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Below United Nations headquarters, a state-of-the-art security post dubbed the “Brain Center” hums with activity on the eve of next week’s high-level meeting of the U.N. General Assembly. The annual diplomatic pilgrimage is bringing more than 140 world leaders to New York City, including the leaders of Israel, the Palestinians and Ukraine. Keeping them safe is the U.S. Secret Service’s next big challenge. The agency, under a cloud after a July assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, is confident in its multi-layer, multi-agency plan to protect the U.N. General Assembly, which is deemed a Super Bowl-level National Special Security Event. The plan — developed with New York City police and the U.N. Security and Safety Service, among other agencies — includes not just motorcades and protective details, but NYPD helicopters and patrol boats, a dozen U.N. security K-9 teams sweeping for explosives, road closures and traffic diversions. The Secret Service is bringing in agents from posts around the world for the event. The Coast Guard is restricting East River access near the U.N. and the Federal Aviation Administration is closing airspace. With so many presidents, prime ministers, monarchs and others dignitaries in one city and under one roof at the same time, the U.N. General Assembly is actually bigger than the Super Bowl. It’s the most complex event the Secret Service is involved in each year. This year, it’s coming during a especially busy stretch highlighted by the Republican and Democratic conventions and the final weeks of the presidential campaign. Speaking Monday after the Secret Service thwarted another apparent assassination attempt on Trump in Florida, Acting Director Ronald L. Rowe Jr. said employees were “redlining” like an engine pushed to its limit. But, he said, “they are rising to this moment” and meeting the challenges. “The operational tempo is incredibly high,” said Patrick Freaney, the special agent in charge of the Secret Service’s New York field office. The Associated Press got a rare look inside security preparations for the U.N. General Assembly, known as UNGA, including the “Brain Center” and a joint operations center that lets the Secret Service, NYPD and other agencies communicate instantly to root out threats and logistical snags. They’re also coordinating with the foreign security services that protect each of the dignitaries. Freaney said the National Special Security Event designation — for special events of national significance — smooths the way for interagency planning, communication and cooperation. The Secret Service is in charge, but the NYPD’s robust counterterrorism and other operations, and the U.N.’s 300-person Security and Safety Service, play pivotal roles. “We have over 140 heads of state, heads of government that we’re moving around the city,” Freaney said during a tour of the joint operations center, which has space for 10 local and federal agencies, including the FBI and Federal Emergency Management Agency and the State and Defense departments. “One of the most important things is bringing all of them in here and then departing safely,” Freaney said. “Think about that logistically — bringing 140 motorcades into one area all at the same time. This plays an integral part of bringing those details in safely.” The Secret Service, NYPD and State Department will also be operating their own command centers — in Brooklyn, at One Police Plaza in Manhattan and at a nearby […]

At around 1:10 am on Motzei Shabbos, sirens sounded over 70 communities in northern Israel warning of incoming Hezbollah rockets.

Hezbollah claims it targeted the Ramat David airbase near Chaifa, saying in a statement: “We fired rockets at the air force base in Ramat David in response to the Israeli attacks.”

Communities with sirens included Yokne’am, Nazareth, Afula, communities in the Lower Galil and Jezreel Valley, and the Carmel area.

Initial reports claimed that Hezbollah fired its Fajr-5 missile, for the first time since 2006. Most of the rockets were intercepted by Israel, with one light injury reported. Magen David Adom said the injured man was a 60 year old who was injured by a fragment from an intercepted rocket in the lower Galil.

In Afula and other northern communities, power outages have been reported.

In a statement, the IDF said: “Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in the Jezreel Valley area, approximately 10 projectiles were identified crossing from Lebanon into Israeli territory. Most of the projectiles were intercepted and a fallen projectile was identified in the area. The incident is under review.”

Earlier on Motzei Shabbos, the IDF reported: “Since the afternoon, with the direction of the IDF Intelligence Directorate, the IAF struck approximately 290 targets, including thousands of launcher barrels, alongside additional terrorist infrastructure in multiple areas in southern Lebanon,” an IDF statement read.

“Over the past few hours, in an additional series of strikes, the IDF struck approximately 110 Hezbollah terrorist targets, including launchers and terrorist infrastructure in multiple areas in southern Lebanon.

“The IDF will continue operating to dismantle and degrade Hezbollah’s capabilities and terrorist infrastructure.”

