‘Lying to the nation’: Trump orbit slams Biden for taking credit for ceasefire deal

January 16, 2025

President Biden is ending his tenure in the White House on a “sad” note after “lying to the nation” and taking credit for a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas during his farewell address on Wednesday evening, a Trump transition official said.

“Joe Biden is going out sad. Lying to the nation trying to take credit for a deal that all parties credit President Trump for making happen. Biden has had well over a year to secure the release of these hostages and peace. He failed. Trump succeeded,” a Trump transition official told Fox News Digital on Wednesday evening.

War has raged in the Middle East since October of 2023, with Israel and Hamas coming to a ceasefire agreement on Wednesday that also ensured the release of hostages.

Biden delivered his final address to the nation on Wednesday evening, where he took a victory lap for the cease fire in his opening remarks.

BIDEN TAKES SOLE CREDIT FOR ISRAEL-HAMAS DEAL, WARNS OF ‘OLIGARCHY’ THREATENING DEMOCRACY IN FAREWELL SPEECH

Left: President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the latest developments in Syria from the Roosevelt Room of the White House on Dec. 8, 2024 in Washington, D.C.; Right: President-Elect Donald Trump reacts during his meeting with Prince William, Prince of Wales at the Embassy of the United Kingdom’s Residence on December 7, 2024 in Paris, France. (Left: Pete Marovich/Getty Images; Right: Oleg Nikishin/Getty Images)

“My fellow Americans, I’m speaking to you tonight from the Oval Office. Before I begin, let me speak to important news from earlier today. After eight months of nonstop negotiation, my administration – by my administration – a cease-fire and hostage deal has been reached by Israel and Hamas. The elements of which I laid out in great detail in May of this year,” Biden said.

President Joe Biden speaks from the Oval Office of the White House as he gives his farewell address Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, in Washington. (Mandel Ngan/Pool via AP)

“This plan was developed and negotiated by my team, and will be largely implemented by the incoming administration. That’s why I told my team to keep the incoming administration fully informed, because that’s how it should be, working together as Americans,” he continued.

PRESIDENT BIDEN RELEASES FAREWELL LETTER, SAYS IT’S BEEN ‘PRIVILEGE OF MY LIFE TO SERVE THIS NATION’

Donald Trump shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Former US President Donald Trump (L) shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) as they pose for a photo during their meeting at Mar-a-Lago estate, in Palm Beach, Florida, United States on July 26, 2024. (Amos Ben-Gershom (GPO) / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Credit for reaching the agreement, however, was bolstered by the incoming Trump administration, according to sources who told Fox Digital that a recent meeting between Trump’s incoming Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly played a pivotal role in the deal.

FOX NEWS GETS AN INSIDE LOOK AT IDF’S WAR AGAINST HAMAS

Netanyahu also thanked Trump on Wednesday for “his assistance in advancing the release of the hostages.”

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke this evening with US President-elect Donald Trump and thanked him for his assistance in advancing the release of the hostages and for helping Israel bring an end to the suffering of dozens of hostages and their families,” the official Prime Minister of Israel X account posted.

Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets, as seen from Ashkelon, Israel, October 1, 2024. (REUTERS/Amir Cohen)

“The Prime Minister made it clear that he is committed to returning all of the hostages however he can, and commended the US President-elect for his remarks that the US would work with Israel to ensure that Gaza will never be a haven for terrorism.”

The X account added later: “Prime Minister Netanyahu then spoke with US President Joe Biden and thanked him as well for his assistance in advancing the hostages deal.”

ISRAEL-HAMAS CEASE-FIRE, HOSTAGE RELEASE DEAL REACHED: ‘AMERICANS WILL BE PART OF THAT’

When asked who the history books would remember for championing the ceasefire deal earlier Wednesday, Biden balked at the suggestion Trump and his team spearheaded the effort.

“Who in the history books gets credit for this, Mr. President, you or Trump?” Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich asked Biden at Wednesday afternoon’s White House news conference.

