WASHINGTON (AP) — Joe Biden sued the Justice Department on Tuesday in an effort to block the release of audio recordings and transcripts of the former president’s interview with a ghostwriter that were obtained by the special counsel who investigated his handling of classified documents.

Biden’s lawyers said in a lawsuit filed in Washington’s federal court that the Justice Department plans to release the files to Congress and a conservative group, the Heritage Foundation, after the department had previously argued that they were exempt from disclosure under the public records law.

Biden’s lawyers argued that the disclosure would “constitute an unwarranted invasion of President Biden’s privacy.”

“Every American, including a sitting or former Vice President, has a right to privacy in the personal conversations he has within his own home,” his attorneys wrote. “And when the U.S. Department of Justice obtains that private information through a criminal investigation, the Department bears a particular responsibility to protect it from disclosure.”

At issue in the case are audio recordings and transcripts of Biden’s interviews at his home in 2016 and 2017 with Mark Zwonitzer, who worked with Biden on his two memoirs. The files were scrutinized by special counsel Robert Hur as part of his investigation into the president’s improper retention of classified documents, from his time as a senator and as vice president.

Hur’s yearlong investigation led to a 345-page report that questioned Biden’s age and mental competence but recommended no criminal charges against the then-81-year-old. Hur said he found insufficient evidence to successfully prosecute a case in court.

Biden has separately fought the release of the audio of his interview with Hur. The House in 2024 voted to hold Biden Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over that audio after the White House exerted executive privilege, shielding it from Congress.

The transcripts of five hours of Biden interviews with federal prosecutors was released that same year. While Biden was adamant that he treated classified information seriously, the transcript shows that he was at times fuzzy about dates and details and he said he was unfamiliar with the paper trail for some of the sensitive documents he handled.

Republicans have argued Biden was being given a pass by his own Justice Department and that Trump had been unfairly victimized by prosecutors. Democrats, for their part, stressed Biden’s cooperation in the investigation and strongly contrasted that with the separate criminal case against Trump, who was accused of refusing to return classified documents requested by the National Archives that he had at his Florida estate.

NEW YORK — Members of Brooklyn’s Park Slope Food Co-op voted Tuesday to stop carrying Israeli-made products after a divisive internal debate that drew an unusually large turnout and exposed sharp disagreements within the longtime cooperative community.

More than 7,000 members participated in the online meeting, far exceeding the attendance typically seen at co-op gatherings. Organizers shifted the vote to a virtual format after some Jewish members expressed concerns about tensions surrounding the issue.

Park Slope Food Co-op vote to ban Israeli products happening now, following overwhelming passage of a motion that precluded discussion and passage of a separate measure providing for a simple majority vote for boycotts.

— Alyssa Katz (@alykatzz) May 27, 2026

Before the boycott vote, members approved a rules change reducing the approval requirement for boycott measures from a supermajority to a simple majority. The proposal targeting Israeli products later passed with support from about two-thirds of participating members.

The dispute has fueled months of arguments among co-op members, including demonstrations outside the store and accusations of antisemitism tied to the debate over the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel.

Several members objected to how the meeting was conducted, saying opponents of the boycott were not given sufficient time to address the membership before voting began. Technical issues during the lengthy Zoom session also added to confusion and frustration among attendees.

Supporters described the boycott as a political and humanitarian statement, while critics argued the campaign had damaged relationships inside the cooperative and created unnecessary hostility among neighbors and longtime members.

NEW YORK (VINNEWS/Rabbi Yair Hoffman) Dear Rabbi, Lakewood has been a booming town in terms of businesses.  I work in an office where they have a food room so that the employees won’t leave for lunch and use the time to work for the company.  The food stocks are quite tempting.  However, I like the standard scrambled eggs for a snack mid-day.  There are no cooking facilities there, so I did bring in a Betty Crocker that I picked up from Bingo for $24.99.  I did not ask permission from the CEO or from HR.  It seems that some of the other employees were not too excited about what I did.  Someone pointed out that it may be considered gezel or dishonest.  Is this true?  If so, do I owe any money?

ANSWER:

Using a facility without permission is a form of trespassing.  You did not specify your gender, but if you are aware that you are possibly trespassing and that it is gezel you may be pasul l’aidus according to the Gra in Siman 40– invalid to serve as a halachic witness. If you are unaware of either then you are not pasul l’aidus. So, if you are reading this and believe it, then it was just ruined for you.

There is such a thing as tacit permission, where it can be assumed that the owners do not care.  But, of late, permission is often necessary before one does something unilaterally in the corporate world.

What exactly is the halachic violation? The violation is actually that of stealing. The Talmud (Bava Basra 88a) records a debate between Rabbi Yehudah and the Sages as to whether borrowing an item without permission renders a person a gazlan, a thief, or whether he simply has the status of a borrower.

Rabbi Yehudah maintains that he does not have the halachic status of a thief, while the Sages maintain that he does. The Rif and the Rambam both rule in accordance with the Sages-that he is considered a thief. Indeed, this is also the ruling of the Shulchan Aruch in four different places (C.M. 292:1, 308:7, 359:5, 363:5).

Is the “considered a thief” designation applicable in all cases? Generally speaking, borrowing an item has a value associated with it. In the case of trespassing, there may be no particular value per se in setting foot on the person’s property, or in parking improperly. While this may be the case, the Chazon Ish (B.K. 20:5) writes that the prohibition of sho’el shelo mida’as (one who borrows without permission) applies even when the item is not something that generally has a market value, and even if the value is less than that of a perutah.

How do we know that borrowing without permission also applies to being on someone’s land, or parking illegally? Maybe, it can be argued that in order to “borrow,” you have to physically take an object; here, you are just taking up space on someone’s land.

THE PROOF

The Rashbam in Bava Basra 57b discusses a case of a piece of property owned by two partners. The Rashbam writes that we are lenient and assume that one partner allows the other to place his animals on the land even without explicitly giving permission. In such a case, he would not be considered a sho’el shelo mida’as since they, in general, are partners, and would let the other do what he wants with their property. According to the Rashbam, therefore, when not dealing with two partners of a property, trespassing would be subsumed under the concept of sho’el shelo mida’as.

Now for payback purposes let’s look at the power draw. Betty Crocker electric skillets/griddles are usually rated around 1,200 watts (1.2 kW).

Time to cook two eggs. Figure roughly 2–3 minutes to preheat plus 3–4 minutes to cook two eggs, so call it about 6 minutes of total “on the counter” time.

Using 7 minutes of power use:

1.2 kW × (7÷ 60) hours ≈ 0.14 kWh per day which is .7 kWh per week

Electricity around here is roughly 31¢/kWh which is equal to 22 cents per week.

The author can be reached at [email protected]

NEW YORK (VINnews) — New York City Councilwoman Shahana Hanif is under fire after posting a message on X targeting Muslim activists who helped organize a pro-Israel demonstration near Gracie Mansion on Tuesday evening.

Hanif, a Democratic socialist representing parts of Brooklyn, reposted flyers promoting the anti-Mamdani rally and wrote that she hoped the organizers would go “to Jahannam,” an Islamic term referring to hell.

May Allah condemn you to Jahannam. https://t.co/DwAhbc3SgB

— Shahana Hanif (@ShahanaFromBK) May 26, 2026

The protest, organized by EndJewHatred, took place near the mayoral residence and featured Muslim and Jewish speakers criticizing New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani over his positions regarding Israel and the Jewish community.

One of the event’s organizers, Anila Ali of the American Muslim & Multifaith Women’s Empowerment Council, said earlier in the day that many Muslim Americans reject what she described as extremist political messaging connected to Mamdani’s supporters.

Ali said the rally was intended to highlight cooperation between Muslim and Jewish communities and to demonstrate that opposition to antisemitism crosses religious lines.

She also argued that criticism of Mamdani goes beyond disagreements over Israeli policy, claiming his rhetoric has damaged interfaith relations in the city.

Hanif’s post quickly sparked backlash online, with critics accusing the councilwoman of directing hostile religious language at fellow Muslims because of their political views.

DETROIT (VINnews) – Abdul El-Sayed, the far-left Arab Democratic candidate seeking Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat, appeared to dodge a direct question about Israel’s fundamental right to exist as a Jewish state during a recent event with Jewish supporters.

El-Sayed, a former gubernatorial candidate known for his progressive positions, told the audience last week that he “often struggle[s]” with the question, suggesting it forces a deeper debate over the definition of a Jewish state rather than offering a clear affirmation of Israel’s legitimacy.

“I often struggle with the question that people ask in this particular scenario, because what they now ask is, ‘Do you believe in the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish state,’ which, to me, forces the question of a definition of what a Jewish state means,” El-Sayed said, according to footage from the event.

The remarks have raised concerns among pro-Israel advocates in Michigan’s Jewish community, who view unequivocal support for Israel’s existence as a Jewish homeland as a baseline expectation, especially following the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas massacre and the ensuing war against Iranian-backed terror groups.

El-Sayed’s hesitation stands in contrast to longstanding bipartisan U.S. policy recognizing Israel as the Jewish people’s nation-state. Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state is rooted in international recognition including the 1947 UN Partition Plan, the 1948 Declaration of Independence, and repeated affirmations by American presidents across party lines.

Critics argue that questioning or equivocating on this core issue echoes positions held by elements of the progressive left that have increasingly aligned with anti-Israel activism, including calls for boycotts and pressure on the Jewish state that many see as undermining its security amid existential threats from Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran.

El-Sayed has positioned himself as a leading progressive voice in Michigan politics, a state with a significant Arab-American population and a growing Jewish community concerned about rising antisemitism. His campaign for the Senate seat has drawn national attention as Democrats navigate internal divisions over Israel policy.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military launched another strike Tuesday on a vessel suspected of transporting drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing one man and leaving two survivors.
US military strike on alleged drug boat in the eastern Pacific kills 1, leaves 2 survivors
Video posted on social media by U.S. Southern Command shows a boat speeding through water before exploding into flames. Southern Command said it “immediately notified the U.S. Coast Guard to activate the Search and Rescue system for the survivors.”

The Trump administration’s campaign of blowing up alleged drug-trafficking vessels in Latin American waters, including the eastern Pacific and the Caribbean Sea, has gone on since early September and killed at least 194 people in total. The military has not provided evidence that any of the vessels were carrying drugs.

The Pentagon watchdog said last week that it will evaluate whether the U.S. military followed an established targeting framework when carrying out the attacks on alleged drug-smuggling boats. The six-phase Joint Targeting Cycle include a military commander’s intent, target development, analysis, decision, execution and assessment.

The Pentagon inspector general’s office said the review was “self-initiated.” It will not probe the legality of the strikes, which have drawn intense scrutiny from some Democratic lawmakers and military legal scholars.

The Trump administration says the U.S. is at war against the Latin American drug cartels, which it says are responsible for the scourge of fatal drug overdoses plaguing many American communities.

AUSTIN (VINnews) – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton defeated incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in the Republican primary runoff for U.S. Senate on Tuesday, a stunning upset powered by a late endorsement from President  Trump.

Paxton, a staunch Trump ally, overcame Cornyn’s early lead from the March 3 primary — where Cornyn edged him 42%-40.5% — to secure the GOP nomination. The victory highlights the significant sway of Trump’s backing in the state’s conservative electorate.

Fox News anchor Bill Hemmer underscored the endorsement’s impact during election coverage.

“Endorsements on behalf of Donald Trump matter,” Hemmer said. “30 point swing. The flip in these counties is extraordinary from 2.5 months! The only difference? Trump endorsed Paxton.”

Paxton received Trump’s endorsement just one week before the May 26 runoff, a move that dramatically shifted momentum in the high-stakes race. Trump praised Paxton as a “fighter” while criticizing Cornyn’s loyalty on key issues.

The contest, one of the most expensive Republican primaries in recent history, exposed deep divisions within the Texas GOP between establishment figures and the MAGA wing. Cornyn, a four-term senator, emphasized his legislative record and experience, but struggled against Paxton’s grassroots appeal and Trump alignment.

With the primary now decided, Paxton advances to the November general election against Democratic nominee state Rep. James Talarico. Texas remains a reliably Republican state in Senate races, making Paxton the strong favorite to succeed Cornyn.

Results continued to come in late Tuesday as polls closed across the state.

HARRISBURG (VINnews) – Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro defended the American Israel Public Affairs Committee against accusations that it uses its financial influence to silence critics, saying such attacks often cross into anti-Jewish rhetoric by singling out Jewish political donors.

In an interview with Politico’s Jonathan Martin, Shapiro argued that framing opposition to certain candidates as “AIPAC money” cynically aims to delegitimize pro-Israel voices in Democratic politics.

“I think it’s been used cynically by some to try and silence certain voices, to try and say that certain people participating in politics shouldn’t count or should be viewed in a toxic way,” Shapiro said.

He continued: “What you are seeing is not, ‘AIPAC money’ or however it was termed, but you’re getting ‘the Jews who give to that candidate who also support AIPAC.’

Shapiro, a Democrat and one of the party’s most prominent pro-Israel figures, made the remarks amid ongoing tensions within the Democratic Party over Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. AIPAC and its affiliated super PACs have spent tens of millions of dollars in recent primaries to support candidates who back strong U.S.-Israel ties and oppose those seen as overly critical of Israel.

The governor warned that blurring the line between legitimate policy debate and targeting Jewish supporters risks fostering antisemitism.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration wants all current and future federal employees to sign non-disclosure agreements, part of a continuing crackdown on leaks to the media.

A proposed notice announced Tuesday on the Office of Personnel Management website is expected to be posted Wednesday in the Federal Register. OPM is seeking comment on a draft NDA to be used by federal agencies for “both new and existing employees.”

“The form is intended to document Federal employees’ acknowledgment of, and agreement to comply with, current legal obligations to safeguard non-public, confidential, or proprietary information, created or obtained through their official duties, while expressly preserving the right to make disclosures authorized by law,” the notice said.

The proposed notice seeks comment on several questions, including whether the NDA should cover only unclassified information and what appropriate actions, if any, agencies should consider for new or current employees who choose not to sign the agreement.

The OPM noted “several recent instances” where internal agency communications related to rulemaking and policy development were disclosed without authorization. It also discussed specific instances in which federal employees at the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security disclosed information about planned immigration enforcement actions without authorization.

In one case, The New York Times and The Washington Post received unauthorized information on the U.S. raid on Venezuela this past January and delayed “publishing what they knew to avoid endangering U.S. troops,” the OPM request for comment said.

A Washington Post spokesperson declined to comment.

Charles Stadtlander, executive director of Media Relations and Communications for the Times, said in an email that the paper had extensive reporting on operations targeting Venezuela and preparations for land-based military operations. “Contrary to some claims, however, The Times did not have verified details about the pending operation to capture Maduro or a story prepared, nor did we withhold publication at the request of the Trump administration.”

Ferreting out leaks that the administration deems harmful to its messaging has been a priority across multiple agencies since President Donald Trump returned to the White House. As part of that crackdown, the FBI in January seized the electronic devices of a Washington Post reporter, a move that alarmed media organizations and advocates of press freedom.

One other notable incident occurred last year when dozens of reporters turned in their access badges at the Pentagon, rejecting new rules imposed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that would leave journalists vulnerable to expulsion if they sought to report on information — classified or otherwise — that had not been approved by Hegseth for release.

The American Federation of Government Employees National President Everett Kelley said in a statement that OPM’s proposed rule is part of a continuing effort to silence federal employees.

“This proposed NDA is another attempt by the administration to purge the civil service of nonpartisan career employees and replace them with loyalists who won’t speak out against waste, fraud, and abuse,” Kelley said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump had another medical exam on Tuesday, putting his health under renewed public scrutiny after he has worked to dismiss concerns over his age and stamina.

The 79-year-old president spent more than three hours at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for what the White House described as preventive medical and dental checkups. It was Trump’s fourth publicly disclosed medical exam since he returned to office for a second term, and it comes as he tries to project strength ahead of midterm elections that will test his sway with voters.

In a social media post after the visit, Trump said that he had just finished his “6 month physical” and that “Everything checked out PERFECTLY.”

The White House did not immediately release a written report from Trump’s doctors.

For decades, administrations have released selected results from presidential physicals, offering the public a glimpse at the commander-in-chief’s health. But the results are filtered through the White House and must be approved by the president, raising questions about what the public does and doesn’t get to see.

Trump, a Republican, turns 80 next month and was the oldest person elected U.S. president. His immediate predecessor, President Joe Biden, a Democrat, was 82 when he left office, dropping out of the 2024 presidential race because of widespread concerns he was too old for the job.

A Washington Post/ABC News/Ipsos poll conducted in April found that less than half of U.S. adults think Trump has the mental sharpness or physical health to serve effectively as president.

“I think concern for the president’s physical health is probably at an all-time high, and I think advanced physical age is the No. 1 concern,” said Dr. Jeffrey Kuhlman, who served as a White House physician for more than a decade under Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

For a president of Trump’s age, a complete physical would be expected to include advanced heart testing, screening for common cancers and a cognitive assessment, along with basics like height, weight and blood pressure, Kuhlman said.

The White House has not disclosed what the visit entailed but expressed confidence in what it will show.

“President Trump is the sharpest and most accessible President in American history who is working nonstop to solve problems and deliver on his promises, and he remains in excellent health,” White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said in a statement.

No law requiring presidents to disclose their medical records
In the weeks leading up to his visit, Trump has been saying he feels as good as he did five decades ago — even as he jokes about his fondness for fast food and his minimal exercise regimen. Yet he’s also sensitive to perceptions about his age, noting that he takes extra caution descending the steps from Air Force One to avoid headlines about a stumble.

There is no law requiring presidents to publicize their health records, and the degree of transparency has varied by administration. Trump’s past reports have been criticized for offering scant detail and for providing statistics that some medical experts have viewed with skepticism.

At public appearances, Trump is often seen wearing makeup to conceal bruising on his hands, which the White House attributes to handshaking and regular aspirin use. He has sometimes appeared drowsy during meetings and closed his eyes for long stretches, though he denies having fallen asleep.

Trump often boasts of having “aced” cognitive tests while frequently deriding Biden, who faced questions about his mental acuity. Biden and his aides pushed back aggressively against doubts raised about his fitness for office.

Some of Trump’s previous physicals have included the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, used to screen for dementia and cognitive impairment. Trump’s physicians reported a score of 30 out of 30 for him at his 2018 and 2025 checkups.

Yet critics have pointed to Trump’s meandering speeches and sometimes bellicose rhetoric as evidence of cognitive decline.

Last month, a statement from more than 30 neurologists, psychiatrists and other medical experts — who acknowledged they’ve never examined him — said Trump was mentally unfit to serve and warned of an “increasingly dangerous decline” in his behavior based on what they called “objectively observable signs of serious medical concern.″

“Any so-called medical professionals engaging in armchair diagnosis or false speculation for political purposes are clearly breaking the Hippocratic Oath they’ve sworn to,” Ingle said.

Just like any other patient, presidents get to choose what’s disclosed about their health, said Sara Rosenthal, a bioethicist at the University of Kentucky who studies presidential health. Questions about transparency have become more acute as America elects aging presidents like Trump and Biden, she said.

“I think we can expect very little disclosure about the true health status of any president unless they’re in perfect health,” said Rosenthal, who has suggested an independent medical organization to review and report on the health of the president and those in the line of succession.

‘Nothing should be hidden’
Trump’s first medical report in his second term was released last April. In July, he was diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, a common condition in older adults that causes blood to pool in his veins. Photographs have shown the president with swollen feet, ankles and calves, described by the White House as a symptom of chronic venous insufficiency leading to “mild swelling” in his lower legs.

Following his last publicly disclosed exam, described as a routine follow-up last October, Trump’s physician issued a one-page summary saying the president was in “exceptional health” without divulging many specific results.

The frequency of Trump’s medical checkups is not uncommon for someone his age, according to S. Jay Olshansky of the University of Illinois-Chicago, who has studied the health of past presidents. It’s part of a strategy to catch problems while they’re still treatable, Olshansky said.

Olshansky says the public deserves to see more than White House medical summaries that “may be subject to editorial discretion.” Full, unredacted medical records should be made public, he said: “Nothing should be hidden.”

GAZA CITY (VINnews/AP) – Israeli forces carried out three consecutive airstrikes Tuesday targeting Mohammed Odeh, the newly appointed commander of Hamas’ military wing, in a densely populated area of Gaza City, according to a local resident and Israeli officials.

A resident of the Rimal neighborhood told i24NEWS that Odeh was hiding in an apartment building above a market in the busiest part of the area. The resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the streets were crowded with shoppers preparing for Eid al-Adha.

“I have no objection to the IDF’s targeting of Awda, but it’s very crowded out in the streets right now because everyone is out shopping for Eid al-Adha,” the resident said. “Hamas knows this and is hiding among the civilians. I hope the targeting was very accurate and that there were no additional casualties.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz announced that the Israel Defense Forces struck Odeh, describing him as the new commander of Hamas’ military wing and one of the architects of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

Odeh, who previously served as head of Hamas intelligence, was appointed as successor to Izz al-Din al-Haddad approximately one week earlier. Al-Haddad was killed in an Israeli strike in the same Rimal neighborhood about 10 days ago.

An update on Odeh’s elimination was reported during a Channel 12 broadcast, citing the Chief of Staff. The IDF has not officially commented on the outcome of the strike.

Gaza’s civil defense agency, run by Hamas, reported that at least one woman was killed in the strike in Rimal, with additional casualties possible.

The strikes come as Israel continues efforts to dismantle Hamas’ leadership following the Oct. 7 attacks that killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel and led to the taking of more than 250 hostages. Hamas has not issued an immediate comment on Odeh’s status.

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market rose to records Tuesday as it caught up with climbs for others around the world from the day before, when President Donald Trump said negotiations were “proceeding nicely” with Iran on ending their war.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.6% after trading resumed following Monday’s holiday and set an all-time high. The Nasdaq composite rallied 1.2% to set its own record, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 118 points, or 0.2%, from its all-time high.

Stock markets in much of the rest of the world pulled back from their gains the day before, as fighting continued in the region and the U.S. military said it carried out “self-defense” strikes in southern Iran, including on missile launch sites and boats placing mines. Markets have rallied in the past on hopes for a coming end to the war with Iran, only to see the conflict drag on.

The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, rose 3.5% to $96.67, but that reclaimed only some of its plunge from Monday. The price for a barrel of U.S crude oil, meanwhile, fell 2.8% to settle at $93.89.

Oil prices have been at the center of financial markets’ action since the United States and Israel attacked Iran in late February. The ensuing war has closed the Strait of Hormuz and kept oil tankers pent up in the Persian Gulf instead of delivering crude to customers worldwide. That in turn has driven up oil’s price and sent a wave of painful inflation around the world.

Hopes for a deal to improve the flow of oil helped lift stocks of companies with big fuel bills. United Airlines rose 6%, and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings steamed 4.9% higher.

Big technology stocks also continued their big runs. Micron Technology’s stock leaped 19.3% to top $895.88 and was the strongest force lifting the S&P 500 after analysts at UBS led by Timothy Arcuri raised their 12-month price target for the stock to $1,625 from $535.

The analysts are forecasting continued strength in demand for computer memory, and Micron’s stock has already more than tripled so far this year. It’s the latest Big Tech company to top an overall value of $1 trillion and joined such behemoths as Nvidia, Apple and Microsoft, which have each blown past $3 trillion.

On the losing side of Wall Street was AutoZone, which dropped 9% after reporting slightly weaker revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. CEO Phil Daniele said performance for the retailer’s stores in Brazil and Mexico was below its plan, though its overall profit topped analysts’ expectations.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 45.65 points to 7,519.12. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 118.02 to 50,461.68, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 312.21 to 26,656.18.

Lower oil prices helped pull yields down in the U.S. bond market, which eased the pressure on Wall Street. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.49% from 4.56% late Friday.

It’s a respite following recent gains for yields in bond markets worldwide, which threatened to slow economies and undercut prices for stocks and all kinds of other investments. High yields have already forced the average long-term U.S. mortgage rate to its most expensive level since last summer, and they could curtail companies’ borrowing to build the artificial-intelligence data centers that have supported the U.S. economy’s growth recently.

Most big U.S. companies have been reporting both profit and revenue for the start of 2026 above what analysts expected. The strong performances have helped vault U.S. stocks to records, even with all the uncertainty around oil prices and the war with Iran.

U.S. households have been feeling discouraged about the economy because of accelerating inflation, and a report on Tuesday said consumer confidence edged downward in May, though the number was not as bad as economists expected. It followed a report on Friday that said sentiment among U.S. consumers hit its lowest level on record.

In stock markets abroad, many indexes slipped, including a 0.2% dip for Japan’s Nikkei 225 from its all-time high set the day before.

South Korea’s Kospi jumped 2.5% as it caught up with other markets following its closure on Monday for a holiday. London’s FTSE 100 added 0.2% even though British petroleum giant BP fell 4% there. BP ousted its chairman over what it called serious concerns related to “important governance standards, oversight and conduct.”

NEW YORK (VINnews) — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday unveiled an ambitious housing plan aimed at building and preserving 400,000 affordable homes over the next decade, calling it the largest municipal housing initiative in city history.

Mayor Mamdani Holds Press Conference to Make a Housing Announcement
https://t.co/y3DZ29JuKT

— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) May 26, 2026

The proposal, titled “Block by Block,” would create 200,000 new affordable rent-stabilized apartments and preserve or stabilize another 200,000 units, backed by a planned $22 billion capital investment over five years.

Speaking at Powerhouse Arts in Brooklyn’s Gowanus neighborhood, Mamdani framed the effort as a response to soaring rents, deteriorating public housing and decades of underinvestment.

“We can keep people in their homes, and we can build the homes that they need to live in,” Mamdani said. “We have spoken about this crisis long enough. It is now time to do something about it.”

The mayor said the plan would expand affordable housing production, strengthen tenant protections and direct billions toward repairs and upgrades at the New York City Housing Authority, the nation’s largest public housing system.

The administration pledged $5.6 billion for NYCHA over five years, which Mamdani described as the largest city capital commitment to public housing in decades.

Officials said the housing plan would also include stronger enforcement against negligent landlords, expanded inspections of heat complaints and new support for tenant unions. The city also plans to pursue zoning changes and speed up housing approvals through a package of reforms known as “SPEED,” aimed at reducing delays in affordable housing development.

Deputy Mayor for Housing and Planning Leila Bozorg said the city must “grow in an equitable and affordable way” and argued that New York no longer has enough housing to meet demand.

Mamdani, who campaigned heavily on affordability and tenant protections, said the city would continue efforts to hold landlords accountable while expanding housing supply.

The plan drew praise from tenant advocates and affordable housing groups who attended Tuesday’s announcement. Sumathy Kumar of Housing Justice for All called it a shift toward policies centered on renters rather than landlords and developers.

But some real estate and business groups criticized the proposal as overly reliant on government intervention and potentially burdensome for developers.

The housing blueprint also revives attention on large-scale development projects such as Sunnyside Yards in Queens, which Mamdani said could eventually create 12,000 homes and tens of thousands of jobs.

The administration said the initiative would support roughly 30,000 construction jobs annually while generating thousands of permanent jobs after completion.

New York City continues to face one of the nation’s most severe housing shortages, with rents and home prices remaining near record highs.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — President Donald Trump’s push to reshape congressional districts ahead of the November elections suffered a double setback Tuesday, as South Carolina senators declined to do so and a federal court blocked a Republican-backed map in Alabama.

As early in-person voting began Tuesday in South Carolina’s primaries, the state Senate rejected a Republican plan to cancel those congressional votes and instead schedule a new primary under revised districts designed to help the GOP oust a longtime Democrat.

Some senators said it was simply too late to make a change.

“South Carolina citizens are going to the polls today. And neither my conscience or common sense is going to let me stop an election that is already underway,” Republican state Sen. Richard Cash said.

The political drama in South Carolina is part of a Republican strategy — propelled by Trump — to redraw voting districts to the GOP’s advantage in an attempt to hold on to a slim House majority in the midterm elections. Republicans have been moving quickly to try to leverage a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that weakened minority protections under the federal Voting Rights Act.

In Alabama, a three-judge federal panel issued a preliminary injunction blocking the state from using a Republican-drawn congressional map that could help the GOP win an additional seat. The court said the plan “intentionally discriminated based on race” by including only one Black-majority district and it ordered the continued use of a court-imposed map that includes two districts with a significant proportion of Black residents.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, a Republican, vowed a quick appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court and predicted an eventual victory.

Democrats, who have suffered their own share of setbacks in the national redistricting battle, praised the turn of events in Alabama.

The “fight for justice is far from over in states across the country where politicians are enacting gerrymanders on top of gerrymanders to erase equal representation for communities of color,” said Marina Jenkins, executive director of the National Redistricting Foundation, a nonprofit affiliate of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee.

A redistricting battle that has spanned 10 months
Voting districts typically are redrawn after a census at the start of a decade. But Trump has urged Republican-led states to redistrict ahead of the November elections to try to rebuff political headwinds, which typically result in lost congressional seats for the president’s party in midterms.

Since Trump first urged Texas to redraw its voting districts last summer, Republicans also have enacted new House districts in Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Florida and Tennessee. Meanwhile, voters in California adopted new Democratic-drawn districts, and a court imposed a favorable map for Democrats in Utah. Democrats suffered a setback in Virginia, where the state Supreme Court invalidated a voter-approved redistricting plan that could have helped Democrats win additional seats.

Redistricting discussions are ongoing in Louisiana following an April high court ruling that struck down a majority-Black congressional district as an illegal partisan gerrymander. The Louisiana House could vote later this week on a new map that could eliminate a seat held by Democratic U.S. Rep. Cleo Fields and improve Republicans’ chances of winning six out of the state’s seven seats.

The Congressional Black Caucus on Tuesday called on major corporations across the U.S., including those that previously expressed support for voting rights and racial justice, to oppose redistricting efforts by Republican-led states that seek to eliminate majority-Black U.S. House districts. That comes after the caucus last week called for Black athletes to boycott public universities in states that are gerrymandering congressional maps to eliminate districts held by Black lawmakers.

Clyburn decries White House role in redistricting
More than 26,000 votes were cast in South Carolina by noon Tuesday on the first day of early voting for the June 9 primary after Democrats called for people against a proposed new map to turn out in force. In 2022, about 125,000 early votes were cast the entire two weeks.

