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Vice President JD Vance said that U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle should face consequences if allegations that she sought $100,000 from a political donor in exchange for access to senior Trump administration officials are substantiated, while emphasizing that the accusations must be investigated before any judgment is reached.

Speaking to reporters in Ohio on Friday, Vance addressed the growing controversy surrounding Guilfoyle, a longtime Trump ally and former fiancée of Donald Trump Jr., after reports surfaced alleging that she asked Republican donor Eric Deters to help pay off a substantial American Express balance shortly before her Senate confirmation hearing in July 2025.

“Look, these are allegations, and what I always say is: we don’t try people in the court of public opinion. We try people in a court of law,” Vance said.

The vice president cautioned against treating the reported text messages as proof of wrongdoing, pointing out that the claims have yet to be established.

“You don’t take messages that people allegedly had between one person or another, or one person’s story, and say, ‘Oh, because of that, Kimberly Guilfoyle is, is guilty.’ I think that’s absurd,” Vance said. “Let’s actually see what the facts are. Let’s see what the truth is.”

He then made clear that proven misconduct would warrant accountability.

“And obviously, if there was something bad that happened, then people have to suffer consequences for it,” he added.

The controversy began after The Wall Street Journal reported that Guilfoyle had allegedly requested that Deters transfer $100,000 directly to American Express to settle her credit card debt. The communications, reportedly exchanged through the encrypted messaging service Signal, also allegedly involved offers to help Deters obtain access to influential figures in President Trump’s administration.

According to messages subsequently obtained by other news organizations, Guilfoyle pressed Deters to make the payment on July 3, 2025, just six days before her Senate confirmation hearing.

“Honey please I need you to get this done for me today,” one message attributed to Guilfoyle stated.

Other purported messages suggested that Guilfoyle wanted to avoid creating a written record of their financial dealings. In one exchange, she allegedly warned Deters that documenting their arrangement could jeopardize her diplomatic appointment.

“You’ll literally cost me my ambassadorship,” she reportedly wrote.

Deters, a longtime Trump supporter and former congressional candidate from Kentucky, has alleged that Guilfoyle offered to use her political connections to assist him with various matters if he provided the financial assistance. He told NBC News that he understood the proposed arrangement as an exchange of money for political favors.

“She was so desperate for that $100,000. It was a quid pro quo,” Deters said.

He further claimed that Guilfoyle had indicated she could help him obtain access to prominent administration figures and other influential individuals associated with President Trump.

Deters has said he ultimately declined to make the payment. The allegations remain disputed, and no finding of wrongdoing against Guilfoyle has been established.

An attorney representing Guilfoyle has challenged the authenticity of the messages without publicly specifying which portions were allegedly inaccurate. Another explanation offered by her legal team was that money was owed to Guilfoyle in connection with speaking engagements, an account Deters has disputed.

The controversy has also drawn the attention of federal investigators. NBC News reported Friday that the State Department’s Office of Inspector General is investigating Guilfoyle and the U.S. Embassy in Greece, citing two individuals familiar with the matter. The existence of an investigation does not establish that the allegations are true.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was visiting Greece as the controversy unfolded, pushed back against reporters seeking an immediate response to the allegations. Rubio argued that the administration should have an opportunity to review the information before reaching conclusions.

“We don’t conduct these things in a press conference on a tarmac in a foreign country because you wrote a story or somebody else wrote a story because some source gave it to you,” Rubio said.

“I don’t even know if what you’re reporting is true,” he added.

Rubio also expressed frustration with expectations that officials immediately address allegations circulated through news reports before the underlying material has been examined.

Vance, meanwhile, rejected the suggestion that the alleged arrangement reflected accepted practices within the administration. Asked whether the accusations represented how the Trump administration conducts business, he responded, “certainly not.”

The allegations have intensified scrutiny of Guilfoyle’s tenure as ambassador, particularly because of her longstanding personal and political connections to the Trump family. A former Fox News personality and prominent Trump campaign surrogate, Guilfoyle was nominated to represent the United States in Greece and subsequently confirmed by the Senate.

President Trump has also been asked about the controversy, describing the accusations as “too bad” without publicly clarifying whether Guilfoyle continues to enjoy his full support.

Vance made his latest remarks during a visit to Ohio, where he cast his ballot ahead of the November midterm elections and participated in Republican campaign events supporting Senator Jon Husted and gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.

{Matzav.com}

A Palestinian museum with extensive connections to British government-funded institutions and cultural organizations is facing accusations of glorifying some of the most notorious terrorists responsible for murdering Israeli civilians, raising questions about Britain’s willingness to condemn Palestinian terrorism while imposing sanctions on Israelis over alleged violence in Yehudah and Shomron.

The Palestinian Museum, established in 2016 in Birzeit, operates both a physical museum and an extensive digital archive containing photographs, posters, historical documents, and educational materials. Among its holdings are materials honoring individuals responsible for deadly terrorist attacks, including the 1978 Coastal Road massacre, the murder of an Israeli family in Nahariya, and attacks that killed scores of Israeli civilians.

The controversy was highlighted by Susie Dym, a London-born spokesperson for the Israeli organization Mattot Arim, who accused British authorities of applying a double standard in their treatment of Israel and Palestinian institutions. Dym pointed to Britain’s sanctions against certain Israelis while maintaining cultural and institutional relationships with a museum whose collections include material celebrating convicted terrorists and perpetrators of mass-casualty attacks.

The museum’s online collection includes a poster featuring Dalal Mughrabi, who led the March 1978 Coastal Road terrorist attack in Israel. During the assault, terrorists seized a bus and murdered 38 people, including 13 children and an American photographer, Gail Rubin, according to commonly cited accounts of the massacre. The museum’s description of Mughrabi identifies her as a “Martyr of the Palestinian Revolution“.

Additional material in the museum’s digital archive includes photographs of a kindergarten and school named in Mughrabi’s honor, along with several other images of the terrorist. The continued commemoration of Mughrabi has long been a source of controversy because of the scale of the massacre she helped carry out.

The museum’s materials have also appeared on other websites promoting Palestinian nationalism. One article published by Islamicity.org reproduced a Mughrabi poster attributed to the museum and described her actions in celebratory terms.

The article stated: “Dalal’s group hijacked a bus … 39 Israelis were killed…. [Dalal] inspired thousands of young Palestinian and Lebanese women to follow in her footsteps…. This month, and every March, Palestinians commemorate a Palestinian heroine who sacrificed herself for her country.”

Another figure represented in the museum’s collection is Samir Kuntar, the Lebanese terrorist responsible for one of Israel’s most horrific attacks. Kuntar participated in a 1979 terrorist raid in Nahariya in which members of the Haran family were murdered.

The museum’s archive contains portraits of Kuntar during his imprisonment in Beersheba. Even the left-wing Israeli newspaper Haaretz described his actions as “one of the most traumatic terror attacks in Israeli history”.

Smadar Haran, whose husband Danny and four-year-old daughter Einat were murdered in the attack, previously recounted the brutality of the assault.

She described how the terrorists took her husband and daughter “down to the beach. There, according to eyewitnesses, one of them shot Danny in front of Einat…. Then he smashed my little girl’s skull in against a rock with his rifle butt. That terrorist was Samir Kuntar.”

Kuntar was subsequently released in a 2008 prisoner exchange between Israel and Hezbollah, a decision that generated considerable controversy because of the murders for which he had been convicted.

The museum also maintains a collection dedicated to Marwan Barghouti, the imprisoned Palestinian leader convicted in Israel in connection with five murders committed during the Second Intifada.

In its description of the collection, the museum declares: “Marwan al-Barghouthi is a Palestinian freedom fighter… a symbol of the Palestinian Revolution and the Palestinian National Liberation Movement.”

The archive includes photographs showing Barghouti alongside other imprisoned Palestinian militants. His portrayal as a revolutionary figure stands in sharp contrast to his criminal convictions in Israel.

Other materials commemorate Yahya Ayyash, the Hamas bombmaker commonly known as the Engineer, who played a central role in organizing suicide bombings against Israeli civilians during the 1990s.

A poster produced by a Birzeit University student organization marks the 12th anniversary of what it calls Ayyash’s “murder” by Israel. Ayyash was responsible for developing explosives used in numerous terrorist attacks that killed approximately 100 Israelis and wounded hundreds more.

Another poster commemorates Khalil al-Wazir, better known as Abu Jihad, a senior PLO terrorist commander linked to attacks that killed large numbers of Israelis.

The poster identifies him as ‘The Heroic Shaheed, The Commander Abu Jihad, Martyr of the War for Independence’.

According to the museum, the item belongs to its “permanent collection” and is among the “documents that form an important part of the history of the Palestinian revolution”.

Abu Jihad was implicated in planning and directing attacks that killed at least 125 Israelis, including the 1978 Coastal Road massacre.

The archive also preserves a photograph of the grave of Ali Hassan Salameh, a senior Black September operative associated with the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre, in which 11 Israeli athletes and coaches were murdered.

The photograph identifies the burial location as “at the Cemetery of the Shaheeds”, using the Arabic term for martyrs.

Although museums routinely preserve controversial historical material for educational and documentary purposes, critics argue that the language used in several of these collections goes beyond neutral historical presentation and portrays perpetrators of terrorist atrocities as national heroes.

Particular concern has been raised about the museum’s educational activities and its relationships with Palestinian schools.

The institution operates a Teachers’ Programme intended to connect its exhibits and digital collections with classroom instruction. According to its published description, the initiative “is based on creating a link between teachers, schools, and the museum” through “school research projects that link the curriculum and the knowledge provided by the museum through its … digital spaces.”

Its broader Education Programme “encourages children… bringing the museum’s culture to the new generation”.

The museum also works with the Palestinian Ministry of Education and has reported receiving nearly 100 visits annually from government schools.

Dym argues that these educational partnerships make the museum’s presentation of convicted terrorists and individuals responsible for mass murder particularly troubling, given the potential for children to encounter such material in an institutional setting.

The controversy also extends to the museum’s connections with British organizations.

The Palestinian Museum is a major initiative of Taawon, also known as the Welfare Association, a Palestinian nonprofit organization involved in humanitarian, cultural, and development projects.

A British organization operating under the Taawon name is registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales under charity number 1020238. Its charitable status provides access to tax benefits under applicable British law, although the existence of those benefits does not by itself establish that British taxpayers directly financed any particular museum exhibit.

The British Council, Britain’s international organization for cultural relations and educational opportunities, has also been identified by the museum among its supporters.

King Charles III serves as patron of the British Council, which operates under a royal charter and receives funding from the British government alongside income from its other activities.

The museum has additionally identified support from the British government’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, raising questions about the nature and extent of official British financial involvement.

British cultural institutions have participated in projects with the museum as well.

