Three Democratic senators have urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to put the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger on pause over concerns about foreign investors controlling what would be one of the largest media companies in the United States.

In a joint letter to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, Sens. Cory Booker, D- N.J., Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., demanded he “must foreclose any attempt by Paramount to close this transaction” before an adequate review of the involved foreign investors is completed.

The lawmakers said the FCC must conduct this review to evaluate possible “national security threats posed by foreign government investment” in the $110 billion entity. If approved, the merger would bring CNN and CBS News under one corporate owner, further consolidating the news media landscape.

Paramount, led by CEO David Ellison, acknowledged in an April financial disclosure cited by the senators that foreign ownership in the new corporation will rise to “approximately 49.5 percent.” In that document, Paramount also said that all voting rights will be “controlled by the Ellison family through U.S. entities.”

WARNER BROS DISCOVERY SHAREHOLDERS APPROVE PARAMOUNT SKYDANCE DEAL

The document revealed that Saudi Arabia’s public investment fund and various entities based in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar would be equity holders.

Paramount told the FCC in April that this arrangement would not present “any national security, law enforcement, or foreign or trade policy concerns.”

The senators want a more rigorous check of what this level of foreign ownership would mean, telling Carr in their letter that he should not take the Ellison family’s statements “at face value.”

They argued that the FCC should reject Paramount’s petition for preemptive approval. Under Section 310 of the 1934 Communications Act, foreign individuals, companies and governments are generally prohibited from owning more than 25% of a U.S.-based firm that has an FCC-issued broadcast license.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR POINTS TO ‘HEMORRHAGING’ AT CBS TO WARN OF DAVID ELLISON’S POTENTIAL TAKEOVER AT CNN

Booker, Schiff and Warren gave Carr a July 1 deadline to notify Paramount that the deal cannot close until the foreign investment review is completed.

The FCC’s pending approval is the largest regulatory hurdle in the way of the merger. The Department of Justice signaled last week it would not challenge Paramount’s bid to acquire Warner Bros.

The DOJ’s antitrust division concluded after an eight-month review that “the transaction is not likely to result in harm to competition or American consumers” with regard to on-demand streaming, linear television and studio development, and the production and distribution of films.

Warren criticized this decision by the DOJ and urged state attorneys general to continue fighting the transaction. California Attorney General Rob Bonta was already leading a coalition of states in preparing a lawsuit to block Paramount from adding Warner Bros. to its growing portfolio.

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO

More than 5,000 filmmakers and actors working in Hollywood signed an open letter in April furiously demanding that the merger be stopped. They argued that it would stifle competition and reduce job opportunities.

“Our industry is already under severe strain, in large part due to prior waves of consolidation. We have witnessed a steep decline in the number of films produced and released,” according to the petition. “We are deeply concerned by indications of support for this merger that prioritize the interests of a small group of powerful stakeholders over the broader public good.”

The security measures follow a cheating scandal that forced a rerun of a test taken by two million prospective medical students.

This post was originally published on this site.

The following editorial appears in the New York Post:

As he prepared to sign his “memorandum of understanding” with the Islamic dictatorship of Iran, President Trump again insisted that his deal was much different than that of his predecessor, President Barack Obama.

He’s right — it’s probably worse.

Obama’s treaty did not prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, it simply punted the issue down the road in exchange for cash.

Trump’s agreement has the same vague promises, the same payouts, but with the added twist that Iran can and will take the world hostage by shutting the Strait of Hormuz at will.

On Friday, just days after the signing of the MOU, Iran moved to close the Strait, saying no ships could cross without its permission and suggesting that “insurance fees” must be paid.

This isn’t in violation of the deal.

This is part of the deal.

Point No. 5: “The Islamic Republic of Iran will conduct dialog with the Sultanate of Oman to define the future administration and maritime services in the Strait of Hormuz.”

Why would opening the door for “administration” of a previously free international waterway even be part this agreement?

How is this in any way the “unconditional surrender” Trump described?

The deal contains just one condition Trump previously said was required of Iran.

It’s No. 7: “Islamic Republic of Iran reaffirms that it shall not procure or develop nuclear weapons.”

“Reaffirm” — because that’s what Iran has always claimed.

If they suddenly mean it, it would be a win.

The rest of the 14-point plan is almost entirely about what Iran gets: Immediate sanctions relief on exported oil.

Protection of Hezbollah from Israeli attack.

And the possibility of a $300 billion reconstruction fund if all goes well with the next round of talks.

No mention of Iran reining in its terror proxies in Gaza, Lebanon and Yemen.

No restriction on conventional weapons.

No mechanism to surrender the enriched uranium it has already created.

No regime change or mercy for protesters.

Trump had claimed Iran was days away from economic collapse because of the blockade.

He said Iran’s navy and air force were “decimated.”

This is the best deal we could get with the leverage we had?

The president hasn’t just moved the goalposts, he’s changed the sport, the venue and the rules simply to declare a win.

This isn’t what Trump’s voters want, despite the claims of the Tucker Carlson’s of the world.

Among self-identified MAGA Republicans, 51% favor regime change, while 25% back a negotiated settlement, according to a new Reagan Institute Summer Survey.

This shouldn’t be about the podcasters, it’s about the people.

Trump is betraying his base — and his allies.

Speaking of allies, Vice President J.D. Vance responded to Israeli criticism of the deal with a thuggish threat, suggesting they not attack “the only powerful ally [they] have anywhere left in the entire world.”

Israel has been a staunch defender of American interests in the region.

Vance pays them back with a “nice country you have there, shame if anything happened to it”?

This comes on the heel of Trump needlessly insulting Italian Prime ​Minister Giorgia Meloni and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth looking for ways to weaken Europe.

What’s the plan here?

Make sure we have no friends left?

The administration says the MOU is just a first step.

Iran won’t get full sanctions relief unless it agrees to a larger deal over the next 60 days.

But Iran has already delayed negotiations, with Vance cancelling a trip to Switzerland.

The more time that passes, the more Iran realizes that the threat of renewed US strikes is a fiction.

They can “tap us along” until the midterms and beyond.

Trump is already signaling as much, by ridiculously claiming the son of the ayatollah taking over is “regime change” and the MOU is a victory.

Your voters aren’t buying it, Mr. President.

This memorandum is not the end, and the first sign of betrayal by Iran must be treated as the last — with renewed action to stop its evil.

Already, Iran has shown it will leverage the Strait and blackmail the world once US ships have left.

This cannot be allowed.

Don’t make the same mistake Obama did.

{Matzav.com}

Rav Yitzchok Zilberstein addressed growing confusion over President Donald Trump’s recent policy shift toward Israel, suggesting that the unusual developments may be part of the turbulent period preceding the arrival of Moshiach.

The remarks were delivered Thursday night following his regular shiur for physicians and rabbanim at Mayanei Hayeshua Medical Center, after attendees asked him about the widespread uncertainty many people have been feeling in light of recent events.

Participants in the shiur expressed concern about what they described as a series of troubling developments.

“The public is very confused,” they told Rav Zilberstein. “Trump is changing direction, there are troubles with the arrests of yeshivah bochurim, and people feel that everyone is against us. How is it that Trump, who until now was on our side, has suddenly become against us?”

Responding to the question, Rav Zilberstein said: “Yes, yes, apparently Moshiach needs to come. We all know what is stated among the curses: ‘And you shall be driven mad by the sight that your eyes shall see.’”

He went on to explain that the apparent reversal by a leader widely viewed as a strong friend of Israel naturally creates a sense of bewilderment and disbelief.

“This is called that we are driven mad by what our eyes see,” he said. “When one sees such astonishing things, to see such a great friend who was so supportive of us, who helped us so much, and even whose daughter converted—and now something has happened and he has become against us. This is a certain manifestation of what is written among the curses: ‘And you shall be driven mad by the sight that your eyes shall see.’”

Following the shiur, Rav Zilberstein referenced the writings of Rav Elchanan Wasserman Hy”d regarding Ikvesa D’Meshicha, the era preceding the arrival of Moshiach. Rav Elchanan described a time when events unfold with extraordinary speed and people are left stunned by the rapid changes taking place around them.

When asked whether the current developments could be connected to the campaign against the Torah world and the arrests of yeshivah students in Eretz Yisroel, Rav Zilberstein replied: “Everything could be true. We need to ask the great leaders of the nation.”

As the gathering concluded, participants requested words of encouragement and hope for imminent salvation. Rav Zilberstein again pointed to the Torah’s description of a period of confusion before redemption.

“That is clear. The Torah says, ‘And you shall be driven mad by the sight that your eyes shall see.’ This is the time now. Certainly the salvation will come here.”

According to the “Siach Yitzchok” hotline, which disseminates Rav Zilberstein’s Torah teachings, the rov also recently responded to someone who had cursed the President of the United States over the agreement with Iran.

Rav Zilberstein strongly objected, saying: “I am not prepared to hear expressions like that. He always did many good things for the Jews, and even toward a non-Jew one must show gratitude. Therefore, even if he has now changed in a puzzling way, this is still not the way to speak about him.”

{Matzav.com}

Mazel Tov to Sruly Cooks on being featured on Food Network’s 100 Cooks!

For anyone who follows food television, Food Network is one of the biggest shows in the industry. The network has launched the careers of countless chefs and introduced millions of viewers to new food personalities over the years. So being featured as part of 100 Cooks, a showcase highlighting standout culinary talent from across the country, is a major accomplishment.

Sruly has built a loyal following online through his cooking videos, restaurant content, recipes, and upbeat personality. 

After the event, Sruly posted a heartfelt message thanking everyone who supported him:

“I’m so grateful to Hashem, to my family, to everyone who came out, supported, posted, messaged, cheered me on, and made last night feel so special.”

What makes this story especially meaningful is that Sruly’s journey didn’t start on television. Like many creators today, he began by posting food content online and slowly built a community around it. Over time, that passion turned into a recognizable brand, and now, a feature on one of the most well-known food networks in the world.

For many in the Jewish community, it was also a proud moment to see a Jewish food creator represented on a national culinary platform. Jewish food content has grown tremendously online in recent years, and creators like Sruly are helping bring that culture and creativity to a wider audience.

Food Network’s 100 Cooks highlights rising food creators, and Sruly’s selection shows how far hard work and being yourself can take you.

Mazel Tov again to Sruly on this well-deserved recognition. We’re excited to see what’s next!

A sharp confrontation unfolded at the United Nations Security Council as Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon accused senior UN officials of ignoring Hamas’s role in the humanitarian crisis in Gaza while directing criticism at Israel.

The dispute centered on remarks by Tom Fletcher, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, during a discussion on conditions in the Gaza Strip. Danon challenged Fletcher for focusing on obstacles to aid deliveries while, he said, failing to address the role of Hamas.

Addressing Fletcher directly during the session, Danon said: “You spoke about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, criticized Israel and described the obstacles to bringing in aid. But once again you failed to mention the biggest obstacle to improving the humanitarian situation—Hamas. Why do you refuse to call the problem by its name?”

The Israeli envoy went on to argue that no lasting improvement in Gaza is possible as long as Hamas remains armed and in control.

“The humanitarian situation will not improve, Gaza will not be rebuilt, and the war will not end as long as Hamas remains armed.”

His comments reflected Israel’s long-standing criticism that international organizations frequently overlook Hamas’s responsibility for conditions in Gaza while focusing disproportionately on Israeli actions.

Danon also used the session to press the United Nations for answers regarding the dismissal of dozens of employees from the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, commonly known as UNRWA.

Referring to the agency’s recent personnel actions, he said: “This week UNRWA fired 70 employees, citing ‘safety and security risks.'”

Questioning the explanation, Danon continued: “If there is no terrorism problem in UNRWA, then why exactly were 70 employees fired?”

The ambassador argued that Israel’s warnings about Hamas infiltration within UNRWA had been dismissed for years and said recent developments had validated those concerns.

“For years we warned that Hamas had infiltrated UNRWA. For years the UN denied it. Now even UNRWA is forced to dismiss its own employees. It is time to stop covering up reality and start providing answers.”

Danon’s remarks came amid renewed criticism by Israeli officials of the United Nations, including controversy surrounding comments by Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on Palestinian issues, who was accused by critics of responding dismissively to a bereaved Israeli mother whose daughter was killed during the October 7 massacre.

The dispute also follows a series of recent Israeli measures targeting UNRWA. In recent weeks, Israel has taken steps against the agency, including cutting water and electricity infrastructure connected to its offices in Yerushalayim, after what Israeli officials say was evidence linking some agency employees to Hamas.

The latest exchange at the Security Council highlighted the continuing tensions between Israel and various UN bodies, with Israeli officials accusing the organization of anti-Israel bias and of failing to adequately confront Hamas’s activities in Gaza.

New York (VINNEWS/Rabbi Yair Hoffman) A matzeivah (gravestone) does a number of things: It promotes and guards the Kavod of the one that has passed on, points the way for those who come to ask Hashem for things in the zchus of the mais, it protects the living from tumah, and it brings comfort and benefit to the neshama that has moved on.

The Origins of the Matzeivah

The earliest Matzeivah recorded is the one  Yaakov Avinu set up at the grave of  Rachel Imeinu. The Torah testifies to this directly: “And Yaakov set up a pillar upon her grave; that is the pillar of Rachel’s grave unto this day” (Bereishis 35:20). (See also Shach YD 339)

The word matzeivah literally means a “standing-up” — the stone that stands erect to mark and make plain the place of burial. In TaNach we also see another name. The prophet Yechezkel calls a matzeivah a tziyun, a “marker”: “And when they that pass through shall see a man’s bone, then shall he set up a sign by it” (Yechezkel 39:15). Chazal add yet a third name, nefesh, a “neshama-stone.”

How Rachel Imeinu’s Matzeivah Was Built

For Rachel Imeinu’s matzeivah, Yaakov Avinu brought eleven stones and put them on her grave, then added a twelfth stone of his own, so that there were twelve stones in all, and these fused together into a single stone. This is the explanation found in the Zohar.

Why We Build a Matzeivah

There are five reasons found for building a matzeivah (See Teshuvos Divrei Yatziv Yoreh De’ah siman 227).

1. To preserve the honor of the Mais. The matzeivah keeps the deceased from being disgraced or degraded, and keeps the dust from simply covering him over.
2. To mark the place for prayer. It lets people know where the burial place is, so that one may come to pray there.
3. To preserve the memory of the deceased. The stone keeps his memory alive for a long span of time.
4. To warn of ritual impurity. It marks the spot as a source of tumah, so that the unwary are not defiled.
5. To benefit the neshama. There is a benefit to the neshama of the departed in the very building of the matzeivah.

This is also why a matzeivah is called a nefesh, a “soul.” As explained in connection with the Mishnah in Shekalim (ch. 2, mishnah 5), when a person dies and is forgotten, it is the matzeivah that keeps the memory of his or her place from being lost.

The Obligation and the Material – A Duty on the Children

Erecting a matzeivah is an obligation that rests upon the children, and in fulfilling it they perform the mitzvah of honoring father and mother — and this is so even though the matter is also a halacha. Because the duty falls on the children, they should not be neglectful about setting up the stone. The custom is to make the matzeivah out of stone.

The Specially Righteous That Have No Stone Matzeivah

Not every grave bears a carved stone. Certain righteous men have no matzeivah at all — only a mound of stones.   The grave of Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair, in Tzfas, has no matzeivah but only a mound of stones. The Shivchei HaAri (p. 54a) relates that the Arizal wished to set up a matzeivah for him, but a voice from heaven held him back.

What to Inscribe on the Matzeivah

The Basic Rule: Restraint

One should not heap many praises upon the matzeivah, for excessive praise arouses heavenly accusation against the departed. In fact, many Gedolim asked in their wills that no title at all be written upon their matzeivos. The standard practice is to write the name of the deceased, the family name, the names of the father and mother, and the date. These guidelines appear in the Responsa Be’er Mordechai (Yoreh De’ah siman 56). The masters of Kabbalah read deep meaning into every word inscribed on a matzeivah (See Chayei Adam klal 154, letter 1, and Sefer Chazon Ovadiah Aveilus, vol. 1, p. 257).

The Closing Inscription

It is customary to add the abbreviationתנצב”ה  tenatzba”h (“May his (or her) neshama be bound up in the bond of life”). The Responsa Maharam Schick (Yoreh De’ah siman 171) explains that this alludes to both the World to Come and to the Resurrection.

Special Questions of Wording

Avoiding a Gentile Date

As a rule, one should not inscribe a foreign (gentile) date upon the matzeivah. The Sefer Metzudas Tziyon (p. 67) records that many great and important communities had the custom of writing nothing at all upon the matzeivah, and the Responsa Mishivas Nefesh (siman 17) explains the same. The Metzudas Tziyon notes that this custom prevailed in Chevron, beginning after an incident at the grave of the Sdei Chemed, Rabbi Chaim Chizkiyahu: during the night, gentiles gathered at the burial plot, uprooted the matzeivah, removed the stone, and threw it aside. Afterward the community enacted that no particular detail be written on the matzeivah, so as to prevent the taking of vengeance.

On the custom of Chevron, see further the Responsa Da’as Kohen (siman 210), which discusses the obligation to engrave names so that the Ishmaelites not erase the names of the righteous, and rules that since the Chevron custom of not engraving names arose from this circumstance, there is no concern of improperly changing the custom. The Shach (Choshen Mishpat siman 37:38) likewise explains at length that a custom which arose only out of an impediment to action is not a binding custom.

Whose Names to Include

Minhagim vary as to which parent’s name is recorded. The Sefer Gesher HaChaim (p. 45) brings that some wrote the father’s name, some the mother’s, and some both. The governing principle, as the Responsa of the Shach (vol. 3, siman 91) state, is that in every place the local custom is not to be set aside. The Sefer Nit’ei Gavriel (ch. 76, note 11) brings a custom of also writing the date of birth and the date of the eulogy.

The Three Concerns With a Foreign Date

Not using a foreign date has three concerns:

First, the mitzvah to count months from Nisan. As it says, “This month shall be unto you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you” (Shemos 12:2). See further rhe Minchas Chinuch (mitzvah 311, letter 5).

Second, the prohibition of mentioning the name of an idol. As it says, “And make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth” (Shemos 23:13), established in the Gemara in Sanhedrin (63b) and ruled in the Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh De’ah 147) — and the names of the secular months are clearly drawn from the names of idols. There is room to clarify, however, for according to authorities brought by Yosippon (ch. 43), some month-names are not names of idols at all but names of kings, leaving room for leniency.

Third, “In their statutes you shall not walk.” This is brought in the Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh De’ah siman 178).  Where a danger to life is involved, see the Responsa Be’er Sarim (vol. 1, siman 47), the Responsa Teshuvos V’Hanhagos (vol. 1, siman 681), and the Responsa Shevet HaLevi (vol. 7, siman 194), which was lenient in a place where the practice was already to write in the holy tongue, to write the name of the departed in the holy tongue and also in the foreign tongue.

Names, Nicknames, and the Sick

A Name Added During an Illness

When a person was given an additional name because he was ill, and he then passed away, one writes on the matzeivah only his principal name and not the added name — unless the change of name proved effective and he recovered, in which case the second name is written as well. This is the view of the Maharit (siman 25).

Some, however, look instead to how long the person held the added name. The Responsa Avnei Tzedek (Orach Chaim siman 28) writes that if the sick person lived thirty days and then passed away, the added name is inscribed. So too the Responsa Lvushei Mordechai (Yoreh De’ah vol. 1, siman 75) holds that whenever one has held the added name for thirty days, that name is written on the matzeivah. The Sefer Orchos Rabbeinu (vol. 1, p. 358) quotes the Chazon Ish that where the added name did not prove effective, it is not written on the matzeivah.

Adding a Nickname

It is customary to add a person’s nickname (kinui) upon the matzeivah. If the departed had both a Jewish name and a foreign one, and the Jewish name has been forgotten, one inscribes the Jewish name with the foreign name in parentheses. See the Sefer Darkei Chaim (p. 235) and the Responsa Aphrekasta D’Anya (vol. 3, Yoreh De’ah siman 233).

A Simple Matzeivah Is Best

It is not seemly even for the wealthy to make an ornate and lavish matzeivah, for there is no aspect of hiddur mitzvah (beautifying the commandment) in extravagance. Rather, one should build a simple matzeivah; indeed, many of the great ones of the world asked in their wills for a simple stone.

When to Set Up the Matzeivah

The Range of Minhagim

Minhagim differ as to the proper time to erect the matzeivah. The most fitting and proper time is immediately after the seven days of mourning; and if that is not possible, then after the twelfth month. See the Sefer Darkei Chaim (p. 235 and Sefer Chazon Ovadiah Aveilus, vol. 1, pp. 252–253).

Those who wait until after the twelfth month rely on the Rema (Yoreh De’ah siman 380.

The Kabbalistic View: The Seventh Day

According to the masters of Kabbalah, the ideal is to set the stone immediately upon leaving the seven days of mourning — on the seventh day itself — and not later. The Arizal explains the reason in his Sha’ar HaMitzvos (Parshas Vayechi, p. 10b): the matzeivah serves as a kind of throne and seat for the lights that hover over the grave for the sake of the neshama. So long as the seven days of mourning are not complete, those lights do not yet surround the place. If a matzeivah is set up before the days of mourning are finished and before those lights arrive, then the spirit of impurity that clings to the neshama of the dead settles on the stone, grows strong there, and is not removed — so that whoever later comes to that grave cannot draw down the lights of heaven upon it.

This view is shared by Rabbeinu Avraham Azulai in his Sefer Chesed L’Avraham (Ma’ayan, nahar 31), the Sefer Lechem Min HaShamayim (p. 42a), the Responsa Minchas Elazar (vol. 3, siman 36).

A Temporary Marker on the Seventh Day

Where a full matzeivah cannot be set up on the seventh day, one may place a large stone at the grave as a temporary matzeivah, satisfying the kabbalistic concern until the permanent stone is ready (see Sefer Ganzei Eretz (siman 20) and Sefer Nishmas Yisrael vol. 2, p. 656). Much of this material is based on Sefer Iliu HaNeshamos by Rabbi Melamed).

The author can be reached at [email protected]

Singer-songwriter Yonatan Razel was released Friday morning from Shaare Zedek Medical Center and returned home in good condition after spending several weeks hospitalized following a brain hemorrhage.

The Yerushalayim hospital announced that Razel had completed his hospitalization and was continuing his recovery at home after receiving treatment for the serious medical condition.

