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At a gathering held Thursday evening in honor of United Hatzalah volunteers in Bnei Brak, MK Moshe Gafni, chairman of Degel HaTorah, delivered a fiery speech targeting Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara following her announcement of new enforcement measures aimed at yeshiva students who do not enlist in the army.

Addressing the volunteers, Gafni praised them as the true servants of Israeli society. “You are living proof that the chareidim serve, assist, and help all the citizens of Israel,” he said, lauding their selfless dedication to saving lives.

Turning to the Attorney General, Gafni’s tone turned scathing. “She’s putting up roadblocks — well, she can forget about that,” he declared. “She wants us to speak out against her so that if they try to fire her, she’ll be able to claim she’s the one standing up to the chareidim. That’s what she’s really interested in. It’s a disgrace to the State that this woman is the Attorney General.”

Then, with biting sarcasm, Gafni added, “But one thing’s for certain — if, Heaven forbid, she’s ever in an accident, it’ll be the chareidim from United Hatzalah who save her. We don’t keep score.”

His remarks came in the wake of Baharav-Miara’s endorsement of a new IDF draft enforcement plan targeting yeshiva bochurim. In a statement issued by her office, the Attorney General welcomed the military’s enforcement efforts, saying, “The Attorney General commends the progress made in formulating this year’s draft enforcement plan and the IDF’s policy to increase enforcement in the immediate term.”

She stated that “the number of recruits in the past year does not meet the security needs, the commitments of the State, or the value of equality.” The statement added that enforcement would be carried out “equitably across all sectors, with particular attention to shortening the time until draft orders are issued and until draft dodgers are formally declared — to enable quicker use of enforcement tools.”

The plan also includes a one-time opportunity for draft dodgers from all sectors to enlist without being arrested. Those who report for duty will begin regular service immediately and, if they complete one full year of proper service and meet additional conditions, their charges will be commuted and replaced with a suspended sentence.

Further steps outlined include a follow-up meeting to assess implementation, including updates on IDF activity at border crossings, proactive enforcement actions, and details regarding the expansion of detention facilities.

Due to gaps in coordination between the Education Ministry and the IDF regarding transfer of information on draft-eligible students, another meeting — headed by the Deputy Attorney General — will be held to address and resolve the issue.

The meeting summary will be forwarded to the Defense Minister’s office, emphasizing the importance of expanding the tools available to enforce the draft on those evading service.

To finalize the government’s legal response to court challenges, officials were instructed to expedite efforts to complete a comprehensive draft affidavit, including specific details about the enforcement plan, criteria for identifying draft dodgers, and IDF enforcement activities — their scope and frequency — particularly at Israel’s borders.

{Matzav.com Israel}

Articles written by Zohran Mamdani during his college years have resurfaced as his profile rises in New York City’s political landscape. A review by Fox News Digital reveals that Mamdani, a self-described socialist and Democratic mayoral nominee, used his time at Bowdoin College to promote radical views on race and Israel, including a call for an academic boycott of the Jewish state.

During his time at Bowdoin from 2010 to 2014, Mamdani authored 32 opinion pieces for the college newspaper, the Bowdoin Orient. In one of his final columns as a senior, Mamdani backed a push for academia to cut ties with Israel. “This academic and cultural boycott aims to bring under scrutiny the actions of the Israeli government and to put pressure on Israeli institutions to end the oppressive occupation and racist policies within both Israel and occupied Palestine,” he wrote. Mamdani also co-founded the college chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, a group now known for organizing some of the loudest anti-Israel demonstrations on campuses, especially in the wake of the October 7 Hamas massacre, with some chapters going as far as glorifying the attack.

One of Mamdani’s targets in his article was Bowdoin’s president at the time, Barry Mills, who rejected the idea of an academic boycott. “Lastly, Mills regrettably makes no mention of Palestinians or Palestine,” Mamdani wrote. “The call for the boycott comes in response to more than 60 years of Israeli colonial occupation of Palestine. When Mills speaks of the ‘free exchange of knowledge, ideas, and research, and open discourse’ in academia, he does so while privileging partnerships with Israeli institutions over basic freedoms for Palestinians, including the rights to food, water, shelter and education, which many Palestinians are denied under Israeli rule.”

In another opinion piece from 2013, Mamdani accused a fellow White student of failing to recognize his own racial privilege after the student objected to claims that the school’s editorial section lacked diversity. “White males are privileged in their near-to-exclusive featuring as figures of authority in print, on television and around us in our daily realities,” Mamdani wrote. “We, the consumers of these media, internalize this and so believe in the innate authority of a white male’s argument and the need for its publication. So, white privilege is both a structural and an individual phenomenon, the former propelling the latter. Therefore, even when the individual is silent, the structures continue to exist and frame our society through their existence.”

He further elaborated on the lack of diversity in the campus newspaper’s opinion section, calling it a product of institutional racism. Mamdani wrote that the “pervasive male whiteness” of the school’s opinion pages “builds on the sadly still-present white male monopolization of both discourse and understanding.”

Expanding on the topic, Mamdani emphasized how white privilege operates, regardless of personal experience. “While whiteness is not homogenous, white privilege is. This privilege is clear in not having to face institutional racism in access to housing subsidies, college grants, financial institutions, or civil rights. It allows a white person to universalize his own experiences. It restricts society’s ability to understand its flaws, and projects a false image of meritocracy upon a nation built on institutional racism,” he wrote.

