WATCH:

Mahmoud Khalil, the former Columbia graduate student who became a leading face of the anti-Israel encampment movement, has now lost before the Board of Immigration Appeals. The DOJ immigration board dismissed his appeal and denied his motion to remand, leaving a final administrative order of removal in place.  

The ruling is a major legal blow. The board upheld removability under the foreign-policy provision of U.S. immigration law, relying on Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s determination, and separately pointed to Khalil’s failure to disclose UNRWA involvement on his green-card paperwork.  

NEW YORK, UNITED STATES – AUGUST 16: Palestinian activist, Mahmoud Khalil takes part in ‘Stop Starving Gaza’ march to protest the killing of journalists in Palestine by Israeli forces and to call for an end to the starvation in Gaza on August 16, 2025 in New York, United States. (Photo by Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The board also affirmed that his “activities and presence” were found to carry serious adverse foreign-policy consequences tied to antisemitic and disruptive campus activity that fostered a hostile environment for Jewish students. AP reports the order brings him closer to possible re-arrest and expulsion, but his lawyers say separate federal habeas litigation is still ongoing. No deportation date has been publicly confirmed.

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New York (VINNEWS/Rabbi Yair Hoffman)  Many people are asking the same question right now: But when exactly are we supposed to eat the matzah on Pesach Sheini??

There are a few different possibilities. Some say to eat it on the night of the 14th of Iyar (last night), because that is the start of Pesach Sheini. Others say to eat it at chatzos (midday) on the 14th, because that is when the Korban Pesach was offered in the Mikdash. And still others say to eat it on the night of the 15th, because that is when the Korban was actually eaten — together with matzah.

Some people do it at all three times. And the Chazon Ish zt”l held that we should not do it at all, because it adds a new mitzvah that the Torah never required (See Orchos Rabbeinu Vol. II p. 97). Rav Chaim Kanievsky zt”l, however, on this one occasion followed his father’s view and not his uncle’s view and did eat the matzah.

To understand the different opinions, we first need to look at why people eat matzah on Pesach Sheini in the first place.

Why Do We Eat Matzah on Pesach Sheini?

Most early authorities explain that eating matzah on Pesach Sheini is a zecher l’Mikdash — a way to remember the Beis HaMikdash. The idea of doing things to remember the Mikdash comes from the pasuk “u’mimakosayich erpa’eich ne’um Hashem.” Even when we don’t have the Mikdash, we are still supposed to remember it. Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai instituted several takanos based on this principle (See Sukkah 41a and Rosh Hashanah 30a).

The Maharsham’s Practice

The Maharsham would eat matzah on the night of the 15th of Iyar. He chose that time because that was when the Korban Pesach Sheini was actually eaten in the time of the Mikdash. He learned this practice from his Rebbe, Rav Dovid Deutsch zt”l, who taught that the remembrance should match the original as closely as possible — eating the matzah at the very same time the Korban itself was eaten.

The View That It Should Be Eaten on the 14th

Most early sources held that the matzah should be eaten on the day of the 14th. Their reasoning was that in the Mikdash, the matzah was eaten together with the Korban, and the main event of the day was bringing the Korban itself. The Rashbam in Pesachim makes a similar point about afikoman — the matzah we eat at the end of the Seder is also a remembrance of the Korban Pesach.

The Kli Chemda’s Concern

The Kli Chemda took a more cautious approach. When he heard that people were eating matzah on the night of Pesach Sheini, he pushed back. He argued that the proper time to eat matzah is when the Korban Pesach itself was offered — meaning the day of the 14th. Eating it at night without the right intention, he warned, could even be a problem of bal tosif (adding to the Torah).

He also pointed to the Yerushalmi, which says that the two Pesachs are not built one on top of the other. In other words, the night of the 15th of Iyar is not automatically an extension of Pesach Sheini, the way the night of the 15th of Nissan is part of Pesach Rishon. So he allowed eating matzah during the day of the 14th but was hesitant about doing it at night.

Three Ways to Understand the Minhag

In essence, there are basically three ways to explain why people eat matzah on Pesach Sheini.

1. To Remember the Event of Pesach Sheini

According to this approach, the matzah is meant to remember the event of Pesach Sheini — eating matzah on the same day the event took place. The problem with this view is the timing question itself. The main part of the event was the Korban being brought on the 14th. But the matzah was eaten on the night of the 15th. So which day is the matzah really remembering?

2. A General Remembrance of Pesach Sheini

This approach is a bit looser. It says the matzah is just a way to remember Pesach Sheini in general, without tying it to any specific moment in the Mikdash. The difficulty is that calling something a zecher l’Mikdash usually means we are recreating a specific act — and this approach doesn’t really do that.

3. Part of the Pesach Sheini Seudah

The third approach may be the most compelling. According to this view, the matzah is not a separate zecher l’Mikdash obligation at all. It is simply part of the festive meal (seudah) that people make on Pesach Sheini. Since a seudah is held during the day, and since matzah is the food most connected to Pesach, eating matzah is just the natural way to mark the day. On this approach, there is no need for the matzah to line up perfectly with a Mikdash act. It is simply the right food for the occasion.

Why the Chazon Ish Disagreed

This brings us back to the Chazon Ish. At first, his position seems puzzling. The Chazon Ish accepted other zecher l’Mikdash practices — for example, giving a machatzis hashekel on Taanis Esther. So why did he reject eating matzah on Pesach Sheini?

Rav Reuven Melech Schwartz, in his Imkei Reuven, explains the answer. He reports that Rav Chaim Kanievsky zt”l personally told him the Chazon Ish did not eat matzah on Pesach Sheini, was not comfortable with the practice, and considered it adding a mitzvah that the Torah never required.

The reasoning is based on a sharp distinction. When you give a machatzis hashekel on Taanis Esther, you are doing the exact same act that was done in the Mikdash — giving a half-shekel. The only thing missing is the Mikdash itself. But eating matzah on the 14th of Iyar is different. Nothing like that ever happened in the Mikdash on the 14th. The Korban was brought on the afternoon of the 14th, but it was eaten, with matzah, only on the night of the 15th.

So eating matzah on the 14th is not really recreating anything that happened in the Mikdash on that day. It is a brand-new practice. That, according to the Chazon Ish, is exactly the problem — it counts as hosafa, adding something to the Torah.

This also helps explain the timing debate. People who eat matzah on the night of the 15th are at least matching the time when the Korban was actually eaten with matzah in the Mikdash. People who eat on the 14th — whether at chatzos or in the evening — are trying to remember the bringing of the Korban, even though matzah was not part of the bringing.

The Practical Customs Today

In practice, there are several different customs.

Rav Shreya Dublitzky zt”l ate it on the night of the 15th (HaMevaser HaTorani, Parshas Emor 5772 p. 3) — the same time as the Maharsham.

Rav Yisroel Dovid Harfenes shlita, one of the leading Poskim in Williamsburg, recommends eating it both on the 14th after chatzos and on the night of the 15th (See Teshuvos Mekadaish Yisroel Sfiras HaOmer #93). If it is too hard to wash twice, then he says to eat it right before shkiya on the 14th.

The Lubavitcher Rebbe is reported to have said to eat it all three times.

The truth is that most people just eat it whenever they happen to remember.

The author can be reached at [email protected]

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Thursday sharply criticized Israel’s interception of a Gaza-bound flotilla and the detention of activists aboard the vessels, describing the action as illegal and in violation of international law.

In a social media statement, Mamdani said Israeli forces boarded the Global Sumud Flotilla in international waters and detained more than 175 individuals, including residents of New York. “Last night, Israeli forces intercepted and boarded a humanitarian aid flotilla bound for Gaza in international waters off the coast of Greece – unlawfully detaining more than 175 people, including several New Yorkers,” Mamdani wrote.

He added that his office has been working with government officials to gather information about those detained. “My team has been in direct contact with State and Federal partners as we work to confirm the whereabouts and conditions of these New Yorkers,” he said.

Mamdani further asserted that the operation violated international norms and called for the detainees’ release. “This is a brazen violation of international law. Those detained must be released.”

Israeli naval forces intercepted the flotilla Wednesday night, and officials said that, as in prior similar incidents, the vessels were not carrying the humanitarian supplies organizers had claimed.

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar stated Thursday that those on board would be sent to Greece and would not remain in Israeli custody.

The Global Sumud Flotilla had set sail from multiple countries, including Turkey, Spain, and Italy, and reportedly included more than 100 boats with approximately 1,000 participants.

Mamdani has previously drawn criticism over his positions on Israel. During his campaign, he declined to distance himself from the phrase “globalize the intifada,” and he was also criticized for remarks about Israel made on October 8, 2023, one day after the Hamas attacks in southern Israel.

He has repeatedly accused Israel of committing war crimes in Gaza and has said he would seek the arrest of Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu should he come to New York City.

On his first day in office, Mamdani sparked controversy by rescinding executive orders related to Israel that had been issued by his predecessor, Eric Adams.

Among the orders he canceled was one signed in June 2025 adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism.

Another rescinded directive had barred mayoral appointees and agency personnel from engaging in boycotts or divestment efforts targeting Israel.

Mamdani has also faced scrutiny over allegations of antisemitism since assuming office. A recent report claimed that his wife, Rama Dawaji, had interacted with social media content perceived as supportive of Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack.

In addition, at a Ramadan gathering last month, Mamdani was introduced by an individual who called for Hamas to carry out attacks on Tel Aviv.

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump said Thursday that U.S. forces have severely damaged Iran’s military capabilities and leadership structure, but made clear that the confrontation will not be considered resolved unless there are firm guarantees that Tehran will never obtain nuclear weapons.

Speaking in a lengthy interview with Newsmax host Greta Van Susteren, Trump expressed confidence in the impact of American operations while indicating that he is seeking a more definitive conclusion to the conflict.

“We’ve already won, but I want to win by a bigger margin,” Trump said. “We have destroyed their navy, destroyed their air force, destroyed all of their – if you look at their anti-aircraft equipment, their radar equipment, their leadership. Their leadership is destroyed. We’ve destroyed everything.”

The president described Iran as having been left in a severely weakened state, both militarily and financially, suggesting that any recovery would be slow and uncertain. “If we leave right now, it would take them 20 years to rebuild, if they ever could rebuild,” he said.

Even so, Trump emphasized that battlefield success alone does not achieve the broader objective. “But it’s actually not good enough,” he said. “We have to have guarantees they will never have a nuclear weapon.”

He also expressed certainty that Iran would use such weapons if it had the capability. “I will tell you that Iran would use the nuclear weapon if they had it,” he said. “I deal with these people. I know people. They will use their nuclear weapon, and we’re not going to give them a chance to do it.”

Trump dismissed earlier proposals that would have allowed Iran access to nuclear materials for civilian use, saying he would not agree to such arrangements. “I wouldn’t have approved that. I wouldn’t have. I’m not giving them anything,” Trump said. “They’re going to either have a nuclear weapon, or they’re not. And if they do, they’re in big trouble.”

Turning to Iran’s economic situation, Trump said the country is facing severe instability. “Right now, their economy is collapsing, inflation is at close to 100%,” he said. “They can’t do any oil because we have a blockade that’s 100% effective.”

He added that he believes his administration’s strategy has received strong backing internationally, while criticizing prior leaders and other nations for failing to act earlier. “I actually think it’s very popular what I’m doing,” Trump said. “The world is thanking me, because I shouldn’t be the one that’s doing it. Other presidents should have done it long before me, and other countries should have done it.”

Earlier Thursday, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said Iran is “dying to make a deal,” and suggested an agreement could be reached soon.

When asked about ongoing negotiations, Trump said, “Nobody knows what the talks are except myself and a couple of other people.”

“I mean, Iran is dying to make a deal. I can only tell you that. I don’t want to get into it, but they got – they cannot be nuclear other than that. But they are,” he added.

Trump underscored what he described as the broader stakes involved, saying, “The bottom line is for this world, for our country, but certainly for Israel, the Middle East and Europe, much closer, you cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon.”

The president had canceled a planned visit by his envoys to Islamabad over the weekend, where talks with Iranian officials had been expected. He said Wednesday that efforts to reach a resolution are continuing through phone discussions rather than face-to-face meetings.

His remarks came after he rejected a recent Iranian proposal, telling Axios that the United States will keep its naval blockade in place until Tehran agrees to conditions addressing Washington’s concerns over its nuclear program.

The proposal from Iran reportedly included reopening the Strait of Hormuz while delaying negotiations over its nuclear activities, an approach the administration declined to accept.

{Matzav.com}

NEW YORK (VINnews/Rabbi Yair Hoffman) – Tonight is Pesach Sheni. And although many people eat Shmurah Matzah tomorrow, unfortunately, few people understand its internal message — a message most powerfully articulated by the very first Gerrer Rebbe, Rav Yitzchok Meir Alter (1799-1866), the Chidushei HaRim.

He writes that this particular day, Pesach Sheni, is a tikun for those who are perceived as beyond the pale — “B’derech Rechokah” in his words. They are seen as outside the scope of assistance.

To them, to those who could not develop the closeness and Dveikus to Hashem that was emblematic of Pesach, is granted this second chance. The Sfas Emes, his grandson, expanded the point: no Jew is ever truly far. The distance is in our perception, not in the reality of the soul.

The Psukim in Bahaaloscha tell us: There were men who were impure of the dead, and therefore, could not make the Pesach Korban on that day. They approached Moshe and Aharon. Those men said to him, “We are impure [because of contact] with a dead person; [but] why should we be excluded so as not to bring the offering of Hashem in its appointed time, with all the children of Israel?” Moshe said to them, “Imdu — Wait, and I will hear what Hashem instructs concerning you.”

The Chidushei HaRim writes that Imdu does not mean wait. It means stand — stand in Teshuvah and stand in Tefillah. It is not too late. Pursue these two Avodahs and Hashem will help you along the way.

And note carefully who created this holiday. These men were not passive. They did not accept their exclusion. They advocated, they pressed Moshe Rabbeinu, and a new mitzvah entered the Torah because of them. The lesson of Pesach Sheni is not only about second chances. It is about refusing to accept that anyone is lost.

The Chidushei HaRim writes that this is the day for the off-the-derech kids that are now in every single one of our communities.

Each community among us, whether it be chassidisha, litvisha, or modern orthodox, has children that have left the fold. Look around. They are hanging out on the street corners, at the late night Dunkin Donuts — hechsher and sans hechsher — and worse.

They are everywhere: on Ocean Parkway in Brooklyn, in Lakewood, leaving Williamsburg in droves. And their parents toss and turn at night worrying about them. To echo a Pesach theme: ein bayis asher ein bo mais — there is not a home that has not been affected.

But before we describe symptoms — the tattoos, the piercings, the substance abuse — we must be honest about causes. Practitioners in this field, including Rabbi Yaakov Horowitz, have noted for years that the markers we see on the outside almost always trace back to deeper sources: undiagnosed learning differences, abuse, family trauma, mental health struggles left unaddressed, mismatch between a child and an institution that could not bend to meet him, and the corrosive shame that follows when a child is labeled rather than understood. “Kids don’t leave Yiddishkeit,” as Rabbi Horowitz has put it.

They leave the pain they associate with it.

The Chidushei HaRim is telling us that we need visionary leaders who can revolutionize what is not working. We need leaders who can ensure that the off-the-derech children do not find their solace in places foreign to Torah.

We need leaders to keep our youth enthused in their Yiddishkeit.

