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Luigi Mangione’s Manhattan murder trial will no longer begin next month, as his lawyers seek to have the state prosecution thrown out entirely following his unexpected guilty plea to federal charges stemming from the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

Jury selection in the 28-year-old’s Manhattan Supreme Court case had been scheduled to get underway on Sept. 8.

That timetable was scrapped Monday when Justice Gregory Carro moved Mangione’s next court appearance to Dec. 10, effectively postponing the state trial indefinitely, according to court records.

Mangione’s attorneys are now seeking dismissal of the state charges based on his federal guilty plea, contending that another prosecution over Thompson’s killing would amount to “double jeopardy” by subjecting him to prosecution twice for the same crime.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, however, has made clear that it intends to fight the defense effort and press forward with its prosecution.

Carro has established a briefing schedule for the dispute, directing Manhattan prosecutors to submit their arguments by Oct. 9. Mangione’s lawyers will then have until Oct. 30 to file their response.

The legal battle follows Mangione’s stunning decision last week to plead guilty to two federal stalking charges, each of which carries the possibility of life behind bars.

During the federal proceeding, Mangione explicitly admitted responsibility for Thompson’s killing.

“On the morning of Dec. 4, 2024, I shot Mr. Thompson in Manhattan, and he died,” the scion of a prominent Maryland family told the court.

Mangione is scheduled to receive his sentence in the federal case on Dec. 18, eight days after his next scheduled appearance in Manhattan Supreme Court.

The state prosecution remains pending in the meantime, with Mangione charged with second-degree murder and illegal weapons possession in connection with Thompson’s killing.

Ulrich Siegmund, branded “the most dangerous man in Germany” by the German weekly Der Spiegel, could soon make political history by becoming the first politician from the far-right AfD to lead a German state since World War II if current polling translates into votes.

Siegmund is heading the Alternative for Germany (AfD) ticket in Saxony-Anhalt ahead of regional elections set for early September. Polls show the party commanding significant support there, raising the possibility of an election result that could ultimately produce a government led by Siegmund.

The AfD has promoted its ambitions in the state under the slogan: Unser Gruß aus Sachsen-Anhalt an den Bundesparteitag: Das ist die Vision2026!

Der Spiegel placed Siegmund on its cover in an extraordinary feature describing him as “the most dangerous man in Germany,” pointing to his hardline views on immigration and minorities while highlighting broader concerns about the expanding influence of Germany’s far right. Siegmund dismissed the negative characterization and instead called the prominent coverage “excellent publicity,” subsequently using it as part of his own campaign.

The AfD has steadily expanded its political influence in recent years, with some of its strongest gains coming in eastern Germany. The party has attracted voters through its fierce opposition to immigration, European Union policies and Germany’s political establishment in Berlin. German security authorities have classified the AfD’s Saxony-Anhalt branch as a far-right organization subject to surveillance.

A Siegmund victory would represent a historic breakthrough for the AfD and an unprecedented development in Germany’s postwar political era, giving the party control of a state government for the first time.

Germany’s mainstream political parties are already confronting the prospect of an AfD-led government and are exploring alternative coalition arrangements designed to keep Siegmund from taking power. But with the election approaching, Siegmund and the AfD appear to be building momentum, potentially setting the stage for a dramatic shakeup of Germany’s political order.

{Matzav.com}

[COMMUNICATED]

Nineteen years ago, tragedy struck the Eckstein family when R’ Shlomo Tzvi Eckstein זצ״ל passed away, leaving behind eleven young children. Among them were his twin sons, Asher Anshel and Aharon Yosef, who were just six months old.

Their mother was left to raise eleven children on her own. Baruch Hashem, nine of the children have since married—and now, after nearly two decades, it is the twins’ turn to begin their own families.

Asher Anshel’s wedding will take place NEXT WEEK on August 24, 2026.

Aharon Yosef’s wedding will take place on October 26, 2026.

Two weddings. Just weeks apart.

As these two chashuve yesomim prepare to build their homes, the family and community are coming together to help make these simchos possible and allow both young men to begin married life with dignity and simcha.