In a separate piece titled “Bearded in Cairo,” Mamdani recounted his semester abroad in Egypt during a period of political upheaval. He wrote about choosing to grow a beard before his trip as a way to confront American stereotypes about Muslim and South Asian men. He admitted the beard was “mostly as a symbolic middle finger” to the idea, widespread in America, that people with brown skin and beards are automatically seen as “terrorists.”

While in Egypt, Mamdani reflected on how racial privilege manifested differently. “Gone was the image of the white Christian male that I had grown accustomed to, and in its place was a darker, more familiar picture – ­­­one that, for the first time, I fit: brown skin, black hair, and a Muslim name,” Mamdani wrote. “With the right clothing, some took me for an Egyptian and most thought I was Syrian – either identity allowed me unrestricted access to exploring Cairo.”

In a 2014 article marking the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s visit to Bowdoin, Mamdani critiqued what he saw as complacency around diversity. Although the school had increased its non-white student population in recent years, he argued that it had fallen short of what true inclusivity required. “I have been forced to personally grapple with these inconsistencies during my time here,” Mamdani wrote.

He offered a personal window into how these shortcomings played out in everyday campus life. “I sit in class not knowing whether to correct everyone’s mispronunciation of an Indian woman’s name. I usually do, but today I’m tired. I’m tired of being one of a few non-white students in a classroom, if not the only one. I bring up race in discussions only to see the thought flicker in my peers eyes and on their tongues. They sigh without a sound. I’ve brought up race again. I’ve sidetracked the discussion. I’ve chosen to make an issue out of it.”

In the same article, Mamdani — born in Uganda to Indian parents — wrote candidly about the alienation he felt early in college. “I grow a beard only to be called a terrorist,” Mamdani wrote. “I pronounce the ‘h’ in my name only to hear muffled laughs. Clothing becomes exotic once it clads my body. Cotton shirts are called dashikis and sandals ethnic.”

He also described the insecurities he wrestled with during his freshman year. “While I am now comfortable in my own skin, I can remember wishing for whiteness my first year when I thought certain types of girls were impossible to talk to due to my skin being more kiwi than peach. Months later, I remember thinking that attraction might only be possible when a girl had ‘a thing for brown guys.’”

Despite finding a few like-minded peers, Mamdani remained frustrated by what he perceived as willful ignorance. “Still, too few people acknowledge that race is an issue on our campus, or that it has ever been one,” he wrote. “But if people say they are color blind, do they even see me?”

Mamdani captured national attention last month after an unexpected win in the Democratic primary for New York City mayor, despite heavy criticism of his far-left platform. His campaign has called for radical changes, such as municipal-run grocery stores, police defunding, government-sanctioned drug sites, and a $30 minimum wage.

His win has deepened the divide within the Democratic Party. While some party leaders urge a centrist course following Kamala Harris’s loss in the presidential election, others have rallied behind the progressive movement championed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who backed Mamdani’s campaign.

Now heading into the general election as the leading candidate in a city where Democrats vastly outnumber Republicans, Mamdani appears poised to extend his political rise.

{Matzav.com}

At least 200 homes were damaged during a deadly flash flood in the mountain village of Ruidoso, and local emergency managers warned Wednesday that number could more than double as teams survey more neighborhoods. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham was among the officials who took an aerial tour of Ruidoso and the surrounding area as they looked to bolster their case for more federal assistance for the community, which has been battered over the past year by wildfires and repeated flooding. The governor said the state has received partial approval for a federal emergency declaration, freeing up personnel to help with search and rescue efforts and incident management. She called it the first step, saying Ruidoso will need much more. “We will continue working with the federal government for every dollar and resource necessary to help this resilient community fully recover from these devastating floods,” she said. An intense bout of monsoon rains set the disaster in motion Tuesday afternoon. Water rushed from the surrounding mountainside, overwhelming the Rio Ruidoso and taking with it a man and two children who had been camping at a riverside RV park. Their bodies were found downstream. One person is still unaccounted for. Lujan Grisham expressed her condolences and wished a speedy recovery for the parents of the 4-year-old girl and 7-year-old boy who were killed. She said it will be an emotional journey. “There are no words that can take away that devastation,” she said. “We are truly heartsick.” Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury, whose district includes Ruidoso and surrounding Lincoln County, told reporters more rain is coming and that residents remain at risk. She urged people to follow emergency orders, saying “we cannot lose another life.” A community rebuilds — again Broken tree limbs, twisted metal, crumpled cars and muddy debris remain as crews work to clear roads and culverts wrecked by the flooding. Tracy Haragan, a lifelong Ruidoso resident on the verge of retirement, watched from his home as a surging river carried away the contents of nine nearby residences. “You watched everything they owned, everything they had — everything went down,” he said. A popular summer retreat, Ruidoso is no stranger to tragedy. It has spent a year rebuilding following destructive wildfires last summer and the flooding that followed. This time, the floodwaters went even higher, with the Rio Ruidoso rising more than 20 feet (6 meters) on Tuesday to set a record. Officials said the area received about 3.5 inches (9 centimeters) of rain over the South Fork burn scar in just an hour and a half. “It is such a great town, it just takes a tail-whipping every once in a while,” Haragan said. “We always survive.” Sucked into the floodwaters Stephanie and Sebastian Trotter were camping along a stream with their son Sebastian, 7, and daughter Charlotte, 4, when the campsite began to flood rapidly, the children’s uncle Hank Wyatt said on a verified GoFundMe page for the family. Their RV was nearly halfway full of water when the wall cracked, and Stephanie and the children were sucked into the floodwaters, he said. The father dove into the water and tried to help his son climb up a tree, while the mother and daughter floated downstream, clinging to each other until debris hit and separated them. Both children and two of the family’s dogs, Zeus and Ellie, died. […]

The Department of Education has officially rescinded a longstanding policy that allowed individuals residing in the U.S. illegally to receive federal funding for vocational and technical education programs, according to a report by The Daily Caller.