We must conceive of not merely a stop-gap measure, but something more. The Sefer Chasidim (siman 308) rules explicitly that even at significant communal cost, separate frameworks must be created for children whose needs differ — because forcing every child into one mold loses children we could have kept.

We need to research the largest risk factors.

We need to develop programs and institutions that reduce them. Concretely: a community fund earmarked specifically for at-risk youth and the rebbeim who reach them; training in adolescent mental health for every mechanech before he steps into a classroom; mentorship pairings organized at the shul level so that no struggling teenager is anonymous; and alternative yeshiva tracks for boys and girls who are drowning in the standard one. An FDR social security program for our children. A Marshall Plan. A GI Bill.

True, there are the Rabbi Tzvi Glucks, the Rabbi Silvers, the late Rabbi Zechariah Wallersteins, the Rabbi Yaakov Horowitzs, the TOVA mentoring programs. But we need to support them and replicate what they do on a massive scale. We need someone to step to the plate and make a profound change that will save generations. And we need to put our money where our mouths are. We sweep this under the carpet and do not talk about it, but this issue, hands down, eclipses all others.

How can we attend gala bar mitzvahs and weddings, yeshiva dinners and functions, while knowing there are children out there we have failed? How can we not cry for thousands of holy mothers in Klal Yisroel whose every thought and prayer centers around a lost son or daughter?

And time matters. The longer a young person is in that lifestyle, the harder the road back becomes — though it is never sealed, and practitioners can name many who have returned. But every additional month is a month of pain that did not have to happen. Our Rabbonim, our leaders, and our wealthy askanim need to hear from us. Our voices need to be heard so that this issue receives the prominence it demands.

We can all do something. We can build happier homes and happier classrooms. We can reach out to the people we see and smile at them. There are a myriad of reasons these things happen, and we cannot chalilah ever be judgmental. We need to be that resource, that Rock-of-Gibraltar, that genuinely cares about the neighbor’s child with that missing or divorced parent.

So, let’s return to those men in the wilderness. They stood. They asked. They refused to be written off — and Hashem answered them with a mitzvah that endures forever. That is the message of Pesach Sheni according to the Gerrer Rebbe. These forgotten souls must be placed once again on our agenda. Imdu. Let us stand for them, and let us not stop.

The author can be reached at [email protected]

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro shared security video on Thursday that she said shows the suspected gunman shooting a Secret Service officer at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

According to Pirro, the video also shows Cole Allen casing the area in the Washington Hilton the day before the attack, with Allen seen walking in a hallway of the hotel, as well as talking with a woman in the gym.

The video appears to show officers firing their guns at the suspect as he runs through the hotel while holding a long gun.

Allen, 31, was arrested and charged after he fired a gun during the event. He faces multiple charges, including attempted assassination, and could receive a life sentence if convicted.

WATCH:

[Video below.] A keffiyeh worn by someone featured prominently in a New York City public service announcement that Mayor Zohran Mamdani released on Wednesday is raising questions and hackles among Jewish New Yorkers.

Two young workers from the mayor’s office of mass engagement, identified as Tascha and Mohamed, are shown in the video knocking at Gracie Mansion, the mayoral home.

Mamdani opens the door and asks them to tell him more about testifying at the June hearing of the Rent Guidelines Board, which sets cost increases for the city’s rent-regulated apartments.

Mohamed wears a keffiyah visibly tucked under his jacket, which has upset many Jewish New Yorkers.

“Everyone knows that the keffiyeh is now associated with events against Israel,” Benny Polatseck, a Chassidic Jew who worked in the creative communications department at City Hall under former mayor Eric Adams, told JNS. “Why is he presenting that message in a video that is not supposed to be political?”

Polatseck wonders if Mamdani is “going out of his way to offend the Jewish community.”

The first rule in the mayor’s communications department when Polatseck worked there was that nothing it produced could offend any segment of New York’s wide array of religious and ethnic communities, Polatseck told JNS.

“If we had produced anything like this, I would have been fired the next day,” he said.

Moshe Spern, who teaches history at a Queens public high school, told JNS that “the message being sent to me and every other Jewish person by this video is that, ‘I’m going to trigger you and make you remember Oct. 7, the biggest pogrom to face the Jewish people since the Holocaust.’”

“They can try to spin this if they want to and say it’s about bringing people together,” said Spern, who is president of United Jewish Teachers, an advocacy group that represents Jews in teachers unions. “But you are the mayor of New York City and should respect the million-plus Jews here.”

The black-and-white keffiyah is a symbol of Palestinian resistance, and anti-Israel demonstrators often use it to cover their faces.

Wendy Melillo, an associate professor of journalism at American University whose research focuses on how communication impacts society and the media, told JNS that “visual representation of one’s personal beliefs is a statement about what is valued in that person’s life.”

“Wearing that particular clothing as a representative can suggest that this is valued by the Mamdani administration,” she said.

“It’s really important to understand what the agenda is behind any public service messaging,” Mellillo told JNS. “That requires research into what the intent is.” (JNS sought comment from the mayor’s office.)

Mohamed Alharbi, deputy Queens borough director in the mayor’s mass engagement office, who wears the keffiyeh in the video, has said that his family is Yemeni, not Palestinian.

For some Jewish New Yorkers, Mamdani’s intent in the public service announcement is clear. “This is a mayor consistently sending a message to the Jewish people of New York that you don’t matter,” Spern told JNS.

Russell Drew, who identifies on social media as a political junkie and native New Yorker, wrote that “this kid is wearing a keffiyeh. I won’t even listen to another thing he says.”

“Or anybody else who wears a garment associated with terrorism,” Drew added. “Zohran Mamdani doesn’t care. He knows what he’s doing. Everything he does is about Palestine.”

{Matzav.com}

[Video below.] President Donald Trump brushed off a question about his personal safety with humor after being asked whether he would begin wearing a bulletproof vest following what officials say was another attempt on his life.

“I don’t know if I can handle looking 20 pounds heavier,” he said during a news conference on Thursday afternoon.

“If you want to gain 20 to 25 pounds, get a vest — and live,” he added.

The remark, which drew laughter from reporters and members of his administration, came in the aftermath of a shooting incident at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner—an event authorities say marked the third alleged attempt to assassinate the president.

Authorities identified the suspect as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, who was taken into custody after opening fire during the gathering. He has been charged with several offenses, including attempted assassination, and faces the possibility of life in prison if found guilty.

Trump said that although the idea of wearing protective gear has been raised before, he noted that “I guess it’s something you consider in one way.”

He also indicated that he is not preoccupied with the prospect of another attempt on his life, telling reporters he is not focused on whether there could be a fourth incident.

Allen appeared in federal court on Thursday but did not enter a plea. Investigators say that just days earlier, he ran through a magnetometer at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C., carrying a long gun, causing chaos at one of the capital’s most prominent annual events.

During the incident, a Secret Service agent was struck by gunfire but was protected by a bullet-resistant vest and survived the attack.

{Matzav.com}

Rep. Mike Lawler on Thursday shredded Tucker Carlson over his assertion that pro-Israel Republicans secretly support open border policies, calling the former Fox News host “a moron” and detailing his own record on immigration enforcement.

In a monologue circulating on social media, Carlson claimed that the most ardent supporters of Israel in the House—including Lawler, Don Bacon of Nebraska, and Nicole Malliotakis of New York—voted to extend Temporary Protected Status to Haitian migrants, suggesting a hidden connection between pro-Israel positions and open borders advocacy.

“These are Israel’s most loyal soldiers in the United States Congress, and they are voting to open our borders once again,” Carlson said in the clip. “So it’s yet more evidence there is a direct connection between loyalty to a foreign power and a desire to hurt this country.”

Lawler dismissed the argument as intellectually incoherent. “Tucker Carlson is a moron. The grifters are truly dumbing down America with one nonsensical argument after the next. So now he’s blaming Jews for open borders?” he wrote in a social media response.

The congressman then enumerated his immigration record, listing votes to shut down the border permanently, end illegal entry, fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Customs and Border Patrol, ban sanctuary cities, require proof of citizenship to vote, and deport all criminal aliens.

“As far as my voting record goes, I have supported shutting down the border permanently, ending illegal entry into the country, funding ICE and CBP, banning sanctuary cities, requiring proof of citizenship to vote, deporting ALL criminal aliens, no path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, ending any government benefits for illegal immigrants, and more,” Lawler wrote. “But God forbid one recognize there are complex issues tied to our broken immigration system that need to be addressed.”

On Israel policy, Lawler reaffirmed his support for a strong U.S.-Israel relationship, citing the nation as “the only Democracy in the Middle East” and “a beacon of hope, freedom, and opportunity.” He attributed Carlson’s shift away from this position to outside influence.

“The fact is Israel is the only Democracy in the Middle East. It is a beacon of hope, freedom, and opportunity — something Tucker used to believe until he was bought and paid for by forces opposed to Israel and the United States,” Lawler said.

The congressman also questioned Carlson’s broader geopolitical positions. “Why is it that Tucker defends China, Russia and Iran more than America?” Lawler asked.

Tucker Carlson is a moron. The grifters are truly dumbing down America with one nonsensical argument after the next. So now he’s blaming Jews for open borders?

As far as my voting record goes, I have supported shutting down the border permanently, ending illegal entry into the… https://t.co/D1m722QHNK

— Mike Lawler (@lawler4ny) April 30, 2026

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Younes Hamami Lalehzar, a prominent figure in Iran’s Jewish community, publicly pledged allegiance to Mojtaba Khamenei during a rally in Tehran on Wednesday, according to social media footage circulating Thursday.

“We are happy that the members of the Khamenei Council, who are the followers of Imam Shaheed, have reached this important position and responsibility,” Lalehzar said in the video. He stated that Iran’s Jewish community “supports their election and leadership.”

“We hope that they will be successful in this important responsibility and that they will be a witness to the victory, success, and prosperity of our beloved country, Iran,” he added.

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The public declaration represents one of the most visible shows of support from Iran’s Jewish leadership for the country’s political establishment. Iran’s Jewish population, once substantially larger before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, now represents a fraction of its historical size, yet is still the Middle East’s largest Jewish community outside Israel.

Under the constraints of Iran’s Islamic system, the community’s public representatives have historically navigated a delicate balance between maintaining their religious and cultural identity while demonstrating loyalty to the state. Iranian Jewish leadership regularly makes public statements critical of Israeli policy, a dynamic that reflects the political environment in which they operate.

For instance, last month, after a Tehran shul sustained damage from a U.S. missile strike, Homayoun Sameh, the Jewish representative in Iran’s parliament, condemned what he described as Israeli aggression. “The Zionist regime showed no mercy towards this community during the Jewish holidays and attacked one of our ancient and holy synagogues,” Sameh said.

Similarly, following Israeli airstrikes in June 2025, Lalehzar published a statement characterizing Israeli military action as “the murder of civilians, women and children by the criminal Zionist regime and the evil Netanyahu, [which] must be met with decisive force.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

CNN’s chief data correspondent Harry Enten reported Thursday that President Donald Trump’s Republican Party is experiencing a significant shift in Black voter support, marking gains not seen by the GOP in roughly a generation.

Enten’s analysis comes amid the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down key provisions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, a landmark civil rights law that prohibited racial discrimination in voting. When informed of the court’s ruling, Trump responded: “I love it!”

According to Enten’s data, Trump’s approval rating among African Americans has risen to 16 percent in his second term, up from 12 percent at a comparable point during his first presidency. More significantly, the Republican Party’s overall standing with Black voters has shifted markedly.

“You can see it right here. Trump’s approval among African Americans at this point in term one, he was at 12%. He’s gaining — he’s gaining ground with African-Americans. He’s up to 16% at this point,” Enten said on air Thursday.

The shifts extend beyond individual approval ratings. Enten highlighted a dramatic change in party identification among African American voters. Democrats previously held a 63-point advantage in party identification margin among Black voters during Trump’s first term. That advantage has now contracted to what Enten characterized as a “double digit shift” toward Republicans.

“Democrats still have the advantage, but it’s a 12 point shift to the Republican party,” Enten said. “I looked back through Gallup’s records. They sent me their records, and this lead that Democrats have is actually smaller than any lead from 2006 to 2021.”

Enten emphasized the breadth of the trend. “The Donald Trump-led Republican Party is making gains among African Americans that we, simply put, have not seen the Republican Party make in a generation,” he said.

When CNN anchor Kate Bolduan asked whether this represented part of a larger pattern, Enten confirmed the scope of the shift extended beyond Trump’s personal standing.

“I see this as absolutely part of a bigger trend,” Enten said. “Donald Trump’s Republican Party is gaining ground, not just him gaining in terms of his approval rating.”

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(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

President Trump has issued an executive order aimed at extending retirement savings opportunities to millions of Americans who currently lack access to employer-sponsored plans such as 401(k)s.

“I promised to make the same types of retirement accounts enjoyed by federal employees available to all Americans, and that’s what we’re doing. It only seemed fair,” he said during the signing ceremony in the Oval Office.

As part of the initiative, workers without access to an employer-provided individual retirement account (IRA) will qualify for a federal matching contribution of up to $1,000 annually, according to the president.

The eligibility thresholds for the program include individuals earning under $35,500 per year, heads of household earning up to $53,250, and married couples with a combined annual income of up to $71,000.

“This will be really revolutionary because they’ll be covered,” Trump said in the Oval Office.

“Nobody thought that was possible. For example, if a 25-year-old who is eligible for a Saver’s Match program invests just $165 a month under the matching federal contributions, they will have an estimated $465,000 in their account by the time they’re 65 years old,” he added.

“In other words, they’ll be rich. And there’s something awfully nice about that.”

Roughly 56 million Americans do not have access to workplace retirement plans, according to data from Pew Research.

That group includes gig economy workers such as Uber drivers, self-employed tradespeople, and individuals working freelance or contract jobs.

Small-business operators, including neighborhood shop owners, are also expected to benefit from the expanded access.

An estimated 27 million individuals already qualify for participation under a 2022 law that introduced the Saver’s Match program, though many have not yet enrolled.

The Joint Committee on Taxation previously estimated that the Saver’s Match initiative would cost approximately $9.3 billion between 2027 and 2032.

The Treasury Department plans to roll out a dedicated website, TrumpIRA.gov, on January 1, 2027, which will serve as the platform for applications.

A prior federal savings initiative, myRA, introduced during the Obama administration, was discontinued in 2017.

The rollout of the new retirement program comes as Trump highlights economic policies ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

Treasury officials are expected to begin a public awareness campaign leading up to the 2027 launch of the program.

Earlier this year, the department also introduced the Trump Accounts initiative, funded with billions in private contributions, to establish tax-advantaged savings accounts for children born between January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2028.

Each qualifying child receives an initial $1,000 deposit, while individuals outside that timeframe will still have the option to open accounts independently.

Under the executive order, the Treasury is tasked with compiling and publishing a list of financial institutions that offer IRAs and accept the federal Saver’s Match contribution through the TrumpIRA.gov platform.

The directive also includes measures designed to simplify participation for tax-exempt organizations.

In addition, lawmakers are being urged to pass legislation that would formally enshrine the policy into law.

{Matzav.com}

Tensions within Iran’s government have surfaced over the conduct of Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, with President Masoud Pezeshkian and Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf reportedly calling for his removal, according to Iran International Thursday.

The discord centers on Araghchi’s approach to diplomatic negotiations and his relationship with military leadership. Two informed sources told Iran International that both Pezeshkian and Ghalibaf believe Araghchi has exceeded his authority and operates more as a subordinate to Ahmad Vahidi, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, than as an independent minister implementing government policy.

