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Israeli police have released footage showing members of the elite Yamam counterterrorism unit detaining a wanted Palestinian suspect in a hospital in the West Bank city of Halhul early Thursday morning. According to police and the Shin Bet security agency, the suspect had been injured in an attempted car bombing attack in Halhul a month ago. The man was being treated for his wounds at the hospital when the Yamam unit conducted the arrest. Authorities have not released further details on the suspect’s identity or the ongoing investigation into the car bombing attempt. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe addressed members of both the House and Senate in private meetings on Thursday to provide updates on the July 13 attempt to assassinate former President Trump during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Rowe informed the legislators about the agency’s ongoing review of security failures that allowed a shooter to scale a nearby building and fire at Trump just minutes into his rally. This session served to detail the progress of the investigation into how the incident occurred.

Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., the lead Democrat on the Trump Assassination Task Force, spoke to Fox News Digital after the briefing, calling it “a very lengthy and very candid discussion.”

“They went over the… mistakes that happened on that day and what has been done to address them, as well as the limitations in resources the Secret Service has been facing this election cycle,” Crow explained, referring to Rowe’s session with lawmakers. “He outlined their internal report and gave us an update on their internal mission evaluation, which is now complete.”

It was previously reported that the Secret Service’s larger investigation into the security breach is nearing completion and will be made public soon.

Crow shared that Rowe informed lawmakers that he reviewed “everything from the choice of venue and security planning; coordination between local police and the campaign team; communication—or lack thereof, in some instances—between the Secret Service and local authorities; the perimeter security, lines of sight, and how the shooter was able to exploit gaps.”

Crow, who had visited the rally site himself, commented that “the perimeter itself was too tight… and the fact that the shooter was positioned on a rooftop more than a hundred yards away from where the former president was standing, outside the secured area, is a serious concern.”

The Task Force has plans to hold its first public hearing later this month, focusing on the role of local law enforcement.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., spoke to reporters, stating that a forthcoming report “will absolutely shock the American people about the lapses and delays in protection that day, as well as the breakdown in communication and failure of responsibility.”

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisc., also addressed reporters, saying, “What’s critical here is that this is a bipartisan issue.” He added, “We believe the American people deserve the full truth, and confidence will only come if the investigation remains completely nonpartisan.”

Meanwhile, several high-ranking Secret Service officials, who had planned to retire soon, are being urged to accelerate their departures to avoid the heightened scrutiny from Congress in the coming months.

Fox News has learned that multiple senior Secret Service officials connected to the security incident in Butler, Pennsylvania, are planning their retirement. While these individuals were already eligible to retire, they have been encouraged to expedite the process to avoid being drawn into extended congressional inquiries and investigations.

Additionally, the FBI is conducting a separate investigation into the shooter, which remains ongoing.

{Matzav.com}

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar recently sent a letter to Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, expressing gratitude for the group’s support during the ongoing conflict, according to Lebanese media reports. The letter, published by the pro-Hezbollah al-Mayadeen daily, acknowledges Nasrallah’s condolences following the assassination of former Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July. In his letter, Sinwar vowed that “the blessed convoys of martyrs will increase in strength and power in confronting the Nazi Zionist occupation,” reaffirming Hamas’ commitment to fighting “the Zionist project” alongside the Iranian-backed axis of resistance. Sinwar emphasized the goal of continuing the struggle “until the occupation is defeated and swept away from our land, and our independent state with full sovereignty is established with Jerusalem as its capital.” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

In a significant show of defiance against the United States, North Korea on Friday provided the outside world with a rare view into a secretive facility built to enrich uranium for nuclear bombs as leader Kim Jong Un called for a rapid expansion of his nuclear weapons program. Here’s a look at what we know about the facility and North Korea’s capabilities for producing bomb fuel. What are we seeing? North Korea’s official Rodong Sinmum newspaper published several photos showing Kim talking with scientists and military officials in a hall tightly packed with gray centrifuge tubes that were about the height of his shoulders. The North didn’t specify where the facility is located or when Kim went there. Experts say the North Korean photos likely disclosed a centrifuge room at one of its two known plants in the towns of Yongbyon and Kangson, both near Pyongyang, which had been linked to uranium enrichment activities. While North Korea is believed to have other hidden uranium sites, it was unlikely that they were showcased publicly through visits by Kim, whose activities are closely monitored and analyzed by the outside world. Yang Uk, an analyst at South Korea’s Asan Institute for Policy Studies, said the number of centrifuges shown in the North Korean photos would be about 1,000. That happens to be roughly the number of centrifuges it would take to produce enough uranium for a single bomb –- about 20 to 25 kilograms -– when the devices are fully operated year-round. It was the first time the North has disclosed a uranium enrichment facility since 2010, when it allowed a group of Stanford University scholars led by nuclear scientist Siegfried Hecker to tour its centrifuge facility in Yongbyon. How worried should we be? As foreign experts and government officials closely securitized the reports and visuals from North Korea, it wasn’t immediately clear whether the country was communicating something significantly new about its bomb fuel technologies. But the news was a stark reminder of a known but growing threat, as Kim continues to speed up the expansion of his nuclear weapons and missile programs amid halted diplomacy with Washington and Seoul. Kim in recent months has repeatedly called for an “exponential” expansion of his country’s nuclear arsenal to counter what he perceives as external U.S.-led threats. The photos released on Friday were likely intended to demonstrate that the country has the bomb fuel capacity to match the ambitions of its leader, experts say. Kim has since 2022 been accelerating the expansion of his nuclear-capable missile systems, which include weapons designed to strike both the U.S. mainland and American allies in Asia. North Korea’s progress in its uranium enrichment program is a major concern for rivals and neighbors. Highly enriched uranium is easier than plutonium to engineer into a weapon. And while plutonium facilities are large and produce detectable radiation, making them easier for satellites to detect, uranium centrifuges can be operated almost anywhere, including small factories, caves, underground tunnels or other hard-to-reach places. Yang said it’s estimated that North Korea could be operating around 10,000 uranium centrifuges across multiple sites, which account for the core of the country’s nuclear program that likely produces enough fuel to make around 12 to 18 bombs a year. By 2027, North Korea would possibly amass enough fuel to produce about 200 […]