“Postsecondary education programs funded by the federal government should benefit American citizens, not illegal aliens,” said Education Secretary Linda McMahon. “Under President Trump’s leadership, hardworking American taxpayers will no longer foot the bill for illegal aliens to participate in our career, technical, or adult education programs or activities.”

She emphasized the department’s new direction, saying, “The Department will ensure that taxpayer funds are reserved for citizens and individuals who have entered our country through legal means who meet federal eligibility criteria.”

The change aligns with a previous executive order issued by President Donald Trump, which terminated government subsidies for undocumented immigrants.

The original rule dates back to 1997 during Bill Clinton’s presidency. It followed the enactment of the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act, which restricted access to health care benefits for illegal immigrants. Clinton at the time had insisted that federal education programs should not fall under those same restrictions.

However, Trump administration officials rejected that approach, stating that Clinton “mischaracterized the law by creating artificial distinctions between federal benefit programs based upon the method of assistance,” according to The Daily Caller.

Implementation of the new policy is scheduled to begin next month, with the Department of Education preparing to enforce the updated standards.

{Matzav.com}

The Trump administration has filed a lawsuit against California, claiming that three of the state’s laws are playing a direct role in increasing egg prices nationwide by introducing what it called unnecessary regulatory burdens.

According to the legal complaint, “Through a combination of voter initiatives, legislative enactments, and regulations, California has effectively prevented farmers across the country from using a number of agricultural production methods which were in widespread use — and which helped keep eggs affordable.”

The lawsuit focuses on three California statutes — AB 1437, Proposition 2, and Proposition 12 — and contends that the federal government, not individual states, holds the legal authority over egg regulation based on a law passed in 1970 that governs standards for eggs and related products.

The government argues that Proposition 2, approved by California voters in 2008 to implement animal welfare requirements, and AB 1437, which governs egg safety for consumers, are collectively reducing national egg output and pushing prices higher.

Proposition 12, which voters passed in 2018 to mandate minimum space for livestock and poultry, is also under fire in the suit as another measure harming egg availability.

Notably, the complaint does not address the recent avian flu outbreak earlier this year that decimated flocks and dramatically tightened egg supplies, sending prices soaring across the U.S.

The case was filed on Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The list of defendants includes California Governor Gavin Newsom, Attorney General Rob Bonta, and various other state officials.

In response, the governor’s office mocked the lawsuit in a post on X, saying, “Trump’s back to his favorite hobby: blaming California for literally everything.”

“Next up: @CAGovernor Gavin Newsom caused the fall of Rome and sent the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs!” the message added.

{Matzav.com}

A woman convicted of stowing away on a flight from New York to Paris without a boarding pass or a passport won’t be released from custody as she faces new charges of breaching security at a Connecticut airport. Svetlana Dali was sentenced Thursday to time already served for her illegal ride to Paris last year. But a federal judge in Brooklyn said she would not be released as Connecticut authorities are seeking to extradite her to face felony charges that could have her serving up to five years behind bars if convicted. The 57-year-old, who is originally from Russia but has a green card, has been held in a federal lockup in Brooklyn for roughly seven months. Connecticut State Police confirmed after the hearing that they have an active arrest warrant against Dali, but, in an emailed statement, said release of any further information would be “dependent on an arrest being made” in Connecticut. During her sentencing Thursday, Dali spoke for more than half an hour, repeating in detail her claim that she believes she is being poisoned by unknown persons. She pleaded with the judge to order medical tests to prove her fears, which she said had prompted her to attempt to flee the country by boarding the Paris flight illegally. “All of these actions were taken in order to save my life,” Dali said in Russian through a translator. Prosecutors say that on Nov. 24, 2024, Dali was able to get through security checkpoints at Bradley International Airport near Hartford, Connecticut, by hiding among other passengers. She wasn’t able to board a plane, but two days later, she successfully evaded security at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York and boarded a plane bound for Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. Prosecutors said Dali was initially rebuffed by a Transportation Security Administration official when she was unable to produce a boarding pass. But she was able to get through a special security lane for airline employees by joining a large flight crew for Air Europa as they were screened and patted down. At the gate for the Paris flight, surveillance video showed Dali sneaking past Delta Air Lines staff checking tickets by again blending into a large group of passengers. On the plane, prosecutors say Dali hid in a bathroom for hours and wasn’t discovered by Delta crew members until the plane was nearing Paris. During her trial, Dali took the stand in her defense, maintaining she was never asked to show her boarding pass at the gate in JFK and had gone into the airplane bathroom because she was feeling sick. She was initially released after her arrest, but was apprehended in Buffalo, New York, after authorities said she cut off her electronic monitor and attempted to enter Canada. Prosecutors have said Dali also appears to have flown into Miami International Airport illegally. In February 2024, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents discovered her hiding in a bathroom in a secured area in the international arrivals zone. (AP)

Michelle Obama, the wife of President Barack Obama, shared candid thoughts on the latest episode of her podcast, revealing that she finally feels unburdened. She spoke about this sense of personal liberation during a conversation with her brother Craig Robinson on their podcast, IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson.

