Olympic committee reveals decision on whether to ban US over Venezuela strike
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has responded to calls to exclude the U.S. and its athletes from the upcoming Winter Olympics over the country’s recent military intervention in Venezuela.
The committee ruled out any penalty on the U.S. in the aftermath of the intervention.
“As a global organization, the IOC has to manage a complex reality. The IOC has to deal with the current political context and the latest developments in the world,” the IOC said in a statement to the BBC.
“The ability to bring athletes together, no matter where they come from, is fundamental to the future of values-based, truly global sport, which can give hope to the world.
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“For this reason, the IOC cannot involve itself directly in political matters or conflicts between countries, as these fall outside our remit. This is the realm of politics.”
Russian athletes are banned from competing in the Olympics since the country invaded Ukraine in 2022. Russian invaded Ukraine just four days after the closing ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics in February of that year, which is a violation of the Olympic Truce clause in the IOC charter. Russia also put Ukrainian athletes there under the control of the Russian Olympic Committee.
The U.S.’s strike on Venezuela violated no such charter and has been praised by many in the international community due to the capture of dictator Nicolás Maduro and the toppling of his regime.
The effort came after months of pressure on Venezuela as the Trump administration conducted more than 20 strikes in Latin American waters targeting alleged drug traffickers as part of Trump’s broader initiative to curb the influx of drugs into the U.S.
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The IOC faced similar calls to exclude Israel from the Olympics over the Gaza war, but those requests were also declined as the committee stated that the country’s national Olympic committee had complied with the Olympic Charter.
However, Indonesia may face a penalty for violating the Olympic Charter, even if it doesn’t result in the exclusion of the country’s athletes from competition.
The IOC previously condemned the country for its denial of visas to Israeli athletes and declared it a breach of the international charter. All conversation about Indonesia hosting a future Olympics was terminated, and the IOC advised global organizers not to schedule any major events in the country.
The Indonesian government cited safety concerns for its decision to deny the Israel team visas, warning of potential threats within its country to the safety of the Israeli athletes and risk the safety of others.
However, Team Israel claimed its own country’s security detail determined the country was safe to enter and cleared its athletes to travel there.
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“We received authorization from the Israeli Security Authorities to participate in the World Championship subject to the necessary security protocols in place. From our side, all preparations were complete — registration process, entry visas to Indonesia and Israeli Security Authorities confirmation,” the Israel Gymnastics Federation previously told Fox News Digital.
Indonesia was previously stripped of its right to host the under-20 World Cup when the governor of Bali refused to host Team Israel in a game.
College football star quarterback sues NCAA in shocking twist for his career
Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss has sued the NCAA after being denied a sixth year of eligibility.
Chambliss’ lawyers are asking a Mississippi judge for a preliminary injunction that would allow him to play one more collegiate season, according to multiple reports.
The NCAA formally rejected his request for a sixth year of eligibility Jan. 9 due to him and his team not being able to provide evidence he was suffering from an “incapacitating injury or illness” when he did not play for Division II Ferris State in 2022 due to apparent respiratory issues.
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“In November, Ole Miss filed a waiver request for football student-athlete Trinidad Chambliss, seeking to extend his five-year Division I eligibility clock, citing an incapacitating illness or injury. Approval requires schools to submit medical documentation provided by a treating physician at the time of a student’s incapacitating injury or illness, which was not provided,” the statement says.
“The documents provided by Ole Miss and the student’s prior school include a physician’s note from a December 2022 visit, which stated the student-athlete was ‘doing very well’ since he was seen in August 2022.
“Additionally, the student-athlete’s prior school indicated it had no documentation on medical treatment, injury reports or medical conditions involving the student-athlete during that time frame and cited “developmental needs and our team’s competitive circumstances” as its reason the student-athlete did not play in the 2022-23 season. The waiver request was denied.”
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Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter said the school would appeal the ruling.
“We are disappointed with today’s announcement by the NCAA and plan to appeal the decision to the Committee level,” Carter said in a social media post, in which he included the flag of Trinidad and Tobago. “Additionally, we will continue to work in conjunction with Trinidad’s representatives in other avenues of support.”
Chambliss’ attorney also released a statement that day suggesting litigation could be coming.
“I understand that Ole Miss will file an appeal with the NCAA. However, there’s now an opportunity to move this case to a level playing field where Trinidad’s rights will be determined by the Mississippi judiciary instead of some bureaucrats in Indianapolis who couldn’t care less about the law or doing the right thing,” Tom Mars said.