Among the first to cast an early ballot in the small city of Orangeburg was U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, the Democrat whose district Republicans were trying to reshape in their quest for a clean sweep of South Carolina’s seven congressional seats. A defiant Clyburn insisted he would run for reelection, regardless of what the district looks like.

“I’m OK if it’s Trump plus 20,” Clyburn said while describing the potential Republican advantage in a reshaped district. “I would be running where I live.”

The Republican-led House already had passed a plan that would reconfigure Clyburn’s district, void the results of current congressional primaries and instead hold new U.S. House primaries in August.

Trump has lobbied for the plan, making at least two phone calls to Republican state Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey and also phoning in to a private meeting of Republican senators earlier this month. He also has maintained the pressure on social media.

But debate stalled in the Senate, where Democrats were staunchly opposed and some GOP lawmakers had concerns that an aggressive redistricting could backfire by making some Republican-held seats susceptible to losses because of the addition of Democratic voters.

Clyburn noted that when state lawmakers last redrew congressional districts, after the 2020 census, they spent months holding meetings across the state to gather public suggestions. Although that map resulted in a 6-1 seat advantage for Republicans over Democrats, the process was orderly and fair, he said.

“When the map was challenged, the U.S. Supreme Court said, yes, this is constitutional,” Clyburn said. But now, “this White House says, to hell with the process, to hell with the Constitution, just do what we want done.”

LONGVIEW, Wash. (AP) — The implosion of a chemical tank at a pulp and paper mill in Washington state Tuesday killed an undisclosed number of people, local authorities and company officials confirmed.

In a joint statement, Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co. and local law enforcement said the tank’s rupture caused “multiple critical injuries” as well as fatalities.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration said Tuesday that it will admit an additional 10,000 white South Africans into the U.S. as refugees this year, increasing its historically low annual cap but still blocking people from other countries from entering through the program.

Trump suspended the refugee program on his first day in office and, since then, has turned it into a vehicle to allow Afrikaners — a group of white South Africans descended mainly from Dutch settlers — into the U.S. Advocates say the decision to focus a decades-old program on one group has left people around the world fleeing war and strife stranded and with few options.

The administration says Afrikaners are subject to persecution in their home country, a charge the government in South Africa denies.

In the announcement Tuesday on the Federal Register, President Donald Trump said that because of “an unforeseen emergency refugee situation” he was raising the refugee cap. He blamed the South African government for “recent increases in the incitement of racially motivated violence” but gave no specific information.

“I hereby determine that the admission to the United States of Afrikaners from South Africa in response to this emergency is justified by the grave humanitarian concerns and is otherwise in the national interest,” Trump said in the announcement.

Democrats criticize refugee cap
The administration indicated last year that it would admit up to 7,500, mostly Afrikaners, during the fiscal year stretching from October 2025 through September 2026, but last week, in a notice to Congress informing it of the increase, the administration said that “unforeseen developments in South Africa created an emergency refugee situation.” The change raises the limit to 17,500.

Christopher Landau, the deputy secretary of state, and Troy Edgar, the deputy secretary of Homeland Security, met with key congressional committees on Thursday as part of the legally required consultation process with lawmakers, according to two people who were granted anonymity to discuss a private meeting.

During the hour-long session, Landau told lawmakers that one of the ways that Afrikaners had faced persecution at home was the erasure of their history in school textbooks, according to the people with knowledge of the meeting. The discussion infuriated Democrats, who called the approach and the consultation “indefensible.”

The State Department did not return a request for comment on the interaction.

“The administration’s shameful approach to refugee resettlement is organized around prioritizing white-only Afrikaners and betraying everyone else, including thousands of Afghan allies who risked their lives for our nation, and thousands of other approved and vetted refugees twisting in the wind,” said Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin of Illinois and Alex Padilla of California, and Democratic Reps. Jamie Raskin of Maryland and Pramila Jayapal of Washington.

Inside the meeting, Democrats also pressed the administration on religious minorities in other nations, particularly in Iran, and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan indicated that it was an issue the administration should look at, the people said. Jordan raised the case of Saleh Mohammadi, a 19-year-old star wrestler who was hanged in Iran with two other young men in March after being sentenced on charges of “moharabeh,” or “waging war against God,” another person with knowledge of the meeting said.

Thousands of mostly white South Africans already admitted
The State Department has already admitted more than 6,000 people through the refugee program since the beginning of the fiscal year in October, according to official data. All of those were from South Africa except for three people from Afghanistan.

Presidents set the cap on how many refugees the U.S. will admit each year, and historically, they’ve allocated those numbers across various geographic regions while factoring in wars or conflicts that spark humanitarian needs around the globe.

The refugee program, administered by the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security, is distinct from asylum. People hoping to come through the refugee program must be living abroad and undergo vetting and other checks before being admitted to the U.S., whereas those seeking asylum are already on U.S. soil.

During his first administration, Trump slashed the number of refugees he admitted every year. Then the Biden administration built the system back up, setting a goal of admitting 125,000 refugees in his last year in office.

Groups that have for decades helped resettle refugees in the U.S. have sued to allow people who were in the refugee application process but are now stranded to be allowed to come to the U.S.

“For nearly half a century, the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program embodied a simple but powerful, bipartisan idea: that the United States would offer safety to the world’s most vulnerable refugees,” said Beth Oppenheim, President & CEO of HIAS, in a statement. “This administration is now dismantling that legacy in plain sight.”

BOSTON (AP) — Drivers for ride-hailing apps such as Uber and Lyft in Massachusetts became the first in the nation Tuesday to certify a union, marking a milestone in the growing effort to organize gig-economy workers amid ongoing concerns over pay, expenses and working conditions.

The victory could provide a model for similar campaigns gaining traction in states including California and Illinois, where labor organizers are increasingly targeting app-based industries as drivers also grapple with the rapid expansion of self-driving technology.

Fully driverless commercial rides without a human operator are not currently permitted in Massachusetts.

The certification became possible after the state’s voters approved a 2024 ballot measure creating a first-in-the-nation framework allowing ride-hailing drivers to unionize and bargain collectively while remaining independent contractors. Organizers say the union could ultimately represent nearly 70,000 drivers statewide.

As drivers waved signs and chanted with the gold dome of the Massachusetts State House providing a backdrop, labor leaders described the victory as the largest private-sector organizing win since Ford autoworkers unionized in 1941.

Jean Fredo, who has driven for Uber for more than seven years, said he hopes the union will bring better pay, stronger protections against sudden deactivations and more stability for drivers.

“With the union, it will not feel like we’re working for nothing,” he said in French through a translator. “Now the money will not only stay in the billionaire’s pockets. The money will actually come to the workers who work very hard.”

Fredo said when he started driving for Uber he appreciated the flexibility and the ability to make his own schedule while still being present for his family. But over time, he said, he found himself working longer hours while earning less as gas and maintenance costs climbed.

Drivers can also lose access to the apps with little warning or recourse, he said.

“I live with stress — always scared to lose my app,” Fredo said. “This is not a way to live.”

Fredo said he immediately joined the organizing effort when he heard about it and later helped sign up hundreds of other drivers at airports and gathering spots around the Boston area.

At one point during the rally, Fredo pumped his fists over his head while showing a photo of his family to the crowd.

“This is my family,” he said. “I’m fighting for a better life for them — just like everyone else is fighting for their families. My dream is to save and send my kids to college, and I believe we will get there.”

A labor fight shadowed by automation fears
Supporters say rising vehicle costs, fluctuating pay and opaque app algorithms have fueled frustration among drivers who often work long hours while paying for gas, insurance, maintenance and vehicle wear-and-tear themselves. Uber and Lyft have argued that drivers value the flexibility of app-based work and have opposed efforts that could reclassify workers or alter the industry’s business model.

The organizing effort has unfolded alongside the rapid expansion of autonomous vehicle technology. In Massachusetts, autonomous vehicles can be tested on public roads, but current regulations still require a licensed human operator inside the vehicle. Fully driverless commercial operations without a human in the car are not permitted statewide.

Waymo has expanded driverless taxi operations in cities including San Francisco, Los Angeles and Phoenix. The rollout has drawn scrutiny over traffic disruptions, safety investigations and incidents involving stalled or malfunctioning vehicles, while also heightening anxiety among some ride-hailing drivers about the future of their jobs.

Julie Blust of the App Drivers Union said drivers across the country regularly communicate with one another about changing conditions in the industry, including the expansion of autonomous vehicles in California.

“We now know what’s happening there,” she said. “Drivers are seeing pay go down, and there are real concerns about safety and job security as automatic vehicles expand.”

Organizers increasingly see unionization as a way for drivers to collectively respond to the growth of autonomous vehicle companies, she said.

“Drivers now have an official organization and can speak with one voice about what’s happening in this industry,” Blust said. “We cannot let billions of dollars leave Massachusetts and go to Silicon Valley. That money feeds people’s families, that money pays the rent. That money goes into small businesses.”

Uber and Lyft ‘engaging in good faith’
The bargaining process is also unfolding as Massachusetts regulators consider broad new ride-hailing regulations proposed this spring involving safety standards, driver oversight and proposals involving electric vehicle fleets. Days before the union certification, Uber warned in a blog post that some of the proposals could raise costs and reduce flexibility for drivers, while supporters said the changes are intended to strengthen safety and accountability.

In an emailed statement Tuesday, Uber said it would work with the union and state regulators as the bargaining process moves forward.

“As we enter this next phase, we will work closely with the ADU, our broader driver community, and the Department of Labor Relations,” the company said. “Together, we will ensure that driver flexibility and hard-won benefits remain the foundation of our progress.”

Lyft also said it planned to engage with the new bargaining process.

“As this new process moves forward, we’re committed to engaging in good faith,” the company said in a statement. “Lyft does well when drivers do well, and we’ll stay focused on helping drivers succeed while keeping rideshare affordable and dependable for everyone who counts on it.”

BEIT HANOUN (VINnews) – Israeli forces destroyed more than 6 miles of underground tunnels and hundreds of above-ground terrorist infrastructures in the Beit Hanoun area of northern Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces said.

The IDF described the area as a former central terrorist stronghold for Hamas. Military officials said the operation targeted an extensive network used by the Iran-backed terrorist group for attacks against Israel.

The operation dismantled both subterranean tunnels — which Hamas has historically used for smuggling, command centers and surprise attacks — and numerous surface-level facilities including buildings utilized for military purposes.

No immediate details were released on the time frame of the destruction or whether it was part of a larger ongoing operation in the region. The IDF has conducted repeated missions in northern Gaza to degrade Hamas capabilities and prevent the group from regrouping since the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre that triggered the current war.

The announcement comes amid continued Israeli efforts to eliminate remaining Hamas infrastructure throughout the Gaza Strip.

NEW YORK — Jewish and pro-Israel advocacy groups plan to hold a demonstration Tuesday evening outside the official residence of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

The protest is being organized by EndJewHatred and is expected to include support from the Israeli-American Council, the Catholic League and the Zionist Organization of America. Organizers said the rally is intended to protest what they describe as rising hostility toward Jewish and pro-Israel communities in the city.

The planned demonstration comes amid growing disagreements between Mamdani and several mainstream Jewish organizations over his positions on Israel-related issues. Recent criticism focused on a video released for Nakba Day and his support for proposed legislation involving charities connected to Israeli settlement-related activities.

Some Jewish leaders argue similar proposals could negatively impact nonprofit and humanitarian organizations with ties to Jewish communities in disputed territories.

Mamdani also chose not to participate in this weekend’s Israel Day on Fifth parade, an annual pro-Israel event in New York City.

JERUSALEM — A photo of a Ger Hasidic rabbi serving as an Israeli combat soldier carrying a Torah scroll and military gear has gone viral on social media, with many online calling it a symbol of unity within Israeli society.

The image showed Capt. Yehuda Weitzman, 34, leaving home after Shabbat dressed in traditional Hasidic clothing while carrying a suitcase, combat vest and Torah scroll before returning to reserve military duty.

צאת חג מתן תורה בירושלים. נשק, ספר תורה וקרמי בדרך לעוד סבב מילואים בלבנון pic.twitter.com/f71bkY2PsC

— חיים גולדברג (@haim_goldberg) May 24, 2026

Weitzman, a father of three from Jerusalem, serves in the Israeli military’s Hasmonean Brigade, a framework aimed at integrating ultra-Orthodox soldiers into combat service. He said he enlisted for full military service in 2018 after years of studying in yeshivas and kollel programs.

“I felt I needed to be part of what I call ‘the Temple of our time,’” Weitzman told Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronot, referring to the military. “The Temple once brought all parts of the Jewish people together, and today the army does that.”

Following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, Weitzman said he was deployed near Gaza border communities and later assisted at a military base handling the dead. Though he previously served in rabbinic and professional military roles, he later chose to retrain as a combat soldier.

Weitzman also said he helped organize donations and support for soldiers from ultra-Orthodox communities, including operational equipment donated by anti-Zionist Satmar Hasidim in the United States.

He said Torah scrolls brought to combat areas often unite soldiers from different religious and political backgrounds.

NEW YORK (VINnews) – American Airlines says it plans to equip more than 500 narrowbody aircraft with SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service beginning in early 2027, expanding the airline industry’s push to provide faster in-flight connectivity for travelers.

The Fort Worth, Texas-based carrier said Tuesday the rollout will include much of its domestic and short-haul international fleet, including new Airbus A321neo and A321XLR aircraft entering service.

American said the Starlink system, which uses a low Earth orbit satellite network operated by SpaceX, is expected to support high-bandwidth uses such as video streaming, online gaming and video calls during flights.

Airlines have increasingly invested in upgraded onboard Wi-Fi systems as they compete to attract premium travelers seeking faster and more reliable internet access in the air.

American Airlines did not immediately disclose financial terms of the agreement or when installations across the fleet would be completed.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumer confidence declined slightly this month as gas prices stayed high and inflation remained elevated, a sharp contrast to soaring stock prices hover near record levels.

The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index slipped 0.7 points to 93.1 in May, the first decline after three months of gains. The measure hasn’t fallen as much this year as other gauges of consumer attitudes, but it has been stuck at a low level since the pandemic. Before COVID-19, it regularly reached 130.

A separate gauge of consumer sentiment released last week by the University of Michigan fell to a record low this month. Soaring gas and food costs have worsened inflation that is outpacing the average growth in paychecks, reducing most Americans’ purchasing power. Americans have soured on President Trump’s economic policies, polls show, potentially creating problems for Republicans heading into the midterm elections.

Consumer sentiment is mostly gloomy even as the economy is still growing and the unemployment rate has stayed low. Some economists argue that the gap reflects inequality in a “K-shaped” economy, with higher-income Americans benefitting from rising stock prices and still spending while lower-income households struggle.

Tuesday’s consumer confidence survey showed that confidence grew among households with incomes at or above $100,000, while it fell for most others.

“The prospect of higher prices and faster inflation continues to loom over confidence readings with many households taking a more cautious approach to purchases this year,” Ben Ayers, Nationwide senior economist, said.

There were some positive signs, Ayers noted: Americans’ expectations for growth six months in the future improved, potentially a sign they expect the Iran war to be over by then.

Still, Americans’ outlook on the job market worsened slightly. The proportion of respondents who said jobs are “plentiful” dropped to 25.5%, the lowest in three years. At the same time, just 18.6% said jobs were “hard to get,” the smallest percentage since October. The findings reflect the “low-hire, low-fire” job market that has made it harder for those out of work to obtain new jobs.

Gas prices have soared to a nationwide average of $4.49 a gallon from $2.98 just before the war began at the end of February, and have been at or above $4.50 a gallon for nearly all of May.

This month, the Conference Board added special questions to its survey, which found rising prices have caused most Americans to change their spending habits. Two-thirds of respondents said they are cutting back spending in response to the increases, with most of those reducing overall purchases and delaying more expensive acquisitions.

Many consumers are also planning to economize on clothes, shoes, hobby items, and toys and games, the survey found.

Inflation jumped to 3.8% in April, the highest in three years and far above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. In addition to more expensive gas, grocery prices have also started rising more quickly, likely driven by higher shipping costs. Beef prices have also risen sharply, as drought and other factors have reduced cattle herds.

The higher prices are reducing Americans’ average inflation-adjusted incomes. Average hourly earnings, adjusted for price changes, shrank in April from a year earlier for the first time in three years.

Other data also suggests consumers have grown more cautious amid rising prices. Adjusted for inflation, retail sales actually declined in April, after a solid increase in March.

And the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index fell to a record-low 44.8 in May, its third straight decline, as a majority of respondents said rising prices were hurting their personal finances.

(JNS) – The Israel Defense Forces’ Home Front Command on Tuesday started rolling out an advance warnings system for incoming rocket and missile fire from Lebanon.
“An advance warning from Lebanon will be issued in cases where conditions allow it. The principle is simple: whenever possible, we will give you more time,” a spokesman for the military body said in a statement.

The amount of warning time ranges from several seconds in border communities to up to one minute in northern Israel and around two minutes elsewhere in the country.

Warnings messages will be delivered through the Home Front Command application, the National Emergency Portal and push notifications to mobile devices.

“We remind you that an advance warning will not always be issued. Therefore, in any case, when an alert is received, you must enter a protected space,” the IDF spokesman stressed, urging citizens to “continue to follow the Home Front Command’s instructions—they save lives.”

Iranian-backed Hezbollah began firing rockets and drones at Israel on March 2, following the targeted killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei during the opening stages of “Operation Roaring Lion” on Feb. 28.

In response to repeated violations of the ceasefire agreement, Israel launched a broad aerial campaign against Hezbollah targets and expanded military operations in Southern Lebanon aimed at preventing cross-border attacks on northern Israeli communities.

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Two planes carrying 19 Australian women and children linked to the Islamic State group in Syria landed in Melbourne and Sydney on Tuesday, despite Australia’s government warning that the returnees could face charges.

The government earlier confirmed seven women and 12 children were heading home on Qatar Airways flights, less than three weeks after a group of 13 people in similar situations returned to Australia’s two largest cities.

WATCH | Nineteen Australian women and children linked to Islamic State have returned home in a covert operation that sparked violent confrontations at Melbourne Airport.

Read more: https://t.co/jKjimAfySQ pic.twitter.com/l3m9hvYYRr

— The Australian (@australian) May 26, 2026

Two women with seven children flew to Melbourne. Four women with six children landed about an hour later in Sydney, a joint police and intelligence agency statement said.

No one had been charged on arrival, but investigations into their activities in Syria were continuing, the statement said. Three of four women who returned home earlier were charged with slavery and terrorism offenses and remain behind bars.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said anyone among the 19 on their way to Australia who has committed crimes “can expect to face the full force of the law.”

“The government has not and will not provide any assistance to this group,” Burke said in a statement.

“These are people who have made the horrific choice to join a dangerous terrorist organisation and to place their children in an unspeakable situation,” he added.

Australian law enforcement and intelligence agencies have been preparing for their return since 2014 and have long-standing plans in place to manage and monitor them, Burke said.

“The priority of the government, as always, is the safety of the Australian community,” he said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had earlier told Parliament: “I have nothing but contempt for anyone who has any sympathy for ISIS,” referring to IS by an acronym for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

The bid by general practice doctor Jamal Rifi, a community leader in Sydney’s Lebanese Muslim diaspora, to return 34 Australian women and children from Syria failed in February. Syrian authorities blocked their convoy’s route to Damascus and turned them back to Roj camp, a location in northeast Syria near the Iraq border where people linked to IS have been held since IS forces in the Middle East were defeated in 2019.

Riji told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. on Tuesday that Syrian authorities had since been persuaded that the majority of Australians in Roj were children who had a legal right to grow up in Australia.

“These women are caring mothers,” he said of the 19 women who just landed in Australia.

“Definitely joining willingly the death cult of the un-Islamic caliphate, it’s a terrible decision. Some of these women, I believe they were tricked to go there. Some of them are victims of the death cult and others are not,” Riji said.

After the departure of the latest group, at least two Australians remain in Roj camp, including a mother who was prevented from returning to Australia in February by a temporary exclusion order.

Exclusion orders were created by laws introduced in 2019 to prevent defeated IS fighters from returning to Australia for up to two years.

The woman, aged around 29, had remained at Roj with her daughter, who had been disabled by shrapnel wounds, The Australian newspaper reported. She left her Sydney home at the age of 18 in 2015 to marry an IS fighter in Syria, the newspaper reported.

Her family has engaged a Sydney lawyer to challenge the order, which bars the mother from Australia until February 2028.

The last Australian cohort returned from Syria on May 7, similarly without government help.

Kawsar Ahmed, also known Kawsar Abbas, 53, and her daughter Zeinab Ahmed, 31, were arrested when they landed in Melbourne over allegations that their family had bought a female Yazidi slave.

Janai Safar, 32, was arrested at Sydney Airport when she arrived with her 9-year-old son on charges of being a member of a terrorist organization and of entering or remaining in a region controlled by a terrorist organization.

Australian governments have repatriated Australian women and children from Syrian detention camps on two occasions. Other Australians have returned quietly without government assistance.

BUGGENHOUT, Belgium (AP) — A crash between a bus and a train traveling at high speed in northern Belgium killed four people, including two children ages 12 and 15, and injured five other children, officials said Tuesday.

The injured children were hospitalized in serious condition, said Lisa De Wilde, spokeswoman for the East Flanders public prosecutor’s office. The collision happened at a level crossing during the morning rush hour near the town of Buggenhout, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) northwest of the capital, Brussels.

The minibus driver and an escort were killed along with two children, De Wilde said at a news conference. She said that the cause of the crash hadn’t been established. Investigators were questioning witnesses and checking security camera footage.

“What we do know is that the barrier was closed and the red light was on,” she said.

Police and rescue personal work around a level crossing where a train collided with a van in Buggenhout, Belgium, Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Marius Burgelman)

An Associated Press reporter at the scene said that the badly damaged bus lay toppled on its side, its front section crushed flat. Forensic experts in protective white suits and wearing gloves were taking photos of the scene. A forensics tent was erected nearby. The train was relatively unscathed.

The train was estimated to be traveling at about 120 kph (75 mph) as it approached the crossing and had “no time to brake,” said Frédéric Sacré, a spokesman for Belgian rail operator Infrabel.

“The impact was extremely violent,” Sacré told RTBF public broadcaster.

Federal Police spokesperson An Berger said that the bus driver appeared to have ploughed through the train barrier. Infrabel said that the crossing was working correctly. A security camera there showed that the bus, which had a total of nine people aboard, was still moving when the train hit it.

Police and residents gather around a level crossing where a train collided with a van in Buggenhout, Belgium, Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Marius Burgelman)

It’s believed that about 100 passengers were aboard the train and that none of them were hurt. Rail traffic in the area was halted and bus services provided for travelers. Local officials stood for a minute’s silence after the news conference.

Children played basketball and rode bicycles at a school not far from the scene in this bucolic town.

In a social media post, Interior Minister Bernard Quintin expressed “great sadness” over “the tragic accident in Buggenhout, where a school bus was struck by a train. My thoughts go out to the victims and their loved ones.”

Police tape cordons off a level crossing where a train collided with a van in Buggenhout, Belgium, Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Marius Burgelman)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran on Tuesday denounced U.S. strikes a day earlier as a sign of “bad faith and unreliability” as negotiations continue toward a possible deal to end the war.

The U.S. military has characterized Monday’s strikes in southern Iran as defensive, saying targets included missile launch sites and boats placing mines, and said the U.S. acted with “restraint” in light of the weekslong ceasefire.

Iran’s foreign ministry called the strikes a ceasefire violation and warned that Washington would bear responsibility for “all consequences,” without details.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran will leave no act of aggression unanswered,” it added in a statement.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard on Tuesday said it had shot down and deterred drones and a fighter jet that entered its airspace, according to Iran’s official Mizan news agency, which did not specify when the incident occurred.

It wasn’t immediately clear what the developments would mean for negotiations. The strikes came after Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf went to Qatar as part of the talks, which U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday were “proceeding nicely.”

The strikes were the latest flare-up in the fragile ceasefire that began April 7 and has largely held.

Negotiations center in part on the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial waterway off southern Iran through which a fifth of the world’s crude oil and natural gas passed before the war began with U.S.-Israeli strikes in February. Tehran retaliated by effectively closing the strait, stranding hundreds of ships and shocking the global economy.

The U.K. Maritime Trade Operations Center said an explosion was reported Tuesday morning aboard a tanker in the Gulf of Oman, which lies near the strait. No one was injured in the blast; there was no immediate information on the cause.

Besides disrupting energy markets, the strait’s closure is also squeezing fertilizer supplies worldwide. The full impact might not become clear until harvests that are months away. U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization Director-General Qu Dongyu, warned at an event in Rome Tuesday that “the decisions we make now will determine whether this remains a manageable shock or evolves into a deeper global food security crisis in 2026 and 2027 and beyond.”

The strait has become a powerful lever for Tehran in talks, joining the long-running issue of Iran’s nuclear program and highly enriched uranium. Iran, in turn, wants the U.S. to lift its military blockade of Iranian ports that began on April 17.

“What we are witnessing today is not only a geopolitical crisis, it is a systemic shock to the global agrifood system,” Qu said Tuesday.

Trump has introduced a new angle in negotiations for a deal on the war, saying any agreement to end the war should include a requirement for several additional countries, including Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, to join the Abraham Accords, a series of U.S.-brokered diplomatic, economic and security agreements aimed at normalizing relations with Israel.

Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates became the first countries to join in 2020; Sudan, Morocco and Kazakhstan have followed. Egypt and Jordan already formally recognize Israel and have long-standing peace treaties. Turkey first recognized Israel in 1949.

Israel’s conduct against Palestinians, including in the war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, has alienated Gulf Arab states and the wider Muslim world, but Trump has been keen to build on the Abraham Accords, forged during his first term. He has even suggested that Iran eventually could sign on.

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — A yeshiva student, considered one of the prominent students at Yeshivat Darchei Ish in Moshav Tirosh was arrested Tuesday night in what was described as a planned police ambush.

The student, Meir Sabag, encountered a surprise checkpoint around 2 a.m. that had been set up by the civilian police on the road between Beit Shemesh and Moshav Tirosh.

Sabag, who was returning to the yeshiva after visiting his parents to help them, reportedly that he had no suspicion that the routine trip would turn into what the article describes as a nightmare. The vehicle he was traveling in was stopped for a document check, and when police entered Sabag’s details into their system, officers discovered that he was listed as a draft evader. His travel companion, whose information was also checked, was released after the system showed his status was  legally arranged.

According to testimonies from the scene, the forces allegedly used deliberate deception to prevent escalation or calls for assistance. Police reportedly calmed the students and claimed that the military police who had been summoned to the scene did not intend to make an arrest, but only to deliver an official summons to the military recruitment office. Because of this alleged misleading information, the students did not rush to contact emergency support networks.

Within about fifteen minutes, an unmarked vehicle reportedly arrived, from which three plainclothes detectives and a soldier emerged. They handcuffed the student, placed him in the vehicle, and quickly drove away.

Sources connected to the yeshiva issued an urgent warning to yeshiva students and avreichim: “Do not be naïve, the system is operating in every possible way.”

The incident comes amid reports that the Israel Police refused to allocate thousands of police officers and Border Police personnel for a broad arrest operation targeting yeshiva students in charedi cities. According to the report, the military police requested major manpower assistance from the Israel Police for a proactive operation, but the request was denied.

At the same time, the Ministry of Construction and Housing has reportedly begun implementing automatic computerized synchronization with the IDF Human Resources Directorate databases. Under the system, any citizen defined by the military system as obligated for enlistment who has not arranged his legal status will immediately lose eligibility to participate in government housing programs.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia fired more than 100 drones and two ballistic missiles at Ukraine overnight, the Ukrainian air force said Tuesday, as the country’s foreign ministry noted that Moscow’s recent threat to hit Kyiv especially hard from the air brought nothing new.

Russia on Monday urged foreign citizens, including members of diplomatic missions, to leave the Ukrainian capital as quickly as possible and told residents to steer clear of military and government facilities. It said that “systemic strikes” on Kyiv were being prepared.

Russia has regularly bombarded Kyiv, often causing dozens of civilian casualties with every attack, since it launched an all-out invasion of neighboring Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio by phone Monday that the U.S. should evacuate its diplomatic staff from Kyiv, a foreign ministry statement said. Rubio didn’t say whether the U.S. State Department would take that step, but expressed concern during a trip to India that the “terrible” war in Ukraine could escalate further.

The Trump administration has tried for more than a year to stop the war. But its efforts yielded no significant breakthrough and are now on ice as Washington focuses on the Iran war.

No diplomats say they are leaving Kyiv
There were no announcements of diplomatic departures from Kyiv. The European Union, French and Polish delegations publicly said that they would not leave.

The European Union summoned Russia’s representative in Brussels to convey its concerns Tuesday, with European Commission spokesperson Anitta Hipper accusing Russia of “trying to sow panic.”

French Foreign Ministry spokesman Pascal Confavreux called the Russian threat “new intimidation from Moscow.”

The level of security threats posed by Russia to Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities “remains the same as in previous years and months,” Ukraine’s foreign ministry said in a statement late Monday.

Russia has continuously launched missile and drone attacks on the capital, it pointed out, adding that Ukraine was prepared to assist diplomatic missions seeking additional security measures.

Russia could target bunkers, official says
Andrei Kartapolov, head of the defense affairs committee in Russia’s State Duma, said that the Ukrainian parliament and presidential office aren’t among potential targets.

Kartapolov said that possible attacks could aim at underground bunkers used by various branches of Ukraine’s armed forces, security agencies and other government structures.

“Those are well-concealed and fortified facilities, and our task is to spot and target them with the weapons we have,” Kartapolov said in remarks carried by Parlamentskaya Gazeta, the official publication of the Russian parliament.

Russia said its biggest missile attack of the year last weekend was in response to Friday’s deadly Ukrainian drone strike on what Moscow said was a college dormitory in Starobilsk, a city in Ukraine’s Russia-occupied Luhansk region.

But the Ukrainian General Staff said that its strike in Starobilsk hit the local headquarters of the Russian military’s special drone unit.

Ukraine remains short of air defense missiles
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that sophisticated American-made air defense systems that Ukraine needs in order to stop Russian ballistic missiles are in short supply because of the Iran war.

“Unfortunately, there has been no progress for a long time with America on expanding the production of anti-ballistic capabilities,” Zelenskyy said on social media late Monday, adding that Kyiv is working with Europe to improve its own anti-ballistic capabilities in sufficient quantities.

