A violent confrontation between federal immigration agents and an illegal Venezuelan migrant escalated into a shooting Wednesday night in Minneapolis, after authorities say the suspect fled a traffic stop, attacked an officer, and was joined by others who assaulted the agent with makeshift weapons.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, the incident began around 6:50 p.m. local time when federal immigration officers attempted to stop a vehicle driven by the suspect. The man allegedly tried to flee, but the attempt ended when his car slammed into a parked vehicle.
DHS said the suspect then ran from the scene and became involved in a physical struggle with an officer, during which he allegedly “violently assault[ed] the officer” as they grappled on the ground.
As the struggle continued, DHS said two additional individuals emerged from a nearby apartment and allegedly launched a brutal attack on the agent, striking him with a snow shovel and a broom handle.
Amid the chaos, authorities said the Venezuelan migrant managed to break free from the officer’s grip and allegedly began striking him as well.
DHS said the officer, “fearing for his life,” fired his weapon, striking the suspect in the leg.
Both the injured migrant and the federal agent were transported to a nearby hospital for treatment. DHS said the two individuals accused of joining the attack were taken into custody.
Federal officials said the man at the center of the incident is an illegal immigrant from Venezuela who entered the United States in 2022.
Earlier Wednesday evening, multiple sources told the Minnesota Star Tribune that a series of gunshots were heard during what appeared to be a car chase moving through parts of the Twin Cities.
KARE reported that federal agents converged near North Lyndale Avenue and 25th Avenue, close to a 21-acre park, shortly before 8 p.m. local time. A photographer at the scene observed at least one ambulance departing the area.
Later, a crowd of protesters gathered at the site of the shooting but was held back by police tape, which some in the crowd attempted to tear down, according to the Star Tribune.
The paper reported that law enforcement officers deployed chemical irritants to disperse the crowd, while protesters responded by throwing chunks of ice at federal agents.
The City of Minneapolis said in a post on X that it was “aware of reports” of a “shooting involving federal law enforcement” and was “working to confirm details.” The Minneapolis Police Department released a similar statement, saying it was “aware of reports of a shooting involving federal law enforcement in North Minneapolis” and was “working to confirm additional details.”
Wednesday’s shooting occurred just one week after Renee Nicole Good, 37, was fatally shot by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer Jonathan Ross. Authorities said Good was killed after she allegedly attempted to “weaponize” her vehicle against federal agents during a protest near her Minneapolis home.
That incident took place at 34th Avenue and Portland Avenue, a location just over six miles from the scene of Wednesday night’s confrontation.
{Matzav.com}
It is with great sadness that Matzav.com reports the petirah of the longtime gabbai of the Gerer court, Reb Mendel Binke z”l, who was niftar at the age of 94. He passed away in Yerushalayim after a life devoted entirely to the service of the Rebbes of Ger and the Gerer kehillah.
Reb Mendel was born in the city of Kalisz, Poland, on 28 Cheshvan 5692 (1931), to his father, Reb Yehoshua Nach Binke z”l, the first gabbai of the Gerer beis medrash in Eretz Yisroel, and to his mother, Mrs. Ita Leah a”h. In 1935, while still a young child, his family immigrated to Eretz Yisroel and settled in Yerushalayim, where his lifelong bond with the Gerer court would take root and flourish.
He studied in his youth at Talmud Torah Chayei Olam, where he absorbed Torah from his rabbeim, Rav Moshe Chaim Schmerler and Rav Chaykel Militzky. Throughout his life, Reb Mendel vividly recalled the powerful and emotional days when the arrival of the Imrei Emes, the Rebbe of Ger, in Eretz Yisroel was announced, moments that left a lasting impression on him as a young talmid.
Approximately half a year before the outbreak of World War II, his father was appointed gabbai of the Gerer beis medrash in Yerushalayim, which at the time was housed within Yeshivas Sefas Emes. With the arrival of the Imrei Emes in Eretz Yisroel, the daily rhythm of the Gerer community changed dramatically, and Reb Yehoshua Nach became a central and stabilizing figure within the beis medrash.
During those years, Reb Mendel learned in Yeshivas Sefas Emes and was deeply involved in serving the needs of the Rebbe and the chassidus. He frequently entered the private room of the Imrei Emes, seeking guidance and counsel. Until his final years, he spoke with reverence and emotion about the moments he spent in the Rebbe’s presence, cherishing the Rebbe’s words, brachos, and direction.
Following the histalkus of the Imrei Emes on Shavuos 5708 (1948), and the assumption of leadership by the Beis Yisroel, Reb Mendel merited a particularly close relationship with the new Rebbe. He was shown warmth and affection and would often accompany the Rebbe during the early morning hours, receiving words of chizuk and guidance that he carried with him for the rest of his life.