According to the medical center, Razel underwent extensive supportive care throughout his stay from multiple teams within Shaare Zedek’s neurological services. His treatment involved doctors and nurses from the Neurological Intensive Care Unit led by Dr. Stefan Mausbach, working together with the Neuro-Radiology Unit headed by Dr. Yaakov Amsalem, as well as the medical and nursing staff of the Neurosurgery Department under the leadership of Dr. Nevo Margalit.

In a statement, the hospital said: “Thanks to the rapid and professional diagnosis and treatment Razel received immediately upon arriving at Shaare Zedek, along with comprehensive care throughout his hospitalization, he has returned to full and normal functioning.

“We congratulate Yonatan and his family on his discharge from the medical center and wish him complete health and continued creativity and contribution to our cultural world.”

Razel’s family also issued a statement expressing gratitude for his recovery and for the outpouring of support they received during the ordeal.

“We are filled with gratitude to Hakadosh Boruch Hu for the open miracles He has bestowed upon us. Thank you very much to the wonderful people of Israel for your prayers and concern for Yonatan’s well-being. And last but certainly not least, a special and heartfelt thank you to the entire staff of Shaare Zedek Medical Center, the doctors and nurses, for their devoted care.”

{Matzav.com}

According to journalist Ariel Kahana, Huckabee shared comments made by Mike Zell, chairman of the Republican Party in Israel, and wrote, “I couldn’t have said it better myself,” signaling agreement with the analysis.

In the statement cited by Huckabee, Zell argued that President Donald Trump has not altered his commitment to Israel despite concerns surrounding the recent U.S.-Iran understandings.

According to Zell, Trump “has not changed course or abandoned Israel,” and his support for the Jewish state and the Jewish people remains “unquestionable.”

Zell contended that the president’s decisions are being driven primarily by domestic political considerations, particularly the desire to secure Republican victories in the November midterm elections and prevent Democrats from regaining control of Congress.

He argued that Trump believes a Democratic-controlled Congress would spend the remainder of his term attempting to undermine his presidency through investigations, impeachment efforts, and obstruction of both foreign and domestic policy initiatives.

According to Zell’s analysis, American voters are generally more concerned with economic issues such as inflation, energy prices, food costs, and stock-market performance than with security developments in the Middle East.

For that reason, Zell suggested, Trump is seeking to pause the conflict with Iran for the time being in order to lower inflation, stabilize financial markets, and strengthen the economy heading into the election season. He added that this is how the president currently views America’s interests and noted that he personally agrees with that assessment.

Addressing the agreement itself, Zell argued that it should not be viewed as a final settlement but rather as an arrangement designed to facilitate negotiations while maintaining a ceasefire during the current phase.

He maintained that Trump still holds “all the cards” and retains the ability to determine the extent of future American pressure on Iran and its regional proxies.

From Israel’s perspective, Zell said the most important aspect of the arrangement is that Israel is not formally a party to the agreement. In his view, that leaves Israel free to take whatever steps it deems necessary to defend its interests in Lebanon, Syria, and even against Iran itself, whether by prior coordination or as circumstances develop.

At the same time, Zell made clear that he is not entirely satisfied with either the contents of the agreement or some of the rhetoric used by White House officials in defending it.

According to Zell, “this is politics in an election year,” but he stressed that, in his view, the fundamental relationship between Israel and the United States remains strong and unbreakable.

Huckabee’s public embrace of Zell’s analysis comes at a particularly sensitive moment in U.S.-Israel relations. The Trump administration’s agreement with Iran has generated significant criticism within Israel, while reports have emerged that American officials have warned Israeli leaders against publicly attacking the president over the issue.

At the same time, debate over the Iran understandings has not been limited to Israel. Reports from Washington indicate that some Republicans have also expressed reservations about the arrangement, even as White House officials continue presenting it as a policy designed first and foremost to advance American national interests.

{Matzav.com}

A new Maariv poll shows Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party overtaking Naftali Bennett’s Together party for the first time and pulling into a tie with Likud, which continues to decline following the launch of Operation Roaring Lion.

According to the survey conducted by Lazar Research, both Likud and Yashar would receive 21 seats if elections were held today, while Bennett’s Together party would win 20 seats.

The poll also shows that the opposition bloc, excluding the Arab parties, has once again reached a majority of 61 seats. The coalition stands at 49 seats, while the Arab parties receive a combined 10 seats. Despite Religious Zionism crossing the electoral threshold in this survey, the coalition still falls short of a blocking majority.

The survey points to two major developments: Likud has lost seven seats since the start of Operation Roaring Lion, while Bennett’s party has lost 11 seats since its merger with Yair Lapid at the end of April. During the same period, Yashar has gained nine seats.

The full results show: Likud 21, Yashar 21, Together 20, The Democrats 10, Yisrael Beiteinu 10, Shas 9, Otzma Yehudit 8, United Torah Judaism 7, Hadash-Ta’al 6, Ra’am 4, and Religious Zionism 4. The Economic Party, Balad, Blue and White, and The Reservists all remain below the electoral threshold.

The poll also found that 49% of Israelis are concerned about the current rift between Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Trump, while 43% are not concerned and 8% have no opinion.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Former minister Ron Dermer has reportedly delivered an unusually blunt message to Israel’s political and security leadership: avoid attacking the Trump administration and do not allow policy disagreements with Washington to escalate into a public confrontation.

According to a report by Yisroel Hayom, Dermer conveyed the warning amid growing tensions between Israel and the White House following the recent memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran.

Journalist Dani Zaken reported that two sources said Dermer urged senior Israeli officials to steer clear of an open clash with the administration, fearing such a dispute would further damage relations between Jerusalem and Washington. The warning comes at a time when Israel is seeking to preserve its operational freedom in both Lebanon and Iran while simultaneously facing increasing American pressure on the diplomatic front.

The backdrop to Dermer’s message is criticism recently attributed to U.S. Vice President JD Vance regarding Israel and Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu. According to an earlier Yisroel Hayom report, Vance allegedly pressed President Donald Trump to rein in Netanyahu whenever Israel carried out military actions in Lebanon and accused the Israeli leader of attempting to undermine the emerging agreement with Iran. White House officials have denied those claims.

Dermer’s intervention carries particular weight because of his longstanding role as one of Netanyahu’s closest advisers on U.S.-Israel relations and his deep familiarity with the political landscape in Washington. The report described him as a former minister, a trusted confidant of Netanyahu, and one of the key architects of Israeli policy in recent years.

According to the report, Dermer is advocating a two-track approach. On one hand, Israel should remain firm in defending its security interests and prevent Iran or Hezbollah from exploiting American diplomatic initiatives. On the other hand, he believes Israel must avoid a direct public confrontation with President Trump, particularly at a time when the administration holds significant influence over developments involving Iran, Lebanon, and Congress.

The report also noted ongoing disagreements within the U.S. administration regarding Lebanon. Some officials reportedly favor tying the Lebanese issue directly to the broader Iran agreement, while others—including the State Department under Secretary of State Marco Rubio—support pursuing a separate Israeli-Lebanese arrangement that would establish a framework for an eventual Israeli withdrawal while also reducing Hezbollah’s influence.

Meanwhile, Israeli officials are reportedly working behind the scenes to build support among lawmakers from both parties in Congress. However, according to the report, they are being careful not to frame those efforts as a direct challenge to President Trump.

That, according to Yisroel Hayom, is precisely the point of Dermer’s warning: fight vigorously for Israel’s security interests, but do not turn disagreements with the White House into a full-scale political battle.

{Matzav.com}

ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, Md. (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday showed off the new Air Force One, a formerly Qatari-owned jumbo jet that has been converted into the official U.S. presidential aircraft.

NEW AIR FORCE ONE! ✈️🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/8DcY6ZErsy

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) June 19, 2026

The new aircraft eschews the Kennedy-era robin’s egg blue exterior of the old plane for a bolder look, with the underbelly of the plane painted navy blue with a red stripe above it. The plane’s left side, where the president boards, features the presidential seal, while the tail of the aircraft has a massive American flag on it.

“This plane was transformed into a flying White House at a level of luxury that nobody has ever seen before,” Trump said from inside the massive Andrews Air Force Base hangar, as a couple hundred assembled Air Force personnel looked on. He spoke after stepping off the new plane in a dramatic flourish, as his signature tune “God Bless the USA” played.

He confirmed that he would be taking the new jet to the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, next month and indicated he would be returning to China “at some point,” presumably a reference to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit that China is hosting in November. His return from the Group of 7 summit in France this week was the last planned trip aboard the old Air Force One, he said.

“Now, when we land at airports in London and in Germany and different places, nobody tops this one, and that’s the way we have to have it for our country,” Trump said, noting that the colors and the design were to “my taste, I will say.”

He added that the new Air Force One will do a flyover during the July 4 celebrations next month.

The gift from Qatar is serving as a so-called “bridge” aircraft to carry the president until the new planes ordered directly from Boeing arrive. That is currently slated for 2028.

The administration formally accepted a luxury Boeing 747 jet from Qatar last year to be used as the presidential airplane, despite questions about the ethics and legality of accepting such an expensive gift from a foreign government. Trump has insisted in the past that he would not fly around in the Qatari jet once he leaves office and said it would instead be donated to a future presidential library.

Trump on Friday said the U.S. was in a “little bit of a logjam” as they awaited the delivery of the new jets directly from Boeing, which had originally been scheduled for 2024 but have been delayed. He recalled asking the emir of Qatar for use of one of their planes.

“See, a normal president wouldn’t do this. A normal president wants to stay away from aircraft,” Trump said Friday. “But our country has to be represented properly.”

The Air Force said in a news release Friday that any plane deemed Air Force One “must meet rigorous security requirements” and that the Qatari plane “was modified under a disciplined engineering approach that prioritized these exact core capabilities above all else.” The Air Force also said “much of the previous head of state interior layout” of the plane was kept intact.

The Air Force has said in the past that security modifications to the jet would cost less than $400 million.

Trump’s efforts to reimagine the presidential airplane date back to his first administration, when he directed that an incoming fleet of new jets would adopt a color scheme that was nearly identical to that of his personal airplane. Then-President Joe Biden reversed the decision in March 2023 as an Air Force review suggested that the darker colors could increase costs and delay delivery of the new jets, but once Trump returned to office, he returned to his desired colors for the plane.

Other government jets that carry other top administration officials will also use the similar red, white and navy color scheme, the Air Force said earlier this year.

An Air Force spokesperson, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive plans, told The Associated Press that the two current planes, known as VC-25As, will not be retiring. Instead, they will remain in the fleet until the new Boeing planes, referred to as VC-25Bs, come into service, the spokesperson said.

It is unclear how the older jets will be used but the spokesperson said that both the Qatari jet as well as the VC-25As will be available for use and “the Presidential Airlift Group will select the appropriate aircraft for each mission based on operational requirements.”

President Donald Trump revealed Friday that he directly urged Israel to accept a ceasefire in Lebanon, calling the agreement a welcome development as diplomatic efforts continue across the region.

Speaking with NBC News, Trump said he had been in contact with Israeli officials and encouraged them to move forward with a halt in hostilities.

“It’s a positive,” he told the network, adding, “It’s a little icing on the cake.”

Trump declined to say whether he personally spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the discussions.

His remarks came shortly after a senior U.S. official told Reuters that Israel and Hezbollah had agreed to a ceasefire that went into effect at 4:00 p.m. local time Friday.

A Hezbollah official, speaking to NBC News, said the terror group intends to honor the ceasefire agreement but alleged that Israeli forces were continuing to fire and attempting to advance farther into Lebanese territory.

Trump also addressed the future of negotiations with Iran, expressing confidence that Vice President JD Vance would eventually travel to Switzerland to participate in peace talks despite Tehran’s decision to cancel Friday’s scheduled round of negotiations following Israeli strikes in Lebanon.

“I think he’s going to end up going back,” Trump said. “Steve Witkoff is going separately. I think JD’s going a little bit later.”

Meanwhile, the United States reportedly informed Iran that Israel was not expected to intensify its military operations in Lebanon, even after a deadly Hezbollah attack in southern Lebanon killed four Israeli soldiers.

The latest ceasefire comes against a backdrop of continued casualties. Since the original truce between Israel and Hezbollah took effect in April, 23 Israeli soldiers and one civilian employee of the Defense Ministry have been killed during operations in southern Lebanon.

Just days after President Trump signed a deal promising that the Strait of Hormuz would stay open and free, Iran has moved to take control of it — telling the world’s shipping companies they now need Tehran’s permission, and a government-approved insurance policy, to sail through the most important oil passage on earth. The order came in a document posted this week by Iran’s newly created Persian Gulf Strait Authority, which began processing vessel applications on June 18, the day the ceasefire took effect.

For now, the insurance is free; Iran says it is covering the cost. But the same document leaves the door open to charging later, stating that the authority “reserves the right to introduce insurance fees in the future” — wording that has alarmed shippers and oil producers who see it as the first step toward tolls on a waterway that has always been free to cross.

The rules go further. Iran says ships must obtain a navigation permit, follow a single approved route hugging its coastline near Larak Island, and avoid any alternative path. Straying from the route, the authority warned, would be treated as a violation that could trigger penalties or revoked passage.

Why does a strip of water matter this much?

The Strait of Hormuz is barely 21 miles wide at its narrowest point, squeezed between Iran and Oman, yet roughly 20% of the world’s oil supply moves through it, along with massive volumes of natural gas and other commodities. Anything that raises the cost or risk of crossing it ripples outward into oil prices, shipping rates and, eventually, the prices consumers pay for fuel and goods.

Here is the problem for the White House: the move cuts directly against what Trump promised.

Throughout the conflict, Trump insisted that free passage through the Strait of Hormuz had to be part of any peace arrangement. The agreement he signed — known as the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding — guarantees ships can cross without charges during its initial term. Yet within days, Iran is asserting authority over the waterway, requiring permits and insurance while reserving the right to impose fees after the agreement’s 60-day transition period expires.

In effect, critics argue, Tehran is building the framework for toll collection while the ink on the free-passage agreement is barely dry.

That has handed the president’s opponents new ammunition.

Republican critics including Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi and Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana had already attacked the broader agreement as giving away too much leverage. Iran’s rapid effort to regulate passage through the strait strengthens arguments that Tehran may not view itself as constrained by the spirit of the deal.

For a president who presented the agreement as a demonstration of strength and stability, the optics are challenging. Critics say Iran’s actions create the appearance that it is attempting to rewrite terms almost immediately after the ceasefire.

The administration rejects that characterization.

Vice President JD Vance, who led negotiations for the United States, has repeatedly defended the agreement and said any benefits flowing to Iran remain contingent on compliance. Administration officials argue that the ceasefire has already reduced tensions, reopened shipping lanes and helped push oil prices lower.

On the water, the situation remains mixed.

Even as Iran announced its new requirements, U.S. officials reported that commercial vessels continued moving through alternative corridors near Oman’s coastline. Western naval forces have recommended those routes while mine-clearing operations continue in portions of the strait affected during the conflict.

A broader legal dispute is also taking shape.

The Persian Gulf Strait Authority was established by Tehran during the war and has since been sanctioned by the United States. Several Gulf nations have rejected its legitimacy and advised shipping companies not to recognize its authority.

Maritime experts note that international straits have historically been governed by principles of free navigation. Many governments argue that no country has the legal right to unilaterally impose tolls on a waterway that serves as a vital international trade corridor.

The United Arab Emirates has declared that the strait “cannot be held hostage by any country,” while Qatar has emphasized that international shipping routes must remain open to all nations.

Meanwhile, several U.S. allies, including Britain, are reportedly urging the administration to oppose any future transit-fee system.

The shipping industry itself is divided.

Many large shipping companies and energy producers oppose the concept outright, warning that fees would increase costs throughout the global economy. Others are taking a more practical view. Greek shipping billionaire Evangelos Marinakis recently suggested that some operators might be willing to pay modest fees if doing so guaranteed uninterrupted access and prevented future disruptions.

For American consumers, the implications are straightforward.

Gasoline prices have eased since the ceasefire reduced fears of prolonged disruption in the Strait of Hormuz. Additional permit requirements, insurance mandates or future transit charges could increase transportation costs and potentially reverse some of that relief.

Every additional cost imposed on tankers ultimately flows through supply chains, affecting fuel prices, shipping expenses and the cost of goods delivered around the world.

The next 60 days could determine whether the Strait of Hormuz returns to normal operations or becomes the center of a new economic confrontation.

If Iran attempts to impose fees once the transition period expires — and if shipping companies, Gulf governments and Western nations refuse to accept them — the result could be a fresh standoff over control of the world’s most important oil chokepoint.

This time, the battle may not be fought with missiles and warships, but with permits, insurance certificates and the economics of global trade.

JBizNews Desk | Gulf Region

© JBizNews.com All Rights Reserved. Reproduction or distribution without written permission is prohibited.

We regret to inform you of the Petirah of Mrs. Miriam Steinhardter A”H, who was Niftar a short time ago.

Mrs. Steinhardter was originally from Baltimore, where she lived for many years before recently relocating to the Pine Street area of Lakewood. She was approximately 80 years old.

She is survived by her husband, Mr. Bernie Steinhardter, and several children.

The Levaya is scheduled to take place Motzei Shabbos at 11:30 PM at the Chapel in Lakewood, 613 Ramsey Avenue.

Kevurah will be in Eretz Yisroel.

Baruch Dayan Ha’emes.

The number of antisemitic incidents recorded in Germany in 2025 climbed to a record 8,725, the country’s main civil-society monitor said Wednesday, capping a third straight year of historically high anti-Jewish hostility since the Hamas-led attacks on Israel in October 2023.

The figure, released in the annual report of the Berlin-based Federal Association of Departments for Research and Information on Antisemitism, known as RIAS, was up by 98 from the 8,627 incidents logged in 2024. It was more than triple the 2,480 incidents the group documented in 2022, before the war in Gaza.

RIAS said incidents have stayed at a consistently high level since Oct. 7, 2023, and continue to shape daily life for Jews in Germany. The group attributed roughly two-thirds of the 2025 cases, about 68 percent, to what it classifies as Israel-related antisemitism.

The 2025 count included 178 assaults and 257 incidents involving threats. RIAS documented four cases it labeled extreme violence, among them a terrorist attack at the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in Berlin.

Josef Schuster, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, said the total works out to about 24 incidents a day. “These are not statistical outliers; it is the grim reality in Germany,” he said in a statement, adding that the report shows antisemitism hardening at record levels rather than easing.

Many of the cases logged by RIAS occurred in everyday settings. In Kehl, a western border town near Strasbourg, four members of the Jewish community were insulted and spat on outside a shul. In the central state of Hesse, a rabbi was shoved in a supermarket in front of his children and had his cellphone snatched. RIAS said the people who carried out that attack referred to Israel during the assault.

The group, which records both criminal offenses and incidents that fall below the threshold of a crime, said hostility increasingly centers on the label “Zionist.” It cited graffiti calling for violence against Zionists and a physical attack in Kassel in which the victim was first insulted as a “Zionist pig” and then assaulted.

RIAS operates a network of regional reporting offices, and their separate 2025 reports, issued earlier this spring, fill in the national picture.

In Berlin, RIAS counted 2,197 incidents, an average of about six a day. That was down roughly 13 percent from the 2,521 cases recorded in the capital in 2024, but still more than double the level seen before October 2023. Between 2018 and 2022, RIAS logged fewer than 1,000 incidents a year in Berlin. The Berlin office reported 40 violent incidents during the year, including a February stabbing at the Holocaust Memorial in which a young man was wounded in the neck. It also documented antisemitic occurrences at 239 demonstrations and rallies, the most it has ever recorded.

In Hesse, RIAS noted a record of about 1,099 incidents, an 18 percent rise from the previous year and nearly six times the level recorded before the war. Hesse’s antisemitism commissioner, Uwe Becker, said in a statement that the threat to Jewish life is worse than at any time since the Holocaust. The head of the regional RIAS office said full participation in society is no longer unconditionally possible for Jews in the state.

In Bavaria, RIAS documented 1,551 incidents, with researchers pointing to a growing share tied to Israel-related narratives and a sharp rise in online abuse.

The numbers track a broader pattern across Germany since late 2023. RIAS records all reported antisemitic incidents, a wider net than police hate-crime statistics, which capture only criminal offenses. The group says that approach is meant to make visible what it calls the “dark field” of antisemitism that never reaches law enforcement.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

President Donald Trump doubled down Friday on his claim that Iran has been severely weakened by recent military action, insisting that Tehran has emerged from the conflict in a dramatically diminished state and will receive no American funds under the newly signed memorandum of understanding between the two countries.

In two posts published on Truth Social, Trump pushed back against Democratic criticism of his administration’s handling of the war with Iran, arguing that U.S. military operations devastated the country’s military capabilities and fundamentally altered the balance of power in the region.

“The War has diminished Iran!” Trump wrote. “It doesn’t, any longer, have an Air Force, a Navy, Antiaircraft Equipment, Radar, or practically anything else, and yet the Dumocrats say that Iran is better off now than it was four months ago.

“Can you imagine getting away with that??? How stupid can some people be???”

Trump’s comments came just days after Washington and Tehran reached a framework agreement intended to halt months of fighting and restore access through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most strategically important maritime corridors and a key route for global oil shipments.

However, reports emerged Friday evening that Iran had once again shut down the strait, raising fresh questions about the future of the agreement.

The president has repeatedly maintained that the military campaign accomplished its primary objectives, significantly degrading Iran’s military infrastructure and compelling the regime to engage in negotiations.

In a separate Truth Social message, Trump rejected the notion that the United States had entered talks from a position of weakness or urgency.

“We didn’t meet out of desperation, Iran did,” Trump wrote. “They are FINISHED! We’ll play out the 60 days. They get no money, not ten cents!”

Under the terms of the memorandum of understanding, both sides now have a 60-day window to negotiate a broader and more permanent agreement.

Administration officials have said the framework is designed both to ensure the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and to address concerns surrounding Iran’s nuclear activities, although the final terms of any long-term agreement remain under negotiation.

The accord follows a months-long conflict that began in late February after Trump authorized military strikes against Iran.

During the war, American and allied forces targeted Iranian military installations, missile infrastructure, and nuclear-related facilities, while Iran responded with attacks across multiple locations in the region.

Supporters of the administration contend that the campaign inflicted substantial damage on Iran’s military network and strengthened Washington’s hand at the negotiating table.