The British Library, the United Kingdom’s national library, collaborated with the Palestinian Museum on a project called “Conservation for Digitisation”, involving the preservation and digitization of historical material.

In 2022, the museum also established a textile conservation studio through cooperation with London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, another prominent institution that receives British government funding.

Officials involved in that initiative discussed Palestinian embroidery and the political symbolism of its colors, including “colour schemes of red, green, black and white – the colours of the Palestinian flag”, which they characterized as “an embroidered message of resistance”.

The museum’s first director general, Mahmoud Hawari, also had professional ties to Britain’s cultural establishment, having served as a lead curator at the British Museum.

Dym questioned whether officials involved in these British partnerships were familiar with the museum’s online holdings and the terminology used to describe terrorists responsible for murdering Israeli civilians.

The dispute comes against the backdrop of Britain’s increasingly restrictive policies toward certain Israeli individuals and organizations in Yehudah and Shomron.

British authorities have imposed sanctions on Israeli individuals and entities accused of involvement in violence against Palestinians, while also taking measures targeting certain settlement-related activities. Those actions have been defended by British officials as responses to alleged human rights violations and threats to regional stability.

Dym rejects the legal and political arguments underpinning those measures. She cites the writings of Professor Eugene Rostow, a former dean of Yale Law School, who argued that Jewish settlement rights in territories captured by Israel in 1967 were protected by the international legal framework, including Article 80 of the United Nations Charter.

That interpretation remains disputed, with much of the international community maintaining that Israeli settlements in the territories violate international law, a position Israel contests.

For Dym, however, the central issue is the contrast between Britain’s readiness to penalize Israelis accused of misconduct and its continued association with Palestinian cultural institutions whose archives contain material commemorating perpetrators of deadly terrorist attacks.

The museum’s defenders could argue that preserving posters, photographs, and political documents is part of the legitimate work of recording Palestinian history. The criticism, however, focuses particularly on descriptions that refer to convicted terrorists as martyrs, heroes, and freedom fighters, rather than merely documenting their historical activities.

The extent to which British financial assistance or institutional cooperation has directly supported the specific exhibits and digital materials identified by Dym remains an important distinction. The existence of a partnership does not necessarily mean that a British organization endorses every item in the museum’s collection.

Nevertheless, Dym maintains that British institutions should be held accountable for their relationships with organizations that present terrorists in celebratory terms, especially while London continues to pursue punitive measures against Israelis.

Her criticism ultimately raises a question for British authorities: whether the government will examine its institutional and financial relationships with the Palestinian Museum in light of the materials identified in its archive, or allow those partnerships to continue without further scrutiny.

Additional research confirmed a particularly significant detail: a British Council cultural preservation grant of approximately £152,000 funded a project involving the Palestinian Museum and British Library. The grant supported the preservation and digitization of roughly 3,000 historical documents. A separate $484,298 grant from the ALIPH Foundation supported the museum’s textile conservation partnership with the Victoria and Albert Museum. These documented funding arrangements establish the British institutional connections, although they do not establish that British funds paid for the specific terrorist-related archive entries.

{Matzav.com}

More than 37 years after her husband was murdered while protecting the community of Har Bracha in Shomron, Leah Ziv-Farag is demanding that the IDF remove a monument honoring the terrorist responsible for his death, saying the memorial’s presence near the scene of the attack has compounded her family’s suffering for decades.

Her husband, Yaakov Farag, was killed in December 1988 while guarding land belonging to Har Bracha. Following the murder, the terrorist seized Farag’s weapon and used it to open fire on IDF soldiers.

Farag left behind his wife, who was pregnant at the time, and their young children, who were forced to grow up without their father.

The terrorist, identified as Hamdan al-Najjar, is commemorated by a monument located a short distance from where Farag was murdered. The family is now calling on the military to dismantle the structure, arguing that honoring the perpetrator of a deadly terrorist attack at the very location where he committed the murder is an intolerable affront to the victims.

Ziv-Farag addressed her appeal to Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, commander of the IDF’s Central Command, describing the anguish her family has endured since the murder and the additional pain of seeing her husband’s killer memorialized nearby.

“It is difficult to put into words the feelings of a family whose loved one was murdered in a particular place, only to find a short distance away a monument commemorating the person who took his life,” she wrote. “A monument is a symbol. It conveys a message to future generations. What message do we want to pass on to our children? Do we commemorate someone who took a life, or the man who was murdered while defending his home, his land and his family?”

The family maintains that the monument does more than commemorate an individual. By publicly honoring a terrorist who murdered a Jewish resident and subsequently attacked Israeli soldiers, they argue, it conveys a message that glorifies violence and disregards the suffering of the victims.

The appeal has also drawn support from Knesset Member Tzvi Sukkot, who has urged the military to act without delay.

Sukkot, who chairs the Knesset Education Committee and its subcommittee dealing with Yehuda and Shomron, pointed to recent IDF operations aimed at dismantling monuments honoring terrorists and their supporters throughout the region.

He argued that the same policy should be applied to the memorial honoring al-Najjar, particularly given its proximity to the location of Farag’s murder.

“There is no justification for commemorating the murderer of a Jew, certainly not at the site of the attack where he took the life of a man who simply wanted to protect his country’s land,” Sukkot said. “The fight against the commemoration of terrorism must be consistent and determined to the end.”

Additional reporting reveals that the terrorist also killed an IDF soldier, Cpl. Arthur (Alter) Herzig, and wounded two others during the 1988 attack.

The monument was previously targeted by MK Tzvi Sukkot in August, although its present condition remains unclear.

{Matzav.com}

Columbia University has apologized after a dining hall displayed signs reading “October 7th Blush Sauce” on the third anniversary of Hamas’s massacre in Israel, triggering widespread outrage and renewed criticism of the university’s handling of antisemitism. School officials say the wording was an inadvertent menu-template mistake, not an intentional reference to the terrorist attacks.

The signs appeared Wednesday at the pasta station in John Jay Dining Hall, where blush sauce was among the lunch offerings. Photographs spread rapidly across social media, with critics questioning how the date of the October 7, 2023, massacre, in which approximately 1,200 people were murdered and 251 were taken hostage, could appear beside a food item on the anniversary.

The university’s dining department said the sauce had been scheduled for that day and that a date included in the staff’s working menu was mistakenly carried over to the printed display. Vicki Dunn, assistant vice president of Columbia Dining, said the signs were removed promptly after the problem came to light.

“This was an unfortunate mistake and was not intended as a reference to the events of October 7,” Dunn said. “The blush sauce was scheduled to be served, and when that information was copied into the menu template, the date was accidentally left in. Our staff took the signs down as soon as the mistake was identified. We are sorry for the confusion and concern this caused.”

Dunn said the department would add a further check before menus are displayed in dining facilities.

“Moving forward, Columbia Dining will also have a team member review all menus before they are posted,” she added.

As criticism mounted online, Columbia released its own explanation, reiterating that the date was not meant to allude to the Hamas attack.

“This was a mistake, not a reference to the events of October 7. The date was accidentally left in when the day’s meal information was copied into the menu template. The signs were removed as soon as the error was caught, and we’re sorry for the concern and confusion this caused.”

The student newspaper, the Columbia Daily Spectator, reported that two signs at the John Jay pasta station carried the wording. It also reported that blush sauce was the only sauce labeled with a date, an unusual detail that contributed to the online reaction. A photograph posted by a New York correspondent for Haaretz drew more than one million views by late Wednesday evening, according to the student paper.

The episode unfolded on an already tense anniversary for Columbia, which has faced years of controversy over anti-Israel demonstrations and allegations that Jewish students have been subjected to harassment and intimidation on campus.

In February 2024, antisemitic flyers showing a skunk with an Israeli flag appeared at the university. That spring, anti-Israel activists erected a protest encampment, setting off a confrontation over campus safety, protest restrictions and the university’s response to antisemitism.

During the protests, demonstrators were recorded telling Jewish counterprotesters that the October 7 massacre would happen “every day” and “10,000” times. In another incident, a protester displayed a sign appearing to call on Hamas’s armed wing to target Jewish students.

A Jewish student wearing a kippah was punched near the university during an encounter with an anti-Israel protester in December 2024. In May 2025, masked demonstrators occupied Butler Library, and Columbia subsequently suspended or otherwise disciplined dozens of participants.

The Trump administration also took action against Columbia, accusing the university of failing to protect Jewish students and suspending $400 million in federal research funding. The university later reached a settlement with the administration over federal allegations involving antisemitism and other civil-rights concerns.

The third anniversary of the massacre brought another round of demonstrations outside Columbia. Roughly 100 anti-Israel protesters assembled near the campus gates Wednesday, with participants chanting “Globalize the intifada,” “No peace on stolen land,” and “Every fascist state will fall.” Others shouted “Palestine is Arab” in Arabic.

The protest took place outside the university gates on a public sidewalk. Columbia’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, which the school suspended in 2023, was among the groups associated with the anniversary demonstration.

The same day, Columbia/Barnard Hillel arranged an installation of approximately 1,200 white chairs to commemorate those murdered on October 7, and members of the university community gathered at Low Library for an evening memorial.

{Matzav.com}

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President Donald Trump paid tribute today to the 18 American military personnel killed in the war against Iran, telling a campaign rally in Tennessee that their sacrifice helped prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons and declaring that the United States had achieved a critical national security objective despite the loss of American lives.

Speaking ahead of the November 3 midterm elections, Trump reflected on his meetings with the families of fallen servicemembers, describing those encounters as among the most painful duties he has faced as president.

“We lost 18 great people [in the Iran war]. I got to know their families. I met most of them, the families. And always the hardest thing that I have to do is go and meet the families of heroes. I call them heroes. But we lost 18. We have wounded, but we’ve stopped them from having a nuclear weapon,” Trump said.

Trump: We lost 18. We have wounded, but we've stopped them from having a nuclear weapon. You want to see people wounded and killed, let these lunatics have a nuclear weapon. You'll see. You'll see what would happen. We achieved something that was incredible. You can’t let a total… pic.twitter.com/LWfuFlJqaC

— Acyn (@Acyn) October 10, 2026

The president defended the military campaign by arguing that allowing Iran to acquire nuclear weapons would have exposed Americans and American allies to a far greater threat. He portrayed the operation as a necessary step to prevent a potentially devastating future confrontation.

“You want to see wounded? You want to see people wounded and killed? Let these lunatics have a nuclear weapon. You’ll see, you’ll see what would happen. What we did, we achieved something that was incredible.”

Trump acknowledged the human cost of the conflict while insisting that the deaths of the American servicemembers had not been meaningless. He expressed confidence that the campaign had permanently prevented Iran from becoming a nuclear-armed power, although the ultimate condition of Tehran’s nuclear capabilities remains a central issue in ongoing negotiations.