{Matzav.com}

Federal agents on Saturday boarded a vessel managed by the same company as a cargo ship that caused the deadly Baltimore bridge collapse, the FBI confirmed. In statements, spokespeople for the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maryland confirmed that authorities boarded the Maersk Saltoro. The ship is managed by Synergy Marine Group. “The Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division and Coast Guard Investigative Services are present aboard the Maersk Saltoro conducting court authorized law enforcement activity,” statements from both the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office said Saturday morning. Authorities did not offer further specifics. The Washington Post first reported on federal authorities boarding the ship. The raid came several months after investigators conducted a similar search of the Dali, the cargo ship that crashed into the bridge. In a lawsuit filed Wednesday, the U.S. Justice Department alleged that Dali owner Grace Ocean Private Ltd. and manager Synergy Marine, both of Singapore, recklessly cut corners and ignored known electrical problems on the vessel, which lost power multiple times minutes before it crashed into a support column on the Francis Scott Key Bridge in March. The Justice Department said mechanical and electrical systems on the massive ship had been “jury-rigged” and improperly maintained, culminating in the power outages and a cascade of other failures that left its pilots and crew helpless in the face of looming disaster. The ship was leaving Baltimore for Sri Lanka when its steering failed because of the power loss. Six members of a road work crew were killed when the bridge crumbled into the water. The collapse also snarled commercial shipping traffic through the Port of Baltimore for months before the channel was fully reopened in June. The Justice Department is seeking to recover more than $100 million the government spent to clear the underwater debris and reopen the city’s port. The companies filed a court petition days after the collapse seeking to limit their legal liability in what could become the most expensive marine casualty case in history. Justice Department officials said there is no legal support for that bid to limit liability and pledged to vigorously contest it. In its lawsuit, which also seeks punitive damages, the Justice Department argued that vessel owners and operators need to be “deterred from engaging in such reckless and exceedingly harmful behavior.” That includes Grace Ocean and Synergy themselves because the Dali has a “sister ship,” authorities wrote in the claim. The two companies “need to be deterred because they continue to operate their vessels, including a sister ship to the Dali, in U.S. waters and benefit economically from those activities,” the lawsuit says. Darrell Wilson, a Grace Ocean spokesperson, confirmed that the FBI and Coast Guard boarded the Maersk Saltoro in the Port of Baltimore on Saturday morning. Wilson has previously said the owner and manager “look forward to our day in court to set the record straight.” Like the Dali, the Singapore-flagged Saltoro was built by Hyundai in 2015. According to the Justice Department lawsuit, major issues with the Dali’s electrical system may have resulted from excessive vibrations on the ship that can loosen wires and damage connections. A prior captain of the vessel had reported “heavy vibration” in his handover notes in May 2023, saying he had made similar […]

With the 2024 election looming, the first since the mass popularization of generative artificial intelligence, experts feared the worst: social media flooded with AI-generated deepfakes that were so realistic, baffled voters wouldn’t know what to believe. So far, that hasn’t happened. Instead, what voters are seeing is far more absurd: A video of former President Donald Trump riding a cat while wielding an assault rifle. A mustachioed Vice President Kamala Harris dressed in communist attire. Trump and Harris sharing a passionate embrace. AI is playing a major role in the presidential campaign, even if the greatest fears about how it could threaten the U.S. presidential election haven’t materialized yet. Fake AI-generated images regularly ricochet around the web, but many of them are so cartoonish and absurd that even the most naïve viewer couldn’t take them seriously. Still, even these memes can be problematic. Eye-catching AI-generated photos and videos, some striving to be funny, have become useful tools for spreading false, sometimes racist messages with a clear political bent — and candidates and their supporters are among those sharing them on social media. For example, Trump and many of his allies not only repeatedly promoted the unfounded conspiracy theory that Haitian migrants are stealing and eating cats and dogs in Springfield, Ohio, they also spread related AI-generated memes. One shared by Trump’s Truth Social account showed him on a luxury jet, surrounded by cats and white ducks. Another showed a group of kittens holding a sign that read, “DON’T LET THEM EAT US, Vote for Trump!” Francesca Tripodi, an expert in online propaganda, said such AI-made images are new, viral vehicles to carry age-old anti-immigration narratives. “The memes that are amplifying this claim are anything but humorous. When you have elected officials who are utilizing this imagery as a way of perpetuating racism and xenophobia, that’s a huge problem,” said Tripodi, a sociologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Republicans defend the images as lighthearted jokes — and byproducts of Trump’s personality. “There is a culture of personality surrounding Donald Trump that encourages that sort of over-the-top communication style that turns things into comical memes,” said Caleb Smith, a Republican strategist. “The intent is to entertain, not to deceive. That is what it should be.” Not just Trump supporters Trump and his supporters aren’t the only ones creating AI memes, but they appear to be using AI image generators more than their Democratic counterparts. Some left-leaning users have posted AI images making fun of billionaire Elon Musk, the owner of X and an outspoken supporter of Trump’s campaign. Democrats also posted AI-generated images of Trump in handcuffs and being chased by police when he was in court in Manhattan last year. But Kamala Harris’ campaign has not leaned into amplifying AI-generated content, sticking instead to TikTok trends and other memes that don’t require AI models to create. “Currently, the only authorized campaign use of generative AI is for productivity tools, such as data analysis and industry-standard coding assistance,” said Harris campaign spokesperson Mia Ehrenberg. Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung did not respond to specific questions from The Associated Press but said its strategy had not changed since May, when he provided an emailed statement saying the campaign did not “engage or utilize” tools supplied by any AI company. […]

