Feed aggregator

President Donald Trump highlighted a fresh drop in mortgage rates on Friday, pointing to new data showing borrowing costs have fallen to their lowest point in more than two years, a shift that could begin to ease a housing market strained by high financing costs.

In a post on Truth Social late Friday, Trump wrote that “Even Fake News CNN is praising the DROP in Mortgage Interest Rates!” while referencing coverage of declining rates following weeks of administration messaging focused on pushing mortgage costs lower.

According to Freddie Mac, the average interest rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage declined to 6.06% for the week ending January 15. That marked a decrease from 6.16% the previous week and from 7.04% at the same time last year. The mortgage finance company said rates had not been this low since September 2022.

Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sam Khater said the lower rates are already translating into increased market activity.

“The impacts are noticeable, as weekly purchase applications and refinance activity have jumped, underscoring the benefits for both buyers and current owners,” Khater said.

“It’s clear that housing activity is improving and poised for a solid spring sales season,” he added.

The recent decline in rates comes after Trump publicly called for aggressive purchases of mortgage-backed securities in an effort to reduce borrowing costs.

Earlier this month, Trump wrote in a separate social media post: “I am instructing my Representatives to BUY $200 BILLION DOLLARS IN MORTGAGE BONDS. This will drive Mortgage Rates DOWN, monthly payments DOWN, and make the cost of owning a home more affordable.”

Susan Wachter, a real estate professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, told Reuters that such purchases could be putting short-term downward pressure on rates, though she cautioned that she has not yet observed buying activity at the scale Trump described.

At the same time, broader housing indicators suggest some renewed momentum. The National Association of Realtors reported that existing-home sales increased 5.1% in December compared to November, marking the fourth consecutive monthly rise.

Despite the increase in sales, prices have remained elevated. The median price for an existing home in December stood at $405,400, a 0.4% increase from a year earlier.

Economists remain divided on whether lower mortgage rates alone will meaningfully improve affordability. Some warn that limited housing supply could continue to keep prices high, while others say reduced financing costs can expand access for qualified buyers and encourage more homeowners to enter the market.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said that “housing supply is low” even as borrowing costs decline, while Zillow Chief Economist Skylar Olsen cautioned that “Lower mortgage rates won’t alleviate the housing market’s underlying issues of affordability and inadequate supply.”

Mortgage Bankers Association CEO Bob Broeksmit echoed concerns about supply constraints, saying, “The lock-in effect continues to suppress existing inventory levels,” even as Freddie Mac’s Khater noted that “weekly purchase applications and refinance activity have jumped.”

{Matzav.com}

New York City’s finances are already underwater, with a massive shortfall looming well before any new policy agenda takes shape, the NY Post reports.

City Comptroller Mark Levine warned Friday that the city is on track to face a combined $12 billion budget deficit over the next two fiscal years, likening the severity of the situation to the financial collapse of 2008.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani seized on the bleak forecast to renew his call for higher taxes on the wealthy, even as Levine’s figures indicate that runaway spending — not weak revenue — is driving the crisis.

According to Levine, the city is confronting an “extremely unusual” $2.2 billion gap in the current 2026 fiscal year, which ends in June.

The outlook worsens dramatically in the following year. For fiscal 2027, the comptroller projected a $10.4 billion deficit — and that estimate comes before Mamdani releases his first full budget as mayor.

“This is far beyond what we saw last year and I believe in any year since the 2008 financial crisis,” Levine said during a briefing at the Municipal Building.

“We’re not going to sugarcoat this. This is a challenging budget outlook to have a mid-year gap. Again, this is quite unusual to have a gap of the scale that we’re projecting for next year,” he said.

“[It’s] something we haven’t seen outside of an economic slowdown in New York City,” Levine added. “Certainly not in an environment where we have such strong tax receipts.”

In fact, Levine noted that city tax revenues climbed by nearly 7% during fiscal year 2026, underscoring that the deficit cannot be blamed on a faltering economy.

“This wasn’t caused by a bad economy — it’s the result of budgeting decisions from the previous administration that we must now deal with,” he said.

Mamdani is expected to unveil his first mayoral budget proposal by February. His platform includes roughly $10 billion in new initiatives, such as universal child care and free bus service, proposals that rely heavily on anticipated state support funded by higher taxes on affluent individuals and corporations.

