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New York City mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani is facing serious legal trouble after a campaign finance watchdog accused him of accepting thousands of dollars in prohibited foreign donations. Two criminal referrals were submitted Tuesday, charging that his campaign repeatedly violated both federal and state election laws.

The Coolidge Reagan Foundation filed the complaints with the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division and with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office. The organization alleges that Mamdani’s campaign violated the Federal Election Campaign Act and the New York Election Code by knowingly accepting money from overseas contributors.

The move follows a report by The New York Post earlier this month revealing that Mamdani’s campaign had collected nearly $13,000 from about 170 donors listing foreign addresses — including one contribution from his own mother-in-law in Dubai.

“These are not isolated incidents or clerical errors,” said Dan Backer, a nationally recognized campaign finance attorney and president of the Coolidge Reagan Foundation.

“This was a sustained pattern of foreign money flowing into a New York City mayoral race which is a clear violation of both federal law and New York City campaign finance rules,” Backer continued. “Mamdani’s campaign was on notice for months that it was accepting illegal foreign contributions, and yet it did nothing meaningful to stop it.”

The watchdog organization, known for pursuing high-profile campaign finance cases — including complaints against Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, and the Democratic National Committee — has urged both the DOJ and DA Bragg to pursue criminal charges. According to the group, money tied to contributors in countries including Australia, Turkey, France, Canada, and Germany flowed into Mamdani’s campaign in violation of clear prohibitions.

Under federal law, it is illegal to “accept or receive” political donations from foreign nationals in any election, whether federal, state, or local. Violations can carry steep fines and possible prison terms for candidates or treasurers who knowingly accept such funds.

“The law is crystal clear that foreign nationals may not participate in American elections, and that includes making contributions,” Backer said. “Yet Mamdani’s campaign repeatedly accepted donations from individuals abroad, some even tied to regions and individuals openly sympathetic to hostile actors.”

He warned, “Whether through negligence or intent, this conduct undermines the integrity of the democratic process.”

Although Mamdani’s team has reportedly refunded a portion of the questionable donations, records indicate that at least 88 foreign contributions totaling $7,190 remain unreturned.

Mamdani’s campaign has amassed around $4 million in private contributions and received an additional $12.7 million in public matching funds, leaving about $6.1 million in cash with less than a month before election day.

Campaign spokesperson Dora Pekec defended their fundraising practices, insisting that some of the donors in question may be American citizens who reside abroad.

“All US citizens and permanent residents, including those who live outside the US, are legally permitted to donate to New York City mayoral campaigns under federal campaign finance law and New York State and City law,” Pekec said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“The Campaign has a rigorous compliance process in place to ensure compliance with these laws, including a protocol to confirm whether donors with foreign addresses are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents,” she added. “The Campaign will promptly issue refunds for any donations that are found to be impermissible.”

{Matzav.com}

Dov Hikind, chairman of Americans Against Antisemitism and longtime New York activist, sounded an urgent alarm over the deepening antisemitism in America and the political danger posed by New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani. Speaking with Arutz Sheva-Israel National News, Hikind said the wave of antisemitic attacks has reached levels unseen in his lifetime.

“Things are worse than ever in terms of antisemitic incidents,” he said. “But a great number of them involve assaults. Most of them do not get any coverage, so we don’t hear about them, but they’re happening, being reported to the police. A great number are not even being reported.”

He described an environment where Jews are afraid to report attacks. “I know cases where people have been assaulted, bloodied, and I have to beg and plead with them to go to the police, and many times they don’t want to. They’re afraid it’s not going to make a difference, so the atmosphere is out of control. Jew hatred with no consequences for the perpetrators.”

Reflecting on his decades in public service and activism, Hikind said the current situation is unprecedented. “It’s a situation that I have never witnessed in my life, going back to my days in the Jewish Defense League and as an elected official for 36 years… things are bad, but this is the worst it’s ever been, no question about it.”

He recalled a chilling phone call that underscored the sense of fear gripping ordinary Jews. “A woman, an elderly woman… called me to ask me ‘How will we know when it’s time to leave?’ She was asking me very seriously, ‘Is someone going to announce it? Is there going to be an announcement?’ This is what she wanted to know, and this was a year and a half ago, and things have just progressively gotten worse.”