In due time, Reb Mendel married Leah Skolsky, the daughter of Rav Yosef Dov Skolsky, one of the distinguished members of the kehillah. His wife, a respected mechaneches, stood at his side throughout the decades of his communal service. She passed away just last year.
For his livelihood, Reb Mendel initially worked in the welfare department and later served as a clerk in the offices of Chinuch Atzmai, all while continuing his unwavering devotion to the Gerer court.
A new chapter began in his life in 2008, following the passing of the previous gabbai, Reb Chanina Schiff, when Reb Mendel was called upon to assume the role of gabbai and meshamesh of the Gerer beis medrash. Despite his natural modesty and humility, he accepted the responsibility, standing at the helm of the beis medrash, calling mispallelim to the Torah, delivering announcements, and faithfully carrying out all the duties entrusted to him.
Reb Mendel served the current Rebbe of Gur with complete dedication and accompanied him on visits and at gatherings, remaining a trusted and familiar presence within the court.
In recent years, his strength waned, and he gradually stepped back from some of the burdens of the gabbai’s role. He endured a profound personal tragedy with the untimely passing of his beloved son-in-law, Reb Shmuel Dovid Weiss z”l, a distinguished talmid chacham who served as a rebbi at the Ner Yisroel Gerer yeshiva ketanah.
Reb Mendel leaves behind a wonderful family deeply rooted in Torah and chassidus.
Yehi zichro baruch.
{Matzav.com}
The Tel Aviv District Traffic Magistrate Court ruled this week in a case involving gender segregation on a public bus, levying fines and awarding compensation following an incident that occurred in January 2023 on Dan Bus Line 292, which runs between Bnei Brak and Petach Tikva.
The case stemmed from an encounter in which a 76-year-old woman was instructed by a bus inspector to relocate to the back of the bus on the claim that the route operated under a “Mehadrin” arrangement. After she declined to comply, she was subjected to derogatory and discriminatory comments, with the bus driver also taking part in the exchange.
The court’s decision followed an indictment submitted by the National Prosecutions Department within the Ministry of Transport and Road Safety, in line with the ministry’s stated policy of active enforcement in such matters.
As part of the ruling, Dan Bus Company was found guilty and ordered to pay a fine of 40,000 shekels, along with personal compensation of 20,000 shekels to the affected passenger.
The bus inspector involved in the incident was fined 6,000 shekels, instructed to pay the passenger an additional 2,000 shekels in personal compensation, given a suspended driver’s license conditional on future conduct, and required to post a commitment of 50,000 shekels for a three-year period.
The bus driver, whose role was described by the court as limited, was fined 2,500 shekels and committed to refrain from similar conduct for three years, backed by a financial undertaking of 15,000 shekels.
Transport Minister Miri Regev praised the outcome, saying, “I welcome this verdict, which comes as a direct result of the clear and determined policy of the Ministry of Transport. Gender segregation and discrimination in public transportation are a red line. We will act with all the tools at our disposal, including field enforcement and legal proceedings, to ensure that every passenger receives equal, respectful, and safe service.”
{Matzav.com}The Knesset voted Wednesday to block a proposed “Who is a Jew” bill introduced by MK Avi Maoz of the Noam party, halting the initiative at its initial stage.
The legislation aimed to stipulate that registration as a Jew in Israel’s population registry would rely exclusively on conversions recognized by Israel’s rabbinic courts.
In the preliminary vote, the proposal was defeated by a margin of 60 to 15, with support coming from a limited number of lawmakers, including members of the United Torah Judaism and Shas factions.
Maoz pointed to what he described as a contradiction between the outcome of the vote and remarks made last month by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir at an event in Kfar Chabad, where he said, “We need to pass the ‘Who is a Jew’ bill.” Despite that statement, the Otzma Yehudit and Religious Zionist parties did not back the bill during the plenary vote.
Coalition sources placed the blame for the failure on Maoz himself, arguing that his decision to advance the bill without securing sufficient support doomed its prospects. “Maoz proposed the bill from the opposition without a majority. This move harms the bill since it’s now automatically postponed by half a year. He is trying to make political gains, but in fact, he delayed the bill,” the sources said.
The same sources added that the move ran counter to guidance from Chabad rabbis, saying they had advised moving forward only once enough votes were assured. “Who instructed to advance the bill only when there is the needed majority to pass it. Unfortunately, it would seem that Avi Maoz’s goal is to try to undermine the coalition and harm the stability of the right-wing government,” they said.