Governor Kathy Hochul, however, has repeatedly rejected the idea of raising taxes on the wealthy, even as she endorsed universal child care in her State of the State address earlier this week.

Following that speech, Mamdani publicly broke with the governor over tax policy, and he did so again after Levine released his projections.

“As I said on Tuesday, we believe raising taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers and corporations will be necessary,” Hizzoner said in a statement Friday.

Mamdani placed responsibility for the $12 billion deficit squarely on his predecessor, accusing former Mayor Eric Adams of gross fiscal mismanagement.

The mayor also took aim at his political rival Andrew Cuomo, arguing that the former governor and Albany lawmakers routinely treated New York City as a source of cash for statewide needs.

“We have long said that what we are inheriting is not just an administration that exhibited incredible fiscal mismanagement, but also a decades-long effort from former Governor Cuomo to pilfer from city coffers at each and every turn,” he said.

“And what that has left this city with is, as described by the comptroller, not only a fiscal hole, but frankly, a relationship between city and state, where the city contributes 54.5% of the state’s tax revenues, but only receives 40.5% in return.”

Levine, who previously served as Manhattan borough president, also laid blame on the Adams administration, saying it masked financial problems by relying on one-time funding maneuvers and repeatedly underestimating actual costs.

While tax revenues have steadily increased year after year — reaching $81.4 billion in fiscal 2025 — city spending rose even faster, according to the comptroller’s review.

For years, the city has added new programs without cutting or scaling back those with lower impact, said Andrew Rein, president of the Citizens Budget Commission.

“The result is spending growth twice the rate of inflation,” Rein said in a statement. “City spending would be $14.5 billion lower today if it had tracked inflation.”

Rein noted that his organization projects a smaller — though still substantial — $8 billion gap for fiscal 2027, but said the underlying problem remains.

He argued that Mamdani’s first priority should be a comprehensive review of city programs, trimming those that fail to deliver results. Rein also urged the state to repeal costly school class-size mandates.

“It is important that New York deliver high-quality cost-effective services,” he said. “That requires making smart but tough choices—prioritizing what works and shrinking what doesn’t—before turning to the easier option of raising taxes.”

Levine’s office found that the budget crunch was exacerbated by repeated underestimates of major expenses by Adams-era officials.

For fiscal 2026 alone, the city underbudgeted $795 million for rental assistance, $727 million for employee overtime, and $630 million for homeless shelters, the comptroller reported.

In total, $3.8 billion in expenses were left out of the current year’s budget, with those costs expected to balloon in future years.

Adams spokesman Todd Shapiro pushed back, saying the former mayor inherited enormous fiscal burdens following the COVID pandemic and later absorbed billions more during the migrant crisis.

“Despite these unprecedented challenges, Mayor Adams led a historic comeback,” Shapiro said.

“Blaming Mayor Adams for long-standing structural budget gaps and fiscal pressures ignores the reality of what this administration took on and what it has delivered.”

Levine’s projections do not include the potential cost of expanding the City Fighting Homelessness and Eviction Prevention Supplement, known as CityFHEPS, a rental assistance program that Adams had opposed expanding.

The City Council overrode Adams’ veto in 2023, dramatically broadening eligibility for the program.

Depending on future court decisions, implementing the expansion could cost between $6 billion and $20 billion, according to the comptroller.

If the city’s deficit exceeds $100 million, the state’s Financial Control Board — created after New York City’s brush with bankruptcy in the 1970s — could step in.

Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi rejected Mamdani’s accusations, disputing claims that the former governor bears responsibility for the city’s fiscal woes.

“As usual, Zohran Mamdani’s claims are untethered from the facts,” Azzopardi said in a statement, pointing to increased state aid for city schools under Cuomo and noting that the state “absorbed billions in New York City Medicaid cost increases.”

“If Mamdani thinks the system is unfair, he’s had five years in office to do something about it.”

{Matzav.com}

The House Oversight Committee has launched scrutiny into Rep. Ilhan Omar’s rapidly growing family fortune following the eruption of a $9 billion Somali social services fraud scandal centered in her Minnesota district, according to a report by The NY Post.

Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer of Kentucky said committee attorneys are weighing the unusual move of compelling testimony from Omar’s husband, citing concerns over his business dealings.

“We’re going to get answers, whether it’s through the Ethics Committee or the Oversight Committee, one of the two,” Comer told The Post.

