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A White House draft circulating among senior officials lays out a plan that would keep Affordable Care Act subsidies in place for an additional two years, an effort aimed at shielding millions of Americans from sharp premium hikes when the current tax credits expire at year’s end.

The proposal indicates that President Donald Trump is considering extending a key piece of Obamacare even as Republicans continue searching for a long-term health care overhaul — an issue that has stumped the party for more than a decade. The administration emphasizes that nothing is final until Trump himself unveils a decision.

The subsidies, central to the Democrats’ stance during the recent shutdown standoff, were a major sticking point earlier this month. Many Democrat lawmakers refused to back any deal to keep the government running unless the existing tax credits were renewed without changes.

Under the working draft, eligibility for the expanded COVID-era subsidies would continue but with a ceiling of 700% of the federal poverty level, according to two individuals familiar with the discussions who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. The original Affordable Care Act capped eligibility at 400%, a limit suspended during the pandemic to widen access to middle- and upper-middle-income households.

The White House is also eyeing a universal premium requirement for anyone enrolled in an Obamacare plan. Every participant — even those on the lowest-tier plans — would need to contribute something toward monthly coverage. One idea being considered is a 2% income contribution or a minimum charge of $5 per month, a move Republicans argue is necessary to prevent abuse in a system that currently permits zero-premium plans for some low-income enrollees.

The possibility of maintaining any piece of President Barack Obama’s landmark law is expected to infuriate segments of the conservative base, which has spent years pushing to scrap the Affordable Care Act entirely.

“Until President Trump makes an announcement himself, any reporting about the administration’s health care positions is mere speculation,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said Monday.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt added that Trump “is very much involved in these talks” and is “focused on unveiling a health care proposal that will fix the system and will bring down costs for consumers.”

Despite early conservative frustration, initial signs point to potential bipartisan traction. Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire — one of the Democrats who voted to reopen the government in the recent shutdown episode — said the emerging White House framework “represents a starting point for serious negotiations.”

She argued that Trump’s willingness to consider an extension reflects the stakes. “The fact that President Trump is putting forward any offer at all to extend the Affordable Care Act’s tax credits shows that there is a broad understanding that inaction in this regard will cause serious harm to the American people,” Hassan said.

Back in 2017, Trump came up short in a high-profile attempt to dismantle Obamacare, exposing deep divisions among Republicans who otherwise controlled Washington. The party has not agreed on a cohesive replacement plan since, but the looming deadline for the pandemic-era subsidies gives Trump a fresh opening to reshape the health care landscape.

While the White House has been developing its proposal behind the scenes through the Domestic Policy Council, lawmakers have begun crafting alternatives of their own. Senators Rick Scott of Florida and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana are among those floating ideas to shift federal subsidy dollars into health savings accounts that consumers could use to purchase plans or cover medical expenses.

The administration’s draft would allow people enrolled in bronze-level or catastrophic plans to make contributions to health savings accounts, expanding an option typically restricted to higher-deductible insurance.

Another element under consideration is formally adopting the “program integrity rule,” an enforcement tool designed to better target fraud and misuse in the system.

The urgency behind negotiations is rising as Americans shopping for coverage are already confronting steep price increases. Open enrollment for next year began on November 1, and without new action from Congress, subsidized consumers are expected to see their premiums more than double, according to an analysis by the nonprofit health research group KFF.

Voters have made clear that health care affordability remains a top concern. Recent polls show it ranking alongside broader cost-of-living issues — themes that helped propel Democrats to victories in this month’s elections as they capitalized on economic frustrations nationwide.

{Matzav.com}

MK Tzvi Sukkot was forced to cancel a planned trip to the United States after the online visa application he submitted was denied, and a subsequent in-person request at the U.S. Embassy became entangled in questions about his criminal background. Sukkot had booked his flight weeks in advance and proceeded with the standard visa interview […]

Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion’s vehicle was attacked earlier today during a visit to the Chareidi neighborhood of Meah Shearim, according to Hebrew media reports. Rioters hurled stones at the car, shattering its rear window. Lion was inside the vehicle when the attack took place, but he was not injured and continued with his schedule as […]

President Donald Trump is directing the federal government to combine efforts with tech companies and universities to convert government data into scientific discoveries, acting on his push to make artificial intelligence the engine of the nation’s economic future. Trump unveiled the “Genesis Mission” as part of an executive order he signed Monday that directs the […]

UNRWA, the UN body dedicated to servicing so-called Palestinian refugees—and barred from operating in Israel under Israeli law—continues to expand its activities inside Gaza, reinstating multiple programs and reopening facilities across the Strip.

