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U.S. military forces are set to bolster their presence in the Middle East in the coming days, with an aircraft carrier strike group and additional assets heading to the region, according to two American officials, even as President Donald Trump expresses a desire to avoid fresh military confrontation with Iran.

Naval vessels now en route include the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, along with several destroyers and fighter jets, which began repositioning from the Asia-Pacific region last week. The movement comes amid heightened friction between Washington and Tehran following Iran’s harsh suppression of protests over recent months.

One U.S. official said the administration is also considering deploying additional air defense systems to the Middle East as part of the broader posture adjustment.

Defense analysts note that the United States frequently increases troop levels and military hardware in the region during periods of elevated tension, and such steps can be purely defensive rather than a prelude to offensive action.

Still, the latest deployment follows a precedent set last summer, when the U.S. military carried out a significant buildup ahead of its June strikes on Iran’s nuclear program, later emphasizing how effectively it concealed its plans in advance.

Trump had previously issued repeated warnings about possible intervention in response to the killing of protesters in Iran. However, demonstrations have subsided in recent weeks, and the president’s tone toward Tehran has softened. His focus has shifted to other international matters, including his efforts related to Greenland.

Speaking on Wednesday, Trump said he hoped there would be no additional U.S. military action against Iran, while stressing that Washington would respond if Tehran restarted its nuclear activities.

“They can’t do the nuclear,” Trump told CNBC during an interview in Davos, referencing the major U.S. air strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities in June 2025. “If they do it, it’s going to happen again.”

It has now been at least seven months since the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, last confirmed Iran’s holdings of highly enriched uranium, despite the agency’s own guidance calling for monthly verification.

Iran is required to submit a report to the IAEA detailing what became of the sites struck by the United States and the nuclear material believed to have been stored there. This includes an estimated 440.9 kilograms of uranium enriched to as much as 60% purity, nearing the roughly 90% level considered weapons-grade. According to IAEA benchmarks, that amount could be further enriched to produce material for 10 nuclear bombs.

The possibility of renewed unrest inside Iran also remains uncertain. The protests initially erupted on December 28 as limited demonstrations in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar over economic distress before rapidly spreading across the country.

The U.S.-based rights organization HRANA said it has verified 4,519 deaths linked to the unrest so far, including 4,251 protesters, 197 members of the security forces, 35 individuals under the age of 18, and 38 bystanders it says were neither protesters nor security personnel.

HRANA reported that an additional 9,049 deaths are still under review. Separately, an Iranian official told Reuters that the confirmed death toll through Sunday exceeded 5,000, including about 500 security personnel.

{Matzav.com}

Children’s YouTube star Ms. Rachel is facing intense backlash after her verified Instagram account was shown liking a comment that read “Free America from the Jews.” The influencer, whose real name is Rachel Griffin Accurso, claims the like was accidental and insisted she was trying to delete the comment when she mistakenly hit a function […]

A Minnesota woman convicted in what prosecutors have described as one of the largest fraud cases in state history is alleging that top state officials were aware of extensive wrongdoing well before federal authorities intervened.

In a jailhouse interview with Fox News, Aimee Bock, the former executive director of the nonprofit Feeding Our Future, said that officials under Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison continued to approve and pay claims even after concerns were raised about possible fraud. Bock is currently being held at the Sherburne County Jail in Minnesota.

According to Bock, the state was responsible for approving program sponsors and overseeing reimbursement claims, yet she says officials failed to investigate or shut down companies she flagged as suspicious, allowing the alleged fraud to continue.

“I honestly believe Keith Ellison and Gov. Walz need to be held accountable. There needs to be an investigation done. If they weren’t aware, that’s concerning,” she told Fox News.

Bock further claimed that senior officials had knowledge of the situation but did not act. “I have to believe that the governor’s office and Keith Ellison’s office were aware of this. They’ve said they were involved in helping the FBI. They’ve said they were made aware, but apparently I’m scary, so they couldn’t do anything,” she added.

Ellison’s office strongly rejected Bock’s allegations, questioning her credibility in light of her conviction and sentence. “She is a liar, fraudster, and manipulator of the highest order who has never acknowledged or accepted her guilt. Now, she’s on a media tour to deflect her guilt onto others instead of finally taking responsibility for the fraud scheme she ran,” a spokesperson said.

