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A joint operation between the Shin Bet and the Tel Aviv District Police’s Fraud Division led to the arrest of a 27-year-old man from Tel Aviv on Sunday. Authorities suspect he was acting on behalf of an Iranian intelligence organization considered hostile to Israel.

Officials from both agencies said the man had allegedly been in communication with Iranian agents for several months and is believed to have carried out a series of assignments on their behalf. These activities reportedly included taking photos of the residences of government officials, gathering visual intelligence near military installations, and vandalizing public areas with graffiti.

Investigators discovered that the suspect had received payments amounting to thousands of dollars, with the funds transferred through digital cryptocurrency platforms.

During a Sunday search of the suspect’s residence, law enforcement personnel confiscated computer equipment and electronic storage devices suspected of being used to exchange information with his Iranian contacts.

The individual appeared before the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court on Monday morning. The court approved the request to keep him in custody until June 26 while the investigation continues.

Officials from the Shin Bet and the police warned that Iranian-backed espionage and terror groups remain active in their efforts to enlist Israelis for covert operations. “These organizations reach out through social media platforms, and we urge all citizens and residents of Israel not to engage with foreign actors or carry out any missions on their behalf,” the agencies stated.

They further cautioned, “All security bodies will act with full force to bring anyone involved in such activity to justice and call on the public to immediately report any suspicious contact or solicitation attempts.”

{Matzav.com Israel}

HaRav Arie Kovalevcki, the Rosh Yeshivah of Hadras Melech, a yeshivah in Bnei Brak for bochurim from Spanish-speaking countries, went this week to the kollel of HaGaon HaRav Yitzchak Zilberstein together with his talmidim. The kollel, normally in Holon, is being temporarily housed in the Ramat Elchanan neighborhood of Bnei Brak. After Mincha, the Rosh Yeshivah and his talmidim gathered around HaRav Zilberstein, who was wrapped in a tallis and tefillin, since his minhag since the war began is to learn all day with tefillin on his head, and for Mincha, he donned a tallis. The Rosh Yeshivah told HaRav Zilberstein that the parents of the bochurim are nervous because of the war, and some of them want their sons to return home as soon as possible. The talmidim wanted to know what HaRav Zilberstein says about the matter. HaRav Zilberstein responded in a lengthy and emotional message, speaking directly to “the parents of the bochurim in Argentina, Mexico, Venezuela, and Panama. One of the ikarei emunah is believing in bias Moshiach. If we await him every day, then don’t bring your sons home, especially during these days when we see the revelation of Hakadosh Baruch Hu in all His glory. We are seeing awesome things now. Who dreamed of this? Who thought that the Jews would so successfully instill fear in Iran?” “They killed every official and important figure there; they killed them all in one fell swoop. We see that Hashem—Hu Elokim. Now is the greatest time for the Jewish nation. Everyone needs to declare, ‘I believe in bias haMoshiach, and even though he may tarry, I’ll await him every day.’ “So, if that’s the case, I think that leaving your sons here now in Eretz Yisrael is a Kiddush Hashem, and it will help every father and mother who is worried, and they really do worry—and yet they leave their children here; they believe in bias haMoshiach.” “Believe me, the children need to stay here now! This is the greatest time there is. This is truly an awesome time, a time when we see the revelation of Elokim!” Therefore, I advise all the dear and esteemed parents to leave their sons here. Do not be afraid, they will not be harmed! They will only grow and grow and grow! And you will have nachas. Ashreichem and happy is your lot, ashreichim if you listen to me, and don’t bring them home. They should stay here, and you’ll daven for them, and in this zechus, you will have a long life.” (YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

