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McDonald’s customers may soon be giving their order to a robot.

The fast food company is testing a new artificial intellience order-taking system at the drive-thru called ArchIQ at five locations across the country right now, according to Restaurant Business Magazine.

The initiative is part of the company’s new brand strategy called McDonald’s Next, which was announced this week.

FOX Business has reached out to McDonald’s for comment.

MCDONALD’S UNVEILS NEW GROWTH STRATEGY TO WIN BACK CUSTOMERS

While introducing McDonald’s NEXT earlier this week, CEO Chris Kempczinski said that customers shouldn’t have to choose between “hospitality or speed.”

McFranchisee, an X account for a McDonald’s franchise, said this week that Google is affiliated with the new project.

“Meet Archy IQ – no, we are not new to AOT. In fact, we have been in this AI field for about 8 years,” McFranchisee wrote on X on Tuesday.

MCDONALD’S AI HIRING CHATBOT EXPOSED DATA OF JOB CANDIDATES

“We sold our in-house model to IBM and moved on as it wasn’t good enough for our needs. As mentioned below, I wanted to hire Google (who uses NVIDIA) to service our AOT 3 years ago and found out today that Google is behind this project. We are currently in 5 test stores, having processed over 1M transactions with about 90% of orders completed without human escalations. Impressive for a new test.”

McFranchisee said that every McDonald’s in the country will get Google Edge Cloud blades installed ahead of the rollout.

“Archy will not only assist drive-thru orders but act as a master brain to help managers run a better restaurant,” it added. “It’s like a personal assistant that alerts you to potential bottlenecks or issues.”

Most of the comments under the X post were negative.

“We all hate the system installed at Wendy’s,” one person wrote. “We hate the kiosks at McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and Taco Bell that we are asked to use instead of talking to a person. We will hate this too. Say goodbye to customers.”

“No one wants this – we like dealing with smiling faces,” another said, to which McFranchisee replied, “We still smile at the cash and present window – this is just at the speaker.”

The new A.I. initiative comes two years after McDonald’s dropped another similar effort.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has refused to extradite an indicted governor, rejecting U.S. measures she says are destabilizing her government.

In a rare and unusual proceeding rooted in ancient segulos, a beis din in Teveria conducted the symbolic sale of the illness afflicting noted mekubal Rav Dov Kook to a non-Jew, following a practice cited in the writings of earlier poskim.

The ceremony was carried out under the supervision of the local beis din and was reportedly performed in accordance with the well-known segulah mentioned in classical seforim, including works of the Chida and the Chasam Sofer.

The development comes as the Torah world continues to daven for Rav Kook’s recovery amid concerns about his health.

As previously reported here on Matzav, earlier in the day, consultations were held regarding the possibility of adding a name to Rav Kook’s name for tefillah. Following deliberations on the matter, the mashgiach, Rav Dan Segal, advised that the name “Chizkiyahu” be added as a segulah.

All are asked to daven for Rav Chizkiyahu Dov HaKohen ben Shoshana.

{Matzav.com}

The Vizhnitzer chassidus in Bnei Brak has announced a major gathering scheduled for this Motzaei Shabbos for young men and avreichim affected by Israel’s military draft requirements, as the chassidus continues its campaign against efforts to enlist yeshivah students and kollel members.

According to an official announcement released today, the asifa is intended for all members of the chassidus classified as draft-eligible, including bochurim and avreichim between the ages of 17 and 30.

Organizers said the gathering will focus on the challenges posed by the draft issue and the proper course of action for those facing interactions with military authorities.

The program is expected to feature addresses by the Strikover Rebbe and attorney Menachem Stauber, who will discuss both the legal and spiritual dimensions of the current situation.

The upcoming event follows a similar gathering held approximately six months ago that was geared toward yeshivah students. At that assembly, Rav Shimon Shisha provided participants with detailed guidance regarding interactions with the military establishment and the procedures surrounding draft offices.

During his remarks, Rav Shisha outlined how young men should conduct themselves when summoned to military induction centers. He emphasized the importance of understanding precisely what information they may hear, what materials they may view, and how they should respond to military representatives.

Following those instructions, participants were advised not to engage in discussions or maintain contact with military authorities unless they had first received detailed direction from qualified professionals experienced in handling draft-related matters.

{Matzav.com}

In a dramatic address, Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch, Rosh Yeshivas Slabodka, warned that the chareidi community is facing an existential struggle over the future of Torah learning in Eretz Yisroel.

Speaking at the Ichud Bnei HaYeshivos conference in Yerushalayim, Rav Hirsch focused on the ongoing battle surrounding the draft law and the status of yeshivah bochurim, urging organizers and educators to impress upon bochurim the gravity of the current situation.

At the outset of his remarks, Rav Hirsch described the challenge confronting the Torah community as a genuine war requiring sacrifice and determination.

“We are literally at war, and one must make sacrifices for a war,” Rav Hirsch said. “I am not speaking about the war with Iran, but about the war being waged against us by those within our own midst. We have no way out of this situation unless there is special siyata d’Shmaya. We must explain the situation to the bochurim.”

In what observers described as one of his most candid public discussions of the draft-law negotiations, Rav Hirsch revealed details of proposals that were advanced during talks over military service requirements for yeshivah students.

“They wanted a law under which fifty percent of yeshivah bochurim would go to the army,” he declared. “That was not going to happen. They want to destroy the Torah world, and we must fight against it.”

Addressing the broader community, Rav Hirsch called for intensified tefillah and urged Klal Yisroel to focus on specific passages during Shemoneh Esrei that speak of the downfall of those who seek to harm Torah observance.

“One should have in mind during the tefillos of ‘V’lamalshinim Al Tehi Tikvah’ and ‘V’chol Harishah K’rega Toveid,’” he said. “If all of Klal Yisroel will have the proper intentions, HaKadosh Baruch Hu will do what needs to be done.”

{Matzav.com}

Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed a proposal from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for a face-to-face meeting aimed at ending the nearly four-year war, declaring that such a summit would be pointless until negotiators first reach concrete agreements.

Speaking Friday at an economic conference in St. Petersburg, Putin made clear that Moscow has no intention of altering its military course and said Russia will continue fighting until it secures the objectives it set when the conflict began. His remarks came one day after Zelenskyy publicly called for direct talks between the two leaders in an effort to break the diplomatic deadlock.

According to Putin, a meeting with Zelenskyy would serve no useful purpose at this stage.

“I see no point in meeting. It only makes sense for the Ukrainian side to stop the advance of our armed forces. That’s it. And we need agreements,” Putin told Russia’s flagship economic forum.

“Let the experts work, develop some solutions, and then we can meet,” Putin added.

Moscow has continued to insist on sweeping concessions from Ukraine, including recognition of Russian control over the Donbas region and major political and military limitations on Kyiv. Ukraine and its Western allies have rejected those demands, arguing that they amount to surrender. Efforts by the United States to broker a settlement have so far failed to narrow the divide between the two sides.

In his appeal Thursday, Zelenskyy urged Putin to engage directly in an effort to end the conflict.

“Ukraine proposes ending this war through direct engagement between us — and you. I am proposing a meeting,” Zelensky said in an open letter. “I propose to set a clear date for such a meeting.”

Following Putin’s rejection, Zelenskyy accused the Russian leader of deliberately prolonging the war and avoiding meaningful negotiations.

“Unfortunately, the Russian side is choosing war again. Everyone heard today’s response — a weak response. He simply doesn’t want to end the war,” he said after Putin rejected the call.

Zelenskyy has argued that only a summit between the two leaders can resolve the central disputes standing in the way of peace. His proposal received backing from several key Western leaders, including President Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron.

The Ukrainian president is scheduled to meet Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in London on Sunday as he seeks to revive international diplomatic efforts and increase pressure on Moscow.

Meanwhile, Putin reiterated that Russia’s military campaign will continue until its objectives have been fulfilled.

“Military actions will end someday, we assume. Without a doubt, they will end once we have achieved the goals we have set for ourselves,” Putin told the audience of business leaders and visiting dignitaries from Russia’s allies.

The war, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, devastated large portions of eastern and southern Ukraine, and displaced millions of civilians. What Moscow initially expected to be a rapid operation has evolved into a prolonged and costly conflict.

Russian attacks continued Friday, with Ukrainian officials reporting that four civilians were killed and seven others wounded in strikes on the Donetsk-region communities of Mykolaivka and Druzhkivka.

Putin also sought to push back against growing concerns over the state of Russia’s economy, which has been burdened by soaring military expenditures, inflation, tax increases, and elevated borrowing costs.

“We, of course, hear criticism from all sides that everything has collapsed,” Putin said.

“We have descended to the same level at which eurozone countries have been living through for the past few years,” the Russian leader said, adding that Russia was pursuing a “sovereign” economy.

The day before, when asked about concerns that Russia could be approaching a severe economic crisis, Putin invoked a famous quote often attributed to author Mark Twain.

“Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated,” he said, rejecting the idea that Russia was on the brink of a full-blown crisis.

Putin’s comments came just days after the opening of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), an event once known as the “Russian Davos,” was overshadowed by Ukrainian drone attacks targeting the city.

Ukraine has increasingly focused on striking Russian energy infrastructure, including oil depots, refineries, and export facilities, in an effort to undermine one of Moscow’s most critical sources of revenue.

The atmosphere at SPIEF reflected how dramatically circumstances have changed since the early years of Putin’s rule, when Western executives and investors regularly attended the gathering to pursue business opportunities in Russia’s expanding economy.

This year, displays of military technology were far more prominent. Reporters at the event observed Russian-made humanoid robots moving through the exhibition halls, while numerous exhibits promoted investment in territories Russia annexed from Ukraine.

Among the attendees were actor Steven Seagal, conservative commentator Candace Owens, Trump’s ballroom commissioner, and lawmakers from Germany’s right-wing Alternative for Germany party.

{Matzav.com}

CHICAGO — Companies are increasingly pointing to one culprit when they cut jobs: artificial intelligence. For the first time, AI has become the single most common reason U.S. employers cite for layoffs — a milestone that says as much about how companies talk about AI as it does about what the technology is actually doing.

The finding comes from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, which reported Thursday that AI was cited for 38,579 job cuts in May, representing 40% of all layoffs announced during the month — the highest monthly total since the firm began tracking the category in 2023.

“AI is now the leading reason companies give for cutting jobs,” said Andy Challenger, the firm’s chief revenue officer.

The rise has been dramatic.

AI’s share of monthly job cuts climbed from just 7% in January to 25% in March, 26% in April, and 40% in May. For the year, AI has been cited in 87,714 layoffs, representing 22% of all announced job cuts in 2026 — already well above the 54,836 cuts attributed to AI during all of 2025.

The overall pace of layoffs is increasing as well.

Employers announced 97,006 job cuts in May, up 16% from April and the highest May total since the pandemic-disrupted labor market of 2020. It marked the third consecutive monthly increase, following 48,307 cuts in February, 60,620 in March, and 83,387 in April.

But economists caution against assuming the figures prove artificial intelligence is directly replacing workers on a broad scale.

The key limitation is that the data reflects what companies say caused the layoffs rather than independently verified evidence. Daniel Zhao, chief economist at Glassdoor, has warned against taking corporate explanations at face value, noting that companies can attribute cuts to AI even when other factors are involved.

Some researchers believe the technology may sometimes serve as a convenient explanation for broader restructuring efforts.

Fabian Stephany of the Oxford Internet Institute has expressed skepticism that many of the reported layoffs reflect genuine AI-driven efficiency gains, arguing that the technology can provide management with a readily understandable rationale for workforce reductions that might have occurred anyway.

Meanwhile, the broader labor market remains surprisingly resilient.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday that U.S. employers added 172,000 jobs in May, more than double the roughly 80,000 economists expected, while prior months were revised upward.

Daniel Keum, a management professor at Columbia Business School, said the labor market is “humming along just fine” and described AI’s impact as remaining “very concentrated” in a handful of industries, particularly technology.

That concentration is difficult to miss.

The technology sector accounted for 38,242 of May’s announced job cuts, the highest monthly total since August 2024. The wave comes as major corporations redirect enormous amounts of capital toward artificial intelligence projects.

Companies including Meta, Cisco Systems, and Block have all cited AI as part of restructuring efforts. Meta recently notified roughly 8,000 employees of layoffs while simultaneously increasing spending on AI infrastructure and development.

In many cases, companies are reducing headcount in one part of the business while aggressively investing and hiring in another.

For workers, the bigger challenge may not be layoffs themselves but the slowdown in hiring.

Through May, employers announced only 80,472 planned hires, which Challenger described as historically low compared with pre-pandemic levels. Even when opportunities exist, they often do not align with the skills of displaced workers.

“The jobs that are open aren’t replacing the jobs that are lost,” said Thomas Thompson, chief economist at Havas Edge, noting that a laid-off biopharmaceutical engineer is unlikely to transition directly into a warehouse logistics position.

For job seekers, economists recommend flexibility.

Zhao advises workers to broaden their search, focus on industries that are expanding, and recognize that many skills transfer across sectors. He also argues that disruption — whether from technology, politics, or broader economic shifts — is becoming a permanent feature of the labor market.

Andy Challenger sees the trend as something larger than a passing cycle.

“The labor market is being reshaped by technology in real time,” he said, describing the shift as a structural change rather than a temporary phenomenon.

Whether artificial intelligence is truly eliminating these jobs or simply providing companies with a convenient explanation, the practical reality for workers is similar: layoffs remain elevated, hiring is subdued, and the rules of the labor market are evolving faster than many employees can adapt.

JBizNews Desk — Labor & Employment

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A surprisingly strong jobs report pushed the price of gold lower Friday after new government hiring data convinced traders that the Federal Reserve is now less likely to cut interest rates anytime soon.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday morning that employers added 172,000 jobs in May, well above economists’ expectations of roughly 80,000 jobs, while the unemployment rate held steady at 4.3%.

For gold, the reaction was immediate. Spot gold fell sharply following the report as traders moved out of safe-haven assets and into the U.S. dollar and Treasury securities. The metal was on pace for one of its weakest weeks of the year as expectations for Federal Reserve easing continued to fade.

The logic behind the selloff is straightforward. Gold pays no interest. When investors believe interest rates will remain elevated—or potentially move higher—bonds, money market funds, and savings products become more attractive relative to precious metals. Strong economic data also tends to strengthen the U.S. dollar, which makes gold more expensive for overseas buyers.

The jobs report showed broad labor-market strength. Hiring gains were concentrated in health care, leisure and hospitality, and government, while some sectors, including parts of financial activities, remained softer. The government also revised prior months higher, reinforcing the view that the labor market remains resilient despite elevated borrowing costs.

Average hourly earnings increased 0.3% in May and were up 3.4% from a year earlier, suggesting wage growth remains steady but is no longer accelerating at the pace seen during the inflation surge of recent years.

The report arrives less than two weeks before the Federal Reserve’s next policy meeting. Following Friday’s data, interest-rate futures markets sharply reduced expectations for near-term rate cuts and increased the probability that policymakers could maintain restrictive policy for longer than previously expected.

Bond markets reacted as well. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note climbed above 4.5%, reflecting expectations that stronger economic growth and persistent inflation pressures could keep rates elevated.

Energy prices remain another concern for policymakers. Oil has moved higher in recent weeks amid ongoing Middle East tensions, raising fears that higher fuel costs could complicate the Fed’s effort to bring inflation back toward its 2% target.

For households, the implications go beyond gold. If rates remain elevated, borrowing costs for mortgages, auto loans, credit cards, and business lending are likely to stay higher for longer. For investors, Friday’s market action underscored a simple reality: when economic data surprises to the upside, gold often loses some of its appeal.

The next major test comes with next week’s inflation data. A hotter-than-expected reading could further strengthen the case for keeping rates elevated and add additional pressure on gold prices.

JBizNews Desk — Markets

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MENLO PARK, Calif. — Meta Platforms shares slid more than 5% on Friday after a report that the company is weighing a stock sale of tens of billions of dollars to help fund its artificial-intelligence ambitions — a plan the company quickly waved off as “pure speculation.”

The report came from the Financial Times, which said Friday that Meta is considering raising tens of billions of dollars through an equity offering as it searches for new ways to bankroll its AI buildout, citing three people familiar with the talks. A Meta spokesperson called the report “pure speculation,” and the FT noted the company has not hired banks and may not issue new stock at all.

Investors reacted to a single word: dilution.

When a company sells a large batch of new shares, it splits the existing pie into more slices, lowering the value of each share already held. With Meta’s stock having climbed on AI optimism, the prospect of a massive new share sale flipped the narrative from AI growth to AI funding worry.

The stock fell about 6.6% following the report, according to Reuters. The slide came on a brutal day for technology shares broadly, as a strong jobs report sent the Nasdaq down more than 4% on fears the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates high.

The timing of Meta’s deliberations was no accident.

The talks gained urgency after rival Alphabet raised about $85 billion in an upsized equity offering this week — increased from an initial $80 billion — capitalizing on strong investor demand. The discussions intensified after Alphabet’s deal succeeded, suggesting Meta saw a window to do something similar.

The effort is being run by senior leadership.

Finance chief Susan Li and President Dina Powell McCormick are leading the discussions, and people familiar with the matter said Meta has studied how such a raise could be structured.

The reason Meta is hunting for outside cash is the staggering scale of its AI plans.

The company raised its 2026 capital-expenditure guidance to between $125 billion and $145 billion, up from an earlier range of $115 billion to $135 billion, and the Financial Times reported that spending could climb even higher in 2027.

To put that in perspective, Meta spent $72.2 billion on capital expenditures last year — meaning this year’s plans roughly double that figure.

All that money serves a sweeping ambition.

Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg is pursuing what he calls delivering “personal superintelligence” across Meta’s platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and a growing lineup of AI-powered wearable devices.

Meta’s deliberations reflect a broader shift across Big Tech.

The world’s largest technology companies are increasingly turning to debt and equity markets to fund AI infrastructure, a departure from their long-standing practice of paying for expansion from their own cash flow.

Meta has already tapped outside money in creative ways. Investors including bond giant Pimco and BlackRock participated in a $27.3 billion debt offering tied to Meta’s massive Hyperion data-center project in Louisiana, while investment firm Blue Owl contributed $2.5 billion in equity.

But Friday’s sharp reaction is a warning sign for the entire sector.

Investors have grown increasingly uneasy about how much money Big Tech is pouring into artificial intelligence without clear, immediate returns. Alphabet’s stock, despite a strong year, has fallen for a fourth straight week as investors weigh the costs of massive AI spending.

Meta’s decline suggests that same concern is spreading.

Shareholders want the benefits of artificial intelligence, but they are becoming less enthusiastic about funding those ambitions through new share issuance that dilutes existing ownership.

For now, the plan remains unconfirmed, and Meta insists nothing has been decided.

Whether the company ultimately sells stock, borrows the money, or finds another path, the episode captures one of the defining tensions of the AI era. The infrastructure race has become so expensive that even some of the richest companies in the world are searching for new ways to finance it.

Investors, meanwhile, are increasingly asking a different question: when will all that spending begin to generate returns?

JBizNews Desk — Technology

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That’s right, business is booming. Who do you think creates jobs? That’s a serious question. The answer is not consumer spending, which is what 99% of overeducated economists and media types will tell you. It’s business that creates jobs. And by the way, jobs are booming.172,000 in May. Last three months 188,000 average. April and March revised up 93,000. All these results are twice as much as predicted, but the point I want to make is that jobs are not created from thin air. They are created by profitable moneymaking businesses, large or small.