A congressional report has revealed that a Chinese company installed intelligence-gathering devices on cranes operating at ports across the United States, potentially enabling China to spy on American activities and disrupt critical infrastructure.

The findings, from the Republican-led House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party and the House Homeland Security Committee, highlight that the Shanghai-based, state-owned ZPMC engineering company had pushed for remote access to its cranes, particularly targeting ports on the West Coast.

“If granted, this access could potentially be extended to other [People’s Republic of China] government entities, posing a significant risk due to the PRC’s national security laws that mandate cooperation with state intelligence agencies,” states the report, which followed a yearlong investigation.

The equipment installed on the cranes includes cellular modems that were “not requested by US ports or included in contracts … [and] constitute a significant backdoor security vulnerability that undermines the integrity of port operations,” according to the report.

“These unknown modems were believed to be installed under the auspices of collecting usage data for the equipment,” the report explained, citing contracts and comments from port authorities. “These modems – although not necessary for the operation of the cranes – created an obscure method to collect information, and bypass firewalls in a manner that could potentially disrupt port operations.”

In response to these findings, the committees are urging the Department of Homeland Security to “immediately issue guidance to all US ports to disassemble any connections of ZPMC cranes to cellular modems or any other method of connection to ZPMC,” except where contractual obligations prevent such action.

ZPMC controls about 80% of the cargo cranes used in American ports, placing the US maritime industry in a precarious position of dependence on Chinese-made technology, including “ship-to-shore cranes, container handling equipment, and various other critical maritime infrastructure components,” the committees warned.

Concerns over Chinese-made infrastructure have been prevalent in national security circles for some time, though the issue has gained broader attention only in recent years.

“This [ZPMC] dominance has been achieved through a complex system of state support, including financing from state banks, direct subsidies, preferential borrowing rates, state-backed fundraising, and other nonmarket advantages,” the report noted, adding that currently “there are no domestic manufacturing alternatives” for cranes in the US.

In February, the Harris-Biden administration committed $20 billion to enhance the cybersecurity of maritime infrastructure, with the specific aim of addressing vulnerabilities in the software and hardware of ZPMC cranes, according to the report.

Additionally, the White House outlined a plan to “phase out Chinese-made port equipment and fully return crane making to the United States to deal with 200 Chinese-made cranes at U.S. ports and facilities,” the report continued.

“This bipartisan chorus of concern regarding PRC economic influence — especially regarding transportation infrastructure — highlights the level of concern that this issue has reached within the American policymaking community,” the report emphasized.

However, the Republican authors of the report argued that further measures are needed to reduce American reliance on Chinese seaport technology. They called on the Department of Commerce to initiate a study on “building a US crane manufacturing base” and to develop plans for “the necessary expertise and market consumption.”

They also urged the department to evaluate the global competitiveness of US manufacturing, including port construction and shipbuilding, to bolster the American industry and lessen the dependence on Chinese maritime infrastructure.

In the meantime, the committees recommended legislation that would permit US ports to seek exemptions from “Buy America requirements for purchasing cranes from non-adversarial countries, using federal grant dollars” until the US crane manufacturing industry is sufficiently developed.

{Matzav.com}

Former President Donald Trump’s Bedminster, N.J. golf club hosted convicted antisemitic Jan. 6 rioter Timothy Hale-Cusanelli twice this summer, NPR has revealed. You may remember Hale-Cusanelli as the individual who threatened Jews – targeting Lakewood specifically. One of the events where he was hosted was a fundraiser for a group supporting Capitol riot defendants, which Trump personally endorsed via a video message, calling the attendees “amazing patriots.” Hale-Cusanelli, described by federal prosecutors as a “white supremacist and Nazi sympathizer,” has made deeply disturbing comments about Jewish people, including statements like “Hitler should have finished the job” and publishing antisemitic content online. Prior to storming the Capitol, Hale-Cusanelli ran a now-defunct YouTube channel named Based Hermes in which he incessantly parroted anti-Semitic tropes and conspiracies. He was also alleged by colleagues to be a Nazi sympathizer who would wear Hitler mustaches and say things like: “I’ll eat the Jews for breakfast.” The Trump campaign distanced itself from Hale-Cusanelli, saying the former president was “not even aware of this individual.” However, Trump has repeatedly supported the Patriot Freedom Project, a nonprofit group linked to Hale-Cusanelli’s legal defense. At both Bedminster events, Hale-Cusanelli was celebrated, receiving an award in August for promoting “God, family, and country.” Hale-Cusanelli, who was sentenced to four years in prison for his role in the Capitol riot, has since embraced conspiracy theories, claiming the Jan. 6 attack was a government setup. Despite his documented hate speech, he continues to receive support from some conservative activists. Following the events at Bedminster, Trump hosted an event dedicated to fighting antisemitism, where he said, “This vicious outbreak of militant antisemitism must be given no quarter, no safe harbor.” Hale-Cusanelli, however, appeared undeterred by his past controversies, celebrating his appearances at Trump’s club online with the post, “Great time at Trump Bedminster YET AGAIN!” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Federal authorities are preparing to file criminal charges over Iran’s alleged hack and leak attack against Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, according to people familiar with the matter.