Hikind sharply criticized major Jewish organizations for failing to act decisively. “There’s a lot of talk about antisemitism… but at the end of the day, there is no plan on how to deal with it… and as far as consequences for people who have been arrested for committing acts of violence against Jews, nothing happens to them. There’s a revolving door of justice in New York. The perpetrators, they commit 10 acts, 20 acts, they continue to commit crimes, and they just walk out without consequences. So, it’s not a good situation, and I and [other] people are worried about the future. The big question is what’s going to be?”

Turning to the New York mayoral race, Hikind warned that Mamdani represents a threat unlike anything the city’s Jewish community has ever faced. “We’ve had elections and have been candidates that were problematic for the Jewish community and the community at large, that’s nothing new, but what we are faced with now… We have someone running for office who has not found any place in his rhetoric to condemn Hamas, plain and simple. He has not been able to say that ‘globalize the intifada’ is about murdering Jews.”

He quoted Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s explanation of that slogan: “Globalizing the intifada means the murder of every Jew in Israel… and the murder of Jews everywhere.”

Despite this, Hikind noted with outrage that Mamdani enjoys backing from major political figures. “He’s being supported by the governor of New York, Hochul, being supported by people like Jerry Nadler, a Jewish congressman who, by the way, went to yeshiva, not that that matters, but I think we’re watching the spectacle of Jews supporting someone whose best friends are radical Islamists.”

What disturbs Hikind even more is that much of Mamdani’s support base comes from within the Jewish community itself. “Many of these supporters, a great percentage of these supporters are young Jews, educated. They’re educated. They’re from Ivy League universities, from Columbia, you know, top universities. And they march in the streets of New York and the streets of America in support of our enemies. One needs to wonder, you know, what happened at home? What kind of education did they get in terms of their Jews and their commitment to the Jewish people? Something is so terribly wrong.”

Discussing his own political shift, Hikind explained why he chose to back Andrew Cuomo after previously supporting Curtis Sliwa. “I was supporting Curtis Sliwa, who’s a very good guy, and he would have been a very good mayor, but it’s not about being a nice guy and just supporting somebody and sticking with them. The goal of every single person needs to be defeating Mamdani. It is so clear.”

He said that Sliwa’s campaign had lost steam. “The fact was that Curtis Sliwa was not going anywhere. There was a poll just now where he’s down from where he was. He’s only at 11%, and I think it will be even less than that. The goal needs to be to defeat Mamdani. And let me say that I think that’s very doable. The latest poll has Cuomo, who I’m supporting, and I’m not a fan of him, I don’t like him. In fact, it’s even more than that. But forget it. You’ve got to support the guy, period. Because between Cuomo and Mamdani, it’s, you know, it’s living or God forbid being in hell. I’m not exaggerating. I have never seen anything like this, a candidate like Mamdani, who could potentially be the mayor of a city with over one million Jews.”

Hikind shared a story that captured the mood among many reluctant Cuomo voters. “She said, I’m voting for Cuomo, because I recognize for the greater good, how dangerous Mamdani is.”

Pointing to high early voter turnout among senior citizens, Hikind voiced cautious optimism. “If this continues at this level, Cuomo is actually going to win.”

He ended with a grave warning for Jewish voters. “People need to vote for Cuomo, period. End of the story. Because Mamdani winning [means] Hamas in Gaza will celebrate. Our enemies all over the world will see this as a victory against the Jewish people. So we have to do the right thing, period.”

{Matzav.com}

Vice President JD Vance said Tuesday that he believes the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas will endure, even as Hamas continues to violate it and Israel responds militarily. Speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill, Vance expressed confidence in the stability of the peace deal brokered by President Trump.

“The President achieved a historic peace in the Middle East. The ceasefire is holding. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t going to be little skirmishes here and there,” Vance said, acknowledging the tension but maintaining optimism about the agreement’s durability.

He continued, “We know that Hamas or somebody else within Gaza attacked an IDF soldier. We expect the Israelis are going to respond. But I think the President’s peace is going to hold despite it.”