In the Wednesday installment, Michelle spoke passionately about the confidence and autonomy that often come with age, particularly for women. She encouraged listeners to take advantage of this period in life to reclaim time and space for themselves.

“As we get older, we should embrace the fact that we have more time,” she said. “We aren’t parenting our kids anymore. They’re parenting us. We’re not worrying about whether they’re getting home on time or whether they did their homework.”

She went on to explain that this chapter of her life is uniquely empowering. “I mean, this stage in life for me, for me personally, is the first time that I’ve been completely free — where every choice that I make in my life is not about my husband, not about his career, not about what my kids need or where they’re going. It’s totally about me,” Obama added.

These reflections were sparked by a question from a listener asking for advice on how to help her mother, Sharon, navigate a recent move and the fear of building new relationships that might not last.

Obama encouraged the woman to see her situation through a different lens — one of opportunity and renewal. “And Sharon, you know, if she thinks about it like that, wow, she’s got a new freedom. She’s starting over in a new city. There’s so much to learn and to see and to do,” the wife of President Obama said.

“It’s like, this is when we start living, ladies,” Michelle Obama added. “This is the age when we’re free.”

Since their time in the White House ended nearly ten years ago, Michelle Obama has stayed in the public eye through bestselling memoirs and now, her podcast. In these platforms, she has spoken openly about life’s emotional highs and lows, her identity as a mother and wife, and her current professional journey.

In a recent interview, she shared that she’s been attending therapy to help her process the transition into a quieter, child-free home — an “empty nester” phase.

She also dismissed speculation about issues in her marriage that began circulating after she didn’t attend President Trump’s inauguration. “If I were having problems with my husband, everybody would know about it,” Obama said.

{Matzav.com}

BREAKING: A protester was seen apparently firing some kind of weapon at federal agents during the immigration raid at a farm near Camarillo, California on Thursday. It’s unknown if anyone was injured in the chaos.

During the 2016 election cycle, Obama administration intelligence officials admitted behind closed doors that they lacked concrete evidence tying Donald Trump’s campaign to a Russian conspiracy. Nevertheless, they continued to push the public narrative suggesting collusion between the Trump team and Moscow, Fox News reports.

Transcripts from interviews conducted by the House Intelligence Committee in 2017 with senior Obama-era officials—such as DNI James Clapper, National Security Advisor Susan Rice, and Attorney General Loretta Lynch—indicate a lack of solid evidence supporting the collusion claims.

These statements were consistent with the outcome of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, which did not uncover proof of criminal cooperation between Trump’s campaign and Russian operatives. Mueller also refrained from making a determination on whether obstruction of justice had occurred.

Interest in these testimonies has resurfaced as John Brennan, who led the CIA, and James Comey, former FBI director, are reportedly under criminal investigation. Justice Department sources told Fox News Digital the probes are exploring whether they provided false statements to Congress regarding the Trump–Russia inquiry.

The interview transcripts from 2017 and 2018 reveal lawmakers asking several Obama officials whether they had direct evidence of collusion, conspiracy, or coordination between Trump’s campaign and the Russian government—the central premise that fueled both the initial FBI investigation and Mueller’s special counsel probe.

“I never saw any direct empirical evidence that the Trump campaign or someone in it was plotting/conspiring with the Russians to meddle with the election,” Clapper said in his 2017 testimony. “That’s not to say that there weren’t concerns about the evidence we were seeing, anecdotal evidence…. But I do not recall any instance where I had direct evidence.”

Lynch said she did “not recall that being briefed up to me” when asked about the existence of such evidence. “I can’t say that it existed or not,” she added when pressed on the issue of collusion or coordination.

Despite those denials, Brennan briefed President Obama and several senior officials—among them Biden, Lynch, Clapper, and Comey—on July 28, 2016, about information indicating that a Clinton campaign advisor had proposed linking Trump to Russian interference as a political strategy.

“We’re getting additional insight into Russian activities from (REDACTED),” Brennan wrote in notes later published by Fox News Digital in 2020. “CITE (summarizing) alleged approved by Hillary Clinton a proposal from one of her foreign policy advisers to vilify Donald Trump by stirring up a scandal claiming interference by the Russian security service.”

Following that meeting, the CIA transmitted the intelligence to the FBI in the form of a Counterintelligence Operational Lead (CIOL), addressed to Comey and Deputy Assistant Director of Counterintelligence Peter Strzok, with the subject line: “Crossfire Hurricane.”

Fox News Digital obtained and reported on this CIOL in 2020. The document stated: “The following information is provided for the exclusive use of your bureau for background investigative action or lead purposes as appropriate.”

It continued: “Per FBI verbal request, CIA provides the below examples of information the CROSSFIRE HURRICANE fusion cell has gleaned to date,” referring to a message detailing Clinton’s purported approval of a plan to connect Trump to Russian hacking activity as a distraction from her private email scandal.

Despite the intelligence, the FBI never opened a probe into the Clinton connection. Instead, it pushed forward with its counterintelligence effort targeting the Trump campaign. Just three days after the CIA briefing, the FBI formally launched the Crossfire Hurricane investigation on July 31, 2016.

Elsewhere in the transcripts, Samantha Power, then U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, was asked whether she had seen any evidence of collusion or conspiracy. “I am not in possession of anything – I am not in possession and didn’t read or absorb information that came from out of the intelligence community,” she said. When pressed again, she repeated: “I am not.”

Susan Rice also addressed the question in her House testimony. “To the best of my recollection, there wasn’t anything smoking, but there were some things that gave me pause,” she stated. “I don’t recall intelligence that I would consider evidence to that effect that I saw… conspiracy prior to my departure.”