Republicans are questioning how Omar, who was born in Somalia, and her husband, political consultant Tim Mynett, went from having little wealth to reporting a net worth of as much as $30 million within roughly a year, based on her 2024 financial disclosures.

Comer said the numbers defy basic financial logic. “There are a lot of questions as to how her husband accumulated so much wealth over the past two years,” he said. “It’s not possible. It’s not. I’m a money guy. It’s not possible.”

In parallel, federal law enforcement agencies have opened their own inquiries into potential political links tied to the fraud investigation.

“We are investigating all politicians potentially connected to any of this [fraud] in Minnesota. You can read between the lines,” a law enforcement source said.

The source added that unlike the Biden administration, which the source said took no visible action, Team Trump is actively pursuing the matter.

Those remarks came as The Post reported that the FBI had been briefed during the Biden administration about concerns involving a network of companies associated with Mynett.

One of those firms, Rose Lake Capital, was launched in 2022 by Mynett and business partner Will Hailer and sits at the center of a cluster of related ventures linked to Omar’s husband, whom she married five years ago.

Court records from a lawsuit filed in South Dakota show that Rose Lake Capital had just $42.44 in its bank account in late 2022.

Despite that, the company’s valuation jumped from essentially nothing to as much as $25 million within a year, according to Omar’s 2024 disclosure.

Sources said that by 2024, associates grew concerned enough about irregularities and the origin of the firm’s funding that they shared information with federal investigators.

They questioned whether the businesses, including a winery, were engaged in improper activity, noting that none had an established public track record.

Several high-profile figures who were once listed as advisers to Rose Lake Capital have since been removed from the firm’s bright pink website. Among them was former Sen. Max Baucus of Montana, a former chairman of the Senate Finance Committee who also served as U.S. ambassador to China under Barack Obama.

Baucus said his involvement amounted to one phone conversation in 2022 regarding a potential storage-unit project. “Then nothing came of it” beyond periodic emails from Hailer, he told The Post. “That went on for about four or five months or so, then just radio silence.”

“He stopped writing his emails about the investment – about how well he’s doing, all that stuff. You can read between the lines – it sounded a little bit fishy,” Baucus said, adding that he never gave permission for his name to appear on the firm’s website as an adviser.

Also previously named on the site were former Rep. Collin Peterson of Minnesota and J. Peter Pham, a fellow at the Atlantic Council who served as President Trump’s Special Envoy to Africa’s Great Lakes Regions.

“Obviously I’ve seen reporting, including in The NY Post, about Will’s partner who I’ve never met and his wife [Omar] – Tim and his wife’s sudden coming into riches. But [I] can’t say anything about that, other than certainly I had no share in that,” Pham said. He indicated that he attended a single meeting about a possible solar panel project in South Africa and was labeled an “advisor” by the firm. Peterson did not respond to requests for comment.

Rose Lake’s website has claimed that its officers previously managed $60 billion in assets, a figure that would place the firm among major financial players.

However, Wall Street professionals told The Post they were unfamiliar with Rose Lake Capital and unaware of any investors associated with it, despite the company’s claims of managing billions of dollars and participating in sophisticated financial transactions such as “deals, mergers and acquisitions, debt restructuring and capital raising.”

Another Wall Street source said it was startling that Mynett, long known as a Minnesota political consultant, had suddenly emerged as the head of an investment firm.

The firm is not registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission and does not disclose how much money it currently manages.

Following the 2008 financial crisis, Dodd-Frank reforms established registration requirements for advisers managing $100 million in assets, or $150 million for private fund advisers, subject to certain exemptions. Family offices can avoid disclosure rules because they do not seek outside investors, and venture capital firms are also exempt, a category Rose Lake claims as one of its strengths.

Even so, a former senior SEC official said Rose Lake’s public claims about private equity activity and officers’ prior management of billions in assets suggest registration should be required. “I would continue to push on the disclosure issue because this looks funny,” the former official said.

Financial specialists have also flagged the use of multiple, similar-sounding Rose Lake entities as a warning sign, along with the firm’s removal of officer listings after news broke of the massive Somali fraud scheme in Omar’s district following a front-page Post report.

In recent days, Rose Lake Capital has taken down its LinkedIn page, and Hailer’s name no longer appears there.

Hailer’s personal LinkedIn profile no longer lists Rose Lake either, though it still identifies him as a co-owner of the eStCru winery, which he founded with Mynett in 2020.

