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Spain’s government has allowed a U.S. extradition request against American multimillionaire James “Fergie” Chambers to move forward to the courts, advancing a case in which U.S. authorities accuse the wealthy pro-Palestinian activist of money laundering and other offenses connected to alleged support for Hamas-linked organizations. Chambers denies wrongdoing, while his attorneys contend that the case is politically motivated.

The 41-year-old Chambers has been held in Spain since July, when he was arrested in Ibiza at the request of U.S. authorities. He is currently being held in pretrial detention in Madrid.

The case centers in part on $7.5 million that Chambers transferred from a U.S. bank account to Tunisia, where he previously lived. U.S. authorities allege that the transaction was connected to money laundering and financing organizations linked to Hamas. The full details of the U.S. case have not been made public, and the underlying charges remain sealed.

Chambers’ attorneys reject those allegations. They maintain that his money went toward humanitarian and other projects and say the $7.5 million transfer was connected to Club Africain, a Tunisian soccer club. His defense team argues that Washington’s extradition effort is driven by Chambers’ political activism and outspoken support for the Palestinian cause.

Chambers comes from the Cox family, whose business holdings include the privately owned Cox Enterprises media and communications empire. He broke financially with his family several years ago, receiving approximately $250 million after selling his stake back to the family in 2023, according to his representatives.

In recent years, Chambers has embraced radical left-wing politics, describing himself as a communist and anti-imperialist. He has provided financial support to numerous left-wing and pro-Palestinian causes, including humanitarian projects connected to Gaza and legal expenses involving activists associated with Palestine Action.

His public statements following the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack have also drawn controversy. Chambers publicly defended what he termed Palestinian resistance and has made statements rejecting the legitimacy of Israel. The New York Times recently reported that Chambers had championed Hamas following the October 7 attack.

Those statements have become part of the broader debate surrounding his case, although his attorneys maintain that Chambers’ political views do not establish that he illegally financed Hamas or any other terrorist organization.

Chambers’ wife, actress and activist Stella Schnabel, has publicly defended him and says documentation exists showing where his money was sent. She has also lobbied Spanish lawmakers against approving the extradition. Chambers’ legal team, led by former Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón, has additionally applied for asylum in Spain.

The case has generated significant political opposition inside Spain. Members of Sumar, the junior partner in Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s coalition government, as well as Podemos politicians, have urged the government to block the extradition. Supporters of Chambers have also organized demonstrations, while public figures including Richard Gere and Greta Thunberg have joined calls opposing his transfer to the United States.

Tuesday’s decision by the Spanish government does not mean Chambers will automatically be extradited. Government spokeswoman Elma Saiz described the action as “purely procedural,” explaining that Spain’s National Court must now examine the U.S. request and Chambers’ legal arguments before a final determination is made.

If the court determines that the legal requirements for extradition have been met, the matter will return to the Spanish government for a final decision. Spanish law also allows extradition to be denied when authorities determine that a request is politically motivated, an argument Chambers’ attorneys are expected to press as the proceedings continue.

Gulf Arab leaders were preparing to press President Donald Trump to avoid a new escalation with Iran during talks in New York on Tuesday, hours after Trump used his UN General Assembly address to warn that he could “annihilate” the Islamic Republic if efforts to reach an agreement fail. Reuters confirmed that Trump was scheduled to meet representatives of the six Gulf Cooperation Council states following his speech.

Officials representing the GCC — Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman — coordinated their positions before meeting Trump on the sidelines of the UN gathering, according to Bloomberg.

The New York Post likewise reported that Gulf officials intended to make the case for diplomacy and caution Trump against expanding the conflict.

Their meeting came shortly after Trump delivered a stark warning to Tehran from the UN podium, framing the next stage of the conflict as a choice between an agreement and further military action. Reuters reported that Trump simultaneously predicted that Washington and Tehran would ultimately reach an agreement.

“But I have a big decision to make,” Trump said. “Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before? Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic, and do it quickly?”

Trump used his address to defend the U.S. military campaign against Iran and argue that it had helped prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. He warned that the Islamic Republic could face further devastating action if negotiations fail.

At the same time, Trump said he expected the two countries eventually to reach an agreement, suggesting that a settlement could come after the November 3 midterm elections.

The six Gulf nations have been directly exposed to the repercussions of the nearly seven-month conflict. Attacks in the region, threats to Gulf territory and interruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz have created security and economic concerns for the GCC states. Reuters reported Tuesday that the continuing tensions have also weighed on Gulf financial markets and energy flows.