The spokesperson emphasized that investigators thoroughly examined the case and rejected Bock’s claims outright. “Federal and state investigators meticulously examined the crimes Bock and her accomplices committed,” the spokesperson continued. “Bock alone is responsible for her own actions, which was proven in court beyond a shadow of a doubt, and her claim about Attorney General Ellison is a lie without a shred of evidence behind it.”

Federal prosecutors have said the scheme siphoned more than $250 million in taxpayer funds that were intended to provide meals for children during the COVID-19 pandemic, alleging that fake restaurants were created to submit fraudulent reimbursement claims.

Earlier this month, the House Oversight Committee said the Department of Justice has charged 98 defendants in Minnesota-related fraud cases, noting that 85 of them are of Somali descent.

According to the committee, 64 defendants have already been convicted. Chairman James Comer, a Republican from Kentucky, said federal authorities have issued more than 1,750 subpoenas, carried out over 130 search warrants, and conducted more than 1,000 interviews as part of what officials describe as an expansive investigation.

Comer said prosecutors estimate that at least $9 billion has been stolen through multiple fraud schemes in Minnesota. “The breadth and depth of this fraud is breathtaking. And I fear it is just the tip of the iceberg. Gov. Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Minnesota’s Democratic leadership have either been asleep at the wheel or complicit in these crimes,” he said. “They failed Minnesotans and all Americans, handing millions of taxpayers’ money to fraudsters.”

{Matzav.com}

NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani defended Mahmoud Khalil on Thursday, arguing that the federal push to remove the anti-Israel activist from the country amounts to a broader strike against civil liberties.

Speaking to reporters at an unrelated event in Brooklyn, Mamdani voiced support for Khalil and criticized the deportation effort in sweeping terms. “Mahmoud Khalil is a New Yorker,” he said. “He should remain in New York City. I see this attack on him as part of a larger attack on the freedom of speech that is especially pronounced when it comes to the use of that speech to stand up for policy to human rights.”

Khalil, a 31-year-old Syrian-born activist and graduate of Columbia University, was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement early last year. Federal authorities are seeking his removal from the United States after the Trump administration alleged he committed fraud in his green card application.

According to the administration, Khalil supports Hamas and falls under a little-used provision of immigration law that permits deportation of noncitizens whose views are deemed a potential risk to U.S. foreign policy interests.

Federal officials have said they intend to deport Khalil either to Syria or Algeria.

Before his case reached the appellate stage, Khalil spent three months in a federal detention facility in Louisiana. In June, a three-judge panel in New Jersey ruled that he should have been permitted to continue working while his immigration case moved forward, though that decision was overturned last week by a federal appeals court.

Despite the setback, Mamdani said on Thursday that he plans to press ahead with efforts to keep Khalil in New York City. “I will make that clear to everyone and I have said time and again that he deserves to stay in the city, he deserves to be in the city just like any other New Yorker,” the mayor said.

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{Matzav.com}

The astronauts evacuated last week from the International Space Station say a portable ultrasound machine came in “super handy” during the medical crisis. During their first public appearance since returning to Earth, the four astronauts refused Wednesday to say which one of them needed medical attention and for what reason. It was NASA’s first medical […]

The United States Air Force says a luxury aircraft donated by Qatar and undergoing upgrades to serve as a temporary Air Force One could be delivered to President Donald Trump as soon as this summer, though officials have not set a firm handover date, according to a report published Thursday by the Wall Street Journal.

The plane, referred to by the Air Force as the VC-25 “bridge aircraft,” may make its public debut during July events commemorating the United States’ 250th anniversary, the report said.

In a statement to the Journal, the Air Force emphasized its focus on speeding the process. “The Air Force remains committed to expediting delivery of the VC-25 bridge aircraft in support of the Presidential airlift mission, with an anticipated delivery no later than summer 2026,” the service said.

The aircraft stems from a deal finalized in July between Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Qatari Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, formalizing what was described as an “unconditional donation” of a 13-year-old luxury jet previously operated by Qatar’s royal family.

Interest in the delivery schedule intensified after one of the existing Air Force One planes suffered an electrical malfunction over the weekend. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt mentioned the incident during a briefing and joked that the Qatari aircraft is sounding “much better” by comparison.

