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Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy issued a stern ultimatum on Wednesday to California’s High-Speed Rail Authority, warning that the federal government may revoke billions in grant money after the agency spent close to $7 billion over fifteen years without constructing a single inch of track.

A comprehensive 310-page review outlined numerous missed milestones and runaway costs. Duffy gave the state agency until July 11 to justify its performance or risk losing nearly $4 billion in federal funding. “This report exposes a cold, hard truth: CHSRA has no viable path to complete this project on time or on budget,” he stated.

Voters originally approved the project in 2008, envisioning an 800-mile high-speed train system that would link Sacramento to San Diego. The price tag was set at $33 billion, with a projected completion date of 2020.

But by 2019, the project’s scope had shrunk dramatically. California Governor Gavin Newsom admitted there was no feasible way forward, as the estimated cost surged to $77.3 billion. The plan was reduced to a 171-mile corridor between Merced and Bakersfield.

In an attempt to salvage the endeavor, CHSRA later submitted an $8 billion grant request under President Joe Biden’s 2021 infrastructure initiative to fund the scaled-down Central Valley segment.

However, according to a letter sent Wednesday by Federal Railroad Administration acting administrator Drew Feeley, the rail authority missed a key September 2024 deadline to procure rail cars. He also flagged additional problems with contracting and noted as much as $1.6 billion may have been misallocated due to change orders — casting serious doubt on whether the project can be completed by the revised 2033 target.

Earlier this year, in February, an internal audit revealed a $7 billion funding gap — roughly equal to the $6.9 billion the federal government had already allocated since 2010.

That same month, Duffy initiated a formal review of the agency’s use of federal funds.

“CHSRA is on notice — If they can’t deliver on their end of the deal, it could soon be time for these funds to flow to other projects that can achieve President Trump’s vision of building great, big, beautiful things again,” Duffy declared in a public statement. “Our country deserves high-speed rail that makes us proud — not boondoggle trains to nowhere.”

Governor Newsom, speaking last month, defended the progress made by the rail authority. He noted that Texas had also scrapped its own planned high-speed rail project between Dallas and Houston.

“You can see the progress we’ve actually made,” Newsom said. “We’re now on the other side of the environmental reviews; we’re on the other side of the land acquisition.”

{Matzav.com}

A group of four men broke into a historic New York lighthouse along the Hudson River, set a fire and vandalized the interior, destroying valuable antiques, furniture and other items. The Tarrytown Lighthouse in Sleepy Hollow, built in 1883 and now on the National Register of Historic Places, had just undergone a two-year, $3.4 million renovation and reopened to the public last fall, Westchester County officials said. A county parks worker saw smoke coming from the conical, five-story lighthouse on Saturday morning, then discovered the damage, county police said. Police and firefighters responded and put out a small fire with extinguishers. The flooring on the first level was heavily damaged. Antiques, furniture and other historically significant items were destroyed. Thirty-five books dating to the 1800s and early 1900s were strewn on the floor and damaged. Multiple windows were broken. County officials say there is at least $100,000 in damage, and they expect that number to increase when an assessment is complete. “The Tarrytown Lighthouse is one of our County’s most iconic and cherished landmarks,” County Executive Ken Jenkins said in a statement. “This was a truly despicable act, and we will do everything we can to identify those responsible and bring them to justice.” County police have posted surveillance photos on their Facebook page showing four young men near the lighthouse and are asking for the public’s help in identifying them. No arrests have been made. As part of the renovation, interior and exterior sections were restored and repainted. Windows were replaced and the structure stabilized. Repairs were made to the cast iron exterior and masonry. Wood floors were repaired and restored. The fire burned nearly all the way through the wooden first floor, said Peter Tartaglia, first deputy commissioner of the Westchester County Department of Parks, Recreation and Conservation. “It’s disturbing what happened,” he said in a phone interview Wednesday. “But we’ll get it fixed. We’ll get it back. It was historically reconstructed and it’s a wonderful piece of history. It’s iconic in Westchester County to see that on the Hudson River.” The 60-foot-tall (18-meter-tall) lighthouse, owned by the county, opened in 1883 to guide ships past dangerous shoals along that stretch of the river, according to the parks department. Its lantern could cast a beam of light visible for 10 miles (16 kilometers), and it had a bell that could warn mariners during foggy conditions, the department said. During its 74 years of operation, 14 lighthouse keepers lived in the structure, some with their families. It was rendered obsolete when the former Tappan Zee Bridge was completed in 1955 and taken out of service in 1961, officials said. It’s located about 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of Manhattan in a park in the village of Sleepy Hollow, made famous in Washington Irving’s 1820 tale about the Headless Horseman. It’s one of seven Hudson River lighthouses that remain. The arson and vandalism comes a little more than a month after a barge pushed by a tugboat struck the historic Hudson-Athens Lighthouse, about 80 miles (129 kilometers) upriver from Tarrytown. The April 29 crash severely damaged the dock of the 151-year-old lighthouse, which advocates have been trying to save from crumbling into the river. (AP)

