A U.S. Navy fighter aircraft destroyed an Iranian drone that moved toward the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea, U.S. Central Command announced Tuesday, an encounter that underscored rising friction as the Trump administration warns it could use force to push Tehran back into negotiations.
According to U.S. Central Command spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins, the drone “aggressively approached” the carrier with “unclear intent” and “continued to fly toward the ship despite de-escalatory measures taken by U.S. forces operating in international waters.”
The downing came just hours after Iranian units harassed a U.S.-flagged, U.S.-crewed commercial ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. military said, linking the aerial incident to a broader pattern of maritime pressure.
Hawkins said the aircraft involved was an Iranian Shahed-139, which was destroyed by an F-35C launched from the Lincoln while the carrier was operating roughly 500 miles (800 kilometers) off Iran’s southern coastline. U.S. officials reported no injuries to American personnel and no damage to U.S. equipment.
Later the same day, forces from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps again confronted the same merchant vessel, the military said.
In a statement, Hawkins said two fast boats and an Iranian Mohajer drone closed in on the tanker “at high speeds and threatened to board and seize the tanker.”
The destroyer USS McFaul moved in and escorted the Stena Imperative “with defensive air support from the U.S. Air Force,” the statement said, adding that the ship was able to continue its voyage without incident.
The episodes unfolded against a backdrop of strained relations between Washington and Tehran, tensions that flared anew after Iran’s leadership spent weeks suppressing protests that erupted in late December over worsening economic conditions and later broadened into a challenge to the Islamic Republic.
President Donald Trump said in early January that he would “rescue” Iranians from what he described as a brutal government crackdown, a stance that evolved into a renewed pressure campaign aimed at compelling Iran to reach a nuclear agreement. Trump has also maintained that Iranian nuclear facilities were “obliterated” during U.S. strikes carried out in June.
“We have talks going on with Iran. We’ll see how it all works out,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday, declining to spell out where he would draw the line for military action.
“I’d like to see a deal negotiated,” Trump said. “Right now, we’re talking to them, we’re talking to Iran, and if we could work something out, that’d be great. And if we can’t, probably bad things would happen.”
The U.S. interception occurred only hours after Iran’s president said Tuesday that he had directed the foreign minister to “pursue fair and equitable negotiations” with Washington, one of the clearest signals in months that Tehran is open to renewed talks after negotiations collapsed last summer.
Behind the scenes, Turkey has been attempting to facilitate discussions expected later this week, as U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff travels through the region. A Turkish official later said the venue for any talks remained undecided, but that Ankara stood ready to assist the diplomatic effort.
{Matzav.com}
The House on Tuesday approved a sweeping funding package to bring a brief government shutdown to an end, sending the legislation to President Donald Trump for his signature after the lapse began over the weekend.
The bill cleared the chamber by a 217–214 vote.
Trump has said he will sign it “immediately.”
Once enacted, the measure will provide funding for most federal agencies through the end of September. The sole exception is the Department of Homeland Security, which would receive funding for only two additional weeks as Democrats press for changes following the fatal shooting of two Americans by federal agents in Minneapolis.
By carving out DHS, the legislation sets off a compressed 10-day sprint for lawmakers to negotiate a separate agreement, with Democrats seeking reforms aimed at curbing the authority of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection.
Under the bill, DHS funding is scheduled to run out on Feb. 13.
Earlier Tuesday, House Republicans narrowly advanced the legislation on a procedural vote, 217–215, without Democratic support.
Final passage was delayed by a day after Democrats privately signaled they would not supply the large number of votes required to fast-track the bill on Monday. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., did not reveal how he would vote, saying only that his caucus held “a variety of perspectives” on the package.
Following a party meeting Tuesday, Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., also declined to say how she would vote when questioned ahead of the roll call.
The procedural vote underscored the razor-thin margin Republicans hold in the House. The vote was kept open longer than usual after Rep. John Rose, R-Tenn., unexpectedly joined Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., in opposing it. Massie has consistently resisted spending bills and was widely viewed as unlikely to change his position. Rose, who complained that the Senate had failed to act on the SAVE Act requiring proof of citizenship to vote, ultimately switched his vote to support the rule.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., the top Democratic negotiator on funding issues in the House, said she planned to back the bill and was confident it would pass. She said she and other Democrats spoke in favor of the legislation during their internal meeting.
“I believe this is an opportunity to isolate DHS and go at it, hammer and tongs, tooth and nail — whatever phrase you want to use, rather than having to figure out what the heck is going to happen to five other bills and all those departments,” DeLauro said. “There’s unbelievable bipartisan, bicameral support on those bills. So why squander that? And then take the next 10 days, next Friday, and just bring DHS up.”
The agreement to temporarily set aside DHS funding while approving the rest of the spending bills was reached by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and the White House after the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti prompted a nationwide backlash.
After the Senate passed the package Friday by a 71–29 vote, Trump urged House Republicans to approve the bill without changes, tamping down internal calls to alter the agreement.
Even with the shutdown ended, lawmakers from both parties acknowledge that reaching a bipartisan deal on DHS funding will be difficult.
Rep. Robert Aderholt, R-Ala., a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, said meeting the next deadline would be a challenge.
“There are vast differences,” he said. “I would expect — and I’m hearing that there could be just another, we kick the can down the road a little bit longer until those differences can be worked out … at least, probably, March 1.”
{Matzav.com}
The price of a single pack of cigarettes in the Gaza Strip has surged dramatically in recent months, crossing the 100-shekel mark and at times reaching into the thousands, according to sources familiar with the situation, amid acute shortages caused by the ongoing war.
