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Browns' Myles Garrett says it would be 'special' to break sack record against Aaron Rodgers
Cleveland Browns superstar Myles Garrett is on the verge of NFL history, as he is just a half-sack away from tying the single-season record set by Hall of Famer Michael Strahan and Pittsburgh Steelers star T.J. Watt.
Garrett, 29, said it would be "special" to break the record by sacking Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
"It’d be special. He’s legendary himself. And it’s a legendary record I’m out here chasing. So that’d be a great one to put a picture on the wall with," Garrett said at a press conference Friday.
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Rodgers is quick to get the ball out, and Garrett said it’s important to take away his easy reads.
"Gotta take away those easy access throws, make him look at his second read, and he’s gotta keep rushing. There’ll be (opportunities) if we continue to get stops during the game, and he can’t continue to lean on those quick passes, when you gotta score points," Garrett said.
The Browns, who are 3-12, play the Steelers at home on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. The Steelers would clinch the AFC North and a playoff spot with a win over the Browns.
Garrett hopes the Browns play spoiler, so if he sets the record on Sunday, he would do it in a win.
"Yeah, I just play. I want to get it, and you know, like I said, I want to win while doing it. And I think we have the guys who are locked in who want to do that as well," Garrett said.
The seven-time Pro Bowler said there is no pressure that comes with the record looming.
"Pressure? Nah, no pressure. Like I said, it’s going down. So, I’m not stressed or worried about if I’m going to get it. Just a matter of when," Garrett said.
Garrett has established himself as one of the NFL’s premier pass rushers since being selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. The four-time All-Pro has an astounding 124.5 sacks in 132 career games.
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Phillies' Bryce Harper sends apparent message to team exec in TikTok post after criticism
Bryce Harper seemed to have a message for a key face of his own team.
Shortly after the Philadelphia Phillies were ousted from the postseason, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski proclaimed that his star first baseman "didn't have an elite season like he has had in the past."
He wasn't exactly wrong — Harper hit .261 with an .844 OPS in 2025, both lower than his career averages. In both of his MVP seasons, he hit over .300 with an OPS of over 1.000.
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Harper voiced his displeasure with Dombrowski's comments shortly afterward, and the two are said to have discussed the matter in private. However, it doesn't seem like Harper is totally over it.
In a recent TikTok post of himself at a batting cage, Harper was seen wearing a shirt that read, "NOT ELITE."
Harper turned 33 one week after the Phillies were eliminated by the Los Angeles Dodgers, who eventually won their second consecutive World Series. The Phillies have been a mainstay in October this decade but have been unable to get over the hump.
SPORTS TEAMS THAT WERE CROWNED CHAMPIONS IN 2025
Dombrowski said Harper was "still an All-Star caliber player," but "we (can) only find out if he becomes elite or if he continues to be good."
"I look around the league … Freddie Freeman. He’s a really good player, right? He still is a good player. Is he elite like he was before? Probably not to the same extent. Freddie’s a tremendous player. And, that to me, is Bryce. Can he rise to the next level again?" Dombrowski said. "I don’t really know that answer.
"I mean, really, he’s the one that will dictate that more than anything else, is what it comes down to. I don’t think he’s content with the year that he had. And, again, it wasn’t a bad year, but when I think of Bryce Harper, you’re thinking elite, you’re thinking one of the top 10 players in baseball, and I don’t think [his 2025 season] fit into that category. But, again, very good player."
Harper played in 132 games this season, landing on the injured list with a wrist injury. He signed a 13-year, $330 million deal with the Phillies ahead of the 2019 season.
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Texas 19-year-old Camila Mendoza Olmos vanishes outside her home on Christmas Eve
A search is underway Saturday in Texas after a 19-year-old woman who "normally goes for a morning walk" disappeared outside of her home on Christmas Eve, police said.
Camila Mendoza Olmos was last seen leaving her residence in the 11000 block of Caspian Spring in San Antonio around 6:58 a.m. on Wednesday, according to the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office.
"Camila’s mother stated that Camila normally goes for a morning walk; however, she became concerned when Camila did not return within a reasonable period of time," the Sheriff’s Office said.
"Video footage from that time shows an unknown individual, believed to be Camila, searching inside her vehicle for an unidentified item. Moments later, the footage ends. It is believed that she left the residence on foot, as her vehicle remained at the location," deputies added. "The only items known to be on her person are her car key and possibly her driver’s license."
