Happy New Year 2025

Tag: backs

Israeli cabinet backs Trump’s demand for Hamas to release all hostages

Israel’s security cabinet fully supports President Donald Trump’s demand that the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas release all of its hostages by noon on Saturday or that “all hell is going to break out,” an Israeli official told Fox News.

The declaration comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened his security cabinet Tuesday after Hamas announced it is delaying the next release of Israeli hostages.

“The decision I passed in the Cabinet unanimously is this: If Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday noon – the ceasefire will end, and the IDF will resume intense combat until Hamas is decisively defeated,” Netanyahu said in a statement following the meeting.

“In light of Hamas’ announcement of its decision to violate the agreement and not release our hostages, I instructed the IDF last night to amass forces inside and around the Gaza Strip. This operation is currently underway and will be completed as soon as possible,” Netanyahu added.

TRUMP SAYS CEASEFIRE SHOULD BE CANCELED IF HOSTAGES AREN’T RELEASED BY SATURDAY

Israeli captives, from left to the right, Ohad Ben Ami, Eli Sharabi and Or Levy, who have been held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, are escorted by Hamas fighters on a stage before being handed over to the Red Cross in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. (AP/Abdel Kareem Hana)

“We also welcomed the President’s revolutionary vision for the future of Gaza,” Netanyahu said.

Trump said Monday if Hamas does not return all hostages by noon on Saturday, he will call for the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip to be canceled and “let all hell break out.”

“If all the Gaza hostages aren’t returned by Saturday at 12 p.m., I would say cancel the ceasefire,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “Let all hell break out; Israel can override it.”

Trump stressed that Hamas needs to release “all of them — not in drips and drabs.”

“Saturday at 12pm and after that, I would say, all hell is going to break out,” Trump said.

Trump reiterated his demand on Tuesday and told reporters that he believes Hamas will listen to him.

ISRAEL SLAMS PALESTINIAN ‘DECEPTION SCHEME’ OVER CLAIM IT HALTED TERROR REWARDS PROGRAM

Israeli soldiers gather by the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel on Tuesday, Feb.11. (AP/Ariel Schalit)

A Hamas spokesperson said Monday that the terrorist group will delay the next planned release of hostages in the Gaza Strip after accusing Israel of violating the ceasefire agreement.

“Over the past three weeks, the resistance leadership has monitored the enemy’s violations and failure to fulfill its obligations under the agreement; including the delay in allowing the return of the displaced to the northern Gaza Strip, targeting them with direct shelling and gunfire in various areas across Gaza, and denying relief supplies of all kinds to enter as agreed, while the resistance has implemented all its obligations,” Abu Obeida, the spokesperson for Hamas’ military wing, said.

Israel and Hamas are in the midst of a six-week ceasefire, during which Hamas has committed to releasing 33 hostages captured in its Oct. 7, 2023 attack in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.

Displaced Palestinians, carrying their belongings in vehicles, wait at a security checkpoint in the Netzarim corridor while traveling from central Gaza to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, Feb. 11. (AP/Abdel Kareem Hana)

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The sides have carried out five swaps since the ceasefire went into effect last month, freeing 21 hostages and more than 730 Palestinian prisoners. The next exchange, scheduled for next Saturday, calls for three more Israeli hostages to be freed in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

Fox News’ Yael Rotem-Kuriel, Brooke Singman, Danielle Wallace, Yonat Friling and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Greg Norman is a reporter at Fox News Digital.

February 11, 2025
Falcons running backs discuss sharing time in backfield, praise Kirk Cousins for how he handled benching

It may not be uncommon for two teammates who play the same position to secretly root against one another. But that’s not what’s happening with Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier.

Allgeier ran for over 1,000 yards in his rookie season in 2022, but just a few months after his first campaign wrapped up, the Atlanta Falcons selected Robinson with the eighth overall selection in the NFL Draft.

With Robinson being a star in Texas, the writing was on the wall for Allgeier to complement Robinson.

But that was fine with him. Off the field, they are “the bestest of friends,” Robinson said.

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Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson (7) celebrates after a touchdown with running back Tyler Allgeier (25) against the New Orleans Saints in the second quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. (Brett Davis/USA Today Sports)

“I feel like a work environment that’s cool, but having that off the field as well, it just brings us even closer. So, that work environment is easy. It’s not forced. I think having those relationships that aren’t forced is just so natural and awesome to have. To be Bijan’s boy, it’s just awesome to have a best friend on the team,” Allgeier said in a recent interview with Fox News Digital with Robinson by his side.

