Politics

Kathy Castor cheers release of Tampa boy held in Israeli custody for last 9 months

Published

4 days ago

December 1, 2025

U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor welcomed news that the Israeli government has released Tampa teenager Mohammed Ibrahim, who was jailed through most of 2025.

“Mohammed’s release is long overdue. His case underscores the need for fairness, due process and respect for human rights for every civilian — especially children — caught in conflict,” said Castor, a Tampa Democrat.

“I’m thankful for the advocates, civil rights groups, Members of Congress and countless others who pressed for Mohammed’s release. I pray for Mohammed’s family — who never lost hope and fought hard to bring him home — and Mohammed as they are finally reunited.”

Israel on Thanksgiving Day released the 16-year-old Palestinian American after he pleaded guilty to throwing rocks at authorities in the West Bank. The case garnered international attention since it was first reported by The Guardian. The boy was 15 years old at the time of his arrest.

Uncle Zeyad Kadur released a statement on behalf of Mohammed’s family through American reporter Jasper Nathaniel, who has been covering the West Bank.

“Words can’t describe the immense relief we have as a family right now, to have Mohammed in his parents’ arms. We thank God for bringing Mohammed home to us today. Israeli soldiers had no right to take Mohammed from us in the first place,” Kadur said.

“For more than nine months, our family has been living a horrific and endless nightmare, particularly Mohammed’s mother and father, who haven’t been able to see or touch their youngest child for nearly a year, all while knowing Israeli soldiers were beating him and starving him. We couldn’t believe Mohammed was free until his parents wrapped their arms around him and felt him safe.”

The case was politically touchy for the State Department, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a Miami Republican with a long history of supporting Israel through three terms in the U.S. Senate.

But the State Department in October said it was committed to obtaining the release of the U.S. citizen.

“Whenever a U.S. citizen is detained abroad, the Department works to provide all appropriate consular assistance,” a State Department spokesperson said in October. “The State Department is tracking Mr. Ibrahim’s case closely and working with the government of Israel on this case. We take seriously our commitment to assist U.S. citizens abroad and are providing consular assistance to Mr. Ibrahim and his family.”

Castor and U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost, an Orlando Democrat, sent a letter in October to Rubio and Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee urging intervention in the case. The Representatives had met with Mohammed’s family, and said they were troubled by reports the teenager was being malnourished in Israeli custody.

Kadur stressed the child’s condition upon release as well.

“Right now, we are focused on getting Mohammed the immediate medical attention he needs after being subjected to Israel’s abuse and inhumane conditions for months. We just want Mohammed to be healthy and to have his childhood back,” Kadur said in his statement.

“We’d like to thank the more than a hundred organizations, local Florida community members, volunteers, and members of Congress who continued to speak up for Mohammed and demand his immediate freedom. We are also deeply grateful to the countless people who refused to stop telling Mohammed’s story, and to those who called their representatives every single day to demand they act to free him. Thank you for bringing Mohammed’s story to the American people and to the world. There are hundreds of children like Mohammed, unjustly trapped in an Israeli military prison, being subjected to Israel’s abuse and torture.”

Ibrahim’s family had a home where he was staying in the West Bank at the time of the arrest, but he is a U.S. citizen.

“Mohammed is also the first cousin of Saifullah Kamel Musallet, the 20-year-old U.S. citizen who was reportedly beaten to death by Israeli settlers in July 2025,” Castor and Frost wrote in their letter. “To date, no one has been arrested (in connection with) his killing.”

In October, Castor helped lead 10 House members and 13 Senators in pressing the Donald Trump administration on the detention of the boy. She relayed another urgent inquiry to the State Department on Thanksgiving week, days before Mohammed’s final release, regarding “dire reports” from the State Department on his status.

Source link

Politics

Ron DeSantis says GOP must go on offense ahead of Midterms to bring back ‘complacent’ voters

Published

7 minutes ago

December 5, 2025

May Greene

Gov. Ron DeSantis is continuing to warn Republicans that next year’s Midterm contests may not go their way if the party doesn’t change course.

He recommends that Republicans make a strong case for what they will do if they somehow retain control of Congress next year, given that “in an off-year Midterm, the party in power’s voters tend to be more complacent.”

But DeSantis, who himself served nearly three terms in Congress before resigning to focus on his campaign for Governor in 2018, says House Republicans haven’t accomplished much, and they need to be proactive in the time that’s left.

“I just think you’ve got to be bold. I think you’ve got to be strong. And I think one of the frustrations with the Congress is, what have they done since August till now? They really haven’t done anything, right?” DeSantis explained on “Fox & Friends.”

“I’d be like, every day, coming out with something new and make the Democrats go on the record, show the contrast.”

The Governor said the economy and immigration are two issues that would resonate with voters.

On immigration, DeSantis believes his party should remind voters that President Donald Trump stopped the “influx” of illegal border crossers given passage when Joe Biden was in power.

After providing contrast to some of his policy wins through the end of 2023 in Florida, DeSantis suggested that the GOP needs to blame the opposition party regarding continued economic struggles.

“Democrats, they caused a lot of this with the inflation and now they’re acting like … they had nothing to do with it,” he said.