Responding to the vote, Maoz described the outcome as a “historic miss” and said the struggle over Israel’s Jewish identity would continue both publicly and in the Knesset. “Today we see who is prepared to stand behind their declarations about a Jewish state and who chooses to run away at the moment of truth,” he said.
{Matzav.com}
A bipartisan Senate effort to rein in President Donald Trump’s war powers authority collapsed after Republican leaders employed a rarely used procedural maneuver and two GOP senators reversed course, delivering a narrow victory for the White House.
Republicans invoked an obscure Senate process—previously used by Democrats in a similar circumstance—to invalidate a war powers resolution introduced by Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia that focused on Venezuela. The move followed last week’s vote in which five Republicans joined Democrats to advance the measure, setting up a confrontation that quickly drew the ire of Trump.
The president lashed out at the Republicans who had initially supported the resolution, declaring they “should never be elected to office again.”
The resolution was ultimately defeated by a 51-50 vote, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote to side with Trump.
Turning to the little-used procedural step amounted to a rebound for both the president and Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota after Republicans suffered an unusual floor setback the previous week.
Thune and other GOP leaders argued that the measure did not apply to current conditions in Venezuela and therefore should not receive privileged consideration.
“We don’t have troops in Venezuela. There is no kinetic action, there are no operations,” Thune said. “There are no boots on the ground. And I think the question is whether or not there ought to be expedited consideration or privilege accorded to something that’s brought to the floor that doesn’t reflect what’s what is current reality in Venezuela.”
“And so I think it’s very fair for Republicans to question why we ought to be having this discussion right now, particularly at a time when we’re trying to do appropriations bills,” he continued.
In the days leading up to the vote, Thune, Senate Republican leadership, Trump, and senior administration officials pressed the five GOP senators who had initially helped advance the resolution to change their positions. While not all of them did, Sens. Josh Hawley of Missouri and Todd Young of Indiana provided the decisive switches that ensured the resolution’s defeat.
Hawley said his concerns centered on whether the administration planned to deploy U.S. forces to Venezuela. After multiple briefings and discussions with Trump administration officials, he concluded that additional military action was not forthcoming.
“To me, this is all about going forward,” Hawley said of his reversal. “If the president decides we need to put troops on the ground in Venezuela, then Congress will need to weigh in.”
Young declined to signal his intentions until the vote was underway. Before entering the chamber, he said assurances he received from Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other officials persuaded him to oppose the resolution.
Those assurances included commitments that Trump would seek congressional authorization before using force in Venezuela and that Rubio would testify publicly before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in the coming weeks to brief lawmakers on developments in the region.
“Those who understand how Congress works, the good and the bad and the ugly, understand that votes like this, in the end, are communications exercises,” Young said. “They’re important communications exercises, but unless you can secure sufficient votes, not only to pass the United States Senate, but to get out of the House, with which is highly questionable, right, and then to override what was an inevitable presidential veto, which is impossible. No one can tell me how we get there.”
“I had to accept that this was all a communications exercise,” he continued. “I think we use this moment to shine a bright light on Congress’ shortcomings as it relates to war powers in recent history.”
Despite the reversal by Hawley and Young, Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Rand Paul of Kentucky sided with Democrats in a last-ditch attempt to keep the measure alive.
Most Republicans who received briefings on the situation argued that recent U.S. actions tied to Venezuela were justified, describing them as part of a law enforcement effort aimed at apprehending Nicolás Maduro rather than a broader military campaign.
In a letter to Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman James Risch of Idaho, Rubio emphasized that U.S. forces are not deployed in the country.
“There are currently no U.S. Armed Forces in Venezuela,” Rubio wrote.
“Should there be any new military operations that introduce U.S. Armed Forces into hostilities, they will be undertaken consistent with the Constitution of the United States, and we will transmit written notifications consistent with section 4(a) of the War Powers Resolution (Public Law 93-148),” he added.
Kaine, who had expressed confidence that the resolution would pass, criticized the procedural maneuver ahead of the final vote.
“If people want to just say, ‘Hey, President Trump, do whatever the hell you want,’ Let them vote that way, but don’t change the rules of the Senate in a way that might disable future Senates that do have a backbone,” Kaine told reporters.
{Matzav.com}
[Video below.] Commentator Candace Owens publicly dismissed evidence of protests and killings in Iran, asserting that no demonstrations are taking place and alleging that reports of unrest amount to a Jewish psyop orchestrated by Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu.
In remarks online, Owens claimed that there are no mass protests in Iran and denied that Iranian citizens are being killed by the regime. She went further, alleging that the narrative of an Iranian uprising is fabricated and driven by Jewish interests tied to Netanyahu, framing the situation as a coordinated deception rather than a domestic revolt.
