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A reportedly difficult phone conversation between President Trump and Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu exposed sharp disagreements over a developing proposal aimed at ending the fighting with Iran and opening a new round of negotiations, according to a report Wednesday night by Barak Ravid on Channel 12 News.

At the center of the discussion was a new draft framework being advanced by several Arab and Muslim countries in an effort to broker a compromise formula between the United States and Iran that could prevent the war from reigniting. Three sources familiar with the conversation provided details of the exchange.

According to the report, Trump told Netanyahu that mediators are working on what he described as a “letter of intent” that both the United States and Iran would sign.

An American source familiar with the details of the call told Channel 12 that the proposed document could pave the way for ending the war and launching an additional 30 days of negotiations over issues including reopening the Strait of Hormuz and addressing Iran’s nuclear program.

Netanyahu, however, reportedly expressed deep skepticism about the initiative and argued that the United States should continue applying military pressure on Iran in order to further weaken the regime.

Two Israeli sources familiar with the contents of the call said the conversation was tense and that Trump and Netanyahu sharply disagreed over how to proceed regarding Iran.

The American source added that Israel’s ambassador in Washington later updated several members of Congress and indicated that Netanyahu emerged from the conversation deeply concerned about the developing negotiations between Washington and Tehran.

Another senior American source who is also uneasy about the talks remarked, “Bibi’s hair went up in flames after that conversation with Trump.”

When Trump was asked Wednesday about his conversation with Netanyahu, he responded, “Netanyahu will do whatever I tell him to do regarding Iran.”

The Prime Minister’s Office declined to comment on the report. A spokesperson for the Israeli Embassy denied that Ambassador Yechiel Leiter told American lawmakers that Netanyahu had come away worried from the call. The White House also declined to comment.

Meanwhile, Qatar, along with mediators including Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Egypt, is continuing efforts to formulate an agreement between the United States and Iran.

According to two Arab officials and one Israeli source, Qatar recently presented both Washington and Tehran with a revised draft proposal intended to end the conflict.

A fourth source claimed the document was not an entirely separate Qatari initiative, but rather a Pakistani draft that the Qataris modified.

One Arab official said Qatar dispatched a delegation to Tehran in recent days to discuss the proposal, while Pakistan also reportedly sent representatives to the Iranian capital.

The goal of the initiative is said to be securing concessions from Iran on its nuclear program while creating a framework for the gradual release of frozen Iranian assets held overseas.

All three sources cautioned that it remains far from certain that Iran will agree to the proposal, raising questions about whether Netanyahu’s concerns are ultimately justified.

A senior Qatari official responded to the report by saying, “Qatar supports the mediation efforts being led by Pakistan. We continue to consistently support efforts to reduce escalation for the sake of the region and its people.”

A Democratic congressional candidate in Texas is facing fierce backlash after her campaign promoted inflammatory rhetoric calling for an immigration detention center to be converted into a “prison for American Zionists” that would include a castration facility.

Maureen Galindo, a therapist who finished first in the Democratic primary for a South Texas House seat, drew outrage after her campaign posted the remarks on Instagram while accusing her runoff opponent of participating in alleged Zionist trafficking schemes.

Galindo’s campaign claimed that if she is elected to Congress, she would pursue legislation targeting Zionism.

“When Maureen gets into Congress, she’ll write legislation so that all Zionism and support of Zionism is undoubtedly Anti-Semitic, since it’s Zionism harming the Semites,” her campaign wrote on Instagram last week.

The post then escalated further, declaring:

“She’ll turn Karnes ICE Detention Center into a prison for American Zionists and former ICE officers for human trafficking. (lt will also be a castration processing center for pedophiles which will probably be most of the Zionists).”

The Karnes Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility has frequently been the focus of demonstrations by progressive activists opposed to ICE policies.

The remarks came as Galindo’s campaign attempted to rebut claims by her Democratic opponent, Johnny Garcia, that she supports putting Jews into warehouse-style detention facilities.

Critics quickly pointed out that her own language about imprisoning Zionists in detention centers closely resembled the accusations she was trying to deny.

“The standard that Democrats rightly apply to right-wing antisemites must apply equally to left-wing Jew-haters,” the watchdog group StopAntisemitism said in a statement. “Democratic leaders must clearly, publicly denounce these bigots infecting their party without hedging.

“They must decline to appear on platforms with Hasan Piker. They must stop winking at extremist voices and truly stand for the principles they claim to stand for.”

Galindo led the Democratic primary in March with 29.2% of the vote, while Garcia received 27%, sending both candidates into a runoff election scheduled for next Tuesday after neither secured a majority.

The two candidates are competing for Texas’ 35th Congressional District, which stretches from San Antonio toward the Austin suburbs. The district is currently represented by Rep. Greg Casar, though Republicans recently redrew the district’s boundaries in hopes of making the seat more competitive.

“Instead of focusing on table-kitchen issues my opponent is pushing conspiracy theories and hateful rhetoric. That’s why Republicans are spending to boost her campaign,” Garcia wrote Tuesday on X.

Garcia has argued that Republican-linked groups are attempting to elevate Galindo’s candidacy through outside spending. Much of that attention has focused on Lead Left PAC, an obscure political organization that has reportedly spent $428,713 supporting Galindo, according to the latest Federal Election Commission filings.

Democrats contend the actual amount may be significantly higher. Records indicate the PAC has spent more than $1 million across three Democratic House primaries.

FEC filings also show that before the March primary, Galindo herself had raised less than $10,000.

“At a time when antisemitism is at historic levels, Republicans’ dirty campaign tricks aren’t just cynical, they’re extremely dangerous,” Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesperson Madison Andrus told The Post.

“Republicans are spending nearly $1 million to uplift a violent antisemite — no matter what your politics are, using virulent antisemitism for your own partisan gain is nothing short of disgusting.”

National Republican Congressional Committee spokesperson Christian Martinez mocked the increasingly bitter Democratic primary fight.

“Democrats Johnny Garcia and Maureen Galindo are tearing each other apart in a full-blown primary civil war, turning their own races into a circular firing squad.”

Martinez also took aim at Democratic leadership, saying House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ preferred candidates were struggling badly this election cycle.

“Hakeem Jeffries’ pathetic handpicked candidates were already staggering through the cycle with embarrassing fundraising numbers, zero grassroots energy, and no real support from Texans,” he told The Post.

Campaign mailers backing Galindo have highlighted her support for impeaching President Trump and dismantling ICE.

Galindo has also called for Garcia, a former Bexar County public information officer, to be tried for treason.

Throughout the campaign, Galindo has repeatedly attacked Zionists and has also targeted “Jews who own Hollywood,” echoing a widely condemned antisemitic trope.

{Matzav.com}

In two undercover operations carried out within less than 12 hours on Wednesday, soldiers from the Duvdevan Unit arrested two wanted terrorists in Qabatiya and Shechem (Nablus).

During one operation, the unit’s troops arrested a suspect in the village of Qabatiya, in the Menashe Brigade’s area of responsibility. The suspect had allegedly been working to advance terrorist operations and was planning to carry out a terror attack in the immediate timeframe.

In a separate operation, forces arrested another suspect in Shechem, in the Samaria Brigade’s area of responsibility, for allegedly advancing terrorist activity.

The detainees were transferred to the Shin Bet for interrogation.

{Matzav.com}

Police arrested a suspect Wednesday evening following a large-scale manhunt after a 52-year-old yungerman was fatally stabbed inside Kollel Chazon Ish on Rechov HaAri in Bnei Brak.

