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Following a series of fatal shootings involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, the agency will soon require officers conducting vehicle stops to wear at least one body camera, Trump administration border czar Tom Homan announced Sunday as ICE moves to increase transparency during enforcement operations.

“They exonerate more law enforcement than they convict, and I want officers to wear body cameras because I want the American people to see what the officers saw when ⁠they took that action,” Homan said during an appearance on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends Weekend.”

The announcement follows two deadly traffic-stop incidents earlier this month involving ICE agents. Federal officers fatally shot two men in separate encounters just six days apart—one in Texas and the other in Maine. Neither incident was captured by ICE body cameras because the agents involved were not equipped with them.

Speaking separately on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” Homan explained that the nationwide rollout of body cameras had been delayed after funding became tied up during the partial federal government shutdown earlier this year.

“The cameras have been purchased right now,” Homan said. “They’re training the trainer in deploying the cameras nationwide.”

The issue has drawn renewed attention after an ICE officer fatally shot a Colombian driver on July 13 during a traffic stop in Biddeford, Maine, roughly 15 miles south of Portland. Less than a week earlier, another ICE officer fatally shot a Mexican national during a vehicle stop in Houston.

In response to those incidents, Homan announced last week that ICE would temporarily halt most vehicle stops nationwide while the agency reviewed its procedures. However, within 24 hours of that announcement, President Donald Trump directed federal immigration officers to resume conducting the stops.

The two fatal shootings prompted demonstrations in Maine, Houston, and Boston, with critics questioning why ICE officers involved in such encounters were not equipped with body cameras.

ICE first introduced a pilot body-camera program in 2024, distributing cameras to officers in Baltimore, Buffalo, Detroit, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. Last year, however, the Trump administration sought to slow the program’s expansion by asking Congress to reduce its funding by 75%, according to a Reuters report published in January.

In February, following the deaths of two U.S. citizens during an immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota, then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced that ICE body cameras would eventually be deployed nationwide “as funding is available.”

Since January 2025, when President Trump launched his mass deportation initiative after returning to the White House on promises of tougher immigration enforcement, at least seven people have been killed during federal immigration enforcement operations.

{Matzav.com}

Israelis planning vacations or business trips to Europe in 2026 will not have to worry—at least for now—about obtaining a new pre-travel authorization before departure.

The European Union has once again postponed the launch of its European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS), which was expected to require travelers from visa-exempt countries, including Israel, to obtain paid online approval before entering much of Europe. According to current reports, the system is now expected to begin operating sometime in 2027.

Although multiple reports have indicated another delay, the European Commission has not yet announced an official new launch date. References to a late-2026 rollout have already been removed from some EU information pages, while others still display the previous timeline, leaving the official implementation date uncertain.

Once ETIAS becomes operational, travelers from visa-exempt countries—including Israel—will be required to obtain online travel authorization before boarding flights to 30 European countries.

The requirement will apply to travel to countries including France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Greece, Portugal, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Bulgaria, Romania, and Cyprus. It will also cover Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein. Ireland will remain outside the ETIAS system.

The latest postponement is reportedly tied to ongoing problems with the European Union’s Entry/Exit System (EES), the new biometric border management platform on which ETIAS depends.

Although the EES entered full operation in April 2026, reports indicate that it has experienced technological issues, congestion at border crossings, staffing shortages, and infrastructure challenges, forcing officials to delay the launch of ETIAS once again.

When the system eventually takes effect, travelers will be required to complete an online application providing personal information, passport details, and answers to security-related questions.

The authorization will cost €20 and will remain valid for three years or until the traveler’s passport expires, whichever comes first. Travelers under the age of 18 and those 70 and older will be exempt from the fee but will still be required to obtain travel authorization before entering participating countries.

For now, however, nothing changes for travelers.

The ETIAS system is not yet operational, applications cannot be submitted, and no fee is currently required. European Union officials have emphasized that the public will receive an official announcement several months before the system is activated. They also warned that any website currently claiming to issue valid ETIAS authorizations is not providing legitimate travel approval.

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump declared Sunday that American forces struck Iran “very hard” once again, as U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed it carried out military operations against the Islamic Republic for a ninth consecutive night.

Speaking to reporters after attending the FIFA World Cup final, Trump said Iran’s military capabilities have been devastated by the sustained U.S. campaign.