Critics, meanwhile, have questioned whether the conflict achieved lasting strategic benefits, arguing that diplomacy might have produced similar outcomes without the costs and risks associated with military action.

Trump has consistently rejected that argument, insisting that Iran is in a far weaker position today than it was before the fighting erupted.

Administration officials have also highlighted declining oil prices following the reopening of key shipping routes in the Persian Gulf, arguing that lower energy costs could provide broader economic benefits for consumers in the months ahead.

{Matzav.com}

Over the last year, Lauren Sánchez Bezos has become a key player in determining which organizations and causes get donations from Jeff Bezos‘ $10 billion climate change fund.

According to Fortune, Sánchez Bezos has served as the vice chair of the Bezos Earth Fund since its early days in 2020, when she was the girlfriend of the Amazon multi-billionaire.

The fund, the largest contribution any individual has ever made to the environment, according to Northeastern University, is obligated to deploy all $10 billion by the end of the decade. So far, it has cut checks toward 335 grants, totaling $2.4 billion, according to the fund’s website. 

Since Sánchez Bezos married her now-husband last year in a star-studded affair in Venice, she has become a more public-facing leader of the fund, often announcing new donations.

LAUREN SÁNCHEZ BEZOS DEFENDS RISQUÉ TRUMP INAUGURATION LOOK AFTER BACKLASH

In September 2025, she touted that the fund had disbursed $37.5 million in grants to protect 835,000 square miles of water surrounding a dozen nations in the Pacific Ocean. The initial amount was part of the fund’s $100 million commitment to what she called “one of the boldest ocean conservation efforts ever attempted.”

“The Pacific isn’t just a beautiful backdrop, it’s a lifeline,” Sánchez Bezos said in a statement at the time. “Pacific Island nations and territories are setting the pace. We’re here to match that ambition and help turn it into protection at scale.”

In October, she announced $30 million in awards to 15 teams who won the fund’s “AI for Climate and Nature Grand Challenge.” Each team received $2 million to jump-start their use of artificial intelligence to solve problems such as biodiversity loss and food insecurity.

“AI can be a powerful ally to help make the world a better place,” said Sánchez Bezos. “These innovators, using AI, are showing us new possibilities by reimagining how we grow food, protect wildlife, and power our planet to make a true impact.”

Other than environmental causes, Sánchez Bezos said in December that she and her husband committed $102.5 million to organizations fighting homelessness across the United States. That money comes from the Bezos Day One Families Fund, which has so far donated more than $850 million to outfits in all 50 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico and Guam.

JEFF BEZOS’ GLOW-UP AND LAUREN SÁNCHEZ’S TRANSFORMATION OVER THE YEARS: PHOTOS

The Day One Families Fund is a portion of the total $2 billion Bezos and his wife plan to donate to nonprofits that help homeless families obtain stable housing. There is also an initiative to build and operate tuition-free pre-schools in areas of the country that lack education options.

The couple also gave a $5 million grant, along with the Bezos Courage & Civility Award, to David Flink, the founder of the Neurodiversity Alliance.

The New York-based non-profit provides mentors to students with learning disabilities. Sánchez Bezos has said she unknowingly grew up with dyslexia and struggled in school for years, later being diagnosed with the condition when she was in college.

Despite the Bezoses’ charity, they have not donated nearly as much of their net worth as others who have similar levels of wealth. Most notably, the couple lags significantly behind MacKenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Bezos.

LAUREN SÁNCHEZ BEZOS EXPOSES TV CAREER REALITY AFTER CRITICS SAID SHE DIDN’T ‘DESERVE TO BE THERE’

According to Forbes, Scott has donated $26.4 billion over a period of seven years, representing a staggering 46% of her estimated $35.4 billion net worth. In 2025 alone, she was the most charitable person on Earth with $7.2 billion in donations.

Over his entire life, Bezos has given away $4.6 billion, which is less than 2% of his $266 billion net worth, per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Bezos has also not signed the Giving Pledge, an initiative launched in 2010 by Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates that urges billionaires to give the majority of their wealth away in their lifetimes.

Scott has signed the pledge, but Bezos has not. He told CNN in 2022 that he intends to donate most of his money but said it was difficult to do that efficiently.

“It’s not easy. Building Amazon was not easy. It took a lot of hard work, a bunch of very smart teammates, hard-working teammates, and I’m finding — and I think Lauren is finding the same thing — that charity, philanthropy, is very similar,” he said in the CNN interview.

The Department of Justice is investigating transactions tied to a business network linked to Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei that reportedly had exposure to major U.S. financial institutions, according to a Bloomberg News report.

Bloomberg reported federal investigators are examining how companies connected to Khamenei built a global investment portfolio with transactions involving Wall Street firms including JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup.

The reported probe is part of a broader Justice Department investigation into alleged money laundering and corruption involving entities tied to Khamenei, according to Bloomberg, which cited people familiar with the matter.

DOJ CLEARS PARAMOUNT-WARNER BROS MERGER AFTER 8-MONTH ANTITRUST PROBE, SAYS DEAL COULD BOOST COMPETITION

JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and the Department of Justice did not immediately respond to FOX Business’ requests for comment.

Investigators are reviewing the role U.S. financial institutions may have played in processing or facilitating transactions linked to the network, though Bloomberg reported the investigation does not necessarily mean charges will be filed.

The reported inquiry comes as the Trump administration has intensified pressure on Iran and sought to crack down on sanctions evasion and illicit financial activity tied to Tehran and its leadership.

JPMORGAN CHASE LAUNCHES AMERICAN DREAM INITIATIVE TO EXPAND SMALL BUSINESS SUPPORT ACROSS THE US

The investigation could place renewed scrutiny on how major financial institutions identify and monitor potentially sanctioned entities operating through complex international ownership structures and investment vehicles, a longstanding challenge for global banks and regulators.

Bloomberg reported that investigators’ primary focus is Khamenei and the network of businesses tied to him rather than the banks themselves.

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE

Khamenei became Iran’s supreme leader after his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in a joint U.S.-Israeli airstrike. As Iran’s highest-ranking authority, he has final say over major state decisions, including foreign policy and the country’s nuclear program.

The reported investigation comes amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran as the administration continues to increase economic and diplomatic pressure on the Iranian regime.

Iran has reportedly instructed Hezbollah to avoid launching rockets and drones into Israeli territory in an effort to strengthen the group’s legitimacy for operations against IDF forces inside Lebanon, according to a Channel 13 report.

The directive came as a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect Friday afternoon. While the ceasefire was reportedly violated shortly after it began, cross-border fire from Lebanon into Israel has, for now, ceased.

At the same time, Iran has postponed its delegation’s planned trip to Switzerland for continued negotiations with the United States. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reportedly told his Pakistani counterpart that the IDF must withdraw from Lebanon, arguing that otherwise there is no point in turning the current memorandum of understanding into a formal agreement.

Iran and Hezbollah are seeking to prevent any future negotiations between Israel and Lebanon under American mediation. Iranian officials reportedly view the Lebanon issue as a central component of the broader negotiations and are attempting to maintain pressure over the future of southern Lebanon.

A senior U.S. official told Reuters that Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire that took effect at 4:00 p.m. Friday. A senior Israeli official told Channel 13 that Israel considers itself in a ceasefire as long as Hezbollah refrains from attacking, while emphasizing that IDF forces will remain in southern Lebanon and retain freedom of action against emerging threats.

IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said Friday that forces on the ground have full freedom to remove threats wherever necessary and that the military is prepared to return to intense combat immediately if required.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

At a Seattle University graduation ceremony earlier this week, a student unfurled a Palestinian flag onstage as she approached Provost Shane P. Martin for a picture. The provost snatched the flag away, hiding it from the camera before posing for the picture. Then he took her by the arm and led her away.

It was later revealed that the interim president of Seattle University also tried to prevent Sumeyya Osman, the student, from bringing the flag to graduation.

Although students had been warned that such acts would not be permitted during their commencement, Osman complained that her religious rights had been infringed upon, since her religion forbids her to touch men. Later, she appeared at a press conference with the local chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR). Its director, Imraan Siddiqi, has called for the university to issue an apology.

The FBI had named CAIR as an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation case, the biggest terrorism-financing case in history.

Unfurling Palestinian flags and pro-Hamas signs has become all the virtue-signaling rage at college commencements.

In May, CUNY Law’s graduation ceremonies turned into anti-Israel platforms in which students waved Palestinian flags and signs and chanted pro-Gaza slogans.

During one commencement, as each student walked on stage, they held up to the audience Palestinian flags and signs with slogans such as “CUNY DIVEST FROM GENOCIDE NOW!,” “JEWS AGAINST GENOCIDE,” “SILENCE = DEATH” and “NONE OF OUR TUITION FOR ISRAEL’S CRIMES.” On the other hand, no American flags were visible.

At CUNY Law’s first graduation ceremony following Oct. 7, a student speaker used her platform to heavily criticize Israel. After fierce backlash from then-New York City Mayor Eric Adams and other public officials, the school condemned the talk as hate speech.

As a result of the controversy, CUNY stopped allowing students to deliver remarks at the graduation ceremony, prompting students to file a lawsuit alleging that CUNY was violating students’ free speech rights.

American intelligence officials have reportedly warned the White House that Israeli Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu may take steps that could threaten President Donald Trump’s efforts to secure a lasting agreement with Iran, according to a report published Friday by The Washington Post citing classified U.S. assessments.

The intelligence findings underscore growing tensions between Washington and Israel as the Trump administration seeks to advance a diplomatic framework with Tehran while urging restraint in Lebanon. U.S. officials have publicly cautioned Israel against military actions that could jeopardize the fragile negotiations now underway.

According to American officials familiar with the assessment, intelligence analysts concluded that Netanyahu faces significant domestic political pressure ahead of national elections expected later this year. The report reportedly argues that his political future depends heavily on persuading Israeli voters that he will not withdraw forces from Lebanon or ease military pressure on Hezbollah.

The assessment also describes mounting dissatisfaction within Israel over the preliminary terms of the U.S.-Iran understanding. Israeli officials reportedly believe the framework weakens the policy of maximum pressure against Tehran and could restrict Israel’s freedom of action against regional threats. White House officials, however, contend that the agreement still allows Israel to respond when necessary and argue that concerns about reopening the Strait of Hormuz and preventing a broader economic crisis take precedence. According to the report, intelligence analysts believe that any ceasefire or Israeli withdrawal could be viewed by many voters as a political setback for Netanyahu.

Responding to the reported assessment, a senior Israeli official defended Israel’s military operations, stating, “Israeli military activity in Lebanon is for the sole purpose of defending Israeli citizens from continuous attacks by Hezbollah.”

The report surfaced as Israel and Hezbollah moved forward with a ceasefire that took effect at 4:00 p.m. Friday.

Earlier in the day, U.S. officials reportedly informed Iran that Israel was not expected to intensify its military campaign in Lebanon despite the deadly Hezbollah attack in southern Lebanon that killed four Israeli soldiers.

The conflict has continued to exact a toll even since the April ceasefire arrangement. Since that truce went into effect, 23 Israeli soldiers and one civilian employee of the Defense Ministry have been killed during operations in southern Lebanon.

{Matzav.com}

The U.S. Air Force announced Friday that its new VC-25B “Bridge” aircraft has officially arrived at Joint Base Andrews and begun commissioning flights, marking a major milestone in efforts to support presidential airlift operations.

The aircraft was delivered to the Presidential Airlift Group after receiving its final government modifications, including secure communications systems and other mission-critical upgrades. The VC-25B Bridge is the Qatar-gifted Boeing 747-8 that the Air Force has modified to serve as a temporary presidential aircraft while the long-term VC-25B program continues. Once commissioning flights are completed, the aircraft will join the executive airlift fleet and become available for presidential missions alongside the existing VC-25A and C-32 aircraft.

Your browser does not support the video tag.

According to the Air Force, the VC-25B Bridge program was launched to ease pressure on the aging VC-25A fleet while the long-term Boeing VC-25B program continues toward completion. Officials said the aircraft was modified under a streamlined process focused on security, safety, reliability, and secure communications rather than cosmetic changes.

“The safety and security of the commander in chief is our highest priority,” Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said. “This effort proves that the U.S. Air Force can move fast without sacrificing quality, security, or reliability.”

The Air Force said commissioning flights serve as the final stage of testing, allowing the White House and military officials to validate the aircraft’s mission capabilities and certify it for presidential transport.
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Ken Wilsbach praised the accelerated timeline, saying many believed the effort could not be completed so quickly. “The United States Air Force was able to execute and provide a secure, reliable airborne command post on an accelerated timeline,” he said.

Officials said extensive training and logistical preparations were completed before the aircraft’s arrival, including pilot and maintenance training, acquisition of dedicated training aircraft, and development of a full-scale interior mock-up for crew familiarization.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

As Israel prepares for future security threats, disability organizations are warning that thousands of Israelis with disabilities remain dangerously exposed during rocket attacks due to a lack of accessible shelter options and an incomplete emergency support system.

A new national emergency database is designed to help local authorities identify and assist residents with disabilities during wartime, but advocates say the initiative will have limited value unless the government establishes and funds a nationwide network of “community support workers” to provide assistance on the ground.

According to advocacy groups, many individuals with disabilities who live in homes without accessible protected spaces are unable to reach shelters independently during air raid sirens. In recent emergencies, volunteer organizations stepped in to fill the gap, helping evacuate thousands of vulnerable residents to hotels and other protected locations.

While regulations approved by the Knesset now allow municipalities to maintain emergency registries of residents requiring assistance, questions remain over who will recruit, fund, and deploy the personnel needed to contact and assist those individuals during a crisis.

Disability rights organizations have urged the government and Home Front Command to establish a formal emergency framework before the next conflict, warning that without such a system, the new database could become little more than a list with no practical means of providing help.

“We must be prepared for the next round,” disability advocates warned, stressing that many of Israel’s most vulnerable citizens still lack reliable protection during emergencies.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Americans’ contributions to their 401(k) savings accounts hit record highs in 2025, according to a new report from Vanguard. 

Among employees with active 401(k) accounts in both December 2024 and December 2025, median account balances increased by 27%, according to the report, titled How America Saves 2026. 

Of those same participants, 94% saw an increase in their account balances, reflecting both a rise in contributions and strong returns from markets, according to the report. 

COULD THE VANGUARD S&P 500 ETF BE YOUR TICKET TO BECOMING A STOCK MARKET MILLIONAIRE?

The average account balance for a Vanguard 401(k) was $167,970 in 2025, a near $20,000 increase from the 2024 average of $148,153. The median account balance, meanwhile, also increased year over year, rising from $38,176 in 2024 to $44,115 in 2025. 

One factor the report cites as a potential impact on the higher contributions is a shift in automatic employee enrollment. 

BEWARE THE TICKING TIME BOMB HIDING IN YOUR 401(K)

Some employers have shifted to automatically enrolling employees in 401k plans, with the share of Vanguard-defined contribution plans using automatic enrollment sitting at 61% in 2025 compared with just 10% in 2006. 

By reframing an employee’s decision into opting out, rather than voluntarily opting in, employers encourage significantly stronger participation in retirement plans, according to the report. 

“With an autopilot design, individuals are automatically enrolled into the plan, their deferral rates are automatically increased each year, and their contributions are automatically invested in a balanced investment strategy. In such a plan, the decision to save is framed negatively: ‘Quit the plan if you’d like.’ And ’doing nothing; leads to participation in the plan and investment of assets in a long-term retirement portfolio,” the report states.

Employees deferred a similar percentage of their total incomes into plans in 2025 when compared with 2024, though deferral rates have broadly trended up in the last decade.

LABOR DEPARTMENT’S PROPOSAL IS A ‘HUGE STEP’ FOR YOUR 401(K), BLACKROCK’S NEFOUSE SAYS

The average deferral was 7.6% of an employee’s income in 2025, the same as it was in 2024, per the report. The median rate was 6.6% in 2025 compared with 6.7% in 2024. 

A quarter of all participants had a deferral rate of over 10% of their incomes. That compared with just 20% of participants deferring more than a tenth of their income in 2016, the report noted.  

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE

The report wasn’t all positive. Hardship withdrawals increased for the fourth straight year, rising to 6% in 2025 from 5% the previous year. While the report cited potential pressures from inflation and other economic challenges, it also noted that a recent streamlining in the process to apply for hardship withdrawals has “made retirement assets more accessible in times of need.”

A federal court has temporarily shut down one of the largest subscription-app operations the government has targeted to date, freezing the assets of a network the Federal Trade Commission says quietly billed consumers worldwide for charges they never agreed to. In a complaint filed on Wednesday, June 17, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the FTC moved against an enterprise operating as Genesis Tech, and the court granted the agency’s request to halt the operation and freeze its assets. The Commission authorized the case on a 2-0 vote.

The action names 15 corporations and eight individuals, including the company’s founder-CEOs, Vladimir Mnogoletny and Vasily Ulianov. At the center of the FTC’s argument is a simple idea: that these seemingly separate apps and websites were in fact a single “common enterprise” running the same deceptive script repeatedly.

That script, according to the complaint, was easy to start and hard to stop. The company advertised products as free or available for a low, one-time cost, often with a money-back guarantee, but once consumers signed up, references to auto-renewing subscriptions were relegated to the smallest print on the page. Customers were then charged on a recurring basis and, the FTC alleges, sometimes double-billed or charged for products they never requested.

The portfolio was broad enough that few buyers would have connected the dots. It included the fitness and nutrition apps MadMuscles, Harna, and Unimeal; an ADHD and productivity self-help course called Wisey; the document tools PDF Guru and PDF Master; the fashion-advice app Lumi; and the horoscope and psychic-chat service Nebula. The FTC says one program claimed it could diagnose and treat ADHD symptoms. Whatever the category, the agency says the underlying tactics were identical.

The money involved was substantial. From early 2023 through mid-2025, the enterprise’s five main product lines alone generated nearly a quarter-billion dollars in global revenue, and over the 12 months ending in September 2025, transactions across its linked PayPal accounts totaled nearly $700 million. The company’s apps have been downloaded more than 400 million times worldwide.

To keep that revenue flowing, the FTC alleges, the defendants made leaving as difficult as joining. The complaint says the company omitted cancellation options from its apps and websites and would often continue charging customers without authorization. When users tried to quit, the platforms allegedly forced them through extra steps or kept drafting payments even after a cancellation was confirmed.

The structure behind it was built to stay ahead of fraud detection. The FTC says the operation continually launched new products, registered new legal entities, and opened new merchant accounts to evade fraud-monitoring programs, producing an ever-shifting web of Cyprus and Delaware shell companies. The Cypriot companies targeted U.S. consumers, the agency says, while affiliated entities registered in Delaware provided access to U.S. payment processing that moved the money overseas.

The case also lands on Apple and Google. It highlights a growing challenge for the platforms, as subscription scams evolve beyond individual apps into intricate networks of shell companies. For the companies that distribute these apps and process their payments, the action reads less as a verdict than as a diagnosis of a gap in their own enforcement.

FTC officials framed the case as part of a wider crackdown. Christopher Mufarrige, director of the agency’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, called it an illustration of the bureau’s reinvigorated anti-fraud program. The complaint alleges violations of the FTC Act and the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (ROSCA), the federal law written to govern online subscriptions and require clear disclosure and easy cancellation. The FTC files such a case only when it has reason to believe the law is being broken; the allegations are unproven, and the case will be decided by the court.

For everyday consumers, the action is a reminder of how much of the modern economy runs on recurring billing — and how easily a “free trial” becomes a charge that repeats every month. The dispute will play out over the coming months, but for now the court has stopped the billing and locked down the money while the case proceeds.

JBizNews Desk | Washington

© JBizNews.com All Rights Reserved. Reproduction or distribution without written permission is prohibited.

Ordinary Gaza civilians are fed up with Hamas, and they’re also fed up with journalists feeding the world Hamas propaganda. A viral video shows Gazans shouting at journalists, calling them out “for refusing to report on Hamas’s abuse of Palestinians,” according to social media personality Eyal Yakoby, who posted the video on X Thursday.

In the video, a man with an amputated leg is shouting while leaning on a crutch. Next to him sits a man in a wheelchair.

This video follows a recent U.N. report that Hamas has killed 108 civilians in extrajudicial executions between August 2024 and January 2026.

Gazan civilians call out journalists for refusing to report on Hamas’ abuse of the population. (Credit: Eyal Yakoby)

The report documented hundreds of cases of torture, maiming and executions, about a quarter of which were committed by Hamas. The report alleged that Hamas publicized these acts both during their commission and afterward to intimidate Gazan civilians and cement its control over the Strip. The terrorist organization bypassed courts and judges, instead employing its military wing and affiliated police to carry out the punishments, which were meted out for such crimes as supposed collaboration with Israel.

Beatings and other forms of public shaming were meted out even to children for theft and illegal drug and tobacco trafficking.

While Srinivasan Muralidhar, the chair of the U.N. Commission, blamed Israel for engineering an environment in which a lawless Hamas could act with impunity (as if the terror group had not engaged in these abuses before the war), ordinary Gazans are coming to a different conclusion.

Another viral video from this week showed a man leading a call-and-response chant with Gazan children, in which they shouted “no” in response to questions like “Do you like Hamas?” and shouted “Hamas” in response to questions like “Who put us in tents?”

These videos show that the civilians of Gaza “are protesting Hamas and demanding an end to its rule,” Yakoby said.

A growing rift between Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and President Donald Trump burst into public view Friday after Meloni flatly rejected Trump’s claim that she had pleaded for a photograph with him during this week’s G7 summit, calling the story entirely false and expressing shock at his remarks.

The unusually sharp exchange signals a dramatic downturn in relations between the two conservative leaders, whose alliance appeared to be recovering in recent days after earlier disagreements surrounding the conflict with Iran.

Speaking after Trump’s comments were broadcast by an Italian television outlet, Meloni said she was stunned by what she described as an invented account and suggested the president often treats America’s adversaries with greater courtesy than longstanding allies.

The dispute stems from comments Trump made during a brief interview with Italy’s La7 television network following the summit in France. Footage from the gathering showed the two leaders engaged in an extended conversation, but Trump downplayed the interaction and suggested it was of greater importance to Meloni than to him.

“She’s probably happy I talked to her. I didn’t have to talk to her,” Trump was quoted as saying by La7 TV channel in a brief interview, after he himself asked the journalist about Italy’s prime minister.

Trump went even further, claiming the Italian leader had been eager to be photographed with him.