The victim, Rabbi Yishai Por זצ”ל, was attacked during the afternoon hours inside the kollel. According to police, the suspect fled the scene immediately after the stabbing, while emergency medical personnel evacuated the victim to a hospital in critical condition. He was pronounced dead a short time later.

Following the attack, Dan District Commander Elad Klein conducted a special situational assessment at the scene, and the investigation was handed over to the district’s major crimes unit.

Initial findings indicate that the incident was criminal in nature and that the suspect — a 52-year-old homeless man — was previously acquainted with the victim. Police said there had been no prior complaints filed by the victim against the suspect.

After the suspect escaped, police launched an extensive search operation. A short while later, officers from the Bnei Brak–Ramat Gan station, working together with police in Beit Shemesh, located and arrested the suspect in Beit Shemesh. He was taken in for questioning.

In an unusual move aimed at allowing the victim to be buried later Wednesday night, the forensic institute in Abu Kabir reopened specially after hours in order to process the body and avoid delaying the levayah.

According to information published by Chadashot HaPargod and attributed to avreichim who were present in the kollel and witnessed the events firsthand, the background to the shocking attack stemmed from a strange dispute that had developed over the past week.

A troubled individual known in the area had reportedly confronted the victim repeatedly regarding the study of the writings of the Rambam.

According to witnesses, the suspect claimed that it was forbidden to study the Rambam’s works. Rabbi Por, described as a righteous and upright avreich known for his tremendous diligence in learning, reportedly continued his regular sedorim and immersed himself in Torah without responding to the provocations.

Witnesses said that on Tuesday night, the suspect approached the victim and ominously warned him that because he continued studying the Rambam’s writings, “he sees that he will not complete his year.”

On Wednesday, that threat tragically became reality.

According to reports, the suspect entered the bais medrash during learning hours armed with a weapon, approached Rabbi Por’s shtender, and stabbed him to death in a brutal attack.

One of the most heartbreaking details of the tragedy is that the murder reportedly took place in front of the victim’s 13-year-old son, who had been sitting beside his father during the sacred moments of Torah study and witnessed the horrifying attack unfold.

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the United States is prepared to give Iran a final opportunity to reach an agreement that would lead to the immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, while insisting he is not rushing toward a broader conflict.

Speaking to reporters, Trump said the administration stands ready to respond if necessary, but emphasized that he is deliberately avoiding hasty action despite political pressure and mounting tensions in the region.

Trump explained that any agreement with Tehran would require the reopening of the critical shipping route, saying, “we’d have to open the strait. That would open immediately. So we’re going to give this one shot.”

The president dismissed suggestions that domestic political considerations were pushing him toward a faster timetable, remarking, “I’m in no hurry. [People say] due to the midterms, I’m in a hurry. I’m in no hurry.”

Trump also stressed that his preference is to avoid a large-scale military confrontation if possible, stating, “I just, ideally, I’d like to see a few people killed as opposed to a lot. We can do it either way, but I’d like to see few people killed.”

During the remarks, Trump pointed to what he described as growing frustration and instability inside Iran, arguing that worsening living conditions and dissatisfaction with the regime could shape future developments in the country.

The president questioned whether Iran’s leadership was prioritizing the welfare of its citizens, saying that “some of the things they’re doing to me means they don’t have the good of the people [in mind], and they have to have the good of the people.”

Trump further claimed that public anger inside Iran has intensified significantly in recent months.

“There’s a lot of anger now in Iran because people are living so badly. There’s a lot of foment that we haven’t seen before so much, and we’ll see what happens.”

{Matzav.com}

The Yarchei Kallah in Yerushalayim ahead of Chag Matan Torah, initiated by the “Torasi V’Umanusi” foundation headed by the Chevron Rosh Yeshiva HaGaon HaRav Yosef Chevroni shlit”a and under the nesius and hadracha of Maran the Rosh Yeshiva HaGaon Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch shlit”a, concluded with a chashuve massa from Maran HaGaon Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch shlit”a. The event, which brought together hundreds of anshei maaseh, baalebatim, and kovei itim from all over Eretz Yisrael who were invited to the event, were zoche to a day that was Kulo Torah, Amal, and spiritual hachana for zman matan toraseinu.

The event, hosted by the Yirmiyahu 33 hotel in Yerushalayim, started early morning hours, with the hundreds of participants filling the halls with a great atmosphere of shkius in learning, ritcha d’oraysa, and a special hisromemus ahead of Shavuos. Alongside the many participants on-site, hundreds more connected throughout the day to the live stream of the event, which was broadcasted on various platforms in Eretz Yisroel and Chutz La’Aretz.

Throughout the day, Gedolei Yisroel, Roshei Yeshivos, and Marbitzei Torah shlit”a gave shiurim and shmuses around the sugya of Birchos HaTorah b’iyun, halacha l’maaseh, drush, and mussar, with geshmake Q&A’s in divrei Torah and chizuk among the oilam.

Among the participants and speakers at the event: Rabbeinu HaGadol Maran Rosh HaYeshiva HaGaon HaRav Moshe Hillel Hirsch shlit”a, HaGaon HaGadol HaRav Shaul Alter shlit”a, Maran Rosh Yeshivas Chevron HaGaon HaRav Dovid Cohen shlit”a, HaGaon HaGadol HaRav Yehoshua Eichenstein shlit”a, HaGaon HaTzaddik Rav Shimon Galai shlit”a, Chevron Rosh Yeshiva HaGaon HaRav Yosef Chevroni shlit”a, HaGaon HaRav Elimelech Kornfeld and HaGaon HaRav Daniel Rabin from the Rabbonim of ‘Chelki B’Kehilasi’, HaGaon HaRav Yitzchok Mordechai HaCohen Rubin shlit”a, HaGaon HaRav Yehuda Aryeh Dunner shlit”a, HaGaon HaRav Yisrael Landau shlit”a, HaRav Dovid Braverman shlit”a, and other choshuve Rabbonim.

The central speech of the event was delivered by Rabbeinu HaGadol Maran Rosh HaYeshiva HaGaon HaRav Moshe Hillel Hirsch shlit”a, who spoke about the chashivus to give a chizuk to the olam ha’Torah among the working tzibbur, and the tremendous need to strengthen Yiras Shamayim and keep a kavua mussar seder, even just a seder of 5 or 6 minutes: “It’s a muchrach for every Yid to have a mussar seder, and this doesn’t just belong to a yeshiva bochur or a kollel yungerman. It doesn’t make a nafka mina if a person is a balebos or a ben yeshiva; without limud mussar, a person can forget his tachlis in his day-to-day life. A Yid needs to know that to hold onto Yiras Shamayim, he is mechuyav to learn mussar.”

Maran the Rosh Yeshiva added that the koach of a kavua limud mussar is that it changes a person’s whole hashkafa on life: “A person who learns mussar will suddenly see that things he was sure were a muchrach for him, are not a muchrach at all. And like Reb Yisroel Salanter says, if a person learns a quarter-hour of mussar, he will find out he has a whole hour to learn.”

The seder hayom that the askanim put together for the Yarchei Kallah day, as well as the divrei hisorerus of Maran the Rosh Yeshiva, left a powerful influence among the oilam, creating a special hachana with kabalos l’maaseh to strengthen kviyus itim and limud mussar ahead of the chag of Matan Toraseinu.

Alongside the divrei chizuk and hachana for Kabalas HaTorah from HaGaon HaGadol Rav Shaul Alter shlit”a and HaGaon HaTzaddik Rav Shimon Galai shlit”a, the participants were zoche to have a Q&A session with them on inyanim that are nogea to the tzibbur of kovei itim l’Torah in chayei hamaaseh, with specific reference to their nisyonos, setting up sidrei limud, and keeping a ruchniyusdige seder hayom amidst the tirdos of parnassa and everyday life.