“Iran has been very, very badly damaged. They’ve lost everything, almost, militarily. They’ve got very little left. They’ve got some missiles. They’ve got some drones. They’ve got some manufacturing ability, not much.”

.@POTUS Trump on Iran: "We hit them very hard again tonight, and we did that in honor of the probably three great patriots."

"Those great patriots were out there fighting [so] that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon."

"Iran has been very, very badly damaged. They've lost… pic.twitter.com/2nRlpujF0V

— Israel War Room (@IsraelWarRoom) July 20, 2026

Trump also asserted that the United States now controls one of the world’s most strategically important waterways.

“We control the strait. They don’t control anything. So, we’ll see what happens.”

The president added that Sunday’s strikes were carried out in honor of the American service members who were killed over the weekend.

“But we hit them very hard again tonight. And we did that in honor of the probably three – it’s probably three, as opposed to two – great patriots”, referring to US troops who were killed over the weekend.

{Matzav.com}

Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha Vance, have welcomed their fourth child, a baby boy, in what is believed to be the first birth to a sitting U.S. vice president in more than 150 years.

Vance shared the news today on social media, announcing that the couple’s son, Alec Neel Vance, was born this morning.

“Usha and the baby are happy and healthy, and our kids are overjoyed to meet their little brother,” he wrote, while also expressing gratitude to the doctors, nurses, and staff at Walter Reed Medical Center for the care they provided.

According to the Associated Press, no sitting vice president has welcomed a child while in office in more than a century and a half.

The newest addition joins the couple’s three older children: Ewan, 9, Vivek, 6, and Mirabel, 4.

Usha Vance, whose maiden name is Chilukuri, grew up in the working-class suburbs of San Diego, California. Her father is a mechanical engineer, and her mother is a molecular biologist. Both immigrated to the United States from Andhra Pradesh, India.

She met JD Vance in 2010 while the two were students at Yale Law School. Their relationship began after they participated together in a discussion group focused on “social decline in white America.”

The couple has frequently appeared together at official White House events, including a reception honoring military mothers earlier this year.

Throughout his time in national politics, Vance has been among the Trump administration’s strongest advocates for encouraging larger families and increasing the nation’s birth rate.

In his recently released book, Vance revealed that Usha had initially been hesitant about having a fourth child. He wrote that her outlook changed following the death of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk last year.

“Not long after we buried my friend, she became pregnant with our fourth child, a boy,” he wrote. “One life was stolen from us, but another was given.”

{Matzav.com}

A Northern California county grappling with a projected $91 million budget deficit has become the first in the state to formally adopt a far-reaching reparations blueprint for Black residents, approving a package of recommendations focused on housing, education, healthcare, economic opportunity, and criminal justice reforms while leaving open the possibility of future direct cash payments.

The Alameda County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the plan in a 5-0 vote on June 30, concluding more than two years of research, public meetings, and community input.

Although the proposal emphasizes institutional reforms and policy changes over immediate financial compensation, county leaders stressed that direct payments remain an option that could still be pursued.

The vote comes even as Alameda County wrestles with significant financial pressures. During this year’s budget discussions, officials warned of a projected $91 million shortfall for the 2026-27 fiscal year.

Despite those challenges, supervisors approved a balanced $6.7 billion budget in June, describing the county’s fiscal outlook as difficult.

Supervisor Nate Miley, who represents District Four and has been a driving force behind the reparations effort, said monetary payments have not been eliminated from consideration.

“We haven’t ruled it out. It’s one of the items in the action plan. It’s not the only item.”

Miley suggested that pursuing cash payments could prove more difficult than implementing other portions of the proposal.

“I think if it were the only item, or if it was a priority item, it might be more challenging,” Miley said. “But I do think there’s some low-hanging fruit — some immediate things we can do, and some things we’re already doing.

“And then there might be the more challenging things. A cash payment might be one of those more challenging things.”

The county’s reparations framework calls for expanding affordable housing, promoting Black-owned businesses and economic development, increasing investments in education and healthcare, and advancing reforms within the criminal justice system.

Supervisors also voted to establish a permanent committee charged with overseeing implementation of the recommendations.

“The committee now has an action plan. It’s in our ballpark,” Miley said. “We need to take it up and deal with it.”

According to Miley, the county’s highest priorities should include criminal justice reform, housing, education, and expanding economic opportunities.

