Vice President JD Vance declared Wednesday that, ‘these are days of destiny,’ as he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to build on the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip.

‘We have a very, very tough task ahead of us, which is to disarm Hamas but rebuild Gaza to make life better for the people in Gaza, but also to ensure that Hamas is no longer a threat to our friends in Israel,’ Vance said in Jerusalem, speaking alongside Netanyahu.

‘That’s not easy. I think the prime minster knows that as well as anybody. But it’s something that we’re committed to in the Trump administration,’ Vance continued. ‘And I think that we’ve, even in the past 24 hours, had a lot of good conversations with our friends in the Israeli government, but also, frankly with our friends in the Arab world who are stepping up and volunteering to play a very positive role in this.’

‘As the prime minister said, these are days of destiny, and we’re very excited to sit down and work together on the Gaza peace plan,’ Vance added.

Netanyahu told reporters that Israel has an unmatched alliance and partnership with the U.S. that is generating opportunities for security and the expansion of peace in the Middle East.

Vance also met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Wednesday, telling reporters afterward, ‘We’re here to talk about how to ensure that the peace agreement that started about a week ago sticks, that we move into phase two, into phase three with success.’

The peace deal included the release of hostages being held by Hamas.

‘As the president said, there will be torments along the way. It will be difficult, but I feel very optimistic based on my conversation with our Israeli friends and also with our Gulf Arab friends, that it’s possible that we actually can make peace stick, and that we can create the kind of environment where our Gulf Arab friends and our Israeli friends can build a better Middle East for everybody,’ Vance added. ‘So that is the goal of the administration. We think that it’s in the best interest of the United States. We also think that it’s in the best interest of everybody who lives here.’

Herzog said, ‘I truly believe that the fact you’re here is another brick in building the future for peace.’

‘We all are grateful to President Donald Trump for his steadfast insistence on moving forward. We must move forward,’ Herzog continued. ‘We must offer hope for the region, for Israel, the Palestinians, our neighbors, and for the future of our children.’

China’s spy agency accused the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) of hacking its national time service, alleging a yearslong cyberespionage campaign that targeted the system keeping official Beijing Time — a backbone for China’s telecommunications, finance and defense sectors.

The Ministry of State Security claimed the NSA began the operation in 2022 by exploiting a text-messaging vulnerability to gain control of employee cell phones at the National Time Service Center, then used stolen credentials to access servers and implant covert tools. The alleged breach, if true, could have allowed attackers to tamper with national timekeeping — a move that experts say could disrupt communications, banking and satellite navigation across China.

The NSA said in a statement it ‘does not confirm nor deny allegations in the media regarding its operations. Our core focus is countering foreign malign activities persistently targeting American interests, and we will continue to defend against adversaries wishing to threaten us.’

Chinese Investigators allege the hackers deployed 42 ‘specialized cyberattack weapons’ to implant sabotage capabilities.

The attackers allegedly forged digital certificates, bypassed antivirus software and used strong encryption to erase traces to conceal activity. Tampering with the National Time Service could disrupt financial transactions, communications and satellite timing.

China’s national security agency said it countered the operation by cutting off the attack chain and upgrading defenses.

The Beijing statement claimed that in recent years, the U.S. has pursued ‘cyber hegemony,’ launching hacking operations against China and across the globe.

But for years, U.S. officials have said the nation needs to take a more offensive approach to cyber espionage, given China’s frequent intrusions into U.S. systems.

In a media statement, the U.S. embassy in Beijing said China ‘is the most active and persistent cyber threat to U.S. government, private-sector and critical infrastructure networks.’

The latest claim fits into years of mutual accusations of state-sponsored cyber activity between the world’s two largest powers. Beijing has frequently accused the U.S. of hacking Chinese systems, while American intelligence and private cybersecurity firms have repeatedly attributed massive data-theft campaigns – from the Microsoft Sharepoint breach to Operation Salt Typhoon – to Chinese state-linked groups.

In April, Chinese authorities accused the NSA of launching attacks against networks linked to the Asian Winter Games held in February.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., was one of nearly a dozen Senate Republicans allegedly probed by former Special Counsel Jack Smith, an investigation she wasn’t aware of until earlier this month.

She was one of several Senate Republicans that Smith allegedly surveilled as part of his investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots. But it was only revealed earlier this month by the FBI — thanks to an oversight request by Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa — that Smith allegedly requested phone records on her and others.

Blackburn told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview that until the documents from Smith’s ‘Arctic Frost’ investigation were revealed, she had no idea that her phone records were being surveilled.

She believed the ‘common thread’ behind the former special counsel’s probe, which was carried out in 2023, was because ‘the eight of us are all Republicans. We all support President Trump.’