Asked if she saw any signs of “coordination,” Rice responded: “I don’t recall any intelligence or evidence to that effect.” When questioned about collusion specifically, she said: “Same answer.”

Ben Rhodes, Obama’s deputy national security advisor, gave similar testimony when asked about the Trump–Russia issue. “I wouldn’t have received any information on any criminal or counterintelligence investigations into what the Trump campaign was doing, so I would not have seen that information,” he said.

When the question was posed again, he replied: “I saw indications of potential coordination, but I did not see, you know, the specific evidence of the actions of the Trump campaign.”

Andrew McCabe, who served as the FBI’s deputy director, was not directly asked whether he saw evidence of collusion. Instead, his testimony focused on the controversial Steele dossier, which was at the heart of the investigation and widely discredited.

In his 2017 interview, McCabe was asked which part of the dossier he could confirm as accurate. “We have not been able to prove the accuracy of all the information,” he responded.

“You don’t know if it’s true or not?” a House investigator asked. McCabe replied: “That’s correct.”

Comey, during the transition after Trump’s election win, briefed the president-elect on the Steele dossier, a document that contained unverified allegations linking Trump to the Russian government. Brennan was also present at the Trump Tower meeting in January 2017.

The Steele dossier had been financed by Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee via the law firm Perkins Coie, but at the time, it’s unclear if intelligence agencies knew about its funding origins.

The recent criminal probe into Brennan involves claims that he misled Congress, particularly related to a newly unsealed email from his deputy in December 2016. The email cautioned that including the Steele dossier in the Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) could “jeopardize the credibility of the entire paper.”

A subsequent CIA review stated: “Despite these objections, Brennan showed a preference for narrative consistency over analytical soundness.” It continued, “When confronted with specific flaws in the Dossier by the two mission center leaders – one with extensive operational experience and the other with a strong analytic background – he appeared more swayed by the Dossier’s general conformity with existing theories than by legitimate tradecraft concerns.”

The report added that Brennan ultimately finalized his position, writing, “my bottomline is that I believe that the information warrants inclusion in the report.”

However, when Brennan testified before the House Judiciary Committee in May 2023, he claimed the agency opposed including the dossier. “The CIA was very much opposed to having any reference or inclusion of the Steele dossier in the Intelligence Community Assessment,” he said. “And so they sent over a copy of the dossier to say that this was going to be separate from the rest of that assessment.”

At the time, CIA officials had pushed back on the FBI’s attempt to insert the dossier into the ICA, labeling it “internet rumor.” Although the final version of the ICA presented to President Obama did not include the Steele material in the main body, it was referenced in a footnote, reportedly at the insistence of top FBI leadership, according to later investigations by both the DOJ inspector general and the Senate Intelligence Committee.

In June 2020, Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe declassified that footnote—also known as “Annex A” of the ICA—which revealed that Steele’s reporting had “limited corroboration” concerning claims that Trump “knowingly worked with Russian officials” during the 2016 campaign.

This annex, obtained exclusively by Fox News Digital, was under two pages in length and highlighted that Steele, a confidential FBI source, had provided politically charged information during the 2016 election season.

“An FBI source (Steele) using both identified and unidentified subsources, volunteered highly politically sensitive information from the summer to the fall of 2016 on Russian influence efforts aimed at the US presidential election,” it read. “We have only limited corroboration of the source’s reporting in this case and did not use it to reach the analytic conclusions of the CIA/FBI/NSA assessment.”

The annex also noted that Steele was not compensated by the FBI for this specific reporting.

Officials made clear that the material wasn’t developed through rigorous sourcing methods. “The FBI source caveated that, although similar to previously provided reporting in terms of content, the source was unable to vouch for the additional information’s sourcing and accuracy,” the document stated. “Hence this information is not included in this product.”

DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz reviewed how Steele’s dossier was used in the ICA and in applications for FISA warrants against Trump campaign associate Carter Page.

In his 2019 report, Horowitz found “significant inaccuracies and omissions” in the FISA applications, many of which relied on Steele’s uncorroborated material despite the FBI’s inability to verify key claims against Page.

Ratcliffe later referred Brennan for possible prosecution, directing evidence to FBI Director Kash Patel, according to DOJ insiders who spoke to Fox News Digital.

These officials confirmed that the referral was received and that an investigation into Brennan’s conduct was launched. While they would not discuss specifics, they said the probe focuses at least in part on potential false statements to Congress.

Sources also confirmed that Comey is under investigation as well, though the scope of that inquiry remains undisclosed.

Two individuals familiar with the matter described the suspected behavior of Brennan and Comey as resembling a “conspiracy,” which could lead to a broad range of criminal charges.

{Matzav.com}

Holocaust survivor Reb Duvid Einhorn was surprised this afternoon with a warm birthday celebration arranged by his mincha group and the Yizkor Foundation. The event was filled with brachos, singing, and dancing, and Reb Duvid was visibly moved. A long line of well-wishers gathered to receive his bracha and share in the simcha.

