Marco Rubio

Oct. 27 (UPI) — U.S. immigration authorities have detained British journalist and political commentator Sami Hamdi, who was in the country on a speaking tour.

Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin confirmed Hamdi’s detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on X, saying his visa was revoked and that he would remain in ICE custody pending removal.

“Under President [Donald] Trump, those who support terrorism and undermine American national security will not be allowed to work or visit this country,” she said in a statement.

“It’s common sense.”

The Council on American-Islamic Relations said Hamdi was detained Sunday morning at San Francisco International Airport, stating his arrest was due to his criticism of Israel and its war in Gaza that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians.

Hamdi was speaking at a series of CAIR-scheduled speaking events. On Saturday he spoke at CAIR Sacramento’s annual gala and was to speak Sunday at a CAIR Florida gala.

CAIR referred to his arrest as an abduction because of his criticism of Israel.

“Our attorneys and partners are working to address this injustice. We call on ICE to immediately account for and release Mr. Hamdi, whose only ‘crime’ is criticizing a foreign government that has committed genocide,” the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization said in a statement.

Far-right conspiracy theorist and self-proclaimed “proud Islamophobe” Laura Loomer has claimed credit for Hamdi’s detention.

“I demanded that federal authorities inside the Trump administration treat Hamdi as the major National security threat that he is and I reported Sami Hamdi to federal immigration authorities over his documented support for Islamic terrorism,” she said on X, without providing evidence.

His detention comes amid the Trump administration’s crackdowns on both immigration and left-leaning ideology. Pro-Palestinian protests and comments made online have been targeted by immigration and State Department authorities.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said hundreds of visas have been revoked in connection to their holders’ involvement with pro-Palestinian protests. Pro-Palestinian protesters have also been detained with the intention of deporting them .

Critics have accused the Trump administration of seeking to silence criticism and dissent.

“We’ve said it before, we’ll say it again: The United States has no obligation to host foreigners who support terrorism and actively undermine the safety of Americans,” the State Department said in a statement.

“We continue to revoke the visas of persons engaged in such activity,” it added.

It did not provide information about the allegations against Hamdi.

The Muslim Council of Britain is calling on the British government to “take urgent diplomatic action” in response to Hamdi’s detention.

“We value the critical work of our friends at CAIR and stand ready to work with them to ensure Mr. Hamdi’s rights are protected. The bedrock of a democracy is freedom of expression and thought,” it said in a statement.

“Press freedom cannot be selective and we urge the British Government to come to the defense of its citizens being detained in this manner.”

Oct. 25 (UPI) — Qatari officials are preparing peacekeeping troops for Gaza if needed to help maintain a cease-fire between Hamas and Israel, President Donald Trump said during a refueling stop.

Air Force One stopped in Qatar on Saturday evening to refuel while the president is flying to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, amid a Southeast Asia trip that includes a planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Busan, South Korea.

Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani joined Trump on Air Force One for a short meeting.

Trump announced Qatar likely will be among the nations providing troops to maintain peace in Gaza while seated between the Emir and the prime minister, The Jerusalem Post reported.

Emir Al Thani told Trump he wanted to visit him at the refueling stop when he learned of the brief refueling stop by Air Force One.

“The Emir is one of the great rulers of the world,” the president responded, adding that the “prime minister has been my friend.”

He said they were instrumental in accomplishing the “incredible” feat of bringing about “peace in the Middle East.”

Also traveling to Southeast Asia on a separate flight is Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who made a stop in Qatar.

While there, he and other U.S. officials on Sunday will discuss a potential United Nations resolution or an international agreement to authorize the use of a multinational peacekeeping force in Gaza, according to The Times of Israel.

“Many of the countries that have expressed an interest in participating at some level, whether it be monetary or personnel or both, are going to need that because their domestic laws require it,” Rubio said of a resolution or an international agreement.

He said a team is working to outline a possible resolution or agreement.

Rubio also spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday to discuss continuing efforts to end all conflict in Gaza, State Department principal deputy spokesman Tommy Piggot said in a news release.

“During the call, Sec. Rubio and Prime Minister Netanyahu affirmed the strategic relationship between the U.S. and Israel,” Piggot added.

Rubio is also bound for Busan, South Korea, where the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit is scheduled from Monday through Nov.1.

Oct. 24 (UPI) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that diplomats will help American military officers monitor the cease-fire in Israel and Gaza.

Rubio is visiting Israel as part of a series of visits by American officials that have been in Israel this week.

While touring the new Civil-Military Coordination Center in Kiryat Gat Friday, Rubio made the comments.

“There’s going to be ups and downs and twists and turns, but I think we have a lot of reason for healthy optimism about the progress that’s being made,” The New York Times reported that Rubio said.

Steven Fagin, ambassador to Yemen, will lead the effort at the center, the State Department said.

A reporter asked on Friday if Israel would need to apply for permission from the United States to resume fighting. “I wouldn’t phrase it that way,” Rubio responded, The Washington Post reported. “The bottom line is that there’s no nation on Earth that’s contributed more to help Israel and its security.”

Israelis have been increasingly alarmed at the United States’ presence in the cease-fire, wondering how much control America will have over Israel.

The United States is also committed to Israel’s long-term security, including ensuring that Hamas is demilitarized, Rubio said.

There is “no plan B,” he said. “It’s not just the United States. … Over two dozen countries signed onto this, including regional Arab countries … that there would be a demilitarized Gaza and that there would not be a Hamas with the capability to threaten Israel.”