“Is that a joke?” the president responded.

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“Oh. Thank you,” Biden responded when Heinrich said it was not a joke, and then walked away.

British Man Freed From Prison Over Video Misidentification

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January 16, 2025

More than two years after he was ensnared in a murder conspiracy case, a young man was freed from prison on Wednesday after Britain’s Court of Appeal found that the authorities had misidentified him in a video.

The man, Ademola Adedeji, 21, was among 10 young Black men from Manchester whom prosecutors had accused of conspiring to murder and maim others to avenge the death of their close friend. Their trial became a lightning rod in the country’s reckoning with race and policing.

“It doesn’t feel real because this happens one in a million times,” Mr. Adedeji said of his release in a phone interview from his parents’ home on Wednesday.

Mr. Adedeji did not attack anyone. Nor did he own a weapon or deal drugs. He helped the police with their investigation. And there was no murder victim.

Nevertheless, he was convicted of conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm with intent in 2022 and was serving an eight-year term.

Prosecutors portrayed Mr. Adedeji as a gangster, mining photos and videos from his social media posts as evidence. For example, a picture of him holding a wad of cash to his ear — a popular Instagram pose — was used as evidence against him.

The case relied on the fact that Mr. Adedeji, then 17, had joined a group chat on Telegram, where he and his teenage friends discussed exacting revenge days after their friend was murdered.

Mr. Adedeji sent six text messages to the group over the course of about 20 minutes, sharing the postal code of men whom he suspected of killing his friend. Nobody was harmed near the address that Mr. Adedeji shared.

Because he was charged with conspiracy along with nine other defendants, including some who did commit violent acts, it did not matter that he had not directly killed or hurt others.

The conspiracy trial grabbed the public’s attention as an example of how Britain’s crackdown on gangs disproportionately targets young Black men.

In the absence of a clear legal definition for a gang, the label tends to be applied disproportionately to groups of young Black men. Legal experts say such a designation helps persuade jurors of guilt.

One key piece of evidence was a dark, grainy video showing a teenager taunting rivals. Prosecutors had presented it as proof of Mr. Adedeji’s gang affiliation.

The more times that prosecutors played the footage in court, the clearer it became that the man in the video was not Mr. Adedeji. A judge allowed jurors to consider the video but urged them to be cautious before deciding who was in it.

During an appeal hearing, another teenager confirmed that he, and not Mr. Adedeji, was featured in the video.

On that evidence, the three-judge appeals court quashed Mr. Adedeji’s conviction. He will not be retried.

The court, the second-highest in Britain, did not directly address contentions of institutional racism in the judgment. However, judges wrote that “it is vital in any case to avoid the unfair stereotyping of individuals, based on their race, as members of gangs.”

Judges upheld the convictions of six men in the case but reduced the prison terms for two other defendants, Raymond Savi and Omolade Okoya, who were convicted of similar charges and sentenced to eight years in prison. Their new sentence is four-and-a-half years.

The Crown Prosecution Service, which leads prosecutions in England and Wales, said in an email that it respects the court’s decision.

“This was a complex case where the evidence was carefully assessed for each individual,” the service said.

Mr. Adedeji was beaming on Wednesday after reuniting with his family. His parents picked him up from prison and they all stopped at Burger King before heading home. The first thing he did when he arrived, he said, was hug his younger brothers.

“How many other boys have I met in jail who are in similar situations to me that will never get this opportunity?” he said.

Trump’s transportation secretary pick Sean Duffy at Congress : NPR

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January 16, 2025

Sean Duffy, President-elect Trump’s pick for transportation secretary, testified before the Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday.

Samuel Corum/Getty Images

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We’re following the confirmation hearings for the incoming Trump administration. See our full politics coverage, and follow NPR’s Trump’s Terms podcast or sign up for our Politics newsletter to stay up to date.

