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The Trump administration is moving to reinstate stricter financial requirements for immigrants seeking permanent legal residency by reversing a Biden-era policy that largely disregarded an applicant’s use of government assistance programs when evaluating eligibility for a green card.

According to CBS News, the Department of Homeland Security is preparing to rescind the Biden administration’s regulations and restore the longstanding “public charge” standard used to determine whether an immigrant is likely to become financially dependent on taxpayer-funded benefits.

The public charge test is designed to assess whether an applicant is capable of supporting himself financially or is likely to rely on government assistance after receiving lawful permanent resident status.

Under federal law, immigration officials may determine that an applicant is inadmissible if he or she is expected to become a “public charge” supported by public funds. In 2022, the Biden administration narrowed the policy, allowing many applicants who received certain forms of public assistance to remain eligible for green cards.

The revised policy being prepared by DHS would return to the broader standards that were implemented during President Trump’s first administration in 2016. Under those guidelines, immigration officers may consider factors including an applicant’s age, health, family circumstances, assets, financial resources, education, job skills, and use of means-tested government assistance programs.

As part of the change, the administration also plans to once again include benefits such as food stamps, Medicaid, and housing assistance among the programs considered when determining whether an applicant is likely to become a public charge.

DHS estimates that the revised policy could affect as many as 588,000 individuals applying for green cards from within the United States. According to reports, the rule could take effect as early as October.

Although the Trump administration is restoring the policy, the public charge standard itself predates both the Trump and Biden administrations. The modern version of the rule was first adopted in 1999 during President Bill Clinton’s administration.

The public charge proposal is one of several immigration policy changes currently under consideration. The administration is also weighing additional financial requirements for immigrants applying for green cards from outside the United States.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the State Department is evaluating a proposal that would require certain overseas green card applicants to post a $100,000 bond before being permitted to immigrate.

If adopted on a broad scale, the bond requirement could make permanent residency unattainable for many applicants who lack substantial financial resources.

The Journal reported that “applicants would likely pay the bond and receive the money back only after becoming U.S. citizens, a process that takes at least five years. That way, the bond would serve as collateral if a green-card holder moved to the country and proved unable to support themselves.”

“President Trump has made clear that those who wish to immigrate to the United States must be financially self-sufficient,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said, and added that the administration is exploring the bond idea “as a way to demonstrate they have access to the funds needed to support themselves.”

{Matzav.com}

Andy Burnham officially became leader of Britain’s governing Labour Party on Friday, paving the way for him to become the country’s next prime minister when he takes office next week following Keir Starmer’s resignation.

Labour confirmed the outcome of its leadership race, which was held to choose a successor to Starmer. Burnham ran unopposed, making Friday’s announcement largely ceremonial after he had already secured overwhelming backing from Labour lawmakers.

His victory had effectively been guaranteed after receiving the nominations of 379 out of Labour’s 403 members of Parliament in the House of Commons by Thursday evening.

“We’re going to give them hope back,” Burnham said in his first speech as leader. “This is a proud moment you have given me and my family today, and an emotional one, but it is one for which I am ready.”

Starmer’s departure followed weeks of mounting calls for him to step down after Labour suffered heavy losses in local elections earlier this year. His resignation was ultimately triggered by a leadership challenge from within his own party. He will remain prime minister through Monday, when he is scheduled to formally submit his resignation to King Charles III, who will then invite Burnham to form a new government.

Burnham, who previously served as mayor of Greater Manchester, has spent recent weeks preparing to assume the country’s highest office, though he has offered only a limited preview of his policy agenda. After winning a parliamentary by-election last month, he pledged to pursue a style of politics “based on unity and hope” while promoting economic growth that benefits every region of Britain.

Despite his lengthy public career, Burnham remains relatively unfamiliar to many voters outside Greater Manchester. He has largely stayed out of the national spotlight, holding few media appearances and avoiding major press conferences since emerging as Labour’s leader-in-waiting.

