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Drivers across New York City racked up an unprecedented number of summonses last year for blocking off parking spaces with traffic cones, a tactic that has drawn growing enforcement even as many residents say the chronic parking shortage helps explain why the practice persists, the NY Post reports.

According to a New York Post review of municipal records, the Sanitation Department issued 533 violations in 2025 for illegally obstructing streets or sidewalks with cones. That enforcement followed 7,208 separate complaints filed through the city’s 311 system, also the highest total on record.

The number of tickets climbed steadily over recent years. More than 530 summonses were written last year, mostly in Queens, marking an increase of nearly 6% over 2024, when 470 were issued. That figure was almost double the 287 tickets handed out in 2023 and roughly nine times higher than the 60 issued in 2022.

City data show that Queens accounted for more than 70% of all cone-related violations last year, with 380 tickets issued boroughwide. Since 2020, 1,376 summonses have been written citywide for the offense, and roughly 1,000 of them were issued in Queens alone.

Queens Councilwoman Joann Ariola has pointed to weak enforcement combined with shrinking parking availability — including the loss of spaces to bike lanes and restrictive parking regulations — as major factors behind the rise in illegal space-saving.

“It’s been happening for years,” said Alex, a 21-year-old Queens driver, referring to the practice of using cones to hold parking spots.

Despite that, he said he understands why people do it.

“It’s so hard to park around here,” he said, “I understand people using cones to save parking spots.”

Sanitation Department officials told The Post that traffic cones placed on public streets or sidewalks are considered illegal obstructions and can result in administrative summonses, with repeat violations carrying fines of up to $200.

Yet enforcement remains limited. More than 25,000 complaints related to cones have been logged with 311 since 2020, but summonses were issued in just over 5% of those cases, according to the Post’s analysis.

“In order for us to issue a summons for this, the owner of the cones has to acknowledge that the cones are theirs,” a Sanitation Department representative said.

“We do investigate complaints for this by visiting the home and speaking with the homeowner. If they claim ownership of the cones, we will issue a summons for street obstruction. … If they do not claim the cones as their own, we will simply take them away.”

{Matzav.com}

Campaign aides to former Vice President Kamala Harris questioned Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz about whether he had ever acted as an agent of the Chinese Communist Party during the vetting process before he was selected as her running mate, according to a new report. The scrutiny of Walz, first reported by CNN, stemmed from his […]

European governments are weighing an aggressive trade response to President Donald Trump’s warnings of sweeping tariffs if an agreement is not reached to transfer Greenland to the United States, but Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent cautioned Tuesday that such a move would be a serious mistake. Speaking in Davos, Bessent said it would be “unwise” for Europe to answer Washington with retaliatory measures.

According to a report by CNBC, France urged the European Union during an emergency meeting in Brussels on Sunday to consider activating the bloc’s so-called Anti-Coercion Instrument, a powerful mechanism described by officials as a trade “bazooka” intended to deter economic pressure from abroad.

The Anti-Coercion Instrument was created to counter what the EU defines as economic coercion—actions designed to force policy changes that could disrupt trade or investment flows.

Possible countermeasures under the instrument could extend beyond tariffs to include steps involving “trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights” and restrictions on public procurement, in addition to actions in financial and trade markets—an array of options European officials have characterized as a nuclear option.

Bessent, attending the World Economic Forum, warned that deploying such tools in response to Trump’s tariff threats would be “very unwise,” adding that “everybody should take the president at his word.”

Rather than retaliating immediately, Bessent said governments and businesses should “let things play out” following Trump’s tariff warnings, according to remarks reported Tuesday by The Guardian.

He pointed to last year’s trade clash between the United States and China, noting that Trump’s “liberation day” tariff announcement initially sent shockwaves through global markets before several companies ultimately reached trade agreements.

By late 2025, markets had rebounded to record levels, a recovery driven in part by rapid growth in artificial intelligence.

“The worst thing countries can do is escalate against the United States,” Bessent said.

Within Europe, there is no unified stance on using the Anti-Coercion Instrument. Germany, whose economy relies heavily on exports, is among the countries opposed to triggering it, according to Carsten Nickel, deputy director of research at Teneo, who spoke to CNBC.

Industries seen as most vulnerable to Trump’s proposed tariffs include automakers such as BMW in Germany and Stellantis in Milan, along with major pharmaceutical companies including Novo Nordisk and Roche in Switzerland.