He said that Ukrainian battlefield gains in recent months have enabled it to “stabilize” the 1,250-kilometer (780-mile) front line in eastern and southern Ukraine, suggesting that Kyiv’s forces are holding their own against Russia’s bigger army.

Russia’s spring offensive is floundering as Ukraine’s midrange drone strikes disrupt its rear supply lines, according to the Institute for the Study of War.

Moscow’s warning of major strikes aims to distract public attention from its “poor battlefield performance” and an economic pinch caused by war costs and international sanctions, the Washington-based think tank said late Monday.

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Sima Shine, head of the Iran and Shiite Axis Program at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), addressed the security tensions and negotiations over a possible agreement with Iran in an interview with the radio program “Seven to Nine”, hosted by Gideon Oko and Amichai Atali.

During the conversation, Shine, a former Mossad section director and Deputy Head of Strategic Affairs in Israel’s National Security Council, sharply criticized the handling of the northern front and warned about the dramatic implications of a potential nuclear agreement led by U.S. President Donald Trump.

According to Shine, the situation that has developed in northern Israel is incomprehensible. “The situation in which we are told there is a ceasefire in the north, yet every day there are casualties, is simply extraordinary,” she said. “The fact that Iran decides whether there will be a ceasefire in Lebanon is an event of exceptional magnitude, both for Israel and for the Lebanese government.”

Regarding American involvement, Shine added: “We reached a point where the Americans agreed to link the arenas together. Clearly the Iranians demanded this. The Iranians do not want to return to war, so they are not going to completely break with the Americans over something in Lebanon, and this should have been understood from the start. Once a ceasefire was decided upon, it should have been complete. It is unacceptable that Hezbollah continues to strike while we are prevented from acting.”

When asked about the emerging framework for an agreement with Iran, Shine emphasized that one issue above all worries her: “What concerns me is only the nuclear issue. Everything else is less important. As Israelis, we need to focus only on the nuclear issue. When I hear Trump speaking, I ask myself whether he fully understands the significance, and whether he understands that twenty percent enrichment is effectively like sixty percent, because within two weeks it can become sixty and then ninety.”

The hosts challenged Shine on whether Iran’s regime can be trusted at all. She replied: “Under the 2015 agreement, for the two and a half years until Trump withdrew from it, the Iranians complied with all the terms of the deal. They did so because it was in their interest to receive money and investments. They are not good people — they are very bad people — but they acted out of self-interest. Today there has been a dramatic erosion in their trust in the United States and Israel.”

Shine also warned about gaps in the management of negotiations with the Americans. “The Iranians are far more experienced in negotiations than Trump’s people,” she stated. “These are the same people who conducted negotiations in the past, and they have years of experience. Still, it would not be difficult for the United States to assemble a knowledgeable team if it chose to do so.”

When asked whether Israel could strike Iran after Trump signs an agreement with Tehran, Shine was unequivocal: “The answer is no. Israel will not be able to attack, because one of the first clauses already made public is that there will be mutual guarantees. The United States and its allies will not attack Iran, and Iran will not attack them. There are still many obstacles ahead, even though both sides want an agreement and do not want to return to war, but it is difficult to say the path is clear.”

Regarding the military option to prevent Iran from becoming nuclear-capable, she concluded: “There is an option, but whether I see it as realistic, that is another question.”

ISTANBUL (AP) — Riot police in Turkey used water cannons on Tuesday to prevent people from gathering to hear a speech by the deposed leader of the country’s main opposition party.

Ozgur Ozel and the core leadership of the Republican People’s Party, or CHP, were removed from their posts on Thursday by a court order that many people consider to be politically motivated.

Ozel had intended to address supporters on Tuesday in the western Turkish city of Izmir, but those heading to the city’s Cumhuriyet Square found their way blocked by steel barriers and riot police.

Pro-opposition broadcaster Halk TV showed many of the largely middle-aged crowd being soaked by water cannon as they tried to reach the square. Local media also reported that police deployed pepper spray.

The political crisis was sparked last week when an appeals court in Ankara overturned a 2023 party congress vote that appointed Ozel as CHP leader. The court decision replaced him with his predecessor, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, sparking outrage among party supporters.

Ozel, 51, who succeeded the 77-year-old Kilicdaroglu after 13 years of mostly ineffective opposition to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on Tuesday called on Kilicdaroglu to hold another party leadership vote. “Don’t divide the party, don’t stop our march to power,” he said. “Let’s ask the 2 million members (and) whoever they choose, let’s hold the congress immediately.”

The court case, which centered on irregularities in the congress vote, is seen by the president’s critics as the latest legal attack on the CHP, during which waves of elected officials and party members have been imprisoned.

Following the court ruling, Ozel and his supporters barricaded themselves inside the CHP headquarters in Ankara. Police stormed the building on Sunday, firing plastic pellets and pepper spray in a violent end to the standoff.

Ozel, who has vowed to take the struggle to the streets, said on arriving in Izmir that he would “go wherever the people are waiting.” He later arrived at Cumhuriyet Square before walking to another nearby square where he delivered a speech to thousands of cheering supporters.

The confrontation in Izmir — Turkey’s third-largest city and traditionally a CHP stronghold — came a day ahead of the official Eid al-Adha holiday, although many people had also taken Monday and Tuesday off work.

In a televised Eid message, Erdogan said he hoped the vacation would be “an occasion for hearts to soften, for those who are estranged to reconcile, for grievances to be resolved.”

The CHP is level with the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, in most recent opinion polls and although the next election is not due until 2028, many expect Erdogan to push for early elections.

Ozel delivered a serious blow to the AKP in the 2024 municipal elections, strengthening the opposition’s grip on key cities it had won five years earlier, including Istanbul and Ankara.

The CHP mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, emerged as the likeliest challenger to Erdogan, who has ruled Turkey since 2003, in the next presidential poll. But he has been imprisoned since March last year as he faces several criminal cases that could see him sentenced to decades behind bars.

Many observers have said the legal cases against the CHP — mostly centered on corruption allegations — are aimed at neutralizing the party. The government insists that Turkey’s courts are impartial and act independently of political pressure.

The head of an inquiry into antisemitism in Australia said on Tuesday that Jewish witnesses who had appeared before it are now facing online harassment and bigotry, according to a Ynet report.

The Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion was created in response to the murderous attack in which two terrorists allegedly inspired by the Islamic State group massacred 15 people at a Sydney Hanukkah celebration in December. Royal commissions are Australia’s highest form of public inquiry.

The commission’s head, former High Court judge Virginia Bell, said that Jewish witnesses who testified about their experiences of antisemitism since public hearings began on May 4 have been subjected to online “harassment and intimidation.”

“We have received reports from a number of witnesses concerning a dramatic increase in online hate messages after they have given evidence,” Bell said.

“Quite what this undiluted level of hatred and bigotry directed towards members of the Jewish community is thought to benefit by those who post these remarks is lost on me,” she added.

The commission was recording the “offensive social media posts,” Bell said, and in one case the harassment has been referred to police. “The commission has, as one of its principal objects, understanding and assessing the lived experience of antisemitism by members of the Jewish community and it is being informed by conduct of this character,” she added.

The first two weeks of hearings scrutinized the nature and prevalence of antisemitism in Australia’s institutions and society. During the first week of hearings, a 68-year-old man was charged with wearing a shirt emblazoned with a “prohibited Nazi symbol” outside the commission in Sydney. The design appeared to incorporate a Star of David superimposed over a swastika with the slogan: “Antisemitism. Proud to be accused. Speak up!”

The commission said in a statement at the time it was “appalled” that an “antisemitic shirt” had been worn in its vicinity. The commission assured witnesses that safety protocols were in place around the building. “The royal commission is determined to investigate antisemitism in Australia without fear or intimidation,” the statement said.

LONDON (AP) — Temperature records have toppled as a spring heatwave continued to scorch parts of Western Europe on Tuesday, triggering government warnings about risks to life. Several drownings were reported in Britain and France as people tried to cool down.

London recorded a rare “tropical night,” defined as one in which the temperature does not fall below 20 Celsius (68 Fahrenheit), and Britain’s Met Office weather service said the temperature in southern England could reach 35 C (95 F) on Tuesday.

Monday was the U.K.’s hottest May day on record, with the temperature hitting 34.8 C (94.6 F) at Kew Gardens in London, smashing the previous record of 32.8 C (91.4 F) set in 1922 and 1944. Records also fell in France, where temperatures reached 36 C (97 F) on Monday and widely remained above 20 C (68 F) at night.

The national weather service, Météo-France, said a “heat dome,” with heat held in place by a high-pressure weather front, was producing temperatures more than 10 degrees Celsius above what used to be usual for this time of year.

Unpredictable and extreme weather are becoming more frequent as Earth’s warming builds. Experts say unprecedented and deadly weather extremes that sometimes strike at abnormal times and in unusual places are putting more people in danger.

After a U.K. long weekend that sent people flocking to beaches, pools and shady parks, London commuters sweltered on Tuesday in subway carriages without air conditioning. Trains to and from the busy Waterloo station were disrupted by a report of smoke on the tracks.

In Scotland, firefighters worked through the night to douse a grass fire that sent smoke billowing from Arthur’s Seat, the rocky hill that looms over Edinburgh.

The U.K. Health Security Agency issued an amber health alert for large parts of the country through Thursday, warning of a potential health risk, particularly among older people, at the hottest times of the day. The U.K. is used to moderate temperatures, and many homes, schools and businesses do not have air conditioning.

A 13-year-old boy died in the water of a reservoir in Halifax, northern England, on Monday, police said.

French government spokesperson Maud Bregeon said there have been reports of at least seven deaths potentially related to high temperatures, including five drownings and two deaths in sports competitions.

The early heatwave has struck before the annual summer window when lifeguards watch over bathers at popular beaches, increasing risks.

On France’s Atlantic seaboard, where magnificent beaches have powerful riptides, officials reported a rash of emergencies in the surf with two drowning deaths on Sunday at popular resorts in the Gironde region in the southwest.

The top regional administrator, Sophie Brocas, urged beachgoers “to exercise the utmost caution.”

The unseasonable heat extended to Spain, where weather service spokesperson Rubén del Campo said “we find ourselves with temperatures we normally see in the middle of the summer now in the month of May.”

He said Seville hit 38 C (100 F) over the weekend, while large parts of the peninsula saw temperatures 5 to 10 degrees Celsius higher than normal.

And in Rome, temperatures were expected to reach 32 degrees C (89.6 F) on Tuesday.

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Rabbi Dov Landau, the president of the Council of Torah Sages of Degel HaTorah, announced two weeks ago that there was “no longer any talk about blocs,” hinting that the charedim will not automatically join the right-wing parties. Rabbi Landau has now decided to put that into practical action. After informing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the charedim no longer intend to support a draft law, the party’s Knesset members were instructed to examine the possibility of cooperating with Gadi Eisenkot.

The goal is to explore with him the possibility of presenting an agreed-upon military draft framework in the next Knesset in exchange for political cooperation with a government headed by him, or one in which he would have significant influence over the issue of charedi enlistment. According to their assessment, such cooperation may be possible because the enlistment framework proposed by Eisenkot is considered more moderate than those of the other opposition parties and not far from the current draft law.

This represents an attempt to examine cooperation between a charedi party and one of the opposition bloc parties for the first time since 2015, when the right-wing bloc was formed and functioned without fractures or defections, including during periods when no government could be formed, leading to repeated elections, and even when the parties jointly sat in opposition during the Bennett-led government in 2021. Throughout that time, the charedi parties remained loyal to Netanyahu and did not negotiate joining any alternative coalition.

Now, however, the most stable political alignment established in Israel in recent years is facing a significant test. Even within the charedi parties, it is believed that if election results allow for the recreation of a right-wing/Haredi coalition, that would remain their first preference, provided they receive guarantees that a draft law would pass early in the next term, perhaps even before the government is sworn in as a condition for forming it.

However, if there is no decisive result or if the center-left bloc has enough seats to form a government, the charedi parties may consider abandoning the right-wing bloc and joining the new coalition in exchange for passage of a draft law.

Sources within the charedi factions explained that Netanyahu failed to recognize in time the importance of the draft law issue to the ultra-Orthodox public. Beyond all other considerations, including traditionally important issues for the Haredi community such as preserving Jewish tradition, Shabbat, and marriage according to halacha, the draft issue has become the most urgent matter on the agenda.

Contributing to this sense of urgency, they say, has been the conduct of the Attorney General and the High Court of Justice, whose actions have increasingly restricted the world of yeshiva students, creating real distress and upheaval within the charedi public. Therefore, their primary mission will be to resolve the crisis before any other political consideration.

In Degel HaTorah, they emphasize that Eisenkot, while, like the rest of the opposition, advocating for a significant increase in charedi enlistment, speaks in a more moderate tone and is far less confrontational toward the sector than others in his political camp.

Recently, Eisenkot clarified that, from his perspective, the charedi factions could be partners in a government led by him, and that he does not boycott them. This contrasts with statements made by leaders of parties such as B’Yachad (Bennett and Lapid), Yisrael Beiteinu and The Democrats, who have expressed the opposite position.

New York (VINNEWS/Rabbi Yair Hoffman)  The murder, or killing, happened in 2022.  The verdict was concluded in June of 2025. Almost a year ago. Was it the girlfriend?  Or was it the police officer’s friends? The controversy is still in the air – even one year later.

A jury in Dedham, Massachusetts cleared Karen Read of killing her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe back on that snowy night in January in 2022.

The prosecution said it was murder on her part. Karen Read had struck Officer O’Keefe with her car during a blizzard and left him there to die in the snow.

The defense answered with doubt piled upon doubt.

Maybe the car never hit him at all. Maybe his injuries came from a dog and a beating that took place inside a house, not from a vehicle. Maybe the police investigation itself could not be trusted.

The lead investigator, State Trooper Michael Proctor, had texted friends that Read was a “whack job,” that he hoped she would harm herself, and that “all the powers that be want answers ASAP” — words that would later get him fired and permanently barred from law enforcement in Massachusetts.

Evidence was collected in red Solo cups and Stop & Shop grocery bags rather than proper containers, and the defense pointed to the close ties between Proctor and the very household where O’Keefe’s body was found, arguing those relationships had quietly shaped the entire investigation. No single one of these doubts had to be proven. Together they made it impossible for the jury to draw one clean, unbroken line to a verdict of guilty, and so Read walked free on the most serious charges.

The American courtroom rests on a quiet assumption that everyone takes for granted: doubt protects the accused. A single reasonable doubt is enough to acquit. Stack a second doubt on top of it and the case for conviction only weakens further.

My Roshei Yeshiva always emphasized to look at everything, even events that happen in the secular world, from Torah eyes. What does the Gemorah say about a similar case? What do the Gedolei HaRishonim and Acharonim say about the topic in general?  And so, let us explore the idea of doubts and how they function. What is their underlying method of functioning? What do they do?

The Torah’s system of doubt runs differently. Where there is a single doubt about a Torah prohibition, the rule is to be strict, not lenient. It is only when a second doubt is added — a sfek sfeika, a doubt of a doubt — that the result turns to leniency.

Why should one doubt bind us while two doubts set us free? The secular courtroom offers a hook and a contrast, but not an answer.

For the answer, in Torah law, as it pertains to, say, Kashrus, four distinct explanations have been offered across the centuries.  They reveal four very different ways of understanding what a double doubt – a sfek sfeikah – actually is.

Presented here in the order in which their authors lived, they open four ways of understanding the concept.

The First Approach — The Rashba (1235–1310): It Works Like a Majority

The earliest of the four explanations belongs to the Rashba, Rabbeinu Shlomo ben Aderet of Barcelona. He taught that a double doubt is even more powerful than a rov – simple majority. The reasoning is a matter of counting. When there is a double doubt, two reasons point toward permitting the item and only one reason points toward forbidding it. Two against one is a majority leaning toward leniency, and just as we ordinarily follow the majority, here too we follow the two permitting sides.

The Rashba explained that this is why every kind of prohibition can be permitted through a double doubt — even prohibitions that come directly from the Torah — because in the end the matter follows the majority of all the possibilities. Rabbeinu Peretz taught the very same idea: the entire reason a double doubt is lenient is that the permitting sides form a majority.

The Second Approach — The Shach (1621–1662): Two Independent Doubts

The next authority in order of lifetime is Rav Shabsai Kohen – the Shach. The Shach establishes a foundational requirement that a true double doubt only counts when the two doubts are genuinely independent — when one doubt concerns one matter and the second doubt concerns a completely separate matter, what he calls “one subject and one object” (inyan echad v’guf echad). Where the two supposed doubts are really about the same matter and the same object, they collapse into a single doubt, and the leniency of a sfek sfeika does not apply.

To declare an item forbidden, one would need a clean chain in which the first link is forbidden and the second link is also forbidden. But in a genuine double doubt, every path that begins on a forbidden footing meets a permitted footing before it reaches the end, and every path that remains forbidden at the end began as permitted. There is no route through both doubts that stays prohibited the whole way. On this way of understanding it, the leniency flows not from counting sides, and not from downgrading the question to a Rabbinic one, but from the very structure of two independent doubts: a prohibition needs an unbroken chain in order to stand, and two genuinely separate doubts ensure that no such chain can be built. This also explains precisely why the Shach insists the two doubts be in two different matters — two doubts about the same matter leave a single continuous question intact, while two doubts about two different matters block one another.

The Third Approach — The Pnei Yehoshua (1680–1756): The Second Doubt Is Only Rabbinic

The third explanation comes from Rabbeinu Yaakov Yehoshua Falk, the Pnei Yehoshua, building on the view of the Rambam, the Ramban, and the Ran. These authorities hold that the rule “when in doubt about a Torah law, be strict” is not itself a Torah law at all — it is only a Rabbinic safeguard. That changes everything.

The first doubt is a doubt about a Torah prohibition, so the Sages instruct us to be strict. But once a second doubt is added on top of it, the question is no longer a Torah-level question — it has become a doubt about a Rabbinic rule. And the established rule for a doubt about a Rabbinic matter is that we may be lenient. The double doubt is therefore permitted because the second layer of doubt converts the entire question into something only Rabbinic, where leniency is the norm.

The Fourth Approach — The Sha’arei Yosher (1860–1939): A Doubt About Whether There Is Even a Doubt

The most recent of the four explanations comes from Rav Shimon Shkop in his Sha’arei Yosher, and he arrived at it by examining the exact words the Sages chose. They did not say “a case with two doubts.” They specifically said “a doubt of a doubt.” That precise wording is the key.

According to Rav Shimon, the leniency does not come from piling up doubts until the permitting sides outnumber the forbidding side. The real point is that a double doubt means we are not even certain that a doubt of prohibition exists in the first place. The Sages told us to be strict only when a genuine, definite prohibition stands before us. They never told us to be strict when we are unsure whether any prohibition exists at all. In a single doubt, there is at least a real doubt about a real prohibition, so strictness can take hold. But in a double doubt we lack even that — we have only a doubt about whether a doubt exists — and so there is no foothold for strictness to begin with.

Four Lenses on One Principle

Seen side by side, the four approaches are strikingly different. The Rashba counts sides and follows the majority. The Shach locates the leniency in the requirement that the two doubts be genuinely independent, so that no unbroken chain of prohibition can form. The Pnei Yehoshua shows the question shrinking down to a Rabbinic matter, where leniency rules. And the Sha’arei Yosher argues that the strictness of “when in doubt, be strict” never applied here at all, because we cannot even be sure a doubt exists. One halachic outcome; four explanations.

A word of caution. The secular courtroom and the Beis Midrash are not the same at all. It was just used to introduce to the readers how the idea of double doubts work in Halacha. And how, according to Rav Shimon Shkop – that word is a mistranslation. It should be a Doubt in Doubt rather than a double doubt.

In the secular system a single reasonable doubt is enough to acquit of a murder; in halacha, witnesses are required to establish guilt in a murder or killing, while a sfek sfeika regarding Kashrus two doubts are specifically required.

The author can be reached at [email protected]

NEW YORK (VINnews) — The quiet wave of emigration by British Jews threatens to turn into a real flood due to persecution and terror threats, warns journalist and columnist Charles Moore in a sharply worded opinion piece published in The Daily Telegraph.

Against the backdrop of recent anti-antisemitism rallies held near the Prime Minister’s residence on Downing Street, Moore argues that the United Kingdom, which prides itself on being a successful multiracial society, is facing the danger of failing to guarantee basic freedoms for its Jewish citizens.

In his article, Moore argues that, without diminishing the contributions of other immigrant groups, it can confidently be said that the Jewish community is the most successful immigrant group in British history. He recalls two major historical waves of immigration: those fleeing Tsarist persecution at the end of the 19th century, and those escaping Adolf Hitler in the 1930s. In both cases, he emphasizes, the immigrants arrived with nothing yet succeeded in rebuilding their lives and advancing socially and economically, while achieving the rare dual success of maintaining loyalty to their traditions alongside deep loyalty to their host country.

According to The Telegraph, it is impossible to imagine the success of modern Britain and its character as a free, educated, entrepreneurial, culturally and artistically flourishing nation, without the presence of Jews. However, the outlook ahead is troubling: Moore states that if Jews now leave the country, the main reason will be the open hostility directed at them by groups of immigrants who arrived in later periods, most of them Muslim.

Moore’s concluding point is both cynical and painful for British society, which long cultivated an enlightened image of itself. Britain, which prided itself on tolerance and openness, now finds that it has effectively provided “a safe home” for intolerance, one that threatens to drive out some of its most educated and entrepreneurial citizens.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Donovan Mitchell and the Cavaliers finally got past the second round and face-planted in the Eastern Conference finals.

They weren’t ready for the Knicks or the big stage.

The lights were too bright again.

Cleveland’s season ended with a resounding, demoralizing and embarrassing 130-93 loss on Monday night in Game 4 to the New York Knicks, who swept the series and advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999.

Playing on tired and wobbly legs after being pushed to seven games by Toronto and Detroit in the earlier rounds, the Cavs, whose fate was sealed when they blew a 22-point lead in the fourth quarter and lost Game 1 at Madison Square Garden, had no answer for anything the Knicks threw at them.

They got out-played, out-shot, out-rebounded and out-coached.

And now, the Cavs head into what will likely be a tumultuous summer that will trigger a major roster overhaul and perhaps other moves.

This wasn’t the plan. Cleveland made a blockbuster trade at the deadline in February, sending guard Darius Garland, part of its “Core Four” to the Los Angeles Clippers for James Harden, who was supposed to take pressure off Mitchell.

It never happened.

Cleveland’s top player approved the Garland swap, but other than a few games here and there, he and Harden never truly meshed as intended. The Cavs never outgrew their growing pains.

Harden has a $42.3 million player option for next season that he’s expected to decline to re-sign with the Cavs as a free agent. But the 36-year-old didn’t perform up to offensive expectations and was a virtual turnstile on defense.

Mitchell’s future is more complicated. He can be offered a five-year, $350 million super-max extension by the Cavs as early as this offseason, but the team will likely wait due to several financial factors, and still must decide if the seven-time All-Star is worth the investment.

With the Knicks up by 33 in the fourth, Mitchell and Cleveland’s other starters were mercifully replaced. The 29-year-old went to the bench and watched a team he once cheered for as a kid win its 11th straight playoff game.

Cleveland’s stunning flame-out in the conference finals is only going to fuel more speculation about coach Kenny Atkinson’s future. He guided the team to a No. 1 seed in his first season a year ago before a disappointing, second-round exit against Indiana.

Atkinson helped the Cavs take a step deeper into the postseason, but it’s not certain that will be enough to satisfy demanding owner Dan Gilbert, who has dropped over $400 million on a team that hasn’t delivered him a second title.

New York exposed all of Cleveland’s on-court flaws and may have set the stage for Gilbert to make even bolder moves. There’s little doubt that seeing his team get completely overwhelmed in Game 4 — with thousands of New York fans chanting “Knicks in 4!” — stung badly.

The Cavs will closely monitor superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo’s unsettled situation in Milwaukee. The Bucks have reportedly had past interest in 24-year-old Cleveland forward Evan Mobley.

And then there’s LeBron James and the possibility the NBA’s all-time scoring leader could bring his storied career full circle by coming back home a second time. He’s a free agent, currently at odds with the Los Angeles Lakers and surveying the landscape.

At the moment, Cleveland needs him again.

AGADIR, MOROCCO (VINnews) – The U.S. military is increasingly turning to artificial intelligence to process battlefield intelligence in real time, a capability demonstrated during major multinational training exercises in Morocco.

CBS News correspondent Chris Livesay observed U.S. and Moroccan forces leveraging AI-powered systems as part of African Lion 2026, the U.S. Africa Command’s largest annual joint exercise. The drills incorporated drones, AI-driven imagery analysis and autonomous platforms to enhance decision-making and operational efficiency.

Officials at the Joint Operations Command in Agadir highlighted how AI systems sift through massive amounts of data from sensors, drones and other assets, presenting it in formats that allow commanders to act faster. The technology, already in place for the exercises, proved valuable even in a real-world search for two missing U.S. service members.

“Behind me on those screens is an incredible amount of data and imagery that is being channeled through an AI system,” Livesay reported from the command center. The setup enabled rapid processing that accelerated search and rescue efforts beyond previous capabilities.

African Lion 2026 featured a dynamic innovation center described as an open-air laboratory for testing AI, robotics and next-generation warfare technologies. Participants included U.S. forces, Moroccan troops, academic institutions and industry partners. Technologies on display included autonomous unmanned vehicles capable of operating in combat environments and AI-assisted command systems.

Military leaders emphasized the need to integrate these tools while acknowledging ethical concerns. Some officials described aspects of autonomous lethal systems as “ghoulish” but stressed that adversaries are advancing similar technologies, leaving the U.S. little choice but to keep pace.

The exercise, which concluded in May, tested multi-domain operations including AI-enabled intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, drone swarms and autonomous fire support. It aimed to shorten decision timelines and reduce risks to personnel.

U.S. officials say the integration of AI reflects a broader push to modernize forces and maintain technological superiority in an era of rapid innovation. Morocco has hosted the African Lion exercises for years under a defense cooperation agreement with the United States.

VINnews will continue to monitor developments in military AI applications and their implications for global security.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military said Monday that it carried out “self-defense” strikes in southern Iran, including on missile launch sites and boats placing mines, even as President Donald Trump said on social media that negotiations were “proceeding nicely.”

The strikes were done “to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces,” but the military was “using restraint during the ongoing ceasefire,” Capt. Tim Hawkins, U.S. Central Command spokesman, said in a statement.

Further details were not immediately available, including more specifics on the threats from Iran and what this means for negotiations. Earlier, Trump said any agreement to end the Iran war should include a requirement for several additional countries, including Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, to join the Abraham Accords, the U.S.-brokered agreements from Trump’s first term aimed at normalizing relations with Israel.

The proposal came as the emerging Iran deal faced criticism from fellow Republicans who favor a harder line on Iran, and it could add new diplomatic complications to the negotiations.

Trump pointed to Saudi Arabia and Qatar as countries that should “immediately” sign on, alongside Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt and Jordan. Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates became the first countries to join in 2020.

He wrote that “after all the work done by the United States to try and pull this very complex puzzle together, it should be mandatory that all of these Countries, at a minimum, simultaneously, sign onto the Abraham Accords.”

Trump has long hoped Saudi Arabia would join, but the kingdom has maintained that any normalization deal requires first establishing a clear path for Palestinian statehood. That’s also key for Pakistan, which is among the countries that do not have diplomatic relations with Israel.

Islamabad-based analyst Syed Mohammad Ali said Pakistan’s position on Israel remains unchanged despite Trump’s latest proposal.

The president said he brought up the Abraham Accords plan with leaders during negotiations on Saturday. He said he would accept “one or two” countries declining to sign, but said most should be willing. Egypt and Jordan already formally recognize Israel and have long-standing peace treaties. Turkey first recognized Israel in 1949.

Masood Khan, Pakistan’s former ambassador to the United States, said it remains to be seen how workable the proposal might be for the countries on Trump’s list.

“The invocation of the Abraham Accords at this stage gives an altogether new dimension to the diplomatic and mediatory processes because this issue was not on the agenda,” he said, pointing to the domestic pressure Trump is facing to strike a favorable deal.

Still, Khan said, “the diplomatic track is still working, and I believe Pakistan is very much at the center of it, supported by regional countries.”

It remains unclear when or how any deal with Iran might be completed. Trump suggested even Iran could eventually sign on to the accords, if an agreement is reached.

The accords are a series of diplomatic, economic and security agreements created with U.S. influence during Trump’s first term, originally between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, followed by Sudan, Morocco, and, more recently, Kazakhstan.

They were framed as an effort to promote cooperation among countries in the Middle East and North Africa, and the administration saw them as partly paving a path toward full ties with Israel.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean retail tycoon Chung Yong-jin on Tuesday issued his second apology in two weeks as Starbucks’ local operation faces a backlash over a recent marketing campaign that was widely perceived as mocking victims of a bloody military crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in 1980.

Chung, chairman of Shinsegae Group, which owns a 67.5% stake in Starbucks Korea, bowed three times during a televised statement as he pleaded for forgiveness from the families of democracy activists killed by the country’s former military dictatorship and from the broader public.

The coffee chain sparked public outrage when it attempted to promote a large size of tumbler it calls a “tank” by declaring May 18 to be “Tank Day.” That’s the anniversary of a democratic uprising in the southern city of Gwangju that was brutally suppressed by troops, tanks and helicopters, killing or injuring hundreds.

The campaign compounded outrage by using the slogan “Thwack it on the table!,” which many read as a reference to a notorious 1987 police statement that attempted to cover up the torture death of student activist Park Jong-chol. Police claimed that Park died suddenly after investigators “hit the desk with a thwack.”

The promotion was met with immediate outrage and within hours Shinsegae canceled it and fired the chief executive of Starbucks Korea. Police also opened an investigation based on complaints by families of people killed at Gwangju.

“I take it very seriously the fact that many people felt deep pain and anger because of Starbucks Korea’s inappropriate marketing campaign,” Chung said Tuesday.

He also asked people not to take out their frustration on staff at Starbucks shops, saying the responsibility lies with management. There were no immediate reports of major incidents at stores.

Chung issued his first apology on May 19, saying in a statement that the campaign caused “deep pain to the victims and bereaved families of the May 18 Democratization Movement as well as to the public.”