A divided Supreme Court on Monday allowed the Trump administration to restart swift removals of migrants to countries other than their homelands, lifting for now a court order requiring they get a chance to challenge the deportations. The high court majority did not detail its reasoning in the brief order, as is typical on its emergency docket. All three liberal justices joined a scathing dissent from Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin suggested third-country deportations could restart soon. “Fire up the deportation planes,” she said in a statement, calling the decision “a victory for the safety and security of the American people.” The court action came after immigration officials put eight people on a plane to South Sudan, though they later diverted to an American naval base in Djibouti after a judge stepped in. The migrants from countries including Myanmar, Vietnam and Cuba had been convicted of serious crimes in the U.S. Immigration officials have said that they were unable to return them quickly to their home countries. Their attorneys continued to press for a court order blocking their removal to South Sudan until they have a chance to talk with lawyers and raise concerns of “imprisonment, torture and even death there,” attorney Trina Realmuto, executive director of the National Immigration Litigation Alliance wrote. The case comes amid a sweeping immigration crackdown by Republican President Donald Trump’s administration, which has pledged to deport millions of people who are living in the United States illegally. In her 19-page dissent, Sotomayor wrote that the court’s action exposes “thousands to the risk of torture or death” and gives the Trump administration a win despite earlier violating the lower court’s order. “The government has made clear in word and deed that it feels itself unconstrained by law, free to deport anyone anywhere without notice or an opportunity to be heard,” she wrote in the dissent joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson. The Justice Department said in court documents the government is weighing the decision to decide its next steps. The Supreme Court action halts an order from U.S. District Judge Brian E. Murphy in Boston, who decided in April that people must get a chance to argue deportation to a third country would put them in danger — even if they’ve otherwise exhausted their legal appeals. He found that the May deportations to South Sudan violated his order and told immigration authorities to allow people to raise those concerns through their lawyers. Immigration officials housed the migrants in a converted shipping container in Djibouti, where they and the officers guarding them faced rough conditions. The administration has reached agreements with other countries, including Panama and Costa Rica, to house immigrants because some countries do not accept U.S. deportations. South Sudan, meanwhile, has endured repeated waves of violence since gaining independence in 2011. The migrants sent there in May got less than 16 hours’ notice, Sotomayor wrote. Murphy, who was appointed by Democratic President Joe Biden, didn’t prohibit deportations to third countries. But he found migrants must have a real chance to argue they could be in serious danger of torture if sent to another country. Another order in the same case resulted in the Trump administration returning a Guatemalan man who had been wrongly deported to Mexico, […]

High-profile Democratic contributors, including billionaires Barry Diller and Michael Bloomberg, are pulling back their financial support for the Democratic National Committee, citing what insiders describe as a growing consensus that the organization is failing to function effectively, the NY Post reports.

The DNC has struggled with internal conflict and a lack of unified leadership in the aftermath of President Trump’s defeat of Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election. Disillusionment among longtime backers has led several top-tier donors to hit pause on their contributions.

“For a variety of reasons, I have no intention of donating to the DNC,” Diller told The New York Post.

In his newly released memoir Who Knew, Diller, who heads the digital conglomerate IAC, sharply criticized the Biden administration for failing to live up to its promises of restoring honor to government.

“I think the biggest crime of the Biden administration is that it came in with a pledge to restore a more civilized, selfless, and uplifting manner of governance and instead let us all down with its progressive elitism, personal ego, and cynical behavior. Such a shame,” Diller wrote.

Sources close to Bloomberg say he, too, is hesitant to contribute again to the DNC, though he hasn’t made an official statement. Other donors, including hedge fund manager Marc Lasry, are said to be similarly reluctant, with no firm commitment yet to resume giving.

Bloomberg donated $413,000 to the DNC during the 2023–24 cycle, while Diller gave $330,400 and Lasry contributed $133,400. Lasry has indicated he might donate again eventually, but he hasn’t laid out a timeline. Bloomberg’s team declined to comment.

“There is just a broad consensus that the DNC is ineffectual and not where we should be giving money,” one longtime Democratic donor said.

The donor added, “But it’s not surprising. ‘I don’t belong to an organized party, I’m a Democrat’ is a longtime joke for a reason.

“We’re so decentralized. The DNC has always been a joke. If you are a megadonor looking to shape the direction of the party, don’t give to the DNC. At this point, the shape of the DNC is just embarrassing.”

Concerns about the DNC’s solvency have escalated to the point where some insiders are questioning whether the party may soon need to borrow money. However, DNC Chairman Ken Martin has publicly dismissed the idea of resorting to loans.

A DNC spokesperson pushed back, noting that many loyal donors have already given substantial contributions this year, and touted record-breaking fundraising during Martin’s first four months as chair.