Voters will decide ballot measures on abortion and immigration in Arizona, a key battleground state where Republicans are looking to capitalize on concerns about illegal border crossings to counter an expected increase in turnout by people determined to restore and protect abortion rights. And while the abortion initiative is bolstered by a citizen-led campaign flush with cash, the GOP lawmakers who added a measure to empower state law enforcers to crack down on people who are in Arizona illegally say it already has so much momentum that they don’t plan to raise money or spend much time selling it. Abortion has many people fired up since an 1864 law banning nearly all abortions was revived and then quickly repealed this year. But immigration consistently ranks as a top concern in this western swing state, where anti-immigration legislation has long fueled national debates over illegal crossings from Mexico. “Voters will approve this more to send a message that something, anything, needs to be done,” said Barrett Marson, a Phoenix-based Republican strategist. “It lacks financial backing because people know it’s going to pass and that it has little impact on curbing illegal immigration into Arizona.” Arizona state House Speaker Ben Toma voted with fellow Republicans in June to put the measure on the ballot. He called it common sense and just a small part of “what actually needs to happen to secure the border.” Frustration over illegal immigration persists despite moves by the Biden-Harris administration this year to shut down what had been an unprecedented surge in new arrivals. Democrats blame former President Donald Trump for making it a top campaign issue by persuading allies in Congress to torpedo bipartisan legislation that could have bolstered the federal response. Republican lawmakers across the country this year have pushed tougher immigration policies, with their majorities in Texas, Iowa and Oklahoma passing laws to conduct immigration enforcement at the state level. But in each of those states, federal courts blocked their efforts to enforce the laws. Democratic strategist DJ Quinlan said that despite universal concerns about the border, plenty of voters and stakeholders oppose this particular measure, which would make it a state crime for noncitizens to illegally cross from Mexico into Arizona outside authorized ports of entry. The crime would enable local police to arrest violators and state judges to order deportations, which are roles historically left to the federal government. “When you talk to a lot of people in law enforcement or in the business community or that deal with these sorts of issues on a day-to-day basis, this referendum is not the answer,” Quinlan said. The measure also would require state agencies that administer federal, state or local benefit programs to use a federal database to verify that no ineligible noncitizens get the benefits. And it would shield law enforcement from civil lawsuits alleging racial profiling of Latinos or other minorities. Some of its provisions aren’t directly related to illegal immigration, including making selling fentanyl that leads to a person’s death a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Latino groups argued this violates a state constitutional requirement that legislative proposals cover a single subject. The Arizona Supreme Court disagreed, clearing to a path for voters to decide. Kent Jenson, a 68-year-old retiree, said he opposes illegal immigration and detests […]

The Arizona Supreme Court unanimously ruled Friday that nearly 98,000 people whose citizenship documents hadn’t been confirmed can vote in state and local races, a significant decision that could influence ballot measures and tight legislative races. The court’s decision comes after officials uncovered a database error that for two decades mistakenly designated the voters as having access to the full ballot. The voters already were entitled to cast ballots in federal races, including for president and Congress, regardless of how the court ruled. Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a Democrat, and Stephen Richer, the Republican Maricopa County recorder, had disagreed on what status the voters should hold. Richer asked the high court to weigh in, saying Fontes ignored state law by advising county officials to let affected voters cast full ballots. Fontes said not allowing the voters who believed they had satisfied voting requirements access to the full ballot would raise equal protection and due process concerns. The high court, which leans Republican, agreed with Fontes. It said county officials lack the authority to change the voters’ statuses because those voters registered long ago and had attested under the penalty of law that they are citizens. The justices also said the voters were not at fault for the database error and also mentioned the little time that’s left before the Nov. 5 general election. “We are unwilling on these facts to disenfranchise voters en masse from participating in state contests,” Chief Justice Ann Scott Timmer wrote in the ruling. Of the nearly 98,000 affected voters, most of them reside in Maricopa County, which is home to Phoenix, and are longtime state residents who range in age from 45 to 60. About 37% of them are registered Republicans, about 27% are registered Democrats and the rest are independents or affiliated with minor parties. Arizona is unique among states in that it requires voters to prove their citizenship to participate in local and state races. Voters can demonstrate citizenship by providing a driver’s license or tribal ID number, or they can attach a copy of a birth certificate, passport or naturalization documents. Arizona considers drivers’ licenses issued after October 1996 to be valid proof of citizenship. However, a system coding error marked nearly 98,000 voters who obtained licenses before 1996 — roughly 2.5% of all registered voters — as full-ballot voters, state officials said. The error between the state’s voter registration database and the Motor Vehicle Division has since been resolved. That number of votes could tip the scales in hotly contested races for the state Legislature, where Republicans hold a slim majority in both chambers. Voters also are deciding on the constitutional right to abortion and on a state law that would criminalize noncitizens for entering Arizona through Mexico at any location other than a port of entry. Though Richer and Fontes disagreed over the status of the voters, both celebrated the court’s ruling. “Thank God,” Richer said on the social platform X. He told The Associated Press on Thursday that maintaining voters’ statuses would be administratively easier. Fontes, in a news release, called the ruling a “significant victory for those whose fundamental right to vote was under scrutiny.” Election officials will be contacting voters who need to update their proof of citizenship after the election, he said. John Groseclose, who […]