And the important part about Trumpian economic policy is that as a former businessman, he knows how the American economic engine really works. So he has given business significant supply-side tax relief for 100% depreciation, and dropping the corporate tax, and low small business taxes. And that bet is paying off big time.

And here’s another key point. Even with the Iran war temporary bump up of inflation, wages are still beating prices. For all workers over the past year, average hourly earnings are up 3.4% and aggregate hours worked up 0.9%. You must add them together to get total wage income compensation – most economists and journalists don’t, so they are wrong – but that gives you 4.3% wage income and that is still higher than the temporarily inflated 3.8% CPI. The unemployment rate is 4.3%.

Over the past year, foreign-born workers have dropped over 100,000, while native-born jobs have jumped almost 400,000. There’s no A.I. job loss effect thus far.

But let me circle back to the importance of business. You have to have a healthy, profitable business in order to have the resources to hire more workers and pay better wages and salaries. If you’re losing money, you’re going to lay off workers and shrink pay.

So profits, which are the mothers milk of stocks and the lifeblood of the economy, are absolutely crucial. Macroeconomists, especially from northeastern and bicoastal universities do not seem to understand this. And their graduates in the media do not understand this. Profits are the key, they’re not a dirty word. So when President Trump eased the tax on profits in the one big beautiful bill, he knew what he was doing. He was creating jobs at higher wages.

And then follow the real economic logic, a successful moneymaking, profitable business hires more workers, pays better wages, and those wages are the incomes of working families sitting around the kitchen table. And that turns into what’s called consumer spending.

But the business comes first and then the logic passes all the way through to so-called consumer spending. People don’t seem to understand that, but this is how our free enterprise economy works. As the late Jack Kemp used to say, the trouble with Democrats is that they like jobs, they just don’t like the business that creates jobs. 

Now there were plenty of tax cuts on individuals: tips, overtime, social security, seniors, all in one, big, beautiful bill.

And here’s a final point on profits, they are booming. And because they’re booming, and because business is booming, wages are gonna skyrocket and the economy is going to grow faster than almost anyone thinks possible. If only republicans would talk about this for the midterms.

Retired four-star General Jack Keane argued that continued negotiations with Iran have reached a dead end, contending that Tehran is merely buying time and that renewed military action offers the most effective path forward.

Speaking on Fox News on Friday, the former Army vice chief of staff and current chairman of the Institute for the Study of War criticized the past eight weeks of talks, saying Iran’s leadership has no genuine intention of reaching an agreement.

“We have to accept the reality that’s just not going to happen,” Keane said on Fox News. “They have one motive: Stretch out negotiations as much as possible, get as close to the political situation in terms of midterm elections, and there will be less likelihood that President Trump would ever pull the trigger and go back to military operations. I believe that is their unstated strategy.”

Keane also expressed skepticism about any future agreement with Tehran, warning that even a signed deal would fail to produce lasting results and could strengthen the regime.

“We can’t throw them a financial lifeline … because then they’ll systematically reverse everything,” he said. “They’ve always cheated in the past, and they’ll cheat in the future.”

While praising President Trump’s decision to begin military operations against Iran on February 28, Keane maintained that the campaign was halted before its objectives were fully achieved.

“Look, in close to 50 years, only one president has taken consequential action against Iran and their predator behavior — and that’s President Trump,” Keane said. “Five weeks of Epic Fury and a naval blockade devastated this regime militarily and economically. They’re down, but they’re not out.”

According to Keane, U.S. and Israeli forces were only a short time away from completing critical objectives when combat operations were suspended. He added that the pause has allowed Iran time to regroup, but has also provided the United States with additional intelligence and a larger target set.

“If we go back to military operations — and I believe that’s the preferred option — we should return to full combat operations,” Keane said.

Keane dismissed suggestions that a limited military response could effectively deter Iran, arguing that Tehran would retaliate regardless of the scale of an attack.

“Iran is going to retaliate regardless of whether you go small or go big. Let’s go big,” he said. “Take down as much of their capability as we possibly can and get these guys as close to collapse as military operations can possibly achieve.”

“And then with economic pressure, we can put this regime truly on the path to collapse.”

His comments came as some U.S. military officials reportedly told The New York Post that a broader strategy targeting Iran’s most influential hardline figures may ultimately be required. Those officials reportedly questioned whether additional conventional military strikes alone would be enough to force meaningful policy changes from the regime.

The sources pointed to the deeply entrenched ideology of Iran’s hardline leadership and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, whose loyalty is centered on preserving the Islamic Revolution rather than addressing the broader interests of the Iranian population.

One source indicated that such a strategy could involve Israeli participation in targeted leadership strikes, while American forces would focus on remaining weapons infrastructure, launch sites, and other strategic targets near the Strait of Hormuz.

Meanwhile, Israeli officials have reportedly expressed support for renewed military operations. Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu publicly reiterated his support for regime change in Iran during an interview with CNBC on Thursday.

“We’ve wreaked a lot of damage to this regime, not destroyed it, but weakened it. We see the cracks propagating in the regime,” he said. “We have to help the Iranian people to bring down this regime, and that hasn’t changed.”

Subaru is recalling nearly 70,000 vehicles in the U.S. after discovering a defect that could cause moonroof glass panels to detach from the vehicle, creating a potential hazard for other motorists.

The recall affects 69,663 model-year 2026 Subaru Forester and Forester Hybrid vehicles, according to a safety recall report filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

According to the report, some affected vehicles may have been manufactured with power moonroof assemblies in which the glass panel was improperly bonded to the sliding frame. Over time, the adhesive bond could deteriorate, increasing the risk that the moonroof glass could separate from the vehicle while it is being driven.

The automaker said a detached glass panel could raise the risk of a crash or injury for other road users.

FORD RECALLS NEARLY 420,000 EXPEDITION AND LINCOLN NAVIGATOR SUVS OVER SEAT BELT LOCKING ISSUE

The recall covers 65,656 Forester SUVs produced between June 19, 2025, and March 13, 2026, as well as 4,007 Forester Hybrid models built between Feb. 20 and March 17, 2026.

Subaru traced the issue to the manufacturing process, saying some moonroof assemblies may not have received the proper amount of primer, a bonding agent needed to securely attach the glass panel to the sliding frame. The moonroof assemblies were supplied by Webasto Roof Systems Inc. in Kentucky.

The company began investigating the issue after receiving a report on Feb. 26 that a moonroof glass panel had detached from a vehicle. A supplier investigation later indicated that some assemblies may have been produced with improper bonding between the glass and frame.

Subaru said it received three technical reports related to the condition between Feb. 26 and March 25. The company said it is not aware of any crashes or injuries linked to the defect.

NISSAN RECALLS OVER 51K SUVS AFTER SOFTWARE DEFECT CAUSES DASHBOARD SCREENS TO FAIL

The automaker decided on May 21 to conduct a voluntary safety recall “out of an abundance of caution,” according to the filing.

Dealers will inspect affected moonroof glass panels and replace the assembly if necessary at no cost to owners. Subaru said the issue was corrected in production on March 10.

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A representative for Subaru did not immediately respond to FOX Business’ request for comment.

Dealer notifications began May 28, while owner notification letters are expected to be mailed by July 24. Vehicle owners will be able to check whether their SUV is included in the recall through Subaru or NHTSA recall lookup tools.

The Palestinian Authority’s Health Ministry alleged Friday evening that a seven-month-old Palestinian Arab infant was killed by IDF gunfire in the Tel Rumeida section of Chevron, while the child’s parents reportedly sustained moderate injuries.

According to Palestinian officials, the infant and his parents were traveling in a vehicle when Israeli soldiers opened fire, resulting in the fatality and injuries.

The IDF acknowledged the incident and announced that it has launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the shooting.

In an official statement, the military said, “Earlier today, during operational activity in the area of Hebron, IDF soldiers perceived a vehicle accelerating toward them.”

According to the IDF, one soldier responded to what was viewed as a potential threat by firing a limited number of rounds at the approaching vehicle.

“An IDF soldier responded with single shots toward the vehicle. As a result, three Palestinians were injured and evacuated for medical treatment,” it added.

The military said a preliminary review indicated that those who were struck were not involved in any hostile activity.

The statement further noted that “an initial inquiry found that those injured were uninvolved civilians. The incident is under review, and the findings will be submitted for review by the relevant authorities.”

The IDF also expressed regret over the outcome of the incident as the investigation continues.

“The IDF expresses deep sorrow for any harm caused to uninvolved individuals,” the statement concluded.

{Matzav.com}

(AP) – The U.S. stock market had its worst day since October as a sell-off in big technology companies weighed down the broader market.

Bond yields surged as a strong jobs report boosted expectations that the Federal Reserve will be forced to hike interest rates at some point this year.

The S&P 500 slumped 2.6% Friday, finishing with its first losing week in the last 10. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 695 points, or 1.4%. The Nasdaq composite fell 4.2%. Nvidia and Broadcom were among the heaviest weights on the market. The Labor Department reported that employers added 172,000 jobs in May, roughly double what forecasters had expected. Oil prices fell.

On Friday:

The S&P 500 fell 200.57 points, or 2.6%, to 7,383.74.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 695.15 points, or 1.3%, to 50,866.78.

The Nasdaq composite fell 1,121.53 points, or 4.2%, to 25,709.43.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 101.83 points, or 3.5% to 2,833.50.

For the week:

The S&P 500 is down 196.32 points, or 2.6%.

The Dow is down 165.68 points, or 0.3%.

The Nasdaq is down 1,263.19 points, or 4.7%.

The Russell 2000 is down 85.84 points, or 2.9%.

For the year:

The S&P 500 is up 538.24 points, or 7.9%.

The Dow is up 2,803.49 points, or 5.8%.

The Nasdaq is up 2,467.44 points, or 10.6%.

The Russell 2000 is up 351.59 points, or 14.2%.

Bitcoin is having its roughest week in nearly two years, sliding to around $62,500 by midday Friday, June 5, 2026, after a steady stream of selling that erased gains built up through the spring. The world’s largest cryptocurrency has lost nearly 15% since Monday, marking its worst weekly performance since July 2024. Ether has fallen more than 17%, while overall crypto trading activity has dropped to its lowest monthly volume since October 2023.

The decline has unfolded as a sustained sell-off rather than a single dramatic crash, but the damage has been significant. Bitcoin now trades more than 50% below its October 2025 record high near $126,200, after reaching an intraweek high around $75,850 before falling roughly 22%. The move has pushed prices back to levels last seen in early February and toward a closely watched long-term support area near $61,626.

What Is Driving the Sell-Off

Three major developments have fueled this week’s decline.

The first was the disclosure of the first known bitcoin sale by Strategy, the company formerly known as MicroStrategy and still the largest corporate holder of bitcoin. The second was a wave of withdrawals from spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds. The third was a large transfer from a wallet linked to the long-defunct Mt. Gox exchange, reviving fears of additional supply entering the market.

Among those factors, ETF withdrawals may have the broadest impact on everyday investors.

Spot bitcoin ETFs experienced approximately $2.97 billion in outflows during a 10-session withdrawal streak in late May, one of the largest periods of redemptions since the products were introduced. When investors withdraw money from these funds, managers typically sell bitcoin to meet redemption requests, increasing downward pressure on prices.

Macro Forces Add Pressure

Crypto markets are also facing broader economic headwinds.

Investors continue to grapple with persistent inflation, uncertainty surrounding future Federal Reserve rate cuts, and a stronger U.S. dollar. Higher interest rates make cash and bonds more attractive while reducing demand for riskier assets that generate no income.

Geopolitical tensions also weighed on sentiment. Escalating concerns surrounding U.S.-Iran relations during late May contributed to a broader shift away from speculative investments.

A Rare Split Between Stocks and Crypto

One of the most notable developments this week is the divergence between traditional financial markets and digital assets.

Major U.S. stock indexes have continued to approach or reach record highs while bitcoin and ether have suffered sharp losses. For much of the past two years, cryptocurrencies and equities moved largely in tandem as investors embraced risk assets. This week, however, money flowed into stocks while leaving crypto markets.

The disconnect has puzzled many market participants.

According to CryptoQuant founder Ki Young Ju, U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs have accumulated more than 509,000 bitcoin since bitcoin last traded near current levels in March 2024. During the same period, Strategy acquired roughly 650,000 additional bitcoin.

Combined, those buyers absorbed more than 1.24 million bitcoin, yet prices have returned to roughly the same level.

The implication is straightforward: despite enormous institutional demand, enough selling pressure elsewhere in the market has offset those purchases.

Trouble in the Altcoin Market

The week’s sharpest decline occurred outside bitcoin.

Privacy-focused cryptocurrency Zcash plunged more than 30% after a security researcher disclosed a vulnerability that could potentially have allowed an unlimited number of tokens to be created.

The news quickly spread across the privacy-coin sector, dragging down competitors including Monero and Dash. Selling intensified after investor Arthur Hayes disclosed that his firm had exited its entire Zcash position.

The episode highlighted how technical vulnerabilities in a single cryptocurrency can rapidly impact confidence across related sectors of the market.

Where Things Stand Now

Forced liquidations have accelerated the decline.

Data from Coinglass showed approximately $1.2 billion in liquidations over a 24-hour period, with roughly three-quarters of those losses coming from traders who had wagered on higher prices.

Technical analysts are closely watching the $65,000 level as a key support zone. A sustained move below that threshold could open the door to further downside toward $60,000, while a successful hold could trigger a short-term recovery.

For crypto exchanges, miners, and corporate holders such as Strategy, a prolonged downturn could pressure asset values and reduce trading-related revenue. For retail investors who entered through bitcoin ETFs during the spring rally, the week serves as a reminder that cryptocurrency prices remain highly sensitive to broader economic conditions, including Federal Reserve policy and movements in the U.S. dollar.

As always, crypto remains one of the fastest-moving sectors in financial markets, and conditions can change rapidly.

Sources: Coinglass liquidation data; CryptoQuant founder Ki Young Ju; spot bitcoin ETF flow data; CoinDesk market data as of June 5, 2026.

JBizNews Desk — Markets

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

French authorities have opened a preliminary investigation into allegations of war crimes and torture stemming from claims that French nationals were mistreated by Israeli forces during last month’s interception of an anti-Israel flotilla headed toward Gaza, according to a report by Reuters.

The inquiry was formally confirmed Friday by France’s National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office (PNAT), which said the matter was referred for legal review after the French Foreign Ministry submitted an official report on May 28.

The referral was made under Article 40 of France’s criminal procedure code, which obligates public officials to report suspected criminal conduct to judicial authorities whenever evidence of a potential offense comes to their attention.

The allegations arise from Israel’s interception of a flotilla whose participants said they were attempting to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza while also challenging Israel’s naval blockade of the coastal enclave.

Reuters reported that the investigation has been assigned to the OCLCH, France’s specialized agency responsible for investigating crimes against humanity, war crimes, and hate-related offenses.

Israeli officials have strongly denied accusations of wrongdoing and rejected claims that passengers were subjected to abuse during the operation. Reuters noted that it was unable to independently verify the allegations made by flotilla participants.

The incident has also drawn criticism from several foreign governments. According to Reuters, officials in Italy, Germany, Ireland, and Canada have publicly condemned Israel’s handling of the flotilla and voiced concerns over the interception.

{Matzav.com}

Iran has reportedly made the release of $24 billion in frozen assets a key condition for any future agreement with the United States, with a senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader warning that a return to military confrontation could dramatically expand the scope of regional conflict.

Mohsen Rezaei, a top military adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, told CNN on Friday that negotiations between Tehran and Washington have reached an impasse and that it is now up to President Donald Trump to move the process forward.

Rezaei said “the negotiations are at a deadlock and (US President Donald) Trump must break this deadlock,” adding that “the ball is in Trump’s court.”

According to the report, Iran is seeking the release of the funds in two stages. Tehran wants $12 billion transferred immediately following approval of an interim ceasefire agreement, with the remaining $12 billion to be released at a later stage.

American officials, however, have reportedly been reluctant to approve the release of the assets, concerned that doing so would surrender one of Washington’s most significant sources of leverage. Trump has repeatedly maintained that any new arrangement with Iran must be substantially tougher than the nuclear agreement reached during the Obama administration in 2015.

During the CNN interview, Rezaei portrayed the asset release as a critical measure of whether genuine progress is possible between the two countries. He argued that freeing the funds could pave the way for improved relations in the future.

According to the adviser, “If he (Trump) wants to reach an agreement with Iran, this $24 billion is a test of trust that Iran wants to have with Trump – this is a test that America must pass and the path will be opened,” noting that “this is our own money, not America’s money.”

Rezaei also issued a warning about the consequences of renewed hostilities. He said that if fighting resumes, Iran would seek to broaden the conflict beyond the Persian Gulf, targeting American interests across a much wider geographic area, including strategic waterways stretching from the Strait of Hormuz to the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean regions.

He vowed, “We will give another dimension to the war by attacking these other American bases that we have been attacking so far,” though he simultaneously assessed that “the possibility of war is low.”

Asked about Trump’s recent comments suggesting that he and Khamenei “seem to be getting along well” and that he would be “honored” to meet the Iranian leader, Rezaei dismissed the likelihood of such a meeting taking place.

Avoiding queries regarding the Ayatollah’s physical health, Rezaei stated, “This will not happen, right now we are in the first stage of negotiations and Mr. Trump has brought the negotiations to a standstill. This will not happen.”

Rezaei also expressed doubts about the durability of any agreement reached with the current administration, citing Trump’s withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear accord in 2018 and accusing the president of employing “ambiguity” as a negotiating strategy.

He further warned that if diplomacy fails and any future conflict includes a ground invasion of Iran, the country possesses capabilities beyond its missile arsenal. According to Rezaei, “then the world will understand Iran’s true capabilities, because our land power is many times greater than our missiles.”

The comments come as the United States and Iran continue indirect negotiations aimed at limiting Tehran’s nuclear program and reducing tensions throughout the region. Despite months of discussions, no final agreement has yet been reached.

Earlier this week, Trump struck an optimistic tone regarding the talks and suggested a breakthrough could be imminent.

“I hear the negotiations with Iran are going very well. If a deal happens with Iran it could be done over the weekend,” Trump told reporters, adding that Iran is “close” to signing the papers.

Trump has also stated that he wants Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile transferred into American custody and indicated that he expects progress on that issue in the near future.

A central element of Trump’s negotiating position has remained unchanged throughout the talks: Iran will not be permitted to acquire nuclear weapons.

Reiterating that position on Thursday, Trump argued that the policies of Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama encouraged Iran’s pursuit of nuclear capabilities.

“The Obama deal, I terminated that or they would have had a nuclear…that was a road to a nuclear weapon. Our deal – if we make that deal and it’s going well but who knows – if we make that deal it’s the exact opposite. They will never have a nuclear weapon. I’m not going to let them have a nuclear weapon,” he stated.

{Matzav.com}

Jackson Township officials are inviting local businesses and organizations to take part in the township’s historic Jackson Day 2026 celebration by becoming event sponsors and helping support what is expected to be one of the largest community gatherings in the township’s history.

The event, which marks the 50th anniversary of Jackson Day, is scheduled for Sunday, August 23, 2026, at Johnson Park, with a rain date of August 30. Township officials say the golden anniversary celebration will honor five decades of community pride, growth, and tradition while bringing together residents from across Jackson for a full day of family-friendly activities.

According to sponsorship materials released by the Township, this year’s festivities are expected to feature free children’s rides, monster truck rides, live entertainment, community organizations, a helicopter landing, a drone show, exhibitions, vendors, and numerous other attractions.