The ‘Shivti’ organization Lehagdil Torah u’leha’adira and Keren ‘Torasi V’Umanusi’, pointed out at the end of the event that given the gevaldige hatzlacha, the massive response, and the big demand, there are expected to be more maamadei Torah and events for the tzibbur of bnei Torah kovei itim throughout the entire year.

The evet was dedicated l’ilui nishmas HaRav Uri Lupolianski zt”l, founder of the ‘Yad Sarah’ organization, who was niftar this past year and was poel his whole life to be marbe chesed and zechuyos in Klal Yisroel.

Passengers traveling with doctor-prescribed marijuana are now officially permitted to bring it aboard commercial flights under a revised policy quietly updated by the Transportation Safety Administration last month.

The move marks a major shift in federal air-travel policy, given that while medical cannabis has been legalized in 40 states and Washington, D.C., marijuana has continued to remain illegal under federal law, which governs airports and aviation security nationwide.

The policy update follows an order signed by President Trump reclassifying marijuana as a Schedule III substance, a change that formally recognizes accepted medical uses for cannabis and opens the door for expanded federally approved research.

According to the TSA’s updated guidance, medical marijuana may now be transported in both checked luggage and carry-on bags. The agency emphasized that its primary concern remains aviation security rather than searching for personal drug possession.

“TSA’s screening procedures are focused on security and are designed to detect potential threats to aviation and passengers,” the policy revised April 27 spells out.

“Accordingly, TSA security officers do not search for illegal drugs, but if any illegal substance or evidence of criminal activity is discovered during security screening, TSA will refer the matter to a law enforcement officer.”

The agency also made clear that the TSA officer stationed at the checkpoint retains discretion over whether any particular item is ultimately allowed through security.

Attorneys interviewed by SFGATE said that travelers carrying small amounts of marijuana are seldom targeted for prosecution by airport authorities, though they cautioned that larger quantities could still lead to legal trouble.

In some cases, authorities continue to crack down aggressively on passengers carrying substantial amounts of cannabis. In March, for example, a 23-year-old Texas man was arrested at Miami International Airport after officials allegedly discovered 75 pounds of marijuana packed inside his luggage. He was later charged with drug trafficking.

{Matzav.com}

Barney Frank, the longtime liberal Democratic lawmaker from Massachusetts who helped shape one of the most sweeping financial reform laws in modern American history, died Tuesday night after suffering from congestive heart failure. He was 86.

“He was, above all else, a wonderful brother,” Frank’s sister, Doris Breay, told NBC10 Boston Wednesday morning in confirming her sibling’s passing. “I was lucky to be his sister.”

Frank spent his final months receiving hospice care at his residence in Ogunquit, Maine, where his husband, Jim Ready, grew up.

Born in 1940 in Bayonne, New Jersey, Frank built a political career that spanned more than three decades in Congress, becoming one of the nation’s most recognizable liberal voices on issues ranging from abortion rights and environmental policy to banking oversight and economic regulation.

After the financial collapse of 2007 and 2008, Frank partnered with then-Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut to develop the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the far-reaching legislation designed to curb abuses in the financial sector and strengthen protections for consumers.

The law introduced several major structural changes to the American financial system. It established the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, created the Financial Stability Oversight Council to monitor systemic threats to the economy, and put procedures in place intended to prevent future taxpayer-funded rescues of failing financial giants through the Orderly Liquidation Authority.

Another key provision of the legislation was the Volcker Rule, which barred major banks from using depositor money for speculative trading and imposed stricter Federal Reserve supervision over the nation’s largest financial institutions.

President Barack Obama signed the legislation into law in 2010.

Frank’s years in public office also included personal and political scandals.

President Trump openly criticized Frank over the years and once mocked his appearance in a post on X after Frank delivered remarks on the House floor in 2011 while wearing a blue crew-neck shirt with a jacket draped over his shoulders.

“Barney Frank looked disgusting … in his blue shirt before Congress. Very very disrespectful,” Trump wrote in a post.

Only weeks before his passing, Frank spoke candidly with Politico about his declining health and his acceptance of death.

“At 86, I’ve made it longer than I thought. At some point, my heart’s just going to give out, and it’s reaching that stage. So I’m taking it easy at home and dealing with it by relaxing.”

Frank’s final book, “The Hard Path to Unity: Why We Must Reform the Left to Rescue Democracy,” is scheduled for release on Sept. 15. In it, he sharply criticized elements of the progressive movement, arguing that Democrats damaged themselves politically by shifting attention away from economic inequality toward social and cultural positions that many voters reject.

For many years, the subject of Har Habayis was viewed in much of the yeshivah world as a closed discussion. The prevailing attitude was simple: the area is overwhelmingly forbidden to enter, the dangers of כרת are severe, and the matter was not something the average frum Jew involved himself with.

But quietly, beneath the surface, something appears to be changing.

Over the last few years, increasing numbers of visibly Chareidi Jews have been seen ascending Har Habayis in accordance with carefully mapped halachic guidelines established by rabbanim and researchers who maintain that certain peripheral areas may be entered after proper preparation. Organized groups, shiurim, and halachic discussions surrounding the topic have become far more common than they once were — even within circles where the subject was rarely spoken about at all.

Now, a recently circulated video featuring Rabbi Yitzchak Breitowitz has added another layer to that ongoing conversation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXI9G_m6GDQ 

See around minute 32:00 in the video

In the video, Rabbi Breitowitz discusses the complexity of the sugya and acknowledges that, according to many shitos, there are areas on Har Habayis that are not part of the מקום המקדש itself and may be permissible to enter under specific halachic conditions. While emphasizing the seriousness and sensitivity of the issue, his comments were widely viewed by listeners as reflecting a more nuanced approach than many in the frum world may have previously assumed.

To be clear, many Gedolim and major poskim over the decades strongly opposed ascending Har Habayis, citing both halachic concerns and the fear that public ascent could lead to confusion regarding prohibited areas. Those concerns remain significant and continue to shape the views of large segments of the Torah world.

At the same time, however, there is a growing sense among some Bnei Torah that the topic itself may deserve more serious examination than it has traditionally received. Much of the newer discussion focuses on the distinction between the areas universally understood to be forbidden and other sections which some authorities argue were never included within the boundaries of the Azarah or Makom Hamikdash.

Perhaps most striking is not necessarily the halachic debate itself, but the fact that the discussion is increasingly taking place openly and respectfully within Torah circles.

For decades, many frum Jews associated any discussion of Har Habayis with political activism or ideological agendas far removed from the עולם הישיבות. Today, however, the conversation is increasingly being framed around the halachic sugya itself: the geography of the Har, the locations of the original boundaries, the requirements of taharah, and the broader question of how Jews should relate to the site of the Beis Hamikdash in our generation.

Whether this shift remains limited or eventually grows into something broader remains to be seen. But one thing is becoming harder to ignore:

A discussion once considered entirely outside the mainstream of the frum world is no longer being dismissed quite so automatically.

MIAMI – A federal grand jury in South Florida indicted former Cuban president Raúl Castro, in an attempt to hold him accountable for the 1996 killing of four people, three of them Americans.

Top Justice Department officials were expected to announce the unsealing of the indictment Wednesday in downtown Miami, the heart of the Cuban exile community.

The extraordinary indictment, which was returned by a grand jury in April, comes as the Trump administration has ratcheted up pressure to try to force political turnover in Cuba’s communist regime, and it is the latest example of the Trump administration using its Justice Department to sway foreign policy.