President Joe Biden told Indo-Pacific allies on Saturday that he believes China’s increasing military assertiveness is an effort to test the region at a turbulent moment for Beijing. Biden’s comments were caught by a hot mic after he and fellow leaders of the so-called Quad delivered opening remarks before the press at a summit he’s hosting near his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware. He said his administration sees Beijing’s actions as a “change in tactic, not a change in strategy.” China continues to struggle to pull up its economy that was pummeled by the coronavirus pandemic and has seen an extended slowdown in industrial activity and real estate prices as Beijing faces pressure to ramp up spending to stimulate demand. “At least from our perspective, we believe Xi Jinping is looking to focus on domestic economic challenges and minimize the turbulence in China’s diplomatic relationships, and he’s also looking to buy himself some diplomatic space, in my view, to aggressively pursue China’s interest,” Biden told Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. “It is true across the scope of our relationship, including on economic and technology issues.” Starting with a trade war that dates back to 2018, China and the United States have grown at odds over a range of issues, from global security, such as China’s claims over the South China Sea, to industrial policy on electric vehicle and solar panel manufacturing. The administration has repeatedly spoken out about concerns about Chinese aggression toward Taiwan and more recently on the frequent clashes between Chinese and Philippine vessels in disputed areas of the South China Sea. Biden recently dispatched his national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, to Beijing for three days of talks with Chinese officials. Sullivan during that visit also met with Xi. Both governments are eager to keep relations on an even keel ahead of a change in the U.S. presidency in January. And both sides have said they remain committed to managing the relationship, following up on a meeting between Xi and Biden in San Francisco last November. Biden added that he continues to believe “intense competition requires intense diplomacy.” The comments came as Biden showed off a slice of his Delaware hometown to the leaders of Australia, Japan and India as he hosted what is likely the last gathering of the Indo-Pacific partnership that has grown in prominence under his White House tenure. When Biden began his presidency he looked to elevate the Quad, which until then had only met at the foreign minister level, to a leader-level partnership as he tried to pivot U.S. foreign policy away from conflicts in the Middle East and toward threats and opportunities in the Indo-Pacific. This weekend’s summit is the fourth in-person and sixth overall gathering of the leaders since 2021. “It will survive way beyond November,” Biden told the leaders. The president, who has admitted to an uneven track record as a scholar, also seemed tickled to get to host a gathering with three world leaders at the school he attended more than 60 years ago. He welcomed each of the leaders individually for one-on-one talks at his nearby home before they gathered at the school for talks and a formal dinner. “I don’t think the headmaster of this school thought […]

A police pursuit that began in New York City ended on Long Island with the shooting death of the driver, and seven police officers and a civilian were taken to hospitals for treatment, police said. Patrick Ryder, commissioner of the Nassau County police department, told reporters Saturday that the chase began after New York City officers tried to stop a driver in the Jamaica neighborhood in the borough of Queens shortly after 11 p.m. Friday. The driver tried to ram the two police officers, striking them before fleeing, Ryder said. Officers in Nassau County boxed in the driver at one point, but he hit two police cars and forced two officers to dive out of the way, he said. The vehicle went further down the road, hitting another police car, turned around and went the wrong way before turning around again and hitting a civilian car. The driver’s vehicle went out of control and stopped on a berm in Massapequa, Ryder said. Officers tried to get the driver to get out of the car, but he refused to comply and was killed by gunfire, Ryder said. Ryder described the driver as reckless, saying his vehicle was “flying.” “He jumped onto oncoming traffic … he’s ramming police car, he’s ramming civilian cars, and he lost control of his own vehicle,” he said. Five police officers from Nassau County and two from New York City were taken to hospitals, along with the driver of the civilian car, Ryder said. One officer was struck by the vehicle, two were injured diving for safety and three were taken for treatment of trauma after the police shooting, he said. The driver’s name wasn’t immediately released. The state attorney general’s office was notified and is investigating, Ryder said. Video was being collected from the city and from places along the highway, as well as from officers’ body-worn cameras, he said. (AP)