According to the sources, Araghchi has conducted diplomatic initiatives without informing or seeking approval from Pezeshkian, instead coordinating directly with Vahidi and his directives. The situation has prompted Pezeshkian to privately indicate that continued insubordination would result in Araghchi’s dismissal.

The reported friction marks the latest division within Iran’s leadership hierarchy. A month prior, tensions between Pezeshkian and Vahidi had already become public, suggesting deeper institutional conflicts between civilian and military power centers.

The internal disputes extended into Iran’s negotiations with the United States, according to sources familiar with the talks. Those sources described a weekend collapse in negotiations as rooted in disagreements within Iran’s own delegation rather than an impasse with American negotiators.

During negotiations, Araghchi displayed what sources characterized as significant flexibility on reducing or halting financial and military support to Iranian-aligned groups collectively known as the “Axis of Resistance,” including the Lebanese militant organization Hezbollah.

The flexibility drew sharp opposition from Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and a former IRGC commander. The internal pushback effectively ended the negotiating session.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance subsequently told Fox News that the American delegation had concluded the Iranian negotiating team lacked authority to finalize any agreement without returning to Tehran for approval from the supreme leader or other senior leadership.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Israel is reportedly raising its level of military readiness amid growing expectations that President Donald Trump could soon approve renewed military action against Iran.

According to Channel 12 News, Trump is currently receiving briefings at the White House from CENTCOM chief Adm. Brad Cooper on possible military options, while senior Israeli officials have been holding intensive consultations in recent days.

Israeli leaders reportedly believe negotiations between Washington and Tehran could collapse as early as next week, potentially paving the way for a new escalation.

Officials briefed on the discussions reportedly believe the U.S. may soon move to intensify pressure on Iran through strikes targeting gas and energy facilities, along with key regime infrastructure, particularly as the economic blockade around the Strait of Hormuz continues tightening.

The report also says Israel and the United States are working together to project a credible naval threat against Iran as part of broader preparations for a possible return to conflict.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

The head of the IDF’s Central Command has issued an unusual warning about rising tensions in Judea and Samaria, pointing not only to Palestinian terrorism but also to violence carried out by Jewish extremists as a factor that could trigger a broader escalation.

According to a report in Haaretz, Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth said, “It’s quite a miracle that the Palestinians are still indifferent to Jewish terror; it won’t last forever.”

Bluth acknowledged that parts of the settlement enterprise contribute positively to security, but stressed that a serious problem exists alongside it. “150 farms were established in coordination with the army that help the security situation, but there are hundreds of anarchist youths who burn homes with their occupants inside. That is Israeli terror,” he said.

He warned that he has already conveyed clear messages to Israel’s political leadership about the risk of imminent deterioration. “I said… ‘You should know that overall, the coffee being brewed is good coffee. Terror is at its lowest level, but there is a constant simmer and we don’t know where it will spill over. But when it spills, it spills quickly.’”

According to Bluth, tensions are not driven solely by violence on the ground but also by economic pressures. “There are things that can raise the temperature, like funds that haven’t been transferred to the Palestinians for a year, and Palestinian Authority security personnel receiving only 40% of their salaries,” he said.

He added that alongside enforcement measures, there is a need for steps that can help calm the situation. “It would be worthwhile for us to also have tools from time to time to lower the flames… and not just sticks and more sticks and more sticks.”

Bluth concluded with a warning about the potential consequences of a wider escalation. “At some point, this situation could spill over, and when it does, it becomes a major event… 2.5 million Palestinians living a meter from Highway 6 is a significant scenario.”

He added that the IDF is preparing for a worst-case scenario as well. “So that even if, Heaven forbid, an intifada begins, it will be a sequence of attacks and not a raid-type event like what happened on October 7.”

{Matzav.com}

(AP) – Amtrak is considering allowing people to store guns in lockboxes on most of its trains, which critics say would weaken security measures that instead should be strengthened in light of the shooting at last weekend’s White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.

The company has been considering the policy change since at least early this year, after being pressured by Trump administration officials to ease restrictions on transporting weapons, two people familiar with the proposed plan told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak about it publicly.

They said the railroad hasn’t abandoned the proposal despite Saturday’s arrest of a man who authorities say traveled by Amtrak from California to Washington, D.C., with his firearms intent on killing President Donald Trump and other administration officials at Saturday’s event.

Cole Tomas Allen was arrested after authorities say he tried to race past security barricades near the hotel ballroom that was hosting the dinner, prompting an exchange of gunfire with Secret Service agents. A Secret Service officer wearing a bullet-resistant vest was shot in the vest and survived.

Authorities say Allen was armed with a shotgun and semiautomatic pistol that he brought with him by rail from his home in Torrance, California. Amtrak declined to say if he followed the company’s existing rules, which would have required him to declare he had guns and allow the railroad to lock them up with his checked bags. A lawyer for Allen has said he has no criminal record and is presumed innocent.

Amtrak’s proposed rule change, which the railroad could begin testing soon, calls for adding lockboxes to its trains to allow passengers throughout the country to bring guns aboard, instead of only allowing guns on trains that have locked baggage cars, according to the people who spoke to the AP.

The change would open up more than 1,500 trains a day to allowing guns aboard — including the routes that roughly 750,000 people travel every day in Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor — instead of the current rule that only allows guns on a couple dozen mostly long-distance trains that have locked baggage cars.

John Feinblatt, president of the advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety, said doing this would decrease safety.

“Just days after a man took an Amtrak train to Washington with a shotgun and pistol and tried to assassinate the president and other federal officials, the Trump Administration is trying to open the floodgates for firearms on every Amtrak route, while also moving to hollow out the agency responsible for enforcing gun laws and preventing gun trafficking,” he said. “This will only make Americans less safe and Congress must step in before the next tragedy.”

Officials at Amtrak and the Transportation Department didn’t immediately respond to questions about the gun policy.

How this would change the rules
Currently, Amtrak requires passengers to declare they are bringing firearms aboard and secure them unloaded in a hard case. The guns must meet certain size and weight requirements. Such weapons are only allowed in checked baggage, similar to policies for firearms being transported on commercial flights.

This proposed change would still require guns to be locked up aboard trains, and only the conductor would have the key, according to the two people who spoke to the AP. But the plan would be to add lock boxes to every train.

It’s unclear how Amtrak would determine who is legally allowed to carry a gun and whether local laws at their destinations would permit it. In some places, including New York City, there are restrictions on who can carry guns and a permit might be required. But other places have looser gun restrictions.

Despite Amtrak’s current gun policies, it’s possible that some passengers are already armed or have carried guns on board. Unlike airports, which screen passengers and their luggage, train passengers aren’t screened and Amtrak doesn’t run passenger names through a criminal database to identify possible threats. That’s true at crowded terminals such as Washington’s Union Station and the tiny unstaffed stations throughout the country where trains stop in the middle of the night to pick up passengers.

In those sleepy unstaffed stations, passengers routinely board and the train starts moving again before the conductor ever makes contact or scans their tickets. So there would be at least several minutes before a gun could be secured under the proposal.

Security expert Sheldon Jacobson, whose research contributed to the design of the TSA PreCheck system used in aviation, said railroads should do more to screen their passengers ahead of time by collecting more information when they sell the tickets and checking passengers’ backgrounds. But he said it’s not possible to eliminate guns on trains when there is no way to enforce the rule.

“The initial condition is that there’s almost 400 million guns in this country,” he said. “Then work from there as opposed to trying to create a utopian environment where there’s not guns and we’re going to keep it that way.”

Rail travel poses fewer risks than air travel, so it wouldn’t be worth the investment needed to create a strict passenger screening system at every train station similar to what TSA does at airports, Jacobson said. But he acknowledged that calculation could change if there ever were a major tragedy on a passenger train.

“You have to weigh the risks and rewards. And you have to say, where are we going to put our money to get the greatest risk reduction for the greatest benefit with the least inconvenience to people?” he said.

Unions have sought worker protections for years
Unions have been fighting to strengthen passenger rail workers’ protections for nearly a decade, after several incidents like the 2017 shooting of a conductor by an enraged passenger at the train station in Naperville, Illinois.

Two bills in Congress would give rail workers similar protections to what airline crews have by making it a federal crime to interfere with or assault a rail worker performing their duties. The unions have also had some success getting states to pass laws.

Amtrak and many other ground transportation companies barred weapons on trains and buses after 9/11, but none put security measures in place to detect or screen every passenger for firearms. In 2010, Congress passed a law requiring Amtrak and other companies to allow firearms to be transported as long as they are checked.

New footage released today by the Justice Department shows the moment the correspondents dinner shooter, Cole Allen, ran through a security checkpoint, being met by gunfire.

Some officers fled, while other officers chased down the suspect.

A French businessman who recently made aliyah has purchased a massive penthouse in Tel Aviv for roughly NIS 55 million, in one of the most striking luxury transactions recorded lately around Park HaMesila. The apartment, in YBOX Art near Gat Rimon Street, spans about 550 square meters, putting the deal at around NIS 100,000 per square meter, a level that places it firmly in Tel Aviv’s trophy-property tier.

The sale matters because it cuts against the wider mood in Israel’s housing market. National prices have softened, buyers are more cautious, and developers are sitting on large inventories. But the top end of Tel Aviv is playing by a different set of rules. For wealthy foreign buyers, especially new olim looking for a long-term base in Israel, the right penthouse in the right location is not just an apartment. It is a lifestyle asset, a security decision, and a statement of confidence.

YBOX Art is not being marketed as a regular residential tower. The project is planned as a mixed-use luxury district with two 40-story towers, residential space, a hotel, offices, galleries, restaurants, bars and leisure areas. Its location is part of the pitch, walking distance from Rothschild Boulevard, Park HaMesila, Beit Romano, Teder, Neve Tzedek and the beach. YBOX describes the development as sitting inside Tel Aviv’s arts and culture hub, with Moshe Tzur as architect and Italian designer Piero Lissoni attached to the interiors.

That “district” strategy is what developers are increasingly leaning on in central Tel Aviv. The buyer is not only paying for meters. He is paying for a curated urban package, hotel services, cultural branding, high-end design, walkability, restaurants, sea access and privacy in the sky. In a city where land is scarce and the best locations are already heavily built out, developers are trying to turn projects into ecosystems.

The project’s sales momentum is also notable. Alongside the NIS 55 million penthouse, four additional apartments in the project reportedly sold in the past week for about NIS 25 million combined. In total, 26 apartments have been sold so far for roughly NIS 250 million, including five recent deals worth about NIS 80 million. The full development is expected to include around 381 residential units, about 220 hotel rooms, 26,500 square meters of office space and 1,500 square meters of resident leisure space across a 78,000-square-meter compound.

The bigger picture is more complicated. Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics says home prices slipped 0.1% in the latest measured period and are down 1.7% year over year. Tel Aviv district prices fell 0.7% in the latest period and 5.1% year over year, while new apartment prices nationally are down 3.9% year over year.

Israel has been carrying a historically high number of unsold new homes, and Tel Aviv remains one of the cities with major inventory. CBS-linked reporting showed more than 86,000 new homes unsold at the end of the year, with Tel Aviv still exposed to a large pipeline of new construction.

At the same time, the financial backdrop remains tight. The Bank of Israel left its interest rate at 4% amid geopolitical uncertainty and inflation pressure tied in part to energy prices, while its own forecast sees only one or two possible rate cuts over the coming year. That keeps financing expensive for ordinary buyers, but it also makes cash-rich luxury buyers more powerful.

Aliyah from France rose sharply, with roughly 3,300 French immigrants arriving in Israel in 2025, according to figures cited by the Aliyah and Integration Ministry and the Jewish Agency. That demand does not all land in luxury Tel Aviv, but it helps explain why high-end Israeli property remains emotionally and financially attractive to diaspora buyers even during war and market uncertainty.

One of the victims wounded in the terror stabbing in Golders Green, London, was released from the hospital Thursday night after what has been described as a near-miraculous recovery. The victim, Shloime Rand, survived the potentially fatal attack, with his traditional chassidic clothing credited with preventing more severe injury. A second victim remains hospitalized.

According to a friend who documented his condition in the hospital and spoke to ITV News, the victim requested that his face not be shown publicly, though those close to him wanted to convey the seriousness of the attack.

The friend recounted that Rand had been lying in a hospital bed connected to a ventilator following the stabbing. After receiving dedicated medical care, he was discharged later in the evening. The second victim, Moshe Shein, 76, is still undergoing treatment.

Despite being targeted because of his visibly Jewish appearance, Rand’s clothing ultimately played a role in saving his life. The multiple layers of thick fabric associated with his chassidic attire reportedly prevented the knife from penetrating more deeply.

Speaking from his hospital room in an interview with the BBC, Rand said he feels as though “God gave me my life back.”

He described suffering serious stab wounds to his chest but said he managed to jump backward during the attack, adding, “so thank God.” When asked whether enough is being done to address antisemitism, he responded, “Absolutely not.”

{Matzav.com}

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a clever quip Thursday upon announcing that the Gaza flotilla had been turned back, after announcing that not a single person on board made it to the blockade.

“Not one ship or Hamas supporter arrived in our territory, not even in our maritime territory,” he said. “They have been turned back and will return to their countries of origin.”

“They will continue to watch Gaza on YouTube,” he joked.

Greta Thunberg makes a smugly self-righteous declaration in a video statement. (From Middle East Eye’s X account)

Despite Israel’s assertion that the interception of the flotilla was peaceful and that no one was harmed during the detention of some of the members, European nations denounced Israel’s actions.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry said it had acted to intercept the vessels after they “actively attempted to block an Israeli merchant vessel.”

“This is why Israel acted early, peacefully, in accordance with international law, and with the aim of ensuring the safety and security of all those on board — and it will continue to do so,” it said.

Up to 211 people were detained, and the ministry announced that they will be transferred to Greece.

“In coordination with the Greek government, the individuals transferred from the flotilla vessels to the Israeli vessel will be disembarked on a Greek beach in the coming hours,” Israel’s foreign minister, Gideon Sa’ar, said on X.

Another smugly self-righteous member of the flotilla, Cele Fierro, pretends that the IDF might “kidnap” her. (From her own X account)

“We call on anyone who is not interested in provocations but rather in humanitarian aid to Gaza to do so through the BOP [Board of Peace],” he added.

The Board of Peace derisively referred to the flotilla as “love boat activism,” after Israelis who intercepted the vessels reported that they found them stocked with drugs and condoms.

The board issued a statement in which it said that its efforts to bring in humanitarian aid to Gaza had yielded fruit, then compared its efforts to the Gaza flotilla, calling it “performative love-boat activism of people who know nothing of and care even less for the condition of Gazans.”

“It is distasteful to trade on the misery of people to build your social media profiles,” the board said, advising that “those actually wanting to help Gaza” should apply pressure on Hamas to “fulfill their obligations” and send aid “through established humanitarian channels coordinated by the Board of Peace, the United Nations, and the World Bank, so that your contributions reach those who deserve and need our aid.”

The flotilla folks should go right back to where they came from and, as Netanyahu suggested, keep watching Gaza on YouTube — although their time would be better spent focusing on other things…like the stuff they brought with them.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Palestine Football Association President Jibril Rajoub refused to shake hands with Basim Sheikh Suliman, the vice president of Israel’s soccer governing body, during a tense moment at the FIFA Congress on Thursday.

After the two men addressed the congress, they were called on stage by FIFA President Gianni Infantino. They stood far apart from each other and Rajoub protested loudly away from microphones before leaving the stage.