Its spokesman, Adnan Abu Hasna, announced new initiatives underway, saying: “UNRWA is currently working to open additional clinics and medical centers in various areas of the Strip. Three new clinics have been opened inside Gaza City, as well as a medical center in Jabalia in the northern part of the Strip, despite the complex situation on the ground.”

He further highlighted new developments in the education system, noting that the agency has brought back a functioning school structure for roughly 300,000 children. Of those, about 50,000 have already returned to physical classrooms spread across 124 learning locations.

Turning to health services, Abu Hasna underscored the scale of daily medical operations, stating: “UNRWA currently operates seven central clinics—four owned by the agency and three rented—in addition to 35 medical points, which receive about 15,000 patients daily.”

These announcements come as the agency faces ever-intensifying criticism over its conduct and its long-documented entanglement with Hamas. That criticism escalated dramatically after Israel disclosed in 2024 that UNRWA staff members took part in the October 7, 2023 Hamas atrocities.

Israeli officials later released a detailed file alleging that UNRWA employees directly assisted the terrorists—kidnapping a woman, distributing ammunition, and participating in the brutal rampage at Kibbutz Be’eri, where 97 Israelis were slaughtered.

In response to those revelations, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres convened an investigative panel led by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna to examine the accusations. The panel’s report acknowledged “neutrality-related issues” within the agency, while simultaneously claiming that Israel had not yet provided proof that a substantial portion of UNRWA’s workforce belonged to terrorist factions.

Amid all this, personal testimony has added fuel to the fire. Emily Damari, freed after 470 harrowing days as a Hamas captive, revealed that she was imprisoned at an UNRWA-run site.

The concerns only deepened in April 2025 when USAID disclosed that the United Nations blocked an American probe into links between UNRWA staffers in Gaza and Hamas operatives.

Despite this extensive trail of evidence and allegations, the International Court of Justice recently ordered Israel to allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza via UN channels—including through UNRWA. That decision prompted sharp objections from both Israel and the United States.

{Matzav.com}

Neurological breakthroughs once hailed as miracles of modern medicine are now triggering urgent warnings from British researchers, who fear that governments could soon turn the human brain into a battlefield. In a new report, Preventing Weaponization of CNS-Acting Chemicals, experts at Bradford University argue that the same research used to treat neurological disorders could be […]

In a display of U.S. military force, F-18 Super Hornets launched from the USS Gerald R. Ford off the Venezuelan coast and joined up with a B-52 bomber.

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) says reports the agency has been dissolved is “fake news.”

PHOTOS & VIDEO: The Chuppah of the grandchildren of both the Skvere Rebbe Shlita and the Vizhnitzer Rebbe of Bnei Brak is currently taking place in New Square. The Vizhnitzer Rebbe flew in from Eretz Yisroel to attend the chasuna.

Spotify is preparing to raise US subscription prices in the first quarter of next year. A US Spotify subscription currently costs $11.99 a month, compared with $9.99 when it launched in the country 14 years ago.

TRUMP SIGNS ORDER TARGETING MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD: President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday directing Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to begin designating certain chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists. The order, invoking the Immigration and Nationality Act and the International Emergency […]

AG Pam Bondi: “We’ll be taking all available legal action, including an immediate appeal, to hold Letitia James and James Comey accountable for their unlawful conduct.”

The White House underscored on Monday that President Donald Trump continues to stand firmly behind Israel’s right to act against security threats, following the IDF’s targeted strike in Beirut that killed Hezbollah’s Chief of General Staff. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt conveyed the administration’s position while fielding questions from reporters.

