American hostage to finally return home after Taliban captivity



An American hostage has been released by the Taliban after more than a year in custody.

Fox News reported Tuesday that Dennis Coyle, an American academic who spent nearly two decades in Afghanistan before being detained by the Taliban without charges, has finally been released after more than a year in near-solitary confinement.

'Today, Dennis is on his way home.'

Coyle, 64, was taken from his home in Kabul in January 2025.

"The United States welcomes the release of American citizen Dennis Coyle, who was wrongfully detained in Afghanistan for more than a year," Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs Adam Boehler said in a statement to Fox News.

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Photo by Wakil KOHSAR / AFP via Getty Images

Earlier this month, Secretary of State Marco Rubio designated Afghanistan as a state sponsor of wrongful detention, writing on social media, "The Taliban continue to use terrorist tactics to seek policy concessions, but it won't work under this administration. The Taliban must release Dennis Coyle, Mahmood Habibi, and all Americans unjustly detained in Afghanistan."

On Tuesday, Rubio celebrated Coyle's release as "a positive step towards ending the practice of hostage diplomacy."

"Earlier this month, I met Molly, Amy, and Patti as they asked for help freeing their brother Dennis Coyle from detention in Afghanistan. Today, Dennis is on his way home. We thank the UAE and Qatar for their support," Rubio said on social media.

Coyle's family told Fox News that Coyle had been working legally as an academic researcher to support language communities in Afghanistan.

He was seized on January 27, 2025, just days after another American, Ryan Corbett, was released at the start of President Trump's second term, CBS News reported on the anniversary of Coyle's detention.

Afghanistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced Coyle's release on social media. A section of the translated post on X reads: "[The release] has further strengthened the atmosphere of trust between the two countries. Likewise, it expresses the hope that both countries will, in the future, find ways to resolve the remaining issues through mutual understanding and constructive dialogue."

Habibi's status is unclear. The U.S. government, including the House Foreign Affairs Committee, claims he was taken hostage by the Taliban in August 2022. The State Department has offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to his whereabouts.

CBS News reported in January that the Taliban denies that they arrested him.

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'Take cover': Ambassador Mike Huckabee gives disheartening message to Americans stuck in Israel



As Operation Epic Fury enters its fourth day of attacks against Iran, Mike Huckabee, the United States ambassador to Israel, gave a message to Americans stranded in Israel, which is now enduring airstrikes from Iran.

On Tuesday morning, Huckabee released a video that was just under four minutes long with instructions for Americans on what to do amid the ongoing attacks.

'The US embassy is not in a position at this time to evacuate or directly assist Americans in departing Israel.'

Huckabee gave an outline of the "fairly limited" options for Americans seeking to leave Israel.

"What we are recommending to all of our American citizens, including our own embassy staff, is follow the directions of Home Front Command, which are right now to shelter in place and to be close to a shelter at all times," Huckabee said. "Follow the alerts. If you hear the siren, make sure you take cover. That's the best thing you can do."

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Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images

The Home Front Command is an arm of the Israel Defense Forces responsible for search-and-rescue missions in Israel and around the world, according to the HCF website.

Huckabee stressed that all Americans in Israel and the surrounding area should sign up for the State Department's STEP program, which communicates necessary updates to U.S. citizens.

The ambassador to Israel added one other option, though there are obvious risks and uncertainties involved with it as well: "In addition, the Israeli Ministry of Tourism is providing bus service from several locations — Herzliya, Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Jerusalem — to go to Taba, just across the border in Egypt, and from there, flights could be available from the Taba airport, though there are limited flights. But also ground transportation would be able to be obtained in Taba to go on to Cairo, where the airport is operating normally and efficiently."

Ground transportation from Tel Aviv to Taba takes an estimated four hours of travel. It takes between six and 10 hours by bus from Taba to Cairo.

The U.S. embassy for Jerusalem echoed Huckabee's instructions about finding an escape route while saying what Americans in the Middle East never wish to hear during an armed conflict in the region: "The U.S. embassy is not in a position at this time to evacuate or directly assist Americans in departing Israel."

Secretary of State Marco Rubio released a similar message on Monday night encouraging Americans to sign up for the STEP program for up-to-date situation notifications. Rubio also announced that the State Department, immediately after Operation Epic Fury commenced, "activated a 24/7 task force, surging personnel and resources necessary to help provide American citizens with up-to-the-minute safety and security information."

The State Department issued a "worldwide caution" warning on February 28.

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'Thanks Again for All Your Interest and Advice': William Burns Discussed Job Opportunities, Iran Negotiations With Jeffrey Epstein in Final Days at Obama State Department, Emails Show

On Oct. 31, 2014, William Burns was hours away from retiring as former president Barack Obama's deputy secretary of state. Before walking "out the door of State Department for last time," as Burns put it, he emailed a confidant to discuss his interest "in consulting or advisory arrangements" and said he'd be "in touch" for a meeting. The recipient was Jeffrey Epstein.

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WSJ accused of selectively editing quote to create fake rift between Trump and Vance over Iran



The Wall Street Journal has been accused of attempting to sow division between top members of the Trump administration regarding Iran.

The article, entitled "White House Weighs Iran’s Nuclear-Talks Offer as Trump Leans Toward Strikes" seemed to suggest that Vice President JD Vance was urging President Donald Trump to seek diplomatic solutions in Iran while Trump favored military strikes amid protests in the country.

'You don’t hate the media enough.'

The article was later apparently updated to include a statement from Vance's communications director, William Martin.

"In a statement issued after the Wall Street Journal's story published Monday a spokesman for Vance, William Martin, said that Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, 'together are presenting a suite of options to the president, ranging from a diplomatic approach to military actions,'" the WSJ wrote.