Israeli Air Force fighter jets destroyed thousands of Hezbollah rocket launcher barrels on Shabbos and  Motzei Shabbos. IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said that the IDF carried out hundreds of airstrikes after it identified Hezbollah preparing to launch rockets at Israel. “The Israeli Air Force struck thousands of launcher barrels that were ready for immediate use to fire toward Israeli territory,” Hagari said. “Additionally, IDF artillery struck a number of areas in southern Lebanon. The IDF will continue operating to dismantle and degrade Hezbollah’s capabilities and terror infrastructure.” Hezbollah launched about 90 rockets at Israel from southern Lebanon on Shabbos afternoon in several barrages. B’Chasdei Hashem no one was injured but rocket falls caused multiple fires. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

Israel is on the highest level of alert as the IDF prepares for the Hezbollah terror group to retaliate for Friday’s elimination of its entire Radwan Force command and the killing and maiming of thousands of terrorists in the “exploding devices’ operation last week. IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari announced on Motzei Shabbos that the Home Front Command has issued new guidelines for residents of Haifa and northward due to concerns about heavy Hezbollah rocket fire targeting these areas in the coming hours. Hagari noted that in light of the situation, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has signed a “special situation” order for the home front. “There may be further changes. We are preparing for launches in the near future. We ask everyone to adhere to the guidelines.” In response to a question about whether there are plans for a large-scale evacuation of residents north of Haifa, he responded, “The guidelines are as I described. We are taking precautionary measures.” The restrictions were issued to the Lower Galil, Upper Galil,  Haifa Bay, the Emekim and central Galil, and parts of the southern Golan (Jordan Valley Regional Council). In these areas, gatherings are limited to 30 people in open areas and up to 300 people in buildings. Work activities can take place in buildings or in locations that allow access to a protected space during emergencies. Schools with sufficient protective spaces for all students and staff can open. Beaches located in these areas will be closed to the public. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

The IDF confirmed on Motzei Shabbos that it eliminated the entire leadership of Hezbollah’s Radwan Force in the targeted airstrike on Friday that killed Ibrahim Aqil, the head of Hezbollah’s military operations who was responsible for overseeing a plan to invade northern Israel. According to the IDF spokesperson’s statement, Air Force fighter jets attacked and killed Ibrahim Akil, head of the operational unit and commander of Hezbollah’s Radwan force, while he was meeting with Radwan commanders underground in the Dahiya neighborhood—Hezbollah’s stronghold in Beirut. In addition to Akil, 15 additional Hezbollah terrorists were killed in the strike, including senior commanders in the Radwan chain of command. Akil and the commanders who were killed were responsible for planning, advancing, and executing hundreds of terror plots against Israel, including the deadly plan for Hezbollah to raid communities in the Galil. Senior figures within the organization and the Radwan command staff who were eliminated in the strike were: Hassan Youssef Abd Al-Satar  – the Radwan Force’s operations chief, who led and advanced all fire operations for the unit, and Hussein Ahmad Aahraj – the Radwan Force’s chief of staff. He was responsible for the transfer of weapons. Additional Hezbollah commanders who were killed were: Ahmad Mahmoud Al-Habi, also known as Abu Hassin Samir, who served as the head of the Radwan Force training unit. He held various positions in the terrorist organization and served as the commander of the Radwan Force for a decade, until early 2024. He was one of the planners and leaders of the “Galilee Occupation” attack plan and was involved in advancing Hezbollah’s entrenchment in southern Lebanon. Over the years, and during the early months of the war, he planned and carried out numerous infiltration and shooting attacks into Israeli territory. Commanders from Radwan’s attack unit who were eliminated in the strike include: Samer Abdud-Halim Hhalawi, the commander of the coastal area. Abbas Sami Maslemani, the commander of the Qana area. Abdullah Abbas Hajazi , the commander of the Ramim Ridge area. Mohammed Ahmad Rajaa (Ninwa), the commander of the Al-Khiyam area. Hassan Hussein Madi, the commander of the Har Dov area. These commanders had been leading and planning the Radwan Force’s attack and infiltration strategy for years, preparing to infiltrate Israel and kill and abduct Israelis whenever the order was issued. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

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Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has suggested implementing a temporary 10% limit on credit card interest rates. This proposal, he argues, would provide “working Americans a chance to catch up” financially.

Trump revealed this idea during a campaign event in Uniondale, New York, on Wednesday night. Currently, the Federal Reserve reports that the average credit card interest rate reached 21.5% earlier this year, one of the highest rates seen in the past decade.