Hailer previously served as political director for then–Democratic National Committee chairman Keith Ellison, who is now Minnesota’s attorney general.

House Majority Whip Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota said the expanding investigations are overdue.

“While Minnesotans have been getting fleeced to the tune of $9 billion by Somali fraudsters, Ilhan Omar and her husband have been raking in millions through their shady businesses,” Emmer told The NY Post.

“The explosion of wealth, plus the fact that convicted fraudsters helped fund Omar’s campaign, is worth an investigation by the Ethics Committee at the very least.”

The Federal Aviation Administration on Friday urged U.S. aircraft operators to “exercise caution” when flying over the eastern Pacific Ocean near Mexico, Central America and parts of South America, citing “military activities” and possible satellite navigation interference. The warning was issued in a series of Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs) issued by the FAA. They say, […]

A delegation opposed to President Donald Trump traveled to Denmark today to calm allies and signal support for Denmark and Greenland after Trump warned he could impose tariffs on countries that refuse to back U.S. control of the strategically important Arctic island.

Leading the group, Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware said the recent language surrounding Greenland has unsettled leaders and citizens throughout the Danish kingdom, and that his goal was to lower tensions rather than inflame them.

“I hope that the people of the Kingdom of Denmark do not abandon their faith in the American people,” Coons said while speaking in Copenhagen. He added that the United States respects Denmark and NATO partners “for all we’ve done together.”

As the delegation held meetings, large crowds filled the streets of Copenhagen in a show of solidarity with Greenland. Many demonstrators waved Greenland’s flag, while others carried signs reading “Make America Smart Again” and “Hands Off.”

“This is important for the whole world,” Danish protester Elise Riechie told The Associated Press while holding both Danish and Greenlandic flags. “There are many small countries. None of them are for sale.”

Additional demonstrations were planned in Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, as well as in other parts of the Danish kingdom.

Coons’ remarks stood in sharp contrast to statements coming from the White House. Trump has repeatedly defended his push for U.S. control of Greenland by arguing that China and Russia are seeking influence over the island, which is believed to contain significant untapped deposits of critical minerals. The administration has also declined to rule out the use of force.

“There are no current security threats to Greenland,” Coons said.

For months, Trump has argued that the United States should take control of Greenland, a semiautonomous territory belonging to NATO ally Denmark, and earlier this week he said any outcome short of U.S. ownership would be “unacceptable.”

Speaking Friday at an unrelated White House event focused on rural health care, Trump recalled threatening European partners with tariffs on pharmaceutical products.

“I may do that for Greenland, too,” Trump said. “I may put a tariff on countries if they don’t go along with Greenland, because we need Greenland for national security. So I may do that,” he said.

Trump had not previously raised tariffs as a tool to pressure allies over Greenland.

Earlier in the week, the foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland met in Washington with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

While the talks failed to bridge the fundamental disagreements, both sides agreed to establish a working group. Denmark and the White House later offered sharply different public explanations of what that group would actually do.

European leaders have emphasized that decisions about Greenland rest solely with Denmark and Greenland, and Denmark announced this week that it is bolstering its military presence on the island in coordination with allies.

“There is almost no better ally to the United States than Denmark,” Coons said. “If we do things that cause Danes to question whether we can be counted on as a NATO ally, why would any other country seek to be our ally or believe in our representations?”

{Matzav.com}

Win a $43,500 Hublot Watch For As Low As $1 — and Change a Life! Spin to reveal your ticket price — your ticket can be as low as $1! ($1–$399) Only 399 tickets available. In memory of R’ Mendy Rosenberg z”l, a devoted Hatzolah member who inspired Klal Yisrael through years of ALS. Proceeds […]

President Donald Trump on Friday accused what he called “Radical Left people” behind New York cases against him of orchestrating politically motivated prosecutions, saying those involved “should pay a big price,” as he responded on Truth Social to a New York Post report detailing new claims by Michael Cohen.

In his post, Trump described the cases as “a SET UP from the beginning,” and argued that the actions taken against him had tarnished the state’s judicial system. He wrote that “New York Courts, with many fair and wonderful Judges, are embarrassed by what has happened. We cannot let this pass,” according to a version of the post shared by Newsmax.

Trump’s remarks came after he linked to a New York Post article focusing on Cohen, his former attorney and fixer, who has alleged that New York prosecutors pressured him to provide testimony harmful to Trump.