Speaking before the congress, Rajoub called on FIFA to address the Palestine Football Association’s allegations that Israel has breached anti-discrimination regulation by allowing clubs based in the West Bank settlements.

He confirmed that the PFA is taking the matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sport after FIFA ruled in March not to suspend Israel over its West Bank clubs. FIFA cited the unresolved and complex legal status of the West Bank.

But in a separate matter involving an Israeli club, FIFA fined the Israel Football Association $190,000 on disciplinary charges relating to “discrimination and racist abuse,” plus “offensive behavior and violations of the principles of fair play.”

After the two men left the stage at the Vancouver Convention Center, Infantino thanked them for addressing the delegates and made an appeal.

“President Rajoub, Vice President Suliman, let’s work together. Let’s work together to give hope to the children. Let’s work together for that,” Infantino said.

Following the congress, Rajoub gave an impassioned plea, asking whether Israel has “the right to even be part of FIFA.”

“From my side I still respect and follow all the legal procedures through FIFA institutions but I think it’s time to understand that Israel should be sanctioned because of the violations of the statutes of FIFA, the human rights,” he said.

Yariv Teper, acting general secretary of the Israel Football Association, would not comment on the specifics of Rajoub’s comments but said the IFA would be willing to work with the Palestinian counterparts.

“We are in the FIFA Congress,” Teper said. “Our mission is to promote football and a better future for all regions, and this is our mission.”

Palestinian soccer officials have long argued — including at FIFA annual congresses across the past 15 years, before Infantino was president — that Israel violates statutes by letting teams from settlements in the West Bank play in Israel’s national league.

The disciplinary investigation of Israeli soccer also was opened 18 months ago in response to a second objection by the Palestinian federation.

A newly announced political alliance between former prime ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid may signal unity on the surface, but reports indicate that tensions between the two leaders have not fully subsided.

According to a report aired Thursday by Channel 12 News, Bennett privately criticized Lapid shortly before the partnership was made public, allegedly referring to him in harsh terms during internal discussions.

The report said Bennett told close associates he had serious reservations about joining forces, warning that “Lapid is toxic, toxic, toxic.” He was also said to be concerned that aligning with Lapid could distance him from right-wing voters he hopes to attract.

In response, representatives of the newly formed Together party dismissed the claims and emphasized the strength of the joint list, arguing that it has already become the largest political faction in the country while labeling the current coalition as the only “toxic” factor.

Bennett and Lapid officially unveiled their combined slate on Sunday, announcing that they would run as a unified list headed by Bennett.

Their joint statement framed the move as part of a larger initiative to “repairing the State of Israel,” describing the alliance as an effort to bring together political forces and reduce divisions within their camp.

The announcement also said the merger is intended to streamline campaign efforts ahead of the upcoming elections, with the aim of securing victory and advancing political change.

It further noted that the partnership is meant to reinforce what it called the “bloc of repair,” presenting a consolidated political front designed to operate cohesively in both public and political spheres.

{Matzav.com}

WASHINGTON D.C (VINnews) – In an interview with Newsmax, President Donald Trump on Thursday again called for ABC to fire late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, describing him as “seriously unfunny” and saying, “It better be soon.”

In a Truth Social post this week, Trump criticized Kimmel’s ratings and performance, intensifying a broader dispute with the Disney-owned network. The remarks follow recent jokes by Kimmel that drew backlash from both Trump and first lady Melania Trump.

The conflict has extended beyond public criticism, with the Federal Communications Commission reviewing several ABC-owned stations, though experts say license revocations remain unlikely.

ABC has given no indication it plans to remove Kimmel and has continued airing his show.

Trump questioned how Kimmel remains on air given what he described as poor ratings and relentless criticism of Republicans, conservatives and himself.

“I don’t know how a guy can be on television where the network gets free airwaves from the United States government and spend 100% of his time knocking Republicans and conservatives and Trump at 100% of his time,” Trump said. “It’s not supposed to work that way, equal time provisions, et cetera.”

Trump added: “I think ABC is putting themselves in great jeopardy, actually.”

The president referenced a prior legal settlement in which ABC paid him $16 million after George Stephanopoulos made statements Trump said were untrue.

“You know, they’ve already paid me $16 million,” Trump said. “George Slopadopoulos said things that were untrue, and they had to pay me $16 million. So this is very serious what’s going on there.”

The remarks came amid ongoing tensions between Trump and major media outlets. ABC has not publicly commented on Trump’s latest criticism or calls for Kimmel’s dismissal.

More than 32,000 cyclists are expected to take part in the 2026 TD Five Boro Bike Tour this Sunday, as riders from around the world roll through New York City’s five boroughs in what organizers call the world’s largest charitable bike ride.

The annual event, scheduled for Sunday, May 3, will feature a 40-mile, traffic-free course stretching across all five boroughs, giving participants a rare chance to ride on major city streets, highways, and bridges normally closed to bicycles.

The tour begins in Lower Manhattan at 7:30 a.m. and continues through Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island. The event will conclude with a finish festival on Staten Island.

Organized by Bike New York, the tour raises funds to support cycling education programs and community outreach efforts across the city.

Motorists are being advised to expect major road closures throughout the day, particularly in Brooklyn and along the waterfront. Portions of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, Gowanus Expressway, and the lower level of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge are expected to be impacted during the event.

City officials are encouraging residents and commuters to use public transportation or plan alternate routes, as closures are expected to remain in place from the morning into the late afternoon.

Rav Gershon Ribner, rosh kollel of Kollel Nesivos Hatorah and son-in-law of Rav Shneur Kotler, has succeeded in applying classical Talmudical analysis and methodology to understanding all areas of Yiddishkeit, bringing out its profundity and sense.

LISTEN:

Brig. Gen. Omer Tishler was elevated to the rank of Major General on Thursday as he prepares to take over as commander of the Israeli Air Force next week, replacing the current chief during a particularly tense period.

Tishler, who held key leadership roles as Air Force Chief of Staff and deputy commander during the October 7 attack, is set to assume command from Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar in the coming days.

During the promotion ceremony, Defense Minister Israel Katz addressed ongoing regional developments, focusing on Israel’s confrontations with Iran and its allied forces. “Iran was dealt heavy blows over the past year, blows that set it back years in all areas.”

He said that while the country faces increasing challenges, there are also significant opportunities to reshape the regional landscape.

Katz highlighted coordination with the United States, noting that President Donald Trump, working alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is leading efforts to ensure Iran does not pose an existential threat.

He added that Israel “supports the effort and gives the needed backing, but we may soon need to act again to ensure that the goals are met.”

Turning to the conflict in Lebanon, Katz said Hezbollah has sustained major damage over the past two years, including during Operation Roaring Lion.

“We will act and destroy all terrorist infrastructure in the security zone up to the Yellow Line, both above and below ground, just as we did in Gaza,” he said, adding that Israel will act “to remove threats from the residents of the Galilee and crush Hezbollah’s capabilities throughout Lebanon. We promised security to the residents of the north, and that is what we will deliver.”

Addressing Tishler directly, Katz emphasized the need for full operational readiness across all fronts, both near and distant. “The State of Israel will not allow its enemies to threaten its existence. We will continue to act with determination, strength, and responsibility to ensure the security of Israel’s citizens for generations.”

{Matzav.com}

TEL AVIV (VINnews) – The pioneer who transformed volunteer medical first response into a global movement, Rabbi Hershel Weber was welcomed at Ben Gurion Airport by volunteers from United Hatzalah upon his arrival in Israel.

United Hatzalah Founder Eli Beer said it was “a true honor” for the organization’s volunteers to receive Weber, whose model of rapid-response, community-based emergency care began in Williamsburg in the late 1960s and has since spread worldwide.

As he arrived, Weber was asked whether he ever imagined his idea would transform the Jewish world into such a vast lifesaving network. Overcome with emotion, he responded through tears, “I could have never imagined this.”

In a video message to VIN News, Beer described Weber as “one of the greatest heroes of our time” and a “Gadol Hador of this generation,” crediting him with inspiring a global movement of lifesaving volunteers. Beer said he was honored that United Hatzalah could assist Weber during his visit to Israel, but expressed regret that he could not be there in person.

Beer noted that he is currently in New York preparing for a major fundraising gala in June, adding that he would have personally welcomed and accompanied Weber had he been able to.

United Hatzalah volunteers also assisted with Weber’s journey to Meron ahead of Lag BaOmer, when large crowds are expected to gather at the tomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai.

It was a true honor for United Hatzalah volunteers to welcome Rabbi Hershel Weber at Ben Gurion Airport tonight as he arrived in Israel.

Rabbi Weber founded Hatzalah in Williamsburg in the late 1960s. Since then, the model has grown into dozens of Hatzalah organizations across… pic.twitter.com/exrjrQNjoD

— Eli Beer (@EliBeerUH) April 30, 2026

An Israeli-Arab man was indicted Thursday on suspicion of pledging allegiance to the Islamic State and plotting to attack IDF soldiers, police said.

Mohammad Abd al-Ghani, 20, a resident of Nahf in northern Israel, was arrested in a joint operation by police and the Shin Bet.

Interrogation revealed that several months ago Ghani pledged allegiance to ISIS and attempted to acquire a handgun while planning a terrorist attack against soldiers in the nearby city of Karmiel, according to police.

Authorities seized ISIS posters and symbols from his room during the arrest, implicating his affiliation with and interest in the terrorist organization.

Police have requested that Ghani remain in detention until the conclusion of legal proceedings.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

A major U.S.-Israel military resupply operation moved into high gear as two cargo ships and several transport aircraft delivered roughly 6,500 tons of military equipment to Israel within 24 hours, including thousands of air and ground munitions, military trucks and JLTV combat mobility vehicles. The ships docked at Haifa and Ashdod, while the wider airlift continued through Ben Gurion Airport.

The Defense Ministry said the equipment was unloaded and moved by hundreds of trucks to IDF bases across the country, in a coordinated operation led by the ministry’s Defense Procurement Directorate, its International Shipping Division, the Israel Mission to the U.S. and the IDF Planning Directorate. Ministry Director General Maj. Gen. (res.) Amir Baram personally oversaw part of the operation at Ashdod Port.

The scale is the message. Since the launch of Operation Roaring Lion against Iran, Israel has received more than 115,600 tons of military equipment through 403 airlifts and 10 sealifts, according to the Defense Ministry. The latest shipment points to a deliberate effort to reload, harden readiness and preserve Israel’s ability to strike across multiple fronts if ordered.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said the goal is to ensure the IDF has everything it needs to return to full-strength operations “at any time and in any place required.” Baram said the procurement drive will continue and intensify in the coming weeks, signaling that Israel is preparing not only for the current phase of the Iran war, but for whatever comes next.

NEW YORK (VINnews) — Prosecutors announced a sweeping 971-count indictment against 16 men accused of running a sophisticated auto theft ring that targeted hundreds of vehicle owners across New York City, primarily in the Bronx.

Authorities said the group, dubbed the “pit crew” for the speed and precision of its operations, is linked to thefts affecting 252 victims between August 2024 and June 2025.

Today, 16 gang members were indicted for stealing cars and hundreds of vehicle parts.

These suspects went after and targeted everyday, hardworking New Yorkers for easy-to-sell auto parts.

Thanks to @NYPDPC, our detectives, and @BronxDAClark for stopping them in their tracks. pic.twitter.com/WAeEB2GAdY

— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) April 30, 2026

The investigation began after more than 200 theft reports were filed monthly during the summer of 2024, according to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who described the crimes as “systematic” and “calculated.”

Prosecutors said crews typically worked in teams of three, arriving in stolen vehicles before using jacks and power tools to strip cars of their tires and rims within minutes. Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said the group’s method relied on “speed and stealth,” often operating overnight.

The defendants are accused of stealing about $1.2 million worth of property, including tires, rims and catalytic converters. Investigators also recovered $116,000 in cash from the home of an alleged black-market buyer.

Nine of the defendants were arraigned this week on charges including grand larceny and auto stripping. They are scheduled to return to court in September.

By BoroPark24 Staff

As Sunday neighborhood carnivals and food sales begin popping up around Boro Park BoroPark24 is offering to help young organizers spread the word.

Children hosting block events, whether a carnival, lemonade stand, or food sale, are invited to share their invite posters with BoroPark24 for free promotion. Submissions are welcome in all forms, including handwritten signs or simple computer-made designs.

The initiative aims to encourage creativity and community spirit while giving these grassroots events greater visibility. Families can swipe up to submit their posters and help bring more neighbors out to join the fun.

Email the poster to: [email protected]

British authorities have increased the national terrorism threat level to “severe” following the stabbing attack targeting Jews in London’s Golders Green neighborhood, signaling that officials believe another attack is highly likely in the near future.

The upgrade was determined by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, the body responsible for independently assessing the country’s threat status. A “severe” level means that the risk of a terrorist incident in the coming months is considered high.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood confirmed the decision, stating, “Today, the national threat level has increased to ‘severe’, which means a terrorist attack is considered highly likely.”

A government statement said the change followed the Golders Green stabbing, while emphasizing that the move reflects a broader upward trend in threats rather than a reaction to a single incident. Officials pointed to increased activity from Islamist and far-right extremists, including individuals and small cells operating within the country.

Authorities also warned about growing concern over threats linked to foreign actors that are encouraging violence, including attacks directed at Jewish communities.

Mahmood acknowledged the anxiety the decision may cause, particularly among Jews in Britain, saying the raised level “will be a source of concern to many, particularly amongst our Jewish community, who have suffered so much”.

She added that the government “will do everything in our power to rid society of the evil of antisemitism”.

“As the threat level rises, I urge everyone to be vigilant as they go about their daily lives, and report any concerns they have to the police,” she stated.

The stabbing in Golders Green, in which two Orthodox Jewish men were seriously injured, has been officially classified as a terrorist attack by counter-terrorism police.

Investigators identified the suspect as a 45-year-old British citizen born in Somalia, who was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. After receiving treatment in a hospital, he was taken to a London police station, where he remains in custody. Police are also searching a residence in southeast London and examining another incident believed to be connected.

The victims were named as Shilome Rand, 34, and Moshe Shine, 76. Both were initially listed in serious condition but are now reported to be stable following treatment.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the government is taking urgent steps in response to rising antisemitism, describing the attack as part of a continuing pattern targeting Jews.

“Yesterday’s terror attack wasn’t an isolated incident,” Starmer said. “It was the latest attack on the Jewish community for being Jewish.”

Starmer said he spoke with volunteer responders from Shomrim and Hatzola, commending their response to the attack. He added that additional funding has been directed toward increased police patrols and security, along with efforts to fast-track legislation addressing hostile state threats.

“My message to Jewish people is this: you belong here, and we will do everything we can to keep you safe,” he said.

The attack comes amid a broader surge in antisemitic incidents across the United Kingdom, including recent arson attacks and acts of vandalism targeting Jewish institutions.

An Iran-linked group calling itself Ashab Al-Yamim has claimed responsibility for the stabbing.

Officials in Israel also raised concerns about the situation. Immigration Minister Ofir Sofer warned that security for Jews in the UK is worsening and criticized what he described as an inadequate response by British authorities.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry said the recent wave of attacks shows the situation is not under control and urged the UK government to take stronger action to combat antisemitism.

The developments have led to heightened security measures at Jewish sites across Britain as authorities respond to the elevated threat level.

