National Headlines

Hillary Clinton on Sunday posted a flowery fake letter from President John F. Kennedy to Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev to mock President Trump’s recent, casually worded missive to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, but the Twitter mockery quickly blew back in Clinton’s face, with commentators across the political spectrum suggesting the former secretary of state shouldn’t relish so openly in Twitter trolling.

What’s more, users quickly noted that Clinton’s team had lifted the letter, without attribution, from a segment on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” that aired this past Wednesday night.

The kerfuffle came as Clinton’s feud with Tulsi Gabbard has prompted speculation that she might enter the presidential race — and a dare from Gabbard to do just that.

“Dear Premier Kruschev,” the mock letter “from the archives” during the Cuban Missile Crisis began, “Don’t be a d–k, ok? Get your missiles out of Cuba. … Give you a jingle later. Hugs.”

In his Oct. 9 letter to Erdoğan, first obtained by the Fox Business Network’s Trish Regan, Trump adopted a similarly familiar tone.

“Let’s work out a good deal!” Trump began. “You don’t want to be responsible for slaughtering thousands of people, and I don’t want to be responsible for destroying the Turkish economy – and I will. I’ve already given you a little sample with respect to Pastor Brunson.” Brunson was held as a prisoner in Turkey for two years before the Trump administration secured his release.

GABBARD REVEALS WHY CLINTON’S COMING AFTER HER

Trump continued: “Don’t let the world down. … History will look upon you favorably if you get this done the right and humane way. It will look upon you forever as the devil if good things don’t happen. Don’t be a tough guy. Don’t be a fool. I will call you later.”

Sources close to Erdoğan told the BBC Thursday that the Turkish strongman “thoroughly rejected” the letter. Erdoğan reportedly took the letter warning against being a “fool” and tossed it “in the bin,” the sources said.

But, Clinton’s jab itself inspired a slew of mockery — including a post that highlighted Clinton’s October 2016 tweet, featuring a photo of herself as a little girl with the caption: “Happy birthday to this future president.”

The Washington Examiner’s Jerry Dunleavy flagged that the letter had appeared on Jimmy Kimmel’s show. The Washington Post’s Glenn Kessler remarked dryly, “Sometimes silence is golden.”

Trump 2020 campaign senior adviser Lara Trump earlier this month welcomed a possible Clinton presidential run in 2020, saying she was confident the president would defeat Clinton again.

“First of all, I just want to double down on the president and say if Hillary Clinton would like round two with Donald Trump, please let’s do that,” the wife of the president’s son Eric Trump said on “Hannity.”

“I would love to see a ’round two’ between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton because I think we all remember, Sean, not too long ago, all the media said that she was going to be the next president. We see Donald Trump in the White House now.”

Clinton herself had sparked a wave of speculation about a possible run with a pointed Oct. 8 tweet.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“I think that Crooked Hillary Clinton should enter the race to try and steal it away from Uber Left Elizabeth Warren,” the president wrote. “Only one condition. The Crooked one must explain all of her high crimes and misdemeanors including how & why she deleted 33,000 Emails AFTER getting ‘C’ Subpoena!”

“Don’t tempt me. Do your job,” Clinton wrote back.

Fox News’ Victor Garcia contributed to this report.

“Fox News Sunday” anchor Chris Wallace challenged 2020 presidential candidate and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg this week about thousands of dollars in campaign contributions he received from a Chicago attorney who previously had tried to block the release of footage from Laquan McDonald’s 2014 police shooting.

Buttigieg’s campaign returned the money. Still, Wallace asked if the mayor’s ties to the donor, Steve Patton, will hurt his chances to make inroads with the black community.

“You were supposed to attend a big fundraiser in Chicago on Friday, and one of the hosts was the same city attorney who worked very hard to block [the] release of this video of police shooting Laquan McDonald,” Wallace said. “The lawyer backed out of the fundraiser. He also donated $5,600 to your campaign. Particularly at a time when African-Americans are trying to get to know you — isn’t that the kind of mistake… that you can’t afford to make?”

“This came to my attention in the morning and within an hour it had been taken care of,” Buttigieg replied. “The situation there, and justice and transparency for Laquan McDonald, is much more important to me than a campaign contribution, and we did the right thing as soon as it came to my attention.”

PETE BUTTIGIEG DODGES QUESTION ON MANDATORY ‘ASSAULT WEAPON’ BUYBACK DURING CNN INTERVIEW

A jury found former Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke guilty of murder last year after he shot McDonald 16 times in a span of fewer than 30 seconds. This past January he was sentenced to 81 months in prison. Three of his fellow Chicago police officers were accused of trying to cover up the murder but were acquitted on all counts.