On Thursday, a far-right faction in the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, voted to annex the West Bank, drawing rebuke from President Donald Trump, Rubio and Vice President JD Vance.

Trump, in an interview with Time Magazine, said that he would not allow it.

“We don’t think it’s going to happen,” Trump said. “Because I gave my word to the Arab countries. Israel would lose all of its support from the United States if that happened.”

Earlier this week, Vance arrived in Israel with Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and investor Jared Kushner. They opened the CMCC in Israel, and Vance said the peace plan is “durable.”

Rubio said he plans to join Trump in Qatar to fly to Asia this weekend to attend leadership summits in Malaysia and South Korea, the Post reported. He said he also plans to visit Japan.

Oct. 17 (UPI) — The United States delayed the adoption of an international requirement for commercial cargo ships to reduce their greenhouse emissions or be subject to fines that is widely supported globally.

Using threats of sanctions and tariffs, and backed by Saudi Arabia and Russia, the Trump administration forced representatives of more than 100 countries to table the International Maritime Organization’s Net-zero Framework, which would have set a mandatory marine fuel standard.

The draft framework, agreed to in April and aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions from cargo ships to net-zero by 2050, would have gone into effect in 2027 for all ocean going ships weighing more than 5,000 tons, according to the IMO.

President Donald Trump has referred to nearly all efforts to reduce human impacts on the environment as a “green scam.”

In an Oct. 10 statement meant to put “IMO members on notice,” Trump’s secretaries of state, energy and transportation said that the United States would employ a series of penalties “against nations that sponsor this European-led neocolonial export of global climate regulations.”

“President Trump has made it clear that the United States will not accept any international environmental agreement that unduly or unfairly burdens the United States or harms the interests of the American people,” Secs. Marco Rubio, Chris Wright and Sean Duffy said in the statement.

The new regulation would have gone into effect in 2027 after a standard for ships to reduce their annual gas fuel intensity — the amount of greenhouse gases released for each unit of energy a ship uses — and economic measures and penalties were established at meetings planned for 2026.

The IMO plan was widely supported — Britain, Canada, the European Union, Japan and China were all in favor — and was expected to pass by most of the roughly 100 countries represented at Friday’s meeting.

Although a handful of countries were not in favor of delaying talks about the regulation for a year, the United States persuaded several countries, including China, to join it, Russia and Saudi Arabia to push off negotiations on the deal.

“We are disappointed that member states have not been able to agree [on] a way forward at this meeting,” International Chamber of Shipping secretary-general Thomas Kazakos told reporters.

“Industry needs clarity to be able to make investments,” he said, reiterating the already known overall support the shipping industry reportedly has for the global standard.

Oct. 13 (UPI) — President Donald Trump said Monday that he may supply Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine for its fight against Russia.

Trump, on Air Force One, told reporters that he might issue an ultimatum to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“I might say ‘Look: if this war is not going to get settled, I’m going to send them Tomahawks.’ The Tomahawk is an incredible weapon, very offensive weapon. And honestly, Russia does not need that,” NBC reported he said.

Trump was flying to the Middle East Monday, to Israel and Egypt for talks on the Gaza peace deal.

Supplying Ukraine with Tomahawks would allow the country to hit targets more than 1,000 miles away, striking deeper into Russian territory.

A Russian lawmaker last week said if Ukraine fires Tomahawks, Russia will shoot them down, bomb their sites and retaliate against the United States, The Hill reported.

Ukraine President Volodymir Zelensky said on X that Russia “continues its aerial terror against our cities and communities, intensifying strikes on our energy infrastructure. The immorality of these crimes is such that every day Russians kill our people. Yesterday in Kostiantynivka, a child was killed in a church by an aerial bomb. In total, just this week alone, more than 3,100 drones, 92 missiles, and around 1,360 glide bombs have been used against Ukraine.”

Zelensky and Trump spoke on Sunday for 40 minutes, discussing Ukraine’s weapons, supply status and the energy sector ahead of Ukraine’s harsh winter, Axios reported. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other top officials were on the call.

“We agreed on a set of topics to discuss today, and we covered all the aspects of the situation: defense of life in our country, strengthening our capabilities — in air defense, resilience, and long-range capabilities. We also discussed many details related to the energy sector. President Trump is well informed about everything that is happening,” Zelensky wrote on X.

Trump said he had “sort of made a decision” to sell Tomahawks to NATO countries, which would then be sent to Ukraine, Axios reported.

Putin said on Sunday that sending Tomahawks to Ukraine would be a “completely new, qualitatively new stage of escalation,” Axios reported.

Tomahawk missiles are subsonic cruise missiles that can precisely hit targets 1,000 miles away, even in heavily defended airspace, according to manufacturer Raytheon. They can be fired from land or ships and can have conventional or nuclear warheads. They cost an average of $1.3 million each.

The latest version, called the Block IV Tactical Tomahawk or TACTOM, has a data link that allows it to switch targets while in flight. It can loiter for hours and change course instantly on command, Raytheon said.

Oct. 8 (UPI) — President Donald Trump said Wednesday that a peace deal and hostage/prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas is “very close,” and he might travel to the Middle East this weekend.

Earlier in the day, Trump’s lead negotiators, special envoy Steve Witkoff and the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, finished their first day of talks in Egypt with Israel, Hamas and other Arab partners, including Qatar, which has been a mediator.