Who: Sean Duffy

Nominated for: secretary of transportation

You might know him from: Fox News, where Duffy has been a contributor since 2020. He also spent more than 8 years in Congress as a GOP Representative from his native Wisconsin.

More about Duffy:

Long record of public service, but his transportation resume is short
One of many Trump cabinet picks with ties to Fox News
Starred on MTV’s “The Real World” before going into politics

Position: The Secretary of Transportation leads a department with a budget of more than $100 billion that’s tasked with maintaining the nation’s aviation system, highways, railroads and ports.

WASHINGTON — When Republican Sean Duffy was in Congress, he worked with lawmakers from both sides of the aisle to replace an 80-year-old bridge across the St. Croix River between his home state of Wisconsin and Minnesota.

President-Elect Donald Trump has chosen former Wisconsin congressman Sean Duffy, seen here speaking at a rally in 2018, to be secretary of the Department of Transportation.

More than a decade later, the St. Croix Crossing — and the relationships that the new bridge helped forge — came up several times Wednesday during Duffy’s confirmation hearing to lead the Department of Transportation.

“When I fly into Minneapolis and drive up to Hayward, where I was born and raised, I go across that bridge,” Duffy said during the hearing. “I’m proud every single time for the bipartisan work that we did together, and I would like to continue that kind of work should I be confirmed.”

That project required action by Congress to grant an exemption from the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. Duffy’s work to make that happen helped endear him to several Democrats in the Senate, including Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin.

“Our efforts show that when we work together, we get important things done. And we haven’t always agreed,” Baldwin said in remarks introducing Duffy to the committee. “But at the end of the day, I am confident that Sean is the right person for this job in this upcoming administration.”

Where did the workers go? Construction jobs are plentiful, but workers are scarce

While some of President-elect Trump’s cabinet nominees faced sharp questioning from Democrats on Capitol Hill this week, Duffy received an overwhelmingly friendly welcome from Baldwin and other members of the Senate Commerce Committee.

Duffy has a long record in public service, representing a district in northern Wisconsin in the House of Representatives for more than eight years. But beyond the St. Croix Crossing, he has relatively little direct experience in transportation — or leading a large organization like the DOT, which has a budget of more than $100 billion.

At the confirmation hearing, Duffy committed to prioritizing safety on the roadways and in the air, and said he would “work to reduce the red tape that slows critical infrastructure projects, ensuring funds are spent efficiently.” He pledged to bring “tough love” to Boeing as regulators work to restore confidence in the struggling airplane maker. And Duffy said he would address the shortage of air traffic controllers, while hiring only “the best and the brightest” for those jobs.

After leaving Congress in 2019, Duffy worked as a lobbyist and as a contributor at Fox News. In announcing his pick, President-elect Trump praised Duffy as a “respected voice and communicator” in a post on Truth Social in November.

Trump has looked to the ranks of Fox News for many of his cabinet nominees. But few have as much experience on camera as Duffy, who starred on MTV’s “The Real World: Boston” in 1997. He met his future wife Rachel Campos-Duffy, a fellow Fox News contributor, when they both starred on another MTV reality show. Campos-Duffy was on hand at Wednesday’s hearing, along with eight of the couple’s nine children.

Biden signs the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill into law

Duffy noted that roadway safety “hits close to home for me, because my wife survived a deadly head-on car crash, which has profoundly reshaped her life.”

The outgoing Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg also had little direct experience in transportation before taking the reins. Under Buttigieg, the department has handed out billions of dollars from the bipartisan infrastructure law to build roads and bridges, dig tunnels, modernize airports and more.

Duffy was asked several times on Wednesday whether funding for those projects would continue to flow.

Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ) asked specifically about funding for the Gateway Program, a multi-billion dollar project to replace a series of crumbling rail tunnels and bridges connecting northern New Jersey to Manhattan.

“I want to look at what funding has gone out,” Duffy said. “But I imagine those good projects that are underway, we would continue.”