When asked by Walla News correspondent Idan Kweller whether the president specifically supported the Beirut operation and Israel’s broader efforts to prevent Hezbollah from rebuilding, Leavitt noted she had not yet discussed that particular strike with him. Even so, she emphasized the administration’s consistent stance, saying, “I haven’t spoken to the President about that strike specifically, but of course the President supports Israel’s right to defend itself and to take out any terrorist threats.”

Israel’s military confirmed on Sunday that, with guidance from the Intelligence Directorate, it carried out an operation in the Beirut area that resulted in the elimination of Haytham Ali Tabataba’i. The longtime operative, who served as Hezbollah’s Chief of General Staff, had been deeply involved in the terror group’s structure for decades.

According to Israeli assessments, Tabataba’i’s involvement stretched back to the 1980s. Over the years, he took on major leadership roles, including commanding the “Radwan Force” Unit and overseeing Hezbollah’s operations in Syria. During his tenure there, he played a key role in strengthening the organization’s foothold and enhancing its military capabilities within Syrian territory.

As the conflict evolved, he was elevated to oversee the organization’s operations framework, where he managed force development and coordinated the wider combat landscape. After much of Hezbollah’s senior military leadership was taken out during Operation “Northern Arrows,” Tabataba’i effectively became responsible for directing the group’s battle strategy against Israel.

The targeted strike occurred against the backdrop of ongoing friction along Israel’s northern border, despite a year having passed since the U.S.– and French-mediated ceasefire. Israeli officials say Beirut has failed to meet its obligations to disarm Hezbollah, which remains classified by the U.S. as a terrorist organization.

Israel has conducted multiple operations against Hezbollah sites in Lebanon as the group continues pursuing military reconstruction and maintains a substantial armed presence close to the Israeli frontier. In response to mounting international pressure, Lebanon’s cabinet has instructed its army to craft a plan for disarming Hezbollah by the end of 2025.

Hezbollah’s leadership, however, has already rejected that possibility. The group’s deputy leader, Naim Qassem, harshly criticized the government’s proposal and has maintained a consistent pledge that Hezbollah will not relinquish its weapons under any circumstances.

{Matzav.com}

The White House is circulating a proposal that would extend subsidies to help consumers pay for coverage under the Affordable Care Act for two more years, as millions of Americans face spiking health care costs when the current tax credits are set to expire at the end of the year. The draft plan suggests that […]

Washington intensified its pressure campaign against the Muslim Brotherhood on Monday, as President Donald Trump signed an executive order instructing federal agencies to begin the formal process of labeling select chapters as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists. His directive requires both the State Department and Treasury to prepare a comprehensive review within 45 days to determine which branches meet the legal standards for such classifications.

According to the administration, the potential designations carry serious consequences. Once approved, they would lead to sanctions, the freezing of assets, and restrictions on financial movement—steps that could drastically hinder the ability of these groups to operate across borders.

In outlining the rationale behind the policy shift, White House officials pointed to recent events that heightened their concerns. They stated, “In the aftermath of the October 7, 2023, attack, the military wing of the Lebanese chapter of the Muslim Brotherhood helped terror groups launch multiple rocket attacks against both civilian and military targets within Israel.” Officials also highlighted other alleged activities, noting, “A senior Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood leader encouraged violent attacks against U.S. partners and equities in the Middle East on the same day that Hamas perpetrated the October 7 attack.”

Administration aides further asserted that the organization’s influence extends beyond those incidents. As the White House put it, “Reports indicate Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood leaders have long provided material support to the militant wing of Hamas.”

The new federal initiative follows actions taken at the state level. Just days earlier, Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced his own designations of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations as foreign terrorist organizations and transnational criminal organizations. Those designations enable Texas authorities to impose tougher enforcement measures on the groups, and they bar them from acquiring or holding property within the state.

Momentum has also been building in Congress. Senator Ted Cruz has pushed legislation that would compel the federal government to identify the Muslim Brotherhood as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, a step that could strike at the financial underpinnings of the movement worldwide.

Several countries in the Middle East have already classified the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, underscoring the group’s controversial standing in the region.