Mayor Jennifer Kuhn, members of the Township Council, and the Township Administration are encouraging businesses to participate, noting that sponsorships help make the event possible while providing companies with an opportunity to showcase their products and services to thousands of attendees.

Officials say sponsorship benefits include increased visibility throughout the Jackson community, promotion through event marketing efforts, recognition on township platforms, and inclusion on event materials.

Township leaders are also calling on businesses to view sponsorship as an opportunity to give back to the community that supports them throughout the year.

“As Jackson celebrates this milestone 50th anniversary, local businesses have a unique opportunity to partner with the township, support a cherished community tradition, and help create a memorable event for residents and visitors alike,” officials said.

Jackson Day 2026 is scheduled to run from 12:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Johnson Park, located at 200 Kierych Memorial Drive.

Businesses interested in sponsorship opportunities – or would like to be a vendor – can contact Jackson Day Coordinator Fred Meabe [email protected] or 732-327-6653.

President Donald Trump reaffirmed Friday that any agreement reached between the United States and Iran will require Tehran to forgo nuclear weapons, declaring that his administration will not permit the Islamic Republic to acquire such capabilities.

Speaking with reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump expressed confidence in the current diplomatic efforts while insisting that Iran is in no position to develop a nuclear arsenal.

Trump on Iran:

We are having great success with Iran.

They are in no position to have a nuclear weapon. pic.twitter.com/t6JqPMOoSl

— Clash Report (@clashreport) June 5, 2026

“We’re having great success with Iran. They’re not going to have a nuclear weapon. They’re in no position to have a nuclear weapon,” Trump stressed in a conversation with reporters aboard Air Force One.

The remarks come as Washington and Tehran continue indirect negotiations aimed at limiting Iran’s nuclear program and reducing tensions across the Middle East. Although discussions have been ongoing, the two sides have yet to finalize an agreement.

Earlier this week, Trump sounded optimistic about the prospects for a breakthrough, suggesting that a deal could be completed in the near future.

“I hear the negotiations with Iran are going very well. If a deal happens with Iran it could be done over the weekend,” Trump told reporters, adding that Iran is “close” to signing the papers.

Trump also stated that he wants Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium transferred to the United States and indicated that he expects that objective to be achieved soon.

On Thursday, the president again emphasized that preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons remains a non-negotiable condition of any agreement. He also criticized the policies of Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama, arguing that they encouraged Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

“The Obama deal, I terminated that or they would have had a nuclear…that was a road to a nuclear weapon. Our deal – if we make that deal and it’s going well but who knows – if we make that deal it’s the exact opposite. They will never have a nuclear weapon. I’m not going to let them have a nuclear weapon,” he stated.

{Matzav.com}

Harley-Davidson’s recent executive hires risk alienating Americans fed up with alleged wokeness from corporate icons like the motorcycle manufacturer, a conservative activist is warning.

Robby Starbuck, who has waged a public campaign against corporate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies and wokeness, criticized Harley-Davidson in a post on X for appointing Artie Starrs as CEO last year due to his sponsorship of groups contributing to San Francisco Pride and offering antiracism training to teachers while in his previous corporate stops.

Starbuck led a consumer boycott against Harley-Davidson in 2024, which prompted the company to announce a rollback of DEI programs, but he warned that the hire suggests the company wasn’t committed to those changes over the long-term.

“Harley-Davidson’s recent hires show me they didn’t learn anything from the backlash they already faced for going woke,” Starbuck told FOX Business.

WHITE HOUSE STUDY SAYS DEI POLICIES COST US ECONOMY BY PROMOTING UNQUALIFIED MANAGERS

“You can’t tell working-class American riders that you respect them while filling leadership with people tied to woke policies, DEI activism and cultural radicalism. It is out of step with Harley’s customer base and heritage,” Starbuck said.

“At this point, enough is enough. They don’t deserve another chance. It’s time for riders to go elsewhere. Only through a real power struggle can Harley be saved,” he added.

Starbuck’s social media criticism of Harley-Davidson also included the company’s chief brand officer, Marcus Fischer, who previously led an advertising agency and encouraged efforts to boost transgender representation.

IS CORPORATE AMERICA BREAKING UP WITH DEI OR JUST TAKING ITS RELATIONSHIP UNDERGROUND?

“I expose this stuff because consumers deserve to know who is running the brands they support and what values those companies are pushing behind the scenes,” Starbuck said. “This isn’t about revenge. It’s about accountability. Companies should be politically neutral, merit-based and focused on making great products, not chasing approval from far-left activists.”

“My goal is to give forgotten consumers a voice and make it clear that if brands keep choosing woke ideology over their customers, those customers can and should walk away. There are consequences for woke behavior and woke executives,” he added.

DEI DISCLOSURE PARTICIPATION PLUMMETS AMONG MAJOR COMPANIES AS CORPORATE PULLBACK CONTINUES

FOX Business has reached out to Harley-Davidson for comment.

Harley-Davidson provided a statement to USA Today in a report about Starbuck’s criticism that defended its CEO.

“Since stepping into the role eight months ago, CEO Artie Starrs has spent time across the country listening directly to our riders, dealers, employees, and unions,” Harley-Davidson said in the statement. 

“As our dealers and employees can attest, our only agenda is getting back to basics: building great motorcycles, strengthening our network of 500+ U.S. dealers, and supporting a workforce that is proud of the product they put on the road. We have made meaningful improvements and changes, and that work continues,” the company added.

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TOMY International issued a recall Thursday for roughly 40,000 reusable baby bottles sold exclusively at Walmart after more than 130 reports were sent in about a potential choking hazard.

The advisory impacts Boon NURSH 8 oz reusable baby bottles, specifically the three-pack bottles sold in the “pink tie-dye” color pattern, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

WALMART WARNS SHOPPERS COULD FACE HIGHER PRICES AS FUEL COSTS SURGE, TAX REFUNDS DRY UP

The CPSC said the hard plastic outer shell of the bottle can bubble or partially peel off, which creates loose pieces of plastic film that pose a choking risk to young children.

The affected products, which were manufactured in Vietnam, were sold at Walmart stores nationwide and online at Walmart.com from November 2025 through May 2026 for around $20. 

ASBESTOS FEARS SPARK URGENT RECALL OF 120K+ SQUEEZE TOYS SOLD AT WALMART, OLLIE’S

So far, TOMY has received 135 reports of the outer plastic shell bubbling or peeling, though no injuries have been reported.

Consumers are urged to stop using the recalled baby bottles immediately. 

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Customers can contact TOMY to receive a replacement set of three bottles in a different color or a refund in the form of a $22 store credit for booninc.com.

TOMY and Walmart did not immediately respond to FOX Business’ request for comment.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun launched a forceful attack on Iran and Hezbollah on Friday, accusing both of exploiting Lebanon for their own strategic goals while ignoring the desires of the Lebanese people.

Speaking in an interview with CNN, Aoun said Lebanon has suffered through decades of instability and warfare driven by foreign interests, and stressed that neither Iran nor Hezbollah has the right to claim it represents the Lebanese population.

Directing his criticism at Tehran, Aoun declared, “You are not trying to help us. The people of Lebanon are paying the price for the sake of your own interest.”

He continued by emphasizing that Lebanon’s priorities differ fundamentally from those of the Iranian regime. “Our interests do not coincide with your interests,” he added.

Aoun also sharply criticized Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which for years has provided Hezbollah with funding, weapons, and support.

“It’s not your country, it’s our country,” he said.

The Lebanese president further accused Iran of using Lebanon as leverage in its diplomatic dealings with the United States. Referring to a statement issued Wednesday by the Revolutionary Guards calling for an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon as part of a broader arrangement between Washington and Tehran, Aoun rejected the idea outright.

“They are using Lebanon as a bargaining chip in their negotiation with the U.S.,” Aoun said. “It’s unacceptable.”

His comments come at a sensitive moment as a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon faces an uncertain future.

The two countries reached an accord this week intended to stop the fighting, but its implementation depends largely on Hezbollah ending its attacks and pulling its forces out of southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah, which did not participate in the negotiations, swiftly rejected the agreement.

Aoun also responded to Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem, who condemned the ceasefire as a “surrender” and argued that it lacked the backing of the Lebanese public.

Rejecting that claim, Aoun fired back: “The Lebanese people are not your people.”

According to the president, members of Lebanon’s various religious communities—including many Shiites—have repeatedly expressed frustration with the endless cycle of war and reconstruction that has defined life in the country for years.

“They deserve not seeing their homes destroyed every five to 10 years,” he said.

Aoun has made strengthening state authority and limiting Hezbollah’s military power a central goal of his presidency. Hezbollah’s influence has grown significantly over the decades, largely through support from Iran.

While acknowledging that Hezbollah remains one of the most powerful political and military organizations in Lebanon, Aoun said many citizens now want a different future—one defined by stability, national sovereignty, and freedom from conflicts fueled by outside powers.

The president also underscored the devastating human toll of the ongoing violence, noting that entire families have been lost during repeated rounds of fighting.

“They are Lebanese people,” Aoun said. “They are not Naim Qassem’s people.”

{Matzav.com}

Trump officials are warning that California’s dependence on foreign oil has become more than an economic issue, arguing it now poses a broader national security concern as geopolitical tensions continue to affect global energy markets.

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum joined FOX Business’ David Asman Friday on “Varney & Co.” to discuss domestic energy production, California’s reliance on imported crude and efforts to restart production at the offshore Sable Oil Project near Santa Barbara.

OIL PRODUCERS ORG SHREDS CALIFORNIA DEM FOR BLAMING IRAN WAR FOR HIS DISTRICT’S GAS PRICES

California remains one of the nation’s largest energy-consuming states, but its in-state oil production has steadily declined over the past several decades. As production has fallen and refinery capacity has shrunk, the state has increasingly turned to foreign suppliers to meet demand.

Wright said restarting previously drilled offshore wells could help reduce that dependence while strengthening energy security for military operations across the state.

CALIFORNIA BUSINESS OWNERS ‘WORKING FOR PEANUTS’ AS COSTS, RECORD GAS PRICES AND REGULATIONS DEVOUR PROFITS

“We have 30 military facilities in California, which gets over 60% of its oil imported from overseas,” Wright said.

“This is a way to increase energy security for our military operations in California and start to change the game for businesses and consumers in the state of California.”

The comments come as energy security has reemerged as a major policy issue amid ongoing instability in parts of the Middle East and continued debate over domestic oil production.

Burgum argued that Gov. Gavin Newsom’s energy policies have increased reliance on foreign suppliers while contributing to higher fuel costs for residents.

ENERGY SECRETARY CHRIS WRIGHT WARNS CALIFORNIA’S ENERGY CRISIS UNDER NEWSOM COULD THREATEN NATIONAL SECURITY

“They’re regulating refineries out of existence. California… imports… 60% of their oil from foreign countries. That is an absolute national security risk,” Burgum stressed.

He pointed to Iraq as California’s top foreign oil supplier earlier this year and said the state has become increasingly dependent on imported energy as refinery capacity has declined.

“The number one importer into California on February 1 of this year was Iraq… They’ve [California] turned themselves into an energy desert, an energy island,” he continued.

ZELDIN TOUTS US ENERGY FUTURE, SAYS INDO-PACIFIC NATIONS INCREASINGLY INTERESTED IN AMERICAN SUPPLY

The Interior secretary also tied domestic energy production to broader economic and national security goals, arguing that reliable and affordable energy remains critical for manufacturing, electricity generation and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence.

“President Trump’s energy policies are making the nation more secure, the world more peaceful, and is absolutely making America more affordable,” Burgum said.

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The chief executive of the world’s largest retailer started his career stacking mulch and watering flowers, and after more than three decades climbing the ranks, he says the single most important quality for any leader is the willingness to embrace change.

Walmart CEO John Furner shared that lesson in a recent interview with Fast Company, highlighted in coverage published on Thursday, June 4.

Furner’s message was simple: in a world being transformed by technology, artificial intelligence, automation, and changing consumer habits, leaders who embrace change will outperform those who resist it.

Reflecting on a career that has spanned the rise of e-commerce, smartphones, and now AI, Furner said getting comfortable with change is what separates effective leaders from the rest.

His story is one of the most remarkable internal success stories in corporate America.

Furner joined Walmart in 1993 as a part-time hourly associate working in the garden center of a store in Bentonville, Arkansas. After earning a marketing degree from the University of Arkansas, he steadily climbed through the company, serving as a store manager, district manager, buyer, and executive before eventually leading Walmart’s U.S. operations.

He later became CEO of Sam’s Club and ultimately rose to become Walmart’s chief executive on February 1, 2026, succeeding longtime CEO Doug McMillon, who also began his Walmart career as an hourly associate.

Today, Furner oversees a company employing more than 2 million people and operating nearly 11,000 stores across 19 countries.

The challenge before him is enormous.

Walmart is in the middle of what Furner describes as a “people-led, tech-powered” transformation, investing heavily in artificial intelligence, automation, and digital commerce as it battles Amazon and other online competitors.

The company has rolled out AI-powered tools, expanded automation throughout its supply chain, and introduced technologies designed to improve both customer service and operational efficiency.

The investments are producing results.

Walmart’s online business grew 27% in its most recent quarter, while the company’s stock has traded near record highs.

But Furner argues that technology alone is not enough.

The larger lesson, he says, is that leaders must be willing to evolve alongside the businesses they manage. Companies that refuse to adapt often find themselves overtaken by competitors willing to embrace new realities.

The message extends far beyond retail.

Businesses across nearly every industry are confronting similar challenges as artificial intelligence reshapes workflows, customer expectations, hiring practices, and competitive advantages.

For many organizations, the biggest risk may not be adopting the wrong technology—it may be failing to adapt at all.

Furner’s own career reflects that philosophy.

A man who began his Walmart career watering plants in a garden center now leads one of the most valuable companies in the world. Along the way, the retail industry transformed repeatedly, and each stage required new skills, new strategies, and new ways of thinking.

His conclusion after more than three decades at Walmart is straightforward: in an economy defined by constant disruption, the leaders who succeed are the ones willing to change with it.

JBizNews Desk — Retail & Leadership

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A CNN investigation citing four sources with direct knowledge of the matter claims that Israel maintained a highly classified network of military and intelligence assets positioned at strategic locations throughout the Middle East to support operations related to Iran.

According to the report, one of the most significant components of the alleged network was located in Azerbaijan, where Israel reportedly deployed select intelligence personnel and elite military units. The country was said to play a crucial role due to its geographic position and proximity to Iran.

The report states that Israeli activity was focused at several sites in southern Azerbaijan, close to Iran’s northern frontier. This location reportedly provided Israeli forces with direct access to areas near Iranian territory. CNN’s sources claimed that special operations units were dispatched to the region to conduct sensitive missions, including advanced intelligence collection and the operation of drone platforms for targeted activities.

The investigation further alleges that Israel’s presence in Azerbaijan was not an isolated effort but rather part of a broader framework of covert facilities and military infrastructure established across multiple countries in the region.

According to CNN, the purpose of this secret network was to give the IDF and other Israeli security agencies greater operational flexibility, enabling them to respond to threats from Iran more quickly and effectively while enhancing both offensive and defensive capabilities.

In addition to Azerbaijan, the report identified several other locations that allegedly hosted elements of the covert system. Among the countries mentioned were Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, and Somaliland, where CNN reported that Israel established and operated secret sites as part of its wider regional strategy.

{Matzav.com}

OpenAI said Friday, June 5, 2026, that it will comply with President Donald Trump’s new executive order asking artificial-intelligence companies to provide their most powerful AI models to the federal government for testing before they are released to the public.

Speaking to CNBC on the sidelines of the SXSW London festival, George Osborne, OpenAI’s Head of Countries, said the company would participate in the voluntary program, arguing that democratic governments have a legitimate role in shaping how advanced AI systems are developed and deployed.

The decision marks one of the clearest signs yet that Washington and Silicon Valley are moving toward a more structured relationship as AI systems become increasingly powerful and influential.

What the Order Does

Trump signed the executive order on June 2, directing federal agencies to establish a voluntary framework under which developers can submit their most advanced AI systems for government testing up to 30 days before public release.

The purpose is to evaluate advanced cyber capabilities and determine whether a model qualifies as a “covered frontier model” — a designation reserved for the most powerful AI systems that could present significant national-security or cybersecurity implications.

Importantly, the order does not create a licensing system or require government approval before a company can launch a model. Participation remains voluntary, reflecting the administration’s effort to balance innovation with security concerns.

The order directs agencies including the Department of Defense, the Department of the Treasury, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to strengthen cyber defenses and establish testing procedures for advanced AI systems.

Why Washington Changed Course

The shift follows growing concern that frontier AI models may be capable of identifying and exploiting cybersecurity vulnerabilities at unprecedented speed.

Those concerns intensified after Anthropic announced in April that it would limit the release of its Mythos Preview model because of its ability to discover and exploit software vulnerabilities.

Security experts have increasingly warned that future AI systems could dramatically accelerate cyberattacks, identify previously unknown weaknesses, and automate sophisticated offensive operations. Government officials argue that early testing could help identify major risks before powerful systems are released widely.

The move represents a notable evolution for an administration that had previously favored a lighter-touch approach to AI oversight.

The Business Impact

The order could have significant implications for the rapidly growing AI industry.

A 30-day government review introduces a new step between completing a model and releasing it to customers. While the review remains voluntary, companies that participate may gain credibility with governments, enterprise customers, and investors concerned about safety and security.

The framework may also strengthen the competitive position of larger AI developers such as OpenAI, Anthropic, Google DeepMind, Microsoft, and xAI, all of which have the resources to absorb additional compliance and testing requirements.

Smaller developers and foreign competitors could face greater challenges if government testing eventually becomes an industry expectation.

The policy could also create additional hurdles for emerging open-source competitors, including Chinese developers such as DeepSeek and Qwen, whose models have rapidly narrowed the performance gap with leading U.S. systems.

In effect, the companies best positioned to comply with expanded safety reviews may gain an advantage as governments, corporations, and regulators increasingly prioritize trust and security.

Industry Response

OpenAI is not alone in embracing government oversight.

Google DeepMind, Microsoft, and xAI previously agreed to submit advanced models for review through arrangements with the U.S. Center for AI Standards and Innovation, while OpenAI and Anthropic entered similar agreements in 2024.

Reaction to Trump’s executive order has been broadly supportive.

Microsoft President Brad Smith called the measure an important step toward balancing innovation and public safety. Anthropic described it as a meaningful move to strengthen America’s leadership in artificial intelligence while reducing risks associated with increasingly powerful systems.

OpenAI has gone even further than the administration’s proposal.

In its policy paper, “Democratic Governance of Frontier AI,” the company advocated for a national AI safety framework that includes mandatory testing of the most advanced systems, independent audits, and whistleblower protections. OpenAI argued that decisions regarding frontier AI safety should ultimately be guided by democratic governments rather than individual technology companies.

What Comes Next

The success of the new framework depends entirely on continued cooperation from the companies building the world’s most powerful AI systems.

National-security officials want early visibility into frontier models because of their potential cybersecurity implications. Technology companies, meanwhile, want to maintain public trust while avoiding regulations that could slow innovation.

For now, the arrangement remains voluntary.

Whether that cooperation continues as AI systems become more powerful — and whether future administrations seek stronger oversight — may determine how artificial intelligence is governed for years to come.

Sources: White House Executive Order on Frontier AI Model Testing (June 2, 2026); CNBC interview with George Osborne at SXSW London (June 5, 2026); OpenAI policy paper Democratic Governance of Frontier AI; U.S. Center for AI Standards and Innovation agreements.

