World
Mother of missing Marine veteran calls Trump admin a 'breath of fresh air' as she continues 12-year search
Debra Tice has spent more than 12 years searching for her son, Austin Tice, a Marine veteran and journalist who was kidnapped in Syria in August 2012.
Through four presidential administrations, she has not lost hope that her son will come home alive. In fact, she calls the new Trump administration a “breath of fresh air.”
“They are thinking about what they need to do, making suggestions, standing ready, having ideas. The burden isn’t on me the way it has been in the past,” Tice told Fox News Digital, referring to the Trump administration.
The Marine veteran’s mother’s first trip back to Damascus, Syria, in over 10 years comes on the heels of a revolution within the war-torn country. Debra Tice has been in Syria for only a few days, but she has already managed to meet with the country’s de facto leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, who led the group that overthrew Bashar al-Assad.
“It was really quite a surprise that we were able to get a meeting with al-Sharaa. It was a very good meeting,” Tice said.
SYRIA RESCUE-MISSION OPERATOR BELIEVES AUSTIN TICE IS ALIVE AND WILL BE FOUND SOON
Syria’s de facto leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, right, meets with Debra Tice, the mother of American journalist Austin Tice, who went missing in Syria in 2012, and Nizar Zakka, head of non-profit Hostage Aid Worldwide, center, in Damascus, Syria, on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (SANA via AP)
Hostage Aid Worldwide, a non-profit organization coordinating Tice’s visit to Syria, was able to take her inside some of the prisons that have been abandoned since the fall of Assad. She said that seeing the conditions in these prisons was “really challenging,” but that she appreciated getting a sense of “what Austin was up against.”
Tice also issued a challenge to those in the U.S. government who “feel like Austin can wait” to go see the prisons for themselves.
“I think if they had to come over here – and I wouldn’t even ask them to spend the night in one of those prisons – but I think if they had gone to see what he may have gone through, maybe they would’ve been more motivated to get Austin out of there.”
TREY YINGST ENTERS ABANDONED SYRIAN DETENTION SITE IN SEARCH FOR MISSING AMERICAN JOURNALIST AUSTIN TICE
Debra Tice, mother of missing U.S. journalist Austin Tice who disappeared while reporting in Syria in August 2012, attends a press conference as she urged President Donald Trump to help reveal her son’s fate in Damascus, Syria, on Jan. 20, 2025. (Bekir Kasim/Anadolu via Getty Images)
During a press conference on Monday, Tice offered praise for the incoming Trump administration and confirmed that they have “already reached out” regarding Austin’s case.
“I haven’t experienced that in the past four years, but I am optimistic about their help and involvement. I believe they will act quickly,” Tice said.
Tice also used the press conference to send an emotional message to her missing son. “Austin, if you can hear this somehow, I love you. I know you won’t give up, and I won’t give up either,” Tice said.
Tice added she has “never had any doubt about the fact that Austin is going to walk free. It’s a matter of time, and in my faith it’s God’s timing.”
When speaking about her hope and optimism about finding her son, Tice credited her faith as “100 percent.” She added that, “if I didn’t have my faith, I just think I would crumble into a bunch of really small pieces.”
COLLAPSE OF SYRIA’S ASSAD REGIME RENEWS US PUSH TO FIND AUSTIN TICE
The State Department’s Reward for Justice program is offering $10 million for information relating to locating Austin Tice. (The State Department’s Reward for Justice)
A State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital that “intensive efforts are still underway to find Austin Tice.” Additionally, the spokesperson said that the department is “working to get U.S. officials into Damascus” to aid in the search but is waiting for confirmation that the”conditions are safe and local authorities can accommodate the visit.”
“We have used relevant information, as well as declassified intelligence, to inform the search efforts of Syrian and international partners on the ground in Damascus who are searching for Austin every day,” the spokesperson added.
“They have visited and searched numerous now-uncovered secret prisons, but to date they have not found Austin or any additional information that would help us locate him.”
Last month, after receiving a letter from Debra Tice, Russian President Vladimir Putin promised to ask Assad for help finding Austin. However, as of now, there are no signs that this has happened.
Iranians mourning the country’s supreme leader condemned U.S. strikes that Washington called retaliation for Iran’s attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. At a tightly controlled state funeral in Mashhad — one of Iran’s most conservative cities, where opponents of the government were unlikely to be found in the crowd — mourners voiced defiance and called for revenge.
World
Beloved musicians among victims in deadly Bahamas plane crash; aviation authority grounds flights
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A devastating double-aviation crisis in the Bahamas, including a deadly North Andros plane crash and a separate aircraft fire on Friday, prompted the government to suspend flight operations for a local airline and launch a federal safety probe.
