SpaceX announced this week that its planned semiconductor plant that is expected to become the largest building in the world at more than 100 million feet will be built in Grimes, Texas, outside of Houston.

“Terafab Texas will be the largest and most valuable building on Earth by far,” owner Elon Musk wrote X on Thursday. “And it will be stunningly beautiful.”

The factory is a joint effort with Musk’s electric car company Tesla.

“This facility will house the manufacturing, packaging, and testing of advanced logic and memory devices,” SpaceX said in a Thursday press release. “Terafab will produce chips optimized for edge computing and inference for use in hardware like Tesla’s Optimus robots and self-driving Cybercabs, along with high-power chips designed for operating SpaceX’s space-based data centers.”

SpaceX added that its and Tesla’s combined demand for chips is expected to be in excess of the global supply.

“While we are deeply appreciative of our current chip suppliers, and encourage them to expand production whenever possible, this looming gulf between supply and demand is at the core of Terafab’s necessity,” SpaceX explained.

The company said Terafab would employ more than 3,000 people, adding that its initial phase is estimated to cost approximately $16.8 billion 

“The Terafab is bringing cutting-edge manufacturing to America, creating thousands of high-paying ​ jobs in the Lone Star State, and enabling us to produce AI chips at scale ​ for use on Earth and in space,” Musk said.

SpaceX proposed initially investing $55 billion into Terafab, which could increase to $119 billion, according to a May filing.

In April, Tesla broke ​ground on a research facility at the North ​Campus of ⁠its Giga Texas plant, which it called a precursor to Terafab.

Currently, the Pentagon is the largest building in the U.S. at 6.6. million square feet and China’s New Century Global Center in Chengdu, is the world’s largest at 18.9 million square feet. 

Reuters contributed to this report.

After an uproar of social media backlash over what custom messages Coca-Cola permits on its personalized cans, a Fox News Digital investigation into the platform’s moderation rules reveals an inconsistent system.

Testing various words and phrases in the 18-character-or-less requirement, the Coke can customization blocks mainstream religious phrases like “Jesus is Lord” and political slogans like “Make America Great,” while permitting left-wing activism, right-wing group names and even terms associated with child exploitation.

Religious and faith-based expressions seemed to face strict algorithmic suppression compared to secular or alternative viewpoints. Mainstream affirmations like “Jesus is Lord” and “Allah is Lord” are blocked, while anti-theist and secular phrases like “God is Dead” and “Atheist Pride,” alongside religious greetings like “Shalom” and “Buddha Bless,” are allowed.

This message popped up for rejected phrase or words: “The name or phrase you’ve submitted is not permitted. Names and phrases may not be permitted if they belong to a business, organization, celebrity, public figure, school, team or other trademark, are religious or political in nature, or could be considered inappropriate or unsuitable for other reasons.”

Patriotic or right-leaning slogans like “Make America Great,” along with any specific political leader names and all racial or identity pride phrases (“White Pride,” “Black Pride,” “Black Lives Matter”), are not permitted on personalized Coke cans. However, left-wing political slogans like “Defund the Police” and controversial political groups like the far-right “Proud Boys” are acceptable.

Another political disparity appeared when Fox News Digital found that “Stand with Israel” is allowed, while “Free Palestine” is blocked, highlighting arbitrary geopolitical enforcement.

Though benign religious and political terms are flagged, extreme and harmful phrases like “Pedophile Pride” and “MAP Pride” (Minor-Attracted Person) are permitted by the filter, as of Friday afternoon.

Additionally, basic text loophole tactics — like adding spaces (“P e d o p h i l e”) or numbers (“Wh1t3 Pr1d3”) — bypassed the system’s security rules.

While the online customization tool generates real-time digital previews, Coca-Cola’s site terms state that submitted text may require additional review before an order is physically printed and shipped.

“We created the Share A Coke personalization tool for Coca-Cola fans to celebrate with one another and make connections by creating bottles and cans with special names or phrases on them,” a Coca-Cola spokesperson told Fox News Digital. **“**We are aware of a technical issue affecting the personalization preview tool and are working to address it.” 

“While we review and take corrective action, we have disabled the preview feature and paused new personalized product orders after becoming aware that it has been used to generate content previews using restricted terms that do not align with our guidelines,” the spokesperson continued. “All personalization orders are subject to moderation review after submission, and we have safeguards in place to prevent the approval and production of cans and bottles featuring religious, political, trademarked, inappropriate, or otherwise restricted terms and phrases. We will continue to enhance this tool based on consumer feedback.”

This is not the first time Coca-Cola’s automated customization filters have drawn public scrutiny. Previous iterations of the brand’s online customization engine faced similar criticism in 2021 over inconsistent word blocks regarding political, religious and social movement terms.

A Wizz Air flight from Rome to Tel Aviv was thrown into chaos moments before takeoff on Friday after a passenger unexpectedly requested to leave the aircraft, triggering a security response that forced all passengers to deplane and delayed the flight. It was later determined that the man had asked to get off because he feared the delayed departure would lead to chilul Shabbos.

The incident unfolded just before departure, after boarding had already been completed. According to passengers, the man suddenly insisted on leaving the aircraft without initially explaining his reason. His unusual behavior raised alarm among fellow travelers, prompting the captain to halt the flight while Israeli security personnel and local police were called to inspect the aircraft.

Under standard airport security procedures, once a checked passenger leaves an aircraft, that passenger’s luggage must also be removed from the cargo hold before the flight can continue. As crews began unloading the baggage, many of the approximately 300 passengers believed the flight had been canceled.

Passengers said the cabin crew had already announced that boarding was complete when the man unexpectedly requested to deplane.

“The flight attendant announced that boarding had ended, and then this man decided he wanted to get off the flight,” said M., a passenger on board. “He didn’t explain himself, he didn’t give any reason why he wanted to leave, he didn’t communicate with anyone, not in English and not in Italian. He didn’t even apologize. An entire plane was standing there because of him, and he wouldn’t even look at us. His behavior was very, very strange.”

As passengers waited for security forces to arrive, anxiety spread throughout the cabin.

“He didn’t care that an entire plane was waiting, with Israelis panicking, angry, and frightened,” M. said. “We’re all trying to get home from our vacations. There were many children on board, and above all there was a great deal of panic. He just stared straight ahead as if nothing around him mattered.”

Some passengers grew increasingly suspicious of the man’s conduct, prompting the flight crew to involve police rather than take any chances. The passenger was detained for questioning while everyone on board was escorted back to the terminal.

Authorities then carried out a complete security screening of both the aircraft and all passengers before preparations could begin for a new departure.

“We’re waiting for buses to take us back to the terminal so they can unload our luggage,” M. said. “At the moment, there’s no estimate for when we’ll take off. The flight was canceled because of security reasons that have nothing to do with the passengers, and all we want is to get home safely.”

Following the security investigation, officials determined that the passenger was an observant Jewish man who had requested to leave the aircraft because he feared the delayed departure would result in chilul Shabbos. His request to deplane, however, set in motion the mandatory security procedures that delayed the flight.

Wizz Air disputed reports that the flight had been canceled, saying it was only delayed while the additional security procedures were completed.

“The flight from Rome to Tel Aviv was slightly delayed due to an additional security inspection. Passengers were asked to disembark so the additional inspection could be carried out, and the flight will depart as soon as it is completed. The safety of our passengers and crew remains the airline’s highest priority,” the airline said.

{Matzav.com}

Although the 2028 presidential election remains years away, early prediction markets are already shifting, with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez edging past California Gov. Gavin Newsom in one closely watched betting market.

According to the latest market figures, Ocasio-Cortez now holds an implied 11% chance of winning the presidency, narrowly surpassing Newsom, whose odds stand at 10%. The change comes after the two Democratic figures traded places in recent days, putting the New York congresswoman slightly ahead of the California governor.

The shift has prompted renewed discussion about the Democratic Party’s future following another difficult election cycle. Supporters of Ocasio-Cortez view the market movement as evidence that democratic socialist ideas continue to resonate with younger and more progressive voters. Meanwhile, Newsom’s standing has raised questions about whether his years of high-profile political battles with Republicans will strengthen or weaken his appeal on the national stage.

Even so, Ocasio-Cortez would face significant challenges if she ultimately enters the race. She would be among the youngest candidates seeking the presidency, and Democrats would also be grappling with their recent history of unsuccessful bids by female presidential nominees.

On the Republican side, Vice President JD Vance currently holds the strongest position in the same prediction market, leading the field with an implied 21% chance of winning the presidency.

Market analysts caution that these figures should not be confused with traditional polling. Prediction markets reflect where traders are placing their money, meaning the odds can shift rapidly in response to major news events, endorsements, scandals, or other political developments.

With more than two years remaining before the next presidential election, the current odds are better viewed as an early indicator of market sentiment than as a reliable forecast of the eventual outcome.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine has been privately urging President Donald Trump and senior administration officials to find an “off-ramp” from the war with Iran, arguing that the military options available to the United States are limited and that airpower alone is unlikely to achieve Trump’s stated objectives, CNN reports.

“Caine is looking for an off ramp,” one source familiar with the matter said. Caine has discussed concerns about the military options for escalating the conflict and raised the prospect of finding an off-ramp with other key Cabinet officials, including CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance.

Caine has recently met with some of those officials in an effort to facilitate interagency coordination and ensure they are on the same page ahead of meetings with the president. His goal has been to make clear the limitations and potential pitfalls of the available military options, including those that do not involve putting U.S. troops on the ground.

“I think it is just his way of protecting the military,” one source familiar with Caine’s discussions with other top national security officials said, referring to his approach to the Iran war.

Trump has consistently appeared averse to deploying ground troops in Iran, instead signaling that he believes an air-bombing campaign can force Tehran to accept a deal on his terms. Caine and others in Trump’s Cabinet privately view that outcome as unlikely and have sought to develop alternatives that fit within the president’s own parameters, according to multiple sources familiar with the discussions.

Privately, Caine has become increasingly direct about the limits of airpower, reiterating his view that bombing alone is unlikely to achieve Trump’s stated objectives at this stage of the war. He has also become more vocal about the potential second- and third-order consequences of further U.S. escalation.

During consideration of a larger operation, Caine and other Trump officials focused heavily on what could go wrong if the United States escalated, including the possibility that Iran could retaliate against U.S. forces and other targets throughout the region.

Trump ultimately backed away from that operation after speaking with Middle East allies who told him they feared Iranian retaliation, particularly against their energy infrastructure. The president instead ordered a smaller operation targeting Iranian infrastructure.

Caine has also repeatedly raised concerns about dwindling U.S. munitions stockpiles. He raised the issue during at least two recent meetings with Trump in which possible options for escalating the conflict were discussed.

Those warnings predate the war. Before the conflict began, Caine and other military leaders similarly cautioned Trump that a prolonged military campaign could significantly affect U.S. weapons stockpiles, particularly weapons also needed to support Israel and Ukraine.

The munitions shortage is one reason the Pentagon and U.S. Central Command have recently begun reevaluating U.S. military strategy toward Iran. A senior military official at CENTCOM recently sent out a crowdsourcing email seeking new, creative and unconventional ways to pressure and punish Iran.

Caine has nevertheless made clear that the military remains capable of carrying out further operations if ordered. As chairman of the Joint Chiefs, he is responsible for drafting military options for striking Iran, and even before the war he was vocal about the potential downsides of launching a major operation, including concerns over its scale, complexity and the possibility of U.S. casualties.

At the same time, many within the administration and outside analysts believe the only way to decisively defeat Iran would be through a major operation involving ground troops, potentially costing American lives. The Pentagon considers all scenarios, so plans for such an operation exist, but no one in the administration is currently advocating such drastic action.

The focus has therefore increasingly turned toward finding an off-ramp that could give Trump at least a “symbolic” victory while preserving the possibility of a diplomatic breakthrough. That could begin with an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Caine’s spokesman, Joseph Holstead, declined to discuss the chairman’s private conversations, saying: “We do not discuss the Chairman’s confidential conversations with the President, the Secretary, or other senior leaders, nor do we comment on anonymous, agenda-driven characterizations of those conversations by sources who were not privy to them.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito says he has no plans to step down, confirming that he will remain on the nation’s highest court for another term and ending speculation that President Donald Trump could soon have the opportunity to nominate a fourth justice.

“Obviously I’m here for another term,” Alito told The Wall Street Journal in an interview published Friday.

Alito’s remarks appear to settle months of questions about whether the 76-year-old justice would retire before or during the court’s upcoming term.

Earlier this year, retirement rumors gained traction after National Public Radio mistakenly reported that Alito intended to leave the bench. The report was later withdrawn after the Supreme Court confirmed that the claim was false, according to The Associated Press.

With Alito remaining in place, the Supreme Court will begin its next term with its current 6-3 conservative majority unchanged.

The court’s conservative wing consists of Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett. The liberal bloc is made up of Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson.

Overall, six of the court’s nine members were appointed by Republican presidents, while the remaining three were nominated by Democratic presidents.

During his first term, President Trump appointed Justices Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett, appointments that solidified the court’s conservative majority following Barrett’s confirmation in 2020.

Had Alito chosen to retire, Trump would likely have had the opportunity to appoint a fourth justice, potentially replacing one of the court’s most conservative members with a younger jurist who could serve for decades.

Instead, Alito’s decision leaves the ideological makeup of the court unchanged heading into the new term.

The Supreme Court’s composition has become an increasingly contentious political issue, with many Democrats and liberal advocacy groups continuing to push for legislation that would expand the size of the court.

House Democratic leaders have endorsed a proposal to increase the number of justices from nine to 13 by adding four new seats.

Republicans and other critics have characterized the proposal as court-packing, arguing that expanding the court would allow a future Democratic president and Senate to dramatically shift its ideological balance.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has accused House Democrats of attempting to “rig” the Supreme Court after some lawmakers proposed adding four additional justices.

Grassley argued in June that Democrats support expanding the court because they disagree with many of its recent decisions and hope to fill the new seats with liberal nominees.

Supporters of expansion counter that increasing the number of justices would restore what they view as ideological balance and strengthen public confidence in the judiciary.

One organization advocating the proposal, Supreme 13, contends that a 13-member court would correspond with the nation’s 13 federal judicial circuits and would help address what it describes as decades of Republican-appointed dominance on the bench.

The idea has been debated before. In 2021, Democratic lawmakers introduced legislation to expand the Supreme Court from nine justices to 13, though the measure ultimately failed to become law.

The U.S. Constitution does not specify how many justices must serve on the Supreme Court, leaving Congress with the authority to determine the court’s size.

The court has consisted of nine justices since 1869, following several changes in its membership during the 19th century.

Opponents of expansion argue that enlarging the court for political purposes would threaten judicial independence and encourage an endless cycle of both parties adding seats whenever they control both Congress and the White House.

For now, Alito’s decision ensures that the court’s 6-3 conservative majority remains intact while eliminating, at least for the time being, the prospect of another Trump appointment to the Supreme Court.

It also guarantees that the debate over the future makeup of the nation’s highest court will continue to play out in the political arena, including during the 2026 midterm elections and the 2028 presidential campaign.

{Matzav.com}

In a landmark development for the Upper East Side’s Orthodox Jewish community, Manhattan’s historic Park East Synagogue and Chabad-Lubavitch of the Upper East Side have announced a major partnership that will officially begin this Rosh Hashanah, bringing together two of the neighborhood’s most influential Torah institutions.

As part of the new arrangement, Rav Arthur Schneier, the internationally known diplomat and longtime Rav of Park East—whose tenure is the longest of any congregational Rav in New York City’s history—will be joined by Rav Ben Tzion Krasnianski, who has led Chabad of the Upper East Side for decades and will now also serve as Associate Rav of Park East Synagogue. Rav Yosef Wilhelm, who heads Chabad Young Professionals Upper East Side, has been appointed Assistant Rav.

“This collaboration brings together two vibrant Jewish communities with a shared commitment to Torah, prayer, education, and acts of kindness,” Rav Schneier and Park East President Les Lieberman wrote in a letter to members of the kehillah. “By working together, we will be able to expand the opportunities available to our members and create an even more dynamic and welcoming synagogue experience.”

The agreement, which received unanimous approval from Park East’s Board of Trustees, will relocate the majority of Chabad of the Upper East Side’s programming into Park East’s historic building on East 67th Street. Among the initiatives moving to the new location are Chabad Young Professionals, Friendship Circle, Chabad Young Families, and the Upper East Side Kollel and Adult Education Center.

Chabad’s mikvah and preschool will continue operating from the Schneerson Center for Jewish Life on East 77th Street.

Founded in 1890 as Congregation Zichron Ephraim, Park East Synagogue has served as one of Manhattan’s oldest Orthodox kehillos for 136 years. Its distinctive Moorish- and Byzantine-style building on East 67th Street was designated a New York City Landmark in 1980 and added to the National Register of Historic Places three years later.

Rav Schneier assumed the rabbonus of Park East in 1962. Born in Vienna in 1930, he witnessed Kristallnacht as a child and survived the Holocaust while hiding in Nazi-occupied Budapest before eventually immigrating to the United States. Over the decades, he became a leading advocate for Soviet Jewry and numerous other Jewish causes. President Bill Clinton awarded him the Presidential Citizens Medal, praising him for “devoting a lifetime to overcoming forces of hatred and intolerance.”

Under Rav Schneier’s leadership, Park East Synagogue became known not only as a prominent Orthodox synagogue, but also as a meeting place where world leaders, diplomats, ambassadors, and religious figures from across the globe regularly visited and addressed the kehillah.

In recent years, the synagogue also found itself at the center of anti-Israel and antisemitic demonstrations. While protesters targeted several New York City shuls, incidents outside Park East Synagogue ultimately prompted the city to adopt buffer-zone protections outside houses of worship.

“A Match Made in Heaven”

Rav Ben Tzion Krasnianski and his wife, Chanie, arrived on the Upper East Side in the summer of 1991 with the brachah of the Lubavitcher Rebbe and with a mission they say has guided every aspect of their work ever since: ensuring that no Jew is ever left behind.

What began as a single Chabad House has, over the course of 35 years, grown into an extensive network of approximately ten branches serving virtually every segment of the Upper East Side Jewish community.

The Chabad Israel Center serves Israeli expatriates, while Chabad Young Professionals has become a home for thousands of young Jewish professionals building their lives in New York. Friendship Circle supports children and adults with special needs along with the volunteers who assist them. Chabad at Hunter College strengthens Jewish life on campus, while Chabad Care provides spiritual support and comfort to Jewish patients throughout the area’s hospitals.

The organization also operates extensive programming for senior citizens, Chabad Young Families, and a thriving Hebrew School for children. At the same time, the Upper East Side Kollel and Adult Education Center has become a major address for serious Torah learning among adults from every level of observance.

Under the new partnership, nearly all of these educational and communal programs—including Chabad Young Professionals, Friendship Circle, Chabad Young Families, and the Upper East Side Kollel and Adult Education Center—will now be based inside Park East Synagogue’s landmark building.

Chabad’s Jacques and Hanna Schwalbe mikvah, widely regarded as one of the country’s finest, together with its flourishing preschool, will continue operating from the Schneerson Center.

“As things were needed, we responded,” Rav Krasnianski said. He explained that the organization’s growth has always been driven by a desire to serve “every aspect of the community by caring, embracing, and ultimately, engaging” Jews wherever a need exists.

Rav Krasnianski said that same philosophy makes the new partnership “a match made in heaven.” He noted that the relationship between the two institutions stretches back many years.

“Park East approached us to see if we could collaborate and work together so we could accomplish much more than we could accomplish individually,” Rav Krasnianski said, explaining that the strengths of the two institutions naturally complement one another.

“At this critical juncture in Jewish New York history, this collaborative effort sends a powerful message that Jewish New York is here to stay,” Rav Krasnianski said. “We will not rest until all 70,000 Jews on the Upper East Side hold their heads up high and actively express their Jewish pride on a daily basis, one mitzvah at a time.”

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump warned Friday that Congress risks regulating the American artificial-intelligence industry “out of business,” placing himself directly into an intensifying fight over how Washington should police increasingly powerful AI models without slowing U.S. companies competing with China. 

Trump’s comments come as lawmakers consider proposals that would impose federal requirements on frontier AI developers, including independent security evaluations of the most advanced models. The debate has become more urgent after recent testing showed AI agents capable of escaping controlled environments and compromising outside computer systems. 

The business question is no longer whether Washington will regulate AI. It is how much regulation companies will face before putting their most powerful models into the market.

That distinction matters because building frontier AI already requires billions of dollars for chips, data centers, electricity and engineering talent. Mandatory testing, licensing or compliance requirements could add another layer of cost and potentially lengthen the time between developing a model and releasing it commercially.

Large companies such as OpenAI, Google, Anthropic and Meta may be able to absorb those costs. Smaller AI developers may have a much harder time doing so, potentially strengthening the largest companies even when regulation is intended to restrain them.

The opposite risk is becoming harder for lawmakers to ignore.

Recent incidents involving advanced AI agents have raised concerns that models could eventually discover software vulnerabilities, execute cyberattacks or take actions beyond what their developers intended. The administration has already established a voluntary system under which leading AI developers can provide advanced models to the federal government for cybersecurity testing before public release. 

Trump has generally favored a lighter federal approach and has also pushed back against separate state AI regimes. His administration argues that requiring companies to navigate dozens of different state rulebooks could slow innovation and weaken America’s position against foreign competitors. 

Congress has not fully accepted that argument. A previous attempt to broadly restrict states from regulating AI faced overwhelming Senate opposition, leaving Washington caught between industry demands for one national standard and lawmakers who want states to retain authority to protect their residents. 

For businesses, the eventual answer will affect far more than Silicon Valley.

Banks, healthcare companies, manufacturers, retailers and small businesses are beginning to integrate AI into everyday operations. Rules governing which models can be released, how they must be tested and who is responsible when they malfunction could ultimately affect the price and availability of the AI tools those businesses use.

Washington is therefore beginning to decide the economic rules for the next phase of AI — how much risk companies can take in the name of innovation, and how much compliance they must accept in the name of safety.

JBizNews Desk | Washington

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

Sen. Ted Cruz is urging the Trump administration to abandon diplomatic efforts with Iran and instead intensify military and economic pressure, including providing weapons to anti-government demonstrators in an effort to bring about the collapse of the Islamic regime.

“I think our objective should be regime collapse,” Cruz said Friday on CBS News national security analyst Aaron MacLean’s “School of War” podcast.

The Texas Republican argued that the United States should continue targeting Iranian military assets, maintain strict economic sanctions, and preserve the blockade on Iranian ports aimed at limiting Tehran’s oil exports. Cruz noted that he first advocated arming Iranian protesters earlier this year.

“What I believe we should do, what I have urged President [Donald] Trump repeatedly, what I’ve urged Israel to do repeatedly, is arm the protesters, give them the guns, to let them overthrow their own government so that it’s not American boots on the ground, it’s Iranians fighting for their own country,” he said.

The current conflict began on February 28, when the United States and Israel launched military strikes against Iran. Since then, the confrontation has alternated between combat operations and diplomatic efforts, while instability in the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted one of the world’s most critical shipping lanes, through which roughly one-fifth of global oil supplies normally pass.