The White House is trying to turn the Federal Reserve into a poster child for wasteful spending, criticizing an expensive renovation at the central bank’s headquarters as President Donald Trump pursues an extraordinary pressure campaign to lower interest rates. The latest step came Thursday when Russ Vought, Trump’s top budget adviser, sent a letter to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell saying the president is “extremely troubled” that plans may have violated government building rules with an “ostentatious overhaul.” Trump also named two close aides — James Blair, a deputy chief of staff, and Will Scharf, the staff secretary who furnishes the president with executive orders for his signature — to the National Capital Planning Commission, an obscure panel that could provide another avenue to increase scrutiny. Blair said he would be “requesting a review of all previous and current building plans” and suggested that Powell wasn’t honest while testifying to Congress about the renovations last month. If Powell isn’t truthful, Blair wrote on social media, “how else is the American Public to maintain confidence that its monetary policy manager is acting in their interests?” Taken together, the latest steps amount to an escalating effort to dislodge Powell from his position as chairman before his term ends next May. It’s an unprecedented attempt to reshape the Federal Reserve’s traditional role as an autonomous arbiter of U.S. monetary policy. If successful, Trump will have expanded his influence to yet another corner of American government that was once seen as beyond the reach of political pressure, but he will have also jeopardized the independence that has made the central bank a foundational player in the U.S. economy. On Wednesday, Trump said Powell “should resign immediately” so “we should get somebody in there that’s going to lower interest rates.” He suggested that he’d rather have Scott Bessent, his Treasury secretary, as a replacement. Powell has resisted Trump’s pressure, largely out of concern that Trump’s tariff plans could increase costs for American consumers. If rates are lowered too aggressively, it could lead to a resurgence of inflation. But Trump insists that inflation is no longer a problem, and a rate cut would help make mortgages, auto loans and other forms of consumer debt cheaper. Trump has also said it would allow the U.S. government to finance its debt more cheaply, a pressing concern as legislation signed by the president is poised to increase the federal deficit by extending tax cuts. “LOWER THE RATE!!!” Trump wrote on social media on Thursday as he continued a near-daily drumbeat of criticism. However, there’s no guarantee that financial markets will reduce rates on government debt even if the Fed bows to Trump’s wishes. Such a situation could lead to higher interest costs for consumers — a reminder of how monetary missteps may backfire. Powell was nominated to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors by President Barack Obama, then made chairman by Trump during his first term. But in his second term, Trump turned Powell — who has sought to avoid politics and refrains from responding directly to the president— into one of his primary antagonists. Trump has said that he wouldn’t directly oust Powell — “I don’t know why it would be so bad, but I’m not going to fire him,” he said last month. The Supreme Court said in May that it could block such a step. However, Trump’s allies have found other […]

Israel believes deeply buried stocks of enriched uranium at one Iranian nuclear facility hit by the U.S. military are potentially retrievable, a senior Israeli official said. And the agency that built the U.S. “bunker buster” bombs dropped on two other nuclear sites said Thursday that it is still waiting for data to be able to determine if those munitions reached their targets. Both developments widen the views on the damage from last month’s strikes, when the United States inserted itself in Israel’s war in a bid to eliminate the threat of Iran developing a nuclear weapon. Iran says its program is peaceful. President Donald Trump is adamant that the U.S. strikes “obliterated” the three Iranian nuclear facilities it targeted. International assessments and an initial U.S. intelligence assessment have been more measured, with the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency saying in a preliminary report that the strikes did significant damage to the Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan sites, but did not destroy them. CIA Director John Ratcliffe has since told skeptical U.S. lawmakers that American military strikes destroyed Iran’s lone metal conversion facility, a setback to the nuclear program that would take years to overcome, and that the intelligence community assessed that the vast majority of Iran’s amassed enriched uranium likely remains buried under the rubble at Isfahan and Fordo. The White House didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking comment Thursday. Much of Iran’s enriched uranium is believed deeply buried at the third site, Isfahan, the senior Israeli official said. The U.S. used B-2 stealth bombers to target the Fordo and Natanz sites. The official spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity to share Israeli assessments that had not been made public. Israel believes Iran’s enriched uranium was distributed in the three sites and had not been moved, the Israeli official said. Nuclear and nonproliferation experts have warned that Iranians could have moved the stockpiles somewhere safer as Israeli strikes pounded Iran last month and expectation grew that the U.S. military might join in. The enriched uranium at Isfahan could potentially be retrieved by Iranians but reaching it would take a very difficult recovery effort, the Israeli official said. Trump and other administration officials have rebuffed suggestions that the June 22 U.S. strikes did anything short of wiping out the nuclear sites. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said they were “destroyed.” Two officials from the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency, which spent decades designing the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs specifically to destroy Iran’s facilities, said they still did not know yet if the munitions had reached the depths the bombs had been engineered for. Those officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide additional details on the bombs that had not been previously announced. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in an interview published Monday said the U.S. airstrikes so badly damaged his country’s nuclear facilities that Iranian authorities still have not been able to access them to survey the destruction. Pezeshkian added in the interview with conservative American broadcaster Tucker Carlson that Iran would be willing to resume cooperation with the U.N. nuclear watchdog but cannot yet commit to allowing its inspectors unfettered access to monitor the sites. “We stand ready to have such supervision,” Pezeshkian said. “Unfortunately, as a result of the United States’ unlawful attacks against our nuclear centers and […]

POTUS: “It is very important that all Republicans adhere to my Recissions Bill and, in particular, DEFUND THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING (PBS and NPR), which is worse than CNN & MSDNC put together….”