Castro faces charges of murder, conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals and destruction of aircraft, according to the court docket. Others were also charged alongside him, court records show.

The indictment had not been made publicly available as of Wednesday at 1 p.m. Eastern, though the court docket showed the charges against Castro and a request from the Justice Department to unseal it.

Castro, 94, took over the presidency of Cuba when his brother, Fidel Castro, stepped down in 2008. With Fidel’s death in 2016, he became the island’s preeminent revolutionary hero. Although he left the presidency in 2018, Raúl Castro remained first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba until 2021.

It is unlikely that Castro will be extradited to the United States to appear in court and face the charges. Absent Cuba’s cooperation, the indictment is likely to remain symbolic unless the U.S. takes aggressive action to remove Castro from Cuba.

The murder charges in the indictment stem from the 1996 shooting-down of two jets flown by Brothers to the Rescue, a U.S.-based humanitarian group formed in 1991 by Cuban exiles in Miami and headed by Jose Basulto, a veteran of the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion.

The group’s mission became harassing the Cuban government, sometimes flying over Cuban airspace and dropping leaflets urging residents to rise up against the regime. Their campaigns had led to numerous complaints from Havana and assurances from the Clinton administration that it would stop.

On the day the planes were shot down, the group said it was looking for Cuban rafters trying to flee the country in the Florida Straits when the Cuban military downed the planes. Numerous investigations at the time concluded they were over international waters when the planes were downed.

The political fallout was swift, and Cuban Americans had long rallied for Fidel and Raúl Castro – the Cuba’s defense minister – to be charged in the killings.

Federal officials – including acting attorney general Todd Blanche and U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Jason Reding Quiñones – had a news conference set for Wednesday afternoon at Freedom Tower in Miami.

Freedom Tower is a symbolic monument for Cuban-Americans, the place where Cubans who were fleeing the communist revolution in the late 1950s and 1960s were processed and received aid when they arrived in Miami.

President Donald Trump, in an executive order issued the first week of his second term, declared a national emergency regarding Cuba, saying it presents “an unusual and extraordinary threat” because it has aligned itself with countries hostile to the U.S., including Iran, Russia and China.

Amid these tensions, CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Havana last week for meetings with senior Cuban security and intelligence officials, including Raúl Rodriguez Castro, the powerful grandson of Raúl Castro.

The meeting came as extensive blackouts continued on the island, with the government acknowledging it was “without any reserves” to fuel power plants.

The Trump administration has adopted a policy of economic strangulation to try to drive the current leadership from power, actions that have gone above and beyond the U.S. economic embargo imposed more than six decades ago.

The administration’s actions include expanded economic sanctions, a naval blockade preventing ships from carrying oil to the island and the threat of secondary sanctions on any other country or entity that trades with the Cuban government or designated individuals or companies.

Trump has suggested he could utilize a playbook in Cuba similar to the one he used in Venezuela earlier this year.

The Justice Department first indicted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on narco-terrorism charges in 2020, though he was not extradited at the time. In January, the administration launched an attack on Venezuela, capturing Maduro and bringing him to New York to face charges.

The Trump administration, in part, described the capture as a law enforcement effort to ensure that Maduro faced his day in court on narco-terrorism charges. It left the rest of the Venezuelan government intact, saying that its Maduro-era leaders were cooperating with the United States. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has outlined a similar plan for Cuba, while demanding economic and political changes.

Trump has said that Cuba is “next in line” as soon as he finishes his war with Iran, although the administration has not publicly declared that it intends to use military force to achieve its goals in Cuba.

In March, The Washington Post reported that the Justice Department had formed a working group to examine possible federal charges against officials or entities within Cuba’s government.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida – which includes Miami, the center of the Cuban exile community – has been overseeing the prosecution group.

The indictment’s unsealing came on Cuban Independence Day, which marks the anniversary of the establishment of the Republic of Cuba after the end of U.S. occupation in 1902.

In a “Message to the Cuban People” on Wednesday, Rubio said he was aware of their “unimaginable hardships,” which he said were “not due to an oil ‘blockade’ by the U.S., but from the corruption of their leaders.

“In the U.S.,” Rubio said, “we are ready to open a new chapter in the relationship between our people and our countries. And, currently, the only thing standing in the way of a better future are those who control your country.”

(c) 2026, The Washington Post · Perry Stein, Karen DeYoung 

An unique spiritual undertaking is unfolding this week at Yeshivas Ateres Yisroel in Modi’in Illit, where hundreds of bochurim have accepted upon themselves an extraordinary commitment in preparation for Zman Matan Toraseinu.

The initiative, launched under the leadership of Rav Yoel Shapira, began with the Shloshes Yemei Hagbollah leading into Shavuos.

As part of the program, large numbers of bochurim formally committed themselves to a  taanis dibbur, refraining from mundane speech every day from 10:00 a.m. until 11:00 p.m. — thirteen consecutive hours of absolute silence combined with uninterrupted Torah learning.

The bochurim undertook not to utter a single word unrelated to Torah learning during the entire period.

According to the new yeshiva schedule established by Rav Shapira and the hanhalah, the regular afternoon rest period has been completely eliminated during these days. Bochurim leave the bais medrash only for tefillah and quick meals before immediately returning to their Gemoros.

Yeshiva officials described the initiative as an enormous physical and mental undertaking designed to elevate speech and thought in preparation for Kabolas HaTorah on Shavuos.

The hanhalah noted with satisfaction that more than 60 percent of the yeshiva’s bochurim have already officially joined the historic commitment.

Particularly striking is the fact that the initiative is also being promoted within the yeshiva as a powerful and time-tested segulah for older bochurim seeking their shidduchim.

According to the belief expressed by the roshei yeshiva, the intense continuity in learning together with the prolonged silence inside the yeshiva’s bais medrash has the power to “open the gates of Heaven” and bring long-awaited yeshuos in shidduchim even before Yom Tov.

{Matzav.com}

A growing storm is brewing within the chareidi community over Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi’s proposed media reform, with educators and public figures warning that the initiative could expose thousands of yeshiva bochurim to unrestricted television and secular media content.

While much of the criticism surrounding Karhi’s reform has centered on political and regulatory concerns, many in the chareidi world say the far greater issue is the potential spiritual danger posed by dramatically expanded access to television programming.

According to details revealed Tuesday, part of the reform would make Israeli television channels and news broadcasts available through a single free state-sponsored application accessible to every citizen.

Under the proposal, viewers would no longer need subscriptions to television providers, special streaming services, or complicated browser access. Instead, anyone could simply open the app and immediately watch television content.

Critics say the result could be unprecedented exposure to secular media among young chareidim.

A source involved in discussions surrounding the reform warned that the proposal could cause serious spiritual damage to the chareidi public.

“If this reform passes, it is going to be a disaster for the chareidi public and particularly for yeshiva bochurim,” the source said. “I heard a senior official in the Communications Ministry say: ‘Our interest is to make television accessible in Israel to populations that are not exposed today’ — meaning the chareidi and Arab public. Now you understand how dangerous this reform is?!”

Chinuch leaders also voiced strong opposition to the plan, arguing that it would place unrestricted television access just one click away from yeshiva students.

“This is a dangerous move that the representatives in the Knesset must fight against,” education officials warned. “It will be a disaster if every bochur has all television networks available at the push of a button, without protection or filtering on the content, leaving them directly connected to secular media culture.”

Political sources within the chareidi parties are likewise expressing concern that some lawmakers may not fully appreciate the broader consequences of the legislation.