Sources said that a carton containing ten packs is now selling for more than 1,000 shekels, underscoring the enormous profits tied to cigarette smuggling into Gaza Strip. The soaring prices have turned cigarettes into one of the most lucrative black-market commodities in the territory.
Against this backdrop, it was cleared for publication on Tuesday that Betzalel Zini, the brother of Shin Bet chief David Zini, is suspected of involvement in smuggling cigarettes into Gaza.
A source familiar with the investigation said the combination of severe shortages and high demand has transformed cigarettes into an exceptionally expensive product, with prices in some cases reaching thousands of shekels. It was reported last week that prosecutors are expected to file an indictment against Zini, and on Tuesday morning police requested an extension of his detention.
The investigation is being handled by the Southern District’s major crimes unit. As part of the probe, a sweeping gag order has been imposed on the case — which involves large-scale smuggling operations and numerous suspects — until February 10.
Indictments against 13 suspects connected to the affair are expected to be filed with the Beersheva District Court on Wednesday afternoon, after their submission was delayed to allow investigators to complete additional inquiries.
{Matzav.com}[COMMUNICATED]
The will of the Chofetz Chaim zt”l, in which he sets forth the defining milestones of his life and his lifelong activities on behalf of the public, and instructions regarding the future of the Radin yeshiva and its leadership after he passes away. It is written in its entirety in his own handwriting with his full signature: “Here in Radin, the words of Yisrael Meir HaKohen, son of Rabbi Aryeh Zev HaKohen, author of the sefer Chofetz Chaim and Mishnah Brurah.”
In his will, the Chofetz Chaim, with his characteristic humility, composes an emotional summary of his life — an autobiography — and gives thanks to Hashem for the merit of his activities on behalf of the public. He begins by setting forth the idea that profoundly impacted his generation and continues to do so to this day — awakening people to the severity of the prohibition of speaking lashon hara.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday sharply criticized Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid following his proposal to designate Qatar as an enemy state, dismissing the move as part of Israel’s internal political disputes and accusing Israel of direct aggression against Doha.
Speaking at the ministry’s weekly press briefing, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari addressed the bill introduced by Yair Lapid, without mentioning him by name. According to reports carried by Israeli media, al-Ansari said Qatar has become accustomed to being dragged into Israel’s domestic political battles.
“With regard to what was submitted by the leader of the opposition in Israel, we have honestly grown used to Qatar’s name being used within Israel’s internal conflict,” al-Ansari said. “It does not interest us at all.”
Al-Ansari went further, accusing Israel of acting as the aggressor, claiming that Israel had carried out a direct strike on Qatari territory. “Israel is the one that bombed the State of Qatar. It is the one that struck a residential compound in the city of Doha,” he said. “It is the aggressive party in this context.”
He added that any Israelis seeking to label Qatar an enemy should instead “return to the attack carried out by the Israeli prime minister, which constituted a blatant and direct assault on the State of Qatar.”
Separately, al-Ansari addressed the limited reopening of the Rafah Crossing, calling for it to be opened not only for people but also for humanitarian supplies. He expressed opposition to the use of the crossing as a political pressure tactic.
At present, the crossing is open only for the restricted movement of individuals, with no entry permitted for goods or aid shipments.
{Matzav.com}
The agency overseeing construction of the $16 billion Gateway rail tunnel linking New York and New Jersey has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, arguing that a federal funding freeze could bring one of the country’s largest infrastructure projects to a standstill.
The Gateway project is designed to create a new rail passage beneath the Hudson River for Amtrak and New Jersey Transit. Officials say the work must be completed before repairs can begin on the existing tunnel, which is more than a century old and has suffered long-term damage from saltwater exposure. Project leaders warn that construction will be halted on Feb. 6 if federal funding is not released, and officials from both states have pressed the administration to allow the money to flow.
In a statement issued late Monday, the Gateway Development Commission said it has filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit in the US Court of Federal Claims, though court records confirming the filing were not immediately available.
“Despite its contractual commitments to fund the project, the federal government has suspended the release of its contractually obligated funds since October 1, 2025,” the commission said in the statement. “The lawsuit makes clear that the shifting explanations the administration has provided for this breach are plainly unlawful.”
Representatives for the US Department of Transportation and the White House did not immediately respond to inquiries seeking comment.
The Trump administration is currently holding back roughly $18 billion allocated to public transportation projects in jurisdictions led by Democratic mayors or governors. Those projects include New York City’s Second Avenue subway extension into Harlem and planned transit upgrades in Chicago. In October, the Transportation Department said it was examining whether the projects comply with a new policy prohibiting race- and sex-based contracting requirements.
Transit agencies say they have already submitted documentation demonstrating that their projects meet the new standards, but the funding has still not been released. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operates New York City’s transit system, needs federal support to finalize an agreement within the next several months to renovate an existing tunnel along Second Avenue, according to Jamie Torres-Springer, the MTA’s president of construction and development, who spoke Wednesday.
Completion of the new Hudson River tunnel, along with rehabilitation of the current one, is expected to significantly increase rail capacity, cut down on chronic delays, and allow more Amtrak and New Jersey Transit trains to enter and exit Manhattan. Gateway officials describe the tunnel as a critical transportation artery, carrying 450 trains and tens of thousands of passengers through the corridor each day.
A shutdown of construction would mark another serious blow to a long-running effort to relieve congestion on the Northeast Corridor. In 2010, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie canceled an earlier tunnel proposal known as Access to the Region’s Core, or ARC, arguing at the time that the state could be left responsible for potential cost overruns.
{Matzav.com}