JBizNews Desk — Technology

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Researchers at Columbia University say they have achieved a major breakthrough in gene editing by modifying the DNA of early-stage human embryos with a level of precision not previously demonstrated, the New York Times reports. The development is being hailed as a scientific milestone, but it is also renewing concerns that advances intended to prevent disease could eventually be used to engineer babies with selected traits.

Supporters of the technology argue that it could one day allow doctors to correct harmful genetic mutations before birth, potentially preventing inherited illnesses. Critics, however, warn that the same tools could pave the way for selecting characteristics unrelated to health, raising concerns about a modern form of eugenics.

Dieter Egli, the Columbia University geneticist who headed the project, said society must engage in a broader discussion about the implications of altering embryonic DNA. “As a scientist, you can provide the data for discussion, but then essentially there you stop and let others take over,” he said, according to the New York Times report.

The team relied on a technique known as base editing, a newer form of gene editing that allows scientists to change individual DNA letters with remarkable accuracy. Unlike traditional CRISPR methods, which cut DNA strands and can create unintended damage, base editing makes highly targeted corrections while avoiding many of those risks.

Even so, Dr. Egli emphasized that significant safety questions remain unresolved. “We’re not saying this is going to be used tomorrow in the clinics,” he said.

The findings have been posted online and are currently undergoing peer review before possible publication in a scientific journal.

The debate over modifying human embryos dates back more than a decade to the emergence of CRISPR technology.

Scientists first unveiled CRISPR in 2012 as a method for precisely targeting and cutting DNA. The tool rapidly transformed biological research because it offered an inexpensive and efficient way to investigate gene function by altering genetic code.

The technology soon attracted commercial interest, with biotechnology firms pursuing treatments for inherited disorders. In 2023, the Food and Drug Administration approved a CRISPR-based therapy for sickle cell disease.

Despite its success, researchers recognized that CRISPR was not flawless. In some cases, the molecular machinery missed its intended target or made cuts in unintended locations within the genome.

Those concerns did not prevent Chinese researcher He Jiankui from conducting a controversial experiment in 2018 that involved editing the DNA of human embryos.

Dr. He later said his objective was to create children resistant to HIV infection. The scientific community widely denounced the experiment, however, and Chinese authorities ultimately sentenced him to three years in prison.

In a January interview with The New York Times, Dr. He said his experiment resulted in three “healthy, beautiful babies.” Independent experts, however, have never been permitted to evaluate the children’s condition.

Several years later, in 2020, Dr. Egli and fellow researchers began examining how CRISPR behaves in human embryos.

The scientists obtained donated sperm carrying a mutation in the EYS gene, which is associated with inherited blindness. They used the sperm to fertilize healthy eggs, creating embryos that carried one normal copy of the gene and one defective version. CRISPR was then used to remove the mutated section.

Earlier research had suggested embryos might repair the damaged gene by copying information from the healthy version. Some embryos successfully completed that repair, resulting in two functional copies of EYS.

In roughly half the embryos, however, the repair process went awry. Some experienced the loss of large stretches of DNA, while others lost an entire chromosome containing the gene.

“It had absolutely catastrophic consequences,” Dr. Egli said.

For many scientists and bioethicists, those results reinforced the belief that editing human embryos remained far too dangerous to contemplate clinically.

Meanwhile, the New York Times reports, researchers continued developing safer alternatives. In 2016, Harvard geneticist David Liu and his colleagues introduced base editing, which combines CRISPR components with additional molecules to make tiny, controlled changes to DNA rather than cutting out larger sections. The technique directs cells to repair mutations with far greater precision.

Base editing has since demonstrated significant promise. Last year, doctors successfully treated a baby suffering from a potentially fatal genetic disease using a customized base-editing therapy.

Encouraged by those advances, Dr. Egli’s team decided to test the approach in human embryos.

The researchers focused on two genes. One, known as PCSK9, can contain mutations that elevate LDL cholesterol and increase the risk of heart disease. The second, HBG, plays a key role in fetal hemoglobin production.

Using donated embryos and fertilized eggs, the team introduced base-editing molecules and monitored the results. Unlike earlier CRISPR experiments, they did not observe widespread DNA destruction or chromosome loss.

Instead, the researchers successfully altered both PCSK9 and HBG. In some cases, they were able to modify both genes within the same embryo.

The process was not flawless. Occasionally, the editing molecules failed to locate their intended targets, leaving some cells unchanged while others carried the edits.

That inconsistency produced mosaic embryos, meaning different cells within the same embryo contained different versions of the gene. If such embryos were brought to term, the resulting genetic mixture could potentially cause health problems.

Despite those shortcomings, Dr. Paula Amato, a fertility specialist at Oregon Health & Science University who was not involved in the research, said the findings appeared “promising.”

She added, however, that a fuller evaluation would have to wait until the study completes peer review and appears in a scientific journal.

Ana Iltis, a bioethicist at Wake Forest University, urged caution, arguing that chromosome analysis alone may not be sufficient to assess long-term safety.

“It is possible that some of the potentially harmful effects would not be evident until after birth,” she warned, according to the the New York Times report.

Nathan Treff, chief clinical officer of Nucleus Genomics and one of the study’s co-authors, said embryo editing could eventually help IVF patients preserve embryos that would otherwise be discarded because of disease-causing mutations.

“There’s still work to do before getting to that point, but this research gets us closer,” Dr. Treff said.

Nucleus Genomics plans to help fund future phases of Dr. Egli’s work. Federal funding is generally unavailable for research involving human embryos.

Future experiments will focus on reducing mosaicism and evaluating the technique in embryos that have developed to roughly 100 cells, the stage at which fertility clinics typically freeze and genetically screen embryos.

Founded in 2021, Nucleus Genomics already offers screening services that examine embryos for thousands of inherited disorders. The company also estimates future risks for conditions such as diabetes and heart disease, while analyzing genetic markers linked to characteristics including height and intelligence.

The company drew criticism last November after launching a New York City subway advertising campaign urging prospective parents to “have your best baby.” Some geneticists have questioned the reliability of the firm’s predictions regarding traits such as intelligence.

Critics have also accused Nucleus Genomics of promoting a technologically advanced form of eugenics, an allegation the company strongly disputes.

“We see ourselves as a natural pathway for eventually bringing technologies like this into clinical care as part of a broader genetics platform — a full ‘Genetic Optimization’ stack,” Kaitlyn Gallacher, head of communications at Nucleus Genomics, wrote in an email.

Fyodor Urnov, a geneticist at the University of California, Berkeley, who was not involved in the project, said the new findings are generally consistent with previous research involving base editing in living cells.

At the same time, he argued that applying the technology to human embryos introduces unique risks. Since IVF clinics already screen embryos for genetic abnormalities, he questioned whether embryo editing is necessary given the uncertainties involved.

“Do we do what we’ve done safely and effectively 15 million times since 1978, or do we instead try something that we can never truly de-risk, and where the risks are clear?” he asked.

Dr. Urnov suggested that once perfected, the technology could attract individuals interested not only in preventing disease but also in enhancing genetic traits.

“What they are really doing is providing the ‘baby improvers’ with a how-to manual for forays beyond the ethical pale,” Dr. Urnov wrote in an email.

Whether such enhancements will ever become practical remains uncertain. Most human traits are influenced by large numbers of genes working together rather than a single genetic switch.

Dr. Egli acknowledged that attempting to edit multiple genes within one embryo increases the likelihood of errors and technical failures.

“I think you can probably combine three or four, maybe even five, but I think there’s a limit,” he said. “Where that limit is remains to be determined.”

{Matzav.com}

Generation Z workers are reporting record levels of workplace loneliness, and employers are increasingly paying the price through higher turnover, lower engagement, and lost productivity, according to a new Workday report highlighted by Fortune on Thursday, June 4.

The findings suggest that one of the biggest workforce challenges facing employers today may have less to do with compensation and more to do with connection.

According to the report, Generation Z employees are the least connected workers in the workplace today. They are 12 times more likely to feel completely disconnected from coworkers than Generation X employees and 16 times more likely to say they do not trust the people they work with.

The roots of the problem largely trace back to the pandemic.

Many Gen Z workers entered the workforce during or immediately after COVID-19, when offices sat empty and onboarding often took place entirely through video calls. Unlike previous generations, many never experienced the informal workplace interactions that help employees build relationships, learn company culture, and develop trust with colleagues and managers.

The result is a generation that often feels isolated despite being more digitally connected than any workforce before it.

For employers, the consequences extend far beyond employee satisfaction.

Disconnected employees tend to be less engaged in their work, less committed to their organizations, and more likely to leave. High turnover carries significant costs through recruiting, hiring, onboarding, and training replacements. When employees begin taking time off because of loneliness or emotional exhaustion, absenteeism becomes another expense businesses must absorb.

The findings come as companies across the country continue searching for ways to improve productivity while managing labor costs.

Separate studies have found that Gen Z workers report higher levels of stress, burnout, and depression than older generations. At the same time, some employers have expressed frustration over workforce readiness among recent graduates, creating a growing disconnect between what younger workers expect and what employers believe they are providing.

There is an important twist in the data.

While younger workers are often associated with supporting remote work, many surveys indicate that Gen Z employees actually want more opportunities for in-person interaction. Many report seeking greater access to mentorship, coaching, feedback, and relationship-building opportunities that can be difficult to replicate through screens.

In many cases, the isolation is not a preference but a consequence of how work evolved during and after the pandemic.

For employers, the report serves as a warning that workplace culture carries measurable business consequences.

Over the past several years, many organizations reduced spending on team-building programs, mentoring initiatives, professional development, and in-person collaboration efforts. While those cuts often reduced short-term expenses, the data suggests they may have created longer-term costs through lower engagement and higher turnover.

Business leaders are increasingly recognizing that trust and connection are not merely cultural issues; they are operational issues that directly affect performance.

Some employers have cited these concerns as part of the reason for encouraging workers to spend more time in the office. The challenge, however, is ensuring that employees gain meaningful interaction and mentorship rather than simply increasing attendance requirements.

The stakes extend beyond individual companies.

Generation Z now represents a rapidly growing share of the American workforce, and the generation immediately behind them is beginning to enter the labor market as well. If employers fail to address workplace isolation, the result could be higher turnover rates, weaker productivity growth, and increased labor costs across multiple industries.

The deeper lesson is that workplace culture is not a soft benefit; it is a business asset.

A generation that began its professional life over Zoom and from kitchen tables is now telling employers that it feels disconnected and distrustful. Companies that successfully rebuild connection, mentorship, and trust may gain a competitive advantage in attracting and retaining talent, while those that ignore the problem risk paying for it through lower productivity, higher turnover, and rising workforce costs.

JBizNews Desk — Workforce

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A cellphone left inside a parked vehicle in Lakewood this afternoon exploded, officials tell TLS.

Shortly before 1:00 PM, firefighters were called to a home on Pine Street after the lithium-ion battery cell phone exploded, and discovered moments later by the owner.

The explosion was apparently caused by the extreme heat inside the vehicle – due to temperatures of close to 90 degrees.

Nobody was injured, and luckily the car did not catch fire.

”Residents are reminded to never leave cellphones or any other electronic devices with lithium-ion batteries in their vehicle,” an official stated.

Firefighters safely discarded the phone.

(AP) – The operator of the S&P 500 says it has decided not to change its guidelines for when very large “MegaCap” companies are eligible for inclusion into its bevy of stock indexes.

In its announcement Thursday, S&P Dow Jones Indices said its index committee weighed responses received from a “wide range of market participants,” but ultimately decided not to make any changes to its criteria for determining when a company should be added to the S&P 500, S&P MidCap 400, or S&P SmallCap 600 indexes.

Some of the criteria for inclusion include headquarters in the United States, listing on NYSE or Nasdaq and profitability over the past year.

S&P also requires companies that complete IPOs to be traded on an “eligible exchange” for at least 12 months before they can be considered for inclusion into an index. The committee weighed shortening that requirement to six months, but opted not to do so.

The committee also decided against creating exceptions to its guidelines solely based on market capitalization, or how the stock market gauges a company’s value.

The move by S&P comes as other major U.S. index operators have taken steps to add very large companies soon after they make their stock market debut.

In March, Nasdaq announced new guidelines that allow for expediting the addition of large companies fresh off their initial public offerings into its benchmark Nasdaq 100 Index.

Nasdaq’s guideline change is meant to ensure that the index, which tracks the 100 largest, non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq, accurately reflects the market sooner, rather than possibly months after a very large company goes public.

In its decision, S&P noted that there may be trade-offs in sticking to its guidelines for index eligibility, but said its current approach provides its indexes “substantial market coverage and sector balance.”

Many pension plans and mutual funds use S&P and Nasdaq indexes as an investing benchmark.

The moves by S&P and Nasdaq come as several of the biggest artificial intelligence companies in the U.S. are setting the stage for blockbuster IPOs this year.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX is expected to go public this month with plans to raise up to $75 billion, which would make it the largest-ever stock market debut.

Meanwhile, Anthropic, the maker of the Claude chatbot, announced Monday its plans for a proposed IPO, while OpenAI, maker of ChatGPT, is planning an IPO as soon as this fall.

BOSTON (AP) — A federal judge on Friday struck down a Trump administration policy enacted after the shooting of two National Guard members that made it harder for immigrants from dozens of countries to stay and enter the U.S.

In a ruling harshly criticizing the administration, U.S. District Chief Judge John McConnell Jr. said the policy “threw the lives of countless immigrants living in the United States into indeterminate legal limbo,” and he accused the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services of ignoring the law.

“In enacting its latest immigration policies, USCIS: claims statutory and regulatory authority that it does not possess; makes decisions without the reasoned explanations that it must provide; acts without regard for the reliance interests of applicants that it must consider; and justifies its actions with pretextual concerns of ‘national security’ that mask anti-immigrant sentiments that it is forbidden from letting influence its decision-making,” he wrote. “In legal terms that means USCIS’s actions are contrary to law and arbitrary and capricious.”

A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The policies enacted after the National Guard shooting last year meant that immigrants from 39 African, Asian, Latin American, and Middle Eastern countries have been “categorically barred” from receiving final decisions on, among other things, their asylum, work permit, green card, and citizenship applications.

“This ruling reaffirms a basic principle: the federal government cannot shut down lawful immigration pathways or discriminate against people based on where they come from,” said Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, which represented the plaintiffs in the case. “These unlawful policies caused enormous harm to families, workers, asylum-seekers, and communities across the country who were left in limbo, unable to work, access protections, or move forward with their lives.”

The policies apply to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which approves applications for immigrants to work and become citizens. The agency, which is within the Homeland Security Department, often grants asylum, but only for those already in the United States when they apply. Immigration judges grant asylum to those who are stopped at the border; the ruling does not affect them, and neither do the policies that sparked the lawsuit.

It is part of an ongoing effort by the administration to tighten U.S. entry standards for travel and immigration, in what critics say unfairly prevents travel for people from a broad range of countries. The administration suggested it would expand the restrictions after the arrest of an Afghan national suspect in the shooting of two National Guard troops over Thanksgiving weekend.

In its motion to dismiss, which the court denied, the government argued that Congress gave the executive branch broad authority over immigration policy, including “the entry of aliens into the United States as well as discretion within the statutory scheme to confer as well as withdraw various discretionary benefits.”

“This case rests on a remarkable premise: that a federal court should prevent an agency from issuing the very policy guidance that provides government personnel with the guardrails necessary to ensure consistent, non-arbitrary, and individualized decisionmaking consistent with federal law,” the government wrote in its brief.

Immigration groups celebrated the ruling.

“This ruling sets a powerful precedent that the administration cannot ignore the law as laid down by Congress and cannot arbitrarily bar immigration benefits on the basis of national origin by fiat,” Jamal Abdi, president at the National Iranian American Council, said. “Fortunately, this is still a nation of laws, and those who uphold America’s values have recourse to challenge and push back on such discriminatory, arbitrary policies.”

Shawn VanDiver, a Navy veteran who heads a coalition that supports Afghan resettlement efforts called #AfghanEvac, said the ruling was a “significant victory for the rule of law and for thousands of Afghan allies and other immigrants who followed every requirement asked of them.”

“Just this week in Dallas and Fort Worth, we met people who feared losing jobs because delayed work permit renewals threatened their livelihoods, families who postponed education, travel, and homeownership because they did not know when their cases would be resolved, and future Americans who had expected to become citizens only to see their applications stall without explanation,” VanDiver said.

Amid escalating tensions in the chareidi community following a wave of protests, road blockages, and confrontations involving extremist groups, Ponevezh Rosh Yeshiva Rav Chaim Peretz Berman delivered a forceful message rejecting violence and emphasizing that Torah study remains the only true source of strength for the Jewish people.

The remarks were made during a meeting with leaders of Lev Shomea, a support and guidance organization, who visited the Rosh Yeshiva ahead of the publication of the organization’s special summer edition to seek guidance on the challenges facing the community.

The meeting took place against the backdrop of widespread public outrage over recent demonstrations, including the verbal and physical harassment of Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg by a small group of extremists. In recent weeks, calls to “show them our strength” have become increasingly common among fringe elements seeking to push the broader chareidi public into direct confrontation with state authorities.

During the discussion, Lev Shomea chairman Rabbi Eliav Miller described sentiments being voiced by some members of the public.

“There are those who say we should go to war against them, block roads, and show them our strength,” Rabbi Miller told the Rosh Yeshiva.

Rav Berman immediately challenged the premise.

“Show whom?” he asked.

When Rabbi Miller replied, “The secular public, the government,” the Rosh Yeshiva responded sharply.

“What is important about showing them that? What will we gain by doing it? That we will become like them. They are not going to be afraid of us, and the truth is they are stronger than we are. They can pass laws denying daycare, denying us housing, and they could even ignore cars that kill chareidim…”

The Rosh Yeshiva then offered a lengthy analysis of historical persecution, citing the Ramban’s famous explanation of Pharaoh’s strategy in Egypt. He noted that Pharaoh did not openly attack the Jewish people but instead used legal and indirect methods to oppress them, gradually escalating his decrees while maintaining a veneer of legitimacy.

Drawing from the Ramban’s commentary, Rav Berman described how Pharaoh avoided overtly ordering the mass killing of Jews, instead creating conditions that enabled persecution while preserving plausible deniability.

He continued by applying that historical lesson to contemporary realities.

“Prove it in court, and they’ll deal with it — murder!” he said, quoting the Ramban’s description of Egypt. “When the king’s restraints were removed, the Egyptians searched homes, entered at night in disguise, and took children away. Do we have any power against this? Who are we? Did Jews anywhere in the world ever have the audacity to go against the government? To start fighting them, to say ‘we’ll show them,’ ‘we’ll defeat them’? Any rational person understands that we do not have the power to confront them.”

Those present said the Rosh Yeshiva appeared to view modern governmental and legal institutions as possessing immense power that cannot be effectively challenged through street protests or demonstrations.

Toward the conclusion of the meeting, Rav Berman turned to what he described as the spiritual and emotional damage caused by violence.

“The only power we possess is the beis medrash, to learn Torah. We have no other power. Yaakov is compared to a worm, whose strength is only in its mouth. And in addition, if the choice is between defeating them but becoming like them — a violent, coarse, aggressive society — or remaining refined people with good character traits, then we have no desire to become a violent and powerful society.”

The Rosh Yeshiva also issued a pointed warning about those who embrace violent tactics.

“If the ziknei Yisroel are not worthy to lead in this matter, then this is the sin of the ma’apilim. As we see, the Aron Hashem did not move from the camp. Those who adopt violence become violent. They end up arguing with bus drivers at bus stops. They lose their sanity, and the wise will understand.”