In June, the two sides reached a memorandum of understanding intended to halt hostilities, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and pave the way for renewed nuclear negotiations. That agreement unraveled in July after fighting resumed and disagreements emerged over control of the strategic waterway.

Cruz sharply criticized the failed accord, calling it a “disaster” and a “terrible deal.” He argued that easing sanctions and creating a proposed $300 billion reconstruction fund would only strengthen the Iranian regime.

“You’ll forgive me if I’m not terribly eager to give them $300 billion to facilitate their carrying out their stated intent of murdering us,” Cruz said. “Giving them $300 billion is an exceptionally bad idea. It was a bad idea two months ago, it’s a bad idea today and it would be a bad idea two months from now. So I hope we don’t go down that road.”

The Trump administration has maintained that the proposed reconstruction funding would come voluntarily from Gulf nations and private investors rather than from the U.S. government.

Meanwhile, Iran and Oman are reportedly working on a temporary maritime arrangement that would allow vessels to enter the Persian Gulf through an Iranian-controlled route and depart through an Omani-controlled corridor without paying transit fees. Officials believe the proposal could serve as a stepping stone toward broader negotiations.

Although President Trump has recently moved away from earlier statements favoring regime change in Tehran, Cruz said he is unconcerned about which opposition group might ultimately replace the current leadership.

“I don’t have a dog whether it’s the son of the Shah, whether it is the [Mojahedin-e-Khalq opposition group], whether it is someone local, as long as they are not an Islamist who hates America and is actively trying to kill Americans,” Cruz said.

Cruz’s position underscores ongoing divisions within the Republican Party over U.S. policy toward Iran. While Vice President JD Vance has supported continued negotiations, other Republicans have argued against making concessions to Tehran.

Addressing those competing views, Cruz rejected both interventionism and isolationism.

“I disagree with both the interventionist and the isolationists. I think the interventionists are too quick to send the Marines. That’s their solution for everything,” he said. “But I am most definitely not an isolationist. It is a dangerous world, and it is our military’s job to prevent enemies of America from killing Americans.”

Just hours after his release from military prison, bochur Shmuel Shmelka Pinter, grandson of the Ziditchov Rebbe, paid a visit together with his grandfather and father to the Sanzer Rebbe at his residence in Caesarea. During the lengthy conversation, the Rebbe reflected on earlier generations of tzaddikim who endured imprisonment, spoke sharply about those who incite hatred against bnei Torah, shared encounters with secular Jews who seek blessings, and expressed unwavering confidence that Torah will ultimately prevail.

Shmelka Pinter had completed a 20-day prison sentence imposed after refusing military service while continuing his Torah studies. Upon his release last week, he was warmly welcomed by the kehillos that support those who dedicate themselves to full-time learning.

Soon after leaving prison, he traveled with his grandfather, the Ziditchov Rebbe, and his father, Rav Chaim Pinter, to visit the Sanzer Rebbe in Caesarea. What follows is a rewritten transcript of their conversation.

The Sanzer Rebbe began by recalling that his father had once told him about an earlier episode involving Rav Aharon of Kreiz-Sanz, who was imprisoned. When people urged the Divrei Chaim to pray specifically that his son be released, the Divrei Chaim responded by pointing to earlier giants of Jewish history—including Yosef HaTzaddik, the Maharam of Rothenburg, and the Rebbe of Ruzhin—who had also endured imprisonment. When others argued that the incarceration created a chilul Hashem, the Divrei Chaim replied that the true chilul Hashem is forgetting Hashem even for a single moment.

The Ziditchov Rebbe added that the Me’or Einayim of Chernobyl had likewise spent time in prison, as had other great tzaddikim throughout Jewish history.

The Sanzer Rebbe noted that his predecessor was never impressed simply because his son had been imprisoned. He accepted the ordeal with dignity, understanding that imprisonment itself was not a measure of greatness, even though his son remained incarcerated for a significant period.

Rav Chaim Pinter remarked that his family descends from the holy Rav of Kreiz through his son-in-law, Rav Moshe of Berdichev.

The Sanzer Rebbe then said that while Shmelka had still been behind bars he had intentionally refrained from sharing a particular story, explaining that not every episode from the lives of the tzaddikim should be imitated. Now that the young man had been released safely, however, he felt comfortable recounting it.

The Ziditchov Rebbe observed that Rav of Kreiz had originally been imprisoned after placing a ban on someone who refused to comply with a beis din ruling. He wondered aloud whether today’s rabbinic leaders should likewise convene a beis din to place those who persecute Torah and its learners under cherem. He added that the Sanzer Klausenburger Rebbe, the Shefa Chaim, had many years earlier wanted to organize a major gathering addressing similar concerns.

The Sanzer Rebbe replied that the Shefa Chaim had possessed remarkable foresight. He explained that the Rebbe’s vision had been to assemble Orthodox Jewish attorneys who could coordinate legal efforts on behalf of Yahadus HaChareidis throughout Eretz Yisroel. Whether such an initiative would succeed today, however, was another question. In his view, many of those in positions of authority now act with arrogance, answerable to no one, and simply do whatever they choose without accountability.

Turning to Israeli society more broadly, the Sanzer Rebbe emphasized that the overwhelming majority of Jews in Eretz Yisroel possess faith in Hashem and maintain a deep respect for Torah and Yiddishkeit. He argued that most do not harbor hatred toward those who learn Torah. Rather, he said, a relatively small group of agitators in the media creates the false impression that it speaks for the majority. As evidence, he described how, whenever he visits areas such as Netanya or Caesarea where many residents are secular, people frequently approach him asking for brachos, demonstrating that genuine faith remains alive within them.

The Rebbe noted that Caesarea is generally considered a politically left-leaning city. Yet when he goes for a walk and a woman approaches from the opposite direction, she will often cross to the other side of the street on her own initiative without being asked. On numerous occasions, secular parents have even sent their children to request a blessing. He also recalled that one Friday night a car stopped beside him, and the elderly Jewish driver spoke to him in Yiddish, asking whether he needed any assistance because he assumed the Rebbe had become lost. Another neighbor once told him that although he knew the Rebbe would not eat in his home, he would gladly provide water or anything else that might ever be needed. “That,” the Rebbe said, “is the true face of most Jews living in Eretz Yisroel.”

The Ziditchov Rebbe responded with a similar story involving the Lev Simcha of Gur. While walking outside the religious neighborhood in Haifa on Shabbos, a secular Jew approached the Rebbe, assuming he had lost his way, and warmly offered to drive him anywhere he wished to go.

The Sanzer Rebbe continued by saying that the war has created tremendous confusion among many people. Those who do not appreciate the holiness of Torah often find it impossible to understand the position of the bnei Torah. At the same time, however, the war has awakened a profound strengthening of faith among countless Jews, many of whom now seek blessings and prayers. He recalled that during the large gathering outside the military prison, officials responsible for coordinating the event privately admitted to him that they were personally pained by the entire situation and were only carrying out orders because they had no alternative.

The Ziditchov Rebbe remarked that the Shefa Chaim had long ago described the leading instigators against Torah as belonging to the Erev Rav. He speculated that perhaps they were souls of earlier heretics who had returned to this world in order to rectify their past, but instead had only deepened the damage. He lamented that the campaign of incitement against the chareidi community had crossed every conceivable boundary.

The Sanzer Rebbe responded that while many secular Jews unfortunately transgress the Torah, it is not for us to judge them, since most are tinokos shenishbu who were never taught the difference between what is permitted and what is forbidden. Even when they speak harshly against Torah Jews, he said, it is often because they believe doing so will make their own lives easier. Nevertheless, he recalled that his father had taught that when someone demonstrates an unusually intense hatred for religion and actively wages war against those who observe Torah and mitzvos, it is possible that such a person traces his spiritual roots to the Erev Rav.

The Ziditchov Rebbe then shared a personal experience. While walking through Tel Aviv, a passerby suddenly began shouting at him. Curious, he asked what the man wanted. The fellow replied that all he wanted was for the Rebbe to “go back to Poland.” The Ziditchov Rebbe remarked that perhaps his appearance had reminded the man of something from Poland.

The Sanzer Rebbe responded with a story from his own youth. He recalled that while walking down the street, someone chased after him carrying a stick and struck him. Looking back, he said he was actually grateful that he had at least merited to be beaten simply because he was a Jew.

The Ziditchov Rebbe commented that even so, the hatred in those years did not resemble the atmosphere that exists today.

The Sanzer Rebbe agreed, observing that today’s public incitement and brazenness have reached levels that simply did not exist in earlier decades.

The Ziditchov Rebbe mentioned the role played by newspaper editors in fueling much of that hostility.

The Sanzer Rebbe replied that the Divrei Chaim, commenting on Parshas Vayakhel, writes that the leaders of the nation in the era before Moshiach would come from the Erev Rav.

The Ziditchov Rebbe recalled a teaching the Sanzer Rebbe had cited during the recent rally from the Shefa Chaim on the Gemara’s description of a generation in which “the youth will behave arrogantly toward the elders.” He then related a well-known story involving the Chasam Sofer. Whenever the Chasam Sofer traveled to Yergen near Pressburg, he would rent lodging. On one occasion, a local Jew insisted on hosting him free of charge. After Shabbos, however, the Chasam Sofer overheard the same man describing the rabbi of Pressburg as a sinner.

The Sanzer Rebbe explained what had happened. The unlearned innkeeper had watched the Chasam Sofer eat the Shabbos daytime meal without reciting Kiddush as he believed it should be said. Since the man mistakenly thought the daytime Kiddush required the full nighttime text rather than only Borei Pri Hagafen, he concluded that the Chasam Sofer was violating Shabbos.

The Ziditchov Rebbe continued that the Chasam Sofer later said the incident actually brought him comfort. For many years he had feared that a time might come when corrupt leaders would mislead the Jewish people so completely that authentic Torah observance would disappear. But after witnessing the innkeeper’s reaction, he realized he had been mistaken. Hashem gave the Torah to a strong-willed nation. Even though the Chasam Sofer was the universally respected rabbi of a major community, the simple Jew refused to abandon the traditions handed down from his parents merely because a prominent rabbi appeared to act differently. That demonstrated, the Chasam Sofer concluded, that faithful Jews would ultimately remain loyal to the Torah they had received from previous generations and would not allow misguided leaders to draw them away from it.

The Sanzer Rebbe said that Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai had already declared that Torah would never, chas v’shalom, be forgotten from Klal Yisroel. He added that his father would often say that Torah would never “go bankrupt.” Despite all the hardships facing the Torah world, he expressed complete confidence that the Torah would ultimately prevail. The greatest focus of our prayers, he said, should be for Jews whose lives are not centered around Torah study, that they should not, chas v’shalom, be swept away by the influences surrounding them.

The Ziditchov Rebbe responded that Klal Yisroel is in need of tremendous yeshuos. He then recalled a saying from the Shefa Chaim about how sincere efforts made below bring about corresponding assistance from Heaven.

He reminisced about attending the emotional hesped the Shefa Chaim delivered for the Tchebiner Rov. Although the Klausenburger Rebbe had not been in Yerushalayim for several years, thousands packed the hall to hear him. The Rebbe began by analyzing the Talmudic concept of “trei u’trei” before transitioning into a tear-filled eulogy.

The Sanzer Rebbe responded that he had not been present at that gathering, noting that it had taken place in the year 5726.

As the visit drew to a close, the Sanzer Rebbe turned to Shmuel Shmelka Pinter and offered him heartfelt words of encouragement and blessing.

Quoting the posuk, the Rebbe blessed him that the words “Samcheinu Kimos Inisanu” should be fulfilled in his life—that the joy awaiting him should far outweigh the suffering he had endured. He told the young bochur that he had merited to become a shaliach for the sanctification of Hashem’s Name and that Heaven had chosen him to carry that mission on behalf of Klal Yisroel.

Rav Chaim Pinter then asked the Rebbe whether his son should recite Birchas HaGomel following his release from prison.

The Sanzer Rebbe replied that he could certainly recite HaGomel, but without Shem U’Malchus.

Shmuel Shmelka Pinter then shared that while he was incarcerated, the prisoners heard the gathering organized by Sanzer Chassidim outside the prison walls. He said hearing the event provided tremendous encouragement and gave him great strength during his imprisonment.

The Sanzer Rebbe concluded by offering a final blessing, expressing the hope that they would all meet again only on joyous occasions.

{Matzav.com}

The U.S. economy lost jobs in July, and Wall Street bought stocks on the news. The reason is simpler than it sounds: the Federal Reserve has spent this year debating whether to raise interest rates to finish off inflation, and a shrinking payroll count makes raising them into a slowing economy very hard to justify. Cheaper money for longer is worth more to share prices than a strong jobs number, so buyers moved in — and they moved hardest into the expensive technology names that get hurt most when rates go up.

The S&P 500 finished Friday’s session at a record 7,757.64, up 0.62%. The Nasdaq Composite led the major averages with a 1.3% gain to 26,690.62. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 151.83 points, or 0.28%, to close at 54,036.93. The small-cap Russell 2000 rose 1.1% to 3,034.49, and the CBOE Volatility Index eased to 14.90.

The Jobs Number Behind the Rally

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday morning that nonfarm payrolls fell by 23,000 in July. Economists surveyed by Reuters had forecast a gain of about 80,000. Government payrolls dropped 53,000, driven by local government education, while private employers added just 30,000.

The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.1% from 4.2%, but not because more people found work — the labor force shrank by 264,000, and the participation rate slipped to 61.4%, the lowest in more than five years. Revisions did the heavier damage: May and June were marked down by a combined 103,000 jobs, leaving the recent hiring trend materially weaker than markets believed a day earlier. Average hourly earnings rose 3.2% over the year, the slowest wage pace since 2021.

Rates, the Dollar and the Fed Path

The Fed held its benchmark rate in the 3.50%-3.75% range last week on a 9-3 vote, with three members preferring a quarter-point increase. Traders had been pricing a September hike as the likely next move. After Friday’s report, odds of that increase fell to 42% from 58%, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

Treasury yields dropped across the curve, with the 10-year retreating from about 4.68% and the two-year from roughly 4.25% ahead of the release. The dollar index fell about 0.3% to near 99.60, and the euro touched a seven-week high around $1.1567.

For the week, the S&P 500 gained 3.6% and the Nasdaq 5.2%, its strongest showing since May. The Dow added close to 3%. Chip stocks powered the move, with the iShares Semiconductor ETF ending the week more than 7% higher. It was the second straight winning week for all three major averages.

Market Movers

SpaceX (SPCX) jumped about 14% to roughly $131, its best day since listing. Argus Research analyst Steven Silver upgraded the shares to Buy from Hold with a $160 target, citing strong operating performance and a faster-than-expected payback on the company’s artificial intelligence buildout. The move also reflected relief that Thursday’s expiration of 911.5 million insider shares — which more than doubled the public float — produced no wave of selling. The stock remains roughly 50% below its June record of $225.64.

Palantir (PLTR) climbed 9.6% to $170.85, capping a week that included a 29% surge Tuesday on second-quarter revenue of $1.94 billion, up 93% from a year earlier.

Cloudflare (NET) rose about 8% after posting revenue of $696.1 million, up 36%, and raising full-year guidance to $2.86 billion to $2.87 billion.

Coherent (COHR) gained 13% Friday and 43.5% over five sessions on peer results and a JPMorgan target increase.

Rocket Lab (RKLB) added 8% and Intuitive Machines 9% as space names rallied alongside SpaceX.

On the losing side, DaVita (DVA) fell 17% on the week after reaffirming rather than lifting its outlook, and Honeywell Aerospace (HONA) cut full-year organic sales growth guidance to 4%-5% from 7%-9% in its first report as a standalone company.

Commodities

September West Texas Intermediate crude settled at $77.08 a barrel, down 0.27% on the day and 3.44% for the week. Prices climbed more than 1% intraday on renewed tension around the Strait of Hormuz before fading into the close, with a deal to reopen the waterway still under discussion in the sixth month of the U.S.-Iran conflict.

Gold was the week’s standout, rising 2.4% Friday to $4,347.70 an ounce, a seven-week high, for a weekly advance of about 7.5% — its best week in seven months. Silver also gained. Bitcoin traded near $64,963, up 0.89%.

What’s Next

The July consumer price index lands Wednesday, Aug. 12. Economists expect headline inflation to ease to 3.4% from 3.5% and core to slow to 2.5% from 2.6%. A soft print would further drain the case for a September hike; a hot one puts it back on the table, and the assets that led this week — gold, small caps and long-duration technology — have the most to give back. Earnings from Super Micro Computer on Tuesday and Applied Materials on Thursday round out the week.

JBizNews Desk | Wall Street

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

What appeared to be a devastating shoulder injury from a water park accident ultimately saved a man’s life after doctors discovered what they initially believed was a malignant tumor. The remarkable firsthand account, shared by Rabbi Moshe Weisbecker, has drawn widespread attention throughout the Olam HaTorah as a striking example of hashgachah pratis and the power of the brachos and tefillos of Gedolei Yisroel.

The extraordinary story was shared on the “Siach Yitzchok” hotline, which features Torah teachings and firsthand accounts involving Chaver Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah Rav Yitzchok Zilberstein. Rabbi Weisbecker personally recounted the events in the hotline’s “Bedidi Hava Uvda” segment.

Rabbi Weisbecker, a son-in-law of Rav Ben Zion Goldberg-Yedler, is a respected avreich in Kollel Beis Dovid in Holon and the author of the sefer Lemaan Yaarichun on the halachos of honoring one’s parents.

Opening his account, Rabbi Weisbecker said that he felt compelled to share a deeply personal experience that demonstrated how every event in life is orchestrated by Hashem, even when everything appears to be falling apart. He said the story also illustrated the extraordinary power of the blessings and prayers of the Gedolei Hador.

Several weeks ago, while accompanying his Talmud Torah class on an annual trip to a water park, Rabbi Weisbecker was supervising students from the top of one of the park’s tallest water slides. Another member of the staff encouraged him to take a turn on the slide. Though initially reluctant, he confirmed the safety instructions with the operator, sat on a double inflatable tube to feel more secure, and began his descent.

Within moments, the tube became stuck near the beginning of the slide. He shouted repeatedly that he was trapped, but the sound of the rushing water drowned out his cries. Two fellow rabbeim waiting behind him heard him and warned the slide operator, but according to Rabbi Weisbecker, the operator insisted everything was fine and instructed them to continue.

Seconds later, another double tube carrying two staff members crashed into him with tremendous force. The collision flipped his tube and hurled him violently into the sides of the slide. Dazed and in excruciating pain, he managed to pull himself from the water before an emergency responder from United Hatzalah who was part of the group administered oxygen. He was then rushed by ambulance to Poriya Medical Center.

Doctors initially suspected internal injuries and ordered a CT scan, which revealed that he had fractured his collarbone. But while reviewing the scans, physicians noticed something far more alarming—what appeared to be a suspicious mass in his abdomen.

After consulting several specialists, doctors informed him that they believed he had a tumor in his intestine. Although they could not determine whether it was benign or malignant, they recommended immediate surgery to remove part of the intestine along with the growth. If the tumor proved to be cancerous, they explained, he would likely require additional treatment afterward.

The diagnosis plunged Rabbi Weisbecker and his family into an agonizing month filled with fear, uncertainty, sleepless nights, and constant anxiety as they awaited the operation.

Before proceeding with surgery, family members sought the guidance of Rav Yitzchok Zilberstein, asking whether the operation should be performed on the eve of Tisha B’Av. Rav Zilberstein responded unequivocally that the surgery should go ahead, even on that day.

When the day of the operation arrived, Rabbi Weisbecker later learned that Rav Zilberstein had gathered the avreichim in his kollel in Holon to recite Tehillim with tears and offer heartfelt prayers for his complete recovery while the surgery was taking place.

Doctors had prepared for a lengthy operation to remove both the suspected tumor and part of the intestine. Instead, after only 74 minutes, the surgeon emerged from the operating room smiling and delivered astonishing news: there was no tumor.

The medical team discovered that the suspicious mass was actually a surgical sponge measuring approximately five centimeters that had accidentally been left inside Rabbi Weisbecker’s abdomen during an unrelated operation nine years earlier. Over the years, his body had formed a protective layer of tissue around the sponge, preventing serious complications. Only recently had an abscess formed around it, causing the scans to resemble a malignant tumor. When surgeons removed the sponge, they could still see the operating-room identification markings printed on it.

Doctors told Rabbi Weisbecker that the water park accident had likely saved his life. Had he not suffered the fall and broken collarbone, they never would have performed the CT scan that uncovered the hidden problem. Within days or weeks, they explained, the infection could have spread throughout his body, creating a life-threatening medical emergency before anyone knew it existed.

Looking back on the ordeal, Rabbi Weisbecker said the painful injury and frightening accident turned out to be the very events that saved his life. He expressed profound gratitude to Hashem for every step of the experience and credited the precise guidance, heartfelt prayers, and blessings of Rav Yitzchok Zilberstein with helping him emerge from the ordeal completely healthy.

{Matzav.com}

A multistate salmonella outbreak tied to fresh jalapeño peppers has sickened 345 people across 27 states, sending 36 people to hospitals and forcing restaurants and distributors to pull affected produce from their supply chains.

Federal health officials have linked the outbreak to jalapeños grown in Sinaloa, Mexico, and distributed in the United States by Coast Citrus Distributors. Illnesses have been reported from June 19 through July 20. No deaths have been reported.

The peppers were supplied to restaurants, including locations operated by Chipotle Mexican Grill and QDOBA, rather than being shipped directly to grocery stores. Both chains stopped using the implicated peppers after investigators traced illnesses back through the food-distribution system.

For restaurants, the damage from a food-safety outbreak can extend well beyond the cost of throwing away one ingredient.

A restaurant typically buys produce through distributors that aggregate food from multiple farms and growers. That makes fresh ingredients inexpensive and widely available, but it can also make tracing contamination complicated. Investigators must work backward from sick customers to restaurants, distributors, packing facilities and eventually the farm where the produce originated.

That process can take weeks.

Chipotle has particular reason to move aggressively. The company spent years rebuilding consumer trust following earlier foodborne-illness outbreaks, and its shares have come under pressure as investors evaluate whether the latest incident could affect customer traffic.

The financial risk is not limited to one restaurant chain. Produce distributors can face recalls and destroyed inventory, growers can lose access to customers, and restaurants that never served contaminated food can still suffer if consumers begin avoiding an entire category of cuisine or ingredient.

That is already becoming a broader concern for the restaurant industry. The salmonella investigation comes as the U.S. is simultaneously dealing with a large cyclosporiasis outbreak linked to other produce, increasing consumer attention to fresh-food safety.

Salmonella commonly causes diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps and can become more serious for young children, older adults and people with weakened immune systems.

For businesses, however, the immediate lesson is supply-chain visibility.

When one pepper can move from a Mexican farm through a distributor and into restaurants across dozens of states, food safety increasingly becomes a logistics and traceability issue as much as a kitchen issue.

Federal and state investigators are continuing to track the affected distribution network and identify whether additional businesses received implicated jalapeños.

JBizNews Desk | Atlanta

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

President Donald Trump sharply condemned a federal appeals court Friday for blocking construction of his planned White House ballroom and security complex, arguing that the ruling endangers national security and pledging to take the case immediately to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In a Truth Social post, Trump blasted the decision, writing, “The Military and Secret Service are viewing this horrendous, politically motivated, and unlawful ruling as a National Security threat to our Nation in that the entire Complex is being built for the protection of our Country and, additionally, all future Presidents.”