Israel’s chief negotiator is Ron Dermer, who didn’t arrive at talks until Wednesday.

They are seeking to end the war that began in Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, after the militant Hamas attacked Israel.

“Our final negotiation, as you know, is with Hamas. And it seems to be going well,” Trump said during a White House roundtable on Antifa, during which he was handed a note by Secretary of State Marco Rubio with the latest information. “I may go there sometime toward the end of the week. We’ll see, but there’s a very good chance that negotiations are going along very well.’

Trump said he might leave for the Middle East as early as Saturday from Washington, D.C.

“We haven’t decided exactly,” Trump said. “I’ll be going to Egypt. Most likely. That’s where everybody is gathered right now, and we appreciate that very much, but I’ll be making the rounds as the expression goes.”

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi invited Trump to attend the signing ceremony.

Final details were still being worked out in the Red Sea town of Sharm El-Sheikh.

“With God’s help, may we have a happy holiday with good news,” Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar told those gathered to mark the Day of Georgian Jewry in Israel.

On Sept. 29, Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to a 20-point peace plan. On Friday, Hamas reacted positively to the plan.

Hamas would disarm and end control of Gaza. The area, which at one time had about 2.2 million Palestinians, would be governed temporarily by international trustees overseen by the U.S. and Arab allies. Hundreds of thousands have fled from the Gaza Strip and more than 67,000 have died, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.

Hamas has opposed the oversight committee led by Trump, called a “Board of Peace.”

On Monday, Trump said Hamas has “agreed to very important things” during the negotiations.

The plan calls for an exchange of hostages by Hamas and prisoners by Israel within 72 hours of an agreement.

In Gaza, Israel believes there are 20 live hostages and 28 dead.

“We are very close to an agreement. What’s still pending is the list of prisoners [to be] exchanged,” a Hamas official told CNN.

Rubio, who is also Trump’s national security adviser, has been in touch with the negotiators.

“We’re getting very positive reports, as of an hour ago,” Rubio said as he left the Senate Republican lunch at the Capitol. “I feel optimistic that we’re going to get to a deal, hopefully, that hostages will be released — all the hostages. There’s good progress being made. But it all begins with all the hostages coming home. And I think we have to be optimistic, but there’s still some work to be done.”

With a deal near, Rubio canceled a trip to France to meet with other foreign ministers.

The humanitarian situation in Gaza is becoming “more and more catastrophic,” the emergency coordinator for Doctors Without Borders in the area told CNN’s Lynda Kinkade.

Oct. 5 (UPI) — Israel continued its airstrikes on Gaza on Sunday, even as negotiators headed to Egypt for talks on a U.S.-proposed peace plan that calls for Hamas to release all hostages and seeks new governance for the Palestinian territory.

The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said Sunday that 63 Palestinians were killed and another 153 wounded in bombings carried out by Israeli forces in the last 24 hours, reported Haaretz. The strikes come despite Israeli officials agreeing to ease their offensive on Gaza City and President Donald Trump calling for the bombings to halt as his peace plan to end the two-year conflict is put to the test.

Israeli officials believe there are still 20 living hostages being kept in Gaza following the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas militants that triggered Israel’s military campaign in the Palestinian enclave, which has drawn growing international condemnation.

Negotiations will begin Monday in Sharm el-Sheikh, focusing on the first phase of the plan that calls for Hamas to release the remaining hostages and for Israel to withdraw its troops in Gaza to a line agreed upon with Hamas.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told ABC News Sunday that “this is the closest we’ve come to getting all of the hostages released.”

“But there’s a lot of pitfalls along the way,” he added.

The initial talks will be “technical” and will focus on working out specific details of the negotiation’s first phase, Israeli government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian said in a video posted to X.

But she added that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the talks will last for just a few days and he will not tolerate Hamas attempting to delay the release of all hostages past the 72-hour deadline.

“The prime minister is in regular contact with President Trump, who stressed Hamas must move quickly ‘or else all bets will be off,'” she said.

The Palestinian militant group signaled Friday that it was ready to release all Israeli hostages living and dead, but said it needed more than 72 hours to arrange their release.

Hamas is eager to end the conflict and begin a prisoner exchange with Israel, a senior Hamas official told the Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat. The official added that Israel’s occupation of Gaza must not obstruct the implementation of the peace plan.

President Donald Trump said in a social media post Sunday that there had been positive discussions with Hamas and other countries on ending the war.

“I am told that the first phase should be completed this week, and I am asking everyone to MOVE FAST,” he said.

Oct. 2 (UPI) — The United States is blacklisting 44 individuals and firms accused of being involved in Iran’s nuclear program and weapons procurement network, as the Trump administration continues to increase its so-called maximum pressure strategy on Tehran.

The sanctions were announced by the U.S. State and Treasury departments on Wednesday, days after the restoration of United Nations sanctions and other punitive measures on Iran.

Among sanctions announced Wednesday, the State Department hit five individuals and one entity connected to Iran’s Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research, the successor of Iran’s pre-2004 nuclear program and originally sanctioned by the administration of President Barack Obama in 2014.

Known by the initials SPND, the Tehran-based entity, founded in February 2011, is responsible for nuclear weapons development research.

The State Department said it blacklisted Reza Mozaffarinia, director of SPND, Ali Fuladvand, head of the Research Directorate at SPND, and Mohammad Reza Ghadir Zare Zaghalchi, longtime SPND-affiliated official and head of U.S.-designated Shahid Fakhar Moghaddam Group.