Rav Berman further cited a passage from the Gemara in Rosh Hashanah describing how Rabbi Yehudah ben Shamua and his colleagues responded when the Roman government issued decrees against Torah study, circumcision, and Shabbos observance.

Rather than resorting to violence, they sought advice and ultimately staged a public demonstration. Rashi explains that they cried out in the marketplaces and streets so that government officials would hear them and be moved to compassion.

The Gemara records that they called out: “Are we not your brothers? Are we not the children of one father? Are we not the children of one mother? If so, why are we different from every other nation that you decree such harsh decrees against us?”

“These were the slogans of Chazal’s protest,” Rav Berman emphasized. “And the Gemara concludes that the decrees were abolished and that day was established as a day of celebration. We see a fundamental principle: when Chazal speak of a protest, its purpose is to create empathy, to awaken compassion, to cause the authorities to understand the pain of the Jewish people and have mercy upon them. When compassion and understanding are achieved, decrees can be repealed and difficulties can be overcome.”

{Matzav.com}

ANCHORAGE (VINnews) – Conservative grassroots leader Scott Presler is calling on Elon Musk to join the fight against Alaska’s ranked-choice voting system, a key step he says is necessary to defeat U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski in 2028 after she opposed the SAVE America Act.

Presler, known for his voter mobilization efforts, posted a direct appeal to the Tesla and SpaceX CEO: “Elon, In order to defeat Senator Lisa Murkowski in 2028, we first have to DEFEAT Ranked Choice Voting.”

He pointed to Alaska Ballot Measure 2, which will appear on the ballot this year. A “YES” vote on the measure would eliminate the ranked-choice voting (RCV) system currently used in the state.

Critics, including many Alaska conservatives, have long argued that ranked-choice voting confuses voters, suppresses turnout and favors establishment candidates by allowing second- and third-choice votes to determine outcomes. Murkowski, a Republican who has frequently broken with her party on key issues, benefited from the system in past elections.

Murkowski drew sharp criticism from President Donald Trump and conservative lawmakers for opposing the SAVE America Act, a priority legislative package aimed at advancing core America First priorities including border security, election integrity and government accountability. Her vote against the measure underscored deep divisions within the Republican Senate caucus.

Presler’s initiative seeks to harness national conservative energy — potentially amplified by Musk’s massive online reach — to pass Ballot Measure 2 and clear the path for a stronger conservative challenger to Murkowski in 2028.

Supporters of the effort say ending RCV would restore a more straightforward electoral process that better reflects the will of Alaskan voters who have grown frustrated with what they call the “RCV scam.”

The push comes amid broader national debates over election reform. Proponents of the measure argue that returning to traditional voting methods would increase transparency and accountability.

A bipartisan pair of House lawmakers unveiled a sweeping proposal on Thursday, June 4, to create national rules for artificial intelligence, including a provision that would override some state laws, an effort to bring order to a patchwork of regulation that has frustrated both technology companies and consumer advocates. Representatives Jay Obernolte, a California Republican, and Lori Trahan, a Massachusetts Democrat, released the discussion draft, which they call the Great American Artificial Intelligence Act.

The draft, which runs to 269 pages, is a starting point rather than a finished bill. The lawmakers described it as the beginning of a serious national conversation and said they want feedback from experts and the public before formally introducing it. Co-sponsors include Representatives Scott Franklin of Florida, Suhas Subramanyam of Virginia, Erin Houchin of Indiana, and Scott Peters of California.

The most contentious piece is preemption. The draft would prevent states from enforcing their own regulations on the development of AI models for three years. According to the text, it would not necessarily block state laws governing how AI is used once a product is released, a distinction meant to narrow the override. The goal, the sponsors argue, is to avoid a confusing tangle of fifty different state rulebooks that could hinder companies trying to build AI responsibly.

The bill would also require large frontier developers, defined as those with more than $500 million in gross revenue in the previous year, to establish public frameworks describing how they manage the risks of their most powerful systems. And it would formally create a Center for AI Standards and Innovation, tasked with developing voluntary standards and guidelines, with an appropriation of $100 million a year.

The proposal lands in a fraught political environment. It comes days after the president signed an executive order on AI safety and cybersecurity, and the White House has been skeptical of any approach that imposes strict requirements on companies. The preemption idea, in particular, has a troubled history: a similar effort to impose a long moratorium on state AI laws was stripped from a major bill in the Senate by a lopsided vote in 2025.

For businesses, the appeal of a single national framework is obvious. Companies that build AI products dislike having to comply with different and sometimes conflicting rules in every state. A uniform federal standard would make it easier and cheaper to operate nationwide, and the bill’s focus on voluntary standards rather than heavy mandates would likely sit well with industry.

Consumer advocates and safety groups see it differently. Many states have moved faster than Congress to pass protections, on issues from child safety to consumer transparency to data privacy. Critics worry that blocking states from acting, even temporarily, would leave Americans exposed while federal rules remain weak or unfinished. Brendan Steinhauser, who leads a group focused on AI safety, praised the bill’s bipartisan nature and its attention to catastrophic risks but opposed the preemption provision, arguing that a national standard should protect at least as much as it overrides.

The tension reflects a fundamental disagreement about how to regulate a fast-moving technology. One camp argues that AI is too important and too fast-changing to be governed by a confusing mix of state laws, and that a single national approach is the only durable solution. The other argues that with no strong federal protections yet in place, stripping states of their power would create a dangerous gap.

The lawmakers framed their effort in long-term terms, arguing that AI will shape the economy, the workforce, and national security for decades, and that the rules governing it must be durable enough to outlast changes in Congress and the White House. That ambition is part of what makes the bill significant: it attempts to set a lasting framework rather than react to the latest controversy.

Whether it can pass remains uncertain. The path through both the House and the Senate is difficult, the White House is wary, and the preemption fight has already shown how divisive the issue is. But the release of a detailed, bipartisan draft marks a serious attempt to move federal AI policy from talk to text, and it signals that Congress is finally engaging with questions that states and companies have been wrestling with for years.

JBizNews Desk

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What began as a joyous wedding celebration nearly turned into a major crisis when the ring disappeared at the most critical moment of the kiddushin. Thanks to the presence of Rav Avraham Salim, however, the ceremony was able to proceed smoothly and according to halachah.

The incident took place Tuesday evening at D-City Hall during the wedding of a talmid of Rav Avraham Salim, Rosh Yeshivas Meor HaTorah and a member of the Moetzes Chachmei HaTorah of Shas.

As the chassan prepared to place the ring on the kallah’s finger, the ring slipped from his hand, fell onto the wooden floor, and disappeared into a narrow crack between the floorboards.

Initial efforts to retrieve the ring proved unsuccessful. The chassan, family members, and guests were left stunned as the unexpected mishap brought the ceremony to an abrupt halt at its most crucial stage. The tension in the hall was palpable as everyone searched for a solution.

Rav Salim, who was officiating at the wedding, immediately stepped in to calm the situation. Remaining composed, he reminded those present of the halachic principle that a woman may be married through several forms of monetary value.

“Ha’ishah nikneis b’shalosh derachim, v’harishonah shebahem hi kesef,” he said, citing the well-known halachic ruling that kiddushin can be effected through money.

Without hesitation, the Rosh Yeshiva asked the chassan whether he had cash on him. When the chassan produced a 100-shekel bill from his pocket, Rav Salim instructed him to use it for the kiddushin.

The chassan then recited the traditional declaration, “Harei at mekudeshes li b’kesef zeh k’das Moshe v’Yisroel,” formally betrothing the kallah with the banknote.

The quick solution allowed the wedding ceremony to continue without further interruption, much to the relief of the chassan, kallah, and the large crowd gathered for the simchah.

Guests said the unusual episode quickly became the talk of the evening and is likely to be remembered and retold at family celebrations for years to come.

{Matzav.com}

DUBLIN (VINnews) – Ireland has barred National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich from entering the country, Irish officials announced Friday.

Prime Minister Micheal Martin said he was informed by the Justice Ministry that the two Israeli cabinet ministers are prohibited from travel to Ireland.

“Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan, it is my understanding, has instructed his officials to prohibit any travel into Ireland for both Minister Ben-Gvir and Minister Smotrich,” Martin told reporters.

A spokesperson for O’Callaghan confirmed the statements. Martin described the ministers’ behavior as reflecting “a desire to see the elimination of Palestinians from Palestine.”

“In my view, their behavior justifies sanctions at the EU level as well, and that’s something that we will raise,” Martin added. “Now, whether we can get sufficient support across the European Union is a different matter.”

The ban comes amid heightened tensions between Israel and several European nations critical of Israeli policies in the ongoing conflict with Palestinian terror groups.

No immediate response from the Israeli government or the ministers was reported.

A battle unfolding in Arizona could help determine whether families or technology companies pay for the massive electricity demands of artificial intelligence.

Arizona Public Service (APS), the state’s largest electric utility, is seeking approval from the Arizona Corporation Commission to increase rates on data centers by more than 45% while raising residential rates by about 16%, according to hearings that began on May 18 and continued into early June.

The proposal is part of a broader rate case APS filed in June 2025, seeking an overall 14% increase in customer rates. If approved, the utility estimates the average residential customer would pay roughly $20 more per month.

At the center of the debate are the giant data centers powering artificial intelligence and cloud computing. These warehouse-sized facilities consume enormous amounts of electricity and often require utilities to build additional power plants, substations, and transmission infrastructure.

APS argues that the companies creating that demand should pay a larger share of the costs rather than passing them on to families and small businesses.

The utility is also proposing a system of formula rates, allowing regulators to review costs annually and assign infrastructure expenses to the customer groups driving those costs. Under that approach, rapidly growing data centers could face significantly higher charges as their power consumption expands.

APS says the rate increases are necessary because the utility’s current rates are based largely on equipment costs from 2021 and 2022, while inflation has substantially increased the price of transformers, transmission equipment, labor, and other critical grid components.

The company argues that additional revenue is needed to maintain reliability during Arizona’s extreme summer heat, when air-conditioning demand reaches its highest levels.

The proposal has generated fierce opposition.

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has criticized the residential increase, arguing that APS is seeking excessive profits and that customers could face smaller increases if the utility were compensated only for the actual costs required to provide reliable service.

Public hearings have drawn large crowds, with many residents, particularly seniors and those living on fixed incomes, warning that even modest increases could make summer cooling unaffordable.

The debate over data centers may ultimately become the most important part of the case.

According to the Electric Power Research Institute, data centers could account for more than 20% of Arizona’s electricity consumption by 2030. That rapid growth is forcing utilities nationwide to reconsider how electric systems are financed.

The question is simple but consequential: Should ordinary ratepayers help finance infrastructure built primarily to serve AI companies, or should those companies bear the costs themselves?

Arizona is one of the first major states attempting to answer that question directly.

The issue is drawing national attention because electric utilities across the country are facing similar challenges. Demand from artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and advanced manufacturing is increasing electricity consumption at a pace not seen in decades.

Meanwhile, major technology companies have sought to reassure regulators and consumers.

Earlier this year, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, and Amazon Web Services joined a pledge stating that data-center expansion should not result in higher energy costs for residential customers.

Critics, however, argue that voluntary commitments may not fully address the infrastructure expenses associated with the largest AI projects.

A judge is currently reviewing testimony from more than 30 parties before issuing a recommendation to the five-member Arizona Corporation Commission, which is expected to make a final decision later in 2026.

If approved, the new rates could take effect during the second half of the year.

The outcome may reach far beyond Arizona.

As artificial intelligence continues expanding, so will its demand for electricity. Regulators nationwide are closely watching whether Arizona successfully requires data centers to pay a larger share of the costs they create—or whether those costs ultimately find their way onto household electric bills.

JBizNews Desk — Arizona

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A transportation reform that many believed would transform the livelihoods of thousands of chareidi drivers across Israel appears headed for the scrap heap, as Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich and senior Treasury officials are reportedly blocking the legislation over a dispute involving compensation for taxi owners.

The proposal, commonly known as the “Uber Law,” would have legalized and regulated paid ride-sharing services operated through private vehicles and smartphone applications. For thousands of chareidim who currently earn income through informal “driver” networks, the legislation was viewed as a long-awaited opportunity to operate openly and legally.

Despite passing its first reading in the Knesset, the bill has stalled completely, and its supporters now fear it may never become law.

The legislation was advanced by MKs Moshe Passal, Dan Illouz, and Eitan Ginzburg and sought to bring Israel’s growing ride-sharing market under formal regulation. It would have established safety standards, insurance requirements, government oversight, and licensing rules for drivers and companies operating in the sector.

For many in the chareidi community, however, the significance of the bill extended far beyond transportation policy.

In recent years, thousands of chareidi men have turned to private driving as a source of supplemental income. Many operate through community-based networks and messaging groups, providing transportation services with flexible schedules that allow them to combine earning a living with learning or other responsibilities. Legalization of ride-sharing services was expected to significantly expand those opportunities.

Under the proposed law, drivers would have been required to meet strict standards, including maintaining a clean criminal record, holding a driver’s license for at least four years, completing periodic training courses, and providing proof of medical fitness.

The bill’s current troubles stem from fierce opposition by the taxi industry, which argues that legalization of ride-sharing services would significantly reduce the value of taxi licenses.

The original legislation included a compensation mechanism under which taxi license holders who surrendered their licenses would receive reimbursement through a dedicated fund financed by a percentage of future ride-sharing revenues. Taxi owners rejected that arrangement, insisting on immediate compensation rather than future payments.

According to sources familiar with the discussions, former Finance Ministry Director-General Ilan Rom supported the legislation and viewed it as an important step toward increasing competition in the transportation sector. His successor, Israel Malachi, is said to oppose the measure in its current form, reflecting the position of Finance Minister Smotrich.

Transportation Minister Miri Regev and her ministry have reportedly continued to support the legislation and even expressed willingness to provide immediate compensation to taxi owners in order to break the deadlock.

In an effort to save the proposal, Regev reportedly suggested temporarily funding the compensation package from other Transportation Ministry budgets, provided the Finance Ministry later reimbursed those funds. Treasury officials reportedly rejected the idea outright.

The impasse has left supporters increasingly pessimistic.

MK Moshe Passal, who led much of the bill’s advancement through the Knesset Economic Affairs Committee, has reportedly expressed deep frustration over the situation and believes the chances of passing the legislation during the current Knesset term are rapidly diminishing.

Supporters say the collapse of the bill would represent a significant missed opportunity for thousands of Israelis who rely on ride-sharing income, particularly within the chareidi community, where flexible driving arrangements have become an important source of supplemental earnings for many families.

Even beyond the budget dispute, the proposal faces an uncertain future. While the legislation could theoretically continue in the next Knesset under Israel’s continuity provisions, doing so would require the support of a future government.

Given the Finance Ministry’s current opposition and the political hurdles facing the measure, many observers believe the next coalition may have little incentive to revive it.

If the bill ultimately dies, lawmakers would either need to restart the entire legislative process from scratch or persuade the Transportation Ministry to reintroduce the proposal as government-sponsored legislation.

For now, what many chareidi drivers viewed as a pathway to legal, regulated, and expanded ride-sharing opportunities appears increasingly unlikely to become reality.

Responding to the report, the Finance Ministry stated: “If such proposals are submitted to the Finance Ministry, they will be examined both from a professional standpoint and from a budgetary standpoint.”

{Matzav.com}

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The race to build smarter artificial intelligence may have entered a new and potentially transformative phase. According to new data released by Anthropic on June 4, the company behind the popular Claude AI assistant says its own AI systems are now writing the overwhelming majority of the software code used inside the company.

If accurate, the development represents one of the strongest signs yet that artificial intelligence is beginning to accelerate its own advancement—a concept researchers have discussed for decades but have only recently started to witness in practice.

The disclosure came in a report published by the Anthropic Institute, which detailed the company’s progress toward what researchers call recursive self-improvement, the idea that AI systems can help create better versions of themselves, which can then create even more advanced successors.

The implications extend far beyond Anthropic.

If artificial intelligence can significantly speed up its own development, the pace of technological change could accelerate dramatically, affecting industries, workers, governments, investors, and policymakers worldwide.

The headline statistic immediately captured attention.

According to Anthropic, more than 80% of the code merged into the company’s systems as of May 2026 was written by Claude, its flagship AI model.

That figure represents an extraordinary jump from just a year earlier, when AI-generated code accounted for only a small percentage of the company’s development work.

Anthropic said that since launching its internal coding tools in early 2025, the productivity of its engineers has increased dramatically.

The company estimates that a typical software engineer now produces roughly eight times more code than in 2024.

The change reflects a fundamental shift in how software is being developed.

Rather than spending most of their time writing code line by line, engineers increasingly focus on defining objectives, reviewing outputs, testing systems, and making strategic decisions while AI handles much of the actual coding.

In effect, software developers are becoming managers of AI-generated work rather than creators of every line themselves.

For decades, the idea of recursive self-improvement has occupied a central place in discussions about advanced artificial intelligence.

The concept is simple but powerful.

If an AI system becomes capable of improving the software used to build itself, it could potentially help create a smarter version of itself.

That improved version could then make further improvements, creating a cycle of increasingly rapid advancement.

Some researchers view the possibility as the pathway to revolutionary scientific breakthroughs.

Others view it as one of the greatest technological risks humanity may ever face.

Anthropic stopped short of claiming it has achieved true recursive self-improvement.

However, the company presented several examples suggesting that its systems are becoming increasingly effective at assisting software development.

According to the report, Claude’s success rate on complex, open-ended engineering tasks rose from approximately 26% to 76% over a six-month period.

On another benchmark involving code optimization, Anthropic said its most advanced experimental model achieved a 52-fold performance improvement, compared with roughly fourfold improvements typically achieved by skilled human engineers working on the same challenge.

The company also described situations where Claude appeared capable of identifying better technical solutions than researchers initially pursued.

According to Anthropic, when human teams moved in unproductive directions, Claude suggested superior alternatives approximately 64% of the time, compared with only 22% in 2024.

In one particularly striking example, the company said Claude autonomously generated and deployed more than 800 software fixes addressing a longstanding category of system errors.

Anthropic estimated that manually completing the same work could have required years of engineering effort.

For businesses, the implications are enormous.

Technology companies already face intense pressure to develop AI products faster than competitors.

If AI systems themselves become powerful productivity tools for engineers, companies that effectively deploy those tools could gain significant competitive advantages.

Faster development cycles could mean quicker product launches, lower development costs, and accelerated innovation across virtually every industry touched by software.

The impact would not be limited to technology companies.

Artificial intelligence increasingly influences healthcare, finance, manufacturing, logistics, education, entertainment, and scientific research.

A meaningful increase in the speed of AI development could ripple throughout the global economy.

For software engineers, the findings reinforce a trend already becoming visible throughout the industry.

Coding remains important, but the value of engineers is increasingly shifting toward problem-solving, architecture, strategy, oversight, and quality control.

If AI can reliably write large portions of software, the most valuable human skill may become deciding what should be built rather than how to build it.

Anthropic also highlighted AI’s growing role in software quality assurance.

According to the company, automated systems now identify approximately one-third of the production bugs that previously caused issues across parts of its infrastructure.

In other words, AI is not only writing software—it is increasingly reviewing and correcting it as well.

Despite the impressive statistics, Anthropic included several important caveats.

The company acknowledged that measuring productivity through lines of code can be misleading because more code does not necessarily mean better software.

Perhaps more importantly, Anthropic emphasized that Claude still lacks what researchers often call research judgment.