“Whether to pursue that course of action is a decision only Trinidad and his parents can make.”
Chambliss and his legal team will go to court in an effort to keep him on the field for the 2026 season.
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The NCAA referred to its Jan. 9 statement when contacted for a response to the lawsuit by Fox News Digital.
Ole Miss came within a quarter of advancing to the NCAA semifinal, losing a 31-27 thriller to Miami in the Fiesta Bowl Jan. 8.
Landlord forced to shell out $2.1M after NYC mayor vows ‘no one is above the law’
New York City reached a $2.1 million settlement with A&E Real Estate covering 14 buildings in three boroughs, with Mayor Zohran Mamdani saying the agreement will force repairs and stop what he described as tenant harassment.
“Today, I am proud to stand here … to announce that New York City has come to a settlement with A&E Realty regarding 14 buildings across three boroughs,” Mamdani said Friday at a news conference in Jackson Heights, Queens.
Asked during the news conference how aggressive the new administration plans to be with landlords, Mamdani said, “We want to make it clear to everyone in this city that no one is above the law and that if you are a landlord violating the law, then this administration will hold you to account.”
Mamdani said the settlement requires A&E to pay “$2.1 million in restitution” and includes “injunctions preventing them from harassing their tenants” while compelling the company “to correct more than 4,000 building code violations across these 14 buildings.”
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“For years, A&E has operated with callous disregard for those residing in its properties, racking up over 140,000 total violations, including 35,000 in the last year alone,” Mamdani said. “City Hall will not sit idly by and accept this illegality, nor will we allow bad actors to continue to harass tenants with impunity.”
A tenant, Diana De La Paz, described conditions she said residents have dealt with at her building, including prolonged elevator outages, heat issues and infestations. De La Paz said the elevator in her building has been out of service for long stretches, which she said “effectively imprison[ed] elderly and disabled tenants in their own homes.”
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Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) Commissioner Dina Levy said the agreement will affect “750 tenants across 14 buildings” and said the city’s litigation “has produced a settlement that will lead to the correction of more than 4,000 Housing Code violations.”
“It will enforce long overdue court-ordered repairs and impose $2.1 million in civil penalties and will include binding injunctions that will prohibit further tenant harassment and require sustained compliance moving forward from this landlord,” Levy said.
Levy said the deal represents the agency’s biggest settlement to date.
“Actually, the settlement announced today … represents HPD’s largest settlement in the history of the unit,” Levy said, adding that the city has additional tools it can use, including intervention in distressed buildings and, in extreme situations, removing buildings from owners’ control and installing “responsive management.”
Levy added that the city’s immediate focus is getting violations fixed through the settlement but warned additional action is possible if landlords do not comply.
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“The intended outcome is safety and well-being for tenants,” Mamdani said. “We today are announcing a multimillion-dollar settlement with this landlord to actually rectify these violations. That is what we want to see. If a landlord cannot get to that settlement, continues to operate outside of the law, then we will hold them to account in additional ways.”
City Council member Shekar Krishnan, who represents Jackson Heights, called A&E a “reprehensible landlord” and said enforcement is what tenants need.
“As a former tenant lawyer myself … I’ve always said that tenants’ rights are not worth more than the paper they’re written on if they’re not enforced in reality,” Krishnan said. “Here we are today … showing what enforcement looks like.”
Mamdani also announced what he called “rental ripoff” hearings across the city.
“We will be holding a rental ripoff hearing in each of the five boroughs within the first 100 days of our administration,” he said, describing them as hearings where multiple agencies will “listen to New Yorkers’ needs” and use that feedback to shape enforcement and policy.
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“We’ve made it our mission to collaborate with the city to improve this building and others that were in deep disrepair when we took ownership,” a spokesperson for A&E Real Estate told Fox News Digital. “In every building we’ve purchased, we’ve invested in replacing boilers, rehabbing elevators and fixing tens of thousands of longstanding violations.
“We are pleased to have settled all legal issues with the City and have agreed upon a repair plan with the housing department that we are already delivering on. We look forward to partnering with the city to improve the lives of our residents and find collaborative ways to protect and to continue to invest in New York City’s housing stock.”
Newsom admits ‘gender identity’ is problematic for Dems after Ben Shapiro clash
California Gov. Gavin Newsom agreed with Daily Wire founder Ben Shapiro Thursday that whether boys can become girls is one of the great deal-breaker issues for the Democratic Party.