When he moves into 10 Downing Street, Burnham will become Britain’s seventh national leader since 2016. Widely regarded as one of Labour’s strongest communicators, he is known for a more approachable and informal style than Starmer. Nevertheless, he inherits many of the same challenges, including sluggish economic growth, persistent cost-of-living pressures fueled by the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, and increasing strain on Britain’s public services.

During his first address as Labour leader, Burnham began outlining the priorities of his incoming government. According to his office, he intends to demonstrate that he has the “courage to fix the big things that politics has neglected.”

Among his stated goals are rebuilding the British economy, expanding public oversight of key industries, and creating a new generation of modern manufacturing jobs. He argued that Britain made “a series of wrong turns in the 1980s” when “political power was centralized and economic power privatized.”

The comments were a reference to the reforms introduced under Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, whose policies of privatization, industrial restructuring, and centralized government reshaped Britain’s economy during that decade.

Burnham also identified social care as one of his top priorities. In a video posted to social media on Thursday evening, he said his government would seek to improve inconsistent access to care for elderly people and those living with illness or disabilities, an issue that has challenged successive Labour and Conservative governments as Britain’s population continues to age.

Burnham has also been openly critical of President Donald Trump in the past, arguing that the president’s leadership has contributed to global instability.

“The path we’re on, if we are not careful, is a path towards the politics of the United States of America,” Burnham warned during a campaign appearance in June. While he didn’t attribute it directly to Mr. Trump, he said Americans were grappling with “a polarized, poisonous politics where people in communities don’t work together anymore.”

In an interview last year with The London Economic, Burnham discussed President Trump’s reelection alongside the rise of right-wing populist movements across Europe, saying, “I think we now have to have a real debate about what that means and the instability that [former prime minister] Liz Truss brought to Britain, I think Trump is bringing to the U.S. and the world.”

{Matzav.com}

China forcefully denied interfering in U.S. elections Thursday night after President Donald Trump announced the release of newly declassified intelligence documents that he said detail years of Chinese efforts to influence American elections and undermine confidence in the nation’s electoral system.

During his nationally televised address, Trump said one of the central categories of declassified material focuses on what he described as extensive efforts by the Chinese Communist Party to interfere in U.S. elections over the past decade. According to the president, the intelligence files allege that China amassed a vast database of American voter information and concluded that Beijing strongly opposed his reelection ahead of the 2020 election because of concerns over his approach to the presidency.

Following the speech, the Chinese Embassy in Washington responded in a statement provided to CBS News, rejecting the allegations. The statement came after Trump’s address also discussed alleged election-related activities involving other foreign countries and broader concerns about election security.

“China has all along adhered to the principle of non-interference in others’ internal affairs,” the statement reportedly read. “The U.S. election is an internal matter of the U.S. Its outcome is determined by the votes of the American people. China has never and will never interfere in the presidential elections of the U.S.”

China has previously faced accusations from several democratic nations of attempting to influence their political systems. In Canada, the Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections (SITE) task force announced in 2025 that it had uncovered “coordinated and malicious activity” tied to accounts linked to the Chinese government during the federal election that brought longtime China business associate Mark Carney to the office of prime minister. Australia has also experienced similar concerns, including a 2017 scandal involving a senior senator who accepted money from a billionaire connected to the Chinese regime before publicly adopting positions viewed as favorable to Beijing.

In his remarks Thursday, Trump alleged that “the People’s Republic of China carried out what is believed to be the largest compromise of election data in history — resulting in China’s illicit acquisition of 220 million U.S. voter files.”

Although the president’s address covered a range of election security concerns, including vulnerabilities in voting systems and alleged intelligence failures, he singled out China as the most significant foreign threat outlined in the newly released records.

Trump said the intelligence documents indicate that China’s access to election-related data extended into approximately 18 states, giving Beijing access to “sensitive data that would be needed to register to vote, and engage in other nefarious activities.”

“This data loss presents an unprecedented election security nightmare,” he observed. “The intelligence even shows that China assigned a data exploitation unit specifically to this new project.”