“Off the field, we became the bestest of friends,” Robinson added. “This is my brother. I can rely on him for everything and anything. That we’re here in the Super Bowl doing something together, that’s all you can ask for.”

Naturally, they partnered with Bounty to be each other’s wingman ahead of the Super Bowl.

“You can’t have football without wings, and you can’t have wings without Bounty. That’s the main thing. But having my wingman right here? Can’t get any better,” said Allgeier.

“I think our relationship is like Bounty and wings. It’s literally the same thing. You can’t have one without the other,” Robinson added. “For me, this is one of the best running backs in the league. There’s no backup in his title at all.

“For me to share the field with him, and for when I get tired, he goes in, when he gets tired, I’ll go in. We’re just trying to play off each other and just have fun with it. We have a coach that allows us to maximize our abilities.”

Much like the running backs, it was similar when the Falcons, just a months after signing Kirk Cousins, drafted Michael Penix with the eighth overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Penix eventually took Cousins’ job, but there was nothing awkward between the two at all, the backs said.

Atlanta Falcons quarterbacks Michael Penix Jr., left, and Kirk Cousins on the field befor a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. (Dale Zanine/Imagn Images)

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“It was just good to see Kirk deal with that the right way. He never wavered, he never got mad or got disappointed,’” said Robinson. “He got right to work. He got right to helping Mike become who he wants to become. Even with Mike, he was so selfless and wanted to learn and get connections with all of us as players on the offense.

“I was never a love/hate, or hate, relationship at all. It was just support, and when you got a guy who can learn under a vet for a whole season really, then he comes in way more comfortable and way more prepared than just him having to start off right away being a rookie quarterback. They played off each other well, and we just love having both of them.”

Added Allgeier, “Being there the same time as Kirk, and especially having Kirk as the role model, I think he set the standard of what a vet and a great quarterback is to be in this league. Him being able to be under his wing and just chip away at it. It was dope to have. So, I think he was already preparing to be a starter. So, it was just a matter of timing and just his plan.”

Super Bowl LIX will be streamed on Tubi. (Tubi)

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It’s unclear what Cousins’ future in Atlanta is. But, after many were confused by Atlanta picking Penix, it seems like they made a smart move thinking outside the box.

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Scott Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.

February 9, 2025
Emmitt Smith rips teams for not using running backs enough, creating narratives against position

NFL teams might learn a thing or two from Emmitt Smith.

No one in NFL history has run for more yards than Smith, who gained 18,355 yards during his 15-year career, mostly with the Dallas Cowboys.

Smith also holds the NFL record for most rushing attempts, touchdowns and overall touches. When the NFL was a true ground-and-pound league, Smith dominated everyone in his path.

But football has changed a lot since he retired 20 years ago, and even Smith knows teams are making quarterbacks the stars of the league.

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Dallas Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith (22) makes his way through San Francisco 49ers defensive back Merton Hanks (36) and linebacker Bill Romanowski (53) for a 4-yard gain in the second quarter of the Cowboys’ 38-21 NFC championship win Jan. 23, 1994, in Irving, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

Because of that, and perhaps some analytics, the running back position was underused in recent years. Running backs had trouble getting big contracts as general managers prioritized other positions.

However, after significant turnover in the offseason, teams may now get the hint. And they’ll have somebody like Saquon Barkley to look at. The Eagles running back is one win away from a Lombardi Trophy after a 2,000-yard regular season after the Giants decided not to re-sign him to a long-term deal.

“There’s been a commitment to the running game from those guys. Prior to that, they were still doing quality work, but the emphasis from the league was all about the quarterback play and how they want the quarterback to be the face of the league,” Smith said in a recent interview with Fox News Digital.

He specifically cited Barkley, Derrick Henry and Josh Jacobs, all of whom switched teams in the offseason.

“Quarterback play has been mediocre at best in some of these organizations, but yet they still want to talk about the devaluing of the running back position,” Smith said. “I would call it the underutilization of the running back versus devaluing that position. And that’s on the offensive coordinators and the league pushing this narrative that the running back position is not valuable enough.”

What’s not mediocre are the snacks Smith will be indulging during the Super Bowl. He was in New Orleans as part of Pepsi Co’s and Frito-Lay’s “Chips and Sips” campaign.