“I think one of the major failings of the Democratic Party in the last election cycle is the unwillingness to say whether it was true or untrue that a boy could become a girl,” Shapiro said on the “This is Gavin Newsom” podcast.
Newsom and Shapiro went back and forth about the policy of teachers being allowed to withhold from parents that their children are being socially transitioned at school without their parents’ knowledge, but the governor argued this is a statistically minute issue.
“We’re talking about so few people that are struggling with gender identity issues,” Newsom said. “I’m with the governor, Gov. Spencer Cox, who said about many of these issues, never has so much attention been placed on so few people.”
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“The problem is I do think that, on an electoral level — to go to the politics — it is a barrier to entry for a lot of people when you say a boy can become a girl,” Shapiro replied.
“I respect if that’s your barrier to then listening to people on a myriad of other issues,” Newsom said. “So be it. It is what it is.”
“I find it strange that even if you wish to have a public policy that pursues something different, we cannot just admit that boys and girls are two different things and that a boy cannot become a girl,” Shapiro said. “Why is this so difficult?”
“Yeah, I understand your point of view,” Newsom replied, later saying that Shapiro is a “facts over empathy guy.”
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Newsom has shown nuance on this issue in recent months.
In March, Newsom noted in an interview with Charlie Kirk that biological men in women’s sports is an issue of fairness, calling it “deeply unfair.”
He also spoke about the issue with The New York Times’ Ezra Klein.
“That’s an issue no one wants to hear about because 80% of the people listening disagree with my position on this. But it comes from my heart, not just my head. It wasn’t a political evolution,” he said.
“I want to see trans kids. I have a trans godson. There’s no governor who has signed more pro-trans legislation than I have. No one has been a stronger advocate for the LGBTQ community.”
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Sports billionaire quietly pulls off the biggest US land grab in years
A billionaire sports and real estate magnate has quietly completed the largest private land purchase in the United States in more than a decade — propelling him past other moguls to the top of the nation’s private landownership rankings.
Stan Kroenke — who owns the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams and England’s Premier League club Arsenal — purchased more than 937,000 acres of ranchland in New Mexico in a major off-market deal for property once owned by the heirs of Teledyne founder Dr. Henry Singleton, The Land Report first reported.
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The acquisition catapulted Kroenke from No. 4 to No. 1 on the 2025 Land Report 100, surpassing other billionaire landowners such as Ted Turner and John Malone. It also marked the largest single land transaction in the United States in more than a decade. Financial terms were not disclosed by either party.
With this deal, Kroenke now owns more land than any other private individual in the United States, surpassing the Emmerson family’s 2.44 million acres, Malone’s 2.2 million acres, and Turner’s 2 million acres.
A spokesperson for The Kroenke Group declined to comment to Fox News Digital.
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Kroenke’s portfolio now spans much of the American West and Canada, including 560,000 acres in Wyoming, 124,000 in Montana, the historic W.T. Waggoner Ranch in Texas, 800,000 acres in Nevada, and British Columbia’s Douglas Lake Ranch.
Born in Columbia, Missouri, Kroenke built his fortune through real estate development and professional sports, owning the Los Angeles Rams, the NBA’s Denver Nuggets, the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche, and the Premier League’s Arsenal FC. He is married to Ann Walton Kroenke, an heiress to the Walmart fortune, and has expanded his land and ranching empire across the American West for decades.
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Broadway casts transgender influencer as lead in musical about historic women
Dylan Mulvaney, the transgender influencer at the center of the 2023 Bud Light backlash, has been cast in the Broadway musical about women’s history, “Six.”
Mulvaney will play Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII, marking her Broadway debut. The casting comes more than two years after Mulvaney’s partnership with Bud Light sparked a nationwide boycott and a steep decline in sales for the beer brand.
“Losing our heads to introduce your newest Anne Boleyn! Show some royal love to Queen Dylan Mulvaney, who will be joining the #SIXBroadway 5.0 cast as Anne Boleyn starting February 16!” the musical’s official X account announced Friday.
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“Six” retells the stories of King Henry VIII’s six wives through a modern pop lens. Several of the women were executed or divorced, and the show’s website says the wives take the stage to “reclaim their identities out of the shadow of their infamous spouse.”
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The casting has sparked debate online because the production has long promoted itself as a female-centered retelling of women’s historical experiences.
The musical has been widely marketed as a feminist-pop celebration of women’s history and “21st century girl power” and has previously emphasized its all-female ensemble. “Six” won the Tony Award for best original score in 2022.