We invite you to take part.

Every contribution, large or small, can make a real difference and help bring these two weddings to fruition.

Please donate today and help give these two yesomim the opportunity to enter their new lives with joy and dignity.

Donations can be made through the campaign. Donors’ Fund Tax ID: 11-3235771. Please make sure to designate the donation to the Eckstein account and write “Twin Weddings” in the memo.

May every person who helps bring simcha to these two yesomim be blessed with the fulfillment of the words:

אם אתה משמח את שלי אני משמח את שלך

Thank you for your generosity and support.

Tizku L’Mitzvos.

Please Donate today.

Dozens of passengers aboard a Blue Bird Airways flight bound for Crete were reportedly left sitting inside an aircraft without functioning air conditioning for nearly two hours Sunday, as temperatures inside the plane climbed and some passengers began feeling ill.

The passengers had already boarded the chartered aircraft at Ben Gurion Airport and were waiting on the tarmac for departure to the Greek island when the flight was delayed. With the ventilation system reportedly not functioning amid the intense August heat, conditions inside the cabin quickly deteriorated.

Footage from the aircraft showed parents attempting to cool their children and themselves using wipes and ice as they waited for the plane to depart.

One furious passenger described the conditions aboard the aircraft, saying: “We’ve been inside a closed plane for an hour and 40 minutes without air conditioning, with small children fainting. I’ve never seen anything like this in my life.”

The incident came amid significant congestion at Ben Gurion Airport. On Friday, unusually heavy traffic was reported at the airport, with approximately 90 flights accumulating within a period of just three hours.

The Israel Airports Authority attributed those delays to heavy air traffic and restrictions in European airspace, particularly over Greece, as well as the presence and operations of American aerial refueling aircraft. Officials denied reports that the disruptions were connected to a strike or staffing shortages.

Separately, El Al began selling tickets for flights to Vietnam approximately two months ago and has already sold more than 20,000 tickets to Israeli travelers. However, the airline currently lacks the necessary security authorization to operate the route, according to a report by Channel 13.

El Al confirmed that flights from Tel Aviv to Hanoi that were scheduled to begin in October have been canceled because the required approvals have not been granted by Israeli security authorities, including the Shin Bet.

The airline said the decision followed notification from Israeli security officials responsible for protecting Israeli aviation, operating under Shin Bet directives, that the necessary authorization could not be provided for the route to operate using Israeli aircraft and crews.

Israeli Transportation Minister Miri Regev accused El Al’s workers’ committee on Monday of mounting an effort to damage her standing in the Likud primaries, claiming the campaign against her is retaliation for her efforts to bring Wizz Air into the Israeli market and increase competition in air travel.

Speaking to reporters outside a polling station during the Likud primary election, Regev warned supporters that attempts were being made to push her lower on the party’s electoral slate.

“Anyone who tells you, ‘Miri Regev is strong,’ wants to weaken me,” Regev said. “You know that the El Al workers’ committee decided to knock me down the list. All because I decided to bring in Wizz Air.”

Despite the resistance she says she is facing, Regev insisted that she has no intention of abandoning the initiative to expand competition in Israel’s aviation industry.

“I said that I would bring down airfares, and that is what will happen,” she declared.

Regev said she would not allow pressure from organized labor to deter her from pursuing policies that she believes will benefit Israeli travelers.

“No workers’ committee will intimidate me or blackmail me,” the Transportation Minister added. “The citizens of the State of Israel are more important.”

{Matzav.com}

There was tremendous simcha and emotion in Yeshivas Brisk in Yerushalayim on Monday as the Rosh Yeshiva, Hagaon Rav Avrohom Yehoshua Soloveitchik, arrived at the yeshiva for the first time this Elul zman and delivered his shiur, following a difficult health period over the summer.

The Rosh Yeshiva’s arrival brought great joy and renewed hope to the talmidim and the entire Brisker olam after Rav Avrohom Yehoshua had been in serious condition during the summer months.