Jeon Sangjin, a senior Shinsegae Group executive, said the company has yet to find conclusive evidence that Starbucks Korea marketing employees intended to mock the pro-democracy movement, an accusation the employees have denied.

However, he said some employees refused management requests to hand over their smartphones during a weeklong internal review. Jeon said the company would look at results from the police inquiry and any employee found to have intended to ridicule protesters would be fired.

The anger over the campaign has triggered public calls for boycotts, amplified by government officials, including Interior and Safety Minister Yoon Ho-jung, who said Starbucks products will no longer be used at government events and lamented the chain’s “anti-historical behavior.”

President Lee Jae Myung said on X last week that the campaign displayed “inhumane and disgraceful behavior by cheap profiteers who deny the values of the South Korean community, basic human rights and democracy.”

The crackdown in Gwangju came months after General Chun Doo-hwan seized power in a coup in late 1979. Government records show about 200 people died in Gwangju, but activists say the true death toll was much higher. Chun’s government also imprisoned tens of thousands, saying it was rooting out social evils.

Public anger over Chun’s dictatorship led to massive nationwide protests in 1987, forcing him to accept a constitutional revision introducing direct presidential elections, which is widely seen as the start of South Korea’s transition to democracy.

NEW YORK (VINnews) – Stock futures jumped sharply Monday night as oil prices plunged amid growing hopes that a diplomatic resolution to the U.S.-Iran conflict may be near.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 441 points, or 0.9%. S&P 500 futures gained 0.9%, and Nasdaq-100 futures climbed 1.2%. U.S. stock markets were closed Monday in observance of Memorial Day.

President Donald Trump said Monday that negotiations with Iran to end the war were “proceeding nicely,” though he cautioned that the U.S. could take offensive action if talks collapse.

Crude oil prices dropped sharply following Trump’s remarks. West Texas Intermediate futures fell about 6%.

The positive sentiment extended last week’s gains for major indexes. The S&P 500 rose 0.9% last week, marking its longest weekly winning streak since late 2023. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 2.1%, its third weekly gain in four weeks. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.5%, its seventh gain in eight weeks.

“There is no doubt that fundamentals are at least partially responsible for the market rally,” wrote Adam Parker, founder of Trivariate Research. “With earnings projected to grow 23% this year, and 16% next year, there’s a credible argument to make that despite the increasing projections for earnings, and strong earnings growth, the price-to-forward earnings has been modestly contracting.”

A decline in oil prices also supported equities last week, with U.S. crude falling 8.4% — its worst weekly performance since April 17.

However, oil prices remain well above levels seen earlier this year, and persistent inflationary pressures have cooled expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts. Traders are now pricing in an 8.5% chance of a rate hike in July, up from 0.9% a month ago, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool.

New York (VINNEWS/Rabbi Yair Hoffman)  There is an old debating trick that works only on readers who do not check. It involves 3 Steps:

1. State the conclusion with great confidence
2. Attribute panic to the other side
3. And quietly bury the one fact that would collapse the entire argument.

Sebastien Levi’s recent opinion piece in The Jerusalem Post, headlined as the “panicked” outburst of an Israeli ambassador, performs this trick from its first sentence to its last.

The essay opens by psychoanalyzing Prime Minister Netanyahu—projecting onto him the very fear the author wishes to assign—and then extends the same maneuver to Ambassador Yechiel Leiter. The reader is told, before a single fact is offered, that the ambassador’s words prove the Israeli government’s “utter disdain” for American Jews.

What the reader is never told is what J Street actually did, what its president actually said, and what the ambassador actually responded to. Once those omissions are restored, the piece does not merely weaken. It reverses.

The Buried Fact: What J Street Actually Did

Levi characterizes J Street as a body that merely “criticizes” the Israeli government—a normal democratic activity, he implies, that the ambassador cannot tolerate. He frames the April legislative episode as a narrow vote “specifically targeted on bulldozers and 2,000-pound bombs.”

This is the load-bearing claim of the entire op-ed, and it is not accurate.

The actual record is a matter of public reporting. In April, J Street published a policy document calling for the phasing out of direct United States military assistance to Israel altogether—including the funding connected to defensive systems such as Iron Dome—at a moment when Israel is engaged in a multi-front war against Iranian proxies. This is not a targeted objection to a particular munition. It is a call to wind down the security relationship itself.

That is the “duplicitousness” the ambassador named.

An organization that advertises itself as “pro-Israel” while advocating the removal of the aid that keeps Israeli civilians alive under rocket fire has invited precisely the question Leiter asked: how can one be pro-Israel and simultaneously advocate an arms embargo on a state fighting for its life on seven fronts? Levi never quotes that question. He cannot, because once it is on the page, the “panic” framing dissolves. The ambassador was not panicking. He was describing a contradiction in plain words.

The Word Levi Will Not Print: Genocide

The single most important fact about J Street’s recent trajectory appears nowhere in Levi’s essay.

Nowhere.

In a public newsletter issued on Tisha B’Av—the Jewish fast day mourning the destruction of both Temples—J Street’s president, Jeremy Ben-Ami, wrote that he had been “persuaded” by legal and scholarly arguments that international courts will one day find that Israel broke the international genocide convention.

Read that again, and note the date. The head of the organization that Levi presents as the authentic voice of mainstream American Jewry chose the Jewish calendar’s day of national mourning to lend his name to the blood libel of the twenty-first century: that the state founded by the survivors of genocide is itself committing one.

Whatever one thinks of any particular Israeli policy, this is the accusation that animates the campaign to isolate, boycott, and disarm the Jewish state. J Street’s president embraced it.

An honest essay defending J Street would have to reckon with this. Levi’s essay does not mention it. He asks the reader to believe that the ambassador attacked a body of reasonable critics over a vote about bulldozers, while withholding the fact that the body’s leader had publicly endorsed the genocide charge weeks earlier. This is an omission of epic proportion upon which his entire false argument depends.

The Polling Sleight of Hand

That a large majority of American Jews believe one can be pro-Israel and criticize an Israeli government is unremarkable; it is also true of most Israelis, who criticize their governments vigorously and constantly. The question the ambassador raised was never whether criticism is legitimate. It was whether advocating the termination of Israel’s defensive aid during a war, and endorsing the genocide accusation, still falls within the meaning of the word “pro-Israel.”

Levi answers a question no one asked, and treats the applause as a verdict. A favorable view of the Israeli people tells us nothing about support for an arms embargo on the Israeli state. The statistics are real; the inference is a magic trick.

The Quotation That Was Quietly Trimmed

Levi reports that the ambassador told Jewish critics to “shut up” and “make aliyah” if they want to change things—rendering Leiter as a man who tells Jews to be silent or leave. The actual words, widely reported, are less convenient for the thesis.

Leiter stated that he meets with pro-Palestinian groups and would have no objection to J Street if it presented itself honestly as pro-Palestinian. His objection was specifically to an organization branding itself “pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy” while working to defy the position of Israel’s democratically elected government and restrict its arms. His point about aliyah was not “leave and be silent.” It was the opposite: those who wish to determine the policy of the Israeli government are welcome to become citizens and vote in its elections, rather than lobby a foreign legislature to override the choices of the Israeli electorate.

One may disagree with that argument. But Levi does not answer it—he amputates it, replaces it with “shut up,” and argues against the stump.

“Words Matter as Much as Substance”

Near the end, Levi reaches for his most resonant line: “One argues or fights an opponent but cures and extirpates cancer.” He is appalled by the ambassador’s use of the word “cancer,” declaring that “words matter as much as substance.” On this, at least, he is correct. So let us hold his own words to the standard he has just announced.

The Man Being Attacked

It is worth pausing on who Yechiel Leiter actually is, because Levi reduces him to a caricature—a hardliner barking at dissenters. The reality is a figure of unusual depth, and one whose biography is a direct refutation of the very charge his critics level.

Leiter was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and made aliyah as a young man to serve in the IDF. He holds a doctorate in political philosophy, and his post-doctoral work on the political thought of John Locke was published by Cambridge University Press—a serious scholarly accomplishment for any academic, let alone a working diplomat.

He served as chief of staff to Netanyahu in the Finance Ministry and as an adviser to Ariel Sharon. He is, in short, precisely the “eloquent speaker with a deep understanding of American culture and politics” that his appointment described—a man who has lived on both sides of the relationship he now represents.

And he has paid for that relationship in the most absolute currency there is. On the tenth of November, 2023, his eldest son—Major Moshe Yedidya Leiter, a physician, an officer, a husband, and a father of six whose youngest child was barely three months old—fell in battle leading his soldiers into Gaza after the October 7 murderous and rape massacre. Moshe had completed his service and chosen to return to combat. He was killed by a Hamas booby trap in a tunnel shaft.

In a televised interview, the ambassador said something that should be set beside every accusation of indiscriminate slaughter ever leveled at the Jewish state: that his own son died because the IDF does not kill civilians indiscriminately—that Moshe went in on foot, at far greater personal risk, precisely because the army takes precautions no other military in history has taken. A father who has buried a son under those circumstances does not need lectures on the cost of Israel’s wars from a commentator in a studio. When such a man calls an organization’s posture “duplicitous,” the burden is not on him to soften his words. It is on the organization to explain itself.

There is a further irony. The charge at the heart of Levi’s essay is that the ambassador holds “utter disdain” for bipartisan support. Yet on assuming his post, Leiter stated plainly that bipartisan backing is a foundational element of the U.S.-Israel relationship and that he intended to work with both Republicans and Democrats to keep Israel a unifying issue across party lines. That is the public record. Levi’s thesis requires the reader not to know it.

The Author’s Own Record

Sebastien Levi presents himself as the dispassionate diagnostician of an extreme government—a correspondent for French Jewish radio offering measured analysis. His published writing tells a different story. The author who is scandalized by intemperate language has a long and well-documented habit of it, deployed in precisely the same direction, year after year.

In a 2019 essay published under his byline, Levi described the alliance between American Evangelical Christians and Israel as “morally disgusting,” and characterized Israel’s most steadfast non-Jewish supporters in the United States as “useful idiots.”

The same piece dismissed religious Zionists as people who regard secular Israelis as “tools.” This is the writer now lecturing an Israeli ambassador on the importance of moderate language and the sanctity of bipartisan goodwill.

Elsewhere, Levi has written that Israel “is becoming…a nemesis for many liberal Jews,” has likened Israel under its current government to “illiberal democracies such as Poland or Hungary,” and has framed Israeli gun-rights legislation as a “sad symbiosis” between Trump’s America and Netanyahu’s Israel. After the Pittsburgh massacre, he attacked the Israeli government and its representatives for being, in his telling, indifferent to American Jews. His themes for nearly a decade are unmistakable: the fault is always Israel’s, the villain is always Netanyahu, and the rhetoric is always as heated as anything he now condemns in others.

Levi asks the reader to receive him as a neutral observer reporting that Israel’s standing is collapsing. He is not a neutral observer. He is a longtime, openly partisan critic who has spent years writing that Israel’s elected leadership is the disease—and who now expresses horror that someone used a medical metaphor against an organization he favors. The standard he invokes against Leiter is one he has never applied to himself.

A Word from the Nevi’im

The holy prophet Isaiah had a name for the inversion at work in this kind of writing—the practice of dressing the harmful as the principled and the principled as the harmful. Yeshayahu (5:20) pronounced: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who present darkness as light and light as darkness.” An organization whose president has lent his name to the genocide libel, and which seeks to strip the Jewish state of its defenses in the middle of a war, is not made “pro-Israel” by the label it prints on its letterhead. To insist otherwise is to call darkness light.

What the Essay Avoids

Levi accuses the ambassador of avoiding “all discussion about the substance.” The accusation is a confession. The substance is this: an organization calling itself pro-Israel has, in the space of a single year, endorsed the genocide accusation through its president and called for phasing out the defensive aid that protects Israeli civilians under fire. An Israeli ambassador said so, bluntly. One may wish he had said it more diplomatically. But the question of tone is not the question of truth, and Levi has spent two thousand words on the former precisely to avoid the latter.

Conclusion

The op-ed is built on a single rhetorical structure repeated in every paragraph: attribute fear to the other side, omit the disqualifying fact, and present a partisan’s grievance as a demographer’s report. Strip away the projection and restore the record—the genocide endorsement, the call to end defensive aid in wartime, the trimmed quotation, the author’s own decade of incendiary language—and what remains is not an analysis of Israel’s standing in America. It is a defense brief for an organization that has wandered far from the meaning of the words it still wears as a brand.

Ambassador Leiter’s metaphor was sharp. It was also, on the money, a description rather than a slander. And the man complaining loudest about its sharpness is the last person entitled to do so.

The author can be reached at [email protected]

JERUSALEM (VINnews) – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed the Israel Defense Forces to escalate operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon, removing previous restraints and launching a full-scale attack on the Iran-backed terrorist group.

The directive comes amid repeated violations of a fragile ceasefire by Hezbollah, according to Israeli officials. Netanyahu ordered the military to strike Hezbollah targets with full force to restore security to Israel’s northern border.

In a public statement Saturday night, Netanyahu directed the IDF to respond vigorously to ongoing threats, including rocket and drone attacks from Lebanese territory. Israeli officials have accused Hezbollah of launching over 1,000 drones and hundreds of rockets since mid-April, in breach of the truce.

“No more restraints,” a senior official familiar with the decision told VINnews, summarizing the prime minister’s instructions. “This is a full attack to dismantle the threat.”

The escalation follows months of tit-for-tat exchanges despite a U.S.-brokered ceasefire. Israeli strikes in recent days have already targeted Hezbollah infrastructure, with reports of significant damage to the group’s capabilities.

Hezbollah has denied violating the ceasefire and accused Israel of aggression. Lebanese media reported Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon following Netanyahu’s order.

The move risks further widening the conflict in the north, where tens of thousands of Israeli residents remain displaced from their homes near the border.

Netanyahu has emphasized that Israel will not accept a situation where Hezbollah maintains its military capabilities along the border, stating the goal is to ensure the safe return of evacuated communities.

U.S. officials have expressed support for Israel’s right to defend itself while urging restraint to avoid a broader regional war.

This is a developing story. VINnews will provide updates as more details emerge.

NEW YORK (VINnews) — An unidentified man wearing traditional Muslim garb was caught on video vandalizing a popular Israeli-owned kosher bagel shop in Queens early Friday, the latest in a string of antisemitic incidents targeting Jewish businesses in New York City.

The attack occurred around 1 a.m. at Bagels & Company in Jamaica Estates. The suspect spent nearly five minutes throwing potted plants, chairs and tables at the storefront, according to surveillance footage shared on Instagram by the Jewish Bukharian community. No one was injured.

Police are investigating the incident as a possible hate crime.

“This targeted attack on a Jewish business is part of a disturbing pattern of unchecked harassment against the Queens Jewish community despite rallies and public statements,” said Moshe Spern, a Queens high school teacher and president of United Jewish Teachers.

“Mayor Mamdani must immediately deploy more NYPD resources to protect our synagogues, schools, and businesses,” Spern added. “These intimidation tactics need to end now. Jewish New Yorkers deserve safety in our city.”

An 18-year-old Jewish student who asked not to be named said the attack, while disturbing, did not surprise her.

“Honestly I was just confused but not surprised,” she said. “It was just like, here we go, another day basically. … There’s just been a lot more terrorism against Jews, a lot more antisemitism. And, no, I don’t feel safe here walking by myself.”

Antisemitic incidents in New York City have surged since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza. The NYPD reported a 182% increase in antisemitic attacks in January compared with the same month a year earlier.

Citywide hate crimes dropped in April, including a 30.2% decrease in antisemitic incidents — 30 cases compared with 43 in April 2025. Still, antisemitic attacks made up the majority of hate crimes in the first three months of the year.

The extent of the damage to Bagels & Company was not immediately available.

VINnews will continue to follow developments in this case.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Monday that any agreement with Iran should include a requirement for several additional countries, including Saudi Arabia and Turkey, to join the Abraham Accords, the U.S.-brokered agreements aimed at normalizing relations with Israel that were forged during Trump’s first term.

In a social media post, Trump said negotiations are “proceeding nicely” but tied any eventual agreement to expanded participation in the agreements first signed in 2020.

He pointed to Saudi Arabia and Qatar as countries that should “immediately” sign on, followed by Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt and Jordan. Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates became the first countries to join in 2020.

He wrote that “after all the work done by the United States to try and pull this very complex puzzle together, it should be mandatory that all of these Countries, at a minimum, simultaneously, sign onto the Abraham Accords.”

The president said he brought up the Abraham Accords plan with leaders during negotiations on Saturday.

Trump suggested he may accept “one or two” countries declining to sign, but said most should be willing. Egypt and Jordan already formally recognize Israel and have long-standing peace treaties.

It remains unclear when or how any deal with Iran might be completed, or how Abraham Accords membership might affect an agreement. He suggested even Iran could eventually sign on, if an agreement is reached.

The accords are a series of diplomatic, economic and security agreements created with U.S. influence during Trump’s first term, originally between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, followed by Sudan, Morocco, and more recently, Kazakhstan.

They were framed as an effort to promote cooperation among countries in the Middle East and North Africa, and the administration saw them as partly paving a path toward full ties with Israel.

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Leo XIV called Monday for robust regulation of artificial intelligence and for its developers to work for the common good rather than profit, issuing a sweeping manifesto on safeguarding humankind as the technology impacts everything from work to war.

“Magnifica Humanitas” (Magnificent Humanity), Leo’s first encyclical, has been eagerly awaited ever since history’s first U.S.-born pope announced days after his election that he considered AI to be the biggest challenge facing humanity today.

In the text, Leo denounced the “culture of power” driving the AI race, especially in developing ever more sophisticated methods of remote warfare. He declared that it was “not permissible” to entrust irreversible, lethal decisions to AI systems, setting up another flash point between the American pope and the Trump administration, which has worked aggressively to deregulate AI development.

“Artificial Intelligence now demands to be disarmed, freed from logics that turn it into an instrument of domination, exclusion and death,″ the pope told a special Vatican presentation of the encyclical, one of the most authoritative types of teaching documents a pope can issue.

Experts in the tech industry, academia and Catholic morality said the document will likely become a benchmark in the debate over AI, a point of reference for policymakers, researchers and ordinary folk alike. It comes as the near-daily developments in the technology trigger concerns over AI replacing human jobs and even human intelligence.

Taylor Black, a Microsoft AI executive and director of Catholic University of America’s AI institute, said the document would prompt people “at the forefront of these tools” to ask questions such as “What does it mean to be human?”

Pope calls out AI companies even as he hosts Anthropic
The Vatican launch also included remarks by the co-founder of Anthropic, which is currently locked in a legal battle with the Trump administration over access to its AI technology. The Vatican decided to involve Anthropic as part of its decade-long effort to engage Silicon Valley in dialogue over the human cost of AI.

And yet in his text, Leo repeatedly blasted the concentration of power and data in the hands of so few people in the private sector as a danger, especially to children and the most vulnerable, and called for external regulation of their work.

“It is not enough to invoke ethics in the abstract; robust legal frameworks, independent oversight, informed users and a political system that does not abdicate its responsibility are required,” he wrote. “A more moral AI is not enough if that morality is determined by a few.”

Leo appealed to AI developers and political leaders responsible for regulating them to slow down and reflect on what they are doing. He urged them to use ethical and spiritual guidelines to make the choice to work not for their own profit or power, but the betterment of humanity.

AI competitors OpenAI and Anthropic are the second- and third-most valuable U.S. private companies, each valued at hundreds of billions of dollars, more than the GDP of many nations. Both companies are heading toward near-trillion dollar IPOs.

Anthropic co-founder Christopher Olah welcomed Leo’s criticism and concern. He said such external checks were fundamental to the technology “going well” for humankind since there is so much at stake — “a real possibility that AI will displace human labor at a very large scale.”

“We need more of the world — religious communities, civil society, scholars, governments — to do what His Holiness has done here: to take this seriously, to look closely, and to push events in a better direction,” Olah said. “We need moral voices that the incentives cannot bend.”

Experts say the text will become a benchmark
In a methodical text, the math major pope traced the history of the Catholic Church’s social teaching and applied its core concepts — justice, solidarity, the dignity of work and the universal destination of resources — to the digital revolution.

“I am convinced that this will prove to be a defining document for our era, a profound and prophetic document,” said Paolo Carozza, law professor at Notre Dame Law School and chair of the Meta Oversight Board.

“Pope Leo is offering a clear, comprehensive, and coherent voice urging us to take responsibility for constructing a world in which technology will serve humans rather than degrade them,” he said.

In its strongest chapters, Leo denounced how AI had helped accelerate the “normalization of war” by desensitizing people to its cost. He didn’t name specific conflicts, but cited “opposing imperialisms, between powers that wish to preserve their supremacy, and those that aspire to seize that supremacy.”

He demanded transparency and accountability by AI developers so that the chain of decision-making command in ordering strikes with AI weaponry is always known. He declared that the Catholic Church’s “just war” theory, which provides specific criteria for when force can be justified, was now “outdated” given the technological advances of warfare.

A text in the church’s social justice tradition
Leo signed the text May 15, the 135th anniversary of the publication of “Rerum Novarum” (Of New Things), the most important teaching document of Leo’s hero and namesake, Pope Leo XIII. That document addressed workers’ rights, the limits of capitalism, and the obligations that states and employers owed workers as the Industrial Revolution was underway.

It became the foundation of modern Catholic social thought, and the current pope cited it at the start of his pontificate in relation to the AI revolution, which he believes poses the same existential questions that the Industrial Revolution posed over a century ago. “Magnifica Humanitas” thus becomes the latest chapter in a century-long history of popes adapting “Rerum Novarum” to the social questions of their times, often dwelling on the dignity of work for human flourishing.

AI is evoking both existential fears and utopian vision amid an intensifying debate on whether it will become a catalyst that enriches humanity or a technological toxin that dulls human intelligence while wiping out millions of high-paying jobs.

“The pursuit of greater profits cannot justify choices that systematically sacrifice jobs, because the human person is an end, not a means, and the economic order must remain subordinate to human dignity and the common good,” Leo wrote.

Leo extended his concern for upholding human dignity in labor to issue the first-ever papal apology for the Holy See’s own role in legitimizing slavery by giving European sovereigns explicit authority to subjugate and enslave “infidels.”

A decade-long dialogue with Silicon Valley
Vatican officials declined to say who contributed to Leo’s encyclical. But Vatican and church officials have been engaged in a dialogue with Silicon Valley tech firms for a decade.

The decision to include Anthropic at the Vatican launch was criticized by some who considered it a papal stamp of approval of the AI firm, which is currently suing the Trump administration after it ordered all U.S. agencies to stop using Anthropic’s technology for its refusal to allow the U.S. military unrestricted use of it.

Brian Boyd, U.S. faith liaison for the nonprofit Future of Life Institute, read the inclusion of Anthropic’s co-founder Olah as a recognition of its prominence in the field and as similar to a papal audience with a head of state: not an endorsement.

Anthropic is an “enormous corporation that is taking onto itself an enormous risk and responsibility,” Boyd said, adding that the company has “demonstrated genuine goodwill and integrity and interest in dialogue.”

NEW YORK (VINnews) – Political commentator Shabbos Kestenbaum clashed with Ana Kasparian, co-host of The Young Turks, during a panel discussion on Al Arabiya English, directly challenging her claims of pro-Israel influence in the defeat of Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., in last week’s Republican primary.

Kestenbaum, a PragerU commentator, accused Kasparian of promoting “deranged conspiracies” about Zionist control of U.S. media and politics. He argued that Massie’s loss stemmed from voter rejection of his positions, including criticism of President Trump.

“Thomas Massie took money from billionaires, Iranians, and PACs while implying Trump was a pedophile,” Kestenbaum said during the exchange. He highlighted Massie’s donations from groups including the National Iranian American Council and noted the congressman’s associations and policy stances that diverged from Trump and Republican priorities in his strongly pro-Trump district.

Massie lost the May 19 primary to Trump-endorsed former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein. Outside spending, including from pro-Israel groups like AIPAC, played a significant role in the high-cost race.0459a9

According to Kestenbaum, Kasparian responded primarily by yelling, interrupting and insulting rather than addressing his points on the substance. Following the debate, Kasparian blocked Kestenbaum on X.e488b2

The exchange, which went viral, featured tense moments, including Kasparian referencing U.S. foreign aid to Israel and broader Middle East policy, while Kestenbaum pushed back against narratives of undue foreign influence.02f72a

Kestenbaum later posted on X praising his performance: “Great debunking Anna Kasparian’s deranged conspiracies straight to her face.”

The debate highlighted ongoing divisions within progressive and conservative circles over U.S. policy toward Israel, campaign finance and the influence of lobbying groups. Massie has been a vocal critic of certain foreign aid and has pushed for greater transparency regarding Jeffrey Epstein-related files.

New York (VINNEWS/Rabbi Yair Hoffman)

Memorial Day is often confused with Veterans Day, but the two are not the same. Veterans Day honors all who have served. Memorial Day remembers only those who died. It is a day for the fallen, the men who put on the uniform of the United States and never took it off again, the ones who lie in cemeteries in France and Belgium and across the sea, or under white stone rows here at home.

For the Torah community, it is particularly important. The Jewish people were the central target of the Nazi machine. Six million were murdered in Europe. The Allied soldiers who broke that machine were, in a real sense, fighting for Jewish survival, whether they understood it that way or not.

When American troops reached the gates of camps like Buchenwald and Dachau, they were ending the single greatest assault on Jewish life since the Churban.  And it was not just for that war, but for every war that fought for liberty and against threats to life and liberties.

There is a widespread assumption that gratitude belongs to the category of fine character traits — admirable, refining, the mark of a decent person, but ultimately –

optional.

This assumption is mistaken. In Torah thought, hakaras hatov — the recognition of a good that has been done for us — is a binding obligation, rooted in the psukim of the Torah and elaborated by the Rishonim and Acharonim. Its absence is counted among the gravest of moral failures.

The Teaching of Rav Yerucham Levovitz

In his seminal work Da’as Chochma u’Mussar (Volume III, #12), Rav Yerucham Levovitz zt”l addresses the profound nature of gratitude as a cornerstone of the development of Jewish character. He explains that hakaras hatov is something a person owes, not something he bestows.

The View of the Maharal

This is also the position of the Maharal in his Gur Aryeh on Shemos 14:7, where he cites the pasuk in Shmuel I 15:6. There, Shaul HaMelech warns the Keini to withdraw from among Amalek before the battle, “lest I destroy you with them — for you did kindness with all the Children of Israel when they went up out of Egypt.” The kindness in question had been performed centuries earlier, by an ancestor, to a nation rather than to any living individual. And yet that kindness still generated an obligation that shaped national policy generations later.

Where the Obligation Comes From

The obligation is not derived from just a single pasuk – it emerges from several, each illuminating a different facet of the duty:

“You shall not abhor a Mitzri, for you were a stranger in his land” (Devarim 23:8). The Torah commands us not to despise the Egyptians — the very nation that enslaved and oppressed us — on account of the shelter they once provided when we dwelled in their land. If gratitude is owed even to a people who later turned to cruelty, on account of an earlier benefit, the obligation must be real and binding indeed.

“And you shall walk in His ways” (Devarim 28:9). From here Chazal teach that a person must conduct himself in accordance with the attributes of the Holy One, Blessed is He. The Al-Mighty recognizes the good — and so must we. Gratitude is thus folded into the broader mitzvah of imitating the Divine character.

“And you shall eat and be satisfied and bless Hashem your G-d” (Devarim 8:10). From the word “and you shall bless” the Sages derive that one is moved to bless and to recognize the good of the host at whose table he has eaten — and from this, that there is an obligation to recognize the good toward anyone who does good for us.

“One who repays evil in place of good — evil shall not depart from his house” (Mishlei 17:13). It is forbidden to be ungrateful for a benefit received, and the pasuk attaches a lasting consequence to the failure.

“And the borrower is a servant to the lender” (Mishlei 22:7). The borrower is reckoned as significant as a servant to the one who lent to him — precisely because he is bound to him by the obligation of recognizing the good. From here the Acharonim learned that anyone who receives a benefit from his fellow becomes obligated to him in hakaras hatov.

Beyond the psukim, the Rishonim add that the intellect itself — unaided by revelation — obligates a person to recognize a good done to him. It is one of those truths that reason apprehends on its own. The Torah’s commandments here do not impose a foreign demand so much as ratify what a sound mind already knows.

A Consistent Voice Across the Sources

Numerous Midrashim point to this same principle, and the consistency is striking. The recognition of the good is treated throughout rabbinic literature as the most important of the good attributes, while ingratitude is described as the most repugnant of the bad ones. Chazal go further still: to the degree that a person is careless about recognizing the good toward a fellow who has helped him, his very faith — his conviction that everything is in the hands of Heaven — is undermined. The person who cannot acknowledge the human being in front of him who fed him or sheltered him will hardly be capable of acknowledging the Source of all good behind that human being.

From Principle to Practice: A Ruling of Rav Elyashiv zt”l

That the obligation is genuinely operative — capable of generating concrete halachic rulings about real-world conduct — was demonstrated in a celebrated decision of Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv zt”l. Uri Lupolianski, then the mayor of Jerusalem, came before Rav Elyashiv with a question: should he express gratitude to President George W. Bush for the American military support that had helped protect Jerusalem? The posek ruled decisively. Not only was such an expression of gratitude permitted — it was halachically obligatory.

How Deep the Failure Runs: The Brisker Rav

If the obligation is this serious, the failure to meet it must be correspondingly grave — and the Brisker Rav located precisely how grave. Commenting on the pasuk in Parshas Ha’azinu, “Is it to Hashem that you repay this, O people that is vile and unwise (am naval v’lo chacham)?” (Devarim 32:6), he asked what the word naval connotes. He noted that when an animal dies without proper shechitah it is called a neveilah — a carcass. Such a creature has ceased to be a living animal at all.

So too, the Brisker Rav taught, a person who is not a makir tov is an am naval — because he has ceased to be a human being. There exists a long catalogue of bad character traits: arrogance, jealousy, selfishness, a quick temper. A person afflicted with any or all of them is flawed, but he remains a human being — a damaged one, but a human being still. The ingrate alone forfeits the title. Gratitude is not one virtue among many; it is constitutive of being human. To lack it is not to be a poor specimen of a person but to have stepped outside the category.