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump swiftly signed bipartisan legislation Thursday funding much of the Department of Homeland Security, but not its immigration enforcement operations, after it won final approval in the House, ending the longest agency shutdown in history.

The White House had warned that temporary funding Trump had tapped to pay Transportation Security Administration and other agency personnel would “soon run out,” and that sparked new threats of disruptions for travelers at airport. DHS has been without routine funds since Feb. 14, causing hardship for workers, though much of Trump’s immigration agenda that is central to the dispute is being funded separately.

The package had languished in the House, despite being approved without opposition last month in the Senate, as Republicans revolted, forcing a separate path for the immigration funds. Once that launched this week, it cleared the way to fund the rest of homeland security, whose employees risked lost paychecks in May.

“It is about damn time,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, who proposed the bipartisan bill more than 70 days ago.

The House swiftly voted by voice earlier Thursday, without a formal roll call, to pass the measure. It brought an abrupt end to the standoff that began months ago after Trump’s deadly immigration crackdown in Minneapolis launched a reckoning on Capitol Hill over the money being sent to fuel the president’s agenda.

The movement in Congress comes as DHS is under intense scrutiny after Trump ousted Kristi Noem as the department’s leader, installing Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin in the middle of the shutdown. The agency counts some 260,000 employees, across TSA, the Coast Guard, FEMA and other operations.

Many workers have endured repeated turmoil with potential furloughs and missed paychecks in May as the congressional stalemate dragged on. This shutdown came on the heels of last year’s governmentwide closure, which itself had set a record at 43 days. Countless employees have struggled with bills or simply quit their jobs.

Trump’s deportation strategy fueled the dispute

In the aftermath of the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, both U.S. citizens, by federal agents during protests against the immigration actions in Minneapolis, Democrats refused to fund U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol without changes to those operations.

At the same time, Republicans would not go along with a plan pushed by Democrats to fund TSA and the other parts of DHS without the money for ICE and Border Patrol. They insisted that immigration operations must not be zeroed out.

After the shutdown intensified, with hourslong lines at airport security screening, the Senate unanimously approved the bipartisan package in a middle of the night vote a month ago. Then the bill languished in the House.

Johnson, R-La., himself had called the legislation a “joke.”

To break the impasse, Republican leaders in both the House and Senate decided to tackle the immigration enforcement funding on their own through what is called budget reconciliation, a cumbersome weekslong process ahead.

By beginning that path, Johnson was able to unlock the broader bipartisan bill for the rest of DHS. House Republicans late Wednesday adopted a budget resolution, on a largely party-line vote, that focused on eventually providing $70 billion for immigration enforcement and deportations for the remainder of Trump’s time in office. His term expires in January 2029.

Johnson acknowledged on Thursday that while he had trashed the bipartisan bill before, the new budget process ensure that the immigration money eventually will flow “with no crazy Democrat reforms.”

“We threw a fit,” the speaker said. “We had to.”

But not all Republicans were pleased. During the quick floor action Thursday, Rep. Chip Roy of Texas said isolating the immigration-related money on a separate track is “offensive to the men and women who serve in ICE and Border Patrol, and are serving this country every single day.”

White House warns paychecks at risk, again

The White House had urged Congress this week to act, warning that the money Trump tapped to temporarily pay TSA and other workers through executive actions was drying up.

Immigration enforcement workers have largely been paid through the flush of new cash — some $170 billion — that Congress approved as part of Trump’s tax cuts bill last year. Others, including at the TSA, have had to rely on Trump’s intervention through executive action to ensure their paychecks. Most of its employees are considered essential and have remained on the job.

But with salaries topping a combined $1.6 billion every two weeks, Mullin said recently that the money was dwindling.

On Thursday, he said in a social media post that the shutdown “NEVER should have happened.”

More than 1,000 TSA officers have quit since the shutdown began, according to Airlines for America, the U.S. airlines trade group that on Wednesday called on Congress to fully fund the Cabinet department.

Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, said while workers are “pleased that Congress finally stepped up to do their jobs and fund DHS, it is unacceptable that it took them this long to do so.”

He said “federal employees are not political pawns. They are not leverage. They are Americans -– and they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.”

Complicated budget strategy ahead

The go-it-alone strategy under the budget resolution process is the same that was used last year to approve Trump’s tax cuts bill, which all Democrats opposed.

With the budget resolution now adopted by the House and Senate, lawmakers will next draft the actual $70 billion ICE and Border Patrol funding bill, with voting expected in May.

Trump has said he wants it on his desk by June 1.

(AP)

BAGHDAD (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump called Iraq’s new prime minister-designate Thursday and extended an invitation for him to visit Washington once he has successfully formed a government, the Iraqi prime minister’s office said in a statement.

Trump then posted on his social media platform Truth Social congratulating Ali al-Zaidi and wishing him “success as he works to form a new Government free from terrorism that could deliver a brighter future for Iraq.”

“We look forward to a strong, vibrant, and highly productive new relationship between Iraq and the United States,” the post said. “This is the beginning of a tremendous new chapter between our Nations — Prosperity, Stability, and Success like never seen before.”

The call and post signal that Washington has given its blessing to al-Zaidi, a businessman and political newcomer, after Trump had announced his disapproval of a previous leading candidate for the post.

Iraq’s dominant parliamentary bloc, the Coordination Framework — a coalition of Shiite parties allied with Iran — on Monday nominated al-Zaidi to be the country’s prime minister after weeks of internal debate among its member parties.

The coalition had previously said it would back former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who the U.S. administration views as too close to Iran. Trump publicly announced his opposition to al-Maliki and threatened to cut off aid to Iraq if he was appointed.

While al-Maliki remained defiant after Trump’s intervention, the bloc decided to shift to a compromise candidate.

Al-Zaidi, who is chairman of Al-Janoob Islamic Bank, emerged in the final stages of discussions as one of the leading candidates — bolstered by his economic background and business and investment connections. He hasn’t previously held political office.

In 2024, Al-Janoob was one of a number of banks that were banned by Iraq’s central bank from dealing in dollars amid pressure from the U.S. to crack down on money laundering and funneling of funds to Iran. However, neither the bank nor al-Zaidi are under U.S. sanctions.

Following his nomination, al-Zaidi promised to focus on making Iraq “a balanced country, regionally and internationally.”

“This appointment comes at a sensitive time that requires concerted efforts from all political and social forces,” he said.

Under the constitution, the designated prime minister has 30 days to present a Cabinet lineup to the parliament, which requires 167 votes to secure a vote of confidence.

The next government will have to deal with the political and economic fallout of the Iran war, which spilled over into Iraq, while the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted the oil exports on which Iraq’s economy depends.

A bipartisan House resolution introduced Wednesday condemns antisemitic rhetoric from prominent online personalities across the political spectrum, calling on social media platforms and elected officials to do more to combat hate speech.

The measure, sponsored by Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) and Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), names far-left streamer Hasan Piker and conservative commentator Candace Owens for spreading antisemitic content to millions of followers.

Piker, who has about 11.5 million followers, is cited for past comments including referring to Orthodox Jews as “inbred.” The Anti-Defamation League says he “has a history of rhetoric that sanitizes violence and denigrates Jewish people” and has “expressed support for designated terrorist organizations and antisemitic ideas on many occasions.”

Owens, with an estimated 35 million followers across platforms, is described as promoting conspiracy theories about Jews and Israel. The ADL says she “actively amplifies antisemitic figures on her shows,” giving platforms to individuals who have praised Hitler, trivialized the Holocaust, or promoted “Jewish mafia” narratives. StopAntisemitism named her “Antisemite of the Year” in 2024.

The resolution urges elected officials to “unequivocally condemn antisemitism,” including when amplified by high-profile media figures, and calls on social media companies to take stronger action against hate speech.

“Hatred is hatred, period. It doesn’t matter whether it comes from the far right or the far left,” Gottheimer said. “We cannot be selective in calling out antisemitism.”

Lawler added: “With an audience of millions, they have a responsibility to confront hatred and bigotry in every form, not to amplify it to the masses.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — President Donald Trump granted a key approval Thursday for a major new oil pipeline that would carry oil from Canada into the U.S. where it would be exported and refined.

The three-foot-wide (1 meter) Bridger Pipeline Expansion would carry up to 550,000 barrels (87,400 cubic meters) of oil a day from the Canadian border with Montana down through eastern Montana and Wyoming, where it would link with another pipeline.

The project would require additional state and federal environmental approvals before construction, which company officials expect to start next year. Environmentalists hope to stop the project over worries that the pipeline could break and spill.

At peak volume, the 650-mile (1,050-kilometer) pipeline would move two-thirds as much oil as the better-known Keystone XL pipeline that got partially built before President Joe Biden, citing climate-change concerns, canceled its permit on the day he took office in 2021.

“Slightly different from the last administration. They wouldn’t sign a pipeline deal. And we have pipelines going up,” Trump said after signing the Bridger Pipeline Expansion cross-border approval.

Trump in his first term approved the Keystone XL project in 2020 over the concern of Native American tribes about possible spills and environmental groups about fossil fuels’ contribution to climate change.

Biden’s Keystone XL permit cancellation the following year frustrated Canadian officials, including Prime Minster Justin Trudeau, after Alberta invested more than $1 billion in the project.

Sometimes called “Keystone Light,” the Bridger Pipeline Expansion would not cross any Native American reservations. More than 70% would be built within existing pipeline corridors and 80% on private land, Bridger Pipeline LLC said in a statement.

The Casper, Wyoming-based company operates more than 3,700 miles (5,950 kilometers) of gathering and transmission oil pipelines in the Williston Basin of North Dakota and Montana and the Powder River Basin of Wyoming.

A subsidiary of True Companies, Bridger Pipeline could avoid a reversal by a future administration if it’s able to complete its project before Trump leaves office. It hopes to start construction in the fall of 2027 and finish it by late 2028 or early 2029, Bridger spokesperson Bill Salvin said.

Trump’s term ends Jan. 20, 2029.

True Company subsidiaries have been responsible for several major pipeline accidents including more than 50,000 gallons (240,000 liters) of crude that spilled into the Yellowstone River and fouled a Montana city’s drinking water supply in 2015, a 45,000-gallon diesel spill in Wyoming in 2022 and a 2016 spill that released more than 600,000 gallons (2.7 million liters) of crude in North Dakota, contaminating the Little Missouri River and a tributary.

Subsidiaries of True agreed to pay a $12.5 million civil penalty to settle a government lawsuit over the North Dakota and Montana spills.

Salvin said the company has developed an AI-driven leak detection system that allows it to be notified more quickly when there are problems. It also plans to bore 30 to 40 feet (9 to 12 meters) beneath major rivers including the Yellowstone and Missouri to reduce the chances of an accident. The 2015 accident occurred on a line that was constructed in a shallow trench at the bottom of the river.

“We designed the pipeline with integrity and safety in mind. We have emergency response plans should something happen where oil happens to get out of the line, which is fairly rare,” Salvin said.

Environmental groups opposed to the project include the Montana Environmental Information Center and WildEarth Guardians.

“The biggest concern we see right now is the concern inherent in all pipeline projects which is the risk of spills,” said attorney Jenny Harbine with the environmental law firm Earthjustice. “Pipelines rupture and leak. It’s just a fact of pipelines.”

A newly released investigative summary from the USAID Office of Inspector General reveals that four additional current or former UNRWA staff members have been linked to Hamas and/or participation in the October 7 massacre in Israel.

According to the findings, the individuals — including three teachers and a social worker — are alleged to have taken part in terrorist activities, including involvement in the holding of Israeli hostages. The cases have been referred to the U.S. State Department for potential suspension or debarment, which would bar them from future participation in U.S.-funded aid programs.

The report is part of an ongoing investigation into UNRWA staff ties to Hamas. To date, the probe has resulted in multiple referrals tied to individuals connected to the October 7 massacre or affiliated with Hamas, including cases that have already led to long-term U.S. government debarments.

Officials say the investigation remains active, with additional actions expected, as efforts continue to ensure that U.S. humanitarian aid does not reach Hamas or other terrorist-affiliated actors operating in Gaza.

(YWN World Headquarters- NYC)

LONDON (VINnews) — Dozens of firefighters were battling a large blaze at a residential property in north London on Cazenove Road in Stamford Hill, near a synagogue and Jewish school, authorities said.

The London Fire Brigade said 15 fire engines and about 100 firefighters were dispatched after the fire broke out shortly after 4 p.m. Emergency crews evacuated a number of nearby homes as well as a neighboring synagogue.

🚨 Large fire at a residential house next door to a Synagogue on Cazenove Road, N16

🚓 Shomrim volunteers are assisting @MPSHackney with road closures as multiple @LondonFire Brigade crews fight the significant fire

⚠️ @Shomrim urge the public to avoid the area to give… pic.twitter.com/JdAOx33qkb

— Shomrim (London North & East) (@Shomrim) April 30, 2026

Two people were taken to hospital, the fire brigade said, adding that the blaze is not believed to have been started deliberately.

The Metropolitan Police said they are “keeping an open mind” about the cause of the fire.

“We are working closely with the London Fire Brigade and, within these early stages, are keeping an open mind as to the cause of the fire,” the force said in a statement.

Officers remain at the scene and are speaking with residents and members of the local community. The investigation is ongoing.

Dear Matzav Inbox,

Everyone is busy arguing about the latest “smashburger” story—treif, not treif, who said what, who certified what. Fine. Have the argument. But the truth is, even if you settle that entire discussion, you’re still left with something much more uncomfortable that nobody seems eager to address.

What is going on with our obsession with food?

I’m not talking about enjoying a good meal. I’m talking about the nonstop, over-the-top fixation that has somehow become normal in the frum community. Open a WhatsApp status. Scroll Instagram for a minute. It’s the same thing on repeat—people standing over grills, filming themselves slicing steaks, zooming in like it’s a surgical procedure, narrating every bite as if the rest of us are supposed to be impressed.

Or people sitting in restaurants, rating every dish, telling us how good it is, making total fools out of themselves. “Wow. Wow. Guys, this is insane. Wow. Wow. Guys, guys, I’m telling you, you gotta try this. I’m telling you guys. This is incredible. Wow. Wow.”

For real?

And the reactions are just as bad. “I’m drooling.” “This is insane.” “Next level.”

Grown adults talking like that, publicly, about food. It would be funny if it wasn’t so embarrassing.

At this point, it’s not even about eating. It’s about performing. Showing. Broadcasting. As if putting meat on a grill has become some kind of accomplishment that needs an audience.

And it doesn’t stop there. Walk into any wedding today. Nobody even pretends otherwise. People size up the simcha based on the menu before they’ve even sat down. The conversation afterward isn’t about the chassan and kallah. It’s about the carving station, the sushi, the late-night buffet. You hear the same reviews every time, like people just came back from a restaurant critique instead of a wedding.

Restaurants are another story altogether. Every new place has to outdo the last one, and people run after it like it’s breaking news. Pictures, videos, commentary, endless hype. You would think we were dealing with something of real importance.

We’re not. We’re talking about food.

We’re supposed to be an am kadosh. That doesn’t mean we don’t eat well. It doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy things. But it does mean there’s supposed to be some sense of proportion, some awareness of what deserves this kind of attention and what doesn’t.

Instead, we’ve taken something basic and turned it into a centerpiece of our lives. It fills our conversations, our screens, our social interactions. It’s constant. And after a while, it just looks…small.

There used to be a certain dignity in how people carried themselves. Today, people are proudly putting their indulgence on display for anyone who wants to watch. Not privately. Not quietly. Loudly. Repeatedly. As if this is what we want to be known for.