TWO ATTORNEYS VANISH FLORIDA FISHING TRIP AS ‘HEARTBROKEN’ WIFE PLEADS FOR HELP FINDING THEM
The woman’s mother, identified by KENS5 as Rosario Olmos, told the station that, "I called her cell phone, but the cell phone was there on the bed and it was turned off."
"I put it to charge and went out to look for her. I thought I would find her like other times, walking, and we would come home together," she said.
"I only ask God to please bring her back home," Rosario Olmos added. "Bring her back to me."
DRAMATIC BODYCAM VIDEO CAPTURES MOMENT SUSPECTED KIDNAPPER IS ARRESTED AFTER 40 YEARS ON THE RUN
Camila’s family members and more than 100 other people have searched for her in the area, according to KSAT.
"It’s been real hard," her father, Alfonso Mendoza, told the station.
The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office described Camila Mendoza Olmos as being around 5-feet 4-inches tall, weighing around 110 pounds.
She was last seen wearing a baby blue and black hoodie, baby blue pajama bottoms and white shoes, authorities added.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office for further comment.
Italian authorities arrest 9 people who allegedly used charities to funnel more than $8m to Hamas
Italian authorities have arrested nine people linked to three charities on suspicion of raising millions in funds for the terrorist organization Hamas.
The suspects allegedly funneled approximately 7 million euros ($8.2 million) to "associations based in Gaza, the Palestinian territories, or Israel, owned, controlled, or linked to Hamas," a statement issued by anti-terrorism prosecutors read, according to The Associated Press.
ISRAEL FM ACCUSES PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY OF AIDING TERROR WITH ‘PAY-FOR-SLAY’ AFTER DEADLY ATTACK
The official objective of the charities was to collect donations "for humanitarian purposes for the Palestinian people," but more than 71% of the funds were earmarked for the direct financing of Hamas or entities affiliated with the terror organization, The Times of Israel reported, citing police. The outlet noted that police also claimed that some of the money went to "family members implicated in terrorist attacks."
One of the people arrested was Mohammad Hannoun, president of the Palestinian Association in Italy, the AP reported, citing prosecutors. The outlet noted that prosecutors described Hannoun as the "head of the Italian cell of the Hamas organization."
MAN LINKED TO HAMAS ATTACK ON ISRAEL INDICTED IN LOUISIANA FOR CONSPIRING TO SUPPORT TERRORIST GROUP
Prosecutors said that the funds were sent to the terror organization through "triangulation operations" via bank transfers or through organizations based abroad to associations based in Gaza, which have been declared illegal by Israel for their ties to Hamas, the AP reported.
Italian Minister of the Interior Matteo Paintedosi said the arrest operation was "important and significant" and that it "lifted the veil on behavior and activities which, pretending to be initiatives in favor of the Palestinian population, concealed support for and participation in terrorist organizations."
Hamas, which has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2006, is considered by many nations and international institutions to be a terror organization. The U.S., the U.K., Argentina, Australia, Canada, Israel and the European Union are among those that have designated Hamas as a terror organization.
Fox News Digital reached out to Israel's embassy in Italy for comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
2025 shockers: The biggest moments that rocked the campaign trail
It was an off-year when it comes to elections, but 2025 was on fire on the campaign trail, as next year's looming midterm showdowns took shape.
While it was never expected to match the intensity of the tumultuous 2024 battles for the White House and Congress, this year's off-year elections grabbed outsized national attention and served as a key barometer leading up to the 2026 midterm contests for the House and Senate majorities.
Here are five of the biggest moments that shaped the campaign trail.
Aiming to prevent what happened during his first term in the White House when Democrats reclaimed the House majority in the 2018 midterms, President Donald Trump in June first floated the idea of rare but not unheard of mid-decade congressional redistricting.
HERE ARE THE NEXT BATTLEGROUNDS IN REDISTRICTING FIGHT
The mission was simple: redraw congressional district maps in red states to pad the GOP's razor-thin House majority to keep control of the chamber in the 2026 midterms, when the party in power traditionally faces political headwinds and loses seats.
Trump's first target: Texas.
A month later, when asked by reporters about his plan to add Republican-leaning House seats across the country, the president said, "Texas will be the biggest one. And that’ll be five."
