Former president Donald Trump announced Tuesday he has added Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard to his transition team, giving key roles to two former Democrats who endorsed his comeback campaign in recent days.
“As President Trump’s broad coalition of supporters and endorsers expands across partisan lines, we are proud that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard have been added to the Trump/Vance Transition team,” Trump campaign senior adviser Brian Hughes said in a statement. “We look forward to having their powerful voices on the team was we work to restore America’s greatness.”
The New York Times first reported the news.
The announcement comes as Trump is looking to display support from beyond the Republican Party with a little over two months until the election. Democrats sought to show cross-party support at their national convention last week in Chicago, which featured speeches by former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) and former Georgia lieutenant governor Geoff Duncan (R).
The news about the transition team also arrived a day after an interview was released where Kennedy said he had been recruited to help with preparing for a possible second Trump term.
“We’re working on policy issues together,” Kennedy said in the interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. “I’ve been asked to come onto the transition team, to help pick the people who will be running the government.”
Trump first announced the transition team on Aug. 16, tapping as co-chairs the Wall Street executive Howard Lutnick and Linda McMahon, administrator of the Small Business Administration under Trump. The honorary co-chairs are Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), and two of the former president’s sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump.
Kennedy ended his independent presidential campaign on Friday and endorsed Trump, appearing alongside him at an evening rally in the Phoenix area. The Washington Post previously reported that Kennedy had talked with Trump about a possible role in his administration if he wins the November election. Trump has publicly said he would consider it.
Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii, backed Trump during a joint appearance Monday in Detroit. She ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020 but left the party two years later and has since grown more politically aligned with Trump.
Gabbard is set to campaign with Trump on Thursday in Wisconsin.
(c) Washington Post
A 26-year-old man has been accused of igniting a destructive California wildfire in early July by throwing a firework from a car window during hot, dry and windy weather. Spencer Grant Anderson, of Oroville, was charged Monday after weeks of continuous surveillance by investigators, the Butte County District Attorney’s Office said. The Thompson fire scorched nearly 6 square miles (15.5 square kilometers), destroyed 13 homes and damaged others in the Oroville area of the northern Sacramento Valley. Anderson was jailed on a no-bail hold after appearing in court to face charges including arson of an inhabited structure, arson of forest land, and arson causing multiple structures to burn, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement. Anderson will return to court Wednesday to set further dates to enter a plea and for pretrial hearings, the office said. “It was a long investigation, there was a lot moving parts to it,” Larry Pilgrim, Anderson’s attorney, told The New York Times. “He is just being accused at this point.” Pilgrim did not immediately return messages from The Associated Press seeking comment. The fire erupted shortly before 11 a.m. on July 2 when temperatures were above 100 degrees (38 Celsius), humidity was low and high winds were blowing, authorities said. A car seen at the location of the fire’s start led to identification of Anderson the next day and lengthy surveillance as investigators built their case, concluding that a flaming object was thrown from the vehicle, the office said. Warrants were served on Aug. 22, and Anderson was arrested. Authorities allege that during questioning, he admitted that he purchased fireworks in Oroville and went to the location to test one by throwing it out of his car window. (AP)
According to Ata Abu Madighem, the former mayor of Rahat where freed hostage Qaid Farhan al-Qadi is from, Qaid told him that he was held in captivity with a Jewish hostage who became his friend, and who died in captivity.
“Farhan told about a friend of his who was in captivity with him, a Jew who after two months, I think in December 2023, died next to him. It broke his heart,” he told Kan News.
Madighem also spoke about the cruel conditions Qaid was held in, saying: “He told me about the difficult life he went through, a cruel and difficult captivity, he hardly saw the sun for close to ten months, he hardly saw the light. He talks about a very cruel captivity, he was treated as a pure Israeli, not as a Bedouin or an Arab.”
Many details about the hostage rescue have not been released, with the IDF saying it was a ‘complex mission.’ Controversial Transportation Minister Miri Regev caused outrage by saying the rescue was carried out in Rafah, before the IDF released such information to the public. We know this was the first successful hostage rescue from a tunnel.
