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A 20-year-old Trenton woman who authorities say had never possessed a driver’s license in any state has been charged with manslaughter after allegedly striking a mother and her two young children in the parking lot of NPGS in Jackson on Friday, killing an infant boy and injuring his mother and sister.

The child, Yitzchok Rosenberg, was approximately eight months old. He was rushed to Jersey Shore University Medical Center following the crash but was tragically pronounced deceased.

Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer identified the driver as Maria CobonGuzman, 20, of Trenton. Prosecutors say she was operating a Ford Fusion when the vehicle struck the family shortly before noon Friday.

Jackson Township police officers were dispatched at approximately 11:55 a.m. to the NPGS grocery store on West County Line Road after receiving a report of a motor vehicle crash involving pedestrians. When officers arrived, they found that a mother and her two children — a five-year-old girl and an infant boy — had been struck in the parking lot.

The mother had been pushing a baby carriage carrying the two children when the Ford Fusion struck them, according to investigators. All three victims were transported to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune. The infant was pronounced dead at the hospital, while his mother and five-year-old sister remained hospitalized in stable condition as of Shabbos afternoon.

Central Jersey Hatzolah and other emergency personnel responded to the horrific scene, and a Mass Casualty Incident was declared because of the number of victims and the severity of their injuries, according to frum media reports.

The public has been asked to continue davening for the injured mother and daughter, Chana Golda bas Leah Shaindel and Rochel bas Golda Chana.

The investigation quickly turned to the woman behind the wheel. Authorities determined that CobonGuzman did not merely lack a valid New Jersey license at the time of the crash; prosecutors allege that she had never been issued or possessed a valid driver’s license in New Jersey or anywhere else in the United States.

CobonGuzman has now been charged with manslaughter, operating a motor vehicle without ever having possessed or been issued a valid driver’s license while involved in a fatal motor vehicle crash, and two counts of assault by auto.

Authorities also arrested a second woman, Ariadna Lazaro-Flores, 22, of Toms River, over her alleged role in allowing CobonGuzman to get behind the wheel.

Investigators allege that Lazaro-Flores knew CobonGuzman had never possessed a valid driver’s license but nevertheless permitted her to operate the Ford Fusion. Lazaro-Flores was charged with knowingly engaging in conduct creating a substantial risk of death to another.

Both CobonGuzman and Lazaro-Flores were taken into custody and transported to the Ocean County Jail, where they were being held pending detention hearings.

The tragedy sent shockwaves through Jackson and the greater Lakewood community on Friday as word spread that a mother and two children had been critically injured outside the heavily frequented kosher supermarket.

The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit-Vehicular Homicide Squad and High Tech Crime Squad are investigating the crash together with the Jackson Township Police Department, Lakewood Township Police Department and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit.

Authorities have not publicly disclosed additional details about what caused CobonGuzman to strike the family or the precise circumstances under which she came to be driving the vehicle.

The investigation remains ongoing.

{Matzav.com}

President Trump announced Friday that the United States has reached a sweeping oil agreement with Venezuela that he says will give the U.S. majority control over more than 65 billion barrels of proven Venezuelan oil reserves, bring massive private investment to the country and help push down gasoline prices for Americans.

In a social media post announcing the agreement, Trump called it “THE BIGGEST OIL DEAL IN WORLD HISTORY” and said the arrangement would place a majority stake in more than 65 billion barrels of Venezuela’s proven reserves under U.S. control.

Trump said the enormous new source of oil would serve American energy interests for decades and “substantially lower” gas prices for Americans “long into the future.”

The announcement comes as Americans have faced sharply rising oil and gasoline prices amid the war with Iran, which reached the six-month mark on Friday.

“At my direction, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, working closely with Highly Respected Interim President of Venezuela, Delcy Rodriguez, and, through a partnership with private business, have secured majority U.S. control of more than 65 BILLION BARRELS of proven Oil Reserves in Venezuela, at no cost to the American Taxpayer,” Trump said in the post.

An American official familiar with the agreement told ABC News that the U.S. will hold a 55% share in a joint venture involving a private Venezuelan company. That stake will be divided between equity ownership and oil production.

The arrangement creates the “second-largest private oil company by reserves in the world,” the official added.

Under the agreement, Venezuelan interim President Delcy Rodriguez granted the private company a 100-year lease covering oil fields containing an estimated 65 billion barrels of proven reserves, according to the U.S. official.

Rodriguez welcomed the agreement in an English-language statement posted on social media, saying it would “have a significant impact on our nation’s revival.”

The American official said oil produced by the company and supplied at cost will be used in part to replenish the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The arrangement is also expected to provide oil for use by the U.S. military.

According to the official, negotiations leading to the agreement were conducted by the State Department and Defense Department.

The deal comes after years of severe economic turmoil in Venezuela. The country suffered another major blow in June, when two powerful earthquakes struck in quick succession, killing more than 6,000 people.

Rodriguez thanked Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio for their roles in securing the agreement, describing the pact as a “historic milestone” in the relationship between Washington and Caracas.

“The agreement will allow for a significant increase in oil production with the participation of private operators,” Rodriguez said in the statement, saying the deal calls for the development of 17 strategic fields, with a proven potential of 65 billion barrels of oil, and an investment of more than $100 billion, and more than $209 billion in tax revenue.

“Venezuela is thus ushering in a new era of recovery, growth, production, security, and prosperity for our people,” she said in the post.

Venezuela possesses the world’s largest recognized proven oil reserves, although years of economic deterioration and underinvestment have severely hampered its ability to fully exploit those resources.

Chevron, currently the only American oil company operating in Venezuela, declined to comment on Trump’s announcement.

Trump said the massive energy agreement would also “greatly strengthen” relations between Washington and Caracas, marking a dramatic shift in the relationship between the two countries.

That relationship was transformed in January, when the United States conducted a military operation in Venezuela that resulted in the capture of then-President Nicolas Maduro and his wife. The two were brought to the United States to face federal charges that include narco-terrorism and drug trafficking.

Maduro and his wife have pleaded not guilty to the charges. Their trial is scheduled to take place in New York City in 2027.

Rubio also celebrated the new energy agreement in a social media post, calling it a “huge win” for both countries.

“It demonstrates how President Trump’s bold foreign policy is driving America First wins: securing stable reserves and low-cost oil in our Hemisphere and lowering gas prices here at home,” Rubio said in the post. “For the Venezuelan people, this deal will bring nearly $100 billion in private investment, support thousands of high-paying jobs, and drive the reconstruction of Venezuela’s economy.”

{Matzav.com}

President Trump lashed out at New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Friday after she declared that the state would refuse to recognize his decision to rename Lake Ontario “Lake America,” accusing the Democratic governor of siding with Canada while the two countries remain locked in a bitter trade dispute.

“Governor Kathy Hochul is for Canada,” Trump fumed on Truth Social, “a Country that has been ripping off New York State for years, especially under her Administration, instead of the good ‘ol USA.”

“Can you imagine her saying that she won’t respect or acknowledge LAKE AMERICA,” the president continued. “That’s why the Dumocrats are so bad for our Country.”

The clash erupted after Trump on Thursday signed documents directing that Lake Ontario be renamed “Lake America,” with the change taking effect immediately. The move came amid escalating trade tensions between Washington and Ottawa.

Lake Ontario shares a lengthy border between the United States and Canada, with approximately 250 miles of its shoreline running along northern New York.