In recent days, word had begun circulating in the yeshiva that the Rosh Yeshiva was expected to resume delivering his regular shiurim. It was also learned that he is expected to stay in his new apartment, which was built adjacent to the yeshiva building.

Until Monday, however, there had been no definitive update, and the expectation was that the Rosh Yeshiva would begin delivering shiurim only later in the week.

To the great excitement of the talmidim, Rav Avrohom Yehoshua arrived Monday at the yeshiva and delivered the shiur, marking his first appearance in the yeshiva since the beginning of Elul zman.

Israeli Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu delivered a firm message to US Special Envoy Jared Kushner during a four-hour meeting Monday, insisting that Hamas must disarm and make concessions before Israel takes further steps under the American-backed 15-point Gaza peace plan, including withdrawing IDF forces from the Strip.

Kushner met with Netanyahu as Washington intensifies efforts to advance implementation of the plan. During their lengthy talks, the US envoy urged the Israeli premier to “not create obstacles” to moving the agreement forward, CNN reported, citing an Israeli source.

Netanyahu responded that progress cannot come at Israel’s expense, maintaining that Hamas must first give ground and surrender its weapons before Israel proceeds with additional provisions of the framework, including an IDF pullback from Gaza. The prime minister also reportedly told Kushner that advancing the plan ahead of the October Knesset elections could create political difficulties and damage his standing among his electoral base.

Despite those disagreements, the meeting produced an agreement to establish two joint working groups between Israel and the Board of Peace, the Prime Minister’s Office announced afterward. The groups will address separate components of the Gaza framework.

The Prime Minister’s Office stated: “The Prime Minister and Board of Peace had deep and constructive discussions. It was agreed to establish two working groups, one on disarmament and demilitarization of Gaza, which both Israel and the Board of Peace are determined should be prompt and completed before any reconstruction happens in Gaza. A second working group will focus on sanitation, clean water and other public health issues for the people of Gaza and which also impact the people of Israel.”

The principal disagreement between Washington and Jerusalem centers on the order in which the plan’s provisions would be carried out. The 15-point framework envisions an end to military operations, Hamas disarmament, the transfer of civilian control in Gaza to a Palestinian technocratic administration, a phased Israeli military withdrawal and the establishment of an international stabilization force.

The American proposal calls for Hamas’s disarmament and Israel’s withdrawal to advance simultaneously through a series of steps that can be independently verified. Israel has rejected that sequencing, insisting that its forces will not relinquish their positions in Gaza until Hamas has been fully disarmed. Jerusalem has publicly said it cannot accept the framework as it currently stands.

Hamas, meanwhile, has said that it accepts the broader framework. During recent negotiations in Egypt attended by Kushner, mediators pressed the terror group to surrender its weapons and relinquish responsibility for governing Gaza.

An official familiar with the discussions with Hamas said the demands being presented to the group include measures aimed at preserving the ceasefire, transferring administrative authority to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza and ensuring that Hamas is excluded from any future governing structure. Hamas would also be required to dismantle its weapons and military infrastructure, while an international stabilization force enters Gaza, Israel carries out corresponding withdrawals and humanitarian aid and reconstruction are accelerated.

Even as the Board of Peace presses Israel to move ahead, its officials reportedly believe that Jerusalem is already adhering in practice to portions of the understandings. Those officials view some of the Israeli government’s public rhetoric as driven by domestic political considerations and are therefore placing greater emphasis on Israel’s actions on the ground.

Kushner’s recent meeting in Egypt marked the first time he had met with senior Hamas figures since the October 2025 ceasefire agreement. Participants included Hamas political bureau chief Khalil al-Hayya, Egyptian intelligence chief General Hassan Rashad, Qatari minister Ali al-Thawadi and a senior Turkish official.

Artificial intelligence could push nearly one in five existing American jobs out of the workforce within the next five years, according to an internal analysis from investment giant Bridgewater Associates, whose top executives are warning that Washington must act quickly to prevent the technology’s economic promise from triggering major social upheaval.