Despite internal divisions, Germany and France on Monday urged the EU to deliver a “clear” response to Trump’s threats, The Financial Times reported.

“We will not be blackmailed,” German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said.

Three EU officials familiar with the discussions said European Commission staff have drafted retaliation scenarios but are refraining from deploying the Anti-Coercion Instrument for now, hoping diplomacy during this week’s meetings with Trump in Davos will yield progress.

“Our number one priority now is to really engage and cooperate and have a good dialogue with U.S. counterparts,” European Commission Vice President Henna Virkkunen told the Financial Times.

“At the same time, we have also tools at our disposal here. We have prepared also for that,” Virkkunen said.

Virkkunen added that the Anti-Coercion Instrument could also be used to restrict American technology companies’ access to the EU’s internal market, emphasizing that Europe represents the largest market for several major tech firms.

European leaders are also seeking to convince Trump that they are prepared to shoulder more responsibility for Arctic security, pointing to proposals by Denmark and Greenland for a NATO mission on the island similar to existing efforts to protect critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea from Russian and Chinese threats.

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he would deploy the “full strength of government at home and abroad” to uphold international law, describing Trump’s tariff threats as “completely wrong.”

Financial markets have reacted sharply to the escalating rhetoric. Futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were expected to open Tuesday down 378 points.

European equities fell broadly on Monday, while investors sought safety in gold and silver, which climbed to new highs just days after surpassing previous records.

The exchange of threats has unfolded alongside heightened security activity in the Arctic. Denmark confirmed Monday that it had dispatched additional troops to Greenland, as Trump again declined to rule out the use of military force to assert control over the island.

Danish officials said a “substantial contribution” of soldiers, along with the head of the country’s army, had been sent to Greenland, including deployments to the capital, Nuuk, and to Kangerlussuaq.

{Matzav.com}

Spanish emergency workers searched Tuesday for more victims in the wreckage of a deadly train accident in southern Spain that killed at least 41 people, as the nation began three days of mourning for the victims. Spanish Transport Minister Óscar Puente said the official toll of Sunday’s accident had risen by one to 41 when […]

President Donald Trump said he chose to make private messages public from French President Emmanuel Macron and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte because they underscored his argument, while also disclosing that he spent Monday intervening to stop a prison break in Syria involving European terrorists.

The messages, which Trump shared on Truth Social, included warm praise from Macron and Rutte for actions Trump took in Syria, along with appeals for engagement over his push to bring Greenland under U.S. control. The posts appeared just hours before global leaders convene for the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

“It just made my point. They’re saying, ‘Oh gee, let’s have dinner, let’s do this, let’s do that.’ It just made my point,” Trump told The NY Post, referring to the private outreach that followed his warning of 10% tariffs, set to take effect February 1, against eight European countries opposing his Greenland initiative.

Trump said the compliments from Macron and Rutte stemmed from efforts he took behind the scenes in Syria. “I did a great job. You know what I did? I stopped a prison break,” he said.

“Oh, we did a good job with Syria. They had a prison break. European prisoners were breaking and I got it stopped. That was yesterday,” Trump added.

“European terrorists were in prison. They had a prison break. And working with the government of Syria and the new leader of Syria, they captured all the prisoners, put them back to jail, and these were the worst terrorists in the world, all from Europe.”

The attempted breakout took place at Al-Shaddadi prison in Syria’s northeastern Hasakah province amid clashes as forces loyal to Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa moved against the Syrian Democratic Forces, a Kurdish-led group that had long been backed by the U.S. and had guarded the detained extremists for years.

The confrontation concluded Sunday with the Kurdish faction agreeing to give up its regional autonomy and cede control of detention sites holding roughly 8,000 Islamic State fighters. Syria’s Interior Ministry said Monday that 81 of the 120 ISIS prisoners who escaped had been recaptured, according to Al Jazeera.

Trump’s decision to publicize the messages offered a rare glimpse into private diplomatic channels as he ramped up pressure on European allies to compel Denmark to relinquish control of Greenland, the world’s largest island.

In his message, Emmanuel Macron wrote: “My friend, We are totally in line on Syria[.] We can do great things on Iran[.] I do not understand what you are doing on Greenland[.] Let us try to build great things: 1) i [sic] can set up a g7 meeting after Davos in Paris on thursday afternoon. I can invite the ukrainians, the danish, the syrians and the russians in the margins 2) let us have a dinner together in Paris together on thursday before you go back to the us.”