DeSantis’ latest comments come after Tuesday’s narrow GOP victory in deep-red Tennessee, in yet another election where a candidate for Congress underperformed President Donald Trump.

Republican Matt Van Epps defeated Democrat Aftyn Behn by roughly 9 points in the Nashville area seat. That’s less than half the margin by which Trump bested Kamala Harris in 2024. This is after U.S. Reps. Randy Fine and Jimmy Patronis won by smaller margins than expected in Special Elections in Florida earlier this year.

Though partisan maps protect the GOP in many cases, with just a seven-vote advantage over Democrats in Congress there is scant room for error.

Bettors seem to believe the House will flip, with Democratic odds of victory at 78% on Polymarket on Friday morning.

Source link

Politics

Ron DeSantis again downplays interest in a second presidential run

Published

38 minutes ago

December 5, 2025

May Greene

The question won’t go away.

Gov. Ron DeSantis may be out of state, just like he was when he ran for President in 2024, but that doesn’t mean he’s eyeing another run for the White House.

“I’ve got my hands full, man. I’m good,” he told Stuart Varney during an in-studio interview Friday in New York City, responding to a question about his intentions.

DeSantis added that it was “not the first time” he got that question, which persists amid expectations of a crowded field of candidates to succeed President Donald Trump.

“I’m not thinking about anything because I think we have a President now who’s not even been in for a year. We’ve got a lot that we’ve got to accomplish,” the term-limited Governor told Jake Tapper last month when asked about 2028.

It may be for the best that DeSantis isn’t actively running, given some recent polls.

DeSantis, who ran in 2024 before withdrawing after failing to win a single county in the Iowa caucuses, has just 2% support in the latest survey from Emerson College.

Recent polling from the University of New Hampshire says he’ll struggle again in what is historically the first-in-the-nation Primary state. The “Granite State Poll,” his worst showing in any state poll so far, shows the Florida Governor with 3% support overall.

In January 2024, DeSantis had different messaging after leaving the GOP Primary race.

“When I was in Iowa, a lot of these folks that stuck with the President were very supportive of what I’ve done in Florida. They thought I was a good candidate,” DeSantis said. “I even had people say they think that I would even do better as President, but they felt that they owed Trump another shot. And so I think we really made a strong impression.”

But that was then, this is now.

Source link

Politics

First place at stake for Jaguars vs. Colts

Published

1 hour ago

December 5, 2025

May Greene

How big is Sunday’s game for the Jaguars?

According to The Athletic, the Jaguars have an 83% chance of making the playoffs entering the weekend. That’s a pretty good bet. At 8-4, the Jaguars are currently in the third spot in the AFC.

However, Jacksonville stands a 42% chance of winning the division, slightly better than Sunday’s opponent, the Indianapolis Colts (8-4), who sit at 34% to win the AFC South.

With both games against the Colts still on the schedule and matchups with the struggling New York Jets, a trip to Denver to face the surging Broncos, and the season finale at home against the Tennessee Titans, the Jaguars need only to win the games they should win to make the playoffs.

Leaving the Colts games aside for the moment, if the Jaguars simply beat the Jets and Titans, they would have 10 wins. That is almost certainly enough to earn a postseason spot.

So, in a way, Sunday’s game against the Colts isn’t make-or-break. However, if the Jaguars want to win the division and host a playoff game, at least one win over the Colts is essential. Should the Jaguars win Sunday, they would hold a 1-game advantage over the Colts and, for the time being, hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over Indianapolis.

By one metric, the Jaguars can increase their playoff odds to 95% with a victory on Sunday. Even with a loss, they are a good bet to make the playoffs as a wild-card team. But the chance to start the postseason with a home game is a powerful advantage, one that division winners enjoy.

Health will be a major factor in Sunday’s game. The Jaguars hope to have wide receiver/kick returner Parker Washington and defensive end Travon Walker back in the lineup. Both missed some or all of last week’s game but practiced in a limited basis this week. Starting left tackle Walker Little and safety Andrew Wingard remained in the concussion protocol this week. Starting right guard Patrik Mekari returned from concussion protocol on Wednesday.

The Colts are also dealing with injuries. Cornerback Sauce Gardner did not practice this week, while quarterback Daniel Jones continues to play with a fracture in his leg.

The key matchup could be strength vs. strength. Indianapolis running back Jonathan Taylor leads the NFL in rushing with 1,282 yards, while the Jaguars are the league’s top rush defense, allowing opponents only 82.4 yards per contest. No running back has run for more than 90 yards against the Jaguars this season, and only one, Houston’s Woody Marks, has rushed for more than 70 yards in a game. Taylor averages nearly 107 yards per game this season.

The Jaguars last made the playoffs in 2022 in Doug Pederson’s first season as head coach. Liam Coen is trying to replicate the feat.

Interestingly, the game is one of three in the NFL this weekend with first place on the line.

The Baltimore Ravens host the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday. Both teams are 6-6, and the winner will lead the AFC North. The Chicago Bears (9-3) also travel to Green Bay to face the Packers (8-3-1), with the winner taking the top spot in the NFC North.

Source link