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The father of freed American hostage Natalie Raanan says she is doing well following her two weeks in captivity after she and her mother were abducted in Israel by Hamas.

Uri Raanan told reporters he had spoken to his 17-year-old daughter Natalie on the phone.

“She’s doing good. She’s doing very good,” he said.

“I’m in tears, and I feel very, very good.”

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Judith and Natalie Raanan
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(L-R) Judith and Natalie Raanan

The 71-year-old, from Evanston, Illinois, said he saw on the news that an American mother and daughter would be released by Hamas, and he spent all Friday hoping that meant his daughter Natalie and his ex-wife Judith.

Knowing Natalie may be able to celebrate her 18th birthday next week at home with family and friends feels “wonderful… the best news”, he said.

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“I’m going to hug her it will be the best day of my life.”

This photo provided by the Raanan family shows Natalie Raanan and her father, Uri Raanan, in Mexico.  The Israeli government said Hamas militants on Friday, Oct. 20, 2023, freed two Americans -- Judith Raanan and her 17-year-old daughter Natalie, who had been held hostage in Gaza since militants rampaged through Israel two weeks ago. The pair, who also hold Israeli citizenship, were the first hostages to be released of the roughly 200 abducted.  (Courtesy of the Raanan family via AP)
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Natalie with her father, Uri Raanan

Mr Raanan added that he believes Natalie and Judith, 59, are making their way to Tel Aviv to reunite with relatives, and that both will be back in the US early next week.

US President Joe Biden celebrated the news that the Raanans had been freed.

“I am overjoyed that they will soon be reunited with their family, who has been wracked with fear,” Mr Biden said in Washington.

The president also spoke with Judith and Natalie and “relayed that they will have the full support of the US government as they recover from this terrible ordeal”, the White House said.

Judith Raanan and her 17-year-old daughter Natalie speak to Joe Biden following their release. Pic: US Embassy Jerusalem
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Judith Raanan and her daughter Natalie speak to Joe Biden following their release. Pic: US Embassy Jerusalem

An Israeli army spokesman said the two Americans were out of the Gaza Strip and with the Israeli military.

Hamas said they released them for humanitarian reasons in an agreement with the Qatari government.

They were the first hostages to be released since Hamas militants abducted around 200 people during their rampage on 7 October.

Natalie Raanan and her dog in Chicago. Pic: AP
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Natalie and her dog in Chicago. Pic: AP

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The International Committee of the Red Cross, which transported the Raanans from Gaza to Israel, said their release offered “a sliver of hope” for those still being held.

Judith and Natalie had left their home in the Chicago suburb of Evanston to travel to Israel to celebrate the Jewish holidays, according to family members.

On 7 October they were in Nahal Oz, near Gaza, for the holiday Simchat Torah, when Hamas militants stormed into southern Israeli towns, killing and abducting hundreds of people.

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Two US hostages freed by Hamas

Their family had heard nothing from them since the attack and were later told by US and Israeli officials that they were being held in Gaza, Natalie’s brother Ben Raanan told the Denver Post earlier this week.

Natalie loves art, makeup, fashion, and DoorDash – “she hates eating at home”, according to Ben, who is based in Denver, Colorado.

She graduated from high school this year and was deciding between going to college to study interior or fashion design and taking an apprenticeship with a tattoo shop.

Qatar said it would continue its dialogue with Israel and Hamas in hopes of winning the release of all hostages “with the ultimate aim of de-escalating the current crisis and restoring peace”.

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Mother of hostage: ‘I miss her’

The release comes amid growing expectations of a ground offensive that Israel says is aimed at rooting out Hamas militants who rule Gaza.

In a statement issued late on Friday, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “Two of our abductees are at home. We are not giving up on the effort to return all abducted and missing people.”

“At the same time, we’ll continue to fight until victory,” he added.

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Trump threatens EU with 50% tariffs – as Apple faces 25% unless iPhones are made in US

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Trump threatens EU with 50% tariffs - as Apple faces 25% unless iPhones are made in US

Donald Trump has threatened to impose 50% tariffs on the EU, starting from next month, after saying that trade talks with Brussels were “going nowhere”.