Yet another prominent donor told The Post he’s completely cut off funding to the committee, and he believes many others have quietly done the same.

“People are too embarrassed to admit this,” the source said. “I’m a lifelong Dem who raised a ton of money, and I won’t give them a nickel — and I’m not alone.

“I’m not even a Democrat anymore. The Dems should kidnap Elizabeth Warren and take her to Mexico,” the source added, referring to the progressive Massachusetts senator. “This is how Trump got [his win] — not because Trump is loved but because his ideas are popular.”

Several insiders noted that much of the party’s recent donor activity has focused on New York City’s mayoral primary, where fears are mounting among party leaders about the possibility of self-described socialist Zohran Mamdani defeating Andrew Cuomo.

The DNC’s latest campaign finance disclosures, filed last week, show that the party burned through nearly $3 million in May alone, draining its reserves to a precarious $15 million.

If Mamdani were to win, some donors worry that the party’s resources could increasingly be redirected toward socialist candidates, further alienating major contributors.

In response, the DNC rejected claims of a donor exodus and issued a statement on Friday boasting about “record fundraising” levels, which it said represent “the highest in DNC history under any chair’s first four months.”

The committee told Axios that it raised nearly $40 million between February and May 2025 — exceeding the $37 million collected under former chair Jaime Harrison over the same time frame in 2021.

But a Democratic strategist warned against repeating past mistakes. “In the early and mid 2010’s, some big-money donors already tried not funding the DNC and state parties, instead funding groups outside of the Party, which hollowed out the critical work that the Party does while putting us behind the eight-ball when it came to critical coordination during the 2016 presidential election,” the strategist said.

“We all know how that story ended — Donald Trump won the Presidency and the Democratic Party fell to an all-time low at every level of government. The Democratic Party needs a fully-funded Party to fight Donald Trump.”

Meanwhile, the Republican National Committee reported a healthy boost in its May finances, with more than $5 million in net positive cash flow. Its war chest now exceeds $72 million, giving the GOP nearly five times the cash reserves of the DNC.

Longtime Republican donor and Home Depot co-founder Ken Langone reportedly celebrated the news. “We don’t have to worry as the GOP party because the Dem positions are so stupid they’ll never raise money again,” Langone told friends, according to sources.

{Matzav.com}

Air Haifa announced Thursday it will begin operating outbound flights from Haifa Airport to Larnaca, Cyprus, marking the expansion of its services beyond current repatriation efforts. The northern-based airline has been running nine daily flights from Larnaca to Haifa as part of a national initiative to return Israeli citizens quickly and safely. The carrier confirmed that additional outbound flights from Haifa to Larnaca are now available for booking on its website for the upcoming weekend, from Saturday through Monday, June 28–30. One-way fares are listed at $360, excluding luggage. Meanwhile, Israeli airline Arkia has extended its daily repatriation operations through June 29, offering return flights from Paris, Vienna, Batumi, Tbilisi, Barcelona, Athens, Larnaca, Dubai, and Rome. Tickets can be purchased through Arkia’s website. In addition, Arkia has begun limited outbound service from Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport to Paris, Vienna, Athens, and Larnaca. Under new government regulations, these flights are capped at 50 passengers per plane. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Governor Kathy Hochul issued a state of emergency on Monday for New York City and large portions of the state in response to a dangerous heat wave expected to break records dating back more than a century.

Over the weekend, violent storms swept through upstate New York, triggering deadly flash floods and intense thunderstorms. Meteorologists warned that a prolonged heat wave gripping the Northeast could push thermometers past 100 degrees on at least one day this week, with oppressive humidity making it feel even hotter.

Temperatures in the five boroughs nearly reached triple digits on Monday, and Tuesday’s forecast predicted a high of 102 degrees. If that holds, it would surpass the previous record highs of 96 degrees recorded in Central Park in 1888.

Meanwhile, central New York was hit hard by fierce weather. Powerful winds and torrential rain uprooted trees and destroyed buildings, claiming at least three lives in Oneida County — among them, twin girls, according to the Oneida County Sheriff’s Department.

In response to the devastation and extreme heat, Hochul enacted a state of emergency covering New York City, Long Island, and several upstate counties, including Westchester. The move enables the deployment of additional resources to affected areas.