“While working Americans catch up, we’re going to put a temporary cap on credit-card interest rates,” Trump announced to the crowd. “We can’t let them make 25 and 30 percent,” he emphasized, drawing applause from attendees.

However, financial industry experts were less enthusiastic about the proposal. Some cautioned that capping interest rates could lead to banks cutting off lending to many middle- and lower-income borrowers.

“Wall Street banks would say, how much further risk do I want to bring on given the fact that my revenue is shrinking?” David Robertson, publisher of the Nilson Report, explained to The Wall Street Journal. “That’s where the rubber meets the road.”

Peter Schiff, chief economist at Euro Pacific Asset Management, also voiced concerns to the New York Post, stating, “That would destroy the industry and millions of Americans would lose their credit cards. There are heavy losses in credit cards from people who don’t pay. So they need the high interest rates to offset that.”

The concept of capping credit card interest rates has been proposed before. In 2019, Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., pushed for a 15% cap, while Senator Josh Hawley, R-Mo., suggested an 18% cap. Neither proposal gained traction, as reported by the Journal.

According to Federal Reserve data, the average credit card interest rate hasn’t dipped below 10% since 1994.

A spokesperson from the Consumer Banking Association shared further concerns, telling the Post, “Government-imposed price controls on credit card interest rates would … result in credit cards only being given to consumers who have high income and credit scores who post little risk to card issuers.”

{Matzav.com}

The Secret Service is responsible for multiple security failures that led to the July 13 assassination attempt against former president Donald Trump, the Republican candidate for president, at a campaign rally in Butler, Pa., according to the results of the first report on the attack released Friday.

The elite protective agency’s internal review found that agents failed to use technology that might have detected the attacker as he flew a drone over the rally venue hours earlier. Trump’s protective detail had no idea police were frantically searching for a suspicious person, until shots were fired into the crowd.

And the Secret Service, which is the lead agency in charge of security for presidents, former leaders and other top U.S. officials, never directed local police snipers to cover a nearby rooftop even though the snipers were willing to do it, the report found.

Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was able that day to clamber atop that roof and fire multiple shots, killing rally goer Corey Comperatore and injuring others, including Trump. A Secret Service sniper stationed near Trump returned fire, killing Crooks.

The official report is a sparse, five-page summary of the agency’s internal investigation so far into its organizational culture, leadership and staff to identify “potential causes” for the “mission failure” at the rally and ways to improve. Many of the findings are already public through media reports or congressional hearings.

The report is the 60-day internal review that former director Kimberly Cheatle said was underway immediately after the shooting. She had been reluctant to share early details of the inquiry with Congress, leading frustrated lawmakers to call for her to resign, and she stepped down days later.

Her deputy, Ronald L. Rowe Jr., became acting director on July 23.

The review is separate from a probe looking into a second possible assassination attempt against Trump on Sunday. A Secret Service agent saw an armed man on the perimeter of the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, while Trump was golfing, and the agent fired shots. No one was injured and the suspect was later arrested. Rowe has praised the agents for their planning and security during that incident.

Rowe has said the July 13 security breach was not a result of a lack of resources, but a failure to anticipate a possible threat.

He said the Secret Service began making changes soon afterward, including expanding security for Trump and others under the agency’s protection. More than 40 officials, families and foreign dignitaries have protective details.

The report about July 13 comes as the Secret Service and its overseeing agency, the Department of Homeland Security, are negotiating with Congress to dramatically increase the agency’s budget to expand the number of agents and investigators, to upgrade equipment such as armored limousines, and to create more realistic training studios at the agency’s dated training center in Maryland.

Officials have declined to provide details about how much they want the $3 billion a year, 7,000-plus employee agency to expand, but DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in an interview this week that the agency is seeking a “significant” budget increase.

Multiple additional investigations are ongoing into the shooting, including by the FBI, Congress and the DHS inspector general, the agency’s independent watchdog.

President Joe Biden also ordered a 45-day independent review of the Secret Service’s preparation and handling of the rally and its overall policies and procedures. The review’s results are expected in early October, DHS has said.

Most of the summary focuses on lapses in the Secret Service’s advance team and its coordination with state and local law enforcement before the attack.

Secret Service agents and state and local law enforcement used different radio frequencies and gathered in separate facilities, hindering them from urgently sharing information electronically or in person. The Secret Service had its own security room, while Butler County Emergency Services had a separate command post.

As a result, when local authorities were searching for Crooks in the crowd, some did not know that the Secret Service was not directly hearing their radio transmissions, the report said.

“If this information was passed over Secret Service radio frequencies it would have allowed (Trump’s) protective detail to determine whether to move their protectee while the search for the suspicious suspect was in progress.”

