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US lawmakers threaten Pam Bondi with contempt action over unreleased Epstein material
Watch: Images, cassettes and high-profile figures – What’s in the latest Epstein files?
A pair of US lawmakers have threatened legal action against US Attorney General Pam Bondi, after her deadline to release all government files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was met only in part.
The release of the Department of Justice (DoJ) documents was highly anticipated but in the end, only a portion of the available material was made public.
A leading campaigner on the issue, Republican congressman Thomas Massie, said he could try to bring contempt proceedings against the attorney general as a result.
The DoJ insists it is complying with its legal obligations, and Bondi herself has said she is part of “the most transparent administration in American history”.
In addition to the move by Massie in the House, the top Democrat in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, has announced an effort of his own to put pressure on the DoJ.
On Monday, Senate Minority Leader Schumer said he would introduce a resolution in the Senate to take legal actions of its own against the Trump administration for failing to release the files in full and “to hold the Department of Justice accountable”.
The issue would be considered when the upper chamber reconvenes in January. Schumer appealed for support from Republican senators, pointing out that the law to release of the full trove was a bipartisan effort.
The phrase “Epstein files” refer to the trove of information that was amassed by the US justice department during its two criminal investigations into Epstein.
A law that compelled the release of the full trove was signed by US President Donald Trump in November, after pressure from his supporters and members of his own Republican Party. Friday was the deadline for the release of the material.
Although some material was released, there were many redactions and other information was withheld – which angered Massie and his allies, as well as survivors of Epstein’s abuse. Trump himself is yet to comment.
The DoJ has said that more material will follow in the coming weeks.
But speaking to CBS programme Face the Nation on Sunday, Massie suggested that the justice department was “flouting the spirit and the letter of the law”.
He went on to say: “The quickest way, and I think most expeditious way, to get justice for these victims is to bring inherent contempt against Pam Bondi, and that doesn’t require going through the courts.”
Inherent contempt is a little-used legal recourse that can be used by either the Senate or House – the upper and lower chambers of Congress respectively – which has not been invoked for nearly a century, according to the American Bar Association.
Massie added that “Ro Khanna and I are talking about and drafting that right now”, referring to a Democratic congressman who has also been prominent in the campaign for the release of the full Epstein files.
Speaking to the same programme, Khanna gave further detail on how the contempt proceedings could work. “We’re building a bipartisan coalition, and it would fine Pam Bondi for every day that she’s not releasing these documents,” he said.
Unlike an impeachment effort – another option that would be theoretically available to critics of Bondi – the contempt move would only require support from the House of Representatives, Massie pointed out in Sunday’s interview.
During an interview of his own on Sunday, with a different broadcaster, Bondi’s deputy Todd Blanche was defiant.
Asked by the Meet the Press programme on NBC News whether he took threats from Congress members seriously, the deputy attorney general said: “Not even a little bit. Bring it on. We are doing everything we’re supposed to be doing to comply with the statute.”
Blanche pointed to the magnitude of the task. “You’re talking about a million or so pages of documents,” he said. “Virtually all of them contain victim information.”
He continued: “And if by complying with the statute we don’t produce everything on Friday, we produce things next week and the week after, that’s still compliance with the statute.”
Speaking to the same programme, another member of Khanna’s party, Democratic Senator Tim Kaine, said contempt or impeachment efforts would be “premature”.
“We have tools in appropriations bills and other tools to force compliance if somebody is dragging their feet and I’d rather focus on those tools,” Kaine said.
Blanche said elsewhere on Sunday that certain Epstein-related files that were originally released on Friday were later removed by the DoJ from its website because of concerns raised by victims.
One of those files – an image featuring Trump – was later reinstated after review, said Blanche.
WORLD NEWS
Victims of butcher surgeon Sam Eljamel report NHS board to police after they admit evidence was destroyed
A health board who destroyed 40 theatre logbooks of a disgraced surgeon at the centre of a public inquiry has been reported to police by two of his victims.
NHS Tayside, who employed consultant Sam Eljamel, was issued with a Do Not Destroy notice on all paperwork connected to the case.
But victims were furious after discovering workers at the board binned the records AFTER getting the order.
Now two of his victims have reported the board to detectives themselves and just weeks after the board referred itself to police. Campaigners Jules Rose and Pat Kelly have now submitted their own complaint.