“I very much hope that Shas will not make deals with Karhi in order to pass the law,” one chareidi political source said. “Perhaps they do not fully understand the implications of the reform and the amount of damage it could cause to young bochurim.”

The source stressed that the legislation likely cannot pass without support from the chareidi parties.

“It must be understood that without the chareidim, this law has no chance of passing,” the source said. “That is why pressure and public outcry are necessary to ensure they do not mistakenly support it.”

{Matzav.com}

Housing Minister and ShlomEi Emunim chairman Meir Porush delivered a fiery speech Tuesday night at a gathering of hundreds of chassidishe gabbaim in Beit Shemesh, sharply criticizing the government’s handling of the draft law and accusing elements within Israel’s judicial establishment of seeking to “dismantle the Torah world.”

During the address, Porush revealed details of behind-the-scenes discussions surrounding efforts to regulate the legal status of bnei yeshiva and pass a draft law acceptable to the chareidi parties.

Porush, who has been one of the leading figures pushing for legislation protecting yeshiva students, claimed Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu repeatedly delayed advancing the law while offering various explanations for the hold-up.

“After the outbreak of the war, even those who until then agreed to an arrangement no longer really agreed,” Porush told the audience. “Maybe they agreed to promise, but not to actually regulate it. Although the truth is that we already had a problem even before that.”

Porush then disclosed details of a conversation he said took place with Netanyahu before the current government was formed.

“When I demanded that the law be passed before the government was established, Netanyahu told me he had four problematic MKs in Likud whom he needed to straighten out, and according to him, closer to the budget it would be easier for him to do so,” Porush recounted.

“Of course I did not accept that delay, but that is what he told me,” he added.

Porush referred to the ongoing tensions within the coalition over military draft legislation, as several lawmakers from Likud and the Religious Zionist Party have voiced opposition to various compromise proposals involving yeshiva students.

The ShlomEi Emunim leader also revisited controversial comments he made roughly a year after the government was formed, when progress on the legislation remained stalled.

“After about a year of his government and nothing moved with Netanyahu, I said in an interview: ‘If Netanyahu can’t do it? Then he should go home!’” Porush recalled.

The statement sparked backlash at the time, but Porush said subsequent events proved his concerns correct.

“They were angry at me, they said it was an attack on the prime minister — true,” Porush acknowledged. “But it turned out that the excuse remained the same excuse, and he still had no ability to pass the law regulating the status of bnei yeshiva.”

Porush also argued that the war had emboldened Israel’s legal system to intensify pressure on the chareidi tzibbur rather than ease tensions.

“The war changed nothing within the judicial system, which only exploited the situation to make things worse,” he declared. “If before that we were on a low flame, later on all the forces of evil from the ruling judicial elite arose and decided, in their own words, ‘to dismantle the Torah world.’”

He concluded with a broader accusation against the establishment, claiming it seeks to marginalize Jews connected to Torah and Yiddishkeit.

“They want to distance anyone who has even a Jewish spark from any connection to power,” Porush charged. “And their main way of doing that is through persecution against us.”

{Matzav.com}

[COMMUNICATED]

by Rabbi Eliezer Sandler

The concept of the Yissachar-Zevulun Torah Learning Pact goes back well over 3,500 years, to the time of Yaakov Avinu and his sons. It is named for the Torah pact between two of his sons – Yissachar the scholar and Zevulun the merchant. Not only was it an equal pact but, Chazal explained, the deed of Zevulun/the Sponsor is considered even greater than that of Yissachar, because without the support of Zevulun, Yissachar would not have had the wherewithal to study Torah undisturbed.”

It is well-known that when it comes to learning Torah, people who sponsor the learning, often do so, not just as a donation. By financially supporting specific Torah scholars, they enter into a binding, written, signed and sealed learning partnership pact whereby the Sponsor (the Zevulun) is deemed by Halacha as if he personally studied the Torah completed by the Scholar (the Yissachar). (See below.) 

Thus, those who support the Talmidei Chachomim at Shas Yiden via a Yissachar-Zevulun Pact merit a portion in every daf of the entire Talmud Bavli and associated texts that they study, and complete the entire cycle in the space of ONE year. Some of the Sponsors opt to continue sponsoring repeat cycles of Shas which accrue to them.

Sar Hatorah, Maran Hagaon Harav Chaim Kanievsky, zt”l, Nasi Shas Yiden, emphasized: The most mehudar Yissachar-Zevulun pact to support in our times is that offered by Shas Yiden – it comprises the entire Shas, Rashi and Tosfos – all in just one year!

Rav Chaim explained why this pact with Shas Yiden is the most mehudar. Chazal say that the highest level of learning is when one understands what he is learning b’iyun u’ve’amkus. However, even higher than that is when one remembers b’al peh all what he has learned. I have farhered the Shas Yiden avreichim geonim many times and can attest ZEI KENNEN SHAS (they know Shas)!

YES! YOU CAN MAKE

The Yissachar-Zevulun Pact in Halacha

The Shulchan Aruch in Yoreh De’ah Chapter 246 regarding the efficacy of the Yissachar-Zevulun Sponsorship Pact for the Zevulun (the Sponsor) states clearly:  It is deemed as if he (the one sponsoring the learning) himself learned all the Torah studied under the pact. 

All the learning under the Shas Yiden Yissachar-Zevulun Pact is yours בעוה”ז ובעוה”ב (in both This World and the World to Come)! Concerning this, the Netziv of Volozhin comments that in Olam Habah, the Zevulun sponsor will sit together with the Gedolei Torah of the past and merit to participate in their discussions and pilpulim on all the Torah learned.

Achieve Almost 7 million Mitzvos in One Year

The Vilna Gaon in Shnos Eliyahu Pe’ah 41 states that one should hold precious every word of Torah that he learns because each word is considered a mitzvah of its own. 

Thus, since in Talmud Bavli, Rashi and Tosfos there are 6,608,891 words, that translates into almost 7 million mitzvos accruing through Yissachar-Zevulun at Shas Yiden. 

Official Shtar from Shas Yiden

Each Yissachar-Zevulun pact is confirmed by an official contract (shtar) from Shas Yiden specifying the learning of the entire Shas, and is witnessed by talmidei chachomim.

All who wish to enter into a Yissachar-Zevulun Pact for the entire Shas during ONE year should contact Shas Yiden to make arrangements: 718-702-1528.

The opportunity to complete the entire Shas has been a cherished way to honor family members and others as a prized achievement. It has also proven to be a source of comfort for mourners to obtain such a zechus for their dear ones during the year of mourning – a siyum of the entire Shas can be completed on the yahrzeit!

Yissachar-Zevulun Pact –

The legendary visionary and “Father of Yeshivos”, Reb Chaim of Volozhin, was the founder of the famous yeshiva in the town of Volozhin and the beloved talmid of the Vilna Gaon. 

Reb Chaim had an ongoing Yissachar-Zevulun pact with a local shoemaker – a man who was not learned but who dearly valued Torah learning. They had a ‘deal’ whereby the shoemaker would pay the monthly financial support needed for Reb Chaim and his family. For this financial support, the shoemaker would have an equal share in all Reb Chaim’s daily Torah study – both in the mitzvah of Torah study בעוה”ז and that the knowledge of the Torah learned would continue to be his בעוה”ב (in the World to Come).

One day the shoemaker passed away suddenly. During the shiva period, Reb Chaim was facing a perplexing halachic question and researched high and low for a solution. That night the shoemaker appeared to him in a dream and gave him the full solution that he sought. Reb Chaim was amazed and commented, “Azoi gich, Azoi Gich – So quickly, so quickly has he acquired the zchus and knowledge of the Torah that I have studied!”