“Our hearts break for the tragic loss of life during last night’s storms, and my administration has been in touch with local elected officials offering support,” Hochul said in a press release.

“State emergency response personnel are already on the ground providing resources and support as we work to recover from this severe weather and restore power quickly,” she said.

“I urge all New Yorkers to stay weather aware and take precautions to stay vigilant and safe as extreme heat and severe weather are expected to continue impacting the State over the next couple of days.”

Central New York, the Southern Tier, and the North Country were all expected to face continued rainfall, exacerbating the risk of more flooding.

Officials cautioned that flash flood conditions in central parts of the state could quickly spread to the Southern Tier and the mid-Hudson Valley.

As of Monday, about 50,000 residents across New York were dealing with power outages caused by the weekend storms. Roughly 35,000 of those were in Oneida County alone, according to National Grid’s outage map.

The emergency declaration encompasses all five boroughs of New York City, Long Island, and the counties of Albany, Broome, Chenango, Clinton, Columbia, Cortland, Delaware, Dutchess, Essex, Greene, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga, Orange, Otsego, Putnam, Rensselaer, Rockland, Saratoga, Schenectady, Tioga, Ulster, Warren, Washington, Westchester, and surrounding counties.

{Matzav.com}

A federal jury on Monday awarded $500,000 to the widow and estate of a police officer who killed himself nine days after he helped defend the U.S. Capitol from a mob of rioters, including a man who scuffled with the officer during the attack. The eight-member jury ordered that man, 69-year-old chiropractor David Walls-Kaufman, to pay $380,000 in punitive damages and $60,000 in compensatory damages to Erin Smith for assaulting her husband, Metropolitan Police Officer Jeffrey Smith, inside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. They awarded an additional $60,000 to compensate Jeffrey Smith’s estate for his pain and suffering. The judge presiding over the civil trial dismissed Erin Smith’s wrongful-death claim against Walls-Kaufman before jurors began deliberating last week. U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes said no reasonable juror could conclude that Walls-Kaufman’s actions were capable of causing a traumatic brain injury leading to Smith’s death. Walls-Kaufman, who lived a few blocks from the Capitol, denied assaulting Smith. He says any injuries that the officer suffered on Jan. 6 occurred later in the day, when another rioter threw a pole that struck Smith around his head. On Friday, the jury sided with Erin Smith and held Walls-Kaufman liable for assaulting her 35-year-old husband — an encounter captured on the officer’s body camera. “Erin is grateful to receive some measure of justice,” said David P. Weber, one of her attorneys. Walls-Kaufman said the outcome of the trial is “absolutely ridiculous.” “No crime happened. I never struck the officer. I never intended to strike the officer,” he said. “I’m just stunned.” After the jury left the courtroom, Reyes encouraged the parties to confer and discuss a possible settlement to avoid the time and expense of an appeal and for the sake of “finality.” “You guys settle, you can move on with your lives,” the judge said. Walls-Kaufman’s attorney, Hughie Hunt, described the jury’s award as “shocking.” “We’re talking about a three-second event,” he told the judge. “It’s not shocking, Mr. Hunt. A lot of things can happen in three seconds,” Reyes replied. Jeffrey Smith was driving to work for the first time after the Capitol riot when he shot and killed himself with his service weapon. His family said he had no history of mental health problems before the Jan. 6 riot. Erin Smith claims Walls-Kaufman struck her husband in the head with his own police baton, giving him a concussion and causing psychological and physical trauma that led to his suicide. The police department medically evaluated Smith and cleared him to return to full duty before he killed himself. In 2022, the District of Columbia Police and Firefighters’ Retirement and Relief Board determined that Smith was injured in the line of duty and the injury was the “sole and direct cause of his death,” according to the lawsuit. Walls-Kaufman served a 60-day prison sentence after pleading guilty to a Capitol riot-related misdemeanor in January 2023, but he was pardoned in January. On his first day back in the White House, President Donald Trump pardoned, commuted prison sentences or ordered the dismissal of cases for all of the nearly 1,600 people charged in the attack. More than 100 law-enforcement officers were injured during the riot. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick collapsed and died a day after engaging with the rioters. A medical examiner […]

As Trump announces a ceasefire in a few hours, Israel issues a new evacuation warning for District 6 and Mehran in Tehran, ahead of expected strikes on regime targets.