Ms Rose said their report ‘should materially increase scrutiny and priority over this potentially criminal act’.
She said: ‘That is our aim and to send strong, strong signals that patients are not prepared to accept this was just human error gone badly wrong.’
Ms Rose, a victim of Eljamel’s who has been at the forefront of the campaign to secure justice, said: ‘This so-called “systematic failure” exposes a deeper problem. We believe that NHS Tayside has not changed its culture and the evidence suggests it has worsened.’
NHS Tayside said it ‘deeply regrets this error’ and said those who destroyed the documents were not aware of the link between the former Ninewells Hospital, in Dundee and the neurosurgeon.
Disgraced Ninewells Hospital consultant surgeon Sam Eljamel, who is at the centre of an inquiry into his work
Campaigner Jules Rose has submitted a complaint to police about Tayside Health Board
Ms Rose demanded ‘meaningful accountability’, and renewed calls for health board chief executive Nicky Connor to go.
Eljamel removed Ms Rose’s tear duct instead of a brain tumour while Mr Kelly has been left in constant pain following botched surgery on his spine.
He was able to return to his homeland of Libya in 2018, where he continues to operate on patients.
Under Operation Stringent, Police Scotland had demanded theatre logbooks in August containing information regarding the surgical practice of Eljamel between 1995 and 2014.
But they discovered they were destroyed in July, months after the Inquiry issued its Do Not Destroy notice.
NHS Tayside said its internal investigation found that the ‘logbooks were placed into the confidential waste stream for disposal by members of staff in the department where the logbooks were held’ and that the ‘disposal of the books was an error’.
The health board said it ‘remains deeply sorry’ over the incident and has now ‘commissioned an independent, external review of the organisation’s systems, processes, actions and governance arrangements’.
Detective Superintendent Carron McKellar said: ‘Significant resource from the Major Investigation Team continues to be dedicated to this extremely complex and protracted inquiry to ensure it has the experience and specialist knowledge required.’
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Victims of butcher surgeon Sam Eljamel report NHS board to police after they admit evidence was destroyed
WORLD NEWS
JENNIE BOND: ‘King Charles has a secret weapon when dealing with Andrew – it’s saving his legacy’
The ‘Andrew problem’ and royal rifts have sent approval ratings sliding, but the King is deploying a lifetime of training to shield the monarchy from the storm
King Charles is said to have a ‘secret weapon’ in dealing with fallouts(Image: Getty Images)
The crown has rarely weighed heavier than some of the recent fallouts that King Charles has had to endure. From his son Prince Harry moving stateside to his brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor disgracing the family name, he has had a tough gig.
Yet, according to royal expert Jennie Bond, the monarch has found a powerful shield to protect the institution: a “relentless” work ethic designed to drown out the noise of scandal. In October, Buckingham Palace announced Andrew would be losing his prince title and will be leaving his Royal Lodge home in Windsor.
It’s thought to be part of a plan to modernise the monarchy and ensure its legacy lasts. According to experts, the King is using his schedule as a strategic weapon to ensure the monarchy is handed over in “fine fettle” to Prince William when the time comes.
READ MORE: Prince William ‘anxious’ after making major parenting change over Prince GeorgeREAD MORE: King Charles’ butler spots ‘sad difference’ between Harry and William’s Christmas cards
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been ordered to leave his Royal Lodge home(Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
The late Queen remains a hard act to follow, having steered the monarchy through decades of crisis while maintaining high public support. Charles, however, faces a steeper climb.
The persistent headlines surrounding Andrew, the rift with Harry and Meghan, and the scrutiny of royal finances have seen public approval begin to slip.
Jennie Bond suggests that the King is using his schedule as a defensive shield for the institution. “The King is upping his workload to compensate,” Bond explains.
“He is a man with a mission: to protect his mother’s legacy, make his own mark on the monarchy and then to hand it over in fine fettle to his son, William, when the time comes.”
King Charles is said to want to retain his mother’s legacy(Image: WireImage)
By adhering to the late Queen’s mantra that the Sovereign must be “seen to be believed,” Charles is attempting to anchor the monarchy with a “steady hum of public service.”