In the words of Gedolei Torah:

Maran Hagaon Harav Chaim Kanievsky, zt”l, Nasi Shas Yiden:

“In just ONE year, through Yissachar-Zevulun at Shas Yiden, you can be zoche to the entire Shas forever – בעוה”ז ובעוה”ב (in olam hazeh and olam habah).

“Moreover, whoever supports Shas Yiden is zocheh to fulfill both Yissachar-Zevulun and support of aniyei (the poor of) Eretz Yisroel in the fullest sense of the word.

“Those who support Shas Yiden will be saved from chevlei (the travails of) Moshiach – spiritually and materially, and will be zoche to have ehrlicher bonim u’vanos yir’eishomayim ”

Maran Hagaon Harav Dov Lando, shlit”a, Rosh Yeshiva, Slabodka:

“Who compares to the Shas Yiden? Incredible talmidei chachomim geonim who raised the bar in limud Hashas b’iyun u’v’amkus. Blessed are those who enter a Yissachar-Zevulun pact with them.”

Hamashpia Hagadol Reb Meilech Biederman, shlit”a:

 “Yissachar-Zevulun at Shas Yiden – best possible deal, and in just 1 year! 100% partnership! 100% Shas x 5 times! 100% Shisha Sidrei Mishna – בעוה”ז ובעוה”ב”

Sanzer Rebbe, shlit”a:

“A first in 2000 years of Jewish history! Until Shas Yiden, never a Torah institution where ALL the avreichim metzuyonim v’geonim know the entire Shas by heart”

Harav Yaakov Hillel, shlit”a:

“Therefore, the great mitzvah to support the efforts [of the Talmidei Chachomim] with generous donations in order that they should continue diligently with their studies to enhance the greatness of the Torah and its glory. 

ShasYiden.com

An American has tested positive for Ebola while working in Congo and is being transported to Germany for treatment along with six other Americans who are high-risk contacts, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

The CDC also is enhancing public health screening and traveler monitoring amid a growing Ebola outbreak, and non-U.S. passport holders face entry restrictions if they have been to Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo or South Sudan in the previous 21 days.

“To the American public, the risk to the United States remains low,” said Satish Pillai, CDC Ebola response incident manager. “Travelers to the region should avoid contact with sick people, report symptoms immediately, and follow our travel guidance.”

Health experts are growing increasingly alarmed about this outbreak, arguing that cases have been spreading undetected in a volatile region as public health authorities are stretched thin amid funding cuts and the ongoing hantavirus outbreak.

World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, speaking before the World Health Assembly on Tuesday in Geneva, said he was “deeply concerned about the scale and speed of the epidemic,” adding that WHO would convene its emergency committee that day to seek temporary recommendations.

CDC officials noted the Americans impacted are being transported to Germany, a country that has experience caring for Ebola patients and is a shorter flight from Congo. Their travel itinerary is evolving, and the CDC is looking into lab-made antibody treatments.

“We are doing this to ensure that they are at the level of care that they can receive the either treatment or observation that’s required,” Pillai said.

The American who tested positive is Peter Stafford, a doctor working for the missionary organization Serge in Congo since 2023, according to a statement put out by the group. He tested positive for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola after treating patients at Nyankunde Hospital. The group has two other physicians being monitored, including Rebekah Stafford, his wife, and Patrick LaRochelle, as well as the Staffords’ four children.

“All three medical professionals have strictly adhered to established quarantine protocols since the potential exposure,” the statement said.

On Tuesday, the group said he had been “safely evacuated” and is “receiving specialized medical treatment.” Rebekah Stafford and LaRochelle “remain asymptomatic and continue to follow established quarantine and monitoring protocols.”

The missionary organization has not returned requests for comment.

Stafford met his wife, also a physician, at medical school at Ohio State University before the family went to work in Congo, according to a fundraising page on the nonprofit’s website.

“They are excited … to participate in the work being done to share God’s love and grace for a place that has suffered so much and experienced incredible loss,” the page says.

The National Quarantine Unit in Nebraska has not received a request for Ebola patients, said spokesperson Taylor Wilson, noting it has 20 beds and 18 are occupied by people linked to the outbreak of hantavirus on a cruise ship.

Although there isn’t another federally funded quarantine unit in the U.S., there are 13 “regional emerging special pathogen treatment center” locations nationwide.

The travel screenings come under a Title 42 order that allows banning non-U.S. passport holders who have traveled from those countries for up to 30 days.

The announcement comes as the WHO has declared the outbreak to be a public health emergency with more than 500 suspected cases and 130 suspected deaths. Although the United States withdrew from the WHO officially this year, CDC officials have said they have been working with international partners and the health ministries in the affected countries. The agency also said it has been supporting response efforts through CDC country offices in Congo and Uganda to help with contact tracing, border screening, personal protective equipment and disease monitoring.

The U.S. is also coordinating with airlines, international partners and port-of-entry officials to identify and manage travelers who may have been exposed to Ebola virus.

Signed by Jay Bhattacharya, who is temporarily running the CDC, the Title 42 order says its purpose is to “reduce the risk of introduction of Ebola disease into the United States” and help establish a full public health risk profile for this outbreak.

The order notes that while South Sudan has not reported confirmed cases, “it is considered at high risk because of its close border with affected areas in eastern DRC and Uganda.”

The order highlights that travelers departing from outbreak-affected regions frequently fly through airports in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Nairobi; Doha, Qatar; and Istanbul that are connected to major U.S. gateway airports including John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, Washington Dulles International Airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Chicago O’Hare International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport.

The order said the amount of international travel increases “the likelihood that individuals exposed to Ebola virus disease could enter the United States before symptoms become apparent.”

In the largest Ebola outbreak – which killed more than 11,300 people and infected 28,600 people and was centered in West Africa from 2014 to 2016 – passengers from affected countries underwent temperature checks, answered a health questionnaire and were visually assessed for markers of disease.

The Trump administration first implemented Title 42 during the coronavirus pandemic, in March 2020. Its use triggered skepticism from public health officials at the time because the virus was already spreading widely in the U.S.

Last year, Trump administration officials also weighed issuing a public health order to close the southern border to migrants from a dozen countries, administration officials have said, but that order was ultimately not issued.

Health authorities have said they are particularly concerned about this Ebola outbreak because it was discovered after scores of people became ill. This strain of Ebola, the Bundibugyo virus, does not have a vaccine and treatment consists of supportive care, according to the CDC. This strain has death rates of 25 to 50 percent.

The CDC said patients in this recent outbreak have experienced typical Ebola symptoms: fever, headache, vomiting, severe weakness, abdominal pain, nosebleeds and vomiting blood.

Symptoms may begin within two to 21 days after contact; the average is eight to 10 days.

In Congo, the majority of cases so far have been in patients ages 20 to 39, with two-thirds of them among female patients, according to the WHO. WHO officials have said they are concerned about spread among household contacts and caregivers.

Tedros on Tuesday said that 30 cases have been confirmed in Congo, in the northeastern province of Ituri. He said two cases had been confirmed in Kampala, Uganda, as well, among two people who had traveled from Congo.

The CDC also said it is working on interagency efforts to extract Americans in the affected areas and is sending a technical expert from Atlanta to Congo at the country’s request.

The CDC announced Monday that in early May, a hospital in northeastern Congo “identified a cluster of severe illnesses affecting healthcare workers.” That has grown into the 17th Ebola outbreak in Congo’s history, one that is expected to exponentially expand in the coming weeks.