The FBI investigation has focused on an online persona named “Robert” who contacted American reporters, these people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe details of an ongoing investigation. That persona shared campaign documents they falsely claimed to have obtained while working with the Trump campaign, the people said.

Investigators have said the person, or people, posing as Robert was acting on behalf of the Iranian government and offering data files stolen from Trump advisers’ email accounts to news organizations.

Criminal charges could be filed in a matter of days, these people said. Spokeswomen for the Justice Department and the FBI declined to comment.

Among the hacking targets was adviser Susie Wiles, one of the most senior officials on the Trump campaign. Others in Trump’s orbit were also compromised, including campaign advisers, the people familiar with the investigation said. The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

More details of the charges – and who specifically will be charged – were not immediately available. When foreign nations conduct cyberattacks on U.S. figures, the perpetrators often live in countries that will not extradite them to the United States, making it unlikely they will ever face trial.

However, in the last decade U.S. officials have launched “name and shame” campaigns against hackers in Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea in the hopes of deterring such conduct.

The FBI and U.S. intelligence agencies concluded last month that Iran was responsible for recent attempted hacks into both the Trump and the Biden-Harris presidential campaigns. People familiar with the investigation had previously said they did not see evidence that the Biden adviser accounts were compromised, though they continue to gather evidence.

Justice Department officials now believe they have enough evidence to file criminal charges, the people familiar with the matter said.

The evidence reviewed by investigators includes at least some of “Robert’s” emails with reporters, the people said. The persona offered files to reporters at The Washington Post and Politico.

It wasn’t immediately clear how authorities were able to obtain those messages. Spokespeople for the two publications said they did not cooperate with the government investigation.

As part of the scheme, campaign staffers received phishing emails that were designed to appear legitimate but could give an intruder access to the recipients’ communications, The Post has previously reported, citing people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe a sensitive investigation.

Matthew Olsen, the head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, warned Thursday in a speech in New York that foreign nations’ efforts to interfere in American elections “present a clear and present danger to our democracy.”

Speaking less than two months before Election Day, Olsen said Iran “is making a greater effort to influence this year’s election than it has in prior election cycles.”

“Iranian activity is growing increasingly aggressive as this election nears,” he said. “Iran perceives this year’s elections to be particularly consequential in impacting Iran’s national security interests, increasing Tehran’s inclination to try to shape the outcome.”

His comments echo warnings issued by the FBI earlier this summer that “the Iranians have through social engineering and other efforts sought access to individuals with direct access to the Presidential campaigns of both political parties.”

Such tactics are not new. U.S. intelligence officials have said that Iran’s efforts to stoke societal discord in the United States and undermine Trump’s bid to regain the White House are a repeat of the country’s efforts in 2020. Russia has also led similar cyberattacks.

“Iran and Russia have employed these tactics not only in the United States during this and prior federal election cycles but also in other countries around the world,” the FBI and U.S. intelligence agencies said in a joint statement this summer.

The FBI began its investigation into suspected Iranian hacking directed at the U.S. presidential campaigns in June, before President Joe Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee.

FBI agents worked with Google and Microsoft, two major providers of email services, to examine what appeared to be a phishing effort targeting people associated with the presidential campaigns, people familiar with the investigation previously told The Post.

FBI and private computer security experts have said Iran was behind spear-phishing emails sent in June to Roger Stone, a longtime informal adviser to Trump. The ruse was successful, and hackers were able to take control of Stone’s email account and send messages with spear-phishing links to others, people familiar with the investigation said. Stone has acknowledged being contacted by the FBI and notified that his emails were hacked.