Israel signed defense contracts worth nearly $15 billion last year, surpassing its all-time record, the country’s defense ministry said Wednesday. Over half the deals were with European countries. The contracts — a 13% increase from 2023, itself a record year — came despite Israel’s international condemnation and isolation over the nearly 20-month war in Gaza. Some of Israel’s closest allies, including Canada and France, recently stepped up their censure of Israel’s actions in Gaza, and the U.K. suspended free trade talks. Some critics of Israel’s conduct in the Palestinian enclave have called for countries to suspend trade with it. Some countries have taken steps to suspend defense contracts with Israel. Spain on Tuesday said it had canceled a deal for anti-tank missile systems that were to be manufactured in Madrid by a subsidiary of an Israeli company. A breakdown of Israel’s 2024 defense deals by region: — European countries: 54% — Asia-Pacific: 23% — Arab countries that have normalized ties with Israel under the Trump-brokered Abraham Accords: 12% — North America: 9% — Latin America: 1% — Africa: 1% Nearly half the deals were for missiles, rockets and air defense systems, Israel’s defense ministry said. Others included the sale of vehicles and armored personnel carriers, satellite and space systems and intelligence and cyber systems, among others. More than half of the agreements were worth over $100 million each. Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz said the record amount was a “direct result” of Israel’s battlefield achievements throughout the wars that have roiled the Middle East since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack, in which terrorists killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages. “The world sees Israeli strength and seeks to be a partner in it,” Katz said in a statement. (AP)

Smoke from Canadian wildfires started making air quality worse in the eastern U.S. on Wednesday as several Midwestern states battled conditions deemed unhealthy by the federal government. The fires have forced thousands of Canadians to flee their homes and sent smoke as far as Europe. In the U.S., the Midwest is bearing the brunt. Smoke lingered on the skylines of cities from Kansas City to Minneapolis, and a swath of the region had unhealthy air quality Wednesday, according to an Environmental Protection Agency map. Iowa issued a statewide air quality alert through early Thursday, urging residents to limit certain outdoor activities and warning of possible health effects due to the thick smoke. Wisconsin officials made similar suggestions as the smoke drifted southeast across the state. In Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, authorities advised people shut windows at night, avoid strenuous activity outside and watch for breathing issues. Parts of Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire and New York had areas of moderate air quality concern, and officials advised sensitive people to consider reducing outdoor activity. New Hampshire authorities hoped conditions would improve by late Wednesday. “The particle air pollution event is the result of extensive wildfires in central and western Canada,” the state’s Department of Environmental Services said. “Wind patterns are forecasted to transport plumes of smoke from these fires across much of New England and New Hampshire.” Unhealthy conditions persist in Midwest The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency issued an alert for almost the entire state into Wednesday, but the Twin Cities area got the worst of it in the Midwest on Tuesday. “As the smoke continues to move across the state Tuesday, air quality will slowly improve from northwest to southeast for the remainder of the alert area,” the agency said. “The smoke is expected to leave the state by Wednesday at noon.” The Iowa Department of Natural Resources warned that air quality in a band from the state’s southwest corner to the northeast could fall into the unhealthy category through Thursday morning. The agency recommended that people, especially those with heart and lung disease, avoid long or intense activities and to take extra breaks while doing strenuous actions outdoors. Conditions at ground level are in the red The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s AirNow map showed a swath of red for “unhealthy” conditions across Wisconsin and northern Iowa. Northern Michigan was also the site of many unhealthy zones, the agency said. The Air Quality Index was around 160 in many parts of the upper Midwest, indicating unhealthy conditions. The Air Quality Index — AQI — measures how clean or polluted the air is, focusing on health effects that might be experienced within a few hours or days after breathing polluted air. It is based on ground-level ozone, particle pollution, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. Particulates are the main issue from the fires The index ranges from green, where the air quality is satisfactory and air pollution poses little or no risk, to maroon, which is considered hazardous. That level comes with health warnings of emergency conditions where everyone is more likely to be affected, according to AirNow. There were areas of reduced air quality all over the U.S. on Wednesday, with numerous advisories about moderate air quality concerns as far away as Kansas and Georgia. The Canadian fire situation Canada is having another bad wildfire season. Most of the smoke reaching the American […]