The risk of the spread was compounded, the WHO said Sunday, by “the ongoing insecurity, humanitarian crisis, high population mobility, the urban or semi-urban nature of the current hotspot and the large network of informal healthcare facilities.”

(c) 2026, The Washington Post · Lauren Weber, Lena H. Sun 

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. – The Massachusetts Port Authority, which owns and operates Boston Logan International Airport, unveiled the country’s first remote TSA checkpoint site, with ticket reservations opening yesterday and service starting on June 1.

During the three-month trial, passengers screened at the Framingham facility can ride a secure bus from the Boston suburb straight to their gate, bypassing the airport’s busy departures terminals and security lanes. If all goes well, airport and ground transportation authorities say the new Logan Airport Remote Terminal could become a permanent fixture and a model for other airports.

“This is all about making the travel experience more seamless and convenient by bringing air and ground transportation together and expanding the footprints of the biggest airports in the U.S.,” said David Sunde, co-founder and CEO of the Landline Company, which will oversee the buses. “It’s about reducing the stress and anxiety of going to the airport.”

Who can use the remote terminal and when
For now, the program is eligible only for passengers flying Delta or JetBlue between 5:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. The 55-passenger buses will run hourly from 4 a.m. to 11 a.m.

To use the remote terminal, you must buy a $9 adult ticket (free for ages 17 and younger) on MassPort’s website. At the Framingham facility, ticketed passengers can now check their luggage at the airline counter (one for each carrier) and undergo screening at the TSA security checkpoint. They will then board a secure bus to the airport, which is 22 miles away or about 50 minutes without traffic. The bus will drive onto the airfield and drop off passengers on the air side of Terminal A (Delta) and C (JetBlue).

“All the functions you do at the airport, you’re just shifting that time to here,” said Peter Howe, MassPort’s deputy director of roadway management. “So when you get to Boston Logan, you’re going to be inside the terminal, within the gates, so you can go to the bathroom, get a drink and sit right down at your gate.”

Howe said the remote terminal is an especially good option for families who would otherwise have to navigate a much larger, possibly busier departures hall and screening area with a gaggle of children and bags in tow. It may also appeal to budget travelers who balk at paying $37 a day to park in Logan’s economy lot. The new terminal charges $7 a day for its 400 spots.

The micro-terminal, a new construction a half-mile from the Logan Express station, feels like the private wing of an airport with a small, bright waiting room on each side of the checkpoint, plus bathrooms and vending machines. The screening area has one lane that accepts standard and TSA PreCheck passengers, one CT-scanning machine and one metal detector. No liquids are permitted on the bus, so you will have to live without your morning Dunkin’.

“Even though you’re still in Framingham, the bus becomes part of the sterile side of the airport in Boston,” said Sheldon Jacobson, a professor of computer science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. “You’ll be locked in a cocoon, but if anything compromises that cocoon, then the screening goes away.”

Timing your remote terminal experience
MassPort recommends passengers arrive at least 45 minutes before the bus departs, so they don’t miss the checked baggage or screening window (45 and 35 minutes, respectively). Reservations are available 90 days to 90 minutes in advance.

People who do not enjoy counting backward or lingering too long at the gate will appreciate a booking feature that suggests the best bus departure time for your flight. For a Delta flight leaving for Detroit at 9:05 a.m., the site recommends a 7 a.m. bus for a gate wait time of roughly 50 minutes.

Jacobson questions whether the terminal is more efficient.

“My initial reaction to this is why? I don’t see any gain in terms of efficiency,” he said. “If you make TSA PreCheck free for everybody, you will have a very efficient, effective and secure air system.”

Of course, it depends on your starting point. The remote terminal makes more sense if you live or are staying near the Framingham terminal. (According to MassPort, the Logan Express in Framingham is the busiest station in the airport shuttle network, which transported 2.7 million passengers last year.) Conversely, if the drive adds another stressful step to your travel day, it might be best to go directly to the airport.

The buses will travel the same route as other airport-bound vehicles, contending with morning rush hour traffic. Sunde said only about 1 percent of buses break down. In the event of an emergency, Landline, which built its business on transporting connecting passengers between regional and international airports in Philadelphia and Chicago, will transfer passengers to a replacement vehicle. They will not have to recheck their bags, but they will have to go through the screening process again.

But not everyone is convinced this off-site option is an upgrade for consumers.

“I don’t know why they’re doing this, except they think there’s too much congestion at Logan,” Jacobson said. “But there are other ways this could be done, so I remain cautiously skeptical.”

Several major airports offer an alternative to the standard TSA security experience. However, these options often reside on the airport’s premises and cater to higher-end travelers.

At JFK International in New York and Los Angeles International airports, Delta One business-class fliers file through a private screening area connected to the Delta One lounge. PS operates “private” security at LAX and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, charging from $1,295 per person for the exclusive experience.

“In general, programs like [TSA’s Reimbursable Screening Services Program] support innovative passenger processing outside traditional screening checkpoints while maintaining TSA oversight and security standards,” said Katie Chaumont, a spokesperson for Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. She added that PS, which will open a facility next month at the airport’s Corporate Aviation center, can provide “the company’s clients with streamlined security screening as part of their paid experience.”

If Boston Logan’s trial proves successful, Howe said MassPort and its partners could expand the hours, numbers of participating airlines and locations in the Boston region.

Sunde is casting his eye beyond the Bay State to other sites popular with the flying public, such as Disney World.

(c) 2026, The Washington Post · Andrea Sachs 

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said Tuesday that the Trump administration is launching a major initiative to combat PFAS contamination in drinking water, including a $1 billion effort aimed at helping communities remove the chemicals from public water systems.

Speaking on Newsmax’s “Carl Higbie FRONTLINE,” Zeldin said addressing PFAS contamination remains a top priority for President Donald Trump and senior administration officials.

“This is something that is an important priority for President Trump, the Trump administration, for the MAHA commission, including [HHS] Secretary [Robert F.] Kennedy [Jr.], our chairman,” Zeldin said on “Carl Higbie FRONTLINE.”

Zeldin noted that the administration’s focus on PFAS began during Trump’s first term and is now continuing under the current administration.

“This started in a big way during the first Trump administration and is now continuing here through this latest Trump administration.”

He said the administration wants to avoid placing the financial burden for PFAS cleanup directly onto ordinary consumers through higher water bills.

“What we don’t want to have happen is a water system responsible for picking up the cost to remove PFAS from the water system, and they pass it off to the ratepayers so that people then are on the hook for cleaning up contamination of their own water supply,” Zeldin added.

“That is not the right approach to this.”

Zeldin also emphasized that the EPA is working to maintain legally sustainable standards governing PFAS contamination while complying with federal law.

“We are making sure that we have standards that are on the books with regard to PFOA and PFOS and also making decisions that are legally durable following the law, specifically the Safe Drinking Water Act,” Zeldin continued.

“All of these and more add up to a very robust, comprehensive PFAS-fighting strategy,” he said.

Under one proposed EPA rule, public water systems would still be required to comply with federal limits on PFOA and PFOS contamination, though qualifying systems could seek an extension giving them until 2031 to meet the standards.

Water systems that do not apply for extensions would still be required to comply by the previously established 2029 deadline.

According to the EPA, the proposed extension period would provide utilities additional time to complete water testing, engineering analysis, financing arrangements, and construction projects needed to implement PFAS treatment technology. Officials also said the additional time may allow treatment methods to improve and become less expensive.

The agency further announced plans to reevaluate drinking water regulations involving additional PFAS-related substances, including PFHxS, PFNA, GenX chemicals, and broader hazard index standards tied to PFAS contamination.