While AI may be increasingly capable of solving technical problems, it remains unclear whether it can independently determine which problems are worth solving in the first place.

That distinction may prove critical.

Generating solutions is different from identifying meaningful questions.

Anthropic stressed that true recursive self-improvement has not yet arrived.

Nevertheless, the company suggested that the possibility may be closer than many observers realize.

The report arrives as lawmakers in Washington are increasingly focused on AI oversight.

Coincidentally, the same day Anthropic released its findings, a bipartisan group of members of Congress unveiled draft legislation aimed at creating a federal framework for regulating artificial intelligence.

The timing highlights how concerns surrounding AI capability, safety, transparency, and governance are becoming central policy issues.

For investors, businesses, and policymakers alike, Anthropic’s report offers both excitement and caution.

The prospect of dramatically accelerated innovation could unlock extraordinary economic growth and technological breakthroughs.

At the same time, the speed of that progress raises questions about oversight, accountability, and society’s ability to adapt.

Whether Anthropic’s findings ultimately represent the beginning of a technological revolution or simply another milestone along AI’s development path remains uncertain.

What is becoming increasingly clear, however, is that artificial intelligence is no longer just helping humans write software.

It is beginning to help build the very systems that may define the future of technology itself.

JBizNews Desk — Technology

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

NEW YORK CITY (VINnews) – The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday soundly rejected a controversial War Powers Resolution pushed by Jew hater Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., aimed at ending American support for Israel’s military operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Among those voting to defeat the measure was Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., a steadfast supporter of Israel’s right to defend itself amid ongoing threats from Iranian-backed terrorists.

Goldman, who has consistently backed U.S. military aid to Israel in its fights against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, opposed the resolution, which critics described as a reckless attempt to tie the hands of Israel and the U.S. in confronting radical Islamist groups. The vote failed overwhelmingly, with 324 members opposed and just 92 in favor.

In contrast, former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, who is challenging Goldman in the Democratic primary for New York’s 10th Congressional District, publicly lamented the resolution’s defeat. Lander, who has positioned himself as a vocal critic of Israel, claimed he would have joined the Congressional Progressive Caucus in supporting the measure. He accused the U.S. and Israeli leaders of complicity in “immense suffering” in Lebanon, while downplaying the security threats posed by Hezbollah.

Lander’s comments align with his broader far-left record, including pledges to cut off military aid to Israel and characterizations of its defensive operations as potential “genocide” or “occupation.” Observers have noted Lander’s shift toward rhetoric often associated with self-hating anti-Israel elements within progressive circles, distancing himself from mainstream Jewish and Democratic support for the Jewish state’s survival against existential threats.

Goldman, by comparison, has demonstrated principled leadership by supporting aid packages that enable Israel to dismantle terrorist infrastructure in Gaza and counter Hezbollah aggression from Lebanon. His votes reflect a commitment to U.S.-Israel alliance and bipartisan recognition that weakening Israel emboldens Iran and its proxies, endangering American interests and regional stability.

The primary contest between Goldman and Lander has sharpened divisions within the Democratic Party over Israel, with Lander courting progressive and anti-Israel voices while Goldman upholds a more centrist, pro-defense stance. As the June 23 primary approaches, voters in the heavily Jewish district will decide whether to back Goldman’s steadfast support for a key ally or Lander’s embrace of policies widely viewed as harmful to Israel and detached from mainstream American foreign policy.

[Photos below] A major life-saving initiative at Yeshivas Ponevezh in Bnei Brak resulted this week in more than 1,000 new bone marrow samples being added to Ezer Mizion’s national donor registry. The large-scale campaign drew widespread attention throughout the yeshiva world, combining an extraordinary effort to help save lives with meticulous care to ensure that the yeshiva’s learning schedule remained uninterrupted.

The ambitious undertaking did not materialize overnight. It was preceded by weeks of detailed planning, logistical coordination, and educational efforts. During the lead-up to the campaign, yeshiva students participated in informational sessions explaining the significance of bone marrow matching, the simplicity of the testing process—which requires only a saliva sample—and the potentially life-saving impact it can have for patients battling cancer and other serious illnesses.

Students also raised numerous halachic and medical questions, seeking guidance from the yeshiva’s leadership. Roshei yeshiva gave the matter serious consideration and emphasized the tremendous importance of participating, describing it as a clear obligation of saving lives and an opportunity to perform one of the greatest possible acts of kindness.

Earlier in the week, a special letter signed by Rav Dov Landau and Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch was publicized, urging talmidim to take part in this vital effort of pikuach nefesh. Ponevezh Rosh Yeshiva Rav Chaim Peretz Berman stressed the importance of the initiative by personally adding a handwritten note to the letter, declaring that participation in the campaign and expansion of the donor registry was a “complete obligation.”

That unusually emphatic endorsement generated significant excitement among the student body and helped drive the overwhelming response.

To accommodate the anticipated turnout while ensuring that learning would not be disrupted, organizers erected special tents and testing stations throughout the yeshiva campus. As a result, each sample was collected in just a matter of seconds, allowing participants to return immediately to their shtenders and Gemaras without creating long lines or causing bitul Torah.

Organizers noted that the current campaign continues a longstanding tradition of life-saving efforts within the yeshiva. To date, no fewer than 15 Ponevezh talmidim have been identified as full matches and have gone on to donate bone marrow, directly saving the lives of patients in Israel and around the world.

At the conclusion of the campaign, organizers expressed satisfaction with the addition of more than 1,000 new samples to the registry, significantly increasing the likelihood of finding compatible donors for patients awaiting potentially life-saving transplants.

{Matzav.com}

Note: Images are not suitable for all audiences. Posted as community event and Hakaros Hatov.

Artificial intelligence is no longer transforming only search engines, software coding, and customer service. It is now reshaping one of the world’s oldest creative industries: music.

In one of the clearest signs yet that investors believe AI-generated music is becoming a permanent part of the entertainment landscape, Suno, the artificial intelligence music platform that allows users to create complete songs from simple text prompts, announced it has raised more than $400 million in new funding at a valuation of $5.4 billion.

The financing round, announced on June 3 by co-founder and CEO Mikey Shulman, more than doubles the company’s valuation from just six months ago, when Suno raised $250 million at a valuation of approximately $2.45 billion.

The speed of that growth is remarkable.

Few technology companies have doubled their valuation in such a short period, highlighting the extraordinary investor enthusiasm surrounding artificial intelligence and the growing belief that AI-generated content will become a major part of the global economy.

The new funding round was led by Bond Capital, whose previous investments include companies such as OpenAI, Substack, and prediction market platform Kalshi.

Additional investors included IVP, Forerunner, Union Square Ventures, Alkeon, and Quiet Capital, while existing investors including Lightspeed Venture Partners, Matrix Partners, Menlo Ventures, and Schroders Capital also participated.

Shulman disclosed that a number of artists, songwriters, and music producers invested as well, although their identities were not publicly disclosed.

Founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Suno has become one of the most recognizable names in AI-generated music.

The platform allows users to type simple instructions such as a song style, mood, genre, topic, or lyric concept and receive a fully generated song complete with vocals, lyrics, instruments, and production.

What once required musicians, recording studios, producers, engineers, and expensive equipment can now be accomplished in minutes.

The appeal has proven enormous.

According to company figures, Suno has surpassed 2 million paying subscribers and has become one of the most downloaded music applications in Apple’s App Store.

The platform is used by everyone from professional musicians experimenting with new ideas to complete beginners creating music for the first time.

Supporters view the technology as a revolutionary democratization of music creation.

For generations, producing high-quality music required access to expensive instruments, recording equipment, technical expertise, and industry connections.

AI dramatically lowers those barriers.

Anyone with a smartphone and an idea can now generate songs that would have been impossible for most people to create independently only a few years ago.

Yet Suno’s rapid rise has not come without controversy.

The company has become one of the central figures in an escalating legal battle over the future of artificial intelligence and intellectual property rights.

In 2024, major record labels including Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group, and Sony Music Entertainment filed lawsuits against Suno and rival AI music platform Udio, alleging copyright infringement.

The lawsuits argue that AI music systems were trained using copyrighted recordings without permission or compensation.

At the heart of the dispute is a question that extends far beyond music:

Can artificial intelligence companies legally learn from copyrighted material without obtaining licenses from the creators?

More than 1,800 independent artists have also supported class-action litigation involving AI music companies, arguing that their work was effectively used to train machines without consent.

The controversy has sparked fierce debate across the entertainment industry.

Critics argue that AI-generated music threatens to devalue human creativity by flooding the market with machine-generated content.

Many artists fear a future where synthetic songs compete directly against human musicians while relying on knowledge learned from decades of human-created recordings.

Supporters counter that technological innovation has always transformed creative industries and that AI should be viewed as a tool rather than a replacement for artists.

They argue that musicians can use AI to expand creativity, increase productivity, and reach new audiences.

Interestingly, the relationship between Suno and the music industry appears to be evolving.

Rather than continuing endless litigation, parts of the industry are beginning to explore partnerships.

Late last year, Warner Music Group settled its legal dispute with Suno and entered into a licensing agreement with the company.

The deal marked the first major-label partnership for an AI music platform and may provide a roadmap for resolving broader industry conflicts.

As part of that effort, Suno announced plans to launch a new music-generation model that would allow artists to voluntarily participate by licensing their names, voices, likenesses, and musical styles for use in AI-generated content.

If successful, such arrangements could create entirely new revenue streams for musicians while reducing legal uncertainty for AI companies.

The fresh capital will be used to expand Suno’s computing infrastructure, hire additional engineers, train more advanced AI models, and accelerate international growth.

The funding also reflects a broader investment trend.

Venture capital continues pouring into companies developing AI-generated content across music, video, writing, design, animation, and entertainment.

Investors increasingly believe artificial intelligence will become a foundational technology for creative industries in much the same way it has already become for software development.

For investors, Suno’s appeal is easy to understand.

The company has more than doubled its valuation in six months.

It has attracted millions of paying customers.

It is generating significant subscription revenue.

And it has begun establishing relationships with the very industry that once sought to shut it down.

Whether AI-generated music ultimately enhances creativity or disrupts it remains one of the biggest unanswered questions in technology and entertainment.

But one thing is becoming increasingly clear: investors are betting billions of dollars that AI-generated music is not a passing trend.

They believe it is the future.

JBizNews Desk — Technology

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

NASA mission control ordered the four astronauts of the Crew-12 mission aboard the International Space Station to enter their Crew Dragon spacecraft and don their spacesuits Friday as a precautionary measure, amid a worsening air leak in the Russian-operated Zvezda service module.

The crew — comprising two American astronauts, a French astronaut, and a Russian cosmonaut — was placed on standby for potential emergency evacuation while Roscosmos worked to address the structural breach.

Shortly thereafter, NASA spokesperson Bethany Stevens announced that Roscosmos had paused its repair efforts and that mission control had instructed the crew to stand down from safe haven procedures and return to planned operations. NASA said it looks forward to working with Roscosmos on a collaborative approach to resolving the leaks.

Three Jewish Israeli women were rescued by Palestinian Authority security forces from Bayt Jala overnight, while another Israeli man was escorted out of Qalqilya, according to the Civil Administration.

The Civil Administration said it received reports of the women wandering in Qalqilya “while endangering their well-being.” Officers from the Etzion District Coordination and Liaison office worked to protect them and coordinate their transfer.

A preliminary investigation found that the women were traveling toward Kever Rachel but made a wrong turn.

In a separate incident, a Jewish Israeli man was detained by a Qalqilya resident after allegedly attempting to pay at a store using counterfeit money. The Civil Administration said its Ephraim District Coordination and Liaison office acted to protect him and transfer him to security forces.

The four Israelis will be questioned by police, as Israelis are prohibited from entering Palestinian Authority-controlled areas of Yehudah and Shomron.

New details from the interrogation of a Gaza terrorist have shed light on how the body of IDF soldier Staff Sgt. Oron Shaul Hy”d was concealed in Gaza for more than a decade before intelligence gathered during the current war led to its recovery. The revelations were first reported by Kan News.

The terrorist, Ibrahim Hilo, a resident of Gaza, was questioned by Israel Police’s Lahav 433 major crimes unit and the Shin Bet. According to the report, Hilo initially denied any involvement in the affair but later broke down during questioning and provided investigators with extensive details.

Hilo told interrogators that during Operation Protective Edge in 2014, shortly after Oron Shaul was killed and his body was abducted, the commander of Hamas’s Shati Battalion contacted him and informed him that he was being entrusted with a “deposit.”

According to Hilo, he asked what the “deposit” was and was told it was the body of an Israeli soldier.

“I asked what the deposit was, he said the body of a soldier. He arrived with a jeep and told me, ‘Take the jeep, put the deposit in the freezer, and afterward leave the jeep in a square in Gaza with the key inside.'”

Hilo testified that he lived on the fifth floor of a building while a refrigeration business operated on the ground floor. It was there, he said, that Oron Shaul’s body was stored for years.

“I locked the freezer and kept the key with me. Only me and Abu Rashad (the commander of the Shati Battalion) knew about the freezer and the key.”

According to the investigation, Hamas operatives periodically visited the site over the years to ensure that the location remained secure and that the body was still being kept there. Hilo claimed that only a small number of individuals were aware of the arrangement and insisted that even members of his own family had no knowledge of it.

Investigators challenged that account. During the interrogation, one investigator confronted him directly, saying:

“Liar. A freezer in your home is locked for years and nobody in the house knows?”

When asked whether he feared that the IDF or Israeli security agencies would eventually discover that the body was being held at his property, Hilo replied:

“I was promised that nobody would know, and I was not afraid.”

According to his testimony, he left Gaza and relocated to Deir al-Balah five days after the October 7 massacre, while Oron Shaul’s body remained at the location where it had been hidden for years.

Hilo was later arrested during the war. Information he provided during questioning ultimately led to a significant intelligence breakthrough, paving the way for the operation that resulted in the recovery of Staff Sgt. Oron Shaul’s remains and his return to kever Yisroel.

{Matzav.com}

This post was originally published on this site.

Three kedoshei elyon had one common concept when it came to learning Torah – they were the Ohr Hachaim Hakadosh (Rabbi Chaim ibn Attar 1696-1743) when he came to Eretz Yisroel; the Ramchal (Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto 1707-1746) when he lived in Padua, Italy;  and Hagaon, Harav Chaim Volozhiner, (1749-1821) the famous talmid of the Gaon of Vilna.

They each had a yeshiva with ‘around-the-clock’ Torah learning, 24-hours a day, so that there would be no minute when the sound of Torah learning would not be heard in this world. The 24-hour period would be divided into shifts, and as one ended the next would begin.

Torah-24

A “Torah-24” Center has been opened in Yerushalayim and the Nasi is Maran Sar Hatorah, Harav Chaim Kanievsky, zt”l.

Under ONE ROOF, from 6:00 am – 6:00 am, 10 kollelim fill successive learning shifts. Each kollel focuses on a specific area of in-depth Torah study. The “Torah-24” Kollelim include: Boker (Gemora), Yerushalmi, Bavli, Zeraim-Taharot, Dalet Chelkei Shulchan Aruch, Erev (Gemora), Chatzos- Zohar/Kabbolah, Erev Shabbos (Chumash / Medrash b’iyun).

Already there are 52 avreichim metzuyonim, and a large number of candidates are vying for the remaining slots in the kollelim. All the avreichim are required to take rigorous monthly tests.

Endorsements & Letters

Endorsements include Maranan Hagaonim shlit”a: Harav Gershon Edelstein, Harav Berel Povarsky, Harav Shimon Badani, Harav Dovid Cohen, Harav Boruch Mordechai Ezrachi, Harav Chaim Feinstein, Harav Shimon Galai, Harav Shraga Shteinman.

Letters of support-encouragement have been received from Maranan Hagaonim, shlit”a: Hamekubal Harav David Bazri, Hamashpia Hagadol Reb Elimelech Biderman, Hamekubal Harav Yaakov Meir Schechter, Harav Moishe Sternbuch, Harav Yitzchak Tuvia Weiss.

For more “Torah-24” information click on: www.torah-24.com or call 718-766-5022

Brian Chesky, the billionaire co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Airbnb, is preparing to launch a new artificial intelligence company, marking his first major move into one of the most competitive industries in the world. The development was first reported by Bloomberg on June 4, citing people familiar with the matter who requested anonymity because the plans have not yet been publicly announced.

While Chesky intends to remain CEO of Airbnb, the new venture signals that one of Silicon Valley’s most influential founders believes the current generation of AI products is missing something fundamental.

According to Bloomberg’s report, the new company will focus on developing advanced artificial intelligence models, with a particular emphasis on how people interact with AI systems. The lab remains in its early stages, and details regarding funding, leadership, staffing, and technology have not yet been finalized.

What makes the project noteworthy is not simply that another AI startup is being launched.

It is the reason Chesky appears to be doing it.

For years, Chesky has argued that artificial intelligence products have become too focused on text and not focused enough on experience.

Today’s leading AI systems generally operate through chat interfaces where users type questions and receive written responses. Chesky has repeatedly suggested that the future of AI should be far more visual, intuitive, interactive, and design-oriented.

In many ways, that perspective reflects the path that built Airbnb itself.

Before becoming one of the most successful technology entrepreneurs of his generation, Chesky studied industrial design. Design thinking became one of Airbnb’s defining competitive advantages, helping transform what began as a simple room-rental concept into a global travel platform used by hundreds of millions of people.

His reported frustration with today’s AI interfaces appears to have become the foundation for this new venture.

Unlike competitors such as Expedia and Booking Holdings, Airbnb has largely avoided integrating directly into platforms like OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Chesky has openly stated that he believes current AI tools are not yet capable of delivering the kind of travel-planning experience he ultimately envisions.

Rather than adapting Airbnb to existing AI systems, he now appears to be exploring whether AI itself should be redesigned.

For investors, the announcement generated mixed reactions.

Airbnb shares initially moved higher following the Bloomberg report before giving back those gains later in the trading session.

The hesitation reflects a common concern among shareholders whenever a high-profile founder pursues outside projects.

Investors often worry that leadership attention could become divided.

That concern may be particularly relevant in Chesky’s case.

Within Silicon Valley, he is known as one of the most hands-on chief executives in the technology industry.

His management style became so widely discussed that startup investor and entrepreneur Paul Graham popularized the phrase “Founder Mode” in 2024 to describe leaders who remain deeply involved in product development, strategy, and operations even after building massive companies.

Chesky has embraced that philosophy throughout Airbnb’s evolution.

The timing is also significant because Airbnb itself is undergoing a major transformation.

The company is no longer content being simply a marketplace for booking vacation rentals.

Chesky has repeatedly outlined a vision of Airbnb becoming a broader travel platform that could eventually handle experiences, services, transportation, local activities, and other travel-related offerings.

Executives have suggested some of these initiatives could eventually generate more than $1 billion annually in additional revenue.

Artificial intelligence is expected to play a major role in that expansion.

Chesky has spoken publicly about Airbnb’s internal use of AI tools, particularly coding assistants that allow teams to develop and test new products significantly faster than before.

According to Chesky, projects that previously required months or years can increasingly be developed in weeks.

The decision to create a separate AI lab rather than house the effort entirely within Airbnb may reveal how ambitious the project truly is.

Rather than developing AI solely for travel applications, Chesky appears to believe there is an opportunity to rethink how consumers interact with AI more broadly.

That places him in direct competition with some of the world’s most valuable and heavily funded companies.

The AI industry is currently dominated by giants including OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon, all of which are investing billions of dollars annually into AI research and infrastructure.

