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Monday, October 13, 2025

Trump to Israel in Anticipation of Hostage Release

Katie Pavlich of Townhall: The first step includes releasing living and dead hostages still being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, ending the war started by the terror group on October 7, 2023, and ultimately establishing new pathways for peace throughout the region. Upon arrival Monday morning, Trump will be greeted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Ben Gurion airport, will speak at the Israeli Knesset, meet with hostage families and then will head to Egypt for a peace ceremony before returning to the White House (Townhall). Jerusalem Post: The IDF expects 20 live hostages to start arriving back to Israeli custody around 9:00 a.m. on Monday from three locations in Gaza. The three expected locations are Gaza City, central Gaza, and Khan Yunis in southern Gaza. If the live hostages are stable, they will move from Red Cross custody to IDF special forces custody, then to the Reim base, and then to the three hospitals: Shiba, Ichalov, and Beilinson (Jerusalem Post). Get updates today via Katie (Pavlich) and (Townhall).

Witkoff, Kushner Speak to Crowd of Over 400,000 in Tel Aviv Square

Alana Goodman: “Thank you Witkoff! Thank you Trump!” Those were the cheers that could be heard in Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square on Saturday evening as Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the chief negotiators of President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan, addressed a cheering crowd and praised the “amazing soldiers” of the IDF, saying that “without their heroism and brilliance and bravery, this deal would not be possible.” “I couldn’t be more proud to see the way that the state of Israel and its people have carried themselves through this traumatic, unthinkable, horrific experience,” Kushner said. “Instead of replicating the barbarism of the enemy, you chose to be exceptional.” Kushner, who emerged as a leading figure in the deal after facilitating the Abraham Accords during the first Trump administration, said he would not be able to celebrate until Hamas officially releases the hostages, a transfer scheduled to take place on Monday. However, he said he hoped the hostage families would get the “closure they deserve and to end this nightmare” (Free Beacon). Clips from the event: (Reuters).

Hamas Looking to Settle Scores as War Comes to End

Showing again their true colors. Financial Times: Hamas has set up checkpoints, engaged in gun battles with rivals and meted out violent beatings to Palestinians it suspects of having collaborated with Israel just hours after agreeing to a ceasefire to end a two-year conflict in the Gaza Strip. According to Gazans interviewed by the Financial Times as well as images shared on social media and security updates from the UN and other agencies, the militant group has moved rapidly across the strip to reassert its control and settle scores. The resilience of the group, after being hammered by the Israeli military, has caught Gazans by surprise, and will dominate negotiations ahead for US President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan. While much of Israel’s security establishment is convinced that its offensive has dismantled Hamas’s military capabilities — including the ability to manufacture vast numbers of crude rockets — the rapid deployment of its fighters across the enclave revealed that the group remained capable of holding on to power within Gaza itself (Financial Times). The score settling goes both ways. Eli David: On October 7, as Israelis were being massacred and kidnapped, #MrFAFO (Saleh Jafarawi) posted this video, calling it the happiest day of his life. Today, the last day of the war, was also the last day of his life. He was killed earlier today (David).

Schumer Shutdown Continues; Speaker Johnson: “There’s a rising Marxist movement in the Democratic Party right now”

We are reaching the point where millions of government workers will not be receiving their paychecks. The Speaker of the House was on “This Week on the Hill” with Tony Perkins: You’ve seen what Chuck Schumer said two days ago. He said, every day the government is closed is better for us. It is stunning to me that they say these things out loud. He tried to clean up on aisle five after that, but that tells you what they really think. He’s getting accolades from the far left, and that is 100% what all this was about…. They are not operating in good faith. They are lying to the American people and they’re trying to mislead people so that Chuck Shumer can appease the Marxist left. This is reality. There’s a rising Marxist movement in the Democratic Party right now. They’re about to elect a mayor of New York City who is at that ideology? Chuck Schumer serves from the state of New York and he’s terrified he’s going to get a challenge in this next Senate reelect that is all this is about (Salem Podcast Network).

Salesforce CEO Makes a Right Turn; Says Trump “Doing a great job”

The tech sector turning right is incredibly significant. Politico: Tech billionaire Marc Benioff’s new show of support for Donald Trump and call for National Guard troops to patrol San Francisco’s streets has shaken local Democrats who long regarded the Salesforce CEO as a close ally. Benioff, speaking to The New York Times in an interview published Friday, said he was “all for” deploying Guard troops with the goal of fighting crime in the city. In the same interview, Benioff said Trump is “doing a great job” as president. “I fully support the president,” Benioff told the Times. Benioff’s support for Trump and Guard deployment cuts against his years of lavish giving and full-throated support for Democratic causes, even as other tech titans shifted toward Trump. “This is a slap in the face to San Francisco,” Matt Dorsey, who represents parts of downtown on the city’s Board of Supervisors, said in an X post. It also puts Benioff at direct odds with the state’s Democratic leaders like his close friend Gov. Gavin Newsom — one of whose children is a godchild to Benioff (Politico).