Why the Haggadah Chose the Parsha of Gratitude

This understanding illuminates a puzzle in the Haggadah. To narrate the Exodus, the Baal Haggadah might have drawn on any of the four parshiyos of Sefer Shemos — Shemos, Va’era, Bo, and Beshalach — that describe the bondage and the redemption in rich detail. Instead, he reached for a comparatively obscure passage: the declaration of the one who brings the first fruits, Mikra Bikkurim, in Parshas Ki Savo. Why bypass the source and choose the lesser-known text?

Rav Elya Baruch Finkel answers that the four parshiyos of Shemos are history — they record what happened. Mikra Bikkurim is not history; it is thanksgiving. It is an expression of hakaras hatov. The Baal Haggadah was fully aware of the narrative parshiyos — indeed, he quotes individual psukim from them throughout Maggid, introduced by the words k’mo she’ne’emar. But the governing theme of Maggid is not history; it is gratitude. When we sit at the Seder, we are saying thank you — and that is exactly what the parsha of Mikra Bikkurim expresses.

Rav Elya Baruch draws from this a further insight. On the words “V’amarta eilav…” (Devarim 26:3), Rashi comments with three words: she’eincha kafui tova — “that you not be an ingrate.” Why does Rashi cast the purpose negatively — that you recite this so as not to be ungrateful — rather than positively, that you recite it because you are a makir tova?

The answer, Rav Elya Baruch suggests, is sobering. A person can never be adequately makir tova to the Ribono shel Olam. There is simply too much to thank Him for — every day, every minute, every breath. Anyone who imagines that by reciting these psukim he has discharged his debt of gratitude has badly misjudged the matter. He has not reached the level of a makir tova, for that level lies beyond human reach. What the recitation accomplishes — and this is no small thing — is to keep him from being a kafui tova, an ingrate. Rashi tells it exactly as it is.

This is the very idea voiced each Shabbos in Nishmas: were our mouths as full of song as the sea and our tongues as full of joyous praise as its waves, we still could not adequately thank Hashem for even one of the countless favors He has done for us. We could speak from now until eternity and never express our full hakaras hatov.

The Debts We Can Never Fully Repay

The same truth, though on an infinitely lower plane, applies to certain people in our lives. A person can never adequately thank his parents. It is simply not possible.

There are others, too, who cross our paths and alter the trajectory of our lives in ways we can never fully repay. The lesson is not that we should despair of the attempt. It is that we must at least try — as much as we are able — to express gratitude, so as to escape the terrible label of kafui tova.

The Measure of Greatness

If gratitude is constitutive of being human, it follows that the greater the person, the greater his hakaras hatov. The annals of Gedolei Yisrael, across every segment of the Torah world, are filled with examples of men who went to astonishing lengths to recognize a good. Their greatness and their gratitude were not two separate things; they were the same thing seen from two angles.

A story told of Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky. A bochur in Torah Vodaas would sleep through minyan, and nothing the dormitory counselors tried could rouse him. At their wits’ end, they came to Rav Yaakov and asked to expel the boy from the dormitory. Rav Yaakov agreed that if the boy was breeding laxity throughout the dorm, he could not remain — but he insisted on speaking with him first. The frightened bochur came to the Rosh Yeshiva’s office, certain he was about to be thrown out. Rav Yaakov asked him simply, “So where will you sleep now?” The boy answered that he did not know. “In that case,” said Rav Yaakov, “I want you to stay with me.” The astonished boy protested that the Rosh Yeshiva had just expelled him from the dorm. Rav Yaakov replied: “Your grandfather supported the Kovno Kollel where I learned when I was in Lita. I owe your family hakaras hatov — and so you may sleep at my house.”

Yet the most moving illustration concerns Rav Elazar Menachem Man Shach zt”l. On a rainy winter day, Rav Shach asked his grandson to hire a cab to take him to a funeral in Haifa. The grandson assumed they were traveling to honor some great man his grandfather had known. They arrived to find the levaya of an elderly woman, attended by barely a minyan, and the grandson could not fathom why his grandfather had come. Rav Shach followed the procession to the cemetery in the pouring rain, waited until the burial was complete, recited Kaddish, and then stood over the grave in the downpour. When at last they returned to the car, he said nothing, until the grandson asked who the woman had been.

Rav Shach explained. In Europe, yeshivos had no dormitories; the boys learned in a shul and slept on its benches, with the older bochurim holding seniority over the few sleeping spots. As the youngest, Rav Shach slept on the floor through the brutal Lithuanian winters. At one point he could bear the cold no longer. Just then a letter arrived from a childless uncle who owned a business, inviting the young Shach to come learn the trade and one day inherit it. He resolved to accept and leave the yeshiva. That very night, a woman whose husband — a blanket manufacturer — had just died, and who had risen from shiva, came into the shul and asked whether anyone needed blankets. Rav Shach said that he did. With blankets beneath him and blankets above him, his nights on the floor became bearable. He decided to stay — and he became Rav Shach.

“Without this woman,” he told his grandson, “there would be no Rav Shach, no Avi Ezri, no Ponevezh Rosh Yeshiva, no Gadol Hador — nothing.” He had tracked her for decades, and when he heard she had died, he felt he had to attend her funeral. As for why he had stood over the grave in the rain after the burial was over, the grandson asked. “It is because I wanted to remember what it felt like to be cold,” Rav Shach answered. “I wanted to fully appreciate what she did for me so many years ago. That is why I stayed out there.”

The thread that runs through all of this is a single, demanding idea. Gratitude is not an ornament upon a good character; it is the foundation of one. The Torah commands it, the Rishonim and Acharonim treat it as a binding obligation, the Midrashim affirm it, and a posek of Rav Elyashiv’s authority renders concrete rulings upon it. The Brisker Rav teaches that its absence forfeits one’s very humanity, and the lives of the Gedolim show that its presence is the very measure of greatness. A person who is not a makir tova is not, in the deepest sense, a mensch.

Returning to the White Stone Rows

And so we return to where we began. On Memorial Day, a Torah Jew stands before the white stone rows and the cemeteries across the sea, and the obligation that fills this article presses upon him with full force. The soldiers who lie there did a kindness — the greatest of kindnesses — to the Jewish people, whether or not a single one of them ever knew it. They broke the machine that had been built to consume us. They opened the gates of Buchenwald and Dachau. Many of them never came home.

The kindness of the Keini, performed centuries before Shaul HaMelech, still bound a nation generations later. The kindness of an Egyptian who once gave shelter still forbids us to despise his descendants. If hakaras hatov reaches that far across time, then surely it reaches the soldier who died eighty years ago so that there might still be a Jewish people to remember him. We did not know his name. We cannot repay him. But that was never the standard. The standard, as Rashi teaches, is only that we not be kafui tova — that we not be ingrates.

We cannot adequately thank these men any more than Rav Shach could adequately thank the woman with the blankets. But like Rav Shach, we can remember what it felt like to be cold. On Memorial Day, that is what the Torah asks of us — not to discharge a debt that can never be discharged, but to refuse, at the very least, to forget.

The author can be reached at [email protected]

TOKYO (AP) — Toshifumi Suzuki, the Japanese businessman credited with creating the 7-Eleven convenience-chain global retail empire, has died. He was 93.

Suzuki, an honorary adviser at Seven & i Holdings, died on May 18 of heart failure at his Tokyo home, the company said Monday.

Suzuki founded the Japanese unit that operates the seemingly ubiquitous 7-Eleven “conbini” outlets, where busy people can hop in and grab sandwiches, rice balls, drinks, chips and other meals on-the-run, use ATMs, pay utility bills and copy documents.

The 7-Eleven stores, now numbering more than 80,000 worldwide, are the biggest convenience-store chain in Japan.

The business started out in Japan under a franchise agreement with the U.S. 7-Eleven in 1973. The first store opened in Japan the following year.

After The Southland Corp., which founded 7-Eleven, ran into financial difficulties the Japanese company bought a majority stake in the 1990’s. It made the American counterpart its 100% owned group company in 2005.

Several years ago, the Canadian retailer Alimentation Couche-Tard, which runs the global Circle K convenience store chain, sought to take over Seven & i Holdings. But it dropped the effort in 2024, citing frustration with negotiations that showed “a lack of constructive engagement.”

Suzuki, born in Nagano Prefecture, northern Japan, in 1932, graduated from the prestigious Chuo University in Tokyo.

Before beginning his career in the convenience store business, he worked at Ito-Yokado, a major Japanese retail chain that sells a variety of products including groceries, cosmetics and clothing, which is also owned by Seven and i Holdings.

Apart from leading 7-Eleven, Suzuki engineered the acquisition of Barney’s Japan in 2015 and added banking functions to the empire.

He said he wanted to provide customers with what he called a lifestyle shopping experience. Over the years, the retailing giant also brought under its wing the Sogo and Seibu department stores.

Suzuki became chief executive of 7-Eleven Japan in 1978. He is widely seen as having innovated how Japanese consumers shop. Convenience stores have led retailers in Japan in implementing new retail technologies.

Funeral services are being held privately with family, and messages, flowers and other condolence gifts were politely declined, according to the company. Details of a public ceremony will come later, it said.

Suzuki is survived by his wife and two children.

NEW YORK (VINNEWS/Rabbi Yair Hoffman) What follows is a fascinating and inspiring new understanding of Naomi based on a shiur given by Rav Uren Reich shlita. This shiur was delivered the same day that the Rosh yeshiva served as the sandek for this author’s einekel.  The pasuk at the beginning of Megillas Rus describes this wealthy, successful lady, Naomi.

How’s everything going for her? And then she leaves with her husband to stay in Moav, and one tragedy after another befalls her, and she comes back bereft of everything that she had before. “Vayehi k’voanah Beis Lechem” — as they come back and they come into Beis Lechem, and everybody’s assembled there, “vateihom kol ha’ir” — everybody was talking about it. “Vatomarna ha’zos Naomi?” Is this the lady that we once knew? Naomi — she’s unrecognizable. “Vatomer aleihen, al tikrena li Naomi.” Don’t call me Naomi.

The word Naomi is from ne’imus — sweet. “Kerena li Mara” — call me bitter. “Ki heimar Shakai li me’od” — Hashem has given me much bitterness. “Ani mele’ah halachti, v’reikam heshivani Hashem; lamah tikrena li Naomi, v’Hashem anah vi, v’Shakai heira li.”

We look at these words, and they sound like the bitter ranting of a woman who’s fallen on hard times — negative and upset.

She, so to speak, spits at those who call her Naomi. Why are you calling me Naomi? I’m not Naomi. I’m now a woman who’s living a bitter life. Things have turned very bad for me.

But it may have meant something completely different.

And I’d like to share a story about my great-grandfather, Rav Shlomo Zalman Pines. Rav Shlomo Zalman Pines lived in Minsk. He was truly “Toraso v’zulaso b’mokom echad.” He was a fabulously wealthy person, part of his family, and he learned yomam va’laylah. And gedolei Yisroel stayed in his house — Rav Zalman Sender, Rav Chaim Brisker. He spent his Shabbosos with Rav Meir Simcha, and he spoke about it till the end of his life — different chiddushim that he discussed with Rav Meir Simcha.

And the wealth in the house was so fabulous that his wife used to tell the grandchildren stories about the maidservants they had, and the gold — they didn’t have silver, they had gold.

They had all kinds of cutlery. And every year, as a very wealthy man, he used to go with his wife to Switzerland for a vacation, and he left his two children behind with a babysitter — this was their minhag b’kviyus.

And one year — I think it was 1914 — for reasons that no one knows, he took both children with him that year. And they were in Switzerland, and on the way out, they realized they were missing certain papers.

They went back to the stantzia to get the papers, and they missed the boat that day, and therefore they decided to go back to Russia the next day. Which was Hashgachah Pratis — they got a telegram: “The Bolsheviks have taken over. There’s a revolution. A lot of unrest. Don’t come back right now. Wait until you know what’s me’ulad yom.”

Shortly afterwards, he got another telegram, or maybe a letter: “They’ve taken over completely. The Russian Revolution — and the scapegoat for everything is the wealthy people. They’ve taken over everything that you have. If you walk into Russia, you’ll be killed immediately. Stay where you are.”

And he realized that it was a gezeiras Hashem that he has to stay in Switzerland.

He had kim’at no money with him at all. He had what he brought with him for the vacation. And he had some very nice leichter, and he had a little bit of a part in the house that he was in in Switzerland.

He was doomed to be a poor man for the rest of his life. “Litvish atam tarchem,” omar, “dar raglov, v’al ma she’amar Baruch Atah Hashem Elokeinu Melech ha’olam — dayeinu emes.”

From then, for the next 30 years until the end of his life — more than 30 years — he never spoke a word about his previous riches. He lived as a very poor man, and he was marbitz Torah yomam va’laylah, sha’arim, sha’arim.

Yeduah — he said on himself, he said to my uncle Reb Dov, he learned Bava Kamma over 100 times b’iyun. He wrote on kol chelkei ha’Torah, atem chochmas Halacha.

But the point that I’m bringing out of it is “mefulag harayim.” Here he’d lived one track as a wealthy person, a baal gedulah, a person who was machnis kedushah l’Yisroel, b’haflagah — and in a moment, so to speak, his life was nehefach, and he was mekabel b’tzidduk hadin, b’ahavah, and never spoke about it.

His wife used to speak to the children about it, but he never said another word.

And what’s the omek of that? What’s the depth of that?

He put that life behind him. He realized that Hashem gives a person a tafkid. His tafkid until now was to live the life of a wealthy person — with tzidkus, with Torah, with avodas Hashem. And now he had a different goral. And he didn’t want to hear about what was before. It’s not relevant. Why be nostalgic about times that used to be and feel that I’m missing something? I’m in a new world, and a new tekufah.

Naomi lived a life of sweetness for a long time. And when she came back, people were comparing the lady they were watching to the lady she used to be. And from the name of a person, they said, comes the tafkid: “Ha’zos Naomi?” Is this the lady that we knew, that was Naomi? “Vatomer aleihen” — and she said to them: I don’t view myself anymore as Naomi. That was my previous life. “Al tikrena li Naomi.” Don’t give me the title Naomi. Naomi is the lady I used to be. “Kerena li Mara, ki heimar Shakai li me’od.”

Now Hakadosh Baruch Hu has given me the trial, the tribulation, of having a bitter life — and seeing if I can endure it with the right kabbalah b’ahavah. “Ani mele’ah halachti, v’reikam heshivani Hashem” — middas harachamim. Now Hakadosh Baruch Hu has decided to give me a different role. “Lamah tikrena li Naomi?” Why talk about the Naomi that used to be? It’s irrelevant. “V’Hashem anah vi, v’Shakai heira li.”

And the truth is, as we all know, Naomi’s gedulah begins now.

Now, through Rus, Naomi has a connection — as we see at the end of the Megillah, she becomes the one who is the forerunner of Malchus Beis Dovid and Malchus Melech HaMashiach.

So a person who feels deprived because there was something great that he had — whatever it may be — that was taken from him: this is the avodas Hashem. “B’chol me’odecha” — Chazal zogn, “b’chol middah u’middah she’hu moded lecha, hevei modeh lo me’od me’od.” A person has to accept what Hakadosh Baruch Hu gives him. It’s a very, very difficult challenge.

I remember my father, alav ha’shalom — he was a very active person, he was a sociable person, he liked people. And when he became sick, and he was in an old age home, at the beginning he couldn’t deal with the transformation of his life. He spoke to me about it; we spoke. Hakadosh Baruch Hu gives a different tafkid, and he took that discussion and he said it over to many people: “I’ve been mekabel — now I have a different life. Now I have to take care of Mommy, I have to take care of Mommy, and I have to live a slower life, and it takes me half an hour till I walk next door to Minchah. That’s my life. I’m going to be mekabel b’ahavah.”

This is the way we all have to live in avodas Hashem. U’bizchus ha’kabbalos ha’tovos shelanu nizkeh l’mashiach.

The transcriber can be reached at [email protected]

JERUSALEM (AP) — The deal being discussed between the U.S. and Iran fails to achieve any of Israel’s goals for the war, Israel’s opposition leader Yair Lapid said on Monday, as he accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of failing to influence a better agreement.

Lapid, who is part of an alliance attempting to unseat Netanyahu in elections this year, said details of the emerging deal are “disturbing.”

“The deal is bad for Israel, bad for the region, bad for the citizens of Iran,” Lapid told reporters in Jerusalem.

Israel and the U.S. launched the war on Feb. 28 vowing to destroy Iran’s ballistic missile program, end its support for proxy militant groups across the region and end Iran’s ability to pursue a nuclear bomb. Both Netanyahu and President Donald Trump also said they hoped to create conditions to topple Iran’s government.

According to regional officials, under the current deal being discussed Iran would give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium and reopen the strategic Strait of Hormuz in exchange for ending a U.S. blockade of Iranian ports and the lifting of sanctions against Iran. Key details on Iran’s nuclear program would then be negotiated during a 60-day period. It is unclear if the deal will address Iran’s missiles or support for regional militant groups.

Lapid expressed gratitude to Trump for launching the war with Israel, but criticized Netanyahu for allowing Washington to negotiate a potential deal with little coordination with Israel.

“The Israeli government is at an all-time low in its ability to influence decisions in Washington,” he said, noting that Trump said last week: “Netanyahu will do whatever I want him to do.”

Lapid, head of the centrist “Yesh Atid” party, briefly served as prime minister in 2022 under a rotation agreement with Naftali Bennett, leader of a small conservative party. Their coalition government ended 12 years of Netanyahu’s rule.

They have once again merged their parties into single faction headed by Bennett as they attempt to unseat Netanyahu in elections which will be held by the end of October.

Lapid has served as Israel’s opposition leader since Netanyahu returned to power in late 2022, while Bennett took a break from politics. Their alliance is aimed at uniting a fragmented opposition united in large part by their shared hostility toward Netanyahu.

Lapid, one of a shrinking number of Israeli politicians who supports the idea of Palestinian independence, said the issue would not be on the next government’s agenda. He said the conditions are not right following the trauma of the Hamas attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, and wars that have followed.

“There will be no two-state solution in the coming years, because Israelis now understand this will become just another failing terrorist state on our borders,” said Lapid, adding that the Palestinian Authority does not have the ability to effectively prevent attacks against Israel.

But Lapid said he would oppose unilateral steps that would make a future Palestinian state impossible and had received assurances from Bennett, a former West Bank settlement leader, that Israel will not move toward annexing the occupied territory.

Lapid also ruled out cooperation with Arab parties to build a coalition to unseat Netanyahu.

Opinion polls indicate that Bennett and Lapid might not be able to form a governing majority coalition without the support of some Arab lawmakers, as they did in their previous government. They broke a longstanding taboo in 2021 when they invited Mansour Abbas, leader of a small Arab faction, into Israel’s governing coalition for the first and only time in Israel’s history.

Lapid said his previous cooperation with Abbas was “the right government for the moment,” but that Israel is in a very different place after nearly three years of wars and he and Bennett will not build a coalition with Abbas’ party in the next elections.

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Ten years ago, the path of a religious girl at the end of ulpana (religious high school for girls) was clear: a year or two of national service (or military service if you were a bit rebellious), then a degree (probably in teaching), and later marriage. Only a few, the “very religious girls of the class,” would deviate from this track into a full year in a midrasha (religious women’s Torah study program).

Over the years, however, midrashot have managed to carve out their own place in the life path. Whether before national or military service, or afterward, girls from the religious sector are increasingly flocking to a year dedicated entirely to Torah study. On the occasion of Shavuot, the article asks: how did the world of midrashot become a trend that is sweeping everyone?

Tzipi Abeta, an 12th-grade teacher at Ulpanat Segula, describes very high percentages of students choosing to go to a midrasha. “I see that it is on the minds of the vast majority of girls,” she told the Kipah website, attributing the trend also to the school’s guiding approach, which holds an annual “midrasha conference” with representatives from various institutions. “This is something that didn’t exist in previous years,” she admits, “it’s a broad and very important trend.”

When asked to estimate the numbers, she guesses: “If eight years ago maybe 10% of the girls went to a midrasha, today it’s around 30% or more.” Abeta mainly knows about students who go directly after ulpana, but also hears about many who choose the path after national service. The school itself is also in the process of opening a midrasha in two tracks, one for students from France and one regular track.

When asked what caused the trend, she says: “Today the language of midrashot is very present in ulpanot. There is a midrasha in almost every school for girls who stay in the afternoon to study Torah.” She adds: “In recent years there it has become an accepted idea that there should be spiritual strengthening before going to the army, whether in a hesder yeshiva, preparatory program, or yeshiva. Girls used to go to national service or the army as they were. Today girls are already part of a very high-level academic world, so it is only natural they will also connect to Torah and faith at a high level.”

When asked whether this is part of a broader religious strengthening trend, she does not commit fully: “It’s not necessarily about being more religious. It’s a simple desire of the soul. I’ve seen girls who seemed distant and didn’t always pray, and they were thirsty for this encounter with Torah.”

Rabbanit Naama Frenkel, head of the midrasha in Lod (a branch of Midreshet Lindenbaum), sees the growth firsthand. She founded the midrasha nine years ago together with Rabbi Udi Abramovitz. In the first year, 22 students studied there. For next year, 57 girls have already registered. “Our midrasha is before service, and its growth is strongly connected to the fact that more girls are enlisting in the army,” she says, and adds: “But even girls who go to national service are looking to build their spiritual world.”

She says there is now much greater awareness of the importance of Torah study for women. “Today girls invest a lot in music, gymnastics, dance, and many other things, and there is an understanding that you also need to invest in the most important thing in our lives—our spiritual existence.” She also notes a significant increase in short introductory visits, where high school seniors experience the midrasha for a few days.

Regarding admissions, she explains: “There are admission requirements, but you won’t find dry criteria published on the website. We look for girls who love learning. We know the phenomenon of girls who struggled in high school but suddenly flourish in the midrasha and study all day, we know how to identify that. The conditions are that the girl is ready for a full day of study, able to function within a group, and that her worldview fits the midrasha.”

A student, Ayelet Yudin, a first-year national service volunteer, says it was clear to her she wanted to go to a midrasha before her service. She studied last year at Midreshet “Tachlit” in Akko, and says it was “the most accurate and best decision of my life.” She debated between military and national service but ultimately felt she needed a year of exploration first.

She says she is far from alone. In her opinion, at least 50% of girls in her class went to a midrasha. She links this to the rising rate of religious girls enlisting in the army: “Many girls who enlist go to a midrasha first.”

Like boys’ yeshivas, midrashot are also divided into different styles—different approaches, learning methods, and atmospheres. For Yudin, enthusiasm was most important: “That the girls genuinely love the place, that the staff is good, and that the learning is interesting.”

She believes there is a kind of positive social pressure to go to a midrasha: “Yes. It has become much more popular. There is some social pressure, but mainly an understanding that it is a meaningful year, time to reset your personality, gather tools, and organize your inner world.”

When asked about the challenge of sitting and studying Torah all day, she replies: “True. But there is something very flexible in midrashot, with varied classes. If a lesson doesn’t interest you, you can learn with a partner or do something else. There are no exams, the learning is very different. In a way, it becomes addictive, you don’t notice you’ve been studying all day.”

JERUSALEM (VINnews) The Amshinover Rebbe, Rabbi Yaakov Aryeh Yeshaya Milikowsky, said Jews who are ritually impure from contact with the dead may enter certain outer sections of the Temple Mount after immersion in a mikveh, according to a conversation published in the Amshinov Hasidic bulletin “Yirah veSimcha.”

The remarks, first reported by Dvir Amar of Arutz Sheva, addressed one of the most sensitive issues in Jewish religious law and Israeli public life: whether Jews may ascend the Temple Mount today.

According to the published exchange, the Rebbe distinguished between the broader Temple Mount compound and more sanctified inner sections known in halachic literature as the “cheil,” which he said remain forbidden to enter.

“It is permitted for someone tamei meis to enter the Temple Mount itself,” the Rebbe said, according to the report, adding that entry deeper into the site is prohibited.

The Rebbe also discussed the status of the Western Wall, saying it is connected to the retaining wall of the Temple Mount rather than the Temple itself.

The conversation further touched on theoretical questions surrounding the restoration of Biblical offerings, including the Shtei HaLechem, or “Two Loaves,” brought on Shavuot in Temple times.

The Rebbe reportedly raised several practical and halachic concerns, including the precise location of the altar, questions surrounding verified priestly lineage, and ritual requirements connected to the offerings.

He noted that the Korban Pesach differs from the Two Loaves because it is an obligation on individuals, while the latter is a communal offering that requires a functioning altar.

The discussion ended with a lighthearted remark about activists advocating renewed Temple-era offerings: “Are they also carrying a Mizbeach with them?”

The issue of Jewish prayer and visits to the Temple Mount has become increasingly contentious in recent years, with some Religious Zionist rabbis permitting limited access to designated areas, while many leading haredi and chief rabbinic authorities continue to prohibit entry altogether.

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — The Council of the Israel Land Authority has approved a decision to revoke eligibility for charedi draft evaders to receive subsidized housing in the “Price for a Tenant” program (“Dira LeHaskir / Mechir LaMishtaken”). After a legal struggle and attempts by Housing Minister Haim Katz to introduce softened wording, the council passed a version that prohibits charedi individuals who have not enlisted from participating in housing lotteries, which can lead to significant reductions on new housing.

According to the approved wording, eligibility for participation in the lotteries is conditional on the fact that, based on data from the Israel Defense Forces, the individual or either spouse is not defined as a draft evader who has not resolved their military status. Any change to this decision would require a new resolution by the Israel Land Authority Council.

The decision to revoke eligibility aligns with a ruling by the High Court of Justice, which required the imposition of economic sanctions on charedi individuals who do not enlist. Following the council’s decision, a lottery for 4,000 housing units for reservists will be launched tomorrow. Another lottery for 4,000 units for the general public, including charedi applicants, is pending receipt of IDF data regarding draft evaders. The data may arrive later today or tomorrow, after which the second lottery may also proceed, while excluding the charedi draft evaders.

The Deputy Attorney General, Dr. Gil Lemon, is currently examining whether the loss of eligibility for subsidized housing will also apply to charedi draft evaders who already won lotteries but have not yet signed purchase contracts. It is unclear how many couples this may affect.

The loss of eligibility for subsidized housing is described as the most severe sanction imposed on charedi draft evaders, and it will not be lifted unless a law regulating military service is passed. Without such legislation, this sanction is expected to significantly affect the economic structure of charedi households and could serve as a major incentive for enlistment.

In addition, a decision is expected by next week regarding the removal of two additional benefits for charedi draft evaders: eligibility for municipal tax (arnona) discounts and public transportation subsidies. Another sanction, set to take effect at the start of the next school year, is the expansion of the removal of daycare subsidies for any charedi individual who did not serve in the military (including those who are employed).

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Officials close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are currently advancing a complex and unprecedented move aimed at disqualifying the United Arab List party from participating in the next Knesset elections. As first reported yesterday by Channel 13 News, the move is already in advanced stages, although no exact election date has yet been set.

According to information from two sources very close to Netanyahu, internal discussions in the Prime Minister’s circle focused on leading a legal and political effort to designate the “Islamic Movement – Southern Branch,” the official parent movement of Ra’am, as a terrorist organization.

The main basis for the new development, according to those same sources, is the Islamic Movement’s activity in transferring money and donations to the Gaza Strip during the war, something viewed in the Prime Minister’s circle as solid security and legal grounds for disqualification.

To carry out the plan, the move would require a combination of two parallel tracks: promoting particular legislation in the Knesset, alongside obtaining official security opinions from the relevant security agencies, chiefly the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet). It should be noted that the Prime Minister’s Office has not yet issued an official response to the report.

Ra’am chairman MK Mansour Abbas sharply responded to the reports about efforts to disqualify his party. Abbas directly accused Netanyahu and also sent a warning message to the security establishment.

“Netanyahu seeks to decide the upcoming elections by disqualifying Ra’am in an anti-democratic manner,” Abbas attacked. “It is the duty of the Shin Bet to act in a statesmanlike and lawful manner and preserve the democratic order and its institutions, not to become a tool in the hands of the political echelon during election season. Our response to this anti-democratic move will be at the ballot box.”

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — A school vice principal who tried to break up a fight between two students was beaten and suffered a nervous breakdown. Despite this, Israel’s National Insurance Institute of Israel initially refused to recognize her as a workplace injury victim until the labor court ruled otherwise.

The incident took place about two years ago at an elementary school in southern Israel. A fight broke out between two students, and the student being attacked fled and hid in the vice principal’s office. She tried to prevent the attacking student from entering the room, and during the confrontation he assaulted her as well, kicking and punching her while cursing at her. Additional staff members who were present tried to help and calm the student, but without success.

“The student struggled with the vice principal and screamed that he wanted to kill the student hiding in her office,” one of the school’s educators recounted. “He continuously kicked the office door, and kicked and shoved her. We tried to help the vice principal, and together we managed to get the student into an adjacent room.”

While holding the office door shut and trying to block the student, she managed to call his mother and urgently ask her to come to the school. Only after the mother arrived was she able to calm her son down.

The vice principal, who had more than 20 years of experience in education, began suffering from chest pains, trembling, and crying. She was taken to the emergency room, where doctors performed a catheterization procedure. Following the incident, she also began receiving psychiatric treatment.

A short time later, she asked the National Insurance Institute to recognize the case as a workplace accident, but her request was denied. “It was not proven that an unusual traumatic event occurred during and because of work, which caused the psychological injury that developed,” the decision stated.

She was forced to file a lawsuit in labor court through attorney Elishar Feingersh of the law firm Markman Tomshin & Co.. Following the lawsuit, her condition was recognized as a workplace accident.

“Violent incidents can lead to psychological harm and even trigger illnesses such as strokes, heart attacks, and even diabetes,” attorney Feingersh explained.

The vice principal said that she had recently encountered many violent incidents, but that this case was the breaking point. “After decades in the education system, during which I viewed my work as a life mission, I never imagined that my attempt to protect a helpless student would lead to the end of my professional career,” she told Ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth.

“When I stepped between the two students to prevent a disaster, I found myself under a violent and brutal attack by a young student who directed unimaginable rage at me. The physical injuries passed, but the emotional trauma left deep scars that prevent me from returning to the classroom. My sense of security completely collapsed, and the realization that I had no protection in the place that was supposed to be the safest forced me, with enormous heartbreak, to leave the profession and the students I loved so much.”

