarek
in
May 17, 2025

FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino: James Comey 'brought shame to the FBI again' with '86 47' post

FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino: James Comey 'brought shame to the FBI again' with '86 47' post FBI Deputy Director Dan Bong...
Read More
Indian space agency's satellite mission fails due to technical issue in launch vehicleNew Foto - Indian space agency's satellite mission fails due to technical issue in launch vehicle

NEW DELHI (AP) — The Indian space agency's mission to launch into orbit a new Earth observation satellite failed after the launch vehicle encountered a technical issue during the third stage of flight, officials said Sunday. The EOS-09 Earth observation satellite took off on board the PSLV-C61 launch vehicle from the Sriharikota space center in southern India on Sunday morning. "During the third stage ... there was a fall in the chamber pressure of the motor case, and the mission could not be accomplished," said V. Narayanan, chief of the Indian Space Research Organisation. Active in space research since the 1960s, India has launched satellites for itself and other countries, and successfully put one in orbit around Mars in 2014. After a failed attempt to land on the moon in 2019,India became the first country to land a spacecraftnear the moon's south pole in 2023 in a historic voyage to uncharted territory that scientists believe could hold reserves of frozen water. The mission was dubbed as a technological triumph for the world's most populous nation.

bySlavek Pynzarek
in
May 17, 2025

Indian space agency's satellite mission fails due to technical issue in launch vehicle

Indian space agency's satellite mission fails due to technical issue in launch vehicle NEW DELHI (AP) — The Indian space agency's mi...
Read More

 

RICK MAG © 2015 | Distributed By My Blogger Themes | Designed By Templateism.com