The push by Trump and his political team triggered a high-stakes redistricting showdown with Democrats to shape the 2026 midterm landscape in the fight for the House majority.
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas called a special session of the GOP-dominated state legislature to pass the new map.
But Democratic state lawmakers, who broke quorum for two weeks as they fled Texas in a bid to delay the passage of the redistricting bill, energized Democrats across the country.
Among those leading the fight against Trump's redistricting was Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California.
California voters earlier this month overwhelmingly passed Proposition 50, a ballot initiative which will temporarily sidetrack the left-leaning state's nonpartisan redistricting commission and return the power to draw the congressional maps to the Democratic-dominated legislature.
That is expected to result in five more Democratic-leaning congressional districts in California, which aimed to counter the move by Texas to redraw their maps.
The fight quickly spread beyond Texas and California.
Right-tilting Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio have drawn new maps as part of the president's push.
SETTING THE STAGE: WHAT THE 2025 ELECTIONS SIGNAL FOR NEXT YEAR'S MIDTERM SHOWDOWNS
Republicans are looking to GOP-controlled Florida, where early redistricting moves are underway in Tallahassee. A new map could possibly produce up to five more right-leaning seats. But conservative Gov. Ron DeSantis and GOP legislative leaders don't see eye-to-eye on how to move forward.
"We must keep the Majority at all costs," Trump wrote on social media this month.
In blows to Republicans, a Utah district judge this month rejected a congressional district map drawn up by the state's GOP-dominated legislature and instead approved an alternate that will create a Democratic-leaning district ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
And Republicans in Indiana's Senate defied Trump, shooting down a redistricting bill that had passed the state House.
But Trump scored a big victory when the conservative majority on the Supreme Court greenlighted Texas' new map.
Other states that might step into the redistricting wars — Democratic-dominated Illinois and Maryland, and two red states with Democratic governors, Kentucky and Kansas.
Virginia Democrats were cruising toward convincing victories in the commonwealth's statewide elections when a scandal sent shockwaves up and down the ballot.
SHOWDOWN FOR THE HOUSE: DEMOCRATS, REPUBLICANS BRACE FOR HIGH-STAKES MIDTERM CLASH
Democratic attorney general nominee Jay Jones instantly went into crisis mode after controversial texts were first reported earlier by the National Review in early October.
Jones acknowledged and apologized for texts he sent in 2022, when he compared then-Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert to mass murderers Adolf Hitler and Pol Pot, adding that if he was given two bullets, he would use both against the GOP lawmaker to shoot him in the head.
But Jones faced a chorus of calls from Republicans to drop out of the race.
And the GOP leveraged the explosive revelations up the ballot, forcing Democratic Party nominee, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, back on defense in a campaign where she was seen as the frontrunner against Republican rival Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears.
Earle-Sears didn't waste an opportunity to link Spanberger to Jones. And during October's chaotic and only gubernatorial debate, where Earle-Sears repeatedly interrupted Spanberger, the GOP gubernatorial nominee called on her Democratic rival to tell Jones to end his attorney general bid.
"The comments that Jay Jones made are absolutely abhorrent," Spanberger said at the debate. But she neither affirmed nor pulled back her support of Jones.
KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THE 2025 ELECTIONS
While the scandal grabbed national headlines, in the end it didn't slow down the Democrats, as Spanberger crushed Earle-Sears by 15 points. Democrats won the separate election for lieutenant governor by 11 points and Jones even pulled off a 6-point victory over Republican incumbent Jason Miyares.
Just eight days into Trump's second term in the White House, demoralized Democrats had something to cheer about.
Democrat Mike Zimmer defeated Republican Katie Whittington in a special state Senate election in Iowa, flipping a Republican-controlled vacant seat in a district that Trump had carried by 21 points less than three months earlier.
Zimmer's victory triggered a wave of Democrats overperforming in special elections and regularly scheduled off-year ballot box contests.
Among the most high profile was the victory by the Democratic candidate in Wisconsin's high-stakes and expensive state Supreme Court showdown.
With inflation, the issue that severely wounded them in the 2024 elections, persisting, Democrats were laser focused on affordability, and the wins kept coming.
In November's regularly scheduled elections, they won the nation's only two gubernatorial showdowns — in New Jersey and Virginia — by double digits. And they scored major victories in less high-profile contests from coast to coast.
The year ended with Democrats winning a mayoral election in Miami, Florida for the first time in a quarter-century, and flipping a state House seat in Georgia.