Blackburn and Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Ron Johnson, R-Wis., Josh Hawley, R-Mo., Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., Bill Hagerty, R-Wyo., Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., and Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., were all reportedly part of Smith’s investigation.  

In response, Blackburn and many of the others that were allegedly surveilled by Smith want to see him disbarred.

‘This is about making certain we have one tier of justice, and that we stop this two tiers of justice,’ Blackburn said. ‘And if they can do this to eight sitting U.S. senators, what could they possibly — I mean, think about how, what they must be doing to conservatives in this country.’

Last week, she and Graham, Tuberville, Sullivan and Kelly sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi demanding an investigation into Smith, and that he be referred to the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office of Professional Responsibility.  

The end goal of the investigation is to see Smith disbarred from both New York and Tennessee, two states where he holds a license to practice law. Blackburn argued that Smith’s alleged spying on her and others was a ‘First Amendment and Fourth Amendment violation.’

Her latest push against the former special counsel came on the heels of another letter sent to AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon demanding why the cellphone carriers allegedly allowed Smith and the FBI under the Biden administration to track their communications.

‘You would have thought that, because of the Stored Records Act and the First Amendment, the Fourth Amendment and the Speech and Debate Clause, that at least Verizon, who’s my wireless carrier, would have informed me that there was a request on my records,’ she said. 

‘But of course, there was nothing given to us, and it’s the reason that we sent the letter to Verizon and then followed it with a letter … to the DOJ on Jack Smith,’ she continued.

Smith is one of a handful of former officials that have been targeted by the DOJ under the Trump administration. He is currently under investigation by the Office of Special Counsel for alleged Hatch Act violations, which bars government employees from participating in political activities.

Then there are federal indictments against former FBI Director James Comey for allegedly making false statements and obstructing justice, and former National Security Advisor John Bolton for allegedly mishandling classified documents.

Blackburn was one of many Republicans that railed against so-called political witch hunts against President Donald Trump when he was out of office. When asked what the difference between the indictments against Trump and his allies compared to the latest crop of former officials, she said it was about accountability.

‘These need to be investigated so that this kind of stuff stops,’ Blackburn said. ‘And one of the differences, I think you see between Democrats and Republicans, is Democrats repeatedly circle the wagons, and they push things under the rug, and then they want two tiers of justice. And with Republicans, the focus is on accountability and transparency, and I think that is a major, major difference.’

A group of House Republicans is calling on Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to deal with expiring Obamacare subsidies immediately after the government shutdown ends.

Thirteen House GOP lawmakers, led by Reps. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., and Jen Kiggans, R-Va., are sending a letter to Johnson on Tuesday thanking him for his leadership during the shutdown but maintaining that Obamacare must also be dealt with before the end of the year.

Obamacare, formally called the Affordable Care Act (ACA), has emerged as one of the main flash points in the ongoing fiscal standoff between Republicans and Democrats.

‘Every day the shutdown continues to hurt the very people we were elected to serve, including the men and women of our Armed Forces, the federal law enforcement officers who keep our communities safe, the agents who defend our nation’s borders, and the public servants who provide essential services to veterans, seniors and families,’ the Republicans wrote.

‘We also firmly believe that the government funding debate is not the time or place to address healthcare issues. Using the shutdown as leverage to force that debate only prolongs the harm and distracts from the immediate task of reopening the government. Once the government is reopened, however, we should immediately turn our focus to the growing crisis of healthcare affordability and the looming expiration of the enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium tax credits.’

Obamacare subsidies were enhanced under the Biden administration in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic in a bid to make healthcare more available to a wider swath of Americans. Democrats voted to extend those subsidies through 2025 in 2022 via the Inflation Reduction Act.

Democrats are now pushing to extend those subsidies now, using the ongoing government shutdown as leverage to force Republicans to deal with the issue.

Both House and Senate GOP leaders have signaled they are willing to discuss the expiring healthcare subsidies but rejected pairing them with their bill to fund the government — a short-term extension of fiscal year (FY) 2025 federal spending levels called a continuing resolution (CR).

But extending the Obamacare subsidies is expected to generate its own debates among Republicans. Conservatives like the House Freedom Caucus and their allies are skeptical of the move, arguing the enhanced healthcare credits were responsible for sending medical prices skyrocketing.

But the 13 Republicans who signed the letter maintain, ‘Millions of Americans are facing drastic premium increases due to short-sighted Democratic policymaking. While we did not create this crisis, we now have both the responsibility and the opportunity to address it.’