{Matzav.com}

[COMMUNICATED]

HealthSharing began gaining popularity as a way to alleviate the strain of these exorbitant costs. Since the late 1900s, other religious factions have used HealthShares to combat healthcare expenses and to create a medical system in-line with their beliefs. 

The results were enticing:

      – significantly lower healthcare expenses        
      – choice of providers without “out-of-network” limitations
      – no fighting with insurance companies and their bureaucracy 

Slowly, members of our community started joining other religious HealthShares, reaping the benefits they had to offer. 

But there was one catch. 

By definition, HealthShare means a group of people coming together under shared religious beliefs to share in each other’s medical expenses. Shared beliefs are a necessary government regulation for legally recognized HealthShares – and something all members must sign in agreement on. 

The questions emerged. 

Are there halachic ramifications for frum individuals and families joining a Christian-based HealthShare? 

What if there are no alternatives for the frum community? 

United Refuah HealthShare, the first and only Jewish HealthShare, was founded in 2017 by Rabbi Boruch Chaim Manies and other prominent members of the Cleveland community.

There was one goal: to bring affordable healthcare to the frum community – without the questionable halachic and hashkafic participation in non-Jewish HealthShares. 

It has since exploded, saving members an estimated $180 million to date. 

Find out if United Refuah is the right fit for you and your family. 

Limited time offer! Switch from another HealthShare and get your 3rd month of membership free*! Promo Code: Shavuos-Matzav

*applied as a refund. Expires June 1st. New applications only.

[Video below.] Vice President JD Vance sharply rebuked a reporter during Tuesday’s White House press briefing after accusing him of delivering a politically charged monologue instead of asking a straightforward question.

The tense exchange began when Andrew Feinberg of The Independent spent roughly 90 seconds posing a lengthy question alleging that President Donald Trump “seems to be talking up stocks that he owns, selling them, and enriching himself.”

As Feinberg continued his extended setup, Vance interrupted at one point and remarked that it was a “hell of a question.”

When Feinberg finally concluded, Vance immediately criticized the framing of the question.

“Let me answer your question here. That was a doozy,” Vance said. “Before I answer your question, I want to just observe there are different ways to ask a question, okay.”

Vance then accused the reporter of embedding accusations and political commentary into the question itself.

“You can just ask a question, try to get your answer, or you could do like a speech where you say, ‘You know Mr. Vice President… you know you’re a terrible human being and so is the president and so is the entire cabinet,’ and then I’m like ‘What’s your question,’ and then your question is ‘How dare you.’ Come on, man, have a little bit of objectivity in the way that you ask these questions because there were a lot of things in that speech masquerading as a question that didn’t actually get asked,” Vance added.

After criticizing the question, Vance proceeded to respond directly to the substance of Feinberg’s claims.

“Number one, the president doesn’t sit at the Oval Office on his computer on his, like, Robin Hood account, buying and selling stocks, that’s absurd. He has independent wealth advisers who manage his money. He is a wealthy person. He has had success in business,” he said. “He’s not making these stock trades himself, and your question imputes that… It doesn’t say it exactly, but a reasonable person listening to that question would assume the president is sitting around and doing that; he’s not.”

Vance also addressed congressional stock trading and said both he and Trump support banning lawmakers from trading individual stocks while in office.

“Second of all, you’re right, I’m a big fan of banning members of Congress from trading stocks, so is the president of the United States,” he added. “All of us believe that nobody should be taking proprietary information gained from public service and buying and selling stocks… We want to ban that process. And I think the way to lead by example is banning that process, banning that approach, and making it illegal, which is exactly what the president has proposed doing.”

WATCH:

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said at a Jewish American Heritage Month reception at Gracie Mansion, which leading Jewish leaders boycotted, that he planned to add $26 million in funding to prevent hate crimes to his proposed budget for the 2027 fiscal year.
Few Jewish government officials or nonprofit leaders attended the reception, which came on the heels of a video that the mayor posted shortly before Shabbos began marking “Nakba” day, which Palestinians say marks the “catastrophe” of the founding of the modern Israeli state.

The mayor’s annual event is usually full of crowds of elected and organizational representatives shmoozing and networking. This year, every major Jewish organization in the city, from the Anti-Defamation League to the Jewish Community Relations Council-N.Y. to the UJA-Federation of New York, declined to attend the reception, which doubled as a dairy-filled gathering ahead of Shavuos.

The mayor, who has said that he would have the Israeli prime minister arrested in New York City and whose spokeswoman said that shuls violate international law if they host pro-Israel events, said at the reception that Jews, who comprise about 12% of city residents, are victims of more than 50% of the hate crimes in the Big Apple.

Hate crimes targeting Jews were up 182% in the city in Mamdani’s first month in office. Since then, the New York City Police Department has twice changed the way that it reports hate crimes and has said that such crimes are dropping. The NYPD and the mayor’s office have denied that Mamdani directed the police to change the way it reports such statistics.

Prior to the event, the UJA-Federation of New York said its leaders would not “be attending the Jewish Heritage Month celebration at Gracie Mansion being hosted by a mayor who denies a core pillar of our heritage—the State of Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people.”

Among those noshing on blintzes and mini-cheesecakes with the mayor this year were representatives of the anti-Zionist groups Jewish Voice for Peace and Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, as well as the liberal group New York New Jewish Agenda, which says that it supports “a democratic vision of Israel.”

Satmar’s Rabbi Moshe Dovid Niederman and Rabbi Moishe Indig, also of Satmar in Williamsburg, were both among the 150 attendees.

The few Jewish elected officials in attendance were former city comptroller Brad Lander, who is now running for Congress and who features Mamdani in his campaign, and two New York City Council members: Lincoln Restler, who represents downtown Brooklyn and Brooklyn Heights, and Harvey Epstein, who represents Greenwich Village and the Lower East Side.

Irwin Kula, president emeritus of CLAL: The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, gave the evening’s invocation.

“When the Torah was given at Sinai, the rabbis insist not just the generation of the desert, but every generation across all of time stood at that mountain,” Kula said. “Every age. Every class. Every persuasion. In other words, the tradition insists—even those who would one day deeply disagree with one another, who would one day be almost impossible to reach across the divide to, who would wound each other—all stood together at Sinai.”

“So we are all, even now, standing at Sinai. Together. Receiving the same revelation,” he said at the invocation. “Hearing it differently.”

Mark Treyger, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council-N.Y., which hosts the Israel parade in Manhattan, in which Mamdani, breaking with decades of mayoral tradition, has said he will not march, did not attend the Gracie Mansion reception. He told the New York Post prior to the event that “it’s a really telling and concerning sign of where things stand in New York City right now.”

Kula told JNS after the reception that he found it to be “filled with hope.”

“One of the striking things was the very different cross-section of Jews who were in the room—liberal-progressive folks rather than mainstream, legacy institutional leadership,” he said.

Kula also told JNS that he found it “ironic, sad and illuminating” that most of New York City’s Jewish leaders boycotted the event. That, he said, “highlights the ongoing collapse of the mainstream, liberal Zionist consensus around which legacy leadership and institutions organized for the past 50 years.”

He closed his invocation with a blessing for the mayor.

“May you be given the continued strength, the emotional depth and the wisdom to hold the complexity of this city, to parse and nuance, with care and precision, the meanings of Zionism, of antisemitism and the inextricable connection of Jewish identity and Palestinian dignity, in ways that open new possibilities of solidarity among all New Yorkers who believe in the infinite value of every human being,” he said. JNS

{Matzav.com}