Andisheh Damavand International Technologies was also blacklisted for facilitating the travel of Iranian nuclear experts to Russia to pursue sensitive duel-use technologies as was its CEO, Ali Kalvand.

The sanctions comes after the State Department blacklisted three Iranian officials and one entity linked to SPND in May.

Coinciding with the State Department action was the Treasury designating 21 entities and 17 individuals accused of facilitating the acquisition of “sensitive goods and technology” for Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces, it said.

“The Iranian regime’s support of terrorist proxies and its pursuit of nuclear weapons threatens the security of the Middle East, the United States and our allies around the world,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.

Among those targeted Wednesday were individuals accused of being part of a network operating out of Iran, Germany, Turkey, Portugal and Uruguay that was procuring military aircraft equipment for Tehran, including U.S.-manufactured helicopters.

The Treasury said its sanctions were part of President Donald Trump‘s February memorandum reinstating the maximum pressure campaign of his first administration.

In 2018, Trump unilaterally pulled the United States from an Obama-era accord, which aimed to prevent Iran from securing a nuclear weapon. Calling the multinational joint Comprehension Plan of Action “defective at its core,” he then reinstated sanctions against Iran in hopes of coercing it back to the negotiation table on a new deal.

Instead, the reclusive regime advanced its nuclear program.

The United Nations last week reinstated sanctions under a so-called snapback mechanism that had been terminated when the JCPOA was implemented in 2016, and which Trump had sought to have reimpose since 2018.

The U.S. State Department said Wednesday’s sanctions were in support of those “snapback” punitive measures.

“The United States is committed to denying Iran all paths to a nuclear weapon,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.

“We will not hesitate to hold accountable anyone who supports Tehran’s proliferation activities.”

Sept. 29 (UPI) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has announced the release of a U.S. citizen who was considered wrongly detained in Afghanistan.

The United States’ top diplomat announced the return home of Amir Amiry in a statement on Sunday.

“We express our sincere gratitude to Qatar, whose strong partnership and tireless diplomatic efforts were vital to securing his release,” he said.

The Taliban on Sunday also confirmed the release of Amiry from prison.

Afghanistan’s foreign ministry posted photos of U.S. special envoy Adam Boehler with its minister, Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi, on X, calling Amiry’s release “a positive step” in diplomacy.

The conditions for Amiry’s release were not stated.

Qatar’s foreign ministry earlier confirmed Amiry’s release from Afghan detention, stating he was en route to Doha and would be leaving for the United States at a later time.

“Qatar remains committed to advancing mediation efforts aimed at achieving peaceful solutions to conflicts and complex international issues — an approach rooted in the state’s foreign policy, which prioritizes dialogue as a strategic choice for promoting regional and global peace and stability,” it said in a statement.

Amiry was reportedly detained in December 2024.

The release comes after two U.S. citizens held by the Taliban were released in a prison swap with the United States in January. In March, an American citizen detained in Afghanistan since 2022 was also released.

US Vice President JD Vance has announced the identity of the ‘new ABC late night host’ after Jimmy Kimmel was pulled from the air indefinitely following his Charlie Kirk comments in Monday’s opening monologue

US Vice President JD Vance has made a surprising announcement on X, formerly known as Twitter. He revealed that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will be stepping in to fill the shoes of Jimmy Kimmel on ABC.

The network has yet to officially confirm this news, but Vance dropped the bombshell on Thursday morning. This comes just a day after the sudden cancellation of the comedian’s long-standing late-night programme, Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Jimmy’s show was abruptly axed by the broadcaster following his opening monologue earlier this week, where he mentioned Charlie Kirk.

In an unexpected turn of events, the VP announced, “Everyone please congratulate @marcorubio, the new host of ABC’s late-night show!”.

ABC, which is owned by Disney, pulled the plug on Jimmy Kimmel Live! after his comments about the death of right-wing podcaster Charlie Kirk. Specifically, his remarks about the suspected killer and his mockery of Trump’s icy response to questions about his associate’s death, according to the Irish Star.

Charlie Kirk, the host of the podcast Turning Point, was attending the first event of The American Comeback Tour at Utah Valley University when he was shot in the neck. Officials believe the weapon used was a high-powered rifle.

Kirk did not survive his injuries and has since become a martyr for the Republican Party.

Jimmy declared, “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA Gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.”

He continued, “In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving.

“On Friday, the White House flew the flags at half staff, which drew some criticism, but on a human level, you can see how hard the president is taking this,” he continued, cutting to a clip of Trump being interviewed by the press on the White House lawn talking about the new ballroom when asked about how he was holding up after his friend’s death.

“Yes, he’s at the fourth stage of grief: construction. This is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he called a friend. This is how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish, okay? And it didn’t just happen once,” Jimmy said, before showing another clip of the president on Fox News talking about the ballroom when asked about how he heard the news of Charlie’s death.

The host went on to ask, “Why are we building a $200 million ballroom in the White House? Is it possible that he’s doing it intentionally so we can be mad about that instead of the Epstein list?” His sudden dismissal has left the country rattled amid fears over freedom of expression.

Marco Rubio, despite having no previous experience as a television host apart from guest appearances on Fox News and other networks, is rumoured to be taking up the Vice President’s post.