The Democratic National Committee, in a year-end memo, touted, "In 2025 alone, Democrats won or overperformed in 227 out of 255 key elections — nearly 90% of races."
But Democrats are still staring down a brand that remains in the gutter, with historically low approval and favorable numbers.
ELECTION REFLECTION: 'DEMOCRATS FLIPPED THE SCRIPT' ON AFFORDABILITY IN BALLOT BOX SHOWDOWNS
Among the most recent to grab headlines: Only 18% of voters questioned in a Quinnipiac University survey this month said they approved of the way congressional Democrats were handling their job, while 73% percent disapproved.
That's the lowest job approval rating for the Democrats in Congress since the Quinnipiac University Poll began asking this question 16 years ago.
The Democrats overperformed in this month's special congressional election in a GOP-dominated seat in Tennessee — losing by nine points in a district that Trump carried by 22 points just a year ago,
But there were plenty of centrist Democrats who argued that state Rep. Aftyn Behn, the Democratic nominee in the race, was too far to the left for the district.
Republicans repeatedly attacked Behn over her paper trail of past comments on defunding the police.
'FULL-BLOWN BATTLE' BREWING IN DEM PARTY AS MAMDANI-STYLE CANDIDATES RISE IN KEY RACES
And the U.S. Senate campaign launch this month in red-leaning Texas by Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a progressive champion and vocal Trump critic and foil, compounded the argument by centrists.
"The Democratic Party’s aspirations to win statewide in a red state like Texas simply don’t exist without a centrist Democrat who can build a winning coalition of ideologically diverse voters," Liam Kerr, co-founder of the Welcome PAC, a group which advocates for moderate Democratic candidates, argued in a statement to Fox News Digital.
And the center-left Third Way, in a memo following the Tennessee special election, argued that "there are two projects going on in the Democratic Party right now. One is winning political power so we can stop Trump’s calamity. The other is turning blue places bluer."
"If far-left groups want to help save American democracy, they should stop pushing their candidates in swing districts and costing us flippable seats," the memo emphasized.
It was the story that has dominated campaign politics for the past six months.
Zohran Mamdani's convincing June 24 victory in New York City's Democratic Party mayoral primary was the political earthquake that rocked the nation's most populous city and sent powerful shockwaves across the country.
The capturing of the Democratic nomination by the now-34-year-old socialist state lawmaker over frontrunner former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and nine other candidates propelled Mamdani to a general election victory.
Mamdani's primary shocker, and later, his general election victory, energized the left.
But it also handed Republicans instant ammunition as they worked to link the first Muslim New York City mayor with a far-left agenda to Democrats across the country, as the party aimed to paint Democrats as extremists.
But Trump, who had repeatedly called Mamdani a "communist," appeared to undercut that narrative with a chummy Oval Office meeting with the mayor-elect last month.
Kate Hudson says her 14-year-old son’s friends love coming over and hanging out with her
Kate Hudson says her 14-year-old son's friends love to come over to the house and spend time with her in the mornings.
During an interview with Fox News Digital, Hudson — who is currently promoting her upcoming film with Hugh Jackman, "Song Sung Blue" — shared that her son, Bingham "Bing" Bellamy, always has his friends over at her house.
Jackman asked Hudson if she believes her kids think she's cool, to which Hudson replied, "I think my kids do think I'm cool."
Focus Features will release "Song Sung Blue" in theaters on Thursday, December 25th.
"I feel like they're gonna kill me for saying this, but like Bing, my 14-year-old, and that's like the hard age, you know, they all come to our house. They like to be at our house. That's a good sign. If they want to come hang with you," Hudson said.
Hudson, who was just nominated for a Golden Globe for her role in the film, has three kids: son Ryder Robinson, 21, son Bingham "Bing" Bellamy, 14 and daughter, Rani Fujikawa, 7.
The "Almost Famous" star said that her second son's friends like to come down to the kitchen and chat with her while she cooks them all breakfast.
"If they want to come hang with you, then you know. Bing's friends will come down in the morning and sit with me and talk with me while I'm making them breakfast and stuff. I think they like me," Hudson said.
WATCH: KATE HUDSON SAYS HER SON'S FRIENDS LOVE COMING OVER AND HANGING OUT WITH HER
Elsewhere in the interview, Hudson revealed that her kids love to make fun of her and keep her grounded.