The IDF Spokesperson announced on Monday morning that Sergeant Nehorai Leizer, 19, from Eilat, a combat engineering soldier in Battalion 601 of the “Iron Tracks” Brigade (401), was killed in battle in southern Lebanon.

According to the investigation, yesterday at around 3:30 p.m., Hezbollah launched an explosive drone toward an IDF force operating near the Christian village of Dibel in southern Lebanon, about 5 kilometers from the border. The drone exploded on the upper section of a Namer armored engineering vehicle (an engineering version of the Merkava APC). As a result of the shrapnel, Sgt. Nehorai Leizer was killed.

Sgt. Nehorai Leizer is the 11th casualty since the “ceasefire” in Lebanon began. Seven of those killed died as a result of explosive drones — five in Hezbollah attacks inside Lebanese territory and two inside Israel. In the same incident in which Sgt. Nehorai Leizer was killed, another IDF soldier was seriously wounded. The soldier was evacuated to a hospital for medical treatment, and his family has been notified.

Nehorai will be laid to rest today at 5:00 p.m. in the military section of the cemetery in Eilat.

Rotem David-Leizer, Nehorai’s mother, wrote on Facebook: “They ripped my heart out. Why? Why? God, why?” His sister May wrote: “My little brother. My whole world. My heart stopped beating together with yours.”

The Eilat Municipality stated: “Nehorai, of blessed memory, one of the finest sons of the city, came from a long-time Eilat family. He was the son of Rotem (a kindergarten teacher) and Lucien ‘Luchi’ (an employee of the Eilat Municipality), and the younger brother of May and Roi. He graduated from the Eilat school system, attending the ‘Harei Eilat’ elementary school and the ‘Goldwater’ high school.”

The statement continued: “As a teenager he was active in the ‘Dealer’ and youth leadership movements. He completed a year of national service and afterward enlisted in the Combat Engineering Corps, serving as a driver of an engineering Namer APC.”

The principal of Goldwater High School said that Nehorai was “a high-quality young man, a leader, yet also humble and modest. He was loved by his friends. He studied theater and also completed advanced physical education studies. He was socially active throughout his school years as a youth guide and later as a youth movement activist.”

The municipality concluded: “Nehorai, of blessed memory, was a hero of Israel, the salt of the earth, who fought bravely to defend the State of Israel. May his memory be blessed.”

HOLLYWOOD, FLORIDA (VINnews) – A Hollywood solo practitioner turned an $84,000 real estate commission dispute into a $47.8 million jury verdict, calling the case a matter of principle rather than money.

Hollywood, Florida, solo lawyer Josef Timlichman, who represented plaintiff Miles Goldstein Real Estate LLC, said the dispute was never simply about an unpaid commission.

“This is not a case about $84,000,” Timlichman told litigation reporter Lisa Willis.10155e

A Miami-Dade County jury returned the $47.8 million verdict on May 14 against Reuben Ezekiel and related defendants in connection with the 2020 sale of a waterfront home in the exclusive Golden Beach community. The award included approximately $19.83 million in compensatory damages and $28 million in punitive damages.

The case, Miles Goldstein Real Estate LLC v. Reuben Ezekiel et al., stemmed from allegations that Ezekiel and others engaged in fraud, tortious interference with a business relationship and civil conspiracy to cut broker Alexander Goldstein out of a buyer’s commission on the $2.8 million property sale. Goldstein had worked with the buyer for more than a year and helped negotiate the price, according to court filings and reports.

Timlichman, of Josef Timlichman Law, PLLC, described the verdict as a landmark in Florida real estate commission cases due to the significant punitive damages component. He said the outcome sends a broader message about ethical conduct in society.

Defense attorney Pete Solnick called the verdict “so excessive that it shocks the conscience of the court,” according to published reports. Post-trial proceedings are pending.

The case was filed in 2020 in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court in Miami-Dade County.

BALTIMORE (VINnews) – Maryland Governor & potential Democrat Presidential Candidate Wes Moore accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of committing “war crimes” in Gaza but stopped short of labeling the conflict a genocide.

“I know as a military person that you cannot use food as a negotiating tool,” Moore said in a Politico interview. “That is a war crime.”

Moore, a former Army officer, made the remarks during a wide-ranging conversation with Politico senior political columnist Jonathan Martin.

When asked whether he considers himself a Zionist, Moore replied: “The state of Israel has a right to exist, but I also think that so do Palestinian people.”

The Democratic governor’s comments come amid ongoing tensions in the Israel-Hamas war. Moore has previously expressed support for Israel’s right to defend itself and condemned Hamas following the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, while also calling for humanitarian considerations in Gaza.

TORONTO (VINnews) — Toronto Police have released a new security camera image of missing teenager Esther, captured on the evening she vanished, as searches continue for the ninth day with the support of hundreds of volunteers and community organizations.

Esther was last seen on Friday, May 15, at Earl Bales Park in Toronto. She was later spotted near a highway, moving northeast. She is described as wearing a green long-sleeved shirt, gray sweatpants and no shoes.

Police, along with volunteers and a helicopter, have been conducting extensive searches. Shomrim Toronto, which is assisting in the effort, received special rabbinic permission to continue operations during the Shavuot holiday and Shabbat.

Esther’s mother, Shira, expressed deep concern for her daughter’s safety in comments to reporters. “I’m afraid she’ll be too naive and trust people who don’t mean well,” she said. “It’s really, really concerning.”

A relative, Loli Herman, told CBC’s Metro Morning that the family is “deeply worried” and urged the public to check security cameras, backyards and storage sheds for any sign of Esther.

“She seems very social, very intelligent,” Herman said, noting that while Esther is diagnosed on the autism spectrum, people who do not know her may not realize it. “We want Esti home. She has been missing for too long.”

The family has praised the overwhelming community support, with volunteers staffing command centers, canvassing neighborhoods and distributing flyers.

Shomrim Toronto expressed gratitude to the hundreds of volunteers who have dedicated time to the search. “We remain fully committed to maximizing our efforts to ensure her safe return,” the organization said. The Shomrim emergency line remains active for any tips.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Toronto Police or Shomrim immediately.

NEW YORK (VINnews)-Prominent Jewish activist Dov Hikind is urging Gov. Kathy Hochul to deploy the National Guard to protect participants in next Sunday’s Israel Day Parade, citing a sharp rise in antisemitic incidents in New York City.

Hikind, founder of Americans Against Antisemitism and a former state assemblyman from Brooklyn, made the call in an interview with The New York Post. While expressing strong support for the NYPD, he said additional military assistance is needed to ensure safety along the Fifth Avenue route and for attendees traveling to the event wearing Jewish or Israeli symbols.

“We need to make sure bad things don’t happen,” Hikind said. “We want to make sure there is safety for the Jewish community. I’m calling on Governor Hochul to bring in the National Guard to help the New York City Police Department.”

Several elected officials have joined Hikind’s request, including Assembly members Kalman Yeger, D-Brooklyn, Michael Novakhov, R-Brooklyn, Lester Chang, R-Brooklyn, David Weprin, D-Queens, Ari Brown, R-Nassau County, and Councilman Jim Gennaro, D-Queens.

Hochul has previously authorized National Guard deployments to patrol transit hubs in response to crime concerns.

However, organizers of the 61st annual Israel Day Parade said they are not requesting military involvement and expressed full confidence in the NYPD.

Mark Treyger, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, said the NYPD under Commissioner Jessica Tisch has successfully secured past parades and major events.

“I have full faith and confidence in the greatest police department in the world, the NYPD, under the exceptional leadership of Commissioner Jessica Tisch,” Treyger said. “Commissioner Tisch, the NYPD, and all of our law enforcement partners have left no stone unturned in preparing for next Sunday’s parade.”

Treyger noted that the Community Security Initiative, a partnership between JCRC-NY and UJA-Federation of New York, is coordinating closely with law enforcement on security measures for the event.

WASHINGTON D.C-Two House members, one Democrat and one Republican, said rising antisemitism in the United States is unacceptable and must be confronted by leaders in both parties, regardless of its source.

Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., and Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., highlighted the issue while discussing a bipartisan resolution they introduced condemning antisemitic rhetoric spread by prominent online personalities, including left-wing streamer Hasan Piker and conservative commentator Candace Owens.

“It’s totally unacceptable, and what’s happening now is it’s far too often in our politics on both sides,” Gottheimer said. “Whether it’s Hasan Piker, who’s a streamer on the left, or Candace Owens on the right.”

“None of this should be acceptable,” he added. “And Mike and I … both of us believe deeply that we need to stand up to this.”

Lawler echoed the call for accountability across party lines.

“What Josh and I are trying to do in putting this resolution forward is to say, ‘Enough,’ and to say to both parties, ‘We have to police our own. We cannot allow this. We cannot support candidates who engage in rank, vile antisemitism,'” Lawler said.

The resolution, introduced in late April, condemns antisemitic hate-filled rhetoric disseminated by influential online figures and urges social media platforms and public leaders to address it. It specifically references Piker for alleged support of Hamas and derogatory comments toward Jews, and Owens for promoting conspiracy theories and blood libels.

Antisemitic incidents in the U.S. have surged since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel, with Jewish communities reporting heightened threats and violence.

Gottheimer and Lawler, known for their work on the House Problem Solvers Caucus, have previously collaborated on legislation including the Antisemitism Awareness Act. They argue that combating hate requires rejecting it uniformly, whether from the far left or far right.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s emerging deal to end the Iran war is drawing heavy criticism from some fellow Republicans who favor a harder line against the government in Tehran and fear a lost opportunity to finally rein in a longtime Mideast nemesis.

The deal the Republican president had said was “largely negotiated” has left a range of lawmakers, former Cabinet members and conservative analysts wondering aloud whether the terms as currently known will render the conflict all “for naught.”

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said the president’s decision to strike Iran was the “most consequential” of his second term and that he should not let up now.

“If the result of all that is to be an Iranian regime — still run by Islamists who chant ‘death to America’ — now receiving billions of dollars, being able to enrich uranium & develop nuclear weapons, and having effective control over the Strait of Hormuz, then that outcome would be a disastrous mistake,” Cruz wrote Saturday on the social media platform X. It was in reaction to Trump’s update after he had spoken with the leaders of Israel and other U.S. allies in the region.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who also is close to Trump, panned any deal that would leave Iran perceived as being a dominant force in the region and in which it would retain its ability to destroy oil infrastructure throughout the Gulf.

Sen. Roger Wicker, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, questioned the merit of a proposed 60-day ceasefire, saying it would be a “disaster.”

“Everything accomplished by Operation Epic Fury would be for naught!” said Wicker, R-Miss.

Trump says it will take time to ‘get it right’
Trump, who has said he only makes good deals and detests being seen as not having the upper hand in any negotiation, dismissed objections to a deal that he said was not “even fully negotiated yet.”

“So don’t listen to the losers, who are critical about something they know nothing about,” he said on his social media platform.

Trump said the deal he and his representatives are working out is “THE EXACT OPPOSITE” of a nuclear pact that Iran agreed to under the Democratic Obama administration. Trump pulled out of that agreement and has been trying to iron out a new one.

“Both sides must take their time and get it right. There can be no mistakes!” Trump said.

He added that a U.S. military blockade of Iranian ports would remain “in full force and effect until an agreement is reached, certified, and signed.”

Some support for Trump came from Capitol Hill, too.

GOP Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, often a thorn in the president’s side, defended the White House’s approach.

“War virtually always ends with negotiations,” Paul wrote on X. “Critics of President Trump’s peace negotiations should give President Trump the space to find an American First solution.”

Under the proposal, the war would come to an end and Iran would reopen the strait and give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, with the details and timelines to be worked out during a later 60-day window, regional officials told The Associated Press on Sunday.

Critics air objections as details trickle out
Polls show the war, which began when the United States and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, is unpopular with the American public and has cost U.S. taxpayers at least $29 billion, as of this month. Thirteen service members have been killed during the operation.

Trump initially said the war would be over in four weeks to six weeks, but the standoff continues. Iran’s closure of the strait, through which about 20% of global energy supplies transit, has jolted the world economy and sent prices for gasoline and other goods climbing.

Mike Pompeo, one of Trump’s first-term secretaries of state, asserted on Saturday that the emerging deal seemed to him to be the same as the Obama-era one from which Trump withdrew.

“Not remotely America First,” Pompeo said on X, prompting a profanity-laced rejoinder from Steven Cheung, the White House director of communications.

John Bolton, a national security adviser in the first term who has become a critic of the president, said the emerging plan details seemed to favor the Iranian government.

“If news reports about the impending Iran deal are correct, the ayatollahs will have won a significant victory,” Bolton wrote Sunday on X. “They will be back on the road to nuclear weapons, supporting global terrorism and repressing their own people.”

Rubio says a nuclear Iran is ‘not going to happen’
Secretary of State Marco Rubio pushed back on Sunday during a diplomatic mission in India, telling reporters at a news conference that no president has been stronger against Iran than Trump.

“His commitment to that principle that they’ll never have a nuclear weapon shouldn’t be questioned by anybody,” Rubio said. “And the idea that somehow this president, given everything he’s already proven he’s willing to do, is going to somehow agree to a deal that ultimately winds up putting Iran in a stronger position when it comes to nuclear ambitions is absurd. That’s just not going to happen.”

Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, a Trump antagonist who had pushed legislation to restrain the president’s ability to wage war against Iran, told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday that while the terms are not yet fully known, “if Lindsey Graham and Ted Cuz are crashing out last night, I’d say it’s probably a pretty good deal.”

Massie will leave Congress in January after incurring Trump’s wrath and losing his GOP primary last week to a Trump-backed challenger.

(AP) – The trial pitting Elon Musk against OpenAI CEO Sam Altman made clear the two billionaires agreed on one thing: building artificial intelligence would require significant resources — and enormous amounts of money.

It may seem obvious now, as an AI-obsessed stock market helps finance a global construction boom of chipmaking factories and energy-hogging data centers to keep chatbots running, but testimony and evidence showed how people with outsized control of the AI industry were privately debating its costs nearly a decade ago.

“Even raising several hundred million won’t be enough,” Musk said in a 2018 email to Altman and other OpenAI co-founders about what he increasingly saw as a futile attempt to compete with Google. “This needs billions per year immediately or forget it.”

The soaring costs factored into the trajectory of OpenAI, which began in 2015 as a nonprofit dedicated to developing AI for the common good and is now a capitalistic enterprise valued at $852 billion. As San Francisco-based OpenAI and other AI companies move toward historically large Wall Street debuts, the trial also raised questions about whether anything but commercial interests can steer AI’s future.

It is possible to build big things only with nonprofit money, but in the case of OpenAI’s early years, the uncertainty around AI also made it a risky investment, said Karan Girotra, a professor of operations, technology, and innovation at Cornell Tech. Now, he said, investment in AI is no longer speculative.

“Now it’s traditional investment in something we know works,” Girotra said. “People want your car, you need to build the factory ahead of demand.”

In his lawsuit, Musk accused OpenAI of betraying its charitable mission for building AI, saying Altman and fellow co-founder Greg Brockman went behind his back and unjustly enriched themselves. OpenAI, in turn, has said Musk supported plans to form a for-profit company and filed his 2024 lawsuit to undercut the ChatGPT maker’s success as he built his own AI company, xAI.

The jury did not touch questions about AI’s future
The federal jury in Oakland, California, never got to deliver a verdict on the merits of the case, determining Musk’s lawsuit missed a statutory deadline and dismissing it Monday after a three-week trial.

But the trial put on record details of internal battles that presaged today’s societal and political debates over AI’s impacts and costs.

“It’s sort of hard to imagine at this point, given where AI has gotten,” testified Kevin Scott, Microsoft’s chief technology officer, as he explained to jurors why his company opted to invest billions of dollars to help build OpenAI’s technology after founding donor Musk quit OpenAI’s board in 2018.

“It was before ChatGPT,” Scott said. “It was before these remarkable things that are happening right now and so most of the people at Microsoft were very skeptical about whether or not all of these claims were going to materialize into reality.”

Microsoft, a defendant in the lawsuit, at the time was also looking for a way to compete with Google in AI research. OpenAI told Microsoft what they needed was more data and more computing resources — and if they had that, their AI systems would grow far more powerful.

“The things that they wanted and ultimately that we helped them do were very capital-intensive projects like building giant data centers, full of very expensive computers and networks,” Scott said.

Testimony detailed how costs limited options
It remains in dispute how much profit was the prime motivator for the shift to OpenAI’s capitalistic enterprise, which is not yet profitable but likely headed for an initial public offering as soon as later this year.

What is clear, however, is how the costs involved constrained the company’s options.

More than five years before OpenAI introduced ChatGPT, the company had a breakthrough when it taught an AI system to beat professional players of Dota 2, a multiplayer video game featuring ogres, centaurs and other fantastical creatures.

“Honestly, the world reacted to it somewhat less than I thought they should have, but to us internally, it really felt like a moment where we had shown that our technology, using something called reinforcement learning, could take on an enormously complex task,” Altman testified.

OpenAI’s livestreamed victory against a top Dota 2 player at a Seattle competition in 2017 made the tiny nonprofit a major contender against Google, which was then seen as the leader in AI research. It also led to some soul-searching about how OpenAI could compete when it was a nonprofit, largely dependent on Musk and other donors.

“He was impressed,” Altman said of Musk. “And then immediately after the Dota win, Mr. Musk said he thought we really need to get more serious and figure out how to get way more capital.”

For another co-founder and OpenAI’s former chief scientist, Ilya Sutskever, the Dota victory was the beginning of discussion about whether OpenAI should create a for-profit company to more easily raise money.

“The realization is that to make progress in AI, you need a big computer,” Sutskever told jurors. “And you need the big computer because the brain is a big computer. You have a hundred billion neurons and a hundred trillion synapses in the brain.”

What followed was a battle of wills — with Altman and Musk vying for leadership of OpenAI and Musk later trying to fold the AI laboratory into his car company Tesla. The other OpenAI leaders resisted, and Musk eventually quit.

WASHINGTON D.C (VINnews) – Secretary of State Marco Rubio sharply rejected suggestions that President Trump is weakening U.S. policy toward Iran, insisting the administration will never allow the Islamic Republic to develop a nuclear weapon.

“The idea that somehow this president, given everything he’s already proven he’s willing to do, is going to somehow agree to a deal that ultimately winds up putting Iran in a stronger position when it comes to nuclear ambitions is absurd,” Rubio said.

“That’s just not going to happen,” he added.

Rubio made the remarks amid criticism from some quarters that the Trump administration is easing pressure on Iran and undermining “Operation Epic Fury,” a reference to prior U.S. actions against Iranian nuclear capabilities.

“Iran will never possess a nuclear weapon, certainly not as long as Donald Trump is President of the United States,” Rubio declared.

(JNS) – Israel has compiled a list of thousands of terrorists tied to the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks and is systematically targeting them for killing or capture, according to a May 20 report in The Wall Street Journal.

An Israeli task force, drawing on military intelligence and the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), has identified terrorists using video footage, facial recognition, intercepted communications and detainee interrogations, according to the report. Officials cited by the Journal said hundreds of names have already been “crossed off” the list in strikes across Gaza and beyond, including those of terrorists accused of involvement in attacks on Israeli communities and the Supernova music festival.

The targets range from senior Hamas figures to lower-level participants, including men accused of breaching the Gaza border fence or documenting attacks on mobile devices, the report said. Israeli officials told the Journal that terrorists can be marked for targeted killing if intelligence links them to the attacks, while others have been detained and are awaiting trial in Israel.

The campaign has continued during periods of ceasefire, with Israel saying it is pursuing those responsible for the assault that killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 others taken hostage.

NEW YORK (AP) — First, the bad news.

Users of credit cards that accrue airline miles and points toward various travel perks are likely to find their balances won’t take them as far this summer.

As jet fuel prices have jumped during the Iran war, so have the cost of airline tickets and fees for checking bags. Airfares in April were 21% higher than a year earlier, the Labor Department reported last week. Flights already are more expensive during the summer since there’s more demand.

That means travelers who wanted to use an airline-branded credit card or a travel rewards card from a bank with a specific trip or a first-class seat in mind may have to shell out some cash, choose a different destination or fly at inconvenient times to get the most out of their accounts, travel experts say.

Frequent flyers
In the early years of frequent flyer programs, airlines published tables that showed customers how much a higher class of service or flying a certain distance would cost in miles. Nearly all airlines now continuously adjust their airfares, an algorithim-powered strategy known as dynamic pricing.

Flights priced in points are based on overall demand, just like regular fares. The cash value of those seats often will roughly equal the same in points. Higher airfares typically translate into needing more miles or points to buy a ticket.

Long before the current disruption to global oil supplies, consumers, a pair of U.S. senators and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg cried foul over the airline practice of increasing the number of points or miles needed to earn a free flight or offering fewer redeemable seats before people could cash in their loyalty stockpiles.

“There’s no question that dynamic award pricing, higher redemption rates on some domestic routes, and added fees have made it harder to find the outsized deals that travelers enjoyed a decade ago,” said Brian Kelly, the travel and credit card rewards expert better known as The Points Guy. “But that doesn’t necessarily mean points have lost value. It just means consumers need to be more strategic about how they redeem them.”

Earning loyalty
Now, the better news.

There are a lot of ways to accrue airline miles, and most don’t come with an expiration date. Signing up for an airline’s frequent flyer program is the simplest method and usually doesn’t cost anything. Depending on the carrier, members can earn miles when they fly with the airline or its partners and can redeem them for perks like discounted flights, seat upgrades or checked bags. Higher tiers of loyalty programs can also unlock benefits like priority boarding or waived baggage fees.

Major airlines also partner with banks to market co-branded credit cards that carry an annual fee. The cards earn users miles whenever they buy something.

“When you’re going to spend money anyway, you might as well get something back for it,” said Adam Morvitz, a credit card miles expert and CEO of point.me, a travel loyalty platform. “If you’re already buying groceries, paying for gas or booking a hotel, a travel rewards card turns that everyday spending into points that can fund your next trip.”

This is where being a frequent flyer or having an airline credit card might yield summer savings. To offset their jet fuel costs, some U.S. airlines have raised the checked baggage fees for domestic flights and many short-haul international flights. United Airlines raised the price of the first checked bag from $40 to $50. Delta Air Lines’ first checked bag fee went from $35 to $45.

The airlines still are allowing customers in the upper tiers of their loyalty programs or who hold credit cards like the Delta SkyMiles Card from American Express or United’s card with Chase to check a bag for free.

Extra miles
Financial institutions like American Express, Chase Bank and CitiBank issue their own travel credit cards that supply points with purchases. Travelers that want the option of flying with more airlines tend to favor these. Depending on the card, perks can include airport lounge access, travel insurance, no foreign transaction fees and TSA PreCheck or Global Entry credits.

“For those who spend responsibly, the value is incredible as you’re able to get more in value from the perks, even if there is an annual fee,” he said.

For beginners, Morvitz recommends flexible points cards over airline-specific options because they can be transferred across loyalty programs and provide more redemption options if an airline changes its award pricing. He said consumers should match a card to their actual spending habits — such as choosing cards with bonus categories for groceries or dining — while also considering whether annual fees are justified by the benefits they’ll actually use.

A lot of banks are promoting sizable sign-up bonuses while people make summer plans, such as offering 100,000 miles or even 150,000 miles or points to new customers who qualify and spend a certain amount of money within a specific period — usually the first three months. Kelly said the bonuses make it a good time to get one of these cards, which might make trips more affordable for people needing extra points.

Those sign-up offers also can be among the most valuable features of rewards cards, sometimes worth more than $1,000 in travel, Morvitz said. But consumers should carefully track minimum spending requirements to qualify. He also recommends using category bonuses and shopping portals to maximize rewards and always attaching a frequent flyer number to airline reservations.

Pay as you go
The important thing to remember is that the value of a bank travel card or an airline loyalty card evaporates if you carry a balance. The average credit card interest rate is between 21% and 24%, so even carrying a $1,000 balance can quickly wipe out any savings from a complimentary checked bag.

“Travel rewards cards are one of the best financial tools available to responsible cardholders, but they’re designed for people who treat them like a debit card,” Morvitz said. “Spend what you’d spend anyway and always pay the balance in full each month. The moment you start carrying a balance and paying interest, the math works against you.”

Hotels are another place where travelers may not get as much from their rewards points this summer. Hyatt overhauled its loyalty program this week to take it from three tiers to five. While some lower-cost hotel stays will require the same number of points, the same might not be true for Hyatt’s more upscale properties.

The travel blog One Mile at a Time estimated that some of Hyatt’s most elite properties would cost as much as 67% more with points under the new system.

“If you’re sitting on hotel points, don’t sit and hoard them. … They quickly seem to be getting less valuable,” said Sally French, who covers credit cards and loyalty programs for Nerd Wallet.

(NEW YORK (VINnews) – New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has come under criticism following reports that he met multiple times with a Queens-based Muslim cleric accused of Holocaust denial and of praising Hamas after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, according to the Washington Free Beacon.

The report said Mamdani attended several events with Sheikh Fadhel Al-Sahlani of the Al-Khoei Islamic Center in Queens, including Ramadan and community gatherings over the past year.

According to the report, Al-Sahlani delivered sermons following the Hamas attack in which he praised the terror group for creating what he described as significant political change. The report also cited past remarks in which the cleric allegedly questioned the scale of the Holocaust and suggested Zionists exaggerated Jewish death figures.

Mamdani’s office said the mayor rejects the imam’s views regarding Hamas and the Holocaust.

“Sheikh Fadhel Al-Sahlani’s Holocaust denial and comments about Hamas are diametrically opposed to the mayor’s values,” spokesperson Sam Raskin said in a statement cited in the report.

The mayor’s office added that Mamdani regularly visits religious institutions and houses of worship across New York City and that such appearances should not be viewed as endorsements of all views expressed by individuals affiliated with those organizations.

Mamdani, New York City’s first Muslim mayor, has faced criticism from some Jewish groups and pro-Israel advocates over his comments on Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The report also noted that previous New York City mayors, including Michael Bloomberg and Eric Adams, have attended events involving the cleric in prior years.

NEW YORK (VINnews) – Two New York City police officers are facing scrutiny after a photo circulated online appearing to show them displaying hand gestures linked to a violent street gang, prompting an internal NYPD investigation.

The image, which spread widely on social media, shows two uniformed officers wearing face coverings while posing with a civilian inside what appeared to be a fast-food restaurant. Former law enforcement officials familiar with gang activity said the gestures resembled symbols associated with the Mac Baller Brims, a faction connected to the Bloods gang.

The NYPD confirmed the matter is being reviewed by the department’s Internal Affairs Bureau.

Former police officials said the photo raised concerns about professionalism and public perception, particularly given the department’s longstanding efforts to combat gang violence in the Bronx and other parts of the city.

A law enforcement source familiar with the situation said the officers were allegedly joking while taking the photo and did not expect it to become public.

Authorities have previously identified the Mac Baller Brims as a violent criminal organization connected to shootings, robberies and drug trafficking in New York City.

The incident comes as the NYPD continues efforts to rebuild its ranks amid recruitment challenges and increased public scrutiny of officer conduct.

(VINnews) – A 14-year-old boy was killed and another teenager seriously injured after the pair rode on top of a moving subway train across New York City’s Williamsburg Bridge, authorities said Saturday.

The incident happened Friday afternoon on a J train traveling from Manhattan into Brooklyn. Investigators said the two teens were riding atop the train when they came into contact with a low overhead structure on the bridge.

Emergency crews responding to the scene found both teens unconscious on the tracks. The younger boy was pronounced dead, while the 18-year-old was taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition.

Story here 👉️ https://t.co/bwa3s5Q4qy A 14-year-old was killed and an 18-year-old was injured after falling from a J train while subway surfing on the Williamsburg Bridge in Manhattan on Friday. Another subway surfing incident happened at this same location last Friday. New… pic.twitter.com/y35cHauort

— Eyewitness News (@ABC7NY) May 23, 2026

Police are reviewing video footage as part of the investigation.

Residents gathered Saturday at the apartment building where the younger teen lived, leaving handwritten messages and paying tribute to him.

Neighbors described the boy as respectful and well-liked, saying the tragedy deeply affected the community.

The incident renewed attention on the dangerous trend known as “subway surfing,” where individuals climb onto the exterior of moving trains, often for social media videos or thrills.

Transit officials have repeatedly warned that the practice can result in catastrophic injuries or death, particularly on elevated tracks and bridges with limited overhead clearance.

City officials have launched multiple awareness campaigns in recent years aimed at discouraging the activity among young people after several fatal incidents involving minors.

JERUSALEM (VINnews) – The Israeli government, initially sounding alarms over a potential U.S.-Iran agreement, has moved toward a position of reluctant acceptance as negotiations appear to near completion, according to officials and reports Sunday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior Israeli officials have expressed concerns in recent days about emerging terms of the deal, which reportedly includes a 60-day extension of a ceasefire, reopening of the Strait of Hormuz for oil shipments and initial talks on curbing Iran’s nuclear program, including its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

A senior Israeli official said President Donald Trump reassured Netanyahu in a recent phone call that any final agreement would require the full dismantling of Iran’s nuclear program and the removal of all enriched uranium from Iranian territory. The source added that the deal would preserve Israel’s freedom of action against threats, including from Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The shift comes after weeks of heightened Israeli preparations for possible renewed military action alongside the U.S. if diplomacy failed. Israeli leaders had viewed earlier proposals as insufficient to neutralize the Iranian nuclear threat, with Netanyahu reportedly describing potential concessions as risky for Israel’s security.

U.S. officials have described the emerging memorandum of understanding as a time-buying measure to ease immediate tensions, allow Iran to sell oil and keep negotiations alive on core issues like sanctions relief and nuclear restrictions. Israel has pushed for stricter terms, particularly the complete end to Iranian uranium enrichment.

Netanyahu is expected to convene a limited security cabinet meeting to discuss the latest developments. Israeli sources indicated that while Jerusalem remains wary, it recognizes the U.S. priority on stabilizing global energy markets and avoiding broader escalation.

The Trump administration has signaled impatience with the pace of talks and has not ruled out further military options if Iran does not meet key demands. For its part, Iran has offered verbal commitments but maintained firm positions on retaining some enrichment capabilities.

VINnews will continue to monitor developments as the situation evolves.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia used the powerful hypersonic Oreshnik ballistic missile during a mass drone and missile attack on Kyiv on Sunday that killed at least two people, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday, marking the third time the weapon has been used in the four-year war.