Hochul quickly rejected Trump’s proclamation. Shortly after the president signed the order, she posted on X that “New York won’t be calling it that.”

Trump responded with another Truth Social post in which he called Hochul “stupid” and argued that Canada has deliberately targeted New York with its tariffs because Canadian officials view the governor as politically weak.

“They’re aiming at her because they consider her Weak and Ineffective — Not nice!” the president argued.

Trump continued his attack by accusing Hochul of preferring to hand Canada a political victory rather than embrace the new name, while claiming that Canada has treated New York like “garbage.”

“She doesn’t want us to use the name, ‘Lake America,’ she’d rather have Canada get a win,” Trump continued.

The president used both posts to turn the dispute into an issue in New York’s gubernatorial election, urging voters to support Republican candidate Bruce Blakeman against Hochul in November.

Trump concluded by offering an enthusiastic endorsement of Blakeman, portraying him as an aggressive political fighter who would cut taxes and crack down on crime.

“He’s an ‘animal,’ he fights like hell, he doesn’t let anyone else win,” Trump said of Blakeman. “He’s for the people. He’s smart and cunning, and will Lower your Taxes, and Stop Crime.”

Concern continues to mount throughout Vizhnitz and the broader chassidishe world over the condition of the Vizhnitzer Rebbe, as his son issued an emotional and urgent appeal for tefillos, saying that his father is undergoing extremely difficult treatments and is in need of great rachamei Shomayim.

The Vizhnitzer Rebbe is currently staying in Moshav Ora while receiving treatment. On Shabbos morning, after receiving an aliyah, the Belzer Rebbe instructed that a Mi Shebeirach be recited for the complete refuah of his brother-in-law, the Vizhnitzer Rebbe, Rav Yisroel ben Leah Esther.

Ahead of Shabbos, the Vizhnitzer bais din called upon chassidim to recite the fourth book of Tehillim on Friday night as a zechus for the Rebbe’s recovery. The Rebbe’s son, Rav Yaakov Mordechai Hager, av bais din of Vizhnitz Elad, also delivered a tearful message to Vizhnitzer chassidim and Jews everywhere, pleading with them to intensify their tefillos.

Speaking in a recording distributed through the Vizhnitz information line, Rav Yaakov Mordechai said: “An emergency cry from every place, to men, women and children and to all of Klal Yisroel: Why are you sleeping? The condition of the Rebbe, our father and shepherd, is very far from good. The Rebbe is undergoing very difficult treatments that weaken him. For two years already, the Rebbe has been suffering greatly from the illness, and these are terrible sufferings. It is already impossible to watch this and endure it. We need a healthy and strong Rebbe, and, G-d forbid, there is no end in sight, that is what the doctors are saying.”

Rav Yaakov Mordechai went on to invoke his father’s constant emphasis on maintaining a close connection with the Ribono Shel Olam, urging the public to use the special opportunity of the month of Elul to plead for the Rebbe’s recovery.

“How much our father always speaks about being connected to the Ribono Shel Olam, and our strength is only through our mouths, to ask of HaKadosh Baruch Hu, especially during these days, when it is written in the seforim hakedoshim that the King is in the field, when it is possible to ask more of HaKadosh Baruch Hu. We are asking for a gift from HaKadosh Baruch Hu. The Rebbe said that 5787 is an acronym for ‘Tehei Shnas Zayin Freilach.’ This is what we see with our father, that constantly, even in this condition, he remains freilach with HaKadosh Baruch Hu, happy with HaKadosh Baruch Hu.”

The emotional appeal comes amid continued concern over the Rebbe’s health and heightened efforts throughout Vizhnitz to increase tefillah for his recovery.

Last week, the Vizhnitzer Rebbe of Monsey traveled to Moshav Ora to visit his cousin, the Vizhnitzer Rebbe. Because of the circumstances, only four accompanying individuals were permitted to enter. The two Rebbes spent an extended period together, speaking privately for approximately an hour.

The Vizhnitzer Rebbe subsequently sent his son, Rav Chaim Meir Hager, av bais din of Vizhnitz, together with his gabbai, Rav Ben Tzion Stanger, to spend Shabbos in Meron with the Vizhnitzer Rebbe of Monsey.

During Seudah Shlishis, the Vizhnitzer Rebbe of Monsey called upon those assembled to increase their tefillos for the Vizhnitzer Rebbe’s recovery, stressing that “the generation needs him.”

Preparations are meanwhile underway for the upcoming Shabbos Selichos. The Vizhnitzer Rebbe is not expected to spend Shabbos in the Vizhnitz neighborhood, but plans call for him to arrive on Motzoei Shabbos for the first Selichos, which will be recited in the presence of a massive crowd. Thousands of chassidim are expected to travel from communities across Eretz Yisroel for the occasion.

In the meantime, organized transportation is bringing groups of Vizhnitzer chassidim from cities throughout Eretz Yisroel to Moshav Ora, where they are being received by the Rebbe for kvittlach. The visits are being arranged in advance through a registration system as Vizhnitzer chassidim continue to intensify their tefillos for the refuah sheleimah of Rav Yisroel ben Leah Esther.

{Matzav.com}

British conservative provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos has been deported from the United States to the United Kingdom after immigration authorities arrested him in Louisiana for allegedly remaining in the country beyond his authorized stay, U.S. officials said Saturday.

The Department of Homeland Security said Yiannopoulos was sent back to Britain on Friday. Authorities said he had legally entered the United States in May 2019 but subsequently overstayed. An immigration judge ordered him removed on July 22 after he failed to appear for an immigration hearing, according to a DHS spokesperson.

Yiannopoulos was taken into custody Thursday at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport and detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Representatives for Yiannopoulos did not respond to requests seeking comment on his deportation.

Yiannopoulos became widely known for his outspoken conservative activism and provocative commentary on feminism, Islam and immigration. He has also been a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement policies.

Immigration authorities initially announced Yiannopoulos’ arrest Friday, saying the British national had entered the United States legally through New York City in May 2019 before remaining beyond his authorized period. DHS said an immigration judge issued the July 22 removal order after Yiannopoulos failed to attend his scheduled immigration proceeding.

“He chose to overstay his welcome in violation of our nation’s laws,” a spokesperson for DHS wrote in an emailed statement.

ICE’s online detainee tracking system did not disclose where Yiannopoulos was being held following his arrest. It instead directed relatives and attorneys seeking information to the agency’s office in Alexandria, Louisiana, which serves as a major hub for international deportation flights.

Yiannopoulos’ representatives did not respond to another request for comment following his detention, and it was not immediately known whether he had an attorney representing him in the immigration case.

More recently, Yiannopoulos has worked for rapper Ye, previously known as Kanye West, who was scheduled to perform in New Orleans on Friday night.

Yiannopoulos has spent years as a prominent and controversial figure in conservative political circles, frequently drawing attention for his attacks on feminism, Islam and immigration. His own immigration case drew particular attention because of his outspoken support for President Trump’s immigration crackdown.

“Zero immigration for the next 20 years. No ifs, no buts,” Yiannopoulos wrote on the social platform X last year.

His detention Thursday occurred as federal immigration authorities have sharply increased arrests across the country as part of President Trump’s broader immigration enforcement campaign.

Conservative activist Laura Loomer, who has feuded publicly with Yiannopoulos for years, quickly celebrated news of his arrest on social media.