California Establishes Agency to Administer Reparations

Adding yet another horrible idea to the multitude of bad ideas championed by aspiring president Newsom. New York Sun: Governor Gavin Newsom of California has signed legislation creating a state agency dedicated to processing reparations claims for descendants of slaves, the most substantial reparations program at the state level in America. The new law, signed Friday, establishes the Bureau for Descendants of American Slavery within the California Department of Justice…. In addition to creating the new bureau, the law provides funds for state universities to develop a genealogy-based eligibility system, creates a claims process for land taken from black families, and reserves 10 percent of state-supported home ownership opportunities for descendants of enslaved people of African ancestry. The governor allocated $12 million to the reparations-related initiatives, drawing criticism from Republican lawmakers amid budget challenges in the state, which faces a $12 billion deficit in the current fiscal year. The Republican leader in the State Assembly, James Gallagher, argued that current residents shouldn’t bear financial responsibility for historical wrongs (New York Sun).

Barron Trump to Take a Position at TikTok?

It certainly looks plausible. Telegraph reports: Barron Trump is being eyed for a top role at the streaming app TikTok. The US president’s son could be appointed to the board of the $14bn (£10.5bn) company, it was suggested, after his father sealed a deal to spin-off TikTok’s US business from its Chinese parent. Barron’s potential role was pitched by Jake Advent, Donald Trump’s former social media manager. Mr Advent is the genius mind behind a meme-filled presidential campaign that Mr Trump credits for helping to propel him to the White House a second time, nicknamed “TikTok Jack” by the president (Telegraph).

Tomorrow: National Day of Remembrance for Charlie Kirk

October 14 would have been Charlie’s 32^nd birthday. The Hill: Last month, both chambers of Congress approved resolutions to honor Kirk on what would have been his 32nd birthday. That day is coming up this week. In the Senate, Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) introduced a resolution to make October 14, 2025 — which would have been Kirk’s 32nd birthday — a National Day of Remembrance for Charlie Kirk (The Hill). Rick Scott: He believed in God, the American dream, the value of family, and the principles of our great nation. I would talk to Charlie nearly every week. Charlie dedicated his life to the idea that the power of our ideas can not only win the day, but start a movement. That’s exactly what he did. Charlie will long be remembered for his love of God, his family, and this great nation, and the impact he had on each of us (Scott).

China’s Colossal Demographic Crisis: Running Out of Workers

And fast. Demography is destiny. In this case we’re looking at demographic decline self-inflicted by decades of the CCP’s draconian one-child policy. Washington Post: The biggest challenge China faces right now isn’t the Trump administration and its campaign to decouple the world’s two biggest economies. It comes from within: China is experiencing population decline on a scale and at a speed the world has never seen…. China is now on an alarming trajectory. The United Nations projects that in 2050, China’s population will fall to 1.26 billion and the age distribution will worsen: About 10 percent will be under 15 years old — but about 40 percent will be over 60. By 2100, China’s population will more than halve to 633 million, according to U.N. projections. A mere 49 million people, or 7.8 percent, will be under the age of 15. In contrast, almost half — a staggering 52 percent — will be over the age of 60 (Washington Post).

10.

China Detains Leading Underground Pastor

And getting well-deserved rebuke from U.S. officials. Wall Street Journal: Under intense pressure from authorities in China, Ezra Jin persisted for years in building one of the nation’s largest underground Christian churches, with branches in 40 cities across the country. Online prayer groups he helped lead at times reached 10,000 people. Even after his wife relocated to the safety of the U.S. to be with their three children—all American citizens—Jin stayed behind in China to lead Zion Church, aware of the risks he faced. “His flock needed him,” said his daughter, 31-year-old Grace Jin Drexel, who works as a U.S. Senate staffer and lives near Washington. His detention in recent days by Chinese authorities, alongside more than 20 others associated with Zion Church either in custody or missing, marks an escalating broadside against Christianity in China (Wall Street Journal). Bob Fu: So appreciate @SecRubio @StateDept for this strong statement against the latest wave of targeted persecution toward #ZionChurch #PastorJinMingri “The United States condemns the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s recent detention of dozens of leaders of the unregistered house Zion Church in China, including prominent pastor Mingri “Ezra” Jin. This crackdown further demonstrates how the CCP exercises hostility towards Christians who reject Party interference in their faith and choose to worship at unregistered house churches. We call on the CCP to immediately release the detained church leaders and to allow all people of faith, including members of house churches, to engage in religious activities without fear of retribution (Fu).

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