“She begged me to take a picture with her. She wanted a picture with me so badly. I wouldn’t have taken it, but I felt sorry for her,” Trump said, according to La7’s translation.

The network did not release the original recording of the interview and instead aired a dubbed version.

Meloni responded forcefully, dismissing the account outright and questioning why the American president would make such remarks about an ally.

“Donald Trump’s statements are completely made ⁠up. I am frankly astonished. I don’t know why the president of ⁠the United States behaves like this towards his allies: it is not the first time, moreover.”

She then contrasted Trump’s treatment of allies with what she characterized as a softer approach toward hostile foreign leaders.

“I can ⁠only ⁠say it is disappointing that he does not show the same determination with the enemies of the West and of the United States, whose leaders he instead treats with far greater indulgence,” she said, adding: “There is one thing he should remember: neither I nor Italy ever beg.”

The clash is particularly notable given Meloni’s previous support for Trump. She was the lone European head of government to attend his inauguration in 2025 and was widely viewed as one of his closest partners on the continent.

Relations later cooled, however, after Meloni publicly criticized Trump for his attacks on Pope Leo following the pontiff’s condemnation of the Iran war. Her decision to distance herself from the administration’s position triggered a blunt response from Trump, who accused the Italian leader of lacking courage.

Although recent interactions at the G7 summit had suggested a possible thaw in tensions, Friday’s exchange exposed deepening strains and raised new questions about the future of one of the West’s most closely watched political relationships.

{Matzav.com}

Americans hoping for lower mortgage payments, cheaper car loans, or relief from record-high credit-card rates will have to keep waiting. The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged Wednesday and signaled that inflation remains its top concern, meaning borrowing costs are likely to stay elevated for the foreseeable future.

The Federal Open Market Committee voted to keep the federal funds rate in a range of 3.5% to 3.75%, marking the fourth consecutive meeting without a change. While many investors entered the year expecting rate cuts, the Fed’s latest projections suggest policymakers are becoming more concerned about inflation than economic slowdown.

For consumers, the decision has direct consequences.

Mortgages Remain Expensive

Mortgage rates do not move in lockstep with the Fed, but they are heavily influenced by expectations for future interest rates. With the central bank showing little appetite for cuts, prospective homebuyers are unlikely to see meaningful relief this year.

Many buyers who delayed purchasing a home in hopes of lower borrowing costs may now face a longer wait. The good news is that rates are not expected to surge dramatically higher in the near term, helping maintain stability in the housing market.

Car Loans Stay Costly

Auto financing remains one of the most expensive forms of consumer borrowing. The Fed’s decision gives banks and lenders little reason to reduce rates on new or used vehicle loans.

Consumers planning vehicle purchases should compare offers carefully, as financing costs can vary significantly between lenders and dealerships.

Credit Cards Feel the Impact Fastest

Credit-card borrowers continue to face some of the highest borrowing costs in decades. Unlike mortgages, credit-card rates tend to move closely with Fed policy.

If the central bank ultimately raises rates later this year, cardholders carrying balances could see their annual percentage rates climb even further. Financial advisors continue to recommend paying down high-interest balances as a top priority.

Savers Continue to Benefit

While borrowers face challenges, savers remain one of the few groups benefiting from elevated interest rates.

High-yield savings accounts, certificates of deposit, and money-market funds continue offering attractive returns. Consumers holding significant cash reserves may want to lock in current yields before rates eventually begin to decline.

Inflation Remains the Fed’s Focus

The central bank’s reluctance to cut rates stems largely from stubborn inflation pressures.

Fed officials now expect their preferred inflation measure to end 2026 at approximately 3.6%, significantly higher than the 2.7% forecast issued in March. Consumer prices rose 4.2% over the 12 months ending in May, driven in part by higher energy costs following disruptions tied to the conflict with Iran.

The Fed’s updated projections show a notable shift in thinking. Earlier this year, many policymakers anticipated rate cuts. Now, forecasts suggest rates could actually move slightly higher before year-end.

Nine of the eighteen policymakers who submitted projections expect at least one additional rate increase during 2026.

Warsh Signals Tough Stance

New Fed Chair Kevin Warsh, presiding over his first policy meeting, emphasized that fighting inflation remains the central bank’s primary mission.

Asked whether the Fed might eventually relax its long-standing 2% inflation target, Warsh rejected the idea.

“The commitment to restoring price stability is strong, unanimous, and unambiguous,” he told reporters.

The Fed’s confidence stems partly from continued labor-market strength. Employers added 172,000 jobs in May while unemployment remained at 4.3%. As long as hiring remains healthy and consumers continue spending, policymakers feel less urgency to lower rates.

What Households Should Do Now

Financial planners say consumers should assume borrowing costs will remain elevated through at least the remainder of 2026.

That means:

• Prioritize paying down high-interest credit-card balances.
• Lock in attractive savings rates while they remain available.
• Shop aggressively for mortgage and auto-loan offers.
• Build major purchase plans around today’s rates rather than expecting significant declines.

Markets are increasingly preparing for the possibility that the Fed’s next move could be upward rather than downward. According to CME Group futures pricing, investors are assigning meaningful odds to another rate increase before the end of the year.

For now, the message from the Federal Reserve is straightforward: inflation remains the priority, borrowing remains expensive, and relief for consumers is likely to take longer than many had hoped.

JBizNews Desk

© JBizNews.com All Rights Reserved. Reproduction or distribution without written permission is prohibited.

Today marks 26 days, which is more than three weeks, since members of the Global Sumud Land Convoy tried to make their way to Gaza via Libya to join up with the flotilla activists, but were arrested on May 24 in Libya.

The Global Sumud Flotilla said that 200 activists had camped a few miles from the Sirte crossing into Libya when they were encircled by unmarked vehicles, physically assaulted and forced to evacuate. Ten of them were subsequently arrested when they attempted to negotiate with the Government of National Stability.

The GNS Foreign Ministry, an administrative authority in Libya, claimed the detentions were prompted by the activists’ failure to obtain proper entry permits, but insisted they were being treated in accordance with international humanitarian law. The ministry added that despite its sympathy with the cause, entry across the Libya-Egypt border is permitted only to citizens of those countries.

Activists plead for information on the Gaza Sumud Land Convoy participants held in secret prisons in Libya. (Credit: Heidi Bachram)

But it’s been weeks, and the activists have been rotting in prison ever since, with no information on their welfare or whereabouts. While they were allowed to call family in early June, their communication has been heavily restricted. They are being held in undisclosed locations in Benghazi.

And while a handful of their fellow flotilla activists in Turkey are trying to do something about it, no one else seems to care. When Israel detained the Gaza Sumud Flotilla activists for four days, the international community erupted in outrage. When Itamar Ben-Gvir paraded himself in front of bound and kneeling hostages in a display that even Israeli leaders said was disgraceful, European countries moved to sanction him.

But on the ones held in Libya in what are termed “black sites,” there is deafening silence in a staggering display of hypocrisy and double standards from the rest of the world. Black sites are a network of secret, makeshift, unofficial prisons for holding migrants, refugees, political opponents and activists. Heavily armed militias and other armed groups with ties to the government retain control over the facilities and are known to subject detainees to torture, forced labor and severe human rights violations.

They would probably rather have been taunted by Ben-Gvir and sent home to tell made-up stories about their torture in Israeli prisons instead of suffering real torture behind an iron curtain no one can see through, but no one asked them, and no one cares.

Vice President JD Vance is defending President Donald Trump’s agreement with Iran against criticism from fellow Republicans, arguing that the arrangement bears little resemblance to the 2015 nuclear accord negotiated by the Obama administration and instead reflects a dramatically different strategic reality.

Speaking about the agreement, Vance contended that the circumstances surrounding the two deals could not be compared because Iran’s nuclear infrastructure has already been dismantled and the new framework bars Tehran from enriching uranium.

“You have to remember, in 2015 Iran had built a sophisticated nuclear weapons program with a nuclear weapon stockpile. So the perspective that we came at as the United States was, ‘You already have a really nice nuclear program; we’re going to bribe you with American money in order to stop it,'” Vance said.

He contrasted that approach with the Trump administration’s current position, arguing that Washington is negotiating from a position of leverage rather than trying to halt an active nuclear buildup.

“Our perspective — and where we’re coming at it — is, ‘We already destroyed your nuclear program; and so if you promise and show verifiable pathways to not rebuild it, then we are willing to give you some sanctions relief, and things like that.'”

Vance went on to outline what he described as several key distinctions between the two agreements, maintaining that the new deal imposes stricter limitations on Tehran’s nuclear capabilities while avoiding financial concessions made under the earlier accord.

“Now, there are all these substantive differences as well. The Obama nuclear deal allowed enrichment; ours will not,” Vance said.

He further argued that the Trump agreement takes a tougher stance on Iran’s nuclear materials.

“The Obama deal allowed the accumulation of stockpiled weapons-grade material. Ours is actually leading to the destruction of that stockpile of enriched material,” he continued.

Vance also highlighted what he said was a major financial difference between the two arrangements.

“The Obama deal gave them over a billion dollars of American money. The deal gives them $0 of American money,” Vance said.

Summing up his defense of the agreement, the vice president maintained that the most significant distinction is the position from which the United States negotiated and the support the deal has received from regional allies.

“A lot of substantive differences, but I think the most important differences are where we’re coming at it from: a position of strength, and the fact that our [Persian] Gulf Coast partners love this deal.”

Mortgage rates fell this week to the lowest level in more than a month, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday.

Freddie Mac’s latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey, released Thursday, showed the average rate on the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage declined to 6.47% from last week’s reading of 6.52%. 

The average rate on a 30-year loan was 6.81% a year ago.

INCOME NEEDED TO AFFORD A MEDIAN-PRICED HOME HAS NEARLY DOUBLED SINCE 2020, REPORT FINDS

“Incoming data continues to reflect a resilient consumer, with retail sales improving and pending home sales strengthening, suggesting purchase demand is continuing to modestly improve,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.

The average rate on a 15-year fixed mortgage fell to 5.81% from last week’s reading of 5.84%.

Rates have been elevated of late as concerns over the Iran war weighed on markets. On June 17, President Donald Trump signed a memorandum of understanding while attending meetings in France, while Iran signed remotely. The temporary framework calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, limits on Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile and a 60-day window to negotiate a permanent agreement addressing Tehran’s nuclear program.

MEDIAN US HOME PRICE PROJECTED TO HIT $1 MILLION BY 2050 – RIGHT AS MILLENNIALS RETIRE

The deal also includes provisions to ease economic pressure on Iran, including access to some frozen assets and the lifting of certain restrictions, while drawing criticism from some conservatives who argue the agreement offers too many concessions without requiring Iran to immediately dismantle its nuclear infrastructure.

“The previous weeks have been filled with constant back-and-forths, showing progress toward a resolution, only to be followed by heightened military action,” said Realtor.com senior economist Anthony Smith. “However, the latest rounds have proven more promising than previous periods of reprieve, as a tentative deal has now been drafted and now signed by President Trump.”

MIDWEST AND SOUTHERN STATES DOMINATE HOUSING REPORT CARDS: SEE HOW YOURS SCORED

Mortgage rates are affected by several factors, including the Federal Reserve and geopolitics. Though mortgage rates are not directly affected by the Fed’s interest rate decisions, they closely track the 10-year Treasury yield. The 10-year yield hovered around 4.45% as of Friday afternoon.

The U.S. central bank on Wednesday announced that it will hold interest rates steady due to concerns about elevated inflation amid the war in Iran, as new Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh’s tenure leading the central bank begins in earnest.

Fed policymakers voted 12-0 to leave the benchmark federal funds rate unchanged at its current range of 3.5% to 3.75%. The move follows the central bank’s decision to hold rates steady in January, March and April following three successive 25-basis-point rate cuts in September, October and December to close out last year.

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the central bank’s panel responsible for monetary policy moves, noted in its statement that inflation remains elevated above the central bank’s 2% goal, which it said was “in part reflecting supply shocks that have driven price increases in certain sectors, including energy.”

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE

“Warsh used his first decision as chair to signal a broader regime change: the easing bias is gone, forward guidance has been shelved, and the committee’s statement was rewritten around a single, unhedged commitment to delivering price stability,” Smith said. “Markets responded with a jump in the 10-year Treasury and rising odds of a rate hike before year’s end. The logic of Warsh’s approach, earning credibility by following through rather than telegraphing, is sound and ultimately the path to lower long-term rates. But a market without clear guidance may demand a premium in the near term, which could keep mortgage rates from falling as quickly as the Iran ceasefire alone might suggest.”

FOX Business’ Bradford Betz and Eric Revell contributed to this report

More than four decades after the kidnapping and murder of IDF soldier Moshe Tamam Hy”d, the State of Israel has filed a civil lawsuit seeking nearly NIS 2 million from the terrorists responsible for the brutal killing.

The lawsuit, filed in the Haifa Magistrate’s Court by the State Attorney’s Office on behalf of the Defense Ministry, seeks reimbursement for benefits and compensation paid by the state to Tamam’s bereaved parents under the Fallen Soldiers’ Families Law.

The defendants are four members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) who were convicted in connection with the 1984 abduction and murder: Ibrahim Abd al-Razak Bayadsa, Ibrahim Nayef Abu Mukh, Saleh (formerly Rushdi) Abu Mukh, and the estate of Walid Daqqa, the ringleader of the terror cell, who died in prison in 2024.

According to the lawsuit, the terrorists kidnapped Tamam while he was hitchhiking near Netanya in August 1984. They bound and blindfolded him, held him captive for several days, and ultimately murdered him in an olive grove near Mevo Dotan before abandoning his body.

All four were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1987.

The state argues that those responsible for the kidnapping and murder should bear the financial consequences of their actions rather than the Israeli public. In addition to recovering benefits already paid to Tamam’s parents, the lawsuit seeks compensation for future payments the state is expected to make.

The filing describes the murder as a grave violation of the sanctity of life and notes the added severity of the crime given its nationalist motive and the fact that the perpetrators were Israeli citizens.

Quoting the original sentencing decision, the lawsuit states: “Before us is a horrifying murder committed by citizens of the state who were born and raised in it. It was a cold-blooded killing carried out with planning and premeditation, motivated solely by the fact that the victim was an IDF soldier.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Hunter Biden launched a blistering attack on the UFC Freedom 250 event held on the White House South Lawn, blasting the spectacle as inappropriate for the historic grounds and ending his lengthy social media post with an unexpected challenge to Donald Trump Jr.: a cage fight.

Framing his comments as an open letter to podcast host Joe Rogan—who had dismissed critics of the event and told those offended by it to “shut … up”—Biden argued that turning the White House into the setting for a combat-sports event undermined the significance of the presidential residence.

“The White House does not belong to Donald Trump. It does not belong to any president. It belongs to the people,” he wrote in the lengthy diatribe.

Drawing repeated comparisons to ancient Rome, Biden contended that the event transformed a national symbol into a stage for political spectacle.

“To treat it as Caesar treated the Colosseum is antithetical to everything our founding fathers fought for.

“This is not Rome. Presidents are not emperors doling out bread and circuses for the peasants,” he said, cloaking his critique in a Roman Empire motif.

Continuing the analogy, Biden accused President Trump of using the White House grounds to project personal power.

“By holding the event on the South Lawn, what he was saying to the rest of us is: ‘This is my house. I own it. I will do with it what I please. I’ll build a colosseum and have the gladiators fight under my gaze.’”

Despite criticizing the White House event, Biden offered praise for Rogan and UFC president Dana White, crediting them with helping transform mixed martial arts into a major American success.

Still, he argued that staging the fights at the White House crossed a line, describing the event as “an exhibition of imperial domination, not a celebration of our 250th anniversary as a democracy.”

Biden concluded his remarks with a warning against elevating the presidency above its constitutional role.

“The president is our servant. Not our Caesar,” he wrote before turning his attention to Trump’s eldest son.

“P.S. Cage match between me and Don. Jr? Your call on the venue. Anywhere but the South Lawn.”

Notably absent from Biden’s comments was any reference to controversies involving his father’s administration and the White House grounds. Critics have pointed to incidents such as the placement of a Pride flag in a 2023 display on the Truman Balcony, a move that generated debate over compliance with the U.S. Flag Code.

{Matzav.com}

Dozens of Sephardi rabbanim, roshei yeshiva, and heads of mosdos gathered Thursday at the Halichos Moshe Bais Medrash in Bnei Brak for an emergency meeting led by Chacham Nissim Ben Shimon and Chacham Shlomo Machpud.

The purpose of the gathering was to express a clear and firm position on behalf of the Sephardi Torah world and to protest the arrests of yeshiva bochurim and kollel avreichim.

Rabbanim, roshei yeshiva, and community leaders who addressed the gathering spoke about the importance of safeguarding the honor and standing of Torah and called for unity and a public outcry over what they described as ongoing disrespect toward lomdei Torah.

In his address, Chacham Nissim Ben Shimon cited the Chazal that, “Whoever disgraces Torah scholars has no remedy for his affliction.” He then referred directly to Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and said that by next week she is expected to feel unwell and come to regret her actions. He concluded by calling on the public to strengthen itself and awaken to the situation.

At the conclusion of the gathering, a joint decision was made to hold a mass public rally in Bnei Brak on Motzaei Shabbos Parshas Balak. According to the organizers, the event is expected to be attended by rabbanim, roshei yeshiva, roshei kollel, and leading Torah figures from across the city.

Organizers said the rally is expected to include significant declarations, and that far-reaching steps regarding the future public response of the Sephardi Torah world may be presented.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

An IDF soldier serving in the Military Rabbinate is being credited with helping save lives after an explosive Hezbollah drone became entangled in an eruv he had installed at a military outpost near the Lebanese border, causing it to detonate harmlessly above the position.

The soldier, identified only as Elyashiv, had installed the eruv approximately six weeks earlier as part of his duties with the Military Rabbinate.

According to reports, Hezbollah later launched an explosive first-person-view (FPV) drone toward the outpost. As the drone approached, it became caught in the eruv’s string and was unable to continue its flight path.

The drone subsequently exploded while suspended above the ground, preventing it from striking the soldiers stationed below. No injuries were reported in the incident.

Fellow soldiers at the outpost have described the event as a remarkable miracle, noting that the simple eruv installation may have prevented a deadly attack.

The unusual incident has quickly spread among soldiers and supporters, with many viewing it as a powerful reminder of Divine protection amid the ongoing security challenges along Israel’s northern border.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

M&M’s makers Mars will debut artificial dye-free candies in August in a Make America Healthy Again (MAHA)-compliant move after facing pressure from Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

But while the classic candy-maker was able to use natural sources like beets or turmeric to replicate colors like red and yellow, shades of blue have proven considerably more difficult and expensive to recreate naturally. 

Mars has been replicating blue and brown’s artificial coloring using spirulina extract, a concentrated blue-green algae powder, but the substance is prohibitively expensive.

Turmeric, for example, is available in bulk from most wholesalers for prices in the $9-$11 per lb. range. Spirulina, by contrast, can be significantly more expensive. The raw supplement can cost up to $20 per lb. at similar wholesalers, while the concentrated form most often used for food dyes is often priced at over $100 per lb. 

THESE POPULAR FOODS ARE AFFECTED AS COMPANIES ALIGN WITH TRUMP ADMIN’S ‘MAHA’ INITIATIVE

Furthermore, spirulina’s viscous nature has caused clogging in M&M’s factory spray nozzles and created film build-ups in manufacturing equipment, creating a potential safety and health hazard, The Wall Street Journal reported. 

The high costs associated with MAHA-ifying its products have driven Mars into a colorful dilemma, according to the Journal. Wanting to debut its altered product ahead of the company’s 85-year anniversary in August, Mars has spent millions in an effort to find alternatives.

Given the high costs of reproducing blue, Mars considered just rolling out a three-color mix of red, orange and yellow, but executives felt “the sunset vibes were too strong,” the Journal reported.

Anton Vincent, the leader of the company’s North American snacks division, told the Journal the replacement effort “was a daunting situation,” adding, “you’re messing with an 85-year-old icon.”

WALMART ELIMINATING SYNTHETIC DYES FROM ITS PRIVATE-LABEL FOOD BRANDS

Mars had originally announced a plan to offer artificial dye-free products in 2016, but reversed the decision after announcing customers didn’t seem to care. 

But, thanks to a Kennedy-led push to pressure companies to ditch artificial materials, Mars again announced in 2025 they would be pivoting to natural dye options. 

Kennedy Jr. has frequently criticized the use of artificial dyes in U.S. food products, calling them a key driver in numerous American health epidemics.

“When we look at these nine specific food dyes, the science shows a clear, undeniable link to behavioral disruptions in our kids and long-term cancer risks. We are systematically clearing them out,” he said in a 2025 press conference with West Virginia’s Republican Gov. Patrick Morrisey.

West Virginia became the first to sign into law a total ban on statewide sales of major artificial dyes in 2025.

Kennedy Jr.‘s HHS added Mars to a list of 27 corporations that have pledged to remove artificial food dyes from certain products in his office’s effort to eliminate petroleum-based food dyes from the U.S. food supply.

Federally, his office has formally banned four petroleum-based artificial food dyes, revoking Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorization for brominated vegetable oil (BVO), Red Dye no. 3, Citrus Red No. 2 and Orange B. 

Kennedy Jr. has also pushed hard to get companies to phase out six other specific dyes — Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1, Blue 2, and Green 3. 

His office has cited animal studies that linked consumption of specific artifical dyes to cancer risks and long-term behavioral dysfunctions. 

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE

The FDA cited the Delaney Clause, a provision requiring the institution to prohibit a chemical if it’s found to cause cancer in humans or animals, after banning Red Dye No. 3 in 2025. Numerous long-term animal studies found the chemical linked to cancer development in rats. 

FOX Business contacted Mars and HHS for further comment.

Carvana, the company that built its name selling used cars through its signature glass-tower vending machines, is now making a major push into the new-car business — and the strategy could reshape how Americans buy vehicles.

The company showcased its vision this week at a Stellantis dealership in Dallas, where executives demonstrated a retail model that looks very different from the traditional dealership experience.

There are no salespeople roaming the showroom floor and no negotiation desks. Instead, the location functions as a customer experience center where shoppers can explore vehicles, take self-guided test drives, and complete the entire purchase process online.

“Every single car that we sell, whether it’s used or new, is online,” said Tom Taira, the Carvana president overseeing the company’s new-vehicle strategy.

The approach extends the formula that helped transform Carvana into one of America’s largest used-car retailers. The company is betting consumers increasingly prefer transparent pricing, minimal pressure, and digital convenience over the traditional dealership experience.