“I was the first person to report on the fact that Milo was in the US illegally where he incited violence against President Trump and worked for Marjorie Traitor Greene,” Loomer wrote on X.

Yiannopoulos became an especially polarizing figure in 2017 during what he dubbed his “Troll Academy Tour,” a series of appearances on college campuses around the country. His visits prompted heated demonstrations and, in some instances, physical confrontations, with critics accusing him of promoting hate speech while supporters portrayed him as a defender of free expression. BuzzFeed reported around that period that Yiannopoulos had maintained close relationships with individuals who identified themselves as white nationalists.

He remained involved in conservative political and media circles in subsequent years. The Washington Post reported that he served as an intern for then-Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene in 2022 before later managing Ye’s brief 2024 presidential campaign.

Most recently, Yiannopoulos has served as a spokesperson for Ye, whose own public profile has been marked by controversy over antisemitic statements for which the rapper subsequently apologized.

{Matzav.com}

A federal judge in California has ruled that the Trump administration cannot deport international students or other noncitizens simply because they criticize Israel or voice support for Palestinians, finding that such action violates constitutional protections for free speech.

U.S. District Judge Noël Wise handed down the decision Friday in a case brought on behalf of Stanford University’s student newspaper, which argued that international students had become afraid to express their views because they feared their speech could result in deportation.

The ruling largely follows the reasoning of a federal judge in Boston who concluded nearly a year ago that the Trump administration had violated the Constitution by targeting noncitizens for deportation solely on the basis of their pro-Palestinian advocacy or criticism of Israel.

In her decision, Wise described freedom of speech and freedom of the press as “foundational to America’s enduring democracy.” She found that portions of the federal government’s deportation framework suffered from constitutional problems involving both free-speech protections and vagueness, violating the First and Fifth Amendments.

The judge pointed to actions taken by federal immigration authorities beginning in March 2025 against individuals who publicly supported Palestinians or criticized Israel’s conduct. Wise also cited government action involving people who made critical remarks about Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk following his assassination last September.

“Tomorrow, or perhaps even today, targets may include anyone in the United States who exercises their freedom of speech to simply express opinions the government does not like,” the judge in San Jose said.

“This downward spiral is antithetical to our Constitution that recognizes our right to speak freely,” she added. “Here you can simultaneously hate the content of a person’s speech and love the country that cherishes the freedom to allow it. Zealous protection of our Constitutional right to free speech is a provocative demonstration of our country’s powerful lack of fear.”

The ruling comes amid an ongoing international dispute over Israel’s military actions, which a growing number of experts — including experts commissioned by a United Nations body — have characterized as genocide.

The Justice Department had not issued a response to the decision as of Saturday and did not reply to a request for comment.

Conor Fitzpatrick, an attorney with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, the organization that filed the lawsuit, welcomed the court’s decision.

“In America, free speech doesn’t just belong to the people who say things the government agrees with,” Fitzpatrick said in a release.

{Matzav.com}

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is preparing to spend as much as $2 million on Boston Dynamics’ four-legged Spot robots, with the agency planning to use the remotely operated machines in potentially dangerous law enforcement environments, according to a Department of Homeland Security procurement notice.

The acquisition forecast, published Aug. 27, states that ICE “has a requirement to purchase Boston Dynamics SPOT robots and accessories” to support “public safety and law enforcement operations by providing a remotely operated robotic capability for inspection, situational awareness, and hazard assessment in environments that may pose risks to personnel.”

According to the procurement document, deploying the robots would allow ICE personnel to assess potentially hazardous locations without immediately placing officers in harm’s way.

The capability “helps improve officer safety, supports informed operational decision-making, and enhances DHS’s ability to respond to incidents involving dangerous, confined, unstable, or difficult-to-access areas,” the listing says.

DHS projects that the purchase will cost between $1 million and $2 million. The department expects to issue a solicitation on Sept. 4, with a firm-fixed-price purchase order anticipated during the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2026. The planned contract would remain in effect through April 24, 2027, and the procurement notice indicates that the purchase is not expected to undergo a competitive bidding process.

The equipment is slated for use at Fort Benning, Georgia, where ICE’s Office of Training and Tactical Programs operates its firearms and tactics division. ICE has previously said that approximately 13,000 field officers undergo periodic weapons qualification at the facility. The agency is also expanding both staffing and student capacity there by hundreds of people as it responds to an increase in hiring.

Boston Dynamics’ Spot is a four-legged robot roughly comparable in size to a dog. The machine can be equipped with cameras, sensors and a robotic arm, allowing operators to remotely inspect areas that could be unsafe for humans.

Similar robotic systems have already been deployed by police departments, fire departments and other public-safety agencies. Among their uses have been examining suspected explosives, entering buildings during armed standoffs and surveying locations where hazardous conditions could endanger first responders.

Boston Dynamics promotes Spot for public-safety applications and says it is “committed to partnering with first responders, police departments, fire brigades, military or government agencies charged with keeping the public safe.” At the same time, the company’s terms prohibit customers from employing its robots “as weapons, or to enable weapons, or to harm or intimidate any person or animal.” Boston Dynamics has also joined an industry commitment opposing the weaponization of general-purpose robots.

The use of robotic dogs by law enforcement has previously generated controversy. New York City ended a lease involving a Spot robot in 2021 following criticism over deployments at public housing and during a hostage incident. The city later brought robotic technology back into its policing operations in 2023.

The ICE proposal has not yet resulted in a finalized purchase. Federal acquisition forecasts outline anticipated procurements and can be modified or withdrawn before a contract is ultimately awarded.

{Matzav.com}

Six months after suffering severe, disfiguring injuries in the opening airstrikes of the war, Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has yet to appear publicly in any photograph, video or audio recording, fueling growing questions inside the country about his health and whether he is actually exercising control over the Islamic Republic, Reuters reports.

Khamenei was elevated to the position of supreme leader following the death of his father in the opening phase of the war. His continued disappearance from public view comes as Tehran confronts consequential decisions over the conflict, along with an economy already weakened before the fighting and now under enormous additional pressure.

Iranian officials and other senior figures insist that Khamenei remains firmly in command. They say he is deliberately staying out of sight because of security concerns while recovering from injuries that disfigured his face, and that he has handed much of the government’s routine management to a small group of senior officials.

Yet the absence of any visual or audible proof of Khamenei’s condition has increasingly raised doubts among Iranians. Since assuming the position approximately a week after the war began, he has released no photograph, video or recording of his voice — an extraordinary situation in a political system built around the supreme leader’s ultimate authority.

“The question is no longer whether Mojtaba is alive, but whether Iran still has a functioning supreme leader,” said Alex Vatanka of the Middle East Institute in Washington. Khamenei has communicated with the Iranian public only through several written statements subsequently read by broadcasters. His absence was particularly conspicuous last month, when he failed to appear during an elaborate week of funeral ceremonies for his father.

Senior Iranian officials and other insiders maintain that the secrecy is necessary because of concerns that Khamenei could be assassinated. They say he regularly confers with the country’s most senior officials, reviews major reports and personally makes the ultimate decisions on matters of national importance.

President Masoud Pezeshkian offered one public indication of such activity on August 10, saying he had participated in a seven-hour meeting with Khamenei.

Questions about the supreme leader’s absence, however, are beginning to surface even among some of the Islamic Republic’s staunchest loyalists.