U.S. President Donald Trump said that Russian President Vladimir Putin told him “very strongly” in a phone call Wednesday that he will respond to Ukraine’s weekend drone attack on Russian airfields as the deadlock over the war drags on and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismisses Russia’s ceasefire proposal. The U.S. president said in a social media post that his lengthy call with Putin “was a good conversation, but not a conversation that will lead to immediate Peace.” It’s the first time Trump has weighed in on Ukraine’s daring attack inside Russia. The U.S. did not have advance notice of the operation, according to the White House, a point Trump emphasized during the call with Putin, according to a Putin’s foreign affairs adviser. The U.S. has led a recent diplomatic push to stop the full-scale invasion, which began on Feb. 24, 2022. Trump, in his social media post, did not say how he reacted to Putin’s promise to respond to Ukraine’s attack, but his post showed none of the frustration that Trump has expressed with his Russian counterpart in recent weeks over his prolonging of the war. Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s foreign affairs adviser, said at a briefing that the two leaders characterized the call as “positive and quite productive,” and reaffirmed their readiness to stay in touch. “I believe it was useful for Trump to hear our assessments of what happened,” Ushakov said, noting that the discussion of the attacks was one of the key points in the conversation. He didn’t respond to a question about what the Russian response to the attacks could be. Trump repeatedly promised to end the war quickly, and even said he would accomplish it before he was sworn in. But he lost patience with Putin in recent weeks, publicly pleading with him to stop fighting and even said late last month that the Russian leader “has gone absolutely CRAZY.” Trump, however, has not committed to backing a bipartisan push to sanction Putin. The call was Trump’s first known talk with Putin since May 19. They also discussed, according to Trump and Ushakov, Iran’s nuclear program and the possibility of Russia engaging in talks with Tehran as the U.S. pushes it to abandon its rapidly advancing nuclear program. It was not clear if Trump also planned to speak with Zelenskyy. The White House did not respond to a message Wednesday afternoon. Zelenskyy brushes off Russian plan and pushes for talks The Ukrainian leader earlier Wednesday dismissed Russia’s ceasefire plan as “an ultimatum” and renewed his call for direct talks with Putin to break the stalemate over the war, which has dragged on for nearly 3½ years. Putin, however, showed no willingness to meet with Zelenskyy, expressing anger Wednesday about what he said were Ukraine’s recent “terrorist acts” on Russian rail lines in the Kursk and Bryansk regions on the countries’ border. “How can any such (summit) meetings be conducted in such circumstances? What shall we talk about?” Putin asked in a video call with top Russian officials. Putin accused Ukraine of seeking a truce only to replenish its stockpiles of Western arms, recruit more soldiers and prepare new attacks like those in Kursk and Bryansk. Putin also spoke Wednesday to Pope Leo XIV, who has promised to make “every effort” to help end the war. During the call, Leo urged […]

A large fire damaging several residential buildings has broken out in the Bed-Stuy area of Brooklyn. No report of injuries.

President Trump held a phone call on Wednesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, describing it as a serious exchange but cautioning that it was “not a conversation that will lead to immediate Peace” in the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.

Following the 75-minute discussion, Trump revealed, “We discussed the attack on Russia’s docked airplanes, by Ukraine, and also various other attacks that have been taking place by both sides,” emphasizing that both countries had carried out recent strikes.

He added that Putin was adamant about retaliating for the latest Ukrainian strike, stating, “President Putin did say, and very strongly, that he will have to respond to the recent attack on the airfields.”

The two leaders also turned their attention to developments in Iran. According to Trump, Putin floated the idea that Russia might help facilitate a new agreement regarding Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

“I stated to President Putin that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon and, on this, I believe that we were in agreement,” Trump wrote, stressing that both sides shared the same view on the issue.

Trump noted that Putin expressed a willingness to assist in reaching a deal with Tehran. “President Putin suggested that he will participate in the discussions with Iran and that he could, perhaps, be helpful in getting this brought to a rapid conclusion. It is my opinion that Iran has been slowwalking their decision on this very important matter, and we will need a definitive answer in a very short period of time!”