Bond notes that his commitment is nothing new: “His own sons have talked about his strong work ethic, recalling how they often used to find him face down at his desk in a pile of papers as he dealt with correspondence late into the night.”
Charles is not carrying the burden of visibility alone. Bond highlights the Princess Royal as his most steadfast ally, noting that Princess Anne remains “at his side still working as hard as he does.”
“In fact, she did more days than anyone, including him, in the past year,” Bond points out, although her total number of engagements was slightly lower. “The siblings represent a traditionalist front of duty that stands in stark contrast to the controversies surrounding other members of the family.”
Charles was hailed by doctors, charities and members of the public for his rare public broadcast where he revealed his cancer treatment had been going well(Image: Channel 4 via Getty Images)
While the King’s workload is high, Prince William has faced criticism for his position in the “league table” of royal engagements, coming seventh out of ten this year. However, Bond argues that the Prince of Wales deserves understanding given his personal circumstances.
“I still believe we should cut him some slack,” Bond says. “After all, he’s the only working royal to have a young family and the only one to have a wife who has so recently undergone gruelling cancer treatment. There will be time enough for him to immerse himself fully in the business of monarchy.”
Bond also notes a fundamental difference in how the father and son approach the role. While Charles packs multiple meetings into a day, William focuses on “impact.”
Charles is said to be prepping the monarchy for his son Prince William(Image: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publis)
“William tends to concentrate on single engagements, sharply focused and sometimes quite lengthy,” Bond explains. “He wants to see concrete results from his involvement.”
Despite the “cushy” appearance of royal life to some, Bond explains that the King’s role is a life sentence of service. Having carried out his first engagement more than 60 years ago, Charles shows no signs of slowing down.
“Like his mother – who, aged 96, carried out her final public engagement just two days before her death – he will almost certainly be working right up until the day he dies,” Bond concludes.
By immersing himself in the business of the crown while battling cancer, Charles is sending a message of resilience.
READ MORE: Inside Sandringham House, where the Royal Family will spend Christmas Day
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WORLD NEWS
Ecuador: Soldiers jailed for 34 years over disappearance of four murdered boys | World News
Eleven soldiers have been jailed for more than 34 years over the disappearance of four murdered boys in Ecuador.
The children, aged between 11 and 15, went missing in December last year in the city of Guayaquil.
Their disappearance happened during a military offensive against organised crime launched by the country’s president, who has decreed various states of emergency and ordered soldiers to patrol the streets.
Their families say the boys had left home to play football on the day they disappeared in the Las Malvinas neighbourhood of Ecuador’s largest city.
Protesters in Guayaquil held signs saying “we are still waiting for justice” and “never forgive, never forget” on Monday as the sentences were handed down.
Five other soldiers who assisted prosecutors were sentenced to two-and-a-half years behind bars, while a lieutenant colonel accused of being complicit, but who was not part of the patrol, was declared innocent.
Soldiers allegedly detained the boys during a night patrol, after which they beat them and forced them to remove their clothes.
A protester holds a sign that reads: “379 days since the enforced disappearance of the 4 children. We are still waiting for justice”. Pic: Reuters
They were allegedly abandoned naked in Taura, a desolate and dangerous rural area around 19 miles south of the city.
One of the children called his father from Taura, but when he arrived to pick them up, he could not find them, according to witness testimonies.
Days later, four charred bodies were identified as the missing children.
Lawyers for the boy’s families said autopsies found injuries and bruises that were sustained prior to their deaths.
“The patrol abandoned the minors in that area, knowing it was dangerous, desolate, and abandoned,” Judge Jovanny Suarez said in the ruling that ended a weeks-long criminal trial.
Read more from Sky News:
In Caracas as US threatens military action
Russian general killed by car bomb
Lawyers for the soldiers had argued the prosecution’s evidence was not conclusive.
They claimed the soldiers were sent on patrol without prior training and that they had left the minors alive in Taura.
Ecuador’s authorities continue to struggle with powerful drug cartels that hold huge amounts of influence.
President Daniel Noboa has decreed various states of emergency and ordered soldiers to patrol the streets.
NewsFeed
A final group of 130 Nigerian schoolchildren abducted last month have been freed, ending a mass kidnapping that drew global concern. The pupils were among more than 300 taken from St. Mary’s Catholic School in Niger state, spotlighting worsening insecurity and ransom attacks on schools.