He also criticized the makeup of the appellate panel, stating that “two Obama and Biden Appellate Court Judges just voted against the desperately needed Military Center, required for the National Security of Washington, D.C., and our Country, itself.”

Earlier Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled 2-1 that the administration may not continue constructing the ballroom without congressional approval. The court delayed enforcement of its ruling for 14 days, allowing the administration time to seek review from the Supreme Court.

Trump confirmed that his administration intends to move forward with an appeal, saying, “The decision has been stayed, and does not take effect for a period of time. We will be immediately appealing to the United States Supreme Court.”

The president argued that the project extends well beyond the construction of a ceremonial ballroom, describing it as a comprehensive security initiative designed to strengthen protections for the White House, its occupants, and future presidents.

According to Trump, the broader complex includes “Bomb Shelters, State of the Art Hospital and Medical Facilities, Protective Partitioning, Top Secret Military Facilities, Structures and Equipment, Protective Missile Resistant Steel, Columns, Roofs, and Beams, Drone Proof Ceilings and Roofs, Military Grade Venting, and Bullet, Ballistic, and Blast Proof Glass.”

Emphasizing the integrated nature of the project, Trump added, “It is all tied together as one big, expensive, and very complex unit, which is vital for National Security and Military Operations of the United States of America!”

The appellate majority concluded that the president lacks the authority to proceed with the construction project without first obtaining congressional authorization.

At the same time, the judges stressed that their ruling did not address whether the ballroom itself is good public policy and did not foreclose the possibility that the project could ultimately move forward through the proper legal process.

Judge Neomi Rao dissented, arguing that the National Trust for Historic Preservation lacked legal standing to challenge the project and that the government’s national security interests favored allowing construction to continue.

Trump highlighted Judge Rao’s dissent, pointing to her conclusion that the lower court had engaged in “judicial overreach.”

In the portion quoted by Trump, Rao wrote, “This was a blatant abuse of discretion. To begin with, the district court had no jurisdiction because the Trust has no standing to stop construction at the White House.”

She further argued that the lower court had improperly prioritized aesthetics over security, writing, “The district court elevated the aesthetic displeasure of a single passerby over the government’s security interests in the ballroom and the security risks of leaving an open construction site at the President’s home and office.”

Trump echoed that argument, asserting that the appellate court was “totally wrong on the vital subject of STANDING, of which the plaintiff has none.”

He warned that the ruling “severely jeopardizes the lives and welfare of the people who work, and will be working, at the White House – including all future Presidents of the United States, and their families, as well as the lives of all those visiting, such as Heads of State and other Dignitaries, and all Americans who wish to visit the historic, beautiful Executive Mansion.”

The president also stressed that the project is being financed entirely through private donations rather than taxpayer funds. He said much of the construction has already been completed or fabricated, with significant portions of the materials already delivered or currently arriving at the site.

Trump wrote, “The Circuit Court also refused to acknowledge that the desperately needed, and totally secure Ballroom, which is being built ahead of schedule and under budget, is a Gift from President Trump and Great Patriots of the United States of America.”

He continued, “The entire Complex, Military and all, is largely built, fabricated, and paid for. Much is already on site, or being delivered. Why didn’t they bring this case long prior to construction starting? There will be no expense to the American Taxpayer.”

Trump closed by urging the Supreme Court to overturn the appellate ruling in full, declaring, “This unjust decision must be overturned by the Supreme Court in its entirety.”

{Matzav.com}

A student visiting the Mauthausen concentration camp memorial in Austria sparked outrage after he was seen wearing a shirt featuring a Palestinian flag, the slogan “Free Palestine,” and an image identified as terrorist Dalal Mughrabi, prompting a heated confrontation with a Jewish visitor and police intervention.

The incident took place during a visit to the former Nazi concentration camp, where the student was photographed wearing the controversial shirt. The image on the garment was identified as Dalal Mughrabi, the terrorist who led the 1978 Coastal Road massacre, also known as the “Bus of Blood” attack, in which 38 Israelis—including 13 children—were murdered.

A Jewish woman identified as Jordana noticed the shirt and began recording the encounter before confronting the student and his teachers.

During the exchange, Jordana rebuked the group, saying, “You come to a concentration camp and call the war a genocide? A real genocide happened here. You learned nothing. Shame on you!”

Several students and teachers responded by claiming that Israel is committing “genocide” in Gaza.

Jordana forcefully rejected the comparison, arguing that equating Israel’s war against Hamas with the Holocaust dishonors the memory of the more than 100,000 victims who perished at the Mauthausen concentration camp.

Following the confrontation, staff members at the memorial site called police to respond to the scene.

{Matzav.com}

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has carefully cultivated an image of calm confidence and optimism on social media, but more than a dozen political insiders say the mayor behaves very differently behind closed doors, describing him as highly sensitive to criticism and quick to confront public detractors, The New York Post reports.

According to interviews with elected officials, political consultants, and Democratic operatives conducted by The New York Post, Mamdani frequently contacts critics who challenge him publicly, holds grudges against political opponents, and often responds to messages only when negative publicity has become a concern.

“I see more and more he cannot handle criticism, but mainly from elected officials who he thinks he can push around,” one political consultant said.

“The mayor personally reaches out when electeds criticizes him publicly. If they speak, then he cares. He cares because he doesn’t want bad press. It shows a sensitivity.”

Many of those interviewed requested anonymity, saying they feared damaging working relationships with a mayor they continue to deal with on government and political matters.

One recent flashpoint reportedly followed calls by Jewish community leaders urging Mamdani to “stop fanning the flames of hatred” against Israel after an alleged antisemitic stabbing on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Sources told The New York Post that Mamdani personally contacted at least one elected official who attended the news conference, objecting to the criticism and expressing frustration that the appeal was linked to a video he released days earlier in which he called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “war criminal.”

That two-minute video, in which Mamdani addressed viewers while seated before American and New York City flags, reportedly amassed approximately 100 million views across multiple social media platforms.

Political observers widely credit Mamdani’s mastery of TikTok and Instagram with fueling his rapid ascent from a relatively little-known state legislator in 2025 to mayor of America’s largest city. He now reportedly has 3.5 million followers on TikTok and 11.9 million on Instagram, where he built his campaign around polished videos emphasizing affordability and cost-of-living issues, including his widely viewed “halalflation” posts highlighting rising food prices.

After taking office in January, Mamdani continued investing heavily in public messaging, allocating $53 million to establish an Office of Mass Engagement, significantly expanding City Hall’s communications operation. Critics have argued the office functions primarily as a taxpayer-funded public relations apparatus.

His administration has continued releasing professionally produced videos, including one filmed outside billionaire hedge fund manager Ken Griffin’s $200 million condominium promoting the Democratic Socialists of America’s “tax the rich” platform, as well as a 13-minute documentary spotlighting tenants organizing against what they described as an unresponsive landlord.

Several insiders said Mamdani’s sensitivity to criticism stems in part from the pressure of becoming the first Democratic Socialists of America mayor of New York City.

“He’s the first DSA (mayor) so they have to show he can manage the city, and any time someone puts a dent in that it hurts their cause,” a government insider said.

Another Democratic operative described Mamdani as demanding with staff members, saying he frequently conducts late-night strategy meetings at Gracie Mansion with fellow DSA leaders.

Sources also claimed the mayor closely monitors media coverage and social media commentary, even attempting to prevent potentially unfavorable stories before they gain traction. They pointed to a July dispute after Queens Borough President Donovan Richards criticized the DSA as “white supremacy” in a post on X. According to multiple sources, a Mamdani staff member contacted Richards’ office seeking removal of the post, but Richards declined, and the disagreement later became the subject of media coverage.

“He’s so thin-skinned and reads everything,” one City Council member said.

“His security blanket is his phone and the dopamine from how many likes he gets on a post,” a Democratic operative scoffed. “Seems to keep him going.”

According to sources, City Councilwoman Virginia Maloney also drew the mayor’s attention after responding to one of his budget claims on X with the sarcastic remark, “I know math is hard.” Insiders said Mamdani personally contacted her following the exchange.

“That Virginia Maloney tweet really got under their skin,” a source said amid the spat.

Several officials also said the mayor reached out directly after lawmakers criticized his proposal to raise property taxes by nearly 10%.

The mayor reportedly became particularly frustrated last week after he was not invited to deliver a eulogy at the funeral of Army Sgt. Angel Sarah Rampersad in Queens. One Democratic insider described Mamdani’s reaction as restrained but visibly cold, contrasting sharply with the cheerful demeanor he typically projects in public appearances, including interactions with political opponents and appearances where he has faced public boos.

Multiple sources said they have learned that negative news coverage or critical social media posts are often the quickest way to receive a response from either Mamdani or his senior staff.

“They only respond when it’s a crisis for them and reaches crisis levels in the press, but before that they don’t return calls, texts or emails,” a Democratic operative said.

“He has been known to hold grudges against whoever challenges him or his positions for even some of the smallest of slights, and those people get sent to the back of the line unless he needs something.”

Not all of the assessments were negative. Several insiders credited the 34-year-old mayor with approaching negotiations thoughtfully and being willing to acknowledge areas where he lacks expertise.

“He asks lots of questions. Seeks to understand the issues he’s lacking familiarity with,” one union source said.

“He does more listening than talking. That’s uncommon in the political realm.”

Responding to the allegations, senior mayoral spokeswoman Dora Pekec said, “The mayor’s focus has and always will be how best to deliver for New Yorkers and he sees our city and state elected officials as valuable partners in building a safer and more affordable city.”

Former Eric Adams spokesman Fabien Levy argued that the administration spends too much energy monitoring social media criticism instead of governing.

“Mamdani should focus on the job, rather than a ‘first-term council member tweeting’ about him,” Levy said.

“This administration is more on Twitter, Instagram or TikTok than probably any other politician in the county, but to steal an Eric Adams-ism: it’s not what’s in the tweets, it’s what’s in the streets.”

{Matzav.com}

A drone carrying professional-grade explosives and a working detonator was found on the grounds of one of Europe’s most important air freight airports late Tuesday night, and German federal prosecutors have now taken over the case as a suspected attack on the country’s logistics infrastructure.

The Federal Prosecutor’s Office said Thursday there was sufficient factual evidence to conclude that an explosion had been intended at Leipzig/Halle Airport on the evening of August 4, and that professional explosives and a detonator had been attached to the drone for that purpose. Federal prosecutors took the investigation over from local prosecutors in Dresden, calling it a serious attack on Germany’s transportation and logistics infrastructure and a threat to the country’s external and internal security.

The choice of target is what gives the incident its commercial weight. Leipzig/Halle is a major cargo and military airport in the eastern German state of Saxony and serves as the main base for NATO’s Strategic Airlift International Solution, delivering equipment to reinforce the alliance’s eastern flank using a small fleet of Ukrainian-built Antonov cargo planes. The airport has served as the European base for Ukraine’s Antonov jets since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, and is also used by NATO for transport needs and by the German military. Freight moving through that airfield is not incidental traffic — it is a significant share of how goods and defense materiel reach central and eastern Europe.

What happened on the ground reads almost as improvisation. Police in Leipzig first reported the sighting of an unidentified object late Tuesday night. It turned out to be a drone armed with explosives, discovered in a secure cargo area near the southern runway. The Federal Police’s improvised explosive device unit examined it and removed the detonator. A senior German lawmaker, Detlef Seif, told reporters Friday that a bus driver working at the airport kicked the low-flying, explosive-laden drone out of the air, after which it crashed nearby. The newspaper Bild, citing unnamed investigators, reported that a technical fault kept the device from detonating.

There was a second incident the same night. Another object, which prosecutors suspect was a second drone, struck a cargo jet near the airport while the aircraft was executing a go-around because of the security situation. The plane landed at Hanover with minor damage. That cargo aircraft belonged to DHL.

Operations were interrupted but not for long. Both runways closed and several flights, including one passenger aircraft, were diverted after the object was spotted shortly before midnight Tuesday. An anti-explosives robot was sent to inspect the object near the south runway. The southern runway reopened Wednesday evening at 6:46 p.m. local time, and an airport spokesperson said flight operations have run without restriction since.

German officials are treating this as a category shift rather than another entry in a familiar pattern. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, who cut short his vacation to travel to the airport, told reporters that a drone carrying explosives represents a new quality of danger. Drone sightings and drone threats in a hybrid context are already known, he said, but an explosive-armed drone at an airport is a new threat scenario. Saxony’s Interior Minister Armin Schuster described it to broadcaster ZDF as a suspected attack scenario, noting it was the first of its kind. A counterterrorism investigation is underway, and NATO said it is aware of the incident and that German authorities are continuing to investigate.

For the freight and insurance industries, the practical question is what this does to risk assumptions around cargo airports. European operators have spent the past two years dealing with drone incursions that closed runways and delayed flights. Those were disruption events, priced accordingly. A device built to detonate inside a secured cargo area is a different exposure entirely, and one that existing perimeter security at commercial airfields was not designed around. Detection systems capable of spotting a small low-flying drone, and the authority to bring one down over an active airfield, are neither cheap nor widely deployed.

No suspects have been publicly identified. The investigation now sits with Germany’s top prosecutors, which is itself a signal of how the case is being classified.

JBizNews Desk | Berlin

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

An alleged Hamas Nukhba terrorist who authorities say participated in the October 7 massacre was arrested in southern Gaza after being found behind the wheel of a humanitarian aid truck headed toward the Kerem Shalom Crossing, according to Israeli reports.

Channel 12 News reported that the suspect was detained in the Rafah area and later handed over to Israeli security forces for extensive interrogation.

According to Israeli security officials, the cargo aboard the truck was intended for Gaza’s private commercial sector. The shipment had first been received by a private merchant inside Gaza before the suspect picked it up for transport.

The arrest took place before the truck reached the Kerem Shalom Crossing. During the course of the investigation, authorities identified the driver as an individual who had allegedly taken part in the October 7 Hamas attack, leading to his immediate arrest and transfer for further questioning.

Last month, COGAT released figures showing that roughly 1.78 million tons of food entered the Gaza Strip between October 2025 and June 7, 2026. According to the report, that amount was nearly three times the monthly humanitarian requirement established by the World Food Program. COGAT said humanitarian shipments alone exceeded the WFP’s higher benchmark, with commercial imports adding even more food to the local supply.

The report also stated that food prices across Gaza dropped by approximately 72 percent between September 2025 and May 2026, attributing the decline to the combined impact of expanded humanitarian aid and increased commercial deliveries.

COGAT further asserted that Hamas remains the primary obstacle to the effective distribution of humanitarian assistance and to broader efforts to stabilize Gaza. The agency reiterated that Israel remains committed to facilitating aid deliveries in coordination with the United States, the United Nations, and other international partners.

In January, the IDF warned that Hamas was significantly rebuilding its capabilities through the large number of aid trucks entering Gaza each day, as well as through smuggling conducted along additional routes into the territory.

Military officials said dual-use items—including cigarettes, tobacco, electrical equipment, mobile phones, and agricultural materials with potential military applications—have entered Gaza not only aboard humanitarian aid convoys, but also through border crossings and other routes, sometimes under the cover of Israeli security operations and civilian contractors working near the border.

At the time, senior IDF officials recommended that Israel’s political leadership limit the Rafah Crossing to the movement of people only and prohibit the transfer of commercial goods from Egypt into Gaza, reversing the policy that had been in place before the October 7 attack.

The IDF also noted that, prior to the outbreak of the war, Hamas’s military buildup relied heavily on goods entering through the Rafah Crossing. Despite repeated warnings from defense officials that the flow of cargo was strengthening the terrorist organization, thousands of trucks continued crossing into Gaza each year until the war began.

{Matzav.com}

A prominent Shi’ite Muslim cleric in Michigan celebrated the death of Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham and asked worshippers to pray for President Donald Trump’s death, before later urging Muslims to elect Abdul El-Sayed, who this week won the Democratic nomination for Michigan’s US Senate seat.

Mohammad Baqer Qazwini made the remarks during a July 17 Friday sermon at the Islamic Institute of America in Dearborn Heights, according to footage published Friday by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI). MEMRI identified the original source as the Islamic Institute of America’s YouTube channel. The remarks in the clip were delivered in English.

Qazwini told worshippers he had awakened to “very good news” following Graham’s death and said Allah had taken the senator’s soul to hell.

He blamed Graham for what he called the “genocide in Gaza” and for the deaths of civilians in Lebanon, and described the senator’s death as “a slap” from Allah that Graham had not anticipated.

Qazwini then turned to Trump.

He asked worshippers to raise their hands and pray that Allah would also take “the friend of Lindsey Graham,” referring to the president, according to the footage. Qazwini said Allah could bring about sudden miracles and ended the passage by calling for victory for Islam and Muslims.

Imam said Muslims had responsibility to elect El-Sayed

Graham, 71, died on July 11 from an aortic dissection caused by cardiovascular disease. The South Carolina Republican had become one of Israel’s strongest supporters in Congress and a close Trump ally, advocating military assistance for Israel and a hard line against Iran.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Graham one of Israel’s greatest friends after his death and said the senator understood that “the security of Israel and America are inseparable.” President Isaac Herzog, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, Defense Minister Israel Katz and other Israeli officials also paid tribute to him.

The political significance of Qazwini’s remarks increased two weeks later, when he publicly backed El-Sayed ahead of Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary.

In his July 31 sermon, Mohammad Baqer Qazwini said Muslim men and women had a responsibility to elect El-Sayed because he was Muslim and would support issues important to Muslims in the United States, according to MEMRI’s account of the sermon.

Four days later, Michigan voters went to the polls.

El-Sayed, a 41-year-old physician and former Detroit health director, narrowly defeated Rep. Haley Stevens and secured the Democratic nomination. He will face Republican former congressman Mike Rogers in November in a race that could help determine control of the Senate. El-Sayed would become the first Muslim elected to the US Senate if he wins.

Mohammad Baqer Qazwini is based at the Islamic Institute of America and studied for 10 years at the Shi’ite seminary in Qom, Iran, according to his biography at Al-Hujjah Islamic Seminary. He also holds a sociology degree from the University of Michigan.

His endorsement came alongside a broader effort by leaders at the Islamic Institute to mobilize support for El-Sayed.

Hassan Qazwini, who founded the Islamic Institute of America in 2015, repeatedly urged worshippers to back El-Sayed during sermons in the final days of the primary, according to footage reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon.

During a July 24 sermon, Hassan Qazwini described voting for El-Sayed as a “moral responsibility” and a “religious duty,” while accusing the pro-Israel lobby of attempting to influence Michigan voters.

In a July 31 sermon, he told worshippers that their votes represented a powerful tool and urged them to “deal the Zionist a bigger blow” by voting against Stevens, whom he portrayed as serving Israeli interests. The Islamic Institute and El-Sayed’s campaign did not respond to the Free Beacon’s requests for comment for its August 3 report.

The two clerics’ support for El-Sayed followed the candidate’s own appearance at the Islamic Institute weeks earlier.

El-Sayed appeared at Islamic Institute opening

El-Sayed attended the June 6 dedication of the Islamic Institute’s new campus in Dearborn Heights, joining Rep. Rashida Tlaib, Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud, Dearborn Heights Mayor Mo Baydoun and other political and religious figures.

Local Arab-American media reported that El-Sayed spoke about the responsibility of mosques to feed the hungry, assist vulnerable people, promote justice and strengthen their communities.

The Washington Free Beacon reported that El-Sayed called attending the opening an “honor and a privilege,” praised the new mosque and congratulated Hassan Qazwini. El-Sayed also used his remarks to criticize US support for Israel and accuse Israel of committing genocide with American taxpayer support.

The new Islamic Institute complex, built on seven acres in Dearborn Heights, cost approximately $16 million and includes a mosque accommodating more than 1,100 worshippers, educational facilities, youth programs and community spaces.

The Free Beacon has previously documented a series of inflammatory remarks by Hassan Qazwini, including statements concerning Israel, Iran and Hezbollah. Bernie Sanders’s 2020 presidential campaign publicly denounced what it called Qazwini’s “antisemitic conspiracy theories” and “toxic” rhetoric after the imam appeared at a Sanders campaign event.

There is no indication in the material published by MEMRI that El-Sayed participated in, knew about or endorsed Mohammad Baqer Qazwini’s July 17 comments about Graham and Trump.

The Jerusalem Post also did not locate a public response from El-Sayed specifically addressing those newly published remarks as of Friday afternoon.

El-Sayed rejects accusations of antisemitism

El-Sayed has repeatedly rejected accusations that his criticism of Israel reflects hostility toward Jews.

After winning the primary, he directly appealed to Jewish voters, calling them his “sisters and brothers” and pledging to protect their safety. His campaign has centered its Israel policy on opposition to unconditional US military assistance, a position he has said should also apply to countries including Egypt, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Earlier this year, after Jewish Insider reported that a campaign donor had posted antisemitic material online, El-Sayed’s campaign refunded the donation and said he “condemns any and all antisemitic or racist comments made, no matter who or where they come from.”

He also condemned a March attack on Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, saying Jewish Americans had the right to worship safely and declaring that there was “no room for antisemitism in America.”

His handling of that attack nevertheless drew criticism from Michigan Jewish leaders after El-Sayed later discussed the attacker’s family losses in Lebanon and said that “hurt people hurt people.”

Temple Israel Rabbi Jen Lader called that framing “offensive” and argued that an attack on a Michigan synagogue could not be explained through Israeli actions overseas. El-Sayed subsequently told JTA that nothing justified the attack and said he would always defend the rights of his “Jewish sisters and brothers.”

Michigan Democratic state Rep. Noah Arbit, whose district includes West Bloomfield and who grew up attending Temple Israel, was even more critical at the time, accusing El-Sayed of having “done more than most to stoke & inflame hatred against Jews.”

Those comments preceded the newly released Qazwini footage.

Trump, Republicans target El-Sayed

El-Sayed’s views on Israel have already emerged as a major line of Republican attack following his primary victory.

Trump wrote on social media Wednesday that El-Sayed was a “Communist loser who hates Jews and Israel” and described his nomination as good news for Republicans. El-Sayed does not identify as a communist and has rejected allegations of antisemitism.

Rogers, his Republican opponent, said the November contest presented voters with a choice between “common sense or complete insanity,” while Republican campaign organizations have described El-Sayed as one of the most radical Senate nominees in the country.

The Democratic primary had already become one of the country’s most expensive and closely watched battles over Israel policy. Stevens benefited from tens of millions of dollars in outside spending from a pro-Israel super PAC, while El-Sayed repeatedly used that spending to cast himself as a grassroots candidate challenging powerful political interests.

El-Sayed’s victory has now moved that argument into a general election in a state Trump carried in 2024 and that Democrats likely need to hold if they hope to regain control of the Senate.

This post was originally published on here.

(AP) – Police released video Friday of a mass shooting that killed three people at an Idaho In-N-Out Burger, and heaped praise on a bystander who engaged the gunman on a trail, slowing him down and possibly preventing more deaths as authorities were catching up.

The video revealed more details of a chaotic scene in Twin Falls last weekend. The gunman walked up to the drive-thru window four times and opened fire, killing an In-N-Out employee, police said.