According to Doron Kadosh, a military correspondent for Galei Tzahal, Qaid managed to escape the terrorists guarding him and make his way on his own towards Israeli troops who were operating underground, who were not conducting a planned mission to rescue him. The IDF forces then found and rescued him. It is unclear if the terrorists guarding Qaid were killed, fled on their own, or otherwise incapacitated.
Other reports suggest the IDF special forces units and intelligence officers were operating in the area for a significant period of time, working with the suspicion that hostages and weapons were being held there, guarded by terrorists.
{Matzav.com}
The United States and China are working to ensure the competition between them does not veer into conflict, a top White House official said Tuesday as the two sides started talks on a relationship that has been severely tested during President Joe Biden’s term in office. Jake Sullivan, the U.S. national security adviser, is meeting over two days with Wang Yi, a senior foreign policy official for Chinese leader Xi Jinping, in a scenic lake area on the northern outskirts of Beijing. “President Biden has been very clear in his conversations with President Xi that he is committed to managing this important relationship responsibly,” Sullivan told Wang before the talks got underway. The goal of his visit, which lasts through Thursday, is limited — to try to maintain communication in a relationship that broke down for the better part of a year in 2022-23 and was only nursed back over several months. No major announcements are expected, though Sullivan’s meetings could lay the groundwork for a possible final summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping before Biden steps down in January. Wang, the director of the Communist Party’s Central Foreign Affairs Commission Office, noted that the China-U.S. relationship has gone through twists and turns in the past few years. “The key,” he said, “is to keep to the overall direction of mutual respect, peaceful co-existence, and win-win cooperation.” According to Da Wei, a U.S. and international relations expert at Tsinghua University in Beijing, it’s important for the two countries to avoid any crisis in the remaining months of the Biden administration, as it could set the tone for U.S.-China ties under the next one. “The goal of this visit is not reaching new breakthroughs or progress but to continue the stable momentum of China-U.S. relations in the past year through strategic communication, and to avoid new crises in the next few months,” he said. The Biden administration has taken a tough line on China, viewing it as a strategic competitor, restricting the access of its companies to advanced technology and confronting the rising power as it seeks to exert influence over Taiwan and the South China Sea. Already frosty relations went into a deep freeze after then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, a senior U.S. lawmaker, visited Taiwan in August 2022. Hopes of restoring ties were dashed the following February when a suspected Chinese spy balloon drifted across the U.S. before being shot down by the U.S. military. Sullivan has been Biden’s point person for often unannounced talks with Wang, who is the foreign minister as well as the ruling Communist Party’s top foreign policy official. Wang had initially stepped down as foreign minister when he took the party post, a more senior position, but he returned about seven months later, in July 2023, after his successor was removed for reasons that have not been made public. At a meeting between Sullivan and Wang in Vienna in May 2023, the two countries launched a delicate process of putting relations back on track. Since than, they have met two more times in a third country, Malta and Thailand. This week will mark their first talks in Beijing. China’s Foreign Ministry said this week that relations with the U.S. remain at “a critical juncture.” It noted that the two sides are talking on […]
Home-price gains in the U.S. slowed in June as buyers pulled back from the market while listings started to climb.
A national measure of prices rose 5.4% from a year earlier, according to data from S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller. That compares with a 5.9% annual increase in May.
While listings are ticking up, house hunters are still struggling to find affordable properties. But thanks to high mortgage rates, there aren’t enough buyers in the market to create the level of competition that would drive prices up more significantly. Case-Shiller’s index for June tracks a three-month period starting in April, a time when 30-year borrowing costs largely hovered around 7%.
The price data shows “above-trend real price performance when accounting for inflation,” Brian Luke, head of commodities, real and digital assets at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said in a statement Tuesday. “Home prices and inflation continue to factor into the political agenda coming into the election season.”