“We need to hear our leader’s voice, or see any sign that he is there on top and leading the country to give us more confidence,” said a member of the Basij volunteer militia in Qom, the religious center that occupies a central place in Iran’s theocratic establishment.

The Basij member, who spoke anonymously because of the sensitivity of the issue, said he nevertheless believed Khamenei remained responsible for major decisions. Still, he argued that the failure to release even a single photograph was hurting morale and damaging Iran’s interests.

Among reform-minded Iranians and opponents of the regime, skepticism about the official explanation is considerably stronger. “How do we know that Mojtaba has not been killed?” said Shahrokh, a pro-reform businessman in Tehran who also requested anonymity.

“It is not logical that there is ‌not a single sign proving he is alive, let alone evidence that he is involved in decision-making,” he added.

After six months of warfare against its most formidable adversaries, Iran has sustained extensive damage but its governing structure remains intact. The regime’s military still possesses capabilities that could threaten energy shipments and target American allies in the Gulf.

The Islamic Republic has also demonstrated its ability to survive the deaths of its previous supreme leader and other senior commanders without experiencing an institutional collapse. The political and military command structure has remained operational and loyal to the ideology of the regime.

Iran’s economic position, however, has become increasingly precarious. The financial burden of the war, combined with a blockade that has choked off oil exports for months, has sent the rial plunging and raised fears of another wave of widespread unrest. Iranian authorities violently suppressed mass demonstrations in January, killing thousands of protesters.

Against that backdrop, regime leaders have reorganized their priorities around protecting the survival of the Islamic Republic, rebuilding Iran’s deterrent capabilities and preventing the worsening economic crisis from threatening the stability of the government.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, already one of the country’s dominant institutions before the conflict, expanded its influence after the war began. According to sources familiar with the leadership structure, the Guards remain deeply involved in strategic decision-making within a reorganized system centered around the Supreme National Security Council.

The leadership circle includes senior Revolutionary Guard commanders alongside major political figures, including Pezeshkian and parliament speaker Mohammed Baqer Qalibaf.

Multiple senior sources inside Iran told Reuters that Khamenei is indeed meeting with members of that group, participating fully in discussions and retaining final authority over all major decisions.

One senior Iranian official said Khamenei’s face-to-face interactions have been restricted to a very small circle. According to the official, authorities have deliberately withheld information about his whereabouts and condition because they fear that releasing details could enable the United States to locate and target him.

A person described as close to Khamenei’s inner circle said his physical condition has improved considerably and characterized the supreme leader as mentally sharp and actively engaged in government decisions.

“Despite all the pressures, services to the people have not stopped. Our ‌foreign policy line is unified and our decisions are coherent. All of this shows the ‌supreme leader is in charge,” a second official said.

Khamenei was never known for seeking the spotlight even before becoming supreme leader. As a senior aide to his father, he generally operated behind the scenes and avoided prominent public appearances. According to senior sources, he suffered facial disfigurement during the opening hours of February 28, when Israeli and American airstrikes launched the war and killed his father.

His continued invisibility has become more difficult to explain, however, now that he occupies the Islamic Republic’s highest position during what is arguably Iran’s gravest national crisis since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The supreme leader is not merely another senior official in Iran’s system, but the figure entrusted with ultimate authority over the country’s most consequential decisions.

“A genuine deal with Washington requires Mojtaba’s unmistakable approval and so does any decision to sustain a long and costly conflict with the United States,” said Vatanka.

“His prolonged absence has created a dangerous situation in which rival factions can all claim to know what ‌the leader really wants,” he added.

New information has emerged about the circumstances surrounding Mali and Liel Yahalomi’s unexplained departure from Israel, including debts exceeding NIS 200,000, a birthday celebration shortly before they vanished, and a fully furnished apartment that appeared to have been abandoned without any preparation for a permanent move.

According to a Channel 12 News report, Mali’s financial difficulties had developed over a lengthy period, with outstanding debts eventually climbing above NIS 200,000 and continuing to increase.

People familiar with the circumstances said there was little indication that Mali was preparing to leave the country. Just days before she disappeared, she attended a surprise celebration organized for her 50th birthday. Relatives and close friends who were present reportedly detected nothing unusual and were unaware that Mali and her daughter were preparing to leave Israel.

The mystery surrounding their whereabouts ended when Mali and Liel were located in Argentina. After they were found, Liel contacted relatives who had assembled at her grandmother’s home. During the late-night conversation, which was facilitated by a local police representative, Liel was heard crying as she assured relatives that she and her mother were safe and had departed voluntarily. She apologized for causing the family alarm and said they would provide additional information.

Meanwhile, the Modi’in apartment rented by the two appeared largely untouched. Furniture and personal possessions remained inside, and investigators reportedly found nothing that would ordinarily suggest that its occupants had been preparing to relocate abroad.

Mali’s son, a married yeshiva student living in Israel with his young son, was reportedly just as surprised as other relatives. Mali had been providing him with financial support, and he had no advance knowledge of his mother and sister’s plans. After their disappearance, he helped relatives gain access to a computer and iPad left behind by providing the necessary passwords.

Investigators and others familiar with the case reportedly believe that Mali’s mounting financial problems played a major role in her decision to leave Israel. She had apparently spent considerable time attempting to strengthen her financial position, earning a master’s degree in hopes of increasing her income and later receiving a promotion at her job. Those efforts, however, were not enough to bring the growing debts under control.

Relatives reportedly suspect that Mali concealed the plan because she feared family members would either try to prevent the departure or offer to pay the debts themselves. The secrecy was particularly striking because some relatives had reportedly acted as guarantors for financial obligations incurred by Mali.

Another development surprised family members after Mali and Liel were located in Argentina: Mali was seen without a head covering. According to the report, the change was especially noticeable because she had become religious approximately two decades earlier. Some relatives viewed the change as a possible indication that Mali and her daughter intended to make a broader break with the lives they had previously led in Israel.

With the mother and daughter remaining in South America, their relatives have been left handling the practical and financial matters they left behind. Those responsibilities reportedly include dealing with the Modi’in apartment and leased vehicles, caring for the dog that remained in Israel, and providing assistance to Mali’s son and grandson.

Police have continued to emphasize that the evidence gathered during the investigation does not point to an abduction. Authorities currently believe that Mali and Liel made a personal and voluntary decision to leave Israel.

{Matzav.com}

Rav Yitzchok Yosef, the former Rishon LeTzion and nosi of Shas’s Moetzet Chachmei HaTorah, sharply attacked Israeli Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara on Motzoei Shabbos over her directive preventing this year’s state-sponsored memorial events honoring his father, Rav Ovadia Yosef zt”l.

Speaking during his weekly shiur, Rav Yosef contrasted the decision with the annual commemorations held for assassinated Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin, arguing that political considerations were behind the differing treatment.

Rav Yosef recalled the enormous and diverse crowd that attended his father’s levayah in 2013, when hundreds of thousands of people poured into the streets of Yerushalayim to pay their final respects.

“At Maran’s funeral, there were nearly a million people there. All of the Jewish people. There were secular and religious Jews, knitted kippahs, white kippahs, Chassidim, Litvaks. Anyone who was at the funeral and saw the broad public that was there — everyone was there, a million people. Now, the anniversary of the Rav arrives, and they want to hold a memorial for him as is proper, as befits his honor, as the entire public recognized his greatness. Suddenly, they issue a legal opinion — this wicked woman, the attorney general, what is her name? Miara, this crazy Miara — issues a legal opinion saying that it is forbidden to hold a gathering in honor of Maran.”