The intense aerial assault damaged buildings across the Ukrainian capital, including near government offices, residential buildings, schools and a market, Ukrainian authorities said. At least 83 people were wounded in the attack.

Air raid sirens blared through the night as smoke billowed across the city from strikes. Associated Press reporters heard powerful explosions near the city center and close to government buildings.

The attack included 600 strike drones and 90 air, sea and ground-launched missiles, according to Ukraine’s Air Force. Ukrainian air defenses destroyed and jammed 549 drones and 55 missiles. Around 19 missiles failed to reach targets, the Air Force said.

Ferit Hoxha, Albania’s foreign minister, reported that the residence of the Albanian ambassador to Ukraine was hit during the attack, denouncing it as “unacceptable” and a “grave escalation”.

The Oreshnik, which is capable of carrying nuclear or conventional warheads, struck the city of Bila Tserkva in the Kyiv region, Zelenskyy said on Telegram.

Russia had vowed to strike back for an attack Friday
Russia’s Defense Ministry on Sunday confirmed the weapon’s use, as well as other missile types, to strike Ukrainian “military command and control facilities,” air bases and military industrial enterprises. The ministry added the attack was retaliation for Ukrainian attacks on “civilian facilities on Russian territory,” without giving detail.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday denounced a drone strike on a college dormitory in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine, which Moscow blamed on Kyiv. He said there were no military or law enforcement facilities near the college. Putin said he ordered the Russian military to retaliate.

The death toll from that strike had risen to 21, Russian authorities said late Saturday. They said 42 other people had been wounded in the attack the previous night. The Kremlin-installed authorities of the Luhansk region announced two days of mourning for the victims.

At a U.N. Security Council emergency meeting on the strike, held at the request of Russia, Ukrainian Ambassador Andrii Melnyk denied his Russian counterpart’s accusations of war crimes, calling them a “pure propaganda show” and asserting that the May 22 operations “exclusively targeted the Russian war machine.”

Kyiv’s European allies, including France’s Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s Friedrich Merz, condemned the Russian strikes and use of the Oreshnik in statements published on Sunday. Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, said top diplomats from EU states will meet within days to “discuss how to dial up the international pressure on Russia.”

Ukraine struggles to down all ballistic missiles
Zelenskyy said not all the ballistic missiles were intercepted and that most of the strikes hit Kyiv, the primary target of the attack.

The apparent interception failures underscored Ukraine’s chronic shortage of air defense missiles capable of downing ballistic missiles. Kyiv relies heavily on U.S. Patriot air defense systems to intercept such weapons, but interceptors remain in short supply and are among Ukraine’s most urgent requests to its Western partners.

Developing a domestically produced alternative has become a top priority for Ukraine’s Defense Ministry, though doing so will require time and funding.

Fires rage into the morning in Kyiv after attack
Damage was recorded in 50 locations across several districts of the capital, including residential buildings, shopping centers and schools, Ukraine’s emergency service said in a Telegram post. Police department buildings were also damaged, it said.

Fires continued to rage into the morning, complicating rescue efforts as buildings collapsed from the blasts.

“It was a terrible night, and there had never been anything like it in the entire war,” said Kyiv resident Svitlana Onofryichuk, 55, who had worked in the market that was damaged for 22 years.

“I am very sorry that I have to say goodbye to Kyiv now, I am not staying there anymore, there is no possibility,” she added. “My job is gone, everything is gone, everything has burned down.”

Yevhen Zosin, 74, a Kyiv resident who witnessed the attack, said the moment he heard the explosion he rushed to grab his dog.

“Then there was another explosion and she and I were thrown back like a pin by the shock wave. We both survived, she and I. My apartment was blown to pieces,” he said.

In Kyiv’s Shevchenko district, a five-story residential building was hit, which caused a fire, and one person was killed, Ukraine’s state emergency service reported.

A school building was damaged by an attack while people sheltered inside, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Local authorities reported supermarkets and warehouses across the city also were damaged.

Multiple communities recorded damage throughout the Kyiv region, according to Mykola Kalashnyk, who heads the regional administration.

Elsewhere, a Ukrainian drone killed a civilian in the Russian town of Grayvoron, in the Belgorod region bordering Ukraine, local authorities reported on Sunday morning.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces shot down or jammed 33 Ukrainian drones overnight into Sunday, including over the Moscow region, western and southwestern Russia, and Russian-occupied Crimea.

(AP) – Authorities braced for the possibility that a damaged chemical tank in Southern California could leak or explode as an evacuation order continued into the Memorial Day weekend for 50,000 residents with no timeline on when they can return.

The pressurized tank overheated Thursday and began venting vapors at a company site in Garden Grove, about 40 miles (60 kilometers) south of downtown Los Angeles, according to the Orange County Fire Authority.

No injuries have been reported. Air monitoring tests have so far found that air pollution around the evacuation zone is so far within normal limits, and specialized equipment has been deployed to ensure no gas is released from the compromised tank, state and federal environmental officials said Saturday.

Meanwhile, some Garden Grove residents filed a class-action lawsuit on Saturday against GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems, the company that operates the facility where the tank is located.

Lawyers for residents living in the evacuation zone argued in their federal court lawsuit that regardless of what happens next, property values in the surrounding community are sure to be impacted.

“There is no good outcome here for the people who live nearby,” the lawyers wrote in a statement. “In the best-case scenario, a slow, controlled leak still forces residents out of their homes for an indefinite period, disrupting families, businesses, and daily life. In the worst case, a catastrophic explosion could send a plume and debris across a far wider area, damaging thousands of properties and exposing residents to serious health risks.”

Spokespersons for the company didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment Sunday.

Officials said the valves on the tank are broken or “gummed up,” which prevented crews from removing the chemical or relieving the pressure on the tank, said Craig Covey, Orange County Fire Authority division chief.

Firefighters’ first hope is to find a way to cool off the chemical inside the tank so it won’t leak or explode. If that is not possible, Purdue University engineering professor Andrew Whelton said it would be best if the tank sprang a leak so the chemical could be mostly contained. An explosion that could spread the chemical over a broad area and send shrapnel flying would be the worst-case scenario.

If the temperature inside the tank continues to increase, the pressure will continue to build as the methyl methacrylate converts from a liquid to a gas, because officials said the pressure relief valves on the tank were no longer working. Whelton said it’s unlikely that firefighters would consider creating a hole in the tank because of fears that could create a spark that might ignite the volatile and flammable gas.

Drones were monitoring temperatures at 10-minute intervals to watch for any spikes and planning was underway to ensure a possible leak could quickly be prevented from spreading into waterways or the ocean, Covey said in an early evening post on social media platform X.

“Sitting back and allowing these tanks to fail is unacceptable,” Covey said, adding there was no guarantee tanks will not breach and leak. “Our goal is to protect your homes — no damage to them — and protect the environment.”

Tank wasn’t cooling as first thought
Efforts to cool the tank appeared to be working Friday, but Covey backtracked the following day, saying a reading conducted by drones actually showed the temperature on the outside of the tank, not the inside.

“Unfortunately I do have to report that the temperature was 90 degrees,” Covey said, up from 77 Fahrenheit (25 Celsius) the previous morning.

Cooling the tank is important because the liquid chemical’s flashpoint is 50 Fahrenheit (10 Celsius), according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

Residents are frustrated and stressed
Initially people in Garden Grove were ordered to leave. Evacuation orders were then expanded to some parts of five other Orange County cities including Cypress, Stanton, Anaheim, Buena Park and Westminster. Some people with pets planned to sleep in their cars.

Several shelters remained open Saturday, including at three high schools.

Marco Solano, 32, spent Friday night at his parents’ home, frustrated by the situation and monitoring the news to see if he could go home.

“I don’t think that they should have dangerous chemicals in a neighborhood area, especially that dangerous that they have to evacuate people,” Solano said. “But again, it’s not up to me. I don’t make the laws. I don’t make the rules. We just have to do what is best I guess.”

Solano, who has multiple jobs, said he felt very tired and weak and believed the stress of the chemical leak was exacerbating his anemia and ulcerative colitis.

“This has been affecting me quite a bit,” he said.

Solano also said he went to his apartment after work Friday to grab belongings and saw other residents who had not evacuated, and he was worried for them.

Exposure could lead to health problems
The damaged tank is located at GKN Aerospace, which makes parts for commercial and military aircraft. It holds 6,000 to 7,000 gallons (22,700 and 26,500 liters) of methyl methacrylate, used to make plastic parts.

Exposure to methyl methacrylate can cause serious respiratory problems and even render someone unconscious. It can also cause neurological problems and irritate the skin, eyes and throat, according to fact sheets about the chemical. But Orange County health officials said the chemical is easy to smell and residents may notice it over a large area without being harmed.

Whelton said the volume of chemical in the tank is much smaller than in the disastrous 2023 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, which he studied when more than 115,000 gallons (435,000 liters) of vinyl chloride was released after officials blew open five tank cars and burned the chemical.

“Many of these are acute, fast-acting effects. But the longer somebody stays in contact with it, the more potential for significant damage that occurs,” Whelton said.

If there is an explosion, officials said they expect “severe structural damage and significant harm” in the blast zone closest to the tank.

If an explosion releases the chemical into the air, Whelton said, it will be crucial to conduct detailed air monitoring specifically for methyl methacrylate and not just generic tests for volatile organic compounds as officials did in East Palestine. General tests, often completed with handheld detectors, may not be capable of detecting the chemical. Indoor tests of buildings and homes may also be needed before residents return home.

The weather will be an important factor in determining where a plume of chemicals would go in the event of an explosion. Officials were developing maps to predict different scenarios about which areas would be most affected.

Meanwhile containment barriers have been set up to prevent the chemical from getting into storm drains or reaching creeks or the nearby ocean in the event of a spill, Covey said.

Emergency declaration
Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in Orange County, making state resources available to local agencies and letting state-owned properties and fairgrounds be used for shelters if necessary.

Garden Grove is next to Anaheim, home to Disneyland’s two theme parks, which were not under evacuation orders. Park officials said they were monitoring the incident and supporting employees impacted by evacuations.

GKN agreed to pay state regulators more than $900,000 in 2025 to settle violations involving recordkeeping, permitting issues and nitrogen oxide emissions, according to a report on the South Coast Air Quality Management District website.

QINYUAN, China (AP) — Authorities in northern China were investigating a coal mine operator with a focus on safety lapses, as rescuers searched for those missing in the country’s deadliest coal mine explosion in recent years that killed at least 82 people.

An Associated Press reporter witnessed police and security guarding the entrance to the mining facility located in Qinyuan county in the city of Changzhi as emergency vehicles were on site.

Hundreds of emergency responders and medical personnel were sent to help with rescue efforts, state media reported. Rescuers were taking turns to go down the mine shaft, according to the official Xinhua News Agency, facing hurdles including flooded tunnels.

Chinese President Xi Jinping called for a thorough investigation and accountability of those responsible following the explosion Friday evening at the Liushenyu coal mine in the northern province of Shanxi.

Two were missing and dozens of miners were hospitalized, local officials said late Saturday. The death toll was revised down from 90, with officials blaming “chaotic” scenes in the aftermath and inaccurate information provided by the mine operator as a reason.

Some hospitalized miners recalled seeing smoke and blacking out, according to state media reports. Many among the injured were hurt by toxic gas.

Coal-rich province
The inland Shanxi province, located southwest of Beijing with a population of around 34 million, is China’s main coal-mining area.

A few hundred meters (yards) from the mine lies the village of Shangzhuang, where some of the miners who work at the site live, including some of the victims, residents said.

The village includes a single main street through which mining trucks pass. On both sides stand two-story houses, some with red-tiled roofs. Some of them are divided into separate rooms and rented out to people including miners.

After the explosion, other mines in the area shut down and some miners left, while others stayed behind waiting to receive their pay, residents said.

Wang Linjun, a coal miner at Liushenyu, said he was at home when the gas explosion occurred.

“My heart is very heavy,” he told the AP. “Thinking that those who eat together and work together suddenly are gone, no one would feel good.” Wang said he does not want to continue at the job, but doesn’t know where to go.

Miners can be paid more than 10,000 yuan ($1,500) a month.

Feng Renfu, also a miner at Liushenyu, said he was working underground in a pit next to the one where the accident took place. Feng said he and his co-workers smelled gas and withdrew from the underground.

“My father is over 80 and he is worried about me. He always calls me to check if I am safe and well in my job,” Feng said. “There are eight people in my family and they all depend on me.”

Safety lapses investigated
The coal mine has “seriously” violated the law, according to local officials, although they did not elaborate on the specific violations. China’s state broadcaster CCTV reported that blueprints provided by the Liushenyu coal mine did not match the actual layout, which hampered rescue efforts.

State media said those responsible had been “placed under control.” On Sunday, a commentary in the official People’s Daily newspaper called for all regions and departments to learn from the accident and to “always keep safety in mind.”

Local authorities also announced a “comprehensive, blanket” inspection of the coal mining sector that would include checks of coal mines’ gas drainage, ventilation, safety monitoring systems and their underground layouts.

A broader inspection of coal mines could put pressure on the province’s ability to produce its annual capacity of around 1.3 billion metric tons of coal, which accounts for nearly a third of China’s total. The country’s total coal output rose to approximately 4.8 billion metric tons last year.

China still relies on coal
Coal remains a major energy source in China, given its high availability and low cost, even as the country accelerates its green energy transition. Mining accidents were common and authorities had implemented measures to help improve safety over the past years.

China’s National Mine Safety Administration in 2024 put the Liushenyu mine, operated by the privately run Shanxi Tongzhou group, on a national list of disaster-prone coal mines.

CAIRO (AP) — The United States is close to reaching a deal with Iran that would end the war, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and see Iran give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, with the details and timelines to be worked out later, regional officials told The Associated Press on Sunday.

Iran has not publicly committed to giving up its uranium — a key demand of U.S. President Donald Trump — and the sides have seemed close to a deal in recent weeks without clinching one.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, on a visit to India, said that “significant progress, although not final progress, has been made” in the negotiations, and that the world would no longer need to fear Iran getting a nuclear weapon, without elaborating.

Iran’s embassy in India responded to Rubio on social media, saying Tehran has an “inalienable” right to nuclear technology. Iran has always insisted its program is peaceful while enriching uranium to near weapons-grade levels. Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian told state TV they were ready “to assure the world that we are not after a nuclear weapon.”

The strait’s reopening would begin to address a worldwide energy crisis sparked by the surprise U.S. and Israeli bombardment of Iran on Feb. 28, which led Tehran to effectively close the crucial waterway. Prices have spiked for oil, gas and several downstream products, jolting the world economy. Experts say it would take several weeks or even months for shipping and prices to recover to prewar levels.

The U.S. in recent weeks had threatened to resume its bombing campaign, which would have likely prolonged the closure and led to Iranian retaliation against Israel and U.S.-allied energy producers in the Gulf.

The emerging deal would include Iran giving up uranium
On Saturday, Trump said a deal had been “largely negotiated,” after calls with Israel and other regional allies. “Final aspects and details of the Deal are currently being discussed, and will be announced shortly,” he said on social media.

Under the potential deal, Tehran would agree to give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, according to the two regional officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive negotiations.

One official, with direct knowledge of the negotiations, said how Iran would give up its highly enriched uranium would be subject to further talks during a 60-day period. Some would likely be diluted, while the rest would be transferred to a third country, potentially Russia, the official said. Russia has offered to take it.

Iran has 440.9 kilograms (972 pounds) of uranium that is enriched up to 60% purity, a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90%, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Iran said the peaceful use of nuclear science and technology is a legitimate right that it “will never relinquish,” according to its embassy in India.

Trump has sought greater concessions from Iran than those required under a 2015 Obama-era agreement that the U.S. later withdrew from under Trump.

On Saturday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told the state-run news agency that there are “narrowing differences” between the Iranian and U.S. positions, but that Iran is cautious after being attacked twice in the past year during nuclear negotiations.

Pakistani army chief Asim Munir, a key mediator, left Tehran late Saturday after more talks with Iranian officials.

The strait would reopen and Iran would be able to sell oil
Under the emerging agreement, the Strait of Hormuz would gradually reopen in parallel with the U.S. ending its blockade of Iran’s ports, the officials said.

The U.S. would allow Iran to sell its oil through sanctions waivers, said the second official, who has been briefed on the negotiations. Sanctions relief and the release of Iran’s frozen funds would be negotiated during the 60-day time frame, the official said.

Both officials said the draft deal includes an end of the war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon, as well as a commitment to not interfere in the domestic affairs of countries in the region.

Twelve weeks have passed since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran, killing its supreme leader and other top officials. A ceasefire with Iran has held since April 7, though the sides have exchanged fire on occasion.

Several countries, including the European Union and the United Kingdom, welcomed progress on a possible deal with Iran.

Israel concerned over Hezbollah
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Trump that Israel maintains freedom of action against threats in all arenas, including Lebanon, according to an official familiar with the conversation. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The official said Trump made it clear to Netanyahu that he would not sign any final agreement without the conditions that Iran dismantle its entire nuclear program and give up all its enriched uranium.

Israel’s Science Minister Gila Gamliel, a member of Netanyahu’s Likud party and part of his national security cabinet, told Israel’s Army Radio that Israel is taking a “wait-and-see” approach.

Israeli officials are concerned that Hezbollah remains a serious threat to Israel and that Lebanon is ill-equipped to disarm it.

A fragile, U.S.-brokered ceasefire took effect in Lebanon on April 17, but fighting has continued, mainly in the south. Hezbollah has launched daily drone and rocket attacks on Israeli forces and northern Israel, and Israel has struck targets across Lebanon while its troops remain in large swaths of the south.

More than 3,000 people have been killed in the latest round of fighting, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. Additionally, 22 Israeli soldiers and a defense contractor have been killed in or near southern Lebanon, and two civilians have been killed in northern Israel, according to Netanyahu’s office.

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Two men who were in a light aircraft that crashed in an open area near the community of Tel Adashim were pronounced dead on Sunday at Emek Medical Center.

The two, both about 50 years old, were evacuated to the hospital by Magen David Adom teams in critical condition while advanced resuscitation efforts were being carried out, but doctors were forced to declare them dead.

Earlier in the morning, large rescue and medical forces were dispatched to the scene following initial reports of an aircraft crash in the area at about 9 AM.

Paramedics and EMTs provided initial medical treatment on site and evacuated the two men in intensive care ambulances, while additional forces were deployed to assist with stabilization and extraction efforts.

MDA paramedic Maor Atadgi described the scene: “This was a tough incident. We arrived with ambulances, intensive care units, and rapid response motorcycles. We were led in the field to the crashed aircraft. The plane had severe structural damage, and nearby lay two men.”

He added: “They were unconscious, with no pulse and no breathing. We immediately began advanced resuscitation efforts and evacuated them to the hospital in critical condition.”

The circumstances of the aircraft crash in the open area are currently being investigated by the relevant authorities.

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — A large-scale program has been launched for the first time to train doctors and health professionals from the charedi sector in Israel, amid an increasingly severe shortage of physicians in the country. The stated goal is to significantly increase the number of charedi students entering medical studies and the Israeli healthcare system.

The program will include structured pre-academic preparatory courses, bridging gaps in mathematics, English, and science, along with personal mentoring, living stipends, financial support, professional guidance, and social and cultural assistance throughout the years of study. In addition, guidance tracks will be opened for health professions such as speech therapy, physiotherapy, and occupational therapy, fields that are currently in short supply and can later serve as a basis for four-year medical programs.

The initiative is backed by the Kemach Foundation (promoting charedi professionals), the Ministry of Health, the Authority for Social and Economic Development of the Haredi sector, the Ministry of Jerusalem and Heritage, the JDC, and additional partners. The program will be headed by Prof. Yossi Makori, former chair of the Planning and Budgeting Committee and dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Tel Aviv University, who described it as a national effort to address one of the most critical problems in the healthcare system: the shortage of doctors and caregivers.

According to Makori, Israel is currently significantly behind OECD countries in the number of medical students and new doctors entering the system. “A real opportunity has been created here,” he said. “There is a population with high motivation, excellent abilities, and a desire to integrate. This program is designed to remove barriers and enable them to reach places that were previously almost inaccessible.”

The first cohort is expected to include around 280 Haredi men and women across all tracks, from preparatory programs to support for students already admitted to medical and health sciences studies.

However, even the program’s initiators acknowledge the scale of the challenge. According to presented data, only 0.3% of Haredi students currently study medicine, compared to 1.2% in the general Jewish population, amounting to only a few dozen Haredi medical students per year. The program’s ambitious target is to add about 2,000 Haredi men and women to health and caregiving professions within five years.

Importantly, the program does not create a separate medical track for charedim and does not include a dedicated segregated faculty or preferential admissions. Studies will take place within existing medical faculties and accredited institutions in Israel. The emphasis, according to organizers, is on a broad “support envelope” to help charedi students overcome barriers and succeed in demanding academic studies.

The Kemach Foundation stressed that a key goal is enabling students to maintain their Haredi identity throughout their studies. “The potential already exists in the field, and our mission is to ensure it is not lost along the way,” said CEO Moti Feldstein. “Our role will be to ensure graduates can preserve their identity even within such demanding academic frameworks.”

JERUSALEM (VINnews)  A Temple Mount activist dressed in priestly garments was released from jail after being arrested during the holiday of Shavuot for waving the “Two Loaves” offering at the Temple Mount compound.

The activist was arrested by police forces after successfully sneaking into the Temple Mount area carrying the “Shtei HaLechem” (two breads) offering and performing the traditional waving ceremony associated with the holiday.

הפרגוד: “זכינו להניף את שתי הלחם בהר הבית”
הכהן יצא ממעצר והעביר מסר. pic.twitter.com/LRaO5X2yhv

— הפרגוד (@moshepargod) May 24, 2026

In a video filmed immediately after his release from prison, while still wearing the white priestly garments, the activist shared his feelings and noted that this was a continuation of an activity that had already begun last year. He said that despite the heavy police security at the entrances to the Temple Mount, the activists managed to outmaneuver the security forces.

He also hinted that alongside the successful waving ceremony, another planned event that day did not succeed: “There was another event that didn’t work out.”

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — The Israeli Ministry of Education has filed a massive lawsuit against an association in Ashkelon, alleging what it says is one of the largest fake-reporting fraud schemes ever uncovered in a Torah institution.

According to the statement of claim published by Galei Tzahal, the association reported to the Ministry of Education that 648 kollel students and yeshiva students were enrolled in its institutions, while in reality only dozens of students were actually studying there. Through these reports, the association allegedly succeeded in receiving millions of shekels from state funds.

Data presented in the lawsuit states that between 2012 and 2022, more than 40 million shekels were transferred to the association based on the number of kollel and yeshiva students it continuously reported.

The fraud was uncovered during 2022, when a covert inspection at the institution revealed that at most only a few dozen students were present on site.

Investigators found that inside the relatively small building, which was claimed to house six different Torah institutions operated by the association, there were actually billiards and ping-pong tables in the basement shelter and kindergartens on the first floor.

The second and third floors could accommodate only about 100 people in total, and there investigators found dozens of kollel students, while the yeshiva that had been reported to the Ministry of Education did not exist at all.

According to testimony obtained by investigators, the fraud scheme apparently operated through the fictitious registration of kollel students, who in return allegedly gave part of their stipends back to the association in cash.

At this stage, the Ministry of Education is seeking only about 3 million shekels from the association, representing the support funds transferred at the beginning of 2022, during the period when the inspections took place. However, the ministry added that there is reasonable basis to believe the fraudulent method had been operating for many years beforehand.

Journalist Tuvia Yagelnik summarized the report on the affair by saying: “This is only the tip of the iceberg of a large industry of fictitious reporting about kollel students in the Haredi community.”

NEW YORK (VINnews) — Numerous pro-Israel senators have expressed their strong reservations about a possible deal being brokered with Iran.

Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a vocal supporter of the war against Iran unleashed by the US and Israel on February 28 and the chair of the Senate Budget Committee, expressed fear over terms that would allow the Iranian regime to survive, saying a deal that leaves Iran in a strong position in the region would lead to a “nightmare for Israel.”

“If a deal is struck to end the Iranian conflict because it is believed that the Strait of Hormuz cannot be protected from Iranian terrorism and Iran still possesses the capability to destroy major Gulf oil infrastructure, then Iran will be perceived as being a dominate force requiring a diplomatic solution,” he posted on X.

“This combination of Iran being perceived as having the ability to terrorize the Strait in perpetuity and the ability [to] inflict massive damage to Gulf oil infrastructure is a major shift of the balance of power” he added.

Republican Senator Ted Cruz also expressed concern overnight Sunday about the emerging agreement between the United States and Iran, warning that allowing Tehran to continue developing nuclear weapons under an Islamist leadership would be a dangerous move.

“President Trump’s decision to strike Iran was the most consequential decision of his second term. He was right to do so, and we achieved extraordinary military results—including destroying all of their missiles & drones and sinking their entire navy.” Cruz wrote on X.

According to him, If the result of all that is to be an Iranian regime—still run by Islamists who chant “death to America”—now receiving billions of dollars, being able to enrich uranium & develop nuclear weapons, and having effective control over the Strait of Hormuz, then that outcome would be a disastrous mistake.“”

“President Trump believes in peace through strength, and his strong leadership has already made America much safer. He should continue to hold the line, defend America & enforce the red lines he has repeatedly drawn.,” he concluded.

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who served during Trump’s first term, also criticized the emerging deal with Iran and argued that it is far from the “America First” approach associated with Trump.

“Not remotely America First,” he said. “It’s straightforward: Open the damned strait. Deny Iran access to money. Take out enough Iranian capability so it cannot threaten our allies in the region.”,” Pompeo added.

Steven Cheung, head of communications at the White House, responded to Pompeo with a sharp attack: “He has no idea what the hell he’s talking about. He should shut his stupid mouth and leave the real work to the professionals. He’s not read into anything that’s happening, so how would he know?”

NEW YORK (VINnews) — Iran has agreed to give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium as part of the emerging agreement between it and the United States, two official American sources told The New York Times on Saturday night.

According to those sources, the current proposal on the table does not specify how the uranium stockpile would be relinquished, and discussion of those details has been postponed to the next round of talks on the nuclear program.

The report says that the government in Iran initially refused to include any commitment regarding the uranium in the first phase of the agreement. However, U.S. representatives made clear through mediators that without an explicit agreement on the fate of the stockpile already in the initial stage of the deal, they would resume military operations against the country.

The Pakistani proposal that was raised also includes extending the ceasefire by 60 days, reopening the Strait of Hormuz, lifting the blockade on Iranian ports, removing restrictions on frozen Iranian funds, and including Lebanon in the agreement. Some of these issues are still far from finalized, but the Pakistanis claim there has been progress in the talks.

The White House declined to comment on the report. The Iranians have also not yet publicly confirmed the reports that they would agree to give up their stockpile of enriched uranium.

The Iranian news agency Tasnim News Agency, which is affiliated with the regime, stated that the reports about an Iranian proposal to halt uranium enrichment for 10 years are “completely false.” According to the same source, “The messages and discussions at the current stage concern only ending the war. No details regarding the nuclear issue are being discussed.”

In addition, the agency wrote that “Washington will commit to lifting sanctions imposed on Iranian oil during the negotiation period, a move that would allow Iran to sell its oil without restrictions during that time. If the initial understanding is approved by both sides, a memorandum of understanding will first be announced, emphasizing the end of the war on all fronts, including Lebanon. After that, a 30-day period will be examined for implementing steps related to the naval blockade and the Strait of Hormuz, while at the same time a 60-day period will be defined for negotiations on the nuclear issue.”

The report comes just hours after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that “significant progress has been made toward a broad agreement with Iran.”

Trump’s announcement followed a conference call he held from the Oval Office with a series of Middle Eastern and Muslim world leaders, including Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, King Abdullah II, and other senior officials.

According to Trump, “An agreement has already been largely negotiated,” and is subject only to final understandings between the United States, Iran, and the other countries involved. Trump added that he also spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and that the conversation “went very well.”

Trump also said that “the final details of the deal are currently under discussion and will be announced soon,” noting that one of the central clauses in the understandings is the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to free navigation.

LONDON (VINnews) — Members of the Stamford Hill Orthodox Jewish community expressed relief following the sentencing of Tavius Jean Charles, who carried out a sustained campaign of antisemitic threats and vandalism in the area.

A spokesman for Shomrim, the volunteer Jewish security patrol that operates in Stamford Hill, stated: “Stamford Hill’s Orthodox Jewish community can sleep easier with this extremely unpleasant character off our streets.”

Synagogue manager Barry Bard, one of the victims, described Jean Charles as a “danger to society” in a victim impact statement. He said some members of his congregation at Belz Synagogue are “terrified for their lives” following the repeated incidents, including direct death threats shouted outside the synagogue.

Other victims echoed the fear. David Bard told the court he remembered “every single word” of the hateful abuse, while Joel Scher, whose car window was smashed by a rock thrown by Jean Charles, initially believed he was being shot at

The sentencing on Friday at Southwark Crown Court has been viewed locally as a measure of justice in a community that has faced heightened antisemitic tensions in recent months. Shomrim and local residents have long advocated for stronger responses to such incidents, with the group actively involved in community protection and documentation of hate crimes.

Metropolitan Police Detective Chief Superintendent Brittany Clarke said the outcome demonstrates how seriously authorities take antisemitic hate crimes, adding there is “no place for hate in the capital.”

Jean Charles received a restraining order banning him from entering Stamford Hill and contacting victims, providing additional reassurance to the tightly knit Hasidic community, which has been a frequent target of such abuse.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Tulsi Gabbard resigned as President Donald Trump’s director of national intelligence on Friday, saying she needed to leave office as her husband battles cancer. She is the fourth Cabinet member to depart during Trump’s second term, all of them women.

In her resignation letter, which she posted on social media, Gabbard said she told Trump she would leave her job overseeing the coordination of 18 intelligence agencies on June 30. She said her husband had recently been diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer and “faces major challenges in the coming weeks and months.”

“At this time, I must step away from public service to be by his side and fully support him through this battle,” she wrote in the letter, which was reported earlier by Fox News.

Trump, in his own social media post, said “Tulsi has done an incredible job, and we will miss her.” He said her principal deputy, Aaron Lukas, will serve as acting director of national intelligence.

While Gabbard says her departure is for personal reasons, the juxtaposition between her long-held, anti-interventionism stance and Trump’s series of overseas military operations had seemed to put them on a collision course.