Carvana has quietly been laying the groundwork for this expansion. Since last year, the company has acquired seven Stellantis franchises representing brands including Jeep, Ram, Chrysler, and Dodge. Those dealerships are located in markets where Carvana already maintains a strong customer base, including Dallas, Atlanta, Boston, Cleveland, Phoenix, Sacramento, and San Diego.

Early results have attracted attention throughout the auto industry.

One Arizona dealership acquired by Carvana reportedly became Stellantis’ highest-volume store in the country after the transition, selling more than 700 new vehicles in a single month compared with roughly 30 to 50 monthly sales before the acquisition.

The move gives Carvana access to opportunities that do not exist in the used-car market alone.

Franchised dealerships can participate in manufacturer-backed programs, exclusive dealer auctions, and new-car financing channels. The business also creates additional trade-in opportunities that can feed Carvana’s used-vehicle inventory operation.

The opportunity is massive. According to the National Automobile Dealers Association, nearly 17,000 franchised dealerships operate across the United States, generating well over $1 trillion in annual sales.

For consumers, Carvana’s appeal remains straightforward.

Buying a vehicle has long ranked among the least popular major consumer experiences. Many buyers dislike lengthy negotiations, financing office pressure, and spending hours inside a dealership. Carvana’s model attempts to eliminate much of that friction by allowing customers to complete most of the process digitally.

The company is also taking a different path than electric-vehicle manufacturers such as Tesla and Rivian, which have spent years challenging state franchise laws.

Rather than fighting the system, Carvana is working within it by purchasing existing dealership franchises and maintaining compliance with state regulations governing new-car sales.

Questions remain about how the model will evolve.

Industry analysts note that vehicle servicing, warranty work, customer retention, and parts operations remain central to dealership profitability. How Carvana integrates those functions into its digital-first strategy could determine whether the model succeeds at scale.

Investors are watching closely as well.

While some analysts see the initiative as one of the most disruptive developments in auto retailing in decades, others are waiting to see whether the approach can be replicated across multiple markets and brands.

The Dallas location is effectively serving as a live test case.

Carvana is wagering that customers still want to see and drive a vehicle in person but increasingly want to complete the transaction online. If that bet proves correct, traditional dealerships across the country may find themselves under growing pressure to modernize their own sales experience.

For now, the company is taking a measured approach. But if the model continues producing strong results, the future of new-car retailing could look very different from the one Americans have known for generations.

JBizNews Desk
Detroit

© JBizNews.com All Rights Reserved. Reproduction or distribution without written permission is prohibited.

The whole world is buzzing, it seems, over the new deal signed this week between the United States and Iran. Months of listening to President Donald Trump seesawing back and forth between dire threats against Iran and promises of an amazing deal very soon has caused whiplash to those who follow the news closely and sowed confusion among both supporters and critics of the deal.

Enter our explainer that, well, explains everything you ever wanted to know about the deal. This guide clarifies the difference between a memorandum of understanding (MOU) and a treaty. You’ve been wondering, haven’t you?

Our tutorial also walks you through what each party stands to gain from the deal and breaks down a comparison between this MOU and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), as well as the main points of criticism and support. Finally, our overview goes back and lists the war aims at the start of the campaign and the goals of the talks at the beginning of the ceasefire so you can see for yourself what has changed.

President Trump signs the memorandum of understanding in Versailles on May 17. (Credit: The White House)

But first, a quick summary of this week’s events:

Since the April 8 ceasefire between the United States and Iran, the two countries had engaged in on-again, off-again talks to reach a permanent agreement, concluding Wednesday when President Donald Trump signed a hard copy of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) at the Palace of Versailles in France. Meanwhile, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian signed his own digital copy in Iran. The MOU had already been signed electronically on June 15 by Vice President J.D. Vance and Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf.

So … what is the difference between an MOU and a treaty?

An MOU is a formal document that is used as a springboard for a more lasting framework. While it states the intentions of all the parties, it’s non-binding and unenforceable. A treaty, on the other hand, is a binding contract that is enforceable under international law. Because an MOU does not need to be ratified by a government body like Congress, it allows an agreement between parties to take effect quickly. An MOU relies on good faith and trust, whereas a treaty requires formal authorization from a legislative body like Congress and results in a much longer process.

The language used in MOUs is softer than treaties, using words like “will,” “intend to” and “jointly determine.” Treaties use language that is more binding and mandatory, like “shall” and “agree.”

Finally, courts resolve disputes over treaties, while the parties to MOUs resolve their disagreements among themselves.

In practical terms, because an MOU carries no legal weight, its terms are easier to violate than a formal treaty because there are no legal repercussions.

Vice President J.D. Vancespeaks with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ahead of their meeting on Iran amid the U.S.-Iran peace talks in Islamabad on April 11, 2026. (Photo by Jacquelyn Martin/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

The MOU between Washington and Tehran runs slightly longer than two pages and lists fourteen points.

What does Iran get out of the deal?

• The U.S. and its allies (i.e., Israel) cease all hostilities immediately in every region in the Middle East (i.e., Israel ceases operations in Lebanon).
• The U.S. and Iran agree not to meddle in each other’s internal affairs. This means, for example, that the U.S. cannot meddle in Iran’s human rights violations, such as the executions of protesters.
• The deal defers discussion of the nuclear framework until certain conditions are met. A final deal will be reached in 60 days, with mutually agreed-upon extensions. This means that a final deal can be postponed indefinitely.
• The U.S. lifts its naval blockade and removes its military forces from the region.
• Iran can start charging for passage through the Strait of Hormuz after 60 days.
• Iran gets $300 billion for reconstruction without that payout being contingent on its good behavior.
• All sanctions against Iran are lifted in a phased manner.
• Iran maintains the status quo on its nuclear program without incurring new sanctions.
• Iran can immediately start exporting crude oil, receiving waivers to do so from the U.S. while the process of lifting sanctions is ongoing.
• All of Iran’s frozen funds and restricted assets will be immediately unfrozen and available.

What does the United States get out of the deal?

• Iran will immediately open the Strait of Hormuz and will not charge “service fees” for 60 days.
• Iran agrees not to procure or develop nuclear weapons. It agrees to “down blend” its enriched uranium, instead of relinquishing it to the U.S. as the U.S. had originally demanded.

What else is in the deal?

• Both countries agree to establish a method to implement the terms of this deal, as well as the future terms of a final deal between the two parties.
• Once both parties sign the deal and implement the permanent ceasefire, lifting of the blockade, reopening of the strait and unfreezing of Iranian funds and assets, the U.S. and Iran will begin to negotiate the terms of a final deal regarding the remaining points.
• The United Nations will pass a binding resolution on the deal once it is finalized.

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar greets his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi upon his arrival in Islamabad on April 24, 2026 for mediated peace talks between the U.S. and Iran. (Photo by Iranian Foreign Ministry/AFP via Getty Images)

Following is a comparison of the current MOU and the JCPOA that former President Barack Obama signed with Iran:

• Both deals ban Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. While the JCPOA laid out a specific plan to prevent the acquisition of nuclear weapons, it’s unclear how the MOU will enforce this, as that has not been negotiated yet.
• The JCPOA put in place specific restrictions on Iran’s nuclear production. For example, it allowed Iran to enrich uranium up to 3.67%, an amount used for electricity but well below the amount needed for nuclear weapons. It capped this restriction at 15 years. It required Iran to consolidate all its nuclear production into one facility in Natanz. And it also restricted the number and types of centrifuges Iran could produce. By contrast, the MOU doesn’t directly address nuclear production, which is expected to be addressed in future talks; but it does suggest some restrictions, such as down blending its enriched uranium.
• A major criticism leveled at the JCPOA is that it contained 10- and 15-year sunset clauses. The MOU does not have any such clauses, and it’s unknown if a final deal will include one. Trump has said both that he wants to implement a 15- to 20-year cap and to impose permanent restrictions, so this remains to be seen.
• Both agreements include phased sanctions relief, but the MOU grants immediate waivers to Iran so it can immediately start exporting oil and petroleum. A key difference lies in the number of parties to the agreement. The MOU has been signed only by the U.S. and Iran, while China, Russia, Britain and Germany were party to the JCPOA and therefore to sanctions relief. It’s unclear what sanctions relief will look like without these countries’ involvement.
• The JCPOA did not include economic funding for Iran, while the MOU grants a $300 billion infusion into Iran’s economy to help with postwar reconstruction efforts.
• Both agreements did not place restrictions on Iran’s ballistic missile program.
• Neither agreement mentioned Iran’s funding of terrorism.

Pakistan’s Army Chief and Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir (third from right) meets with Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (third from left) upon his arrival in Islamabad for mediated peace talks between the U.S. and Iran. (Photo by Iranian Foreign Ministry/AFP via Getty Images)

Praise for the MOU

• Leaders of the G7 nations and Asian nations praised the MOU for the immediate end to strikes, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and the relief from high oil prices.
• The deal has also been lauded, especially by some Democratic lawmakers, for ending what they say was a catastrophic war. They conclude that even a flawed deal is better than dragging out such a conflict.
• The deal was praised for not allowing Iran to procure or develop nuclear weapons.
• Some Jewish groups expressed cautious optimism, saying the deal will stabilize the region as negotiations proceed for a hoped-for stricter final outcome on Iran’s nuclear program.

Criticism of the MOU

• Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers have criticized the deal as appeasement of Tehran. Republicans have compared it unfavorably to Obama’s JCPOA.
• Critics argue that the $300 billion in economic aid is not only surrender but also offers the hardline regime an economic lifeline, whereas before it was teetering on the verge of collapse.
• The MOU defers negotiations on nuclear enrichment, potentially indefinitely, kicking the can down the road, a phrase that has also been used to describe the JCPOA.
• The terms of the MOU are unenforceable. The terms are also weakened by the fact that deep-seated conflicts, such as between Israel and Hezbollah, remain unresolved.
• Some argue that Iran has emerged more emboldened, more dangerous, more radicalized and more powerful than before, directly resulting from what they say is U.S. capitulation to Iran, in contrast to the initial terms the U.S. had laid out at the beginning of the April 8 ceasefire.

How does the MOU differ from the original goals of the United States?

The goals of the U.S. changed significantly from its initial war aims to its initial goals for a ceasefire agreement and then, finally, to the deal that has just been signed.

Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio contradicted each other on what they promoted as the war goals, but a consensus had emerged at the beginning of the war that listed four aims.

• Destruction of Iran’s nuclear program.
• Dismantlement of its ballistic missile program.
• Choking off of its ability to fund its proxies.
• Creating the conditions for regime change.

Once a ceasefire agreement was reached, the White House insisted, and indeed promised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that a final deal must include the following conditions:

• The immediate, unconditional reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
• The complete cessation of funding of Iran’s proxy terror network throughout the Middle East, including Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis.
• The relinquishment of its entire stockpile of enriched uranium.
• The dismantlement of its ballistic missile program.

The Republican Jewish Coalition told its followers Thursday to “trust in Trump.” Meanwhile, in Israel, trust in Trump has plummeted thanks to the deal. Previously, he had enjoyed higher approval ratings in Israel than any Israeli politician. But his support plummeted in just the past three weeks from plus 16 percent to minus 23 percent as Israelis express their disapproval of what they see as a deal that will harm them in the end.

The fatal horse-carriage accident that claimed the life of an 18-year-old tourist visiting from India has reignited efforts at City Hall to ban horse-drawn carriage rides in New York City, with several lawmakers suggesting the tragedy could mark a turning point for the long-debated industry.

A number of City Council members said the incident — believed to be the first passenger fatality involving a horse carriage in recent memory — has intensified calls for sweeping changes and may finally generate enough momentum to outlaw the practice altogether.

“Is it the straw that broke the camel’s back? I think so,” said Councilman Frank Morano, a Staten Island Republican and co-sponsor of “Ryder’s Law,” which would outlaw horse carriages in New York City.

“We have an 18-year-old boy who came here to celebrate his graduation who is leaving in a coffin. It’s totally unacceptable,” Morano told The NY Post on Thursday.

Arguing that the industry has exhausted any benefit of the doubt, Morano added, “The time for treating these accidents as isolated incidents is over. It is an industry that no longer makes sense.”

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has also voiced support for eliminating horse-drawn carriage rides from Central Park, a position he adopted during his campaign.

“I support removing horse carriages from Central Park,” Mamdani said in January.

The mayor joins predecessors Eric Adams and Bill de Blasio, both of whom backed similar proposals during their administrations, though neither succeeded in pushing a ban through.

Supporters of the carriage industry, including representatives of the drivers’ union, contend that calls for a ban routinely surface after accidents involving horses but fade over time. They argue that investigations have consistently shown the animals receive proper care and that past efforts to outlaw the industry have repeatedly stalled.

Still, advocates for stricter animal-welfare protections believe the current City Council may be more receptive than previous ones. Earlier this year, lawmakers established an animal welfare caucus comprising 20 of the council’s 51 members, including Morano.

Council Speaker Julie Menin has scheduled a hearing next month on Ryder’s Law. The measure is named after Ryder, a carriage horse that collapsed while working in Central Park during a hot day in August 2022. Although the legislation failed to advance last year, supporters hope the latest tragedy will change that.

“In the past two weeks alone, we have seen the tragic deaths of both a horse and now a teenage carriage passenger, Romanch Mahajan,” Menin said, referring to the June 9 death of a carriage horse named Deniz, which authorities believe may have ingested a poisonous plant in Central Park.

“These incidents demonstrate that it’s time to chart a better path forward that addresses animal welfare and public safety, and also ensures the livelihood and economic prosperity of the workers,” Menin said.

Councilwoman Kamillah Hanks, a Democrat from Staten Island, said the latest accident demands action from city leaders.

“Something has to change. This tragedy is a call for the City Council to respond. We have to take an honest and sobering look at the horse carriage industry.”

Not all council members agree that a ban is the appropriate response. Queens Councilman James Gennaro argued that the “unthinkable tragedy” stemmed from “human error” rather than concerns about animal treatment.

Instead of prohibiting carriage rides outright, Gennaro is promoting legislation aimed at strengthening safety measures. His proposal would require designated hitching posts in Central Park so horses can be secured while passengers board, exit, or take photographs, and would also mandate enhanced training requirements for carriage operators.

Meanwhile, industry representatives acknowledged they are facing intense scrutiny in the wake of the fatal accident.

“We’re absolutely gutted and stunned by this tragedy. We’ve never had a fatal accident like this before,” said Alexander Kemp, administrative vice president of Transport Workers Union Local 100, which represents carriage drivers.

Kemp said the industry has temporarily halted operations while conducting an extensive review of safety procedures.

“We have shuttered the stables and ceased operations today while we have extensive internal discussions of safety protocols and how they can be improved,” said Kemp, who supports Gennaro’s bill, not an outright ban on the carriage industry.

Christina Hansen, a carriage driver and TWU shop steward, accused animal-rights groups of using the incident to advance a long-standing political agenda.

“Let’s take a step back and not to rush judgment,” she said.

Just over half of Americans say they are proud of their national identity as the country approaches its 250th anniversary, a sharp drop from a little more than a decade ago, according to a new survey from the Public Religion Research Institute.

In the PRRI poll, 51 percent of respondents said they are either “extremely proud” or “very proud” of being American. Twenty-three percent said they are “moderately proud,” 14 percent said they are “only a little proud” and 11 percent said they are “not at all proud.”

The figures mark a steep decline from June 2013, when 81 percent of respondents called themselves “extremely proud” or “very proud” of their American identity. At that time, 12 percent said they were “moderately proud,” 3 percent said they were “only a little proud” and 1 percent said they were “not at all proud.”

The drop arrives at a symbolic moment. The United States will mark 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4. The poll also found that only 18 percent of Americans said they are extremely or very proud of the way democracy is functioning in the country today, and roughly 7 in 10 said they believe the nation’s democratic rights and freedoms are under threat.

Robert P. Jones, PRRI’s founder and president, told Axios the findings point to Americans increasingly inhabiting separate views of the country largely along partisan lines. “Yes, we’re polarized,” Jones said, “but increasingly what we’re seeing is Republicans as outliers, and further and further from the middle.” According to the survey, Republicans were at least 30 percentage points more likely than independents and Democrats to express pride in their American identity.

The decline was steepest among younger adults. Americans ages 18 to 29 were the least likely to say they are proud of being American, at 34 percent. Pride also varied widely by religious affiliation, with white evangelical Protestants the most likely to say they are proud, at 76 percent, followed by white Catholics. Fewer than half of Hispanic Catholics, Black Protestants and religiously unaffiliated Americans said the same.

PRRI CEO Melissa Deckman tied some of the unease to the current political climate, including disputes over free speech and the right to protest. The new poll follows a decade of rising political tensions in the U.S., marked by increasingly heated rhetoric and episodes of political violence on both the left and the right.

The PRRI results echo a broader trend in recent polling. Gallup found in June 2025 that 58 percent of Americans were extremely or very proud to be American, the lowest reading in its 25-year trend and down from 87 percent when it first asked the question in 2001. Gallup also recorded a wide generational gap, with 41 percent of Gen Z adults expressing pride from 2021 to 2025 compared with 83 percent of the Silent Generation. A separate Reuters/Ipsos survey released this week found that about 38 percent of Americans do not believe the country will still exist as a single, unified nation 250 years from now.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

The Faltishan Rav, who leads Vaad Mishmeres Kehunah, Harav Chaim Moshe Rokeach, the Yerislov Rav, together with Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein, announced that the halachic concern affecting kohanim traveling along McDonald Avenue near Washington Cemetery has been resolved.

The issue stemmed from ongoing work being performed by an MTA contractor along the elevated tracks on McDonald Avenue. As crews conducted work beneath the tracks, a temporary platform was constructed that extended over a grave within Washington Cemetery. According to rabbinic authorities, this created an issue of tumah that halachically extended along huge portions of the McDonald Avenue corridor.

The resolution was achieved through coordinated efforts involving all mentioned above, Washington Cemetery officials, the MTA, and the contractor performing the work. Following discussions and site visits, the necessary modifications were made to eliminate the concern.

The rabbanim expressed their appreciation to all parties involved for their cooperation and swift action in resolving the matter on behalf of the community.

More than 50,000 couples married in New Jersey in 2025, with Ocean County – powered by Lakewood – emerging as one of the state’s busiest destinations for weddings, according to new data obtained by TLS.

The state recorded a total of 50,055 marriages last year, with Bergen County, the state’s most populous county, leading all counties with 4,790 marriages, followed by Hudson County with 4,404, Essex County with 4,246 and Ocean County with 4,128.

Ocean County’s total placed it fourth statewide, narrowly ahead of Union County’s 3,830 marriages and Middlesex County’s 3,780.

The figures reflect Ocean County’s continuing population growth and its unique mix of year-round residents, rapidly expanding inland communities and popular Jersey Shore destinations that draw couples seeking beach weddings and seasonal celebrations.

A major contributor to the county’s marriage activity is Lakewood, home to one of the youngest communities in the Unites States and the fastest growing in the state.

The township has 10 wedding halls, with an average of eight weddings taking place on any given night, from Sunday through Thursday – amounting to roughly 160 weddings each month in Lakewood alone.

Marriage activity in Ocean County followed a pronounced seasonal pattern. December, which is usually around three months after the busy Bain Hazmanim engagement season was by far the busiest month, with 532 marriages, followed by September with 434 and August with 408. June, traditionally one of the most popular wedding months nationally, saw 382 marriages in the county.

Winter months were considerably quieter. January saw 193 marriages in Ocean County, rising gradually through the spring before peaking in the fall.

Statewide, October was the most popular month to marry, accounting for 5,464 marriages, or 10.9% of the annual total. September and May were close behind, each representing nearly one-tenth of all marriages performed in New Jersey.

The data also highlight regional differences across the state. Several South Jersey counties recorded fewer than 1,000 marriages during the year, including Salem County with 417, Warren County with 629 and Cumberland County with 704. By contrast, the state’s largest and most densely populated counties consistently recorded several thousand marriages annually.

Ocean County’s total means that roughly one out of every 12 marriages performed in New Jersey in 2025 took place there, underscoring the county’s growing importance not only as a residential hub but also as a center for family and community life.

In a significant Second Amendment ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously sided with a Texas man who challenged a federal law prohibiting unlawful drug users from possessing firearms, concluding that the statute was unconstitutional as applied in his case.

The decision in United States v. Hemani was authored by Justice Neil Gorsuch and garnered agreement from all nine justices on the central outcome, although several members of the Court filed separate opinions debating the broader constitutional implications.

The case stemmed from the experience of Ali Danial Hemani, a dual U.S.-Pakistani citizen who grew up in Texas and lived with his parents in the Dallas area. In 2022, FBI agents searched the family’s residence while investigating possible terrorism-related concerns. According to the Court’s opinion, Hemani cooperated fully with investigators, voluntarily surrendering a firearm, directing agents to marijuana in the home, and acknowledging that he “used marijuana about every other day.”

During the search, agents recovered approximately 60 grams of marijuana, 4.7 grams of cocaine, and a Glock 19 handgun.

Despite the terrorism investigation that prompted the search, neither Hemani nor any member of his family was ever charged with terrorism-related offenses.

More than six months later, however, federal prosecutors charged Hemani under 18 U.S.C. §922(g)(3), a law that makes it a felony for anyone who is an “unlawful user of” or “addicted to” a controlled substance to purchase, own, or possess a firearm. A conviction under the statute carries a potential prison sentence of up to 15 years.

The same federal law attracted national attention during the prosecution of Hunter Biden, who initially signaled that he intended to challenge its constitutionality before ultimately pleading guilty and later receiving a pardon from his father, President Joe Biden.

Hemani sought dismissal of the charges, arguing that the statute violated his Second Amendment rights. A federal district court agreed and threw out the indictment. The government appealed, but the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals likewise ruled in Hemani’s favor. Federal officials then brought the case to the Supreme Court.

“The government’s prosecution of Mr. Hemani under §922(g)(3)’s unlawful user provision is inconsistent with the Second Amendment,” wrote Gorsuch.

In reaching that conclusion, Gorsuch relied heavily on the Supreme Court’s landmark 2022 ruling in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, which instructed courts to evaluate firearm restrictions by examining historical traditions from the nation’s founding era. Under Bruen, governments need not identify an identical historical law, but must demonstrate that “the challenged regulation is consistent with the principles that underpin our regulatory tradition.”