Bloomberg reported that Gulf governments had warned Trump before the war against military action, arguing that a broader confrontation with Iran risked destabilizing the region.

After hostilities began and Iran retaliated, some Gulf governments took tougher positions toward Tehran, according to Bloomberg. As the conflict dragged on and Iran retained the ability to target neighboring states, however, those governments increasingly returned their focus to finding a diplomatic way out.

Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani described the conflict Sunday as an “earthquake” for the region and said lasting security could not be built through “repeated cycles of escalation and retaliation,” Bloomberg reported.

CNN reported that the Gulf leaders entered their meeting with Trump facing concerns in both directions: they want to avoid becoming further entangled in the war, while also seeking clarity about the level of U.S. security support they could expect if Washington eventually reduces its military presence in the region.

According to CNN, Gulf leaders have previously urged Trump to pull back from a major escalation, arguing that negotiations with Tehran could still produce an agreement.

The meeting also took place amid fresh signs that both Washington and Tehran may be willing to explore another diplomatic track. Trump said later Tuesday that there was “a lot of momentum” toward an agreement after U.S. envoys held talks involving Iranian officials and regional mediators.

A senior Iranian official separately told Reuters that Tehran could reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days if Washington reduced military pressure and ended its blockade of Iranian ports. The official said Iran’s delegation in New York had authority to pursue renewed diplomacy and described the UN gathering as an opportunity to restart negotiations.

With the war approaching the seven-month mark, the Gulf leaders were expected to use their meeting with Trump to emphasize the regional dangers of another military escalation while the administration considers whether to pursue renewed negotiations or further action against Iran.

{Matzav.com}

Israeli Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu’s office sharply rebuked French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday after Macron declared at the United Nations that Hamas “has never been very active” in Judea and Samaria, pointing to the murder two days earlier of Netanel Shakron, a father of six, in a shooting attack near Neve Tzuf. Israeli reports identified the suspected gunman as a Hamas operative.

Macron made the assertion while addressing developments in Judea and Samaria during his speech at the UN General Assembly, drawing a furious response from the Prime Minister’s Office.

“The grotesque absurdity of Emmanuel Macron’s statement is staggering. On Sunday, the eve of Yom Kippur, just two days ago, Netanel Shakron – a FRENCH CITIZEN and father of six – was murdered in his car by a Hamas terrorist in Judea and Samaria. With his final breath, he told his son to run,” the statement said.

Shakron had gone with his eldest son to a spring near Neve Tzuf ahead of Yom Kippur when the shooting took place. He was critically wounded and later died at Beilinson Hospital. His son was unharmed.

Netanyahu’s office continued its attack on Macron’s characterization of Hamas activity in the region.

“Hamas terrorists carry out attacks against Jews almost every day. They have murdered countless Israeli civilians in Judea and Samaria. Ignorance is NO EXCUSE for erasing their blood,” it added.

Macron’s disputed remarks came as he criticized Israeli policy and activity in Judea and Samaria from the podium of the General Assembly.

“Look, just look at what is happening in the West Bank. Day after day, we are seeing violations,” Macron said, referring to Israeli government policies and activity on the hilltops in the area.

He then argued that Hamas activity could not justify those policies.

“And in the name of what? Hamas has never been very active in the West Bank. What we need is respect for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, their legitimate right to exist.”

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich also responded forcefully, citing Shakron’s killing as evidence against Macron’s assertion and accusing the French president of giving a false account of Hamas’s involvement in Judea and Samaria.

“President Macron is lying. This week, on Sunday, a despicable terrorist from the Hamas terrorist organization murdered Netanel Shakron, may God avenge his blood, who was bathing with his sons in a spring ahead of Yom Kippur. This is just one attack out of hundreds of attacks led by the Hamas terrorist organization. The terrorist organization fuels Arab terrorism in Judea and Samaria and is a significant part of it and its activities.”

Smotrich went on to frame Israel’s expansion and strengthening of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria as part of its response to terrorism. He also turned to domestic Israeli politics, warning that a future government led by opposition figures could reverse those policies.

He added: “Against this terrorism, we stand as a fortified wall, fortifying and strengthening the communities and building the State of Israel’s security belt. And I warn: An Eisenkot-Liberman-Golan government will evacuate the communities we established and establish a terrorist state in the heart of the State of Israel. Macron is waiting for this, the European Union is waiting for this, and we must not allow it to happen – and only a strong Religious Zionist party will prevent it from happening.”