Building cutting-edge AI models requires enormous amounts of computing power, engineering talent, and financial resources.

Even well-funded startups face significant barriers entering the field.

Yet Chesky may be making a different bet.

While many AI companies focus primarily on making models smarter, faster, and more powerful, his reported emphasis appears centered on making AI easier, more intuitive, and more enjoyable to use.

That distinction could prove important.

Technology history is filled with examples where superior design and user experience mattered just as much as raw technical capability.

For consumers, the long-term implications could be substantial.

Imagine travel planning that feels less like asking questions in a chatbot and more like interacting with a personalized digital concierge that visually understands preferences, destinations, budgets, schedules, and experiences before suggestions are even requested.

That type of experience aligns closely with the design philosophy Chesky has advocated for years.

Of course, significant challenges remain.

The company does not yet officially exist.

Funding details remain unknown.

Leadership has not been announced.

The technology roadmap is still unclear.

And competition in AI has never been more intense.

Still, the broader message is unmistakable.

One of the most successful founders of the internet era has concluded that today’s AI experience is not where it needs to be—and rather than waiting for someone else to fix it, he is reportedly building a company to try.

Whether the venture succeeds or fails, Chesky’s entry adds another powerful voice to the debate over what the next generation of artificial intelligence should look like.

JBizNews Desk — Technology

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

After several weeks of steady losses against the shekel, the U.S. dollar has begun to regain ground in recent days, fueled by growing expectations that the Bank of Israel may move more quickly to cut interest rates.

The Bank of Israel’s latest representative exchange rate was set at 2.8950 shekels per dollar, reflecting a daily increase of 0.801%. The euro also posted gains against the Israeli currency.

The primary driver behind the shift appears to be changing market expectations regarding Israeli monetary policy. Bank of Israel Governor Prof. Amir Yaron recently indicated that if inflation expectations continue to decline, it could justify a more accommodative monetary policy and potentially a faster pace of interest-rate reductions.

Investors interpreted those comments as a signal that interest rates in Israel could be lowered sooner than previously anticipated.

When markets expect interest rates to decline, the shekel often weakens because holding shekel-denominated assets becomes less attractive. That dynamic has helped the dollar recover after trading at unusually low levels in recent weeks.

Concerns among exporters and high-tech companies have also played a role. A strong shekel reduces the value of revenues earned in dollars when those earnings are converted into local currency, making fluctuations in the exchange rate especially significant for major sectors of the Israeli economy.

Despite the dollar’s recent gains, financial analysts caution that it is still too early to declare a lasting reversal in the currency trend.

A few days of strengthening do not necessarily outweigh the factors that have supported the shekel in recent months, including robust high-tech exports, strong performance in U.S. financial markets, and continued investment flows into Israel’s stock market.

The Bank of Israel is expected to continue monitoring inflation data, currency movements, and the security situation before making any further policy decisions.

For now, many market observers view the dollar’s recent rise primarily as a sharp correction following a significant decline, rather than definitive evidence of a new long-term trend in the foreign exchange market.

By Y.M. Lowy

Friday will be very hot with a high of 88 and a low of 71. Mostly sunny skies are expected throughout the day as summer-like heat settles over Boro Park.

Shabbos will be the hottest day of the weekend with a high of 92 and a low of 69. Expect hot and more humid conditions with a mix of sunshine and clouds. A breezy afternoon may bring a bit of relief from the heat.

Sunday will be slightly cooler with a high of 86 and a low of 65. It will be very warm during the morning hours before clouds and sunshine alternate through the day. A thunderstorm is possible in the area during the afternoon.

One of Hadera’s biggest real estate projects is finally moving forward, with the city signing a development agreement that clears the way for a major new mixed-use district near the train station, Route 2 and Mall Hof Village.

The project, known as Tnuport, is planned for a roughly 78-dunam site at one of the city’s most important western entrances. Instead of a sleepy edge-of-city plot, the area is being pushed into a dense urban hub: 724 apartments, a major office tower, commercial space, public buildings, education facilities and large open public areas.

panoramic landscape view Israel shoreline cities towns agriculture fields, wide angle, Mediterranean Sea.

The significance is not just the size. The plan had already been approved, but without a development agreement with the municipality, it could not move properly toward permits. That bottleneck has now been removed. Hadera Municipality and the city’s economic company are expected to lead roughly NIS 50 million in infrastructure planning and development work, including upgrades tied to roads, drainage, electricity and the wider public realm.

The residential side will include five 24-story towers, alongside lower-rise buildings. The business component is also central to the story: the plan calls for a 15-story office tower of around 27,000 square meters, plus thousands of square meters of commercial space. In total, the project is expected to bring roughly 30,000 square meters of employment, office and retail space into the area.

That matters for Hadera. Like many growing Israeli cities, it cannot rely only on adding apartments. A city that wants better services, stronger infrastructure and more local jobs needs commercial anchors. This project is being framed as exactly that: not just more housing, but a new district where residents can live, work, shop, walk and use the train without being dependent on daily commutes into Tel Aviv or Haifa.

The plan also includes around 21 dunams of open public space and more than eight dunams for public and education buildings. The official planning documents describe a neighborhood built around a central public space separated from vehicle traffic, with internal roads and parking designed to serve the residential buildings.

There is also a before-and-after story here. Earlier planning rights for the site allowed just 66 housing units, alongside commercial and public space. The new plan dramatically expands the residential footprint to 724 apartments, turning the former Tnuport industrial/packing-house area into one of Hadera’s most ambitious urban redevelopment projects.

Scenic Tel Aviv coastline seashore promenade with hotels and beaches near Old Jaffa port.

For buyers, investors and residents, the location is the strongest part of the pitch. The site sits near the railway, close to the coast, near existing retail and beside key transport arteries. That combination is exactly what Israeli planning authorities increasingly want: dense housing near transportation, with public space and employment built into the same neighborhood.

But the next stage is still execution. A signed development agreement is not the same as residents moving in. The project still has to pass through permits, infrastructure work, marketing and construction phasing. The key question now is whether Hadera can deliver the public infrastructure early enough to support hundreds of new homes without choking the area.

If built as planned, Tnuport could change the face of western Hadera. It would turn a strategic but underused site into a rail-linked urban district and give the city a new economic anchor at its entrance. For a city trying to move from commuter town to independent urban center, this is the kind of project that can actually shift the map.

LOS ANGELES (VINnews) – In a disturbing display of antisemitic vitriol that has drawn swift backlash from Jewish leaders and pro-Israel advocates, fringe California gubernatorial candidate Alicia Lapp launched her campaign with acts widely condemned as hateful incitement against Jews and the Jewish state.

Lapp, a Republican who garnered a negligible 0.1% of the vote in California’s June 2 primary, appeared in videos burning the Israeli flag and calling for the deportation — or imprisonment — of “every single Zionist,” equating support for Israel with treason.

“Zionists” in this context serves as a thinly veiled antisemitic slur targeting Jews who support their ancestral homeland’s right to exist and defend itself, a core tenet of Jewish identity for millions worldwide. Jewish organizations have long warned that such rhetoric echoes dangerous historical tropes blaming Jews for societal ills.

In one video, Lapp stood beside a burning Israeli flag while promoting her “America First” platform, falsely blaming Israel’s existence for California’s crises of homelessness, failing schools and infrastructure — a baseless conspiracy theory that deflects from the state’s own policy failures under decades of Democratic leadership.

Critics, including Jewish activists, compared her statements to those of other extremists who have called for placing Jews in camps, drawing painful parallels to the Holocaust. Lapp’s rhetoric has been slammed as pure Jew-hatred masquerading as political commentary.

California’s Jewish community, already grappling with a surge in antisemitic incidents, expressed outrage. The state recorded hundreds of antisemitic attacks in recent years, including harassment, vandalism and violence against synagogues and Jewish institutions. Leaders stress that such hateful campaigns have no place in American politics and only embolden those who wish harm to Jews.

Lapp’s poor showing at the polls reflects the American public’s rejection of such bigotry. Mainstream candidates across parties have reaffirmed support for the Jewish community and Israel’s security amid rising global threats from Iran-backed terrorists and their ideological allies.

Jewish voters and allies in California and beyond are urged to remain vigilant against antisemitism in all its forms, whether from the far-left or fringe right. Support for candidates who stand firmly against Jew-hatred and for the safety of Jewish communities remains essential.

VINnews will continue monitoring this story and the broader fight against antisemitism in American politics.

The U.S. House of Representatives voted on Wednesday, June 3, to approve a resolution that would require additional congressional authorization before the president could continue military operations against Iran, marking the strongest legislative challenge yet to a conflict that has reshaped energy markets, fueled inflation concerns, and heightened geopolitical tensions across the globe.

The vote, first reported by Reuters, represents the most significant congressional pushback since the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran began in late February. While the measure faces significant hurdles before becoming law, its passage signals a growing desire among lawmakers to reassert Congress’s constitutional role in decisions involving war and military engagement.

At its core, the legislation is a War Powers Resolution, designed to reinforce the constitutional principle that the authority to declare and sustain war belongs to Congress rather than the executive branch alone.

Supporters of the measure argue that military operations against Iran, including actions connected to the strategic Strait of Hormuz, have expanded without a clear vote from elected representatives. They contend that a conflict with such enormous economic, military, and diplomatic consequences deserves direct congressional approval rather than relying solely on executive authority.

The resolution’s future remains uncertain.

Before taking effect, it would need approval from the U.S. Senate, where support remains far from guaranteed. Even if it were to pass both chambers, lawmakers would likely face a presidential veto, requiring a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate to override. Given current political realities, that remains a difficult path.

As a result, the immediate impact is more political than legal.

Yet financial markets are paying close attention.

The war has become one of the most important drivers of global market activity in 2026. Every escalation in the conflict has pushed oil prices higher, increased volatility in equity markets, and created uncertainty for businesses dependent on stable energy supplies. Conversely, every sign of diplomacy or de-escalation has produced relief rallies across multiple asset classes.

The House vote arrived during a week already marked by encouraging developments for markets. Israel and Lebanon announced a ceasefire agreement, oil prices retreated from recent highs, and reports surfaced that diplomatic discussions between Washington and Tehran could continue.

Taken together, investors increasingly see a political environment that may be moving away from a prolonged military confrontation.

For businesses, predictability matters.

A conflict with no clear endpoint creates significant planning challenges for companies exposed to fuel costs, transportation expenses, international shipping, and global trade routes. The continued threat of disruption near the Strait of Hormuz, through which a significant portion of the world’s oil supply travels, has forced businesses to prepare for potential spikes in energy prices and supply chain disruptions.

Industries particularly sensitive to these developments include airlines, trucking companies, shipping firms, manufacturers, logistics providers, and energy-intensive industrial operations.

Even a symbolic congressional effort to limit the war may reduce concerns that the conflict could expand indefinitely, providing some reassurance to corporate planners and investors.

The vote also highlights a broader shift in political sentiment.

Wars are expensive, and those costs eventually appear throughout the economy. Military spending affects federal budgets, higher oil prices contribute to inflation, and uncertainty can weaken investment and consumer confidence. As the conflict has continued and energy costs have remained elevated, lawmakers from both parties have faced increasing pressure from constituents concerned about economic consequences at home.

The fact that the resolution secured enough support to pass the House is noteworthy given the deep divisions that have characterized Congress in recent years.

What happens next may be nearly as important as the vote itself.

If the Senate chooses to debate the measure, it would intensify pressure for a diplomatic resolution. Markets often react not only to actual policy changes but to the likelihood of future outcomes. Investors constantly assess probabilities, and congressional resistance to an open-ended conflict alters those calculations.

The diplomatic backdrop further reinforces that dynamic.

Reports suggesting continued communication between U.S. and Iranian officials have raised hopes that negotiations could eventually reduce tensions. A Congress openly signaling discomfort with an extended military campaign may strengthen advocates of diplomacy while making any significant expansion of military operations more politically difficult.

For ordinary Americans, the consequences remain largely economic.

The conflict has contributed to elevated energy prices throughout the year. Higher fuel costs affect everything from gasoline prices to airline tickets, shipping expenses, food costs, and household budgets. If congressional pressure ultimately contributes to a faster end to hostilities, consumers could eventually benefit through lower energy costs and reduced inflationary pressure.

Few observers expect the resolution to become law in its current form. The Senate remains uncertain, and the mathematics of overriding a veto remain daunting.

Still, the House vote sends a powerful signal.

Whether it ultimately changes policy or not, it demonstrates that the political center of gravity may be shifting toward limiting the conflict rather than expanding it. Businesses, investors, and energy markets are already beginning to incorporate that possibility into their outlooks.

The coming weeks will determine whether the vote represents a symbolic protest or the beginning of a broader effort to reshape America’s role in the conflict. Either way, the message from the House was clear: support for an open-ended war is no longer a given, and the debate over how the conflict should end is now moving to the center of American politics.

JBizNews Desk — Washington

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

By M.C. Millman 

In a significant development for local voters, Boro Park will have a new polling site, bringing a convenient voting location directly into the heart of the neighborhood. 

The new poll site will open at the BPJCC Community Center, which recently opened at 5102 13th Avenue. The center, made possible by the support of Metropolitan Commercial Bank, provides residents with a spacious, ADA-compliant facility where eligible voters can cast their ballots during the early voting period leading up to Election Day and on Election Day itself. 

The addition of a local early voting site is expected to make it easier than ever for Boro Park residents to participate, eliminating the need to leave the neighborhood to vote before Election Day. 

The effort to secure the site was led by District Leader Pinny Ringel, who worked closely with the Board of Elections and community stakeholders throughout the process. 

"Bringing a centrally located voting site in the heart of Boro Park is a milestone that breaks down unnecessary barriers to the ballot box”, said Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein. “By providing flexible options closer to home, we ensure that every neighbor- regardless of their work schedule or caregiving duties- has a fair and convenient voice in shaping our future. Thank you to District Leader Pinny Ringel for helping to bring this important upgrade to Boro Park. Thank you as well to the NYC Board of Elections and BPJCC for their partnership and collaboration in bringing this to fruition.” 

“I worked closely with Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein and the Board of Elections to establish this new polling site in the heart of Boro Park,” said District Leader Pinny Ringel. “This achievement reflects what can be accomplished when elected officials, community leaders, and city agencies work together to deliver meaningful results for our district. I want to thank Assemblyman Eichenstein for his steadfast partnership and advocacy, as well as the Board of Elections for approving an additional polling location for our community. I also want to thank the BPJCC and its CEO, Avi Greenstein, for partnering with us and making their beautiful new center available as a polling site. Expanding access to the ballot box is fundamental to a strong democracy, and bringing a polling site directly into the center of our neighborhood will make voting more convenient, increase civic participation, and ensure that the voices of Boro Park residents are heard loud and clear.” 

“The importance of voting cannot be overstated,” said Avi Greenstein, CEO of BPJCC. “Our community’s voice deserves to be heard, and having an accessible voting location in the center of Boro Park makes civic participation easier than ever. We encourage every eligible voter to take advantage of this opportunity and make their voice count.” 

“Bringing an early voting site to Borough Park means every resident, every family, every worker, every voice in this community has a fair and convenient opportunity to make themselves heard,” said Senator Sam Sutton. “Democracy only works when we show up, and I urge each and every one of you to cast your ballot and help shape the future of our neighborhood and our city.” 

“It’s a mitzvah for every person to vote, and now, with an early voting site in the heart of Boro Park, no one has an excuse,” said Councilman Simcha Felder. “I commend the BPJCC for their efforts to make this a reality, and I look forward to seeing a huge turnout on Election Day.”

The new location is expected to serve thousands of voters and represents a major expansion of voting access in one of Brooklyn’s largest communities. Residents are encouraged to check their voter registration status and review their Board of Elections mailer to confirm their polling information ahead of the upcoming election cycle. 

BPJCC also plans to launch a community-wide voter awareness campaign to encourage eligible residents to use the new voting location and participate in the electoral process. 

The poll site will operate from June 13 through June 21 for early voting and will also be open on Election Day, Tuesday, June 23. 

Voters can also check their polling site location online at vote.nyc/page/find-your-poll-site.

A heated debate erupted Thursday night during a meeting of Israel’s security cabinet as several ministers voiced opposition to a proposed ceasefire arrangement with Lebanon, while Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu clarified that no agreement currently exists because Hezbollah has not accepted the terms.

The discussion came after the United States announced details of a proposed framework following talks between Israeli and Lebanese representatives in Washington.

Under the reported proposal, the sides would establish a series of “pilot zones” in southern Lebanon under the exclusive control of the Lebanese Army. Implementation would be contingent upon a complete cessation of hostilities and the removal of all Hezbollah operatives from areas south of the Litani River.

Despite the framework, no vote on approving a ceasefire took place after Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem publicly rejected the proposal, including its requirement that Hezbollah halt its attacks.

According to a Ynet report, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir attended only the opening portion of the meeting and spoke little during the discussion. During the session, ministers received news of the death of armored corps officer Capt. Eitan Shmuel Lamberg, Hy”d, in southern Lebanon, a development that further hardened opposition among several cabinet members.

At the start of the meeting, Netanyahu updated ministers on the status of negotiations and emphasized that no agreement was currently on the table.

“If Hezbollah agrees, I will bring the ceasefire agreement to you for approval. At the moment there is no agreement. Hezbollah opposes it, and therefore I am not bringing it for a decision,” Netanyahu said.

The prime minister’s remarks sparked a sharp exchange among ministers. Energy Minister Eli Cohen argued that Israel’s response to Hezbollah attacks has been insufficient.

“We need to tell ourselves the truth. For attacks like these, any normal country would have smashed them,” Cohen said.

Minister Ze’ev Elkin pointed to what he described as Lebanon’s unwillingness to move forward with a ceasefire.

“The other side does not want a ceasefire. We can wait a little longer, but we must respond,” Elkin said.

Settlement Minister Orit Strock called for territorial changes along the northern border, saying Israel should “change the border” and move in that direction.

Minister Yitzchak Wasserlauf recounted a conversation with his son regarding the proposed ceasefire.

“My son asked me what this ceasefire is. I told him, during a food break you eat, during a ceasefire they shoot. We cannot keep trying to satisfy the Americans. Time is not on our side,” Wasserlauf said.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir urged Netanyahu to present the human cost of the conflict directly to President Donald Trump.

“Go to the United States and take children from Kiryat Shmona and Metula with you. Tell Trump: We love you, but we must strike Hezbollah’s weak points in Dahieh, and even if there is an escalation, there must be a military maneuver. He’ll get over it. Our soldiers are more important,” Ben Gvir said.

In contrast, Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich offered a more supportive assessment of the proposed arrangement.

“A ceasefire under these circumstances would be a tremendous achievement,” Smotrich argued.

Earlier Thursday, Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem formally rejected the understandings reached between Israel and Lebanon, which would have required Hezbollah to stop firing and withdraw from territory south of the Litani River.

“The result of the direct, humiliating and disgraceful negotiations is rejected by broad segments of the Lebanese people,” Qassem said.

He further declared that Hezbollah would not agree to any ceasefire while Israeli troops remain in Lebanon.

“The Washington declaration conditions the basic principles that America and Israel want — toward subjugating Lebanon to the Greater Israel project.”

Shortly after Qassem’s speech, sirens warning of a hostile aircraft intrusion sounded in several communities in the western Galilee. A Hezbollah drone later exploded near Shlomi, roughly twenty minutes after Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yisroel Katz had departed the area following a meeting with local municipal leaders.