While both home-price gains and inflation have slowed, “the gap between the two is larger than historical norms, with the national index averaging 2.8% more than the consumer price index,” Luke said. “That is a full percentage point above the 50-year average.”
The Federal Reserve is expected to start cutting its benchmark interest rate next month, potentially putting some downward pressure on mortgage costs. But many economists expect it will take much deeper declines to nudge reluctant buyers and sellers off the fence.
A measure of prices in 20 cities rose 6.5% from a year earlier, compared with a 6.9% annual gain in May. New York had the highest increase in June, followed by San Diego and Las Vegas with 8.7% and 8.5%, respectively.
(c) Washington Post
Donald Trump has announced on social media that he has reached agreement to participate in a debate with Vice President Kamala Harris on ABC News, Tuesday, September 10th, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a venue he has resisted.
Trump announced that the rules will follow those aligned with the CNN debate involving he and President Joe Biden.
Just In – President Trump announces that a Sept. 10th debate on “fake news” ABC has been confirmed.
Trump writes on Truth Social:
“I have reached an agreement with the Radical Left Democrats for a Debate with Comrade Kamala Harris. It will be Broadcast Live on ABC FAKE NEWS, by far the nastiest and most unfair newscaster in the business, on Tuesday, September 10th, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
“The Rules will be the same as the last CNN Debate, which seemed to work out well for everyone except, perhaps, Crooked Joe Biden. The Debate will be “stand up,” and Candidates cannot bring notes, or “cheat sheets.” We have also been given assurance by ABC that this will be a “fair and equitable” Debate, and that neither side will be given the questions in advance (No Donna Brazile!).
“Harris would not agree to the FoxNews Debate on September 4th, but that date will be held open in case she changes her mind or, Flip Flops, as she has done on every single one of her long held and cherished policy beliefs.
“A possible third Debate, which would go to NBC FAKE NEWS, has not been agreed to by the Radical Left. GOD BLESS AMERICA!”
North Korea last week conducted tests of various domestically developed “suicide drones”—which, according to experts, closely resemble Israeli-made Harop and Hero-30 drones—along with Russian-made Lancet-3s.
The Harop is a loitering munition developed by the Missiles (MBT) Division of Israel Aerospace Industries. It’s built to destroy “high-value targets,” such as unmanned surface vessels, command posts, supply depots, tanks and air-defense systems, IAI states on its website.
The Hero-30 is made by UVision Air Ltd., an Israeli company focused on loitering munition systems. It’s the smallest system among the Hero family of smart loitering systems and designed for soft targets (anti-personnel) and light-skinned vehicles, according to the company’s website.
According to AFP, North Korea may have obtained these technologies from Russia, which, in turn, likely received them from Iran that is suspected of stealing them from Israel.
North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un, attended the test at the Drone Institute of the Academy of Defense Science on Aug. 24.
“The drones of various types correctly identified and destroyed the designated targets after flying along different preset routes,” according to a statement by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).
Expressing satisfaction with the newly developed drones, Kim Jong Un stressed the need to conduct more intensive tests and equip the units of the Korean People’s Army with them as early as possible, according to the DPRK statement.
The North Korean leader added that it’s necessary to develop and produce more suicide drones of various types for use in “tactical infantry and special operation units, as well as strategic reconnaissance and multi-purpose attack drones.”
He also called for the development of underwater suicide craft, given the country’s characteristics as a maritime nation.
