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New York has authorized medical aid in dying for certain terminally ill residents after Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation on Friday permitting the practice for patients diagnosed with less than six months to live.

State officials said the statute includes safeguards designed to prevent pressure or abuse, while also protecting healthcare workers and religiously affiliated medical institutions from being compelled to participate in the process.

The measure establishes a required five-day interval between the time a physician issues a prescription and when it may be dispensed. It also mandates mental health assessments for individuals seeking the medication.

Eligibility under the law is limited to residents of New York.

“Our state will always stand firm in safeguarding New Yorkers’ freedoms and right to bodily autonomy, which includes the right for the terminally ill to peacefully and comfortably end their lives with dignity and compassion,” Hochul said in a statement.

The new policy marks a reversal from the state’s legal position nearly a decade ago. In 2017, New York’s Court of Appeals dismissed a case arguing that mentally competent, terminally ill patients were entitled to prescriptions for life-ending drugs, determining at the time that doctor-assisted suicide remained illegal.

With the signing of the bill, New York becomes the 13th state, along with the District of Columbia, to permit some form of assisted suicide. Oregon pioneered such legislation in 1994.

Advocacy organizations supporting access to assisted suicide praised the decision. Among them was End of Life Choices New York, whose executive director, Mandi Zucker, described the enactment as a “mile marker in the long and winding road towards fairness, choice, peace, and dignity for all of those watching loved ones struggle with a terminal illness.”

Zucker said the organization plans to launch a broad public education effort over the next six months to inform patients and families about the new law.

{Matzav.com}

A senior Hamas leader on Sunday rejected calls for the group to disarm or accept outside control in Gaza, directly challenging demands from the United States and Israel and casting doubt on prospects for advancing the next phase of the ceasefire process. Speaking at a conference in Doha, Khaled Mashaal said the group would not […]

Senior Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal on Sunday reiterated the terrorist group’s opposition to U.S. President Donald Trump’s demand to lay down arms and vowed “to defeat our enemy, Israel, God willing.”

Speaking at the 17th Al Jazeera Forum in Doha, Qatar, Mashaal said that the Islamist group would not disarm during the current Phase 2 of Trump’s plan, which calls for Hamas to lay down its weapons with the deployment of an International Stabilization Force to the Gaza Strip.

“As long as our people are under occupation,” he told attendees, “talk of disarmament is an attempt to turn our people into victims, to make their elimination easier and to facilitate their destruction at the hands of the Israeli side, which is armed with every international means of warfare.

“Questions about the resistance’s weapons are being raised forcefully. Some want to place it in the context that whoever carried out Oct. 7 must be cornered and made to pay the price,” continued Mashaal, in reference to the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, massacre of some 1,200 people.

“As those who participated in the resistance, we must not accept this,” he declared, saying that “resistance is the right of occupied peoples.”

Mashaal praised the terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, during which around 1,200 people, primarily Jewish civilians, were murdered, thousands were wounded and 251 were taken hostage.

The massacre “returned the Palestinian cause to the forefront of regional and international attention, and it is no longer possible to bypass it; resolving it has become a necessity,” he told the forum.

Mashaal again vowed to defeat Israel, saying that the Jewish state “represents an existential threat and danger to us and the region.”

Asked about the U.S.-backed National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, a transitional Palestinian body meant to exclude Hamas, Mashaal stressed the terrorist organization’s rejection of “foreign rule” over the Strip.

“We do not accept the logic of guardianship, foreign intervention or the re-imposition of a new mandate,” the Hamas leader told the summit.

Mashaal praised Doha for its support of the Palestinian cause, saying, “Qatar is a small country, but its role is great and respected.”

Doha “sympathizes and has an honorable stance on the issue, but Israel resents it,” he said. “They waged a campaign against it for this position.”

The Israeli Foreign Ministry on Thursday sharply criticized the Al Jazeera Forum, describing it as a “gathering of jihadists and their support staff.”

Trump warned on Jan. 21 that Hamas terrorists would be “blown away very quickly” if they fail to lay down their weapons under the second phase of Washington’s peace plan.

Speaking at a question-and-answer session in Davos, Switzerland, after his address to the World Economic Forum, the U.S. president said Hamas had “agreed to give up their weapons” as part of his 20-point plan.

Mashaal has repeatedly rejected demands to disarm, including on Dec. 6, when he declared that “protecting the resistance project and its weapons is the right of our people to defend themselves.

“The resistance and its weapons are the ummah‘s [Islamic nation’s] honor and pride,” he told an anti-Israel summit in Istanbul.

Senior Hamas terrorist Musa Abu Marzouk told Al Jazeera on Jan. 28 that the terrorist group had never agreed to disarm.

“Not for a single moment did we talk about surrendering weapons,” Abu Marzouk told the outlet, claiming the issue was never raised in the talks. JNS

{Matzav.com}

Attorney Chaim Bleicher of the Honenu legal aid organization submitted an appeal to the State Attorney’s Office against the decision of Israel’s Department of Internal Police Investigations (DIPI) not to open an investigation into police officers who removed dozens of Chareidi passengers from a bus in northern Israel, leaving them stranded on the side of […]

President Donald Trump’s administration can continue to detain immigrants without bond, marking a major legal victory for the federal immigration agenda and countering a slew of recent lower court decisions across the country that argued the practice is illegal. A panel of judges on the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Friday evening that […]

Israeli fighter jets were scrambled Sunday to escort a commercial passenger plane into Tel Aviv after a suspected security incident midflight. The aircraft, operated by Wizz Air, was traveling from London to Ben Gurion Airport when a couple onboard reported receiving what they believed was a security-related threat on a mobile phone, according to officials. […]

A TIME’S “Shas-a-thon” is underway today at the Kalahari Resort in Pennsylvania, where the entire Shas is being learned under one roof in a powerful show of achdus — all to bring hope, raise awareness, and provide support for couples struggling with infertility.