The vice president’s remarks came just hours after Hamas terrorists opened fire on IDF soldiers conducting operations in Rafah, sparking an exchange of fire in what Israel described as another blatant breach of the ceasefire by the terror organization.

In immediate retaliation, the IDF launched artillery fire at Hamas positions, while Israeli Air Force jets carried out low-altitude flyovers above Rafah as a warning and show of strength.

Later in the day, Hamas issued a statement claiming it would not return the body of an Israeli hostage, accusing Israel of “violations” of the ceasefire — a charge Israel flatly rejected.

{Matzav.com}

The Binyamin Regional Council confirmed Tuesday night that reserve soldier Yonah Ephraim (Efi) Feldbaum was killed during a confrontation with Hamas terrorists inside the Gaza Strip. Feldbaum, a 37-year-old resident of Zayit Raanan-Neria, leaves behind his wife, Shulamit, and their five children.

“With deep sorrow, we announce the death in battle of Yonah Ephraim (Efi) Feldbaum, a resident of Zayit Raanan-Neria in Binyamin. Efi, 37, a father of five, lived in the community and worked as a contractor in the area. During the war, he dedicated his skills to meaningful reserve service in the Gaza Strip. Efi is the 59th fallen soldier from the Binyamin Regional Council,” the council’s statement read.

Feldbaum was remembered by neighbors and friends as a man whose devotion to his people and his land defined every part of his life. “Efi was well known and deeply loved throughout the region. He was heavily involved in developing young communities. Efi was deeply connected to the land of Israel and fell while defending it,” members of his community shared, describing him as both a builder in life and a defender in battle.

Yisroel Gantz, who heads the Binyamin Regional Council and serves as chairman of the Yesha Council, offered a moving tribute. “Efi fought on the front lines of the war in Gaza and continued even after the ceasefire was declared – despite repeated violations by Hamas terrorists. On behalf of all Binyamin residents, I extend my condolences to his wife Shulamit, his children, and the entire family. Thanks to Efi’s bravery and sacrifice, the people of Israel will prevail.”

Military officials said Feldbaum was part of an IDF engineering team operating in Rafah when terrorists ambushed their unit. The attackers reportedly emerged from a tunnel system in the Jenina neighborhood and began firing, including RPG rounds, directly at the soldiers.

{Matzav.com}

On the eve of President Donald Trump’s arrival in South Korea, North Korea launched a salvo of sea-to-surface cruise missiles from its western coastline, reigniting tensions across the region. State media confirmed the launch took place Tuesday morning, adding that the missiles were fired from the Yellow Sea and remained in flight for more than two hours.

The country’s KCNA news agency reported that top military figure Pak Jong Chon supervised the operation, hailing “important successes” in the regime’s efforts to strengthen its “nuclear forces” for deterrence. The statement underscored Pyongyang’s ongoing determination to advance its weapons program even as diplomatic efforts remain frozen.

Observers noted the conspicuous absence of Kim Jong Un, who did not attend the test. KCNA made no reference to the North Korean leader in its reports—just as it omitted his name during coverage of last week’s hypersonic missile launch—an unusual move that has sparked speculation about his whereabouts and level of involvement.

Trump, who is expected in Seoul on Wednesday, has said he would “love to meet” Kim Jong Un during his visit. The two leaders met three times during Trump’s first presidency—first in Singapore, then in Hanoi, and later at the demilitarized zone between the two Koreas. While their encounters made headlines around the world, they ultimately failed to produce a lasting agreement on denuclearization.

So far, Pyongyang has offered no official reaction to Trump’s overture for a possible meeting. Analysts note that the timing of the latest missile test may be a calculated message to Washington and Seoul as Trump’s trip approaches.

Over the past year, North Korea has dramatically ramped up its missile activity. In early November, the regime fired a ballistic missile toward the East Sea, following an announcement that it had successfully tested an intercontinental ballistic missile—a move that drew sharp condemnation from South Korea, the United States, and Japan.

Despite the diplomatic overtures of years past, Kim Jong Un’s rhetoric has grown increasingly hostile since the end of Trump’s first term. Still, last month, he struck a rare personal tone, remarking that he has “good memories” of Trump—but firmly reiterated that his nation will “never lay down our nuclear weapons.”