'Cozy' relationship between Boeing and the U.S. draws scrutiny amid 737 Max 9 mess

The Department of Transportation includes the Federal Aviation Administration, which is in charge of the nation’s airspace, as well as agencies that regulate the nation’s railroads, and set safety standards for passenger cars, trucks and commercial vehicles.

There are several areas where the department’s broad mandate intersects with the business interests of Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, who poured more than a quarter of a billion dollars into President-elect Trump’s 2024 election campaign.

Now safety advocates worry that Musk may try to influence the federal agencies that regulate his businesses. His rocket company SpaceX has sometimes clashed with regulators at the FAA over its launch practices.

Federal regulators at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, part of the DOT, are investigating crashes involving Tesla’s advanced driver-assistance systems. And safety advocates fear the Trump administration could move to end those investigations, along with a crash reporting requirement that Tesla opposes.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) pressed Duffy on whether he would allow traffic safety investigators to “follow the evidence and operate objectively as part of their investigations?”

“Yes, I commit to this committee and to you that I will let NHTSA do their investigation,” Duffy responded.

The nominee was asked several times about his level of commitment to Amtrak — not only by Democratic senators from New Jersey and Delaware, but also by Republicans from Kansas and Mississippi.

Duffy acknowledged voting against Amtrak funding when he was a member of Congress from rural Wisconsin. But he said “this committee has spoken loudly about Amtrak and rail in their home communities.”

If he’s confirmed, as appears likely, Duffy said his first trip as transportation secretary would be to the Appalachian mountain regions of Tennessee and North Carolina, where flooding from Hurricane Helene damaged major interstate highways along with countless smaller roads and bridges.

“This is an emergency,” Duffy said. “I’ll do everything in the power of the Department for Transportation to move the process forward as quickly as possible so these communities get access and roads that are functional again.”

Powerful Webb Telescope captures photos of one of the earliest supernova ever seen

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January 16, 2025

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has captured photos of one of the earliest supernovas ever seen, with features appearing like grains and knots found in a cut of wood.

“Once upon a time, the core of a massive star collapsed, creating a shockwave that blasted outward, ripping the star apart as it went,” NASA said on its website. “When the shockwave reached the star’s surface, it punched through, generating a brief, intense pulse of X-rays and ultraviolet light that traveled outward into the surrounding space.”

Now, nearly 350 years later, scientists are getting a view of the aftermath as the pulse of light reaches interstellar material and causes it to glow.

The infrared glow created was captured by JWST, revealing details that look like knots and whorls found in wood grain.

POWERFUL WEBB TELESCOPE CAPTURES MOST DISTANT KNOWN GALAXY, SCIENTISTS SAY

This background image of the region around supernova remnant Cassiopeia A was released by NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope in 2008. By taking multiple images of this region over three years with Spitzer, researchers were able to examine a number of light echoes. Now, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has imaged some of these light echoes in much greater detail. Insets at lower right show one epoch of Webb observations, while the inset at left shows a Webb image of the central supernova remnant released in 2023. (Spitzer Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Y. Kim (Univ. of Arizona/Univ. of Chicago). Cassiopeia A Inset: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Danny Milisavljevic (Purdue University), Ilse De Looze (UGent), Tea Temim (Princeton University). Light Echoes Inset: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, J. Jencson (Caltech/IPAC).)

“Even as a star dies, its light endures—echoing across the cosmos. It’s been an extraordinary three years since we launched NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Every image, every discovery, shows a portrait not only of the majesty of the universe but the power of the NASA team and the promise of international partnerships. This groundbreaking mission, NASA’s largest international space science collaboration, is a true testament to NASA’s ingenuity, teamwork, and pursuit of excellence,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said. “What a privilege it has been to oversee this monumental effort, shaped by the tireless dedication of thousands of scientists and engineers around the globe. This latest image beautifully captures the lasting legacy of Webb—a keyhole into the past and a mission that will inspire generations to come.”