{Matzav.com}

Rav Avraham Yosef publicly criticized the growing practice of drinking coffee inside shuls during Shacharis, calling the phenomenon deeply inappropriate and widespread in many communities.

Speaking on Kol Chai Radio, Rav Yosef addressed a listener’s question regarding whether a tired individual may drink coffee during the zemiros section before Baruch She’amar. His response was unequivocal: “It’s unthinkable,” he said. “If someone wants to drink coffee, they can do so outside the shul—not inside. A shul is not a coffee shop.”

The rov expressed concern over what he called “a spreading affliction,” lamenting that the practice has taken root in too many kehillos. “This blight has spread through numerous communities,” he said, adding that those who feel the need for coffee should step outside: “Drink outside. Open a window and listen to the davening from there.”

Rav Yosef emphasized the sanctity of a shul, reminding listeners that “the place is holy. We call it a mikdash me’at. It’s forbidden to use it as a shortcut. Idle chatter is not allowed there. You may not stroll back and forth inside it.”

He was especially critical of those who engage in such behavior while wearing a tallis and tefillin. “Is it appropriate to behave like you’re in your own living room while wearing tefillin?” he asked rhetorically.

Rav Yosef clarified that there is only one legitimate reason to eat or drink in a shul: “For the sake of Torah study, to prevent bittul Torah. But not during tefillah.”

{Matzav.com Israel}

A rabbi in Normandy was assaulted on Friday afternoon, suffering multiple blows to the abdomen, according to both the victim and regional law enforcement.

Rabbi Elie Lemmel shared a statement—later circulated on social media—describing the incident. “I received a blow and was insulted in a language I didn’t understand,” he wrote.

Despite the attack, Rabbi Lemmel sought to reassure others, saying, “Thank God, everything is okay.” He also offered a message of resilience: “If we are feeling delicate when a person in our community is physically harmed, then let us strengthen ourselves spiritually.”

David Hennequet, the commander of the Deauville police department, told Ouest-France that three intoxicated individuals were responsible for the assault, which occurred around 3:30 p.m. Authorities have launched a formal investigation into the incident.

{Matzav.com}

The Shas party on Wednesday announced its intention to support a bill to dissolve the Knesset in the wake of the severe crisis regarding the Chareidi draft law. Since the UTJ party has already announced its intention to take measures to dissolve the Knesset, the Shas party’s decision is a significant threat that could leave the coalition without a majority and lead to the collapse of the government and early elections. During the party meeting, it was revealed that Yuli Edelstein, chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, is seeking to add new and stricter sanctions to the law – measures that were not coordinated in advance with the Chareidi representatives and even include reversals of clauses that had already been agreed upon in the past. According to sources who were present at the meeting, the atmosphere was particularly tense. “There was a feeling of betrayal,” one of the participants said. “It seems that Edelstein chose to harden his positions precisely now – and we cannot remain silent about it.” Edelstein’s move came after weeks of frantic discussions in an attempt to reach an agreed-upon version of the draft law. However, in recent days, according to Shas and sources in UTJ, Edelstein has retreated from the agreements and presented a series of new demands – including personal sanctions against bnei yeshivos. In light of the crisis, it was unanimously decided at the party meeting: If there is no breakthrough by next Wednesday, when a bill will be brought by opposition parties to dissolve the Knesset, Shas will vote in favor of the measure. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