"Oh, it's so funny. I mean, your kids are always the ones who keep you grounded. I mean, it doesn't matter what you do, you know? You could be on a billboard. Your kids are always the ones who tell you, you know, how they feel, right? I love that. I encourage my kids to speak their mind and I feel like I'm super grounded. Like I love my domestic life. I'm a homebody. I love being home, it's my happy place with my family," the actress said.
KATE AND OLIVER HUDSON TELL RAHM EMANUEL HOW THEIR FAMILY HANDLES POLITICAL DIFFERENCES
Hudson explained that her oldest son is very good at keeping her on her toes.
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"I love when they come out and make fun of me and start making fun of me. Ryder's really good at it now that he's an adult. He loves coming after me," Hudson said.
Hudson asked Jackman if his two adult kids think he's cool and he said, "I have no idea. I don't think so."
WATCH: KATE HUDSON AND HUGH JACKMAN TALK ‘SONG SUNG BLUE’
"Well, because you're not cool, you're a total nerd," Hudson replied and Jackman agreed.
"You're the best nerd in the world," Hudson added.
Hudson and Jackman are starring in "Song Sung Blue," which is "based on a true story, two down-on-their-luck musicians (Jackman and Hudson) form a joyous Neil Diamond tribute band, proving it's never too late to find love and follow your dreams."
Hudson and Jackman previously said that shooting this movie felt like "being married," even though filming was relatively short. The pair told Fox News Digital that they didn't have a choice but to have strong chemistry on-camera.
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"Well, we had to. It was like do or die, you know? No, I mean when we first started, I remember reading the script and thinking like, wow, what a great script, what a wild true story. I can't believe this actually happened. And then I thought, if we don't work as a couple, this movie just doesn't work," Hudson said.
"Luckily for us, it felt easy. It did feel easy. And I think that's luck of the draw to be honest," Jackman said.
Gwyneth Paltrow reveals why she firmly refused explicit sex scene in acclaimed '90s film
Gwyneth Paltrow has always known when to put her foot down.
The actress had a conversation with former co-star Ethan Hawke for Vanity Fair, and they spoke in detail about their experience of filming 1998's "Great Expectations" – including the explicit sex scene that she flat-out refused to do.
"Do you remember Alfonso pitching you the love scene?" Hawke asked, referring to the film's director, Alfonso Cuarón.
GWYNETH PALTROW ADMITS HER ‘ICY’ REPUTATION ISN'T ENTIRELY WRONG, SHARES THE REAL REASON
Paltrow replied, "Oh my god," explaining that Cuarón had wanted to film a scene in which her character received oral sex from Hawke's character.
"I was like, ‘Oh my god, my father’s going to have a heart attack," she remembered.
Hawke impersonated Cuarón, saying, "The camera is going to go down your belly, and then it's going to go up your breasts, and then it's going to go in your face as you reach ecstasy. And then when you reach ecstasy, the light will explode like to the sun!"
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Paltrow laughed at the impersonation, and Hawke added, "And I remember looking at Gwyneth, and Gwyneth is like, ‘Alfonso, I’m never going to do that.'"
"But you know, I had, in my early career, I was really self-conscious about my dad and grandfather seeing this kind of stuff," she said. "Like, it really bothered me."
She added, "Now, I wouldn't care."
Hawke praised the way she handled the refusal back then, remembering she was firm but not "petulant," and Paltrow said, "Maybe I was too prudish in the moment."
"I was definitely worried about it," she noted.
In "Great Expectations," a modernization of the Charles Dickens classic, Hawke starred as Finn, a painter who was fixated on Paltrow's Estella. During their conversation, she revealed that she nearly missed out on the role because of a fear that she didn't have the right look for the character.
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She said that she met with Cuarón and was "very excited" at the prospect of doing the movie, but "then there was a little blip where someone at the studio thought I wasn't pretty enough to do it, remember?"
Hawke, shaking his head, answered, "That's the kind of s--- that happens all the time."
"I think [Cuarón] was convinced otherwise and then I finally got the part," she recalled.
Giants star Malik Nabers pokes fun at own season-ending injury, fantasy football in hilarious commercial
The NFL’s regular season is ending soon, which means that fantasy football seasons are also coming to a close.
But while the season may be ending, the fantasy football punishments are only just beginning. For the player who finishes in last place, one common punishment is that they have to spend 24 hours in a bar, or at an IHOP eating pancakes.
