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Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte announced over the weekend that President Trump’s administration is preparing an unprecedented plan to launch 50-year mortgage terms for American homebuyers.

“Thanks to President Trump, we are indeed working on The 50 year Mortgage – a complete game changer,” Pulte posted on X, calling the proposal one that could dramatically alter housing affordability across the nation.

The statement came just hours after President Trump highlighted the idea on Truth Social, where he shared an image comparing himself with Franklin D. Roosevelt. Roosevelt’s administration had introduced the 30-year mortgage as part of the New Deal to stabilize the housing market after the Great Depression — a move that redefined homeownership for generations.

Trump has made housing affordability one of his administration’s focal points, repeatedly emphasizing the need to make homes attainable for younger families. However, high interest rates and escalating property values have presented significant challenges in that effort.

Recent data reflects the strain on American homeowners. Google searches for “help with mortgage” reached their highest level since 2009, signaling financial pressure among borrowers. Adjustable-rate mortgages, meanwhile, accounted for about 10 percent of all mortgage applications in September — nearly double the post-recession norm, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Despite these adjustments, housing costs remain burdensome. Redfin reported that the typical American household now spends roughly 38.4 percent of its monthly income on mortgage payments — one of the highest proportions in decades.

Earlier this year, Trump revealed that he was weighing the possibility of taking Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac public once again. The two government-sponsored enterprises, created by Congress to support the housing finance system, were privately operated before being placed under Treasury Department control during the 2008 financial collapse.

“I am giving very serious consideration to bringing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac public,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, noting that a decision would come in the “near future.”

“Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are doing very well, throwing off a lot of CASH, and the time would seem to be right. Stay tuned,” he added.

Pulte later confirmed that Trump is “opportunistically evaluating” when to return the enterprises to private hands, potentially as soon as late 2025.

Aside from his policy work, Pulte has also made headlines for his outspoken social media campaigns, often taking aim at Trump’s political adversaries. Among them is New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is now facing mortgage fraud allegations tied to evidence uncovered by the agency he oversees.

{Matzav.com}

A Hamas operative who took part in the October 7, 2023, atrocities in southern Israel is reportedly residing in Belgium and moving freely across Europe, according to revelations from the Belgian watchdog group JID, which monitors antisemitism.

Identified as Mohannad al-Khatib, the man claims to be a freelance journalist. Hebrew media reports, citing JID’s findings, say that al-Khatib appears in footage filmed inside Israel on the day of the attacks and has since been spreading virulently anti-Israel content online.

JID Vice President Ralph Pais told Channel 12 News that the organization compiled a 65-page report containing extensive documentation of al-Khatib’s presence in Israel during the massacre and his subsequent activities in Europe. “We have handed a 65-page dossier to the authorities with evidence that Khatib was involved in the massacre and is now publishing anti-Israel propaganda from Belgian soil,” Pais said.

The report has raised serious questions about how a man allegedly linked to one of the bloodiest terror attacks in Israel’s history has been able to live openly in Europe without restriction.

{Matzav.com}

Turkey announced Friday that it has issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and 36 senior Israeli officials on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity related to Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. The warrants, issued by Istanbul’s prosecutor’s office, target a total of 37 Israeli leaders, including Defense Minister Israel Katz, National […]

Shas chairman Aryeh Deri said that the reason for the downfall of disgraced former Military Advocate General [MAG] Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi is that she was one of the main figures who pushed for the arrests of lomdei Torah. Deri’s words were quoted in the Shas’s HaDerech newspaper: “Look how the Creator runs the world,” he said. […]

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The remains of Hadar Goldin, H’yd, are in Israel and are on the way to be identified at the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute, the IDF announced on Sunday at about 3:45 pm. The remains were transferred to IDF forces in Gaza at about 3 p.m. by Red Cross representatives who received the remains from the […]

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MDA teams were called early Sunday morning to the home of disgraced former Military Advocate General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, who is under house arrest and was “feeling unwell.” She was found conscious and in good condition after reportedly swallowing a handful of sleeping pills and was evacuated from her home in Ramat Hasharon to Ichilov Hospital. […]

Iran’s government is preparing for rolling water cuts across Tehran as the capital faces its most severe drought in living memory, with rainfall levels plummeting to their lowest point in a century and reservoirs nearing collapse. Officials warned Saturday that without immediate rainfall, parts of Tehran — home to more than 10 million people — […]

At a yahrtzeit gathering marking the passing of his father-in-law, Rav Elazar Menachem Man Shach zt”l, Rashbi rosh yeshiva Rav Meir Tzvi Bergman delivered an impassioned address urging bnei Torah and their parents to remain steadfast in safeguarding the Torah world amid the growing draft crisis.