However, it remains unconfirmed whether the politician will be hosting his own show on ABC.

In a surprising move, some affiliate stations are planning to broadcast a Charlie Kirk memorial instead of the usual Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Friday during its regular time slot.

Sept. 17 (UPI) — An immigration judge has ordered former Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil to either Algeria or Syria, court documents filed Wednesday show, as his lawyers argue the Trump administration is ramping up its retaliation against the Palestinian activist.

Khalil has been at the forefront of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown targeting pro-Palestine activism at universities. He was arrested March 8 for his pro-Palestine speech by the federal government, which has sought to remove him from the country.

He fought his detention in the courts, gaining his freedom in June. But the Trump administration continues its attempt to remove him, despite his wife and children being American citizens, this time on grounds that he omitted or misrepresented information on his green card application. His attorneys described the allegations as “baseless.”

Civil rights organizations, advocates and Trump administration critics argue its targeting of Khalil is an attack on his due process rights in retaliation for expressing his support for Palestine.

In a letter dated Wednesday to U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz, the judge who issued Khalil’s June release, the Palestinian activist’s representation revealed that immigration Judge Jamee Comans ordered Khalil’s removal to either of the two countries Friday when he denied their motion for a waiver to prevent his removal.

The lawyers said Khalil has 30 days from Friday to file an appeal with the Board of Immigration Appeals, and they called on Farbiarz to intervene.

“The only meaningful impediment to Petitioner’s physical removal from the United States would be this Court’s important order prohibiting removal during the pendency of his federal habeas case,” Khalil’s representation said.

Farbiarz, a President Joe Biden-appointee, had ordered Khalil’s release from federal immigration detention in June after denying the government’s argument that the former Columbia University graduate student was a threat to U.S. foreign policy.

The Trump administration is now seeking his removal alleging Khalil omitted or misrepresented information on his green card application, specifically not mentioning his previous internship with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, better known as UNRWA.

The letter to Farbiarz on Wednesday states Comans denied Khalil’s request for a waiver against his removal without conducting an evidentiary hearing.

His lawyers also said Khalil was denied the waiver because of the alleged misrepresentation to adjust his immigration without the opportunity to present contrary evidence. Instead, the judge relied on Secretary of State Marco Rubio‘s statement that Khalil’s presence in the country is a threat to U.S. foreign policy to justify the denial.

“It’s no surprise that the Trump administration continues to retaliate against me for my exercise of free speech,” Khalil said in a statement provided by the American Civil Liberties Union.

“Their latest attempt, through kangaroo immigration court, exposes their true colors once again.”

He accused the Trump administration of “fabricating baseless and ridiculous allegations” against him following its first failed attempt to deport him to try and silence his speech in support of Palestine.

“Such fascist tactics will never deter me from continuing to advocate for my people’s liberation,” he said.

Sept. 15 (UPI) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio reaffirmed the United States’ relationships with Israel and Arab states during a meeting Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem.

The meeting comes less than a week after Israel said it targeted Hamas leaders in an airstrike on Qatar’s capital, Doha. Hamas confirmed the attack killed five members but not any senior officials.

Speaking at a news conference the meeting with Netanyahu, Rubio said every country was allowed “to defend itself beyond its borders.”

Asked whether the United States was involved in the planning of the strikes on Doha, Netanyahu told reporters, “We did it on our own. Period.” He said the relationship between Israel and the United States was as “durable as the stones in the Western Wall.”

The two leaders visited the holy site in Jerusalem’s Old City, with Rubio placing a note into the cracks of the wall.

“Your presence here today sends a clear message that America stands with Israel,” Netanyahu told Rubio.

Rubio, meanwhile, also told reporters that the United States maintains a strong relationship with Qatar and other Arab allies, who were meeting in an emergency session in Doha on Monday.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani called on international leaders to punish Israel for the strike and stop holding the country to “double standards,” according to BBC News.

An unnamed source familiar with the meeting told CBS News that leaders at the meeting were expected to sign a draft resolution condemning Israel’s “hostile acts, including genocide, ethnic cleansing, [and] starvation” in Gaza.

A State Department official told CBS News that after Monday’s meeting with Netanyahu in Jerusalem, Rubio plans to travel to Qatar before heading to Britain for President Donald Trump‘s state visit.

Sept. 12 (UPI) — Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, will be at the White House on Friday before a summit between Arab states regarding Israel’s attack on Qatar’s capital city of Doha.

Al-Thani is expected to discuss the strike by Israel and potentially a defense deal between Qatar and the United States.

He is expected to meet with President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and diplomat Steve Witkoff.

Trump was in Doha in May, when the United States and Qatar finalized agreements regarding a letter of intent on defense cooperation between the Qatari Ministry of Defense and U.S. Department of Defense, which included a purchase of both drone systems and drone defense systems, as stated in a press release from the Qatar Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Trump has distanced himself from the Israeli strike, which was intended to target the leadership members of Hamas. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday that Trump assured the Qatari government that such an attack would never take place again.

The Israeli attack struck a residential compound in Doha and killed six people, including a Qatari security officer.

Qatar has since stressed it would “take all necessary measures to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity” in a statement from the Qatari government.

Other countries in across the Persian Gulf are also concerned and are holding an emergency summit in Doha Sunday in response to Israel’s attack.

Sept. 12 (UPI) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will visit Israel and the United Kingdom to address security matters in Gaza and globally from Saturday through Thursday.