“Can you understand where people would say, ‘well this is a guy who wants our vote, but he was taking money and was attending a fundraiser being held by this city attorney?'” Wallace asked Buttigieg.

Buttigieg repeated himself and said the campaign “took care of it” before shifting the focus to President Trump.

More from Media

CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP

“And then we took care of it,” he repeated. “Look, I think the biggest question on voters’ minds is, ‘how is my life going to be different?’ Especially when that sun comes up that first day after Donald Trump is president.”

“The agenda that I’m putting forward — the issues that I want to tackle, I think will speak to black voters and to all voters who are seeking a better life in this country, and seeking to turn the page from the chaos and the corruption that we’re living under right now,” Buttigieg added.

Fox News’ Nicole Darrah contributed to this report 

A hiker who got lost in a snowstorm on the perilous Pacific Crest Trail in Oregon says he wouldn’t have lived another night if deputies didn’t answer his desperate call for help.

Robert Campbell, of Philadelphia, was rescued by two Marion County Sheriff’s deputies Friday, a day after the first winter storm of the year buried the trail he had been traversing. He was soaked, freezing and curled up in his wet sleeping bag in the shelter of a pit toilet. Part of his feet and toenails had turned blue.

CALIFORNIA HIKERS UNEARTH ‘MYSTERY’ HUMAN SKELTON BENEATH SECOND-HIGHEST PEAK

“You count your blessings,” the 50-year-old told the Salem Statesman Journal on Saturday. “You thank your lucky stars. Not to be overly dramatic, because people have been through much worse, I’m sure, but I wouldn’t have survived another night. I’m convinced of that.”

Campbell set out on the famed trail near the Mexican border in early May with plans to trek all the way to the Canadian border some 2,650 miles away.

But, Campbell encountered trouble Wednesday night when snow began to fall. By Thursday, the snow had buried the trail. Not even a navigational smartphone app was able to keep him from straying miles off the trail and into a boulder field.

HIKER DIES IN CALIFORNIA AFTER RUNNING OUT OF WATER ALONG TRAIL, OFFICIALS SAY

“You just know, if anything happens, I’m dead,” Campbell told the paper. “No one’s going to find me until spring.”

Many hikers have died trying to navigate the treacherous trail in similar conditions.

In 2017, the body of Chaocui Wang, who had quit her job in Shanghai, China, to hike the trail, turned up in a creek made swift by melting snowpack. In February, another hiker died after falling on ice. A falling tree killed a German hiker this year as well.

Campbell acknowledged the danger he faced and called 911 on Thursday. But, the call dropped partway through and he lost his phone signal. The Marion County Sheriff’s Office deployed a search-and-rescue team to find him after the distress call.

Meanwhile, Campbell said he trudged into an empty campground and found the only available shelter: a pit toilet. Cold and wet, he waited. Friday afternoon, rescuers passed the campground and finally found his footprints.

“I really think I owe them my life because … I couldn’t have made it another night,” Campell told The Associated Press from his motel room in Oregon. “My sleeping bag and tent are just completely soaked and probably ruined and I have no dry clothes.”

CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP

But, Cambell said his adventure wasn’t finished yet, declaring, “Canada or bust.”

“I’m going to be doing it a lot more smartly,” he told The AP. “Any chance of snow, I’m not going to even mess around with it.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Several Yemeni expats in the Detroit area who pleaded guilty to transferring millions of dollars to their war-torn native country unlawfully will not be going to prison — after the judge cited a need for “compassion,” according to a report Sunday.

One by one, U.S. District Judge Avern Cohn declined to send them to prison, even though the men had failed to register their activities as a money transfer business. Failing to do so usually carries up to five years behind bars.

Regarding his recent rulings, Cohn noted that Yemen’s financial system has been in ruins and people inside the country needed help.

“Only people without compassion” would object to the light sentences, Cohn, 95, told The Associated Press. “As I’ve been here longer, I’ve come to the realization that the rules are flexible — at least to me.”

The Detroit area has the highest concentration of Yemenis, a demographic that has risen amid a war in Yemen that has killed tens of thousands of people and left millions more with inadequate food and health care.

The World Bank estimates that Yemenis received at least $3.3 billion in 2018 – a conservative figure by some estimates.

FEAR US WEAPONS ARE FALLING INTO THE ‘WRONG HANDS’ DURING CHAOTIC YEMENI WAR

Since 2018, federal prosecutors in Detroit have charged nine people in an investigation of cash transfers to Yemen. Bank accounts were opened in the names of shell businesses, then used to deposit and wire roughly $90 million over a seven-year period, according to plea agreements.