According to the New York Post, Cohen said in a Substack post published Friday that he felt “compelled and coerced” by New York Attorney General Letitia James and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to “deliver what they were seeking” in both the civil fraud case and the criminal prosecution related to allegations that Trump made a payment.

“I felt pressured and coerced to only provide information and testimony that would satisfy the government’s desire to build the cases against and secure a judgment and convictions against President Trump,” Cohen wrote, as quoted by the New York Post.

The newspaper further reported that Cohen claimed prosecutors in Bragg’s office posed “inappropriate leading questions” when his testimony did not align with their objectives.

Cohen also alleged, according to the report, that officials in James’ office made it clear they wanted testimony “that would go after President Trump.”

Explaining why he chose to speak publicly now, Cohen said he has “witnessed firsthand the damage done when prosecutors pick their target first and then seek evidence to fit a predetermined narrative,” the New York Post reported.

Cohen added, “Justice must be more than effective; it must be credible,” according to the newspaper.

The New York Post reported that Trump is currently pursuing appeals in both matters, with his legal team challenging the hush-money conviction and continuing efforts to overturn the civil fraud judgment.

That civil fraud judgment totals $454 million, according to the New York Post.

Cohen’s Substack post also suggested that while appellate proceedings have not cleared Trump, they have drawn attention to what he described as a prosecutorial “rush” that can result in witnesses being “leaned on,” the paper reported.

Representatives for both Bragg and James did not immediately respond to the New York Post’s requests for comment, according to the report.

Cohen previously served more than a year in federal prison after pleading guilty to tax evasion, bank fraud, and lying to Congress, and wrote that he hoped his cooperation in matters involving Trump would be viewed favorably, the New York Post reported.

Trump, in his Truth Social message, portrayed Cohen’s latest assertions as further confirmation that the cases against him were driven by politics and reiterated that those responsible “should pay a big price,” according to the post.

{Matzav.com}

Dear Klal Yisrael: I lost my husband and two children in a terrible car accident on the way back from Meron. In one moment, half my family was gone. I was left to raise four yesomim alone. TOMORROW, my son Shimon will stand under the chuppah — with no father to walk him there. I […]

The Justice Department has opened an investigation into Minnesota officials, including Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, examining whether their public remarks amounted to a coordinated effort to obstruct federal immigration enforcement, according to a senior law enforcement official and another person familiar with the inquiry who spoke to NBC News.

The probe unfolds against the backdrop of mounting unrest in Minneapolis following the fatal shooting last week of Renee Nicole Good, a mother of three and a U.S. citizen, by an ICE officer. While immigration authorities had been operating in the city for weeks, the federal presence intensified significantly after Good was killed.

Walz and Frey, both Democrats, have clashed with federal authorities, who maintain that the officer involved, Jonathan Ross, acted lawfully. The governor and mayor have publicly criticized the federal response and questioned why the FBI excluded local officials from the investigation into Good’s death. CBS News was the first to report on the existence of the Justice Department investigation.

In a statement released Friday, Walz dismissed the inquiry as politically motivated.
“Two days ago it was Elissa Slotkin. Last week it was Jerome Powell. Before that, Mark Kelly. Weaponizing the justice system and threatening political opponents is a dangerous, authoritarian tactic,” he said. “The only person not being investigated for the shooting of Renee Good is the federal agent who shot her.”

Frey also responded to reports of the investigation, saying he would not be cowed by federal pressure.
“This is an obvious attempt to intimidate me for standing up for Minneapolis, our local law enforcement, and our residents against the chaos and danger this Administration has brought to our streets,” he said.

He added, “Neither our city nor our country will succumb to this fear. We stand rock solid.”

The Justice Department declined to comment on the matter. The statute being cited in the investigation is rarely invoked and dates back to the Civil War era. It was included, however, in a memo circulated last month by Attorney General Pam Bondi and obtained by NBC News, which outlined strategies for prosecutors to strengthen cases against individuals she described as domestic terrorists.

Bondi underscored that stance in a post on X on Friday, writing, “A reminder to all those in Minnesota: No one is above the law.”

{Matzav.com}

The Justice Department is investigating whether Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey have impeded federal immigration enforcement through public statements they have made, two people familiar with the matter said Friday. The investigation, which both Walz and Frey said was a bullying tactic meant to threaten political opposition, focused on potential violation […]

President Donald Trump returned Saturday to his long-running criticism of the use of an autopen during Joe Biden’s time in office, again suggesting criminal consequences for those he claims unlawfully exercised presidential authority.

