Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is keeping quiet about whether he’ll cast his ballot for socialist Zohran Mamdani in next week’s New York City mayoral race — a question he’s pointedly avoided despite mounting pressure from reporters.
When asked directly if he would support Mamdani in the November 4 election, Schumer sidestepped. “The bottom line is very simple,” he said. “I have a good relationship with him, and we’re continuing to talk.” His vague response did little to clarify where he stands as tensions grow inside his party.
The senator’s evasive answer came shortly after House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries made waves by publicly throwing his support behind Mamdani. Jeffries told The New York Times that while he and the socialist candidate have “areas of principled disagreement,” unity within the Democratic Party must take precedence at a time when President Donald Trump poses what he called an “existential” threat.
Jeffries praised Mamdani as someone who has “relentlessly focused on addressing the affordability crisis and explicitly committed to being a mayor for all New Yorkers, including those who do not support his candidacy.” He concluded, “In that spirit, I support him and the entire citywide Democratic ticket in the general election.”
The endorsement was widely viewed as Jeffries caving to the party’s far-left faction, which has spent months defending Mamdani’s radical platform. The candidate has championed sweeping socialist initiatives such as a publicly run grocery network, asserted that “queer liberation means defunding the police,” and argued that “mental health experts” should replace law enforcement in handling certain crises.
Mamdani has also come under fire for refusing to back resolutions honoring Israel and condemning the Holocaust. Nor has he denounced the inflammatory chant “Globalize the Intifada,” a stance that has drawn heavy criticism from Jewish organizations and civic leaders alike.
President Donald Trump has not held back in his assessment of the socialist contender, branding him a “Communist Lunatic.” That characterization prompted an angry reply from Jeffries, who posted on X: “Stop lying about Assemblyman Mamdani. He is neither a communist nor a lunatic. And New York City doesn’t need to be saved by a wannabe King. Besides, you are too busy destroying America with your One Big Ugly Bill to do anything else.”
{Matzav.com}
In a move that has left linguists scratching their heads and parents utterly baffled, Dictionary.com crowned “6-7” as its 2025 Word of the Year — even though, technically, it isn’t a word at all, the AP reports. The bizarre viral phrase has taken over classrooms, TikTok feeds, and text messages, leaving adults struggling to decode it while teenagers can’t seem to stop saying it.
The site’s annual pick is meant to reflect cultural shifts and trends through language, but even Dictionary.com admits it’s not entirely sure what “6-7” means. “Don’t worry, because we’re all still trying to figure out exactly what it means,” the site said when announcing the choice this week.
The origin of the cryptic term traces back to a 2024 song that began circulating on TikTok. Clips featuring basketball players, including the NBA’s LaMelo Ball — who happens to stand 6-foot-7 — helped propel the phrase into the digital mainstream. It reached full-blown meme status when a boy dubbed “The 6-7 Kid” yelled the phrase in a video while another child juggled his hands beside him. Within days, the sound and gesture were everywhere.
No one can quite agree on what “6-7” stands for. Some argue it means “so-so” or “maybe this, maybe that,” especially when paired with the accompanying hand motion. Others use it as a playful jab to annoy adults. Even its spelling — “6-7,” “6 7,” or “six seven” — is up for debate. Merriam-Webster has labeled it “a nonsensical expression used especially by teens and tweens.”
“It’s meaningless, ubiquitous, and nonsensical. In other words, it has all the hallmarks of brainrot,” Dictionary.com said. “Still, it remains meaningful to the people who use it because of the connection it fosters.”
The trend has taken on a life of its own, spilling out from social media into schools, homes, and even the NFL, where players have adopted it as a celebration gesture. Parents and teachers, desperate to understand the craze, have made their own videos dissecting its meaning. Some suggest ignoring it until it fades away; others have tried to reclaim it by turning it into Halloween costumes in hopes of making it “uncool.” Teachers in some schools have even banned students from saying it during class.
Dictionary.com says its choice reflects how language evolves online and captures what people are talking about — or in this case, endlessly repeating. The site reviewed social media chatter, news stories, and search engine data before deciding on “6-7,” noting that online searches for the term have multiplied sixfold since June.
“The Word of the Year isn’t just about popular usage; it reveals the stories we tell about ourselves and how we’ve changed over the year,” the site said.
{Matzav.com}
In a stunning move that sent shockwaves through the region, an account on the platform X believed to be linked to Israel’s Mossad issued an unusually direct message to Iran’s leadership Thursday night—written entirely in Persian and tagging the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei.
The post alleged that two of the most senior commanders in Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, Amir Ali Hajizadeh and Mohammad Pakpour, have been operating without Khamenei’s knowledge and intentionally keeping him in the dark.
“Our agents on the ground report that Mr. Hajizadeh and Mr. Pakpour are not updating the so-called ‘Leader’ on the details of what is happening, and they are making decisions independently. They understand there is no point in holding conversations with him and have therefore established an alternative leadership,” the message read.
The post went on to mock the internal dysfunction within Iran’s military command, claiming that the leaders of the Revolutionary Guards are deceiving Khamenei about the country’s readiness. “To the ‘Leader’ they say that everything is excellent – that the air defense is active, the launchers are ready, and the country is fully equipped with all capabilities. Meanwhile, Iran’s airspace is wide open and defenseless.”