All nine men have pleaded guilty to failing to register money transfer businesses or making false statements to agents.

Cohn, who has been a judge since 1979, has described the conditions in Yemen as “horrendous,” noting that sending men to prison could cause hardship in conservative Muslim families where wives often don’t work outside the home.

NEARLY 100,000 HAVE BEEN KILLED IN ONGOING YEMEN WAR, REPORT FINDS

It’s unfair to “shed the traditions and practices of your homeland,” Cohn said to one of the men.

Prosecutors said they had no evidence the scheme was anything more than sending money to relatives and possibly avoiding taxes, but they believed sentences within the guidelines were appropriate.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Judges don’t have to follow sentencing guidelines, and Cohn rejected prison terms.

He placed six men on supervised release. Three others awaited sentencing.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A San Diego man was arrested Friday for allegedly starting a suspicious house fire that killed his parents, sister and injured two siblings last weekend — despite initially claiming he tried to save his family.

Wilber Romero, 26, faced homicide and arson charges, Fox 5 reported.

The fire ignited just before 4:30 a.m. on Oct. 13, tearing through their small home in Logan Heights with at least five members of the Romero family still inside.

CALIFORNIA WILDLIFE COMPENSATION DEADLINE LOOMS, 70,000 VICTIMS MAY MISS OUT ON PAYMENTS

Wilber’s father, Jose Antonio Romero, 44, turned up dead inside the home.

His mother, Nicolasa Mayo, 46, died in the hospital, as did his sister, Iris “Krystal” Romero, 21 — following a heroic attempt to use her body as a human shield — to protect her younger brother, 17-year-old Angel Romero, from being burnt, relative Tania Flores told KNSD.

Iris had become brain dead and was pronounced dead on Wednesday night, police told the outlet.

Angel and his sister, Wendy Romero, 24, are expected to recover from their injuries. Wendy had tried so hard to escape that she broke her fingers beating on the door, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

Wilber reportedly escaped unhurt.

He told KGTV he awoke to find his bed on fire and tried yelling at his family to get them out of the burning home.

“My dogs were jumping on me, trying to wake me up. I woke up. When I woke up, my bed was on fire. I jumped out of bed and started screaming the house is on fire,” Romero told the outlet.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA OIL FACILITY FIRE CAUSES AUTHORITIES TO DECLARE HAZMAT EMERGENCY, ORDER RESIDENTS TO STAY INSIDE

Later, in an interview with KFMB, Wilber continued to deny he had anything to do with the fire.

“You can lock me up, but you’re not going to take me in for me to say this: ‘I did it,'” he said. “I’m not going to say it because I didn’t do it.”

Wilber was questioned by police after the fire, but they let him go before his eventual arrest, KNSD added. Neighbors say they saw Wilber running down the street screaming when they recalled the heartbreaking scene.

“I thought it was like a scary movie. I thought it was a nightmare, honestly. I’m just like, ‘This is not real. This is not really happening,'” Jamie Felix, a family friend living next door, said.

A nearby church had a vigil on Tuesday to support the family, while neighbors raised money for the funeral by holding a car wash and a couple of fundraisers.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Wilber spoke at the funeral, thanking everyone for their thoughts and prayers.

He was booked into county jail and expected to make his first court appearance on Oct. 22.

ABC News still hasn’t explained how it mistook footage from a Kentucky gun range for authentic video of fighting between Syria and Turkish forces but has promised to dole out internal “consequences” for the error, CNN’s Brian Stelter said Sunday.

“Let’s talk about the most egregious media error of the week,” he said during “Reliable Sources.” “This involves ABC News, showing video from a gun range in Kentucky that they said was video of a slaughter in Syria.”

“It’s actually from a Kentucky gun range,” Stelter added. “Now ABC says it regrets the error, but it has not explained what happened.”

The network issued a correction Monday after reportedly using video from the Knob Creek Gun Range in West Point, while the words “CRISIS IN SYRIA. ISIS prisoners escape as death toll rises in attacks,” appeared beneath it.

ABC APOLOGIZES FOR MISTAKING KENTUCKY GUN RANGE VIDEO FOR TURKISH BOMBING OF SYRIA

The footage first aired on Sunday‘s “World News Tonight” as anchor Tom Llamas claimed it showed a Turkish attack on a group of Kurdish civilians in a Syrian border town.

Both “Good Morning America” and “World News Tonight” issued an identical statement on Twitter expressing regret over the mistake.