Published On 22 Dec 2025
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Australia news live: NSW lower house passes anti-protest laws; Greens and pro-Palestine groups plan constitutional challenge | Australia news
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Richard Marles says the Richardson review into law enforcement and Asio processes leading up to the Bondi attack will involve a certain amount of reporting to the public, but there would be elements that would remain classified – so we won’t get to know everything Richardson finds out.
Marles says:
There will be a public version of the report. I mean, there will be elements of it which necessarily deal with classified information and it’s, by definition, important that remains classified. But we’ve made clear there’ll be transparency in respect of this.
Dennis Richardson is a person with enormous experience, firsthand experience, in terms of being secretaries of departments, but also these intelligence agencies.
He will do this independently. He’s not of the agencies or the department now, so he is able to go into this in an independent way. But we need to get to these answers quickly, and we cannot be waiting around for years, which is what a royal commission would take.
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Deputy prime minister Richard Marles has been speaking to ABC TV just now, and the first question he’s been asked is about the calls for a federal royal commission into the Bondi attacks.
He repeats the argument that we’ve heard a few times from the federal government over the last couple of days, which is about how slow royal commissions tend to be.
Marles says:
Royal commissions take years, and we need to be acting within weeks. It’s really as simple as that. We’ve had Jillian Segal do her report as our special envoy into combating anti-Semitism. We understand that anti-Semitism is at the highest point that I’ve seen in my lifetime. She has given us program of action. We have now endorsed that in full. And we are working on those actions. And we want to do that right now…
We need to be going after hate preachers, and that’s why we’ve announced that we will pursue law reform in that regard. And we want to do that in the coming weeks, not in the coming years. We need to be looking at the opportunities that those who seek to do this damage have in terms of access to guns, and there is further gun reform that can be done. And we need to be doing that right now. And there is a task in understanding what’s happened here in terms of intelligence, in terms of policing and the like.
He mentions the review into intelligence and law enforcement processes in the lead-up to the Bondi beach attack, to be led by former Australian Security Intelligence Organisation boss Dennis Richardson. You can read more about that announcement here:
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Good morning
Stephanie Convery
Good morning folks, I’m Stephanie Convery and I’ll be taking you through today’s live news for the rest of the morning and into the early afternoon.
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Updated at 21.26 CET
Woman to face court after allegedly yelling antisemitic comments at university group in October
A woman will face court following an investigation into alleged intimidation at a university in Sydney’s inner west, New South Wales police say.
Police said the woman allegedly yelled antisemitic comments at a group of students and other members of the Jewish community who were celebrating the Jewish holiday Sukkoth within the grounds of the university at Darlington campus on 9 October.
The matter was reported to police officers at the time, prompting an investigation which led to a 53-year-old woman’s arrest at Parramatta police station earlier today.
Police said she was charged with three offences – two counts of stalking or intimidating intending to cause fear or physical harm, and one count of offensive conduct.
The woman was granted conditional bail to appear at Newtown local court on 3 February, police said.
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Updated at 21.25 CET
Chants of ‘globalise the intifada’, the phrase Minns wants to ban, at Sydney rally against proposed protest law changes
Hundreds of people rallied in Sydney last night in support of Palestine and chanted a phrase the premier has sought to ban on the eve of a new legislation preventing protests.
Chants of “globalise the intifada” followed an address by Sara Saleh, a human rights lawyer with Palestinian heritage, who condemned the Bondi terror attack but also condemned the deaths of Palestinians in Gaza at the hands of Israel’s military.
“That is precisely why I intend to keep saying, ‘Globalise the intifada, free Palestine,’” Saleh said.
Our reporter Luca Ittimani was there and has sent this report:
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Updated at 21.23 CET
Greens lead constitutional challenge to anti-protest laws
The NSW Greens justice spokesperson, Sue Higginson, will join pro-Palestine and other activist groups to launch a constitutional challenge against the Minns government’s latest anti-protest laws this morning.
After the omnibus terrorism and other legislation amendment bill was passed by the lower house with Liberal support last night, Higginson will hold a press conference at 9.15am this morning to announce the challenge.
She claims the new laws “impermissibly burden the constitutional freedom of political communication”.