A wave of concern is sweeping through Jewish members of Congress following the Democratic mayoral primary victory of Zohran Mamdani in New York City. Mamdani won the nomination with 56% of the vote in a ranked-choice runoff against former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. But his support for the BDS movement and refusal to condemn the controversial slogan “globalize the intifada” has drawn sharp rebukes from Democratic lawmakers, especially in light of the recent surge in violent antisemitic incidents across the country. “To not be willing to condemn the term ‘globalize the intifada’ demonstrates a callous disregard for antisemitism and terrorism,” said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.). “It’s terribly disturbing and potentially dangerous.” The slogan became a flashpoint during the campaign. Mamdani, while stating he doesn’t personally use the phrase, declined to explicitly denounce it, saying on NBC’s Meet the Press that “the role of the mayor is not to police speech.” Rep. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio), who represents a large Jewish community and has spoken openly about his faith, called Mamdani’s win “a huge problem,” citing it as a reflection of growing tolerance for antisemitic rhetoric in progressive circles. “It’s happening in the context of a violent surge in antisemitism,” he told The Hill. That concern is echoed by other Jewish Democrats in Congress, including Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) and Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.), who questioned Mamdani’s judgment and warned that failing to denounce inflammatory language will only inflame tensions further. “Someone who refuses to condemn hate speech is not acceptable,” Gottheimer told CNN. Moskowitz added, “If he can’t say that ‘globalizing the intifada’ is antisemitic, then he’s going to continue to add to the problem.” Despite the uproar, prominent New York Democrats have largely remained muted in their response. House Judiciary Ranking Member Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), the longest-serving Jewish member of the New York delegation, endorsed Mamdani prior to the primary. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) issued a congratulatory note but stopped short of endorsing the candidate. Other Democrats representing swing districts, such as Reps. Tom Suozzi and Laura Gillen of Long Island, have distanced themselves from Mamdani. In a statement following a private meeting with Mamdani, Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) said he urged the nominee to take stronger stances against antisemitism. “I explained why Jewish New Yorkers feel unsafe in the city,” Goldman said. “As he continues this campaign, he must condemn anti-Jewish hate and calls for violence, and take proactive steps to protect all New Yorkers.” Mamdani’s campaign declined to comment on the recent criticism, but the candidate has repeatedly denied antisemitic intent and pledged to govern inclusively. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Hamas has expressed dissatisfaction with Israel’s latest truce proposal, which was delivered to mediators and outlines how the IDF would remain stationed within parts of Gaza during the envisioned 60-day pause in fighting.

The revised plan demonstrates that Israel is willing to show more leeway regarding the army’s positioning during the ceasefire, particularly in the zone stretching from the Morag Corridor down to the Philadelphi Corridor along the border with Egypt.

One insider told The Jerusalem Post the situation had reached a “stalemate,” while another source noted, “We thought things would move faster due to American and Qatari pressure. At least a few more days of negotiations will be needed.”

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu sat down with relatives of the hostages and informed them that, given the current reality, there was no possibility of securing a broad agreement. “There was no such option,” Netanyahu said. When asked which hostages might be included in a deal, he added: “All of them are humanitarian cases. It will likely be Hamas that decides who will be released.”

In an official announcement from the Prime Minister’s Office, Netanyahu said that once the proposed 60-day truce begins, “we will enter negotiations for a permanent end to the war, meaning a permanent ceasefire.”

He emphasized Israel’s core requirements: Hamas must lay down its weapons, Gaza must no longer be militarized, and the terror group must lose all ability to rule or fight. “If this can be achieved through negotiations, all the better. If not, we will achieve it through other means – by force, through the strength of our heroic army.”

According to a source familiar with the matter, President Trump’s Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, intends to jumpstart efforts toward a final resolution from day one of the ceasefire. “He’s planning for the talks to begin immediately and intends to travel to Qatar in person to start them,” the source stated.

Hamas announced on Wednesday that it still had unresolved concerns, such as the volume and consistency of humanitarian aid entering Gaza, the withdrawal of Israeli troops, and receiving “genuine guarantees” for a lasting truce. While the organization is prepared to release 10 hostages, it labeled the discussions “tough” and blamed Israeli “intransigence” for the difficulties.

At a demonstration held in Washington, DC, on Monday, families of those still being held captive urged that any agreement must result in the return of all 50 remaining hostages.

“We are here to remind President Trump and PM Netanyahu that there are 50 hostages to be released. We cannot accept a deal for a partial release,” said Ilan Dalal, father of Guy Gilboa-Dalal.

{Matzav.com}

ESCALATING SITUATION: Federal agents & demonstrators clash during ICE raid at Ventura County, Calif. farm.

BREAKING: Biden-appointed judge BLOCKS federal law enforcement from immigration crackdown tactics in Los Angeles.

In response to the lessons learned from the October 7th massacre, the IDF’s Intelligence Directorate is undergoing a significant transformation in its training approach. According to a report by Army Radio, all personnel in the directorate—both soldiers and officers—will now be required to study Arabic and Islam, regardless of whether their positions require knowledge of the language. A new department dedicated to Arabic language and Islamic studies will be established within the training system. This unit will not only train translators and radio operators but also intelligence analysts, with the goal of ensuring that every brigade and division intelligence officer achieves a high level of Arabic proficiency and gains a deep understanding of Islamic culture. The curriculum will begin even before enlistment, with Arabic and Islam integrated into pre-military educational programs. These studies will continue through basic training and into advanced courses for officers and career personnel. The target: within a year, all intelligence personnel will be trained in Islamic studies, and at least 50% will receive Arabic language instruction. As part of this initiative, the IDF is also reopening the Department of Middle Eastern Studies Promotion, which was shut down six years ago due to budget constraints. Operating under Unit 8200, this department will once again support educational outreach in Israeli schools. Specialized courses in regional dialects—including Houthi and Iraqi Arabic—have also been launched. Intelligence officials note that understanding Houthi communications is especially difficult due to their use of the addictive herbal stimulant khat, commonly used in Yemen. Khat use can cause oral inflammation or even cancer [and at times, death via Israeli airstrike,] which distorts speech and complicates audio analysis. A senior intelligence officer told Army Radio, “Until now, we have fallen short when it comes to understanding culture, language, and Islam. We must do better. While we can’t turn intelligence officers into native Arabic speakers who grew up in Arab villages, by immersing them in the language and culture, we can cultivate critical thinking and deeper insight.” (YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

President Donald Trump proclaimed on Thursday that the United States has fully rebounded, and he urged the Federal Reserve to respond by slashing interest rates.

