US confirms death of citizen in Syria last week
State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said Hosam Saraya, adding that the U.S. was providing consular assistance to the family. She declined to provide further details. ABC News earlier reported that friends and family of Saraya, a American-Syrian citizen, confirmed that he and other relatives were among those seen in a video being gunned down.
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Reuters
22 minutes ago
- Reuters
Trump pauses export controls to bolster China trade deal, FT says
July 28 (Reuters) - The U.S. has paused curbs on tech exports to China to avoid disrupting trade talks with Beijing and support President Donald Trump's efforts to secure a meeting with President Xi Jinping this year, the Financial Times said on Monday. The industry and security bureau of the Commerce Department, which oversees export controls, has been told in recent months to avoid tough moves on China, the newspaper said, citing current and former officials. Reuters could not immediately verify the report. The White House and the department did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment outside business hours. Top U.S. and Chinese economic officials are set to resume talks in Stockholm on Monday to tackle longstanding economic disputes at the centre of a trade war between the world's top two economies. Tech giant Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab said this month it would resume sales of its H20 graphics processing units (GPU) to China, reversing an export curb the Trump administration imposed in April to keep advanced AI chips out of Chinese hands over national security concerns. The planned resumption was part of U.S. negotiations on rare earths and magnets, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has said. The paper said 20 security experts and former officials, including former deputy US national security adviser Matt Pottinger, will write on Monday to Lutnick to voice concern, however. "This move represents a strategic misstep that endangers the United States' economic and military edge in artificial intelligence," they write in the letter, it added.
Daily Mail
22 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
White House in 'full-bore panic mode' over Epstein files and FBI 'breaking at the seams'
President Trump is reportedly furious over the botched handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files as The White House launches into 'full-bore panic mode' in a desperate attempt to change the subject. The Justice Department and FBI have come under fire as they scramble to end the ongoing fallout after Attorney General Pam Bondi's so-called 'communications failure' snowballed into a crisis. Trump is now fuming about the inconsistent Epstein narratives emerging from Washington D.C. as the saga continues to dominate headlines. 'This is a pretty substantial distraction,' a White House source told The Washington Post, citing 'nearly a dozen people close to the situation.' 'While many are trying to keep the unity, in many ways, the DOJ and the FBI are breaking at the seams. Many are wondering how sustainable this is going to be for all the parties involved - be it the FBI director or attorney general.' Any attempts by Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel to tamp down the rampant speculation about Epstein have only fueled more conspiracy theories and negative attention. 'They completely miscalculated the fever pitch to which they built this up,' Stephen A. Saltzburg, a former Justice Department official told the Post. 'Now, they seem to be in full-bore panic mode, trying to change the subject and flailing in an effort to make sense of what makes no sense.' But Trump is refusing to make the one move that could silence his critics and reset the narrative. 'He does not want to create a bigger spectacle by firing anyone,' the source told the Post. So Bondi, Patel and FBI deputy director Dan Bongino continue their fruitless campaign to end the speculation around the death of one of the most infamous billionaire of the 21st century. The release of security footage from outside Epstein's jail cell from the night he took his own life - an attempt to stop conspiracy theories that he was murdered - was Patel and Bongino's idea, multiple sources revealed. However, the video missing three minutes of footage from that night made things worse. Both are now privately upset that they haven't been able to release more of the Epstein files with Bongino on the verge of quitting as all three play the blame game with one another. Bongino's frustration came to a head in a stunning post to X over the weekend, revealing he has discovered matters that have 'shocked me down to my core' during his time in office. He shared a cryptic message to his social media in which he vowed to uncover 'the truth' amid mounting criticism of his handling of the Epstein files. Bongino added: 'We cannot run a Republic like this. I'll never be the same after learning what I've learned. A source inside the DOJ told Daily Mail that Bongino was ready to stand down if Attorney General Pam Bondi didn't. Todd Blanche, the president's former attorney and now Bondi's second in command at the DOJ, denied any beef between his department and the FBI in a statement. 'The suggestion by anyone that there was any daylight between the FBI and DOJ leadership on this memo's composition and release is patently false,' he said. The fallout of that memo continues, with the Wall Street Journal reporting that Bondi told Trump in May that his name appeared in the Epstein files. Trump on Friday denied ever being briefed by Attorney General Pam Bondi that his name was in the files. 'No, I was never briefed. No,' he told reporters after he landed in Scotland to visit his golf courses. But Bondi briefed Trump during a May 2025 meeting that his name was found in the Epstein documents 'multiple times,' according to reports. Other high-profile individuals are also named in the investigation about Epstein's sex crimes. Just because the president is named in the files does not implicate him in any wrongdoing or connect him to Epstein's child sex trafficking crimes. Patel and Dan Bongino (pictured) are now privately upset that they haven't been able to release more of the Epstein files with Bongino on the verge of quitting as all three play the blame game with one another Todd Blanche (pictured), the president's former attorney and now Bondi's second in command at the DOJ, denied any beef between his department and the FBI The Wall Street Journal originally broke the news of Bondi's briefing to Trump. The Justice Department told the news outlet that Trump was made aware of the findings of the Epstein files as part of the 'routine briefing.' Bondi also allegedly acknowledged that the administration should withhold the files due to them containing images of child sexual abuse Blanche reportedly said that nothing was found in the files that would mandate an additional investigation - or even prosecution. 