The president also referenced another intelligence document released by the White House that he said concluded China’s leadership actively sought to prevent his return to office.

“They did not want and they just didn’t want it, they fought like hell not to have it, Donald Trump to win,” he said, stating that CIA documents recorded that China would “leverage all domestic and foreign elements that were opposed to the U.S. president in an effort to reduce the U.S. president’s votes and make him resign or lose the election.”

Trump further alleged that some of the declassified records show “intelligence agencies worked to actively suppress and downplay information about the extent of China’s sinister election meddling.” He said he would direct senior intelligence and law enforcement officials to “investigate how and why such crucial info was hidden, to fire those involved in the cover-up and to press charges.”

Shas Chairman Aryeh Deri made it clear on Thursday that his party will not join forces with Gadi Eisenkot or his newly formed Yashar party after the upcoming elections, reaffirming that Shas remains firmly committed to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and the national camp.

“We support Netanyahu, period. Eisenkot is leading a camp of hatred against everything Judaism stands for. We are with Netanyahu all the way, backing him to lead the camp and serve as Prime Minister. The faith-based bloc is our bloc,” Deri said in an interview with Yishai Cohen on the Kikar HaShabbat news website.

While acknowledging that there is disappointment within the Chareidi camp over the conduct of Likud and other parties in the right-wing coalition, Deri stressed that Shas sees no viable alternative. “Netanyahu is the most experienced figure. The faith-based bloc is our home. We have our grievances with them, but there is simply no alternative.”

Deri also said that if Netanyahu wins another term, he would urge him to pursue the formation of a broad-based national coalition rather than limiting the government to right-wing parties alone. “I strongly support the Prime Minister’s intention to make every effort to form a broad government. We have always striven for a coalition like that because it fosters greater consensus and reduces division. While a ‘fully right-wing’ government gave us a majority, it also deepened polarization and hostility. If we can expand the government with our bloc as its foundation, that would be the ideal outcome.”

{Matzav.com}

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim declared that any Israeli citizens found in the country would be expelled immediately as authorities investigate reports that Israelis may have participated in an international technology retreat in the Muslim-majority nation.

“If we find any Israeli, we will deport them immediately because we do not recognize Israel,” Ibrahim said during an interview with the English-language news outlet Free Malaysia Today, according to JNS.

Responding to allegations that Israeli citizens with dual nationality had entered Malaysia, Ibrahim said anyone holding an Israeli passport “will be deported if the allegations are proven true.” He added that “all relevant agencies are already conducting investigations.”

The controversy centers on reports that Israeli nationals may have attended Network School, a residential technology community located in Forest City near the Singapore border. The project was launched in 2024 by American technology investor Balaji Srinivasan and markets itself as a destination for self-described “techno-optimists,” offering accommodations, meals, workspaces, fitness facilities, and other shared amenities for a monthly fee of $1,500.

Malaysia’s Immigration Department said Thursday that investigators have not yet uncovered evidence confirming that Israeli citizens took part in the program.

“So far, we have not found any evidence to verify the allegations regarding the presence of Israelis in the Network School program,” Immigration Department Director-General Datuk Zakaria Shaaban told the New Straits Times. “Preliminary checks found that all those inspected possessed valid immigration documents based on current records.”

Israel’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately issue a response Thursday after being asked to comment on the Malaysian investigation.

Malaysia does not maintain diplomatic relations with Israel and has long taken a hardline stance toward the Jewish state. In December 2023, Malaysian authorities arrested one of their own citizens after he posted a social media video calling for peace with Israel.

That same month, the Malaysian government barred Israeli-flagged cargo vessels from entering the country’s ports, citing Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, which it said disregarded “basic humanitarian principles”.

In another high-profile incident, Malaysian officials announced in 2022 that they had arrested individuals they identified as suspected Mossad operatives accused of attempting to abduct a Palestinian man in Kuala Lumpur whom authorities said was working on behalf of Hamas.

{Matzav.com}