Trump has made the issue a recurring motif, even replacing Biden’s portrait with an image of an autopen along the “Presidential Walk of Fame” corridor that connects the West Wing to the Executive Residence.

“Everyone is asking about the Autopen?” Trump wrote Saturday. “What was done is totally illegal, and anything signed that way is of ‘no further force or effect.’”

He expanded on that claim in a follow-up post, alleging that the individual operating the device acted without proper authorization and accusing political opponents of orchestrating the practice.
“The person who “worked” the Autopen had no idea whether or not Biden approved of what he was doing. There was no ORDER in writing, and it was an absolutely illegal act perpetrated by the Radical Left Insurrectionists who illegally ran the Biden Administration. Every one of them should be arrested for what they have done to our Country. They didn’t win the Presidency but, when you think of it, neither did Joe Biden. The whole thing was RIGGED. There must be a price to pay, and it has got to be a BIG ONE!”

Trump has previously moved to invalidate documents he says were signed using the device. In November, he declared, “Any document signed by Sleepy Joe Biden with the Autopen, which was approximately 92% of them, is hereby terminated, and of no further force or effect.” Legal scholars have pushed back, saying the president lacks authority to nullify a predecessor’s pardons or official actions on that basis.

The use of an autopen, however, is not unique to Biden. Multiple presidents have relied on the device, including Trump himself. Earlier this month, while criticizing Biden in remarks to House Republicans, Trump acknowledged his own limited use of it, saying, “And by the way, you ought to make a big deal out of the autopen. The autopen was your precedent.Because most of the things were signed by autopen, and you’re not allowed to do that. I signed very little–.”

Questions about autopen signatures surfaced publicly in November, when social media users noted that the Justice Department website displayed several Trump pardons bearing what appeared to be identical signatures.

PBS later reported on the episode, writing: “Within hours of the online speculation, the administration replaced copies of the pardons with new ones that did not feature identical signatures,” PBS reported. “It insisted Trump, who mercilessly mocked his predecessor’s use of an autopen, had originally signed all the Nov. 7 pardons himself and blamed “technical” and staffing issues for the error.”

{Matzav.com}

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei used a religious gathering to directly blame US President Donald Trump for the turmoil inside Iran, accusing Washington of fueling violence and attempting to undermine the country.

In his remarks, Khamenei charged the United States with responsibility for the bloodshed and damage caused during the unrest. “We see the US President as at fault for the casualties, the damages, and the slander against the Iranian nation,” Khamenei said. “The US’ goal is to swallow Iran. This was a US rebellion and the nation broke it.”

He further asserted that foreign forces were behind the protest leadership, claiming that “US and Zionist intelligence trained the leaders of the rioters abroad.”

Khamenei also alleged that outside-linked actors carried out widespread killings. “Those who are connected to Israel and the US killed thousands,” he alleged. “We will not drag the country into a war – but we will not let international or local criminals avoid punishment.”

Trump, for his part, has repeatedly warned that the United States could step in on behalf of protesters in Iran, where reports say thousands have been killed during the regime’s violent response to demonstrations against its rule.

At one stage on Wednesday, the standoff appeared to be reaching a breaking point, with the prospect of US involvement seeming increasingly likely. Later in the day, however, tensions appeared to subside after Trump said he had received information suggesting that the killing of protesters had stopped.

“We have been notified pretty strongly that the killing in Iran is stopping, and there’s no plan for executions or an execution,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

He added that the information came from reliable sources, while stressing that the situation remained under close watch. “I’ve been told that in good authority. We’ll find out about it, I’m sure. If it happens, we’ll be very upset.”

{Matzav.com}

President Trump’s former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, wrote Friday in a Substack essay that prosecutors from the Manhattan DA’s Office and the NY Attorney General’s Office “pressured and coerced” him beginning in 2019 and continuing through the trials to provide testimony specifically tailored to secure convictions against Trump.

The IDF said troops from the 16th Brigade, under the 252nd Division, completed their sixth combat rotation in northern Gaza after operating for the past month east of the Yellow Line. The brigade will be replaced by the 3rd Brigade. During the mission, forces working with the Yahalom Unit dismantled hundreds of terrorist infrastructure sites […]

President Donald Trump named the first members of his “Board of Peace” executive committee to rebuild and revive the devastated Gaza Strip, but the office of Israeli Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu said the announcement “was not coordinated with Israel” and “runs contrary to its policy.”

