Trump to host freed American hostage as Hamas weighs 60-day ceasefire

(NewsNation) — President Donald Trump and the first lady will host freed American hostage Edan Alexander at the White House on Thursday.

Alexander, the last living American hostage in Gaza, will visit Washington, D.C., two months after his release as Hamas considers a proposed 60-day ceasefire with Israel.

Alexander, now 21, is an American-Israeli from New Jersey. He was 19 when militants stormed his military base in Israel and took him into the Gaza Strip. After 584 days in captivity, Alexander was released. He returned to New Jersey last month.

  • Edan Alexander smiles with family members
  • Edan Alexander hugs family member
  • People watch a live broadcast of Israeli-American soldier Edan Alexander

Hamas weighs 60-day ceasefire with Israel

Trump said Israel has already accepted the ceasefire deal, which he called the “final” peace proposal.

“I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better — IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE,” Trump wrote Tuesday on social media.

While Hamas has given indications they are prepared to strike a deal on a ceasefire if Israel ends the war, the world is waiting for a formal answer.

Netanyahu to visit White House next week

Trump will host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington, D.C., next week for talks about the wars in Gaza and Iran, Netanyahu confirmed during a government speech Tuesday.

“I am due to leave next week for meetings in the U.S. with U.S. President Donald Trump,” Netanyahu said, originally in Hebrew. “These come in the wake of the great victory that we achieved in Operation Rising Lion.”

Netanyahu’s visit comes after Trump involved the U.S. in the Israel-Iran conflict with strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, then helped broker a ceasefire between the two Middle Eastern countries.

NewsNation’s Anna Kutz and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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‘Roadkill Ratatouille’: RFK Jr’s new cooking show buried in mockery



Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. nauseated the nation Thursday when he launched a cooking show critics feared would likely include roadkill.

"The Real Food Show" launches Thursday on his department's website and will feature celebrity chefs helping to prepare meals like "Crispy Salmon Cakes with Apple, White Bean & Green Salad" and highlighting some personal favorites like kimchi, yogurt and sauerkraut, reported USA Today.

“I use store-bought sauerkraut,” he told the newspaper, then described the correct way to eat the fermented cabbage. “The way that you're supposed to eat it is bite for bite. You take a bite of the meat, take a bite of the sauerkraut. That is kind of the prescribed, perfect way of eating it. You know, I don't do that perfectly every time that I try.”

Kennedy converted other Trump administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, to the sauerkraut diet, and he said they'd all lost weight since then.

“I will literally eat anything because I don't have a gag reflex," Kennedy said. “I love experimenting with foods. When I travel, I'll eat … street vendors’ cooking."

Kennedy said he cooks two “rudimentary” meals a day, adding that his repertoire was eggs, bacon, cheeseburgers and hamburgers, but he said his wife Cheryl Hines is a much better cook.

“I can cook a really good omelet,” Kennedy said, "and then my specialty would be steaks and meat and fish.”

The show's launch generated some skeptical coverage given Kennedy's history of handling roadkill and overseeing an outbreak of several food-borne illnesses since taking over the nation's public health.

"Why is Kennedy directing his attention to making cooking videos instead of managing these real problems? One reason could be that Kennedy has reportedly 'checked out' of his job and barely attends meetings, showing up to work at 10 a.m. only to leave around 4 p.m. He seems to care only about overhauling dietary guidelines and pushing an anti-vaccine agenda. The latter has led to a 35-year record high for measles cases in the U.S.," noted The New Republic.

"Because who doesn’t want to prepare grub with the guy who, among many things, has a brain part-eaten by worms; a supposed car full of severed animal parts; and a history of snorting lines off toilets?" asked Jezebel, suggesting that Kennedy might share recipes with viewers for "Roadkill Ratatouille," "Lemongrass Liver Salad" and "Anti-Diarrhea Yogurt."

"Roadkill Collector Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Launches Cooking Show and Warns America: ‘I Don’t Have a Gag Reflex,'" announced Mediaite.

"Someone posted this in slack and I actually thought it was The Onion," laughed MS NOW's Brandy Zadrozny.

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