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Photographer: Bonnie Cash/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images

However, on Monday night, Martin took to X to clarify his full remarks to the outlet. He provided a screenshot of his statement next to a screenshot of the WSJ's reporting.

Martin captioned the side-by-side comparison: "Here’s the statement we sent the @WSJ to correct their fake news report and here’s the way they twisted it to strip out the part where we said they got the story wrong."

"You don’t hate the media enough," he added.

According to his X post, Martin's full statement to the Wall Street Journal reads:

The Wall Street Journal's reporting is not accurate. Vice President Vance and Secretary of State Rubio together are presenting a suite of options to the President, ranging from a diplomatic approach to military actions. They are presenting those options without bias or favor.

Trump allies have argued that the outlet selectively edited Martin's statement to create the illusion of conflict within the administration.

"FAKE NEWS — the blatant attempts by those in the left-wing media to create the illusion of division between President Trump, VP Vance, and Secretary Rubio couldn’t be more obvious," CJ Pearson said. "Vance and Rubio are working in LOCKSTEP to carry out the President’s foreign policy priorities."

"Why would any conservative ever trust the Wall Street Journal to tell the truth at this point? They've become one of the biggest pushers of leftist lies and fake news in all of the media," Donald Trump Jr. said on X.

The Wall Street Journal did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.

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Trump pulls US out of 'racist' UN forum pushing 'global reparations agendas'



President Trump has made several moves this week that will have globalists, climate activists, and other international grifters up in arms.

On Wednesday, President Trump signed a presidential memorandum removing the United States from over 60 international organizations as part of a longer-term plan to put American interests first.

'America will no longer lend its credibility to racist organizations.'

In an executive order signed in February 2025, President Trump ordered the secretary of state to review the United States' membership in many international groups to determine whether cooperation with those groups is in American interests.

The memorandum said that the president had since reviewed the secretary's report and "determined that it is contrary to the interests of the United States to remain a member of, participate in, or otherwise provide support" for 66 organizations and has officially withdrawn the U.S. from them.

These organizations include 35 "non-United Nations Organizations" and 31 United Nations organizations.

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Some of the U.N. organizations that the United States removed itself from are the U.N. Economic and Social Council, the International Law Commission, the U.N. Alliance of Civilizations, the U.N. Democracy Fund, the U.N. Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, and the U.N. University.

Also included in that list is the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, an organization that United States officials have called "racist."

“America will no longer lend its credibility to racist organizations,” State Department principal spokesman Tommy Pigott told the New York Post.

“Radical activists who embrace DEI ideology and seek to compel the United States to adopt policies mandating race-based wealth redistribution, in organizations such as the U.N. Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, will no longer be entertained,” he added.

According to an article on the United Nations' website, the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent seeks "slavery reparations" and fashions itself as a forum to "shape ... global reparations agendas."

According to the Post, Trump administration officials have alleged that the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, a subsidiary of the United Nations Human Rights Office, runs afoul of the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment and Equal Protection clause with its focus on "victim-based social policies."

Notably missing from the list is the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, even though Trump's February executive order called for an investigation into it. Specifically, the executive order said, "The review will include an evaluation of how and if UNESCO supports United States interests. In particular, the review will include an analysis of any anti-Semitism or anti-Israel sentiment within the organization."

Trump and the Treasury Department also ordered the United States' "immediate" withdrawal from the Green Climate Fund on Thursday.

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Europeans want US missiles to defend them, not America — and Rubio's had enough of their hypocrisy



Secretary of State Marco Rubio called out European officials on Wednesday for criticizing America's self-defense while expecting the U.S. to provide military support for their own.

The Trump administration has obliterated at least 19 alleged narco-terrorist drug boats since Sept. 2 with the stated aim of "protecting the homeland and killing these cartel terrorists who wish to harm our country and its people."

'I don't think that the European Union gets to determine ... how the United States defends its national security.'

President Donald Trump has suggested that each drug boat vaporized by U.S. fighter jets, AC-130J gunships, and drones amounts to 25,000 American lives saved.

— (@)

A day after War Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that the U.S. had sunk an additional two boats in the Eastern Pacific, altogether killing six alleged narco-terrorists, French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot joined the chorus of foreign dignitaries who have been complaining about the strikes.

Barrot reportedly said at the G7 summit on Tuesday, "We have observed with concern the military operations in the Caribbean region, because they violate international law and because France has a presence in this region through its overseas territories, where more than a million of our compatriots reside."

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When confronted with questions about the U.S. maritime strikes during a meeting with Latin American leaders last week, the European Union's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said that the EU upholds international law and "international law is very clear on that. You can use force for two reasons: one is self-defense, the other one is the U.N. Security Council resolution."

Rubio addressed the European pearl-clutching on Wednesday, politely suggesting to reporters that the continentals should pound sand.

"I don't think that the European Union gets to determine what international law is, and what they certainly don't get to determine is how the United States defends its national security," said Rubio. "The United States is under attack from organized criminal narco-terrorists in our hemisphere, and the president is responding in the defense of our country."

After indicating that the Europeans are out of their depth, Rubio hammered America's allies across the Atlantic for their apparent hypocrisy.

"I do find it interesting that all these countries want us to send, you know, and supply, for example, nuclear-capable Tomahawk missiles to defend Europe, but when the United States positions aircraft carriers in our hemisphere where we live, somehow that's a problem," said the secretary of state.

Rubio added, "The president ordered it in defense of our country. It continues. It’s ongoing. It can stop tomorrow if [terrorist cartels] stop sending drug boats."

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