President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday, pledging to defend Qatar against any external attack, including through military action, in a move likened to NATO's Article 5. The order, published on Wednesday, October 1, was a direct response to an Israeli airstrike on September 9, that targeted Hamas leaders in Doha, killing six people, including a Qatari security officer.

The order states that any armed attack on Qatar's territory, sovereignty, or critical infrastructure will be regarded as a threat to the peace and security of the United States, and the U.S. will take all lawful and appropriate measures—including diplomatic, economic, and, if necessary, military action—to defend both nations and restore stability.

“Over the years, the United States and the State of Qatar have been bound together by close cooperation, shared interests, and the close relationship between our armed forces,” reads the order. “In recognition of this history, and in light of the continuing threats to the State of Qatar posed by foreign aggression, it is the policy of the United States to guarantee the security and territorial integrity of the State of Qatar against external attack.

“The United States shall regard any armed attack on the territory, sovereignty, or critical infrastructure of the State of Qatar as a threat to the peace and security of the United States.”

The order states that "In the event of such an attack, the United States shall take all lawful and appropriate measures — including diplomatic, economic, and, if necessary, military — to defend the interests of the United States and of the state of Qatar and to restore peace and stability."

The order is unprecedented in its scope for a non-NATO ally, with its legal weight being less binding than a formal treaty, as such agreements typically require Senate approval. The U.S. designated Qatar as a Major Non-NATO Ally in 2022, recognizing its crucial support during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Qatar hosts the largest U.S. military base in the Middle East, Al Udeid Air Base, which serves as the forward headquarters for U.S. Central Command.

The Israeli strike on Doha, which occurred as Hamas leaders were reportedly considering a ceasefire, shocked Qatari officials and raised serious questions about the strength of U.S. security guarantees for its Gulf allies.

The strike has prompted regional shifts, with Saudi Arabia reportedly entering a mutual defense agreement with Pakistan, bringing the kingdom under Islamabad’s nuclear umbrella.

In response, President Trump, during a visit to Washington by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, orchestrated a trilateral phone call where Netanyahu expressed "deep regret" for the attack, apologized for violating Qatari sovereignty, and affirmed that Israel would not conduct such an attack again.

The executive order is seen as a significant strategic shift, providing Qatar with a unique security guarantee that no other Arab nation has received The move is also viewed as a political victory for Qatar, which leveraged the crisis to isolate Israel and secure a major diplomatic breakthrough.

FBI Director Kash Patel announced on Wednesday, that the FBI has severed all formal ties with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a move he attributed to the ADL's designation of Charlie Kirk's Turning Point USA (TPUSA) as an extremist group and the Jewish organization's defamatory smear campaigns targeting American conservatives.

Patel condemned the previous relationship established under former FBI Director James Comey, accusing him of "disgracing the FBI" by fostering a close partnership with the ADL and embedding agents with "extreme group functioning like a terrorist organization."

The far-left Jewish group, ADL had recently removed its "Glossary of Extremism and Hate" following intense criticism from Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Donald Trump Jr., and Republican lawmakers, who argued the list was politically motivated and inaccurate.

Director Patel declared the era of the FBI's partnership with the ADL "over," stating the bureau "formally rejects Comey’s policies and any partnership with the ADL." He characterized the ADL as a "political front masquerading as a watchdog," and claimed the previous FBI operations involving the ADL were "activism dressed up as counterterrorism" that endangered Americans.

In 2014, Comey delivered a speech at an ADL conference that he later referred to as a "love letter to the ADL," praising the organization's work in combating hate and extremism. He reiterated this sentiment in a 2017 address at the ADL National Leadership Summit, where he expressed the FBI's "love" for the ADL.

These ties included embedding FBI agents with the ADL for counterterrorism efforts and using ADL propaganda materials for training and intelligence sharing. Patel criticized this relationship, which he claimed ran "disgraceful operations spying on Americans." Comey is currently facing federal charges for allegedly lying to Congress in 2020, which Patel referenced in his criticism.

The ADL's "Glossary of Extremism and Hate" described TPUSA as having ties to "a range of right-wing extremists and has generated support from anti-Muslim bigots, alt-lite activists and some corners of the white supremacist alt-right."

In response to the criticisms, the ADL removed the entire glossary from its website on Tuesday, citing outdated entries and misuse.

The controversy intensified following the assassination of Charlie Kirk, the founder of TPUSA, during a campus event in Utah in September 2025. Critics, including Musk and Republican lawmakers like Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, argued that the FBI was investigating Kirk instead of his murderers.

Far-left critics of Kash's decision have accused him of politicizing the FBI, while supporters argue it restores the bureau's focus on genuine threats over ideological vendettas.

YouTube has agreed to pay Donald Trump $24.5 million to settle a lawsuit over the suspension of his channel following the January 6, 2021, Capitol protests, marking the final major settlement in a series of legal actions Trump initiated against social media platforms.

The settlement, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on September 29, 2025, resolves a case that had been largely inactive since 2023, with Trump's legal team reviving it after his return to the presidency.

YouTube suspended Trump’s channel on January 12, 2021, citing concerns that his posts could incite violence in the wake of the Capitol protests, and prevented him from uploading new content until March 2023.

The platform reinstated Trump’s account in March 2023, stating it had carefully evaluated the risk of real-world violence and the importance of allowing major national candidates to communicate with voters during an election cycle.

Under the settlement terms, $22 million will be directed to the Trust for the National Mall to support the construction of a $200 million White House ballroom, which Trump is building, while $2.5 million will be distributed among other plaintiffs, including the American Conservative Union and author Naomi Wolf.

This settlement follows similar agreements with Meta (parent company of Facebook and Instagram), which paid $25 million, and X (formerly Twitter), which paid $10 million, both of which were also tied to Trump’s claims of political censorship.

Trump’s lawyer, John P. Coale, said that Trump’s re-election was instrumental in securing these settlements, suggesting that the companies were motivated to resolve the cases due to the political shift.

The settlement states that the payment "shall not be regarded as an acknowledgment of liability or wrongdoing" by YouTube or its parent company, Alphabet.

The case was closed in 2023 but was reopened by Trump’s lawyers after his victory in the 2024 election, with the final settlement filed just days before a scheduled October 6, US Congress hearing.

Google recently admitted that the Biden administration exerted "unacceptable and wrong" pressure on the company to censor YouTube content related to the COVID-19 pandemic and elections, leading to the permanent bans of conservative creators. The platform said it would reinstate some of  the banned accounts.