A total of 10 people were shot — inside the restaurant, directly outside, on an adjacent busy road and at a nearby visitors center lot, Twin Falls Police Chief Matthew Hicks said.

Hicks said at a news conference that investigators still don’t have a motive for the shooting. The gunman, Chad Williams, 24, killed himself.

“What happened here was violent, frightening and deeply traumatic,” Hicks said.

It should have been a “normal Saturday afternoon,” he said. “Employees showing up for work. Visitors coming to see our beautiful city. Instead they were confronted with chaos, fear and now loss.”

A man who encountered the gunman is a ‘hero’
As the shooting unfolded, employees from nearby stores fled to a walking trail. When the gunman headed to the trail, he came across two people, including one with his hands in the air talking to him, according to the video.

He distracted the gunman from possibly pursuing others on the trail. Williams subsequently killed himself as police closed in. His body was found near a canyon.

“To that young man, you are a hero,” Hicks said. “Your courage, your composure, your selflessness in that moment likely gave others the time they needed to escape harm. This community is grateful for you, and we will never forget what you did that day.”

Hicks also praised the work of an off-duty state trooper and a former police officer, A.J. James, who was wounded while confronting Williams.

An off-duty officer helps the wounded
James ran toward the sound of gunfire from the drive-thru window and was shot and wounded, while the off-duty officer inside the In-N-Out exchanged gunfire with Williams through the window and directed workers out of the building, Hicks said.

He acted “heroically and unbelievably” to try to slow down the shooter, the police chief said, declining to release the off-duty officer’s name.

Braxton Steube said he was the person who encountered Williams on the trail after fleeing a Dick’s Sporting Good store.

“I said, ‘I have a family.’ I said, ‘You don’t have to do this. I’ll tell you whatever you want. I’ll do anything,’” Steube told KMVT-TV. “He started to like tear up a bit, it seemed. And he said to me, ‘Just get away from me, man.’”

Steube said the gunman shot at him and missed.

The Twin Falls In-N-Out, 130 miles (210 kilometers) southeast of Boise, the state capital, had opened in July as part of the chain’s expansion into Idaho.

Police identified those killed as Ashley Garibay, 23, of Stockton, California; Dale Schultz, 66, of Salt Lake City; and Christopher Claunch, 59, of Hagerman, Idaho.

Williams had briefly attended the College of Southern Idaho and previously lived in Arizona.

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, is planning to raise between $20 billion and $25 billion through a major U.S. bond offering as it pours billions into artificial intelligence and computing infrastructure, Reuters reported.

The offering is expected to include several tranches of debt with different maturities and comes as Alphabet dramatically increases spending on the data centers, chips and computing capacity required to develop and operate increasingly powerful AI systems.

Alphabet is competing in an increasingly expensive technology arms race as major companies invest enormous sums to secure the infrastructure needed for the next generation of artificial intelligence products.

Amazon, Meta, Microsoft and Oracle are also ramping up spending on data centers and advanced chips as companies race to expand AI capacity and integrate the technology across their products.

For Google, those investments are expected to support increasingly sophisticated AI features across search, digital assistants, image and video tools and other services.

The scale of the spending has also raised questions among investors about how quickly the enormous investments in AI infrastructure will generate sufficient returns.

Alphabet, however, continues to bet that artificial intelligence will become a central component of virtually every major technology service in the coming years, making the infrastructure buildout critical to maintaining Google’s position in the industry.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

No tankers have loaded at Kharg Island, Iran’s main export terminal, for at least a week, recent shipping and satellite data show, suggesting that the renewed US naval blockade has brought Tehran’s crude oil sales to a halt, the Financial Times reported on Friday. 

The US reimposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports in mid-July after an interim agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz collapsed. 

Operations at Kharg Island, vital to Iran’s oil industry, halted on July 31, according to Kpler and Energy Aspects, two intelligence providers for global energy, commodity, and shipping. 

Satellite images revealed that all three berths on the island had been “empty for an extended period of time,” maritime intelligence company Windward said. 

On Tuesday, only 16 vessels were anchored in the waiting area around Kharg, added Windward, the lowest number since the beginning of last month.

About nine out of every 10 barrels of crude oil exported by Iran are loaded on the small coral island in the northern Gulf because much of the country’s coastline is too shallow to allow large tankers to dock. “The blockade is effective, in the sense that there isn’t much tanker traffic going in or out,” said Richard Bronze, head of geopolitics at Energy Aspects.

However, Bronze said the loss of export revenue was not expected to put immediate pressure on Tehran to compromise in negotiations with the United States. “It’s pretty clear that the Iranians feel they have the upper hand when it comes to Hormuz, and they are willing to absorb a great deal of economic pain to exploit their advantage,” he said.

According to the FT, Iran continued loading tankers at Kharg throughout the six months of its war with the United States and Israel, making the current standstill one of the longest since the war began.

United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), a Washington-based lobbying group that tracks Iranian oil shipments, said that since July 12, it had not identified a single tanker loaded with Iranian crude oil that had managed to leave the Gulf.

For now, Iran continues to receive revenue from cargoes that left the Gulf during the ceasefire and are only now reaching customers in Asia. According to UANI, 26 Iranian-flagged tankers have arrived in waters near Malaysia, where Iranian oil is commonly transferred between vessels before being delivered to refineries in China.

Tehran could benefit from rising oil prices, Bronze says

Bronze said Tehran could even benefit from rising oil prices before those barrels are eventually sold. In the coming weeks, however, that source of revenue is also expected to come to a halt. 

“The sand is running out of the hourglass in terms of how long this will continue generating revenue,” he said.

The blockade is also preventing Iran from replenishing its supply of empty tankers available for loading on the island. Vessels that have already unloaded their cargoes in Asia have not returned to Iranian waters. According to UANI, several are waiting off the coast of Sri Lanka, while others have been seen near Oman and Pakistan.

The price of Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, stood at just under $82 a barrel in London on Friday, as traders continued to await an agreement that would allow shipping through the Strait of Hormuz to resume.

Senior Iranian Foreign Ministry officials said this week that they had reached an agreement with Oman on the geographic coordinates of a new shipping route through the strait, but there have been no signs of progress since Wednesday. On that day, the sides said a joint statement was in the “final stages.”

Tehran possibly reducing oil production

The halt in operations at Kharg has not yet led to a significant filling of the island’s oil storage tanks, Energy Aspects noted. This could indicate that Tehran has already begun reducing oil production at its fields to avoid reaching a point where it has no storage space left.

Although the talks between Iran and Oman are being conducted bilaterally, a person briefed on the situation said that if an agreement acceptable to the parties is reached, the United States will lift the blockade and reinstate the oil sanctions waiver, allowing buyers to freely purchase Iranian crude oil, the FT said.

This post was originally published on here.

Israel’s Consul General in New York, Ofir Akunis, has ordered the Israeli Consulate to end all subscriptions to The New York Times, accusing the newspaper of repeatedly publishing false accusations against Israel and fueling incitement against the Jewish state.

Akunis announced Friday that every New York Times subscription used by staff at the Israeli Consulate in New York would be canceled immediately.

He said the decision was prompted by what he described as “a series of false blood libels and ongoing incitement against the Jewish state” appearing in the newspaper’s coverage.

Explaining the move, Akunis declared, “I have ordered the cancellation of subscriptions to the New York Times, a newspaper that consistently incites against the Jewish state.”

Pointing to a recent article published by the newspaper, Akunis criticized its reliance on unnamed sources, arguing that the report lacked credibility.

“Another blood libel from ‘anonymous sources’ in the New York Times against the State of Israel,” he said.

He further charged that the newspaper had previously relied on Hamas-linked sources, adding, “Let me remind you who their ‘sources’ were for the previous blood libel – Hamas terrorists!”

European stocks closed at another record Friday, extending their strongest run in months as corporate earnings came in better than investors expected and a weak U.S. jobs report reduced fears of another near-term Federal Reserve rate increase. 

The pan-European STOXX 600 rose 0.6% to a record 660.25, finishing the week about 2% higher and marking its fourth consecutive weekly gain. Technology stocks led Friday’s advance with a 1.9% rise, while healthcare gained 1.2%. 

The rally is being supported by something more durable than sentiment.

European companies are now expected to deliver their fastest quarterly profit growth since 2022, giving investors a fundamental reason to keep buying even after indexes reached record levels.

Second-quarter earnings for STOXX 600 companies are now projected to rise 22.4% from a year earlier. Energy companies account for much of that increase, but profits excluding energy are still expected to grow 11.5%, showing that the improvement has spread into other parts of the economy. 

Basic-materials companies — including miners, steelmakers and chemical producers — are expected to post profit growth of nearly 58%. Revenue across the index is projected to rise 12.6%, the strongest pace in four years. 

That distinction matters.

A stock market can rise temporarily because investors expect lower interest rates or because money is moving out of another region. A rally supported by improving sales and profits is harder to dismiss because companies themselves are producing more cash to justify higher valuations.

Friday’s market also benefited from developments in the United States. The weaker U.S. employment report sharply reduced expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in September. Lower expected U.S. rates can make European equities relatively more attractive while also reducing pressure on global borrowing costs. 

Individual earnings continued to drive large moves.

Kingspan surged nearly 18% after the building-materials company raised its profit forecast on booming demand from AI data centers. Danish biotech company Genmab climbed 6.5%, while Novo Nordisk gained 3.9%. 

The strength is notable because European stocks have spent years trading at substantial discounts to U.S. equities, partly because investors expected slower profit growth and weaker technology exposure.

That gap has not disappeared. But improving earnings across energy, healthcare, industrials and materials are giving global investors more reasons to reconsider how much of their portfolios belong in Europe.

The risk is that record prices leave less room for disappointment. Companies that miss earnings expectations are increasingly being punished, meaning the market will need continued profit growth to sustain the rally.

For now, Europe’s record market is increasingly being supported by the companies underneath it — not simply by investors hoping prices will keep rising.

JBizNews Desk | London

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

Washington moved twice on Friday against the plumbing Iran uses to move money without touching a bank — first the crypto exchanges, then the network of Dubai and Hong Kong front companies that convert the regime’s oil revenue into usable currency.

The method is simpler than it sounds. Iranian money leaves the country as digital tokens or as invoices written on a shell company’s letterhead. Either way, no Iranian name appears on the transaction, and no American bank sees it coming. Treasury’s answer is to name the middlemen so that everyone else’s compliance software will catch them.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control designated two digital asset exchanges along with the operator of a multi-country network of front companies handling illicit cryptocurrency activity and sanctions evasion. Treasury said Iranian actors used unlicensed or lightly regulated platforms to move large volumes of digital assets, running the proceeds through corporate networks and a large online gambling operation that hid where the money came from before it reached the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and regime insiders.

At the center is Siavash Kayvanpour, born in Iran, holding additional citizenship from Dominica and Afghanistan and living in the United Arab Emirates, who runs the Shelbit Exchange through a Republic of Georgia company. Guard Corps wallets sent more than $1 million in digital assets to Shelbit addresses, more than $2 million moved from Shelbit back to Guard Corps addresses, and addresses controlled by Kayvanpour sent over $2 million to Nobitex, the Iranian exchange Washington blacklisted in June. His companies designated alongside him span the Emirates and Poland, including a Dubai firm trading commercially as Shelbit Exchange that stayed open after Emirati regulators took enforcement action against it in January 2025 and again in July 2026.

The gambling angle is the detail that will travel. Shelbit serviced a large Persian-language gambling network run by two Iranian influencers living abroad, and tens of millions of dollars of that network’s digital assets were laundered through the exchange — while the operators, convicted of illegal gambling in Iran in 2023, kept access to Iranian online payment systems the central bank tightly controls.

The second exchange named, Aban Tether, was designated for operating in Iran’s financial sector after processing millions of dollars in transactions with the previously blacklisted Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin and Ramzinex. OFAC built the case with IRS Criminal Investigation, and the State Department is offering up to $15 million for information that disrupts Guard Corps financing. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the department would pursue these networks “whether in dollars, rials, or crypto.”

The companion action went after the older machinery. OFAC targeted networks across several countries that let Iran’s rahbar banking system move hundreds of millions of dollars, marking its eighth action this year against the shadow banking apparatus. Two Dubai exchange houses anchor it: Titan Exchange, which held tens of millions on behalf of Iran’s Shahr Bank as of early 2026, and Alps International, which enabled hundreds of millions of dollars of transactions in multiple currencies this year. The mechanics were spelled out plainly — invoices generated on a chosen shell company’s letterhead, then payments run through that shell’s bank accounts. Shell firms in Hong Kong and Singapore were designated for carrying the transfers, and a Shahr Bank employee was named for coordinating currency conversions with Russia’s sanctioned VTB Bank. Bessent said the system “is buckling under Economic Fury.”

For American and foreign firms, the consequence sits in the fine print. Foreign financial institutions that knowingly handle significant transactions for anyone designated Friday risk secondary sanctions, and OFAC can bar or restrict their correspondent accounts in the United States. Any bank, payment processor or exchange with Gulf or Hong Kong trade exposure needs its screening lists updated today, because OFAC enforces on a strict liability basis — intent is not a defense.

The timing is the story’s second half. Trump said Thursday in the Oval Office that a Strait of Hormuz agreement had not been reached, describing it as “sort of open right now” while saying he is personally involved and it could come soon. Bessent has said a 30-to-60-day ceasefire could land within a day or two. Friday’s designations say something different about sequencing: pressure is still being added, not unwound, and nothing lifts until OFAC formally delists or licenses it.

JBizNews Desk | Washington

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

A frightening household accident in Yerushalayim ended safely on Friday after firefighters carefully freed a child’s hand that had become trapped inside the metal beater of a kitchen mixer during a painstaking rescue operation.

Emergency crews from the HaUma District Fire Station were dispatched to a home in Yerushalayim after receiving reports that a child’s hand had become stuck inside a metal mixer attachment.

The call came through the Fire and Rescue Service’s 102 emergency dispatch center. When firefighters arrived, they found the child’s hand tightly wedged within the rigid metal wires of the mixer beater, making it impossible to remove without specialized equipment.

Rescuers kept the child calm as they carried out the intricate operation. Using precision rescue tools, including a miniature Dremel cutting device, firefighters carefully snipped through the metal wires one at a time until the child’s hand was released safely and without injury.

Incident commander Reshef Gordon Asulin praised the crews for their careful work, saying, “This was a delicate and complex rescue that required exceptional precision and great care to avoid injuring the child’s hand during the cutting process. The firefighters worked professionally, calmly, and with great caution, using specialized equipment while reassuring the child throughout the operation. Thanks to their efforts, the child was rescued safely.”

{Matzav.com}

In a bipartisan show of support, the Senate on Friday overwhelmingly approved legislation imposing tougher sanctions on Russia and Iran, advancing one of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham’s signature legislative efforts just weeks after his death.

The Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 passed by an 86-11 vote.

The measure targets Russia’s oil and natural gas exports, which have helped finance Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, while also extending sanctions on Iran’s energy and weapons industries that were set to expire at the end of this year.

Graham, who died last month, was the driving force behind the legislation and had argued that it could increase pressure on Moscow and help bring the conflict in Ukraine to a close.

The bill gained overwhelming bipartisan backing last week when it cleared a key procedural vote just hours after Graham’s funeral at Washington National Cathedral.

Under the legislation, the Trump administration would have the authority to impose tariffs of up to 100% on the five countries importing the largest volumes of Russian crude oil or natural gas. It also renews existing sanctions on Iran that otherwise would lapse after this year.

“This bill says to Vladimir Putin, ‘Your days of war are numbered,’” bill co-sponsor Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said last week. “’You are on the losing side. Better to come to the table now than sacrifice more lives, waste more money, crater your economy, destroy your standing in the world.’

“America stands with Ukraine.”

Before the Senate voted, Graham’s sister, Sen. Darline Graham Nordone (R-SC), urged lawmakers to unite behind the legislation, calling for “a show of strength” that would preserve America’s role “as a beacon of hope to the free world.”

“Each member of this body must also make a choice,” she added, “whether we have the courage to stand up to evil, or continue on with the status quo.”

Following the vote, Darline Graham was invited to announce the final vote tally from the Senate floor.

Although the bill was introduced last year and attracted broad support from senators, it remained on hold as President Trump pursued diplomatic efforts to bring an end to Russia’s four-year war against Ukraine.

One day before his death on July 11, Graham revealed that he had reached an agreement with the White House to move the legislation forward.

At the time, Graham expressed confidence that the measure would ultimately pass, pledging it would “become law” and saying he had “never been more optimistic” that the war in Ukraine could soon come to an end.

The legislation now heads to the House of Representatives, which is scheduled to reconvene from its summer recess on August 31.

{Matzav.com}

CHICAGO (AP) — The Federal Aviation Administration this week ordered inspections for hundreds of Boeing planes, following reports of cracks in some older models.

The now-finalized rule, which was unveiled Thursday and kicks in Sept. 10, applies to certain aircraft under three Boeing 737 Max models: the 737-8, 737-9 and 737-8200. The FAA estimates this covers 471 planes — and said it is using this directive to address “the unsafe condition” tied to prior reports.

So far, no cracks have been found in these specific Max models. But when proposing the rule back in November, the FAA noted it had received reports of cracks in a forward bear strap for several older, “Next-Generation” 737 planes. Bear straps are metal sheets that reinforce areas on planes like doorways and emergency exits.

The Max jets have “a similar design and build process” to the older models, “making those airplanes susceptible to the same crack condition,” the FAA wrote in November. The agency warned that the issue could “adversely affect the structural integrity of the airplane” if not addressed.

In a statement, Boeing said that it previously identified and reported this issue — and “has been working with operators on it over the past six years.”

The Virginia-based aircraft maker said it sent operators inspection instructions for the affected Next Generation 737s back in 2019, and the FAA later mandated those checks in 2021. The company added that it had already expanded those inspections to Max jets — and the FAA’s latest directive now similarly mandates that process.

“We support both directives and continue to support our airline customers,” Boeing said in a statement.

The FAA noted Thursday that its directive also requires inspections of the fuselage skin of planes with existing repairs.

Boeing has been battered by years of safety, quality and production challenges — notably in the aftermath of two deadly crashes involving the larger Max 8 that killed 346 people in 2018 and 2019, as well as a 2024 incident in which a panel flew off one its Max 9 planes operated by Alaska Airlines midflight.

Just last month, the FAA said Boeing would again be allowed to take responsibility for certifying all of its 737 Max and 787 planes.

President Donald Trump is considering renewing his push to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook over mortgage fraud allegations amid an ongoing legal debate over the president’s ability to remove members of the independent central bank, FOX Business has learned.

The White House is seeking a response from Cook within the next three weeks about the allegations that the administration leveled against her last year. 

Trump indicated in a letter to Cook this week that he is considering moving forward with firing her, asking for a response to the allegations that prompted the president to announce her termination in August 2025 – which sparked an ongoing legal battle over his ability to remove Cook from her role at the Federal Reserve.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

The next obstacle to expanding a factory, building a data center or opening a semiconductor plant may have nothing to do with labor, taxes or financing. Increasingly, it is whether the local electric grid has enough capacity to supply power.

Across the United States, utilities are receiving record requests for electricity from artificial intelligence data centers, advanced manufacturing facilities, battery plants and industrial projects. The surge is exposing a growing reality: economic development is beginning to outpace the infrastructure needed to support it.

For decades, businesses assumed electricity would always be available when a project was approved. That assumption is changing.

Utilities across multiple regions are reporting unprecedented requests for new connections, with some large industrial customers facing multi-year waits before sufficient transmission lines, substations or generation capacity can be built. In some cases, projects are being redesigned, delayed or relocated because power simply cannot be delivered on the desired timeline.

The demand is coming from several directions at once.

Artificial intelligence has dramatically increased electricity consumption as hyperscale data centers expand computing capacity. At the same time, domestic manufacturing incentives have triggered a wave of investment in semiconductors, electric vehicles, pharmaceuticals and advanced industrial production—all of which require substantial and reliable power supplies.

That convergence is transforming the utility industry.

Electric companies are accelerating investment in transmission networks, substations and grid modernization while seeking regulatory approval for billions of dollars in infrastructure spending. Engineering firms, electrical equipment manufacturers, transformer suppliers, construction companies and grid technology providers are all experiencing stronger demand as utilities race to expand capacity.

The challenge extends beyond generating more electricity.

Transmission infrastructure has become one of the largest bottlenecks. Building new high-voltage lines often requires years of permitting, environmental review, land acquisition and regulatory approvals. As a result, new generation projects can be completed long before electricity can actually reach the businesses that need it.

For Corporate America, power availability is becoming part of site selection.

Companies evaluating locations for new facilities increasingly ask not only how much electricity costs, but whether it will be available when construction is complete. Access to dependable power is joining workforce availability, transportation infrastructure and tax policy as one of the most important factors influencing billion-dollar investment decisions.

The implications reach financial markets as well.

Utilities that successfully expand infrastructure may benefit from decades of regulated investment opportunities, while manufacturers of transformers, switchgear, grid automation systems, electrical components and transmission equipment are positioned to benefit from one of the largest infrastructure buildouts in years.

The broader business story is not simply that America needs more electricity. It is that economic growth is increasingly becoming dependent on infrastructure that was designed for a different era. The companies and regions capable of delivering reliable power fastest may become the biggest winners in the next wave of industrial investment, while those unable to expand capacity risk watching jobs and capital flow elsewhere.

JBizNews Desk | Washington

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

San Francisco State University and San José State University, both public schools, have “reportedly failed to acknowledge or meaningfully respond to cases of antisemitic harassment on campus, seeming, in some instances, even to condone such abhorrent acts,” the U.S. Department of Education said on Thursday.

The department said that it is probing both schools, which educate some 60,000 students collectively.

“The same California leaders, who wax eloquent about their commitment to ‘equity’ and ‘social justice,’ appear to turn their backs on violent, harmful acts of antisemitic intimidation and harassment,” stated Kimberly Richey, U.S. assistant secretary of education for civil rights. “We will investigate these allegations, ensure the safety of Jewish students and protect the right of every student in America to an education free from discrimination.”

There is a climate of “intimidation, exclusion and fear,” according to Jewish students at San Francisco State, the Education Department said. It added that it received reports of professors at the school creating a hostile environment for Jewish students.

The department “has been notified of antisemitic graffiti on campus, attempted break-ins targeting Jewish students and events featuring extremists with terrorist group ties hosted by the Arab and Muslim ethnicities and diasporas program,” the department stated.

Bobby King, director of communications for San Francisco State University, told JNS that the university is aware of the department’s investigation.

“Antisemitism and discrimination have no place at SFSU,” he told JNS. “We take the concerns raised by members of our Jewish community seriously and remain committed to ensuring that every member of our community can study, teach, work and participate in university life free from discrimination and harassment prohibited by law and university policy.”

Jewish students at San José State say that they have been “threatened, shunned and made to feel unwelcome in classrooms,” and since Oct. 7, anti-Israel protests that disrupt classes and attacks against Jewish students have increased, according to the Education Department.

Michelle Smith McDonald, senior director of strategic communications for San José State, told JNS that there is a “misleading implication” in the department’s announcement.

The department stated that the university’s vice president for student affairs and former interim chief diversity officer allegedly distinguished in an email between “good Jews” and “bad Jews” based on their views of the Israeli government.

