A coalition deal in Germany has paved the way for conservative leader Friedrich Merz to become the country’s 10th chancellor since World War II. As part of the deal, outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s party, the Social Democrats (SPD), will join with Merz’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU).

Both parties in the agreement have ruled out governing with the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD).

CDU, along with its Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU), won Germany’s elections in February after garnering 28.6% of the vote, according to Germany’s international broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW). 

The AfD secured 20.8% of the vote. Meanwhile, Scholz’s SPD won just 16.4% of the vote, their worst result since World War II, according to the Associated Press (AP).

The coalition agreement was put to a vote among the SPD’s more than 358,000 members via an online ballot. More than half, 56%, of the party’s members voted on the deal, and of those who cast their ballots, 84.6% were in favor, the AP reported.

CDU/CSU and SPD are looking to invest in Germany’s infrastructure, raise the minimum wage to $17.01 per hour and to cap rents, according to Reuters, which cited the coalition contract.

The coalition deal gives SPD several major positions, including the finance, justice and defense ministries, according to the AP. In total, SPD was able to secure seven ministry positions, DW reported. 

Additionally, SPD leader Lars Klingbeil is set to become vice chancellor and finance minister — a key position as the country deals with the ramifications of President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

‘In these very difficult times in global politics, we bear responsibility for our security, for economic growth, secure jobs and equal opportunities,’ SPD General Secretary Matthias Miersch said, according to Reuters.

Merz celebrated SPD’s approval of the agreement in a post on X, which was translated by Reuters.

‘The broad approval of our coalition agreement shows that the political center is capable of taking action and assuming responsibility. This clears the way for a strong government that will finally solve our country’s problems,’ Merz wrote, according to a Reuters translation.
 

A new government relations firm led in part by a former Trump lawyer has launched in Washington, D.C., with the aim of advocating for clients in the crypto and artificial intelligence space that has gained momentum since Trump’s election and inauguration. 

NexusOne Consulting, founded by attorney Jeff Ifrah of Ifrah Law, former Trump administration attorney Jim Trusty and former Trump Commerce Department official Ross Branson, opened its doors this week, marketing itself as a firm ‘focused on shaping federal policy and regulatory frameworks for clients in the emerging technologies sector, including AI, cryptocurrency and social media.’

Fox News Digital spoke to Ifrah, who outlined what he believed was a gap in the crypto and AI consulting space heading into the next four years of the Trump administration.

‘I think primarily before the Trump administration, there wasn’t really a need. It wasn’t like the industry was searching out D.C.-based advocates on a federal level,’ Ifrah said. ‘Shortly after Trump won the election it became kind of clear that these two verticals, AI and crypto, were going to need representation, and they previously hadn’t thought about that.’

Ifrah explained that his team did not see many firms with the necessary experience in the space and saw a benefit in ‘starting up a new shop with our kind of relationships and connections in the administration’ and ‘also paired that to a vertical industry we were familiar with you know, for which there wasn’t a lot of competition out there.’

In a press release, Trusty said, ‘NexusOne was launched to give the crypto, AI, and other emerging tech industries a seat at the table.’

‘We are perfectly positioned to help both the Executive Branch and private industry understand and appreciate each other’s roles and abilities in forging the new economy.’

NexusOne also unveiled members of the company’s advisory board, which includes Bill Bennett, former U.S. Secretary of Education under President George H.W. Bush, former GOP Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin and Andrew Graves, a Wall Street veteran who co-founded a nonprofit fundraising organization with Eric Trump. 

‘Headquartered across from the White House, NexusOne is the essential bridge between regulation and innovation,’ the company said in the press release. 

Bo Hines, executive director of the President’s Council of Advisers on Digital Assets, told Fox News Digital earlier this month that Trump is aiming to make the U.S. the ‘crypto capital of the world,’ and that the administration is well on its way to ushering in ‘the golden age for digital assets.’ 

Ifrah told Fox News Digital that many potential clients in the space are looking for a ‘seat at the table’ and he believes NexusOne is the firm to help them do that. 

‘Technology is outpacing policy, and that creates both opportunity and risk,’ Ifrah said in the press release. ‘We created NexusOne to ensure that companies at the frontier of innovation have a trusted, connected voice in Washington.’

‘There’s a once-in-a-generation opportunity to shape the future of tech policy. We’re here to make sure innovators don’t just react to policy—they influence it.’

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez would ‘destroy America’ as president – but is a first-rate entrepreneur – says Canadian businessman and star of ABC’s ‘Shark Tank’ Kevin O’Leary.

O’Leary’s comments came over the weekend during the White House Correspondents’ Association annual dinner in response to questions about a new campaign-style video the far-left progressive lawmaker put out amid speculation she is considering a run for president.