“Now, 18 is too many. I don’t want to lose any. But we have stopped them from having a nuclear weapon, I believe, for all time. And we lost 18. Those young people did not die in vain. That was a big thing, because you can’t let lunatics have nuclear weapons. You just can’t let a total lunatic or a group of lunatics have nuclear weapons,” Trump stated.

The president also warned that Tehran might take additional provocative steps as the American elections approach. He suggested that Iranian leaders could attempt to exploit the political calendar but maintained that Washington possessed the military capability to bring the confrontation to a swift conclusion.

He predicted that Iran will “probably do a little bit extra before the election thinking it’s going to hurt us, but we could end it really quick. They don’t know how nice I’ve been to them.”

The remarks came two days after Trump announced that the United States would refrain from launching additional attacks against Iran before the November 3 congressional elections, even as the administration continued diplomatic contacts aimed at ending the war.

“We are having productive discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Trump wrote Thursday on Truth Social.

The announcement represented a temporary restraint on further American military action rather than a broader agreement to end hostilities. Washington has continued to press Tehran over its nuclear program, while Iran has resisted American demands concerning uranium enrichment.

Trump has described Iran as suffering severe economic and military pressure from the conflict and has maintained that the United States is negotiating from a position of strength.

At a White House event Friday, the president predicted that the confrontation would be resolved in the near future, whether through diplomacy or additional military operations. He also linked a potential conclusion of the war to relief from elevated gasoline prices.

“We stopped Iran from having a nuclear weapon – and the [gas] prices will come tumbling [down] and it’s gonna be over soon, one way or the other,” Trump stated.

He added, “We can do it either way, but it’s very simple – one way or another it’s gonna be over soon.”

Meanwhile, reports of additional American military preparations have continued despite Trump’s announcement that no new strikes would take place before the elections.

Military planners have reportedly examined options for attacks against Iranian missile installations, drone production sites and other strategic facilities. Some proposals envision a concentrated offensive lasting approximately three days, although no final decision to launch such an operation has been announced.

Vice President JD Vance, in an interview with Reuters earlier this week, made clear that the administration would require substantial concessions on Iran’s nuclear program before accepting an agreement to end the conflict.

Vance specifically challenged Tehran’s continued production of uranium enriched to 60%, a level far beyond what is generally required for civilian nuclear power generation.

“If you don’t want a nuclear weapon, then why do you need 60% enriched fuel? And if you want to show commitment to not building a nuclear ⁠weapon, don’t build highly enriched fuel. That’s a very basic threshold issue,” Vance said.

“I think if they want to show a commitment to not building a nuclear weapon, they would do something meaningful on their enrichment capacity.”

The vice president emphasized that Washington would judge Iran’s intentions by verifiable changes to its nuclear activities rather than diplomatic assurances.

“We’re not going to trade words for actions,” Vance told Reuters.

{Matzav.com}

Agudath Israel of America applauds Governor Kathy Hochul for announcing on Friday afternoon that, after reviewing the new regulations, New York State will opt in to the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit.

This decision will, in the governor’s words, “bring millions of additional dollars to New York students and families without taking a single dollar from public schools or our state or local budgets.”

Governor Hochul’s announcement follows her promise to a group of Jewish leaders back in May that New York would participate in the tax credit if it benefited all students, including those attending public schools. Since that meeting, which took place in the office of Agudah chairman Sol Werdiger, Governor Hochul has only reiterated her view that she would not leave money on the table that can help New York students, despite political pressure from opponents.

“Opting in is good for all New Yorkers. We thank Governor Hochul for putting students before politics.” said Agudath Israel’s chairman of the board, Mr. Sol Werdiger. “We now urge the remaining governors to follow her lead.”

“Agudah was at the forefront of the successful advocacy effort that led to the passage of the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit and worked with allies in New York to make it a reality for families in our state.” said Rabbi Yeruchim Silber, Agudah’s Director of NY Government Relations. “Agudah extends its sincere appreciation to the NYS Catholic Conference, Teach NYS, Invest in Education, and the tens of thousands of parents and supporters who spoke out in support of this game-changing policy.

The Federal Scholarship Tax Credit (FSTC) allows taxpayers to contribute up to $1,700 ($3,400 for a married couple filing jointly) to a scholarship granting organization and receive a dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit. Scholarships can be used for tutoring, special needs services, and tuition, among many allowable uses. To learn more, go to agudah.org/FSTC.

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, delivered a forceful response to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani today, declaring that federal immigration agents will continue operating throughout New York City and New York State regardless of the mayor’s demands to halt immigration enforcement following a controversial ICE shooting.

Homan’s remarks came after Mamdani called for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to be removed from the city following Thursday’s shooting of a 28-year-old Dominican immigrant during a federal enforcement operation in the Marble Hill neighborhood, near the Bronx.

“He can scream and yell ALL HE WANTS. He’s NOT gonna stop us from doing this job,” Homan declared.

“I don’t know what color the SKY is in Mamdani’s world, but ICE ISN’T GOING ANYWHERE!” he continued.

“We’re gonna be in New York City, we’re gonna be in New York State, we’re gonna KEEP enforcing the law — that’s why President Trump is in the OVAL OFFICE.”

The response underscored the escalating confrontation between the Trump administration and Mamdani over the federal government’s immigration enforcement operations in New York, where the mayor has repeatedly condemned ICE tactics and demanded an end to the agency’s activities.

The latest dispute began Thursday afternoon when ICE agents attempted to apprehend a man in Marble Hill. During the confrontation, a federal agent opened fire on the man’s vehicle, striking him in the neck while his five-year-old son was seated inside.

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at least one federal agent fired seven rounds during the encounter. The child was not physically injured and was subsequently placed in the care of a family member.

The wounded man was transported to NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital for treatment before being taken back into federal custody.

Federal authorities identified the man as Oscar Belgal, a Dominican national with a criminal record who was wanted for immigration enforcement. The Department of Homeland Security alleged that he had ties to the Trinitarios gang, although that allegation has not been independently verified.

According to federal officials, Belgal attempted to escape arrest and struck two ICE vehicles during the encounter. The circumstances surrounding the shooting remain under investigation, including what prompted the agent to discharge his weapon.

Mamdani responded with an unusually sharp denunciation of federal immigration authorities, accusing ICE of endangering residents and demanding that its agents leave the city.

“This is an unconscionable and incredibly serious situation,” the mayor said in a statement issued Thursday.

“I have called the President; when we speak I will demand that he ends all ICE enforcement actions in our city. I will not stand by while ICE agents terrorize our communities.”

He concluded the statement with a series of demands:

“Get ICE out of our neighborhoods. Get ICE out of our hospitals. Get ICE off our streets. Get ICE away from our children.”

“Abolish ICE.”

At a subsequent news conference near the scene of the shooting, Mamdani intensified his criticism, describing the federal agency as fundamentally flawed.

“We know that ICE is rotten to its core,” the mayor declared.

Mamdani also questioned the tactics used by agents during the operation, including their reported use of masks, plainclothes and construction-style vests. He argued that such methods made it difficult for residents to identify the individuals approaching them as federal law enforcement officers.

The mayor said he had spoken directly with Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin in an effort to secure Belgal’s release from federal custody.

Those discussions were unsuccessful.

Mamdani subsequently told reporters that federal authorities had removed the wounded man from the hospital in an unmarked vehicle, despite his administration’s objections.

The Department of Homeland Security defended the operation and pointed to Belgal’s previous encounters with law enforcement.

Federal officials said he had been arrested by the NYPD in December 2023 and subsequently released. DHS cited the case in criticizing New York’s sanctuary policies, although its public statement did not establish that those policies had caused his release.

The agency acknowledged that an ICE officer fired his weapon and that Belgal was injured. It said officers provided medical assistance and that the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations were involved in examining the incident.

DHS did not initially provide a detailed public explanation of the precise circumstances that prompted the officer to fire.

The shooting also triggered protests in New York, with demonstrators demanding accountability from federal immigration authorities and an end to ICE operations in residential neighborhoods.

Several prominent Democratic officials, including Governor Kathy Hochul and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, criticized the federal operation.

The controversy has also intensified divisions within Mamdani’s political coalition, with socialist activists demanding that NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch take stronger action against federal immigration enforcement.

Some of those activists have called for Tisch’s removal, accusing the NYPD of assisting federal agents during the aftermath of the shooting. Tisch has said city police did not participate in the ICE operation and responded only after the gunfire.

Homan’s response made clear that the administration has no intention of allowing the mayor’s opposition to determine where federal immigration officers can operate.

While New York City’s sanctuary policies restrict certain forms of cooperation between local authorities and federal immigration officials, they do not give the mayor the authority to prohibit ICE from enforcing federal immigration law within city limits.

Homan said the administration would continue its enforcement activities in both New York City and the rest of the state, regardless of Mamdani’s objections.

Phil Gordon, who served as Vice President Kamala Harris’s national security adviser during the Biden administration, has accused Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu of delaying a hostage-release agreement with Hamas by six months in 2024, alleging that the Israeli leader introduced new demands that prevented an earlier deal and left Israeli captives in Gaza, where several were subsequently murdered.

In a lengthy statement published today, Gordon claimed that Hamas had accepted the basic framework of an American-backed agreement in July 2024, only for Netanyahu to insist on additional conditions that made an agreement impossible until January 2025.

Gordon’s allegations follow explosive claims made earlier this week by Netanyahu’s former military secretary, Avi Gil, who accused the prime minister of passing up opportunities to secure the release of hostages because of political considerations.

The former American official argued that an agreement could have been reached months earlier if Netanyahu had accepted the framework being negotiated at the time, and suggested that the delay contributed to the deaths of Israeli hostages who might otherwise have returned home alive.

Gordon’s intervention also exposed disagreements among senior officials who served in the Biden administration over responsibility for the prolonged negotiations and whether Washington should have applied greater pressure on Israel to end the fighting.

The immediate trigger for Gordon’s comments was the publication of a new book by Brett McGurk, a senior Biden administration Middle East adviser who played a central role in negotiating the eventual hostage agreement.

Gordon accused Netanyahu’s supporters of selectively using McGurk’s account to defend the prime minister’s wartime decisions.

“Netanyahu supporters seem to be taking advantage of Brett McGurk’s book and interviews to claim vindication for Netanyahu’s conduct of the war in Gaza,” Gordon wrote on X.

“But while Brett’s front-row account is valuable, that doesn’t mean it is definitive or its perspectives widely shared — including among former members of the Biden administration,” he continued.

Gordon pointed specifically to a July 4, 2024, telephone conversation between President Joe Biden and Netanyahu, which he said represented a critical moment in the negotiations.

According to Gordon, Hamas had finally agreed to the central framework of a proposed exchange, abandoning its previous insistence that Israel commit to a permanent ceasefire before any hostages were released.