“Every time you have an event like the Super Bowl, you gotta have your favorite chips with your favorite soda. Everyone has a chance to celebrate something and enjoy themselves with some great quality snacks for the big game,” Smith said, adding he “like[s] a little ranch.”

Former NFL player Emmitt Smith attends a game between the Augustana Vikings and the Duke Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium Nov. 4, 2016, in Durham, N.C. (Lance King/Getty Images)

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Smith also seemed to call out the hypocrisy of coaches who wind up relying on the running game when the quarterback play isn’t up to par.

“Here’s how I look at it. Teams talk about the undervalued running back, but yet when teams cannot throw the football, or the No. 1 quarterback goes down, they don’t throw the ball the same way when Cooper Rush is in the game,” Smith said.

“They lower his attempts, and guess what they do? They lean on Rico Dowdle and the running back corps of the Dallas Cowboys. … If you can run the ball without Dak in the game the way the Cowboys did the last four, five games and be effective that way, surely you can do it that way with Dak Prescott and be a better football team than what they are right now.

“Think about Bijan [Robinson] down in Atlanta. He’s the best thing they have. And Michael Penix became a better quarterback all because he had a solid running back behind him. … But people don’t want to talk about that no more. They want to talk about what Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes are doing.”

Super Bowl LIX will be streamed on Tubi. (Tubi)

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This season, five running backs ran for at least 1,400 yards, the most since 2012. In 2023, there was only one. Christian McCaffrey led the league last year with 1,459 rushing yards, while Barkley and Henry (1,921) destroyed that number this season.

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February 8, 2025
Missouri AG backs up Trump’s birthright citizenship order, argues 14th Amendment has been ‘perverted’

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey defended President Donald Trump’s efforts to end birthright citizenship on Wednesday, arguing that the 14th Amendment clause that the policy is based on has been “perverted.”

Bailey told Fox News Digital in an interview that the 14th Amendment “was never intended to be perverted into some kind of bad incentive to violate our national immigration laws.” He went on to note the multiple attempts by President Biden’s administration to bend or break appropriations laws, saying he fought each and every one. Trump’s order ending birthright citizenship has already faced numerous legal challenges.

“Look, the 14th Amendment was drafted and ratified after the Civil War to fix the problem that an activist Supreme Court inflicted on the United States of America in the form of the Dred Scott decision,” Bailey said. “Again, the 14th Amendment was indented to protect Americans like Dred Scott.”

The 14th Amendment, which was ratified after the Civil War to acknowledge citizenship for former slaves and their descendants, was not used to confer birthright citizenship to illegal aliens until more than 100 years after it was adopted by Congress, according to legal expert Hans von Spakovsky of the Heritage Foundation.

TRUMP ADMIN HITS BACK AS ACLU LAUNCHES LAWSUIT ON BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP: ‘READY TO FACE THEM’

President Donald Trump has signed a slew of executive orders since his inauguration on Jan. 20. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Bailey went on to defend another of Trump’s controversial orders, this one pausing the flow of federal appropriations funding. Trump signed the order this week to ensure that federal agencies were in line with the new administration’s policies before distributing funding.

“The president has the authority to determine the appropriation laws that are passed that appropriate funds toward items in the federal budget, but it’s up to the president to then carry into effect that appropriations law,” Bailey said.

TRUMP DHS REPEALS KEY MAYORKAS MEMO LIMITING ICE AGENTS, ORDERS PAROLE REVIEW

“I would ask our friends on the left, where were they when President Biden refused to build the border wall for which Congress had appropriated funds and commanded erection of new border barrier systems, period? We had to sue the Biden administration,” Bailey said, noting that Missouri led the ultimately successful effort against the previous administration.

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey backed up President Donald Trump’s wave of executive orders on Wednesday. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

“They want to call it a constitutional crisis, but they’re silent on issues like that. They’re also silent on issues like when President Biden attempts to appropriate funds by himself without congressional authority. How many times did he try to take taxpayer money to try to pay off student loan debt?” Bailey added.

TRUMP TO DEPLOY MILITARY TO BORDER, END BIDEN PAROLE POLICIES IN FLURRY OF DAY 1 EXECUTIVE ORDERS

Meanwhile, Trump’s opponents have lined up lawsuits in an effort to block executive orders across the board. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sued over the birthright citizenship order last week, arguing it was unconstitutional. Twenty-two Democrat-led states joined the ACLU in its effort.

President Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship is getting congressional backup from border state Republicans and others. (Getty Images)

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Trump’s opponents argue that of those born on U.S. soil, the text of the law precludes only the children of foreign diplomats from becoming U.S. citizens.

Anders Hagstrom is a reporter with Fox News Digital covering national politics and major breaking news events. Send tips to [email protected], or on Twitter: @Hagstrom_Anders.

January 29, 2025
Blue state governor backs Boston ICE operations, supports ‘apprehension of criminals’

The Democratic governor of Massachusetts signaled her support for arresting criminal illegal immigrants, saying she supports “the apprehension of criminals in our communities”

Gov. Maura Healey told reporters on Thursday that she supports arresting criminals, regardless of whether they are undocumented or not, according to local news outlet WCVB.

Fox News witnessed ICE Boston making eight arrests this week, including multiple MS-13 members, Interpol Red Notices, murder and rape suspects, and a volatile Haitian gang member with 18 convictions in recent years who shouted that he “ain’t going back to Haiti” and “F— Trump, Biden forever!”

The arrests come as the Trump administration moves rapidly to fulfill its promise to launch a historic mass deportation operation, which it has said will focus primarily – but not exclusively – on public safety threats.

‘NATIONAL EMERGENCY’: TRUMP DECLARES AMBITIOUS ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN IN INAUGURAL ADDRESS

Bill Melugin embedded with ICE Boston and witnessed agents making arrests. (X/ @BillMelugin_)

Addressing the arrests, Healey said she “wouldn’t describe them as raids,” but instead, “what it seems to be, and what we expected and what I support, which is the apprehension of criminals in our communities.”

“Whether you’re documented or undocumented, you commit crimes, you’re subject to investigation and prosecution and accountability, and it looks like that is what happened,” Healey said, according to Fox local outlet, Boston 25.

Healey, who previously vowed to resist Trump’s deportation efforts in November, noted that Massachusetts is not a sanctuary state, despite a 2017 ruling by the state Supreme Judicial Court that severely limits law enforcement cooperation with ICE.

Healey said in November that her state police will “absolutely not” be cooperating with Trump’s mass deportation efforts, warning that she will use “every tool in the toolbox” to “protect” residents in the blue state.

“I still remain opposed on efforts to target large swaths of an undocumented population who’ve done nothing wrong other than they’re here without lawful presence,” she said.

TRUMP GOES TOE-TO-TOE WITH SANCTUARY CITIES OVER DEPORTATION AS ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN SET TO BEGIN

Gov. Maura Healey (Left) told reporters on Thursday that she supports arresting criminals, regardless of whether they are undocumented. (Fox News)

Healey has taken a slightly more centrist position on immigration enforcement in recent months.

After an illegal migrant was caught using the state’s migrant shelter system for illegal activity, Healey said she was “outraged,” She ordered a full inspection of the system and sent a letter to Massachusetts legislative leaders, urging them to amend the state’s “right to shelter” laws to exclude illegal immigrants.

At the time, she commented that Trump now has the opportunity to fix the border and said, “I hope he does.”

ICE ARRESTS MORE THAN 530 MIGRANTS IN ONE DAY AMID TRUMP’S CRACKDOWN

Democratic Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell speaks in Boston, Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell, however, continues to staunchly oppose the Trump administration’s crackdown.

She has taken to social media several times this week to express her anger over Trump’s immigration decisions, saying in one X post that “State & local law enforcement cannot be commandeered for federal immigration enforcement. Despite what President Trump may think, he doesn’t have the authority to unilaterally rewrite our Constitution.”

“State AGs won’t hesitate to respond if his threats become illegal actions,” she said.

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Bill Melugin embedded with ICE Boston and witnessed agents making arrests. (X/ @BillMelugin_)

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Meanwhile, Republican state Representatives Michael Soter and Kenneth Sweezey introduced a bill on Friday, titled “An Act to promote and protect safety in the Commonwealth,” which would empower local and state law enforcement to more fully cooperate with ICE.

“The immigration issue in Massachusetts has gotten completely out of control,” Sweezey said in a statement sent to Fox News Digital. “This piece of legislation is a very simple, common-sense first step in rectifying part of the issue.”

Bill Melugin, Stephen Sorace and Adam Shaw contributed to this report.

Peter Pinedo is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.

January 24, 2025