More from Media

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“CORRECTION: We’ve taken down video that aired on ‘World News Tonight’ Sunday and ‘Good Morning America’ this morning that appeared to be from the Syrian border immediately after questions were raised about its accuracy. ABC News regrets the error,” the tweet read.

“What went wrong here?” Stelter asked. “An ABC source said to me, ‘there will be consequences internally,’ but they won’t say what that means.”

Jana Kramer is feeling the love from husband Mike Caussin after a topless photo scandal shook their already-fragile marriage.

“Well this was a way nice way to wake up,” Kramer, 35, captioned a snap of a handwritten note from Caussin, 32, on Saturday. “It’s the little things that make me feel the most loved so waking up to this meant the world.”

The note read, “You inspire me and I am so incredibly proud to be your husband!” He signed it, “forever yours, Michael.”

JANA KRAMER DESCRIBES FINDING OUT ABOUT HUSBAND’S CHEATING RIGHT BEFORE GOING ON STAGE

The former “One Tree Hill” actress continued, “I also wanted to share this because I feel so often all we do is complain about our partners to our friends etc instead of saying how amazing our partners are. So here’s a shout out to my husband for making me feel loved this morning. It’s the little things like this that goes the long way for me.”

MIKE CAUSSIN CLARIFIED HIS COMMENT THAT JANA KRAMER CHEATING ON HIM WOULD BE A ‘DEAL BREAKER’

JANA KRAMER, MIKE CAUSSIN REVEAL MARRIAGE TROUBLES AFTER SHE FOUND A WOMAN HAD SENT HIM A TOPLESS PHOTO

Earlier this month, Kramer and Caussin revealed on her podcast, “Whine Down with Jana Kramer,” that Caussin, a recovering sex addict, received a topless photo on Oct. 5 from a woman he said he didn’t know. The former NFL player said he deleted the text, but Kramer found it on his Apple Watch.

During the podcast episode, Kramer initially seemed unclear as to whether or not she believed Caussin, given his history of cheating on her.

JANA KRAMER, MICHAEL CAUSSIN CALL OLIVIA CULPO A ‘SOCIAL CLIMBER’ AFTER DANNY AMENDOLA COMMENTS

“I saw it, and… my heart just fell. I was like, it’s here. It’s happened again. I’m such a f—ing idiot… Like, how is this happening again?” she said at the time (via Us Weekly). “I don’t want to live this kind of life. We just moved into this beautiful house, and we had our second kid, and we fought so hard. Why is this happening again?”

Kramer later said the photo came from a bot.

JANA KRAMER SAYS SHE DOESN’T ENTIRELY TRUST HUSBAND MIKE CAUSSIN FOLLOWING CHEATING, TOPLESS PHOTO SCANDALS

The couple married in May 2015 and welcomed daughter Jolie in January 2016, only to separate in August of that year after Kramer found out about Caussin’s infidelity. The pair renewed their vows in 2017 and welcomed son Jace in November 2018.

In March, Kramer revealed that Caussin had a relapse in his sex addiction in 2018. Although Caussin said at the time that he had not had sex outside his marriage since he was caught cheating in 2016, the incident affected her opinion of their current situation.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“Whether he ends up meeting with someone or not… That last relapse, he almost did, and I was going to sign the [divorce] papers,” she explained on her podcast Monday. “So, it’s like, he gets even close to the fire, and I’m gone. I’m like, ‘Does he not know that and realize that and love our family enough?'”

Fox News’ Mariah Haas and Tyler McCarthy contributed to this report.

A New Mexico veteran who served with the Marines in Vietnam said a final goodbye last week to the beloved dog he had to put up for adoption when he entered hospice care.

John Vincent was reunited with Patch, a 5-year-old Yorkie, for one last time Thursday at the Hospice Center at the Raymond G. Murphy VA Medical Center in Albuquerque, according to reports.

“Yeah, that’s me, that’s daddy,” Vincent said as Patch licked his face, the Albuquerque Journal reported. “Are you so happy to see me? I’m so happy to see you.”

Vincent, 69, was admitted to the hospice center last week and was forced to take Patch to an Albuquerque Animal Welfare shelter because he had no family in New Mexico. Shelter officials said Vincent may not have much time left.

BOY, 11, WITH TERMINAL BRAIN CANCER ASKS FOR ‘PATCHES AND PRAYERS’ FROM MILITARY, LAW ENFORCEMENT, FIRE COMMUNITIES

He told Amy Neal, a social worker at the hospice center, that he had only one request—to see Patch one last time.

“When the request came in, it was an immediate ‘absolutely,’ and let’s do whatever we can to get it done,” Animal Welfare director Danny Nevarez said, according to the paper. “It was as simple as getting Patch over here.”