New York Giants star wide receiver Malik Nabers was drafted in the first round by many players, but the second-year wide receiver tore his ACL in Week 4. The Giants certainly missed him in the lineup, as did a lot of fantasy football players, whose teams looked a lot different without Nabers.
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Nabers and IHOP partnered to make a hilarious commercial, which made fun of his injury and the impact it had on fantasy football players.
"Every year, thousands of fantasy football leagues make their last-place team spend 24 hours at IHOP eating pancakes," Nabers said.
A waitress then interrupted and said, "Just like you helped everyone’s fantasy team this season?"
RAIDERS STAR MAXX CROSBY LEAVES TEAM FACILITY AFTER GETTING RULED OUT IN GAME FOR NO 1 PICK
Nabers was eating pancakes, with his crutches next to him, when a kid walked up and asked the Giants star if it was actually him.
After Nabers confirmed it was himself, the kid yelled, "I wasted my first-round pick on you!"
The 22-year-old was on his way to making his second season look a lot like his rookie season. As a rookie, Nabers had 109 receptions for 1,204 yards with seven touchdowns.
Nabers set the record for most catches ever by a rookie wide receiver. In four games before tearing his ACL, the former LSU star had 18 catches for 271 yards and two touchdowns.
Fantasy owners who draft Nabers next season hope that he will regain his form and that they will avoid last place.
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Washington Post backs Trump's strikes in Nigeria, says he'd 'be wise to stay engaged'
The Washington Post editorial board said that the Trump administration's military strikes on ISIS targets in Nigeria were a "welcome change" and that the president would "be wise to remain engaged" in the region.
In a Saturday editorial, the Post praised President Donald Trump's "righteous strikes" against the Islamic State’s Sahel Province branch in Nigeria on Thursday, where Christians and Christian institutions have been under attack in recent months.
"A not insignificant cohort of President Donald Trump’s advisers want the United States to abandon widespread commitments abroad and instead become a regional power focused on the Western Hemisphere. The president’s righteous strike against Islamic State targets in Nigeria is a reminder that America is capable of much more," the editorial board contended.
On Thursday, Trump posted to Truth Social announcing that the U.S. military launched airstrikes in northwest Nigeria on Christmas night targeting ISIS militants he accused of killing Christians, calling the operation decisive and warning further attacks would follow if the violence continues.
"Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries!" Trump wrote on Thursday.
Although the Post was supportive of the Trump administration's intervention in the region, the outlet argued that "the question is whether this is a one-off decision or the start of a more consistent and coherent policy."
The editorial board noted that it understands "the desire to want to abandon the entire region," but made its case for why Trump should continue his efforts in the region, a part of the world that the Post claimed "has always been little more than an afterthought for the president."
"The U.S. strikes in Nigeria targeted the Islamic State’s Sahel Province branch, which has clashed violently in recent years for territory with JNIM, an al-Qaeda affiliate that is currently trying to seize control of Mali by blocking fuel from entering the capital city of Bamako," the outlet reported. "If Mali falls, it would mark the first takeover of a country by an anti-Western Islamic terrorist group since the Taliban took Afghanistan."
TRUMP ORDERS ISIS STRIKES IN SYRIA AFTER IOWA NATIONAL GUARD SOLDIERS KILLED
According to the Post, the Sahel region, which stretches from Mauritania all the way through Chad, has become "the world’s biggest epicenter for global terrorism," and where half of the world's terrorism deaths take place.
After decades of war pushed many terror groups out of the territories they once controlled in Iraq and Syria, those groups have "found fertile soil in West Africa," the outlet contended.
While the editorial board praised the administration's intervention in the region as a step in the right direction, it warned that without sustained support, these efforts could prove futile.
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As reported by the Post, the U.S. once had a regional counterterrorism plan called the Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership, but a recent audit revealed that the program was "underfunded, leaderless and mostly ineffective." The outlet added that the Pentagon is also considering merging African Command back into European Command, which was separated in 2008.
"Nigeria, a relatively wealthy country in the region, is still battling insecurity on several fronts. The central government has been ineffective at restoring security. It’s good that Abuja is willing to work closely with Washington to stop the slaughter, and Trump would be wise to remain engaged," the post concluded.
Fox News' Greg Wehner contributed to this report.
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