Iran launched a missile barrage at a U.S. military installation in Qatar on Monday in what it described as retaliation for the U.S. airstrikes over the weekend that struck Iranian nuclear facilities. President Trump dismissed the action as weak and ineffective, calling it “very weak” in a social media post.

“CONGRATULATIONS WORLD, IT’S TIME FOR PEACE!” Trump proclaimed on Truth Social after the Iranian attack failed to inflict serious damage.

Reports indicated that Tehran had signaled its intentions in advance to Qatar, and 13 out of 14 missiles were intercepted mid-air before impact. Footage captured the projectiles being destroyed by Qatari air defenses over the Persian Gulf.

Later, Qatari authorities said that a total of 19 missiles were actually launched toward Al Udeid Air Base. One managed to hit the facility, but no injuries were reported.

Analysts say the restrained nature of the attack suggests Iran may be running low on its missile reserves and is possibly exploring a way to de-escalate tensions with Washington.

“I am pleased to report that NO Americans were harmed, and hardly any damage was done,” Trump wrote. “Most importantly, they’ve gotten it all out of their ‘system,’ and there will, hopefully, be no further HATE,” he continued, adding a sarcastic jab.

“I want to thank Iran for giving us early notice, which made it possible for no lives to be lost and nobody to be injured.”

A U.S. military source told The Post that the Pentagon does not plan to retaliate for what it described as a failed strike.

Residents in Doha reported hearing explosions overhead, and video captured defensive missile systems in action. Iran labeled the effort “Operation Blessings of Victory,” according to state media.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed responsibility, stating it had launched a “devastating and powerful missile” at the U.S. base in Qatar.

Videos circulating online, including those posted by NewsNation’s Brian Entin, showed bright trails from the missiles lighting up the skies above the Gulf.

Al Udeid Air Base, which hosts around 10,000 American personnel, serves as the forward headquarters for U.S. Central Command.

Iranian officials now say they are open to diplomacy.

“We are rational enough to start a diplomatic process after punishing the aggressor,” one official told Reuters.

Still, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei took a defiant tone in a social media post Monday, saying, “We didn’t harm anyone. And we will not accept any harassment from anyone under any circumstances. And we will not submit to anyone’s harassment,” as translated from Farsi.

A defense official confirmed that ballistic missiles, both short- and medium-range, were fired from Iran and aimed at the U.S. facility in Qatar.

“The White House and the Department of Defense are aware of, and closely monitoring, potential threats to Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar,” read an official statement from Washington.

Trump was scheduled to convene with his national security team in the Situation Room at 1 p.m., according to the White House.

Qatar’s defense forces successfully intercepted the incoming missiles, the Qatari government confirmed.

Iran’s warning to Doha gave the U.S. time to relocate aircraft from vulnerable positions, Axios reported.

“At this time, there are no reports of US casualties,” a U.S. defense official stated, noting that monitoring efforts were ongoing and updates would follow.

According to The New York Times, Iranian officials said they felt compelled to respond to the U.S. strike on the Fordow nuclear site, but wanted to avoid escalating into full-scale conflict with Trump. They likened the move to the symbolic 2020 missile attack on U.S. troops in Iraq after Qasem Soleimani’s death.

That earlier strike caused no fatalities but left 110 service members with traumatic brain injuries.

U.S. intelligence had reportedly anticipated some form of retaliation following its strikes on three nuclear-related targets inside Iran.

On Monday, more than two dozen commercial flights bound for Qatar or the UAE were rerouted due to airspace safety concerns.

“The State of Qatar strongly condemns the attack that targeted Al-Udeid Air Base by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. We consider this a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the State of Qatar, its airspace, international law, and the United Nations Charter,” a spokesman for Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement posted to X.

“We affirm that Qatar reserves the right to respond directly in a manner equivalent with the nature and scale of this brazen aggression, in line with international law.”

Despite the tension, Iran later emphasized it wished to maintain good relations with Qatar, stressing that the missile strikes were aimed far from populated areas. This statement came from the office of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.

Located about 40 miles southwest of Doha, Al Udeid is the largest U.S. military installation in the Middle East.