(c) 2024, The Washington Post · Josh Dawsey, Devlin Barrett 

{Matzav.com}

California firefighters had to douse a flaming battery in a Tesla Semi with about 50,000 gallons (190,000 liters) of water to extinguish flames after a crash, the National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday. In addition to the huge amount of water, firefighters used an aircraft to drop fire retardant on the “immediate area” of the electric truck as a precautionary measure, the agency said in a preliminary report. Firefighters said previously that the battery reached temperatures of 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit (540 Celsius) while it was in flames. The NTSB sent investigators to the Aug. 19 crash along Interstate 80 near Emigrant Gap, about 70 miles (113 kilometers) northeast of Sacramento. The agency said it would look into fire risks posed by the truck’s large lithium-ion battery. The agency also found that the truck was not operating on one of Tesla’s partially automated driving systems at the time of the crash, the report said. The systems weren’t operational and “could not be engaged,” according to the agency. The crash happened about 3:13 a.m. as the tractor-trailer was being driven by a Tesla employee from Livermore, California, to a Tesla facility in Sparks, Nevada. The Semi left the road while going around a curve to the right and hit a tree, the report said. It went down a slope and came to rest against several trees. The driver was not hurt. After the crash, the Semi’s lithium-ion battery ignited. Firefighters used water to put out flames and keep the batteries cool. The freeway was closed for about 15 hours as firefighters made sure the batteries were cool enough to recover the truck. Authorities took the truck to an open-air facility and monitored it for 24 hours. The battery did not reignite. The NTSB said all aspects of the crash are under investigation as it determines the cause. The agency said it intends to issue safety recommendations to prevent similar incidents. A message was left Thursday seeking comment from Tesla, which is based in Austin, Texas. After an investigation that ended in 2021, the NTSB determined that high-voltage electric vehicle battery fires pose risks to first responders and that guidelines from manufacturers about how to deal with them were inadequate. The agency, which has no enforcement powers and can only make recommendations, called for manufacturers to write vehicle-specific response guides for fighting battery fires and limiting chemical thermal runaway and reignition. The guidelines also should include information on how to safely store vehicles with damaged lithium-ion batteries, the agency said. Tesla began delivering the electric Semis in December of 2022, more than three years after CEO Elon Musk said his company would start making the trucks. Musk has said the Semi has a range per charge of 500 miles (800 kilometers) when pulling an 82,000-pound (37,000-kilo) load. (AP)

This week, Palestinians were given a seat among the member states at the UN General Assembly, marking a new privilege granted to the Palestinian Authority’s delegation, even though they are not recognized as a full member.

Back in May, the General Assembly overwhelmingly declared that Palestinians should be granted full membership. However, the United States has blocked this move, stating along with Israel that Palestinian statehood should only be acknowledged through a peace agreement.

While the General Assembly’s decision provides the Palestinian delegation with certain new privileges, the resolution still denies them the right to vote or become a member of the Security Council.

As of the 79th General Assembly session, which started on Tuesday, the Palestinians now have the ability to submit proposals and amendments, alongside being seated with member states.

On Tuesday afternoon, Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian Authority’s representative to the UN, sat at a table labeled “State of Palestine” between the representatives of Sri Lanka and Sudan.

“This is not merely a procedural matter. This is a historic moment for us,” commented Egypt’s Ambassador, Osama Mahmoud Abdelkhalek Mahmoud.

Israel expressed strong opposition to the development, just as it had during the adoption of the resolution.

“Any decision and or action that improves the status of the Palestinians, either in the UN General Assembly or bilaterally, is currently a reward… for terrorism in general and the Hamas terrorists in particular,” stated Jonathan Miller, Israel’s deputy ambassador to the United Nations.

In April, during the ongoing Gaza conflict following Hamas’s October 7 attacks in southern Israel, the Palestinians — who have held “non-member observer state” status since 2012 — renewed their campaign for full membership.

Achieving full membership would require not only a General Assembly vote but also a recommendation from the Security Council.

On April 18, the United States, a close ally of Israel, vetoed a Security Council recommendation on the matter.

{Matzav.com}

A report in the Hebrew-language Hamodia newspaper, which is affiliated with the Agudas Yisroel faction of the United Torah Judaism (UTJ) party, claims that an agreement has been reached between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and UTJ Chairman Yitzhak Goldknopf regarding the formulation and promotion of the Draft Law. The law, which is expected to advance in the coming days, aims to protect the rights of yeshiva students and recognize the importance of limud Torah. According to the report, the proposed law “will recognize the importance of Torah study and of Torah students and will thwart the harm being done to yeshiva students.” Goldknopf reportedly told Netanyahu that the law must pass all three readings in the Knesset before Rosh Hashanah. The meeting between the two leaders, held at the Kirya in Tel Aviv, included senior officials from both offices and resulted in a commitment to hold a follow-up meeting next week to monitor the law’s progress. The Draft Law, however, has faced opposition from some members of Netanyahu’s Likud party. MKs Amichai Chikli, Moshe Sa’ada, and Dan Illouz wrote a letter to the Prime Minister following the outbreak of the war, expressing their concerns. They argued that it is unfair for certain segments of Israeli society to bear the burden of security while “others” – referring to the exemption of bnei yeshiva from military service – continue their daily routines. In addition, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has said that he will not support the Draft Law unless it gains broad support, including from members of the opposition. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

The IDF’s 162nd Division has been conducting targeted operations in the Rafah area over the past few months, resulting in the elimination of over 2,000 terrorists and the destruction of approximately 13 kilometers of underground tunnel routes. The operations have successfully dismantled the Rafah Brigade of the Hamas terrorist organization, with recent weeks seeing the involvement of multiple brigades and units, including the Nahal Brigade, Givati Brigade, 401st Brigade, Yahalom Unit, and Shayetet 13, in the Tel al-Sultan area. These efforts have led to the elimination of over 250 terrorists, including senior commanders such as Mahmoud Hamdan, and the destruction of 80% of underground tunnel routes near and beneath the Philadelphi Corridor. The division’s engineering forces and Yahalom Unit continue to locate and destroy remaining terrorist infrastructure in the area. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

A Georgia court has dropped two conspiracy charges against Donald Trump, which were part of a broader case accusing him of attempting to influence the state’s 2020 election outcome.