Mr Trump made the comments on his Truth Social platform. It is a fresh escalation in his trade row with the European Union, which he has previously accused of ripping off the US.

It comes as he also announced that Apple will be forced to pay 25% tariffs on its iPhones unless it moves all its manufacturing to the US.

Apple shares dropped more than 2% in premarket trading after the warning, also posted on Truth Social.

“I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhone’s that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else,” wrote the president.

“If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the U.S.”

Production of Apple’s flagship phone happens primarily in China and India, which has been an issue brought up repeatedly by President Trump.

On Thursday, the Financial Times reported Apple was planning to expand its India supply chain through a key contractor.

Taiwanese company Foxconn is planning to build a new factory in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, according to the paper, to help supply Apple.

Sky News has contacted Apple for comment.

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Israeli embassy shooting suspect ‘fired repeatedly after victims hit the ground’

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Israeli embassy shooting suspect 'fired repeatedly after victims hit the ground'

The man suspected of shooting dead two Israeli embassy workers in Washington DC leaned over and fired at them repeatedly after they fell to the ground, the FBI has said.

Elias Rodriguez, 31, has been charged with murdering Sarah Milgrim and her boyfriend Yaron Lischinsky, after they left an event at the Capital Jewish Museum on Wednesday night.

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Footage has showed Rodriguez, from Chicago, chanting “free, free Palestine” as he was arrested.

It later emerged Mr Lischinsky had bought a ring and planned to propose to Ms Milgrim.

Authorities are investigating the killings as both a hate crime against the Jewish community and terrorism.

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Shootings suspect shouts ‘free Palestine!’

‘I did it for Gaza’

It comes as the FBI has said in a charging document on Thursday that surveillance footage shows how Ms Milgrim and Mr Lischinsky died.

Rodriguez is allegedly seen passing the couple after they left the museum before shooting them in the back.

The FBI says the footage then shows him leaning over the couple and firing at them several more times after they fell to the ground.

The video then shows Ms Milgrim attempting to crawl away before “(Rodriguez) followed behind her and fired again”, the charging document says.

The suspected gunman is then accused of reloading his weapon and firing at Ms Milgrim as she sat up.

According to the charging document, Rodriguez then jogged to the museum and once inside asked to speak to a police officer before stating that he “did it” and that he was unarmed.

He is then said to have told police: “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza, I am unarmed.”

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DC shooting: Father pays tribute to ‘perfect’ daughter

Suspect ‘expressed admiration’ for fatal protest

The court document also states that 21 expended 9mm bullet cases were found at the scene and the gun was slide-locked – meaning it was empty of ammunition.

An empty gun magazine was also recovered from the scene.

The FBI says it has obtained travel records which show Rodriguez flew from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport to the Reagan National in Washington DC on Tuesday with the gun in his checked baggage.

Rodriguez had bought the weapon in the state of Illinois on 6 March 2020, according to the charging document.

The FBI has said that while Rodriguez was in custody he “expressed admiration” for a US Air Force member who set himself on fire in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington DC on 25 February 2024.

Aaron Bushnell died in the apparent act of protest against the war in Gaza.

Rodriguez also told police he bought a ticket to the museum around three hours before the event that was attended by Ms Milgrim and Mr Lischinsky.

Read more:
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Starmer ‘on wrong side of history’

During a brief court appearance at the E. Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse in Washington DC today, Rodriguez was charged with two counts of first degree murder and with the murder of foreign officials.

He has also been charged with causing the death of a person through the use of a firearm and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence.

Rodriguez was told he could face life in prison or the death penalty if he is found guilty.

He remained calm throughout the hearing, paying attention to the proceedings throughout and confirmed that he is asking the court to appoint an attorney on his behalf.

He will next appear at a federal court in Washington DC on 18 June.

Murdered couple ‘were perfect for each other’

Meanwhile, Ms Milgrim’s father, Robert, says he feared his daughter might be in danger when he saw news alerts of a fatal shooting in Washington DC.

Ms Milgrim’s mother Nancy opened a phone locator app and saw Ms Milgrim was at the Capital Jewish Museum.

“Shortly after that, the Israeli ambassador called us on my wife’s phone,” Mr Milgrim told Sky News’ partner network NBC News, fighting back tears.