Rav Yosef then questioned why memorial events honoring Rabin were permitted close to elections while events honoring Rav Ovadia were being restricted.

“Rabin, he was murdered under circumstances, just shortly before elections. And they don’t prohibit events for him, because he belongs to the left. Fine, let them hold a gathering, why not? But the Rav, Maran, the gadol hador, who was not a political figure — Maran was a Torah figure, Rabin was a political figure, but Maran was a Torah figure — she issues a legal opinion this week saying that gatherings are forbidden before elections. They should not listen to her. Who is she anyway? HaKadosh Baruch Hu should destroy her, He should give her the blow that is coming to her.”

The controversy surrounds the cancellation of “Yom Maran,” the state memorial day established in honor of Rav Ovadia Yosef, the legendary Sephardic posek and longtime spiritual leader of Shas. The attorney general’s position was that the memorial events could not proceed in their planned format ahead of the upcoming elections.

Rav Yosef rejected the reasoning, emphasizing that his father’s stature extended far beyond partisan politics and pointing to the enormous cross-section of Israeli Jewry that revered him.

He concluded his remarks with another fierce denunciation of Baharav-Miara over the decision.

“She is meddling, meddling with Maran? Maran, the gadol hador, she is meddling with him? This will not pass in silence. Hashem should help that she receives the blow that is coming to her.”

{Matzav.com}

The Belzer community in Yerushalayim was plunged into mourning on Shabbos afternoon with the passing of the young bochur Yehuda Aryeh “Yudel” Weber z”l following a five-year battle with a serious illness. He was just 14 years old.

Yehuda Aryeh z”l was the son of Reb Shmuel Weber, a prominent Belzer chossid, and Mrs. Malka Ginendel Weber. His paternal grandfather is Reb Shlomo Weber, proprietor of the well-known grocery store on 16th Avenue in Boro Park. His maternal grandfather is Reb Boruch Mordechai Kupferstein, a prominent mashpia in Belz.

Yudel attended the Belzer Talmud Torah in Yerushalayim. Last Av, he began learning in the Belzer yeshiva ketana in Yerushalayim.

Despite the difficult treatments he was forced to undergo, Yudel displayed extraordinary determination to continue his learning and attend yeshiva. Even as he struggled with his illness, he made tremendous efforts to come to yeshiva whenever he was able.

Over the course of the past five years, Yudel endured tremendous suffering, which those close to him said he accepted quietly and with remarkable strength and emunah.

Throughout his illness, countless people davened for Yehuda Aryeh ben Malka Ginendel and hoped for his recovery. Tragically, on Shabbos afternoon, Parshas Ki Savo, he returned his pure neshamah to its Creator.

The levayah was held on Motzoei Shabbos, departing from the Sanhedria Funeral Home in Yerushalayim. The procession passed the Belzer Bais Medrash in Kiryat Belz before continuing to the Kahal Machzikei Hadas section of Har Hamenuchos, where Yudel was brought to kevurah.

Yehi zichro boruch.

{Matzav.com}

More than 18 months after returning from Hamas captivity, Omer Shem Tov is speaking about the inner struggle that accompanied his ordeal, describing how faith, humor and hope helped him survive the tunnels of Gaza and how he is now confronting the lasting trauma of what he endured.

In an interview with the Hebrew-language Arutz Sheva website, Shem Tov discussed his new book, “Meeting Myself in Hell,” which focuses less on documenting the brutality of captivity and more on the personal journey he underwent and his decision to choose life and hope after returning home. He said he initially resisted the idea of publishing his story.

“I didn’t want to publish yet another book by a hostage,” he admits. “I told myself there would soon be an entire shelf of hostage books, and I didn’t want to be just another one on that shelf. Eventually, I realized that I didn’t just want to tell people what happened to me. I wanted to talk about how you can rise from the darkness and find light within it.”

Among the most difficult subjects Shem Tov addresses is the guilt he continues to carry over Maya and Itay, two friends whom he persuaded to attend the Nova music festival, where they ultimately found themselves caught in the October 7 massacre.

“Maya was my best friend. I was the one who convinced her to come to the festival, and Itay decided to come because of her. Knowing that they ended up there, were wounded and kidnapped because of me was incredibly difficult. Neither of them ever blamed me, but deep down, it’s a feeling that is very hard to let go of.”

Those feelings have followed him beyond his immediate circle of friends. Shem Tov said encounters with wounded IDF soldiers and the families of troops who were killed while fighting during the war have left him grappling with the sacrifices made in the effort to rescue him and other hostages.

“There are people who went into hell to save me. Some were seriously wounded, and some never came back. When wounded soldiers tell me, ‘I would do it another thousand times,’ it shakes me. It’s hard to comprehend that someone was willing to pay such a price for you.”

One person whose actions remain deeply etched in Shem Tov’s memory is Ori Danino. Although the two had known each other for only a matter of hours before the October 7 attack, Shem Tov said Danino’s instinct to help others was immediately apparent.

“Ori was a light. He was always looking for a way to help. When the attack began, he had already managed to save four people. Then he called me and asked me to send him our location so he could go back and get us too. He knowingly returned into the inferno to save us. Later, he was kidnapped, and after months in captivity, he was murdered. It is a level of heroism that is almost impossible to describe.”

Even amid the terror of captivity, Shem Tov recalled discovering that humor could provide brief moments of relief and help the hostages preserve a sense of normalcy.

“We would quietly laugh into our pillows so they wouldn’t hear us. We even turned the IDF bombardments into a game, trying to figure out where each explosion was coming from. It may sound strange, but that was our way of remaining human.”

The sounds of Israeli military operations above ground brought their own complicated mixture of fear and reassurance. Every explosion carried the possibility of danger, but the sounds also reminded Shem Tov that Israel was still fighting to bring the hostages home.

“Hearing IDF tanks and aircraft gave me strength. I felt that I hadn’t been forgotten, that they were fighting for me. It gave me hope, even though every explosion was frightening.”

Shem Tov said he also attempted to develop a workable relationship with his Hamas captors as a survival strategy. He tried to make himself useful and establish some degree of rapport, even while the abuse continued.

“I cleaned for them, cooked for them, and tried to make them laugh. It didn’t make them human – they continued to beat me, humiliate me and spit on me – but it did slightly improve the way they treated me and helped me survive.”

The most transformative element of his captivity, Shem Tov said, was his renewed connection to faith. During his first days underground, confined in the darkness and barely able to move, he reached an emotional breaking point and decided to surrender his fate completely to G-d.

“During the first week, I simply went crazy. Then came a moment when I said to God: ‘Father, here I am. I’m in Your hands. Do whatever You want.’ From that moment on, I felt warmth, light within the darkness, as if someone was simply wrapping their arms around me. It’s a feeling I’ve been trying to return to ever since.”

Shem Tov also believes there was a profound connection between his own prayers underground and those being recited by his family at home.

“My mother would recite chapters of Psalms at home, and at that exact time I would be reciting the same chapters in the tunnel. I felt her prayers.”

Returning to Israel did not end the battle. Shem Tov said the psychological impact of captivity remains with him and requires constant effort as he tries to rebuild his life.

“I still feel that I have light to spread, but it’s a daily battle inside my head and my soul. Post-traumatic stress doesn’t simply disappear.”