Shortly after 1 p.m. local time Friday, a Cessna 402 aircraft with Bahamian registration departed Lynden Pindling International Airport in Nassau bound for San Andros Airport.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Authority (AAIA) said the plane “encountered difficulties” and crashed into bushes prior to landing.
MISSOURI SKYDIVING PLANE CRASH THAT KILLED ALL 12 ABOARD IS A ‘DEVASTATING LOSS,’ COMPANY SAYS
Authorities said 10 people were killed in a Bahamas plane crash on Friday. (Our News Bahamas via AP)
First responders, including the Royal Bahamas Police Force, Airport Authority and emergency medical personnel, rushed to the dense brush where the aircraft went down.
The Bahamas Musicians and Entertainers Union confirmed in a statement Saturday that 10 people died in the crash, including prominent members of the “The Pond Band” and a local DJ, whose artistry the union said “touched so many lives and helped to enrich the cultural fabric of The Bahamas.”
Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis said a sole survivor was pulled from the wreckage.
“Ann and I are praying for the families who are now facing unbearable grief,” Davis wrote in a statement on X. “We are also praying for the survivor, whose recovery and care will remain in our thoughts.”
EIGHT BELIEVED DEAD AFTER B-52 CRASHES SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF FROM EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE
The identities of those killed in the crash have not yet been released.
While the AAIA’s preliminary reports initially indicated seven people were on board, officials are still establishing the facts of the flight manifest.
Just hours before the fatal crash in North Andros, a Flamingo Air flight en route to Mayaguana was forced to turn back to Nassau after the pilot reported a concern, according to the Ministry of Energy, Utilities and Aviation (MoET).
After the aircraft landed and passengers safely deplaned, the plane caught fire on the runway.
FORMER NFL QB ROBERT GRIFFIN III DESCRIBES HARROWING ENGINE FIRE ON UNITED FLIGHT
FILE – The Civil Aviation Authority Bahamas temporarily suspended Flamingo Air’s Air Operator Certificate following two aircraft incidents Friday. (iStock)
Following the two back-to-back safety incidents, the Civil Aviation Authority Bahamas (CAAB) temporarily suspended Flamingo Air’s Air Operator Certificate, according to MoET officials.
“The suspension is a precautionary safety measure and should not be treated as an adverse compliance action against Flamingo Air,” the agency wrote in a statement.
FILE – The plane crashed in North Andros on Friday after taking off from Lynden Pindling International Airport. (Melissa Alcena/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Investigators from the AAIA and inspectors from the CAAB remain at the scene in North Andros as they work to determine what caused the Cessna 402 tragedy.
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Flamingo Air did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Published on •Updated
Moldova’s pro-European President Maia Sandu nominated businessman Vasile Tofan on Saturday as the country’s next prime minister to replace Alexandru Munteanu, who resigned earlier this month over differences with the ruling majority.
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In a video posted to social media, Sandu said Tofan’s primary responsibility, after his candidacy is approved by the country’s parliament, would be to move the country further towards its path of “integration” into the European Union.
He should also “strengthen the resilience of state institutions and society”, and “revive the economy”, added Sandu.
The Moldovan businessman now has two weeks to secure parliamentary backing, a prospect he hopes to achieve after submitting his government programme and his ministerial cabinet nominations.
Tofan had been mentioned as a possible prime minister last year even before the appointment of Munteanu.
Igor Grosu, who heads Sandu’s Action and Solidarity Party (PAS) which won the last parliamentary elections in September, announced on Friday that he had selected him as his candidate to replace the outgoing premier.
He said Tofan shared “the same objectives” as him and PAS, specifying that “EU accession in the years to come, institutional reform and economic growth”, were among the biggest points of agreement.
The nominee for prime minister, who graduated Harvard Business School and turns 44 on Sunday, has a degree in public management from the Netherlands and is a managing partner at Horizon Capital, a private equity firm with assets primarily in Ukraine and Moldova.
He has also chaired the board of directors of Moldova’s Purcari winery, considered the crown jewel of the country’s winemaking sector.
Munteanu, another businessman who like Sandu previously worked at the World Bank, had been chosen to boost the economy and bring it closer to the EU, but turbulence with PAS saw him vacate his post less than a year into holding office.
He resigned on 3 July after less than eight months, stating that he could no longer carry out his mandate “according to (his) principles and (his) convictions”.
The EU last month officially launched a first round of accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova. Both countries became official EU candidate countries on 23 June 2022.
Additional sources • AFP
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