“Brett tells the story of the Biden phone call after [Israel’s accidental strike on a convoy for World Central Kitchen], but not the story of how Biden called Netanyahu on July 4, 2024, to press him to conclude the hostage deal after Hamas had finally accepted the basic framework, dropping its demand that Israel commit to a permanent ceasefire before any hostages were released,” Gordon wrote.

He alleged that Netanyahu responded by introducing additional Israeli conditions, despite objections from senior Israeli security officials.

“Netanyahu instead added so many of his own conditions — against the advice of his own security chiefs — that the deal became impossible for another six months, during which nearly 9,000 more Palestinians were killed and more Israeli hostages died, including the six that Hamas executed in August,” Gordon stated.

The six hostages Gordon referenced were Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Almog Sarusi, Ori Danino and Alexander Lobanov, whose bodies were recovered from a tunnel in Rafah in late August 2024 after they were murdered by Hamas terrorists.

Gordon’s claim that an earlier agreement could have saved their lives is an assessment of what might have happened had negotiations succeeded in July, rather than an established finding about the outcome of a proposed agreement.

Gordon identified two specific Israeli demands that he said were responsible for preventing an agreement during the summer of 2024.

The first involved Netanyahu’s insistence that Israeli forces remain along the Philadelphi Corridor, the narrow strip of territory running along Gaza’s border with Egypt. Israel had taken control of the corridor during its military offensive in Rafah, after the original hostage agreement framework had been presented.

Netanyahu argued at the time that maintaining control of the corridor was essential to preventing Hamas from rebuilding its military capabilities through weapons smuggling from Egypt.

The second demand concerned the Netzarim Corridor, an Israeli-controlled route dividing northern and southern Gaza. Netanyahu wanted a mechanism to screen Palestinians returning to northern Gaza to prevent armed Hamas terrorists from moving back into areas cleared by the IDF.

Gordon maintained that both requirements complicated the negotiations and were eventually abandoned when Israel agreed to the January 2025 arrangement.

“The Israeli changes included a demand that Israel retain forces along Gaza’s entire border with Egypt, which the IDF had seized only after the original proposal, and a new enforcement mechanism to screen Gazans who were returning home to the north which would have required Israeli troops to remain in central Gaza. Both of those new conditions were dropped in the deal ultimately concluded in January 2025,” Gordon wrote.

His account differs in important respects from the version presented by McGurk, who has emphasized Hamas’s refusal to agree to key provisions during the negotiations.

In an October 4 interview with CBS News, McGurk described the fundamental disagreement between Israel and Hamas as one of the central obstacles to reaching a ceasefire.

He explained that Hamas wanted to retain control of Gaza and secure the release of Palestinian prisoners, while Israel insisted that the terrorist organization could no longer govern the territory following the October 7 massacre.

McGurk said Netanyahu believed sustained military pressure would ultimately force Hamas to accept an agreement favorable to Israel, while Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar calculated that prolonging the conflict would increase international pressure on Israel.

According to McGurk, negotiations continued to encounter major obstacles in December 2024, including Hamas’s refusal to provide an acceptable list of living hostages who would be released under the proposed agreement.

McGurk described a meeting with Netanyahu in December in which the prime minister agreed to a central provision of the deal, contingent on Hamas accepting the proposed list of 33 hostages.

Hamas subsequently indicated that only 12 of those hostages would be released alive, according to McGurk, creating another major obstacle.

The negotiations ultimately produced an agreement in January 2025, shortly before Trump returned to the White House. Representatives of both the outgoing Biden administration and the incoming Trump administration participated in the final diplomatic effort.

McGurk has credited the involvement of Trump’s incoming Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, with helping overcome remaining disagreements.

Gordon, however, argued that McGurk’s account should not be treated as the definitive interpretation of the negotiations or of the Biden administration’s handling of the war.

He said many former Biden administration officials believed Washington should have adopted a tougher approach toward Israel and pressed for an earlier conclusion to the fighting.

“I would say most of my former colleagues think that President Biden should have put more pressure on Israel to conduct the war differently and end it sooner,” Gordon wrote.

He added that few of his former colleagues believed Biden’s principal mistake had been publicly disagreeing with Netanyahu.

The accusations emerged just two days after Avi Gil, who served as Netanyahu’s military secretary from July 2021 until May 2024, made a series of allegations concerning the prime minister’s conduct before and after the October 7 massacre.

In an interview broadcast Thursday on Israel’s Channel 12, Gil alleged that Netanyahu had prioritized political considerations when making decisions about hostage negotiations.

Asked whether some hostages who died in captivity could have been brought home alive, and whether surviving hostages could have been released earlier, Gil responded, “We could have.”

Gil suggested that Netanyahu had been influenced by pressure from coalition partners who opposed ceasefire agreements and favored continuing the military campaign against Hamas.

His interview also included allegations concerning warnings Netanyahu received before October 7 and purported attempts by members of the Prime Minister’s Office to alter records relating to the morning of the attack.

Netanyahu’s Likud party strongly rejected Gil’s accusations, describing the interview as “part of the false and politically motivated propaganda campaign against Prime Minister Netanyahu and Likud.”

The prime minister has consistently maintained that Israel’s military operations were necessary to dismantle Hamas’s military and governing capabilities and to increase pressure on the terrorist organization to release the hostages.

He has also argued that agreements must prevent Hamas from rearming and returning to power, warning that concessions without adequate security guarantees could leave Israel vulnerable to another October 7-style attack.

Israel has sharply condemned the decision to award the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize to Navi Pillay, the South African jurist who headed a United Nations investigation accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza, with the Foreign Ministry denouncing the selection as a disgraceful misuse of the prestigious award and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu accusing the Nobel Committee of abandoning its moral principles.

The fierce Israeli reaction followed Friday’s announcement that Pillay, a former judge at the International Criminal Court and longtime United Nations human rights official, had been selected for the honor. Her role in advancing allegations of genocide against Israel immediately became the focus of criticism from Israeli officials, who accused the Norwegian Nobel Committee of rewarding an individual responsible for spreading false and inflammatory claims about the Jewish state.

In a blistering statement published on X, Israel’s Foreign Ministry accused Pillay of participating in a sustained campaign to vilify Israel and questioned how someone with her record could receive an award intended to recognize contributions to peace.

“If there were an award for lies, hatred, and blood libels, Navi Pillay wouldn’t just be a contender. She’d be a frontrunner,” the Israeli Foreign Ministry wrote.

“Her role in the relentless, politically motivated demonization of Israel and promotion of the genoLIE speaks volumes.”

The ministry maintained that the decision represented a fundamental betrayal of the purpose of the Nobel Peace Prize, arguing that the committee had used the award to lend legitimacy to accusations against Israel that the Israeli government categorically rejects.

“Awarding Pillay the Nobel Peace Prize isn’t a recognition of justice. It’s the grotesque weaponization of an award to legitimize anti-Israel hatred and prejudice,” the statement continued.

Israeli officials went even further in their condemnation, drawing a comparison to the propaganda machinery of Nazi Germany and invoking Joseph Goebbels, Adolf Hitler’s propaganda minister.

“Now that the Nobel commission has rewarded the biggest lie of the 21st century, Joseph Goebbels is certainly applauding from hell.”

Netanyahu separately issued a strongly worded response, accusing the Nobel Committee of rewarding an individual whose work he said had been characterized by hostility toward Israel.

The committee “has lost its moral compass,” Netanyahu declared.

“It has awarded its highest honor to a bigot who built her career around inventing and propagating blood libels against the one and only Jewish state,” Netanyahu said on X.

Pillay served as chairwoman of the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel. In September 2025, the commission released findings accusing Israeli authorities and security forces of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

Israel has consistently denied the genocide allegations, maintaining that its military campaign was launched in response to Hamas’s October 7, 2023, terrorist attacks and was directed at dismantling the terrorist organization’s military capabilities. Israeli officials have also accused the UN investigative commission of pursuing a politically motivated campaign against the Jewish state.

President Donald Trump joined the criticism on Friday, sharing a statement from attorney David Schoen’s law firm that sharply attacked the Nobel Committee’s selection.

“Today the Nobel Committee shamed itself beyond repair and demeaned the once great Nobel Peace Prize by giving it to the UN’s Navi Pillay,” the statement said.

The statement also highlighted Trump’s diplomatic record, including his role in negotiating the Abraham Accords and his administration’s efforts to resolve international conflicts.

The award came amid an intensifying confrontation between Washington and the International Criminal Court, where Pillay previously served as a judge. Just hours after the Nobel announcement, the Trump administration unveiled sweeping new sanctions against the Hague-based tribunal, targeting its financial operations and access to American services.

The administration has accused the ICC of overstepping its authority by pursuing cases involving American and Israeli officials, despite neither country being a party to the treaty establishing the court. The tribunal previously issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over allegations connected to the war in Gaza, charges Israel has rejected.

The new American measures are designed to restrict the court’s ability to conduct transactions through the U.S. financial system, escalating earlier sanctions imposed against individual ICC officials.

ICC President Tomoko Akane welcomed the recognition of Pillay, describing the Nobel decision as an affirmation of the role of international legal institutions.

“This is an important recognition of the vital role that international justice plays as a cornerstone of lasting peace,” Akane told Politico.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee defended its selection by emphasizing Pillay’s decades of work in international criminal law and human rights. The 85-year-old South African jurist previously served as president of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Her legal career began under South Africa’s apartheid system, where she represented individuals facing racial discrimination and defended anti-apartheid activists. She later became involved in major international prosecutions concerning genocide and crimes against humanity.

In announcing the 2026 award, the Nobel Committee said Pillay had made significant contributions to strengthening international legal institutions and holding perpetrators of serious crimes accountable.

“Peace requires justice,” the committee said in its announcement.

The committee also warned that international law and the institutions responsible for enforcing it were facing mounting pressure, arguing that accountability for serious violations remained essential to lasting peace.

Pillay, who was attending an international legal conference in Nuremberg, Germany, when the award was announced, dedicated the recognition to victims of international crimes and those working to secure justice.

The Nobel Peace Prize carries a monetary award of approximately $1.2 million and is scheduled to be formally presented in Oslo on December 10.

{Matzav.com}

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is facing a growing rebellion from within his own socialist political coalition, with the Democratic Socialists of America and several elected officials demanding the removal of NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch following a federal immigration enforcement shooting in the Bronx.

The confrontation intensified Friday after the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, the organization Mamdani has described as his political home, issued an ultimatum demanding that Tisch end what it characterized as NYPD cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement or lose her job.

The demand marks a significant escalation in tensions between Mamdani and the left-wing activists who helped propel him into City Hall, many of whom have opposed his decision to retain Tisch, a Jewish police commissioner who has been regarded as a moderating influence on his administration.

The socialist organization declared that Tisch “must get ICE out of New York and end NYPD complicity with these terrorists.”

“If the Commissioner can’t put a stop to these injustices, she must be fired,” the organization said.