Drawing from that experience, Shem Tov urged others struggling with the psychological wounds of war to speak openly about what they are experiencing. He also called on their families and friends to pay close attention to suffering that may not be readily visible.

“I want everyone dealing with PTSD to understand that it’s okay to talk, it’s okay to cry, and it’s okay to share. It doesn’t make you less of a man or less of a human being. And to those around them, I say: Open your eyes. Look at the people around you. Sometimes what you see from the outside is only a small part of what is happening inside.”

Shem Tov, however, does not want captivity to define the rest of his life. With his ordeal behind him, he is pursuing an ambition he held long before October 7: becoming a professional actor.

“I always dreamed of becoming an actor. I completed an acting course in New York, and my dream is to land a leading role in a major film. After that – an Oscar. I always dream big. After returning from captivity, I feel that anything is possible.”

{Matzav.com}

Between 20% and 30% of the humanitarian aid trucks that entered the Gaza Strip through Israel over the past week were carrying supplies other than food, including medical equipment, medications and materials for water, sewage and sanitation infrastructure, according to new figures released by Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories.

COGAT published the latest breakdown of humanitarian assistance entering Gaza on its official Facebook page, detailing the types of supplies transferred into the territory during the week.

According to the agency, food continued to account for the overwhelming majority of the shipments, with approximately 70% to 80% of all trucks entering Gaza during the period carrying food products.

Hundreds of additional trucks transported medical supplies into Gaza over the course of the week. Those shipments included wheelchairs, surgical equipment, medications and other healthcare-related items.

Dozens of trucks were also permitted to enter carrying equipment and supplies intended for Gaza’s water and sewage networks, as well as sanitation and hygiene needs. Among the items delivered were large water tanks and chlorine tablets.

COGAT separately reported that approximately 150 Gaza residents holding authorization to enter third countries departed the Gaza Strip last Tuesday. The group traveled through Israeli territory to Jordan before continuing on to their respective destination countries.

The latest figures were released as opposition to Israel’s continued transfer of humanitarian assistance into Gaza remains a source of controversy within the country.

During the past week, Gilad Erdan, chairman of the Ha’achdut party, visited the Kerem Shalom Crossing along the Gaza border, where he participated in a demonstration opposing the continued delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

The protesters also voiced opposition to the deployment of foreign forces in the territory.

{Matzav.com}

Israel’s Shin Bet confirmed tonight that Yair Netanyahu, the son of Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, faced a serious assassination threat that led Israeli authorities to urgently remove him from Florida and return him to Israel under heightened security.

The confirmation marked the first time the Israel Security Agency publicly acknowledged receiving intelligence pointing to a significant threat against Yair Netanyahu’s life.

According to the Shin Bet, security officials conducted an assessment after receiving the intelligence and determined that the danger was sufficiently severe to warrant bringing Netanyahu and his security detail back to Israel immediately.

The disclosure came several days after Prime Minister Netanyahu revealed that Iran had sought to assassinate one of his sons. At the time, the prime minister did not identify which of his children had been targeted.

The Shin Bet’s statement also followed a report in the United States that Israeli intelligence had discovered an Iranian operation targeting Yair Netanyahu as early as December, while he was residing in Hallandale Beach, near Miami, Florida.

According to that report, Iranian operatives had progressed beyond simply discussing a possible attack. Members of the cell were allegedly already active in the area, surveilling Netanyahu’s residence and collecting information about his movements and daily schedule.

American authorities were informed once Israeli officials determined the seriousness of the threat, according to the report. Yair Netanyahu was then ordered to leave the area without delay.

The evacuation was carried out so urgently that Netanyahu reportedly left personal possessions behind in Florida. He was subsequently transported back to Israel under heavy security.

Israeli security officials said the extraordinary measures were based on concrete intelligence indicating that Netanyahu faced a genuine threat to his life. The objective, they said, was to remove him from the danger as quickly as possible.

The confirmation provides additional context to Prime Minister Netanyahu’s comments earlier this week regarding the extensive security provided to members of his family. Netanyahu argued that such protection should not be viewed as a luxury or special privilege, saying that actual threats against his relatives demonstrate that the security measures are necessary.

{Matzav.com}

In a first for the Karlin-Stolin chassidus — and what is being described as an unprecedented development in the chassidishe world — the traditional sale of aliyos for Rosh Hashanah will move online this year, with members of the chassidus bidding through a specially created digital platform.

The change was announced ahead of the upcoming Rosh Hashanah and will apply to aliyos for both days of Yom Tov at Karlin-Stolin’s massive bais medrash in Givat Ze’ev.

Until now, as is customary in shuls and chassidishe courts around the world, the aliyos were auctioned in the traditional fashion, with a gabbai announcing each aliyah and members of the tzibbur submitting their bids in the bais medrash.

But the enormous growth of the Stoliner community has made that increasingly difficult.

Thousands of chassidim crowd into the main bais medrash in Givat Ze’ev for the Rosh Hashanah tefillos, creating practical difficulties in conducting an auction and ensuring that the gabbai’s announcements can be heard throughout the enormous crowd before Krias HaTorah.

As a result, Stoliner askanim decided that this year’s auction will instead take place in advance through a dedicated digital system.

The decision was outlined in an official notice distributed to members of the chassidus under the heading “Sale of Aliyos for the Upcoming Days of Rosh Hashanah.”

“For the sake of benefit and convenience, and due to the large number of attendees, kein yirbu, and the difficulty created in selling the aliyos and making the announcements heard by the entire congregation, it has therefore been decided to establish a special platform for the sale of aliyos for the days of Rosh Hashanah,” the announcement stated.

Under the new arrangement, chassidim interested in purchasing an aliyah during the two days of Rosh Hashanah will be able to participate in an auction conducted through a digital platform developed specifically for that purpose.

Full details regarding the bidding process and how members of the chassidus can participate are expected to be released in the coming days.

The move is believed to mark the first time that a major chassidus has shifted the sale of Rosh Hashanah aliyos from the traditional in-person auction to a digital bidding system conducted in advance.

The development has generated considerable discussion both within Karlin-Stolin and across the broader chassidish world. The sale of aliyos by a gabbai in the bais medrash is a familiar tradition stretching back generations, making the decision to replace the live auction with a technological alternative particularly noteworthy.

At the same time, the unusual change reflects a challenge created by Karlin-Stolin’s considerable growth: a practice that worked easily when a congregation numbered in the hundreds becomes far more complicated when thousands of mispallelim are gathered under one roof.

This Rosh Hashanah, the aliyos themselves will remain unchanged. The bidding for them, however, will be taking place in a decidedly different way.

A military judge has barred prosecutors from using a 2007 confession by accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, ruling that the statements were not voluntary and delivering another major complication to a prosecution that has already dragged on for more than two decades.

Lt. Col. Michael Schrama concluded that statements Mohammed gave investigators in 2007 could not be admitted against him, according to a report by the New York Post. The ruling was not initially released publicly, but sources familiar with the decision said the judge had excluded Mohammed’s confessions from the case.

Mohammed, who has been held at Guantánamo Bay for more than two decades, is accused of serving as the principal architect of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, in which nearly 3,000 people were killed.

The decision creates yet another potential obstacle as the military commission attempts to finally bring Mohammed and his alleged co-conspirators to trial after years of legal disputes, procedural battles and repeated delays.