{Matzav.com}

California’s appellate court granted Kars4Kids a win yesterday, allowing it to continue running its iconic jingle on radio and TV in the state. Kars4Kids is a national nonprofit that uses proceeds from car donations for youth, educational, and mentoring programs, largely through its sister charity Oorah. The Court agreed to Kars4Kids’ request for a stay of the lower court’s injunction barring it from airing its current ads in California while the organization pursues an appeal of that ruling.

“Kars4Kids applauds today’s court ruling,” a Kars4Kids spokesperson said. “Kars4Kids’ programs benefit children and teenagers in California and throughout the country. The uninterrupted airing of its ads will enable the charity to continue funding those programs.”

The May 8th court opinion based its decision on what Kars4Kids calls a misrepresentation of the charity and its work, as detailed on the Kars4Kids website.

“We believe the lower court’s findings on the facts and the law were deeply flawed, and we are pursuing a broad appeal of that decision,” the spokesperson said.

{Matzav.com}

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that communication with Iran’s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, remains ongoing and that government officials are carefully following his directives, underscoring his continued role in guiding Tehran’s policies, including negotiations with the United States.

Araghchi’s remarks came after he confirmed that indirect talks with the United States have continued through intermediaries despite the absence of a final agreement.

He stressed that communication channels with Khamenei remain active and functioning, adding that “Khamenei’s instructions reach the government on time.” The statement appeared to push back against comments from U.S. officials who have suggested that difficulties communicating with Iran’s leadership have slowed the negotiation process and delayed responses from Tehran.

Araghchi further emphasized that Iran’s political leadership is acting in full accordance with Khamenei’s directives. His comments indicate that the decision to continue negotiations with Washington has been made with Khamenei’s approval, despite the Iranian leader’s criticism of the United States and Israel.

Just one day earlier, Khamenei accused the two countries of attempting to divide the Iranian people, saying that “the United States and Israel are trying to sow division among Iranians.”

Addressing maritime security, Araghchi also stated that Iran and the Sultanate of Oman would coordinate the management of the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz in accordance with international law.

Mojtaba Khamenei has not appeared publicly since being selected in March to succeed his father, Ali Khamenei, who was killed on the first day of the war with Iran on February 28. His health and status have remained the subject of speculation, raising questions about the extent of his control over the country. Nevertheless, reports continue to point to his growing involvement in government affairs and major policy decisions.

President Donald Trump said last Wednesday that Khamenei’s son is “definitely involved” in the ongoing negotiations.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio echoed that assessment earlier in the week, saying Tuesday that “there are signs that he is becoming increasingly involved at some level.”

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Ali Abdollahi, commander of Khatam al-Anbiya, the central operational headquarters of Iran’s armed forces, have both previously confirmed meeting with Mojtaba Khamenei. However, no photographs from those meetings have been released publicly.

To date, Khamenei’s public communications have been limited to written statements. His latest message was issued Thursday and read during a ceremony marking the 37th anniversary of Ayatollah Khomeini’s death. In the statement, he called on Iranians “to confront the malicious intentions of the enemies,” a reference to the United States and Israel.

{Matzav.com}

The U.S. economy added jobs at a modest pace in May amid uncertainty surrounding the impact of conflict in the Middle East on the labor market.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday reported that employers added 172,000 jobs in May. That figure is above the estimates of economists polled by LSEG, who predicted a gain of 85,000 jobs.

The unemployment rate held steady at 4.3%, which was in line with the expectations of LSEG economists.

Revisions were made to the payroll numbers for the prior two months, with March revised up by 29,000 from a gain of 185,000 to a gain of 214,000; while April’s report was revised up by 64,000 from a gain of 115,000 to 179,000.

Taken together, employment in March and April was 93,000 jobs higher than previously reported.

HOW AI EXPOSURE IS RESHAPING JOBS IN CREATIVE FIELDS

Private payrolls added 120,000 jobs in May, well above the LSEG poll’s prediction of 85,000 jobs. April’s gain of 123,000 jobs was revised up to 177,000 jobs, while March’s gain of 190,000 jobs was revised up to 202,000.

Government payrolls grew by 52,000 jobs in May. Local government accounted for most of the gain, adding 55,000 jobs for the month compared with 1,000 jobs added by the federal government. Those gains were partially offset by a decline of 4,000 jobs in state government.

The manufacturing sector added 7,000 jobs in May, topping the gain of 2,000 jobs expected by LSEG economists.

Healthcare added 35,000 jobs in May, roughly in line with the average monthly gain of 38,000 jobs over the past 12 months. Most of those gains occurred in ambulatory healthcare services (+26,000) and in hospitals (+6,000).

Social assistance added 12,000 jobs in May, mainly in individual and family services (+10,000). The sector has added an average of 17,000 jobs per month over the last year.

The financial activities sector shed 22,000 jobs in May and the sector is down by 107,000 jobs from a recent peak in May 2025. Most of the job losses occurred at insurance carriers (-11,000) and commercial banking (-3,000).

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Dozens of chareidi protesters blocked Highway 1 near Sha’ar Hagai overnight into Friday, protesting the arrest of a yeshiva bochur who had been classified as a draft evader. The demonstration caused significant traffic congestion before police dispersed the protesters using stun grenades and reopened the roadway.

The protest was sparked by the arrest of Nesanel Amsili, a talmid at Yeshivas Derech Hashem, who was detained by military police. The highway remained clogged with traffic for an extended period as demonstrators blocked the road.

Clashes broke out at the scene between motorists and protesters. Some drivers confronted the demonstrators and attempted to clear a path through the massive traffic backup that had formed.

After approximately an hour of roadblocks and disturbances, large police forces arrived and moved to break up the protest. Officers used stun grenades to disperse the crowd, after which traffic resumed on the highway.

The demonstration comes amid ongoing tensions surrounding the arrest of yeshiva students over military draft issues. Protest organizers argue that yeshiva bochurim have been subjected to increasing enforcement efforts by legal authorities, the military, and police.

Earlier this week, extremist protesters demonstrated outside the home of Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg in the community of Alon Shvut, protesting the enlistment of yeshiva students. Police detained approximately 60 suspects during that demonstration.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu condemned the protest outside Justice Sohlberg’s home, calling for strict enforcement against those involved.

“Law enforcement authorities must exhaust the full severity of the law against the rioters,” Netanyahu wrote.

WASHINGTON (VINnews) – Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., on Friday criticized heavy spending by AIPAC and crypto-linked groups in the crowded Democratic primary to replace retiring Rep. Steny Hoyer, saying outside interests are attempting to purchase the congressional seat.

“I think voters need to be aware that these outside groups do not have the voters’ interests at heart,” Van Hollen said during a press conference.

His remarks came days after the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s super PAC, the United Democracy Project, poured more than $1 million into television ads supporting Adrian Boafo, a Maryland state delegate. Boafo has been endorsed by Hoyer and other prominent state Democrats.

The primary race in Maryland’s 5th Congressional District has drawn significant outside spending as multiple candidates vie to succeed Hoyer, a longtime Democratic leader who announced his retirement. Van Hollen highlighted what he described as AIPAC and crypto-linked expenditures influencing the contest.

The United Democracy Project has aggressively backed candidates aligned with pro-Israel positions in Democratic primaries across the country. Boafo’s campaign has welcomed the support as it competes in a field of several Democratic hopefuls.

Van Hollen’s comments reflect growing tensions within the Democratic Party over the role of super PACs and large donors in congressional races, particularly those tied to foreign policy and emerging industry interests.

No immediate response was available from the United Democracy Project or Boafo’s campaign.

After weeks of Republican infighting over a controversial settlement fund tied to President Trump, the Senate approved a $70 billion spending package for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol in the early hours of Friday morning.

The legislation cleared the chamber on a 52-47 vote shortly before 5 a.m. following an overnight series of amendment votes known as a “vote-a-rama.” Among the defeated proposals was an amendment from Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) that sought to divert money from the settlement fund to law enforcement officers injured during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

The bill now heads to the House, where lawmakers are expected to consider it next week.

What Republican leaders hoped would be a straightforward vote centered on border enforcement instead turned into a prolonged internal battle over a $1.776 billion settlement fund established to compensate alleged victims of government weaponization.

For much of Thursday, GOP senators sparred over efforts to eliminate the fund, despite assurances from acting Attorney General Todd Blanche earlier in the week that the program would not move forward.

“This would have been done several hours ago if we weren’t having to deal with some of the issues around the fund,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) told reporters shortly before midnight Thursday.

The settlement fund emerged from an agreement resolving Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS over the disclosure of his tax returns to the New York Times. The newspaper published details from those returns in a September 2020 report examining Trump’s finances.

Although Thune publicly criticized the settlement fund, he spent weeks urging fellow Republicans to keep the border security bill narrowly tailored and avoid attaching provisions that might jeopardize its chances in the House.

Nevertheless, several Republican senators continued pressing for legislative action to prevent the settlement payouts, extending the fight well into the night.

Their push intensified after Trump cast uncertainty on the matter Wednesday afternoon, saying the settlement remained significant while declining to say whether it had been abandoned.

“That settlement is “very important” and “I don’t know” whether it is dead or on hold.

“I’d have to ask the lawyers,” he said.

The Senate’s first vote Thursday morning focused on an amendment offered by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to prohibit the settlement fund. The measure remained open for hours before ultimately failing by a 50-49 margin. Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Jon Husted of Ohio, and Dan Sullivan of Alaska joined Democrats in support.

Lawmakers later overwhelmingly defeated a second proposal from Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) that would have eliminated the settlement fund and redirected the money to a Justice Department anti-fraud initiative.

“If Blanche says this is largely inoperative, why not use this moment to codify that?” said Tillis, who is retiring rather than seeking another term this fall. “Otherwise, you’re exposing every one of our members who are in cycle to having to deal with this between today and Election Day, and that makes no sense for something that the DOJ says they’re not moving forward with.”

Cassidy’s amendment, which would have provided compensation to police officers injured during the Capitol riot, also failed on a 52-47 vote. The proposal highlighted concerns that individuals involved in the Jan. 6 attack could potentially qualify for payments under the settlement arrangement.

Cassidy argued that despite Blanche’s assurances, the settlement remained legally active and “absolutely can be used.”

Another unsuccessful amendment would have barred any payments to Jan. 6 defendants who assaulted law enforcement personnel during the riot.

Schumer sharply criticized Republicans for defeating the proposals, warning that Senate action left taxpayers with little more than assurances from Trump’s legal team.

“leaving taxpayers to rely on nothing more than a promise from Donald Trump’s personal fixer. That is not accountability. That is a permission slip.”

Passage of the legislation would bring an end to a funding standoff that began after two anti-ICE protesters were fatally shot by federal agents in Minnesota earlier this year.

Democrats had insisted that any new funding for the Department of Homeland Security be paired with policy changes governing immigration enforcement. Their demands included clearer identification requirements for federal officers, expanded use of judicial warrants, and additional oversight measures.

Following the Minnesota incident, Trump agreed to separate Homeland Security funding from a broader spending package that was eventually enacted. However, negotiations between the parties failed to produce an agreement on immigration enforcement reforms.

As a result, funding for portions of the department expired in mid-February, with no compromise in place.

Congress later approved funding for the remainder of the Department of Homeland Security at the end of April with Democratic support, but ICE and Border Patrol operations have continued without regular appropriations ever since.

{Matzav.com}

By JBizNews Desk

Federal officials cut off funding to Hawaii’s Medicaid anti-fraud program on Thursday, June 4, making it the first state formally penalized in the Trump administration’s nationwide crackdown—and a warning shot to every other state in the country.

Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson, a co-chair of the White House anti-fraud task force, announced the decertification at a press conference in Ohio, saying Hawaii had shown an “abject failure” to enforce state and federal law against fraud.

The move marks the first time a state has lost certification under the administration’s escalating effort to force stricter Medicaid fraud enforcement nationwide.

Why It Matters

Every state that participates in Medicaid is required to maintain a Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU), typically overseen by the state attorney general, to investigate fraud and abuse involving Medicaid funds.

Federal officials warned that ineffective enforcement can put broader federal Medicaid funding at risk.

That means the consequences may extend beyond Hawaii’s fraud unit itself.

The administration is signaling that states receiving billions in federal health-care dollars must actively police fraud or risk losing federal support.

Why Hawaii Was Targeted

Federal officials cited Hawaii’s performance as the worst in the nation.

According to the administration, Hawaii’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit received approximately $3 million annually in federal funding yet produced zero criminal Medicaid fraud indictments between 2022 and 2025.

During the same period:

• Medicaid enrollment reportedly increased roughly 40%
• Medicaid funding increased approximately 27%
• No fraud-related criminal indictments were filed

March Bell, Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, notified Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez of the decertification, citing the lack of arrests, prosecutions, and convictions.

A Warning to Every State

The action follows months of pressure from Washington.

In May, federal officials sent notice letters to the attorneys general of all 50 states, demanding stronger cooperation in investigating and prosecuting Medicaid fraud.

Hawaii is simply the first state to face direct consequences.

Administration officials say additional states could face similar actions if they fail to strengthen fraud enforcement efforts.

The Ohio Case That Helped Trigger the Announcement

The decertification announcement came alongside a broader federal fraud sweep unveiled Thursday.

According to the Justice Department, investigators uncovered a multimillion-dollar Medicaid scheme involving children’s mental-health services in Ohio.

Authorities allege that services were medically unnecessary, improperly billed, or never provided as represented.

Investigators say that after one provider lost credentialing with the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, claims continued to be submitted through another entity.

Federal authorities seized approximately:

• $469,000 from three bank accounts
• 14 vehicles worth roughly $800,000

Among the seized vehicles:

• Six Mercedes-Benz vehicles
• Bentley
• BMW
• Jaguar
• Maserati
• Two Land Rovers
• GMC
• McLaren

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the prosecutions and said the FBI will launch a new “Most Wanted Fraudsters” list as part of the broader initiative.

Not All States Are Being Treated the Same

While Hawaii became the first state penalized, administration officials highlighted states they view as models for cooperation.

Ferguson specifically praised Ohio Attorney General David Yost, citing recent charges against 14 individuals connected to approximately $50 million in alleged fraud schemes.

The message from Washington was clear:

States that actively cooperate with federal investigations are being publicly recognized, while those that fail to do so face increasing scrutiny.

What It Means for Health-Care Providers

The crackdown has major implications for several sectors of the health-care industry.

Federal investigators are focusing heavily on:

• Behavioral health providers
• Children’s mental-health programs
• Home-health agencies
• Hospice providers
• Durable medical equipment suppliers

These sectors are often viewed by regulators as higher-risk because billing can be difficult to verify and new providers can enter the market relatively quickly.

Companies operating in these areas face:

• Increased credentialing reviews
• Greater audit risk
• Potential payment freezes
• Possible removal from Medicaid programs

State governments also face growing pressure because Medicaid relies heavily on federal funding support.

Critics Push Back

The administration’s approach has drawn criticism.

In April, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services acknowledged to The Associated Press that it had made significant errors in data used during a fraud investigation involving New York.

Several Democratic governors have argued that portions of the broader enforcement campaign are politically motivated.

Supporters counter that Medicaid fraud remains a serious national problem.

Administration officials have cited estimates placing annual Medicaid fraud losses as high as $100 billion, pointing to weak provider verification systems and years of inadequate enforcement in some states.

The Bigger Message

What makes Thursday’s action significant is that federal officials moved beyond warnings.

Until now, Washington largely relied on letters, audits, payment delays, and public pressure.

By decertifying Hawaii’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, the administration demonstrated a willingness to impose direct penalties.

With warning letters already sent to every attorney general in the country, Hawaii has become the first example of what federal officials say can happen when states fail to meet enforcement expectations.

JBizNews Desk — Healthcare & Government

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

Extensive preparations are underway for next week’s Keren Olam HaTorah gathering in Lakewood, where organizers are expecting attendance to exceed 30,000 people.

An organizer involved with the planning told TLS that a tremendous emphasis is being placed on accommodating the anticipated crowds while ensuring the safety and comfort of all attendees. Enhanced fencing, crowd-control measures, and other safety-related infrastructure are being implemented as part of the extensive preparations.

The event is being designed to accommodate men, women, and children, with special screens planned throughout the venue to allow attendees in various sections to participate in the program.

Eli Friedman of EF Productions is coordinating the event in conjunction with Township agencies and local organizations. Organizers say numerous entities are working hand-in-hand to ensure the gathering is both safe and inspirational for the thousands expected to attend.

Meanwhile, Township officials, law enforcement, emergency responders, and event planners continue to finalize logistical details, including street closures, traffic management plans, and designated parking arrangements for the many buses expected to transport yeshiva students to the event.

Additional details regarding road closures, transportation plans, and attendance guidelines are expected to be released as the event approaches.

Iran’s supreme leader broke months of silence Thursday with a written declaration that his country had defeated the United States and Israel, a claim that landed amid stalled negotiations, fresh violence across the region, and growing questions about whether the man issuing it remains in control.

“The malicious enemy has been defeated in its confrontation with the Armed Forces,” the statement attributed to Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei declared. “Since it has received a decisive blow both in military combat and in [Iran’s] public squares and streets, it’s experiencing a profound, significant humiliation.”

The circumstances of the message’s delivery told their own story. Khamenei has not been seen in public since being wounded in the strikes that killed his father and predecessor, Ali Khamenei, in the opening salvo of the US-Israeli bombing campaign on February 28. Every June 4 since 1989, the elder Khamenei had personally delivered the speech marking the death of the Islamic Republic’s founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. This year, an empty chair bearing his portrait stood at the mausoleum while a prayer leader read the message aloud.

The triumphant tone contrasted sharply with the state of play. Iran’s own government reported “no tangible progress” in negotiations to end the conflict, and weeks of talks marked by threats and flare-ups of violence have failed to produce a deal to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key conduit for global energy flows.

Analysts noted the message may be aimed less at Washington than at Iranians themselves. Khamenei accused the enemy of seeking to “plant the seeds of doubt, despair, fear, mistrust and division” among the public, and called for unity to “neutralize their sinister plot.”

The unexpected victory proclamation may signal an approaching peace deal, for which he appears to be preparing the Iranian nation. A leader who has declared the war won can more easily sign the agreement that ends it.

Washington, meanwhile, is speaking in two voices. President Donald Trump again voiced optimism, telling reporters a deal “could happen” soon, and reports indicate the administration is demanding the signing of a deal in Geneva next week. But Trump also told reporters Thursday that the US does not need an agreement at all to secure Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile, saying America could “get it right now” and that the material is “entombed” under constant surveillance. The Wall Street Journal reported this week, citing US officials, that Trump told aides he will only end the ceasefire with Iran if Tehran kills American troops.

The gaps between the sides remain wide. Tehran insists any arrangement must address the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in Lebanon, and is demanding access to “liquid cash” from billions in frozen assets as part of the first phase of any agreement. Intermediaries have spent days trying to bridge the differences. Washington is pressing Iran to reopen Hormuz, curb nuclear activity, and address its highly enriched uranium stockpile.

The political ground in Washington is shifting as well. The US House of Representatives passed a resolution seeking to halt American military action in Iran, a symbolic but pointed rebuke of Trump’s handling of the war.

On the ground, the conflict continued to smolder. An Iranian drone attack on Kuwait’s airport killed one person and suspended flights this week, and the US embassy in Jerusalem warned citizens that the “security environment can change quickly,” advising them to locate their nearest shelter.

The declaration of victory also came a day before CNN revealed the scope of what Iran absorbed during the war: a covert network of Israeli bases in Azerbaijan, Iraq, the UAE, and Somaliland that placed elite forces along three sides of Iran’s periphery and enabled sustained strikes deep inside the country.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)