Mark Rutte wrote: “Mr. President, dear Donald — what you accomplished in Syria today is incredible. I will use my media engagements in Davos to highlight your work there, in Gaza, and in Ukraine. I am committed to finding a way forward on Greenland. Can’t wait to see you.”

{Matzav.com}

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Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said President Trump’s sweeping tariffs are starting to be reflected in the price of some items.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on paying $1 billion to join the Gaza Board of Peace – We would write checks and deliver in kind to improve the welfare of the people of Palestine, but we want to see it delivered direct to those outcomes.

President Trump escalated his public pressure campaign over Greenland on Tuesday, posting AI-generated images that depict the territory as part of the United States while also releasing screenshots of flattering private messages he says he received from European leaders ahead of this week’s World Economic Forum in Davos.

One of the images, posted early Tuesday on Truth Social, shows Trump placing a U.S. flag on Greenland, with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio standing behind him. A sign in the image labels Greenland as a “US territory est. 2026.”

In another AI-created image shared by the president, several European leaders — including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni — are shown gathered in the Oval Office around a map depicting Greenland, Canada, and Venezuela as incorporated into the United States.

The posts came as Trump intensified his rhetoric about Greenland, stating Tuesday that there was “no going back” on his objective and declining to rule out the use of force to take control of the strategically located Arctic island.

Trump, who is scheduled to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, later this week, also published screenshots of text messages from Macron and Rutte that he said praised his recent foreign policy actions, including developments related to Syria.

“My friend, we are totally in line on Syria. We can do great things on Iran,” Macron tells Trump, according to one of the screenshots shared by the president.

In the same exchange, Macron voices reservations about Trump’s interest in annexing Greenland but also discusses plans for a G7 meeting in Paris on Thursday involving Ukraine, Denmark, Syria, and Russia, and proposes a dinner with Trump in Paris before the president returns to the United States.

“Mr President, dear Donald — what you accomplished in Syria today is incredible,” Rutte writes in another message, according to a screenshot posted by Trump.

“I will use my media engagements in Davos to highlight your work there, in Gaza, and in Ukraine. I am committed to finding a way forward on Greenland. Can’t wait to see you. Yours, Mark,” the message continues.

The burst of provocative posts followed Trump’s warning that additional tariffs could be imposed on European countries if they attempt to block his efforts to acquire Greenland from Denmark.

A day earlier, Trump also cautioned France that it could face a 200% tariff on wine and champagne if Macron refuses to participate in his proposed “Board of Peace” initiative aimed at rebuilding Gaza.

{Matzav.com}

CNN reports that the Justice Department plans to subpoena Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison in a criminal investigation, as tensions flare over an immigration enforcement surge.

The bid by U.S. President Donald Trump to take over Greenland heralds a “deep crisis” for NATO and raises questions about the alliance’s preservation as a single military-political bloc, Russia’s top diplomat said Tuesday. “It was hard to imagine before that such a thing could happen,” Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a news conference, […]

TRUMP: No single person, or present, has done more for NATO then President Donald J. Trump. If I didn’t come along, there would be NATO right now!! It would have been in the ash heap of history. Sad, but TRUE!!! President DJT

After months of sustained advocacy, Phil Murphy on Monday issued a pardon to Moshe Glick, wiping away state charges that had placed the West Orange resident at the center of a politically and legally contentious case tied to a protest outside a shul The pardon, granted on Murphy’s final day in office, ends the prosecution […]

BREAKING: Governor Mikie Sherrill has just taken the oath of office, making her the 57th governor of the State of New Jersey.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney: Clearly, NATO is experiencing a test right now, and the first response to that test has to be to respond in a way that ensures the security of the Arctic in a robust way for all possibilities.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz was questioned about possible ties to China during the vetting process for vice president, according to a report published by CNN, which examined how the Democratic campaign screened potential running mates.

The report follows disclosures by Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who wrote in his forthcoming memoir, Where We Keep the Light, that the campaign team of then–Vice President Kamala Harris asked whether he had ever acted as an agent for Israel.

According to four people familiar with the process who spoke to CNN, Harris’ aides closely reviewed Walz’s history of frequent travel to China prior to his entry into public office as part of that vetting.

In his book, Shapiro wrote that he was offended by the question posed by the campaign’s top lawyer and believed it was raised solely because he is Jewish.

Shapiro added that the exchange “said a lot about some of the people around the VP.”