Federal attorneys argued that early American laws regulating so-called “habitual drunkards” provided a historical analogue. Those laws sometimes authorized imprisonment, commitment to institutions, or the posting of bonds to ensure future good behavior.

Gorsuch rejected that comparison, noting that the government’s reading of the statute would permit prosecution even in cases where there was no evidence that an individual was impaired or dangerous. He pointed out that the law could be applied to “and a college student who routinely uses a friend’s Adderall to cram for exams” or “a husband who regularly takes his wife’s prescription Ambien to sleep,” examples discussed during oral arguments.

The justice also observed that historical laws concerning habitual drunkards generally included procedural safeguards.

Those laws, he wrote, “usually provided some form of process,” including judicial proceedings or bond hearings “before an individual lost any of his liberties, even temporarily.”

By contrast, he said, §922(g)(3) purported to “automatically divest[] an individual of his constitutional right to bear arms the moment he becomes an unlawful user and until he ends his drug use.”

Gorsuch further noted that historical restrictions on habitual drunkards were justified on the grounds that such individuals posed unusual dangers to the public and were more likely to misuse firearms or commit acts of violence.

Yet under the modern statute, he wrote, “[i]t doesn’t matter what controlled substance an individual uses, in what amounts he does so, or whether his drug use has ever made him a danger to himself or others. It doesn’t even matter why he keeps a gun or how safely he does so. And for violating this automatic ban, the government insists, an individual like Mr. Hemani may be sent to prison for up to 15 years and disarmed for life.”

The Court emphasized that its ruling was limited in scope and should not be interpreted as holding that unlawful drug users can never be dangerous.

Instead, Gorsuch said, the Constitution does not permit the government “to conclude that anyone who regularly uses marijuana is categorically violent and dangerous without any further showing,” particularly given recent federal changes acknowledging marijuana’s “currently accepted medical use.”

The opinion also stressed that the ruling does not affect longstanding prohibitions on firearm possession by convicted felons, nor does it prevent prosecutors from pursuing gun charges against individuals whose drug use can be shown to create a genuine danger.

Although the Court agreed on the outcome, several justices offered differing views in separate concurring opinions.

Justice Clarence Thomas argued that the law is unconstitutional for an additional reason, writing that Congress lacks authority “to regulate the possession of firearms solely on the ground that they crossed state lines at some point in the past.”

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, joined by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, used her concurrence to criticize the Bruen framework itself, arguing that it “is unworkable” and “vulnerable to inconsistent and arbitrary application, as judges draw different conclusions from the same historical evidence.”

Justice Samuel Alito, joined by Justice Elena Kagan, agreed with the result but not all of the majority’s reasoning. He concluded that the government had “failed to show that a marijuana user like” Hemani “is incapacitated in a way analogous to the habitual drunkards that the Government’s analogues regulated.”

Gun-rights advocates celebrated the ruling.

“The Supreme Court made the right call,” the National Rifle Association wrote on social media after the decision was released.

The organization’s executive director described the ruling as “a major victory for the Second Amendment and peaceable gun owners across America,” adding that “no one should be deprived of their God-given right to keep and bear arms for engaging in nonviolent conduct, and there is no historical justification for doing so.”

The Second Amendment Foundation, which also supported Hemani before the Court, hailed the decision as another major victory for gun owners.

The organization said the ruling had “secured a victory for Second Amendment advocates and firearms owners nationwide.”

“The Court’s decision today affirms what SAF has argued for some time – there is no historical tradition of permanently disarming law-abiding citizens who use marijuana,” said SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut. “Founding-era laws addressed the dangers of intoxication through temporary restrictions, but not the complete ban on firearms possession for the remainder of the person’s life. We’re thrilled the Supreme Court agrees with us and struck down Mr. Hemani’s unconstitutional conviction.”

SAF founder Alan M. Gottlieb similarly praised the ruling.

“The Court rightly held today that the proper understanding of the Second Amendment only provides for disarming those who are actually dangerous,” said Gottlieb. “Simply being an unlawful user of any drug fails to meet that standard, and today the court concluded that marijuana use, absent any other evidence, was insufficient to show Mr. Hemani was dangerous such that his rights could be constitutionally extinguished.”

The organization subsequently published a series of detailed analyses of the opinion on social media, examining its implications for future gun-rights litigation and other ongoing constitutional challenges.

Supporters of the ruling extended beyond traditional gun-rights groups. Rob Romano of the Firearms Policy Coalition highlighted comments from the American Civil Liberties Union, which represented Hemani in the case.

According to the ACLU, the decision “makes it clear that the government cannot make it a crime for people to own a gun – which the Supreme Court has held is a fundamental constitutional right – simply because they use marijuana.”

The organization also argued that the statute “let the government arbitrarily discriminate against marijuana users and deprive them of their rights,” but now, “[t]he court has sent a strong message that the government cannot criminalize the conduct of large numbers of people by making categorical and unfounded assumptions about whether they are dangerous.”

Summing up the significance of the decision, firearms journalist Stephen Gutowski offered a headline that quickly gained attention online: “The High Court Says Yes to Buds and Bullets.”

{Matzav.com}

Oil prices tumbled this week after the U.S. military and the White House signaled a break in the Iran war, the clearest sign yet that a single geopolitical headline now moves markets more than any economic report. Brent crude, the global benchmark, dropped below $78 a barrel on Thursday, its lowest level since early March, as markets reacted to the United States and Iran reaching an agreement to end the conflict. U.S. Central Command announced it had lifted restrictions on traffic to and from Iranian ports, and President Donald Trump said an interim agreement had been signed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

By Friday, Brent traded around $79 per barrel and was on track to fall roughly 10% for the week. Oil has now dropped about 38% from the four-month high it reached in April, erasing nearly all the gains recorded since the conflict began in late February.

The reason is geography. The Strait of Hormuz is narrow, heavily watched, and difficult to replace, normally carrying roughly one-fifth of global petroleum consumption. When the war choked off traffic, prices spiked on fears of a lasting shortage. Now that tankers are beginning to move again — with the Joint Maritime Information Center advising vessels to follow routes closer to Oman’s coastline to reduce mine-related risks — those fears are draining out of the market. Kuwait has said it will begin increasing production, while major producers including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Iraq are positioned to restore millions of barrels of previously constrained output if the route remains open.

That whipsaw is the real story. For most of the past two years, traders focused primarily on inflation reports and Federal Reserve policy. In 2026, however, the dominant market driver has been the Middle East. When the conflict escalates, oil prices jump, gasoline costs rise, and stocks often retreat. When peace appears closer, oil falls and equities rally. The same event that lowers the cost of filling a gas tank can boost the stock market in a single trading session.

Gold has been moving to a different rhythm. The precious metal remains the traditional safe-haven asset, attracting investors during periods of uncertainty. Yet gold retreated sharply in mid-June, falling to around $4,100 per ounce, pressured by a stronger U.S. dollar and elevated Treasury yields that made the non-yielding asset less attractive. Even so, longer-term demand remains robust. The World Gold Council reported first-quarter gold demand reached a record $193 billion in dollar terms, while central banks purchased approximately 244 metric tons of the metal. That level of institutional buying does not disappear simply because one shipping lane reopens.

The divergence between oil and gold offers a useful window into investor thinking. Oil responds primarily to the physical question: are energy supplies moving freely? Gold responds to the broader question: is the world becoming more dangerous and uncertain? At the moment, crude oil has been the cleaner gauge of developments involving Iran and the Strait of Hormuz, reacting sharply to each diplomatic breakthrough or setback. Gold, meanwhile, reflects a deeper and more structural concern about geopolitical instability that extends beyond any single conflict.

None of this is settled. Even as optimism surrounding Hormuz pushed oil lower, a flare-up between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon killed at least 18 people and forced the postponement of the next round of U.S.-Iran negotiations scheduled for Switzerland before a renewed ceasefire was reached. That sequence — progress, escalation, then renewed calm — illustrates why a geopolitical risk premium remains embedded in markets. Traders have learned that apparent stability can disappear in a matter of hours.

The implications reach far beyond Wall Street. Lower oil prices eventually flow through to gasoline stations, shipping costs, airline fuel expenses, and the price of countless consumer goods. Energy has been one of the largest contributors to inflation this year, meaning sustained declines in crude prices could ease pressure on households and businesses alike. A calmer energy market could also provide the Federal Reserve, under Chair Kevin Warsh, with greater flexibility as it weighs future interest-rate decisions.

But the opposite remains true as well. If the conflict reignites and tanker traffic through Hormuz is disrupted again, energy prices could rise rapidly, pushing inflation higher and complicating the Fed’s efforts to stabilize prices. Businesses that depend on predictable transportation costs and consumers already facing elevated living expenses would feel the impact almost immediately.

For now, the lesson from this week is straightforward. The biggest force moving oil, gold, and stocks is no longer a jobs report, an inflation reading, or even a central-bank meeting. It is the next headline out of the Middle East. Until the conflict is conclusively resolved and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is secure, markets are likely to remain highly sensitive to every diplomatic breakthrough, military escalation, and ceasefire announcement that emerges from the region.

JBizNews Desk | Global Markets

© JBizNews.com All Rights Reserved. Reproduction or distribution without written permission is prohibited.

JERUSALEM (VINnews) – Israeli forces operating in southern Lebanon have “full freedom of action” to neutralize any threat, IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said Friday, as troops continue targeted operations against major Hezbollah tunnel systems despite a ceasefire agreement.

Defrin said soldiers are actively working in the Beaufort Castle area and along the Ali Taher ridge to demolish what he described as the terror group’s “central command centers.”

“Hezbollah is fighting a defensive battle to prevent our forces from completing the destruction of these infrastructures,” Defrin said. “Hezbollah is the one that violated the ceasefire. It is trying to defend its capabilities it built over the years.”

The spokesman emphasized that Israeli troops face “no limit” in removing threats across the area.

“There is no limit [concerning] removing threats,” Defrin added. “Troops have full operational freedom of action, to remove threats in any area.”

The statements come amid ongoing Israeli operations in southern Lebanon aimed at degrading Hezbollah’s military infrastructure following months of intense cross-border conflict. Israeli officials have repeatedly accused Hezbollah of violating the ceasefire by attempting to preserve its tunnel network and other capabilities.

A Rare Opportunity for Yeshuos.

Vaad Harabanim has established a fund for 79 yesomim and yesomos who lack the means to cover their wedding expenses.

In their signed letter, the Gedolim bless all donors that they should be spared worry, distress, and illness, merit children engaged in Torah, and enjoy lives filled with kindness and blessing. CLICK HERE TO DONATE.

Donate $790 (10 × 79) and receive a commemorative Shtar featuring this remarkable promise signed by the Gedolim HaGaon Rav Dov Landau shlit”a, HaGaon Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch shlit”a, and the Sanz Rebbe shlit”a.

Support 79 orphans. Receive the brachos of the Gedolei Yisroel.

CLICK HERE TO DONATE.

Rabbi Menachem Genack, 78, had been speaking to JNS for about 45 minutes when, with a smile, he recalled a story about the Ponevezher Rav, who often received backlash for his dream of rebuilding the famed Ponevezh yeshiva after the Holocaust.

“People would tell him, ‘You’re dreaming,’” Genack told JNS. “‘Yes,’ he would reply. ‘But I’m not sleeping.’”

The longtime chief executive officer at OU Kosher, the Orthodox Union’s kashrus division, spoke to JNS two weeks before his planned retirement on July 1 after 45 years at the kosher certifier.

As his time at the OU winds down, Rabbi Genack has been thinking about Rav Kahaneman’s remark about being awake, he told JNS at OU headquarters in lower Manhattan.

“His vision, his determination, what he built,” Rabbi Genack said. “It’s very inspiring.”

The story has stayed with him as he transformed the OU kashrus division from a one-man operation into a global enterprise that today supervises and certifies more than 1.3 million products developed in 105 countries worldwide.

The division also now funds much of the organization’s broader work, including its youth outreach programs and publishing arm, OU Press.

But when Rabbi Genack arrived at the OU in 1980, the organization employed just a handful of people in kashrut. At the time, he was the department’s sole full-time rabbi.

“I wouldn’t say something had to be fixed” at the OU, he told JNS. “It needed to be built.”

Rabbi Genack determined that what the OU needed more than anything was “a clearer articulation of standards.” He assembled a small team to develop an ingredient-review department, establish consistent standards and expand the OU’s reach among major food manufacturers.

“We met regularly to discuss issues, write things down, formulate positions and define what the OU’s standards were,” he said. “At that point, I was the only one. Today, we have more than 50 rabbinic coordinators.”

Growing up, Rabbi Genack didn’t have a dream job, but in high school, and later as a student of Rav Yoshe Ber Soloveitchik, he discovered a love of Torah learning that would help shape the course of his life.

“There was no one like the Rav,” Rabbi Genack said. “He was an extraordinary pedagogue. He was so generous.”

He recalled spending summers learning with Rav Soloveitchik in Onset, Mass., on Cape Cod after the death of the rabbi’s wife.

“There were just a handful of us there—maybe six or seven,” he said. “I used to stay with one of his daughters, and the Rav would come for the weekend. He’d usually give a shiur and then go back to Boston or Brooklyn.”

Rav Soloveitchik “was just in a class by himself,” Rabbi Genack said, and was someone who could “hold a crowd of well over 1,000 people in the palm of his hand for three or four hours.”

He was not involved personally at the OU but mentored Rabbi Genack as the latter built the organization into what it is today.

“The Rav gave me direction and guided me toward this path,” he said. “One of the things he told me was that he didn’t want to see the OU become an absolute monopoly. He wanted to see the ‘little brothers’ succeed as well.”

“There was a communal responsibility, and we did that,” he told JNS. “If other agencies met high halachic standards, we accepted them.”

Politics, too, was part of Rabbi Genack’s inheritance.

Raised in Forest Hills, Queens, by Holocaust survivors and fervent Zionists, Rabbi Genack grew up in a home where Israel and public affairs were constant subjects of conversation.

When he was 4, his family moved to Israel, but his parents decided that the hardships of the state’s early years made life too difficult.

“There simply wasn’t enough food to go around,” Rabbi Genack said. “It was a difficult time.”

Though his family returned to the United States, his father’s “dominant interests” remained “Israel, Zionism and politics,” Rabbi Genack said.

“Politics was something that was discussed in our house a lot,” he told JNS.

“Especially for Jews,” he came to realize, “we have to have a voice.”

In 1994, he founded NORPAC, a bipartisan political action committee that strengthens support for Israel on Capitol Hill. He also developed a close relationship with former President Bill Clinton, the subject of his 2000 book, “Letters to President Clinton: Biblical Lessons on Faith and Leadership.”

About halfway through the conversation, Rabbi Genack recalled seeing President John F. Kennedy as a child. In September 1963, just two months before Kennedy was assassinated, he said that he saw the president drive near Flushing Meadows Park, where Rabbi Genack was playing.

“They stopped all the traffic on Main Street,” he told JNS. “I was standing on the side of the highway when the president’s car passed by. We waved to him.”

As the OU expanded over the decades, Rabbi Genack said that the organization faced countless challenges, from losing access to its offices after 9/11 to adapting to remote work during the Covid pandemic.

One of the ways he kept the organization together, he said, was through a careful and deliberate hiring process.

“The OU was viewed as Orthodox, but limited to a particular constituency,” he said. “I wanted it to speak to the entire Orthodox community, so when I hired people, I looked across different communities—many different yeshivot and backgrounds.”

“I wanted the OU to look like the Orthodox world, so that it could speak to and communicate with the broader American Jewish community and beyond,” he told JNS.

He also focused heavily on establishing trust and credibility.

“Through the quality of the people we worked with, through integrity, through implementing standards consistently,” Jews around the world began to trust the organization’s certifications and decisions, he said.

“Mistakes were undoubtedly made, but you build trust on that basis,” he told JNS.

Although he had a consistent vision for the OU from his first day on the job, Rabbi Genack said that he had no idea it would grow so much.

“I couldn’t imagine from where it was when I arrived,” he said. “What I thought about initially was creating a staff that would have credibility beyond a single community. That was the goal.”

Since then, Orthodox Jewry has grown, in his view, “both in strength and in numbers.” But alongside that growth have come challenges for American Jewry that he never expected to confront.

“Especially when you look at places like Lakewood and the yeshiva world, the Orthodox community has become much stronger,” he said. “But the challenges facing American Jewry are also very profound. The risk of rapid assimilation. The level of antisemitism that we’re seeing. The security challenges facing the State of Israel.”

“These are things I never imagined seeing in my lifetime,” he said.

Rabbi Genack told JNS that it wasn’t hard to reach a decision to retire.

“Why not?” he told JNS, when asked for a reason. “It’s been a pretty long run. It’s time.”

Rabbi Moshe Elefant, chief operating officer and executive rabbinic coordinator of OU Kosher, is slated to succeed Rabbi Genack. He told JNS that the transition has been in the works for five years.

“The OU administration has done it in a most sensitive manner,” Rabbi Elefant said. “This whole year, as we lead up to July 1, has really been a year of transition.”

The two first met 39 years ago, when Rabbi Genack interviewed Rabbi Elefant for a position at the organization.

“I thought Rabbi Genack would ask a lot of questions about kashrus, about my knowledge of kashrus, which wasn’t very extensive other than that I ate kosher my whole life,” Rabbi Elefant told JNS.

“But he really wasn’t focused on testing me in kashrus. He was trying to figure out who I am, what kind of personality I had, whether I’d fit in with the organization,” he said. “I guess he decided I did.”

Rabbi Genack said identifying a successor was one of the most important responsibilities of his career.

“From the beginning, I always used to say, ‘There’s no success without succession,’” he told JNS. “Early on, I identified someone I thought had real talent—someone accomplished, someone with vision.”

Rabbi Elefant is “absolutely the right person” to lead the organization forward, Rabbi Genack said.

Though the two have drastically different personalities—Rabbi Elefant noted that Rabbi Genack is much more reserved and “scholarly” than he, while he is more “out there”—their relationship has been strong from the beginning.

“I would say, in most of those years, certainly the last 20-plus years, there isn’t a day that we don’t speak multiple times,” Rabbi Elefant told JNS. “Sometimes we may speak to each other more than we speak to our wives.”

Rabbi Elefant said that Genack’s vision from the start was that if “anybody, for whatever reason, wants to keep kosher, wherever they are in the world, because of the OU they’ll be able to do so.”

“That was his vision,” Rabbi Elefant said. “He built it, literally, brick by brick.”

For Rabbi Genack, the work was never only about food certification. It was about making Jewish life easier to sustain in an era of assimilation.

“The OU should be an eloquent spokesman for the principles we represent,” he told JNS. “I hope it continues to grow.”

“Part of the OU’s mission is contained in the word itself—union, unity,” he said. “To promote unity within Orthodox Jewry. That’s something that unfortunately is often lacking.”

“The money we make from kashrut should be used to help people, promote Torah and strengthen Jewish life,” he told JNS. “If kosher products are available in every store with an OU, at the same price, that makes it possible to live as a Jew in the United States.” JNS

{Matzav.com}

When Hamas terrorists attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, murdering approximately 1,200 people, one of the first calls Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received did not come from Washington, Paris, or London. According to a Financial Times analysis, it came from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who quickly expressed unequivocal support for Israel and stood by the country during one of its darkest moments.

The relationship between Netanyahu and Modi has grown dramatically over the past 12 years, built on a shared commitment to national security, the fight against Islamic terrorism, and strengthening their respective countries. The result has been an unprecedented strategic partnership between Israel and India that continues to expand across multiple fronts.

Today, the relationship spans intelligence cooperation, surveillance technologies, multibillion-dollar defense deals, joint military development, advanced agriculture initiatives, and expanding trade ties. India has also become one of the largest purchasers of Israeli defense systems and military technology.

An official from the Observer Research Foundation compared Israel’s role for the Indian military to a “well-stocked Walmart of weaponry,” providing advanced systems without many of the political conditions imposed by other Western arms suppliers.

The partnership extends deep into the business world as well. Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, whose conglomerate purchased the Port of Haifa for $1.2 billion, works closely with Israeli defense industries, including the production of Hermes reconnaissance drones and Harop loitering munitions. Israeli military officers reportedly visit Indian military headquarters regularly, while intelligence cooperation between the Mossad and Indian agencies remains extensive.

The growing relationship has become increasingly significant as Israel faces mounting international pressure. While Netanyahu confronts arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court and growing criticism from parts of Europe and the United States, Modi has remained largely supportive. He was the last foreign leader to visit Israel before Israel’s strike on Iran in February and afterward limited his public response to calls for restraint without condemning Israel.

Israel’s ambassador to India, Reuven Azar, said that while much of the world embraced a universalist approach that downplayed nationalism, Netanyahu and Modi chose to embrace national identity. Many Indians view Israel as standing courageously against what they see as the threat of radical Islam, creating a natural ideological connection between the two nations.

The relationship traces back decades but accelerated following the 1999 Kargil War, when Israel supplied India with weapons and ammunition at a time when many Western countries distanced themselves from New Delhi following its nuclear tests. Since then, and particularly under Modi’s leadership, the alliance has become increasingly public.

The partnership has at times involved significant diplomatic risks. In 2022, eight former Indian Navy officers were arrested in Qatar and accused of spying on Qatar’s submarine program on Israel’s behalf. They were initially sentenced to death before eventually being released following intensive diplomatic efforts by India.

While the growing relationship enjoys broad support under Modi’s government, critics within India’s traditional foreign policy establishment argue that New Delhi has moved away from its historic support for the Palestinian cause and strained relations with Iran. Sonia Gandhi, a senior opposition Congress Party leader, accused Modi of displaying “moral cowardice” and abandoning humanitarian values through what she described as blind support for Israel.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Defense contractors are heading into the second half of 2026 with the strongest order books in years, propped up by a Middle East war and a Washington spending plan that keeps getting bigger. The fiscal 2027 Department of War budget request earmarks roughly $60 billion for munitions development and procurement, including about $52.9 billion for critical munitions — a sign of how the government is rewiring the way it buys and replenishes weapons.

The political backdrop is even larger. President Donald Trump has proposed a $1.5 trillion defense budget for 2027, a substantial jump from the $901 billion approved for fiscal 2026. Spending bills of that size set the demand picture for the entire industry years in advance because most defense work is locked in through multi-year government contracts.