‘I think she’s the best marketeer in politics. I buy her T-shirts, I gift them the tax the rich T-shirts – I love them. She makes 82% in margin on them, which, I think, shows you that inside of every socialist, there’s a capitalist trying to get out,’ O’Leary said. ‘Now, would she destroy America? Absolutely. There’s no chance she’ll ever be president. I don’t agree with anything she says, but I love her social media. She’s a crazy chicken.’ 

‘Her district is a wasteland,’ O’Leary added. ‘Why would anybody want her running anything? But I love what she does on T-shirts, so maybe she should start a T-shirt company.’

The ‘Shark Tank’ star’s comments came as Ocasio-Cortez has been criss-crossing the country over the last several weeks, participating in a ‘Fight Oligarchy’ tour alongside Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in protest of President Donald Trump and his policies. The events have drawn large crowds and speculation over whether Ocasio-Cortez is testing the waters for a potential presidential run. 

Meanwhile, last week, Ocasio-Cortez posted a new campaign-style video to her social media accounts, invigorating that speculation even further.

Prominent pollster Nate Silver suggested earlier this month that Ocasio-Cortez is currently the leading Democrat to pick up the party’s presidential nomination in 2028, selecting her as his top choice in a 2028 election exercise with FiveThirtyEight’s Galen Druke. 

‘I think there’s a lot of points in her favor at this very moment,’ Druke said, adding, ‘Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has broad appeal across the Democratic Party.’

Fox News Digital’s Deirdre Heavey and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

Former vice presidential nominee Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., continued a self-described ‘listening tour’ across the country at a Harvard Kennedy School forum on Monday night, ruling out a 2028 presidential bid and revealing why former Vice President Kamala Harris chose him as her running mate. 

Walz said Harris chose him, in part, because, ‘I could code talk to White guys watching football, fixing their truck’ and ‘put them at ease.’ The Minnesota governor described himself as the ‘permission structure’ for White men from rural America to vote for Democrats. 

‘I think I’ll give you pretty good stuff, but I’ll also give you 10% problematic,’ Walz added when pushed by moderator Brittany Shepherd, ABC News national political reporter, about why he didn’t take that message to cable news to reach a larger audience. Walz laughed off criticism over inconsistencies in his background on the 2024 campaign trail, describing himself as a ‘knucklehead.’

Walz told CNN’s Jake Tapper earlier this month that he was considering a third bid for Minnesota governor but was not thinking about running for president in 2028. When asked by Shepherd to explain, Walz said the Democratic Party should run a collective 2028 presidential campaign. 

‘I think we need to collectively run a presidential campaign without a candidate right now that builds all the infrastructure… by the time we get to 2028, we’re ready,’ Walz said. 

And on what he would have done differently in 2024, Walz said, ‘We would have won.’ Acknowledging that Democrats came up short in November, Walz said the party is ‘better off doing more’ in ‘every forum,’ following criticism that Democrats didn’t prioritize media appearances enough in 2024, whether long-form podcasts or traditional network news shows. 

‘There is room for Gavin Newsom’s podcast, and there is room for Bernie Sanders’ rallies,’ Walz said, as he described both instances as opportunities for Democrats to reclaim their own narrative.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., long considered a potential 2028 presidential candidate, has invited President Donald Trump’s allies and conservative guests, including Charlie Kirk and Steve Bannon, onto his new podcast to show he is open to ‘criticism and debate without demeaning or dehumanizing one another.’ The strategy follows criticism after the 2024 presidential election that Democrats didn’t prioritize new media appearances and unscripted conversations enough. 

Meanwhile, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has been jet-setting across the country on the ‘Fighting Oligarchy’ tour alongside another potential 2028 presidential candidate, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. The self-described Democratic socialists have amassed tens of thousands of supporters to what they say are record-setting rallies for both politicians. 

Walz has been on his own cross-country tour, hosting town halls in Republican-held congressional districts. But the former vice presidential nominee has fallen into familiar missteps from the 2024 campaign trail – on the road and back at home. 

Walz was heckled by veterans at the Minnesota Capitol earlier this month for claims of ‘stolen valor.’ At a town hall in Wisconsin last month, a woman who registered for the event told Fox News Digital she was removed for filming Trump supporters getting kicked out. And during one of his first town hall events, Walz was slammed by Republicans for celebrating Tesla’s stock drop amid a spree of vandalism. 

While the Democrat said he was chosen by the Harris campaign to relate to White men, Walz has been unable to escape the nickname ‘Tampon Tim,’ coined by conservatives for his bill providing free menstrual products to ‘all menstruating students’ in school restrooms grades 4 to 12, including the boys’ room. 

Regardless of the comment or legislation, conservatives find a way to criticize ‘Tampon Tim,’ including when Walz claimed he could fight most Trump supporters earlier this year. 