Speaking at Yeshivas Rashbi in Bnei Brak before ascending to the kever at the Ponovezh Beis HaChaim, Rav Bergman shared emotional words of warning and faith, drawing upon the teachings he had personally heard from Rav Shach decades earlier.

“It is necessary to remind ourselves,” said Rav Bergman, “that for a long time now, the precious bnei yeshivos have been under attack. Many years ago, I heard from Rav Shach that a time would come when every father would have to guard his children himself, lest chas veshalom they be taken to the army. One would have to give up his very life for this. And woe to us that such a time has come in our days, when we have no one to rely on.”

Visibly moved, Rav Bergman called upon the merit of his father-in-law to intercede on behalf of the olam haTorah: “We beg our great rebbe, zt”l, to stand before the Kisei HaKavod and plead for mercy on behalf of the Torah world, that this harsh decree be annulled.”

{Matzav.com}

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During a recent closed forum attended by IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and senior military leaders, a high-ranking reserve officer revealed that when war erupted on October 7, Israel’s Southern Command had no relevant operational plans in place, Ynet reports. Officers were left scrambling to draft entirely new strategies in the chaotic weeks that followed the Hamas onslaught.

The shocking admission comes just ahead of the anticipated publication of the Turgeman Committee’s findings, which reviewed the army’s internal probes into the lapses that allowed Hamas to carry out its devastating attack on southern Israel.

The reservist, a brigadier general currently serving in the Southern Command’s firepower division, said bluntly that the command “opened the war unprepared” and was forced to “create plans from scratch” during the first three weeks of the conflict, before Israel’s ground invasion commenced.

A veteran combat soldier, the officer had personally fought off terrorists in his Gaza-border community as a civilian before reporting for duty. In his address, he described a command hollowed by years of complacency and bureaucratic neglect. Despite multiple internal reviews calling for improved readiness, he said, successive commanders failed to act, leaving the division effectively blind when war erupted.

He took particular aim at Maj. Gen. Eliezer Toledano’s tenure from March 2021 to July 2023, calling it a time of “severe neglect and a lack of operational planning.” Speaking before hundreds of fellow officers, he mocked the irony of a slogan Toledano had hung across headquarters reading “Victory loves preparation,” remarking that “the opposite happened.”

Other participants at the event acknowledged that contingency plans that did exist—such as Operation Damocles, which envisioned massive strikes on Hamas’ tunnel network—proved useless once the fighting began and reality diverged from the models on paper.

“I ask for a full, transparent and honest war investigation so we can truly learn,” the brigadier general urged Lt. Gen. Zamir, while adding that both Zamir and current Southern Command chief Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor had instituted “the best changes the command has seen in a year.”

Led by retired Maj. Gen. Sami Turgeman, the committee’s report is expected to expose grave deficiencies within the IDF’s self-assessments, particularly in Military Intelligence and the Operations Directorate, and to criticize Israel’s long-standing policy of containment toward Hamas rather than its elimination.

The IDF, asked about the officer’s remarks, refused to address them directly. “The army holds learning conferences that enable open, critical and professional dialogue,” it said in a statement, adding that it does not comment on “discussions held in closed operational forums.”

{Matzav.com}

The longest U.S. government shutdown on record is doing more than grind activities to a halt at home; an ocean away in Europe, local workers at U.S. military bases have started to feel the pain. Thousands of people working at overseas bases in Europe have had their salaries interrupted since the shutdown began almost six […]

The Washington Post editorial board issued a blistering critique of New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, declaring that “a new era of class warfare has begun” following his landslide victory last week. The paper accused him of revealing his “true colors” in a bitter and divisive victory speech that sharply contrasted with the cheerful tone of his campaign.