{Matzav.com}

Weeks before the October 7 massacre, Israeli security officials received an unusual message attributed to Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar warning that “An earthquake is expected in the prisons because of the prisoner issue.” The warning triggered discussions inside Israel’s security establishment, but officials at the time connected it to the captivity of Israeli researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov in Iraq rather than viewing it as a possible signal connected to an impending Hamas attack.

Channel 12 News reported Tuesday evening on new details surrounding the intelligence assessment and the circumstances that led officials to interpret Sinwar’s message through the lens of the Tsurkov case.

According to the report, Israeli intelligence had learned at roughly the same time of a development involving Tsurkov, who had been abducted in Iraq. A senior Iranian official had reportedly approached Hamas with a proposal that the terror group take responsibility for negotiations aimed at securing her release, while the pro-Iranian Iraqi group holding Tsurkov had agreed to the arrangement.

Against that backdrop, Israeli intelligence officials believed Sinwar’s reference to prisoners fit with the information they were already receiving about Tsurkov.

“Sinwar’s message fit the new intelligence picture like a glove,” officials who participated in the discussions told Channel 12 News.

The message led the Shin Bet to request a special situation assessment. According to the report, those taking part in the discussion did not offer an alternative explanation for Sinwar’s words, and the prevailing assessment remained that his warning was connected to the developing Tsurkov negotiations.

Channel 12 reported that the assessment proved incorrect. In retrospect, according to the network, Sinwar’s message was part of an effort to secure additional concessions from Israel while delaying and concealing the attack Hamas was preparing. The network reported that the message had been conveyed in September 2023 through Sufian Abu Zaida, a senior Fatah figure associated with Mohammed Dahlan, before reaching Israeli intelligence officials.

The report also revisited recent claims involving a warning from the United Arab Emirates ahead of October 7. Channel 12 reported that Emirati intelligence had warned the Shin Bet in September 2023 that Hamas could carry out a violent action, and that UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed subsequently contacted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to ensure that the information had reached him. Netanyahu has denied that such a conversation took place.

A senior Israeli security official cited in the report said that such a warning, had it reached Netanyahu as described, might have prompted officials to reconsider the reassuring intelligence assessments that were prevailing at the time.

“If a message indeed subsequently reached the Prime Minister himself from Mohammed bin Zayed, it could have been the missing piece that would have prompted us to take additional, more in-depth steps,” the senior official said. “Something was needed that would outweigh the reassuring signs that we had presented to ourselves. It is possible that this could have been that sign.”

Chris Christie is openly considering another run for the White House in 2028, with the former New Jersey governor acknowledging Tuesday that the possibility of a third presidential campaign remains very much on his mind.

Christie, who sought the Republican presidential nomination in 2016 and again in 2024, discussed his political future while appearing at the Granite State Summit on Responsible Gambling in Manchester, New Hampshire. The event listed Christie as its keynote speaker.

The onetime Trump ally, who later became a prominent Republican critic of President Donald Trump and challenged him for the GOP nomination in 2024, said the results of this November’s midterm elections could influence how Republicans think about the party’s direction heading toward the next presidential race.

Christie suggested that significant Republican losses could prompt questions within the party about whether its current approach, and what he called its “dominant wing,” should change.

“So, am I looking at it? Look, anybody who comes up here, anybody who comes up here and has ever run for president and not one and told you they’re not looking at it again is lying. …,” Christie said, according to footage of his appearance shared by WMUR political director Adam Sexton.

Christie said that once someone has gone through the process of seriously envisioning himself in the Oval Office, the idea does not simply disappear after an unsuccessful campaign.

“Once you go through the thought process of convincing yourself that you can be president, and then the next step that you should be president, that doesn’t leave your brain.”

But Christie indicated that merely wanting to run again would not be enough. Any third campaign, he said, would have to be based on a credible rationale that he could explain to his wife, Mary Pat.

“So, the way I look at this is, if I’m going to go back home to my wife and say, ‘I know you may not believe this, but third time is the charm,’ like, I better have a real theory,” Christie continued. “And what she has said to me is, ‘Chris, I want to see the path.’”

Christie’s comments come six weeks before the 2026 midterm elections, with control of Congress at stake. Public polling and outside election forecasts are continuing to shift as voters prepare for November, making the eventual results a potentially significant factor in how both parties approach the 2028 presidential campaign.

Although the next presidential election remains more than two years away, prospective candidates from both parties have already been making appearances in early-primary states. New Hampshire, where Christie spoke Tuesday, is required under state law to hold its presidential primary before any similar contest, despite continuing disputes over the Democratic Party’s nominating calendar.