The warning was issued by Bridgewater executives Greg Jensen and Nir Bar Dea, who say the United States is approaching a pivotal moment in determining how to handle the enormous changes expected from AI. They argue that policymakers can either prepare for the disruption now or face potentially severe public and political consequences later.

Jensen and Bar Dea laid out their case in an Aug. 14 New York Times opinion column titled “This Is One of the Most Important Policy Decisions of Our Lifetime,” describing artificial intelligence as a technology capable of generating enormous prosperity while simultaneously posing serious risks to economic and social stability.

The executives believe AI could unleash a “productivity miracle” that dramatically increases economic output and raises living standards. But they maintain that achieving that outcome will depend on government policies designed to spread the financial benefits of the technology across society while guarding against its potential hazards.

Jensen serves as Bridgewater’s managing chief investment officer, while Bar Dea is the investment firm’s chief executive officer.

The two executives oversee Bridgewater, a $102 billion investment firm that has itself made significant investments in artificial intelligence and reshaped portions of its operations in an effort to take advantage of the rapidly advancing technology.

That makes their recommendations particularly noteworthy, since some of the policies they are advocating could create new expenses for Bridgewater itself as well as for the investment interests represented by the firm.

Their warning extends beyond the immediate prospect of individual Americans finding themselves unemployed because their work can be performed by artificial intelligence.

Instead, Jensen and Bar Dea are concerned that mass job displacement could threaten broader social cohesion if most of the wealth created by AI flows primarily to corporations, investors and workers possessing highly specialized skills.

They cite earlier periods of dramatic economic change, including the upheaval that accompanied industrialization, to argue that extraordinary economic growth can also fuel intense political and social unrest when its benefits and opportunities are disproportionately concentrated.

According to Jensen and Bar Dea, Bridgewater’s internal research suggests that AI could displace 18% of the jobs currently held by American workers over the coming five years.

The executives concede that technological change will also create new employment opportunities, particularly in fields built around direct human interaction and relationships, including nursing and hospitality.

Even with those new jobs, however, they caution that the period of adjustment between the old economy and the emerging AI-driven one could itself produce significant social disruption.

Among their most unusual policy recommendations is the creation of an AI token tax.

Artificial intelligence models process information through units called tokens, with businesses using enterprise AI systems frequently paying according to the volume of tokens they consume.

Jensen and Bar Dea argue that the use of AI tokens can be viewed as broadly comparable to paying wages for work performed by machines.

They contend that because the existing tax structure is largely built around taxing human labor, businesses effectively receive an economic incentive to replace employees with machines.

Under their proposal, money collected through an AI token tax could help lower taxes imposed on human labor while also funding a nationwide program giving Americans an ownership stake in artificial intelligence companies.

The plan would have the federal government purchase equity in leading US-based AI companies and then distribute those shares directly to American citizens.

Instead of Washington permanently controlling those investments, individual Americans would hold the shares themselves, allowing them to participate financially in the wealth generated as the artificial intelligence industry expands.

Jensen and Bar Dea are also advocating substantially stronger safety regulations governing advanced artificial intelligence.

They say those safeguards should apply not merely when sophisticated AI models are released to the public, but throughout the development and deployment of the technology.

Their concerns center on the possibility that increasingly independent AI systems could acquire dangerous abilities, operate outside the boundaries established by their creators or be adapted by others for harmful purposes.

Jensen and Bar Dea ultimately argue that Washington does not have unlimited time to decide how it will respond to the transformation already underway.

Their central message is that the United States should continue promoting aggressive AI development while simultaneously making certain that ordinary workers and citizens receive a meaningful share of the resulting economic benefits.

If policymakers fail to strike that balance, they warn, a technological revolution with the potential to generate extraordinary prosperity could instead widen economic inequality, ignite political resistance and introduce dangers that may prove far more difficult to contain once artificial intelligence becomes deeply embedded throughout the economy.

Attorney General Todd Blanche says the Justice Department could turn to the Supreme Court after a string of federal court defeats in the Trump administration’s effort to obtain detailed voter registration records from states across the country.