In an editorial published Saturday titled “Zohran Mamdani Drops the Mask,” the board charged that Mamdani “abandoned his cool disposition” during what it called a “seething” 23-minute address. According to the piece, the speech unveiled a worldview rooted not in unity or growth, but in resentment and ideological combat.

“Across 23 angry minutes laced with identity politics and seething with resentment, Mamdani abandoned his cool disposition and made clear that his view of politics isn’t about unity. It isn’t about letting people build better lives for themselves. It is about identifying class enemies — from landlords who take advantage of tenants to ‘the bosses’ who exploit workers — and then crushing them,” the editorial board wrote. “His goal is not to increase wealth but to dole it out to favored groups. The word ‘growth’ didn’t appear in the speech, but President Donald Trump garnered eight mentions.”

The Post accused Mamdani of running a misleadingly positive campaign that masked what it called a “long history of divisive and demagogic statements.” For casual observers, the board said, it would have been easy to believe that Mamdani’s goal was simply to make the city more affordable and unified. “That interpretation became much harder,” it added, after Tuesday’s fiery speech.

Fox News Digital contacted representatives of Mamdani for comment but received no immediate response.

The editorial took particular issue with Mamdani’s vision of an all-powerful government as the solution to every societal problem. It cited one of his remarks as proof: “We will prove that there is no problem too large for government to solve, and no concern too small for it to care about.” The Post responded sharply: “The crowd cheered, of course, but a thinking person might wonder whether it’s good for the institution that has a monopoly on violence to insist that nothing is beyond its purview.”

The board also targeted Mamdani’s plan to freeze rents on two million housing units, warning that the proposal would “inevitably lead to less investment, driving up costs in the long run.”

Since his victory, the Post said, the mayor-elect has become fond of using the word “mandate.” “He won decisively and now wants to pursue his agenda, from the rent freeze to ‘free’ child care and buses. Yet as mayor of New York, his control over taxes and transportation is limited. He needs approval from the state to raise taxes,” the paper noted. It added that his transition team is a mix of experienced political hands and “diehard ideologues such as Lina Khan, the former Federal Trade Commission chair.”

Drawing a historical comparison, the Post likened Mamdani’s electoral triumph to that of John Lindsay, the last candidate to surpass one million votes in a New York City mayoral race. But it warned that the same state-imposed financial restrictions that followed Lindsay’s troubled tenure would likely constrain Mamdani’s ambitions.

“One reason [Mamdani] will be so constrained is that Lindsay’s mayoralty was such a disaster for the city’s finances that the state imposed these financial controls to make sure it wouldn’t happen again,” the editorial explained.

Turning to public safety and education, the board questioned how Mamdani would apply his “class struggle” approach to areas where his power is greatest. “[Mamdani] says he wants to keep Police Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch, who is respected by officers and competent at fighting crime. Will he give her deference? Will he order that prostitution laws stop being enforced, as he has suggested? Will subway stations become dangerous social experiments where vagrants are welcomed in to receive services?”

On education, the Post charged that Mamdani “has done nothing to suggest he’ll take the side of children over union bosses when their interests conflict,” pointing to his stated desire to phase out the city’s gifted education programs.

In closing, the editorial warned that New Yorkers don’t need advanced degrees to understand what Mamdani’s leadership might bring — just a memory of the city’s past. “Exit polls showed that the New Yorkers most skeptical of these utopian promises are those who were born in the city and don’t have college degrees. Mamdani fared best among newcomers and people with advanced degrees. Apparently, living in New York for decades — and witnessing what does and doesn’t work when it comes to running a city — offers more wisdom than grad school,” the piece concluded.

{Matzav.com}

A Russian drone slammed into an apartment building in eastern Ukraine early Saturday while many were sleeping, killing three people and wounding 12 others, Ukrainian authorities reported. The attack in Dnipro, Ukraine’s fourth-largest city, was part of a large Russian missile and drone barrage across the country that targeted power infrastructure. It also killed a […]

A heated feud has erupted within conservative media circles after Ben Shapiro accused Candace Owens of suggesting that Erika Kirk, the widow of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, was behind his assassination — a charge Owens angrily denies.