Rubio first will travel to Israel, where he plans to discuss the Israel-Hamas war and security in the Middle East while affirming the United States’ “commitment to Israeli security,” according to a State Department news release.

“He will also emphasize our shared goals: ensuring Hamas never rules over Gaza again and bringing all the hostages home,” said Thomas Pigott, State Department principal deputy spokesperson.

Rubio and Israeli leaders will discuss Israeli military operational goals and the objectives of the Israel Defense Force’s Operation Gideon’s Chariots II, which targets Hamas leadership and members in Gaza City.

Rubio and Israeli leaders also will discuss “our commitment to fight anti-Israel actions, including unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state that rewards Hamas terrorism and lawfare at the [International Criminal Court] and [International Court of Justice],” Pigott said.

Rubio also is scheduled to meet with the families of hostages being held by Hamas to “underscore that their relative’s lives remains a top priority,” Pigott added.

After concluding the visit in Israel, Rubio is scheduled to travel to the United Kingdom to meet with U.K. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper to discuss “critical global challenges,” he said.

Those challenges include the war in Ukraine, stopping Iran from developing nuclear weapons, securing a cease-fire and the release of all hostages held by Hamas, and competing with China.

Rubio’s diplomatic trip is to occur after Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Adbulrahman al-Thani was to meet with President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Rubio and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff on Friday.

The prime minister and president are expected to discuss the recent IDF strike against Hamas officials in Qatar’s capital, Doha, and a potential defense agreement between Qatar and the United States.

Sept. 10 (UPI) — The exit of 300 Korean workers detained in Georgia has been delayed due to “a cause from the U.S. side,” according to the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The detainees were scheduled to board a Korean Air charter plane from Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport to head home Wednesday afternoon. The ministry hasn’t said what is causing the delay, The Korea Times reported.

“The government is continuing consultation with the U.S. for as swift a departure as possible. We will provide further updates once a new schedule is confirmed,” it said.

Homeland Security Investigations, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other law enforcement conducted the raid on Thursday and said those who were detained are not authorized to work in the United States.

Three of those detained are from Japan, and others were from Central and South American nations.

The electric battery plant in Ellabell, Ga., near Savannah, is still under construction. It’s a joint project by Hyundai and LG Energy Solution to provide batteries for Hyundai electric vehicles.

Many of those working at the plant had B-1 visas, which are issued for short-term business travel, The Korea Herald reported.

Many others got electronic travel authorization to visit the United States, but neither B-1 visas nor the travel authorizations allowed their respective holders to work.

The Korean government has stressed that the workers will leave under the rules of voluntary departure, which don’t have the same legal consequences as deportation. But, U.S. immigration law allows for bans depending on the length of the unlawful stay, so individual penalties are possible.

Complicating matters, some detainees signed forms early on that included a $1,000 payment for voluntary departure to avoid a 10-year entry ban, The Korea Times reported.

Adding to the confusion, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said Monday that the Korean nationals detained in the raid will be “deported.”

In South Korea, people are upset, said James Kim, chair and CEO of the American Chamber of Commerce in Seoul.

“The sentiment is obviously very, very negative,” James Kim, told CBS News. “In my office, I usually have my TV turned on to the news — and this is obviously covered from morning to evening constantly. But everyone who I speak to, they view America as its number — one partner here from South Korea. Yes, we’re going to have some challenging times.”

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun heard demands from angry lawmakers during a parliamentary session in Seoul on Monday, before he departed for meetings with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other U.S. officials, CBS News reported.

Lawmaker Kim Joon-hyun demanded that Cho respond to the ICE raid by launching investigations into every U.S. national teaching English in South Korea who could be working illegally on a tourist visa.

“Are we giving our money, technology, and investment to the United States only to be treated like this?” CBS News reported that Kim Joon-hyun said.

During his meeting Wednesday in Washington with Cho, Rubio said, “the United States welcomes ROK (South Korea) investment into the United States and stated his interest in deepening cooperation on this front,” according to a readout shared by the State Department.

Rubio and Cho discussed advancing U.S.-South Korean ties “through a forward-looking agenda” that “revitalizes American manufacturing through ROK investment in shipbuilding and other strategic sectors, and promotes a fair and reciprocal trade partnership,” the State Department said.

Seoul and Washington have clashed over administrative and technical procedures, including the terms under which the Koreans are released and the conditions for their transfer to the airport, The Korea Herald reported.

Kim Yong-beom, presidential chief of staff for policy, on Tuesday also said that “(U.S.) law enforcement authorities have their own methods they insist on when it comes to transporting detainees by bus.

“They insist on certain practices, such as handcuffing detainees again, but we are making every effort in the final administrative negotiations to ensure that such methods are not applied,” Kim Yong-boem said.

“We are working to complete the procedures so that our nationals can safely return in the form of voluntary departure, not deportation, and are striving to conclude this within a timely period – within a day or two.”

The drive from the ICE detention facility in Folkston, Ga., to the Atlanta airport takes about four and a half hours.

Sept. 2 (UPI) — President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he ordered a “kinetic strike” on a boat carrying drugs from Venezuela to the United States that he said killed nearly a dozen members of the Tren de Aragua gang.

Trump made the announcement in a social media post referring to members of the infamous Venezuelan gang as “narcoterrorists.” The strike marks the Trump administration’s embrace of military force against drug trafficking, which was previously left to law enforcement. It is also the latest ratcheting up of hostility with Venezuela after Trump said the gang is controlled by the country’s leader Nicolas Maduro.