The ultimatum followed Thursday’s shooting of a 28-year-old Dominican man during an ICE enforcement operation in the Marble Hill section of the Bronx. An immigration agent fired seven shots at the man’s vehicle, wounding him while a five-year-old child was seated in the back.

The child escaped physical injury, while the wounded man was transported to a hospital. The incident triggered demonstrations against federal immigration authorities and renewed criticism of the NYPD’s handling of protests.

Tisch said the NYPD had not participated in the federal operation and was not present when the shooting occurred. City police officers responded afterward, provided assistance and transported the wounded man for medical treatment.

Nevertheless, socialist activists accused the NYPD of protecting federal agents from demonstrators and facilitating their departure from the scene.

Among those demanding Tisch’s resignation was Darializa Avila Chevalier, a Democratic socialist who won a congressional primary with Mamdani’s endorsement and is expected to represent parts of Upper Manhattan and the Bronx.

“The NYPD’s Strategic Response Group must be disbanded as quickly as possible, and Commissioner Tisch must step down,” Avila Chevalier declared.

The Strategic Response Group, commonly known as the SRG, is a specialized NYPD unit frequently deployed during large demonstrations and other major public safety operations. It has long been a target of criticism from left-wing activists who accuse it of using excessive force against protesters.

Avila Chevalier, who participated in demonstrations following the shooting, accused police of prioritizing the protection of federal immigration personnel over the safety of city residents.

She alleged that unmarked law enforcement vehicles struck protesters as NYPD officers cleared a path for them, an accusation that has not been independently established.

Another 17 democratic socialist elected officials and political nominees, including congressional nominee Claire Valdez, signed a letter demanding that Tisch halt police assistance to ICE operations and dismantle the Strategic Response Group.

The letter stated that Tisch “must end police assistance for ICE operations and disband NYPD’s Strategic Response Group — and if she won’t, she must be fired.”

Illapa Sairitupac, a Democratic socialist and State Assembly nominee who also received Mamdani’s endorsement, issued an even more direct demand.

“Abolish ICE. Disband the SRG. Fire Tisch,” Sairitupac wrote.

The calls place Mamdani in a politically difficult position because his decision to retain Tisch was among his most consequential moves following his election.

Tisch, who comes from a prominent New York Jewish family and has publicly identified herself as a Zionist, was originally appointed police commissioner under Mayor Eric Adams.

Mamdani’s decision to keep her in charge of the NYPD was welcomed by moderate political figures and Jewish communal organizations, including UJA-Federation of New York and the Jewish Community Relations Council.

Those organizations viewed the decision as an encouraging indication that Mamdani, who had previously made strongly critical statements about the NYPD, intended to maintain continuity in the leadership of the nation’s largest police department.

For more radical elements of his political coalition, however, the appointment represented an unacceptable compromise.

Some activists had already demanded Tisch’s removal before Mamdani took office, citing her positions on policing, demonstrations and the department’s response to anti-Israel protests.

The dispute deepened in June when the New York City DSA criticized Mamdani’s proposal to increase the NYPD’s headcount by approximately 580 officers, a move the organization said contradicted his earlier commitment to maintain existing staffing levels.

The socialist organization and several allied groups argued that the additional funding should instead be directed toward community-based public safety initiatives.

Friday’s demand to remove Tisch represents a further escalation, with the organization’s citywide leadership now directly challenging one of Mamdani’s most important personnel decisions.

The controversy comes just days after Mamdani faced another confrontation with anti-Israel activists over his participation in an October 7 memorial gathering.

On Wednesday, the third anniversary of the Hamas massacre in Israel, Mamdani attended a vigil in Union Square organized by Israelis for Peace NYC to remember Israelis and Palestinians killed during the conflict.

Hundreds of anti-Zionist demonstrators gathered nearby, denouncing the mayor for attending the event and accusing him of abandoning the positions that had helped attract support from pro-Palestinian activists.

“Traitor, traitor, come on out, you sold all your people out,” protesters chanted.

Others shouted, “Mayor Mamdani you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide.”

Some demonstrators displayed signs attacking Mamdani’s relationship with Tisch, while others criticized his administration’s approach to antisemitism and his failure to carry out certain campaign positions concerning Israel.

One protest sign portrayed Mamdani as the head of the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group and included a Star of David alongside a derogatory alteration of his name.

The demonstration included participants affiliated with organizations such as Within Our Lifetime and Pal-Awda, as well as student activists associated with the Young Democratic Socialists of America.

The protest also exposed divisions within the socialist movement itself.

Several campus DSA chapters subsequently accused the organization’s citywide leadership of pressuring youth activists to remove online advertisements promoting the demonstration.

Some protesters had demanded Tisch’s removal, linking their criticism of Mamdani’s policing decisions with their opposition to his attendance at the October 7 vigil.

However, other left-wing activists questioned whether the demonstrators genuinely represented Mamdani’s electoral supporters.

Abby Stein, a DSA member associated with Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, criticized aspects of the demonstration while acknowledging that concerns about Tisch’s continued leadership were shared by some members of the mayor’s political base.

“There are things that people are upset over that I think are legit — like keeping Jessica Tisch on, for example,” Stein said. “A lot of us were not very happy about it.”

The dispute over Tisch has also raised questions about what authority New York City officials actually possess over federal immigration operations.

Although the NYPD can establish policies governing its own officers’ participation in immigration enforcement, the city’s police commissioner does not have the legal authority to expel federal ICE agents from New York or prevent them from carrying out federal operations.

Mamdani himself strongly condemned Thursday’s shooting and demanded that federal immigration authorities cease their enforcement activities in the city.

“What happened today was an outrage,” the mayor said Thursday night.

“When ICE agents opened fire, a five-year-old child – a five-year-old child! – was in the back seat of that car. Thank God that child is physically unharmed.”

Mamdani also contacted President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin in an effort to secure the release of the wounded man from federal custody.

Those discussions did not immediately produce the release sought by the mayor.

The Department of Homeland Security defended its immigration enforcement operation, while federal officials criticized New York’s sanctuary policies and the political response to the shooting.

The Trump administration is offering migrant children as young as five years old $3,000 to voluntarily leave the United States, expanding a controversial immigration initiative that previously targeted unaccompanied teenagers and extending the financial incentives to younger children involved in deportation proceedings.

The new offers are being presented to minors appearing before immigration courts, according to immigration attorneys and advocacy organizations familiar with the practice. In some cases, lawyers representing Immigration and Customs Enforcement have raised the possibility of receiving the payment, while immigration judges have also informed children about the option.

The expanded initiative represents a significant change from a program introduced in October 2025, when the Department of Homeland Security began offering $2,500 payments to unaccompanied migrant children aged 14 and older who agreed to return to their home countries.

Under the latest arrangement, the amount has increased to $3,000, and the offers are reportedly being extended to children younger than 14, including some who are only five years old.

The development was reported by Bloomberg Law, which interviewed immigration attorneys and organizations working with migrant children. The report has raised questions about whether young children, particularly those appearing in court without legal representation, can fully understand the consequences of accepting money in exchange for abandoning their immigration cases.

The administration has made voluntary departure a central component of President Trump’s broader immigration enforcement strategy, arguing that encouraging people to leave on their own can reduce the substantial costs associated with arresting, detaining and deporting individuals who lack legal authorization to remain in the country.

Immigration advocates, however, contend that offering cash payments to children facing the possibility of deportation creates pressure on vulnerable minors who may have legitimate claims for asylum or other forms of legal protection.

Shaina Aber, executive director of the Acacia Center for Justice, said her organization had received reports over the past month from attorneys and court observers across the country describing offers made to children, including some who did not have lawyers.

“We’re seeing this as part of a larger pattern of really trying to coerce children, bully children, intensify pressure on children so that they abandon their cases,” Aber told Bloomberg Law. “And it’s part of this deport-at-all-costs policy that seems to be in particular targeting children.”

Aber said some immigration judges had presented the payment as a one-time opportunity, leaving children with little time to consider the consequences or consult with an attorney.

“They’re basically asking children to make a decision on the spot about something incredibly consequential, like waiving your right to seek asylum or to have other kinds of humanitarian relief in exchange for $3,000,” Aber said. “They might not understand what the longer term consequences are down the line.”

Michael Lukens, executive director of the Washington-based Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, said his organization and other legal assistance groups had received emails from ICE attorneys offering the $3,000 payment to children who agreed to voluntary departure.

Lukens said one such offer was made this week to an 11-year-old child represented by his organization.

“I don’t think anybody should be comfortable with this situation where a child is being denied a fair day in court because they’re being told that they should take voluntary departure and that they should get paid for it,” Lukens said.

The Department of Homeland Security did not directly confirm that the payments were being offered to children as young as five. A department spokesperson instead emphasized the administration’s efforts to reunite unaccompanied migrant children with their families.

“Many of the children who came across the border unaccompanied were allowed to be placed with sponsors who were smugglers and sex traffickers,” the spokesperson said.

The Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review, which oversees the nation’s immigration courts, did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the reported offers.

The latest development follows a series of administration initiatives designed to encourage unauthorized immigrants to depart without undergoing the traditional deportation process.

In October 2025, federal officials introduced a one-time $2,500 resettlement payment for unaccompanied migrant teenagers aged 14 and older who agreed to voluntarily return to their countries of origin.

The earlier program was administered through the Department of Homeland Security in coordination with federal agencies responsible for the care of unaccompanied migrant children.

The administration subsequently expanded financial incentives for other unauthorized immigrants through its Project Homecoming initiative, which offers government-arranged transportation and cash assistance to eligible individuals who agree to leave the United States.

The program uses the CBP Home mobile application, through which migrants can register their intention to depart and receive assistance arranging their travel.

In December 2025, DHS temporarily increased its voluntary departure incentive to $3,000 for eligible migrants who registered and left the country before the end of the year.

The government has promoted the initiative as a less expensive alternative to traditional deportation. Federal officials have estimated that apprehending, detaining and removing an unauthorized immigrant can cost approximately $18,000, substantially more than arranging voluntary travel and providing a financial incentive.

According to internal government figures reported in July, approximately 132,000 immigrants had departed through Project Homecoming by the middle of that month, with roughly 70,000 additional individuals registered to leave.

Those figures were separate from broader administration claims concerning the total number of unauthorized immigrants who had departed the United States.

The new offers to young children are being reported as the administration accelerates immigration court proceedings involving unaccompanied minors.

More than 16,500 cases involving unaccompanied children remained pending in immigration courts as of July, according to Justice Department figures.

At the same time, immigration judges have been directed to limit certain postponements in cases involving children who entered the country without a parent or guardian. Bloomberg Law previously reported that supervisors had instructed judges to generally restrict those delays, known as continuances, to 21 days.

Such postponements can be important for children seeking legal representation, gathering evidence or preparing asylum applications.