Addressing the issue, Leavitt said, “The minor mechanical issue proves President Trump is right, and the new Air Force One will be a welcome donation to the United States Air Force, not just for the President, but for the entire AF1 crew.”

According to Aviation Week, Air Force officials have indicated that the retrofit of the donated plane will involve only limited changes, a factor expected to help keep the project on schedule and improve the chances of a summer delivery.

The Qatari jet is intended as an interim solution while Boeing continues work on the long-delayed next generation of Air Force One aircraft, a program that has been plagued by years of delays and escalating costs.

{Matzav.com}

Argentine President Javier Milei capped a fiery defense of free-market capitalism at the World Economic Forum on Thursday with an unexpected turn to the Torah, invoking this week’s parshah to describe a civilizational struggle between freedom and state power. In a clip shared by his office, Milei concluded his remarks by referencing Parshas Bo, which […]

As Syrian government forces advance against the Kurdish-led SDF, The Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. is weighing a full troop withdrawal from Syria and the closure of its remaining bases, a move that would effectively end the American military presence in the country.

Revised data shows the US economy expanded more quickly in Q3, alongside an upward adjustment in corporate profits.

TRUMP: Congresswoman Ilhan Omar is worth over $30 million dollars. There is no way such wealth could have been accumulated, legally, while being paid the salary of a politician. She should be investigated for a financial and political crimes, and that investigation should start, NOW!

A Jewish cemetery in the eastern Libyan city of Derna has been demolished during construction work, drawing condemnation from Jewish heritage advocates and raising fresh concerns about the fate of historic minority sites in a country long scarred by conflict and weak central authority. The destruction, which occurred over the past several weeks, wiped out […]

POTUS on Iran: “We have a big force going toward Iran… we have a massive fleet heading in that direction.”

Google must face a consumer antitrust class-action lawsuit accusing it of illegally maintaining dominance in online search, after a U.S. judge refused to dismiss the case. * U.S. District Judge Rita Lin ruled plaintiffs showed enough evidence to move forward on core claims, though claims tied to Google’s conduct before 2017 were barred for now. […]

President Donald Trump said Thursday that he plans to expand his defamation lawsuit against The New York Times to include its latest Times/Siena poll, blasting the survey as dishonest and politically motivated.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump accused the polling operation of consistently portraying him unfairly and said the results were intentionally manipulated. “The Times Siena Poll, which is always tremendously negative to me, especially just before the Election of 2024, where I won in a Landslide, will be added to my lawsuit against The Failing New York Times,” he wrote.

Trump said his legal team is seeking detailed records related to the poll’s methodology. “Our lawyers have demanded that they keep all Records, and how they ‘computed’ these fake results — Not just the fact that it was heavily skewed toward Democrats. They will be held fully responsible for all of their Radical Left lies and wrongdoing!” he added.

The Times/Siena poll released Thursday reported that Trump holds a 40 percent approval rating one year into his presidency, while 56 percent of respondents said they disapprove.

According to the same survey, 49 percent of those polled said the country is worse off under Trump, compared with 32 percent who said conditions have improved.

Trump first sued The New York Times last year, alleging that the paper and four of its journalists defamed him while reporting on his 2024 presidential campaign. Although a federal judge dismissed the initial complaint, Trump refiled the lawsuit in October.

In a separate message, Trump argued that inaccurate polling should face legal consequences. “Fake and Fraudulent Polling should be, virtually, a criminal offense,” he wrote.

He pointed to media polling during the 2020 race as an example, saying those surveys were knowingly incorrect. “As an example, all of the Anti-Trump Media that covered me during the 2020 Election showed Polls that were knowingly wrong. They knew what they were doing, trying to influence the Election, but I won in a Landslide, including winning the Popular Vote, all 7 of the 7 Swing States, the Electoral College was a route, and 2,750 Counties to 525.”

Trump continued by naming several major outlets, arguing their polling bore no resemblance to final results. “You can’t do much better than that, and yet if people examined The Failing New York Times, ABC Fake News, NBC Fake News, CBS Fake News, Low Ratings CNN, or the now defunct MSDNC, Polls were all fraudulent, and bore nothing even close to the final results,” he said.

He also criticized media coverage of the 2024 election, accusing news organizations of deliberately publishing false data. The Times “and so many others, print Polls that are knowingly false. They have become deranged, and sick,” Trump wrote.