The department attributed “a quote to a former SJSU administrator,” Smith McDonald told JNS. “This statement was never made by any representative of the university.” (JNS sought comment from the U.S. Education Department.)

“The university treats antisemitic incidents with the utmost seriousness and has taken numerous actions that prioritize the safety and well-being of all members of our campus community,” Smith McDonald said. “The university has consistently and repeatedly denounced antisemitism.” JNS

By Julia Parker – JBizNews Desk

LONDON — A prolonged heatwave and dry spell across Europe has forced thousands of evacuations in France and Greece, strained firefighting resources and pushed parts of the United Kingdom deeper into drought, threatening tourism, agriculture, utilities and transport during the peak summer season.

Emergency services in southern Europe have been battling fast-moving wildfires driven by high temperatures, low humidity and dry vegetation. Authorities have ordered residents and holidaymakers to leave exposed areas, disrupting hotels, campsites, road networks and local businesses that rely on August travel demand.

The business impact is widening beyond the immediate fire zones. Tourism operators face cancellations and rerouting costs, farmers are contending with stressed crops and higher irrigation needs, and insurers are assessing the risk of larger claims from property damage, business interruption and emergency accommodation.

In the United Kingdom, water scarcity has become a growing operational concern for agriculture, food producers and water utilities. The U.K. Environment Agency has warned that dry conditions are putting pressure on rivers, reservoirs and groundwater levels after sustained heat and limited rainfall.

“The current situation is nationally significant and we are calling on everyone to play their part and help reduce the pressure on our water environment,” said Helen Wakeham, director of water at the U.K. Environment Agency and chair of the National Drought Group.

For companies, the heatwave adds another weather-related cost shock after years of supply-chain volatility and rising insurance premiums. Logistics firms can face delays when roads are closed by fires or heat damage, while rail operators often impose speed restrictions when tracks become vulnerable to buckling.

Energy markets are also exposed. Hot weather can lift electricity demand as households and businesses increase air-conditioning use, while drought can reduce hydropower output and limit cooling water availability for some thermal and nuclear plants. That combination can tighten power systems and raise short-term prices in affected regions.

Agriculture is one of the most exposed sectors. Prolonged heat can reduce yields for grains, fruit and vegetables, while livestock producers face higher feed, water and cooling costs. Lower output can feed through to food processors and retailers if shortages become severe or persistent.

France and Greece are particularly vulnerable because summer tourism is a major contributor to local employment and revenue. Evacuations during the holiday peak can hit restaurants, hotels, transport providers and small retailers even when physical damage is limited, as visitors avoid affected regions.

The latest fires also underscore the rising fiscal burden on governments. Firefighting aircraft, emergency shelters, disaster payments and infrastructure repairs require public spending at a time when many European governments are already managing tight budgets and higher debt-servicing costs.

Climate scientists and risk analysts have warned that hotter, drier summers are increasing the probability of severe wildfire seasons in parts of Europe. For investors, that is making physical climate risk a more material factor in valuations for utilities, real estate, agriculture, insurance and travel-related companies.

Businesses are likely to face growing pressure to adapt operations, from revising continuity plans and hardening facilities to securing backup water and power supplies. For many sectors, Europe’s summer heat is no longer only a public-safety event; it is becoming a recurring balance-sheet risk.

JBizNews Desk | London

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

The Israeli Navy this week conducted a branch-wide exercise, its largest since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led terrorist attacks, staging drills in the Mediterranean and Red Seas.

The exercise, led by the Missile Boats Flotilla, involved the Submarines Flotilla, the 914 and 916 Routine Security Squadrons and the Operational Headquarters. Hundreds of personnel and a range of naval vessels participated.

According to the Israel Defense Forces, the exercise formed part of the navy’s effort to incorporate operational lessons learned during nearly three years of fighting against Iran and its terrorist proxies.

The drills included simulations of maritime infiltrations, multi-arena combat, aerial threats, coordinated fire missions and the defense of strategic assets, including offshore natural gas platforms, Israeli ports and other critical national infrastructure.

Additional exercises in the Red Sea focused on improving command, coordination and cooperation between naval units.

The drills come as the Israeli Navy continues to expand its operational capabilities amid growing regional threats. Navy commander Vice Adm. Eyal Harel is seeking to increase the missile boat fleet from 15 to as many as 21 vessels, procure new multirole Reshef-class warships and deepen maritime cooperation with Greece and African partners, including Ethiopia and Somaliland.

The exercise also took place against a backdrop of growing tensions between Israel and Turkey. Israeli officials have expressed concern over reported U.S. plans to readmit Turkey to the F-35 fighter jet program, arguing that the move could alter the regional balance of power.

Last week, Israeli Minister of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Amichai Chikli accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government of becoming “the command center for Hamas’s rapists and murderers,” while Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan recently described Israel as “a burden that humanity can no longer bear,” speaking in an interview with CNN Türk. JNS

The biggest shift in business lending isn’t happening at your local bank. It’s happening behind closed doors, where private investment funds are increasingly replacing traditional lenders as the primary source of financing for middle-market companies.

What began as an alternative financing market after the 2008 financial crisis has evolved into one of the fastest-growing segments of global finance. As banks face tighter capital requirements, commercial real estate exposure and higher regulatory costs, private credit funds are stepping into the gap, providing billions of dollars in loans directly to businesses that once relied almost exclusively on banks.

The market has expanded to more than $2 trillion globally and continues attracting record levels of institutional investment from pension funds, insurance companies and sovereign wealth funds seeking higher returns than traditional fixed-income investments. Major asset managers including Blackstone, Apollo, Ares, Blue Owl and KKR have rapidly expanded their private credit businesses, transforming what was once a niche product into a core pillar of corporate finance. 

The change is reshaping how companies grow.

Unlike banks, private credit lenders often move faster, structure customized loans and are willing to finance transactions that fall outside conventional banking standards. Businesses frequently accept higher borrowing costs in exchange for greater flexibility, quicker approvals and fewer financing conditions.

For regional banks, the trend presents a long-term challenge.

Commercial lending has historically been one of banking’s most profitable businesses. As more borrowers migrate toward private lenders, banks face increasing pressure to replace lost loan growth while navigating stricter regulation and higher funding costs. The result is a financial system where an expanding share of business credit originates outside the traditional banking sector.

Regulators are paying close attention.

Unlike banks, many private credit funds operate outside the same capital and liquidity framework that governs federally insured financial institutions. As the industry expands, policymakers are increasingly examining whether systemic risks could migrate from the regulated banking system into private markets, particularly if economic conditions weaken or defaults begin rising. 

For businesses, the implications are significant.

The financing conversation is no longer simply about interest rates. Companies increasingly have multiple sources of capital competing for their business, allowing borrowers to negotiate structures that better fit acquisitions, expansion plans, recapitalizations and succession strategies.

The broader shift reaches beyond lending. It represents a fundamental redistribution of financial power. For generations, banks served as the primary gatekeepers of corporate credit. Today, that role is increasingly shared with private investment firms managing enormous pools of institutional capital.

The winners will not necessarily be those charging the lowest rates. They will be the lenders capable of moving quickly, understanding complex businesses and providing capital when traditional financing becomes more difficult. As private credit continues expanding, America’s financial system is quietly evolving from one dominated by banks to one where private capital increasingly determines which businesses receive the funding to grow.

JBizNews Desk | New York

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

GREENVILLE, N.Y. (VINnews) — Police searched communities across New York’s Orange County on Friday for a man wanted in connection with a homicide and suspected arson after a man’s body was found inside a burning home, warning the public that the suspect is armed and dangerous.

New York State Police identified the suspect as Thomas David Ryan, 32, of Greenville, and urged residents not to approach him if spotted. Authorities believe Ryan is driving a gray 2016 Toyota Prius with New York license plate HNH-7671.

The investigation began about 7:30 p.m. Thursday when troopers responded to a reported structure fire on Greenville Turnpike in the town of Greenville. After firefighters extinguished the blaze, investigators found the body of a deceased man inside the residence.

Police said the fire was deliberately set and are investigating the death as a homicide.

Capt. Brad Natalizio of the State Police Troop F Bureau of Criminal Investigation said investigators are pursuing every available lead with assistance from local, county and federal law enforcement agencies.

The search includes neighboring police departments, crime analysis centers, transportation partners and aviation resources.

State Police also asked Greenville residents to review home surveillance footage recorded between about 6 p.m. Thursday and the overnight hours for any suspicious activity.

Authorities warned that Ryan should be considered armed and dangerous. Anyone who sees him or the vehicle is urged not to approach him and instead call 911 immediately or contact the New York State Police Troop F Communications Center at 845-344-5300.

A federal judge has temporarily halted an order requiring President Donald Trump to turn over financial information about his businesses to the BBC, pausing the discovery process while the court considers Trump’s request to revise and narrow key portions of his defamation lawsuit against the British broadcaster.

U.S. District Judge Roy Altman ruled that the BBC must wait for access to Trump’s financial records until he decides whether to allow the president to amend his complaint over a 2024 documentary broadcast in the United Kingdom. The judge’s order effectively freezes the disclosure requirement while that issue is under review.

The dispute is being closely watched as it could help determine the legal risks associated with the series of high-profile, multibillion-dollar lawsuits Trump has filed against media organizations he alleges have defamed him.

In a four-page order dated Wednesday and released publicly Thursday, Altman said Trump’s argument had merit that eliminating claims involving damage to his business interests and brand—while proceeding solely on alleged harm to his personal reputation—could significantly reduce the BBC’s need to examine his financial records.

“This is a compelling argument,” wrote Altman, a Miami-based Trump appointee.

Attorneys representing the BBC countered that Trump’s business finances remain relevant because his public reputation is inseparable from his success as a businessman. They argued that the value of his companies could still play an important role in evaluating his claims.

The network’s lawyers also pointed out that Trump’s proposed amended complaint, which has not yet been made public, continues to seek $10 billion in damages. They contend that such a large demand would be difficult to support if the lawsuit is based only on alleged reputational harm.

Trump filed the lawsuit last December after the BBC aired its 2024 documentary, “Trump: A Second Chance.” According to the complaint, the program defamed him by editing together portions of his Jan. 6, 2021 speech in a way that, Trump alleges, falsely suggested he encouraged supporters to commit violence at the U.S. Capitol.

While the BBC has acknowledged and apologized for the editing, it maintains that any misleading impression was inadvertent and does not amount to actionable defamation. The broadcaster has also asked the court to dismiss the case, arguing, among other things, that the federal court in South Florida lacks jurisdiction over the London-based network.

Should Judge Altman approve Trump’s request to revise the complaint, the litigation could be pushed back by several weeks or even months. Such a ruling would allow the BBC to renew its effort to have the amended lawsuit dismissed, while giving Trump’s legal team an opportunity to respond before the case proceeds further.

{Matzav.com}

A Lakewood business owner is offering an unusual professional opportunity for ambitious young men looking to build a full-time career in Shadchanus.

The business owner tells TLS exclusively, the position is seeking young men who have a strong understanding of people, personalities, and what makes a Shidduch work.

The opportunity comes with a starting salary of $120,000, plus Shadchanus income, providing the potential for a significant career path in the Shidduch field.

The Lakewood business owner behind the initiative is looking to identify individuals with the right combination of interpersonal skills, ambition, and an ability to understand and connect people.

Interested candidates are invited to submit their resumes to [email protected].

KOCHI, India (AP) — As the sun set over Kochi’s historic Jew Town neighborhood, Keith Hallegua donned a gray kippah and began a solitary walk to the synagogue at the end of his cobbled street.

It was Shavuot, the Jewish holiday commemorating God giving the Torah to Moses. Hallegua reached the 458-year-old Paradesi Synagogue where he knew he would pray alone — without a minyan, the quorum of 10 males required for a communal service there.

Hallegua is the synagogue’s last local congregant — the only Jew left in Jew Town.

Across the city at the centuries-old Kadavumbagam Synagogue, Elias “Babu” Josephai remembered the “chukkunda” — fried dough balls his grandmother used to make for Shavuot.

“It wasn’t much,” he said, wiping away tears. “But at that time, it was everything.”

They ache for what’s already gone and work to preserve what’s left.

In the 1950s, much of the Jewish community in Kochi (historically known as Cochin), a seaport on India’s southwestern coast, immigrated to Israel, leaving behind their homes, synagogues and cemeteries.

Elias Josephai, a Malabari Jew, wipes away tears while speaking to The Associated Press at the 12th-century Kadavumbagam Synagogue in Ernakulam, mainland district of Kochi, India, Thursday, May 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

The burden of being the last Jews
Hallegua and Josephai stayed. Now they represent the final chapter for the Cochin Jews who have lived peacefully — and without fear of antisemitism — for centuries alongside Hindu, Muslim and Christian neighbors. There are now fewer than 5,000 Jews in all of India, the world’s most populous country.

But the Cochin Jewish community’s complex history includes both religious freedom and internal divisions over class and colorism. Hallegua is a Paradesi Jew, the once-dominant group whose fair-skinned, Sephardic ancestors from Spain and Portugal fled the Spanish Inquisition in the 16th century. They brought enslaved people with them, and their freed descendants, known as the Meshuchrarim Jews, were relegated to a lower social status and had to fight for religious equality.

Josephai is a Malabari Jew. The group’s darker-skinned ancestors trace their roots back more than 2,000 years, to King Solomon’s time. They also faced past discrimination from the Paradesi community. While these divisions didn’t survive after the Cochin Jews migrated to Israel and elsewhere, the bitter remnants still haunt the community’s legacy.

Though Hallegua and Josephai rarely meet, both are intensely proud of their ancient heritage.

An Indian man prostrates himself in a traditional Hindu gesture of obeisance to the Torah ark during his visit to the 12th-century Kadavumbagam Synagogue in Ernakulam, mainland district of Kochi, India, Thursday, May 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Josephai spent years resurrecting Kadavumbagam Synagogue, the last functioning Malabari house of worship. Services are rare; it’s up to Josephai to light the lamps and keep the prayers going, often alone. He weeps for the past, when the synagogue was filled with people, prayers and songs.

“That will never come back,” he said.

Hallegua is the last local member of Paradesi Synagogue, which now relies on tourists and visitors to have a quorum for services.

“Quite often, I walk to the synagogue and I ask HaShem (God), why have you done this?” Hallegua said. “I never hear a response.”

Locals and global community strive to preserve history
On a recent morning, tourists crowded the Paradesi Synagogue and Synagogue Lane, the street it anchors. Former homes are now occupied by spice warehouses and stores selling antiques and handicrafts. Historically, the Jewish community played a major role in the spice trade in Kochi, a hub for black pepper, cardamom and nutmeg.

The synagogue’s entryway leads to a main hall with blue and white Chinese porcelain tile floors. Nineteenth century Belgian crystal chandeliers and colorful glass lanterns adorn the sanctuary. A carved teakwood Torah ark stands at the western wall facing Jerusalem. As in other Kochi synagogues, the women’s section is upstairs. Visitors slip off their shoes, in keeping with regional etiquette.

Synagogue trustee M.C. Praveen says his life’s mission is protecting Cochin Jewish history. Praveen, a Hindu, spent his childhood in Jew Town, attending school with Hallegua’s family members, eating Shabbat dinners, playing cricket near the synagogue.

“I want to make sure future generations know the history of this town and the people who lived here,” said Praveen, who seeks guidance from the community’s former residents and their far-flung children.

Elias Josephai, a Malabari Jew, speaks to his guests at the 12th-century Kadavumbagam Synagogue in Ernakulam, mainland district of Kochi, India, Thursday, May 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

The connections transcend geography. Trustee Shulamit Kotzer, 55, was born in Jew Town and spent vacations there after moving to Israel at age 2. She dreams of opening a hotel in the neighborhood.

“I consider Cochin not a second home, but my home,” she said.

Earlier this year, synagogue leaders opened a museum showcasing Kochi’s Jewish history. It features the settlement’s original deed: two copper plates bearing a Hindu king’s charter from 1000 CE granting the community religious freedom.

Preservation efforts transcend religious ties
Praveen is not the only non-Jew trying to ensure the community’s culture survives.

Thaha Ibrahim, a Muslim, forged a profound connection with the late Sarah Cohen, one of the neighborhood’s Jewish matriarchs. He now runs her embroidery shop on Synagogue Lane. Cohen, or “Sarah aunty” as he calls her, taught him how to do Cochin Jewish embroidery.

“I’m teaching my son to do this embroidery so he can continue Sarah aunty’s legacy,” he said.

Ibrahim lights Shabbat candles on Fridays and closes his shop on Saturdays. Muslim-Jewish tensions elsewhere in the world are not a deterrent, he says.

“This is not about religion, it’s about human connection.”

Across the city in Ernakulam, Josephai shoulders the preservation of Malabari Jewish heritage. The 12th century Kadavumbagam Synagogue, which he saved after vandals destroyed it, is tucked behind the store where he sells aquarium fish and plants. The renovated interior features hand-crafted tile and a red-and-gold Torah ark.

Josephai is proud that people of different faiths helped him rebuild. A Muslim donated the lamps, a Christian gave a Ten Commandments plaque, a Hindu foundation paid for the chandeliers.

Keith Hallegua, center, walks past a handicrafts store toward the 458-year-old Paradesi Synagogue in the historic Jew Town neighborhood of Kochi, India, Thursday, May 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

An oil lamp hangs in front of the ark, its flame kept burning by Josephai. He also keeps the synagogue prayers going, a promise made to his grandmother after his siblings moved to Israel in 1972.

“Every Jew has a dream that his last breath should be in Israel,” he said. “I believe my last breath should be inside this synagogue.”

Josephai, 70, hopes a Jewish organization will take over the synagogue, along with the library and museum he is building.

“Once I’m gone, there is no one who can tell these stories,” he said. “But this is our fate and that’s how it is.”

Thapan Dubayehudi, a Malabari Jew who moved to Vienna in 2022, called Josephai “a one-man army” keeping the history alive. He remembers sitting with Josephai as they assembled and lit hundreds of lamps in the sanctuary during Hanukkah.

“I’d carry that memory with me if God gives me 90 years of life,” he said.

A strong identity that is both Indian and Jewish
Keith Hallegua also stayed to fulfill family responsibilities.

“Never did I ever think that I would be the last Jew in Jew Town,” said Hallegua, who remained to care for his brother and mother.

His mind teems with memories. Singing the Paradesi Jewish tunes that blended Sephardic chants with local folk elements. The aroma of his mother’s chili chicken. His grandmother’s frantic cleaning ahead of Passover, Hallegua’s favorite season. The new clothes for Rosh Hashanah.

“That’s never going to come back,” Hallegua said.

He realizes his memories will vanish with him. It’s deeply painful, and some days he wants to leave Jew Town. But he is grounded by his homeland and its history.

As he once explained, “I was born a Jew in India and I shall die in India, a Jew.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke by phone with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, with the two leaders discussing the growing strategic partnership between Israel and India and developments across the Middle East.

During the call, Netanyahu and Modi reviewed progress across multiple areas of what India describes as the “special strategic partnership” between the two countries and reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthening bilateral cooperation.

The leaders also exchanged views on recent developments in the Middle East and agreed to remain in close contact.

Following the conversation, Modi said the relationship between India and Israel continues to deepen.

“Received a phone call from Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu,” Modi wrote on X. “We reviewed the progress in various aspects of the India-Israel Strategic Partnership, which continues to strengthen and expand steadily. We also exchanged views on the current situation in West Asia.”

The conversation follows Modi’s two-day visit to Israel in February 2026, when he arrived at the head of a senior delegation of Indian ministers and officials at Netanyahu’s invitation.

During that visit, the leaders highlighted Modi’s historic 2017 trip to Israel and Netanyahu’s reciprocal visit to India in 2018, which helped lay the groundwork for expanded economic, security and diplomatic cooperation between the two countries.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

By Julia Parker – JBizNews Desk

BELGRADE — Record-low water levels on the Danube have exposed dozens of German warships sunk during World War II, creating new risks for shippers, energy suppliers and governments already dealing with drought-driven transport bottlenecks and power-security concerns across Europe.

The wrecks, visible near the Serbian river port of Prahovo, are part of a fleet scuttled by Nazi Germany in 1944 as Soviet forces advanced. Many still contain ammunition and explosives, making the exposed hulks a commercial hazard as well as a public-safety problem.

The Danube is one of Europe’s most important freight corridors, carrying fuel, grain, metals, fertilizers and industrial inputs between Central Europe and the Black Sea. Low water has forced barge operators to reduce cargo loads, adding voyages and raising freight costs at a time when companies are already facing higher energy and logistics bills.

For governments, the timing is difficult. Drought has reduced hydropower output in parts of Europe, complicated river transport of coal and fuel, and intensified planning for possible electricity shortages. The exposed wrecks add another obstacle on a river system that supports factories, utilities, traders and exporters across the region.

Near Prahovo, the wrecks have narrowed the navigable channel and limited safe passage for commercial traffic. During normal conditions, much of the debris remains submerged. At current levels, hulls, gun turrets and structural remains have become visible, forcing crews and authorities to navigate around known and suspected hazards.

“The German flotilla has left behind a big ecological disaster that threatens us, people of Prahovo,” said Velimir Trajilovic, a local historian who has documented the wrecks.

The Government of Serbia has previously sought contractors to remove the vessels and dispose of munitions, a project estimated at about 29 million euros. The work is complicated by the presence of unexploded ordnance, the need to keep shipping channels open and the environmental risk of disturbing decades-old fuel, metals and military materials.

Shipping executives say low-water conditions can quickly feed into customer costs. Barges operating at partial capacity are less economical, while cargo diversions to rail or road can strain alternative networks and raise prices for bulk commodities. For energy companies, delayed fuel shipments can affect power-plant inventories and procurement planning.

The disruption also matters for exporters in landlocked economies that rely on the Danube for access to seaborne markets. Agricultural producers, steelmakers and chemical companies use the river to move heavy cargo more cheaply than by truck. When river capacity falls, margins can narrow for producers unable to pass on higher logistics costs.

European drought conditions have also sharpened attention on infrastructure resilience. River transport remains central to the continent’s energy and industrial supply chains, but unusually low water levels have exposed the limits of systems built around more predictable seasonal patterns.

Authorities face a choice between short-term navigation controls and longer-term removal of the wrecks. For businesses using the Danube, the immediate concern is operational: fewer safe routes, lighter cargoes and higher costs during a period when energy security and supply-chain reliability are already under pressure.

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

NEW YORK (VINnews) — Former New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind says the U.S. Department of Justice is taking concerns over rising antisemitism in New York and the conduct of Mayor Zohran Mamdani “very seriously,” telling Rabbi Daniel Schonbuch in a new interview that he is hopeful federal authorities will ultimately take action.

Hikind, who represented Brooklyn in the State Assembly for more than three decades and now heads Americans Against Antisemitism, said he and former New York Gov. David Paterson brought their concerns directly to the Justice Department.

“We wrote to the Justice Department, to the attorney general,” Hikind said, adding that he subsequently had what he described as a lengthy conversation with Harmeet Dhillon, who heads the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division.

While Hikind stressed that he could not reveal everything discussed during that conversation, he said federal officials are examining the situation.