(JNS)
The U.S. military is open to consultations about escorting Philippine ships in the disputed South China Sea, the head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said Tuesday amid a spike in hostilities between Beijing and Manila in the disputed waters. Adm. Samuel Paparo’s remarks, which he made in response to a question during a news conference in Manila with Philippine Armed Forces chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., provided a glimpse of the mindset of one of the highest American military commanders outside the U.S. mainland on a prospective operation that would risk putting U.S. Navy ships in direct collisions with those of China. Chinese coast guard, navy and suspected militia ships regularly clash with Philippine vessels during attempts to resupply Filipino sailors stationed in parts of the South China Sea claimed by both countries. As these clashes grow increasingly hostile, resulting in injuries to Filipino sailors and damage to their ships, the Philippine government has faced questions about invoking a treaty alliance with Washington. Paparo and Brawner spoke to reporters after an international military conference in Manila organized by the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, at which China’s increasingly assertive actions in the South China Sea were spotlighted. Military and defense officials and diplomats from the U.S. and allied countries attended but there were no Chinese representatives. Asked if the U.S. military would consider escorting Philippine ships delivering food and other supplies to Filipino forces in the South China Sea, Paparo replied, “Certainly, within the context of consultations.” “Every option between the two sovereign nations in terms of our mutual defense, escort of one vessel to the other, is an entirely reasonable option within our Mutual Defense Treaty, among this close alliance between the two of us,” Paparo said without elaborating. Brawner responded cautiously to the suggestion, which could run afoul of Philippine laws including a constitutional ban on foreign forces directly joining local combat operations. “The attitude of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, as dictated by the Philippine laws, is for us to first rely on ourselves,” Brawner said. “We are going to try all options, all avenues that are available to us in order for us to achieve the mission…in this case, the resupply and rotation of our troops.” “We will then seek for other options when we are already constrained from doing it ourselves,” Brawner said. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has said there has been no situation so far that would warrant activating the treaty, which requires the allies to come to each other’s aid if they come under external attack. President Joe Biden and his administration have repeatedly renewed their “ironclad” commitment to help defend the Philippines under the 1951 treaty if Filipino forces, ships and aircraft come under an armed attack, including in the South China Sea. Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr said at the conference that China is “the biggest disruptor” of peace in Southeast Asia and called for stronger international censure over its aggression in the South China Sea, a day after China blocked Philippine vessels from delivering food to a coast guard ship at the disputed Sabina Shoal in the contested waters. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said that “the label of undermining peace can never be pinned on China,” blaming unspecified other actors for “making infringements and provocations in the South China […]
A prominent activist and philanthropist from Crown Heights is in critical condition.
Rabbi Shloimy Greenwald was traveling when he experienced a sudden complication and was hospitalized in Istanbul, Turkey, where he remains in critical condition. Rabbi Shloimy Greenwald is one of the founders of United for Protection, the organizers behind the Hatzalathon which started during COVID raising tens of millions of dollars for Hatzalah branches around the world.
A campaign has been launched to collect 10,000 mitzvos in his merit. Please perform a mitzvah for his speedy recovery here: https://onemitzvah.org/forshloimy
Please daven for Yosef Shlomo ben Risha.
{Matzav.com}
A drone attack launched by Hezbollah on the Galilee Panhandle has left an IDF soldier lightly wounded, according to the military. The incident occurred earlier this evening, with sirens sounding at 7:26 p.m. in Israel to alert residents of suspected drone infiltration. At least one explosive-laden drone crossed into Israeli airspace from Lebanon, striking near the northern community of Beit Hillel. The impact resulted in the injury of one IDF soldier, who is receiving medical attention. The IDF struck Hezbollah terror sites in response.
Nearly 30,000 new Olim have arrived in Israel since the Oct. 7 massacre, according to figures released Tuesday by the World Zionist Organization.
The wave of Aliyah coincides with the nearly 11-month war against Hamas in Gaza and a surge in global antisemitism, including in North America. The war began when thousands of Hamas terrorists infiltrated southern Israel, slaughtering 1,200 people and abducting another 250. Of these, 108 still remain captive in the Strip.
“On Oct. 7, a war erupted not against the state of Israel but against the Jewish people,” said WZO chairman Yaakov Hagoel, who greeted the latest group of French immigrants upon their arrival at Ben-Gurion International Airport on Monday. “Today, in many countries around the world, it is hard to be a Jew, whether at school, at work or at prayer.”
Hagoel noted that Israel has seen a “dramatic increase” in Aliyah in the wake of the massacre, which, he said, “is a testament to the recognition of the global Jewish community that Israel is not just a refuge, but a beacon of hope and faith.”