“Absolutely, it’s a possibility,” Blanche said Sunday during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

The Justice Department has so far lost 22 court battles stemming from its push for access to state voter rolls, but Blanche indicated that the administration has no intention of abandoning the effort.

“Election integrity is something that President [Donald] Trump ran on, and the American people elected him. It’s something that every American should care about,” Blanche said.

Blanche argued that examining the way elections are administered falls squarely within the Justice Department’s responsibilities and should not be viewed as something the federal government should avoid.

“The idea that the Department of Justice is trying to investigate issues around elections to make sure they’re fair and make sure they’re conducted the right way is not something that we should be running away from,” Blanche added. “That’s something we should be running right towards.”

The legal fight follows an executive order issued by President Trump directing states to provide voter registration records containing information including voters’ names, birth dates, addresses, driver’s license numbers and the final four digits of their Social Security numbers.

The Justice Department says obtaining the information would allow federal officials to determine whether noncitizens are improperly registered to vote and to uncover other potential problems with voter registration records.

As part of that effort, the department has filed lawsuits against 30 states and Washington, D.C., after they declined to provide the requested voter rolls. Federal judges considering the disputes have repeatedly ruled in favor of the states.

Despite those setbacks, Blanche said the Justice Department will continue pursuing its election-related enforcement efforts.

“We’re not going to stop doing what I think every American should expect us to do, which is make sure that we have elections that are fair,” Blanche said.

“And as that relates to the Department of Justice, that means making sure that there are no constitutional legal violations, even at the state level,” Blanche added.

{Matzav.com}

A 7-year-old boy was murdered and his 4-year-old cousin was critically wounded Monday afternoon in a horrific stabbing in Beit Shemesh, after a neighbor allegedly entered the property and attacked the children during a family birthday celebration.

The two children were in the yard of a home on Emek HaZeitim Street, where the birthday party was taking place. According to details emerging from the initial investigation, a 15-year-old relative who was watching the children witnessed the attack. The father of one of the children subsequently arrived and found the two youngsters wounded near the swimming pool in the yard.

Magen David Adom and United Hatzalah emergency personnel rushed to the scene and provided initial medical treatment. The 7-year-old was listed in critical condition and transported to Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center in Yerushalayim while undergoing resuscitation efforts. His 4-year-old cousin was also evacuated to the hospital in serious condition.

Despite continued attempts to save the older child, doctors at the hospital were ultimately forced to pronounce the 7-year-old dead.

United Hatzalah EMTs Yaakov Jungreis, Moshe Siroka and Eliya Asulin, who were among the first responders at the scene, said earlier: “We were told at the scene that they were injured as a result of violence. With the assistance of additional EMTs, we provided initial medical treatment at the scene to two victims whose conditions were defined as critical and serious, and they were then evacuated to the hospital for further medical treatment.”

Members of United Hatzalah’s Psychotrauma and Crisis Response Unit were also dispatched to the scene to provide emotional assistance to relatives and witnesses following the traumatic attack.

Police arrested a neighborhood resident in his 20s shortly after the stabbing on suspicion of attacking the two children. The suspect’s father was questioned at the scene as investigators worked to determine what may have led to the deadly assault.

Authorities are examining several possible motives. Investigators are looking into whether the suspect may have been suffering from an unstable mental state, as well as whether an earlier dispute between the suspect’s family and the children’s family may have played a role. Police stressed that these remain investigative possibilities and that no motive has yet been established.

According to the preliminary investigation, the suspect arrived at the home where the children were gathered and, at some point, allegedly attacked them with a knife. Investigators are collecting testimony from family members and eyewitnesses, including the 15-year-old relative who was present when the attack occurred.

The emergency unfolded shortly after 4:40 p.m., when Magen David Adom’s 101 dispatch center received a report of two injured children on Emek HaZeitim Street. Initial reports from the scene were incomplete and included conflicting information about the children’s ages. The full circumstances and severity of the attack became clear only later.

Police are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the murder and the stabbing.

{Matzav.com}