“They are definitely looking at all of these things going on in New York,” Hikind said. “They are taking them seriously, and I am very, very hopeful that they are going to take action.”

Hikind accused Mamdani of using rhetoric about Israel and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he believes has contributed to an increasingly hostile environment for Jewish New Yorkers. He argued that the issue goes beyond ordinary political disagreement and should be examined through the lens of potential civil-rights violations.

Asked what he hoped would happen if federal authorities determine laws were violated, Hikind was unequivocal.

“My dream is that Mamdani gets charged with federal crimes,” Hikind said. “Look, if he violated federal crimes, he should be charged with federal crimes.”

The former assemblyman also sharply criticized Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and other Jewish Democratic leaders, accusing them of failing to confront growing anti-Israel sentiment within the Democratic Party.

Hikind expressed particular anger over Democratic support for Abdul El-Sayed, arguing that the party’s desire to maintain a political “big tent” is causing its leaders to overlook positions that Hikind considers hostile to Israel and the Jewish community.

The conversation then turned to the broader future of American Jewry. Hikind, whose mother survived Auschwitz and lost much of her family in the Holocaust, said the level of antisemitism he sees today is unlike anything he has witnessed during his lifetime.

“There’s always been antisemitism,” Hikind said. “But what’s happening now, it’s at a level I have never seen before.”

He also criticized established Jewish organizations, saying the community needs stronger leadership and a more forceful response to antisemitism. Hikind called for Jewish communities to become better organized, educate young Jews about Jewish history and Israel, and ensure communities are prepared to protect themselves.

“We need to be proud. We need to be strong,” he said.

Despite his grim assessment, Hikind ended the interview by expressing confidence in the Jewish future while issuing a stark warning against complacency.

“Jews, wake up,” Hikind said. “No one is going to come to your defense if you are not playing a role yourself.”

The full interview with Dov Hikind is available on Rabbi Daniel Schonbuch’s Viktor Frankl Podcast.

Follow Rabbi Daniel Schonbuch and the Viktor Frankl Podcast for more interviews and analysis: https://www.youtube.com/@rabbiforamerica

Jamie Dimon is personally calling chief executives across banking, energy, water, telecommunications and transportation to enlist them in an industry coalition built around the risks advanced artificial intelligence poses to the systems those companies operate.

The JPMorgan Chase chief executive is urging corporate leaders to join a U.S.-focused group addressing AI risk as American business rapidly adopts the technology, according to two people familiar with the effort. Dimon has reached out directly to CEOs at large and regional banks and at information technology firms, expanding a group JPMorgan helped found called the Alliance for Critical Infrastructure.

The outreach began in July and has reached more than 40 companies spanning financial services, energy, water, utilities, telecommunications, airlines, railroads and other technology-dependent critical infrastructure industries. Calls with prospective members are planned for August, and the alliance has not yet disclosed results from the initial approach.

From Cyber to AI

The alliance is not new — its focus is.

JPMorgan was among the founding members alongside Mastercard and Berkshire Hathaway Energy, and the organization was created to coordinate against cyber, geopolitical and physical threats to critical infrastructure operators. It is now being repositioned with artificial intelligence at the center.

Dimon said in a statement that he is proud to support the work, noting that alliance leadership identified AI as a priority years ago and began convening critical infrastructure companies around the issue.

The initiative aims to build a shared understanding of how AI is being used, what risks it creates and what safeguards are needed, and to work with the Trump administration on those questions. The revamped alliance is expected to be fully operational by the end of the year, according to a person familiar with the plans.

Water Systems Made It Urgent

The catalyst was not theoretical. Recent cyberattacks on water systems in Minnesota and other states have sharpened the need for information sharing across industries, the sources said.

Municipal water utilities are among the softest targets in American infrastructure — thousands of small operators, thin IT budgets, aging control systems, and no equivalent of the regulatory apparatus that forces banks to harden their defenses. When AI tools lower the skill threshold required to find and exploit those weaknesses, the exposure is not limited to the utility that gets hit.

That interconnection is the argument for a cross-sector group rather than a series of industry-specific ones. A compromised grid operator becomes a bank problem. A disrupted rail network becomes an energy problem.

Why It Matters That It’s Dimon

Dimon’s position at the head of the largest U.S. bank places him at the intersection of finance, technology, cybersecurity and government policy, and his voice carries unusual weight in corporate America. He has been among a small group of chief executives publicly warning about the risks of advanced AI systems.

He has spent years discussing AI’s capacity to transform business operations while growing more vocal about what happens when capable systems reach the wrong hands.

The significance of the move is structural. AI safety discussions have largely been conducted by AI developers — model evaluations, red-teaming exercises, voluntary commitments among a handful of labs. What Dimon is assembling is a coalition of the companies that would absorb the damage rather than the ones building the technology.

That shifts the conversation from what models can do in testing to what happens when they are pointed at a water treatment plant, a payment network or a dispatch system.

The Washington Angle

Working with the administration is an explicit goal of the effort. The alliance has also stressed the importance of public-private cooperation, framing the protection of systems Americans depend on as a shared responsibility at a moment of rising cyber threats.

The federal posture on AI has leaned toward acceleration and away from restriction, which leaves operators of critical systems to determine their own standards. A forty-company coalition setting shared expectations for AI deployment in essential infrastructure would function as de facto industry policy — written by the firms that carry the operational risk rather than by regulators or by the labs.

More than 40 companies have been approached since the outreach began. Whether they sign on, and what they agree to, will say a great deal about how seriously corporate America has begun taking the downside of the technology it is racing to adopt.

JBizNews Desk | New York

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

United Airlines will once again offer nonstop flights between the New York area and Tel Aviv beginning September 8, restoring service from Newark Liberty International Airport to Ben Gurion Airport after months of cancellations tied to the regional conflict.

“United still plans to resume service between Newark and Tel Aviv on Sept. 8 with two daily flights,” the US airline says in an e-mailed statement.

The carrier had suspended the route through September 7 after repeatedly halting flights to Israel following the February 28 closure of Israeli airspace to most commercial aviation at the start of the U.S.-Israel war with Iran. Since then, Ben Gurion Airport has fully reopened, and international airlines have gradually begun restoring their schedules.

American Airlines announced last week that it will continue its suspension of Israel service until March 27, 2027. Meanwhile, Delta Air Lines has extended the cancellation of its nonstop flights from New York and Atlanta to Tel Aviv through September 5.

With major U.S. airlines sidelined for much of the conflict, passengers seeking nonstop service between Israel and the United States have largely been limited to Israeli carriers El Al and Arkia.

United’s return in early September is expected to provide much-needed additional capacity for travelers heading to Israel before the busy Yom Tov season, which begins with Rosh Hashanah on the evening of September 11 and traditionally brings a surge in visitors.

{Matzav.com}

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump will tell you: The grass is always greener on his side of the fence.

And tell you. And tell you.

Trump has spoken repeatedly of his prowess with green lawns since returning to the White House — at some events even spending more time talking about it than the war in Iran, the economy or November’s midterm elections.

It was on the president’s mind just five weeks after his second inauguration, when he pointed out the Oval Office window during an interview with The Spectator. “You see the grass outside, right?” he asked before detailing his plans to pave over much of it. “Some people would like to leave it. But the problem is, you can’t.”

Trump has kept on the topic constantly ever since, saying as recently as Monday at a White House event with military spouses: “Grass is like humans. It has a life.”

All told, he’s mentioned grass in at least 45 public events or interviews over the past 18 months — or at least once every 12 days. That doesn’t include the numerous social media posts that he has also made on the topic.

Trump’s gravitation toward grass speaks to his decades as a New York real estate developer and personal love of building things and overseeing construction projects. But it is also an indication of how much time he spends on the golf course and his extensive, second-term efforts to revamp the White House and greater Washington in his own image. The president has already far outpaced the 26 times he mentioned grass during the entirety of his first four-year term.

The White House didn’t answer questions for this story. But the Republican president has made clear where his interest in — and knowledge of — grass comes from.

“I know a lot about grass because I own a lot of golf courses,” he said while announcing the recipients of the Kennedy Center Honors last August. “And, if you don’t have good grass, you’re not in business very long.”

A week later, while visiting park police officers in Washington, the president declared, “I know more about grass than any human being, I think, anywhere in the world.”

Trump frequently touts his Washington overhaul and Rose Garden patio
Matt Koch, the lawns research fellow for gardening giant Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, met recently with the president to discuss planting new grass on the White House’s South Lawn. He proudly considers himself a “grass nerd” and came away convinced Trump is an honorary one.

“An amazing dialogue, talking grass for half an hour,” Koch said of the Oval Office discussion. “Going back and forth about grass.”

Trump has managed to bring up grass at events as varied as the signing of an executive order on TikTok and the 2025 White House celebration of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights. He mentioned it while pardoning turkeys last Thanksgiving, while addressing the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, and while signing a directive on quantum technology.

Last September, while hosting Republican lawmakers for dinner, he pledged of green spaces around Washington, “We’re gonna re-grass them with the best guys in the country.” That same month, during an event announcing the intended renaming of the Department of Defense, Trump assured attendees, “I’m very good at grass.”

Trump most frequently mentions grass while promoting his Washington beautification efforts. In May, he spent 10 minutes of a Cabinet meeting detailing his efforts to fix fountains and give D.C.’s parks and monuments a face-lift — sometimes sounding more like a small-town mayor than the leader of the free world.

Ironically, the president brings up the topic while defending his decisions to remove grass for new construction — like when he covered the lawn near the White House’s Rose Garden with a stone patio.

“Problem with the grass, you couldn’t do anything with it,” he said during a 2025 Oval Office tour for hosts of the “All-In” podcast.

The president also frequently recounts that hordes of women, including journalists, Cabinet members and administration officials, used to complain to him about their high heels getting stuck in the mud in the old, grassy Rose Garden.

“The women would be lifting up their shoes, saying, ‘You’ve destroyed my shoes,’” he said during a luncheon last fall. When hosting the Los Angeles Dodgers in July, he relayed that women in heels “would go down like quicksand.”

Trump’s helipad is wiping out even more grass
Erecting a UFC octagon to mark his 80th birthday in June reduced large swaths of the South Lawn to dusty dirt. In the weeks since, crews have been building a sprawling helicopter landing pad, meaning even more grass has been removed from the lawn.

Trump said the helipad was needed because the new, more powerful fleet of helicopters now being used as Marine One tore up the previous sod.

“When you land on the grass, it’s not that the grass gets discolored — it gets ripped out,” he said in June. Trump even described tufts of turf going “all over” and said, “Half of the grass was sitting in front of the Oval Office front door.”

Scotts Miracle-Gro donated $1 million in monetary and product support to the National Park Service to restore the South Lawn after the UFC fight, and Trump used the meeting with Koch in June to select a custom turfgrass blend of four kinds of tall fescues and four Kentucky bluegrasses. The company’s former CEO, James Hagedorn, is a Trump supporter.

Trump, Koch said, asked good, detailed questions as he was shown carpet sample-like swaths of each grass variety.

“You can tell he spends a lot of time on golf courses,” Koch said. “He obviously owns courses, and he knows grass from being around it.”

Koch returned to the White House last week as crews began resodding some areas of the White House lawn outside the helipad construction area. There are plans next spring to plant seeds from the grass blend Trump selected. By then, growth will be optimal, and the helipad work should be complete, making the lawn restoration easier.

Many golfers are obsessed with grass
Also key to the president’s grass fixation is his love of golf.

Bert McCarty, a Clemson University professor of turfgrass science and management, said golfers like how top courses are so different — from incorporating the ocean in places near beaches to relying on inclines in the mountains.

Trump, McCarty said, is “like most golfers. He likes the challenge of the course and the differences of the course to add variety.”

Last August, Trump pledged that, after his administration’s various improvements, parks in Washington will “look like Augusta” — a reference to the home of the iconic Masters tournament, where aesthetics are so important that bags from the pro shop and food wrappers are green so that any possible litter blends in with the grass during TV broadcasts.

McCarty said most people “look at the beautiful flowers and the striped-up fairways, and they just think it’s heaven.” But “Augusta basically spares no expense to achieve the look they’re after,” he added, and municipalities “can’t compete with that.”

Cost aside, though, Trump may be thinking even bigger than Augusta, pointing to his own golf course in Northern Virginia.

“It’ll look like, more importantly, Trump National Golf Club,” he said. “That’s even better.”

WASHINGTON D.C (VINnews)-Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman clashed with comedian and “The Daily Show” host Jon Stewart over the Democratic Party’s growing hostility toward Israel, declaring support for the Jewish state a nonnegotiable “red line” even as progressive voices push the party in the opposite direction.

In an appearance on Stewart’s “The Weekly Show” podcast, Stewart pressed Fetterman on his insistence that he would leave the Democratic Party if it became openly anti-Israel.

“So, you could agree with them 90%, but Israel is the red line?” Stewart asked.

“Absolutely. I can’t ever turn my back to Israel after where it’s at,” Fetterman replied.

Stewart continued: “You’re saying that these candidates may have great ideas for our economy. They may want to do the exact same thing you want to do, in terms of getting money out of politics. They may want to increase the social safety net. They may want to change the balance of power from capital back to labor, but if they don’t agree with you on Israel, you don’t want them in your party?”

He added that he found Fetterman’s stance “weird,” noting, “You’re literally saying, ‘We can all have discussions, except when it comes to Israel,’ which is not America.”

Fetterman pushed back firmly. “Well, I don’t think that’s weird. I think what history demonstrates is that when people or governments turn their back to the Jewish community, things end really badly.”

Stewart responded that “the Jewish community and Israel are not the same thing.”

The exchange highlighted deepening divisions within the Democratic Party over Israel. Fetterman, one of the few prominent Democrats who has maintained strong support for the Jewish state amid rising progressive criticism, has previously said that an official shift by the party against Israel would be his breaking point for leaving.

The Republican Jewish Coalition praised Fetterman for his stance, stating: “Here’s some free advice, for a Democratic Party that has totally lost its mind and is hemorrhaging Jewish support: don’t be a clown like Jon Stewart, have some guts like John Fetterman.”

Fetterman has repeatedly criticized elements of his party for embracing candidates and rhetoric hostile to Israel, including references to Democratic Socialists of America-aligned figures and statements from other Democrats that he has called inaccurate and dangerous.

New U.S. intelligence assessments warn that Russian President Vladimir Putin could launch a limited attack against a NATO member as early as this fall, raising concerns that Moscow may be preparing to challenge the alliance’s unity at a time when the United States is grappling with dwindling weapons stockpiles.

According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, U.S. officials believe any Russian action could range from a cyberattack to a limited military incursion, including the possibility of a ground invasion. The intelligence assessment estimates that such an attack could occur at any point between this fall and 2029.

American officials believe Putin’s objective would be to test NATO’s willingness to respond collectively under its mutual defense commitments and, ultimately, drive a wedge between the United States and its allies after more than seven decades of cooperation.

“The question mark is how the United States would respond in that case,” Heather Conley, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, told The Wall Street Journal regarding the possibility of a Russian attack.

“It has always been a goal [of Russia’s] to challenge the credibility of NATO and to separate the United States from its allies.”

Until recently, U.S. intelligence agencies believed Moscow would avoid provoking NATO while Russian forces remained deeply engaged in the war in Ukraine. However, officials now believe Putin may be willing to take the risk despite the ongoing conflict.

The reassessment comes as the Kremlin faces mounting domestic pressure to achieve a decisive victory in Ukraine. Russia has endured repeated long-range drone strikes targeting its oil infrastructure, while its military has suffered heavy casualties and seen its battlefield momentum slow significantly.

Officials also point to previous incidents that they say demonstrate Moscow’s willingness to test NATO’s resolve, including Russian missiles landing in Poland and Russian drones entering Romanian airspace.

The report also highlights growing concern within the U.S. military over shrinking weapons inventories. Years of supplying arms to Ukraine, combined with expenditures related to the conflict with Iran, have significantly reduced American stockpiles of key munitions.

Among the systems officials say are in short supply are Precision Strike Missiles, Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS), and Stinger short-range surface-to-air missiles, according to The Wall Street Journal.

{Matzav.com}

LONDON (AP) — A proposal to limit “vertical drinking,” a bureaucratic euphemism for having a pint while standing, has turned into a political headache for one local government council in London.

Politicians from Prime Minister Andy Burnham to London Mayor Sadiq Khan have piled in to decry the idea from Westminster City Council, which is responsible for licensing pubs and restaurants in the West End, a nightlife hub popular with tourists and locals.

A feature of many of those pubs is the crowd of drinkers who mill around sharing drinks with friends, often spilling out into the street on warm spring and summer evenings. Lesley Lewis, who has run the French House pub in Soho for 37 years, said discouraging that tradition would only drive customers to other parts of the city.

“We rely on those people standing up with the rents and the rates (taxes) put upon us,” she said. “People want to enjoy themselves in Soho, they want to have a drink outside, they want to dance. They don’t want to sit down and just be where they are, they want to meet people and chat.”

With British newspapers filled with headlines such as “Sitting room only at pubs?” and “Soho’s pubs won’t take clamp down on ‘vertical drinking’ lying down,” the Westminster council hit back at “confusing” news stories that misrepresented its plans.

Council leader Paul Swaddle issued a press release stressing that the proposal was part of a draft policy that is still open for public comment. The council’s goal is to reduce noise and disorderly behavior by encouraging bars and restaurants to serve more people at their tables, not bar anyone from having a drink while standing, he said.

“Let me be clear about what we’re trying to achieve,’’ he said. “This is about safety, not stopping anyone standing at a bar with a pint in their hand.’’

The council’s draft licensing policy includes a proposal to discourage “excessive drunkenness” by encouraging business owners to provide more opportunities “for people to sit and enjoy a drink and order food by table service in place of open bar space that caters for high volume vertical drinking.”

Westminster has more pubs, bars and restaurants licensed to sell alcohol than any other local authority in the U.K.

While the council’s policy statement stresses the important role the hospitality industry plays in the local economy, it also says local leaders must ensure Westminster is “a great place for residents to live.”

That didn’t stop the criticism from more senior government officials, who have been focused on bolstering a hospitality industry that still hasn’t recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic.

A spokesman for Burnham said pubs full of people standing around sharing a pint isn’t a nuisance, it’s a part of “British life.” The prime minister is encouraging local leaders to work with the hospitality industry so that pubs can thrive, he said.

“The pubs that we’ve got are at the heart of high streets, and I think it’s really important to signal at the start of my time in office that I will be a defender for them,” Burnham told reporters last month while visiting a pub called the Hare in Harlow, Essex. “I will speak up for them and act.”

Khan suggested he would use new powers that will be granted to his office later this year to review the Westminster policy.

“You can’t run a world-famous nightlife district with a village-hall mindset,” Khan said on X. “London’s hospitality and nightlife support jobs, culture and growth.”

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Israeli liturgical singer Avishai Levy, a former child star who became a well-known performer of Mizrahi and Jewish liturgical music, was killed Friday after being crushed by his own vehicle in Jerusalem. He was 46.

The accident occurred shortly before the start of the Jewish Sabbath on Adoniyahu HaKohen Street in Jerusalem’s Bukharim neighborhood. According to initial reports, Levy had stopped after dropping off passengers while working as a driver. He exited the vehicle to unload luggage when it began rolling backward.

Witnesses said Levy ran toward the vehicle in an attempt to stop it but became trapped between the driver’s door and a nearby pole.

Paramedics from Israel’s Magen David Adom freed Levy and rushed him to Hadassah Medical Center’s Mount Scopus campus while performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Despite prolonged resuscitation efforts, doctors pronounced him dead.

Police opened an investigation into the cause of the accident, including how the vehicle began rolling backward and whether mechanical failure or other factors played a role.

Born in Tiberias, Levy grew up in Jerusalem, where his musical talent emerged at an early age. At age 7, he became the lead vocalist of the children’s choir Pirchei Jerusalem, one of Israel’s best-known children’s religious music groups. Two years later, he was discovered by renowned cantor Kobi Mizrahi while singing at Jerusalem’s historic Ades Synagogue, where he studied the traditional Middle Eastern musical modes used in Jewish liturgy.

Levy soon earned national recognition as a child performer, releasing his debut album, “Mi El Kamocha” (“Who Is Like You”), in 1988. He followed it with “Eliyahu Hanavi” (“Elijah the Prophet”) and the live album “Erev Mizrahi Gadol” (“A Great Mizrahi Evening”), becoming known as one of the leading child stars of Mizrahi music. He performed throughout Israel and internationally, appearing before Jewish communities in France, the United States and South America.

In 1993, Levy briefly worked under the management of acclaimed Israeli guitarist Yehuda Keisar before continuing his career independently. He later released several additional albums, including “HaEmunah” (“Faith”), “El HaOsher” (“Toward Happiness”) and “Niglah Li HaOr” (“The Light Was Revealed to Me”).

After marrying in 1999, Levy scaled back his music career to focus on family before returning to regular performances in 2005. He became a sought-after performer at weddings, bar mitzvahs, brit milah ceremonies, Torah dedication celebrations and other Jewish events. In recent years, he released new music, including the ballad “Avakshecha” (“I Seek You”), alongside recordings of traditional Jewish prayers and liturgical music.

According to his official biography, Levy began performing at age 10 and built a 35-year career, releasing seven albums and dozens of singles.

Levy is survived by his wife and children. Family members had been preparing to celebrate the wedding of one of his sons in the coming months.

His death sent shockwaves through Israel’s religious and Mizrahi music communities, with fellow musicians and admirers mourning the loss of a performer whose career spanned nearly four decades.

A heated Israeli Security Cabinet meeting erupted Thursday over two documents outlining proposals for Gaza’s future, with senior security officials warning that Hamas is attempting to deceive Israel and several ministers demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu formally reject the framework.

According to quotes reported by Israel Hayom, one document dealt with deploying a multinational force in Gaza, while another outlined a roadmap beginning with disarmament and potentially leading to the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Brig. Gen. Ofir Mizrahi-Rozen, head of the IDF Military Intelligence Research Division, warned ministers that Hamas’ acceptance of a 15-point document did not mean the terrorist organization had abandoned its goal of destroying Israel.

“Hamas agreed to the 15-point document, but it has not abandoned its vision of destroying Israel,” Mizrahi-Rozen said, warning that Hamas appeared to be attempting to shift responsibility onto Israel.

He also raised concerns about internationalizing the conflict, introducing foreign forces into Gaza and potentially involving Qatar and Turkey in a multinational security mechanism.

Shin Bet Director David Zini issued an even sharper warning, describing Hamas’ actions as a deliberate attempt to buy time.

“Hamas’ signing is a process of strategic deception designed to gain time and ensure that we do not resume operations in Gaza until the elections,” Zini said. “This is a strategic Hamas ambush. This is deception.”

National Security Council chief Shmuel Ben Ezra told ministers that Israel had already submitted proposed changes to the documents.

Netanyahu said Israel received the roadmap after the previous Cabinet meeting and noted that understandings reached with the United States in November 2025 conflict with parts of the proposal. He said Israel had therefore submitted amendments.

Ministers Ze’ev Elkin, Bezalel Smotrich, Orit Strock and Avi Dichter pushed Netanyahu to go further and publicly declare that Israel rejects the framework.