‘Allowing these tax credits to lapse without a clear path forward would risk real harm to those we represent. Nevertheless, we must chart a conservative path that protects working families in our districts across the country who rely on these credits,’ they wrote.

The lawmakers agreed with GOP leaders that reforms are needed to the system ‘to make these credits more fiscally responsible and ensure they are going to the Americans who need them most,’ but added, ‘Our Conference and President Trump have been clear that we will not take healthcare away from families who depend on it. This is our opportunity to demonstrate that commitment through action.’

House Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris, R-Md., ruled out accepting a straightforward extension of the Obamacare subsidies in comments to reporters on Monday.

‘You want a clean vote on a program that potentially is $400 billion, and you want to do it without any debate, any negotiation? That’s just insanity,’ Harris said.

Asked by Fox News Digital if he sees any pathway to compromise, he said, ‘It all depends on what the package is, how is it paid for, what other healthcare reforms are in it?’

‘But that’s stuff that you’re not going to negotiate in hours. It’s going to take weeks to negotiate,’ Harris said.

It’s also not immediately clear when the shutdown will end — while the House passed its CR on Sept. 19, Senate Democrats have sunk the bill in the upper chamber 11 times as of Monday.

A new conservative group working to untangle state laws concerning food and personal care ingredients by setting a national standard for ingredient transparency officially launched Tuesday, Fox News Digital learned. 

‘It is a simple concept to understand — Americans want to know that the ingredients in the products they’re buying for their families are safe,’ Americans for Ingredient Transparency leader and senior advisor Andy Koenig said in a statement to Fox News Digital. ‘This should not be a difficult standard to meet.’ 

‘Unfortunately, states are now implementing their own patchwork of contradictory ingredient rules that have caused widespread confusion among consumers,’ Koenig continued. ‘President Trump and his Administration are well-suited to make these determinations. Our goal is to cut through confusion and ensure everyone has access to clear information. Consumers want to know exactly what they are putting in and on their bodies. That is what we are working to achieve.’ 

Americans for Ingredient Transparency is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit comprised of ‘concerned Americans, policy experts, farmers, and business leaders’ who are advocating that the U.S. government establish a national standard for ingredients to apply ‘consistent, science- and risk-based principles to give Americans everywhere confidence in the safety of food, beverage and personal care products,’ Fox News Digital learned. 

The group argued that states have made well-intended efforts to enact transparency laws as they relate to ingredients in food and household products, but that the moves have created confusion with an ‘ever-expanding patchwork of disjointed food, beverage, and personal care regulations.’

Americans for Ingredient Transparency specifically aims to work with Congress and the Trump administration to incorporate Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) reform, front-of-package labeling reform, and QR code reform into federal law.

GRAS reform would establish a ‘nationally uniform regulatory approach for new ingredients used in food and beverage products,’ according to the coalition’s website. The front-of-package labeling reform would guide consumers to healthier choices, while the QR code reform would provide consumers with a scannable code on products to review product information, according to the group’s website. 

Julie Gunlock, a conservative policy advocate focused on nutrition and parenting, leads Americans for Ingredient Transparency with Koenig. She said in comment to Fox News Digital that the push for a national ingredient transparency standard is one rooted in protecting families and children. 

‘As an American, but most importantly a mom, I know firsthand how important it is to trust the products we consume and bring into our homes,’ Gunlock said. ‘Families deserve commonsense and science-backed transparency they can rely on. That’s why a national standard for food safety and labeling is of the utmost importance to ensure every parent can make safe, informed choices for their children – because protecting our families starts with the truth.’

Americans for Ingredient Transparency is backed by a handful of food and consumer groups, Fox Digital learned, including the Consumer Brands Association, American Beverage Association, Corn Refiners Association, and FMI- The Food Industry Association.

‘Every American deserves to know what’s in their food, beverages, and personal care items – and that they’re safe no matter where they live,’ an ad for the group released Tuesday states. ‘It’s time to fix the patchwork. It’s time to pass a national uniform standard.’

The announcement comes as the Trump administration and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. continues its mission to ‘Make America Healthy Again.’ Kennedy has already addressed potential GRAS reforms, calling on the FDA in March to ‘explore potential rulemaking to revise its Substances Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) Final Rule and related guidance to eliminate the self-affirmed GRAS pathway.’

‘For far too long, ingredient manufacturers and sponsors have exploited a loophole that has allowed new ingredients and chemicals, often with unknown safety data, to be introduced into the U.S. food supply without notification to the FDA or the public,’ Kennedy said in March. ‘Eliminating this loophole will provide transparency to consumers, help get our nation’s food supply back on track by ensuring that ingredients being introduced into foods are safe, and ultimately Make America Healthy Again.’