While beautiful in nature, the observations also give astronomers the ability to map the 3-dimensional structure of the interstellar dust and gas for the first time.

“We were pretty shocked to see this level of detail,” Jacob Jencson of Caltech/IPAC in Pasadena, the principal investigator of the science program, said.

Josh Peek of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore is also a member of the team and said they see layers like those of an onion.

POWERFUL WEBB TELESCOPE SPIES SPECTACULAR STAR BIRTH CLUSTER BEYOND THE MILKY WAY

These shimmering cosmic curtains show interstellar gas and dust that has been heated by the flashbulb explosion of a long-ago supernova. (NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, J. Jencson (Caltech/IPAC))

“We think every dense, dusty region that we see, and most of the ones we don’t see, look like this on the inside,” he said. “We just have never been able to look inside them before.”

The images produced from the JWST near-infrared camera (NIRCam) highlight a phenomenon called light echo, NASA said, which is created when a star explodes or erupts before flashing light into surrounding masses of dust and causing them to shine.

The visible light echoes are caused when the light reflects off interstellar material, where those at infrared wavelengths are caused when the dust is warmed by energetic radiation, causing it to glow.

Scientists targeted a light echo previously observed by NASA’s retired Spitzer Space Telescope, and it is one of dozens found near remains of the Cassiopeia A supernova.

MERGER OF MASSIVE BLACK HOLES FROM EARLY UNIVERSE UNCOVERED BY WEBB TELESCOPE, SCIENTISTS SAY

FILE – In this April 13, 2017 photo provided by NASA, technicians lift the mirror of the James Webb Space Telescope using a crane at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. (Laura Betz/NASA via AP, File)

The Webb images show tightly packed sheets, with filaments displaying structures on what NASA called “remarkably small scales,” of about 400 astronomical units, or less than one-hundredth of a light year. One astronomical unit is the average distance between the Earth and the Sun, and Neptune’s orbit is 60 astronomical units in diameter.

“We did not know that the interstellar medium had structures on that small of a scale, let alone that it was sheet-like,” Peek said.

The discovery was compared by scientists to a medical CT scan.

“We have three slices taken at three different times, which will allow us to study the true 3D structure. It will completely change the way we study the interstellar medium,” Armin Rest of the Space Telescope Science Institute, and member of the team, said.

The team’s findings will be presented this week at the 245th American Astronomical Society meeting in Washington, D.C.

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The Webb Telescope, the successor to the Hubble and the largest telescope ever launched into space, is a joint project of NASA and the European Space Agency.

Greg Wehner is a breaking news reporter for Fox News Digital.

Story tips and ideas can be sent to [email protected] and on Twitter @GregWehner.

Israel and Hamas Agree to Gaza Cease-Fire and Hostage Deal

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January 16, 2025

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Israel and Hamas Agree to Gaza Cease-Fire and Hostage Deal

The Israeli cabinet still has to ratify the deal, and some details remained unresolved.

: “It’s like a roller coaster. I’m not breathing right now. We don’t know if they are on the list, if they’re going to come back in the first phase, if they’re alive. We actually don’t know anything, so scary.” “The deal is structured in three phases. Phase 1 will last six weeks. It includes a full and complete cease-fire, withdrawal of Israeli forces from all the populated areas of Gaza and the release of a number of hostages held by Hamas, including women and elderly and the wounded.” “We expect the parties to stay committed to what they have committed themselves to in that agreement.”

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What Trump's picks tell us about foreign policy

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January 16, 2025

This week, the Senate takes up the confirmation of three of President-elect Trump’s national security/foreign policy picks. What do the hearings tell us about the incoming administration’s priorities?

Native tribe lifts banishment on Noem ahead of Senate confirmation hearing

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January 16, 2025

A Native American tribe in South Dakota lifted its banishment on Republican Gov. Kristi Noem in a letter Wednesday, offering its endorsement of her nomination to serve as secretary of Homeland Security, Fox News Digital has learned.

Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe President Tony Reider wrote a letter to Noem Wednesday informing her the tribe’s executive committee voted to “remove the banishment” it placed on Noem in May and congratulated her for her nomination to serve in President-elect Trump’s cabinet.

The letter comes just days before Noem is scheduled to appear before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee for her confirmation hearing.

“I commend you on your nomination by President Elect Donald Trump to the position of Secretary of U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and hereby support your nomination. I wish you the best of luck during the Senate confirmation hearing on January 17, 2025, and believe that your dedication to the safety and security of the United States will benefit us all,” Reider’s letter states, according to a copy obtained by Fox News Digital.

SOUTH DAKOTA GOV. NOEM BANNED FROM TRIBAL RESERVATION OVER REMARKS ON US SOUTHERN BORDER

Kristi Noem, governor of South Dakota and President-elect Trump’s nominee for secretary of Homeland Security, arrives for a meeting with Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., not pictured, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., Dec. 11, 2024. (Getty Images)

All nine native tribes in South Dakota banned Noem from their reservations last year after outrage over her suggestion that tribal leaders benefit from cartels and the immigration crisis and comments regarding native children’s futures. The Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe was the last tribe to ban her.

POWERFUL FIRE UNION THAT WAS NEUTRAL IN 2024 BACKS NOEM FOR DHS AS CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES RAGE

“Their kids don’t have any hope. They don’t have parents who show up and help them. They have a tribal council or a president who focuses on a political agenda more than they care about actually helping somebody’s life look better,” Noem said last year in a comment that drew criticism from tribes.

Reider addressed the issue in his letter to Noem Wednesday, explaining that the governor has apologized for her previous remarks and explained her commentary.

‘NO TIME TO PLAY’: SENATE MUST QUICKLY CONFIRM NOEM AS DHS CHIEF IN WAKE OF TERROR ATTACK, SAYS LOUISIANA GOV

Kristi Noem closeup shot in red MAGA hat

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem speaks before former President Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, takes the stage during a Buckeye Values PAC Rally in Vandalia, Ohio, March 16, 2024. (Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images)

“One of the stipulations contained in the banishment resolution was that you apologize for the comments that were made regarding tribal members and the education of tribal member children which were deemed offensive by some. In several meetings before and after the resolution was passed, you not only explained your position, but apologized if the comments offended the Tribe. You additionally sought advice on how to phrase such communications moving forward, which the Tribe and I appreciated,” Reider wrote.

TRIBES BLAST SOUTH DAKOTA GOVERNOR’S CLAIM THAT LEADERS ARE BENEFITING FROM DRUG CARTELS

Badlands National Park in South Dakota (Bernie Friel/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

The letter comes as Noem prepares for her Senate confirmation hearing Friday morning.

Trump announced Noem as his pick to lead DHS shortly after his decisive win over Kamala Harris, citing the Republican governor’s efforts to secure the southern border, which has been overwhelmed by illegal crossings under the Biden administration.

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In the months since her nomination, Noem has picked up endorsements from at least eight police groups or unions, including a union that represents thousands of Border Patrol agents.

Republican Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry also called on Senate lawmakers, most notably Democrats, to swiftly confirm Noem after a terrorist attack that shook New Orleans on New Year’s Day.

The International Association of Fire Fighters, a large, historically Democratic firefighter union, also recently endorsed Noem, arguing during the raging wildfires in Los Angeles she “understands emergency management and the importance of government response to emergencies both natural and man-made.”

What to Know About the Gaza Cease-Fire

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January 16, 2025

Israel and Hamas have agreed to a cease-fire deal. For Palestinians, the agreement provides a respite from a devastating Israeli military campaign that has killed more than 45,000 people in Gaza. For Israelis, it could allow for the release of at least a third of the hostages captured by Hamas. But the ambiguity of the deal offers lingering uncertainty. Patrick Kingsley, the Jerusalem bureau chief for The New York Times, explains.