The initial members include Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and former British prime minister Tony Blair, the White House said in a statement Friday.

Also announced were the members of a secondary operational committee known as the Gaza Executive Board. The board will also include Kushner, Witkoff and Blair, but also Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Qatari diplomat Ali al-Thawadi — leaders from nations that Israeli leaders say will work to ensure Hamas’s survival.

“Bringing Qatar and Turkey into the Gaza Strip is a reward to Hamas for the October 7th massacre and a danger to Israel’s security,” former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett said today. “This government of chaos has abdicated Israel’s sovereignty.”

Trump is to chair the panel. Each member is to oversee a different aspect of the project, such as reconstruction, attracting investment and regional relations, the White House said.

“Let’s all dream together to make more unthinkable outcomes reality,” Kushner, who has long floated an idea of promoting waterfront real estate in Gaza, wrote Friday on X.

Netanyahu’s office said late today that “the announcement regarding the composition of Gaza’s executive committee, which is subordinate to the board of peace, was not coordinated with Israel and runs contrary to its policy.” In a statement, the office said Netanyahu “has instructed the Foreign Minister to raise this matter with the U.S. Secretary of State.”

Itamar Ben Gvir, Israel’s far-right minister of national security, called “on the Prime Minister to order the IDF to prepare to return to war with tremendous force in the Strip, in order to achieve the main goal of the war: the destruction of Hamas.”

The announcement did not address the major stumbling block to Trump’s multistep plan for Gaza: The requirement that Israel withdraw its troops and Hamas give up its weapons before reconstruction begins.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said the announcement amounted to “a total diplomatic failure by the Netanyahu government, following the infinite heroism and sacrifice of the IDF’s soldiers and commanders.”

Blair, whose involvement has caused consternation among Palestinians, thanked Trump for his “leadership.”

“We want a Gaza which does not reconstruct Gaza as it was but as it could and should be,” he said in a statement today. “And for the Israelis we want to ensure that the horrific events of October 7 2023 are never repeated.”

Other leaders invited to become founding members include President Abdel Fatah El-Sisi, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Argentine President Javier Milei, according to reports, officials in their countries said.

Ziad Amr, a political activist in Ramallah, in the West Bank, said Palestinians view the Board of Peace as a vehicle “to entrench policies and practices that deny the Palestinian people their political rights, foremost among them the right to self-determination and the establishment of a fully sovereign, independent state.”

As the board was being pieced together this week, the Hamas-run media office in Gaza said Israel had violated the ceasefire brokered by Trump in October by shooting civilians, launching raids and preventing the entry of humanitarian aid as wintry weather sets in. More than 460 people have been killed in Gaza during the ceasefire and 1,275 injured, the Hamas-run health ministry said today.

Israel says Hamas has violated the ceasefire by refusing to return the remains of the last hostage and attacking Israeli soldiers when it is supposed to be disarming.

The Board of Peace is part of Phase 2 of Trump’s 20-point peace plan for Gaza, which has seen a fragile ceasefire since October.

“I can say with certainty that it is the Greatest and Most Prestigious Board ever assembled at any time, any place,” Trump wrote on Truth Social this week. In a separate post he underscored: “The people of Gaza have suffered long enough. The time is NOW. PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH.”

A National Committee for the Administration of Gaza will be tasked with implementing Trump’s peace plan, stability and reconstruction, the White House said.

This will be led by Ali Abdel Hamid Shaath a civil engineer from Gaza who has held senior roles in the Palestinian Authority governing the West Bank, the White House said. He’ll oversee the restoration of core public services, the rebuilding of civil institutions, and the stabilization of daily life.

That committee will be supported by a Gaza Executive Board, the White House said. The board will again include Kushner, Witkoff and Blair; and also Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan; Sigrid Kaag, the U.N. special coordinator for the Middle East peace process; Reem Al-Hashimy, the United Arab Emirates minister for international cooperation; and Israeli Cypriot billionaire Yakir Gabay.