South Korea’s new President Lee Jae-myung vowed Wednesday to restart dormant talks with North Korea and bolster a trilateral partnership with the U.S. and Japan, as he laid out key policy goals for his single, five-year term. Lee, who rose from childhood poverty to become South Korea’s leading liberal politician vowing to fight inequality and corruption, began his term earlier Wednesday, hours after winning a snap election that was triggered in April by the removal of then-President Yoon Suk Yeol over his ill-fated imposition of martial law late last year. In his inaugural address at the National Assembly, Lee said that his government will deal with North Korean nuclear threats and its potential military aggressions with “strong deterrence” based on the South Korea-U.S. military alliance. But he said he would “open a communication channel with North Korea and establish peace on the Korean Peninsula through talks and cooperation.” He said he’ll pursue pragmatic diplomacy with neighboring countries and boost trilateral Seoul-Washington-Tokyo cooperation. “Through pragmatic diplomacy based on national interests, we will turn the crisis posed by the major shift in global economic and security landscapes into an opportunity to maximize our national interests,” Lee said. Security and economic challenges lie ahead It was unclear whether Lee’s election would cause any major, immediate shift in South Korea’s foreign policy. Lee, previously accused by critics of tilting toward China and North Korea and away from the U.S. and Japan, has recently repeatedly stressed South Korea’s alliance with the U.S. as the foundation of its foreign policy and avoided any contentious remarks that would raise questions on his views on the U.S. and Japan. “We’ll have to now see if the pressures of office will cause Lee Jae-myung to govern from the center — at least when it comes to matters of national security and the alliance with the United States,” said Ankit Panda, an expert with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “It’s hard to predict with absolute certainty how he will deal with the U.S., North Korea, Japan and China because he’s changed his position so much,” said Duyeon Kim, a senior analyst at the Washington-based Center for a New American Security. “We can expect tensions if his government doesn’t align with Washington’s approach to China and Japan.” The toughest external challenges awaiting Lee are U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff policy and North Korea’s expanding military partnerships with Russia. But experts earlier said whoever becomes president can’t do much to secure major progress in South Korea’s favor on those issues. US, Japan and China react The U.S. and Japan said they congratulated Lee’s election and expressed their commitments to developing three-way cooperation. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said he wants to hold summit talks with Lee “as early as possible,” saying he hopes to further promote bilateral ties, both public and commercial. The U.S. State Department said that Seoul and Washington share “an ironclad commitment” to the alliance. Chinese President Xi Jinping also sent a congratulatory message to Lee, saying that Beijing is willing to work with Seoul to advance their cooperative partnership for the benefit of the countries’ peoples, according to state broadcaster CCTV. It’s unclear how North Korea would react to Lee’s speech, as it has shunned any talks with South Korea and the U.S. since 2019. North Korea in recent years has supplied weapons and troops to […]

More than 20,000 residents were being evacuated from part of Cologne’s city center on Wednesday as specialists prepared to defuse three unexploded U.S. bombs from World War II that were unearthed earlier this week. Even 80 years after the end of the war, unexploded bombs dropped during wartime air raids are frequently found in Germany. Disposing of them sometimes entails large-scale precautionary evacuations such as the one on Wednesday, though the location this time was unusually prominent and this is Cologne’s biggest evacuation since 1945. There have been bigger evacuations in other cities. Authorities on Wednesday morning started evacuating about 20,500 residents from an area within a 1,000-meter (3,280-foot) radius of the bombs, which were discovered on Monday during preparatory work for road construction. They were found in the Deutz district, just across the Rhine River from Cologne’s historic center. As well as homes, the area includes 58 hotels, nine schools, several museums and office buildings and the Messe/Deutz train station. It also includes three bridges across the Rhine — among them the heavily used Hohenzollern railway bridge, which leads into Cologne’s central station and is being shut during the defusal work itself. Shipping on the Rhine will also be suspended. The plan is for the bombs to be defused during the course of the day. When exactly that happens depends on how long it takes for authorities to be sure that everyone is out of the evacuation zone. (AP)

A 4-year-old Jewish boy who was born and raised in an Arab village underwent a deeply moving bris milah ceremony on Erev Shavuos following a complex rescue mission coordinated by the Or L’Achim organization.

The operation began after Or L’Achim’s emergency hotline received a desperate call from a Jewish mother requesting help to escape from the Arab village where she had been living for years, reportedly under conditions of distress and danger. A specialized rescue team, including volunteers with backgrounds in elite Israeli military units, was dispatched swiftly to extract the mother and her two young children.

Following the successful extraction, the family was relocated to a secure safe house, where an intensive rehabilitation process began, under the guidance of mental health professionals and rabbinic support staff.

The bris milah took place on Erev Shavuos, with Rav Yaakov Meir Stern serving as the sandek. The mohel was Rav Yedidya Kravitz, and the brachos were recited by Rav Yaakov Yosef Cohen.

According to Or L’Achim, this is only the beginning of the family’s journey back to Jewish life. A pidyon haben ceremony is expected to take place in the near future.

{Matzav.com Israel}

President Trump on recent phone call with Vladimir Putin: “It was a good conversation, but not one that will lead to immediate peace.”

An IDF drone strike targeted southern Lebanon, likely targeting a Hezbollah operative.