The urgency comes from the wider world. The war between the United States and Iran, ongoing since late February, along with tensions in Eastern Europe, has made military spending — in the words of Stifel analyst Jonathan Siegmann — “more urgent and less controversial.” When lawmakers from both parties agree that weapons stockpiles need refilling, the companies that build them gain unusually clear visibility into future sales.

Lockheed Martin, the world’s largest defense contractor, sits at the center of it. The company is anchored by the F-35 fighter jet, missile defense systems, and a large classified space business, and it has reported a record backlog of $194 billion. Lockheed has guided 2026 sales to a range of $92 billion to $93 billion. The stock trades around $525, up about 10% so far this year. The picture is not flawless: first-quarter adjusted earnings of $6.44 a share missed the $6.70 consensus estimate, dragged down by a $125 million unfavorable F-16 charge — a reminder that locked-in contract prices can cut both ways.

Northrop Grumman carries two of the military’s biggest long-term programs, the B-21 Raider stealth bomber and the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile program, with a backlog around $90 billion. Its shares trade near $542. General Dynamics builds the Navy’s submarines, one of the cleanest growth stories in the sector, while RTX, the parent company of Raytheon, manufactures many of the missiles and air-defense systems currently in highest demand and was the only major contractor to recently raise its 2026 outlook.

RTX has also drawn attention from the White House in a less favorable way. President Trump complained that Raytheon had been among the least responsive contractors to the needs of the Department of War and threatened to block contractors from paying dividends or repurchasing shares until they accelerate weapons production. The remarks briefly rattled defense stocks before they recovered, underscoring that the same government driving the spending boom can also pressure the companies benefiting from it.

The spending surge extends well beyond the household-name defense giants. Drone manufacturer AeroVironment has climbed more than 40% this year as militaries around the world invest heavily in unmanned aircraft and counter-drone systems. In Europe, where governments are boosting defense budgets under both domestic security concerns and U.S. pressure, shares of Britain’s BAE Systems, Italy’s Leonardo, Sweden’s Saab, and Germany’s Rheinmetall have all posted strong gains.

The broader story for taxpayers is where all that money ultimately goes. A $1.5 trillion defense budget means billions of dollars flowing into factories and facilities across states including Texas, Connecticut, California, Alabama, and Maryland, where major contractors and their suppliers employ tens of thousands of workers. Larger budgets typically translate into more hiring, more overtime, and more orders flowing through the vast network of subcontractors that provide everything from electronics and engines to software and specialized materials.

The industry’s optimism is reflected in its order books. Companies with large backlogs effectively have years of future revenue already committed under signed contracts. That visibility is rare in most industries and gives defense firms a level of predictability many technology, retail, and manufacturing companies would envy.

There are reasons for caution. Major defense contractors currently trade at roughly 22 to 25 times forward earnings, above their historical averages, meaning investors have already priced in much of the expected growth. Budget priorities can change with politics, and fixed-price government contracts have repeatedly created losses when development costs rise unexpectedly, as Lockheed’s recent F-16 charge demonstrated.

Still, the larger trend is difficult to ignore. Military conflicts, geopolitical competition, and the rebuilding of weapons inventories have created a powerful tailwind for defense spending across much of the world. As long as those conditions persist and Washington continues expanding military budgets, the companies sitting on record backlogs may enjoy one of the clearest growth runways available in the market.

JBizNews Desk | Washington

© JBizNews.com All Rights Reserved. Reproduction or distribution without written permission is prohibited.

NEW YORK (VINnews) — A suspect is dead and an NYPD officer was wounded following a shooting and standoff in Brooklyn early Friday, police said.

Officers responding to reports of gunfire at a Bedford-Stuyvesant residence encountered an armed man who barricaded himself inside the home, leading to a confrontation.

During the incident, one officer was shot in the leg and transported to a hospital, where he was reported in stable condition.

The suspect was later found dead. Authorities have not released his identity or disclosed additional details about the circumstances of his death.

Police said the scene has been secured and the investigation remains ongoing.

Israel’s Interior Ministry has formally instructed the city of Ramat HaSharon to enforce its municipal bylaw prohibiting businesses from operating on Shabbos, escalating an ongoing dispute over the continued weekend activity at the Big Glilot commercial complex.

The ministry’s intervention comes amid growing controversy surrounding the shopping and entertainment center, which has remained open on Shabbos despite local regulations that prohibit such activity.

The current dispute stems from a petition filed approximately a year ago against the municipality. Petitioners argued that the city had failed to enforce its own bylaws and pointed to statements by Mayor Yitzchak Rochberger suggesting that he intended to allow businesses at the complex to continue operating on Shabbos without imposing penalties or taking enforcement action.

At the same time, the Interior Ministry is reviewing a request submitted by the municipality to amend the existing bylaw. As part of that process, ministry officials have demanded extensive clarification regarding the scope of the proposed changes, including which businesses would be exempted, what services would be permitted, the data used to formulate the proposal, and the preparatory work conducted before advancing the amendment.

In a strongly worded letter, Interior Ministry Director-General Yisrael Ozen sharply criticized the argument that the law should simply be adjusted to reflect the reality that has developed on the ground.

“If the purpose of the amendment is to align the legal situation with the reality currently being practiced, it follows that the actual situation—created through violations of the law—has dictated and shaped the content of the proposed arrangement,” Ozen wrote.

He added that, “There is no place to agree to or accept an improper situation in which a sinner profits from his wrongdoing.”

According to Ozen, the materials submitted thus far by the municipality fail to adequately address a number of key concerns raised by the ministry. He instructed city officials to provide updated data, broader professional analysis, and detailed responses to each of the issues under review.

The letter concludes with a clear warning that any proposed amendment remains legally ineffective unless and until it receives formal approval from the Interior Minister.

“Furthermore, as long as the bylaw has not been approved by the Minister of the Interior, it is not in force and action may not be taken pursuant to it,” Ozen wrote.

The directive means that the battle over Shabbos operations at Big Glilot remains far from resolved. While municipal officials are seeking to create a new legal framework that would permit the current reality to continue, the Interior Ministry is insisting that the existing law remains binding and must be fully enforced. For now, the dispute appears headed for further legal and political confrontation.

{Matzav.com}

Rom Breslavski, who survived Hamas captivity and whose ordeal gripped the nation, announced Thursday that he has taken upon himself a new spiritual commitment: wearing a large yarmulke that covers most of his head.

In a video posted to his Instagram account, Breslavski said people can call him whatever they want “a settler, Chareidi, religious, extremist, or a crazy Jew” but stressed that he is proud of the decision and completely at peace with it.

Breslavski explained that he has decided to stop wearing the smaller yarmulke he previously wore and instead permanently wear a much larger one. He said the move is not about politics or belonging to any particular group, but about his identity as a Jew.

He also emphasized that while he has grown closer to Judaism and tradition, he opposes violent demonstrations and the use of terms such as “Nazis” against police and security forces.

Explaining the reason behind the decision, Breslavski said he is simply proud to be a Jew living in Eretz Yisroel. He said the larger yarmulke is being worn out of respect for Yiddishkeit, love of Torah, and a desire to express his connection to Hashem following the great miracles he experienced.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

LONDON (AP) — Andy Burnham is a political insider turned outsider who aims to be Britain’s next prime minister.

The 56-year-old politician presents himself as an amiable northern everyman who prefers T-shirts to a suit and tie and spends spare time playing soccer or spinning 1990s tunes during DJ battles.

He’s also an experienced politician whose career has taken him from high-level government jobs to the mayoralty of Greater Manchester, and now to the cusp of the prime minister’s office.

Burnham is expected to challenge Prime Minister Keir Starmer after winning a seat in Parliament in a special election he hailed as a “turning point” for U.K. politics.

His nickname is inspired by ‘Game of Thrones’
Burnham was born and raised in a pocket of northwest England between Liverpool and Manchester, the son of a British Telecom engineer and a receptionist. He joined the Labour Party as a teenager, attended Cambridge University and was first elected to Parliament in 2001.

He was a lawmaker for a decade and a half, rising through the ranks under Prime Minister Tony Blair and serving in Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s Cabinet between 2007 and 2010.

He ran twice for the leadership of the Labour Party, in 2010 and 2015, and lost badly each time, before quitting Westminster to run for Manchester mayor.

His tenure has seen him nicknamed the King of the North, a “Game of Thrones”-inspired nod both to his championing of his home region and his barely disguised political ambition.

He gained the moniker during the COVID-19 pandemic, when he harangued Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson over what he called a “London-centric” approach to the crisis.

Burnham has led the Greater Manchester region since 2017, overseeing rapid regeneration for the city where the Industrial Revolution was forged. The city center has boomed, with skyscrapers blooming on vacant post-industrial sites. Many residents praise him for championing the city. He took a piecemeal public transport system under public control, branded it the Bee Network and improved its services.

He has also won praise for supporting the campaign for justice for victims of the Hillsborough disaster, when 97 Liverpool soccer fans were killed in a crush at a game in Sheffield in 1989. Years of advocacy led by victims’ families exposed mistakes and wrongdoing by police – who initially spread a false narrative blaming drunken fans – and extracted an apology from the government.

He pledges to end trickle-down economics
Burnham is perceived to be to the political left of Starmer – an asset with Labour members – and is acknowledged as one of the party’s best communicators. The rather stiff public speaker of his earlier leadership bids has been replaced by a relaxed figure in jeans and open-necked shirts.

His three mayoral election victories and decisive win in Thursday’s election in Makerfield, where he trounced the candidate of the anti-immigration party Reform UK, have cemented his status as a winner. Many in the party hope he can reverse Labour’s precipitous decline in popularity since Starmer won an election landslide two years ago.

Makerfield voter Ellen Picton, 66, said she was “absolutely thrilled” by Burnham’s victory.

“I believe that he’s a man for the common people,” she said. “Andy is like one of us, and he understands what we are going through.”

Burnham is pledging to repeat on a national scale his signature brand of “Manchesterism” – a politics that, he likes to say, puts people and place before party and centers on regions ignored by governments in London.

“What we’ve built in Greater Manchester needs to go national,” Burnham said during the campaign. “I know what it is to turn places around.”

But it remains to be seen whether he can have national appeal, said Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London.

“Calling him King of the North in some ways, I think, raises the question of whether he can also be King of the South, King of the East and King of the West,″ Bale said. “However, he does seem to have the kind of X factor that encourages people to think of him as not an ordinary politician, somebody who can communicate with normal people, someone who can speak human.”

In a postelection speech to supporters, Burnham sketched out his priorities: better vocational education and jobs for young people, lower energy bills and rail fares and “an end to trickle down economics, which didn’t trickle down very much at all to places like this.”

Critics say Burnham’s politics are vague and fail to grapple with tough issues, such as where the money will come from to pay for his pledges. And they note that running a country of 70 million is a lot different from overseeing a city region of 3 million.

Nonetheless Burnham now has momentum that could propel him into 10 Downing Street.

“Andy Burnham is probably one of the most popular politicians in the country,” Bale said. “Although, to be honest, that is not saying much.”

Johnson & Johnson has made a surprising decision at a time when much of the pharmaceutical industry is racing toward obesity treatments: it is staying out of the market entirely.

Speaking Tuesday at the Economic Club of Washington, D.C., Johnson & Johnson CEO Joaquin Duato said the healthcare giant has no plans to develop or acquire drugs in the booming GLP-1 category, the class of medicines behind blockbuster weight-loss and diabetes treatments that have transformed the industry over the past several years.

“We are not going to be in the GLP-1 area,” Duato said during a discussion with Carlyle Group co-founder David Rubenstein.

The statement places J&J among a small group of major pharmaceutical companies choosing not to chase one of the fastest-growing markets in healthcare history. While rivals have spent billions of dollars acquiring obesity-drug developers and launching their own programs, Johnson & Johnson is betting that its future lies elsewhere.

Instead, Duato said the company will focus its resources on two areas where it believes it can achieve greater medical and commercial success: cancer treatment and neuroscience.

“Our goal is to be No. 1 by 2030,” Duato said of the company’s oncology business.

The company already holds a strong position in multiple cancer categories. Johnson & Johnson markets leading treatments for multiple myeloma, one of the most common blood cancers, and maintains a growing portfolio of lung cancer therapies. Last year, the company expanded its oncology pipeline through a $3.05 billion acquisition of Halda Therapeutics, gaining access to a promising oral prostate cancer treatment.

The decision reflects the reality of a market already dominated by a handful of powerful competitors.

Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk currently control the obesity-drug landscape through blockbuster products that have generated tens of billions of dollars in annual sales. Demand for GLP-1 medications has surged as studies continue to show benefits extending beyond weight loss, including improvements in diabetes management and potential cardiovascular benefits.

Lilly has emerged as the dominant player. The company became the first pharmaceutical manufacturer to surpass a $1 trillion market valuation last year, driven largely by demand for its obesity and diabetes drug tirzepatide. Lilly executives have estimated that the company captures roughly 70% to 75% of new patients entering the GLP-1 market.

For Johnson & Johnson, competing against such entrenched leaders may not represent the best use of research and development dollars.

The company’s position also aligns with a broader strategic transformation that has been underway for several years.

Johnson & Johnson has streamlined its operations to concentrate on higher-growth healthcare businesses. The company spun off its consumer-health division into Kenvue, separating well-known brands such as Tylenol, Band-Aid, and Listerine from the parent company. It has also restructured portions of its medical-device operations while increasing investments in pharmaceuticals and advanced medical technologies.

Duato highlighted the company’s recent performance, noting that Johnson & Johnson delivered a 47% total shareholder return in 2025, reflecting investor confidence in its current strategy.

Technology is also expected to play a major role in the company’s future growth.

Duato said artificial intelligence has the potential to accelerate drug discovery, improve clinical development, and enhance the effectiveness of medical devices, particularly in the field of robotic surgery.

“We are just at the beginning,” he said, describing healthcare as entering a period of significant technological change.

For investors and patients alike, the announcement underscores a growing divide within the pharmaceutical industry. Some companies are betting heavily on obesity treatments, viewing them as the defining medicines of the next decade. Others are choosing to focus on diseases where competition is less intense and unmet medical needs remain substantial.

Johnson & Johnson’s decision means one fewer major competitor pursuing obesity drugs, a market where additional competition could eventually help lower prices and improve access for patients. At the same time, the company’s vast research budget will remain focused on cancer and neurological disorders, areas where millions of patients continue to face limited treatment options.

As the obesity-drug market continues its rapid expansion, Johnson & Johnson is making a different wager: that breakthroughs in cancer and neuroscience will ultimately prove more valuable than joining the industry’s biggest gold rush.

Whether that strategy pays off will become clearer as the company works toward Duato’s goal of becoming the world’s leading oncology company by 2030.

JBizNews Desk
New Brunswick, N.J.

© JBizNews.com All Rights Reserved. Reproduction or distribution without written permission is prohibited.

By Y.M. Lowy

Friday will be very warm with a high of 84 and a low of 65. Expect a mix of sunshine and clouds through the day, with lower humidity than yesterday and a refreshing breeze developing during the afternoon.

Shabbos will feature a steady breeze and mostly sunny skies, with a high of 84 and a low of 67. It should be another pleasant summer day from start to finish.

Sunday will be warm with a high of 83 and a low of 68. A mix of clouds and abundant sunshine will make for a comfortable and enjoyable day outdoors.

This is the sun’s time to shine: Sunday is the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.

Sunday is the solstice, marking the start of astronomical summer north of the equator. It’s the opposite in the Southern Hemisphere, where it is the shortest day of the year and winter will start.

The word “solstice” comes from the Latin words “sol,” for sun, and “stitium,” which can mean “pause” or “stop.” The summer solstice is the end of the sun’s annual march higher in the sky, when it makes its longest, highest arc. The bad news for sun lovers: It then starts retreating and days will get a little shorter every day until late December.

People have marked solstices for eons with festivals and monuments, including Sweden’s midsummer eve celebrations and Stonehenge, which was designed to align with the sun’s paths at the solstices.

Here’s what to know about the Earth’s orbit.

What is the solstice?
As the Earth travels around the sun, it does so at an angle, making the sun’s warmth and light fall unequally on the northern and southern halves of the planet for most of the year.

The solstices mark the times when the Earth is tipped most extremely either toward or away from the sun. This means the hemispheres are getting very different amounts of sunlight, and days and nights are at their most unequal.

At the Northern Hemisphere’s summer solstice, the Earth’s upper half is leaning toward the sun, creating the longest day and shortest night of the year. The summer solstice falls between June 20 and 22. This year it’s June 21.

The opposite happens at the Northern Hemisphere winter solstice: the Earth’s upper half leans the furthest away from the sun, leading to the shortest day and longest night of the year. The winter solstice falls between Dec. 20 and 23.

What is the equinox?
During the equinox, the Earth’s tilt is neither toward the sun nor away from the sun, so both the northern and southern hemispheres get an equal amount of sunlight. The sun rises almost exactly due east and it sets almost exactly due west.

The word equinox comes from two Latin words meaning equal and night. That’s because on the equinox, day and night last almost the same amount of time — though one may get a few extra minutes, depending on where you are on the planet.

The Northern Hemisphere’s fall — or autumnal — equinox can land between Sept. 21 and 24, depending on the year. Its spring — or vernal — equinox can land between March 19 and 21. The exact time of the equinox is the moment the sun is directly overhead at the equator.

What’s the difference between meteorological and astronomical seasons?
These are just two different ways to carve up the year.

While astronomical seasons depend on how the Earth moves around the sun, meteorological seasons are defined by the weather. Meteorologists break down the year into three-month seasons based on annual temperature cycles. By that calendar, spring starts on March 1, summer on June 1, fall on Sept. 1 and winter on Dec. 1.

Nearly nine months after the ceasefire agreement signed in October 2025, living conditions in Gaza continue to deteriorate, with frustration, despair, and anger toward Hamas reportedly growing among residents.

A Gaza resident told Israel Hayom that the approaching summer heat is worsening conditions for hundreds of thousands of people living in tents. “The situation is not good. Summer is coming, temperatures are rising, and people are really suffering in the tents,” he said. “The situation is very difficult, and skin diseases are spreading among the population.”

According to the resident, sanitation conditions have become catastrophic, with garbage piling up, sewage flowing through streets, and infestations of rats, flies, and mosquitoes affecting daily life. He said diseases and viruses are spreading rapidly and that the health of infants and children is a growing concern.

He also described a worsening shortage of clean drinking water. “It is very difficult to find fresh water. My children and I also lack it,” he said. “Sometimes we have to buy drinking water so we won’t suffer from kidney diseases, but not everyone can afford it.”

The resident said the water shortage is also contributing to poor hygiene and increasing rates of infection and disease. At the same time, prices remain high while free aid available to residents has declined significantly.

Frequent power outages and a lack of refrigeration are causing food to spoil quickly. “Many people are suffering severe food poisoning after eating spoiled food in the heat,” he said. “There is not enough electricity to operate refrigerators in homes. It has been two months since I drank cold water. We routinely drink warm water.”

He said many Gaza residents have been living in tents for nearly three years, without basic living conditions and with little hope for improvement. According to the resident, the ongoing hardship has created growing bitterness and resentment toward Hamas.

“We are convinced Hamas only cares about its own interests and never cared about its own people,” he said.

The resident also expressed concern over expanding Israeli military activity beyond the Yellow Line while much of Gaza’s population is concentrated in a limited area of the Strip.

“People are tense and honestly express resentment and bitterness toward Hamas,” he said. “We see the Israeli military expanding its activity beyond the Yellow Line, and today everyone is living in roughly 30% of Gaza’s territory, so we fear what may come next.”

He added that the despair has reached the point where many residents no longer care who governs Gaza in the future.

“Most Gaza residents no longer care who governs them,” he said. “Whether it is Egypt, Mohammed Dahlan from Fatah, or even if Israel returns to administer Gaza as it did in the past.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Israeli Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu was visibly moved after being shown rare archival footage documenting a visit he made decades ago to the home of the Menachem Mendel Schneerson, a moment he said he had never previously seen captured on video.

The footage was presented to Netanyahu by Rabbi Or Ziv, a Chabad-Lubavitch emissary serving in the Katamon neighborhood of Yerushalayim, ahead of Gimmel Tammuz, the yahrtzeit of the Rebbe.

The video captures Netanyahu participating in Maariv at the Rebbe’s residence, offering a glimpse into a little-known moment from his earlier years.

Recorded 38 years ago on President Street in the Crown Heights neighborhood of New York City, the footage dates to the year of mourning following the passing of Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka, the Rebbe’s wife.

When Rabbi Ziv showed him the video, Netanyahu appeared surprised and emotional. Looking at the footage, he exclaimed, “Wow, where did you get this from? This can’t be.”

He then turned to Rabbi Ziv and requested a copy, saying, “Send it to me, I’ve never seen this before.”

WATCH:

{Matzav.com}

Nearly three years after Hamas’ devastating attack on Israel on October 7, which plunged the country into a multifront war, Israel finds itself at a strategic crossroads as a new US-Iran memorandum of understanding reshapes the regional battlefield.

Israel remains largely isolated on the international stage, maintains a military presence in Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria, and is still far from achieving long-sought normalization with Saudi Arabia. None of its conflicts has been conclusively resolved, and its relationship with its major ally in Washington has grown more complicated.

The preliminary US-Iran framework reached earlier this week is a significant turning point.

Israel has projected its military might throughout the region, causing massive destruction in Gaza and southern Lebanon while conducting airstrikes in Syria, Iran, Yemen, and Qatar. The strike in Qatar, carried out in September 2025, targeted Hamas leaders in Doha and drew international condemnation for violating Qatari sovereignty.

“There is a great gap between the military picture and the strategic picture, which is one of overall defeat and collapse of Israel’s strategy,” Chuck Freilich, a former Israeli national security adviser and currently a professor at Tel Aviv University and Columbia University, told The Media Line.

Despite that military prowess, Israel is far from reaching its goals.

“It did not succeed in destroying Hamas or unseating it from power, Hezbollah is coming back despite downgrading its capabilities greatly, and Iran believes with good reason that it won the war by surviving an attack by the world’s superpower and greatly out-negotiated the US, coming ahead on the diplomatic level as well,” Freilich added.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to overthrow Hamas in Gaza, destroy all of Hezbollah’s military capabilities, and remove Iran’s nuclear threat over the Jewish state.

Still, budding alliances between Israel and several Arab states under the Abraham Accords survived the war, despite initially seeming fragile. Relations with Saudi Arabia, long coveted by Netanyahu and pursued by several American administrations, remain out of reach.