The availability of legal assistance has also become an issue following the expiration of federal funding in July for organizations providing representation to unaccompanied minors, including groups working with the Acacia Center for Justice.

Immigration attorneys argue that the combination of accelerated proceedings, reduced access to lawyers and financial incentives to depart could affect children’s ability to pursue claims for humanitarian protection.

Under federal immigration law, voluntary departure can allow certain individuals to leave the United States without receiving a formal removal order. However, accepting that option can require abandoning pending applications for asylum or other immigration relief, and the consequences for future eligibility to return depend on the individual’s circumstances.

The administration has defended voluntary departure programs as a way to enforce immigration laws while reducing detention costs and facilitating the return of migrants to their home countries.

For the expanded offers involving children under 14, federal officials have not publicly disclosed how many minors have been approached, how many have accepted the payments, or whether additional safeguards are being applied when young children are asked to make decisions about leaving the United States.

{Matzav.com}

Lockheed Martin has unveiled a new generation of Patriot missile interceptor designed to shoot down hypersonic weapons and other advanced aerial threats at greater distances and higher altitudes, as the defense giant competes for a major U.S. Army contract to strengthen America’s missile defense capabilities.

The new weapon, called PAC-3 Edge, was introduced Friday as part of the Army’s Future Interceptor program, an initiative aimed at developing more powerful defenses against increasingly sophisticated missiles being deployed by American adversaries.

The interceptor builds on Lockheed Martin’s existing Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement, known as PAC-3 MSE, which is already used by the United States and allied militaries to defend against ballistic missiles and other aerial threats.

According to the company, PAC-3 Edge is intended to extend the reach of the Patriot system, allowing American forces to engage incoming threats farther away and at greater altitudes than existing interceptors.

Lockheed Martin plans to begin testing the new interceptor in 2027, with an anticipated deployment date of 2031, provided development and procurement proceed as planned.

The unveiling comes amid mounting concerns at the Pentagon about the growing capabilities of hypersonic missiles, which travel at exceptionally high speeds and can maneuver during flight, making them more difficult to detect, track and intercept than conventional ballistic missiles.

Such weapons present a particular challenge for existing air defense systems because their speed and flight characteristics can significantly reduce the time available for radar systems to identify an incoming threat and for defensive missiles to respond.

The Army’s Future Interceptor program is intended to address those challenges by developing a missile capable of defeating advanced threats before they reach their intended targets.

Lockheed Martin has advanced to the next stage of the Army’s development process, positioning PAC-3 Edge as a contender for the program as military officials evaluate competing technologies.

A central feature of the new missile is its upgraded guidance technology, developed at Lockheed Martin’s Strigo Product Center. The advanced seeker is designed to improve the missile’s ability to identify, track and strike fast-moving targets, including those that change direction during flight.

Lockheed Martin has invested approximately $250 million in the Strigo facility to support the development of more sophisticated missile seekers.

The company is also incorporating a new propulsion system developed by Northrop Grumman. Unlike conventional rocket motors that deliver their thrust in a single sustained phase, the new multi-pulse solid rocket motor is designed to provide additional bursts of thrust during flight.

That capability could allow the interceptor to preserve energy and maneuver more effectively as it closes in on incoming missiles, particularly at extended ranges or higher altitudes.

The new propulsion system will be combined with upgraded flight controls and guidance equipment intended to improve the interceptor’s speed, agility and ability to respond to rapidly changing threats.

Tim Cahill, president of Lockheed Martin’s Missiles and Fire Control division, said the PAC-3 Edge represents a substantial advance over the company’s existing interceptor technology, with improvements in maneuverability, power and velocity.

Another important element of the program is the missile’s planned compatibility with existing American air defense infrastructure.

Lockheed Martin is designing PAC-3 Edge to operate with the Army’s M903 Patriot launchers and Integrated Battle Command System, which connects sensors, weapons and command centers across the military’s air defense network.

The company is also exploring integration with containerized launch systems and HIMARS Flex, potentially allowing the interceptor to be deployed from a wider variety of platforms.

The ability to use existing launchers and command systems could reduce the need for entirely new supporting infrastructure, although the Army would still have to evaluate the technical and financial requirements of integrating the missile.

The announcement comes as the United States is investing heavily in replenishing and expanding its missile defense inventories following extensive use of interceptors in conflicts involving Iran and Russia’s war in Ukraine.

In August, the Pentagon announced an agreement worth more than $3 billion with Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman to expand production of critical components for Patriot and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, missile interceptors.

That agreement followed the announcement of a contract worth up to $58.6 billion for Lockheed Martin to manufacture Patriot interceptors, reflecting the Pentagon’s effort to secure a substantially larger supply of defensive missiles.

American officials have said the production expansion is intended to support a tripling of Patriot interceptor output and a fourfold increase in THAAD production.

The demand for Patriot missiles has grown as the United States and its allies seek to protect military installations, population centers and critical infrastructure against increasingly frequent missile attacks.

Ukraine has relied heavily on Patriot batteries to defend against Russian ballistic missiles, while American and allied forces in the Middle East have used missile defense systems against Iranian attacks.

These operations have underscored both the effectiveness of modern interceptors and the logistical challenge of maintaining sufficient missile inventories during prolonged conflicts.

PAC-3 Edge, however, is intended to address a different requirement from the immediate effort to replenish existing stockpiles. Its development focuses on improving the Army’s ability to defeat future threats that may exceed the capabilities of current missile defense systems.

The Pentagon has increasingly emphasized the need for layered air and missile defenses, combining different interceptors, radar systems and command networks to engage threats at multiple stages of their flight.

Under that approach, shorter-range air defenses, Patriot batteries and higher-altitude systems such as THAAD perform complementary roles rather than relying on a single weapon to defeat every type of incoming missile.

The new Lockheed Martin interceptor would expand the options available within that architecture, particularly against advanced ballistic and hypersonic weapons.

Despite Friday’s unveiling, PAC-3 Edge remains a developmental system and has not yet demonstrated its full capabilities through the testing process.

Lockheed Martin’s schedule calls for initial testing next year, followed by further evaluation and development before a potential introduction into Army service in 2031.

The Army has not yet selected the winning interceptor for its Future Interceptor program, and Lockheed Martin must still demonstrate that PAC-3 Edge meets the military’s performance and operational requirements before it can secure a production commitment.

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A 28-year-old Dominican migrant shot by federal immigration agents in the Bronx had previously been convicted in connection with an armed robbery, faced pending drug charges, and was under investigation for possible ties to a violent street gang, according to court records and federal law enforcement officials.

The shooting of Oscar Belgal during an attempted arrest Thursday has ignited a confrontation between federal immigration authorities and New York City officials, with Mayor Zohran Mamdani condemning the operation and some neighborhood residents questioning why Belgal remained free despite his criminal history.

Belgal, who federal authorities believe entered the United States illegally in approximately 2022, was wounded in the neck when Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents attempted to take him into custody in Marble Hill. Officials said he tried to escape in his Honda SUV and struck two agents with the vehicle, prompting one of them to open fire.

His five-year-old son was in the backseat during the confrontation but was not physically injured.

Federal officials maintain that Belgal posed a public safety threat and that New York’s restrictions on cooperation with immigration enforcement had frustrated previous attempts to detain him. City officials and critics of ICE have raised questions about the agents’ tactics and the decision to fire at a vehicle containing a child.

The controversy intensified after Mamdani described Belgal as a New Yorker while criticizing the federal operation, drawing an angry response from some Bronx residents familiar with the consequences of violent crime.

Migdalia Martinez, whose 12-year-old son, Jacob Freytas, was killed by a stray bullet while riding his bicycle in July, rejected the mayor’s characterization.

“I don’t consider him a New Yorker,” Martinez told the New York Post.

“The only thing I do consider him as is trash, nothing else but trash. And I don’t consider New York, my home, as trash,” she said.

Asked whether Mamdani had been wrong to refer to Belgal as a New Yorker, Martinez responded, “The mayor is wrong in many ways — that’s definitely one.”

Martinez’s son was fatally struck by gunfire in the Mount Eden neighborhood, an area where the Trinitarios gang has maintained a presence. Authorities have said they suspect gang involvement in the shooting that killed the boy.

The same gang has been linked by federal officials to a separate July 2025 shooting involving an off-duty Customs and Border Protection officer at Fort Washington Park in Upper Manhattan.

Department of Homeland Security officials said investigators were examining Belgal’s possible connections to that incident when agents approached him Thursday.

Authorities have not established publicly that Belgal participated in the officer’s shooting, and the allegations concerning his possible gang connections remain under investigation.

Security camera footage from the Marble Hill incident showed plainclothes immigration agents approaching Belgal’s parked vehicle shortly before 4 p.m., with weapons drawn.

The recording captured the agents converging on the SUV before Belgal drove away and disappeared from the camera’s view.

Marcos Charles, who heads ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations division, said Belgal “accelerated” toward the officers, “smashing” into two of them.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin confirmed that the agents involved were equipped with body cameras, although federal authorities had not immediately made those recordings public.

The available surveillance footage does not show every moment of the confrontation, leaving questions about the precise circumstances surrounding the shooting.

Federal law enforcement sources said Belgal was believed to have crossed into the United States with a migrant caravan in 2022, during the Biden administration, without being encountered by Border Patrol agents.

His criminal history in New York began attracting law enforcement attention the following year.

According to court records, Belgal was arrested in December 2023 in connection with an armed robbery that allegedly occurred the previous month in the Fordham Heights section of the Bronx.

Investigators alleged that Belgal was driving along Morris Avenue with two passengers in the backseat when he turned toward them, displayed a firearm, and demanded their valuables.

“give me your jewelry or I will shoot you,” he allegedly told the victims, according to the criminal complaint.

The victims surrendered jewelry and approximately $500 in cash.

Although Belgal was subsequently arrested, court records indicate that he was released without bail while the criminal case proceeded.

In April 2025, he pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of fourth-degree grand larceny.

When he was sentenced in January 2026, he received a one-month jail term and five years of probation.

His legal troubles continued even before that sentence was imposed.

In August 2025, several months after entering his guilty plea in the robbery case, Belgal was arrested again, this time on allegations involving the sale of fentanyl, cocaine, and heroin.

That prosecution remained pending at the time of Thursday’s shooting, and the drug allegations had not resulted in a conviction.

Under New York’s bail laws, the charges in that case did not qualify for monetary bail. Prosecutors instead requested the most restrictive available level of supervised release, which the court approved.

Federal sources said ICE had issued an immigration detainer following Belgal’s arrest, requesting that local authorities transfer him to federal custody.

The request was not honored, according to those sources.

An ICE detainer asks a local law enforcement agency to notify federal immigration authorities before releasing an individual and, in certain circumstances, to hold that person briefly so federal agents can assume custody.

New York City’s sanctuary policies generally restrict cooperation with federal civil immigration enforcement, although the rules include exceptions.