She will be joined by other campaigners and activists opposing the laws including: Michelle Berkon of Jews Against the Occupation; Elizabeth Jarrett of Blak Caucus; Nick Hanna of Hanna Legal; Nasser Mashni, president of Australia Palestine Advocacy Network; Josh Lees of Palestine Action Group Sydney; NSW Timothy Roberts of the Council for Civil Liberties; Sheikh Wesam Charkawi; Shovan Bhattarai of Students for Palestine; Pete Moss of Labor Friends of Palestine; Zack Schofield of Rising Tide; April Holcombe of Community Action for Rainbow Rights; NSW Socialists; and the Coalition of Women for Justice and Peace.
NSW Greens MLC Sue Higginson. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAPShare
Updated at 21.22 CET
Anne Davies has also filed this analysis of the legal changes being planned for NSW.
She writes that while a tragedy like Bondi demands action, “the unpredictable political wave of public feeling after a disaster can either wipe you out or see you riding high”.
Drafting laws that significantly curtail rights – such as the right to express your view on political matters by peaceful protest, or even as some would have it, the ‘right’ to own guns – need to be approached with careful and forensic clarity.
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Updated at 20.54 CET
NSW lower house passes gun reform and anti-protest bill
Anne Davies
NSW parliament’s emergency sitting of parliament in the wake of the Bondi shootings will continue today with the omnibus bill to change gun laws and to restrict protests expected to move to the upper house.
The lower house passed the bill last night after nearly 10 hours of debate. The Liberals voted with Labor, while the Nationals opposed the bill.
Labor does not have the numbers to pass legislation in the upper house but will again be counting on the Liberals to support the bill.
The crossbench, the Nationals and the Greens are expected to move hundreds of amendments and could use debate on changes to force a marathon session on Tuesday night.
The usual rule to prevent the parliament sitting for very long hours will be lifted.
The Nationals, the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers party and other independents are vehemently opposed to Labor plans to restrict the number of guns that individuals can own to 4 while farmers and professional shooters will be restricted to 10.
The Shooters plan to move about 120 amendments to this and other aspects of the proposed gun laws.
The Greens are planning numerous amendments to the bans on protests, which they argue are unconstitutional and undemocratic.
Government sources said the government was prepared to have the parliament sit on Christmas Day if it proved necessary, but added they were hopeful the bill would pass on Tuesday night.
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Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the day’s breaking stories and then Stephanie Convery will take the reins.
NSW parliament’s emergency sitting of parliament in the wake of the Bondi massacre will continue today with the omnibus bill to change gun laws and to restrict protests expected to move to the upper house. More details coming up.
The NSW Greens, pro-Palestine and civil liberties groups will launch a constitutional challenge against the anti-protest laws this morning at 9.15. We’ll have more on this shortly.
Shareholders in Seven West Media have overwhelmingly thrown their support behind a deal to create an Australian media giant spanning television, radio, print and digital by merging with Triple M owner Southern Cross Austereo. We’ll have more very soon.
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A series of clashes erupted in the Syrian city of Aleppo, resulting in two civilians killed and several others wounded.
The cause of the clashes was not yet clear. The Syrian government’s forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) exchanged blame for the two deaths.
According to the state-run news agency SANA, citing the city’s health directorate, the two were killed as a result of SDF shelling of Aleppo neighborhoods. SANA also quoted the Syrian Defense Ministry, which blamed the SDF for attacking two Aleppo neighborhoods.
In response, the SDF said the bombing had been carried out by groups affiliated with the Syrian government led by Ahmed al-Sharaa. The government denied this accusation.
The SDF also accused Syrian government forces of opening fire on a Kurdish checkpoint.
Turkey’s Foreign Minister visits Syria
Just hours before the attacks, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan visited Damascus and blamed the SDF for failing to commit to integrating their weapons into the Syrian army by the end of the year, the originally agreed-upon deadline.
“Syria’s stability means Turkey’s stability. This is extremely important for us,” Fidan said, calling on the SDF to “cease to be an obstacle to Syria achieving stability, unity and prosperity.”
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan visited Syria just hours before the clashes eruptedImage: Murat Gok/Anadolu Agency/IMAGO
The SDF, which controls large parts of northeastern Syria while being backed by the US, is seen by Turkey as a terrorist organization due to its connections to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Ankara has also threatened to take military action against the SDF.