That’s what makes the whole thing so uncomfortable. It’s not one person here or there. It’s a culture. It’s a tone. And it doesn’t feel like it fits who we are supposed to be.

There’s a difference between enjoying something and revolving around it. Right now, it feels like we’ve crossed that line a long time ago and just kept going.

So yes, argue about treife smashburgers all you want. Just don’t pretend that’s the real issue.

The real issue is what we’ve become comfortable with. The real issue is why we don’t feel like throwing up every time we hear someone say, “Wow. Wow. Guys, this is insane. Wow. Wow. Guys, guys, I’m telling you, you gotta try this. I’m telling you guys. This is incredible. Wow. Wow.”

Sincerely,
A reader who thinks we can do better

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Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling fired a shot at a British politician Wednesday who expressed dismay over the stabbing attack in Golders Green, London, that injured two Jews.

“The stabbing of two Jewish men in Golders Green today is deeply shocking and a stark reminder of the very real danger antisemitism poses on our streets,” Zarah Sultana, a British MP, posted on X. “My thoughts are with the victims, their loved ones, and the wider Jewish community.”

“No one should be targeted because of their faith,” she declared.

This is a video of British MP Zarah Sultana chanting a slogan just hours after police issued a statement saying it should be banned. (Credit: The Telegraph)

Rowling blasted back hours later.

“@zarahsultana I assume this is a different Zarah Sultana MP to the one who was recently filmed clapping along to loudspeaker chants for intifada, on a street in Surrey,” she posted on X, linking to a Telegraph article describing the incident, in which Sultana was filmed chanting along to a slogan about an intifada just hours after the Metropolitan Police and the Greater Manchester Police issued a joint statement saying such slogans should be banned.

Sultana didn’t hold back.

“I actually care about all human lives Joanne, but I’m wondering if you actually do?” she snarked on X. “Have you mentioned the genocide of Palestinians even once or do their lives not matter to you?”

Sultana is seen enthusiastically chanting genocidal slogans against Jews in another video. (From a post on X)

“Using today’s events to score political points is disgusting. Shame on you,” she said, while scoring political points herself against Rowling.

Sultana’s sympathy for Jewish lives only goes so far, however. A few hours after posting her “thoughts for the victims” of the stabbing attack, she slammed the Coventry City Council for investing in Palantir Technologies, a company she accused of conspiring with Israel to kill people.

“Labour-run Coventry City Council has just handed £750,000 to Palantir — a company that profits from hunting immigrants for ICE and produces ‘kill lists’ for the Israeli military,” she wrote. “A company lobbied for by Peter Mandelson himself. Shame on them.”

For many British Jews, however, it’s the creator of the beloved children’s series who stands on the right side of the debate.

The Jackson School District has officially named Dan Baginski as its next Superintendent of Schools, with his appointment set to begin on July 1, 2026.

The Board of Education voted unanimously to approve Baginski during its meeting Wednesday night, following what officials described as a thorough and inclusive search process.

According to the district, the selection came after extensive community and staff input, including survey feedback that helped shape a candidate profile reflecting the district’s mission and priorities. Officials said the process drew strong interest from a wide field of highly qualified applicants.

In its announcement, the Board stated that Baginski stood out throughout the process and exceeded expectations in every area of the district’s candidate profile.

Baginski brings decades of experience in education and administration, much of it within Jackson itself. He began his career as a math teacher and joined the Jackson School District in 2002 as a math supervisor. He later served seven years as a principal, followed by 10 years as Assistant Superintendent, overseeing curriculum, instruction, human resources, and operations.

In 2024, he became the district’s Business Administrator, where he played a key role in managing the financial responsibilities of the large school system.

Board members praised his fiscal expertise, leadership skills, and understanding of the district’s unique challenges and opportunities, saying he is well-positioned to guide Jackson forward.

The Board will now begin the search for a new Business Administrator to fill Baginski’s current role. District officials said more information about his plans and goals for the future will be shared with staff and families in the coming months.

A commercial flight from the United States landed in Venezuela on Thursday, restoring direct air travel between the two countries for the first time since 2019 and signaling improving ties after years of strained relations.

The flight, operated by Envoy Air, a regional carrier owned by American Airlines, departed Miami International Airport at 10:11 a.m. EDT and arrived at Simón Bolívar International Airport near Caracas at 1:22 p.m. EDT, according to flight tracking data.

The aircraft is scheduled to make the return trip later in the day, leaving Venezuela at 2:40 p.m. EDT and arriving back in Miami at 6:11 p.m. EDT, according to the same tracking service.

Earlier Thursday, the State Department shared footage on X showing the American Eagle plane taxiing for takeoff. Officials said the route will operate daily between Miami and Venezuela.

Air travel between the two nations was halted in 2019 when the Department of Transportation suspended all commercial and cargo flights after the Department of Homeland Security concluded that “conditions” in Venezuela “threaten the safety and security of passengers, aircraft, and crew.”

Since then, political developments have led to a thaw in relations. After U.S. forces captured former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January, the government led by his vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, has taken steps to loosen restrictions, including freeing hundreds of political detainees and easing limits on foreign investment in the country’s oil sector.

In addition, the Treasury Department moved earlier this month to scale back sanctions affecting Venezuela’s state-run banking system.

Despite those changes, human rights concerns remain. As of April 21, 473 political prisoners — including 43 foreign nationals — are still being held in Venezuela, according to the rights group Foro Penal.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who attended a ceremony in Miami marking the inaugural flight, described the development as a “critical milestone in strengthening the United States relationship with Venezuela and unleashing economic opportunity” in both countries.

“I am proud of our Department’s work behind the scenes to make this inaugural flight come to life, and I want to thank American Airlines for their continued commitment to servicing this essential aviation artery,” Duffy said in a release.

American Airlines executive vice president Nate Gatten said the carrier was “proud to be the first airline to resume service” between the two countries.

Flights between Miami and Caracas are already available for booking through May, though ticket prices exceeded $1,000 for a one-way trip as of Thursday afternoon.

The Transportation Department said additional airlines may soon follow, noting that other carriers “have expressed a strong interest in restoring operations to Caracas and other locations across Venezuela.”

Officials added that the department will “continue to review applications and provide updates in the coming months on new offerings.”

The restored route is expected to serve a large Venezuelan population living in the United States. As of 2024, about 1.2 million Venezuelans reside in the U.S., including roughly 254,000 in the Miami area and approximately 127,000 in the Orlando region.

{Matzav.com}

A Jackson Township employee has died in a tragic car accident this afternoon, sources told TLS.

Township officials tell TLS they cannot yet comment on the incident.

According to information obtained by TLS, it appears his vehicle slammed into a tree off of Cooks Bridge Road around 2:00 PM.

However, it’s unclear at this time if he died of injuries or the accident was a result of a medical episode.

UPDATE: At approximately 1:55 PM, Jackson Police Officers responded to the area of South Cooksbridge Road in the Westlake Boulevard for a report of a vehicle vs. tree crash. While Officers were en-route, they were updated that CPR was in progress.

The driver, identified as Ronald Miller, was on duty as a Jackson Township Building Inspector and was the sole occupant within the vehicle. He was transported by Jackson First Aid Squad to Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus where he was pronounced deceased following life saving measures.

Initial investigation indicated that a 2013 Jeep Patriot registered to Jackson Township Building Department was traveling southbound on South Cooksbridge Road went off the roadway on the right hand side for an unknown reason and after striking numerous items came to rest against a large maple tree.

The crash is under investigation by the Jackson Township Police Traffic Safety Unit.

Anyone who may have witnessed the crash is asked to contact Police Officer Thomas Parise #321 or Sgt. Jeffrey Henba #263 at 732-928-1111.

Developing story.

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An arson attack on a billboard advertising an event featuring Israel’s United Hatzalah organization marks the latest antisemitic incident to strike Australia’s Jewish community.

The sign in Melbourne promoted an event at a local shul featuring Eli Beer, the president and founder of United Hatzalah. The Australian Jewish Association posted images of the burned billboard on social media, writing: “This is the reality for Jews in Melbourne in 2026.”

The vandalism follows a troubling pattern of antisemitic incidents across Australia since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel – including the torches of shuls and a shooting attack on a Chanukah event at Bondi Beach, in which 15 people were murdered.

“This is the reality for Jews in Melbourne in 2026,” the Australian Jewish Association said on X.

About 110,000 Jews live in Australia, primarily in Melbourne and Sydney. The incidents reflect a broader surge in antisemitism affecting Jewish communities worldwide since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic have created an artificial intelligence system that can identify pancreatic cancer long before it is usually found, raising the possibility of earlier treatment for one of the most lethal forms of cancer.

The new technology, known as the Radiomics-based Early Detection Model (REDMOD), is designed to analyze standard abdominal CT scans and detect early warning signs of pancreatic cancer as much as three years before a formal diagnosis. According to researchers, the system evaluates hundreds of subtle imaging features related to tissue texture and structure, allowing it to recognize faint biological changes that are not yet visible as tumors.

In findings published in the journal Gut, the AI model successfully flagged 73% of cancers before diagnosis, with a median lead time of roughly 16 months. That performance is nearly twice as effective as specialists reviewing the same scans without the assistance of AI.

When looking at scans taken more than two years prior to diagnosis, the system proved even more effective, identifying almost three times as many early-stage cancers as human reviewers.

To ensure reliability, researchers tested the model on close to 2,000 CT scans collected from different hospitals, imaging systems, and clinical settings. The AI’s results remained consistent even when analyzing multiple scans from the same patient over time, suggesting it could be useful for continuous monitoring and early detection.

Another advantage of the system is that it operates automatically, eliminating the need for time-consuming manual input by clinicians.

This work is part of a larger push at Mayo Clinic to improve early detection of pancreatic cancer, a disease expected to become the second-leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States by 2030.

The AI tool is intended to evaluate scans that patients are already receiving for unrelated reasons, particularly in individuals considered higher risk, such as those who develop new-onset diabetes. It can flag elevated cancer risk even before any visible mass appears.

Researchers are now moving forward with clinical testing through a study known as AI-PACED, which will examine how doctors can incorporate AI-assisted detection into care for high-risk patients. The trial will track early detection rates, false positives, and patient outcomes.

According to a press release, the research is part of Mayo Clinic’s Precure initiative, which “aims to predict and prevent disease by identifying the earliest biological changes in the body before symptoms start.”

Pancreatic cancer remains especially dangerous because it typically produces no symptoms in its early stages. More than 85% of patients are diagnosed only after the disease has already spread, and the five-year survival rate remains under 15%, according to the National Cancer Institute.

“This AI can now identify the signature of cancer from a normal-appearing pancreas, and it can do so reliably over time and across diverse clinical settings,” said Ajit Goenka, the study’s senior author and a radiologist and nuclear medicine specialist at Mayo Clinic.

Detecting pancreatic cancer earlier could allow more patients to receive potentially curative treatment, improving outcomes for a disease that is often diagnosed too late.

Researchers say the model’s ability to function across different hospitals and imaging systems could allow it to be widely adopted, potentially benefiting patients nationwide.

By Y.M. Lowy

Earlier today, BoroPark24 reported that many Brooklyn residents are still unclear about the city’s composting rules. For many in Boro Park especially, keeping up with constant updates isn’t always simple, particularly for those who are not on social media.

In response to that article, the New York City Department of Sanitation reached out directly to make sure residents have all the information they need in one place.

They also noted that outreach hasn’t been limited to online updates. Efforts have included community board meetings, mailers, and even door-to-door engagement in neighborhoods like Boro Park over the past few years.

So what do residents actually need to know?

Place all food and yard waste into a bin with a secure lid and set it out on your recycling day. The bin can be lined with a paper bag, compostable bag, clear plastic bag—or not lined at all.

Beyond that basic rule, here’s a clearer breakdown of what belongs in compost:

Food scraps of all kinds are accepted, including meat, bones, and dairy. Prepared and cooked foods can go in as well. Yard waste such as leaves and branches is included, along with food-soiled paper like greasy pizza boxes and uncoated paper plates. Certified compostable products are also allowed.

There are some important exceptions. Items like wrappers, pet waste, diapers, medical waste, foam, and hygiene products should still go in regular trash.

As for bins, they must be 55 gallons or smaller and have a secure lid. Residents can use any bin that fits those guidelines, as long as it’s clearly labeled as compost so sanitation workers can identify it. For extra yard waste, paper lawn bags or clear plastic bags can be used, and branches can be tied together and placed alongside bins.

Collected material is processed into compost used in parks and gardens, or converted into renewable energy that helps power homes and businesses.

Composting is meant to be just as routine as recycling paper, glass, and plastic—something New Yorkers have already been doing for years.

As always, BoroPark24 will continue passing along updates as they come in, making sure the community stays informed.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth clashed with Democratic lawmakers in Congress for a second day Thursday, rejecting senators’ accusations that the Iran war was launched without evidence of an imminent threat and waged with no coherent strategy.

The three-hour hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee mostly traced the well-worn positions of Republicans and Democrats on the conflict, Hegseth’s leadership and the ways in which President Donald Trump has used the American military.

In his opening statements, Hegseth called Democratic lawmakers “reckless naysayers” and “defeatists from the cheap seats” who have failed to recognize the many successes of the U.S. military against the Islamic Republic.

Hegseth said Trump has had the courage “unlike other presidents to ensure that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon and that their nuclear blackmail never succeeds. We have the best negotiator in the world driving a great deal.”

Democrats peppered Hegseth with questions about his efforts to remake military culture, U.S. support for Ukraine and whether Trump would seek congressional approval for the war. The defense secretary said the ceasefire postpones the deadline for securing such approval.

Hegseth seemed to emerge with solid Republican support, though a few GOP senators asked about the dismissal of a top Army general and sought assurances that the Pentagon is doing everything possible to prevent civilian deaths.

The hearing was convened to discuss the Trump administration’s 2027 military budget proposal, which would boost defense spending to a historic $1.5 trillion. Hegseth and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, stressed the need for more drones, missile defense systems and warships.

Top Democrat argues that war has left US in worse position
Sen. Jack Reed, the committee’s ranking Democrat, argued that the war has left the U.S. in a worse strategic position, with 13 American troops killed, more than 400 injured and equipment destroyed.

The Strait of Hormuzremains closed, sending fuel prices skyrocketing, Reed said. Iran still has enriched uranium and retains enough combat effectiveness to keep the conflict locked in an impasse, while Iran’s hard-line regime is still in charge.

“I am concerned that you have been telling the president what he wants to hear instead of what he needs to hear,” Reed said. “Bold assurances of success are a disservice to both the commander in chief and the troops who risked their lives based on them.”

Reed also lambasted Hegseth for his firing of top military leaders and suggested the defense secretary had failed to recognize the accomplishments of women and people of color in the military. Reed noted that 60% of some two dozen officers fired by Hegseth have been female or Black.

Hegseth said any firing is based on performance and that previous Pentagon leaders “were focused on social engineering, race and gender in ways that we think were unhealthy for the department.”

Republican chairman offers warmer welcome
Hegseth received a warmer welcome from Sen. Roger Wicker, the Republican chairman of the committee, and other GOP lawmakers. Wicker kicked off the hearing by noting that the U.S. is in the most dangerous security environment since World War II.

Through the war against Iran, Trump “has worked to remove the regime’s conventional military capabilities and force it back to the table for a permanent solution,” Wicker said.