He also disclosed that he was asked directly by attorney Dana Remus, “Have you ever communicated with an undercover agent of Israel?”

Shapiro said he replied sarcastically, “If they were undercover, I responded, ‘How the hell would I know?’”

Four individuals involved in the vetting process told CNN that questions about serving as a foreign agent are routinely included on standard forms completed by politicians being considered for senior roles, including government appointments.

“The crux of vetting is asking uncomfortable and even farfetched questions, especially ones that could be raised by your opponents,” a person close to Remus told CNN.

“Have you ever had an affair? Have you ever embezzled state funds? Have you ever been an agent for another country?” the person added.

“The point isn’t that you believe any of it to be true,” the same source said. “It’s that the subject needs to be on record with definitive answers.”

Another aide involved in the process told CNN that, “Pulling punches would have been a disservice to both the nominee and her potential running mate.”

Harris aides also told CNN that Walz was informed in advance about the nature of the questioning in order to fully explain how the vetting process operated.

According to aides cited in the report, both Shapiro and Walz denied being foreign agents when the questions were put to them.

{Matzav.com}

As the deadly daycare incident in Yerushalayim’s Romema neighborhood continues to send shockwaves through the medical community, Dr. Yechiel Schlesinger offered new insight into the puzzling disparity in outcomes among the infants who were exposed.

Speaking Monday evening with journalist Avi Mimran on Kol Chai’s main news program, Dr. Schlesinger, director of the Wilf Children’s Hospital at Shaare Zedek Medical Center, described the critical moments when two infants were rushed to the hospital in extremely grave condition, undergoing advanced resuscitation efforts upon arrival. Despite prolonged attempts, doctors were unable to save one of the infants, while the second remains in critical condition as medical teams fight to stabilize him in intensive care.

Sharing details from inside the emergency room, Dr. Schlesinger said, “Two infants arrived to us while undergoing resuscitation. One infant, sadly, our efforts were unsuccessful and we were forced to pronounce his death quite quickly.” He added that there was a brief glimmer of hope in the second case, after doctors were able to restore a heartbeat. “He is currently hospitalized in our pediatric intensive care unit, in critical condition and receiving intensive treatment,” Schlesinger said, stressing that the child remains in “very real, immediate life-threatening danger.”

The cause of the sudden system collapse among the infants remains unknown. Dr. Schlesinger explained that in such an unusual and severe incident, doctors’ first suspicion is environmental poisoning, including exposure to toxic gases or pesticides. However, early laboratory findings surprised the medical teams. “We checked carbon monoxide levels and they were normal. That rules out poisoning of that type,” he said, adding that tests for pesticide exposure have also not yielded definitive findings. Physicians are now examining other possibilities, including contamination through food or bottles, though Schlesinger cautioned that “it is still far too early to determine” the cause.

While the battle continues to save the critically ill infant, Shaare Zedek also treated approximately 15 additional children who had been present in the same building in Romema. Dr. Schlesinger sought to reassure the public, saying all of those children are considered to be in mild condition. Some showed very slight respiratory symptoms, while others were brought in mainly for evaluation and monitoring. “At this stage, it does not appear that any of them are in danger,” he said, though he emphasized that doctors are proceeding cautiously. “We will keep them under observation overnight to be one hundred percent certain.”

The stark contrast between the two infants who collapsed suddenly and the rest of the children who were only lightly affected has raised troubling questions among medical staff. Dr. Schlesinger said it is not yet clear whether all of the children were exposed to the same trigger, but he outlined several possible explanations for the dramatic difference in severity. “In the infants who were critically ill, there was a sudden and complete collapse. In the others, it was much milder,” he said, suggesting that the most severely affected infants may have been closer to the source of danger, or that their younger age made them significantly more vulnerable and sensitive to whatever caused the incident.

{Matzav.com}

Sec. Scott Bessent: “The President has said that on February 1 he will implement a 10% tariff if the Danes do not want to give up Greenland. It is on the eight countries that sent troops to Greenland.”

HaGaon HaRav Yitzchak Zilberstein responded sharply to claims blaming the Attorney General for the tragedy in a daycare in Jerusalem on Monday, saying that one should avoid blaming others and instead examine their deeds and do teshuvah In a recording published on Monday evening on the Siach Yitzchak hotline, HaRav Zilberstein’s talmid, Rav Yaakov Ben […]

The United Arab Emirates has accepted Trump’s invitation to join the Board of Peace.