Most of the immigrants who made aliya since the war came from the former Soviet Union, with nearly 17,000 from Russia and over 900 from Ukraine, according to figures from the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration. 2,385 Olim came from the US and 1,581 from France.
Immigration from the US in the first seven months of the year is up 16 percent compared to the same period the year before, while the numbers from France represent a 50 percent hike, according to data from the quasi-governmental Jewish Agency for Israel.
The number of Israelis who emigrated from Israel has fallen during the war after peaking during the summer of 2023 when the country was awash in turmoil over the contested judicial overhaul.
About 63,000 Israelis who left the country between November and May have not yet returned, compared to 67,000 in the same period before the war broke out, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics.
A recent report details a 355% increase in potential immigrants opening Aliyah files in France, compared to the same period last year. In the United States, the number of immigration files rose by 62%, totaling 6,000 people, while Canada saw an 87% uptick, or some 800 people, expressing their desire to move to Israel.
“The strong response we are witnessing through this wave of Aliyah is a powerful affirmation of our collective resolve to stand with Israel, now more than ever,” he said.
(JNS)
The IDF on Tuesday released footage from the rescue operation that freed Israeli-Bedouin hostage Qain Farhad Alkadi from Hamas bondage after 362 long days in harrowing captivity. The moment an IDF helicopter landed in the Gaza Strip to whisk away Alkadi Video from inside an IDF armored vehicle and helicopter shows Alkadi being transported to safety by his rescuers Bodycam footage from Shayetet-13 special forces shows Alkadi being loaded onto the helicopter back to Israel Brig. Gen. Itzik Cohen, Commanding Officer of the 162nd Division, describes the rescue of the Bedouin-Israeli hostage Photos released by the IDF from the rescue operation
The world’s deadliest animal can be squashed flat with a quick slap: It’s the mosquito. The buzzing insects are more than annoying — they spread disease. When they bite and drink blood from a person or animal they can pick up viruses or germs too. If they can go on to bite someone or something else, they deposit the germ right under the skin. People in some areas of Massachusetts have been warned to stay indoors when mosquitoes are most active after a rare case of eastern equine encephalitis was discovered. And Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former top U.S. infectious disease expert, was recently hospitalized after he came down with West Nile virus. Both are nasty diseases spread by mosquitoes — though thankfully they are relatively rare. The best way to avoid getting sick is of course to avoid getting bitten, which means taking steps like using repellent, wearing clothing with long sleeves and long pants and staying indoors when the mosquitoes are out. Local health departments also work to reduce mosquito numbers, including spraying neighborhoods with insecticide. Authorities in Massachusetts are using trucks and planes this week to spray vulnerable areas. Here’s a look at some common — and not so common — mosquito-borne diseases. Eastern equine encephalitis Most people infected with eastern equine encephalitis don’t develop symptoms, but some can come down with fever or swelling of the brain and about one third of people infected die. There have been three cases of eastern equine encephalitis in the U.S. this year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one each in Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Vermont. The worst year for the disease was 2019, with 38 cases. It is caused by a virus and is not very common around the world. The virus typically spreads in certain swamps, including red maple and white cedar swamps in Massachusetts. West Nile virus About 2 in 10 people infected with West Nile virus develop symptoms, which can include fever and swelling of the brain. About 1 in 10 people who develop severe symptoms die. There have been 216 West Nile cases so far this year. West Nile virus was first reported in the U.S. in 1999 in New York. It gradually spread across the country. In 2003, there were nearly 10,000 cases. Malaria Malaria infected nearly 250 million people globally in 2022 and killed more than 600,000, mostly children. It is caused by a parasite carried by mosquitoes and mainly infects people in tropical regions, especially Africa. A vaccination campaign has been launched in recent months that health officials hope will help reduce cases and deaths. Dengue Also known as “break-bone fever” because it can be so painful, dengue is becoming more common. The World Health Organization says that about half the world’s population is at risk of getting the disease, and there are 100 million to 400 million infections every year. Not everyone gets symptoms, which can include fever, severe headaches and pain in the muscles and joints. Most U.S. cases are in people who have traveled to other countries, though the CDC says there have been about 2,600 locally acquired cases so far this year. (AP)
The United States provided “some intelligence surveillance reconnaissance support” to Israel ahead of the latter’s preemptive strike on Hezbollah on Motzei Shabbos, but it “did not conduct any kinetic operations, as they were not required,” Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, told reporters on Monday.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin ordered an extension of the Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group “given the tensions in the Middle East and given our commitment to continue to support Israel’s defense and deter potential aggression,” Ryder said.