Instead, this vital warning was transmitted in “staggered or fragmented fashion” via cellular phones.

Secret Service agents and a local tactical team operating on the second floor of the American Glass Research building, where Crooks climbed on top of the roof, did not plan beforehand to cover the building, even though it had a clear line of sight of the podium where Trump spoke that day.

Internal investigators found that the local snipers would have positioned themselves on top of that roof had they been asked.

Trump’s protective detail had a counter drone system for the visit to Butler, Pa., but they experienced technical difficulties and did not use it.

“It is possible that if this element of the advance had functioned properly, the shooter may have been detected as he flew his drone near the Butler Farm Show venue earlier in the day,” the report said.

(c) Washington Post

Johnson & Johnson has boosted to more than $8.2 billion its offer to settle thousands of lawsuits by people who say its baby powder gave them cancer, according to people familiar with the matter.

The offer, an increase from the drugmaker’s previous $6.5 billion bid, signals that J&J may have to pay at least $1.7 billion more to resolve all of the claims in the yearslong litigation. Under the new terms, claimants could get bigger payouts and about $650 million in legal fees covered, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing the deliberations. J&J declined to comment.

The settlement talks are continuing. J&J maintains its now-withdrawn talc-based powders never caused cancer and it appropriately marketed its baby powder for more than 100 years.

J&J recently garnered support from more than 75% of baby powder claimants for an out-of-court deal that includes claims that the talc-based version caused ovarian and other gynecological cancers. Getting even more people to sign on to the settlement could help the company more quickly use the bankruptcy courts to confine liability to a unit it set up to resolve the suits.

The company could file its latest Chapter 11 case in the coming days, even as a group of alleged victims has still thus far refused to the terms.

J&J shares slipped less than 1% in early Friday trading. The stock has rallied about 5% so far this year, including more than 13% since a low hit in late May.

Earlier this month, the company said it had reached an agreement with a key plaintiff’s group that should help move its settlement forward quickly. That deal came after negotiations with Allen Smith, a Mississippi lawyer who tried the first case alleging the company’s talc-based baby powder caused ovarian cancer in 2009, and opposed J&J’s settlement proposals for years.

– – –

Separately, the company has said it’s resolved 95% of claims its baby powder was tainted with asbestos and caused mesothelioma, a type of cancer that forms in tissues around the heart and lungs.

Guggenheim analyst Vamil Divan said in a recent note to investors that an additional $1.1 billion would be “within the range of what we believe investors would be comfortable with the company paying.” A possible increase of $1.1 billion from the $6.5 billion bid had been previously reported.

“We believe the positive headlines pointing towards this getting resolved have likely played a role in the move we have seen” in the company’s stock in the past few months, he wrote. J&J shares have increased by more than 13% in the past three months.

J&J’s decision to sweeten its settlement offer would bring the total the firm has agreed to pay out – or already expended – to resolve baby powder cases to more than $13.4 billion. Most of the cases are gathered before US District Judge Michael Shipp in Trenton for pre-trial information exchanges.

The New Jersey case is IN RE: Johnson & Johnson Talcum Powder Products Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation, 16-md-2738, U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey (Trenton).

(c) Washington Post

Seventy people have died of West Nile virus in Israel during this summer’s outbreak, the Israeli Health Ministry announced on Friday.

Overall, 913 people have been diagnosed with the virus in the past four months.

West Nile virus has affected Israel for years, usually appearing in June through November and not usually infecting large numbers of people.

Eighty percent of those infected do not develop any symptoms, but the rest, especially elderly and immune-compromised people, display flu-like symptoms including fever, general malaise, headaches and body aches.

Neurological complications will appear in less than 1% of those infected.

People in central Israel and greater Tel Aviv are especially at risk of contracting the disease as the high humidity creates a good breeding ground for the mosquitoes that spread it, according to the ministry.

The virus is primarily transmitted to humans via mosquitoes—particularly, species that feed on birds—and does not spread from person to person.

Israeli authorities have urged health officials to increase mosquito monitoring and extermination efforts while calling on the public to take preventative measures.

(JNS)

An interim IDF report conducted by experts into the helicopter crash in Rafah in September which killed 2 soldiers has concluded that the deadly crash was caused by a cloud of dust, leading to a lack of visibility.

The September 11 crash, which killed Sergeant major (Res.) Daniel Alloush and Sergeant major (Res.) Tom Ish-Shalom, soldiers from Unit 669 (the Tactical Special Rescue Unit), occurred when a Yanshuf helicopter crashed while attempting to land in the Rafah area to rescue a critically wounded soldier. The crash injured an additional 7 soldiers as well.

The findings of the IDF’s interim report were presented to the bereaved families, and the families of the injured soldiers, by the leader of the team of experts who conducted the investigation, named publicly as just Colonel (Res.) G.