The base houses more than 100 aircraft, including bombers, refueling planes, and surveillance assets critical to U.S. counterterrorism efforts in the region. It also features the longest runway in the Persian Gulf, and last month Trump announced that Qatar had agreed to invest $10 billion to upgrade the facility.

{Matzav.com}

WATCH: VP Vance reacts to the Israel-Iran ceasefire agreement announced by President Trump: “The President without … having a single American casualty obliterated the Iranian nuclear program. We are now in a place where we weren’t a week ago.”

VP VANCE: “Tomorrow really is a new day — the end of the 12 Day War, the end of the Iranian nuclear program, and I really do believe the beginning of something very big for peace in the Middle East.”

President Donald Trump announced Monday evening that both Israel and Iran have reached a consensus on a temporary halt to hostilities, with the ceasefire set to begin in six hours.

“It has been fully agreed by and between Israel and Iran that there will be a Complete and Total CEASEFIRE (in approximately 6 hours from now, when Israel and Iran have wound down and completed their in progress, final missions!), for 12 hours, at which point the War will be considered, ENDED!” Trump wrote in a message shared on his Truth Social platform.

He continued, “Officially, Iran will start the CEASEFIRE and, upon the 12th Hour, Israel will start the CEASEFIRE and, upon the 24th Hour, an Official END to THE 12 DAY WAR will be saluted by the World. During each CEASEFIRE, the other side will remain PEACEFUL and RESPECTFUL. On the assumption that everything works as it should, which it will, I would like to congratulate both Countries, Israel and Iran, on having the Stamina, Courage, and Intelligence to end, what should be called, ‘THE 12 DAY WAR.’ This is a War that could have gone on for years, and destroyed the entire Middle East, but it didn’t, and never will! God bless Israel, God bless Iran, God bless the Middle East, God bless the United States of America, and GOD BLESS THE WORLD!”

According to Trump’s statement, Iran will be the first to initiate the truce, with Israel following 12 hours later. Once both phases are completed, the two-week conflict will officially be declared over, with global recognition anticipated. Trump praised the leadership and resolve of both nations in reaching this point and expressed hope that peace will now prevail.

{Matzav.com}

BREAKING: As promised by the IDF… Israel has begun a new wave of airstrikes in Iran, with explosions heard in numerous areas in Tehran, Parchin military complex, and Tabriz. Air defenses active in Karaj and Bushehr.

Their chances of becoming the next mayor of New York City may have dimmed. Their mission now? Stopping former Gov. Andrew Cuomo from getting to City Hall. In the final day of campaigning before the city’s Democratic primary, candidates who are seen as long shots to win the nomination were urging voters to leave Cuomo off their ballots in the city’s ranked choice election in a last-ditch effort to block the former governor’s comeback from a harassment scandal. “Let’s make sure Andrew Cuomo gets nowhere near City Hall,” candidate and city Comptroller Brad Lander said Monday on WNYC radio, which interviewed the major candidates ahead of the election. State Sen. Zellnor Myrie, another candidate, similarly asked voters to not vote for Cuomo, telling the station, “We need fresh leadership, we need to turn the page and we need bold solutions at this moment.” The pitches came as Cuomo, who has been considered the frontrunner for months, has also been trying to fend off a charge from Zohran Mamdani. Mamdani, a 33-year-old state assemblyman, would be the city’s first Muslim and first Indian-American mayor if elected. A democratic socialist who got elected to the Legislature in 2020, Mamdani started the campaign as a relative unknown but has won support with a energetic campaign centered on improving the cost of living. The assault on Cuomo from fellow members of the Democratic field comes as he has continued to rack up establishment endorsements. Former President Bill Clinton endorsed Cuomo on Sunday, saying voters should not “underestimate the complexity” for the challenges faced by a mayor. The New York Times didn’t issue an endorsement this year, but wrote an editorial praising Lander and saying Cuomo would be a better choice than Mamdani, who it said was unworthy of being on people’s ballots. Cuomo and Mamdani have ratcheted up attacks on each other in the campaign’s final days. “He’s about public relations,” Cuomo said of Mamdani, dismissing his opponent as too focused on looking great on social media, and not skilled enough as an executive to run the city. Mamdani, meanwhile, exuded confidence, telling WNYC he is “one day from toppling a political dynasty.” “New Yorkers are done with the cynical politics of the past. They want a future they can afford,” said Mamdani, who was endorsed by U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders. In a way, Mamdani and Cuomo represent the Democratic Party’s ideological divides, with Cuomo as an older moderate and Mamdani a younger progressive. Their reactions to the American bombing of Iran’s nuclear sites on Sunday offered more evidence of the party’s internal split. Cuomo, in a statement, criticized “the way Trump went about this without consulting Congress, without consulting the normal congressional officials” but stressed that “Iran cannot have nuclear capability.” Mamdani released a statement that slammed Trump but quickly shifted focus back to his key issues, saying “these actions are the result of a political establishment that would rather spend trillions of dollars on weapons than lift millions out of poverty, launch endless wars while silencing calls for peace, and fearmonger about outsiders while billionaires hollow out our democracy from within.” Cuomo, who won three terms as governor, resigned in 2021 after a report from the state attorney general concluded that he sexually harassed 11 women. He […]