{Matzav.com}

Hamas’s military arm announced on Tuesday that it had supposedly uncovered the bodies of two Israeli hostages, Amiram Cooper and Sahar Baruch, somewhere inside the Gaza Strip. The terror group released the statement hours after a new wave of confusion surrounding its ongoing manipulation of hostage information.

Just hours earlier, Hamas had reneged on its pledge to return the body of an Israeli hostage. The group claimed the decision was in response to an IDF airstrike that followed an incident in Rafah, where Hamas gunmen opened fire on Israeli soldiers engaged in engineering work near the border area.

On Tuesday morning, Israeli authorities confirmed that the body transferred by Hamas the previous night was not that of a newly identified hostage at all. Instead, the remains were determined to belong to Ofir Sarfati, a hostage who had already been retrieved and laid to rest nearly two years ago, exposing yet another act of deceit by the terror organization.

Following a thorough forensic investigation at the Abu Kabir Institute of Forensic Medicine, Israeli experts confirmed that the remains indeed matched those of Sarfati, closing the loop on what officials described as another cruel Hamas fabrication meant to sow confusion and pain.

{Matzav.com}

Almost everything in your 401(k) should be coming up a winner now. That makes it time for a gut check. Not only is the U.S. stock market setting records, so are foreign stocks. Bond funds, which are supposed to be the boring and safe part of any portfolio, are also doing well this year, along with […]

President Trump boards Air Force One en route to South Korea after a historic visit to Japan.

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Four vacant homes collapsed into the ocean Tuesday along North Carolina’s Outer Banks, the National Park Service said, bringing the total to eight this month and 26 since 2020.

The political battle over immigration and ideology has found a new flashpoint — and this time, it’s not about the border. It’s about the front-runner in New York City’s mayoral race. Two House Republicans are demanding that the Justice Department investigate and potentially strip Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani of his U.S. citizenship — a move […]

WATCH: Prof. Michael Ben-Gad, a native Israeli whose economics lecture at City St George’s, University of London was disrupted a week ago by anti-Israel thugs who threatened to behead him, issued an apology for his “IDF service.” In an appearance on GB News, Ben-Gad said that the thugs “are now offering terms. I can have […]

With early voting underway in New York, Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani is facing renewed scrutiny over his campaign’s fundraising practices. The Coolidge Reagan Foundation, a conservative campaign-finance watchdog, filed two criminal referrals Tuesday alleging Mamdani accepted donations from foreign nationals — a violation of both federal and city election laws. The foundation’s president, Dan […]

A senior Agudas Yisroel party official sharply criticized the newly revealed draft of the government’s proposed conscription law on Tuesday night, deriding it as “Atias’s nonsense.”

Speaking to B’Chadrei Chareidim, the senior figure said, “This isn’t a draft law — it’s nonsense. Atias wrote a draft for Bismuth just to create the illusion that there’s progress, but in practice, it’s an extremely problematic proposal we can’t possibly accept.”

He accused the move of being politically motivated: “The goal of publishing this draft is to bring Shas back into the government. The law imposes sanctions on yeshiva students and sets unrealistic enlistment targets. It doesn’t even have the attorney general’s approval and will end up being canceled within three years. So what will we have accomplished? They want us to lend our support to a bad law, only for an even worse one to replace it in a few years. Netanyahu must fulfill his commitment and present the version he promised us.”

Backlash Across the Political Spectrum

Criticism of the bill was not limited to the chareidi parties. Likud MK Yuli Edelstein, a former chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, quipped: “When I look at this law, I realize those who dismissed me were right — I don’t have the talent to invent a draft-dodging scam in the middle of a war for our survival while our reservists are collapsing.”

Likud MK Dan Illouz also blasted the proposal: “This isn’t a Likud law — it’s a Shas law. It won’t draft chareidim, it will alienate the serving public that votes for us, and it will hurt Likud heading into the next elections. The only law we should be promoting is simple: whoever serves gets benefits from the state; whoever doesn’t — doesn’t. Across all sectors, from day one, for life. Period. I still hope Bismuth will present a true Likud law on Monday, not one that caves to chareidi politicians.”