Mulvaney became a national figure in April 2023 after posting videos showing Bud Light had sent a pack of beer featuring the influencer’s face. The promotion was part of a campaign marking Mulvaney’s first full year transitioning to be a woman.
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Mulvaney rose to prominence by documenting the gender transition in a daily social media series, “Days of Girlhood.” In January 2024, FOX Business reported that Bud Light sales fell nearly 30% in the months following the campaign.
The controversy grew into one of the most prominent corporate culture clashes in recent years, ultimately costing Bud Light its position as America’s top-selling beer.
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Mulvaney appeared on “The View” in March 2025 to defend the partnership, saying she loved beer and “didn’t think anything of it” when she accepted the brand deal. She also appeared on “CBS Mornings,” where she criticized the Trump administration’s rollback of transgender-related policies.
“It didn’t change any way that I think about myself because I’m a woman no matter what my passport says,” Mulvaney said. The influencer was referring to the State Department’s decision to stop issuing passports with an “X” gender marker in addition to “M” and “F.”
New tax deduction could put more money back in seniors’ pockets this year
Tax season is fast approaching and several tax policy changes impacting older Americans will be in effect when seniors go to file their returns.
The enactment of Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) last year revised a number of tax policies, including some provisions that the IRS is implementing for the 2025 tax year, for which Americans will begin filing their tax returns beginning on Jan. 26.
Among the new tax provisions that will impact seniors is a bonus deduction for seniors age 65 and older that can be claimed in addition to the standard deduction.
“In addition to the existing standard deduction, filers who are age 65 and older can qualify for a new senior bonus deduction of up to $6,000 for individuals and $12,000 for married couples,” said Nancy LeaMond, AARP executive vice president and chief advocacy and engagement officer. “This deduction is targeted to lower- and middle-income retirees and will help tens of millions keep more of their income.”
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“With ongoing anxiety around cost of living and kitchen table budget issues, this kind of relief can make a critical difference for folks trying to make ends meet,” LeaMond added.
The extra deduction for seniors phases out for taxpayers with a modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) of over $75,000 for single filers and $150,000 for joint filers.
For seniors whose incomes are above those thresholds, the tax break phases out gradually and reduces the deduction by 6 cents for every dollar over that amount.
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AARP offered an example for a single 70-year-old with a MAGI of $80,000 – which is $5,000 above the $75,000 phaseout threshold – who would see their deduction reduced by $300 to a total of $5,700.
The new, extra deduction for seniors phases out entirely for taxpayers whose MAGI is $175,000 or more as an individual or $250,000 or more for joint filers.
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Senior citizens can claim the new, extra deduction regardless of whether they itemize their tax return or claim the standard deduction.
While the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s extra deduction for seniors takes effect this year, it isn’t a permanent provision of the tax code and, under current law, is scheduled to expire after the 2028 tax year.
Congress could take action to extend the policy beyond that year, though it’s unclear at this time if lawmakers intend to do so.
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As with some of the other new tax provisions in the OBBBA, lawmakers made the extra deduction for seniors temporary to help the bill comply with Congress’ reconciliation rules that constrain how much the legislation can increase budget deficits.
Reconciliation allows bills to move through the Senate without being subject to the 60-vote filibuster threshold, with passage requiring only a simple majority.
Tim Walz, Jacob Frey under investigation for allegedly impeding law enforcement
Fox News has learned federal prosecutors are investigating both Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey for allegedly impeding law enforcement efforts in the blue state.
Two sources familiar confirmed the probe, though no additional details about the investigation have been publicly released.
Sources said the investigation is in early stages, and it is unclear if it will result in any criminal charges.
U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told Fox News the duo’s anti-ICE rhetoric was teetering on a federal crime.
“When the governor or the mayor threaten our officers, when the mayor suggests that he’s encouraging citizens to call 911 when they see ICE officers, that is very close to a federal crime,” Blanche said.
Bondi added on X, “A reminder to all those in Minnesota: No one is above the law.”
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Walz responded to the news by accusing the Trump administration of “weaponizing the justice system.”
“Two days ago, it was Elissa Slotkin. Last week it was Jerome Powell. Before that, Mark Kelly,” Walz wrote in an X post. “Weaponizing the justice system against your opponents is an authoritarian tactic. The only person not being investigated for the shooting of Renee Good is the federal agent who shot her.”
Frey also weighed in on social media, asserting he “will not be intimidated.”