A onetime official from the National Security Council during the Clinton administration stirred controversy over the weekend with remarks suggesting that Kamala Harris would have lacked the resolve to carry out the kind of military operation President Trump ordered against Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.

Jamie Metzl, a former Senate staffer and a longtime critic of Trump who openly supported Harris in past elections, wrote on X, “I’m not a blind tribalist and am perfectly comfortable praising President Trump for bold and courageous actions in support of America’s core national interests, as he took last night.”

He continued, “Although I believe electing Kamala Harris would have been better for our democracy [and] society. I also believe VP Harris would not have had the courage or fortitude to take such an essential step as the president took last night.”

On Saturday, American forces launched a high-stakes air and missile assault targeting key nuclear facilities in Iran, including Fordow, Isfahan, and Natanz. The coordinated strike involved B-2 stealth bombers and Navy-launched Tomahawk missiles in a dramatic escalation aimed at preventing the Iranian regime from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

While a full official evaluation of the damage has yet to be disclosed, President Trump stated that “monumental damage” had been inflicted on the targeted sites.

Metzl, who also previously served as deputy staff director for then-Senator Joe Biden on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, underscored the severity of the Iranian threat. “Iran has been at war with the United States for 46 years. Its regime has murdered thousands of American citizens,” he said. “Its slogan, ‘Death to America,’ was not window dressing but core ideology.”

He added, “It was racing toward a nuclear weapon with every intention of using it to threaten America, our allies, and the Middle East region as a whole. No actions like this come without risks, and I imagine the story will get more complicated over time, but that’s why these types of decisions are complicated.”

Metzl’s public service also includes time as a United Nations human rights officer, and he is currently part of the World Health Organization’s advisory committee.

From the start of his first presidential campaign in 2016, Trump has consistently emphasized that the United States must not allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon.

During her 2024 run for the White House, Harris called Iran the “greatest adversary” of the United States and declared that every option remained available to stop Tehran from becoming a nuclear power.

The strike authorized by Trump came shortly after Israel launched its own preemptive attacks targeting Iranian military and nuclear capabilities, aiming to slow down the regime’s development of weapons of mass destruction.

Military analysts noted that neutralizing the Fordow enrichment facility — buried deep within a mountain — likely required U.S. intervention. On Shabbos, the Air Force deployed 14 Massive Ordnance Penetrators, 30,000-pound GBU-57 A/B “bunker-buster” bombs, to obliterate the fortified site.

{Matzav.com}

The Supreme Court handed the Trump administration a legal victory on Monday, allowing it to continue deporting certain migrants to countries other than their own, without requiring extensive prior notice.

In a 6–3 ruling that split the Court along ideological lines, the justices overturned a decision issued in late April by a federal judge in Boston. That earlier ruling had temporarily blocked the administration’s efforts to quickly remove individuals under the revised deportation policy.

While the majority of justices did not elaborate on their decision, Justice Sonia Sotomayor issued a forceful dissent. She was joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson in criticizing the move.

“In matters of life and death, it is best to proceed with caution,” Sotomayor wrote. “In this case, the Government took the opposite approach.”