Further reflecting on the Democrats’ 2024 losses, Walz said the party wins on the issues and ‘competency,’ but ‘we lose the message, and we lose power.’

‘Why have we lost the self-identity that the Democratic Party is for personal freedoms, middle-class folks, for labor folks. How did we lose it, where people didn’t self-identify with that? How did we get to a point where people didn’t feel like this was an important enough election to get out and vote?’ Walz asked during his speech Monday. 

Walz’s speech was on the eve of Trump’s first 100-day celebration, and he warned his fellow Democrats, ‘If you leave a void, Donald Trump will fill it,’ and added, ‘If I ever had 100 days to live, I would spend it in the Trump administration because it’s like a lifetime.’

‘It’s been 100 days of destruction. You think we can survive 550 more? That’s the challenge. That’s how long it is until the midterms,’ Walz said. 

There are moments when I still wake up in terror, my heart pounding, convinced I’m back in those dark tunnels beneath Gaza. 

Then reality slowly breaks through—I am free. After 471 days held hostage by Hamas, I have returned to the world of light, of family, of possibility. But my heart remains heavy, knowing that others still endure the nightmare from which I’ve awakened.

My story begins on October 7, a day that tore my life in two. I went to the Nova festival with my best friend Gaya Halifa, looking forward to a day of music and celebration. When the terror attack began, we tried desperately to escape. After hiding in the bushes, Ben Shimoni arrived in his car to rescue me, Gaya and Ofir Tzarfati. 

For a brief moment, we thought we were safe. But that hope shattered when the terrorists opened fire on our car. I was wounded. Gaya did not survive. I remember her last words to me: ‘Romi, they shot me.’ We shared one final look, her eyes meeting mine before they rolled back as she took her last breath. In the end, I was the only survivor from our car. Since returning home, I’ve learned that Ben managed to save twelve other people at the festival that day before coming back to rescue us—a heroic act for which I am eternally grateful.

Every day in captivity tested every fiber of my being. I lost 22 pounds as food and water became luxuries rather than necessities. The bullet wound in my hand, untreated and without pain medication, led to complete disability in my right hand. Yet somehow, I endured. In captivity, I found an unexpected lifeline—Emily Damari. We first met after undergoing horrific surgeries in Gaza, waking up in a hospital after anesthesia. Thirty-nine days later, we reunited in the tunnels and remained inseparable. Two injured girls, two functioning hands between us, two bleeding souls becoming one.

She was my light when hope abandoned me. When I collapsed to the floor, she lifted me with a smile. When I cried so hard I couldn’t breathe, she wiped away my tears. When I yearned for my mother, she held me tightly and didn’t let go. We fought together to survive, and on January 19, we were both released.

I am incredibly grateful for getting my life back. I owe so much to you, President Trump, for your decisive leadership in advancing a deal that many thought impossible. When I returned, I learned how you promised from your first day in office that you would bring all the hostages back. Your commitment created the breakthrough that led to my release along with 37 other hostages. You achieved what many diplomats and leaders deemed impossible. Your intervention made this possible, and I look forward to meeting you face-to-face to express my profound gratitude. I believe you will finish what you’ve started.

I also thank the brave soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces who risked their lives. I thank my family who, like the families of all the hostages, fought tirelessly, traveled across continents and refused to let the world forget me and all the hostages. Their unwavering advocacy and determination to bring me home sustained them through their darkest hours, just as thoughts of them sustained me through mine.

Since my return, the journey has been far from over. I’ve been hospitalized, undergoing a 13-hour surgery. I never imagined my condition would be so severe. I didn’t anticipate that my leg would lose function as they harvested everything possible to repair my hand. I never expected to need rehabilitation for months ahead or that I would face multiple surgeries instead of just one. The rehabilitation is incredibly difficult, both physically and mentally. But I will face it all—this is what I waited for during those endless days of captivity.

As I navigate this new chapter of healing and hope, I carry with me the memory of those dark days and the people who sustained me through them. I carry the responsibility to speak for those who cannot yet speak for themselves—the hostages still waiting for their freedom.

It feels especially meaningful to mark the first 100 days of Trump’s presidency near Israel’s Independence Day. But true independence cannot exist when our people are still held captive. Every living hostage deserves the chance to breathe free air and reunite with loved ones, while those who have perished deserve to be returned to their families for proper burial and remembrance.

My story is not just one of survival but of the enduring human capacity for resilience. It is about finding light in the darkest places and strength when all seems lost. It is about the bonds that save us and the hope that sustains us.

My journey—and Israel’s journey—isn’t complete until every hostage returns home. I believe in us. I believe in you, President Trump. Let’s bring them all home.