Mullin argued that those restrictions had made it more difficult for federal authorities to apprehend Belgal and had exposed the public to unnecessary danger.

“Sanctuary politicians create an environment for criminal activity to thrive, not for American citizens to be safe,” Mullin said. “When you have sanctuary cities and politicians, you endanger the safety of the public.”

The administration’s criticism of New York’s policies has become a central element of the dispute, although the precise legal circumstances surrounding the unfulfilled detainer request have not been fully detailed publicly.

Federal officials also disclosed that Thursday’s operation was not their first attempt to arrest Belgal.

ICE agents reportedly tried to apprehend him in September, but authorities said he managed to flee.

After the shooting, New York City police officers arrived to find Belgal wounded and restrained, with federal agents nearby. NYPD body-camera footage captured the emergency response, including the frightened child crying in the background as officers assisted the injured man.

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said an ICE agent had fired seven rounds at the vehicle. Bullets struck several windows, and Belgal suffered a neck wound.

The child was placed in the care of relatives.

Belgal was initially taken to NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital, where protesters gathered as news of the shooting spread.

Demonstrators condemned the operation, demanding accountability from federal immigration authorities and questioning the decision to open fire while a young child was inside the vehicle.

Mamdani sharply criticized the shooting and the conduct of the agents involved.

“A New Yorker was shot by ICE agents in Marble Hill,” the mayor told reporters. “ICE agents surrounded the man’s vehicle before opening fire. They wore construction vests and masks that concealed their faces. There was no reasonable way to identify them as ICE agents.”

The mayor said the incident had intensified fears among immigrant communities throughout the city.

“You are hearing from New Yorkers right now — anguish, pain, anger — at the fact that here in this city, the world’s city, immigrants have to wake up every morning and not know if they can live the lives that they should be able to live,” Mamdani said.

Other residents rejected the mayor’s characterization and argued that Belgal’s criminal history should have resulted in his removal from the streets long before Thursday’s confrontation.

Mora Rodriguez, an elderly longtime resident of Belgal’s former apartment building in Inwood, responded with a firm “No” when asked whether she considered him a New Yorker.

“Absolutely not. That’s one of the reasons I think we should vote blue out,” Rodriguez told the Post.

“What’s going on with the legal system, the jail, letting these people go after they have a whole list of convictions. This is a criminal. Why would you let this person out?” she said.

Rodriguez also criticized the judges and elected officials responsible for New York’s criminal justice policies.

“These judges are very radical. We gotta vote red. That’s what I can say to you.”

Belgal’s attorneys, meanwhile, challenged his detention in federal court and raised concerns about his medical condition following the shooting.

During a Friday court proceeding, his lawyers said he remained in pain and still had a bullet lodged in his body. A federal judge temporarily prohibited immigration authorities from deporting him while his legal challenge was being considered.

Following his discharge from the hospital, Belgal was transferred to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where he remained in federal custody.

Court and law enforcement documents have also identified him under several variations of his surname, including Belgal, Bengal, and Bergal.

Federal authorities said their interest in Belgal extended beyond his robbery conviction and pending drug prosecution.

Mullin disclosed that investigators believed Belgal might possess information about the July 2025 shooting of an off-duty Customs and Border Protection officer at Fort Washington Park.

The secretary said investigators were examining whether Belgal had “direct or indirect knowledge” of the attack.

Two Dominican nationals who were in the United States illegally were identified as the perpetrators of that shooting, and one received a 15-year prison sentence on Monday.

Law enforcement sources said investigators found Belgal’s name and contact information in the cellphone of one of the suspects, contributing to the decision to pursue him.

That discovery, however, does not establish that Belgal participated in the shooting or was involved in planning it.

The circumstances surrounding Thursday’s confrontation are now being examined by federal investigators, including the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security.

Authorities have not publicly released the complete ICE body-camera recordings, and accounts of whether Belgal deliberately drove toward agents remain disputed. Surveillance footage shows portions of the encounter but does not conclusively resolve the conflicting descriptions.

The case has also prompted renewed criticism of New York’s sanctuary policies from the White House, which argues that restrictions on cooperation with ICE force federal agents to carry out more dangerous street-level arrests.

The Justice Department has launched a federal antitrust investigation into five of America’s largest television news networks, examining whether ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC, and Fox News violated federal law by collectively suspending their coverage of President Donald Trump following a dispute over White House press access.

The investigation, confirmed today by the Justice Department, centers on the networks’ decision last month to temporarily halt their participation in the White House television press pool after the Trump administration barred journalists from CNN, Politico, and MS NOW from entering the White House.

Federal investigators are seeking communications and other records related to the networks’ coordinated response, raising the possibility that their collective refusal to provide coverage could constitute an unlawful group boycott under the Sherman Antitrust Act.

The New York Times first reported the investigation, citing six people familiar with the matter. Justice Department officials reportedly contacted representatives of the networks on Friday to request documents and communications concerning the White House television pool.

Justice Department spokesperson Emily Covington confirmed the inquiry, explaining that federal antitrust laws can apply when competing businesses coordinate their activities in ways that unlawfully restrict competition.

“Members of the television press pool have proudly boycotted covering White House events. Group boycotts among commercial competitors can violate the Sherman Act, a core antitrust law,” Covington said.

“The Antitrust Division is simply investigating to determine whether these news organizations have violated the antitrust laws,” she added.

The investigation follows weeks of escalating tensions between the Trump administration and major news organizations over access to presidential events, the composition of the White House press pool, and the administration’s authority to determine which journalists may cover the president.

The controversy began in September when the White House revoked access for journalists representing CNN, Politico, and MS NOW, formerly MSNBC.

The administration defended the restrictions by arguing that access to the White House and presidential events is a privilege rather than an unconditional right.

The affected news organizations challenged the decision in federal court, alleging that the administration had singled them out in retaliation for their reporting and violated their constitutional protections under the First Amendment.

The dispute quickly spread beyond the three organizations directly affected.

CNN is one of five major television news operations that participate in the longstanding White House broadcast pool, alongside ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox News.

Under the arrangement, the networks rotate responsibility for covering presidential appearances and activities, sharing the costs of gathering footage and distributing the resulting material to other news organizations nationwide.

The system allows television outlets that cannot independently maintain camera crews at every presidential event to obtain footage through a common pool arrangement.

When the White House excluded CNN, the other television networks declined to provide replacement coverage, effectively suspending the pool’s normal operations for several days.

The collective decision was intended as a demonstration of solidarity with the excluded organizations, but it is now the central subject of the Justice Department’s investigation.

Federal antitrust law generally prohibits certain agreements among competing businesses that improperly restrain trade or restrict competition.

The Sherman Act, enacted in 1890, has been used to challenge arrangements in which competitors coordinate their commercial behavior, including some forms of group boycotts.

Investigators will now examine whether the networks’ coordinated suspension of coverage amounted to unlawful cooperation among commercial competitors or whether their actions were permissible under federal law.

The existence of the investigation does not establish that any network committed a violation, and no charges or civil enforcement action had been announced as of Saturday.

The inquiry also raises complicated questions because the networks’ decision concerned their newsgathering activities and their response to government restrictions on press access, rather than a conventional commercial dispute involving prices or customers.

The networks had argued through their conduct that they should not be required to replace a fellow news organization excluded from the press pool by the administration.

The White House, meanwhile, has maintained that it possesses authority over access to presidential facilities and events, particularly when journalists are seeking to accompany the president aboard Air Force One.

The original restrictions prompted swift legal action from CNN, Politico, and MS NOW.

On September 24, U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly ordered the administration to restore the journalists’ White House access after finding that the restrictions were likely unconstitutional.

The ruling allowed the affected organizations to return to the White House, and the television networks subsequently resumed their regular pool coverage.

However, the judicial intervention did not fully resolve the dispute over access to presidential travel and other events outside the White House grounds.

In a subsequent confrontation, the administration prevented CNN from fulfilling a scheduled television pool assignment aboard Air Force One.

The other four major networks again declined to replace CNN, leaving the administration without the usual television pool coverage for that assignment.

A similar dispute unfolded on October 5, when the White House barred Politico from accompanying Trump on a trip to Nebraska aboard Air Force One.

Politico had been scheduled to serve as the primary print pool reporter for the trip, a role that ordinarily involves documenting the president’s activities and distributing updates to other news organizations.

After the administration excluded Politico, White House officials reportedly contacted other outlets seeking a replacement.

Those organizations declined to assume the assignment.

As a result, the trip proceeded without a primary print pool reporter, an unusual departure from the customary arrangements for presidential travel.

The Washington Post, which had already been designated as the secondary print pool representative, provided occasional updates, while CBS News, serving as the television pool representative, also agreed to share information with other reporters.

The White House defended its position, maintaining that journalists do not possess an automatic right to travel with the president.

“Many outlets including Politico are granted access to attend and cover presidential events unilaterally, but traveling with the President of the United States aboard Air Force One is a privilege not a right,” the administration said in a statement concerning the dispute.

The administration has also emphasized Trump’s frequent interactions with reporters, arguing that the president provides extensive opportunities for journalists to question him directly.

News organizations challenging the restrictions maintain that the government cannot selectively deny access to journalists because of disagreement with their coverage.

The Justice Department’s investigation introduces a separate legal battle from the constitutional lawsuits already underway.

While the press organizations are contesting the administration’s restrictions on access, federal antitrust investigators are examining whether the networks themselves crossed a legal line by acting collectively in response.

The inclusion of Fox News among the networks under investigation is particularly notable, given that the network is generally viewed as more sympathetic to Trump than several of its competitors.

Its participation in the collective suspension demonstrated that the dispute over White House press access extended across competing television organizations with substantially different editorial perspectives.

The Justice Department has not disclosed how long the inquiry is expected to last or whether investigators intend to pursue enforcement proceedings.

Kamala Harris is encountering resistance to another presidential campaign from some of the people closest to her, including her husband, Doug Emhoff, who has privately expressed a preference that she stay out of the 2028 race, according to a new report.

The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that Emhoff has told several people he would rather his wife not undertake another campaign for the White House following her defeat to President Donald Trump in 2024.

“Kamala Harris’s husband, Doug Emhoff, has privately told some people he would prefer she doesn’t run for president again,” the newspaper reported.

The reported opposition from Emhoff comes as Harris weighs another presidential bid while receiving mixed signals from Democratic donors and political insiders. Some major financial supporters have reportedly warned that a second campaign would be a “long shot, according to people familiar with the conversations,” the Journal stated.

Harris, who served as vice president under Joe Biden and became the Democratic presidential nominee in 2024, has not publicly committed to seeking the party’s nomination again.

Speaking at a National Association for the Advancement of Colored People event in Michigan last month, Harris acknowledged that she was still considering her political future while emphasizing the importance of the upcoming congressional elections.