The early morning strike killed 11 members of the gang while they were transporting illegal narcotics in international waters, according to Trump. U.S. military personnel were not harmed, he wrote.

“Please let this serve as notice to anybody even thinking about bringing drugs into the United States of America,” Trump wrote in his post.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed the strike by U.S. military forces in a post on X, writing that it occurred in the southern Caribbean.

Shortly into his second term, Trump designated the Tren de Aragua and La Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gangs as “foreign terrorist organizations,” concluding that their drug trafficking and violent activities are a destabilizing presence.

The Trump administration in August doubled its bounty to $50 million for the arrest of Maduro, for the authoritarian ruler’s alleged role in drug trafficking.

Stephen Miller, deputy White House chief of staff, on Friday acknowledged in a press briefing that the United States was building up naval forces in the Caribbean, saying it was to “combat and dismantle drug trafficking organizations, criminal cartels and these foreign terrorist organizations in our hemisphere.”

Maduro responded by placing troops on the border and calling on Venezuelans to resist an invasion by the United States, saying during a press conference Monday that the county is “facing the greatest threat our continent has seen in 100 years,” reported El Pais.

“If Venezuela was attacked, we would declare an armed struggle and a Republic in arms,” Maduro said, according to the newspaper.

Aug. 29 (UPI) — U.S. officials revoked visas already issued to members of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority ahead of next month’s United Nations General Assembly, the State Department confirmed Friday.

The department is also denying outstanding visa requests to members of the PLO and PA for undermining efforts at achieving a cease-fire agreement between Hamas and Israel in Gaza.

Both directives are “in accordance with U.S. law,” and come directly from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the department said.

“The Trump Administration has been clear: it is in our national security interests to hold the PLO and PA accountable for not complying with their commitments, and for undermining the prospects for peace,” the State Department said in the statement.

“Before the PLO and PA can be considered partners for peace, they must consistently repudiate terrorism — including the October 7 massacre — and end incitement to terrorism in education, as required by U.S. law and as promised by the PLO.”

In July, the State Department sanctioned Palestinian officials from both groups for not complying with their “commitments under the PLO Commitments Compliance Act of 1989 and the Middle East Peace Commitments Act of 2002.”

The U.N. General Assembly opens on September 9 at the agency’s headquarters in New York City.

Rubio’s department accused both the PLO and PA members of undermining peace talks in Gaza by going outside of formal negotiations. The secretary said both must end appeals to international bodies such as the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice to “secure the unilateral recognition of a conjectural Palestinian state.”

“Both steps materially contributed to Hamas’s refusal to release its hostages, and to the breakdown of the Gaza ceasefire talks,” the department said in its statement.

Rubio said the United States remains open to negotiations and restoring the visas if the groups “meet their obligations and demonstrably take concrete steps to return to a constructive path of compromise and peaceful coexistence with the State of Israel.”

The news comes the same day officials in Britain banned Israeli government and military officials from attending an international defense and security event in London next month.

Israel’s war in Gaza is approaching the 700-day mark.

On Friday, the Israel Defense Forces said it was declaring the area around Gaza City a combat zone as it stepped up military operations on the ground in the northern part of the Palestinian enclave.

Aug. 24 (UPI) — France summoned U.S. Ambassador Charles Kushner on Sunday after he published an open letter to French President Emmanuel Macron accusing the government of failing to effectively take action on anti-Semitism.

The French Foreign Ministry issued a statement to CNN saying Kushner would be expected at the ministry’s Paris headquarters Monday.

In the letter, published Sunday in The Wall Street Journal and dated Monday, Kushner wrote to Macron that he was concerned about “the dramatic rise of anti-Semitism in France and the lack of sufficient action by your government to confront it.” Kushner, the father-in-law of President Donald Trump‘s daughter, Ivanka Trump, has served as the ambassador of France for less than seven weeks.

Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, “pro-Hamas extremists and radical activists have waged a campaign of intimidation and violence across Europe,” Kushner wrote.

The French Foreign Ministry denied the allegations and called Kushner’s comments “unacceptable.”

“The rise in anti-Semitic acts in France since the 7 October, 2023, is a reality that we deplore and against which French authorities are totally mobilized, because these actions are intolerable,” the ministry said, referencing the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas that sparked the Israel-Hamas war.

Kushner took issue with France’s plans to recognize an independent Palestinian state in September, saying that doing so gives “legitimacy to Hamas and its allies.”

“Public statements haranguing Israel and gestures towards recognition of a Palestinian state emboldened extremists, fuel violence and endanger Jewish life in France,” Kushner wrote. “In today’s world, anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism — plain and simple.”

Macron announced in July that he plans to make a formal statement recognizing Palestine at U.N. headquarters in New York City. He said it was part of France’s “historical commitment to a just and durable peace in the Middle East.”

“The urgent priority today is to end the war in Gaza and to bring relief to the civilian population,” Macron said in a post on X.

Several other Western nations have come out in favor of a Palestinian state, including Canada, Spain, Norway and Ireland.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States was against France’s plans in July.

“This reckless decision only serves Hamas propaganda and sets back peace. It is a slap in the face to the victims of October 7th,” he said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Macron of leading a “crusade against the Jewish state.”