“This is an obvious attempt to intimidate me for standing up for Minneapolis, local law enforcement, and residents against the chaos and danger this Administration has brought to our city,” Frey wrote on X. “I will not be intimidated. My focus remains where it’s always been: keeping our city safe.
Frey’s office told Fox News Digital they have not yet heard from the federal government.
“America depends on leaders that use integrity and the rule of law as the guideposts for governance,” Frey’s office wrote in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Neither our city nor our country will succumb to this fear. We stand rock solid.”
“America depends on leaders that use integrity and the rule of law as the guideposts for governance. Neither our city nor our country will succumb to this fear. We stand rock solid.”
Both Democrat leaders have encouraged anti-immigration enforcement protests following the death of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good, who was fatally shot Jan. 7 by a federal agent while allegedly blocking an ICE operation in Minneapolis.
The White House’s Rapid Response 47 team criticized Walz following a statewide address Wednesday, where he called for ICE agents to be prosecuted.
“Help us establish a record of exactly what’s happening in our communities. You have an absolute right to peacefully film ICE agents as they conduct these activities,” Walz said. “So, carry your phone with you at all times. And if you see these ICE agents in your neighborhood, take out that phone and hit record.
“Help us create a database of the atrocities against Minnesotans, not just to establish a record for posterity. But to bank evidence for future prosecution.”
Frey called for peace on Wednesday, just days after telling ICE to “get the f— out” of the city.
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White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told Fox News that Walz, Frey and other Democratic leaders have “done nothing but turn up the temperature, smear heroic ICE officers, and incite violence against them—all in defense of criminal illegal aliens.”
President Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Thursday warning he would invoke the Insurrection Act if Minnesotans continue aggression toward federal agents.
“If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don’t obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their job, I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT, which many Presidents have done before me, and quickly put an end to the travesty that is taking place in that once great State,” Trump wrote in the post.
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The Insurrection Act, which allows the president to deploy the military to suppress rebellions and enforce federal laws, has not been invoked since the 1992 Los Angeles riots.
If invoked, National Guardsmen could be deployed to carry out domestic law enforcement.
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Iranian state TV invokes Butler shooting in threat promising Trump assassination
Iranian state television aired a vile threat against President Donald Trump earlier this week, referencing the 47th president’s near assassination while on the campaign trail in Butler, Pennsylvania, in 2024.
The clip showed a sign held by a demonstrator at a pro-Iranian regime gathering. The sign featured a now-iconic photo of Trump, standing on stage with a bloodied ear after being grazed by a bullet at the Butler campaign stop, while Secret Service agents rushed to his aid.
The caption below the photo, written in Farsi, said, “This time, it (the bullet) won’t miss,” according to i24 news correspondent Amachia Stein, who posted a screenshot of the television clip on his X account.
The Secret Service confirmed that it is aware of the photo.
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At the Pennsylvania rally, Trump turned his head a split-second before the bullet struck him, avoiding what could have been a deadly shot. In defiance of his protective detail, he stood up and raised his fist, yelling, “Fight, fight, fight,” before being scuttled off the stage.
The threat comes amid rising tensions between the United States and Iran, and as the Iranian people rise up against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei‘s brutal regime.
The protests stemmed from the cloistered Middle Eastern country’s economic crisis, which has become increasingly dire as the value of the Rial, Iran’s currency, has plummeted.
The regime has cracked down hard on the protesters, with state-sanctioned killings estimated to be in the thousands.
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The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency announced that 1,847 of the dead were protesters and 135 were members of Iran’s security forces. Other reports say the death toll is more than 3,000 people, Fox News Digital previously reported.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration has been weighing military action to stop the slaughter of civilians.
“I have canceled all meetings with Iranian Officials until the senseless killing of protesters STOPS. HELP IS ON ITS WAY,” Trump posted to Truth Social Tuesday.
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At least one U.S. aircraft carrier has been moved to the region, military sources told Fox News Digital. Those same sources said missile defense systems are expected to be deployed in the region to protect U.S. and allied military bases.
On Thursday afternoon, Trump told the media that “very important sources on the other side” informed him that Iran has halted the execution of protesters, but said he is keeping an eye on the situation.
On Friday, the president announced on TRUTH Social that hundreds of scheduled executions had been halted.
“I greatly respect the fact that all scheduled hangings, which were to take place yesterday (Over 800 of them), have been cancelled by the leadership of Iran. Thank you!” he said in a midday post.
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As for whether military action is imminent, Trump remained noncommittal, reiterating that he is monitoring the situation.