The message concluded with a pointed jab clearly meant to humiliate Iran’s top ruler: “For the attention of the honorable ‘sleepy gentleman.'”
{Matzav.com}
The Department of Homeland Security under President Donald Trump has officially scrapped a controversial policy that allowed automatic extensions of work permits for millions of migrants living in the United States.
According to Wednesday’s announcement, the updated procedure will require migrants applying for renewals to go through a full “screening and vetting” process before any extension can be approved.
USCIS Director Joseph Edlow said that the previous administration’s approach had prioritized migrants’ ease over protecting American interests, something the current administration aims to correct. “USCIS is placing a renewed emphasis on robust alien screening and vetting, eliminating policies the former administration implemented that prioritized aliens’ convenience ahead of Americans’ safety and security,” Edlow said.
He explained that the change simply restores a common-sense safeguard to ensure proper review before a permit is extended. “It’s a commonsense measure to ensure appropriate vetting and screening has been completed before an alien’s employment authorization or documentation is extended. All aliens must remember that working in the United States is a privilege, not a right,” he emphasized.
The shift comes after years in which, under Joe Biden and DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, newly arrived migrants captured the majority of new jobs, even as millions of American citizens stayed unemployed or left the labor force altogether.
Now, under Trump’s leadership, that trend appears to be reversing. Most new jobs are once again being filled by native-born Americans, while roughly two million migrants have exited the workforce entirely.
{Matzav.com}
Many Orthodox Jewish families benefit from WIC (the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children), a federal program that provides “wholesome food […] for income eligible women […] infants and children up to five years old.” A challenge many frum families face is obtaining Cholov Yisroel milk through WIC, as each state has its own list of approved foods.
The Agudah has worked and continues to work with appropriate state agencies across the country to ensure that frum families can receive Cholov Yisroel and other Kosher items of foods that they are entitled to.
Recently, Missouri removed Cholov Yisroel milk from their list of approved items. Mrs. Botuck, director of government affairs for Agudath Israel of Missouri, engaged with state officials to ensure that the product was swiftly reinstated.
{Matzav.com}
Two coffins containing the remains of Israeli hostages were returned to Israel on Thursday, following a transfer facilitated by the Red Cross in Gaza. The caskets, guarded by IDF soldiers, were brought across the border and received in a solemn military ceremony before being taken to the National Institute for Forensic Medicine in Abu Kabir for official identification.
Kibbutz Nir Oz later confirmed that one of the victims was Amiram Cooper. The Prime Minister’s Office stated that the second identified hostage was Sahar Baruch. Authorities said that Hamas is still holding the bodies of eleven other hostages inside Gaza.
Earlier in the week, confusion surrounded a separate handover. On Tuesday morning, Hamas publicly reneged on its commitment to return another hostage’s body, claiming the IDF’s retaliatory strike in Rafah had violated their agreement. That strike followed gunfire from Hamas terrorists at Israeli forces performing engineering operations in the area.
Later that day, Israeli officials revealed that the remains delivered the previous night were not those of a newly identified hostage as promised. Instead, they were confirmed to be the remains of Ofir Sarfati — a hostage whose body had already been repatriated nearly two years ago.
A detailed forensic investigation by the Abu Kabir Institute of Forensic Medicine verified Sarfati’s identity, closing yet another painful chapter in Israel’s ongoing efforts to bring every hostage home.
{Matzav.com}
Newly uncovered footage shows socialist New York City mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani delivering a fiery speech against Israel just months before Hamas’s October 7, 2023 massacre. The state assemblyman from Queens is seen at a July 2023 rally in Midtown Manhattan, vocally calling to defund what he termed “Israeli settler violence.”
Mamdani repeatedly led the crowd in chants of “not on our dime,” urging New Yorkers to stop supporting Israel. “That’s what we’re calling for. We are calling for it because we know that the days of inconsistency, the days of drawing the lines in Palestine, those days are over,” he told demonstrators. “What we are calling for is the end of our complicity as New Yorkers.”
The rally, organized to promote legislation Mamdani introduced in Albany, aimed to strip nonprofit status from New York charities that raise money for Israeli institutions or the Israeli military. Video of the event has resurfaced and circulated widely on social media this week, reigniting controversy over Mamdani’s anti-Israel record as he leads in the city’s mayoral race.
In his speech, Mamdani reflected on his upbringing in New York and the political double standards he claims to have witnessed. “When I grew up in this city, I grew up hearing a term ‘progressive except Palestine.’ I grew up hearing that it was normal to hold an inconsistency only when it applied to Palestinians,” he declared to cheers from the crowd. “I saw the politicians that I admired speak of universal rights and then draw the line right when it came to Palestinians. I was told that was simply how it is, that is how it has been, and it is how it will be.”
At one point, a heckler shouted at Mamdani, accusing him of hypocrisy for attacking Israel while holding public office. The assemblyman brushed off the criticism by rallying the crowd to chant louder, seemingly to drown out the interruption.
“When I decided to run for office, I was told to keep my thoughts on Palestine to myself if I wanted to win,” Mamdani said defiantly. “I want to make it clear. I spoke every day to my constituents about the need for us to stand up in a consistent manner for justice for every single person — whether they are in Astoria or in Palestine.”
{Matzav.com}