“You are an expert at navigating, but now that there is an official document, this document needs to be delegitimized,” Smotrich told Netanyahu. “You can’t navigate around it.”

The meeting also featured a clash between Netanyahu and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir over continued targeted eliminations of terrorists in Gaza.

“Not a day should pass without targeted eliminations in Gaza. This isn’t tactical, it’s strategic,” Ben Gvir said.

Netanyahu responded that “in the next 90 days, nothing will be tactical.”

Ben Gvir shot back that he has demanded targeted eliminations consistently for four years, arguing that his position was not connected to the upcoming elections.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

The Aron of an Israeli man who tragically drowned in Cyprus was brought to Israel shortly before Shabbos following an intensive, around-the-clock effort by ZAKA’s International Division.

Yaakov Yisrael Yadid Halevi z”l, 35, drowned in Limassol, Cyprus, early Wednesday morning.

After receiving notification of the tragedy and a request for assistance from the family, ZAKA’s International Division immediately launched a complex operation to complete all necessary procedures with authorities in Cyprus and Israel, with the goal of bringing the niftar to kevurah as quickly as possible.

Baruch Nidam, director of ZAKA’s International Division, said the organization’s teams worked around the clock in a race against time to secure the necessary approvals.

“From the moment we received the report, the division’s teams worked around the clock, in a race against time, to complete all the necessary approvals and bring the aron of the deceased to Israel before Shabbos,” Nidam said. “This was a complex operation requiring coordination between numerous parties in Israel and abroad, but we did everything possible to allow the family to bring their loved one to his final resting place as quickly as possible.”

The operation was carried out through close cooperation with Israel’s Foreign Ministry, Cypriot law enforcement authorities, Interior Ministry Director-General Yisrael Uzan, and with assistance from the Menucha La’ad company.

Their efforts succeeded, and the aron landed in Israel shortly before Shabbos. From the airport, it was transported by a ZAKA ambulance ahead of the levaya and kevurah.

The levaya is scheduled for Motzei Shabbos at 10:30 p.m. at Har HaMenuchos in Yerushalayim.

Boruch Dayan HaEmes….

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Mrs. Esther Dina Flintenstein, a Holocaust survivor and the aunt of the Kapytchnitzer Rebbe, passed away on Thursday at the age of 102 after a lifetime marked by extraordinary resilience, emunah, and chessed.

Mrs. Flintenstein, who lived in Bnei Brak, collapsed in her home on Ben Zakkai Street after suffering cardiac arrest. Emergency responders performed extensive resuscitation efforts at the scene before transporting her to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Born in Poland to her father, Reb Yaakov Reuven, she endured the horrors of the Holocaust before surviving the war. She went on to rebuild her life and establish a large family devoted to Torah and Chassidus.

She was married to Reb Naftali Flintenstein zt”l, one of the senior and distinguished chassidim of Kapytchnitz and the brother of the Kapytchnitzer Rebbe. Throughout her life, she was known as a deeply G-d fearing woman whose home was open to others and who dedicated herself to acts of chessed both with her time and her resources. She merited to see generations of descendants continue in the path of Torah and Chassidus.

She is survived by sons, daughters, sons-in-law, and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

The levayah was held this morning at her home at 47 Ben Zakkai Street in Bnei Brak before proceeding to the Shamgar Funeral Home in Yerushalayim, where her nephew, the Kapytchnitzer Rebbe, participated. She was then laid to rest on Har HaZeisim alongside her husband.

The family will be sitting shivah at her home in Bnei Brak.

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump has ordered the Justice Department to identify administration officials who leaked information about declining U.S. ammunition stockpiles, reportedly demanding lengthy prison sentences for those responsible.

Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with reports detailing shortages of key American weapons, arguing that the disclosures portray the United States as vulnerable at a critical point in the confrontation with Iran and weaken his ability to use military pressure in negotiations.

During a Cabinet meeting at Camp David last week, Trump reportedly expressed anger over the public discussion surrounding U.S. stockpiles. Officials say the president had been aware for months of concerns surrounding ammunition supplies, but was particularly angered that details had become public.

Trump has tasked the Justice Department with finding the officials responsible for the leaks, reportedly referring to them as “traitors” and calling for severe punishment.

On Truth Social, Trump sought to project confidence, saying the United States possesses enormous quantities of ammunition and that defense companies are building weapons factories at an unprecedented pace. Privately, however, he has reportedly acknowledged that supplies of certain types of ammunition remain tight.

Concerns have intensified following reports that the U.S. has expended approximately 80% of its THAAD interceptor inventory and nearly half of its Patriot missile stockpile since the war began.

The reported depletion has also raised concerns among Gulf countries, which fear shortages of American air-defense interceptors could leave them increasingly vulnerable if Iran retaliates against critical energy, desalination or other infrastructure.

White House officials reportedly believe some of the leaks may be coming from figures opposed to the war who hope the disclosures will pressure Trump to reduce or end U.S. military involvement.

Trump’s anger has not been directed at Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, whom the president has continued to praise for doing what he described as an excellent job.

Military officials had warned before the conflict that a prolonged campaign could strain U.S. weapons inventories. Trump has blamed the Biden administration for weakening American stockpiles through extensive military assistance to Ukraine.

The president has invoked the Defense Production Act in an effort to accelerate weapons manufacturing, but officials and defense experts warn that expanding production capacity will take years and is unlikely to provide an immediate solution to current shortages.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

America’s most expensive ZIP code has officially returned to California, as the artificial intelligence stock surge has catapulted Silicon Valley’s ultra-exclusive Atherton past Miami’s tax-free paradise of Fisher Island.

But while deep-pocketed tech titans are willing to fork over nearly $10 million for modest Northern California properties, real estate experts say the move signals a high-stakes trade-off: Buyers aren’t staying in the Golden State for its tax climate or resort lifestyle — they’re paying a massive premium to remain plugged into the nation’s primary deal-making hub.

“Atherton offers something that cannot easily be recreated elsewhere: immediate access to the relationships and opportunities driving one of the world’s most influential technology economies,” Douglas Elliman’s Jenna Hoyas told Fox News Digital. “For many buyers, their business interests, investment networks, children’s schools and personal relationships are firmly rooted in Silicon Valley. The decision is not always a calculation of which state provides the most house or the lowest tax burden. At this level, time and access are often more valuable than savings.”

“The same $10 million is purchasing two very different interpretations of luxury. In Atherton, buyers are generally looking for a single-family estate with meaningful land, privacy and the ability to create a highly customized compound,” Douglas Elliman colleague Kristina Quesada also told Fox Digital.

“On Fisher Island, $10 million is more likely to purchase a luxury condominium with water views, security, amenities and immediate access to a private resort environment. Buyers are trading a large private parcel for beachfront living, club access, services and a lock-and-leave lifestyle,” Quesada added. “Atherton offers ownership of the land and proximity to Silicon Valley, while Fisher Island offers a highly serviced lifestyle surrounded by water.”

Recent data from PropertyShark.com and Bloomberg show that Atherton’s ZIP code (94027) overtook Fisher Island (33109) after the Miami enclave spent two consecutive years as America’s most expensive ZIP code. Atherton’s median home price jumped roughly 20% to $9.93 million, while Fisher Island’s median home sale price fell to $8.3 million.

“Living in Atherton is about privacy, land and proximity to the center of Silicon Valley’s wealth ecosystem. It does not offer the highly visible resort lifestyle people associate with Miami,” Hoyas said. “It is intentionally quiet and understated, with large, gated properties, mature landscaping and very little commercial activity.”

“The rankings may continue to move between Atherton and Fisher Island because both markets have relatively few sales and a handful of major transactions can influence the median. I would not interpret one year’s ranking as evidence that California has reversed migration to Florida or that Florida has lost its appeal,” Hoyas said.

With OpenAI having confidentially filed for an IPO, alongside the public debuts of aerospace giant SpaceX and artificial intelligence rival Anthropic, billions of dollars in overnight liquidity could soon be unlocked for executives and middle management alike.

“The recent acceleration is undoubtedly connected to wealth created through AI, technology companies and equity gains, but buyers are not necessarily treating these homes as short-term purchases,” Quesada said. “A liquidity event may provide the capital and urgency to buy, while the long-term strategy is to secure an irreplaceable piece of land in a market with extremely limited inventory.”

“Atherton is also a market where newly created wealth often moves into real estate as both a lifestyle purchase and a way to diversify. The AI boom may be producing the buyers, but the scarcity of large parcels close to Silicon Valley is what supports the long-term value proposition,” Quesada continued.

The California-based agents say the biggest misconception about the wave of Silicon Valley buyers is that they’ve overlooked tax implications or “failed to compare what their money could purchase elsewhere.”

“They understand the financial differences very clearly. They are making the purchase because the property keeps them close to the companies, capital and relationships responsible for creating their wealth,” Quesada said. “For these buyers, a $30 million home in Atherton is not simply a house. It is a private base inside the ecosystem where they conduct business and build their future.”

“These markets serve different buyers and different priorities. Florida will continue attracting people seeking tax advantages, waterfront living and a resort-oriented lifestyle. California will continue commanding extraordinary prices wherever access to innovation, employment, education and established personal networks outweighs the financial advantages of relocating,” Hoyas said. “Atherton does not need to stop migration to Florida to remain one of the country’s most valuable residential markets.”

DAMASCUS, Syria (VINnews) — Syria is emerging as a low-cost destination for dental care, drawing returning Syrian expatriates — including members of the country’s former Jewish community — seeking affordable treatment while visiting their homeland, according to a report by Ynet.

Dental tourism existed under former President Bashar Assad, when clinics largely treated visitors from Iran and Iraq. But following Assad’s fall and the country’s political changes, the industry has shifted its focus toward expatriate Syrians and other foreign visitors.

Rita Badran, a fifth-year dental student and tour guide in Damascus, said Syrian dentists have long been respected for their skills despite years of war and economic hardship. Many experienced doctors remained in the country during the civil war, continuing to practice with limited resources while keeping prices low.

She said cosmetic procedures, including a full “Hollywood smile,” can cost less than $1,000, making Syria one of the region’s most affordable destinations for dental work.

Badran said Syria’s medical sector suffered during the civil war but that treating large numbers of wounded patients helped many doctors gain valuable experience under difficult conditions.

Among those traveling to Syria for treatment are former members of the country’s Jewish community, according to Bachor Simantov, one of the last remaining Jews in Damascus.

Simantov said many Jewish visitors combine dental procedures, including implants and repairs, with visits to historic Jewish sites, synagogues and cemeteries, as well as renewing Syrian passports.

“Syria is cheaper than anywhere else in the world when it comes to dental implants and dentistry,” Simantov said.

CHEMED was proud to celebrate National Health Center Week alongside government leaders, patients, staff, community partners, and supporters who joined us in recognizing the vital role community health centers play in providing accessible, high-quality healthcare.

The event highlighted the importance of comprehensive, patient-centered care and the impact health centers have on improving health outcomes and strengthening communities.

We were honored to welcome:

New Jersey State Leadership

• Senator Robert Singer

New Jersey Department of Health

• Raquel Mazon Jeffers, Deputy Commissioner, Population Health
• Susan Loughery, Deputy Commissioner, Care and Treatment Services
• Nashon Hornsby, Assistant Commissioner, Division of Health Promotion, who presented a proclamation from Governor Mikie Sherrill recognizing National Health Center Week
• Kim Laloma, Office of Primary Care and Rural Health

Ocean County Leadership

• Frank Sadeghi, Commissioner Director
• Jennifer Bacchione, Commissioner Deputy Director
• Sam Ellenbogen, Commissioner
• Michael Fiure, County Administrator

We extend our sincere gratitude to all the dignitaries, community leaders, partners, vendors, patients, and staff who helped make this celebration a success. Your support reinforces our shared commitment to ensuring quality healthcare remains accessible to all.

Thank you to everyone who joined us in celebrating National Health Center Week and supporting the health and well-being of our community.

Iran has reportedly received hundreds of Chinese- and Russian-made shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missile systems as Tehran works to rebuild air defenses severely damaged during its war with the United States and Israel, according to Iranian opposition figures cited by MBN.

The opposition sources said Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps received three types of man-portable air-defense systems, or MANPADS, which have been deployed around urban centers, military installations, border regions and other sensitive locations. Some of the weapons were also reportedly transferred to Iran-backed militias in Iraq.

Hamid Motashar, head of the Ahwaz Liberal Party, claimed that four cargo flights from China traveled through Pakistani airspace carrying approximately 400 Chinese QW-12 and FN-16 launchers, along with ammunition and replacement parts.

According to Motashar, some of the systems were deployed around Ahwaz to protect strategic facilities and command centers. He also claimed that Iranian forces used one of the systems to shoot down a drone near Bandar Abbas on July 13, though the claim has not been confirmed by the United States.

Separately, three Kurdish Iranian opposition leaders said Tehran received approximately 300 Russian-made 9K333 Verba missiles in five maritime shipments across the Caspian Sea.

Those systems were reportedly deployed in Tehran, Kermanshah, Isfahan, Mashhad, border areas and locations near the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian-Kurdish political analyst Farzin Karbasi said Tehran has been using ceasefires to repair missile sites and restore military capabilities. He said Iran is also upgrading some of its drones with jet engines in an effort to increase their speed and ability to carry explosive payloads.

Strategic affairs analyst Amer Al-Sabayleh said the portable missile systems are unlikely to significantly alter the balance of power against U.S. air superiority, but could pose a threat to low-flying aircraft during the opening stages of a conflict.

MBN said it was unable to independently verify the reported shipments or quantities, and the governments of Iran, China and Russia have not publicly confirmed the alleged transfers.

The report comes after IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir estimated in early March that Israeli forces had destroyed approximately 80% of Iran’s air-defense systems.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Israel’s Health Ministry has issued a public warning to swimmers after two people were diagnosed with corneal infections linked to a rare parasite found in the waters of the Kinneret. The parasite, known as Microsporidium, can cause eye inflammation and, in some cases, damage to vision.

According to the ministry, both patients had swum in the Kinneret in late June or early July before developing symptoms. Officials stressed that the water remains safe to drink and that there is no recommendation to avoid swimming in the lake. However, they urged the public to be alert for any unusual eye symptoms following a visit.

Health officials said anyone who develops eye inflammation, redness, pain, or the sensation of a foreign object in the eye after swimming in the Kinneret should seek prompt evaluation by an ophthalmologist. The ministry noted that symptoms typically appear between one and three weeks after exposure to the water.

The warning comes during the height of the summer vacation season, when thousands of families flock to the Kinneret during Bein Hazemanim. In recent weeks, emergency responders have also dealt with several water-related incidents at the lake, including the dramatic rescue of a Chareidi family whose boat drifted away and the rescue of three bochurim who were swept into deeper waters.

Despite the warning, the Health Ministry emphasized that there is no danger associated with drinking water from the Kinneret or swimming in the lake. Officials advised swimmers to practice good eye hygiene and avoid rubbing their eyes while in the water or immediately afterward.

Anyone experiencing eye inflammation, redness, pain, or a sensation of a foreign body in the eye after swimming should seek immediate medical attention and inform the eye doctor that they recently swam in the Kinneret. The ministry said early diagnosis and proper treatment can help prevent complications and long-term damage to vision.

{Matzav.com}

American Airlines is changing one of its most valuable frequent-flyer perks, with elite AAdvantage members on several premium domestic routes no longer automatically jumping from the Main Cabin directly into Business Class when complimentary upgrades clear.

Starting August 25, eligible travelers booked in Main Cabin on certain aircraft offering Premium Economy will generally be upgraded first into Premium Economy rather than Business Class. The change affects select transcontinental and Hawaii routes where American sells three distinct cabins. 

For frequent flyers, that turns what could have been a lie-flat Business Class seat into a much smaller upgrade.

Travelers who purchase Premium Economy can still qualify for complimentary upgrades into Business Class when space is available. That creates a clearer hierarchy: Main Cabin passengers compete for Premium Economy, while travelers already paying for Premium Economy get access to the more valuable Business Class upgrade. 

Routes affected include some of American’s highest-value domestic services, including transcontinental flights linking New York with Los Angeles and San Francisco, along with selected service to Hawaii. American has been expanding Premium Economy across more aircraft and routes, giving the airline another cabin it can sell separately rather than treating it simply as a step on the way to Business Class. 

The change fits a broader airline strategy of protecting premium seats for paying customers. Business Class cabins can generate substantially more revenue than economy seats, particularly on long transcontinental flights, giving airlines an incentive to sell those seats rather than release them as complimentary upgrades.

American’s own AAdvantage rules continue to provide status members with complimentary upgrades on eligible North American flights when seats are available, but the cabin into which passengers are upgraded increasingly depends on the aircraft and ticket purchased. 

For consumers who spend heavily with American or its credit-card partners to earn elite status, the change reduces the potential payoff on some of the airline’s most desirable routes. A complimentary Premium Economy seat still provides additional space and service, but it is far different from the lie-flat seats, premium meals and airport experience offered in Business Class.

The bigger shift is what American is signaling about loyalty: elite status still provides upgrades, but the airline increasingly wants travelers seeking its most expensive seats to pay for a premium cabin first.

JBizNews Desk | Fort Worth, Texas

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

REMAX Holdings Inc. reported lower revenue and earnings in the second quarter of 2026 as the franchisor prepares to be acquired by The Real Brokerage.

The Denver-based company said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Thursday that total second-quarter revenue fell 5.8% year over year to $68.5 million. Revenue excluding its marketing funds declined 5.1% to $51.7 million, reflecting negative organic revenue growth of 5.1% and flat foreign currency impacts. Additionally, REMAX posted a net loss attributable to the company of $4.3 million. The firm is not holding an earnings call with investors and analysts due to the impending acquisition.

The company’s total agent count edged up 1.5% from a year earlier to 149,267 agents worldwide, according to the filing. But in the U.S. and Canada, where REMAX historically generates most of its system revenue, combined agent count fell 2.2% to 72,968.

According to the SEC filing, the deal with Real is expected to close in the second half of 2026, pending customary conditions and shareholder approval at both companies’ special meetings scheduled for Aug. 14, 2026. This comes after the Department of Justice (DOJ) granted the companies an early termination of their Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements (HSR) Act of 1976 waiting period for the proposed merger in mid-July.

The HSR Act is a federal law that was originally designed to strengthen antitrust enforcement, in part by giving the government advance notice of large mergers and acquisitions so they can be reviewed for competitive harm before they are completed. The act requires parties to notify both the DOJ and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) about proposed mergers.

The Real Brokerage reported Q2 revenue of $700.6 million, up 30% year-over-year, with a net loss of $8 million, driven by $11.6 million in acquisition-related expenses for the pending REMAX deal.

This post was originally published on here.

(AP) – Immigration and Customs Enforcement is moving to equip officers with body cameras in the next two months but the agency’s policy gives it broad control over what footage will be made public by specifying any releases must be in its “best interests.”

After years of delays, ICE said its field officers nationwide will have body-worn cameras by the end of September. The rollout comes after recent fatal shootings by officers enforcing President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown have intensified pressure for accountability that the cameras could provide.

But the agency’s body-worn camera policy could mean taxpayers who are pitching in tens of millions of dollars to pay for the cameras may be kept in the dark about some high-profile confrontations, at least in their immediate aftermath.

The policy says ICE will promptly release video of shootings and other encounters in which its agents cause death or serious injury only after determining “it is in the best interests of the agency” to do so. That gives its director discretion to release recordings that reflect well on the agency’s image while working to keep others secret, experts on body camera policies said.

Such selective releases are routine in some law enforcement agencies but usually not so clearly contemplated in policy, according to professor Christopher Schneider of Brandon University in Canada, a co-author of the new book “Police Body-Worn Cameras: Media and the New Discourse of Police Reform.”

“In some ways, ICE is saying the quiet part out loud,” he said. “Body-worn cameras are being used as contemporary image-work tools to present the police to the public in the most favorable way possible.”

Body camera policy allows withholding some video
The policy requires officers to activate cameras during routine enforcement activities, including while making arrests, executing search warrants and responding to emergencies.

After shootings or other serious confrontations, a committee that includes top ICE officials and lawyers will review footage and recommend whether to release it promptly, according to the body camera policy issued in February 2025.

If the answer is yes, the recording could be released within 72 hours. But if the ICE director finds that “specific and compelling circumstances” justify withholding the video, they have the authority to block or indefinitely delay the release, the policy says.

The policy does not elaborate on such circumstances, and ICE did not respond to a question from The Associated Press about how it would make such decisions.

Practices vary widely in the U.S. In Chicago, a police watchdog agency routinely releases body camera video of shootings and other serious use-of-force incidents within 60 days. In Philadelphia, the police department very rarely uses its discretion to release video of specific incidents and has no policy for when to do so.

Even when footage is released, ICE’s policy will require the redaction of all officers’ identifying features such as their faces, names and badge numbers to preserve their privacy.

Schneider, who has studied body cameras since their use began spreading a decade ago, said he does not expect ICE to release footage of fatal shootings like those last month in Houston and Maine.

He noted ICE’s sister agency, Customs and Border Protection, has not released footage of the January shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis even though it was captured on agents’ cameras. CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott told lawmakers in February that the video and other materials were under investigation and would be made public “when it’s appropriate.”

ICE says all officers will have cameras by end of September
ICE spent $30.9 million in July to purchase body camera equipment from Axon, the Arizona-based company that also manufactures Tasers, federal spending records show.

The spending began one day after the fatal shooting of a 25-year-old motorist in Maine by an ICE officer with a history of violent behavior. Days earlier, another ICE officer shot and killed a homebuilder in Houston who was driving to work.

Neither shooting was recorded with body cameras. That news angered members of Congress, who had given ICE $20 million to purchase body cameras in a bill passed to end a partial government shutdown on April 30.

ICE said body cameras have been sent to more than half its field officers and the rest will receive them by the end of September. That timeline pushes back estimates from earlier public statements. Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins, who backed funding for cameras, said last month that the agency informed her they would be deployed by the end of August. ICE had said earlier that they would be issued by mid-September.

ICE officers working in the Houston area, where the agency sent more than 800 cameras, are among those who have started training, according to U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Texas Democrat and member of the House Appropriations Committee.

At least one member of every arrest team will be required to have a camera, the agency said.

“I think the American people need to see what that officer sees and hears,” White House border czar Tom Homan said July 19 on CBS News’ “Face the Nation.” “And if you look at the data, body cameras actually exonerate agents more than they, you know, provide evidence of wrongdoing.”

Schneider said he expects ICE to release recordings that promote the agency’s mass deportation program by portraying officers as brave and immigrants as dangerous criminals.

“Much of what law enforcement does is convince the public that we need them and feel safe and they do all this good stuff for us,” he said. “The more bad stuff the public sees, the more angry the public gets. And this causes problems for the police brand.”

ICE has taken years to adopt body cameras
ICE began testing body cameras in 2021 during President Joe Biden’s administration and distributed 1,400 devices three years later, saying use would expand as funding became available.

After returning to office in 2025, President Donald Trump rescinded a Biden order that required federal law enforcement agencies to use body cameras.

ICE did not buy body cameras even after it received a historic $75 billion infusion in Trump’s signature policy bill in 2025 and began hiring thousands of new officers. The two July purchases from Axon were made through an existing government contract that began in 2023, records show.