Opposition leader Yair Lapid was even harsher: “This isn’t a draft law — it’s a disgraceful draft-dodging law in full. If this draft moves forward, not one chareidi will enlist. It’s a slap in the face to soldiers, families, the wounded, and the fallen. If they continue pushing this through, in the next government every chareidi who doesn’t show up at the induction center won’t get a single shekel from the state.”

Details of the Controversial Proposal

The draft law, prepared by Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman Boaz Bismuth (Likud), includes a system of personal and gradual sanctions for those who receive a draft order and fail to report. Under the proposal, those who evade service would immediately lose state benefits, be barred from obtaining a driver’s license until age 23, and be prohibited from leaving the country. They would also lose eligibility for academic scholarships, government employment, housing subsidies, and other benefits if annual enlistment targets are not met.

The committee’s legal adviser, Attorney Miri Frenkel-Shor, sent Bismuth initial feedback, including a recommendation to raise the first-year enlistment target from 4,800 to 5,760 recruits, arguing that the previous target was outdated.

The draft outlines increasing recruitment benchmarks — 5,760 in the second year, 6,840 in the third, 7,920 in the fourth, and ultimately half of each chareidi age cohort after five years.

While the clause setting quotas for combat roles was removed, the bill expands recognition of “civil-security national service,” such as volunteering with rescue organizations, as part of the annual service targets.

The definition of “chareidi” was also narrowed: anyone who studied in a yeshiva for at least two years would be counted within the chareidi population under the law — a move intended to include dropouts still associated with the community.

Restrictions such as the driving license ban would apply only to new draft evaders, not retroactively. Travel restrictions abroad would also end at age 26, to address legal objections to a broader ban.

Debate Delayed Amid Mass Rally Plans

The public debate on the law was postponed to next week — officially at the request of Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu, who asked for more time to review the draft, but also due to a request from the chareidi parties not to hold the discussion alongside the massive “Million Man Rally” scheduled for Thursday in Jerusalem.

Meanwhile, the IDF is expected to establish a special committee to oversee implementation of the new draft law, composed of a retired rabbinical court judge, a former IDF Chief Rabbi, and several senior army officers. The committee will review whether the army is meeting its obligations to create appropriate service tracks for chareidim and to reach the targets established in the law.

The law specifies that biometric fingerprint enforcement will not be used.

{Matzav.com}

A sobering new report from the Knesset Research and Information Center has found that nearly 280 Israel Defense Forces soldiers attempted to take their own lives between January 2024 and July 2025, underscoring growing mental health concerns within Israel’s military amid the prolonged war against Hamas. The report — prepared at the request of Hadash-Ta’al […]

United Parcel Service posted third-quarter results that handily beat Wall Street’s expectations and gave details about its turnaround efforts, including approximately 48,000 job cuts. Shares rose more than 7% in afternoon trading on Tuesday. UPS earned $1.31 billion, or $1.55 per share, for the three months ended Sept. 30. The Atlanta-based company earned $1.99 billion, […]

In a rare gesture, President Donald Trump sent a personal letter of bracha to the Rebbe of Bobov-45 in honor of the inauguration of the Chassidus’s massive new bais medrash in Boro Park, which was dedicated just before the Yamim Noraim.

The letter, which reached the Rebbe during Chol Hamoed but was only revealed publicly this week, was delivered through Rabbi Dovid Katz, a close associate of the president.

In his message, President Trump extended warm congratulations to the Rebbe and his chassidim upon the milestone inauguration, noting that the new bais medrash stands as a continuation of the legacy of the Rebbe’s illustrious grandfather, Rav Shlomo of Bobov zt”l. The president praised the enduring impact of Rav Shlomo’s efforts in rebuilding chareidi Judaism in America after the devastation of the Holocaust.

{Matzav.com}

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) issued an exceedingly rare rebuke of Hamas on Tuesday after the terror group was caught staging the recovery of an Israeli hostage’s remains in Gaza — an incident the Red Cross said amounted to a “fake recovery” that undermined trust in the fragile agreements governing hostage exchanges. […]