“For operation security reasons, I’m not going to go into what that timeline looks like other than to say, again, he has ordered the two carriers to remain in the region,” he added.
Both Washington and Israel were “closely monitoring the situation” with Hezbollah, according to Ryder. “The fact that there was an attack clearly was demonstrative of the fact that they intended to attack,” he said. “But as for the decision calculus on, you know, why and when, I’d—I’d refer you to the IDF.”
Pressed on whether Washington accepted Israel’s characterization of its attack as “preemptive,” Ryder said, “Clearly there was a threat emanating. They took action.”
In response to a different question, Ryder said that “Israel was able to do that with its own organic capabilities and systems. Should there have been a need for us to do that, certainly we are posed and ready to go.”
(JNS)
Israel’s Supreme Court on Tuesday, in its neverending efforts to singlehandedly rule the country, ordered Justice Minister Yariv Levin to convene the Judicial Selection Committee “in the coming days” in order to elect a new Supreme Court president and two new justices or they will issue a ruling on the matter on September 1. Following former Supreme Court President Esther Hayut’s resignation in October 2023, a long-standing dispute developed between Justice Minister Yariv Levin and the Supreme Court regarding the appointment of a new president. Traditionally, the next most senior justice becomes president. However, there is no law mandating this. The next most senior justice, Yitzchak Amit, is a liberal, and Levin wanted to prevent his appointment as president. In a surprise move last August, Justice Yosef Elron, who is considered right-wing in his views, became the first justice in Israeli history to submit his name to the Judicial Selection Committee for the position of president despite his lack of seniority. He did so because he believes that the court has lost its direction in all spheres – constitutional, national, and criminal – and he wanted to prevent Amit from being elected, whom he views as unfit for the position. However, Acting President Justice Uzi Fogelman refused to consider Elron’s appointment or either of Levin’s nominees for the position: Dr. Aviad Bakshi of the Kohelet Forum and Dr. Rafi Biton. Fogelman also refused Levin’s recent proposal for a compromise – to appoint Elron for one year, until his scheduled retirement in September 2025. Meanwhile, Levin has repeatedly pushed off convening the Judicial Selection Committee to appoint a new President and new justices as the majority of the committee is left-wing and will not approve his candidates. Changing the makeup of the Judicial Selection Committee, which currently is a leftist echo chamber since the justices themselves appoint their cronies, was a key part of the coalition’s judicial reform plan that was never passed into law due to the left-wing riots and the October 7 assault and resulting war. Levin’s office responded to the Supreme Court ruling by stating: “It was a predictable decision, in conflict of interest and without authority. They are the judges of themselves. They refuse to accept anyone who is not one of them and are simply proving how justified the judicial reform is.” Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi (Likud) responded by advising Levin to ignore the Supreme Court’s ruling. “Even if such an absurd verdict is issued, the Justice Minister must act per his authority mandated by law and not heed those who try to tamper with its foundations and certainly not resign from his position,” Karai said. “We must be strong and determined in the face of the hostile takeover attempt by unelected officials over Israeli democracy and law.” “This is the embodiment of legal tyranny, contrary to every democratic value on which they supposedly rely as justification for their judicial activism – the height of legal oligarchy. This is not law – it’s a coup!” Opposition leader Yair Lapid responded by repeating the absurd left-wing lies about the government “destroying” democracy. “Justice Minister Levin announced today that in his view, the war is over, and he is returning to the coup d’etat and the attempt to obliterate Israeli democracy,” he stated. ” The Judicial Selection Committee […]