On Thursday, Judge Scott McAfee ruled that two of the 10 remaining charges against the former president, who is also the 2024 Republican candidate, should be dismissed. The reason given was that these specific allegations pertain to federal matters outside Georgia’s legal jurisdiction.

The counts that were dismissed involved accusations of conspiracy and the submission of false documents, referred to as counts 15 and 27.

These dropped charges were connected to claims that Trump and his co-defendants had assembled a group of fraudulent electors and later initiated a federal lawsuit based on false information, challenging the election results.

One of the charges alleged that Trump and others attempted to alter Joe Biden’s victory in Georgia by submitting a forged “Certificate of the Votes of the 2020 Electors from Georgia,” which falsely indicated that Trump had won.

The second dismissed charge was related to accusations that Trump and his co-conspirators provided false information and submitted fraudulent documents in an effort to convince Georgia legislators to disregard legitimate votes.

In addition, a charge of attempted falsification of documents was also dropped against Trump’s allies, attorney John Eastman and Georgia elector Sen. Shawn Still (R).

Despite these rulings, McAfee announced in a separate decision on Thursday that the racketeering charge against Trump and his co-defendants will proceed to trial.

Trump, along with 14 other defendants, has pleaded not guilty to racketeering and related charges tied to the alleged attempt to reverse his narrow loss to Biden, who was then Vice President.

Previously, three other charges against Trump were also dismissed. In March, McAfee ruled that these charges, which were linked to efforts to pressure Georgia officials to breach their oaths of office, lacked sufficient clarity.

The case has been delayed as Trump’s attorneys are seeking to have Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis removed from the case. Their argument stems from her prior relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, who was later removed from the case.

The cases of Still and Eastman are proceeding, as they are not involved in the appeal concerning Willis.

The appeal arguments are expected to take place in December, meaning Trump’s trial will not begin until after the November 5 presidential election, where he is set to compete against Vice President Kamala Harris.

“President Trump and his legal team in Georgia have prevailed once again,” said Trump’s attorney, Steve Sadow, in a statement. “The trial court has decided that counts 15 and 17 in the indictment must be quashed/dismissed.”

{Matzav.com}

Machinists at Boeing voted Thursday to go on strike, another setback for the giant aircraft maker whose reputation and finances have been battered and now faces a shutdown in production of its best-selling airline planes. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers said 94.6% of voting workers rejected the contract, which would have raised pay 25% over four years, and 96% approved the strike, easily surpassing a two-thirds requirement. The strike by 33,000 machinists was set to begin at one minute after midnight Friday morning. “This is about respect, this is about the past, and this is about fighting for our future,” IAM District 751 President Jon Holden said in announcing the vote. Boeing responded that it was “ready to get back to the table to reach a new agreement.” “The message was clear that the tentative agreement we reached with IAM leadership was not acceptable to the members. We remain committed to resetting our relationship with our employees and the union,” the company said in a statement. Very little has gone right for Boeing this year, from a panel blowing out and leaving a gaping hole in one of its passenger jets in January to NASA leaving two astronauts in space rather sending them home on a problem-plagued Boeing spacecraft. As long as the strike lasts, it will deprive Boeing of much-needed cash that it gets from delivering new planes to airlines. That will be another challenge for new CEO Kelly Ortberg, who six weeks ago was given the job of turning around a company that has lost more than $25 billion in the last six years and fallen behind European rival Airbus. Ortberg made a last-ditch effort to salvage a deal that had unanimous backing from the union’s negotiators. He told machinists Wednesday that “no one wins” in a walkout, and that a strike would put Boeing’s recovery in jeopardy and raise more doubt about the company in the eyes of its airline customers. “For Boeing, it is no secret that our business is in a difficult period, in part due to our own mistakes in the past,” he said. “Working together, I know that we can get back on track, but a strike would put our shared recovery in jeopardy, further eroding trust with our customers and hurting our ability to determine our future together.” Workers were in no mood to listen. Holden said Ortberg faced a difficult position because machinists are bitter about stagnant wages and concessions they have made since 2008 on pensions and health care to prevent the company from moving jobs elsewhere. “It’s hard to make up for 16 years,” he said. The vote was also a rebuke to Holden and union negotiators, who recommended that workers approve the contract offer. Holden, who predicted that workers would vote to strike, said the union will survey members to decide what issues they want to stress when negotiations resume. Union members posted complaints about the deal all week on social media, often demanding bigger raises. On Thursday, several dozen blew whistles, banged drums and held up signs calling for a strike as they marched to a union hall near Boeing’s 737 Max plant in Renton, Washington. “As you can see, the solidarity is here,” said Chase Sparkman, a quality-assurance worker. “I’m expecting my union […]