Turkey was one of the main countries that pressured US President Donald Trump to remove the sanctions on Syria. The country’s military provided training for Syrian army soldiers and officers, which was reinstated after the fall of Bashar Assad.
Syria still scarred after 14-year civil war
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Israeli officials have slammed the latest report from an organization that earlier this year claimed there was famine in parts of Gaza, saying the new document is biased and that its conclusions were “predetermined.”
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a United Nations-backed organization, previously claimed famine conditions were met in Gaza Governorate in August but now says that about 1.6 million Gazans are facing “high levels of acute food insecurity.
IDF Maj. Gen. Ghassan Alian, of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), which deals with Gaza, called out what he said were “biased claims” by the IPC which he said, “disregard the volumes of food that entered during the ceasefire, indicating that the report’s conclusions were predetermined.”
ISRAEL PUSHES BACK AT ‘TAILOR-MADE’ UN-BACKED REPORT CLAIMING GAZA FAMINE
Palestinians carry aid supplies which they received from the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in the central Gaza Strip, May 29, 2025. (Ramadan Abed/Reuters)
A statement from COGAT noted, “It is important to recall that this is not the first time IPC reports regarding the Gaza Strip have been published with extreme forecasts and warnings that do not materialize in practice. Time and again, IPC assessments have proven to be incorrect and disconnected from the data on the ground, contradicting verified facts, including aid volumes, food availability and market trends. The international community must act responsibly, avoid falling for false narratives and distorted information and refrain from legitimizing a biased and unprofessional report.”
In its latest report, the IPC’s Famine Review Committee addressed the changing circumstances, explaining that “following the publication of the [last] FRC report, there was a partial relaxation of the blockade and an increase in the availability of food and other essential supplies.” While the FRC says this “came too late to avoid famine in Gaza Governorate in July and early August, the persistence of Famine and its spread to other governorates during the projection period has been avoided.”
Gazans carry food airdropped by Jordan and the United Arab Emirates on July. 27 (TPS-IL)
In August, the IPC projected that two additional governorates would experience famine by Sept. 30. At the time, several experts disputed the presence of famine conditions, including Dr. David Adesnik, vice president of research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Adesnik told Fox News Digital that mortality figures, while worrisome, did not reach levels expected during famine conditions. He also said that the prices on key food items had remained relatively stagnant or even declined during the period of alleged famine.
Following the IPC’s latest report, Adesnik said that the IPC are still “dodging the question of proving that they were right” about prior famine declarations.
US REPORT URGES UN AGENCY’S SHUTDOWN OVER HAMAS TIES, OCT 7 TERROR LINKS
In assessing the lack of mortality numbers that indicate famine, Adesnik said one of the IPC’s current arguments is that “data largely capture trauma-related deaths and overlook a substantial proportion of non-traumatic mortality.” He called this “a big leap,” explaining “They’re basically saying that with all of its efforts to track down every name of someone killed during the war, the Gaza Ministry of Health somehow missed all the people who didn’t die because of bullets, shrapnel or falling buildings — that there’s just all these people who would have died of hunger, disease, other things.”
He said that the IPC’s figures show the highest number of malnutrition-related deaths per month being 27, with all malnutrition deaths peaking at 186. “Hundreds of people dying from malnutrition is still a terrible, terrible thing,” Adesnik said. “But we were asking a question: Is this famine? And that is not remotely close to the threshold for determining famine.”
Palestinians await donated food at a community kitchen in Jabalia, northern Gaza Strip, Monday, May 19, 2025. (Jehad Alshrafi/AP Photo)
The IPC told Fox News Digital that to meet the famine threshold, “at least two in every 10,000 people” “or at least four in every 10,000 children under five are dying daily” on account of “outright starvation or the interaction of malnutrition and disease.”
US-BACKED AID GROUP ENDS GAZA MISSION AFTER DEFYING HAMAS THREATS, UN CRITICISM
In response to questions about its famine data, the IPC told Fox News Digital that “in the case of the Gaza analysis, there was clear evidence that thresholds for starvation and acute malnutrition had been reached, and analysts reasonably assessed from the broader evidence that the mortality threshold (third outcome) has likely been reached.”
Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Oren Marmorstein said on X that “The IPC also disregards the fact that, on average, between 600 and 800 aid trucks enter the Gaza Strip every day, 70% of them carrying food – nearly five times more than what the IPC itself said was required for the Strip.”
Palestinians carry bags and boxes containing food and humanitarian aid packages delivered by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a U.S.-backed organization, in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Monday, June 16, 2025. (Abdel Kareem Hana/AP Photo)
Though it is not claiming famine is underway, the IPC still states that in a “worst-case scenario” of a return to conflict, “the entire Gaza Strip is at risk of famine through mid-April 2026.”
Adesnik said that the IPC is merely “guessing about the future.” He noted that accuracy from the IPC holds serious importance given the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice’s allegations of war crimes and genocide against Israel. A declaration of famine would be a “big building block in what seems to prove part of the case.”
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Last week, the Secretary of State Marco Rubio, sanctioned two more members of the ICC for engaging “in efforts by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute Israeli nationals, without Israel’s consent, including voting with the majority in favor of the ICC’s ruling against Israel’s appeal on December 15.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the State Department “will continue to hold accountable those responsible for the ICC’s morally bankrupt and legally baseless actions against Americans and Israelis.”
Beth Bailey is a reporter covering Afghanistan, the Middle East, Asia, the United Nations, Central America and antisemitism. She was formerly a civilian intelligence analyst with the Department of the Army. You can follow Beth on X @BWBailey85
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Supporters of a prominent Colorado immigration and labor activist say an immigration judge has ruled that she can post bond and be released after spending nine months in detention.
The judge issued a written ruling Sunday allowing Jeanette Vizguerra to post $5,000 bond, said Jennifer Piper of the American Friends Service Committee, who has been working with Vizguerra’s lawyers and her family. Vizguerra’s family and a nonprofit group that helps pay bonds for people in immigration detention were working Monday to post the bond, which can take a day or more to process, she said.
Emails seeking comment from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security were not immediately returned.
Vizguerra gained prominence after she took refuge in churches in Colorado to avoid deportation during the first Trump administration. She was arrested in the parking lot of the Denver-area Target store where she worked on March 17.
Vizguerra, who came to Colorado in 1997 from Mexico City, has been fighting deportation since 2009 after she was pulled over in suburban Denver and found to have a fraudulent Social Security card with her own name and birth date but someone else’s actual number, according to a 2019 lawsuit she brought against ICE. Vizguerra did not know the number belonged to someone else at the time, it said.
Vizguerra’s lawyers have said ICE was attempting to deport her based on an order that was never valid and challenged her detention in federal court.
A federal judge recently ordered that a bond hearing be held in immigration court to determine whether Vizguerra should be continue to be held in detention facility in suburban Denver as her immigration case plays out.
NEED TO KNOW
- Kylie Kelce revealed her top hacks for navigating Christmas as a mom to daughters Wyatt, Elliotte, Bennett, and Finnley
- She shares her secrets for curating the perfect gift list and finding the best places to take family photos with Santa
- Kylie even pulled inspiration from Mandy Moore, who shared one of her own favorite hacks on social media
Kylie Kelce is sharing all her best holiday tips.
On Monday, Dec. 22, the mom of four, 33, gave insight into how she navigates the holiday season with her husband, Jason Kelce, and their four daughters, Wyatt, 6, Elliotte, 4, Bennett, 2, and Finnley, 8 months, during a special “More ‘S— Monday” clip of her Not Gonna Lie podcast.
To begin, Kylie revealed that she has two very specific go-to destinations that she visits every time she wants to take her kids to “meet a Santa.” And although she often turns to her personal photographer to take their family portraits with a “great Santa” that she knows, Kylie noted that the Santa at the King of Prussia mall, not far from Philadelphia, is a close second.
“You need to take them to a large mall; it can’t be the mall that’s half forgotten,” she emphasized. “You can’t do that. Don’t do that. You gotta go to the big mall.”
Kylie also passionately advised against taking any child to a Santa that might have a fake beard that pulls down away from his face.
“Go to the big mall,” she repeated. “They grow that s—, it’s crazy.”
As for how she gets her girls the perfect gifts? This year, Kylie admitted that her kids’ wish lists, which their Elf on the Shelf personally delivers to Santa, have been a little “out of pocket.”