The development came during the same week that Schrama established June 2028 as the trial date for Mohammed and three co-defendants: Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak bin ‘Atash, Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi and Ali Abdul Aziz Ali. The announcement came shortly before the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Prosecutors had sought to begin proceedings much sooner, asking for a January 2027 trial. Schrama rejected that timetable, finding that it would not provide sufficient time for the “resolution of pretrial evidentiary and compliance motions.”

Military prosecutors were contacted by Fox News Digital regarding Friday’s decision. The organization 9/11 Families United declined to offer Fox News Digital a comment on the ruling.

The exclusion of Mohammed’s confession is the latest development in a case that has repeatedly stalled amid complicated legal fights, including disputes involving evidence and unsuccessful attempts to resolve the prosecution through plea agreements.

A major effort to settle the case appeared to be taking shape in 2024, when Mohammed, Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi agreed to acknowledge their involvement in the Sept. 11 attacks. Under that arrangement, the three would receive life sentences and be spared the death penalty.

All three defendants remain in U.S. military custody at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

The proposed agreements prompted intense criticism from numerous relatives of those murdered on Sept. 11, many of whom objected to an arrangement that would remove the possibility of capital punishment.

The Biden administration subsequently withdrew the deal, a decision that triggered additional litigation and further complicated efforts to bring the extraordinary long-running case to a conclusion.

Beyond taking the death penalty off the table, the proposed agreement would have required the defendants to respond to questions from victims’ families seeking answers about the planning and execution of the attacks.

With Mohammed’s 2007 statements now excluded and the trial scheduled for June 2028, the prosecution of the men accused of orchestrating the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil is poised to continue well beyond the attack’s 25th anniversary.

Members of the Jewish community are being urged to be vigilant following the launch of a new missionary campaign specifically designed to target Jews, using a highly recognizable internet domain and billboards placed throughout the New York metropolitan area.

The campaign is being promoted through “Jews.com,” a website operated as part of an effort by Kirt Schneider and his Christian missionary organization, Discovering the Jewish J—-, to persuade Jews to accept Christian beliefs.

According to promotional material released by the organization, billboards advertising the campaign have been placed throughout Brooklyn, Manhattan and northern New Jersey, including a prominent location outside Barclays Center in Brooklyn and additional locations on Manhattan’s East Side. Organizers say they intend to expand the effort to other major metropolitan areas across the United States.

The campaign is particularly concerning because of the way it has been packaged. Rather than presenting itself simply as conventional Christian evangelism, the initiative employs Jewish terminology and imagery and directs unsuspecting visitors to the domain Jews.com — a name that, on its face, gives no indication that the website is devoted to missionary activity.

Schneider, who refers to himself as a “rabbi” and uses Hebrew and Jewish terminology in promoting Christian theology, made clear that Jews themselves are the specific focus of the new effort.

“Acquiring Jews.com, to me is equivalent personally to when the Lord parted the Red Sea for Israel. The chance of me ever acquiring the domain name Jews.com was impossible, yet the Lord himself literally gave it to me. Why? Because he knew that we’d be faithful by his grace to proclaiming Y—- as the Messiah to the Jewish people.”

Schneider said that after years of directing much of his preaching toward Christian and non-Jewish audiences, he is now “laser-focused on reaching Jewish people.”

The website has accordingly been constructed specifically with Jewish visitors in mind. According to the organization, it offers videos, personal accounts, religious teachings and written materials seeking to convince Jews of Christian claims by presenting them through what it describes as a Jewish framework and by attempting to reinterpret passages from Tanach as references to Christian theology.

Schneider described the project as arising from what he considers a religious calling to intensify missionary activity among Jews.

“I knew right then and there, in an instant, that God was calling me and Discovering the Jewish J—- to challenge Jewish people in a whole new way, at a whole new level, with the good news of Messiah,” Schneider said.

The campaign is also attempting to recruit Christians themselves to participate in the effort. Its organizers openly describe Jews.com as a tool that Christians can send to Jewish friends, relatives, coworkers and neighbors, allowing the website to do the missionary work even when the person sharing it has little knowledge of the theological arguments involved.

“This is the most powerful tool on earth we have right now to share the love of Messiah with Jewish people,” Schneider said.

Promotional material for the campaign explicitly encourages Christians to circulate the site among Jews and “let Jews.com do the rest.”

{Matzav.com}

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has awarded a $16.7 million contract for thousands of electric shock gloves to be used by agents in the field, moving forward with the purchase despite objections from civil liberties advocates who raised concerns when the plans emerged earlier this month.

According to a notice posted in a federal contracting database, ICE entered into a no-bid agreement with Kentucky-based Compliant Technologies to acquire the equipment. ICE has played a central role in President Donald Trump’s sweeping immigration enforcement campaign.

Under the contract, the agency will purchase 6,000 pairs of the devices over the next six months, along with related equipment and services. The gloves are capable of administering painful electrical shocks intended to interfere with an individual’s ability to respond.

The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, disclosed earlier this month that the agency intended to purchase devices known as CTG-5 Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter, or GLOVE units.

The American Civil Liberties Union sharply criticized the planned acquisition, warning that providing immigration officers with “a concealed means of delivering terrible pain is a recipe for more harm to the public and less accountability.”

DHS, however, characterized the equipment as a tool intended to assist agents in controlling confrontations without escalating to more serious uses of force.

The department described the gloves as “a Conductive Distraction and De-escalation Device which will be issued to Homeland Security Investigations and Enforcement Removal Operations officers and agents.”

The purchase comes amid heightened scrutiny of ICE and its enforcement operations. Fatal shootings by ICE agents involving two U.S. citizens in Minnesota earlier this year, along with concerns raised by advocacy organizations over conditions inside ICE detention facilities, have fueled protests against the agency.

More than 50 people have died while being held in ICE custody nationwide since Trump returned to the White House early last year.

Trump has defended his administration’s intensified immigration enforcement efforts as necessary to strengthen security inside the United States.

Civil rights and immigration advocacy organizations have strongly opposed the administration’s approach, arguing that the crackdown is discriminatory and infringes upon free-speech and due-process protections. Critics have also contended that the enforcement environment has created particular concerns for ethnic minorities, including fears of racial profiling.

{Matzav.com}

Four young men have pleaded guilty to an arson attack that destroyed four Hatzolah ambulances in London’s heavily Jewish Golders Green neighborhood, causing approximately £1 million in damage in an incident that prosecutors say they will argue was connected to terrorism.

Hamza Iqbal, 20, Rehan Khan, 19, Judex Atshatshi, 18, and Saif Ali, 18, entered guilty pleas at the Old Bailey to destroying or damaging property while being reckless as to whether life would be endangered.

The attack occurred during the early morning hours of March 23, when four fully equipped ambulances belonging to Hatzolah were deliberately set ablaze in Golders Green.

Prosecutors have said they believe the Hatzolah vehicles were specifically targeted because of their connection to the Jewish community.

According to evidence presented in court, three members of the group carried out the actual firebombing of the ambulances while the fourth remained nearby in a vehicle.

Gas canisters inside the ambulances exploded after the fires were started, adding to the destruction at the scene.

Each of the ambulances was valued at approximately £250,000. Four electrical charging stations and their cables were also damaged in the blaze, with each charging installation valued at roughly £5,000.

Prosecutor Leo Seelig told the court that when the defendants are sentenced, the Crown Prosecution Service intends to argue that the arson should be treated as an offense connected to terrorism.

Mrs. Justice Cheema Grubb declined to make a determination at this point about whether the attack was terrorism-related. Defense attorneys have maintained that there is no evidence establishing such a connection.