{Matzav.com}

Channel 12 reports that Hamas has spent the past week quietly reaching out to multiple countries, seeking asylum for 100–200 of its operatives who are currently trapped in tunnels beneath Rafah — in an area now under IDF control. Every country approached has rejected the request, Israeli officials say. According to the report, Hamas turned […]

Poland’s foreign minister has summoned Israel’s ambassador to Warsaw after a social media post by Yad Vashem — Israel’s official Holocaust museum — sparked renewed diplomatic tensions over Poland’s role during World War II. Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski announced Monday that Ambassador Yaakov Finkelstein was being formally summoned following a post on the platform X […]

A wave of joy swept through Beis Medrash Elyon in Bnei Brak in recent weeks, after one of the yeshiva’s distinguished students, Yoel Aharon Tzarfati of France, experienced a miraculous recovery from a life-threatening illness and returned to his place in the beis medrash.

During the past summer, doctors discovered that the young man was suffering from a severe and dangerous disease. He was forced to leave the yeshiva for an extended period and travel back to France for a complex surgery followed by a series of difficult treatments.

Throughout his ordeal, the entire yeshiva cried out and prayed for the recovery of Yoel Aharon ben Rus, as doctors had given grim predictions regarding his chances of healing.

Seeking additional merit on his behalf, a group of students traveled to the home of the renowned posek, Rav Yitzchok Zilberstein. They asked him to bless the young man and to guide them in taking on something meaningful for his recovery.

Rav Zilberstein instructed them to strengthen themselves in uninterrupted learning and to refrain from idle conversation in the beis medrash. Such an undertaking, he told them, would serve as a powerful and proven source of merit.

A few days later, the yeshiva received a special letter of encouragement from Rav Zilberstein. In it, he wrote that many people in this generation suffer from terrible illnesses, and that one who influences others not to speak during davening, during krias haTorah, or in the middle of learning, merits “supreme protection and safeguarding.”

He explained further by citing the teaching from the Yerushalmi: “Honor your physician before you need him.” The message, he wrote, is that one must honor Hashem — the Healer of all flesh — in advance, before trouble arrives. Whoever honors Heaven by refraining from talking during prayer and during learning in the beis medrash, he wrote, is granted protection from distress, harm, and illness.

Rav Zilberstein concluded with a clear promise: that in the merit of strengthening themselves not to speak idle words during prayer and learning, Hashem would send His word and heal “all 248 limbs and 365 sinews,” together with all those in Klal Yisroel who are ill.

The letter was joined by Rosh Yeshiva Rav Yerachmiel Ungarischer, who added his tefillah that Hashem remove illness from among them, especially on behalf of the young man from their group.

The yeshiva’s mashgiach, Rav Shmuel Schulman, also joined, writing that one cannot fathom the great merit in strengthening themselves in this area for their friend’s healing, and that all who do so will be blessed from Above.

Then, during the Tishrei season, the astonishing news arrived: the illness had vanished completely. Doctors were stunned by the dramatic turnaround. By the mercy of Heaven, Yoel Aharon recovered fully and returned from France to Israel at the start of the winter zman, where his fellow students greeted him with tremendous emotion.

A deeply moving scene took place when Yoel Aharon visited Rav Zilberstein to thank him for his blessings and his letter of encouragement, and to receive a new blessing for continued health.

Rav Zilberstein was overjoyed to see the young man healed, yet in his humility he refused to attribute the recovery to his own promise. Instead, he told him:

“Since you live in France — the home of the Baalei Tosafos — I am afraid that it was they who intervened on your behalf. You immerse yourself all day in Gemara, Rashi, and Tosafos, and since you live in their land, it seems they advocated for you Above. Through that merit you were granted complete healing.”

Rav Zilberstein then bentched him warmly that he continue to grow in Torah, merit strong and enduring health, and in the right time build a faithful home filled with joy and happiness.

{Matzav.com}

Boeing and NASA have agreed to keep astronauts off the company’s next Starliner flight and instead perform a trial run with cargo to prove its safety. Monday’s announcement comes eight months after the first and only Starliner crew returned to Earth aboard SpaceX after a prolonged mission. Although NASA test pilots Butch Wilmore and Suni […]

Trump launches national AI initiative: President Trump signs an executive order creating the “Genesis Mission,” a Manhattan Project–style effort to accelerate AI innovation and secure U.S. global dominance in the technology.