He added that it was the ambassador who told them Mr Lischinksy had bought a ring and was planning to propose to Ms Milgrim.

“They were perfect for each other, he said.

Mr Milgrim continued: “They just brought us joy, and her memory, which is a blessing, will continue to bring us joy – but it’s not the same as her not being here.”

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Investors descend on Trump’s golf club for $148m meme coin dinner amid protests

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Investors descend on Trump's golf club for 8m meme coin dinner amid protests

Donald Trump hosted a dinner for investors in his meme coin on Thursday, as critics warned the US president was putting personal profit first.

Some 220 of the biggest investors in the $TRUMP meme coin descended on the exclusive dinner at Mr Trump’s private country club in Northern Virginia.

As the US president arrived, more than a hundred protesters at the Trump National Golf Club held signs that included “America is not for sale”, “stop crypto corruption” and “release the list”.

Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren described the dinner, where the US president spoke for about half an hour before dancing to the song YMCA, as an “orgy of corruption”.

US President Donald Trump leaves the White House to attend his own meme coin gala.
Pic: Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein
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Donald Trump leaves the White House to attend his own meme coin gala. Pic: Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein

Access to the dinner, and the president, was earned by purchasing enough of his $TRUMP meme coin to secure a seat.

The White House insisted Mr Trump would attend the event “in his personal time”, but the lectern he stood behind had the presidential seal.

NBC News reported that during his remarks, Mr Trump did not unveil any new crypto policies but spoke in support of a potential bitcoin reserve and then left promptly afterward.

In total, investors spent an estimated $148m (£110m), with the top 25 holders of the coin spending more than $111m (£82.56m), according to crypto intelligence firm Inca Digital.

A company controlled by the Trump family, and a second firm, hold 80% of the remaining $TRUMP coins and have so far earned $320.19m (£238.14m), including at least $1.35m (£1m) after the dinner announcement, according to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis.

‘Trump a very successful businessman,’ says White House

According to blockchain analysis, more than half of the 220 holders who attended the black-tie event are likely based outside the US.

This has led to claims the US president has auctioned off access to himself to foreign investors for personal gain.

In response to criticisms about Mr Trump using his office to enrich himself from the meme coin, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “All of the president’s assets are in a blind trust, which is managed by his children.

“And I would argue, one of the many reasons that the American people re-elected this president back to this office is because he was a very successful businessman before giving it up to publicly serve our country.”

Demonstrators gather outside Trump National Golf Course ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s meme coin gala.
Pic: Reuters
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Protesters gather outside Trump National Golf Course ahead of the dinner.
Pic: Reuters

President Donald Trump arrives on the South Lawn of the White House after attending the crypto dinner.
Pic: AP/John McDonnell
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Trump arrives back at White House after attending the crypto dinner. Pic: AP/John McDonnell

Who was on the guest list?

One of those attending was China-born crypto entrepreneur and billionaire Justin Sun.

He won first place in the dinner contest with his $18.5m (£13.76m) wallet of the Trump meme coin and is the largest publicly known investor in the family’s crypto platform – which has made them hundreds of millions of dollars.

Mr Sun posted videos of himself visiting parts of the White House complex on Wednesday, and on Thursday of Mr Trump at the dinner event.

In February, the US Securities and Exchange Commission paused a 2023 fraud case against him, citing public interest.

Demonstrators protest near Trump National Golf Club before the arrival of the president. 
Pic: AP/Rod Lamkey Jr
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Demonstrators protest near Trump National Golf Club before the arrival of the president.
Pic: AP/Rod Lamkey Jr

However, the identities of the majority of the coin holders attending the event remain unknown.

Of those going, one was simply known as Ogle, a crypto security specialist who appears in video interviews with his face covered by a bandana and sunglasses.

He says this is to protect his identity.

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Even some pro-Trump crypto voices worried his personal involvement may hurt efforts to establish credibility.

“It’s distasteful and an unnecessary distraction,” said Nic Carter, a Trump supporter and partner at the crypto investment firm Castle Island Ventures.

“We would much rather that he passes common sense legislation and leave it at that.”

The event was capped off with an after-party, called “Meme The Night,” thrown by a Singapore-based meme-coin engagement company called MemeCore.

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