President Donald Trump took to Truth Social early Wednesday to comment on ongoing trade tensions with China, days after accusing Beijing of failing to follow through on commitments to reduce tariffs and loosen trade barriers. In his message, he described Chinese President Xi Jinping as a formidable counterpart.

“I like President Xi of China, always have, and always will, but he is VERY TOUGH, AND EXTREMELY HARD TO MAKE A DEAL WITH,” Trump wrote.

Earlier this week, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt indicated that a conversation between Trump and Xi was expected in the coming days as the two sides worked to resolve disagreements stemming from last month’s tariff pact signed in Geneva, along with other outstanding trade matters.

Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, in his first formal discussion with U.S. Ambassador David Perdue on Tuesday, criticized the Trump administration’s trade actions. Wang called them “negative measures” based on “groundless reasons” that, he said, infringe on China’s rights and interests, according to CNBC.

A Chinese summary of the conversation stated that Perdue conveyed that Trump holds “great respect” for Xi.

Chinese officials also urged Washington to compromise and cooperate, asking the United States to meet China “halfway” in order to return the relationship to a more constructive path.

“This is apparently Beijing trying to leave the impression that the Trump [administration] wants to talk,” said Neo Wang, the lead China economist at Evercore ISI, speaking to CNBC. “Beijing publicly doing so indicates the phone call is drawing near.”

Wang noted that the meeting between Perdue and Wang was part of an effort to establish goodwill ahead of the potential Trump-Xi phone call, so that Xi would not be placed in an awkward position if Trump reacted harshly afterward.

In a related development, a U.S. trade court recently found that Trump had exceeded his authority with many of the tariffs imposed on China and other nations. However, within a day, a federal appeals court issued a stay, reinstating the tariffs temporarily while it considers the administration’s appeal.

China has been the focal point of Trump’s tariff actions since April 2, when he imposed duties of 145% on Chinese imports. China quickly responded with its own tariffs, levying 125% on a range of American goods.

In May, the two countries took steps to reduce tensions. Trump postponed implementation of most tariffs on other nations until July 9.

Despite that easing, Trump has moved ahead with increasing duties on steel and aluminum, raising them from 25% to 50%.

The broader impact of Trump’s tariff strategy is also drawing scrutiny in Europe, where it has become a topic of discussion at the OECD meetings in Paris this week. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development cut its global growth forecast, citing the effects of Trump’s trade policies, according to AFP.

“The United States economy will suffer the most from Trump’s moves on tariffs,” OECD Chief Economist Alvaro Pereira told AFP.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic are set to meet on the sidelines of the OECD gathering, as the European Union attempts to persuade Washington to scale back its tariff increases before the July 9 deadline.

{Matzav.com}

BREAKING: Fed Chair Jerome Powell announces interest rates will remain unchanged. “In support of our goals, today the Federal Open Market Committee decided to leave our policy interest rate unchanged.”

A hungry wild elephant caused havoc in a grocery store in Thailand on Monday when he strolled in from a nearby national park and helped himself to food on the shelves. Videos of the incident showed the huge male elephant, known as Plai Biang Lek, briefly stopping in front of the shop, located next to a main road near the Khao Yai National Park in northeastern Thailand, before ducking his whole body inside. The elephant stopped in front of the shop’s counter, calmly snatching and chomping snacks, and did not flinch as the national park workers tried to shoo him away. The elephant later backed out of the shop still holding a bag of snacks with his trunk. He left little damage behind, except mud tracks on the floor and the ceiling of the shop. In a video posted on social media, Kamploy Kakaew, the shop owner, appeared amused as she described the moment the elephant rifled her shop. She said he ate about nine bags of sweet rice crackers, a sandwich and some dried bananas she had bought that morning. Kamploy said the elephant left without hurting anyone after getting his snacks. Danai Sookkanthachat, a volunteer park worker familiar with the elephant, said Plai Biang Lek, who is about 30 years old, is a familiar sight in the area and has been known to enter people’s houses in search of food. This was the first time he had seen him going into a grocery store. “After he left the shop, he went on to open a bedroom window of another house,” he told The Associated Press. Danai said wild elephants in the Khao Yai National Park area have been coming out of the woods to ransack people’s kitchens for many years, but this year he has started seeing them going into more random places to find food. There were an estimated 4,000 wild elephants in Thailand in 2024, according to the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation. As farmers push into forests for agriculture, elephants have been forced to venture out of their shrinking habitats in search of food, leading to confrontations that can turn deadly. (AP)