Sentencing for the four defendants will take place after the case against a fifth man, Subhan Ahmed, is resolved. Ahmed has pleaded not guilty to assisting an offender.

Iqbal and Khan, both from Leyton; Atshatshi, of Dagenham; and Ali, of Walthamstow, were ordered to remain in custody.

Hatzolah has provided emergency medical services in Golders Green and the surrounding north London community since 1979. Operated by volunteers, the Jewish-led nonprofit provides emergency medical assistance and hospital transportation free of charge to people regardless of their religion.

The Community Security Trust, which works to protect British Jews against antisemitism and terrorism, welcomed the guilty pleas and said the actions of the defendants “caused immense shock and distress across the Jewish community”.

“This was an appalling antisemitic act against a volunteer ambulance service providing emergency medical assistance to people of all backgrounds across north London, simply because those ambulances belonged to a Jewish charity,” a spokesperson added.

The four defendants are expected to be sentenced in the spring of next year. Prosecutors intend to present evidence at sentencing supporting their contention that the attack had a terrorism connection, while attorneys representing the defendants told the court that none of the four is involved in terrorism.

The case has also drawn the attention of British intelligence officials amid a wider investigation into possible Iranian involvement in attacks targeting Jewish communities during 2026.

British intelligence officials initially kept open the possibility that the Iranian government or groups operating on its behalf could have played a role in the Hatzolah attack and other incidents targeting Jewish interests. They subsequently concluded that classified intelligence indicated possible involvement by Iran or Iranian proxies.

Those suspicions have been reinforced by an FBI investigation involving Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, an Iranian-Iraqi man facing trial in Manhattan over allegations that he orchestrated attacks against Jewish communities in Europe.

U.S. court filings allege that al-Saadi, described as a commander in an Iraqi militia, was connected to attacks in London, including the destruction of the Hatzolah ambulances.

Al-Saadi was arrested in Turkey in May and subsequently extradited to the United States. The U.S. Department of Justice alleges that he participated in planning more than a dozen terrorist attacks across North America and Europe.

Federal court documents in the United States detail numerous incidents across Europe that the FBI alleges were connected to al-Saadi. In several cases, attacks targeting Jewish institutions were claimed online by a little-known organization called Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya, or the Islamic Movement of the People of the Right Hand.

According to U.S. prosecutors, a social media account associated with the group claimed responsibility for the London ambulance arson. Prosecutors further allege that al-Saadi personally posted propaganda footage of the attack on social media.

“On or about March 23, 2026, at approximately 1:45 a.m., three masked individuals carried out an arson attack on four Hatzalah Ambulances in London, United Kingdom,” reads the indictment before the US court.

“That same day, Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya posted on Telegram a propaganda video in which it claimed responsibility for the attack. On or about March 25, 2026, AL-SAADI posted on social media propaganda videos of the attack.”

The Justice Department has additionally accused al-Saadi of posting another propaganda video connected to an attempted arson attack against Finchley Road Synagogue in north London in April.

Attorneys representing al-Saadi in the United States have previously maintained that he is a political prisoner.

{Matzav.com}

The Trump administration told the Supreme Court two weeks ago that construction of a new White House East Wing was “65% finished,” part of its argument that the work was too far along for the court to halt.

But by the White House’s own standard for measuring the project’s progress, established in a confidential agreement with contractor Clark Construction that was reviewed by The Washington Post, work on the controversial project was far less complete.

The agreement, finalized before Clark began demolition last October, stipulates that payments to the contractor be proportional to the amount of work completed, and that work cannot begin until the government approves spending for it. Based on that, if 65 percent of the work has been done, then the government should already have paid 65 percent of the total cost of the project.

Publicly available appropriations data shows that as of the end of July, the White House budget office had approved $144 million in spending from an account used to pay for the East Wing and other White House projects. Even if that entire amount were spent on the East Wing, it would come to only about 24 percent of the $600 million estimated construction cost that Clark provided the White House in March. The Post has previously reported that cost estimate.

In the same mid-August court filing in which the administration claimed 65 percent of the project was done, it said that it had already spent “around $200 million.”

If the government had spent $200 million on the East Wing project, the work would be just 33 percent complete, based on the $600 million budget estimate.

“You really want to understand why there’s such a big gap there,” said Carl Elefante, a retired D.C.-area architect and former president of the American Institute of Architects. In response to The Post’s findings, he called the government’s claim about the completion percentage “doubtful.”

The 65 percent claim was made in a sworn declaration by Joshua Fisher, the director for White House Management and Administration, who is overseeing the construction project. In the declaration, Fisher did not explain how the percentage was calculated but said, “Work has progressed too far to go back to the drawing board.”

His assertion came as the administration asked the Supreme Court to allow work on the ballroom to continue after lower courts ruled that the project was probably illegal without congressional approval and that construction must stop. The administration argued in part that stopping work while courts considered the merits of the case brought by the National Trust for Historic Preservation would cause “chaos in service of nothing” because the project had already progressed “beyond the point of judicial intervention.”

The White House did not answer The Post’s questions about the 65 percent figure and instead provided a statement from spokesman Davis Ingle. “President Trump continues to implement long-overdue and necessary renovations to beautify the People’s House as we approach our great Nation’s 250th anniversary of independence,” the statement said. “Thanks to the Builder-in-Chief, the White House will be properly glorified and remain in excellent condition for generations to come.”

The Justice Department, which represents the administration in court, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Fisher did not respond to a request for comment. Clark referred questions to the White House.

Clark’s contract says the company will be paid monthly based on the percentage of total work that has been done. This is common in the industry, according to eight construction experts consulted by The Post who said that dollars spent is the standard method for measuring completion of large-scale construction projects.

Even if progress was measured according to Trump’s repeated claim that the ballroom will cost $400 million, paid for by private donors, it would be considered only halfway complete.

In public statements, the president has sometimes drawn a distinction between funding for the ballroom and security improvements tied to it, which the administration has acknowledged will be paid for by the Secret Service and the military. Clark’s March budget estimate indicated that half the total $600 million cost was to be paid for with tax dollars.

In its request to the Supreme Court to allow construction to proceed, the administration appeared to draw a similar distinction between the overall project, which includes a secure underground bunker, and the ballroom, writing: “The Project is on time and under budget, and the ballroom is funded with approximately $400 million in private donations … zero taxpayer dollars are needed or required.”

Measured by the expected duration of the work, the project is about 30 percent complete, according to the administration’s timeline.

Fisher said in his declaration that construction began in late October 2025 and is expected to be complete in August 2028. That puts the work 10 months into a 34-month construction schedule.

The president is still tinkering with the overall plans for the East Wing, according to three people who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to describe internal discussions.

Some of those changes involve the ballroom’s exterior. Renderings that the administration shared with the Supreme Court this month included the addition of a new feature that Trump picked out – golden seals on the exterior of the ballroom – and the restoration of another feature, a staircase, that had been included in prior plans before being abandoned.

One of the people with knowledge of the project said construction was not nearly 65 percent complete. “I’m not sure they’re 65 percent complete with designing the ballroom,” the person said, mocking the administration’s claims. “The ballroom continues to undergo significant changes to the base design, even while construction is ongoing.”

(c) 2026, The Washington Post · Sarah Blaskey, Jonathan O’Connell, Dan Diamond, Jarrett Ley