“This Court now intervenes to grant the Government emergency relief from an order it has repeatedly defied. I cannot join so gross an abuse of the Court’s equitable discretion.”

{Matzav.com}

More Flights Expected; Application Process Still Open

The U.S. Embassy in Israel has begun operating evacuation flights for U.S. citizens and Green Card holders stranded in Israel and seeking to return to the United States.

Four flights departed Israel today, Monday, June 23, heading to Rome, Larnaca, and Athens. Chaim V’Chessed has learned that the Embassy aims to operate as many as six additional flights tomorrow, Tuesday, June 24.

These flights are available only to those who have registered in advance. Applicants must register via the U.S. State Department’s Crisis Intake Form at this link. As previously reported by Chaim V’Chessed, when completing the form, applicants must check off that they are seeking assistance leaving Israel and are requesting financial help.

After submitting the form, applicants immediately receive an email confirmation. If selected for a flight, they will receive a second email, generally within a few days, from the State Department informing them of their eligibility. When received, applicants must immediately reply, confirming their willingness to travel.

These Embassy-coordinated flights may currently be the most viable option for many Americans attempting to leave Israel. It is important to note, however, that evacuees must independently arrange and purchase onward travel from the European city to which they are flown.

Other potential exit options from Israel include land crossings into Jordan or Egypt. However, both these alternatives involve travel through areas with challenges and heightened security risks. Additionally, travelers can travel by sea to Cyprus.

Chaim V’Chessed will continue to monitor developments closely and share verified updates as they become available.

{Matzav.com}

BREAKING: The U.S. Supreme Court will allow the Trump administration to resume the deportation of convicted criminals to “third countries” to which they have no previous connection

The nation’s major health insurers are promising to scale back and improve a widely despised practice that leads to care delays and complications. UnitedHealthcare, CVS Health’s Aetna and dozens of other insurers say they plan to reduce the scope of health care claims subject to prior authorization, standardize parts of the process and expand responses done in real time. Prior authorization means insurers require approval before they’ll cover medical care, a prescription or a service like an imaging exam. Insurers say they do this to guard against care overuse and to make sure patients get the right treatment. But doctors say the practice has grown in scope and complication, leading to frequent care delays. The fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December prompted many people to vent their frustrations with coverage issues like prior authorization. Major health insurers have promised to overhaul the paperwork-laden process before, but little has changed. Dr. Mehmet Oz, who now oversees the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said on Monday that insurers are motivated to make something stick this time around. “There’s violence in the streets over this,” Oz said during a news conference Monday, hours after meeting with most major U.S. insurers. “Americans are upset about it.” Insurers said Monday that they will standardize electronic prior authorization by the end of next year to help speed up the process. They will reduce the scope of claims subject to medical prior authorization, and they will honor the preapprovals of a previous insurer for a window of time after someone switches plans. They also plan to expand the number of real-time responses, and they say they will ensure that claims denied for clinical reasons will continue to get reviews by “medical professionals.” But they made no promises that those reviewers will be in the same specialty as the treating doctor, a common complaint from physicians. Insurers have promised to voluntarily make the changes, but Oz said that the Trump administration will look into regulations if progress isn’t made. “You fix it or we’re going to fix it,” Oz said. Researchers say prior authorization has grown more common as care costs have climbed, especially for prescription drugs, lab testing, physical therapy and imaging exams. “We’re sort of trapped between care being unaffordable and then these nonfinancial barriers and administrative burdens growing worse,” said Michael Anne Kyle, an assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania who studies how patients access care. Nearly all customers of Medicare Advantage plans, the privately run version of the federal government’s Medicare program, need prior authorization for some services, particularly expensive care like hospital stays, the health policy research organization KFF found in a study of 2023 claims. The study also found that insurers denied about 6% of all requests. Dr. Ashley Sumrall of Charlotte, North Carolina, says she has seen an increase in prior authorizations required for routine exams like MRIs. An oncologist who treats brain tumors, Sumrall said these images are critical for doctors to determine whether a treatment is working and to plan next steps. Doctors say delays from requests that are eventually approved or coverage rejections can harm patients by giving a disease time to progress untreated. They also can spike anxiety in patients who want to know whether their tumor has stopped growing and if […]

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