“We can’t find the middle ground between actual things that exist and crazy whack ass options and I wanna meet in the middle on one gift — we were always a one big gift house — one gift that’s really really cool and exactly what they want,” she explained. “That’s how I ended up with, I believe it was three different doll houses last year to figure out which one was the correct one.”
Despite their best efforts last year, she and Jason ended up being “Santa’s elves” and painting rainbows all over one of the houses on Christmas Eve.
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Jason Kelce and Kylie Kelce with daughters Wyatt, Elliotte and Bennett.
Kylie Kelce /Instagram
So, Kylie decided to turn to a “parenting hack” that she learned from one of her former podcast guests, Mandy Moore.
“Taking pics at the toy store to send to Santa,” Moore, 41, wrote on one of her previous Instagram Stories, as seen in a clip from Kylie’s podcast. “Any other parents use this as a hack to get out of getting something on the day?”
Calling the idea an “outstanding safety net,” Kylie made it clear that she’s “very much in on this.” In fact, she’s already been taking pictures of various items her daughters have pointed out for future birthdays and holidays.
“We have had things over the year that I have taken a picture of and been like ‘Oh, we could ask for that for your birthday, or we could put it on your Christmas list,’ ” she explained. “I really love to have them focus on, you either earn it by doing something where it warrants this type of reward, or you ask for it and save up for Christmas, birthday, things like that.”
WORLD NEWS
Bill Clinton demands ALL Epstein files be released by DOJ as victims claim THOUSANDS more pictures still being held from public
Bill Clinton has demanded that Trump’s Department of Justice releases the rest of the Epstein files, after he was featured in multiple images in the last drop.
The former president, in a statement through his spokesman, said ‘someone or something is being protected. We need no such protection.’
Clinton called on Attorney General Pam Bondi to ‘immediately release any remaining materials referring to, mentioning, or containing a photograph of Bill Clinton’.
He accused the DOJ of ‘selective releases to imply wrongdoing about individuals who have already been repeatedly cleared by the very same Department of Justice, over many years.’
Clinton further alleged that by refusing to release the files, the DOJ would be confirming suspicions that its actions are about ‘insinuation’ and not transparency.
His statement comes as a group of 19 alleged victims of Epstein and his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell accused the government of missteps in its partial release of the files.
They accused the DOJ of violating the Epstein Files Transparency Act by ‘withholding massive quantities of documents’ and ‘failing to redact survivor identities.’
They that the failure to release the full trove of files and the DOJ’s alleged lack of communication about its actions ‘suggests an ongoing intent to keep survivors and the public in the dark as much as possible and as long as possible.’
Bill Clinton (pictured in a photo from the Epstein Files) has demanded that Donald Trump’s Department of Justice releases the rest of the Epstein files, after he was featured in multiple images in the last drop
The records that were released by the DOJ last week – including photographs, interview transcripts, call logs, court records and other documents – were either already public or heavily blacked out, and many lacked necessary context.
There were few revelations in the tens of thousands of pages of records that have been released so far. Some of the most eagerly awaited records, such as FBI victim interviews and internal memos shedding light on charging decisions, weren’t there.
Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has now urged his colleagues Monday to take legal action over the DOJ’s incremental and heavily redacted release of the records.
He introduced a resolution that, if passed, would direct the Senate to file or join lawsuits aimed at forcing the DOJ to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the law enacted last month that required disclosure of records by last Friday.
‘Instead of transparency, the Trump administration released a tiny fraction of the files and blacked out massive portions of what little they provided,’ Schumer, the Senate’s top Democrat said in a statement. ‘This is a blatant cover-up.’
In lieu of Republican support, Schumer’s resolution is largely symbolic. The senate is off until January 5, more than two weeks after the deadline.
Even then, it’ll likely face an uphill battle for passage. But it allows Democrats to continue a pressure campaign for disclosure that Republicans had hoped to put behind them.
The Justice Department said it plans to release records on a rolling basis by the end of the year. It blamed the delay on the time-consuming process of obscuring victims’ names and other identifying information.
So far, the department hasn’t given any notice when new records arrive.
That approach angered some accusers and members of Congress who fought to pass the transparency act.
This is a breaking news story.
Ghislaine MaxwellBill Clinton