Rep. Mike Lawler responds to Chuck Schumer’s claim that President Trump was only willing to release federal funding for the Gateway Project if Penn Station were named after him.

A building collapsed in the city of Tripoli in northern Lebanon. Rescue efforts are ongoing, and it is currently unclear how many people are trapped beneath the rubble.

Russian state TV aired FSB footage showing agents escorting a suspect, identified as Ukrainian-born Russian citizen Lyubomir Korba, allegedly involved in the shooting of a top military-intelligence officer.

A banner was raised in Tehran’s Palestine Square, displaying a map of potential targets in the Greater Tel Aviv area, alongside a warning: In the face of a rain of missiles, this is a small area. You start… we finish it!

Trump: America’s Elections are Rigged, Stolen, and a Laughingstock all over the World. We are either going to fix them, or we won’t have a Country any longer.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi: I believe that if our conclusion is that this seriousness exists on the opposing side, these negotiations will continue. There are signs that this seriousness exists, but there are also signs that this seriousness is faint. The continuation of certain sanctions and some activities in the military sphere, well, create […]

TRAGEDY IN OFAKIM: A deadly road accident occurred on Sunday near Ofakim, in which a 5-year-old Chareidi boy was hit by a car and killed. The initial collision triggered a chain reaction involving three other vehicles that overturned at the scene. MDA and United Hatzalah teams arrived quickly and provided extensive medical treatment, but tragically […]

Iranian FM Abbas Araghchi: The missile issue and the regional issue (proxies) has never been on the agenda of foreign negotiations so it hasn’t been removed because it was never included…

Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi: We neither trust them (Americans) nor rule out the possibility of deception and trickery. We know very well this possibility exists… this might be a deception let no one be deceived. Everyone should go about their work and complete their regular tasks as if we were not negotiating at all, […]

US Investor Emerges in Talks to Buy Arkia After Costly War Losses Following tens of millions of dollars in losses during the war and a prolonged legal battle over Wizz Air’s effort to establish a hub in Israel, the Nakash brothers are holding advanced talks to sell control of Arkia Airlines. The negotiations are being […]

James Fishback, a Republican running for governor of Florida, is facing intense criticism after making a disparaging remark about the Kotel during a campaign appearance, drawing condemnation from Jewish organizations, civil rights advocates, and political commentators.

The controversy stems from comments Fishback delivered on February 5, 2026, during a speech at the University of Central Florida. While discussing his view that Florida should focus on strengthening economic relationships with countries such as Brazil rather than emphasizing diplomatic visits to Israel, Fishback declared, “I will not visit the state of Israel.” He continued, “I’d rather go to Brazil and other countries to bring jobs to Florida, and not visit countries just to kiss a stupid wall.”

Footage from the event shows members of the audience applauding and cheering following the remark.

WATCH:

James Fishback, candidate for Florida Governor at UCF:

“If you’re going to visit another country, you should be helping people, creating jobs, facilitating trade, not kissing a stupid wall.” pic.twitter.com/4we296VXHm

— Joan (@joanfromdc) February 5, 2026

StopAntisemitism, a U.S.-based organization dedicated to combating antisemitism, sharply criticized Fishback in a post on X, writing, “StopAntisemitism is disgusted to see James Fishback, candidate for Florida Governor, denigrate the Kotel, the holiest site to the Jewish people. Listen to the incel groypers he’s preaching to [respond] with applause.”

The organization pointed to the crowd’s reaction as evidence that the comment was calculated to appeal to specific online subcultures. Civil rights attorney and former Fox News contributor Leo Terrell also denounced the statement, saying it “made my blood boil.” Terrell urged the public to speak out, adding that similar language directed at sacred sites of other faiths would be unacceptable. He has previously described a visit to the Kotel as a defining moment in his career.

Bryan E. Leib, a former congressional candidate and Newsmax contributor, addressed the controversy in an op-ed published on February 6, 2026, describing Fishback’s words as “ignorant and offensive.” Leib called on Florida Republicans to reject the remarks, arguing that they revealed character rather than policy differences.

Leib also questioned the silence of party leaders, asking why the Florida GOP and other elected officials had not yet issued condemnations. He added that Fishback’s rhetoric suggested that millions of Florida voters who have visited the Kosel “are not worthy to be Americans.”

Fishback, a hedge fund manager who entered the governor’s race in 2025, has previously attracted attention for controversial statements. This latest episode, however, appears particularly damaging given Florida’s large and politically active Jewish population, one of the largest in the United States.

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump wants to keep home prices high, bypassing calls to ramp up construction so people can afford what has been a ticket to the middle class. Trump has instead argued for protecting existing owners who have watched the values of their homes climb. It’s a position that flies in the face of what many economists, the […]