Trump claimed that what he described as biased reporting stemmed from personal animus. “They suffer from a major case of TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME (TDS). Their 2024 Election coverage was so bad, and so wrong, and yet they never get called out for it — But I am calling them out with the lawsuit that I have filed which is making its way through the Courts.”

He concluded by saying the media outlets should face consequences. “They have to pay a price for FAKE AND FRAUDULENT NEWS and, hopefully, in the not too distant future, they will!”

{Matzav.com}

Against the backdrop of repeated incidents of spitting, insults, and provocations directed at Christian clergy in Jerusalem’s Old City, the Rav of the Old City and the Rav of the Kosel issued an unequivocal public statement on Thursday, sharply condemning the phenomenon and calling for it to stop immediately. In a public notice released in […]

A former Uvalde schools police officer was acquitted Wednesday of charges that he failed in his duties to confront the gunman at Robb Elementary during the critical first minutes of one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history. Jurors deliberated for more than seven hours before finding Adrian Gonzales, 52, not guilty in the first trial over the […]

Vice President JD Vance said Thursday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents can be disciplined “when justified” for errors made during deportation operations, signaling a more restrained stance after recent statements by senior administration officials suggesting officers enjoy “absolute immunity” while carrying out federal law.

Vance made the remarks during an interview with the Washington Examiner aboard Air Force Two while traveling from Toledo, Ohio, to Minneapolis, a city where immigration enforcement has come under heightened scrutiny following the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an ICE officer earlier this month.

“Well, first of all, you’re never going to eliminate, entirely, mistakes,” Vance said. “You’re talking about human beings. It’s going to happen at the local level. It’s going to happen at the federal level, you know?”

He said it is possible to hold officers accountable while still standing firmly behind law enforcement personnel.

“That’s not to say that we’re — you can acknowledge that mistakes sometimes happen while also acknowledging that 99% of our ICE officers are doing the right thing. They’re doing a very tough job in Minneapolis. They’re doing a tough job in incredibly difficult circumstances. I would say the same of police officers,” Vance said.

Pressed on whether misconduct such as excessive force or wrongful arrests of U.S. citizens would result in consequences, Vance said allegations are reviewed and can lead to punishment.

“Certainly, when we have any accusation of wrongdoing, we investigate, we look into it,” he said. “If we think that there are disciplinary actions justified, then, of course, we’re going to take those disciplinary actions.”

Vance added that the administration is working to minimize mistakes while continuing to support officers he says are acting appropriately.

“You can do both of those things at the same time,” he said. “I also think that what we’re trying to do is actually make it easier for these guys to do their job.”

Earlier Thursday, Vance addressed ICE enforcement in Minneapolis during a speech in Ohio, acknowledging that errors had occurred.

“My thought on that is, well, of course there have been mistakes made, because you’re always going to have mistakes made in law enforcement,” Vance said, adding, “It’s not what ICE is doing in Minneapolis, it’s what Minneapolis authorities are doing to prevent ICE from doing their jobs. That’s exactly what’s happening.”

Those remarks differed in tone from comments Vance made earlier this month during an unusual appearance in the White House briefing room following the shooting death of Good, 37, during an ICE operation in Minneapolis.

At that briefing, Vance said footage he reviewed was conclusive, telling reporters, “What you see is what you get in this case.”

He placed responsibility for the tensions surrounding the incident on Good and political opponents.

“I can believe that her death is a tragedy, while also recognizing that it’s a tragedy of her own making and a tragedy of the far left who has marshaled an entire movement — a lunatic fringe — against our law enforcement officers,” Vance said at a White House press briefing the day after the shooting.

President Donald Trump has also said that large-scale enforcement efforts can result in errors.

“They’re going to make mistakes,” Trump said Tuesday at a press conference. “Sometimes, ICE is going to be too rough for somebody. They’re going to make a mistake. Sometimes it can happen.”

Vance’s recalibrated message comes as the administration continues to push an aggressive deportation strategy while facing mounting political and legal pressure tied to raids, detentions, and the reach of ICE authority.

{Matzav.com}

A sprawling winter storm barreling toward more than 35 states is prompting emergency declarations and heightened warnings, as forecasters project heavy snow, ice and extreme cold for more than 200 million people from Friday through early next week. Texas, North Carolina and South Carolina moved first, issuing preemptive emergency declarations after the National Weather Service […]