A Greek-flagged tanker repeatedly attacked by Yemen’s Houthi rebels in the Red Sea remains ablaze but hasn’t sprung a major oil leak in the waterway, a European Union naval command said Monday. Images published by the EU’s Operation Aspides, whose mission is to protect shipping in the area, showed smoke rising from multiple points along the Sounion’s deck and its bridge Sunday. Fires could be seen burning in at least nine different locations on the deck of the vessel, which had been loaded with 150,000 tons of Iraqi crude oil — roughly 1 million barrels. Some flames appeared near hatches of the tanker’s oil tanks. “So far there are no obvious signs of an oil spill,” the EU mission said. The Sounion “is both a navigational and an imminent environmental hazard. This situation underlines that these kinds of attacks pose not only a threat against the freedom of navigation but also to the lives of seafarers, the environment, and subsequently the life of all citizens living in that region.” The U.S. State Department similarly warned about the ecological danger to the Red Sea, home to coral reefs and other natural habitats and wildlife. Footage showing explosions on board the Sounion released earlier by the Houthis and later analyzed by The Associated Press suggested that the rebels again boarded an abandoned vessel and rigged it with explosives in an attempt to sink it. “While the crew has been evacuated, the Houthis appear determined to sink the ship and its cargo into the sea,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement Saturday. “Through these attacks, the Houthis have made clear they are willing to destroy the fishing industry and regional ecosystems that Yemenis and other communities in the region rely on for their livelihoods, just as they have undermined the delivery of vital humanitarian aid to the region through their reckless attacks.” For their part, the Houthis’ al-Masirah satellite news channel highlighted the EU’s photographs and described the Sounion as being targeted for “punishment to the company that owns the ship for violating the decision to ban access to the ports” of Israel. The Sounion came under repeated attack last week by the Houthis. A French destroyer operating as part of Operation Aspides later rescued the Sounion’s crew of 25 Filipinos and Russians, as well as four private security personnel, and took them to nearby Djibouti. The attack on the Sounion marks the most serious assault in weeks by the rebels, who continue to target shipping through the Red Sea corridor over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. The attacks have disrupted the $1 trillion in trade that typically passes through the region, as well as halting some aid shipments to conflict-ravaged Sudan and Yemen. The Houthis have targeted more than 80 vessels with missiles and drones since the war in Gaza started in October. They seized one vessel and sank two in the campaign that also killed four sailors. Other missiles and drones have either been intercepted by a U.S.-led coalition in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets. The rebels maintain that they target ships linked to Israel, the U.S. or the U.K. to force an end to Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection […]
Attendees of the Democratic National Convention are testing positive for COVID-19. Those include members of Kamala Harris’ campaign staff, according to NBC News—though the network’s sources reported that the cases were so far mild and that there were no concerns about it affecting the overall operation.
It wasn’t just staff who got sick after the event, either. Attendees began posting online about contracting the virus after the DNC wrapped on Thursday.
“You put 20,000 people in an 18,000-person building, it’s bound to happen,” said Jaimey Sexton, a political consultant who attended the convention, adding that he knew people personally who are now sick. “You could ask anybody who was planning an event, they know somebody who has Covid,” he added.
The convention, which experienced overflow crowds throughout its multi-day festivities, had no health-related requirements for attendees. Read more at NBC.