Within the Republican Party, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are among the prominent figures who have drawn public discussion about 2028. Neither point, however, changes Christie’s calculation: he has repeatedly declined to close the door on another campaign and has indicated that the political landscape following the 2026 elections will play a role in his decision.

For Christie, who ended his 2024 campaign shortly before the New Hampshire primary, the latest comments represent one of his clearest acknowledgments yet that his presidential ambitions may not have ended with his second attempt at the Republican nomination.

{Matzav.com}

The Trump administration has removed roughly 750,000 people from Affordable Care Act health plans as part of a broad crackdown on suspected fraudulent, unauthorized or otherwise ineligible enrollments, Vice President JD Vance announced Tuesday. Administration officials said the cancellations are expected to save taxpayers approximately $2.2 billion.

The initiative is being carried out through the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, headed by Vance, with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services playing a central role. CMS has been tightening verification and enforcement procedures across the ACA exchanges, saying unauthorized enrollments and improper subsidies have become a significant problem.

“These are not real people. We’re not paying insurance for nonexistent ghosts,” Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), said during a press conference.

Oz also estimated that approximately 35 percent of people enrolled through the ObamaCare exchanges have never made use of their insurance coverage.

Vance stressed that the administration views the initiative as an anti-fraud effort rather than an attempt to strip legitimate beneficiaries of health coverage.

“This is not about cutting off anybody from their benefits. It’s about cutting off fraudsters from stealing from these programs,” the vice president said Tuesday.

Vance and Oz said they were confident that legitimate beneficiaries would not be improperly removed, pointing to factors including the absence of insurance claims, missing Social Security numbers and failures to respond to attempts by the government to verify enrollment information. Reuters reported that the canceled policies involved unverified citizenship or immigration status as well as suspected unauthorized enrollments.

“We are putting ourselves under an extraordinary burden of proof,” Vance said. “So those 750,000 people are people that we feel confident either don’t know that they’re enrolled in the program, aren’t using the program at all, are unaware of it or … are potentially phantom people who are enrolled against their will, or maybe they don’t even exist.”

The administration is also temporarily freezing the registration of new insurance agents and brokers as it expands scrutiny of the enrollment system. CMS has separately taken enforcement action against hundreds of brokers over alleged violations connected to ACA enrollment. Reuters reported that 569 brokers were barred from participation after applications were submitted at implausibly high rates or without key identifying information.

The healthcare crackdown comes weeks before the November midterm elections, as Republicans and Democrats clash over healthcare affordability and access. Republicans have defended recent changes as necessary to curb waste and improper spending, while Democrats have argued that changes to ACA subsidies and other healthcare programs could increase costs and reduce coverage.

Enrollment in Affordable Care Act plans expanded significantly during the Biden administration, helped in part by enhanced premium subsidies. The Trump administration has argued that enrollment safeguards during that period were inadequate and allowed improper or unauthorized sign-ups to proliferate. CMS said earlier this year that it had ended premium subsidies for nearly 1.5 million people over the preceding year after determining that they were either ineligible for financial assistance or had been enrolled without authorization.

Administration officials and congressional Republicans have also disputed projections about the number of Americans expected to lose insurance under Republican healthcare changes, arguing that at least some of the reductions reflect the removal of improper enrollments rather than legitimate beneficiaries losing coverage.

Republicans have accused the Biden administration and Democrats of emphasizing increased ACA enrollment without imposing adequate safeguards to ensure that applicants were eligible and had actually authorized their enrollment. Democrats and healthcare advocacy organizations have challenged that characterization and warned that stricter verification procedures can also create obstacles for eligible consumers.

Approximately 19 million Americans were enrolled in health plans through ACA exchanges as of figures released by federal health officials earlier this year. CMS publishes enrollment information for both the federally facilitated marketplace and state-based exchanges.

The Paragon Health Institute, a conservative healthcare policy organization led by Brian Blase, who served as a healthcare policy official during President Trump’s first term, has been among the groups drawing attention to alleged improper ACA enrollment. The organization estimated earlier this year that more than 6 million people were improperly enrolled in exchange coverage during 2026 and argued that improper subsidies could cost taxpayers nearly $25 billion.

Protect Our Care, a Democratic-aligned healthcare advocacy organization, disputed the administration’s characterization of the crackdown, calling the action a “smokescreen” and arguing that eligible Americans could lose health coverage. The organization also pointed to the administration’s previous reinstatement of hundreds of ACA brokers and agents who had been suspected of fraudulent activity.