Donald Trump on Thursday ruled out another presidential debate against Kamala Harris as her campaign announced a massive fundraising haul in the hours after the two candidates met on stage. Trump, the Republican nominee, posted on Truth Social that “THERE WILL BE NO THIRD DEBATE!” following Tuesday’s debate against Harris and his June debate against President Joe Biden. In rejecting another debate, the former president suggested that a “prizefighter” who loses a bout is always the one to call for a rematch. A day earlier, he had said, “I just don’t know,” to the question of whether he would meet Harris for another debate. Some Republicans, including the No. 2 GOP Senator John Thune, have urged Trump to debate against Harris again. While he could still change his mind, his announcement means that Tuesday’s meeting will likely be the only time voters will see the two debate each other before the November election. More than 67 million people watched the Trump-Harris debate. Harris, the Democratic nominee, said during a rally in North Carolina on Thursday she believes that she and the former president “owe it to voters” to debate again. Meanwhile, her campaign revealed that it had raised $47 million from nearly 600,000 donors in the 24 hours after her Tuesday debate against Trump. “This historic, 24-hour haul reflects a strong and growing coalition of Americans united behind Vice President Harris’ candidacy that knows the stakes this November, and are doing their part to defeat Donald Trump this November,” campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon said. The Tuesday debate was the first time that Trump and Harris had met, and the vice president largely controlled the tenor, goading Trump into agitated responses that contained exaggerations and mistruths. It came two months after Trump’s debate against Biden, whose unsteady performance and meandering answers led him to end his reelection bid and endorse Harris as his replacement on the ticket. Trump raised doubts earlier in the campaign as to whether he would debate Harris at all. The two eventually agreed on the Tuesday debate on ABC. Trump called Harris a “no-show” for a debate date that had been proposed earlier this month. Instead of an event with Harris, Trump ended up going on Fox News for a solo town hall with host Sean Hannity. Fox News has issued invitations to both campaigns for a debate in October. (AP)

Investigators working to pinpoint the cause of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse discovered a loose cable that could have caused electrical issues on the Dali, the massive cargo ship that lost power and disastrously veered off course before striking the bridge. When disconnected, the problematic cable triggered an electrical blackout on the ship similar to what happened as it approached the bridge on March 26, according to new documents released Wednesday by the National Transportation Safety Board. The documents don’t include any analysis or conclusions, which will be released later in the board’s final report. A spokesperson for the board declined to comment as the investigation is ongoing. The Dali was leaving Baltimore bound for Sri Lanka when its steering failed because of the power loss. It crashed into one of the bridge’s supporting columns, destroying the 1.6-mile span and killing six members of a roadwork crew. Safety investigators released a preliminary report earlier this year that documented a series of power issues on the ship before and after its departure from Baltimore. But the new records offer more details about how its electrical system may have failed in the critical moments leading up to the deadly disaster. The Dali first experienced a power outage when it was still docked in Baltimore. That was after a crew member mistakenly closed an exhaust damper while conducting maintenance, causing one of the ship’s diesel engines to stall, according to the earlier report. Crew members then made changes to the ship’s electrical configuration, switching from one transformer and breaker system — which had been in use for several months — to a second that was active upon its departure. That second transformer and breaker system is where investigators found the loose cable, according to investigative reports. Investigators also removed an electrical component from the same system for additional testing, according to a supplemental report released in June. They removed what is called a terminal block, which is used to connect electrical wires. Engineers from Hyundai, the manufacturer of the ship’s electrical system, said the loose cable could create an open circuit and cause a breaker to open, according to a 41-page report detailing tests completed on the Dali in the weeks after the collapse. The engineers disconnected the cable as part of a simulation, which resulted in a blackout on the ship. Hyundai sent engineers from its headquarters in South Korea to help with the investigation in April. The new documents also included various certificates issued after inspections of the Dali pertaining to its general condition and compliance with maritime safety regulations. “It’s pretty clear that they think they’ve found an issue that could cause a blackout,” said Tom Roth-Roffy, a former National Transportation Safety Board investigator who focused on maritime investigations. He said the loose cable was in a critical place within the electrical system. He also noted that investigators have clearly taken a thorough approach and documented their findings well. The new documents suggest they found very few other problems as they combed through the various systems and machinery aboard the Dali. In terms of whether the loose connection suggests inadequate maintenance of the ship or other problems with the crew, Roth-Roffy said it seems like a toss-up. Checking hundreds or thousands of wires is a tedious and time-consuming process, […]

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Following the debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris earlier this week, accusations have emerged claiming ABC News exhibited extreme bias, with some alleging that Harris had prior access to the debate questions.

The debate, held on Tuesday night and moderated by ABC News’ David Muir and Linsey Davis, has come under fire from Trump and his supporters. They argue that the moderators disproportionately targeted Trump while displaying favoritism towards Harris.

The situation intensified online when an individual claiming to be a whistleblower used the X account @DocNetyoutube to announce the forthcoming release of an affidavit, which purportedly proves the debate was manipulated.

“I will be releasing an affidavit from an ABC whistleblower regarding the debate. I have just signed a non-disclosure agreement with the attorney of the whistleblower,” the X account shared.

Several conservative influencers, including @MilaLovesJoe, @ChuckCallesto, and @RealBenGeller—collectively amassing over a million followers—quickly spread the whistleblower’s claims. They argued that the Democratic candidate was provided with questions that were “essentially the same” as those asked during the debate, and that there was a commitment to fact-check Trump.