Iran put Gabbard and Trump at odds
There had been rumblings that Gabbard would split with Trump after the president’s decision to strike Iran, which caused some division within his administration. Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, announced his resignation in March and said he “cannot in good conscience” back the war.

Gabbard, a veteran and former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii, built her political name on her opposition to foreign wars. This put her in an awkward position when the U.S. joined Israel in launching attacks on Iran on Feb. 28.

During a congressional hearing in March, her measured comments were notable for their careful non-endorsement of the Iran war. She repeatedly dodged questions about whether the White House had been warned of potential fallout from the conflict, including Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway crucial for global oil shipments.

Gabbard said in written remarks to the Senate Intelligence Committee that there had been no effort by Iran to rebuild its nuclear capability after U.S. attacks last year “obliterated” its nuclear program. That statement contradicted Trump, who has repeatedly asserted that the war was necessary to head off an imminent threat from the Islamic Republic.

This created several awkward exchanges with lawmakers who asked Gabbard for her opinion on the threat posed by Iran as the nation’s top intelligence official. She repeatedly said it was Trump’s decision to strike, not hers.

“It is not the intelligence community’s responsibility to determine what is and is not an imminent threat,” she said.

Gabbard’s departure follows Trump having ousted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in late March, in the midst of mounting criticism over her leadership of the department — including the handling of the administration’s immigration crackdown and disaster response.

The second Cabinet member to leave was Attorney General Pam Bondi, in response to growing frustration over the Justice Department’s handling of files related to Jeffrey Epstein. And Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer resigned in April, after being the target of various misconduct investigations.

Lukas, who will be taking over for Gabbard, was an intelligence aide to the acting director of national intelligence, Ric Grenell, in 2020 during Trump’s first term. A former policy analyst at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, he also served as deputy senior director for Europe and Russia at the National Security Council in the final year of Trump’s previous administration.

A surprising choice for the job
A military veteran but without any intelligence experience, Gabbard was a surprising choice for director of national intelligence. She ran for president in 2020 on a progressive platform and her opposition to U.S. involvement in foreign military conflicts.

Citing her military experience, she argued that U.S. wars in the Middle East had destabilized the region, made the U.S. less safe and cost thousands of American lives. Gabbard later dropped out of the race and endorsed the ultimate winner, President Joe Biden.

Two years later, she left the Democratic Party to become an independent, saying her old party was dominated by an “elitist cabal of warmongers” and “woke” ideologues. She subsequently campaigned for several high-profile Republicans and became a contributor to Fox News.

She later endorsed Trump, who also was a strong critic of past U.S. wars in the Middle East and campaigned on a pledge to avoid unnecessary wars and nation-building overseas.

Iran caused early tensions
But friction with the president started soon after he began his second term and tapped Gabbard to lead ODNI, which was set up after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to improve coordination between the nation’s intelligence agencies.

Shortly after taking on the job and before this year’s war, Gabbard testified before lawmakers that there was no intelligence suggesting Iran was seeking to develop nuclear weapons. After Trump launched attacks on Iranian nuclear sites last June, he said Gabbard was wrong and that he didn’t care what she said.

She appeared to be back in Trump’s good graces when she took a lead role in Trump’s effort to relitigate his 2020 election loss to Biden. She appeared at an FBI search of election offices in Fulton County, Georgia, even though her office was created to focus on foreign espionage, not state elections.

Gabbard made big changes in her time in office
Gabbard vowed to eliminate what she said was the politicization of intelligence by government insiders. But she quickly used her office to support some of Trump’s most partisan arguments — that he won the 2020 election.

She also worked to undermine the results of earlier investigations into Trump’s ties to Russia.

In her year on the job, Gabbard oversaw a sharp reduction in the intelligence workforce, as well as the creation of a new task force that she charged with considering big changes to the intelligence service.

Earlier this year, an intelligence sector whistleblower filed a complaint that Gabbard was withholding intelligence for political reasons, a complaint that prompted calls from Democrats for Gabbard’s resignation.

Gabbard, 44, was born in the U.S. territory of American Samoa, raised in Hawaii and spent a year of her childhood in the Philippines. She was first elected as a 21-year-old to Hawaii’s House of Representatives but had to leave after one term when her National Guard unit deployed to Iraq.

As the first Hindu member of the House, Gabbard was sworn into office with her hand on the Bhagavad Gita, the Hindu devotional work. She was also the first American Samoan elected to Congress.

During her four House terms, she became known for speaking out against her party’s leadership. Her early support for Sen. Bernie Sanders ’ 2016 Democratic presidential primary run made her a popular figure in progressive politics nationally.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A federal judge on Friday dismissed a human smuggling case against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, finding that the Justice Department’s pursuit of criminal charges was designed to punish him for challenging his mistaken deportation to El Salvador last year.

The ruling amounted to an extraordinary rebuke of a Justice Department that under President Donald Trump has repeatedly been accused of targeting defendants for political purposes. The Trump administration touted the charges against Abrego Garcia last year at a press conference in which then-Attorney General Pam Bondi declared, “This is what American justice looks like.”

“The evidence before this court sadly reflects an abuse of prosecuting power,” U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw, in Nashville, Tenn., said in his ruling granting Abrego Garcia’s motion to dismiss for “selective or vindictive prosecution.” Without Abrego Garcia’s “successful lawsuit challenging his removal to El Salvador, the government would not have brought this prosecution.”

Abrego Garcia’s deportation became an embarrassment for Trump officials when they were ordered to return him to the U.S. In his motion to dismiss, Abrego Garcia claimed that both the timing of the criminal charges and inflammatory statements about him by top Trump officials demonstrated that the prosecution was vindictive.

Despite the win in criminal court, his future in the United States is uncertain. Barred from deporting him to El Salvador, administration officials have threatened to deport him to a series of African countries, most recently Liberia.

“Kilmar Abrego Garcia is a victim of a politicized, vindictive White House and its lawyers at what used to be an independent Justice Department,” his criminal defense attorneys said in a statement after Friday’s ruling. “We are so pleased that he is a free man.”

The Justice Department vowed to appeal, calling the judge’s order “wrong and dangerous.”

Crenshaw stopped short of finding the government acted with “actual vindictiveness,” a rarely-met standard that usually requires evidence like a prosecutor admitting that charges were filed in retaliation against someone. But the judge did find there was enough evidence of “presumptive vindictiveness” — including the timing of the indictment, statements made by then-U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, and the sustained oversight of the case by other top Justice Department officials — that the case against Abrego Garcia was thoroughly tainted.

The government’s own explanations weren’t convincing, Crenshaw wrote.

Abrego Garcia was charged with human smuggling and conspiracy to commit human smuggling, with prosecutors claiming that he accepted money to transport within the United States people who were in the country illegally.

The charges stem from a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee for speeding. Body camera footage from a Tennessee Highway Patrol officer shows a calm exchange with Abrego Garcia. There were nine passengers in the car, and the officers discussed among themselves their suspicions of smuggling. However, Abrego Garcia was eventually allowed to continue driving with only a warning.

In the Friday ruling, Crenshaw wrote that the timing of the charges was central to the presumption of vindictiveness. Homeland Security had been aware of the traffic stop for two years and had closed the case against Abrego Garcia when it deported him. Once the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that he should be brought back to the U.S., they reopened the case. While the government bore the responsibility to rebut the presumption of vindictiveness, prosecutors did not call as a witness the person who reopened the case, to explain why. Instead they offered only “secondhand testimony.”

In a statement released by the group We are CASA, which has been supporting Abrego Garcia and his family, he thanked God for the dismissal of the criminal charges.

“Justice is a big word and an even bigger promise to fulfill; and I am grateful that today, justice has taken a step forward,” he said.

Abrego Garcia’s deportation violated a 2019 immigration court order granting him protection from deportation to his home country, after the judge found he faced danger there from a gang that targeted his family. Abrego Garcia is a Salvadoran citizen with an American wife and child who has lived in Maryland for years although he immigrated to the U.S. illegally as a teenager. The 2019 order allowed him to live and work in the U.S. under Immigration and Customs Enforcement supervision, but he was not given residency status.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Foreigners in the U.S. who want a green card will need to leave and apply in their home country, the Trump administration announced Friday, in a surprise change to a longstanding policy that sowed confusion and concern among aid groups, immigration lawyers and immigrants.

For over half a century, foreign nationals with legal status have been able to apply for and complete the entire process for permanent residence in the United States — including individuals married to U.S. citizens, holders of work and student visas, and refugees and political asylum seekers, among others.

The announcement from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said foreigners who are in the U.S. temporarily and who want to apply to become lawful permanent residents, or green card holders, have to return home and apply there, except in “extraordinary circumstances.” USCIS officers would decide whether applicants meet those.

“Nonimmigrants, like students, temporary workers, or people on tourist visas, come to the U.S. for a short time and for a specific purpose. Our system is designed for them to leave when their visit is over. Their visit should not function as the first step in the Green Card process,” the agency said in a statement.

It is the latest step by the Trump administration making legal immigration more difficult for foreigners already in the U.S. and for those hoping to come here.

Hundreds of thousands apply for green cards from the US each year
“The goal of this policy is very explicit. Senior officials in this administration have said over and over that they want fewer people to get permanent residency because permanent residency is a path to citizenship and they want to block that path for as many people as possible,” said Doug Rand, a former senior advisor at USCIS during the Biden administration, who added that about 600,000 people already in the U.S. apply each year for a green card.

USCIS did not say when the change would come into effect, whether individuals would be required to remain in another country throughout the entire process, or whether the policy impacts foreigners whose green card applications are already underway.

In an emailed statement to the Associated Press the agency said people who provide an “economic benefit” or “national interest” could likely stay in the U.S. while others would have to go abroad to apply.

The changes come on top of steps the administration has already taken to restrict and limit entry for people from dozens of countries. In some cases, there are outright bans on travel from those countries, while people from others face pauses in visa processing. Experts and attorneys warned that forcing people from those countries to return home to apply for a green card would result in them being barred from coming back.

“If families are told that the non-citizen family member must return to his or her country of origin to process their immigrant visa, but immigrant visas are not being processed there, it’s a Catch-22. These policies will effectively create an indefinite separation of families,” wrote World Relief, a humanitarian and refugee resettlement organization.

Confusion over who the change applies to
USCIS described the change as a return to “the original intent of the law” and closing a “loophole.”

But immigration lawyers and aid groups pushed back, saying it was longstanding practice for many groups to be able to adjust their status in the U.S. and that many people couldn’t return home because it wasn’t safe or they had no embassy to apply at. The U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan, for example, has been closed since the U.S. pullout in August 2021.

“USCIS is trying to upend decades of processing of adjustment of status,” said Shev Dalal-Dheini, senior director of government relations at the American Immigration Lawyers Association. “This all applies very broadly to anyone seeking a green card”.

Among them could be individuals married to U.S. citizens, immigrants with humanitarian protection who are applying for a green card, and holders of work visas — including doctors and professionals — as well as student and religious visa holders, the attorney noted.

At some U.S. consulates abroad, wait times for a visa appointment could take up to more than a year, said Dalal-Dheini.

Immigration attorneys were picking through the policy memo and announcement Friday afternoon, trying to decipher who it would apply to.

Organizations that provide legal and other assistance to immigrants said they were hearing from clients concerned about what the new guidance would mean for them.

“It’s really hard to tell how this is going to be applied,” said Jessie De Haven, senior staff attorney with the California Immigration Project a non profit that provides legal services to low income immigrants. “I do think it might have a chilling effect on people applying.”

NEW YORK (AP) — A judge threw out author Michael Wolff’s lawsuit against first lady Melania Trump on Friday, ruling that his “contorted” attempt to prevent her from suing him for $1 billion over his statements about her and Jeffrey Epstein “is not how the federal courts work.”

Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil in federal court in Manhattan chided Wolff for an “inappropriate level of tactical gamesmanship” and said she “will not be conscripted to oversee an abusively presented spat.”

Vyskocil, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, agreed that Wolff and the first lady “have a real dispute,” but said “they must litigate it according to the same procedures as everyone else.”

Wolff sued Melania Trump last October after her lawyer, Alejandro Brito, told him in a letter that she would be “left with no alternative” but to sue him if he didn’t retract statements that the lawyer said had caused her “overwhelming reputational and financial harm.”

Wolff wanted a judge to declare that he did not defame the first lady and that, were she to pursue a lawsuit against him, she would be liable for costs, fees and unspecified monetary damages.

Wolff originally sued in state court in New York under a law barring lawsuits designed to silence critics. Such lawsuits are known as SLAPPs, or strategic lawsuits against public participation. Brito then had the case transferred to federal court and later sought to have it dismissed or moved to a federal court in Florida.

Vyskocil, in her 45-page decision, said that while federal court does have jurisdiction, she was declining to exercise it and “dismisses this case to be litigated like any other.”

Nick Clemens, a spokesperson for Melania Trump, said she “is proud to continue standing up to, and fighting against, those who spread malicious and defamatory falsehoods as they desperately try to get undeserved attention and money from their unlawful conduct.”

In April, Melania Trump made a statement at the White House denying any affiliation with Epstein, the millionaire financier and convicted sex offender who killed himself in jail in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

Reading prepared remarks, the first lady said she and her lawyers were fighting back against “unfound and baseless lies” that suggested she had ties to Epstein.

“The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today,” Melania Trump said. “The individuals lying about me are devoid of ethical standards, humility and respect. I do not object to their ignorance, but rather I reject their mean-spirited attempts to defame my reputation.”

In his lawsuit, Wolff argued that the Trumps “have made a practice of threatening those who speak against them” with costly legal actions “to silence their speech, to intimidate their critics generally, and to extract unjustified payments and North Korean style confessions and apologies.”

He said the threats were “designed to create a climate of fear in the nation so that people cannot freely or confidently exercise their First Amendment rights.”

Wolff has published a dozen books, including four bestsellers about the president.

Wolff said in the lawsuit that Melania Trump’s threat to sue him was related to statements he made to The Daily Beast and in three social media videos. Some statements were incomplete phrases and were taken out of context, he said.

Others, the lawsuit said, were protected speech. For instance, the statement that the Trumps were in a “sham marriage, trophy marriage,” was a “fair and justified” statement of opinion, it said.

The lawsuit noted that Wolff never said Melania Trump was involved in any of Epstein’s crimes.

In July 2025, after receiving a letter from Brito, The Daily Beast retracted an article titled, “Melania Trump ‘Very Involved’ in Epstein Scandal: Author,” that was based on an interview with Wolff.

Wolff, in his lawsuit, said his comments pertained to the first lady’s “involvement” last year managing the matter “behind the scenes” at the White House — not that she was involved in any of Epstein’s crimes.

Among other statements Wolff said were true were those his comments about Melania Trump meeting Donald Trump in Epstein’s social circle, and that Donald Trump liked to have sex with his friend’s wives and first slept with Melania Trump on Epstein’s private jet.

LEBANON (VINnews) – Despite a U.S.-brokered ceasefire now in its second month, Iran-backed Hezbollah has continued its aggression against Israel, with the terrorist group showing little interest in ending hostilities that have claimed dozens of Israeli lives and displaced communities on both sides of the border.

The fragile truce, intended to halt the conflict that resumed on March 2, has been repeatedly undermined by Hezbollah’s refusal to disarm or withdraw from southern Lebanon, according to Israeli officials. While the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) carry out targeted operations to neutralize threats and protect civilians, the Lebanese terror group—designated a terrorist organization by both the U.S. and Britain—has persisted with attacks.

Senior Hezbollah MP Dr. Hussein al Hajj Hassan, in a rare interview, made clear the group’s uncompromising stance: Israel must halt all defensive actions, fully withdraw from Lebanese territory, release prisoners, and allow Hezbollah strongholds to be rebuilt before any talks can proceed.

“We don’t negotiate under fire,” al Hajj Hassan said. “That’s not negotiation. That’s humiliation.”

Critics view such demands as a transparent effort to buy time for rearmament while embedding deeper into civilian areas, a tactic long used by Hezbollah to draw Israeli responses that cause collateral damage. The group has a history of initiating cross-border attacks, embedding rocket launchers in villages, and operating as a proxy for Iran’s regional ambitions.

Lebanese health authorities, often aligned with Hezbollah influence, claim more than 3,000 deaths since early March, including civilians. However, these figures are difficult to independently verify and do not distinguish between combatants and non-combatants, nor do they account for Hezbollah’s practice of operating from within populated areas. Meanwhile, at least 21 Israeli soldiers have been killed in southern Lebanon since the ceasefire was supposed to take effect, underscoring the ongoing threat posed by the terror group.

UNIFIL, the United Nations peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, has logged thousands of alleged Israeli violations by air, land and sea. Israeli officials counter that many such incidents involve necessary responses to Hezbollah provocations, reconnaissance of threat sites, or enforcement of the ceasefire terms that require the Lebanese army to take control of the south—something Hezbollah has actively prevented.

As indirect talks continue in Washington between Israeli and Lebanese officials, Israel maintains that true peace requires Hezbollah’s complete disarmament south of the Litani River, in line with UN Resolution 1701, and the return of displaced Israeli residents to their homes in the north.

Hezbollah’s leadership insists it seeks “a peace with dignity and independence,” yet its actions—continued attacks, rejection of phased de-escalation, and maximalist demands—suggest a preference for perpetual conflict over genuine security for Lebanon’s people. Israeli leaders have repeatedly signaled openness to a diplomatic resolution that ensures lasting calm along the border, but only if Hezbollah ceases using Lebanese territory as a launchpad for Iranian aggression.

One of the teenagers who killed three people at a San Diego mosque this week was flagged to law enforcement last year for exhibiting alarming behavior and idolizing Nazis, prompting police to confiscate his father’s guns, according to court records.

The officers who conducted a welfare check at the home of Caleb Vazquez wrote that he was “involved in suspicious behavior idolizing nazis and mass shooters,” and obtained a court order on Jan. 29, 2025, to remove 26 guns under a 2014 California law allowing the confiscation of firearms from people considered dangerous.

Vazquez’s father initially denied police entry into his home when they requested to see how he was storing his weapons.

Vazquez’s parents had voluntarily removed the guns from the house and placed them in a secure storage facility days earlier, according to an affidavit signed by Marco Vazquez, the father.

Authorities have said Vazquez, 18, met Cain Clark, 17, online, where they both were radicalized. Police haven’t shared more details about how they knew each other, or specified whose weapons were used in the shooting.

Cain Clark’s mother told law enforcement that weapons were missing from her home on Monday, kicking off an hourslong search for the teens before they committed the shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego and then killed themselves, police said.

Court filings indicate mental health struggles
Court filings show Vazquez decided to “secure all sharp knives in the home” and removed from the house the firearms that they had previously kept in a secure gun safe into an outside storage facility. The affidavit also mentions unspecified serious allegations against their son, who was also previously committed to an involuntary psychiatric hospitalization. The court filings, first reported by The New York Times, didn’t say what he was admitted for.

The Vazquez family said in a statement released Thursday that Caleb Vazquez was on the autism spectrum and had grown to resent parts of his identity — but didn’t specify what aspects were challenging to him.

“Coming from a diverse family that not only includes immigrants but Muslims as well, we always taught the importance of acceptance, compassion, and love for one another. We are proud of the different backgrounds, cultures, ethnicities, and religions within our family and community,” their statement said.

“We believe this, combined with exposure to hateful rhetoric, extremist content, and propaganda spread across parts of the internet, social media, and other online platforms, contributed to his descent into radicalized ideologies and violent beliefs,” said their statement, released through their attorney Colin Rudolph.

His family said they tried to get him help
They encouraged him to seek help and he spent time in rehabilitation centers, the statement said. Vazquez’s parents did not immediately respond to calls seeking comment from The Associated Press. An attorney who represented Vazquez’s parents when their guns were confiscated also didn’t immediately respond to calls.

In writings by Vazquez and Clark that expressed white supremacist views, Vazquez wrote of having “some mental health issues” and being rejected by women. They suggest both teenagers idolized previous shooters who have died while carrying out mass shootings. The writings expressed hatred toward Jewish people, Muslims, Black people and a range of other groups.

Vazquez left the San Diego Unified School District in June 2018 after attending Washington Elementary up until the 5th grade, district spokesperson James Canning told The Associated Press. It’s unclear where he went to school after that.

Clark was enrolled in a virtual high school in the district, Canning said.

Police began searching for the teens on Monday after Clark’s mother called to say her son was suicidal and ran away. She told them he was dressed in camouflage, had taken multiple weapons from the home, and was with an acquaintance, San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said earlier this week.

Officers were still interviewing the mother about places the teens might be when the shooting began at the county’s largest mosque.

De-radicalizing people is becoming more difficult
Vazquez’s father said in a 2025 court statement that his family made a concerted effort to steer Caleb Vazquez back onto the right track. He said when they locked away their weapons, they were in communication with his school, were monitoring his social media presence closely and he was in therapy twice a week.

“We observe all of his online activities, who he talks to, what he talks about, and who he is friends with,” Marco Vazquez wrote, emphasizing that he didn’t support his son’s ideology.

Some experts say it’s increasingly difficult to help people drawn to the kind of radicalism Vazquez and Clark expressed.

Samira Benz works for the Violence Prevention Network, which conducts interventions when people are radicalized into believing in violent extremism. Benz said the work has become increasingly complicated as the internet blurs ideologies and creates niche, meme-based languages that can be fleeting and hard to decipher.

“Even if a parent is looking at the phone of their child, they don’t necessarily see something bad is going on,” Benz said.

SpaceX launched its biggest, most powerful Starship yet on a test flight Friday, an upgraded version that NASA is counting on to land astronauts on the moon.

The redesigned mega rocket made its debut two days after SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced he’s taking the company public. It blasted off from the southern tip of Texas, carrying 20 mock Starlink satellites that were released midway through the hourlong spaceflight that stretched halfway around the world.

The spacecraft reached its final destination — the Indian Ocean — despite some engine trouble, before erupting in flames upon impact. That last part was not unexpected, according to SpaceX.

Musk called it “an epic” launch and landing.

“You scored a goal for humanity,” he told his team via X.

It’s the 12th test flight of the rocket that Musk is building to get people to Mars one day. But first comes the moon and NASA’s Artemis program.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman flew in for the launch, saying Starship is now one step closer to the moon.

The last of the old space-skimming Starships lifted off in October. SpaceX’s third-generation Starship — a souped-up version dubbed V3 — soared from a brand-new launch pad at Starbase, near the Mexican border. Last-minute pad issues thwarted Thursday evening’s launch attempt.

SpaceX was hoping to avoid the fireworks it experienced during back-to-back launches last year when midair explosions rained wreckage down on the Atlantic. Earlier flights also ended in flames.

There was no fireball this time until the very end. The spacecraft plummeted upright into the Indian Ocean under seemingly full control, then toppled over and ignited.

While the liftoff itself went well, not all of the engines fired as the booster attempted a controlled return. The spacecraft also had to make do with fewer engines, but kept heading eastward 120 miles (194 kilometers) up. A pair of modified, camera-equipped Starlinks ejected from Starship provided brief views of the spacecraft in flight — a remarkable first.

At 407 feet (124 meters), the latest model eclipses the older Starship lines by several feet (more than 1 meter) and packs more engine thrust.

The revamped booster sports fewer but bigger and stronger grid fins for steering it back to Earth following liftoff, and a larger and more robust fuel transfer line to feed the 33 main engines. This fuel line is the size of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 first-stage booster. The retro-looking, stainless steel spacecraft also has more of everything — more cameras and more navigation and computer power — as well as docking cones for future rendezvous and moon missions.

Starship is meant to be fully reusable, with giant mechanical arms at the launch pads to catch the returning rocket stages. But on this latest trial run, nothing was being recovered. The Gulf of Mexico marked the end of the road for the redesigned first-stage booster, and the Indian Ocean for the spacecraft and its satellite demos.

NASA is paying SpaceX billions of dollars — and also Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin — to provide the lunar landers that will be used to land Artemis astronauts on the moon.

The two companies are scrambling to be first.

While Starship has reached the fringes of space on multiple flights lasting an hour at most, Bezos’ Blue Moon has yet to lift off, although a prototype is being readied for a moonshot later this year.

NASA is following April’s successful lunar flyaround by four astronauts with a docking trial run in orbit around Earth planned for next year. For that Artemis III mission, astronauts will practice docking their Orion capsule with Starship, Blue Moon or both.

A moon landing by two astronauts — Artemis IV — could follow as soon as 2028 using either Starship or Blue Moon, whichever lander is safer and ready first. It will be NASA’s first lunar landing with a crew since 1972’s Apollo 17. The goal this time is a moon base near the lunar south pole, staffed by astronauts as well as robots.

SpaceX is already taking reservations for private flights to the moon and Mars on Starship.

The world’s first space tourist, California businessman Dennis Tito, and his wife signed up 3 1/2 years ago for a flight around the moon. The timing is uncertain.

This week, another wealthy space tourist — Chinese-born bitcoin investor Chun Wang — announced he will fly to Mars on Starship’s first interplanetary mission. Wang previously chartered a SpaceX polar flight in a Dragon capsule last year and, along with his hand-picked crew, became the first to orbit above the north and south poles.

No price tag or date was revealed for his Mars cruise.

(VINnews) – Israel on Saturday dismissed allegations by pro-Palestinian activists detained after attempting to breach the Gaza blockade as “a blatant fabricated lie made up,” after members of the so-called Global Sumud Flotilla accused Israeli soldiers of beatings, torture, and inhumane treatment while held in detention facilities.

The activists, whose convoy of roughly 50 vessels was intercepted earlier this week in international waters while attempting to reach Gaza, returned home to countries including South Africa, Ireland, and Chile, where they described harsh prison conditions and accused Israel of abuse during interrogations.

Israeli officials strongly denied the accusations, calling the claims “false and entirely without factual basis.”

Among the most vocal critics was South African activist Faizel Moosa, who claimed detainees were denied water, edible food, and bathroom access, and were met with rubber bullets after protesting conditions.

Moosa, a former anti-apartheid activist, compared the experience to his detention during South Africa’s apartheid era, claiming the treatment by Israeli authorities was worse.

Irish activist Dr. Margaret Connolly, sister of Irish President Catherine Connolly, alleged detainees were stripped of clothing, denied blankets, and subjected to degrading treatment. She claimed some activists were struck with guns and forced to huddle together to avoid hypothermia.

Connolly also alleged that Israeli forces confiscated her medical supplies, preventing her from treating injured detainees.

Three Chilean activists who returned to Santiago also accused Israel of mistreatment and criticized the Chilean government for what they described as insufficient diplomatic efforts to secure their release.

Israel has maintained that the naval blockade of Gaza is necessary to prevent weapons smuggling to Hamas and has repeatedly warned flotilla activists that attempts to breach the blockade would not be permitted.

CONCORD, N.C. (AP) — Kyle Busch died after severe pneumonia progressed into sepsis, resulting in rapid and overwhelming complications, according to a statement released by his family.

Dakota Hunter, vice president of Kyle Busch Companies, said in a news release the family received the medical evaluation on Saturday.

Busch, a two-time NASCAR champion, died at 41 on Thursday, a day after passing out in a Chevrolet simulator.

Sepsis is considered a life-threatening medical emergency that occurs when the body has an extreme, overactive response to an infection, causing the immune system to damage its own tissues and organs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Typically the immune system releases chemicals to fight off pathogens like bacteria, viruses or fungi, but with sepsis the response goes into overdrive. The results can cause widespread inflammation, form microscopic blood clots and make blood vessels leak.

Busch was thought to have had a sinus cold while racing at Watkins Glen on May 10 and radioed in to his team saying that he needed a “shot” from a doctor after the race. However, he bounced back to win the Trucks Series race at Dover last weekend, and then he finished 17th in the All-Star race on Sunday.

Busch, who was preparing to race Sunday at the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, was testing in the Chevrolet racing simulator in Concord on Wednesday when he became unresponsive and was transported to a hospital in Charlotte, several people familiar with the situation told The Associated Press.

During the emergency call placed late that afternoon, an unidentified caller calmly told the dispatch: “I’ve got an individual that’s (got) shortness of breath, very hot, thinks he’s going to pass out, and is producing a little bit of blood, coughing up some blood.”

The caller said Busch was lying on the bathroom floor inside the complex and told dispatch “he is awake,” according to audio provided by the Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Office. The man then gave directions on where emergency responders should go and asked that they turn off any sirens upon arrival.

NASCAR driver Brad Keselowski said he knew Busch wasn’t feeling well recently.

“Yes, but I won’t go into any specifics,” Keselowski said. “But then when he ran the Trucks race last week, those (thoughts) were honestly kind of erased in my mind.”

Keselowski said running multiple races on the same weekend can be difficult on a driver’s health — but most don’t want to miss a race for fear of being replaced.

“There’s no shortage of drivers that would love to take my seat or anybody else’s seat if we weren’t feeling well, and I think every driver feels that pressure,” Keselowski said. “All athletes do. It’s not unique to NASCAR in that sense. We’re all thinking to ourselves, ‘I don’t wanna be replaced.’ … So you try to power through it the best you can.”

Keselowski said Busch’s unexpected death has forced him to pay attention to his own health moving forward.

Chase Briscoe said Busch’s health issues served as a “wake-up call” for him and other drivers, who often put aside dealing with potential issues because they are so busy traveling around the country and competing on a weekly basis.

He said if something feels off, “you need to get checked out.”

Busch’s Richard Childress Racing teammate Austin Dillon was not made available for comment.

Austin Hill will replace Busch on Sunday and drive the No. 33 car. RCR is temporarily retiring Busch’s No. 8 until his 11-year-old son Brexton is old enough to race.

All 39 cars in the field for Sunday’s race will include a small black No. 8 decal to honor Busch.

Busch won 234 races across NASCAR’s top three series over his two-decade career, more than any driver in history.

Drivers spoke at length on Saturday about his accomplishments, praising his toughness, competitive spirit and penchant for speaking his mind — all of which led to him earning a reputation as NASCAR’s villain.

“He was a polarizing figure that no matter if you like him or disliked him as a racer, he was always talked about,” Ryan Blaney said. “Just this guy that was always there and won too much, which is why people didn’t like him. And he always spoke his mind. I think people came to respect that about him, that he was true to who he was and that never changed.”

Blaney added that Busch’s personality outside of the car and his competitiveness behind the wheel made him “a larger-than-life person in racing.”