“Families need coverage they can afford and count on when they get sick. Vance’s task force won’t accomplish that. It’s a smokescreen for an administration whose sole mission is to make it harder to get and stay covered but to shower billionaires with tax breaks instead,” Brad Woodhouse, Protect Our Care’s president, said in a statement.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich launched a blistering attack on UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday, accusing the UN chief of fueling terrorism and endangering hundreds of thousands of Israelis following Guterres’ criticism of Israeli policies in Yehuda and Shomron during his address to the UN General Assembly in New York.

“The UN Secretary-General’s wild incitement gives a tailwind to terrorism,” Smotrich wrote on X. “He is endangering the lives of half a million Jewish Israeli citizens living in Judea and Samaria.”

Smotrich also invoked the controversy surrounding UNRWA, arguing that Guterres was in no position to lecture Israel over its policies.

“Someone who heads the organization that funded and provided cover for UNRWA – the operational arm of the Hamas terrorist organization in the October 7 massacre – cannot preach to us about anything.”

The finance minister then defended the Israeli government’s expansion of Jewish communities in Yehuda and Shomron and openly linked those efforts to preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state.

“I am proud to be spearheading a settlement revolution in Judea and Samaria that is, in practice, eliminating the idea of a Palestinian state and strengthening Israel’s security.”

Smotrich’s comments followed Guterres’ final address as UN secretary-general to the General Assembly, in which the UN chief sharply criticized Israel’s conduct in Gaza as well as settlement growth and violence in Yehuda and Shomron. Guterres reiterated his support for a two-state solution, a position he has repeatedly advanced during his tenure.

“It is nearly three years since the abhorrent terror attacks by Hamas on 7 October,” Guterres said, “but what followed was an onslaught on Palestinians in Gaza with a scale of killing and destruction unlike anything I have witnessed in my years as Secretary-General.”

Turning to Yehuda and Shomron, Guterres accused Israel of pursuing policies that threaten the possibility of a future Palestinian state and warned of what he described as the potential for ethnic cleansing. His comments were consistent with positions he has expressed throughout 2026 opposing Israeli settlement expansion and calling for renewed movement toward a two-state solution.

“Meanwhile, violence, displacement and settlement expansion by Israel in the occupied West Bank are bulldozing the path to peace and raising the specter of ethnic cleansing. We cannot allow the two-state solution to disappear before our eyes.”

{Matzav.com}

Fourteen Israeli activists crossed the border into Syria on Tuesday in an effort to promote future Jewish settlement in the area, prompting IDF troops to locate the group and bring its members back into Israel.

The unusual incident unfolded near Aloney HaBashan, where the civilians crossed into Syrian territory before an IDF force was sent to intercept them. The military strongly condemned the action, saying it endangered soldiers operating in the sensitive border region.

According to the HaBashan Pioneers movement, whose members carried out the crossing, the activists entered an area they refer to as Neve HaBashan, located inside Syrian territory currently under IDF control. The group said it was returning to a site that families affiliated with the movement had previously reached before being removed.

Tuesday’s crossing was not the first effort by members of the movement to enter the area. On this occasion, the IDF said, 14 civilians reached the Aloney HaBashan region and proceeded across the border into Syria.

After becoming aware of the breach, the IDF dispatched troops to the scene. Soldiers found the activists and escorted them back to Israeli territory. According to the military, the individuals were then set to be handed over to the Israel Police for further action.

The IDF issued a sharp condemnation of the activists’ conduct, warning that unauthorized civilian crossings interfere with military operations and can put Israeli troops at risk.

“The IDF strongly condemns the incident, which constitutes another case of serious interference with operational activity and poses a danger to the safety of IDF forces operating in the area,” the military said.

The army also urged law-enforcement authorities to pursue the matter in an effort to prevent similar incidents from recurring.

“Law enforcement authorities are required to bring those involved to justice, in order to prevent these civilians from repeatedly engaging in this phenomenon, which constitutes a criminal offense.”

For its part, the HaBashan Pioneers movement said the activists deliberately entered the area as part of their campaign to promote Israeli settlement in the Bashan region. The group said its members believe that existing political and grassroots support for such a move has not yet translated into concrete action.

“After we realized that there is support for the idea of legal Israeli settlement in the Bashan, both from the political side and from elements on the ground, but that they are not sufficient to bring the matter to fruition, the activists decided to return and push from the grassroots, in the hope that we will soon reach actual settlement.”