Building on the success of her debate performance, Harris’ campaign swiftly proposed another debate, with Fox News offering to host it. However, Trump rejected the idea. In a post on Truth Social on Thursday afternoon, Trump alleged that Harris was pushing for another debate because he had “clearly” won the first one.

Earlier in the week, when asked whether he would consider a second debate with Harris, Trump responded, “I just don’t know.” Some within the Republican Party, including Senate GOP leader John Thune, have been encouraging Trump to engage Harris again in another debate.

Though Trump may change his stance, his current refusal suggests that Tuesday’s debate could be the only direct exchange between the two candidates before the November election. The event drew an audience of over 67 million viewers.

At a rally in North Carolina on Thursday, Harris expressed that she and Trump “owe it to voters” to participate in another debate.

This week’s debate marked the first encounter between Trump and Harris, with the vice president largely steering the conversation. She successfully provoked Trump into making emotional responses, some of which included exaggerations and inaccuracies. The debate occurred two months after Trump’s previous face-off with Joe Biden, where Biden’s shaky performance and unclear responses resulted in him ending his reelection bid and endorsing Harris as his successor.

The meeting on Tuesday was the inaugural confrontation between Trump and Harris, with Harris mostly dictating the flow of the debate. Her strategy of provoking Trump led to heated replies filled with exaggerations and false claims.

This clash came two months after Trump’s debate with Biden, whose faltering performance prompted pressure from Democratic leaders to drop out of the race. Following his withdrawal, Biden threw his support behind Harris as the new candidate.

{Matzav.com}

When the mother of Bar Kupershtein, who is currently being held hostage by Hamas, appealed to the public asking for people to put on her son’s Tefillin until he returned home, Tzvika Graiver answered the call.

Graiver set up a stand in major Israeli cities, asking people passing by to put on the pair of Tefillin and Daven for the hostages. After finding success in Israel, the Tefillin are now on the road traveling around the US, where crowds have lined up for the Zechus to wear this special pair of Tefillin.

According to Graiver, it all started when his sister in law saw that Bar’s mother had posted online about the Tefillin. Graiver said: “This heroic mother wrote that she was looking for someone to take her son’s beloved Tefillin and help others put them on until he returns from Gaza. I wasn’t sure if I could take on such a heavy responsibility. But I messaged her, saying I love my own Tefillin dearly, but I’d be honored to take Bar’s Tefillin, set up a stand, and encourage others to wear them. I thought it could inspire even more people to put on Tefillin.”

Bar’s mother accepted the offer, and Graiver set up a stand with the Tefillin, a picture of Bar, and asked for Tefillos for Bar-Avraham ben Julia, along with all the other hostages.

Graiver says: “I believe that while the Israel Defense Forces are strong, the spiritual strength of Tefillin has immense power to bring miracles and, God willing, return the hostages soon.”

It took a business trip and the help of fellow Jews to get Bar’s Tefillin on the road. Graiver explains: “I had to travel over the summer for work and to visit my mother-in-law in Montreal. I called Bar’s mother and asked if I should leave the Tefillin behind. She said, ‘No, please take them with you and continue the work abroad.’ And that’s when Chabad communities really stepped in. Everywhere I went, people were eager to use Bar’s Tefillin. The fact that they belonged to a hostage encouraged many Jews to put them on.”

When I arrived in Los Angeles, I spoke with Rabbi Rapoport and gave him the Tefillin. All day long, people were coming to wear them. I think Bar’s Tefillin have been through at least 12 different Chabad centers, moving from one place to another every day.”

“In Florida, they traveled through Miami and Boca, reaching many Chabad emissaries,” Graiver said. “I look at the calendar and can hardly believe that it’s been almost three months of Jews putting on Bar’s Tefillin and praying for his return. I believe this will help bring him and all the hostages back safe and sound.”

Over 1,000 Jews have now worn Bar’s Tefillin, but one story stands out to Graiver the most: “I think it was on the very first day I took Bar’s Tefillin out. A young man came by, looked at the stand, and seemed hesitant. I asked if he wanted to put on Tefillin, and he asked me about the stand after noticing Bar’s picture,” Graiver recalled.

“I told him Bar’s story, and he agreed to put them on. He wore them for half an hour, praying not from a prayer book but from his heart, speaking directly to God. It turned out he was a survivor from Nova. Tefillin wasn’t part of his life, but in that moment, through Bar, he felt a deep connection. It was incredibly moving.”

{Matzav.com Israel}

By Miranda Devine, NY Post

The smart analysis of the first — and maybe only — debate of the Trump-Harris presidential cycle is that Don­ald Trump blew it.

The former president, winging it as usual, missed numerous “kill shots,” was frustratingly imprecise and allowed himself to be baited by Kamala Harris.

But on the optics, Harris committed far worse self-harm.

If you switched off the sound for the ABC debate Tuesday night and just watched the images, you would come away feeling deep distaste for the haughty flibbertigibbet who kept making faces while Trump was speaking.

Harris’ split-screen pantomime made her seem unserious and unlikable and was clearly designed for the sort of viral “Brat Girl” moments on social media her juvenile campaign staff imagines are vote winners. Kween!

In reality, the novelty value is short-lived and even the Taylor Swift demographic will come to see it as unbecoming.

Cool aunt, sure, but president?

Nope.

Margaret Thatcher she is not.

