Former chief of staff at the CIA and Pentagon Jeremy Bash explains why separating hostages and releasing them at two different times as outlined in the ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel is not an ideal agreement.

CIA director nominee John Ratcliffe said the agency needs to focus on its mission in the face of growing challenges from China and others during his Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday.

Washington optimistic on chances of closing agreement to release Israelis held by Hamas before end of Biden's term; Netanyahu huddles with security chiefs to discuss negotiations

WASHINGTON — Former Texas congressman John Ratcliffe, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the CIA, vowed to make the agency more muscular while keeping its work apolitical during his nomination hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday.

Ratcliffe, a former director of national intelligence during Trump’s first administration, is expected to be confirmed to run the Central Intelligence Agency.

Former CIA Station Chief in Moscow Dan Hoffman reacts to the latest developments in the Middle East as Israel and Hamas reach a cease-fire and hostage deal and assesses the impact to the region.

The Israeli and Hamas negotiators never came face to face - but by the end, just one floor separated them. Ceasefire talks via middlemen from Qatar, Egypt and the US had been dragging on for several months, at times without hope. Now the key players were all inside one building in Doha and the pace was frantic.

Words matter, but looking back on his time as the head of the world’s most important spy agency, Burns also had numbers on his mind. By his own count, he had made 84 trips overseas during his four years as director of the CIA.

The analyst was charged with two counts of violating the Espionage Act and faces up to a decade in prison for disclosing sensitive information about Israel’s response to an Iranian attack.

“Americans shouldn’t expect to see TikTok suddenly banned on Sunday,” a Biden official told NBC News, noting that the administration is “exploring options” to keep TikTok from going offline.