He also commended the budget proposal for 2027, saying it “is chock full of important programs and initiatives that are absolutely necessary to secure American interest in the 21st century.”

Sen. Deb Fischer, a Republican from Nebraska, praised Hegseth’s statement on the need for nuclear deterrence as well as the development of Trump’s Golden Dome missile defense program.

“For years, this committee has known that we must improve our ability to defend our homeland against a wider variety of threats,” Fischer said.

Sen. Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican, asked Hegseth whether he ever lied to Trump, pushing back against Reed’s claim that Hegseth tells the president what he wants to hear.

“I only tell the truth to the president,” Hegseth said.

Questions about civilian deaths
Senators also focused on civilian deaths in the Iran war and the Pentagon decision to hollow out a congressionally mandated office set up specifically to reduce civilian casualties.

The Associated Press has reported that growing evidence points to U.S. culpability for a deadly strike on an Iranian elementary school adjacent to a Revolutionary Guard base that killed more than 165 people, including children.

Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand asked Hegseth, “What is your response to targeting that has resulted in the destruction of schools, hospitals, civilian places? Why did you cut by 90% the division that’s supposed to help you not target civilians?”

Hegseth responded that the Pentagon has an “ironclad commitment” to do more than other countries to prevent civilian deaths.

A day earlier, Hegseth battled with Democrats during a nearly six-hour House Armed Services Committee hearing, where he faced sharp questioning over the war’s costs in dollars, lives and diminishing stockpiles of critical weapons.

Hegseth said Wednesday that the strike on the Iranian school remains under investigation.

War powers resolutions fail to pass
Democrats have called the conflict a costly war of choice that lacks congressional approval or oversight. But they have failed to pass multiple war powers resolutions that would have required Trump to halt the conflict until Congress authorizes further action.

Under the War Powers Act of 1973, Congress must declare war or authorize use of force within 60 days — a deadline that arrives Friday. The law provides for a potential 30-day extension, but the Republican administration has not indicated publicly whether Trump will seek it.

Sen. Tim Kaine, a Democrat from Virginia, asked Hegseth if Trump will seek congressional authorization or ask for the 30-day extension. The defense secretary said the clock pauses during a ceasefire. Kaine disagreed based on his reading of the law.

The Trump administration is in “active conversations” with lawmakers on addressing the 60-day timeline, according to a White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Thursday he is removing certain tariffs on Scotch whisky after this week’s White House visit by King Charles III and Queen Camilla of the United Kingdom.

“The King and Queen got me to do something that nobody else was able to do, without hardly even asking!” Trump posted on social media.

Trump said people had wanted this change, especially with regard to the wooden barrels in which the spirits of Scotch and bourbon can be aged. His post left it unclear if the tariffs were being lifted on bottles of Scotch or on the materials used to produce alcohol in both countries.

“I will be removing the Tariffs and Restrictions on Whiskey having to do with Scotland’s ability to work with the Commonwealth of Kentucky on Whiskey and Bourbon,” Trump said.

The White House did not respond to emails seeking clarification, though the post was interpreted in Scotland and by industry lobbyists as removing the tariffs on Scotch.

The Trump administration in 2025 reached a trade framework that put a 10% tax on most goods imported from Britain. The Scotch Whisky Association said its export volume to the U.S. fell 15% after the tariffs were announced in April of last year.

The president, answering questions from reporters in the Oval Office, said the tariffs were lifted to specifically enhance the trade of barrels between Scotland and Kentucky, which produces almost all of the world’s bourbon. The barrels are used to age the alcohol.

“I just took all the restrictions off so Scotland and Kentucky can start dealing again,” Trump said.

Still, John Swinney, Scotland’s first minister, interpreted the president’s statement as a removal of tariffs on Scotch itself, calling it a “tremendous success” for his country.

“People’s jobs were at stake. Millions of pounds were being lost every month from the Scottish economy,” said Swinney, expressing gratitude to both Trump and King Charles III.

Trump has used alcohol as a pressure point in his tariff threats. Last year, he threatened a 200% tariff on European wine — a major potential blow to French and Italian vineyards that never came to fruition.

Foreign countries have responded in turn with threats on bourbon and other American products.

In the end, the Trump administration exempted cork from tariffs, a huge relief to Portugal, the leading supplier of the material used to cap wine bottles.

Chris Swonger, president and CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council in the U.S., also interpreted Trump’s post as a removal of the 10% tariff on whisky from the United Kingdom.

“We applaud President Trump for working to restore a proven zero‑for‑zero model of fair, reciprocal trade between our two nations,” Swonger said in a statement. “This action strengthens transatlantic ties, brings much‑needed certainty to our industry and allows spirits producers on both sides of the Atlantic to grow, invest and support jobs at a critical time.”

The U.S. military is considering deploying its long-range hypersonic missile to the Middle East for the first time, potentially targeting ballistic missile launchers deep inside Iran, according to a person with direct knowledge of the request.

U.S. Central Command has requested authorization to send the Dark Eagle hypersonic weapon to strike Iranian missile sites that have moved beyond the range of conventional precision missiles, Bloomberg reported. If approved, it would mark the first operational deployment of the hypersonic weapon system.

The Dark Eagle has a reported range of 1,725 miles and is designed to strike “time-sensitive and heavily defended targets,” making it capable of reaching Iranian launchers that have relocated to evade existing American firepower. Each missile costs approximately $15 million, with fewer than eight available, and each battery costs roughly $2.7 billion.

The request comes as the U.S. and Iran maintain a tenuous ceasefire that began April 8, though President Trump has repeatedly threatened to reignite military operations if negotiations stall. Trump on Wednesday doubled down on his blockade of Iranian oil exports, calling it “100% foolproof” and rejecting Tehran’s proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz while deferring nuclear negotiations to a later date.

“Now, they have to cry uncle, that’s all they have to do. Just say, ‘We give up,'” Trump told reporters.

The deployment request has not been made public. Russia and China have already deployed hypersonic weapons, putting pressure on the U.S. to demonstrate its own capabilities in the region.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Live Event — Thursday, May 7, 2026 at 2:30 PM | Register at schwai.com/claude

The AI conversation has flipped. Until recently, you heard about AI mostly from tech enthusiasts and entry-level employees experimenting with it. That’s no longer the story. Today, the top performers in every industry — the senior dealmakers, the rainmakers, the executives setting strategy — are the ones leaning in hardest. And the tool they’re increasingly turning to is Claude, the leading competitor to ChatGPT and the AI that more and more top professionals are switching to.

That’s why SCHWAI (Supercharge With AI), with an intro from Ira Zlotowitz, is hosting a free live webinar on Thursday, May 7, 2026 at 2:30 PM. It’s built for business owners, professionals, and anyone who understands a simple truth: if you don’t stay ahead of the curve, the curve runs you over.

Businesses across every industry are quietly migrating to Claude. The people who learn how to use it properly, set it up for their specific workflow, and unlock its full capabilities are pulling ahead. The people who don’t are about to find themselves on the wrong side of a very fast-moving line.

In 30 Minutes, We’ll Cover

• Why Claude matters to you
• Real use cases you can apply that day
• How to get set up — for yourself, your team, or a private Claude for your whole company
• Live Q&A

Who Should Attend

Anyone who runs a business, leads a team, or wants to protect and grow their career. Even if you’ve never used AI before — or only know ChatGPT — this session is built to bring you up to speed fast. If your competition is learning Claude and you’re not, you already know how that story ends.

The Lineup

• Introduction by Ira Zlotowitz, Founder of AveryGPT and one of the most recognizable voices in commercial real estate technology
• Hosted by Mendy Palace, Partner & Director of Business Development at SCHWAI, walking through exactly how to set Claude up and use it
• Live Q&A with Aaron Zlotowitz, Founder & CEO of SCHWAI

Event Details

Date: Thursday, May 7, 2026

Time: 2:30 PM

Format: Free live webinar

Register: schwai.com/claude or https://wa.link/22ryrm

About SCHWAI: SCHWAI — short for Supercharge With AI — was founded to teach individuals and companies how to actually use AI to transform their work. Beyond training and coaching, SCHWAI offers a Chief AI Officer (CAO) service for businesses that want embedded, ongoing AI leadership.

It looks like Great Britain has finally had enough. It took an astronomical spike in antisemitic attacks across the country over nearly three years, but the U.K.’s apathetic and sluggish premier now says something will finally be done.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced Thursday plans to rush legislation through Parliament that will address the growing threat of terrorism across the country.

“What we saw last night was people being targeted because they are Jewish,” he said. “I am absolutely clear about that, and, of course, our thoughts are with the victims — and we wish them a speedy recovery — and with their families and loved ones.”

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announces plans to create new anti-terror legislation. (From a post on X)

“We are fast-tracking legislation to deal with malign state actors,” he announced. “Of course, we must absolutely deal with the root causes of both antisemitism and extremism. But today is about part of the response, which is really important, which is the criminal justice response.”

The new legislation will allow for the prosecution of anyone acting in the interest of a state-sponsored terror group.

“This morning, we’re confirming that we will fast-track through Parliament a new bill to provide that state-threats legislation tool,” U.K. Minister of State for Security Dan Jarvis told a British media outlet. “That will be really helpful; we don’t have that at the moment.”

Reform U.K. Deputy Leader Richard Tice takes part in an anti-hate protest in Golders Green, London, on April 29, 2026, following the stabbing of two people earlier in the day. (Photo by Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images)

“The new tool that I’m talking about, that we’re able to fast-track through parliament, will give us that capability to proscribe state-backed entities such as the IRGC,” he added.

 Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya (HAYI), a terrorist group linked to Iran, claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s stabbing attack in London and other incidents, including the attacks on Hatzolah ambulances in March. But because the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, while a designated terrorist organization, has not been proscribed, there is little legal recourse against those with ties to the IRGC, Jarvis explained.

He also said that while the anti-Israel protests frighten many in the Jewish community, as long as they don’t violate any speech laws, they will be allowed to continue.

The problem of Islamic extremism in the U.K. has been decades in the making, but instead of nipping it in the bud, the British government has allowed it to fester and grow. Is this new legislation too little, too late to break the fever? Or is this a sign that the people of England will find their inner resolve — their famous stiff upper lip — and prevail, showing their mettle as they did in World War II? That remains to be seen.

The annual Lag BaOmer hilula at Meron will not take place this year, after a senior government official announced the cancellation due to a breakdown in coordination between key ministries responsible for the event.

Shimon Elbaum, Director-General of the Ministry of Jerusalem and Heritage, which oversees the Meron celebration, informed the Director-General of the Ministry of Transportation and Road Safety that under the current conditions, the event cannot proceed. The decision follows disagreements over transportation arrangements, with the Transportation Ministry arguing that the proposed plan is unsafe and that it would be unable to evacuate large crowds in the event of a mass-casualty incident.

In his letter, Elbaum wrote that “in coordination with Minister Shlomo Karchi, and after it became clear that the Ministry of Transportation is not implementing the required transportation system in accordance with the government decision, the law, and the approved outline, I would like to clarify the following: according to the Temporary Law for the Regulation of the Hilula of Rav Shimon Bar Yochai, 2026, it was established that access to the Meron site during the hilula will be permitted exclusively via designated public transportation and designated travel tickets.”

He continued, “This directive constitutes a fundamental condition for maintaining controlled and limited entry in accordance with Home Front Command guidelines. The restricted outline for operating the hilula was approved by all security authorities and is based on regulating crowd movement and controlling the number of people present at any given moment. Failure to operate the transportation system in accordance with the approved outline does not allow for the implementation of this mechanism. This directly harms the ability to enforce the outline in line with Home Front Command instructions.”

Elbaum warned that without proper transportation coordination, serious public safety risks would emerge. “In such a situation, significant disturbances are expected to arise, including unusual congestion, uncontrolled crowd movement, and a real risk of clashes with law enforcement forces.”

He concluded that since the Ministry of Transportation does not intend to fulfill its role in executing the approved plan, the event cannot be held safely. “Under these circumstances, and with great regret, we are compelled to announce that in the year 2026, no Lag BaOmer hilula events will take place in Meron.”

The letter further stated that responsibility for the consequences of the cancellation would rest with the Transportation Ministry. “It should be clarified that responsibility for all resulting consequences, including risks to public safety, overcrowding, public disorder, and danger to human life, will lie with the Ministry of Transportation.”

{Matzav.com}

NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart customers may find something new the next time they’re looking for makeup and skin care products: in-store advisers offering personalized tips and recommendations.

The massive retail chain is breaking out of its no-frills service model by staffing its beauty aisles with trained specialists who can suggest foundation shades to match a shopper’s skin tone or knows about a moisturizer trending on TikTok.

The roles were filled at 22 stores in Arkansas and Texas in recent months, and Walmart expects to have them in more than 400 of its 4,600 namesake U.S. stores by year-end.

The addition of “beauty experts” comes as Walmart, rival Target, specialty chains like Sephora and department stores all are vying for a bigger slice of the $129 billion U.S. beauty and personal care market, including by offering customized advice and playful, interactive spaces to encourage consumers to shop in person as well as online.

A year ago, Walmart set up areas in 40 stores where customers could sample makeup and speak with beauty advisors. The pilot “beauty bar” concept is now in hundreds of stores, according to Vinima Shekhar, vice president of beauty merchandising for Walmart’s U.S. division. As part of plans to remodel 650 locations by the end of the year, the company is moving beauty departments to the front of stores and installing displays to showcase products getting attention on social media.

“We’re not trying to be an Ulta or Sephora,” Shekhar told The Associated Press. “We have the breadth of assortment that no one else has. We have convenience that no one else has. What we also then want to do is layer on a level of service for both our associates and our customers: ‘Here’s what trending. Here’s what’s new.’”

The importance of a human touch
Department stores and beauty product chains always have employed people to assist customers with testing and buying cosmetics. Pharmacy chains CVS and Walgreens added beauty experts to many of their locations in the last decade or so. Walmart’s decision to join them highlights how retailers with physical stores rely on a human touch to distinguish themselves from online shopping platforms and AI chatbots.

Walmart has added more premium brands to its beauty assortment in the last year, including French pharmacy skin care brand La Roche Posay, Australian natural makeup brand Nude by Nature, and FHI Heat hair tools. They are not cheap. Some La Roche Posay sunscreens cost just under $40 for 1.7 oz.

The beauty refresh is part of a broader Walmart initiative to upgrade its merchandise and ambience as it attracts higher-income shoppers. Customers who buy higher-end products and not only everyday skin and hair staples are looking for inspiration when they shop, Shekhar said.

Target announced in early March that it planned to expand its assortment of upscale beauty products and to deploy staff members with enhanced product expertise this fall in 600 stores. In those stores, a new department called Target Beauty Studio will partly replace in-store Ulta shops. As part of a Target partnership ending in August, Ulta had beauty consultants in Target stores.

Experts providing enhanced customer service may become a feature in other departments of mass market retail stores. Whitney Hunt, vice president of Walmart’s U.S. operations, notes there could be other departments like electronics that could benefit from experts.

Target began launching a “baby boutique” experience last month in nearly 200 stores where a concierge helps shoppers find products registries created by expectant parents.

Advice that’s in demand
While artificial intelligence threatens to eliminate jobs across industries, online job postings for beauty experts and beauty advisers remained fairly stable between February 2020 and this month, according to Cory Stahle, an economist with the research arm of jobs site Indeed. Online postings for both marketing and software development jobs fell more than 20% in the same period, Indeed said.