In a scathing post on X, Owens wrote, “He said that I accused Erika Kirk of murdering Charlie Kirk. This quite literally is made up out of thin air.” She went on to say that she was looking forward to hearing Shapiro’s response on her own show, adding later, “He tried to pressure Megyn Kelly to make a statement about me by lying through his teeth and EXPLICITLY stating that I accused Erika Kirk of killing her husband. And then saying it was an evil that Megyn had to condemn. He is completely deranged.”

Owens’ frustration followed Shapiro’s remarks on The Megyn Kelly Show, where he criticized her conduct and urged Kelly to denounce it. “I think you and I differ on our angle with regard to, for example, Candace Owens. I think that what Candace Owens is doing right now is evil. It is evil what she is doing right now, OK? And I say that, again,” Shapiro said. He then added, “…if this were on the left and somebody were accusing Charlie Kirk of his wife having murdered him, I assume that you would be talking about it.”

Owens, a onetime member of Turning Point USA, fired back that Shapiro “lied through his teeth” during his appearance with Kelly. She also appeared to endorse a supporter’s claim that Shapiro’s only talent was to “smear and misrepresent” people’s reputations, saying his actions went far beyond that.

Although Owens never directly accused Erika Kirk of involvement in her husband’s murder, she fueled controversy by promoting multiple conspiracy theories following Charlie Kirk’s assassination. She hinted that Turning Point USA had engaged in a cover-up and suggested Israeli involvement — claims for which she offered no evidence.

Meanwhile, Erika Kirk, who now serves as CEO of Turning Point USA, addressed the growing storm during an interview with Jesse Watters on Fox News. Speaking publicly for the first time since the killing, she urged people to act with compassion online, saying, “Please pray and consider and think about whatever you put online, because it’ll impact their kids in the future.” She added softly, “Some grace would be nice.”

Charlie Kirk, 31, was shot and killed while attending an event at Utah Valley University on September 10. Authorities arrested 22-year-old Tyler Robinson of Utah, charging him with murder. Prosecutors have indicated that if convicted, Robinson could face the death penalty.

{Matzav.com}

It is with great sadness that Matzav.com reports the passing, on Erev Shabbos Kodesh Parshas Vayeira, of the elderly Tosher chossid, Reb Tzvi Aryeh (Hersh Leib) Weinberger z”l. He was 102 years old.

Reb Hersh Leib was among the last living individuals to have merited putting on tefillin from the holy hands of the Minchas Elazar of Munkatch zt”l. He received his tefillin during the final year of the Minchas Elazar’s life, the week of Parshas Vayeira — the same year the Rebbe ceased the practice of placing tefillin on children after Parshas Mikeitz.

In his youth, Reb Hersh Leib studied at Yeshivas Darkei Teshuvah, under the leadership of the Munkatcher Rebbe, Rav Boruch’l.

He later settled in Canada, where he became one of the founders of Chalav Mehadrin in Montreal, at a time when obtaining strictly kosher milk was difficult. Throughout his long life, he remained deeply devoted to the Tosher rebbeim, serving as a baal tefillah during the Yamim Nora’im in the Tosher beis medrash.

His levayah took place on Friday in Kiryas Tosh, where he was laid to rest before Shabbos.

Reb Hersh Leib is survived by a distinguished family of bnei Torah and bnos chayil, including five daughters: the wife of Reb Chaim Pinchas Zweibel of Kiryas Tosh, the wife of Reb Avrohom Yosef Drummer of Montreal, the wife of Reb Aharon Krois of Kiryas Tosh, the wife of Reb Leib Marmelstein of Kiryas Tosh, and the wife of Reb Ephraim Fishel Felberbaum of Kiryas Tosh.

Yehi zichro baruch.

{Matzav.com}

A Senate showdown could come as soon as tomorrow, with a procedural vote expected on a reworked Republican measure aimed at reopening the government and keeping key agencies funded for the remainder of the fiscal year.

The finalized text, anticipated tonight or early tomorrow, is expected to keep the government running through late January while securing full-year appropriations for the Departments of Agriculture and Veterans Affairs, military construction projects, and Congress through September 30, 2026.