“I have not decided if I’m going to run again,” Harris said. “I do sincerely believe ’28 won’t matter if we don’t get through ’26.”

Despite her stated uncertainty, Harris has continued engaging in activities commonly associated with laying the groundwork for a national campaign. She has reportedly held conversations with influential donors, recruited staff, and traveled to politically competitive states to support Democratic candidates ahead of November’s midterm elections.

Those efforts have fueled speculation that she is attempting to preserve her national political network and maintain relationships that could prove valuable if she decides to enter the 2028 Democratic presidential primary.

Harris also continues to register substantial support in some early surveys of potential Democratic presidential candidates. Several national polls have placed her ahead of other prominent figures being discussed as possible contenders, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

At the same time, political prediction markets have reflected considerably more skepticism about her prospects. The article cited Polymarket figures assigning Harris a 6 percent chance, compared with 18 percent for Ocasio-Cortez and 15 percent for Newsom. Those figures reflect betting-market expectations rather than voter polling and are subject to change.

Harris’s previous presidential campaign ended in a decisive defeat despite an enormous fundraising operation that reportedly brought in approximately $1.5 billion.

Trump carried all seven major battleground states in the 2024 election and defeated Harris in the national popular vote by approximately 2.3 million votes. The Electoral College result was 312 votes for Trump and 226 for Harris, comfortably exceeding the 270 votes required to win the presidency.

The scale of that defeat remains a significant consideration for Democratic strategists evaluating whether Harris should receive another opportunity to lead the party’s presidential ticket.

Since leaving Washington, Emhoff has resumed his legal career as a partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, a major law firm with an office in Los Angeles. He had previously stepped away from his legal work when Harris became vice president.

The couple has also made a significant change in their personal lives, purchasing a residence in the exclusive Point Dume neighborhood of Malibu last December for a reported $8.15 million.

The approximately 4,000-square-foot property is larger than their previous 3,500-square-foot home in Brentwood and has been described in media reports as a luxury mansion.

Their return to California, however, has not meant that Harris has withdrawn from political activity.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Harris has participated in approximately half a dozen private Democratic fundraising events in California in recent weeks, including a Santa Monica gathering supporting Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, the Democratic nominee for governor of Wisconsin.

She has also attended a fundraiser for Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, who is seeking that state’s governorship as the Democratic candidate.

Those appearances have reportedly caused uneasiness among some donors who question whether Harris is using the midterm campaign season to position herself for another presidential run.

Harris has also remained involved in the Democratic Party’s nationwide organizing efforts. During a recent call with the Democratic National Committee, she addressed more than 2,000 volunteers and encouraged them to participate in door-to-door campaigning and voter outreach across approximately a dozen states.

Her continued involvement has allowed her to maintain relationships with party activists, donors, and candidates whose support could become important in a future presidential primary.

Additional reporting indicates that some former Harris aides are uncertain whether she will ultimately seek the nomination again, while other Democrats believe the party should consider a new generation of presidential candidates.

Harris has nevertheless kept the possibility alive. At a National Action Network event earlier this year, she acknowledged that she was considering another campaign, saying, “Listen, I might, I might. I’m thinking about it.”

Newsom, meanwhile, has publicly indicated that he would not challenge Harris for the Democratic nomination if she decided to run, underscoring the influence her decision could have on the eventual primary field.

Despite Emhoff’s reported private reservations, the Wall Street Journal emphasized that people close to him expect he would fully support his wife if she ultimately chooses to enter the 2028 race.

President Donald Trump expressed frustration today over his failure to receive the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, pointing to what he described as his administration’s extraordinary record of ending wars, securing the release of hostages, confronting Iran, and removing Venezuela’s longtime ruler from power.

In a lengthy Truth Social post, Trump questioned why neither he nor the United States had been recognized with the prestigious international award, arguing that his diplomatic and military accomplishments far exceeded what would ordinarily be expected of a Nobel Peace Prize recipient.

His remarks followed the announcement that the 2026 prize had been awarded to Navanethem “Navi” Pillay, the South African jurist and former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights who has drawn fierce criticism from Israeli officials over her accusations against Israel regarding the war in Gaza.

Trump’s complaint centered on his assertion that he has already resolved eight wars and is approaching agreements that could bring two additional conflicts to an end.

The president also cited his administration’s role in obtaining the release of Israeli hostages, securing the return of other captives from countries around the world, confronting the Iranian nuclear threat, and carrying out the operation that resulted in the capture of Venezuela’s ruler.

“I settled 8 WARS, am close to ending or settling 2 more, got all of the Israeli hostages back, including the final 28, both living and dead, had hundreds of hostages, from countries all over the World, released and sent back home, won a war in Venezuela, and captured the violent dictator who so viciously ran that country, and stopped the number one state sponsor of terror, the Islamic Republic of Iran, from obtaining a Nuclear Weapon — AND MUCH MORE! Yet, with all of that I, or the United States of America, did not get the Noble Peace Prize. WOW!” Trump wrote.

The president’s statement presented his administration’s achievements as evidence that the Nobel Committee had overlooked what he considers an exceptional record of international peacemaking.

The decision to honor Pillay has also triggered sharp criticism in Israel, where government officials have accused the South African judge of advancing unfounded allegations against the Jewish state while failing to adequately address the atrocities committed by Hamas.

Pillay, 85, was selected by the Norwegian Nobel Committee on Friday for her decades of work in international law and human rights. The committee highlighted her involvement in prosecuting war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide, as well as her work challenging apartheid in South Africa.

Her legal career has included serving as a judge on the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Court, in addition to heading the United Nations human rights office. She currently serves as an ad hoc judge at the International Court of Justice.

More recently, Pillay chaired a United Nations commission of inquiry that concluded Israel had committed genocide in Gaza, an accusation strongly rejected by the Israeli government.

The Nobel Committee defended its selection by emphasizing the importance of international legal institutions at a time of growing armed conflict and challenges to the international legal order.

Israeli officials, however, condemned the decision, arguing that Pillay’s record regarding Israel made her an inappropriate recipient of an award intended to recognize contributions to peace.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry issued a blistering statement following the announcement.

“If there were an award for lies, hatred, and blood libels, Navi Pillay wouldn’t just be a contender,” the ministry said, adding that she would “be a frontrunner.”

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s office also criticized the selection, referring to Pillay’s role in international legal proceedings involving Israel.

“Navi Pillay’s proudest achievement was to legitimize a corrupt prosecutor who turned to her fabrications against Israel hoping that by joining her bigoted lynch mob, he would beat a rape charge,” the statement from Netanyahu’s office said.

The controversy intensified as Trump expanded his criticism of the Nobel decision in additional public remarks. In another Truth Social post, he identified the eight conflicts he claims to have resolved, including disputes involving India and Pakistan, Armenia and Azerbaijan, Cambodia and Thailand, and Israel and Hamas.

He also referred to conflicts involving Kosovo and Serbia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, Egypt and Ethiopia, and Israel and Iran.

Several of Trump’s claims about having ended these conflicts remain disputed, with critics noting that some of the underlying tensions and hostilities have continued despite diplomatic agreements or ceasefires.

Trump nevertheless argued that his administration’s diplomatic record justified the award and accused the Nobel Committee of allowing political considerations to influence its decision.

He further identified the conflicts involving Russia and Ukraine and the confrontation with Iran as two additional situations in which he believes his administration is approaching a resolution.

The president’s criticism comes against the backdrop of his longstanding interest in receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, an honor previously awarded to several American presidents.

In 2025, the prize went to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, who subsequently praised Trump for supporting her country’s opposition movement.

Following her selection, Machado publicly dedicated her recognition to the Venezuelan people and to the American president.

“We are on the threshold of victory and today, more than ever, we count on President Trump, the people of the United States, the peoples of Latin America, and the democratic nations of the world,” Machado said at the time.

“I dedicate this prize to the suffering people of Venezuela and to President Trump for his decisive support of our cause!” she added.

Machado later presented Trump with her Nobel medal in a symbolic gesture of appreciation, although the Nobel Committee has made clear that the designation of a laureate cannot be transferred to another individual.

Pillay, meanwhile, reacted to her own selection by dedicating the honor to survivors of international crimes and those working to uphold international justice. She received the news while visiting the historic Nuremberg courtroom in Germany, where Nazi leaders were prosecuted following World War II.

The 2026 Nobel Peace Prize carries a monetary award of approximately $1.2 million and is scheduled to be formally presented in Oslo on December 10.

Singer Lipa Schmeltzer has revealed that he is seriously contemplating the possibility of leaving the United States and making his home in Eretz Yisroel, saying that his longing to live in the Holy Land has intensified with each passing year.

Schmeltzer, who currently resides in America, shared his feelings following a visit to Eretz Yisroel for Sukkos, explaining that every trip strengthens his desire to eventually settle there permanently.

Speaking to Israeli media, the singer acknowledged that relocating his life and family across the ocean would be a major undertaking, but said the idea has occupied his thoughts for years.

“Every time I come here, I feel more and more of a longing and a desire to come here much more often, and perhaps even to live here one day. I’ve been talking about it for years,” Schmeltzer said.

He added that the practical challenges of such a move have not diminished his feelings about Eretz Yisroel.

“Obviously, making such a change in the middle of life is not simple, but from year to year, that feeling only grows stronger,” he said.

Schmeltzer has long been one of the most recognizable personalities in the chassidishe music world, known for his distinctive performances and his ability to blend traditional Jewish musical themes with contemporary styles.

His music has attracted audiences across the spectrum of Orthodox Jewish communities, and he remains an active figure in the chareidi entertainment industry.

Recently, Schmeltzer released a new single titled “ShabTrump,” marking President Donald Trump’s declaration of a National Shabbos.

Beyond discussing his possible move to Eretz Yisroel, Schmeltzer also shared a remarkable personal encounter that illustrated the unexpected influence Jewish music can have on someone’s life.

Following davening on Hoshana Rabbah, the singer recounted an emotional meeting with a woman who had chased after him in the street because she wanted him to know how profoundly one of his songs had affected her.

According to Schmeltzer, the woman explained that she had grown up listening to his music and had been familiar with his songs since childhood.

As she grew older, however, she drifted away from Yiddishkeit and eventually abandoned religious observance altogether.

At one point, she had even made plans to marry a non-Jewish man.

Then, shortly before the planned marriage, she unexpectedly came across one of Schmeltzer’s songs while listening to Spotify.

Hearing the familiar music stirred something deep within her, reconnecting her with memories and feelings from the Jewish upbringing she had left behind.

The song became the first step in a personal journey that ultimately brought her back to Yiddishkeit.

Today, Schmeltzer related, the woman is married to a Jewish man.

The encounter left the singer deeply moved, offering him a firsthand glimpse of how a song recorded years earlier could reach someone at a critical moment and help change the direction of her life.

{Matzav.com}