Aug. 21 (UPI) — Former fast-food executive Andrew Puzder officially became the U.S. ambassador to the European Union during a swearing-in ceremony on Wednesday at the White House.

Puzder, 75, swore his oath of office in the Oval Office with President Donald Trump in attendance.

A 13-second clip of the ceremony, posted online by Margo Martin, special assistant to Trump, shows Puzder with his hand on the bible reciting an oath read to him by Secretary of state Marco Rubio.

“Congratulations to our Ambassador to the European Union, @AndyPuzder!” The White House said on X, posting a picture from the ceremony.

The Senate confirmed Puzder’s nomination to the ambassadorship on Aug. 2 with a 53-44 vote.

An April certificate of competency for the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations describes Puzder as a “globally renowned business leader, political commentator, author, attorney and a retired chief executive officer.”

He is a distinguished visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation, senior fellow at the America First Policy Institute and Pepperdine University’s School of Public Policy and a member of the Reagan Institute’s National Leadership Council.

“America just gained a superb EU Ambassador,” the right-wing think tank Heritage Foundation said on X.

Puzder also frequently delivers lectures on economic and policies at various associations and academic institutions.

He also has contributed expert commentary for The Wall Street Journal, National Review, RealClearPolitics and Fox News and has authored several books.

Puzder earned a bachelor’s from Cleveland State University and a juris doctorate from the Washington University School of Law.

“Mr. Puzder’s broad understanding of international economic development and decades of experience in a range of professional settings make him a well-qualified candidate to be the U.S. representative to the European Union,” according to the competency certificate.

It’s the second time that Trump nominated Puzder for an important position within his administration.

He initially was Trump’s Labor Department secretary nominee during the president’s first term in 2017, but he withdrew his consideration a day before his scheduled Senate confirmation hearing.

Puzder was subject to claims of alleged spousal abuse and employing a housekeeper who was not a legal “immigrant” when he withdrew his consideration.

His former wife denied the allegations against Puzder.

Puzder formerly was the chief executive officer of Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s owner CKE Restaurants for 17 years and helped the fast food chain recover from its financial troubles.

Aug. 18 (UPI) — President Donald Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday during a White House meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and said he will arrange a bilateral meeting between the two, within the next two weeks.

The call came during Monday’s negotiations between Zelensky, Trump and European leaders, who had gathered to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.

Trump said the future meeting would be followed by a trilateral meeting, involving the United States. On Monday night, the White House posted an Oval Office photo of Trump on the phone with Putin, as Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance looked on.

Trump said Vance, Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff would be involved in coordinating the meeting between Putin and Zelensky.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he “had a very good meeting with distinguished guests,” which included Zelensky, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, as well as much of the European delegation and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

“I called President Putin and began the arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelensky,” Trump said. “After that meeting takes place, we will have a Trilat, which would be the two presidents, plus myself. Again, this was a very good, early step for a war that has been going on for almost four years.”

Trump met with Zelensky earlier Monday afternoon to signal that the United States would provide Ukraine with “very good protection.”

“The security guarantees would be provided by the various European countries, with a coordination with the United States of America,” Trump said. “Everyone is very happy about the possibility of PEACE for Russia/Ukraine.”

Macron called the U.S. commitment for Ukrainian security guarantees the “first and most important” outcome of Monday’s talks.

“Today, it was agreed that we will work with the United States of America on the content of these security guarantees and the cooperation that each party is prepared to provide,” Macron said, adding that any meeting would have to take place under a cease-fire.

“Call it a truce or a cease-fire, but we cannot hold discussions under bombs,” Macron added.

Trump told Zelensky at the start of the meeting: “I have a feeling you and President Putin are going to work something out. Ultimately, this is a decision that can only be made by President Zelensky and by the people of Ukraine working also together in agreement with President Putin. And I just think that very good things are going to come of it.”

By the end of the day, Zelensky told reporters he is ready for “any format” of a meeting with Putin and said he would also participate in a trilateral meeting if there is progress in the first one.

“I believe unconditionally we should meet and think about the further development of this path of the war,” he said.

Zelensky told reporters that the security guarantees included plans for Ukraine to purchase $90 billion in American weapons through European funding.

Zelensky also said he and Trump had a long discussion about a map in the Oval Office, showing Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine. Rutte said Ukrainian territory was not discussed during the broader Monday meetings.

Zelensky arrived around 1 p.m. EDT on Monday along with several EU leaders. Trump and Zelensky sat in the Oval Office, mirroring their meeting earlier this year.

This time, they avoided the dramatic shouting match from six months ago in the same space.

During the February exchange, Trump and Vance accused Zelensky of being “disrespectful” toward the United States and the Trump administration.

Zelensky was much more complimentary during Monday’s meeting, immediately thanking Trump for his efforts to stop Russia’s war.

Vance, who was in the Oval Office, said nothing this time.

The meeting came after Trump’s summit with Putin on Friday in Alaska.

European Council leaders are scheduled to meet via videoconference Tuesday to discuss the meeting. The council’s president, Antonio Costa, called the conference, he announced on X Monday.

“I have convened a video conference of the members of the European Council for tomorrow at 1 p.m. CEST, for a debriefing of today’s meetings in Washington, D.C., about Ukraine,” Costa wrote. “Together with the U.S., the EU will continue working towards a lasting peace that safeguards Ukraine’s and Europe’s vital security interests.”

European leaders, including Rutte, Starmer, Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, accompanied Zelensky to Washington for the talks.