Biden bids farewell in Oval Office address : NPR

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January 16, 2025

President Biden is set to deliver a farewell speech to the nation from the Oval Office tonight — a chance for him to frame his own legacy one last time before he leaves the White House.

Biden, 82, has spent roughly half a century in Washington politics, and had hoped for another four years at the White House. On Monday, he will be succeeded by Donald Trump — a leader Biden had vowed to make a one-term president.

Biden ran for president insisting the soul of the nation was at stake. That’s still the case, Biden said today in a letter to the American public. “History is in your hands. The power is in your hands. The idea of America lies in your hands.”

The president’s approval rating remains underwater as he leaves office. But as he bids farewell, he’s trying to remind people of the gains made on wages, inflation, manufacturing, prescription drugs and health insurance.

Ben Affleck speaks to police about security matter outside his Brentwood home two days after FBI visit

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January 16, 2025

Ben Affleck was seen having an animated conversation with police officers from inside his car on Tuesday, just two days after the FBI came by his Brentwood residence.

The officers were talking to Affleck about his neighbor who had hired private security who were allegedly not allowing people to get back in their homes, including Affleck, a source told Fox News Digital, adding that he was telling the police that private security can’t do that.

The source added that police are in his area because he is just outside the mandatory evacuation zones for the Palisades Fire. Affleck, who spoke to officers in a police cruiser from his car, was seen leaning out of his driver’s side window and gesturing at several points during the conversation before eventually driving away.

FBI agents were also seen outside his property on Sunday, but Affleck isn’t in any trouble, the agency said.

CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES: ESSENTIAL PHONE NUMBERS FOR LOS ANGELES-AREA RESIDENTS AND HOW YOU CAN HELP THEM

Ben Affleck talking to police officers parked in front of his Brentwood home on Wednesday. (ROL-Globo/X17online.com)

The FBI “were assisting with grid search for an unauthorized drone” in the area, which is near the Palisades Fire evacuation zone, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department told Fox News Digital on Wednesday.

“Members of the FBI’s Ground Intercept task force are conducting activity in the area of the Palisades fire. Agents and our local partners may be visible throughout the area, including at residences, for this reason,” FBI spokesperson Laura Eimiller previously explained.

A source told Fox News Digital that Affleck was not home when the agents arrived. They reportedly left after some time on the premises.

Fox News Digital has reached out to a rep for Affleck for comment.

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Ben Affleck in his car in front of his Brentwood home

Ben Affleck speaking to police in front of his Brentwood home. (ROL-Globo/X17online.com)

Days ago, Affleck was photographed embracing his eldest child, daughter Violet, 19, outside the rental. The home is where he and ex-wife Jennifer Lopez reportedly lived before she filed for divorce in August.

It was reported in July that Affleck purchased a new home in the Pacific Palisades for upwards of $20 million. Affleck’s home reportedly withstood the Palisades Fire.

Affleck’s ex-wife Jennifer Garner also lives in the Pacific Palisades, and Affleck was able to stay with her there for a few days while his Brentwood home was under threat, according to The New York Post.

A man in a navy blue FBI jacket stands with his back to the camera next to another gentleman in a green FBI jacket outside Ben Affleck's home

FBI agents were also seen outside his property on Sunday, but Affleck isn’t in any trouble, the agency said. (ROL/X17online.com)

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“I’ve lived in and around the Palisades for 25 years,” Garner told MSNBC. “My heart bleeds for my friends… And there are 5,000 homes lost. I could just write out a list of 100 friends who lost their homes.”

“I feel almost guilty walking through my house,” she said. “What can I do? How can I help? What can I offer? What do I have to offer with these hands and these walls and the safety that I have?”

Affleck’s ex-wife Jennifer Garner also lives in the Pacific Palisades (BG004/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)

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The Palisades Fire is now 19% contained after having burned more than 23,000 acres, destroying 2,191 structures and claiming the lives of eight people.

Fox News’ Caroline Thayer contributed to this report.

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