“This is not hard to deploy, but they’ve slow-rolled it,” said Jason Houser, who was ICE chief of staff under Biden and helped implement the agency’s pilot program.

Houser said the Trump administration should have equipped officers with body cameras when it expanded mass arrests and traffic stops. Doing so only after several shootings and pressure from Congress “is clearly a political response” that will not make officers or the public safer, he said.

“This doesn’t fix the problem of putting officers in a place where they’re not trained or equipped to carry out the style of operations that the administration is asking them to do,” he said.

Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan signed a new mutual defense agreement in Mecca on Friday, strengthening military cooperation between the three countries as Riyadh faces growing concerns over regional threats.

The agreement was signed during a summit attended by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

A key provision states that an armed attack against any one of the three countries will be considered an attack against all of them, establishing a collective defense commitment aimed at strengthening regional deterrence.

The pact also calls for expanded military and security cooperation and greater coordination in responding to shared threats. The three countries said the agreement is intended to support regional and international stability.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the collective defense provision, saying an armed attack against any of the three countries would be treated as an attack against them all.

The agreement comes amid heightened concern in Riyadh over possible threats from Iran and its regional proxies. A senior Saudi official said Thursday that intelligence indicates Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is coordinating with Iran-backed militias in Iraq and the Houthis in Yemen in preparation for possible attacks against Saudi Arabia.

The official said the intelligence was particularly concerning because Saudi Arabia has been pursuing de-escalation and negotiations with Iran, adding that the kingdom would not hesitate to take necessary measures in response to any aggression.

Saudi Arabia and Pakistan previously signed a mutual defense agreement in September 2025. Turkey’s addition expands the arrangement into a three-country security alliance at a time of growing regional tensions.

The development also comes as relations between Turkey and Israel remain strained over Gaza and other regional conflicts, while Saudi Arabia’s prospects for normalization with Israel have become increasingly uncertain.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

With summer now in full swing, Boro Park has settled into a quieter pace as many families settled in the Catskills and summer destinations. As the neighborhood adjusts to its seasonal rhythm, many residents are wondering which Rebbes will be in Boro Park this Shabbos to attend the tefillos and their tishen.

• Amshinov - Eretz Yisroel
• Beis Chaim Shia - Boro Park 
• Bobov - Mesivta Camp, Dingmans Ferry, PA
• Bobov-45 - Private  
• Burshtin - Boro Park
• Chernoble - Boro Park 
• Emunas Yisroel - Boro Park
• Kosov - Eretz Yisroel  
• Liska - Boro Park
• Lelov - Boro Park 
• Lelov - Boro Park 
• Minkatch - Boro Park 
• Rachmastrivka - Boro Park
• Sanz Klausenburg - Boro Park
• Sanz Zmigrad - Bloombinburg
• Serdaheli - Boro Park 
• Skolya - Machne Skolya, South Fallsburg
• Skulen - Catskills
• Skver of BP - Machne Skver, Woodridge
• Ungvar - Boro Park 
• Viznitz BP - Viznitz Camp, Liberty 
• Viznitz Y-M - Boro Park 

Be sure to check back every Friday as we'll update the list weekly to reflect each Rebbe's Shabbos plans.

An Iranian opposition media outlet is reporting that Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is in extremely poor health and could die at any moment, citing unnamed sources close to President Masoud Pezeshkian’s government. The claims, however, have not been independently confirmed by any other sources.

According to IranWire, two individuals said to be close to President Pezeshkian told the outlet that no members of the Iranian cabinet have met with Khamenei since the Feb. 28 U.S. strike on the Supreme Leader’s compound, in which his father and several other family members were killed.

The two sources further claimed that widespread rumors are circulating within the highest levels of Iran’s leadership that Khamenei is in critical condition and may not survive much longer.

Since assuming the position of Supreme Leader, Khamenei has made no public appearances and has not delivered any speeches. Aside from several letters attributed to him that were published by official Iranian state news agencies, he has remained entirely out of public view. His prolonged absence has fueled growing speculation regarding both his health and his ability to continue leading the Islamic Republic.

A separate source described as being close to President Pezeshkian’s cabinet told IranWire that no cabinet member has had any contact with Khamenei since he took office and claimed his physical condition has deteriorated significantly.

“We would not be surprised if we soon hear news of his holy death,” the source reportedly said.

The report has not been corroborated by any other media outlets or independent sources.

A seven-month-old baby died Thursday night after apparently suffocating on a plastic bag inside his family’s home in Bnei Brak. Despite prolonged resuscitation efforts by emergency responders and hospital staff, doctors at Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer were unable to save his life.

Emergency medical teams rushed to the scene after receiving reports that the infant had lost consciousness. Paramedics immediately began advanced life-saving measures, including prolonged CPR and the use of a defibrillator, before transporting the child to Sheba Medical Center while continuing resuscitation efforts. Shortly after arriving at the hospital, physicians were forced to pronounce the baby dead.

Menashe Goldis, a volunteer medic with United Hatzalah who was the first responder to arrive, described the desperate attempts to save the infant.

“Together with additional medics, we performed prolonged resuscitation efforts, including administering an electric shock. He was then evacuated to Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer while CPR continued, in critical condition. We were told at the scene that he lost consciousness after choking on a plastic bag.”

Hatzalah Chairman Usher Shlomovitz, Deputy Director Chaim Bergman, and Hatzalah volunteers Daniel Horberg and Shabsi Ortner also described the emergency response.

“When we arrived at the scene, we were handed a seven-month-old baby who was unconscious, without a pulse and not breathing after choking on a plastic bag. Together with Hatzalah and Magen David Adom paramedics and EMTs, we performed advanced resuscitation efforts, including delivering an electric shock with Hatzalah’s defibrillator. He was transported while CPR continued for further treatment in the trauma room at Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer.”

ZAKA said its volunteers were dispatched to the scene following the tragedy and are assisting the grieving family. The organization is also working with its legal division to complete the procedures necessary for the release of the infant’s body.

ZAKA operations officer Yechiel Goldman and motorcycle unit volunteer Yehuda Mor said, “ZAKA’s emergency dispatch center sent us to this difficult incident a short time ago. At this time, we are accompanying the family during these heartbreaking moments and assisting, together with ZAKA’s legal division, with the process of releasing the body and providing any additional help that is needed.”

President Trump said late Thursday that negotiations over the Strait of Hormuz are “moving along,” speaking to reporters at the White House and declining to say more when pressed on how close an agreement is. It was his firmest public signal this week that the waterway carrying a fifth of the world’s oil is nearing a reopening.

Iranian lawmakers spent Friday debating the wording of the proposed arrangement with Oman, and state television quoted one member saying the final text will be announced soon. Under the version reported so far, inbound tankers would move through Iranian waters and outbound tankers through Omani waters — a split-lane system that lets Tehran hold the appearance of control while cargo flows again.

The obstacle is what Iran published a day earlier. Its draft plan would bar American and Israeli vessels from the strait and keep other nations Tehran says have harmed it out until compensation is paid, with a penalty of 20% of cargo value on violators and full reopening conditioned on the US lifting its naval blockade. Washington’s stated position is the reverse: open commercial navigation, no Iranian tolls, and no requirement that ships get Tehran’s approval to transit, with a US official telling the Associated Press that any interim arrangement would carry neither approval nor fees.

Traders spent the week pricing the distance between what Trump says and what Iran writes. Brent closed Thursday up 3.8% at $82.49 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate settled 2.8% higher at $77.29. Friday extended it, with October Brent at $83.52 and September WTI at $78.14. Both benchmarks still finish the week down more than 8%, the drop dating to Tuesday, when Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on CNBC that a deal restoring free movement could come as soon as Wednesday.

Eight percent came off on the expectation of a deal and part of it went back on when the draft language turned out narrower than the optimism. For anyone hedging fuel, that is the practical state of this market: it is trading on a document that has not been finalized, moving on each statement about it.

The effect reaches past energy. The 10-year Treasury yield rose seven basis points during Thursday’s US session as higher crude revived concern the Federal Reserve will hold rates elevated. The dollar posted its biggest advance in two weeks, and gold gained more than 1.4% toward $4,300 an ounce. Oil feeds the inflation data the Fed watches, and that data sets borrowing costs — which is how a dispute over shipping lanes reaches a mortgage rate in Bergen County.

Before the war began in late February, roughly a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments passed through Hormuz, and traffic has not recovered. Brent rose 24% in July and WTI 21%, the strongest month since March. The strait does not have to close to move prices; it only has to look less open than the day before.

Two other supply strains hit the same week. Ukraine struck two major Russian refineries overnight, and American imports of Saudi crude fell to zero in July for the first time since 1985, according to a UOB note. The Houthis attacked Saudi military positions and infrastructure, raising fresh questions about Red Sea routes — the alternative shippers use when the Gulf turns dangerous.

Trump’s optimism and Iran’s draft cannot both survive intact into a signed agreement. If the final text excludes American and Israeli ships, nothing reopens for US carriers, the blockade stays, and the war-risk premiums built into every Gulf voyage stay with it. If it does not, the strait opens on terms Washington set. The text decides which, and it is expected within days.

JBizNews Desk | Wall Street

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

Under Armour cut its annual sales outlook Friday after North American revenue dropped 9%, offering another sign that consumers are becoming more selective about spending on athletic clothing and footwear as inflation and economic uncertainty pressure household budgets. 

North American revenue fell to $609.8 million in the quarter ended June 30. Companywide revenue declined 3% to $1.10 billion, while international sales rose 5%, leaving weakness in Under Armour’s largest market as the central problem facing the brand. 

For consumers, the slowdown could mean more competition, promotions and pressure on brands to prove their products are worth the price.

Under Armour now expects full-year revenue to decline by a mid-single-digit percentage, worse than its previous forecast for only a slight decrease. The company said persistent inflation and broader economic uncertainty are making consumers more cautious about discretionary purchases. 

Chief Executive Kevin Plank is simultaneously trying to move Under Armour away from competing primarily through discounts. The company has been reducing its product assortment by roughly 25% and concentrating investment on training, running and team sports, with newer footwear aimed partly at younger consumers. 

That creates a difficult balancing act. Under Armour wants to rebuild the brand around fewer, more desirable products and protect pricing, but weakening U.S. demand can force retailers and manufacturers to use promotions to move merchandise.

The company’s gross margin nevertheless improved to 54.1%, helped in part by approximately $70 million in tariff refunds incorporated into its outlook. Under Armour maintained its adjusted operating-income forecast despite lowering its revenue expectations. 

The consumer signal extends beyond Under Armour. Other apparel companies have also reported softer U.S. discretionary spending as shoppers prioritize necessities and become more demanding about price, quality and value.

For Under Armour, the challenge is especially important because North America remains its largest market. A 9% decline there means the company’s turnaround increasingly depends on convincing cautious shoppers to pay for new products without relying heavily on markdowns.

For consumers, that competition can work in their favor. If athletic brands struggle to generate traffic, shoppers could see more promotions and better deals even as companies try to preserve premium pricing on their newest products.

JBizNews Desk | Baltimore, Maryland

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

.

More information may be added to this story regarding the jobs report from July 2026.

In response to rising inflation and uncertainty over the impact of the Iran war, the U.S. economy quickly lost jobs in July.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employers statewide eliminated 23, 000 careers in June, according to a report released on Thursday. That figure was significantly below what economics polled by LSEG predicted would add 80 000 work.

The unemployment rate dropped to 4.1 %, which is also below the 4.3 % estimate.

The payment figures for the previous two months were revised, with May’s down by 66, 000 from a obtain of 129, 000 to 63, 000, and June’s down by 37, 000 from 57, 000 to 20 000.

Up, jobs in May and June was significantly lower than originally reported.

In July, personal paychecks added 30, 000 jobs, which is significantly below the 78, 000 measure that economists polled by LSEG predicted. Private payroll growth increased by 30 % from the previous year’s increase of 49, 000 to 30,000.

Authorities payments decreased by 53, 000 jobs in July, with a decrease of 10, 000 work from the firm’s 8, 000 work increase from its previous estimate of 8, 000.

In July, the manufacturing sector added 5, 000 jobs, more than the academics ‘ expectations of 4, 000 work, according to a survey conducted by LSEG. Manufacturing employment data for June increased from 3, 000 to 11, 000 work.

In July, there were 19, 000 jobs lost in retail, with declines of supercenters, general merchandisers, and gas stations (-21, 000 ) outperforming gains made by sports, hobby, music, book, and other retailers ( 10, 000 ). Over the past year, there hasn’t been much shift in financial work.

Due to loss in both insurance companies and credit middlemen (9, 000 ) in July, 14, 000 jobs were lost. The financial industry employs 121, 000 people, down from its top in May 2025.

In July, the healthcare sector added 22, 000 work, a decrease from the 36, 000 job increase on average each month for the previous year. The majority of the monthly increase ( +18 000 ) was attributed to ambulatory healthcare services ‘ employment.

YSR.

Boro Park is in for a very hot and humid weekend, with temperatures reaching around 90 degrees or higher each day. The humidity may make it feel close to 100 degrees at times, creating especially uncomfortable conditions.

Friday will be partly sunny, hot, and humid, with a high near 90 degrees. Scattered thunderstorms are expected during the evening, and some storms may bring strong, gusty winds. The low will be around 75 degrees.

Shabbos will remain very hot and humid, with a mix of sunshine and clouds and a high near 91 degrees. Some showers are possible, though much of the day is expected to remain dry. The low will be around 75 degrees.

Sunday will bring mostly sunny skies and the hottest temperatures of the weekend, with a high near 92 degrees. The heat and humidity will continue to make conditions feel especially uncomfortable, the overnight low will be 74 degrees.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) accused Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for Senate in Michigan, of having links to the Muslim Brotherhood during a hearing of a subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

“Just yesterday, Abdul El-Sayed, the son-in-law of a leading member of several Brotherhood groups, won Michigan’s Democratic primary for U.S. Senate,” Cruz said. “Behind El-Sayed’s political rise sits a much older and more entrenched institutional network.”

One of the witnesses at the hearing, Kyle Shideler, a security analyst at the Center for Security Policy, described the “connections” that El-Sayed’s father-in-law, Dr. Tayeb Jukaku, has to the Council on American-Islamic Relations and other groups that Shideler said were “Brotherhood-linked.”

“This includes being the president at one time of CAIR Michigan,” Shideler said of Jukaku. “Also his presence on the Islamic Society of North America’s founders committee, which is only for those most exclusively devoted to ISNA to provide significant amounts of funding.”

“There are other known Brotherhood members on that committee,” Shideler said.

Jukaku is a kidney specialist in Detroit who is listed on the board of directors of CAIR Michigan. His biography on the website of the ISNA founder’s committee says that he joined the group because it helped his “whole family in the formative years of our lives as Muslims” in the United States after he emigrated from India.

CAIR was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the 2007 criminal case against the Holy Land Foundation, in which the charged defendants were found guilty of providing support to Hamas and other related terrorism financing charges. CAIR bills itself as “America’s largest Muslim civil liberties organization,” and the group has never been charged with a crime.

The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in Egypt in 1928 as a pan-Islamist revival movement and established or inspired branches and affiliates across the Middle East, including Hamas.

In January, the U.S. Treasury Department designated the Egyptian and Jordanian branches of the Brotherhood as terrorist organizations. The group as a whole has never been outlawed as a foreign terror group in the United States.

Cruz led Wednesday’s hearing, titled “Hidden in Plain Sight: Confronting the Muslim Brotherhood Network in America,” as chair of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action and Federal Rights. Democrats on the subcommittee boycotted Wednesday’s hearing, which they said targeted the entire American Muslim community.

“Democrats have no intention of indulging this political creepshow, particularly after the recent violence targeting places of faith,” stated Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.).

They cited media reports that Texas Republicans have focused on combating “radical Islam” as a campaign strategy in the 2026 elections, including Republican-led efforts to halt the creation of an Islamic residential center in East Plano, Texas.

Cruz was the only senator from either party to appear at Wednesday’s hearing.

El-Sayed’s associations with the far left, including Islamic groups, are likely to be a focus of the general election for a seat that could decide control of the Senate after a bitter Democratic primary battle, in which El-Sayed’s opponent, Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.), accused El-Sayed of wanting to “blame all of your problems on Jewish Americans.”

On Wednesday, former congressman Mike Rogers, El-Sayed’s Republican opponent, implicitly compared his time as chair of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence during the raid to kill Osama Bin Laden to El-Sayed’s campaign appearances with the influencer Hasan Piker, who said in 2019 that “America deserved 9/11.”

“I spent my life hunting terrorists,” Rogers wrote, accompanied by a video about the Bin Laden raid.

“I never in a million years thought I’d hear the words, ‘America deserved 9/11,’” he wrote. “But here we are.” JNS

Global food commodity prices climbed to their highest level in more than three years in July, raising fresh concern that households could see another wave of grocery-price pressure later this year.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization said its Food Price Index rose to 131.1 points in July, up 0.6% from June and the highest reading since January 2023. The index tracks international prices for major food commodities before they reach supermarkets and restaurants. 

The biggest increases came from cereals, sugar and vegetable oils. Cereal prices rose 3.4% during the month, while sugar jumped 5.6% and vegetable oils increased 2%. Meat and dairy prices declined, partly offsetting those gains. 

For consumers, the important point is that these wholesale increases usually take time to reach the checkout line.

FAO Chief Economist Máximo Torero said this week that the transmission from higher commodity prices to final consumer food prices typically takes three to six months. That means increases hitting global wheat, corn, sugar and oil markets now could begin showing up more clearly in grocery bills toward the end of 2026 and into 2027. 

Weather is one part of the problem. Heat waves and poor growing conditions have damaged crop prospects in several major producing regions, while concerns about a strengthening El Niño are adding uncertainty for future harvests.

War and transportation disruptions are adding another layer. Problems around the Black Sea have affected grain flows, while the Iran conflict and disruption around the Strait of Hormuz have raised fertilizer, fuel and shipping costs that ultimately feed into agricultural production. 

The impact will not be identical across every supermarket aisle. Retail prices also depend on processing, packaging, labor, transportation and how much of a commodity is actually contained in a finished product. But sustained increases in wheat, vegetable oil and sugar can eventually affect bread, cereal, baked goods, cooking oil, snacks and restaurant menus.

The latest reading remains well below the historic peak reached in March 2022, but the direction has turned upward again after several years in which food inflation gradually moderated.

For households, the risk is that groceries begin adding another source of inflation just as consumers are already dealing with elevated fuel, housing and borrowing costs.

JBizNews Desk | Rome, Italy

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

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers unexpectedly cut 23,000 jobs last month, and Labor Department revisions shaved 103,000 jobs off payrolls in May and June. But the unemployment rate dipped to 4.1% as Americans left the job market.

The June jobs numbers from the Labor Department Friday marked a sharp reversal for the American labor market.

Hiring had rebounded this year from a lackluster 2025 in the face of the conflict in the Persian Gulf that has sent energy prices surging and put a strain on family budgets. Job growth had been solid, if unspectacular. Some businesses are having trouble filling vacancies. Others are using technology to do the work humans used to do.

The Department of Justice has launched a massive new $3 billion grant initiative designed to help communities recover from the financial strain they say resulted from the Biden administration’s immigration policies, with one key requirement: participating jurisdictions must cooperate fully with federal immigration enforcement.

The program, officially titled the Bridging Immigration-related Deficits Experienced Nationwide (BIDEN) initiative, is among the largest grant efforts ever undertaken by the Justice Department. According to The Washington Post, the funding is intended to help local governments hire additional police officers, modernize technology, and construct temporary detention facilities for illegal migrants.

To qualify, however, municipalities must commit to working alongside federal immigration officials. Specifically, applicants are required to “fully participate” in the ICE 287(g) program, which authorizes state and local law enforcement agencies to partner with ICE and other federal immigration authorities in carrying out immigration enforcement.

“This Department of Justice is committed to ensuring Biden-era border disasters never happen again,” said Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward. “We are proud to once again champion law and order.”

According to the Justice Department, the grants are intended to support efforts involving “locating and apprehending aliens who have committed a crime under federal, state, or local law, in addition to being unlawfully present in the United States.”

The department also said some grant recipients could be required to reimburse the federal government for “the costs associated with federal law enforcement intervention” if federal authorities are forced to expend resources “to reduce crime or public disorder” stemming from immigration enforcement operations.

Aside from the requirement that recipients participate in the 287(g) partnership, the DOJ said there are no additional restrictions, allowing local governments broad discretion over how they use the grant money.

Justice Department officials said interest in the program has already been strong, with 181 municipalities submitting applications.

The BIDEN grant initiative was created through President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Budget Bill,” which provides $3 billion in funding for the program through September 2028.

Patrick Royal, a spokesman for the National Sheriffs’ Association, praised the initiative, saying the grants are an obvious opportunity for local governments. “I can’t see why people wouldn’t take advantage of this opportunity to get more funding.”

{Matzav.com}

Despite massive American and Israeli strikes on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure and President Donald Trump’s declaration that Tehran’s nuclear program had been “obliterated,” Iran is believed to still possess enough highly enriched uranium to potentially produce as many as 10 nuclear weapons, according to a report by The New York Times.

More than five months after the war began, experts and officials cited by the Times say the military campaign significantly damaged and delayed Iran’s nuclear program but failed to eliminate its underlying capabilities.

The greatest uncertainty surrounds Iran’s existing stockpile of uranium enriched to 60% — material that can be relatively quickly enriched further to weapons-grade levels.

Iran has continued to prevent inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency from accessing its most sensitive nuclear facilities, leaving the precise location and condition of the enriched uranium unknown. U.N. nuclear inspectors nevertheless believe Tehran retained a stockpile sufficient to potentially produce material for as many as 10 nuclear weapons.

Much of the focus is now on three critical nuclear sites: Isfahan, Natanz and Fordow.

At Isfahan, where Iran stored much of its 60%-enriched uranium, facilities remain severely damaged from strikes carried out in June 2025. However, the uranium stockpile itself is believed to remain at the site.

U.S. intelligence agencies have determined that Iran may still be able to access the material through a narrow entry point that is currently under surveillance, according to the report. American intelligence continues to closely monitor the area.

“The capability still largely exists,” Ellie Geranmayeh, an Iran expert and author of the Iran Nuclear Monitor project at the European Council on Foreign Relations, told The New York Times.

At Natanz, above-ground portions of the nuclear complex were struck in 2025, while entrances to underground facilities were hit this past March. Construction has also continued near the so-called Pickaxe Mountain site, which is intended for centrifuge production.

Fordow, once regarded as Iran’s most heavily fortified and difficult-to-destroy enrichment facility, was severely damaged when it was struck with 12 massive bombs in June 2025. Four entrances to the underground facility reportedly remain buried beneath rubble.

Analysts cited in the report said more recent strikes have focused primarily on Iranian air-defense systems and a research center rather than completely eliminating the remaining nuclear infrastructure.

Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, said that neither the “maximum pressure” campaign nor military action has destroyed Iran’s nuclear capabilities.

James Acton, a physicist and nuclear expert, estimated that if Tehran is not deterred from pursuing a weapon, it could potentially produce a nuclear bomb in less than a year — and possibly considerably sooner.

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi has acknowledged that the strikes “set back the program significantly,” but cautioned that major unresolved issues surrounding Iran’s nuclear program would remain even after military operations end.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)