Bulgarian diplomat Nickolay Mladenov, a former U.N. envoy to the Middle East peace process, will serve as high representative for Gaza, the White House said. Aryeh Lightstone, head of the Abraham Accord Peace Institute, and Josh Gruenbaum, a commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service, have been appointed senior advisers and will lead day-to-day strategy and operations. World Bank President Ajay Banga, deputy national security adviser Robert Gabriel and billionaire private equity chief Marc Rowan have been appointed to the executive board. No Palestinians have yet been named to the committee.

Security in Gaza is to be provided by an International Stabilization Force under the command of U.S. Maj. Gen. Jasper Jeffers, the White House said. No country has publicly committed forces to participate.

More board members are to be announced in the coming weeks, the White House said.

Jorge Moreira da Silva, executive director of the U.N. Office for Project Services, told reporters Thursday that the needs in Gaza are urgent.

“We can’t wait for the big reconstruction, which requires billions, to immediately launch the early recovery that requires millions,” da Silva said. He listed three immediate priorities: access to a stable supply of fuel, support for demining and the clearance of some 60 million tonnes of rubble and repairs to Gaza’s main power plant, which provided between 40 and 50 percent of electricity before the war.

{Matzav.com}

The IDF said on Friday that field observers and the Aerial Defense Array identified two drones crossing from the west into Israeli territory in an attempt to smuggle weapons; troops responded and intercepted the drones, which were carrying six M-16 rifles.

The Justice Department is investigating Governor Tim Walz and Mayor Jacob Frey over possible obstruction of federal law enforcement, according to a CNN report. * Grand jury subpoenas have been issued, but neither office had received notice as of Friday evening; the Justice Department declined to comment. * Walz said the probe is “weaponizing the […]

Snowy conditions didn’t stop flights in Rochester! Planes powered through heavy snowfall as winter weather blanketed the airport.

President Donald Trump today rejected a Wall Street Journal report claiming he offered JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon the position of Federal Reserve chair, calling the report false and announcing plans to sue the bank within weeks over what he described as his improper de-banking after the January 6 Capitol riot in 2021.

Trump aired his grievances against both the newspaper and JPMorgan Chase in a post published Saturday morning on Truth Social.

He began by writing: “A front page Article in The Fake News Wall Street Journal states, without any verification, that I offered Jamie Dimon, of JPMorgan Chase, the job of Fed Chairman.

“This statement is totally untrue, there was never such an offer and, in fact, I’ll be suing JPMorgan Chase over the next two weeks for incorrectly and inappropriately DEBANKING me after the January 6th Protest, a protest that turned out to be correct for those doing the protesting — The Election was RIGGED!”

Trump has previously said that JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America, the nation’s two largest banks, refused to provide him with accounts. In an interview with CNBC last summer, he said he tried to “deposit a billion dollars-plus” but was turned away by both institutions.

The Truth Social post was a response to a Wall Street Journal report published last Wednesday, which claimed Trump offered Dimon the Fed chairmanship in early 2025. According to the report, Dimon did not treat the offer as serious.

Separately, Politico has reported that Dimon’s name was raised as a possible Treasury secretary candidate during the 2024 presidential campaign, though it said his relationship with Trump has “since soured.” Trump said Saturday that he never entertained the idea and praised Scott Bessent’s performance in the role, calling him a “SUPERSTAR.”

Trump continued in his post: “Why wouldn’t The Wall Street Journal call me to ask whether or not such an offer was made? I would have very quickly told them, “NO,” and that would have been the end of the story. Also, one was led to believe that I offered Jamie Dimon the job of Secretary of the Treasury, but that would be one that he would be very interested in.

“The problem is, I have Scott Bessent doing a fantastic job, A SUPERSTAR — Why would I give it to Jamie? No such offer was made there, or even thought of, either. The Wall Street Journal ought to do better “fact checking,” or its already strained credibility will continue to DIVE. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

Trump’s comments come as his Justice Department is investigating Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell over a long-running renovation project at the Fed’s headquarters. Powell has said the scrutiny stems from his disagreements with Trump over interest rate policy, not the renovation itself.

JPMorgan Chase informed customers in November that it was under investigation by the U.S. government over allegations of de-banking conservatives. The bank has denied closing accounts or refusing customers based on political views.

{Matzav.com}

“When the Governor or the Mayor threaten our officers, when the Mayor suggests that he’s encouraging citizens to call 911 when they see ICE officers, that is very close to a federal crime,” says Deputy AG Todd Blanche. “If you impede the work we’re doing… We’re coming after you.”