Owens’ comments come amid extensive reporting from international media, human rights organizations, and video evidence documenting demonstrations across Iran and deadly crackdowns by Iranian security forces. Multiple independent sources have reported fatalities, arrests, and violent suppression of protesters, contradicting Owens’ assertions.
Owens’ comments about Iran represent a pattern of inflammatory rhetoric and conspiracy-driven narratives. Whatever debate may have existed about her prior intent or ideology has been settled by her willingness to deny documented killings while invoking antisemitic explanations.
WATCH:
{Matzav.com}
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. offered a candid and humorous assessment of President Trump’s eating habits, saying that while the president’s food choices are the worst in the administration, his energy and endurance remain extraordinary.
Speaking in an interview released Tuesday on “The Katie Miller Podcast,” Kennedy was asked whose diet stands out as the most extreme, and he immediately pointed to the president.
“The interesting thing about the president is that he eats really bad food, which is McDonald’s, and, you know, candy and Diet Coke,” Kennedy continued. “He drinks the Diet Coke at all times.”
Despite that description, Kennedy expressed amazement at Trump’s physical resilience. “He has the constitution of a deity. I don’t know how he’s alive, but he is.”
Kennedy explained that his impression largely comes from observing Trump while traveling together, noting that the president himself has addressed the issue. According to Kennedy, Trump “says that the only time that he eats junk food is when he’s on the road.”
“He wants to eat food from big corporations because he trusts it. He doesn’t want to get sick when he’s on the road,” Kennedy said of the president, who has made similar remarks in the past. “When he’s at Mar-a-Lago or at the White House, he’s eating really good food.”
Kennedy acknowledged that constant travel can distort perceptions of the president’s daily habits. “If you travel with him, you get this idea that he’s just pumping himself full of poison all day long. And you don’t know how he’s walking around, much less being the most energetic person, you know, any of us have ever met. But, I think he actually does eat pretty good food usually,” he added.
As HHS secretary, Kennedy has made changes to American nutrition a central focus of his agenda, frequently criticizing excessive sugar consumption and ultra-processed foods.
That push was reflected last week when the White House introduced updated dietary guidelines, depicted as an upside-down pyramid that places vegetables, fruits, proteins, dairy, and healthy fats at the top, with whole grains positioned at the bottom.
Even so, Kennedy emphasized that Trump’s overall health remains exceptional. He said Trump is “in incredible health,” adding that Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services administrator Mehmet Oz reviewed the president’s medical records and “said he’s got the highest testosterone levels that he’s ever seen for an individual over 70 years old.”
“I know the president will be happy that I repeat that,” Kennedy added, with a laugh.
Trump’s fondness for fast food has long been a subject of public discussion. After returning to the White House last year, the president brought back his well-known valet button on the Resolute Desk, which he uses to call staff to bring him another Diet Coke.
{Matzav.com}
Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont has introduced legislation aimed at stopping President Donald Trump from attaching his own name to federal buildings, following recent actions by the administration to rename prominent national institutions.
In announcements made late last month, the Trump administration said the U.S. Institute of Peace and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts would be rebranded as the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace and the Trump-Kennedy Center.
Those moves prompted Sanders to act alongside Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland. Together, they submitted a bill designed to bar sitting presidents from naming federal properties after themselves and to undo Trump’s recent renaming decisions.
In a statement released with the bill, Sanders sharply criticized the president’s actions, arguing that they violate the law.
“It’s no secret that President Trump is undermining democracy and moving this country toward authoritarianism. Part of that strategy is to create the myth of the ‘Great Leader’ by naming public buildings after himself — something that dictators have done throughout history,” Sanders said. “For Trump to put his name on federal buildings is arrogant and it is illegal. We must put an end to this narcissism.”
The proposed legislation is titled the SERVE Act, short for the Stop Executive Renaming for Vanity and Ego Act.
Under the bill, federal buildings, land, and other government assets could not be named for a sitting president, and federal money could not be used for that purpose.
The measure would also apply retroactively, which would remove Trump’s name from both the Kennedy Center and the Institute of Peace.
According to the press release, the proposal has also been submitted as an amendment to a government funding package currently under consideration in the Senate.
While some federal buildings bear the names of past presidents, such as the Kennedy Center, those designations have typically occurred after a president left office.
In one example, President Lyndon B. Johnson renamed the National Cultural Center in honor of John F. Kennedy two months after Kennedy was assassinated. Similarly, the Harry S. Truman Federal Building, which houses the U.S. State Department, received its name in 2000, more than four decades after Truman’s presidency ended.
A New York Times analysis found that before Trump, no federal buildings had ever been named after a sitting president.
{Matzav.com}