Far from being a masterstroke, Harris’ many faces only reinforced the fatal inauthenticity of the rest of her debate performance, which was a string of memorized set pieces with little relevance to the question being asked, and delivered in an odd staccato.

Another Sybil

While Trump was speaking and Harris knew her face was alongside his on the split screen, she would flash through a dozen different personas in 60 seconds, like an overmedicated Sybil.

Her expression would switch between narrowed-eye incredulity, smug contempt, pursed-lip amusement, a condescending smirk, a tilted head, a disapproving eyebrow, a thrusting chin, eye-rolling, head-shaking, a little macho shoulder swagger, and even a ridiculous chin-holding pose.

Of course, the media pundits were delighted with the contrived body language.

“She turned to him with an arched brow. A quiet sigh. A hand on her chin. A laugh. A pitiful glance. A dismissive shake of her head,” the New York Times gushed.

But to any normal viewer, her Marcel Marceau shtick was puerile, distracting and very fake.

Harris looked as if she had been practicing her multiple faces in the bathroom mirror for hours during the week she was holed up in a hotel doing debate prep.

Political consultant and focus-group maestro Frank Luntz didn’t seem to realize it was deliberate and tweeted that Harris needs to “train her face not to respond [because it] feeds into a female stereotype and, more importantly, risks offending undecided voters.”

He was attacked as a misogynist, but he’s right about how repellent the face-making was to the average viewer.

Harris’ pantomime was also disrespectful to her opponent, taking liberties that no man would get away with.

Her wordless contempt was jarring beside her aggressive faux ­civility before the debate, when she strode past her miniature podium, custom-made for her 5-foot-4 frame, and thrust her hand out at the towering Trump.

“Kamala Harris,” she said in a deep girl-boss voice, as if he didn’t know who she was.

The workshopped ploy was aimed at the “You go, girl” crowd online, who predictably praised it as a “power move.”

But Trump, not exactly a stranger to power moves, was unfazed. “Good to see you, have fun,” he said, politely shaking her hand without crushing it like he did to Vladimir Putin and Mitt Romney.

For a candidate whose true self remains undisclosed, Harris’ thousand fake faces only added to the confusion voters feel about her.

“Kamala Kameleon” just further cemented the mystery about who she really is.

As the campaign grinds on, her identity is fast solidifying into an amorphous void.

She is so afraid of alienating one group or another that she has emerged as a shape-shifting, hollow woman with as many fake accents as she has fake personas.

Her personal backstory is replete with dubious anecdotes designed to offset her privileged upbringing in Canada, such as a job she supposedly had at McDonald’s as a student for which there is zero evidence, no photo, employment record or confirmation from a friend or family member.

“I did fries,” she told a very impressed Drew Barrymore.

Phony job listing

The job is not listed on any ­résumé and her advisers refuse to discuss it.

Fact-checking website Snopes failed to verify the Golden Arches employment and declared the tale “unproven.”

Other embellishments of her history seem equally phony, such as her claim that her parents took her to a civil rights protest as a toddler and when asked what she wanted, she exclaimed, “Fweedom.”

She never mentioned the story again after being accused of plagiarizing it from an identical anecdote Martin Luther King told Playboy in 1965.

Since Tuesday night’s debate was held in the crucial swing state of Pennsylvania, where Joe Biden had a home-state advantage due to his mythical blue-collar roots in Scranton, Harris repeatedly described herself as a “middle-class kid,” repudiating her upbringing in the wealthiest and most privileged neighborhood of Montreal.

Even the pronunciation of her name is contrived: “Comm-ala” (like “Comm-unist”).

She and her supporters have made a big deal out of the pronunciation, accusing anyone who doesn’t say it exactly right of being racist.

But a video doing the rounds online has Harris in Cleveland in 2020 mispronouncing her own name as “Camel-a.”

People who have known for years, like Biden, pronounce it that way, too.

It’s all part of her identity crisis, and it’s why accusing her of being a flip-flopper is so potent.

Trump, on the other hand, never changes. What you see is what you get.

As he said during the debate: “Everybody knows I’m an open book. Everybody knows what I’m going to do.”

On optics, he came across as serious and resolute, which is what voters want in a president as they struggle in the Biden-Harris economy and worry about unchecked illegal migration, crime and the global drumbeat of war.

Smiles and frivolity are not on the menu.

Trump’s cut-through line was describing her economic plans as “Run, Spot, run.”

He also took every chance to point out that she is vacuous and manufactured.

“That’s just a sound bite. They gave her that to say,” he growled.

The times don’t suit a TikTok Kween, regardless of what talking heads on CNN and MSNBC tell you.

That’s the message from a group of 10 undecided voters in a Reuters focus group, six of whom turned toward Trump after the debate.

Just three said they would back Harris and one remained unsure.

It was the same story with several undecided voters interviewed by the Times.

“Trump’s pitch was a little more convincing than hers,” said Keilah Miller, 34, from Milwaukee, after the debate.

“I guess I’m leaning more on his facts than her vision …

“When Trump was in office — not going to lie — I was living way better,” she said.

“I’ve never been so down as in the past four years. It’s been so hard for me.”

Finally, it goes without saying that the ABC debate moderators were a disgrace, but complaining about their bias is pointless.

Republicans just should resolve to never appear on the network again.

{Matzav.com}