“All of Israel’s enemies are significantly weaker; there is wider interest in the Abraham Accords because of the threat from Iran, but Israel’s diplomatic and political situation internationally is much worse, particularly in the United States,” Prof. Jonathan Rynhold, a senior researcher at the BESA Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University, told The Media Line. “Israel has been far more isolated than this during its history.”

Israel’s war fronts remain complex

The picture across Israel’s main fronts remains complex.

For decades, Israel has viewed Iran as its most significant strategic threat and the driving force behind the network of armed groups that surround it. Israel entered the latest confrontation determined to degrade Iran’s nuclear program and military capabilities. Tehran sought to demonstrate resilience and preserve its regional posture.

The joint American-Israeli strikes inflicted significant damage on Iranian military infrastructure and reportedly set back elements of Tehran’s nuclear program. Yet the conflict ended without the collapse of the Islamic Republic, perhaps amplifying its nuclear ambitions, and without a broader regional realignment in Israel’s favor.

Iranian officials and state media quickly declared victory, arguing that Tehran had survived direct attacks by both Israel and the US while maintaining its regime and much of its strategic posture.

“Iran believes that it won the war, doing so by withstanding a major American and Israeli operation,” said Freilich. “They come out feeling stronger and invigorated. Israel and the US helped them achieve progress towards their goal of being a regional hegemon.”

The memorandum of understanding with Iran, announced by Washington, demonstrated Israel’s dependence on American diplomatic backing while also revealing differences between Netanyahu and President Donald Trump over the desired endgame. While Israel views Iran as an unresolved threat requiring continued pressure, Washington has sought to prevent a wider regional war, reopen maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, and stabilize the situation.

For now, neither side appears to have achieved a decisive outcome. Iran emerged weakened militarily but intact politically, while Israel demonstrated unprecedented military reach without fully removing the threat it sought to eliminate.

“Israel faces a real problem,” said Rynhold. “If Iran is not limited in its conventional missile stockpile, Israel will want to attack, and it will be constrained by the US.”

The future of sanctions against Iran is also unclear, as the sides have agreed on a 60-day period to negotiate the final terms of a deal.

“From Israel’s perspective, the worse the Iranian dilemma between survival and building military power is, the better,” Rynhold continued. “Sanctions relief would be a strategic failure if it becomes part of any future agreement between the US and Iran.”

The shock of October 7

When Hamas launched its surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, Israel was shocked. Thousands of terrorists stormed across its southern border, and Netanyahu vowed to retaliate, promising to release all 251 hostages Hamas took and remove the terrorist group from power. Israel launched a major offensive, which also resulted in significant international backlash. Critics, including some close allies, accused Israel of excessive force and war crimes—claims Israel categorically denies.

More than two and a half years later, a fragile ceasefire is in place, and all of the hostages, including the bodies of those killed in captivity or taken to Gaza after they were killed, have been returned. Israel controls more than half of the Gaza Strip, with Hamas still controlling the other half. The next phase of the ceasefire, which is meant to see an Israeli withdrawal, is conditioned on Hamas’ disarmament, something the terrorist group refuses to do. Netanyahu has said Israel will continue to maintain a presence in Gaza and has implied that the military will inch deeper into Palestinian territory.

The US administration mediated the ceasefire while backing Israeli moves in the Palestinian territory.

“Hamas’ military capabilities are a fraction of what they were,” said Freilich. “They no longer constitute a military threat, but they constitute a threat to the forces in Gaza, and they are still in power politically. Israel will be forced to withdraw from Gaza sooner or later, whether it likes it or not.”

Israel’s leadership has vowed to move further into Gaza to complete its mission of removing Hamas from power and destroying all of its capabilities.

“This may be done because there are no longer hostages in Gaza,” Freilich continued. “It’s also possible that Trump will try to compensate Netanyahu a little by giving him some free rein in Gaza for a while, especially before an election.”

Netanyahu, who leads a far-right government, has support from within his coalition to intensify military pressure on Hamas, while the international community has become increasingly critical. From allegations brought by South Africa that Israel is committing acts of genocide to growing cultural, academic, and weapons embargoes, the Jewish state is increasingly isolated.

“Any Israeli government will not move in a hurry,” said Rynhold. “There are a number of reasons for this—psychologically for the Israeli public, it keeps Hamas further away from the border and also because withdrawal is a hard thing to do.”

Senior members of the current government favor resettling Gaza with a Jewish population. Netanyahu has pushed back on that desire, but the voices from within his coalition are dominant and loud, drawing international attention and outcry.

“As long as Israel won’t allow settlers in, Israel has the ability to shape what goes on there—possibly keeping military control but giving other Palestinian factions civilian control,” said Rynhold.

Israel is scheduled to hold national elections by late October, and the outcome will have a major impact on the future of Gaza.

The Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorist organization was once seen as Israel’s most immediate and substantial threat. The group joined Hamas days after the October 7 attack. Israel retaliated, and Lebanon became another arena in the multifront war that engulfed the Middle East. Israel believed it had nearly defeated Hezbollah at the end of 2024, only to see the strategic equation between the two rivals shift again. Iran is now using the group as a deterrent, not only through Hezbollah’s own force but also by threatening to attack Israel if Israel attacks its most prized proxy.

“Israel cannot allow itself to live with that equation,” said Freilich. “This is another failure of its strategy.”

Yet Hezbollah is also reeling from more than two years of war with Israel.

“Hezbollah is infinitely militarily, financially, and politically weaker than it was before October 7,” said Rynhold.

Hezbollah began firing at Israel two days after the joint American-Israeli attack against Iran began in March of this year, prompting an Israeli campaign in Lebanon that lasted into June. Fighting has eased since the US-Iran memorandum was announced, but Israeli forces remain in southern Lebanon, and Hezbollah has said its position on the ceasefire depends on Israeli compliance. Israel has continued to strike Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, further cementing its presence in an area Hezbollah says should be covered by earlier ceasefire understandings.

“Hezbollah now has a partial shield, by virtue of the agreement between the US and Iran; whether it becomes more or less, is another matter,” Rynhold said.

Iran’s threats have made the Dahieh neighborhood in Beirut, Hezbollah’s strategic stronghold, more difficult for Israel to target. President Trump made it clear to Netanyahu that Israeli action there would threaten attempts to reach a broader arrangement with Iran. Analysts say Hezbollah and Iran may emerge from the situation with greater leverage, even as both have absorbed heavy blows.

In the almost three years since October 7, Israel stands in a paradoxical position. It has showcased extraordinary military capabilities and weakened its enemies. Yet many of the political and strategic objectives that justified the war remain unresolved. Hamas remains a force in Gaza, Hezbollah continues to challenge Israel from Lebanon, and Iran has survived and, according to Freilich, may feel emboldened, while Israel faces growing international isolation. As Israelis prepare to head to the polls again, the country finds itself confronting a question that military victories alone cannot answer: how to translate battlefield achievements into a lasting, sustainable, and favorable regional order.

This post was originally published on here.

Israel’s Chief Rabbis delivered a strong message about the central role of Torah values in law enforcement and public security during a high-level working session this week with the Police Rabbinate and Border Police religious leadership.

The meeting, first reported by the Police Rabbinate, focused on the launch of a new volume in the Hifkadeti Shomrim series, a unique collection of halachic writings addressing the complex religious questions that arise in police work and public security operations.

The newly released volume contains articles authored by police rabbis dealing with the unique challenges faced by officers in the field. It also includes halachic responsa on wartime issues from leading poskim, including Harav Asher Weiss and Harav Yitzchok Zilberstein, addressing difficult questions that have emerged during operational activities.

Particular attention is given to dilemmas that arose during the Swords of Iron War, reflecting the extraordinary circumstances under which police officers and security personnel have operated while safeguarding the public. The volume is dedicated to the memory of Rabbi Yaakov Gross, zt”l, the former Chief Rabbi of the Israel Police, who devoted more than fifty years to harbotzas Torah. The book was edited by his son, Rabbi Shimon Gross.

During the meeting, Rishon Letzion Harav Dovid Yosef emphasized the importance of combining halachic scholarship with professional expertise when rendering rulings on operational matters.

“Halachic rulings on professional matters require a deep understanding of reality,” Rav Yosef said. “Just as a rav relies on the expertise of a physician in medical matters, so too must he rely on the expertise of police officers regarding operational issues. Only a thorough understanding of the facts allows one to reach correct halachic conclusions.”

Participants noted that his remarks reflected a longstanding principle of halachic decision-making: that accurate rulings require a clear and detailed understanding of the practical circumstances involved. In the fast-paced world of law enforcement, where officers are often required to make split-second decisions under pressure, such understanding is especially critical.

Israel’s Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi, Harav Kalman Meir Bar, said the new publication demonstrates that Torah guidance extends to every aspect of life.

“It accompanies a person in every decision and operational activity,” Rav Bar said. He also praised Israel Police Chief Rabbi Rav Rami Berachyahu, describing him as “a living example of a scholar whose character and conduct reflect his Torah values.”

Rav Berachyahu concluded the gathering by highlighting the role of the Police Rabbinate in bringing Torah guidance into the daily work of law enforcement personnel.

“Our role is to bring the world of Torah and spirituality into the sacred work of the police,” he said. “Even during challenging times, we draw strength from our connection to the gedolei Torah, with the goal of strengthening the bond between the values of our nation and the security of the public.”

Observers noted that the meeting reflects a broader trend of increasing cooperation between Israel’s spiritual leadership and its security and law-enforcement institutions. The Hifkadeti Shomrim series has become a practical resource for religious police officers seeking to navigate the intersection of professional responsibilities and halachic obligations, offering guidance on the many questions that arise in the course of their duties.

Catskills Hatzalah officially dedicated its new Bauer Family Kiamesha Garage on Thursday afternoon with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by Hatzolah leadership and members, elected officials, emergency services representatives, community leaders, and supporters from across Sullivan County and beyond.

Located at the intersection of Fraser Road and Anawana Lake Road, the state-of-the-art facility will serve as a key emergency response hub for the Catskills year-round, with a particular focus on serving the region during the busy summer months. Its central location provides quick access to Liberty, Ferndale, Fallsburg, and major highways, helping volunteers respond more rapidly to emergencies throughout the area.

A standout feature of the new building is a fully equipped apartment for volunteer paramedics who come to the Catskills to serve 24-hour shifts throughout the year, particularly during the nine months outside the summer season, when dedicated volunteers relocate to the area to ensure advanced emergency medical coverage remains available year-round. The comfortable accommodations allow on call Paramedics to remain strategically close to emergency equipment and respond immediately when lifesaving care is needed.

Hatzolah officials thanked the Town of Thompson for its assistance in helping bring the project to fruition and offered special recognition to the Bauer family, whose generosity made the facility possible. The family not only funded the project but was deeply involved in its construction, with Mr. Dovy Bauer personally overseeing countless details from the earliest planning stages through completion.

The new Bauer Family Kiamesha Garage is expected to significantly enhance Hatzolah’s emergency medical capabilities and strengthen service to the tens of thousands of residents and visitors who rely on the organization throughout the year.

THIS STORY WAS FIRST PUBLISHED ON THE CATSKILLS SCOOP STATUS AND GROUPS – SIGN UP NOW TO NEVER MISS A STORY IN LIVE TIME 24 HOURS A DAY!

CLICK HERE TO JOIN CATSKILL SCOOP STATUS

CLICK HERE TO JOIN CATSKILL SCOOP GROUPS

Your browser does not support the video tag.

Your browser does not support the video tag.

Your browser does not support the video tag.

Your browser does not support the video tag.

Your browser does not support the video tag.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Communities across New Jersey are observing Juneteenth today, marking the federal and state holiday that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States.

Juneteenth, officially known as Juneteenth National Independence Day, honors June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, and informed the last enslaved African Americans that they were free — more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued. Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021 and is also recognized as an official state holiday in New Jersey.

As a result, many government services and financial institutions are closed today throughout New Jersey.

Closed Today:

• New Jersey state government offices
• Most county and municipal government offices
• New Jersey courts and federal courts
• U.S. Post Offices and regular USPS mail delivery
• Most banks and credit unions
• The New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq markets

Open Today:

• Most retail stores and shopping centers
• Grocery stores and supermarkets
• Restaurants
• UPS and FedEx delivery services
• Parks and recreational facilities in many municipalities

Residents planning to visit local government offices are encouraged to check with their municipality before heading out, as holiday schedules may vary. Most government offices and courts are expected to resume normal operations on Monday.

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Police charged a third suspect on Friday with an arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue that was allegedly directed by Iran.

The 20-year-old man was one of three masked offenders who broke into the Adass Israel Synagogue, doused the interior with flammable liquid then set it alight in the early hours of Dec. 6, 2024, a police statement alleged.

The fire caused extensive damage to the synagogue and a worshipper sustained minor injuries.

The Victorian Joint Counter Terrorism Team, which brings together federal and state police with a spy agency, charged the man, who has not been named, with offenses including arson.

He was charged in a Melbourne jail where he was already being held in custody on unrelated offenses. Police declined to elaborate on those offenses.

His co-accused Giovanni Laulu, 21, was arrested in July last year and another suspect, Younes Ali Younes, 20, was arrested a month later.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last year accused Iran’s Revolutionary Guard of directing the synagogue fire and an arson attack two months earlier at a Sydney kosher eatery, Lewis’ Continental Kitchen.

Mike Burgess, director-general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, the nation’s main domestic spy agency, said the Revolutionary Guard used a “complex web of proxies to hide its involvement” in both antisemitic attacks.

Iran’s ambassador to Australia and another three Iranian diplomats were expelled. Tehran has denied Australia’s allegations.

Australian Federal Police Assistant Commissioner Peter Crozier told reporters on Friday that investigators were working with international partners in the continuing investigation.

Police were also investigating whether the three alleged arsonists knew who ordered the attack.

“They may not actually be aware of the people who are directing or the principals of these investigations. That remains a key line of inquiry for us,” Crozier said.

Victoria Police Acting Assistant Commissioner Paul O’Halloran said police had informed the local Jewish community of the third arrest before the news was made public.

“Our heart goes out to them. Again, this brings back this terrible incident,” O’Halloran said.

“People deserve the right to feel safe and be safe in their community and particularly at their place of worship. Today’s charges are a strong testament to this,” he added.

The latest suspect will make his first court appearance on the new charges next week.

The Australian government has established a public inquiry to investigate a rise in antisemitism across the country, including the killing of 15 people when two gunmen opened fire on a Sydney Hanukkah celebration in December.

A new academic study has found that some of the world’s leading Artificial Intelligence models consistently reproduce centuries-old antisemitic stereotypes.

‘From Myth to Model: Representation of “The Jew” in Generative AI’, by Israeli academics Michael Gilead and Gal Gutman, found that historical antisemitic tropes appear embedded in modern AI systems.

The researchers employed a novel approach intended to identify underlying representations of “the Jew” by forming chains of associations that allow the LLM to reveal implicit biases. They focused specifically on ChatGPT-4 Turbo, which they instructed to create a list of names for Jewish and non-Jewish Americans, aged 18 to 80. The list included one male and one female name for each of the two categories, resulting in a total of 252 names.

Examples of Jewish names include Ethan Katz, Noah Weiss, and Gabriel Horowitz; non-Jewish examples include Tyler Johnson, Kyle White, and Dylan Wilson.

For each of the 252 names, the LLM was prompted to write a short, 100-word biography, with the LLM imagining itself as a novelist adept at selecting names that correspond with specific character traits.

Religious identity markers were then removed, and the AI systems then evaluated personality and social traits of each character.

LLM-generated content stereotypes Jews as low on warmth-related traits

The researchers found that characters associated with Jewish names were consistently rated as more competent, more privileged, more dominant, and more obsessive. At the same time, they were rated as less likable, less collectivist, and lower in perceived warmth.

The findings were then replicated on DeepSeek-V3 and Mistral.

The researchers’ analysis found that Jews in LLM-generated content are consistently stereotyped within the high-competence, low-warmth quadrant, alongside groups such as East Asians. Biographies generated from Jewish names were rated consistently high on competence-related traits (e.g., intelligent, efficient, assertive) and notably low on warmth-related traits (e.g., friendly, likable).

Historical antisemitic discourse portrays Jews as agents of social disruption

In terms of the relevance of these findings, the researchers noted that historical antisemitic discourse has frequently portrayed Jews as agents of disruption, undermining traditional order, and social cohesion. Instead of being relegated to the past, this historical association between Jews and “the ailments of modern subjectivity […] persists and may now be encoded in LLMs,” the researchers explained.

They also predicted that increases in anti-modernization sentiment, such as backlash against the consequences of industrialization, capitalism, and technology, including AI itself, could co-occur with increases in antisemitic discourse.

“Our analysis reveals how an ancient prejudice persist in modern technological systems through complex patterns of trait association and cultural coding,” the researchers concluded, adding that, in order to address bias in AI systems, one must pay attention not only to explicit stereotypes but also to the “subtle ways in which seemingly neutral traits combine to reproduce traditional prejudices.”

This post was originally published on here.

A one-year-old infant who had not received routine childhood vaccinations was hospitalized in critical condition at Shaare Zedek Medical Center after developing a rare and potentially fatal illness that doctors say has become exceedingly uncommon in the modern era due to widespread immunization.

The child arrived at the Yerushalayim hospital struggling to breathe and in immediate danger. Medical staff initially suspected that he may have swallowed a foreign object, but rapid testing and evaluation revealed a far more serious diagnosis.

Doctors determined that the infant was suffering from epiglottitis, a severe inflammation of the epiglottis, the flap of tissue that covers the airway during swallowing. The condition, which can obstruct breathing within a matter of hours, is most commonly caused by Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib), a bacterium largely controlled in developed countries through routine vaccination programs.

Medical teams in Shaare Zedek’s pediatric department quickly recognized the severity of the situation and initiated emergency treatment. Thanks to the prompt diagnosis and intensive care, physicians were able to stabilize the child and save his life.

The infant was admitted to the hospital’s pediatric intensive care unit, where he received advanced treatment for several days. After showing significant improvement, he was later transferred to the general pediatric ward for continued care.

Doctors said the child is expected to remain hospitalized for several more days but that the immediate danger has passed.

The case has drawn attention because epiglottitis was once considered one of the most dangerous childhood illnesses, frequently causing life-threatening airway obstruction. Since the introduction of the Hib vaccine into Israel’s national immunization program decades ago, the disease has become exceptionally rare.

Medical experts noted that the dramatic decline in cases is directly attributable to widespread vaccination. While epiglottitis has nearly disappeared in countries with high vaccination rates, isolated cases continue to occur among unvaccinated individuals.

Hospital officials said the incident serves as a stark reminder of the importance of routine childhood immunizations. Physicians emphasized that the Health Ministry’s vaccination schedule is based on extensive scientific research and is designed to protect children from potentially deadly diseases.

According to Shaare Zedek, the infant continues to improve and remains under close medical supervision. Doctors are optimistic that he will be able to return home within the coming days.

{Matzav.com}

This post was originally published on this site.

Four IDF soldiers were killed during combat operations in southern Lebanon early Friday morning when a strike hit a tank operating near the village of Kfar Tebnit. The military cleared for publication the name of one of the fallen: LTC Dor Gedalia Ben Simhon, 32, of Beit HaShita, commander of the 52nd Battalion of the 401st Brigade.

The names of the three additional soldiers killed in the incident have not yet been released. Their families have been informed, and their identities will be published once military authorization is granted.

According to a preliminary IDF investigation, the deadly incident occurred at approximately 12:20 a.m. while a tank from the 52nd Battalion was operating under the Givati Brigade Combat Team in Kfar Tebnit. Military officials believe the vehicle was struck by either an explosive drone or an anti-tank missile, killing all four soldiers inside.

Several hours later, at around 4:00 a.m., a separate attack took place in the Beaufort region near Tebnit. An explosive-laden drone struck troops from the Commando Brigade, wounding five soldiers. One of the injured troops was listed in serious condition.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog expressed sorrow over the losses, stating: “This is a very difficult and painful morning. With profound grief, we learned of the terrible news that four of our nation’s sons fell in battle in Lebanon, including LTC Dor Gedalia Ben Simhon, the Commander of the 52nd Battalion, 401st Brigade.”

He continued, “About two months ago, after the Battalion Commander, LTC Y., was severely wounded in combat, Dor took command upon himself, and from that point led his soldiers at the front with determination and responsibility.

“LTC Dor Gedalia Ben Simhon and the additional three fallen soldiers, whose names have not yet been cleared for publication, join a long and unbearably painful list of the daughters and sons who have fallen in defense of our homeland and people. Each one was an entire world, with dreams, hopes, and aspirations cut down in their prime.

“Together with the whole of the people of Israel, we embrace their beloved and precious families and send them our heartfelt condolences at this difficult moment. We pray for the recovery of the wounded and for the well-being of all IDF soldiers and security forces. May the memory of our heroes be blessed,” Herzog concluded.

Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu also conveyed condolences to the bereaved families and offered prayers for the recovery of those wounded in the fighting.

Addressing Israel’s military response, Netanyahu said that “following the heinous attack by Hezbollah, which is a flagrant violation of the ceasefire, I instructed the IDF last night to strike Hezbollah with force. The IDF struck over 80 terror targets and eliminated dozens of terrorists. Subsequently, the IDF struck Hezbollah command posts in the Beqaa Valley this morning.”

He further stated: “This morning, I held a situation assessment with the Minister of Defense and the Chief of General Staff. My directive is clear: Israel will not tolerate attacks on our soldiers or our territory, and it will exact a very heavy price from Hezbollah for these attacks. The IDF will act to thwart any threat to our forces and our territory.”

LTC Ben Simhon assumed command of Battalion 52 on April 20, 2026, shortly after the unit’s previous commander was seriously wounded in battle. Taking over during an intense period of operations, he led the battalion through two months of combat activity on the northern front.

A career officer in the Armored Corps, Ben Simhon spent much of his military service in the 401st Brigade, advancing through a variety of command positions. Widely regarded for his leadership and operational abilities, he later served as chief of staff to the commander of the Northern Command during Operation “Northern Arrows,” remaining in that role until residents of the north were able to return home. After completing the position in August, he attended the Command and Staff Course before returning to frontline service this spring as commander of Battalion 52.

Ben Simhon is survived by his wife and two daughters. He came from a family deeply rooted in military service: he and four of his brothers served in the 401st Brigade, while another brother enlisted in the Golani Brigade. His wife serves as a combat officer in the Combat Intelligence Collection Corps and Border Defense Corps.