Sources say that once the bill text drops, momentum will build quickly. The proposal is described as a straightforward spending package, notably excluding any renewal of Obamacare subsidies.

To move forward, the test vote will require 60 senators to vote yes—meaning at least some Democratic support is essential. Fox reports that several Senate Democrats and independents aligned with them are being closely watched to see if they will help Republicans overcome a filibuster. Among them: Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois, Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Jack Reed of Rhode Island, Jon Ossoff of Georgia, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, Gary Peters of Michigan, Angus King of Maine, and Patty Murray of Washington. Murray, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, reportedly secured favorable provisions in the delicate bipartisan deal.

But the coalition is tenuous. Any wavering could collapse the effort before it reaches the floor. Should the filibuster be broken, however, the path toward reopening the government becomes significantly easier, and a final vote could happen as early as Sunday night—provided senators can strike a time agreement.

Once debate formally begins, Senate rules allow for extensive discussion. Progressive Democrats, frustrated that no healthcare-related provisions were included and feeling sidelined by their leadership, may try to prolong the process. That could push a final vote to Tuesday or later. Still, with SNAP benefits frozen during the shutdown, some Democrats may ultimately agree to speed up proceedings to restore aid.

Across the Capitol, the House has been placed on 48-hour notice to reconvene. It could return midweek, though leadership might summon members back earlier if the Senate acts quickly. The bill’s fate in the House remains uncertain, though most Republicans are expected to back it.

Moderate Democrats may also be key to its passage. Representatives Tom Suozzi of New York, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington, and Jared Golden of Maine—who previously supported a GOP spending bill in September—are seen as potential yes votes if Republican support slips. Golden, who has since announced his retirement, is again being watched closely.

Another potential complication involves Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva of Arizona. Lawmakers are questioning whether she will be sworn in before or after the House vote, with Democrats likely to protest if Speaker Johnson delays the oath.

Once seated, Grijalva would bring the House count to 433 members, leaving two vacancies. That would give Republicans a narrow 219-214 edge—meaning they can afford to lose only two votes without needing Democratic help.

Behind the scenes, Democrats are bracing for internal conflict. Should some of their members vote with Republicans to break the filibuster, tensions are expected to flare between progressives demanding Obamacare subsidies and moderates eager to end the shutdown.

In the end, the biggest divide may not be between parties, but within the Democratic ranks themselves—particularly between the House and Senate wings. And as one insider put it, the ultimate irony may be that a group of Senate Democrats ends up “throwing their colleagues under the bus” to reopen the government, walking away from the standoff empty-handed on healthcare funding despite the political risk.

{Matzav.com}

Senators are working through the weekend for the first time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, hoping to find a bipartisan resolution that has eluded them as federal workers have gone unpaid, airlines have been forced to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been delayed for millions of Americans. As Saturday’s […]

As Israel awaits the possible return of the body of IDF soldier Hadar Goldin, Hy”d, which has been held by Hamas since 2014, a senior American official suggested that such a move could help break the deadlock surrounding Hamas operatives trapped in Rafah.

According to the official, if Hamas agrees to return Goldin’s remains, it would “give Netanyahu more political room to end the crisis with the 200 Hamas members in the Rafah tunnels.” The official told Israel’s N12 that public opinion would likely shift in Netanyahu’s favor if the soldier’s body were returned, giving him greater flexibility to reach an agreement.

Currently, around 200 Hamas terrorists remain entrenched in tunnels in southern Gaza, and Israel has yet to decide whether to allow them to leave alive. The American source said that under the U.S. proposal, Hamas would first return Goldin’s body, after which the terrorists in Rafah would surrender and lay down their weapons. They would then either be transferred safely to Hamas-controlled territory or deported to a third country.

However, the official acknowledged that no country has yet agreed to take in the terrorists. Once they are removed, the tunnels where they were hiding would be destroyed, the source added. “This way, we can present a model for disarming Hamas peacefully,” the senior American official emphasized.

For Israel, the potential recovery of Goldin’s body carries both deep emotional significance and strategic implications. His family has long called for his return, and any progress on that front could have wide-reaching political consequences.

{Matzav.com}