According to the report, challenging conditions including nighttime, a cloud of dust and a complex landing zone, all led to a lack of visibility. It is highly probable these conditions led the crew to experience spatial disorientation, causing them to lose visual contact with the ground, leading to the crash.

The report also specifies that enemy fire was not a cause of the crash. Technical issues were also ruled out, and the crew was deemed to be fit for the mission.

Following the release of the interim report, Israeli Air Force Commanding Officer MG Tomer Bar said: “This was a fatal wartime operational accident, in which two Unit 669 soldiers, Sergeant major (res.) Daniel Alloush and Sergeant major (Res.) Tom Ish-Shalom, fell while attempting to rescue a wounded soldier whose condition required urgent evacuation from the Gaza Strip. Such operations have saved hundreds of soldiers during the war. The IAF will quickly draw the necessary lessons and continue to operate with determination.”

{Matzav.com}

The IDF Spokesperson’s Office offered “no comment” on Thursday regarding reports that Houthi fighters have deployed to southern Syria with the aim of opening a new front against Israel using explosive drones.

“Brigade-sized forces belonging to Ansar Allah [the Houthis] were transferred to Syria via Jordan in small groups,” reported Russia’s RIA Novosti, quoting an anonymous source, on Sept. 13.

Last October, a few days after Hamas-led terrorists invaded Israel, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, leader of Yemen’s Houthi movement, said, “Our people are ready to move in the hundreds of thousands to join the Palestinian people and confront the enemy.”

He has made similar pronouncements in the past.

The Houthis first began employing drones in 2016. They have used them with increasing effectiveness.

In July, a Houthi drone flew from Yemen to central Tel Aviv, more than 1,400 miles, before exploding in a residential neighborhood a stone’s throw from the U.S. consulate. One Israeli was killed in the attack.

In response, Israel struck several military targets in the Yemen port city of Hodeidah.

The Houthis remain undeterred. On Sunday, they fired a surface-to-surface missile, which exploded over central Israel. No injuries were reported.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu vowed that the Houthis would pay a “heavy price” for firing the projectile.

(JNS)

IDF Spokesperson, RAdm. Daniel Hagari, speaks following the elimination of Hezbollah terror commander Ibrahim Aqil and additional Radwan terror commanders.

A group of Knesset members from coalition parties this week warned the government against strengthening cooperation with the Palestinian Authority, speaking amid reports that Ramallah has agreed to deploy police officers who will counter terror alongside IDF personnel in Shomron and the Jordan Valley.

On Sept. 9, Israel’s Channel 14 News reported that Yerushalayim would permit armed P.A. forces to fight terrorism after the conclusion of the IDF’s large-scale operations in northern Shomron and the Jordan Valley.

“A good example of this can be seen in Nablus,” a security official told the outlet, in reference to the major Palestinian terrorist hub in Shomron.

According to the letter, which was signed by 19 members of Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu’s coalition at the initiative of MK Limor Son Har-Melech, the P.A. “cannot be trusted to keep us safe as it finances and supports terrorism.

“P.A. personnel have already carried out attacks against Israelis. To let them operate among us while armed is a continuation of the dangerous [security] concept that brought us disasters in the past,” the legislators continued.

“History shows that every time the P.A. was given access to weapons, those weapons were eventually used against Israeli citizens,” they said, calling on the government to cancel the reported move and “classify the Palestinian Authority as an enemy and act accordingly.”

The letter was signed by lawmakers from Netanyahu’s governing Likud Party, Son Har-Melech’s Otzma Yehudit Party and the Religious Zionism Party, as well as opposition member MK Sharren Haskel (New Hope).

Many members of Israel’s security establishment support the Palestinian Authority’s control over parts of Yehuda and Shomron as a “moderating force,” as opposed to Hamas and other Iran-backed terrorist groups.

Members of Ramallah’s security forces have a long history of attacks on Israeli soldiers and civilians. Last year, Fatah, the ruling party in the Palestinian Authority, boasted that most of its “martyrs” served in the P.A. police.

In addition, the Hamas terrorist organization has recruited dozens of P.A. security forces members, using them as terrorist combatants and for intelligence gathering, Israel’s Kan News public broadcaster reported in mid-2023.

On Sept. 2, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a “military” arm of Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party, declared responsibility for a double car bombing attack in the Gush Etzion region of Yehuda.

The following day, the Brigades claimed responsibility for a drive-by shooting that killed three Israeli police officers near Hebron, also in Yehuda.

The P.A.-linked terrorist group vowed that it would continue to “pursue the occupier [Israel] at every intersection, alley and neighborhood, until it is expelled from our land and our holy sites, Inshallah [‘God willing’].”

(JNS)