The median wage for beauty expert roles was $19.54 per hour in March, roughly $2 more than the hourly wage for all other retail jobs, according to Indeed data. Walmart said its beauty experts can earn $14 to $35 an hour, depending on the store location. That’s similar to the hourly range of $14 to $37 for all of Walmart’s hourly workers, the company said.

Walmart’s beauty advisers undergo a day of training at a company academy and receive ongoing instruction on products, seasonal trends and working with customers. They don’t apply products on shoppers or do makeovers, unlike some of the employees at department stores and specialty beauty chains.

Walmart is providing online tools to help the advisers understand the beauty department’s top-selling brands and how their store compares with the business generated in other Walmart locations, Hunt said.

Helena Bacon, 21, a University of Arkansas junior studying biology, said the training she had last fall made her feel more empowered to help customers. Before then, she helped out in the area that covers pharmacy, health and personal care items like basic shampoos and toothpaste of a store in Fayetteville and occasionally helped customers find items in the beauty area.

Bacon said she now understands product ingredients, knows how to identify lipstick shades that flatter different customers and is on top of TikTok trends.

“I was kind of everywhere before,” she said. “But now that I’m just in my section, if someone does come up to me and asks for a recommendation for something, … I could go over with them into that section and say, ‘This what I know is good for the problem you’re trying to fix.’”

Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said President Donald Trump pushed aside longtime supporters after returning to the White House and replaced them with figures she claims had previously opposed and mocked him.

Greene made the remarks during an appearance on Tucker Carlson’s podcast Thursday night, where the two, both once strong Trump allies, discussed internal shifts within the Republican Party and the current administration.

According to Greene, Trump’s inner circle changed rapidly after he resumed office, saying that “in a matter of months,” individuals who had “fought for him when no one else would” were no longer part of his close circle.

She pointed to Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., claiming he “hated Donald Trump, made fun of him constantly, mimicked him, making fun of his voice,” and also referenced Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., describing him as “the worst.”

Greene further alleged that Lawler and “other guys” like him were being “ushered into the White House for meetings and all kinds of things,” replacing those she said had been loyal to Trump earlier on.

During the discussion, Carlson asked whether those who had previously opposed Trump were “servants of Israel,” to which Greene responded, “yeah…100%.”

Greene has previously made similar claims about Republican colleagues speaking differently about Trump in private. In an interview with CBS News’ 60 Minutes that aired late last year, she suggested that some Republicans supported Trump out of fear.

“I think they’re terrified to step out of line and get a nasty Truth Social post on them,” she said, adding that what they say behind closed doors “would shock people.”

She continued: “I watched many of my colleagues go from making fun of him, making fun of how he talks, making fun of me constantly for supporting him, to when he won the primary in 2024, they all started…kissing his ass and decided to put on a MAGA hat for the first time.”

Tucker Carlson, who hosted the conversation, has in recent months been among several prominent conservative figures who have voiced criticism of Trump, particularly regarding his decision to engage in military action against Iran.

In a recent podcast episode with his brother Buckley Carlson, a former Trump speechwriter, Carlson expressed regret over his past support.

“And I want to say I’m sorry for misleading people. It was not intentional, that’s all I’ll say.”

He added: “You and I and everyone else who supported him – you wrote speeches for him, I campaigned for him – I mean, we’re implicated in this for sure.”

{Matzav.com}

JERUSALEM (VINnews) – Israeli combat engineers blew up a 140-meter (459-foot) Hezbollah attack tunnel in southern Lebanon on Thursday morning, the Israel Defense Forces said.

The elite Yahalom unit used 24 tons of explosives to raze the tunnel, which was located in the Ras al-Bayada headland south of the coastal city of Tyre, the military said.

Troops discovered numerous weapons inside the tunnel along with rooms where Hezbollah operatives would reside, according to the IDF. The military described the tunnel as one that had been “recently used by Hezbollah terrorists” to advance attacks against Israel.

Separately, the IDF said it struck several Hezbollah operatives and targeted infrastructure in the western sector of southern Lebanon over the past day.

The operations come amid ongoing efforts by Israeli forces to dismantle Hezbollah’s cross-border attack capabilities following months of fighting along the Lebanon-Israel border.

Amazon MGM Studios is in preliminary discussions about rebooting President Donald Trump’s iconic reality show The Apprentice, with Donald Trump Jr. emerging as a potential host, according to people familiar with the talks.

The conversations began around the time Trump took office for his second term, The Wall Street Journal reported. However, Amazon has not yet contacted the Trump family, and a company spokesperson confirmed that no host has been officially selected and the show is not currently in active development.

The reported move comes as Amazon MGM Studios continues its aggressive push into Trump-aligned entertainment. The studio is already behind a $75 million documentary on First Lady Melania Trump directed by Brett Ratner, which generated significant box office success but also drew scrutiny from Democratic lawmakers and Hollywood figures questioning Amazon’s motivations.

“If there’s nothing corrupt about this deal and the bidding process was truly ‘competitive,’ why won’t Amazon explain why it reportedly paid three times as much as the next highest bidder?” Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) said of the Melania project, suggesting the massive investment amounted to “bribery in plain sight.”

Amazon MGM acquired the rights to The Apprentice’s fourteen seasons when it purchased MGM in 2022 and began streaming the original episodes last year, reportedly after Trump’s 2024 election victory.

“Since our acquisition of MGM, we have had preliminary internal discussions about what’s next for ‘The Apprentice’ as a property,” an Amazon spokesman said, emphasizing the reboot is not currently being developed.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Nathan Diament, Executive Director of the Orthodox Union Advocacy Center (OUA), welcomed the House of Representatives’ passage of $300 million in funding for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP) within the Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill passed today. The passage by the House (after earlier passage by the Senate) follows months of stalemate in Congress, and the bill is expected to be signed by President Trump.

The $300 million is a substantial increase over the $274.5 million provided for NSGP in fiscal year 2025. NSGP grants are awarded to synagogues, Jewish schools, and other at-risk nonprofit institutions to support critical security measures, including cameras, access controls, reinforced entryways, and contract security personnel.

NSGP funding has been essential for the Jewish community and other vulnerable institutions at a time of heightened threats and surging antisemitism.

“This increase over last year’s funding level is an important and very welcome step,” said OUA Executive Director Nathan Diament. “While sadly even more funding is needed for Jewish community security, this increased level of funding will surely help. We will continue working with members of Congress and our allies to fund NSGP at even higher levels in 2027 to meet demand.”

By Y.M. Lowy

As Lag BaOmer approaches, with bonfires planned across Boro Park, Hatzolah is issuing an important message to event organizers.

In recent years, the number of hadlakos has grown, with many streets being closed off to accommodate the celebrations. While these events are meaningful and widely attended, the road closures have caused significant traffic throughout Boro Park.

These conditions can make it difficult for volunteers to respond quickly to emergency calls. In past years, blocked streets on Lag BaOmer night have created challenges for emergency responders trying to reach those in need.

Hatzolah is asking organizers to carefully consider whether full street closures are truly necessary and to avoid blocking roads whenever possible.

Hatzolah is urging the community to work together to keep roads as accessible as possible, helping ensure that emergency crews can respond without delay and continue providing critical, life-saving care.

Shipping companies FedEx and UPS say they will return money to customers following a February court decision that struck down tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

UPS confirmed Wednesday that it is coordinating with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which has begun accepting refund applications through an online system, to process reimbursements tied to those duties.

The initial stage of refunds will apply to “certain tariff payments made starting Jan. 30, 2026, in addition to pending tariff payments,” according to UPS.

A company spokesperson outlined its approach to handling repayments. “UPS is processing refunds for eligible shipments where we served as the importer,” spokesperson Natasha Amadi said in an email. “We will expand our efforts as CBP launches future phases. We are committed to supporting our customers during the refund process.”

Customs officials have indicated that approved refunds could take between 60 and 90 days to be issued. Government filings show that about 330,000 importers paid more than $166 billion in tariffs subject to potential reimbursement.

During a recent earnings call, UPS CEO Carol Tome said the company had collected roughly $5 billion in tariff charges from customers.

“We are working with the Customs Border Protection to apply for those refunds,” Tome said. “We think it’s going to take some time before the Treasury remits money to us, but as soon as we get that money, we’re going to remit it right back to our customers.”

FedEx, which previously filed suit against the federal government seeking recovery of the import taxes, said it has already begun submitting refund claims through CBP.

A spokesperson emphasized the company’s position, saying, “Supporting our customers as they navigate regulatory changes remains our top priority.” The representative added, “Our intent is straightforward: when refunds are issued to FedEx, we will isse refunds to the shippers and consumers who originally bore those charges.”

The tariffs had affected many consumers after President Donald Trump signed an executive order in July 2025 suspending the “de minimis” exemption for imports valued at $800 or less, leading to additional fees on smaller purchases.

One customer in Florida described the impact, telling The Associated Press that his shipment of fragrance oil from Toronto “wasn’t worth the $10 tariff for a $27 purchase.”

In a 6–3 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court determined last April that Trump had overstepped congressional authority by setting import tariffs under IEEPA, citing the trade deficit as a national emergency.

Although the Supreme Court did not directly address how refunds should be handled, a judge at the U.S. Court of International Trade later ruled that businesses subject to the tariffs are entitled to reimbursement.

While the decision marked a setback for the administration’s broader trade policy, other tariffs remain in place, including those enacted under Section 232 of the 1962 Trade Expansion Act.

Officials have also indicated that additional tariffs could be introduced in the future.

Trump has criticized companies warning of price increases tied to tariffs and has at times used the possibility of new duties as leverage in negotiations. He also recently commented on companies that have not yet sought refunds.

“I think it’s brilliant if they don’t do that,” Trump told CNBC of companies that hadn’t yet sought reimbursements. “If they don’t do that, they got to know me very well.”

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Every week, Erev Shabbos Kodesh arrives with the same pressure. The clock is ticking, the kitchen is in full motion, and there are still countless details to finish. In the middle of it all, something as simple as water becomes another task, filling the urn, waiting for it to heat, and hoping everything will be ready on time, while cold water runs out just when everyone needs it most.

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The IDF eliminated a Hamas terrorist who “operated under the cover of a paramedic” in Gaza, exploiting the medical system to plan attacks, officials said Thursday.

Ibrahim Abu Tzakar was killed in a targeted airstrike after intelligence indicated he was planning an imminent attack against IDF troops. Throughout the two-year war, he “led and advanced numerous attacks against IDF troops and the State of Israel,” according to an IDF statement.

“Prior to the strike, steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harm to civilians, including the use of precise munitions and aerial surveillance,” the IDF noted.

Israeli soldiers remain deployed in Gaza under the terms of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement signed October 10, 2025, which ended the two-year conflict that began when Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist groups invaded southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

“Soldiers will continue to operate to remove any immediate threat,” the IDF statement said.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

The body of R’ Nochum Eber z”l, of Boro Park – who was killed in Colombia – was released to his family Wednesday night after a diplomatic push by the United States Embassy in Bogotá and the State Department’s Office to Combat Antisemitism, Belaaz has learned.

Ambassador Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism confirmed to Belaaz that his office worked in coordination with the American Embassy in Colombia to press local authorities to release the body. Colombian prosecutors signed off on the release late Wednesday night, and the body was transferred to the family early Thursday morning.

“The US Embassy in Colombia, together with the Office to Combat Antisemitism, worked diligently to have the body released to the family,” Kaploun said.

R’ Nochum, an American citizen, had been in Colombia at the time of his death. The circumstances of his killing remain under investigation. Kaploun said the top priority was securing Eber’s release, and rhat determining the nature of the attack was secondary. “I needed to get the body released,” he said.

Sadly, the NY Post reported that while all of R’ Nochum’s body was recovered, it was not whole.

Sources familiar with the case told Belaaz that suspicion has been raised about a possible conspiracy against R’ Nochum. The American government is treating the matter seriously given that the victim held U.S. citizenship.

“It’s an American citizen, so therefore different things change,” the official said, indicating that the victim’s status as a U.S. national has expanded the American government’s ability to be involved in the case.

Footage released Thursday shows the last time R’ Nochum was seen.

According to the NY Post, R’ Nochum was in Columbia to help advise a group of former Catholics who had converted to Judaism.

The victim’s family, community, and officials were grateful for the swift diplomatic response that made the return possible.

QANTARA (VINnews) – An Israeli soldier was killed and another was moderately wounded Thursday when Hezbollah detonated an explosive drone near troops in southern Lebanon, the Israeli military said.

Sgt. Liem Ben Hamo, 19, of the Golani Brigade’s 13th Battalion from Herzliya, was killed in the attack, the IDF announced.

Hezbollah launched two explosive-laden drones toward Israeli forces stationed in the village of Qantara, according to the military. Troops intercepted one drone, but the second struck nearby, causing the casualties.

The soldiers were evacuated from the area as the IDF struck Hezbollah infrastructure in response, the military said.

Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the attack, saying its fighters targeted two Israeli tanks in Qanatara with drones.

The incident comes amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli forces and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is endorsing Graham Platner in Maine’s Democratic Senate primary following Gov. Janet Mills’ decision to suspend her campaign Thursday, clearing the path for the 41-year-old oyster farmer to challenge five-term Republican incumbent Susan Collins in November.

Mills, a two-term governor and former Maine attorney general, announced she lacked “the financial resources” to continue her campaign, despite having secured Schumer’s backing and support from prominent Democratic groups including EMILYs List and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund when she entered the race last year.

Platner, a Marine veteran and grandson of modernist architect Warren Platner, has emerged as the Democratic frontrunner despite polling significantly ahead of Mills among primary voters. He is also backed by Sens. Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Ruben Gallego, and Martin Heinrich.

However, Platner’s campaign has been marked by controversy. A prominent skull-and-crossbones tattoo resembling the Nazi SS “Totenkopf” emblem on his chest drew scrutiny after he announced his candidacy. Platner said he obtained the tattoo in 2007 during a drunken outing while on leave in Croatia and was unaware of its fascist associations. He covered it with a Celtic knot tattoo featuring a jumping dog in November, after the tattoo was publicized.

The tattoo controversy has not deterred Schumer, who is Jewish and has often referred to himself as a “Shomer Yisroel”, from supporting Platner’s candidacy. Democrats view the Maine seat as their best opportunity for a pickup in November’s midterms, with Collins being the only Republican representing any of the six New England states in the House or Senate. So hey, what’s a Nazi tattoo if Democrats can pick up a Senate seat, right?

“In November Susan Collins, a proven leader with an indisputable record of delivering for Maine, will face a Nazi sympathizing self-proclaimed communist with a record of hate-mongering and dishonesty,” RNC spokesperson Kristen Ciani said in response to Platner’s emergence as the likely Democratic nominee.

Democrats need a net gain of four Senate seats to claim a majority in the chamber.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

LONDON (VInnews) — A resident of Golders Green said he fears there is “not much future for Jewish people” in the United Kingdom following a recent stabbing attack in the north London neighborhood.

David Baddiel told the BBC he has been considering leaving the country for about a year, citing growing concerns over safety.

“Every time I come up with the same conclusion: yes, get out,” he said, adding that some of his family members are already making similar plans.

Baddiel compared the current climate to warning signs seen in Europe before World War II, saying, “The writing’s on the wall.”

Despite his concerns, he said the decision is painful.

“This culture is what I know. I’m British, I’m not Israeli,” he said. “It’s not what I want to do, it’s what I have to do.”

The comments come after two men were stabbed in Golders Green, an area with a large Jewish population, in an attack that has heightened fears within the community. Police have arrested a suspect and the investigation is ongoing.