'As part of our routine briefing, we made the president aware of the findings,' they told the Journal. White House communications director Steven Cheung slammed the report as 'fake news' in a statement to the Daily Mail. 'The fact is that the president kicked him out of his club for being a creep. This is nothing more than a continuation of the fake news stories concocted by the Democrats and the liberal media, just like the Obama Russiagate scandal, which President Trump was right about,' he said when the report came out earlier this week. But, try as he might, Trump cannot move on from questions about Epstein, who died in a New York prison in 2019 while awaiting charges related to sex crimes. His death, ruled to be a suicide, sparked endless conspiracy theories that questioned how he may have really died and who among the rich and powerful would have benefitted from it. The president associated with Epstein and British socialite Maxwell in the 1980s and 1990s. Epstein's right-hand woman and former lover Ghislaine Maxwell was questioned this week by Deputy Attorney General Blanche. She is serving 20 years behind bars for his involvement in Epstein's crimes. The 63-year-old made it clear earlier this month that she was willing to speak in front of Congress about the case. Maxwell appears to be angling for a pardon from the president after she 'didn't hold back' during secret questioning session. Her attorney David Oscar Markus claimed that she spoke with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche about '100 different people' related to Epstein's child sex trafficking ring. 'They asked about every possible thing you could imagine – everything,' Markus told reporters. He also said Maxwell is being used as the 'scapegoat' in the entire Epstein case and has been 'treated unfairly for the last five years.' Her attorney said that they had not put in a formal request with the White House for a pardon for Maxwell following the conclusion of Day 2 of questioning. But Markus didn't rule out taking that action in the future, saying 'things are happening so quickly.' 'The president said earlier he has the power to do so, we hope he exercises that power in the right way,' he said of a potential commutation. Trump refused to rule out invoking his presidential pardon powers for Maxwell when asked on Friday morning. 'I'm allowed to do it, but it's something I haven't thought about,' he said. But, asked again about the matter later Friday, Trump, meanwhile, declined to talk about Maxwell and said 'this is no time to be talking about pardons.' 'I really have nothing to say about it. She is being talked to by a very smart man, a very good man, Todd Blanche. And I don't know anything about the conversation. I haven't really been following it,' he said. 'A lot of people are asking me about pardons. This is no time to be talking about pardons,' he added. Meanwhile, over the course of two days, Maxwell and her attorney have spent more than nine hours answering Blanche's questions. It's not clear when or if the DOJ will release what was learned in the meetings. Markus said Maxwell is grateful to have had the chance to sit-down with Blanche. 'This was the first opportunity she's ever been given to answer questions about what happened,' Markus said. 'The truth will come out about what happened with Mr. Epstein and she's the person whose answering those questions.' A growing fringe effort to get Trump to pardon Maxwell has unfolded after the Justice Department rejected her effort to have her conviction on child sex trafficking charges thrown out. Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence for her role in conspiring with Epstein to sexually abuse minors. She was convicted in 2021 on five counts related to sex trafficking and conspiracy. It's unclear what she can reveal that isn't already public and the closed-door meeting is fueling skepticism over the handling of the Epstein files review. Maxwell is also on the books to testify before Congress from prison on August 11.
Daily Mail
22 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Shocking moment federal air marshals 'stormed the cockpit' of Delta flight and arrested co-pilot
Federal authorities could be seen storming the cockpit of a Delta Airlines flight in San Francisco before they placed the co-pilot in handcuffs and led him off the flight. The federal agents entered Flight 2809 from Minneapolis shortly after it landed at the San Francisco International Airport at around 9.35pm on Saturday. They were filmed donning plainclothes and wearing law enforcement badges around their necks. Their faces were cropped out in video shared online. But passengers said the group of 10 officers included agents from Homeland Security Investigations and others who identified as federal air marshals, KTLA reports. 'A group of people with badges, guns and different agency vests/markings were pushing their way through the aisle to the cockpit,' a passenger who was sitting in first class told the San Francisco Chronicle. She went on to explain that the officers 'stormed the cockpit, cuffed the pilot, arrested him, walked him down the aisle and ushered him off the plane through the cabin doors located between first and coach.' Soon after, a second team of agents returned to the plane to collect the unidentified co-pilot's personal belongings. Authorities did not immediately reveal why the co-pilot was apprehended. But Fox News national correspondent Bill Melugin cited a senior federal official who claims the co-pilot was taken into custody by Homeland Security Investigations on allegations involving child sexual abuse materials. The arrest seemed to shock even those who worked on the flight. Video shared online showed federal agents in plainclothes wearing badges around their necks entering Flight 2809 from Minneapolis shortly after it landed at the San Francisco International Airport at around 9.35pm on Saturday. The officers then arrested the co-pilot of the flight 🚨 BREAKING: A Delta pilot was arrested by HSI (Homeland Security) on CSAM charges. — Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) July 27, 2025 The remaining pilot said he had no idea what was happening, View from the Wing reports, and a passenger on the flight recounted asking a member of the flight crew what was happening. 'I looked at him and said "What's going on?" He said, "I have no idea,"' the passenger told Fox 9. 'And he genuinely looked like this was a surprise, that all of a sudden there was people on the plane, because he had us stand up, we were starting to take our stuff out for arrival and everybody was already in the overhead bin.' The passenger who spoke to the Chronicle ultimately called the experience 'shocking and unnerving,' noting that those on board received no information from the crew about what had occurred.