Vincent enlisted in the Marines for three years and served in Vietnam, the paper reported.

DYING WOMAN GRANTED WISH TO SEE BELOVED PET HORSE

He rode a Harley and would take Patch with him on rides. The dog had its own pair of tiny goggles, according to the paper.

Animal Welfare posted photos of the reunion on its Facebook page Friday with a post that reported Vincent and Patch were so happy to see each and to say their goodbyes.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

“It was an honor to make this veteran’s final wish come true,” the post continued.

The shelter reported that Patch has found a new owner and will be leaving for a new home soon.

After looming over the streets of New Orleans for over a week, two damaged cranes that leaned precariously over the remains of a partially collapsed hotel were brought down Sunday afternoon using a series of controlled explosions.

Loud blasts reverberated quickly, setting off massive clouds of dust as the cranes fell. The first crane toppled down, landing upright on Rampart Street, while the other could be seen dangling over Canal Street.

Louisiana officials originally had planned to topple the cranes on Friday, before pushing the demolition to Saturday and then Sunday over crane stabilization issues and safety concerns. The Hard Rock Hotel, near the city’s iconic French Quarter, was under construction when it partially collapsed on Oct. 12, killing three workers and sending debris into the neighborhood below.

The two cranes — one 270 feet high and the other about 300 feet in height — have been a concern for officials for over a week, out of fears they may fall on their own and cause further injury and damage to nearby buildings.

“As they got up and got closer they found out some things about it that have changed the way they are going to take it down … and that’s going to take a little longer for them to accomplish,” Fire Chief Tim McConnell told reporters on Saturday. “The cranes are more damaged than they thought.”

DAMAGED CRANES HAMPERING RESCUE EFFORTS IN PARTIALLY COLLAPSED NEW ORLEANS HARD ROCK HOTEL

Two bodies remained in the hotel’s unstable wreckage and Mayor LaToya Cantrell said recovering the remains would be a priority once the cranes were down. The cause of the collapse remained unknown. Cantrell and McConnell said evidence-gathering started soon after the collapse, and lawsuits already have been filed against the project’s owners and contractors.

On Sunday morning, officials closed off streets in the evacuation area and other places nearby that could be affected by the implosion. Area residents were warned to prepare for a lot of noise when the demolition took place, with city officials comparing it to the sound of fireworks.

The city also issued an evacuation order for the areas immediately surrounding the stricken building, with temporary evacuation zones stretching into historic areas popular with tourists.

Services such as electricity, gas, water, and sewer also were shut off in the evacuation zone.

NEW ORLEANS HARD ROCK HOTEL UNDER CONSTRUCTION COLLAPSES; AT LEAST 2 DEAD, MULTIPLE INJURED

The planned implosion was set to take place sometime after 1 p.m. but was delayed well into the afternoon as officials conducted last-minute safety checks and made sure no one had sneaked into the hotel. Safety officials also were asking people not to be on rooftops during the implosion.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP

Tourists, employees and people living in the area have spent the past couple of days milled about taking photos, but officials stressed that they did not want people approaching the site to watch the demolition.

“We prefer people to not be out here when this thing happens,” McConnell said. “It’s a dangerous operation.”

Some, however, arrived just for this weekend to witness it themselves.

“You’re not going to see something like this every day,” Mike Mason told Fox 8 on Saturday. “The horrific site of the building is just horrible.”

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Fox News’ Bradford Betz and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Two Tennessee doctors pleaded guilty Thursday to distributing high doses of opioids with no medical legitimacy, the Justice Department announced.

Dr. Samuel Mcgaha and Dr. Frank McNiel – both from East Tennessee – each pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful distribution of a controlled substance.

Between 2015 and early 2018, Mcgaha and McNiel prescribed a combined total of 271,938 opioid pills, a DOJ news release said.

Mcgaha admitted to writing opioid prescriptions that exceeded the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines. He also prescribed opioids even when his patients tested positive for illegal drugs.

McNiel admitted to writing some opioid prescriptions without evaluating patients and without obtaining medical records that would have warranted the prescriptions.

‘ALL THESE PEOPLE HAD TO DIE BECAUSE MY PROFESSIONAL DIDN’T UNDERSTAND IT’: DR. DREW ON OPIOID CRISIS

Their case was investigated jointly by the FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

It was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Louis Manzo of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Anne Svolto of the Eastern District of Tennessee.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Sentencing is scheduled for March 26, 2020, according to the DOJ news release.

Their charges would carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, but they’re expected to face less time because of their guilty pleas.