Taking to Truth Social, Trump celebrated unprecedented highs across major financial indicators, from tech stocks to cryptocurrencies. He pointed to Bitcoin’s historic surge and the lack of inflationary pressure as proof of the economy’s strength. “Tech Stocks, Industrial Stocks, & NASDAQ, HIT ALL-TIME, RECORD HIGHS! CRYPTO, ‘Through the Roof.’ NVIDIA IS UP 47% SINCE TRUMP TARIFFS. USA is taking in Hundreds of Billions of Dollars in Tariffs. COUNTRY IS NOW ‘BACK.’ A GREAT CREDIT!” Trump wrote, while pushing the Fed to act.

He continued by stressing that interest rates need to come down immediately. “FED SHOULD RAPIDLY LOWER RATE TO REFLECT THIS STRENGTH. USA SHOULD BE AT THE ‘TOP OF THE LIST.’ NO INFLATION!!!” he said.

The president has not held back in criticizing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell for resisting calls to reduce rates. Despite Trump’s persistent pressure, the Fed has opted not to make the move, keeping borrowing costs elevated.

Powell has defended the Fed’s approach by warning that Trump’s trade and tariff strategies might eventually drive inflation—an outcome that has yet to materialize.

In another post on Thursday, Trump again took aim at Powell using a nickname he has often repeated. “‘Too Late’ DEMEANS THE GREAT CREDIT OF THE USA. We are now, again, the Number One Credit in the World! ‘Gigantic Comeback,’” Trump wrote. “The Fed Rate should be reflective of this. We should be at the top of the list!!! LOWER THE RATE!!!”

As of June, the Federal Reserve kept its benchmark rate in the 4.25% to 4.5% range. That came after rate reductions of 50 basis points in September and 25 basis points each in November and December. Breitbart News Economics Editor John Carney reported these figures in a June update.

Even though inflation has dipped below the Fed’s 2% target in recent months, central bank officials have remained cautious. At their most recent meeting, they increased their inflation outlook and reiterated plans for two rate cuts in 2025—unchanged from March’s forecast. Powell said while there had been “modest further progress,” the Fed needs “greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2 percent” before making any further rate reductions.

Carney also noted that inflation eased again in May, as shown in economic data released toward the end of June.

{Matzav.com}

This week in Texas, estimates put the number of people still missing from the Hill Country floods at more than 170, a daunting figure atop at least 120 deaths confirmed by authorities. But that missing person tally might not be as precise as it seems. Confusion and uncertainty can take hold after a shocking disaster and, despite best efforts by local authorities, it can be difficult to pin down how many people reported missing are actually unaccounted for. Some people on a list after California’s Camp Fire wildfire in 2018 were later found to be OK the whole time. The death count in the 2023 Maui fire was 102, far below the 1,100 people initially feared missing. In Texas, several hundred people were reported missing to officials in Kerr County after the Fourth of July floods, said Freeman Martin, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety. Investigators whittled that number down by Tuesday after learning that some were counted twice and others were found alive. “There’s nothing to celebrate about how well we’ve done this far, but there’s a lot of work to be done,” Martin said. Authorities announced a phone number and email address for people to report missing friends or family. “We need to keep an accurate count, as accurate as possible,” Jonathan Lamb of the Kerrville Police Department said in a plea to the public Wednesday. “So if you’ve reported somebody missing and they’ve been recovered safely, please let us know.” The flooding sent walls of water through Hill Country in the middle of the night, killing at least 27 campers and counselors at Camp Mystic, a century-old all-girls Christian summer camp along the Guadalupe River. More remain missing from that camp and elsewhere. The search in 88-degree Fahrenheit heat (31 degrees Celsius) has been made harder by overturned cars, trees, mud and other debris left in the wake of the ferocious flood. “We will not stop until every missing person is accounted for,” Gov. Greg Abbott said. “Know this also: There very likely could be more added to that list.” In 2017, more than 20 people died in the Tubbs fire in northern California. Sgt. Juan Valencia of the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office recalled that most of the 100 people initially reported missing to his agency were found safe. Working through a list of names in a disaster is both meticulous and time-consuming work, he said. “Put yourself in a family member’s shoes,” Valencia said. “They’re concerned about their loved one. Are they really the victim of a disaster or did they maybe lose their cellphone? Basically you start calling temporary shelters, check family, friends. You check social media. That’s how we were able to get a lot of those.” And he acknowledged that searching for victims of a water disaster poses distinct challenges. “Sometimes you find them miles away,” Valencia said. The 2018 Camp Fire in California ended up killing nearly 100 people, though Butte County investigators at one point had the names of more than 3,000 people who were not accounted for in the early days of the disaster, Sheriff Kory Honea said. “They were published in our local paper, the Chico Enterprise-Record. Many people didn’t know we were looking for them. That helped us start to whittle that list down,” Honea said. […]