“Clearly, economic opportunity is another important factor,” explained Miley. “It’s hard to balance those four and say which is more prominent, but I do think all four of those are significant.

“I see reparations as a path, an opportunity,” he added. “I wouldn’t say it’s a panacea, but I do believe it’s definitely a part of the equation that could help African Americans.”

Separately, Alameda County has partnered with the City of Hayward on a compensation initiative tied to Russell City, a once-thriving multiracial unincorporated community that was acquired through eminent domain and demolished during the 1950s and 1960s to make way for industrial development.

That effort, known as the Russell City Redress Fund, began with $900,000 and has since grown to approximately $1.3 million.

The fund is intended to provide direct payments to surviving former residents and their descendants.

The broader debate over reparations payments is also unfolding elsewhere in the country. In Evanston, Illinois, the nation’s first city to distribute reparations through $25,000 housing grants is now defending the program in federal court.

The U.S. Department of Justice entered the lawsuit in June, arguing that the race-based eligibility requirements violate the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

Miley argued that simply distributing checks would not necessarily achieve the long-term goals county leaders hope to accomplish.

“And once again, that’s why a cash payment isn’t necessarily always the objective,” he said.

“The objective is: How do we get people to have housing? How do we get people to be economically stable? How do you deal with criminal justice reform?

“A cash payment doesn’t always mean that those things will occur. We have to change policies, and we have to change programs. I think that’s where we need to invest our resources.”

Steve Hilton, the Republican nominee for California governor, sharply criticized the reparations effort and instead blamed Democratic leadership for the state’s economic disparities.

“Thanks to 16 years of Democrat one party rule we have a massive and unacceptable racial wealth and opportunity gap in California, and I am determined to fix it.

“The best way to increase opportunity is not more of the same welfare state bureaucracy but my plan to make our state ‘Califordable.’ That’s the way to fight the racial wealth gap, not the Democrats’ divisive and unfair reparations scheme.”

Meanwhile, Santa Monica is moving ahead with its own initiative aimed at addressing historical injustices.

On Tuesday, the Santa Monica City Council approved the creation of a citywide Restorative Justice Program.

City officials said the initiative will be built around three components: a dedicated Restorative Justice Fund, a City Council-appointed Restorative Justice Commission, and an independent administrative structure designed to ensure transparency and fairness.

Santa Monica plans to launch the fund with $3.5 million, money the city expects to receive after approving a Second Amendment to its development agreement with the RAND Corporation in mid-2025. Officials said the funding will not affect the city’s operating budget.

{Matzav.com}

It is with great sadness that Matzav.com reports the petirah of Rav Yosef Tzvi Geffen zt”l, one of Bnei Brak’s distinguished marbitzei Torah, who was niftar Sunday at the age of 82.

Rav Geffen, the son of Rav Yissachar Berish Geffen zt”l, was renowned for his exceptional refinement of character, tireless hasmadah, and devotion to Torah. From his youth, he immersed himself in limud haTorah with extraordinary diligence and was beloved by all who knew him. Those close to him recall his warm smile, genuine concern for every individual, and his constant practice of greeting everyone warmly, reflecting his deep ahavas Yisroel.

As a young man, Rav Geffen had the privilege of becoming a close talmid of his rebbi, Rav Shmuel Rozovsky zt”l, Rosh Yeshiva of Ponovezh. He faithfully transmitted his rebbi’s teachings and distinctive approach to learning, passing them on with remarkable clarity and dedication to thousands of talmidim over more than half a century.

For approximately 60 years, Rav Geffen served as a R”M at Yeshivas Heichal Avrohom Elimelech of Karlin and at Yeshivas Ahavas Aharon. Talmidim remember him not only as an outstanding maggid shiur, but as a compassionate father figure who carried each talmid in his heart, caring deeply for their spiritual, personal, and material well-being while inspiring them to grow in both Torah and middos tovos.

His petirah leaves a profound void for his distinguished family and for the thousands of talmidim who mourn the loss of the beloved rebbi who shaped their lives.

Among those he leaves behind is his son-in-law, Rav Shemaryahu Yosef Finkel, one of the rabbeim of Yeshivas Mir in Modi’in Illit.

The levayah took place at his home at 8 Rechov Breslov in Bnei Brak, proceeding to the Segulah Cemetery in Petach Tikvah for kevurah.

Yehi zichro boruch.

{Matzav.com}