Kaid Farhan Al-Qadi, 52, the first Israeli hostage to be rescued alive from a tunnel, looked gaunt after being released from 326 days in captivity on Tuesday. He was rescued from a tunnel in southern Gaza, where he was held alone. However, doctors at Soroka Hospital in Be’er Sheva say that although he lost a lot of weight, he is in good condition. Al-Qadi, who has two wives and 11 children, held emotional reunions with his family members, including his one-year-old son, who was an infant when he was abducted. Qadi’s relatives, who didn’t even know until today if he was still alive, said that he “ate mainly bread in captivity and not every day. But he is on his feet and he’s coherent. He was constantly thinking about the family and never stopped believing that he would get out of there. We don’t know how he survived, but he survived and he’s alive, and that’s the most important thing.” The IDF released footage of the first moments after Al-Qadi was rescued: (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
Iran’s supreme leader opened the door Tuesday to renewed negotiations with the United States over his country’s rapidly advancing nuclear program, telling its civilian government there was “no barrier” to engaging with its “enemy.” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s remarks set clear red lines for any talks taking place under the government of reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian and renewed his warnings that Washington wasn’t to be trusted. But his comments mirror those around the time of Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, which saw Tehran’s nuclear program greatly curtailed in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. Yet it remains unclear just how much room Pezeshkian will have to maneuver, particularly as tensions remain high in the wider Middle East over the Israel-Hamas war and as the U.S. prepares for a presidential election in November. “We do not have to pin our hope to the enemy. For our plans, we should not wait for approval by the enemies,” Khamenei said in a video broadcast by state television. “It is not contradictory to engage the same enemy in some places, there’s no barrier.” Khamenei, who has final say on all state matters, also warned Pezeshkian’s Cabinet, “Do not trust the enemy.” Khamenei, 85, has occasionally urged talks or dismissed them with Washington after then President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from the deal in 2018. There have been indirect talks between Iran and the U.S. in recent years mediated by Oman and Qatar, two of the United States’ Middle East interlocutors when it comes to Iran. Khamenei’s remarks came a day after Qatar’s prime minister visited the country. Asked for comment, the U.S. State Department told The Associated Press: “We will judge Iran’s leadership by their actions, not their words.” “We have long said that we ultimately view diplomacy as the best way to achieve an effective, sustainable solution with regard to Iran’s nuclear program,” it said. “However, we are far away from anything like that right now given Iran’s escalations across the board, including its nuclear escalations and its failure to cooperate” with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations nuclear watchdog. “If Iran wants to demonstrate seriousness or a new approach, they should stop nuclear escalations and start meaningfully cooperating with the IAEA,” it said. Since the deal’s collapse, Iran has abandoned all limits that the deal put on its program, and enriches uranium to up to 60% purity — near weapons-grade levels of 90%. Surveillance cameras installed by the IAEA have been disrupted, while Iran has barred some of the Vienna-based agency’s most experienced inspectors. Iranian officials also have increasingly threatened that they could pursue atomic weapons. Meanwhile, tensions between Iran and Israel have hit a new high during the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. Tehran launched an unprecedented drone-and-missile attack on Israel in April after years of a shadow war between the two countries reached a climax with Israel’s apparent attack on an Iranian consular building in Syria that killed two Iranian generals and others. The assassination in Tehran of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh also prompted Iran to threaten to retaliate against Israel. Pezeshkian, a former lawmaker who won the presidency after a May helicopter crash killed hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi, campaigned in part on a promise to reengage the West with negotiations. Khamenei’s […]
In a heartfelt conversation with President Isaac Herzog, rescued hostage Farhan al-Qadi shared his harrowing experience and urged for the return of all remaining captives. “The suffering for captives is immense and everyone else still held there must be brought home,” al-Qadi emphasized. Expressing deep gratitude, al-Qadi said, “I am very grateful to the State of Israel, to the army.” He passionately appealed for the return of all remaining hostages, saying, “People are suffering there, every minute… do everything to bring people home.” Al-Qadi recounted his own ordeal, describing the unbearable conditions he endured. “I experienced 24 hours without sleep, people are suffering, suffering, you can’t imagine it,” he said. The moment of his rescue was a turning point, as he recalled, “When I heard Hebrew outside the door, I couldn’t believe it, couldn’t believe it.” Praising the IDF, al-Qadi acknowledged their bravery, stating, “They are doing holy work, risked their lives, did everything to rescue me.” His words serve as a poignant reminder of the ongoing plight of captives and the need for continued efforts to bring them home.
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